The weight of 'what if' -- worry less

(Buddhism Prevails) How to worry less in hard times | Buddhist teachings in English

Peace Class, Deep Dive Poetry (10/22)

Our true nature is peaceful and loving

Peace Class, FREE on Zoom (prs.org)

Our true nature is loving and peaceful. Why, then, is there so much belligerence, negativity, hate, aggression, violence, and war in our society? It is because we have been caught in the “terrible twos” of our evolution.

When a child is 2 years old, it is natural and organic for that child to express itself by throwing fits when feeling frustrated or angry or sad — to cry, wail, bang fists, and kick. This behavior is common, natural, and we love our 2-year-old children as they transit through this evolutionary phase to adulthood.

I want what I want when I want it! Waaaah!

This behavior is so common that our culture has a name for it. We call it “the terrible twos.”

But soon a child is three years old, then four, then five. And it learns to ask for what it wants, and it learns to self-soothe. That is to say, it evolves. This progression, this refinement, this “evolution” is natural, just as the “terrible twos” was a natural phase to go through for a child.

Humanity has been in an extended expression of a kind of “terrible twos.” Loving parents understand that their two-year-old child will evolve out of certain maladaptive behaviors. And so that parent soothes the child, and loves the child, and soon, the child enters a new phase in its development.

Why, then, have we as humanity been “stalled” in our “terrible twos” for so long?

Deep Dive Poetry (live at Library of World Religions, PRS, Hollywood)

• Deep Dive Poetry (live in-person)
• Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, 7:30 pm
• The Philosophical Research Society
• 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Hollywood, CA

Feat. poet Suzanne Lummis (Lummis House)

It is because we have failed to understand that what we are experiencing is a phase—a temporary and brief transit on an evolutionary trajectory, growing pains.

Instead, we look at our own behavior and say, “Ah, this is just how we are. This is human nature. We get angry and we have fits, banging our fists. We are violent. That is our innate, inherent, and natural way of being. We can't be expected to change.”

This thoughtless assumption -- or actively promoted view by some in the biological and social sciences -- is a powerful misconception. This misunderstanding has powerfully paused us at an evolutionary rut that would have been natural to evolve through very quickly.

Featured poet Anders Carlson-Wee

A child experiences age two very briefly; the vast majority of its life is spent in a much more evolved state.

Yet, we've spent thousands of years in an evolutionary rut that teaches lessons that could be learned—and evolved from—in a single generation. Why?

It is because we look at the current phase we're in, and our behavior at this point, and create an “identity” based on it. We begin to think of violence and cruelty as our true human nature. It is not.

Hosted by Mandy Kahn (live)

Just as it is natural for a baby to evolve from a child into a young person, and from a young person into an adult, it is natural for our human community to evolve. In fact, eventual evolution is natural and inevitable. We choose how quickly that evolution takes place.

It is unusual for a collective to spend so long stuck in a single evolutionary phase. But it is also our option to do so.

We can evolve as quickly or as slowly as we'd like. We have free will. And our free will is always honored by the universe.

Evolution by “peacening”

We are here to evolve by peacening

We are here to evolve. Our eventual “peacening” is happening and inevitable.

All-that-is understands our trajectory and loves and honors us at every point in our evolution, just as a loving parent loves its baby, loves its 2-year-old, and thereby holds space for its child's maturity to bloom and come forth.

We have looked at humanity's belligerent actions and have identified with those actions. We have concluded that we are inherently this way. And those conclusions have become hard and fast beliefs passed down from generation to generation. (Who are we, the Hatfields and McCoys?)

Beliefs not only precede experience, beliefs create experience. The belief that we are belligerent gets expressed in our behavior. The more it is expressed, the more challenging it is to see it as a phase.

As a result, we've misunderstood who we are.

We are loved and honored in all phases of our development, and nothing that we do is judged as terrible.

Therefore, maybe transitioning to using the phrase “temporary twos” to describe this evolutionary phase would be fruitful. Humanity is in its “temporary twos.”

It is natural to experience some belligerence, some anger, some aggression, some violence and so on during this organic—and early—evolutionary phase. But this phase is brief and transitory. It is also natural—and inevitable—to evolve past it. And the vast majority of our human experience will be an experience of original loving nature.

Come see Deep Dive Poetry at PRS

When we understand that our nature is inherently peaceful and loving and that our experience of our own belligerence is very temporary, we will be empowered by a fuller and more accurate sense of ourselves.

