..續本文上一頁 the poorer you are, the more happiness you have."
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33. The less, the better
"Even if you”ve read the whole Canon and can remember lots of teachings; even if you can explain them in poignant ways, with lots of people to respect you; even if you build a lot of monastery buildings, or can explain inconstancy, stress, and not-self in the most detailed fashion — if you”re still heedless, you haven”t tasted the flavor of the teachings in any way at all, for those other things are all external. The purposes they serve are all external: as a benefit to society, a benefit to other people, a benefit to posterity, or a symbol of the religion. The only thing that serves your own true purpose is release from suffering.
"And you”ll be able to gain release from suffering only when you know the one mind."
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34. Didn”t think of that
In one of Luang Pu”s branch meditation monasteries there lived a group of five or six monks who wanted to be especially strict in their practice, so they made a vow not to talk throughout the Rains Retreat. In other words, no word would come out of their mouths except for the daily chanting and the bi-weekly Patimokkha chant. After the end of the Rains they came to pay their respects to Luang Pu and told him of their strict practice: In addition to their other duties, they were also able to stop speaking for the entire Rains.
Luang Pu smiled a bit and said,
"That”s pretty good. When there”s no speaking, then no faults are committed by way of speech. But when you say that you stopped speaking, that simply can”t be. Only the noble ones who enter the refined attainment of cessation, where feeling and perception stop, are able to stop speaking. Aside from them, everyone”s speaking all day and all night long. And especially those who vow not to speak: They talk more than anyone else, simply that they don”t make a sound that others can hear."
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35. Don”t aim in the wrong direction
In addition to the wisdom that came straight from his heart, Luang Pu would also quote passages from his having read the Canon. Any passage that he saw as important, as a short and direct lesson in the practice, he would repeat to us. For instance, one of the Buddha”s teachings that he liked to quote was this: "Monks, this holy life is not practiced for the sake of deceiving the public, nor for the sake of gaining their respect, nor for the sake of gains, offerings, and fame; nor for the sake of defeating other sectarians. This holy life is lived for the sake of restraint, abandoning, dispassion, and the cessation of suffering."
Luang Pu would then add,
"Those who ordain and those who practice have to aim in this direction. Any directions other than this are all wrong."
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36. In the Buddha”s words
Luang Pu once said, "People, as long as they”re run-of-the-mill, have their pride and their opinions. As long as they have pride, it”s hard for them to see in line with one another. When their views aren”t in line with one another, it causes them to keep quarreling and disputing. As for a noble one who has reached the Dhamma, he has nothing to bring him into a quarrel with anyone else. However other people see things, he lets it go as their business. As in one of the Buddha”s sayings,
"Monks, whatever the wise people of the world say exists, I too say exists. And whatever the wise people of the world say doesn”t exist, I too say that it doesn”t exist. I don”t quarrel with the world; the world quarrels with me."
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