True Buddhist practice consists not only of inner letting go but also requires concrete action in the world, with the mind being cultivated in both aspects.
The text tells of a young man who chants, recites, and meditates daily, taking in teachings from Ajahn Su Dhamma. He learns that one should recognize and let go of what is one's own. On the way home he sees a large pile of garbage blocking the road and stinking, and thinks of the teaching he has learned. A teacher asks in a course whether the man has understood the teaching correctly; the answer is eighty percent yes, but Ajahn would say it is not correct. Letting go refers to the work on the mind, not to the mere surrender of problems. One must also act when a problem can be solved. The text extends this to everyday situations such as illness, parents who do not listen to advice, and the need to cultivate action and mind simultaneously. The central message is that true practice encompasses both inner letting go and outer action.
Analysed with qwen3.8-27b, version v3.
The same standards apply to every tradition, see Values.
Full text in English
A young man, every morning, would spend his time paying respects to the Buddha, making offerings to the Buddha, and then sitting in meditation. After finishing his meditation, he would open the Dhamma of Sister Suthamma. There are two lines of the Amma’s teaching, one of which is: “Things that should be feared should not be clung to; they are not self, not ours.” Then there is a further explanation that one should not cling to what is considered self or ours. One day, he felt comfortable and peaceful. In the morning, he went to the end of the alley to buy some things. On the way, he encountered a pile of garbage that had been thrown out by people from different alleys. It was not the designated place for garbage, but people had still thrown it there, forming a large pile. No one came to collect it. It was said that if it rained, the water would mix with the garbage. He thought, “I can at least send merit.” He ate the food he had bought and arrived at the young man’s house, which was in the same alley. He did not eat, and then felt a bit sick. It was already late in the afternoon. He ate the food he had bought and then remembered that this was the teaching that had been left behind: “Things that should be feared should not be clung to; they are not self, not ours.” We are just enough to cling to them, to know them as they are. He thought of the teaching, but his mind did not settle, so he continued with his daily activities. A teacher came to tell the story of this young man, asking for an explanation in terms of Buddhist doctrine. He asked whether this young man understood the teachings or practiced them correctly. He said, “Sitting there, 80% of the time, it is correct. But if I were to answer, I would say it is not entirely correct. Letting go does not simply mean letting go. Letting go in the religion you refer to means working with the mind. When there is suffering, there is dissatisfaction, and all of this arises because it has arisen. To know it, to know it as it is, that is correct. But when a problem arises, it is a matter of doing something, or acting. Will you let go? People come to fight over the garbage, forming a pile, causing pollution, or perhaps we cannot bear to see it. Work with the mind, let go well. But you must also take action, get down to work. You might invite people in the alley to come, and then wait for it to be cleared, taking the garbage and throwing it in the proper place, or better yet, you must cooperate with the garbage collectors when the bins in the alley are full, or when there is a large pile. Start by sending a message to the local authority, hiring one person. If you let go in the sense of being lazy, or letting go of the sky, or being careless, that is not correct. Letting go refers to working with the mind. Doing only this is not enough; you must also take action. Because if there is something that can still be done, try to send merit, and it is not a burden. Do not let suffering come to disturb your mind. That is good. This is called knowing how to let go, working with the mind. If there is a problem, it must be solved. This is a matter of working with the mind. In times when the young monk was not yet well known, whatever the Buddha’s teachings were, people would do things in a simple way. The bowl was empty, and there was a sense of impermanence. The Buddha also led the way. The bowl should be placed behind, and a cow arose. Because this side was correct, that side was correct, the wind blew, and the rain fell. He was afraid, and it came down to the ground of that hut. The Buddha who was in that hut, I also received it. The rain fell here, so I wiped it, sat, or lay down in a place where the water did not flow, not too much. The Buddha’s belongings, what was seen, was that in this hut, those who were there did not let go, they let go, there was cooperation, there was no conflict. The bowl was empty. So he asked, “Why did the monk not conflict with the bowl?” I said, “It is the dissatisfaction, you see. Right here, this is taking action. When you have a headache, it is like that. There is pain in the body, pain in the stomach, pain in the head. When you go to put things down, to let go, it means that the body suffers, but the mind does not suffer. It is not heavy, not worried, not clinging, not resisting. But doing all of that is not enough. Observe the characteristics of letting go. It is not just this, but in practice, it is another kind of cutting. The Dhamma, the characteristics, the characteristics, all of them have impermanence as the norm. There are many points where non-attachment is not yet fully attained. But even in this matter, from the wind, it is not