"The Path to Nirvana"

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

2 June 2025

"The Path to Nirvana"

Our bodies, our lives, if we do not have a human body, the body of an animal is useless. If we are born as dogs or cats, we will only come to live in the temple and eat. 

The only benefit is to stay in the temple, have a place to live, have food to eat, but we cannot benefit from the teachings of the Lord Buddha because we do not understand the language. Therefore, we do not know what the meaning of the sermons and teachings of the Lord Buddha is.

If we are humans, but listen to the sermon like a ladle in a pot of curry, it is no different from cats and dogs who do not understand the sermon. A ladle in a pot of curry does not know what kind of curry it is, right? 

Asking a ladle what kind of curry it is, it does not know. 

It only knows how to scoop curry out of the pot and put it in a bowl. But it does not know whether it is spicy curry, bland curry, or what kind of curry. Listening like a ladle in a pot of curry, we listen to the sermon with a wandering mind. While listening, we think about this and that. If we do not listen carefully, we will not understand. So it is like a ladle, not like a tongue. When a tongue has a drop of curry flavor that touches the tongue, we know what kind of curry it is. If we want to benefit from listening to the sermon, we have to listen like a tongue and curry. 

That is, focus on listening to the Dhamma and think and consider it. When you consider it, you will understand it. Now I understand how important Buddhism is. It is like a map, like a GPS. Our body is like a car. We are like the driver. Right now, we are lost and cannot find our way home. Our home is Nirvana. It is the safest place, free from suffering, and full of happiness. This is our home, which the Lord Buddha has reached. He has found the path to Nirvana. So he told us about it. If we listen carefully, we will know which way to Nirvana. 

He said we must go to the precepts. After the precepts, we must go to meditation.

After meditation, we must go to wisdom. 

Once we go to wisdom, we will arrive home. It is like going to Bangkok, which way do we have to go? If we go back via Sukhumvit, we must go to Si Racha, Bangsaen, Chonburi, and then we will go to Bangkok. 

There are places on the road that we must pass through. 

The way to Nirvana is a place that we must pass through. He told us to go to the precepts. Do we have the precepts yet? If we do not have the precepts, we will not go to the precepts. We can go to other places if we are still killing animals, stealing, committing adultery, lying, and drinking alcohol. We will not go to the precepts. Going to different paths of immorality.

Therefore, if we want to go the way the Lord Buddha went, we must go as the Lord Buddha taught, to follow the precepts, to follow the precepts, to follow the 5 precepts first, not to kill animals, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to lie, not to drink alcohol and other vices. Once we have followed the 5 precepts, the next step is to follow the 8 precepts. 

At the beginning, we can follow the Buddhist holy days first, on weekdays, follow the 5 precepts. When it is inconvenient to follow the 8 precepts when going to work, follow the 5 precepts first. As for holidays, we follow the 8 precepts. Nowadays, Buddhist holy days do not coincide with holidays, so they have been changed from Buddhist holy days to holidays. On days when we stop working and do not go to work, we can follow the 8 precepts because if we go to work, we have to eat dinner and have energy. But if we do not go to work, we can just eat lunch because we do not use our physical energy. We will sit still, meditate, and listen to sermons and Dhamma. Once we have the 8 precepts, we will be able to reach meditation. If we follow the 8 precepts, we will have time to meditate because when we meditate, our minds will be calm. We will reach the wisdom stage, listen to the sermons and Dhamma of the Lord Buddha and attain the Dhamma. 

This is the path to our home. We must seize the opportunity quickly. Because the opportunity to come to this body, this human body and meet Buddhism is not easy. They say that winning the first prize in the lottery is easier. Think about it, have we ever won the lottery in our lives? First prize, don't even mention first prize, have we ever won the second or third prize? This is the same. We consider ourselves to have won the first prize in the lottery. We have met Buddhism and were born as humans. We consider ourselves to have won the first prize in the lottery. Now, when we win the lottery, what do we do? We have to go and claim the prize, right? If we just keep the ticket, there will be no prize for us.

So when we win the lottery, we have to go and claim the prize. We have won the lottery of Buddhism. We have found the GPS, and we have to go and claim the prize. We have to travel along the path that the Buddha taught us to practice. Having been born as humans and receiving the Buddha's teachings, the next step is to follow the teachings. 

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

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

"Why can't monks cook for themselves?"

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

1 May 2025

"Why can't monks cook for themselves?"

