Luang Pu Doo

Luang Pu Doo once commented that there are 3 reasons as to why a monk's body would not decompose. 

The first is that the master could have been an expert in spells and incantations, and he could have blessed his rice before eating everyday, which is converted into an indestructible body. 

The second is someone who soaks in herbal baths or eats certain kinds of herbs (read Luang Phor Jumnean's story of how his father made his skin impenetrable to weapons if you are interested). 

Then there is the third kind, someone who has reached high stages of enlightenment, such as arahants who adithans (make a strong determination) that his body does not decay after his death.

The undecomposed body of the great Arahant Phra Kru Athon Phatthanakun of Wat Na Udom, Tan Sum District, Ubon Ratchathani Province. Luang Pu Ya Than Suan looks like he has just fallen into a deep slumber, since 2549 until today.

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

10th April, 2022

Question:  How much dāna should we do to influence our rebirth?

Than Ajahn:  Well, dāna has no influence on your rebirth. The things that have influence on your rebirth are your cravings (your desire). 

The more cravings you have, the more rebirth you will have. Dāna will only give you the quality of your rebirth. If you do a lot of dāna (charity), you’ll have a good rebirth, you will be reborn rich and well. If you don’t do charity, you will be reborn poor.

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Question:  I was taught that wishing everyone good silently and doing mettā bhāvanā are good actions that will purify one’s mind. But Ajahn said that those activities including chanting are not of that big doing. I read the Buddha’s teachings saying that wishing others well with mettā thoughts are more important than giving dāna.  Is this wrong? 

Than Ajahn:  It’s wrong, because giving dāna is the actual action of wishing people well. You wish them well by your actions, not just by using thoughts. For example, when someone is celebrating birthday, you don’t go to his/her party and just say, ‘Happy Birthday,’ without bringing any birthday cake or any present. 

You have to bring a present to make the person happy. Of course, the person may be happy when you say happy birthday, but the person will be happier if he/she gets a birthday cake or a present from you.  So, if you want to make people really happy, you have to do it using your actions, not just using thoughts alone. 

The thought of wishing others well gives very little happiness compare to when you wish them well through your actions.

“Dhamma in English, Jun 19, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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

“The truth is our body can live with any form of pain and our mind will not be hurt if we can remain non-reactive to all kinds of feelings.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

5 April 2026

“The truth is our body can live with any form of pain and our mind will not be hurt if we can remain non-reactive to all kinds of feelings.”

Question:  What is the relationship between vedanā and the four elements? 

Than Ajahn:  The four elements are elements: they are earth, water, fire and wind. Vedanā are feelings which arise from the body – they are painful feeling, non-painful feeling and neutral feeling. Vedanā arise from the four elements because the four elements made up the body. 

The interaction of the four elements cause the feeling to arise, like when you have a stomach ache, it may be caused by eating some bad food, or contaminated water. 

The food is the earth element and the water is water element. 

So the interaction between the four elements resulted in the arisen of painful feeling. 

The way to cope with feelings is to accept it as it is, not trying to change it. If you want to change it, you will create another form of mental feelings which is a lot worse than the physical feelings. This is the purpose of practising Buddhism, to eliminate mental feelings, especially the arising of bad mental feelings which we call it suffering. 

Our suffering arises because we want to manage the four elements, we want to manage the feelings, we always want to experience good feelings and as soon as we experience any bad feelings, we want to get rid of it. 

When we want to get rid of painful feeling, the mental painful feeling in the mind arises. 

When we practise, we want to prevent mental painful feeling to arise because the painful feeling in the mind is a lot more painful compare to the pain in the body. 

So we just leave the feelings alone because we cannot manage it, we cannot control it. 

We know that the body is impermanent, sooner or later it will dissolve and we can leave with it. If we don’t want to accept the reality, we would think we couldn’t live with the dissolution of our body. We‘d think that it is beyond our ability to live with the pain. The truth is our body can live with any form of pain and our mind will not be hurt if we can remain non-reactive to all kinds of feelings, if we can leave the feelings alone.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

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

The practice of Buddha Dhamma is the true thing that matters.

The practice of Buddha Dhamma is the true thing that matters. 

Recently there has been much discussion in the Thai Buddhist circles about a popular scholar monk who disrobed and signed a contract to be a product brand ambassador. This is the translation of a reflection of a Thai Buddhist who penned a piece to express his thoughts.

