..續本文上一頁, they”re just a bit of clay stuck on our head, not a natural crest. If you want a natural crest, then follow the practice well. What could be finer than to be ”venerable” in line with the principles of nature

　　 The word ”venerable” means excellent, so why be enthralled with dolls and clay

　　To be venerable doesn”t mean that just our name is excellent. We have to be excellent in our practice and conduct, in line with such principles of the Dhamma and Vinaya as the ascetic practices. If we”re solid in the ascetic practices, we”ll gradually become excellent people in line with the principles of our practice and ultimately in line with the principles of nature -- excellent not just in name, but through the nature of a mind made spotless and pure. A name can be established any old day. You can even build it up to the sky if you want. They establish names just to flatter one another as a matter of custom. This is an affair of the world. They keep conferring titles on one another. Those who confer the titles have good intentions, so we have to repay those good intentions by setting our hearts on the practice in line with the principles of the Dhamma and Vinaya, and on observing our duties as monks to the full. This is in keeping with their purpose in conferring titles so as to encourage monks to be good.

　　At any rate, don”t take the conferring of titles... Don”t take the title and use it to destroy yourself with pride and conceit. The highest perfection in line with natural principles, with no need to confer titles, is to practice well. Observe the precepts well. Don”t violate or overstep them. Make the mind still and calm with meditation. Whichever theme you focus on, be earnest and mindful with it. When you investigate, investigate right on down so as to give rise to astuteness. Analyze the properties (dhatu), the khandhas, and the sense media (ayatana) so as to see them as they are in line with their reality, as I”ve already explained many times.

　　What are the properties

　　 The four physical properties: earth, water, wind, and fire. These are the primal properties, the things that exist originally and get combined until a mind comes in and lays claim to ownership, so that they”re called a living being or an inpidual, even though the various parts are just physical properties in line with their natural principles. No matter who confers titles on them as being a living being or an inpidual or whatever, they don”t turn into that. They remain physical properties as they originally were. We should come to know this with our own discernment through investigating.

　　The sense media or connections: There are internal sense media and external ones. The internal ones are the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. The external ones are sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, and ideas that make contact with the internal sense media, giving rise to cognition and then to all sorts of assumptions, most of which go off in the wrong directions. We should analyze these things so as to see them well. This is called vipassana, which means seeing clearly -- knowing clearly and seeing truly, not knowing in counterfeit or illusory ways.

　　So we should perform our duties correctly and to the full. Our heart is always hoping to depend on us, because it can”t get by on its own. It”s been oppressed and coerced by greed, anger, and delusion all along, which is why it”s always calling for our help. So what can we use to help this heart that is always oppressed and coerced so as to release it from danger, if we don”t use our practice of concentration, discernment, conviction, and persistence as a means of advancing and uprooting so as to help it escape from the danger of the things that coerce it.

　　At present we”ve come to strip off the danger in…

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