“You tend to forget to be mindful. You like to be unmindful. You like to let the mind go adrift.”

“You tend to forget to be mindful. You like to be unmindful. You like to let the mind go adrift.”

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Question (F): Sometimes when I come out of meditation and start to deal with things and people, I tend to become more anxious than usual. Why is this so and how to overcome that?

Than Ajahn: It’s because you let go of your mindfulness. When you come out of your meditation, you forget to restore your mindfulness. You let the mind run wild. You let it do what it feels like to do. So it creates all those anxiety and bad feelings. You should continue on with your mindfulness after you come out of meditation. You can either watch your body or recite a mantra. When you start to feel bad, you know that you are not mindful. You should bring back your mindfulness by reciting ‘Buddho, Buddho, Buddho’ for a few minutes. Then, your bad feelings will disappear.

You tend to forget to be mindful. You like to be unmindful. You like to let the mind go adrift. You let it do whatever it wants to do. As the mind usually creates cravings and desires, it will start to give you bad feelings. You should stop it either by having mindfulness or using wisdom. You say to yourself, ‘It’s my craving that want this and that. When I don’t get this and that, I will start to feel restless and agitated. So, I must resist and stop my cravings and desires.’ Once you can stop it, your restlessness and agitation will disappear.

Youtube: “Dhamma in English, Nov 9, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

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