The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
16 February 2024
“If you let the mind goes to separate locations then the mind will not be unified, and the mind will not come to a complete calm state.”
Question: Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo mentioned that we should fix our concentration at the tip of our nose, and yet, also maintained a broad awareness of the breath feeling in our body. Does this mean that we should focus our attention on two objects, which are the breath at nose tip and the broad awareness of breath within body?
Than Ajahn: I think you should focus only on one thing, preferably at the tip of the nose.
This is because you want to unify the mind to becoming one. If you let the mind goes to separate locations then the mind will not be unified, and the mind will not come to a complete calm state.
In order for the mind to become totally concentrated, you don’t want to go away from the breath. All you want is to be with the breath all the time. If the mind comes and goes, it will not be concentrated into one.
So you need to fix your mind only at one place, at the tip of the nose. Just watch the breath at the tip of the nose and don’t let the mind goes somewhere else.
…….
Question: When I am meditating and concentrate on my breathing in and breathing out, after a while I have to swallow and then I lost my concentration (because of the swallowing). Can Ajahn give advice?
Than Ajahn: Try not to worry about the saliva, forget about it and just concentrate on the breathing. If you feel that the saliva will overflow out of your mouth, just let it be.
Don’t think about it because the more you think about it, the more saliva you will be creating.
To overcome this is by ignoring the feeling of the overflowing saliva. Just keep concentrating on your meditation object and let the saliva alone and then it will not bother you and you will not lose your concentration. If you cannot go beyond this point then you will be stuck with your saliva. Just keep concentrating on your breathing, be aware that you are breathing in, you are breathing out and forget about the saliva. If you feel that the saliva is about to flow out of your mouth, just let it be, you can wipe it out later on.
But it doesn’t really happen, you are just imagining it. Just keep on concentrating on your object of meditation.
It is the same thing with itch, don’t try to scratch it, leave it alone and eventually everything will disappear.
It is the same thing with coughing too. Let the body does it naturally, if the body wants to cough let it cough by itself. You just have to concentrate on the breathing.
By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto
Youtube: Dhamma in English
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