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담마 봉사에 관한 질문과 답변
1. 담마 땅에서 지키는 실라(Sīla)
질문: 고엔카지, 담마 땅에서 오계를 지키는 것이 왜 중요합니까?
답변: 담마 땅뿐만 아니라 어디서나 오계를 지키는 것이 중요합니다. 하지만 여러분이 담마 땅에 있을 때는 오계를 지키는 것이 더욱 중요합니다.
첫 번째로 중요한 것은 이 계율을 지키기가 아주 어렵다는 것입니다. 많은 사람들이 실라(sīla)를 어기게 만드는 다양한 요인이 있습니다. 이 땅에서 여러분은 훌륭한 담마 분위기를 얻습니다. 마라(Māra)의 영향은 바깥 세상보다 훨씬 적습니다. 이와 같은 분위기에서 실라(sīla)를 지킬 수 없다면 이 사람에게 무엇을 기대할 수 있겠습니까? 이 사람이 담마에서 어떻게 발전하겠습니까? 여러분이 담마의 진동으로 가득하고, 마라(Māra)의 영향이 없는 훌륭한 분위기에서 지낼 기회를 얻는다면 그 분위기를 활용하여 여러분이 실라(sīla)에 확고해지도록 해야 합니다.
Another, more important thing is that observing sīla anywhere is very meritorious, but observing sīla on a Dhamma land is much more meritorious; that breaking sīla anywhere is harmful, but breaking sīla on a Dhamma land is much more harmful. Why? Understand! The atmosphere on a Dhamma land is full of Dhamma vibrations, purity. And when you break a sīla, you can’t break any sīla, unless you generate some defilement or the other, like anger, like greed, like passion, like ego, some impurity or the other must first come into the mind, before manifesting itself as an unwholesome action of speech or an unwholesome action of the body. And as soon as you have generated a defilement in the mind, the vibration, your contribution to this atmosphere is such a bad vibration, that you’ve started polluting the atmosphere.
If you have generated this kind of vibration in a marketplace, which is full of unhealthy vibrations, you’ve contributed something bad, but already it is full of bad vibrations. It is not that conspicuous like if somebody is wearing a very dirty cloth or a dirty shirt, and some new dirt comes on it, it is not so conspicuous. But if someone is wearing a very white, clean shirt, then even a little dot of impurity becomes so conspicuous. You’ve spoiled it! The atmosphere here, the good vibration, is polluted by generating a defilement in the mind.
The mind is like a generator - it doesn’t stay idle. Either it generates impurity, or it generates purity. If you don’t generate impurity, that means you’re generating purity - good vibrations. When you are generating a good vibration in this atmosphere, this is your contribution. After all, how does a Dhamma land become a Dhamma land? Because people meditate there. People purifying their mind generate good vibrations, and that gets permeated in the atmosphere around.
You have given your contribution. This is your dāna. All material dāna is nothing compared to this dhamma dāna - the good vibrations that you have given.
Understand, the vibration of a Dhamma land - the good vibrations of a Dhamma land - are not merely for people who come to a course, 100 or 200; not merely for workers, 20 or 30, who come to a course. This is an ongoing process. The Dhamma land vibration becomes stronger, stronger, stronger; more and more people come and meditate, it becomes stronger; more people come and meditate, it becomes stronger. And so it continues. If a Dhamma land is a really good Dhamma land, and we want all our centres to become very good Dhamma lands - and they are becoming so; we are experiencing it, this atmosphere of pure Dhamma will work for years and years, for centuries, for generations.
You don’t know who is going to come, after five centuries and after 10 generations etc. What a wonderful contribution you are giving to those unknown people when they come here. How much benefit they will get! Your dāna is a wonderful dāna. And the pollution that you may produce is harmful. You’re harming not only the present meditators, you’re harming also the future meditators. They won’t get such strong, good vibrations as they should get. That is why sīla, observing sīla, on a Dhamma land, is much more important, much more valuable, is much more fruitful, fruitful to one who generates good vibrations, and fruitful to others also, at present, and in future. So therefore observe sīla, it’s very important. sīla is the foundation of Dhamma. Keep the foundation strong! Good!
2. 담마 봉사와 빠라미(pāramī)
질문: 고엔카지, 우리가 빠라미(pāramī)를 계발하기 위해서 담마 봉사가 어떤 도움을 주는지 설명해주시겠어요?
