Why Meditate

　　Wherever there are effects, there always have to be causes. The world we experience comes from the heart as its cause. If the heart is good, the world will have to be good. If the heart is bad, the world will have to be bad.

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　　The mind, when it”s not with the body in the present, is "world." When it”s with the body in the present, it”s Dhamma. If it”s world, it has to be as hot as fire. If it”s Dhamma, it”s as cool as water.

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　　Don”t be complacent. Remind yourself that we”re all being chased out of the world day by day. In other words, aging rears up, illness roars, and death runs up the score. So don”t be oblivious, partying around with your defilements. Associate with the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha until your mind develops Right Concentration. That way you won”t have anything to fear from the dangers of the world.

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　　Believing other people is all right, but it”s not really special. It”s like borrowing money: We”ll have to share the return on our investment with our lenders. When we don”t yet know, can”t yet have any real conviction in ourselves, and still have to believe what other people say, it”s like being an infant who has to depend on its parents. If we don”t get stronger, we”ll have to keep being nursed all the way through old age. If we don”t try to train the mind until it”s firm and unwavering, it won”t give rise to the strength of concentration and will have to keep on being a child.

　　When we”re able to shake off all the issues in the mind, leaving just the mind in and of itself, three gems will appear in it: the Gem of the Buddha, the Gem of the Dhamma, and the Gem of the Sangha. Once these three gems appear within us, we won”t have to load ourselves down by carrying around much of anything else. Simply put them under your arm if you like, or even up your nose. When you have this kind of wealth, your mind can be light, and noble treasures will arise within you. In other words, conviction in the qualities of the Buddha will appear within the mind. Then you practice in line with those qualities until you gain the various results they have to offer. You”ll see the true Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha in your heart. If you try to take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha on the outer level, you”re going to die for sure. The Buddha on the outer level entered nibbana a long time ago. The Dhamma on the outer level is just letters in books. The Sangha on the outer level is the monks with shaven heads and yellow robes that you see roaming all over the country. If you try to hold onto these things, it”s like carrying a heavy hoe that won”t do you any good. But if you hold onto the virtues of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha within you and then put them into practice, you”ll realize that what you”re looking for is right here in the heart. And then what do you want

　　 To return to the human state

　　 To attain a heavenly state

　　 To attain nibbana

　　 Or go to hell

　　 They”re all possible, without your having to look for them anywhere else.

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　　The Buddha taught that the five aggregates are a heavy burden, because they all get to the point where we can”t bear carrying them around anymore and have to throw them down in the mud. If you don”t keep cleansing them, they keep getting heavier and heavier. If you then try to go depending on other people, you weigh them down, and you yourself are helpless. This is because stashing things away in the heart is like taking pictures without ever developing the film. What you eat gets put on the film, what you say gets put on the film, what you hear gets put on the film, but that”s as far as it gets: on the film. You”ve never stopped to look at what kind of pictures you have, pretty or ugly. If you want to see your pictures, you have to take the film into the darkroom…

《The Skill of Release - Why Meditate

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