The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

20 June 2023

Than Ajahn:  You were here a few weeks ago.

Student: Yes Tan Ajahn.  A question I’ve had is when I’m able to develop a nice place of concentration I want to hold onto it and keep it going for as long as possible but then social interactions happen and social obligations pull me out of it and then I am not able to get back into it. And I start to feel depressed, start to feel sad about that. So I wonder if you could offer some advice.

Than Ajahn:  Well you have to figure out what caused you to lose your concentration and it’s your social interaction (TA laughs) so if you want to maintain your concentration, you have to stop your social interaction. Simple as that. 

So you have to live in seclusion, live alone. 

You have to become a monk eventually if you want to maintain constant or continuous concentration. 

Like the Buddha, he has to leave the palace. 

Because if he lives in the palace, he would have all this social interaction to deal with every day. So he took off.

This is the path for those who want to develop spiritual perfection. Spiritual peace, spiritual happiness. 

You have to let go of all your social interaction. The Buddha said, don’t cling. 

Don’t socialize. Try to stay alone because then you can maintain your concentration continuously. So now you know the problem so you have to find a way to solve this problem. How to get yourself out of all this social interaction.

Student:  I start getting lonely as well. I mean it’s on both sides. When I am well concentrated 

I am happy to be alone. When I am not, I start missing people. It’s like both things.

Than Ajahn:  Then you should try to bring your concentration back. Because if you follow your sadness then you have to leave your seclusion and go interact with people. And then once you do that you start to miss your concentration again. So you’re just going back and forth like a ping pong ball. When you are alone you feel lonely so you want to interact with people. But when you interact with people you don’t feel good. You want to be alone. (TA laughs) 

So you have to decide what you want. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. This is the question that everybody has to answer. 

Once they find the answer they find a sense of relief. 

This the hardest question to answer: “Which path should I take?” The worldly path that I used to or the spiritual path. 

So before you can decide, you have to have enough practice to make sure that once you are alone you can continue on with your practice. 

But if your practice is still off and on, this can be a problem when you are alone. When your practice is down you can feel lonely. And your defilements will consume your mind to the point where you want to go back. We just recently lost a monk. He came and wanted to devote the remainder of his life to the practice. 

He gave up his job and everything. But after he had been ordained for just a few months, he just could no longer do it. So eventually he had to disrobe. 

This is something like climbing the mountain. 

Once you start climbing, you cannot stop. If you haven’t reached the top yet, you cannot stop. Only when you get to the top then you stop your practice, stop climbing. Because as soon as you stop climbing, the gravity will start pulling your body down. As soon as you stop [your practice], your defilements will start pulling you back toward the worldly life. So this is something you have to prepare yourself for before you make your final decision.

One thing that can help you is to constantly contemplate on the impermanent nature of the worldly life. 

Things don’t last. And your body is getting older and older. The Buddha saw the four sights—an old man, a sick man, a dead man and a monk. So this was the message he needed to push himself to become a monk. 

You have to constantly think of your body. 

That it is going to get old, get sick and die. 

Then you wouldn’t be able to enjoy your worldly life anyway. This will push you to do more practice. Do more meditation. 

May be right now you can do it on a temporary basis. Go seek seclusion for awhile then come back, then go back again back and forth. Until you become strong enough to leave forever. 

Then you don’t come back.

“Dhamma in English, Nov 29, 2022.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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