46. When the mind resists growing still

In practicing concentration, there‘s no way everyone will get results at the same speed. Some people get fast results, others get slow results. There are even those who never seem to gain a taste of stillness at all. Still, they shouldn’t get discouraged. The act of making an effort in the area of the heart is, in itself, a higher form of merit and skill than the act of giving gifts or observing the precepts. A large number of Luang Pu’s students would ask him, “I’ve been trying to practice concentration for a long time, but my mind has never been still. It keeps wandering off outside. Is there another way I might be able to practice?”

Luang Pu would sometimes recommend this other method:

“When the mind isn’t still, you can at least make sure it doesn’t wander off far. Use your mindfulness to stay mindful solely of the body. Look to see it as inconstant, stressful, and not-self. Develop the perception of its being unattractive, with nothing of any substance to it at all. When the mind sees clearly in this way, it will give rise to a sense of dismay, disenchantment, and dispassion. This, too, can cut through the clinging-aggregates.”