Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org

Seeing things as they are is the first method the Buddha
taught for the removal of taints. In theory, this method is
enough to remove all unwholesomeness from the mind; the
problem, as stated, is that meditation is not the only aspect
of our lives; we must guard our practice from dangers and
distractions of many kinds that come about as a result of the
complexity of life. For this reason, there are six further
aspects of practice that need to be cultivated by an aspiring
meditator.
Guarding
The second aspect one must cultivate is self-restraint. Some
taints, some defilements of mind, can be conquered only by
restraining oneself, guarding one’s senses – the eye, the ear,
the nose, the tongue, the body and the heart. While
ultimately the goal is to be able to open the senses and view
all sensual objects simply as they are, it will not be possible
to do so if one simply lets everything in at once. For a
beginner meditator, when a pleasant object arises, craving
will easily overpower their ability to recognize the object for
what it is, and they will lose themselves in fantasy and
desire, abandoning the present moment and the meditation
practice. When one experiences something unpleasant, if
one’s meditation practice is not mature, one will likewise be
overwhelmed by defilements, quickly becoming frustrated
and upset, losing one’s clear awareness just the same.
Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling and thinking – the
whole of the universe is in these six experiences. If we can
only come to understand them as they are, we will
understand the whole of reality. The profundity of this fact
alone should engender caution and respect for the task at
hand. One may very well ask, if there is nothing more to be
done than see things as they are, why have we not already
attained enlightenment? We see, hear, feel and think
constantly throughout our lives. What is it that has stopped
us from seeing clearly all this time? It is precisely our lack of
restraint and care in relating to these realities that stops us
from seeing them clearly, and this is why restraint is so
important.
Rather than relating to experience objectively, we tend to
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