balanced. That is, when there is breath, there is life, one must strive to take action to attain non-attachment. This is called taking action. If you listen carefully, the other side will speak of the teachings, of letting go. Because everything is not balanced, it is suffering. It is not self, it is not self, it is not ours. From within, it is cut, saying to take action, or to be mindful of action. This is for us, okay. But taking action, not taking action, where it is all about self. There are people who report, there is information to receive, to understand the matter in the monastery. Here, we also forbid it. And if anyone comes to cut the matter, to give to the animal, that is us, but does nothing to help the animal or the person. In the outside world, it is like a sharp gate, or like a wind, a sharpness, the correctness of karma or the animal. This is called taking action, not taking action. But there is one okay thing: taking action, but not taking action. Working to help people in difficulty, helping to treat fish, helping to catch fish. But when not taking action, because the fish is caught by fire, or caught and then caught by fire, it cannot be increased for the fish, or for the love of the fish, or for the treatment of the fish. There is also a sense of loss, of disappointment. It thinks of the real frying, it thinks of helping people or not being able to take care of them. Parents who are sick, not taking action, but not taking action. Father and mother do not follow our guidance. They still eat sugar like before, they still eat before the meal, even though the sugar is high. They might eat pork rice, even though it is a heart disease. The letters, the words, are angry. And then it is said, mother, father, soon they will be at peace. For the parents, there is a sense of guilt for doing things that are not right. The only hope is that at that time, it became a phone call to the daughter. The mother disappeared, and even changing the clothes, there was none.
This must be understood as performing duties without cultivating the mind. Parents are the path for their children, and they also fulfill their duties. This is what we teach. When we perform duties without cultivating the mind, it means we have become attached to things, lacking detachment. Therefore, we cannot have true courage, or words that are truly compassionate, or words that we do not wish to express. We are not anxious. In reality, the meaning of cultivating the mind is broader than that. For example, when we do something, take as an example: performing the daily duty of brushing our teeth and keeping them clean for our younger siblings, eating rice. This is called performing duties for one's own benefit. Performing the duty of our younger sibling Suchyark, drinking water, this is also good. Eating rice is also a duty. The body is indicative of emptiness. One performs duties but does not cultivate the mind. When water is poured, the mind floats. When water is poured into the vessel of the body, but the mind is distracted because it is thinking about problems, about rice, about bad rice, about fighting. This causes the mind to be distracted, even though the body is clean. When it is time to eat, the food is brought to the body because the body has received the nourishment. This is because performing duties without cultivating the mind, performing duties but not cultivating the mind, leads to work not being done well, and the mind becomes burdened. If you, the listeners, say that working is practice, that means when we work, we are performing duties, and we also take care of the mind. When helping others, that is performing duties for the benefit of others, but we do not neglect the care and maintenance of our own mind, so that we can take care of others as well. Because there is a lack of expectation. The elder is ill, but the symptoms are severe. And if one understands that the mind is equanimity, not being attached to the results of actions, but doing one's full duty. Fillawak, doing one's full duty will not be a plantation. It is a way of performing duties and cultivating the mind, performing duties for the benefit of others, but not neglecting the duty of helping others. However, the mind is not affected by the spread of personal differences, or because it is not of interest, or because one likes to speak. When we cultivate the mind, we must also cultivate the mind. Or if we intend to cultivate the mind, we will forget the performance of duties. It may not be the beginning of practice. Having a detached mind, one knows how to let go, to let go of the desired results, or not to be attached to the lack of expectation. Because if one sleeps with a lack of expectation, one should not say, do as we think, we lack proof. Team stri tiny to??? Do good, if it is not appreciated, do not let the goodness of our actions become a matter for them. This is performing duties while cultivating the mind. Do good, but without a lack of expectation. When it is appropriate, they will see our goodness. It is also representing our universe, or going with the understanding that it must be completed, it must be completed, it must be endured. It is a property in the mind, which is a thought in the self, dominating, because it must go as we think. Payload, behind, being the self, staying with the mind, perceiving the body's movements. And then, seeing the mind's thoughts, it is the initial practice in harmonizing the performance of duties and the cultivation of the mind, making them one and the same. And then, when one goes to use the Dharma, it will become an easy matter. Otherwise, one will perform duties but not cultivate the mind, or one will cultivate the mind but not perform duties. Neither is good. You, the listeners, are the reverse of each other.