Cavemen shamans got high all day? (sutra)

When did humans start smoking cannabis?

(Ink Explainer) June 4, 2026: When did early humans start smoking weed (THC/CBD)? The answer goes back way further than most of us would expect. Our relationship with cannabis did not begin in a college dorm or a back alley. — Rather, it started over 12,000 years ago, when some of the first farmers in East Asia looked at a very useful wild plant and thought, "Let's grow this."

This video traces the full history of cannabis — from a 2,700-year-old shaman's tomb in western China to the smoke-filled burial caves of the Pamir Mountains, the golden cups of Scythian warriors, the sacred altars of ancient Judah, the bhang rituals of India, a Chinese physician's lost anesthesia formula, a Congolese tribe that traded war for hemp, and the American political machine that turned a 12,000-year-old plant into one of the most dangerous [Schedule 1] substances on Earth.

By the end, viewers might start seeing this plant a little differently. All factual research sources are linked below.

Cross faded humans/monkeys?

(Mack) When did ancient humans first drink? Drunken monkey hypothesis

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📚 RESEARCH AND SOURCES: ▸ Yanghai Tombs — "Phytochemical and genetic analyses of ancient cannabis from Central Asia" (2008, Journal of Experimental Botany) doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ern260 ▸ Jirzankal Cemetery — "The origins of cannabis smoking: Chemical residue evidence from the first millennium BCE in the Pamirs of western China" (2019, Science Advances) doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw1391 ▸ Herodotus — The Histories, Book IV, on Scythian cannabis use (c. 440 BCE) ▸ Sergei Rudenko — Frozen Tombs of Siberia: The Pazyryk Burials of Iron Age Horsemen (1970, UC Press) ▸ Scythian Gold Cups — "Residue analysis of golden artifacts from Scythian kurgan in the Caucasus" (2015, Antiquity) ▸ Tell Arad Shrine — "Cannabis and Frankincense at the Judahite Shrine of Arad" (2020, Tel Aviv: Journal of the Institute of Archaeology) doi.org/10.1080/03344355.2020... ▸ Atharva Veda — Ancient Vedic text listing cannabis among five sacred plants ▸ Robert Dudley and Dušan Borić — Research on anandamide and the endocannabinoid system ▸ Harry Anslinger — Federal Bureau of Narcotics records, the Gore Files, and the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 ▸ John Ehrlichman — interview quote on Pres. Dick Nixon's drug policy, published in Harper's Magazine (2016) by Dan Baum: "Legalize It All" harpers.org/archive/2016/04/l... ▸ DEA Judge Francis Young — "In the Matter of Marijuana Rescheduling Petition" (1988, Docket No. 86-22)

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PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO: ▸ Shen Nong — legendary Chinese emperor, traditionally credited as the author of the Pen Ts'ao Ching, one of the world's earliest medical texts, which recommended cannabis for joint pain and malaria. ▸ Herodotus — Ancient Greek historian (c. 484–425 BCE). Traveled through Central Asia and documented Scythian cannabis rituals in vivid detail. His accounts were confirmed by archeological discoveries nearly 2,400 years later. ▸ Sergei Rudenko — Soviet archeologist who in 1947 excavated frozen Scythian tombs in Siberia's Altai Mountains, confirming Herodotus's descriptions of cannabis use with perfectly preserved tent frames, heated stones, and cannabis seeds. ▸ Hua Tuo — Chinese physician (c. 140–208 AD). Mixed cannabis with wine to create an anesthetic and performed surgery during which patients felt nothing — 1,800 years before modern anesthesia, executed by warlord Cao Cao. His formula was lost when he burned his own writings in prison. ▸ Cao Cao — One of the most powerful warlords in Chinese history (155–220 AD). Had Hua Tuo arrested and executed after the physician refused to serve as his personal doctor. ▸ Harry Anslinger — head of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics from 1930 to 1962. Criminalized cannabis through racist propaganda, fabricated evidence (the Gore Files), and targeted Black musicians including Billie Holiday. ▸ Billie Holiday — legendary jazz singer targeted by Anslinger, not for drug use but for performing "Strange Fruit," a protest song about American lynchings. ▸ John Ehrlichman — Pres. Nixon's domestic policy advisor, who in a 2016-published interview admitted the War on Drugs was designed to target anti-war protesters and Black communities. ▸ Francis Young — DEA administrative law judge who, after two years of reviewing evidence in 1988, concluded that cannabis should not be classified as a Schedule 1 drug alongside heroin. The DEA rejected and ignored his recommendation.

