You left a plate of food standing outside, and the ants crawled in.
After a while, you put it in the fridge without checking.
The next time you take it out to eat, you saw the ants in the food, and you said,
"I so poor thing. I can't eat. All because of the stupid ants' fault."
Really?
Who's the Real poor thing here?
Because of your own laziness and heedlessness, you left the food outside.
Naturally the ants smelling the food, will crawl into the food.
You still have your life, don't you?
You still can easily cook or find something else to eat.
But what about the ants?
They're dead.
So many lives were lost because of your one act of laziness and heedlessness.
The ants are just doing something that's natural to them - finding food to satisfy their hunger.
Don't you look for food when you're hungry?
Just as Ajahn Chah used to tell the Western monks,
"You Western monks have got stupid feet."
Cos' the Western monks are always stumping their foot or stepping into things.
What Ajahn Chah is saying, is -
It's YOUR fault.
Stop blaming others.
Blaming doesn't solve the problem.
Stop even blaming yourself.
Blaming yourself doesn't solve anything either.
Acknowledge (ie admit you've made a mistake),
Forgive, and Learn never to do it again.
That's growth.
Says who?
Says The Buddha.
"The cultured man blames others;
The semi-cultured man blames himself;
And, the fully cultured man blames neither."
(They learn from the experience.)
- The Buddha
"Man's mind is given to so much self-deceit (and conceit) that he does not want to admit his own weakness/es
He will try to find some excuse to justify his action and to create an illusion that he is blameless.
If a man really wants to be free, he must have the courage (and humility) to admit his own weakness/es."
- Venerable Dr K Sri Dhammananda
"Stop scratching your head when your butt is itching."
- Ajahn Mun and Ajahn Chah
"People who blame others are like people who stumped their foot against a chair and scolds and beats the chair for being there;
Who scolds the traffic lights for turning red;
Who bangs and hits and complains when their computers breaks down, or is 'slow';
In short, Insane."
"Who's more stupid -
The person who beats and scolds the chair (for being there),
Or, the chair?"
