Dhamma with Ajahn Sujin

(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom on Sat 21st Oct 2023.) [Jotika] It's like kind of hopeless. [A. Sujin] May I ask what's your hope? [Jotika] My hope that is that there is an opening for peace. [A. Sujin] Can you do anything or can someone do anything? [Jotika] I'm sort of sending metta. (sobs) [A. Sujin] Is hope dukkha? [Jotika] No hope. [A. Sujin] No hope, no dukkha but when is hope is dukkha, isn't? Did the Buddha want anyone to have dukkha? [No.] So, he taught about what is dukkha and what is the very, very dangerous [dukkha] because some would like to have pleasant situations instead of unpleasant situations, but at moment of having unpleasant situation is it dukkha? [Dukkha, yes.] And what about the pleasant situation, is it dukkha as well, or is it not dukkha? At moment of having pleasant situation, is it dukkha or is it no dukkha? [Jotika] Yes, in theory it is dukkha. [A. Sujin] See, that's why what is more ...

Transcribed excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom on Mon Oct 16th 2023. 00:00 - What seems to be now it's just everything as some-thing and some-one all the time [A. Sujin] Is it what we are talking about, about iddhi-pada? [Yes] It's not now, but it means the understanding of the point of what is now, to be known, for example, even it's now appearing, it cannot be known, so, iddhi-pada: how can it be known? Without any understanding at all, without the intellectual understanding, how can there be a little more understanding of the subtlety of what is there now and every moment? That's why it has to understand whatever is there as it is, as not self, but what seems to be now it's just everything as something and someone, all the time. That's why life is so short, no one can realize the truth, enlighten the truth that the Buddha had enlightened, but beginning to understand the subtlety, the very profound truth that without understa...

Excerpt from the EN-CN Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom - Sun Aug 20th 2023 (Suitable for beginner). 00:00 - Citta, the chief of experiencing because arising non-stop [Vincent] Dazhuang had a comment about that which think it's different from what is thought about. [A. Sujin] Is there thinking now? Is it known now? Is there seeing right now? What is seeing and does anyone understand it as it is? And the answer is right now at moment of seeing, what is it? It's easy to say it's a moment of seeing and that means that there must be a reality which sees because the object of seeing is seen, so we simply say that seeing is that which arises to see, but it is not that which is seen, it's the reality which can experience the object which is seen, is that right? But is there any understanding of the reality which sees, as it is? It's not that which is hard or soft, it's not that which is seen, but it's the reality, a reality, which can experience...

(Transcribed excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom on Mon Oct 2nd 2023.) 00:00 - Beginning to consider that which is behind that which is appearing [A. Sujin] Talking about it again and again and again... what appears? At moment of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching it's that which appears, but that which experiences has to be there [too], each moment, otherwise what is now appearing could not appear at all. Beginning to consider that which is behind that which is appearing: there must be a reality experiencing it, while what appears is visible object or sound because when they are not there: no seeing, no hearing at all, but at moment of sound appearing or visible object appearing, there must be a reality which, at that very moment, experiences it as it is, but it's arising and falling away so very rapidly, so no time to think about that which experiences now what is seen or appears or is heard right now. That's why we begin to...

Excerpt from the discussion with Ajahn Sujin in BKK / on Zoom on Sep 17th 2023. [0:00 - Beginning to be a careful person] [A.Sujin] What is that? Is there nothing or what? In order to understand the very subtle reality, it has to begin to be careful person, considering carefully to understand the truth deeper and deeper. It's not just the word but it's there now to be known and what can be known it's just only when it's there, right now, otherwise how can there be the understanding of what we have said. What we have said: just about what is there now, every moment to be understood as it is, one by one. Without beginning to be careful person, considering each word in order to understand the truth, the truth cannot be realized at all because only right understanding can realize the truth. Just the word and the thought cannot realize the truth at all, but the understanding of what is said, about what is there now, is the beginning to understand the reality which i...

(Excerpt from the English-Viet Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin Boriharnwanaket on Zoom (Nov 11th 2022). Advanced topic.) 0:00 - Strong wrong view cannot listen to any truth [Tam B] Ajahn, at the beginning you were talking about wrong view and you said many things that I think very interesting about it and I don't think I really fully got, so maybe it would be helpful if you can elaborate more, thank you. [A. Sujin] When we talk about a reality, we don't talk just at moment when it conditions deeds and speech, it can be strong even it's not spoken out, it can be so strong that it cannot listen to any truth at all or any other word, is that strong or not strong? Is it strong or is it strong just when it's spoken out? Because if there's no such level of strong clinging it cannot condition such words at all. 1:16 - Mano-kamma, just the moment when there is mind-door process So, the mano-kamma, in truth just the moment when there is mind-door process is ma...

