September 2, 2546 B.E.
Keeping One’s Mind Innocent
Today is the 51st day of this Rains-Retreat, and less than forty days from now it will be the Rains-Exit Day. Time is simply flying by. This Rains-Retreat has been designated as the season for attaining the Dhammakaya or the Inner Triple Gem. The Dhammakaya represents our highest refuge. Everyone’s Dhammakaya looks exactly alike in that He possesses all the thirty-two special physical attributes of the Perfect Man.
His physical form is perfectly glorious and perfectly clear.This is the Rains-Retreat where everyone has been endeavoring to attain the Dhammakaya, where the monks can see the Dhammakaya, the novice monks can see the Dhammakaya, and the lay devotees can see the Dhammakaya. Such reiteration is meant to motivate everyone to practice meditation earnestly especially since some practitioners might be very enthusiastic at the beginning of the Rains-Retreat, but since their meditation practice was not progressing well, they are beginning to feel discouraged and demotivated.
The reason one’s meditation is not progressing well is that one is not practicing it correctly. Some are too intent. Some are too lax. They have not yet found what is optimal for them. Therefore, they have not yet derived any happiness from their meditation practice and so they are beginning to feel bored and discouraged. Or they may expect to see the Dhammakaya as soon as they sit down to practice meditation. That is not the way things happen in reality. It is a rare person who can see the Dhammakaya as soon as he sits down to practice meditation. If it happens at all, it usually happens to children more than to grown-ups.
The reason children have an easier time making good progress in their meditation practice is that their minds are not yet filled with so many thoughts. They have few responsibilities and few concerns. Grown-ups have many responsibilities and many concerns. They are constantly thinking this, that, and various sundry things. And this constant flow of thought runs contrary to attaining the Dhammakaya.The attainment of the Dhammakaya requires no thinking or thinking about just one thing. Children understand this concept much better than grown-ups despite the fact that grown-ups were once children. And yet they have all forgotten what it feels like to be a child. They apply adult thinking to meditation practice and so all they can gain is Patience Perfection and merit. But they cannot gain inner experiences.
Once in a very great while, a grown-up can see inner images the first time he practices meditation albeit the fact that the images are not sharp. Grown-ups need to emulate children by keeping their mind innocent. Think nothing. Just be still and quiet and progress will come. Those who are beginning to feel discouraged should rekindle their enthusiasm. They should make sure to practice correctly. Even though one can earn a great deal of merit by practicing meditation often, but if one does not practice it correctly, one will not be able to attain the Dhammakaya.
It is now thirty-nine days until the Rains-Exit Day. And the best day for us is approaching. It is the day that our Most Venerable Luang Pu Phramonkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro) discovers Vijja Dhammakaya. It is the 15th day of the 10th waxing moon which this year falls on Wednesday, September 10. Let all of us assign this day as the Victory Day.
All of us can be said to possess a huge amount of merit because we do not have to spend the time looking for the Path and Fruit of Nibbana or the meditation method which can lead to the attainment of the Path and Fruit of Nibbana. Such a feat is more difficult than diving for a needle in the ocean.
But our Luang Pu has already discovered the method for us. All we have to do is to take the method and run with it. All we have to do is to practice what Luang Pu has summarized for us, “Stillness Is the Key to Success.” This is the principle that everyone must endeavor to put into practice. One must be watchful in that if what one is doing today is not working, tomorrow one must try another way. Keep on trying and practicing like the famous inventor, Thomas Edison, who had had to try more than 2,000 different ways before he was finally able to invent the light bulb. He did not become discouraged along the way. His way of thinking was far more different than that of most people. He said that he was not disappointed at all that he had had to try more than 2,000 ways before he finally found the right way.
That was because he had discovered more than 2,000 ways which led him eventually to the last way that was the correct way to create his light bulb.Everyone should endeavor to practice meditation earnestly and regularly. Today, one finds one way, and tomorrow, another so on and so forth until one finally discovers the way for one to truly understand what it means by “Stillness Is the Key to Success”. One may be the second Edison in the making, who knows? Everyone should endeavor to spend the rest of this Rains-Retreat practicing meditation to the fullest extent. Success is in the hands of those who are diligent.
