Someone asked what factors support meditation practice and help the mind settle into stillness quickly.

Pra Ajarn explained that there are four things that support quick stillness in practice.

First: See the World as It Really Is, Through the Eight Worldly Conditions

Seeing the world "as it really is" here doesn't mean seeing it optimistically or pessimistically — it means seeing it through the eight worldly conditions (lokadhamma): gain comes with loss, status comes with the loss of status, praise comes with blame, and happiness comes with suffering. These eight conditions cycle through our daily lives constantly. When they touch our hearts, we must not waver, and we must keep the mind balanced.

It's impossible to avoid loss of gain, loss of status, blame, and suffering altogether. Even the Buddha, whose heart was the finest in the world, was still slandered and accused of all kinds of things — yet he wasn't troubled by it, because he understood that this is simply how nature works: gain comes with loss, status with the loss of status. It follows its own conditions and mechanisms. When we've created unwholesome causes in the past, the result must come due one day; when it does, we need to understand, as a matter of fact, that where there is an effect, there is always a cause.

The Buddha taught us to face suffering by recognizing that dukkha is a condition to be endured, and hard to endure. When it arises for anyone, simply acknowledging it is enough — no need to struggle against it. When the "knowing" arises and takes hold of that state of suffering, it draws in pure energy that purifies the defilement causing the suffering, little by little, until it's gone. At first we may need some patience — but while we endure, patience (khanti) arises together with a kind of inner fortitude (tapa) that helps us bear it, so the suffering doesn't turn into desperate agitation, and we can keep steady awareness going. Recognizing suffering this way may take a day, or several weeks, depending on how much defilement is causing it — and throughout, we must be careful not to create new suffering on top of the old.

Second: Keep the Mind Wholesome — Bright, Cheerful, and Cool at All Times

Anyone who is irritable, quick-tempered, moody, or sulky needs to let all of that go — don't hold onto it — and instead keep the mind clear, cool, and at ease. Irritability, temper, and moodiness are what keep recharging our defilements so they never run out; before the old suffering clears, new suffering piles on top.

When we keep the mind wholesome — relaxed, open, spacious, light, fulfilled, clear, cool, clean, and gentle — the wholesome system takes up residence within us, drawing a steady stream of merit in to purify our defilements. We need to practice staying in a good mood, at ease, cool-hearted, all the time — and the more we practice, the more everything naturally improves.

Third: See Everyone as a Fellow Traveler Through Birth, Aging, Sickness, and Death

See everyone as a companion sharing the same suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death, and hold goodwill toward every single person — whether spouse, parent, grandparent, child, coworker, or anyone else. See them all as equal fellow travelers through this same suffering. When we see people this way, our minds stay at ease — not irritable, not short-tempered, not moody — and whether sitting, standing, walking, or lying down, we feel surrounded by good friends. With enough practice, this feeling arises naturally.

Pra Ajarn added that anyone who does us wrong is, without realizing it, under the grip of the unwholesome side of nature. Ignorance blinds them, pressing and forcing them into actions that cause trouble for themselves and others. We should therefore be fair to those who make mistakes — not hold grudges, but only wish them well — because everyone wants happiness, not suffering, and everyone wants to be good. It's only because they're pressured by the unwholesome side that they end up doing wrong. When we extend this fairness and goodwill, our wholesome mind stays untainted even toward someone we're in conflict with.

Fourth: See the World as Empty, Without Lasting Substance

Whatever work or duty we do, do it fully — but don't cling to it, and hold the mind with equanimity. Use the everyday environment, from the moment we wake until we go to sleep, as our training ground. People come and people go — born, aging, falling ill, and dying, one after another, replaced by new arrivals in the same repeating pattern. This world holds no lasting substance. Life gains real value only when we merge ourselves fully with the wholesome system, letting it take residence within us so it can draw in a steady stream of merit, carrying us into ever subtler inner dimensions.

To sustain this view of the world as empty, we need equanimity (upekkha) — neither delighting nor being upset by anything, neither elated nor devastated — because the unwholesome side works precisely through our delight and displeasure, offering us bait through joy and sorrow. We need to hold the mind in equanimity, be fair to others, and build up merit fully through giving, morality, and meditation, relying on diligence, patience, and reliance on truth and the Triple Gem. When we abide in equanimity this way, all our accumulated merit finds a stable foundation — we become sovereign over ourselves, steady and secure, whether we choose to remain in the world to help others or to journey onward toward nibbana.

Putting All Four Together

When we bring these four factors into practice, they not only help us settle into meditation more quickly — they also improve our outlook and change our lives profoundly.