“The result will not happen by not doing anything.”

“The result will not happen by not doing anything.”

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Question (F): I’ve been reading your book and I’ve noticed that you focus a lot on having to strive, having to put in a lot of effort into the practice of meditation and Dhamma. In my experience, sometimes I feel that if I put in too much effort, then I’ll just give up. 

How do I have a middle way?

Than Ajahn: You have to find the middle path. Too much is not good.

Too little is not good. You have to find the right amount of effort for yourself. Each person has different amount of effort he or she can put in.

However, if you don’t put in any effort, you won’t move forward. If you relax and take it easy, you won’t get to anywhere. Yet if you push too far, you can become stressed out. So, you have to know the proper amount of exertion you should put in. You keep on trying by adding a little bit more effort than what you used to do and see how much you can do.

It’s similar to learning to run a marathon. You don’t run a marathon right away. You start by trying to run one kilometer, then you run more kilometers until you reach your goal. It’s the same way with meditation practice. You might start with half an hour. Next time, you sit for an hour, then two hours and three hours.

Meditation doesn’t mean sitting only. Mindfulness is also another form of meditation. You should try to be mindful as much as possible when you are not doing sitting meditation. When you’re working, be mindful with what you do. If you cannot keep your mind to stay with your work, you might have to use a mantra to bring the mind in by reciting Buddho, Buddho, Buddho. This is to stop your mind from thinking about something else so that your mind can come back and be in the present.

Don’t let the mind go to the past or go to the future. Let it stay here and now by using a mantra or by fixing your attention on whatever you do. Then, you will have mindfulness. And when you sit and meditate, you will be able to achieve the result easily and quickly.

Once you have achieved the result, you will have the energy. You will have the encouragement and the inspiration to do more. It’s because you know what the result is like and you want to have more of that.

Your effort will come naturally after you have tasted the result.

But when you haven’t achieved the result, you will have to set a goal and try to do as much as possible.

The result will not happen by not doing anything. The result only happens by forcing yourself to be mindful, forcing yourself to meditate as much as possible.

Youtube: “Dhamma in English, Dec 9, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

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