You suffer, not from what comes into the mind, but from what comes out of it. If the real cause of suffering was outside, you’d have to make the world a perfect place in your quest to put an end to suffering.

"The cause of suffering lies inside. You suffer, not from what comes into the mind, but from what comes out of it. Things outside — society, the climate — might be atrocious, but they’re not the real cause of your suffering. If they were, then in the quest to put an end to suffering, you’d have to make the world a perfect place. But the world resists being made perfect."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Four Noble Truths"

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Equanimity rests on the confidence that as long as you put in positive energy with positive intentions, positive results will have to come out at some point.

The even-mindedness of a fully awakened person is an attitude not of cold indifference, but rather of mental imperturbability.

What would actually happen if I made the effort to change the sad way things are? What would be the unintended consequences?