A: Dhamma service itself is pāramī. What is Dhamma service? You become a part of dhamma dāna. Something is happening; people are coming here to get Dhamma, and you are a part of the management. You are serving so that this dāna of Dhamma can be given properly to people. And dāna is one of the biggest pāramīs out of the 10 pāramīs. And of all the dāna’s, dhamma dāna is the highest dāna. Sabbadānaṃ dhammadānaṃ jināti are the words of Buddha. The highest dāna is the dāna of Dhamma; and you are a part of that. You are contributing to this donation of Dhamma to people.
And not only dāna. When you come to a 10-day course and give service, you will find that you get an opportunity to develop all the 10 pāramīs. As you are meditating in a 10-day course you are generating pāramīs, pāramīs all the 10 pāramīs are becoming stronger, stronger. So also while you’re serving in this atmosphere. Little by little you are developing each of your pāramīs. You build your sīla while you’re here - because you are very careful - you are on a Dhamma land. You’re not here to spoil the vibration of the Dhamma land, you’re here to contribute good vibrations, to observe your sīla. If you observe sīla anywhere outside, it is good; it’s a meritorious action, it gives good results. But if you observe sīla on a Dhamma land, it gives much, much better results. You get an opportunity while you are here for 10 days you are observing your sīla.
Similarly for every pāramī. Tolerance! Now you are facing the students; and the students are agitated - an operation is going on. Someone may generate negativity and throw it on you. Oh! and you smile - a miserable person. You just generate mettā. You don’t react with negativity. Your khanti pāramī is becoming stronger, stronger. You get the opportunity two or three times a day to meditate; so your samādhi becomes stronger, your paññā becomes stronger, your mettā becomes stronger; you get an opportunity to work on all of the 10 pāramīs, as if you are on a course.
In a course you deal with only yourself. When you are serving, then you are learning how to live life in the outside world. You may have done very good practice of Vipassana, maintaining equanimity with the vibrations etc. But you are not supposed to live in a glasshouse, like a glasshouse plant; you have to face the outside world. And, after taking deep courses, if immediately you go and face the world, it is not very easy. You find difficulties. So how to face the world? You get training here! For 10 days you are facing the world, you are extroverted. You’re dealing with 100 or 200 or whatever the number of students who have come there. And you are dealing with them in such a protected, healthy, wholesome atmosphere. This atmosphere gives you strength; you are able to face this properly. This is how you train yourself.
Serving others is itself a big pāramī and you serve in a proper atmosphere, which helps you to serve people outside in the world also, and to face the vicissitudes of life in the outside world. In every way, Dhamma service gives wonderful results. Those who have started giving Dhamma service, they come and tell me - I know this with my own experience also - that their meditation is now becoming much better; that when they meditate they go much deeper; that they’ve got more equanimity; they’ve got more mettā. So your meditation becomes stronger because you have developed some more pāramī. By your Dhamma service you have accumulated more pāramī, and that pāramī goes to your credit account, and this credit account makes you a stronger person, and you find your meditation is going better. So in every way, Dhamma service gives wonderful results.
Another important thing that I note, is about giving dāna. If you give dāna in a hospital, or you give dāna in a school, you give dāna in an orphanage, people are benefited by that dāna. Good! That’s a pāramī! But if you give dāna of money where Dhamma is being taught – you’ve given some donation - this is much higher. When you give dāna to someone who is hungry, you give food, but next day again this person is hungry. Somebody is thirsty and you give water. Again he is thirsty. Somebody needs clothing and you give clothing. But that gets torn, and he needs again after some time. But, if somebody is miserable and you give Dhamma, and one gets the path of liberation from misery. There can be nothing like that. So the donation given for an organization, for a centre that is giving Dhamma dāna, is a very valuable pāramī of dāna.
But I see that the value of the pāramī of dāna is much more when you give physical service there. Pāramī after all is what? It’s just a volition, a mental volition. Before you give dāna, you feel: “Ah! Wonderful”. This money, my money, will be used for a very good purpose. I better give some of what I have earned; a portion of that should go to Dhamma.
That volition becomes your pāramī; you’ve given. You get the thought: “I should give,” and you have given. And you feel happy that: “Yes, I have given”. But when you are giving service for 10 days - all 10 days - every moment you are working. You are cooking food, you are serving others, you are sweeping. You are doing anything! Whatever you do, all the time the thought is that: “Look, by my service many people are getting benefited. Oh! More and more people should get benefited. Their difficulty in meditation should be removed. How can I be helpful to see that they work very peacefully without any obstacles, without any hindrances.” This is volition; and that volition continues for 10 days.
