..续本文上一页scour out the defilements. These include:

　　Appicchakathaa — talk favorable to wanting little of the monk”s requisites.

　　Santu.t.thiikathaa — talk of contentment with whatever requisites become available and are properly offered according to Dhamma.

　　Asa.msaggakathaa — talk favorable to not mingling together or socializing.

　　Pavivekathaa — talk favorable to seclusion and detachment of body and heart.

　　Viriyaarambhakathaa — talk favorable to strenuous exertion.

　　Siilakathaa — talk favorable to upholding the purity of moral precepts; and to the development of samadhi and wisdom.22

　　Vimuttikathaa — talk favorable to deliverance; and to the clear, penetrative realization of deliverance.23

　　These are the subtler aspects of right speech. There”s no vain talk or gossip here but only serious speech, dedicated to exertion and the utilization of these purifying dhammas.

　　The fourth path factor was stated as being right action or right undertaking.24 There are those right actions that deal with commonplace work and those concerned with the task of Dhamma. Occupations that are not against the law, like farming or trading for example, fall within the bounds of right undertaking. Likewise with the building of temples and monasteries, or the practice of generosity, morality and the development of the meditation on loving kindness.25 These form another kind of right action.

　　Walking meditation and sitting in samadhi are also there as right action. Every movement of the body, speech and heart is kamma, which is action. The body acts, speech verbalizes and the mind deliberates, and it”s all action or kamma. Actions done by body, speech and heart are called kamma. Those correct and proper bodily actions, speech and thoughts are called right actions.

　　Right action covers a wide and extensive range and it”s up to each inpidual to work it out and apply it for himself. This is because the world and Dhamma have always been paired together, like the left and right hands of the same person. The world and Dhamma can”t be separated — the world has its work, as has Dhamma. Since the situation and make-up of each person vary, their undertakings cannot all be identical. It”s because of this that lay people and those who have gone forth following the way of Dhamma, have to undertake work that is appropriate to their position. Don”t allow opinions to interfere and conflict with anyone”s undertaking; each person will then be able to undertake his or her ”right action”. Each day will then see the world and Dhamma steadily flourishing together because of everyone”s mutual contribution and support.

　　The fifth path factor was stated as being right livelihood.26 One aspect of this is the eating and consuming that is an everyday form of making a living, whether by humans or animals. Catering to feed the heart with emotional objects born of contact is another kind of livelihood. The step by step nourishing of the heart with the various levels of Dhamma is another.

　　Making one”s living in a scrupulous manner that accords with Dhamma, without violating the law by actions like robbery and theft, is one form of right livelihood. One lives within one”s means from day to day. But if things accrue in abundance and through honest means, then that can also be reckoned as right livelihood.

　　Contact will arise with external objects such as the form, the sound, smell, taste, or touch of man or women. If it suits one”s disposition and provides nutriment for the heart with mental and emotional objects that delight and relieve the heart”s sadness, then it serves as an elixir of life. However, by pursuing them in the wrong way it becomes poison and devours the heart. This type of right livelihood is appropriate for the person in the world who knows the right measure of things, and their…

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