The Buddha’s teachings are direct, straightforward, and simple, but hard for someone who’s starting to practice them because his knowledge can’t reach them. It’s like a hole: People by the hundreds and thousands complain that the hole is deep because they can’t reach to its bottom. There’s hardly anybody who will say that the problem is that his arm is short.
The Buddha taught us to abandon evil of every kind. We skip over this part and go straight to making merit without abandoning evil. It’s the same as saying the hole is deep. Those who say their arms are short are rare.
– Ajahn Chah, Theravada, Thai Forest Tradition.
