“Such an offering is a gesture of respect.”

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

5 October 2024

“Such an offering is a gesture of respect.”

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Question: Out of compassion for your students, may Tan Ajahn live a long time.

Tan Ajahn: I will have compassion as long as this body allows. When the body breaks down I won’t be able to do anything about it. I can’t control it. May the students also have compassion for the teacher. May they take what is taught to heart and put it into practice.

When the students don’t practice, the teacher feels weary. Sometimes whatever is taught goes in one ear and right out the other. Even though they come back days or months later, they still haven’t changed at all. 

When this happens the teacher gets discouraged. The students are stuck in 1st grade and refuse to move on to 2nd or 3rd. 

They don’t want to graduate college at all.

Oh, be considerate of the person teaching as well! It’s not just for the teacher to have loving kindness. Really, the student should have loving kindness for the teacher as well. If the students complete their studies, then “Oh!” It will really encourage the teacher to live a long time because then he sees the results coming from his teaching.

There really is nothing like seeing people free themselves from suffering. Seeing people cry is so sad; wouldn’t it be better to see them laughing? 

Wouldn’t it be better to see them happy? Truly, once we attain to the Dhamma, we can laugh even when we are sick and dying because Dhamma teaches us to know that the body is not us or ours.

The body is but a house on fire, a mountain that weighs down the heart. Every day we feel burdened and heavy-hearted because of the issues related to the body, making a living, and maintaining our body so that it can live free from illness. All these things revolve around the body. If there were no body, we would be light-hearted. Or to get the same result while there is a body, we do not attach to it or believe it to be ourselves.

May you have compassion for your teacher and go practise. 

Then you can come back and tell me, “Now I’m so happy! I’m no longer bothered by my body at all. If something happens to it, even if it dies, I can accept it.

It’s not a problem at all.” If that happens, out of compassion I will live a long time.

“Mountain Dhamma.”

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Question:  Is it possible to make Luangta Mahā Boowa live longer if all his students were to pool together their effort and practice?

Than Ajahn: It's not possible. His body is subject to its own causes and conditions. [The merit of a well-trained mind] applies to the one who practises.

You may offer it, but it doesn't guarantee that the outcome will be according to your wish. Such an offering is a gesture of respect.

He doesn't want anything from you, nothing at all. He is fully self-sufficient. His body is not him; it's just like a vehicle. It won't run when it becomes obsolete. The body is like a car: it will fall apart when it's time. No one can prevent it. If one could extend another person's life through merit-making, the Buddha would still be living today.

In the case of Venerable Ānanda, the Buddha meant that his body could still last and he would be able to live with an extra care. 

Without such a care, it would expire sooner. 

The Buddha tried to let Venerable Ānanda know, as it would require him to care for the Buddha, but Venerable Ānanda didn't clue in and let that opportunity pass. Venerable Ānanda himself was reprimanded three months after the Buddha's death when there was a congregation of the five-hundred noble disciples to agree on the Buddha's teachings. 

Venerable Ānanda said he didn't understand what the Buddha had meant when he could have pleaded with the Buddha to stay longer.

The four bases of mental power (iddhipāda), consisting of purpose (chanda), effort (viriya), mind (citta), and investigation (vımaṃsā) are the power of the Dhamma, which will help sustain the body longer, in comparison to the mind that is without the will or power to live on. The body can be in a good shape but it won't be able to go on if the mind doesn't care for the body. It won't make the body eat, sleep, exercise, and take medications. 

A neglected body is bound to deteriorate rather quickly.

This is contrary to a body that is well taken care of—being full of will and energy because it is the mind that looks after the body. 

The Buddha had the will to look after his body, but he would also need the help of others. 

Without an assistant, he wouldn't be able to make it. 

The assistant, himself, would have to devote his own time.

Venerable Ānanda, at the time, had yet to attain enlightenment and so the Buddha didn't want to detract him from his path. He wanted to let Venerable Ānanda practise as he wished. If he wanted to continue being the Buddha's attendant, it would have to be out of his own will. 

Without a proper offer for his service, it was construed as unwilling. Venerable Ānanda wasn't wise enough to catch on to the Buddha's words and when he did, it was already too late; the Buddha only had three months by then.

The Buddha wouldn't change his mind once it had already been made up. [The four bases of mental power to save his body] refer to his willingness (chanda) to live for the sake of others or the world. It's out of his empathy and compassion for those in need. Even on the very last night before he went onto the final realm, he was still teaching and answering to the very last person. Venerable Ānanda didn't allow that person to see the Buddha, but the Buddha insisted on letting the person in to see him. 

This was out of his boundless compassion for all sentient beings.

The Buddha had already made up his mind about leaving and wouldn't change it. He took into consideration the number of five-hundred-some noble disciples who would carry on teaching on his behalf. 

He was certain that all the sentient beings won't be without a refuge. 

He said, 'You all won't be without a teacher, for it is my teachings—Dhamma-Vinaya—that will be your teacher'.

All the noble disciples, with the minimum of five-hundred of them, would be the ones who carried out the teaching of Dhamma-Vinaya.

So don't overreact when it comes to any teacher's passing. 

It is just a matter of time, which is only natural and expected. All Luangta's teachings have already been recorded, which will be just as useful whether he is still alive or not. When you visit any teacher, it is not to see his body but to seek out his Dhamma. So why don't you seek out and listen to his Dhamma which is still available?

“Essential Teachings.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

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