Kayasamvara

We need to train and develop when we practise. Any aspect of the practice relies on this training. It relies on doing things over and over. There are certain qualities in the life of an anagarika, one who isn’t bound to a home, that the Buddha called treasures. They are valuable goods. You probably know some of them.

One of them has to do with our body – it is what the Buddha called kayasamvara, restraint of the body. It concerns our bodily behaviour. Possessing restraint towards the body helps us to see things clearly because our attention needs to be connected to our bodily movements, activities and the respective feelings in each posture. We need to directly know these things in time, and – for the sake of restraint – we also need to be able to tell straight away whether each bodily action or movement is appropriate for an anagarika, someone who practices in order to realize the danger of samsara.

We practise to observe our bodily conduct in terms of the good manners and etiquette of a Samana. To practice like this makes beauty arise. To maintain one’s bodily conduct is similar to looking after one’s requisites, like the dwelling, for example. One needs to maintain it well, so it is of use and provides comfort.

In our training we also need to check whether what we do is appropriate for society or not. What do our friends in the monastic life think? Would they approve of our behaviour? If not, we need to train further. These are external things, of course, but still, we should see them as important factors that determine our lives as anagarikas, those who realize the dangers and drawbacks of samsara.

They have to be alert and aware of themselves and keep good etiquette – or, as one might say in other words, keep sila.

This reflection by Luang Por Liem is from the book, The Ways of the Peaceful, (pdf) pp. 56-57.