Question: Why did the Buddha let them go out to beg for food? Why can't they cook for themselves? I pay my respects.

Phra Ajarn: Because it will eliminate the desire to eat this and that. If we let monks cook, one day they won't have to study the Dhamma, practice the Dhamma, or sit around thinking about what to eat for the next meal. 

We have to be content with little, be happy with what is happening, and then we won't waste a lot of time. At most, it will only take an hour to go out to beg for alms, and another hour to come back and eat. And there will be no need for a kitchen, no need for pots, and nothing else to be complicated. 

Because the Buddha wanted monks to do only one thing: to practice the Dhamma. As for feeding their stomachs, this is a trick for the laity to make merit. 

Those who don't have the opportunity or reason to do so, when there are monks, they have to do it. They have the opportunity to make merit. As for the monks, they get food and diligence. They eliminate laziness because they have to go out to beg for alms.

Phra Ajarn Suchart Aphichato

Wat Yanasangwararam, Chonburi Province

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.

19 April 2026

Q:  My brother has a vision that someone will harm me in the next few months. He warns me to stay away from that person. As it is something that is going to happen in the future, can it be changed and what should I do because I don’t have that kind of vision that my brother has? 

Than Ajahn:  Well, this is something that you have to accept. “Whatever Will Be, Will Be.” 

Something will happen regardless of what you do. The way to deal with the future is to be calm and be accepting then your mind will not be affected. You can be happy regardless of whatever happens. But if you are choosy, you want to have this kind of future and not kind of future, when you don’t get the kind of future you want then you can be unhappy. So the way to deal with the future is to teach your mind that whatever happens, happens. 

They are beyond your control but you can deal with them if you can keep your mind calm. Then you mind can be undisturbed by whatever happens in the future. 

Q:  If a female cannot find a suitable place to practice at a monastery, can she attain nibbāna if she lives in a peaceful house, gives dāna, practises the 8-precept and meditates at home?

Than Ajahn:  Yes, it’s not the location alone that determines your success in your practice. What you need to have is the cause for your success which is the practice of charity, morality and meditation. 

Q:  What clothing should I wear while practising the 8-precepts as a lay person but not staying in a monastery? Can I wear colorful clothing to work while keeping the 8-precepts?

Than Ajahn:  Yes, it doesn’t matter what clothing you wear, it’s the precepts that you keep that matters. In Thailand, people tend to identify the 8-precepters with white clothing so when people keep the 8-precepts, they usually put on white clothing but it’s not necessary, you can put on colorful clothing [if you are not staying in the monastery]. 

However, if you put on colorful clothing, it can be a sign that you are not keeping the 8-precepts because one of the precepts in the 8-precepts is to stop putting on nice clothing. You don’t want to have happiness from putting on nice clothing. You just want to use clothing for the protection of the body. 

Q:  What is the best way to hold a funeral or send off the deceased?

Than Ajahn:  Just burn, cremate or bury it. 

That is usually the normal way.

Q:  Is living less involved with society and in isolation a practical method to follow as a lay person? 

Than Ajahn:  Well, as a lay person, you still have to have involvement with other people. 

If you want to live in isolation, that’s because you want to release your mind from the attachment to things and to people that can make you unhappy. So it’s a matter of choice - what you want to do. If you want to get rid of your sadness, loneliness, unhappiness or suffering, then you have to develop the meditation practice. You would be successful if you live alone because if you live with other people, they can become distraction to your practice. So it’s up to you, up to what you want. If you still want to live with people, then you have to stay with people. But if you want to get rid of all your mental or emotional bad feelings, then you have to meditate. And to meditate successfully, you need a quiet environment to be alone. No distraction. 

Q:  When I see someone caught a fish using fishing rod, I feel very sad towards the fish which is struggling to live, and I feel very angry towards the person who caught the fish. How should I react seeing this type of cruelty? Is it due to the fish own kamma?

Than Ajahn:  You should look at the other side of the picture. The man who catches the fish will become the fish and the fish will become the man who is catching the fish, then you won’t feel bad because they will cancel each other out. The man who catches fishes will eventually become a fish and the fish will then become a man who will catch the fish. 

Q:  What kamma will the person get for committing this type of cruelty killing?

Than Ajahn:  He will get the same thing as he gives to others. You take back what you give. 

You give money, you get money back. You give cruelty, you get cruelty back. 

