..续本文上一页Dhamma is like a child learning to write. At first he doesn”t write nicely – big, long loops and squiggles. He writes like a child. After a while the writing improves through practice. Practicing the Dhamma is like this. At first you are awkward, sometimes calm, sometimes not. You don”t really know what”s what. Some people get discouraged. But don”t slacken off. Live with effort, just like the schoolboy. As he gets older he writes better and better. From writing badly he grows to write beautifully, all because of the practice from childhood.
Spillway
When you make a dam, you must make a spillway, too. Then when the water rises too high, the water can flow off safely. When it”s full to the brim, you open your spillway. You have to have a safety valve like this. Understanding impermanence is the safety valve of the Noble Ones. If you also have this safety valve, you will also be at peace.
Splinter in Your Foot
The Buddha taught us to escape from suffering using wisdom. For example, suppose you had a splinter embedded in your foot. Sometimes you step on a stone that presses on the splinter, and it really hurts. So you feel around your foot. But not finding anything, you shrug it off and walk on a bit more. Eventually you again step on something else, and the pain is there again. This happens many times. What is the cause of that pain
The cause is that splinter in your foot. Whenever the pain arises, you may take a look and feel around a bit, but not seeing the splinter, you let it go. The pain recurs again and again until the desire to take it out is constantly with you. Finally it reaches a point where you make up your mind once and for all to get that splinter out – because it hurts! Our effort in the practice must be like this. Wherever it huts, wherever there”s friction, we must investigate. We must confront the problem head on and not just shrug it off. Just take the splinter out of your foot. Wherever your mind gets stuck you must take note. As you look into it, you will know it, see it and experience it as it is.
Stubborn Horse
The mind is as stubborn as a horse and as hard to train. What do you do when you”ve got a horse that”s stubborn
Don”t feed it for a while and it will soon come around again. And when it listens to your command, feed it a little. We can train the mind in the same way. With right effort, wisdom will arise.
Stump
You should get at the root causes of things. It”s like you are going for a walk and you trip over a stump. So you get a hatchet and cut it, but it grows back and you trip over it again. So you cut it again. But it keeps n growing back. You”d better get a tractor and plow it up. But don”t put it off. It”s like saying to yourself, "Should I go today
Should I . . .
Maybe I”ll go tomorrow . . .
" Then the next day, "Should I go, or shouldn”t I
" And you keep on doing this day after day until you die and you never go anywhere. You”ve got to think, "Go!" and that”s it!
Sweet Dessert
Practice is a matter of directly looking at the mind. This is wisdom. When you have examined and understood the mind, then you have the wisdom to know the limitations of concentration or books. If you have practiced and understood not0clinging, you can then return to the books. They will be like a sweet dessert. They can help you to teach others. Or you can go back to practicing absorption, because now you have the wisdom to know not to hold onto anything.
Sweet Mango
Dhamma is in your mind, not in the forest. Don”t believe others. Just listen to your own mind. You don”t have to go and look anywhere else. Wisdom is in yourself, just like a sweet ripe mango is already in a young green one.
Sweet Papayas
Defilements can be useful if used skillfully. It”s like taking chicken and buffalo dung…
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