The Buddha has said that you have to help yourself first before you help other people.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

12 November 2025

The Buddha has said that you have to help yourself first before you help other people.”

⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 

Question (M) :  I’m here now for almost one and a half year. Sooner or later, I will have to go back to the Netherland where I’ve lived for most of my life.

I’m too old to get into the working system. 

So, I’m looking for an opportunity to coach people such as the elderly, and going to the direction of meditation. 

I have the feeling that I can reach to people. 

Sometimes I’m practicing, sometimes I am not practising, but my heart is with meditation. I need the directions and the vision from someone like you to guide me whether I am on the right course.

Than Ajahn : Well, if you look at the example of the Buddha, his first priority is to teach himself until he became fully enlightened, until he finished his job. 

Once he had finished his job, then he started helping other people. In Buddhism, this is usually the priority. 

The Buddha has said that you have to help yourself first before you help other people. 

If you think that you are happy with yourself, that you don’t need to help yourself anymore, and you have spare time to help other people, you can do that. 

However, this will stop you to progress to the final destination if you haven’t reached it yet. Because as soon as you start helping other people, you’ll lose the time that you need to send yourself to the final destination.

Layperson (M) :  I understand. It’s more of the willingness to organize things and to have contact with the teachers here in Thailand who may want to visit my country. It’s in that direction because I have much more years to cross before the pension system in Holland takes place. Till then, I have to look for the opportunity.

Than Ajahn : Ok, I hope I’ve answered the question you asked. If you still have to do whatever you have to do, then you have to do it.

Layperson (M) :  Yes, but my enlightenment is not for this life.

Than Ajahn : Yes, you take the Bodhisattva path – helping others before helping yourself. 

You have to develop compassion first before you can relinquish and go live in isolation and help yourself. So, it might take a long time. 

Layperson (M) :  Yes, that’s what I mean.

Than Ajahn : If you follow the Buddha’s path, right now you might finish it in 7 days, 7 months, or 7 years. It’s your choice. 

Layperson (M) :  Ok, thank you.

Youtube: “Dhamma in English, Nov 9, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: 

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

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“New Year”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

8 November 2025

“New Year”

In this New Year, if we want our lives to be better than before, we must make more merit, give up more sins, and purify our hearts more than before. Because these are the reasons that will increase happiness, increase prosperity, reduce suffering, and reduce decay. 

This is the matter of our lives. If we want to gain more happiness and prosperity, we must diligently make more merit, give up more sins, and purify our hearts more. Because this is the only way that will bring us happiness and prosperity. There is no other way. 

No one can chant or blow on us happiness and prosperity. Even the Lord Buddha cannot chant or blow on us to be prosperous and happy, or to attain the path and nirvana by chanting and blowing on it. 

The Lord Buddha can only show us the path that will lead us to the path and nirvana, lead us to happiness and prosperity, and lead us to the end of suffering and rebirth. The Lord Buddha can only do this, but it is the most wonderful thing. Because no one knows the path that will lead us to the end of all suffering. 

There is only the Lord Buddha. If the Lord Buddha did not come to enlighten us and teach us this truth, We will never reach the end of all suffering in the cycle of birth and death. Therefore, the teachings of the Lord Buddha are truly miraculous teachings that can enable beings who are lost in the cycle of birth and death to escape and find true and lasting happiness. 

Whoever hears the teachings of the Lord Buddha and puts them into practice with sincerity, diligence, perseverance, and determination, will certainly sooner or later achieve the results of this practice.

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.

31 October 2025

Q:  When we die, we can’t take our money with us, but we can take our dāna with us.

Than Ajahn:  Yes, the happiness from giving (dāna) will stick with your mind, it will go with your mind. 

The happiness stays in the mind. 

It can produce result when the body dies then this happiness will support your mind to go to heaven. It makes your mind heavenly because you have good feeling or happiness going with you. 

Q: What if I’ve forgotten all the dāna I’ve done?

Than Ajahn:  It doesn't matter. It's contained in your mind automatically. You don't have to remember it because it keeps your mind happy already. You don’t have to remember your good or bad kamma. Once you do it, it produces the result right away. It makes your mind happier or sadder depending on what kamma you did. A sad mind goes to hell, a happy mind goes to heaven. After you consumed this happiness in heaven or sadness in hell, the kamma will expire and you will have to come back and be reborn as a human again. And then you will do more good or bad kamma again. 

Q:  Is human mind neutral?

Than Ajahn:  Human mind is like a depository for good or bad karma, for happiness or sadness (dukkha). It’s like the Fort Knox – the US kept their gold in the Fort Knox.

Q: Our mind can also take in garbage, right?

Than Ajahn:  That’s right. If you think bad, you’re creating garbage in your mind. If you think good, you’re creating good things in your mind. And these things can affect your well-being or ill-being, affect your mental health. 

Q: Is mental health more superior than physical health?

Than Ajahn:  Mental health lasts longer. It doesn’t expire with the death of the body. It continues to affect your mind either happy or sad. When you don’t have the body to give you good feeling then you need the good kamma that you’ve done when you were alive to give you the good feeling. 

Q:  Preparation for death.

Than Ajahn:  It’s like getting ready to travel. 

When you die, you move on to the next world so you have to prepare your suitcases, your Visa, exchange your money, bring your credit card with you. If you don't, then you go like a refugee. This is what dāna is. 

Dāna is the wealth you can take with you - the money, the credit card. Without it you'll be like a refugee, they won't let you enter the country, they let you stay at the border and stay in the refugee camp.

Q:  If dāna is like credit card, how about those people who are meditators?

Than Ajahn:  Meditators go to a higher realm, they go to the realm with more happiness. 

The result is still like giving dāna, but with more happiness. 

When they come back to become human, they don’t bring anything with them except the way to get more jhāna. They will be practising meditation whichever way they used to do. They will come back and continue to do it again because that’s the way it makes them happy. 

If you are happy giving dāna, when you come back to become human, you will continue to give dāna. If you are happy doing meditation, when you come back, you will continue to meditate. So that’s why some people ordain and some people don’t ordain. Some people give dāna, some people meditate. It becomes a habit. If you used to drink a certain type of drink, you’ll always come back and order it again, right? If you like Coke, you’ll always order Coke, you never order other drink. 

Some people keep changing because it’s their habit, they have the habit of wanting to keep changing. That’s why people are different because people have different preferences. 

“Dhamma in English, Dec 12, 2023.”

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.

30 October 2025

Q: I’ve found recently a few times when I intensify the practice a little bit, like keep the 8 precepts on the weekend, on a Saturday, on a Sunday for example, toward the end of that sometimes I get a lot of anger arising. It doesn’t come out, speak or act because I am on my own but I get some quite angry thoughts coming up.

Tan Ajahn: Because when you keep the 8 precepts you are putting pressure on your mind, on your defilements. 

So it causes you to react negatively because the mind or the defilements want to be freed from restraint. 

But once you start to put restraints on them they start to react negatively. But that’s normal, don’t pay attention. 

It’s just the normal reaction of the defilements. This is something you will have to go through. 

So one way to reduce this is to maintain more mindfulness. Think less. Have mindfulness to hang onto something and then these thoughts will not bother you or will come up less often. It’s because you don’t increase your mindfulness, you keep the same level of mindfulness but you are putting more pressure on your defilements so they are reacting. So it means when you are keeping the 8 precepts you need to be more mindful. 

Practice more mindfulness.

“Dhamma in English, Jun 11, 2024.”

- - - - -

Q: Why do I find that the sensual desires tend to be more pronounced during meditation retreat compare to my normal days?

Than Ajahn:  It’s because your sensual desire is being curbed more when you’re in a retreat. You cannot let your eyes, ears, nose, and tongue see and hear things as they normally do because you have to meditate, so the desire can become stronger. It’s like a pressure cooker, when the steam inside the pressure cooker has no exit, the steam keeps on building up and it becomes very strong. 

When you are not in meditation retreat, you can see, hear and do anything you like, whenever you like, so the sensual pleasure has some outlet to release its pressure and you don’t feel the pressure. When you go for a retreat, you are closing the pressure releaser. It then builds up inside your mind and it becomes stronger. The only way to deal with this is by using mindfulness and meditation. When you have mindfulness or when you meditate, you stop your mind from creating cravings and desires, then the pressure will subside and disappear temporarily. But as soon as you come out of your meditation, if you are not mindful, you start creating more cravings and desires again.

“Dhamma in English, Nov 9, 2018.”

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.

6 November 2025

Q:  Is it correct that kilesas are part of the citta and the Dhamma is also part of the citta? 

Than Ajahn:  Well, they all come from the citta. They are inside the citta. They are in your mind. Your defilement is part of your habits – the habit to greed, to hate, and the delusion of not knowing that it can cause you suffering. You think that it’s giving you pleasure, but instead it is giving you suffering. 

