r/thaiforest

Timely Desana by Luang Por Lee

Timely Desana by Luang Por Lee

> “I had been constantly hearing the sound of guns out off the coast, and as soon as the incident occurred, I thought of bullets. Some people got up and were getting ready to chase after the bandits, so I stopped them. ‘Don’t get involved,’ I said. ‘Don’t go after them. If they’re good people, you should follow them, but if they’re bad people, don’t. Follow me instead. I’m not afraid of anything—including bullets, not to mention bricks. >
> > If you’re shot in the mouth, it’ll come out your rear, > > > > So there’s no one in the world you should fear.’ >
> As soon as they heard this, the whole group fell silent. I then delivered a sermon on the theme,
>
> ‘Non-violence is happiness in the world.’”

Luang Por Lee quote from his Autobiography

u/Bhante-K — 8 days ago

Neglecting the basics

Hi everyone. A few years ago I hit a turning point in my practice. I had been dating, but couldn't get "into it" like before. I saw how I and the other person were just running through our scripts, playing out the same old act in order to impress each other and get what we wanted from the other person or hope for relationship. I went on several dates with several men. Nothing was wrong with any of them, I just had lost any spark or interest because I was seeing what we were doing in such a different and more objective kind of way. My own inner mental patterns were the most eye opening. At some point I just gave up because I knew I couldn't force myself to take to romantic relationships anymore.

Well fast forward a few years into where I am now. I've stopped attending to my appearance, and I've also dropped my lifelong habit/obsession with fitness, maintaining a certain weight, and optimizing my health. I know that the motivation for this was coming from wanting external validation from others (and most especially potential romantic partners). That motivation isn't there anymore, and I've yet to be able to find a wholesome way to motivate myself to look after my health.

I see this as possibly a deeper issue, and a reflection on how much I do or don't care about myself, am willing to show up for myself, and build my self esteem without factoring in other people's opinions of me. I'm also aware that I'm going into my older years (I'm 39) and should try to maintain my physical mobility, strength, and zeal so I can have the potential to practice dhamma for a longer time. How can I cultivate wholesome motivation to build a habit of exercise and healthy eating? As it stands now, I'm overweight, unfit, and need to clean up my food choices.

reddit.com
u/Like_A-Shadow — 4 days ago

Engrossed in the World

Luang Por Chah Simile

> “We live like a chicken who doesn't know what's going on. In the morning it takes its baby chicks out to scratch for food. In the evening, it goes back to sleep in the coop. The next morning it goes out to look for food again. Its owner scatters rice for it to eat every day, but it doesn't know why its owner is feeding it. The chicken and its owner are thinking in very different ways. > > The owner is thinking, "How much does the chicken weigh?" The chicken, though, is engrossed in the food. When the owner picks it up to heft its weight, it thinks the owner is showing affection. > > We too don't know what's going on: where we come from, how many more years we'll live, where we'll go, who will take us there. We don't know this at all. > > The King of Death is like the owner of the chicken. We don't know when he'll catch up with us, for we're engrossed — engrossed in sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, and ideas. We have no sense that we're growing older. We have no sense of enough.”

^(From 108 Luang Por Chah Similes)

^(Image of Yama from)^( )^(thairath.co.th)

u/Bhante-K — 6 days ago