To be able to cause desire to be utterly gone ... - Ajahn Suchart
“To be able to cause desire to be utterly gone, we need to have the type of samādhi that closes the mind’s doors. Not going on a tour of hell, not going on a tour of heaven, and not contacting the heavenly angels…”
When we enter samādhi, there are two possible options — We can choose to open our mental faculties to receive the mental frequencies of others or we can switch off our telepathic ability. In order for us to enter samādhi for the sake of full and complete calm, we have to shut everything out and not acknowledge anything at all.
This is because we have to build up the mind’s strength, to build up the basic foundation of the mind. This has to be samādhi that does not go out to know all kinds of external phenomena or issues. If it is the samādhi that goes out to know all kinds of phenomena, the mind will receive this information and be weakened by it, causing it to lack the strength and power of equanimity that is necessary to fight against all kinds of desire, which causes us to commit demerit and leads us through this round of perpetual death and rebirth.
Those who want to reach Nibbāna have to destroy desire so the mind can be empty of it completely. To be able to cause desire to be utterly gone, we need to have the type of samādhi that closes the mind’s doors, that does not receive any phenomena whatsoever. Not going on a tour of hell, not going on a tour of heaven, and not contacting the heavenly angels, but instead we should stay within samādhi that is merely aware, equanimity without any thinking or imagination, without receiving and knowing various phenomena and issues.
Samādhi like this should go hand-in-hand with the mind for it to proceed to the level of wisdom, the level of insight, to be able to fight against desire, to destroy desire of all kinds so that it may be completely gone. If we have the kind of samādhi that opens to receive and know all sorts of phenomena, our minds will not have enough strength. When we come out of samādhi, we will be too weak and not calm and clear enough to fight against our desires.
This is similar to sleeping. If people dream while sleeping, they will not be refreshed and strong when they wake up. However those who sleep deeply without dreaming will be refreshed upon awakening and have the power to tackle all the issues that come their way.
Those of us who need to build up the foundation of the mind, build up the power of the mind, should enter into the samādhi that does not acknowledge outside phenomena. For acknowledging all kinds of phenomena will hinder the development of wisdom. Coming out of that type of samādhi we will not have the power to investigate the Four Noble Truths, anicca (impermanence), dukkha (stress) and anattā (not-self).
If we have not seen the Four Noble Truths, anicca, dukkha, and anattā, we will not be able to stop desire.
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