The world is like a poisonous snake

The reward for your practice is peacefulness. Nothing is more valuable or more blissful. External peace is easily obtained. You can stay alone at home and get it. You can easily gain verbal peace by refraining from being talkative and only speak when necessary. But inner peace is the hardest, because the mind is quick. It runs all day and night. It clings to one object and moves to the next quickly. It is endlessly hectic.

So, practicing for a peaceful mind is not easy. The mind has many stimuli. First, try to reduce external stimuli. Pay less attention to visions, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. These worldly things are endless. The more you get involved with them, the more restless your mind becomes. Like, if you see someone wealthier enjoying pleasures, your mind will compare your life and theirs, and the mind will be restless.

Being vigilant

The first step to attain peacefulness is to be vigilant of the senses. Being vigilant means being attentive and mindful. When eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or the mind sense an object, be mindful. If you are not vigilant, the mind will crave to see, hear, smell, taste, or touch some object. The mind will then be restless. If you want inner peace, minimize interaction with the outside world.

Dealing with many people is hectic. Everyone wants something different. We do not need many friends. We only need good ones. Having one or two truly good friends is enough. Having many friends is chaotic. Everyone wants you to do something different. Choose your friends carefully. Pick the ones who encourage you to practice and seek inner peacefulness.

Do not indulge yourself in visions, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. They do not last. New visions are impermanent, and so are sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. Do not be lured by them. They are endless. The mind will crave seeing new visions, hearing new sounds, smelling and tasting new things, or seeking new touches. This craving will constantly persist in your mind.

So, interact with other people only as needed. Give as much time as possible to take care of your own mind. If you minimize social contact, external senses do not have to work hard. But if you need to interact with people, be vigilant, meaning when the mind sees something and the mind becomes happy, unhappy, wholesome, or unwholesome, know so. When the mind comes into contact with external objects, observe the mind. After contact, if happiness arises, know so; if unhappiness arises, know so. Know so when wholesomeness, unwholesomeness, or the struggling of the mind arises. This will reduce the impact that external contacts have on your mind.

Usually, when there is contact, perturbation or shakiness will happen. This is unavoidable. When eyes see visions, the mind is shaken. This also happens when ears hear sounds. But if you are vigilant and mindful of the contact between senses and objects, this perturbation is lessened. Some peacefulness will arise. This is peacefulness attained by mindfulness. Mindfulness knows when there is contact between your senses and external objects and shakiness arises.

Where do you feel this shakiness? Right in the middle of the chest, not anywhere else. When the mind gets shaken, the mind becomes happy, sad, wholesome, or unwholesome. The mind then further fabricates other things. So, be mindful of this contact. See the changes that are occurring. If you do, perturbation will not be strong. If you are not vigilant and mindful, when your senses come into contact with an object, strong perturbation occurs. The mind will be unhappy and unpeaceful.

When you first get started, minimize contact with other people. If it is not possible, do so with mindfulness knowing the contact at the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and the mind. If you are thinking of someone, have mindfulness. Mindfulness prevents this shakiness. When I say minimize contact with other people, I mean minimize these sensual contacts. But if doing so is not possible, reduce the perturbation by having mindfulness. Your mind will eventually be happier and more peaceful. This is peacefulness attained by mindfulness.

You first gain peacefulness with the act of solitariness. If you need to interact, be mindful. Another type of peacefulness is attained by Samadhi (stability/concentration). Peacefulness that arises from Samadhi is also blissful. Most people only know happiness that arises from contacts between external senses and objects. Their minds are perturbed. When the contact is between a sense and a pleasurable object, happiness arises. Contact with unpleasurable objects brings unhappiness. This is how they seek happiness. But there are other ways to attain peacefulness of the mind besides avoiding contact. Being mindful lessens this shakiness. Practicing Samadhi (stability/concentration) makes the mind more still. This is beyond minimizing perturbation. It makes the mind still.

The art of practicing Samadha

Every way to practice Samadhi shares the same principles. You pick the way that you are skillful at. Observing breathing is not superior to silently reciting “Buddho,” nor is it any better than observing your belly expanding and contracting. It depends on your temperament and skill. Whichever practice object suits you, pick that one as a home base. This home base is called Vihara-dhamma. It is a residence for the mind. A good home is where Citta (the mind) is happy to reside. If the mind is unhappy at the home base, the struggling will worsen. That is why some people breathe heavily and find that their minds are even more diffused instead of being peaceful.

