NEW MOON - Simplify


Published Thursday, 19 March 2015


Reciting a single verse of truth
which calms the mind
is better than reciting
a hundred meaningless verses.

Dhammapada v. 102

I can still vividly recall on one particular occasion when, being tortured by doubt, I sought the support of my teacher, Ajahn Chah. His initial response was empathy: “I've been there,” he said quietly. Then he followed on with: “If something is inherently uncertain, and we struggle to make it certain, we are going to suffer.” So obvious! Often it is within simplicity that we find solutions to our problems, not with increased complexity. The Buddha is not suggesting we make simplicity a fixed position; when we encounter complexity we must meet it as it is. This verse brings awareness to any compulsive tendencies that we might have to overly-complicate.

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