Baan Suan Ampond Residence

A HOUSE WHERE ALL'S ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS
AMPOND'S GARDEN ~ PARK ~ HOME

~ At the Baan Suan Ampond Residence ~
a few miles from the busy city center of Bangkok, Thailand,
we found a delightful balance between urban and rural,
privacy and company, land and water, relaxation and stimulation.

Perhaps for you too Baan Suan Ampond will be the perfect spot
for gathering with family, enjoying a Thai massage, and
contemplating the wisdom of the Modern Thai philosophers,
all of whom discourage grasping:

Proverbs from Ajahn Chah (1918 - 1992)

"One day some people came to the master and asked:
How can you be happy in a world of such impermanence,
where you cannot protect your loved ones
from harm, illness or death?

The master held up a glass and said:
Someone gave me this glass;
it holds my water admirably,
and it glistens in the sunlight.
I touch it and it rings!

One day the wind may blow it off the shelf,
or my elbow may knock it from the table.
I know this glass is already broken,
so I enjoy it -- incredibly.

When I accept that the glass is already broken,
every minute with it is precious."

"Do not try to become anything.
Do not make yourself into anything.
Do not be a meditator.
Do not become enlightened.
When you sit, let it be.
When you walk, let it be.
Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing.

When sitting in meditation, say,
'That's not my business!'
with every thought that comes by."

"Try to be mindful, and let things take their natural course.
Then your mind will become still in any surroundings,
like a clear forest pool. All kinds of wonderful,
rare animals will come to drink at the pool,
and you will clearly see the nature of all things.
You will see many strange and wonderful things come and go,
but you will be still. This is the happiness of the Buddha."

********************

Proverbs from Buddhadasa (1906 -1993)

"The entire cosmos is a cooperative.
The sun, the moon, and the stars live together as a cooperative.
The same is true for humans and animals, trees, and the Earth.
When we realize that the world
is a mutual, interdependent, cooperative enterprise --
then we can build a noble environment.
If our lives are not based on this truth,
then we shall perish."

"What is the world full of?
It is full of things that arise, persist, and cease.
Grasp and cling to them, and they produce suffering.
Don't grasp and cling to them, and they do not produce suffering.

The practice is to make the non-arising of grasping
and clinging absolute, final, and eternally void,
so that no grasping and clinging can ever return.
Just that is enough. There is nothing else to do."

********************

Proverbs from Ajahn Sumedho (b 1934)

"The problem is grasping the clock.
So what do I do? Let it go, lay it aside --
put it down gently without any kind of aversion.
Then I can pick it up again, see what time it is,
and lay it aside when necessary."

"Of course we can always imagine more perfect conditions,
how it should be ideally, how everyone should behave.
But it is not our task to create an ideal.
It's our task to see how it is,
and to learn from the world as it is.
For the awakening of the heart,
conditions are always good enough."


"Whatever you think you are, that's not what you are."

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Many thanks to our wonderful hosts for creating
an environment filled with so much restful beauty!

Mickie & Nick Carriker

Open for Business ~ Give them a call!

SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS ON MY
Next Fortnightly Post
Thursday, March 14th

Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
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www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

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KITTI'S LIST ~ You Can Read Anywhere You Go
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www.kittislist.blogspot.com