The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
Question: Ajahn, I’m grateful for my present job but I still have the desire to move on to another position. Should I follow this desire and how do I know that it’s the right time to move on from my current situation?
Than Ajahn: Should you move on to another job or not depends on the result. If you move on and it’s better for you, then do it. If you move on to a new job and it’s not better for you, then it’s better to stay on.
If you move on and there is no difference, then you can either stay on or you can move on, so you have to look at the consequence or the result of your action, whether it’s gonna benefit you more or not. If you think it benefits you more to move on to a new job, then you go for it. If you think it does not make much difference, then why bother? So, whether you stay on with your current job or you move on to a new job depends on the situation, whether you’re happy where you are now or you are not happy.
If you are not happy and you want to change job, then do it. And the time to change job is when you can get a new job. If you don’t have a new job yet, then don’t leave your old job because you’ll be out of work, so you should wait until you get a new job before you move on. If you move to a new job, you also have to face the consequences. Maybe your analysis is not what you think it is. You might think it’s gonna be better, but after you’ve moved to the new job, you find out that it is worse than your old job. So, nothing is ever certain.
The Buddha said that the best thing is to be contented with what you have and be grateful for what you get. So, if you’re happy now, why change it? Stay with it. Look at life as a temporary thing. Sooner or later, you’ll die, then, whatever things you have accumulated are gonna disappear. You cannot take anything with you. The only thing you can take with you is your happiness or your sorrow. So, if you’re happy now, the Buddha said that you should just be contented and be happy with it, because you don’t know what’s gonna be over there on the new job. Generally, the mind is always deceived by itself. It always thinks that something over there is better than here. You don’t know it until you get there. Like the saying, ‘The cow always sees the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.’ But once it gets over there, it’s just as green as this side. It’s your imagination that is deceiving you or luring you to get away from your old job, and to go get a new job.
So, you have to look at the fact. If you move on, are you getting more money and will your work load become more relaxing? If yes, then, why not? But nothing happens like that. Because the more money you get, the more stress you’ll have; the less money you get, the less stress you’ll have. So, you have to see whether you want to pay the price because when the company pays you more salary, they’ll expect more from you. When they expect more from you, you’ll have the pressure to perform better in your job. Then, stress will become part of your life.
“Dhamma in English, Jun 23, 2019.”
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Question: When should I change job or when should I change my view about my current job when I’m feeling dissatisfied? How to have the wisdom to see clearly on what is the best way forward?
Than Ajahn: You have to weigh in the option between changing job and not changing job. If changing your job is better, then you change it. If changing job doesn’t make you feel better, then you don’t change it. As simple as that. If you change job and you still feel the same, then you can either change job or don’t change it because it doesn’t make any difference. So, you look at the consequence: if you change job, is it going to be better or worse, or the same? Then, you can make a decision.
Layperson: Sometimes our assessment can be clouded by our defilement thinking that if we change job, it will be better. A lot of time, I feel that I am not very clear on what is the wise assessment to make a decision.
Than Ajahn: Then don’t change. Stick to the old horse. Stick to the horse you know.
“Dhamma in English, Sep 28, 2021.”
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Than Ajahn: How are you doing? Good to see you. Are you working now or just meditating?
Layperson (M): Meditating, mostly.
Than Ajahn: Ok, good. As long as you’re happy, what you do doesn’t matter because happiness is in your heart. It is not how much you have or what you do. Maybe you have a lot of possession or have done a lot of work, but you aren’t happy. If you’re not working, you don’t have much possession, but you’re happy—that’s better, as far as I’m concern.
I don’t have anything. And I’m happy.
“Dhamma in English, Apr 10, 2018.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
YouTube: Dhamma in English.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
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