..续本文上一页s its match in subtlety. We are sure to learn the truth from our discernment that this knowing nature is the foremost cause of suffering and stress. When we know this, this nature won”t be able to stand. It will have to disintegrate immediately, just as when people smash a solid object to pieces with an iron bar.

　　When this nature disintegrates after having been destroyed by discernment, a nature marvelous far above and beyond any conventional reality will appear in full measure. At the same moment, we will see the harm of what is harmful and the benefits of what is beneficial. The awareness of release will appear as dhammo padipo -- the brightness of the Dhamma -- in full radiance, like the sun that, when unobscured by clouds, lets the world receive the full radiance of its light. The result is that the awareness of release appears plainly to the heart of the meditator the moment unawareness has disbanded.

　　This is the result. What the causes are, I”ve already explained to you: conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment. This is the path to follow leading right to this point. It doesn”t lead anywhere else. Whether you live at home, in a monastery, or in a forest, whether you”re a woman or a man, ordained or not: If you have these five qualities always with you, you”re heading toward this point. In other words, we all have the same full rights in the practice and in the results we”ll receive.

　　So I ask that all of you as meditators -- and you know clearly that you are meditators and abstainers as well -- I ask that you practice so as to develop your thoughts, words, and deeds, and that you fully abstain from things that are your enemies until you reach the goal -- the release of nibbana -- as I”ve already explained. None of these qualities lie beyond your mindfulness, discernment, and relentless effort. These are the teachings the Buddha gave to us as svakkhata-dhamma -- the well-taught Dhamma. In other words, he rightly taught us the path to follow. He taught that the wrong path was really wrong, and the right path really right. And the results -- release and nibbana -- that come from following the right path were also rightly taught. The only problem is with those of us following the path: Will we really follow it rightly or not

　　 If we follow it rightly in line with what the Buddha taught, the results are sure to appear as sammadeva asavehi vimuccati -- right release from all defilements and mental effluents.

　　So for this reason you should make an effort to train your mindfulness and discernment at every moment and not just in any one particular position. Don”t think that this is making too much of an effort. The more you understand, the more ingenious you become, the more you can cure defilement, the more you gain release from suffering and stress: These are the results we all want step by step until we really gain release with nothing left. In other words, we gain release while we”re conscious and aware in this lifetime, while overseeing these five khandhas. This is the most certain Dhamma -- because the word svakkhata-dhamma, the Dhamma rightly taught by the Buddha, doesn”t mean that it”s right only after we die. It”s also right while we are practicing it, and the results that come in line with our efforts appear clearly to the hearts of meditators while they are alive.

　　As for the methods or techniques you use to train your hearts, I ask to leave them up to each person”s intelligence and ingenuity in the course of making the effort in the practice. You have to notice which positions are most helpful in your practice. Don”t simply sit and keep on sitting, or walk and keep on walking. You have to remember to notice what results and benefits you get from your efforts as well, because different people may find themselves more or less suited to the four different positions of sitting, standing, walking, and lying down.

　　Today I”ve explained the Dhamma to all of you from the beginning to the final point of my ability, so I feel that this should be enough for now. I ask that each of you take the Dhamma that I”ve explained today and that you have encountered in your practice, and make it food for thought or a companion to your practice. The results you will receive can in no way deviate from today”s explanation.

　　So I”ll ask to stop here.

　　Evam

《Things as They Are - The Path of Strength》全文阅读结束。