Chinese practitioners who come to study here face difficulties. You come from a long distance and your stay is only temporary. I hope you will grasp the principles of practice firmly, so when you return home to China, you can apply them successfully. Nowadays, there are so many Dhamma teachings everywhere. Even in Thailand, there’s confusion. Many diverge from the teachings of Lord Buddha, inventing their own interpretations and teaching based on their own defilements. For instance, some teach that even Arahants can be reborn, or claim that they can help us attain Dhamma with shortcuts, like conveying psychic energy to assist. These are deceptions. Lord Buddha never applied such methods because they simply don’t work. If he could relieve people’s suffering or lead them to attain enlightenment, he would have done so for everyone. However, the core principle of Buddhism is to help oneself, known as “one is one’s own refuge.” No one else can truly help us.
One is one’s own refuge
Lord Buddha performed his duty as a teacher, explaining how we should practice. If we do not practice according to the teacher’s instructions, we remain ignorant, not understanding Buddhism, and cannot be free from suffering. Practicing Dhamma begins with observing the precepts, starting with the 5 precepts: not mistreating oneself or others, not harming the life of any person or animal or one’s own self, not taking what is not given, including one’s own property, like spending it all on drugs or gambling, and not encroaching one’s ownself and others by engaging in sexual misconduct, like you are attracted to someone and coercing that someone to be with you or being unfaithful, which harms others and betrays the trust of loved ones. These are against the precept and at the same time encroaching one who is very dear to others.
Another precept to observe is to not harm others or oneself with words. Some people constantly lie, to the extent that they themselves can no longer distinguish what is true and what is not. I have encountered such cases where people lie constantly, causing their words to be completely unreliable. This is truly self harm by diminishing one’s own value, making oneself untrustworthy. By lying and deceiving others, you also harm them. Another important point is not to impair your own or other’s mindfulness and consciousness. For example, not consuming alcohol or drugs, as they impair our mental clarity, and not offering alcohol to others. Even if you do not drink but provide alcohol to others, it’s still considered you encroaching on them. Therefore, by observing the precepts, we do not harm others or ourselves, and our minds will be at peace more easily.
When we are committed to observing the precepts, next we must practice. The second lesson is to train the mind to be stable and powerful. Most practitioners in Thailand practice just to calm the mind. A calm mind gains strength and power, yet there are hardly any opportunities to train the mind to be steadfast. It’s very rare. There are numerous ways to practice calming the mind, like continuously directing the mind towards a single pleasant emotion. When the mind remains in a state of happiness, it does not wander off to other emotions. It doesn’t scatter towards the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind, which it usually does all the time, resulting in a restless, agitated mind. A restless mind consumes energy and becomes weak. Therefore, if we let the mind rest in one emotion continuously, it will not scatter around consuming energy unnecessarily. Thus, the mind gathers strength and the power of the mind emerges.
How do we establish a steadfast mind? We simply add mindfulness. We might remain in the same emotion, such as staying with the breath, with Bud-dho, or with a mantra. We keep refreshing the awareness of our own mind, such as noting when we exhale and inhale. If the mind doesn’t wander off when breathing, we attain a type of calm concentration. Then the mind becomes strong. Yet, if while breathing, the mind wanders to other thoughts and forgets about the breathing, by relying on mindfulness to promptly catch the mind that has strayed, the wandering mind then extinguishes, and a steadfast mind emerges automatically. A calm mind brings us happiness, vigor, and strength. A steadfast mind is greatly beneficial. It serves as a tool for developing wisdom. This steadfast mind is called Right Concentration (Samma Samadhi). Right Concentration is a direct cause that originates wisdom. Without Right Concentration, there is no wisdom, only mere calmness.
Therefore, we must practice to achieve this type of concentration. When I studied with Luang Pu Dul, after 7 months I understood the practice. Luang Pu ensured I could rely on myself and I was no longer lost. I then went on to visit various meditation centers to observe their practices. They were practicing a kind of calm concentration that sometimes allowed delusion to creep in. Some practitioners were so absorbed that they became unaware of themselves, as if in a trance, or being under the influence of drugs. Others were overly tense. There were many people practicing meditation, but they lacked self-awareness. Their minds were lost, wandering in a world of thoughts or focusing on emotions, lacking mindfulness.
