The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.
13 August 2023
“Buddhism is a science of the mind.”
“Buddhism is a science of the mind. It is based on the principle of cause and effect—a relationship which can be proven and the Buddha was the first person to do so.
We are all made up of the mind and the body; they are like twins. However, the mind is eternal, whereas the body is temporary. The mind passes through a succession of previous lives and takes possession of the body at conception. After the cessation of the body, the mind goes on to another body. It is as simple as that.
On one level, all religions are similar: they all teach you to do good and abstain from harming others; their teachings are based on the relation between cause and effect. Happiness or positive feelings arise from doing good deeds.
Suffering or negative feelings arise from doing bad deeds.
There are three principal actions: mental action, verbal action, and physical action. The results of these actions all come back to the mind, which is the primary actor. The mouth and the body are secondary actors. To restrain them, we need to have a ‘braking system’.
This so-called braking system is ‘mindfulness’.
With mindfulness, we’ll be aware whether our thoughts are wholesome or not. Unwholesome thoughts only harm oneself. But sometimes we do not know what is bad for us, because we’re deluded—like when we take drugs, and so we need the truth to cure our delusion.
We have to learn the truth from people who have already discerned the truth, such as the Buddha and his noble disciples. People who have yet to penetrate the truth will have to learn from those who already have. The knowledge we gain from university (i.e., academic studies) does not teach us what is good and what is bad; such knowledge only deludes us.”
“Essential Teachings”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
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