Guarding against Trouble (extract)

"The problem is that sometimes, when we’re practicing the Dhamma, we lack common sense. We hear about the Dhamma protecting us or we hear about our good intentions protecting us, and we think that we don’t have to be wary about the world around us. Our good intentions will protect us. But the Buddha never said that. The protection you get from the Dhamma is that you’re not creating any new bad kamma right now, but it doesn’t protect you from your old bad kamma. So you still have to watch out.

I noticed that Ajaan Fuang was a very wary person — wary of dealing with other people. He wouldn’t trust people right away. He would watch them for a while first. When I lived with him, it was two or three years before I was even allowed in his room. I eventually became his attendant, and then it became my duty. I had to clean up his room and arrange everything. But he wouldn’t allow me in there until he felt that he could really trust me. And when different issues came up in the monastery — so-and-so said this about you, so-and-so said that about you — he would sometimes ask trick questions to see how you would respond, to check to see if the accusation was true. He wouldn’t come right out and trust people right away, because he learned in dealing with his own defilements: You can’t trust your own defilements, and other people have their defilements — so how can you trust them?

So you’ve got to keep your guard up. You can’t believe that simply having good intentions is going to be enough. After all, the Buddha said it’s not good intentions, it’s skillful intentions that matter. That means you have to be circumspect, so that you can avoid dangers."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Guarding against Trouble"

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