The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.
15 May 2024
“The purpose is to be mindful, to bring the mind here and now.”
Question from France: “One Master said that we have to label our feelings during meditation, what does Than Ajahn think about this technique?”
Than Ajahn: “There are many different meditation techniques. I cannot say whether the method you mentioned is good or not. You have to try it. If you do it and it can stop you from thinking, then it is good.
The whole point is to stop you from thinking aimlessly.
Normally, you keep thinking about this and that.
Therefore, you want to find work for the mind to do, so that it doesn’t go think about this and that. There are many different methods.
The method I used to teach is by using a mantra, like reciting Buddho, Buddho, Buddho. At some other places, the teachers might let you watch something and then label it. Sometimes it works for some people, but sometimes it doesn’t work. You just have to try it.
The purpose is to be mindful, to bring the mind here and now. Ill
Normally, the mind doesn’t want to stay here and now.
The mind wants to go to yesterday, go to tomorrow, go to France, go to England, go to all over the world. This way the mind doesn’t become still. What you have to do is to fix the mind to be in one place, to be here and now. You have to look at something that is happening here and now.
For example, if you use feelings, then you observe it: the feeling is arising, feeling is falling. You have something to keep your mind to be here and now and not to let the mind think about what you’re going to do today or what has happened yesterday. The purpose is to stop your mind from going here and there, to bring it here and now. Just be aware. Be conscious of what you are doing at the moment. This is developing mindfulness.
Before you can meditate and make your mind becomes still, you have to have mindfulness to stop your mind from wandering. Then, when you meditate, you might use the breath as your point of focus. You can label the breath, ‘in,’ ‘out,’ ‘in,’ ‘out,’ or you don’t label it but just be aware that ‘I’m breathing in, I’m breathing out’.
As long as you don’t think about other things, then it’s ok. If you think, you can never make the mind become still and concentrated. You want to concentrate the mind to become one. So, you need to have something to stop the mind from thinking. Labeling is just one method of doing it.”
From “Dhamma in English to layperson from France, Mar 5-8, 2018.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
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