Q:
What is the biggest problem of your new disciples?
A:
Opinions. Views and ideas about all things. About themselves,
about practice, about the teachings of the Buddha. Many of those who
come here have a high rank in the community. There are wealthy merchants
or college graduates, teachers and government officials. Their minds
are filled with opinions about things. They are too clever to listen
to others. It is like water in a cup. If a cup is filled with dirty,
stale water, it is useless. Only after the old water is thrown out
can the cup become useful. You must empty your minds of opinions,
then you will see. Our practice goes beyond cleverness and beyond
stupidity. If you think, ''I am clever, I am wealthy, I am important,
I understand all about Buddhism''. You cover up the truth of anattā
or no-self. All you will see is self, I, mine. But Buddhism is letting
go of self. Voidness, emptiness, Nibbāna.
Q:
Are defilements such as greed or anger merely illusory or are
they real?
A:
They are both. The defilements we call lust or greed, or anger
or delusion, these are just outward names, appearances. Just as we
call a bowl large, small, pretty, or whatever. This is not reality.
It is the concept we create from craving. If we want a big bowl, we
call this one small. Craving causes us to discriminate. The truth,
though, is merely what is. Look at it this way. Are you a man? You
can say ''yes''. This is the appearance of things. But really
you are only a combination of elements or a group of changing aggregates.
If the mind is free, it does not discriminate. No big and small, no
you and me. There is nothing: anattā, we say, or non-self.
Really, in the end there is neither atta nor anattā.
Q:
Could you explain a little more about karma?
A:
Karma is action. Karma is clinging. Body, speech, and mind all
make karma when we cling. We make habits. These can make us suffer
in the future. This is the fruit of our clinging, of our past defilement.
All attachment leads to making karma. Suppose you were a thief before
you became a monk. You stole, made others unhappy, made your parents
unhappy. Now you are a monk, but when you remember how you made others
unhappy, you feel bad and suffer yourself even today. Remember, not
only body, but speech and mental action can make conditions for future
results. If you did some act of kindness in the past and remember
it today, you will be happy. This happy state of mind is the result
of past karma. All things are conditioned by cause - both long term
and, when examined, moment to moment. But you need not bother to think
about past, or present, or future. Merely watch the body and mind.
You must figure karma out for yourself. Watch your mind. Practice
and you will see clearly. Make sure, however, that you leave the karma
of others to them. Don't cling to and don't watch others. If I take
a poison, I suffer. No need for you to share it with me! Take what
is good that your teacher offers. Then you can become peaceful, your
mind will become like that of your teacher. If you will examine it,
you will see. Even if now you don't understand, when you practice,
it will become clear. You will know by yourself. This is called practicing
the Dhamma.
When we were young, our parents used to discipline us and get angry.
Really they wanted to help us. You must see it over the long term.
Parents and teachers criticize us and we get upset. Later on we see
why. After long practice you will know. Those who are too clever leave
after a short time. They never learn. You must get rid of your cleverness.
If you think yourself better than others, you will only suffer. What
a pity. No need to get upset. Just watch.
Q:
Sometimes it seems that since becoming a monk I have increased
my hardships and suffering.
A:
I know that some of you have had a background of material comfort
and outward freedom. By comparison, now you live an austere existence.
Then in the practice, I often make you sit and wait for long hours.
Food and climate are different from your home. But everyone must go
through some of this. This is the suffering that leads to the end
of suffering. This is how you learn. When you get angry and feel sorry
for yourself, it is a great opportunity to understand the mind. The
Buddha called defilements our teachers.
All my disciples are like my children. I have only loving kindness
and their welfare in mind. If I appear to make you suffer, it is for
your own good. I know some of you are well-educated and very knowledgeable.
People with little education and worldly knowledge can practice easily.
But it is as if you Westerners have a very large house to clean. When
you have cleaned the house, you will have a big living space. You
can use the kitchen, the library, the living room. You must be patient.
Patience and endurance are essential to our practice. When I was a
young monk I did not have it as hard as you. I knew the language and
was eating my native food. Even so, some days I despaired. I wanted
to disrobe or even commit suicide. This kind of suffering comes from
wrong views. When you have seen the truth, though, you are free from
views and opinions. Everything becomes peaceful.
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