Remembering Ajaan Suwat

Close your eyes and take a couple of good, long, deep, in-and-out breaths. Notice where you feel the breathing in the body. Focus your attention there and then ask yourself if that spot is comfortable. If long breathing feels good there, keep it up. If not, you can change. You can make it shorter, more shallow, heavier, lighter, faster, slower. Experiment for a while to see what breathing feels best right now. As for any other thoughts that may come into your mind, you let them go. You’re working on something more important here: getting your mind to settle down, learning how to stay with one object. Make up your mind to stay there and then keep with that original intention.

Today we’re making merit for Ajaan Suwat. He was the founder of the monastery. He died 23 years ago, as of yesterday. It’s always good to stop and think about what he taught and what he exemplified, because he was the sort of person whose words were in line with his actions, his actions were in line with his words.

He’d given up an awful lot. He came here to the States, given up the comforts of being a famous ajaan in Thailand—had to deal with all the defilements he found here in America. But he did it, as he said, for the sake of the people here who didn’t have anything to hold on to, anything to depend on.

At the same time, he was able—more able, staying here—to devote time to his practice. We can say that he looked after his own well-being, looked after the well-being of others, giving up whatever would get in the way of genuine well-being.

He exemplified the principle that you find in the Dhammapada, that if there’s a greater happiness that comes from letting go of a lesser happiness, you’d be willing to let go of that lesser happiness for the sake of the greater. It’s a very basic principle, very simple sounding, but it’s not one that a lot of people live by. They want to have everything, not realizing that some forms of happiness have to depend on giving up other forms of happiness.

Some people say, well, he was born in a poor family. When he became a monk, he didn’t have to give up all that much. But if that’s the attitude you have, that means that if you have the merit that comes from being wealthy, then that merit is going to get in the way of developing your perfections. There are people who are a lot poorer than he was who could not give up what little wealth they had. He was a wise person and he saw that the wealth of lay life, no matter how much it was, was still not worth the wealth that comes from totally practicing the Dhamma—or, as he said, practicing the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma.

He had studied with Ajaan Mun, in addition to his main ajaan, who was Ajaan Fuang. As he said, one of Ajaan Mun’s major teachings was practicing the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma. In other words, we practice it without putting our defilements in the way, without putting our opinions in the way. Whatever the Dhamma calls for, you do it. It’s in line with that old Zen tradition, which is, the Great Way is not difficult for those with no preferences. Of course, we prefer to find true happiness, but whatever is required, we’re willing to go by it. Whatever we need to give up, we give up. Whatever we have to do, we do. And we do it cheerfully.

He was very restrained in his thoughts, his words, and his deeds. And he found true happiness that came from that kind of restraint. So it’s good to think of his example, because the people who are most impressive in our lives are not the ones who speak well, they’re the ones who actually live well, behave well—whose actions and words are a good example to follow.

So it’s good to think of the example that he set and to carry it on in our own lives, so that we can be a good example to others. This is how goodness is maintained in the world. You don’t just bow down to it. You try to bring it into your thoughts, your words, and your deeds. That way, people can see that what the Buddha taught is really true: that if you gain some restraint over what you do and say and think, you can find a true happiness inside that more than repays whatever you might be giving up outside.

So look for the greater happiness. Whatever it requires that you give up, be willing to give it up. Don’t let your past merit get in the way.