Dhamma Talks - Advice For Life :: Buddhapadipa Thai Temple

When we don’t have the solution to the problem, in life, we do need some advice from someone whom we trust. Who do we really trust in life? Each of us has different answers, it is individual; some may say ‘my friends’ and some say ‘my parents’ and some say ‘my teachers’ etc. It is very rare to hear ‘my self’; this means that almost all people put their lives in the hands of others’. They lack self-belief or confidence, which is not a proper thing. The first thing we should bear in mind is ‘we can do it’. But if it is beyond our ability, we may take some advice or guidance. As mentioned earlier, sometimes, we need advice from others. In the process, we ourselves have to consider those who are going to be our advisors. Otherwise we face another problem; it is a dilemma.

There are various problems in life and there are also various solutions and suggestions. We have to be a wise selector. This is very important; we need a life-guide, not just a tour guide. We cannot just pick up someone to be our advisor. This is our life, so we have to be careful. There is an example* of one young man who wanted to have advice about his life. He is an Australian, and got interested in Buddhism like other young westerners. He heard the name of a great meditation teacher, Luangpor Char. With the aim of meeting a great teacher and asking for advice about his life, the young man booked a ticket to Thailand. It is a long flight, 8 hours from Australia to Thailand. When he arrived in Thailand, he took the train to Warinchamrab, Ubonrajchathani which would take him another ten hours. When he arrived at the train station, he took a taxi to Wat Nongpapong where Luangpor Char lived. When, at last, he got to the abode of Luangpor Char, the great teacher he was both tired and exhausted.

That day Luangpor Char was sitting under his hut and surrounded by a number of people; monks, nuns, laywomen and laymen. It surprised him to see Thai monks, foreign monks, but especially lay people; some looked ordinary but some looked very rich as was obvious because of their gold and diamond jewellery. But they were not segregated they were all sitting together under the hut and in the shade of the Dhamma of Luangpor Char. The young man could not find any seat near Luangpor Char as he had come late. He sat at the edge of the people. One hour passed by, he didn’t have any chance to talk to Luangpor Char and he noticed that Luangpor didn’t see him either, as the big crowd surrounded him. “There are a lot of people waiting to ask Luangpor Char a question”, he thought and, feeling discouraged, he decided to go back, so he left the crowd. A thought arose in his mind, “It may be good to walk around the temple and feel the atmosphere”. Then he took a walk around the temple. Near the bell tower he saw a monk sweeping the temple grounds. He thought, “I have an hour left before going back”, so he picked up the broom and swept the ground with the monk, without saying anything.

Twenty minutes later, whilst he was sweeping the ground, he felt that someone stood and looked at him. He looked up and saw Luangpor Char with his students. He was so excited that he could not do anything. Luangpor Char approached him and said, “กวาดให้ถึงที่สุดน่ะ”. Then he walked away, a western monk, who walked behind Luangpor Char, translated the sentence for the young man, “Luangpor Char said, ‘do your best’”. He reflected on the words of Luangpor Char’ and understood his teaching-that no matter what job he did, he must do, or try, his best. “It was worthwhile making a trip to Thailand”, he thought, as he had heard good teaching from the great meditation teacher. He called that teaching ‘advice for life’ and lived abiding by this teaching.

Good teaching can be our basic principle in life, which leads us to happiness and success in life. It is true, that when we do anything, we should do our best; strive to do better but without dwelling on it. We should put all of our heart into whatever job we are doing now, and then we can become successful in life. “Do our best” is the formula for success in life.