..續本文上一頁add the burden of judging others. Learn to use your own breath and everyday life as the place of meditation and you will surely grow in wisdom.

　　Meditation in Action

　　Proper effort is not the effort to make something particular happen. It is the effort to be aware and awake in each moment, the effort to overcome laziness and defilement, the effort to make each activity of our day meditation.

　　To Grasp a Snake

　　"Our practice here is not to grasp anything," Achaan Chah told a new monk.

　　"But isn”t it necessary to hold onto things sometimes

　　" the monk protested.

　　"With the hands, yes! but not with the heart," the teacher replied. "When the heart grasps what is painful, it is like being bitten by a snake. And when, through desire, it grasps what is pleasant, it is just grasping the tail of the snake. It only takes a little while longer for the head of the snake to come around and bite you. .

　　"Make this nongrasping and mindfulness the guardian of your heart, like a parent. Then your likes and dislikes will come calling like children. ”I don”t like that, Mommy. I want more of that, Daddy.” Just smile and say, ”Sure, kid.” ”But Mommy, I really want an elephant.” ”Sure, kid.” ”I want candy. Can we go for an airplane ride

　　” There is no problem if you can let them come and go without grasping."

　　Something contacts the senses; like or dislike arises; and right there is delusion. Yet with mindfulness, wisdom can arise in this same experience.

　　Do not fear places where many things contact the senses, if you must be there. Enlightened does not mean being deaf and blind. Saying a mantra every second to block things out, you may get hit by a car. Just be mindful and do not be fooled. When others

　　say something is pretty, say to yourself, "It”s not." When others say something is delicious, say to yourself, "No, it”s not." Do not get caught in the attachments of the world or in relative judgments. Just let it all go by.

　　Some people are afraid of generosity. They feel that they will be exploited or oppressed, that they will not be properly caring for themselves. In cultivating generosity, we are only oppressing our greed and attachment. This allows our true nature to express itself and become lighter and freer.

　　Virtue

　　There are two levels of practice. The first is the foundation, a development of precepts, virtue, or morality in order to bring happiness, comfort, and harmony among people. The second, more intensive and unconcerned with comfort is the practice of Buddha Dharma directed solely toward awakening, toward the liberation of the heart. This liberation is the source of wisdom and compassion and the true reason for the Buddha”s teaching. Understanding these two levels is the basis for true practice.

　　Virtue and morality are the mother and father of the Dharma growing within us, providing it with the proper nourishment and direction.

　　Virtue is the basis for a harmonious world in which people can live truly as humans, not animals. Developing virtue is at the heart of our practice. It is very simple. Keep the training precepts. Do not kill, steal, lie, commit sexual misdeeds, or take intoxicants that make you heedless. Cultivate compassion and a reverence for all life. Take care with your goods, your possessions, your actions, your speech. Use virtue to make your life simple and pure. With virtue as a basis for everything you do, your mind will become kind, clear, and quiet. Meditation will grow easily in this soil. .

　　The Buddha said, "Refrain from what is bad, do good, and purify the heart." Our practice, then, is to get rid of what is worthless and keep what is valuable. Do you still have anything bad or unskillful in your heart

　　 Of course! So why not clean house

　　As true practice, this getting rid of bad and cultivating good is …

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