The Work of a Contemplative

　　October 31, 1978

　　Here in this monastery we practice not in line with people”s wishes and opinions, but in line for the most part with the principles of the Dhamma and Vinaya, the principles of the religion. We do this for the sake of the public at large who rely on the religion as a guiding principle in what is good and right, and who rely on the good and right behavior of monks and novices, the religious leaders for Buddhists at large. For this reason, I”m not interested in treating anyone out of a sense of deference over and above the principles of the Dhamma and Vinaya that are the basis of the religion. If our minds start to bend under the influence of the views and opinions of any one person or of the majority -- who have no limits or standards -- then monasteries and the religion will come to have no limits or standards. Monasteries that bend under the influence of the world, without any sense of reason as an underlying support, will have no order or standards, and will become monasteries without any of the substance of the religion remaining in them at all. Those who look for things of value to revere and respect -- in other words, intelligent people -- won”t be able to find anything good of any substance that will have a hold on their hearts, because there will be nothing but worthless and counterfeit things filling the monasteries, filling the monks, the novices, the nuns, filling everything everywhere. In homes as well as in monasteries, in the area of the world as well as the Dhamma, everything will get mixed into being one with what is counterfeit and lacking in any value or worth.

　　For this reason, we have to keep things in their separate places. The religion and the world, even though they may dwell together, are not the same thing. A monastery -- whether it”s located in a village, outside of a village, or in a forest -- is not the same as a village. The people who come to stay there are not the same as ordinary people. The monastery has to be a monastery. The monks have to be monks with their own independent Dhamma and Vinaya that don”t come under or depend on any particular inpidual. This is an important principle that can have a hold on the hearts of intelligent people who are searching for principles of truth to revere and respect or to be their inspiration. I view things from this angle more than from any other. Even the Buddha, our Teacher, viewed things from this angle as well, as we can see from the time he was talking with Ven. Nagita.

　　When a crowd of people shouting and making a big racket came to see the Buddha, he said, ”Nagita, who is that coming our way, making a commotion like fish-mongers squabbling over fish

　　 We don”t aspire to this sort of thing, which is a destruction of the religion. The religion is something to guard and preserve so that the world will find peace and calm -- like clear, clean water well-guarded and preserved so that people in general can use it to drink and bathe at their convenience. The religion is like clear, clean water in this way, which is why we don”t want anyone to disturb it, to make it muddy and turbid.” This is what the Buddha said to Ven. Nagita. He then told Ven. Nagita to send the crowd back, telling them that their manner and the time of day -- it was night -- were not appropriate for visiting monks who live in quiet and solitude. Polite manners are things that intelligent people choose to use, and there are plenty of other times to come. This is a time when the monks want quiet, so they shouldn”t be disturbed in a way that wastes their time and causes them difficulties without serving any kind of purpose at all.

　　This is an example set by our Teacher. He wasn”t the sort of person to mingle and associate with lay people at all ti…

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