Dhamma Dhara, USA & Dhamma Giri, India July, 1991 & April, 1992
Questioner: Goenkaji, why is it so important to maintain the Five Precepts on Dhamma land?
Goenkaji: It is important to observe the Five Precepts everywhere but it is especially important on Dhamma land.
The first reason is that it is so difficult to observe these precepts in the outside world. In daily life there are many reasons why people break their sīla. But on Dhamma land, where there is a wonderful Dhamma atmosphere, the influence of Māra is much weaker than in the outside world, so you should take advantage of this to strengthen yourself in sīla. If you cannot observe sīla in an atmosphere like this, how can you expect to maintain sīla in the world? How will you develop in Dhamma? Secondly, it is meritorious to observe sīla anywhere, but observing sīla on Dhamma land is more meritorious. Equally, it is harmful to break sīla anywhere, but breaking sīla on Dhamma land is more harmful. Understand why this is so. As soon as a defilement is generated in the mind you contribute a bad vibration to the atmosphere, and you can’t break any sīla unless some impurity first comes in the mind and then manifests as an unwholesome action of speech or body. If you generate that kind of vibration in a marketplace full of unhealthy vibrations, you contribute something bad to the atmosphere, no doubt. But it is already full of bad vibrations, so your contribution is inconspicuous—just as a new stain on a dirty shirt is inconspicuous. But if you generate mental defilements in the good atmosphere of a centre, you pollute the atmosphere in the same way that even a tiny spot of dirt spoils a clean white shirt.
The mind doesn’t stay idle; it generates either impurity or purity. When you don’t generate impurity you generate purity, good vibrations, and these are your positive contributions to the atmosphere. After all, how does land become Dhamma land? By the meditation of good-hearted people generating good vibrations, which permeate the atmosphere. This is your dāna to the centre, and it is far superior to material dāna.
The more people who meditate in one place, the stronger the vibration becomes. And the good vibrations at a Dhamma centre are helpful not only to those who attend the present courses; they also accumulate. This atmosphere of pure Dhamma will support students for generations, for centuries. You don’t know who will come to your centre after five or ten generations, after centuries. What a wonderful gift you are giving to those unknown people. Your dāna is wonderful.
Equally, the negative vibrations you generate are harmful not only to the present meditators, but also to future meditators who won’t get the strong, good atmosphere that they should. That is why it is important to observe sīla on Dhamma land. It is fruitful for the one who generates good vibrations by observing sīla, and fruitful for others now and in the future. Therefore observe sīla. It is the foundation of Dhamma. Keep this foundation strong. §
We feel that the hardest sīla for us to observe when we are serving is right speech. As Dhamma servers it is difficult to avoid engaging in idle chatter or gossip, and sometimes we unwittingly spread misinformation or negativity. Also, private information about students is sometimes discussed. Can you guide us as to how to practise right speech?
Idle talk is a form of wrong speech; you are breaking your sīla by indulging in idle talk and gossip. If somebody wants to gossip, they had better leave the Dhamma centre. Here, as the Buddha repeatedly used to say, have either Dhamma talk or tuṇhībhāvo—noble silence, complete silence, nothing else. Otherwise, all the types of wrong speech that you mentioned are bound to occur. When you are chatting idly your mind is so loose that the talk becomes looser and looser, and you won’t care what you are saying, with the result that you may create difficulties for other students. This must be totally avoided. §
Sometimes when we are serving a course, the topic of other techniques and therapies comes up naturally in conversation.
Just as gossip comes up naturally! Take out this "naturally" business! Whenever something wrong happens, people say it is happening "naturally." Change that! Some students find these conversations helpful in clarifying differences between Vipassana and other methods.
The conversations may also be helpful in creating confusion, so leave aside such clarification. You can discuss that sort of thing outside the centre, but not at the centre; not at any cost. §
Goenkaji, could you please clarify how Dhamma service helps us to develop our pāramīs?
Dhamma service is actually one of the pāramīs, because a server contributes to the dāna of Dhamma. People come here to receive the Dhamma and your service ensures that this gift of Dhamma can occur. Of the ten pāramīs, dāna is one of the greatest, and dhammadāna is the highest form of that dāna. The Buddha said, Sabbadānaṃ dhammadānaṃ jināti—The highest dāna is the dāna of Dhamma.
When you give dāna to a hospital, a school or an orphanage, people benefit—it is a pāramī—but later on the recipients will once again lack medicine, food or clothing. If you give monetary dāna to a place where Dhamma is taught, it is more valuable because the Dhamma gives people the path from misery to liberation, and nothing compares to that. So donating to an organization or a centre that gives Dhamma is a valuable pāramī, but the pāramī of dāna is even more valuable when you give physical service.