We will understand how to navigate. We will understand the true direction of “ahead.”

Believing our nature to be belligerent—inherently, unchangeably belligerent—has been like having a false North Star fixed in the sky then trying to navigate towards the North Pole.

Stepping into an accurate understanding of our nature returns us to our true North Star. Then it's easy to navigate by following the true North Star gleaming brilliantly for all to see.

Peace Class (Wednesdays)

• Peace Class with Mandy Kahn
• Every Wednesday at 6:00 pm (Pacific Time)
• Zoom Meeting link: us02web.zoom.us/j/82150472713
• Meeting ID: 821 5047 2713
• Sign up for mailing list: brave-basil-514.myflodesk.com/z82hxkb6mm
• CONVERT 6:00 pm (PT) meeting time to any time zone: dateful.com/time-zone-converter
• Sign up for future classes: eventbrite.com/e/peace-class-with-mandy-kahn...

• Mandy Kahn (prs.org); edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

How to train the mind in Zen ☯️

(Presence & Purpose) How to train the mind to obey instantly | Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi 宮本無三四

Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵, circa 1583–June 13, 1645) [2] was a Japanese artist (who painted Hotei/Budai below watching a cockfight), swordsman, strategist, and writer who became renowned through Zen stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 62 duels [3, a].

He is considered a kensei ("sword saint") of Japan [4]. He was the founder of the Niten Ichi-ryū (or Nito Ichi-ryū) style of swordsmanship.

In his final years, Miyamoto Musashi authored The Book of Five Rings (五輪の書, Go Rin No Sho) and Dokkōdō (獨行道, The Path of Aloneness). Both documents were bequeathed to Terao Magonojō, Miyamoto Musashi's most important student, seven days before Musashi's death.

On the one hand, The Book of Five Rings [b] focuses on the character of his Niten Ichi-ryū school in a concrete sense, his own practical martial art and its generic significance.

On the other hand, The Path of Aloneness deals with the ideas that lie behind it, as well as his life's philosophy in a few short aphoristic sentences. More

• Miyamoto Musashi fights Sasaki-Kojiro at Ganryujima Ukiyo-e

Gnostic Jesus (not religion): I am that I am

(Lucid Wisdom) Gnostic Jesus never came to start any religion. He came to awaken consciousness

• Gnosticism
• Jesus in India: Life of Saint Issa
• GOD: the Monad (Gnostic)
• Gospel of Mary (Magdelene)
• Gospel of Judas
• Awakening in Buddhism

Gnosis (direct experience) is key

(Gnostic Library) What is gnosis? Direct experience, not knowledge, beliefs

• The entire history of "Gnostic Jesus" every Gnostic must know

• Freedom from Religion Foundation
• Freedom of religion
• DavidIcke.com (Who's David Icke?)
• Mystery school initiation : Greco-Roman mysteries
• Who are the "initiates"? The mystai
• Hermeticism of Hermes Trismegistus
• Buddha-Nature: we all have the ability to awaken

"Christians" follow Paul, not Jesus

(Spinoza Forever) Spinoza proved "Saint" Paul (actually the Jew Saul of

Tarsus) INVENTED Christianity: Jesus would reject every church today

(bonnetthoughts) Where the heck did "Christianity" really come from?

• Pauline Christianity: what all churches today follow, the very opposite of what the real historical Jesus (Yeshua) taught

LIVE: Mandy Kahn's Peace Class (9/30)

Peace isn't the opposite of war

From Mandy "No-Mind" Kahn: Friends, I hope everyone's summer was as replenishing as mine. Weekly Peace Class resumes tonight (Wednesday, Sept. 30, 6:00 pm, PT) on ZOOM. Share it with friends.

Participants may attend silently, even anonymously, because only my face is visible. Student interactions, though encouraged, are entirely optional. Anyone who is curious about class can quietly slip in to get a feel for it.

• Peace Class with Mandy Kahn (9/30)

Peace Class Wednesdays, 6:00 pm (prs.org)

There are many who do not attend class, but who participate in the community via weekly emails or reading many edited Peace Class talks at Wisdom Quarterly. Everyone is invited to join that way.

Here's what to expect in class. This Wednesday evening, enlivened and renewed, let's begin this vital work together.

