"Seeing suffering caused by desire"

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

3 March 2026

"Seeing suffering caused by desire"

Question: Most sick people think that pain is in the body, not the mind.

Phra Ajarn: We will not know about mental suffering if we do not study or practice. If we think that suffering is in the body, we will devote our life and mind to solving the suffering in the body only, even though the mind is suffering all the time. We cannot see it.

Question: Because we rely on the body.

Phra Ajarn: Because we are deluded into relying on it ourselves, because we have not studied thoroughly. 

When we read it, we do not understand. When you teach about the form of anatta, we do not understand the meaning. How is the body not us? Because it has been ours since birth. We all think like this because we do not know that those who say it is us, not the body, think by themselves that the body is the thinker. Even scientists think that the mind is part of the body, not that they are separate parts. Only the Lord Buddha knew by himself that they are separate parts. After practicing ardently, fasting for 49 days because he thought that defilements come out of the body. If the body is not given food, the defilements will die. But the defilements do not die. Only the body will die. He knew that the defilements are not in the body, but in the mind. Therefore, he had to resolve the defilements through meditation. Samatha and Vipassana meditation

Until he became enlightened, he saw the Four Noble Truths in his heart, he saw the suffering that came from his own desires, he saw the desires as defilements, the cause of suffering, he saw the way to extinguish defilements, which is mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. When there is mindfulness, concentration and wisdom, it will overcome defilements and desires, and suffering will be extinguished. It is a battle between the views of two sides, the right view and the wrong view. 

When the wrong view is destroyed, the mind will not produce suffering.

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

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"The Eightfold Path"

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

28 February 2026

"The Eightfold Path"

The origin of suffering is not in the body, but in the mind. We must abandon the origin in the mind through meditation, through the development of the Eightfold Path, through the development of morality, concentration and wisdom. When we develop morality, concentration and wisdom, we will have the strength to abandon the origin of suffering, which is sensual desire, craving for existence and craving for non-existence. 

This is called the Middle Way, the Majjhima Patipada. 

This Eightfold Path is the middle way, the path that lies between two extreme practices, the path that does not extinguish suffering, but rather creates suffering without reason. Do not go to either path, but rather to this path. 

This middle path is between nourishing the body and torturing the body. These two paths are not the path to extinguishing suffering. 

We must extinguish it with the Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Thought, Right Action, Right Speech, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. These are right views, right thoughts, right actions, right speech, right livelihood, right effort, right awareness and right determination of the mind. 

This is what will give our mind the power to destroy the enemy that will drag the mind to the cycle of birth and death, which is defilement, such as greed, anger, delusion or craving, which is desire for sensual pleasure, craving for existence and craving for non-existence. Destroy defilement and craving, and then existence will end. Birth, aging, illness and death will end. Nirvana will appear in the mind. Then we will stay in that Nirvana forever and ever. The Buddha and his disciples have reached Nirvana and are currently in Nirvana. They are waiting for us. 

If we can develop the Eightfold Path, we will be able to go and be with the Buddha and the Arahant disciples. If we want to go to Nirvana, we have to fill up our car with gas. 

Once we fill up our car with gas, we can drive to the house where the Buddha and his disciples live. Now we have to fill up the gas tank, fill up the Eightfold Path. If we can fill up the Eightfold Path, then our mind will definitely be able to reach Nirvana without a doubt. The Buddha's Dharma is Akaliko, it does not run out with the Buddha. Those who practice in this era can still reach Nirvana, just like those who practiced in the Buddha's era. There is no difference. It is like oil 50 years ago. Oil is the same as oil today. Put oil in the car and it will make the car run the same. Put the 8-fold path in your heart today and you will reach Nirvana. It is the same as the Buddha and all the disciples who filled the 8-fold path in their hearts and reached Nirvana before us. Now we are filling the 8-fold path. 

When we fill the tank with the 8-fold path, we will also reach Nirvana. 

Therefore, let us be steadfast in the Buddha's teachings. 

Try to listen to sermons and Dharma, study the 8-fold path to gain a thorough and correct understanding so that we can put it into practice correctly. When we practice correctly, the results will certainly appear.

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

Wat Yanasangwararam, Chonburi Province

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

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"This is the truth."

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

27 February 2026

"This is the truth."

Here, we only teach about the heart because the heart is important. The heart is the knower, but the heart does not know the heart. The problem lies here because it is dominated by delusion, so it does not know the truth, knows right from wrong, and creates problems for itself. No one knows when delusion arises or how. Even the Lord Buddha does not know. It is attached to every mind. Delusion has ignorance as its master. 

Ignorance, conditions, and formations. 

Ignorance is the one who dominates the mind, the one who orders the mind to think in the wrong way, to think in the unreal way. He once went back to his past life to find the root of ignorance, when it appeared, but there was no root. No matter how far back he went, ignorance was always with his mind. It is strange that there is a person like the Lord Buddha who has the wisdom and intelligence to see through this delusion because delusion also dominates the Lord Buddha's mind. But he was able to see that this ignorance itself is the problem. Very few people can see for themselves that this mind is dominated by ignorance, delusion, and ignorance. If it were someone else, they would have to rely on hearing and listening. 

Therefore, there are very few Lord Buddhas when compared to the Arahant disciples. 

There is only one Lord Buddha, but there are tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of Arahant disciples. Because the person who will become a Buddha must be the best, the pinnacle of wisdom.

Therefore, it is our good fortune and merit to be born during the period when there were the Buddha’s teachings, which would lead us to escape from this delusion. If we were born in an era when there were no Dharma teachings, we would not have the opportunity to raise our heads from the dominance of ignorance, delusion, and delusion. At most, we could only attain Jhana and Samadhi. For example, the two teachers of the Buddha who died before the Buddha appeared, so no one taught them about ignorance and how to extinguish ignorance and delusion. 

Therefore, they could only attain Jhana, Rupa Jhana, and Arupa Jhana, which are at the level of Samadhi, but did not yet attain wisdom or supramundane Dhamma or Vipassana knowledge, which would see the cause of the cycle of rebirth and suffering, which is caused by ignorance, delusion, and delusion that dominated the mind. The Buddha regretted that the two teachers had passed away before he became enlightened as the Buddha, so they would not receive any benefits. If they had lived for just another 7 days or just one more day, and had heard the Buddha’s teachings, how to be free, they would have been able to be freed because they had enough merit, morality, and Samadhi, but lacked wisdom. Developing wisdom will not be difficult if there is morality and concentration to support it. When you speak a single word, you will understand immediately. 

As in the first sermon, when he taught the Pancavaggiya monks, he taught only one section. 

Venerable Anya Kondañña had the eye to see the truth, saw the arising and passing away of all things as natural. Any dharma that arises as natural will naturally pass away as natural. He understood that this was the principle of truth, so he would not cling to or be attached to things. He would not be sad or grieved when things passed away or died, when the body died, because he knew that it was natural. 

Venerable Suchart Abhichato

Dhamma in English, Nov 25, 2014.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

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The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

24 February 2026

Question: After practising sati, when we have stopped thinking and dropped into samādhi, when does paññā appear and how does paññā appear?

Than Ajahn:  Generating paññā has to wait until you come out of samādhi. 

When you are in samādhi, you are not thinking. 

You can generate paññā by thinking according to reality, according to the truth. 

So, when you are in samādhi, when you have equanimity, you don’t do anything. You want to prolong that samādhi for as long as possible because it will give you mental strength. When your mind is peaceful and calm, and when it’s without delusion or emotions, your mind will think rationally. 

When you've come out of samādhi, your mind is ready to face the truth that you normally would not like to face. What kind of truth that you don’t like to face? The truth of anicca or impermanence. You don’t like to face this truth. 

You don’t like to face that we will have to get old, get sick and die. You don’t like to face that the body is not good-looking, the body is full of unwholesome or unattractive parts, such as the inner organs. So, when you first come out of samadhi, when your mind is calm and peaceful, you can direct your mind to contemplate on this unattractive aspect of life, such as ageing, sickness, death, and separation.

After you come out of samadhi, when your mind is lucid, calm, peaceful and clear, it is the time when you develop paññā or wisdom. 

Then, your mind can look at things clearly, such as seeing that your body or your family members’ bodies will have to get old, get sick and die; seeing that eventually there will be separation, that everybody in the family will go on his or her separate way. This is wisdom (paññā). 

When you see the truth, you will then let go of your attachment to these people. You know if you’re attached to them, when they depart, it will make you sad. But if you are not attached to them, if you know that eventually you will have to be separated from them, you’re prepared for that eventuality. 

And when separation happens, you are not disturbed or saddened by separation. 

So, you do this contemplation after you've come out of samādhi when your mind is neutral, when your mind is calm without any emotions. Then, you can look at the truth. 

You want to look at it as long as possible until you can remember it. You want to look at the truth until you won’t forget about it. 

Right now, you tend to forget. You don’t want to think about it because when you think about the truth, it makes you feel sad. So, you don’t want to think about it. But when your mind comes out of samādhi, your mind will not be sad when you look at the truth. 

