..續本文上一頁me the mind.

　　It is not possible for one”s mind to become totally concentrated and free of defilements as soon as one starts working. The mind will wander repeatedly. And when it wanders, it will be overcome by craving, overcome by aversion. And because of this, the meditator will become more and more agitated. "Oh, what kind of mind am I carrying! It is so full of craving, so full of aversion. It does not stay in the present at all. Our teacher says that one should live in the present but my mind does not stay in the present at all. It is so miserable." One has lost patience. One has lost equanimity. One has lost the balance of one”s mind. How can the work proceed

　　 One has to work very patiently. If the mind wanders, one accepts the present reality that it has wandered. If the mind is full of craving, one accepts the present reality that it is full of craving. One merely accepts: "At this moment, my mind is full of craving." or "At this moment, my mind is full of aversion." Thus, one keeps observing the state of the mind, as it is. One observes the natural respiration dispassionately, objectively, without any personal identification.

　　Something has happened at the physical or mental level and one understands, "I am observing" One starts the work in this way. As one progresses, one will reach a stage where this "I" will disappear, this "am observing" will also disappear. Something has happened and one understands, "It is being observed." There is no observer; there is only objective observation.

　　Influenced by Vipassana, Patanjali, an Indian sage who lived a few centuries after the Buddha, said, "Draṣṭā dṛśīmātra"-In seeing there should be only seeing. Later, this objective observation also ends, and bare awareness remains at the level of direct experience. This awareness is samma ditthi-right understanding, right knowledge. This eventually takes the Vipassana meditator to the final stage of full liberation.

　　Initially, one has to pass through many difficulties. When a wild buffalo or wild elephant enters any human habitation, it causes so much harm, so much destruction, so much panic. But after one has tamed the wild beast, by working very patiently, it is of such immense help. Its entire strength is utilised constructively.

　　The mind is more powerful than a thousand elephants. When it is destructive, it does more harm than a thousand wild elephants. The same mind, when tamed, will be of much more service than a thousand tamed elephants. A tamed mind will cause much happiness. But one has to work very patiently.

　　A meditator should also understand that "I have to do this work oneself. It is my responsibility." This is not out of egoism. Sometimes, because it was lost from India for such a long time, some people do not understand this technique of Vipassana properly and criticise it. They consider the idea of liberating themselves by removing their own defilements as egoistic. Oh no! This meditation technique will take one to a stage where the ego dissolves completely and there is only anattā (egolessness). The idea of "I", "mine", "my soul" will come to an end.

　　Liberating oneself is not egoism but a responsibility. Just as one bathes every morning because one is responsible for keeping one”s body clean. Who else will do it

　　 Is one inflating the ego by bathing daily

　　 Where is the question of inflating the ego

　　 It is one”s own responsibility. If the body becomes dirty, it becomes diseased. It has to be kept free from disease, therefore, one should clean it. Similarly, the mind has become impure. Who has made the mind impure

　　 It is one”s own responsibility. One did it out of ignorance because one did not have proper understanding. Now the job of cleaning it is one”s own responsibility. One has to do it onesel…

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