A SABEDORIA DE BUDA - leitura do DHAMMAPADA - 2/5 - Lúcia Helena Galvão

Let's resume our reading of our dear book, Dhammapada. I would like to make a comment, which I find pertinent, although it has been a minority of people who have made this kind of small mistake, but I would like to clarify. We are talking about Dhammapada, which is a very relevant Buddhist work, but I speak as a philosopher, I do not belong to the Buddhist religion, I am not doing any kind of religious preaching, I am taking a book and analyzing what, within this book, can help us become better human beings. I intend to take a

handful of the best books I have read in my life and pass an extract of what this can be useful for you. It has no ideological or theological connotation, I do not belong to any Buddhist chain, I am a philosopher. And the philosopher seeks the truth, wherever it is. I find only this small initial clarification valid. Today, then, we give follow-up to our reading, from the point where we left, from chapter 5. Remember, I will not repeat this beginning, we say that Dhammapada is a work evidently based on Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, it would have

been a compilation of his writings, and it belongs, within a structure of sacred books, to what we call Tripitaka, the three sixths, which were the compilations that were made of his teachings throughout history. The first council, shortly after the death of Buddha, Pataliputra, in this first council, a compilation of two of the sixths was made. And one of them, which is the most important for us, which is the Sutapitaka, within it there is the Dakinikaya, which is composed of 15 books, and one of these books is Dhammapada, just to recap, to position ourselves. And this

Dhammapada, which is part of the Sutapitaka, would have been described, would have been dictated, by one of the main disciples of Buddha, which was Ananda, who was his cousin, and also a very loyal disciple throughout his life of preaching. So we saw in our last meeting, about the domain of the mind, a series of considerations that are very typical of Buddhism. Today we will continue with chapter 5, he will talk about the desire to live, the nonsense of not considering the consequences of our actions and how this return, which within the Indian tradition is called

karma, comes back to us with all the intensity. So, chapter 5, the nonsense. Balavaga, 60. Long is the series of births and deaths for the foolish, stuck to the illusion of desires and who do not know the true law, the path. So, obviously, we are dealing with a tradition, there are those who sometimes put this in doubt or misunderstand, but the fact is that we are dealing with a tradition that considers the existence of reincarnation. Now, is it necessary to believe in reincarnation to learn when Dhammapada? No, you can consider that all this happens in

a single life. It's the same. Simply what you have to admit, that's what he's talking about here, is that the law of karma, which comes from Hinduism, fits very well in this situation. That is, the more we do what would go against the law, but it holds us to the ground to learn this lesson and correct our course. Karma is not punitive, it is educational. It holds us to the terrestrial experience, often painful, so that we can find the causes of our mistakes, consciously perceive the secret of life and correct our paths. So, numerous, long

series of births and deaths, sometimes long series of pains, losses, anguish, until man finds the straight path, the path of the law, the path of Dharma. 62 Truly, we do not belong to ourselves, much less children and wealth. It's an interesting thing, because it is often confused in relation to this tradition. It is understood that Buddhism has a certain coldness, so as not to get involved with things for fear of losing them. It is not true. Buddhism teaches a depuration, Dhammapada teaches a depuration of love, in such a way that you give the best to

the beings you love, but do not have the desire to possess them. From desire comes the need, from the need comes an exaggerated sacrifice, and from this exaggerated sacrifice, later comes the demand. I did so much for you, that is, wanting to receive a return of what was given. He does not say that we do not love children, that we do not love the good things of life, that we do not even love our own good, but simply that we benefit from things, which is that which is of the highest love, and since life flows.

As Gibran said, your children are not your children, they are children of life, they are thrown with the bow of the fathers towards the future, they are not ours. So give the best, not only to the children, but to everything that passes through your life, but do not feel like an owner, as he will say later, we are not even owners of ourselves. And the highest love is that which does not desire, does not have possessions, does not have needs, does not expect a counterpart, it is a one-time love, it gives without expecting anything in

return. This highest level we reach when we overcome all kinds of possession, that is, a wise man, we can already start walking in that direction, freeing what we love. 63 The foolish who consider themselves wise, this one is truly a fool. There is a passage from Plato that says, the greatest impediment to wisdom is to think that you already know, and this is a fact, because when you realize your own ignorance, you are open to learning. He is an attentive observer, an attentive student to all the missions of life. When you think you already know,

you close yourself and learn nothing else. You close yourself to the spectacle of life, you learn nothing else. And then it becomes impossible, you become a dogmatic person, impossible to learn. Remember that Socrates, who was a very special philosopher, his main phrase was, I only know that I know nothing. So this is an element that has to be valued, today it is pejorative to say, I ignore, I am ignorant in relation to many things. This is a sign of senseless lucidity, because whether we say it or not, whether we know it or not, we are

