Let Go of Defilements

~ By Ajahn Jayasāro ~

In order to let go of defilements we have to see them, and to see them without any sense of ownership or identification with them.

The best way to reveal defilements in our mind is by trying to sustain attention on the wholesome mental states that directly oppose them.

Nothing reveals our addiction to pointless mental activity as clearly as the effort to sustain mindfulness of the breath.

Nothing reveals our addiction to the body and its pleasures as clearly as contemplating the body’s unattractive features (asubha).

Nothing reveals our addiction to grudges and resentment and general negativity as clearly as mettā meditation.

Nothing reveals our complacency and negligence as clearly as meditation on death.

The deluded mind tends to turn its back on defilements or seeks to justify them or even claims them to be good things. Meditators want the truth rather than a comfort blanket. They subject their mind to a training which exposes the defilements as impermanent, conditioned phenomena that sully the mind. They apply skilful means to let go of those defilements without regret.

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"Food for the Heart", a series of Dhamma teachings handwritten weekly is posted on the Buddhadāsa Indapañño Archives page with Ajahn's kind permission.

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