Schoolboy

Practicing Dhamma is like a child learning to write. At first he doesn't write nicely - big, long loops and squiggles. He writes like a child. After a while the writing improves through practice. Practicing the Dhamma is like this. At first you are awkward, sometimes calm, sometimes not. You don't really know what's what. Some people get discouraged. But don't slacken off. Live with effort, just like the schoolboy. As he gets older he writes better and better. From writing badly he grows to write beautifully, all because of the practice from childhood.

Vanity

Worldly people usually speak out of vanity. For example, suppose there was a certain person whom you hadn't seen for a long time, and then one day you happen to meet on the train: "Oh, I'm so glad to see you! I was just thinking to look you up!" Actually it is not so. You hadn't even though of him at all, but you just say so at the time out of gladness. And so it becomes a lie. Yes, it's lying out of heedlessness. This is a refined form of lying, and people tend to speak like this. This, too is a defilement which we should practice to get rid of.

End (Herbal Medicine)