..续本文上一页ugh to eat, enough to drink, enough of everything. It”s not poor. When we can think correctly in this way, it”s called respect for the Dhamma — and it can make us happy.
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Respect for the Dhamma means taking seriously all the things coming in and out the house of your mind. (1) The door of the body: You have to be careful to make sure that none of your actions stray into ways that are harmful. (2) The door of speech — the door of the mouth — is very large. The tongue may be only a tiny piece of flesh, but it”s very important, because what we say today can keep echoing for an aeon after we die. When the body dies, the time isn”t long before there”s nothing left of it, and so it”s not as important as our speech, for the stone engravings we make with our tongue last a long, long time. For this reason, we should show a great deal of respect for our mouths by saying only things that are worthwhile. (3) The door of the intellect: We have to be careful with our thoughts. If something is harmful to us when we think about it, then we shouldn”t think about it. We should think only about things that are beneficial and good.
These three doors are always receiving guests into the mind, so we have to pay attention to see who is coming with good intentions and who is coming with bad. Don”t let down your guard. Whoever comes with good intentions will bring you happiness and prosperity. As for troublemakers and thieves, they”ll rob you and kill you and cause you all sorts of trouble.
As for your eyes, ears and nose, these are like three windows that you have to be careful about as well. You have to know when to open and when to close them. If you aren”t discerning, you may invite thieves into your house to rob and kill you, plundering all the wealth your parents and teachers gave you. This is called being an ingrate — not knowing enough to care for the legacies that others have passed down to you. The legacies of your parents are your life, health, and strength. The legacies of your teachers are all the things they taught to make you a good person. If you leave your thoughts, words, and deeds wide open so that evil can flow into you, evil will keep pouring in, wearing down the health and strength of your body and mind. This is called having no appreciation for the kindness of your parents and teachers.
Sometimes we don”t leave just the doors open — we leave the windows open as well. Lizards, snakes, scorpions, birds, and bats will come in through the windows and take up residence in our house. After a while they”ll lay claim to it as theirs — and we give in to them. So they leave their droppings all over and make a mess of the place. If we don”t exercise self-restraint, our body and mind are going to be ruined, and this will destroy the wealth our parents and teachers went to such great trouble to give us.
So if anyone tries to come into your house, you have to grill them thoroughly to see what they”re up to and what they”re coming for — for good or for bad. Look them straight in the eye. In other words, you have to be mindful and reflecting in all your actions. Anything that isn”t good you have to drive out of your activities. Even if it would help you financially or make you popular and well-known, don”t have anything to do with it. The same holds true with your speech. If something you”re about to say will serve a good purpose, then open your mouth and say it. Say what should be said, and don”t say what shouldn”t. If something serves no real purpose, then no matter how fantastic it may be, don”t say it. You have to know how to respond to all the activities that present themselves for you to do. Let in the good ones and drive out the bad.
As for the mind, you have to show restraint with that, too. If a thought will lead to good and h…
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