Let Go of the Past and the Future By ajahn brahm

Let Go of the Past and the Future
By ajahn brahm

In Buddhism attachment is where we identify with these states, where we make a ‘self’ out of them and become them. This is how they find a foothold inside of us. We can see all these things like physical tiredness; it’s just the body, that’s all. That’s why the forest masters told us to just reflect upon the body. Tiredness is part of having a body. The older we get the more tired we get. It is just a natural process. The energy that we have when we’re young is going to go. We are never going to have that ‘oomph’ when we get into our fifties and we’re only going to drag ourselves around when we are in our seventies. That’s just the nature of this body. We have to get used to it. We can’t fight it or control it. What we can do is realise that it’s just the body being tired.

Sometimes when I go back to my hut at night my body is so tired. I’ve been running around all day doing things for people, and then I remember that teaching of the Buddha – I have great faith in the Buddha’s teachings – ‘Even though the body is sick, the mind doesn’t need to be sick. Even though the body is tired, the mind doesn’t need to be tired’. These are very powerful teachings! Teachings like these are great, because we are often tired physically but not mentally. 

That is how we can cheer ourselves up. 

Separate the mind from the body and even though the body is hurting, we just let it go, and follow the Buddha’s teachings on meditation. Let go of  the past and the future, and we’re just left with the present moment. 

Let go of the inner conversation. That inner conversation is the worst thing we’re attached to. 

We think ourselves into so much suffering!

It would be a wonderful thing if we could just shut up inside and stop all of that ‘proliferation of thoughts and ideas’. The problem is we trust our thinking. We think it’s so valuable. 

Because we trust the views that are built up from our thoughts, we get into so much difficulty and strife. If you want to believe in something believe in silence. If you want to be attached to anything, be attached to that silence in the mind. Seek that out and make it a friend. 

All lies are in words, all truth is in silence. So we can see that if we listen to words they’re basically lies: it’s not quite truth, it’s not quite reality, it’s not quite accuracy, it is one stage removed from truth. We believe all those lies again and again and again. How much suffering has that caused us? We don’t gain insight through thinking, we just gain headaches. We just gain suffering. We just gain arguments. We just gain confusion and depression. 

That’s all we gain though thinking.

Follow the Buddha’s advice and be quiet, be calm. The Buddhist word for a wise person is an Arahant, a santa muni, a silent sage. There is wisdom in that silence. That’s where we can start hearing the world, seeing the world, feeling the world, knowing what’s going on. 

So you are wise if you are pushing wheel barrows with a silent mind. Then it’s easy.

FROM THE BOOK – SIMPLY – THIS MOMENT

CHAPTER - DETACHMENT 5 th April 2000

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