..续本文上一页ve any talks at all! It”s just crazy when the mind proliferates endlessly, comparing and speculating about all the different teachers. In the end you simply wind yourself up into a mess. You must turn your attention inward and cultivate for yourself. The correct thing to do is focus internally on your own training, as this is how right practice (samma-patipada) develops. You simply observe different teachers and learn from their example, but then you have to do it yourself. If you contemplate at this more subtle level, all that doubting will stop.

　　There was one senior monk who didn”t spend a lot of time thinking and reflecting about things. He didn”t give much importance to thoughts about the past or the future, because he wouldn”t let his attention move away from the mind itself. He watched intently what was arising into his awareness in the present moment. Observing the mind”s changing behaviour and different reactions as it experienced things, he wouldn”t attach importance to any of it, repeating the teaching to himself: "It”s uncertain." "It”s not a sure thing." If you can teach yourself to see impermanence in this way, it won”t be long before you gain insight into the Dhamma.

　　In fact, you don”t have to run after the proliferating mind. Really, it just moves around it”s own enclosed circuit; it spins around in circles. This is the way your mind works. It”s samsara vatta - the endless cycle of birth and death. This completely encircles the mind. If you tried pursuing the mind as it spins around would you be able to catch it

　　 It moves so fast would you even be able to keep up with it

　　 Try chasing after it and see what happens... What you need to do is stand still at one point, and let the mind spin around the circuit by itself. Imagine the mind was a mechanical doll, which was able to run around. If it began running faster and faster until it was running at full speed, you wouldn”t be able to run fast enough to keep up with it. But actually, you wouldn”t need to run anywhere. You could just stand still in one place and let the doll do the running. If you were to stand still in the middle of the circuit, without chasing after it, you would be able to see the doll every time it ran past you and completed a lap. In fact, if you did try running after it, the more you tried to chase after and catch it, the more it would be able to elude you.

　　As far as going on thudong_is concerned, I both encourage it and discourage it at the same time. If the practitioner already has some wisdom in the way of training, there should be no problem. However, there was one monk I knew who didn”t see it as necessary to go on thudong into the forest; he didn”t see thudong as a matter of travelling anywhere. Having thought about it, he decided to stay and train in the monastery, vowing to undertake three of the dhutanga practices and to keep them strictly, without going anywhere. He felt it wasn”t necessary to make himself tired walking long distances with the heavy weight of his monk”s alms bowl, robes and other requisites slung over his shoulder. His way was quite a valid one too; but if you really had a strong desire to go out wandering about the forests and hills on thudong, you wouldn”t find his style very satisfying. In the end, if you have clear insight into the truth of things, you only need to hear one word of the teaching and that will bring you deep and penetrating insight.

　　Another example I could mention is that young novice I once encountered who wanted to practice living in a cemetery completely alone. As he was still more or less a child, hardly into his teens, I was quite concerned for his well being, and kept an eye on him to see how he was doing. In the morning he would go on alms round in the village, and afterwards bring his food …

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