Three months ago, I went through a long episode
of mental turmoil which lasted for eighteen hours but it seemed like a lifetime
to me. Not only could I feel every twist and turn in my heart but I could also
feel the pain seeping through every living cell of my body. It seemed to me that such an
extraordinarily painful experience was almost purposeful because once I had
come out of it, I gained so much strength that I told myself I must reach out
to more people, especially the Thai, and share with them the way to overcome
suffering. No matter how strange it may sound, that was indeed the incident
leading to the birth of this book-A Handful of Leaves.
I have talked about the Thai people because ever
since I understood the dhamma a bit better, I had always shared mainly with my
students in Britain and all my work has been written in English but not in
Thai. This time however is rather different. I would like to give something
back to the Thai as a way to show my appreciation and to return my gratitude to
all my spiritual teachers and to the Thai ancestral culture which nurtured me
until I found the matchless dhamma. Therefore, the approach of this book aims
at Thai Buddhists, especially the modern generation who have a scientific mind
and may be caught up in between the two worlds of science and religion.
Modern Thai people might be a bit reluctant to
explore a bit deeper into their own religion due to the frequent scandals in
the Sangha institution. The first eight chapters, which I keep short, have the
preliminary contents from which I draw issues from different angles so that I
can connect them to the supreme concept of Buddhism, Nirvana and finally to the
core practice of the four foundations of awareness. This is to give readers a
clear picture of what life is all about. I spent a longer time delving into
talking about the four foundations of awareness so that readers may begin their
mind journey if they feel ready to. The enlightening culture which is the last
section can help the Thai to understand better their Thai way of life, which I
think is the final touch in creating the sense of harmony for this book. I
cannot possibly forget the people I am
living with right now in Britain, so I decided to write the English
version too. I do my best to keep the chapters and the outline the same as in
the Thai version but the details might be a bit different since I have to talk
with a different approach and I also found it difficult at times to write the
same thing twice. I would suggest the Thai who are fluent in English to read
the English version of this book too and vice versa.
Having gone through the process from being
ignorant about the ultimate purpose of life to the struggling of trying to get
the practice right and to the present stage of knowing what is what, I have a
clearer vision of how I can help others to speed up their difficult journey to
Nirvana, in other words, to enter the kingdom of God. I think the way I share
with readers in this book is exactly the way I would have wanted to be taught
myself. I can vividly remember the two contrasting feelings frustration and
peace trying to claim the seat in my heart whilst I was in the process of
trying to get the practice right. It was a moment of sheer frustration at the
time. That is, you cannot walk back and you cannot walk forward either.
The way to eliminate those feelings among
readers is to confirm the ultimate purpose of life in a way that it is within
our reach. That’s why I try to find all the different ways and approaches to
convince people that the enlightenment of the Buddha has a direct impact on
every one of us. To enter Nirvana or to go back to the kingdom of God is our
prime duty as a human being and that we must not waste any more time before
beginning our mind-journey. Compared to the indefinite length of samsara (the
cycle of rebirth), the span of a lifetime is far too short to pursue something
that has less significance than the ultimate spiritual freedom. We must live
our lives up to the standard of the Thai saying: it is extremely fortunate to
be born as a human being and to bump into Buddhism.
I hope that this book can help to encourage
readers to take their first step of a long journey towards the ultimate
destination of life. Please be very patient and do your best.
I wish everyone all the best of luck.
Supawan Green
17 May 1999