Dhamma Q&A with Students from Puget Sound University
Photo: Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives C01931
“Sometimes when I think about all the big problems in the world, it seems like we’re kind of heading toward Armageddon – extinction of mankind. Is this just paranoia or are we really in trouble this time? And how does Armageddon fit into the whole Buddhist view?”
~ Response by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu ~
We must ask when there’s no self, who is Armageddon going to happen to? So we make ourselves free of self, then there’s nothing to be afraid of Armageddon, then there’s no paranoia. We call this liberation or emancipation – the mind, the heart, is liberated from the prison that we have erected. Because we feel there’s a self, we feel afraid, and that’s when we’re afraid of Armageddon, only because of self.
The translator then asks, “What should you do about the worsening world situation?” and the teacher’s reply was, “Don’t have a self. When there’s no self, where will there be a problem?”
(From Dhamma Questions & Answers with students from Puget Sound University, State of Washington, USA as translated from the Thai by Santikaro)
- - ❖ - -
Dhamma Questions & Responses sessions were offered by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu in 1990-1991 to foreign meditators attending Suan Mokkh International Dharma Hermitage courses.
Listen to this teaching on Soundcloud or Youtube Channel Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
Listen to other English retreat talks by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu
For more information and free ebooks, visit Suan Mokkh – The Garden of Liberation