Question:
“Should you only focus on one particular subject when meditating in order to contemplate things at all times?”

Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto:
“It's like doing your homework, which is for practising—to prepare yourself in advance. So when you're put to the test in a real situation, you'll see whether you can manage to see for what it is.

For instance, when you get told off, can you just shrug it off? That is, are you able to discern that it was just a sound? To regard it as something that is bound to arise and pass away— impermanent, unsatisfactory, and not self.

There are three levels of wisdom (paññā).

First is sutta-mayapaññā

— a kind that arises from listening to the Dhamma just as you are at the moment.
 

Second is cintā-maya-paññā

—a kind that derives from contemplating regularly the Dhamma one has heard.
For example, you might train yourself to get used to other people's criticism, so that you'll be unaffected when it actually happens.

Third is bhāvanā-maya-paññā

—a kind that can be applied in real time. You can just smile and shrug it off when you get told off.

You'll be able to get through it if you're keenly aware of the situation, that is, you can deal with and accept it as soon as something happens. You can readily put an end to your defilement as soon as it appears; then that is considered bhāvanā- maya-paññā.

At the level of wisdom that is derived from contemplation,

cintā-maya-paññā, you'll lose it entirely when something happens. Your mind will be ruffled, forgetting entirely all of your effort and practice. So you will hit the roof when there's anger. This is a test for your level of wisdom, whether it is a kind that is derived from contemplation or practice.

At the level of bhāvanā-maya-paññā, you'll be able to handle any type of situation as you'll readily discern its inherent nature of the three marks of existence. You'll know that it is something you need to let go and leave be.

You'll have to devise your own technique as to how to get to that level. For instance, you may treat it as children's mistake. You can't hold it against them; you can only let them be. You don't usually get upset by the things children do; for example, you don't mind their tantrums. Why can't you view your partner or spouse as a child? You can then leave them be if you see them in such light. You need to come up with your own way to handle these situations as you're all different.

These mental techniques, to do with the wisdom faculty, can be wide-ranging whereas concentration (samādhi) isn't. You just need to be aware of your meditation subject in order to get your mind concentrated.

There are different levels of wisdom, ranging from coarse to intermediate and subtle.

- At a coarse level,

it concerns the externals, which are forms, sounds, odours, flavours, and touch.

- At an intermediate level,

it has to do with the five aggregates (khandhas): forms (rūpa), feelings (vedanā), memories (saññā), thoughts (saṅkhāra), and consciousness (viññāṇa).

- At a subtle level,

it is to do with the mind.

You have to tune out all the externals before getting into the inner level. Renunciants, who are able to shut out the externals—turning away from forms, sounds, odours, flavours, and touch as well as wealth and possessions, can focus on the five khandhas.

Contemplation of forms, feelings, memories, thoughts, and consciousness to the level of detachment will allow them to access their mental basis (citta) where they'll find the subtlest forms of defilements.

You won't be able to get rid of your defilements if you're a beginner. It is useless for beginners to readily observe their minds as they're still attached to their senses: forms, sounds, odours, and flavours. You'll be fooled by your own defilements to do things, such as buying drinks and going to places. Defilements are keen on this type of mind; they are still very much in control of the mind as it isn't yet calm.”

“Essential Teachings”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto