The Dhamma Is A Raft

One day I talked to a group of students who visited the temple. As usual I gave an introduction to Buddhism. I spoke, as I usually do, about the meaning of Buddhism; the five factors of Buddhism; what I do in monastic life. I gave them an explanation of the stories depicted in the mural paintings and give them time to ask questions. I very much enjoyed the last session, the session of taking questions. I like to hear students’ questions. Often students ask good questions and, indeed, I in return like to give them good answers!

That day, after my talk, one student asked me if I always hold the Buddha in my mind. I answered, “No. Not all the time….” and added, “What I always bear in my mind is the Dhamma”. He asked me, “Why not the Buddha?” I said, “That is because the Buddha is a guide or teacher who taught the world Dhamma, that is to say, his way of life. Dhamma can help me understand life, solve problems in daily life and can give me insight into the realization of all phenomena”. He looked stunned at how amazing the Dhamma is. I further explained that Buddhists use Dhamma as a guide, but they don’t attach to Dhamma. At this point, I referred to the Raft Sutta. Here is the Raft Sutta:-

This I have heard. The Buddha was teaching his monks. He taught that one should examine the Dhamma with wisdom so one may experience its meaning and put it into practice. One should not merely hold on to the Dhamma without examining it or investigating it further.

The Buddha further taught, "Suppose that a man, in the course of travelling along a path, were to come to a great expanse of water, but with neither a ferryboat nor a bridge going from this shore to the other. The thought would occur to him, ‘Here is this great expanse of water, with neither a ferryboat nor a bridge going from this shore to the other. What if I were to gather grass, twigs, branches, and leaves and, having bound them together to make a raft, were to cross over to safety on the other shore in dependence on the raft made by my own effort with my hands and feet?’ Then the man, having gathered grass, twigs, branches, and leaves, having bound them together to make a raft, would cross over to safety on the other shore in dependence on the raft. Having crossed over to the further shore, he might think, "How useful this raft has been to me! Why don’t I carry it on my back and go wherever I like?" The Buddha asked the monks, “What do you think, monks? Would the man, in doing that, be doing what should be done with the raft?"

They answered, "No, Lord."

The Buddha said, "That is correct! He should neither drag the raft on dry land nor sink it in the water. He should leave it there for the use of the next person. In doing this, he would be doing what should be done with the raft. Even so monks, I have taught you the Dhamma is like a raft, for the purpose of crossing over the water, not for the purpose of holding onto. Knowing the Dhamma to be like a raft, you should make use of it and not to attach to it."

After recounting the Raft Sutta, I reaffirmed that this is a good simile which we should bear in mind. It is true if we cannot let go of things, they will become a big burden to us. I told the student that I was going to give another story which would serve as a good example. Here is the story:

There was an old man always carried a door with him wherever he went. When somebody asked him about it, he replied, ”It is just a security measure. Nobody can enter my house except through the door. So I carry the door with me.” People tried to explain to him that he misunderstood. But he did not listen to them. Therefore, wherever he went, people laughed at him. What he did was neither useful nor skilful, he was just a joke.

After giving some further explanation, I asked the student if he could understand? He smiled at me as a way of telling me that he thought I was an OK teacher! I would not have expected him to understand, anyway. I just did my best as a teacher or Dhamma speaker. I am sure that if he does his best as a student he will more or less be able to understand the meaning of the stories.