"The problem for most people is not having enough mindfulness to keep the mind still.”

The teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

31 December 2023

"The problem for most people is not having enough mindfulness to keep the mind still.”

Than Ajahn:  “When you sit, how long can you sit and how calm can you get?”

Layperson:  “Not so long and not so calm. I can sit for a short time, up to 20 minutes. Sometimes I can sit longer but I get distressed and I stopped.”

Than Ajahn:  “That indicates the amount of mindfulness you have. Mindfulness is the one that will calm your mind. The stronger your mindfulness is, the calmer your mind can become.

You need to develop more mindfulness when you’re not in sitting meditation. Try to be mindful all the time, from the time you get up to the time you go to sleep. 

You should not be without mindfulness. Keep the mind in the present. Don’t let it go to the past or to the future. 

Keep watching of what you’re doing. 

Observe every movement whether you’re walking, standing, sitting or doing anything with your hands, or your face, like turning your face to the left, turning your face to the right. 

Whatever you’re doing, try to bring your mind to watch the body. Don’t let it go think about other things. 

Normally the body is doing one thing, and the mind runs away and thinks about other things. 

This is the usual working of our mind, which is to be here and there. It never stay in one place. 

So, what you need to do is to pull the mind to stay in one place at all times. The only place that the mind can be at all the times is in the body. 

The Buddha said that we have to be mindful of our body. 

This is what you have to do before you can meditate successfully, before your mind can enter into jhāna, that is to have strong mindfulness. The problem for most people is not having enough mindfulness to keep the mind still. So, keep watching your body and make this a habit. 

There is another method you can do, that is using the recitation of a mantra, like reciting Buddho, Buddho. 

You recite it from the time you get up, when you start opening your eyes. 

When you start thinking about something that you don’t need to think about, you use the mantra to stop it. 

Recite Buddho, Buddho, Buddho. As soon as you are awake, when you walk to the toilet, when you wash your face, brush your teeth, recite Buddho, Buddho, Buddho. This will prevent your mind from going away from watching your body. 

You can recite Buddho and watch what you’re doing at the same time. If you can do this, when you sit, you will be able to force your mind to be with your breath. 

If you can stick to your breath without thinking about other things, your mind will gradually become calmer, and eventually it will become still.”

“Dhamma in English to layperson from Scotland, Apr 5, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

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