Thanissaro Bhikkhu on the Ultimate Goal

"So this is how completion is attained. It’s by focusing on each moment, giving importance to each moment, realizing, “I now have this one in-and-out breath. I’ve got an opportunity to practice. Let’s make the most of it.” Approach each moment as skillfully as you can. And as the moments pass and you’re still alive, you’ve got the opportunity to get more and more skilled. There will come a point where the skill does reach a point of completion. You can’t map it out ahead of time that it’s going to take x number of days, weeks, months, years, lifetimes. But you can be confident that this is where it’s found, this is how it’s done. It’s right here. The more importance you give to the present moment, the closer you get to the goal. That’s why you have to avoid thinking of the goal as something down the line, in terms of stepping back from the present moment and looking out across the calendar. It’s something to be found right here. So look right here. If you give complete attention

"You develop a sense of dispassion. Notice, dispassion’s not saying we’re going to kiss and make up and pretend that everything is okay. Things are not okay. That’s the underlying condition of samsara: It’s not okay . And if you want closure, samsara’s not going to provide it. Part of the mind doesn’t like the idea that there are all these dangling ends that are not tied up. But our lives are nothing but dangling ends. How many dangling ends are left over from your previous lives, you have no idea. We’ve been going through samsara with lots of ends dangling. The only closure is to admit that the whole business is not okay and it’s time to get out. It’s only when you get out that you’re really free." So when hurtful memories come up like this, remind yourself that as a meditator you now have new tools and a new identity: the person who’s mastered those tools. That changes the narrative and heads it toward the only point of genuine closure — nibbana — which no longer involves

"You have the freedom to say, “I want something different; I want something better.” You can determine on that, and follow through with that determination. At the very least, you will have given the Buddha’s challenge a try. Because that’s what his teachings are: a challenge. They’re basically saying, “You there in the world! You there in the prison of the world! You can get out! It’s going to require effort but you can get out!” The prison wardens may try to hold you back, but unlike a regular prison break, you don’t have to be sneaky. You want to make the kind of decisions — and you will be making the kind of decisions — that you’re happy to make in the full light of day, living a life, as the texts say, as clean as a polished shell. So that’s the choice that’s available to you, and it’s up to you to take advantage of it or not." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Self Determination"

"Reflect on your own suffering and happiness: Don’t think about whether you deserve to be happy. The way to put an end to suffering is open to all. Do what you can to create the causes, not only for happiness in this life, but also for a happiness that’s solid and sure: the happiness of awakening. That’s when you have real compassion and empathetic joy for yourself. And that’s not a selfish thing." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Sublime Determinations: a Retreat on the Brahmavihāras"