Your mind will be brave. 

Your mind will be strong. Your mind is ready to face the truth. This is paññā. 

You have to think of the truth. You already knew it, but you try to evade thinking about it. You don’t want to think about it. However, you have to keep thinking about it until you see it in your mind, all the time. Then, you will change your attitude towards the things that you will have to be separated from. Instead of clinging or attaching to them, you will be detaching from them. 

You will let go. 

When you let go, then you will not be sad when you have to be separated from the things that you love or the people that you love.

Dhamma in English, Sep 7, 2018.

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

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"Practice making the mind equanimous."

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

21 February 2026

"Practice making the mind equanimous."

The physical sensations are not important. 

The mind is more important. Whether the mind can truly be equanimous or not, whether it wants the suffering to disappear or not. If deep down it still wants to, even if it disappears on its own, the mind still wants to disappear, it will cause stress and headaches. 

Therefore, the mind must be taught not to want it to disappear. Let it be as it is. If using the technique of meditation, chant "Buddho" continuously. Do not pay attention to the suffering. If sitting and listening to the Dhamma makes you feel pain, do not pay attention to the pain. Keep listening intently. The pain will disappear on its own. The goal of the practice is the mind to be calm, concentrated, and equanimous. 

Do not control or force the physical sensations. Let it be as it is. Whether it is long or not, let it be as it is. The goal of the practice is equanimity of the mind. The mind must be indifferent. It must not have emotions about it. Let it be as it is. Teachers use listening to sermons and Dhamma as a method to teach their disciples. When they teach the Dhamma, no one moves their body, no matter how painful it is. Try to sit and listen. Focus on listening in order to be equanimous. Be still and let go of the physical sensations.

For those who are not yet good at meditating, try sitting and listening to sermons and Dhamma without changing your posture until it ends. This is a way to practice meditation and to train your mind to be equanimous. If you are alone, you may not be able to sit or you can only sit for a short while. When you feel pain, you will change your posture. When you have to listen to sermons and Dhamma, you have to sit until they stop. If they do not move, we do not move. When they preach, we listen to them. They are absorbed in their sermon. They feel pain just like us, but their minds are not with the pain. They are with the Dhamma teaching, so they do not feel pain. If we concentrate on listening, we will not feel pain. It hurts, but we do not feel pain because we do not give it importance. If you are alone, you must have something to cling to instead of the sound of Dhamma. You must create the sound of Dhamma within your mind, either by chanting mantras, by chanting “Buddho”, or by observing your breath in and out. Let your mind cling to that meditation, and then the physical pain will disappear on its own. Your mind will be equanimous. 

If you contemplate with wisdom until you see the disadvantages of wanting suffering to disappear, as the cause of mental suffering, you will let go of desire. The suffering will stay and stay. Your mind will sink into peace and calmness. Your mind will become lighter and clearer. It is a deeper equanimity than when you are chanting or praying. You know and see that you can truly let go. Your mind will be relieved and light. You will not be stressed about anything at all. You will be very happy. It is a trick of wisdom. Consider that the body, feelings and mind are all natural phenomena that have different functions. The body is like other objects, like the wooden floor we are sitting on. Bones are like wood. When people or animals die, bones are boiled in a pot. There is no pain because they are objects. The body is also an object. 

It is just that the mind possesses it, so there is a perception of the feelings that arise in the body, which change continuously from happiness to suffering, from suffering to neither happiness nor suffering, in a cycle like this. You have to consider that these are natural phenomena that you cannot control or control. They have to go their own way. 

You have to let them go their own way. Let the body sit and let the feelings be whatever they are. As for the mind of the knower, just know indifferently. 

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

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"Don't wait to die"

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

20 February 2026

"Don't wait to die"

Try to force your mind to come to the Dhamma as much as possible. Don't let it flow with your emotions.

If you want to come, come. If you don't want to come, don't come. 

If you want to sit, sit. If you don't want to sit, don't ... do this, you won't get anywhere. You have to know that you have to sit. Our duty is to meditate, contemplate the Dhamma, observe the precepts, make merit, give alms. 

It's our duty. We have to do it every day. We have to do one thing at a time. We can do it every day, every time, such as developing mindfulness. We can develop it all the time. 

Let the mind be in the present. Don't think about things in the past or the future. Just stay in the present. That's considered as practicing meditation. It's a way of controlling the mind. If you can control your mind to think in the way that the Buddha taught us to think, all defilements will die. 

When all defilements die, there will be no suffering to bother or disturb the mind. You will live in supreme bliss all the time.

