The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart
20 April 2024
“You need to use your mindfulness and discern your emotions.”
You have to keep watching your own mind.
Your mental defilements (kilesas) will keep fooling you.
Sometimes it will give you a sense of overconfidence, misleading you to think that you’re almost there and about to reach the enlightenment.
And sometimes it will discourage you, tricking you into thinking that you barely made any progress.
These thoughts will come up constantly. So you just have to realise that they are just thoughts, just like clouds in the sky that come and go and won’t last forever. These thoughts and feelings will also pass, just like clouds that block the sun and cause an overcast sky.
Negative emotions can also cloud your mind at times, making you feel discouraged, downhearted, and weary. You need to use your mindfulness and discern your emotions. Your mind is the perceiver, just like the sun, whereas emotions are like clouds. You need to understand that these emotions are impermanent (anicca)—they do come and go.
Don’t let them sway you. Stick to your routine and duties. When it is time to chant, just chant. When it is time to meditate, just meditate.
Even if you don’t feel like meditating, just do it.
Just think of it as having a meal. There are days when you don’t feel like eating but you still need to eat, because you know that you’ll be hungry if you don’t.
You will feel that your mind has regressed on days that you don’t meditate. So even if you don’t make progress, at least maintain your position so that you don’t regress.
Just do whatever you used to do. Just do it regardless of the result. When it is time to practise, just practise.
By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto
Youtube: Dhamma in English
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