“To get to appanā, you have to be constantly mindful and do nothing else.”

“To get to appanā, you have to be constantly mindful and do nothing else.”

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Layperson: You said that we have to bring our mind to appanā. Is appanā fourth jhāna? So must we bring our mind to appanā?

Than Ajahn: Yes, appanā is fourth jhāna. As a Layperson it is almost impossible to achieve that. You need to be a constant practitioner and do nothing else. It is like playing golf and hit a hole-in-one. You have to be a professional to have that ability. For amateurs, you don’t expect it, you just try to sit and focus your mind and when you gain some level of calm, it is already good enough.

To get to appanā, you have to be constantly mindful and do nothing else. If you have to work, if you have to think, you will never be able to achieve that. It is hard enough for forest monks to achieve this, so it is almost impossible for lay people to achieve it.

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Layperson: Is the fourth jhāna or appanā pre-requisite for us to be able to penetrate the aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā?

Than Ajahn: It is not to penetrate the aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā. It can give you the strength to resist your desire. If you have fourth jhāna, you have the strength to resist your desire to have this and have that. If you don’t have jhāna, you don’t have the strength to resist your desire.

If you have jhāna, you would probably become a monk now because you can give up your lay life. You cannot give up your lay life because you don’t have something to replace it. You need fourth jhāna to replace the lay life. If you have fourth jhāna then you are a monk now.

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Layperson: When we don’t have jhāna, can we see aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā?

Than Ajahn: Yes, we all see it. You see aging, sickness and death but you cannot let go of the body. You know that you are going to die, right? But you are still afraid of dying, right? It is because you cannot give up your body, you don’t have the fourth jhāna to help you to be able to give up the body. If you have fourth jhāna, you know that you don’t need the body, you can exist without the
body. You can be happy without the body. When you don’t have that (fourth jhāna), you still need the body to make you happy.

Without jhāna you cannot have any insight. You need jhāna first. Sīla, samādhi, paññā – they are supporting each other.

“Dhamma in English, Jun 23, 2015.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

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