Take what resonates, leave what doesn't

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[seedofdhamma]

Question: What is God? Where is he? Who is he? What is his form? Goenkaji: What should I say? Ultimate truth is God I would say.

[seedofdhamma]

Such news was devastating, yet he took it in his stride. I once heard him say to visitors, "How can I be attached to this body and mind when they are constantly changing? There is nothing to hold onto." Fellow journalists, workmates, police contacts, and those whom he knew through meditation came to visit him. One colleague remarked, "I came expecting to see a body on the bed and to console him. Instead I ended up telling him all about my problems and forgot about his."

[seedofdhamma]

[seedofdhamma]

An American from Texas, Thomas had learned another type of Vipassana several years before. When Goenkaji came to North America in the summer of 1980, Thomas decided to join a 10-day course in Chicago. It was a turning point for him. He made up his mind to leave his flourishing legal practice. The following December he left for India, unsure whether he would ever return.

That winter he told Goenkaji that he wanted to give up working and just meditate. The response surprised him. As Thomas recalls, Goenkaji said, "No, you can't do that. There are people whose rights are being violated. They need help and you need to help them. And secondly, there are people who have the paramis [good qualities] to experience and practice Dhamma, but unless they come across somebody of their own background who is doing it and can tell them about it, they'll never get it. You have a responsibility to be a connection to Dhamma for those people."

[seedofdhamma]

[seedofdhamma]

Daily Words of the Buddha for December 17, 2025

Sabbattha ve sappurisā cajanti. Na kāmakāmā lapayanti santo. Sukhena phuṭṭhā atha vā dukhena na uccāvacaṃ paṇḍitā dassayanti. Listen

The good renounce (attachment for) everything. The virtuous do not prattle with a yearning for pleasures. The wise show no elation or depression when touched by happiness or sorrow.

Dhammapada 6.83 View Pāli on Tipitaka.org The Dhammapada: The Buddha's Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita Book Details

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The Dhammapada: Verses and Stories Free PDF ebook

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Question: The Gītā says swadharma [our own Dharma] should be followed, not paradharma [the Dharma of others]. Goenkaji: It depends how you interpret it. To me, swadharma is the Dharma of human beings. A human being has been given this wonderful faculty to observe oneself and come out of the misery, come out of the bondage. An animal cannot do this, a bird cannot do this, an insect cannot do this. If you are just living the life without using this faculty, then you are living the life of an animal, the life of a bird, the life of an insect. Then no difference between you and that being—you are not living the life of swadharma, you are living the life of paradharma. For swadharma, you must learn how to come out of your bondages, by observing the truth within yourself.

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What is the purpose of Dhamma service? Certainly not to receive board and lodging, nor to pass the time in a comfortable environment, nor to escape from the responsibilities of daily life. Dhamma servers know this well.

[seedofdhamma]

[seedofdhamma]

An important topic I bring to light in the evening discourses during the ten days are the positive features of every religion. So during one discourse, Jesus Christ's love and compassion were highlighted. At the end of the course, one of them, Mother Superior Mary said, "Goenka, you are teaching Christianity in the name of Buddha." Following this, the word spread that there was no hidden agenda in these courses; that I was not there to establish any sect or creed; that I was only trying to establish Dhamma which belongs to one and all. With the suspicion of the Christian community having been dealt with, another problem then arose. The Indian government too had become suspicious, thinking that perhaps I was an agent working for some foreign power. To investigate these suspicions, they sent spies to the courses. One of them revealed this to me, saying he had been sent to spy on me and then report back what he had experienced, but that he could find nothing wrong and also that he did not see any foreign hand operating. Even so, official probes remained active for a long time.

[seedofdhamma]

[seedofdhamma]

Daily Words of the Buddha for December 16, 2025

Selo yathā ekaghano vātena na samīrati, evaṃ nindāpasaṃsāsu na samiñjanti paṇḍitā. Listen

Just as a solid rock is not shaken by the storm, even so the wise are not affected by praise or blame.

Dhammapada 6.81 View Pāli on Tipitaka.org The Dhammapada: The Buddha's Path of Wisdom, translated from Pāli by Acharya Buddharakkhita Book Details

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[seedofdhamma]

Question: What are vibrations? How do they affect us? Goenkaji: Everything in the Universe is vibrating. This is no theory, it is a fact. The entire Universe is nothing but vibrations. The good vibrations make us happy, the unwholesome vibrations cause misery. Vipassana will help you come out of effect of bad vibrations - the vibrations caused by a mind full of craving and aversion. When the mind is perfectly balanced, the vibrations become good. And these good or bad vibrations you generate start influencing the atmosphere all around you. Vipassana helps you generate vibrations of purity, compassion and goodwill - beneficial for yourself and all others.    

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The time has come for spiritual development in the entire world, for everyone's well-being and happiness. All those who have made use of this time and have started walking the path of Dhamma must understand their dual responsibilities well. "By walking on this path, I must not only fulfil my well being but must become supportive of others' efforts to grow in Dhamma too. I must not just fulfil my own goal of liberation by walking on this path but also become an inspiration to others in their efforts at liberation".