Exposing Ourselves to the Truth

~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~

When Kisa Gotami’s child died she went mad with grief. Grasping the child’s body firmly to her breast, she refused to believe the truth. Kisa Gotami searched ceaselessly for someone to cure her child of its illness. No advice – kind or firm – could persuade her that the child was beyond help.

Finally, she approached the Buddha for assistance. Noting her mental state, he offered her neither teaching or comfort. He said, ‘If you can bring me a sesame seed from a house in which nobody has ever died, I will help you.’ Suddenly full of hope – perhaps it was some kind of magic! – she rushed off, knocking at doors. But from everyone she spoke to she received the same rely, ‘Yes, we have sesame seeds but there have also been deaths in the house.’ Slowly, disappointment by disappointment, the inevitability of death seeped into her mind. By the time she returned to the Buddha, Kisa Gotami was ready to hear the Dhamma. Before long she had become an arahant.

Meditation is for us like Kisa Gotami knocking on the doors. It allows the truth to seep into our minds, little by little. Nothing in the conditioned world is really ours. Everything is impermanent and will soon disappear. It’s too much for the untrained mind to accept. Only by exposing ourselves to the truth again and again are we gradually convinced and are able to abandon our illusions.

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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.

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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.