So, the art of practicing Samadha (peacefulness) is knowing which object to choose. Pick the one that makes you happy. For me, silently reciting “Bud” when breathing in and “dho” when breathing out makes me happy. It may not be suitable for you. If observing breathing makes you tense, you need to observe yourself. I cannot coach individually, as there are too many people. So, I teach the principles instead.

See which practice object makes you happy. If silently reciting “Buddho” or observing breathing makes you happy, use it. If observing belly expanding and contracting works, use it. The same applies for walking, making hand movements (like LuangPor Tian), contemplating the body as dirty and undesirable, or reminding yourself of your own or everyone else’s eventual death. Many people you know have already passed away. You yourself will also die one day. Some people attain happiness and peacefulness when considering death this way.

Being happy in one practice object is the key to quickly attain a calm, peaceful mind with Samadhi (stability/concentration). This is so because happiness is the immediate cause of Samadhi. You need to observe yourself, not others. Seeing me attaining peacefulness with breathing and reciting “Buddho” and trying to imitate my practice is not the way. Everyone has their own way. Observe the home base object that makes you happy. Some people find observing their belly expanding and contracting happy. Some are happy with observing hand movements. Some are happy doing housework. Some are happy knitting. These can all be your home base for Samadhi. But do not pick an object that is unwholesome or conducive to unwholesomeness. That will not lead you to peacefulness.

An example is trading stocks or cryptocurrencies. I do not really know about this crypto stuff. But if you spend all day trading and say your mind is focused on a single object, seeing only prices moving up and down, you will not be peaceful. It is too conducive to unwholesomeness. If profits rise, you become happy. If profits drop, you become unhappy. The mind gets even more disturbed. The same is true if you like to play cards, mobile games, or video games all day, and say that your mind has only one object, which is the game.

When playing the games, the mind fluctuates heavily. It is conducive to unwholesomeness. You cannot use this kind of object for practice. The object must make you happy, and not induce more unwholesomeness, cause existing unwholesomeness to get stronger, or weaken existing wholesomeness. Playing these games leads to mindlessness. Existing wholesomeness will diminish. Avoid it. Pick an object that makes you happy and does not induce unwholesomeness.

Choosing the object that the mind is happy to be with,
and that object must not induce unwholesomeness

Some like to observe body parts, like hair, body hair, nails, teeth, and skin, and attain happiness. If you are like that, do so. It is not inducing unwholesomeness. You can remind yourself of the Buddha. Considering a topic of Dhamma can lead to a refreshed and delighted mind. You can attain happiness that way. Observe yourself. Some can only chant. Chanting is having the mind immersed in one object: chanting. Chanting does not induce unwholesomeness. Keep chanting, and if you are happy to do so, the mind will attain peacefulness. So the trick for quickly attaining peacefulness is choosing the object that the mind is happy to be with, and that object must not induce unwholesomeness. Everyone has their own way.

Look at the 40 objects of meditation. These objects are for Samatha (peacefulness) practice. Some like to observe fire. Light a candle, observe the fire, and attain happiness. The mind is one and peaceful with the fire. It does not wander off. This is a Kasina (meditation device or object). Or you can sit comfortably under a tree and observe the leaves being blown by the wind. See the leaves twist and turn. It is good if you can observe a Bodhi tree. A big Bodhi tree has many leaves. When the wind blows, the leaves’ movements are beautiful. If your mind likes them, peacefulness will arise. It arises because of happiness. Bodhi leaves in nature are beautiful. See them.

Why do the Bodhi leaves twist and turn? Because the wind is blowing. This is how you practice Vayo-Kasina (wind as a meditation object). You cannot observe the wind directly, so you look at its effect on the leaves. The movements occurred from the wind element. The earth element is firm. Having less earth elements makes things softer. The water element is the one that permeates and attracts things together. The water surface tension is the result of this attraction. The water element both permeates and attracts. The wind element is tight and moving. When the wind blows, leaves move. If there is a lot of wind in your belly, the belly feels tight. The fire element is the temperature. The characteristics of the elements are coldness, hotness, softness, firmness, tightness, and movement.

