Perfect Examples for the World

Venerable Ajaan Khao had many followers including Bhikkhus, novices and lay people from many areas of Thailand. They came continually to learn and train in moral behaviour with him. But when he grew old, he tried to look after himself by being quiet and calm more than he used to do when he was younger. In that way, his mind and body would last as long as reasonably possible so that he could give value to the world in the many places which needed to receive it.

Normally, after having eaten food in the morning, Ajaan Khao went to his caçkama path and walked in meditation for one or two hours. Then he returned to his hut to rest, after which he sat in meditation until two o’clock in the afternoon. If he had no other business to attend to, he again went to his caçkama path and continued walking meditation until it was time for him to sweep the ground in the open areas of the monastery.

Following sweeping, he had a bath, after which he again walked caçkama until ten or eleven p.m. He stopped then and returned to his hut, where he did some chanting and meditation until it was time for him to lie down and rest his body. He normally rose at about three a.m. and continued doing meditation until dawn, when it was time to go out for piṇḍapāta. After piṇḍapāta, he ate food to support his body, a result (vipãka) of his past kamma which he still had to look after. That is the daily routine that Ajaan Khao always maintained, unless some other essential business forced a change; such as, being asked to participate in various functions, causing a break in his routine.

Even in old age he still refused to allow his declining health to curtail his customary zeal. Some people have asked me why he continued to put such strenuous effort into practice when in truth he had nothing further to accomplish. They could not figure out why he remained so active and energetic.

I tried to explain to them that someone who has completely eliminated the kilesas has no debilitating lethargy left to entrap his mind in a web of delusion. Meanwhile, the rest of us have amassed such a debilitating mountain of laziness that it virtually obscures us from view. As soon as we get started on some worthwhile endeavour, we become apprehensive lest the fruits of our efforts overload our capacity to store them. We worry ahead of time about how exhausted we will be when the work becomes difficult.

In the end, having failed to gather those wholesome fruits, we are left with an empty basket; that is, an empty joyless heart, drifting aimlessly with no hard-earned store of merit to fall back on. Instead, we fill our empty hearts with complaints about all the difficulties we face. So laziness, this blight in our hearts, keeps throwing up obstacles to block our way.

Those who have cleansed this blight from their hearts remain persistent, persevering in times of hardship. They never worry about overloading their capacity to store the fruits of their efforts. Those individuals whose hearts are pure unblemished Dhamma, cleared of all worldly defilements, stand out majestically in all situations. Sombre, sullen moods never arise in their hearts, making them perfect examples for the world to follow.

This reflection by Ajaan Mahã Boowa Ñãnasampanno is from the book Venerable Ajaan Khao Analayo – A True Spiritual Warrior (pdf), pp. 166-167, translated from Thai by Ajaan Paññãvaððho.