The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
13th November, 2022
“If the mind has no strength, whatever comes into contact with the mind, the mind usually will become affected, adversely.”
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Question: Using a mantra as an object of developing mindfulness is not stated in the Four Foundation of Mindfulness. Is there a reference in the Buddha’s teachings on using a mantra?
Than Ajahn: No, it’s not stated in the Four Foundation of Mindfulness. It’s part of the 40 kammaṭṭhānas in which you can use the contemplation of the Buddha’s qualities by either chanting or by reciting his name. The Four Foundation of Mindfulness talks about mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati) and mindfulness of body movement which are also contained in the 40 kammaṭṭhānas. So, there are different ways of developing mindfulness.
If you cannot use your body as your point of focus, you can use a mantra. You can use Buddho, Dhammo, or Sangho. These also are objects of developing mindfulness. Or you can contemplate on death – this is also another object of developing mindfulness. You keep reflecting that once you’re born, you will die eventually. Keep reminding yourself of death. It can bring your mind back to the present. Stop your mind from dreaming, thinking about the future or the past. There are 40 different methods of developing mindfulness. You can choose any method you like.
In Thailand, it happened that Ajahn Mun used ‘Buddho’ as a way of developing mindfulness. So, he taught ‘Buddho’ method, and the students who went to study with him used ‘Buddho’ too. They found it beneficial to them. It worked for them. If you find it not useful to you, you can use your body as the point of developing your mindfulness. Just keep watching your body. Tie your mind to your body. Don’t let your mind go away. Whatever your body is doing, do it with your mind. Like when you’re brushing your teeth, your mind should be brushing your teeth. You shouldn’t think about tomorrow or yesterday. Bring it back to the body all the time.
The purpose of having mindfulness is for you to be able to stop your mind from wandering around, from thinking aimlessly, so that when you sit, you can focus on your breath. Because when you sit, your body is not moving, so you don’t know what to watch. The only thing that is moving is your breath. Therefore, you watch your breath instead.
If you can keep watching your breath and not thinking about other things, your mind will eventually become one. It will converge into the knower. It gets to the knower and it stops thinking.
Right now, your mind is split into two: the knowing and the thinking. You want to stop the thinking in order to give strength and happiness to the mind. The mind has to be calm. Then, the mind will be happy and strong. It will be able to stand anything that comes into contact with the mind.
If the mind has no strength, whatever comes into contact with the mind, the mind usually will become affected adversely. Dukkha will arise.
But if the mind has strong mindfulness, the mind will remain undisturbed. The mind will merely know. It will not react to whatever comes into contact with the mind. The mind doesn’t need anything. Once the mind is calm, it is happy. It has contentment. It doesn’t need to have anything to make it happy. So, whatever comes into contact with the mind, the mind can just ignore it.
Dhamma in English, Oct 22, 2018.
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
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