..续本文上一页things so that you can let go, give things up and be peaceful.

　　I”m not very good at having lengthy discussions about the Dhamma. It”s difficult to put it all into words. If anyone wants to know how I practice, they should come and live here. If they stay here long enough, they will get to know. In the past I”ve gone around on foot to study and practice with different teachers. I didn”t go to make other people listen to me. I went to listen to the various Masters teach the Dhamma, I didn”t try to teach them. Whatever they taught I listened. I didn”t go in for discussion – I didn”t see that there was any need for a lot of discussion. That which was important and worth taking interest in, involved renunciation and letting go. The whole purpose of the practice is for giving up and letting things go. Ultimately, it”s fruitless doing a great amount of formal study. Day by day you are getting older and older and if all you do is study the words, it”s like chasing a mirage – you never really get hold of the real thing. There are many styles and methods of practice and I”m not critical of them, as long as you understand what the true meaning and purpose of the practice is. If for instance, practitioners are not keeping the Vinaya strictly, although they might not necessarily be going that wrong, I would say that they would find it impossible to attain ultimate success in the practice. It”s like trying to bypass magga or skipping over sila, samadhi and panna. Some people tell you not to get attached to samatha, that you shouldn”t bother with it and just go straight on to vipassana, but from my experience if you try to skip over samatha and just do vipassana, it won”t lead to success.

　　Don”t disregard the way of practice and the foundation which has been left for us by Tan Acharn Sow, Tan Acharn Mun, Tan Acharn Tongrut and Tan Acharn Chao Khun Upali. If you train yourself following in the footsteps of these Masters, it”s the most direct way to enlightenment, because they actually realized the Dhamma for themselves. They didn”t bypass the sila, they tried to be scrupulous and impeccable with it. Their disciples had the utmost respect both for the teacher and the monastery regulations and ways of practice. If the teacher told you to do something, you did it. If he said you were doing something wrong and you should stop, you stopped. These teachers taught to practice with determination and sincerity until you actually saw and experienced results in your own mind. As a result, the disciples of the great forest Masters had the deepest respect for and were somewhat in awe of the teacher, because it was through following in his footsteps that they came to see and understand the Dhamma.

　　So, try it out in the way I have suggested. If you do the practice, you will see and experience the results for yourself. If you really practice and investigate the truth there is no reason why you shouldn”t experience them in just the way I”ve described. I say that if you are practicing in the right way – which means giving up, speaking little, letting go of views and conceit – the kilesa will be unable to gain a foothold in the mind. You are able to listen peacefully to those who speak what is not true, just as you are able to listen to those who speak the truth, because you know how to contemplate the truth for yourself. I say this is possible, if you really put effort into the practice. But it”s not often that the scholars actually come and do the practice, there are still too few of them that do. I feel a sense of regret that many of my fellow Buddhists are like this and I consistently try to encourage them to get down to the practice and start contemplating.

　　That those of you who have previously trained as scholars have managed to come here and practice is …

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