QuoteProject
How many times have you tried to solve “the problem”? you’ll be trying to solve it not just until you die but for many more lifetimes. Instead, understand that this world is just the play of the senses. It’s the five khandhas doing their thing; it has nothing to do with you. It’s just people being people, the world being the world.
Ajahn Brahm
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote emphasizes the idea that life's problems are endless, and encourages a perspective shift to view life as a sensory experience rather than a personal struggle.

Ajahn Brahm's quote conveys a profound philosophical insight about the nature of existence and the human experience. He suggests that the challenges we face are not personal failures or burdens to be solved, but rather part of the natural unfolding of life. By recognizing that the world is just a play of sensory experiences and not a personal struggle, we can find greater peace and understanding in our lives, as it allows us to detach from the incessant desire to control or solve every 'problem'.

Themes

LifeProblemsPerspectiveUnderstandingExperience

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about stress management, to illustrate the importance of perspective.

More from Ajahn Brahm

Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.
Ajahn BrahmRead
When you have abandoned all past and future, it is as if you have come alive. You are here, mindful...the nature of all types of consciousness reveals itself.
Ajahn BrahmRead
When life is good do not take it for granted as it will pass. Be mindful, be compassionate and nurture the circumstances that find you in this good time so it will last longer. When life falls apart always remember that this too will pass. Life will have its unexpected turns.
Ajahn BrahmRead
Love, oneness, is no separation between you and life. It is a progressive letting go, a progressive not fault finding. Just do nothing and love this moment. Its very beautiful and very deep.
Ajahn BrahmRead

Similar quotes

Helping convene global stakeholders to establish a set of measurable, actionable and consensus-built goals focused on extreme poverty is invaluable.
Bill GatesRead
That said, deciding to avoid other people does not necessarily equate with having no desire whatsoever for company; it may simply reflect a dissatisfaction with what—or who—is available. Cynics are, in the end, only idealists with awkwardly high standards. In Chamfort's words, 'It is sometimes said of a man who lives alone that he does not like society. This is like saying of a man that he does not like going for walks because he is not fond of walking at night in the forêt de Bondy.
Alain De BottonRead
... consciousness is an ever-unfolding, deepening, and expanding process with no end point. We are infinite and complex beings, and our human journey involves not just a spiritual awakening, but the development of all levels of our being - spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical - and the integration of all these aspects into a healthy and balanced daily life.
Shakti GawainRead
When all other rights are taken away, the right of rebellion is made perfect.
Thomas PaineRead
It is said that the present is pregnant with the future.
VoltaireRead
Today we are crushed by the sheer weight of the mechanized forces hurled against us, but we can still look to the future in which even greater mechanized forces will bring us victory. Therein lies the destiny of the world.
Charles De GaulleRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.