..续本文上一页ful are not beautiful.

　　So the Buddha said that when we experience sights, sounds, tastes, smells, bodily feelings or mental states, we should let them go. Whether happiness or unhappiness, they”re all the same. So let them go!

　　Grass

　　You must contemplate in order to find peace. What people usually mean whenever they say peace is only the calming down of the mind and not the calming down of the defilements. The defilements are simply being temporarily subdued, just like grass being covered by a stone. If you take the stone away, the grass will grow back again in a short time. The grass hadn”t really died; it was just being suppressed. It”s the same when sitting in meditation. The mind is calm, but the defilements are not really calm. Therefore samadhi is not a sure thing. To find real peace you must develop wisdom. Samadhi is one kind of peace, like the stone covering the grass. This is only a temporary peace. The peace of wisdom is like putting the stone down and just leaving it there. In this way the grass can”t possibly grow back again. This is real peace, the calming of the defilements, the sure peace that results from wisdom.

　　Hand

　　Those who study theory and those who practice meditation misunderstand each other. Usually those who emphasize study say things like, "Monks who only practice meditation just follow their own opinions, they have no basis in their teaching." Actually, in one sense, these two ways of study and practice are exactly the same thing. We can understand this better if we consider the front and back of our hand. If we hold our hand out, it seems like the back of our hand has disappeared. Actually the back of our hand hasn”t gone anywhere. It”s merely hidden underneath. We should keep this in mind when we consider practice. If we think that it has "disappeared," we”ll go off to study, hoping to get results. But it doesn”t matter how much we study the Dhamma, we”ll never understand it if we don”t know it in accordance with Truth. If we do understand the real nature of Dhamma, then we begin to let go. This is surrendering, removing attachment, not clinging anymore, or if there is still clinging, it diminishes as time goes by. So study and practice are really just two sides of the same hand.

　　Hole

　　At times it may seem to some of you that I contradict myself when I teach, but the way I teach is very simple. It is as if I see someone coming down a road he isn”t familiar with but which I have traveled on many times before. I look up and see him about to fall into a hole on the right-hand side of the road, so I call out to him to go left. Likewise, if I see someone else about to fall into a hole on the left, I call out to him to go right. The instructions are different, but I teach them to travel in the same direction on the same road. I teach them to let go of both extremes and come back to the center where they will arrive at the true Dhamma.

　　House

　　All my disciples are like my children. I have only loving-kindness for them and care for their welfare. If I appear to make you suffer, it is for your own good. I know some of you are well educated and very knowledgeable. People with little education and world knowledge can practice easily. But people with a lot of knowledge are like someone who has a very large house to clean. They have a lot to do. But when the house has been cleaned, they will have a big, comfortable living space. In the meantime, be patient. Patience and endurance are essential to our practice.

　　Housewife

　　Don”t be like a housewife washing the dishes with a scowl on her face. She”s so intent on cleaning the dishes that she doesn”t realize her own mind is dirty! Have you ever seen this

　　 She only sees the dirty dishes. She”s looking too far away from herself, isn”t she

　　 Some of you hav…

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