Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

Sleeping wherever a place
is offered, not for the sake
of comfort
Living in a dwelling with
space only for sitting; not
lying down to sleep
Availing oneself of the
numerous and
comfortable luxury hotels
Not satisfied even with
the whole earth, so going
to the moon; relaxing on
luxurious beds with
spring mattresses
The differences between the ancient Buddhist tradition
of a mindful and helpful asceticism adopted voluntarily
by some bhiksus and bhiksunis, and people of the
present day wallowing in every possible pleasure are
surely plain enough. The former desired, by means of
these restraints (severe ascetic practices were not
permitted by the Buddha), to decrease and help check
desires, while the latter do not even know that their
sorrows originate in desire, let alone having the thought
of checking it. To save such deluded people, there is the
doctrine of the Hinayana.
For Westerners, this is hard to accept. I have written
many, many letters to my Western Buddhist friends
praising the benefits of renunciation. In reply, my
friends complain how difficult this is for them and then
point out that I am from the Orient where, they say,
people possess few things and can easily renounce them
in accordance with the existing traditions. However, I
must emphasize once again that renunciation is the
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