Looking After Yourself: Lessons from Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo

In looking after yourself, you have to:

• (1) watch out for evil so that it doesn’t arise;
• (2) watch out for your goodness so that it doesn’t fall away; and
• (3) put your goodness to use so that it gives rise to benefits.

When you speak, speak in a way that leads to peacefulness. If you speak in a way that gives rise to trouble, it’s as if you had eaten poison. And in this way you harm not only yourself, but other people as well, in the same way as when you sprinkle poison in an aquarium of fighting fish. One fish bites another, so that the wound becomes poisoned, and when all the fish have bitten one another they end up floating dead like a raft on the surface of the water.

So when you realize that you still have greed, anger, and delusion in your mind, you have to be extra careful in what you say. When you’re mindful to speak only the things that should be said and hold back when you’re about to say anything you shouldn’t, you’ll be looking out for your goodness to make sure it doesn’t fall away, at the same time that you prevent evil from arising.

In addition, you have to watch out for your ears. Sometimes other people speak with good intentions, but we hear them as bad. Sometimes we speak with good intentions, but other people misunderstand. When this is the case, it’s no different from playing a flute in the ears of a water buffalo. It serves no purpose at all.

When we live together in a group like this, there are bound to be all kinds of sounds when we come into contact with one another. If you were to make a comparison, we’re no different from an orchestra, which has to include the sound of the oboes, the sound of the gong, the sound of the xylophones, high sounds, low sounds, treble, and bass. If all the instruments had the same sound, there would be no fun in listening to the orchestra, for a one-sound orchestra wouldn’t be pleasing at all.

In the same way, when lots of people live together, there are bound to be good sounds and bad arising in the group. So each of us has to look after his or her own heart. Don’t let yourself feel anger or dislike for the bad sounds, because when there’s a lot of disliking it’s bound to turn to anger. When there’s a lot of anger, it’ll turn to ill will. When there’s ill will, it’ll lead to quarrels and trouble.

For this reason, we should spread thoughts of goodwill to people above us, below us, and on the same level. When people below us show disagreeable attitudes in their words or actions, we should forgive them. When we can do this, we’ll be contributing to the peace and calm of the group.

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From The Heightened Mind by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo. Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.