The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
19 September 2023
Question from Myanmar: “How can I attain sotāpanna?"
Than Ajahn: “You have to get rid of the fetters. There are three fetters you have to get rid of: sakkāyadiṭṭhi – wrong view of the body and the five khandhas; your doubt in the Buddha, Dhamma and the Saṅgha; and your attachment to rituals.
These are the three fetters that a sotāpanna needs to eliminate. In order to do these, you need to have sīla, samādhi and paññā.
Paññā means that you see the body, the five khandhas, as aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā.
Once you’ve seen this and have seen the Four Noble Truths, then you will have the eye of the Dhamma. You see the Dhamma.
Those who see the Dhamma, see the Buddha.
Then, you’ll have no doubt in the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha. The Saṅgha is you who see the Buddha and the Dhamma.
You’ll also see that your suffering arises from your attachment to your cravings or your desires.
Performing any kinds of rituals cannot get rid of your suffering. So, once you know the cause of your suffering, which is your craving or your desire, you don’t perform any more rituals. All you need to do when you are not happy is to get rid of your cravings or your desires.”
“Dhamma in English, Q&A session, Aug 15, 2018.”
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Question: What conditions must be met for someone to reach the first stage of liberation (sotāpanna)? And how someone knows for sure that he/she is a sotāpanna and not imagining it, what are the signs?
Than Ajahn: You have to understand the nature of the body and the feelings. They come and go. They rise and cease. You can’t control them all the time. When your body is going to die, you’ll have to let it die. If your body is sick, if you can fix it, fix it. But if you cannot fix it, just let it be.
Like when the body is in pain and there is nothing you can do about it, then just live with the pain. Don’t try to get rid of the pain by taking pain killers because you may end up getting addicted to pain killers and they become more hurtful than helpful. So, just leave the body alone. Leave the feelings alone. Then, you become a sotāpanna.
A sotāpanna is not afraid of ageing, sickness or death. How to prove that you are not afraid of ageing, sickness or death? You’ll have to look for the situation and test yourself. For example, to prove that you are not affected by the pain of the body, just sit and let the pain in the body arises and ceases by itself. If you want to prove whether you are afraid of death, you’ll have to go and look for a place where you feel that your life is threatened, and see how you feel. If you feel peaceful and are not disturbed, it means you are not afraid of death. If you are afraid of death, then you’ll be afraid of the situation.
Question: So, does it mean that a sotāpanna completely has no fear of death?
Than Ajahn: Right. No fear of death. No fear of pain. No fear of ageing.
Question: Is separation of the body and mind an indicator of a sotāpanna.’?
Than Ajahn: No, but the detachment of the mind from the body.
Question: You mentioned that by using mindfulness, one attains jhāna, but using wisdom, it’s a different one.
Than Ajahn: If it’s jhāna, you’ll only have the detachment temporarily. If it’s wisdom, you’ll have it permanently.
“Dhamma in English, May 11, 2018.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
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