Q:  Is it due to my bad kamma that I get extremely sensitive when seeing this type of cruelty because my husband seems to display no sign of anger when he sees it?

Than Ajahn:  It’s just your perception of things which might be different from other people. This is how you react to things through your knowledge and perception of things which you can change if you want to. 

You can change your reactions. If you have mindfulness, you can control your reactions. 

And if you have wisdom, if you understand the Law of Kamma, then you won’t have such reaction. Then you will say ‘It’s just a matter of kamma’. The fish is paying its own kamma. 

Maybe in the past it was the fish that was fishing this man and now this man is fishing this fish. So it just goes on like that. If you can see it like this then you won’t feel disturbed by what you see or by the cruelty of people toward other people or animals. 

Q:  What motivates an enlightened person to teach the Dhamma? Is it pure compassion? 

Than Ajahn:  Well, the Buddha taught the Dhamma out of compassion. It also depends on the enlightened person whether he has the ability to teach or not because teaching ability is not a part of enlightenment. 

Teaching ability is part of the nature of that person. 

Some people can elucidate, can explain things and make other people understand the teachings; and some people don’t have that ability. So an enlightened person might teach or might not teach depending on his ability to teach and also depending on the students who come for his teachings. If he cannot teach then usually there won’t be students who come to see him. But if he can teach then he will attract students to come and learn from him. But basically, he teaches out of compassion because he does not get anything in return by teaching. 

He has already had all that he needs or wants so teaching is not for any gain; it’s out of compassion. He sees that he was once in the same state as the people are in now, and he could help them to make a difference, so out of compassion, he teaches the Dhamma to other people.

 Q:  Is pure compassion the right way to live in this world? 

Than Ajahn:  You have to be enlightened before you can have pure compassion, otherwise your compassion will still be a delusional compassion.

Q:  In our 10-day vipassanā courses in India taught by Goenka, we were taught to do a 3-day ānāpānasati, then jumped to 4 days vipassanā practice. On our last day, the teacher asked us to practise vipassanā when we go back home. You teach us to develop sati first, samādhi then vipassanā. Why do Goenka course focus more on vipassanā?

Than Ajahn:  Well, Goenka wants to give you a complete course but in reality you don’t do this in 7 days’ time. Sometimes it takes years before you can develop samādhi. The course was just a course to give you a glimpse of what you should do. In reality, you still have to go through the steps. First you have to develop mindfulness and be able to sit and enter into jhāna and be really proficient in your jhāna practice before you can move up to vipassanā level. When they give you a course, they want to give you a sort of example of what you should be doing. In reality, you have to look where you are and what you can do now before you can move to the next step. 

Q:  How many minutes does one need to meditate per day to get the real benefits from the practice? Is 30 minutes sufficient to see any real benefits or get any results?

Phra Ajahn:  It’s not the length of time that determines the benefit. The thing that determines the benefit is the result of your practice. If you can calm the mind, then you will reap the benefit right away. And the longer you stay reaping the benefit, the more benefit you’ll get. So it’s not the length of time alone is the factor. 

You can sit for many minutes or even many hours and yet you’re not reaping any benefit, you haven’t achieved the result i.e. making the mind calm and still and happy. So it’s not the length of time alone that determines the benefit, it’s the result that determines the benefit. If you can sit down, even just in 5 minutes, your mind can become calm and happy. This is better than sitting for half an hour but the mind is not calm or happy.

“Dhamma in English, Sep 3, 2019.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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

"Loyal of Passion Day"

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

12 April 2025

"Loyal of Passion Day"

The 15th day of the waxing moon of the 12th lunar month is a Buddhist holy day, a day for listening to sermons, a day for practicing Dhamma, and a day for Loi Krathong. It is a day of special activities, which is the Loi Krathong festival. According to the belief that if we float a Krathong, this Krathong will remove all suffering from our lives, allowing us to live happily and comfortably, free from suffering. But it is just a belief. 

In reality, Loi Krathong cannot remove all suffering from our lives because the cause of our hearts' suffering is not the Krathong itself, not the flowers or candles in the Krathong. The cause of our hearts' suffering is our greed, delusion, and ignorance, which we must float. 

Instead of floating Krathongs, we float our defilements. 

If we can put our defilements in the Krathong and let them flow with the current of the water, the suffering in our hearts will disappear.

