Luang Por Liem: The Ways of the Peaceful - Wat Pah Nanachat

When we work, we can pay attention to our different bodily
postures and movements. If we maintain awareness of our body,
the stress that comes from the power of desire won’t weigh on us.
Whether we are sitting, standing, walking or lying down we will
feel neutral about it. We can see everything as simply the
changing of our bodily posture, work included.
When we work we sometimes experience strong feelings in a
way that we wouldn’t have to face otherwise. But when we focus
on emptiness while we are working, or when we see work as
merely a change of posture, we can turn the experience of work
into something good. Also in the case of doing office work or
writing, there is not much of a problem, unless we worry a lot. If
we worry, things can become difficult. If we don’t add our
worries to the things we do, then doing them becomes something
absolutely normal.
There are different kinds of work – coarse work, for example,
like all the construction work that we do for the sake of providing
basic supports for the physical needs of our bodies, the senasana,
the monastery buildings, for example. This kind of work demands
great sacrifice.
Then there is the work of creating benefit for society, such as
teaching Dhamma. The Buddha pointed out certain qualities a
Dhamma-teacher should have, for example:
– One shouldn’t hope for anything in reward for
teaching Dhamma, but aim only at establishing
correct views in a way that is suitable and fitting,
and gives rise to useful things.
74