“Having been born, you’ll then be subject to ageing, illness, and death again.”

“Having been born, you’ll then be subject to ageing, illness, and death again.”

You need to get rid of any obstacle that prevents you from putting effort into your practice. It is as if you were walking along a path and there was a branch or something in your way. What would you do? You would need to get rid of it if you wanted to get through.

You need to rid yourself of any impediment to your diligence and effort. These obstacles are not worth it or of any use to your mind. Although they might be of use to your former ways of seeking happiness, but once you’ve experienced the happiness that comes from cultivating mindfulness, you’d rather cut off these impediments. You know that they can’t make your mind at ease and calm.

For instance, if you’re still attached to television programmes and other social activities, you’ll need to weigh the happiness you gain from watching television and doing those activities against the peace of mind that comes from your practice. You need to figure out which kind of happiness lasts and which doesn’t.

If you use your wisdom to consider these things, you’ll see that all the happiness you have previously sought after and experienced is temporary and fleeting. It is not in any way gratifying or fulfilling, because it is the kind of happiness gained through your physical body.

When you die, that is, your body ceases to be, you’ll need to look for a new one to be reborn. Having been born, you’ll then be subject to ageing, illness, and death again.

If you instead seek happiness through peace of mind, you’ll experience lasting happiness, because it is within your heart. It will never deteriorate once you know how to cultivate it. You’ll know how to maintain it and be able to do so, so that it stays in your heart forever.

You will no longer need your body to search for pleasure and happiness. When your body dies, you won’t need to come back for a new one and be subject to ageing, illness, and death again. You’ll be liberated from suffering due to your diligence and effort, just as the Buddha said and taught.

Once you’ve compared the two kinds of happiness, you’ll see that peace of mind is the real happiness—the kind of happiness you should aim for. You’ll need to get rid of any obstacles that lie in the way of such happiness, be they social functions or other responsibilities.

If you already make enough for a living, then there is no concern. Why should you need to earn more? It is rather pointless. You may claim that you’re doing it for someone else, but why should you even do that? Wouldn’t it be better to teach them how to gain peace of mind? You can invite them along to practise meditation with you, so that they will experience real happiness.

For those who still need to earn money in order to provide other people with certain quality of living, who would support them if you died or if something were to happen to you? They would have to take care of themselves regardless.

Bearing that in mind, you’ll be able to detach yourself from personal and familial ties and other obligations. This is so that you have the time to put towards your diligence and effort, to develop mindfulness and to practise meditation to calm your mind. Once you’ve experienced peace of mind, you can use the faculty of wisdom to maintain it further.

Craving is what will spoil your peace of mind. It is something that cannot be eradicated through mindfulness and concentration. Mindfulness and concentration only suppress it temporarily. But when your mind is active and proliferating, craving will arise. When it does and you let it act out, it will ruin your peace of mind. So you must resort to wisdom when there is craving.

Your wisdom will show you that whatever your craving is after brings you more suffering than happiness since such happiness is so short-lived. Longing for sensual pleasures through forms, sounds, odours, tastes, and touch will only make you happy while basking in them. But the pleasures quickly fade away as soon as you’re not in contact with the stimuli; and when that happens, you crave for more. So you constantly need and crave these sensual pleasures. When you can’t have them, you get frustrated.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

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“出生之后，你又会经历衰老、疾病和死亡。”

你需要摆脱任何阻碍你努力练习的障碍。就好像你走在一条小路上，有一根树枝什么的挡住了你的去路。你会怎么做?如果你想熬过去，就得把它处理掉。

你需要排除任何阻碍你勤奋和努力的障碍。这些障碍不值得，对你的大脑也没有任何用处。虽然它们可能对你以前寻求幸福的方式有帮助，但是一旦你经历了来自培养专注力的幸福，你宁愿切断这些障碍。你知道他们不能让你的头脑放松和平静。

例如，如果你仍然沉迷于电视节目和其他社交活动，你需要权衡一下看电视和做这些活动给你带来的快乐和练习带来的平静。你需要弄清楚哪种幸福能持久，哪种不能。

如果你用你的智慧去思考这些事情，你会发现你之前所追求和经历的所有幸福都是暂时的、转瞬即逝的。它一点也不令人满意或满足，因为它是一种通过你的身体获得的快乐。

当你死后，也就是说，你的身体不再存在，你需要寻找一个新的身体来重生。出生之后，你又会经历衰老、疾病和死亡。

相反，如果你通过内心的平静来寻求幸福，你就会体验到持久的幸福，因为它就在你的内心深处。一旦你知道如何培养它，它就不会变质。你会知道如何保持它，并能够这样做，使它永远留在你的心中。

你将不再需要你的身体来寻找快乐和幸福。当你的身体死亡时，你就不需要再回来换一个新的，也不需要再受衰老、疾病和死亡的折磨。你会从痛苦中解脱出来，因为你的勤奋和努力，正如佛陀所说和教导。

一旦你比较了这两种幸福，你就会发现内心的平静才是真正的幸福——你应该追求的那种幸福。你需要摆脱任何阻碍幸福的障碍，无论是社会功能还是其他责任。

如果你的收入已经足够维持生活，那就不用担心了。为什么你需要赚更多?这相当没有意义。你可能会说你是在为别人做这件事，但你为什么要这么做呢?教他们如何获得内心的平静不是更好吗?你可以邀请他们和你一起练习冥想，这样他们就会体验到真正的幸福。

对于那些仍然需要挣钱为他人提供一定生活质量的人，如果你死了或发生了什么事，谁会支持他们?无论如何，他们必须照顾好自己。

记住这一点，你就能把自己从个人、家庭和其他义务中分离出来。这是为了让你有时间投入到你的勤奋和努力中，去培养专注力，练习冥想来平静你的心灵。一旦你经历了内心的平静，你就可以运用智慧来进一步保持它。

渴望会破坏你内心的平静。它是无法通过正念和专注来根除的。正念和专注只会暂时抑制它。但是，当你的大脑活跃并增殖时，渴望就会产生。当它发生的时候，你让它表现出来，它会破坏你内心的平静。所以当你有渴望的时候，你必须求助于智慧。

你的智慧会告诉你，无论你的渴望是什么，都会给你带来比幸福更多的痛苦，因为这种幸福是如此短暂。通过形式、声音、气味、味道和触摸来渴望感官上的快乐，只会让你在享受它们的时候感到快乐。但是一旦你不接触刺激，快乐很快就会消失;当这种情况发生时，你渴望得到更多。所以你不断地需要和渴望这些感官享受。当你不能拥有它们时，你会感到沮丧。

由Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube:英文佛法
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g