You have to reflect on the Dukkha of wanting fame, and the Dukkha of having fame. Take a look at all of the movie stars, all of the musicians, and all of the famous politicians in the world. There are all sorts of the crazy famous people out there. People who get all the fame, often it just wipes them out. Many commit suicide, they commit adultery, they commit all sorts of crimes. They think they can get away with almost anything because they are "so famous". They're full of Dukkha. Reflect on it.
Reflect on even the small Dukkha that arises from wanting fame, such as wanting to be famous in the eyes of the dogs here. We have a new little friendly white dog, just came during this retreat. She comes up and wags her tail to everyone of us, right? Perhaps some of you have taken to petting her, some of you are trying to ignore her and be real serious. Okay. But what about in normal life? Let's say a friendly dog lives next door, and you walk by the house and everyday the dog comes out and you give it a pet. It licks your hand, and you think, "That's great!" Fine. Everyday that happens. Then one day you're walking by that house, the dog stands in the front yard and looks at you. You go, "Come here boy, come here", but it turns away.
That's an example of you wanting fame and not getting it. If you can change your intentions to be more based in compassion, it can prevent this type of Dukkha coming to you. In this example, when the dog comes to you, asking for a pet, and you're petting the dog, you can give the pet out of compassion for the dog instead of thinking, "Oh, boy, the dog likes me, I'm famous, I'm important." If you can reflect on how much Dukkha is involved and just wanting, and just wanting, others to look at us, wanting others to praise us, wanting others" approval of what we are doing. The more you reflect on it, whether it is with human beings, whether it's with dogs, you're going to see it's full of Dukkha.
It's important to be more content with what you are doing, to know that what you are doing is good. If you become famous for it, okay, that's just a natural result for many people, when they do something good. Rosemary and I have done something good here, and we have become famous from doing good here. It's nice to do good, and then if the fame comes, that's extra.
As to fame given to Dhamma teachers, in particular, one teacher said it very well. He is a Thai teacher was given an award from the Thai government for his 80th birthday, and he said something like:
"You know, actually I don't care about this, it's just a fan. It doesn't mean much to me, I am not going to use it. But it has some importance, because when I get fame from bigger teachers up in Bangkok, it will encourage people to come here. And if they come here, then I can teach them the Dhamma."
So, fame can be useful if we have the Right Intention, and if we know how to use it properly. But for many people fame is a total disaster. It's full of Dukkha for many, many people. So reflect on the Dukkha of fame, and then you won't be looking for it all the time. Instead develop more contentment within yourself.