So your pāramī, of Dhamma service, the dāna of Dhamma service, is so high compared to the dāna of money that somebody gives. We don’t say that giving money is bad - that is very important. It’s good, and gives very good results. But giving service is many, many times more fruitful. Because the time, for so long. For so long you keep on thinking, when you are serving. You are serving, not to get anything in return, you are serving for the benefit of others. So the mettā is there. You feel happy to see others getting Dhamma. Every moment your service develops your pāramī. So Dhamma service, to me, is the biggest dāna; a dāna much more than the dāna that you give at the monetary level. And every dāna is your pāramī. The Dhamma dāna and the physical dāna of Dhamma service is a very strong pāramī.
Certainly! Good! Be happy!
3. 봉사자간의 갈등
질문: 고엔카지, 코스에서 때로는 이런 저런 이유로 담마 봉사자들 사이에서 갈등이 일어납니다. 우리가 어떻게 하면 봉사를 활용하여 자신의 자만심에 직면하고 겸손함을 계발할 수 있습니까?
A: While you are giving service, conflict arises? That’s your question?
질문: 에.
A: Then retire from service, don’t serve, when you are not in a position where you can keep your mind calm and quiet, full of love and compassion for others, and you find that there is negativity coming in the mind for one reason or another. You may say that: “The fault is not mine; the fault is of the other person.” Whatever it is, it is your fault that you have started generating negativity. You are involved in some kind of conflict with others, confrontation with others. Then understand: “I am not fit to serve now, this is not the proper time. I better meditate.” Retire from the service; sit and meditate. You can’t serve people when you are generating negativity, because you’ll be throwing this vibration of negativity to the people.
Keep on understanding that even if you find that there is some fault with other workers who are with you, very politely and very humbly you can point out: “To me, it looks this is not right, this is not Dhamma.” But the other person doesn’t understand. Again, after some time, very politely, very humbly, you make your point, but the person doesn’t agree. You’ve given all your reasons, all your understanding. Without making your mind unbalanced, with a very calm mind, you’ve explained, but it doesn’t work. I would say that two times is enough. But in very rare cases you can go a third time, but not more than that - never. Otherwise, however correct you view may be, it shows that you have developed a tremendous amount of attachment to your view. You want things to happen according to your understanding, your view. And that is wrong! You point out, like to a brother who is mistaken, a sister who is mistaken, you point out once, twice, at most thrice. But if that doesn’t help, then no backbiting. Tell him or her politely “Well, I understand that way; perhaps the seniors, the elders will explain to you; then maybe some senior students” but before putting the case to anybody else, first talk to the person with whom you have a difference of opinion. And then inform the elders; the senior students, the trustees, the assistant teachers, the senior assistant teachers, the coordinators, the teacher; you can go and inform them; but first you have to discuss the matter with the person concerned.
And there should be no unwholesome speech, otherwise there’s backbiting, which again is wrong. But if nothing is happening, and this person cannot be corrected, don’t have aversion, have more compassion. You have to always examine, that even if you want something very right to be done and it’s not being done, and you feel agitated because of that, that means your ego is strong, your own attachment to your ego, your attachment to your views - this is predominant - and this is not Dhamma. Try to correct yourself, before trying to correct others.
4. 학생들로부터 오는 부정성
질문: 때로는 우리가 봉사하는 학생들로부터 부정성, 두려움 등을 받는 것 같습니다. 어떻게 이런 일이 일어나고 그런 일이 일어날 때 우리가 어떻게 해야 합니까?
A: You can’t pick up anything from anybody else. Actually, you have got a stock of the same type of impurity in you. Somebody has got a fear complex, and by the practice of Vipassana, that fear complex is coming on the surface. And when that is coming on the surface, the atmosphere, the vibration of the atmosphere gets charged with that kind of vibration, which stimulates your own fear. You have got a stock of fear yourself; and that is being stimulated. That starts coming up. So thank him. That he allowed your own impurity to come out. And meditate with it. And come out of it. Why get frightened about it?
If anything comes up while you’re here in this atmosphere, you can work on it and get rid of it. If you are free from that particular impurity, nothing will happen. If somebody is generating anger, the Buddha will not start getting his own anger coming up - he is totally out of it. Like that, so long as you have the seed of a particular impurity and the same impurity is coming up from somewhere else, then it triggers your own negativity. Good! Be happy!