Therefore, if we want our wishes and beliefs to come true when floating Krathongs, let's float our defilements. Put defilements in the Krathong. Put greed, anger, delusion, and various desires in the Krathong and let them flow with the current of the water. This Krathong must be a special Krathong. The krathong that the Lord Buddha created, the krathong that will make all the greed, anger, delusion, and desires in our hearts disappear, that will make all the suffering that comes from greed, anger, delusion, and desires disappear, we must float the krathong that the Lord Buddha created and then bring it to spread and teach us. Let's create krathongs like this, the krathong that will make all the defilements, which are greed, anger, delusion, and desires, and the suffering that comes from these defilements, disappear from our lives and minds, which is the practice of giving, morality, and meditation.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

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

Phra Ajahn Suchart Aphichato

Wat Yan Sangwararam, Chonburi

Dhamma in front of the kuti

November 15, 2024

The Unsatisfactory Nature of Existence

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

25 February 2026

The Unsatisfactory Nature of Existence 

We have faith and belief in the teachings of the Buddha who taught that when our body passes away, we do not pass away with the body but return to be born again in accordance with our kamma. For our next life to be better than the previous one, we have to make merit, do good deeds, and avoid bad deeds. And if we do not desire to be born again, we ought to meditate and constantly develop samatha (calm) meditation and vipassana (insight) meditation, and have faith in the Buddha who taught us to recollect and reflect on the certainty of impermanence of our body. 

If we constantly remind ourselves of death, we will not remain negligent or careless but will quickly put in effort to fully benefit ourselves and others without complacency. 

If we do not recollect death constantly, we are being complacent. We will not remember that we will have to die and we will seek out worldly things such as food, money, or people as our valuable possessions, not knowing that whatever things in this world we are able to gather up are only temporary. 

When the time comes for the body to die, we cannot take these possessions with us. But what we can take with us is our merit, our wise wholesome actions such as giving, nurturing our virtue, meditating, and listening to and practising Dhamma.  

Developing goodness, causing it to arise and be established within ourselves, is something that can be taken along with us. This is indeed very important, especially to our own mind, for it becomes our mind’s refuge. 

Whatever valuable possessions, food, or money are not refuges for the mind. They cannot cause sukha (happiness), fulfilment, and contentment within the mind, and they cannot completely extinguish all kinds of dukkha (discontent and stress) within the heart. Our material possessions cannot protect the mind from disturbing conditions that enter and give rise to dukkha within our mind.  

Thus the Buddha taught us that we ought to continuously strive to make more wholesome merit, discard more wholesome actions, and make our hearts more and more pure. For these actions will truly benefit ourselves. 

They will not benefit the body, but will benefit the mind. 

The mind is us and is ours. The body is not us and is not ours. We should not be deluded into excessively seeking all kinds of things through the body, for the body. Be content and just obtain what is necessary for our livelihood. Seeking food, housing, medicine for illness, and clothing is enough. 

It is proper that we seek a refuge for the mind more through cultivating merit and goodness by giving, maintaining our virtue, practising Dhamma, sitting and walking meditation, developing mindfulness, developing samādhi, and developing wisdom. By undertaking these actions, we can have Dhamma and merit to oversee and maintain sukha in the mind all the time, and have no dukkha or agitation whatsoever. This noble work to oversee and nurture our mind is very important to us. 

Do not be excessively concerned about caring and nurturing the body. For no matter how much care the body receives, you still cannot prevent aging, sickness, pain, or death. 

However, with regards to caring for the mind, whatever progress we are able to make will bring a corresponding cessation of dukkha. 

This will build up happiness and contentment within our mind even more. Overseeing and taking care of our mind is not empty of benefits but instead brings results here in the present as well as in the future. 

As for taking care of the body, we just get present benefits while the body is still alive. 

But when the body dies, we are no longer able to take care of the body. Whatever benefits the body used to give will also cease. This is something that we ought to constantly remember.  

The Buddha teaches us to contemplate that as a result of birth:  

I am of the nature to age. I cannot escape from ageing. 

I am of the nature to get sick and experience pain. I cannot escape from sickness and pain. 

I am of the nature to die. I cannot escape from death. 

All that is mine, beloved and pleasing, will become otherwise, will become separated from me.  

This is something that is worthwhile for us to remember constantly, many, many times a day. 

Otherwise this truth will not stay with us. 

“Dhamma for the Asking, May 11, 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.

