Venerable Ajaan Khao Analayo
inappropriate for all of us who have the teaching of Dhamma ringing loud in our ears to help us all the time. For we have teachers, many environments suitable for meditation, and an abundance of books and scriptures to help us overcome the kilesas. So we cannot say that Dhamma is lacking or in short supply. Dhamma can always keep up with the kilesas; it is never at a loss in this regard. It can revolve around every aspect of oneself, successfully resisting the kilesas at every turn and in every corner, so you shouldn’t be reluctant to use Dhamma to help yourself go in the right direction. Instead, you should be afraid of the kilesas, which lead only in the direction of evil and suffering, and never in the direction of happiness. They lead a person to lose all hope even though he is still alive and breathing. This should certainly never happen to us. So don’t be complacent! Don’t look on dangers as if they were virtues! Don’t look on merit and virtue as being bad and evil! From now on you must take a lesson from your past actions and the resultant dukkha, and never make those same mistakes again. You will then be a good person who progresses in happiness – sugato – without a doubt, in accordance with the Dhamma verse that the Lord taught: “Dhamma looks after those who practise Dhamma, not letting them fall into evil ways”. This story of Master Hunter Boon Nah became very widely known, both in that district and in other places far distant from it. Many who heard it were afraid. They no longer dared to trample carelessly around that cave as they had before. The cave and its surroundings then became a quiet and lonely place well suited to the practice of meditation and the ascetic mode of living of all Dhutanga Kammaååhãna Bhikkhus. The villagers 150