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When meditator"s minds have reached genuine happiness in the Dhamma through their mindfulness and discernment, clearly seeing the four noble truths, none of them -- not one -- will revert to looking for happiness in the world or in material things. Thats because happiness in the Dhamma is a lasting happiness: solid, refined, and genuinely pure. If you compare worldly happiness with the happiness of the Dhamma, youll see that theres not even the least real happiness to it. It offers nothing but stress, nothing but drawbacks. So why do we think its happiness? Because were burning with pain. We look to worldly happiness and pleasures to relieve the pain, which then goes away for a while but then comes back again.

For instance, the Buddha said that birth is stress, but ordinary people regard it as something happy. We dont see that stress and pain involved. Yet once the mind has reached the happiness of the Dhamma, it can see that birth is really stressful, just as the Buddha said. The reason we have to look after ourselves, take care of ourselves, and still cant find any peace, is because these things that have been born come to disturb us. We sit down and get some pleasure and ease from sitting down, but after a while it becomes painful. We say that its pleasant to lie down, but thats true only at the very beginning. After weve lain down for a long time, it begins to get unpleasant. So we have to keep changing postures in order to gain pleasure. We look for this thing or that, but as soon as weve gained just a little pleasure from them, stress and pain come in their wake. If we have a family and home to live pleasantly together, there are only little pleasures, which have us fooled and deceived, while there are hundreds and thousands of unpleasant things. The happiness and pleasure that come from external things, material things, is never enough. It keeps wearing away, wearing away, and wearing us out, to no purpose at all. This is why those who have reached the Dhamma dont return to this world so filled with sorrows and turmoil.

And this is why I want you to put an effort into meditating, contemplating in line with the Dhamma. Even if you arent yet convinced of the Dhamma, at least take the teachings of the Buddha as your working principles. For example, when the Buddha teaches about the Three Characteristics of inconstancy, stress, and not self, we should train our minds to see in line with what he said. Give him a try. For example, he says that this body of ours is filled with all sorts of unclean things. We may not agree, but at least give it a try to see what happens when you look at things in line with what he says. He says its not clean. Atthi imasmim kaye -- in this body there is: hair of the head, and its not clean; hair of the body, and its unclean; nails, and theyre not clean. Dont be in a hurry to reject the Buddhas teachings. Take a look to see whether these things really are unclean or not. When the mind focuses on these things more and more steadily, and begins to feel quiet and at ease, the truth of these things will gradually appear more and more clearly. Conviction in the Dhamma, in the practice, will arise. Energy will arise as we want to see more. As this awareness grows greater, the mind will grow more luminous and still. This is the way of the practice. When you go back home, remember this simple principle: practice meditation by observing your body, observing your mind.

Use your mindfulness to keep track of the body in and of itself, so as to know it in line with its truth. If you dont look at the body, then look at the mind in and of itself. When you observe the movements of the body and mind, the pleasures and pains that arise so often, youll develop awareness and skill. Youll learn how to handle things in line with the Buddhas teachings. Youll gain the discernment that sees and knows the truth. Youll see things more and more clearly. The more clearly you see things, the stronger and more quiet the mind will grow. Youll see the body as stressful and unclean, but youll have to look after the mind, keeping yourself wise to the fact that the stress and un cleanliness are an affair of the body, not of the mind.

The body has been unclean all along. Weve lived with it all this time, so theres no need to be afraid of seeing these things, no need to reject them. We should contemplate the body so as to give rise to a sense of chastened dispassion. When you let go of the body, let go in a discerning way. Dont let go in a way in which delusion and misunderstanding overcome the mind. Dont get disgusted with the body so that the mind becomes restless and agitated and stops meditating. That kind of dislike is wrong. When we look at things we dont like -- such as the inconstancy, the stressfulness, and the unattractiveness of the body -- remember that theyre part of the noble truths. The Buddha said that theyre very beneficial. Contemplating the unattractiveness of the body is very beneficial because it serves an important purpose. If we see the body properly in this way, it helps the mind grow still with a sense of disenchantment. And thats what will cure our delusions and misunderstandings. This is why, when ordaining a monk, the very first step is to teach him the five meditation themes -- kesa, hair of the head; loma, hair of the body; nakha, nails; danta, teeth; taco, skin -- as a way of developing discernment and knowledge of the truth.

So hold onto these themes and keep contemplating them, regardless of whether the mind is still or not. Whenever you have any free time, contemplate them. You can contemplate them even while youre working. Contemplate them until you get down to the minute details in a way that gives rise to a sense of stillness and ease.

Its similar to when we do physical work. We get wages for each hour we work. The more hours we work, the higher our pay. But if you get greedy and keep working without rest, then the body wears out, the mind grows weak, and you cant work any more. So you have to rest and eat to regain the strength of your body and nerves. Even though you dont get paid for the time you rest, youre willing to take the loss for the sake of your strength of body and mind, so that you can contend with the work after youve rested.

Its the same when you meditate: if you just keep contemplating and investigating, it wont be long before the mind gets restless and agitated. So you have to bring the mind to stillness to avoid its getting restless. If it gets restless, itll have no peace. Itll get all tied up in knots and will grow weary of the meditation. So contemplate for a while until you can sense that the mind wants to stop and rest; then focus back on the in and out breath or anything else that will serve as a gathering point for the mind. Gradually let go of your contemplation, gradually let the mind settle down, so as to gain strength from the sense of pleasure and ease that come in this way. Dont worry about how long you should stay there. Even though the mind doesnt seem to be gaining any knowledge, dont worry about it. Its as when youre resting from physical labor: even though your boss doesnt give you anything for the hour you rest, youre willing for the sake of gaining energy -- in this case, strength of mind.

This is why the Noble Disciples constantly practice concentration, constantly get the mind to settle down. After theyre contemplated to the point where the mind gets weary, they let the mind grow still. After its had enough stillness, they go back to their contemplation. This is how we should practice. If we practice in this way, the mind will gain energy and strength, will gain discernment to the end point of all suffering and stress, seeing things for what they actually are. The question asked the other day -- how to practice when you go back home -- was a very good question. The answer is: keep looking after your mind in the way Ive described here. Practice exercising your own mindfulness and discernment.