Ajahn Suchart
“If you still live and carry on the same old way, then
you’ll only just maintain the merit you’ve already made in the past.”
“Living as a lay person, social obligations can
sometimes be an obstacle to one’s practice. You should find time to be away
from them on occasions. For instance, you can do a retreat at a monastery on a
weekend or a holiday. You need to take one step at a time. It is not like you
can just dive into it. But you should at least make an effort and have the courage
to do what you can, even though you don’t enjoy it or find it difficult.
Since you know that this is the path one must take,
you need to make it happen. You shouldn’t wait for a good opportunity to come
along as there is no such thing. This is because such an opportunity or the
right timing is already here, so are good teachers.
Thailand, as a Buddhist country, is a nice place to
live. People make merit (puñña), practise generosity (dāna), maintain the
precepts (sῑla), and practise meditation (bhāvanā). There is really nothing to
stop you when it comes to practice. It only depends on you and whether you
would do it.
If you still live and carry on the same old way, then
you’ll only just maintain the merit you’ve already made in the past. There will
be nothing more if you don’t push yourself and try to raise the bar. If you
used to be able to maintain the five precepts, you’ll only be able to keep
those five precepts. If you used to make a certain level of merit through
giving, you’ll only be able to do it to the same extent.”
From “Against the Defilements”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com
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