Questions & Answers (2)

... In the frames of reference that were practicing, were taught to reflect on the food we eat, the other necessities of life we use, to see that theyre simply things for us to depend on for a short while. Dont grow attached to them. You can choose the things you buy and store up for your use, but the mind should keep reflecting that they fall under the Three Characteristics. Theyre uncertain. When we want to use these things for our benefit, we should look after them, but we shouldnt let ourselves suffer when they deteriorate and change.

Question: Sometimes, when Im meditating to relax and settle the mind, the desire for results gets in the way. What should I do to keep my intention pure so that desire doesnt become an obstacle?

Ajaan Suwat: This desire is a form of craving. It really is an obstacle. Craving is something the Buddha taught us to abandon. If the desire serves a purpose, you should go ahead and desire. But if it doesnt, you should focus on what will get results. In other words, you should act without desire. Even when theres no desire, you can still act. You want to gain awareness, of course, so the task in front of you is to focus your awareness on a single object. When your meditation object appears to your awareness, you should focus on staying there with it in a single spot. As you stay there longer and longer, the mind will grow still and refined, all on its own. Thats because stillness comes from being mindful -- simply from being mindful without lapses of forgetfulness -- and not from desire.

Tell yourself: this is a task you have to do with mindfulness, discernment, and correct awareness. You dont have to depend on desire. When you do the work correctly, the results will come on their own.

Question: When doubts arise in the mind, are they of any help in the practice?

Ajaan Suwat: As long as the level of discernment called nana dassana -- knowledge and vision -- hasnt yet arisen within us, all of us are bound to have doubts. But if we simply sit there doubting, it doesnt serve any purpose. When doubts arise, we should study and practice so as to give rise to knowledge. If we cant give rise to knowledge on our own, we should go ask those who know, teachers with correct knowledge. If we practice correctly, the things we wonder about will appear, and that will be the end of our doubts. For instance, the questions youre asking are all an affair of doubt. When you get a correct answer, you gain knowledge that helps unravel your doubts -- and in this way doubts serve a purpose, in that getting answers to your questions can resolve your doubts on some levels.

Question: Suppose that the Thai government tried to change the religion in the country and began to oppress Buddhist monks or to drive them out of the country. Would the monks resist -- should they resist -- if the government were to oppress the monks in Thailand?

Ajaan Suwat: One of the basic principles laid down by the Buddha is that monks shouldnt get involved in politics. They should focus instead on the practice, exercising restraint over their words and actions so as to stay within the correct bounds of the Dhamma and the precepts. As long as the monks practice properly, there are people who will be inspired by them and who will respect them. The people who respect them would resist of their own free will -- the monks wouldnt have to resist.

Even if people with no religion were to take over the government or were to gain the power to oppress the monks and people at large, theyd be able to hold power only temporarily -- because the type of power that knows no religion or morality, that would govern in an unfair way, cant really maintain peace and order in a country. There are ideologies that, when they take over the government, give no freedom to the people, dont allow them to practice religion or to hold other beliefs. And as weve seen, they can stay in power only temporarily. As time passes, the people get rid of them, push them out. We can see this clearly at present: in almost every country where unfair ideologies are in power, people are demanding the freedoms that we have here in America, where the government gives weight to human rights and where the people are pleased with this system.

Suppose that some groups were to try to change this system. The vast majority of the people wouldnt go along with them for sure. In the same way, ninety percent of the people in Thailand are Buddhist. If the government showed no respect for Buddhism, the people wouldnt go along with it for sure. There have been times in the past when the government thought somewhat along those lines, but they never succeeded, because the majority of the people didnt go along with them. The current king is widely loved and respected because of his reputation for developing the country and helping the people in the proper way. He holds fast to Buddhist principles, both in his own personal behavior and in his dealings with the people. For this reason, the power of the Buddhas teachings is still deeply embedded in the hearts of the Thai people. They are deeply appreciative of the fact that the king respects the Buddhas teachings and practices in line with them, strictly observing the precepts and staying firmly established in the practice of meditation.

Question: In light of the precept against killing, what does Buddhism have to say about having armed forces to protect the nation?

Ajaan Suwat: This sort of thing is an affair of the world. There have been armed forces since time immemorial. When the Buddha was alive, there were battles, police forces, armies, governments, just like today. The Buddha taught only the people who were able to practice his teachings. Armed forces and so forth are a necessary part of having a society, which is why we dont get involved in them.

Question: Under the first precept, if someone comes to kill us or to kill members of our family, do we have the right to fight back?

Ajaan Suwat: In cases like that you have the right to use your intelligence, to figure out what will work so that you and your family will escape from danger, and then you can fight in self defense. But if youre ordained as a monk, you try to avoid fighting in that way. The Buddha saw the danger that lies in harming and killing one another, and so he laid down the principles that will prevent these things from happening in the first place -- in other words, by observing the five precepts. When we dont harm other people, dont kill them, the good kamma coming from that will give results: i.e., other people wont harm or kill us, either.

