The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
31 January 2023
Than Ajahn: It's Chinese New Year, year of the rabbit. When you practice, don't do like the rabbit, do like the turtle did. The turtle, even though it was moving slowly but it never stopped. Rabbit can run fast so it became complacent and from time to time it stopped running. In the end, the rabbit couldn’t catch up with the turtle.
Same way with meditation practice.
You should keep doing it constantly all the time. Never stop. And you will eventually get to the goal like the turtle that reached the goal before the rabbit.
Student 1: Oh! I’m a bad rabbit.
Than Ajahn: Yes, you should switch to become the turtle. The turtle did it with patience. It kept on going although it was moving slowly but it knew that as long as it kept on going, it would eventually reach the goal.
Don’t do like the rabbit did because sometimes it kept going and sometimes it just stopped.
Be consistent with your practice.
Keep increasing the intensity as you go along.
As you advanced, you will be able to practice more and more.
Comment: Happy Chinese New Year Ajahn.
Than Ajahn: Happy Chines New Year to you too. I think everybody is celebrating Chinese New Year so not many people joining this meeting today.
Why can't people be happy every day? Why do they have to wait for the new year to become happy when they can actually be happy every day if they let go of their cravings. Just take things as they come. Don't have any expectation. Don't have any wishes.
Just like today, you are giving more than you are taking in, that's why you're happy because you give.
Chinese New Year is a day of giving where older people give money to younger people in the red envelope (ang pao). That's why people are happy today because everybody gives.
When you give then you feel happy. But on other days, you want to take so you're not happy when you want to take something and then when you cannot get something, you become angry. But today you give, you don't expect anything from anybody so you feel happy.
Student 1: If I don't have expectation or wishes in meditation, I will become lazy so I wish I can do more meditation.
Than Ajahn: It's good to expect from yourself but it's bad to expect from other people. When you expect things from other people you can get frustrated. But sometimes if you expect something from yourself but you can’t deliver it, you can become frustrated too. So just try to do your best and be thankful and happy with what you get.
Student 2: I really like it that you always remind us to be thankful for what we get. It's a simple and powerful advice. Thank you for that advice.
Than Ajahn: Or you can always think of those who are less fortunate than you are, like people who are facing difficulties or starving right now, people who have nothing to look forward to, people who are suffering.
Then you’ll feel thankful for what you have and grateful for what you get.
Our cravings and our desires keep blocking our happiness. If we can stop our cravings and our desires then we will have happiness all the time.
If you want to be happy, anytime, just give something away. When you have something that you don't really need, why keep it? Why don't you change it into happiness? Give it away. The clothes that you don't wear for a long time or the things that you don't use for a long time, just give them away to someone who might need it and you will be happy.
Taking is not real happiness. Taking is suffering in disguise. Giving is happiness in disguise. It's really suffering when you take but when you give, you really have happiness. So try to give as much as you can and live with as little as possible. That's the Buddha's advice.
Be content with little by giving away most of what you have.
You come into this world with nothing with you. When you leave this world, you take nothing with you. Look at the start and the end of your life then you ask yourself: ‘Why do I need to have so many things right now?’ So just have enough to survive, to go on day by day because eventually we are all going to have to leave this earth and we take nothing with us.
Student 2: To take is suffering in disguise, to give is where the happiness is, except for the Dhamma, where both the receiver and the giver are happy.
Than Ajahn: Yes, they are two different types of happiness: the giver gets the happiness of the heart, while the receiver gets the happiness of feelings. They are different. The receiver gets sukha-vedanā. The giver gets peace and happiness from relinquishing, from letting go of attachment. So they are two different types of happiness.
The giver has a more profound happiness, the happiness of the heart; while the receiver gets happiness of feeling which can be temporary.
The happiness of feeling can disappear very quickly but not with the happiness of heart. The happiness of heart lasts much longer.
Okay. May all of you be well and happy. I think that's about it for today.
Thank you for your participation in this meeting. I hope you can benefit from it and it can help you advance in your practice. In the meantime, please stay safe, stay mindful and keep on practising.
“Dhamma in English, Jan 22, 2023.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
YouTube: Dhamma in English.
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