อนุทิน 117549

 Buddha Vacana (November 26, 2555)

Suppose a king or royal minister has never heard lute music before.  But one day he does hear it and he says: ‘Good man, tell me, what is that enchanting and delightful, intoxicating, ravishing and enthralling sound?’ Then they say to him: ‘That Sir, is the music of the lute.’ So he says: ‘Go, bring me that lute.’ So they bring it to him but he says: ‘Enough of this lute.  Bring me the music.’ Then they say to him: ‘Sir, this lute consists of many parts; the belly, the skin, the handle, the frame, the string, the bridge and the effort of the player.  And it makes the sound because of them.  The sound is because of these various and many parts.’ Then the king breaks the lute into a hundred pieces, splinters it again, burns it, puts the ashes in a heap and winnows them in the wind or washes them away in water in order to find the music.  Having done this he finds no music and says: ‘A poor thing indeed is a lute; whatever a lute may be.  The world is deceived by such things.’ In the same way, one investigating the body as far as the body goes, investigating feeling, perception, mental constructs and consciousness as far as they go, finds no ‘I’ , no ‘I am’, no ‘Mine.’

-- S.IV,196–7