• Peace Pilgrim: Get free book by this female pioneer for peace, who said: "Everything I get is given to me"

Inner peace for a peaceful world

With co-host peace activist David Selsky on sound and tech support

Peace Talk: There is only one way to build a peaceful world (Mandy Kahn)

Thanks, Mandy! I tried to tell 'em

ABOUT: Presented by the Philosophical Research Society (prs.org) in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Peace Class is now entering its seventh year. Each class meeting presents participants with a short talk that elucidates one aspect of the true nature of peace.

Each hour-long class includes a collective "peace meditation," teachings about pioneer peacebuilders like Peace Pilgrim, and the opportunity for participants to share personal peace-building discoveries with the group.

The World Peace Diet (Dr. Will Tuttle, PhD)

Peace Class is FREE and is open to all with no signup required. Each session is a stand-alone lesson, and participants can feel free to drop in for single meetings or attend the full series.

Weekly peace, monthly poetry

Poet Kahn on LA billboard

Brought to you by Mandy Kahn with the help of PRS and Wisdom Quarterly. There may be a live in-person class again in the future. Until then, drop by for monthly Deep Dive Poetry in PRS's Library of World Religions in Hollywood.

• Instagram: @mandykahn
• Deep Dive Poetry | Vivid Seats
• Nature dive (LA Review of Books)
• Peace is NOT opposite of war | WQ

Monthly Deep Dive Poetry at PRS Library

Live form the PRS Library of World Religions: Deep Dive Poetry (MK on IG, 9/17/26)

• Peace Class with Mandy Kahn
• Every Wednesday at 6:00 pm (Pacific Time)
• Zoom Meeting link: us02web.zoom.us/j/82150472713
• Meeting ID: 821 5047 2713
• Sign up for mailing list: brave-basil-514.myflodesk.com/z82hxkb6mm
• CONVERT 6:00 pm (PT) meeting time to any time zone: dateful.com/time-zone-converter
• Sign up for future classes: eventbrite.com/e/peace-class-with-mandy-kahn...
• Mandy Kahn (mandykahn.com) and Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Peace Class with Mandy Kahn (9/30)

Once and only once, we met live at PRS, March 22, 2026. We may do it again. Stay tuned.

.

Every Wednesday, 6:00 pm PT (prs.org)

Join FREE online gathering to build inner peace as well as world peace with Mandy Kahn, now in its sixth year.

Peace Class is led by activist and poet Mandy Kahn. It is a free weekly gathering for participants around the world to come together to build peace in themselves and therefore world peace as a community.

To attend, simply join this Zoom link at the West Coast start time every Wednesday at 6:00 pm (PT). us02web.zoom.us/j/82150472713 

Peace Class is presented by the Philosophical Research Society (prs.org) in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.

Peace Class is now in its sixth seventh year. Each class meeting presents a short talk that elucidates some aspect of the true nature of peace. The talk is followed by a journaling-based practice to give each participant the opportunity to develop a set of peace-building tools to use at any time.

• LIVE: Mandy Kahn's Peace Class (9/30)

Nature is a remedy that brings peace as plants soothe and heal us, communicating via mycelia

 

Mandy cross under Kahn billboard, LA

Each hour-long session also includes a collective peace meditation (such as metta bhavana or the cultivation of "universal Buddhist loving-kindness," agape or boundless friendliness to all).

Teachings about pioneer peacebuilders like Peace Pilgrim and the opportunity to share participants’ personal peace-building discoveries with the group.

Each Peace Class meeting presents a stand-alone lesson; participants are invited to drop in for any single class or the full class series.

Mandy Kahn and PRS are grateful to be joined by peace advocates and would-be activists from around the world in this supportive online space.

Instructions

Talk, guided meditation, sharing, inspiration

Zoom link at its local start time: every Wednesday night 6:00 pm (Pacific Time). This class is FREE and is open to ALL.

• us02web.zoom.us/j/82150472713
• DETAILS: Attendees are welcome to participate in the interactive aspects of class or simply observe.

• 

  Holy Doors: Poems (Mandy Kahn)

  ABOUT: Mandy Kahn is a California poet and peace teacher raised in Los Angeles and educated at UC Berkeley. She’s the author of three collections of poetry, the most recent of which is Holy Doors (2023). Her poems have been included in the Best American Poetry anthology series, have been featured on BBC Radio, and are seen in the nationwide newspaper column American Life in Poetry. She presented a program of her peace-building immersive poems at the Getty Museum in 2019.
• She is a frequent feature of Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal with fellow UC Berkeley graduate Editor Dhr. Seven, presenting the text of past Peace Class presentations.

