Buddhist-Meditation-Systematic-and-Practical

the gods dwelling there? (See also Ch. IV, F, 2.)
This is a question of not knowing the right thing to do in
this situation. When one comes to a new place, first go
into the room or house to be used for meditation and
just sit there to get the "feel" of it. If anything special
comes into the mind to disturb it, this is a bad sign,
while it is good if the mind is tranquil and one notices
the natural humming noise in one's ears. This is a test
for daytime; for the time of darkness, one should
arrange to sleep there for one night. Before sleeping,
perform a puja and ask the Buddha to show one either a
good dream or a bad one. According to the
dream—good or bad—one gets, so that place is to be
judged.
Once I had a desire to make my hermitage in the cave
formerly occupied by one "Mad Lama" as he was
known, though actually he was really a sage
well-accomplished in Mahamudra. As he had died, his
cave was vacant and certainly seemed a favorable place
for meditation. Before I established myself there, I
asked for a sign to be given in a dream. In my dream I
saw a dakini lying down across the entrance of the cave.
She said, "You should not build anything here, as this
will be a holy place for pilgrims to worship." So I gave
up my idea of having my hermitage there.
Another thing to be done in a new place is to ask the
local people if there are any stories of ghosts or other
655