“You were born with nothing and you’ll die just the same way. That’s all there is to it.”

“You were born with nothing and you’ll die just the same way. That’s all there is to it.”

You need both concentration and wisdom when it comes to meditation practice. The mental concentration will allow your mind to be equanimous during the state of calm. But once your mind withdraws from concentration and if it’s not under the control of wisdom, then your mind will waver. It will sway towards happiness and away from suffering—your wisdom is what keeps it from fluctuating.

The wavering of your mind is dukkha—what gives you suffering. You’ll find out for yourself when your mind is calm and as soon as it gets shaken, suffering will arise immediately. These wobbles are due to your craving and desire—craving not to have, craving not to be (vibhava-taṇhā) and craving to have, craving to be (bhava-taṇhā). Wanting to run away from your suffering is considered vibhava-taṇhā.

We all want happiness, that is, the happiness in terms of feelings and sensations, or vedanā. But it is not the kind of happiness that comes from a peace of mind. The happiness that comes from inner peace—be it through concentration or wisdom—is a form of liberation (vimutti), which arises from the stillness of your mind.

There are three kinds of happiness. There's a kind that comes from your feelings or sensations. For instance, when you see some forms that you like, then that is sukha-vedanā—a sense of appreciation arises. Such is a kind of happiness that arises and passes away; it changes according to external causes and conditions. You have to be careful with this kind of happiness. Don’t be fooled by it. Don’t hold onto it. Don’t get attached to it.

Hearing an unpleasant sound is dukkha-vedanā. Don’t be averse to it. Just try to bear listening to it. There’s nothing you can do about whatever bad things people say. It is none of your concern. What concerns you is to be aware of it and then to let it go. Focus on thinking that you can’t stop them, but you can stop your mind. All of the Dhamma teachings boil down to the mind—to maintain the calmness of your mind and to not let it get carried away or fooled by anything. You must cut it off, let it go, and leave it behind.

It all comes down to the fact that nothing is ours: ‘sabbe dhammā anattā’— all phenomena are not self. You were born with nothing and you’ll die just the same way. That’s all there is to it. Don’t get attached to anything. Make the most of what you have in the same way that the Buddha did. The Buddha gave up all his wealth and possessions and became a monk to cultivate sıla, samādhi, and paññā.

The more you practise, the sooner you’ll be liberated. When you build a house or a hut (kuṭi), if you only put in two or three nails a day, you can keep doing it for the next ten years and it still won’t be completed. But if you do it all day all night, then it will be done within one or two days.

It is the same with meditation practice. If you do it relentlessly, then soon enough you’ll become enlightened, just as it was during the Buddha’s time. But instead, you keep holding onto other things and spend more time doing those things. Just compare the time you spend on your practice to the time you spend doing other things. The answer should be very clear to you.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

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