The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.
15 January 2026
Q: We contemplate asubha to reduce our sexual desire. What should we contemplate on for us to reduce our jealousy i.e. jealous of others’ successes or wealth, etc.?
Than Ajahn: You contemplate on the law of kamma.
We are all subject to the law of kamma. Kamma is action—what we do and what we had done. The result of our action arises from what we do now and what we had done in the past. If someone is better than us, it means that he had done something better than we did.
It’s the law. It’s the truth.
There is no point to be envious or jealous. It won’t change anything. You have to accept that there are people who are better than you are, there are people who are equal to you and there are people who are worse off than you. So, when you see that somebody is better than you, you should also look at somebody who is worse off than you. This may balance out your perspective about others.
“Dhamma in English, Jun 19, 2018.”
- - - - - - -
Q: Could you tell me how to deal with envy and jealousy? Because sometimes it overwhelms me and consumes my life and I am unable to get it out of my mind.
Than Ajahn: Don’t compete with other people but compete with yourself, then there will be no envy and jealousy. Try to compete with yourself. What you have to compete with is your kilesas (defilements), which is your greed, hatred and delusion. Don’t compete with other people because some other people may be smarter or better than you are and some people are worse off than you. So when you want people to be like you but they happen to be smarter than you are, then you can be envious.
If you have to compare with other people, then you should think that we all have different kamma. We did different kamma in the past and it makes some people smarter than us, some people less smart than us. We just have to accept the truth of the kamma that people are not the same. If they are better than us, we should just accept it because this is the truth.
“Dhamma in English, Oct 27, 2016.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
YouTube: Dhamma in English.
No comments:
Post a Comment