Dhamma with Ajahn Sujin

[Sarah] Ann's having quite a difficult time, but if you would like to say anything that may be helpful for her then I'm sure she would be glad. [A. Sujin] All are dhammas, see. As long as there is no understanding of the truth there are conditions for different dhammas to arise without understanding. And this is life, it keeps on, rolling on unknowingly all the time, endlessly. And we think that this moment's so true. But what is the absolute truth of it? No one there at all. Otherwise nothing could cure what is there as sufferings and so on because, actually, when there is the understanding of the truth of no one and no world because what it's meant: [there] is world only when it's there, conditioned to arise, to be something, but actually it's not there anymore. To consider whether this is true or not, this is the only way to understand whatever is there, in any situation. Just right now seeing sees, so, how can [what] is seen last or be someone or somet...

[Sukin] Ajahn, I have a question about conventional reality. For example if I think about a unicorn, which is something that's imagined and that's not a conventional reality... [A. Sujin] Not conventional? When it's something? [Sukin] When it's conventional it has to be something. [A. Sujin] Because sañña is there, marks and remembers, it depends on whether there is the idea of self or not. When there is the understanding of the function of sañña, that it marks and remembers what is there appearing from moment to moment as different shape and form and idea it is sañña, not me. So understanding what is really meant by conventional truth. Even the Buddha called Ananda and Sariputta and so on, conventional? That's why to understand the truth of it and the way how it conditions such idea of conventional thing, if there is no thinking there cannot be conventional ideas at all, but understanding that at moment of experiencing the conventional term, what is th...

[Nina] When we are thinking of concept it is not always wrong view, but we should remember that they are there all the time. [A. Sujin] it doesn't matter because there is the understanding that it's gone completely. That which is gone cannot be known, just about what is there now, beginning to let go of the past and not worrying about the future, and know that what is there can be directly understood, little by little, but not by anyone, but by the development of right understanding of the truth, that is not there at all. Even it's now appearing, it's not there, it just arises and falls away in succession. Seems like it's always there, but when the truth is there, revealing itself, showing up as it is, from when it's so coarse and then more and more subtle, to be known as what is there. For example attachment, who knows? Otherwise, without understanding, how can there be no more attachment? But it's there as long as ignorance is there. So natural, j...

Hang: Ajahn, I have another question about the samatha bhāvana, as I know that there are three stages of samadhi, can you elaborate more? A. Sujin: Would you like to understand or would you like to develop? H. I would like to understand Su. So, what is samatha? We have to begin from: what is it that we'd like to understand. H. Kusala citta with some understanding about the kusala and akusala. Su. So, is it wholesome or unwholesome, when we talk about samatha? H. It is wholesome. Su. and why do we call it samatha? H. I think that the object of the citta is the concept, including the the kasinas, the 40 kinds of kasinas. Su. Just wanting to experience the object of samatha or understanding the difference between the kusala at level of kāmāvācara and the rūpāvācara? Just wanting to have the moment of being samatha, the kusala at level of rūpāvācara, developed to the degree that it does not experience the sense object. Because the kusala which has the sense ob...