..续本文上一页e to encounter discomfort and put up with things that you don”t like. For instance, how comfortable is this monastery

　　 If the lay people made it really comfortable for you, what would it be like

　　 Everyday they would be at your service to bring you hot and cold drinks as you wished and all the sweets and treats that you could eat. They would be polite and praise you, saying all the right things. That”s what having good lay support is like isn”t it

　　 Some monks and nuns like it that way: "The lay supporters here are really great... it”s really comfortable and convenient." In no time at all the whole training in mindfulness and insight just dies. That”s how it happens.

　　What is really comfortable and suitable for meditation can mean different things to different people, but once you know how to make your own mind content with what you have, then wherever you go you will feel at ease. If you have to stay somewhere that would perhaps not be your first choice, you still know how to remain content while you train there. If it”s time to go elsewhere then you are content to go. You don”t have any worries about these external things. If you don”t know very much, things can be difficult; if you know too much it can also bring you a lot of suffering -- everything can be a source of discomfort and suffering. As long as you don”t have any insight you will constantly be caught into moods of satisfaction and dissatisfaction stimulated by the conditions around you and potentially every little thing can cause you to suffer. Wherever you go, the meaning of the Buddha”s teaching remains correct, but it is the Dhamma in your own mind that is still not correct. Where will you go to find the right conditions for practice

　　 Maybe such and such a monk has got it right and is really practising hard with the meditation - as soon as the meal is finished he hurries away to meditate. All he does is practise developing his samadhi. He”s really dedicated and serious about it. Or maybe he isn”t so dedicated, because you can”t really know. If you really practise wholeheartedly for yourself, you are certain to reach peace of mind. If others are really dedicated and genuinely training themselves, why are they not yet peaceful

　　 This is the truth of the matter. In the end, if they aren”t peaceful, it shows that they can”t be really that serious about the practice after all.

　　When reflecting on the training in samadhi, it”s important to understand that virtue (sila), concentration (samadhi) and wisdom (panna) are each essential roots that support the whole. They are mutually supporting, each having its own indispensable role to play. Each provides a necessary tool to be used in developing meditation, but it”s up to each inpidual to discover skilful ways to make use of them. Someone with a lot of wisdom can gain insight easily; someone with little wisdom gains insight with difficulty; someone without any wisdom won”t gain any insight. Two different people might be following the same way of cultivating the mind, but whether they actually gain insight into the Dhamma will depend on the amount of wisdom each has. If you go to observe and train with different teachers you must use wisdom to put what you see in perspective. How does this Ajahn do it

　　 What”s that Ajahn”s style like

　　 You watch them closely - but that”s as far as it goes. It”s all just watching and judging on the external level. It”s just looking at their behaviour and way of doing things on the surface. If you simply observe things on this level you will never stop doubting. Why does that teacher do it this way

　　 Why does this teacher do it another way

　　 In that monastery the teacher gives lots of talks, why does the teacher in this monastery give so few talks

　　 In that other monastery the teacher doesn”t even gi…

《Suffering On The Road》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…