The elements can be used to practice Kasina. Wisdom development from elements is also possible, but I am talking about Kasina in the Samadhi aspect. You can also use them for wisdom development. A practice object that is based on your body or your mind can be used for both Samatha (peacefulness) and Vipassana (wisdom development). But if that object is not of the body or mind, you cannot use it for Vipassana. If you see the wind making the leaves move, you see that the wind is not static. This is an external object. For an internal object, you can see the wind constantly changing direction in and out of your nose. If you do a sitting meditation and want to practice Wind Kasina, you do not need to look for leaves to observe. You can observe the wind at the tip of your nose. See wind flowing in and out of your body. Know that wind. Eventually, the object will turn into light.

All 10 Kasina objects will eventually turn into light. So, if you are skillful at one Kasina, the other 9 will not be hard for you, because the end result is the same: the light. It will be bright. This is for someone who is really skillful. If you are not, do not worry. Keep chanting. Contemplating death, seeing the body as dirty and undesirable, or contemplating the Buddha’s, Dhamma’s, and Sangha’s (disciple’s) virtues is sufficient. Like, if you think of your master, your mind will be happy and peaceful.
Before I got ordained, sometimes my mind was restless. Doing a sitting meditation for peacefulness was difficult. So, I thought about my masters, like Luangpu Dune, Luangpu Tet, and Luangpu Sim. When I thought of them, my mind became happy. My masters were happy, peaceful, and blissful. Some were 90 or older, but they were still very bright, unlike other worldly people, who were tainted. When I thought about my masters who have practiced well, my mind became happy. When the mind becomes happy, Samadhi arises immediately.

Know that object with a natural mind

For Samatha (peacefulness) practice, if you know how to choose a suitable practice object, it is not difficult. You choose an object that makes you happy, and not inducing unwholesomeness. There is another trick: know that object with a natural mind. This is important. You can pick a practice object, like breathing in while silently reciting “Bud,” and breathing out with “dho.” You know that this is suitable for you, but when you start practicing, you overfocus and fixate on it. When will you be peaceful? Your mind craves peacefulness, but it gets diffused instead. You then get angry and abhor the diffusion. You love peacefulness, but after a long practice, you do not have it. This is so because the mind was unnatural. The mind was full of craving and fury. Craving creates this agitation, so the mind is struggling and full of unhappiness. Even though you picked the right practice object, you did not observe it peacefully. So, happiness did not arise. Stress rose instead. Like, if you observe the breathing while repeatedly thinking of when you will be peaceful, you will not be. But there are exceptions. Some people keep craving for happiness and endure practicing until a point where the mind becomes very tired. After much tiredness, the mind gives up and lets go of the craving. Once craving disappears, the mind enters absorption and attains peacefulness. So, the mind only enters absorption and attains peacefulness when it is comfortable. As long as it is stressful and full of cravings, peacefulness will not arise, because these two things keep agitating the mind. The mind will keep struggling and will not be peaceful.

So, we must know the technique. For practicing Samatha, choose the object that makes you happy. The object must also not induce unwholesomeness. When you observe the object, do it naturally with a natural mind. Like, see the body breathing comfortably, without trying to make yourself comfortable. Some people hear me talking about “know comfortably,” and fabricate a sweet, loving mind. That is unacceptable. Know naturally without adjusting your mind, and disregard both peacefulness and diffusion.

If you observe the practice object with a natural mind, peacefulness will come quickly. Let me show you. Peaceful. Done. It happens in a flash if you really know the object with a natural mind. This is the trick for practicing Samatha (peacefulness). It is not normally taught, because it is difficult. Most will tell you to go practice by yourself by reciting “Buddho,” by breathing, or by seeing belly expanding and contracting. If you practice with craving and restlessness, you miss the principle and the technique. So, I am teaching you the technique to achieve Samadhi (stability/concentration) and peacefulness quickly.

At first, ignore peacefulness and keep practicing. When you are more skillful, you will know how. You already know the proper practice object. You will also know that you must use a natural mind to know the practice object. When you observe the practice object, you will know to ignore peacefulness or diffusion. Observe the object comfortably. With these techniques, practicing Samadhi will be easier and easier. When you are skillful, you can attain peacefulness in a very short time. The mind will be peaceful, stable, and luminous. For stability, additional practice is needed. You must practice knowing the mind that is unstable. This will result in a stable mind.

