I Want to Do Well in My Studies

A young girl once said to Luang Pu, “I heard Grandfather Sorasak Kawngsuk say that anyone who wants to be intelligent and do well in her studies should first practice sitting in meditation to get the mind concentrated in stillness. I want to be intelligent and do well in my studies, so I’ve been trying to meditate and bring my mind to stillness, but it’s never been willing to grow still. Sometimes I get even more restless than before. When my mind doesn’t grow still in this way, how can I do well in my studies?

Luang Pu answered, “Simply focus on knowing what it is that you’re studying and that in itself will help you do well in your studies. When the mind is not still, have it know that it’s not still. It’s because you want so much for it to be still that it’s not still. Just keep at your meditation in a calm way and the day will come that it will grow still in line with your wishes.”

This reflection by Luang Pu Dune is from the book, Gifts He Left Behind, p. 73.