..续本文上一页en the eye sees forms or the ear hears sounds, we recognize them for what they are. In this latter form of tranquility, when the eye sees forms, the mind is peaceful. When the ear hears sounds, the mind is peaceful. The mind does not waver. Whatever we experience, the mind is not shaken.

　　So where does this sort of tranquility come from

　　 It comes from that other kind of tranquility, that ignorant samatha. That is a cause that enables it to come about. It is taught that wisdom comes from tranquility. Knowing comes from unknowing; the mind comes to know from that state of unknowing, from learning to investigate like this. There will be both tranquility and wisdom. Then, wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we see the truth of things. We know that the arising and ceasing of experience in the mind is just like that. Then there is nothing more to do, nothing to correct or solve. There is no more speculation. There is nowhere to go, no escape. We can only escape through wisdom, through knowing things as they are and transcending them.

　　In the past, when I first established Wat Pah Pong and people started coming to see me, some disciples said, “Luang Por is always socializing with people. This isn”t a proper place to stay anymore.” But it wasn”t that I had gone in search of people; we established a monastery, and they were coming to pay respects to our way of life. Well, I couldn”t deny what they were saying, but actually I was gaining a lot of wisdom and coming to know a lot of things. But the disciples had no idea. They could only look at me and think my practice was degenerating—so many people were coming, so much disturbance. I didn”t have any way to convince them otherwise, but as time passed, I overcame the various obstacles, and I finally came to believe that real tranquility is born of correct view. If we don”t have right view, then it doesn”t matter where we stay, we won”t be at peace and wisdom won”t arise.

　　People are trying to practice here (in America). I”m not criticizing anyone, but from what I can see, sila is not very well developed. Well, this is a convention. You can start by practicing samadhi first. It”s like walking along and coming across a long piece of wood. One person can take hold of it at one end and have the other end in hand. Another person can pick up the other end. But it”s the same one piece of wood, and taking hold of either end, you can move it. When there is some calm from samadhi practice, then the mind can see things clearly and gain wisdom and see the harm in certain types of behavior, and the person will have restraint and caution. You can move the log from either end, but the main point is to have firm determination in your practice. If you start with sila, this restraint will bring calm. That is samadhi, and it becomes a cause for wisdom. When there is wisdom, it helps develop samadhi further. And samadhi keeps refining sila. They are actually synonomous, developing together. In the end, the final result is that they are one and the same; they are inseparable.

　　We can”t distinguish samadhi and classify it separately. We can”t classify wisdom as something separate. We can”t distinguish sila as something separate. At first we do distinguish among them. There are the level of convention and the level of liberation. On the level of liberation, we don”t attach to good and bad. Using convention, we distinguish good and bad and different aspects of practice. This is necessary to do, but it isn”t yet supreme. If we understand the use of convention, we can come to understand liberation. Then we can understand the ways in which different terms are used to bring people to the same thing.

　　So in those days, I learned to deal with people, with all sorts of situations. Coming into contact with all these things, I had to make my mind firm. Relying on wisdom, I was able to see clearly and abide without being affected by whatever I met with. Whatever others might be saying, I wasn”t bothered, because I had firm conviction. Those who will be teachers need this firm conviction in what they are doing, without being affected by what people say. It requires some wisdom, and whatever wisdom one has can increase. We take stock of all our old ways as they are revealed to us and keep cleaning them up.

　　You really have to make your mind firm. Sometimes there is no ease of body or mind. It happens when we live together; it”s something natural. Sometimes we have to face illness, for example. I went through a lot of that. How would you deal with it

　　 Well, everyone wants to live comfortably, to have good food and plenty of rest. But we can”t always have that. We can”t just indulge our wishes. But we create some benefit in this world through the virtuous efforts we make. We create benefit for ourselves and for others, for this life and the next. This is the result of making the mind peaceful.

　　Coming here (to England and the US) is the same. It”s a short visit, but I”ll try to help as I can and offer teaching and guidance. There are ajahns and students here, so I”ll try to help them out. Even though monks haven”t come to live here yet, this is pretty good. This visit can prepare people for having monks here. If they come too soon, it will be difficult. Little by little people can become familiar with the practice and with the ways of the bhikkhusangha. Then the sasana can flourish here. So for now you have to take care of your own mind and make it right.

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