Tranquillity and Insight

　　Venerable Acariya Maha Boowa Nanasampanno

　　Translated by Bhikkhu Thanissaro (1998)

　　People for the most part look after their bodies without looking after their minds. This is why, even though they may experience physical pleasure to some extent, they don”t have much mental pleasure to speak of. The major factor, the mind, rarely feels pleasure even when there”s pleasure in the minor factor, the body. The body is a minor factor when compared to the mind. The mind is the major factor in each person, but instead of taking good care of this major factor, this basis for the body, we hardly ever look after it at all.

　　If the mind were not more solid and lasting than the body, it would have disintegrated long ago and wouldn”t have been able to oversee the body as long as it has. But the reason it has been able is because it is very solid and lasting enough to stand up to the onslaught of the various things that are always coming into contact with it -- namely the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations that come flowing in through the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body. They gather in at the mind in the same way that all rivers flow together and gather in the sea.

　　All sorts of worthless and filthy preoccupations come flowing into the mind at all times, turning it from something precious into a trash can. This is why we can”t find any marvels, any happiness in it at all. So to receive training in the Dhamma of the mind is something very important for this major factor within us. If the mind has Dhamma and reason within it, then whatever it displays in word and deed is correct and good and seldom ever falls off target. Whatever our actions, they”ll seldom fall off target. The heart will be happy and the body quite normal. If diseases arise in the body, they won”t cause any trouble that will have an effect on the mind or create any sort of mental illness within it. But when defilements fill the heart, they make it troubled and upset. If we simply complain about the effects without removing the causes, it won”t serve any purpose at all. For this reason, the right way to act is to make sure you don”t waste your birth as a human being. How many years have passed from the day of your birth up to now

　　 How many months and years have you experienced

　　 How much work

　　 How much suffering

　　 How much have you gained from all the various things you”ve encountered

　　 Have you ever tallied these things up to see how much you”ve profited or lost

　　 When you leave this life and head for the next, what will you have to hold on to as basic provisions for what lies ahead

　　The work of the world is something you can do until you die and you”ll never come to the end of it. No matter what, you”ll have to let go of it and die. The day you die is the only time you”ll be free as far as the work of the world is concerned. This is the way it is for everyone. No matter who we are, no matter where we live, none of us is free. We”re only free to die. Why

　　 Because death transcends all our work, which has to be abandoned at the moment of death.

　　If we wait for free time in which to provide for the mind, we”ll never be free until the day we die. That”s when we”ll be free -- free to die. So while we”re still alive and able to think things through both within us and without, we should hurry and make an effort in all activities that will be to our benefit. There is still time to start, and in particular, to meditate. This is an extremely important food and sustenance for the mind. It”s called Dhamma -- Dhamma medicine -- medicine that can cure the mind of its restlessness and anxiety, giving rise instead to the pleasure of peace because we have the food of the Dhamma to nourish us.

　　As the first step in training the mind, we”re taught to …

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