The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
21 June 2023“The main point of ānāpānasati.”
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Layperson: What is the main point of ānāpānasati?
Than Ajahn: Just watch your breathing. Just know that you are breathing in and breathing out. Just watch the contact point of your breath at the tip of your nose. When you can feel the contact point, you just watch it, don’t follow the air – the air that is moving in or out, just stay at one point. You want to fix the mind at one point. You don’t want the mind to move with the breath. Don’t follow the breath that goes in and out. Fix it at the tip of the nose where you can feel the air. Just stay there and don’t think about anything.
If you think, it means that you are not mindful.
You are not watching your breathing. You are watching your thinking instead. Just pay attention to your breathing. Don’t pay attention to anything else.
Don’t lose your concentration, don’t be distracted. There are many kinds of distractions, such as the noise outside or the noise inside, images that arise, so just don’t pay attention to them. Just focus on your breathing, on your meditation subject, then eventually everything will disappear. If you read my books, you should have enough information to get you going.
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Layperson: In your book, when you said samādhi, does it mean jhāna?
Than Ajahn: Yes. samādhi is jhāna. Appanā-samādhi is fourth jhāna. Most people probably get the first or second jhāna. When you are sitting still and watching your breathing, you are probably starting to get to first jhāna but you haven’t gotten into the fourth jhāna where everything stops. You can only concentrate on your breathing, that’s how far you can go, you don’t go deep enough.
When you are concentrating on your breathing, you are already into the first jhāna. When you are aware of your breathing in and breathing out activities, this is the first jhāna. What you want is to go to second, third and fourth jhāna, where the mind becomes completely blank, empty.
“Dhamma in English, Jun 23, 2015.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com
Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
Don’t lose your concentration, don’t be distracted. There are many kinds of distractions, such as the noise outside or the noise inside, images that arise, so just don’t pay attention to them. Just focus on your breathing, on your meditation subject, then eventually everything will disappear. If you read my books, you should have enough information to get you going.
- - -
Layperson: In your book, when you said samādhi, does it mean jhāna?
Than Ajahn: Yes. samādhi is jhāna. Appanā-samādhi is fourth jhāna. Most people probably get the first or second jhāna. When you are sitting still and watching your breathing, you are probably starting to get to first jhāna but you haven’t gotten into the fourth jhāna where everything stops. You can only concentrate on your breathing, that’s how far you can go, you don’t go deep enough.
When you are concentrating on your breathing, you are already into the first jhāna. When you are aware of your breathing in and breathing out activities, this is the first jhāna. What you want is to go to second, third and fourth jhāna, where the mind becomes completely blank, empty.
“Dhamma in English, Jun 23, 2015.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com
Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
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