..續本文上一頁ing. This is the practice that reaches the disbanding of suffering."

　　That”s the path. Everything gathers into the path. As you strengthen the path, your defilements decrease. The defilements are like an army, you know. If they increase, the path decreases. If the path gets strengthened, the defilements gradually go away, go away. Their strength decreases. You stay only with what”s right. Whatever”s wrong, you give it up, give it all up, and the wrong path peters out.

　　That”s when the right path gets established, and you can live wherever you want. Gaining is the same as losing; losing, the same as gaining. There”s no problem any more. The mind is at peace — at peace through discernment. When you see in this way, you”re not fixated on this or that. If someone brings you something to trade this for that, you”re not interested. You don”t believe them. That”s when things are for sure. Remember this point well.

　　It”s like knowing fruits: This is an olive, this is a guava, this is a mango. Once you know them, people can pour them all into a tray and someone can pick them up one by one and ask you what they are.

　　"What”s this

　　"

　　"A guava."

　　"What”s this

　　"

　　"An olive."

　　"What”s this

　　"

　　"A mango."

　　The person can keep doing this for a hundred trays of fruit, a thousand trays of fruit, and you won”t be deceived by any of them. You see a mango as a mango, a guava as a guava — whatever it is, you see it for what it is. That”s when things are for sure. Nobody can deceive you. You can”t wander off the path, for everything in the mind is the right path. When you”re sitting, you have right view. When you”re walking, you have right view. When you”re lying down, you have right view. The mind is all the same, always like it has been: at ease, at peace. These sorts of things are hard to describe.

　　Pleasure isn”t the highest level of Dhamma. It”s peace because it”s no longer disturbed by pleasure or pain. It”s empty. It stays unfixated, unattached. Wherever you go, it keeps staying that way.

　　For instance, if somebody”s mood comes to hit you — "You know, venerable father, you”re just like a dog" — you stay at your ease. Once you”re sure of yourself, that”s the way it is. But if they call you a dog and you really become a dog, biting them, that shows you”re not sure of yourself. You”re not for sure. Once you”re for sure, you”re not anything. Why would you want to be anything

　　 Venerable Father Sii, Venerable Father Saa, Venerable Father Maa: It”s not the case that you”ve had these names all along. They were given to you not all that long ago.

　　Like that eight-precept man over there: Where did he come from

　　 Was he born with a label affixed to him

　　 His parents gave him a name just a little while ago. If they call you a person, what”s there to get so happy about

　　 If they call you a dog, what”s there to get so upset about

　　 Isn”t that a sign you”re already in sad shape

　　So we keep on contemplating, keep on looking, until we keep on getting it right, getting it right. You get it right while you”re sitting down, right while you”re lying down. Whatever you do, it”s right. It keeps on staying right. But if you start arguing about the Dhamma, you can”t escape suffering.

　　It”s like the piece of iron that”s red-hot all over. It doesn”t have any cool spot. If you touch it on top, it”s hot. If you touch it underneath, it”s hot. If you touch it on the sides, it”s hot. Why is it hot

　　 Because the whole thing is a piece of red-hot iron. Where would it be cool

　　It”s the same here. Once you latch onto anything — whatever it is — you”re immediately wrong. Everything is wrong, everything is suffering. If you latch onto what”s evil, you suffer. If you latch onto what”s good, you suffer.

　　For the most part, the good things are what lead people to be very deluded. They”re de…

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