• 

  Peace Piece: Poems Mandy Kahn

  She was also the subject of Courtney Sell’s feature-length documentary Peace Piece: The Immersive Poems of Mandy Kahn, which is available from IndiePix. In 2021, Kahn presented a two-day peace concert at Meditation Mount in Ojai in conjunction with Dot Maver, director of the National Peace Academy, Fumi Johns Stewart, executive director of May Peace Prevail On Earth International, and Michael Lindfield, Meditation Mount’s board president. Mandy Kahn has been a featured speaker at many peace events, including at Peace Week, World Unity Week, and One Planet Peace Forum. Mandy Kahn serves as the Philosophical Research Society’s contributing writer and previously served two years as PRS' artist-in-residence.
• Questions? Please email events@prs.org or phone (323) 663-2167

• PEACE CLASS with Mandy Kahn Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite
• Tools for Being Human: Buddhist Practices ONLINE WEEKLY WORKSHOP Tickets, Multiple dates | Eventbrite

Secret of the Golden Flower: Taoism

(Asangoham) The Taoist book that changes everything | The Secret of the Golden Flower

The Secret of the Golden Flower (Chinese 太乙金華宗旨, Pinyin Tàiyǐ Jīnhuá Zōngzhǐ) is a Chinese Taoist traditional medical textbook on neidan (inner alchemy) meditation, which also mixes Mahayana Buddhist teachings with some Confucian thoughts [1]. These are the three blended traditions of China.

 

It was written by means of the spirit-writing (fuji) technique, through two groups, in 1688 and 1692 [2]. It addresses the nature of the Tao.

After publication of the translation by Richard Wilhelm, with commentary by Jungian psychologist Carl Jung, it became modernly popularized among Westerners as a Chinese "religious classic."

It is read in psychological circles for analytical and transpersonal psychology considerations of Taoist meditations [3, 4], although it received little attention in the East [1]. More

Ancient Chinese secret

(BetterU) China's secret learning method. (It's insane)

A calming Taoist story

(Quiet Bamboo) You don't have to be useful | A calming Taoist story

Mandy Kahn: Peace not opposite of war

(Sum of Some Books) Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace explained in 7 minutes (War and Peace)

Peace is not the opposite of war

Mandy Kahn (edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly)

We went LIVE in person in the PRS Library for the first and only time so far.

Inner peace begins when... (Tiny Buddha)

Peace is not the opposite of war. When true peace is present, war does not begin. When people who live in a war-ravaged society arrive at a place of true peace, they first tend to notice the absence of war. They are surprised to see that war is not there, so they say: "This state is the opposite of war."

But peace is not the opposite of war. What they are noticing when they enter the state of peace, the peace state, is the absence of war. We use this shorthand until we are hamstrung by it, defining peace as absence. But to define peace by what is not there is to fail to understand what IS there.

What is there? In the peace state, what is there is the experience of honoring all beings.

Let's bury them alive? War gives IDF meaning

What is there is an experience of deep and sustained compassion—a caring for all others as well as self.

What is there is an awareness that one’s true nature is loving and peaceful with a conscious, vibrant experience of one’s loving and peaceful nature.

What is there is a deep remembering of the interconnectedness (intermeshed oneness) of all beings.

When genocide is caught on film (NYT)

What is there is a natural honoring of our earth.

In this loving experience of compassion-without-end, war simply does not begin.

It is not that war is not allowed in the peace state—it’s that no one in the peace state ever chooses it. War not beginning is a result of what is present in the peace state. It is not that the "absence of war" is present, it’s that compassion-for-all-beings is present. And when compassion-for-all-beings is present, war is never present.

Definition

War Force  Gives Us Meaning

Defining peace as the opposite of war is like saying, "What’s notable about Los Angeles is that it’s not San Francisco." It’s like saying, "What we know about Los Angeles is that it is the place where the Golden Gate Bridge is not; therefore, Los Angeles is the opposite of the place where the Golden Gate Bridge is." This is nonsense.

This would be like teaching our children, "There is the Golden Gate Bridge, and there is Los Angeles, which is where the Golden Gate Bridge is not." Then our children would grow up to say, "Yes, Los Angeles, that’s the place where the Golden Gate Bridge is not!"

To associate peace with one thing that is not present in the peace state is to be distracted from what is there.

