To develop wisdom

Question : Can Tan Ajahn teach me a method to develop wisdom after I have a sufficient level of calmness?

Tan Ajahn: You should look at the things that you cling to or you love and see the impermanent nature of these things. Everything that you have, one day you will have to lose it. Even before you lose it, it will be changing. Like when you buy a new car, if you use it for a while, your car will become older and will no longer be like when you just bought it.

You might have to repair it. Sometimes you might lose it or when you park it somewhere, it might be stolen. So this is the impermanent side of things that you always have to apply to everything that you love, that you want to keep, because you cannot keep it. So when you know this, when things happen, you will not be afflicted by sadness.

Question : How much calm (samatha) is required or is there any minimum stage of jhāna to attain before I can start to develop wisdom?

Tan Ajahn: The level of calm you have will support that particular level of insight or wisdom. If you have 20 percent of calm, you have 20 percent of wisdom. So you can keep moving up, from 20 you go to 30, then you go to 40. And your ability to see things clearly will be better and quicker.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto