11. Discipline is a Protector
By Luang Pu Thate Desaraṅsī
May 29, 1984
Today I will speak about discipline (Vinaya). Discipline is a regulator. For any group or community living together — whether monks or laypeople — if there is no discipline to regulate them, that group or community cannot become unified or harmonious. Discipline is the best means of regulating people into unity. Look at ants or termites: they must live in groups with discipline in order to get along orderly. Wherever they go, they do so in an orderly fashion. Whatever we do in our practice and conduct, we must have the Vinaya to control us. Discipline is the most important thing.
If we speak broadly, discipline is a regulator for all groups — everything must fall within the bounds of discipline. Whatever work you do, if discipline regulates it, everything goes smoothly. But people dislike the Vinaya, so they become unruly and disorderly, violating the Vinaya. The Vinaya establishes rules to regulate things so that they become orderly and good.
In terms of practice, discipline is a protector. Speaking of practice, "mindfulness" (sati) is the Vinaya. Mindfulness controls and watches over us in every posture — standing, walking, sitting, lying down. When standing, the Vinaya controls; when walking, sitting, lying down, the Vinaya controls. It controls oneself. If the Vinaya controls you, you have good manners. Whatever you do is gentle and orderly, without needing others to control you. For example, when you wake up late at night — say at 3 or 4 a.m. — you must have the Vinaya controlling you. Similarly with sleeping: if we decide to sleep at 10 p.m., when the time comes, the necessity to sleep arises on its own. When it's time to wake up, you wake up on your own. It controls you from within. In all our practice and conduct, in every action, in living and eating, there must be limits and bounds. Whether you eat little or much, just the right amount — that is the Vinaya controlling. Even for defecation and urination, when it's time, you must go — there is a limit. Thus the Vinaya is a kind of order. Mindfulness itself is the Vinaya.
All the precepts, every single rule and training — the Vinaya — is guarded and maintained by mindfulness. Mindfulness sees the state of your own mind at all times, without carelessness or forgetfulness. Mindfulness is the Vinaya. Speaking of the Vinaya, it is profound, extending to mindfulness that knows at every moment, that controls one's own mind. That is the practice: you must control your own mindfulness specifically. If we speak more broadly, it is about controlling one's companions. Mindfulness itself is what controls companions, keeping them within bounds. People violate the Vinaya and thus become disorderly; they need to be constantly restrained. The one who controls companions is called the "leader." He must keep the group within the bounds of discipline. If a senior person or a leader maintains the Vinaya well, the group will be orderly. If the leader is careless, good-for-nothing, and lacking in all matters, then the group will also be careless and degenerate — unsightly and unpleasant to live with.
Therefore, the Vinaya is very beneficial. It enables this world to live peacefully and harmoniously, as groups, communities, and units, united and reconciled. So the Vinaya deserves our attention. We should maintain the Vinaya until it becomes our habitual nature, enabling us to protect ourselves. Only then can we be said to live within the bounds of the Vinaya. People's natural tendencies are to resist and become stubborn, lacking the protection of the Vinaya. Those things are what cause trouble and chaos.
As for our monks and novices, when they ordain in the religion, they are said to be within the bounds of the Vinaya. When the Vinaya does not sufficiently control them, we must establish additional rules, imposing stricter constraints to make them aware. If the Vinaya is too loose, we set down tighter rules and regulations to keep them within bounds. Once there are rules and regulations, it becomes easier for them to be aware and alert. Doing anything that violates the rules is also considered violating the Vinaya.
Therefore, we should be careful and diligent in maintaining them. We who are contemplatives (samaṇa) should approach the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Saṅgha. Approach them like this: approach the Vinaya, approach the rules and regulations, and also approach the inner Vinaya — that is, mindfulness — which constantly watches over us, drawing ever closer to the mind and heart. That is the Vinaya in its specific sense. That's enough.