❖ “In terms of the wheel, of paṭiccasamuppāda (dependent origination), where does it break in terms of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness?” ❖ ~ Response by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu ~

❖ “In terms of the wheel, of paṭiccasamuppāda (dependent origination), where does it break in terms of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness?” ❖
~ Response by Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu ~

If there is genuine vedanānupassanā, contemplation of the vedanā, then we’ll be able to manage or master paṭiccasamuppāda right from the start. From the beginning of the senses functioning, and then contact, and vedanā arising with vedanānupassanā, we’ll have it under control from the start. If we really have the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the four satipaṭṭhāna, then dependent origination won’t be a problem for us.

To practice satipaṭṭhāna you need all four, you can’t just practice one, so we need all four. But the aspect of the satipaṭṭhāna that’s most important for human beings is vedanānupassanā, so that we can regulate or manage, we can keep the vedanā from dominating us. Without true contemplation and understanding of vedanā, then we become the slaves of positive and negative feelings. If there’s real vedanānupassanā, contemplation of the vedanā, that’s the crucial element in keeping dependent origination from causing us problems.

With kāyānupassanā, contemplation of the body, you can keep the senses from becoming problems. The senses will be mindful of them and they won’t become any problem for us. They won’t lead to attachment and dukkha.

And then for cittānupassanā, contemplation of the mind, we have even more mastery of the mind, because on an even deeper level, we can keep the vedanā from creating thoughts or perceptions which are trouble for us.

Dhammānupassanā, contemplation of dhammas, is the ability to manage all things which are the basis for attachment, so then we can control or we can manage all attachments. We master all the things that are opportunities for attachment, then attachment can no longer run our lives or take over our minds.

All natural things can be distinguished into two categories, the one are those which have a positive quality or characteristic and those which have a negative quality. If we really got the Foundation of Mindfulness, which is contemplation of dhammas, or dhammānupassanā satipaṭṭhāna, then we can master all these positive and negative qualities so that no dhammas, no things, no natures, will have any power over us.

The translator then asks, “It sounds like you can’t really separate the Four Foundations of Mindfulness – we need to develop all of them together?” And his reply is you need to know which satipaṭṭhāna is appropriate in each circumstance, but ultimately you can’t separate them. 

We develop all of them according to the circumstances. So the main thing is to have satipaṭṭhāna, to have the mind grounded through mindfulness, and then depending on the circumstances, it’s either of the body or feelings or mind or Dhamma. So one is mindful of these things, but exactly what one is mindful of depends on the circumstances in the mind.

Remember one sentence here, “Sati, mindfulness, can master the vedanā.” Sati masters the vedanā. All the different kinds of vedanā that there are – positive and negative and in between – all the various kinds of vedanā are mastered by sati, by mindfulness. If we are mindful, then we can keep these vedanā from becoming trouble.

(From Dhamma Questions and Answers with Buddhadāsa and monks from Wat Pah Nanachat as translated from the Thai by Santikaro)

- - ❖ - -

“We all have past merit and that is why we are born as humans... If you live just to indulge in sensual pleasures, the past merit that you accumulated will soon be gone.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart

7 March 2024

“We all have past merit and that is why we are born as humans... If you live just to indulge in sensual pleasures, the past merit that you accumulated will soon be gone.”

We all have past merit (puñña) and that is why we are born as humans. It is just a matter of whether you make use of this past merit. It could also be that the past merit is being thwarted by past actions (kamma).

To be born as a human means that you already possess a lot of good merit. To come across Buddhism is, in fact, the highest form of merit. But the amount of benefit you may gain from it does vary. It is like how you choose to spend money you’ve gained. You could invest it to make a profit. You could also spend it on gambling, eating and drinking, and partying and going out, but it will all soon be gone.

This is also how it is with our lives. If you live just to indulge in sensual pleasures, the past merit that you accumulated will soon be gone. However, if you live to cultivate merit through meditation practice and listening to Dhamma talks, the amount of merit you own will increase.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

…….

Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Virtue Without Attachment

 Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Virtue Without Attachment

"Two popular answers to the question of how to practice sīla [virtue] without attachment both treat sīla in the name of the fetter as meaning “precept,” but they differ in their interpretation of what in the practice of the precepts can act as a fetter. *The first interpretation holds that the precepts can often be too narrow and one-dimensional in the guidance they provide: If you follow them too strictly, you limit your ability to respond to any given situation in a wise and compassionate way*. This interpretation often cites examples where it claims that a wise or compassionate response would involve breaking a precept derived from the sīla factors of the noble eightfold path, such as killing termites that threaten to destroy a home, killing an individual who threatens to kill many other people, lying to authorities who plan to torture a person sequestered in your attic, or stealing a loaf of bread from a wealthy family to feed a starving child. In this interpretation, practicing sīla without attachment to sīla means weighing the precepts against the principles of wisdom and compassion, and being willing to break a precept when it runs counter to those principles.

The second interpretation agrees that the precepts can often be too narrow a guide to compassionate action, but it also sees another danger in the practice of the precepts: the judgmental pride that can develop around adhering strictly to the precepts. According to this interpretation, pride in your precepts creates a strong sense of self that makes you harsh in judging others. It also stands in the way of the total letting go that leads to awakening. The way to avoid this fetter, it says, is consciously and deliberately to break the precepts in a way that removes all pride around your behavior. This, from the second interpretation’s point of view, is what practicing without attachment to sīla means.

However, the Buddha’s own answer to this question, as recorded in the Pali Canon, differs radically from both of these interpretations. *To begin with, the context that surrounds his primary discussion of this issue (in MN 78) shows that sīla in sīla-and-vata doesn’t mean precept or virtue*. It means *habit*, for the passage discusses both skillful sīla and unskillful sīla. In other words, the fetter abandoned at the first glimpse of awakening deals with attachment not only to the good, virtuous habits of the precepts, but also to bad habits that break the precepts. And this makes sense. Why would attachment to bad habits be any less of a fetter than attachment to good?

Secondly, the Buddha states that the danger of being fettered to a habit occurs on two levels. One, if the habit is unskillful, the habit itself poses dangers to the person following it. When you act unskillfully, you harm both yourself and the living beings around you. Two, regardless of whether the habit is skillful or unskillful, your *attitude* toward the habit can fetter you as well."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Virtue Without Attachment" 

https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/BeyondAllDirections/Section0009.html

The Importance of Mindfulness

The Importance of Mindfulness

Ven. Piyadassi  in The Seven Factors of Enlightenment (1980),  begins by stressing the importance of mindfulness.

“Buddha-dhamma is the teaching of enlightenment. One who is keen on attaining enlightenment, should first know clearly the impediments that block the path to enlightenment.

                                                          (Piyadassi 2-9, 1980)

“Life, according to the right understanding of a Buddha, is suffering; and that suffering is based on ignorance or avijjá. Ignorance is the experiencing of that which is unworthy of experiencing ... 

“Further, it is the non-perception of the conglomerate nature of the aggregates; non-perception of sense-organ and object in their respective and objective natures; non-perception of the emptiness or the relativity of the elements; non-perception of the dominant nature of the sense controlling faculties; non-perception of the thus-ness — the infallibility of the four Truths and the five hindrances (pañca nìvaraóáni) are the nutriment of (or condition for) this ignorance. 

“They are called hindrances because they completely close-in, cut- off, and obstruct. They hinder the understanding of the way to release from suffering. 

“These five hindrances are: sensuality (kámacchanda), ill-will (vyápáda), obduracy ... and mental factors (thìnamiddha), restlessness and flurry (uddhaccakukkucca), and doubt (vicikicchá).

“And what is the nutriment of these hindrances? The three evil modes of life (tìni duccaritáni), bodily, vocal, and mental wrong-doing.

“This threefold nutriment is in turn nourished by non-restraint of the senses (indriya asaívaro), which is explained by the commentator as the admittance of lust and hate into the six sense-organs of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

“The nutriment of non-restraint is shown to be lack of mindfulness and of complete awareness (asati asampajañña). In the context of nutriment, the drifting away of the object (dhamma) — the lapsing, from the mind, of the knowledge of the lakkhaóas or characteristics of existence  (impermanence, suffering and voidness of self), and forgetfulness of the true nature of things — is the reason for non-restraint. It is when one does not bear in mind the transience and the other characteristics of things that one allows oneself all kinds of liberties in speech and deed, and gives rein to full thought imagery of an unskillful kind.

“Lack of complete awareness is lack of these four: 

(i) complete awareness of purpose (sáttha sampajañña), improvement; 

(ii) when one forgets the dhamma, which is the true resort of one who strives; 

(iii) when one deludedly lays hold of things, believing them to be pleasant, beautiful, permanent, and substantial — 

(iv) when one behaves thus, then too non-restraint is nourished.

“And below this lack of mindfulness and complete awareness lies unsystematic reflection (ayoniso manasikára). The books say unsystematic reflection is reflection that is off the right course; that is, taking the impermanent as permanent, the painful as pleasure, the soulless as a soul, the bad as good. The constant rolling-on that is saísára, is rooted in unsystematic thinking. 

“When unsystematic thinking increases, it fulfills two things: nescience and lust for becoming. 

Ignorance being present, the origination of the entire mass of suffering comes to be. Thus a person who is a shallow thinker, like a ship drifting at the wind’s will, like a herd of cattle swept into the whirl pools of a river, like an ox yoked to a wheel-contraption, goes on revolving in the cycle of existence, saísára.

“And it is said that imperfect confidence (assaddhiyaí) in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha is the condition that develops unsystematic reflection; and imperfect confidence is due to non hearing of the True Law, the dhamma (asaddhamma savanaí). 

“Finally, one does not hear the dhamma through lack of contact with the wise, through not consorting with the good (asappurisa sansevo).

Thus, want of kalyáóamittatá, good friendship, appears to be the basic reason for the ills of the world. 

“And conversely, the basis and nutriment of all good is shown to be good friendship. That furnishes one with the food of the sublime dhamma, which in turn produces confidence in the Triple Gem,  the Buddha, Dhamma, and the Sangha. 

“When one has confidence in the Triple Gem there come into existence profound or systematic thinking, mindfulness and complete awareness, restraint of the senses, the three good modes of life, the four arousings of mindfulness, the seven factors of enlightenment and deliverance through wisdom, one after another, in due order ...    

“Mindfulness … is the instrument most efficacious in self-mastery, and whosoever practices it has found the path to deliverance. It is fourfold: mindfulness consisting in contemplation of the body (káyánupassaná), feeling (vedanánupassaná), mind (cittánupassaná), and mental objects (dhammánupassaná).

“The man lacking in this all-important quality of mindfulness cannot achieve anything worthwhile. The Buddha’s final admonition to his disciples on his death bed is this: 'Transient are all component things. Work out your deliverance with heedfulness!' (vaya-dhammá sankhárá, appamádena sampádetha). 

“Man cannot be heedful unless he is aware of his actions — whether they are mental, verbal, or physical — at every moment of his waking life. Only when a man is fully awake to and mindful of his activities can he distinguish good from bad and right from wrong. It is in the light of mindfulness that he will see the beauty or the ugliness of his deeds.

“The word appamáda, throughout the tipitaka, is used to denote sati, mindfulness; pamáda is defined as absence of mindfulness. Says thBuddha in the Anguttara Nikáya:

'Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to cause the arising of good thoughts if not yet arisen, or to cause the waning of evil thoughts if already arisen, as heedfulness.'

“In him who is heedful, good thoughts not yet arisen, do arise, and evil thoughts, if arisen, do wane.

“Constant mindfulness and vigilance are necessary to avoid ill and perform good. The man with presence of mind, who surrounds himself with watchfulness of mind (satimá), the man of courage and earnestness, gets ahead of the lethargic, the heedless (pamatto), as a racehorse outstrips a decrepit hack. 

“The importance of mindfulness in all our dealings is clearly indicated by the following striking words of the Buddha:

 'Mindfulness, O disciples, I declare is essential in all things everywhere. It is as salt is to the curry.'  

                                              MA, satipaþþhána commentary.

“The Buddha’s life is one integral picture of mindfulness. He is the sadá sato, the ever-mindful, the ever-vigilant. He is the very embodiment of mindfulness. There was never an occasion when the Buddha manifested signs of sluggish inactivity or thoughtlessness.

“Mindfulness is the chief characteristic of all wholesome actions tending to one’s own and others’ profit. Appamádo mahato attháya sanvattati –- “mindfulness is conducive to great profit” — that is, highest mental development — and it is through such attainment that deliverance from the sufferings of saísára is possible. 

                                                             SN. Sagáthaka Vagga

'The man who delights in mindfulness and regards heedlessness with dread, is not liable to fall away. He is in the vicinity of  Nibbána.'”

                                                                                    Dhp 32

Reference:

Piyadassi Maha Thera. 1980. The Seven Factors of Enlightenment. Kandy Buddhist Publication Society Online Edition.

Edited and formatted by Ajahn David Dale Holmes

“Medication is only to cure the body. As far as for the mind, you don’t need medication.”

The teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

25 February 2024

“Medication is only to cure the body. As far as for the mind, you don’t need medication.”

Question:  When someone is diagnosed with psychosis as in schizophrenia disease can he still meditate? 

Than Ajahn:  To meditate, you need to have mindfulness. When people have mental illness, it means they don’t have mindfulness, they are like drunken people. A drunken person has no mindfulness, so it is very hard for him to control his thoughts, a drunker is similar to a person with mental illness. The reason why he becomes mentally ill is because he lacks the ability to control his emotions and his thoughts. His emotions and his thoughts multiply to the point where he can no longer handle them. If somehow he can regain mindfulness, then he can cure his mental illness, and he doesn’t need to go to see any doctor, go for therapy or take any medicine because this is pure mental illness, it has nothing to do with the body. 

…….

Question:  What does the Dhamma say about pharmaceutical medication, I am forced to take antipsychotics, and the medication makes me tired and sluggish for a while. Is taking the medication against the 5th precept about intoxication? 

Than Ajahn:  Medication is only to cure the body. If the body is sick and it needs medication to make it well, then you take it, no problem. But as far as for the mind, you don’t need medication. What you need for the mind is calmness. The only way to make the mind calm is to meditate, to concentrate the mind on one object and make it to become peaceful and calm. 

After you have the ability to calm the mind, when you come out of that state, you should use contemplation to teach the mind to let go of the body, and so when anything happens to the body, it will not hurt the mind. 

This is the goal of Buddhist meditation, to free the mind from being hurt by the body illnesses or its dissolution. 

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

The Buddha Teaches About the Fleeting Nature of Existence : Sayadaw U Pandita.

The Buddha Teaches About the Fleeting Nature of Existence :
Sayadaw U Pandita.

"One should reflect ... on the fact that the whole world of beings is made up of nothing but mind and matter which have arisen but do not stay.

Mind and matter do not stay still for one single moment; they are in constant flux.

Once we find ourselves in this body and mind, there is nothing we can do to prevent growth from taking place.

When we are young, we like to grow, but when we are old, we are stuck in an irreversible process of declining.

We like to be healthy, but our wishes can never be guaranteed.

We are plagued by sickness and illness, by pain and discomfort, throughout our existence.

Immortal life is beyond our reach. All of us will die.

Death is contrary to what we would wish for ourselves, but we cannot prevent it. 

The only question is whether death will come sooner or later.  

[But] ...

People refuse to accept this fact ...

This is the main weakness of beings. Beings are devoid of security. There is no safe refuge from old age, disease and death. Look at other beings. Look at the animals. And, most of all, look at yourself.

If you have practiced deeply, these facts will come as no surprise to you...

You will know that there is no refuge anywhere.

There is no sanctuary  [however]  if your insight has  ...  reached this point, perhaps the precariousness of life will cause some sense of urgency to arise in you and will give you a strong impulse to practice.

Vipassana meditation can lead to a place beyond all of these fearsome things."

In This Very Life, Kandy: BPS (p.38-39)

*********

The goal is to be free of all shades of physical and of mental suffering.
Sayadaw U Pandita.

"Anyone can understand that painful mental states do not vanish just because we wish them to do so.

Who has not wrestled with a desire they knew would hurt someone if they indulged it?

Is there anyone who has not been in a irritable grumpy mood and wished they were feeling happy and contented instead?

Has anyone failed to have the experience of being confused?

It is possible to uproot the tendencies which cause pain and dissatisfaction in our lives, but for most of us it is not easy.

Spiritual work is as demanding as it is rewarding.

Yet we should not be discouraged.

The goal and the result of vipassana meditation is to be free from all kinds, all shades and  all levels of mental and physical suffering.

If you desire this kind of freedom, you should rejoice that you have an opportunity to strive to achieve it."

In This Very Life, Kandy : BPS, 1991 (p.36-37)

************

And you should start early, while you still have the strength and the energy to do it.

Now, you have the chance to achieve liberation :
Sawadaw U Pandita.

"The best time to strive is right now.

If you are young, you should appreciate your good situation, for young people have the most energy to carry-out the meditation practice.

If you are older, you may have less physical energy, but perhaps you have seen enough of life to have gained wise consideration, such as a personal understanding of  life's fleetingness and unpredictability."

In This Very Life, Kandy: BPS. 1991 (p.37) 

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

17 April 2023

Question:   Offering Kaṭhina robe is considered to be a meritorious deed, so devotees gather in thousands and spend lavishly to conduct Kaṭhina puja in SriLanka. 

However, unlike in the time of the Buddha, robes materials are no longer in scarcity nowadays, does Kaṭhina puja still hold the same significance as it did in the past?

Than Ajahn:   Well, I think there is a misunderstanding as far as the word ‘meritorious deed’ is concerned. 

During the time of the Buddha, the monks had problems, due to the lack of materials to make robes. So, the laypeople gave cloth materials, so that the monks could make them into robes and the Buddha said that it was a very meritorious deed, as far as the monks were concerned, because the monks needed the materials to make the robes with. But as far as the merit that the giver gets is concerned, it’s the same. 

Whether the giver offers food or other requisites of living, the merit the giver gets is the same.  

So, this is a misunderstanding when the givers think that they will get more merit when they give Kaṭhina robes—this is not the case. It was meritorious for the monks because during the Buddha’s time, the monks had no materials to make the robes with, so it’s meritorious on the receivers, not meritorious on the givers. 

The givers will still get merits but the merit they get depends on the amount they give. It doesn’t depend on whether they give Kaṭhina robes, ordinary robes or food. The merit that the givers get depends on the amount they give. The more the person gives, then the more merit the giver will get. 

Nowadays, the monastery has lots of robes, so for the monks, it doesn’t make much difference if you give them Kaṭhina robes or not, because there are other ways of getting robes. 

So, as far as monks are concerned, giving them robes are not great merits for them anymore. 

“Dhamma in English, May 30, 2021.”

- - - - - - - -

Question:  The merit of giving robe during Kaṭhina belongs to the monks. 

I am confused about the explanation. 

Than Ajahn:  Merit means benefit. The giver gets benefit from giving. The receiver also gets the benefit. 

They are different types of benefits. The receiver gets the benefit of receiving the materials to make robes.

 The giver gets the benefit from giving, the giver has good feelings. 

To get good feeling from giving, it doesn’t matter what you give or who you give it to—it’s the same. 

The benefit the receivers get can be different depending on what you give them. If you give them something the receivers don’t need, then it has no benefit for the receivers. If you give something the receivers need, that’s the benefit for the receivers. 

The reason why during the Buddha time people gave materials to monks was because there was scarcity of materials to make robes. 

Monks had difficulties to get materials to make robes. If people gave cloth materials to the monks, then this would give great benefit to the monks. 

But people misunderstand it by thinking that if they give robes during Kaṭhina, the givers will get the benefit for themselves—this is a misunderstanding. Nowadays, monks have more robes that they can wear for the rest of their lives, so if you give the monks another robes, it doesn’t make any difference. So, you should offer something else. Maybe you can give them food or vaccine (in current situation). You give them something they are lacking. Someone offers vaccine for monks to take tomorrow. 

This is something what the monks need right now because sometimes monks are overlooked. This is to give you the example of what merit is. 

Merit means benefit. When you give, you get the benefit from giving, you feel good. The people who receive the offering, they also feel good. But sometimes, when you give something to people during Christmas and the thing you gave them is something they don’t need, they’d return it to the shop after Christmas. With monks, they can’t return the things after you’ve given them. 

Right now, when people give offering during Kaṭhina, the robe is just part of the offering. 

The main gift is the money where the monastery can use it to pay for repairs, refurbishment or other expenses. This is the real Kaṭhina offering nowadays: the financial support given to the monastery. People use Kaṭhina as the occasion to support the monastery. If you just give them robes, it’s useless because the monastery has too many robes. But they don’t have the money. 

Nowadays, the monastery needs money to run it. They have to pay for the electricity, water, repairs, maintenance, etc. So people give money to support the monastery. 

Layperson:  So, if there is extra, you would give them to the school.

Than Ajahn:  Yes. Money can be given to the individual monk or to the temple. If you give it to the monk, then the monk can decide what to do with that money. If you give it to the monastery, then the fund has to be used for the monastery's needs. 

“Dhamma in English, Jun 1, 2021.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

THE INTELLIGENT HEART

THE INTELLIGENT HEART

“When you watch your heart and really examine it, you’ll find that all problems lie with the heart. This is why the Buddha gave so much importance to the heart. If there were no heart, there would be no problems. 

Nothing on its own has any issues. 

The heart is what gives meaning to this or that, grasps at this or grasps at that, likes this or likes that, doesn’t like this or doesn’t like that. It goes around stirring up all kinds of trouble...

...The Lord Buddha was the only one who was able to see all the way through this problem, which was why he was able to solve it and get past it. 

He didn’t lay blame on anyone else; he didn’t complain about anything. He boiled everything down clearly to the fact that the mind gets involved with things because it doesn’t know the truth in line with the way it really is. 

When it doesn’t know and yet gets involved, suffering is bound to result—and it’s something that really exists. 

The cause of suffering is something that really exists. It’s always there in the world, with every living being who’s born.

When the Buddha clearly saw suffering and the cause that gives rise to suffering, he looked for a way to solve the problem. He realized that it had to be solved at the cause: the mind that’s deluded. So he developed intelligence in the area of the heart and mind, to see if the things the heart and mind are infatuated with are really worth that infatuation. Exactly how wonderful are they really? This heart and mind that likes things: The Buddha saw right through it...

...All the problems in the world, from that past into the present, come from the fact that the heart isn’t intelligent. 

It hasn’t gotten down to the nature of the truth. That’s why it falls for its fabrications that arise, stay for a moment, and then keep changing into something else. We run after fabrications, glad when they arise. 

And then when they disappear, we go looking for more—because we like them. We’re attached to them because we satisfy ourselves with them, thinking that they give us enough happiness—but then we’re always hungry, craving for more. 

We’ve never had enough. When will we be able to stop if we keep on running after our desires and gratifications? What real satisfaction have we gained from these objects when they keep falling away and ending?

What doesn’t fall away, what doesn’t end, is the truth—the truth of objects and of things that aren’t objects. The truth is always our guarantee...”

❁❁❁

Excerpt from:

The Intelligent Heart

FIVE DHAMMA TALKS

Phra Ajaan Suwat Suvaco

translated from the Thai by

Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu

~

You can read the talk here:

https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/IntelligentHeart/Section0003.html

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

Question:  What is the best solution for people with family and children to practice well and be fine because we think that with this condition we cannot do it well?

