Make the Best Possible Use of the Uncertain Time

~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~

Forest monks are encouraged by their teachers to remind themselves everyday of all the ways that their life could suddenly change for the worse. They might be bitten by a poisonous snake or a scorpion or a centipede. They might fall down and break a limb. If they live alone it might be hours or even days before someone comes to look for them. Death could come at any moment and in any one of a number of different ways. The purpose of this reflection is not to make the monks anxious or fearful, but to encourage them in their Dhamma practice. The key point is for the monks to ask themselves how ready they are for whatever life might throw at them at any moment. How well are they spending their precious time? What unwholesome dhammas still remain in their heart, what wholesome dhammas remain undeveloped? Have they gained a true refuge yet, one that will sustain them come what may?

We can use our intelligence to create means to maximize our security and safety. But life will always be, to some degree, insecure and unsafe. Cities hold as many, if not more, dangers as forests. To wish things were otherwise and to be angry that they are not, is a self-harming indulgence. What we can do is to learn how to make the best possible use of the uncertain time we have in this world. Using the Buddha’s teachings we can create an inner refuge, an island that no flood submerge.

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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.

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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.