2. Working Hard
Like A Horse
Dhammatalk
02 February 2014
Prasadha Jinarakkhita
Jakarta, Indonesia
Venerable
Sayalay Susīlā

3. Let me chant something first,
Samantā cakka-vāḷesu atrāgacchantu devatā.
Sad-dhammaṃ muni-rājassa suṇantu sagga-mokkha-daṃ
Dhamma-ssavanakālo ayam bhadantā.
Dhamma-ssavanakālo ayam bhadantā.
Dhamma-ssavanakālo ayam bhadantā
Namo tassa Bhagavato arahato sammā-sambuddhassa.
Namo tassa Bhagavato arahato sammā-sambuddhassa.
Namo tassa Bhagavato arahato sammā-sambuddhassa.
01

4. Sebelum saya bermula ceramah saya,
biarkan saya mengucapkan selamat
tahun baru cina. Happy new year.
This year 2014 is the year of horse,
thus comes the question working
hard like a horse. Working hard is
a good quality, very good quality,
highly recommended working
hard like a Buddha. And working
hard is the root of all success and
it is one of the four Iddhipādā.
But for lay person work hard
for their own purposes and
for monastic like me and Ashin,
we work hard for another purpose.
Let me talk about the working hard for
the lay person work hard like a horse
for whose happiness i guess as a lay
person he works hard to accumulate
wealth.
“Why you want to work
hard to accumulate
wealth?”
You should answer me first before I
give my answer. Because you know
better than me.
Audience : “Just to fulfil the need and
what he needs in life and satisfaction.
Thank you.”
So I guess as a lay person, he works
hard like a horse to accumulate wealth
for few purposes.
First, to enjoy sensual
pleasure.
Enjoy sensual pleasures, we especially
our six senses always long for external
stimulate. The eyes wants to see
beautiful thing, for man the eyes wants
to see beautiful woman and for woman
not only wants to see handsome boy
but wants to see beautiful thing, due
and so on. And our ears constantly
wants to hear the sweet sound, the
praise from other, the music, rock and
roll and any music, any sound that
can please you. And our nose same,
we wants fragrance smell, our tongue
wants to taste delicious food. Some
people can travel the world to find
the best restaurant in the world, just
want to satisfy the tongue. And also
our body wants soft touch, so we wear
the good quality material like a silk.
02

5. And wants to sit in a very soft
comfortable bed, just to satisfy the
body needs and comfort.
And our mind think of different
fantasy just to make ourself happy,
so in our life it seems that the first
aim to satisfy our needs for sensual
pleasure.
However, enjoy sensual pleasure,
while enjoy sensual pleasure,
we always forget the danger in it.
And why sensual pleasures can
stimulate us to indoubt in its because
there is a certain measurement of
satisfaction come from pleasure while
enjoying sensual pleasure.
Why we human beings spent our
life, spent our time, enjoy sensual
pleasure? It is because sensual
pleasure gives us the certain amount
of satisfaction. That satisfaction come
from pleasurable feeling, very pleasure
feeling while enjoy sensual pleasure.
Let me give you an example, suppose
you have sore, the wound, then you
feel very itchy, then you scratch it but
throught your experience you know
was scratching the sore the wound
will become worst, you know already,
right? But can you control yourself
not to scratch, yes or no?
Why? You want to scratch the wound,
the sore. Although you already know,
the more you scratch, the worst the
wound would it be.
So why?
Tell me why?
Audience : “Temporary relieve.”
Sayalay : “I think others must have
some other answers.”
Audience : “Because when you scratch
you feel very pleasureable.”
Yes.
When you scratch you feel very
satisfy. Then because of that
pleasurable feeling, you disregard
the wound, you don’t care because of
that pleasurable feeling; because of
that just one satisfaction that from
pleasurable feeling.
So this is the danger in enjoying
sensual pleasures. So while enjoying
sensual pleasures it is no wrong while
enjoy sensual pleasure through your
wealth.
“You gain your wealth, then
you use your money to enjoy
sensual pleasure, there is
nothing wrong. However
there must be a limit while
enjoying a sensual pleasure.”
For example, an ant is attracted
by the sweet honey. So whenever the
ant see the sweet honey then it will
goes to the sweet honey and take a sip.
Sip the honey, but have you ever see
any ant just take one sip then stop go
away.
Have you ever seen?
So most ant when they take one sip
of honey, he is very satisfy because to
satisfy this satisfaction, he wants more
03

