| |
This is a talk that Ajahn Chah recorded at the request of one of his students whose mother was on her deathbed. |
| |
The student had expected just a short message for his mother, |
| |
but instead Ajahn Chah gave this extended talk of consolation and encouragement for the mother and the whole family. |
| |
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammÄ-sambuddhassa. |
| |
Homage to the Blessed One, the Worthy One, |
| |
the Rightly Self-awakened One. |
| |
SÄ«lena sugatiáč yanti: Through virtue they go to a good destination. |
| |
SÄ«lena bhogasampadÄ: Through virtue thereâs consummation of wealth. |
| |
SÄ«lena nibbutiáč yanti: Through virtue they go to nibbÄna. |
| |
TasmÄ sÄ«laáč visodhaye: So virtue should be purified. |
| |
NOW, GRANDMA, set your heart on listening respectfully to the Dhamma, |
| |
which is the teaching of the Buddha. |
| |
While Iâm teaching you the Dhamma, be as attentive as if the Buddha himself were sitting right in front of you. |
| |
Close your eyes and set your heart on making your mind one. |
| |
Bring the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saáč
gha into your heart as a way of showing the Buddha respect. |
| |
Today I havenât brought you a gift of any substance, |
| |
aside from the Dhamma of the Buddha. |
| |
This is my last gift to you, so please accept it. |
| |
You should understand that even the Buddhaâwith all his virtues |
| |
and perfectionsâcouldnât avoid the weakening that comes with aging. |
| |
When he reached the age you are, he let go. |
| |
He let go of the fabrications of life. |
| |
âLetting goâ means that he put these things down. |
| |
Donât carry them around. |
| |
Donât weigh yourself down. |
| |
Accept the truth about the fabrications of the body, |
| |
whatever they may be: Youâve relied on them since you were born, |
| |
but now itâs enough. |
| |
Now that theyâre old, theyâre like the utensils in your homeâthe cups, |
| |
the saucers, and the platesâthat youâve held onto all these years. |
| |
When you first got them they were bright and clean, |
| |
but now theyâre wearing out. |
| |
Some of them are broken, some of them are lost, |
| |
while the ones remaining have all changed. |
| |
They havenât stayed the same. |
| |
Thatâs just the way things are. |
| |
The same holds true with the parts of your body. |
| |
From the time of birth and on through your childhood and youth, |
| |
they kept changing. |
| |
Now theyâre called âold.â |
| |
So accept the fact. |
| |
The Buddha taught that fabrications arenât us, |
| |
they arenât ours, whether theyâre inside the body or out. |
| |
They keep changing in this way. |
| |
Contemplate this until itâs clear. |
| |
This body of yours, lying here and decaying, |
| |
is the truth of the Dhamma. |
| |
This truth is a teaching of the Buddha thatâs certain and sure. |
| |
He taught us to look at it, to contemplate it, |
| |
to accept whatâs happening. |
| |
And itâs something you should accept, |
| |
regardless of whatâs happening. |
| |
The Buddha taught, when weâre imprisoned, |
| |
to make sure that itâs only the body thatâs imprisoned. |
| |
Donât let the mind be imprisoned. |
| |
And the same thing applies here. |
| |
When the body wears out with age, accept it. |
| |
But make sure that itâs only the body thatâs wearing out. |
| |
Make sure that the affairs of the mind are something else entirely. |
| |
This gives your mind energy and strength, |
| |
because you see into the Dhamma that this is the way things are. |
| |
This is the way they have to be. |
| |
As the Buddha taught, this is the way the body and mind are of their own accord. |
| |
They canât be any other way. |
| |
As soon as the body is born, it begins to age. |
| |
As it ages, it gets sick. |
| |
After itâs sick, it dies. |
| |
This truth is so true, this truth youâre encountering today. |
| |
Itâs the truth of the Dhamma. |
| |
Look at it with your discernment so that you see. |
| |
Even if fire were to burn your house, |
| |
or water were to flood it, or whatever the danger that would come to it, |
| |
make sure that itâs only the house that gets burned. |
| |
Make sure your heart doesnât get burned along with it. |
| |
If water floods your house, donât let it flood your heart. |
| |
Make sure it floods only the house, which is something outside the body. |
| |
As for the mind, get it to let go and leave things beâbecause now is the proper time, |
| |
the proper time to let go. |
| |
Youâve been alive for a long time now, |
| |
havenât you? |
| |
Your eyes have had the chance to see all kinds of shapes, |
| |
colors, and lights. |
| |
The same with your other senses. |
| |
Your ears have heard lots of sounds, all kinds of soundsâbut they were no big deal. |
| |
Youâve tasted really delicious foodsâbut they were no big deal. |
| |
The beautiful things youâve seen: They were no big deal. |
| |
The ugly things youâve seen: They were no big deal. |
| |
The alluring things youâve heard were no big deal. |
| |
The ugly and offensive things youâve heard were no big deal. |
| |
The Buddha thus taught that whether youâre rich or poor, |
| |
a child or an adultâeven if youâre an animal or anyone born |
| |
in this world: Thereâs nothing in this world thatâs lasting. |
| |
Everything has to change in line with its condition. |
| |
The truth of these conditionsâif you try to fix them in a way thatâs not rightâ wonât respond at all. |
| |
But there is a way to fix things. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to contemplate this body and mind to see that they arenât us, |
| |
they arenât ours, theyâre just suppositions. |
| |
For example, this house of yours: Itâs only a supposition that itâs yours. |
| |
You canât take it with you. |
| |
All the belongings that you suppose to be yours are just an affair of supposition. |
| |
They stay right where they are. |
| |
You canât take them with you. |
| |
The children and grandchildren that you suppose to be yours are just an affair of supposition. |
| |
They stay right where they are. |
| |
And this isnât just true for you. |
| |
This is the way things are all over the world. |
| |
Even the Buddha was this way. |
| |
Even his enlightened disciples were this way. |
| |
But they differed from us. |
| |
In what way did they differ? |
| |
They accepted this. |
| |
They accepted the fact that the fabrications of the body are this way by their very nature. |
| |
They canât be any other way. |
| |
This is why the Buddha taught us to contemplate this body from the soles of the feet on up to the top of the head, |
| |
and from the top of the head on down to the soles of the feet. |
| |
These are the parts of your body. |
| |
So look to see what all is there. |
| |
Is there anything clean? |
| |
Anything of any substance? |
| |
These things keep wearing down with time. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to see that these fabrications arenât us. |
| |
Theyâre just the way they are. |
| |
They arenât ours. |
| |
Theyâre just the way they are. |
| |
What other way would you have them be? |
| |
The way they are is already right. |
| |
If youâre suffering from this, then your thinking is wrong. |
| |
When things are right but you see them wrong, |
| |
it throws an obstacle across your heart. |
| |
Itâs like the water in a river that flows downhill to the lowlands. |
| |
It flows in line with its nature. |
| |
The Ayutthaya River, the Muun River, whatever the river, |
| |
they all flow downhill. |
| |
They donât flow uphill. |
| |
Thatâs their nature. |
| |
Suppose a man were to stand on the bank of a river, |
| |
watching the current flowing downhill, |
| |
but his thinking is wrong. |
| |
He wants the river to flow uphill. |
| |
Heâs going to suffer. |
| |
He wonât have any peace of mind. |
| |
Whether heâs sitting, standing, walking, |
| |
or lying down, he wonât find any peace. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because his thinking is wrong. |
| |
His thinking goes against the flow. |
| |
He wants the water to flow uphill, but the truth of the matter is that the water canât flow uphill. |
| |
Itâs not appropriate. |
| |
The nature of the water is that it has to flow along with the flow. |
| |
Thatâs its nature. |
| |
When this is the case, the man is upset. |
| |
Why is he upset? |
| |
Because his thinking is wrong, his ideas are wrong, |
| |
all because of his wrong view. |
| |
Right view sees that water has to flow downhill. |
| |
This is a truth of the Dhamma that we can contemplate and see that itâs true. |
| |
When that man sees this truth, he can let goâhe can let the water flow along with its flow. |
| |
The problem that was eating away at his heart disappears. |
| |
When the problem disappears, thereâs no more problem. |
| |
When thereâs no problem, thereâs no suffering. |
| |
Itâs the same here. |
| |
The water flowing downhill is like the life of your body. |
| |
After itâs young, itâs old. |
| |
When itâs old, it flows along in its way. |
| |
Donât think that you donât want it to be that way. |
| |
Donât think like that. |
| |
We donât have the power to fix it. |
| |
The Buddha looked at things in line with their conditions, |
| |
that they simply have to be that way. |
| |
So we let them go, we leave them be. |
| |
Take your awareness as your refuge. |
| |
Meditate on the word buddho, buddho. |
| |
Even though youâre really tired, put your mind with the breath. |
| |
Take a good long out-breath. |
| |
Take a good long in-breath. |
| |
Take another good long out-breath. |
| |
Focus your mind again if you wander off. |
| |
Focus on the breath: buddho, buddho. |
| |
The more tired you feel, the more refined you have to keep focusing on in every time. |
| |
Why? |
| |
So that you can contend with pain. |
| |
When you feel tired, stop all your thoughts. |
| |
Donât think of anything at all. |
| |
Focus the mind in at the mind, and then keep the mind with the breath: buddho, |
| |
buddho. |
| |
Let go of everything outside. |
| |
Donât get fastened on your children. |
| |
Donât get fastened on your grandchildren. |
| |
Donât get fastened on anything at all. |
| |
Let go. |
| |
Let the mind be one. |
| |
Gather the mind in to one. |
| |
Watch the breath. |
| |
Focus on the breath. |
| |
Gather the mind at the breath. |
| |
Just be aware at the breath. |
| |
You donât have to be aware of anything else. |
| |
Keep making your awareness more and more refined until it feels very small, |
| |
but extremely awake. |
| |
The pains that have arisen will gradually grow calm. |
| |
Ultimately, we watch the breath in the same way that, |
| |
when relatives have come to visit us, |
| |
we see them off to the boat dock or the bus station. |
| |
Once the motor starts, the boat goes whizzing right off. |
| |
We watch them until theyâre gone, and then we return to our home. |
| |
We watch the breath in the same way. |
| |
We get acquainted with coarse breathing. |
| |
We get acquainted with refined breathing. |
| |
As the breathing gets more and more refined, |
| |
we watch it off. |
| |
It gets smaller and smaller, but we make our mind more and more awake. |
| |
We keep watching the breath get more and more refined until thereâs no more breath. |
| |
Thereâs just awareness, wide awake. |
| |
This is called meeting with the Buddha. |
| |
We stay aware, awake. |
| |
This is what buddho means: whatâs aware, |
| |
awake, serene. |
| |
When thatâs the case, weâre living with the Buddha. |
| |
Weâve met with awareness. |
| |
Weâve met with brightness. |
| |
We donât send the mind anywhere else. |
| |
It gathers in here. |
| |
Weâve reached our Buddha. |
| |
Even though heâs already passed away, |
| |
that was just the body. |
| |
The real Buddha is awareness thatâs serene and bright. |
| |
When you meet with this, thatâs all you have to know. |
| |
Let everything gather right here. |
| |
Let go of everything, leaving just this singular awareness. |
| |
But donât get deluded, okay? |
| |
Donât lose track. |
| |
If a vision or a voice arises in the mind, |
| |
let it go. |
| |
Leave it be. |
| |
You donât need to take hold of anything at all. |
| |
Just take hold of the awareness. |
| |
Donât worry about the future; donât worry about the past. |
| |
Stay right here. |
| |
Ultimately you get so that you canât say that youâre going forward, |
| |
you canât say that youâre going back, |
| |
you canât say that youâre staying in place. |
| |
Thereâs nothing to be attached to. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because thereâs no self there, no you, |
| |
no yours. |
| |
Itâs all gone. |
| |
This is the Buddhaâs teaching: He tells us to be âall goneâ in this way. |
| |
He doesnât have us grab hold of anything. |
| |
He has us be aware like thisâaware and letting go. |
| |
This is your duty right now, yours alone. |
| |
Try to enter into the Dhamma in this way. |
| |
This is the path for gaining release from the round of wandering-on. |
| |
Try to let go, to understand, to set your heart on investigating this. |
| |
Donât be worried about this person or that. |
| |
Your children, your grandchildren, your relatives, |
| |
everybody: Donât be worried about them. |
| |
Right now theyâre fine. |
| |
In the future theyâll be just like this: like you are right now. |
| |
Nobody stays on in this world. |
| |
Thatâs the way it has to be. |
| |
This is a condition, a truth, that the Buddha taught. |
| |
All the things that donât have any truth to them, |
| |
he has us leave them be. |
| |
When you leave them be, you can see the truth. |
| |
If you donât leave them be, you wonât see the truth. |
| |
Thatâs the way things are. |
| |
Everybody in the world has to be this way. |
| |
So donât be worried. |
| |
Donât fasten onto things. |
| |
If the mind is going to think, let it think, |
| |
but think using discernment. |
| |
Think with discernment. |
| |
Donât think with foolishness. |
| |
If you think about your grandchildren, |
| |
think about them with discernment, not with foolishness. |
| |
Whatever there is, you can think about it, |
| |
you can be aware of it, but think with discernment, |
| |
be aware with discernment. |
| |
If youâre really aware with discernment, |
| |
you have to let go. |
| |
You have to leave things be. |
| |
If you think with discernment and are aware with discernment, |
| |
thereâs no suffering, no stress. |
| |
Thereâs just happiness, peace, and respite, |
| |
all in one. |
| |
The mind gathers like this. |
| |
All you need to hold onto in the present is the breath. |
| |
This is your duty now. |
| |
Itâs not the duty of anyone else. |
| |
Leave their duties to them. |
| |
Your duty is your duty. |
| |
And your duty right now is to keep your awareness at your mind, |
| |
making sure it doesnât get stirred up. |
| |
Your duty is to know how your mind is doing. |
| |
Is it worried about anything? |
| |
Is it concerned about anything? |
| |
Examine the mind while youâre lying here sick. |
| |
Donât take on the duties of your children. |
| |
Donât take on the duties of your grandchildren. |
| |
Donât take on the duties of anyone else. |
| |
Donât take on any outside duties at all. |
| |
Theyâre none of your business. |
| |
Nowâs the time for you to let go, to leave things be. |
| |
When you let go in this way, the mind will be at peace. |
| |
This is your duty now, right here in the present. |
| |
When youâre sick like this, gather the mind into oneness. |
| |
This is your duty. |
| |
Let everything else go its own way. |
| |
Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, whatever: Let them go their own way. |
| |
Just stay focused on your duty. |
| |
If any preoccupation comes in to bother the mind, |
| |
just say in your heart: âLeave me alone. |
| |
Donât bother me. |
| |
Youâre no affair of mine.â |
| |
If any critical thoughts come upâfear for your life, |
| |
fear that youâll die, thinking of this person, |
| |
thinking of that personâjust say in your heart, |
| |
âDonât bother me. |
| |
Youâre no affair of mine.â |
| |
This is because you see all the Dhammas that arise. |
| |
What are Dhammas? |
| |
Everything is a Dhamma. |
| |
Thereâs nothing now that isnât a Dhamma. |
| |
Whatâs the world? |
| |
The world is any preoccupation that gets you stirred up, |
| |
that disturbs you right now. |
| |
âHow is that person going to be? |
| |
How is this person going to be? |
| |
When I die will anyone look after them?â |
| |
All of this is the world. |
| |
Whatever we think upâfear of death, fear of aging, |
| |
fear of illness, whatever the fearâitâs all world. |
| |
Drop the worldâitâs just world. |
| |
Thatâs the way the world is. |
| |
If it arises in the mind, make yourself understand: The world is nothing but a preoccupation. |
| |
Preoccupations obscure the mind so that it canât see itself. |
| |
Whatever arises in the mind, tell yourself: âThis isnât any affair of mine. |
| |
Itâs an affair of inconstancy, an affair of stress, |
| |
an affair of not-self.â |
| |
If you think that youâd like to keep on living a long time, |
| |
it makes you suffer. |
| |
If you think that youâd like to die right now and get it all over with, |
| |
thatâs not the right way either, you know. |
| |
It makes you suffer, too, because fabrications arenât yours. |
| |
You canât fix them up. |
| |
Theyâre just the way they are. |
| |
You can fix them up a little bit, as when you fix up the body to make it look pretty or clean. |
| |
Or like children: They paint their lips and let their nails grow long to make them look pretty. |
| |
But thatâs all there is to it. |
| |
When they get old, they all end up in the same bucket. |
| |
They fix up the outside, but canât really fix things. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is with fabrications. |
| |
The only thing you can fix is your heart and mind. |
| |
This house youâre living in: You and your husband built it. |
| |
Other people can build houses, too, making them large and lovely. |
| |
Those are outer homes, which anyone can build. |
| |
The Buddha called them outer homes, not your real home. |
| |
Theyâre homes only in name. |
| |
Homes in the world have to fall in line with the way of the world. |
| |
Some of us forget. |
| |
We get a big home and enjoy living in it, |
| |
but we forget our real home. |
| |
Where is our real home? |
| |
Itâs in the sense of peace. |
| |
Our real home is peace. |
| |
This home you live in hereâand this applies to every homeâis lovely, |
| |
but itâs not very peaceful. |
| |
First this, then that; youâre worried about this, |
| |
youâre worried about that: This isnât your real home. |
| |
Itâs not your inner home. |
| |
Itâs an outer home. |
| |
Someday soon youâll have to leave it. |
| |
You wonât be able to live here anymore. |
| |
Itâs a worldly home, not yours. |
| |
This body of yours, that you still see as you and yours, |
| |
is a home that stays with you a while. |
| |
You think that itâs you and yours, but itâs not. |
| |
It, too, is a worldly home. |
| |
Itâs not your real home. |
| |
People prefer to build outer homes; they donât like to build inner homes. |
| |
You rarely see any homes where people can really stay and be at peace. |
| |
People donât build them. |
| |
They build only outer homes. |
| |
Think about it for a minute. |
| |
How is your body right now? |
| |
Think about it from the day you were born all the way up to the present moment. |
| |
We keep running away from progress. |
| |
We keep running until weâre old, running until weâre sick. |
| |
We donât want things to be that way, but we canât prevent it. |
| |
Thatâs just the way things are. |
| |
They canât be any other way. |
| |
Itâs like wanting a duck to be like a chicken, |
| |
but it canât because itâs a duck. |
| |
If you want a chicken to be like a duck, |
| |
it canât, because itâs a chicken. |
| |
If you want ducks to be like chickens, |
| |
and chickens to be like ducks, you simply sufferâbecause these things are impossible. |
| |
If you think, âDucks have to be the way they are, |
| |
and chickens the way they are; they canât be any other way,â then that kind of thinking gives you energy and strength. |
| |
No matter how much you want this body to stay stable and permanent, |
| |
it canât be that way. |
| |
Itâs just the way it is. |
| |
The Buddha called it a fabrication. |
| |
AniccÄ vata saáč
khÄrÄ: How inconstant are fabrications! |
| |
UppÄda-vaya-dhammino: Their nature is to arise and pass away. |
| |
UppajjitvÄ nirujjhanti: Arising, they disband. |
| |
Tesaáč vĆ«pasamo sukho: Their stilling is bliss. |
| |
This fabricationâthis body-and-mindâis inconstant. |
| |
Itâs not dependable. |
| |
Itâs here and then itâs not. |
| |
Itâs born and then it passes away. |
| |
But we human beings want it to be constant. |
| |
Thatâs the thinking of a fool. |
| |
Just look at your breath. |
| |
It goes out and then it comes in. |
| |
It comes in and then it goes out. |
| |
Thatâs the nature of breath. |
| |
It has to be that way. |
| |
It has to change, to go back and forth. |
| |
The affairs of fabrication depend on change. |
| |
You canât have them not change. |
| |
Just look at your breath. |
| |
Can you keep it from coming in? |
| |
Does it feel comfortable? |
| |
If you draw in a breath and then donât let it go out, |
| |
is that any good? |
| |
Even if you want it to be constant, it canât be constant. |
| |
Itâs impossible. |
| |
It goes out and then it comes in. |
| |
It comes in and then it goes out. |
| |
Itâs such a normal thing. |
| |
Weâre born and then we age; we age and then we get sick and die. |
| |
Itâs so normal. |
| |
But we donât like it. |
| |
Itâs as if we wanted the breath to come in and not go out; or to go out and not come in. |
| |
When it comes in and out, out and in, |
| |
we can live. |
| |
Human beings and animals have been living right up to the present |
| |
because fabrications follow their duty in line with their conditions. |
| |
Thatâs their truth. |
| |
So we have to see their truth in line with their truth. |
| |
As with the affair of birth, aging, illness, |
| |
and death: Once weâre born, weâre already dead. |
| |
Birth and death are all the same thing. |
| |
One part is the beginning, and one part the end. |
| |
Just like a tree: When it has a base, |
| |
it has an upper tip. |
| |
When it has an upper tip, it has a base. |
| |
When thereâs no base, thereâs no upper tip. |
| |
Thereâs no upper tip without a base. |
| |
Thatâs the way things are. |
| |
Itâs kind of funny, you know. |
| |
We human beings, when somebody dies, get all sad and upset. |
| |
We cry and grieveâall kinds of things. |
| |
Itâs delusion. |
| |
Itâs delusion, you know, to cry and lament when somebody dies. |
| |
Thatâs the way weâve been since who knows when. |
| |
We hardly ever reflect to see things clearly. |
| |
In my opinion, and youâll have to forgive me for saying this, |
| |
but if youâre going to cry when somebody dies, |
| |
itâd be better to cry when somebodyâs born. |
| |
But we have things all backwards. |
| |
If somebodyâs born we laugh; weâre happy and glad. |
| |
But really, birth is death, and death is birth. |
| |
The beginning is the end, and the end is the beginning. |
| |
When someone dies or is about to die, |
| |
we cry. |
| |
Thatâs foolishness. |
| |
If youâre going to cry, itâd be better to cry from the very beginning. |
| |
For birth is death. |
| |
Without birth, thereâs no death. |
| |
Do you understand? |
| |
Death is birth, and birth is death. |
| |
Donât think in a way that puts you in a turmoil. |
| |
Just let things be the way they are. |
| |
This is your duty now. |
| |
No one else can help you. |
| |
Your children canât help you; your grandchildren canât help you; your wealth canât help you. |
| |
The only thing that can help you is if you correct your sense of things right now. |
| |
Donât let it waver back and forth. |
| |
Let go. |
| |
Let go. |
| |
Even if we donât let things go, theyâre already ready to go. |
| |
The parts of your body are trying to run away. |
| |
Do you see this? |
| |
When you were young, your hair was black. |
| |
Now itâs gray. |
| |
This is how itâs already running away. |
| |
When you were young, your eyes were bright and clear, |
| |
but now theyâre blurry. |
| |
Do you see this? |
| |
Theyâre already running away. |
| |
They canât hold out any longer, so they have to run away. |
| |
This is no longer their place to stay. |
| |
Every part of your body has started running away. |
| |
When you were young, were your teeth solid and sturdy? |
| |
Now theyâre loose. |
| |
You may have put in false teeth, but theyâre something new, |
| |
not the original ones. |
| |
The original ones have run away. |
| |
Every part of your bodyâof everybodyâs bodyâis trying to run away. |
| |
Your eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body: All of these things are trying to run away. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because this isnât their place to stay. |
| |
Theyâre fabrications, so they canât stay. |
| |
They can stay for only a while and then they have to go. |
| |
And itâs not just you. |
| |
Every part of the bodyâhair of the head, |
| |
hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, |
| |
everythingâis getting ready to run away. |
| |
Some parts have already gone, but not yet everything. |
| |
All thatâs left are a few house sitters. |
| |
Theyâre looking after the house, but theyâre no good. |
| |
The eyes are no good; the teeth are no good; the ears are no good. |
| |
This bodyâs no good because the good things have already run away. |
| |
They keep running away, one after another. |
| |
You have to understand that this is no place for human beings to stay. |
| |
Itâs just a shelter where you can rest a bit, |
| |
and then you have to move on. |
| |
So donât let yourself be worried about so many things. |
| |
Youâve come to live in the world, so you should contemplate the |
| |
world to see that thatâs the way it is: Everythingâs getting ready to run away. |
| |
Look at your body. |
| |
Is there anything there thatâs like what it used to be? |
| |
Is the skin like it used to be? |
| |
Is your hair like it used to be? |
| |
Are your eyes like they used to be? |
| |
Are your ears like they used to be? |
| |
Are your teeth like they used to be? |
| |
No, theyâre not. |
| |
Theyâve run off to who knows where. |
| |
This is what their nature is like. |
| |
Once theyâve served their time, they have to go. |
| |
Why do they have to go? |
| |
Because thatâs their duty. |
| |
Thatâs their truth. |
| |
This isnât a place where anything can stay permanently. |
| |
And while theyâre staying here, theyâre a turmoil: sometimes pleasant, |
| |
sometimes painful, with no respite or peace. |
| |
Itâs like a person whoâs traveling back home but hasnât yet arrived. |
| |
Heâs still on the way, sometimes going forward, |
| |
sometimes going back: a person with no place to stay. |
| |
As long as he hasnât reached home, heâs not at his ease: no ease while heâs sitting, |
| |
no ease while heâs lying down, no ease while heâs walking, |
| |
no ease while heâs riding in a car. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because he hasnât yet reached home. |
| |
When we reach our home, weâre at our ease because we understand that this is our home. |
| |
Itâs the same here. |
| |
The affairs of the world are never peaceful. |
| |
Even if weâre rich, theyâre not peaceful. |
| |
If weâre poor, theyâre not peaceful. |
| |
If weâre adults theyâre not peaceful. |
| |
If weâre children theyâre not peaceful. |
| |
If we lack education, theyâre not peaceful. |
| |
If weâre educated, theyâre not peaceful. |
| |
All these affairs are not peaceful: Thatâs just the way they are. |
| |
Thatâs why poor people suffer, rich people suffer, |
| |
children suffer, adults suffer. |
| |
Old people suffer the sufferings of old people. |
| |
The sufferings of children, the sufferings of rich people, |
| |
the suffering of poor people: Theyâre all suffering. |
| |
Every part in your body is running away, |
| |
one thing after another. |
| |
When you contemplate this, youâll see aniccaáč: Theyâre inconstant. |
| |
Dukkhaáč: Theyâre stressful. |
| |
Why is that? |
| |
AnattÄ: Theyâre not-self. |
| |
This body youâre living in, this body sitting and lying here sick, |
| |
along with the mind that knows pleasure and pain, |
| |
that knows that the body is sick: Both of these things are called Dhamma. |
| |
The mental things with no shape, that can think and feel, |
| |
are called nÄma. |
| |
Theyâre nÄma-dhamma. |
| |
The things that have physical shape, that can hurt, |
| |
that can grow and shrink, back and forth: Thatâs called rĆ«pa-dhamma. |
| |
Mental things are dhamma. |
| |
Physical things are dhamma. |
| |
Thatâs why we say we live with the Dhamma. |
| |
Thereâs nothing there thatâs really us. |
| |
Itâs just Dhamma. |
| |
Dhamma conditions arise and then pass away. |
| |
They arise and then pass away. |
| |
Thatâs how conditions are. |
| |
They arise and then pass away. |
| |
We arise and pass away with every moment. |
| |
This is how conditions are. |
| |
This is why, when we think of the Buddha, |
| |
we can see that heâs really worth respecting, |
| |
really worth bowing down to, for he spoke the truth. |
| |
He spoke in line with the truth. |
| |
Once we see that thatâs the way it is, |
| |
we see the Dhamma. |
| |
Some people practice the Dhamma but donât see the Dhamma. |
| |
Some people study the Dhamma, practice the Dhamma, |
| |
but donât see the Dhamma. |
| |
They still donât have any place to stay. |
| |
So you have to understand that everybody, |
| |
all the way down to ants and termites and all the other little animals, |
| |
is trying to run away. |
| |
Thereâs no one who can stay here. |
| |
Living things stay for a while and then they all go: rich people, |
| |
poor people, children, old people, even animals. |
| |
They all keep changing. |
| |
So when you sense that the world is like this, |
| |
you see that itâs disenchanting. |
| |
Thereâs nothing thatâs really you or yours. |
| |
Youâre disenchantedânibbidÄ. |
| |
Disenchantment isnât disgust, you know. |
| |
Itâs just the heart sobering up. |
| |
The heart has seen the truth of the way things are: Thereâs no way you can fix them. |
| |
Theyâre just the way they are. |
| |
You let them go. |
| |
You let go without gladness. |
| |
You let go without sadness. |
| |
You just let things go as fabrications, |
| |
seeing with your own discernment that thatâs the way fabrications are. |
| |
This is called, anicca vata saáč
khÄra: Fabrications are inconstant. |
| |
They change back and forth. |
| |
Thatâs inconstancy. |
| |
To put it in simple terms: Inconstancy is the Buddha. |
| |
When we really see that these things are inconstant, |
| |
thatâs the Buddha. |
| |
When we look clearly into inconstancy, |
| |
weâll see that itâs constant. |
| |
How is it constant? |
| |
Itâs constant in being that way. |
| |
It doesnât change into any other way. |
| |
Human beings and animals, once theyâre born, |
| |
are all that way. |
| |
Theyâre constant in that wayâin that theyâre inconstant. |
| |
They keep changing, changing from children to young people to old people: Thatâs how theyâre inconstant. |
| |
But the fact that everyone is that way: Thatâs constant. |
| |
That doesnât change. |
| |
Things keep changing in that way. |
| |
When you see this, your heart can be at peace, |
| |
for itâs not just you. |
| |
Itâs everyone. |
| |
When you think in this way, itâs disenchanting. |
| |
NibbidÄ arises. |
| |
It cures you of your lust and desire for sensuality, |
| |
for the world, for the baits of the world. |
| |
If you have a lot of them, you abandon a lot. |
| |
If you have a little, you abandon a little. |
| |
Look at everyone. |
| |
Have you seen any of these things since you were born? |
| |
Have you seen poor people? |
| |
Have you seen rich people? |
| |
Have you seen people who die young? |
| |
Have you seen people who die old? |
| |
Weâve all seen these things. |
| |
Theyâre no big deal. |
| |
The important point is that the Buddha has us build a home for ourselves, |
| |
to build a home in the way Iâve described to you. |
| |
Build a home so you can let go, so that you can leave things be. |
| |
Let them go and then leave them be. |
| |
Let the mind reach peace. |
| |
Peace is something that doesnât move forward, |
| |
doesnât move back, doesnât stay in place. |
| |
Thatâs why its peace. |
| |
Itâs peace in that itâs free from going forward, |
| |
free from moving back, free from staying in place. |
| |
Pleasure isnât a place for you to stay. |
| |
Pain isnât a place for you to stay. |
| |
Pain wears away. |
| |
Pleasure wears away. |
| |
Our foremost Teacher said that all fabrications are inconstant. |
| |
So when we reach this last stage in life, |
| |
he tells us to let go and leave things be. |
| |
We canât take them with us. |
| |
Weâll have to let them go anyhow, so wouldnât it be better to let them go beforehand? |
| |
If we carry them around, they weigh us down. |
| |
When we sense that they weigh us down, |
| |
we wonât carry them around. |
| |
Wouldnât it be better to let them go beforehand? |
| |
So why carry them around? |
| |
Why be attached to them? |
| |
Let your children and grandchildren look after you, |
| |
while you can rest at your ease. |
| |
Those who look after the sick should be virtuous. |
| |
Those who are sick should give others the opportunity to look after them. |
| |
Donât give them difficulties. |
| |
Wherever thereâs pain, learn how to keep your mind in good shape. |
| |
Those who look after their parents should have their virtues, |
| |
too. |
| |
You have to be patient and tolerant. |
| |
Donât feel disgust. |
| |
This is the only time you can really repay your parents. |
| |
In the beginning you were children, and your parents were adults. |
| |
It was in dependence on them that youâve been able to grow up. |
| |
The fact that youâre all sitting here is because your parents looked after you in every way. |
| |
You owe them a huge debt of gratitude. |
| |
So now you should understand that your mother is a child. |
| |
Before, you were her children, but now sheâs your child. |
| |
Why is that? |
| |
As people get older, they turn into children. |
| |
They canât remember things; their eyes canât see things; their |
| |
ears canât hear things; they make mistakes when they speak, |
| |
just like children. |
| |
So you should understand and let go. |
| |
Donât take offense at what the sick person says and does. |
| |
Let her have her way, in the same way youâd let a child have its way when it wonât listen to its parents. |
| |
Donât make it cry. |
| |
Donât make it frustrated. |
| |
Itâs the same with your mother. |
| |
When people are old, their perceptions get all skewed. |
| |
They want to call one child, but they say another oneâs name. |
| |
They ask for a bowl when they want a plate. |
| |
They ask for a glass when they want something else. |
| |
This is the normal way things are, so I ask you to contemplate it for yourself. |
| |
At the same time, the sick person should think of those looking after her. |
| |
Have the virtue of patience and endurance in the face of pain. |
| |
Make an effort in your heart so that it isnât a turmoil. |
| |
Donât place too many difficulties on the people looking after you. |
| |
As for those looking after the sick person, |
| |
have the virtue of not feeling disgust over mucus and saliva, |
| |
urine and excrement. |
| |
Try to do the best you can. |
| |
All of the children should help in looking after her. |
| |
Sheâs now the only mother you have. |
| |
Youâve depended on her ever since you were born: to be your teacher, |
| |
your nurse, your doctorâshe was everything for you. |
| |
This is the benefaction she gave in raising you. |
| |
She gave you knowledge; she provided for your needs and gave you wealth. |
| |
Everything you haveâthe fact that you have children and grandchildren, |
| |
nice homes, nice occupations, the fact that you can send your |
| |
children to get an educationâthe fact that you even have yourself: What does that come from? |
| |
It comes from the benefaction of your parents who gave you an inheritance so that your family line is the way it is. |
| |
The Buddha thus taught benefaction and gratitude. |
| |
These two qualities complement each other. |
| |
Benefaction is doing good for others. |
| |
When weâve received that goodness, received that help: Whoever has raised us, |
| |
whoever has made it possible for us to live, |
| |
whether itâs a man or a woman, a relative or not, |
| |
that person is our benefactor. |
| |
Gratitude is our response. |
| |
When weâve received help and support from benefactors, |
| |
we appreciate that benefaction. |
| |
Thatâs gratitude. |
| |
Whatever they need, whatever difficulty theyâre in, |
| |
we should be willing to make sacrifices for them, |
| |
to take on the duty of helping them. |
| |
This is because benefaction and gratitude are two qualities that |
| |
undergird the world so that your family doesnât scatter, |
| |
so that itâs at peace, so that itâs as solid and stable as it is. |
| |
Today Iâve brought you some Dhamma as a gift in your time of illness. |
| |
I donât have any other gift to give. |
| |
Thereâs no need to bring you any material gift, |
| |
for you have plenty of material things in your house, |
| |
and over time they just cause you difficulties. |
| |
So Iâve brought you some Dhamma, something of substance that will never run out. |
| |
Now that youâve heard this Dhamma, you can pass it on to any number of other people, |
| |
and itâll never run out. |
| |
Itâll never stop. |
| |
Itâs the truth of the Dhamma, a truth that always stays as it is. |
| |
Iâm happy that Iâve been able to give you this gift of Dhamma |
| |
so that youâll have the strength of heart to contend with all the things you face. |
| |
OKAY, EVERYONE, BE INTENT. |
| |
PAY ATTENTION. |
| |
Even though youâre sitting near one another, |
| |
donât let your mind focus on this person or that. |
| |
Itâs as if youâre sitting alone on a mountain or in a forest somewhere, |
| |
all by yourself. |
| |
Youâre sitting. |
| |
What do you have sitting here right now? |
| |
Just body and mind, thatâs all. |
| |
Body and mind. |
| |
Only these two things. |
| |
What you have sitting here right now is the body and the mind. |
| |
Everything sitting in this physical lump here is âbody.â |
| |
âMindâ is what thinks, what receives and is aware of preoccupations in the present. |
| |
Or you can call these two things nÄma and rĆ«pa. |
| |
NÄma means anything that has no rĆ«pa, |
| |
or form. |
| |
Any thinking about anything at all, or every kind of sensation, |
| |
is called nÄmaâthings like feelings, |
| |
perceptions, thought-fabrications, and consciousness. |
| |
âFeeling,â for instance, means whatâs aware of pleasure or pain. |
| |
It doesnât have any substance. |
| |
These things are nÄma. |
| |
When the eye sees forms, those forms are called rƫpa. |
| |
The awareness of forms is called nÄma. |
| |
Together theyâre called nÄma-dhamma and rĆ«pa-dhammaâmental phenomena and physical phenomenaâor simply body and mind. |
| |
Everything that comes out of these two things is a disturbance in many ways, |
| |
in line with each particular phenomenon. |
| |
So if you want peace, all you have to know is rĆ«pa and nÄma, |
| |
or body and mind. |
| |
Thatâs enough. |
| |
But the mind as it is right here is still untrained. |
| |
Itâs dirty. |
| |
Unclean. |
| |
Itâs not the primal mind. |
| |
We have to train it by making it still from time to time. |
| |
So today, while Iâm giving you this advice, |
| |
donât be irritated by it. |
| |
You donât have to be irritated. |
| |
You have to increase the knowledge in your mind. |
| |
Suppose that youâre sitting in concentration. |
| |
Concentration isnât just a matter of sitting. |
| |
When you walk, you can also be in concentration. |
| |
Some people think that concentration means sitting, |
| |
but the truth of the matter is that standing, |
| |
sitting, walking, and lying down are part of the practice, |
| |
too. |
| |
You can practice concentration at any time. |
| |
Concentration literally means, âfirm intent.â |
| |
At normalcy, without forgetting. |
| |
For example, each of you has come from your home here to DiamondLight Cave Mountain. |
| |
Each of you has come away from your home. |
| |
But in reality, your mind is already in your home, |
| |
your resting place. |
| |
It goes with you everywhere. |
| |
Wherever it has to end up, thatâs your home. |
| |
Practicing concentration isnât a matter of imprisoning the mind. |
| |
Some people think, âTo practice concentration, |
| |
I have to go look for some peace, to sit without any issues arising at all. |
| |
I want to sit in total silence.â |
| |
But thatâs a dead person, not a living one. |
| |
To practice concentration is to give rise to knowledge, |
| |
to give rise to discernment. |
| |
Concentration is a firm intent, focused on a single preoccupation. |
| |
What kind of object is a single preoccupation? |
| |
The correct preoccupation. |
| |
Ordinarily we sit to make the mind totally silent. |
| |
Some people really suffer over thisâespecially high school and university students. |
| |
They come to me and say, âI try to sit in concentration, |
| |
but my mind wonât stay put. |
| |
First it runs off one place, then it runs off somewhere else. |
| |
I donât know how to make it stop and stay put.â |
| |
But this is not the sort of thing you can stop. |
| |
When you say that itâs running back and forth, |
| |
itâs not really running. |
| |
Thereâs simply a sensation that arises right here. |
| |
It doesnât run back and forth. |
| |
People complain, âIt runs off and I pull it back again, |
| |
pull it back here; then it walks off over there again and I pull it backâŠâ So they just sit there pulling like this. |
| |
They think their mindâs running around, |
| |
but actually the only things that run are our impressions. |
| |
For example, look at this hall here: âWow,â you say, |
| |
âitâs awfully big!â |
| |
But the hall isnât whatâs big, just our impression of it, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
This hall isnât big. |
| |
Itâs just the size it is. |
| |
Itâs neither big nor small, but we run around after our thoughts and impressions of things. |
| |
Meditating to find peace: You have to understand what this word âpeaceâ is. |
| |
If you donât understand it, you wonât be peaceful. |
| |
For example, suppose that today you walked here from wherever and brought along a penâone that you love, |
| |
an expensive one that cost 500 or 1000 baht. |
| |
And suppose that on your way here you happened to put the pen someplaceâsay, |
| |
in your front pocketâbut later you took it out and put it in your back pocket. |
| |
Now when you feel for it in your front pocket: Itâs not there! |
| |
You panic. |
| |
You panic because you donât see the truth of the matter. |
| |
You get all upset. |
| |
Standing, walking, coming and going, you canât stop worrying, |
| |
thinking that your pen is lost. |
| |
But actually it isnât lost. |
| |
Itâs in your back pocket. |
| |
It isnât lost. |
| |
But because you think that itâs lost, |
| |
you suffer because of your wrong thinking. |
| |
This wrong thinking is suffering. |
| |
So you worry: âWhat a shame! |
| |
What a shame! |
| |
Iâve only had this pen for a few days and now itâs lost.â |
| |
But then you remember, âOh, of course! |
| |
When I went to bathe, I put the pen in my back pocket.â |
| |
As soon as you remember this, you feel better already, |
| |
even without seeing your pen. |
| |
See that? |
| |
Youâre happy already; youâve stopped worrying about your pen. |
| |
Youâre sure about it now. |
| |
As you walk along, you run your hand over your back pocket: âThere it is.â |
| |
Your mind was lying to you. |
| |
Your pen wasnât lost, but the mind lied to you that it was. |
| |
You suffered because you didnât know. |
| |
The mind was naturally worried. |
| |
But now when you see the pen and youâre sure about it, |
| |
your worries calm down. |
| |
This sort of peace and calm comes from seeing the cause of the problem: samudaya, |
| |
the cause of suffering. |
| |
You were suffering, and the samudaya was the cause giving rise to that suffering. |
| |
As soon as youâre sure that the pen is in your back pocket, |
| |
thereâs nirodha, the disbanding of suffering. |
| |
Itâs because of this sort of thing that the mind is always fooled, |
| |
which is why the Buddha taught us that we have to contemplate to find peace. |
| |
When we make the mind peaceful through concentration, |
| |
itâs simply the calming of the mind, |
| |
not the calming of the defilements. |
| |
Itâs not the calming of defilements at all. |
| |
Youâre just sitting on top of your defilements to calm them, |
| |
like a rock sitting on the grass. |
| |
As soon as grass starts growing, you put a rock on top of it. |
| |
The grass stops because the rock is sitting on top of it. |
| |
In three, four, five days, six days, seven days you lift up the rock, |
| |
and the grass starts growing again. |
| |
That means that the grass didnât really die. |
| |
It was just suppressed. |
| |
The same with sitting in concentration: The mind is calmed, |
| |
but the defilements arenât calmed. |
| |
This is why concentration isnât for sure. |
| |
To find real peace you have to contemplate. |
| |
Concentration is one kind of peace, like the rock sitting on the grass. |
| |
You can leave it there many days but when you pick it up, |
| |
the grass starts growing again. |
| |
Thatâs only temporary peace. |
| |
Temporary peace. |
| |
The peace of discernment is like never lifting up the rock, |
| |
just leaving it there where it is. |
| |
The grass canât possibly grow again. |
| |
Thatâs genuine peace, the calming of the defilements for sure. |
| |
Thatâs discernment. |
| |
We speak of discernment and concentration as separate things, |
| |
but actually theyâre one and the same thing. |
| |
Discernment is just the movement of concentration, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
They come from the same mind but they come out separately, |
| |
with different characteristics, like this mango here. |
| |
This mango is small, but then it grows larger, |
| |
then itâs ripe, and then itâs rotten. |
| |
Itâs all the same mango. |
| |
Theyâre not different ones. |
| |
When itâs small, itâs this mango. |
| |
When itâs large, itâs this mango. |
| |
When itâs ripe, itâs this mango. |
| |
Only its characteristics change. |
| |
But itâs still the same mango. |
| |
So donât jump to the conclusion that youâre already practicing the Dhamma correctly, |
| |
that when you practice the Dhamma, one condition is called concentration, |
| |
another condition is called discernment. |
| |
Actually, virtue, concentration, and discernment are all the same thing, |
| |
not different things, just like the one mango. |
| |
When itâs small, itâs that same mango. |
| |
When itâs large, itâs that same mango. |
| |
When itâs ripe, itâs that same mango. |
| |
It just simply changes its characteristics, |
| |
and so we keeping running, running, |
| |
running, running after them. |
| |
Actually, in practicing the Dhamma, whatever happens, |
| |
you have to start from the mind. |
| |
Begin with the mind. |
| |
Do you know what your mind is? |
| |
What is your mind like? |
| |
Where is it? |
| |
Youâre all speechless. |
| |
Where the mind is, what itâs like, nobody knows. |
| |
[Laughs] You donât know anything about it at all. |
| |
You donât know. |
| |
All you know is that you want to go over here or over there, |
| |
the mind feels happy or sad, but the mind itself you canât know. |
| |
What is the mind? |
| |
The mind isnât âisâ anything. |
| |
What would it âisâ? |
| |
Weâve come up with the supposition that whatever receives preoccupationsâgood preoccupations, |
| |
bad preoccupations, whateverâwe call âheartâ or âmind.â |
| |
Like the owner of a house: Whoever receives the guests is the owner of the house. |
| |
The guests canât receive the owner. |
| |
The owner has to stay put at home. |
| |
When guests come to see him, he has to receive them. |
| |
So who receives preoccupations? |
| |
Who lets go of preoccupations? |
| |
Who knows anything? |
| |
[Laughs] Thatâs what we call âmind.â |
| |
But we donât understand it, so we talk, |
| |
veering off course this way and that: âWhat is the mind? |
| |
What is the heart?â |
| |
We get things way too confused. |
| |
Donât analyze it so much. |
| |
What is it that receives preoccupations? |
| |
Some preoccupations donât satisfy it, |
| |
and so it doesnât like them. |
| |
Some preoccupations it likes and some it doesnât. |
| |
Who is thatâwho likes and doesnât like? |
| |
Is there something there? |
| |
Yes. |
| |
Whatâs it like? |
| |
We donât know. |
| |
Understand? |
| |
That thing⊠That thing is what we call the âmind.â |
| |
Donât go looking far away. |
| |
Some people have to keep thinking: âWhat is the mind? |
| |
What is the heart?ââ all kinds of things, |
| |
keeping at it, back and forth until they go crazy. |
| |
They donât understand anything. |
| |
You donât have to think that far. |
| |
Simply ask yourself, âWhat do you have in yourself?â |
| |
There are rĆ«pa and nÄma; or thereâs a body and thereâs a mind. |
| |
Thatâs enough. |
| |
Some people ask, âIâve heard that the Buddha knew everything. |
| |
Well, if he knew everythingâŠâ They practice the Dhamma and start arguing: âHow many roots does a tree have?â |
| |
The Buddha answers that it has taproots and rootlets. |
| |
âBut how many rootlets does it have?â |
| |
That shows theyâre crazy, right? |
| |
They want an answer about the rootlets: âHow many rootlets are there? |
| |
How many taproots are there?â |
| |
Why do they ask? |
| |
âWell, the Buddha knew everything, didnât he? |
| |
Heâd have to know, all the way to the rootlets.â |
| |
Who would be crazy enough to count them? |
| |
Do you think the Buddha would be stupid like that? |
| |
Heâd say that there are rootlets and taproots, |
| |
and that would be enough. |
| |
Itâs like cutting our way through the forest. |
| |
If we felt we had to cut down every tree, |
| |
all the big trees and all the small trees, |
| |
weâd be getting out of hand. |
| |
Would we have to uproot them all in order to get through the forest? |
| |
Weâd cut back just the ones needed to open our way. |
| |
Thatâs enough. |
| |
Why would we have to level every tree? |
| |
However many rootlets this tree has doesnât matter. |
| |
Just knowing that it has rootlets, and that it depends on big roots and little rootlets: Thatâs enough, |
| |
donât you think? |
| |
Itâs enough. |
| |
The Buddha said that itâs enough. |
| |
He doesnât want us to go counting the rootlets of trees. |
| |
Itâd be a waste of time. |
| |
What purpose would counting them serve? |
| |
The tree lives because of its roots: Thatâs enough. |
| |
But some people arenât satisfied. |
| |
âThat canât be the case. |
| |
The Buddha knew everything.â |
| |
If you had to count all the rootlets, |
| |
youâd go crazy, thatâs all. |
| |
So donât understand things in that way. |
| |
In our practice, whether you call it concentration or vipassanÄ (insight) doesnât matter. |
| |
Letâs just call it practicing the Dhamma, |
| |
thatâs enough. |
| |
But you have to start this practice beginning with your own mind. |
| |
What is the mind? |
| |
The mind is what receives preoccupations. |
| |
When it makes contact with this preoccupation, |
| |
itâs happy. |
| |
When it makes contact with that preoccupation, |
| |
itâs sad. |
| |
The thing that receives preoccupations leads us to happiness and suffering, |
| |
right and wrong, but it isnât a thing. |
| |
We suppose it to be a thing, but itâs really only nÄma-dhamma. |
| |
Is goodness a thing? |
| |
Is evil a thing? |
| |
Is happiness a thing? |
| |
Is suffering a thing? |
| |
You canât see that they are. |
| |
Are they round or square? |
| |
How short? |
| |
How long? |
| |
Do you know? |
| |
Theyâre nÄma-dhamma. |
| |
They canât be compared to thingsâbut we know that theyâre there. |
| |
This is whatâs meant by nÄma. |
| |
Both rĆ«pa and nÄma go together; they depend on each other. |
| |
So weâre taught to use nÄma to contemplate rĆ«pa; use the heart to contemplate the body. |
| |
Just these two things. |
| |
So weâre told to begin the practice with the mind: calming the mind; making it aware. |
| |
If the mind is aware, itâll be at peace. |
| |
Some people donât go for awareness. |
| |
They just want to have peace to the point where thereâs nothing, |
| |
where they arenât aware of anything. |
| |
But what could you do without this knower? |
| |
What could you depend on? |
| |
Itâs not short; itâs not long; itâs not wrong; itâs not right. |
| |
But people these days keep studying, looking to understand rightness and wrongness, |
| |
goodness and evil, but they donât know neither-rightness-nor-wrongness. |
| |
All theyâre looking to know is whatâs right and wrong: âIâm going to take only whatâs right. |
| |
I wonât take whatâs wrong. |
| |
Why should I?â |
| |
If you try to take only whatâs right, |
| |
soon itâll go wrong. |
| |
Itâs right for the sake of wrong. |
| |
People keep searching for rightness and wrongness, |
| |
but they donât try to find whatâs neither-rightness-nor-wrongness. |
| |
They keep searching for merit, and all they know is merit and evil, |
| |
so they study them, but they donât study further over thereâwhere thereâs neither merit nor evil. |
| |
Theyâre ignorant of it. |
| |
All they want are issues of long and short, |
| |
but the issue of neither long nor short, |
| |
they donât study. |
| |
They study just the issues of good and bad: âIâm practicing to take whatâs good. |
| |
I donât want bad.â |
| |
You want good and donât want bad, but when thereâs no bad, |
| |
thereâs no good, either. |
| |
What then? |
| |
This knife placed here: It has the edge of its blade, |
| |
it has the back of its blade, it has its handleâall of its parts. |
| |
When you lift it up, can you lift just the edge of the blade? |
| |
Can you pick up just the back of the blade? |
| |
Just the handle? |
| |
The handle is the handle of the knife. |
| |
The back of the blade is the back of the knifeâs blade. |
| |
The edge of the blade is the edge of the knifeâs blade. |
| |
When you pick up the knife, you also pick up its handle, |
| |
the back of its blade, and the edge of its blade. |
| |
Could it split off just the edge of its blade for you? |
| |
This is an example. |
| |
You try to separate out just whatâs good, |
| |
but whatâs bad comes along with it. |
| |
You want just whatâs good and to throw away whatâs bad. |
| |
You donât learn about whatâs neither good nor bad, |
| |
even though itâs right there. |
| |
When thatâs the case, you wonât come to the end of things. |
| |
When you take whatâs good, whatâs bad comes along with it. |
| |
They keep coming together. |
| |
If you want pleasure, pain comes along with it. |
| |
Theyâre connected. |
| |
So when you practice the Dhamma to take just the good and not the bad, |
| |
itâs the Dhamma of children, Dhamma for children to toy around with. |
| |
Sure, if you want, you can take just this much, |
| |
but if you grab onto whatâs good, whatâs bad will follow. |
| |
The end of this path gets all cluttered up. |
| |
To put it in simple terms: You have children. |
| |
Now suppose you want to have them only when you love them, |
| |
and not when you hate them. |
| |
If that were the case, nobody would have any children. |
| |
With these two things, if you take the love, |
| |
hatred will come running in its wake. |
| |
So when you set your heart on practicing the Dhamma, |
| |
use discernment. |
| |
Use discernment, for these things come along with each other. |
| |
Study whatâs good and whatâs bad, just to see what good is like, |
| |
what bad is like. |
| |
Study these things in as much detail as you can. |
| |
Now, when youâre familiar with good and bad, |
| |
what will you take? |
| |
âIâll take the good, but not the bad.â |
| |
See that? |
| |
If you take the good, bad comes running in its wake. |
| |
You donât study about how to know whatâs neither good nor bad. |
| |
The issue that would bring things to an end, |
| |
you donât study. |
| |
âIâm going to be like this,â âIâm going to be like thatââbut |
| |
âIâm not going to be anything because there isnât any meâ: This we donât study. |
| |
All we want to take is goodness. |
| |
If we get goodness, goodness, goodness, |
| |
we donât understand it. |
| |
We get drunk with goodness. |
| |
If things get too good, theyâre not good anymore. |
| |
They go bad, and so we keep running back and forth like this. |
| |
We donât get anywhere at all. |
