02. Practice Sincerely and Earnestly
By Luang Pu Thate Desaraṅsī
We are those who dwell in the religion. Please intend to practice with all your might for a while... Do not abandon it, do not let go. Practice to reach genuine Dhamma, to bring Dhamma truly into ourselves.
June 21, 1982
The Rains Retreat is approaching. Everyone is preparing. Those who study and learn are preparing to study and chant their regular recitations, truly applying themselves to study for beneficial results. It would be a shame for a Rains Retreat to pass by idly. We study not hoping for any other benefit, but to understand the Dhamma and Vinaya. If we do not understand the Dhamma and Vinaya, then our practice will be incorrect. Take matters like adhikarana (judicial proceedings) or sanghadisesa (offenses requiring a formal meeting) involving parivasa (probation), for instance. For the most part, people do not understand. No matter which monastery, generally they do not understand. If you ask them how to conduct parivasa, they can answer according to the texts, but they have never actually done it, and so on.
You must study to truly and earnestly understand. If you study but do not practice, you won't understand either. Or if you know but don't teach others, the understanding won't be clear. You need to both know and teach to truly comprehend. When a Rains Retreat passes by without gaining anything, at the very least, it would be good to study the Dhamma to understand it. Here, studying and learning is combined with exerting effort in oneself. What is studying for? It is for the purpose of practice itself. We study Dhamma in order to practice it. No matter how much we study, we practice this. We study and practice simultaneously; this is how success is achieved. It is not the case that we study first and then, much later, come to practice. That is not the way.
Think about it: In our practice right now, regarding what we are learning, are we practicing accordingly? Observe yourself. You don't need others to observe you; just observe yourself. What aspects of practice have you achieved? You don't have to take everything you've studied. Just take the aspect you are skilled in and focus on practicing that first. Gain the benefit, achieve the result consistent with the purpose of that Dhamma. Just one principle is enough. The others will develop on their own. Practicing in conjunction with theoretical study (pariyatti) is very good. It is fitting to be diligent and make an effort. When we practice, we can reflect on it, practicing simultaneously. We don't lose the benefit of either. You can see this in our monastery. Every year, when exam results come out, sometimes people advance a level, sometimes they score well. This is because they practice alongside their studies, and then they understand what they learn.
Now, for those who practice: after studying, focus on practicing. You studied in order to practice, not for anything else. Do not abandon it, do not let go. Practice to reach genuine Dhamma, to bring Dhamma truly into ourselves. Buddhism teaches us to practice; it's not difficult. Laypeople support us because we practice. They go to the trouble of providing us with places to live, food to eat, sustenance for mouth and stomach – everything, including the four necessities. We depend entirely on them. We are those who dwell in the religion. Please intend to practice with all your might for a while. Whether you practice here or go to another place is up to you. Having listened to Dhamma teachings and understood, then practice yourself; you don't need others to force you.
Everyone says, "We intended to ordain. Having ordained, we intend to practice." If others force you, it won't work; the practice won't happen. It's like being an employee – you only do it when someone forces you. If you don't practice yourself, then that's it. Even if you practice, it's done reluctantly. But if you practice with your own genuine faith and confidence, hoping for benefit, for happiness in practice, then it will lead to that peace and development. You don't even need to aim for Path, Fruition, or Nibbana. Just focus on this initial practice. Whatever you gain, take that. But please, be sincere and earnest. You don't need to worry about Path, Fruition, or Nibbana; they will develop on their own.
Practice is not easy. The teachers and masters practiced for 30 years, 40-50 years. They kept at it, doing just this one thing: practicing with body, speech, and mind, all in the same place. Now, for us, establishing ourselves firmly right here is good and correct. Use a meditation word (parikamma) and recite it. It will definitely develop. Our inherent tendencies (nisai), accumulated goodness and perfections (vasa, bun parami) will gradually support us. If they didn't support us from past lives, but in this life we practice sincerely and earnestly, then we create that goodness and perfection ourselves. We don't need to rely on past perfections to help us. Help yourself first, then those perfections will assist. Our inherent tendencies will develop on their own. Those perfections cannot develop on their own. Even if we have them, if we don't put in the effort ourselves, that's it; they cannot progress.
Therefore, we do it ourselves, we create it ourselves, right now, in this present moment, to produce results. Whether much or little, it counts as a benefit for us. When it benefits us, it also benefits others. When lay supporters make merit by giving the four necessities that they provide, it is a great benefit for them. But if we don't intend to practice, eating and then sleeping, being carefree and negligent, accepting their offerings of the four necessities, it is said that we become indebted to them. They may not come to collect the debt, but that thing is profound. They intended to make merit with those who practice well and properly. But if we are sloppy, negligent, and do not intend to practice, then that becomes a debt on our part. They may not intend to collect the debt, but we simply remain in debt – a debt that is not easily settled. It clings to us for many existences, many lifetimes. Eat then sleep, eat then sleep – lazy, seeking the easy way, not practicing.
The Buddha taught that a monk who does not intend to practice, who does not reflect with momentary recollection (tankhanika paccavekkhana) before partaking, is compared to one who eats a red-hot iron ball. Eating a red-hot iron ball is still better than eating the food offered in such a merit-making act. Eating a red-hot iron ball would at least cause death – it would burn through the insides and come out below, leading to death. That would still be better because one would not die in debt. But a monk who is negligent, lazy, who does not exert effort, who does not reflect momentarily or reflect on the nature of the elements (dhatu patikula paccavekkhana), who does not reflect on the four necessities over many meals, many days, many years, many months throughout their life, is constantly accumulating debt, continually adding to it. This is worse than the red-hot iron ball.
Therefore, we should reflect, we should constantly recollect the Dhamma. Whatever necessities we receive, we should constantly recollect. The things we consume and use are not something good; they are like fire. But if we don't rely on that fire, life cannot go on. We must rely on the four necessities to continue. Hence, we rely on the four necessities to sustain life, to support the religion, so that we can practice and train further. But we consume them not as something delightful or good, but as something impure and repulsive (asubha patikula), as the four elements, as mere elements. That is how we free ourselves from being indebted to them. A practitioner should not be negligent; they should constantly recollect this. Being non-negligent, recollecting in this way while standing, walking, sitting, lying down, thinking in this way – that practice is called training in meditation (kammatthana) within oneself. That is what brings benefit to oneself and benefit to others.
Now, regarding new monks who come from other monasteries, who have never stayed here, if they wish to come and stay for study and practice: if they do not have a teacher or preceptor bringing them, they should have a letter of introduction from a teacher or from their original monastery, entrusting them here as a formal matter. Only then would it be appropriate to accept them for residence. They should not come to stay aimlessly. If something happens later – they become lazy, weary, and cause trouble for the group – without anyone vouching for them, it would be difficult then. Therefore, if anyone wishes to stay on, it is truly appropriate for their preceptor or teacher to send a letter, or for their original monastery to send a letter entrusting them.