2. Since birth, have you come to know which of your habits are unwholesome and which are wholesome? Which unwholesome habits have you managed to correct?

3. Since birth, if there is anything you have not yet corrected — do you intend to correct it?

4. If you have no intention of correcting anything, then what would be gained from living another hundred years?

5. If you have not yet made corrections but intend to do so promptly — then set your mind to it resolutely. If you have managed to correct a good number of unwholesome traits, and have also cultivated a good number of wholesome ones, then should death come today, there is no loss.

If one thinks only of continuing to live in order to do as much good as possible — even if fear of death remains, there will be nothing left with which to reproach oneself. Unwholesome habits will have been corrected; much that is good will have been done. When the time of death arrives, there will be nothing to worry about and no evil to dread. With this way of thinking, one need not be concerned whether one lives or dies. This is offered as a reflection to carry with you.

March 17^th, 2020

If death were to come today or tomorrow, whatever it may be — is there anything one could rectify in the moments before dying? Reflect on this, and the fear of death will soon subside.

A mistake is a matter of carelessness, inadvertence, or insufficient foresight — one acts and an error result. Or one knows what ought to be done and endeavors to do it, yet one’s skill and proficiency fall short, causing harm in the process — and so a mistake is made. But it is not yet evil.

What, then, is evil?

Evil is this: knowing full well that what one is about to do is wrong — and proceeding to do it anyway. That is what is called evil.

April 30^th, 2014

The opposite holds equally true: when water is clear, all that lies within — shrimps, shellfish, crabs, and fish both great and small, pebbles and grains of sand, and precious gems — becomes visible to the eye. When the mind is clear, one’s own welfare and the welfare of others are seen with clarity; harm is perceived for what it is; and that which is truly beneficial can be pursued and acted upon.

On any day that the mind remains clear throughout, whatever one undertakes feels unencumbered, and one is able to smile the whole day long — that is the true profit of life.

The remedy lies in recitation of prayers and sitting in meditation for a period, allowing the mind to settle — just as sediment gradually sinks to the bottom of turbid water, leaving it clear. The moment the mind begins to clear is the moment that day becomes one of gain.

March 17^th, 2020

1. Promptly calm the mind through recitation of prayers and sitting in meditation for a period.
2. Conduct a thorough self-examination — from the moment of waking until retiring for the night — assessing the degree of cleanliness and orderliness maintained in every room:
   • 2.1) The bedroom — how clean and orderly is it?
   • 2.2) The bathroom — how clean and orderly is it?
   • 2.3) The kitchen — how clean and orderly is it?
   • 2.4) The dressing area or vanity — how clean and orderly is it?
   • 2.5) The workplace — how clean and orderly is it?

Through such examination and reflection, one will come to recognize that the crisis or problem that has arisen is, in part, certainly of one’s own making. As for others who may be involved, their contribution likewise stems from an insufficient degree of cleanliness and orderliness in each of their own spaces. Therefore, let all work together to clean and bring order to every place in which one resides — and in due course all will settle into its proper state, and the problem will dissolve, imperceptibly, of its own accord.

17 March 2020

What is more, when something arises that causes the mind to become clouded, rather than applying the brake immediately — stopping, stopping, stopping — we instead take up these very matters of cloudiness and dissect and criticize them at great length until they are thoroughly exhausted. The result is that we add cloudiness to our own minds day after day without realizing it, until the habit of dwelling on that which troubles and darkens the mind becomes entirely normal to us.

Such conduct is contrary to the principles of Buddhism. For the Sammāsambuddha has already given warning: it is the duty of human beings — if they are to live in safety and to know happiness and prosperity — to strive unceasingly to keep the mind clear and radiant.

When the mind is clear and radiant, one gains the inner strength to choose to think, speak, and act in ways that are good and wholesome — to choose to think thoughts that are of genuine benefit to one’s own life and to the lives of others, extending to all people throughout the world.

Train with sincere dedication. Since the Dhamma resides within, let parents teach their children, grandparents teach their grandchildren, great-grandparents teach their great-grandchildren, and friends remind one another — encouraging each person to seek the Dhamma within themselves. For the Dhamma dwells within every person. It is in this way that we shall find true happiness. Wherever any of us may go, let us resolve to pursue this with ever greater earnestness and dedication.

I once asked the Master Nun, “If all the people of the world — or even a million of them — were to sit in stillness in this way, whether or not they attained the Dhamma, but their minds were stilled to a certain level — what effect would that have upon the world?”

The Master Nun replied: “The world would most certainly become peaceful and tranquil. And at such a time — when the mind is stilled to precisely the right degree, through the power of the collective — when the moment comes to attain the Dhamma, an entire city can attain it all at once.”

April 20^th, 2017

For our very bodies arise and pass away in the same manner — once youthful and radiant, now altogether changed. The mind, too, arises and passes away without ceasing. This is simply the nature of things. One ought not place too much trust in any promise; it is better to be aware of this truth and make peace with it in one’s heart.

For even our own intentions are no different — in the morning one resolves upon one thing, by late morning one has shifted to another, by the afternoon weariness brings yet another change, and by night one simply wishes to sleep.

It is for this very reason that a person who is able to maintain a steadfast and resolute mind commands the respect and admiration of fellow human beings — for despite the mind arising and passing away with such remarkable frequency, such a person is able to hold it firm and unwavering.

14 August 2015

There is a parable comparing the mind to water: in murky water, even a sea teeming with shrimps, shellfish, crabs, and fish cannot be seen. In the same way, when the mind is clouded, one cannot distinguish good from evil, merit from demerit, one’s own benefit from the benefit of others.

What is beneficial may appear harmful, and what is harmful may appear beneficial. In some cases, one may recognise that something is indeed beneficial, yet be unable to distinguish whether it serves others or oneself — and so one seizes it entirely for personal gain, giving rise to a great deal of confusion and trouble thereafter.

Such are the disadvantages of a troubled mind. And the mind becomes troubled through greed, through anger, and through delusion — these are what cloud it.

At the same time, in clear water, all things become visible — shrimps, shellfish, crabs, and fish both large and small; pebbles and grains of sand; precious gems and jewels of every kind, whether resting at the bottom of a well, a pond, a river, or the sea — all are plainly seen, for the water is clear.

Therefore, when the mind is clear and pure, good and evil, merit and demerit, become distinguishable. The mind is clear because it is free from greed, free from anger, and free from delusion. And because the mind is undisturbed and pure, one is able to perceive what is beneficial and what is harmful, what is meritorious and what is sinful.

Furthermore, one can properly discern what serves others, what serves oneself, and what serves the common good — apportioning each appropriately — and in so doing, all will dwell together in happiness.

June 24^th, 2017