If there’s something that you’re doing that’s making a mess and you can stop, why continue living in the mess? As the Buddha saw: Our minds are a mess, or as he said, our minds are on fire. And we can put the fire out.

"The idea that you have no choice in the present moment has no real basis in what the Buddha taught. You wonder why people would want to teach it, and wonder why people would want to listen to it and accept it.

Usually it’s offered as saying, “Well, it’s a great relief that you’re not to be blamed for anything.” It’s like saying, “Well, there’s a huge mess right here, but it’s nobody’s fault, so you just live with the mess — can’t do anything about it.” If that’s your main concern — not to be blamed for the mess — then something’s really wrong.

If there’s something that you’re doing that’s making a mess and you can stop, why continue living in the mess? As the Buddha saw: Our minds are a mess, or as he said, our minds are on fire.

And we can put the fire out. That’s what his teachings are all about, why he called his goal nibbāna, which means the extinguishing of the fires of greed, fires of aversion, fires of delusion."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "You Can Make a Difference"

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