The teachings of Luang Phor Anan

The teachings of Luang Phor Anan

The fact that a Buddha can arise in the world, that one can realize enlightenment, cannot have come about by just being born in this lifetime only. The Buddha wasn’t just suddenly able to attain to enlightenment as the foremost in the world, greater than all other humans, heavenly beings, and gods within the three-world system. That’s not how it happened.

In order to become the Fully-Enlightened Buddha, He had to perfect the ten pāramīs over countless lifetimes, much more than other human beings. This was so that in His final birth He could reach enlightenment with a heart more supreme than any other in any realm. 

It’s not the case that He was able to become the Buddha without ever having developed Himself previously. 

That’s not how it was. 

With regard to our beliefs, some things we cannot prove. At times we must rely on faith instead. There is faith in the Great Teacher who was enlightened over 2500 years ago along with the ability to recollect His previous births and the ability to know the future. The teachings of the Buddha are flawless. 

Heavens, hells, brahma realms and Nibbāna definitely exist. These are facts which the Buddha proclaimed on the basis of His knowledges of previous births and the disappearing and reappearing of beings according to their karma. He saw absolutely clearly that death is followed by rebirth, as opposed to annihilation.

The heart takes rebirth according to our karma, repeatedly cycling through samsāra in various forms of existence. 

And because our various births are dictated by our karma, if we create bad karma the heart will accordingly take birth in a lower form of existence where one finds only suffering and torment.

Therefore the heart is the important thing. All forms of karma are performed in our actions, in our speech, or in our thoughts. When we create virtuous karma we will be happy. This is because our heart is not harming itself or others. It is abiding in goodness. And at the time of death, a heart that is pure and established in goodness will go to heaven, the Buddha said. A heart that is afflicted, on the other hand, will go to hell. This is dependent on the state of the heart at the moment the body dies.

Luang Phor Anan

Wat Marp Jan 

Rayong Province