The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
31 July 2024
“For the most part we humans experience suffering and thus want to find an end to it.”
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Question: Why do people say that it is better to practise as a human rather than as a deva? Is that true?
Tan Ajahn: Devas are like wealthy people who because they are already happy have become lazy. But for the most part we humans experience suffering and thus want to find an end to it, so we search and meditate much more.
Just like the Buddha: although he was a prince, he still suffered. But people who are not like the Buddha will not renounce the world in order to be ordained, because they are attached to this happiness. The Buddha had accumulated tremendous amounts of pāramī (the spiritual perfections), and was able to discern suffering even amidst the pleasures of a king. He knew that after living for a while, he would eventually have to die and suffer, because aging, sickness, and death are steadily closing in.
But as a deva, there is no aging. In most cases when they die, they just go ‘poof’ and disappear. Generally they enjoy heavenly sights, sounds, smells, and tastes and live with great joy. Devas are comparable to millionaires and billionaires who indulge in happiness.
So they generally do not meditate, except for those with great merit and who have previously developed a strong interest in Dhamma, those who enjoy listening to the Buddha and the Arahants. Such people will be able to meditate and attain enlightenment.
For instance, the Buddha’s mother was a deva who became a stream-enterer, because the Buddha went to teach her. Without instruction she probably would not have been interested. She would probably find joy in the pleasures of heavenly sights, sounds, smells, and tastes, because in that state no suffering disrupts the mind.
Right now, we come to the temple because we are discontented. For example, people who are diagnosed with cancer want to come to the temple to meditate because they are starting to see suffering. They realise if they want to put an end to it, they have to practise Dhamma. So people who experience great happiness will be less likely to seek the Dhamma than those who suffer a lot.
“Mountain Dhamma, Apr 13, 2013”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
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