REACHING THE GOODNESS WITHIN by AJAHN UTHAI SIRIDHARO
sīlānanda
REACHING THE GOODNESS WITHIN
... Just as trees cannot sustain themselves without soil, nor buildings stand without being supported by a foundation, all the goodness in the world cannot manifest without a sense of goodness and well-being within the heart ...
... To understand the Dhamma with clarity, you need to practice appropriately. As you train yourselves to rest in goodness and a sense of well-being within, remaining mindful like this continuously, you will be able to see your heart become luminous, bright and shining ...
... The truth is that we have experienced bodily discomfort every now and then since the day we were born. There is no way the body can escape from the invasion of discomfort. The stiffness, fatigue or aching we are feeling in meditation right now is still tolerable. When we think about the excruciating pain suffered by aged or seriously-ill people, now, that's really pitiful, too much to bear! If you contemplate this in an intelligent manner, you will train yourselves beforehand, preparing yourselves for any situation where you have no choice but to cope with excruciating pain ...
... you abide taking good qualities of the heart as your principles, upholding the Buddha's teachings as the vehicle for conveying you to the end of suffering - the problem of suffering can be solved, and its remedy starts working right from the moment when you first resist the urge to think, instead of obeying the commands of greed, hatred and delusion ...
... The Buddha warned that, as long as our hearts are not free from defilements, we should not trust our thoughts...
... Do not think that it doesn't matter whether you commit wrong-doing if no one else knows what you have done. Don't entertain such a thought. Whatever evil you have done, be it significant or trivial, it won't be able to slip away from your awareness ...
… The Buddha taught that the training of one's mind should be anchored in concentration or Jhana, which is nothing but a matter of focusing the mind. If you don't discipline yourself, creating the causes and conditions for your mind to become settled and still, there is no way you can cut through the flow of wandering thoughts …
by VENERABLE AJAHN UTHAI SIRIDHARO
Extracts from REACHING THE GOODNESS WITHIN