You Are A Must-read Book

You Are A Must-read Book
November 01, 2009By Phramaha Piya Uttamapanno (Jundadal)
We all agree that we want happiness and hate suffering. We live in a world of high technology where people seem to have everything needed to make them happy. And yet modern men and women, despite their many conveniences and medical aids, are still unhappy. Why?
I believe that the answer to this lies within ourselves. We simply do not spend time getting to know ourselves. Ajaan Chah, a famous meditation master, said in a speech to graduate students, "You have been reading many books and watching many movies; Now, I would like you to stop doing that and begin reading and watching yourself."
How much time do you spend watching yourself everyday? The first step in following the Buddhist way is to know yourself. We know so much about the world but so little about ourselves.
Knowing yourself is the first step toward happiness. As the Lord Buddha stated, "In this one-fathom-long body (about six feet), along with perceptions and thoughts, I proclaim the world, the origin of the world, the end of the world and the path leading to the end of the world."
When people ask me how they should begin studying Buddhism, I reply that one must begin by learning about oneself. In Pali, the ancient language which the Lord Buddha used to preach, there is a very important word, "sikkha." Sikkha means study or understanding yourself and is derived from two other words: "sa," meaning yourself, and "ikkha," meaning to see or understand. Going a little deeper, sikkha also has the flavor of trying to understand ourselves by reading the often complex book of ourselves, our mind and body together. Knowing how to read your special book will bring you happiness.
Learning how to read and know yourself takes dedication and practice. It takes effort, but it is worth the effort because you will find happiness and peace. Let me finish with the words of Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, who said, "He who knows other is wise, he who knows himself is enlightened."