014 The Great Sanvega
It happened one night that the Venerable Acharn was strongly overcome by the feeling of sanvega,[12] so much so that he was moved to tears. It was then in the meditation-hour when his mind withdrew into the state of complete one-pointedness through contemplation of the nature of the body. A profound degree of detachment was attained with the mind in a state of sheer 'emptiness'.[13] At that moment, to his mind, the whole world had vanished. Upon emerging from that profound condition, he contemplated the Buddha's Dharma and Vinaya which had been proclaimed in order to remove the fault of ignorance [avijja] from the minds of men. The more he contemplated the dharma, the more he saw its wonders and profundity and the more he was convinced of the ignorance of men, his own included. People have to be taught how to eat, sleep, and to eliminate wastes; they also have to be taught how to walk, move, dress, wash, etc., which are the ways and means of preserving the health of both the body and the mind. Without prior instruction, everyone, irrespective of caste, race or nationality, is most likely to do wrong and to heap suffering on themselves. Human beings are like children who need instruction and guidance from adults before they can expect a balanced and healthy development.And for ignorant minds, vanity and self-delusion always do them a world of harm. Their greatness lies in body, birth, name, rank or self-importance. But never did their wisdom grow correspondingly large so that it would be conducive to bliss and peace, both for themselves and for others. Worse still, wisdom is neglected and forgotten. This is why there is so much trouble and turmoil everywhere.
Such was the great sanvega that overcame him that night.