It is more important to be aware that the mind has wandered than to achieve calmness
Therefore, if, during meditation or mindfulness practices, our mind wanders, it is more important to be aware that the mind has wandered than to achieve calmness. Being aware of one’s own mind is more crucial than just being calm. So, keep practicing Dhamma. Practice the way you aim for calmness as before, but this time do not focus on calmness itself, but on being aware of your own mental states. When meditating and the mind starts to wander, be aware of it. If the mind focuses intensely on the object of meditation, be aware of that too. For instance, in Anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing), if we seek calmness, we keep our attention on the breath without letting it stray elsewhere. The mind then remains calm and powerful. If we want the mind to be steadfast, instead of seeking calmness, we then continuously be aware of our own mental state.
When we breathe and the mind wanders to think, be aware of it. As the mind drifts to the breath, be aware of that too. Our mind will flow here and there, drifting to the eyes to see, to the ears to listen, to the nose, tongue, body, and to the mind where it mostly drifts into thought. Wherever the mind wanders to, whether the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind, be mindful and recognize it. The mind will then cease to wander and become automatically stable. We can’t directly order the mind to be stable because it is non-self (Anatta). However, by continuously being aware of the mind when it is unstable, as soon as we are aware that the mind has drifted, it will automatically become stable.
Once the mind becomes stable and fully present with the body, leading to the final lesson. Lesson number 3 is about developing wisdom. We must utilize the steadfast mind to learn the true nature of the body and the mind. As our mind becomes stable and gains strength, we gradually observe more deeply. For instance, at the moment everyone is listening to the sermon, the mind gains strength. When I give a sermon and you listen attentively, your minds become powerful. They become calm and remain within the body. Observe this closely. Right now, as the body sits, notice whether you can perceive the body that is sitting as an object of awareness. The body that inhales and the body that exhales are objects being observed. We see the body moving, breathing, shifting, and existing in different postures like standing, walking, sitting, lying down. Continue to be aware.
But when our mind becomes stable, we will see that the body and the mind are separate entities. The body moves, while the mind is the knower and the observer. When our mind truly concentrates, we can separate the aggregates. We will see that the body and the mind are different. For instance, right now, the body is sitting. The sitting body is the object being known and being seen, and the mind is the knower and the seer. We don’t need to search for the mind. We only need to see that the body is the object being known and being seen. The body in different postures; standing, walking, sitting, lying down, is being known and being seen. The body that inhales and exhales is being known and being seen. Keep doing this continuously, and at some point, wisdom will arise.
Wisdom does not arise from thinking, but from the comprehensive knowledge of the mind. When the mind achieves the Right Concentration and becomes stable, and then mindfulness recognizes the body, it will see that the body is not us, but just an object being known and being seen. And if mindfulness recognizes Vedana or feelings of pleasure and pain, it will see that these feelings are not us either, they are just objects being known and being seen. Or if the mind is stable and mindfulness recognizes wholesome or unwholesome states arising, like when our mind feels anger or doubt such as being doubted during a sermon, if the mind is stable, we will see that even doubt is just an object being known and being seen, not the mind itself. And everything that is observed will reveal itself as not being us, but merely being known and being seen as an external object.
Therefore, the key point is that we must train the mind to be stable. Once the mind is stable and mindfulness recognizes the body, it will see that the body is being known and being seen. It is not us. When the mind is stable and mindfulness recognizes Vedana or feelings of pleasure and pain, it will see that these feelings of happiness and suffering are not us. When the mind is stable and becomes aware of wholesome or unwholesome states such as greed, anger, or delusion, it will realize that these wholesome and unwholesome states, be it anger, delusion or others are not us either.
As we practice more and more, we will see that sometimes the mind is a knower, and sometimes it becomes a wanderer. Both the knowing mind and the wandering mind are being known. Ultimately, even the mind is not us, it is not ours either. When neither the body nor the mind are us, this understanding is a virtue. If we truly comprehend this, that is the state of Sotapanna or the Stream-enterer. As one who aspires to become a noble person but doesn’t know how; the way to become a noble person is through practicing through the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. This involves being constantly aware of one’s own body and mind with a stable mind as the knower and observer. Many fail to achieve results in their meditation practice, even after decades, because they lack a mind endowed with Right Concentration, a mind that is stable and is a knower and an observer.
Concentration means steadiness
Concentration doesn’t mean calmness. It means steadiness. Even just translating the word, it’s often done incorrectly. When people translate “Samadhi” as calmness, they focus solely on making the mind calm, which results in a state that is passive and dull. This is not cultivating wisdom because it’s all about being calm. When developing wisdom, the mind isn’t calm. Compare when you’re just lying down doing nothing to when you are studying. When studying and accumulating wisdom, the mind isn’t simply still and dull. It’s dynamic and capable of change. Therefore, calmness isn’t the correct translation for “Samadhi.”
