Could Ajahn advice on how to counteract the defilement of self-pride and conceit?

The teachings of Ajahn Suchart. 

Question:  Could Ajahn advice on how to counteract the defilement of self-pride and conceit?

Than Ajahn:  The Buddha said that you should treat yourself like the dirt or treat yourself as the lowest being like as a servant or the earth. The earth doesn’t care who digs it, who steps on it or who pees on it—the earth doesn’t react. This is how you should try to treat yourself. You should change your attitude towards yourself.

You normally like to think of yourselves as somebody important or somebody great.

This is the wrong kind of attitude to have because it can cause you a lot of disappointment when people don’t treat you the way you think you should be treated.

It’s better to treat yourself as the lowest being so you don’t expect anything from anybody.

If people don’t treat you well, you won’t feel bad because you’ve expected it to be that way, right? So, you should play a new role. Instead of thinking of yourself as somebody important, you should think of yourself as nobody. You don’t expect anything from anybody.

You expect the worst from other people. Then, you will never be disappointed or sad.

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Question:  It is a very tricky defilement and it has a very interesting influence on the practice of meditation as there is always in the background saying, ‘Ah, you’re very good!’

Than Ajahn:  That’s right. It’s been embedded in your mind for a long time and it becomes natural for you to always think of yourself as somebody but in fact, you’re really nobody because your true nature is just the knowing. Your attitude or your thought is just the delusion that you cling to. In reality, we are nobody. We are just consciousness or awareness. That’s all we are.

And the best way for us to be is just be nobody then we will not be hurt because we don’t expect anything from anybody.

When you think that you are somebody, you expect people to treat you in a certain way.

And when they don’t treat you according to your expectation, you become sad. So, the way to handle it is by treating yourself as the lowest thing on earth, which is being the earth—the ground that you step on. Let everybody step on the ground—step on you, treat you badly. So, what? You can’t stop them if they want to treat you badly, right?  But not everybody will treat you badly.

There are good people and bad people. You cannot force them or expect them to treat you according to how you want them to treat you. So, the best way is to prepare for the worst and accept the worst if it happens, then you will not be disappointed or sad.

“Dhamma in English, Nov 26, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

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