Q:
I still have very many thoughts. My mind wanders a lot even though
I am trying to be mindful.
A:
Don't worry about this. Try to keep your mind in the present.
Whatever there is that arises in the mind, just watch it. Let go of
it. Don't even wish to be rid of thoughts. Then the mind will reach
its natural state. No discriminating between good and bad, hot and
cold, fast and slow. No me and no you, no self at all. Just what there
is. When you walk on alms-round, no need to do anything special. Simply
walk and see what there is. No need to cling to isolation or seclusion.
Wherever you are, know yourself by being natural and watching. If
doubts arise, watch them come and go. It's very simple. Hold on to
nothing.
It is as though you are walking down a road. Periodically you will
run into obstacles. When you meet defilements, just see them and just
overcome them by letting go of them. don't think about the obstacles
you have passed already. Don't worry about those you have not yet
seen. Stick to the present. Don't be concerned about the length of
the road or about the destination. Everything is changing. Whatever
you pass, do not cling to it. Eventually the mind will reach its natural
balance where practice is automatic. All things will come and go of
themselves.
Q:
Have you ever looked at the Altar Sutra of the 6th Patriarch,
Hui Neng?
A:
Hui Neng's wisdom is very keen. It is very profound teaching,
not easy for beginners to understand. But if you practice with our
discipline and with patience, if you practice not-clinging, you will
eventually understand. Once I had a disciple who stayed in a grass-roofed
hut. It rained often that rainy season and one day a strong wind blew
off half the roof. He did not bother to fix it, just let it rain in.
Several days passed and I asked him about his hut. He said he was
practicing not-clinging. This is not-clinging without wisdom. It is
about the same as the equanimity of a water buffalo. If you live a
good life and live simply, if you are patient and unselfish, you will
understand the wisdom of Hui Neng.
Q:
You have said that samatha and vipassanā
or concentration and insight are the same. Could you explain this
further?
A:
It is quite simple. Concentration (samatha) and wisdom
(vipassanā) work together. First the mind becomes still
by holding on to a meditation object. It is quiet only while you are
sitting with your eyes closed. This is samatha and eventually
this samādhi-base is the cause for wisdom or vipassanā
to arise. Then the mind is still whether you sit with your eyes closed
or walk around in a busy city. It's like this. Once you were a child.
Now you are an adult. Are the child and the adult the same person?
You can say that they are, or looking at it another way, you can say
that they are different. In this way samatha and vipassanā
could also be looked at as separate. Or it is like food and feces.
Food and feces could be called the same and they can be called different.
Don't just believe what I say, do your practice and see for yourself.
Nothing special is needed. If you examine how concentration and wisdom
arise, you will know the truth for yourself. These days many people
cling to the words. They call their practice vipassana. Samatha
is looked down on. Or they call their practice samatha. It
is essential to do samatha before vipassanā,
they say. All this is silly. Don't bother to think about it in this
way. Simply do the practice and you'll see for yourself.
Q:
Is it necessary to be able to enter absorption in our practice?
A:
No, absorption is not necessary. You must establish a modicum
of tranquillity and one-pointedness of mind. Then you use this to
examine yourself. Nothing special is needed. If absorption comes in
your practice, this is OK too. Just don't hold on to it. Some people
get hung up with absorption. It can be great fun to play with. You
must know proper limits. If you are wise, then you will know the uses
and limitations of absorption, just as you know the limitations of
children verses grown men.
Q:
Why do we follow the ascetic rules such as only eating out of
our bowls?
A:
The ascetic precepts are to help us cut defilement. By following
the ones such as eating out of our bowls we can be more mindful of
our food as medicine. If we have no defilements, then it does not
matter how we eat. But here we use the form to make our practice simple.
The Buddha did not make the ascetic precepts necessary for all monks,
but he allowed them for those who wished to practice strictly. They
add to our outward discipline and thereby help increase our mental
resolve and strength. These rules are to be kept for yourself. Don't
watch how others practice. Watch your own mind and see what is beneficial
for you. The rule that we must take whatever meditation cottage assigned
to us is a similarly helpful discipline. It keeps monks from being
attached to their dwelling place. If they go away and return, they
must take a new dwelling. This is our practice - not to cling to
anything.
Q:
If putting everything together in our bowls is important, why
don't you as a teacher do it yourself? Don't you feel it is important
for the teacher to set an example?
A:
Yes, it is true, a teacher should set an example for his disciples.
I don't mind that you criticize me. Ask whatever you wish. But it
is important that you do not cling to the teacher. If I were absolutely
perfect in outward form, it would be terrible. You would all be too
attached to me. Even the Buddha would sometimes tell his disciples
to do one thing and then do another himself. Your doubts in your teacher
can help you. You should watch your own reactions. Do you think it
is possible that I keep some food out of my bowl in dishes to feed
the laymen who work around the temple?
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