6. He takes the second sip, third sip,
four sip, finally died in the sweet honey.
Therefore there is a danger in enjoying
sensual pleasures. You can enjoy sensual
pleasure using your wealth, your money,
but there must be a limit.
Buddha compare sensual
pleasure is like a man holding
a blessing crush torch then run
against the wind. So the fire
sure will burnt him. So how can
he free from the burn of fire.
How? How?
Throw away the fire.
But to throw it away is not easy
thing. Definitely not easy.
Therefore this enjoy sensual pleasure
is come from kamma tanha. It is the
origin of all suffering.
It is the origin the cause according the
four noble truth, this kamma-tanha is
the cause origin of the truth of suffering.
And because we want to enjoy more
and more sensual pleasure then we long
for life, life after life then it become
bhava-tanha. And this kamma-tanha
and bhava-tanha is so difficult to cross
over.
We can see what is happening
in Indonesia. Indonesia has
high population, very crowded
country and how many monks?
Why so high population and so few
monks? Because the lay person find it is
difficulttorenouncethesensualpleasure.
Only the wise know the danger of
sensual pleasure and willing to let go
and become to monastic.
In one of Bodhisatva’s past time,
his past life, he was very very rich,
inheritage the property, the wealth from
seven generations.
So one day he saw his wealth,
all my parents have accumulate so
much wealth, but past away already,
my grandmother had accumulated
so much wealth and had past away
already, my grand grand parents
up to seven generations all had
pass away already but left behind
so much wealth.
Then he talks to himself. I would
not behave like my parents. Like my
grand parents. My grand grand parents.
I’m going to give away all my wealth as
a dāna generosity to those who needs
and I would become monastic.
Because he understand with all this
wealth is negligence and this wealth will
bring him more harm rather than good.
So this is the first purpose why
the lay person work hard like a horse in
order to accumulate wealth.
04

7. 05
• Sayalay Susīlā , Dhammatalk at Prasadha Jinarakkhita, Jakarta - Indonesia
And the second purpose is
when we accumulate wealth
we feel secure.
There was a time when I was in USA,
I ask my student, why you need so
much money. I ask him. Then he said
that when I have money I feel secure.
But later on he told me again,
now I have enough money already,
I have more than enough, I have so many
houses, but I still do not feel secure.
This is because he misunderstood the
security come from wealth.
Security come from where?
Sīla. Very good.
In Anguttara Nikaya, Buddha said,
when the lay person is endow with
morality (Sīla), he will not feel insecure.
However one of my other student
when she told me that I also keep my
Sīla very well, but I still feel insecure.
Then I answer her, because you cling to
the ego. You cling to the ‘aku’, you cling
to the ‘self ’ atta.
Because all the fear come
from the self.
When there is no self, where does
the fear come from? The real security
come from Sīla and ‘tanpa aku’,
as a conclusion.
One day when I was in aeroplane
to Europe, Germany and inside the
aeroplane that one passenger sat beside
me.
Then he ask me: “Are you a monk?”
I said: “I am not a monk, I am a nun.”
Then he told me that you look very
happy. You look very light and

8. 06
very happy. He said: “I am Iraneese,
I have so much wealth, so rich but I have
so much worry.”
This show that wealth does not
provide you real security. So when you
have wealth, you afraid to be robe by
other people, you afraid the house to be
robe, you afraid of a lot property and
so on. But for me whenever I go I never
afraid people will robe me. Therefore
the real security does not come from
the wealth.
The third purpose why we
work hard like a horse, to
accumulate wealth, is to
support our family especially
our wife, our husband,
our son and daughter.
But the way we educate our son and
daughter, very different from western
culture.
We, i think in my opinion, we give our
son and daughter enough education up
to university then after that let them be
independent, we don’t have to support
them anymore, we don’t have to give all
our money to them. If we give all our
money to them, then this discourage
him to work hard, because he has all
the property, the money, get it so easily,
so how can he work hard.
Living Buddha’s time, there was
a couple, that was born in very rich
family and his parents think that
I was so rich, I don’t have to give
any skill to my son and daughter.
With my wealth, they can spent through
all his life, without any hardship.
So he didn’t educate his son and daughter
with proper education.
So when his parents pass away and
this couple associate with bad company.
Asscociate with bad friends, then he
starts to gamble. So gradually they
squander away all the property.
Then one day, because all the wealth
been squander away, they became
beggar. And while begging food, they
met Buddha. And Buddha smile.
And ânanda ask Buddha, “Bhante,
why you smile?” and Buddha said,
this couple if they can meet with
Buddha Sāsana , the teaching of buddha,
and they try hard when they are young,
the husband can become Arahant. And
the wife can become Anāgāmi.
But their time had passed. Now they
become middle age. When they meet
Buddha age, they can encounter the
teaching of the Buddha and if they strive
hard in meditation then the husband can
become Anāgāmi, the wife can become
Sakadāgāmi.
But now the middle age had passed.
Now they become old. The old age.
Even now I want to teach dhamma to
them, their capability has come weak.
The receive ability dhamma is very
weak. So they are unable to understand
my teaching and they have no energy to
live to strive hard. So what the waste.

