We Can’t Stay Here

As we live in this world, we have to remind ourselves that we can’t stay here. We keep pushing ourselves into the world, and it keeps pushing us out. We come back again, and it pushes us out again. If you want to find a real home, you’ve got to create one inside.

They talk about entering and remaining in, dwelling in, states of concentration. That’s your home, and it’s protected by all the other factors of the path. You’ve got windows and doors that open and close so that you can keep out the bad weather and allow the good weather in; keep out bad influences from outside; let in the good ones. In other words, you exercise restraint of the senses. And you also exercise some restraint over what you let out into the world.

But you’ve got to be especially careful about what you let in. For most of us, our internal homes are like a bus station. Anybody can come in. Anybody can stay. Anybody can run around. You want to be careful about who you let in. Then try to create a sense of well-being inside. This is like decorating your house so that it becomes a home. The breath feels good, the mind can settle down, you think thoughts that are good for the mind to think.

We spend so much of our time getting information that really eats away at the mind. Look at the news of the world. They certainly don’t care about us. So why should we care about them, the ones who are making the news? We have to care about the people right around us. Pay attention to them. Be kind to them. That’s part of creating a good environment, a good neighborhood for your house.

But the real work is inside, getting so that the mind and the body can stay together with a sense of well-being—the mind protecting the body, the body protecting the mind with mindfulness, alertness, and ardency inside. So whatever needs to be fixed, you fix it right away. You’re alert to whatever is happening, but at the same time, you have that sense of well-being.

Remind yourself that you’re in a good place. This is good work that you’re doing, and the sense of well-being that leads to concentration is both mental and physical. Physical in the sense of the well-being of the breath. Mental in the sense of realizing that you’re doing good work here. You’re not engaged in anything unskillful. You’re not engaged in anything harmful at all. This way, you have a good place to stay. Even when the world pushes you out, you can still stay with this good state in your mind. Wherever you go, you’ve got your mind with you. If it’s well trained, it’s well protected, it’s a good place to stay.