Spend Your Time Wisely

The world around you has defined certain activities and interests as the norm. You are conditioned to believe the same, and you continue to pursue these without questioning whether they are truly necessary for your physical, mental, and overall well being. 

The tables turn in your favor when you begin assessing where to invest your time and resources. But how can you spend your time wisely and focus on what is sensible rather than sensational? 

Intrigued to learn more? Listen and discover! 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Welcome to the Art of Being Happy, Buddha's Guide to Modern Living from Jaitavanarama Buddhist Monastery, Sri Lanka. This intriguing talk series brings timeless Buddhist wisdom to help you navigate life's challenges through simple practical insights. Each episode offers gentle guidance for finding peace and joy in everyday moments. Join us on this journey toward lasting happiness and inner peace. Brought to you by Sanatanadani, the voice eternal.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Therefore, you don't have time to spend with your family, friends, parents. It's not that people don't have time. Yeah, once in a while you go to your phone settings and find out how much time you spent, screen time, you'll be shocked at what you see. How much time you know, you could always say, I don't have time. I don't have time, I don't have time. But have a look at how much time you've spent on Facebook, how much time you've spent on Instagram, how much time you've spent on social media, YouTube and so on, watching things that just didn't mean anything to you, just consumed your time. Then you'll see how much time there was actually there to spend time with your friends, your family, to go to the temple, to go to the church, to go to the mosque, to go to the covir, to be religious, to be virtuous, to cultivate your mental virtues. There's always time, there it's the thing is these things steal your time. Unbeknown to you, then you realize at the end of the day, no time. When you sit in front of the TV watching a game of cricket, football, whatever, right? How many hours of your time does that kill? Think about it. How many hours of your time does that kill? You know, whether it's tennis, formula one, football, cricket, swimming, Olympics, you name it. All you're getting out of it is a mental kick, a mental satisfaction. That's all you get out of here, a mental tickle. What good does it do to your body? You see the soccer players running here and there, you know, exercising their bodies, and you know, they are athletic. They're running here, they're everywhere. They're very strong and agile and very athletic. What good does that do to you while you watch it? Especially if you have those crisps open in your bag. Don't even know what your hand is doing. You only know that you've finished because your fingers hit the bottom and it's empty. You have the drinks here, you have the fizzy drinks there. Isn't this how you might have spent many of your valuable lively hours? Sorry to say, ladies and gentlemen, you're just wasting your life. You're wasting your life. I'm not going to say time, you're going to you're wasting your life. I'm sorry to say this, but that is the truth. I don't encourage watching sport. Sorry. Then he'll ask me, but what are we supposed to do? Aren't we supposed to watch sport and celebrate and all that? Get this core at the end if you want to, really want to. Just get this core at the end. If you want to know who won, just get this code at the end. Why should you sit throughout the whole three hours, four hours, five hours, six hours, sometimes a whole tournament? What do you get out of it? You burn electricity, your TVs, LEDs have been burned, your eyes have been exhausted. Most of all, you're spending something you can never get back. Ask yourself, why are those things shown to you for free? If something's ever given to you for free, you are the commodity being sold. Don't you forget that? Sorry, but this is the ugly truth. I myself used to sit in front of the TV and watch cricket, because I love cricket. I love watching cricket, not necessarily playing cricket. Now I kick myself in the back whenever I'm reminded of that. Like I said, I should not be allowed to speak. Don't you agree? Because half of this nation survives on watching cricket. Huh? If you didn't have the cricket tournaments, then there'll be mayhem. Then there's another part of the world, the western part of the world. They survive on football. Then there's another part of the world, they survive on golf. I mean, not even the players get the exercise there. Not for me to criticize, but you know, these are just made-up sports. Once again, I should not be allowed to speak, right? I get it, you know, there's an element of sophistication there. You know, you got to judge your angles, you've got to use the right club, you've got to you know, there's a lot of maths that go in there, a lot of thought, insight, and all that. But physically and mentally, what's the game? It's like playing board games. At least if you're running around the track, you're getting something out of it. Win or lose, you've got something out of it. These are all made-up sports for mental tickles. What do you get out of Formula One? There are scientists who experiment on these things, you know, physics advances, yes. Like material science advances, yes. Aerodynamics advance, yes, and they know a lot of