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the room to talk with Sayadaw, I was shaking and stuttering. That's how scared I was. Actually, that foreign yogi had come to ask me a question because there was something he didn't know, so I was just explaining it to him. After that, Sayadaw was apparently displeased with that yogi who came to ask a question because he thought he wasn't trying hard. The yogi who came to as me a question was trying hard and noting. Sayadaw said that three foreigners had arrived at his place, and told me to come right away.
When he had said that, he went back to his room. Doing my robes up quickly to cover one arm (as one does in the presence of a senior monk), I went. Sayadaw was giving the foreigners a Dhamma talk on peace. 'What is working to keep the world from being peaceful are the forces of attachment, aversion, and delusion. Only if one is able to extinguish those forces will one have mental peace. Only with mental peace will the world be at peace,' he said.
While he was speaking on the Dhamma to these guests, his face was smiling and joyful. When he had come to my place, it was a totally different face. I was surprised when I saw Sayadaw's smiling face. I couldn't understand how Sayadaw's face could change so drastically in such a short time. Those three guests were American students of great Indian gurus.
The next day, Sayadaw was to give a Dhamma talk to the foreign yogis. When I went to Sayadaw's room to get at amplifier ready for him, it was with a timid and fearful mind. After his talk, when I put back the amplifier and stand, I was timid, too. Apparently, Sayadaw understood my situation well. That must be why he gave me the advice 'Be Strong' in English."
Appreciating Sayadaw's guidance to "Be Strong", I found myself remembering [another] one of his pieces of advice. It is included in the Myanmar book Sayadaw's Words of Guidance, published in English as Raindrops in Hot Summer.
"A strong immune system is needed to keep one's body healthy. In precisely the same way, mental strength is necessary to keep one's mind pure and peaceful. This mental strength, however, does not arise of its own accord. It must be cultivated. When Satipatthana is effectively nurtured, it can yield this mental energy in abundance."
How great is that? Is your mental energy low? Try cultivating Satipatthana. Your mental energy will doubtless fill up. The Buddha's truth is one that can hold up under rigorous testing. If you don't yet believe it, you can investigate first-hand. If you don't believe pure talk, having experienced it, you will doubtless come to understand. The Buddha-Dhamma does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, age, or social standing. No matter what your race, religion, age or social standing, you can test it out. For those who say they can only accept things experientially, the Buddha's truth is one-hundred percent satisfactory. Won't you try it out?
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