The Way with the ancient flavours

The one who walks in the world with a peaceful mind, helps the world. The one who walks in the world with a peaceful mind and who cares for others, helps the world. The one who chooses at every moment to go in the direction where his or her actions, words, thoughts are beneficial for others, helps the world, makes the world happy. The one whose life is devoted to this is a disciple of Buddha. This can be done by being a monk or a nun, but also a baker, a plumber, a hairdresser… In fact, whatever our place in the world, the most important is the heart, the mind.

A person who only acts for the benefice of I, me or mine, whose sole concern is the race for profit, consumption, fame, her own image…, such a person takes the wrong direction. If you practice the way taught by the Buddha, to profit, to enjoy more, to be more considered, more loved by others, you are deceiving yourself, deceiving others.

Master Deshimaru kept repeating that all of mankind’s sufferings came from false masters, from those who teach a wrong direction.

This year, some people have approached the Buddha Way, hoping to make a living from a few bits of knowledge they would have gained here… A monk is poor. He does not earn his money on other people’s distress. He devotes his life to awaken so that his awakening can benefit all existences.

Nowadays, a lot of people resort to psychological support. And also, a lot of people take the position of therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist. Some choose to coach others, others to influence them. If you want to help others to free themselves of illusions, of false views, of all that leads to suffering, you must start by turning in the right direction yourself. That is to say that you must aspire to be awakened and vow that your life becomes beneficial to all beings.

Buddha Shakyamuni rediscovered the Way with the ancient flavours by himself. The Way where at the origin, we are all Buddha such as we are.

This ancient way, this way with the ancient flavours, can be found deep inside us. It resonates within us with the sounds of spring, the colours of autumn, the glistening snow, the plain that trembles under July. This way with the ancient flavours can be found within ourselves. Such as we are at the origin, at the deepest of our being, we are Buddha. Nothing too much, nothing lacking. It’s because we have misused our reflexive capacities, because we have wanted to always have more sensations, because we have developed an unquenchable thirst for more existence; it’s because of this attitude that we have created and accumulated karma.

It says in the sutras: “The totality of the accumulated karma originates from wrong conceptions.” Like for example those consisting in not understanding the true meaning of life, of not understanding the practice that keeps our body alive and in good health, of not understanding that the most important is our love for one another. The sutra goes on: “If a person wishes to change, let them sit and meditate on the true nature of all things.”

Buddha Shakyamuni added, at the end of his life: “Consider that I have not said anything, but sit in zazen as I did and abandon illegitimate desires and afflicting passions.” Every human being is capable of doing this for themselves.

Abandon illegitimate desires and afflicting passions for the good of all beings, this is the Way, this is life, this is the truth.

Taiun JP Faure, August 2022