This is why the Buddha started out teaching these basic principles -- the five precepts -- to lay people, so as to release them from this sort of thing.

Question: When we see injustice in our country -- as in the problem of the homeless that we see all around us in America -- do we have the duty to fight that injustice?

Ajaan Suwat: One of the basic principles of the Buddhas teachings is attahi attano natho -- you should make yourself your own mainstay. The Buddha taught people to help themselves. When youre born as a human being, you cant abandon your duties. You have to make an effort. Our parents all raised us so that we know how to take care of ourselves, so that well understand the drawbacks of laziness, of not going to school; they taught us to study so as to gain knowledge and then find work to do so that we can depend on ourselves and not go looking for help from others.

Question: But when we see their suffering, when we see the injustices theyre subjected to, dont we have to help them?

Ajaan Suwat: The injustice is when we expect to depend on other people to do our work for us.

Question: But these homeless people are poor because theyve been treated unjustly by society.

Ajaan Suwat: This is a very subtle matter, dealing with the question of where we should look to for justice. If were able to work, so that we have a place to live and food to eat, what more should we expect from other people? If everyone were to observe the five precepts, there would be no injustice.

Question: Suppose that in Thailand the government didnt oppress monks, but cruelly oppressed the general populace instead. If the monks were to see the sufferings of the people, would they have any duty to help them?

Ajaan Suwat: The issues of the monks life are very subtle. The Buddha laid down rules forbidding us from even talking about these things, so Id rather not go into these matters in detail. My main concern is what I can do so that you can depend on yourselves to attain peace and happiness of mind. Thats what concerns me: how each of us can learn how to depend on ourselves, so that our minds are solid and dont waver in line with events, so that we can look after ourselves in a way that allows us to escape the dangers of the sufferings arising within us. Every person has suffering, and every person is only one person. Theres nobody whos two. If each of us looks after our one person, without oppressing anyone or harming anyone, there would be no problems. The problem is that we dont look after ourselves, and expect help to come from outside. That means that we abandon our responsibilities, and thats why theres injustice in the world -- oppression, corruption, inequality. If every person were to listen to the Buddhas teachings and be responsible for him or herself, wed see that everyone else is just like us. If we curse them, theyll curse us back. If we show them respect, theyll show us respect in return. This is why we shouldnt oppress them or harm them. We should treat them with justice, because if there are things that we dont like having done to us and yet we go do them to other people, it creates dangers for ourselves. When we can see these dangers, we should look after our own behavior. Then these dangers wont exist. This is the basic principle at which the Buddhas teachings aim. And this is why monks are not involved with worldly affairs. We have to study this principle until we understand it, and that way there will be no oppression.

Question: I have two questions about rebirth. The first is: what is it that gets reborn?

Ajaan Suwat: When you were born, do you know what it was that got born?

Question: No.

Ajaan Suwat: If you dont know, how is it that you were still able to be born? What led you to be born?

(A moment of dead silence)

Question: My second question has to do with channeling spirits. There seem to be a lot of people in America who are interested in contacting spirits, to the point where books have been written, giving advice on how to get in touch with spirits in this way. What does Buddhism have to say about this?

Ajaan Suwat: Buddhism for the most part teaches us to be mindful so as to get in touch with ourselves. This is because the unawareness (avijja) that gives rise to fabrication and suffering is an unawareness concerning our own minds, and it lies within our own minds, too. So Buddhism teaches us to learn about our own minds, and not to get involved with spirits or people who channel spirits, because that sort of thing doesnt serve any purpose, cant help us give rise to the awareness that will put an end to our defilements.

Question: When I leave meditation and go walking outside or have work to do, I sometimes have to use a lot of thought. How can I be mindful and think at the same time? Where should I focus mindfulness? What techniques do you recommend?

Ajaan Suwat: When we begin meditating we want mindfulness so that itll keep our body and mind still and at peace, but the body has to keep changing positions -- sitting, walking, lying down. The way to practice, given in the Maha Satipatthana Sutta, is that when we sit, were alert to how were sitting. When we walk, were alert to the fact that were walking, and we walk in a composed way. Dont let the mind be mindful of anything outside its proper bounds. Keep it within bounds, i.e., within the body. Be alert to the way you step, place your foot, all your various movements. If you can stay aware of these things, youre on the right path. Or if you dont focus on the body, focus on the mind. Be alert to whatever mood or preoccupation is arising in the present. Love? Hatred? Is it focused on visual objects? Tastes? The past? The future? Then notice which preoccupations serve no purpose, and tell yourself not to focus on things that serve no purpose. Focus only on things that do serve a purpose. When the mind settles down, be alert to the fact. Give yourself a sense of pleasure, satisfaction, and peace in the present. When you do this, youre practicing in line with the Maha Satipatthana Sutta as a way of training your mind to gain concentration. Then when you sit in meditation, focus the mind on more refined levels of stillness -- for the sitting posture allows you to be less concerned about keeping the body in position. When youre standing or walking, you have to pay more attention to maintaining your posture.

Question: Ive had some practice in developing good will and loving kindness, but I dont know how to develop sympathetic joy. Do you have any suggestions?

Ajaan Suwat: Sympathetic joy is a feeling of happiness at the good fortune of others. When other people are happy or gain wealth, we wish them well. We arent jealous or envious of them. This is a quality we develop to get rid of the defilement of envy. When other people gain good fortune, we practice feeling happy for them. If we suffer from the defilement of envy, we cant stand to see other people doing well in life. We get jealous because we feel were better than they are. This is why the Buddha taught us to develop sympathetic joy.

Question: Is there any technique for developing sympathetic joy?

Ajaan Suwat: The technique is to spread this thought to people in general: "If anyone is suffering, may they experience happiness. As for people experiencing happiness, may they maintain that happiness. May they not be deprived of the good fortune theyve gained, the wealth theyve gained, the status theyve gained, the praise theyve gained, the happiness theyve gained. May their happiness increase." Were not jealous of their happiness and we dont try to compete with them in underhanded ways. The Buddhas purpose in teaching sympathetic joy is so that our minds wont be consumed with envy over other peoples good fortune. When we feel no envy toward others and can train our hearts to reach stillness using this theme as our preoccupation, then weve completed our training in sympathetic joy. The phrase we repeat when we chant every day -- "May all living beings not be deprived of the good fortune they have attained" -- thats sympathetic joy.

Question: When I meditate on my breath, I notice that at the end of the in breath theres a brief rest. The same thing happens at the end of the out breath. As time passes, this momentary rest grows longer and longer, and is very comfortable. Is this the right way to practice?

Ajaan Suwat: When were mindful, we get to see things weve never seen before, we experience things weve never experienced before, in a way that well never forget. A mind that has never experienced peace and stillness will come to experience peace and stillness. A mind thats never been aware will come to be aware. This is part of correctly following the right path: you begin by getting the mind to enter a subtle level of concentration. You should continue what youre doing, but dont get complacent. If your concentration isnt yet solid, it can deteriorate. So you should tend to the mind thats at stillness and keep it there. Remember how you got it there. Keep practicing continually, and youll find that there are even more refined levels of the still mind. There are levels even more refined and pleasurable than this. So dont content yourself with stopping just there. See if you can make the stillness and sense of comfort even more refined.

Its like walking up the stairs to your house. The stairs have five steps: the five levels of jhana. The first time the mind reaches a subtle level of stillness is the first step. When you havent yet started climbing the stairs, you should content yourself with getting to the first step. But when youve reached the first step, you should content yourself simply with the fact that youve gotten up off the ground and stop right there -- for the first step isnt your house. So you should remind yourself of the fact that its not your house, you havent yet reached shelter, and then look for the second step. When youve reached the second step, you should remind yourself that you still havent reached shelter, so you have to take the next step.

In the same way, when youve reached a subtle level of stillness and experienced just this level of pleasure and ease, you should ponder this ease to see that its not yet constant. It can still change. There are still higher levels of ease. Today youve gotten this far; the next step will be to keep moving up until you reach genuine ease.

What Ive explained so far should be enough for today. Talking a lot can get you confused, for youre still new to this training. Your memory can handle only so much. Like students just beginning their studies: if they study a lot of advanced material and stuff it into their brains, it wont all stay there.

Its the same when we practice meditation. Your mindfulness and discernment can take only so much. Listen to just a little bit and then put it into practice, so as to strengthen your mindfulness and discernment, so as to strengthen your concentration. In that way youll be able to take in more refined levels of Dhamma. At this stage I want you to stop listening and to go back to look at your mind: is it willing to accept the training? Is it able to follow it? Or is it still stubborn? If the mind isnt yet willing to accept and follow the training, reason with it until it is. Get the mind to reach what youve been hearing about, so that it sees the results clearly within itself. Your knowledge on this level isnt knowledge from the mind. Its knowledge from concepts. As for the mind, it hasnt yet taken these things in. If, when you meditate, you find that your mind is still restless and distracted, unwilling to do what you want it to do, thats a sign that it hasnt yet accepted the teachings. So you have to reason with it over and over again.

If, on the other hand, you can remember only one concept but can train the mind so that it can take in the truth of that concept, then learning about concepts serves a purpose. If the mind isnt willing to take in the truth of that concept, then knowing concepts doesnt serve any purpose.

So Ill ask to stop todays question and answer session here.