(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom - Sat Jun 5th 2021) 00:00 - Who speaks the truth [Sundara] We hear people talking about metta, karuna, or pañña for that matter, how do we know that they're speaking the truth? [A. Sujin] Because you see that there is no time at all, before hearing the Teachings, to think about understanding the truth of whatever is there. We just take it so easy as this or that as we think, but can just one word, be object of considering in order to understand the subtlety of each reality? 00:37 - One-at-a-time: no thinking about other things at that moment For example, one-at-a-time, what does it mean? The truth is that at that very moment, when pañña understands just a reality, only one, can there be other realities as object, just like now? It means that there's no understanding of any particular reality at all, just have the idea that they are all dhammas, they're conditioned, they are now appearing because of ...

(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom - Mon Aug 7th 2023) 0:00 - Manasikāra, that which is now attending to the object [Ann] Ajahn, can you can you say something about the consideration of vitakka? [A. Sujin] That's why we have to learn just one reality at a time, for example, what is vitakka? It's a reality. And what is manasikāra? A reality. Are they the same or different? Can vitakka consider anything? So vitakka is only the reality which touches the object, it arises after seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching. Because seeing, hearing,... is conditioned by a kamma, a kamma, just to see, one moment only. Who knows: the citta before seeing cannot see, it's there, performing its function. And the citta after seeing cannot see either, it performs its function. But manasikāra arises with each moment, arising with citta which experiences the object. That's why, how many cetasikas arise with any moment of citta? All the time, no m...

(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom - Mon Jun 19th 2023) 00:00 - Life is short and the truth is deep [Sarah] So Tom, do you have anything from that to turn into a topic or a question? [Tom] ...if they did a brain transplant I think that would be an interesting question... [A. Sujin] Is it more interesting to know or to understand what is there now? Because it's so very subtle and there might not be more time to... just talking about the story of it, may I say... Because now we're talking, thinking, considering about what the Buddha said about the truth, that is so very subtle to be known, but it is so true and if there is no considering about what he said, about everything in truth, absolute truth, there cannot be the understanding of what is meant by no-one, no-thing, no-self and no-I at all. That's why when we're talking about such it's "I" all the time, but what about just one word to be known exactly, not any scient...

(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin in Thailand, Cha-Am - June 2022 transcribed by Huong edited by Alberto) Mai: why Ajahn doesn't teach often about conditions? Ajhan Sujin: because they don't know what is there now yet! So how can they understand the conditions? They don't know what seeing is, the reality which is the chief of experiencing that which impinges the eye base. Just this word, how long does it take to understand that it's not any cetasika, so we don't talk about cetasika, or in a day people do not mind about citta at all, just minding about that which is experienced, no thinking about citta which experiences each moment, the chief of experiencing; so the object appears to the citta, clearer than [to] the other realities which arise with citta, as cetasikas. It's not the chief of experiencing, but it is that which is attached immediately to that which is the object, no matter it is visible object or sound or anything. That’s why...

(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom - Mon May 29th 2023 - part 2) 0:00 - Considering daily life to understand the truth [Vincent] About the cetana, in conventional, in daily life the will plays a very important role, Ajahn could you comment? [A. Sujin] There are so many realities and is any appearing now as it is? Even what we are just talking about: cetana is the word representing a reality which performs its function as: the reality which now arises with other cetasikas and citta, but they are quite different. In order to understand the truth of no-one-there-at-all, it has to be: understand what is there, just one reality at a time, to have more confidence of it, that it's different from the other and it's conditioned just to arise, perform its function and fall away. And all dhammas are so very subtle, that's why there has to be very careful considering about the words of the Buddha, talking about all dhammas in different degrees. Real...

(Excerpt from the Dhamma discussion with Ajahn Sujin on Zoom - Mon May 29th 2023 - part 2) 00:00 - The three stages of pariyatti [A. Sujin] There are three stages of pariyatti: pariyatti of the four noble truths and then it leads to patipatti, pariyatti of patipatti and pariyatti of pativedha: pariyatti at level of understanding what is there as the absolute reality arising and falling away. But [now] it is not the moment when it's there experiencing just one reality at a time, but we're learning to understand one reality at a time, but it's not the moment of understanding one [reality] at a time [yet]: the second stage of pariyatti [patipatti] of the four noble truths, the second round. That's why there can be questions and answers and it seems like we enjoy and [have] piti about it, it's only understanding, the first level, intellectual understanding about what is there, in words, in thoughts. At moment of considering, understanding that seeing is not t...