The Path of Strength

　　September 30, 1962

　　We have gone forth from the household life and are abstainers from all things that are our own enemies and enemies of the common good. That”s why we”re said to have gone forth: It means that we abstain. ”Abstaining” here means refraining from the things that work to our detriment. Once we have gone forth, our duty is to abstain from things that are unwise and to develop wisdom -- intelligence -- as much as we can until it is enough to carry us past our obstacles: the entire mass of suffering.

　　At present we all know that we have gone forth. The world calls us ”people who have gone forth,” so be conscious of your status at all times and in your every movement in thought, word, and deed. You are ordained in the Buddha”s religion and have his teachings as your guide. His teachings have both a fence and an open way. The fence is the Vinaya, which prescribes penalties for our errors -- major, intermediate, and minor. This is the fence that blocks the wrong paths so that we won”t stray down them, and that opens the right path -- the Dhamma -- so that we can follow it to the goal to which we aspire. The Vinaya is a fence on both sides of the path. If we go astray, it means we”ve gone wrong. If we go just a little astray, we”ve gone just a little bit wrong. If we go far astray, we”ve gone far wrong. If we go so far astray that we can”t get back on the path, we”ve gone absolutely wrong. This is like a person who loses his way: If he gets just a little lost, he can quickly get back on the path. If he gets more lost, it wastes a lot of his time. If he gets really lost, he has no chance of reaching his goal. Thus the Vinaya is like a fence to prevent those who have gone forth from going wrong. This fence has various levels -- in line with the differing levels of lay people and those who have ordained -- for us to observe in line with our moral duties, beginning with the five precepts and going up to the eight, the ten, and the 227 precepts.

　　As for the Dhamma, which is the path to follow as taught by the Buddha, it has conviction as its basis -- in other words, conviction in the path to be followed for good results -- and persistence in making the effort to follow the path unflaggingly. Mindfulness is what guides our efforts as we follow the path. Concentration is firmness of the heart in following the path, in addition to being food for the journey -- in other words, mental peace and ease along the way before we reach the goal. And discernment is circumspection in following the path step by step from beginning to end. These qualities support and encourage us to stay on the right path. When we have these five qualities -- conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment -- constantly with us, there”s no need to doubt that the results will appear as our reward, clear to the heart, in line with our strength and abilities. If we develop these five qualities so that they are powerful within our hearts, the results that the Buddha proclaimed as lying at the end of the path -- release and nibbana -- won”t be able to elude us, because all of these qualities aim at these results.

　　So I ask that you as meditators nourish your conviction in the Dhamma and in your own capabilities. Make your persistence adequate to the task. Concentration will then appear as a result, so try to make it adequate, and take mindfulness and discernment as your guardians. The results will then appear to your full satisfaction. You don”t have to worry about where the paths, fruitions, and nibbana lie. Try to nourish the causes I have explained here and make them adequate. Nothing will then be able to prevent the results that will arise from those causes.

　　These five qualities -- principles in following the pa…

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