| |
We come to a peaceful place to rest and recover, |
| |
to make the mind peaceful, so as to become familiar with what receives preoccupations, |
| |
to see what it is. |
| |
Thatâs why weâre told to start with the mind, |
| |
to start with the knower. |
| |
Train this mind to be pure. |
| |
How pure? |
| |
You canât stop with just pure enough to be good. |
| |
To be really pure, the mind has to be above and beyond both good and evil, |
| |
and then pure above and beyond pure. |
| |
Done. |
| |
Only then are things over and done. |
| |
So when we practice sitting in concentration, |
| |
itâs just temporary peace. |
| |
Temporary peace. |
| |
When itâs peaceful, issues arise. |
| |
If thereâs an issue, thereâs what knows the issue. |
| |
Thereâs what investigates the case, interrogates, |
| |
follows up, passes judgment. |
| |
If the mind is simply blank, then nothing happens. |
| |
Some people teach you to imprison the mind, |
| |
to really imprison it, thinking that that sort of peace is the genuine practice for sure. |
| |
Peaceful. |
| |
But peace in the mind is not peaceful in that way. |
| |
Itâs peace apart from pleasure and apart from pain. |
| |
Before, I wanted just the pleasure and didnât want pain. |
| |
But as I kept following along in that way, |
| |
I came to realize, âOh. |
| |
Taking just the pleasure turns out to be uncomfortable, |
| |
too, for these things come along with each other.â |
| |
Only when I was able to make it so that there was no pleasure |
| |
and no pain in the heart: Thatâs when it was really at peace. |
| |
This is a subject that people hardly ever study, |
| |
hardly ever understand. |
| |
They want whatâs right, but wonât take whatâs wrong. |
| |
And so they canât get to what has neither right nor wrong. |
| |
They donât know why theyâd study it. |
| |
They study to know whatâs right and whatâs wrong just to take |
| |
whatâs right and not whatâs wrongâso they keep following one another. |
| |
Itâs like this knife: âI want to lift up just its blade, |
| |
but the back of the blade will have to come along as well.â |
| |
Learn to think in this way. |
| |
Wherever there are causes, things can arise again. |
| |
They wonât stop. |
| |
To train the mind in the right way, to make it bright, |
| |
to develop discernment: Donât think you can do it by sitting and making it just still. |
| |
Thatâs the rock sitting on the grass. |
| |
Itâs drunk. |
| |
Some people get drunk on it. |
| |
Actually, you can stand in concentration, |
| |
sit in concentration, walk in concentration, |
| |
and lie down in concentration. |
| |
People jump to the conclusion that concentration is sitting. |
| |
Thatâs just a name for concentration, |
| |
but really, if the mind has concentration, |
| |
walking is concentration, sitting is concentrationâconcentration with the walking, |
| |
concentration with the sitting, the standing, |
| |
the lying down. |
| |
Thatâs the practice. |
| |
Some people complain, âI canât meditate. |
| |
I get fed up. |
| |
Whenever I sit down I think of this and that, |
| |
I think of my house and my family. |
| |
I canât do it. |
| |
Iâve got too much bad kamma. |
| |
I should let my bad kamma run out first and then come back and try meditating.â |
| |
Go ahead, just try it. |
| |
Try waiting until your bad kamma runs out. |
| |
This is how we think. |
| |
Why do we think like this? |
| |
Thatâs what weâre studying. |
| |
As soon as we sit, the mind goes way over there. |
| |
We track it down and bring it backâand then it goes off again. |
| |
This is how we study. |
| |
But most of us skip class. |
| |
We donât want to study our lessons. |
| |
Weâre like a student who skips class, |
| |
who doesnât want to study his lessons. |
| |
When the mind isnât peaceful, we donât want to sit. |
| |
âI donât want that. |
| |
Itâs irritating.â |
| |
But thatâs study. |
| |
Weâre truant. |
| |
We donât want to see the mind when itâs happy; we donât want to see it when itâs suffering. |
| |
We donât want to see it changeâbut then what will we ever know? |
| |
Will we ever know? |
| |
You have to stay with the changing like this. |
| |
Get acquainted with this: âOh, the mind is like this. |
| |
One moment it thinks of that; the next moment it thinks of this. |
| |
Thatâs its ordinary nature.â |
| |
So know it. |
| |
Know when it thinks. |
| |
Know when its thoughts are good, when theyâre bad, |
| |
when theyâre right and wrong. |
| |
Know what itâs like. |
| |
When we know the affairs of the mind, |
| |
then even if weâre simply sitting, thinking about this or that, |
| |
the mind is still in concentration. |
| |
If we know what itâs up to, we donât get irritated or distracted. |
| |
Let me give you an example. |
| |
Suppose you have a pet monkey at home. |
| |
My monastery has a pet monkey, too. |
| |
When youâre home and have a pet monkey, |
| |
the monkey doesnât sit still. |
| |
Now it grabs this; now it goes thereâall kinds of things. |
| |
Thatâs how monkeys are. |
| |
Now you come to my monastery. |
| |
I have a monkey here too, and this monkey doesnât sit still either. |
| |
Now it grabs this; now it goes there, |
| |
but it doesnât irritate you, does it? |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because youâve already had a pet monkey. |
| |
Youâre familiar with monkeys. |
| |
âMy monkey at home is just like this monkey here. |
| |
Staying at your monastery is just like staying at home. |
| |
Itâs the same monkey.â |
| |
If you know just one monkey, then no matter how many provinces you go to, |
| |
you see the same monkey, and it doesnât irritate you, |
| |
right? |
| |
Thatâs someone who understands monkeys. |
| |
If we understand monkeys then we wonât become monkeys. |
| |
If you donât understand monkeys, then as soon as you see a monkey, |
| |
you become a monkey yourself, right? |
| |
When you see it taking this and grabbing that, |
| |
âOh!â |
| |
Youâre irritated. |
| |
Youâre upset at this monkey. |
| |
Thatâs someone who doesnât understand monkeys. |
| |
Someone who understands monkeys sees the monkey at home and thinks, |
| |
âItâs the same monkey. |
| |
The monkey at DiamondLight Cave Monastery is just like this.â |
| |
So why should they irritate you? |
| |
You understand what monkeys are like, |
| |
and thatâs enough. |
| |
You can be at peace. |
| |
At peace. |
| |
If the monkey jumps in front of you and behind you, |
| |
you can be at your ease. |
| |
Youâre not irritated by the monkey. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because you understand monkeysâso you donât become a monkey. |
| |
If you donât understand monkeys, you get irritated. |
| |
When you get irritated, you become a monkeyâunderstand? |
| |
This is how things grow calm. |
| |
We have to know preoccupations, observe preoccupations. |
| |
Some we like; some we donât, but so what? |
| |
Thatâs their business. |
| |
Thatâs what theyâre likeâjust like monkeys. |
| |
All monkeys are the same monkey. |
| |
We understand preoccupations, what their conditions are. |
| |
Some we like; some we donât. |
| |
Thatâs what theyâre like. |
| |
We have to get familiar with them. |
| |
When youâre familiar with them, let them go: âOh. |
| |
Preoccupations arenât for sure. |
| |
Theyâre all inconstant, stressful, and not-self.â |
| |
We keep looking at them in that way. |
| |
If theyâre irritated, if they wiggle around, |
| |
just watch themâand theyâre no big deal. |
| |
Wherever you sit, when preoccupations pop up via the eye, |
| |
ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind, you see, |
| |
âHmm. |
| |
Theyâre no big deal.â |
| |
Itâs like watching monkeys. |
| |
This monkey is just like the monkey at home. |
| |
Itâs no big deal. |
| |
Then we can be at peace. |
| |
When preoccupations arise, get familiar with them. |
| |
Why run after them? |
| |
Preoccupations are not for sure. |
| |
Now theyâre this way; now theyâre that way. |
| |
Sometimes they go back to what they were before. |
| |
They exist through change. |
| |
And all of us here exist through change. |
| |
As when you breathe: Sometimes the breath goes out; sometimes it comes back in. |
| |
It changes like this. |
| |
You live here through change. |
| |
Try only breathing in, without breathing out: Can you do that? |
| |
How many minutes would you last? |
| |
Or try just breathing out without breathing in. |
| |
If there were no change, could you survive? |
| |
You couldnât survive at all. |
| |
You need to have both the in-breath and the out-breath like this. |
| |
When you walk to the monastery, if you just held your breath all the way from home, |
| |
youâd be dead by now. |
| |
You wouldnât have made it. |
| |
So understand this. |
| |
The same with preoccupations: They have to be there. |
| |
If they werenât there, you couldnât develop any discernment. |
| |
If there were no wrong, there could be no right. |
| |
You have to be right first before you can see whatâs wrong. |
| |
Or you have to be wrong first before you can be right. |
| |
Thatâs the way things normally are. |
| |
Thatâs how you gain discernment. |
| |
The more preoccupations you see, the betterâespecially if youâre a high school or university student. |
| |
But here, if you donât like preoccupations, |
| |
you donât want to deal with them, you donât want to watch them. |
| |
Thatâs called being a student who skips class, |
| |
who doesnât want to learn or to listen to what the teacher is teaching. |
| |
These preoccupations are teaching us. |
| |
When we know preoccupations in this way, |
| |
weâre practicing Dhamma. |
| |
Weâre at peace. |
| |
We see that preoccupations are no big deal. |
| |
Thatâs what theyâre like. |
| |
Itâs like seeing monkeys. |
| |
The monkey at home doesnât irritate you. |
| |
When you see the monkey here it doesnât irritate youâbecause you understand monkeys, |
| |
right? |
| |
You can be at ease. |
| |
Itâs the same with the practice of Dhamma. |
| |
This is what the Dhamma is like. |
| |
Itâs nothing very far away. |
| |
Itâs right with you. |
| |
The Dhamma isnât about divine beings or anything like that. |
| |
Itâs simply about what youâre doing, what youâre doing right now. |
| |
Your issues are all issues of the Dhamma. |
| |
If you look at books, they have your issues written down in them, |
| |
but you wonât understand them. |
| |
The issues of the Dhamma are all your issues. |
| |
So contemplate yourself. |
| |
Sometimes thereâs happiness, sometimes suffering, |
| |
sometimes comfort, sometimes irritation; sometimes you love that person, |
| |
sometimes you hate this person. |
| |
This is Dhamma, right? |
| |
To know this Dhamma, you have to read your preoccupations. |
| |
Only when youâre familiar with them can you let them go, |
| |
seeing that theyâre not for sure. |
| |
That way you can be at ease. |
| |
When something comes flashing up: âHmm. |
| |
This isnât for sure.â |
| |
Then your preoccupations change. |
| |
Pain arises and something comes flashing up: âThis isnât for sure.â |
| |
You can be at your ease, in the same way that you can be at ease when seeing the monkey in your home, |
| |
and then the monkey at DiamondLight Cave Mountain, |
| |
for theyâre the same monkey. |
| |
You can be at your ease. |
| |
You wonât have any doubts. |
| |
If youâre familiar with preoccupations, |
| |
youâre familiar with the Dhamma. |
| |
You can let go of preoccupations. |
| |
You see that thereâs nothing for sure about preoccupations in any way at all. |
| |
Have you ever been happy? |
| |
Have you ever been sad? |
| |
You donât have to answer, I can answer for you: âYes.â |
| |
Are these things for sure? |
| |
âNo.â |
| |
This way you know the thing thatâs all one and the sameâthat theyâre not for sure. |
| |
This is the Buddha. |
| |
The Buddha is the Dhamma. |
| |
The Dhamma is whatâs not for sure. |
| |
Whoever sees that things arenât for sure, |
| |
sees for sure that thatâs the way they are. |
| |
The way they are doesnât change. |
| |
But why are they that way? |
| |
Thatâs what the Dhamma is like. |
| |
And thatâs what the Buddha is like. |
| |
The Buddha is the Dhamma. |
| |
The Dhamma is the Buddha. |
| |
Whoever sees the Dhamma, sees the Buddha; whoever sees the Buddha, |
| |
sees the Dhamma. |
| |
If you know inconstancy, not-for-sure-ness, |
| |
youâll let things go of your own accord. |
| |
You wonât grasp onto them. |
| |
Suppose you get a glass. |
| |
You say, âThis is mine, and it isnât broken. |
| |
Look after it well, okay? |
| |
Donât break my glass, okay?â |
| |
But can you prevent something breakable from breaking? |
| |
If it doesnât break now, itâll break later on. |
| |
If you donât break it, someone else will break it. |
| |
If someone else doesnât break it, a chicken will break it! |
| |
The Buddha says to accept this. |
| |
When he uses this good glass, he penetrates all the way to seeing that this glass is already broken. |
| |
He sees this glass that isnât broken, |
| |
and has us know that itâs already broken. |
| |
Whenever you pick up the glass, he has you say, |
| |
âThis glass is already broken.â |
| |
Drink from it and put it down: He tells you that itâs already broken. |
| |
Right? |
| |
The Buddhaâs understanding was like this. |
| |
He saw the broken glass in the unbroken one. |
| |
Why did he know that it was broken? |
| |
Because it isnât broken. |
| |
Thatâs how he knew it as broken. |
| |
âWhenever its time is up, itâll breakâ: He developed this attitude and kept on using the glass. |
| |
One day it slipped out of his hand: âSmash!â |
| |
No problem. |
| |
Why no problem? |
| |
âBecause I saw it as broken before it broke.â |
| |
See? |
| |
But you say, âMy glass is so expensive. |
| |
Donât ever let it break.â |
| |
Later on the dog breaks it: âHmm. |
| |
What if I killed this dog?â |
| |
If your child breaks it, you hate your child. |
| |
Youâre that way with whatever breaks itâbecause youâve dammed yourself up so that the water canât flow. |
| |
Youâve made a dam without a spillway. |
| |
You just dam things up without a spillway, |
| |
so the only thing the dam can do is burst, |
| |
right? |
| |
When you make a dam, you have to make a spillway, |
| |
too. |
| |
When the water rises this far, it can flow off to the side. |
| |
When itâs full to the brim, it can flow out that way, |
| |
right? |
| |
You need a spillway. |
| |
The Buddha saw inconstancy, and thatâs the way things are. |
| |
He already saw that theyâre inconstant. |
| |
When you see things this way, you can be at peace. |
| |
That, in short, is the practice of the Dhamma. |
| |
So Iâve learned to hold that whether standing, |
| |
walking, sitting, or lying down, I keep on practicing, |
| |
using mindfulness to watch over and protect the mind. |
| |
Thatâs concentration. |
| |
Discernment is concentration; concentration is discernment. |
| |
You can say that theyâre both the same thing. |
| |
They differ only in their characteristics. |
| |
We see that when things are inconstant, |
| |
theyâre stressful. |
| |
If we really see inconstancy, which means that things arenât for sure, |
| |
when we penetrate to see clearly that things arenât for sure, |
| |
then what we see is for sure. |
| |
Sure in what way? |
| |
Sure that thatâs the way they are. |
| |
They donât change into any other way. |
| |
Understand? |
| |
When you know just this much, you know the Buddha. |
| |
Youâve bowed down to him. |
| |
Youâve bowed down to his Dhamma. |
| |
Take this principle and mull it over. |
| |
As long as you donât abandon the Buddha, |
| |
you wonât suffer. |
| |
As soon as you abandon him, youâll suffer immediately. |
| |
Youâll suffer as soon as you abandon the principles of inconstancy, |
| |
stress, and not-self. |
| |
Understand things in this way. |
| |
If you can practice just this much, I feel that itâs enough. |
| |
Suffering wonât arise, or if it does arise you can disband it easily. |
| |
And that will be a cause for suffering not to arise in the future. |
| |
Thatâs where things finish, at the point where suffering doesnât arise. |
| |
Why doesnât it arise? |
| |
Itâs not there because weâve put an end to the cause of suffering, |
| |
or samudaya. |
| |
With the cause of suffering, things are ready to break. |
| |
When they break, suffering arises right away, |
| |
right? |
| |
When you know that this is the cause that gives rise to suffering, |
| |
you have to contemplate itâthat itâs not for sure. |
| |
Itâs not for sure. |
| |
Itâs the cause of suffering. |
| |
When things breakâpop!âdestroy the cause that would give rise to suffering. |
| |
All dhammas arise from causes. |
| |
When they disband, itâs because weâve disbanded these causes. |
| |
If suffering arises because this glass breaksâyou get angry, |
| |
you sufferâtell yourself that this glass was already broken. |
| |
The cause of suffering will disband. |
| |
Itâll no longer be there. |
| |
As soon as the glass breaks, youâve seen that it was broken already. |
| |
The breaking happens after you saw itâwhich means that itâs not breaking. |
| |
Thereâs no suffering. |
| |
When thereâs no suffering, thatâs nirodhaâcessation, |
| |
disbanding. |
| |
Suffering disbands because youâve disbanded the cause of suffering. |
| |
This is all there is. |
| |
Thereâs not much at all. |
| |
This is all there is, so contemplate it. |
| |
But donât stray away from the three basic things: body, |
| |
speech, and mind. |
| |
Keep working away right here. |
| |
Contemplate on in. |
| |
Everything is right here, starting with your own heart and mind. |
| |
In simple terms, you should all have the five precepts as your foundation. |
| |
You donât have to go study the Pali Canon. |
| |
The five precepts are a matter of your body and mind, |
| |
so watch your five precepts. |
| |
Keep working at them always. |
| |
Do this with care. |
| |
At first youâll make mistakes. |
| |
When you realize it, stop, come back, |
| |
and start over again. |
| |
Maybe youâll go astray and make another mistake. |
| |
Call yourself back, each and every time, |
| |
each and every time. |
| |
Your mindfulness will reach a higher frequency, |
| |
like water poured from a kettle. |
| |
If we tilt the kettle just a little to let the water flow out in dropsâglug ⊠glug ⊠glugâthere are breaks in the flow. |
| |
If we tilt the kettle a little bit more, |
| |
the water goes glug-glug-glug. |
| |
If we tilt the kettle even further, the glugs disappear. |
| |
The water turns into a steady stream. |
| |
There are no more drops. |
| |
Where did they go? |
| |
They didnât go anywhere. |
| |
Theyâve turned into a steady stream of water. |
| |
Theyâre so frequent that theyâre beyond frequency. |
| |
They meld into one another, right? |
| |
Thatâs how theyâre a stream of water. |
| |
The Dhamma is just like this, choosing analogies for you to listen to, |
| |
because the Dhamma doesnât have anything. |
| |
Does it have a color? |
| |
Is it round? |
| |
Does it have corners? |
| |
Is it short? |
| |
Thereâs no way to get acquainted with it except through comparisons like this. |
| |
If you understand this, you understand the Dhamma. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is. |
| |
Donât think that the Dhamma lies far away from you. |
| |
It lies right with you; itâs about you. |
| |
Take a look. |
| |
Now happy, now sad, now satisfied, now dissatisfied, |
| |
now angry at this person, now hating that person: Itâs all Dhamma. |
| |
See yourself in this way. |
| |
Whatâs trying to give rise to suffering? |
| |
When youâve done something that causes suffering, |
| |
turn around and undo it. |
| |
Turn around and undo it. |
| |
You havenât seen it clearly. |
| |
When you see it clearly, thereâs no more suffering. |
| |
The cause has been disbanded. |
| |
Once youâve killed the cause of suffering, |
| |
there are no more conditions for it to arise, |
| |
so suffering canât arise. |
| |
If suffering is still arising, if you donât really know it; you |
| |
have to endure it: Thatâs not yet right on target with it. |
| |
Look at it in really simple terms. |
| |
Thatâs how I look at it. |
| |
See where youâre still wrong. |
| |
Itâs embarrassing to look at that. |
| |
Whenever thereâs too much suffering, right there youâre wrong. |
| |
Whenever youâre so happy that the mind starts swelling upâthere: Wrong again! |
| |
Whichever side it comes from doesnât matter. |
| |
Bring everything together to the point that itâs wrong. |
| |
Keep exploring. |
| |
If you practice like this, youâll be mindful whether youâre standing, |
| |
walking, sitting, or lying down, coming or going, |
| |
whatever youâre doing. |
| |
If youâre always mindful and alert, if youâre aware, |
| |
youâre sure to know right and wrong, |
| |
happiness and sadness. |
| |
Youâll be familiar with everything. |
| |
When youâre familiar with these things, |
| |
youâll know how to undo them so that there wonât be any suffering. |
| |
You wonât let there be suffering. |
| |
So long as the mind feels pleasure and pain, |
| |
itâs drunk. |
| |
Even while practicing the Dhamma, itâs drunk, |
| |
you know. |
| |
People can get drunk eating riceâthereâs no need to drink alcohol. |
| |
If you eat a lot of rice, you can get drunkâdrunk on rice. |
| |
The same with the Dhamma: Donât get drunk on it. |
| |
When people are drunk on the Dhamma, they donât stop. |
| |
They keep on talking. |
| |
If they see anybody coming, they want to grab him by the arm and give him a sermon on the Dhamma. |
| |
Thatâs a sign that theyâre drunk on Dhamma. |
| |
They go after everybody: âI want to teach that person; I want |
| |
to do this person a favor by teaching him the Dhammaââand so |
| |
they do a favor to the entire country by teaching the Dhamma. |
| |
Thatâs a sign of drunkenness. |
| |
Being drunk on the Dhamma is no different from being drunk on alcohol. |
| |
Theyâre really similar. |
| |
Donât go there. |
| |
You have to look carefully, again and again, |
| |
for sometimes something is Dhamma, but itâs drunk. |
| |
Thatâs not right. |
| |
When studying concentration, I have people study concentration like this. |
| |
When itâs time to sit in meditation, then sit enough so that youâre good at it. |
| |
Thatâs not wrong. |
| |
But you have to know that concentration isnât just sitting like this. |
| |
You have to let the mind spread out to encounter different things. |
| |
When youâre aware of something, contemplate it. |
| |
When youâre aware of something, contemplate it. |
| |
Contemplate to know what? |
| |
Contemplate to see, âOh. |
| |
Thatâs inconstant. |
| |
Stressful. |
| |
Not-self. |
| |
Not for sure.â |
| |
Everything is not for sure, let me tell you. |
| |
Not for sure. |
| |
âThis is so beautiful, I really like it.â |
| |
Thatâs not for sure. |
| |
âI donât like this at all.â |
| |
Tell it: âThis, too, is not for sure.â |
| |
Right? |
| |
Absolutely. |
| |
No mistake. |
| |
But thatâs not how you go about it. |
| |
âThatâs what I want. |
| |
Itâs right for sure.â |
| |
Youâve gone off the track already. |
| |
Donât. |
| |
However much you like something doesnât matter. |
| |
You have to adjust the mind. |
| |
Tell it: âItâs not for sure.â |
| |
When we eat some kinds of food, we think, |
| |
âWow. |
| |
Thatâs awfully delicious. |
| |
I really like that.â |
| |
There will be that feeling in the heart, |
| |
but you have to make a protest: âItâs not for sure.â |
| |
Do you want to test how itâs not for sure? |
| |
Take your favorite food, something you like for sure every time, |
| |
and eat it every day. |
| |
Every, every, every single day, okay? |
| |
Eventually youâll complain, âThis doesnât taste so good anymore.â |
| |
Itâs not for sure. |
| |
Youâll think, âActually I prefer that kind of food.â |
| |
Then eat that every day. |
| |
Itâs not for sure either! |
| |
Everything has to go from one thing to the next, |
| |
just like breathing in and out. |
| |
We have to breathe in and breathe out. |
| |
We exist through change. |
| |
Everything exists through change like this. |
| |
These things are found right with us, |
| |
nowhere else. |
| |
If we no longer have any doubts, then we can sit in comfort, |
| |
stand in comfort. |
| |
Concentration isnât just sitting. |
| |
Some people sit until they fall into a stupor. |
| |
They might as well be dead. |
| |
You canât tell whether theyâre going north or south. |
| |
Donât hold onto it that far. |
| |
If you feel fairly sleepy, then walk. |
| |
Change your posture. |
| |
Use your discernment. |
| |
If youâre totally sleepy, then lie down. |
| |
As soon as you wake up, get right up and continue your efforts. |
| |
Donât let yourself get drunk. |
| |
If youâre a meditator, you have to practice like this. |
| |
Have reasons for what you do. |
| |
Know. |
| |
Know all around. |
| |
Discernment means knowing all around. |
| |
You canât not know all around. |
| |
You canât just know one side of things. |
| |
You have to know all around, in a full circle like this. |
| |
Thatâs knowing all around. |
| |
Whatever side things come from, whatever stance they take, |
| |
youâre ready to take them on and fight them off. |
| |
When you live in this way, what will you do? |
| |
What will happen to you? |
| |
When you live in this way, you contemplate. |
| |
Whatever your thought fabrications are like, |
| |
youâre ready for them. |
| |
Whenever they comeâwhether youâre standing, |
| |
walking, sitting, or lying downâyouâre ready to take them on. |
| |
Thatâs how it feels. |
| |
Whenever fabrications move, you take them on. |
| |
You have to take a stance like thisâand you wonât have to cry, |
| |
you know. |
| |
Youâll be at peace. |
| |
Donât settle for pleasure, okay? |
| |
Donât settle for pleasure, for soon itâll disappear. |
| |
Go for peace, with no need for pleasure, |
| |
no need for pain. |
| |
Thatâs what it means to be at peace. |
| |
Go all the way. |
| |
Take on issues that are heavier and heavier in this way so as to know them through and through. |
| |
Start knowing from your own mind and body. |
| |
See them as inconstant. |
| |
Theyâre not for sure, neither body nor mind. |
| |
The same goes for everything. |
| |
Itâs not for sure. |
| |
Keep this in mind when you think food is so delicious. |
| |
You have to tell yourself: âItâs not for sure!â |
| |
You have to punch your likes first. |
| |
Donât let them punch you first. |
| |
You have to punch them right away, right? |
| |
You have to punch them first. |
| |
Whatever the mind likes, tell it, âItâs not for sure.â |
| |
Punch it first. |
| |
But usually you just let these things punch you every time, |
| |
every time. |
| |
If you donât like something: âI donât like this. |
| |
I donât like seeing this sufferââitâs punched you. |
| |
If you like something: âI like thisââitâs punched you every time. |
| |
You donât punch it at all. |
| |
You have to understand in this way. |
| |
Whenever you like anything, say in your heart, |
| |
âThis isnât for sure.â |
| |
Whenever you donât like something, tell yourself, |
| |
âHmm. |
| |
This isnât for sure.â |
| |
Keep at this every day, and youâll see the Dhamma for sure. |
| |
Thatâs how it has to be. |
| |
Practice in all postures: standing, walking, |
| |
sitting, lying down. |
| |
You can feel anger in any action, right? |
| |
Walking you can feel anger, sitting you can feel anger, |
| |
lying down you can feel anger. |
| |
You can feel desire with every moment. |
| |
Sometimes you feel desire while lying down, |
| |
desire while running, desire while sitting. |
| |
This is why you have to practice in all four posturesâ standing, |
| |
walking, sitting, lying downâconsistently, |
| |
without any front or back. |
| |
Put it in those terms, as when they say that someone is speaking without any front or back. |
| |
Keep at it like this. |
| |
Only then can you know all around. |
| |
When you sit to get the mind to settle down and be peaceful: âOops.â |
| |
That issue comes running in. |
| |
Tell yourself: âNot for sure.â |
| |
Before itâs finished, another one comes running in. |
| |
And then another one. |
| |
You start itching all over, and then youâre gone. |
| |
What you have to do is that, when they come running in like this, |
| |
you tell yourself, âItâs not for sure.â |
| |
Whatever comes in doesnât matter. |
| |
When it comes, âOh. |
| |
This is not for sure.â |
| |
You have to keep punching them like this, |
| |
hitting them first like this. |
| |
This is called knowing their weak point. |
| |
This is important. |
| |
If you know that all things arenât for sure, |
| |
then all the thinking in your heart will gradually unravel, |
| |
gradually unravel, for youâve seen that thatâs whatâs sure about it. |
| |
With some things, youâll feel really disgusted, |
| |
but whatever, see that theyâre not for sure. |
| |
Youâve experienced them beforeâmany, many times before. |
| |
âHmm. |
| |
Whatever, itâs no big deal.â |
| |
On a later day you contemplate it: âNo big deal.â |
| |
Thatâs all there is to it. |
| |
This thing is no big deal. |
| |
That thing is no big deal. |
| |
You can meditate on a single phrase: âNo big deal.â |
| |
Whatever arises, you go, âNo big deal.â |
| |
Admonish yourself just that much, and it should be enough. |
| |
And what else would you look for? |
| |
Where exactly would you look for the Dhamma? |
| |
âOh. |
| |
I have to look for the Dhamma in books.â |
| |
People go looking in books for the Dhamma who knows where, |
| |
but it arises right here. |
| |
If you look for it over there, will you see it? |
| |
Look for it here. |
| |
If thereâs suffering today, look at it to see why thereâs suffering, |
| |
and youâll see it right here. |
| |
âItâs because my glass is broken: Thatâs why Iâm suffering.â |
| |
Look right here, and youâll see: âOh.â |
| |
Or, âIâm suffering today because my wife said something I couldnât stand.â |
| |
The cause is right here. |
| |
âOh. |
| |
Thatâs not for sure.â |
| |
Kill it. |
| |
With everything, keep setting fire to it like that. |
| |
Keep walking ahead of it. |
| |
So far youâve been walking behind it. |
| |
These things lie with you. |
| |
Theyâre nowhere else. |
| |
If you can sense things in this way, youâll be at peace. |
| |
At peace. |
| |
Wherever you go, your mind will be at peace. |
| |
But to say itâs at peace is not quite right. |
| |
Have you ever seen flowing water? |
| |
Flowing water: Have you ever seen it? |
| |
Have you ever seen still water? |
| |
If your mind is peaceful, itâs kind of like still, |
| |
flowing water. |
| |
Have you ever seen still, flowing water? |
| |
[Laughs] There! |
| |
Youâve only seen still water and flowing water. |
| |
Youâve never seen still, flowing water. |
| |
Right there, right where your thinking canât take you: where the mind is still but can develop discernment. |
| |
When you look at your mind, itâll be kind of like flowing water, |
| |
and yet itâs still. |
| |
It looks like itâs still, it looks like itâs flowing, |
| |
so itâs called still, flowing water. |
| |
Thatâs what itâs like. |
| |
Thatâs where discernment can arise. |
| |
So give it a try. |
| |
ALL THE THINGS IN THE WORLD are suppositions that weâve supposed into being. |
| |
Once weâve supposed them, we fall for our own supposings, |
| |
so nobody lets them go. |
| |
They turn into views and pride, into attachment. |
| |
This attachment is something that never ends. |
| |
Itâs an affair of saáčsÄra that flows without respite, |
| |
with no way of coming to closure. |
| |
But if we really know our suppositions, |
| |
weâll know release. |
| |
If we really know release, weâll know our suppositions. |
| |
Thatâs when you know the Dhamma that can come to closure. |
| |
Take people, for instance. |
| |
When we start out, weâre born without names. |
| |
The fact that we have names comes from their being supposed into being. |
| |
Iâve thought about this and seen that if you donât really know suppositions, |
| |
they can cause a lot of harm. |
| |
Actually, suppositions are simply things for us to use. |
| |
If we understand what theyâre for, thatâs enough. |
| |
Know that if we didnât have suppositions, |
| |
thereâd be nothing we could say to one another, |
| |
no language to use with one another. |
| |
When I went abroad, I saw Westerners sitting in meditation in row after row. |
| |
When they got up after sitting, men and women together, |
| |
sometimes theyâd go and touch one another on the head, |
| |
one person after another! |
| |
When I saw this I thought, âHmm, if we set up a supposition anywhere and cling to it, |
| |
it gives rise to defilements right there.â |
| |
If weâre willing to let go of our suppositions, |
| |
we can be at peace. |
| |
Like the generals and colonels, men of rank and position, |
| |
who come to see me. |
| |
When they come they say, âOh, please touch my headâ: That shows that theyâre willing, |
| |
so thereâs nothing wrong with it. |
| |
You can rub their heads and theyâre even glad you did it. |
| |
But if you tried rubbing their heads in the middle of the streetâif you donât think thereâd be trouble, |
| |
just try it and see! |
| |
This is because of clinging. |
| |
So Iâve seen that letting go is really comfortable. |
| |
When they agree to having their heads touched, |
| |
theyâve supposed that thereâs nothing wrong with it. |
| |
And there is nothing wrong with it, just like rubbing a head of cabbage or a head of lettuce. |
| |
But if you rubbed their heads in the middle of the roadâno way! |
| |
For sure. |
| |
Itâs all a matter of willingnessâaccepting, |
| |
giving up, letting go. |
| |
When you can do this, things are light. |
| |
Wherever youâre clinging, thereâs becoming right there, |
| |
birth right there, poison and danger right there. |
| |
The Buddha taught about suppositions and he taught to undo suppositions in the right way, |
| |
to turn them into release. |
| |
Donât cling to them. |
| |
The things that arise in the world are all suppositions. |
| |
Thatâs how they come into being. |
| |
When theyâve arisen and been supposed, |
| |
we shouldnât fall for them, for that leads to suffering. |
| |
The affairs of supposition and convention are extremely important. |
| |
Whoever can let them go is free from suffering. |
| |
But theyâre an activity of this world of ours. |
| |
Take Boonmaa, for instance. |
| |
Heâs the District Commissioner. |
| |
His old friend, Saengchai, isnât a district commissioner, |
| |
but theyâve been friends from way back. |
| |
Now that Boonmaa has been appointed district commissioner, |
| |
thereâs a supposition right there, but you have to know how to use it in an appropriate way, |
| |
because we still live in the world. |
| |
If Saengchai goes to the district offices and pats Boonmaa on the head, |
| |
itâs not right. |
| |
Even if Saengchai thinks about all the old times when they worked |
| |
together as traveling tailors and about that time they almost died, |
| |
itâs still not right for him to go playing around with Boonmaaâs head in front of other people. |
| |
You have to show a little respect and act in line with our social suppositions. |
| |
Only then can we live together in peace. |
| |
No matter how long youâve been friends, |
| |
heâs now the district commissioner. |
| |
You have to show him some deference. |
| |
When he leaves the district offices and goes home, |
| |
thatâs when you can pat him on the head. |
| |
Itâs still the district commissionerâs head youâre patting, |
| |
but if you were to do it in the government offices in front of a lot of people, |
| |
itâd be wrong for sure. |
| |
This is called showing respect. |
| |
If you know how to use suppositions in this way, |
| |
they serve a purpose. |
| |
No matter how long youâve been close friends, |
| |
if you touch him on the head in front of a lot of people, |
| |
heâs sure to get angryâafter all, heâs now the district commissioner. |
| |
This is all there is to our behavior in the world: You need a sense of time and place, |
| |
and of the people youâre with. |
| |
So weâre taught to be intelligent, to have a sense of suppositions and a sense of release. |
| |
Understand them when you use them. |
| |
If you use them properly, thereâs no problem. |
| |
If you donât use them properly, itâs offensive. |
| |
What does it offend? |
| |
It offends peopleâs defilements, thatâs allâbecause people live with defilement. |
| |
There are suppositions you have to follow with certain groups, |
| |
certain people, at certain times and places. |
| |
If you follow them appropriately, you can be said to be smart. |
| |
You have to know where these things come from and how far they lead. |
| |
We have to live with suppositions, but we suffer when we cling to them. |
| |
If you understand suppositions simply as suppositions and explore them until you come to release, |
| |
there are no problems. |
| |
As Iâve often said, before we were laymen and now weâre monks. |
| |
Before we were supposed to be laymen but now, |
| |
having gone through the ordination chant, |
| |
weâre supposed to be monks. |
| |
But weâre monks on the level of supposition, |
| |
not genuine monks, not monks on the level of release. |
| |
If we practice so that our minds are released from all their fermentations (Äsava) step by step, |
| |
as stream-winners, once-returners, non-returners, |
| |
all the way to arahantship, then all our defilements will be abandoned. |
| |
Even when we say that someone is an arahant, |
| |
thatâs just a suppositionâbut heâs a genuine monk. |
| |
In the beginning we start with suppositions like this. |
| |
In the ordination ceremony they agree to call you a âmonk,â but does that mean you suddenly abandon your defilements? |
| |
No. Itâs like salt. |
| |
Suppose you take a fistful of sand and say, |
| |
âLetâs suppose this is salt.â |
| |
Is it salt? |
| |
Yes, but itâs salt only on the level of supposing. |
| |
Itâs not genuine salt. |
| |
If you were to put it into a curry, it wouldnât serve your purpose. |
| |
If you were to argue that itâs genuine salt, |
| |
the answer would have to be No. Thatâs whatâs meant by supposition. |
| |
Why do we make this supposition? |
| |
Because thereâs no salt there. |
| |
Thereâs only sand. |
| |
If you suppose sand to be salt, itâd be salt for you, |
| |
on the level of supposing. |
| |
But itâs not genuine salt, for itâs not salty. |
| |
It wonât serve any purposeâor it can serve some purposes on the level of supposing, |
| |
but not on the level of release. |
| |
The word âreleaseâ: Itâs a supposition to call it that, |
| |
but what release actually is, lies beyond supposition. |
| |
Itâs released from suppositionsâbut we still make a supposition to say itâs âreleaseâ like this. |
| |
Can we live without suppositions? |
| |
No. If we didnât have suppositions, we wouldnât know how to talk with one another. |
| |
We wouldnât know where things come from and how far they go. |
| |
We wouldnât have any language to speak with one another. |
| |
So suppositions have their purposesâthe purposes weâre supposed to use them for. |
| |
For example, people have different names, |
| |
even though theyâre all people just the same. |
| |
If we didnât have names, you wouldnât know how to call the person you wanted. |
| |
For instance, if you wanted to call a certain person in a crowd and said, |
| |
âPerson! |
| |
Person!â |
| |
that would be useless. |
| |
No one would answer, because theyâre all âperson.â |
| |
But if you called, âJan! |
| |
Come here!â |
| |
then Jan would come. |
| |
The others wouldnât have to. |
| |
This is how suppositions serve a purpose. |
| |
Things get accomplished. |
| |
So there are ways for us to train ourselves that arise from suppositions. |
| |
If we know both supposition and release in the proper way, |
| |
we can get along. |
| |
Suppositions have their uses, but in reality there isnât anything there. |
| |
There isnât even a person there! |
| |
Thereâs just a set of natural conditions, |
| |
born of their causal factors. |
| |
They develop in dependence on their causal factors, |
| |
stay for a while, and before long they fall apart. |
| |
You canât stop that from happening. |
| |
You canât really control it. |
| |
Thatâs all there is. |
| |
Itâs just a supposition, but without suppositions weâd have nothing to say: no names, |
| |
no practice, no work, no language. |
| |
Suppositions and conventions are established to give us a language, |
| |
to make things convenient, thatâs all. |
| |
Take money, for example. |
| |
In the past there wasnât any paper money. |
| |
Paper was just paper, without any value. |
| |
Then people decided that silver money was hard to store, |
| |
so they turned paper into money. |
| |
And so it serves as money. |
| |
Maybe someday in the future a new king will arise who doesnât like paper money. |
| |
Heâll have us use wax droppings insteadâtake sealing wax, |
| |
melt it, stamp it into lumps, and suppose it to be money. |
| |
Weâll be using wax droppings all over the country, |
| |
getting into debt all because of wax droppings. |
| |
Let alone wax droppings, we could take chicken droppings and turn them into money! |
| |
It could happen. |
| |
All our chicken droppings would be cash. |
| |
Weâd be fighting and killing one another over chicken droppings. |
| |
Even when they propose new forms for things, |
| |
if everybody agrees to the new supposition, |
| |
it works. |
| |
As for the silver we started out with, |
| |
nobody really knows what it is. |
| |
The ore we call silver: Is it really silver? |
| |
Nobody knows. |
| |
Somebody saw what it was like, came up with the supposition of âsilver,â and thatâs what it was. |
| |
Thatâs all there is to the affairs of the world. |
| |
We suppose something into being, and thatâs what it isâbecause these things depend on our suppositions. |
| |
But to turn these things into release, |
| |
to get people to know genuine release: Thatâs hard. |
| |
Our homes, our money, our possessions, |
| |
our family, our children, our relatives are ours simply on the level of supposing. |
| |
But actually, on the level of the Dhamma, |
| |
theyâre not really ours. |
| |
We donât like to hear this, but thatâs the way they actually are. |
| |
If we donât have any suppositions around them, |
| |
they have no value. |
| |
Or if we suppose them to have no value, |
| |
they have no value. |
| |
But if we suppose them to have value, |
| |
they do have value. |
| |
This is the way things are. |
| |
These suppositions are good if we know how to use them. |
| |
So learn how to use them. |
| |
Even this body of ours isnât really us. |
| |
Thatâs a supposition. |
| |
If you try to find a genuine self within it, |
| |
you canât. |
| |
There are just elements that are born, |
| |
continue for a while, and then die. |
| |
Everything is like this. |
| |
Thereâs no real, true substance to it, |
| |
but itâs proper that we have to use it. |
| |
For example, what do we need to stay alive? |
| |
We need food. |
| |
If our life depends on food as its nourishment, |
| |
as a support we need to use, then we should use it to achieve its purpose for our survival, |
| |
in the same way the Buddha taught new monks. |
| |
Right from the very beginning, he taught the four supports: clothing, |
| |
food, shelter, medicine. |
| |
He taught that we should contemplate these things. |
| |
If we donât contemplate them in the morning, |
| |
we should contemplate them in the evening after weâve used them. |
| |
Why does he have us contemplate them so often? |
| |
To realize that theyâre four supports to maintain our body. |
| |
As long as weâre alive we canât escape these things. |
| |
âYouâll use these things all your life,â he said, |
| |
âbut donât fall for them. |
| |
Donât fall for them. |
| |
Theyâre nothing more than this; they give us nothing more than this.â |
| |
If we lacked any one of these things, |
| |
we couldnât meditate, couldnât chant, |
| |
couldnât contemplate. |
| |
For the time being, we have to depend on these things, |
| |
but donât get attached to them. |
| |
Donât fall for the supposition that theyâre yours. |
| |
Theyâre supports for keeping you alive. |
| |
When the time comes, youâll have to give them up. |
| |
In the meantime, though, even though the idea that theyâre yours is just a supposition, |
| |
you have to take care of them. |
| |
If you donât take care of them, you suffer. |
| |
Like a cup, for instance. |
| |
Someday in the future the cup will have to break. |
| |
If it breaks, no big dealâbut as long as youâre alive you should take good care of it because itâs your utensil. |
| |
If it breaks, youâll be inconvenienced. |
| |
If itâs going to break, let it break in a way that canât be helped. |
| |
The same goes for the four supports that weâre taught to contemplate. |
| |
Theyâre requisites for those whoâve gone forth. |
| |
Understand them but donât cling to them to the point where the |
| |
clinging becomes a big lump of craving and defilement in the heart and makes you suffer. |
| |
Use them just for the purpose of keeping alive, |
| |
and thatâs enough. |
| |
Suppositions and release are related like this continually. |
| |
Even though we use suppositions, donât place your trust in their being true. |
| |
Theyâre true only on the level of supposing. |
| |
If you cling to them, suffering will arise because you donât understand them in line with what they really are. |
| |
The same holds for issues of right and wrong. |
| |
Some people see wrong as right and right as wrong, |
| |
but whose right and wrong they are, |
| |
nobody knows. |
| |
Different people make different suppositions about whatâs right and wrong with every issue, |
| |
so be aware. |
| |
The Buddha was afraid that it would lead to suffering if we got into arguments, |
| |
because issues of this sort never come to closure. |
| |
One person says, âright,â another says, |
| |
âwrong.â |
| |
One says âwrong,â another says âright.â |
| |
But actually we donât really know right and wrong at all. |
| |
All we need is to learn how to use them for our comfort, |
| |
so that we can put them to work in a proper way. |
| |
Donât let them harm you or harm others. |
| |
Keep things neutral in this way. |
| |
That serves our purposes. |
| |
In short, both suppositions and release are simply dhammas. |
| |
One is higher than the other, but theyâre synonyms. |
| |
Thereâs no way we can guarantee for sure that this has to be this, |
| |
or that has to be that, so the Buddha said to just put it down as ânot for sure.â |
| |
No matter how much you like something, |
| |
know that itâs not for sure. |
| |
No matter how much you dislike something, |
| |
understand that itâs not for sure. |
| |
And these things really arenât for sure. |
| |
Keep practicing until theyâre dhammas. |
| |
Past, present, and future: Make them all an affair of Dhamma practice. |
| |
And it comes to closure at the point where thereâs nothing more. |
| |
Youâve let go. |
| |
Youâve put down your burden. |
| |
Everything ends. |
| |
Iâll give you an analogy. |
| |
One person asks, âWhy is the flag flapping? |
| |
It must be because thereâs wind.â |
| |
Another person says, âItâs flapping because thereâs a flag.â |
| |
This sort of thing never comes to an end, |
| |
like the old riddle, âWhich came first, |
| |
the chicken or the egg?â |
| |
This never comes to an end. |
| |
It just keeps spinning around in its circles. |
| |
All these things are simply suppositions. |
| |
They arise from our supposing. |
| |
So you have to understand suppositions and conventions. |
| |
If you understand these things, youâll understand inconstancy, |
| |
stress, and not-self. |
| |
This is a theme that leads straight to nibbÄna. |
| |
Training and teaching people to understand is really hard, |
| |
you know. |
| |
Some people have their opinions. |
| |
You tell them something and they say No. No matter how much you tell them the truth, |
| |
they say No. âIâll take whatâs right for me; you take whatâs right for you.â |
| |
Thereâs no end to this. |
| |
Even if it makes them suffer, they still wonât let go. |
| |
Iâve told you before about the four men who go into the forest. |
| |
They hear a chicken crowing, âEkkk-i-ekk-ekkkk!â |
| |
One of them comes up with the question, |
| |
âWho says thatâs a rooster crowing? |
| |
Who says itâs a hen?â |
| |
For the fun of it, three of them put their heads together and say itâs a hen. |
| |
The other one says itâs a rooster. |
| |
They argue back and forth like this without stopping. |
| |
Three of them say itâs a hen, and only one of them says itâs a rooster. |
| |
âHow could a hen crow like that?â |
| |
he asks. |
| |
âWell, itâs got a mouth, doesnât it?â |
| |
they reply. |
| |
The one person argues until heâs in tears. |
| |
Actually, it was a rooster crowing, in line with our standard suppositions, |
| |
but the one person had to argue until he was in tears, |
| |
he was so upset. |
| |
Yet on the ultimate level they were all wrong. |
| |
The words âroosterâ and âhenâ are just suppositions. |
| |
If you asked the chicken, âAre you a rooster?â |
| |
it wouldnât answer. |
| |
If you asked, âAre you a hen?â |
| |
it wouldnât give any explanation. |
| |
But we have our conventions: These features are the features of a rooster; these features, |
| |
the features of a hen. |
| |
The roosterâs crow is like this; a henâs squawk is like that. |
| |
These are suppositions that are stuck in our world. |
| |
But in truth thereâs no rooster, no hen. |
| |
To speak on the level of the worldâs suppositions, |
| |
the one person was right, but to argue until youâre in tears doesnât serve any purpose at all. |
| |
Thatâs all there is to it. |
| |
So the Buddha taught not to cling to things. |
| |
If we donât cling to things, how can we practice? |
| |
We practice because of not-clinging. |
| |
To bring your discernment in here is hard. |
| |
This is why itâs hard not to cling. |
| |
You need to use sharp discernment to contemplate this. |
| |
Only then will you get anywhere. |
| |
When you think about it, for the sake of relieving suffering, |
| |
it doesnât depend on whether you have a lot of things or a little. |
| |
Whether youâre happy or sad, content or discontent, |
| |
it starts from your discernment. |
| |
To go beyond suffering depends on discernment, |
| |
seeing things in line with their truth. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to train ourselves, |
| |
to contemplate, to meditate. |
| |
âMeditationâ means undoing these problems correctly in line with their issues. |
| |
And their issues are these: the issues of birth, |
| |
aging, illness, and death. |
| |
These are common, ordinary thingsâreally common and ordinary. |
| |
This is why he has us contemplate them continually. |
| |
He has us meditate on birth, aging, illness, |
| |
and death. |
| |
Some people donât understand why we have to contemplate them. |
| |
âBirth? |
| |
We already know weâre born,â they say. |
| |
âDeath? |
| |
We already know weâll die.â |
| |
Thatâs the point. |
| |
Theyâre such ordinary issuesâso true. |
| |
A person who investigates these things again and again will see. |
| |
When you see, you can gradually undo these problems. |
| |
Although you may still have some clinging, |
| |
if you have the discernment to see that these things are ordinary, |
| |
youâll be able to relieve suffering. |
| |
This is why we practice for the sake of undoing suffering. |
| |
The basic principles of the Buddhaâs teaching arenât much: just |
| |
the issues of suffering arising and suffering passing away. |
| |
Thatâs why these things are called noble truths. |
| |
If you donât know them, you suffer. |
| |
If you argue from pride and opinions, |
| |
thereâs no end to it. |
| |
To get the mind to relieve its suffering and be at ease, |
| |
you have to contemplate whatâs happened in the past, |
| |
whatâs in the present, whatâs going to be in the future. |
| |
Things like birth, aging, illness, and death: What can you do not to be worried about them? |
| |
There will be some worries, but if you can learn to understand them for what they are, |
| |
suffering will gradually lessen, because you donât hug it to your chest. |
| |
On August 23, 1978, Sanya Dhammasak, the Chief Privy Councilor, |
| |
along with his family, visited Wat Nong Pa Pong to pay respect to Ven. |
| |
Ajahn Chah. |
| |
In the midst of their Dhamma conversation, |
| |
Ajahn Chah gave a Dhamma talk that is transcribed and translated here. |
| |
⊠START when these things are still far away. |
| |
Do your duty when theyâre still far away. |
| |
Yes, sir. |
| |
Itâs like a poisonous snake. |
| |
If we see it from far away, weâre not afraid of it. |
| |
Even though itâs poisonous, weâre not afraid of it because we see it first. |
| |
But if you run into it when you donât have enough time to think⊠Itâs the same with feelings. |
| |
You have to keep on contemplating, keep on meditating so that you can destroy them. |
| |
You have to start when theyâre still far away, |
| |
and keep on contemplating. |
| |
This means that you have to start before thereâs a feeling, |
| |
or do you start when the feelingâs already there? |
| |
No. No. Before thereâs a feeling. |
| |
Before thereâs a feeling. |
| |
Kind of like recollection of death. |
| |
Yes. |
| |
Thatâs right. |
| |
We keep on thinking about death. |
| |
But recollection of death and feelings are not the same. |
| |
Theyâre not the same. |
| |
When death comes, you simply die. |
| |
But with these feelings, they fight you. |
| |
They attack you all of a sudden; theyâre fighting you right now. |
| |
Youâre shooting at each other. |
| |
With recollection of death, youâre already dead. |
| |
If thereâs a really strong feeling, and we⊠|
| |
Regardless of how far it goes, it doesnât matter. |
| |
Or regardless of which direction it comes from, |
| |
focus on the body and the mind. |
| |
Focus on these two things, and everything else gathers right there. |
| |
For your practice to be correct, for you to know all the things that are right and wrong, |
| |
it has to come down to the body and the mind. |
| |
The body and the mind are what lead us to pleasure or to pain. |
| |
Theyâre connected like the links in a chain. |
| |
This is why the practice is so extremely important. |
| |
Itâs this way with everything: If weâve known or seen something but donât practice with it, |
| |
itâs like getting just the rind. |
| |
Suppose weâve been given a fruit: Whether itâs sour or sweet, |
| |
if once we get it we donât practice with it, |
| |
if we just hold it, we donât know how sour or sweet it is. |
| |
When weâre just holding it with in our hand, |
| |
can our hand sense the sourness? |
| |
No, it canât. |
| |
Can it sense the sweetness? |
| |
No, it canât. |
| |
Even though weâre holding it in our hand, |
| |
we donât get much benefit from it. |
| |
Weâve only heard that itâs sour or heard that itâs sweet. |
| |
We simply hold it in our hand, so we donât get the full benefits from it. |
| |
Why is that? |
| |
Because we havenât yet practiced with itâin other words, |
| |
we havenât yet eaten it to the point of knowing its taste. |
| |
But once weâve eaten the fruit, the fruit will show us its sourness or sweetness, |
| |
its deliciousness. |
| |
Only then will we know. |
| |
Once we know in this way, we become a sakkhībhƫto: We become our own witness. |
| |
As long as we donât know for ourselves, |
| |
we have only outside witnesses: the people who gave us the fruit. |
| |
They say itâs sour, they say itâs sweet, |
| |
but we havenât become a sakkhÄ«bhĆ«to. |
| |
The knowledge isnât really our own. |
| |
We simply believe what other people say. |
| |
The Buddha said that he didnât praise those who simply believe what other people say. |
| |
He praised those who knew paccattaáč: personally, |
| |
for themselves. |
| |
Itâs like the fruit: If youâve tasted the fruit for yourself, |
| |
you donât have to go asking other people whether itâs sour or sweet. |
| |
The problem is over. |
| |
Why is it over? |
| |
Because you know in line with the truth. |
| |
You know the truth. |
| |
The problem is over. |
| |
Thereâs no more difficulty. |
| |
When the problem is over, thatâs the end of the matter. |
| |
Why is it the end? |
| |
Youâve reached the truth; you know it thoroughly, |
| |
and your doubts are ended. |
| |
Your doubts are ended as to whether itâs sour or sweet. |
| |
This is what it means to know the Dhamma, |
| |
to reach the Dhamma: Youâre a person whoâs reached the sourness or sweetness of the fruit. |
| |
The problem is ended in this way. |
| |
This is what we can compare it to. |
| |
To listen to the Dhamma so as to give rise to knowledge within |
| |
youâYou could say that there are lots of things to explain, |
| |
but the Buddha has us know just four things: He has us know stress (dukkha), |
| |
