Be Free of the Past by Ajahn Brahm

Be Free of the Past

     What do you think of yourself? Who do you think you are? What are your qualities? These questions have no validity; they’re judgments based on the assumption of an “I” and a “mine.” When we believe such judgments and take them seriously, they only create suffering for us. Don’t give yourself a report card and then believe in it. Just be free.

     Being free means you don’t take your past seriously. What is the past anyway? It’s only your memories, and your memories are just a way of looking at the past—you don’t know exactly what happened. If you’re in a good mood and you look at the past, you remember all the lovely things; if you’re in a bad mood, you remember all that went wrong. When you look at the past, perception is always selective—that’s its nature—and you only pick up the things that resonate with your present mood.

     You can’t trust that, and what you can’t trust, you can’t take seriously.

     In fact, what you don’t take seriously isn’t worth “taking” at all—let it go and you’re free. Use your wisdom—your understanding of the nature of the past—to be absolutely, completely, 100 percent free. Then we’re all on this wonderful level playing field...

     I’m no different from anyone else. It’s wonderful to be free and have no reputation—to have nothing to live up to, worry about, or feel guilty about, and nothing to fix up. You are completely free and empty...

     Let it all go; abandon it. Be free of the past by reminding yourself that this moment is all you’ve got. Be happy to be just here, no matter what you’re experiencing.
   

Source:
The Art of DISAPPEARING, 60-62
The Buddha's Path to Lasting Joy, by Ajahn Brahm


Want to read one of Ajahn Brahm's articles from the past decade?

This one is a treasure!
https://bswa.org/bswp/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/Ajahn_Brahmavamso_Ups_and_Downs_in_Life.pdf