Living with the
cobra
20th January
2017| The New Indian Express
Regard all activities of the mind—those you
like and even those you dislike— the way you would regard a cobra,
says Ajahn Chah, a Buddhist monk trained in the Thai Forest
Tradition. What does he mean?
The snake inside you
If we don’t interfere with a cobra, it usually
goes its own way. Even though the snake is poisonous, as long as we
don’t go near it or take hold of it, the serpent doesn’t bite us.
The cobra does what a cobra is meant to do. And so it is with our
thoughts and desires. The moods that we like are poisonous; the
moods we dislike are also poisonous, he explains. So we should not
grab onto them
Lost in thought
Thoughts, desires and urges prevent our minds
from being free. To attain freedom, it is necessary to try to
maintain mindfulness throughout the day. Whenever a thought—a mere
image or a wisp of language in the mind—arises, notice it as soon
it arises. And keep doing it. If you ever find yourselves lost in
thought, don’t berate yourself. Just be mindful of the thought and
notice what happens to it
Don’t preach, practice
The teachings of the Buddha and others are not
teachings to be just listened to, or simply absorbed on an
intellectual level, Ajahn Chah explains. The teachings will make
sense only if we practice them regularly
Craving the pleasures of the senses, you
suffer attachment. Disdaining them, you learn detachment. But if
you desire nothing, and disdain nothing, neither attachment nor
detachment bind you. If you desire the world, you may try to
renounce it in order to escape sorrow. Instead, renounce desire!
Then you will be free of sorrow. And the world will not trouble you
Ashtavakra Gita.