No. 423 - The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart

 No. 423 - The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart

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Wed 2nd April 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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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

No. 422 - The Teachings of Ajahn Golf ( Phra Surawat Khemachitto

 422 -  The Teachings of Ajahn Golf ( Phra Surawat Khemachitto 

.Should We Refrain from Vowing to Be Reborn in the Heavenly Realms?

Devotee: If we haven’t attained any stages of enlightenment, should we avoid vowing to be reborn as a deva in our next life? Since there are no Buddhist monasteries, monastic communities, or the teachings of the Lord Buddha in the heavenly realms, wouldn’t we eventually forget the Dhamma and our spiritual practice?

Ajahn Golf: As I’ve mentioned before, it’s better to vow directly for Nibbāna and continue practicing the Dhamma. Even if we haven’t yet reached Nibbāna, our character and practice will naturally incline toward the Dhamma path.

When our mind is firmly established in the Triple Gem and we consistently maintain our practice, then if we pass away during a time when the Lord Buddha's teachings are not present in the world, our good kamma will lead us to a favorable rebirth, such as in the heavenly realms. However, when a new Buddha arises in the world, we will have the opportunity to be reborn in that era and encounter the Dhamma. The seeds of wisdom within us will then awaken, allowing us to complete our spiritual journey and attain enlightenment.

By continuously engaging in virtuous deeds and spiritual practice, these habits and qualities become deeply ingrained in us. No matter where we are reborn, these characteristics will remain with us. Our natural inclinations will lead us toward generosity, precepts, and meditation.

As Ajahn has said, when we make a vow, we should dedicate all our merits—our good deeds, blessings, and virtues—toward Nibbāna. By making Nibbāna our ultimate goal while also engaging in generosity, precepts, and meditation, we ensure that even if we don’t attain enlightenment in this life, we will still be reborn in favorable realms among humans and devas. There is no need to fear being reborn in difficult or impoverished circumstances. Those who seek Nibbāna must cultivate goodness, purity, and meditation—developing these virtues will naturally safeguard us from suffering in the cycle of rebirth.

All beings are shaped by their karma. When our mind is aligned with the Triple Gem—Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha—our virtuous actions will guide us to be reborn in places where Buddhism thrives. Therefore, there is no need to doubt this.

-- Ajahn Golf

No. 421 - The Teachings of Ajahn Sucharrt (Thur, 3 April 2025)

Thur, 3 April 2025

Layperson 1:  What is the best way for one to control one’s words when he or she is upset?

Than Ajahn:   Upset to yourself or upset to other people?

Layperson 1:  Upset to other people.

Than Ajahn:  Well, you have to be mindful. You have to think before you say anything. You have to know what you’re thinking at the moment. And the way to be able to watch your thought is by developing mindfulness. 

If you have mindfulness, you will be aware of what you’re thinking, so before you speak what you are thinking, you can first decide whether it’s worthwhile to say it or it isn’t worthwhile to do so. If it’s harmful, it’s better that you don’t say it. You can stop it. So, what you need is to have mindfulness. 

Normally, you don’t have mindfulness, and you just let out what you think right away. 

If you have mindfulness, you will be watching your three actions: your thoughts, your speech and your bodily actions. The way to develop mindfulness is by constantly focusing on your bodily actions, by keep watching your body and concentrating on what you’re doing at the moment. 

Don’t let your mind drift away and think about other things. 

If your mind goes to think about other things while you’re doing something, then you should bring it back by reciting a mantra. 

You can recite: Buddho, Buddho, or Buddha, Buddha. 

When you do this, you will stop your mind from wandering around and bring it back to where the action is, to the bodily action. 

Focus on your bodily action from the time you get up. As soon as you open your eyes, you start developing mindfulness right away. Be mindful with what you do with your body by not thinking about other things and by focusing only on what you do. 

Like when you’re brushing your teeth, just concentrate on brushing your teeth, don’t think about work, don’t think about play. Don’t think about anything. If your mind is stubborn and wants to think, then you have to use a mantra to stop it. Recite a mantra: Buddho, Buddho or Jesus, Jesus, or whatever word you want to recite that can keep the mind away from thinking about other things: this is the way to develop mindfulness. Eventually, your mind will stay put and won’t be wandering around. It will stay in the present most of the time, and it will know what the body is doing. When you know what the body is doing, you will also know what your thought is thinking because you’re watching it. 

You want to stop your thought from thinking aimlessly. You’re in the process of controlling your thoughts. 

When you can control your thoughts, when you think and want to say or do something, you can decide first, whether it’s good to do or say it or it isn’t good to do or say it. If it isn’t good to do or to say it, you can stop it. 

Mindfulness is very important. 

It’s the mind’s controller. The only thing that controls the mind is mindfulness. So, you need to develop it and to have it all the time. Right now, sometimes you are mindful and sometimes you are not mindful. When you are mindful, thing seems to work well, everything is going okay. 

As soon as you lose mindfulness, when you let your emotion takes over, you start doing things that you will regret afterwards. So, you need to develop more mindfulness. The goal is to be constantly mindful, to have continuous mindfulness so that you are able to control your thoughts and your actions. 

Your action is what your thought commands the body to do or say. 

When you have mindfulness, you are able to direct the mind to think and direct the body to do or say things that you think is good, things that don’t hurt other people or hurt yourself. 

If you don’t know what kind of action is good or bad, then you have to study ‘the law of kamma’. 

The law of kamma is the law that tells you what kind of actio…