Question:
Dear venerable, the habit of each person is different. Some have good habits, some don’t. I’d like to ask Luang Phaw what caused these good and bad habits.
Dear venerable, the habit of each person is different. Some have good habits, some don’t. I’d like to ask Luang Phaw what caused these good and bad habits.
Answer
by Venerable Dhattajeevo Bhikku
Human habits come from the reiteration and repeated thoughts
of each person. Since our habits are based on the same reason, the next
question is what makes the difference between them.
If we have good attitudes while our reiteration and repeated thoughts are being run, we will have a good habit. On the other hand, if the reiteration and repeated thoughts are about bad things, bad habits will be begotten. This is the principle.
Then the next question is what are the things that humans usually repeat. The things that humans like to repeat in their whole life starting from their birth till their death are these 4 things.
The first thing is about the 4 requisites for comfort; namely, provisions, clothing, shelter and remedies. All these things are called four requisites for comfort and they are the things we emphasize in our whole lives.
The second thing is our regular activities; namely, sleeping, waking up, cleaning ourselves, brushing our teeth, etc.
The third thing that humans regularly do, think and talk about is their careers. If the careers they have are the right livelihoods, it’s possible that they will have good habits. On the other hand, if somebody earns money from stealing, we can take an easy guess what kind of person he will be.
Fourth, another thing people always think and do though they don’t mean to are the things from their environment no matter if it is about human or nature; for instance, if a family lives in a slum that is always noisy in the mornings, they will have a habit that is different from the people from a family that lives among the people who like to go to temples.
Well. Briefly, habits are begotten from what people usually think, say and do; for example, the habits that are begotten from the 4 requisites for comfort starting from food. If the parents of a family have an attitude that we eat just to live, the children will love to spend money sparingly and do good deeds; compared to another family with an attitude that people live to eat , the members of the family will not care about the country and are willing to corrupt. Do you see? Even an attitude about food can give people a habit.
It’s the same to the way people eat. In a family that its members eat together, they will love and care each other; compared to another family that the dining time is up to individual person which is never the same, the children will not love and care about each other since they already live individually.
As well as about clothes, the attitudes of each family also
give an effect to their children; for instance, the children from a family
thinking that clothes are used just for protecting them from the sunlight, the
wind, the rain, the heat, the cold and
the shame will not be extravagant since their childhood; but on the other hand,
the children from the family caring so much about fashion and prominence will
have a different habit, i.e. they will always be globalized without having
their own standing point. Do you see?
Clothes can give people habits.
Meanwhile, think about healthcare. If parents take good care of themselves and teach their children to do the same thing since their young age, the children will slightly follow them starting from brushing teeth and taking a shower correctly, etc.
These things that are repeated over and over again give habits to people. Daily activities, careers and environment are the things people always do, say and think repeatedly; and they all beget human habits. With a good attitude, the things we repeatedly perform will give people a good habit. On the contrary, with a bad attitude, actions that are repeatedly performed will also give people a bad habit. Habits are actually from our basic daily activities.
Therefore, you can make a decision. If you want you and your descendants to have a good habit, you and they need to perform only good actions repeatedly.
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