To Select the Place to Live

Here, Monks, a Monk lives in some jungle thicket. While he is living there his unestablished mindfulness does not become established, his unconcentrated mind does not become concentrated, his undestroyed taints do not come to destruction, he does not attain the unattained supreme security from bondage (Enlightenment); and also the necessities to sustain life that should be obtained by one gone forth robes, almsfood, resting place, and medical care - are hard to come by. That Monk should depart from that jungle thicket that very night or that very day; he should not continue living there.

Here, Monks, a Monk lives in some jungle thicket. While he is living there his unestablished mindfulness does not become established, his unconcentrated mind does not become concentrated, his undestroyed taints do not come to destruction, he does not attain the unattained supreme security from bondage (Enlightenment); yet the necessities to sustain life that should be obtained by one gone forth robes, almsfood, resting place, and medical care - are easy to come by. The Monk should consider thus: However, I did not go forth from the home life into homelessness for the sake of robes, almsfood, resting place, and medicinal care. Having reflected thus, that Monk should depart from that jungle thicket; he should not continue living there.

Here, Monks, a Monk lives in some jungle thicket. While he is living there his unestablished mindfulness becomes established, his unconcentrated mind becomes concentrated, his undestroyed taints come to destruction, he attains the unattained supreme security from bondage (Enlightenment); yet the necessities to sustain life that should be obtained by one gone forth robes, almsfood, resting place, and medical care - are hard to come by. The Monk should consider thus: However, I did not go forth from the home life into homelessness for the sake of robes, almsfood, resting place, and medicinal care. Having reflected thus, that Monk should continue living in that jungle thicket; he should not depart.

Here, Monks, a Monk lives in some jungle thicket. While he is living there his unestablished mindfulness becomes established, his unconcentrated mind becomes concentrated, his undestroyed taints come to destruction, he attains the unattained supreme security from bondage (Enlightenment); and also the necessities to sustain life that should be obtained by one gone forth robes, almsfood, resting place, and medical care - are easy to come by. That Monk should continue living in that jungle thicket as long as life lasts; he should not depart.

(In the case of selecting a certain village, town, city, country, person, similar discourses were spoken.)

(Reference: MN 17)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares Teachings that can help a Practitioner select a place to live.

While this Teaching is shared and described in a way that relates to the ordained lifestyle, this Teaching can be applied to the household lifestyle as well.

The Buddha is essentially helping Practitioners understand that the goal of this life, and especially ordained life, is to develop the mind towards the attainment of Enlightenment.

Gotama Buddha presents four (4) different situations that could exist and provides guidance if one finds themselves in that situation.

(1) If a Practitioner finds they are in a living situation where they are unable to actively develop the mind and the necessities to sustain life are difficult to acquire, The Buddha advises that one should leave that location “that very night or that very day; he should not continue living there”.

The goal of this life should be to develop the mind and in order to accomplish that goal, a Practitioner will need to sustain their life. In this situation, the Practitioner is not able to develop their mind nor sustain their life, thus, The Buddha advises to leave that location immediately.

(2) If a Practitioner finds they are in a living situation where they are unable to actively develop the mind and the necessities to sustain life are easy to acquire, The Buddha advises that one should leave that location. He says, they “should not continue living there”.

The goal of this life should be to develop the mind and in order to accomplish that goal, a Practitioner will need to sustain their life but sustaining life is not the only goal. In this situation, the Practitioner is not able to develop their mind but can easily sustain their life, thus, The Buddha advises that one “should not continue living there” because there is no ability to develop the mind.

You might consider that if you are living with other people who are unsupportive of your journey to Enlightenment, abusive situations, or places where life sustaining resources might be easy to acquire but the environment is not one that is conducive to the development of the mind, this is a living situation that you should leave. Otherwise, you might be sustaining your life but you are unable to cultivate the mind towards the attainment of Enlightenment. The being is trapped and unable to experience liberation because one is choosing to stay stuck in an environment that is mentally unhealthy and unsupportive, so why stay?

Making adjustments to one’s life moving towards an environment that is conducive of development on The Path to Enlightenment may take time to obtain. If one’s life is being sustained through the resources needed for life, that is a benefit. With that foundation, a Practitioner can then start to look for a different opportunity where they can move to an environment where development of the mind and life sustaining resources are available, like described in option 4.

Choosing where to live is an important and impactful decision that one should closely consider ensuring a wise decision is made. A hasty decision of where to live could result in an unbeneficial outcome. If you realize that you are in a situation that is unconducive to your growth and progress in life, rather than jumping into another situation that is unbeneficial, ensure you take your time making a wise decision that will lead to wholesome outcomes.

Notice The Buddha does not advice to immediately leave this situation but instead, his guidance is that one “should not continue living there” because there is no ability to develop the mind.

(3) If a Practitioner finds they are in a living situation where they are able to actively develop the mind and the necessities to sustain life are not easy to acquire, The Buddha advises that one should continue to live at that location. He says, they should “continue living (there); he should not depart”.