know the cause of stress, know the disbanding of stress, |
| |
and know the path of practice leading to the disbanding of stress. |
| |
Thatâs all there is. |
| |
All the things we practice come down to these things: to know stress, |
| |
to know the cause of stress, to know the disbanding of stress, |
| |
and to know the path of practice leading to the disbanding of stress. |
| |
When you know these four things, thatâs all there is to itâfor you really know stress, |
| |
you know its cause, you know its disbanding, |
| |
and you know the path of practice leading to its disbanding. |
| |
When you know these four things clearly and thoroughly, |
| |
thatâs called the end of the problem. |
| |
Where do these four things arise? |
| |
They arise in two things: in this body and mind, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
They donât lie anywhere far away. |
| |
Itâs like all of you whoâve come today: Each of you has brought a complete body and mind here. |
| |
So why did the Buddha analyze the Dhamma so broadly? |
| |
So as to explain these things in detail, |
| |
in all their parts, so that we can take them and focus on knowing them. |
| |
For example, with the body, he told us to break it down to hair of the head, |
| |
hair of the body, nails, teeth, skinâall kinds of things. |
| |
He told us to analyze it into its different parts so that we |
| |
can be adept at seeing the body in line with the truth of these conditions. |
| |
If we donât know in line with the truth, |
| |
we wonât know stress, its cause, its disbanding, |
| |
and the path of practice leading to its disbanding. |
| |
When we donât know these things, we wonât know the steps of the practice. |
| |
So when you listen to the Dhamma here in the present, |
| |
itâs just for you to give rise to the discernment that knows these four things. |
| |
All four of these things arise right at your own body and mind. |
| |
Thatâs why the Buddha taught the Dhamma. |
| |
Where is the Dhamma? |
| |
The Buddha said that the Dhamma is everywhere. |
| |
Thereâs nowhere that doesnât have Dhamma. |
| |
The Dhamma is in every place. |
| |
Physical things are Dhamma. |
| |
Mental events are Dhamma. |
| |
When this is the case, you have to understand that weâre all born into the Dhamma. |
| |
Weâre right next to the Dhamma at all times. |
| |
When we understand in this way, then weâll understand further that weâre not at all far from the Buddha. |
| |
Weâre already right next to the Buddha. |
| |
So why donât we see him? |
| |
Because weâre not especially interested in practicing. |
| |
The Dhamma is the Buddha; the Buddha is the Dhamma. |
| |
The Buddha told Ven. |
| |
Änanda: âPursue the practice a lot, Änanda; cultivate the practice a lot. |
| |
Whoever sees me sees the Dhamma; whoever sees the Dhamma sees me.â |
| |
That shows that weâre not far from the Buddha, |
| |
not far from the Dhamma. |
| |
Whoever sees the Dhamma sees the Buddha; whoever sees the Buddha sees the Dhamma. |
| |
Which means that weâre not far awayâfor the Buddha is the Dhamma; the Dhamma is the Buddha. |
| |
When Prince Siddhartha was first born into the world, |
| |
he wasnât yet the Buddha because at that point he hadnât yet awakened to the Dhamma. |
| |
He was an ordinary unenlightened person just like us. |
| |
It was only when he came to know the things that he needed to knowâthe noble truths of stress, |
| |
the cause of stress, the disbanding of stress, |
| |
and the path of practice leading to the disbanding of stressâthatâs when he practiced and reached the Dhamma. |
| |
Only then did he call himself the Buddha. |
| |
For that reason, when we reach the Dhammaâwherever we areâwe know the Dhamma. |
| |
When we know the Dhamma, we hear the Buddha teaching us, |
| |
we hear the Dhamma right there. |
| |
When we understand the Dhamma, the Buddha is in our heart. |
| |
The Dhamma is in our heart. |
| |
The practices that give rise to intelligence are in our heart. |
| |
Weâve practiced with our body, speech, |
| |
and mind. |
| |
[Break in the recording] |
| |
When, as we say, the Buddha, Dhamma, and Saáč
gha are in our heart, |
| |
weâre fully convinced that wherever we do good or evil, |
| |
itâs all a matter of the truth. |
| |
Wherever we do good, even if other people donât see, |
| |
even if nobody praises us, or if other people criticize us, |
| |
it doesnât matter. |
| |
Our action is correct. |
| |
We see that its correctness is in line with the truth, |
| |
the truth that the Buddha said was true. |
| |
Thatâs why the Buddha cast the world aside: He cast aside praise; he cast aside criticism. |
| |
Whoever criticized him, he accepted that thatâs the way things are. |
| |
Whoever praised him, he accepted, âOh. |
| |
Thatâs the way things areââfor both of these things are just an affair of the world. |
| |
His mind wasnât shaken. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because he understood stress. |
| |
Both of these things, if he believed them, |
| |
would give rise to stress. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is with stress: The mind is agitated. |
| |
Itâs ill at ease. |
| |
Itâs in a turmoil. |
| |
Whether youâre sitting, standing, walking, |
| |
or lying down, thereâs nothing but agitation. |
| |
Thatâs stress. |
| |
Whatâs the cause that gives rise to stress? |
| |
Not knowing things in line with their truth. |
| |
Thatâs why stress arises. |
| |
And when it causes stress to arise, we donât know how to put a stop to that stress. |
| |
The more we try to put an end to itââDonât yell at me! |
| |
Donât be jealous of me!ââthe more the stress grows without stop. |
| |
âDonât do that to me! |
| |
Donât say that about me! |
| |
Donât criticize me!â |
| |
The stress simply gets provoked even more and more. |
| |
The Buddha knew the way to practice that leads to the disbanding of stressâin other words, |
| |
to admit this truth into our minds, |
| |
that this is the way things really are. |
| |
All those things are external matters, |
| |
not internal matters. |
| |
The truth of what we do, of what we say, |
| |
of what we intend, nobody else knows. |
| |
Only we know it in our own minds. |
| |
So when we know how to become sakkhībhƫto, |
| |
when weâre our own witness, the Buddha praises us. |
| |
When people said he was good, he didnât get carried away. |
| |
When they said he was evil, he didnât forget himself. |
| |
He was independent in that way. |
| |
Good and evil are an affair of the world. |
| |
When theyâre an affair of the world, theyâre just a preoccupation. |
| |
If, when weâre struck by preoccupations, |
| |
weâre shaken by preoccupations, the mind becomes a world. |
| |
It keeps grasping all the time. |
| |
This is called not knowing the path of practice leading to the |
| |
disbanding of stressâwhich does nothing but provoke even more stress. |
| |
So if this is the way we understand things, |
| |
it means we havenât yet won out over ourselves. |
| |
We still prefer to win out over other peopleâand so we just lose out to ourselves. |
| |
But when we win out over ourselves, we win out not only over |
| |
ourselves but also over other people; we win out over preoccupations; we win out over sights, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations. |
| |
Here Iâm talking about things outside. |
| |
But we can take things outside and apply them inside as well. |
| |
We can apply them inside as well. |
| |
Some people know outside things but donât know things inside. |
| |
For example, the Buddha spoke a phrase telling us to âsee the body in the body.â |
| |
Itâs not enough to know the body. |
| |
We have to know the body in the body as well. |
| |
We have to contemplate the body, and then contemplate the body in the body. |
| |
We have to contemplate the mind, and contemplate the mind in the mind, |
| |
too. |
| |
If weâre a stranger to meditation, we stop right there. |
| |
Weâre at a loss to understand this phrase. |
| |
Why know the body? |
| |
Whatâs the body in the body? |
| |
And when weâre told to know the mind, |
| |
what is that mind? |
| |
What are the things in the mind? |
| |
We donât understand at allâbecause weâre not acquainted with stress, |
| |
the cause of stress, the disbanding of stress, |
| |
or the path of practice leading to the disbanding of stress. |
| |
We donât put an end to the things that would put an end to stress. |
| |
Weâre simply too obsessed with the things that donât give rise to⊠with things that donât itch. |
| |
Itâs like feeling an itch here on your head but scratching down there on your leg. |
| |
You miss the right spot. |
| |
You think that youâll make it feel better, |
| |
so you scratch your leg, even though the itch is on top of your head. |
| |
This is called not being acquainted with the spot thatâll do away with the itch, |
| |
and so it doesnât work. |
| |
Itâs the same when stress arises and you donât know enough to put a stop to it. |
| |
You donât know the path of practice leading to its disbanding. |
| |
This sort of thing is what puts us at a lossâbecause we donât realize that weâre focused on the outside. |
| |
Form, feeling, perception, fabrications inside⊠Like these bodies of ours, |
| |
these bodies that are sitting gathered together here, |
| |
that we can see with our eyes: We call these things âbodies.â |
| |
If all we see is the outside form of the body, |
| |
weâre said to see only the blatant body. |
| |
Seeing just this wonât be enough to put an end to stress or to the cause of stress at all. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because we donât see the inside of the body. |
| |
All we see is the outside of the body. |
| |
Weâll see that itâs beautiful, something of essence or valueâall kinds of things. |
| |
But the Buddha said that seeing only this far isnât enough, |
| |
seeing the outside like this with the eyes of the flesh. |
| |
Even children can see it. |
| |
Even animals can see it. |
| |
Itâs not hard. |
| |
But as soon as we see it, we get stuck on it. |
| |
We see it, but we donât know it. |
| |
We see it, we pounce on it, and it bites us. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is. |
| |
This is why weâre told to contemplate the body in the body, |
| |
to see whatâs in the body. |
| |
Explore around to see whatâs there in the body. |
| |
When we see just the outside of the body, |
| |
itâs not yet clear. |
| |
We see hair of the head, hair of the body, |
| |
nails, whatever, and theyâre all beautiful. |
| |
These are dyes that stain the heart. |
| |
Thatâs why the Buddha said that we donât see clearly, |
| |
we donât see the body clearly. |
| |
This is why he has us look inside to see the body in the body. |
| |
So look to see what there is in the body in the bodyâinside the rind of this flesh-and-skin body here. |
| |
What is there? |
| |
Contemplate carefully, probe on in, and youâll see that there are all kinds of things in this body that we human beings, |
| |
when we see them, findâstartling. |
| |
If we explore weâll find that itâs all startling because there |
| |
are things even in your own body that youâve never seen before. |
| |
You haul them around with you everywhere you walk. |
| |
When you get in a car, you haul them into the car, |
| |
but you have no idea what they are, |
| |
because theyâre all wrapped up like a present. |
| |
Itâs as if weâve gone to our relativesâ house and they give us a present all nicely wrapped. |
| |
We take it, put it in our basket, and walk right home. |
| |
We donât stop to open it to see whatâs inside. |
| |
When we finally open it, we find, âOh. |
| |
Itâs nothing but poisonous snakes.â |
| |
Our body is like that. |
| |
We see just the outside rind and it looks beautiful, |
| |
it looks pretty, it looks all kinds of things to the point where we forget ourselves, |
| |
forget inconstancy, forget stress, forget not-self, |
| |
forget everything. |
| |
We forget to open it up. |
| |
But if we look inside, weâll see that itâs nothing youâd want to look atâthis body of ours. |
| |
If you put anything clean into it, it just gets dirty. |
| |
The outside of the body is dirty in its way; the inside of the body is dirty in its way, |
| |
too. |
| |
Whatâs inside the body is even worse. |
| |
So look inside. |
| |
Whatâs it like in this body of ours? |
| |
If you look in line with the truth, in line with the noble truths without siding with yourself, |
| |
then whether you look at the outside of the body or the inside |
| |
of the bodyâlook at it; itâs really worth looking atâyouâll see that itâs enough to get you dismayed, |
| |
enough to get you disillusioned, enough to get you dis-⊠all kinds of things. |
| |
Itâs enough to give rise to disenchantment. |
| |
The word âdisenchantment,â here, doesnât mean that you go hating it or getting angry at it, |
| |
you know. |
| |
Itâs simply a clearing up: the clearing up of the mind, |
| |
its letting go. |
| |
We see that thereâs not much of value or essence here. |
| |
We see all these things simply as natural, |
| |
normal. |
| |
And thatâs the way they stay of their own accord. |
| |
No matter what we want them to be, thatâs simply the way they stay of their own accord. |
| |
Whether we cry over them or laugh about them, |
| |
thatâs what these fabrications are like. |
| |
The things that arenât constant arenât constant. |
| |
The things that arenât beautiful arenât beautiful. |
| |
Thatâs the way they are. |
| |
Whether anyone knows about them or doesnât know about them, |
| |
thatâs just the way they are of their own accord. |
| |
This is why the Buddha said that when sights, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, |
| |
or ideas arise, we should simply let them go. |
| |
When the eye sees a sight, let it go back to its home. |
| |
When the ear hears a sound, let it go. |
| |
When the nose smells an aroma, let it go. |
| |
Let just the nose stay. |
| |
When a flavor arises at the tongue, let it go. |
| |
When a tactile sensation makes contact with the body, |
| |
whether itâs something you like or donât like, |
| |
let it go. |
| |
Let these things go back to where they came from. |
| |
When an idea arises and makes contact at the mindâwithout any contact from outside, |
| |
it just makes contact right at the mind, |
| |
itâs called an idea that arises at the mind. |
| |
When you hear something right now or see something right now, |
| |
what makes contact at the mind: Whether itâs skillful or unskillful, |
| |
let it go in line with its own affairs. |
| |
When we know all of these things in this wayâwhether theyâre pleasant, |
| |
painful, or whateverâwhen we see that they all fall into the same pattern, |
| |
thatâs called meditation. |
| |
Meditation means making the heart still and, |
| |
when itâs still, making it know. |
| |
To make it still or to make it know, we have to practice with two things: the body and the mind right here, |
| |
nothing else. |
| |
Actually, all the things Iâve mentioned here are different things: sights are one sort of thing, |
| |
sounds are another sort, smells another sort, |
| |
flavors another sort, tactile sensations another sort, |
| |
and ideas another sort. |
| |
Each of these things is separate, and the Buddha has us know them to analyze them. |
| |
When pleasure arises, itâs called a feeling of pleasure. |
| |
When pain arises, itâs called a feeling of pain. |
| |
Whether itâs pleasure or pain, he has us separate them from the mind. |
| |
The mind is awareness, what knows. |
| |
Feeling is simply a condition of pleasure or pain that we like or dislike, |
| |
that sort of thing. |
| |
When the mind enters in to feed on these conditions, |
| |
itâs said to cling to them, to label them, |
| |
or to make assumptions about the pleasure or the pain. |
| |
The act of labeling or assuming: Thatâs an affair of the mind. |
| |
The condition of pleasure or pain: Thatâs a condition of feeling. |
| |
The awareness is the mind. |
| |
The things that are called pleasure or pain are the feelings. |
| |
If theyâre pleasant, theyâre called feelings of pleasure. |
| |
If theyâre painful, feelings of pain. |
| |
The Buddha tells us to separate the mind from the feelings. |
| |
âSeparatingâ here doesnât mean that we tear them apart and throw them in different places. |
| |
The mind has to know the pleasure; it has to know the painâalthough |
| |
there are times when we separate them by making the mind still. |
| |
For example, when we bring the mind into full concentration, |
| |
then when the mind senses the pleasure it separates it out. |
| |
Because the stillness is so overflowing, |
| |
the pleasure canât enter in. |
| |
Any pain canât enter in. |
| |
This is how the feeling separates out. |
| |
As when we sit in concentration: If the stillness comes first and the feeling arises later, |
| |
the feeling canât enter in. |
| |
The mind is oblivious to it. |
| |
That means it doesnât know the feeling. |
| |
The feeling separates out on its own. |
| |
But at any rate, the feeling is the pleasure. |
| |
The pleasure is called a feeling of pleasure. |
| |
If pain arises, itâs called a feeling of pain. |
| |
Thatâs the feeling. |
| |
When the mind senses a feeling of pleasure, |
| |
do we enter into it and cling to it? |
| |
When a feeling of pain arises, do we enter into it and cling to it? |
| |
Weâll know that the mind is like this, |
| |
the pleasure is like that, the pain is like that, |
| |
the feeling is like that. |
| |
Theyâre different sorts of things. |
| |
You can compare it to water and oil mixed in a bottle. |
| |
Theyâre in the same bottle, but theyâre in separate parts. |
| |
They can stay in the same bottle but they donât permeate each other. |
| |
Even though theyâre mixed together, the oil is oil, |
| |
the water is water. |
| |
Why are they like that? |
| |
Their density is different. |
| |
Their density is different, which is why they stay separate. |
| |
The same with the mind. |
| |
If the mind is at normalcy, itâs neither pleasant nor painful. |
| |
Itâs neither pleasant nor painful, you know. |
| |
When a feeling enters, pleasure and pain come in. |
| |
If weâre mindful, weâll know: âThis is called pleasure.â |
| |
The pleasure is pleasant, but the mind knows that the pleasure is inconstant, |
| |
so it doesnât cling to it. |
| |
Is the pleasure there? |
| |
Itâs right there, but the mind knows it as outside the mind. |
| |
Itâs not buried in the mind. |
| |
Even then, though, the mind knows it clearly. |
| |
Or when pain arises, can the mind separate the feeling out? |
| |
Is it not pained? |
| |
Does it not recognize the pain? |
| |
It knows. |
| |
It recognizes the pain. |
| |
It recognizes the pain. |
| |
But it knows that the mind is the mind, |
| |
the feeling is the feeling, so it isnât able to grab hold of the pain and carry it around as âpainâ⊠|
| |
[Break in the recording] |
| |
[An earlier Thai transcript fills in this break with this passage: or as âthis is pain.â |
| |
This is because it doesnât grab hold of it to make assumptions about it. |
| |
The Buddha separated things out with awareness. |
| |
Did he have any pain? |
| |
He knew the condition of pain but he didnât make assumptions about it. |
| |
When he knew in this way, we say that he separated the pain out, |
| |
he separated the feeling out. |
| |
Did he know ordinary pleasure? |
| |
The pleasure was there, ] |
| |
** ⊠but he knew that pleasure is poisonous if we donât really know it. |
| |
So he didnât assume pleasure to be his or to have any substance. |
| |
Was there pleasure there? |
| |
It was there through his awareness, but it wasnât there in his mind. |
| |
This is how we know that he separated pleasure and pain from his mind, |
| |
separated feelings from his mind, even though these things were together right there. |
| |
Itâs the same as when we hear that our Buddha or our noble ones |
| |
cut through defilement or killed defilement: Itâs not actually the case that they killed off all defilement. |
| |
If they had killed off all defilement, |
| |
there wouldnât be any defilement left for us, |
| |
right?âbecause they killed them all off. |
| |
But they didnât really kill defilement. |
| |
They simply knew defilements and let them go in line with their own affairs. |
| |
So defilements are still around to catch hold of anyone whoâs stupid. |
| |
Itâs not the case that the noble ones killed defilement. |
| |
They knew specifically in the case of their own minds that these |
| |
things are poisonous so they brushed their own defilements away, |
| |
brushed them away, brushed them away. |
| |
Whatever things gave rise to stress in their minds, |
| |
they brushed them away. |
| |
They didnât kill the defilements. |
| |
Whoever doesnât know that these are things that the noble ones have brushed away will pounce on them, |
| |
right? |
| |
âAh. |
| |
This is something good.â |
| |
But actually the Buddha discarded these things. |
| |
Like pleasure, for example: He brushed it awayâyet we see it and, |
| |
âHmmm,â we pounce on it and put it in our shoulder bag, |
| |
thinking weâve got something good and itâs ours. |
| |
Actually, the Buddha didnât kill these things. |
| |
He was wise to them. |
| |
When pleasure arose, he knew it was pleasure but he didnât take pleasure from it. |
| |
He knew that this was pleasure but he didnât assume that the pleasure was something of substance, |
| |
his or anyone elseâs. |
| |
Thatâs how he let it go. |
| |
The same with pain: When there was pain, |
| |
he called it âfeeling,â a âfeeling of pain.â |
| |
When pleasure arose, he knew it: âThis is a feeling of pleasure.â |
| |
But as for us, even before thereâs a feeling we go in to savor it. |
| |
The mind goes in to savor it. |
| |
In other words, we go in to carry the pain around, |
| |
to carry the pleasure around. |
| |
The truth of the matter is that feelings of pleasure and pain are something different from the mind. |
| |
Itâs like when weâre sitting here in comfort right now. |
| |
If there were a piece of lumber that weâd like to have, |
| |
weâd put it on our shoulder and itâd be heavy. |
| |
Itâd be heavy. |
| |
The piece of lumber is the feeling. |
| |
The person who wants the piece of lumber is the mind. |
| |
When you pick up the lumber to carry it, |
| |
itâs heavy, isnât it? |
| |
Of course itâs heavy. |
| |
But if you have discernment, then even though the piece of lumber is heavy, |
| |
you donât have to suffer from it. |
| |
You know enough to put it down. |
| |
When it feels really heavy on you, you put it down. |
| |
If the piece of lumber is really good for something, |
| |
and you want to take it and put it to use, |
| |
then if you know in this way, itâs not so bad. |
| |
The lumber wonât squash you to death. |
| |
Itâs the same with the mind. |
| |
The conditions of the mindâfeelings of pleasure, |
| |
feelings of pain, anything thatâs a preoccupationâare part of the world. |
| |
If the mind knows this, then you can do work thatâs pleasant, |
| |
you can do work thatâs painful. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because you know pleasure and pain for what they really are. |
| |
If youâre not really acquainted with pleasure and pain, |
| |
youâll see that pleasure and pain are on different levels, |
| |
that they have different prices. |
| |
But those who know say that pleasure and pain are equal in price. |
| |
Theyâre all equal in price. |
| |
If you grab hold of pleasure, itâs a source of stress. |
| |
Stress will arise. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because pleasure is inconstant. |
| |
It changes back and forth. |
| |
When pleasure disappears, pain arises. |
| |
That sort of thing. |
| |
The Buddha saw that pleasure and pain both have their drawbacks, |
| |
that theyâre equal in price. |
| |
When pain arose, he saw it as being equal to pleasure arising. |
| |
When pleasure arose, he saw it as being equal to pain arising. |
| |
Thatâs why he let go of both pleasure and painâbecause all of these things were equal in price. |
| |
Thatâs why his mind was on the path of right practice. |
| |
He saw that these things were equally stressfulâequal in their drawbacks, |
| |
equal in their benefitsâfor both these things are not for sure. |
| |
They fall under the characteristics that the Dhamma calls inconstancy because theyâre stressful. |
| |
They all arise and disband in this way. |
| |
When the Buddha saw this, right view arose as part of the right path. |
| |
Whether he was sitting, standing, walking, |
| |
or lying down; whatever thoughts or feelings arose in his mind, |
| |
he knew: âThis is pleasure. |
| |
This is pain.â |
| |
Equal. |
| |
All the time. |
| |
Thatâs why he didnât grab hold of these things. |
| |
Right after our Foremost Teacherâs awakening he taught about |
| |
indulgence in sensual pleasure (kamasukhallikÄnuyoga) and indulgence in self-affliction (attakilamathÄnuyoga). |
| |
He told the monks that indulgence in sensual pleasure is the slack path; indulgence in self-affliction, |
| |
the taut path. |
| |
These two things had harassed him all along the way until the |
| |
day he awakened to the Dhamma because he hadnât let them go. |
| |
As soon as he caught on to this point, |
| |
though, he let them go. |
| |
Thatâs why he gave the first sermon to his disciples, |
| |
telling them that indulgence in sensual pleasure, |
| |
clinging to the pleasure in sensuality, |
| |
is not a path for contemplatives to follow. |
| |
Whoever thinks about it, whoever mulls it over, |
| |
whoever makes assumptions about sensuality, |
| |
gets into a lot of turmoil. |
| |
Thereâs no peace in that path. |
| |
The state of a true contemplative canât arise there. |
| |
Donât follow that path. |
| |
As for indulgence in self-affliction, |
| |
the path thatâs cruel and torturous: Donât follow that path. |
| |
No contemplative is found there, either. |
| |
No peace is found there. |
| |
No true contemplative has ever arisen there. |
| |
In other words, he said that contemplatives shouldnât follow the path of either pleasure or pain. |
| |
When pleasure arises, donât forget yourself. |
| |
When pain arises, donât follow it. |
| |
Be alert to it. |
| |
When pain arises, know that pain has arisen. |
| |
When you know pain and stress, youâll know the cause of stress, |
| |
the disbanding of stress, and the path of practice leading to the disbanding of stress. |
| |
That path is our meditation. |
| |
To put it in simple terms, we have to be mindful. |
| |
Mindfulness means being alert and recollecting at all times: As weâre sitting here right now, |
| |
what are we thinking? |
| |
What are we doing? |
| |
What do we have right now? |
| |
Weâre alert in this way. |
| |
We always keep in mind how we are. |
| |
Weâre alert to what we have right now, |
| |
to what weâre thinking about, to whether weâre feeling pleasure or pain, |
| |
to whether what weâre doing is right or wrong. |
| |
When we keep these two qualities of mindfulness and alertness together at all times, |
| |
discernment can arise. |
| |
We can recollect, we can be alert, and these things go running toward discernment. |
| |
Discernment arises. |
| |
We take things on to evaluate and contemplate. |
| |
Whether weâre sitting, standing, walking, |
| |
or lying down, weâre alert like this at all times. |
| |
Weâll recognize whatâs right, whatâs wrong, |
| |
whatâs just right, whatâs not just right. |
| |
When a preoccupation that we like arises, |
| |
weâll recognize itâand we wonât make assumptions about it. |
| |
Itâs just pleasure, thatâs all. |
| |
When pain arises and we indulge in self-affliction, |
| |
we can know: âOh. |
| |
This isnât the path for a contemplative.â |
| |
So itâs just pain, thatâs all. |
| |
Pleasure and pain are just âthatâs allâ kinds of things. |
| |
This is called separatingâwe can separate the mind and feelings from each other. |
| |
What does this is the mind. |
| |
When the features of pleasure arise and we latch onto them, |
| |
feeling arises. |
| |
Regardless of whether itâs pleasure or pain, |
| |
if the mind is intelligent, we wonât grab onto these things. |
| |
Weâll simply put them aside. |
| |
Weâre just a knower. |
| |
We know these things for what they are and we let them go in line with their condition. |
| |
Itâs like oil and water mixed in a bottle: They donât permeate each other, |
| |
even though theyâre in the same bottle. |
| |
This is the way it is between the mind and feelings. |
| |
Even when we fall sick, we can still sense that feeling is feeling and the mind is the mind. |
| |
Theyâre still different things. |
| |
Do we know when something hurts? |
| |
Yes. |
| |
Do we know when things are comfortable? |
| |
Yesâbut we donât move in to stay in the comfort or discomfort. |
| |
We stay in the stillness. |
| |
What kind of stillness? |
| |
Stillness undisturbed by the comfort, |
| |
stillness undisturbed by the pain. |
| |
The Buddha pointed this out for us to see because thereâs no substance to these things. |
| |
Thereâs no way you can stay in them. |
| |
The mind has to stay this wayâin other words, |
| |
not having pleasure, not having pain. |
| |
Did he know that there was pleasure? |
| |
He knew, but he didnât feel pleased or pained by it. |
| |
Did he know that there was pain? |
| |
He knew. |
| |
Pleasure? |
| |
He knewâbut he didnât carry it around, |
| |
so no feeling arose in his mind. |
| |
We ordinary, unenlightened people may see this as strange, |
| |
but even though weâre unenlightened, |
| |
donât make that an issue. |
| |
Aim straight at that spot, for thatâs the way things are. |
| |
The mind stays in its own territory. |
| |
Feelings of pleasure and pain are in their own territory. |
| |
They donât get involved with one another. |
| |
Thatâs the way they are. |
| |
Theyâre already separate. |
| |
Itâs not the case that theyâre mixed together. |
| |
If they seem mixed together, itâs because we donât know them thoroughly. |
| |
Actually, theyâre already separate. |
| |
Itâs the same with the body and the mind. |
| |
Even though theyâre together here, itâs like our house and we who live in the house. |
| |
Theyâre related in the same way. |
| |
If the house is in danger, the mind suffers because we have to look after it. |
| |
But if the house catches on fire, we can run out of it. |
| |
We run out of the house. |
| |
The same with feeling: When a feeling of pleasure arises, |
| |
we can run out of it. |
| |
When a feeling of pain arises, we can run out of it. |
| |
Weâre like the owner of the house. |
| |
When things get really heavy and we know in line with the truth, |
| |
then when the house catches on fire, |
| |
we can run out of itâfor weâre two separate things. |
| |
One is the owner; the other is the house. |
| |
Thatâs the normal way these things already are. |
| |
So even though we talk about separating the mind from the feeling, |
| |
theyâre actually already separate. |
| |
Itâs just that when we come to know them in line with their truth, |
| |
they already know how to separate themselves. |
| |
Thatâs the way they already are by their nature. |
| |
The reason we see them as not separate is because we cling to them through our ignorance of the truth. |
| |
So theyâre glommed together in that way. |
| |
Theyâre glommed together. |
| |
Itâs like a spoon we use to eat curry. |
| |
The curry is one thing. |
| |
The spoon is something else. |
| |
If we know that this is the curry, this is the spoon, |
| |
then things are easy. |
| |
We use the spoon to eat the curry and then we put it down. |
| |
Itâs easy. |
| |
But if we try to eat the spoon, too, we make things hard. |
| |
If we donât see the spoon as a spoon, |
| |
the curry as curry, the feeling as a feeling, |
| |
and the mind as the mind, then things simply get all mixed up. |
| |
When we realize this, then these things can separate out whether weâre sitting, |
| |
standing, walking, or lying down. |
| |
Pleasures and pains keep crisscrossing on many levels at all times. |
| |
This is why the Buddha taught us to meditate. |
| |
The practice of meditation is really important. |
| |
Simply knowing about these things isnât enough. |
| |
The knowledge that comes from practice with a still mind and |
| |
the knowledge that comes from study are really far apart from each otherâfar, |
| |
far apart. |
| |
When we gain knowledge from study, itâs not that our mind knows how to let go of it. |
| |
It knows and then pounces on things to stash them away. |
| |
Why stash them away? |
| |
So that they can spoil. |
| |
When they spoil, we cry. |
| |
If the mind knows both how to hold on and how to put things down, |
| |
both how to stash away and how to let go, |
| |
both how to know and let go, we know that things are simply the way they are. |
| |
We donât forget ourselves. |
| |
When pain or illness arises, we wonât forget. |
| |
Some people say, âOh, this year Iâve been sick all year long. |
| |
I havenât been able to meditate.â |
| |
These are the words of a person whoâs extremely stupid. |
| |
People who are sick, people who are dying, |
| |
should accelerate their meditation even more, |
| |
no? |
| |
And yet they say they donât have time to meditate anymore. |
| |
Stress has arisen, pain has arisen, a lack of trust in these fabrications has come, |
| |
and yet they think they canât meditate because they donât have the time. |
| |
The Buddha didnât teach like that. |
| |
He taught that thatâs the right spot. |
| |
Youâve arrived at the right spot to practice. |
| |
When youâre falling ill, when youâre about to die, |
| |
then the more you accelerate your efforts, |
| |
the more you know and see. |
| |
Right then is when the truth appears even more. |
| |
If you donât think in this way, things are going to be difficult. |
| |
Some people say they have no opportunity to practice because of all the work they have to do. |
| |
Iâve had lots of teachers coming here and I ask them what they do. |
| |
They say they teach children and they have so much work that it has them in a tizzy. |
| |
They donât have any time to meditate. |
| |
So I ask them, âWhen you teach your students, |
| |
do you have time to breathe?â |
| |
âYes, sir.â |
| |
âOh. |
| |
So why do you have time to breathe when you say your work has you in a tizzy? |
| |
Youâre far from understanding anything. |
| |
Actually, the practice is a matter of the mind, |
| |
a matter of your awareness. |
| |
Itâs not the sort of thing where you have to do this, |
| |
do that, or jump around a lot. |
| |
Itâs simply a matter of your awareness. |
| |
As for the breath, you can keep on breathing as you work. |
| |
The nature of the body knows even more about how to do this than you do. |
| |
It keeps on looking after itself. |
| |
All you have to do is be more mindful to be alert, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
Keep at it so that you see into things more and more clearly. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is with meditation. |
| |
If weâre aware in this way, then it doesnât matter what kind of work you do, |
| |
the work wonât be spoiled. |
| |
In fact, youâll be able to do that work in a way thatâs always more sensitive to whatâs right and wrong. |
| |
So change the way you understand things. |
| |
âYou have lots of time to meditate. |
| |
You simply donât understand, thatâs all. |
| |
When youâre lying down, you can breathe, |
| |
right? |
| |
When youâre eating, you can breathe, right? |
| |
You can breathe wherever you are. |
| |
Why do you have time to do that? |
| |
If you think in this way, your life has a value equal to your breath. |
| |
And wherever you are, youâll have time. |
| |
Our awareness and thoughts are mental matters, |
| |
not physical matters. |
| |
âSo contemplate in a new way, think in a new way, |
| |
explore in a new way. |
| |
All you have to do is be mindful and youâll know how to be responsible all the time, |
| |
whether sitting, standing, walking, |
| |
or lying down. |
| |
Youâll get value out of your time. |
| |
You have more than enough time. |
| |
Youâre simply not intelligent in the area of your own time, |
| |
which is why you donât have any time. |
| |
Actually, you have time all the time. |
| |
So take this and contemplate it.â |
| |
Thatâs the way it is. |
| |
The issue of feelings: Is there anywhere we can run to get away from them? |
| |
Thatâs why we have to know them. |
| |
We have to know them clearly. |
| |
The feeling is just feeling, thatâs all. |
| |
Pleasure is just pleasure, thatâs all. |
| |
Pain is just pain, thatâs all. |
| |
Theyâre all just âthatâs allâ kinds of things, |
| |
so why latch onto them? |
| |
If the mind is intelligent, all it has to do is think like this and it can separate the feeling out from the mind. |
| |
The feeling is just a feeling, thatâs all. |
| |
The mind sees that itâs just âthatâs all.â |
| |
Pain is just pain, thatâs all. |
| |
Pleasure is just pleasure, thatâs all. |
| |
Just let them separate out. |
| |
Are they there? |
| |
Yes, theyâre there, but theyâre outside the heart. |
| |
Theyâre outside the heart. |
| |
Theyâre there without clinging. |
| |
The mind doesnât make any assumptions about them. |
| |
Theyâre there sort of as if theyâre not there, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
Think in this way, contemplate, and donât worry about where it will take you. |
| |
This is called separating feeling from the mind. |
| |
Know what the mind is like; know what the feeling is like. |
| |
The mind is what enters into the sense of pleasure, |
| |
and so forth, to see if what we say is pleasure is really true, |
| |
to see if the pain is for sure. |
| |
When we follow things in like this, discernment arises in the mind and separates out the pleasure and pain, |
| |
seeing that the pleasure is just pleasure, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
The pain is just pain, thatâs all. |
| |
We donât see that thereâs anything there. |
| |
Whateverâs there is just a âthatâs allâ kind of thing. |
| |
When we have this awareness all the way from the beginning to the end, |
| |
the mind will let goâbut itâs not letting go from ignorance, |
| |
you know. |
| |
It lets go and it knows at the same time. |
| |
It doesnât let go through stupidity, or from not wanting things to be that way. |
| |
It lets go because it sees that thatâs the way things are of their own accord. |
| |
This is called seeing nature, or seeing whatâs normal. |
| |
When we know in this way, weâll be adept with regard to the mind. |
| |
We know how to look after the mind. |
| |
Weâre intelligent in the area of our own mind, |
| |
intelligent in looking after the mind. |
| |
When youâre intelligent in the area of the mind, |
| |
youâll have to be intelligent in the area of its preoccupations. |
| |
When youâre intelligent in the area of preoccupations, |
| |
youâre sure to be intelligent in the area of the world. |
| |
This is called lokavidƫ: expert in the affairs of the world. |
| |
The Buddha was expert in the affairs of the world, |
| |
right in the midst of things that were complex and confusing, |
| |
but he knew those things that were complex and confusing. |
| |
And his knowledge of whatâs not complex or confusing was right in the same place. |
| |
The world is a turmoil, so how was he able to know it in an expert way? |
| |
We have to understand that the Dhamma formulated by the Buddha has nothing that lies beyond our capabilities. |
| |
So when we know right at our own mind that the mind is the mind, |
| |
feelings are feelings, and they separate out from each otherâin their own separate parts, |
| |
their own separate stagesâthe mind can see that the conditions of preoccupations are just like that, |
| |
of their own accord. |
| |
They simply arise and disband. |
| |
They arise and disband, disband and arise. |
| |
Thatâs all there is to them. |
| |
We let them go, in line with their own nature, |
| |
because theyâre in separate places. |
| |
This is what it means to know and see in line with the way things are. |
| |
Right here is where the problem comes to an end. |
| |
So all of us here: This is the way things are. |
| |
Whether youâre sitting, standing, walking, |
| |
or lying down, this is the way they are with every moment because you incline your mind to the practice. |
| |
Youâre mindful and alert at all times. |
| |
Thatâs all there is to it. |
| |
When the time comes to sit in concentration, |
| |
go ahead and do it. |
| |
Understand that concentration is for the purpose of giving rise to stillness, |
| |
and the stillness simply strengthens your energy, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
Itâs not for the sake of seeing a lot of other things. |
| |
So we have to keep practicing concentration steadily. |
| |
As for practicing vipassanÄ, thatâs the same as practicing concentration. |
| |
In some places they say, âNow weâre doing concentration, |
| |
and only later will we do vipassanÄ. |
| |
Right now weâre doing tranquility meditation.â |
| |
That kind of thing. |
| |
Donât put them far away from each other that way. |
| |
Tranquility is the source of discernment; discernment, |
| |
the fruit of tranquility. |
| |
Itâs not that now youâre going to do tranquility, |
| |
and later youâre going to do vipassanÄ. |
| |
You canât really separate them out that way. |
| |
Theyâre separate only in name. |
| |
Theyâre like a machete: The edge of the blade is on one side; the back of the blade is on the other. |
| |
You canât separate them. |
| |
If you pick up just the handle, both the edge of the blade and the back of the blade come along with it. |
| |
They donât lie anywhere else. |
| |
When thereâs stillness, discernment arises right there in the stillness. |
| |
See them as a single chunk of wood. |
| |
Where do these things come from? |
| |
They have a mother or father to give birth to them, |
| |
you know, just as all of us have to come from a mother and father to be sitting here. |
| |
Where does the Dhamma come from? |
| |
Virtue is the mother and father of the Dhamma. |
| |
In the beginning there has to be virtue. |
| |
And this virtue is stillnessâmeaning that thereâs no wrongdoing in terms of your body or mind. |
| |
When thereâs no wrongdoing, thereâs no trouble because thereâs no wrong. |
| |
When thereâs no trouble, stillness can arise. |
| |
The mind gives rise to concentration right at the same time. |
| |
This is why weâre taught that virtue, |
| |
concentration, and discernmentâthe path by which the noble ones go to nibbÄnaâare all one and the same thing. |
| |
To put it even more briefly: Virtue, concentration, |
| |
and discernment are one and the same thingâone and the same piece of Dhamma. |
| |
Virtue is concentration; concentration is virtue. |
| |
Concentration is discernment; discernment is concentration. |
| |
Itâs like a mango. |
| |
When itâs still a flower, we call it a mango flower. |
| |
When itâs a little fruit, we call it a baby mango. |
| |
When it gets bigger, we call it a biggish mango. |
| |
When it gets bigger and almost ripe, we call it a half-ripe mango. |
| |
When itâs fully ripe, we call it a ripe mango. |
| |
Itâs all the same mango, simply that it keeps changing, |
| |
changing, changing, changing. |
| |
When itâs big, itâs big coming from little. |
| |
When itâs little, itâs little heading for big. |
| |
You could call it different mangos, or you could call it all the same mango. |
| |
Virtue, concentration, and discernment are interrelated in just the same way. |
| |
Ultimately they become the path progressing to the stream to nibbÄna. |
| |
The mango, starting from when itâs a flower, |
| |
progresses to ripeness, and thatâs enough. |
| |
See it in this way. |
| |
When we see it in this way, we donât criticize it. |
| |
The same with this fabricated body. |
| |
Whatever it does, donât get worked up about it. |
| |
After itâs born, it grows old. |
| |
After itâs born, whatever it does, contemplate it. |
| |
Some people donât want to grow old. |
| |
When they grow old, they get despondent. |
| |
If thatâs the case, then donât eat ripe mangos! |
| |
Why do you want the mango to be ripe? |
| |
When mangos donât ripen fast enough, we force them to ripen, |
| |
donât we? |
| |
Yet when we grow old and ripen, we get afraid and despondent. |
| |
Some people start crying, afraid that theyâre going to grow old and die. |
| |
If thatâs the case, they shouldnât eat ripe mangos. |
| |
Theyâd better eat just the mango flowers. |
| |
When we can think in this way, the Dhamma becomes clearer. |
| |
We can be at our easeâand what will we do? |
| |
Weâll simply set our minds on how we have to focus solely on the practice. |
| |
Thatâs the Dhamma talk for you, the Chief Privy Councilor and |
| |
your children and grandchildren who have gathered here today. |
| |
Iâve explained the Dhamma for you to hear, |
| |
and that should be enough for now. |
| |
What Iâve taught you here: Iâd like you to take it apart to contemplate. |
| |
Itâs not yet right; itâs not yet wrong. |
| |
For it to be right or wrong, you have to contemplate it. |
| |
Thatâs each personâs individual duty. |
| |
And as for whateverâs wrong or inaccurate, |
| |
give it your forgiveness at the same time. |
| |
Actually, whether itâs right or wrong, |
| |
itâs all something for you to practice with: Whateverâs wrong, |
| |
throw it away; whateverâs right, practice in line with it. |
| |
Practice, okay? |
| |
Practice abandoning both right and wrong. |
| |
Ultimately, the practice is a matter of abandoning both right and wrong. |
| |
You throw away whatâs right; you throw away whatâs wrong. |
| |
If, whateverâs right, you hold onto it as right, |
| |
and other people say itâs wrong, you just keep on quarreling. |
| |
The Dhamma, though, is a place where thereâs nothing. |
| |
Nothing at all. |
| |
I once read a story that one of my students brought here. |
| |
Some Zen students were sitting with their teacher near a flag on a pole. |
| |
The wind was blowing back and forth, and the flag was flapping. |
| |
One of the students said, âEh? |
| |
Why is the flag flapping? |
| |
It must be because of the wind.â |
| |
Another student said, âNo. |
| |
Itâs because thereâs a flag.â |
| |
So they kept arguing in that way. |
| |
The teacher was sitting there but didnât say anything. |
| |
âItâs because of the wind.â |
| |
âNo. |
| |
Itâs because thereâs a flag.â |
| |
âNo. |
| |
Itâs because of the wind.â |
| |
âNo. |
| |
Itâs because thereâs a flag.â |
| |
They kept on arguing until the teacher said, |
| |
âNo. |
| |
Youâre both wrong, which is why the flag is still fluttering and flapping. |
| |
There is no flag and there is no wind.â |
| |
There. |
| |
That was the end of that. |
| |
[Laughs] |
| |
[Break in the recording] |
| |
Question: âŠthe body in the body until you see the mind disband. |
| |
Your explanation of seeing the body in the body is clear, |
| |
but to see the mind in the mind: what exactly does it mean? |
| |
Could you explain just a little more?âbut not so much that it makes you tired. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: Even though Iâm tired, I have to speak, |
| |
you know. |
| |
You canât speak without getting tired. |
| |
Even when youâre tired, you have to speak. |
| |
Youâve asked what the mind is. |
| |
I have to explain this before I talk about whatâs in the mind. |
| |
Itâs somewhat like knowing that this is a spittoon. |
| |
Then you can know whatâs in the spittoon. |
| |
Youâre clear about whatâs in the spittoon. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because you first know what the spittoon is, |
| |
right? |
| |
You canât go first to whatâs in the spittoon. |
| |
Whatâs the spittoon? |
| |
This is the spittoon. |
| |
Then you can look into the spittoon and see whatâs in it. |
| |
You see that thereâs water in the spittoon. |
| |
Thatâs what the problem is like. |
| |
As for the mind⊠Actually, thereâs no substance to the mind. |
| |
You canât point to where the mind is. |
| |
But we can describe it in a way that makes it easier to see, |
| |
so that you can know what the mind is. |
| |
Thereâs an awareness, an awareness of things. |
| |
It doesnât know that itâs the mind, but weâre aware. |
| |
Thereâs an awareness, the act of bringing in a preoccupation, |
| |
the act of recognizing all the various preoccupations. |
| |
When a preoccupation has hit us, that means weâve latched onto it. |
| |
The act of letting go in the act of attachment: Whatâs that? |
| |
Is there anything there, or not? |
| |
Right there in the mind, where itâs latched on: Is there anything there? |
| |
The awareness thatâs aware there: Thatâs the mind. |
| |
Going deeper into that awareness, is there anything there in that? |
| |
Thatâs whatâs in the mind. |
| |
Thatâs where you know the mind in the mind. |
| |
The mind is like the spittoon. |
| |
The only way to make it clear is to explain it in this way. |
| |
Thereâs no shape to it, so you have to explain it in this way. |
| |
Once you know that this is the spittoon, |
| |
you can look into the spittoon to see whatâs in it. |
| |
The mind is whatâs aware of preoccupations, |
| |
what thinks and brings preoccupations into it. |
| |
Once itâs aware, it brings preoccupations into it and then holds them inside. |
| |
What holds them inside: Can you sense whatâs in there? |
| |
There are all kinds of clingings and assumptions, |
| |
right and wrong in there.⊠|
| |
Thatâs not quite right. |
| |
Itâs like grabbing hold of something in your fist. |
| |
âEh? |
| |
What have I grabbed in my fist?â |
| |
You open up your fist to see whatâs in there. |
| |
This is whatâs in your fist, right? |
| |
Itâs the same with the mind. |
| |
If we speak using natural, ordinary words, |
| |
we can say that itâs what brings preoccupations in, |
| |
what brings preoccupations into our mind: Once theyâre thereâthe |
| |
preoccupations held in the mindâwe open it up to see whatâs in there. |
| |
Are there right views? |
| |
Are they wise to pleasure and pain? |
| |
Try to know whatâs right there. |
| |
Thatâs where the path is. |
| |
The path to knowing is right there, right where you were holding onto things. |
| |
This is just a little bit of what the Buddha taught. |
| |
Itâs enough to help me understand. |
| |
That should be enough. |
| |
Iâll take it to think over. |
| |
Thatâs right. |
| |
Take it and continue with it. |
| |
Yes, sir. |
| |
Iâll try. |
| |
Iâll try sitting and meditating with it. |
| |
You canât awaken to these things simply because other people have told you about them. |
| |
The fact of the matter is that when you leave here you have to contemplate them for yourself. |
| |
The Buddha said, âAkkhÄtÄro TathÄgatÄ: The TathÄgatas simply point out the way.â |
| |
In other words, they teach people how to swim, |
| |
but they canât swim for them. |
| |
If they do our swimming for us, we drown. |
| |
Itâs beyond their ability to do our swimming for us. |
| |
Thatâs the way it has to be. |
| |
The same with nibbÄna: Why didnât our Buddha explain nibbÄna so that itâs totally clear? |
| |
Because it canât be explained in a way thatâs totally clear. |
| |
Itâs like showing a picture to a blind person. |
| |
The blind person canât see it clearly. |
| |
Before it can become clear, the blind person has to treat his eyes until they can see. |
| |
Only then will the picture be clear. |
| |
Itâs the same sort of thing here. |
| |
The Buddha wanted so much for us to know and see, |
| |
but nibbÄna is the sort of Dhamma thatâs paccattaáč: personal. |
| |
Thatâs as far as he could help. |
| |
He âAkkhÄtÄro TathÄgatÄ: The TathÄgatas simply point out the way,â and then he took his leave. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is. |
| |
Thank you, sir. |
| |
TODAY Iâm giving special instructions specifically for the monks and novices. |
| |
Set your hearts on listening. |
| |
Aside from the practice of the Dhamma and Vinaya, |
| |
thereâs nothing else for us to study, |
| |
talk about, and offer opinions on. |
| |
I want each of us to understand that we now have the status of people gone forth, |
| |
so we should behave in a way thatâs fitting for monks and novices. |
| |
Weâve all passed through the status of lay life. |
| |
Itâs a status marked with turmoil, with no clear patterns for our behavior. |
| |
So now that weâve entered the status of samaáčas in the Buddhaâs teachings, |
| |
we have to change our hearts and minds to be different from those of lay people. |
| |
Our words, our movements, our comings and goings, |
| |
our ways of eating, stepping forward, |
| |
and stepping backâeverything has to be in line with those gone forth who are called samaáča, |
| |
which means people who are peaceful and at respite. |
| |
Before, we were lay people and didnât know the meaning of samaáčaâpeace and respite. |
| |
We all let our bodies and minds find enjoyment in line with our defilements and cravings. |
| |
When our preoccupations were good, they made us glad. |
| |
When they were bad, they made us sad. |
| |
Thatâs called being influenced by preoccupations. |
| |
When weâre influenced by preoccupations, |
| |
the Buddha said that weâre not taking care of ourselves. |
| |
We donât yet have a refuge, so we let our hearts and minds run loose with enjoyment, |
| |
with suffering, sorrow, lamentation, |
| |
and despair. |
| |
We donât rein ourselves in. |
| |
We donât contemplate things. |
| |
In the Buddhaâs teachings, when you ordain into the status of a samaáča, |
| |
you have to make your body that of a samaáča. |
| |
To begin with, you shave your head. |
| |
You have to cut your nails. |
| |
Your clothing is the ochre robeâthe banner of the noble ones, |
| |
the banner of the Buddha, the banner of the arahants. |
| |
The fact that youâve ordained depends on the legacy, |
| |
the inheritance left behind by our Foremost Teacher. |
| |
Thatâs why our way of life is enough to get by on. |
| |
Our dwellings, for instance, come from the merit of the faithful who built them. |
| |
We donât have to fix our foodâand this comes from the legacy, |
| |
the inheritance left behind by our Foremost Teacher. |
| |
Our medicine, our clothing: All these things depend on the legacy left behind by the Buddha. |
| |
Once youâve been ordained in the Buddhaâs teachings, |
| |
youâve been supposed into being a monk, |
| |
but youâre not yet a genuine monk, you know. |
| |
Youâre a monk on the level of suppositionâin other words, |
| |
youâre a monk as far as your body: the shaved head, |
| |
the yellow robes. |
| |
Youâre a monk on the level of supposition. |
| |
Itâs the same as when they carve wood, |
| |
sculpt cement, or mold bronze to be a Buddha on the level of supposition. |
| |
Itâs not the genuine Buddha. |
| |
Itâs gold, lead, bronze, wood, lacquer, |
| |
stone. |
| |
These things have been supposed into being a Buddha, |
| |
but theyâre not the Buddha. |
| |
Theyâre the Buddha on the level of supposition, |
| |
not the genuine Buddha. |
| |
Itâs the same with you: Youâve been formally declared to be monks who have ordained in the Buddhaâs teachings, |
| |
but youâre not yet monks. |
| |
Youâre supposed monks, not genuine monks. |
| |
What this means is that your hearts are not yet fully endowed with goodwill, |
| |
compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. |
| |
Your purity isnât yet all the way there. |
| |
You have greed, aversion, and delusion obstructing the arising of genuine monks within you. |
| |
These things have been with you since way back when: from the day of your birth, |
| |
from your previous lifetimes. |
| |
Youâve been nourished with greed, aversion, |
| |
and delusion all along up to the present. |
| |
So when people like you are ordained to be monks, |
| |
youâre still just supposed monks. |
| |
You still live on the greed, aversion, |
| |
and delusion in your hearts. |
| |
Real monks abandon these things. |
| |
They drive greed out of their hearts, |
| |
drive aversion out of their hearts, |
| |
drive delusion out of their hearts. |
| |
They contain no poison, no danger. |
| |
If thereâs still poison, youâre not yet a monk. |
| |
You have to drive these things out so that you can reach purity. |
| |
So you have to start trying to destroy greed, |
| |
aversion, and delusion, which are the dominant defilements in each of you. |
| |
These things keep you fenced into states of becoming and birth. |
| |
The reason you canât reach peace is because greed, |
| |
anger, and delusion are obstacles blocking the samaáča, |
| |
peace, from arising in your hearts. |
| |
As long as it canât arise, youâre not really monks. |
| |
In other words, your hearts arenât yet at peace away from greed, |
| |
aversion, and delusion. |
| |
Thatâs why weâve come to practiceâto practice so as to eradicate greed, |
| |
aversion, and delusion from our hearts. |
| |
