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Questions and Answers1 |
| Q:
Is it advisable to read a lot or study the scriptures as a part
of practice?
A:
The Dhamma of the Buddha is not found in books. If you want to
really see for yourself what the Buddha was talking about, you don't
need to bother with books. Watch your own mind. Examine to see how
feelings come and go, how thoughts come and go. don't be attached
to anything. Just be mindful of whatever there is to see. This is
the way to the truths of the Buddha. Be natural. Everything you do
in your life here is a chance to practice. It is all Dhamma. When
you do your chores, try to be mindful. If you are emptying a spittoon
or cleaning a toilet, don't feel you are doing it as a favor for anyone
else. There is Dhamma in emptying spittoons. Don't feel you are practicing
only when sitting still, cross-legged. Some of you have complained
that there is not enough time to meditate. Is there enough time to
breathe? This is your meditation: mindfulness, naturalness in whatever
you do.
Q:
Why don't we have daily interviews with the teacher?
A:
If you have any questions, you are welcome to come and ask them
anytime. But we don't need daily interviews here. If I answer your
every little question, you will never understand the process of doubt
in your own mind. It is essential that you learn to examine yourself,
to interview yourself. Listen carefully to the lecture every few days,
then use this teaching to compare with your own practice. Is it still
the same? Is it different? Why do you have doubts? Who is it that
doubts? Only through self-examination can you understand.
Q:
Sometimes I worry about the monks' discipline. If I kill insects
accidentally, is this bad?
A:
Sīla or discipline and morality are essential
to our practice, but you must not cling to the rules blindly. In killing
animals or in breaking other rules, the important thing is intention.
Know your own mind. You should not be excessively concerned about
the monks' discipline. If it is used properly, it supports the practice,
but some monks are so worried about the petty rules that they can't
sleep well. Discipline is not to be carried as a burden. In our practice
here the foundation is discipline, good discipline plus the ascetic
rules and practices. Being mindful and careful of even the many supporting
rules as well as the basic 227 precepts has great benefit. It makes
life very simple. There need be no wondering about how to act, so
you can avoid thinking and instead just be simply mindful. The discipline
enables us to live together harmoniously; the community runs smoothly.
Outwardly everyone looks and acts the same. Discipline and morality
are the stepping stones for further concentration and wisdom. By proper
use of the monks' discipline and the ascetic precepts, we are forced
to live simply, to limit our possessions. So here we have the complete
practice of the Buddha: refrain from evil and do good, live simply
keeping to basic needs, purify the mind. That is, be watchful of our
mind and body in all postures: sitting, standing, walking or lying,
know yourself.
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Footnotes
- ...1
- Notes taken over a period of a few days from a session of questions and answers with a group of Western monks, 1972
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