..续本文上一页 hold on. That was holding tightly. Now it”s holding but not tightly. So you can allow me to speak harshly to all of you or get angry at you, but it”s in the way of ””holding but not tightly,”” picking up and letting go. Please don”t lose this point.

　　We can be truly happy and comfortable if we understand the Dhamma of the Lord Buddha. So I am always praising the Buddha”s teachings and practising to unite the two customs, that of the world and that of the Dhamma.

　　I gained some understanding on this trip that I”d like to share with you. I felt that I was going to create benefit, benefit for myself, for others, and for the sāsanā; the benefit of the populace in general and of our Sangha, every one of you. I didn”t just go for sightseeing, to visit various countries out of curiosity. I went for good purpose, for myself and others, for this life and the next - for the ultimate purpose. When you come down to it, everyone is equal. Someone with wisdom will see in this way.

　　Someone with wisdom is always traveling good paths, finding meaning in their comings and goings. I”ll give an analogy. You may go to some place and encounter some bad people there. When that happens, some folks will have aversion to them. But a person with Dhamma will come across bad people and think, ””I have found my teacher.”” Through that one comes to know what a good person is. Encountering a good person, one also finds a teacher, because it shows what a bad person is.

　　Seeing a beautiful house is good; we can then understand what an ugly house is. Seeing an ugly house is good; we can then understand what a beautiful house is. With Dhamma, we don”t discard any experience, not even the slightest. Thus the Buddha said, ””O Bhikkhus, view this world as an ornamented and bejeweled royal chariot, by which fools are entranced, but which is meaningless to the wise.””

　　When I was studying Nak Tham Ehk3 I often contemplated this saying. It seemed really meaningful. But it was when I started practising that the meaning became clear. ””O Bhikkhus””: this means all of us sitting here. ””View this world””: the world of humans, the ākāsaloka, the worlds of all sentient beings, all existing worlds. If one knows the world clearly, it isn”t necessary to do any special sort of meditation. If one knows, ””The world is thus”” according to reality, there will be nothing lacking at all. The Buddha knew the world clearly. He knew the world for what it actually was. Knowing the world clearly is knowing the subtle Dhamma. One is not concerned with or anxious about the world. If one knows the world clearly, then there are no worldly dhammas. We are no longer influenced by the worldly dhammas.

　　Worldly beings are ruled by worldly dhammas, and they are always in a state of conflict.

　　So whatever we see and encounter, we should contemplate carefully. We delight in sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and ideas. So please contemplate. You all know what these things are: forms the eye sees, for example, such as the forms of men and women. You certainly know what sounds are, as well as smells, tastes, and physical contacts. Then there are the mental impressions and ideas. When we have these contacts through the physical senses, mental activity arises. All things gather here.

　　We may be walking along together with the Dhamma a whole year or a whole lifetime without recognizing it; we live with it our whole lives without knowing it. Our thinking goes too far. Our aims are too great; we desire too much. For example, a man sees a woman, or a woman sees a man. Everyone is extremely interested here. It”s because we overestimate it. When we see an attractive member of the opposite sex, all our senses become engaged. We want to see, to hear, to touch, to observe their movements, all sorts …

《Right Restraint》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…