The End of Rebirth

　　by Ajahn Viradhammo "Whether you are an artist, a doctor, a photographer or on the dole, that is your monastery, that is where you practise."

　　In Buddhism we speak of two levels of consideration. The first is the conventional level of "me", as a person, and "you", as a person. For example, there is "Viradhammo": fifty-ish, quickly getting out of shape, has duties, is a senior monk at Amaravati; his Mom is in Canada - and he has a little scar on his head with three stitches. That is "me", as a person. There is the sense here of a person, of social responsibility, of a position in society; of the age of the body, of its genetic and cultural make-up. This is the packaged sense of self that a typical person works with, which is quite valid.

　　At this level, the considerations are morality, right livelihood, responsibility for the environment, social action, expression and creativity. This is one level we operate on, where we can find all kinds of fulfilment; it is a very rewarding thing to be able to work to express and create something. However, it is not liberating - because things change. We really notice that it is not liberating when someone criticises what we are doing. You might think you are doing a great job but when someone pokes a few holes in it, then you see how un-liberating it is - how bound one can be to it. If all we are trying to do is to find fulfilment on the level of family, social action and creativity, then of course our hearts are never fully appeased, because those conditions are always changing and they depend on so many other factors which are beyond our control. If my whole sense of fulfilment is my family, but then my kids leave home, or someone dies, or my child comes home with a red Mohican - what do I do if my whole life is dependent on that

　　! So we would say that fulfilment on this level is not where liberation lies, it is not a refuge - although that is not to put it down.

　　The second level is the Dhamma level, the level of liberation of the heart. When we develop a Buddhist lifestyle, we can see how our families and our social positions can actually be our `monasteries”. They are the place where we practise inner vigilance and contemplation. Whether you are an artist, a doctor, a photographer or on the dole, that is your monastery, that is where you practise.

　　"So without denying the necessity and the challenge of living in the world, you also recognise the inner world."

　　I was in New Zealand for nine years and was involved with a very beautiful monastery project. During that time there was the necessity to function on the social level - I had to work and to organise things - but, through all that, the most important things to consider were suffering and non-suffering: the inner world. We built this lovely meditation hall (half my monastic life has been spent on building sites!). One whole side of it was open, and we had doors that were ten feet by ten feet - pretty big doors! However, the joiner who was making the doors up was not very efficient. He would always tell us that the doors were coming next week - and this went on for four months! On the worldly level, we had to say to him, "Hey, listen! We have a contract, you are not meeting your responsibilities." But on the inner level, we all had to take responsibility for our annoyance at this joiner. So both levels were operating.

　　This meditation hall is convertible. There is a cloister at the front, onto which these huge doors open. On top of the cloister we had a marquee custom - made, so we could double the size of the hall on big occasions. We got the best tentmaker in New Zealand to make this marquee - but it was faulty. We had to take tough steps to ensure he didn”t rip us off, but we still could not hate him. Sometim…

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