Published On:Friday, 19 September 2014
Posted by Celebrate Life Style information Blog
The Story of Mo
Mo was an inmate of a high security jail. It was named, Saüsàra Prison, and it was enclosed within five high walls, each with its own sensor focused on Mo, and ruthlessly ruled by a sadistic prison guard who everyone called Will. The tyrannical guard would incessantly order Mo around, never allowing him any peace, even in sleep. But Mo had been born in that prison, lived his whole life there, and so knew nothing else. He even thought that the bossy guard, Will, was his friend and that he could influence Will from time to time.
One day, Mo discovered a tunnel in his cell, right where he often sat and daydreamed. The tunnel was obviously old, because it had a sign in some ancient language reading ARIYA ATTHANGIKA MAGGA. The ex-con who had built the tunnel had even scratched his name in the rock “dug by Zak Yamuni”. “Nice one, Zak”, thought Mo.
Mo wasn’t interested in the tunnel at first. Why escape when he was so used to prison life? Saüsàra Prison had a huge exercise yard called “Earth” that he hadn’t fully explored yet, he had a good job managing a prison-based business, and he had even married a beautiful female prisoner called Carma Raga who had borne him three little crims. He loved Carma, even though they argued every day.
One weekend, out of curiosity, Mo explored the first few feet of the tunnel and discovered that it was so much more cool and peaceful than anything he had known before. So he went deeper and found the tunnel guide book named Sutta Pitaka. The “pit” being part of the name, Mo thought it must have something to do with tunnels.
First, said the tunnel guide, you need Right View, which means accepting, even out of faith that Saüsàra Prison is suffering. It sux. Also, anyone can crawl through the tunnel by their skilful efforts (what the book called Karma) and reach a cool place called Nirvana beyond Saüsàra’s walls.
Second, you require Right Thought. That is, you have to think of letting go, leaving everything behind you, because the tunnel is too narrow to bring along any possessions. Mo was disturbed that the guide specifically said that he could not take his wife, Carma Raga, because the tunnel was only wide enough to enter alone. Next, you had to be kind, because angry tunnelers would hit their heads on the low ceiling and lose their minds. Lastly, you could not move violently, but only oh-so gently, lest the prison guard, Will, would stop your escape.
Third, you needed Right Speech. The tunnel guide said that liars, back biters, those who spoke harshly and even gossips, would disturb the tunnel rats that would chase you back into your cell.
Fourth, Right Action would be needed. If you kill anything, such as those rats, steal or commit adultery, there are snakes in the tunnel who would hear about it and will not let you pass. Even drinking alcohol or taking drugs is forbidden in the tunnel, since you would be too stoned to find you way out.
Fifth, Right Livelihood is essential. People who are crooked in business will also take wrong turns in the tunnel.
Sixth, says the tunnel guide, Right Effort is employed. Sometimes you have to work hard, sometimes just relax. This was the most difficult instruction for Mo to comprehend. When should he strive? When should he let go? Through experience, though, he soon got the hang of it – meaning now hang tough, now hang loose. It seemed that the further he went along the tunnel, the more he must simply sit still and do nothing. It was like being on roller blades going down a steep slope – when he relaxed he would make progress, but when he strived and tensed up then he would fall over.
Seventh, Right Awareness was crucial. He had to keep his wits about him in the tunnel. Daydreaming or dozing off would be fatal to further progress. He had to keep his attention on one of four pointers directing him out of the tunnel – body, feeling, mind and mind objects. Awareness also meant that he would learn quickly from his mistakes and repeat them less often.
Eighth, Right Stillness was the most important of all. He noticed that the more he progressed along the tunnel, the more still he had to be to keep his balance. His body had to sit like a statue for hours, but that wasn’t so hard. The difficult part was keeping his mind still, so still that the prison guard, Will, would not know what Mo was up to. Whenever Mo lost such stillness, Will, the bullying prison guard, would appear and pull Mo back into prison.
The first time Mo explored the tunnel, he did not go far, but he enjoyed it. The deeper he went along the shaft, the happier he became. Soon Mo had perfected the first instructions for walking the path – he had Right View, Thought, Speech, Action and Livelihood. Also he knew how to balance his Effort, was extremely aware and focussed, and he learnt how to become very still indeed.
Soon, Mo saw the light at the end of the tunnel, what the guide book called the Nimmita. Then he passed through the awesome and glorious caverns called the four Jhāna-caves. Then finally, Wow!, he reached the end of the tunnel. Nirvana! He was out of prison at last. Freedom. Bliss. Ultimate Peace! This was cool – to the max! And he got a new name. Formerly called Mo Ha, now he was Harry Hant.
Glossary and Key
Ariya Atthangika Magga – the Noble Eightfold Path
Samsara – perpetual wandering through the round of rebirth.
Carma Raga (usually spelt kāma-rāga) – sensual desire
Mo Ha (normally spelt moha) – delusion
Harry Hant (properly spelt Arahant) – an enlightened one.