Than Ajahn:  Well, if you have a family, then you have to live with them happily by having mettā and compassion, having the 4 brahma-vihāra. You should practice the 4 brahma-vihāra: mettā, karuṇā, muditā, upekkhā. But if you want to practice meditation, then you have to leave the family or you have to wait until your family disappears, then you’d become alone.

Layperson:  By that time, I’m going to be very old and I’m afraid that I don’t have the condition to practice.

Than Ajahn:  Ok, then you’ll have to run away from your family, like the Buddha did. 

Layperson:  I become very selfish. 

Than Ajahn:  It’s not selfish, it’s a matter of self-preservation. Everybody has to preserve oneself. No one can help you. If you want to get rid of birth, ageing, sickness and death, then you have to go and practice alone. If you still cling to your family, then you’ll have to keep coming back to be born again and again. 

Most people have to run away if they could not go by consent, they have to go by running away from their family. The Buddha could not go by consent because he knew that if he asked for permission from his father, he wouldn’t get the permission, so he had to run away. But look at the result, if he hadn’t run away, he wouldn’t become a Buddha and there wouldn’t be Buddhism for us to follow. Because he left his family, we have Buddhism now, so it’s not being selfish. It’s actually for the good of mankind. You are giving up a lot, you give up your family which is something that we all love. If you think wisely, then you know that you cannot live with your family if you want to help yourself to be free from this round of rebirth. You have to be alone and you have to have the time to do the practice. So, you either have to wait or if you think you cannot wait, then you have to run away, like the Buddha did. 

Layperson:  Then, I think I will make my family very disappointed. 

Than Ajahn:  Just for a few days. They will be disappointed for a few days. Because when you die, they will cry for a few days and afterwards they will forget about it and they’ll go on with their lives. 

Question:  Am I doing bad kamma? 

Than Ajahn:  It’s good kamma. To go and be enlightened is good kamma, it’s not bad kamma, and then you can come back and help others to become enlightened. Like the Buddha, once he became enlightened, he came back and helped his family to become enlightened. His father, his mother, his wife, his son were all enlightened afterwards. So, you’re not running away for good. You’re just running away so that you can become enlightened and then you can come back and help other people. It’s like going to hospital to cure your illness. You’re sick so you need to go to the hospital. Once you are well, then you can come back and help other people. 

The Buddha helped other people for 45 years. 

He only studied for 6 years for his enlightenment. Once he became enlightened, then for the rest of his life, he devoted his life to help other people by teaching Dhamma for 45 years. So, what is selfish about that? Right? 

It’s your defilements trying to stop you from going to practise. Whichever way you think, you are always blocked by your defilements—if you stay with your family, you couldn’t go; if you run away, you’re selfish; so, what can you do? Nothing. That’s what the defilements want: you do nothing. They don’t want you to do anything because they don’t want you to destroy the defilements, you see.  The defilements will always think of something to block you from going to destroy the defilements. So, you need someone who has destroyed the defilements to tell you how to do it. 

To destroy the defilements, you need someone who has already destroyed the defilements to tell you how to do it, like the Buddha and his noble disciples. They will tell you to go and practise, leave your family alone, pretend that you are dead. When you die, what happens to your family? They will continue on living, right? They won’t stop living because you die. 

They’ll go on. They’ll find ways to live. So, when you run away to practice, it’s the same thing like death. They’ll be unhappy for a few days and then they’ll forget about you and they will go on with their lives.

“Dhamma in English, May 28, 2019.”

- - - - - - - -

Question:  If one has family responsibilities, such as children, how can one have a proper retreat while still having to do his duty to his family? Can these two activities be done together?

Than Ajahn:  Well, when you first start, you might not be able to do it completely. You might have to do it partially on your spare time, like on your days off when you’re free from your work and your responsibility, then, use that time to be alone, rather than do the things that you normally used to do on your days off. You will usually go see a movie, go shopping. Cut these activities down and go find a quiet place to meditate. You have to switch your way of finding pleasure. Normally, on your days off, you find pleasure by using your senses to find pleasure, so you want to stop those kinds of pleasure and look for a different kind of pleasure, the pleasure from meditation. You have to start from the free time you have for yourself, and use that for calming the mind, stopping the mind, so that the mind can become peaceful and content.

And once you could do this, then you’ll find that you’ll have more inspiration to find more time to do it and you will start to cut down on those activities that you feel you don’t really have to do with. I think you will find more time as you move along and then you can cut down on desire to acquire things because once you have happiness and contentment, you’ll find that you don’t need much anymore. You don’t need to have so much money. You don’t need to have so many things to make you happy because you’ll find a different way of making yourself happy, then you will reduce your acquisition, your desire for money or things. Subsequently, you can reduce the amount of work that you do. You can gradually reduce your involvement with everything, and then it will allow you to have more time for you to be alone and to practice, to calm your mind. 

The Buddha said that the real happiness is a mind that is calm and peaceful—that is real contentment. 

Once you can calm your mind, you’ll be happy and content and you don’t need anything. You don’t need to see a movie. You don’t need to go out to a party. You don’t need even to have a wife by that point. You could live as a hermit, or live as a monk.

“Dhamma in English, Dec 15, 2017.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

Luang Pu Doo used to teach that recollecting the kindness and grace of our parents can protect and prevent us from being harmed.

Luang Pu Doo used to teach that recollecting the kindness and grace of our parents can protect and prevent us from being harmed. 

Luang Pu mentioned that one of his disciples came to tell him about his experiences working in the provinces of Isaan (Northeastern Thailand near Laos). This fellow wasn't a fan of amulets, so he did not have the habit of wearing an amulet around his neck for protection like many Thais do. But he had an enjoyable time working in Isaan and everything was smooth sailing. 

One morning at a coffee shop, he met a stranger who came up to say hi to him. The stranger then asked him, "What good things [amulets] are you wearing? You must have some very powerful amulets." 

The disciple was confused because he did not wear or use any amulets, and so he told this Isaan local just that. 

The local was equally confused in return, and said that he was hoping to see some good stuff. 

Later, the local admitted that he liked to dabble in wicchaa, occult magic and the dark arts. He liked to test his spells and charms on newcomers just like the disciple, but found that they had no effect on him. So he was certain that Luang Pu's devotee must have been wearing some good stuff. 

The local then asked, "Well, if you don't carry any sacred objects around with you, then what do you do in your daily routine, like chant any mantras or kathas?"

The devotee thought a while and said, "The only thing I do is before I go to sleep, I will recollect the kindness and love of my parents and bow down to the head of my bed." 

If you don't have any Buddha statue or photo, you can bow down in the direction of your pillow at night, to pay respects to the Triple Gems. This is something that Thais do, and I follow this practice when I travel as well. It is always good to bow at least three times before you sleep every night, to pay respects to the Triple Gems, Luang Pu Thuad, Luang Pu Doo and all Maha Bodhisattas throughout the Cosmos. This is because when you recollect a high level Bodhisatta, they will perceive you in their minds instantly.

Dukkha

Dukkha

"One of the first things [the Buddha] has you do is try to take the personal sting out of your suffering. This is very hard for people to do. We’re obsessed with the particulars of our suffering. I’ve noticed that people can go over and over and over again the particulars of why they’re suffering and why their suffering is special. 

This, of course, keeps them more bound to their suffering.

So it’s important that you look into why you may have that feeling: what sort of special attention you want to demand, or you feel you deserve. I’ve run into some people who develop that feeling of deserving special attention to the point where, if they’re not given that special attention, they see themselves as martyrs. There’s a certain enjoyment in martyrdom, but it still leaves you unprotected. It’s still not a solution for suffering.

You don’t want to focus on the particulars. You want to focus on a different kind of detail: the universal details. This is one of the reasons why the Buddha has us develop the brahma-viharas: realizing that everybody is suffering and it would be better if we could all find a way to true happiness; feeling compassion for all those who are suffering and empathetic joy for those who are not.

