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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 13

best not to make the same mistake again. If one does that, From a dharma talk given at
one is already making amends. Remorse is walking into a DDM Chan Meditation Camp,
pit of fire, and repentance is walking out of the pit of fire.” January 20, 1996. Published
He felt happy after hearing this and did not cry anymore, in Liberated in Stillness and
and felt that he did quite well at the Chan retreat. In in Motion, Dharma Drum
the past, his psychiatrist always helped him analyze his Publishing Corp, 2016. EH
problems. I advised him to rely on himself to discover
his own faults, to face and understand them and to let
them go. Facing your problems, accepting them, dealing
with them, and then letting them go is the best method to
return to a faultless state.

Skillful Shelter- Creating

The Conditions for True

Happiness

By Thanissaro Bhikkhu

The values of human society, for the most part, fly right in the
face of a meditative life. Either they make fun of the idea of a
true, unchanging happiness, or they avoid the topic entirely,
or else they say that you can’t reach an unchanging happiness
through your own efforts. This is true even in societies that have
traditionally been Buddhist, and it’s especially so in modern
society, where the media exert pressure to look for happiness in
things that will change.

The practice of meditation for the sake of an unconditioned
Thanissaro Bhikkhu is an American happiness is always counter-cultural. No one else is going to
Theravāda Buddhist monk of the protect your belief in the possibility of true happiness. You have
to protect it yourself. So learn how to skillfully shelter your
Dhammayut Order and currently serves as
practice from the conflicting values of society at large. There are
the abbot of the Metta Forest Monastery in
three basic ways in which you can do this: choosing admirable
San Diego County, California, USA.
friends, learning to live frugally, and finding seclusion as much as
you can.

Choosing Admirable Friends
When you associate with a person, you unconsciously pick up
that person’s habits and views. This is why the most important
principle in shaping the environment around your daily
meditation is to associate with admirable people.