no idea what the true virtues of a Buddhist monk really are. If
they understood the meaning of the Pãåimokkha exhortation that
the Lord Buddha delivered, they would know the true nature of
virtue. He condensed the essential meaning of virtue into this
concise statement: Refrain from all evil, develop goodness and
wisdom in abundance, and purify the mind until it is bright and
clear. This is the essence of the Buddha’s teaching.
“Refraining from evil, what does it mean? Some people
refrain from acting in evil ways but still speak in evil ways. Others
may not act or speak in evil ways but still like to think in evil
ways. They continue to amass evil within themselves from dawn
to dusk. Waking up the next morning, they resume – amassing
more evil. So it continues, day in and day out, and they are not
interested in reflecting upon their actions. Convinced they are
already virtuous people, they wait around expecting a state of
purity to arise from virtue that exists in name only. So they never
find a state of purity; instead, they find only defilement and dis-
quiet. This is bound to happen, for anyone intent on looking for
trouble is sure to find it. What else would they find? There is no
shortage of such things in the conventional world we live in.”This was Ãcariya Mun’s way of explaining the underlying, natu-
ral principles of virtue to practicing monks in the hope that they
would gain a profound insight into the Truth. He then went on to
explain the way of practice that begins with samãdhi and wisdom
and ends with the ultimate attainment – absolute freedom. Dis-
cussing all areas of practice fully and openly, his exposition that
day held nothing back. But, since much of what he said has already
been covered in previous talks, I shall not elaborate any further