9. 07
Therefore we give proper education
to our children. Then we ourself so
have to work for our own spiritual life.
Not only we spent our life time just for
our family, neglecting our own spritual.
Because these parents they didn’t
give proper education to the son and
daughter. And son and daughter end up
in suffering.
So we have to think the proper way to
educate our children; not to give them all
the wealth. But to give them the proper
education how to become a good person,
how to be independent, how to work
hard for his own happiness. So when we
work hard like a horse and accumulate
wealth, we should also understand this
wealth is temporary. It doesn’t belong to
us life after life. So as a good investor
I believe that most of chinese are business
man. So business man must know how
to invest the property.
What is the best way to invest your
money? For happiness in this life and
for the happiness next life and for the
happiness life after life.
So what type of investment?
Dāna. Yes, dāna is the best
investment, if you are a smart
investor you must know how
to invest your money, not
all the money, half for your
family, for your own need but
the rest you should invest in
dāna.
Because if you do dāna in this present
life , you give the dāna give you a
lot happiness. And also when dead
approached while in dead moment,
most people afraid of dead. Why?
Sayalay : “Are you afraid of dead?”
Audience : “Yes.”
Sayalay : “Why? Tell me why?”
Audience : “doesn’t know what happened
after died?”
Sayalay : “exactly”
Because we don’t know after dead
where we go after it. If I know after dead,
I will reborn in heaven I hope I can die
now. Therefore, if you invest your money
in dāna, you have insurance in next life.
During dying moment if you use
to do dāna perform charity, doing
dāna, dying moment, if you can recall,
ask your daughter to help you to
recall all the dāna you have perform
then when you think of that,
all the happiness comes and when you
die at that moment you are sure to
reborn in heaven.
Living in Buddha’s time, there
was a dayaka called damika. He
use to perform dāna generosity
and he encourage his son and daughter
to perform generosity. During his
dying moment, he saw the gati-nimitta,
six types of deva comes from
six heaven realms to invite him born into
heaven. So damika got the permanent
insurance already.

10. 08
Therefore the wealth we acquire not
only for our own family, we also must
invest in dāna for the happiness for next
life, because next life is very important.
And as a buddhist we understand
we had next life to go.
In according to the working of
kamma, the dāna we invest not only
bring happiness in this life, happiness
in next life and also indefinite kamma.
Indefinitely kamma means whatever
good deed even you do one time.
Whatever good deed you perform
when this karma ripen you are bear
the result again and again until you
become Arahant. Therefore it is worth
to invest or not. “Memang bagus.”
So we work hard to accumulate wealth,
to support our family and to gain
security which is not the real security
but all this are mundane happiness.
We also must work for supermundane
happiness.
“I work hard more than a horse.
For my spiritual happiness.”
I will tell you my story, when I first
attended Retreat at Malaysia Buddhist
Meditation Center, my first retreat
there take for 40 days. In during this
40 days, become the all the yogis you
must concentrate on your own object.
Cannot see right, cannot see left.
Cannot see up, you should only crush
down your eyes four feets in front of
you.
And my another yogis who slept
beside me for 40 days. Slept with me
40 days beside me and I don’t know how
she looks like.
And everytime doing walking
meditation I only crush down my eyes
andIonlyknowthelowerpartofherbody.
The upper part I never know how she
looks like.
During this 40 days they silent
retreat, so there is no talking,
interview also not conducted everyday.
So after 40 days, I have to make
a phone call. So when I take up the
telephone, the sound cannot come out.
No sound.
And after that I went to Burma.
Practice under the most strict teacher.
And I sleep only four hours, ten o’clock
I sleep. I get up at two o’clock
and I went to walk to three o’clock.
At three o’clock, I start sitting
meditation, my teacher not yet wake up.
And this last for three years.
Not one day. Sometimes my body was
so tired. When I walked, I do not walk
strict. So I work hard more than a horse.
And when I moved to Pa-uk center,
the center is a forest and afflicted
with malaria. But I didn’t know
Pa-uk center is afflicted with malaria,
but I use to get up at two o’clock so from
mysleepingplacetothemeditationhall is
very far and so dark. But is my habitual
practice so two o’clock I get up and in
the darkness, I walk to meditation hall

