..续本文上一页of the afternoon sessions, an auction was held to raise funds for his new monastery in Victoria. One of the things which they auctioned off was a zafu, a cushion, which I had sat on whilst leading a meditation session there last August. Some person paid $1,400 for that zafu. (It made me wonder about the zafu in my kuti. I have been sitting on that for many years now; it must be worth a fortune. Perhaps I should guard it to make sure that no one steals it...) Although I found such a compliment ridiculous, I was of course very glad that it was used to help Bodhivana Monastery in Warburton. Anyway, it is better not to take such praise seriously, because no matter how much fame we get, we”ll get criticism as well. I find it marvellous to return to a place like Australia, because if one finds oneself becoming at all superior while travelling, one is soon cut down to size here. And so be it; it”s good.
Sharing our gains with our fellow monks and anagarikas produces a wonderful feeling of family, of community in harmony. That”s why, even at Christmas time, if people give you things, please share them with your fellow samanas, your fellow Dhamma-farers; don”t keep them only for yourselves. Some monks, because of their past good kamma, tend to get given a lot of things; other people get very little. So we should share our gifts together. A good monk is supposed to share even the food in his bowl with his fellows. It”s a wonderful way of saying, ”Even the contents of my bowl are not my gain. People don”t feed just me; they feed the Sangha, they feed the whole community.” By keeping little for ourselves we give up the idea of personal gain. We don”t store things up; we have the courage and faith that when something is really needed the monastery will provide it for us; and it the monastery can”t acquire it, surely there must be a kind, considerate and generous lay supporter who will. This is how we should look after ourselves.
We also need to see the dangers of gain, honour and fame in relation to spiritual attainments. This is why I always encourage the visitors, anagarikas, novices and younger monks to come and tell the senior teachers if you have an experience and want to tell somebody; don”t go telling each other, because that just swells pride. A person who recounts an experience may feel "I am better," and the person he tells may feel "I am worse". This encourages the fetters to arise. It generates bad states of mind in you and in others. It”s not conducive to happiness or spiritual progress. So don”t tell each other. We put all our opportunities for fame and respect aside.
In each of my talks, whether it”s on gain, honour and fame, or anything else, I always end up talking about jhana, because I love jhana so much. It is such an important aspect of Dhamma that I try to put it into every talk I give. It is important, however, for monks to realise that even the attainment of jhana is not their ego, not their self, not a person, not them. Jhana is simply an empty process. When a person understands anatta, then whatever experience they have, it never becomes a source of pride, or of personal fame or gain. It is just part of nature, that”s all.
Of course, attaining jhana is an inspiring event. It”s inspiring because it is a way of praising the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. To do what the Great Teacher instructed us to do is to worship the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. It is inspiring to prove to ourselves that we can still realise the Dhamma that the Buddha pointed out; it is inspiring because it is what the Buddha himself experienced, and it is inspiring because it is conducive to seeing anicca, dukkha and anatta - to see these beautiful Dhammas. So our honour and praise should go to the Dhamma, and to the Buddha for discovering these t…
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