18 March 2025

Devotee: My mother has been bedridden for almost 4 years. My other siblings have conspired to push the responsibility of caring for her to me. I’ve asked them for help but they did not bother about me. I then asked for financial assistance to cover some expenses but they won’t give me any money. No matter what I say, they don’t wish to cooperate in any way. I feel so disgusted with them and don’t wish to consider them as my family anymore. Sometimes I feel very stressed [and wished] I have another family member to rely on. I don’t know what to do.

LP Suchart: We should reconsider and think that being able to care for our parents is great merit. Because parents are like Phra Arahants to their children. Being able to repay this gratitude to parents is considered a very good opportunity and a lot of merit. 

If others do not wish to earn this merit, then we can take it all. We must think in this way, then we will find happiness in caring for our parents. We don’t remember the kindness of our parents so we end up disputing with one another. 

We don’t remember that when we were children and couldn’t help ourselves, our parents had to go through many difficulties when we were newborns and crying, they had to wake up to check on us. When we had stomachaches or were hungry, they were there to provide comfort and nourishment. 

Because we don't think about the gratitude we owe our parents, we sometimes haggle and dispute with one another. 

But if we recollect the kindness of our parents, then we would want to return the favour, even if it is only us and the rest are not interested. Because the kindness of our parents is very great.

How much wealth and property do the parents have? In just a moment, there will be fighting over it, isn’t that right? After parents pass away, and everyone is fighting over the property trying to grab it. But when parents need assistance, nobody steps forth to help. 

This is because of greed and selfishness. We only want advantages and benefits, we don’t want to shoulder burdens and responsibilities….

Luang Phor Suchart Apichato

Wat Yansangwararam, Chonburi

Cr. เพจพุทโธ

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: 

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The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

12 March 2025

Q:  You’ve just redefined smartness and stupidity for me. We spent on other things which are less useful for ourselves.

Than Ajahn:  Yes. Everything you do in the world is useless. It’s worthless. Really! It doesn’t worth anything as far as your mind is concerned. It doesn’t make your mind happier. It doesn’t make your mind relieved from stress, from suffering. It doesn’t do that for your mind at all. So looking from the perspective of the mind, it’s useless. 

It's only useful from the perspective of the defilements. 

Defilements like to make money, spend money, be rich, be famous, be respected and so forth. These are all useful to the defilements but they are not useful to the mind. They don’t help you getting rid of the mental suffering of the mind at all. In fact, they increase more suffering, more stress and depression to the mind. 

But you don’t see that. You think that having more money is good, getting a higher position is good, being able to spend money on traveling, buying a new car, or buying a new condo is good. What does it do to your mind? Nothing. It just produces more craving for your mind. It creates more hunger. There is no contentment arising from those things. 

No peace. No contentment. Just restlessness, agitation, hunger and more craving. Have you reached the point where you’d say, ‘I have had enough yet?’ Just for sometimes, but eventually you’d want for more again. 

You don't see how important your mind is to you. 

Because you are being influenced by your defilements to see that what you can get for your body is more important than what you can get for your mind. But the body is temporary. Once the body dies, everything that you’ve accumulated for the body becomes useless to the mind. The mind couldn’t take anything with it at all. 

Try to practice because whatever you accumulated from your practice the mind can take that practice with it. 

You can take mindfulness with you, you can take wisdom with you, you can take jhāna with you; but you can’t take your Rolls-Royce with you, you can’t take your condominium with you. So what do you want? 

You can’t take anything that is physical with you. You can only take the mental qualities with you like charity, morality, contentment, peace, calm and wisdom. These are the things that you can take with you. These mental qualities will keep the mind peaceful and happy. 

But if you don’t have any of those mental qualities, if you keep hungering for this and that thing, when the body dies, the mind will be consumed with hunger because those were the things that you’ve been giving it to the mind everyday of your life. You give the mind more hunger, more craving, more desire. You will end up becoming a hungry spirit when you die. You take these poisons – greed, hate, delusion and fear – with you too. 

If you have mindfulness and wisdom, you can get rid of those 4 poisons, so you don’t have to take them with you. 

Just keep practising the triple steps: charity, morality and meditation. This is the path to freedom, path to everlasting happiness. 

The path of the worldly things is not the path to freedom; it’s path to subjugation, path to imprisonment in the realm of saṃsāra – continuous rebirth: birth, ageing, sickness and death.

“Dhamma in English, Sep 19, 2023.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

YouTube:  Dhamma in English.

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