89. Is that all they want?

Even though people would come in groups to hear Luang Pu’s opinion about rebirth, claiming that this person or that was able to remember many past lives, seeing what they had been in the past or who their mothers or relatives in past lives had been, Luang Pu would say,

“I’ve never been interested in this sort of knowledge. Even just threshold concentration can give rise to it. Everything comes from the mind. Whatever you want to know or see, the mind will grant you the knowledge or vision—and quickly at that. If you’re satisfied with just this level of knowledge, the good result is that you’ll fear being reborn on a low level. That way you’ll set your mind on doing good, being generous, observing the precepts, and not harming one another. You’ll be able to smile, confident in the results of your merit.

“But as for eliminating defilement to destroy ignorance, craving, and attachment in order to reach total release from suffering, that’s something else entirely.”