71. There’s only one place

Phra Mahā Thaweesuk was the first of Luang Pu’s students to pass the ninth and final level of the Pali exams. Thus, in Luang Pu’s name, Wat Burapha sponsored a celebration of his achievement.

After Phra Mahā Thaweesuk had paid his respects to Luang Pu, Luang Pu gave him a short admonition:

“To be able to pass the ninth level exams shows that you’re very industrious, sufficiently intelligent, and an expert in the Canon, for this counts as the completion of the study course. But to be interested just in study can’t bring release from suffering. You have to be interested in the practice of training the mind as well.

“All 84,000 sections of the Dhamma came out of the Buddha’s mind. Everything comes out of the mind. Whatever you want to know, you can look for it in the mind.”