The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.
2 January 2024
Q: The ultimate goal of Buddhism is attaining Nibbāna. So is it proper for Buddhists to expect or wish for any material benefits or comforts (such as a better job, more wealth, good health, good marriage) in return by making an offering to an Arahant or by engaging in the Ten Meritorious Deeds mentioned in the Buddha’s suttas?
Than Ajahn: If you practice the teaching of the Buddha completely, you will get to the ultimate goal of Nibbāna. But if you only practice partially, you will only get partial results. That’s what it is.
So if you only practice sīla (morality or keeping the 5 precepts) and practice charity, the consequence of these two practices will give you birth in heaven. And when you come back as a human again, you will come back richer than you are now. So whether you like it or not, this is what happens. And some people still just want to return and live on this earth. They forget that being born they will get old, get sick and die. They only think of the good things that they can do if they become rich.
So a lot of people will only partially practice the Buddha’s teaching.
Usually practicing keeping the 5 precepts and practicing charity. By doing these, they have a happy mind and when they die the mind goes to heaven. And after it has expired the merit, it returns and gets reborn as a human being again as a rich or wealthy human being due to the dāna (charity) and the precepts that were kept.
But if you practice the third teaching of the Buddha which is bhavānā, then you will be able to not return.
You will reach Nibbāna.
So it is up to you. It’s like a menu in a restaurant. You can choose the food you want to eat. How much food you want to have. If you want to have the complete full course meal, then you will get the ultimate result of Buddhism. But if you only want to practice partially, only some parts of the Buddha’s teaching, then you will only get some of the results, instead of Nibbāna.
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Q: How to practice bhāvanā?
Than Ajahn: Bhāvanā is the practice of meditation and developing of wisdom. First you practise the practice of samādhi. Bhāvanā has 2 parts: the first part is the practice of samādhi and the second part is the development of wisdom (vipassanā).
So you have to practise the first one first by developing mindfulness to stop your thoughts.
When you have strong mindfulness, you can stop your thoughts which will cause your mind to become peaceful and calm. This is called samādhi.
Once you have samādhi, when you're not meditating, you teach your mind the Four Noble Truths and the Three Characteristics of Existence. Then you will have wisdom. With these two (samādhi and vipassanā) then you will be able to get rid of all your defilements and the consequence of following your defilements which is rebirth.
“Dhamma in English, Mar 26, 2023.”
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Q: The path of cultivation of dāna, sīla, bhāvanā is about letting go, so doing dāna is the practise of letting go of our self. But some temples emphasize that doing dāna is for gaining merit, yet there is nothing to be gained, because practising dana is practising of letting go. Is it wrong when they said we are gaining merit by doing dāna?
Than Ajahn: You gain merit, which is the ‘good feeling’ from letting go, then you will have no worry about the things that you’ve given away. If you gave away your husband, then you wouldn’t have to worry about your husband anymore.
Q: That’s a higher level of giving. I feel that there is a limit when I have to let go because sometimes I feel painful. So when you said that the more we give things away, the happier we will be, I think I haven’t reached that level yet.
Than Ajahn: Some people can let go all of their physical possessions. Like the Buddha, he gave up his princely life and lived in the forest.
Q: Sīla is the practise of letting go of our cravings and greed; and bhāvanā is a higher level of letting go. So the Noble Eightfold Path is actually the path about letting go.
Than Ajahn: That’s right.
Q: Sometimes when people explained it, they talked about gaining merit and it’s quite contradicting because what we are talking about is letting go instead of gaining something.
Than Ajahn: You gain something. You gain peace of mind every time you let go. This peace of mind is called ‘merit.’
Q: Some temple said that we would get merit and a better rebirth, is this wrong?
Than Ajahn: No, it’s right because if you have merits, you will be reborn in a higher realm of existence.
“Dhamma in English, Mar 2, 2021.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
YouTube: Dhamma in English.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto: Dhamma for the Asking
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