Meditation

Santisukharama Meditation Ctr at Kota Tinggi, Johor
- a little green heaven on earth.



Important gems taught by Ajahn Chakat:

1. Do not be attached to the external 'form' of meditation. Whether one is sitting full lotus or not or sitting on a chair or walking is Immaterial. The important point is LOOKING at the Mind. ALL else is secondary

2. The time spent in formal practise is of the least importance. What is IMPORTANT is whether we are LOOKING at our Minds in the times when we are NOT in formal practise. At all times whenever possible, LOOK at the Mind when we are working. walking, cooking, in bus, etc That is the important practise

3. Do NOT worry about Jhanas, just be constantly Mindful, that is IMPORTANT. The concentration will arise by itself.

4. Looking at the Breath is important but looking at the Mind is even more so.

5. Meditation can be done with or withOUT the eyes being closed. This is because we are not concerned with what is seen, but what is arising in the Mind as a result of what is seen!

6. From Sense contact will arise FEELINGs (Vedana), Perception (Sanna), Thought Formations (Sankhara) and the Knowing of the Object ie Consciousness (Vinana). When an object is in contact with the sense Base, the result is the Feeling which is NOTED, and the Perception associated with that object. Just KNOW / be Conscious of the Object without THINKING about it. Keep the Thought Formations MINIMAL, just have SATI- the knowing of the Feeling.. thats all. With Training the Perception of it Lessens, and the Thought Formations which results from it lessens. It becomes Just KNOWing of the arising of a Feeling, Just NOTE it .. without responding/prejudice/interpretation. Looking at the Mind enables us to see all of this and to train appropriately.

7. When fear arise, just NOTE the arising of the emotion and stop. When thoughts arise, just see the arising of the Thought and stop. Note and Know this arising and ceasing within the Mind.

8. It is Much more important to train the Mind than the Body; even at near death, we need to be Mindful, to see the Mind process.

9. Looking at the Mind is akin to looking straight into the Mind, the arising Thoughts are like shadows arising at the sides, we do not turn to look at these shadows but merely know that it had arisen, we know it and it fades away . The Knowing Mind is just Looking straight into the Mind unwaveringly, unaffected by the changing emotions and thoughts.

10. It is NOT so easy to see Ghosts and Devas, most times what we think we see is just the result of our Imagination. If the Mindfulness is strong, only Hearing is Noted or Seeing is Noted without interpreting whether it is a "Ghost" or a "Deva"!

11. Do not be attached to external forms; looking at the Vens, what do we see? Monks? It is so perceived because of the Robe that is worn. But it is NOT necessary that all are behaving like Monks just because of the Robes, it is just an image that we perceive. Similarly in meditation, it is NOT necessary that the one sitting unmovingly is in meditation..... it is INDEED the one who is constantly NOTING and KNOWING his Mind who is in Meditation, and this person need not be in full lotus position. This person is just intensely aware, and Mindful. So do not compare oneself with others, instead just train oneself.

12. The main purpose of the teacher is to help the yogi proceed when the yogi is stuck in all his concepts.

13. Whether a Yogi is experiencing Bliss or Depression in meditation, JUST note the emotion and let it go, proceeding from there. Do not be stuck in the emotion, just note it without being INVOLVED in it.

14. Bad kamma is like salt, we can dilute it in lots of water- Good Kamma. Do not live in the past, or keep hoping for the future BUT just Be in the Present moment Mindfully KNOWING the Mind.

15. Do not expect instant results, training oneself to constantly look at the Mind takes time, but we can do it everyday and everytime we have an opportunity. At work we should look at the Mind whenever there is the opportunity. This training in Mindfulness will in fact make one a better worker! The IMPORTANT point is to be ardent and train oneself to be ceaselessly Mindful.

16. Meditation is very simple, it is our wrong concepts which makes it very difficult. -- A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.