The House-Builder

 

The House-Builder

The great gulfs of time that are swallowed up before we have realized it, rather than giving means, give off discouragement.  It is disheartening to know too much, foolish to know too little, and when we try to become a part of something, the motivation is at best superficial.  There is a ruler that has been put in place, who tells us what to do for better or worse; it takes advantage of our most pleasant stupors, or calms us in arduous fires.  Unrestrained in passion or intellect, it abides by the masses, by the greatest number.  The Buddha saw this and said: 

For many lives I have wandered

Looking for, but not finding,

The house-builder

Who caused my suffering.

But now you are seen

And you shall build no more.

Your rafters are dislodged

And the ridge-pole is broken.

All craving is ended;

My heart is one with the unmade.

Dhammapada 153-154

Douglas Thornton