Once you eradicate greed, aversion, and delusion from your hearts, |
| |
youâll reach purity. |
| |
Youâll reach genuine monk-ness. |
| |
At the current level of your practice, |
| |
youâre monks on the level of supposition. |
| |
Itâs simply a supposition. |
| |
Youâre not yet monks. |
| |
So build a monk within your heart. |
| |
You build a monk by means of your heartânot by any other means. |
| |
In building a monk by means of your heart, |
| |
you donât use just your heart. |
| |
Two thingsâone, your body; two, your speechâalso have to be involved. |
| |
Before your body and speech can do anything, |
| |
it first has to come out of the heart. |
| |
For things to exist just in your heart and not come out in your actions and speech: That canât happen, |
| |
either. |
| |
So these things are connected with one another. |
| |
When we speak of the heart, of the beauty of the heart, |
| |
the polished smoothness of the heart, |
| |
itâs like speaking of a smooth, polished wooden pillar. |
| |
The wood we use to make a board or a pillarâbefore itâs smooth |
| |
and polished and they coat it with shellac to make it beautifulâfirst has to be cut from a tree. |
| |
They have to cut off the crude ends and then split it and saw itâall kinds of things. |
| |
The heart is like a tree. |
| |
We have to take it from its crudeness, |
| |
cutting away its crude parts, cutting away its roots, |
| |
its branches, its bark, destroying everything thatâs not smooth and polished. |
| |
You have to destroy those parts until you reach a state where the wood is beautiful and well proportioned. |
| |
The fact that itâs beautiful and well proportioned comes from having passed through crude activities. |
| |
Itâs the same with those of us who are practicing. |
| |
To come and make our hearts and minds pure and at peace is something good, |
| |
but itâs hard. |
| |
We have to start with external thingsâour body, |
| |
our speechâand then work inward. |
| |
Only then will we become smooth, polished, |
| |
and beautiful. |
| |
Itâs like having a finished table or bed. |
| |
Itâs beautiful now, but it used to be crude. |
| |
It was a tree, a trunk. |
| |
So we cut itâcutting the trunk, cutting away the leavesâbecause |
| |
thatâs the path we have to follow so that it can become a table or bed, |
| |
so that it can become something beautiful, |
| |
good, and pure. |
| |
In the correct path to peace as formulated by the Buddha, |
| |
he formulated virtue, concentration, |
| |
and discernment. |
| |
This is the path, the path leading to purity, |
| |
leading to becoming a samaáča. |
| |
Itâs the path that can wash greed, aversion, |
| |
and delusion away. |
| |
You have to go through the steps of virtue, |
| |
concentration, and discernment. |
| |
This isnât different from making a table. |
| |
When we compare external things and internal things in this way, |
| |
there isnât any difference. |
| |
So when we train your habitsâmaking you listen to the Dhamma, |
| |
making you chant, making you sit in concentrationâthese things grate against your heart. |
| |
They grate because your heart is sloppy and lazy. |
| |
It doesnât like doing anything that clashes with it, |
| |
that puts it to difficulties. |
| |
It doesnât want these things; it wonât do them. |
| |
Thatâs why you have to make an effort to endure. |
| |
We all have to use the qualities of endurance and persistence |
| |
to slash our way through and keep trying to do these things. |
| |
Our bodies, for instance: We used to do things that were fun and unruly, |
| |
all kinds of things, so now that weâre watching over them, |
| |
itâs difficult. |
| |
Our speech used to speak without any restraint, |
| |
so now that weâre restraining it, itâs difficult. |
| |
But even though itâs difficult, we canât let that stop us. |
| |
Itâs like a tree: Before we can make it into a table or a bed, |
| |
we have to go through difficulties, |
| |
but we canât let them stop us. |
| |
We have to go through those stages. |
| |
To get the table or bed, we have to go through the crude parts. |
| |
Itâs the same with us. |
| |
When the Buddha taught so that he gained students and disciples whose minds succeeded in gaining awakening, |
| |
all of them started out as run-of-the-mill people when they ordainedârun-of-the-mill people just like us. |
| |
They had the various parts of their bodiesâlegs, |
| |
ears, eyesâjust like us; greed and aversion just like us. |
| |
None of their features were in any way different from ours. |
| |
That was true of the Buddha himself; that was true of his disciples. |
| |
In every case, they took what wasnât yet capable and made it |
| |
capable; what wasnât yet beautiful and made it beautiful; what wasnât yet up to standard and brought it up to standard. |
| |
This has been true all along up to us in the present. |
| |
We ordain the children of householdersâfarmers, |
| |
merchantsâpeople who have been embroiled in every variety of sensual preoccupation. |
| |
These are the people we ordain and train. |
| |
And weâve been able to train them all along. |
| |
So understand that youâre just like the noble ones of the past. |
| |
You have the same aggregates. |
| |
You have a body, just like them. |
| |
You have feelingsâpleasure and painâjust like them. |
| |
You have perceptionsârecognizing and labelingâjust like them. |
| |
You have thought fabrications and consciousnessâgood and bad: everything, |
| |
just like them. |
| |
So each of you is one more person in the same condition in body |
| |
and mind like the students the Buddha gained in the past. |
| |
Youâre not different in any way. |
| |
His noble disciples started out as run-of-the-mill people. |
| |
Some of them were troublemakers, some of them were fools, |
| |
some of them were ordinary run-of-the-mill people, |
| |
some of them were good peopleâjust like you. |
| |
They werenât different in any way. |
| |
So just as he took those people and trained them to practice so as to attain the noble paths and fruitions, |
| |
we today take the same sort of people to practiceâto develop virtue, |
| |
develop concentration, develop discernment. |
| |
Virtue, concentration, and discernment are the names of our practices. |
| |
When we practice virtue, practice concentration, |
| |
and practice discernment, we practice right at ourselves. |
| |
We practice right at ourselves, and thatâs when weâre on target. |
| |
Weâre on target with virtue right here, |
| |
on target with concentration right here. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because the body is right here with us. |
| |
Virtue is a matter of every part of the body, |
| |
every part that the Buddha has us look after. |
| |
With virtue, weâre taught to look after our body. |
| |
We already have a body. |
| |
How is that? |
| |
We have feet; we have hands. |
| |
Weâve already got a body. |
| |
This is where we look after virtue. |
| |
To give rise to virtue, we look after this body we already have. |
| |
The same with speech: Whether you tell lies or engage in divisive speech, |
| |
coarse speech, or idle chatter, whether you use your body to kill living beings, |
| |
steal peopleâs belongings, or engage in sexual misconductâall |
| |
the things that the rules on virtue are concerned with are things that lie right with you. |
| |
You already have a body. |
| |
You already have speech. |
| |
These things are already there with you. |
| |
So when you exercise restraint, you watch them. |
| |
You look. |
| |
For instance, look at killing, stealing, |
| |
and engaging in sexual misconduct. |
| |
The Buddha has you look at crude activities of the body. |
| |
Killing is using your fist or a weapon in your hand to kill animals, |
| |
big or small. |
| |
This is something crudeâthe sort of thing you used to do before you started observing the precepts. |
| |
You transgressed. |
| |
And there were the times when you didnât restrain your speech: telling lies, |
| |
engaging in divisive speech, coarse speech, |
| |
or idle chatter. |
| |
Telling lies is misrepresenting the truth. |
| |
Coarse speech is carelessly insulting people: âYou pig! |
| |
You dog!â |
| |
Idle chatter is speaking playfully about things that serve no purpose, |
| |
saying whatever comes into your head. |
| |
These sorts of things weâve all done in the past. |
| |
We didnât exercise restraint. |
| |
But now, when we look after our virtue, |
| |
we look: We look at our body; we look at our speech. |
| |
Whoâs doing the looking? |
| |
Who are you using to do the looking? |
| |
When you kill an animal, who knows? |
| |
Is your hand what knows? |
| |
Or who is it? |
| |
When you go to steal something, who knows? |
| |
Is your hand what knows? |
| |
Or who is it? |
| |
When you engage in sexual misconduct, |
| |
whoâs the first to know? |
| |
Is your body what knows? |
| |
When you tell a lie, whoâs the first to know? |
| |
When you use coarse speech or engage in idle chatter, |
| |
whoâs the first to know? |
| |
Your mouth? |
| |
Or do the words know first? |
| |
Think about this. |
| |
Whoeverâs the one who knows, get that one to look after your body and speech. |
| |
Whoeverâs the one who knows, get that one to keep watch. |
| |
Get the one whoâs been making the others actâmaking them do good, |
| |
making them do evilâget that one to look after them. |
| |
Catch the thief and make him the village headman. |
| |
Get that one to look after the others. |
| |
Get that one to contemplate. |
| |
When weâre told to look after the actions of the body, |
| |
who will do the looking? |
| |
The body doesnât know anything at all. |
| |
The body walks, steps on things, goes everywhere. |
| |
The same with the hand: It doesnât know anything. |
| |
It catches hold of that, touches thisâbut only when someone else tells it to. |
| |
It catches hold of that, then puts it down. |
| |
It takes it up again, throws this away to take something else. |
| |
In every case, there has to be someone to tell it to. |
| |
It doesnât know anything. |
| |
There has to be someone else to tell it, |
| |
someone else to give the orders. |
| |
The same with our mouth: Whether it lies or tells the truth, |
| |
when it engages in divisive speech or coarse speech, |
| |
thereâs someone who tells it to. |
| |
For this reason, when we practice, we establish mindfulnessâthe ability to recollectâright at the knower, |
| |
the one thatâs aware. |
| |
If weâre to steal, kill, engage in sexual misconduct, |
| |
tell lies, speak divisive speech, coarse speech, |
| |
or idle chatterâany of these thingsâthe knower is what leads the way in acting or speaking. |
| |
Wherever it is, stay with it. |
| |
Bring your alertness, your mindfulness always there with the knower, |
| |
to get that one to look after things, |
| |
to be aware. |
| |
This is why the Buddhaâs rules deal with crude things: Killing is evil; itâs against the precepts. |
| |
Stealing is wrong. |
| |
Sexual misconduct is wrong. |
| |
Telling lies is wrong. |
| |
Using coarse speech or engaging in idle chatter is wrong. |
| |
These are things for us to remember. |
| |
These are his rules, the laws of the Lord Buddha. |
| |
So now weâre careful about them. |
| |
The one who used to break themâwho used to order us to kill animals, |
| |
to steal, to engage in sexual misconduct, |
| |
to tell lies, to speak divisively, to speak coarsely, |
| |
to engage in idle chatter, to act without restraint in various waysâsinging, |
| |
dancing, whistling, playing musical instruments: The one who |
| |
used to order us to do these things has now turned into the one who looks after our behavior. |
| |
We use mindfulnessâalertness, the ability to recollectâto make it exercise restraint, |
| |
to look after itself, to look after itself well. |
| |
If itâs able to look after itself, then the body isnât hard to look after, |
| |
for the body lies under the governance of the mind. |
| |
Our speech isnât hard to look after, for our speech lies under the governance of the mind. |
| |
When thatâs the case, looking after the preceptsâlooking after our body and speechâisnât hard. |
| |
We make ourselves aware in every postureâstanding, |
| |
walking, sitting, or lying down, every step of the way. |
| |
Make sure that you know what youâre doing before you do it, |
| |
that you know what youâre saying before you say it. |
| |
Donât act or speak before you know what youâre doing. |
| |
Know first, and only then act or speak. |
| |
Be mindfulârecollectâbefore you act or speak in any way. |
| |
You have to recollect first. |
| |
Practice this until youâre quick at it. |
| |
Practice being ahead of the game. |
| |
Be quick at being able to recollect before you act, |
| |
to recollect before you speak. |
| |
Establish mindfulness in your heart like this. |
| |
Get the knower to look after itselfâfor itâs the one who acts. |
| |
Because itâs the one who acts, things wonât work if you have anyone else looking after it. |
| |
You have to get it to look after itself. |
| |
If it doesnât look after itself, things wonât work. |
| |
The Buddha taught that looking after the precepts isnât hard if you look after yourself. |
| |
If any forms of harm are about to arise by way of your bodily actions or speech, |
| |
then if mindfulness is in place, youâll recognize them. |
| |
Youâll have a sense of right and wrong. |
| |
This is how you look after your precepts. |
| |
Your body and speech depend on you. |
| |
This is the first step. |
| |
If you can look after your bodily actions and speech, |
| |
then theyâre beautiful. |
| |
At ease. |
| |
Your manners, your comings and goings, |
| |
your speech, are all beautiful. |
| |
This kind of beauty is the beauty that comes from having someone |
| |
shape and mould themâsomeone who keeps looking after them and contemplating them all the time. |
| |
Itâs like our home, our sala, our huts, |
| |
and their surrounding areas. |
| |
If thereâs someone to sweep them and look after them, |
| |
theyâre beautiful. |
| |
Theyâre not dirtyâbecause thereâs someone to look after them. |
| |
Itâs because thereâs someone looking after them that they can be beautiful. |
| |
The same with our bodily actions and speech: If thereâs someone looking after them, |
| |
theyâre beautiful. |
| |
Evil, obscene, dirty things canât arise. |
| |
Our practice is beautiful. |
| |
fidi-kalyÄáčaáč, majjhe-kalyÄáčaáč, pariyosÄna-kalyÄáčaáč: Beautiful in the beginning, |
| |
beautiful in the middle, beautiful in the end. |
| |
What does this refer to? |
| |
One, virtue; two, concentration; three, |
| |
discernment. |
| |
These things are beautiful. |
| |
They start by being beautiful in the beginning. |
| |
If the beginning is beautiful, then the middle is beautiful. |
| |
If we can exercise restraint with ease, |
| |
always being watchful and careful to the point where our mind |
| |
is firmly established in the act of looking after things and exercising restraint, |
| |
always intent, always firm, then this quality of being firm in your duties, |
| |
firm in your restraint, is given a different name. |
| |
Itâs called âconcentration.â |
| |
The quality of exercising restraint, always looking after your body, |
| |
looking after your speech, looking after all the things that would arise in this way: This is called âvirtue.â |
| |
The quality of being firm in your restraint is called something |
| |
else: âconcentration,â the firm establishing of the mind. |
| |
Itâs firm in this preoccupation, firm in that preoccupation, |
| |
always restrained. |
| |
This is called concentration. |
| |
This level of concentration is external, |
| |
but it has an internal side as well. |
| |
Make sure to have this with you always. |
| |
This has to come first. |
| |
When youâre firm in these thingsâwhen you have virtue and concentrationâthen |
| |
you will also have the quality of contemplating whatâs right and whatâs wrong. |
| |
âIs this right?â |
| |
âIs this wrong?â |
| |
These questions will arise with every preoccupation that comes into the mind: when sights make contact, |
| |
when sounds make contact, when smells make contact, |
| |
when tactile sensations make contact, |
| |
when ideas make contact. |
| |
A knower will appear, sometimes happy, |
| |
sometimes sad, sometimes pleased. |
| |
It will know good preoccupations, bad preoccupations. |
| |
Youâll get to see all kinds of things. |
| |
If youâre restrained, youâll get to see all kinds of things coming in, |
| |
as well as the reactions in the mind, |
| |
in the knower. |
| |
Youâll be able to contemplate them. |
| |
Because youâve exercised restraint and are firm in your restraint, |
| |
then whatever passes in there, the reactions in terms of your bodily actions, |
| |
your speech, and your mind will show themselves. |
| |
Things good or evil, right or wrong will arise. |
| |
And then when you choose or select the proper preoccupation, |
| |
this is whatâs called âa thin layer of discernment.â |
| |
This discernment will appear in your heart. |
| |
This is called virtue, concentration, |
| |
and discernment all at once. |
| |
This is how they first arise. |
| |
What arises next will be attachment. |
| |
This is where youâre attached to goodness. |
| |
Youâll be afraid that your mind will be negligent or mistaken in various ways, |
| |
afraid that your concentration will be destroyed. |
| |
This will arise because you love your concentration a lot. |
| |
Youâre very protective, very diligent, |
| |
very persistent. |
| |
When any preoccupation makes contact, |
| |
youâre afraid of it. |
| |
Wary. |
| |
Concerned. |
| |
You see this or that person acting wrongly, |
| |
and you see everything. |
| |
Youâre very possessive. |
| |
This is a level of virtue, a level of concentration, |
| |
a level of discernment: the external level. |
| |
You see things in line with the Buddhaâs laws. |
| |
This is a beginning stage. |
| |
It has to be established in your mind. |
| |
You need to have it in your mind. |
| |
These qualities arise really strongly in the mindâto the point where, |
| |
wherever you go, you see everyone acting wrongly. |
| |
You get happy and sad, you start having doubts, |
| |
all kinds of things. |
| |
Youâre always ready to pounce on other peopleâs mistakes. |
| |
This is going overboard, but thatâs not a problem for the time being. |
| |
Let it go overboard for now. |
| |
You first have to look after your bodily actions, |
| |
look after your speech, look after your mind as much as you can. |
| |
Thereâs nothing wrong with this. |
| |
This is called one level of virtue. |
| |
Virtue, concentration, and discernment are all there together. |
| |
In terms of the perfections, this is the first level of the perfections: dÄna-pÄramÄ«, |
| |
sÄ«la-pÄramÄ«. |
| |
Thatâs one level, the one youâve already reached. |
| |
The next levelâdÄna-upapÄramÄ«, sÄ«la-upapÄramÄ«âis something else that has to grow out of this. |
| |
It takes things to a level more refined than this. |
| |
Youâre distilling something refined out of something crude, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
You donât get the next level from anything else far away. |
| |
When youâve established this foundation, |
| |
practicing it in your heart in the first stage, |
| |
you develop a sense of conscience, a sense of fear both in private and in public places. |
| |
The heart is really afraid, on edge at all times. |
| |
The mind takes its sense of right and wrong as its preoccupation at all times. |
| |
Itâs preoccupied with exercising restraint over your bodily actions and speech, |
| |
always firm in this way. |
| |
Itâs really firmly attached. |
| |
This is virtue, concentration, and discernment in line with the Buddhaâs rules. |
| |
As you keep looking after things in this way, |
| |
keep practicing continually, continually, |
| |
continually in this way, these qualities will grow full in your heart. |
| |
But this level of virtue, concentration, |
| |
and discernment hasnât yet reached the level of jhÄna. |
| |
These things are still fairly crude. |
| |
Theyâre refined, but theyâre the refined level of whatâs crude. |
| |
Theyâre the refinement of ordinary, run-of-the-mill people whoâve never done this before, |
| |
never restrained their behavior before, |
| |
never meditated, never practiced before. |
| |
So for them, this level is refined. |
| |
Itâs like five baht or ten baht, which have meaning for poor people. |
| |
For people who have money by the millions, |
| |
five or ten baht mean nothing. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is. |
| |
If youâre poor, you want a baht or two. |
| |
This has meaning only for people who are poor and lacking. |
| |
Your ability to abandon gross forms of harm has meaning for ordinary |
| |
run-of-the-mill people whoâve never abandoned them before. |
| |
And you can be proud on this level. |
| |
Youâve fully completed this level. |
| |
Youâll see this for yourself. |
| |
All those who practice have to maintain this in their hearts. |
| |
When this is the case, youâre said to be walking the path of virtue, |
| |
the path of concentration, the path of discernment: virtue, |
| |
concentration, and discernment all at once. |
| |
They canât separate out. |
| |
When your virtue is good, the firmness of the mind grows even firmer. |
| |
When the mind is firm, your discernment gets sharper. |
| |
These things become synonyms for one another. |
| |
You practice continually, continually. |
| |
Itâs right practice without gaps. |
| |
So if you practice in this way, youâre said to have entered the first stage of the path of practice. |
| |
This is a crude level, something a little hard to maintain, |
| |
but the refined levels of virtue, concentration, |
| |
and discernment all come out of this. |
| |
Itâs as if theyâre distilled from this same thing. |
| |
To put it in simple terms, itâs like a coconut tree. |
| |
A coconut tree absorbs ordinary water up through its trunk, |
| |
but when the water reaches the coconuts, |
| |
itâs sweet and clean. |
| |
It comes from ordinary water, the trunk, |
| |
the crude dirt. |
| |
But as the water gets absorbed up the tree, |
| |
it gets distilled. |
| |
Itâs the same water but when it reaches the coconuts itâs cleaner than before. |
| |
And sweet. |
| |
In the same way, the virtue, concentration, |
| |
and discernment of your path are crude, |
| |
but if the mind contemplates these things until theyâre more and more refined, |
| |
their crudeness will disappear. |
| |
They get more and more refined, so that the area you have to maintain grows smaller and smaller, |
| |
into the mind. |
| |
Then itâs easy. |
| |
Things get closer to you. |
| |
Now at this stage, you donât make any big mistakes. |
| |
Itâs simply that when any issue strikes the heart, |
| |
a question arises. |
| |
For example, âIs acting in this way right or wrong?â |
| |
Or: âIs speaking in this way right?â |
| |
âIs speaking in this way wrong?â: this sort of thing. |
| |
You abandon things and come closer and closer inâcontinually, |
| |
continually closer in. |
| |
Your concentration is even firmer; your discernment sees even more easily. |
| |
The end result is that you see things simply in terms of the mind and its preoccupations. |
| |
You donât go splitting off to bodily actions or speech. |
| |
You donât go splitting off to anything at all. |
| |
When we talk about affairs of body and mind, |
| |
the body and mind depend on each other. |
| |
You see what exercises control over the body: the mind. |
| |
Whatever the body does is because of the mind. |
| |
Now, before the mind exercises control over the body, |
| |
the impulse comes from the preoccupations making contact with the mind and then exercising control over the mind. |
| |
So as you keep on contemplating inwardly, |
| |
inwardly, your subtlety will gradually develop. |
| |
The end result is that thereâs nothing but the mind and its preoccupations. |
| |
In other words, the body, which is a physical phenomenon, |
| |
becomes non-physical. |
| |
The mind no longer grasps at its physicality. |
| |
It turns its aspect as a physical thing into something non-physical: |
| |
a mind object or preoccupation that makes contact with the mind. |
| |
Eventually, everything is just a matter of the mind and its preoccupationsâthe |
| |
preoccupations that arise along with our mind. |
| |
Our mind. |
| |
This is where we begin to fathom the nature of our mind. |
| |
Our mind has no issues. |
| |
Itâs like a scrap of cloth or a flag thatâs fastened to the end of a pole and just stays there: Nothing happens. |
| |
Or like a leaf left to its own nature: It stays still; nothing happens. |
| |
The fact that the leaf flutters is because of something else: the wind. |
| |
The nature of the leaf itself is that it stays still and doesnât do anything to anybody. |
| |
The fact that it moves is because something else comes and makes contact. |
| |
When the wind makes contact, the leaf flutters back and forth. |
| |
Itâs the same with the nature of our mind. |
| |
Thereâs no love, no hatred, no blaming of anyone. |
| |
It stays as it is in that wayâa condition thatâs really pure, |
| |
clear, and clean. |
| |
It stays in peace, with no pleasure, no pain, |
| |
no feelings at all. |
| |
Thatâs the genuine condition of the mind. |
| |
The reason we practice is to explore inwardly, |
| |
explore inwardly, explore inwardly, |
| |
to contemplate inwardly until we reach the primal mind: the primal mind thatâs called the pure mind. |
| |
The pure mind is the mind without any issues. |
| |
No preoccupations are passing by. |
| |
In other words, it doesnât go running after preoccupations. |
| |
It doesnât criticize this or that, doesnât get pleasure in this way or that. |
| |
Itâs not happy about this thing or sad about that. |
| |
And yet the mind is always aware. |
| |
It knows whatâs going on. |
| |
When the mind is in this state, then when preoccupations come blowing throughâgood, |
| |
bad, whatever the preoccupations: When they come blowing or cogitating in, |
| |
the mind is aware of them but stays as it is. |
| |
It doesnât have any issues. |
| |
It doesnât waver. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because itâs aware of itself. |
| |
Itâs aware of itself. |
| |
Itâs constructed freedom within itself. |
| |
Itâs reached its own condition. |
| |
How has it been able to reconstruct its primal condition? |
| |
Because the knower has contemplated in a subtle way to see that |
| |
all things are simply manifestations of properties and elements. |
| |
Thereâs nobody doing anything to anybody. |
| |
As when pleasure or pain arises: When pleasure arises, |
| |
itâs just pleasure, thatâs all. |
| |
When pain arises, itâs just pain, thatâs all. |
| |
It doesnât have any owner. |
| |
The mind doesnât make itself the owner of pleasure, |
| |
doesnât make itself the owner of pain. |
| |
It watches these things and sees that thereâs nothing for it to take. |
| |
Theyâre separate kinds of things, separate kinds of affairs. |
| |
Pleasure is just pleasure, thatâs all. |
| |
Pain is just pain, thatâs all. |
| |
The mind is simply what knows these things. |
| |
Before, when there was a basis for greed, |
| |
aversion, or delusion, the mind would take these things on as soon as it saw them. |
| |
It would take on pleasure; it would take on pain. |
| |
It went right into them to feed on them. |
| |
âWeâ took pleasure and pain without stop. |
| |
Thatâs a sign that the mind wasnât aware of what it was doing. |
| |
It wasnât bright. |
| |
It didnât have any freedom. |
| |
It went running after its preoccupations. |
| |
A mind that runs after its preoccupations is a destitute mind. |
| |
When it gets a good preoccupation, itâs good along with it. |
| |
When it gets a bad preoccupation, itâs bad along with it. |
| |
It forgets itself, that its primal nature is something neither good nor bad. |
| |
If the mind is good along with its preoccupations, |
| |
thatâs a deluded mind. |
| |
When bad comes and itâs bad, too; when pain comes and itâs pained, |
| |
too; when pleasure comes and itâs pleased, |
| |
too, the mind turns into a world. |
| |
Its preoccupations are a world. |
| |
Theyâre stuck with the world. |
| |
They give rise to pleasure, pain, good, |
| |
badâall kinds of things. |
| |
And theyâre all not for sure. |
| |
If the mind leaves its primal nature, |
| |
nothingâs for sure. |
| |
Thereâs nothing but taking birth and dying, |
| |
quivering and wavering, suffering and lackingânothing but difficulties for a long, |
| |
long time. |
| |
These things have no way of coming to closure. |
| |
Theyâre all just part of the cycle. |
| |
When we contemplate them with subtlety, |
| |
we see that they have to keep on being the way theyâve been in the past. |
| |
As for the mind, it doesnât have any issues. |
| |
When it does have issues, itâs because we grasp onto things. |
| |
Like the praise and blame of human beings: If someone says, |
| |
âYouâre evil,â why do you suffer? |
| |
You suffer because you understand that theyâre criticizing you. |
| |
So you pick that up and put it in your heart. |
| |
The act of picking it upâknowing it and taking it on that wayâis because youâre not wise to what it is, |
| |
and so you catch hold of it. |
| |
When you do that, itâs called stabbing yourself with clinging. |
| |
When youâve stabbed yourself, thereâs becoming that gives rise to birth. |
| |
With some peopleâs words, if we donât pay them any attention or take them onâwhen we leave them simply as sounds, |
| |
thatâs allâthen there are no issues. |
| |
Say a Khmer person curses you: You hear it, |
| |
but itâs just soundsâKhmer sounds, thatâs all. |
| |
Theyâre just sounds. |
| |
When you donât know their meaning, that theyâre cursing you, |
| |
the mind doesnât take them on. |
| |
In this way, you can be at your ease. |
| |
Or if Vietnamese or any other people of different languages curse you, |
| |
all you hear are sounds. |
| |
Youâre at your ease because you donât bring them in to stab the mind. |
| |
This mind: Speaking about the arising and passing away of the mind, |
| |
these things are easy to know when we keep on contemplating in this way continually, |
| |
continually inward. |
| |
The mind gradually becomes more and more refined because it has passed through the crude stages of the practice. |
| |
Your concentration gets even more inwardly firm, |
| |
more inwardly focused. |
| |
The more it contemplates inwardly, the more sure it is that this state of mind isnât influenced by anything. |
| |
The mind like this is really convinced that it isnât influenced by anything, |
| |
by any preoccupations. |
| |
Preoccupations are preoccupations; the mind is the mind. |
| |
The fact that the mind is pleased or pained, |
| |
good or bad, is because it falls for its preoccupations. |
| |
If it doesnât fall for its preoccupations, |
| |
it has no issues. |
| |
It doesnât waver. |
| |
This condition is called a condition of awareness. |
| |
All the things that it knows are manifestations of the properties and elements. |
| |
They simply arise and pass away, arise and pass away. |
| |
Even though you sense this, you canât yet let go. |
| |
But at this point, whether you can or canât let go doesnât matter. |
| |
Simply hold to this awareness or this perception as a first stage in dealing with the mind. |
| |
You keep going inward, grinding down and killing your defilements continually. |
| |
And when you then see, the mind withdraws. |
| |
Our Foremost Teacher or the texts call this the âchange-of-lineage mindâ (gotarabhĆ«-citta). |
| |
This is the mind transcending the human lineageâthe mind of a |
| |
run-of-the-mill personâand heading toward being a noble one, |
| |
which comes out of run-of-the-mill people like us. |
| |
The gotarabhĆ« individual steps into the nibbÄna mind but canât yet go all the way. |
| |
He withdraws to continue practicing on another level. |
| |
To compare this with a person, itâs like a person whoâs trying to cross a stream. |
| |
One foot is on this bank of the stream; the other foot is on the far bank of the stream. |
| |
He realizes that there is a this bank and a far bank, |
| |
but he canât yet get across. |
| |
So he pulls back. |
| |
The state of understanding that there is both a this bank and |
| |
a far bank: Thatâs the gotarabhĆ« individual or the gotarabhĆ« mind. |
| |
What this means is that he understands but canât yet get across. |
| |
He pulls back after realizing that these things exist. |
| |
Then he carries on, developing his perfections. |
| |
He sees that this is for sure, that this is the way things are, |
| |
and that heâs going to have to end up going right there. |
| |
To put it in simple terms, at this point we see the condition |
| |
of our practice: that if we really contemplate whatâs happened, |
| |
weâll see that the mind has a path it will have to follow. |
| |
We know the first step of the path is that gladness and sadness are not the path for us to follow. |
| |
Weâre sure to understand thisâand thatâs the way it really is. |
| |
If youâre glad, itâs not the path because it can give rise to stress. |
| |
If youâre sad, it can give rise to stress. |
| |
We think in these terms, but we canât yet let these things go. |
| |
So where will we go so that itâs right? |
| |
We take gladness and sadness, put them on either side, |
| |
and try to walk right down the middle. |
| |
When we keep this in mind, weâre right on the path. |
| |
We comprehend this, but we canât yet do it. |
| |
As long as we canât yet do it, then if we get stuck on pleasure or pain, |
| |
we always know weâre stuckâand thatâs when we can be right. |
| |
When the mind is stuck on pleasure in this way, |
| |
we donât approve of it. |
| |
When the mind is stuck on pain, we donât despise it. |
| |
We now get to watch them. |
| |
Pleasure is wrong. |
| |
Pain is wrong. |
| |
We understand that theyâre not the path. |
| |
We know, yet even though we know, we canât let them go. |
| |
We canât let them go, and yet we know. |
| |
When we know, we donât approve of pleasure, |
| |
we donât approve of pain. |
| |
We donât approve of either of them, and we have no doubts, |
| |
for we know that theyâre the same in not being the path. |
| |
This way isnât the path; that way isnât the pathâso we take the middle as our constant preoccupation. |
| |
If we can gain release from pleasure and pain, |
| |
this will appear as the path. |
| |
Our mind will step into it and know, but it canât yet go all the way. |
| |
So it withdraws to continue practicing. |
| |
When pleasure arises and we get stuck on it, |
| |
we take the pleasure up to contemplate. |
| |
When pain arises and we get stuck on it, |
| |
we take the pain up to contemplateâuntil our knowledge is equal to the pleasure, |
| |
equal to the pain: Thatâs when the mind will let go of pleasure, |
| |
let go of pain, let go of gladness, |
| |
let go of sadness. |
| |
It lets go of all these worlds. |
| |
The mind can become lokavidƫ, expert with regard to worlds. |
| |
When it lets go, when the knower lets go, |
| |
it settles right down at that spot. |
| |
Why can it settle there? |
| |
Because it already entered there beforeâthat spot that it knew but couldnât go to. |
| |
So when the mind is stuck on pleasure and pain, |
| |
and yet we donât fall for them, we keep trying to clear them |
| |
away: Thatâs when we reach the level of a yogÄvacaraâa person traveling the path but not yet reaching the end. |
| |
These conditions are things we can focus on in the moments of our own mind. |
| |
We donât have to examine any preoccupations at all. |
| |
When weâre stuck on either side, we make ourselves know that theyâre wrong for sure, |
| |
because both sides are stuck in the world. |
| |
Pleasure is stuck in the world. |
| |
Pain is stuck in the world. |
| |
When weâre stuck in the world, the world can come into being. |
| |
Why? |
| |
This world can come into being and get established because our knowledge isnât quick enough. |
| |
The world doesnât come into being from anything else. |
| |
And because our knowledge isnât quick enough, |
| |
we enter in and label things, fabricate fabrications. |
| |
Right here is where the practice is fun. |
| |
Whatever weâre stuck on, we attack it right away without letting up. |
| |
If weâre stuck on pleasure, we attack it right away. |
| |
The mind doesnât let up. |
| |
If weâre stuck on pain, we catch it right away and contemplate it. |
| |
This is where the thread is about to enter the eye of the needle. |
| |
The mind doesnât let up on these preoccupationsâand it doesnât resist the practice. |
| |
Even when weâre wrong, we know weâre wrong. |
| |
The mind isnât heedless. |
| |
That big mind isnât heedless. |
| |
Itâs kind of like walking along and stepping on a thorn. |
| |
We donât want to step on thorns, weâre as careful as can be, |
| |
and yet we still step on it. |
| |
Are we content to step on it? |
| |
When we step on it, weâre not content when we know the path. |
| |
We know that this is the world, this is stress, |
| |
this is the cycle. |
| |
We knowâand yet we still step on it anyhow. |
| |
The mind goes along with pleasureâhappy or sadâand yet weâre not content. |
| |
We try to eradicate these things, eradicate the world out of the mind at all times. |
| |
The mind at this point keeps building, |
| |
practicing, developing: This is the effort of the practice. |
| |
The mind contemplates, talks to itself about whatâs happening inside it. |
| |
These sorts of things: When the mind uproots a world, |
| |
it keeps moving inward, moving inward. |
| |
At this point all the knowers, when they know, |
| |
simply know without reacting. |
| |
Their knowledge is equal to things, totally clear, |
| |
and they donât take part in anything at all. |
| |
Theyâre not slaves to anyone. |
| |
They donât take part in anything. |
| |
They know, but they donât take. |
| |
They know and put things down. |
| |
They know and let go. |
| |
Thereâs still pleasure there, thereâs still painâwhatever there is, |
| |
itâs still there, but the mind doesnât take it up. |
| |
When we see this, we know: Oh. |
| |
This is what the mind is like; this is what preoccupations are like. |
| |
The mind separates from preoccupations. |
| |
Preoccupations separate from the mind. |
| |
The mind is the mind. |
| |
Preoccupations are preoccupations. |
| |
When youâre aware of both these things, |
| |
then when they make contact, you know right then. |
| |
When the mind makes contact with preoccupations, |
| |
you know right then. |
| |
When the practice of a yogÄvacara senses this at all timesâwhether standing, |
| |
walking, sitting, or lying downâthatâs called practicing the practice in the shape of a circle. |
| |
Itâs right practice. |
| |
We donât lose presence of mind. |
| |
We donât look simply at crude things. |
| |
We look inwardly at things that are refined. |
| |
We put external matters aside and watch just the mind and the body, |
| |
or just the mind and its preoccupations. |
| |
We watch them arise, watch them disband, |
| |
watch them arise and disband, watch them disband and ariseâdisbanding, |
| |
arising, arising, disbanding, disbanding and then arising, |
| |
arising and then disbandingâuntil ultimately we watch just the disbanding: khaya-vaya, |
| |
ending, disintegrating. |
| |
Ending and disintegrating are their normal nature. |
| |
When the mind is like this, it doesnât trace things anywhere. |
| |
Itâs up on what itâs doing. |
| |
When it sees, it simply sees, thatâs all. |
| |
When it knows, it simply knows, thatâs all. |
| |
It does this on its own. |
| |
This is something that canât be fabricated. |
| |
So donât go groping around in your practice. |
| |
Donât have any doubts. |
| |
This applies to your following the precepts, |
| |
as Iâve already said. |
| |
Contemplate to see whatâs wrong and whatâs not. |
| |
When youâve seen that itâs wrong, abandon it. |
| |
Donât have any doubts. |
| |
The same with your concentration: Keep making the mind quiet, |
| |
making it peaceful. |
| |
If there are thoughts, donât worry about it. |
| |
If there are no thoughts, donât worry about it. |
| |
Get acquainted with the workings of the mind. |
| |
Some people want the mind to be peaceful but they donât understand peace. |
| |
They donât understand the peace of the mind. |
| |
There are two kinds of peace: the peace of concentration and the peace of discernment. |
| |
The peace of concentration is deluded, |
| |
very deluded. |
| |
The peace of concentration comes when the mind grows still from |
| |
not having any preoccupationsâand then it gets stuck on the pleasure. |
| |
But when it meets up with preoccupations, |
| |
it crumbles. |
| |
Itâs afraid of preoccupations, afraid of pleasure, |
| |
afraid of pain, afraid of criticism, |
| |
afraid of praise, afraid of sights, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes. |
| |
This kind of concentration is afraid of everything. |
| |
Once you gain it, you donât want to come out to the rest of the world. |
| |
A person with this kind of concentration stays only in caves, |
| |
feeding on pleasure, and doesnât want to come out. |
| |
Wherever itâs quiet, thatâs where he goes to hide out. |
| |
Itâs really stressful, this kind of concentration. |
| |
You canât come out and live with other people. |
| |
You canât stand to look at sights, listen to soundsâyou canât stand to experience anything. |
| |
You have to keep staying in a quiet place; you canât let anyone speak. |
| |
The place has to be quiet. |
| |
This kind of peace is useless. |
| |
When you reach that level of peace, you have to come out. |
| |
The Buddha never said to practice in that way. |
| |
If youâre practicing in that way, stop. |
| |
When youâre peaceful, come out to contemplate. |
| |
Use the peace of the mind to contemplate. |
| |
Apply it to preoccupations. |
| |
Use it to contemplate sights, sounds, |
| |
smells, tastes, tactile sensations, |
| |
and ideas. |
| |
First come out and then use the peace to contemplate. |
| |
For instance, you can contemplate hair of the head, |
| |
hair of the body, nails, teeth, skinâthese kinds of things. |
| |
Contemplate inconstancy, stress, and not-self. |
| |
Contemplate the entire world. |
| |
Once youâve used the peace of the mind to contemplate, |
| |
then when the time comes to be quiet, |
| |
sit in concentration and let the mind grow peaceful inwardly. |
| |
Then bring the peace out again to contemplate. |
| |
Use it to train yourself, to cleanse the mind, |
| |
to contend with things. |
| |
When you develop awareness, bring it out to contend with things. |
| |
Use it to train yourself, to practiceâbecause if your awareness stays only in there, |
| |
you wonât know anything. |
| |
It simply pacifies the mind. |
| |
Keep bringing it out to contemplate whatâs outside and then let it go back in to be quiet, |
| |
like this over and over again until the mindâs big level of peace arises. |
| |
As for the peace of discernment: When the mind is peaceful and then comes out, |
| |
discernment isnât afraid of sights, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, |
| |
or ideas. |
| |
Itâs fearless. |
| |
As soon as these things make contact, |
| |
it knows them. |
| |
As soon as they make contact, it discards them, |
| |
puts them down, lets them go. |
| |
This is the peace of discernment. |
| |
When the mind reaches this stage, itâs more refined than the peace of concentration. |
| |
It has lots of strength. |
| |
When it has lots of strength, it doesnât run away. |
| |
When it has strength, itâs not afraid. |
| |
Before, we were afraid of these things, |
| |
but now that we know them, weâre not afraid. |
| |
We know our strength. |
| |
When we see a sight, we contemplate the sight. |
| |
When we hear a sound, we contemplate the sound. |
| |
Thatâs because we can contemplate. |
| |
We can hold our ground. |
| |
Weâre fearless. |
| |
Brave. |
| |
Whatever the manifestations of things like sights, |
| |
sounds, or smells, when we see them today, |
| |
we let them go today. |
| |
Whatever they are, we can let them all go. |
| |
We see pleasure, we let it go. |
| |
We see pain, we let it go. |
| |
Wherever we see these things, we let them go right there. |
| |
Mmm. |
| |
We let them go right there, discard them right there, |
| |
continually. |
| |
We donât take up anything as a preoccupation. |
| |
We leave things where they are. |
| |
Weâve come to our home. |
| |
When we see something, we discard it. |
| |
Whatever we see, we look. |
| |
When weâve looked, we let go. |
| |
All these things come to have no value. |
| |
They canât do anything to us. |
| |
This is the strength of insight (vipassanÄ). |
| |
When we reach this stage, we change the name to âinsight.â |
| |
We see things clearly in line with the truth. |
| |
Thatâs it: We see things clearly in line with the truth. |
| |
This is a higher level of peace: the peace of insight. |
| |
The peace that comes through concentration is hard. |
| |
Itâs really hard, for itâs really afraid. |
| |
So when the mind is fully peaceful, what do you do? |
| |
You bring it out to train, to contemplate. |
| |
Donât be afraid. |
| |
Donât stay stuck. |
| |
When you do concentration, you tend to get stuck on nothing but pleasure. |
| |
Yet you canât just sit there and do nothing. |
| |
Come out. |
| |
When thereâs a battle, youâre taught to fight. |
| |
You canât just stay in a foxhole and avoid the bullets. |
| |
When the time comes really to do battle, |
| |
when the guns are firingâboom! |
| |
boom!âthen if youâre in a foxhole, youâve got to come out. |
| |
When the time really comes, you canât fight by crouching in a foxhole. |
| |
Itâs the same here. |
| |
You canât let the mind stay there cowering. |
| |
This is what you have to pass through in the beginning stages with virtue and concentration. |
| |
You have to train yourself to explore in line with the established maps and methods. |
| |
Thatâs the path you have to follow. |
| |
At any rate, what Iâve told you here is just a sketch. |
| |
When you practice, donât have any doubts. |
| |
Donât doubt these instructions. |
| |
When thereâs pleasure, look at pleasure. |
| |
When thereâs pain, look at pain. |
| |
As you look at it, try to grind it down, |
| |
kill it, put it down, let it go. |
| |
When you know preoccupations, keep letting them go. |
| |
Whether you want to sit in concentration, |
| |
do walking meditation, or think about things, |
| |
it doesnât matter. |
| |
Try to make your awareness up to the moment, |
| |
equal to whatâs going on in the mind. |
| |
If youâre thinking a lot, gather all your thoughts together and cut them off in this way: âThe things youâre thinking, |
| |
the things youâre describing are nothing but thoughts, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
All these things are inconstant, stressful, |
| |
and not-self. |
| |
None of them are for sure.â |
| |
Discard them right then and there. |
| |
A talk given to a visiting monk who was getting discouraged in his practice. |
| |
WHEN IT COMES TO THE DHAMMA, we have to understand that our opinions are one thing; the Dhamma is something else. |
| |
As for the practice, start out by establishing your powers of endurance and then contemplate. |
| |
Contemplate your activities, your comings and goings. |
| |
Contemplate what youâre up to. |
| |
Whatever arises, the Buddha has us know all around. |
| |
Whatever direction things come in from, |
| |
he has us know all around. |
| |
If we know all around, whatever comes at us from this way, |
| |
we see it. |
| |
Whatever comes at us from that way, we see it. |
| |
Right we know. |
| |
Wrong we know. |
| |
Happy we know. |
| |
Glad we know. |
| |
We know all around. |
| |
But our minds, when they contemplate, |
| |
arenât yet all around. |
| |
We know just this side but leave that side wide open. |
| |
Itâs like putting a fence around a field or a house but it doesnât go all around. |
| |
If we put it up just on this side, thieves will come in that side, |
| |
the side that the fence hasnât gone around. |
| |
Why is that? |
| |
We havenât closed the gate. |
| |
Our fence isnât yet good. |
| |
Itâs normal that theyâll have to come through that opening. |
| |
So we contemplate again, adding more fence, |
| |
closing things off, continually. |
| |
Putting up a fence means establishing mindfulness and always being alert. |
| |
If we do this, the Dhamma wonât go anywhere else. |
| |
Itâll come right here. |
| |
Good and bad, the Dhamma we should see and should know, |
| |
will arise right here. |
| |
As for whatever we donât need to know, |
| |
we let it go for the time being. |
| |
We donât waste our time with the logs we arenât yet strong enough to lift. |
| |
Wait until we have a tractor or a ten-wheel truck before trying to move them. |
| |
Focus for the time being just on the things you can lift. |
| |
Keep at it, using your powers of endurance, |
| |
bit by bit. |
| |
If you stick with this steadily, your happy moods and sad moods, |
| |
your desirable moods and undesirable moods, |
| |
will all come in right there. |
| |
Thatâs when you get to watch them. |
| |
Your moods and preoccupations are one thing; the mind is something else. |
| |
Theyâre two different kinds of things. |
| |
Usually when a mood hits, one that we like, |
| |
we go running after it. |
| |
If itâs one we donât like, we turn our backs on it. |
| |
When this is the case, we donât see our own mind. |
| |
We just keep running after our moods. |
| |
The mood is the mood; the mind is the mind. |
| |
You have to separate them out to see what the mind is like, |
| |
what the mood is like. |
| |
As when weâre sitting here still: We feel at ease. |
| |
But if someone comes along and insults us, |
| |
we go running after the mood. |
| |
Weâve left our spot. |
| |
The mind that gets deluded by the mood goes running after the mood. |
| |
We become a moody person, a person who panders to his moods. |
| |
You have to understand that all your moods are lies. |
| |
Thereâs nothing true to them at all. |
| |
Theyâre far from the Buddhaâs teachings. |
| |
All they can do is lie to us about everything of every sort. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to meditate to see their truthâthe truth of the world. |
| |
The world is our moods, our preoccupations. |
| |
Our preoccupations are the world. |
| |
If we arenât acquainted with the Dhamma, |
| |
arenât acquainted with the mind, arenât acquainted with our preoccupations, |
| |
we grab onto the mind and its preoccupations and get them all mixed up. |
| |
âWhew! |
| |
My mind feels no ease.â |
| |
Itâs like you have many minds, and theyâre all in a turmoil. |
| |
Actually, thatâs not the case. |
| |
You donât have many minds. |
| |
You have many moods and preoccupations. |
| |
Weâre not acquainted with our own mind, |
| |
so we keep running after our preoccupations. |
| |
If you sit meditating like that, things just keep running along in that way. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to look at things right there, |
| |
right where they arise. |
| |
When they arise, they donât stay. |
| |
They disband. |
| |
They disband and then they arise. |
| |
When they arise, they disbandâbut we donât want them to be that way. |
| |
When the mind is quiet, we want it to keep on being quiet. |
| |
We donât want it to get stirred up. |
| |
We want to be at our ease. |
| |
Our views are in opposition to the truth. |
| |
The Buddha taught us first to see these things all around, |
| |
from all sides. |
| |
Only then will the mind really be quiet and still. |
| |
As long as we donât know these things, |
| |
as long as we donât understand our moods, |
| |
we become a moody person. |
| |
We lay claim to our moods. |
| |
This turns into stubbornness and pride. |
| |
When we see this happening, the Buddha tells us to turn our attention |
| |
to contemplating right there: âThis kind of thinking is thinking; |
| |
this kind of knowing is knowing; when things are like this, |
| |
theyâre like this.â |
| |
Tell yourself that these things simply follow their own nature. |
| |
This is what moods are like. |
| |
This is what the mind is like. |
| |
When this is the way things are, what can you do to be at your ease? |
| |
What can you do to be at your ease? |
| |
Well, just contemplate right there. |
| |
We donât want things to be like that: Thatâs the reason for our discomfort. |
| |
No matter where you go to run away from these things, |
| |
theyâre still just like that. |
| |
So we should understand that these things are just the way they are, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
Thatâs the truth. |
| |
To put it simply, thatâs the Buddha, but we donât see him there. |
| |
We think itâs Devadatta, not the Buddha at all. |
| |
The inconstancy of the Dhammaâinconstancy, |
| |
stress, and not-self: Thereâs nothing wrong with these things. |
| |
Theyâre just the way they are. |
| |
We place too many labels and intentions on them. |
| |
When you can see that happening, itâs really good. |
| |
To put in simple terms: Suppose that when you sit in concentration today the mind is still. |
| |
You think to yourself, âMmm. |
| |
This is really nice.â |
| |
Just sitting there, you feel at ease. |
| |
This keeps up for two or three days. |
| |
âMmm. |
| |
I really like this.â |
| |
Then the next day when you sit down to meditate, |
| |
itâs like sitting on a red antsâ nest. |
| |
You canât stay seated. |
| |
Nothing works. |
| |
Youâre all upset. |
| |
You ask yourself, âWhy isnât it like the other day? |
| |
Why was it so comfortable then?â |
| |
You canât stop thinking about the other day. |
| |
You want it to be like the other day. |
| |
Right there is where youâre deluded. |
| |
Preoccupations change. |
| |
Theyâre not constant or sure; theyâre not stable. |
| |
They just keep following their nature. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to see that thatâs the way they are. |
| |
Whatever arises is just old stuff coming back. |
| |
Thereâs nothing to it, but we fix labels and make rules about things: âThis I like. |
| |
This I donât like.â |
| |
Whatever we like makes us happyâhappy because of our delusion: happy because of our delusion, |
| |
not happy because itâs right. |
| |
When the mind is quiet, the Buddha tells us not to be intoxicated by it. |
| |
When itâs distracted, he tells us not to be intoxicated by it. |
| |
Things happen in all kinds of ways. |
| |
Thereâs addition, subtraction, multiplication, |
| |
and division. |
| |
Thatâs how we can calculate numbers, but we want there to be just multiplication so that we can have lots of everything. |
| |
We want to do away with addition, do away with subtraction, |
| |
do away with divisionâand our calculations will all be stupid. |
| |
If we had nothing but multiplication, |
| |
would we have any space to put everything? |
| |
If thatâs how we think, weâll stay in a turmoil. |
| |
The Buddha said that that sort of thinking has no discernment. |
| |
Stillness of mindâtranquilityâcomes from being far away from preoccupations. |
| |
If you donât hear much of anything, the mind settles down and is still. |
| |
To get this kind of stillness, you have to go off into seclusion, |
| |
to a place thatâs quiet and still. |
| |
If you can get away from your preoccupations, |
| |
not seeing this, not knowing about that, |
| |
the mind can settle down. |
| |
But thatâs like a disease, a disease like cancer. |
| |
Thereâs a swelling but it doesnât yet hurt. |
| |
Itâs not yet tormenting us, it doesnât yet hurt, |
| |
so we seem to be wellâas if there were no defilements in the mind. |
| |
Thatâs what the mind is like at times like that. |
| |
As long as you stay there, itâs quiet. |
| |
But when it comes out to look at sights and hear sounds, |
| |
thatâs the end of it. |
| |
Itâs not at its ease anymore. |
| |
How can you keep on staying alone like that so as not to see sights, |
| |
hear sounds, smell aromas, taste flavors, |
| |
or touch tactile sensations? |
| |
Where can you go? |
| |
Thereâs no place in the world like that at all. |
| |
The Buddha wanted us to see sights, hear sounds, |
| |
smell aromas, taste flavors, or touch tactile sensations: hot, |
| |
cold, hard, soft. |
| |
He wanted us to be acquainted with everything. |
| |
He didnât want us to run away and hide. |
| |
He wanted us to look and, when weâve looked, |
| |
to understand: âOh. |
| |
Thatâs the way these things are.â |
| |
He told us to give rise to discernment. |
| |
How do we give rise to discernment? |
| |
The Buddha said that itâs not hardâif we keep at it. |
| |
When distractions arise: âOh. |
| |
Itâs not for sure. |
| |
Itâs inconstant.â |
| |
When the mind is still, donât say, âOh. |
| |