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🎨 Animation by Ink explainer

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#cannabishistory #weedhistory #history #ancienthistory #cannabis #marijuana #explainer #animation #education #HarryAnslinger #SilkRoad #archeology #humanhistory

Shamans: communication from spirit world

(Eden Foundation) Psychedelics (Entheogens) as Medicine 2025: Voices of Ancestors with Snow Raven

Ancient cavemen and cannabis smoking

(MACK) High all day? When did ancient human (cavemen) start smoking cannabis?

Doctor Feelgood? Cannabis, MD

(Saturday Night Live) The Pot Doctor (Kevin Spacey, Beck, Will Ferrell)

 

"The Cave of the Body" (Guhatthaka Sutta)

Clinging to this cave heavily defiled [1]

one is stuck, bewildered, far from seclusion

from craving for the sensual pleasures [2]

of the world, which are hard to let go.

Those chained to craving

bound by the allure of becoming

find no release

for there is no liberation by others.

Intent, before and behind [3], on thirst

for sensual pleasure here or before —

full of lust for sensual pleasures,

busy, deluded, greedy, entrenched

in the wobbling way [4] they —

impelled into pain — lament:

"What will we be

when we pass away from here?"

So one ought to train here and now.

Whatever one knows as wobbling

in the world, do not, for its sake, behave,

for such life, the enlightened say, is short.

I see them in the world

floundering

men immersed in craving

for new states of becoming.

Base people moan in the mouth of death, their craving

for states of eternal becoming and annihilation [5] unallayed.

See them floundering in their sense of mine like fish in the

puddles of a dried-up stream — and, seeing this,

live with no sense of mine, not forming

attachments to states of becoming.

Subdue craving for both sides [6], 

comprehending [7] sensory contact free of greed.

Doing nothing for which one would oneself

rebuke oneself, for the enlightened person

adheres not to what is seen, to what's heard.

Comprehending perception, one crosses over the flood —

the sage unstuck from possessions.

One, with arrow removed, lives heedful,

longing for neither

this world nor the next.

ENDNOTES

1. Nd.I: Covered with defilements and unskillful mental states, characteristics, qualities.
2. "Sensual craving" and "sensual pleasures" are two possible translations of kama ("sensuality"). According to Nd.I, both meanings are intended here.
3. Nd.I: "Before" ("in front") means experienced in the past; "behind" means to-be-experienced in the future.
4. Nd.I: "Wobbling way" means the karma of the Ten Courses of Unwholesome Action. (See AN 10.176).
5. States of not-becoming = "oblivion." These are states of becoming that people can get themselves into through a desire or craving for annihilation, either after death or as a misguided goal of their spiritual striving. (See Iti 49, ucchedavada, annihilationism). As with all states of becoming, these states are impermanent (transient) and disappointing (painful).
6. According to Nd.I, "both sides" has here several possible meanings: sensory contact and the origination of sensory contact; past and future; name-and-form; internal and external sense media; self-identity (view) and the origination of self-identity. It might also mean the states of becoming and not-becoming (eternalism and annihilationism) mentioned in the previous verse and below, in Sn 4.5.
7. Nd.I: Comprehending sensory contact has three aspects: (1) being able to identify and distinguish types of sensory contact; (2) contemplating the true nature of sensory contact (e.g., impermanent/inconstant, disappointing/unable to fulfill, and impersonal/not-self); and (3) abandoning attachment to sensory contact. The same three aspects apply to comprehending perception, as mentioned in the following verse.

• See also: AN 4.184

• Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Amber Larson (eds.), Guhatthaka Sutta, based on translation and notes by Ven. Thanissaro (accesstoinsight.org, Sn 4.2 PTS: Sn 772-779), Wisdom Quarterly

Int'l Day of Forests (March 21)

The call of the wild, the lure of the quiet, what causes city people to venture into the woods?

.

Forests welcome the spring

It must be the first full day of spring because we are honoring the proudest members of Nature, the trees. Since the original towering tree, which mycologist Paul Stamets is sure was a giant mushroom on a primordial earth, trees have been the charismatic megaflora of the world.

Their diversity is stunning, and their size varies from the time they used silica instead of carbon (and left mountain size stumps all over the world) until today when the oldest and largest are on the Island of California, one a bristlecone pine named Methuselah out near US 395 by Bishop on the way to Death Valley, the other a redwood in Northern California they are trying to fence off from tourists. The exact location of each is kept secret but is said to be possible to find with a search.

