Metaphors for Mind Purification : หน้า 28/207

gentleness in their minds. So they converted these virtues into metaphors for practical purposes, which included the following four magic forms of conduct: Magic Form of Conduct #1: Eyes like the knots of a bamboo tree. Magic Form of Conduct #2: Ears like handles on a wok. Magic Form of Conduct # 3: Magic Form of Conduct #4: Body like a doormat. Mind like the earth. Our grandparents were able to use the environment to illustrate Dhamma, serving as lessons for mind purification. This shows the high level of morality they have. The explanation of each metaphor is as follows: 1) Eyes like the knots of a bamboo tree, means we should keep an unshifting gaze. This includes not paying attention to stressful situations and not meddling in the business of others to find fault or cause devastation resulting in later gossip. It will cause our minds to pick up the problems of others and we will never learn how to look for the good in life. Our grandparents created this metaphor from seeing a bamboo ladder-pole. A bamboo ladder-pole is constructed from a type of forest bamboo. The poles are cut into sections long enough for the feet to step on. It can be tied to a tree as a ladder to assist with tree climbing. If the branches are too tall, several ladders can be tied together to reach the top. People who live in fields of sugar-palm trees know the benefit of the bamboo ladder-pole, which can be used as a ladder to climb up very tall palm trees. To make this type of bamboo ladder-pole, villagers will keep the long bamboo trunk intact by not dividing it at the knot (the bamboo connection). Instead, in-between the knots, they will cut grooves about one foot apart to serve as steps for the ladder. For this reason, the bamboo trunk must have very strong and big knots; otherwise it will not be able to support the climber's weight. When a villager climbs the sugar-palm tree, he will lean the bamboo ladder-pole against the tree and climb up step by step to the top. If it is a male tree, he will cut the stalks and use a bamboo tube to hold the liquid to make palm sugar. But if it is a female tree, he will pick the fruit, squeeze out its liquid, and mix the liquid with flour to make palm cake to sell as a dessert. Our grandparents, with minds centered on Dhamma, noticed that the vital part of the bamboo ladder-pole was the quality of the knots (eyes) on the bamboo trunk. The stronger the knots, the safer it will be to climb to reap the benefits of the sugar-palm trees. The Warm Hearted Family How to Manage Family Life The Warm Hearted Family 55 How to Manage Family Life