..续本文上一页esn”t matter, it”s the mind that counts.” That attitude is quite common amongst Buddhists! But it actually takes patience to concentrate on your body, other than out of vanity. Vanity is a misuse of the human body, but this sweeping awareness is skilful. It”s not to enforce a sense of ego, but simply an act of goodwill and consideration for a living body -- which is not you anyway

　　So your meditation now is on the five khandhas[6] and the emptiness of the mind. Investigate these until you fully understand that all that arises passes away and is not-self. Then there”s no grasping of anything as being oneself, and you are free from that desire to know yourself as a quality or a substance. This is liberation from birth and death.

　　This path of wisdom is not one of developing concentration to get into a trance state, get high and get away from things. You have to be very honest about intention. Are we meditating to run away from things

　　 Are we trying to get into a state where we can suppress all thoughts

　　 This wisdom practice is a very gentle one of even allowing the most horrible thoughts to appear, and let them go. You have an escape hatch, it”s like a safety valve where you can let off the steam when there”s too much pressure. Normally, if you dream a lot, then you can let off steam in sleep. But no wisdom comes from that, does it

　　 That is just like being a dumb animal; you develop a habit of doing something and then getting exhausted, then crashing out, then getting up, doing something and crashing out again. But this path is a thorough investigation and an understanding of the limitations of the mortal condition of the body and mind. Now you”re developing the ability to turn away from the conditioned and to release your identity from mortality.

　　You”re breaking through that illusion that you”re a mortal thing -- but I”m not telling you that you”re an immortal creature either, because you”ll start grasping at that! ”My true nature is one with the ultimate, absolute Truth. I am one with the Lord. My real nature is the Deathless, timeless eternity of bliss.” But you notice that the Buddha refrained from using poetic inspiring phrases; not that they”re wrong, but because we attach to them. We would settle for that identity with the ultimate, or one with God, or the eternal bliss of the Deathless Realm, and so forth. You get very starry-eyed saying things like that. But it”s much more skilful to watch that tendency to want to name or conceive what is inconceivable, to be able to tell somebody else, or describe it just to feel that you have attained something. It is more important to watch that than to follow it. Not that you haven”t realised anything, either, but be that careful and that vigilant not to attach to that realisation, because if you do, of course this will just take you to despair again.

　　If you do get carried away, as soon as you realise you got carried away, then stop. Certainly don”t go round feeling guilty about it or being discouraged, but just stop that. Calm down, let go, let go of it. You notice that religious people have insights, and they get very glassy-eyed. Born-again Christians are just aglow with this fervour. Very impressive, too! I must admit, it”s very impressive to see people so radiant. But in Buddhism, that state is called ”sañña-vipallasa” -- ”meditation madness”. When a good teacher sees you”re in that state, he puts you in a hut out in the woods and tells you not to go near anyone! I remember I went like that in Nong Khai the first year before I went to Ajahn Chah, I thought I was fully enlightened, just sitting there in my hut. I knew everything in the world, understood everything. I was just so radiant, and ... but I didn”t have anyone to talk to. I couldn”t speak Thai, so I cou…

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