all, above all, ignorant. What we know is very insignificant, very small compared to what there is to know. And this condition should not embarrass us, it is a sign of lucidity. I'm looking for knowledge, but at that moment I ignore it. Anything other than that generates a dangerous blindness. 64 Even living his whole life with a wise man, the fool perceives so little of the path of wisdom, as the spoon perceives the taste of soup. Notice how interesting this is. An ignorant man, a fool, living next to a great wise man, perceives so little, learns

so little, as the spoon perceives the taste of soup. Stop to think throughout history, how many great men, whether in the area of ​​science, whether in the area of ​​art, whether in the mystical area, were recognized by a large number of contemporaries still alive. And you will realize that it is a minority. So people lived side by side with Plato, for example. They lived side by side with Mozart, and preferred Salieri. That is, many times in history, great men went absolutely anonymous. This is an interesting phenomenon. Because our selfishness, which consequently will generate a vanity,

a thinking that we already know, makes us insensitive to learning. If there is a person that I think I have a certain dose of envy, philosophical envy, it is that person who was by the great ones and recognized them. It means that he was looking out, he was seeing people, with a conscience that he did not know and with a desire to know. Therefore, he saw the other. This may seem like nonsense to you, but it is one of the rarest things we have. When we are very blind by selfishness, we do not see the

other. Everything becomes a shadow, a projection. As the music of Caetano Veloso said, born to find ugly what is not a mirror. And we live like that. Seeing the other allows us to have the sensitivity, at a certain moment, to realize that there is someone special here. Gibran managed to reach, for example, the great poet Cario Gibran, managed to reach the projection he reached, thanks to a woman who saw him, Mary Elizabeth Haskell. That is, I am jealous of these people, who are able to see the other, and realize the need of the other, the

pain of the other, the greatness of the other. This in itself is already an exceptional quality. So they say that the ignorant are so closed in their ignorance, in their conception that they already know, that they are like a spoon that touches soup, they do not taste it. Even before the greatest of the wise. 66 The foolish who believe they are wise are enemies of themselves. This is interesting. Today I read an excerpt from a poem by Gibran, where he says, God told me to make peace with my greatest enemy. And I obeyed and made

peace with myself. It's more or less what he says here, we are enemies of ourselves, when we suffer from what Jung called the inflation of the ego. What does that mean? I'm going up the stairs, I'm in the first step, and I believe I'm in the tenth. I behave as if I were in the tenth. And if I offer you the second step, you don't want it. You want the twelfth. You will not have the second, nor the twelfth, and maybe you lose balance and even lose the first. In this madness of not seeing yourself,

not seeing where you are starting from. As I have often told you, if you want to move, you have to know where you are and where you want to go. Otherwise, you have no conditions. The basics of a trip are to know the starting point and the arrival point. If you think you're already halfway, you won't get there. You will not be located within the map of life. 72 The evil of the foolish, increased by his smartness, disturbs his mind and increases his ruin. I found this very interesting, because you take two elements. Evil combined

with smartness. This is very similar to Kant, when he says that the only virtue that is good in itself is goodwill. All others can be used for good and for evil. Well, smartness is a virtue. For a person to be smart, wise, perceptive, is a virtue. But if this virtue, if evil is combined with a poorly formed character, it's a knife in the hand of a child. It will hurt itself and it can hurt others. So, when evil, when the character is very sick, very weakened, when evil prevails in someone's personality, in someone's formation, every

time you qualify, you put weapons in the hand of this evil. That's the criterion that was in the Platonic conception, to educate, first, forming and then informing. Not to give knowledge in inadequate hands. So, evil is not sensible, anything you put on it, if he is smart, if he is wise, if he is creative, it only enhances your evil. 75 There is a path that leads to earthly goods, and another that leads to nirvana. Aware of this, the disciple of the Supreme Enlightened does not aspire to honors, but strives for vigilance for liberation. Understand that

this is important to understand. It is not that the person has to be an ascetic and free of all material goods. For an ascetic, it's okay, but for an ordinary man, it's not necessary. It's not the material goods that hurt us or corrupt us, but the use we give to them. It's a bit of what is attributed to Vitor Hugo, that he would say that we have to put our material goods in front of us, to realize who rules who. Imagine that you have a trajectory that seeks to be. Be virtuous, be kind, be a

wise one day. If you want to be a wise, to have it in the middle of the way is valid. If I want to help people, I want to be generous and have means, I will achieve this more easily. If I want to be a fair person, and have means to do this justice, to reach people, this is valid, it is enhanced. That is, being as a purpose, having it in the middle of the way, helps. Now, if you have having it as a purpose, what is the meaning of my life? Being the richest man

in the world. Being in the middle of the way sometimes gets in the way. Imagine if you are honest, fair, fraternal, generous, and you want to be the richest man in the world. Well, you won't be able to. Because when you accumulate some wealth, you will have to share it with a lot of people. Realize this well. Life goal, being, having it fits as a means. Life goal, having, being does not fit as a means. This is important for us to realize. It's not that we don't have things, but that things don't have us. They

