Merliangs with a Dhamma Master : หน้า 84/164

Merliangs with a Dhamma Master Meeting #14 06 March 2010 — Ashram Bandita I have just been called into a meeting that includes a few people I know, and a few whom I don’t know. It was an “emergency” call that I received while I was working in my condo, and when I picked up the phone, someone said, “Get over to the Ashram right now.” So I bike over, and in about 15 minutes I am seated at a front desk next to a woman named Sam. Luang Por greets me with a smile and a nod. I jump into the conversation that they have going on in which they are talking about the drinking question that happened in the recent meeting. “Yes,” Luang Por says. “It is like the smell of the jackfruit. It still smells even after many years because it is the smell of the yeast. People, of course, take medicine that has alcohol in it, but some people drink the medicine because of the alcohol. Drinking alcohol because it is contained in the medicine you are prescribed is one thing. But when you are finished with the medicine, then people need to stop taking it. Drinking affects decision making skills. Sometimes we drink because we think we are amongst friends, but those who are drinking are not really our friends. “When I first met Luang Por Dhammajayo, I offered him a drink. But he said he was following the precepts. And that he did not need to drink in order to be friends with anyone. Without that statement, there may not have ever been a Wat Phra Dhammakaya today. “When the Peace Revolution mentors coach, they should be role models for all of the people. So, they should not drink. It is a matter of discernment, a matter of expectations. But we cannot just write people off either, just because they drink. Let us suppose that there is a father with five children, all of whom he loves equally. He asks all of the children to come up to the second floor. The oldest comes quickly up the stairs. And one by one, from the oldest to the youngest, they make it up the stairs. But the youngest child cannot make it up simply because he is too little. And so, we must help them all on a case-by-case basis.” We then get on the topic of making resolutions. Resolutions, of course, are vital when we are making boun, or creating good energy. In fact, Luang Por says that he never made a wish until he met Khun Yai.