What is inherently present in the peace state is compassion-without-end, the honoring of all beings, the honoring of earth, a sense of the connectedness of all human beings, the knowledge of one’s inherent true nature, and the feeling of love-without-limits and without-end, unconditional love (Buddhist metta, Ancient Greek love).

These presences are all inherent aspects of peace. When we begin to think of peace in terms of its presences, we begin to understand what peace is, how to build it, how to sustain it, and how to share it.

An experience of peace

Then a wave of bliss came over me: metta

How do we know that we are having an experience of peace? We know we are in the peace state when we feel peace’s presences—love-without-end, compassion-without-end, a connection to all others, an awareness of our own loving and peaceful true nature, and an inherent honoring of the earth.

As a result of these presences, we act in ways that are respectful of self and others concurrently. These actions are a result of what we know when we are in the peace state, what we remember we are when we are in the peace state.

Misdefined peace

"Let that sh*t go," the Awakened One might say

When we make the mistake of defining peace as "the opposite of war," what is really happening is that we are confusing peace, a state in which war does not begin, and a ceasefire.

A ceasefire is an action taken as a step to end a war. Peace and ceasefire are two very different things. The fact that we have used one word to mean both indicates our fundamental confusion about the true nature of peace.

A "ceasefire" can only exist in a place where fighting is a possibility. In the peace state, fighting never begins. Therefore, a ceasefire cannot exist in the peace state. Conflating peace and ceasefire has created profound confusion—one of the greatest of our time.

That’s what makes this moment so powerful. We can begin, right NOW, to learn what peace is—to learn what is present when peace is. We can begin to understand the difference between peace and ceasefire, and to separate them as distinct. Once they are separated, we can begin to learn about peace free of confusion.

See you Wednesday for a guided meditation

Once we have begun to separate peace and ceasefire, we can begin to engage with true peace, as it is, without its power being dampened by the idea that it is a dance in-and-out of war.

A ceasefire is simply a part of the cycle of belligerence. The peace state is infinitely more powerful than any ceasefire. To equate peace with a ceasefire is to reduce peace’s power. To separate the concept of peace from the concept of a ceasefire is to return peace’s power to us.

• Mandy Kahn (mandykahn.com)

Mandy Kahn's Peace Class goes live every Wednesday evening at 6:00 pm (Pacific Time) on Zoom. It is free to attend. To sign up, visit: eventbrite.com/e/peace-class-with-mandy-kahn. To get Mandy Kahn's free weekly peace emails, visit: mandykahn.com.

• Mandy Kahn (text); Sum of Some Books (War and Peace summary); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

Contentment heals stress, anxiety, depression?

Plutchik dyads: emotions

(Mind Frequency) Tibetan Zen sounds to destroy unconscious blockages: heal stress, anxiety, and depression [by the practice of progressive relaxation, letting go, giving, surrendering, turning inward with dispassion and radical allowing rather than resistance and strain].

The practice of "contentment" or santosha in Sanskrit and santutthi in Pali, is counterintuitive as it defuses the situation, the looming threat, the internal monologue of neediness and paucity, replacing it with everything being good right here right now just as it is.

• How to summon contentment on the yoga mat

Plutchik Wheel shows contentment

BUDDHIST CONTENTMENT (Pāli santutthi) is freedom from anxiety, wanting, craving, clinging.

It is a wondrous virtue mentioned in many prominent Buddhist sutras like the Metta Sutta ("Discourse on Loving-Kindness"), Mangala Sutta ("Discourse on Blessings"), and so on. In the Dhammapada (Verse 204), contentment is said to be the greatest wealth:

• "Health is the most precious gain and contentment the greatest wealth. A trustworthy person is the best kin and nirvana the highest bliss" (based on Bhikkhu Bodhi translation).

I'm good. Can you tell?

In the "Discourse on the Traditions of the Noble Ones" (Ariya Vamsa Sutta, AN 4:28), the Buddha mentions that the noble ones (beings along any of the seven stages* of enlightenment are content with any old robes, any old almsfood, and any old lodgings.

• *Yes, seven stages, not four, as detailed in the Vimutti Magga or Path of Freedom, which the Buddha frequently condensed into four main stages, distinguishing various types of stream enterers, popularized by the wider reach of the Vissudhi Magga or Path of Purification).

"Having cast away all deeds (karma),

Who could obstruct one?