In other words, if you see that someone’s better off than you are, you don’t give into feelings of jealousy or resentment. You don’t want to pull them down to your level or what you perceive as your level. After all, if you really look carefully into people’s hearts, you find that even people who look happy on the outside still have their suffering. It may seem minor to you, but it’s still suffering. Remember, we’re all looking for happiness and many of us have found at least a measure of happiness but it’s not secure. So there’s no need to feel jealousy for people who are in what seems to be a fortunate but actually is a very unsecure place. You’re happy for them but you also need to have compassion for their insecurity.

Then there’s equanimity, realizing that there’s an awful lot going on, both in the world and in you, that your choices cannot change. There are people you would like to see happier than they are, but they’re not. 

There are things you can’t change in one way or another in your own life. 

You realize that other people have the same problem: There are things in their lives that they would like to change but they can’t.

This is how equanimity gives rise to a sense of samvega: the realization that we’re all suffering in one way or another, and in a lot of ways we can’t do anything about. Unless we practice.

To think of all the suffering in the world is not meant to get you depressed. It’s meant for you to question yourself: How can I find a way out? If I can find a way out, how can I share it with others? This means that instead of looking to other people for a cure for your suffering, leading to your happiness, you want to find what you can within.

This way, having looked at all the sufferings of other beings, and developing a sense of goodwill for all beings, you come back to the particulars of your suffering from a different perspective. Instead of looking at what makes your suffering special or different, you want to look at it in terms of what it has in common with everyone else’s."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "The Particulars of Your Suffering" (Meditations6)

“Buddhism doesn't force you to do things.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

26 September 2024

“Buddhism doesn't force you to do things.”

It doesn't force you to believe. It is just like a school that gives you information; 

It is up to you whether you want to use it or not. 

You can take it or leave it. 

Buddhism teaches the law of kamma: 

'What you do is what you'll get'.

Question:  There are certain kinds of dukkha that come up very strongly for many years. For quite a long time, I spent quite a lot of time trying to find where it came from. I see dukkha as valuable because it forces me to maintain consistency in my practice so I come to welcome dukkha. Is that a correct way of contemplating the nature of dukkha?

Than Ajahn:  There are two types of dukkha: dukkha in real time and dukkha that you imagine. What’s important is the dukkha in real time.  When you are stressful, then you want to find out the cause of your stress and normally the cause of your stress is one of your cravings or desires, so you want to get rid of that desire so that you can eliminate the stress. But if you cannot use wisdom yet, then you have to use mindfulness. Just calm your mind down and stop it from thinking. When your mind is calm, the stress that arise from your thinking will disappear temporarily. This is what dukkha is as far as I’m concerned. I want to deal with it in real time. 

Question:  Is contemplation of the source of dukkha in terms of the cravings as the cause of dukkha okay?

Than Ajahn:  That’s doing the homework because the stress hasn’t yet happened when you’re contemplating on the cause of your dukkha or contemplating on the cause that will get rid of your dukkha, which is the magga. Contemplating on aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā is not considered to be dukkha in real time, it’s preparing yourself to face the real situation. You have to rehearse yourself first. When you get angry, how are you going to deal with it? If you want to use wisdom, then you have to look at the object of your anger as being aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anatta. As being anattā, really! It isn’t under your control. 

We like to control things, and when we can’t control them, we become stressful and we express it by anger or by disappointment. But the dukkha is the result of your expectation, so you want to teach your mind not to expect anything because you don’t always get it. 

Expect that you might not get what you want; it’s impermanent, uncertainty is impermanent; it’s anatta, uncontrollable. So, try to see things as uncertain and uncontrollable; some of the time you can control them, some of the time, you can’t control them. When you contemplate on this, it’s still considered as dukkha not in real time. It’s only when you experience stress with a certain object, then you want to do the real contemplation to stop your mind from expecting something from that object. 

“Dhamma in English, Mar 16, 2021.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

Quiet Breathing

Quiet Breathing

“When you sit and meditate, keep noticing whether or not your mind is staying with the in-and-out breath. 

You have to keep mindfulness in charge of the mind. For example, when you breathe in, think bud; when you breathe out, think dho. Bud-dho. 

Be mindful. Don't let yourself forget or slip away. Put aside all your outside responsibilities and let go of all outside thoughts and perceptions. 

Keep your mind with nothing but the breath. 

You don't have to turn your attention to anything else.

Usually when you sit and meditate, though, thoughts of past and future tend to appear and get in the way of the quality of your meditation. 

Thoughts of this sort — whether they're about things past or yet to come, about the world or the Dhamma — have no good to them at all. 

They'll simply cause you trouble and suffering. 

They make the mind restless and disturbed so that it can't gain any peace and calm — because things that are past have already passed. 

There's no way you can bring them back or change them. Things in the future haven't reached us yet, so we can't know whether or not they'll be in line with our expectations. 

They're far away and uncertain, so there's no way they'll be any help to our thinking at all.

For this reason, we have to keep hold on the mind to keep it in the present by fixing it on nothing but the breath. 

To think about the breath is called directed thought, as when we think buddho together with the breath — bud in, dho out, like we're doing right now. When we start evaluating the breath, we let go of buddho and start observing how far the effects of each in-and-out breath can be felt in the body. When the breath comes in, does it feel comfortable or not? When it goes out, does it feel relaxed or not? If it doesn't feel comfortable and relaxed, change it. 

When you keep the mind preoccupied with investigating the breath, let go of buddho. You don't have any need for it. The in-breath will start to spread throughout the body, together with mindfulness and alertness. When we let go of buddho, our evaluation of the breath becomes more refined; the movement of the mind will calm down and become concentration; outside perceptions will fall silent. "Falling silent" doesn't mean that our ears go blank or become deaf. It means that our attention doesn't go running to outside perceptions or to thoughts of past or future. 

Instead, it stays exclusively in the present.

When we fix our attention on the breath in this way, constantly keeping watch and being observant of how the breath is flowing, we'll come to know what the in-breath and out-breath are like, whether or not they're comfortable, what way of breathing in makes us feel good, what way of breathing out makes us feel good, what way of breathing makes us feel tense and uncomfortable. If the breath feels uncomfortable, try to adjust it so that it gives rise to a sense of comfort and ease.

When we keep surveying and evaluating the breath in this way, mindfulness and alertness will take charge within us. Stillness will develop, discernment will develop, knowledge will develop within us.”

Source: Quiet Breathing

by AJAHN LEE.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/thai/lee/foodthought.html#first

“The only duty for monks is to cultivate the Dhamma in their hearts.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

16 March 2024

“The only duty for monks is to cultivate the Dhamma in their hearts.”

I was lucky that I didn’t have any obligations when I graduated from university. I didn’t have a proper job yet. The job that I had wasn’t what I wanted to do but I had to do it to earn my living. So I didn’t care about it when I had to quit.

When I ordained, I also didn’t have any money or possession, so there was nothing to regret. 

So it was quite an easy decision as I was carefree—having gained and collected nothing—and I had nothing to lose. There were no concerns: nothing to hold me back to a lay lifestyle. With my conviction that it was the right path—one on which I would be able to practise fully—there was only hope that lay ahead.

People who enjoy meditation will think that being a monk is the best thing. 

The Buddha really set out this path as there is no other obligations for monks. If you look into what the Buddha taught, you’ll see that he taught us to only focus on cultivation through practice: to develop and maintain precepts, concentration, wisdom and nothing else.

But these days, monks don’t seem to heed his words or the right thing anyway. They have so many obligations, including group chanting and building things. All these things weren’t the main duty during the Buddha’s time; the main duty for monks was cultivation through practice. The Buddha never built a monastery, not even one. If it were a monk’s duty, who would be able to compete with him? He could have built as many monasteries as he liked, but it was not for monks to do. 

The only duty for monks is to cultivate the Dhamma in their hearts.

Monks are to live rough or make do with whatever is available. If nobody is willing to build a hut for you, the Buddha taught us to reside under a tree, in an abandoned place, or in a quiet and private cave. These are the kind of places that monks should live in. Robes are also to be sewn from left-over garments and frayed pieces and then dyed.

