..续本文上一页selves, we have to depend on our teachers to instruct us. If we listen often, their teachings gradually seep into us and blend with our temperament until our mind becomes a mind with Dhamma. Our mind becomes a sage, a wise person, and can eventually take care of itself, becoming ”atta hi attano natho” — its own mainstay.

　　So in every activity where we aren”t yet capable, we first have to depend on others. In living with those who are good, we are bound to find peace and happiness. Our traits come to mesh with theirs — this is important — until our own traits become good and admirable as well. It”s the same as if we were to associate with bad people: At first we aren”t bad, but as we associate with them for a long time, our traits blend themselves with theirs until we become bad without being aware of it. When we are fully bad, this makes us even more blind. We feel that we”ve become even better. No one else can push us around. Otherwise our ”goodness” will jump into action — the ”goodness” of a bad person, an evil that wise people everywhere fear.

　　Bad people and good people. Evil and good. These things get turned around in this way. Bad people thus can”t see the truth that they are bad, and so flatter themselves into thinking, ”I”m good. I”m smart. I”m clever. I”m one of the most renowned operators around.” That”s how they twist things!

　　For this reason, associating with meditation masters, with sages, is important for anyone who is striving to become a good person, who is hoping to prosper and be happy, because sages will teach us often. Their manners and deportment that we see day after day will gradually seep into and nurture our minds. We can hold to them continually as good examples, for everything they do in every way is all Dhamma.

　　Especially if they”re people devoid of defilement, then there is nothing to compare with them. Like Venerable Acariya Mun: I”m certain that he was devoid of defilement. After hearing the Dhamma from him, I had no doubts. He himself never said that he was devoid of defilement, you know. He never said that he was an arahant or anything, but he would say it in his ability to explain the true Dhamma on every level in a way that would go straight to the heart and erase all doubt for all those who came to study with him. This is why I can dare to say unabashedly that Venerable Acariya Mun Bhuridatta Thera is one of the important arahants of our day and age — an age in which arahants are exceedingly rare, because it”s an age sadly lacking in people practicing the Dhamma for the sake of arahantship. Instead, we practice to eliminate arahantship by amassing all kinds of miscellaneous defilements. This holds for all of us, so no one is in a position to criticize anyone else.

　　Let”s return to the subject of feelings: To investigate feelings of pain is very important. This is something I learned from Venerable Acariya Mun. He took this very seriously whenever any of the meditators in his monastery became ill. Sometimes he would go himself and ask, ”How are you contemplating your illness

　　” Then he”d really emphasize the Dhamma. ”Go probing right there. Wherever there”s pain, investigate so as to see the truth of the pain.” He”d teach how to investigate: ”Don”t retreat. To retreat is to enhance the pain.

　　”To be a warrior, you have fight using discernment. This is what will bring victory: the ability to keep up with the feeling of pain that you hold to be an important enemy. Actually, that feeling isn”t anyone”s enemy. It doesn”t have any sense of consciousness at all. It”s simply a truth — that”s all. So investigate on in. You don”t have to anticipate it or concern yourself with whether it”s a big pain or a small pain. All that”s asked is that you know its truth with your own discernment, so that the heart …

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