..續本文上一頁wise, you”ll have no support and are sure to fall down. If you don”t believe me, try stepping with both feet at once and see how far you get.

　　In the same way, tranquillity and insight have to go together. You first have to make the mind stop in tranquillity and then take a step in your investigation: This is insight meditation. The understanding that arises is discernment. To let go of your attachment to that understanding is release.

　　So stopping is the factor that gives rise to strength, knowledge, and discernment — the fixed mind that knows both the world and the Dhamma in a state of heightened virtue, heightened consciousness, and heightened discernment leading on to the transcendent.

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　　To get full results from our meditation, the mind has to give the orders. Mindfulness is what does the work and assists in the progress of all our activities, while alertness is what observes the results of what we”ve done. To speak in terms of the frames of reference, these qualities are called mindfulness and alertness. To speak in terms of jhana, they”re called directed thought and evaluation. They”re the qualities that give rise to discernment.

　　Discernment comes from observing causes and effects. If we know effects without knowing causes, that doesn”t qualify as discernment. If we know causes without knowing effects, that doesn”t qualify, either. We have to know both of them together with our mindfulness and alertness. This is what qualifies as all-around knowing in the full sense of the term.

　　The all-around knowing that arises within us comes from causes and effects, not from what we read in books, hear other people tell us, or conjecture on our own. Suppose we have some silver coins in our pocket. If all we know is that other people tell us it”s money, we don”t know its qualities. But if we experiment with it and put it in a smelter to see what it”s made of and to see how it can be made into other things, that”s when we”ll know its true qualities. This is the kind of knowledge that comes from our own actions. This knowledge, when we meditate, comes in five forms. We find within ourselves that some things are caused by the properties of the body, some are caused by the mind, some causes come from the mind but have an effect on the body, some causes come from the body but have an effect on the mind, some causes come from the body and mind acting together. This kind of knowledge is discernment. So we have to learn from virtue, concentration, and discernment by giving rise to them. If we don”t, we”ll suffer from unawareness and delusion.

　　Mindfulness is what brings light to the mind, like a candle. If we take a candle into a room at night, close the windows and doors, and fill in all the cracks in the walls, no wind from outside will be able to slip in and make the flame waver. The flame will give off even more light, and we”ll be able to see everything in the room clearly. Closing the windows and doors and filling in the cracks means exercising restraint over our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, so that our attention doesn”t go straying out after outside perceptions and preoccupations. This is called restraint through mindfulness. Our mindfulness will gather into one. When mindfulness is strong, the results are immediate: a sense of ease and mental well-being. When mindfulness is solid and unflagging, our concentration will become stronger. The mind will be still and upright. Light will arise in one of two ways: from within ourself or from what”s reflected off the walls. This is why mindfulness is the cause, the supporting factor, that keeps our concentration progressing.

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　　What does discernment come from

　　 You might compare it with learning to become a potter, a tailor, or a basket weaver. The teacher will start out…

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