..续本文上一页ey have nothing to do with practicer he whispered to Achaan Chah. "Perhaps because," the teacher whispered back, "it”s a hot day and all these people want a cool shower."

　　The Real Magic

　　The villagers and other disciples around WatBa Pong tell many tales of Achaan Chah”s powers. They say he can make his body manifest in several places at once and some claim to have seen his double. They tell of his great healing powers, of his cures of the sick, or they speak of his power to know the minds of others, of his clairvoyance and penetrating Samadhi.

　　Achaan Chah laughs at these stories, at the unenlightened concern for, the misguided awe of such powers. "There is only one real magic," he says, "the magic of the Dharma, the teachings that can liberate the mind and put an end to suffering. Any other magic is like the illusion of a card trick-it distracts us from the real game, our relation to human life, to birth and death, and to freedom. At WatBa Pong," he says, "we only teach the real magic."

　　On another occasion he told the monks: "Of course, if one reaches Samadhi, it can be used for other purposes-cultivating psychic powers, or making holy water, blessings, charms, and spells. If you reach this level, such things can be done. Practicing like that is intoxicating, like drinking good liquor. But over here is where the Path is, the way the Buddha passed. Here Samadhi is used as a foundation for Vipassana, contemplation, and need not be very great. Just observe what is arising, continue observing cause and effect, continue contemplating. In this way, we use the focused mind to contemplate sights, sounds, smells, tastes, bodily contacts, and mental objects." It is in our very senses that the whole Dharma of liberation can be found.

　　Practice for the Householder

　　You have often asked about the path of the householder. Household life is both hard and easy hard to do, easy to understand. It is as if you were to come complaining to me with a red-hot coal in your hand, and I were to tell you to simply drop it. "No, I won”t," you say. "I want it to be cold." Either you must drop it, or you must learn to be very patient.

　　"How can I drop it

　　" you ask. Can you just drop your family

　　 Drop it in your heart. Let go of your inner attachment. You are like a bird that has laid eggs; you have a responsibility to sit with and hatch them. Otherwise, they will become rotten.

　　You may want the members of your family to appreciate you, to understand why you act in certain ways, yet they may not. Their attitude may be intolerant, closed-minded. If the father is a thief and the son disapproves, is he a bad child

　　 Explain things as well as you can, make an honest effort, then let go. If you have a pain and go to the doctor, but he and all his medicines cannot cure it, what can you do but let it go

　　If you think in terms of my family, my practice, this kind of self-centered view is just another cause of suffering. Do not think of finding happiness, either living with others or living alone-just live with the Dharma. Buddhism helps to work out problems, but we must practice and develop wisdom first. You do not just throw rice into a potful of water and immediately have boiled rice. You have to build the fire, bring the water to a boil, and let the rice cook long enough. With wisdom, problems can eventually be solved by taking into account the karma of beings. Understanding family life, you can really learn about karma, about cause and effect, and can begin to take care of your action in the future.

　　Practicing in a group, in a monastery, or at a retreat is not so hard; you are too embarrassed to miss sittings with others. But when you go home, you find it difficult; you say that you are lazy or unable to find time. You give away your personal power, proj…

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