The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
4 June 2024
Question: How to develop more sati?
Than Ajahn: Well, sati is to be mindful of what you do, be mindful of every movement from the time you get up in the morning. You have to keep watching what you are doing with your body, ‘What am I doing now? I’m lying down, I’m getting up, I’m sitting down, I’m standing up, I’m walking, I’m brushing my teeth, I’m washing my face, I’m eating’: this is the way to develop sati or mindfulness. If your mind cannot focus on what you do, if it still keeps thinking about other things, then you might use a mantra to help you. Just keep reciting ‘Buddho, Buddho, Buddho,’ then you cannot go think about other things.
When you think about something of the past or of the future, it means you are not mindful.
If you think of what you’re doing, you are being mindful, but if you think about something else, then you are not being mindful. That’s why sometimes you need to go to some places that have some kinds of danger, like here in the forest. When you walk, you have to be more mindful because you know there might be snakes or something else coming out of the forest, so you tend to be more mindful when you go practice in places where there are some kinds of danger waiting for you. If you practice in a safe place, then you become smug and you don’t feel you need to be mindful.
“Dhamma in English, May 28, 2019.”
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Question: I chant a mantra continuously, but at times, when I am not mindful, my false thoughts appear non-stop. How do I remain focused on chanting my mantra even when I’m doing my daily activities and during my working hours?
Than Ajahn: You just have to keep reminding yourself to recite the mantra. Keep checking yourself to see if you’re reciting the mantra or not. You have to be the watcher of yourself. You have to remind yourself, ‘Am I reciting the mantra or am I not doing it? What am I doing right now?’ The Buddha taught us to ask ourselves this question all the time, ‘What am I doing right now?’ So, just keep asking this question, ‘Am I being mindful or am I not being mindful?’ Then, you will know whether you’re mindful or not mindful, and when you are not mindful, you can go back to become mindful again. Keep asking yourself these questions, ‘What am I doing right now? Am I being mindful or am I not being mindful?’
“Dhamma in English, Aug 8, 2021.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
YouTube: Dhamma in English.
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