Nimmita – the light seen in deep meditation just before the first jhāna.
The Five Prison Walls represent the five senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching.
The control freak prison guard, Will, stands for cetanā, the process of intention or choice. [Source.http://www.dhammaloka.org.au/articles/item/1201-the-story-of-mo.html.]
One day, Mo discovered a tunnel in his cell, right where he often sat and daydreamed. The tunnel was obviously old, because it had a sign in some ancient language reading ARIYA ATTHANGIKA MAGGA. The ex-con who had built the tunnel had even scratched his name in the rock “dug by Zak Yamuni”. “Nice one, Zak”, thought Mo.
Mo wasn’t interested in the tunnel at first. Why escape when he was so used to prison life? Saüsàra Prison had a huge exercise yard called “Earth” that he hadn’t fully explored yet, he had a good job managing a prison-based business, and he had even married a beautiful female prisoner called Carma Raga who had borne him three little crims. He loved Carma, even though they argued every day.
One weekend, out of curiosity, Mo explored the first few feet of the tunnel and discovered that it was so much more cool and peaceful than anything he had known before. So he went deeper and found the tunnel guide book named Sutta Pitaka. The “pit” being part of the name, Mo thought it must have something to do with tunnels.
First, said the tunnel guide, you need Right View, which means accepting, even out of faith that Saüsàra Prison is suffering. It sux. Also, anyone can crawl through the tunnel by their skilful efforts (what the book called Karma) and reach a cool place called Nirvana beyond Saüsàra’s walls.
Second, you require Right Thought. That is, you have to think of letting go, leaving everything behind you, because the tunnel is too narrow to bring along any possessions. Mo was disturbed that the guide specifically said that he could not take his wife, Carma Raga, because the tunnel was only wide enough to enter alone. Next, you had to be kind, because angry tunnelers would hit their heads on the low ceiling and lose their minds. Lastly, you could not move violently, but only oh-so gently, lest the prison guard, Will, would stop your escape.
Third, you needed Right Speech. The tunnel guide said that liars, back biters, those who spoke harshly and even gossips, would disturb the tunnel rats that would chase you back into your cell.
Fourth, Right Action would be needed. If you kill anything, such as those rats, steal or commit adultery, there are snakes in the tunnel who would hear about it and will not let you pass. Even drinking alcohol or taking drugs is forbidden in the tunnel, since you would be too stoned to find you way out.
Fifth, Right Livelihood is essential. People who are crooked in business will also take wrong turns in the tunnel.
Sixth, says the tunnel guide, Right Effort is employed. Sometimes you have to work hard, sometimes just relax. This was the most difficult instruction for Mo to comprehend. When should he strive? When should he let go? Through experience, though, he soon got the hang of it – meaning now hang tough, now hang loose. It seemed that the further he went along the tunnel, the more he must simply sit still and do nothing. It was like being on roller blades going down a steep slope – when he relaxed he would make progress, but when he strived and tensed up then he would fall over.
Seventh, Right Awareness was crucial. He had to keep his wits about him in the tunnel. Daydreaming or dozing off would be fatal to further progress. He had to keep his attention on one of four pointers directing him out of the tunnel – body, feeling, mind and mind objects. Awareness also meant that he would learn quickly from his mistakes and repeat them less often.
Eighth, Right Stillness was the most important of all. He noticed that the more he progressed along the tunnel, the more still he had to be to keep his balance. His body had to sit like a statue for hours, but that wasn’t so hard. The difficult part was keeping his mind still, so still that the prison guard, Will, would not know what Mo was up to. Whenever Mo lost such stillness, Will, the bullying prison guard, would appear and pull Mo back into prison.
The first time Mo explored the tunnel, he did not go far, but he enjoyed it. The deeper he went along the shaft, the happier he became. Soon Mo had perfected the first instructions for walking the path – he had Right View, Thought, Speech, Action and Livelihood. Also he knew how to balance his Effort, was extremely aware and focussed, and he learnt how to become very still indeed.
Soon, Mo saw the light at the end of the tunnel, what the guide book called the Nimmita. Then he passed through the awesome and glorious caverns called the four Jhāna-caves. Then finally, Wow!, he reached the end of the tunnel. Nirvana! He was out of prison at last. Freedom. Bliss. Ultimate Peace! This was cool – to the max! And he got a new name. Formerly called Mo Ha, now he was Harry Hant.
Glossary and Key
Ariya Atthangika Magga – the Noble Eightfold Path
Samsara – perpetual wandering through the round of rebirth.
Carma Raga (usually spelt kāma-rāga) – sensual desire
Mo Ha (normally spelt moha) – delusion
Harry Hant (properly spelt Arahant) – an enlightened one.
Nimmita – the light seen in deep meditation just before the first jhāna.
The Five Prison Walls represent the five senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching.
The control freak prison guard, Will, stands for cetanā, the process of intention or choice. [Source.http://www.dhammaloka.org.au/articles/item/1201-the-story-of-mo.html.]
