..续本文上一页d a new house but what about the one whose mind is mired in a bottomless pit of despair

　　 There used to be an invaluable technique in ancient India for this purpose that fortunately has again arisen in this country. The Buddha said that the dhammadāna (of Vipassana) is the greatest of all gifts. But he also said that it is necessary to give kālika dāna first.

　　An incident from his life:

　　Once an extremely distressed person came to him. People beseeched the Buddha to teach Dhamma to this person so that he could gain liberation from his misery. The Buddha looked at him and asked,

　　"Have you had food

　　"

　　"No." was the reply.

　　"Did you have food yesterday

　　"

　　"No."

　　"Oh, he has been hungry for two days! First, give him food. Only then, I will teach him Dhamma."

　　Therefore, even though the dāna of Dhamma is supreme, it is extremely important to give kālika dāna first. After the people get relief by this kālika dāna, they should be given the gift of spiritual peace and happiness.

　　The greatest destruction by this cataclysmic earthquake was caused in Kutch, Kathiawad and Ahmedabad. There are Vipassana meditation centres already at these three places: Dhamma Sindhu at Bada near Bhuj, Dhamma Koṭa at Rajkot, and Dhamma Pīṭha near Ahmedabad. People join ten-day courses at these centres to strengthen and purify their minds and gain much benefit.

　　It is good that many Vipassana meditators have already undertaken the meritorious work of giving kālika dāna, inpidually and in groups. Now continuous courses will be organised at these three meditation centres as soon as possible so that those who have been afflicted by the earthquake can join these courses in large numbers and gain mental strength to rebuild their lives. So far, about 100 to 150 people have been taking part in these courses here because there were facilities only for this number. But now, with the use of tents, courses for 500 to 1000 meditators will be organised here so that the quake-afflicted can gain relief from their mental trauma. Vipassana works as a healing balm on the wounds of the mind; it does the work of healing broken hearts.

　　In such great adversity, the practice of Vipassana enables one to live an equanimous life. The unbalanced mind becomes balanced; the agitated mind becomes calm; the suffering mind becomes free from suffering. This has been confirmed by the experience of thousands of Vipassana meditators.

　　Just now, I have received a message that a meditator, Meena Asher, from Kutch passed away peacefully and equanimously in this earthquake. She had done her first Vipassana course in 1978 and had been meditating regularly for the past twenty-three years. She benefited greatly from it and inspired her brothers, sisters and other members of her family to take part in Vipassana courses. Today, five of them are serving as assistant teachers of Vipassana and conducting courses at various places.

　　Like everyone else, this Dhamma daughter also had to face many ups and downs in her life. Because of her practice of Vipassana she always maintained the balance of her mind. She lived an exemplary life: accepting all situations with composure without ever complaining about anyone. Her life was exemplary. When the earthquake struck at 8:50 a.m. on 26th January 2001, she was working in the kitchen and was trapped under the rubble of the collapsed building. The bones of her neck and back were broken. The others-her only daughter and her elder sister-in-law with her son and daughter-were also crushed near her and passed away. We cannot imagine the mental state of a woman trapped under the debris of stone and brick, who is alive but cannot make the slightest movement. How must she have passed each moment! One cannot imagine how painful each moment must have been waiting and ho…

《Relief for the Earthquake-Affected》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…