..续本文上一页anywhere else. He experienced family life, but he saw its limitations and detached himself from them. Now how are you as laypeople going to practice

　　 If you want to practice you must make an effort to follow the path. If you persevere with the practice you too will see the limitations of this world and be able to let go.

　　People who drink alcohol sometimes say, "I just can”t give it up." Why can”t they give it up

　　 Because they don”t yet see the liability in it. If they clearly saw the liability of it they wouldn”t have to wait to be told to give it up. If you don”t see the liability of something that means you also can”t see the benefit of giving it up. Your practice becomes fruitless, you are just playing at practice. If you clearly see the liability and the benefit of something you won”t have to wait for others to tell you about it. Consider the story of the fisherman who finds something in his fish-trap. He knows something is in there, he can hear it flapping about inside. Thinking it”s a fish, he reaches his hand into the trap, only to find a different kind of animal. He can”t yet see it, so he”s in two minds about it. On one hand it could be an eel, [1] but then again it could be a snake. If he throws it away he may regret it...it could be an eel. On the other hand, if he keeps holding on to it and it turns out to be a snake it may bite him. He”s caught in a state of doubt. His desire is so strong he holds on, just in case it”s an eel, but the minute he brings it and sees the striped skin he throws it down straight away. He doesn”t have to wait for someone to call out, "It”s a snake, it”s a snake, let go!" The sight of the snake tells him what to do much more clearly than words could do. Why

　　 Because he sees the danger -- snakes can bite! Who has to tell him about it

　　 In the same way, if we practice till we see things as they are we won”t meddle with things that are harmful.

　　People don”t usually practice in this way, they usually practice for other things. They don”t contemplate things, they don”t reflect on old age, sickness and death. They only talk about non-aging and non-death, so they never develop the right feeling for Dhamma practice. They go and listen to Dhamma talks but they don”t really listen. Sometimes I get invited to give talks at important functions, but it”s a nuisance for me to go. Why so

　　 Because when I look at the people gathered there I can see that they haven”t come to listen to the Dhamma. Some are smelling of alcohol, some are smoking cigarettes, some are chatting... they don”t look at all like people who have come out of faith in the Dhamma. Giving talks at such places is of little fruit. People who are sunk in heedlessness tend to think things like, "When he”s ever going to stop talking

　　 ... Can”t do this, can”t do that ..." and their minds just wander all over the place.

　　Sometimes they even invite me to give a talk just for the sake of formality: "Please give us just a small Dhamma talk, Venerable Sir." They don”t want me to talk too much, it might annoy them! As soon as I hear people say this I know what they”re about. These people don”t like listening to Dhamma. It annoys them. If I just give a small talk they won”t understand. If you take only a little food, is it enough

　　 Of course not.

　　Sometimes I”m giving a talk, just warming up to the subject, and some drunkard will call out, "Okay, make way, make way for the Venerable Sir, he”s coming out now!" -- trying to drive me away! If I meet this kind of person I get a lot of food for reflection, I get an insight into human nature. It”s like a person having a bottle full of water and then asking for more. There”s nowhere to put it. It isn”t worth the time and energy to teach them, because their minds are already full. Pour any more in and it jus…

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