Itâs really nice and still.â |
| |
That, too, isnât for sure. |
| |
If you donât believe me, give it a try. |
| |
Suppose that you like a certain kind of food and you say, |
| |
âBoy, do I really like this food!â |
| |
Try eating it every day. |
| |
How many months could you keep it up? |
| |
It wonât be too long before you say, âEnough. |
| |
Iâm sick and tired of this.â |
| |
Understand? |
| |
âIâm really sick and tired of this.â |
| |
Youâre sick and tired of what you liked. |
| |
We depend on change in order to live, |
| |
so just acquaint yourself with the fact that itâs all inconstant. |
| |
Pleasure isnât for sure; pain isnât for sure; happiness isnât for sure; stillness isnât for sure, |
| |
distraction isnât for sure. |
| |
Whatever, it all isnât for sure. |
| |
Whatever arises, you should tell it: âDonât try to fool me. |
| |
Youâre not for sure.â |
| |
That way everything loses its value. |
| |
If you can think in that way, itâs really good. |
| |
The things you donât like are all not for sure. |
| |
Everything that comes along isnât for sure. |
| |
Itâs as if they were trying to sell you things, |
| |
but everything has the same price: Itâs not for sureânot for sure in any way at all. |
| |
In other words, itâs inconstant. |
| |
It keeps moving back and forth. |
| |
To put it simply, thatâs the Buddha. |
| |
Inconstancy means that nothingâs for sure. |
| |
Thatâs the truth. |
| |
Why donât we see the truth? |
| |
Because we havenât looked to see it clearly. |
| |
âWhoever sees the Dhamma sees the Buddha.â |
| |
If you see the inconstancy of each and every thing, |
| |
you give rise to nibbidÄ: disenchantment. |
| |
âThatâs all this is: no big deal. |
| |
Thatâs all that is: no big deal.â |
| |
The concentration in the mind isâno big deal. |
| |
When you can do that, itâs no longer hard to contemplate. |
| |
Whatever the preoccupation, you can say in your mind, |
| |
âNo big deal,â and it stops right there. |
| |
Everything becomes empty and in vain: everything thatâs unsteady, |
| |
inconstant. |
| |
It moves around and changes. |
| |
Itâs inconstant, stressful, and not-self. |
| |
Itâs not for sure. |
| |
Itâs like a piece of iron thatâs been heated until itâs red and glowing: Does it have any spot where itâs cool? |
| |
Try touching it. |
| |
If you touch it on top, itâs hot. |
| |
If you touch it underneath, itâs hot. |
| |
If you touch it on the sides, itâs hot. |
| |
Why is it hot? |
| |
Because the whole thing is a piece of red-hot iron. |
| |
Where could it have a cool spot? |
| |
Thatâs the way it is. |
| |
When thatâs the way it is, we donât have to go touching it. |
| |
We know itâs hot. |
| |
If you think that âThis is good; I really like it,â donât give it your seal of guarantee. |
| |
Itâs a red-hot piece of iron. |
| |
Wherever you touch it, wherever you hold onto it, |
| |
itâll immediately burn you in every way. |
| |
So keep on contemplating. |
| |
Whether youâre standing or walking or whateverâeven when youâre on the toilet or on your almsround: When you eat, |
| |
donât make it a big deal. |
| |
When the food comes out the other end, |
| |
donât make it a big deal. |
| |
Whatever it is, itâs inconstant. |
| |
Itâs not for sure. |
| |
Itâs not truthful in any way. |
| |
Itâs like touching a red-hot piece of iron. |
| |
You donât know where you can touch it because itâs hot all over. |
| |
So you just stop touching it. |
| |
âThis is inconstant. |
| |
Thatâs inconstant.â |
| |
Nothing at all is for sure. |
| |
Even our thoughts are inconstant. |
| |
Why are they inconstant? |
| |
Theyâre not-self. |
| |
Theyâre not ours. |
| |
They have to be the way they are. |
| |
Theyâre unstable and inconstant. |
| |
Boil everything down to that. |
| |
Whatever you like isnât for sure. |
| |
No matter how much you like it, it isnât for sure. |
| |
Whatever the preoccupation, no matter how much you like it, |
| |
you have to tell yourself, âThis isnât for sure. |
| |
This is unstable and inconstant.â |
| |
And keep on watchingâŠ. |
| |
Like this glass: Itâs really pretty. |
| |
You want to put it away so that it doesnât break. |
| |
But itâs not for sure. |
| |
One day you put it right next to yourself and then, |
| |
when you reach for something, you hit it by mistake. |
| |
It falls to the floor and breaks. |
| |
Itâs not for sure. |
| |
If it doesnât break today, itâll break tomorrow. |
| |
If it doesnât break tomorrow, itâll break the next dayâfor itâs breakable. |
| |
Weâre taught not to place our trust in things like this, |
| |
because theyâre inconstant. |
| |
Things that are inconstant: The Buddha taught that theyâre the truth. |
| |
Think about it. |
| |
If you see that thereâs no truth to things, |
| |
thatâs the truth. |
| |
Thatâs constant. |
| |
For sure. |
| |
When thereâs birth, there has to be aging, |
| |
illness, and death. |
| |
Thatâs something constant and for sure. |
| |
Whatâs constant comes from things that arenât constant. |
| |
We say that things are inconstant and not for sureâand that turns |
| |
everything around: Thatâs whatâs constant and for sure. |
| |
It doesnât change. |
| |
How is it constant? |
| |
Itâs constant in that thatâs the way things keep on being. |
| |
Even if you try to get in the way, you donât have an effect. |
| |
Things just keep on being that way. |
| |
They arise and then they disband, disband and then arise. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is with inconstancy. |
| |
Thatâs how it becomes the truth. |
| |
The Buddha and his noble disciples awakened because of inconstant things. |
| |
When you see inconstancy, the result is nibbidÄ: disenchantment. |
| |
Disenchantment isnât disgust, you know. |
| |
If you feel disgust, thatâs wrong, the wrong kind of disenchantment. |
| |
Disenchantment isnât like our normal disgust. |
| |
For example, if you live with your wife and children to the point where you get sick and tired of them, |
| |
thatâs not disenchantment. |
| |
Itâs actually a big defilement; it squeezes your heart. |
| |
If you run away from things like that, |
| |
itâs being sick and tired because of defilement. |
| |
Thatâs not nibbidÄ. |
| |
Itâs actually a heavy defilement, but we think itâs disenchantment. |
| |
Suppose that youâre kind to people. |
| |
Whatever you have, you want to give to them. |
| |
You sympathize with them, you see that theyâre pretty and lovely and good to you. |
| |
Your defilements are now coming around from the other side. |
| |
Watch out! |
| |
Thatâs not kindness through the Dhamma; itâs selfish kindness. |
| |
You want something out of them, which is why youâre kind to them. |
| |
Itâs the same with disenchantment. |
| |
âIâm sick and tired of this. |
| |
Iâm not going to stay any longer. |
| |
Iâm fed up.â |
| |
Thatâs not right at all. |
| |
Itâs a big defilement. |
| |
Itâs disenchantment only in name. |
| |
The Buddhaâs disenchantment is something else: leaving things alone, |
| |
putting them down. |
| |
You donât kill them, you donât beat them, |
| |
you donât punish them, youâre not nice to them. |
| |
You just put them down. |
| |
Everything. |
| |
The same with everything. |
| |
Thatâs how it has to be. |
| |
Only then can you say that your mind has let go, |
| |
that itâs empty: empty of clinging, |
| |
empty of attachment. |
| |
Emptiness doesnât mean nobody exists. |
| |
Or like this glass: Itâs not the case that it has to not exist for us to say that itâs empty. |
| |
This thermos exists; people exist; everything exists, |
| |
but those who know feel in their hearts that these things are truths, |
| |
theyâre not for sure, they simply follow their conditions: Theyâre dhammas that arise and disband, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
Take this thermos: If we like it, it doesnât react or say anything. |
| |
The liking is all on our side. |
| |
Even if we hate it and throw it into the woods, |
| |
it still doesnât react. |
| |
It doesnât respond to us. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because itâs just the way it is. |
| |
We like it or dislike it because of our own attachment. |
| |
We see that itâs good or no good. |
| |
The view that itâs good squeezes our heart. |
| |
The view that itâs no good squeezes our heart. |
| |
Both are defilements. |
| |
So you donât have to run away from things like this. |
| |
Just understand this principle and keep contemplating. |
| |
Thatâs all there is to it. |
| |
The mind will see that these things are no big deal. |
| |
Theyâre just the way they are. |
| |
If we hate them, they donât respond. |
| |
If we like them, they donât respond. |
| |
Weâre simply crazy of our own accord. |
| |
Nothing disturbs us, but we get all worked up. |
| |
Try to see everything in this way. |
| |
Itâs the same with the body; itâs the same with the mind; itâs |
| |
the same with the moods and preoccupations that make contact: See them as inconstant, |
| |
stressful, and not-self. |
| |
Theyâre just the way they are. |
| |
We suffer because we donât want them to be that way. |
| |
We want to get things that we simply canât get. |
| |
Is there something you want? |
| |
âI guess itâs like when I want concentration. |
| |
I want the mind to be quiet.â |
| |
Okay, itâs true that you want that. |
| |
But whatâs the cause that keeps your mind from being quiet? |
| |
The Buddha says that all things arise from causes, |
| |
but we want just the results. |
| |
We eat watermelons but weâve never planted any watermelons. |
| |
We donât know where they come from. |
| |
We see when theyâre sliced open and theyâre nice and red: âMmm. |
| |
Looks sweet.â |
| |
We try eating them, and they taste good and sweet, |
| |
but thatâs all we know. |
| |
Why watermelons are the way they are, |
| |
we have no idea. |
| |
Thatâs because we arenât all-around. |
| |
All-around in what way? |
| |
Itâs like watering vegetables. |
| |
Wherever we forget to water doesnât grow. |
| |
Wherever we forget to give fertilizer doesnât grow. |
| |
Contemplate this principle and youâll give rise to discernment. |
| |
When youâve finished with things outside, |
| |
you look at your own mind. |
| |
Look at the affairs of your body and mind. |
| |
Now that weâre born, why do we suffer? |
| |
We suffer from the same old things, but we havenât thought them through. |
| |
We donât know them thoroughly. |
| |
We suffer but we donât really see suffering. |
| |
When we live at home, we suffer from our wife and children, |
| |
but no matter how much we suffer, we donât really see sufferingâso we keep on suffering. |
| |
Itâs the same when the mind doesnât get concentrated. |
| |
We donât know why it wonât get concentrated. |
| |
We donât really see whatâs actually arising. |
| |
The Buddha told us to look for the causes of whatâs arising. |
| |
All things arise from causes. |
| |
Itâs like putting water in a bottle and giving it to someone to drink. |
| |
Once heâs finished drinking it, heâll have to come back and ask for moreâfor the water isnât water in a spring. |
| |
Itâs water in a bottle. |
| |
But if you show the spring to the person and tell him to get water there, |
| |
he can sit there and keep on drinking water and wonât ask you for any more, |
| |
for the water never runs out. |
| |
Itâs the same when we see inconstancy, |
| |
stress, and not-self. |
| |
It goes deep, for we really know, we know all the way in. |
| |
Ordinary knowledge doesnât know all the way in. |
| |
If we know all the way in, it never grows stale. |
| |
Whatever arises, itâs already right. |
| |
When it disbands, itâs already right. |
| |
As a result, itâs right without stop. |
| |
The view that says, âThatâs the way it is. |
| |
Itâs right the way it isâ: Thatâs when youâve got it. |
| |
Thatâs when youâre skilled and at ease. |
| |
You donât have to suffer. |
| |
The problems that we get involved with and cling to will gradually unravel. |
| |
As the Buddha said, see simply that things arise and then disband, |
| |
disband and then arise, arise and then disband. |
| |
Keep watching this Dhamma constantly, |
| |
doing it constantly, developing it constantly, |
| |
cultivating it constantly, and youâll arrive at a sense of disenchantment. |
| |
Disenchanted with what? |
| |
Disenchanted with everything of every sort. |
| |
The things that come by way of the ears, |
| |
we already understand them; by way of the eyes, |
| |
we already understand them; by way of the nose, |
| |
we already understand them; by way of the tongue, |
| |
we already understand them. |
| |
The things that arise at the mind, we already understand them. |
| |
Theyâre all the same sort of thingâall of them, |
| |
the same sort of thing: eko dhammo, |
| |
one Dhamma. |
| |
This Dhamma is inconstant, stressful, |
| |
and not-self. |
| |
You shouldnât cling to anything at all. |
| |
That way, disenchantment will arise. |
| |
When the eye sees a form, you already understand it. |
| |
When the ear hears a sound, you already understand it. |
| |
You understand all about it. |
| |
These things will sometimes make us happy, |
| |
sometimes sad, sometimes make us feel love, |
| |
sometimes make us feel hatred. |
| |
We already know all about these sorts of things. |
| |
If we cling to them, they turn into issues. |
| |
If we let them goâlet forms go the way of forms, |
| |
sounds the way of soundsâif we send them back and let them go their own way: When we can stay at this level, |
| |
the Buddha said that weâll see all about inconstancy. |
| |
Whatever the preoccupations that arise, |
| |
theyâre all empty and in vain. |
| |
Theyâre all deceptions. |
| |
When we see through the things that used to deceive usâwhen weâre intent on staying at ease, |
| |
mindful, alert, and discerningâitâs not that we see anything else. |
| |
We simply see that all the preoccupations that arise are simply the way they are. |
| |
Even if, while weâre sitting perfectly still, |
| |
the mind thinks about this or that, |
| |
it doesnât matter. |
| |
Itâs just an affair of thinking. |
| |
You donât have to believe what itâs thinking about. |
| |
If the mind is peaceful and you feel, |
| |
âAh, itâs nice and peaceful,â the peace doesnât matter, |
| |
either. |
| |
Peace is inconstant, too. |
| |
Thereâs nothing but things that are inconstant. |
| |
You can sit and watch the Dhamma right there. |
| |
Discernment arises: What reason is there to suffer? |
| |
We suffer over things that never amount to much. |
| |
We want to get this, we want it to be like that, |
| |
we want to be something. |
| |
If you want to be an arahant, you immediately suffer, |
| |
right here and now. |
| |
Arahants have stopped wanting to be like this or like that, |
| |
but we want to get this and get that, |
| |
to be this and be thatâso weâre sure to suffer. |
| |
If you see that this spot is good or that spot is excellent, |
| |
it all comes out of you. |
| |
If you see yourself, thatâs the end of saying things like that. |
| |
Iâll give you a simple comparison. |
| |
This food is good. |
| |
This tray is worth this many hundreds; that tray, |
| |
this many tens. |
| |
Theyâre all nothing but good things. |
| |
When theyâre on plates: âThis is mine. |
| |
This is yours.â |
| |
But when theyâve gone into the stomach and come out the other end, |
| |
nobody argues over whose is whoseâor would you still want to argue? |
| |
Thatâs what itâs like. |
| |
When youâre willing to admit the way things are, |
| |
thatâs just what itâs like. |
| |
If we donât really understand, we argue over whatâs mine and whatâs yours. |
| |
But when they all come together as the same sort of thing, |
| |
nobody lays any claims. |
| |
Theyâre simply the condition they are. |
| |
No matter how wonderful the food might be, |
| |
when it comes out the other end, if you wanted to give it as a gift to your brothers and sisters, |
| |
no one would want itâor would you still want it? |
| |
Nobody would fight over it at all. |
| |
For this reason, if we gather things together as eko dhammoâone |
| |
single dhammaâand see that their characteristics are all the same, |
| |
it gives rise to disenchantment. |
| |
This disenchantment isnât disgust. |
| |
The mind simply loosens its grip, itâs had enough, |
| |
itâs empty, itâs sobered up. |
| |
Thereâs no love, no hatred, no fixating on anything. |
| |
If you have things, okay. |
| |
If you donât, itâs still okay. |
| |
Youâre at ease. |
| |
At peace. |
| |
NibbÄnaáč paramaáč sukhaáč |
| |
NibbÄnaáč paramaáč suññaáč. |
| |
NibbÄna is the ultimate happiness. |
| |
NibbÄna is the ultimate peace, emptiness. |
| |
Listen carefully. |
| |
Worldly happiness isnât the ultimate happiness. |
| |
Worldly emptiness isnât the ultimate emptiness. |
| |
The ultimate emptiness is empty of clinging. |
| |
The ultimate happiness is peace. |
| |
Thereâs peace and then thereâs emptiness, |
| |
the ultimate emptiness. |
| |
At the moment, though, the mind is at peace but itâs not ultimate. |
| |
Itâs happy, but itâs not ultimate. |
| |
This is why the Buddha described nibbÄna as the ultimate emptiness, |
| |
its happiness as the ultimate happiness. |
| |
It changes the nature of happiness to be peace. |
| |
Itâs happy but not fixated on any object. |
| |
Pains still exist, but you see the pains and pleasures that arise as equal to each other. |
| |
They have the same price. |
| |
The objects we like and donât like are equal to each other. |
| |
But as for us right now, these things arenât equal. |
| |
The objects we like are really pleasing. |
| |
The objects we donât like, we want to smash. |
| |
That means theyâre not equal. |
| |
But their reality is that theyâre equal. |
| |
So think in a way that makes them equal. |
| |
Theyâre not stable. |
| |
Theyâre not constantâlike the food I mentioned just now. |
| |
âThis is good. |
| |
Thatâs wonderful.â |
| |
But when theyâre all brought together, |
| |
theyâre equal. |
| |
Nobody says, âGive me a little more. |
| |
I didnât get enough.â |
| |
Itâs all been brought together to the way it is. |
| |
If we donât drop the principles of inconstancy, |
| |
stress, and not-self, weâre on the path. |
| |
We see with every moment. |
| |
We see the eye, we see the mind, we see the body. |
| |
Like when you sit in meditation. |
| |
After a moment the mind goes off in a flash, |
| |
so you pull it back. |
| |
No matter what you do, it wonât stay. |
| |
Try holding your breath. |
| |
Will it go away then? |
| |
Yyb! |
| |
It goes, but not far. |
| |
Itâs not going to go now. |
| |
It circles around right hereâbecause your mind feels like itâs about to die. |
| |
The same with sounds. |
| |
I once stuffed my ears with beeswax. |
| |
Noises bothered me, so I stuffed my ears. |
| |
Things were totally quiet, with just the sound from within my ears themselves. |
| |
Why did I do it? |
| |
I contemplated what I was doing; I didnât torment myself just out of stupidity. |
| |
I thought about the matter. |
| |
âOh. |
| |
If people could become noble ones from not hearing anything, |
| |
then every deaf person would be a noble one. |
| |
Every blind person would be a noble one. |
| |
Theyâd all be arahants.â |
| |
So I listened to my thoughts, andâOh!âdiscernment arose. |
| |
âIs there any use in stuffing your ears? |
| |
In closing your eyes? |
| |
Itâs self-torment.â |
| |
But I did learn from it. |
| |
I learned and then stopped doing it. |
| |
I stopped trying to close things off. |
| |
Donât go wrestling and attacking, donât go cutting down the trunks of trees that have already died. |
| |
It gets you nowhere. |
| |
You end up tired and stand there looking like a fool. |
| |
They were such a waste, such a real waste, |
| |
my early years as a meditator. |
| |
When I think about them, I see that I was really deluded. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to meditate to gain release from suffering, |
| |
but I simply scooped up more suffering for myself. |
| |
I couldnât sit in peace, couldnât lie down in peace. |
| |
The reason we live in physical seclusion (kÄya-viveka) is to |
| |
get the mind in mental seclusion (citta-viveka) from the objects that stir up its moods. |
| |
These things are synonyms that follow one after the other. |
| |
Upadhi-viveka refers to seclusion from our defilements: When we know whatâs what, |
| |
we can pull out of them; we pull out from whatever the state the mind is in. |
| |
This is the only purpose of physical seclusion. |
| |
If you donât have any discernment, you can create difficulties for yourself when you go off into physical seclusion. |
| |
When you go live in the wilderness, donât get stuck on the wilderness. |
| |
If you get stuck on the wilderness, you become a monkey. |
| |
When you see the trees, you miss the trees. |
| |
You start jumping around just like the monkey you were before. |
| |
The Buddha never taught us to be this or be that. |
| |
When you live in a peaceful place, the mind becomes peaceful. |
| |
âMmm. |
| |
Peace at last. |
| |
The mind is at peace.â |
| |
But when you leave the wilderness, is the mind at peace? |
| |
Not any more. |
| |
So what do you do then? |
| |
The Buddha didnât have us stay in the wilderness. |
| |
He had us use the wilderness as a place to train. |
| |
You go to the wilderness to find some peace so that your meditation will develop, |
| |
so that youâll develop discernment. |
| |
Thatâs so that when you go into the city and deal with people, |
| |
with sights, sounds, smells, tastes, |
| |
and tactile sensations, youâll have strength, |
| |
youâll have your strategies. |
| |
Youâll have your firm foundation for contemplating things, |
| |
to see how theyâre not for sure. |
| |
Going to the wilderness in this way is something that can really help give you strength. |
| |
If you think that you can live anywhere, |
| |
that you can live with lots of people, |
| |
itâs like a knife with a double-edged blade. |
| |
If you donât have inner strength, you can create difficulties for yourself. |
| |
Itâs like monks who study the Abhidhamma. |
| |
They say that when you study the Abhidhamma you donât have to cling to anything, |
| |
donât have to fixate on anything. |
| |
Itâs nice and easy. |
| |
You donât have to observe the precepts. |
| |
You just focus right on the mind. |
| |
Thatâs what monks who study the Abhidhamma say. |
| |
âAs for women, whatâs the matter with getting near them? |
| |
Women are just like our mothers. |
| |
We ourselves were born right out of that spot.â |
| |
Thatâs bragging too much. |
| |
They ordained just yesterday and yet they refuse to be careful around women. |
| |
Thatâs not the real Abhidhamma. |
| |
Thatâs not what the Abhidhamma says. |
| |
But they say that the Abhidhamma is on a level higher than the human level. |
| |
âWhen youâre that high, it doesnât matter whether youâre near someone or not. |
| |
Thereâs no near, no far. |
| |
Thereâs nothing to be afraid of. |
| |
Women are people just like us. |
| |
Just pretend that theyâre men. |
| |
That way you can get near them, touch them, |
| |
feel them. |
| |
Just pretend that theyâre men.â |
| |
But is that the sort of thing you can pretend? |
| |
Itâs a double-edged blade. |
| |
If we were talking genuine Abhidhamma, |
| |
there wouldnât be a problem. |
| |
But this Abhidhamma is fake. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to live in the wilderness. |
| |
The proper way, when a monk goes into the wilderness, |
| |
is to stay in a quiet place; to wander in the quiet wilderness; |
| |
not to be entangled with friends and companions and other sorts of things. |
| |
Thatâs the right way to do it. |
| |
But most of us donât follow the right way. |
| |
We live in a quiet place and get attached to the quiet. |
| |
As soon as we see a form, it gives rise to defilement. |
| |
In our ears thereâs nothing but defilement. |
| |
Thatâs going too far. |
| |
It lacks discernment. |
| |
If you bring things together, they come together at the pathâthe right path, |
| |
or right view. |
| |
Thatâs where things come together. |
| |
If you have right view, you can live with a large group of people and thereâs no problem. |
| |
You can live with a small group of people and thereâs no problem. |
| |
You can live in the forest or in a cave and thereâs no problem. |
| |
But this is something you canât just attain without any effort. |
| |
You have to get so thatâs the way the mind really is. |
| |
Make the mind know the Dhamma. |
| |
When it knows the Dhamma, make it see the Dhamma. |
| |
Practice the Dhamma so that the mind is Dhamma. |
| |
You donât want to be able just to speak about the Dhamma. |
| |
Itâs something very different. |
| |
The Buddha taught all the way to the truth, |
| |
but we only go halfway, in half measures. |
| |
Thatâs why progress is difficult. |
| |
If we come to live in the wilderness, |
| |
we get to train ourselvesâlike training ourselves to grow rice. |
| |
Once we plant it, it grows gradually. |
| |
If nothing eats it, itâs okay. |
| |
But what happens? |
| |
As soon as the rice grains begin to appear, |
| |
a baby water buffalo comes to eat them. |
| |
We chase it away and look after the plant, |
| |
but as soon as more grains appear the baby water buffalo comes to eat them again, |
| |
keeps on eating as soon as the grains begin to fill out. |
| |
If thatâs the case, how are we going to get any rice? |
| |
The strategies youâll need will grow from within the mind. |
| |
Whoever has discernment gains intuitive knowledge. |
| |
Whoever has intuitive knowledge gains discernment. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is. |
| |
Are intuitive knowledge and discernment different from each other? |
| |
If you say they arenât, why are there two different words? |
| |
One is called intuitive knowledge; one is called discernment. |
| |
Can you have only intuitive knowledge? |
| |
No. You need to have discernment, too. |
| |
Can you have only discernment? |
| |
No. You need to have intuitive knowledge, |
| |
too. |
| |
Whoever has discernment gains intuitive knowledge. |
| |
Whoever has intuitive knowledge gains discernment. |
| |
These things arise from your own experience. |
| |
You canât go looking for them in this book or that. |
| |
They arise in your own mind. |
| |
Donât be timid. |
| |
I once read in a JÄtaka tale about our Buddha when he was still a bodhisatta. |
| |
He was like you: He had ordained and encountered a lot of difficulties, |
| |
but when he thought of disrobing he was ashamed of what other |
| |
people would thinkâthat he had ordained all these years and yet still wanted to disrobe. |
| |
Still, things didnât go the way he wanted, |
| |
so he thought heâd leave. |
| |
He came across a squirrel whose baby had been blown into the ocean by the wind. |
| |
He saw the squirrel running down to the water and then back up again. |
| |
He didnât know what it was doing. |
| |
It ran down to the water and stuck its tail in the water, |
| |
and then ran up to the beach and shook out its tail. |
| |
Then it ran down and stuck its tail in the water again. |
| |
So he asked it, âWhat are you doing?â |
| |
âOh, my baby has fallen into the water. |
| |
I miss it and I want to fetch it out.â |
| |
âHow are you going to do that?â |
| |
âIâm going to use my tail to bail water out of the ocean until itâs dry so that I can fetch my baby out.â |
| |
âOho. |
| |
When will the ocean ever go dry?â |
| |
âThatâs not the issue. |
| |
This is the way it is with the practice. |
| |
You keep bailing out the water, bailing out the water, |
| |
and donât care whether it ever goes dry. |
| |
When youâre going to be a Buddha, you canât abandon your efforts.â |
| |
When the bodhisatta heard this, it flashed in his heart. |
| |
He got up and pushed through with his efforts. |
| |
He didnât retreat. |
| |
Thatâs how he became the Buddha. |
| |
Itâs the same with us. |
| |
Wherever things arenât going well, thatâs where they will go well. |
| |
You make them happen where they arenât yet happening. |
| |
Wherever youâre deluded, thatâs where knowledge will arise. |
| |
If you donât believe me, spit right here. |
| |
Thatâll make it dirty. |
| |
But when you wipe it away, itâll be clean right hereâright where itâs dirty. |
| |
It wonât become clean out there in the grounds of the monastery. |
| |
Keep coming back to the same place over and over again. |
| |
Ajahn Thongrat once said to me, âChah, |
| |
drill the hole right in line with the dowel.â |
| |
Thatâs all he said. |
| |
I had just started practicing and didnât understand what he was saying. |
| |
âIf it comes low, jump over its head.â |
| |
Thatâs what he said. |
| |
âIf it comes high, slip under it.â |
| |
I didnât know what he was saying. |
| |
So I went off to meditate and kept contemplating it. |
| |
Actually, he was telling me how to solve my problems. |
| |
âDrill the hole right in line with the dowelâ means, |
| |
âWherever the problem arises, contemplate right there; wherever youâre deluded, |
| |
contemplate right there. |
| |
If youâre attached to a sight, contemplate the sight. |
| |
Right around right there.â |
| |
Thatâs what it means, âDrill the hole right in line with the dowel.â |
| |
Donât go drilling far away. |
| |
Drill right there at the dowel. |
| |
Itâs the same as when we step on a thorn. |
| |
You take a needle and probe right there where the thorn is. |
| |
Donât go probing anywhere else. |
| |
Probe right where the thorn is stuck in your foot. |
| |
Even if it hurts, you have to endure it. |
| |
Keep probing all around it and then pry it out. |
| |
Thatâs how you get the thorn out. |
| |
If the thorn is stuck in your foot, but you go probing around your rear, |
| |
when will you ever be done with it? |
| |
So I contemplated this. |
| |
âOh. |
| |
Teachers meditate in line with the language of their own minds. |
| |
They donât go groping around in the formulations in the books the way we do. |
| |
Their own formulations arise from reality.â |
| |
So what comes low and what comes high? |
| |
âIf it comes low, jump over its head. |
| |
If it comes high, slip under it.â |
| |
I kept contemplating this. |
| |
Here he was talking about my moods and preoccupations. |
| |
Some of them come low; some of them come high. |
| |
You have to watch them to see how you can avoid them. |
| |
If they come low, jump over their heads. |
| |
If they come high, slip under them. |
| |
Do what you can so that they donât hit you. |
| |
This is the practice. |
| |
You contemplate right where youâre deluded so that youâll know right there. |
| |
Any other issue is just duck shit and chicken shit. |
| |
You donât have to go groping after it. |
| |
Thatâs how you have to take things on in meditation. |
| |
But actually, itâs not a matter of taking. |
| |
You take them on by abandoning them. |
| |
This is how the suppositions of language have things all backwards. |
| |
You let things go. |
| |
You practice letting go. |
| |
You donât have to become a stream-winner or a once-returner. |
| |
You donât have to make those suppositions. |
| |
You donât have to be those things. |
| |
If you are anything, itâs a turmoil. |
| |
If you are this or are that, you are a problem. |
| |
So you donât have to be anything. |
| |
Thereâs nothing but letting goâletting go and then knowing in line with what things do. |
| |
When you know in line with what things do in every way, |
| |
thereâs no more doubt. |
| |
And you arenât anything. |
| |
Think about it in a simple way. |
| |
If someone yells at you but you donât rear up in response, |
| |
thatâs the end of the matter. |
| |
It doesnât reach you. |
| |
But if you grab hold of it and wonât let go, |
| |
youâre in bad shape. |
| |
Why put their words into yourself? |
| |
If they yell at you, just leave it at that. |
| |
But if they yell at you over there in the ordination hall and you bring it into your ears while youâre sitting here, |
| |
itâs as if you like to suffer. |
| |
This is called not understanding suffering. |
| |
You stir things up with your thinking and give rise to all kinds of issues. |
| |
The practice is actually something short, |
| |
and not at all long. |
| |
If you say itâs long, itâs longer than long. |
| |
If you say itâs short, itâs shorter than short. |
| |
When it comes to the practice, you canât use your ordinary ways of thinking. |
| |
You need to have patience and endurance. |
| |
You need to make an effort. |
| |
Whatever happens, you donât have to pick it up and carry it around. |
| |
When things are a certain way, thatâs all they are. |
| |
When we see the Dhamma in this way, we donât hold onto anything. |
| |
Pleasure we know. |
| |
Pain we know. |
| |
The Buddha and his arahant disciples, |
| |
when they gain awakening: Itâs not the case that coconut-milk sweets arenât sweet for them. |
| |
Theyâre sweet in the same way theyâre sweet for us. |
| |
When the noble ones eat a sour tamarind, |
| |
they squeeze their eyes shut just like us. |
| |
Do you understand? |
| |
Things are just the same way they were before, |
| |
simply that noble ones donât hold onto them or get fixated on them. |
| |
If you argue with them that the tamarind is sour, |
| |
theyâll say, âSour is fine. |
| |
Sweet is fine. |
| |
Neither sour nor sweet is fine.â |
| |
Thatâs what theyâll say. |
| |
The same principle applies here. |
| |
When people come and say wrong things, |
| |
we can hear them and it doesnât matter. |
| |
We just leave it at that. |
| |
If you can do this, then even though youâre as old as you are now, |
| |
you can be young. |
| |
You can get a lot younger. |
| |
You donât have to carry these things over your shoulder. |
| |
Iâve seen some old monks wandering dhutaáč
ga-style, |
| |
but I donât know what theyâre going for. |
| |
They carry huge umbrella tents. |
| |
Old monks donât like small umbrella tents the way young monks do, |
| |
you know. |
| |
They like to carry around big umbrella tents. |
| |
In the morning they fold up their umbrella tents. |
| |
As soon as the sun comes up, they fold up their tents. |
| |
They canât leave them up in the open fields to protect themselves from the wind, |
| |
for the tents wonât stand up to the wind. |
| |
So they fold up their tents and carry them off under the hot sun. |
| |
Then in the evening they put their umbrella tents up again. |
| |
I donât know whyâthereâs no more sun. |
| |
They wake up the next day and fold up their tents and carry them off under the hot sun again. |
| |
I did this sort of thing until I got sick and tired of it. |
| |
I went wandering dhutaáč
ga-style but ended up suffering in the jungle. |
| |
Then I realized that it wasnât for the purpose of suffering in the jungle, |
| |
so I kept finding my way out of the jungle. |
| |
Thatâs why I became a find-your-way-out-of-the-jungle monk. |
| |
[Here Ajahn Chah is playing with the Thai words for dhutaáč
ga (thudong), |
| |
suffering in the jungle (thukdong), |
| |
and finding your way through the jungle (thaludong).] |
| |
Actually, the reason why the Buddha taught us to go into the wilderness is for us to gain discernment. |
| |
You encounter suffering, you encounter reality, |
| |
so that you can see and understand it, |
| |
and eventually you get tired of the actions that cause it. |
| |
Itâs not that going into the wilderness isnât good. |
| |
It is good. |
| |
It gives rise to discernment. |
| |
Speaking of dhutaáč
ga, itâs not a matter of slinging your bowl and umbrella tent over your shoulder, |
| |
exposing yourself to the sun and wind until youâre about to die, |
| |
the way farmers go to sell water buffaloes in the Central Plains. |
| |
Itâs a matter of the practice. |
| |
You learn to be content with little. |
| |
You learn a sense of moderation in eating, |
| |
a sense of moderation in sleep. |
| |
You get to grow thin, to make things shrink, |
| |
make them shorter, gather them in well. |
| |
Itâs like casting a net for fish. |
| |
You gather one end firmly under your belt and then you gradually gather the net in, |
| |
gather it in, gradually, gradually. |
| |
You tie off one end and then, when youâve got your fish, |
| |
you quickly tie off the other. |
| |
Tie up the fish behind the gills and youâve got it. |
| |
You donât have to look elsewhere. |
| |
You donât have to read a lot of books. |
| |
Watch your own mind. |
| |
The basic principles lie right here. |
| |
This way you can meditate without getting deluded. |
| |
If people speak to you in a way that grates against your ears, |
| |
that makes you mad, tell yourself, âItâs not for sure. |
| |
Itâs inconstant.â |
| |
If you eat something delicious and think, |
| |
âMmm. |
| |
Itâs really good,â remind yourself that itâs not for sure. |
| |
Whatever comes your way, tell yourself, |
| |
âItâs not for sure.â |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because thatâs where the Dhamma lies. |
| |
Gather things in, in the direction of the Buddha, |
| |
the direction of inconstancy. |
| |
Inconstancyâthat things arenât for sure: Thatâs the Buddha on the level of the mind. |
| |
If you really see inconstancy, you see the Dhamma. |
| |
Why wouldnât you see it?âfor the truth lies right there. |
| |
If you see the Dhamma, you see the Buddha. |
| |
These things go in both directions. |
| |
If you see the Buddha, you see the Dhamma. |
| |
When you see in this way, you can live anywhere at all. |
| |
When you sit, the Buddha is giving you a sermon. |
| |
When you lie down, heâs giving you a sermon. |
| |
Whatever you do, heâs giving you a sermon. |
| |
The Dhamma arises and the Dhamma looks after those who practice it, |
| |
so that they donât fall into the evil path. |
| |
When the Dhamma is in charge, the mind is always aware of things. |
| |
It knows that âThis is wrong. |
| |
This is right. |
| |
This is good. |
| |
This is evil. |
| |
This is suffering. |
| |
This is the cause of suffering. |
| |
This is the disbanding of suffering. |
| |
This is the practice that reaches the disbanding of suffering.â |
| |
Thatâs the path. |
| |
Everything gathers into the path. |
| |
As you strengthen the path, your defilements decrease. |
| |
The defilements are like an army, you know. |
| |
If they increase, the path decreases. |
| |
If the path gets strengthened, the defilements gradually go away, |
| |
go away. |
| |
Their strength decreases. |
| |
You stay only with whatâs right. |
| |
Whateverâs wrong, you give it up, give it all up, |
| |
and the wrong path peters out. |
| |
Thatâs when the right path gets established, |
| |
and you can live wherever you want. |
| |
Gaining is the same as losing; losing, |
| |
the same as gaining. |
| |
Thereâs no problem any more. |
| |
The mind is at peaceâat peace through discernment. |
| |
When you see in this way, youâre not fixated on this or that. |
| |
If someone brings you something to trade this for that, |
| |
youâre not interested. |
| |
You donât believe them. |
| |
Thatâs when things are for sure. |
| |
Remember this point well. |
| |
Itâs like knowing fruits: This is an olive, |
| |
this is a guava, this is a mango. |
| |
Once you know them, people can pour them all into a tray and |
| |
someone can pick them up one by one and ask you what they are. |
| |
âWhatâs this?â |
| |
âA guava.â |
| |
âWhatâs this?â |
| |
âAn olive.â |
| |
âWhatâs this?â |
| |
âA mango.â |
| |
The person can keep doing this for a hundred trays of fruit, |
| |
a thousand trays of fruit, and you wonât be deceived by any of them. |
| |
You see a mango as a mango, a guava as a guavaâwhatever it is, |
| |
you see it for what it is. |
| |
Thatâs when things are for sure. |
| |
Nobody can deceive you. |
| |
You canât wander off the path, for everything in the mind is the right path. |
| |
When youâre sitting, you have right view. |
| |
When youâre walking, you have right view. |
| |
When youâre lying down, you have right view. |
| |
The mind is all the same, always like it has been: at ease, |
| |
at peace. |
| |
These sorts of things are hard to describe. |
| |
Pleasure isnât the highest level of Dhamma. |
| |
Itâs peace because itâs no longer disturbed by pleasure or pain. |
| |
Itâs empty. |
| |
It stays unfixated, unattached. |
| |
Wherever you go, it keeps staying that way. |
| |
For instance, if somebodyâs mood comes to hit youââYou know, |
| |
venerable father, youâre just like a dogââyou stay at your ease. |
| |
Once youâre sure of yourself, thatâs the way it is. |
| |
But if they call you a dog and you really become a dog, |
| |
biting them, that shows youâre not sure of yourself. |
| |
Youâre not for sure. |
| |
Once youâre for sure, youâre not anything. |
| |
Why would you want to be anything? |
| |
Venerable Father Sii, Venerable Father Saa, |
| |
Venerable Father Maa: Itâs not the case that youâve had these names all along. |
| |
They were given to you not all that long ago. |
| |
Like that eight-precept man over there: Where did he come from? |
| |
Was he born with a label affixed to him? |
| |
His parents gave him a name just a little while ago. |
| |
If they call you a person, whatâs there to get so happy about? |
| |
If they call you a dog, whatâs there to get so upset about? |
| |
Isnât that a sign youâre already in sad shape? |
| |
So we keep on contemplating, keep on looking, |
| |
until we keep on getting it right, getting it right. |
| |
You get it right while youâre sitting down, |
| |
right while youâre lying down. |
| |
Whatever you do, itâs right. |
| |
It keeps on staying right. |
| |
But if you start arguing about the Dhamma, |
| |
you canât escape suffering. |
| |
Itâs like the piece of iron thatâs red-hot all over. |
| |
It doesnât have any cool spot. |
| |
If you touch it on top, itâs hot. |
| |
If you touch it underneath, itâs hot. |
| |
If you touch it on the sides, itâs hot. |
| |
Why is it hot? |
| |
Because the whole thing is a piece of red-hot iron. |
| |
Where would it be cool? |
| |
Itâs the same here. |
| |
Once you latch onto anythingâwhatever it isâyouâre immediately wrong. |
| |
Everything is wrong, everything is suffering. |
| |
If you latch onto whatâs evil, you suffer. |
| |
If you latch onto whatâs good, you suffer. |
| |
For the most part, the good things are what lead people to be very deluded. |
| |
Theyâre deluded by whatâs good. |
| |
When good isnât just right, itâs not good, |
| |
you know. |
| |
Have you noticed the rainfall this year? |
| |
It was so good that it went past just right, |
| |
flooding peopleâs houses. |
| |
This is what happens when good goes past just right. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to be intelligent. |
| |
âIf it comes high, slip under it.â |
| |
âIf it comes low, jump over its head.â |
| |
âDrill the hole right in line with the dowel.â |
| |
Take these three principles with you. |
| |
Focus right there, and the problem wonât get away from you. |
| |
This is the genuine truth. |
| |
This is what itâs like. |
| |
Donât focus on whether youâre old or young, |
| |
or how many days and nights have passed, |
| |
or which day of the week it is. |
| |
Just keep working on your mind in this way. |
| |
In practicing, donât think that you have to sit in order for it to be meditation, |
| |
that you have to walk back and forth in order for it to be meditation. |
| |
Donât think like that. |
| |
Meditation is simply a matter of practice. |
| |
Whether youâre giving a sermon, sitting here listening, |
| |
or going away from here, keep up the practice in your heart. |
| |
Be alert to whatâs proper and whatâs not. |
| |
Donât decide that itâs okay to observe the dhutaáč
ga practices |
| |
during the Rains retreat and then drop them when the retreat is over. |
| |
Itâs not okay. |
| |
Things donât balance out in that way. |
| |
Itâs like clearing a field. |
| |
We keep cutting away, cutting away, and then stop to rest when weâre tired. |
| |
We put away our hoe and then come back a month or two later. |
| |
The weeds are now all taller than the stumps. |
| |
If we try to clear away the area we cleared away before, |
| |
itâs too much for us. |
| |
Ajaan Mun once said that we have to make our practice the shape of a circle. |
| |
A circle never comes to an end. |
| |
Keep it going continually. |
| |
Keep the practice going continually without stop. |
| |
I listened to him and I thought, âWhen Iâve finished listening to this talk, |
| |
what should I do?â |
| |
The answer is to make your alertness akÄliko: timeless. |
| |
Make sure that the mind knows and sees whatâs proper and whatâs not, |
| |
at all times. |
| |
Itâs like the water in this kettle. |
| |
If you tilt it so that thereâs a long time between the dropsâglug ⊠glugâthose are called water drops. |
| |
If you tilt it a little further, the drops become more frequent: glug-glug-glug. |
| |
If you tilt it a little bit further, the water flows in a stream. |
| |
What does the stream of water stream come from? |
| |
It comes from the drops of water. |
| |
If theyâre not continuous, theyâre called drops of water. |
| |
The water here is like our awareness. |
| |
If you accelerate your efforts, if your awareness is continuous, |
| |
your mindfulness will become full. |
| |
Both by day and by night, itâll keep staying full like that. |
| |
It becomes a stream of water. |
| |
As weâre taught, the noble ones have continuous mindfulness. |
| |
The water is a stream of water. |
| |
Make your awareness continuous. |
| |
Whenever thereâs anything wrong or lacking in any way, |
| |
youâll know immediately. |
| |
Your awareness will be a circle, all around. |
| |
Thatâs the shape of the practice. |
| |
Itâs not that you have to drive yourself really hard. |
| |
Some people get really earnest when they sit in concentration: âLet my blood drain away, |
| |
let my skin split open, if I donât gain awakening Iâm willing to die.â |
| |
Theyâve read that in the biography of the Buddha, |
| |
but when it comes to them, the body starts pulsating in pain all the way up to the base of the skull. |
| |
Their determination gradually deflates, |
| |
until they finally open their eyes to look at the incense stick burning in front of them. |
| |
âGosh, I thought itâd be almost burned out, |
| |
but thereâs still a lot left!â |
| |
So they take a deep breath and make the determination that as long as the incense stick hasnât burned all the way out, |
| |
they wonât open their eyes no matter what. |
| |
But after a while the pain gets really heavy and dull at the base of the skull, |
| |
so they open their eyes. |
| |
âGosh, I thought itâd be all burned out, |
| |
but thereâs still a lot left!â |
| |
Eventually, they give up even before the incense has burned out. |
| |
Later they sit and think, âIâm really a sad case.â |
| |
They donât know who to get mad at, so they get mad at themselves. |
| |
âIâm not true to my word.â |
| |
They curse themselves. |
| |
âThereâs no hope for me. |
| |
Iâm making a lot of bad kamma. |
| |
Iâm a denizen of hell.â |
| |
All kinds of things. |
| |
âWhy should I stay on as a monk if I canât even do this? |
| |
All my bad kamma is going to eat up my head.â |
| |
Theyâve given themselves a reason to jump ship. |
| |
âWouldnât it be better to live as a layperson and observe the five precepts?â |
| |
They think to themselves and donât tell anyone else. |
| |
The more they think, the more convinced they are. |
| |
Why should we set goals for ourselves like that? |
| |
The Buddha taught that when we meditate, |
| |
we should have a sense of ourselves. |
| |
Like merchants when they put merchandise into their carts: They |
| |
have a sense of what theyâre doingâhow many oxen they have, |
| |
how big and strong the oxen are, how big their carts are. |
| |
They know that sort of thing: how many sacks of rice they can put in each cart. |
| |
They know how much to put in, in line with the strength of their oxen and the strength of their carts. |
| |
When you practice, it has to be in line with your own strength. |
| |
Here you have a single cart and your ox is the size of your fist, |
| |
and yet you want the cart to carry as much as a ten-wheeled truck. |
| |
You see ten-wheeled trucks passing you on the road and you want to be like them. |
| |
But youâre not a ten-wheeled truck. |
| |
Youâre just a cart. |
| |
Itâs sure to break down. |
| |
Youâre whatâs called a fruit thatâs ripe even before itâs half-ripe, |
| |
food thatâs burned even before itâs cooked. |
| |
So in the end those earnest meditators end up disrobing. |
| |
After theyâve disrobed, they start thinking again. |
| |
âYou know, back when I was ordained things were going a lot better than they are now. |
| |
Maybe I should ordain again. |
| |
That path was a lot brighter. |
| |
It wasnât as dark as this.â |
| |
After they think about it for a while, |
| |
they ordain again. |
| |
Make a fresh start. |
| |
At first they look like theyâre going to do well, |
| |
like a new boxer who doesnât yet need water. |
| |
Their strength is good, theyâre diligent, |
| |
they make good progress. |
| |
But then they gradually grow weaker, weaker. |
| |
âIt looks like Iâm going to fail again. |
| |
This is my second time around and still it looks like I wonât make it. |
| |
If I stay in the robes, Iâm going to break down even more. |
| |
Iâd better disrobe. |
| |
Iâm not going to get anywhere. |
| |
Some of the Buddhaâs disciples ordained and disrobed up to seven times.â |
| |
Theyâre now taking those who ordained and disrobed seven times as their model. |
| |
Donât take their bad example as your model. |
| |
âThey had to wait until their seventh time before they gained awakening. |
| |
Maybe if I give it my all seven times Iâll gain awakening like them.â |
| |
They keep on talking nonsense. |
| |
Thereâs nothing in the Dhamma taught by the Buddha that lies beyond human capabilities. |
| |
Donât go focusing on things you canât see: heaven or nibbÄna up there in the sky. |
| |
All the Dhammas we need to know and see, |
| |
the Buddha explained in full. |
| |
As for things you canât see, donât pay them any mind. |
| |
Donât pay them any attention. |
| |
Look instead at the present. |
| |
How are you leading your life? |
| |
If suffering arises, why is there suffering? |
| |
Whatâs going on? |
| |
How can you settle the problem right there? |
| |
What are you stuck on? |
| |
Itâs attachment and fixation. |
| |
You grasp at the idea that youâre better than other people, |
| |
or equal to other people, or worse than other people. |
| |
All kinds of things. |
| |
When you live with other people, you get disgusted with them. |
| |
âThis person is acting badly. |
| |
That person is acting badly.â |
| |
You go off to live by yourself and donât know who to get disgusted with, |
| |
so you end up disgusted with yourself. |
| |
Just like you said. |
| |
THE THAI FOREST TRADITION |
| |
THE VENERABLE AJAHN CHAH often reminded his disciples that the Buddha was born in a forest, |
| |
was enlightened in a forest and passed away in a forest. |
| |
Ajahn Chah lived nearly all his adult life following a style |
| |
of Buddhist practice known these days as the Thai Forest Tradition, |
| |
a tradition which adheres to the spirit of the way espoused by the Buddha himself, |
| |
and practises according to the same standards the Buddha encouraged during his lifetime. |
| |
This lineage is a branch of the Southern School of Buddhism, |
| |
originally known as the Sthaviras (in Sanskrit) or Theras (in PÄli), |
| |
later referred to as the TheravÄda school. |
| |
âTheravÄdaâ means âThe Way of the Eldersâ, |
| |
and that has been their abiding theme ever since. |
| |
The ethos of the tradition can be characterized as something |
| |
like: âThatâs the way the Buddha established it so that is the way weâll do it.â |
| |
It has thus always had a particularly conservative quality to it. |
| |
From its origins, and particularly as the main religion of Sri Lanka, |
| |
TheravÄda Buddhism has been maintained and continually restored over the years, |
| |
eventually spreading through South-East Asia and latterly from those countries to the West. |
| |
As the religion became established in these geographical regions, |
| |
respect and reverence for the original Teachings have remained, |
| |
with a respect for the style of life as embodied by the Buddha and the original Sangha, |
| |
the forest-dwelling monastics of the earliest times. |
| |
This is the model that was employed then and is carried on today. |
| |
There have been ups and downs throughout its history; it would develop, |
| |
get rich, become corrupt and collapse under its own weight. |
| |
Then a splinter group would appear and go off into the forest |
| |
in order to return to those original standards of keeping the monastic rules, |
| |
practising meditation and studying the original Teachings. |
| |
This is a pattern that has been maintained over the many centuries. |
| |
In more recent times, in mid 19th century Thailand, |
| |
the orthodox position held by scholars was that it was not possible to realize NibbÄna in this age, |
| |
nor to attain jhÄna (meditative absorption). |
| |
This was something that the revivers of the Forest Tradition refused to accept. |
| |
It was also one of the reasons for which they were deemed, |
| |
by the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the time, |
| |
to be mavericks and trouble-makers, |
| |
and it lies behind the obvious distance many of them (Ajahn |
| |
Chah included) kept from the majority of âstudyâ monks of their |
| |
own TheravÄda lineage - as well as their refrain that you donât get wisdom from the books. |
| |
One might find such sentiments presumptuous or arrogant, |
| |
unless it is appreciated that the interpretations of scholars were leading Buddhism into a black hole. |
| |
Thai Forest monastics had the determination to focus on the lifestyle |
| |
and on personal experience rather than on book study (especially the commentaries). |
| |
In short, it was just the kind of situation that made the spiritual landscape ripe for renewal, |
| |
and it was out of this fertile ground that the revival of the Forest Tradition emerged. |
| |
AJAHN MUN |
| |
The Thai Forest Tradition would not exist as it does today were it not for the influence of one particular great master, |
| |
Ajahn Mun. |
| |
Venerable Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta was born in Ubon Province in the 1870s. |
| |
After his ordination as a bhikkhu he sought out Ven. |
| |
Ajahn Sao, one of the rare local forest monks, |
| |
and asked him to teach him meditation; he had also recognized |
| |
that a rigorous adherence to the monastic discipline would be crucial to his spiritual progress. |
| |
Though both of these elements (i.e. meditation and strict discipline) |
| |
might seem unremarkable from the vantage point of the present day, |
| |
at that time monastic discipline had grown extremely lax throughout |
| |
the region and meditation was looked upon with great suspicion. |
| |
In time Ajahn Mun successfully explained and demonstrated the |
| |
usefulness of meditation and became an exemplar of a much higher standard of conduct for the monastic community. |
| |
He became the most highly regarded of spiritual teachers in his |
| |
country and almost all of the most accomplished and revered meditation |
| |
masters of the 20th century in Thailand were either his direct disciples or were deeply influenced by him. |
| |
Ajahn Chah was among them. |
| |
AJAHN CHAH |
| |
Ajahn Chah was born in a village in Ubon Province, |
| |
North-East Thailand. |
| |
At the age of nine he went to live in the local monastery. |
| |
He was ordained as a novice, and at the age of twenty took higher ordination. |
| |
He studied basic Dhamma, the Discipline and other scriptures, |
| |
and later became a wandering tudong1 bhikkhu. |
| |
He travelled for a number of years in the style of an ascetic bhikkhu, |
| |
sleeping in forests, caves and cremation grounds, |
| |
and spent a short but enlightening period with Ajahn Mun himself. |
| |
In 1954 he was invited to settle in a forest near Bahn Gor, |
| |
the village of his birth. |
| |
The forest was uninhabited and known as a place of cobras, |
| |
tigers and ghosts. |
| |
More and more bhikkhus, nuns and lay-people came to hear his teachings and stay on to practise with him, |
| |
and as time went by, a large monastery formed and was given the name Wat Pah Pong. |
| |
There are now disciples of Ajahn Chah living, |
| |
practising meditation and teaching in more than 300 mountain |
| |
and forest branch monasteries throughout Thailand and the West. |
| |
Although Ajahn Chah passed away in 1992, |
| |
the training that he established is still carried on at Wat Pah Pong and its branches. |
| |
There is usually group meditation twice a day and sometimes a talk by the senior teacher, |
| |
but the heart of the meditation is the way of life. |
| |
The monastics do manual work, dye and sew their own robes, |
| |
make most of their own requisites and keep the monastery buildings and grounds in immaculate shape. |
| |
They live extremely simply, following the ascetic precepts of |
| |
eating once a day from the alms bowl and limiting their possessions and robes. |
| |
Scattered throughout the forest are individual huts where bhikkhus and nuns live and meditate in solitude, |
| |
and where they practise walking meditation on cleared paths under the trees. |
| |
In some of the monasteries in the West, |
| |
and a few in Thailand, the physical location of the centre dictates |
| |
that there might be some small variations to this style - for instance, |
| |
the monastery in Switzerland is situated in a old wooden hotel building at the edge of a mountain village - however, |
| |
regardless of such differences, the same spirit of simplicity, |
| |
quietude and scrupulosity sets the abiding tone. |
| |
Discipline is maintained strictly, enabling one to lead a simple |
| |
and pure life in a harmoniously regulated community where virtue, |
| |
meditation and understanding may be skilfully and continuously cultivated. |
| |
Along with monastic life as it is lived within the bounds of fixed locations, |
| |
the practice of tudong - wandering on foot through the countryside, |
| |
on pilgrimage or in search of quiet places for solitary retreat |
| |
- is still considered a central part of spiritual training. |
| |
Even though the forests have been disappearing rapidly throughout Thailand, |
| |
and the tigers and other wild creatures so often encountered |
| |
during such tudong journeys in the past have been depleted almost to the point of extinction, |
| |
it has still been possible for this way of life and practice to continue. |
| |
Indeed, not only has this practice of wandering on foot been maintained by Ajahn Chah, |
| |
his disciples and many other forest monastics in Thailand; it |
| |
has also been sustained by his monks and nuns in many countries of the West. |
| |
In these situations the strict standards of conduct are still |
| |
maintained: living only on almsfood freely offered by local people, |
| |
eating only between dawn and noon, not carrying or using money, |
| |
sleeping wherever shelter can be found. |
| |
Wisdom is a way of living and being, and Ajahn Chah endeavoured |
| |
to preserve the simple monastic life-style in all its dimensions, |
| |
in order that people may study and practise Dhamma in the present day. |
| |
AJAHN CHAHâS TEACHING OF WESTERNERS |
| |
From the beginning Ajahn Chah chose not to give any special treatment |
| |
to the farang (Western) monks who came to study with him, |
| |
but to let them adapt to the climate, |
| |
food and culture as best they could, |
| |
and use the experience of discomfort for the development of wisdom and patient endurance. |
| |
In 1975 Wat Pah Nanachat (the International Forest Monastery) |
| |
was established near Wat Pah Pong as a place for Westerners to practise. |
| |
The people of Bung Wai village had been long-standing disciples |
| |
of Ajahn Chah and asked him if the foreign monks could settle there and start a new monastery. |
| |
Then in 1976 Ajahn Sumedho was invited by a group in London to come and establish a TheravÄdan monastery in England. |
| |
Ajahn Chah came over the following year and left Ajahn Sumedho |
| |
and a small group of monastics at the Hampstead Buddhist VihÄra, |
| |
a town house on a busy street in North London. |
| |
Within a few years they had moved to the country and several different branch monasteries had been established. |
| |
Other monasteries were set up in France, |
| |
Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, |
| |
Italy, Canada and the U.S.A. Ajahn Chah himself travelled twice to Europe and North America, |
| |
in 1977 and 1979. |
| |
He once said that Buddhism in Thailand was like an old tree that |
| |
had formerly been vigorous and abundant; now it was so aged that |
| |
it could only produce a few fruits and they were small and bitter. |
| |
Buddhism in the West he likened in contrast to a young sapling, |
| |
full of youthful energy and the potential for growth, |
| |
but needing proper care and support for its development. |
| |
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS |
| |
All the Teachings can be said to derive from an essential matrix |
| |
of insight: The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Truth (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, |
| |
SN 56.11). |
| |
In this brief discourse the Buddha speaks about the nature of the Middle Way and the Four Noble Truths. |
| |
It takes only twenty minutes to recite, |
| |
and the structures and forms he used to express this teaching were familiar to people in his time. |
| |
The Four Noble Truths are formulated like a medical diagnosis in the ayurvedic2 tradition: |
| |
the symptom |
| |
the cause |
| |
the prognosis |
| |
the cure |
| |
The First Truth is the âsymptomâ. |
| |
There is dukkha - we experience incompleteness, |
| |
dissatisfaction or suffering. |
| |
There might be periods of a coarse or even a transcendent happiness, |
| |
but there are also feelings of discontent which can vary from |
| |
extreme anguish to the faintest sense that some blissful feeling we are experiencing will not last. |
| |
All of this comes under the heading of âdukkhaâ. |
| |
This First Truth is often wrongly understood as: âReality in every dimension is dukkhaâ. |
| |
Thatâs not what is meant here. |
| |
If it were, there would be no hope of liberation for anyone, |
| |
and to realize the truth of the way things are would not result in abiding peace and happiness. |
| |
These are noble truths in the sense that they are relative truths; what makes them noble is that, |
| |
when they are understood, they lead us to a realization of the Ultimate. |
| |
The Second Noble Truth is the âcauseâ. |
| |
Self-centred craving, tanhÄ in PÄli means âthirstâ. |
| |
This craving, this grasping, is the cause of dukkha. |
| |
There are many subtle dimensions to it: craving for sense-pleasure; |
| |
craving to become something or craving to be identified as something; it can also be craving not to be, |
| |
the desire to disappear, to be annihilated, |
| |
the desire to get rid of. |
| |
The Third Truth is the âprognosisâ. |
| |
Cessation: dukkha-nirodha. |
| |
The experience of dukkha, of incompleteness, |
| |
can fade away, can be transcended. |
| |
It can end. |
| |
Dukkha is not an absolute reality, itâs just a temporary experience from which the heart can be liberated. |
| |
The Fourth Noble Truth is the âcureâ. |
| |
It is the Path; it is how we get from the Second Truth to the Third, |
| |
from the causation of dukkha to the ending of it. |
| |
The cure is the Eightfold Path: virtue, |
| |
concentration and wisdom. |
| |
THE LAW OF KAMMA |
| |
The Buddhaâs insight into the nature of Reality led him to see |
| |
that this is a moral universe: good actions reap pleasant results, |
| |
harmful acts reap painful results. |
| |
The results may come soon after the act or at some remote time in the future, |
| |
but an effect which matches the cause will necessarily follow. |
| |
The key element of kamma is intention. |
| |
As the Buddha expresses it in the opening verses of the Dhammapada: |
| |
âMind is the forerunner of all things: think and act with a corrupt |
| |
heart and sorrow will follow one as surely as the cart follows the ox that pulls it.â |
| |
âMind is the forerunner of all things: think and act with a pure |
| |
heart and happiness will follow one as surely as oneâs never-departing shadow.â |
| |
(Dhp 1-2) |
| |
This understanding is something that one comes to recognize through experience, |
| |
and reference to it will be found throughout the Dhamma talks in these pages. |
| |
When Ajahn Chah encountered westerners who said that they didnât believe in kamma as he described it, |
| |
rather than dismissing it as wrong view, |
| |
he was interested that they could look at things in such a different |
| |
way - he would ask them to describe how they saw things working, |
| |
and then take the conversation from there. |
| |
The story is widely circulated that when a young Western monk |
| |
told Ajahn Chah he couldnât go along with the teachings on rebirth, |
| |
Ajahn Chah answered him by saying that that didnât have to be a problem, |
| |
but to come back in five years to talk about it again. |
| |
EVERYTHING IS UNCERTAIN |
| |
Insight can truly be said to have dawned when three qualities have been seen and known through direct experience. |
| |
These are anicca, dukkha and anattÄ - impermanence, |
| |
unsatisfactoriness and ânot-selfâ. |
| |
We recognize that everything is changing, |
| |
nothing can be permanently satisfying or dependable, |
| |
and nothing can truly be said to be ours, |
| |
or absolutely who and what we are. |
| |
Ajahn Chah stressed that the contemplation of anicca is the gateway to wisdom. |
| |
As he puts it in the talk âStill, Flowing Waterâ; âWhoever sees |
| |
the uncertainty of things sees the unchanging reality of them ... |
| |
If you know anicca, uncertainty, you will let go of things and not grasp onto them.â |
| |
It is a characteristic of Ajahn Chahâs teaching that he used |
| |
the less familiar rendition of âuncertaintyâ (my naer in Thai) for anicca. |
| |
While âimpermanenceâ can have a more abstract or technical tone to it, |
| |
âuncertaintyâ better describes the feeling in the heart when one is faced with that quality of change. |
| |
CHOICE OF EXPRESSION: âYESâ OR âNOâ |
| |
A characteristic of the TheravÄda teachings is that the Truth |
| |
and the way leading to it are often indicated by talking about what they are not rather than what they are. |
| |
Readers have often mistaken this for a nihilistic view of life, |
| |
and if one comes from a culture committed to expressions of life-affirmation, |
| |
itâs easy to see how the mistake could be made. |
| |
The Buddha realized that the mere declaration of the Truth did not necessarily arouse faith, |
| |
and might not be effective in communicating it to others either, |
| |
so he adopted a much more analytical method (vibhajjavÄda in |
| |
PÄli) and in doing so composed the formula of the Four Noble Truths. |
| |
This analytical method through negation is most clearly seen in the Buddhaâs second discourse (Anattalakkhana Sutta, |
| |
SN 22.59), where it is shown how a âselfâ cannot be found in relation to any of the factors of body or mind, |
| |
therefore: âThe wise noble disciple becomes dispassionate towards the body, |
| |
feelings, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness.â |
| |
Thus the heart is liberated. |
| |
Once we let go of what weâre not, the nature of what is Real becomes apparent. |
| |
And as that Reality is beyond description, |
| |
it is most appropriate, and least misleading, |
| |
to leave it undescribed - this is the essence of the âway of negationâ. |
| |
Ajahn Chah avoided talking about levels of attainment and levels |
| |
of meditative absorption in order to counter spiritual materialism (the gaining mind, |
| |
competitiveness and jealousy) and to keep people focused on the Path. |
| |
Having said that, he was also ready to speak about Ultimate Reality if required. |
| |
The talks âToward the Unconditioned,â âTranscendenceâ and âNo Abidingâ are examples of this. |
| |
If, however, a person insisted on asking about transcendent qualities |
| |
and it was clear that their understanding was not yet developed (as in the dialogue âWhat is Contemplationâ), |
| |
Ajahn Chah might well respond, as he does there, |
| |
âIt isnât anything and we donât call it anything thatâs all there is to it! |
| |
Be finished with all of itâ, (literally: âIf there is anything there, |
| |
then just throw it to the dogs!â) |
| |
RIGHT VIEW AND VIRTUE |
| |
Ajahn Chah frequently said that his experience had shown him |
| |
that all spiritual progress depended upon Right View and on purity of conduct. |
| |
Of Right View the Buddha once said: âJust as the glowing of the dawn sky foretells the rising of the sun, |
| |
so too is Right View the forerunner of all wholesome statesâ (AN 10.121). |
| |
To establish Right View means firstly that one has a trustworthy |
| |
map of the terrain of the mind and the world - an appreciation of the law of kamma, |
| |
particularly - and secondly it means that one sees experience |
| |
in the light of the Four Noble Truths and is thus turning that flow of perceptions, |
| |
thoughts and moods into fuel for insight. |
| |
The four points become the quarters of the compass by which we |
| |
orient our understanding and thus guide our actions and intentions. |
| |
Ajahn Chah saw sīla (virtue) as the great protector of the heart |
| |
and encouraged a sincere commitment to the Precepts by all those |
| |
who were serious about their search for happiness and a skilfully |
| |
lived life - whether these were the Five Precepts of the householder or the Eight, |
| |
Ten or 227 of the various levels of the monastic community. |
| |
Virtuous action and speech, sīla, brings the heart directly into |
| |
accord with Dhamma and thus becomes the foundation for concentration, |
| |
insight and, finally, liberation. |
| |
In many ways sīla is the external corollary to the internal quality |
| |
of Right View and there is a reciprocal relationship between |
| |
them: if we understand causality and see the relationship between craving and dukkha, |
| |
then certainly our actions are more likely to be harmonious and restrained; similarly, |
| |
if our actions and speech are respectful, |
| |
honest and non-violent, we create the causes of peace within |
| |
us and it will be much easier for us to see the laws governing the mind and its workings, |
| |
and Right View will develop more easily. |
| |
One particular outcome of this relationship of which Ajahn Chah spoke regularly, |
| |
as in the talk âConvention and Liberationâ, |
| |
is the intrinsic emptiness of all conventions (e.g. money, |
| |
monasticism, social customs), but the simultaneous need to respect them fully. |
| |
This might sound paradoxical, but he saw the Middle Way as synonymous with the resolution of this kind of conundrum. |
| |
As he once said, âThe Dhamma is all about letting go; the monastic |
| |
discipline is all about holding on; when you realize how those two function together, |
| |
you will be fine.â |
| |
If we cling to conventions we become burdened and limited by them, |
| |
but if we try to defy them or negate them we find ourselves lost, |
| |
conflicted and bewildered. |
| |
He saw that with the right attitude, both aspects could be respected |
| |
and in a way that was natural and freeing rather than forced or compromised. |
| |
It was probably due to his own profound insights in this area |
| |
that he was able to be both extraordinarily orthodox and austere as a Buddhist monk, |
| |
yet utterly relaxed and unfettered by any of the rules he observed. |
| |
To many who met him he seemed the happiest man in the world - |
| |
a fact perhaps ironic about someone who had never had sex in his life, |
| |
had no money, never listened to music, |
| |
was regularly available to people eighteen to twenty hours a day, |
| |
slept on a thin grass mat, had a diabetic condition and various forms of malaria, |
| |
and who was delighted by the fact that Wat Pah Pong had the reputation of having âthe worst food in the world.â |
| |
METHODS OF TRAINING |
| |
The collection of Ajahn Chahâs talks presented here was transcribed |
| |
from tapes made more often than not in informal dialogues, |
| |
where the flow of teaching and to whom it was directed were extremely unpredictable. |
| |
Some of the talks were given in such spontaneous gatherings, |
| |
others on more formal occasions, such as after the recitation of the bhikkhusâ rules, |
| |
or to the whole assembly of laity and monastics on the weekly lunar observance night. |
| |
However, whether they were of the former or the latter kind, |
| |
Ajahn Chah never planned anything. |
| |
Not one single part of the Dhamma teachings printed here was plotted out before he started speaking. |
| |
This was an important principle, he felt, |
| |
as the job of the teacher was to get out of the way and let |
| |
the Dhamma arise according to the needs of the moment - if itâs not alive to the present, |
| |
itâs not Dhamma, he would say. |
| |
This style of teaching was not unique to Ajahn Chah, |
| |
but is that espoused throughout the Thai Forest Tradition. |
| |
Ajahn Chah trained his students in many ways, |
| |
the majority of the learning process occurring through situational teaching. |
| |
He knew that, for the heart to learn any aspect of the Teaching truly and be transformed by it, |
| |
the lesson had to be absorbed by experience, |
| |
not intellectually alone. |
| |
Thus he employed aspects of the monastic routine, |
| |
communal living and the tudong life as ways to teach: community work projects, |
| |
learning to recite the rules, helping with the daily chores, |
| |
random changes in the schedule - these were all used as a forum |
| |
in which to investigate the arising of dukkha and the way leading to its cessation. |
| |
He encouraged the attitude of being ready to learn from everything, |
| |
as he describes in the talk âDhamma Natureâ. |
| |
He would emphasize that we are our own teachers: if we are wise, |
| |
every personal problem, event and aspect of nature will instruct us; if we are foolish, |
| |
not even having the Buddha before us explaining everything would make any real impression. |
| |
This insight became clear in the way he related to peopleâs questions |
| |
- rather than answering the question in its own terms, |
| |
he responded more to where the questioner was coming from. |
| |
Often when asked something he would appear to receive the question, |
| |
gently take it to pieces and then hand the bits back to those |
| |
who asked; they would then see for themselves how it was put together. |
| |
To their surprise he had guided them in such a way that they had answered their own question. |
| |
When asked how it was that he could do this so often, |
| |
he replied âIf the person did not already know the answer they could not have posed the question in the first place.â |
| |
Other key attitudes that he encouraged and which can be found in the teachings here are, |
| |
firstly, the need to cultivate a profound sense of urgency in meditation practice and, |
| |
secondly, to use the training environment to develop patient endurance. |
| |
This latter quality is seen in the forest life as almost synonymous with spiritual training, |
| |
but has not otherwise received a great deal of attention in spiritual circles of the âquick fixâ culture of the West. |
| |
When the Buddha was giving his very first instructions on monastic discipline, |
| |
to a spontaneous gathering of 1,250 of his enlightened disciples at the Bamboo Grove, |
| |
his first words were: âPatient endurance is the supreme practice for freeing the heart from unwholesome states.â |
| |
(Dhp 183-85). |
| |
So when someone would come to Ajahn Chah with a tale of woe, |
| |
of how her husband was drinking and the rice crop looked bad this year, |
| |
his first response would often be: âCan you endure it?â |
| |
This was said not as some kind of macho challenge, |
| |
but more as a means of pointing to the fact that the way beyond suffering is neither to run away from it, |
| |
wallow in it or even grit oneâs teeth and get through on will alone - no, |
| |
the encouragement of patient endurance is to hold steady in the midst of difficulty, |
| |
truly apprehend and digest the experience of dukkha, |
| |
understand its causes and let them go. |
| |
TEACHING THE LAITY AND TEACHING MONASTICS |
| |
There were many occasions when Ajahn Chahâs teachings were as applicable to laypeople as to monastics, |
| |
but there were also many instances when they were not. |
| |
The three volumes of this present collection Daily Life Practice, |
| |
Formal Practice and Renunciant Practice - have been arranged to reflect these differences of focus and applicability. |
| |
Even though the teachings have already been divided up in this way, |
| |
this is still an important factor to bear in mind when the reader |
| |
is going through the talks contained here not to be aware of such differences could be confusing. |
| |
For example, the talk âMaking the Heart Goodâ is aimed at a lay |
| |
audience - a group of people who have come to visit Wat Pah Pong to tam boon, |
| |
to make offerings to the monastery both to support the community there and to make some good kamma for themselves. |
| |
On the other hand, a talk like âThe Flood of Sensualityâ would only be given to the monastics, |
| |
in that instance just to the monks and male novices. |
| |
This distinction was not made because of certain teachings being |
| |
âsecretâ or higher in some respect; rather it was through the |
| |
need to speak in ways that would be appropriate and useful to particular audiences. |
| |
Unlike the monastic, lay practitioners have a different range |
| |
of concerns and influences in their daily life: trying to find time for formal meditation practice, |
| |
maintaining an income, living with a spouse. |
| |
And most particularly, the lay community has not undertaken the |
| |
vows of the renunciant life - a lay student may keep the Five Precepts, |
| |
whereas the monastics would be keeping the Eight, |
| |
Ten or 227 Precepts of the various levels of ordination. |
| |
When teaching monastics alone, Ajahn Chahâs focus is much more |
| |
specifically on using the renunciant way of life as the key method |
| |
of training; the instruction therefore concerns itself with the hurdles, |
| |
pitfalls and glories that that way of life might bring. |
| |
Since the average age of the monksâ community in a monastery in Thailand is usually around 25 to 30, |
| |
and with the strict precepts around celibacy, |
| |
there was also a natural need for Ajahn Chah to skilfully guide |
| |
the restless and sexual energy that his monks would often experience. |
| |
When it was well-directed, the individuals would be able to contain and employ that same energy, |
| |
and transform it to help develop concentration and insight. |
| |
The tone of some of the talks to monastics will in certain instances |
| |
also be seen to be considerably more directly confrontational than those given to the lay community, |
| |
for example, âDhamma Fightingâ. |
| |
This manner of expression represents something of the âtake no |
| |
prisonersâ style which is characteristic of many of the teachers of the Thai Forest Tradition. |
| |
It is a way of speaking that is intended to rouse the âwarrior |
| |
heartâ: an attitude toward spiritual practice which enables one to be ready to endure all hardships and to be wise, |
| |
patient and faithful, regardless of how difficult things get. |
| |
At times this way of teaching may seem overly aggressive or combative |
| |
in its tone; the reader should therefore bear in mind that the |
| |
spirit behind such language is the endeavour to encourage the practitioner, |
| |
gladden the heart and provide supportive strength when dealing with the multifarious challenges to freedom from greed, |
| |
hatred and delusion. |
| |
As Ajahn Chah once said: âAll those who seriously engage in spiritual |
| |
practice should expect to experience a great deal of friction and difficulty.â |
| |
The heart is being trained to go against the current of self-centred habits, |
| |
so itâs quite natural for it to be buffeted around somewhat. |
| |
As a final note on this aspect of Ajahn Chahâs teachings, |
| |
particularly those one might term âhigherâ or âtranscendentâ, |
| |
it is significant that he didnât exclude the laity from any instruction of this nature. |
| |
If he felt a group of people was ready for the highest levels of teaching, |
| |
he would impart them freely and openly, |
| |
whether it was to laypeople or to monastics, |
| |
as in, for example, âToward the Unconditionedâ or âStill, |
| |
Flowing Waterâ where he states: âPeople these days study away, |
| |
looking for good and evil. |
| |
But that which is beyond good and evil they know nothing of.â |
| |
Like the Buddha, he never employed the âteacherâs closed fistâ, |
| |
and made his choices of what to teach solely on the basis of what would be useful to his listeners, |
| |
not on their number of precepts and their religious affiliation or lack of one. |
| |
COUNTERING SUPERSTITION |
| |
Ajahn Chah was well known for his keenness to dispel superstition from Buddhist practice in Thailand. |
| |
He criticized the use of âmagicâ charms, |
| |
amulets and fortune-telling. |
| |
He rarely spoke about past or future lives, |
| |
other realms, visions or psychic experiences. |
| |
Anyone who came to him asking for the next winning lottery number |
| |
(a very common reason why some people go to visit famous Ajahns) would generally get very short shrift. |
| |
He saw that the Dhamma itself was the most priceless jewel, |
| |
which could provide genuine protection and security in life, |
| |
and yet it was continually overlooked for the sake of the promise of minor improvements to samsÄra. |
| |
He emphasized the usefulness and practicality of Buddhist practice, |
| |
countering the common belief that Dhamma was too high or abstruse for the common person. |
| |
His criticisms were not just aimed to break down childish dependencies |
| |
on good luck and magical charms; rather he wanted people to invest |
| |
in something that would truly serve them in their lives. |
| |
In the light of this life-long effort, |
| |
there was also an ironic twist of circumstance that accompanied |
| |
his funeral in 1993. He passed away on 16 January 1992 and they |
| |
held the funeral exactly a year later; the memorial stupa had 16 pillars, |
| |
was 32 metres high, and had foundations 16 metres deep - consequently |
| |
a huge number of people in Ubon Province bought lottery tickets with ones and sixes together. |
| |
The next day the headlines in the local paper proclaimed: LUANG |
| |
POR CHAHâS LAST GIFT TO HIS DISCIPLES - the 16s had cleaned up |
| |
and a couple of local bookmakers had even been bankrupted. |
| |
HUMOUR |
| |
That last story brings us to a final quality of Ajahn Chahâs teaching style. |
| |
He was an amazingly quick-witted man and a natural performer. |
| |
Although he could be very cool and forbidding, |
| |
or sensitive and gentle in his way of expression, |
| |
he also used a high degree of humour in his teaching. |
| |
He had away of employing wit to work his way into the hearts of his listeners, |
| |
not just to amuse but to help convey truths that would otherwise not be received so easily. |
| |
His sense of humour and skilful eye for the tragi-comic absurdities |
| |
of life enabled people to see situations in such a way that they |
| |
could laugh at themselves and be guided to a wiser outlook. |
| |
This might be in matters of conduct, such as a famous display |
| |
he once gave of the many wrong ways to carry a monkâs bag: slung over the back, |
| |
looped round the neck, grabbed in the fist, |
| |
scraped along the ground ... |
| |
Or it might be in terms of some painful personal struggle. |
| |
One time a young bhikkhu came to him very downcast. |
| |
He had seen the sorrows of the world and the horror of beingsâ entrapment in birth and death, |
| |
and had realized that âIâll never be able to laugh again itâs all so sad and painful.â |
| |
Within forty-five minutes, via a graphic tale about a youthful |
| |
squirrel repeatedly attempting and falling short in its efforts to learn tree-climbing, |
| |
the monk was rolling on the floor clutching his sides, |
| |
tears pouring down his face as he was convulsed with the laughter that he had thought would never return. |
| |
LAST YEARS |
| |
During the rains retreat of 1981 Ajahn Chah became seriously ill, |
| |
with what was apparently some form of stroke. |
| |
His health had been shaky for the previous few years, |
| |
with dizzy spells and diabetic problems, |
| |
and now it went down with a crash. |
| |
Over the next few months he received various kinds of treatment, |
| |
including a couple of operations, but nothing helped. |
| |
The slide continued until by the middle of the following year he was paralysed but for some slight movement in one hand, |
| |
and he had lost the power of speech. |
| |
He could still blink his eyes. |
| |
He remained in this state for the next ten years, |
| |
his few areas of control diminishing slowly until by the end all voluntary movement was lost to him. |
| |
During this time it was often said that he was still teaching |
| |
his students: hadnât he reiterated endlessly that the body is of the nature to sicken and decay, |
| |
and that it is not under personal control? |
| |
As he put it somewhat prophetically in âWhy Are We Here?â, |
| |
a talk given just before his health collapsed: âPeople come to visit, |
| |
but I canât really receive them like I used to because my voice has just about had it; my breath is just about gone. |
| |
You can count it a blessing that thereâs still this body sitting here for you all to see now. |
| |
Soon you wonât see it. |
| |
The breath will be finished; the voice will be gone. |
| |
They will fare in accordance with supporting factors, |
| |
like all compounded things.â |
| |
So here was a prime object lesson for all his students - neither |
| |
a great master like Ajahn Chah nor even the Buddha himself could escape the inexorable laws of nature. |
| |
The task, as always, was to find peace and freedom by not identifying with the changing forms. |
| |
During this time, despite his severe limitations, |
| |
he occasionally managed to teach in ways other than just being |
| |
an example of the uncertain processes of life and by giving opportunity |
| |
for his monks and novices to offer their support through nursing care. |
| |
The bhikkhus used to work in shifts, three or four at a time, |
| |
to look after Ajahn Chahâs physical needs, |
| |
as he required attention twenty-four hours a day. |
| |
On one particular shift two monks got into an argument, |
| |
quite forgetting (as often happens around paralyzed or comatose |
| |
people) that the other occupant of the room might be fully cognizant of what was going on. |
| |
Had Ajahn Chah been fully active, it would have been unthinkable |
| |
that they would have got into such a spat in front of him. |
| |
As the words got more heated an agitated movement began in the bed across the room. |
| |
Suddenly Ajahn Chah coughed violently and, |
| |
according to reports, sent a sizeable gob of phlegm shooting across the intervening space, |
| |
passing between the two protagonists and smacking into the wall right beside them. |
| |
The teaching was duly received and the argument came to an abrupt and embarrassed conclusion. |
| |
During the course of his illness the life of the monasteries continued much as before. |
| |
The Masterâs being both there yet not there served in a strange |
| |
way to help the community to adapt to communal decision-making |
| |
and to the concept of life without their beloved teacher at the centre of everything. |
| |
After such a great elder passes away it is not uncommon for things |
| |
to disintegrate rapidly and for all his students to go their own way, |
| |
the teacherâs legacy vanishing within a generation or two. |
| |
It is perhaps a testimony to how well Ajahn Chah trained people |
| |
to be self-reliant that whereas at the time of his falling sick there were about 75 branch monasteries, |
| |
this had increased to well over 100 by the time he passed away, |
| |
and has now grown to more than 300, |
| |
in Thailand and around the world. |
| |
After he passed away, his monastic community set about arranging his funeral. |
| |
In keeping with the spirit of his life and teachings, |
| |
the funeral was not to be just a ceremony but also a time for hearing and practising Dhamma. |
| |
It was held over ten days with several periods of group meditation and instructional talks each day, |
| |
these being given by many of the most accomplished Dhamma teachers in the country. |
| |
There were about 6,000 monks, 1,000 nuns and just over 10,000 laypeople camped in the forest for the 10 days. |
| |
Beside them, an estimated 1,000,000 people came passed through the monastery during the practice period; 400,000, |
| |
including the king and queen and the prime minister of Thailand, |
| |
who came on the day of the cremation itself. |
| |
Again, in the spirit of the standards Ajahn Chah espoused throughout his teaching career, |
| |
throughout this entire session, not one penny was charged for |
| |
anything: food was supplied for everyone through forty-two free food kitchens, |
| |
run and stocked by many of the branch monasteries; over ÂŁ120,000 |
| |
worth of free Dhamma books were passed out; bottled water was provided by the gallon through a local firm, |
| |
and the local bus company and other nearby lorry owners ferried |
| |
out the thousands of monks each morning to go on almsround through villages and towns in the area. |
| |
It was a grand festival of generosity and a fitting way to bid farewell to the great man. |
| |
It is in the same spirit of generosity that this present edition of Ajahn Chahâs Dhamma talks has been compiled. |
| |
This compilation, âThe Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chahâ, |
| |
comprises most of Ajahn Chahâs talks which have been previously published for free distribution in English. |
| |
May these teachings provide nourishing contemplation for seekers |
| |
of the Way and help to establish a heart which is awake, |
| |
pure and peaceful. |
| |
Ajahn Amaro February 2011 |
| |
1 tudong: The practice of wandering in the country and living on almsfood. |
| |
2 Ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Itâs of great importance that we practise the Dhamma. |
| |
If we donât practise, then all our knowledge is only superficial knowledge, |
| |
just the outer shell of it. |
| |
Itâs as if we have some sort of fruit but we havenât eaten it yet. |
| |
Even though we have that fruit in our hand we get no benefit from it. |
| |
Only through the actual eating of the fruit will we really know its taste. |
| |
The Buddha didnât praise those who merely believe others; he praised the person who knows within himself. |
| |
Just as with that fruit, if we have tasted it already, |
| |
we donât have to ask anyone else if itâs sweet or sour. |
| |
Our problems are over. |
| |
Why are they over? |
| |
Because we see according to the truth. |
| |
One who has realized the Dhamma is like one who has realized the sweetness or sourness of the fruit. |
| |
All doubts are ended right here. |
| |
When we talk about Dhamma, although we may say a lot, |
| |
it can usually be brought down to four things. |
| |
They are simply to know suffering, to know the cause of suffering, |
| |
to know the end of suffering and to know the path of practice leading to the end of suffering. |
| |
This is all there is. |
| |
All that we have experienced on the path of practice so far comes down to these four things. |
| |
When we know these things, our problems are over. |
| |
Where are these four things born? |
| |
They are born just within the body and the mind, |
| |
nowhere else. |
| |
So why is the teaching of the Buddha so detailed and extensive? |
| |
This is in order to explain these things in a more refined way, |
| |
to help us to see them. |
| |
When Siddhattha Gotama was born into the world, |
| |
before he saw the Dhamma, he was an ordinary person just like us. |
| |
When he knew what he had to know, that is, |
| |
the truth of suffering, the cause, the end and the way leading to the end of suffering, |
| |
he realized the Dhamma and became a perfectly enlightened Buddha. |
| |
When we realize the Dhamma, wherever we sit we know Dhamma, |
| |
wherever we are we hear the Buddhaâs teaching. |
| |
When we understand Dhamma, the Buddha is within our mind, |
| |
the Dhamma is within our mind, and the practice leading to wisdom is within our own mind. |
| |
Having the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha within our mind means that whether our actions are good or bad, |
| |
we know clearly for ourselves their true nature. |
| |
That is how the Buddha discarded worldly opinions, |
| |
praise and criticism. |
| |
When people praised or criticized him he just accepted it for what it was. |
| |
These two things are simply worldly conditions so he wasnât shaken by them. |
| |
Why not? |
| |
Because he knew suffering. |
| |
He knew that if he believed in that praise or criticism they would cause him to suffer. |
| |
When suffering arises it agitates us, |
| |
we feel ill at ease. |
| |
What is the cause of that suffering? |
| |
Itâs because we donât know the truth; this is the cause. |
| |
When the cause is present, then suffering arises. |
| |
Once arisen we donât know how to stop it. |
| |
The more we try to stop it, the more it comes on. |
| |
We say, âDonât criticize me,â or âDonât blame me.â |
| |
Trying to stop it like this, suffering really comes on, |
| |
it wonât stop. |
| |
So the Buddha taught that the way leading to the end of suffering |
| |
is to make the Dhamma arise as a reality within our own minds. |
| |
We become those who witness the Dhamma for themselves. |
| |
If someone says we are good we donât get lost in it; they say we are no good and we donât forget ourselves. |
| |
This way we can be free. |
| |
âGoodâ and âevilâ are just worldly dhammas, |
| |
they are just states of mind. |
| |
If we follow them our mind becomes the world, |
| |
we just grope in the darkness and donât know the way out. |
| |
If itâs like this then we have not yet mastered ourselves. |
| |
We try to defeat others, but in doing so we only defeat ourselves; |
| |
but if we have mastery over ourselves then we have mastery over all - over all mental formations, |
| |
sights, sounds, smells, tastes and bodily feelings. |
| |
Now Iâm talking about externals, theyâre like that, |
| |
but the outside is reflected inside also. |
| |
Some people only know the outside, they donât know the inside. |
| |
Like when we say to âsee the body in the bodyâ. |
| |
Having seen the outer body is not enough, |
| |
we must know the body within the body. |
| |
Then, having investigated the mind, we should know the mind within the mind. |
| |
Why should we investigate the body? |
| |
What is this âbody in the bodyâ? |
| |
When we say to know the mind, what is this âmindâ? |
| |
If we donât know the mind then we donât know the things within the mind. |
| |
This is to be someone who doesnât know suffering, |
| |
doesnât know the cause, doesnât know the end and doesnât know the way leading to the end of suffering. |
| |
The things which should help to extinguish suffering donât help, |
| |
because we get distracted by the things which aggravate it. |
| |
Itâs just as if we have an itch on our head and we scratch our leg! |
| |
If itâs our head thatâs itchy then weâre obviously not going to get much relief. |
| |
In the same way, when suffering arises we donât know how to handle it, |
| |
we donât know the practice leading to the end of suffering. |
| |
For instance, take this body, this body that each of us has brought along to this meeting. |
| |
If we just see the form of the body thereâs no way we can escape suffering. |
| |
Why not? |
| |
Because we still donât see the inside of the body, |
| |
we only see the outside. |
| |
We only see it as something beautiful, |
| |
something substantial. |
| |
The Buddha said that seeing only this is not enough. |
| |
We see the outside with our eyes; a child can see it, |
| |
animals can see it, itâs not difficult. |
| |
The outside of the body is easily seen, |
| |
but having seen it we stick to it, we donât know the truth of it. |
| |
Having seen it we grab onto it and it bites us! |
| |
So we should investigate the body within the body. |
| |
Whatever is in the body, go ahead and look at it. |
| |
If we just see the outside itâs not clear. |
| |
We see hair, nails and so on and they are just pretty things which entice us. |
| |
So the Buddha taught to see the inside of the body, |
| |
to see the body within the body. |
| |
What is in the body? |
| |
Look closely within! |
| |
We will find many surprises inside, because even though they are within us, |
| |
weâve never seen them. |
| |
Wherever we walk we carry them with us; sitting in a car we carry them with us, |
| |
but we still donât know them at all! |
| |
Itâs as if we visit some relatives at their house and they give us a present. |
| |
We take it and put it in our bag and then leave without opening it to see what is inside. |
| |
When at last we open it - itâs full of poisonous snakes! |
| |
Our body is like this. |
| |
If we just see the shell we say itâs fine and beautiful. |
| |
We forget ourselves. |
| |
We forget impermanence, suffering and not-self. |
| |
If we look within this body, itâs really repulsive. |
| |
If we look according to reality, without trying to sugar things over, |
| |
weâll see that itâs really pitiful and wearisome. |
| |
Dispassion will arise. |
| |
This feeling of âdisinterestâ is not that we feel aversion for the world or anything; itâs simply our mind clearing up, |
| |
our mind letting go. |
| |
We see things as not substantial or dependable, |
| |
but that all things are naturally established just as they are. |
| |
However we want them to be, they just go their own way regardless. |
| |
Whether we laugh or cry, they simply are the way they are. |
| |
Things which are unstable are unstable; things which are not beautiful are not beautiful. |
| |
So the Buddha said that when we experience sights, |
| |
sounds, tastes, smells, bodily feelings or mental states, |
| |
we should release them. |
| |
When the ear hears sounds, let them go. |
| |
When the nose smells an odour, let it go, |
| |
just leave it at the nose! |
| |
When bodily feelings arise, let go of the like or dislike that follow, |
| |
let them go back to their birth-place. |
| |
The same for mental states. |
| |
All these things, just let them go their way. |
| |
This is knowing. |
| |
Whether itâs happiness or unhappiness, |
| |
itâs all the same. |
| |
This is called meditation. |
| |
Meditation means to make the mind peaceful in order to let wisdom arise. |
| |
This requires that we practise with body and mind in order to see and know the sense impressions of form, |
| |
sound, taste, smell, touch and mental formations. |
| |
To put it briefly, itâs just a matter of happiness and unhappiness. |
| |
Happiness is pleasant feeling in the mind, |
| |
unhappiness is just unpleasant feeling. |
| |
The Buddha taught to separate this happiness and unhappiness from the mind. |
| |
The mind is that which knows. |
| |
Feeling1 is the characteristic of happiness or unhappiness, |
| |
like or dislike. |
| |
When the mind indulges in these things we say that it clings |
| |
to or takes that happiness and unhappiness to be worthy of holding. |
| |
That clinging is an action of mind; that happiness or unhappiness is feeling. |
| |
When we say the Buddha told us to separate the mind from the feeling, |
| |
he didnât literally mean to throw them to different places. |
| |
He meant that the mind must know happiness and know unhappiness. |
| |
When sitting in samÄdhi, for example, |
| |
and peace fills the mind, happiness comes but it doesnât reach us, |
| |
unhappiness comes but doesnât reach us. |
| |
This is how one separates the feeling from the mind. |
| |
We can compare it to oil and water in a bottle. |
| |
They donât combine. |
| |
Even if you try to mix them, the oil remains oil and the water remains water, |
| |
because they are of different density. |
| |
The natural state of the mind is neither happiness nor unhappiness. |
| |
When feeling enters the mind then happiness or unhappiness is born. |
| |
If we have mindfulness then we know pleasant feeling as pleasant feeling. |
| |
The mind which knows will not pick it up. |
| |
Happiness is there but itâs âoutsideâ the mind, |
| |
not buried within the mind. |
| |
The mind simply knows it clearly. |
| |
If we separate unhappiness from the mind, |
| |
does that mean there is no suffering, |
| |
that we donât experience it? |
| |
Yes, we experience it, but we know mind as mind, |
| |
feeling as feeling. |
| |
We donât cling to that feeling or carry it around. |
| |
The Buddha separated these things through knowledge. |
| |
Did he have suffering? |
| |
He knew the state of suffering but he didnât cling to it; so we say that he cut suffering off. |
| |
And there was happiness too, but he knew that happiness; if itâs not known, |
| |
itâs like a poison. |
| |
He didnât hold it to be himself. |
| |
Happiness was there through knowledge, |
| |
but it didnât exist in his mind. |
| |
Thus we say that he separated happiness and unhappiness from his mind. |
| |
When we say that the Buddha and the Enlightened Ones killed defilements, |
| |
itâs not that they really killed them. |
| |
If they had killed all defilements then we probably wouldnât have any! |
| |
They didnât kill defilements; when they knew them for what they are, |
| |
they let them go. |
| |
Someone whoâs stupid will grab them, but the Enlightened Ones knew the defilements in their own minds as a poison, |
| |
so they swept them out. |
| |
They swept out the things which caused them to suffer, |
| |
they didnât kill them. |
| |
One who doesnât know this will see some things, |
| |
such as happiness, as good, and then grab them, |
| |
but the Buddha just knew them and simply brushed them away. |
| |
But when feeling arises for us we indulge in it; that is, |
| |
the mind carries that happiness and unhappiness around. |
| |
In fact they are two different things. |
| |
The activities of mind, pleasant feeling, |
| |
unpleasant feeling and so on, are mental impressions, |
| |
they are the world. |
| |
If the mind knows this it can equally do work involving happiness or unhappiness. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because it knows the truth of these things. |
| |
Someone who doesnât know them sees them as having different value, |
| |
but one who knows sees them as equal. |
| |
If you cling to happiness it will be the birthplace of unhappiness later on, |
| |
because happiness is unstable, it changes all the time. |
| |
When happiness disappears, unhappiness arises. |
| |
The Buddha knew that because both happiness and unhappiness are unsatisfactory, |
| |
they have the same value. |
| |
When happiness arose he let it go. |
| |
He had right practice, seeing that both these things have equal values and drawbacks. |
| |
They come under the Law of Dhamma, that is, |
| |
they are unstable and unsatisfactory. |
| |
Once born, they die. |
| |
When he saw this, right view arose, the right way of practice became clear. |
| |
No matter what sort of feeling or thinking arose in his mind, |
| |
he knew it as simply the continuous play of happiness and unhappiness. |
| |
He didnât cling to them. |
| |
When the Buddha was newly enlightened he gave a sermon about indulgence in pleasure and indulgence in pain. |
| |
âMonks! |
| |
Indulgence in pleasure is the loose way, |
| |
indulgence in pain is the tense way.â |
| |
These were the two things that disturbed his practice until the day he was enlightened, |
| |
because at first he didnât let go of them. |
| |
When he knew them, he let them go, and so was able to give his first sermon. |
| |
So we say that a meditator should not walk the way of happiness or unhappiness, |
| |
rather he should know them. |
| |
Knowing the truth of suffering, he will know the cause of suffering, |
| |
the end of suffering and the way leading to the end of suffering. |
| |
And the way out of suffering is meditation itself. |
| |
To put it simply, we must be mindful. |
| |
Mindfulness is knowing, or presence of mind. |
| |
Right now what are we thinking, what are we doing? |
| |
What do we have with us right now? |
| |
We observe like this, we are aware of how we are living. |
| |
Practising like this, wisdom can arise. |
| |
We consider and investigate at all times, |
| |
in all postures. |
| |
When a mental impression arises that we like we know it as such, |
| |
we donât hold it to be anything substantial. |
| |
Itâs just happiness. |
| |
When unhappiness arises we know that itâs indulgence in pain, |
| |
itâs not the path of a meditator. |
| |
This is what we call separating the mind from the feeling. |
| |
If we are clever we donât attach, we leave things be. |
| |
We become the âone who knowsâ. |
| |
The mind and feeling are just like oil and water; they are in the same bottle but they donât mix. |
| |
Even if we are sick or in pain, we still know the feeling as feeling, |
| |
the mind as mind. |
| |
We know the painful or comfortable states but we donât identify with them. |
| |
We stay only with peace: the peace beyond both comfort and pain. |
| |
You should understand it like this, because if there is no permanent self then there is no refuge. |
| |
You must live like this, that is, without happiness and without unhappiness. |
| |
You stay only with the knowing, you donât carry things around. |
| |
As long as we are still unenlightened all this may sound strange but it doesnât matter, |
| |
we just set our goal in this direction. |
| |
The mind is the mind. |
| |
It meets happiness and unhappiness and we see them as merely that, |
| |
thereâs nothing more to it. |
| |
They are divided, not mixed. |
| |
If they are all mixed up then we donât know them. |
| |
Itâs like living in a house; the house and its occupant are related, |
| |
but separate. |
| |
If there is danger in our house we are distressed because we must protect it, |
| |
but if the house catches fire we get out of it. |
| |
If painful feeling arises we get out of it, |
| |
just like that house. |
| |
When itâs full of fire and we know it, |
| |
we come running out of it. |
| |
They are separate things; the house is one thing, |
| |
the occupant is another. |
| |
We say that we separate mind and feeling in this way but in fact they are by nature already separate. |
| |
Our realization is simply to know this natural separateness according to reality. |
| |
When we say they are not separated itâs because weâre clinging to them through ignorance of the truth. |
| |
So the Buddha told us to meditate. |
| |
This practice of meditation is very important. |
| |
Merely to know with the intellect is not enough. |
| |
The knowledge which arises from practice with a peaceful mind |
| |
and the knowledge which comes from study are really far apart. |
| |
The knowledge which comes from study is not real knowledge of our mind. |
| |
The mind tries to hold onto and keep this knowledge. |
| |
Why do we try to keep it? |
| |
Just to lose it! |
| |
And then when itâs lost we cry. |
| |
If we really know, then thereâs letting go, |
| |
leaving things be. |
| |
We know how things are and donât forget ourselves. |
| |
If it happens that we are sick we donât get lost in that. |
| |
Some people think, âThis year I was sick the whole time, |
| |
I couldnât meditate at all.â |
| |
These are the words of a really foolish person. |
| |
Someone whoâs sick or dying should really be diligent in his practice. |
| |
One may say he doesnât have time to meditate. |
| |
Heâs sick, heâs suffering, he doesnât trust his body, |
| |
and so he feels that he canât meditate. |
| |
If we think like this then things are difficult. |
| |
The Buddha didnât teach like that. |
| |
He said that right here is the place to meditate. |
| |
When weâre sick or almost dying thatâs when we can really know and see reality. |
| |
Other people say they donât have the chance to meditate because theyâre too busy. |
| |
Sometimes schoolteachers come to see me. |
| |
They say they have many responsibilities so thereâs no time to meditate. |
| |
I ask them, âWhen youâre teaching do you have time to breathe?â |
| |
They answer, âYes.â |
| |
âSo how can you have time to breathe if the work is so hectic and confusing? |
| |
Here you are far from Dhamma.â |
| |
Actually this practice is just about the mind and its feelings. |
| |
Itâs not something that you have to run after or struggle for. |
| |
Breathing continues while working. |
| |
Nature takes care of the natural processes - all we have to do is try to be aware. |
| |
Just to keep trying, going inwards to see clearly. |
| |
Meditation is like this. |
| |
If we have that presence of mind then whatever work we do will |
| |
be the very tool which enables us to know right and wrong continually. |
| |
Thereâs plenty of time to meditate; we just donât fully understand the practice, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
While sleeping we breathe, while eating we breathe, |
| |
donât we? |
| |
Why donât we have time to meditate? |
| |
Wherever we are we breathe. |
| |
If we think like this then our life has as much value as our breath; wherever we are we have time. |
| |
All kinds of thinking are mental conditions, |
| |
not conditions of body, so we need to simply have presence of mind. |
| |
Then we will know right and wrong at all times. |
| |
Standing, walking, sitting and lying, |
| |
thereâs plenty of time. |
| |
We just donât know how to use it properly. |
| |
Please consider this. |
| |
We can not run away from feeling, we must know it. |
| |
Feeling is just feeling, happiness is just happiness, |
| |
unhappiness is just unhappiness. |
| |
They are simply that. |
| |
So why should we cling to them? |
| |
If the mind is clever, simply hearing this is enough to enable us to separate feeling from the mind. |
| |
If we investigate like this continuously the mind will find release, |
| |
but itâs not escaping through ignorance. |
| |
The mind lets go, but it knows. |
| |
It doesnât let go through stupidity or because it doesnât want things to be the way they are. |
| |
It lets go because it knows according to the truth. |
| |
This is seeing nature, the reality thatâs all around us. |
| |
When we know this we are someone whoâs skilled with the mind, |
| |
we are skilled with mental impressions. |
| |
When we are skilled with mental impressions we are skilled with the world. |
| |
This is to be a âknower of the worldâ. |
| |
The Buddha was someone who clearly knew the world with all its difficulty. |
| |
He knew the troublesome, and that which was not troublesome was right there. |
| |
This world is so confusing; how is it that the Buddha was able to know it? |
| |
Here we should understand that the Dhamma taught by the Buddha is not beyond our ability. |
| |
In all postures we should have presence of mind and self awareness - and when itâs time to sit in meditation we do that. |
| |
We sit in meditation to establish peacefulness and cultivate mental energy. |
| |
We donât do it in order to play around at anything special. |
| |
Insight meditation is sitting in samÄdhi itself. |
| |
At some places they say, âNow we are going to sit in samÄdhi, |
| |
after that weâll do insight meditation.â |
| |
Donât divide them like this! |
| |
Tranquillity is the base which gives rise to wisdom; wisdom is the fruit of tranquillity. |
| |
To say that now we are going to do calm meditation, |
| |
later weâll do insight - you canât do that! |
| |
You can only divide them in speech. |
| |
Just like a knife, the blade is on one side, |
| |
the back of the blade on the other. |
| |
You canât divide them. |
| |
If you pick up one side you get both sides. |
| |
Tranquillity gives rise to wisdom like this. |
| |
Morality is the father and mother of Dhamma. |
| |
In the beginning we must have morality. |
| |
Morality is peace. |
| |
This means that one does no wrongdoings in body or speech. |
| |
When we donât do wrong then we donât get agitated; when we donât |
| |
become agitated then peace and collectedness arise within the mind. |
| |
So we say that morality, concentration and wisdom are the path on which all the Noble Ones have walked to enlightenment. |
| |
They are all one. |
| |
Morality is concentration, concentration is morality. |
| |
Concentration is wisdom, wisdom is concentration. |
| |
Itâs like a mango. |
| |
When itâs a flower we call it a flower. |
| |
When it becomes a fruit we call it a mango. |
| |
When it ripens we call it a ripe mango. |
| |
Itâs all one mango but it continually changes. |
| |
The big mango grows from the small mango, |
| |
the small mango becomes a big one. |