I first talk about peacefulness, because I talk about stability every day. When you practice, and the mind wanders off from its home base, know so. This results in a stable mind. Then you keep observing the practice object. Observe naturally. The mind will be both peaceful and stable. Stability arises by knowing the mind that is unstable, which is the mind that wanders off. Practice with your object, and know the mind that wanders off. Keep knowing the mind that wanders off. You will get both peacefulness and stability.

The mind that is blissful and peaceful from Samadhi is more joyful than the mind that enjoys sensual pleasures, like listening to music, watching movies, or eating delicious things. Those pleasures are called Kama-Sukha (sensual pleasures). Joy from visions, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches are enjoyable, but it is worldly, temporary, and unstable. But the joy from Samadhi, especially if you have Vasi (skillfulness in attaining deep Samadhi), is a refuge for mental and physical tiredness, stress, or life problems. If life’s problems overwhelm you, practice peacefulness, and the mind will have a refuge, a private sanctuary that you have built.

When the world is chaotic, troublesome, irritating, unhappy, unpeaceful, you enter your own refuge. You observe your practice object that you are skillful at. Observing it brings happiness and does not induce unwholesomeness. Know that object with a natural mind, not a craving one. Let it be. Keep knowing the practice object. At first, it may take a long time before peacefulness arises. But when the mind gets more skillful, and it thinks about practicing peacefulness, peacefulness arises quickly. If you can do so, you have Vasi (skillfulness) in attaining Samadhi.

Many aspects of Vasi to enter Samadhi

There are many aspects of Vasi. One is to enter Samadhi. The second is to remain in it. The next is to develop wisdom while in Samadhi, and the last is to leave Samadhi. You may not think leaving Samadhi is not important, as the mind will eventually leave Samadhi anyway. This is like a pilot thinking that taking off is difficult, but getting back to the ground, whether by running out of fuel, having an engine failure, or crashing, is a sure thing. Some say, entering Samadhi is hard, but leaving it is a sure thing. But practicing leaving Samadhi lets you have a gentle instead of a crash landing. So, practicing is needed.

When the mind has entered Samadhi, and you leave Samadhi unskillfully by pulling the mind right out, a headache can result. You can get sick from this headache. So, when you are in Samadhi, do not pull the mind out. No matter how many hours you are in peacefulness, let the mind stay there. When the time comes, the mind will slowly leave Samadhi. But sometimes, there are urgent matters: a master may require an emergency attendance, or if you are at home practicing in the shrine room, and your wife calls you. This is an even bigger emergency than the master’s call. Disregarding her call is a mutiny, so you must leave Samadhi. When you leave, leave slowly.

The way to leave Samadhi is to focus on more coarse objects. Like, when you are deep in Samadhi, it almost seems like you are not breathing. To leave Samadhi, breathe heavier. This is like slowly waking yourself up. This is like when your deep sleep is disturbed, you may get a headache. So, while in deep Samadhi, breathe more heavily. Do not force it. Do not open your eyes right away. Slowly withdraw. This requires practice. So, you must attain all 4 aspects of Vasi (skillfulness): entering Samadhi quickly, remaining in Samadhi as long as you want, ability to develop wisdom while in Samadhi, and leaving Samadhi smoothly. Mastery of all 4 is true Vasi.

In Buddhism, besides the Buddha, the one who was the most skillful in entering and leaving Samadhi was Pra Moggallāna. He had enormous supernatural powers. He could enter Samadhi, leave it to wish for the use of mental power, and enter Samadhi to use the power all in a flash. He could do loops of this repeatedly, with each cycle resulting in a supernatural mental power, quicker than a lightning.

Have you ever chanted Bahum (Jayamangala Gatha – the eight victories of the Buddha)? There is a verse there about a Naga (a giant snake) challenging the Buddha’s disciples. The Naga would open its mouth, challenging a disciple to sit inside and leave before it could bite. Is a snake bite quick? It is. The Naga challenged that a disciple should enter its mouth, enter Samadhi, leave Samadhi, and leave its mouth before it could bite. Pra Moggallāna was the only one that the Buddha allowed to accept the Naga’s challenge. The Buddha knew that this Naga had great powers, but Pra Moggallāna’s mental powers were stronger. Pra Moggallāna said that even 100 of this type of Nagas were still no match for him. But for us, a regular snake can easily harm us. We cannot fight it. This is about Samadhi.

