Shelter
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by
Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo
(Phra Suddhidhammaransi Gambhiramedhacariya)
Translated from the Thai by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Copyright © 2000 Metta Forest Monastery
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Translator”s Note: This talk is unusual in that we have two reconstructions of it: a longer one (PART II) by Mae Chii Arun Abhivanna, and a shorter one (PART I) by an unknown hand. Comparing the two reconstructions is a sobering experience, giving a hint of what can sometimes get lost in the process of reconstructing a talk. Still, we owe a great deal to those who went to the trouble of taking notes while Ajaan Lee explained the Dhamma. Without them, we would have nothing of his spoken teachings at all.
Some passages in PART II have already been translated in Food for Thought and The Skill of Release. Putting them in the context of the original talk shows how they function in Ajaan Lee”s teaching style. As Ajaan Fuang, one of his students, once said, Ajaan Lee could talk on three levels at once. This talk has a little something for everyone.
PART I
"Pleasure" and "purity" mean two different things. They”re not one and the same. Pleasure is the physical and mental ease that comes from material objects, but it”s not purity, because the mind is still soaked and saturated with various preoccupations, which defile it. As for purity, that”s a kind of pleasure independent of material objects. It”s a pleasure that comes from the stillness and ease of the mind.
Pleasure is a lower form of goodness. It”s mundane. Purity is a higher form of goodness: the transcendent.
In concentration practice, Right Effort is a supporting factor, while Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration are supervising factors. These two types of factors are the basic principles of tranquillity. They”re the factors that oversee and protect the mind from falling into Wrong Concentration.
Some people say that tranquillity and insight are two separate things, but actually they”re one and the same. Tranquillity gives rise to insight. Insight gives rise to purity. And so purity comes this plain old stillness of mind.
What can we do to reach purity
For the mind to become pure we have to train it. If you were to say it”s easy, it”s easy. If you were to say it”s hard, it”s hard. If you”re true in what you do, you”ll get results easily. If you aren”t, the results will be hard.
Tranquillity is like a lit candle. If it”s well protected from the wind, the flame will stand straight and give off a bright light. You”ll be able to see anything clearly. If the candle tips over, the flame will go out and you”ll have to grope around with your hands. You may mistake a cat for a dog, or a dog for a cat, because you can”t see clearly.
In the same way, we have to make an effort to use mindfulness to protect the mind from the wind. Don”t let the Hindrances blow in and overcome the mind.
PART II
Pleasure and the goodness of purity are two separate things, not one and the same. Pleasure is the physical and mental ease that comes from ordinary things: eating, living, and sleeping comfortably, without any illness; having plenty of wealth at your disposal, and so forth. As for the goodness of purity, that comes from a pleasure apart from the ordinary. It comes from your own mind without having to depend on the support of external things. This kind of pleasure takes its support from …
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