The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

30 April 2026

Monk:  Tan Ajahn, what was most meaningful to you in the figure of Luang Ta Mahā Boowa as a teacher? What inspired faith in you, both at first and going forward, and what kind of qualities of his were most meaningful to you as a teacher? 

Tan Ajahn:  Well, to be honest, I didn’t know him at the time of my ordination. But while I was staying at Wat Bovorn, I met a few Westerners who had been to Wat Pa Baan Taad and came back mentioning Tan Ajahn Mahā Boowa. I also got a chance to read a book ‘Wisdom Develops Samādhi’ translated by Tan Ajahn Paññāḍḍho so I could get some inkling of what Tan Ajahn Mahā Boowa’s teachings were about. 

Previously, I was dependent on the teachings of the Buddha himself. I read the Satipaṭṭhāna sutta, a sutta that I used as my manual of practice. I followed the practice of developing mindfulness using the body (kāyagatasati) and ānāpānasati [mindfulness of breathing] while sitting in meditation. I didn’t really know much about the Thai Forest tradition; I was just looking for a place to practice. 

I practiced for about a year at home and found that I needed to grow more, so I needed to go live in a monastery and become a monk. First, I ordained, then started looking for a monastery. Then I found out about the Thai Forest tradition, and Luang Ta Mahā Boowa was somehow easily accessible to me at that time because of the recommendation of the monks who had visited him and told me how to get there. 

So I wrote a letter to Tan Ajahn Paññāḍḍho and asked permission to go pay a visit, really. 

My goal was to look for a place to practice. I didn’t want to be involved with any rituals, any chanting or invitations and so on. I just wanted to do the practice. I needed a quiet place. As for a teacher, it wasn’t something I was looking for because I thought I already had a teacher: the texts I read from the suttas. I read just a few suttas: Dhammacakkappavattana sutta (the First discourse), the Anattalakkhaṇa sutta, the Ādittapariyāya sutta and the Satipaṭṭhāna sutta. These were what pretty much I needed to guide me in my practice. So at that time, I was looking for a place to practice more than looking for a teacher. 

But after having been there, I realized that having a teacher is much more precious because there are many ways of practice that aren’t shown in the suttas, like fasting and sitting for long periods of time to overcome the pain of the body. These are things you learn from a teacher. Ajahn Mahā Boowa practiced sitting meditation all night to endure the painful feelings of the body, for instance. He also did a lot of fasting to stimulate his practice. And he also lived alone in the wild. 

These were things that I hadn’t thought of before when I was practicing at home. So I gained a lot of precious tips from being with a teacher, and also from the way he drove us to practice to be mindful. Every time we were around him, we had to be very mindful because if we did something wrong, we could be corrected right there, in front of everybody. So everybody was quite nervous or quite on their toes when they were in front of him. But he meant well. He didn’t mean to hurt or try to harm us or anything like that. 

“Dhamma in English, Dec 18, 2021.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

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The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

29 April 2026

Monk:  Tan Ajahn, I’ve heard that the actual content of Luang Ta Mahā Boowa’s talks—either Ajahn Paññā or Ajahn Dick mentioned—wasn’t all that relevant. People could just listen, and there was a power in Luang Ta’s voice. And sometimes, people’s questions would be resolved after listening to just an hour-long talk. Can the voice of Dhamma speak in this way? It is not something we are familiar with in the West. What are your thoughts on the quality of speaking Dhamma? 

Tan Ajahn:  I think it depends on each individual who listens; maybe it has different effects on each person. 

But for me, it was the understanding he taught that gave me the wisdom, the insight into what I needed to do to achieve the results from my practice. For me, it was more about the content of the talk than the power of his voice or anything like that. 

But maybe for different people, each talk has different effects. It may also depend on each person’s level of practice. If you are just there trying to develop mindfulness and samādhi, you might not need to listen much to its content to understand, because you only want something to help push your mind into calm. But if you are at the level of understanding where you want to understand what the Dhamma practice is about, then you need to listen and think about what he says as he speaks so that you can see the picture and understand what you need to do in your practice.

“Dhamma in English, Dec 18, 2021.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

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The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

18 April 2026

Student: One of the chanting is giving prayers to the Sangha,’Uju-paṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho, Ñāya-paṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho, Sāmīci-paṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho,’ which refer to the Sangha who have practiced straightforwardly, methodically, and masterfully. Why did the Buddha have to say it three times?

Than Ajahn: four times. The first one is Supaṭipanno. Because this is how you should practice. 

Supaṭipanno means to practice well. Uju-paṭipanno means to practice straightforwardly. My translation of Ñāya-paṭipanno is to practice for the eradication of your suffering, for getting rid of your suffering. Sāmīci-paṭipanno is to practice correctly according to the teachings of the Buddha. 

So you need these four in order to practice properly to get the result. You have to Supaṭipanno, Uju-paṭipanno, Ñāya-paṭipanno and Sāmīci-paṭipanno. If you can do these four, then you can become a noble disciple because these are the qualities of the noble disciples.

Student: I was doing the chanting and was trying to understand the difference between these four words because they sound the same thing to me. 

Than Ajahn: They are different. Supaṭipanno means you have to be a good student. You have to be an ‘A’ student to be Supaṭipanno. 

You have to practice all the time, 100 percent. 

If you only practice 50 percent, then this is half Supaṭipanno. 

To practice straightforwardly [Uju-paṭipanno] means to practice toward nibbāna. You don’t want to practice for any other purpose. You don't want to practice to become a deva. You don’t want to practice to become a brahma. 

You want to practice to become a noble disciple, to be an arahant.

The third one [Ñāya-paṭipanno] means that you want to practice for the eradication of dukkha in the four noble truths.

Can you do these four? Not yet? You only practice 10% of your time, right? So you only get 10% Supaṭipanno result, not even a passing grade because a passing grade should be 50%. [laugh]

Student: That’s true. How about Sāmīci-paṭipanno? 

Than Ajahn: It’s to practice correctly: sammā-diṭṭhi, sammā-sankappa, sammā-kammanta. You have to practice correctly: Right-practice. For example, when you keep the Eight Precepts, you are not supposed to eat after midday. You shouldn’t eat at 2 P.M. 

If you eat at 2 P.M., this is not considered to be practicing correctly. You have to not eat after midday: this is to practice correctly. 

~ Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

17 April 2026

Q:  We learned that if we are angry or have a bad mind, we’re going to have all the bad kamma to ourselves, but in reality, when we have contact with other people, sometimes we feel angry or annoyed. This anger keeps on coming up again and again although intellectually we know that if we are angry we are the stupid one but when the defilement arises, the mind makes the narratives that thing should be like this or like that and there is also a lot of judgment. What is easiest to do when we realised that our defilements like anger, jealousy, getting annoyed, hatred are arising? What is the first thing we must do if we don’t have samādhi?

Phra Ajahn:  Ok. If you don’t have the time to go develop samādhi then in your daily life you should try to develop mindfulness. Use mindfulness to stop your defilement. You can stop it temporarily but it’s still better than nothing. The easiest way to develop or use mindfulness is to recite a mantra such as ‘Budho, Budho.’ As soon as you know you’re getting angry then you should stop engaging that particular thing or person and use ‘Budho Budho’ to pull your mind away from that problem. Just keep reciting ‘Budho Budho’ for a few minutes then your anger will disappear. This is the quick and easy way but a temporarily way. 

If you want to get a long lasting fix, you need to go into seclusion from time to time to develop your mind to become calmer and stronger; and you should develop wisdom or the knowledge that the Buddha teaches us to apply when you get angry. He said that our anger arises from our cravings, our desire for things or people to do what we want them to do. Once we cannot get what we want, then we get angry. If you want to eliminate anger entirely, then you have to stop your desires or your cravings for things or for people. You have to accept them for what they are. When you can do that, then your mind will never be angry. 

So you need to have time. Like when you are on holidays, when you don’t have to work, instead of going to places to enjoy, you should go to a meditation retreat. Go to a monastery to develop samādhi and wisdom so that when you go back home, you have something to use to help your mind to get rid of your defilement. If you cannot, then try to develop mindfulness by reciting a mantra as much as possible in your daily life. 

When you do things that you don’t need to think, you should use a mantra. Like when you prepare yourself to go to work in the morning, as soon as you get up, keep reciting the mantra. When you’re washing your face, brushing your teeth, getting dressed or whatever, just keep reciting the mantra then you will be capable to use the mantra later on when you need to. If you don’t practice, when the time comes for you to recite the mantra, you cannot do it because your mind will keep thinking about things that make you angry. 

But if you know how to use the mantra beforehand, when things happen then you can apply the mantra right away. 

