..续本文上一页doubts and hesitation, running back and forth, not knowing which way to go and ending up spinning around along with the world.

　　Once we know the ways of the body and mind, we”ll be released from these fetters. The mind will gain release from the body and shed the fermentations of defilement. This is called knowledge of the end of mental fermentation. The mind will gain liberating insight and flow into the current of Dhamma leading ultimately to nibbana.

　　When we stop spinning along with the world, we”ll be able to see the world — our body — clearly. Once the mind stops, we can then see the body. For this reason, we should slow down the spinning of the body by distilling and filtering its properties, making them more and more refined; slow down the spinning of our words by keeping silent; and slow down the spinning of the mind, making it firm and still by centering it in concentration, thinking about and evaluating the breath. When the mind stops spinning after its various concepts and preoccupations, our words and body will stop along with it. When each one has stopped, we can see them all clearly. The mind will know the affairs of the body through and through, giving rise to liberating insight that will slow down the spinning of the wheel of rebirth. Our births will become less and less until ultimately we won”t have to come back to live in a world ever again.

　　* * *

　　To practice meditation is one sort of food for the heart. Food for the body is not anything lasting. We eat in the morning and are hungry by noon. We eat at noon and are hungry again in the evening. If we”re full today, tomorrow morning we”ll be hungry again. We keep eating and defecating like this, and the day will never come when we”ve had enough. We”ll have to keep looking for more and more things to eat. As for food for the heart, if we prepare it really well, even for a little space of time, we”ll be full for the rest of our life.

　　Mental Power, Step by Step

　　July 26, 1956

　　Try to be mindful as you keep track of the breath going in and out. Don”t let yourself forget or be distracted. Try to let go of all concepts of past or future. Silently repeat ”buddho” in your mind — ”bud-” in with every in-breath, and ”dho” out with every out — until the mind settles down and is still. Then you can stop your mental repetition and begin observing the in-and-out breath to see how fast or slow, long or short, heavy or light, broad or narrow, crude or subtle it is. Stick with whichever way of breathing is comfortable. Adjust whichever way of breathing isn”t comfortable or easy until it”s just right, using your own discrimination — dhamma-vicaya-sambojjhanga — as your standard of judgment. (When you”re making adjustments in this way, you don”t have to do any mental repetition. You can let ”buddho” go.)

　　You have to keep an eye on your mind to make sure that it doesn”t wander, waver, or fly out after any external concepts. Keep the mind still, indifferent and unconcerned, as if there were only you sitting alone in the world. Let the breath spread throughout every part of the body, from the head to the tips of the fingers and toes, in front, in back, in the middle of the stomach, all the way through the intestines, along the blood vessels, and out through every pore. Breathe long and deep until the body feels full. The body will feel light, open and spacious, just like a sponge full of water: When we squeeze the water out, it all comes out easily without any interference.

　　At this point, the body will feel light and at ease. The mind will feel as cool as the water that permeates the soil, seeping into the roots of trees, keeping them nourished and fresh. The mind will be set straight and upright, not leaning to the left or right, forward or back. In other words, it doesn”t stre…

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