matter how serious it seems – mindfulness should be in continu-
ous control of his heart so that it stays steadfastly firm and fully
integrated with the object of meditation. Suppose an elephant, a
tiger, or a snake threatens him: if he sincerely resolves to sacri-
fice his life for the sake of Dhamma those things won’t dare to
cause him any harm. Having no fear of death, he will experience
the courageous feeling that he can walk right up to those ani-
mals. Instead of feeling threatened, he will feel deep within his
heart a profound friendship toward them which dispels any sense
of danger.
As human beings we possess Dhamma in our hearts, in a
way that animals do not. For this reason, our hearts exert a pow-
erful influence over animals of all types. It makes no difference
that animals are incapable of knowing this fact; there exists in
our hearts a mysterious quality that has a soothing affect on them.
This quality is the potent, protective power of Dhamma which
softens their hearts to the point where they don’t dare act threat-
eningly. This mysterious power of the heart is something experi-
enced internally by the individual. Others can be aware of it only
if they have special intuitive knowledge. Even though Dhamma is
taught and studied all over the world, it still remains a mystery if
the heart has yet to attain any level of understanding in Dhamma.
When the heart and Dhamma truly become one, all doubts con-
cerning the heart and Dhamma disappear on their own because
the nature of the heart and the nature of Dhamma share the same
exquisite, subtle qualities. Once that state is reached, it is correct
to say that the heart is Dhamma and Dhamma is the heart. In
other words, all contradictions cease once the kilesas have been
eliminated.
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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