Bhante Sujatha | The Power Of Storytelling

This Dharma talk explores the power of storytelling in the Buddha’s teaching, using a vivid acrobat story to illuminate personal responsibility, balance, and the “selfish blessed journey” of caring for yourself so you can truly care for others. Bhante Sujatha compassionately challenges common ideas about love, attachment, and sacrifice, inviting you to step into your own practice with honesty, courage, and a deep commitment to inner peace that naturally ripples out to the world.

Transcript

Okay good morning everybody okay so when you are reading or studying buddha's teaching one thing i actually few things i observed maybe you observe it too he's using lots of stories to share his teaching once upon a time there was an acrobat this acrobat is a one of the famous acrobat in that area in that society lots of students come to him and learning how to do those performance doing training so during that time so this acrobat master he had the invitation to do a big performance middle of the city center i am using modern words okay and so i make it modern now so can you understand so then then this master acrobat he accepted that invitation then he was processing and thinking okay maybe next week i have to do this show uh it's a big commitment i need assistant so he was thinking of all the students under him they are training then he was thinking the young lady now think about like 19 years old maybe she's very smart very talented maybe she's the one as a trainee i want to take her to this show to get some help then what this master said talk to that young lady and said next week i have a show do you want to come and support me and help me then right away she was so excited she said yes master i will join then they left early show now master is talking and thinking to himself what are the things i'm going to do this in this show then he was thinking to him he made little plan in his mind oh he know his techniques but i'm doing with a train you know young lady she's under training so therefore i want to communicate with her how we are going to do this show so then this great master explaining to this young lady you know listen i'm going to do this show today then the young lady said master what you are going to do i'm so excited explain to me then he said look at what i have this tall long bamboo pole you can make that imagination in your mind i have this tall long bamboo pole what i'm going to do i'm going to balance this tall long bamboo pole my left shoulder just make an imagination what you have to do jump onto my right then climb all the way top of this bamboo pole stand top of it and share all the techniques i was teaching you that is the show so now i'm making it modern so that time we didn't have any safety net or anything right so they have to follow their gut feeling you know communicating and understanding each other so then master was thinking first i want to get the approval what we call when we are signing a paper agreement what is the word we are using here contract i want to make a contract so then master said i want to sign a contract with you because of safety issue that's what we do in america right so then then master said this is the contract it's very simple when i do this performance with you i am going to taking care of you i am going to taking care of you your job you are going to taking care of me then if you both are communicating like that then we can do the show so if you like this contract put the signature this young lady she was so smart so if somebody bring you a paper to like a contract you read it right first why you are reading it you want to understand it if you cannot understand it you call a friend and asking could you please explain to me even friend say oh i cannot explain to you then you hire a lawyer to explain to you then she was smart she said master give me some time to think then she returned without putting her signature and said i am sorry master i am not accepting your contract can i change it then master said of course you have a right to change it because this is your life your safety okay then she was processing and thinking she changed the contract and she said i'm ready to do it but this is the contract i want to sign if you agree with let's do it when we are doing this dangerous performance i am going to taking care of myself you are going to taking care of yourself what master said i am going to taking care of you you are going to taking care of me now girl says i am going to taking care of myself you are going to taking care of yourself those are the two contracts now now i am asking you all buddha has the same question from the monks which contract don't put into the right or wrong bags that's how people judge always oh what is right one what is wrong one don't put into the right just think think and consider without being right or wrong which one you think is a proper one to pick okay okay thank you anybody else anybody everybody agree what thad said i think you are very meditative people i think that's it so anyway you know when i'm asking you when i'm telling this story some people say some people telling me we are going to pick what master says i think it is very general statement most of the general public that's how people think that's why we get into the trouble it makes sense we are not ready to take the responsibility for our challenges and difficulties then we are thinking bantay sujatha will help me to meditate of course i'm going to but i cannot do for you my mother cannot do for me i cannot do for her so that means now think about tuesday morning you came to meditation to the temple maybe your husband or wife they are home maybe they are busy then you can say honey don't worry i will go by myself i will meditate for you you can say i will go to the grocery store for you you can say that right but you cannot say i can for you you can say if you want to meditate if you want to find inner peace you go i go today next week you go that's how we talk now think about now they are doing this performance okay now i am asking you to do this performance what are the qualities do they have to have to do a perfect show what are the qualities they need balance okay what else strength trust convince themselves yeah yeah present and focus determination communication what else belief understanding what else awareness okay yes yes sense of humor doesn't work out right respect respect accept let go now think about to do a perfect show how many great qualities they have to have to focus on now think about life now look put that analogy into your life to be peaceful to be happy to be content joyful what are the qualities do you want all the qualities you want to have in your life as a meditation practitioner have a peaceful life it is so powerful right so therefore life is exactly like what like a circus all right always going up and down there is a challenges difficulties broken trust no communication difficult to believe difficult to let go so many challenges is coming why we don't have those qualities therefore today what i am reminding you how many years i was teaching this in this building only this building how many years now 25 years i