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　　 What causes it to hurt

　　 What perceives it as pain

　　 When the body dies and they cremate it, does it hurt

　　 Who is it that deceives itself into thinking that this hurts or that aches

　　 Investigate so as to find its initial causes.

　　”If you”re a meditator who doesn”t know initial causes and doesn”t know their effects — this heap of suffering — then how are you going to cure suffering

　　 What is your discernment for

　　 Why don”t you think

　　 Why don”t you find it and put it to use

　　”Your mindfulness and discernment are for keeping things in mind and investigating them — things such as feelings of pain that exist in your body and mind.”

　　He would keep stressing his points, step by step. If the person listening was intent on listening — and especially if he had any fighting spirit — he”d find it easy to grasp the point, and it would appeal to him immediately. Immediately.

　　When we”d leave Venerable Acariya Mun to live in any spot suitable for the practice, his teachings would seem to reverberate through the heart. You could remember every facet of his teachings, every important point that should be used as a tool in the practice. For example, if you were staying in a challenging place, it was if he were right there in the heart. The heart would be really audacious and exultant in practicing, knowing the Dhamma, seeing it, understanding it. You would understand with audacity, and with a warrior”s spirit — not by being discouraged, irresolute, or beating a retreat. That”s not the way to make the defilements fear you and disappear from the heart. That”s not at all the way to cure defilement, to know the affairs of defilement or to be able to remove them.

　　This is the religion! There is nothing to compare with it in being so correct, so precise, so genuine, so true, so indisputable. If we all were to follow the principles of the religion, there would be no need for prisons or jails. What need would they serve

　　 Nobody would be doing any wrong! People would see in line with reason and acknowledge their rightness and wrongness, their good and their evil, using the principles of reason as their standard. We human beings would then be able to live with one another.

　　The reason we need laws, prisons, and jails is because we don”t admit our wrongs. When we”re wrong, we don”t admit that we”re wrong. Even the moment after we see ourselves do something wrong, we won”t admit to it. Even when we”re put in jail and are asked, we still say, ”They accused me of stealing this and stealing that” — even though we ourselves actually stole it. This is simply an unwillingness to admit to things in line with reason, in line with the truth. Even within the heart, with things that concern us exclusively, the same holds true: We don”t admit to them, which is why we receive so much pain and suffering. If we admit to the principles of the truth, the things that appear in line with the truth can be resolved through the truth. For example, even when pain arises in the body, it won”t disrupt the mind because our knowledge is wise to it.

　　As the principles of the Dhamma say, pains have been appearing in our body and mind ever since we first became aware of things. There is no reason for us to get excited, frightened, or upset by them to the point where they disease the mind.

　　This is why mental development, or meditation, is an excellent science for gaining knowledge on all fronts: Those who practice consistently are not upset when pain arises in the body. They can even focus on the spot where the pain arises so as to investigate and analyze it in line with its truth until gaining skillful and courageous tactics for dealing with it admirably.

　　The important point is to associate with sages, wise people, those who are sharp and astute. If we aren”t yet able to depend on our…

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