However, it is very different these days. Nowadays, monks and novices are very caught up in materialistic things and rituals to the extent that they’ve forgotten the essence of Buddhism. It is rather difficult for anyone’s mind to penetrate the true Dhamma; it is impossible without real determination and proper understanding.

Monks don’t even know why they ordain to begin with these days. They ordain as a rite of passage or as a custom. They may enjoy the lifestyle and stay on as monks, thinking that they would contribute by building things. But they don’t really study or practise. They may study only to memorise certain things to be able to parrot them to others. They may even reach the highest level of study but never put it into practice themselves. 

The knowledge remains just on a piece of paper, nothing more than a certificate. Within their hearts remain all the defilements.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

…….

Luang Phor Jaran Thittamo

Please ask yourselves this

Was there a day in your life

When you spent each moment carefully

Maintaining your citta (mind/heart) and supporting your citta

Directing it in a virtuous and meritorious way all day long 

[Let us not mention something as long as a day]

How about 1 hour? 

Was there an hour where you maintained your sati (mindfulness)

Keeping watch on your citta?

Watching how the citta gets caught up in and reacts 

In accordance to external stimuli [i.e. pleasant or unpleasant sights, smells, sounds, tastes, touch and ideas]?

If you have never done this at all

Will you not regret that you are willing to spend time 

On all kinds of things 

But not taking into consideration

What is important or not important

And did not take the time,

Even if it is for just one day, or even one hour...

To prove to yourself the truth of the Buddha's teachings?

Luang Phor Jaran Thittamo

Wat Amphawan, Singburi Province

The Reflections of Venerable Ajaan Anan

The Reflections of Venerable Ajaan Anan

Is it necessary to go to the 4 Holy Pilgrimage

sites - where the Buddha was born, attained Enlightenment, gave his first sermon and entered Parinibbana?

Phra (Monk): Excuse me, Tahn Ajaan, yesterday I was doing work with K. Boss, and I had a question about the 4 holy sites of pilgrimage. Is it necessary to go there to pay homage at the actual sites? And if one doesn’t have any opportunity to go, then what should one do?

Ajaan Anan: If we ask, is it necessary? 

This is up to our situation.

1. We have the faith already.

2. Do we have the money and funds?

As monks, our lives are supported by pindapata (alms). If there are lay people who have given us a pavarana, an invitation, they have faith and they invite us. We are fit to go, our health is good. We have the opportunity. 

Then it is possible that we do go to travel to the important places of the Lord Buddha.

If we ask, is it really necessary? In regards to Dhamma practice, the Kruba Ajaans, the great teachers of the era of Phra Ajaan Mun, they had practiced and many attained to becoming arahants. And most of those monks didn’t go to the holy sites. So the importance is with Dhamma practice. If we practice according to the teachings of the Buddha, then we’ll be able to see and attain to Dhamma.

Here Phra Ajaan Chah has said something about this. He said, “Can’t the Buddha be born in Thailand? I thought then, how was it possible that the Buddha was born in Thailand? 

There was only one Buddha. He was born, attained enlightenment, passed away into Parinibbana, and taught Dhamma in India and Nepal.

But Ajaan Chah asked, “Isn’t it that the Buddha will attain enlightenment in Thailand? 

This is being ‘Buddha’, that is, being a Savaka Buddha, a noble disciple of the Buddha, which is up to our own practice. If we can practise following the Buddha, then we can reach the state of ‘Buddha’ (Awakened).

We can be in Thailand, we could be in Malaysia, we could be in America, in the UK, or in any country in the world, the Buddha can arise. This is important. But if we are prepared in all ways, then we can take the opportunity to go once. We have gained the faith already, then we use it to do our utmost homage through our practice (patipada puja). This is the important point.

Phra Ajaan Anan

Wat Marp Jan

Rayong Province

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

15 February 2024

Question:  Can you please elaborate about ‘wisdom develops samādhi’?

Tahn Ajahn: Samādhi can be achieved by two methods: 

(i) by using concentration, focusing your mind on the meditation object such as ānāpānasati or reciting a mantra, Buddho, Buddho; and 

(ii) by using wisdom or common sense to tackle the problems that are bothering you at that time. Sometimes, your mind is restless and agitated due to some problems with your family, your friends, your business or any other problems which you encountered before you meditate, and so you use wisdom because you cannot concentrate on your breath and you cannot concentrate on reciting your mantra. 

You ask yourself, ‘What’s the issue with the problem you are having? Can you solve it? Is the problem related to money or people? Are you angry at someone and you cannot let your mind get away from this anger? What can you do about it? Can you change the person who makes you angry? Can you erase what had happened?’ If you couldn’t erase what had happened, then the only thing you can do is to accept it because things had happened. There is nothing else you can do about it. Once you can accept it, your mind will let go of the problem. 

Then, your mind will go back to normal. This is ‘wisdom develops samādhi.’ But this is a superficial level of samādhi.

If you want to have full concentration, you have to come back and concentrate by reciting your mantra or using your breath. This full concentration is to stop your mind from being agitated by some events or people that you cannot let go. And if you want to let them go completely, you have to use wisdom. Look at them as aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā. Aniccaṁ means they come and go. Anattā means that you cannot prevent or stop others from doing what they do. If you want others to do something in a certain way but you know that you cannot force others to do it, then you just have to accept them for what they are. You can let go of your desire for others to do things for you because you see them as aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā. When you let go, your mind becomes peaceful. After that, you go back to concentrate on your meditation. This is on the ordinary level.

There is another level of wisdom developing samādhi. When you sit in pain, your mind starts to be agitated, right? You cannot concentrate on your breath. You cannot use a mantra. Then, you might have to use wisdom. 

Study the nature of pain and see if the pain is aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā. If you can see that the pain is aniccaṁ - it comes and goes, the pain is anattā - you cannot force it to go away, then the only thing you can do is just accept it. 

Let the pain stays on. Once you can let the pain stays on without having any desire for it to disappear, your mind becomes calm and peaceful. In that way, you have samādhi. You are able to go through this painful stage. This is also wisdom develops samādhi. 

When your mind cannot focus on your breath or cannot focus on your mantra, then you have to use investigation. Investigate the nature of pain to see that it is aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā. 

It is dukkhaṁ because you want to get rid of it but you can’t. Therefore, you have to leave it alone. The pain is anattā because you cannot force it to go away. When you see that the painful feeling is anattā, then you know that there’s nothing you can do about it. 

It’s like the rain. Can you do anything when it rains? The more you want the rain to stop, the more restless you become, right? So, it’s better just to accept it. Once you teach the mind to accept it and when the mind can accept it, the mind will leave the pain alone. The mind will become peaceful. It enters samādhi that way. 

This is also wisdom develops samādhi.

'Wisdom develops samadhi' can be used when you face with a life and death situation. You’ve studied the nature of your body. So, what is the nature of your body? It’s impermanent, right? 

Sooner or later, it’s going to die. If you have to die now, what can you do? Nothing, right? You accept it. 

Let the body die. Let go of the body. 

This is also wisdom develops samādhi. But for this kind of wisdom develops samadhi, you need to have a crisis situation that will force you to use wisdom. Normally, if there is no crisis, when your mind is peaceful and has no problem, you cannot use wisdom to solve the problem. So, if you cannot use mindfulness to stop your problem, then you need a crisis situation in order to use wisdom develops samadhi.

Dhamma in English, Dec 18, 2018.

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

The Teaching of Ajahn Chah.

The Teaching of Ajahn Chah.

So today, all of you children and relatives gathered together here, observe how your mother has become your child. Before you were her children, now she has become yours. She has become older and older until she has become a child again. Her memory goes, her eyes don’t see well and her ears aren’t so good. 

