..續本文上一頁 well. Some things I will leave to the other monks and novices to help take care of. Perhaps I will take a rest. From time immemorial it”s been this way, and in the world it”s the same: as long as the father and mother are still alive, the children are well and prosperous. When the parents die, the children separate. Having been rich they become poor. This is usually how it is, even in the lay life, and one can see it here as well. For example, while the Ajahn is still alive everybody is well and prosperous. As soon as he passes away decline begins to set in immediately. Why is this

　　 Because while the teacher is still alive people become complacent and forget themselves. They don”t really make an effort with the study and the practice. As in lay life, while the mother and father are still alive, the children just leave everything up to them. They lean on their parents and don”t know how to look after themselves. When the parents die they become paupers. In the monkhood it”s the same. If the Ajahn goes away or dies, the monks tend to socialize, break up into groups and drift into decline, almost every time.

　　Why is this

　　 It”s because they forget themselves. Living off the merits of the teacher everything runs smoothly. When the teacher passes away, the disciples tend to split up. Their views clash. Those who think wrongly live in one place, those who think rightly live in another. Those who feel uncomfortable leave their old associates and set up new places and start new lineages with their own groups of disciples. This is how it goes. In the present it”s the same. This is because we are at fault. While the teacher is still alive we are at fault, we live heedlessly. We don”t take up the standards of practice taught by the Ajahn and establish them within our own hearts. We don”t really follow in his footsteps.

　　Even in the Buddha”s time it was the same, remember the scriptures

　　 That old monk, what was his name...

　　 Subhadda Bhikkhu! When Venerable Maha Kassapa was returning from Pava he asked an ascetic on the way, "Is the Lord Buddha faring well

　　" The ascetic answered: "The Lord Buddha entered Parinibbana seven days ago."

　　Those monks who were still unenlightened were grief-stricken, crying and wailing. Those who had attained the Dhamma reflected to themselves, "Ah, the Buddha has passed away. He has journeyed on." But those who were still thick with defilements, such as Venerable Subhadda, said:

　　"What are you all crying for

　　 The Buddha has passed away. That”s good! Now we can live at ease. When the Buddha was still alive he was always bothering us with some rule or other, we couldn”t do this or say that. Now the Buddha has passed away, that”s fine! We can do whatever we want, say what we want... Why should you cry

　　"

　　It”s been so from way back then till the present day.

　　However that may be, even though it”s impossible to preserve entirely... Suppose we had a glass and we took care to preserve it. Each time we used it we cleaned it and put it away in a safe place. Being very careful with that glass we can use it for a long time, and then when we”ve finished with it others can also use it. Now, using glasses carelessly and breaking them every day, and using one glass for ten years before it breaks -- which is better

　　Our practice is like this. For instance, if out of all of us living here, practicing steadily, only ten of you practice well, then Wat Ba Pong will prosper. Just as in the villages: in the village of one hundred houses, even if there are only fifty good people that village will prosper. Actually to find even ten would be difficult. Or take a monastery like this one here: it is hard to find even five or six monks who have real commitment, who really do the practice.

　　In any case, we don”t have any responsibilit…

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