• A Journey Through the World's Oldest Forests (Hunter Robinson) Forests have stood the test of time, witnessing millennia of change, (d)evolution, and human history. Some of the world's oldest forests date back millions -- even hundreds of millions -- of years, preserving an incredible glimpse into Earth's prehistoric past. These ancient woodlands are home to towering trees, rare wildlife, and ecosystems that have remained virtually unchanged for centuries. From the towering redwoods of California to the misty, primeval jungles of Malaysia, here's a journey through the world's oldest forests, where nature tells the story of time itself.

Why do Buddhists care so much about trees?

Thai Theravada Forest Tradition

Buddhism is a "forest tradition." It started there with the future Buddha, the Bodhisatta (Prince Siddhattha Gotama or Siddhartha Gautama, soon to become the Buddha or "Awakened One"), under a big sal tree. That is where he was reborn in the womb of Maya, who was on her way to see her parents for the delivery. But it came in a garden grove under a sturdy sal (sala) tree. (Why a sal tree? The lore of the Salabhanjika that might explain that).

Born in a garden grove of trees in Lumbini

That newly reborn child, coming down from the Tusita world to pursue enlightenment, made good on his mission decades later by leaving his palace and life of privilege, taking up yoga and meditation with Yogi Āḷāra Kālāma and Yogi Uddaka Rāmaputta until he set off on his own.

He was followed by a group of Five Ascetics (Kondañña, Assaji, Bhaddiya, Vappa, and Mahānāma), until he left them for a big banyan tree so that he could make his own way alone, which didn't work out but which saved his life thanks to the intercession of a milkmaid named Sujata, who offered the wandering ascetic Siddhartha solid food, mistaking him for the spirit of the tree he was at that time sitting under in the forest.

The Wandering Ascetic Siddhartha, the Buddha

Regaining his strength under Sujata and her servant's care, he abandoned severe asceticism as useless for achieving actual enlightenment and liberation. (They may help in other traditions, but that is because those traditions do not have as stringent a definition as to what constitutes real awakening and freedom). He set off in search of another tree, the now famous Bodhi Tree (Ficus religiosa), the oldest documented tree in the world. Under it Siddhartha strived to enter the meditative absorptions, bring them to perfection of samadhi and then practiced for insight (what Buddhism in the Commentaries came to call vipassana). The combination of calm and insight was the Middle Path of mental purification the Bodhisattva ("Being bent on enlightenment") had been searching for on his quest for enlightenment that had taken nearly seven years.

• Ending six years of severe asceticism, his body emaciated appearance led Sujata to believe he was the tree-spirit (bhumi-deva, dryad) who had granted her wish. She thanked him with enough nourishment to cultivate the Middle Way, develop meditative absorption (jhana), and attain enlightenment or bodhi, thereafter becoming known as the "Enlightened One" or the Buddha.

When 45 years of teaching the Middle Way and bringing the Dhamma (knowledge of the path to enlightenment) back into the world, the Buddha relinquished the will to live on. He decided to hike to Kushinagar, where he found twin sal trees to recline into nirvana, closing out an 80-year-long life after countless rebirths as the Bodhisatta.

• List of places where Gautama Buddha stayed (in the forest): Bamboo Grove, Jeta's Grove, Vulture Peak (surrounded by the Rajgir forest), and so on

Passing into final nirvana between sal trees

For 45 years the Buddha remained a wandering ascetic (shramana), abiding in forest groves rather than accepting other more luxurious lodgings offered to him. When he trained nuns, monks, novices, and lay people, he often recommended they find a quiet place where they would not be disturbed by noise and other people. Here they could cultivate the Middle Path, avoiding extremes. Here they could realize the ultimate truth. Here they could see and experience for themselves that what the Buddha taught did not depend on the Buddha to be considered "Truth." It could be objectively verified. Here, where? The forest, woods, or a pleasant garden under a portable mosquito net.

• Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly

Rewilding Iceland by planting native trees

Rewilding.org; Xochitl, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Rewilding Iceland by replanting native forests

A great project is returning native forest cover to [the green island of] Iceland [unlike the icy island called Greenland] with the goal to raise coverage from the current 2% to its historic 25%-40%.

Notable is the focus on native tree species over non-natives that, while they might suck more carbon from the atmosphere, do not belong in Iceland.

Read about more great rewilding projects from the team at Mossy Earth (mossy.earth).

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

If only the US could restore its lost forests.

