The World Of Tzu Chi(Vol.115).

TZU CHI 115 49 REMINDERS UNDER THE SALA TREES As the news that the Buddha was about to enter Parinirvana was spreading, Subhadra knew that this was his last opportunity. So, he quickly prepared some offerings, including goat milk, and brought them to the Buddha. He made his offering to the Buddha and asked him to expound the Dharma to him. The last teaching the Buddha gave was on the Noble Eightfold Path. Throughout the Buddha’s life, his teachings never departed from the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. The Four Noble Truths awaken us to the profound principle of the cycle of birth and death. Why do we come into this world? Why do we carry so many different kinds of karma? Actually, all this karma is accumulated over lifetimes through our interpersonal conflicts. We should quickly eliminate the causes of this karma. This is the reason why we must practise the Path. Where is the Path? How big and how profound is the Path? Actually, there are eight methods to practising the Path, which is why it is called the Noble Eightfold Path. They are: Right Views, Right Thinking, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Diligence, Right Mindfulness and Right Samadhi. In our interaction with people in our daily lives, we need to follow these principles—they are the foundation for becoming a good human being. The Twelve Divisions of the Tripitaka are also derived from the Four Noble Truths and Twelve Links of Interdependent Origination, and the method to put these teachings into practice is the Noble Eightfold Path. If we can grasp these core principles, we will thoroughly understand all Dharma of the Twelve Divisions of the Tripitaka. The Four Noble Truths and the eight methods to enter the Buddha’s door The Buddha’s first teaching was on the Four Noble Truths, and the last teaching was on the Noble Eightfold Path—these are the fundamentals of learning Buddha’s teachings. For 49 years, the Buddha tirelessly travelled along the banks of the Ganges in India to awaken sentient beings from delusion. Because of the limited capacity of sentient beings, as well as the overpowering complexity of worldly matters, the Buddha had to continuously explain these and patiently guide sentient beings in the right direction. Confucius once said, “If, after being shown how to make one corner of a table, a student is unable to make the other three corners accordingly, there is no need to teach him further.” A master carpenter will only teach his apprentice how to cut out 1 A nisidana is a mat to sit or lie on.