The Traveler Who Does Not Get Lost

In traveling along a path that we have never gone on before, if we don’t want to get lost, we are going to need a map or at least someone who can lead the way. It might very well be the case that we will get lost if we go without a map or without a guide. You should really be considering that this is a path that we have never gone down before. The one that we are familiar with is the one that leads to dukkha, the path of samsara—that path of repeatedly circling in birth and death. We really are just stuck in this prison of repeatedly being born and dying. It has always been like this, and it is going to keep being like this until we can come across a guide or a map of the path. That being said, the guide or outline that we are studying is simply the Buddha and his dhamma teachings. 

If we didn’t have the Buddha, who came and realized the path out of samsara, the path that leads to nibbana, then none of us would know how to escape fully. We would just go on continually wandering in the three realms of existence. Being born as a human means we either engage in sensual pleasures or cultivate jhana (Pali; states of meditative absorption); then, upon death, we go on to be reborn in various worlds. Some go on to heaven, some to the Brahma worlds. Having done evil, some go on to become ghosts, and others go to hell. After that, we come to be born again—become humans again—going on to partake in sensual pleasures again, partaking in jhana again. In coming to participate in sensual pleasure and jhana, there might also be some degree to which we also do evil, just according to how things present themselves. Our good and bad deeds are the main reason that some of us here go on to be reborn in heaven and others in hell. Just constantly circling like this. There really isn’t any path out of samsara until we come across someone as intelligent as a Buddha who comes and appears in the world and finds the way out. The path that leads to nibbana is just this noble eightfold path, or you can just say it is just sila (Pali; moral conduct), samadhi (Pali; meditation), and bhavana (Pali; mental training).

Therefore, we should really apply ourselves to clasp onto this outline that we have. This map tells us to do merit, to practice charity, to be able to hold the precepts, and to do mental cultivation. To whatever degree you can do this, the opportunity to escape from samsara is going to come just that much faster. If we are only able to practice dhamma just a little, then our chance to escape is only going to be slight. So we should stop to consider how much time we are going to be able to patibat (Thai; put it into practice). There really is no telling how much time we have remaining because death is something that can come at any time. 

That being the case, if we are to avoid being negligent, we should then have a sense of urgency to devote our remaining time to practicing dhamma to the best of our ability. Currently, we still have this outline, and even without the Buddha, we still have arahants —monks who practice well and are intent on practice, those who can gradually reveal the path to us. However, without time, even though we still have the map and a guide, we won’t be able to glean any benefit, for we don’t have any time to go according to where the map is directing us, no time to follow where our guide is bringing us. 

So the thing that we should constantly try to bear in mind is death, in the same way that the Buddha had taught Venerable Ananda to reflect on death with every inhalation and exhalation, so that he might get rid of any negligence, so that he would have a sense of urgency in exerting himself. Have a sense of urgency to practice giving, to hold the precepts, and to practice bhavana; or for monastics, to have a sense of urgency in practicing to uphold the principles, to practice samadhi, and to cultivate wisdom. Supposing that we die before reaching our destination—the end of the path—the timing regarding the next time we will come and be reborn again, there’s no telling for sure when that is going to take place. It’s very possible that it can be during an era when there is no more Buddhism. 

Buddhism only has about 2,500 years remaining. We have already come to this time when there is Buddhism, but suppose that we go and are born in a period when there is no Buddhism. That means there are no teachings, no teachers, and there is no one who can advise us on the path. If things happen to be like that, we are not going to have any opportunity to reach the goal that we are aspiring for, nibbana, to escape from this prison of birth and death. In other words, this opportunity may be our last. If we put it in terms of transportation, you can think of it as the final train that we will be able to board to return home.

This opportunity may be our last.

If we don’t rush to get on board, if we are still wandering around doing this and that, thinking it’s no big deal, as another train will come, we don’t understand that, in truth, we really have no idea when another train will come. There is no schedule. For once there is no longer any Buddhism, the amount of time that has to pass until Buddhism arises in the world again is quite long. A considerable number of eons have to pass before that time will come. An eon is an amount of time that we are not able to reckon by way of numbers. In other words, it is going to be a really long time until Buddhism arises in the world again. It is difficult to say whether we would have the timing to be born in the world during an era when Buddhism arises again. 

During the duration of time that Buddhism persists in the world, it is very possible that we won’t regain the status of humans. If we have committed evil deeds, we may very well be born as animals. Or, if the degree to which we committed evil was great, then we might be stuck in the prisons of the planes of misery. Staying in hell or living as ghosts or whatever it might be, we can end up being stuck in that situation for a long time. On the other hand, if we were going in the direction of the wholesome, having done merit, then we would go on to be Devatas. If we were able to enter into samadhi or jhana, we would be born in the Brahma worlds. Just like the two teachers of the Buddha, whom he had in mind after attaining enlightenment. 

