The Lottery Seller and the Insight of Non-Self

**Summary:** A poor lottery seller, through learning meditation and cultivating the insight of non-self, transformed his karmic obstacles and ensured he would not fall into the three lower realms.

On a year's end afternoon, a sudden downpour poured like water from the heavens. On a small, damp road, a thin man in soaking clothes still focused intently on selling lottery tickets bundle by bundle. He stopped under the eaves of a pagoda, his trembling hands smoothing over the tickets that remained perfectly dry. The faint scent of incense wafted from the temple, mingling with the smell of damp earth after the rain. He looked up to see a statue of the Buddha seated in meditative concentration at the center of the main hall, its compassionate gaze looking down upon him. A strange sense of peace gently crept into his heart.

His name was Tu, now over fifty years old. His entire life had been tied to these lottery tickets, from his youth until his hair began to speckle with grey. His home was at the end of an alley, its tin roof leaking everywhere, requiring him to place bowls and basins all over to catch the water during the rainy season. His wife passed away early, leaving him with their chubby son. He struggled through various jobs to raise his child, yet poverty remained a constant companion. Many nights he would lie awake, wondering why he suffered so much, while others were wealthy with fine houses and cars, while he himself faced hunger and scarcity.

One day, a friend invited him to the pagoda to listen to a Dharma talk. He sat at the back of the gathering, listening to the teacher explain meditative concentration and the insight of non-self. The teacher said, "This body is not the self, this mind is not the self. Nothing is the self." These words seemed to drill deep into his being. He recalled that for years, he had clung to the identity of a poor, humiliated person, constantly comparing himself to others. He told himself, "Of course, this body will age, fall ill, and die. This mind experiences joy, sadness, and anger. How can it be the self?"

But then, an event caused him profound inner turmoil. In his youth, driven by poverty, he had deceived a close friend out of a large sum of money to care for his own wife and child. That friend, because of the financial loss, went bankrupt, fell gravely ill, and passed away. Mr. Tu always carried a heavy guilt, unable to sleep at night. He thought, "I have sown such heavy karma; I will certainly fall into the realms of animals or hell in my next life." The fear tormented him constantly. One day, he went to the pagoda, knelt before the Buddha altar, and tears rolled down his cheeks: "I beg the compassionate Buddha to show me the path of repentance. I know my crime, and I am ready to pay the price, but I do not want to fall into the evil realms."

The teacher at the temple, seeing this, gently advised, "Do not be afraid. The Buddha teaches that if you practice meditative concentration and can generate the insight of non-self, the door to the evil realms will close. You will repay your karma in this human life, not through the body of an animal or in hell. Because the insight of non-self is the insight of the noble ones, of enlightenment, of liberation." Mr. Tu listened as if his heart bloomed with joy. He began to practice sitting meditation every day. At first, his legs ached and his mind was restless with wandering thoughts. But he persevered, sitting every day, even if only for fifteen minutes. He contemplated his body and mind, seeing their impermanence, seeing they were not the self. Gradually, he felt his mind become lighter, with less worry and less fear.

One night, he dreamt that his old friend appeared, smiling gently: "I forgive you. You have begun to practice and repent, I no longer blame you." Mr. Tu woke up, his pillow soaked with tears. He felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted. From then on, he lived more at peace, no longer resenting his fate. He still sold lottery tickets, still lived in poverty, but his heart no longer suffered. He often went to the pagoda to sit in meditation and helped others in similar circumstances. Someone once asked, "You're so poor, how can you be happy?" He smiled, "I am poor, but I do not suffer. I know this body is not me, this mind is not me. Poverty is merely a condition of dependent origination, not my true nature."

Many years later, Mr. Tu still lived in his dilapidated house, but his heart was as serene as a calm lake. He shared the teachings of meditation and the insight of non-self with other lottery sellers. Some listened, others paid no mind. But he was not saddened, for he knew everyone has their own conditions. He simply felt gratitude towards the Buddha for allowing him to encounter the true Dharma, for giving him a path to escape the suffering of samsara.

**The Meaning of the Story**

The story of the lottery seller illustrates the wondrous power of the insight of non-self. Despite poverty and despite having committed grave offenses, if one knows to practice meditative concentration and generates the insight of non-self, that person enters a different level of being, protected by celestial beings, and will no longer fall into the three evil realms. The insight of non-self is the seed of enlightenment, the ultimate goal of a disciple of the Buddha.

Compiled from a Dharma talk by Venerable Thich Chan Quang