The young man: "Venerable Buddha, do not give me a heavy sermon. Tell me simply what you teach." The Buddha: "Very well. I will explain it to you simply. You have a son, do you not?" The young man: "Yes, I do." The Buddha: "Does your brother also have a son?" The young man: "Yes, he does." The Buddha: "Does your neighbor also have a son?" The young man: "Yes, he does, venerable sir." The Buddha: "Do people you do not even know also have sons?" The young man: "Yes, venerable sir." The Buddha: "Your son dies. What kind of suffering would arise in you?" The young man: "Venerable sir, a suffering so unbearable would arise. My whole world would shatter. I do not know what would become to me." The Buddha: "Your brother's son dies. What kind of suffering would arise in you?" The young man: "Venerable sir, some suffering would arise. But not as much as for my own son." The Buddha: "Your neighbor's son dies. What kind of suffering would arise in you?" The young man: "Venerable sir, a very slight suffering would arise. But not as much as for my brother's son." The Buddha: "The son of someone you do not know dies. What kind of suffering would arise in you?" The young man: "Venerable sir, no suffering at all would arise." The Buddha: "Then—suffering is relative to what?" *(The man thinks for a moment and answers:)* The young man: "Venerable sir, suffering is relative to the degree to which the mind grasps and holds as 'me' and 'mine.'" The Buddha: "Very good. When your son was small, you went to the seashore and built sand castles and played with him, did you not?" The young man: "Yes, venerable sir. I did." The Buddha: "When the waves came and broke the sand castles, did the little boy cry?" The young man: "Yes, venerable sir." The Buddha: "Did you cry along with him?" The young man: "No, venerable sir." The Buddha: "Why did you not cry?" The young man: "Venerable sir, the child cries because he thinks the sand castles are permanent, seeing only their beauty, and because his mind is strongly attached to them. But when I built the sand castle, I knew it was not permanent. Therefore, when it was destroyed, I did not cry." Have you now understood? If you too do not see things as they really are... then you are no different from the child who build sand castles on the beach... 🍃

"Oh, Buddha! Tell me simply—what is it that you teach?"

"Ones who are constantly yearning for this and that always seek refuge in gods, but for one who has stopped, who has no any fears having understood the unsatisfactory nature of life ends up in front of the Thathagatha."