“In Autumn 2021, we joined forces with the Iceland Forest Service to restore the native birchwoods of Iceland. Iceland is known for is vast open landscapes shaped by massive volcanos and expansive glaciers, but these woodlands are a vital part of the landscape.

“They are the only woodland type to form in Iceland, and [they] provide food and shelter for biodiversity, help to stabilize soil, provide windbreaks, and sequester carbon. At one point, it is thought that 25-40% of Iceland was covered in birchwoods. Now, it is a mere 1.5%.” More: rewilding.org

Spiritual poetry of Sedona (Meetup)

Shanti Natania Grace (IntrinsicHeart.com); Dhr. Seven, Jen B. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Spiritual poetry books deepen our lives.

ONLINE SPIRITUAL POETRY MEETUP meets online on the third Saturday of every month to read and discuss spiritual poetry and wisdom quotes to share thoughts, feelings, and insights inspired by these readings.

About 25 people attend from several groups. It would love to hear what poem or quote is meaningful: Who loves Rumi, the Buddha, Rilke, Joy Harjo, Hafiz, Mary Oliver, Alice Walker, Ryokan, Thomas Merton, Mirabai, Pablo Neruda, Hildegard of Bingen, Wendell Berry, Nâzım Hikmet, Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh or...?

Every meetup is different, depending on what participants choose to read and discuss. Let's learn from each other as we share these invitations to what is higher and deeper. We draw strength, support, and inspiration from poetry and wisdom traditions.

ALL paths and views are welcome: This is an open and welcoming space where we get to know others who share a love for spiritual poetry and wisdom quotes and for that which connects us to a deeper life, regardless of spiritual path or personal history.

• Spirit Unlimited Sedona (Sedona, AZ) | Meetup

NOTE: RSVPs close two hours before the meetup begins. To join the meeting one must be logged in on Zoom, and a password is required. The password will be sent by direct message or email as the date gets closer.

Please check Meetup account (top right) for messages! (There will also be an email, but Meetup.com messages appear much sooner than the emails. Sometimes Meetup's emails get bottle-necked, so it's always better to check Meetup.com account or, better yet, RSVP early). 

Take-Home Poetry Packs are available for FREE download at intrinsicheart.com under the "Poetry & More" tab. (These are a gift for enjoyment, not a prescription for readings).

To see lists of readings from past Spiritual Poetry Meetups, go to intrinsicheart.com/category/poetry/spiritual-poetry-meetup-readings. More

DIY: do-it-YURT-self: Little Home (video)

Living Big In A Tiny House, 9/19; CC Liu, Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Amazing modern yurt is a design marvel

This incredible home is a completely contemporary take on the traditional yurt (from formerly-Buddhist Central Asia and Mongolia). With a diameter of 30 feet (9 meters), this beautiful home has it all and is packed full of wonderful design features. Yurts are easy to set up, cozy, and functional homes. And this modern take on the traditional home is a real architectural design treasure. Enjoy the full tour of this tiny house. Enjoy the video? Consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/livingbig.

This do-it-yurtself small home was constructed by Zach and Nicole. Its modern design is spatially efficient and beautiful. The entire project was built as a DIY project. To learn more about how Zach and Nicole were able to build this yurt, visit their free online build guide: Do It Yurtself (doityurtself.com). Follow Zach at instagram.com/zachboth.

(Rebecca & Cass) Tiny Buddhist house in the forest: Instagram @kevatinyhouse
Get Rebecca's plans for building this home: KevaTinyHouse.com/building-plans

Find out more about this tiny house and others at the website livingbiginatinyhouse.com, instagram.com/livingbiginatinyhouse, facebook.com/livingbiginatinyhouse, twitter.com/tinyhousenz. Subscribe for more videos on tiny houses, DIY, design, and sustainable, off-the-grid living. Music in this video by Bryce Langston: youtube.com/brycelangston.

• Presenter and producer: Bryce Langston
• Camera: Bryce Langston and Rasa Pescud
• Editing: Rasa Pescud
• Additional footage: Jason Rayne (drone)
• Octave Zangs (RED footage)
• Alex Alvarado (driving)
• Van photos: Bryan Aulick
• "Living Big in a Tiny House" © 2019 Zyia Pictures Ltd.

Shipping container home: debt-free (video)

Living Big In A Tiny House, Dec. 13, 2019 (livingbiginatinyhouse.com); Jaimie and Dave (livingbiginatinyhouse.com); Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Couple build amazing shipping container home for debt-free living

This is so cool for peace and the forest.

This amazing shipping container home is guaranteed to impress! Constructed from one 20 foot and one 40 ft. shipping container, this compact container-home has it all. Enjoy these videos? Consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/livingbig.

