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If you were guaranteed awakening at the end of a hundred years of physical agony, it’d be a deal worth making. The happiness of awakening is *that* intense, *that* overwhelming, *that* total.

"You know that comparison where the Buddha said that if you could make a deal where they would stab you with a hundred spears early in the morning, a hundred spears at noon, and a hundred spears in the evening — every day for a hundred years — but if you were guaranteed awakening at the end of those hundred years, it’d be a deal worth making. And when you finally did gain awakening you wouldn’t consider that you’d achieved it through pain. It was achieved through joy. The happiness of awakening is that intense, that overwhelming, that total. And the way to get started and the way to continue toward that happiness is having an attitude of giving, which teaches you to watch the happiness of your mind and learn how to grade the levels of happiness. Watch your mind in action, watch the results, and judge the results as to which is better than what. And developing those habits of observation and judgment will carry you all the way through." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "One Thing ...
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Two dangers whenever talking about awakening: impossibility and complacency

"Whenever talking about awakening, there are always two dangers. The first danger is thinking that awakening is so far away that you give up any hope of attaining it. The other danger comes from the fact that there are many stages of concentration that sound very similar to awakening, and if you attain one of those you may think that you’ve attained awakening when in fact you haven’t. You’re still stuck in a fabricated state. In both cases, the danger lies in giving up your pursuit of being more skillful in your actions. The path to the end of suffering exists, but you stop or turn around. One way to avoid these dangers begins with having a right understanding of both kamma and mindfulness." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Kamma & Mindfulness Together"
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People who gain genuine awakening don’t become proud over the fact of their awakening, because they’ve seen how stupid they were for so long.

"There’s a higher well-being, happiness, pleasure — the Pali word sukha covers all of that — that comes with the deathless. Everyone who’s attained the deathless says, “How stupid I was not to go for this.” That’s why people who gain genuine awakening don’t become proud over the fact of their awakening, because they’ve seen how stupid they were for so long." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Smart about Lust" (Meditations12)
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The Buddha focused on the suffering that comes from the mind’s own actions, because that’s where suffering is caused. He’s not here to save the world. He’s here to go beyond it, and that’s where our practice should be aimed.

"We’re not here to save the world. Sometimes you hear people saying that the Buddha wanted us to get rid of all kinds of suffering, wherever the suffering is found, and they use that as an excuse for not meditating and getting involved in all kinds of social programs instead, saying that their programs are Buddhist. But the Buddha was very particular. He focused on the suffering that comes from the mind’s own actions, because that’s where suffering is caused. He’s not here to save the world. He’s here to go beyond it, and that’s where our practice should be aimed." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The World is Aflame"
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Tap into the alternative culture of the noble ones so that you can step out of the world outside — into a bigger outside, the outside of a mind that’s liberated.

"So even though you may not be able to step outside of America right now, or whatever country you’re in, one of the reasons we have a monastic order is that it is an alternative society, with an alternative culture. The values are those set forth by noble ones, who say that these values are really helpful for the sake of release. It’s like having a subversive alternative culture here in our country, one that you can tap into so that you can step out of the world outside — into a bigger outside, the outside of a mind that’s liberated. You’re with people who live by the values set down by someone who was liberated, in which you find that you have a different identity where you’re not measured by your job or your family. You’re measured by the way you’re generous, the way that you’re virtuous, the care that you put into training your mind. These are different values entirely. And by measuring your generosity, it’s not in terms of how much you give, it’s more your willingness to give ...
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If you focus on the issue of suffering, a lot of things are brought right there together. Because right where there’s feeling there’s also attention and intention, perception — particularly intention. And when these issues are solved, everything important gets solved as well.

"The Buddha started and ended his teaching with the issue of how to put an end to suffering, and it’s easy to agree with him that this is an important issue to address. Some people, though, wonder if that’s all he addresses. Just put an end to suffering? What else is there? Aren’t there bigger issues in life? Actually, it was a part of the Buddha’s genius to realize that if you put an end to suffering, you learn a lot of other things about the mind. If you focus on the issue of suffering, a lot of things are brought right there together. Because right where there’s feeling there’s also attention and intention, perception — particularly intention. And when these issues are solved, everything important gets solved as well." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Choice Not to Suffer"
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Even just the first taste of the Deathless, stream entry, is enough to produce a seismic shift in your whole awareness, your whole understanding in what you think you are, and what’s possible in life, and in the importance of your own actions.

"According to the Buddha, though, there is one thing that doesn’t disappoint. When you pursue Awakening, when you pursue nibbana, it’s not going to lead to disappointment. Quite the contrary, it goes wildly beyond your expectations, wildly beyond your hopes. Even just the first taste of the Deathless, stream entry, is enough to produce a seismic shift in your whole awareness, your whole understanding in what you think you are, and what’s possible in life, and in the importance of your own actions. Once you reach that state, your conviction in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha is unshakeable. Your standards for what counts as true happiness get ratcheted up immeasurably." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Culture Shock" (Meditations2)
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