..续本文上一页ws the Law of Dhamma so we call it worldly dhamma. He who lives within the worldly dhamma is called a worldly being. He lives surrounded by confusion.

　　Therefore the Buddha taught us to develop the path. We can pide it up into morality, concentration and wisdom — develop them to completion! This is the path of practice which destroys the world. Where is this world

　　 It is just in the minds of beings infatuated with it! The action of clinging to praise, gain, fame, happiness and unhappiness is called "world." when it is there in the mind, then the world arises, the worldly being is born. The world is born because of desire. Desire is the birthplace of all worlds. To put an end to desire is to put an end to the world.

　　Our practice of morality, concentration and wisdom is otherwise called the Eightfold Path. This Eightfold Path and the eight worldly dhammas are a pair. How is it that they are a pair

　　 If we speak according to the scriptures, we say that gain and loss, praise and criticism, fame and disrepute, happiness and unhappiness are the eight worldly dhammas. Right view, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration, this is the Eightfold Path. These two eightfold ways exist in the same place. The eight worldly dhammas are right here in this very mind, with the ”One who knows” but this ”One who knows” has obstructions, so it knows wrongly and thus becomes the world. It”s just this one ”One who knows”, no other! The Buddha-nature has not yet arisen in this mind, it has not yet extracted itself from the world. The mind like this is the world.

　　When we practice the path, when we train our body and speech, it”s all done in that very same mind. It”s the same place so they see each other; the path sees the world. If we practice with this mind of ours we encounter this clinging to praise, fame, pleasure and happiness, we see the attachment to the world.

　　The Buddha said, "You should know the world. It dazzles like a king”s royal carriage. Fools are entranced, but the wise are not deceived." It”s not that he wanted us to go all over the world looking at everything, studying everything about it. He simply wanted us to watch this mind which is attached to it. When the Buddha told us to look at the world he didn”t want us to get stuck in it, he wanted us to investigate it, because the world is born just in this mind. sitting in the shade of a tree you can look at the world. When there is desire the world comes into being right there. Wanting is the birth place of the world. To extinguish wanting is to extinguish the world.

　　When we sit in meditation we want the mind to become peaceful, but it”s not peaceful. Why is this

　　 We don”t want to think but we think. It”s like a person who goes to sit on an ant”s nest: the ants just keep on biting him. When the mind is the world then even sitting still with our eyes closed, all we see is the world. Pleasure, sorrow, anxiety, confusion — it all arises. Why is this

　　 It”s because we still haven”t realized Dhamma. If the mind is like this the meditator can”t endure the worldly dhammas, he doesn”t investigate. It”s just the same as if he were sitting on an ants” nest. The ants are going to bite because he”s right on their home! So what should he do

　　 He should look for some poison or use fire to drive them out.

　　But most Dhamma practitioners don”t see it like that. If they feel content they just follow contentment, feeling discontent they just follow that. Following the worldly dhammas the mind becomes the world. Sometimes we may think, "Oh, I can”t do it, it”s beyond me...", so we don”t even try! This is because the mind is full of defilements, the worldly dhammas prevent the path from arising. We can”t endure in the development of …

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