..续本文上一页 when cravings for sensuality, becoming, and no becoming all disappear. This is called knowing the reality of disbanding. As for the cause of stress and the path to the disbanding of stress, we”ll know them as well.

　　Ignorant people will go ride in the shadow of a car — and they”ll end up with their heads bashed in. People who don”t realize what the shadows of virtue are, will end up riding only the shadows. Words and deeds are the shadows of virtue. Actual virtue is in the heart. The heart at normalcy is the substance of virtue. The substance of concentration is the mind firmly centered in a single preoccupation without any interference from concepts or mental labels. The bodily side to concentration — when our mouth, eyes, ears, nose, and tongue are quiet — is just the shadow, as when the body sits still, its mouth closed and not speaking with anyone, its nose not interested in any smells, its eyes closed and not interested in any objects, etc. If the mind is firmly centered to the level of fixed penetration, then whether we sit, stand, walk, or lie down, the mind doesn”t waver.

　　Once the mind is trained to the level of fixed penetration, discernment will arise without our having to search for it, just like an imperial sword: When it”s drawn for use, it”s sharp and flashing. When it”s no longer needed, it goes back in the scabbard. This is why we are taught,

　　mano-pubbangama dhamma mano-settha mano-maya:

　　The mind is the most extraordinary thing there is. The mind is the source of the Dhamma.

　　This is what it means to know stress, its cause, its disbanding, and the path to its disbanding. This is the substance of virtue, concentration, and discernment. Whoever can do this will reach release: nibbana. Whoever can give rise to the Dhamma of study and practice within themselves will meet with the Dhamma of attainment without a doubt. This is why it”s said to be sanditthiko, visible in the present; akaliko, bearing fruit no matter what the time or season. Keep working at it always.

　　Beyond Right & Wrong

　　January 17, 1959

　　For the heart to go and do harm to other people, we first have to open the way for it. In other words, we start out by doing harm to ourselves, and this clears the way from inside the house for us to go out and do harm to people outside.

　　The intention to do harm is a heavy form of self-harm. At the very least, it uses up our time and destroys our opportunity to do good. We have to wipe it out with the intention not to do harm — or in other words, with concentration. This is like seeing that there”s plenty of unused space in our property and that we aren”t making enough for our living. We”ll have to leap out into the open field so as to give ourself the momentum for doing our full measure of goodness as the opportunity arises.

　　* * *

　　Nekkhamma-sankappo (thoughts of renunciation), i.e., being at ease in quiet, solitary places. Abyapada-sankappo (thoughts of non-anger): We don”t have to think about our own bad points or the bad points of others. Avihinsa-sankappo (thoughts of not doing harm), not creating trouble or doing harm to ourselves, i.e., (1) not thinking about our own shortcomings, which would depress us; (2) if we think about our own shortcomings, it”ll spread like wildfire to the shortcomings of others. For this reason, wise people lift their thoughts to the level of goodness so that they can feel love and good will for themselves, and so that they can then feel love and good will for others as well.

　　When our mind has these three forms of energy, it”s like a table with three legs that can spin in all directions. To put it another way, once our mind has spun up to this high a level, we can take pictures of everything above and below us. We”ll develop discernment like a bright light or like binocula…

《Inner Strength - Part Three: Inner Release》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…