Venerable Ajahn Chah

Practicing like this puts the heart at ease.

It's like we're riding in a horse cart.

We don't put the cart before the horse.

Or it's just like trying to plough a rice paddy while walking in front of our water buffalo, rather than behind.

What I'm saying here is that the mind is getting ahead of itself.

It's impatient to get quick results.

That's not the way to do it.

Don't walk in front of your water buffalo.

Give it water and fertilizer.

and it will do the job of absorbing the nutrients.

When ants or termites come to infest it, we chase them away.

Doing just this much is enough for the chili to grow beautifully on its own.

And once it's growing beautifully, don't try to force it to flower when we think it should flower.

It's none of our business.

It will just create useless suffering.

Allow it to bloom on its own.

And once the flowers do bloom, don't demand that it immediately produce chili peppers.

Don't rely on coercion.

that really causes suffering.

Once we figure this out, we understand what our responsibilities are and are not.