5. 바른 말
질문: 우리가 봉사할 때 가장 지키기 힘든 실라(sīla)가 바른 말이라고 생각합니다. 담마 봉사자로서 쓸데없는 농담이나 수다를 피하기가 어렵고 때로는 자기도 모르게 잘못된 정보나 부정성을 퍼뜨립니다. 때로는 학생에 관한 개인정보도 논의됩니다. 바른 말을 어떻게 실천할 수 있는지 안내해주시겠습니까?
답변: 쓸데없는 말은 잘못된 말의 한 종류입니다. 그렇게 입방아를 찧고 쓸데없는 말을 하면 실라(sīla)를 어기는 것입니다. 얘기를 하고 수다를 떨고 싶다면, 담마 센터를 떠나 다른 곳으로 가세요. 하지만 여기서는 붓다가 반복해서 말씀했듯이 담마에 관한 얘기를 하거나 뚜니 바와(Tuṇhī bhāva) - 거룩한 침묵, 완전한 침묵을 지켜야 합니다. 그 외엔 안 됩니다! 다른 주제를 담마 땅에서 토론해서는 안 됩니다. 그렇지 않으면 여러분이 지금 무슨 말을 했든, 이런 것들이 일어날 것입니다. 여러분이 쓸데없는 말을 할 때 마음이 아주 느슨해지고 대화도 아주 느슨해져서 자신이 무슨 말을 하는지도 신경쓰지 않습니다. 그러면 아주 잘못되고 다른 학생들에게 아주 많은 어려움을 일으킬 수 있습니다. 그러니 이것만은 완전히 피해야 합니다.
6. 신체 접촉
질문: 코스 장소 또는 센터에서 코스가 진행중일 때나 코스가 진행되지 않을 때나 학생들과 담마 봉사자들 모두 왜 다른 사람과 신체 접촉을 하지 말아야 합니까?
A: The danger is that, even if you say this is just an expression of mettā , it is a very slippery ground. You don’t know when you get caught in passion. So, avoiding this kind of danger is very important. No argument for this kind of contact! People keep on coming and telling me that in the West, body contact doesn’t have passion. Maybe, I don’t know because I was not born in the West. But I am sure, because I have seen cases, in the West, where a student started having body contact, saying that there is no passion, which ultimately resulted in something very unhealthy; especially because you are working on a Dhamma land, where the anti-Dhamma forces will always try to pull you down. You’re representing Dhamma, and if you’ve got any little weakness - and this is the biggest weakness, passion - then these forces, these vibrations, anti-Dhamma vibrations, will arouse passion in you, and you’ll spoil the entire atmosphere. So better avoid any kind of bodily contact, whatever argument people may give. Don’t listen to any arguments! This is a strict rule, that in every Dhamma centre, or even at just gypsy camps while the camp is going on, no bodily contact is allowed.
7. 남녀분리
질문: 코스에서 그리고 센터에서 왜 남녀분리를 지켜야 합니까?
A: The same reason as give above. It is so dangerous. Unless you have segregation there is every likelihood of things going bad. Passion is the biggest weakness and it will find some way or the other to express itself. So better remain segregated. This is healthy for you and healthy for the students who have come for the course.
8. 새로운 관계
질문: 학생들이 코스에서 봉사할 때 또는 센터에서 머물 때, 어떤 사람에게 매력을 느껴서 그 사람과 어떤 관계를 맺고 싶어하고 담마 동반자 관계를 맺고 싶어할 수 있습니다. 새로운 관계의 초기 단계에 있거나 후기 단계에 있는 학생들이 코스에서 봉사할 때 또는 센터에서 머물 때 어떻게 행동해야 합니까?
A: It must be very clear, that a Dhamma land is a Dhamma land. It is not meant for any type of courtship. A relationship in its early stages or later stages makes no difference. If any student, working as a Dhamma worker, due to any reason, finds that he or she is getting attracted towards another person for a relationship or Dhamma partnership, he or she should immediately quit - should not stay at the centre even for the next moment. Have your courtship outside the Dhamma centre. On Dhamma centres, if you are not married, then you have to behave with each other like brothers and sisters. Even a trace of passion arising in the mind of anyone is going to disturb the Dhamma atmosphere of the centre. And this has to be avoided at every cost. This point should be again and again made clear to every Dhamma worker at every centre, that a Dhamma centre is not a place of courtship. Courtship should be done outside Dhamma centres.
9. 나의 명상 수행
질문: 내가 봉사할 때, 언제 아나빠나를 수행하고, 언제 위빳사나를 수행하고, 언제 멧따(mettā)를 수행해야 합니까?