When I was a child, I thought that a Phra, who shaved his head and eyebrows, and put on the saffron robes, must be the best and most noble of all people. Why did I think so? 

Well, firstly, I saw that there were so many people who paid their greatest respects to the Phra. 

They would wake up early in the morning, make the effort to buy ingredients to cook for them, or for those who don’t have the time to cook, to buy food from the market stalls, awaiting the Phra who would then go on almsround after dawn. 

During the most important moments in a Thai person’s life, the Phra will always be there with us. For example, when a baby is born, the Phra would be consulted to give the newborn a good name. Or when we celebrate our birthdays, we might go to the temple to make merit or ask for a blessing. Or invite the Phra to anoint our car that we have just bought so that we will be safe on the roads. 

They are also invited to businesses and shops to ensure continued prosperity, and finally during our last part of our lives, when we are ill and sick, we turn to the Phra for advice, comfort and Dhamma, to soothe our minds as we get ready to depart. 

Finally, they are still there for us to send us off during the funeral. 

This was the “monk” as I understood him when I was a child. Of course, after I grew up to be an adult, my outlook on the matter matured as well.

Firstly, monks are often ranked according to the number of vassas (rains retreats) that they have spent in the robes. But does the number of rains really determine whether a person has actually obtained anything useful from his ordination? 

There are many Pali or Dhamma exams and different levels. But even if one is a Pali 9 scholar, or passed the highest Dhamma exam, does that mean this person truly grasps the foundation of the Dhamma?

That the practice is the true thing that matters, how one behaves, carries himself, his manner and etiquette as a monk, these are things that truly reflect a monk’s value. 

And that the Buddha Dhamma, or the teachings of the Buddha and the law of nature, has always been luminous and has never changed or wavered. 

But retrogression can occur in the hearts of the people who have gone forth for ordination...

☸ Dhammapada: 

367. He who has no attachment whatsoever for the mind and body, who does not grieve for what he has not -- he is truly called a monk.

368. The monk who abides in universal love and is deeply devoted to the Teaching of the Buddha attains the peace of Nibbana, the bliss of the cessation of all conditioned things.

375. Control of the senses, contentment, restraint according to the code of monastic discipline — these form the basis of holy life here for the wise monk.

During those moments when we feel so low, the ever luminous Buddha Dhamma is indeed the medicine, solace and inspiration 

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

“You can practise regardless of the conditions. It is just a matter of progress.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

9 July 2025

“You can practise regardless of the conditions. It is just a matter of progress.”

Taking care of your parents is also a form of practice. If you don’t look after your parents, who will? It is a path one must take. If you can’t take a direct path, then you just have to go along with it and take care of your parents first. If you don’t look after them, your mind will run into problems during your practice anyway. 

You’ll feel bad about yourself and not be able to practise properly.

I think taking care of your parents shouldn’t be an obstacle to your practice. If you’re smart enough, you’ll be able to manage. That is, you’ll be able to find time to be away from them. But if your parents can no longer take care of themselves and there’s no one else to look after them for you, then your caring for them can serve to cultivate merit and perfections for the time being.

Venerable Ananda is an example. He is unlike other monks. He took care of and served the Buddha for twenty-five years. He only attained a stream entry (sotāpana) during the time that he was the Buddha’s attendant. But other monks, who didn’t have such a responsibility, went on to attain enlightenment very quickly after ordaining; they listened to the Buddha's Dhamma and practised on their own in the forest. It depends on each individual’s path. 

But Venerable Ananda also benefited a lot from being around the Buddha and constantly hearing his teachings. He attained his own enlightenment only three months after the Buddha passed away.

So don’t think that taking care of your parents is an obstacle. Think of it as a path that you must take for the time being. This will give you determination and confidence in your own destination. It is better than acting prematurely. 

Do you understand? If you were to do something prematurely, you could end up being worse off or with nothing.

Wherever you are, you can practise there and then. The only thing that varies is how much you can gain from it. So don’t worry. Doing good deeds regardless of place and time will lead you to where you want to be.

If you don’t have other options, then you must carry on with it. But if you do have a better alternative, why wouldn’t you take it? For example, if there are two traffic routes, one is very congested and time-consuming whereas the other is not, wouldn’t you take the latter? 

But you must take what's given if you don't have any other options.

You can practise regardless of the conditions. 

It is just a matter of progress. Sometimes you just have to bear with it when there’s no other option. If there’s still an obligation that you can’t free yourself from, then you just have to accept it for the time being. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything. You can still meditate and read Dhamma books.

