45. Holding on vs. putting aside

Students and practitioners of the Dhamma are of two sorts. The first sort are those who genuinely study and practice to gain release from suffering. The second are those who study and practice to brag about their accomplishments and to pass their days in arguments, believing that memorizing a lot of texts or being able to quote a lot of teachers is a sign of their importance. Many times, when people of this second sort came to see Luang Pu, instead of asking his advice on how to practice, they would spray out their knowledge and ideas for him to hear in great detail. Still, he was always able to sit and listen to them. In fact, when they had finished, he would add one more comment to theirs:

“Those who are obsessed with scriptures and teachers won’t be able to gain release from suffering. But still, those who want to gain release from suffering do have to depend on scriptures and teachers.”