Make the present happy and you will always be happy by Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

Make the present happy and you will always be happy.”

Than Ajahn:  If you still have desires, if you still want to do more things, then you have to have rebirth.  But if you don’t want to do anything anymore, then there will be no rebirth. You become like the Buddha.

Sāmaṇera:  What will happen then?

Than Ajahn:  You will be happy all the time.  Not doing things and doing things, which one is better?  If you can just sit still, not doing anything and be happy, then you will always be happy.  This is the real happiness – not to do anything, not to have anything to make you happy. Anything that makes you happy will only last temporarily.  It doesn’t last forever. 

The real happiness is not to have anything to make you happy.  The only way to do it is to meditate, to stop your desire to do things. Once you can stop your desire to do things, then you don’t have anything to worry about.

Sāmaṇera:  How long do you meditate?

Than Ajahn:  All day, from the time you get up to the time you go to sleep. You meditate in two different ways. When you’re not sitting, then you’re watching your body, this is meditation. As long as you keep controlling your thought, preventing your thought from thinking, you’re meditating.

You need to sit down to make your mind become completely still. If you have work to do, you have to control your thoughts. Don’t let your mind thinks. Because when you think, you can start to worry and become unhappy. And then when you sit, you have the strength to force your mind to become still. So, you meditate all day. You have to keep controlling your thought all the time, watching your thought, stopping your thought from thinking by concentrating on something, like your body or on a mantra.  If you’re not sitting or if you’re working and if you’re not watching your body, you can use a mantra, by keep reciting ‘Buddho, Buddho, Buddho’.

When you start thinking about going home, repeat Buddho, Buddho, Buddho. It’s not the time to think about it now. The time to think about going home is when you have to go.

Sāmaṇera:  It’s true. Don’t worry about the future.

Than Ajahn:  Yes, it’s not here yet. Think about the present. Make the present happy and you will always be happy. Because there is no future, there is no past. Everything happens in the present. If you can make the present happy, you’ll be always happy. Regardless of what kind of present you have, good or bad present, if you know how to make your mind happy, you can always be happy.

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto