[exchpaypalgold]

Greetings

I would like to share with you some of the wonderful teaching of Ajahn Liem


At the same time that we experience sukha
vedanā (a pleasant feeling) through the sensedoors in some way or another, there has to be
the arising of saññā (memory or perception)
telling the mind that this pleasant feeling is
something that we want to have. This is a
mechanism that necessarily arises, until we have
managed to develop our minds to be able to see
things mindfully in time.
Is it saññā itself that takes over the duty of
telling us “this feeling is something we’d like to
have?”
You need to put yourself into a position that isn’t
controlled by the power of wanting. We practise for
the sake of practice, not for wanting anything.
Let’s examine things that are related to the
practice that we can directly see. This may take us
back into history, but still, it can give us some
guidelines for our practice. Take Venerable Ānanda for example, the Buddha’s attendant. You probably know from your studies what happened after the Buddha had laid down his khandhas .Venerable Ānanda upheld a perception or memory in mind (saññā ārammaṇa)
that he had received from the Buddha himself. The Buddha had told him, that he would be able to finish his work in the practice in this lifetime .

When the time of the first council came,
Venerable Ānanda remembered this saññā very well
and increased his efforts in practice immensely,
relentlessly doing walking meditation. He exhausted
himself completely following the craving (to become
fully enlightened), until he finally resigned and gave up
his hope for what he wanted to achieve, thinking that
the Buddha’s words were probably only meant to be a
little encouragement in a casual way. But the moment
that Venerable Ānanda relaxed and let go of his craving
he fell into a natural state free from wanting and
wishing anything. An experience of peace and
seclusion arose, and he was finally released from all
impurities of mind.

Whatever work we do under the influence of
wanting and wishing will still be insufficient in some
aspects. In our work, we need to rely on what we are
doing itself for instructions. Just like when we plant a
tree, our duty is only to dig the hole, plant the tree, put
some earth on top, give it some fertilizer and water it.
The development of the tree, how it grows, is the tree’s business. It is beyond our power to influence it. There
is a limit to the responsibility here.


So “to give everything” in our practice means to
let things be the way they are. We don’t wish for
something to be or to wish for it not to be. The
practice is about the natural course of things. Progress
or accomplishment – these are things that come
automatically. To think that one is great, supreme or
the best, or to have other perceptions about oneself
means that there is something wrong with one’s
practice.

It is worth noticing that there is a training rule in
which the Buddha forbid monks to proclaim
superhuman states about themselves, even if the
statements are true. Isn’t this so? The Buddha didn’t
want things to develop in an inappropriate direction.
These proclamations open up an opportunity for
people to get into some very unsuitable things.
Why don’t you try reflecting like this, for a
change: Wherever it is dirty, there is also cleanliness. If
one removes the dirt from a place it becomes clean.
Wherever there is dukkha there is also non-dukkha.
In the year 2514 (1971) I spent the rainy season
together with Tan Ajahn Sumedho. On washing days,
when the monks wash their robes using the water
boiled down from chips of Jackfruit wood, Tan Ajahn
Sumedho wasn’t familiar with this particular way to
wash robes yet. While he was washing his robes he
said, “Where does the dirt go? The dirt is still in here.”
29

(Luang Por laughs.) Although the robe is still dirty, its
colour becomes very beautiful.
It is right where one is obsessed with craving that
non-craving is to be found. Just look very carefully.
http://www.watnongpahpong.org/ebooks...no_worries.pdf



I think this section is quite relevant to the practice, particually in terms of meditation and the general attitude that (naturally) develops in terms of "wanting nibbana"




When the time of the first council came,
Venerable Ānanda remembered this saññā very well
and increased his efforts in practice immensely,
relentlessly doing walking meditation. He exhausted
himself completely following the craving (to become
fully enlightened), until he finally resigned and gave up
his hope for what he wanted to achieve, thinking that
the Buddha’s words were probably only meant to be a
little encouragement in a casual way. But the moment
that Venerable Ānanda relaxed and let go of his craving
he fell into a natural state free from wanting and
wishing anything. An experience of peace and
seclusion arose, and he was finally released from all
impurities of mind.

Whatever work we do under the influence of
wanting and wishing will still be insufficient in some
aspects. In our work, we need to rely on what we are
doing itself for instructions. Just like when we plant a
tree, our duty is only to dig the hole, plant the tree, put
some earth on top, give it some fertilizer and water it.
The development of the tree, how it grows, is the tree’s business. It is beyond our power to influence it. There
is a limit to the responsibility here.



Interesting to note that the teaching is that as soon as he stopped wanting nibbana, it was there


More to be found here, well worth a read IMO


http://www.watnongpahpong.org/bookslpliem.php



Hope you find his teachings as insightful as I have

[lopushok]

Very insightful indeed! There are many roadblocks along the path, and oft-times we do not recognize them until much time has passed (and a lot of frustration). This is one reason why it is recommended to have a teacher; even if we don't know that we are blocked, they will see and help us move forward.

Thank you for posting this, clw_uk!