The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
20 May 2023
“Keep running away is not the solution."
Upāsikā : “I have to leave other people alone and stay put in the monastery even if anger comes up. Do I just recite Buddho, Buddho, Buddho?”
Phra Ajahn : “Yes. If your mind is not calm, just go into your room and calm your mind. The reason is because if you leave this place and go to the next place, there will be something else to agitate you again.
So, it’s not the place, but it’s your mind that is restless. After you have stayed for a while, you become restless again. You want to find an excuse to go somewhere else again. You can go to many places, and you will still find fault with all these places. There is nothing as a perfect place for you to practice.
There was the story of the Buddha when he was staying in a place and was criticized. His attendant, the Venerable Ananda then said that they had to leave that place. The Buddha replied that if they left that place, if they ran away from that issue, when they go to a new place, they would find the same problem again. So, keep running away is not the solution.
In making decision whether to stay on or to leave, you have to look at the real problem. Is the mind the real problem? Or is the place the real problem? If the problem is your mind, then you shouldn’t change the place, you should change how your mind thinks.
But if the real problem is the place, like if you stay on, you’ll get killed, then you might have to leave the place. But if you stay in a place, and people don’t like your presence, and you cannot do anything about it, then leave them alone. As long as they don’t harm you physically, you just stay on.”
Upāsikā : “Even when the aversion comes from the other people?”
Phra Ajahn : “Yes because you cannot force them to be nice to you or to be kind to you. The Buddha said that if people are not nice to you, just look at the situation in a positive light. When they didn’t like you, be thankful because they didn’t hurt you. If they hurt you, be thankful because they didn’t kill you. And if they killed you, be thankful because we all eventually, are going to die. So, if we have to die in defense for Dhamma, then it’s worthwhile.”
“Dhamma in English, Apr 5, 2018.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
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