What, after all, is pāramī? It is just a mental volition. Before you give a monetary dāna you feel, "Ah, wonderful, my money will be used for a very good purpose!" That volition becomes your pāramī. But when you give service for ten long days—whether you are cooking, managing, or sweeping the floor—you keep thinking, "Look, by my service so many people are benefiting. How can I help so that they can work peacefully, without any obstacles or hindrances?" This wonderful volition continues for the whole ten days.
So the dāna of Dhamma service is higher than the dāna of money. We don’t say that giving money is bad, no. It is important, it is good, and it gives very good results. But giving service is many times more fruitful because you generate mettā and goodwill for such a long time. Every moment during service your pāramī is developing. So to me Dhamma service is the greatest dāna.
But when you serve on a ten-day course you have an opportunity to develop all the other pāramīs too, not only the dāna pāramī.
While giving service there will be times when the students are agitated and negative because a deep operation is going on, and they throw this agitation at you. You smile and understand, "Oh, this person is miserable." You don’t react with negativity but generate mettā for them, so your khanti pāramī, the pāramī of tolerance, becomes stronger, and your mettā pāramī becomes stronger. Then two or three times a day you meditate and your paññā pāramī is strengthened.
Similarly for the pāramīs of sīla, nekkhamma [renunciation], viriya [effort], sacca [truthfulness], adhiṭṭhāna [strong determination], and upekkhā [equanimity]—all are strengthened by giving Dhamma service.
When you sit a course you deal only with yourself, but when you serve you learn how to deal with others and how to live properly in the outside world. You may have practised Vipassana diligently and maintained equanimity towards all sensations, but you are not supposed to live in a glass house. You have to apply Dhamma in the world outside, and that is not easy. In a centre you are in a protected, healthy, wholesome atmosphere and that gives you the strength to apply Vipassana to face the vicissitudes of life.
I know from my own experience and also from that of others who have started giving Dhamma service, that meditation improves after serving. The meditation is deeper, the equanimity is stronger, and there is more mettā. This is because the pāramīs have increased by giving Dhamma service. In every way Dhamma service gives wonderful results. §
Sometimes on a course we find that for one reason or another conflicts arise between Dhamma servers. How can we best use our service to confront our own egos and to develop humility?
When you are not able to keep your mind calm, quiet, full of love and compassion for others, and negativity arises, you should retire from service. You may say, "It’s not my fault, the other person is to blame." Whatever the truth is, it is your fault that you have started generating negativity. You have become involved in conflict with others, so you should understand that you are not fit to serve at that time. You had better meditate. Sit and meditate. You can’t serve people when you are generating negativity because you would throw the vibration of negativity at them.
If you find there is a fault with another server, politely and humbly place your view before him or her. Calmly explain your concerns and sincerely try to understand the other’s point of view. If this person doesn’t change, after some time you can again politely and humbly explain your concern. Perhaps the other person still doesn’t agree, but I would say explaining your view twice is enough. In very rare cases you can discuss the problem a third time, but never more than that. Otherwise, however correct your view may be, raising the same concern more than three times shows that you have developed a tremendous amount of attachment; you want things to happen according to your understanding. That is wrong. Explain your concern once, twice, at most three times, and if there is still no change politely tell him or her, "Well, this is my understanding, now let’s put the question to a senior."
But before putting the case to anybody else, first talk with the person with whom you have a difference of opinion. After that you can inform your seniors—whether it is a senior student, the trustees, an assistant teacher, a senior assistant teacher, the local teacher or the Teacher. Remember that first you have to discuss the problem with the person concerned. If you work in this way there will be no unwholesome speech; otherwise there would be backbiting, which is wrong.
If nothing happens and this person does not amend their ways, don’t have aversion for them, have more compassion. Always examine yourself. If you feel agitated because something you want is not being done, it is clear that your ego is strong and your attachment to your ego is predominant. This is not Dhamma. Amend yourself before trying to amend others. §
Sometimes it seems that we are picking up negativity, fear, etc. from the students we are serving. How does this happen and what can we do?
You can’t pick up anything from others. If you are affected by a student’s emotions, it is because you have a stock of the same kind of impurity within you. For example, if a fear complex comes to the surface in a student because of their practice of Vipassana, the atmosphere around them will become charged with that kind of vibration and that stimulates your own stock of fear to arise. Be thankful to the student that this situation has allowed your own impurity to be eradicated. Meditate, observe sensations, and come out of it. Why worry?
While you are here in this atmosphere, you can work on anything that comes up and eradicate it. If you are free from a particular impurity, nothing will happen when you come in contact with that impurity. Let’s say somebody generates anger near a Buddha, anger would not arise in the Buddha because he is totally free from anger. So long as you have the seed of a particular impurity within you, when the same impurity arises in your vicinity it will stimulate your own impurity. §
Why are both students and Dhamma servers asked to refrain from physical contact with others at a course site or centre, whether a course is going on or not? Can’t physical contact also be a way of expressing mettā?
You say physical contact is just an expression of mettā, but that is slippery ground because you don’t know when you will get caught in passion. It is very important to avoid this danger. There can be no justification for physical contact at a centre. People keep telling me that in the West physical contact doesn’t involve passion. Maybe not always, but I have seen cases in the West where a student on a course started having physical contact saying it was without passion, and ultimately it resulted in an unhealthy situation.
You have to be especially cautious because you are working on Dhamma land, and the anti-Dhamma forces will always try to pull you down. You are representing Dhamma. If you have any little weakness (and passion is a great weakness) these anti-Dhamma vibrations will arouse passion in you, and you will spoil the entire atmosphere. So you’d better avoid any kind of physical contact. However people may justify it, don’t listen to their arguments. It is a strict rule in every Dhamma centre or even at a non-centre course that no physical contact is allowed. §
When students are serving on courses or staying at centres, they might feel an attraction to a person with whom they would like to establish a relationship, and hopefully, a Dhamma partnership. How should students who are at the beginning stages or later stages of a new relationship conduct themselves when they are serving on courses or at centres?
It must be very clear that Dhamma land is not the proper place for any kind of courtship—whether it is the early or the later stage of a relationship makes no difference. If any Dhamma server finds that he or she is becoming attracted towards another person they should immediately leave, they should not stay at the centre even for a minute. Develop your romantic relationships outside the Dhamma centre. At a Dhamma centre you have to behave towards each other like brothers and sisters. Even a trace of passion arising in the mind of anyone will disturb the atmosphere of the centre, and this has to be avoided at all costs. It should be made crystal clear to every Dhamma server that a Dhamma centre is not a place for courtship. §
Why is it necessary to maintain segregation of sexes on the courses and at the centres?
For the same reason as given above. Passion is the greatest weakness, and it will find some way or the other to express itself unless you maintain segregation. So it is better to remain segregated. This is healthy both for you and for the students who have come for the course. §
While I am serving when should I practise Anapana? When should I practise Vipassana? And when should I practise mettā?
This is a good question. Instead of sitting the course, you are serving, and so you should decide how to work just as you do in your daily practice at home. You have to decide whether you should start by practising Anapana or work with Vipassana straight away, and if you do start with Anapana you have to decide for how long. That is at the discretion of each server. If you feel that your samādhi is very weak and you want to strengthen it by doing Anapana for the first three days and then switch over to Vipassana, this is acceptable.
Most important is that you meditate two times or three times per day while you are working on Dhamma land. If you don’t sit you won’t be able to give proper service, you won’t generate good vibrations. So in your own interest, and also in the interest of the students whom you are serving, it is essential that you sit.
One difficulty has been noticed. Sometimes, even if there are very few Dhamma servers on a course, each one wants to meditate with closed eyes during the group sittings. That is wrong; you are a Dhamma server here, not a student.
During the sittings one or two of you should keep your eyes open and see if the students have any difficulties. Of course, if there are many servers you can divide the responsibility amongst yourselves: One or two females and one or two males keep their eyes open while the others meditate seriously, there’s nothing wrong with that. But if all the servers meditate with closed eyes you create difficulties because the teacher cannot get your attention if he or she needs assistance. That should be avoided. §
When we have the Dhamma workers’ mettā session at 9:00 p.m., why are we asked to put our attention at the top of the head?
This is a good question. According to the law of nature there is a flow of energy coming out of the extremities [the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, and the top of the head], especially when you meditate. If you are a good meditator there is a constant flow going out, which also contains certain impurities. But one extremity— the top of the head—also has the capacity to draw vibrations from the atmosphere; the other extremities cannot do that.
While you are being given mettā, you are receiving good Dhamma vibrations. If your attention is at the top of the head and you start feeling sensations there, it means the top extremity is open at that time. At the same time you have to maintain the mental volition to accept any good vibrations that are coming. If your mind is calm and as pure as possible, you will get tuned up with the mettā vibrations and they can be received at the top of the head. This is why this area is given so much importance. §
If a student is having a storm and the assistant teacher is not immediately available, can we, as Dhamma servers, help the student by giving meditation instructions—for example, saying to use more Anapana and to work on the extremities, or to work in a more relaxed way by lying down or taking a walk?
That would be risky. You must understand that when somebody is authorized to give Dhamma as an assistant teacher or a senior or a full-fledged teacher, the good vibrations associated with Dhamma come in contact with this person while they are sitting on the Dhamma seat, and that helps the students. A server is not an authorized teacher, and should never play the role of teacher because the AT is supposedly unavailable. You may think, "Somebody is in trouble so I’d better give advice," but be very careful not to do so. At most you can say, "Go and lie down and relax. When the teacher is available, I will ask you to meet him or her." That is not a technique, and has nothing to do with the practice. Don’t say anything more than that; don’t try to give any instructions. There is every possibility that your instructions might create difficulty for the student. Authorization and establishing contact with the Dhamma vibrations play an important part in the work done by the assistant teachers. §
When we are serving courses or staying at centres, we are asked to restrict our reading either to materials related to the Buddha’s teaching or to newspapers and magazines. Students often ask why they cannot read other things that they feel are compatible with Vipassana. Can you explain the reason behind this rule?
Who has the authority to say that this book is compatible, and that one is not? You can’t expect the assistant teacher to go through all the literature that you bring. You’d better leave aside all your books. You can read them outside the centre. Why disturb the atmosphere here?
A server should always keep in mind that he or she is staying at a centre in order to help build good vibrations there. If you want to read certain books that might go against the vibrations of the centre, it is better that you leave. It is difficult to build up a Dhamma atmosphere, and we want it to become so strong that it will be helpful for generations, even for centuries. Be careful not to disturb it; it is not healthy to risk disturbing the atmosphere on any pretext. § What should I do if I have a big storm but need to finish my work because there is nobody else to do it? If I am really having a hard time as a long-term server, when is it best to meditate more and when is it best to leave the centre?
The assistant teacher on duty is in the best position to give you guidance. You’d better meet him or her and discuss your situation. §
Dhamma servers commonly do not get enough exercise while they are serving. Is it permissible for them to practise yoga while serving a course or staying at a centre? The physical exercises of yoga are quite compatible with Vipassana, but don’t do them at the centres; the students would get distracted if they see you. It is unwholesome to create any hindrance to the progress of the students. If a Dhamma server has a separate room there should not be any difficulty about doing yoga exercises there as long as they do not disturb anybody. But even then, permission must be sought from the assistant teacher on duty; only if the assistant teacher is satisfied that yoga will not become a disturbance can it be done, otherwise not. Walking is good enough exercise. §
When you are teaching in English, why do you use Pāli and Hindi words in your chanting and your discourses?
Well, these words are so pleasant to me. Pāli is the language of the Enlightened Person, and Hindi is my mother tongue. They also create a good vibration for the students to meditate in. In the English discourses I am cautious and try to use them as little as possible, but in the Hindi discourses Pāli verses are very helpful. They give inspiration, and Pāli becomes easy to understand for many Indian students after taking only a few courses.
However, even in the West old students keep telling me, "When you recite a Pāli gāthā [verse] we feel good vibrations." A new student may not agree with this; he or she might have aversion and think, "What is this chanting? Why is he disturbing me?" But slowly this person will start to understand the benefits.
Last time the ten discourses in English were recorded the Pāli gāthās were reduced to a minimum and afterwards there were complaints about this. We cannot please everybody, some will remain discontented. We have to serve as best we can, and you have to serve as best you can as Dhamma servers. §
Is there any purpose behind the old students’ chanting of sādhu and bowing, or is this just a rite or ritual?
They are not part of a rite or a ritual. As I said earlier, the extremity at the top of the head can receive vibrations. When a teacher expresses mettā by saying Bhavatu sabba maṅgalaṃ, he or she generates good vibrations, and when you bow down you accept those vibrations of mettā at the top of the head. It is in your own interest to accept good vibrations. If you are thirsty and somebody offers you water, you will get the water only if you cup your hands together. If you keep your hands apart the water will be lost.
Saying sādhu is an expression of sympathetic joy, and you join with the teacher’s feeling of joy when you say this. Both bowing and saying sādhu are in your own interest, they are not part of any rite or ritual. They are a healthy tradition from the past. Make use of them. §
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