We should know how to develop wisdom

“…If we wish to maintain peace of mind, we should use wisdom. If we do not use wisdom, then when we see a body, emotion will arise; agitation will arise; restlessness and worry will arise; and lust will arise. But if there is wisdom to neutralise our emotional reaction, when we see a beautiful image we focus on the ugly aspects and the sexual urge loses its power, allowing the mind to calm down.

Similarly, when there is restlessness and worry about old age, sickness, and death, if we see that this body in reality has to experience these sooner or later, we will be able to accept the truth, go along with it, and let the body go its separate way. This is because we know that the body is merely the composition of earth, water, wind, and fire. We are the ones that occupy and live in it temporarily.

We are not the body and therefore need not feel concerned about our physical aging, sickness, and death. This wisdom will enable us to maintain our peace indefinitely. If we do not reach the level of wisdom but merely rest in samādhi, then when we leave samādhi, our peace will quickly fade. This is like water that we cool in the refrigerator: when first removed it is cool, but once you leave it out for a while it loses its coolness.

To cool it down again, we have to place it back into the refrigerator. In the same way, those who have only developed samādhi but are still unable to develop wisdom must return to samādhi once their mental calm has faded away. Meditating in this way is called being stuck on the level of samādhi and not being able to progress beyond that.

If we wish to progress, we should know how to develop wisdom, know how to investigate the body to see it as anicca, dukkha, and anattā. We should know that the body transitions through birth, old age, sickness, and death, that the body is anattā, composed of earth, water, wind, and fire, consists of 32 parts, and that the body is not pretty or lovely.

Investigate in this way, and in the future the mind will not need to enter samādhi. If we can let go of the body, the mind will be calm and peaceful at all times. It will no longer be necessary to enter samādhi because there isn’t anything that will come to agitate or force the mind out of its peaceful state. This is the level of wisdom.

In most cases, if we meditators do not have a teacher to guide us, we will be stuck at the level of samādhi. For when our mind is calm, it is blissful and happy. Once we come out of concentration we go about with our errands, and when we become agitated again we return to sit in samādhi, never thinking about developing wisdom and never knowing how or when to do so….”

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto