The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.
14 July 2023
Layman: I found in recent times that I have an increasing sense of detachment from worldly things, especially like work or social interaction where these things happen and I just find I am there but observing and not enthusiastic about these things. To me it feels okay but I just wanted to check if that is normal.
Tan Ajahn: The feeling of dispassion right?
Because you start to see the impermanence of things. Things are just temporary. They just come and they go. They are like bubbles. They are not real really. But if you don’t reflect or think about it you think that they are real.
When in fact they are just temporary existence, temporary things that you cannot cling to anything in this world. They are like bubbles so the more detached you become the better off you are because the less stress or sadness you will have. Because if you cling or if you attach to something, when they change or when they disappear they can cause you to become sad, unhappy or depressed.
So the wisdom or the insight of the three characteristics will make the mind have more dispassion. The more you reflect, the more you understand the nature of things, the less you will become attached, less passionate. This is what you should try to do with everything all the time if possible. Because every time you become involved or come into contact with anything you should remind yourself that you are dealing with bubbles.
But you still do things, you still work, you still do whatever you need to do but you know in the end it doesn’t really mean anything. Can anyone take anyone with them when they go?
We don’t take anything with us when we go.
We leave everything behind. Even our body.
And if we are attached, if we are deluded, we leave it with sadness. But if we are not deluded, we leave it with happiness.
Buddha said to be rid of all these things is supreme happiness. “Sabe sankhārā Aniccā” all conditioned things are temporary. They arise and cease. They come and go. To be free from attachment from these things is supreme bliss. This is usually a chant monks use during funerals. When the monks go perform funerals they go chant this verse:
“Aniccā vata sankhārā
Uppāda vaya dhamminō
Uppajjitvā nirujjhanti
Tesaṁ vūpasamō sukhō”
All sankharā, all conditioned things rise and cease. To be free from attachment of these things is supreme bliss. So try not to be attached to anything. All sensual objects.
Body, feelings, everything that the mind comes into contact with. They are all illusions, they are not real. They come and go. You cannot force them or control them. They are all a work of nature.
There is only one thing that remains with the mind and that is the bliss that you gain from detachment.
From letting go. This will stay with the mind forever. This is what we want. So you have to constantly reflect on aniccā and anattā. Aniccā - things are temporary, things keep changing or they disappear. Anattā - they are not under anybody’s control. They are works of nature, natural phenomenon.
We think we can control our body but we only can to a certain extent. Beyond that is just not possible to tell the body to remain young and strong forever. But this is what we all want, everybody always prays for longevity, good health. So we just have to be realistic. It’s not pessimistic to think of getting old, getting sick and dying. It’s realistic. But people look at it as pessimistic.
Buddha teaches the truth, reality. Aging, sickness and death. This is reality, this is truth.
The supreme truth of suffering. And the cause of all birth comes from our cravings. We need to have a body in order to satisfy our cravings.
We have this craving for sensual objects, sensual pleasure so we need to have a body to achieve this. But then the body is a temporary thing. It doesn’t last forever. It gets old, gets sick and dies. That’s when dukkha come around, when the body becomes old, becomes sick, and when you can’t use your body to satisfy your cravings anymore. So you don’t want to go this route, you want to stop your cravings for sensual pleasure, craving for being and craving for not being.
In short, not to be reborn again. To find peace and happiness from meditation. And then you can let go of your cravings for sensual pleasures because you have an alternative way of making yourself happy. Once you can do that, then you can stop your cravings. Then you won’t have to have any more rebirth.
We’ve been reborn so many times before. Our tears could fill the oceans from our suffering.
And we would go on like this forever unless we come across the teaching of the Buddha and took up his teaching, took up the challenge presented to us. Ok. Good enough?
Student: that was very clear Tan Ajahn, thank you very much for your guidance. Thank you.
“Dhamma in English, November 29, 2022.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
YouTube: Dhamma in English.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
No comments:
Post a Comment