Like an ornament wrought of finest gold,

Who is fit to find fault with such a one?" [43] Source

SUTRA: Contentment in the tradition of the noble ones

Dhr. Seven based on a translation by Ven. Thanissaro (accesstoinsight.org), Ariya Vamsa Sutta, "Discourse on the Traditions of the Noble Ones" (AN 4:28)

"There are four traditions of the noble ones, longstanding, ancient, unadulterated from their inception, free of suspicion, held faultless by wandering ascetics (shramans) and temple priests (Brahmins) who know and see. What are the four?

 

1. "A [Buddhist] monastic is content with any old robe cloth and speaks in praise of such contentment.*

• [*bhikkhu/bhikkhuni (samana) being rooted in the idea of "rag-picker" from the practice of selecting discarded and donated cloth for the stitching of saffron-dyed, patchwork robes and "alms-gatherer" for collecting donated food sufficient for survival in a dana economy such as existed in the ancient world even before "India" or "Great Bharat" came into being, and "wandering ascetic" (wild shaman, pilgrim, shramana) content with any resting place].

"One abstains from doing anything unseemly or inappropriate for the sake of acquiring such robe cloth. Not getting cloth, one remains without agitation. Getting cloth, one uses it without being tied to it, without infatuation, free of guilt, perceiving danger [seeing the drawbacks of attachment or clinging] and discerning an escape from such dangers.

 

"One avoids exalting oneself or disparaging others on account of such contentment with robe cloth. In this one is skillful, energetic, vigilant, [conscientious and] mindful.

 

"This, meditators, is said to be a monastic who stands firm in the ancient and original traditions of the noble ones.

 

2. "Furthermore, a monastic is content with any old almsfood and speaks in praise of such contentment. One avoids doing anything unseemly or inappropriate for the sake of acquiring almsfood. Not getting almsfood, one remains without agitation. Getting almsfood, one uses it without being tied to it, without infatuation, free of guilt, perceiving danger [the drawbacks of being attached or clinging] and discerning an escape from such dangers.

 

"One avoids exalting oneself or disparaging others on account of one's contentment with any old almsfood. In this one is skillful, energetic, vigilant, and mindful.

"This, meditators, is said to be a monastic who stands firm in the ancient and original traditions of the noble ones.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns make history with doctorates in Buddhist philosophy) | Justin Whitaker

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3. "Furthermore, a monastic is content with any old lodgings and one speaks in praise of such contentment. One avoids doing anything unseemly or inappropriate for the sake of acquiring lodgings.

 

"Not getting lodgings, one remains without agitation. Getting lodgings, one uses them without being tied to them, without infatuation, free of guilt, perceiving danger [the drawbacks of attachment and clinging] and discerning an escape from such dangers.

"One avoids exalting oneself or disparaging others on account of such contentment with lodgings. In this one is skillful, energetic, vigilant, and mindful.

 

"This, meditators, is said to be a monastic standing firm in the ancient and original traditions of the noble ones.

4. "Furthermore, a monastic finds pleasure and delight in developing [skillful qualities], finds pleasure and delight in abandoning [unskillful qualities]. One avoids exalting oneself or disparaging others on account of such pleasure and delight in developing and abandoning.

"In this one is skillful, energetic, vigilant, and mindful. This, meditators, is said to be a monastic who stands firm in the ancient and original traditions of the noble ones.

"These are the four traditions of the noble ones, long-standing, ancient, unadulterated from their inception, free of suspicion, understood as faultless by wandering ascetics and Brahmins who know and see.

Be content and bliss you'll find.

"Furthermore, a monastic upholding these four traditions of the noble ones, if living in the east, conquers displeasure [discontent] rather than being conquered by displeasure.

"If one lives in the west...north...south, one conquers displeasure rather than being conquered by displeasure. Why? It is because the wise one endures [remains content through] both pleasure and displeasure."

This is what the Blessed One (the Buddha) said. Having said it, he concluded by reinforcing it more tersely:

Displeasure [discontentment] does not conquer the Noble One.

Displeasure does not suppress. Rather, the Noble One

conquers displeasure by enduring it.

Having cast away all deeds (karma), who could obstruct?

Like an ornament wrought of finest gold, who is fit to find fault?

Even the devas praise such a one, even by Brahma [the Supreme] is one praised.

• See also: "To Anuruddha" (AN 8.30); "Wishes" (AN 10.71)
• The [Unending] Round of Rebirth: Samsara
• Mind Frequency (music video); Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly