Essential Teachings of Phra Ajahn Suchart Abhijato

A Spoiled Child

A Theravada monk imparts timeless wisdom to the parents of a boy who is unable to help himself.
By Ajaan Suchart Abhijato

Part 2 of 2

This is why the Buddha said that you should think about death often. If you can do it, thinking about death is a wonderful medicine to cure your greed, hatred, and delusion very quickly. If you go to the doctor, and the doctor says you have cancer with just three months to live, you’d see: whatever you have, you’ll want to give it to this or that person. You’ll give it all away, being afraid that as soon as you die, other people might swoop in and take it. So, before you die, giving them away is better. Think about death and all your problems will disappear. But if you can’t do it, it’s better not to try. You might kill yourself or someone else because if you don’t have sufficient calmness, the mind will resist and fight the medicine. As soon as you think about death, you’ll get depressed. You might do something terrible to others or to yourself: for example, thinking that if you have to die eventually, you might as well die now, which is wrong view.

Developing the recollection of death isn’t for the purpose of killing yourself or others, it’s for helping you to let go. It says that sooner or later you have to die, as must your son. You don’t have to do anything extreme. Act pointlessly and you’ll get the karmic consequences for whatever evil actions you take. Instead, have compassion. Whatever you have, you’ll be able to share it with those in need, because you’ll be dead soon and don’t need it. But you need to give reasonably. There’s no need to pour water into a leaky bucket. Don’t give like that. If whatever you give them, they waste on alcohol and gambling and then ask you for more, don’t give to someone like that. Give to someone who knows how to use money wisely, who knows what it’s worth. Giving to someone like this is good. But if however much you give them isn’t enough for them and they come back to you asking for more, you’ll have to give them just the portion that’s his, that you can afford. If that money runs out and he asks for more, you shouldn’t give more. Or, easier, you can just give a little bit at a time. When he comes back and asks for more later, then you can warn him that the money is running low. Let him know how many times he’s asked already and how many more times he has left so that he can prepare himself.

But you also have to practice meditation. Once your mind is calm, it will be happy and can let go of everything. At that point, losing money or anything doesn’t matter any more because you don’t need it. You already have a better happiness than the happiness you get by receiving money. You won’t need to rely on money, except for what’s needed to maintain the body. But you won’t need to buy this or that, go out to eat or drink, because the happiness you have from peace of mind is superior to all that.

So, please: try to practice. You have wonders inside. We are like chickens who have a gem but don’t want it. We just throw it away. We’re only interested in worms and caterpillars. But no matter how many we get, we’re not full. It’s not enough. No matter how much money we make, it’s not enough. No matter how many noscripts, or promotions, or whatever we receive, it’s not enough. We always want something higher, something larger, something better. And when we can’t get it, we get sad or angry, and we suffer. But if you had peacefulness, then you wouldn’t want anything. You wouldn’t be sad. When you get something, you wouldn’t be elated and when you lose it, you wouldn’t be upset. Whatever you get is just a bonus.

Like when you go to the gas station and they give you some promotional freebie: if you get it, you get it. If you don’t it’s no big deal. You only need the gasoline. If your heart has happiness already, then it doesn’t matter what else comes your way. It doesn’t matter what else you lose. So, let’s go find that. It’s ours. It’s true. It’s real. It’s permanent. It has always been with us.

Excerpted from Why Suffer? by Ajaan Suchart Abhijato.
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Ajaan Suchart Abhijato is a Thai forest tradition monk and teacher at Wat Yannasangwararam in Chonburi, Thailand. His books include My Way (2014), Beyond Birth (2021), and the series, Dhamma for the Asking.
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Part 1 of 2:

https://news.1rj.ru/str/lorddivinebuddha/3938


Part 2 of 2:

https://news.1rj.ru/str/wordsofbuddha/4852
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Words of the Buddha channel:

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2. Sabbe tasanti daudassa
sabbesam jãvitam piyam
Attànam upamam katvà
na haneyya na ghàtaye. 130.

LIFE IS DEAR TO ALL

2. All tremble at the rod. Life is dear to all. Comparing others with oneself, one should neither strike nor cause to strike. 130.

Story

A quarrel arose between a "band of six monks" and a "band of sixteen monks". The latter made threatening gestures. The Buddha spoke on the evil of harming others.

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Big Buddha Phuket, Thailand.

Free Buddha Dharma ebook

Beyond Desire & Passion : The Buddha’s Training for Freedom
By Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu

Free download available:

https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/Ebooks/BeyondDesire&Passion_250119.pdf
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Free Buddha Dharma ebook

Beyond Desire & Passion : The Buddha’s Training for Freedom
By Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu

Ven. Sāriputta once proposed introducing the Buddha’s teachings to intelligent foreigners by saying, “Our teacher teaches the subduing of desire and passion.” This book explores the implications of taking this sentence as a starting point for understanding the Dhamma.

Free download available:

https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/Ebooks/BeyondDesire&Passion_250119.pdf
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Zuisenji Buddhist temple, Kamakura, Japan, founded by Zen monk Musō Soseki (1275–1351) where he designed a masterpiece of early Zen garden design.

Laykyun Sekkya Big Buddhas, Khatakan Taung, near Monywa, Myanmar is one of the tallest statue in the world depicting Siddhartha Gautama in standing and parinirvana position.

3. Sukhakàmàni bhutàni
yo daudena vihimsati
Attano sukham esàno
pecca so na labhate sukham. 131.
4. Sukhakàmàni bhutàni
yo daudena na himsati
Attano sukham esàno
pecca so labhate sukham. 132.

MOLEST NONE

3. Whoever, seeking his own happiness, harms with the rod other pleasure-loving beings experiences no happiness hereafter. 131.

HARM NOT

4. Whoever, seeking his own happiness, harms not with the rod other pleasure-loving beings, experiences happiness hereafter. 132.

Story

The Buddha seeing some children molesting a snake with sticks, advised them to desist.

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One of the largest Buddha statue carved from a mountain, Luang Pho U Thong Buddhist temple, Suphanburi, Thailand.

5. M'àvoca pharusam kañci
vuttà pañivadeyyu tam
Dukkhà hi sàrambhakathà
pañidaudà phuseyyu tam. 133.
6. Sace neresi attànam
kamso upahato yathà
Esa patto'si nibbànam
sàrambho te na vijjati. 134.

SPEAK NOT HARSHLY

5. Speak not harshly to anyone. Those thus addressed will retort. Painful, indeed, is vindictive speech. Blows in exchange may bruise you. 133.

SILENCE YOURSELF

6. If, like a cracked gong, you silence yourself, you have already attained Nibbàna: 2 no vindictiveness will be found in you. 134.

Story

Some monks used abusive language towards another monk, and he retaliated. The Buddha heard about it and spoke on non-retaliation and on the advisability of retaining silence.


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Free Buddha Dharma ebook

The Five, Eight and Ten Precepts

By Bhante Shravasti Dhammika

A precept (sikkhapada) is a self-imposed rule or discipline. The moral rules that all Buddhists commit themselves to and try to live by are called the five Precepts (panca sila). They are (1) not to harm living beings, (2) not to steal, (3) not to engage in wrong sexual behaviour, (4) not to lie and (5) not to take alcohol or other intoxicating drugs. In following these Precepts one gradually develops a respect for the life of others, for their property, their dignity, their right to know the truth and a respect for the clarity of one’s own mind. The Buddha called adhering to these Precepts a consideration to others which ‘creates love and respect and which is conducive to helpfulness, non-dispute, harmony and unity’ (A.III,287; M.I.322).

Free download available:

https://budblooms.org/the-five-eight-and-ten-precepts/
===

Free Buddha Dharma ebook

The Five, Eight and Ten Precepts

By Bhante Shravasti Dhammika

A precept (sikkhapada) is a self-imposed rule or discipline. The moral rules that all Buddhists commit themselves to and try to live by are called the five Precepts (panca sila). They are (1) not to harm living beings, (2) not to steal, (3) not to engage in wrong sexual behaviour, (4) not to lie and (5) not to take alcohol or other intoxicating drugs. In following these Precepts one gradually develops a respect for the life of others, for their property, their dignity, their right to know the truth and a respect for the clarity of one’s own mind. The Buddha called adhering to these Precepts a consideration to others which ‘creates love and respect and which is conducive to helpfulness, non-dispute, harmony and unity’ (A.III,287; M.I.322).

Free download available:

https://budblooms.org/the-five-eight-and-ten-precepts/
===

The 7 Factors of Enlightenment

A Sri Lankan Theravada monk on the interconnected factors that lead to awakening
By Bhante Henepola Gunaratana and Veronique Ziegler

The seven factors of enlightenment are practiced for the cultivation of total liberation, arahantship. They are divided into two categories: active factors (investigation, effort, and joy) and passive factors (tranquility, concentration, and equanimity), with mindfulness being the balancing factor between them. Practicing these enlightenment factors develops insight into impermanence and thereby directs the mind to let go of its tendency to cling. Thus, greed fades away. Without greed, anger has no footing. When the mind sees things as they are, that it is inherently impermanent, it is no longer subject to delusion. One thus becomes wise and overcomes ignorance.

The first factor of enlightenment is mindfulness, which can be developed anywhere, anytime, whether sitting on a cushion for meditation, standing, walking, lying down, or having a conversation. We can develop it at any moment and become mindful of the three characteristics of existence—impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and nonself—and thereby develop clear comprehension.

