Old Path White Clouds: The Life Story of the Buddha

“Pay special attention to observing your breath. Meditate on your body, feelings, mental formations, consciousness, and objects of your consciousness. Look deeply in order to see the process of birth, growth, and fading of every phenomenon, from your own body, emotions, mind, and objects of your mind.

“From interdependent origins all things arise and all things pass away. So teaches the Perfectly Enlightened One.”

“True happiness can be realized in this very life, especially when you observe the following: “1. Foster relations with people of virtue and avoid the path of degradation. “2. Live in an environment that is conducive to spiritual practice and builds good character. “3. Foster opportunities to learn more about the Dharma, the precepts, and your own

was Angulimala, but he felt no fear. He continued to take slow steps, aware of everything taking place within and outside of himself.

“If you live long enough, you grow old, Ananda. But my eyes and ears are as sharp as ever.

“Bhikkhus, I will explain what true self-sufficiency is and what is the better way to live alone. A self-sufficient person is a person who dwells in mindfulness. He is aware of what is going on in the present moment, what is going on in his body, feelings, mind, and objects of mind. He knows how to look deeply at things in the present moment. He do

there is one truth you must accept, and that is the presence of suffering. Suffering has causes which can be illuminated in order to be removed. The things I teach will help you attain detachment, equanimity, peace, and liberation.

One day, while washing her feet, she watched the streams of water disappear back into the earth, and she had sudden insight into the nature of impermanence. She held that image in her mind during her meditation for several days and nights, and one dawn, she broke through the problem of birth and death.

Ocean Poet