Built entirely as a DIY (do-it-yourself) project, this home is filled with some amazing features. Jaimie and Dave constructed their home to be beautiful, artistic, and to have everything the couple needs, while fulfilling their dream of living debt- and mortgage-free. Living debt-free is important to this couple, who want to break free of the rat race and be able to live an independent life of their choosing with more options and more freedom. Find out more about this tiny house and others on the website: livingbiginatinyhouse.com.

Jaimie and Dave’s story is one of resilience, love, choosing joy, and overcoming adversity. After Dave suffered a major brain bleed, the couple's dreams of building their own mortgage-free shipping container home were almost shattered.

Together, they pushed through the challenges and the building of their shipping container home actually become part of Dave's physical and mental recovery.

Follow this inspiring couple and learn more about their beautiful home on their website thattinylifelove.com and Instagram page instagram.com/that_tiny_life_love.

• Instagram.com/livingbiginatinyhouse
• Facebook.com/livingbiginatinyhouse
• Twitter.com/tinyhousenz

Subscribe for more videos on tiny houses, architecture, DIY, design, and sustainable, off-grid living. Title music in this video by Bryce Langston: youtube.com/brycelangston. Presented and produced by Bryce Langston. Camera: Bryce Langston and Rasa Pescud. Editing: Rasa Pescud. "Living Big in a Tiny House" © 2019 Zyia Pictures Ltd.

COMMENTS
(Living Big In A Tiny House) It's hard not to be completely in love with the design and construction of this amazing shipping container home. Even more impressive than the home, though, is the couple Jaimie and Dave, who pushed through some tremendous challenges to make their dream come true. This is a story about finding joy, even in adversity.

(Green Goddess) I love how your videos aren’t just tours. It allows people to tell their story from start to finish and explore why every decision they made happened.

(Alison Shanahan) Dave doesn't seem like he's had a stroke, he's very strong and articulate. Having a half built house was obviously a major part of his therapy and a great success. A lovely property.

Int'l Day of Forests 2019 (video)

United Nations (un.org/en/events/forestsday); Xochitl, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Forests are part of our lives in more ways than we realize

When we drink a glass of water, write in a notebook, take medicine for a fever, or build a house, we do not always make the connection with forests. Yet, these and many other aspects of our lives are linked to forests.

Forests, their sustainable management and use of resources, particularly in fragile ecosystems, are key to combating climate change and to contributing to the prosperity and well-being of current and future generations.

Forests also play a crucial role in poverty alleviation and in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Forests and Education: Learn to Love Forests

On Walden Pond's restored forests

Every March 21st the United Nations raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests.

This year the International Day of Forests promotes education to Learn to Love Forests. It underscores the importance of education at all levels in achieving sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation. 

Healthy forests mean healthy, resilient communities, and prosperous economies. More

Forest Meditations: Enlightened Talaputa sings

Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Khantipalo, The Verses of Arahant Talaputa Thera; DirectExpose.com

I. Thoughts before Going Forth

1. When, O, when shall I live all alone
in mountain caves, unmated with desire,
clear-seeing as unstable all that comes to be?
This wish of mine, when indeed will it be?

2. When shall I, wearing the patchwork robes

of ocher color, be sage, uncraving, never making mine,
with greed, aversion, and delusion slain
and to the wild woods gone, in bliss abide?

3. When shall I, this body seeing clear —
unstable nest of dying and disease
oppressed by age and death, dwell free from fear
in the woods alone? When indeed will it be?

4. When indeed shall I dwell seizing the sharpened sword
of wisdom made? When cut the craving creeper —
breeder of fear, bringer of pain and woe,
and twining everywhere? When indeed will it be?

5. When lion-like in the victor's stance
shall I draw quick the sage's sword
of wisdom forged and fiery might
quick breaking Mara with his legion? When indeed will it be?

6. When myself exerting, shall I be seen
in goodly company of those esteeming Dharma?
Those with faculties subdued who see things as they are?
Those who are 'Thus'? When indeed will it be?

7. When indeed will weariness not worry me —
hunger, thirst and wind, heat, bugs and creeping things,
while bent on my own good, the Goal,
in Giribbaja's wilds? When indeed will it be?

8. When indeed shall I, self-mindful and composed
win to that wisdom known by him,
the Greatest Sage, the Four Truths won within,
so very hard to see? When indeed will it be?

