A Hole Too Deep (Ajahn Chah)

Ajahn Chah (ajahnchah.org), Dhamma Garden (trans.), Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

A black hole is an imaginary thing, isn't it? Ask akasha devas who travel space (gifer.com)

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A Tree in a Forest: Ajahn Chah (goodreads.com)

Most people just want to perform good deeds to make merit (punya), but they don't want to give up wrongdoing. It's just that "the hole is too deep."

Suppose there were a hole and there were something at the bottom of it. Now anyone who put her hand into the hole and didn't reach the bottom would say the hold is too deep.

If 100 or 1,000 people put their hands down that hole, they'd all say the hole is too deep. No one would say that her arm were too short.

We have to come back to ourselves. We have to take a step back and look at ourselves.

Don't blame the hole for being too deep. Let's turn around and look at our own arm. If we can see this then we will make progress on the spiritual path and find happiness.