..续本文上一页ave to survey things from the ground on up to the tips of the branches. The ground stands for the purity of our livelihood. We have to examine the ground to see if it has any termites or other pests that will destroy the roots of our tree. Then we have to add the right amount of fertilizer — not too little, not too much. We have to care for it correctly in line with its size. For example, how do we observe the five precepts so that they”re pure

　　 How do we observe the eight, the ten, and the 227 precepts so that they”re pure

　　 What things should we abstain from doing

　　 What things should we do

　　 This is called Right Livelihood.

　　If we attend too much to our physical pleasure, we tend not to give rise to virtue, like certain kinds of trees that are very healthy, with large branches and lush foliage, but tend not to bear fruit. If a person eats a lot and sleeps a lot, if he”s concerned only with matters of eating and sleeping, his body will be large and hefty, like a tree with a large trunk, large branches, large leaves, but hardly any fruit. We human beings — once our bodies are well-nourished with food — if we then listen to a sermon or sit in meditation, tend to get drowsy because we”re too well nourished. If we sit for a long time, we feel uncomfortable. If we listen to a sermon, we don”t know what”s being said, because we”re sleepy. This ruins our chance to do good. People who are too well nourished tend to get lazy, sloppy, and addicted to pleasure. If they sit in meditation, they tend to get numb, tired, and drowsy.

　　This is why we”re taught to observe the eight uposatha precepts as a middle path. We eat only during half of the day, only half full. That”s enough. This is called having a sense of moderation with regard to food. We don”t have to load up or compensate for missing the evening meal. We eat just enough. ”I abstain from eating at the wrong time”: After noon we don”t have to turn to another meal, so that the heart won”t turn after the world. This is like giving just enough fertilizer to our tree.

　　”I abstain from dancing, singing and ornamenting the body”: The Buddha doesn”t have us beautify the body with cosmetics and perfumes, or ornament it with jewelry. This is like giving our tree just the right amount of water. Don”t let the soil get water-logged. Otherwise the roots will rot. In other words, if we get attached to scents and to beauty of this sort, it”ll make us so infatuated that our virtue will suffer. This is like taking scraps of food and pouring them around the foot of our tree. Dogs will come to trample over the tree, chickens will peck at the leaves and flowers, and fire ants will eat into the roots, causing our tree to wither or die. All sorts of complications will come to hassle us.

　　”I abstain from high and large beds”: When we lie down to sleep, the Buddha doesn”t have us use soft mattresses or cushions that are too comfortable, because if we have a lot of comfort we”ll sleep a lot and not want to get up to do good. The results of our concentration practice will be meager, and our laziness will grow rampant. This is like caterpillars and worms that burrow throughout the soil: They”ll keep whispering to us, teaching us all sorts of things until ultimately they tell us to stop doing good — and so we stop. This is like insects crawling up from the ground and eating into our tree, climbing higher and higher up until they reach the tiptop branches: the mind. Ultimately, when they eat the tips of the branches, the tree won”t bear flowers. When it has no flowers, it won”t bear fruit. In the same way, if we lack a sense of moderation in caring for ourself, we won”t be practicing Right Livelihood. If we don”t have a proper sense of how to nourish and care for the body, our conduct will have to degenerate. But if …

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