..續本文上一頁, he will find out. But if you tell him everything, then you are treating him just like a child. There is no meaning to it.”

　　AS: Right, right.

　　--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　3.

　　 RW: In your position as abbot, how would you instruct your monks to prevent the possibility of taking things for granted, especially receiving charity from lay supporters

　　 How do you advise them to guard against things becoming routine, matter of fact, secure; the feeling that it is just a nice, comfortable life

　　AS: Well, it is not exactly a comfortable life. In England the problem does not lie in sinking into a routine, because there is no tradition there to sink into. It is new and fresh. So, it is not a case that one can really sink into anything.

　　In England there is not the security that there is in a Buddhist country. Life as a monk in Britain is risky, a chance; it is not guaranteed. One then needs to be much more alert, whereas in Thailand one can take it all for granted because it is so established and secure there.

　　All one can do is to encourage and keep reminding people -- because they forget. But how they develop is really up to them. As they say, ”you can take a horse to water...” And that is all one can do.

　　RW: Yet for some people there might be a gap between their own tendencies and inclinations, and the ideology that they are following. How can that gap be bridged

　　AS: That is why one has to allow people space. That is the real value of the monastic life. One has to allow people time and the opportunity to develop, rather than to expect them to make great changes all at once. Some people understand immediately; for others it will take years. That does not mean that one will teach only the ones who understand immediately -- they do not need to be taught very much!

　　One can also provide in the monastery a place for people to live at least a good life in a wholesome way. Eventually something will filter down to them. At least it is good kammically. One is not doing any harmful actions. That kind of environment encourages one to do good and refrain from doing evil. It is a moral environment. The emphasis is on paying attention, being alert, and watching; confronting one”s life as one experiences it, looking at it, and learning from it.

　　How determined and resolute one is in that practice is an inpidual matter. Some are very quick, others are very slow; some are neither quick nor slow. In the monastery one can allow for the fast and slow. It is not that one is selecting only the best, the quick ones. The advantage of having a monastic community is to have the opportunity for many beings to develop. Some may not ever be enlightened but at least they can develop harmlessness in their lives.

　　In Thai monasteries, sometimes very ”heavy” people ordain, criminals and the like. Monastic life is a refuge for them where they are all the time encouraged to do good. Whether they attain enlightenment or not, who knows

　　 At least it is a more skilful way of dealing with these types of people (who have enough faith that they would ordain) than to lock them up. Some monks tell of their past, which can be quite shocking. When one asks them why they ordained, they answer: ”I have faith in the Buddha”s teaching and it is the only way that I can break from my old ways and habits.” In worldly life they tend to get pulled back into their old patterns.

　　RW: You would not think, then, that a community of monks would be like a crutch or a bondage, preventing a person from growing

　　AS: No. Anything can be a crutch or a bondage. It all depends on whether one uses it or leans on it. People think that having crutches is bad. Crutches themselves are not bad. Sometimes we need them.

　　Imagine saying to a new-born bab…

《Ajahn Sumedho Interviewed》全文未完，請進入下頁繼續閱讀…