- - - - - 

Q:  Buddhism says that we have to have wisdom or be wise, it means that we should be smart spiritually, right?

Phra Ajahn:  No. Smart by truth. You know the truth of our suffering or our sadness or bad feelings. The Buddha said that our sufferings arise from our desires or our cravings. And all we have to do is to stop our cravings and desires by accepting things as they are because we cannot control or manage them all the time. 

Sometimes we can control them, sometime we can manage them but sometimes we cannot do it. When we cannot control them then we have to accept them for what they are. 

Like your body, right now you can control part of it but some parts of it, you cannot control. 

When it gets sick, you cannot control it so you just have to accept, ‘Ok, I’m sick’ and try to live with the sickness. Try to fix it as good as you can but if you cannot fix it, you just accept it for what it is. Then you will not be sad or have any bad feeling toward your sickness.

“Dhamma in English, Sep 29, 2019.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

"Believe in the Buddha's teachings"

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

30 March 2026

"Believe in the Buddha's teachings"

The Buddha taught that nothing is ours in this world, even our bodies are not ours. One day, we must return them to their original owners, the earth, water, wind and fire. Then our minds must move on. Whether we are happy or sad depends on the merits and sins we have done. If we do good deeds, we will go to happiness and prosperity. If we do bad deeds, we will go to bad deeds, suffering and mental agitation. We have a choice: to do good or bad deeds, to cling or not to cling. If we do not cling, we will be at ease. When we have to part from something, we will not cry or be sad or sorrowful. It is considered normal because we know that the things we have are not ours. We borrowed them. One day, the owner will come to claim them back. 

There is no need to cry or be sad or sorrowful.

This is the benefit we will receive from coming to the temple, listening to sermons and practicing Dhamma. 

Our minds will be peaceful and happy. Amidst the chaos and various bad events, our minds will be able to get through things smoothly, conveniently and comfortably as if nothing had happened. 

Therefore, I ask that all of you have faith in the Buddha's teachings and practice them as much as possible. For the benefits that will follow. 

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

“Dhamma in English, Apr 30, 2024.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

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If we stop wanting, when we encounter something beyond our control, such as death or illness, we will not suffer

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

22 March 2026

“If we stop wanting, when we encounter something beyond our control, such as death or illness, we will not suffer.”

One day, you will have to face the truth that we cannot stop our bodies from getting sick or dying. It is the same as other people's bodies. We cannot stop them. If we know in advance before the event happens, and prepare ourselves to stop wanting by calming our minds, we will not be sad or sorrowful because calming our minds is stopping wanting, which is the cause of sadness and sorrow.

If we stop wanting, when we encounter something beyond our control, such as death or illness, we will not suffer. We will be able to let go and let things go according to reality. If we get sick, we will get sick. If we die, we will die. If we are anxious about death, once we see the three characteristics, we will be able to let go. If we die, we will die. What is there to be afraid of? 

There is nothing to be afraid of in this world.

Except for delusion, because delusion will trick us into wanting not to die, not to grow old, not to get sick. If we have the wisdom to know the truth, we will know that we cannot want it. If we want it, it will cause suffering. 

Wanting is the cause of suffering. Knowing the truth is wisdom. Knowing that it is impermanence, not-self. 

Knowing that we cannot want it. If we want it, it will cause suffering. This is the knowledge that will free our minds from the cycle of birth and death. 

No one will know this truth. Only the Lord Buddha knows. The Dharma that the Lord Buddha realized is the Four Noble Truths and the Three Characteristics: Impermanence, Suffering, and Non-self. 

Therefore, we are considered very fortunate to have encountered Buddhism because it will give us the opportunity to escape, to attain the supramundane Dharma, to rise above the cycle of rebirth and death. 

Therefore, it is our duty to strive to study and practice a lot in order to obtain the supramundane Dharma as a treasure that the disciples of the Lord Buddha have possessed. 

We can also possess this treasure because those who have possessed it are no different from us. They do not have knowledge in this field, they have the same defilements and desires, but they have faith, belief, and diligence to study and practice to the fullest. 

Do not waste time doing other tasks. 

Dedicate your life and mind to this task only. 

If you do this, I can assure you that in this life you will definitely obtain this treasure. It depends on your practice, your study, your faith and belief, your diligence, your perseverance, and your perseverance in developing mindfulness because mindfulness is the first step of practice. If we do not count precepts and giving, which are the steps before meditation, at the beginning you have to give alms first. Give alms until you have nothing left to give. Then you can ordain and come out to observe the precepts. 

