The Wykehamist
Critic to Clarity
In the age where distraction is ubiquitous, stimulation overwhelming, and inner turbulence is rising, oftentimes we struggle to search for answers to these issues. Ajahn Jayasaro, a British-born monk ordained in the lineage of the esteemed Ajahn Cha of the Thai Forest Tradition, also revered for his teachings of meditation, mindfulness, and spiritual development, joined us from the forests of Thailand to offer pupils and teachers the space to stop, listen, and reflect.
The opening question was how one can quieten the inner voice because your biggest critic is often yourself, of yourself. It is perhaps a question many of us have struggled to tackle. His opening remarks were:“ we have almost no control over our thinking.” These“ trigger” thoughts appear because of both internal and external stimulation. He explained that we often take pleasure in thinking about them or have continued to place significance onto them because we can’ t let go of them— sometimes unconsciously. Other times, it is from what we hear or read. Thinking, he argues, can almost be an“ addiction.”
The more these voices are listened to, the more it is strengthened. The inner critic, which is a habit of mind you’ ve cultivated, becomes more demanding— more overwhelming; sometimes when our minds fall for it, we become deluded even though“ a thought is just a thought.” It is important to recognise these trains of thoughts have a beginning and an end. The practice of meditation( samadhi) and mindfulness( sati) facilitate development of the power to catch and observe the trigger thought as it is. Ajahn Jayasaro compares the lack of control over the proliferation of thoughts that control us to“ servants that we’ ve allowed to become the master of the house.”
Mental clarity offers us the space to discern whether a constructive or destructive thought, and whether it is deserving of any attention. Or, as he puts it,“[ Mindfulness ] is a space you are creating to make good choices and create inner freedoms where you don’ t have to identify with these thoughts.” Gradually, ceasing to feed the inner voices curates a new mental habit, one that replaces the old. This aligns with the Buddha’ s teachings of kamma; every intention has a consequence.
This teaching can be applied to school life when dealing with stress and pressure. Pressure is something that keeps you on your toes. Examples of this include having deadlines or wanting to perform well in exams; these by themselves aren’ t inherently harmful and are often inevitable. However, when pressure is met with unchecked mental agitation and futile inner thoughts, often from the result of a lack of sati, the pressure is transformed into stress as the mind spirals into its own delusional narratives. One might express it as such.
stress =( pressure) x( mental agitation) Or as such.
stress =( pressure) x( 1 – mindfulness)
The key lies in developing the“ sharpness” to recognise the inner critic as merely a thought, a source of mental agitation, not something to believe or act upon. That said, while the inner critic is destructive, one could argue it could act as a conscious motivator. The real challenge lies in the ability to discern between harmful rumination and constructive selfreflection, which according to Ajahn, does not arise without sati.
He stressed that the point of mindfulness isn’ t suppressing the trigger thoughts by denying its existence or pretending it isn’ t there, but creating enough clarity to choose whether to follow them— to engage only if it is worthy of energy. He compared it to someone inviting you to go somewhere –“ It’ s like someone knocking at the door and inviting you to go somewhere. You’ re not being forced. You can say,‘ No thank you. I’ m happy where I am.’” By choosing which thoughts are worthy of energy and letting go of others, your destructive inner critic weakens. Over time, this quietens the mind, not by resisting what arises, but refusing to give it significance.
Pholnart Suksriwong( H, 2024-)
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