..續本文上一頁 standard. For many years here at Wat Ba Pong it was I myself who read it to the assembly. In those days I would ascend the Dhamma-seat and go on until at least eleven o”clock or midnight, some days even one or two o”clock in the morning. We were interested. And we trained. After listening to the Vinaya reading we would go and consider what we”d heard. You can”t really understand the Vinaya just by listening to it. Having listened to it you must examine it and delve into it further.

　　Even though I studied these things for many years my knowledge was still not complete, because there were so many ambiguities in the texts. Now that it”s been such a long time since I looked at the books, my memory of the various training rules has faded somewhat, but within my mind there is no deficiency. There is a standard there. There is no doubt, there is understanding. I put away the books and concentrated on developing my own mind. I don”t have doubts about any of the training rules. The mind has an appreciation of virtue, it won”t dare do anything wrong, whether in public or in private. I do not kill animals, even small ones. If someone were to ask me to intentionally kill an ant or a termite, to squash one with my hand, for instance, I couldn”t do it, even if they were to offer me thousands of baht to do so. Even one ant or termite! The ant”s life would have greater value to me.

　　However, it may be that I may cause one to die, such as when something crawls up my leg and I brush it off. Maybe it dies, but when I look into my mind there is no feeling of guilt. There is no wavering or doubt. Why

　　 Because there was no intention. Silam vadami bhikkhave cetanaham: "Intention is the essence of moral training." Looking at it in this way I see that there was no intentional killing. Sometimes while walking I may step on an insect and kill it. In the past, before I really understood, I would really suffer over things like that. I would think I had committed an offense.

　　"What

　　 There was no intention." "There was no intention, but I wasn”t being careful enough!" I would go on like this, fretting and worrying.

　　So this Vinaya is something which can be disturb practicers of Dhamma, but it also has its value, in keeping with what the teachers say -- "Whatever training rules you don”t yet know you should learn. If you don”t know you should question those who do." They really stress this.

　　Now if we don”t know the training rules, we won”t be aware of our transgressions against them. Take, for example, a Venerable Thera of the past, Ajahn Pow of Wat Kow Wong Got in Lopburi Province. One day a certain Maha, [14] a disciple of his, was sitting with him, when some women came up and asked,

　　"Luang Por! We want to invite you to go with us on an excursion, will you go

　　"

　　Luang Por Pow didn”t answer. The Maha sitting near him thought that Venerable Ajahn Pow hadn”t heard, so he said,

　　"Luang Por, Luang Por! Did you hear

　　 These women invited you to go for a trip."

　　He said, "I heard."

　　The women asked again, "Luang Por, are you going or not

　　"

　　He just sat there without answering, and so nothing came of the invitation. When they had gone, the Maha said,

　　"Luang Por, why didn”t you answer those women

　　"

　　He said, "Oh, Maha, don”t you know this rule

　　 Those people who were here just now were all women. If women invite you to travel with them you should not consent. If they make the arrangements themselves that”s fine. If I want to go I can, because I didn”t take part in making the arrangements."

　　"The Maha sat and thought, "Oh, I”ve really made a fool of myself."

　　The Vinaya states that to make an arrangement, and then travel together with, women, even though it isn”t as a couple, is a pacittiya offense.

　　Take another case. Lay people would bring money to o…

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