The A, B, C of Buddhism

“Friends! I know that you are interested in studying and seeking the Buddhist way of giving up all the problems of life, which may be summed up as the problems of birth, decay, disease and death.

I would like to help you to understand this topic, as well as I can. But I must tell you in advance that my knowledge of English is not complete. It is childish English that is self-taught and self-learned. Thus, you must think carefully; try to understand and know what I mean to say. Since we cannot have a classroom lecture, my talk today must be more like a private conversation. You have heard that the Lord Buddha, in his enlightenment, discovered the Dhamma [Sanskrit, ‘Dharma’]. I would like to talk about that Dhamma, that which the Buddha discovered at his enlightenment. That Dhamma may be called the ‘law of idappaccayatā.’ It is the law of nature or the natural law of cause and effect.”

THB 80

Being "The A, B, C of Buddhism," a talk in English on 14 October 1982 at Suan Mokkh, "The Meditative Development of Mindfulness of Breathing," a lecture on 13 August 1972, and "The Discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing: Ānāpānasati Sutta," translated from the Pāli by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu. Edited and translated from the Thai by Stephen Schmidt. First published by the Sublime Life Mission, Bangkok, 1982. 76 pages.