The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

12 October 2024

The fifth and last of the spiritual powers that will assist us in our spiritual advancement is wisdom or paññā. To have wisdom is to be wise as opposed to being ignorant. The difference between the wise and the ignorant is that ûthe ignorant become street sweepers and dish washers, while the wise get better jobs, working in air-conditioned offices, giving orders. This is because they are educated, smart and knowledgeable. 

They know what should be done and what should not be done. Those who don’t know how to type, for example, will have to wash dishes, mow the lawn, or sweep the streets instead, because this kind of work does not need a lot of knowledge or wisdom. To be able to work in a specialized field, one has to be capable and knowledgeable. 

In Buddhism however, the emphasis is on knowing about suffering or dukkha, about the four noble truths or ariya-sacca namely, suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path of practice leading to the cessation of suffering. 

Usually when we are unhappy we don’t know what causes it. But one who possesses wisdom or paññā will know right away that the mind is on fire. Right now as we sit here quite comfortably, if someone does something that bothers us, we can no longer remain calm. If we don’t have wisdom, we will not know that we are suffering. If we have wisdom acquired from regularly listening to Dhamma talks, we will know that when we feel ill at ease, we are suffering. 

Mental suffering or stress has its origin, not from the external but from within the mind itself. Its causes are the three cravings or taṇhā namely, craving for sensuality, for becoming, and for not-becoming. 

Craving for sensuality is our lust for visible objects, sounds, aromas, flavors and tactile sensations, such as beautiful clothes and other material objects. When we lust for them it would stir up restlessness right away. 

When we see advertisements on the television for some products with tantalizing offers and the telephone number to call, we would immediately make that call. 

We could not remain still because the mind has been set on fire. It’s now afflicted with suffering. 

Craving or lust for becoming is another form of suffering or stress. If we think that there is a possibility for us to become a prime minister, we would not be able to remain indifferent. We would have to go out campaigning for votes. We couldn’t just stay at home and let it all happen by itself. On the other hand, if we have no desire to become a prime minister, we could sit back and do nothing and be spared the suffering or stress that come with the race. We would be happy from our contentment.

Suffering or stress occurs in the mind. Its origin, the three cravings, also comes from the mind. If we have no craving, we wouldn’t be afflicted with suffering or stress. When we are full from a meal, we couldn’t take another bite, even if it’s our favorite dish. That’s because we don’t have any craving for food. 

But if we were hungry because we haven’t eaten for a day or two, we would devour even plain rice and a banana, let alone our favorite dish, because of our lust for food. 

When we are restless we are being consumed by stress. 

If we can stay put, we would be happy. Suffering or stress is therefore in the mind. The origin of suffering is also in the mind. Stress or suffering has to be quelled in the mind. The tool to achieve this is also in the mind namely magga or the path of practice leading to the cessation of suffering. 

What is magga? Mindfulness and wisdom or sati and paññā as mentioned before are the components of magga along with faith, exertion and samādhi. We just have to realize that our craving causes our suffering or stress. Once we do all we have to do is to give up our craving. 

For example, we are already full from a meal but still crave for more, especially when we see some tantalizing dish on an advertisement. The mind wants to run to the refrigerator to grab some more food. If we are mindful of our thoughts we could tell the mind that we have just finished eating. If we eat again, we would get fat and gain weight, the cholesterol would be higher, the blood pressure would increase, and we would die sooner. This thought would stop us and put a brake on our craving. When the craving has been eliminated, the mind would become calm and peaceful. 

In Buddhism, this is wisdom. All things in this world are impermanent and bring suffering or stress. Don’t be attached to visible objects, sounds, aromas, flavors, tactile sensations, wealth, status, praise, and sensual pleasures that we treasure so much. When we acquire wealth we feel so happy. But in the eyes of the wise they are the source of unhappiness if they are more than what is needed for our existence. When we have more than we need they become a mental liability causing restlessness and anxiety, driving us to spend and spend, and to acquire more and more, locking us in this vicious circle of acquisition and spending, never ever find peace of mind and contentment. 

Don’t ever think that wealth, status, praise, and sensual pleasures can bring true happiness, because it’s transient, it comes and goes. When we get rich, we feel happy. 

When we become poor, we are unhappy. 

When all the money is gone, there could be no greater suffering. But if we, like monks, were used to living without money, we would not suffer. Life can go on with just having enough to eat each day. 

Use your head and come to the realization that true happiness comes from contentment, no more greed, hatred, delusion, no more craving for sensuality, for becoming, and for not becoming, no more craving to become a lieutenant, a general, a director, a Miss Universe. If we want them, we would have to go after them. If we don’t, we could stay put and be truly happy. 

The origin of all sufferings or stresses is the three cravings. To get rid of them, we must use wisdom or paññā in order to make us realize that they don’t give us true happiness. 

True happiness is in the mind, the mind that has quelled all the cravings. If we possess the five spiritual powers namely, faith, exertion, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom, we would have the tools to eliminate the kilesas and vanquish suffering or stress from our mind. 

Please develop these five spiritual powers as much as you possibly can then true happiness would eventually be your possession.

“Sensual Pleasures Are Painful”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

5 March 2024

The person who has already been there can tell you exactly how to get there…. However, if you don’t become enlightened, don’t blame me immediately, instead you may have to blame yourself because you either might not have practiced correctly or you might not be practising hard enough.”

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Than Ajahn : Studying is the first important thing, listening to Dhamma talks especially from the masters who have attained. There is a lot of difference listening to instructions from those who truly know and those who just imagine that they know.

Lay devotee : How can you tell the difference between the two?

Than Ajahn : It is like if you are a merchant dealing with diamonds. You have to study how to judge which is genuine. 

So you have to study and ask people who know how to judge and differentiate which is genuine and which is not. 

We know because once you come here (to the right place), you already learn a lot. You know Ajahn Mun and Luangta Mahā Boowa. 

You know they are monks who really know because you have heard from other people. 

So if you don’t know then you have to study or ask for advice from those who know.

To know whether they really ‘know’, you have to practise to see whether their instructions can provide you with the result that you want. 

Then you know that they really ‘know’. 

Because if they don’t know then they would not be able to instruct you on the practice that leads to the result that you want to achieve. This is one way to prove that the one who teaches you, knows what he is talking about. You have to practise following his instructions.

After you have realized the result from following his instructions in your practice, then you know that this person really ‘knows’. 

If someone tells you how to get to a certain place, but if he has not been there before, he might not be able to tell you exactly the right direction. But if he has been there before, he can tell you exactly the right direction. 

When you listen to someone who has not been there before, you might not get to where you want to go, so you know this person doesn’t know what he is talking about.

The person who has already been there can tell you exactly how to get there and you can get there by following his instructions. Then you know that he must have been there before. This is another way to prove. 

All noble disciples of the Buddha have proven that the Buddha truly became enlightened because they used his instructions to guide themselves to become enlightened. 

Then they know that the Buddha must be truly enlightened. If he had not been truly enlightened, he would not have been able to guide them to become enlightened. 

You need to prove it through your practice then you will know that this teacher of yours ‘knows’, that he has become enlightened, because by following his instructions you can also become enlightened. 

Now it is your turn, you have already studied, now you have to practice, to see what I have said is what it should be or not. 

However, if you don’t become enlightened, don’t blame me immediately, instead you may have to blame yourself because you either might not have practiced correctly or you might not be practising hard enough.

Lay devotee : Is it through meditation?

Than Ajahn : Of course. Samatha and vipassana bhavana. That is the core of the practice with the support of dāna and sīla. 

Dāna is to give up your possessions, not just 10% but 100%. 

You give up everything so you can be free to be ordained and not to disrobe. 

If you are ordained and you disrobe, what’s the point of being ordained? It becomes a ritual instead of something practical.  

“Dhamma in English, Jun 14, 2015.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: 

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

#ajahnsuchartabhijato #dhamma #meditation #samatha #vipassana

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart. 

29 September 2024

Apart from having faith, exertion and mindfulness, we must also have concentration or samādhi. What should we concentrate on? Well, we should concentrate on doing good deeds. Normally, it is not easy for us to do this. Why? It’s because our mind tends to drift with our emotions. On days when we feel charitable and want to make a charitable contribution, we would do it. On other days when we don’t have that feeling, we wouldn’t do it. But when we have samādhi or concentration, we would be doing good deeds all the time. Refraining from doing evil would also be easy to do because the mind is now primed by samādhi to do it. 

We would then be always concentrating on refraining from doing evil and cultivating good deeds. 

To be successful in our endeavor, we must therefore have concentration or samādhi. 

It’s therefore imperative to meditate on a regular basis, at least once or twice a day. 

After we get up in the morning, wash our face and brush our teeth, we could start with some chanting. It’s a form of meditation. If we could do it for half an hour or an hour, it would help calm the mind down. The mind would stay put, not wandering around. If we don’t like chanting, we could meditate by mentally recite ‘buddho, buddho, buddho’. Do it as long as we possibly can, half an hour, an hour, or two hours. This is the way of training the mind to keep still with the aid of mindfulness. If we meditate without mindfulness, the mind will drift away. While chanting, if we also think of some other things, it means that the mind is not concentrating nor being mindful.

For example, while we chant ‘arahaṁ sammasambuddho’, etc, and also think of what we’re going to do today, it means we are not being mindful.

 We are chanting but our mind is also thinking about something else. 

This will not yield the desired result. The mind will not stay put. To keep it still, we must be only mindful of what we are chanting. If we chant ‘arahaṁ sammasambuddho’, then ‘arahaṁ sammasambuddho’ must be the only thing on our mind. Don’t let other things in. Our mind must be focused on only one thing. 

If it is, it will stay put. 

If there are two or three things on our mind, it will wobble, drifting back and forth, unable to keep still or calm down. It will become restless. This restlessness is caused by the defilement or kilesa such as love, hatred, boredom and the like. They will upset us, making us unable to do good, for example today we planned to go to the temple to make some merits, but when we saw something not to our liking it put us off and we decided then and there not to go. This could happen because our mind is not set. We have no samādhi. So we should keep on meditating. 

We can meditate all the time no matter where we are or what we do. We can do it while driving. Just don’t close your eyes. While driving, we can recite ‘buddho, buddho, buddho’ in our mind while concentrating on driving. This is also a form of meditation. 

While eating, concentrate on eating; reading, concentrate on reading; working, concentrate on working. We don’t have to wait until we can go to the temple, to a quiet place, or to sit in front of a Buddha image, in order to meditate. That will be too late. Why? 

It’s because the kilesa are always active and ever present. 

Greed and hatred can pop up anywhere, anytime. They don’t wait until they get on the stage to reveal themselves. They don’t operate that way. Whenever we see something greed or hatred can pop up right away. 

To fight them, we must use Dhamma. 

To stop them, we must use mindfulness and samādhi. 

Fighting the kilesa is a 24hrs-7days job, from the time we get up in the morning until the time we fall asleep. 

We must always be on guard, be mindful all the time of our thoughts. Is it about greed or anger? If it is, we must use mindfulness to stop them. We must remind ourselves that they are not good. They are like fire. 

When we hate, become greedy or lustful, we are setting our mind on fire. When we are not greedy or hateful, we would feel cool and at ease. Greed and anger can only be stopped by mindfulness. We must therefore strive to develop mindfulness and meditate all the time. 

When we have free time, instead of looking at comic books or fashion magazines, we should mentally recite ‘buddho, buddho, buddho’. Our mind will be cool, happy and relaxed. It will focus on doing good like meditating and developing samādhi or mental stability that will assist in our quest for the noble goal of spiritual purity. 

“Sensual Pleasures Are Painful”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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