am teaching be selfish don't misunderstand my words okay be selfish what is that means take care of yourself first before you take care of others so what siddhartha did when he was in the palace he figured it out something not right even he has all the luxurious life what he did he did selfless blessed journey you know i call the now self selfish blessed journey that's what i call this makes sense now selfish blessed journey but whatever selfish blessed journey he is taking by himself what other people did they accuse him everybody said he's a bad father he's a bad husband he's not care about his family he's so selfish of course he was selfish but it was a blessed journey for thousands of millions of people in the world whatever practice you do to yourself today in this present moment you are not just doing for yourself it is a selfish blessed journey it is so powerful to me that word selfish blessed journey can you do that yes my suggestion for you today loves love yourself no matter what sometimes people i know people love me i love them too sometimes people say bantay i love you so much then i said me too so one day i don't know middle of nowhere that word came out as a joke now i'm using it as a teaching right after that somebody made me a big mug i love myself still i have that mug in sri lanka right now in my kitchen in sri lanka i love myself therefore after this class somebody come to me and fall in love with you oh gus i love you so much right then you can say me too before you get go to bed tonight you can tell your husband or wife you know you know somebody say i love you so much then you can say me too turn other side and sleep you can see what is the reaction of the people so one day somebody said when i use that term you know i love myself oh bantay very difficult to even love you now you know it's a joke i said when i say it i love myself it means i love you too make sense without you know otherwise i feel i am putting emotional love to other people emotional love never exist it is next to emotional love there's excitement when excitement walk away after for a while what will happen to that emotional love turn into what boredom yes boredom what else disappointment anger resentment i will tell you another story my own experience when i was in a mchenry county college long time ago i think 2003 so there was a person he was always in my class with me so then after one semester we went to the different classes so one day when i go through the cafeteria i saw this young man sitting with a young lady and eating pizza and talking to each other i i was thinking maybe they are lovers now but i don't want to distract even my friend i just just wave and i try to walk away then he said bandi please come come and sit with me sit with us then being kind to them i was sitting with them then he introduced that young lady to me bandi this is my beautiful girlfriend you know that time 20s that time how excited right and so she's so pretty bandi i love her so much then i was oh wonderful what are you talking about right now no we are planning to marry so we are planning our wedding i said congratulation so i don't want to interact too much with them because i have a class too then i said okay congratulation i walk away like three years later this is another story okay three years later i was in the school again i saw my friend holding his backpack on the hallway i said hey matt how are you doing long time no see how is how is how is wife doing you know i asked thousand questions then he was look so sad he said and they forget about it i asked what happened then these are the words came out she ruined my life i hate her so much then i can see his emotion i hold his hand even i'm busy going to the classroom i said let's sit talk like a five minute then i calm him down so now i'm telling you know then i ask him do you remember like three years ago how you introduced your girlfriend to me how he asked me you said she's so pretty i love her so much i'm going to marry her then i ask him mad what will happen to that love then he said did i say that i said you did that's why i keep asking you my god if i said it that's not true think about it now i'm asking you what is that love attachment that's attachment right so that's an emotional love therefore i don't believe that word love in this country sorry in english word so what i really see loving kindness people say i have so much unconditional love i don't believe that i'm very sorry i don't i don't believe it i don't say to people oh my god you know guys i have unconditional love for you no i don't have unconditional love for you no my love is conditioned that is my practice i have to be honest you know we call the maha karuna the buddha's kindness and compassion we call maha karuna great compassion so that great compassion is unconditional why is that he doesn't have attachment the way he after he attained the buddhahood way he loves his son his own son his blood he loves other sons the same way why it is not conditioned anymore why he took that attachment part out of his life as long as we have attachment our love is conditioned our love is conditioned my mother's love for me is a condition or unconditioned condition your love to your children and other children is a condition or unconditioned it is a condition how you feel about your son or your child your daughter is different but you have feeling for other children too but it's still different so in this moment please understand talk in the reality walk in the reality if you talk reality and live in reality that is the best way to live otherwise this practice is so difficult for us to follow now i know even this morning she was talking about going to dc actually so many people messaging me banti we cannot go to support those monks actually maybe five six people offered me free tickets to go but because of my prior arrangement i cannot you know go to then i'm asking myself if i go to that event i really support them of course being side by side with them i'm really supporting them of course that is the way to support them if i can go that's great nothing wrong with that please go that's the way to support now no that's not only way the support what is the best support we can do whatever those monks are trying to do trying to promote please plant that seed within you and take that seed outside and plant somewhere else so therefore instead of going there what i'm doing here i am promoting that same teaching same peace same day at the building of this beautiful temple wednesday evening we are doing live streaming therefore you can come we are doing global healing loving kindness meditation wednesday night here at the temple i think that is the best way to support each other while you are supporting to yourself that is my message for you today therefore today i am asking you before you become selfless journey go inward and be selfish then no need to be selfless make sense no need to be selfless after that your life your action your reaction your attitude your behaviors your smile where you look at other people everything turn into healing and loving kindness to the world that is the power within you so thank you so much thank you thank you