“Don’t stop, just continue on practicing."

“Don’t stop, just continue on practicing."

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Lay devotee: When a person has been meditating for a long time, but if he stops and when he comes back (to meditation), it takes a long time to restart.

Than Ajahn: Yes, it is like a computer. It takes a while to restart.

Lay devotee: It takes a long time because the mind cannot bring him to where he left off.

Than Ajahn: Don’t stop, just continue on practicing.

Lay devotee: What if he has to stop due to work, etc?

Than Ajahn: Then you have to reboot. You have to restart. It is like a computer, you don’t turn it off, right? You turn it on all day long. If you turn it off, when you want to use it, you would have to wait for it to restart. In the same way, try not to stop practising.

Try to give weightage to the importance of practicing over other matters. Give priority to your practice. Everything else comes and goes and they don’t really give you the same benefit as what you will get from your practice.

Lay devotee: Even when he tries his best to get back to where he stopped before he switched off the computer, it is still so difficult to get back to where he was. Although he is practising more, his mind keeps on pulling him back.

Than Ajahn: Yes, I know. You have to restart. That’s all. There is nothing else you can do. If you are used to running every day and you stop running for one year, then when you start running again, you won’t be able to run the same distance that you did before you stopped. You have to start from the beginning again. That’s the fact of life. That’s why once you start, don’t stop.

“Dhamma in English, Jun 14, 2015.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

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