68. The Dhamma Is Not Elsewhere
By Luang Pu Thate Desaraṅsī
January 22, 1989 (B.E. 2532)
From now on, set your minds to listen carefully to this Dhamma talk on the topic: "The Dhamma Teachings of the Buddha Are Not Elsewhere." They are not in any other place. They do not arise elsewhere. They arise right here at the point of contact between the six internal and external sense-spheres. They arise within this very body of ours. Defilements also arise within this very body of ours. The ability to cut off defilements comes precisely from wisdom that contemplates, penetrates, and sees clearly according to truth. When it is able to relinquish and uproot them—that is the end of defilements.
If there is still impact and contact, if defilements still arise right here, then do not go hoping that you are one who is free from clinging. It is still the same as before. Wandering and roaming to various places, thinking that defilements will end there—that only makes the defilements increase even more than before. When you hear news that such-and-such place is good, or this place is good, you want to go. But you do not see your own self. That merely accumulates more defilements. It is not going for the sake of relinquishment or uprooting. It is not going for the sake of cultivation.
In practice, one must cultivate to the utmost. Only then will you see your own goodness. You must endure. Endure to the very end. You must be patient and forbearing. See the fault in the state you are in. Be one who sees the fault within yourself. Do not go seeing the fault in others, thinking that they have no faith, not contemplating yourself. We only want to get, only want to consume, only want to be rich and comfortable, without thinking of our own faults or our own condition. Is our own effort and meditation practice sufficient yet? Is it enough to receive their offerings? Is it proper yet? I have heard people say, "Oh! How pitiful! These days, mangosteens are 30 baht a kilogram, mangoes are 60 baht a piece. Oh dear! Oh dear! It's consuming real money, real gold."
Are we sufficient yet to receive their generosity? Are we fit to consume it yet? We consume it only for a fleeting moment, a tiny portion each day, just for the delectable taste—the sweet or sour flavor that touches the tongue for merely an instant. As for the faith they have—Oh dear! Oh dear!—the merit and offerings they make, the money they had to earn to buy each single mango, that is no small thing. Yet we just consume it indifferently, eating it casually. Some even peel it for us to eat. We don't even peel it ourselves. We should contemplate these things.
Making effort in meditation practice is to reciprocate, to honor their merit and goodness. They hope only for merit and goodness. Therefore, we should make effort in practice to make it worth the value of their money. What is the purpose of our practice today? What do we gain from this offering today? Is it worth the value of their gift yet? In a single day, is it worth it yet? We should think about this a great deal. Once we have ordained, it is wonderfully good. We are comfortable and happy, and then we become heedless and forget ourselves, not setting our minds firmly on meditation.
Can the mind become calm? Can the mind become concentrated? In each and every session of effort we make—if it doesn't happen, then it is not worth it. See the fault within yourself in this way. Do not go seeing the fault in others, saying they have no faith or no devotion. That is not true. They have sufficient faith. But we ourselves lack value; we lack the special virtue required to repay them.