..续本文上一页ples of the truth, they were able to comprehend quickly and to know step by step following him until they penetrated the truth clear through. Their defilements, however many or few they had, all dissolved completely away. The cycle of rebirth was overturned to their complete relief.

　　This is how it is when a person who truly knows and truly sees explains the Dhamma. Whether it”s an aspect of the Dhamma dealing with the world or with the Dhamma itself, what he says is bound to be certain because he has seen it directly with his own eyes, heard it with his own ears, touched it with his own heart. So when he remembers it and teaches it, how can he be wrong

　　 He can”t be wrong. For example, the taste of salt: Once we have known with our tongue that it”s salty and we speak directly from the saltiness of the salt, how can we be wrong

　　 Or the taste of hot peppers: The pepper is hot. It touches our tongue and we know, ”This pepper is hot.” When we speak with the truth — ”This pepper is hot” — just where can we be wrong

　　So it is with knowing the Dhamma. When we practice to the stage where we should know, we have to know, step by step. Knowing the Dhamma happens at the same moment as abandoning defilement. When defilement dissolves away, the brightness that has been obscured will appear in that very instant. The truth appears clearly. Defilement, which is a truth, we know clearly. We then cut it away with the path — mindfulness and discernment — which is a principle of the truth, and then we take the truth and teach it so that those who are intent on listening will be sure to understand.

　　The Buddha taught the Dhamma in 84,000 sections (khandha), but they aren”t in excess of our five khandhas with the mind in charge, responsible for good and evil and for dealing with everything that makes contact. Even though there may be as many as 84,000 sections to the Dhamma, they were taught in line with the attributes of the mind, of defilement, and of the Dhamma itself for the sake of living beings with their differing temperaments. The Buddha taught extensively — 84,000 sections of the Dhamma — so that those of differing temperaments could put them into practice and straighten out their defilements.

　　And we should make ourselves realize that those who listen to the Dhamma from those who have truly known and truly seen — from the mouth of the Buddha, the arahants, or meditation masters — should be able to straighten out their defilements and mental effluents at the same time they are listening. This is a point that doesn”t depend on time or place.

　　All the Dhamma comes down to the mind. The mind is a highly appropriate vessel for each level of the Dhamma. In teaching the Dhamma, what are the things entangling and embroiling the mind that are necessary to describe so that those who listen can understand and let go

　　 There are elements, khandhas, and the unlimited sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations outside us, which make contact with the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and heart within us. Thus it is necessary to teach both about things outside and about things inside, because the mind can become deluded and attached both outside and inside. It can love and hate both the outside and the inside.

　　When we teach in line with the causes and effects both inside and out, in accordance with the principles of the truth, the mind that contemplates or investigates exclusively in line with the principles of truth has to know, step by step, and be able to let go. Once we know something, we can let it go. That puts an end to our problem of having to prove or investigate the matter again. Whatever we understand is no longer a problem because once we have understood, we let go. We keep letting go, because our understanding has reached the truth of t…

《Straight from the Heart - The Conventional Mind, The Mind Released》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…