..续本文上一页ned, the stronger the center will be. Many ordinary activities are forbidden by this discipline, not because there is anything wrong in them but because they are inappropriate at a center for Vipassana meditation. Remember, this is the only place in your country where one can learn this type of Vipassana. The discipline is a way of preserving this unique purpose of Dhamma Mahī; guard it carefully.

　　The foundation of the edifice of Dhamma that you will construct here is sīla (moral conduct). As you know, undertaking sīla is the essential first step in a Vipassana course since, without it, meditation will be weak. It is equally essential that all who serve at a center keep the Five Precepts as carefully as possible. The rule of Dhamma has been established at Dhamma Mahī. From now on, there should be no killing on this land, no stealing, no sexual activity, no wrong speech, no use of intoxicants. This will create a calm and peaceful atmosphere conducive to the work of self-purification.

　　With the firm base of sīla, the practice of self-purification can proceed. Keep in mind that this is the most important task at the center-first, last and always. All who come to serve at the center, even for a few hours, must not neglect their duty to meditate here as well. By doing so, they strengthen the Dhamma atmosphere and give support to other meditators.

　　This is not, of course, the only place in Europe at which meditation and the teachings of the Buddha are practiced; but it is the only place devoted to this particular transmission of the teachings and this particular form of Vipassana. See that the center is kept at all times specifically for this purpose.

　　The final essential part of the technique is mettā, and this too must be practiced by all who come to the center, whether to sit or serve. For your meditation and service to be beneficial, you must perform it joyfully, selflessly, and lovingly. Whatever task you undertake, do it with the volition that by your action all beings may be happy. Whenever welcoming others to the center, whether meditators or visitors, do so with mettā. Permeate this land with vibrations of love and good will, so that all who come here feel that they have entered a sanctuary of peace.

　　From a talk given on March 14, 1982 at Dhamma Thalī to inaugurate construction of its pagoda.

　　There are so many ways to help. One can help physically. One can help by speaking. If someone has wealth, then one can help financially. These are essential; however, the best way to help is by meditating.

　　The more old students meditate on this land, the more their efforts will become instrumental in the welfare of many. During the lifetime of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, there were so many of his students who had reached the stage of nibbāna and could experience it whenever they wished and as long as they wished. One could ask, "How did they become free of their debt to the Dhamma, the center and their teacher

　　" Others might give dāna of physical effort or wealth or other kinds of help to become free of their debts. But for such good meditators, it is proper that at least once a week, they visit this place and sitting in some cell for an hour, they enter nibbāna. That is such a great service. The whole center will become suffused with those Dhamma vibrations. The Dhamma strength of the vibrations generated by each meditator will depend upon how much he or she has meditated and what stage has been attained, but all right effort will benefit those who come to the center.

　　Building meditation cells for students is in itself a very meritorious act. However, it is much more meritorious for every meditator to come here once a week to meditate. This is the dāna of our meditation. It is the dāna of our meditative vibrations that will purify the land, w…

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