There was a lot of dukkha when I was establishing sati in the beginning. This was because my used to thinking, and imagining in the kilesa way. Like a fountain spurting out of my heat, these thoughts squashed the word buddho, breaking it up and spreading it always had done, because it was my heart's nature. For this reason I had to force my citta, by taking on the word buddho, not to think about anything else. All that was allowed was the word buddho, and only that with sati providing additional re-enforcement. I exerted maximum effort and therefore experienced a lot of dukha, but what was important was that I didn't back down. At first it was really hard, but I didn't do it heavily like this for many days. On the second day the dukkha eased off a little bit, and my mind did not go astray. From then on the third and forth days were slightly less intense, as the kilesa fountain had abated quite substantially. The water of the Dhamma, it's essence in the form of the parikamma, then gradually increased my proficiency. sati was permanently on guard not allowing any absent-mindedness. Then later on, I was able to establish a firm foundation. This is what I teach my companions. I have done this my self, until the stage when the timekeeper,s bell rang. Then I fought tooth and nail. The results were as I have just said. It's certain that the citta of anyone who seriously makes up their mind in this way will become calm. It's can't be any other way. I've done this myself and I am absolutely convinced about it. Afther that when I made some progress and got to the stage where my practice previously deteriorated, I told myself, "Well, if it's going to deteriorate or develop, so be it! My practice deteriorated because I wanted my practice to progress, and I did't want it to deteriorate. The more I didn't want my practice to slip backward, the more it did; right before my eyes. This time I must let go of both wanting progress, and not wanting deterioration. The things that I didn't let go of were the parikamma