The teachings of Ajahn Suchart

15th November, 2022

“The goal of contemplation is to teach the mind the truth.”

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Question: How do we know if we are suitable for vipassanā meditation or samatha meditation?

Tahn Ajahn: Well, normally when we speak from the proper way of practice, you need to have a strong calm mind first before you can contemplate on the truth of existence - contemplate on aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā. If your mind is not strong and calm enough, you will not be able to contemplate for very long. You might be able to do it for a few minutes or a few seconds, then your mind will go back to the old ways of contemplating, and thinking under the influence of your defilements. 

You need a strong and calm mind in order to be able to resist your defilements and in order to force your mind to think in the way of the truth to contemplate on aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā. 

When you have a strong and calm mind, eventhough when you are not in samadhi but you want to contemplate on aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā, you can do it. You can do it any time you want. 

The point is whether you can do it long enough to make it beneficial for you. In order to be beneficial, you have to be able to contemplate all the time that everything is aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā. So, whenever your defilements come up, you can use this truth to suppress or eliminate the defilements. That’s the goal of contemplation – to teach the mind the truth so that it can stop the defilements from influencing the mind.   

Youtube: “Dhamma in English, Dec 18, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

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