It Shines When Cared For Every Day

Today's teaching begins with a short teaching from the Dhammapada. If we do not read them, the words of scripture are forgotten. If it is not repaired, a house collapses. If it is not washed and cared for, the body too grows unclear. The mind is the same. If we do not remain aware and do not practice, the light of wisdom gradually grows dim.

We often think of practice only as a great change. Yet scripture remains within us only when we keep reading it and engraving it in the heart-mind. A house is not finished simply because it was built once; we must mend the leaking places and look after what has grown old. The body is also at ease when it is washed and cared for.

The mind also has to be cared for every day. When we stop looking after the mind for a while and are carried along by judgment and habit, what first seems like a small dimness gradually covers wisdom. Awareness is not something reserved for special days. It is the work of cleansing the mind little by little each day.

The monk said the scripture's words are short and simple, but within them we can see why we must practice diligently. The habit of reading again and again, remembering, keeping body and mind upright, and governing ourselves makes wisdom bright.

Today, look at the places in your life that have grown dim because they were not cared for. See whether there is a teaching to read, a habit to mend, a mind to cleanse, or wisdom to awaken. Reading, cleansing, and remaining aware each day is today's practice.