Sometimes she garbles her words. Don’t let it upset you. You who are nursing the sick must know how to let go also. Don’t hold onto things, just let her  have her own way. When a young child is disobedient sometimes the parents let it have its own way just to keep the peace, just to make it happy. Now your mother is just like that child. Her  memories and perceptions are confused. Sometimes she muddles up your names, or asks you  to bring a cup when she wants a plate. It’s normal, don’t be upset by it.

Let the patient bear in mind the kindness of those who nurse and patiently endure the painful feelings. 

Exert yourself mentally, don’t let the mind become scattered and confused, and don’t make things difficult for those looking after you. Let those who are nursing fill their minds with virtue and kindness. 

Don’t be averse to the unattractive side of the job, cleaning up the  mucous and phlegm, urine and excrement.Try your best. 

Everyone in the family give a hand. 

She is the only mother you have. She gave you life, she has been your teacher, your doctor and  your nurse  –  she’s been everything to you. That she has brought you up, shared her wealth  with you and made you her heir is the great goodness of parents.  

That is why the Buddha taught the virtues of kataññ¯u and kataved¯ı, knowing our debt of gratitude and trying to repay it. These two dhammas are complimentary. If our parents are in  need, unwell or in difficulty, then we do our best to help them. This is kataññ¯u -kataved¯ı, the  virtue that sustains the world. It prevents families from breaking up, and makes them stable and harmonious.

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨  𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚,  𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭. 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞  𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧.

~ Ajahn Chah 

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

29 August 2024

Question:  If we offer dāna of $10,000 to a charity group for a Sasana project, but we don’t really have good feeling about it, Ajahn previously said that we should try to offer higher amount. Does it mean that our target of offering will be $100,000? Does it mean that we should work harder to earn more money so that we could give more and hence, get more good feeling? 

Than Ajahn:  No, I don’t mean that. I mean if you have the extra money, and if you feel like giving $10,000 and it still doesn’t make you feel happy, then if you can afford to give $100,000, then do it. But you shouldn’t go work for more money for you to give away so that you can feel good because this is not the purpose of dāna. The purpose of dāna is to get rid of your extra money, it’s not to go earn more money to make dāna. 

If you don’t have the extra money, then you should do something else, like keeping the precepts or do meditation which will give you a better 'good feeling' than the feeling you get from giving dāna. So, you have to understand that giving dāna means giving the extra money that you have, the money that you don’t need. It’s not for you to go work to get more money to give dāna. You work to earn money, to make a living. But sometimes, you make more than you need, then you give the extra money away, so that you won’t be attached to money and you won’t have any greed for more money. 

So, the purpose of dāna is to get rid of your attachment to money and your greed for more money. And giving money away would give you more good feelings compared to if you did not give it away. But if you cannot afford to do dāna because you don’t have the extra money, then you should concentrate on keeping the precepts and do the meditation practice which will give you better 'good feeling' than the good feeling you get from dāna. 

Question:  If I can achieve my target, should I then target to give $1Million? 

Than Ajahn:  No. Like I said, the purpose of dāna is not to get more work in order to get more money to give more dāna. The purpose of dāna is to give the extra money that you have. If you only have $10, then just give $10. Finish. You don’t need to go work so that you can give $100. 

Should you be lucky and earn more money than you need, then the next time you can give more if you like. 

The goal is to do less work so you will have more time to do the meditation practice which will give you more good feeling, more merit. So, the goal is to eventually stop working if it’s possible. And then, practice full-time in a monastery. 

Question:  Is this wise to put more effort to earn more money so I can give more which mean I will have less time to learn and practice Dhamma because there are more time wasted to earn more money?

Than Ajahn:  No. I think I’ve answered your question. You don’t want to do this. You want to do as little work as possible, so you will have the time to study and practice the Dhamma. 

“Dhamma in English, Sep 19, 2021.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

“You shouldn’t really cling on or get attached to anything. You have to accept that we all have our own choices.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart

14 March 2024

“You shouldn’t really cling on or get attached to anything. You have to accept that we all have our own choices.”

My father didn’t want me to ordain, but I still managed to. It really depends on each individual’s merit and past actions. Some parents get upset with their son’s ordination whereas some are happy. It has to do with the parents’ minds and how much merit they have. 

If the parents have a lot of merit and understand the concept of it, they’ll be happy for anyone who ordains. 

Those parents without merit won’t understand it. When they see their own child ordain, they get really upset. 

They wonder why their child doesn’t want to lead a worldly life. 

They end up thinking about all sorts of things. It all comes down to each individual’s merit and past actions.

You shouldn’t really cling on or get attached to anything. You have to accept that we all have our own choices. If you need to be involved with someone, you should focus on loving-kindness (mettā), that is, to support one another without overdoing it.

For instance, you may raise and take care of your child, but once he’s grown you have to let him go and live his own life. If you want him to ordain but he doesn’t want to, then you’ll get really upset. You have to accept that it is his decision and business. You have already given him a chance but if he doesn’t want it, then there’s nothing you can do.

It is like giving a sum of money to your child and he doesn’t want it—why would you get upset? 

If he doesn’t want it, then that is his business. Whatever he wants to do or wherever he wants to go is his choice. 

To let him live his own life is, in fact, a form of mettā—kindness and goodwill. It is better than to force him to do the things that you want, which is not in any way loving nor kind. Instead, it will only turn into resentment. Forcing him to do something would only upset him and may cause quarrels and hatred.

You have to bear in mind that you’re like a steerer. 

You’re like a guide who gets your child across from one side of the river to the other. There’s nothing you can do if your child wants to jump off the boat in the middle of the river.

Your duty is to teach your child: what is right and what is wrong. This is so that he can rely on himself. 

That’s all you can do. If he chooses to go the right way, then it is his merit. If he doesn’t, then it is his own doing. 

No one can control someone else’s mind. We all have to part and die from one another eventually. Once you’re dead, who will be in charge of him? He will need to go on his own no matter what.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

"Kamma is Greater than Everything"

 "Kamma is Greater than Everything"

The day the plane Thai Airways Flight 231 crashed was on the 27th of April, 1980. It was of great loss to the Buddha Sasana as 5 highly attained monks were killed in the crash, namely

Venerable Ajahn Wan

Venerable Ajahn Singthong

Venerable Ajahn Supat

Venerable Ajahn Juan

Venerable Ajahn Boonma

Luang Pu Boonsri said that whenever he thought about the events of that day, he would be deeply saddened. 

On April 22, 1980, the Royal Family invited a great many monks to the palace. Before the accident on the 26th of April, the Ajaans gathered at Wat Pa Ban Tat in preparation to depart and travel from Udon Thani province. Luang Ta Maha Bua was to take a van down south, while Phra Ajahn Wan, Phra Ajahn Juan, Phra Ajarn Bunma, Phra Ajarn Singthong and Phra Ajarn Suphat were going to travel by plane.

Luang Pu Boonsri wanted to take the plane with them, his Phor Mae Kruba Ajaan. Suddenly, Luang Ta Maha Bua called out to Luang Pu Boonsri, telling him to take the van together with him, so that they would get there first in preparation. Reverend Grandfather Boonsri admitted that he felt a little lost at that time, thinking in his heart, his Phor Mae Kruba Ajaan were on a plane - how could a van get there first?

As soon as the royal van or bus that Luang Ta Maha Bua and Luang Pu Boon Sri was on reached Rangsit (an exurb about 40 km north of Bangkok), they heard the news that the plane crashed and all 5 of the most highly esteemed monks died in this crash. 

The first words that Luang Ta Maha Bua said to Luang Pu was

"This is their kamma. Bunsri is not yet involved in their kamma."

Luang Pu shed tears and said, "I felt both sadness for my friends and appreciate the loving kindness of Luang Ta Maha Bua. If Luang Ta Maha Bua did not tell me to use the van on that day. Luang Pu would have died. 

But I still feel sorry for my friends."

Thereafter, Luang Ta ordered the bus driver to drive to the scene of the accident and said this, "Do you see that kamma is greater than anything. 