industries benefit out of that. I get that. The car industry benefits from that. And various fields of science develop, they expand, they grow, all that is good, all moving in the knowledge direction. But at the end of the day, besides the paycheck, the glory, the fame, which are all nonsensical, because if you didn't have that ego, then glory and fame are merely it's merely just dust. So all this is just feeding egos. What do they gain out of it? And the risk that they take, those cars are designed to be fast, not safe. They're not like your your domestic cars, not your domestic vehicles. You know, they're not designed to be safe, they're designed to be fast. So then you have a compromise on safety. And you see when they have these accidents on those tracks? This is not a criticism of anyone or the people or the communities. It's not that let us know. I just want to help open people's eyes. That is my only intention here. I really hope you people understand that. If you think that it's something else, please get up and leave or just switch off the video, don't watch it to the people watching this online. Honestly, my intention is not to hurt. But I have someone has to open your eyes to this truth. Like I said, one plus one is three when you do it how many times? Last PP asked, I asked you this question. One plus one is three when you do it how many times? Many of these sports, they were there when you arrived. When you landed, they were there. When you were born, they were there. So you were indoctrinated to think that it is the norm. It is right. This is what we are supposed to do. So you just went with the floor. But what do you gain out of it? Physical exercise is necessary, absolutely. I try and give myself physical exercise as much as I can as a monk. Whatever is allowed for me to do, I do that. Because it's essential for fitness, to keep myself healthy. It's essential. Because this body is actually here. Mental health, mental well-being is also essential. That is also essential because I have a mind. And for that, the only answer is the Dhamma, nothing else. So, what about all the other things that are neither support the physical well-being nor the mental well-being? Mental tickling is not mental well-being. I'm not a social pirana. I'm only here to help you open your eyes and see that what the world says you're supposed to do is a complete hoax. People just keep on digging pits around you, and without you knowing, you fall into it. The moment you come out of one, you fall into another world. And the moment you come out of that, you hold to another one. This is what's happening to you. You know, I'm not suggesting you must all come in monastic lives like like I do, but at least if you remain in your lay lives, do things that are only that are sensible. Don't just do things because they're sensational. But you're highly influenced by a sensational society, a sensational media, sensational TV programs, the sensationalism culture. Very easy to fall into that. No one criticizes you for that. Do what is sensible, think about what's right, not just because someone says so, not because your parents say so, not because your teachers say so, not because I say so. Not because the Buddha says so. After all, it's not the Buddha's life you're living, you're living your life, isn't it? So just because the Buddha says, doesn't mean you've got to do it. You've got to do it if it's the right thing for you. If it's in the Tripitaka must we all do it? Just because it's there? No. Then if it's in the Bible, must we do it? No. Not because it's there, but if it makes sense to us, then we do it. That is why we are all gifted with intelligence. Doctors of the past, our ancestral doctors, a village doctor, they were karmologists. So their teachers taught them about karma as much as they taught them about medicine. Those two disciplines went hand in hand. Always. That's why doctors of the past would always advise and recommend as part of your treatment plan to do some meritorious tea. Sometimes they might even say, go and do a bodhi puja. Right for the next seven days and then come back and we'll start treatment. If your doctor today at a private hospital says that, you wander, are you nuts? You'll ask the doctor that. So doctor's fee is 2,000. You asked, oh, if I pay you 10,000 more, can you exempt me from that bodhi puja? What do you think? You can negotiate with karma vipaka. Your money means nothing outside the conventional world. That's why the people who think that money is everything, I say, you have nothing. You are so poor, all you have is money. I know you are not like that. Maybe you used to be, but I know you have changed now. Money is nothing outside the conventional world, isn't it? See, I'm a happy man. I don't have a scent to my name. Money in money does not bring happiness. I used to have a lot of money, but I didn't have happiness. I didn't come into this world to become a rich man. I came in this world to become a happy man. Happiness was what I always sought. So don't think that money can always substitute some whatever else you have to do. Your good karma cannot be substituted by money. You can't pay up for penance. Some vipakas you must have to pay by enduring that vipaka. You have to go through it. That's what I say. Just because someone says something, you mustn't fall into that. Associate with people who can help you navigate your life, not just help you do your monthly budget or your yearly finances. Truly ask