The teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

Than Ajahn:  Where are you from?

Layperson:  I’m from Aruba, about 24 hours away from here, somewhere in the Caribbean. My questions are: _What is it that can see the citta? Is it the Buddho itself?  Is it the knowing that sees the citta? And do the citta and the Buddho itself separate from each other?

Than Ajahn:  Well, let’s answer them one by one. The Buddho is the creation of the citta. The citta uses the thought to create ‘Buddho, Buddho’—when you think, you think of Buddho, Buddho. The thinking is called the saṅkhārā, which is part of the citta. The citta is the one who knows. Most of the time the citta only knows the saṅkhārā because the saṅkhārā keeps blocking the citta from knowing itself. So, when you use Buddho, Buddho, eventually your thought (saṅkhārā) will stop thinking. When the thought stops, then the mind (citta) will be left alone. Then, the citta will see itself. That’s it.  

Question:  How can the citta see itself?

Than Ajahn:  By stopping from thinking is the way the citta sees itself. Right now, the citta does not see itself, it sees the thought, sees the thinking.

When you stop the thinking (that blocks the citta from seeing itself), then you see the citta.

Question:  Is the citta itself deathless?

Than Ajahn:  Yes, the citta never dies. The citta is a spiritual being that comes and possesses the physical body.

When the body dies, the citta doesn’t die with the body. If the citta still has any desires, it goes and looks for a new body. That’s when we have rebirth; we keep being reborn.

We keep getting a new body because we still have the cravings, desires to use the body to provide us with happiness. 

But once you can practice meditation and make the mind (citta) happy in itself, the citta no longer needs to have a body. 

Then, there will be no rebirth.

Layperson:  So, the citta will be floating by itself.

Than Ajahn:  Yes, in the spiritual space. It doesn’t need to have a body to make it happy. Right now, the citta connects itself to the body and use the body to bring it some kinds of happiness.

Question:  At the moment of nirvana, is the citta still there or is the citta also gone?

Than Ajahn:  The citta is always there. What disappears when someone attains nibbana is the craving or the desire. Understand?

Layperson: Yes.

Than Ajahn:  Have you been following my YouTube talks?

Layperson:  I’ve been following the teachings of LuangPu Sao, LuangPu Mun, LuangPu Chob. I’ve been practicing for the last seven years and I want to become a monk to end all suffering completely. This was one big question I have because I thought there was something that could see the citta but it’s the citta that sees itself. When I see it, there is nothing and this is strange and I don’t trust the mind.

Than Ajahn:  You don’t trust the thought created by the mind. 

But you can trust the mind itself because the mind is real. 

However, you never get to see it because you’re being blocked by your thoughts so you only see your thoughts.

From the time you get up, you start thinking therefore you only see your thoughts; you never see the one who knows, the mind itself—who creates the thoughts. So, you have to stop the thoughts. Once the thought disappears, then you see the mind. Let me give you an example: it’s like looking at the TV screen—when you turn on the TV, you see the images on the TV but you don’t see the screen because the screen is being blocked by the images that appear on the screen but once you turn off the TV, what happens? There’s no images appear and what you see is the TV screen.

Layperson:  How can I always stay in that state?

Than Ajahn:  Frist, you need to have mindfulness by reciting, ‘Buddho, Buddho,’ to stop your thoughts and you need to sit down and watch your breath until your mind stops thinking then you’ll see the one who knows, the mind. The next step is to teach yourself that the thoughts and the mind are two separate things. Don’t believe your thoughts because the thoughts are not real; the thoughts are impermanent; they come and go. There are good and bad thoughts. You just have to know which ones are good thoughts and which ones are bad thoughts. You discard the bad ones and keep the good thoughts.

Question:  In the end, do we also let go of the good thoughts?

Than Ajahn:  Eventually, you let go of all the thoughts but you can still use the thoughts to help other people. Like the Buddha, he still used thoughts to teach Dhamma to the people but he didn’t need to use the thoughts to make him happy. Because the happiness from the thoughts is temporary so it’s better to have happiness without the thoughts. 

When the mind is calm, there is true happiness in there. Alright?

Layperson:  Thank you very much. Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu.

“Dhamma in English, Nov 26, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g