don't possess us, they don't manipulate us. We are not preaching ascetism here, because this would be, once again, the inflation of the ego, as Jung would say. Because it is not a moment for ascetism, it is a moment for a basic self-knowledge, lucidity, and focus. Knowing where we want to go in our life. So that we don't make exaggerations. Because it is not uncommon to make exaggerated interpretations of these verses. Chapter 6, the wise man, Panditavaga, 76. Consider those who point out your flaws as if they were selling you treasures. Follow the wise man who

reproves your mistakes. In fact, being in such company is a great good, not a bad one. Realize that one thing is a critic, another thing is a wise man, another thing is a good friend. You have to have the sensitivity to realize. Those who point out a mistake, wanting to help you get out of it, wanting to enlighten you so you don't fall into an abyss, is that purely critical one, who points out a mistake so you can somehow lower your value. Wanting to accentuate it above your accents. We have to, at a certain moment,

learn to discern, to have sensitivity, so that we don't close ourselves to any learning that may come. When we look back, we remember a teacher, a relative, or even a father, who pointed out a mistake, and that was a watershed in our life. What allowed us to see, to note, to reflect, to mature and to overcome. Therefore, it was of exceptional value. A compliment would not have been so useful. But we have to learn to assimilate and realize when it is a constructive criticism, which really guides us towards growth, and when it is merely a

softness that wants to pin us down. We can close ourselves in relation to any type of correction. Cicero, when he talks about friendship, he also talks about it, I think it's beautiful. Your friend should be exactly that. He who falls on your shoulder says, Oops, not that way, boy! What are you thinking? Are you crazy? It doesn't make sense. Have you forgotten who you are? Who has a friend who is able to do that? He has a jewel. And today we want those who adulate us, who are never friends, who are the first to run

when you actually fall into the abyss. So this discernment, not to deny yourself the criticism, but to know how to separate, as it is said in Christianity, the jewel of the wheat. 78. Do not have as friends those who practice evil. Another verse that is good to be taken to radical interpretations. Not having as friends does not mean that you will not have compassion, will not help the person, will not include them in your heart. From this and many other philosophies, the mission of man is to have all humanity, all nature, inside his heart. But

everything at the right distance and rhythm. I have given this example many times to you, but it is worth repeating. The example of the sun with the planets. The sun of life, all the planets, those that stop life, obviously. The sun illuminates, warms, all of them. However, it does not stick to any of them. It is each one at its distance and at its rhythm. Each thing at its distance and at its rhythm, you can illuminate the whole world. If you talk, for example, about the Pantanal jaguar, I would be able, and I guarantee that

you too, to sign a signed down, defending its preservation, wanting its preservation and even wanting to contribute in some way. But that does not mean that I will put the Pantanal jaguar inside my apartment. That would be nonsense. So we have to love, but know how to keep things in their place, each one in its role. This is the concept of platonic justice, even. So for my intimacy, for that person who guides me when I'm falling, and that I can guide her, and that she shares my dreams, that is, a true friend has to be

something very well selected. Now, solidarity, compassion with everyone, this cannot exclude anyone. It is a world that we have to fit everyone and fit harmoniously, but each thing in its place. All cells fit in my body, but each one in its place. So select those we call friends well, so that this relationship is constructive. There is an interesting thing that also has to do with the law of Dharma and Karma, which says the following, that there is a Dharma and a collective Karma. There are people who unite to help each other to grow. And there

is a collective Karma. There are people who unite and one holds on to the other and no one grows. We have to know in what name we unite with each other. Our most intimate and deepest relationships have to be of solidarity to grow together. And we call this friendship, philosophical friendship. 81 The wise remains unperturbed by censorship or praise. It is also an important thing to understand. It is not bad to censor or praise someone, evidently, with due criterion. And when a person has value, we feel obliged to do it. Now, exaggerated praises or exaggerated

criticism are not indicated, neither to those who profess them nor to those who receive them. Understand that the whole process of evolution consists in us valuing our being about this material packaging that we inhabit in the world. If we start to give an excessive value to this packaging, at a certain moment we start to forget about being. Our focus returns to it. So the process of acquiring wisdom consists in diving and finding oneself. Everything that pulls us out and holds us is delaying our path. So we have to understand, we remember a little of that

musical, of the Phantom of the Opera, where Eric was there, for those who know the musical, who pulled the consciousness of Christine to understand the beautiful, to express the beautiful, and the stage with Raul, who was his biggest fan, who pulls Christine to want recognition on the stage of life, to want the applause, and in the end steals Christine from Eric, which was his essence, his deepest self, which was expressed through his voice. This kind of modern myth, which is the Phantom of the Opera, shows this. That everything that pulls us to value our personality

excessively, or to be excessively concerned with the flaws and defects of the personality, without giving it an educational touch, can hold us in the matter. We have to be careful with that, not to have so much sensitivity to criticism and praise. It's not us when we shine. What shines is Eric's voice through our throat. It's not us who are worthy of so many applause. Through me, something much higher shines. I am a message writer, as Steven Pressfield says. I write the dictates of heaven. We are more or less that, when we do good things. 83

