Bhante Gunaratana

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Story from the Apadana illustrating the nature of Samsara.

"... if beings knew, as I know, the result of giving and sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor would they allow the stain of meanness to obsess them and take root in their minds. Even if it were their last morsel, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared it, if there were someone to share it with..." (The Buddha; Itivuttaka 26)

"Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-made. If one speaks or acts with an impure mind happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow." (The Buddha; Dhammapada 2)

"For one who is looking for an external aid to enlightenment, I see no greater help than an excellent friend" The Buddha, Iti 17

The origin of unhelpful thoughts, conceptual proliferation (papanca). See http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.018.than.html

Bhante Gunaratana talking about the Alagaddupama Sutta (M 22) with the simile of the snake's tail and the simile of the raft. See http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.022.than.html