9. When shall I, possessed of meditation's calm
with wisdom see the forms innumerable,
sounds, smells and tastes, touches, and mental phenomena, too,
as a raging blaze? When will this be for me?

10. When shall I, indeed, when with abusive words
addressed, not be displeased because of that,
and then again when praised be neither pleased
because of that? When will this be for me?

11. When shall I indeed weigh as the same:
wood, grass, and creepers with these clung-to heaps,
both inner and external forms
the phenomena numberless? When will it be for me?

12. When in the season of the black raincloud
shall I follow the path within the wood
trodden by those that see; robes moistened
by new falling rain? When indeed will it be?

13. When in a mountain cave having heard the peacock's cry,
that crested twice-born bird down in the wood,
shall I arise and collect together mind
for attaining the undying? When indeed will it be?

14. When shall I, the Ganges and the Yamuna,
the Sarasvati and the awful ocean mouth
of the Balava-abyss, by psychic might
untouching go across? When indeed will it be?

15. When shall I, like charging elephant unbound,
break up desire for sensual happiness
and shunning all the marks of loveliness
strive in concentrated states? When indeed will it be?

16. When, as pauper by his debts distressed,
by creditors oppressed, a treasure finds,
shall I be pleased the Teaching to attain
of the Greatest Sage? When indeed will it be?

II. Self-admonishments after Going Forth
17. Long years have I been begged by you,
'Enough for you of this living in a house!'
By now I have gone forth to homelessness.
What reason is there, mind, for you not to urge me on?

18. Was I not, O mind, assured by you, indeed:
'The brightly plumed birds on Giribbaja's peaks
greeting the thunder, the sound of great Indra,
will bring to you joy meditating in the wood?'
 
19. Dear ones and friends and kin within the family,
playing and loving, sensual pleasures of the world:
all have I given up and reached at last to this,
even now, O mind, you are not pleased with me.
 
20. Mine you are, mind, possessed by none but me;
why then lament when comes this time to arm?
Seeing all as unstable this is now renounced:
longing for, desirous of the Deathless State.
 
21. Said he who speaks the best among humankind,
person-taming trainer, Physician Great indeed:
'Unsteady, likened to a monkey is the mind,
extremely hard to check by one not rid of lust.'
 
22. For varied, sweet, delightful are the desires of sense;
blind, foolish common persons long have lain in them
seeking after rebirth again, 'tis they who wish for ill,
by mind they are led on to perish in hell.
 
23. 'In the jungle you should dwell, resounding with the cries
of peacocks and herons, by 'pard and tiger hailed:
Abandon longing for the body — do not fail!'
So indeed my mind you used to urge me on.
 
24. 'Grow in concentrations, the faculties and powers,
develop wisdom-factors by meditation deep
and then with Triple Knowledge touch the Buddha-dispensation.'
So indeed, my mind, you used to urge me on.
 
25. 'Grow in the Eightfold Way for gaining the Deathless
leading to Release and cleansing of all stains;
Plunge to the utter destruction of all Ill!'
So indeed, my mind, you used to urge me on.
 
26. 'Thoroughly examine the craved-for groups as Ill.
Abandon that from which arises ill.
Here and now make you an end of ill.'
So indeed my mind you used to urge me on.
 
27. 'Thoroughly see inward the impermanent as ill,
the void as without self, and misery as bane,
and so the mind restrain in its mental wanderings.'
So indeed my mind you used to urge me on.
 
28. 'Head-shaven and unsightly, go to be reviled,
among the people beg with skull-like bowl in hand.
To the Greatest Sage, the Teacher's word devote yourself.'
So indeed my mind you used to urge at me on.
 
29. 'Wander well-restrained among the streets and families
having a mind to sensual pleasures unattached,
as the full moon shining clear at night.'
So indeed my mind you used to urge me on.
 
30. 'You should be a forest-dweller, almsman, too,
a graveyard-dweller and a rag-robe wearer, too,
one never lying down, delighting in austerities.'
So indeed, my mind, you used to urge me on.
 
31. As he who having planted trees about to fruit
should wish to cut a tree down to the root:
that simile you made, mind, that do you desire
when on me urge the unstable and the frail.
 
32. Formless one, far-traveler, a wanderer alone,
no more shall I your bidding do, for sense desires
are ill, leading to bitter fruit, to brooding fear:
with mind nirvana-turned I shall walk on.
 
33. Not from lack of luck did I go forth,
nor shamelessness, nor caused by mind's inconstancy,
nor banishment nor caused by livelihood,
and therefore I agreed with you, O, mind.
 