The goal of this life should be to develop the mind and in order to accomplish that goal, a Practitioner will need to sustain their life but sustaining life is not the only goal. In this situation, the Practitioner is able to develop their mind but cannot easily acquire the needed supplies to sustain their life, thus, The Buddha advises that one “continue living (there); he should not depart” because there is the ability to develop the mind while obtaining the needed resources to sustain life is more challenging.

The priority is to develop the mind so as long as life sustaining resources are obtainable, one should continue to reside in a location such as this, because the primary goal of developing the mind exists.

So even though life sustaining resources “are hard to come by”, The Buddha advises to reside in this location. With that said, a Practitioner should still be interested in moving towards a living situation as described in option 4.

(4) If a Practitioner finds they are in a living situation where they are able to actively develop the mind and the necessities to sustain life are easy to acquire, The Buddha advises that one should continue to live at that location “as long as life lasts; he should not depart”. Essentially, The Buddha advises that this is the ideal location to reside and one should stay at this location the remaining time of their life.

The goal of this life should be to develop the mind and in order to accomplish that goal, a Practitioner will need to sustain their life. In this situation, the Practitioner is able to develop their mind and can easily acquire the needed supplies to sustain their life, thus, The Buddha advises that one should “continue living (there); as long as life lasts; he should not depart”. This is the ideal location to live the rest of this life continuing to develop the mind and live at ease with the needed resources to sustain life while keeping impermanence in mind.

There may come a time when, due to impermanence, living in this location is not possible. Therefore, knowing the attributes that are important to select a location to live, one can then find a new location where development of the mind is the priority and easily acquiring life sustaining resources “are easy to come by”.

A wise Practitioner might choose to employ this same Teaching related to the work environment. The Buddha is describing how to select a location for living but in many ways, our modern day work environment should provide these same attributes as described in this Teaching from Gotama Buddha.

Rather than developing the mind, this can be related to developing one’s career skills. And instead of acquiring the necessities to sustains one’s life, this can be related to the income provided at the job.

(1) If one is not able to develop their career skills and the provided income is low, it would be advisable to leave that position at the soonest possible time.

To excel in life and professional life, one will need to be continuously developing their professional skills. A work environment that does not provide career growth nor a reasonable income is an occupation that might be described as a “dead end job”.

Instead, a wise Practitioner would look for an opportunity where career growth is possible and there is a reasonable income to support your life as described in option 4.

(2) If one is not able to develop their career skills and the provided income is reasonable, it would be advisable to leave that position seeking growth and opportunity which will result in the ability to sustain one’s career over a longer period of time.

If you are in a position where the income is reasonable yet there is no career growth, then one’s career could easily stagnate where you will find yourself lacking the future ability to obtain increased opportunities as life progresses.

To excel in life and professional life, one will need to be continuously developing their professional skills. A work environment that does not provide career growth but does provide a reasonable income is an occupation that might be described as a “stagnating job”. Instead, a wise Practitioner would look for an opportunity where career growth is possible and there is a reasonable income to support your life as described in option 4.

(3) If one is able to develop their career skills but the provided income is low, it would be advisable to stay in that position seeking growth and opportunity which will result in the ability to sustain one’s career over a longer period of time with the potential for increased income as one’s wisdom increases.

A Practitioner might choose to think of the improved career skills and growth as part of their compensation rather than, having the view that all compensation is through monetary gain. Through acquiring professional positions that support your career growth, especially early in your career, you will be able to develop wisdom which will always lead to improved income. If you prioritize income over wisdom, you may find that your career will “stagnate” leaving you unable to acquire the income you need later in life when your professional skills are no longer relevant or desirable in the marketplace. Instead, prioritize your career growth through acquiring new skills rather than acquiring income. This will result in more wisdom which employers will always be willing to compensate you for as you become an expert in your field.

If you are in a position where the income is low yet there is career growth, then one’s career could easily grow where you will find yourself with the future ability to obtain increased opportunities and income as life progresses.

To excel in life and professional life, one will need to be continuously developing their professional skills. A work environment that does provide career growth but provides a low income is an occupation that might be described as a “growth job”. A wise Practitioner would benefit from this opportunity where career growth is possible and understand that compensation is all inclusive of training, quality of work, and income. As long as there is enough income to support and sustain a modest life, you might decide to prioritize growth of career skills rather than income, allowing you to become an expert in your field where your skills will be in high demand ensuring longevity in your career with the ability to obtain increased amounts of income as your wisdom and responsibilities increase.

(4) If one is able to develop their career skills and the provided income is reasonable, it would be advisable to stay in that position for an extended period of time seeking growth and opportunity which will result in the ability to sustain one’s career over a longer period of time with continually increasing amounts of income as one’s wisdom and responsibilities increase.

A Practitioner might choose to think of the improved career skills and growth as part of their compensation in addition to the monetary gain. Through acquiring professional positions that support your career growth, especially early in your career, you will be able to develop wisdom which will always lead to improved income.

To excel in life and professional life, one will need to be continuously developing their professional skills. A work environment that does provide career growth and does provide a reasonable income is an occupation that might be described as the “ideal job”. A wise Practitioner would benefit from this opportunity where career growth is possible and understand that compensation is all inclusive of training, quality of work, and income. As long as there is continued growth and income to support and sustain your life, you might decide to stay at this job for as long as possible.