Thanissaro Bhikkhu on the Ultimate Goal

"Even arahants make mistakes. Their virtues in terms of the basics of a virtuous life — the five precepts — are unshakeable. They don’t make those mistakes any more, but simple mistakes in saying the wrong thing to the wrong person: That’s human. It has nothing to do with defilements of the mind. It’s simply the fact that we’re human beings with limitations. What’s different about arahants is that they continue to learn from their mistakes. They don’t get knocked off course by them because they have no conceit that’s going to be challenged by the mistake, destroyed by the mistake, or feel threatened by the mistake." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Path of Mistakes" (Meditations4)

"The Buddha never said nirvana is the ultimate equanimity. He said it’s the ultimate happiness. You don’t turn your mind into a resigned oatmeal [dull or plain] kind of state. You find that by letting go, things open up immensely. No limits of space or time. And no need to put in any effort." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "A Soiled, Oily Rag (Three Perceptions in Context)"

"[The Buddha] talks about the goal just enough to make you understand that it’s worth pursuing: the ultimate happiness, the ultimate freedom, totally outside of any physical or mental location in space or time. As he says, if you hold to a perception that the goal might be accompanied by any kind of suffering or regret, drop that perception. Don’t listen to it. The deathless is totally satisfying and ends all your hungers. Once your hungers are satisfied, that solves all your other problems as well." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Uses of Right Concentration"

"Over time, you get a sense of what really works, what you’ve got to do and what will happen as a result, so that you’re not just sitting here with the desire or the wish not to suffer. You’re taking that desire, that wish, and putting it to good use. At the same time, you’re not playing a game of pretending you don’t have these desires in hopes that lack of desire will get you to the goal. If you didn’t really want to find peace of mind, you wouldn’t be here. You’d be off someplace else. And if you lie to yourself about not having that desire, how are you going to understand any of your desires? What’s needed is simply learning how to approach your desires and wishes in a mature way. That’s how we get what we truly want. The heart’s true desire is for a happiness that’s reliable, a well-being that’s reliable, something you can really depend on, something that’s harmless — something that doesn’t age, grow ill, or die. And, as the Buddha said, there is a path to just those things....