The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
21 October 2023“The benefit of having jhāna.”
Layperson: “Is there any shortcut if we want to attain to nibbāna?”
Than Ajahn: “Yes, the shortest way is to become a monk, the Buddha’s way. The Buddha had to become a monk first. Then, he became enlightened within 6 years. For us, we can even be faster because we have a teacher. We have the Buddha as our teacher. He guaranteed that if you become a monk, you can become enlightened in 7 days. If it’s not in 7 days, you can be enlightened in 7 months. If it’s not 7 months, you can be enlightened in 7 years. He guaranteed that. So, this is the shortest way. You have to become a monk.”
Layperson: “How about for a woman?”
Than Ajahn: “It is the same. A woman can become a mae chee or a nun. There is no difference. Whether you are a man or a woman, what you have to practice is the same. You have to keep sīla. You have to develop samādhi. You have to develop paññā. There are monasteries where they accept women to stay for long term to practice. You just have to look around.”
Question: “What is the benefit of having jhāna?”
Than Ajahn: “Jhāna is good for your mind because it will bring you the real happiness. If you have jhāna, your mind will be content, happy and not be hungry.
You can live without having anything. You can live without money. You can live without a husband or wife.
If your mind is not calm (not having jhāna), your mind will be desiring for things, it will be hungry. It will hunger for people’s companionship, for things, for money and all the things that we are usually hungry for.
If your mind is not calm (not having jhāna), your mind will be desiring for things, it will be hungry. It will hunger for people’s companionship, for things, for money and all the things that we are usually hungry for.
That’s because people don’t have jhāna. For those who have jhāna, they can live like a monk. They don’t need to have anything to make them happy. They have jhāna to make them happy.
In order to have jhāna, you have to have a strong and continuous mindfulness. Right now your mindfulness is not continuous. It comes and goes. Sometimes you forget to be mindful and you let your mind keeps thinking. When you keep thinking, your mind cannot become calm, you cannot enter into jhāna. The only way to enter into jhāna is to stop thinking.
The way to stop thinking is to concentrate your mind on one object such as a mantra, like reciting Buddho, Buddho, Buddho. If you don’t like the mantra, you can concentrate on your body movement. Keep watching your body from the time you get up to the time you go to sleep. Tie your mind to the body. Don’t let your mind go think about other things. However, this is not easy for laypeople because laypeople have to think about work, about other people, about responsibilities. So, that’s why you have to become a monk.
When you become a monk, you have no work, have no people to worry about or engage with. Then, you can concentrate on your body movement or you can concentrate on your mantra. Once you can do this, when you sit, your mind can enter into jhāna very quickly. You can enter into jhāna in 5 minutes if your mindfulness is continuous. If you can focus your mind on one object, like reciting a mantra or if you’re sitting down and you can focus on your breath, you can make your mind enters into jhāna very easily.
So, you need to be free from other obligations, other activities. If you still have to get involve with other activities or with people, you will not be able to concentrate on one object. Then, you cannot stop thinking. You cannot enter into jhāna.
When you don’t have jhāna, you have no happiness.
In order to have jhāna, you have to have a strong and continuous mindfulness. Right now your mindfulness is not continuous. It comes and goes. Sometimes you forget to be mindful and you let your mind keeps thinking. When you keep thinking, your mind cannot become calm, you cannot enter into jhāna. The only way to enter into jhāna is to stop thinking.
The way to stop thinking is to concentrate your mind on one object such as a mantra, like reciting Buddho, Buddho, Buddho. If you don’t like the mantra, you can concentrate on your body movement. Keep watching your body from the time you get up to the time you go to sleep. Tie your mind to the body. Don’t let your mind go think about other things. However, this is not easy for laypeople because laypeople have to think about work, about other people, about responsibilities. So, that’s why you have to become a monk.
When you become a monk, you have no work, have no people to worry about or engage with. Then, you can concentrate on your body movement or you can concentrate on your mantra. Once you can do this, when you sit, your mind can enter into jhāna very quickly. You can enter into jhāna in 5 minutes if your mindfulness is continuous. If you can focus your mind on one object, like reciting a mantra or if you’re sitting down and you can focus on your breath, you can make your mind enters into jhāna very easily.
So, you need to be free from other obligations, other activities. If you still have to get involve with other activities or with people, you will not be able to concentrate on one object. Then, you cannot stop thinking. You cannot enter into jhāna.
When you don’t have jhāna, you have no happiness.
You then look for happiness from outside your body, outside your mind. You go look for money, look for people and you go to different places to make you happy. So, you have to try to develop a lot of mindfulness. You can do this although it’s difficult if you’re working. It will be easier to develop mindfulness on your day off where you can isolate yourself from everything. Then, you can focus on developing mindfulness, concentrating your mind on one object, either by observing your body or by reciting a mantra. And when you can sit in meditation, you sit for as long as possible. If you keep doing this, eventually, you will be able to enter into jhāna. Once you know how to enter into jhāna, you can always do it all the time.”
From: “Dhamma in English to laypeople from Indonesia, Feb 11, 2018.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com
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