yourself, you know, back then, perhaps you know, now you're different because you know associate the Mahasangha quite a lot more than you used to. But did you not spend more time with your accountant than you did with the local temple monk? With the priest, with the rabbi. He spent more time with your accountant. What did he do? Help you pay less taxes and earn more money to yourself. You are spending your life earning money. Earning money, making money, saving money. The price you were paying, you didn't even realize how much you were exchanging. The exchange rate. Most people's exchange rate for money is one lifetime. Any exchange they get a million dollars. One lifetime. The funny thing is this though, you can't give a million and get a lifetime back. You can give a life and get a million, but try giving a million and getting a life back. So it's not true both ways. It only works one way. So do try and spend time listening and associating with the right kind of people who can guide you. Just because we are older, just because we are more matured, like because uh through age, experience, doesn't mean we are wiser. Maybe a seven-year-old is far wiser than you. You need to learn to accept that with humbleness and humility. Just assume there's a seven-year-old samaneira, not even a high or dame monk, like a samaneira, and now he's seven years of age, and comes into the sana with an understanding, not because his parents pushed him into the sasana. Oh, they're some upper, and because of that they have to go become a monk. I don't get that, but people do that. But seven years old is enough for one to understand these truths. At age seven, if you are born with the right faculties, with the right intelligence, with the right intellectual ability, capacity, with the good teacher, seven years of age is more than enough. How old was Unitan Sopaka when they understood and realized Dhamma? Seven. So then you have a Samanir who is only seven years of age, and they are a Narahatul Mahanse. You are seventy. Lots more experience, of course. That Samanirandru doesn't know how to how to tie his shoelaces, perhaps. They don't know how to cook something, they don't know how to make money. They might not even know that the world is round, they think the world is flat. Does that make you wiser than that? See, wisdom is here, knowledge is on the other end of the spectrum. Simply, what happens in society is you are given credit for moving this way. Society honors you for moving this way. So you have a BSC within brackets what? Honors, right? For moving in this direction. You're honored for moving in this direction. You can get an honorary PhD for moving in this direction. These are things that society can give you, but this is not something that society can give you. This you have to become from within you. All this knowledge may be right through today. Tomorrow they will come and say, no, scrap that, here's a new set of knowledge. You know, the government could at any point, with people's consent, of course, tear down the constitution and make up a new one. And then say, all those law books, discard them, you're going to make law from scratch. That's possible. The next discovery in science might reveal that all science that we understood until now was just utter nonsense. The next discovery might say that, might reveal that. This is why you need to spend as much of your time as possible and available on this side and navigating towards this side of the spectrum. Because the world and its dog will keep pulling you in the other direction. You will be respected for moving in this direction. You will be revered for moving in this direction. People will give you a bigger paycheck every time you do something that you that moves you in this direction. If today you only have your undergrad degree, get your master's, they will give you a pay rise. Then do your PhD, they'll give you another pay rise. Do a couple more courses, professional courses, certifications, they'll give you a pay rise. What is society doing again? They're saying, hurrah, yay, we're done. They're celebrating knowledge, knowledge, knowledge, knowledge. This is a knowledge-driven world. Each time you do that, you're moving away from this. This is the elephant in the room that no one talks about. So I urge you, ladies and gentlemen, to be more sensible about the way you live your lives. Every year, at least two or three times, right? Now we have so many different sports on TV. And so if you become a fan of more than one sport, then at least for three, four weeks, maybe sometimes even two or three months, you are sat in front of your TV or your mobile phone or your tab or something, and it is consuming, allowing them to consume your time. Remember, you're not getting paid anything for it, you're not making anything out of it because you are the commodity, you are being sold on the free market. This is daylight robbery. You have a problem if someone comes and rapes your child. Physical abuse is okay. Mental abuse is fine, isn't it? If someone physically abuses your child, you've got a problem with that. You will you will go to the law. But if someone comes and mentally abuses your child, that's okay. How many hours do they spend sitting down playing computer games? Isn't that mental abuse? Every time they click on a fire, kill, strike, steal. There are games named after sins. Grant something. I'm not gonna say it out loud. It's a sin. You realize that, don't you? It's a sin. Theft is a