Simply This Moment - Buddhist Meditation and Theravada ...

though he was a Noble disciple passion still invaded his mind from time to time. TheBuddha replied that it was because he was still attached to something. He had notgiven up everything. What he was attached to was kāmalok and that illusory selfwhich seeks for pleasure and control in this world.So, this is what one has to do, and every one of you here can do it. Don't rush, bepatient, be persistent, and these things will happen. You have all got sufficientmorality. You have all got sufficient sense-restraint. You can still increase each oneof these, but they are sufficient. What one truly needs is this meticulous applicationof the mind and doing things properly, rather than rushing and doing things sloppily.There is a right way to sew a robe, there is a right way to wash your bowl, and there isa right way to meditate. If you are sloppy then you find that you can waste manyyears. If you are meticulous, then you will find that progress happens. These thingsoccur through natural causes. You are not a factor; you are just an obstacle to theattainments. So get your ‘self’ out of the way and allow these things to happen. Thenyou to will enjoy the bliss of jhānas, and your monastic life will be assured. Yourpower towards insights will be strengthened enormously. In fact, with all yourknowledge of the Dhamma, the teachings of the Tipitaka, it is very unlikely that youwon't get attainments. As the Buddha said in the Pāsādika Sutta (DN 29), four thingscan be expected, four benefits, from practising the jhānas: the four stages ofEnlightenment. So may each one of you gain these jhānas and as the result gain thebenefits. People who stay in the monastery for the Rains Retreat automatically get therainy season benefits. So in much the same way, I maintain that if you practice thejhānas having enough knowledge of the Dhamma, you will certainly get the fourstages of Enlightenment.Now I will leave it up to you.19