When you crave for something, if you get it, you feel good. But you don’t think about the opposite result, how do you feel if you don’t get it? You’ll feel bad, you’ll feel angry, disappointed or sad because you can’t get what you want. Our delusion causes us to only look at the good side of craving or greed so we don’t look at the other side of it. What happens if you can’t get what you crave for or you lose the things you have? 

You get something and sooner or later you’re going to lose it because everything is anicca (impermanent). 

This is what we call ‘wisdom’.

Wisdom is Dhamma. Usually it has to be taught to us. 

We don’t have wisdom within us so we need somebody like the Buddha to come and say that everything that we crave for can give us disappointment or sadness because everything that we get, sooner or later, we will lose it or it will change. It doesn’t remain the same all the time so it doesn’t give us happiness or pleasure all the time. It can turn into poison instead of giving us pleasure. So this is what we don’t see. 

Our delusion prevents us from seeing anicca, dukkha, anattā so we go after things. In the pursuit of getting thing, you have to work hard to get it. This is already dukkha. After you got it, you can lose it and when you lose it then you become sad, and you go look for another thing again for replacement and it’s the same thing happens - the replacement is also impermanent. 

When you cannot remain without anything, you are like a drug addict. You have to have the sensual pleasure to feed you all the time. 

You need to see, to hear, to smell and taste and touch things all the time. Without them you feel empty, you feel unfulfilled. But these things cannot fulfil your mind. They cause you to have more cravings because they are like drugs. You take them and then you want more of them and when you cannot get them, you suffer. So the defilement is in the mind. 

Usually we have defilements. We lack Dhamma. We lack the wisdom of the Buddha until we are fortunate to come across his teachings and start to study and follow his teachings. Then we have something to counter measure or to go against the defilements (kilesas). He gave us the tools, the noble eightfold path, to counter the defilements. 

The noble eightfold path can be condensed into 3 parts: the practice of morality, meditation and wisdom (vipassanā). If we keep practising these 3 practices, we will have the ability to get rid of our defilements and consequently, get rid of our suffering that the defilements create for us. 

Don't try to study the mechanic of things. Try to study the ‘how to do it.’ It’s like driving a car. Just learn how to drive the car. Don’t worry about the mechanic of the car like what RPM should the car drive at, what cylinder is in the car, or what horsepower is it and so forth. You don’t have to know all these things. 

All you have to know is how to drive the car safely to take you home or to take you to places where you want to go. 

Our goal is the complete eradication of our suffering. In order to get there we need to practice morality (sīla), meditation (samādhi) and wisdom (paññā). In Pāli, we call these the triple training.  

Sometimes we study too much about the mechanic or the composition of things. We forget the things we have to do. People spend years studying Buddhism and they never practise the triple training. Or if they practise, they practise partially. Like monks, they practise morality but sometimes they spend too much time on the scholastic side of Buddhism, they forget the practice of meditation and wisdom.

“Dhamma in English, May 28, 2024.”

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.

21 October 2025

Question: What about walking meditation?

Ajahn:  Walking meditation has two purposes. 

Walking for the sake of cultivating mindfulness and walking for the sake of developing wisdom. Which purpose we choose depends on whether or not we have concentration. 

If we are not yet able to attain concentration, then we should cultivate mindfulness in order to do so. If this is the case, then as we walk, we shouldn’t allow the mind to think in terms of wisdom, but only allow it to think Buddho, Buddho, or to closely watch the movements of the body, such as observing the feet, noting whether the left or right foot is hitting the ground. We do this to prevent the mind from thinking about this or that issue.

- - -

Question:  Should this be done alternately with sitting meditation?

Ajahn: After you walk for some time and you start to ache, you have to sit, don't you? If you are stiff from sitting, get up and walk. 

The purpose of meditation is to restrain and control your thoughts in order to make the mind peaceful, at least on the level of entering concentration. Once we have attained concentration and come out of it, we might be sore and stiff from sitting for a long time so we can then again do walking meditation. 

But this time instead of observing the movements of the body, watching the left or right foot, or repeating Buddho, Buddho, we can contemplate the body. We contemplate the 32 parts of the body, its loathsomeness, its nature to be born, age, sicken, and die, how it is composed of earth, water, wind, and fire. 

We contemplate continuously until we see that the body is just another doll that we have possessed and taken as ours temporarily. It is just like a cell phone. We have to look at it in this way until we can really see it, until we can let it go, until we are no longer bothered or fear old age, pain, or death. No matter where we are, no matter how alone, we’ll be able to stay. We will feel no fear.

“Mountain Dhamma, Apr 6, 2013”

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.

26 September 2025

Q:  When the mind is very agitated, what is the best technique to calm down the kilesa?

Phra Ajahn:  Well, the easiest but also the hardest way is to use a mantra. Simple. You just keep reciting the mantra until you stop thinking then your mind will stop being agitated. The problem is if you haven’t practiced using the mantra, you’ll find it very difficult to do it. Or maybe you despise it because you think it’s stupid, ‘How could I just keep reciting one word and achieve something so spectacular?’ It’s because you haven’t tried it before. 

But if you really try using a mantra, a mantra can stop your thoughts. If you focus on the mantra, how can you think about other things, right? So you use either a mantra or if you know some chanting then keep doing the chanting. You don’t have to do it verbally, you do it mentally. Keep it inside  then you can do it anywhere, any time. 

So what you need to do first is to learn how to chant or learn how to use a mantra. It’s like running. If you don’t practice running before, you cannot enter the race because you run for a hundred meter and run out of breath. 

But if you keep practicing running, you might be able to run a marathon eventually. Using a mantra is like that. If you don’t practice it before, when it’s the time for you to use it, you cannot use it because you won’t have the strength to recite it.

Q:  Does it mean that we have to practice a mantra when we are not agitated? So when we are agitated then we can use it. 

Phra Ajahn:  Right. You can do a mantra all day long mentally from the time you get up to the time you go to sleep except when you have to use your thoughts for some practical reasons. Other than that, you should stop your thinking because they are all useless, they are all your imagination.  You are day-dreaming. They are your wishful thinking which create agitation in the end. 

So you should replace them with a mantra, any kind of mantra. 

You don’t have to use ‘Budho’ if you don’t like it. If you like Jesus, you can use ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.’ You can use ‘Mary, Mary’ but ‘Mary’ might not be good because you might start thinking about somebody beautiful. ‘Hale Krishna.’ People use ‘Hale Krishna, Hale Krishna.’ These are all mantras or chants to prevent your mind from thinking aimlessly or wishfully which can result in agitation and restlessness. 

Q: It’s what I did yesterday night. I was agitated when I came up here and I recited a mantra and also I walked for one and a half hour and after that I started to calm down. 

Phra Ajahn: That’s right. In the beginning it might take a while because your mantra is not strong enough but if you keep practicing it, eventually, you can stop your thought in a few minutes. So just keep practicing using a mantra or focusing on something to prevents you from thinking. Like when you have to stay at dangerous place, you have to focus on your steps to see whether you’re going to run into something or not. Then you cannot be daydreaming think about the past or about the future. You have to be in the present. This is what we call ‘mindfulness.’ Reciting mantra or focusing your attention on your bodily action is a form of mindfulness.

“Dhamma in English, Nov 12, 2019.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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

"Practitioners must seek a place of sufficiency for meditation."

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

24 September 2025

"Practitioners must seek a place of sufficiency for meditation."

A place where we are alone will facilitate meditation. It is free from form, sound, smell, taste, and touch that will stimulate the mind to think and fabricate. If we are at home and see various things, we will not be able to stop thinking, worrying, and worrying, making meditation difficult. Therefore, he taught us to find a quiet and secluded place. This is to restrain the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body, not allowing form, sound, smell, taste, and touch to disturb the mind. 

The word "sufficiency" means comfortable. 

Practitioners must seek a place of sufficiency for meditation. The mind will be easily calmed. A quiet and secluded place, free from hustle and bustle, people, and noise, and the people you are with must be sufficiency. 

Do not quarrel. Everyone lives separately, does not interfere or disturb each other. 

Food and air also affect meditation. It can be convenient or difficult. If the food does not suit the body, it will make you sick. This is not sufficiency. It does not mean food that is not to your taste or taste, but food that is a problem for the body. The air also plays a part. Too hot or too cold can be a problem. 

The most important thing that cannot be missed is mindfulness. We must have mindfulness to control the mind at all times. 

Do not let your mind wander. It is like a dog that must be tied to a pole so that it does not go anywhere. But if it is not tied, it will wander around. It is tiring to find it. 

If the mind thinks carelessly and does not control itself, it will be distracted and various emotions will arise. If you have mindfulness and tie it to the Buddha or to what you are doing, whatever you do, stay with that action. 

When walking, be aware that you are walking. 

When eating, be aware of eating. If you are still thinking about this and that, you must also recite the Buddha. Do not let it think about anything else. Just think about the Buddha. If you do this, you will draw the mind close to you, close to peace. 

When you meditate, focus on the Buddha or your breath. The mind will not go anywhere else. It will not be long before it can be brought together. There are many factors, both external and internal, that practitioners must know. They must know how to create factors that are conducive to meditation. 

