to practice in remote, secluded locations with such single-minded
resolve that his diligence in this respect is unrivaled among his
peers in the circle of dhutanga monks. Even today, at the age of
82, he still refuses to allow his declining health to curtail his cus-
tomary zeal. Some people have asked me, out of concern for his
failing health, why he continues to put such strenuous effort into
practice when in truth he has nothing further to accomplish. They
can’t figure out why he remains so active and energetic. I try to
explain to them that someone, who has completely eliminated the
contentious factors that exploit every weakness to sap energy and
hinder progress, has no debilitating lethargy left to entrap his mind
in a web of delusion. Meanwhile the rest of us have amassed such
a debilitating mountain of laziness that it virtually obscures us
from view. As soon as we get started on some worthwhile endeavor,
we become apprehensive lest the fruits of our efforts overload
our capacity to store them. We worry ahead of time about how
exhausted we’ll be when the work becomes difficult. In the end
having failed to gather those wholesome fruits, we are left with
an empty basket, that is, an empty joyless heart, drifting aimlessly
with no hard-earned store of merit to fall back on. Instead, we fill
our empty hearts with complaints about all the difficulties we face.
So laziness, this blight in our hearts, keeps throwing up obstacles
to block our way. Those who have cleansed this blight from their
hearts remain persistent, persevering in times of hardship. They
never worry about overloading their capacity to store the fruits of
their efforts. Those individuals whose hearts are pure, unblem-
ished Dhamma, cleared of all worldly defilements, stand out majes-
tically in all situation. Somber, sullen moods never arise in their
hearts, making them perfect examples for the world to follow.
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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