11. 09
and the door of meditation hall is
not yet open. Because the door hasn’t
open so I had to sit in front of the
hall and yet because that place is
afflicted by malaria so when one
mosquitous bite you, you can get
malaria; so I sit in front of the hall,
being been
biten by all
mosquitous.
And because of
Mahasi tradition,
I do not use to
talk, I always
keep silent
retreat and when
I went to Pa-uk
center, in Pa-uk
center they do
not keep silent,
because they
stay one year,
two years, it is not
possible to keep
silent through
all the year.
But I just came
from Mahasi
t r a d i t i o n ,
so i want to keep
silent. But they
do not know,
they are way
practice are very
different with my practice way and they
saw I was a foreigner nun in pa-uk, the
first foreigner nun in pa-uk so they feel
very excited, every body want to talk to
me.
So I feel very disturbed. I start
complain to the teacher. And second
day, wherever I walk there is no one
talks to me anymore.
And I become surprised so I start to
talk to people, why now nobody talk to
me.
And the yogi reply, the teacher
announce to the
whole monastary,
nobody should
talk to Sayalay
Susīlā. So this is
why I work hard
more than a horse
for my spiritual
happiness.
And first I work
hard for my
own happiness,
for many-many
years, more than
ten years, now
I work hard for
the happiness of
others.
So as a lay
person I would
like to advice you,
you work hard like
a horse, for your
own happiness,
for your family
happiness and also
you should work hard for your spiritual
happiness.
To work hard for spiritual happiness, we
start with dāna first, follow by sīla then
following by listening to talks or listen
to sutta study or abhidhamma study.
Listening to talk is one type of pariyatti.
• Sayalay Susīlā
Dhammatalk at Bodhi Heart Sanctuary,
Penang, Malaysia

12. 10
Pariyatti is very important
because it give us right view,
pandangan benar, without
pariyatti you strict go to
paṭipatti,sometimesyoumay
not know what the teacher
talks it is correct or not.
Because now are very many
teacher teaching different methods,
different traditions, even in theravada,
so many method, Mogok, Goenka.
So on Pa-uk, Mahasi, so if you learn
under one, that teacher will tell you
there is the only way, there is no other
way then you go to another tradition,
that teacher will tell you there is the
only way, there is no other way then
you get very confused, which way is
the correct, which way is the only way.
Therefore if you have pariyatti
knowledge, you have learn all the
kitab-kitab suci, and at least you have
‘pandangan benar’ the right view to know
what the teacher said, it is accordance
to the Buddha’s teaching or not.
Therefore you have to spent time,
you have to work hard, to spent the time
toattendthetalk,tolistentoabhidhamma
and to study on your own to the kitab suci.
Later on, you have to work hard also
to learn ‘meditasi’. What we have learn
from the ‘kitab suci’ has to be practice,
has to be put into practice, other to
realize if not the knowledge you have
only remain theoritical knowledge.
Same the teaching of the Buddha,
Buddha Sāsana still a live now and we
are so lucky to be reborn as a human
beings. Buddha say there are four things
very rare in this world. First: To reborn
as a human beings now we got it already,
second is to listen to the dhamma,
we got it already, so we got two
reality in the world. If we do not work
hard to attain the spiritual happiness
and it is a waste of our human life.
So as a conclusion, we work hard like
a horse, for two types of happiness,
one is mundane happiness, another is
supra-mundane happiness.
So I hope all of you be convince that
working hard for mundane is not
a good investment. But working hard for
your spiritual happiness like dāna, sīla,
bhavana, pariyatti, paṭipatti, and this
can bring you happiness life after life.
And also the last thing
I’d like to share is when we
work hard for the spiritual
happiness,we are also
preserving,the long lastingof
Buddha Sāsana. And this is
my only aim to come to this
world is just to preserve the
true teaching of the Buddha.
Buddhasāsanam ciraṃ tiṭṭhatu.