Externally, they must have supplies. 

Internally, they must have mindfulness. They must restrain their senses. They must be isolated. They must know the amount of food they eat. Eating too much will make them lazy and sleepy. Sitting will make them fall asleep. 

They must observe the Eight Precepts and reduce their food intake. If they are still sleepy, they must eat only one meal a day. At first, I observed the 8 precepts and did not eat after noon, but I was still sleepy, so I had to reduce it to only one meal. If I was still sleepy after one meal, I forced myself to eat only 5 or 10 bites and then stop. If I was still sleepy, I would abstain. These are the factors that support the practice. There are quiet and secluded places, mindfulness, knowing the limits of eating, not mingling, not being in a secluded place, and talking for hours when meeting other people. This is not right. If you are in a secluded place, you must not mingle with others. Find a suitable place, restrain your eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body. If you can do this, your meditation will definitely progress.

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

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

Characteristics of good practice and right practice”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

19 September 2025

“Characteristics of good practice and right practice”

How to practice Dhamma to attain Dhamma is like how to study to graduate as a doctor. It’s the same thing. 

Studying, studying medicine to become a doctor, you have to study fully, right? You’re going to divide your time to work and study at the same time. Do you think you’ll graduate? Studying only on weekends like this, this is the same. 

Practicing Dhamma is also studying, studying to become an Ariya, studying to become a Sotapanna, a Sakadagami, an Anagami, an Arahant, you have to study fully and fully, not just on weekends, asking to go to work, earning a living to feed your stomach.

If that’s the case, monks don’t have to ordain. 

The reason why monks don’t have any jobs to do after ordination is so that they can use their time to practice Dhamma fully. If monks have to work to earn a living like relatives and laypeople, no one gives them alms, they have to sell vegetables, sell things, etc. Then how can they find time to practice Dhamma to become Ariyas? So, in conclusion, you have to practice fully, 100 percent. The word “supatipanno” means practicing well, doing well, you have to do it fully. If you are a student, you should get 4 points or more, a grade of 4.0 like this. This is called good study, excellent study, Supatipanno.

The word Supatipanno means this. You have to devote all your time to practicing Dhamma. 

Only then will you be able to attain Dhamma. 

Those who attain Dhamma, 99 percent, are all monks. 

If you look at the history of all noble ones, there may be 1 percent who are special cases. They have old merit. As soon as they pick up the book, they understand it and can take the exam. These people have old knowledge. Some laymen can attain Arahantship after listening to the Dhamma once. But it is an exception. It is a very rare case.

So to summarize, you have to Supatipanno, Uchupattipanno, Nyapattipanno, Samichipattipanno. The 4 types of practice. 

Supatipanno is to practice fully. Uchu is to practice for, I can't remember. Ayapattipanno is to practice to achieve the desired goal, which is to be free from all suffering. It is not to practice for the sake of receiving respect or honor. It is not to practice to get a position. 

Nowadays, there are positions to lure monks. 

See? If you finish your Pali studies, To be appointed as a prince, this 9th level of the Buddhist scriptures, give encouragement, so he gave encouragement, but it turned into a diversion from studying to achieve the noble one to studying to become a royal monk. This is not like that. Samiji also practices correctly according to the scriptures, according to the teachings of the Lord Buddha. This is the characteristic of good practice.

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

By Ajaan 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.

17 September 2025

Q:  Whenever my mind started to concentrate on breathing in and out, there is always a white light appearing, how should I deal with this?

Phra Ajahn:  Just ignore it. Just pay attention to your breath then anything that appears will eventually disappears. Don’t give any attention to it because it will distract you from your meditation practice. Your practice is to watch your breath. Just keep watching your breath and ignore everything else. It’s all distractions. It’s something that you cannot prevent or get rid of by yourself. It will get rid of itself if you don’t pay any attention to it. It comes and it goes. The Buddha said ‘Treat it like aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā.’

- - - - -

Q:  In this spiritual path, what is the importance of feedback in terms of receiving feedback or giving feedback to others? 

Personally, I find it quite useful because sometimes I get feedback from monks which helps me to improve, and at home, my family members also give me feedback. What is Ajahn’s opinion on this?

Phra Ajahn:  Well, giving feedback or advice to people depends on 2 things: First, your advice is a good advice or not a good advice; second, for the persons who receive your advice, whether they’re happy and willing to accept it or not. You have to know these because some people don’t like to be given any advice. If you tell them something, they get angry at you so you shouldn’t advise such people. And if you advise people the wrong thing, it is hurting them more than helping them. So you have to be sure that your advice is good, profitable and beneficial. 

You have to prove it yourself first, it is not something you think of. Because what you think of might not be what it should be. You have to prove it by practicing it yourself first then you are certain, you are 100% sure. 

So when you’re asked to give advice, then you could give the advice. But if you’re not asked, maybe it’s better just to leave people alone because it might create problems, sometimes people might despise you for it. 

So you have to know these 2 things.

“Dhamma in English, Nov 12, 2019.”

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.

12 September 2025

Q:  I have some difficulty with my child. He is 15, a teenager. How to balance between mettā and not being too strong with him but also not being too nice with him.

Phra Ajahn:  Well, you have to draw a line somewhere - where you have to stop if you cannot help him. You have to first know what your duty is. Your duty is to teach him or to give him the right knowledge. If he is doing something wrong, then you have to tell him ‘This is not right, you shouldn’t do it’. If he insists on doing it, then you might have to find some form of prevention, like cut his allowance something like that to make him realize that if he continues to do it, then his life is gonna be a little more difficult for him. He might then see the reason and he should follow what you say. 

If he still does not follow your advice, then you just have to accept the reality that maybe this is the way it’s gonna be. So you have to cut loss, you know what I mean? Let him be. If he’s gonna go down the bad path and you try to stop him but he won’t stop, then the best thing you can do is to just give him the basic support, the 4 requisites of life: food, shelter, clothing and medicine, and education if he goes to school. 

But as far as his conduct, if he is doing bad conduct and you have already told him and he doesn’t listen to you, then there’s nothing you can do. This is where you have to draw the line. 

You can only teach and maybe find some form of prevention or obstacle to stop him or prevent him from doing what you think is not good. For example, you support him with money and when he has money, he can use that money to do things that he shouldn’t be doing so you might have to cut it down. But you cannot use force, you cannot slap him or chain him or anything like that. This is compassion or mettā. You can only help him so much. Once he doesn’t want to accept your help, then it’s useless for you to continue doing it.

Q:  So, does mettā mean that we shouldn’t always be too nice with other people?  

Phra Ajahn:  Oh, no. You have to have a standard to stick to. You want to help people but you have to make sure that they don’t hurt themselves by you helping them. If you help them and support their bad behaviours, then this is not helping them in the long run. You’re actually hurting them. So you have to look the end result of your action.

“Dhamma in English, Nov 12, 2019.”

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.

11 September 2025

Question :  I recently heard the Thai phrase ‘Dhamma jàt săn’ (ธรรมะจัดสรร), could Ajahn please explain what this means?

Than Ajahn :  I use this word as Dhamma provider. Dhamma is the provider of everything. 

Whatever happens to you, whatever situations that lead you do things is considered to be ‘Dhamma jàt săn’. 

Dhamma provides you, lets you do things. It isn’t your own volition, not your own desire. But the Dhamma, the circumstances, is the one that initiates or brings things to you. You don’t have to go look for them. If it’s the time for you to have them, they will come to you. 

This is what I mean by ‘Dhamma jàt săn’. ‘Jàt săn’ means things being arranged for you. 

Dhamma is the arranger of things. Everything that happens to you, everything that you do, you do by ‘Dhamma jàt săn’, not by volition. 

Normally, without upekkhā, we tend to do things out of our volition, out of our desires or cravings. But if you have strong equanimity or strong upekkhā, you can let Dhamma arranges things for you, which is better because this is the natural way. You don’t have to go look for things. They come to you. You don’t have to look for things to do. There will be things for you to do. 

So this is what I mean by ‘Dhamma jàt săn’. 

Like what I’m doing [teaching] to you right now, it’s considered to be ‘Dhamma jàt săn’ because I have never planned to do this at all in my life time. Things just happen. When things just happen by themselves, this is what’s called ‘Dhamma jàt săn’. I hope this explains what I mean by ‘Dhamma jàt săn’. ‘Jàt săn’ means (the act of) arranging. Dhamma means nature. 

‘Dhamma jàt săn’: the natural way of things; things come to you without you having to go look for them. 

“Dhamma in English, Dec 5, 2021.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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

#ajahnsuchartabhijato #dhamma

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

10 September 2025

Layperson :  Than Ajahn, I heard you talked about 10 ways to make merits.

Than Ajahn :  10 ways of making yourself happy are:

1.  Give to charity (dāna). When you give dāna, you’ll feel happy especially when you give dāna for a good cause, like helping someone to have a better life, helping someone to alleviate one’s hardship. This will make you feel good. You will feel happy when you do it. 

  2.  Keep the precepts will also make you happy because when you keep the precepts, you know that you don’t hurt anybody. 

3.  Practise bhāvanā (meditation) will make you happy. 

4.  Sharing merits. After you’ve made merits from giving dāna, then you can dedicate part of the merits to the deceased, to spiritual beings e.g. sharing merits to the people you love like your parents who have passed away. 

Since you can’t give them money because they are gone, you can, at least, give them merits that you’ve made.

5.  Appreciate other people’s good actions (anumodanā). When people do good things, you are joyful for their good actions, then you will also feel good. Rather than say, ‘Oh! That person is just showing off to the world about what he/she has done’, you should say, ‘Ok, he/she is very generous, I appreciate his/her action.’ 

Then you’d feel happy with him/her. 

Or, when you see any organisation like the Red Cross helping people during the war, you’d say, ’Oh yes, I really appreciate what the organisation does.’ And you are also happy with its action, or you may want to contribute by donating some money to the organisation. 

This is also one of the ways to make yourself happy.

6.  Be humble. When you are humble, you don’t have to show how good or how rich you are. 

Just be humble. You don’t have to prove anything to anybody. This can also make you happy. If you want to prove that ‘I’m great, I’m smart’, when people don’t appreciate what you are trying to prove, instead of being happy, you can get angry. So it’s better to just be humble, to practise humility. Also, being humble will not hurt other people. 

People don’t like arrogant people. 

People like humble people because humble people don’t create any bad feelings for other people. 

7.  To serve others. You might not have money to give to other people, but you might be able to give your time to serve the community, do a public service, for instance. Or, just help someone next door. For example, you help an old lady who needs to go to the hospital, or help mowing the lawn for her.  Serving others is also a way to make yourself happy. 

8.  To have Right View (sammādiṭṭhi). 

Right View is having the right view of how to make yourself happy. Giving dāna, keeping the precepts are considered to be having Right View. 

Some people have the wrong view. 

They think in order to be happy, they have to buy a new car, new clothes, new house, or a yacht. If they do this, they would be happy for a few days, and then they would have problems because they have to look after the things they’ve bought. If anything goes wrong with the things they own, it would cause them a headache. 

So if you have Right View, you won’t go buy all those things. You will give your money to charity instead, in order to make yourself really happy, have no dukkha. 

Because once you give away your money, then that’s it. 

Right? But if you buy something, then you have to look after the things you’ve bought. 

So having Right View is one of the ways to make yourself happy. 

9.  If you don’t have Right View now, then you have to study the teachings of the Buddha, listen to Dhamma talks so that you can have Right View. 

Listen to Dhamma talks is also a way of making yourself happy because when you listen to Dhamma talks, you know what’s good and what’s bad, what’s right and wrong, and then you can stop doing the wrong things and start doing the right things. This is the ninth way of making yourself happy: to listen to Dhamma talks, to study the teachings of the Buddha.

10.  To share the Dhamma that you’ve learned. You’d say, ‘Oh! I feel happy because I am keeping the precepts’ then you’d tell other people, ‘If you want to be happy, keep the precepts!’ 

This is sharing of Dhamma. 

These are the 10 ways of making yourself happy according to the Buddha’s teachings. 

The way to make yourself happy is not by having a husband or wife, buying a new condo or going on a holiday. 

Having a husband or wife, buying condo, and going on a holiday are the examples of having the fake kinds of happiness, which will only last briefly, and after the happiness disappear, they are followed by all sort of problems. This type of ways of making yourself happy will also cause you to be addicted to them. When you don’t have them, you’ll feel miserable or depressed. 

But the 10 ways of making yourself happy according to the Buddha’s teachings will not cause any depression or sadness when you can’t do them. 

When you can’t give dāna, it’s ok. So, what? 

You can’t afford to give dāna now, no problem. You won’t be addicted to it when you can’t do it. 

You won’t feel that you are lacking something when you don’t do it.

Layperson :  That’s so good Ajahn. It’s really a good explanation. You can remember all of them well.

Than Ajahn :  You don’t memorise them. Once you understand how to make yourself happy, it stays in your mind. If you memorise it, you can forget. But once you understand it, it will always stay in your mind. So the study of the Dhamma is not by memorising them, but by understanding the teachings. 

Once you understand them, you will never forget them. 

If you memorise the Dhamma, you can forget the teachings if you stop thinking about them for a while. 

So you have to understand them. 

And the only way to understand them is to do the practice yourself. You have to do all 10 of them and then you can appreciate the result from doing the actions. You can feel the happiness arising in your mind, then you understand, ‘Oh ya! That’s why I have to do these things!’ 

Because it makes you happy. Right now, you are still listening to and memorising what I said. 

You have to do it. Once you’ve done it, then you’d say, ’I see, I see. I understand what you mean’.

Layperson :  Right now, I am experiencing no. 9.

Than Ajahn :  Okay. Good. 

Question :  When we experienced it, is this sandiṭṭhiko?

Than Ajahn :  Yes, sandiṭṭhiko, then you’ll never forget. 

That’s why you have to practice them all, not just to study them. Study doesn’t make impression in the mind. By only studying the teachings, they will stay in your mind briefly, and then they can disappear from your mind. But if you apply them in your life, if you do the actions, then they will stay with you because you can see both, the cause and the effect, i.e. the actions and the result arising from these actions.

Layperson :  Thank you, Than Ajahn.

“Dhamma in English, Mar 1, 2022.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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

#ajahnsuchartabhijato #merits #dāna #precepts #bhāvanā #anumodanā #sammādiṭṭhi #humble #dhamma

“Disciples’ Carelessness”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

9 September 2025

“Disciples’ Carelessness”

In fact, having a teacher is to study their teachings. 

They teach us to practice, to create a refuge for ourselves because teachers will eventually grow old, fall ill, and die. Since the first one, the Lord Buddha, he also had to grow old, fall ill, and die. He taught us to practice, to create a refuge, to create the path, to create mindfulness, to create wisdom. If we have a refuge, mindfulness, and wisdom, our hearts will not have to depend on others. When we do not have to depend on others, when something happens to others, we will not suffer. But if we still cannot rely on ourselves, we keep relying on others who will one day leave us. 

When they leave us, we are shaken because we will have no refuge. We are shaken because we are afraid that when they leave us, we will have no refuge.

This is the carelessness of disciples who seek teachers, but do not seek to practice, seek to cling to them. 

Hearing and listening to their teachings at that time is like having the Dhamma. 

When listening to the Dhamma, the mind is happy, feeling that there is wisdom, but it is temporary wisdom. When listening, we understand. When we stop listening, it disappears and we forget. When something affects the mind, it shakes because the wisdom that comes from listening to the Dhamma can deteriorate. 

After listening, we forget.

Therefore, we must constantly consider the wisdom that we hear, constantly think. That impermanence is impermanent. Things in this world are impermanent. 

The teachers we rely on are also impermanent. They will soon leave us. Our bodies are also impermanent. 

We will soon leave this world. We must create a permanent Dhamma. If we have Dhamma, we will be able to rely on this Dhamma to protect and maintain our minds. The Dhamma we must have is concentration and wisdom, which we do not have. If we have concentration and wisdom, our minds will not be shaken by various events. Whatever happens and whatever ceases, our minds will not be troubled because our minds have a refuge and happiness within themselves. We do not need to seek happiness from others. 

We do not need to seek happiness from listening to sermons and Dhamma teachings from teachers. We do not need to seek happiness from making merit with teachers. 

We can be happy by ourselves, with our own Dhamma.

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

Wat Yan Sangwararam, Chonburi

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

7 September 2025

Namo Buddhaya 

—🌷🌷🌷—

Q:  My friend said that we can just do meditation, we do not have to do any chanting. what’s your comment on this, please?

 Phra Ajahn:  Well, chanting is the way for someone who cannot meditate yet. If you sit and you cannot stop your mind from thinking then chanting can help you stop a lot of your thinking and then it will be easier for you to meditate afterwards. So it depends on your mind. If your mind doesn’t think too much, you can meditate right away but if your mind keeps thinking about this person or that person, think about what happens and your mind cannot concentrate on your meditation then you have to use chanting to help you get rid of these thoughts first. If you are good in meditation, you don’t need to do chanting. When you begin [your meditation] but you cannot meditate, then you need chanting to help you eliminate your thoughts first or help you bring your thoughts down to a manageable level. 

Q:  If we are new to Buddhism, which morning and evening chanting that we should practice daily?

Phra Ajahn:  Well, in Thailand, they have a set of chanting verses to chant so you can use that as the chanting practice. You may have to get a chanting book with English translation so you can follow the chanting session. Or you can choose any sutta to chant. If you like the first discourse, you can chant that first discourse, you can choose any discourse you like. If you like the Mangala Sutta, you can chant the Mangala Sutta. Any suttas you like to chant, you can use them.

