I finally found it this morning; this is a passage from Phra P. A. Payutto's book Buddhadhamma: Natural Law and Values for Life. The phrasing in the first paragraph had "read" like Tan Ajarn to me.
I am well, thanks, Bill, and hope you are, too!
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How are you?
Using the first paragraph I have searched Rod Bucknell’s translation of Handbook for Mankind and it is not there. Having just read Spiritual Disease and reading Handbook for Mankind the first paragraph seems familiar, however I don’t really know.
Hope you are keeping well,
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Hello ---
I cannot say whether the following is from Tan Ajahn or not. All but the first paragraph is from the Culamalunkya Sutta (MN 63). Tan Ajahn usually did not quote suttas at such length. I'm sure Tan Ajahn brought this up often, sometimes explicitly, very often implicitly. The opening paragraph may be from him, but I don't recognize it as something I have translated. Maybe it's from Handbook for Mankind.
Be well.
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I ran across a single sheet of paper in a stack here that seemed to have detached from its fellows, and it reads to my eye like Tan Ajarn's writings, and I wondered if anyone recognized it and could point me to the essay it came from, if it is Tan Ajarn's?
...gotta love having a scanner....
"Please allow me to emphasize once more that there is one thing that is recognized as part of the nature of the Buddhist teachings: In teaching the truth, only the things that can be put to use in this life are of value the things that do not lead to beneficial results in this life, even if they may be true, are not taught. The Four Noble Truths, therefore, are considered teachings relevant to the present moment. For this reason, the Lord Buddha did not waste his time and energy on arguing about various problems pertaining to higher philosophical speculation. There is a popular passage that expresses this.
Whoever says that as long as the Enlightened One has not solved the problems concerning whether "this world is eternal or not eternal; whether this self and body are one and the same or the self is one thing and the body another; or whether there is or is not life after death, or whether there is a confirmation of both existence and non-existence or a denial of existence and non-existence after death;" I will not live the Holy Life (brahmacariya) that the Enlightened One has set down -- this person is likely to die before he hears the answers to these questions, because the Thathagata does not speculate about such matters.
We can compare this to a person who is hit with a poison-tipped arrow: This person's relatives and blood kin run out to find an expert surgeon to cut out the arrow. But the unfortunate person who has been struck demands that, "As long as I do not know if the person who shot the arrow is a khattiya, a brahmana, a vessa, or a sudda, I do not know his name and ancestry I do not know if he is tall, short, or of medium height, I do not know if he has dark, light, or medium complexion, I do not know if he lives in a house, a village, or a city, I will not allow this arrow to be removed. As long as I do not know if the bow that was used was a regular bow or a crossbow, if the bowstring was made of hemp, bamboo bark, gut, fiber, or the membrane of a tree, or if the arrow itself was made from a wild tree or a cultivated until I know the kind of arrow that was used, I will not allow it to be removed." In this case, the injured person did not have time to discover any of these things. He most certainly had to die first. Anyway... that's it for that person.
Truly, Malunkyaputta, when you believe that this world is eternal, you cannot lead the Holy Life; when you believe that this world is not eternal, you cannot lead the Holy Life. Whether you believe this world to be eternal or not eternal, there is still birth (jati), decay (jara), death (marana), sorrow, lamentation, suffering, grief and distress. Therefore, we decree that this (whole heap of dukkha) should be eliminated right now!...
Malunkyapuffa, when you believe this self and body are one and the same, you cannot lead the Holy Life; when you believe that the self is one thing and the body another, you cannot lead the Holy Life. Whether you believe this self and body are one and the same or the self is one thing and the body another, there is still birth (jati), decay (jara), death (marana), sorrow, lamentation, suffering, grief and distress. Therefore, we decree that this (whole heap of dukkha) should be eliminated right now!...
Malunkyaputta, when you believe there is life after death, you cannot lead the Holy Life; when you believe that there is not life after death, you cannot lead the Holy Life. Whether you believe there is or is not life after death, there is still (jati), decay (jara), death (marana), sorrow, lamentation, suffering, grief and distress. Therefore, we decree that this (whole heap of dukkha) should be eliminated right now!...
Malunkyaputta, when you believe there is a confirmation of both existence and non-existence, you cannot lead the Holy Life; when you believe there is a denial of existence and non-existence after death, you cannot lead the Holy Life. Whether you believe there is a confirmation of both existence and non¬existence or a denial of existence and non-existence after death, there is still (jati), decay (jara), death (marana), sorrow, lamentation, suffering, grief and distress. Therefore, we decree that this (whole heap of dukkha) should be eliminated right now!... I
Therefore, all of you should remember the problems that we will not speculate about, that we have set down as problems not worth speculating about; and you should remember the problems that are worthy of contemplation, that we have set down as worthy of our reflection. We will not speculate about the permanence or impermanence of this world... We do not speculate about this, because it is not beneficial. It is not a part of the fundamental aspects of leading the Holy Life: This kind of speculation does not lead to disenchantment (nibbida), detachment (viraga), the cessation of dukkha (nirodha), tranquillity, higher knowledge, nor nibbana. The things worth contemplating are: dukkha exists, dukkha arises, dukkha passes away, and there is a way leading to the extinction of dukkha. And why do we contemplate these things? Because they are beneficial; they are the basis for leading the Holy Life; they lead to disenchantment, detachment, the cessation of dukkha, tranquillity, higher knowledge, enlightenment, and nibbana. (M. 1.428-432)"
In Dhamma,
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