| |
You can call them different fruits or all one fruit. |
| |
Morality, concentration and wisdom are related like this. |
| |
In the end itâs all the path that leads to enlightenment. |
| |
The mango, from the moment it first appears as a flower, |
| |
simply grows to ripeness. |
| |
This is enough; we should see it like this. |
| |
Whatever others call it, it doesnât matter. |
| |
Once itâs born it grows to old age, and then where? |
| |
We should contemplate this. |
| |
Some people donât want to be old. |
| |
When they get old they become depressed. |
| |
These people shouldnât eat ripe mangoes! |
| |
Why do we want the mangoes to be ripe? |
| |
If theyâre not ripe in time, we ripen them artificially, |
| |
donât we? |
| |
But when we become old we are filled with regret. |
| |
Some people cry; theyâre afraid to get old or die. |
| |
If itâs like this then they shouldnât eat ripe mangoes - better to eat just the flowers! |
| |
If we can see this then we can see the Dhamma. |
| |
Everything clears up, we are at peace. |
| |
Just determine to practise like that. |
| |
Today the Chief Privy Councillor and his party have come together to hear the Dhamma. |
| |
You should take what Iâve said and contemplate it. |
| |
If anything is not right, please excuse me. |
| |
But for you to know whether itâs right or wrong depends on your practising and seeing for yourselves. |
| |
Whatever is wrong, throw it out. |
| |
If itâs right then take it and use it. |
| |
But actually we practise in order to let go of both right and wrong. |
| |
In the end we just throw everything out. |
| |
If itâs right, throw it out; wrong, throw it out! |
| |
Usually if itâs right we cling to rightness, |
| |
if itâs wrong we hold it to be wrong, |
| |
and then arguments follow. |
| |
But the Dhamma is the place where thereâs nothing - nothing at all. |
| |
1: Feeling is a translation of the PÄli word vedanÄ, |
| |
and should be understood in the sense Ajahn Chah herein describes it: as the mental states of pleasure and pain. |
| |
* * * |
| |
I would like to ask you about your practice. |
| |
You have all been practising meditation here, |
| |
but are you sure about the practice yet? |
| |
Ask yourselves, are you confident about the practice yet? |
| |
These days there are all sorts of meditation teachers around, |
| |
both monks and lay teachers, and Iâm afraid it will cause you |
| |
to be full of doubts and uncertainty about what you are doing. |
| |
This is why I am asking. |
| |
As far as Buddhist practice is concerned, |
| |
there is really nothing greater or higher than these teachings of the Buddha which you have been practising with here. |
| |
If you have a clear understanding of them, |
| |
it will give rise to an absolutely firm and unwavering peace in your heart and mind. |
| |
Making the mind peaceful is known as practising meditation, |
| |
or practising samÄdhi. |
| |
The mind is something which is extremely changeable and unreliable. |
| |
Observing from your practice so far, have you seen this yet? |
| |
Some days you practise sitting meditation and in no time at all the mind is calm, |
| |
other days you sit and whatever you do thereâs no calm - the mind constantly struggles to get away, |
| |
until it eventually does. |
| |
Some days it goes well, some days itâs awful. |
| |
This is the way the mind displays these different conditions for you to see. |
| |
You must understand that the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path merge in sīla, |
| |
samÄdhi and paññÄ. |
| |
They donât come together anywhere else. |
| |
This means that when you bring the factors of your practice together, |
| |
there must be sÄ«la, there must be samÄdhi and there must be paĂ±Ă±Ä present together in the mind. |
| |
It means that in practising meditation right here and now, |
| |
you are creating the causes for the Path to arise in a very direct way. |
| |
In sitting meditation you are taught to close your eyes so that you donât spend your time looking at different things. |
| |
This is because the Buddha was teaching that you should know your own mind. |
| |
Observe the mind. |
| |
If you close your eyes, your attention will naturally be turned |
| |
inwards towards the mind - the source of many different kinds of knowledge. |
| |
This is a way of training the mind to give rise to samÄdhi. |
| |
Once sitting with the eyes closed, establish awareness with the |
| |
breath - make awareness of the breath more important than anything else. |
| |
This means you bring awareness to follow the breath, |
| |
and by keeping with it, you will know that place which is the focal point of sati, |
| |
the focal point of the knowing and the focal point of the mindâs awareness. |
| |
Whenever these factors of the path are working together, |
| |
you will be able to watch and see your breath, |
| |
feelings, mind and Ärammana, as they are in the present moment. |
| |
Ultimately, you will know that place which is both the focal |
| |
point of samÄdhi and the unification point of the Path factors. |
| |
When developing samÄdhi, fix attention on the breath and imagine |
| |
that you are sitting alone with absolutely no other people and nothing else around to bother you. |
| |
Develop this perception in the mind, sustaining it until the |
| |
mind completely lets go of the world outside and all that is |
| |
left is simply the knowing of the breath entering and leaving. |
| |
The mind must set aside the external world. |
| |
Donât allow yourself to start thinking about this person who is sitting over here, |
| |
or that person who is sitting over there. |
| |
Donât give space to any thoughts that will give rise to confusion |
| |
or agitation in the mind - itâs better to throw them out and be done with them. |
| |
There is no one else here, you are sitting all alone. |
| |
Develop this perception until all the other memories, |
| |
perceptions and thoughts concerning other people and things subside, |
| |
and youâre no longer doubting or wondering about the other people or things around you. |
| |
Then you can fix your attention solely on the in-breaths and out-breaths. |
| |
Breathe normally. |
| |
Allow the in-breaths and the out-breaths to continue naturally, |
| |
without forcing them to be longer or shorter, |
| |
stronger or weaker than normal. |
| |
Allow the breath to continue in a state of normality and balance, |
| |
and then sit and observe it entering and leaving the body. |
| |
Once the mind has let go of external mind-objects, |
| |
it means you will no longer feel disturbed by the sound of traffic or other noises. |
| |
You wonât feel irritated with anything outside. |
| |
Whether itâs forms, sounds or whatever, |
| |
they wonât be a source of disturbance, |
| |
because the mind wonât be paying attention to them - it will become centred upon the breath. |
| |
If the mind is agitated by different things and you canât concentrate, |
| |
try taking an extra-deep breath until the lungs are completely full, |
| |
and then release all the air until there is none left inside. |
| |
Do this several times, then re-establish awareness and continue to develop concentration. |
| |
Having re-established mindfulness, itâs normal that for a period the mind will be calm, |
| |
then change and become agitated again. |
| |
When this happens, make the mind firm, |
| |
take another deep breath and subsequently expel all the air from your lungs. |
| |
Fill the lungs to capacity again for a moment and then re-establish mindfulness on the breathing. |
| |
Fix sati on the in-breaths and the out-breaths, |
| |
and continue to maintain awareness in this way. |
| |
The practice tends to be this way, so it will have to take many sittings and much effort before you become proficient. |
| |
Once you are, the mind will let go of the external world and remain undisturbed. |
| |
Mind-objects from the outside will be unable to penetrate inside and disturb the mind itself. |
| |
Once they are unable to penetrate inside, |
| |
you will see the mind. |
| |
You will see the mind as one object of awareness, |
| |
the breath as another and mind-objects as another. |
| |
They will all be present within the field of awareness, |
| |
centred at the tip of your nose. |
| |
Once sati is firmly established with the in-breaths and out-breaths, |
| |
you can continue to practise at your ease. |
| |
As the mind becomes calm, the breath, |
| |
which was originally coarse, becomes correspondingly lighter and more refined. |
| |
The object of mind also becomes increasingly subtle and refined. |
| |
The body feels lighter and the mind itself feels progressively lighter and unburdened. |
| |
The mind lets go of external mind-objects and you continue to observe internally. |
| |
From here onwards your awareness will be turned away from the |
| |
world outside and be directed inwards to focus on the mind. |
| |
Once the mind has gathered together and become concentrated, |
| |
maintain awareness at that point where the mind becomes focused. |
| |
As you breathe, you will see the breath clearly as it enters and leaves, |
| |
sati will be sharp and awareness of mind-objects and mental activity will be clearer. |
| |
At that point you will see the characteristics of sīla, |
| |
samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä and the way in which they merge together. |
| |
This is known as the unification of the Path factors. |
| |
Once this unification occurs, your mind will be free from all forms of agitation and confusion. |
| |
It will become one-pointed and this is what is known as samÄdhi. |
| |
When you focus attention in just one place, |
| |
in this case the breath, you gain a clarity and awareness because of the uninterrupted presence of sati. |
| |
As you continue to see the breath clearly, |
| |
sati will become stronger and the mind will become more sensitive in many different ways. |
| |
You will see the mind in the centre of that place (the breath), |
| |
one-pointed with awareness focused inwards, |
| |
rather than turning towards the world outside. |
| |
The external world gradually disappears from your awareness and |
| |
the mind no longer goes to perform any work on the outside. |
| |
Itâs as if youâve come inside your âhouseâ, |
| |
where all your sense faculties have come together to form one compact unit. |
| |
You are at ease and the mind is free from all external objects. |
| |
Awareness remains with the breath and over time it will penetrate deeper and deeper inside, |
| |
becoming progressively more refined. |
| |
Ultimately, awareness of the breath becomes so refined that the sensation of the breath seems to disappear. |
| |
You could say either that awareness of the sensation of the breath has disappeared, |
| |
or that the breath itself has disappeared. |
| |
Then there arises a new kind of awareness - awareness that the breath has disappeared. |
| |
In other words, awareness of the breath becomes so refined that itâs difficult to define it. |
| |
So it might be that you are just sitting there and thereâs no breath. |
| |
Really, the breath is still there, but it has become so refined that it seems to have disappeared. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because the mind is at its most refined, |
| |
with a special kind of knowing. |
| |
All that remains is the knowing. |
| |
Even though the breath has vanished, the mind is still concentrated with the knowledge that the breath is not there. |
| |
As you continue, what should you take up as the object of meditation? |
| |
Take this very knowing as the meditation object - in other words |
| |
the knowledge that there is no breath - and sustain this. |
| |
You could say that a specific kind of knowledge has been established in the mind. |
| |
At this point, some people might have doubts arising, |
| |
because it is here that nimittÄ can arise. |
| |
These can be of many kinds, including both forms and sounds. |
| |
It is here that all sorts of unexpected things can arise in the course of the practice. |
| |
If nimittÄ do arise (some people have them, |
| |
some donât) you must understand them in accordance with the truth. |
| |
Donât doubt or allow yourself to become alarmed. |
| |
At this stage, you should make the mind unshakeable in its concentration and be especially mindful. |
| |
Some people become startled when they notice that the breath has disappeared, |
| |
because theyâre used to having the breath there. |
| |
When it appears that the breath has gone, |
| |
you might panic or become afraid that you are going to die. |
| |
Here you must establish the understanding that it is just the nature of the practice to progress in this way. |
| |
What will you observe as the object of meditation now? |
| |
Observe this feeling that there is no breath and sustain it as the object of awareness as you continue to meditate. |
| |
The Buddha described this as the firmest, |
| |
most unshakeable form of samÄdhi. |
| |
There is just one firm and unwavering object of mind. |
| |
When your practice of samÄdhi reaches this point, |
| |
there will be many unusual and refined changes and transformations taking place within the mind, |
| |
of which you can be aware. |
| |
The sensation of the body will feel at its lightest or might even disappear altogether. |
| |
You might feel like you are floating in mid-air and seem to be completely weightless. |
| |
It might be like you are in the middle of space and wherever |
| |
you direct your sense faculties they donât seem to register anything at all. |
| |
Even though you know the body is still sitting there, |
| |
you experience complete emptiness. |
| |
This feeling of emptiness can be quite strange. |
| |
As you continue to practise, understand that there is nothing to worry about. |
| |
Establish this feeling of being relaxed and unworried, |
| |
securely in the mind. |
| |
Once the mind is concentrated and one-pointed, |
| |
no mind-object will be able to penetrate or disturb it, |
| |
and you will be able to sit like this for as long as you want. |
| |
You will be able to sustain concentration without any feelings of pain and discomfort. |
| |
Having developed samÄdhi to this level, |
| |
you will be able to enter or leave it at will. |
| |
When you do leave it, itâs at your ease and convenience. |
| |
You withdraw at your ease, rather than because you are feeling lazy or tired. |
| |
You withdraw from samÄdhi because it is the appropriate time to withdraw, |
| |
and you come out of it at your will. |
| |
This is samÄdhi; you are relaxed and at your ease. |
| |
You enter and leave it without any problems. |
| |
The mind and heart are at ease. |
| |
If you genuinely have samÄdhi like this, |
| |
it means that sitting meditation and entering samÄdhi for just |
| |
thirty minutes or an hour will enable you to remain cool and peaceful for many days afterwards. |
| |
Experiencing the effects of samÄdhi like this for several days |
| |
has a purifying effect on the mind - whatever you experience will become an object for contemplation. |
| |
This is where the practice really begins. |
| |
Itâs the fruit which arises as samÄdhi matures. |
| |
SamÄdhi performs the function of calming the mind. |
| |
SamÄdhi performs one function, sÄ«la performs one function and paĂ±Ă±Ä performs another function. |
| |
These characteristics, which you are focusing attention on and developing in the practice are linked, |
| |
forming a circle. |
| |
This is the way they manifest in the mind. |
| |
SÄ«la, samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä arise and mature from the same place. |
| |
Once the mind is calm, it will become progressively more restrained |
| |
and composed due to the presence of paĂ±Ă±Ä and the power of samÄdhi. |
| |
As the mind becomes more composed and refined, |
| |
this gives rise to an energy which acts to purify sīla. |
| |
Greater purity of sÄ«la facilitates the development of stronger and more refined samÄdhi, |
| |
and this in turn supports the maturing of paññÄ. |
| |
They assist each other in this way. |
| |
Each aspect of the practice acts as a supporting factor for the other ones - in the end these terms becoming synonymous. |
| |
As these three factors continue to mature together, |
| |
they form one complete circle, ultimately giving rise to magga. |
| |
Magga is a synthesis of these three functions of the practice working smoothly and consistently together. |
| |
As you practise, you have to preserve this energy. |
| |
It is the energy which will give rise to vipassanÄ or paññÄ. |
| |
Having reached this stage (where paĂ±Ă±Ä is already functioning in the mind, |
| |
independent of whether the mind is peaceful or not), |
| |
paĂ±Ă±Ä will provide a consistent and independent energy in the practice. |
| |
You see that whenever the mind is not peaceful, |
| |
you shouldnât attach, and even when it is peaceful, |
| |
you shouldnât attach. |
| |
Having let go of the burden of such concerns, |
| |
the heart will accordingly feel much lighter. |
| |
Whether you experience pleasant mind-objects or unpleasant mind-objects, |
| |
you will remain at ease. |
| |
The mind will remain peaceful in this way. |
| |
Another important thing is to see that when you stop doing formal meditation practice, |
| |
if there is no wisdom functioning in the mind, |
| |
you will give up the practice altogether without any further contemplation, |
| |
development of awareness or thought about the work which still has to be done. |
| |
In fact, when you withdraw from samÄdhi, |
| |
you know clearly in the mind that you have withdrawn. |
| |
Having withdrawn you should continue to conduct yourself in a normal manner. |
| |
Maintain mindfulness and awareness at all times. |
| |
It isnât that you only practise meditation in the sitting posture - samÄdhi means the mind which is firm and unwavering. |
| |
As you go about your daily life, make the mind firm and steady |
| |
and maintain this sense of steadiness as the object of mind at all times. |
| |
You must be practising sati and sampajañña continuously. |
| |
After you get up from the formal sitting practice and go about your business - walking, |
| |
riding in cars and so on - whenever your eyes see a form or your ears hear a sound, |
| |
maintain awareness. |
| |
As you experience mind-objects which give rise to liking and disliking, |
| |
try to consistently maintain awareness of the fact that such mental states are impermanent and uncertain. |
| |
In this way the mind will remain calm and in a state of ânormalityâ. |
| |
As long as the mind is calm, use it to contemplate mind-objects. |
| |
Contemplate the whole of this form, the physical body. |
| |
You can do this at any time and in any posture: whether doing formal meditation practice, |
| |
relaxing at home, out at work, or in whatever situation you find yourself. |
| |
Keep the meditation and the reflection going at all times. |
| |
Just going for a walk and seeing dead leaves on the ground under |
| |
a tree can provide an opportunity to contemplate impermanence. |
| |
Both we and the leaves are the same: when we get old, |
| |
we shrivel up and die. |
| |
Other people are all the same. |
| |
This is raising the mind to the level of vipassanÄ, |
| |
contemplating the truth of the way things are, |
| |
the whole time. |
| |
Whether walking, standing, sitting or lying down, |
| |
sati is sustained evenly and consistently. |
| |
This is practising meditation correctly - you have to follow the mind closely, |
| |
checking it at all times. |
| |
Practising here and now at seven oâclock in the evening, |
| |
we have sat and meditated together for an hour and now stopped. |
| |
It might be that your mind has stopped practising completely and hasnât continued with the reflection. |
| |
Thatâs the wrong way to do it. |
| |
When we stop, all that should stop is the formal meeting and sitting meditation. |
| |
You should continue practising and developing awareness consistently, |
| |
without letting up. |
| |
Iâve often taught that if you donât practise consistently, |
| |
itâs like drops of water. |
| |
Itâs like drops of water because the practice is not a continuous, |
| |
uninterrupted flow. |
| |
Sati is not sustained evenly. |
| |
The important point is that the mind does the practice and nothing else. |
| |
The body doesnât do it. |
| |
The mind does the work, the mind does the practice. |
| |
If you understand this clearly, you will see that you donât necessarily |
| |
have to do formal sitting meditation in order for the mind to know samÄdhi. |
| |
The mind is the one who does the practice. |
| |
You have to experience and understand this for yourself, |
| |
in your own mind. |
| |
Once you do see this for yourself, you will be developing awareness in the mind at all times and in all postures. |
| |
If you are maintaining sati as an even and unbroken flow, |
| |
itâs as if the drops of water have joined to form a smooth and continuous flow of running water. |
| |
Sati is present in the mind from moment to moment and accordingly there will be awareness of mind-objects at all times. |
| |
If the mind is restrained and composed with uninterrupted sati, |
| |
you will know mind-objects each time that wholesome and unwholesome mental states arise. |
| |
You will know the mind that is calm and the mind that is confused and agitated. |
| |
Wherever you go you will be practising like this. |
| |
If you train the mind in this way, your meditation will mature quickly and successfully. |
| |
Please donât misunderstand. |
| |
These days itâs common for people to go on vipassanÄ courses for three or seven days, |
| |
where they donât have to speak or do anything but meditate. |
| |
Maybe you have gone on a silent meditation retreat for a week or two, |
| |
afterwards returning to your normal daily life. |
| |
You might have left thinking that youâve âdone vipassanÄâ and, |
| |
because you feel that you know what itâs all about, |
| |
then carry on going to parties, discos and indulging in different forms of sensual delight. |
| |
When you do it like this, what happens? |
| |
There wonât be any of the fruits of vipassanÄ left by the end of it. |
| |
If you go and do all sorts of unskilful things, |
| |
which disturb and upset the mind, wasting your previous efforts, |
| |
then next year go back again and do another retreat for seven days or a few weeks, |
| |
then come out and carry on with the parties, |
| |
discos and drinking, that isnât true practice. |
| |
It isnât patipadÄ or the path to progress. |
| |
You need to make an effort to renounce. |
| |
You must contemplate until you see the harmful effects which come from such behaviour. |
| |
See the harm in drinking and going out on the town. |
| |
Reflect and see the harm inherent in all the different kinds of unskilful behaviour which you indulge in, |
| |
until it becomes fully apparent. |
| |
This would provide the impetus for you to take a step back and change your ways. |
| |
Then you would find some real peace. |
| |
To experience peace of mind you have to clearly see the disadvantages and danger in such forms of behaviour. |
| |
This is practising in the correct way. |
| |
If you do a silent retreat for seven days, |
| |
where you donât have to speak to or get involved with anybody, |
| |
and then go chatting, gossiping and overindulging for another seven months, |
| |
how will you gain any real or lasting benefit from those seven days of practice? |
| |
I would encourage all the laypeople here who are practising to develop awareness and wisdom to understand this point. |
| |
Try to practise consistently. |
| |
See the disadvantages of practising insincerely and inconsistently, |
| |
and try to sustain a more dedicated and continuous effort in the practice. |
| |
Just this much. |
| |
It can then become a realistic possibility that you might put an end to the kilesÄ. |
| |
But that lifestyle of not speaking and not playing around for seven days, |
| |
followed by six months of complete sensual indulgence, |
| |
without any mindfulness or restraint, |
| |
will just lead to the squandering of any gains made from the meditation - there wonât be anything left. |
| |
Itâs like going to work for a day and earning twenty pounds, |
| |
but then going out and spending thirty pounds on food and things in the same day; would any money be saved? |
| |
It would all be gone. |
| |
Itâs just the same with the meditation. |
| |
This is a form of reminder to you all, |
| |
so I will ask for your forgiveness. |
| |
Itâs necessary to speak in this way, so that those aspects of |
| |
the practice which are at fault will become clear to you and accordingly, |
| |
you will be able to give them up. |
| |
You could say that the reason why you have come to practise is |
| |
to learn how to avoid doing the wrong things in the future. |
| |
What happens when you do the wrong things? |
| |
Doing wrong things leads you to agitation and suffering, |
| |
when thereâs no goodness in the mind. |
| |
Itâs not the way to peace of mind. |
| |
This is the way it is. |
| |
If you practise on a retreat, not talking for seven days, |
| |
and then go indulging for a few months, |
| |
no matter how strictly you practised for those seven days, |
| |
you wonât derive any lasting value from that practice. |
| |
Practising that way, you donât really get anywhere. |
| |
Many places where meditation is taught donât really get to grips with or get beyond this problem. |
| |
Really, you have to conduct your daily life in a consistently calm and restrained way. |
| |
In meditation you have to be constantly turning your attention to the practice. |
| |
Itâs like planting a tree. |
| |
If you plant a tree in one place and after three days pull it up and plant it in a different spot, |
| |
then after a further three days pull it up and plant it in yet another place, |
| |
it will just die without producing anything. |
| |
Practising meditation like this wonât bear any fruit either. |
| |
This is something you have to understand for yourselves. |
| |
Contemplate it. |
| |
Try it out for yourselves when you go home. |
| |
Get a sapling and plant it in one spot, |
| |
and every few days, go and pull it up and plant it in a different place. |
| |
It will just die without ever bearing any fruit. |
| |
Itâs the same doing a meditation retreat for seven days, |
| |
followed by seven months of unrestrained behaviour, |
| |
allowing the mind to become soiled, |
| |
and then going back to do another retreat for a short period, |
| |
practising strictly without talking and subsequently coming out and being unrestrained again. |
| |
As with the tree, the meditation just dies - none of the wholesome fruits are retained. |
| |
The tree doesnât grow, the meditation doesnât grow. |
| |
I say practising this way doesnât bear much fruit. |
| |
Actually, Iâm not fond of giving talks like this. |
| |
Itâs because I feel sorry for you that I have to speak critically. |
| |
When you are doing the wrong things, itâs my duty to tell you, |
| |
but Iâm speaking out of compassion for you. |
| |
Some people might feel uneasy and think that Iâm just scolding them. |
| |
Really, Iâm not just scolding you for its own sake, |
| |
Iâm helping to point out where you are going wrong, |
| |
so that you know. |
| |
Some people might think, Luang Por is just telling us off,â but itâs not like that. |
| |
Itâs only once in a long while that Iâm able to come and give a talk - if I were to give talks like this every day, |
| |
you would really get upset! |
| |
But the truth is, itâs not you who gets upset, |
| |
itâs only the kilesÄ that are upset. |
| |
I will say just this much for now. |
| |
* * * |
| |
The Buddha taught to see the body in the body. |
| |
What does this mean? |
| |
We are all familiar with the parts of the body such as hair, |
| |
nails, teeth and skin. |
| |
So how do we see the body in the body? |
| |
If we recognize all these things as being impermanent, |
| |
unsatisfactory and not-self, thatâs what is called âseeing the body in the bodyâ. |
| |
Then it isnât necessary to go into detail and meditate on the separate parts. |
| |
Itâs like having fruit in a basket. |
| |
If we have already counted the pieces of fruit, |
| |
then we know whatâs there, and when we need to, |
| |
we can pick up the basket and take it away, |
| |
and all the pieces come with it. |
| |
We know the fruit is all there, so we donât have to count it again. |
| |
Having meditated on the thirty-two parts of the body, |
| |
and recognized them as something not stable or permanent, |
| |
we no longer need to weary ourselves separating them like this |
| |
and meditating in such detail; just as we donât have to dump |
| |
all the fruit out of the basket and count it again and again. |
| |
But we do carry the basket along to our destination, |
| |
walking mindfully and carefully, taking care not to stumble and fall. |
| |
When we see the body in the body, which means we see the Dhamma in the body, |
| |
knowing our own and othersâ bodies as impermanent phenomena, |
| |
we donât need detailed explanations. |
| |
Sitting here, we have mindfulness constantly in control, |
| |
knowing things as they are. |
| |
Meditation then becomes quite simple. |
| |
Itâs the same if we meditate on Buddho - if we understand what Buddho really is, |
| |
we donât need to repeat the word âBuddhoâ. |
| |
It means having full knowledge and firm awareness. |
| |
This is meditation. |
| |
Still, meditation is generally not well understood. |
| |
We practise in a group, but we often donât know what itâs all about. |
| |
Some people think meditation is really hard to do. |
| |
âI come to the monastery, but I canât sit. |
| |
I donât have much endurance. |
| |
My legs hurt, my back aches, Iâm in pain all over.â |
| |
So they give up on it and donât come anymore, |
| |
thinking they canât do it. |
| |
But in fact samÄdhi is not sitting. |
| |
SamÄdhi isnât walking. |
| |
It isnât lying down or standing. |
| |
Sitting, walking, closing the eyes, opening the eyes, |
| |
these are all mere actions. |
| |
Having your eyes closed doesnât necessarily mean youâre practising samÄdhi. |
| |
It could just mean that youâre drowsy and dull. |
| |
If youâre sitting with your eyes closed but youâre falling asleep, |
| |
your head bobbing all over and your mouth hanging open, |
| |
thatâs not sitting in samÄdhi. |
| |
Itâs sitting with your eyes closed. |
| |
SamÄdhi and closed eyes are two separate matters. |
| |
Real samÄdhi can be practised with eyes open or eyes closed. |
| |
You can be sitting, walking, standing or lying down. |
| |
SamÄdhi means the mind is firmly focused, |
| |
with all-encompassing mindfulness, restraint, |
| |
and caution. |
| |
You are constantly aware of right and wrong, |
| |
constantly watching all conditions arising in the mind. |
| |
When it shoots off to think of something, |
| |
having a mood of aversion or longing, |
| |
you are aware of that. |
| |
Some people get discouraged: âI just canât do it. |
| |
As soon as I sit, my mind starts thinking of home. |
| |
Thatâs evil (Thai: bahp)â. |
| |
Hey! |
| |
If just that much is evil, the Buddha never would have become Buddha. |
| |
He spent five years struggling with his mind, |
| |
thinking of his home and his family. |
| |
It was only after six years that he awakened. |
| |
So, some people feel that these sudden arisings of thought are wrong or evil. |
| |
You may have an impulse to kill someone. |
| |
But you are aware of it in the next instant, |
| |
you realize that killing is wrong, so you stop and refrain. |
| |
Is there harm in this? |
| |
What do you think? |
| |
Or if you have a thought about stealing something and that is |
| |
followed by a stronger recollection that to do so is wrong, |
| |
and so you refrain from acting on it - is that bad kamma Itâs |
| |
not that every time you have an impulse you instantly accumulate bad kamma. |
| |
Otherwise, how could there be any way to liberation? |
| |
Impulses are merely impulses. |
| |
Thoughts are merely thoughts. |
| |
In the first instance, you havenât created anything yet. |
| |
In the second instance, if you act on it with body, |
| |
speech or mind, then you are creating something. |
| |
AvijjÄ has taken control. |
| |
If you have the impulse to steal and then you are aware of yourself and aware that this would be wrong, |
| |
this is wisdom, and there is vijjÄ instead. |
| |
The mental impulse is not consummated. |
| |
This is timely awareness, wisdom arising and informing our experience. |
| |
If there is the first mind-moment of wanting to steal something and then we act on it, |
| |
that is the dhamma of delusion; the actions of body, |
| |
speech and mind that follow the impulse will bring negative results. |
| |
This is how it is. |
| |
Merely having the thoughts is not negative kamma. |
| |
If we donât have any thoughts, how will wisdom develop? |
| |
Some people simply want to sit with a blank mind. |
| |
Thatâs wrong understanding. |
| |
Iâm talking about samÄdhi that is accompanied by wisdom. |
| |
In fact, the Buddha didnât wish for a lot of samÄdhi. |
| |
He didnât want jhÄna and samÄpatti. |
| |
He saw samÄdhi as one component factor of the path. |
| |
SÄ«la, samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä are components or ingredients, |
| |
like ingredients used in cooking. |
| |
We use spices in cooking to make food tasty. |
| |
The point isnât the spices themselves, |
| |
but the food we eat. |
| |
Practising samÄdhi is the same. |
| |
The Buddhaâs teachers, Uddaka and ÄlÄra, |
| |
put heavy emphasis on practising the jhÄna, |
| |
and attaining various kinds of powers like clairvoyance. |
| |
But if you get that far, itâs hard to undo. |
| |
Some places teach this deep tranquillity, |
| |
to sit with delight in quietude. |
| |
The meditators then get intoxicated by their samÄdhi. |
| |
If they have sīla, they get intoxicated by their sīla. |
| |
If they walk the path, they become intoxicated by the path, |
| |
dazzled by the beauty and wonders they experience, |
| |
and they donât reach the real destination. |
| |
The Buddha said that this is a subtle error. |
| |
Still, itâs correct for those on a coarse level. |
| |
But actually what the Buddha wanted was for us to have an appropriate measure of samÄdhi, |
| |
without getting stuck there. |
| |
After we train in and develop samÄdhi, |
| |
then samÄdhi should develop wisdom. |
| |
SamÄdhi that is on the level of samatha - tranquillity - is like a rock covering grass. |
| |
In samÄdhi that is sure and stable, even when the eyes are opened, |
| |
wisdom is there. |
| |
When wisdom has been born, it encompasses and knows (ârulesâ) all things. |
| |
So the Teacher did not want those refined levels of concentration and cessation, |
| |
because they become a diversion and then one forgets the path. |
| |
So it is necessary not to be attached to sitting or any other particular posture. |
| |
SamÄdhi doesnât reside in having the eyes closed, |
| |
the eyes open, or in sitting, standing, |
| |
walking or lying down. |
| |
SamÄdhi pervades all postures and activities. |
| |
Older persons, who often canât sit very well, |
| |
can contemplate especially well and practise samÄdhi easily; they too can develop a lot of wisdom. |
| |
How is it that they can develop wisdom? |
| |
Everything is rousing them. |
| |
When they open their eyes, they donât see things as clearly as they used to. |
| |
Their teeth give them trouble and fall out. |
| |
Their bodies ache most of the time. |
| |
Just that is the place of study. |
| |
So really, meditation is easy for old folks. |
| |
Meditation is hard for youngsters. |
| |
Their teeth are strong, so they can enjoy their food. |
| |
They sleep soundly. |
| |
Their faculties are intact and the world is fun and exciting to them, |
| |
so they get deluded in a big way. |
| |
When the old ones chew on something hard theyâre soon in pain. |
| |
Right there the devadĆ«ta are talking to them; theyâre teaching them every day. |
| |
When they open their eyes their sight is fuzzy. |
| |
In the morning their backs ache. |
| |
In the evening their legs hurt. |
| |
Thatâs it! |
| |
This is really an excellent subject to study. |
| |
Some of you older people will say you canât meditate. |
| |
What do you want to meditate on? |
| |
Who will you learn meditation from? |
| |
This is seeing the body in the body and sensation in sensation. |
| |
Are you seeing these or are you running away? |
| |
Saying you canât practise because youâre too old is only due to wrong understanding. |
| |
The question is, are things clear to you? |
| |
Elderly persons have a lot of thinking, |
| |
a lot of sensation, a lot of discomfort and pain. |
| |
Everything appears! |
| |
If they meditate, they can really testify to it. |
| |
So I say that meditation is easy for old folks. |
| |
They can do it best. |
| |
Everyone says âWhen Iâm old, Iâll go to the monastery.â |
| |
If you understand this, itâs true all right. |
| |
You have to see it within yourself. |
| |
When you sit, itâs true; when you stand up, |
| |
itâs true; when you walk, itâs true. |
| |
Everything is a hassle, everything is presenting obstacles - and everything is teaching you. |
| |
Isnât this so? |
| |
Can you just get up and walk away so easily now? |
| |
When you stand up, itâs âOy!â |
| |
Or havenât you noticed? |
| |
And itâs âOy!â |
| |
when you walk. |
| |
Itâs prodding you. |
| |
When youâre young you can just stand up and walk, |
| |
going on your way. |
| |
But you donât really know anything. |
| |
When youâre old, every time you stand up itâs âOy!â |
| |
Isnât that what you say? |
| |
âOy! |
| |
Oy!â |
| |
Every time you move, you learn something. |
| |
So how can you say itâs difficult to meditate? |
| |
Where else is there to look? |
| |
Itâs all correct. |
| |
The devadƫta are telling you something. |
| |
Itâs most clear. |
| |
SankhÄrÄ are telling you that they are not stable or permanent, |
| |
not you or yours. |
| |
They are telling you this every moment. |
| |
But we think differently. |
| |
We donât think that this is right. |
| |
We entertain wrong view and our ideas are far from the truth. |
| |
But actually, old people can see impermanence, |
| |
suffering and lack of self, and give rise to dispassion and |
| |
disenchantment - because the evidence is right there within them all the time. |
| |
I think thatâs good. |
| |
Having the inner sensitivity that is always aware of right and wrong is called Buddho. |
| |
Itâs not necessary to be continually repeating âBuddhoâ. |
| |
Youâve counted the fruit in your basket. |
| |
Every time you sit down, you donât have to go to the trouble of spilling out the fruit and counting it again. |
| |
You can leave it in the basket. |
| |
But someone with mistaken attachment will keep counting. |
| |
Heâll stop under a tree, spill it out and count, |
| |
and put it back in the basket. |
| |
Then heâll walk on to the next stopping place and do it again. |
| |
But heâs just counting the same fruit. |
| |
This is craving itself. |
| |
Heâs afraid that if he doesnât count, |
| |
there will be some mistake. |
| |
We are afraid that if we donât keep saying âBuddhoâ, |
| |
weâll be mistaken. |
| |
How are we mistaken? |
| |
Only the person who doesnât know how much fruit there is needs to count. |
| |
Once you know, you can take it easy and just leave it in the basket. |
| |
When youâre sitting, you just sit. |
| |
When youâre lying down, you just lie down because your fruit is all there with you. |
| |
By practising virtue and creating merit, |
| |
we say, âNibbÄna paccayo hotuâ, (may it be a condition for realizing NibbÄna). |
| |
As a condition for realizing NibbÄna, |
| |
making offerings is good. |
| |
Keeping precepts is good. |
| |
Practising meditation is good. |
| |
Listening to Dhamma teachings is good. |
| |
May they become conditions for realizing NibbÄna. |
| |
But what is NibbÄna all about anyway? |
| |
NibbÄna means not grasping. |
| |
NibbÄna means not giving meaning to things. |
| |
NibbÄna means letting go. |
| |
Making offerings and doing meritorious deeds, |
| |
observing moral precepts, and meditating on loving-kindness: all these are for getting rid of defilements and craving, |
| |
for not wishing for anything, not wishing to be, |
| |
or become anything; for making the mind empty - empty of self-cherishing, |
| |
empty of concepts of self and other. |
| |
NibbÄna paccayo hotu: make it become a cause for NibbÄna. |
| |
Practising generosity is giving up, letting go. |
| |
Listening to teachings is for the purpose of gaining knowledge to give up and let go, |
| |
to uproot clinging to what is good and to what is bad. |
| |
At first we meditate to become aware of the wrong and the bad. |
| |
When we recognize that, we give it up and we practise what is good. |
| |
Then, when some good is achieved, donât get attached to that good. |
| |
Remain halfway in the good, or above the good - donât dwell under the good. |
| |
If we are under the good, then the good pushes us around, |
| |
and we become slaves to it. |
| |
We become slaves, and it forces us to create all sorts of kamma and demerit. |
| |
It can lead us into anything, and the result will be the same |
| |
kind of unhappiness and unfortunate circumstances we found ourselves in before. |
| |
Give up evil and develop merit - give up the negative and develop what is positive. |
| |
Developing merit, remain above merit. |
| |
Remain above merit and demerit, above good and evil. |
| |
Keep on practising with a mind that is giving up, |
| |
letting go and getting free. |
| |
Itâs the same no matter what you are doing: if you do it with a mind of letting go it is a cause for realizing NibbÄna. |
| |
What you do free of desire, free of defilement, |
| |
free of craving, all merges with the path, |
| |
meaning Noble Truth, meaning saccadhamma. |
| |
The Four Noble Truths are having the wisdom that knows tanhÄ, |
| |
which is the source of dukkha. |
| |
KÄmatanhÄ, bhavatanhÄ, vibhavatanhÄ: these are the origination, |
| |
the source. |
| |
If you are wishing for anything or wanting to be anything, |
| |
you are nourishing dukkha, bringing dukkha into existence, |
| |
because this is what gives birth to dukkha. |
| |
These are the causes. |
| |
If we create the causes of dukkha, then dukkha will come about. |
| |
The cause is vibhavatanhÄ: this restless, |
| |
anxious craving. |
| |
One becomes a slave to desire and creates all sorts of kamma and wrongdoing because of it, |
| |
and thus suffering is born. |
| |
Simply speaking, dukkha is the child of desire. |
| |
Desire is the parent of dukkha. |
| |
When there are parents, dukkha can be born. |
| |
When there are no parents, dukkha can not come about - there will be no offspring. |
| |
This is where meditation should be focused. |
| |
We should see all the forms of tanhÄ, |
| |
which cause us to have desires. |
| |
But talking about desire can be confusing. |
| |
Some people get the idea that any kind of desire, |
| |
such as desire for food and the material requisites for life, |
| |
is tanhÄ. |
| |
But we can have this kind of desire in an ordinary and natural way. |
| |
When youâre hungry and desire food, you can take a meal and be done with it. |
| |
Thatâs quite ordinary. |
| |
This is desire thatâs within boundaries and doesnât have ill effects. |
| |
This kind of desire isnât sensuality. |
| |
If itâs sensuality, then it becomes something more than desire. |
| |
There will be craving for more things to consume, |
| |
seeking out flavours, seeking enjoyment in ways that bring hardship and trouble, |
| |
such as drinking liquor and beer. |
| |
Some tourists told me about a place where people eat live monkeysâ brains. |
| |
They put a monkey in the middle of the table and cut open its skull. |
| |
Then they spoon out the brain to eat. |
| |
Thatâs eating like demons or hungry ghosts. |
| |
Itâs not eating in a natural or ordinary way. |
| |
Doing things like this, eating becomes tanhÄ. |
| |
They say that the blood of monkeys makes them strong. |
| |
So they try to get hold of such animals and when they eat them theyâre drinking liquor and beer too. |
| |
This isnât ordinary eating. |
| |
Itâs the way of ghosts and demons mired in sensual craving. |
| |
Itâs eating coals, eating fire, eating everything everywhere. |
| |
This sort of desire is what is tanhÄ. |
| |
There is no moderation. |
| |
Speaking, thinking, dressing, everything such people do goes to excess. |
| |
If our eating, sleeping, and other necessary activities are done in moderation, |
| |
there is no harm in them. |
| |
So you should be aware of yourselves in regard to these things; then they wonât become a source of suffering. |
| |
If we know how to be moderate and thrifty in our needs, |
| |
we can be comfortable. |
| |
Practising meditation and creating merit and virtue are not really such difficult things to do, |
| |
provided we understand them well. |
| |
What is wrongdoing? |
| |
What is merit? |
| |
Merit is what is good and beautiful, not harming ourselves or others with our thinking, |
| |
speaking, and acting. |
| |
If we do this, there is happiness. |
| |
Nothing negative is being created. |
| |
Merit is like this. |
| |
Skilfulness is like this. |
| |
Itâs the same with making offerings and giving charity. |
| |
When we give, what is it that we are trying to give away? |
| |
Giving is for the purpose of destroying self-cherishing, |
| |
the belief in a self along with selfishness. |
| |
Selfishness is powerful, extreme suffering. |
| |
Selfish people always want to be better than others and to get more than others. |
| |
A simple example is how, after they eat, |
| |
they donât want to wash their dishes. |
| |
They let someone else do it. |
| |
If they eat in a group, they will leave it to the group. |
| |
After they eat, they take off. |
| |
This is selfishness, not being responsible, |
| |
and it puts a burden on others. |
| |
What it really amounts to is someone who doesnât care about himself, |
| |
who doesnât help himself and who really doesnât love himself. |
| |
In practising generosity, we are trying to cleanse our hearts of this attitude. |
| |
This is called creating merit through giving, |
| |
in order to have a mind of compassion and caring towards all living beings without exception. |
| |
If we can be free of just this one thing, |
| |
selfishness, then we will be like the Lord Buddha. |
| |
He wasnât out for himself, but sought the good of all. |
| |
If we have the path and fruit arising in our hearts like this we can certainly progress. |
| |
With this freedom from selfishness, all the activities of virtuous deeds, |
| |
generosity, and meditation will lead to liberation. |
| |
Whoever practises like this will become free and go beyond - beyond all convention and appearance. |
| |
The basic principles of practice are not beyond our understanding. |
| |
For example, if we lack wisdom, when practising generosity, |
| |
there wonât be any merit. |
| |
Without understanding, we think that generosity merely means giving things. |
| |
âWhen I feel like giving, Iâll give. |
| |
If I feel like stealing something, Iâll steal it. |
| |
Then if I feel generous, Iâll give something.â |
| |
Itâs like having a barrel full of water. |
| |
You scoop out a bucketful, and then you pour back in a bucketful. |
| |
Scoop it out again, pour it in again, |
| |
scoop it out and pour it in - like this. |
| |
When will you empty the barrel? |
| |
Can you see an end to it? |
| |
Can you see such practice becoming a cause for realizing NibbÄna? |
| |
Will the barrel become empty? |
| |
One scoop out, one scoop in - can you see when it will be finished? |
| |
Going back and forth like this is vatta, |
| |
the cycle itself. |
| |
If weâre talking about really letting go, |
| |
giving up good as well as evil, thereâs only scooping out. |
| |
Even if thereâs only a little bit, you scoop it out. |
| |
You donât put in anything more, and you keep scooping out. |
| |
Even if you only have a small scoop to use, |
| |
you do what you can and in this way the time will come when the barrel is empty. |
| |
If youâre scooping out a bucket and pouring back a bucket, |
| |
scooping out and then pouring back - well, |
| |
think about it. |
| |
When will you see an empty barrel? |
| |
This Dhamma isnât something distant. |
| |
Itâs right here in the barrel. |
| |
You can do it at home. |
| |
Try it. |
| |
Can you empty a water barrel like that? |
| |
Do it all day tomorrow and see what happens. |
| |
âGiving up all evil, practising what is good, |
| |
purifying the mind.â |
| |
We give up wrongdoing first, and then start to develop the good. |
| |
What is the good and meritorious? |
| |
Where is it? |
| |
Itâs like fish in the water. |
| |
If we scoop all the water out, weâll get the fish - thatâs a simple way to put it. |
| |
If we scoop out and pour back in, the fish remain in the barrel. |
| |
If we donât remove all forms of wrongdoing, |
| |
we wonât see merit and we wonât see what is true and right. |
| |
Scooping out and pouring back, scooping out and pouring back, |
| |
we only remain as we are. |
| |
Going back and forth like this, we only waste our time and whatever we do is meaningless. |
| |
Listening to teachings is meaningless. |
| |
Making offerings is meaningless. |
| |
All our efforts to practise are in vain. |
| |
We donât understand the principles of the Buddhaâs way, |
| |
so our actions donât bear the desired fruit. |
| |
When the Buddha taught about practice, |
| |
he wasnât only talking about something for ordained people. |
| |
He was talking about practising well, |
| |
practising correctly. |
| |
Supatipanno means those who practise well. |
| |
Ujupatipanno means those who practise directly. |
| |
ĂÄyapatipanno means those who practise for the realization of path, |
| |
fruition and NibbÄna. |
| |
SÄmÄ«cipatipanno are those who practise inclined towards truth. |
| |
It could be anyone. |
| |
These are the Sangha of true disciples (sÄvaka) of the Lord Buddha. |
| |
Laywomen living at home can be sÄvaka. |
| |
Laymen can be sÄvaka. |
| |
Bringing these qualities to fulfilment is what makes one a sÄvaka. |
| |
One can be a true disciple of the Buddha and realize enlightenment. |
| |
Most of us in the Buddhist fold donât have such complete understanding. |
| |
Our knowledge doesnât go this far. |
| |
We do our various activities thinking that we will get some kind of merit from them. |
| |
We think that listening to teachings or making offerings is meritorious. |
| |
Thatâs what weâre told. |
| |
But someone who gives offerings to âgetâ merit is making bad kamma. |
| |
You canât quite understand this. |
| |
Someone who gives in order to get merit has instantly accumulated bad kamma. |
| |
If you give in order to let go and free the mind, |
| |
that brings you merit. |
| |
If you do it to get something, thatâs bad kamma. |
| |
Listening to teachings to really understand the Buddhaâs way is difficult. |
| |
The Dhamma becomes hard to understand when the practice that people do - keeping precepts, |
| |
sitting in meditation, giving - is for getting something in return. |
| |
We want merit, we want something. |
| |
Well, if something can be obtained, who gets it? |
| |
We get it. |
| |
When that is lost, whose thing is it thatâs lost? |
| |
The person who doesnât have something doesnât lose anything. |
| |
And when itâs lost, who suffers over it? |
| |
Donât you think that living your life to get things, |
| |
brings you suffering? |
| |
Otherwise you can just go on as before trying to get everything. |
| |
And yet, if we make the mind empty, then we gain everything. |
| |
Higher realms, NibbÄna and all their accomplishments - we gain all of it. |
| |
In making offerings, we donât have any attachment or aim; the mind is empty and relaxed. |
| |
We can let go and put down. |
| |
Itâs like carrying a log and complaining itâs heavy. |
| |
If someone tells you to put it down, youâll say, |
| |
âIf I put it down, I wonât have anything.â |
| |
Well, now you do have something - you have heaviness. |
| |
But you donât have lightness. |
| |
So do you want lightness, or do you want to keep carrying? |
| |
One person says to put it down, the other says heâs afraid he wonât have anything. |
| |
Theyâre talking past each other. |
| |
We want happiness, we want ease, we want tranquillity and peace. |
| |
It means we want lightness. |
| |
We carry the log, and then someone sees us doing this and tells us to drop it. |
| |
We say we canât because what would we have then? |
| |
But the other person says that if we drop it, |
| |
we can get something better. |
| |
The two have a hard time communicating. |
| |
If we make offerings and practise good deeds in order to get something, |
| |
it doesnât work out. |
| |
What we get is becoming and birth. |
| |
It isnât a cause for realizing NibbÄna. |
| |
NibbÄna is giving up and letting go. |
| |
Trying to get, to hold on, to give meaning to things, |
| |
arenât causes for realizing NibbÄna. |
| |
The Buddha wanted us to look here, at this empty place of letting go. |
| |
This is merit. |
| |
This is skilfulness. |
| |
Once we have done practice - any sort of merit and virtue - we should feel that our part is done. |
| |
We shouldnât carry it any further. |
| |
We do it for the purpose of giving up defilements and craving. |
| |
We donât do it for the purpose of creating defilements, |
| |
craving and attachment. |
| |
Then where will we go? |
| |
We donât go anywhere. |
| |
Our practice is correct and true. |
| |
Most of us Buddhists, though we follow the forms of practice and learning, |
| |
have a hard time understanding this kind of talk. |
| |
Itâs because MÄra, meaning ignorance, |
| |
meaning craving - the desire to get, |
| |
to have, and to be - enshrouds the mind. |
| |
We only find temporary happiness. |
| |
For example, when we are filled with hatred towards someone it takes over our minds and gives us no peace. |
| |
We think about the person all the time, |
| |
thinking what we can do to strike out at him. |
| |
The thinking never stops. |
| |
Then maybe one day we get a chance to go to his house and curse him and tell him off. |
| |
That gives us some release. |
| |
Does that make an end of our defilements? |
| |
We found a way to let off steam and we feel better for it. |
| |
But we havenât rid ourselves of the affliction of anger, |
| |
have we? |
| |
There is some happiness in defilement and craving, |
| |
but itâs like this. |
| |
Weâre still storing the defilement inside and when the conditions are right, |
| |
it will flare up again even worse than before. |
| |
Then we will want to find some temporary release again. |
| |
Do the defilements ever get finished in this way? |
| |
Itâs similar when someoneâs spouse or children die, |
| |
or when people suffer big financial loss. |
| |
They drink to relieve their sorrow. |
| |
They go to a movie to relieve their sorrow. |
| |
Does it really relieve the sorrow? |
| |
The sorrow actually grows; but for the time being they can forget |
| |
about what happened so they call it a way to cure their misery. |
| |
Itâs like if you have a cut on the bottom of your foot that makes walking painful. |
| |
Anything that contacts it hurts and so you limp along complaining of the discomfort. |
| |
But if you see a tiger coming your way, |
| |
youâll take off and start running without any thought of your cut. |
| |
Fear of the tiger is much more powerful than the pain in your foot, |
| |
so itâs as if the pain is gone. |
| |
The fear made it something small. |
| |
You might experience problems at work or at home that seem so big. |
| |
Then you get drunk and in that drunken state of more powerful delusion, |
| |
those problems no longer trouble you so much. |
| |
You think it solved your problems and relieved your unhappiness. |
| |
But when you sober up the old problems are back. |
| |
So what happened to your solution? |
| |
You keep suppressing the problems with drink and they keep on coming back. |
| |
You might end up with cirrhosis of the liver, |
| |
but you donât get rid of the problems; and then one day you are dead. |
| |
There is some comfort and happiness here; itâs the happiness of fools. |
| |
Itâs the way that fools stop their suffering. |
| |
Thereâs no wisdom here. |
| |
These different confused conditions are mixed in the heart that has a feeling of well-being. |
| |
If the mind is allowed to follow its moods and tendencies, |
| |
it feels some happiness. |
| |
But this happiness is always storing unhappiness within it. |
| |
Each time it erupts our suffering and despair will be worse. |
| |
Itâs like having a wound. |
| |
