เมื่อใจไม่หยุดนิ่งและยอมรับความคิดชี้นำของอกุศล ใจจะเศร้าหมองขุ่นมัวเอง นี่คือการลงโทษตัวเอง ส่วนฤกษ์ยามนั้น สิ่งสำคัญคือสภาพจิตขณะนั้นเป็นกุศลหรืออกุศล ไม่ใช่วันเวลาที่กำหนดไว้ล่วงหน้าWhen the mind doesn't settle and gives in to unwholesome influence, it becomes murky and troubled all on its own—this is what it means to punish yourself. As for auspicious timing, what matters is the state of mind in that moment, wholesome or not, rather than a predetermined date.
Someone asked Ajarn to expand on a teaching from his teacher's lineage about "punishing yourself": if the mind has settled, contact with worldly conditions cannot make it murky or troubled; but if it does become troubled, it's because we've been slower than the mind itself—letting it drift along with its moods until suffering arises. That, the teaching says, is punishing ourselves—no one else is doing the punishing.
Ajarn explained that once we practice mindful awareness and the mind begins to settle, wholesomeness establishes itself continuously. Whatever worldly conditions come—gain or loss, praise or blame—cannot disturb a mind that has truly settled. But if unwholesomeness manages to seize control again, it uses our surroundings as material, shaping an inner voice that grows louder in the mind. If we lack the discernment to see through it and simply go along, the mind becomes murky and troubled—because *we* accepted it, not because anyone forced us to.
Once we accept an unwholesome thought, we get steered into speaking and acting on it, drawing in harm continuously until it becomes a completed unwholesome imprint, stored away to ripen on our life's timeline later. Lacking the and wisdom to recognize truth is, in this sense, punishing ourselves.
Does an auspicious date really matter?
Someone asked whether choosing an auspicious date for important events—ordination, disrobing, starting a company, buying a car—actually matters, or whether simply choosing a convenient time is enough.
Ajarn answered that what matters most is the state of mind at that moment—wholesome or not. A wholesome mind, wherever and whenever it arises, always brings benefit. He noted that Western countries have no tradition of consulting auspicious dates, yet thrive no less than countries that do. He also recalled a widely reported incident: a couple scheduled a cesarean birth for what astrologers called the "best possible time," yet the child died shortly after delivery, despite being perfectly healthy beforehand. This shows that an auspicious date guarantees nothing—the true timing of events is already set by the law of karma and cannot be bent to our wishes.
The same is true of changing one's name. Many people mistakenly credit a change of fortune to a new name, when in fact it simply coincided with wholesome karma coming due—the name itself had nothing to do with it. Ajarn advised that, where we have a choice, we should choose a time when the mind is wholesome—neither rushing in irritation nor waiting so long that we lose the moment and grow resentful, since both extremes open the door to unwholesomeness.
What to do after accidentally speaking harshly under unwholesome influence
Someone asked what to do after unintentionally saying something hurtful, having been swept along by unwholesomeness without realizing it. Ajarn advised going to ask forgiveness from the person involved, perhaps offering a small token as amends, and making a wish never to repeat it—along with cultivating regularly, since it directly opposes the anger that caused the harm. Doing so helps turn a heavy karmic result into a lighter one, and brings good outcomes in time.