“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