Dhamma with Ajahn Sujin

( Excerpt from the EN-VN Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom on Sun May 12th 2024.) [Q] So, at this moment I am hearing the Dhamma, there is hearing and there is sound which is heard. [A. Sujin] Who makes the hearing arise? [No one.] That's why there must be conditions for its arising, because before hearing there is no hearing. How come to be hearing? Without kamma as condition it cannot arise at all, but it needs other conditions as well, because kamma conditions birth moment, no hearing yet. That's why there must be other conditions, to condition its arising, is that right? Otherwise who makes it arise? [Yes.] And who can condition birth moment to arise? Seeing, hearing, smelling, any moment, who makes it arise? Why seeing is not hearing? What conditions it to be different, or who makes it to be different? [Kamma.] Okay, it's easy to say It's Kamma, but what is kamma? Without kamma, can there be birth consciousness and seeing and hearing? [No.] So, we understa

(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom on May 11th 2024.) [Sarah] Any painful bodily feeling now? [Jotika] Well, if I move a little bit, it is there. [Sarah] The moment of laughing, no painful bodily feeling. [A. Sujin] Is laughing now conditioned by kamma? While one is laughing, is that moment conditioned by kamma or what? Or not at all? Laughing, pleasant feeling. [Pleasant.] It's not the vipaka (result), right? Because we are talking about five kinds of feeling. The bodily feelings... only two: pleasant, at the moment of touching, very soft, very pleasant, so that the feeling right then is pleasant feeling. But when it's sore or whatever, one doesn't like, itching and so on, unpleasant bodily feeling. Without body, there cannot be itching or fever or whatever, like stomach ache or head ache, nothing at all when there's no body, right? Head ache, sore throat and so on are conditioned by kamma to condition unpleasant vipaka through the body. So, w

  Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom on May 11th 2024 am [Sarah] Ajahn, there was a question about lobha arising, and Zao's question was, is there vitakka at that moment, or that may have been your question to someone in the discussion. Perhaps you would like to add more for him. [A. Sujin] Yes, just to understand how subtle each moment is. There is seeing right now, who knows that there are only seven cetasikas, arising by kamma, to condition the moment of seeing with the other cetasikas, by kamma. So, the moment, the result of kamma, it's time to see... it arises to see, and each cetasika, seven cetasikas arise together, that's all. It's so very weak, very fast, just only one moment of seeing. Who knows? It's not that which arises before seeing, or that which follows seeing. But each moment is different by conditions. That's why we learn to let go of the clinging to seeing. It has to arise to see by the kamma, ready to produce it to ar

Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin in Binh Chau (VN) on Mar 4th 2024 am. [Q] I would like to hear more about kaya-gata-sati and kaya-anupassana-sati-patthana. [A. Sujin] If there's no clear understanding of kaya, can there be the understanding of kaya-gata-sati or kaya-anupassana-sati-patthana? That's why we have to understand the meaning of kaya, because there can be other meaning as well, not just only one meaning (i.e. body). But what is there together, together is kaya. Together... kaya (i.e. collection), the eye is here, not there. The ear is here, not there. What is there together, together is kaya. So when the namas arise together, citta and cetasikas, it is nama-kaya. The reality which is nama, which arise together, and rupa-kaya, whatever is there together is kaya. So, when we read about kaya-anupassana-sati-patthana, what is there? In order to understand the meaning of it, or the truth of it. So what are there in kaya-anupassana-sati-patthana? Because

  (Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin in Binh Chau (VN) 03/03/2024 pm.) [Q]This afternoon Ajahn explained about the second meaning of dukkha... [A. Sujin] Is life dukkha? [Yes.] Okay, now? What kind of dukkha? [Q] At least the third one. [A. Sujin] Right. But it's not directly experienced yet, so we just follow the word. Only all sankhara anicca, fallen away, dukkha, at all, but it's now. [Q] Because it arises and falls away? [A. Sujin] But it's so subtle. That has to be directly experienced as the first noble truth. Otherwise, how can there be letting go of the clinging to whatever is there in life, pleasant objects all around, see, belonging to me. But in truth, nothing is permanent. At that very moment, it's the very, very great pañña, high pañña, keen pañña, being able to penetrate the arising and falling way of whatever is now appearing. That's why it is the noble truth. Nobody can change it, but as long as it's not directly experienced, th

  (Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin in Binh Chau (VN) 03/03/2024 pm.) [Q.] Can you say more about the second meaning of dukkha (viparinama-dukkha)? [A. Sujin] Is there any time of crying? Why? What condition crying? [Q. Attachment to self] What happened? Now there is attachment to self, is there crying now? [No.] So what condition crying? At moment of crying, no understanding of anything, see? There is crying. But in order to understand what is there and what condition it, to be different from the first dukkha. The first dukkha is the unpleasant feeling, no matter through the mind or body, it's so unpleasant! That's why it's not difficult to understand, it's there, everyone understanding moment of dukkha. But at moment of crying, why cry? Or who do not cry at all? Everyone cries, no understanding at all. When there is no understanding of crying, can there be less crying because of understanding that crying is useless. All depends on right understandin

(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin in Binh Chau (VN) 03/03/2024 pm.) [A. Sujin] Life is so short. Enjoy it, or understand it? No answer? [Joe] Life is so short, so we have to enjoy it. [A. Sujin] So, born to enjoy it, no understanding the truth of it, and understanding it, understanding what's there as it is. For example, we were born now, already, born to be I, or born to see, to hear? Born to see? One moment? One moment of seeing, right? When there's no eye, can there be seeing? And without that which impinges on it, there can never be seeing? So what conditions it? Just conditions a moment, just one moment of seeing, and then gone. Is that right? Yes. So what is calm? [Joe] At that moment, because I understand... Understand is a reality, it's not calmness. [A. Sujin] Each different reality cannot be changed at all. Understanding itself understands, and calm cannot understand anything, right? Seeing sees, it cannot hear, and at the moment of hearing, it

  (Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin in Sai Gon (VN) 01/03/2024 am.) [T. Bach] So we heard that there are three kinds of death: the death at each moment, the momentary death. The ordinary death that everyone knows. And the death when the last citta of the arahatta falls away. So could you explain these three kinds of death, please. [A. Sujin] Begin again, all the time, to consider the truth, which is right now. What do you think about death? What does it mean, death? We just use the word, but what is the meaning of it? That which is there falls away, never to arises again, is that the meaning of death? That which is there falls away completely, absolutely, ultimately, never to arise again. Is that what everyone knows about death? So now, what is there now falls away instantly, never to arise again, isn't that death too? So now, seeing sees, and where is now? It fell away instantly, never to arise again, the death of seeing, of whatever arises. And this is temporar

Ekaggata, one-pointing to the object which citta is now experiencing [Vincent] Ajahn, a dhamma friend was asking how come we don't discuss concentration, samadhi? [A. Sujin] Before hearing the words of the Buddha was there anyone interested in samadhi? We can think that we have samadhi, that one's doing something with samadhi and samadhi is just concentrating or focusing on what is there appearing, but in truth the Buddha enlightened the nature of samadhi, not as everyone used to think about it, as concentration: the Buddha enlightened all realities as they are. So, what did He say about samadhi? To help the others to understand what He meant by samadhi, or what is samadhi in truth. People talk a lot about samadhi, but what is samadhi? Do they or anyone know? What is samadhi, is it real? So we can talk about everything without understanding the nature of each one, each reality, for example samadhi. There can be questions about any reality, to consider it, realize th