..續本文上一頁ies now, other than to practice well. Think about it, what do we own here

　　 We don”t have wealth, possessions, and families any more. Even food we take only once a day. We”ve given up many things already, even better things than these. As monks and novices we give up everything. We own nothing. All those things people really enjoy have been discarded by us. Going forth as a Buddhist monk is in order to practice. Why then should we hanker for other things, indulging in greed, aversion or delusion

　　 To occupy our hearts with other things is no longer appropriate.

　　Consider: why have we gone forth

　　 Why are we practicing

　　 We have gone forth to practice. If we don”t practice then we just lie around. If we don”t practice, then we are worse off than lay people, we don”t have any function. If we don”t perform any function or accept our responsibilities it”s a waste of the samana”s [26] life. It contradicts the aims of a samana.

　　If this is the case then we are heedless. Being heedless is like being dead. Ask yourself, will you have time to practice when you die

　　 Constantly ask yourself, "When will I die

　　" If we contemplate in this way our mind will be alert every second, heedfulness will always be present. When there is no heedlessness, sati -- recollection of what is what -- will automatically follow. Wisdom will be clear, seeing all the things clearly as they are. Recollection guards the mind, knowing the arising of sensations at all times, day and night. that is to have sati. To have sati is to be composed. To be composed is to be heedful. If one is heedful then one is practicing rightly. This is our specific responsibility.

　　So today I would like to present this to you all. If in the future you leave here for one of the branch monasteries or anywhere else, don”t forget yourselves. The fact is you are still not perfect, still not completed. You still have a lot of work to do, many responsibilities to shoulder. Namely, the practices of cultivation and relinquishment. Be concerned about this, every one of you. Whether you live at this monastery or a branch monastery, preserve the standards of practice. Nowadays there are many of us, many branch temples. All the branch monasteries owe their origination to Wat Ba Pong. We could say that the branch monasteries. So, especially the teachers, monks and novices of Wat Ba Pong should try to set the example, to be the guide for all the other branch monasteries, continuing to be diligent in the practices and responsibilities of a samana.

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　　Right Practice -- Steady Practice

　　Wat Wana Potiyahn [27] here is certainly very peaceful, but this is meaningless if our minds are not calm. All places are peaceful. That some may seem distracting is because of our minds. However, a quiet place can help to become calm, by giving one the opportunity to train and thus harmonize with its calm.

　　You should all bear in mind that this practice is difficult. To train other things is not so difficult, it”s easy, but the human mind is hard to train. The Lord Buddha trained his mind. The mind is the important thing. Everything within this body-mind system comes together at the mind. The eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body all receive sensations and send them into the mind, which is the supervisor of all the other sense organs. Therefore it is important to train the mind. If the mind is well trained all problems come to an end. If there are still problems it”s because the mind still doubts, it doesn”t know in accordance with the truth. That is why there are problems.

　　So recognize that all of you have come fully prepared for practicing Dhamma. Whether standing, walking, sitting or reclining, the tools you need with which to practice are w…

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