..續本文上一頁that his practice had gotten good results. When Ajaan Bate fell seriously ill and was near death, he said that he wanted to see Luang Pu one last time, to bid him farewell before dying. I informed Luang Pu, who went to see him. On his arrival, Ajaan Bate got up and bowed down to him and then lay back on his sleeping mat as before, without saying a word. But his smile and the happy look on his face were easy to see.
Luang Pu said to him in a voice both clear and gentle,
"All the practices you”ve been trying to practice are specifically meant for use at this time. When the time comes to die, make the mind one, then stop focusing and let go of everything."
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75. Hoping for far-off results
When lay people came to visit Luang Pu, he ordinarily wouldn”t ask them about anything far away. He”d usually ask, "Have you ever meditated
" Some would respond that they had, others that they hadn”t.
One woman, a member of the latter group, was more outspoken than the rest. She said, "As I see it, there”s no reason we have to go to all the trouble of meditating. Every year I hear the Mahachaad sermon [a long, poetic chant of the Buddha”s penultimate life, as Prince Vessantara] at least 13 times at many different temples. The monks there say that listening to the Mahachaad story guarantees I”ll be reborn in the time of the Buddha Sri Ariya Metteya, where I”ll meet with nothing but pleasure and ease. So why should I make things difficult for myself by meditating
"
Luang Pu said,
"Things that are excellent are right in front of your face, and yet you don”t show any interest. Instead, you place your hopes on far-off things that are nothing but rumors. This is the mark of a person who”s hopeless. When the paths, fruitions, and nibbana of the dispensation of the Buddha Gotama are still with us, totally complete, and yet you dither around and don”t show any interest in them, then when the dispensation of the Buddha Sri Ariya Metteya comes, you”ll dither around even more."
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76. Nothing more than that
Sometimes, when Luang Pu noticed that the people who came to practice with him were still uncommitted, still pining after the happiness and enjoyment of purely worldly things to the point where they weren”t ready to let them go and practice the Dhamma, he”d give them a teaching to think about so as to see things clearly for what they are:
"I ask you all to examine happiness, to see exactly where was the point of greatest happiness in your life. When you really look at it, you”ll see that it”s just that — nothing more than anything else you”ve ever experienced. Why wasn”t it more than that
Because the world has nothing more than that. That”s all it has to offer — over and over again, nothing more than that at all. Just birth, aging, illness, and death, over and over again. There”s got to be a happiness more extraordinary than that, more excellent than that, safer than that. This is why the noble ones sacrifice limited happiness in search of the happiness that comes from stilling the body, stilling the mind, stilling the defilements. That”s the happiness that”s safe, to which nothing else can compare."
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77. It”s easy if you”re not attached
Wat Burapha, where Luang Pu spent each Rains Retreat without exception for more than 50 years, is situated in the heart of the town of Surin, right in front of the Provincial Offices and next to the provincial court. For this reason, the noise of cars and trucks was constantly disturbing the peace and quiet of the monastery. Especially during the annual Elephant Fair or any…
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