Thanissaro Bhikkhu on the Ultimate Goal

"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)

"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"

"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 ...

"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"

"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)

"So, renunciation is a trade — and it’s a good trade, a trade up. You’re trading candy for gold. You’re abandoning the fears and worries that come with trying to lay claim to power, trying to lay claim to material things, and you’re finding your pleasure elsewhere, in safe places: inside you, in your experience of the body and the mind as you experience it from within. An area where no one else can enter, no one else can sense. If you’re looking for your pleasures outside, people can see the material things you have and they can want them. But when you’re looking for pleasure inside, it’s nobody else’s business — which means it’s safe . Nobody else has to know. But you’ve developed your resources inside: through the brahmavihāras, through the practice of jhāna, right concentration, until you get to that third high and luxurious bed of the Buddha’s which is the noble bed — where the mind is free from its effluents. In other words, no longer any dangers from outside, and also no da...

"If you focus on the area inside, you don’t have to conflict with anybody. No one is going to move into your territory. No one can evict you and take over your place — except for the fact that the body will evict you from the body at some point. Otherwise, you’re in this world wherever it goes. It’s your territory. So you want to make sure that it’s in order, and it’s not creating a lot of suffering for itself. It’s in a world that has lots of potentials for suffering, but also potentials for happiness. It’s in this inner world where the Buddha talks about touching deathless with the body. This is what he means: The deathless is something that will appear in your inner world. There’s that possibility, too, right here. So try to stay as grounded as you can right here, as sensitive as you can — sensitive not only in sense of sensing what’s going on, but also in the sense of understanding. When something happens, if there’s any pain, any suffering: Why? What can be done about it? It’...