Question: Dear Sayadaw, my question is how to change a person from relying on themself to relying on others into relying on practice?

We need to do good deeds more and more, no choice. But in society, doing good deeds is not common and very rare. So it is difficult to do good deeds in society. That’s why we have to do by ourselves. The more we do, the more we can do. If we are trying to do good deeds all the time, we will be together with the others who are also doing good deeds like us all the time. In this way, we can do more. If there are many people in the group, we can do many things. If there are many different people in the group, we can do many different things. Doing good deeds is the best we all can do. If something or someone is complete, we can rely on something or someone. In fact, nothing or no one is complete. That’s why we need to detach from something and someone. To detach from something or someone we need to focus on practice present actions of doing good deeds. We should emphasize doing good deeds at the present moment. Thabarwa centers are busy with all kinds of good deeds not only practicing meditation. It is because we emphasize doing good deeds at the present moment. We don’t emphasize someone whether it is good or bad. We don’t emphasize on something whether it is right or wrong. We don’t emphasize the time, the place, whether it is good or bad. We just emphasize being mindful of the present moment to keep precepts at the present moment. We should emphasize volunteering now, helping now, giving now, keeping precepts now, keeping the mind to be stable and pure now, not later. If we understand now, we need to do now.

This theory is the cause of Thabarwa centers, so we are busy all the time from 2007 until now. In society, we have to do only with our family our friends, no other choices. We have to take care of ourselves, our family, our jobs, our friends. That is the cause of detachment. That’s why in the beginning, it was better to do a good deed in the meditation centers and meditation retreat. There were many things to do, not enough leaders. There were many people in society and not enough people to take care of themselves. Therefore, in the meditation centers, we had many choices and then being able to detach from ourselves. There were also many things to do and it would be helpful to detach from what we used to do.

It is the same in meditation centers. We have to establish many other meditation centers. It will need many meditation masters. In this way, the meditators will have chances to detach from one center, one teacher, one method. If there are more and more meditation centers, it is easier to detach from the centers, masters, methods. If they can detach, it is easy to get success in their practice. It is the same. We are experiencing, so we should try to do good deeds by ourselves. Besides, we should try to help others to be able to do like us. If more and more people do good deeds like you, it is easy to detach from yourselves. If there are also many meditators or volunteers, it is easy to detach from someone. If we do step by step, it is difficult to change from someone doing good deeds or practice. It may be difficult, so we need to change from this person to that person, this place to that place, this method to that method. It is easy. And then we should try from this person to the present actions of doing good deeds if we do step by step.

I have the aim of opening many Thabarwa centers. If there is only one center or a few centers, they will have a strong attachment to a place. Therefore, opening many new centers makes people to detach from one center. After that, they may be easy to detach from someone and to be busy with doing good deeds at one of those places. Now there are two places of Thabarwa center in Vietnam. That’s why people can choose. If they cannot stay at the new TNC in Ho Chi Minh, they can stay at the nursing home. This is better. This is the way of detaching from the place and from the person. There are many volunteers, centers, meditators, monks, nuns in that place. It is easy to detach from someone and something. It will be helpful to emphasize doing good deeds. If there are two places and different jobs, people have chances to do good deeds continuously. If they cannot do it here, they can do it there. In this way, they will be easy to do good deeds continuously and then they can detach from their practice at the present moment. We should not focus on only one person and one method. If we cannot teach that person, we will teach another person. If I cannot teach the Singaporean, I will teach the Vietnamese. In this way, more and more people will be able to do good deeds. In this way, we can get success countrywide and worldwide. Only when we have enough power of doing goods deeds, we can get success. To get a stronger power of good deeds, we need to continue doing good deeds. If we cannot do it here, we will do it there. If we cannot do with this person or this group of people, we will do with another group of people. In this way, the power of doing good deeds will be stronger and it will be easy. Because the problems are not with that person or that person, the problem is weakness. Not having enough power of doing good deeds, we cannot get success to work together with people and with places. It is difficult to go beyond the limit. Many new people are willing to support to Thabarwa centers because we are able to do good deeds beyond the limit. That’s why we get the success countrywide. Now we are trying to get success worldwide. That’s why it will be great if we can do it.

Sayalay Pañca Khandha transcribes