Lessons In Practical Buddhism - Sirimangalo.Org

their beauty. This is likely the reason he was born as a
prince in heaven surrounded by nymphs in the first place; he
must have been very much attracted to such a state.
Eventually, the nymphs brought him to understand that he
was no longer a monk and argued that therefore he
shouldn’t act like a monk; he was reborn as an angel and so
he should act like an angel. They brought out a large mirror
so he could see himself decked out as an angel prince.
Because of his dedication to the practice, he was shocked,
and straight away went to find the Buddha. He was horrified
at being born in the “grove of delight”, calling it the “grove
of delusion”. He said, “This is where I have been born. I was
looking for a gold medal, and all I got was a handful of
turnips.” So he went to see the Buddha, and the Buddha
encouraged him that nothing need be done besides what he
had undertaken before his death; by continuing the same
practice in heaven, he could still win the gold medal.
So even heaven is not enough; we shouldn’t think that being
reborn in heaven will necessarily make our practice easier.
One shouldn’t think that, “I don’t have to work hard in this
life; as long as I am born in heaven, then I’ll be happy and
free and able to dedicate myself to the meditation practice.”
We have to be careful to set our hearts on the goal, not
getting sidetracked by any positive experience, either in this
world or the next. If we don’t gain any special attainment in
this life, we must make an ardent wish that in the next life
we may continue to practice. Be clear in your mind what is
important. Don’t get caught up by positive experiences.
Don’t have this abhirata, this delight in any world, in any
existence. Be clear that “if I’m born in heaven, I’m going to
be like this monk and continue my meditation, even teach
the nymphs how to meditate if necessary.”
There are many Buddhists in heaven, and if you find them,
you can practice with them, but there are many
non-Buddhists in heaven, and if you hook up with them,
there’s no telling where it will lead you, just like how rich
people become negligent in their opulence, not thinking to
do any good deeds, and are reborn in realms of suffering as
a result. Even angels can be reborn in hell if they are
obsessed with pleasure and afraid of loss. So this is
93