You don't have to wait to die to reach Nirvana. Nirvana is the end of all suffering. 

The cessation of all defilements is not extinguished at the time of death. It is extinguished before death. The Buddhas and Arahants were enlightened before death. 

They were not enlightened after death. Even if they were bitten by a tiger, they attained it before death. 

They did not attain it after death. Don't think that you will attain it after death. You will practice. You have to practice from today. The more you practice, the faster you will achieve it. If you keep procrastinating, work will be waiting for you. 

Every time you look back, you will see that you have to meditate and do walking meditation again. Hurry up and make it a habit until it becomes something you like to do. Otherwise, it will bother you all the time. 

Every time you see it, you will feel uncomfortable. You have to meditate and do walking meditation again. But if you keep sitting and walking until it becomes a habit, you will not think like this. You will only find time to sit and walk more. Let us be diligent, patient, and persevering. Where there is effort, there is success. It does not depend on anyone, not on the Lord Buddha or teachers. It depends on ourselves. Attahi attano natho, oneself is a refuge for oneself. 

With diligence, practice according to the teachings of the Lord Buddha.

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

Wat Yan Sangwararam, Chonburi

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

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The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

10 March 2026

Question:  Ajahn mentioned that the way to get rid of the dukkha is to get rid of the cause of it which is the cravings. If we start to do this, we start to generate the magga (the fourth truth). 

For example, when we want coffee and we can’t get it, then we’ll have dukkha. Usually, we’ll try to push it to get the coffee. If I can see that this is a craving that’s causing the dukkha and I can stop it and just drink water, then the dukkha is gone.

Is this the start of generating magga?

Than Ajahn:  You change your mind. 

Once you change your mind, you stop your craving, ‘Well, if I can’t have coffee, then forget about it. I’ll have something else.’ 

Because you know you can’t have it anyway, right? So, why try to insist on it? Sometimes people insist on getting what they want. If they don’t have it, they will go outside of the house and buy one. But this will give them restlessness and agitation all the time, wanting to get the coffee. So, just change your mind, it means you stop your craving. 

When you change your mind, you automatically stop your craving. 

Question:  Is changing my mind the start of generating magga?

Than Ajahn:  No, the seeing that there is no coffee. So, why suffer? It’s aniccā. Coffee is impermanent. 

Sometimes, you can have coffee; sometimes, you don’t have coffee. If there is no coffee, accept it. Accept the truth, ‘Ok, there is no coffee.’ So, you change your mind from the desire to have coffee to, ‘Ok, not having coffee.’ 

Question:  I’m trying to understand the last part, Ajahn, generating the magga.

Than Ajahn:  Wisdom. Wisdom. You look at coffee as being aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā, and mindfulness and upekkhā. You have to have enough upekkhā when wisdom tells you that coffee is aniccā and it’s happening in real time. It’s gone, there is no coffee for you to drink. If you insist on having it, you’ll get dukkha, right? But if you see that your dukkha arises from your insistence on having coffee, then you just stop your mind from insisting to have that coffee, because it’s not there anymore for you to have. 

You keep insisting on the things that have already gone. 

Like when you lost your loved ones, you still want them to come back or you’re mourning, ‘Why did they have to die? 

Why did they have to go?’ This is not accepting the truth of aniccā. If you accept the truth of aniccā, then you wouldn’t complain about and you wouldn’t deny it.

You just accept it, ‘No coffee? Ok. No desire for it then. 

If there’s no coffee to drink, then I’d have no desire to drink the coffee.’ When there is no desire to drink the coffee, dukkha disappears. But if the desire for coffee is still there, the dukkha would drive you crazy, right? 

Sometimes, if you couldn’t endure the dukkha, you’d have to run around to look for coffee, and then you would run into the next cycle when you run out of coffee again. But once you stop your desire for drinking coffee, then you stop your problem once and for all, then you don’t need to have coffee. So, you have to stop your desire for coffee. You shouldn’t maintain your desire for coffee, shouldn’t satisfy your desire for coffee by providing more coffee for your desire, because if you do so, you’ll have to keep on getting more coffee all the time. And sooner or later, you won’t be able to drink coffee, then what happens? You’ll have dukkha. So, you have to see aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā in the coffee, and in all things that you desire for. 

Eventually, sooner or later, you won’t be able to get what you want, and when that happens, you will feel miserable. 

Like nowadays, people have mental issues because they cannot get out of the house to do the things they used to do. But if they just change their minds, ‘Ok, if I cannot go out, I’ll stay in the house and be happy staying in the house,’ then there will be no problem. Just stop the desire to get out of the house, that’s all.

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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