Last week (15-21 Sep), I had a wonderful stay at the Chithurst Buddhist Monastery in Petersfield; it was filled with great compassion and loving-kindness shown by the Abbot, Ven Ajahn Ahimsako, Ajahn Kaccāno and other members of the monastic community. Falling under the legacy of Ajahn Chah (1918-92) in the Thai Forest Tradition, I more thoroughly realised that moral conduct (sīla) plays an inevitable role on the path of awakening (bodhi) in life. By all means - this vivid experiential learning lied within me, and then flourished an observance of the rains retreat (vassa) in greater depth.
Morality (sīla) casts light on the discipline of verbal and bodily activities in everyday life - it no doubt springs from the discipline of mental behaviour. Herein, the key to moral discipline lies at the heart of all beings - mind, or consciousness. Besides taming the mind at first, there is no other way left to thrive in morality for the sake of inner well-being. Mindfulness (sati) then comes into play as a dominant and robust technique to gain such courtesy - that leads to a skilful life at large. Hence, it is true that a mindful mind facilitates mindful speech and conduct - likewise, an unmindful mind makes room for unmindful activities, too. The more mindful I am, the richer I will be in discipline - the less mindful I am, the poorer I will be in discipline. The weaker and less stronger I am in morality, the more dark and evil will be within me - that is in the absence of insight. It is, de facto, a law of nature that whoever is equipped with a moral mind can see the rise of enlightenment in life; therein lies the dawn of wisdom in the sky of moral discipline.
In all, I do understand that self-discipline is essential to practise the Dhamma; it is far beyond versatile fields of learning and studying the Dhamma in general. Rather, we all need to attend the Dhamma with faith, authenticity, and integrity in real life, in lieu of just pretending to be so. The day you tear out the fallacy and secrecy in actual life, you may see the light of wisdom par excellence.
Thank you!
With mettā,
Rev Wadigala Samitharathana
Glorisun Scholar at Oxon.
23rd Sep 2024.
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