- - - - -

Q:  I want to know a bit more on how to practice asubha meditation. 

Phra Ajahn:  Well, the goal of asubha contemplation is to embed in your mind the other aspect of the body that you don’t see which is the repulsive aspect of the body such as when the body dies. There are 10 stages of corpses you can reflect upon when the body dies. You can contemplate upon death to embed it into your memory so that you can use it when you want to get rid of your sexual desire. This is more for those who want to practice meditation, those who want to give up sexual conduct. 

When you have sexual desire arises, if you have these images of repulsive aspect of the body, this can stop your sexual desire. So you need to embed it in your mind which might take a while. You have to keep thinking of it. It’s like memorizing your multiplication table. You have to memorize 2 times 2 is 4. You have to keep thinking of the 10 stages of the corpses, from dying, becoming bloated and so on. This is one way of contemplating the unattractive aspect of the body. 

There is also another way which is to look inside, under the skin, of the body. Look at all the organs like a medical student who dissects a corpse, dissect a body. 

So you’ll see under the skin there will be flesh, there will be sinews, there will be bones, bone marrows, there will be all kinds of organs, like heart, lungs, intestines, brain and so forth. And you try to imagine the images of these various parts of the body in your mind. So whenever you feel that you have any sexual desire, when you think about these unattractive parts of the body, then the sexual desire will disappear. 

Visitor:  So when I see a good-looking girl on the street, I say to myself, ‘Ok, it is a skeleton.’ 

Phra Ajahn:  Yeah. It sounds easy but when you really do it, you might forget.

Visitor:  I try not to forget. 

Phra Ajahn:  See, when you don’t have sexual desire, it’s easy to do it but when you have sexual desire, these images that you have been trying to implant in your mind, they somehow disappear. So you have to do a lot of it. And your goal is to bring it out at the time when you need it. If you cannot bring it out when you need it, then it’s useless even though you might have contemplated it for many, many times before. When you see a beautiful boy or girl, suddenly you forget everything, you only see that beautiful images then you know that you have failed. 

Visitor:  So, the way to do it is to meditate on Budho or on the breath first and after that, I look into myself.  

Phra Ajahn:  Well, it’s not in the same instance. These are 2 stages. The first stage is to be able to make your mind calm on a long term basis, not just briefly when you meditate. You have to be calm because when you contemplate on asubha you want to contemplate on a long term basis, not just a few minutes and then you say, ‘Oh, I know, I know.’ Yes, you know but can you remember it when you need it? That’s the point. You’ll find out in real practice. When you have sexual desire, you’ll see if you can bring the asubha images out to stop it or not. If they don’t come out, that means you  have to do more contemplation. Doing contemplation is like doing your homework, preparing your mind for a test when it comes.  

Visitor:  Thank you very much.

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

“Dhamma in English, Sep 18, 2022.”

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.

4 September 2025

Q:  How can I attain to Anāgāmī level? 

Than Ajahn:  You have to move up to the next level of investigation. You have to get rid of your sexual desire. 

Your sexual desire arises from you thinking about beautiful women or men. When you think of good looking men or women, you have sexual desire for them. So you have to look the other side of the body: look at the body when it’s old, is sick, when it dies, when the body becomes a corpse, or look inside the body under the skin. There are many things that you don’t see about the body. So you have to look at the other side of the body which is the unattractive side. If you can see the unattractive side of the body then you can get rid of your sexual desire, then you become an Anāgāmi. 

- - - - -

Q:  After chanting, my breath becomes subtle. When the breath disappears, sometimes it is difficult to fix my attention at one point and sometimes I just see the emptiness of the breath. 

How to deepen my samādhi? Should I fix my attention at one point or should I just be aware of the emptiness? 

Than Ajahn:  Just be aware of the emptiness and be aware whether you are thinking or not. If any thought arises, you should stop it. 

Don’t continue your thoughts. 

- - - - -

Q:  While meditating using ānāpānasati, I am confused whether my breathing is the natural breathing or the controlled breathing. How to distinguish them?

Than Ajahn:  It doesn’t matter. Just keep watching the breath comes in and goes out, whether it’s natural or not natural is not the point. The point is to use it as the point of focus of your mind in order to prevent your mind from thinking. If you start to wonder whether it’s controlled or not controlled breath, you are already thinking. So don’t worry whether it’s controlled or not controlled. Just watch. Just observe and don’t think. 

- - - - -

Q:  After 15 min of meditation with my eyes closed, I felt burning sensation on my eyes so I opened my eyes which gave me much relief. 

But after opening my eyes for a while, the eyes felt heavy, this cycle keeps repeating throughout my meditation. Can Ajahn please advise?

Than Ajahn:  Well, if there is nothing physically cause your eyes to have irritation then you should just ignore it. If it only happens when you meditate then you should ignore it. When you feel any irritation while you’re meditating, just ignore it. Just keep focusing on your meditation object then eventually, this feeling can disappear. For meditators, there are many distractions. 

Sometimes you feel itchy here and there, sometimes you feel painful here and there. If you let these things distract your mind from your meditation then your meditation will not succeed. In order to succeed you have to ignore them and keep focusing on your meditation object. 

- - - - -

Q:  As listening to music is not allowed when we practice the 8 precepts, does Buddhist songs such as the Heart Sutra or the mantra with music acceptable and it will not break the 8 precepts?

Than Ajahn:  It’s still not good. It’s better to not listen to music whether it’s chanting music or not. It can still be a distraction. It’s better to listen to the chant alone or do the chanting yourself.

“Dhamma in English, Nov 12, 2019.”

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

1 September 2025

Q: In Ajahn’s book ‘Inspiring Dhamma,’ it mentioned that The Buddha taught us that we should try to always keep an open mind and not be narrow-minded. Can Ajahn advise why is this important?

Than Ajahn:  There is an opportunity to learn when you open up your mind because there are many things that you don’t know yet. If you’re close-minded, then you won’t learn anything more. So this is what the Buddha meant by keeping an open-mind attitude. Just listen, you don’t have to believe or disbelieve. If you want to know whether it is good or not, then you have to prove it by practicing it. There are many things that you need to know in order to get yourself free from all forms of suffering. In order to stop you from keep coming back to be reborn again and again, you need to know the path that will lead you to be the unborn. So you have to have an open mind to listen to the teaching and then try to prove it yourself whether what you’ve heard is good or not good. If you don’t know, maybe you can ask somebody else to compare or to verify it.

- - - - -

Q:  When a person killed another person in his past live, does that person have to pay back all his kamma?

Phra Ajahn:  Not necessarily. It depends on how much Dhamma practice you have. If you can reach nibbāna, then you don’t have to pay all your old debts. But if you haven’t reached nibbāna yet, then you still have to pay your debts depending on what kind of bad kamma you did. If you achieve the level of the noble disciples, then you don’t have to pay your bad kamma by being born in the lower realms of existence. But you can still be haunted by the people whom you did something wrong to. They could come and try to get even with you in your life time. 

Q:  For example, I see some people, before they parinibbāna, they still* *have to suffer with their body conditions.

Phra Ajahn:  That’s right, but the mind is not affected by the conditions of the body. Like the Buddha, he still had to experience some bad kamma from his past life. 

He used to cause cows that wanted to drink water not being able to drink water so in his final day, when he started to get thirsty, he could not find any clean water to drink. 

- - - - -

Q:  Is ‘the mind detaching from the body’ one of the signs of a sotāpanna? What does a sotāpanna have to overcome to pass the test?

Phra Ajahn:  A sotāpanna has to give up the body, he is not being hurt by whatever happens to the body. The body can get old, get sick and die, and the mind will not be affected by it.

- - - - -

Q:  Sometimes can we just do 4-precepts instead of the 5-precept?

Phra Ajahn:  Well, it’s like taking an examination, you can only do 4 questions, you cannot do all the questions so you cannot get a perfect score. You still have to pay for the one that you do not keep.

- - - - -

Q:  I still live together with my ex-boyfriend. So, to deal with grief of ending the relationship, I still must see him daily. What is the best approach to deal with grief after a relationship ends? Is it necessary to give time to grief?

Than Ajahn:  The best thing is to forget it. If you can forget it then the grief will disappear. When you start to think about your past relationship then try to stop it by reciting a mantra, chanting or sitting in meditation. 

Once you meditate or when your mind becomes calm then you forget what you think. When you don’t think then the past will not come and haunt you. You bring the past back by thoughts. If you stop thinking, then your past won’t come back. The past has already gone but you keep bringing it back by thinking about it. So you have to stop thinking about it then it will not come and bother you.  

“Dhamma in English, Nov 12, 2019.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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

Collected and shared by Andrew Sum

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

26 August 2025

Question: Is it jhāna when breathing seems to be stopped?

Than Ajahn: No, it just means that your mind is paying attention to breathing. It becomes jhāna when the mind enters a stillness where you no longer notice the breath. 

You go deeper and become calmer. You reach the fourth jhāna when the mind stops paying attention to the body. 

Mind becomes calm and happy by itself. 

Sometimes it can still hear a voice or feel a body, but the mind is not disturbed by what it hears or what it feels. This is the fourth jhāna.

If you want to go deeper, you have to focus your mind further. Then, you will enter arūpa-jhāna. 

But, no need to reach that deeper level. If you want to develop the mind to attain enlightenment, you only need the fourth jhāna. Once you get out of the fourth jhāna, when you return to a normal state of mind, you teach your mind that everything the mind wants is not permanent. Everything will cause you to suffer because everything will change or one day it will disappear.

So when your mind wants something, it knows it will end in misery. Thus you will not want for anything. 

You can stop your want or passion for something and someone else. 

Once you have no passion and desire, there will be no more anxiety, anxiety, sadness, or mental torment left in the mind.

“Dhamma in English, February 27, 2018. ”

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

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

#ajahnsucharttabhijato #meditasi #perhatian #jhana

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

2 September 2025

Q:  What is the difference between boredom and restlessness and how to overcome those states of mind?

Than Ajahn:  They are different forms of unhappiness. Boredom is a form of unhappiness. 

Restlessness is another form of unhappiness or suffering. In Buddhism, we use the term ‘suffering’ to cover every form of unhappiness or sadness. To overcome them you have to stop your mind from thinking, make your mind calm. When your mind becomes calm, all boredom and restlessness will disappear. So you have to learn how to meditate. Before you can meditate, you have to have mindfulness first. 

You have to try to develop mindfulness all the time. 

Stop your mind from thinking aimlessly or uselessly. 

Only think about what you have to do or what is necessary to think, otherwise, use a mantra to stop it or focus on your body actions. 

- - - - -

Q:  I’ve heard that teachers who have not attained nibbāna but teach others meditation will not get bad kamma because they are doing it with good intention. 

What is the repercussion of such teachers who teach others even though they themselves are not Ariyas? 

And what would be our approach to those teachers who are teaching meditation but clearly they themselves are not Arahants?  

Than Ajahn:  Well, if they teach what they know and what they know is not wrong, then there is nothing wrong with that because there are many different levels of knowledge that you can teach. You can teach about keeping the precepts, you can teach about how to develop mindfulness. But if you are trying something that you don’t know then you can mislead other people. 

So don’t try to teach something that you don’t know. 

Only teach people what you know then there will be no problem. You will not mislead other people into the wrong direction.

- - - - -

Q:  What is the best method to stay calm and avoid becoming quick-tempered in daily life situation?

Than Ajahn:  If you can recite a mantra, this is the easiest way. Just keep reciting the mantra when you feel uneasy. When you feel restless, keep reciting ‘Budho Budho Budho’ for a few minutes. It can calm your mind very quickly. 

- - - - -

Q:  When a person wants to develop meditative path but he/she keeps on getting disturbed by many obstacles, what cause him or her to keep getting those obstacles? Does it happen due to his bad karmic effect from previous birth?

Than Ajahn:  Sometimes your past kamma can also become a hindrance or obstacle but there are also other things that can become obstacles. It’s not the point to figure out what causes the obstacles, the point is to figure out how to overcome the obstacles. 

Whatever obstacles you have, try to overcome them. If you don’t know how to overcome them then you should seek advice from those who know how to overcome the obstacles. This is better than to think what causes these obstacles to appear in the first place.

“Dhamma in English, Nov 12, 2019.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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

"The hard part is the practice."

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

3 August 2025

"The hard part is the practice."

So we have to go to the temple to listen to sermons and Dhamma to gain wisdom and then we have to put it into practice. The hard part is the practice. It's easy to listen to, like a drug addict who knows that drugs are more harmful than beneficial, but he can't quit. 

When it's time to take them, his heart will shake. He has to be brave, he has to dare to leave them, to escape them. If he's close to them, he can't quit. If he knows what he's addicted to, he has to make up his mind to quit. For example, the Lord Buddha knew that he was still addicted to the palace. 

He stayed there until the age of 29, even though he knew that it wasn't true happiness. 

Finally, he had the chance when another trap arose. At that time, he had to make a decision. Before, the suffering was only 1 time, now it's 2 times. At that time, he had a resolute mind, so he escaped from the palace.

Because it's difficult to go. It's not easy to give up being a layman. I've been through it, so I know. The monk said that when he was going to ordain, it was like he was going to die. But he said that if he was going to die because of ordination, he would accept it. I happened to read his brief biography. He also told about the time he was going to ordain. If he was going to die because of ordination, he would die, willing to sacrifice to repay the kindness of his parents. 

Therefore, giving up and cutting off things is not easy, not a toy, but it is very beneficial. 

Therefore, we should not see it as a small matter. We should see it as an important matter, something that we should try to do, not beyond our ability. It just depends on whether we dare to do it or not. If we do not have enough strength, we should try to cultivate it first, try to accumulate strength, accumulate enough merit. Right now, it is not ripe enough, like a fruit that is not fully ripe, it has not yet come out of the tree. Until it is fully ripe, it will come out on its own. We are like the fruit. 

In order to be fully ripe, we must diligently accumulate various merits, such as generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, loving-kindness, diligence, patience, and determination, like we intend to make merit once a month. It is called determination. We should increase it to twice a month, three times a month is even better. We should do more, but it does not have to be like this. One month it will be like this, but another period we will go alone sometimes. We do not have to come in groups like this. Whenever I have free time, I go to the temple, stay at the temple, and practice. If I keep doing this, sooner or later, I will definitely ordain. The male and female lay devotees who have ordained do this, gradually moving step by step, not doing it all at once, except for some who have already accumulated enough merit.

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

Wat Yan Sangwararam, Chonburi

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.

19 August 2025

Question :  I’ve heard that wisdom or paññā will be something that will grow inside me without me trying to get anything or trying to achieve anything.

Than Ajahn :  That’s a misperception because the Buddha said that wisdom comes in 3 stages. 

1) The first stage is called ‘wisdom arising from learning: Sutamaya-paññā.’ Suta means listening to Dhamma talks, listening to the teachings of the Buddha. So you have to learn them. 

You cannot have your own wisdom arising from a foolish mind. A foolish mind will never have any wisdom arising by itself. 

You need to get wisdom from a wise mind, like that of the Buddha. That’s why we have to study the Dhamma, the teachings of the Buddha. Study the Four Noble Truths and the Three Characteristics of Existence, for instance. 

This is the first level or first stage of having wisdom: learning from others. 

2) Once you have learned from others, then you go to the next stage. The next stage is to maintain this knowledge that you have learned by constantly thinking about it, contemplating on it. Because if you don’t contemplate on it, you will forget. Right? It’s like when you go to school, when you first learned the lessons from the teachers in the class, the teachers will give you homework to do so that you won’t forget the lessons. 

So, this is the next level of having wisdom or knowledge: to contemplate the knowledge that you have learned. Once you have learned the Four Noble Truths, the Three Characteristics of Existence, the asubha, for instance, then you have to contemplate on them, so that you won’t forget the knowledge that you’ve learned.

3) Then, you go to the third level. This is the level in which you apply this knowledge to get rid of your defilements. In order to apply the knowledge that you have learned from the Buddha, the knowledge that you have contemplated on, you need to have upekkhā. 

You have to have a strong mind, a mind that is content, not hungry. And in order to have upekkhā, you need to bhāvanā, you have to meditate to get into the fourth jhāna. 

Once you have the fourth jhāna, and have upekkhā, when you apply the knowledge that you have been contemplating on, you can get rid of your dukkha or suffering. This is the third level of wisdom (bhāvanāmaya-paññā). 

Sometimes people interpret this bhāvanāmaya-paññā to be the knowledge that is arising from their meditation, but no—it is not. Because when you meditate, you don’t get any knowledge, you get equanimity. 

Then, with this equanimity, you use the knowledge that you have learned from the Buddha to apply it to get rid of your desires, your cravings. 

“Dhamma in English, Nov 16, 2021.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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

#ajahnsuchartabhijato #paññā #Sutamayapaññā #upekkhā #bhāvanāmayapaññā #meditation

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart

13 August 2025

Question—

According to the Dhamma, it is difficult to be reborn as human beings but why is human population increasing? 

Than Ajahn—

Well, if you compare to the animal kingdom, I think human numbers are still very small. The population is increasing because people want more babies. If you make more babies, there will be more human beings because there are many spirits that are waiting to be reborn as humans. They are waiting in a long queue. 

Besides human beings who are coming back as human beings, there are also other spiritual beings waiting in line to become human beings too. 

 Question—

If the mind is permanent and going from one life to the next one, why does the mind have to learn everything all over again such as learning the language, learning how to eat, how to write?

Than Ajahn—

That’s because the mind can forget. After a few years, you will forget things so you have to relearn them. 

There are things that you don’t have to relearn - things that you do, usually you don’t have to relearn. If you used to play the violin, you can come back and play the violin. If you used to be an athlete or a runner, then you can run. These are things that you don’t have to relearn. 

But things that you need to memorize, things that you can forget then you have to relearn them after you are reborn. For example, there are many thousands of languages and you only know one, how can you be sure that it’s the same language that you are reborn into? So it’s a new language, you just have to relearn it. You have to learn the new language. 

Question—

I practice regularly but sometimes my kilesas gain so much strength and it leads me to break the precept. 

How to keep the kilesa under control all the time so that I won’t break any precept? 

Than Ajahn—

Well, you have to find some counter-measures. One of them is to punish yourself when you break the precept. 

You have to punish yourself to make yourself be aware that if you break the precept, there will be consequences for breaking the precept. If you don’t punish yourself, then you will just keep doing it because you feel that there is no punishment. There is a reward but there is no punishment. Although the punishment will come later on, it will be too late to correct it, but if you can do it now in your life time, you can still correct your wrong doing. 

Question—

I increase my practice from 30 minutes to 3 hours a day. When I analyse myself, it seems that my ego is getting bigger and bigger. It seems that I know everything. I know this is wrong, but I am unable to catch what’s wrong with it. Can Ajahn please advise?

Than Ajahn—

Well, as long as you don’t impose your ego on other people then there is nothing wrong with that. If you think you know a lot and if you happen to know a lot, that’s fine. Just don’t impose it on other people. When you’re dealing with people, you should force your ego down to the bottom. Suppress it. Try to suppress it. Make yourself feel like you are just nobody. 

Question—

How to get rid of ego?

Than Ajahn-

By not doing what your ego asks you to do. If your ego says, ‘Have a drink’ then you say, ‘No.’ Eventually, your ego will disappear. 

Question—

Is getting rid of ego equivalent to realising anattā?

Than Ajahn:

Just part of it because there is no ego.

“Dhamma in English, Nov 12, 2019.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: 

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

AVIJJA

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

7 August 2025

AVIJJA

---

Question  :  Is genuine avijjā the bright radiant light that we see without eyes?

Phra Ajahn. :  No, this is the level of practice when you have passed beyond the anāgāmī level. Then, you will experience the luminosity of avijjā. At that stage, the mind becomes very luminous. This luminosity is caused by avijjā. 

When you first get there, you might think that it was nibbāna. You might be deceived to think that you have reached nibbāna because of this luminosity. But if you are careful, if you keep watching it, you’ll find that this luminosity is still impermanent. It can vary. It can change. It can become brighter or become less bright. 

And if you are attached to this brightness, you’ll still have dukkha. 

So, you have to know that you shouldn’t fall into the trap of being attached to this brightness. You have to treat it like any other phenomena. They are impermanent. They can harm you. You can’t control them. All you have to do is to leave them alone. Once you leave them alone, eventually they’ll disappear.

- - -

Question. :  Is genuine avijjā a manifestation of our breath? 

Phra Ajahn. :  No. Avijjā is (currently) the one that controls your actions, your thoughts. 

You think money is good for you. You think marriage is good for you. This is avijjā working. That’s why you need Dhamma or wisdom to re-educate your mind, to get rid of your ignorance.

“Dhamma in English, May 16, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: 

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

”To attach, cling, and attach to it as ours.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

6 August 2025

 ”To attach, cling, and attach to it as ours.”

The mind of an Arahant has meditated to eliminate the three desires: sensual desire, existence craving, and non-existence craving, until his mind is still all the time, not swinging back and forth. If it were a pendulum, it would be still in the middle, not swinging back and forth, no matter how severely it is affected, positively or negatively. It will not be lost in the things that affect it.

No matter how much money or gold someone gives, he is not happy. Instead, it becomes a duty to use the money he gets to benefit others. However, he does not gain anything because he has no need for money or gold. 

When he loses all of it, he is not troubled because he does not think of losing anything. 

He does not cling to it, does not hold onto it, and does not consider it his own. Only the Dhamma is his property, and nothing can take the Dhamma away from his heart.

If it were anything else, if he clings to it as his property, one day when he loses it, he will cry, grieve, and be sad because of his delusion. He is lost in clinging and attaching to it, clinging to it from the moment he is born. He gets this body as his property, and he clings to it as his own. When he grows up and has strength and wisdom, Find more properties, find rice, find things, find people to be your property, find a husband, find a wife, and then get children as a bonus. 

Consider them your property. Then one day, these properties will wither away, just like leaves on a tree. 

At first, there was nothing, but they gradually grew and flourished, with branches and leaves. At first, they were green, then they turned yellow, and then they fell away. 

Everything in this world is like this.

When the mind is born, it comes with only itself and the merit and karma that it has done in the past. It still has to be born because it has not yet purified the three desires from the mind and heart, so it has to be born again. When it is born, delusion causes it to possess things as its property. 

Houses, land, cars, these things are not ours. 

But delusion will cling to them as ours.

When it clings to them, problems arise because when something happens, it causes sadness and suffering. We do not suffer from other people's property, right? No matter how our houses are burned down, we do not suffer. No matter how badly someone else's car is destroyed, we do not suffer. But if someone draws a line on our car with a nail, we will complain and feel hurt because we attach and cling to it as ours due to ignorance and delusion. We lack the wisdom to teach them that These things are not ours. They are borrowed to use to survive day to day. But it is pitiful because if we do not study or practice, we will cling to them all. It is the nature of defilements that are embedded in the heart. When we get something, we immediately become possessive. When we lose it, we feel sad, cry, cannot eat or sleep. 

Therefore, we must rely on religion to help solve this problem, to create wisdom to see that nothing is ours, not even a single thing. 

Even this physical body is not ours. One day, it will return to its original owner: earth, water, wind, and fire. 

In the end, the body must separate and return to earth, water, wind, and fire. But now, we can use it in two ways: worldly benefits and spiritual benefits. 

If we are lucky enough to find a religion, we can use it in spiritual ways. It will free our mind and prevent us from being reborn again. 

If we do not find a religion, at most, we will only use it in worldly ways, such as finding worldly happiness. 

The happiness we get from having wealth, possessions, and money will follow. Then, suffering will follow. 

When we lose time, we will die and be reborn again. 

This continues endlessly until we gain wisdom, whether we hear it from others or from our own reflection. 

Most of them have to rely on hearing from people who are wiser than them. We are lucky to have come across Buddhism. 

Hearing and listening to these stories helps us think and consider. Some people may get bored with the world and think and consider until they gain wisdom by themselves, which eventually leads to becoming a Buddha. This is because thinking and considering solves problems by themselves without anyone teaching them, because no one can teach them. For example, the Buddha who wanted to escape from suffering, no one could teach him. At most, he could only teach him at the level of meditation. He calmed his mind and he would be happy and free from suffering while in meditation. However, when he came out of meditation, his mind began to think and fabricate about this and that, which eventually turned into suffering. 

The Buddha therefore had to study and find ways to overcome suffering. At first, he thought that his body was the problem, so he let go of his body by not eating, which was not the right way because suffering did not lie in his body, but in his mind, which was attached to the body as his own. Therefore, he had to pry his mind away from his body by letting his body follow its own nature and take care of it. When the time came for something to happen to him, he let it be. That is, he prepared his mind in advance that he would grow old, get sick, and die. But while he was not sick, old, or dead, he did not have to do anything. He could use it to make merit. 

If he was not free from suffering, he could use this body to practice Dhamma. 

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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

“The mind is the more important part than your body.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

4 August 2025

“The mind is the more important part than your body.”

⋆ ⋆ ⋆

Layperson: Everyone wants to have a stronger body, to provide better food for their children, to get richer, to become sexier or better looking so he can find a better partner and can have a better descendant genetically. But you are the example of how one should be in the natural wilderness.

Than Ajahn: Because we are using different measurements. Lay people use the body as their measurement. They have to have all these (material) things to make them happy. 

Monks use the mind as the measurement, not the body. 

And the happiness of the mind doesn’t rely on all these (material) things.

- - - - -

Layperson: When I saw you, I saw my future, but a very far future.

Than Ajahn: It takes time. You just read the books and you will get to see the world in a different light. Right now you only see things in a very close perspective. 

You base your understanding about yourself on your body, not on your mind.

In our lives, we are not only made up of our bodies, but we are also made up of our minds. But unfortunately, the mind is invisible, so we cannot see the mind. We can only see the bodies and we think that the bodies are all we have. So, we concentrate all our efforts to look after the bodies, to give all kinds of happiness to the bodies, and in so doing we are neglecting our minds and making the minds miserable.

No matter how much money you have, your mind will still be miserable. This is the part that you’ve neglected. 

The mind is the more important part than your body. 

Because your body is temporary. At most it only lasts for 100 years, but the mind lasts forever. So, if you take care of your mind and make it happy then you will be happy forever.

The mind doesn’t need the body to be happy but due to the delusion, you think that you must have a good body, a strong body, and a healthy body to make you happy. 

You must have all the support the body needs to make you happy. But no matter how much you have; for example, if you have one hundred Ferraris, you will still feel bad. You will still not be able to get rid of the bad feelings you get from time to time because these bad feelings need a different kind of attention. It needs meditation. It needs peace of mind. 

And in order to become peaceful you have to give up everything. 

When you meditate you close your eyes, you forget about everything. You concentrate on stopping your mind from thinking. If you can persist and control the mind, eventually the mind gives up resisting, becomes peaceful and you then find another kind of happiness. 

It is much better than the happiness you get from your body. That’s what the Buddha did. 

He was a prince and he had something equivalent to Ferraris and palaces, but he felt something was lacking. 

He was still worried. 

Every time he thought about the future of his body, he was worried. Because he had seen an old man, a sick man and a dead body. He knew that eventually his body would also be like that, so what was he going to do then? 

So, he wanted to get away from this body.

That's why he decided to give up his princely life and became a monk because he saw a monk and he asked his attendant: what was the monk doing? He was told that the monk was looking for peace of mind, looking for a way out of getting old, being sick and death. 

So, the Buddha also wanted to find the solution, and therefore he gave up his princely life and became a monk. 

He meditated and eventually he found peace of mind.

He realised the mind is the most important thing, and the mind can be happy by itself without having to have a body. However, due to the delusion, the mind thinks that in order to be happy it needs to have a body, so it keeps going after one body after another. 

When it loses this body, it goes to look for a new body. 

This is called rebirth. It is the same mind that goes through different bodies like a driver driving different cars. You drive a car and when the car becomes old and when you cannot fix it anymore, you either sell it or you throw it away, and you buy a new one. The driver is still the same driver. Similarly, the mind is the same mind. It just keeps changing the body.

“Dhamma in English, Jun 30, 2015.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: 

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#ajahnsuchartabhijato #meditation #mind #delusion

“We must train our minds to be centered.”

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

31 July 2025

“We must train our minds to be centered.”

The happiness that comes from calming the mind with meditation is good, but it is not as good as the peace that comes from eliminating defilements with wisdom, because the peace of meditation is temporary, like a stone pressed on grass. 

When the stone presses the grass, the grass will not grow. When the stone is removed, the grass will receive water, air, and sunlight, and will grow again. 

Defilements are the same when we meditate until the mind is calm and still. At that moment, we feel that there are no defilements at all. There is no greed, anger, or delusion. There is only happiness and comfort, but it does not last long. When we leave meditation, we start thinking, fabricating, seeing, and hearing. Defilements will come out and wander. We start liking this, hating that, wanting that, wanting to escape from this, because meditation only stops defilements. It temporarily stops defilements. 

Defilements rely on the mental fabrication of thoughts, using memory and perception as tools. When we see something, we remember what it is. Whether it is male or female, good or bad, like or dislike, it will follow. 

When we like something, the mental fabrication will order us to go and get it. If we do not like it, we tell us to walk away. The mental fabrication of desire arises. 

Whatever we like, we want to get close to it. Whatever we dislike, we want to get away from it. If we cannot escape, we suffer and are troubled. If you have to live with things you don’t like, such as when you meet someone, you just scold them, criticize them, and criticize them, your mind will not like them. If you can’t get away from them, you will suffer. If you meet someone who compliments you all the time, you want them to stay with you forever and not disappear. When they disappear, you will feel sorry and sad, which will cause suffering. 

If you like them, you will suffer. If you don’t like them, you will suffer. 

Therefore, you have to train your mind to be in the middle between liking and disliking. Be equanimity. 

Just know and be aware of everything your mind senses, whether it be form, sound, smell, taste, or touch. 

To do this, you have to consider that what you like is not really good. What you don’t like is not really bad. 

Both what you like and dislike are the same. They are the three characteristics. 

They are both impermanent. They cause you suffering. 

They cannot be controlled. This is the way to practice with these things. This is to prevent your mind from being disturbed and clouded. This is to make your mind equanimity. 

To make your mind equanimity, you have to have concentration. If you don’t have concentration, you won’t know where equanimity is. You will only like or dislike things. However, if you have concentration, you will know what equanimity is. When you move to like or dislike something, you will know immediately that you have left the point of equanimity. You will know that your mind is starting to waver. I am entering into suffering because if I like something, I will be sad. 

When something I like goes away, if I encounter something I dislike, I will immediately feel anxious. I have to pull my mind back to equanimity. If I pull it with mindfulness, it will last temporarily. If I pull it with wisdom, it will last permanently. I have to accept the truth that things I dislike are a part of life. When we have to be together, we should stay together. We don’t have to reject it, move away, or drive it away. The form we like or dislike is the same form. The person we like or dislike also comes from the earth, water, wind, and fire. If we see it as just a form, there will be no emotion of like or dislike. If we consider everything down to the three characteristics, the mind will be equanimous. The mind will let go. This is a matter of wisdom that requires concentration to support it. If we don’t have concentration, we won’t be able to stop the mind and make the mind equanimous. The wisdom will not yet be true wisdom. It is wisdom that comes from hearing, listening, and studying, which is called Pariyatti Dhamma or Suttamaya wisdom. If it is wisdom that comes from contemplation, it will be imaginary wisdom. It doesn’t have enough power to stop defilements or cut off defilements because it is incoherent wisdom. It can be remembered and forgotten. It is still far from the mind. 

When a real event occurs, we won’t be able to extinguish defilements in time because we have accidentally forgotten. We know that it is not good. But when I actually met him, I saw that everything was good. I liked him immediately. I forgot all about the pain and suffering I had experienced with that person. 

When I met him, my heart softened because I still liked him. But if I had concentration, I would be able to continuously develop my wisdom. I would consider that this person was not good with every breath I took. 

If I considered in this way, then it would be the wisdom of meditation, the wisdom that cuts off defilements.

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

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.

30 July 2025

Q:  When I stay at a monastery, I have to cook and do chores. The advantage is if I have any questions, I can ask the abbot. If I stay at my cottage, I can listen to Ajahn Mahā Boowa’s talks and your talks and message you my questions. Is it better to practise meditation in a monastery or at my cottage when I am alone?

Than Ajahn:  Well, it depends on the result, which one is better? You have to look at the result of your practice. If one is better than the other one then you choose the one that is better. Look at the result of your practice, the calm and the progress that you make on your practice. Sometimes you might have to switch and go back to your teacher. 

Sometimes the teacher can help you solve your obstacles, but sometimes, if you’re alone, you can have more time to do your practice. So it depends on what you need and then you can decide, for that particular time, whether you should be with your teacher or be alone. 

Q:  I am an artist (an actor and musician) living in Vancouver, Canada. I have some minor success over the years but I rarely have experienced a satisfied life energy. I have a few wonderful opportunities coming up soon which I am grateful for but ultimately, for many days I feel myself disconnected, alone and sad. Can you please help me find my way again?

Than Ajahn:  Well, according to the Buddha, there is nothing in this world that can give you contentment and satisfaction. No matter how successful you might be, you’ll still find loneliness and emptiness when you’re alone. 

The only thing in this world that will make you content and happy is the practice of meditation. You should learn to practice meditation, mindfulness meditation so that you can stop your thoughts, your emotions, your desires and your cravings that make you feel lonely, that makes you feel hungry for things, makes you feel empty.

Q: Are vedanā, saññā, saṅkhārā and viññāṇa made up by the 4 elements?

Than Ajahn:  No, those are parts of the knowing element. The 5 elements make up the body. The earth element, the water, the fire and the wind element are combined to form the body; while the nāma-khandha (which is vedanā, saññā, saṅkhārā and viññāṇa) comes from the mind. The nāma-khandha is part of the mind (which is the knowing element). 

Q:  If my parents and my sister create emotional distress for me, is it bad kamma if I distance myself from them?  

Than Ajahn:  No, this is the way to stop creating kamma because if you remain close to them, you couldn’t resist reacting to what they do and say and then you’re creating more kamma. The way to stop creating new kamma is to distance yourself from them. 

Q:  My heart knows that I have to let go of things, but my mind will cling to them and worry about many things. What is the difference between the heart and the mind? 

Than Ajahn:  It’s the same thing. We just refer to the mind as the intellect part, the thinking part, while the heart is the emotional part so there is no difference. It comes from the same thing which we call ‘mind’ or ‘heart.’ It’s the non-physical part of us, the thinking and the knowing part of us. 

The way for you to go forward from here is to develop the tools that will enable you to let go of everything. 

You know that clinging is bad for you because when you cling to things, it can make you sad, it can hurt you. 

You cannot let go of them because you don’t have the tools of the strength.

So you need to develop the tools of the strength which is composed of the three training called ‘the Triple Training,’ i.e. dāna (charity), sīla (morality) and bhāvanā (mental development or meditation). You need these 3 tools to let go of your attachment to different things. You do charity to let go of your attachment to money. You maintain morality to let go of your bad actions. And you do meditation or mind development to get rid of your cravings, your attachments to other things. Once you can practice these 3 steps then you will be able to let go of everything and then you will be peaceful and happy.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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