34. 'Having few wishes, disparagement's abandoning,
with the stilling of all ill is praised by goodly men'
so indeed, my mind, then you urged at me,
but now you go back to habits made of old.
 
35. Craving, unknowing, the liked and the disliked,
delighting in forms and pleasing feelings too,
dear pleasures of the senses — all have been vomited:
never to that vomit can I make myself return.
 
36. In every life, O mind, your word was done by me,
In many births I have not sought to anger you.
That which within oneself produced by you, ingrate,
long wandered on in ill create by you.
 
37. Indeed it is you, mind, makes us Brahmins,
you make us noble warriors, kings and seers as well,
sometimes it is merchant or workers become,
or led by you indeed we come to gods' estate.
 
38. Indeed you are the cause of becoming titans too,
and you are the root for becoming in the hells;
sometimes there is going to birth as animals,
or led by you indeed be come to ghosts' estate.
 
39. Not now will you injure me ever and again,
moment by moment as though showing me a play,
as with one gone mad you play with me —
but how, O mind, have you been failed by me?
 
40. Formerly this wandering mind, a wanderer,
went where it wished, wherever whim or pleasure led,
today I shall thoroughly restrain it
as a trainer's hook the elephant in rut.
 
41. He, the Master made me see this world —
unstable, unsteady, lacking any essence;
now in the Conqueror's Teaching, mind make me leap
cross me over the great floods so very hard to cross!
 
42. Now it's not for you, mind, as it was before,
not likely am I to return to your control —
in the Greatest Sage's Dispensation I have gone forth
and those like me are not by ruin wrapped.

43. Mountains, seas, rivers, and this wealthy world,
four quarters, points between, the nadir and the heavens
all the Three Becomings unstable and oppressed.
Where, mind, having gone will you happily delight?
 
44. Firm, firm in my aim! What will you do, my mind?
No longer in your power, mind, nor your follower.
None would even handle a double-ended sack,
let be a thing filled full and flowing with nine streams.
 
45. Whether peak or slopes or fair open space
or forest besprinkled with fresh showers in the Rains,
where frequently are found boar and antelope,
there will you delight to a grotto-lodging gone.
 
46. Fair blue-throated and fair-crested, the peacock fair of tail,
wing-plumes of many hues, the passengers of air,
greeting the thunder with fair-sounding cries
will bring to you joy meditating in the wood. More

• Introduction
  • On Forest Meditation
  • Who was Talaputa?
  • Why Go Forth to Homelessness?
  • The Occasion of his Ordination
• Talaputa Thera's Verses
• Talaputa's Aspirations
• Going Forth
• The Practices of a Bhikkhu
• The Mind
  • The Mind's Inconstancy
  • Desires
  • Mind and Dukkha
  • Mind as the Source of Rebirths
  • Dhamma to Practice
  • Determination
• Delight in the Forest
• Success
• Conclusion
• Notes

Modern story

For years a mysterious figure lurked in the darkness of a rural town in Maine, stealing from homes and running away. Nobody had ever seen the culprit and hardly knew whether it was a human or some supernatural demon committing the series of crimes. All they knew was that they were afraid and police were powerless to stop it. Who was behind it? Why was someone mysteriously entering people’s homes and stealing the most bizarre items? Read on to unearth the mystery of this incredible story. More

The Elephant (Dhammapada verses)

Amber Larson, Crystal Quintero, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Acharya Buddharakkhita (trans.), Nagavagga, "The Elephant" (Dhp XXIII, Dhp. 320-333); G.P. Malalasekera

Theravada Buddhist monk meditating in the jungle with elephant (Santi foto/flickr.com)

.

Burmese monks (S. Ranieri)

320. As an elephant in the battlefield withstands arrows shot from bows all around, even so shall I endure abuse. There are many, indeed, who lack virtue.

 

321. A tamed elephant is led into a crowd, and the ruler mounts a tamed elephant. Best among humans is the subdued one who endures abuse.

 

322. Excellent are well-trained mules, thoroughbred Sindhu horses, and noble tusker elephants. But better still is the person who has subdued him or herself.

323. Not by these mounts, however, would one go to the Untrodden Land (nirvana), as one who is self-tamed goes by one's own tamed and well-controlled mind (heart).

The American Buddhist nun Ayya Tathaaloka giving the gift of the Dharma (bhikkhuni.net).

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Novice nun, Burma (Huggy's pics)

324. Musty during rut, the tusker-elephant named Dhanapalaka* is uncontrollable. Held in captivity, the tusker does not touch a morsel of food, but only longingly calls to mind the elephant forest.

