Contentment

A second fundamental principle underlying our lives as samanas is that of contentment. We are taught to cultivate gratitude and appreciation for the robes, almsfood, lodgings and medicines that we receive, whatever their quality. We go against the worldly desire for the biggest, the finest and best. We’re willing to make do with second best or third best. We find we can be happy with the worst, the things that nobody else wants.

That is a wonderful discovery. Whatever we are given, we remind ourselves, is good enough. ‘Beggars should not be choosers.’ Even the coarsest requisites that we use have been offered freely with faith and have been purified by the benevolence of the donor. It is our responsibility to make use of the requisites that are given to us with mindfulness and wisdom. The Buddha said that the merit gained by the donor is directly affected by the purity of mind by which we receive and make use of their gift. Our life, even in solitude, is thus always being affected and affecting others.

To be content means that we don’t waste our time scheming about getting things that we don’t have or don’t have a right to. It frees the body for more wholesome activities and frees the mind for more wholesome thoughts. As samanas we do not covet the requisites of other monks with narrow beady eyes. We don’t even touch the possessions of others unless we have been invited to.

This reflection by Ajahn Jayasaro is from the talk, The Beauty of Sila.