..续本文上一页o good and know it”s still not right practice, but we still can”t let go. This is 50% or 70% of the practice already. There still isn”t release but we know that if we could let go that would be the way to peace. We keep going like that, seeing the equally harmful consequences of all our likes and dislikes, of praise and blame, continuously. Whatever there is, the mind is constant in this way.

　　But for worldly people, if they get blamed or criticized they get really upset. If they get praised it cheers them up, they say it”s good and get really happy over it. If we know the truth of our various moods, if we know the consequences of clinging to praise and blame, the danger of clinging to anything at all, we will become sensitive to our moods. We will know that clinging to them really causes suffering. We see this suffering, and we see our very clinging as the cause of that suffering. We begin to see the consequences of grabbing and clinging to good and bad, because we”ve grasped them and seen the result before — no real happiness. So now we look for the way to let go.

　　Where is this "way to let go"

　　 In Buddhism we say "Don”t cling to anything." We never stop hearing about this "don”t cling to anything!" This means to hold, but not to cling. Like this flashlight. We think, "What is this

　　" So we pick it up, "Oh, it”s a flashlight," then we put it down again. We hold things in this way. If we didn”t hold anything at all, what could we do

　　 We couldn”t walk meditation or do anything, so we must hold things first. It”s wanting, yes, that”s true, but later on it leads to parami (virtue or perfection). Like wanting to come here, for instance... Venerable Jagaro 22 came to Wat Pah Pong. He had to want to come first. If he hadn”t felt that he wanted to come he wouldn”t have come. For anybody it”s the same, they come here because of wanting. But when wanting arises don”t cling to it! So you come, and then you go back... What is this

　　 We pick it up, look at it and see, "Oh, it”s a flashlight," then we put it down. This is called holding but not clinging, we let go. We know and then we let go. To put it simply we say just this, "Know, then let go." Keep looking and letting go. "This, they say is good; this, they say is not good"... know, and then let go. Good and bad, we know it all, but we let it go. We don”t foolishly cling to things, but we "hold" them with wisdom. Practicing in this "posture" can be constant. You must be constant like this. Make the mind know in this way, let wisdom arise. When the mind has wisdom, what else is there to look for

　　We should reflect on what we are doing here. For what reason are we living here, what are we working for

　　 In the world they work for this or that reward, but the monks teach something a little deeper than that. Whatever we do, we ask for no return. We work for no rewards. Worldly people work because they want this or that, because they want some gain or other, but the Buddha taught to work just in order to work, we don”t ask for anything beyond that. If you do something just to get some return it”ll cause suffering. Try it out for yourself! You want to make your mind peaceful so you sit down and try to make it peaceful — you”ll suffer! Try it. Our way is more refined. We do, and then let go; do, and then let go.

　　Look at the brahman who makes a sacrifice: he has some desire in mind, so he makes a sacrifice. Those actions of his won”t help him transcend suffering because he”s acting on desire. In the beginning we practice with some desire in mind; we practice on and on, but we don”t attain our desire. So we practice until we reach a point where we”re practicing for no return, we”re practicing in order to let go. This is something we must see for ourselves, it”s very deep. Maybe we practice because w…

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