The Teaching Of Ajahn Suchart.
1st March, 2022
Question: Why is it difficult to attain jhāna?
Tan Ajahn: Because you don’t have mindfulness that is strong enough to pull your mind inside. Your mind is constantly being pushed outward by your defilements (kilesas), by your desire.
Your desire keeps pushing you out towards the sight, sound, smell, taste and tactile objects. It pushes you out towards the physical activities.
It pushes you out to acquire things. You never pull your mind inside. So, when you start to do it, you feel that it is almost impossible.
It is like a novice boxer going to box with the heavyweight champion. When you first start boxing, you cannot face the heavyweight champion, you have to slowly develop your ability and strength first. Here it means developing your mindfulness.
When your mindfulness becomes stronger, you will find that it is easier to sit and become calm. And the level of calm will be deeper and deeper, until eventually when you have very strong mindfulness, you can enter the fourth jhāna, full concentration, and upekkhā.
Right now you are like a novice, starting to meditate, starting to develop mindfulness. You must first try to develop mindfulness until you can bring your mind to the here and now, to the present, not allowing it to think aimlessly.
In order to do this productively or efficiently, you need to be alone. When you are alone, you will not be distracted by other people or things.
It is like a novice boxer going to box with the heavyweight champion. When you first start boxing, you cannot face the heavyweight champion, you have to slowly develop your ability and strength first. Here it means developing your mindfulness.
When your mindfulness becomes stronger, you will find that it is easier to sit and become calm. And the level of calm will be deeper and deeper, until eventually when you have very strong mindfulness, you can enter the fourth jhāna, full concentration, and upekkhā.
Right now you are like a novice, starting to meditate, starting to develop mindfulness. You must first try to develop mindfulness until you can bring your mind to the here and now, to the present, not allowing it to think aimlessly.
In order to do this productively or efficiently, you need to be alone. When you are alone, you will not be distracted by other people or things.
That is why people become monks. As monks, they can be free from all other kinds of contact.
They don’t have to go to work. They don’t have to go to social functions. They can go into the forest, be alone, and develop mindfulness.
That is why most of the people who became enlightened were monks, not laypeople. Laypeople are not professional meditators, they are amateur meditators. You only meditate, maybe half an hour a day, so how can you compare with people who meditate all day, developing mindfulness all day and night, except for the few hours they sleep?
So, this is the effort you have to put in if you want to have the result, otherwise you will just get what you are getting right now. But don’t be disappointed. Don’t be discouraged. You have to encourage yourself with the knowledge that if you want to reach the level that the Buddha attained, like his Noble Disciples did, you have to follow their path. Do what they did.
“Dhamma for the Asking, Nov 25, 2014”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com
Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
That is why most of the people who became enlightened were monks, not laypeople. Laypeople are not professional meditators, they are amateur meditators. You only meditate, maybe half an hour a day, so how can you compare with people who meditate all day, developing mindfulness all day and night, except for the few hours they sleep?
So, this is the effort you have to put in if you want to have the result, otherwise you will just get what you are getting right now. But don’t be disappointed. Don’t be discouraged. You have to encourage yourself with the knowledge that if you want to reach the level that the Buddha attained, like his Noble Disciples did, you have to follow their path. Do what they did.
“Dhamma for the Asking, Nov 25, 2014”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com
Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
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