After attaining enlightenment and understanding the dhamma, the Buddha considered sharing the perfect and unparalleled dhamma with those who were capable of understanding and grasping it. So, he first thought of his two former teachers, with whom the Buddha had studied to learn how to enter jhana. 

These two teachers were those who had attained expertise in both form and formless meditative practices. The Buddha had gotten word that they had both just passed away. The first teacher had passed away one month ago, and the other just two weeks prior. The Buddha thought it was unfortunate because the opportunity that they would have to go to nibbana in this life was gone. Additionally, it was unlikely that they would be able to come and be born as humans, encountering the Buddhist sasana—the Buddha’s teachings— that the Buddha was setting forth in their next life. The Buddha predicted the Buddha-sasana to remain in the world only for about 5,000 years. By the time that they came back, the sasana wasn’t likely to still be around, for they had gone on to the Brahma world, where they would live for tens of thousands of years. The Buddha considered it unfortunate. 

I am holding this up as an example so that you won’t be negligent in your practice. The timing required to be able to come into contact with the Buddhist sasana— to have someone who is going to go over the outline of the path with us. Being able to meet with a guide who will bring us to nibbana—is no easy matter. It’s so much more difficult than the chances of being able to get the first-place prize in the lottery. Right now, it is the same as if we have already won first place in the lottery. If we had won the lottery, the first thing we would do is hurry out to claim our prize. But we end up dying and being reborn before we can go and claim our prize, so that in the end, we just end up with nothing. We have won the lottery, but don’t get anything from it. So it simply becomes the wealth of another person, passing on to the person with the following number in line. 

These are the things that we should be considering so that we won’t be negligent. We seem so sure of ourselves, thinking that there won’t be any issues, that we can just wait until we are old to start practicing dhamma. We keep telling ourselves that right now we have a lot to take care of, including raising our children, caring for our family, and attending to our parents. The kilesas will come up with a hundred and eight thousand different excuses to keep from going on to paṭibat dhamma, for this practice of dhamma is something which inflicts damage upon the kilesas, hence the kilesas can never give up without a fight. They just come up with so many different excuses to keep us from practicing.

Not having wisdom, not having a sincere conviction in nibbana, this is going to be something which is going to cause difficulties in our ability to escape from the three worlds, in going to nibbana. If we can have a steadfast conviction that the value and benefit of nibbana far surpasses everything in this world, then we will be able to renounce the world in its entirety. However, if we still believe that the things in this world have greater value than nibbana, then we will not be able to proceed. 

That being the case, we should consider that the various things in this world are just like foam on water. There isn’t any substance to it. They deceive us into thinking that they are of great value, but in reality, if we were to compare nibbana with the world, it is like comparing the sky with dirt. It is like comparing diamonds to stones. The value of these things is vastly different. Don’t get deceived into just treasuring a bunch of old rocks. It is better to pursue diamonds; it is better to pursue nibbana.

Don’t get deceived into just treasuring a bunch of old rocks. It is better to pursue diamonds; it is better to pursue nibbana. 

About those people whom we still have to care for, have you ever considered what would become of them if you were to die today? Supposing that we did die today, just how would those that we have a responsibility to care for get by? They are just going to have to find one way or another to continue to get by. If they weren’t capable of taking care of themselves or able to find someone to come and care for them, they would just have to depart from this world according to when their time comes. They are going to have to die sooner or later; it is just a matter of whether that time comes after a shorter or a longer period of time. If we can get ourselves to look at it in this way, then we won’t get fooled by the kilesas into clinging to the various things in this world which are causing us to have no time to practice the dhamma which is going to enable us to escape from this prison of birth and death. 

This is really what we should be considering: that we are going to cultivate dhamma so that we can encounter a map or one of those noble advisors who remain in this world, so that we can have them lead us towards nibbana. If we don’t have a map and no one to advise us on the path, then we will never escape, as we will simply go on like people who are lost or blind. 

Currently, our situation is similar to that of those who are blind or lost, but we are fortunate to have come across a map and a guide. It is up to us whether we are going to hurry to take up this rare opportunity. We already have the map, we already have a guide, so we should have a sense of urgency in being able to take out the map to look it over, so that from this day we can set forth, for there is no telling how many more days, months, or years we will be around for.

♦

Excerpted from The Travelin’ Man by Ajaan Suchart Abhijato © 2026. Used with permission.