Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org
Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org
Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org
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immediately judge and react to just about everything we<br />
experience. Pleasant experiences lead us to chase after<br />
them, unpleasant experiences lead us to become angry and<br />
upset. Both cause us to lose sight of the essence of the<br />
experience. For this reason, the Buddha taught that it is<br />
important for us to guard our senses carefully, only letting<br />
experiences in one-by-one, in a way that allows us see them<br />
as they are. A dedicated meditator should avoid sights,<br />
sounds, smells and tastes that one knows will give rise to<br />
lust and anger, only letting them in one by one, and only<br />
when one is well-guarded and ready to see them as they are.<br />
<strong>In</strong> order to progress in the practice, we must keep ourselves<br />
from indulging in pleasure or displeasure that will dull and<br />
weaken the mind, rendering it impotent in the cultivation of<br />
insight.<br />
The Buddha likened sensual addiction to the sap in green<br />
wood that renders it unfit for lighting on fire. Only wood that<br />
is well-dried with all the sap removed can be lit and provide<br />
heat and light – which can be understood as metaphors for<br />
goodness and wisdom. When the mind is full of greed, anger<br />
and delusion, clear vision of things as they are is impossible<br />
and true goodness and wisdom are thus unattainable. For<br />
this reason, we must guard our senses day and night, not<br />
letting in the slightest thing that would take us off-guard and<br />
cause our minds to become sodden with defilements.<br />
It is easy to see how cluttered one’s mind becomes after<br />
many years of leaving one’s senses unguarded, greedily<br />
devouring every sense pleasure one can find, never finding<br />
peace, never satiating the terrible masters of greed and<br />
aversion. New meditators will often lament that they were<br />
unaware of how sensitive the mind really is to experience.<br />
Had they known, they would have done more to guard their<br />
senses, indulging only in those activities that were conducive<br />
to true peace and contentment. For this reason, we<br />
encourage sense-restraint for everyone, even those living<br />
ordinary lives outside of a monastery or meditation centre.<br />
Walking down the street, for example, one should imitate the<br />
behaviour of the Buddha himself, not letting oneself become<br />
distracted by the many exciting, stimulating things around,<br />
focusing instead on the single activity of walking. The<br />
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