..续本文上一页 to develop Dhamma within oneself is given to them. Sīla, samādhi and paññā are universal: this must be understood at a very young age so that children get this training in pure Dhamma. If they are given this with love and compassion, they will accept it. The information I get from these children”s courses is very encouraging, because benefits are coming. More children”s courses are essential. That is why I want more children”s course teachers to take up this job.

　　And then there are the assistant teachers. It is a serious responsibility for the assistant teachers who have to give these ten-day courses. People will come to these courses if the assistant teacher is working properly, with the volition to serve people, not just developing one”s ego. Do not think, “Now I am an assistant teacher, I sit on the Dhamma seat, and everybody bows down to me three times. Wonderful!” One has to come out of that ego. You are here to serve. When students are bowing down, they are bowing down to Dhamma, not to you. This point should be very clear to everyone.

　　And then you have senior assistant teachers. Now their job is not only to give ten-day courses, but also serious courses. At the same time they give guidance and training to the assistant teachers and the junior assistant teachers who have been appointed.

　　Now the relationship between all these is very important. This is the inner core of the Vipassana family, from the Dhamma servers to the deputy teacher. If you quarrel, where is Dhamma

　　 You are representatives of Dhamma. People examine Dhamma through you. They watch whether you live a proper life, and if so, they decide that Dhamma is good. If you are not living a proper life, they see it as all a sham. You will harm people by turning them away from the path of Dhamma. You have to be very careful, you have a big responsibility when you sit on the Dhamma seat.

　　If you get a higher post, understand, “Now I have an opportunity to serve in this way. ” Understand that there is no power. Each one has to serve, that is all. It is not like a hierarchy or bureaucracy where the senior has the power to dismiss the junior, or do that type of thing, which is dangerous.

　　If a senior finds that there is some defect in a junior, work with compassion and love, thinking, “I must take out whatever is wrong in this person. I must not drive this person away.” So with all the love try to rectify, to correct that junior.

　　And juniors must always have respect for the seniors. This is the tradition from the time of Buddha.

　　There was an incident at the time of Lord Buddha: when he returned to his homeland after his enlightenment, the people there might have had some sort of negativity towards him, wondering why he had run away from his responsibilities. But they found that he was such a wonderful person, and that what he had attained was good for the whole world, so naturally they were attracted to him.

　　A few princes decided that they should follow him and become monks, serve themselves and then serve others. When they reached the Buddha they gave all their ornaments and valuable clothes to a servant, a barber by the name of Upāli, saying, “We are going to become monks. You have these.” He thought, “These people who have lived such a luxurious life are leaving all this. What would I do with it all

　　 Why don”t I also become a monk

　　”

　　The princes were from a very high caste. In this country unfortunately casteism was, and still is, the biggest malady, so the princes decided that the barber should be ordained first. The procedure was that someone who is ordained first is senior to the person ordained next. And a junior will always pay respect to a senior. The princes said to each other, “Every time we bow down to this barber, we will be dissolving our…

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