The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
29 June 2023Question: How to eliminate the desire for praise, attention and fame?
Than Ajahn: You have to think of it as something temporary. It’s something you might get or might not get. Everything in this world is anicca and anattā. ‘Anicca’ means it’s never certain. It’s constantly changing. Sometimes you might get it and sometimes you might not.‘Anattā’ means you cannot control it. So, it’s better not to go after it because when you go after it, you can be disappointed when you don’t get what you want.
And the happiness that you get from fame is only temporary. Once you get it, you no longer feel happy. You need to be more famous. You have to keep getting more attention. And when you don’t get the attention you want, you become sad again. So, you should look at your desire for fame as the cause of your bad feeling, the cause of your stress. It’s better to give up that desire for fame.
The way to be able to give up the desire for fame is you have to meditate. You have to calm your mind. You have to stop your mind.
And the happiness that you get from fame is only temporary. Once you get it, you no longer feel happy. You need to be more famous. You have to keep getting more attention. And when you don’t get the attention you want, you become sad again. So, you should look at your desire for fame as the cause of your bad feeling, the cause of your stress. It’s better to give up that desire for fame.
The way to be able to give up the desire for fame is you have to meditate. You have to calm your mind. You have to stop your mind.
You have to make your mind still. Meditation will calm your mind and will make your mind still. Once your mind becomes still, your mind will be happy, contented and will not need to be anything. You will not have the desire to be famous. You should switch your object of your desire from desiring for fame to desiring for peace of mind by practicing mindfulness meditation.
You have to be mindful all the time to stop your mind from thinking. If you have strong mindfulness, when you meditate, you can focus on your meditation object, like your breath. If you can keep watching your breath without thinking about anything, then sooner or later your mind will become calm, peaceful and happy. You’ll then see that this is the real happiness. It is the happiness that you can get any time you want. It’s not the kind of happiness that you will get from fame.
You have to be mindful all the time to stop your mind from thinking. If you have strong mindfulness, when you meditate, you can focus on your meditation object, like your breath. If you can keep watching your breath without thinking about anything, then sooner or later your mind will become calm, peaceful and happy. You’ll then see that this is the real happiness. It is the happiness that you can get any time you want. It’s not the kind of happiness that you will get from fame.
Sometimes you get it but sometimes you don’t.
When you don’t get fame, you feel sad, you feel disappointed. Like when people go to receive awards, such as the Academy Awards, if they don’t get the awards, they feel discouraged. They feel unhappy. And if they get the awards, they will be happy for just a few days. Then, after that they want more awards to make them happier.
So, no matter how much fame you get, you will never be contented. You will never be satisfied. If you want to be contented, if you want to be satisfied, you should meditate instead. Seek peace of mind, make your mind still, and make your mind empty of your desire. When your mind stops, your desire will stop. When there are no desires, then your mind will become happy.
So, no matter how much fame you get, you will never be contented. You will never be satisfied. If you want to be contented, if you want to be satisfied, you should meditate instead. Seek peace of mind, make your mind still, and make your mind empty of your desire. When your mind stops, your desire will stop. When there are no desires, then your mind will become happy.
“Dhamma in English, Oct 2nd, 2017.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com
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