Ajahn Chah

Focusing on life's conditionality he contemplated in accordance with nature.

Due to this cause there is birth.

Due to birth there is death.

And all this movement of coming and going

So the Buddha took up these themes for contemplation in order to understand the truth about the five khandhas.

Everything mental and physical, everything conceived and thought about without exception is conditioned.

Once he knew this,

He taught us to set it down.

Once he knew this, he taught to abandon it all.

He encouraged others to understand in accordance with this truth.

If we don't, we'll suffer.

We won't be able to let go of these things.

However, once we do see the truth of the matter, we'll recognize how these things delude us.

As the Buddha taught, the mind has no substance.

It's not any thing.

The mind isn't born belonging to anyone.

It doesn't die as anyone's.

This mind is free, brilliantly radiant and unentangled with any problems or issues.

The reason problems arise is because the mind is deluded by conditioned things, deluded by this misperception of self.

In the beginning, what is there?