Thanissaro Bhikkhu on the Ultimate Goal

"What you’re looking for in the meditation is awakening, and awakening is basically awakening to your own stupidity. You’ve been doing things that you shouldn’t have been doing. You should have known better. Then you finally realize that this is why you’re suffering: You like doing them, but they cause what is actually suffering. So you’re going to have to change your attitude, change your allegiance inside. And that takes a lot of honesty to realize, “Okay, I’ve been wrong. This has been a mistake.” Not everyone can do that." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Reflections"

"When the security of our food source — the basis of our mental and material well-being — gets threatened, the finer qualities of the mind can vanish. People who believe in kindness can suddenly seek revenge. Those who espouse non-violence can suddenly call for war. And those who rule by divisiveness — by making a mockery of compassion, prudence, and our common humanity — find a willing following for their law-of-the-jungle agenda. This is why compassion based only on belief or feeling is not enough to guarantee our behavior — and why the practice of training the mind to reach an unconditioned happiness is not a selfish thing. If you value compassion and trust, it’s an imperative, for only an unconditioned happiness can guarantee the purity of your behavior. Independent of space and time, it’s beyond alteration. No one can threaten its food source, for it has no need to feed. When you’ve had even just a glimpse of this happiness, your belief in goodness becomes unshakable. That wa...

"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"

Question: Why is it that Theravāda is considered, with a certain amount of irony, as the small vehicle, whereas Mahāyānists call themselves the great vehicle, which carries its name because they’re more generous? — their goal being, always, the love of others, whereas for Theravāda it’s said to be first the love of yourself? Thanissaro Bhikkhu: It’s not that Theravādins don’t have any concern about other people. It’s more that we have a different sense of what we’re able to do for other people. We can teach other people how to gain awakening and we can set them a good example, but we can’t actually awaken other people. And it’s also not true that in Theravāda practice you don’t do good for other people. Generosity and virtue are large parts of the path. Even your mindfulness practice is good for others: The Buddha says it’s like being part of an acrobatic team. If you can maintain your balance at all times, it makes it easier for other people on the team to maintain theirs. And even ...