Khanti - Wat Pah Nanachat

good or bad, nobody could take this away from me. I’d worn
this robe at least once. Even if I was to have a heart attack on
my way to the village or be bitten by a poisonous snake or fall
into an elephant trap or whatever, my life hadn’t been in vain.
Just getting this far was a wonderful achievement. I felt the
most intense sense of good fortune. And that feeling has never
left me. It might not always be so strong, it waxes and wanes,
but it’s always there in the background of my mind. And for
me it’s such an inspiring reflection that I’m wearing robes that
don’t differ significantly from the robes worn by the Buddha
himself, by Venerable Sariputta, by Venerable Moggalana and
all the great disciples. And the way which all of us live our
lives does not depart significantly from the way that Buddhist
monks have lived for the past two thousand years. Yes, there
are modern developments, and in certain ways life is more
comfortable and convenient these days, but in the essentials
there is a very strong sense of connection and lineage.
The reason why this sense of lineage is so strong is, I
think, more than anything else founded on our devotion to the
Vinaya 2 . It is the Vinaya which distinguishes this community
and monastic communities of this tradition from the lay world
and from communities of lay meditators. Giving ourselves up
to the Vinaya, devoting ourselves to this life, we tap into the
incredible parami 3 that has been accumulated by Buddhist
monastics since the time of the Buddha. And living the
2 Vinaya: discipline; the Buddhist monastic code, the monk’s rules.
3 parami: the spiritual potential accumulated through practicing
specifically the ten perfections that the Bodhisatta achieved on his
path to Buddhahood: dana (generosity, giving), sila (morality,
virtuous conduct), nekkhamma, (renunciation), pañña (wisdom),
viriya (energy, effort), khanti (patient endurance), sacca
(truthfulness), adhitthana (resolution, determination), metta (loving
friendliness), upekkha (equanimity).
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