In any circumstance, the wise man does not use futile words, nor let himself be led by desire. Pain and joy do not change him. You will see that this is very similar to what developed in the West in the Stoic school. Not letting the circumstances drag you, having an internal determination. It is important that we realize that it does not mean, once again, that I cannot savor joys or suffer pain. It means that neither should take me out of the way. So, pleasures, pains, and sufferings will be perceived by our consciousness, and will generate effects

in our consciousness. But neither of them could have the power to steal our way, to take us out of our goal. 89 One whose mind is trained in all the degrees of knowledge that leads to light, detached from everything, for whom renunciation is happiness, and whose passions and desires were subjugated, this, even in this life, reaches Nirvana. How interesting, these traditions are paradoxical. This, even in this life, that is, now, at this moment, here in my house, if I had conditions for that, Nirvana would be here. Nirvana is not a place, nor is it a

time. It is a state of consciousness, which happens when man is in the world, but is not from the world. He floats over the world, benefiting in the best possible way. But he does not believe so much in material circumstances, he does not feel like an owner of anything, he is not attached to anything, but at the same time, he gives the best he can give to the world. This is interesting, right? Notice that whoever feels like an owner of an object, does not treat it as well as someone who is detached and does not

feel like an owner of anything. Who is detached gives his best. Who feels like an owner, only takes care of things while they serve me. So the detached man is the most loving of men. He will say, this man whose mind is trained to seek knowledge, seek the light, every time this opportunity arises, he is always in search of light, in search of good, he is detached from everything, and the more he has the opportunity to give, the happier he is. This is a man who, in this state of spirit, reaches Nirvana, here and now.

He does not need to seek other announced worlds, it is here and now, Nirvana. He is not connected, nor is he trapped, nor is he in time, nor in space. He is a place of consciousness, which can be reached at any time. Chapter 7 The Arahant who reached spiritual perfection. Arahantavaga. In verse 90 it says, There is no more suffering for those who have traveled the path and attained infinite freedom. This one has freed himself of all the shackles, extinguished the burning fever of living. Notice how interesting, because this is the purest state of freedom

that we can conceive. He no longer depends on anything, he has freed himself of all the shackles that held him to matter, he does not desire recognition, he does not desire possession, he is not jealous, he is not attached to any material. Everything he needs to feed him comes from above, comes from within, he floats over the world, he does not weigh over the world. This is a free man. This is interesting, because today the use of freedom that we make, of the word freedom, often has to do with freeing oneself from commitments, freeing oneself

from anything that deprives us of the instincts of passions. That is, freeing oneself from what raises us, to surrender to the shackles. To hold on to the animal self, to the passions that enslave you to the world, that make you desire a thousand things and get stuck to it. I say this to be very careful. Philosophy is like a new literacy. Be careful when people say they love freedom. Look at what she wants to free herself from. If she wants to free herself from a commitment that could raise her consciousness, if she wants to free

herself from a responsibility that could develop her determination, her will, her intelligence, she does not love freedom, she loves slavery. She wants to free herself from any rope that could rescue her from this well. That this is not freedom. So we are gradually learning to better understand the word freedom. 94 The devas themselves, gods, admire those whose senses were wisely domed, like a corsel for his rider, and who freed himself from all pride and passions. So sometimes we see in movies, because I'm not from this area, I don't understand much, but people who ride horses,

who participate in races, who see that brave, impetuous corsel, he can be very good for a race, but he has to let himself be dominated by the rider, because otherwise it is useless. As brave and agile as he is, if he does not obey the rider's command, he is not good for a race, a sports competition, for example. More or less, this is life. We do not participate in a competition or a race, but we have a goal, we have to get somewhere. We are here to fulfill ourselves as human beings, to reach the fullness

of the human condition, and benefit as many people as possible with it. Set an example for those who follow behind. This is our goal, values, virtues, wisdom. To get there, we need a horse that obeys our command. So when we conceive freedom, when we speak little, it is to leave the wild horse. While true freedom is to tame the horse. Passions are tasty, but they do not drag me out of my identity, my principles and my values. It's like a good chocolate, I like it, but I'm not going to change my way of life for

a chocolate bar, or for a factory. That is, that this is subordinated, not eliminated, but subordinated to the will of our higher consciousness. 97 Among all, the most excellent of men is the one who has no blind faith, knows the uncreated, nirvana, renounced all desire and broke the shackles of the world, destroying the elements of new births. Remember what we talked about in the first lecture, at the beginning, that the conception of Buddhism is not to improve the conditions of the walker in the future, it is to free him from this material path, making him