Taking care of your parents isn’t an around-the-clock job. When you have already fed them and happen to have some free time, you can read Dhamma books or meditate. It might not be as intense as practising at a monastery, but you’re still doing what you can.

It’s like being stuck in traffic and there’s no other route, so you just have to stick to it for the time being. 

Once there’s a better route, then take it. Each of our paths is completely different. I am not sure if it’s because of my merit or what, but I just happened to have a favourable option without planning it out beforehand.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

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

A Guided Meditation on Homecoming

A Guided Meditation on Homecoming 

“I have Arrived. I am Home."

“Where is our true home that we come back to? 

Our true home is life, our true home is the present moment, whatever is happening right here and right now. 

Our true home is the place without discrimination, the place without hatred. Our true home is the place where we no longer seek, no longer wish, no longer regret.

Our true home lies right in the present moment. If we can practice according to the teaching of the Buddha and return to the here and now, then the energy of mindfulness will help us to establish our true home in the present moment...”❤️

~ Thich Nhat Hanh 

Today, we are going to travel the pathway to come home to ourselves. 

A place where we feel that we have arrived, we do not need to go anywhere, to be, or to do anything anymore. 

Like what is quoted in the "Radiance Sutra" ;

"Once you know the way

the nature of attention will call you

to return, again and again,

and be saturated with knowing,

“I belong here, I am at home here.”

- The Radiance Sutras

Meditation link :

https://youtu.be/Pp3qTnwfZVU

Dear friends, this is a guided meditation I just uploaded. May you enjoy practicing it.

With Metta

🙏🙏🙏❤️

Importance of Joy in Daily Meditation Practice

Importance of Joy in Daily Meditation Practice

Let us explore and understand the role of joy in daily meditation practice. 

The quote below reflects what I think about this very key aspect of meditation. Essentially it means that joy is a natural consequence of watching the mind and thoughts in action.

Joy in Meditation:

Happiness is the absence of struggle. The ease of observing the futility of trying is great joy. 

In the great expanse within, the condition of becoming and the hope that permeates the mind can be seen clearly. This seeing is all that can be and must be engaged. All else is just the same orientation, strengthening the current condition. Leaving us bound to time. Do whatever you have to do, in order to participate in and initiate your evolution.

Analysis of Joy in Meditation:

The particular aspect of this quote that I want to focus on, is the first line which points to the joy one gets in watching the mind. Below are several key points I want to make with regard to this important and essential phenomenon, understanding which I think will make possible the reality of a serious and long term, daily meditation practice.

1. The Fact of Joy: 

The joy that I refer to here is absolutely a fact. 

It is not vague or derived. It is pure and full. It is really unadulterated fun and happiness.

2. This Joy is Not a Result: 

Normally we can find long, long lists indicating the benefits of meditation and on those very true lists, we will also find joyous living as one of the entries. Although joyous living will certainly materialize as a result of your meditation practice, this is not the joy that I am referring to here. 

Here I am referring to the joy one gets simply from participating in meditation. Simply from watching the thinking mind from moment to moment as best as you can.

3. Arduous Yet Joyful: 

Although in the quote above, I said the "ease of observing", watching the mind and comprehending it from moment to moment via direct perception is not trivial. It is arduous. 

The "ease of observation" is encountered only after a period of intense observation, the very intensity of which causes the thinking process to slow down, thus making it possible to see the fact in action. Although the early phase of a meditation session can be fun, the real joy tends to present itself once the thinking mind has slowed down enough to allow for the moment to moment observation of the facts in action to materialize.

4. Enjoyment in Meditation: 

As indicated above, meditation at this level is challenging, and I think that encountering this joy is very key in helping establish a deep, daily meditation practice. The more you enjoy meditation, the less you will resist it and the more you will embrace it.

5. Not Always Joyous: 

One final point I want to make, is that meditation is not predictable and every time you sit to watch your thoughts does not mean you will end up slowing down the thinking process to a trickle (or stop it), and therefore experience the joy of observing the fact in action. Sometimes you will not be very effective, or other greater experiences might be encountered. 

Be patient, remember not knowing is part of this great adventure. 

Anmol Mehta is a Meditation & Yoga expert. His Free Guided Meditation Techniques & Kundalini Yoga Blog offers Easy Kids Meditation Techniques and powerful Healing Meditation Techniques.