Panning for GOLD in creek bed (SUTRA)

Gold nuggets become bars, bars become coins and jewelry, which convert into cash

Metal detector signal under this boulder — we had to know what it was...praying

(How to Find Gold | Prospector Nic) May 26, 2025: Deep in a remote Aussie creek, Down Under, we locked onto a massive signal under the biggest boulder we’ve ever worked. The metal detector absolutely screamed — and we had to know what was down there. We spent four hours digging, shifting heavy rock, soaked in sweat and bush grit…and when we finally got to the target — it wasn’t what we expected. But GOLD has a funny way of testing one's patience. This hunt proves it: If you don’t quit, the gold eventually shows itself.

Tons of lost U.S. gold

How many tons of gold did Europeans extract?

SUTRA: Gold Prospectors

Translated by Dhr. Seven based on Ven. Sujata translation (AN 3.101)

“Raw [unprocessed native] gold has coarse impurities: soil, sand, gravel. A prospector or an apprentice gold panner pours it into another pan, where they wash, rinse, and clean it.

When those coarse impurities have been eliminated, there are middling impurities in the raw gold: dirt and grit.

The prospector washes it again. When those have been eliminated, there are fine impurities in the raw gold: fine black grime. The prospector washes it again. When that has been eliminated, only golden flecks remain.

A goldsmith or apprentice places the raw gold in a crucible where they heat, melt, then smelt it. Still the raw gold is not settled as the dross is not totally gone. The gold is not pliable, workable, or radiant, but rather is brittle and not yet ready to be worked.

The goldsmith keeps on heating, melting, and smelting it until the raw gold becomes pliable, workable, and radiant, no longer brittle but ready to be worked.

Then the goldsmith can successfully create any kind of ornament, bet it a bracelet, earring, necklace, or a golden garland.

(EGS PRO) This is what REAL gold rocks actually look like

In the same way, a monastic (wandering ascetic) committed to higher mind has coarse impurities (corruptions): unskillful bodily, verbal, and mental conduct. A sincere, capable monastic [in training] gives these up, gets rid of, lets go of, and eliminates them.

When they have been let go of and eliminated, there are middling impurities: thoughts of sensuality, malice, and cruelty. A sincere and capable monastic gives these up, lets go of, gets rid of, and eliminates them.

When they have been given up and eliminated, there are fine impurities: thoughts of family, country, and status. A sincere and capable monastic lets go of, gives these up, gets rid of, and eliminates them. When they have been given up and eliminated, only thoughts about the Teaching (Dharma) are left.

I'm not quite an adept yet. I still have to let go.

That absorption (immersion) is not yet peaceful or sublime, not yet tranquil or unified, but is held in place by forceful suppression [of the mental defilements].

However, there comes a time when mind is stilled internally; it settles, unifies, and becomes absorbed (immersed) in samādhi. That absorption is peaceful and sublime, tranquil and unified, not held in place by forceful suppression.

A monastic (a skillful trainee) extends the mind to realize by insight each and every thing that can be realized by insight; they are capable of realizing those things because each and every one is within range. More

How to get rich quick

With impurities eliminated, I could make $300K!

SUTRA: To the People of Venaga

(AN 3.63, Venāga Sutta) Translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi, edited by Dhr. Seven

...Then the Brahmin householders of Venāgapura approached the Blessed One [the Buddha].

Some paid homage and sat down respectfully to one side; some exchanged greetings with him and, when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, sat down to one side; some reverentially saluted him and sat down to one side; some pronounced their name and clan and sat down to one side; some kept silent and sat down to one side.

The Brahmin Vacchagotta of Venāgapura then said to the Blessed One:

“It is astounding and amazing, Master Gotama [the Buddha], how Master Gotama’s faculties are tranquil and the color of his skin is pure and bright. Just as a yellow jujube fruit in the autumn is pure and bright, so Master Gotama’s faculties are tranquil and the color of his skin is pure and bright.

“Just as a palm fruit that has just been removed from its stalk is pure and bright, so Master Gotama’s faculties are tranquil and the color of his skin is pure and bright.

What is more valuable, gold or self-mastery?

“Just as an ornament of finest gold, well prepared by a skilled goldsmith and very skillfully wrought in the furnace, placed on red brocade, shines and beams and radiates, so Master Gotama’s faculties are tranquil and the color of his skin is pure and bright.”

High and luxurious beds

What's wrong with worldly luxury bedding?

[How are his beds? They must be very nice.] “Whatever high and luxurious kinds of bedding there are — sofa, divan, long-haired coverlet, coverlet of diverse colors, white, woolen with floral designs, quilt of cotton wool, woolen coverlet ornamented with animal figures, woolen coverlet with double borders, woolen coverlet with a single border, silken sheet studded with gems, sheet made with silk threads and studded with gems, dancer’s rug, elephant rug, horse rug, chariot rug, rug of antelope hide, spread made of the hide of the kadali-deer, bed with a canopy above and red bolsters at both ends — Master Gotama surely gains them at will without trouble or difficulty.”

“Brahmin, those high and luxurious kinds of bedding are rarely obtained by those who have gone forth [into the left-home life of a wandering ascetic or shramana], and if they are obtained, they are impermissible.

“But, Brahmin, there are three kinds of high and luxurious beds that at present I gain at will, without trouble or difficulty. What are these three?

“They are the celestial high and luxurious bed, the divine high and luxurious bed, and the noble high and luxurious bed. These are the three kinds of high and luxurious beds that at present I gain at will, without trouble or difficulty.”

More: AN 3.63: Venāgapura Sutta translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi (suttacentral.net)

Gear Used: Minelab GPX 6000 + Nugget Finder 12x7" Canon R7 DJI Mini 4 Pro GoPro Hero 11 DJI Osmo Action 5. Follow Prospector Nic: Website: howtofindgold.com.au Facebook: nicolas.odgers. Instagram: prospectornic1. TikTok: prospectornic. 📌 Want more Aussie gold adventures? Make sure to subscribe, hit the bell, and drop a comment — Nic reads them all. Cheers, legends! #goldprospecting #metal detecting #australiangold #gpx6000 #bedrockgold #prospectornic #goldnuggets #outbackadventures

Nicolas Odgers, How to Find Gold | Prospector Nic, May 26, 2025; Bhikkhu Bodhi, Bhikkhu Sujato (suttacentral.net); Dhr. Seven (trans), Amber Larson (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly