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The Dhammapada: The Monk Chapter 3
A bhikshu with few possessions, having attained non-accumulation — a monastic receives only a modest offering, just enough for use, without storing or hoarding. When taking rice, one should take only half a bowl or at most two-thirds of a bowl; this is called the “appropriate vessel” — a bowl that is just right, neither too much nor too little. Knowing what is enough is the path that leads to happiness; not craving for more, even if one has much, will not bring happiness. Living purely without defilement — living simply and humbly, acting with simplicity, removing impurities, and attaining deep peace in voluntary poverty.
There are three marks to recognize a true practitioner:
- Poverty — not keeping money or personal possessions, not accumulating wealth, letting go of the idea that money is a guarantee of security.
- Celibacy — the path leading to great freedom, avoiding suffering and violence, living like a precious jewel.
- Meditation (spirituality) — practicing stopping and looking deeply, calming the formations, entering the concentration of non-discrimination, dwelling in emptiness.
All name and form — mind and body, our own and others’ — are not truly existent, not real, and should not be indulged in so as not to become entangled. Practicing loving-kindness and reverence for the Dharma helps one easily enter Samatha and Vipassanā, calming the formations, and attaining peace and happiness.
