“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

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

25 July 2025

Phra Ajahn  :  Where are you from?

Layperson.  :  I’m from Aruba, about 24hours away from here, somewhere in the Caribbean. My questions are: What is it that can see the citta? Is it the Buddho itself?  Is it the knowing that sees the citta? And do the citta and the Buddho itself separate from each other?

Phra Ajahn.  :  Well, let’s answer them one by one. The Buddho is the creation of the citta. 

The citta uses the thought to create ‘Buddho, Buddho’—when you think, you think of Buddho, Buddho. The thinking is called the saṅkhārā, which is part of the citta. The citta is the one who knows. Most of the time the citta only knows the saṅkhārā because the saṅkhārā keeps blocking the citta from knowing itself. So, when you use Buddho, Buddho, eventually your thought (saṅkhārā) will stop thinking. When the thought stops, then the mind (citta) will be left alone. 

Then, the citta will see itself. That’s it.   

Question.  :  How can the citta see itself?

Phra Ajahn.  :  By stopping from thinking is the way the citta sees itself. Right now, the citta does not see itself, it sees the thought, sees the thinking. When you stop the thinking (that blocks the citta from seeing itself), then you see the citta. 

Question.  :  Is the citta itself deathless?

Phra Ajahn.  :  Yes, the citta never dies. The citta is a spiritual being that comes and possesses the physical body. When the body dies, the citta doesn’t die with the body. If the citta still has any desires, it goes and looks for a new body. That’s when we have rebirth; we keep being reborn. We keep getting a new body because we still have the cravings, desires to use the body to provide us with happiness. But once you can practice meditation and make the mind (citta) happy in itself, the citta no longer needs to have a body. Then, there will be no rebirth. 

Layperson.  :  So, the citta will be floating by itself. 

Phra Ajahn.  :  Yes, in the spiritual space. It doesn’t need to have a body to make it happy. Right now, the citta connects itself to the body and use the body to bring it some kinds of happiness.

Question.  :  At the moment of nirvana, is the citta still there or is the citta also gone?

Phra Ajahn.  :  The citta is always there. What disappears when someone attains nibbana is the craving or the desire. Understand?

Layperson.  : Yes.

Phra Ajahn.  :  Have you been following my YouTube talks?

Layperson.  :  I’ve been following the teachings of LuangPu Sao, LuangPu Mun, LuangPu Chob. I’ve been practicing for the last seven years and I want to become a monk to end all suffering completely. This was one big question I have because I thought there was something that could see the citta but it’s the citta that sees itself. 

When I see it, there is nothing and this is strange and I don’t trust the mind.

Phra Ajahn.  :  You don’t trust the thought created by the mind. But you can trust the mind itself because the mind is real. 

However, you never get to see it because you’re being blocked by your thoughts so you only see your thoughts. From the time you get up, you start thinking therefore you only see your thoughts; you never see the one who knows, the mind itself—who creates the thoughts. So, you have to stop the thoughts. 

Once the thought disappears, then you see the mind.

Let me give you an example: it’s like looking at the TV screen—when you turn on the TV, you see the images on the TV but you don’t see the screen because the screen is being blocked by the images that appear on the screen but once you turn off the TV, what happens? 

There’s no images appear and what you see is the TV screen. 

Layperson.  :  How can I always stay in that state?

Phra Ajahn.  :  Frist, you need to have mindfulness by reciting, ‘Buddho, Buddho,’ to stop your thoughts and you need to sit down and watch your breath until your mind stops thinking then you’ll see the one who knows, the mind. The next step is to teach yourself that the thoughts and the mind are two separate things.

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: 

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

《How do you know you are a sotapanna?》

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

19 July 2025

《How do you know you are a sotapanna?》

Question:  What conditions must be met for someone to reach the first stage of liberation (sotāpanna)? And how someone knows for sure that he/she is a sotāpanna and not imagining it, what are the signs? 

Than Ajahn:  You have to understand the nature of the body and the feelings. They come and go. They rise and cease. You can’t control them all the time. When your body is going to die, you’ll have to let it die. If your body is sick, if you can fix it, fix it. But if you cannot fix it, just let it be. 

Like when the body is in pain and there is nothing you can do about it, then just live with the pain. Don’t try to get rid of the pain by taking pain killers because you may end up getting addicted to pain killers and they become more hurtful than helpful. So, just leave the body alone. Leave the feelings alone. Then, you become a sotāpanna. 

A sotāpanna is not afraid of ageing, sickness or death. 

How to prove that you are not afraid of ageing, sickness or death? You’ll have to look for the situation and test yourself. For example, to prove that you are not affected by the pain of the body, just sit and let the pain in the body arises and ceases by itself. If you want to prove whether you are afraid of death, you’ll have to go and look for a place where you feel that your life is threatened, and see how you feel. If you feel peaceful and are not disturbed, it means you are not afraid of death. If you are afraid of death, then you’ll be afraid of the situation.

Question:  So, does it mean that a sotāpanna completely has no fear of death?

Than Ajahn:  Right. No fear of death. No fear of pain. No fear of ageing. 

Question:  Is separation of the body and mind an indicator of a sotāpanna.’?

Than Ajahn:  No, but the detachment of the mind from the body.

Question:  You mentioned that by using mindfulness, one attains jhāna, but using wisdom, it’s a different one. 

Than Ajahn:  If it’s jhāna, you’ll only have the detachment temporarily. If it’s wisdom, you’ll have it permanently.

“Dhamma in English, May 11, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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

more about Ajahn Suchart 

https://www.knownsee.com/%E5%A4%A7%E5%B8%AB%E7%88%B6-masters/%E6%B3%B0%E5%9C%8B-thailand/ajahn-suchart