One aspect I have not yet talked about is developing wisdom while in Samadhi. We have not studied this much, as most people do not have sufficient Samadhi. This wisdom development is for people who are skillful in Appana Samadhi (deep absorption). Let the mind enter Jhana (absorption) and use Jhana’s factors as objects for practice. Know the changes in Jhana’s factors. Like, seeing the mind has Piti (joy). See Piti rises, stays, and decays. After Piti ceases, Sukha (happiness) becomes dominant. See Sukha rises, stays, and decays. After Sukha ceases, one-pointedness or Upekkha (impartiality) arises. See Jhana factors rise and fall as you enter different levels of absorptions.

Another way to develop wisdom in Samadhi is to enter Samadhi and attain some rest. Once the mind is rested and full of strength, leave Jhana and stay at Upacara Samadhi (near Jhana) level. Maintain this level of Samadhi and see phenomena arise and cease internally. Several phenomena will rise and fall. This is wisdom development in Samadhi. In Appana Samadhi (full absorption), observe the Jhana factors, but in Upacara Samadhi (near absorption), observe phenomena that the mind fabricates rise and fall. You can practice this way.

But if you cannot attain a high level of Samadhi, just practice outside them. If you cannot enter Jhana, practice Khanika Samadhi (momentary concentration). Use the principle I mentioned earlier: pick an object that the mind is happy to know and does not induce unwholesomeness. Know that object comfortably, while knowing the mind’s actions. Like, observing breathing and seeing the mind wander off to think about something else, forgetting to recite “Buddho.” Once you know that the mind has wandered off, a stable mind will rise momentarily, and it will soon wander off. Keep knowing so, and eventually wisdom will rise while using Khanika Samadhi (momentary concentration).

If you are skillful in Samadhi, you are skillful to enter, maintain, and develop wisdom there. You must also be able to leave Samadhi smoothly. Leaving too quickly causes a headache. If you can practice this way, the mind will have a lot of happiness. It is a different kind of happiness. It is happiness that arises from wisdom. Like, when you practice, and the mind attains some right view or understanding, happiness will also arise together with wisdom. When you go to a funeral ceremony to hear the monks chant. You do not know whether the monks know the meaning of the chant, but you surely do not. Sometimes you listen comfortably and fall half asleep. When you wake up, open your eyes, and look at the coffin and realize that, oh, your dad or mom has just passed away. You see that life is so impermanent. Seeing this can rejuvenate the mind and induce happiness.

Or, when someone dear to you is dying, instead of crying and suffering, you practice. When they pass, you see happiness arise, as the mind gains happiness from wisdom. It sees that everyone who was born will die. The mind can become happy. This is my personal experience. When my father was about to die, I was sitting close by. This was before I became a monk. When he was dying, I was observing. It was full of suffering. Once death occurred, happiness arose, not because I would inherit something, as he did not have much. But the mind was blissful because it saw some Dhamma: life is impermanent. He just had his last breath. No one knows when their death will come. He did not know when his last breath would be that morning. The mind saw some truth, and bliss arose instead of sorrow.

So, when wisdom arises, happiness also arises. The mind that has wisdom can have 2 kinds of Vedana (feelings): happiness or Upekkha (equanimity). There is another type of happiness which happens at the moment of Ariya-Magga (enlightenment). That is the moment the mind permanently eradicates some impurities. Right then, the mind will be either happy or equanimous. Right after the moment of Ariya-Magga (enlightenment), comes the Ariya-Phala (moment of realizing fruition of enlightenment). The mind in Ariya-Phala can be happy or equanimous. Equanimity is a finer bliss than regular happiness, as happiness still can be stimulating. Equanimity is more delicate and peaceful. This is happiness from practice.

Living in the world as if you are surrounded by poisonous snakes

If you keep practicing, the world is less appealing. When the world is less appealing, your mind does not want to interact with it much. Once, a monk who had stayed with me for a long time had a business at home. His relative just passed. He then went home as a courtesy. When the monk got home, instead of finding the happiness at home like he expected, he wanted to return to the temple immediately. He felt the world was full of chaos and he no longer belonged. The feeling of not belonging and being ill-suited was strong.

