“Just be aware - be aware of what’s going on. Don’t criticize. Don’t make comments.”

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

20 September 2024

“Just be aware - be aware of what’s going on. Don’t criticize. Don’t make comments.”

Male:  I’m interested in the practice of ānāpānasati and awareness.

Than Ajahn:  Mindfulness – this is the basic. 

You start with mindfulness and sit a lot. If you have mindfulness, then you’ll find peace. 

There are a lot of questions that are not necessary to have an answer.  Once you know how to make your mind peaceful, you’ll get all the answers.

No matter how much you have acquired externally, they have nothing to do with your peace of mind. 

They don’t contribute to peace of mind but they tend to contribute to more chaos of the mind.  The mind becomes more restless, more agitated because the more you have, the more you have to look after.  And different things that you have, you cannot really look after them anyway because they are dealing with the impermanent world, they come and go.  But you forget this reality, this truth.  You keep thinking that what we have will last, to be with us all the time.

When you cannot find happiness within yourself, you have to go looking for happiness outside of yourself.  

So, you have to reverse that process. Try to find happiness within yourself. Once you find that, then you don’t need to go after other things. That’s the happiness you have within yourself. It’s long-lasting, permanent. 

For the happiness you get from other things, they are only temporary and you have to keep on looking, getting, acquiring, pursuing. No matter how much you have, you still don’t feel fulfilled. 

But if you find peace of mind, then you’ll find fulfillment. That will make you feel you don’t need anything. Meditation is the path towards that fulfillment.

And you need to be alone, need to be in the quiet environment, away from all the distractions and temptation. You also have to control your mind, your thinking.  Stop it from thinking because most of your thoughts go towards acquiring, possessing, pursuing things.

Male:  When you observe, say with Ānāpanassati, are you focusing your mind on something, like awareness, and another time are you more like just watching?

Than Ajahn:  When you’re watching your breath, it’s usually when you sit in meditation. 

But at other times when you are not in (sitting) meditation, you have to control your thoughts.  

So, you sometimes might have to use a mantra to replace your thought.  If you repeat a mantra, you cannot think about other things.  

Or you can watch your body movement, every movement of your body.”

Male:  like reciting anicca?

Than Ajahn:  If it can stop you from thinking.  

If you think of anicca, think of death, it might stop you from being ambitious, from wanting to have this or that.

Be very careful if you use your thought to stop thinking because sometimes it can backfire; instead of thinking to stop thinking, you are thinking to create more thinking. You want to think to stop thinking.  If you think and you’re creating more thoughts, then you shouldn’t do that.

It’s better to just focus on something.  If you’re sitting, focus on your breath.  If you’re working or doing something, just watch your body movement.  Don’t think.

Just be aware - be aware of what’s going on. 

Don’t criticize. Don’t make comments. We normally like to make comments about things, about this and that, good and bad, right and wrong. All these are mental judgments, mental thoughts.

The mind should just be aware, be an observer rather than being a critic. If you cannot stop it from criticizing, or analyzing, then you will need a mantra to stop it. When you a mantra, you cannot criticize or think about this and that.

You can use ‘anicca, anicca, anicca’ or ‘Buddho, Buddho, Buddho’ or any other words that you find comfortable, that can stop you from thinking or just watch your body movement. When you walk, just watch your feet, left, right, left, right. So, the goal is not to think about anything. If you have something to concentrate on, then you cannot think about other things. If you have nothing to tie your mind to, then your mind will think about this and that. If you let your mind keep thinking, then you will not be able to get your mind into samādhi or calm.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g