A: A good question. You are not in the course. You are serving the course. It is like living in your daily life. You do your daily practice, and you make your decision at that time - whether you should start by practising Anapana, or straightaway start with Vipassana. Or even if starting with Anapana, how long to stay with Anapana. Similarly here also. Again, it is at the discretion of the particular student who is giving service.
If one feels that one’s samādhi is very weak, and wants to strengthen his or her samādhi, then do Anapana for the first three days of sitting, when others are doing the same thing and you are getting those instructions. Nothing wrong in that! And then switch over to Vipassana. But this should be left to each individual student. There is no hard and fast rule that every student should work in this way or that way. The most important thing is that you have to sit. If you are working on a Dhamma land, and you don’t meditate two or three hours per day, you are not giving proper service - your vibrations will not be good vibrations of service. So in your own interest and in the interests of the students whom you are serving, it is very essential that you sit.
One difficulty that is noticed sometimes, when there are very few hands - few Dhamma workers - is that they try to follow the schedule of the course. That means when Anapana is given, they try to take Anapana, as if they are taking the course. When Vipassana is given, they sit with closed eyes and try to get Vipassana as if they are in the course. When instructions are given for one hour sittings, they close their eyes and try to work according to the instructions. That is wrong! You are a Dhamma servant here. Many times you have to keep your eyes open and look at others; how they are doing, how they are faring, what difficulty they have got. And you try to take advantage of Anapana, you take advantage of Vipassana being given; you take advantage of the one hour sitting instructions. Of course if there are many Dhamma workers and you divide up your responsibilities, so that one or two male workers, and one or two female workers will keep their eyes open during these periods, then nothing wrong. But when there are few hands, and you just follow the instructions as given to the regular students in the course, you are creating difficulty, because then you won’t know what is happening and the teacher cannot awaken you to come and serve him or her, because you are sitting with closed eyes. This should be avoided.
10. 치유법, 다른 수행법을 얘기하기
질문: 우리가 봉사할 때 때때로 다른 수행법들과 치유법들에 관한 주제가 자연스럽게 대화에 나옵니다.
A: Just like when gossip comes up, you can say ‘naturally’. Take out this ‘naturally’ thing. So many wrong things, when they happen, people say they happen ‘naturally’.
질문: 일부 학생들은 다른 수행법들과 위빳사나의 차이점을 명확히 하는데 이런 대화가 도움이 된다고 말합니다.
A: It may also be helpful in creating confusion. So don’t go for all these clarifications.
질문: 다른 수행법, 치유법을 왜 얘기하지 말라고 합니까?
A: Discuss - outside the centre; but not at the centre, at any cost.
11. 학생들에게 명상에 관해 조언하는 봉사자들
질문: 학생이 폭풍을 겪고 있는데 AT를 즉각 만날 수 없다면 우리가 담마 봉사자로서 학생에게 명상에 관한 지시사항을 얘기하면서 도움을 줄 수 있나요? 예를 들면 "아나빠나를 더 하고 말단을 지켜보세요." 라든가 "눕거나 산책을 하면서 좀더 편안하게 수행하세요." 라고 말하는 것이요.
A: A very risky affair! You must understand that when someone is authorized to give Dhamma - an assistant teacher, junior or senior, or a full-fledged teacher - then the good vibrations around of Dhamma come in contact withthis person sitting on the Dhamma seat, and that starts helping the student. A worker is not an authorized teacher. And to play that role under the pretext that: “There’s no teacher now; somebody is in trouble, so I better give advice,” is a very wrong thing to do. Avoid it! At the most, what you can say is: “Go relax, lie down and relax.” This is not a technique. It has nothing to do with the practice. Or: “Go and relax. When the teacher comes, I will ask you to come and see the teacher.” Not beyond that. Nothing beyond that. Don’t try to give any instructions. There is every possibility that your instructions may create difficulty for the student. Authorization, and getting in contact with the Dhamma vibration is a very important part played by the assistant teachers and senior assistant teachers.
12. 적절한 읽을거리
질문: 우리가 코스에서 봉사할 때 또는 센터에서 머물 때, 붓다의 가르침과 관련된 자료, 신문, 잡지만 읽을 수 있습니다. 학생들이 느끼기에 위빳사나와 병행할 수 있다고 생각하는 것들을 왜 읽을 수 없는지 묻습니다. 이 규칙을 만든 이유를 설명해주시겠습니까?
