..续本文上一页o influence and lead because of His abundance of worldly knowledge. Through the transformation of his worldly mundane wisdom, He penetrated and attained to supermundane wisdom, making Him a truly superior being.

　　So, if we work with this Teaching, turning it inwards for contemplation, we will attain to an understanding on an entirely new level. When we see an object, there is no object. When we hear a sound, the is no sound. In smelling, we can say that there is no smell. All of the senses are manifest, but they are void of anything stable. They are just sensations that arise and then pass away.

　　If we understand according to this reality, then the senses cease to be substantial. They are just sensations which come and go. In Truth there isn”t any "thing." If there isn”t any "thing," then there is no "we" and no "they." If there is no "we" as a person, then there is nothing belonging to "us." It”s in this way that suffering is extinguished. There isn”t anybody to acquire suffering, so who is it who suffers

　　When suffering arises, we attach to the suffering and thereby must really suffer. In the same way, when happiness arises, we attach to the happiness and consequently experience pleasure. Attachment to these feelings gives rise to the concept of "self" or "ego" and thoughts of "we" and "they" continually manifest. Nah!! Here is where it all begins and then carries us around in its never-ending cycle.

　　So, we come to practice meditation and live according to the Dhamma. We leave our homes to come and live in the forest and absorb the peace of mind it gives us. We have fled in order to contend with ourselves and not through fear or escapism. But people who come and live in the forest become attached to living in it; just as people who live in the city become attached to the city. They lose their way in the forest and they lose their way in the city.

　　The Buddha praised living in the forest because the physical and mental solitude that it gives us is conducive to the practice for liberation. However, He didn”t want us to become dependent upon living in the forest or get stuck in its peace and tranquillity. We come to practice in order for wisdom to arise. Here in the forest we can sow and cultivate the seeds of wisdom. Living amongst chaos and turmoil these seeds have difficulty in growing, but once we have learned to live in the forest, we can return and contend with the city and all the stimulation of the senses that it brings us. Learning to live in the forest means to allow wisdom to grow and develop. We can then apply this wisdom no matter where we go.

　　When our senses are stimulated, we become agitated and the senses become our antagonists. The antagonize us because we are still foolish and don”t have the wisdom to deal with them. In reality they are our teachers, but, because of our ignorance, we don”t see it that way. When we lived in the city we never thought that our senses could teach us anything. As long as true wisdom has not yet manifested, we continue to see the senses and their objects as enemies. Once true wisdom arises, they are no longer our enemies but become the doorway to insight and clear understanding.

　　A good example is the wild chickens here in the forest. We all know how much they are afraid of humans. However, since I have lived here in the forest I have been able to teach them and learn from them as well. At one time I began throwing out rice for them to eat. At first they were very frightened and wouldn”t go near the rice. However, after a long time they got used to it and even began to expect it. You see, there is something to be learned here -- they originally thought that there was danger in the rice, that the rice was an enemy. In truth there was no danger in the rice, but they didn”t know that th…

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