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

Wat Yan Sangwararam, Chonburi

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

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“The mind can be good only by purifying bad things.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

18 March 2026

“The mind can be good only by purifying bad things.”

The mind of every person born into this world still has bad and ugly things, called defilements, which are the cause of problems for the mind and the world. The more defilements there are, the worse the mind will be. 

If there are no defilements at all, the mind will be excellent, like the mind of the Buddha, of all the Arahants. They are excellent minds, excellent people because their minds are free from defilements. Greed, anger, and delusion do not exist in the mind of the Buddha, nor do they exist in the mind of the Arahants. 

When there are no defilements, they do not create problems, do not cause suffering for themselves and others. They only create merit and benefits. Therefore, their virtue has spread for more than 2500 years because their minds are excellent, they are filled with only goodness, knowledge, and wisdom that are like light. When they teach others, they gain knowledge and intelligence, and can use it to extinguish the suffering that exists within their minds. Taking care of the mind and training the mind are therefore the heart of Buddhism. Everything that the Buddha taught us to practice. There is only one goal: to maintain the mind, develop the mind to be a good and beautiful mind, a pure and clean mind. Everything that the Lord Buddha taught is for the benefit of the mind. When the mind has been trained, and has received the Dhamma, the mind will be a good and beautiful mind, in accordance with the Dhamma, and will not do any evil things. 

The mind can be good only by purifying the bad things that create all evil. The root cause of evil is greed, anger, and delusion. These are things that exist in the minds of every ordinary person, and must be purified and cleared from the mind. If they are still in the mind, when they flare up, they will make the mind evil, cruel, and brutal, causing suffering to others and ourselves. 

Our minds are the same. We still have greed, anger, and delusion, but at the moment they have not shown any symptoms. So we can sit normally. But if something stimulates or stimulates them, causing greed, anger, and delusion, they will start to act up, creating problems for ourselves and others. Our problem is that we cannot be happy, we cannot stay still. When we have greed, anger, and delusion, we have to let it out through our body and speech. If we do not control them, they will create suffering and problems for others and ourselves.

The most important thing is to take care of the mind, control the mind, and cleanse the greed, anger, and delusion that are in the mind. If greed, anger, and delusion are gone from the mind, the mind will be at ease. There will be nothing to disturb it, nothing to order it to be greedy, angry, or delusional because there will be no greed, anger, or delusion to stimulate the mind. When there is no greed, anger, and delusion, just being still will be happy. There is no need to struggle and tire yourself out for nothing. All the things in this world are fake, not real, and not something that will give the mind true happiness. But a mind that is deluded, when it sees something, it is all good. When it is good, it wants to have it. When it gets it, it thinks it will be happy, but it is never happy. It wants more and more until it dies. It does not take even a single thing that it has acquired. It only takes greed, anger, and delusion. When it is reborn, it will do the same thing again. It has done this for who knows how many lifetimes and will continue to do this endlessly. As long as it does not cleanse the greed, anger, and delusion from the mind, 

If it can be done, the mind will be clean and pure. It is the mind of an Arahant, the mind of the Buddha. When it is like that, it will not have to be reborn again. No need to come back to being miserable, unable to stay still, unable to stay happy, having to go out and seek wealth, status, praise, sensual pleasure all the time, no matter how much you seek, it is never enough, not enough. But if you can cut off greed, anger, and delusion, then you will not be hungry for anything anymore. 

Having a lot or a little money does not matter, having a high position or not does not matter, whether others praise or criticize or scold you, you will not be troubled, not hungry for sensual pleasure. You do not have to go to the movies, watch dramas, do not have to go out to eat or party, celebrate and make a fuss for nothing. Just stay still and be happy. Just take care of and maintain your physical body day by day, and that is enough. When the body decays, it is over. Let go and do not look for a new body anymore, because the heart has reached the city of enough, is full, that is enough. 

This is the most excellent, the most sublime happiness, because it is a happiness that does not decay and does not disappear. 

It will be like this forever. As for the minds of those who are still greedy, angry, and deluded, they will still be greedy, angry, and deluded forever as well, without end. Dying and being born, being born and dying, it is always like this. Being born, being greedy, angry, and deluded until the day you die. 

After death, one is reborn and becomes greedy, angry, and deluded again.

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

Wat Yansangwararam, Chonburi Province

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

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