A: Now, who will have the authority to say that this is compatible and this is not compatible. And you can’t expect the assistant teacher to go through all the literature that you bring, and this person will go through all the literature, and say this is compatible and this is not compatible. Go and read all those things outside the centre. Why disturb the atmosphere of the centre. A worker should always keep in mind that he or she is at the centre to help build the good vibration of the centre. If one is not in a position to do that, then better quit. Don’t stay. Just accept the fact that: “I am not in a position to stay here, because I want to read this, I want to read that, which might go against the vibration of the centre; and I’m not fit to judge whether it is really good or not good; my teacher has got no time to go through all this. So I’d better read it outside.” So leave it! Don’t disturb the atmosphere. It is so difficult to build a Dhamma atmosphere if you want it to become so strong, that it will last for centuries, for so many generations. So playing these games under one pretext or the other, is not healthy. Come out of it!
13. 폭풍이 일어날 때
질문: 저한테 큰 폭풍이 일어났는데 아무도 제 일을 대신할 수 없고 제가 맡은 일을 끝내야 한다면 어떻게 해야 합니까? 장기 봉사자로서 제가 정말 힘든 시기를 보낸다면 언제 명상을 더 하는 것이 좋고 언제 센터를 떠나는 것이 좋습니까?
A: The assistant teacher on duty will be the best judge to give you guidance. Better meet him, or meet her.
14. ‘사두(Sadhu)’라고 말하고 절하는 이유
질문: 구수련생들이 ‘사두(Sadhu)’라고 말하면서 절하는 이유가 있습니까? 아니면 그저 의식 또는 의례입니까?
A: It is no rite or ritual. As I said, out of these five extremities, the extremity of the top is an extremity that can receive vibrations. And somebody has expressed mettā, by saying: “May all beings be happy!. “Bhavatu sabba maṅgalaṃ.” That means one has given a good vibration, a vibration of mettā. You bow down and you accept those vibrations at the top of the head. When you say “Sadhu,” that is your sympathetic joy, that you feel so joyful. When the teacher or assistant teacher says “Bhavatu sabba maṅgalaṃ”, he or she says it with a feeling of joy: “May all beings be happy!” You join in this joy. This is the sympathetic joy with which you say “Sadhu.” And accepting good vibrations is in your own interest. You are thirsty, and somebody is giving you water. If you cup your hands, you will get water. If you keep your hands apart, the water will fall down. Bow down - in your own interest. It is no rite or ritual! This is a healthy tradition of the past. Make use of it!
15. 요가하기
질문: 담마 봉사자들은 봉사를 하는 동안 운동을 충분히 하지 못합니다. 센터나 코스를 하는 곳에서 봉사를 하는 동안 요가를 해도 괜찮습니까?
A: Yoga - that means physical exercises - are quite compatible with Vipassana. But we stop them at the centres, because the students will get attracted towards this, and that will become a hindrance. Staying at a centre, if you create any hindrance to the progress of the students, this becomes a very unwholesome action. However, if at any centre, a Dhamma worker has got a separate room, and if one can do yoga exercises in that room without disturbing anybody, there should not be any difficulty. But there again, permission must be taken from the teacher, or assistant teacher who is on duty. Explain, and then if the assistant teacher is satisfied, then nothing wrong. Then only should it be done, otherwise not. Have your walking exercises. Good enough! You should not become a cause of disturbance for the serious meditation of students who have come for 10 days.
16. 빠알리어와 힌디어 사용
질문: 선생님이 영어로 가르칠 때 게송과 법문에서 왜 빠알리어와 힌디어를 사용합니까?
A: They are so pleasant to me. They are words of the Enlightened Person - Pali especially - and Hindi is my own mother tongue, so I use it. Actually, it is for good vibrations. In English discourses, one becomes a little more cautions to use as little as possible. In Hindi discourses however, they are very helpful - they give so much inspiration because people understand, especially Hindi, so well. And Pali also, which to many people becomes so easy after taking a few courses. For old students, even in the West, they keep on telling me that: “When a Pali verse is recited by you we get such good vibrations with that.” Well, a new student might not feel this, because a new student might have aversion as well: “What is being chanted now; what is this; why does it get in the way.” Slowly, this person also starts understanding.
The last time all the ten discourses were recorded, these Pali verses were reduced to a minimum - most of them were taken out. Then, a lot of complaints started coming: “What happened to those Pali verses; they were so good for us, so good for us.” We cannot please everybody. Some will remain discontented. We have to see how best we can serve. And you have to see how best you can serve as well!
May all beings be happy!
