..续本文上一页ve just one hole open. Then he would have to sit and guard that hole. When the lizard ran out - bop! - he got it. Observing the mind is like this. Closing off the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue and the body, one leaves only the mind. To close off means to restrain the five senses, leaving only the mind to be observed. Meditation is the same as catching the lizard.

　　Lost Something

　　If you understand that good and bad, right and wrong, all lie within you, then you won”t have to go looking for them somewhere else. Just look for them where they arise. If you don”t, it”d be like losing something in one place and then going to look for it in another. If you lose something here, you must look for it here. Even if you don”t find it at first, keep looking where you dropped it. But, usually, you lose it here, then go looking over there. When will you ever find it

　　 Good and bad actions lie within you. One day you”re bound to see it. Just keep looking right here.

　　Lotus Leaf

　　The Buddha said that the Enlightened Ones were far from defilements. This doesn”t mean that they ran away from defilements. They did not. Defilements were there. He compared it to a lotus leaf in a pond of water. The leaf and the water exist together. They are in contact but the leaf doesn”t become wet. The water can be compared to defilements and the lotus leaf to the enlightened mind. The mind of one who practices doesn”t run anywhere. It stays right where it is. Good and evil, happiness and unhappiness right and wrong they all arise, and he knows them all. The meditator simply knows them, but does not allow them to wet his mind. In other words, he does not cling to any of them.

　　Lotuses

　　We can compare the mind to lotuses in a pond. Some of the lotuses are still stuck in the mud, some have grown through the mud but are still underwater, some have reached the surface of the water, and some have opened in the sun. Which lotus do you want to be

　　 If you want to be below the surface, be careful - the fish and turtles will bite!

　　Lump of Ice v

　　How does the body decline

　　 Consider a lump of ice. Originally it was simply water. We then freeze it and it becomes ice for awhile, and then it melts and turns into water again. We can see how the ice declines much the same as the body. We all, without exception, are lumps of deterioration. When we are born we bring this inherent nature of dissolution with us. We can”t avoid it. At birth we bring old age, sickness and death along with us. Right now the lump is hard, just like the lump of ice. But look at the body closely. It”s ageing every day. It declines just like the lump of ice, following the way of nature. Soon, like the lump of ice, the body will melt away and be all gone, too.

　　Mango

　　We speak of wisdom and concentration as separate things, but in essence they are one and the same. They arise fro the same place but take different directions. It”s like a mango. A mango is first small and green. It then grows larger and larger until it is ripe. The small mango, the large one and the ripe one are the same mango, not different mangoes. Only its conditions have changed. In Dhamma practice, one condition is called concentration, and the later condition is called wisdom, but in actuality samadhi and pañña are both the same thing, just like the mango.

　　Market Lady

　　Don”t be disappointed if you don”t see quick results in your practice. What is important is simply to continue your practice with determination and perseverance. Don”t give up so readily, like a market lady who wants to sell her goods and doesn”t give up. She keeps on yelling, "Coconu-u-u-ts, rice c-a-a-akes! Get your coconuts and rice cakes here!" She”s determined to sell them and won”t give up until she does.

　　Meat

　　All that people wan…

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