The teachings of Ajahn Suchart.
19th September, 2022
“Meditation requires the guidance of a teacher. This does not mean that you need a teacher beside you in meditation. We ask our teacher how to practise meditation and then proceed to practise by ourselves.”
First we should stop our thoughts by reciting Buddho, Buddho. It is as if we have been driving our car in the wrong direction. We have to stop first before we can make a U-turn and drive in the right direction.
Similarly, our minds have been thinking in the wrong way, based on false beliefs, thinking things are permanent, pleasurable, and self.
We have to first stop this type of thinking. Having done so, we can then direct our minds to consider how things are really impermanent, stressful, and not-self. As we continue contemplating anicca, dukkha, and anattā, we let go of our attachments step by step, reducing our desire bit by bit until in the end, no desire is left in the mind. Without greed or desire, no suffering of any type will arise in the mind. In this way our mind is able to free itself from suffering.
First we develop mindfulness to stop our thoughts, which leads to samādhi (concentration).
Having the ability to concentrate, we proceed to think in the right way, which is called wisdom.
This is mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. This is similar to realising that we are driving south when we want to go north: we must apply the brakes, stop the car, and make a U-turn.
May you contemplate this and put it into practice, because it is only by practising it that you will really experience the benefits. Listening is good, but if it is not followed by practice, then the results will not arise. However, if we practise without first listening to the teachings, we can lose our way. If we are not sure of the way, but proceed anyway, we might go astray.
Before we set out on the path, we should be confident we know the way. If we are not sure, we should ask those who know how we should proceed. The Buddha taught us to first study and listen to the Dhamma.
Once we know how to practise, then we proceed. We need both study and practice in order for us to be successful and attain the path, fruition, and enlightenment. If we practise without studying, we are walking without knowing which direction to go and which destination to head for, so we won’t reach our goal.
Meditation requires the guidance of a teacher or an Ajahn. This does not mean that you need a teacher beside you in meditation. We ask our teacher how to practise meditation and then proceed to practise by ourselves. Then we return back to relate our experiences to our teacher to see if we are headed in the right direction. It is like doing homework and turning it in to the teacher who corrects it. If it’s right, the teacher will tell us it is right. If it is wrong, the teacher will tell us how we can improve. This is how we study and practise correctly.
By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto
Youtube: Dhamma in English
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