Even the Lord Buddha had to accept his kamma until the end of his life. If we are still alive, then goodness should be cultivated constantly. We don't know when we will die. Even if they knew, they could not escape, because of death is something no one can escape. While still alive, it is wise to accumulate a lot of goodness."

Luang Pu Bunsri Chanthachoto

Wat Pa Hin Howe

Maha Sarakham

The Miracles of Luang Phor Koon

The Miracles of Luang Phor Koon

When I first encountered Thai Buddhism slightly over a decade ago, I was told that Luang Phor Koon was the most revered living monk across majority of the provinces. At that time, I couldn't really understand - why was LP Koon so popular? Even today, I still don't know why. 

Nevertheless, there are many accounts of miracles attributed to LP Koon, like the one I shared a few months back when a girl holding his rian jumped out of a burning factory. 

Personally, I know a Singaporean who went for temporary ordination and stayed with LP Koon at Wat Banrai when he was a youth. He assured me that LP Koon did indeed possess magical powers. There was a time when LP Koon happened to bless some nammon (holy water) and walked away. Being curious, he tried to pour out the holy water but found that even when he turned the bottle upside down, the water did not flow out at all. This is often what happens when you try to fool around with nammon blessed by a monk.

Once there was a drought in Korat, which severely affected the livelihood of the farmers and badly inconvenienced the residents living at Dan Khun Thot District, because if it continued any further, there would soon not be any water for them to drink at all. Many public agencies tried various methods to resolve the drought but to no avail - even the water levels in the Lam Chiang Krai Reservoir was so low that it seemed that it would soon evaporate to reveal dry land.

The local politicians were at a loss of what to do. Until one of them had a bright idea – he would go to Luang Phor Koon and ask for his parami to tide through this crisis. After all, LP Koon was the most revered monk in Nakhon Ratchasima province, who else could resolve this problem but him? So he went to LP Koon to consult him on what to do. 

LP Koon instructed him, “Take this and pour it into the dam”. After saying that, he picked up a plastic bottle and handed it over to the politician. The politician did not question LP Koon and did what he was told. So he took the liquid given by LP Koon to him and poured it into the reservoir. 

In no more than three days, a miracle happened. The water levels in the reservoir started to rise instead of fall, until the water level actually returned to its original level. The volume of water would be able to tide the citizens over this particular crisis. This made the politician very curious as to what could be the powerful liquid that LP Koon gave him, and he went back to LP Koon to pay his respects and give thanks. 

After that, he couldn’t resist asking, “Luang Phor, what was that supremely power and sacred liquid that you gave me?”

Luang Phor Koon replied with a laugh, “Just my urine.”

“If you practise or meditate a lot, your concentration will be quite deep and can happen in any posture.”

 The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

11th November, 2022

“If you practise or meditate a lot, your concentration will be quite deep and can happen in any posture.”

The term—bhavanga (ground of becoming)—can refer to two things, or two types of an inactive state of mind. One refers to sleeping whereas the other is a mental state of concentration (samādhi).

If it is the sleeping kind of bhavanga, you won’t be conscious. You won’t be aware that you’re sleeping. It is like dozing off while driving, that is the sleeping kind of bhavanga.

But if it’s the concentration kind, it will feel as if your mind has fallen into a hole and just remains still. 

You’ll still be constantly mindful—being aware of the lightness and ease of your mind. There will be no thoughts or very few.

So the concentration kind of bhavanga is a state of mental calm. Sometimes it is referred to as bhavanga and sometimes as tranquility or one-pointedness. For example, if you keep reciting ‘Buddho’, you’ll reach a point where your mind becomes focussed. It is as if you’ve fallen into a hole or off a cliff, or when a plane suddenly drops due to a change in air pressure. Your mind will fade for a short while and then remain still. You’ll still be fully conscious, just like you’re sitting here and chatting. If you carry on chatting, your mind can also suddenly fade for a short while. It can also happen during a walking meditation.

If your mind is not active and thinking about things, it will drop into absorption and into calmness. Your mind is simply in full concentration. However, there are many levels of samādhi depending on the varying depth. If you practise or meditate a lot, your concentration will be quite deep and can happen in any posture.

In the beginning, you might need to rely on sitting meditation in order to get into absorption, because you still require the stillness of your physical body in order to calm your mind. But once your mind has established a certain level of calmness, your mind may fall into absorption during walking meditation.

Luangpu Chob, for example, used to do his ascetic walking/wandering during the night. He would hold a lantern in one hand and keep walking while reciting ‘Buddho’. And one time, he happened to run into a tiger. Once he saw the tiger, his mind suddenly dropped into absorption. 

The tiger vanished from his mind or perception. Once his mind withdrew from the absorption, the lantern had already gone out, but he was still holding it in his hand. This shows that his mind was fully concentrated for a certain period of time.

It is as if his body turned into a rock—standing still and his mind was void of his body. His mind was fully absorbed in whichever posture his body was in. His mind must have wavered when he saw the tiger, but he was able to maintain his mindfulness and so didn’t panic. Without mindfulness, he would have panicked and reacted to seeing the tiger. But he didn’t, because he managed to maintain his mindfulness and so his mind dropped into absorption and became fully concentrated.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

Venerable Dr K. Sri Dhammananda HOW TO FACE DEATH

 Human Life and Problems

Venerable Dr K. Sri Dhammananda
HOW TO FACE DEATH

Another problem that people face today is how to come to terms with the death of their loved ones, and this includes parents. We must realize that death is a natural occurrence and however much we love our aged parents we have to realise the biological fact that human cells have a certain life span. A time must come when they stop renewing themselves. It is to be expected that in extreme old age, cells lose their ability to maintain the balance of the destruction and repair process and can no longer maintain the body in a healthy manner.

The history of man is nothing but how he tried to run away from death. Different cultures have tried to run away from death in different ways.

Mind needs a permanent life but life creates an impermanent physical body and we take this as life. After that unsatisfactoriness disturbs the mind.

For those who have lived a long and reasonably happy life and who have strong religious training impending death can even be a welcome phenomenon. When the time comes the dying person becomes composed and leaves the world peacefully, confident that he or she had lived a harmless life and contributed to the progress of man.In societies with deeply entrenched religious beliefs and unadulterated cultural patterns, the concept that death is inevitable and a natural part of the life cycle is accepted. When it does occur in such societies it is treated with philosophic acceptance of the inevitable and is always treated with dignity.

Human beings are the only beings who can understand that one day they will have to face death. That is why they worry unnecessarily about it. Worrying about death will not make it stop, so why not accept it calmly? Shakespeare makes Julius Caesar say:

'Of all the wonders that I yet have heard and seen. It seems to memst strange that men should fear. Seeing that death, a necessary end. Will come when it will come.’

On the other hand, there are those who do not bother at all about the end of their lives or about what happens after that. However, the majority not only worry about existing problems but also worry about the next life. All other living beings are free from that feeling.

We have to realise that whatever method we adopt to overcome our problems, it is impossible to gain complete satisfaction in our lives until we train our minds and reduce selfish desire. The teachings of the Buddha give us a very clear exposition of how to understand the nature of human problems and how to overcome them and how to face death without fear.

Remember the simple saying in Buddhism, 'Life is uncertain and the death is certain.' Death is not the end of a life. In fact death is the beginning of a life and birth is the beginning of death. 

The setting sun in this country is the rising sun in another country. Therefore, birth and death are interrelated.

'The birth of a man is the birth of sorrow. The longer he lives the more stupid he becomes. What bitterness. He lives for what is always out of reach. His thirst for survival in the future makes him incapable of living in the present.' (Chuang Tzu)

The Buddha reminded us that everything that exists is impermanent. With birth there is death; with arising, there is dissolving; with coming together, there is separation. How can there be birth without death? How can there be arising without dissolving? How can there be coming together without separation?

Birth and death are two ends of the same string. We cannot remove death and leave existence only. First, man struggles to avoid death. After that, he prepares for death. Actually we do not exist but struggle for existence which we call living.