sin. And then there's a game named after that. And claims have no problem with their children playing it. But every time they commit a sin there, it ends up here in their karmic pool. You might say they're only doing it behind a screen and no actual theft is occurring. Yes, agreed. But the thought of theft still occurs. The thought of murder still occurs. Anger still occurs. That's there. Vexation is there. Competition is there, greed is there, jealousy is there, all of that is there. How can you say that's innocent? And all of that accrues here in their karmic pools. Waiting for the right moment to pay to come into fruition. This is mental abuse, and it's okay. All they have to do is put an age rate in. And then it's fine, isn't it? Some games are rated 18 plus. So what? At 18 plus what? You don't do karma anymore? At 18 plus you don't do karma anymore, so it's fine. Adult videos? From what age are you allowed to watch them? 18 plus. So from 18 plus you don't have raga. Huh? Then I can't wait to be 18 plus. Count me in. If it is so easy to become raga-free and therefore karma-free. This is all nonsense. I'm sorry to say. Just because there's a video that says if you are 12 plus, you can watch this. If you are 16 plus, you can watch this. If you are 18 plus, you can watch this. If you are 80 plus, you can watch this. I just because they say that doesn't mean it does it does no harm to you. Whatever harm an 18 plus rated video does to a 10-year-old, it does the same harm to you. Mark my words. It does the same harm to you. That's why you watch it happily. Because it does that harm to you. That's why you enjoy that video. The fact that you're enjoying is evidence that is doing harm to you. Prove me wrong if you can. The fact that you enjoy watching that video, especially those parts where it says this is particularly 18 plus. And you enjoy those parts, that is evidence of what? That is doing the harm to here's what they try to try to do by putting those age ratings. An eight-year-old has not yet understood that such things happen in society. Well, it's only a matter of time, they will learn it. Now you're simply talking about the conventional harm, the conventional damage. On shall we say, an unexposed mind, still immature mind, right? They should not be exposed to certain things. I don't deny that. That part is there, yes, I agree. But I'm talking about the harming test by keeping. You in sansara, anchoring you to sansara, generating Raga Desha Moha appearing the karmic spool. That hard happens to you whether you're 8, 18, or 80. For as long as ignorance is there in your mind, for as long as jati happens in your mind, karma keeps happening, and that karma is not a Vita Ragi karma, it's a Ragi karma. But if you're 18 plus, you're allowed to watch it, not him. See, just because society says 1 plus 1 is 3, that doesn't mean it's the right answer. Doesn't make it correct. I can't change the world. This is too late. What I'm saying is too late. People might even condemn me. Then I say, what nonsense are you talking about? Come and tell them some jataka story or something and tell them how to live their lives happily. What is this rubbish you're talking about? Just because they come and invite you to do a sermon? What makes you think you can just go on so suddenly tearing up the social fabric and talking about these things that 18 plus people are allowed to do and they're supposed to do and they should be allowed to do? How come you can pick holes in every social construct? How dare you say that people waste their time watching cricket and watching football and watching tennis and watching badminton and all these sports? Formula is one is what keeps the world going round. I can keep quiet, I don't have to say any of this. Like I said, you know, my back is not itching for me to say all this. I can stop saying any of all of this, but at what cost? You know, someone out there, they're just making a big soup. Into this soup, they just keep adding you as ingredients. Picture that. You're simply an ingredient in that soup. The world out there, they're just cooking this big broth. And you're just an ingredient epic. So every once in a while they just take a handful and add it to the broth. And it's on this fire, and you're cooking in it. The ingredients get nothing out of it. They're consuming you. You are not the consumers, you are the consumed. Yes or no? They give you a fancy name and say, You are the consumers. The consumers always right. Customers always right. Yeah, well, they make you think what they want you to think, and then they say, You're right. Of course, you are right. They first make you think what they want you to think, with the advertising, with the special offers, with all the glossy magazines, with the adverts. All that first they make you think, and now once you're indoctrinated, then they say what you say is right because you are the customer, so you must be right. Well, yes. Because you're now just echoing the thoughts that first occurred in their own minds. That's why I say you are not consumers, you are the consumed.

SPEAKER_01 25:04

Thank you for joining us on The Art of Being Happy from Caitavanarama Buddhist Monastery. May today's wisdom bring you peace and joy in your daily life. We'd love to hear how these talks have touched your life. Share your experiences with us on plus 91-6361 803371. Until next time, may you find happiness in each present moment. Brought to you by Sanatanavani, the Voice Eternal.