Supporting Condition for Mindfulness

~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~

No matter how pleasant and comfortable our surroundings may be, there will always be occasions when a form, sound, odour, taste or physical sensation encourages aversion in the mind. No matter how unpleasant and uncomfortable our surroundings may be, there will always be occasions when a form, sound, odour, taste or physical sensation encourages greed in the mind. No matter what our surroundings may be, pleasant or unpleasant, there will always be occasions when a form, sound, odour, taste or physical sensation encourages us to forget our sense of right and wrong, wholesome and unwholesome, appropriate and inappropriate.

Practising the Dhamma in daily life requires us to be ready to deal with all challenges. We firmly resolve that today:

‘I will not allow greed to overwhelm my mind when in contact with an object encouraging greed.’

‘I will not allow aversion to overwhelm my mind when in contact with an object encouraging aversion.’

‘I will not allow delusion to overwhelm my mind when in contact with an object encouraging delusion.’

This determination is a supporting condition for mindfulness. We live in a world in which there will always be experiences that invite us to respond with defilement. We cannot change that. But what we can do is to cultivate the ability to calmly and politely refuse the invitation.

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For other teachings by Ven. Ajahn Jayasāro, please visit the Panyaprateep Foundation website.