the teacher has an obligation to treat Dhamma with respect by
refusing to instruct anyone who is disrespectful or indifferent to
what is being taught.
Some people can’t help making noise while listening to
Dhamma: they are obviously apathetic to the value of the Dhamma
and the opportunity they have for hearing it. They appear oblivi-
ous to where they are or how they are expected to behave at that
time. Such people see Dhamma as something quite ordinary. They
have adopted a typically worldly attitude of being thoroughly indif-
ferent to Dhamma, to the monastery, and to the monks. They see
the whole lot as just commonplace. Under such circumstances, it
is unconscionable to teach Dhamma: the teacher is then censur-
able and the audience fails to gain any real benefit.
Before he realized the Supreme Dhamma and then made it
available to others, Ãcariya Mun nearly gave up his life in the for-
ests and mountains as he struggled relentlessly with every ounce
of strength. After such heroic effort, the notion of bringing this
precious Dhamma and having it simply dissipate in the ocean was
inconceivable. When has that ever happened? After all, a monk is
the type of person who considers everything scrupulously before
he acts. Dhamma exists in a class by itself, so special attention
must be paid to when and how it is presented to a public audience.
Should these considerations be neglected in the presentation of
Dhamma, the outcome might well prove harmful.
Dhamma is taught for the purpose of helping people in the
world – much like a doctor, desiring the well-being of his patients,
prescribes medications to cure sickness and relieve pain. But when
people are unwilling to accept help, why should a monk worry
about teaching them? If he really has true Dhamma in his heart,
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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