Q6. With What May Dhamma Be Compared?
~ By Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu ~
The Buddha said, ‘Dhamma may be compared to a raft.’ He used the word ‘raft’ because in those days rafts were commonly used for crossing rivers, and this explanation of Dhamma as a raft could be readily understood. This simile has an important meaning. One shouldn’t become so attached to Dhamma that one forgets oneself, that one becomes careless and proud of being a teacher, a scholar, or a thinker. If one forgets that Dhamma as teachings and texts is just a raft, this danger will arise. The Dhamma raft is a vehicle that will carry us across to the other shore. Having reached the further shore and climbed onto firm ground, we shouldn’t be so foolish as to carry the raft along with us.
This simile is meant to teach us to recognize and use Dhamma as merely a means to an end, not to grasp at and cling to it to the point of forgetting ourselves. If we don’t recognize the true function of this raft, we may find ourselves keeping it for show or as something to quarrel over. Sometimes it is regarded as a race to be run, which is wasteful and useless. It should be used as intended for crossing over, for crossing the stream. Knowledge of Dhamma should be used to cross over beyond suffering. It shouldn’t be retained for detrimental purposes, for fighting with that sharp-edged weapon the tongue, for arguing, or as an object of ceremonial obeisance. Don’t grasp at and cling to it such that, even after having reached the shore and having landed, you aren’t willing to leave the raft behind, but want to carry it everywhere with you.
(From “Buddha-Dhamma for Inquiring Minds”)
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Buddha-Dhamma for Students (title of original translation) was composed of two talks given by Ajahn Buddhadāsa in January 1966 to students at Thammasat University, Bangkok. It was translated from the Thai by Rod Bucknell, and revised in 2018 by Santikaro Upasaka. To read/download as free ebook (pdf).
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For all English retreat talks, visit Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu.
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Photo: Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives D-143