..續本文上一頁falo”s tail would be sore with athlete”s foot and I”d walk along thinking, "Why is life so miserable

　　" And now here I was walking meditation... what was a little bit of rain to me

　　 Thinking like this I encouraged myself in the practice.

　　If the practice has entered the stream then there”s nothing to compare with it. There”s no suffering like the suffering of a Dhamma cultivator and there”s no happiness like the happiness of one either. There”s no zeal to compare with the zeal of the cultivator and there”s no laziness to compare with them either. Practicers of the Dhamma are tops. That”s why I say if you really practice it”s a sight to see.

　　But most of us just talk about practice without having done it or reached it. Our practice is like the man whose roof is leaking on one side so he sleeps on the other side of the house. When the sunshine comes in on that side he rolls over to the other side, all the time thinking, "When will I ever get a decent house like everyone else

　　" If the whole roof leaks then he just gets up and leaves. This is not the way to do things, but that”s how most people are.

　　This mind of ours, these defilements... if you follow them they”ll cause trouble. The more you follow them the more the practice degenerates. With the real practice sometimes you even amaze yourself with your zeal. Whether other people practice or not, don”t take any interest, simply do your own practice consistently. Whoever comes or goes it doesn”t matter, just do the practice. You must look at yourself before it can be called "practice." When you really practice there are no conflicts in your mind, there is only Dhamma.

　　Wherever you are still inept, wherever you are still lacking, that”s where you must apply yourself. If you haven”t yet cracked it don”t give up. Having finished with one thing you get stuck on another, so persist with it until you crack it, don”t let up. Don”t be content until it”s finished. Put all your attention on that point. While sitting, lying down or walking, watch right there.

　　It”s just like a farmer who hasn”t yet finished his fields. Every year he plants rice but this year he still hasn”t gotten it finished, so his mind is stuck on that, he can”t rest content. His work is still unfinished. Even when he”s with friends he can”t relax, he”s all the time nagged by his unfinished business. Or like a mother who leaves her baby upstairs in the house while she goes to feed the animals below: she”s always got her baby in mind, lest it should fall from the house. Even though she may do other things, her baby is never far from her thoughts.

　　It”s just the same for us and our practice -- we never forget it. Even though we may do other things our practice is never far from our thoughts, it”s constantly with us, day and night. It has to be like this if you are really going to make progress.

　　In the beginning you must rely on a teacher to instruct and advise you. When you understand, then practice. When the teacher has instructed you follow the instructions. If you understand the practice it”s no longer necessary for the teacher to teach you, just do the work yourselves. Whenever heedlessness or unwholesome qualities arise know for yourself, teach yourself. Do the practice yourself. The mind is the one who knows, the witness. The mind knows for itself if you are still very deluded or only a little deluded. Wherever you are still faulty try to practice right at that point, apply yourself to it.

　　Practice is like that. It”s almost like being crazy, or you could even say you are crazy. When you really practice you are crazy, you "flip." You have distorted perception and then you adjust your perception. If you don”t adjust it, it”s going to be just as troublesome and just as wretched as before.

　　So there”s a lot of suf…

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