 

325. When a person is sluggish and gluttonous, sleeping and rolling around in bed like a fat domestic pig, that sluggard undergoes rebirth again and again.

 

Elephant perahera (flickr.com)

326. Formerly this mind (heart) wandered about as it liked, where it wished and according to its pleasure, but now I shall thoroughly master it with wisdom as a mahout controls with ankus an elephant in rut.

 

327. Delight in heedfulness! Guard well your thoughts! Draw yourself out of this bog of harm, even as an elephant draws itself out of the mud.

328. If for company you find a wise and prudent friend who leads a good life, you should, overcoming all impediments, keep that person's company joyfully and mindfully.

 

Mahout bathes elephant (Cyrille Gibot)

329. If for company you cannot find a wise and prudent friend who leads a good life, then, like a king who leaves behind a conquered kingdom, or like a lone elephant in the elephant forest, go your way alone.

 

330. Better it is to live alone; there is no keeping fellowship with a fool. Live alone and do no harm; be carefree like an elephant in the elephant forest.

331. Good are friends when need arises; good is contentment with just what one has; good is merit when life is at an end; and good is the abandoning of all suffering (through enlightenment).

 

Pārileyya elephant and the Buddha (ES)

332. In this world, good it is to serve one's mother, good it is to serve one's father, good it is to serve monastics, and good it is to serve the enlightened persons.

 

333. Good is virtue until life's end, good is confidence that is steadfast, good is the acquisition of wisdom, and good is the avoidance of harmful karma.

• PHOTOS: Buddhism in Burma (Myanmar)

*The Elephant Nalagiri
G.P. Malalasekera (Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, PTS) edited by Wisdom Quarterly

Drunk Nalagiri charges the Buddha who responds with loving-kindness taming the beast.

 

Nalagiri (Takht-i-bahi Museum)

Nālāgiri was an elephant who lived in the royal stalls at Rājagaha. Ven. Devadatta, after several vain attempts to kill the Buddha, obtained Prince Ajātasattu's consent to use Nālagiri as a means of bringing about the Buddha's death.

The elephant, he said, knows nothing of the Buddha's virtues. He will have no hesitation in destroying him. Nālagiri was indeed a fierce animal, but in order to increase his fierceness, Devadatta instructed his keeper (mahout) to give him twice his usual amount of alcoholic toddy.

A proclamation was then made with the beating of drums that the streets of the city should be cleared as Nālāgiri would be let loose upon them.

The people ran, but Ananda stepped in to save the Buddha. The Buddha saved himself and the royal elephant Nalagiri, who was soothed with waves of loving-kindness (metta).

 

In Parileyyaka forest

The Buddha was informed of this and warned against going into the city for alms. He ignored the warning and went into Rājagaha with monastics from the city's 18 monasteries.

At the sight of the tusker elephant Nālāgiri, the people fled in terror. Ven. Ananda, on seeing the elephant advancing towards the Buddha, went in spite of the Buddha's orders to the contrary: he stood in front of the Buddha, who had to make use of his supernatural power to move him.

Just then a woman carrying a child saw the elephant coming and fled. In her terror she dropped the child at the Buddha's feet. As the elephant was about to attack the child, the Buddha spoke to him, suffusing him with loving kindness and, stretching out his right hand, he stroked the animal's forehead.

Thrilled with joy at the touch, Nālāgiri sank on his knees before the Buddha, and the Buddha taught him the Dharma.

 

Taming Nalagiri (ariyamagga.net)

It is said that had the elephant not been a wild beast, he would have become a stream enterer. Marveling at the sight, the assembled people threw all of their ornaments on the elephant's body covering it. And henceforth the elephant was known as Dhanapāla (Dhanapālaka).

The Buddha returned to Bamboo Grove and later that day recounted the Cullahamsa Rebirth Tale (Jātaka) in praise of Ananda's loyalty (Vin.ii.194f.: J.v.333ff.; Avedānas i. 177). 

 

Nalagiri (huntingtonarchive.osu.edu)

It is said (Mil. 349) that 900 hundred million living beings who witnessed the miracle realized the truth.

 

The Bodhisattva [the Buddha before enlightenment] in a past life was once riding an elephant when he saw a non-teaching buddha. Intoxicated by his own glory, he made the elephant charge at him. It was as a result of this action (karma) that the Buddha, in this rebirth, was charged by Nālāgiri (UdA.265; Ap.i.300). Compare at Donamukha.