no longer need to be in the world. And for that, understand the game of forces of the world and no longer desire. No longer wish to participate in this game. Wanting to enter a state of harmony with the whole, serving the whole, and not participate in this permanent race for benefit only of the part. A lot of organic matter that we call little self. So, overcoming this great race will require some conditions from men. First, if you want to merge the unity, you have to believe that unity exists, it is possible. And practice it at

this moment in the best way you can. Any kind of blind faith fragments the world. Blind faith, in the first place, somehow, takes something in the middle of the way and has an exaggerated idolatry. And this idolatry makes us, instead of evolving towards beings, we want them to repel us, to pull us up. Isn't that positive? I told you about Saint Francis of Assisi. If I have a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi and I get inspired by him to be better, good. If I have a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi and I do

nothing, I hope he solves the problems for me. It's not so good anymore. So, all kinds of blind faith, in a way, transfers to some being our responsibility to grow. And we settle in. And in addition to a series of other consequences that will not go into detail. Blind faith is one of the things that the Dhammapada asks that man avoid. One thing is admiration, a devotional love for a very great being. Another thing is blind faith, which you know has had disastrous historical consequences. In addition to freeing oneself from desire, passions, from everything that

attaches it to the world and makes it feel like it owns something. Chapter 8 Better than thousands, Sarasavaga Verse 100 Better than thousands of words, is a simple word that gives peace to those who hear it. I live repeating this, I think it's wonderful. Better than thousands of words, is a single word that gives peace to those who hear it. I worry a lot about thinking, at this point in my life, have I already said this word? Have I already given my message? Have I already added something to the world? We have a lot of

noise around us. How many real words are around us? Stop to think how many real words you have heard in your life. The one that is able to bring comfort to those who hear it. Not only how many you heard, but how many you pronounced. Our word, even if it is only one, pronounced, gives meaning to our life. We do not exist in vain. And it does not exist, sometimes we think that those who love life very much, preserve it too much, they waste it. Preserving life is making it useful to humanity, to the manifested

universe as a whole. Give your message. Every humanity expects you to pronounce your word and needs it. So, finding this commitment within yourself, is one of the commitments that pulls us up. Continuing in 101, he will say, to a thousand verses, disproved of sense, it is preferable a simple verse, that gives peace to those who hear it. I have already told you a lot about this, that many wonderful, magnificent works, that enlightened humanity, were very small. Sometimes phrases that change our life, are tiny, they give a touch, they pull us up. Especially when there is

this philosophical spirit, I also commented on this in the last lecture, the philosopher lights up with ideas. More than anything else, a philosopher is looking for answers in the plan of ideas. An idea is able to shed light on the crossroads he is living. So a sentence, sometimes, a small book. It is no coincidence that Confucius said, for example, that if he had 50 more years of life, they asked him what he would read, he said, I would read the I Ching or I Ching 50 times more. Sometimes in a few things, we can generate

a lot of reflection. It does not mean fanatizing yourself and repeating that a thousand times. But some very noble things, can generate a lot of reflection, to synthesize our own answers. Own answers, maturity, inner life. That's what we came to build here. Verse 103, is one of the best known, that we have within the Dhammapada. The most glorious is not the one who wins in battle, thousands of men, but the one who wins himself. One of the elements that the Dhammapada is quite reiterative, is the idea that the outer war is established, when we fail

in the inner war. The enemy penetrates, the external enemy, by the cracks that our inner enemy left. Therefore, more than the one who defeats an entire army, is the one who wins himself. Especially if we consider that when we lock up an inner battle, we get confused with the enemy. It requires not only courage, not only bravery, but discernment. In the external battle, you know exactly who you are fighting with. This person positions himself, you position yourself in relation to him. Inside, you get confused with the enemy. Sometimes you give him the weapon to attack

you. Sometimes you surrender to be killed. We get confused with our defects, with our vices. Therefore, the inner battle requires not only courage and bravery, it requires discernment, it requires identity. Whoever wins it is almost inexhaustible in the external battle. Remember that in the beautiful book, The Art of the War of Sun Tzu, he talks exactly about this. That a good warrior does not fight. When the fight is established on the outside, it means that he was not so good. A good warrior has an aura of being unwavering, unattackable. Nothing dares to advance against him.

He is so solid, so victorious about himself. He is a wise man. So it is quite interesting to reflect on this verse, number 103. Verse number 106. If month after month and for a century, we offer sacrifices to the thousands, and if for a moment we pay homage to a perfect being, this moment is worth more than a hundred years of sacrifice. Another element that we have commented a lot. The posture we have in relation to what is sacred. The idea of ​​sacrifice, in general, is to make an offering, so that something is given to

us. I always tell you about the example of the statue of Saint Francis of Assisi. Imagine that I have a great admiration for this saint, who in fact has, and puts this statue in my house. And I position myself in front of him, every time I have a moment of weakness, so that he inspires me to be greater. Since he was so generous, so kind, so that he inspires me to overcome my selfishness. This is an element. It is an element of admiration, of homage to a perfect being. Number two is to have this same

statue of Saint Francis of Assisi, and in his moments of weakness, remain in my weakness and ask him to solve the problems for me. This is the idea of ​​offering for obtaining favors. It is a superficial type of relationship with the sacred. He says that a moment of true admiration for a perfect being, or more perfect than us, in the case of Saint Francis, is worth much more than a lifetime of a sacrifice aimed at solving personal problems, personal dramas, aimed at the interests of our own personality. When we recognize the greatness of a being,

we are out of the limitations of our personality, so small. We dream of being as great as they are. Remember the biblical passage, Be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect. That is, we position ourselves before something great, as a great father to whom the little son dreams of comparing himself to. So a moment like this has an aura of sacred, greater than a lifetime of offerings, aiming to obtain favors. Realize that this is something very strong, even today. Said 2,600 years ago, it is something very forceful. That is, already in its origins, Buddhism

speaks of a series of possible decadences in the relationship of man with God. Decadences that, in our historical moment, remain perhaps even more intense. It gives a good reflection. Verse 110 says, But a single day is worth living in virtue and meditation, which for a hundred years delivers the passions. Deep down we know that we have a very great particularity. We are conscious beings, self-conscious. We have the reflexive consciousness. We know we're going to die one day. We know the finitude of life. We know the illusion of the things we live. And yet we ignore

this reality. Undisputable, unquestionable, to live according to fantasies. To live according to things we know we will necessarily lose. A day of lucidity in relation to what is really sacred, true. What really belongs to us, our essence, our values. It's worth more than a whole life of illusions. So, I reiterate something we've talked about a moment ago. Let's reflect on time. What is a lot of time? What is living a lot? It is living a life of a hundred years, totally focused on our selfishness and selfish interests of our personality. Or a day of lucidity.

We would probably prefer to be with a lucid man for a day, than a superficial man for a hundred years. Later he will also talk about this great opportunity to be close to the good. How this should be provided with one of the best opportunities in life. It gives us a reference of how big we can be. And don't think it's being physically close. Because we can be so close, for example, to a Confucius or a Plato, that we feel closer to them than to our neighbor at the door. Proximity is not something merely conditioned

to time and space, as we know it. Continuing... 111 to 115, I summarized because they are a series of very similar verses, he will say that it is worth a single day lived in wisdom, in meditation, in courage, in the correct effort, in contemplation of the path to the overcoming of death, in contemplation of the supreme truth, a single day, than a hundred years given to foolishness, to lack of control, to indolence, to dissipation, to ignorance of the transitory, to ignorance of the path and of the supreme truth. That is, a single day endowed with

meaning justifies a life. It is incredible to think that a relatively long life, according to our time standards, may not have a single day of this quality. A day like this justifies an entire existence. It has not been lived in vain. Sometimes we should go back to realize when was our day. And if it was not yet, when will it be? These efforts of ours have been directed to build this prime work of human existence, which is our perfect day. The day that will be worth our presence in life. The day that will justify us

as human beings. By your works I will recognize you. What day will it be that people will look and say, here a human being has passed. Have we already built this day? Or is it yet to come? Are we walking to him? So it also gives an excellent, strong reflection. Each verse forces us to rethink our whole life. This is one of the books that turns us upside down. And it is necessary. We have to see what exists inside us in all its details. It is a moment of courage, of confrontation with oneself. Continuing in

chapter 9, we will talk about evil. Papavaga, 116. Hurry to good. Leave behind bad thoughts. Doing good with slowness is to please oneself in evil. That is, we have to be aware not only of our omissions, for not wanting to do, but our omissions for losing the natural compass of life. There is a concept within the Indian law of karma, which speaks of future karma. Imagine that you follow at the speed that is proper to you, towards the future. No hurry and no pause. But always walking towards the construction of oneself. At a certain moment

in the future, you will cross paths with someone who needs you. Someone for whom you are the last chance. If you waste time in the middle of the way, you will not be present for this commitment. And maybe this last opportunity has been lost to that person, and the next step is an abyss. Understand, the future calls us. We have a commitment to the future. And losing the step for any nonsense in the middle of the way, for concessions to nonsense, to small nonsensical things of our personality, the future charges us for that. Because we

would have to be on time for a meeting with those who need us. And we will not be there. And we do not know what will happen to those who would need us. So be careful, because doing good with slowness is, in a way, being an accomplice to evil. That is, it is not only for action, but also for omission, for inertia, for indolence. Continuing in the 117th, If someone commits some evil that is not repented, do not rejoice. Of bad consequences is to accumulate evil. Notice that this detail is very interesting. Do not rejoice.

There is something interesting about it. Plato spoke about the difference between shame and shame. Shame is to be ashamed of doing what is good. This is negative. I am ashamed to give advice to someone. This is negative. Now shame is to be ashamed of doing what is bad. This is necessary. When we make mistakes, and in addition to making mistakes, we put our mistakes in the showcase, it means a shameless person. Therefore, it is much more difficult for you to correct this moral damage. We live in a historical moment where mistakes are taken for granted,

and people are proud to say that they are in certain ways. I am like that. This is my way of being. That is, the loss of shame for Plato, was a high degree of loss of moral structure, of moral fiber. So, the one who made a mistake, at least, do not rejoice with evil. Because this already implies a level of consciousness even lower than that who made the mistake. To be pleased with evil, to rejoice with it. 124 Poison does not penetrate the hand where there is no wound. Nor does evil reach those who do

not practice it. It is very interesting. If we see the annals of great battles that have occurred in history, we will realize that, in general, a general, an enemy army, does not penetrate a country if it does not have allies in there. Ancient traditions say that the gap of our defects opens a door for external enemies to penetrate. This has been since the Peruvian tradition, the Inca, where it was said that you were able to cure everything that came from outside. But what came from outside and had internal accomplices, could not be cured. Within the

samurai tradition, it was said that the gap of unconsciousness is where the sword cuts the thread. That is, the sword does not penetrate, but at that point that my consciousness left the door open. So, when we are attacked, we should imagine that perhaps the external element has been opportunistic and penetrated by a point that our internal defeat left exposed. And maybe this external enemy is useful in that sense. A samurai thanked the sword that showed him where he was unconscious. The gap of unconsciousness is where the sword cuts the thread. Well, then the sword thread

was a powerful advisor and showed me where I am with threads. So it is important that we think, because this takes away from us the habit of transferring responsibilities to the third. I am responsible for what happens to me. We would have to enter here into the stoic doctrine, the stoic philosophy that speaks very clearly about this. Nothing happens to man that is not his own. And transferring your responsibilities is just a way to delay growth itself. As Epictetus would say, the extinction of guilt marks the beginning of moral progress. No one is guilty, neither

outside nor inside. There is a king, I will correct. So let's correct and let's keep moving forward. Notice that they are traditions that intertwine, coming from everywhere. 127 Neither in the air, nor in the depths of the ocean, nor in the caves of the mountains, in no place in the world can we shelter from the result of the evil practiced. That is, going back to the history of the law of karma, which is action and reaction, once the action is committed, there is no place where you hide from the reaction. The reaction is inevitable, it

is a law of the universe. Newton enumerated this in his laws. It is the same law, but applied to the more subtle plane, to the plane of actions, to the psychological plane, to the mental plane. That is, what was projected, returns to us. And there is no place where you can hide from the return of your actions. Therefore, it is good to reflect on it when you commit them, or when they return, to reflect on where I threw this stone that now falls on my head. Why did I throw it? Because the return of our

actions teaches us to generate new causes with a higher level of consciousness and responsibility. There is no way to drop a stone and find a refuge that protects you from its return. This would break the laws of nature. Helena Blavatsky, who was a great philosopher, said, for those who believe in gods, for some polytheistic tradition, or even for those who are monotheistic and believe in God, a single God, she said the following, Do not ask God or the gods to exempt you from the consequences of the actions you have already committed. Because they are gods

for obeying the law and not for transgressing it. They are also subject to the law. It would not be worthy for us to ask them to transgress a law for us. They are also subject to it. For those who do not know Ramayana, which is a great Indian classic, it is nothing more than the story of a divine being that generates karma and is forced to pay it. The whole story is summarized in this. Let's continue. Chapter 10 Terrestrial ear punishment, Dan of the Vaga, verse 131 He who, in search of his own happiness, makes

others suffer who also desire it, will not find it in this life or in any other. I can consider this, and I often use it in ethics lectures, almost as an ethical axiom. Your happiness should never depend on other people's suffering. Your joy should never depend on other people's pain. If we took this seriously, many serious problems we have in today's society would be solved. For example, our notion of victory. In general, today, our victory depends on the failure of many. It is to be on top of a podium supported by several defeated. We need

someone to suffer so that we can rejoice. This is immoral as a basis. This immoral principle, well followed, would lead us to fraternity. Reflect on this. Our pleasure should never depend on other people's pain. Our happiness depends on the humiliation and suffering of any being. We should reflect and implant more and more. Because this is a moral principle that leads us on a short path to fraternity. Verse 133 Never use heavy words. Sooner or later, the reply comes and brings the suffering back. Like someone who throws dust against the wind. Professor Jorge Angel Livraga, the

founder of Nova Acrópole, said something very interesting, which is the principle of diplomacy. Introduce your will into the world with minimal damage. That is, to say what is fair to say. But worrying about not causing damage. Worrying about saying it in the softest way possible. Doing what must be done. But worrying about not hurting. We notice that sometimes, with the same sentence, do this exercise, I already did it in a speech class, for example. A same sentence, said by different people. This one does not offend, and this one does. Because behind it there is a

whole emotional load. There is a lack of care and attention to other people's feelings. Even if it is word for word. In a tone of voice that you are concerned about making it seem more or less equivalent. But what is behind it, hurts in this case, does not hurt in that one. So we should try to introduce our will into the world with minimal damage. This is diplomacy. A virtue that today is so little understood and confused with hypocrisy. Step on the world like someone stepping on a silk paper. Our professor Michel Euchenique, who brought

Nova Acrópole to Brazil, talked about it. The great wise men walked on a silk paper leaf without leaving any mark. But they did not stop walking around the world. They did not stop, but they stepped without leaving any mark. This is an old oriental tale of martial arts traditions. 136 Practicing evil out of ignorance, an insensate forgets that it lights the fire that will burn him one day. Then there would be a whole discussion. Well, practicing evil out of ignorance. There are people who do not practice out of ignorance, they practice intentionally. We analyze this

even from a legal point of view, this is pain and guilt. But deep down, if we look at it from a higher step, we will realize that both cases are ignorance. To think that the evil of the other can bring you some benefit, is a greater ignorance, and of greater consequences, than the one who simply makes mistakes out of negligence, imperiousness, and imprudence. So both cases are ignorance. A more rooted ignorance in the case of the one who has the intention. An ignorance that ignores the fundamental laws of life. So looking from a higher angle,

it is an even more rough and difficult ignorance to fight. Deep down, all mistakes are the children of ignorance, which is the greatest of evils. 141 The habit of walking naked, the braided hair in the way of the ascetes, the fasts, sleeping on the floor, covering oneself with ashes or dust, sitting still on the heels in penance and prostration, none of this purifies the mortal who has not purified himself of desire and doubt. See, once again I draw your attention to how this is bold and current. He will talk about a series of ostentations, of

devotion, of reverence to the sacred, that have no internal reflection, and that do not point any point towards human evolution, do not point any point towards the ideal. Remember what I was telling you, making a parallel with Greek mythology, that we have the time of Cronos and the time of Zeus, and before that, the Chaos and Uranus. And when we ask where we are today, people say, we are in the time of Cronos. We are not in the time of Cronos. Cronos is time measured by the displacement we have towards Olympus, the world of Zeus,

eternity. If you meet a person today who has X defects, and in ten years you meet again and she has X defects, only the biological one fulfilled its programming. The psychological, mental, moral, spiritual, is held at the same point. This person did not enter time, she is in the pre-time, in a primordial chaos. So we have to realize that something that boasts a whole appearance of sacred, but that inside, did not take a single step towards Olympus, the human ideal, there was no time for this person, and this is distributed by value. We have a

popular saying that applies perfectly here, that story that the habit does not make the monk. You know that this is an exchange with the word habit. Habit as the monk's clothes and habit as a custom. So the one who simply has the monk's clothes, but inside he has no perception of what is temporal, of what is eternal, this does not make a monk, simply the clothes. Now the habit, in the sense of custom, of living this knowledge, integrating it, ingesting it and assimilating it, this does make the monk. So what he is talking about here

is a hypocrisy of appearances, appearances of great devotion, which inside has no kind of reflection, no reflection about what is temporal, what is one, which is the main attribute of God. And this is very common, it was in that time. And remember that Buddhism was born in a time of decline of Hinduism, it is the time of the Darsanas, of the schools of philosophy, it is a very troubled time. But even today, after 2,600 years, we still fight the same problem. We still have this religious appearance that often does not reflect inside. So realize how

we have progressed from a technical point of view and from a human point of view, maybe we were there 2,600 years ago. Because all these things are still the word of the day, we still live exactly that. 145 The good man, himself, controls himself. And this, once again, I always tell you about what would be the continuation of that maxim of the temple of Delphi. Man knows himself, controls himself, transmutes himself. So at a certain moment, this vehicle, which is personality, with all the tools it has, of instinct, of procreation, of species preservation, of survival,

all its passions, all this has to be domesticated and put at the service of our human life. Without this, we have no conditions. It's like wanting to get somewhere inside a car that doesn't obey us. If our vehicle is not dominated, if we do not know how to guide it well, any knowledge is only in the intellectual plane. And when we move, we don't reflect this knowledge we think we have. We think we have. It is useful knowledge that makes us better. Honor the truths with practice. That is, when you move, I see that it

is in fact what you believe. Socrates himself told his students, act so that I can see you. Today we stop here, so I hope you have time to follow the reading of the book. Remember, we are doing a commented reading, and not just a lecture where you watch passively. The idea is that you can assimilate something of this classic, which, as you can see, has universal teachings. Regardless of a Buddhist religion or a time, they are humanly precious teachings, and they serve any man, of any time and any place. Reflect a little about it. Until

then.