Translated by Chantaporn Gomutputra
Edited by June Gibb

Attahi attano nadho, we are our own refuge is the central theme of Buddhist teaching. The Buddha teaches us to rely only on ourselves because we are the creator of good and evil, and the one who will reap their corresponding results of happiness and pain. The creating mechanism of good and evil, joy and sorrow, heaven and hell are inside our mind. Mind is the principal architect. The Buddha therefore concludes that the mind is the chief, the forerunner of all things. It is both a doer and a receiver of its own actions. The mind is the master who gives order to his servant, the body, to do and say things.

There are three kinds of actions or kamma namely physical, verbal and mental. When we do good kamma, happiness, progress and heaven will be the results that follow. On the other hand when we do evil kamma, then pain, worry, anxiety and degradation will follow. After death, the mind will go to one of the four states of deprivation (apaya-bhumi) such as hell for example. Therefore, the Buddha insists that we must rely only on ourselves. We shouldn’t wait for someone else to create happiness and prosperity, heaven and nibbana for us. We must do it ourselves. To pray to Buddha images or to ask monks for blessings of success and prosperity is not the Dhamma teaching of the Buddha because he can only point the way to peace, happiness, and prosperity, and the way to suffering and deterioration. His teaching can be summarized as follows: avoid doing evil, do good and cleanse the mind of all impurities.

Doing good kamma or making merits such as giving to charity is like depositing money in a bank. The more we deposit the more money we will have accumulated. The interest will also increase and soon we will be rich. On the other hand, doing evil kamma is like borrowing money from the bank in which we would have to pay back the loan plus the interest as well. It can become a heavy burden to bear. People in debt are always anxious and worried, unlike those who have money in the bank, who are always smiling because their money keeps growing all the time. It is the same with making merits. It gives us peace of mind; make us feel happy and content. But when we do bad kamma, our mind would be set on fire. We become worried and restless. This we can see because it’s happening in our mind instantaneously, here and now, not in the next life. Therefore, if we want to be happy and prosperous, to sleep well and suffer no pain, then we must do only good kamma and avoid doing bad kamma.

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Translated by Chantaporn  Gomutputra  
Edited by June Gibb

When we join this meditation retreat, we are committing ourselves to practicing nekkhamma or distancing ourselves from sensual pleasures that derive from seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or touching. However, this kind of happiness cannot make us fully satisfied or at peace with ourselves. It is happiness filled with worries and anxieties, because when we come into contact with what we like, whether it is a person, or thing, we tend to cling on to it. We want to own it forever but are anxious that it may soon leave us one day. Sadness or dukkha then replaces this initial happiness. Hence, it is happiness tainted with pain. When we have what we like, we want to keep it to ourselves and become anxious that it may be gone one day. Then one day it really happens because nothing in this world lasts forever. They are constantly changing and we cannot control them or make them stay with us forever. We then become miserable.

However, there is one thing that we can make stay with us forever, that can give us happiness forever, that is permanent and never changing. That one thing is what we are striving for, namely our mind or citta that never dies. It is like water, which can never be destroyed. You boil it. It evaporates. Then it becomes cloud before falling down again as rain. It goes round in a circle. Human mind is the same. It never dies. It moves from one body to another, guided by kamma. Kamma is what we do, what we say, and what we think. If we do good kamma, we shall go to a good place, sugati or heaven. The Buddha said that he who practices the five precepts will go to heaven, and he who constantly breaks the five precepts will go to hell. When we die, the mind will leave the body and go to another body or another state of existence. The mind does not die. It will go on to a new body or a new state of existence depending on that person’s kamma.

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Translated by Chantaporn Gomutputra - Edited by June Gibb

When the Buddha taught the Dhamma to his followers, monks or laymen, he would take care to choose the type of Dhamma that was appropriate to each particular listener. Dhamma is like medication that is used to cure the mind from afflictions such as sorrow, restlessness, dissatisfaction, worry or grief that differ from physical ailments like headache, fever or colds. The Buddha would choose the appropriate prescription for each particular listener. For the laity it would be one kind of Dhamma, for monks it would be another. The topics would be chosen to suit the sex, age, and mentality of each person like a physician who prescribes the medication suitable for our illness. If we have a stomachache and were given pills for a headache, the upset stomach would not go away. Taking that medicine would be useless. It may be even harmful because it is the wrong kind of remedy. We could be adversely affected by it and even die from it.

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The following text is an interview Ajahn Suchart gave to a Pattaya cable tv channel on Jauary 11, 2007.

Ajahn Suchart – An Insight into Buddhism

The Five Spiritual Powers

Dhamma Talk
July 1997
By Ajahn Suchart  (Abhijato Bhikkhu)
Translated by Chantaporn  Gomutputra
Edited by June Gibb

Listening to a Dhamma talk can be a very profitable experience because there are five benefits to be gained namely:

1.      The listener will hear of things not heard before.

2.      Have better understanding of what have been heard before.

3.      Have correct views.

4.      Dispel doubts and skepticism.

5.      Have peace of mind.

This is because the Dhamma teaching of the Buddha is cool like cool water, refreshing and cool.  When we read or listen to the Dhamma teaching, we will feel cool, calm, and peaceful.

While listening to a Dhamma talk, it is essential for us to be attentive and receptive.  Do not try to memorize everything the speaker says.  Just concentrate on listening.  Be attentive to the sound of his voice that flows into our ears.  Think of what he is saying.  What we understand, we will remember.  What we do not understand, we will not remember.  But that doesn’t matter.  It is impossible to remember everything each time we listen because the speaker covers a wide range of topics.  We should just listen.  What we understand will be useful for us. When we understand something profoundly we will say “I see!”  By listening repeatedly, again and again, we can gain better understanding of things previously not understood by us, and consequently eliminate doubts in our mind, and help us gain a correct view of the world.
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