“Mettā is the basic quality that you have to maintain at all times.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

28 April 2024

“Mettā is the basic quality that you have to maintain at all times.”

Samanera:  How important is mettā in order to get samādhi?

Than Ajahn:  Mettā is the basic quality that you have to maintain at all times. You should be friendly and be kind towards all living beings. This is the basic ingredient you should always have in your mind. 

Remind yourself that, ‘I have to be kind and be friendly. Even when I am in bad mood, I have to be kind and be friendly’. Try to force a smile out even when you don’t feel like smiling. If you don’t have mettā, your mind becomes cruel and full of hatred. It is difficult to calm your mind if your mind is cruel and full of hatred. 

Everybody who walks this path must always maintain this mettā quality, by trying to reflect that we are all human beings, and we are all subjected to aging, sickness and death. There is enough suffering in each one of us. There is no point to add more suffering upon each other. 

So it is better to forgive each other. You have to think in this way then your mind will be peaceful and calm, and you will be able to maintain mindfulness. 

Mettā is the first quality, the first paramῑ (perfections). 

When you have mettā you can do charity. When you are kind and friendly then you will be happy to give. Once you can give, then you can maintain the precepts. 

If you can maintain the basic precepts, you can then move up to maintain the higher precepts -- the eight precepts. When you can maintain the eight precepts, you can meditate. When you can meditate, you can develop pañña (wisdom). 

These are the steps to do in order to develop wisdom.

Just take each difficulty you encounter a day at a time. 

Don’t think too far ahead. The future is still far away. 

Just do what you have to do today. Reading books are good when you don’t know what to do. Once you know what to do, then you can lay down the books and do what you have to do.

…….

Question (lay):  Ajahn said that we have to contemplate on the body so that we don’t get attach to someone. Is there anything call unconditional love or romantic love?

Than Ajahn:  There is selfless love, we call it metta – loving kindness, loving without expecting anything in return. Like the Buddha, he loved us, he gave us everything that is good for us and he never expected any returns from us. This is the kind of love that we should cultivate. Loving kindness is love without expecting any rewards, loving without attachment. 

Question (lay):  How about love between partners?

Than Ajahn:  This will lead to suffering because one day you have to suffer. One day you have to go in different ways and this will cause your suffering to arise. If you have no attachment towards this person, when you have to separate, there will be no suffering. 

You should have love without attachment. 

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

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