In order to reveal the truth of the three characteristics of existence, one should take an object of concentration. When selecting a particular domain, its intrinsic characteristics of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and nonself must be clear. These objects of investigation are described in the four foundations of mindfulness. To gain insight into the three characteristics of existence, the mind has to remain focused, alert, and ardent. Setting aside greed (attachment) and stress regarding the mind-body complex composed of the five aggregates, we should practice with zest and vigor in order to see the three characteristics of existence in our own body and mind. This requires developing the habit of paying total, undivided, mindful attention to whatever we are doing, whether it be thinking, speaking, or acting, which entails being heedful at every moment. To the extent that we are able to sustain this effort, we gain insight into the nature of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and nonself.

As our insight into the three characteristics of existence deepens, we notice their interconnectedness. With insight into impermanence, one gains an understanding of the unsatisfactoriness and nonself inherent to all conditioned phenomena. With an improved comprehension of the nature of dissatisfaction, one understands its connection to impermanence and nonself. In this way, developing discernment into any of the three characteristics of existence leads to a clearer understanding of the other two.

As our insight into the three characteristics of existence deepens, we notice their interconnectedness.

When we practice mindfulness, no matter how brief our practice is, it will all add up over time. It is just like drops of water rolling down from the top of a mountain; eventually the drops produce streams through tributaries, and small streams then grow into more significant rivers. Similarly, every time we practice mindfulness it adds to our total mindfulness factor of enlightenment. Therefore, we shouldn’t think that we have to practice the mindfulness factor of enlightenment all at once, during just one or a few meditation sessions. Every fraction of mindfulness adds up to the mindfulness factor of enlightenment. This is how we can overcome the influxes of sense pleasures, becoming, ignorance, and wrong views, bit by bit.

The second factor of enlightenment is investigation of the dhamma, which is necessary for spiritual progress. This means making the effort to read, discuss, memorize, and reflect on the dhamma. We reflect on the meaning of the words we learn in dhamma books or from our teachers, scrutinize their context, and think about how they apply to our lives and how to put them into practice in order to liberate ourselves from suffering.

In our study of the dhamma we should not adopt an attitude of blind faith but rather be investigative. When we meet with friends to discuss the dhamma, when we ask our teachers about the Buddha’s teachings, or whenever we reflect on the dhamma, we develop our investigation factor of enlightenment. This will lead in turn to the blossoming of wisdom within us.

The third factor of enlightenment is effort. [This includes] the fourfold efforts involved in eradicating influxes: the efforts to prevent and abandon unwholesome states of mind and to arouse and develop wholesome ones. As we exert right effort our successes encourage us and clarity of understanding unfolds in us. We start seeing positive results in ourselves, and this motivates us to increase our efforts. This makes us very glad.

As a result, the fourth factor of enlightenment, joy, develops. Whenever we see the rising and falling of the aggregates, our wisdom, clear understanding, and insight begin to unfold. This too causes joy to arise. As our practice develops, along with investigation and effort, we begin to see how wonderful and marvelous the dhamma is. We understand that it is the key to our liberation from suffering. And seeing that there is a genuine way out of suffering is a great source of joy indeed. This kind of joy has nothing to do with mundane happiness, which comes from excitement. When people have mundane joy, they may hug, kiss, jump up and down, sing, and work themselves up into a tizzy.

Spiritual joy, on the other hand, leads to a calm, relaxed, serene, and composed mind. This is called the tranquility factor of enlightenment. Anytime we see the dhamma for ourselves and feel happy while meditating, discussing, and reading about the dhamma, it is this kind of spiritual joy that we are experiencing. And this joy makes us tranquil, calm, relaxed, and peaceful.

The calm, relaxation, peacefulness, and tranquility resulting from the joy we experience when we attain insight into the dhamma leads to the sixth factor of enlightenment, concentration. With concentration, we are able to see things clearly as they really are, and this brings equanimity to our minds. This is equanimity, the seventh and final factor of enlightenment, a supremely clear and pure state of mind that is attained during meditation.

When the mind gets excited rather than tranquil, the restlessness fetter is present. Restlessness as a hindrance is a negative state, but when we get close to attaining arahantship, it is not negative. Instead it is like trepidation or excitement when we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel after a long effort toward full enlightenment. To calm this excitement down, we employ mindfulness to balance the factors of investigation, effort, and joy with tranquility, concentration, and equanimity. In this way, all the calming factors are brought to mind, thereby enhancing tranquility, concentration, and equanimity.

Dependent Origination in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana and Veronique Ziegler.
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Bhante Henepola Gunaratana is a Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka and the author of Mindfulness in Plain English. He is president of the Bhavana Society in High View, West Virginia, an organization that promotes meditation and monastic life.
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