July 15, 2546 B.E.
Let Darkness Be Your Friend.
Today is the second day of this Rains-Retreat. We are counting each of its ninety days to remind everyone that another day has already gone past. Is the day full of wholesome activities?
Does one feel proud of one's day?
If so, then it is good. Let everyone wait to check and see at the end of the Rains-Retreat what improvement has been made.
Working to address one's shortcomings daily will send its effect far into the future. If one works on one's shortcomings every day, continuous self-improvement can be made. If not, things can only go downhill.
This Rains-Retreat is the season to attain the Dhamma. It is the season that the monks can see the Dhammakaya, the novice monks can see the Dhammakaya, and the lay devotees can see the Dhammakaya.This is everyone's shared aspiration. Therefore, let everyone endeavor to continue keeping his mind quiet.
When one closes one's eyes and all one sees is darkness, this is natural for those whose mind cannot yet be kept still and quiet. Do not think of darkness as an obstacle. But think of it as being natural. Therefore, when you close your eyes and all you can see is darkness, learn to befriend it.
Let the darkness be your friend and let it keep you company. There is noneed to feel frustrated that you cannot yet see any light despite the fact that you have been practicing meditation for a long time.
When you befriend the darkness that you see inside you, it will in turn befriend you. This may seem strange to you. But if you feel frustrated and struggle to chase away the darkness or try too hard to visualize a light,you will end up feeling stressed and uptight. This is not the right way to practice meditation. The right way is to keep your mind calm, quiet, soft,supple and relaxed amidst the darkness.
If you can do this, in time you will begin to feel spacious, airy, light, relaxed and expansive. And before you know it, you will see a light. Bear in mind that everything must proceed in a stepwise fashion.
Begin your meditation accordingly and success will be yours one million percent. You will be able to attain the Dhamma. It is impossible for you not to attain the Dhamma if you are diligent and if you practice accordingly. It helps if you can continue to keep your mind focused and aware even when you are not practicing meditation. Keep practicing in a relaxed and comfortable manner and nothing will be able to stand in the way of your success.
There is no need to try to look for things in the darkness thinking that perhaps you will find the Dhamma Sphere or the Dhammakaya there. It does not work that way. Remember that the Dhamma Sphere or the Dhammakaya is already there inside you. Just be calm. It is like stepping into a dark room which is filled with all kinds of furniture and things. When you first enter the room, you cannot see anything yet. But when you allow your eyesight to gradually adjust to the darkness, you will begin to see the forms and shapes of the furniture and things. Initially, the room appears very dark, but the level of darkness will decrease until you can make out the furniture and things well enough to look for the light switch.
The darkness inside us is similar to the darkness in the room.The thing to do is to become familiar and comfortable with the darkness in your mind. Feeling comfortable is the only way to attain the Dhamma. Stress and discomfort have never helped anyone to attain the Dhamma. Therefore, it is important to feel comfortable and relaxed.
The monks who undertake Dhutanga by trekking in the forest has to encounter all manner of hardship. And yet, when it is time for them toattain the Dhamma, they feel comfortable and relaxed. It is only by feeling
comfortable and relaxed that they can keep their mind still and quiet. If they do not feel comfortable and relaxed, they will never be able to see any inner images at all.
Although we know that feeling comfortable will help us to keep our mindstill and quiet, but the problem is some people try too hard to find that comfortable feeling. Therefore, they end up feeling uncomfortable. They are too busy looking for it. Sometimes, an entire hour passes by with them trying to sit this way or that way or trying to imagine this or that. Actually,
the comfortable feeling is already available to us if we can just keep quiet and calm. But some people are wasting their time struggling to find that comfortable feeling and they end up feeling uncomfortable. Do not spend time looking for that comfortable feeling. Just sit down and keep your mind quiet and calm and soon enough that comfortable feeling will come to you.And then there will be light, a crystal sphere and a crystal Buddha Image.This is something to bear in mind.