Before I became a monk, I disliked going to shopping malls, especially the ones full of teenagers. Those places made my head spin. I felt out of place. The place for me must have been more peaceful. Being solitary was the most comfortable. When the mind is used to peacefulness, it will loosen its grip from the world. It will see the world as not desirable or special. The world is full of chaos, suffering, and has no real essence.

Like, you see your friends socializing and drinking, and that is what you used to like to do. After a long practice, you see that their drinking party has no substance. Sometimes it seems like a bunch of corpses drinking. The mind knows that these people will soon pass, but they are still deluded by the world. They ignore the fact that they do not know when they will die. Some may die soon, and some may die later, but they all are in delusions; they are never aware of their eventual but certain death. They may think they will live for a long time, but they may not.

When we practice, we will see the world as uninteresting, undesirable, and filthy. The mind will loosen its worldly attachments. The loosening will strengthen your resolve to practice. When you need to be in contact with the world, Sati (mindfulness) and Samadhi (stability) will intensify, like when you are approaching a group of poisonous snakes. After practicing for a while, you will know that this world is like a poisonous snake. Visions and sounds are like poisonous snakes. They can corrupt the mind. When you practice and need to interact with the world, you will feel as if you are surrounded by poisonous snakes. They can bite at any time. The mind will be alert and full of Sati (mindfulness) and Samadhi (stability) to stay vigilant. Indriya-Samvara (mindfulness of the senses) and Sila (moral precepts) will arise automatically. The mind will be automatically stable. The mind will be composed and focused.

After some practice, you will see the results: it is hard to be in the world. It is on fire. It has no essence. You only live in it as necessary. You live in it as if you are surrounded by poisonous snakes. The world is full of suffering. If you are careless and cling to it just a little bit, you will suffer. Seeing this, the mind will be more inclined to practice. At first, you must persevere and persuade yourself to practice. But after a while, no persuasion is necessary. The mind will be weary of the outside world and will want to practice. Then, the progress from practice will be more swift; your practice will get better faster. This applies to both laypeople and monks who are determined.

Before I became a monk, I visited a master and told him about my practice. After submitting my homework and leaving the master, his attendant monk asked how I could get results from practice quickly. Even with 10-20 years of practice, many monks could not achieve what I did in a year. I told him honestly that I practiced all day long. This was so because I saw the world as a poisonous snake. I still needed to live in it, so I had to be vigilant with mindfulness. The mind would make quick progress with this mindset.

Why do you not achieve results from practice? Because you like to get involved in unnecessary worldly things. If it is necessary, then it cannot be helped. But if it is not, do not get involved. If you cannot find friends who have better or equal qualities, it is best to be solitary. These are not my words; these are the Buddha’s. Be alone and have practice as your soulmate. Before I became a monk, I had breathing as my friend and never got lonely. I was a little lonely during my teenage years, because I still could not practice well. Since I had gotten better at practicing, I never felt lonely or bored. I could be happy and peaceful regardless of the environment. The mind was peaceful and blissful.

The greatest happiness is peacefulness. But there are many levels of peacefulness: peacefulness from mindfulness, peacefulness from Samadhi (stability), peacefulness from Panna (wisdom), peacefulness from Ariya-Magga and Ariya-Phala (enlightenment), or peacefulness from Nibbana (Nirvana). The ultimate peacefulness is from Nibbana. I will not go into further details. There is no more time. This is it for today. Find happiness and peacefulness for your life. Do not squirm like a dog that got splashed by boiling water, or a worm that touches hot ashes. Kids these days do not know the expression “a worm that touches hot ashes,” as worms are hard to find. Ashes are also hard to find, as we all use gas stoves. In the old days, people used charcoal and dry wood. They produced ashes. If a worm got into contact with ashes, it squirmed restlessly from the torturous pain. Your mind is also like that. It is burnt by the impurities. You can visualize this pain by visualizing a dog that gets splashed by boiling water or a dog that gets hit by a car.

So, practice until you get to taste some bliss and peacefulness. Once you have tasted it, the mind will be diligent with practice and its grip on the world will loosen. This is so because the mind knows that the Buddha’s way is the way of peace and great happiness.