Samadhi means stableness. You can check this yourself in the dictionary. I challenge you to look it up in the Buddhist Dictionary by Somdet Phra Buddhaghosacariya (P.A. Payutto), which is well-written. Or you may consult any other correct scripture. Samadhi means stableness. Whatever remains stable is not ourselves, but our mind. A stable mind is one that doesn’t drift or wander. A mind that is stable can separate the aggregates. It discerns that the body is one thing, and the mind is the knower and an observer. The body stands, and the mind is an observer. The body sits, and the mind is an observer. The body walks, and the mind is an observer. The body lies down, and the mind is an observer. The body exhales, and the mind is an observer. The body inhales, and the mind is an observer. The body moves, and the mind is an observer.
Like number 1 is scratching. If you practice Dhamma, you will immediately see that the body moves and the mind is merely the knower and the observer. There’s no need to control the mind. Even the ordinary mind sees the body functioning and realizes that this is not us, it is just an object being known and being seen. This is truly the principle of practice, with a substantial core. As we continue to practice, we will eventually realize that the body is not us, nor are the feelings, thoughts, and perceptions. All arise, exist, and then extinguish.
When we see that the body is not us, when the body ages, it is not us aging. We merely see the body aging. When the body is in pain, it is not us in pain. We only see the body in pain. When it is time to die, we see that it is the body dying, not us dying, because it is not us. Therefore, we will not suffer. No matter what happens to the body, we will not suffer because it is not us. However, physical pain is natural and is a part of the body. Yet, the mind will not suffer. Suffering can impact the body, but it does not reach our mind anymore as we are well aware that the body is not us. It’s like seeing someone else suffer, or seeing someone else get hit by a car in an accident. The one in pain is not us because we are just the observer.
Keep practicing and you will be able to separate the aggregates. The body and the mind are separate from each other. Whatever happens to the body, the mind remains untroubled. As for the mind, when feelings and thoughts arise, we see that pleasure and pain are perceived but they are not us. People in the world run around chasing after happiness and escaping from suffering. The happiness that comes with sweat is there just temporarily and then passes. The suffering we detest so much, once it arrives we cannot prevent it. No matter how we try to get rid of it, it doesn’t go away. It comes and goes according to its own causes and conditions. When we see this, we realize that happiness or suffering is just being known and seen. It is not us. It is beyond our control. When there is a cause, it arises. When the cause ceases, it extinguishes. It cannot be controlled. Seeing this, the mind can let go.
Moving forward, we will not crave happiness. We will not despise suffering. Our mind will remain neutral towards both pleasure and pain. We see that both happiness and suffering are equivalent and equal. They both arise and then extinguish completely. Thus, when we experience happiness, we won’t get carried away or lose ourselves, as we realize that it will soon extinguish. When suffering arises, we won’t be overly distressed because we realize it will also extinguish. Whatever happens, everything eventually extinguishes. If we truly have the wisdom to understand this, our mind will not suffer at all. We will not be swayed by joy or sorrow, by wholesome or unwholesome. The mind will truly be peaceful and neutral.
If you do not yet have the wisdom to reach this point, and when life brings you intense suffering, I provide you here a mantra to recite during times of deep distress, when you can’t seem to find a solution and feel very troubled. This short mantra is “This too shall pass.” “This too shall pass.” Is there any suffering that arises and does not pass? No. Consider how much suffering you already have endured in life, and can you see that all have passed. Then if happiness arises, recite this mantra as well; “This too shall pass.” Then you won’t be running around chasing after happiness. Whenever anything happens in life, be it happiness or suffering, wholesome or unwholesome, keep reciting this mantra: “This too shall pass.” Your mind will then gain concentration and become peaceful.
Just keep observing whether things truly pass or not. Like happiness, you see, when it arises, soon it will pass. And indeed, it eventually does. When suffering arises, you can’t do anything about it. You then recite in your mind, “This too shall pass.” Then see whether it passes or not, and it indeed does. Keep reminding yourself that everything in your lives will eventually pass. Your own physical life will pass. The lives of those you love will pass. The lives of those you dislike will pass. Nothing comes and does not go. Always reflect and remind yourself of this. But if you have enough mindfulness and a steadfast mind, then observe the truth directly. Nevertheless, if your mind is not yet sufficiently qualified, then keep instructing it. Reciting this mantra. It is a magical mantra. Keep reciting it, and your mind will achieve great concentration. That’s all for today. I even have to teach you the mantra.
Wat Suansantidham
29 July 2024