Loyalty to Your Meditation

　　October 22, 1958

　　by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo

　　(Phra Suddhidhammaransi Gambhiramedhacariya)

　　Translated from the Thai by

　　Thanissaro Bhikkhu

　　For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma

　　While we meditate here on the word buddho, we have to make up our minds that we”re going to stay right here with someone venerable, in the same way that we”d be a monk”s attendant. We”ll follow after him and watch out for him and not run off anywhere else. If we abandon our monk, he”s going to abandon us, and we”ll be put to all sorts of hardships. As for the monk, he”ll be put to hardships as well, as in the story they tell:

　　Once in the time of the Buddha there was a rich moneylender couple who had been married a long time but without any children. Both of them really wanted a son who could carry on the family line and receive their inheritance. So they talked the matter over and decided to invite a monk to their home to inform him of their predicament, to see if he could use his meditative powers to help intercede with the devas so that they could have a child. When they had made their decision, they told one of their male servants to go into a nearby forest to invite a meditating monk to come have a meal in their home.

　　The next morning before dawn, the servant got ready to go into the forest to a hut where a meditating monk had taken up residence. Now, this servant had once been a hunter and still had all his old hunting instincts. He had even kept his crossbow and arrows and other hunting equipment, and maintained them in good shape. When his master had sent him to invite the monk, which would require going into the forest, he was happy to go, for it would give him a chance to do a little hunting on the side. So he snuck his crossbow and arrows out of the house under his shirt.

　　When he got halfway to the monk”s hut, he realized that it wouldn”t be proper to approach a monk while armed, so he decided to hide his weapons on the side of the path. On the way back, he”d be able to pick them up. So he stashed the crossbow and arrows behind a bush near the path. Then he went on his way empty-handed until he came across an old monk sitting in front of a hut. After bowing down to the monk, he said to him, "Venerable sir, my master the moneylender and his wife have asked me to come invite you to a meal in their house this morning and have told me to take you there. Would you please be so kind as to accept their invitation."

　　The old monk, on hearing this, decided to accept. Now it so happened that he didn”t have an attendant of his own, so he had the servant carry his bowl and shoulder bag. Then he picked up his cane and headed out in unsteady steps toward the moneylender”s house. As they walked along, he asked the servant, "Where is your master”s house

　　 How far is it from here

　　 How do you get there

　　" The servant answered all his questions. After they had walked on a little further, the servant remembered the crossbow and arrows hidden behind the bush on the side of the path. The thought occurred to him that he”d like to abandon the old monk, pick up his weapons, and sneak off to do a little hunting in the forest. After all, he told himself, he had already given explicit directions to the old monk, so he”d be able to find his way on his own.

　　Then he came up with a plan. He told the old monk, "I”ve got to go to the bathroom really bad, so let me head into the woods for a moment. You can walk on ahead. When I”m finished I”ll catch up with you."

　　The old monk wasn”t the least bit suspicious and thought that the servant was telling the truth, so he let the servant go off while he hurried on ahead, afraid that it was getting late and that he wouldn”t get to the moneylender”s house in time for his meal. As for the serva…

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