..續本文上一頁lop of its own accord. The flavor of the Dhamma will begin to appear while we listen and while the mind is stilling itself to listen. Even though this flavor may not yet surpass all others, it is nevertheless absorbing and arresting, and will remain long in the memory, not easily erased.
This is why meditators place great importance on listening to the Dhamma. If you were to call it being attached to one”s teacher, I wouldn”t disagree. Meditating monks always like to listen to their teachers. If they have a teacher they venerate and revere in the area of meditation, in the area of the mind, then wherever he lives they will keep coming to be with him until there is hardly enough room for them to stay.
Venerable Acariya Mun is an example. Wherever he stayed, students would come continually from near and far to search him out. Even though they couldn”t all stay in the same place with him, inasmuch as there wasn”t enough room, they would still be willing to stay in nearby areas, two, three, four, or seven to eight kilometers away, so that they might conveniently come to hear his teachings on the uposatha days and ”Dhamma meeting” days.
On the uposatha days, after listening to the Patimokkha and to his instructions, anyone who had any doubts or questions about the Dhamma could ask him to resolve them. For this reason, the township where he stayed was filled with nothing but meditating monks and novices. When uposatha day came, they would begin gathering together after the morning meal. At 1:00 p.m. they would hear the Patimokkha; and after the Patimokkha, Venerable Acariya Mun would give his talk — that”s when he”d usually give his talk, after the Patimokkha. This would be an important part of the practice for those who lived with him. During the Rains Retreat (vassa) we would meet like this every seven days. Outside of the Rains Retreat, the schedule wasn”t too fixed, but this is how he would usually schedule things for those of us who stayed directly with him. Each time we would listen to his talks we would gain in insight and understanding — without fail. This is why meditation monks are attached to their teachers.
Each time we would listen to him, he himself would be like a magnet drawing the interest of the monks and novices. In all things related to the Dhamma, he would be the major attracting force, inspiring fascination and delight in the Dhamma. There was a delight in seeing him and meeting him each time, and even more so in hearing him speak — talking in general, giving instructions, conversing about ordinary things, joking — because he himself was entirely Dhamma. Everything he would do or say in any way would keep revealing Dhamma and reasonability that could be taken as a lesson, so that those who were interested could gain a lesson each time they heard him.
This is why meditating monks find a great deal of enjoyment in the area of the Dhamma by living with a meditation master. They go to be with him of their own accord. When they are far from him, and their minds aren”t yet to the stage where they can look after themselves, they are bound to feel lonesome. Or if they come across a problem they can”t solve, they are sure to miss him. If they can”t work out a solution, they have to run to him for advice so as to save a great deal of the time it would take to figure out a solution on their own — because he has been through everything of every sort. If we would take a problem to him, then as soon as we had finished the last sentence, he would immediately have the solution and we would understand right then and there.
This is why, when living with a master who has realized the truth, there”s no delay, no waste of time in dealing with each problem as it arises. This is a great benefit for those who come to study with him.…
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