About This Teaching
Ajahn Maha Boowa recounts how he resolved to keep his mind on the repetition of Buddho from waking until sleep, setting aside all concern with progress or decline. Whether sitting, walking or doing chores, he forced the mind to stay with the word, and gradually calm and concentration arose in the citta, the mind's essential knowing nature.
Eventually Buddho and the subtle citta merged so completely that the word could no longer be brought to mind, much as the breath can seem to disappear. At first he was bewildered, having built his whole practice on Buddho. With nothing left to hold, he turned his attention to the bright, clear knowing that remained, staying with it until normal awareness returned, then resumed Buddho with renewed vigour.
This rhythm gave his practice a solid foundation, and it no longer fell into decline. He concludes that his earlier fluctuations came from lacking a meditation word to anchor mindfulness. In time his calm felt as solid as a mountain, and the mind reached continuous samādhi.