It does not matter what appears

There is not always opportunity for dana and síla, but there is an opportunity for vipassana at any moment, no matter where we are and what we are doing. We usually waste our life with clinging and we do not even realize this. If there is a short moment of awareness of a nama or rupa which appears understanding of the realities of our life can grow. Sometimes there are conditions for calm. For example, we may see the benefit of loving kindness for other people and then there can be moments of calm, moments without lobha, dosa or moha. Calm can then be known as only a conditioned reality, not self. Calm has arisen because of its own conditions and it cannot stay, it falls away again. Acharn Sujin reminded us not to try to make it stay:

“It does not matter when it is gone and then another reality which appears can be known. It does not matter what appears. This ‘it does not matter’ is very difficult, since it usually does matter to us. We attach importance to calm. But when we want to make calm stronger and stronger and we want to have it stay longer and longer, there is no way to know it as it is, no way.” Our clinging to self prevents us from seeing the true nature of calm: only a conditioned reality. If calm is known as a reality which has arisen because of its own conditions and which does not stay we do not try to hold on to it and we are not disappointed when it is gone.