If we treat it on the surface but inside itâs still infected, |
| |
itâs not cured. |
| |
It looks okay for a while, but when the infection spreads we have to start cutting. |
| |
If the inner infection is never cured we can be operating on the surface again and again with no end in sight. |
| |
What can be seen from the outside may look fine for a while, |
| |
but inside itâs the same as before. |
| |
The way of the world is like this. |
| |
Worldly matters are never finished. |
| |
So the laws of the world in the various societies are constantly resolving issues. |
| |
New laws are always being established to deal with different situations and problems. |
| |
Something is dealt with for a while, but thereâs always a need for further laws and solutions. |
| |
Thereâs never the internal resolution, |
| |
only surface improvement. |
| |
The infection still exists within, so thereâs always need for more cutting. |
| |
People are only good on the surface, in their words and their appearance. |
| |
Their words are good and their faces look kind, |
| |
but their minds arenât so good. |
| |
When we get on a train and see some acquaintance there we say, |
| |
âOh, how good to see you! |
| |
Iâve been thinking about you a lot lately! |
| |
Iâve been planning to visit you!â |
| |
But itâs just talk. |
| |
We donât really mean it. |
| |
Weâre being good on the surface, but weâre not so good inside. |
| |
We say the words, but then as soon as weâve had a smoke and taken a cup of coffee with him, |
| |
we split. |
| |
Then if we run into him one day in the future, |
| |
weâll say the same things again: âHey, |
| |
good to see you! |
| |
How have you been? |
| |
Iâve been meaning to go visit you, but I just havenât had the time.â |
| |
Thatâs the way it is. |
| |
People are superficially good, but theyâre usually not so good inside. |
| |
The great teacher taught Dhamma and Vinaya. |
| |
It is complete and comprehensive. |
| |
Nothing surpasses it and nothing in it need be changed or adjusted, |
| |
because it is the ultimate. |
| |
Itâs complete, so this is where we can stop. |
| |
Thereâs nothing to add or subtract, because it is something of the nature not to be increased or decreased. |
| |
It is just right. |
| |
It is true. |
| |
So we Buddhists come to hear Dhamma teachings and study to learn these truths. |
| |
If we know them, then our minds will enter the Dhamma; the Dhamma will enter our minds. |
| |
Whenever a personâs mind enters the Dhamma, |
| |
that person has well-being, that person has a mind at peace. |
| |
The mind then has a way to resolve difficulties, |
| |
but has no way to degenerate. |
| |
When pain and illness afflict the body, |
| |
the mind has many ways to resolve the suffering. |
| |
It can resolve it naturally, understanding this as natural and not falling into depression or fear over it. |
| |
Gaining something, we donât get lost in delight. |
| |
Losing it, we donât get excessively upset, |
| |
but rather we understand that the nature of all things is that having appeared, |
| |
they then decline and disappear. |
| |
With such an attitude we can make our way in the world. |
| |
We are lokavidƫ, knowing the world clearly. |
| |
Then samudaya, the cause of suffering, |
| |
is not created, and tanhÄ is not born. |
| |
There is vijjÄ, knowledge of things as they really are, |
| |
and it illumines the world. |
| |
It illumines praise and blame. |
| |
It illumines gain and loss. |
| |
It illumines rank and disrepute. |
| |
It clearly illumines birth, ageing, illness, |
| |
and death in the mind of the practitioner. |
| |
That is someone who has reached the Dhamma. |
| |
Such people no longer struggle with life and are no longer constantly in search of solutions. |
| |
They resolve what can be resolved, acting as is appropriate. |
| |
That is how the Buddha taught: he taught those individuals who could be taught. |
| |
Those who could not be taught he discarded and let go of. |
| |
Even had he not discarded them, they were still discarding themselves - so he dropped them. |
| |
You might get the idea from this that the Buddha must have been lacking in mettÄ to discard people. |
| |
Hey! |
| |
If you toss out a rotten mango are you lacking in mettÄ? |
| |
You canât make any use of it, thatâs all. |
| |
There was no way to get through to such people. |
| |
The Buddha is praised as one with supreme wisdom. |
| |
He didnât merely gather everyone and everything together in a confused mess. |
| |
He was possessed of the divine eye and could clearly see all things as they really are. |
| |
He was the knower of the world. |
| |
As the knower of the world he saw danger in the round of samsÄra. |
| |
For us who are his followers itâs the same. |
| |
Knowing all things as they are will bring us well-being. |
| |
Where exactly are those things that cause us to have happiness and suffering? |
| |
Think about it well. |
| |
They are only things that we create ourselves. |
| |
Whenever we create the idea that something is us or ours, |
| |
we suffer. |
| |
Things can bring us harm or benefit, depending on our understanding. |
| |
So the Buddha taught us to pay attention to ourselves, |
| |
to our own actions and to the creations of our minds. |
| |
Whenever we have extreme love or aversion to anyone or anything, |
| |
whenever we are particularly anxious, |
| |
that will lead us into great suffering. |
| |
This is important, so take a good look at it. |
| |
Investigate these feelings of strong love or aversion, |
| |
and then take a step back. |
| |
If you get too close, theyâll bite. |
| |
Do you hear this? |
| |
If you grab at and caress these things, |
| |
they bite and they kick. |
| |
When you feed grass to your buffalo, you have to be careful. |
| |
If youâre careful when it kicks out, it wonât kick you. |
| |
You have to feed it and take care of it, |
| |
but you should be smart enough to do that without getting bitten. |
| |
Love for children, relatives, wealth and possessions will bite. |
| |
Do you understand this? |
| |
When you feed it, donât get too close. |
| |
When you give it water, donât get too close. |
| |
Pull on the rope when you need to. |
| |
This is the way of Dhamma: recognizing impermanence, |
| |
unsatisfactoriness and lack of self, |
| |
recognizing the danger and employing caution and restraint in a mindful way. |
| |
Ajahn Tongrat didnât teach a lot; he always told us, |
| |
âBe really careful! |
| |
Be really careful!â |
| |
Thatâs how he taught. |
| |
âBe really careful! |
| |
If youâre not really careful, youâll catch it on the chin!â |
| |
This is really how it is. |
| |
Even if he didnât say it, itâs still how it is. |
| |
If youâre not really careful, youâll catch it on the chin. |
| |
Please understand this. |
| |
Itâs not someone elseâs concern. |
| |
The problem isnât other people loving or hating us. |
| |
Others far away somewhere donât make us create kamma and suffering. |
| |
Itâs our possessions, our homes, our families where we have to pay attention. |
| |
Or what do you think? |
| |
These days, where do you experience suffering? |
| |
Where are you involved in love, hate and fear? |
| |
Control yourselves, take care of yourselves. |
| |
Watch out you donât get bitten. |
| |
If they donât bite they might kick. |
| |
Donât think that these things wonât bite or kick. |
| |
If you do get bitten, make sure itâs only a little bit. |
| |
Donât get kicked and bitten to pieces. |
| |
Donât try to tell yourselves thereâs no danger. |
| |
Possessions, wealth, fame, loved ones, |
| |
all these can kick and bite if youâre not mindful. |
| |
If you are mindful youâll be at ease. |
| |
Be cautious and restrained. |
| |
When the mind starts grasping at things and making a big deal out of them, |
| |
you have to stop it. |
| |
It will argue with you, but you have to put your foot down. |
| |
Stay in the middle as the mind comes and goes. |
| |
Put sensual indulgence away on one side; put self-torment away on the other side. |
| |
Put love to one side, hate to the other side. |
| |
Put happiness to one side, suffering to the other side. |
| |
Remain in the middle without letting the mind go in either direction. |
| |
Like these bodies of ours - earth, water, |
| |
fire and wind - where is the person? |
| |
There isnât any person. |
| |
These few different things are put together and itâs called a person. |
| |
Thatâs a falsehood. |
| |
Itâs not real; itâs only real in the way of convention. |
| |
When the time comes the elements return to their old state. |
| |
Weâve only come to stay with them for a while so we have to let them return. |
| |
The part that is earth, send back to be earth. |
| |
The part that is water, send back to be water. |
| |
The part that is fire, send back to be fire. |
| |
The part that is wind, send back to be wind. |
| |
Or will you try to go with them and keep something? |
| |
We come to rely on them for a while; when itâs time for them to go, |
| |
let them go. |
| |
When they come, let them come. |
| |
All these phenomena, sabhÄva, appear and then disappear. |
| |
Thatâs all. |
| |
We understand that all these things are flowing, |
| |
constantly appearing and disappearing. |
| |
Making offerings, listening to teachings, |
| |
practising meditation, whatever we do should be done for the purpose of developing wisdom. |
| |
Developing wisdom is for the purpose of liberation, |
| |
freedom from all these conditions and phenomena. |
| |
When we are free, then no matter what our situation is, |
| |
we donât have to suffer. |
| |
If we have children, we donât have to suffer. |
| |
If we work, we donât have to suffer. |
| |
If we have a house, we donât have to suffer. |
| |
Itâs like a lotus in the water. |
| |
âI grow in the water, but I donât suffer because of the water. |
| |
I canât be drowned or burned, because I live in the water.â |
| |
When the water ebbs and flows it doesnât affect the lotus. |
| |
The water and the lotus can exist together without conflict. |
| |
They are together yet separate. |
| |
Whatever is in the water nourishes the lotus and helps it grow into something beautiful. |
| |
Itâs the same for us. |
| |
Wealth, home, family, and all defilements of mind no longer defile us but rather help us develop pÄramÄ«, |
| |
the spiritual perfections. |
| |
In a grove of bamboo the old leaves pile up around the trees |
| |
and when the rain falls they decompose and become fertilizer. |
| |
Shoots grow and the trees develop, because of the fertilizer, |
| |
and we have a source of food and income. |
| |
But it didnât look like anything good at all. |
| |
So be careful - in the dry season, if you set fires in the forest, |
| |
theyâll burn up all the future fertilizer, |
| |
and the fertilizer will turn into fire that burns the bamboo. |
| |
Then you wonât have any bamboo shoots to eat. |
| |
So if you burn the forest, you burn the bamboo fertilizer. |
| |
If you burn the fertilizer, you burn the trees and the grove dies. |
| |
Do you understand? |
| |
You and your families can live in happiness and harmony with your homes and possessions, |
| |
free of danger from floods or fire. |
| |
If a family is flooded or burned, it is only because of the people in that family. |
| |
Itâs just like the bambooâs fertilizer. |
| |
The grove can be burned because of it, |
| |
or the grove can grow beautifully because of it. |
| |
Things will grow beautifully and then not beautifully and then become beautiful again. |
| |
Growing and degenerating, then growing again and degenerating again - this is the way of worldly phenomena. |
| |
If we know growth and degeneration for what they are, |
| |
we can find a conclusion to them. |
| |
Things grow and reach their limit. |
| |
Things degenerate and reach their limit. |
| |
But we remain constant. |
| |
Itâs like when there was a fire in Ubon city. |
| |
People bemoaned the destruction and shed a lot of tears over it. |
| |
But things were rebuilt after the fire and the new buildings |
| |
are actually bigger and a lot better than what we had before, |
| |
and people enjoy the city more now. |
| |
This is how it is with the cycles of loss and development. |
| |
Everything has its limits. |
| |
So the Buddha wanted us always to be contemplating. |
| |
While we still live we should think about death. |
| |
Donât consider it something far away. |
| |
If youâre poor, donât try to harm or exploit others. |
| |
Face the situation and work hard to help yourself. |
| |
If youâre well off, donât become forgetful in your wealth and comfort. |
| |
Itâs not very difficult for everything to be lost. |
| |
A rich person can become a pauper in a couple of days. |
| |
A pauper can become a rich person. |
| |
Itâs all owing to the fact that these conditions are impermanent and unstable. |
| |
Thus, the Buddha said, âpamÄdo maccuno padamâ: heedlessness is the way to death. |
| |
The heedless are like the dead. |
| |
Donât be heedless! |
| |
All beings and all sankhÄrÄ are unstable and impermanent. |
| |
Donât form any attachment to them! |
| |
Happy or sad, progressing or falling apart, |
| |
in the end it all comes to the same place. |
| |
Please understand this. |
| |
Living in the world and having this perspective, |
| |
we can be free of danger. |
| |
Whatever we may gain or accomplish in the world because of our good kamma, |
| |
is still of the world and subject to decay and loss; so donât get too carried away by it. |
| |
Itâs like a beetle scratching at the earth. |
| |
It can scratch up a pile thatâs a lot bigger than itself, |
| |
but itâs still only a pile of dirt. |
| |
If it works hard it makes a deep hole in the ground, |
| |
but itâs still only a hole in dirt. |
| |
If a buffalo drops a load of dung there, |
| |
it will be bigger than the beetleâs pile of earth, |
| |
but it still isnât anything that reaches to the sky. |
| |
Itâs all dirt. |
| |
Worldly accomplishments are like this. |
| |
No matter how hard the beetles work, theyâre just involved in dirt, |
| |
making holes and piles. |
| |
People who have good worldly kamma have the intelligence to do well in the world. |
| |
But no matter how well they do theyâre still living in the world. |
| |
All the things they do are worldly and have their limits, |
| |
like the beetle scratching away at the earth. |
| |
The hole may go deep, but itâs in the earth. |
| |
The pile may get high, but itâs just a pile of dirt. |
| |
Doing well, getting a lot, weâre just doing well and getting a lot in the world. |
| |
Please understand this and try to develop detachment. |
| |
If you donât gain much, be contented, |
| |
understanding that itâs only the worldly. |
| |
If you gain a lot, understand that itâs only the worldly. |
| |
Contemplate these truths and donât be heedless. |
| |
See both sides of things, not getting stuck on one side. |
| |
When something delights you, hold part of yourself back in reserve, |
| |
because that delight wonât last. |
| |
When you are happy, donât go completely over to its side, |
| |
because soon enough youâll be back on the other side with unhappiness. |
| |
* * * |
| |
At this time please determine your minds to listen to the Dhamma. |
| |
Today is the traditional day of dhammasavana. |
| |
It is the appropriate time for us, the host of Buddhists, |
| |
to study the Dhamma in order to increase our mindfulness and wisdom. |
| |
Giving and receiving the teachings is something we have been doing for a long time. |
| |
The activities we usually perform on this day, |
| |
chanting homage to the Buddha, taking moral precepts, |
| |
meditating and listening to teachings, |
| |
should be understood as methods and principles for spiritual development. |
| |
They are not anything more than this. |
| |
When it comes to taking precepts, for example, |
| |
a monk will proclaim the precepts and the laypeople will vow to undertake them. |
| |
Donât misunderstand what is going on. |
| |
The truth is that morality is not something that can be given. |
| |
It canât really be requested or received from someone. |
| |
We canât give it to someone else. |
| |
In our vernacular we hear people say, |
| |
âThe venerable monk gave the preceptsâ and âwe received the precepts.â |
| |
We talk like this here in the countryside and so it has become our habitual way of understanding. |
| |
If we think like this, that we come to receive precepts from |
| |
the monks on the lunar observance days and that if the monks wonât give precepts, |
| |
then we donât have morality, that is only a tradition of delusion that we have inherited from our ancestors. |
| |
Thinking in this way means that we give up our own responsibility, |
| |
not having firm trust and conviction in ourselves. |
| |
Then it gets passed down to the next generation, |
| |
and they too come to âreceiveâ precepts from the monks. |
| |
And the monks come to believe that they are the ones who âgiveâ the precepts to the laity. |
| |
In fact morality and precepts are not like that. |
| |
They are not something to be âgivenâ or âreceivedâ; but on ceremonial |
| |
occasions of making merit and the like we use this as a ritual form according to tradition and employ the terminology. |
| |
In truth morality resides with the intentions of people. |
| |
If you have the conscious determination to refrain from harmful activities and wrongdoing by way of body and speech, |
| |
morality is coming about within you. |
| |
You should know it within yourself. |
| |
It is okay to take the vows with another person. |
| |
You can also recollect the precepts by yourself. |
| |
If you donât know what they are, you can request them from someone else. |
| |
It is not something very complicated or distant. |
| |
So really whenever we wish to receive morality and Dhamma we have them right then. |
| |
It is just like the air that surrounds us everywhere. |
| |
Whenever we breathe we take it in. |
| |
All manner of good and evil is like that. |
| |
If we wish to do good, we can do it anywhere, |
| |
at any time. |
| |
We can do it alone or together with others. |
| |
Evil is the same. |
| |
We can do it with a large or small group, |
| |
in a hidden or open place. |
| |
It is like this. |
| |
These are things that are already in existence. |
| |
But morality is something that we should consider normal for all humans to practise. |
| |
A person who has no morality is no different from an animal. |
| |
If you decide to live like an animal, |
| |
then of course there is no good or evil for you, |
| |
because an animal doesnât have any knowledge of such things. |
| |
A cat catches mice, but we donât say it is doing evil, |
| |
because it has no concepts or knowledge of good or bad, |
| |
right or wrong. |
| |
These beings are outside the circle of human beings. |
| |
It is the animal realm. |
| |
The Buddha pointed out that this group is just living according to the animal kind of kamma. |
| |
Those who understand right and wrong, |
| |
good and evil, are humans. |
| |
The Buddha taught his Dhamma for humans. |
| |
If we people donât have morality and knowledge of these things, |
| |
then we are not much different from animals; so it is appropriate |
| |
that we study and learn about morality and make ourselves able. |
| |
This is taking advantage of the precious accomplishment of human existence and bringing it to fulfilment. |
| |
The profound Dhamma is the teaching that morality is necessary. |
| |
When there is morality, we have a foundation on which we can progress in Dhamma. |
| |
Morality means the precepts concerning what is forbidden and what is permissible. |
| |
Dhamma refers to nature and to humans knowing about nature - how things exist according to nature. |
| |
Nature is something we do not compose. |
| |
It exists as it is according to its conditions. |
| |
A simple example is animals. |
| |
A certain species, such as peacocks, is born with its various patterns and colours. |
| |
They were not created like that by humans or modified by humans; they are just born that way according to nature. |
| |
This is a little example of how it is in nature. |
| |
All things of nature are existing in the world - this is still talking about understanding from a worldly viewpoint. |
| |
The Buddha taught Dhamma for us to know nature, |
| |
to let go of it and let it exist according to its conditions. |
| |
This is talking about the external material world. |
| |
As to nÄmadhamma, meaning the mind, it can not be left to follow its own conditions. |
| |
It has to be trained. |
| |
In the end we can say that mind is the teacher of body and speech, |
| |
so it needs to be well trained. |
| |
Letting it go according to its natural urges just makes one an animal. |
| |
It has to be instructed and trained. |
| |
It should come to know nature, but should not merely be left to follow nature. |
| |
We are born into this world and all of us will naturally have the afflictions of desire, |
| |
anger and delusion. |
| |
Desire makes us crave after various things and causes the mind to be in a state of imbalance and turmoil. |
| |
Nature is like that. |
| |
It will just not do to let the mind go after these impulses of craving. |
| |
It only leads to heat and distress. |
| |
It is better to train in Dhamma, in truth. |
| |
When aversion occurs in us we want to express anger towards people; |
| |
it may even get to the point of physically attacking or killing people. |
| |
But we donât just âlet it goâ according to its nature. |
| |
We know the nature of what is occurring. |
| |
We see it for what it is, and teach the mind about it. |
| |
This is studying Dhamma. |
| |
Delusion is the same. |
| |
When it happens, we are confused about things. |
| |
If we just leave it as it is, we remain in ignorance. |
| |
So the Buddha told us to know nature, |
| |
to teach nature, to train and adjust nature, |
| |
to know exactly what nature is. |
| |
For example, people are born with physical form and mind. |
| |
In the beginning these things are born, |
| |
in the middle they change and in the end they are extinguished. |
| |
This is ordinary; this is their nature. |
| |
We can not do much to alter these facts. |
| |
We train our minds as we can and when the time comes we have to let go of it all. |
| |
It is beyond the ability of humans to change this or get beyond it. |
| |
The Dhamma that the Buddha taught is something to be applied while we are here, |
| |
for making actions, words and thoughts correct and proper. |
| |
He was teaching the minds of people so that they would not be deluded in regard to nature, |
| |
conventional reality and supposition. |
| |
The teacher instructed us to see the world. |
| |
His Dhamma was a teaching that is above and beyond the world. |
| |
We are in the world. |
| |
We were born into this world; he taught us to transcend the world and not to be a prisoner to worldly ways and habits. |
| |
It is like a diamond that falls into a muddy pit. |
| |
No matter how much dirt and filth covers it, |
| |
that does not destroy its radiance, |
| |
the hues and the worth of it. |
| |
Even though the mud is stuck to it, the diamond does not lose anything, |
| |
but is just as it originally was. |
| |
There are two separate things. |
| |
So the Buddha taught to be above the world, |
| |
which means knowing the world clearly. |
| |
By âthe worldâ he did not mean so much the earth and sky and elements, |
| |
but rather the mind, the wheel of samsÄra. |
| |
within the hearts of people. |
| |
He meant this wheel, this world. |
| |
This is the world the Buddha knew clearly; when we talk about |
| |
knowing the world clearly we are talking about these things. |
| |
If it were otherwise, the Buddha would have had to be flying everywhere to âknow the world clearlyâ. |
| |
It is not like that. |
| |
It is a single point. |
| |
All dhammas come down to one single point; for instance, |
| |
people - which means men and women. |
| |
If we observe one man and one woman, we know the nature of all people in the universe. |
| |
They are not that different. |
| |
Another example is learning about heat. |
| |
If we just know this one point, the quality of being hot, |
| |
it does not matter what the source or cause of the heat is; the condition of âhotâ is such. |
| |
If we know clearly this one point, then wherever there may be hotness in the universe, |
| |
we know it is like this. |
| |
Because the Buddha knew a single point, |
| |
his knowledge encompassed the world. |
| |
Knowing coldness to be a certain way, |
| |
when he encountered coldness anywhere in the world, |
| |
he already knew it. |
| |
He taught a single point for beings living in the world to know the world, |
| |
to know the nature of the world, to know people - men and women |
| |
- to know the manner of existence of beings in the world. |
| |
His knowledge was such. |
| |
Knowing one point, he knew all things. |
| |
The Dhamma that the teacher expounded was for going beyond suffering. |
| |
What is this âgoing beyond sufferingâ all about? |
| |
What should we do to âescape from sufferingâ? |
| |
It is necessary for us to do some study; we need to come and study the thinking and feeling in our hearts. |
| |
Just that. |
| |
It is something we are presently unable to change. |
| |
We can be free of all suffering and unsatisfactoriness in life, |
| |
just by changing this one point: our habitual world view, |
| |
our way of thinking and feeling. |
| |
If we come to have a new sense of things, |
| |
a new understanding, we transcend the old perceptions and understanding. |
| |
The authentic Dhamma of the Buddha is not something pointing far away. |
| |
It teaches about attÄ, self, and that things are not really self. |
| |
That is all. |
| |
All the teachings that the Buddha gave were pointing out that âthis is not a self, |
| |
this does not belong to a self, there is no such thing as ourselves or others.â |
| |
Now, when we contact this, we canât really read it, |
| |
we donât âtranslateâ the Dhamma correctly. |
| |
We still think âthis is me, this is mine.â |
| |
We attach to things and invest them with meaning. |
| |
When we do this, we canât yet disentangle from them; the involvement deepens and the mess gets worse and worse. |
| |
If we know that there is no self, that body and mind are really anattÄ as the Buddha taught, |
| |
then when we keep on investigating, |
| |
eventually we will come to the realization of the actual condition of selflessness. |
| |
We will genuinely realize that there is no self or other. |
| |
Pleasure is merely pleasure. |
| |
Feeling is merely feeling. |
| |
Memory is merely memory. |
| |
Thinking is merely thinking. |
| |
They are all things that are âmerelyâ such. |
| |
Happiness is merely happiness; suffering is merely suffering. |
| |
Good is merely good, evil is merely evil. |
| |
Everything exists merely thus. |
| |
There is no real happiness or real suffering. |
| |
There are just the merely existing conditions: merely happy, |
| |
merely suffering, merely hot, merely cold, |
| |
merely a being or a person. |
| |
You should keep looking to see that things are only so much. |
| |
Only earth, only water, only fire, only wind. |
| |
We should keep on âreadingâ these things and investigating this point. |
| |
Eventually our perception will change; we will have a different feeling about things. |
| |
The tightly held conviction that there is self and things belonging to self will gradually come undone. |
| |
When this sense of things is removed, |
| |
then the opposite perception will keep increasing steadily. |
| |
When the realization of anattÄ comes to full measure, |
| |
we will be able to relate to the things of this world - to our most cherished possessions and involvements, |
| |
to friends and relations, to wealth, |
| |
accomplishments and status - just the same as we do to our clothes. |
| |
When shirts and pants are new we wear them; they get dirty and |
| |
we wash them; after some time they are worn out and we discard them. |
| |
There is nothing out of the ordinary there. |
| |
We are constantly getting rid of the old things and starting to use new garments. |
| |
We will have the exact same feeling about our existence in this world. |
| |
We will not cry or moan over things. |
| |
We will not be tormented or burdened by them. |
| |
They remain the same things as they were before, |
| |
but our feeling and understanding of them has changed. |
| |
Now our knowledge will be exalted and we will see truth. |
| |
We will have attained supreme vision and have learned the authentic |
| |
knowledge of the Dhamma that we ought to know and to see. |
| |
Where is the Dhamma that we ought to know and see? |
| |
It is right here within us, within this body and mind. |
| |
We have it already; we should come to know and see it. |
| |
All of us have been born into this human realm. |
| |
Whatever we gained by that we are going to lose. |
| |
We have seen people born and seen them die. |
| |
We just see this happening, but donât really see clearly. |
| |
When there is a birth, we rejoice over it; when people die, |
| |
we cry for them. |
| |
There is no end. |
| |
It goes on in this way and there is no end to our foolishness. |
| |
Seeing birth we are foolhardy. |
| |
Seeing death we are foolhardy. |
| |
There is only this unending foolishness. |
| |
Letâs take a look at all this. |
| |
These things are natural occurrences. |
| |
Contemplate the Dhamma here, the Dhamma that we should know and see. |
| |
This Dhamma is existing right now. |
| |
Make up your minds about this. |
| |
Exert restraint and self-control. |
| |
Now we are amidst the things of this life. |
| |
We shouldnât have fears of death. |
| |
We should fear the lower realms. |
| |
Donât fear dying; rather be afraid of falling into hell. |
| |
You should be afraid of doing wrong while you still have life. |
| |
These are old things we are dealing with, |
| |
not new things. |
| |
Some people are alive but donât know themselves at all. |
| |
They think, âWhatâs the big deal about what I do now? |
| |
I canât know what is going to happen when I die.â |
| |
They donât think about the new seeds they are creating for the future. |
| |
They only see the old fruit. |
| |
They fixate on present experience, not realizing that if there is fruit it must have come from a seed, |
| |
and that within the fruit we have now are the seeds of future fruit. |
| |
These seeds are just waiting to be planted. |
| |
Actions born of ignorance continue the chain in this way, |
| |
but when you are eating the fruit you donât think about all the implications. |
| |
Wherever the mind has a lot of attachment, |
| |
we will experience intense suffering, |
| |
intense grief, intense difficulty right there. |
| |
The place we experience the most problems is the place we have the most attraction, |
| |
longing and concern. |
| |
Please try to resolve this. |
| |
Now, while you still have life and breath, |
| |
keep on looking at it and reading it until you are able to âtranslateâ it and solve the problem. |
| |
Whatever we are experiencing as part of our lives now, |
| |
one day we will be parted from it. |
| |
So donât just pass the time. |
| |
Practise spiritual cultivation. |
| |
Take this parting, this separation and loss as your object of contemplation right now in the present, |
| |
until you are clever and skilled in it, |
| |
until you can see that it is ordinary and natural. |
| |
When there is anxiety and regret over it, |
| |
have the wisdom to recognize the limits of this anxiety and regret, |
| |
knowing what they are according to the truth. |
| |
If you can consider things in this way then wisdom will arise. |
| |
Whenever suffering occurs, wisdom can arise there, |
| |
if we investigate. |
| |
But people generally do not want to investigate. |
| |
Wherever pleasant or unpleasant experience happens, |
| |
wisdom can arise there. |
| |
If we know happiness and suffering for what they really are, |
| |
then we know the Dhamma. |
| |
If we know the Dhamma, we know the world clearly; if we know the world clearly, |
| |
we know the Dhamma. |
| |
Actually, for most of us, if something is displeasing we donât really want to know about it. |
| |
We get caught up in the aversion to it. |
| |
If we dislike someone, we donât want to look at his face or get anywhere near him. |
| |
This is the mark of a foolish, unskilful person; this is not the way of a good person. |
| |
If we like someone then of course we want to be close to him, |
| |
we make every effort to be with him, |
| |
taking delight in his company. |
| |
This also is foolishness. |
| |
They are actually the same, like the palm and back of the hand. |
| |
When we turn the hand up and see the palm, |
| |
the back of the hand is hidden from sight. |
| |
When we turn it over then the palm is not seen. |
| |
Pleasure hides pain and pain hides pleasure from our sight. |
| |
Wrong covers up right, right covers wrong. |
| |
Just looking at one side our knowledge is not complete. |
| |
Letâs do things completely while we still have life. |
| |
Keep on looking at things, separating truth from falsehood, |
| |
noting how things really are, getting to the end of it, |
| |
reaching peace. |
| |
When the time comes we will be able to cut through and let go completely. |
| |
Now we have to firmly attempt to separate things - and keep trying to cut through. |
| |
The Buddha taught about hair, nails, skin and teeth. |
| |
He taught us to separate them. |
| |
A person who does not know about separating only knows about holding them to himself. |
| |
Now while we have not yet parted from these things we should be skilful in meditating on them. |
| |
We have not yet left this world, so we should be careful. |
| |
We should contemplate a lot, make copious charitable offerings, |
| |
recite the scriptures a lot, practise a lot. |
| |
We should develop insight into impermanence, |
| |
unsatisfactoriness, and selflessness. |
| |
Even if the mind does not want to listen, |
| |
we should keep on breaking things up like this and come to know in the present. |
| |
This can most definitely be done. |
| |
One can realize knowledge that transcends the world. |
| |
We are stuck in the world. |
| |
This is a way to âdestroyâ the world, |
| |
through contemplating and seeing beyond the world so that we can transcend the world in our being. |
| |
Even while we are living in this world our view can be above the world. |
| |
In a worldly existence one creates both good and evil. |
| |
Now we try to practise virtue and give up evil. |
| |
When good results come, then you should not be under that good, |
| |
but be able to transcend it. |
| |
If you do not transcend it, then you become a slave to virtue and to your concepts of what is good. |
| |
It puts you in difficulty, and there will not be an end to your tears. |
| |
It does not matter how much good you have practised, |
| |
if you are attached to it then you are still not free and there will be no end to tears. |
| |
But one who transcends good as well as evil has no more tears to shed. |
| |
They have dried up. |
| |
There can be an end. |
| |
We should learn to use virtue, not to be used by virtue. |
| |
In a nutshell, the point of the teaching of the Buddha is to transform oneâs view. |
| |
It is possible to change it. |
| |
It only requires looking at things and then it happens. |
| |
Having been born we will experience ageing, |
| |
illness, death and separation. |
| |
These things are right here. |
| |
We donât need to look up at the sky or down at the earth. |
| |
The Dhamma that we need to see and to know can be seen right here within us, |
| |
every moment of every day. |
| |
When there is a birth, we are filled with joy. |
| |
When there is a death, we grieve. |
| |
Thatâs how we spend our lives. |
| |
These are the things we need to know about, |
| |
but we still have not really looked into them and seen the truth. |
| |
We are stuck deep in this ignorance. |
| |
We ask, âWhen will we see the Dhamma?â |
| |
- but it is right here to be seen in the present. |
| |
This is the Dhamma we should learn about and see. |
| |
This is what the Buddha taught about. |
| |
He did not teach about gods and demons and nÄga, |
| |
protective deities, jealous demigods, |
| |
nature spirits and the like. |
| |
He taught the things that one should know and see. |
| |
These are truths that we really should be able to realize. |
| |
External phenomena are like this, exhibiting the three characteristics. |
| |
If we really take an interest in all of this and contemplate seriously we can gain genuine knowledge. |
| |
If this were something that could not be done, |
| |
the Buddha would not have bothered to talk about it. |
| |
How many tens and hundreds of thousands of his followers have come to realization? |
| |
If one is really keen on looking at things, |
| |
one can come to know. |
| |
The Dhamma is like that. |
| |
We are living in this world. |
| |
The Buddha wanted us to know the world. |
| |
Living in the world, we gain our knowledge from the world. |
| |
The Buddha is said to be lokavidƫ, one who knows the world clearly. |
| |
It means living in the world but not being stuck in the ways of the world, |
| |
living among attraction and aversion but not stuck in attraction and aversion. |
| |
This can be spoken about and explained in ordinary language. |
| |
This is how the Buddha taught. |
| |
Normally we speak in terms of attÄ, self, |
| |
talking about me and mine, you and yours, |
| |
but the mind can remain uninterruptedly in the realization of anattÄ, |
| |
selflessness. |
| |
Think about it. |
| |
When we talk to children we speak in one way; when dealing with adults we speak in another way. |
| |
If we use words appropriate to children to speak with adults, |
| |
or use adultsâ words to speak with children, |
| |
it wonât work out. |
| |
We have to know the proper use of conventions when we are talking to children. |
| |
It can be appropriate to talk about me and mine, |
| |
you and yours and so forth, but inwardly the mind is Dhamma, |
| |
dwelling in realization of anattÄ. |
| |
You should have this kind of foundation. |
| |
So the Buddha said that you should take the Dhamma as your foundation, |
| |
basis and practice, when living in the world. |
| |
It is not right to take your ideas, desires and opinions as a basis. |
| |
The Dhamma should be your standard. |
| |
If you take yourself as the standard you become self-absorbed. |
| |
If you take someone else as your standard you are merely infatuated with that person. |
| |
Being enthralled with ourselves or with another person is not the way of Dhamma. |
| |
The Dhamma does not incline to any person or follow personalities. |
| |
It follows the truth. |
| |
It does not simply accord with the likes and dislikes of people; |
| |
such habitual reactions have nothing to do with the truth of things. |
| |
If we really consider all of this and investigate thoroughly to know the truth, |
| |
then we will enter the correct path. |
| |
Our way of living will become correct. |
| |
Thinking will be correct. |
| |
Our actions and speech will be correct. |
| |
So we really should look into all of this. |
| |
Why is it that we have suffering? |
| |
Because of lack of knowledge, not knowing where things begin and end, |
| |
not understanding the causes; this is ignorance. |
| |
When there is this ignorance then various desires arise, |
| |
and being driven by them we create the causes of suffering. |
| |
Then the result must be suffering. |
| |
When you gather firewood and light a match to it, |
| |
expecting not to have any heat, what are your chances? |
| |
You are creating a fire, arenât you? |
| |
This is origination itself. |
| |
If you understand these things, morality will be born here. |
| |
Dhamma will be born here. |
| |
So prepare yourselves. |
| |
The Buddha advised us to prepare ourselves. |
| |
You neednât have too many concerns or anxieties about things. |
| |
Just look here. |
| |
Look at the place without desires, the place without danger. |
| |
The Buddha taught âNibbÄna paccayo hotuâ - let it be a cause for NibbÄna. |
| |
If it will be a cause for realization of NibbÄna, |
| |
it means looking at the place where things are empty, |
| |
where things are done with, where they reach their end, |
| |
where they are exhausted. |
| |
Look at the place where there are no more causes, |
| |
where there is no more self or other, |
| |
me or mine. |
| |
This looking becomes a cause or condition, |
| |
a condition for attaining NibbÄna. |
| |
Practising generosity becomes a cause for realizing NibbÄna. |
| |
Practising morality becomes a cause for realizing NibbÄna. |
| |
Listening to the teachings becomes a cause for realizing NibbÄna. |
| |
Thus we can dedicate all our Dhamma activities to become causes for NibbÄna. |
| |
But if we are not looking towards NibbÄna, |
| |
if we are looking at self and other and attachment and grasping without end, |
| |
this does not become a cause for NibbÄna. |
| |
When we deal with others and they talk about self, |
| |
about me and mine, about what is ours, |
| |
we immediately agree with this viewpoint. |
| |
We immediately think, âYeah, thatâs right!â |
| |
But itâs not right. |
| |
Even if the mind is saying, âRight, right,â we have to exert control over it. |
| |
Itâs the same as a child who is afraid of ghosts. |
| |
Maybe the parents are afraid too. |
| |
But it wonât do for the parents to talk about it; if they do, |
| |
the child will feel he has no protection or security. |
| |
âNo, of course Daddy is not afraid. |
| |
Donât worry, Daddy is here. |
| |
There are no ghosts. |
| |
Thereâs nothing to worry about.â |
| |
Well the father might really be afraid too. |
| |
If he starts talking about it, they will all get so worked up about ghosts that theyâll jump up and run away - father, |
| |
mother and child - and end up homeless. |
| |
This is not being clever. |
| |
You have to look at things clearly and learn how to deal with them. |
| |
Even when you feel that deluded appearances are real, |
| |
you have to tell yourself that they are not. |
| |
Go against it like this. |
| |
Teach yourself inwardly. |
| |
When the mind is experiencing the world in terms of self, |
| |
saying, âItâs true,â you have to be able to tell it, |
| |
âItâs not true.â |
| |
You should be floating above the water, |
| |
and not be submerged by the flood-waters of worldly habit. |
| |
The water is flooding our hearts if we run after things; do we ever look at what is going on? |
| |
Will there be anyone âwatching the houseâ? |
| |
NibbÄna paccayo hotu - one need not aim at anything or wish for anything at all. |
| |
Just aim for NibbÄna. |
| |
All manner of becoming and birth, merit and virtue in the worldly way, |
| |
do not lead there. |
| |
We donât need to be wishing for a lot of things, |
| |
making merit and skilful kamma, hoping it will cause us to attain to some better state, |
| |
just aim directly for NibbÄna. |
| |
Wanting sīla, wanting tranquillity, we just end up in the same old place. |
| |
Itâs not necessary to desire these things - we should just wish for the place of cessation. |
| |
It is like this. |
| |
Throughout all our becoming and birth, |
| |
all of us are so terribly anxious about so many things. |
| |
When there is separation, when there is death, |
| |
we cry and lament. |
| |
I can only think, how utterly foolish this is. |
| |
What are we crying about? |
| |
Where do you think people are going anyhow? |
| |
If they are still bound up in becoming and birth they are not really going away. |
| |
When children grow up and move to the big city of Bangkok they still think of their parents. |
| |
They wonât be missing someone elseâs parents, |
| |
just their own. |
| |
When they return they will go to their parentsâ home, |
| |
not someone elseâs. |
| |
And when they go away again they will still think about their home here in Ubon. |
| |
Will they be homesick for some other place? |
| |
What do you think? |
| |
So when the breath ends and we die, no matter through how many lifetimes, |
| |
if the causes for becoming and birth still exist, |
| |
the consciousness is likely to try and take birth in a place it is familiar with. |
| |
I think we are just too fearful about all of this. |
| |
So please donât go crying about it too much. |
| |
Think about this. |
| |
âKammam satte vibhajatiâ - kamma drives beings into their various births - they donât go very far. |
| |
Spinning back and forth through the round of births, |
| |
that is all, just changing appearances, |
| |
appearing with a different face next time, |
| |
but we donât know it. |
| |
Just coming and going, going and returning in the loop of samsÄra, |
| |
not really going anywhere. |
| |
Just staying there. |
| |
Like a mango that is shaken off the tree, |
| |
like the snare that does not get the waspsâ nest and falls to the ground; it is not going anywhere. |
| |
It is just staying there. |
| |
So the Buddha said, âNibbÄna paccayo hotuâ: let your only aim be NibbÄna. |
| |
Strive hard to accomplish this; donât end up like the mango falling to the ground and going nowhere. |
| |
Transform your sense of things like this. |
| |
If you can change it you will know great peace. |
| |
Change, please; come to see and know. |
| |
These are things one should indeed see and know. |
| |
If you do see and know, then where else do you need to go? |
| |
Morality will come to be. |
| |
Dhamma will come to be. |
| |
It is nothing far away; so please investigate this. |
| |
When you transform your view, you will realize that it is like watching leaves fall from the trees. |
| |
When they get old and dry, they fall from the tree. |
| |
And when the season comes, they begin to appear again. |
| |
Would anyone cry when leaves fall, or laugh when they grow? |
| |
If you did, you would be insane, wouldnât you? |
| |
It is just this much. |
| |
If we can see things in this way, we will be okay. |
| |
We will know that this is just the natural order of things. |
| |
It doesnât matter how many births we undergo, |
| |
it will always be like this. |
| |
When one studies Dhamma, gains clear knowledge and undergoes a change of world view like this, |
| |
one will realize peace and be free of bewilderment about the phenomena of this life. |
| |
But the important point really is that we have life now in the present. |
| |
We are experiencing the results of past deeds right now. |
| |
When beings are born into the world, this is the manifestation of past actions. |
| |
Whatever happiness or suffering beings have in the present is the fruit of what they have done previously. |
| |
It is born of the past and experienced in the present. |
| |
Then this present experience becomes the basis for the future as we create further causes under its influence, |
| |
and so future experience becomes the result. |
| |
The movement from one birth to the next also happens in this way. |
| |
You should understand this. |
| |
Listening to the Dhamma should resolve your doubts. |
| |
It should clarify your view of things and alter your way of living. |
| |
When doubts are resolved, suffering can end. |
| |
You stop creating desires and mental afflictions. |
| |
Then whatever you experience, if something is displeasing to you, |
| |
you will not suffer over it because you understand its changeability. |
| |
If something is pleasing to you, you will not get carried away |
| |
and become intoxicated by it because you know the way to let go of things appropriately. |
| |
You maintain a balanced perspective, because you understand impermanence |
| |
and know how to resolve things according to Dhamma. |
| |
You know that good and bad conditions are always changing. |
| |
Knowing internal phenomena, you understand external phenomena. |
| |
Not attached to the external, you are not attached to the internal. |
| |
Observing things within yourself or outside of yourself, |
| |
it is all completely the same. |
| |
In this way we can dwell in a natural state, |
| |
which is peace and tranquillity. |
| |
If we are criticized, we remain undisturbed. |
| |
If we are praised, we are undisturbed. |
| |
Let things be in this way; donât be influenced by others. |
| |
This is freedom. |
| |
Knowing the two extremes for what they are, |
| |
one can experience well-being. |
| |
One does not stop at either side. |
| |
This is genuine happiness and peace, transcending all things of the world. |
| |
One transcends all good and evil. |
| |
One is above cause and effect, beyond birth and death. |
| |
Born into this world, one can transcend the world. |
| |
To be beyond the world, knowing the world - this is the aim of the Buddhaâs teaching. |
| |
He did not aim for people to suffer. |
| |
He desired people to attain peace, to know the truth of things and realize wisdom. |
| |
This is Dhamma, knowing the nature of things. |
| |
Whatever exists in the world is nature. |
| |
There is no need to be in confusion about it. |
| |
Wherever you are, the same laws apply. |
| |
The most important point is that while we have life, |
| |
we should train the mind to be even in regard to things. |
| |
We should be able to share wealth and possessions. |
| |
When the time comes we should give a portion to those in need, |
| |
just as if we were giving things to our own children. |
| |
Sharing things like this we will feel happy; and if we can give away all our wealth, |
| |
then whenever our breath may stop, there will be no attachment or anxiety because everything is gone. |
| |
The Buddha taught to âdie before you dieâ, |
| |
to be finished with things before they are finished. |
| |
Then you can be at ease. |
| |
Let things break before they are broken, |
| |
let them finish before they are finished. |
| |
This is the Buddhaâs intention in teaching the Dhamma. |
| |
Even if you listen to teachings for a hundred or a thousand aeons, |
| |
if you do not understand these points, |
| |
you wonât be able to undo your suffering and you will not find peace. |
| |
You will not see the Dhamma. |
| |
But understanding these things according to the Buddhaâs intention |
| |
and being able to resolve things is called seeing the Dhamma. |
| |
This view of things can make an end of suffering. |
| |
It can relieve all heat and distress. |
| |
Whoever strives sincerely and is diligent in practice, |
| |
who can endure, who trains and develops themselves to the full |
| |
measure: those persons will attain to peace and cessation. |
| |
Wherever they stay, they will have no suffering. |
| |
Whether they are young or old they will be free of suffering. |
| |
Whatever their situation, whatever work they have to perform, |
| |
they will have no suffering because their minds have reached the place where suffering is exhausted, |
| |
where there is peace. |
| |
It is like this. |
| |
It is a matter of nature. |
| |
The Buddha thus said to change oneâs perceptions, |
| |
and there will be the Dhamma. |
| |
When the mind is in harmony with Dhamma, |
| |
then Dhamma enters the heart. |
| |
The mind and the Dhamma become indistinguishable. |
| |
The changing of oneâs view and experience of things is something to be realized by those who practise. |
| |
The entire Dhamma is paccattam, to be known personally. |
| |
It can not be given by anyone; that is an impossibility. |
| |
If we hold it to be difficult, it will be something difficult. |
| |
If we take it to be easy, it is easy. |
| |
Whoever contemplates it and sees the one point does not have to know a lot of things. |
| |
Seeing the one point, seeing birth and death, |
| |
the arising and passing away of phenomena according to nature, |
| |
one will know all things. |
| |
This is a matter of the truth. |
| |
This is the way of the Buddha. |
| |
The Buddha gave his teachings out of the wish to benefit all beings. |
| |
He wished for us to go beyond suffering and to attain peace. |
| |
It is not that we have to die first in order to transcend suffering. |
| |
We shouldnât think that we will attain this after death; we can go beyond suffering here and now, |
| |
in the present. |
| |
We transcend within our perception of things, |
| |
in this very life, through the view that arises in our minds. |
| |
Then sitting, we are happy; lying down, |
| |
we are happy; wherever we are, we are happy. |
| |
We become without fault, experience no ill results, |
| |
and live in a state of freedom. |
| |
The mind is clear, bright, and tranquil. |
| |
There is no more darkness or defilement. |
| |
This is someone who has reached the supreme happiness of the Buddhaâs way. |
| |
Please investigate this for yourselves. |
| |
All of you lay followers, please contemplate this to gain understanding and ability. |
| |
If you suffer, then practise to alleviate your suffering. |
| |
If it is great, make it little, and if it is little, |
| |
make an end of it. |
| |
Everyone has to do this for themselves, |
| |
so please make an effort to consider these words. |
| |
May you prosper and develop. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Question: A friend of mine went to practise with a Zen teacher. |
| |
He asked him, âWhen the Buddha was sitting beneath the Bodhi tree, |
| |
what was he doing?â |
| |
The Zen master answered, âHe was practising zazen!â |
| |
My friend said, âI donât believe it.â |
| |
The Zen master asked him, âWhat do you mean, |
| |
you donât believe it?â |
| |
My friend said, âI asked Goenka the same question and he said, |
| |
âWhen the Buddha was sitting under the Bodhi tree, |
| |
he was practising vipassanÄ!â |
| |
So everybody says the Buddha was doing whatever they do.â |
| |
Answer: When the Buddha sat out in the open, |
| |
he was sitting beneath the Bodhi tree. |
| |
Isnât that so? |
| |
When he sat under some other kind of tree, |
| |
he was sitting beneath the Bodhi tree. |
| |
Thereâs nothing wrong with those explanations. |
| |
âBodhiâ means the Buddha himself, the one who knows. |
| |
Itâs OK to talk about sitting beneath the Bodhi tree, |
| |
but lots of birds sit beneath the Bodhi tree. |
| |
Lots of people sit beneath the Bodhi tree. |
| |
But they are far from such knowledge, |
| |
far from such truth. |
| |
Yes, we can say, âbeneath the Bodhi treeâ. |
| |
Monkeys play in the Bodhi tree. |
| |
People sit there beneath the Bodhi tree. |
| |
But this doesnât mean they have any profound understanding. |
| |
Those who have deeper understanding realize that the true meaning of the âBodhi treeâ is the absolute Dhamma. |
| |
So in this way itâs certainly good for us to try to sit beneath the Bodhi tree. |
| |
Then we can be Buddha. |
| |
But we donât need to argue with others over this question. |
| |
When one person says the Buddha was doing one kind of practice beneath the Bodhi tree and another person disputes that, |
| |
we neednât get involved. |
| |
We should be looking at it from the viewpoint of the ultimate, |
| |
meaning realizing the truth. |
| |
There is also the conventional idea of âBodhi treeâ, |
| |
which is what most people talk about; but when there are two kinds of Bodhi tree, |
| |
people can end up arguing and having the most contentious disputes - and then there is no Bodhi tree at all. |
| |
Itâs talking about paramatthadhamma, the level of ultimate truth. |
| |
So in that case, we can also try to get underneath the Bodhi tree. |
| |
Thatâs pretty good - then weâll be Buddha. |
| |
Itâs not something to be arguing over. |
| |
When someone says the Buddha was practising a certain kind of meditation beneath the Bodhi tree and someone else says, |
| |
âNo, thatâs not right,â we neednât get involved. |
| |
Weâre aiming at paramatthadhamma, meaning dwelling in full awareness. |
| |
This ultimate truth pervades everything. |
| |
Whether the Buddha was sitting beneath the Bodhi tree or performing other activities in other postures, |
| |
never mind. |
| |
Thatâs just the intellectual analysis people have developed. |
| |
One person has one view of the matter, |
| |
another person has another idea; we donât have to get involved in disputes over it. |
| |
Where did the Buddha enter NibbÄna means extinguished without remainder, |
| |
finished. |
| |
Being finished comes from knowledge, knowledge of the way things really are. |
| |
Thatâs how things get finished, and that is the paramatthadhamma. |
| |
There are explanations according to the levels of convention and liberation. |
| |
They are both true, but their truths are different. |
| |
For example, we say that you are a person. |
| |
But the Buddha will say, âThatâs not so. |
| |
Thereâs no such thing as a person.â |
| |
So we have to summarize the various ways of speaking and explanation into convention and liberation. |
| |
We can explain it like this: previously you were a child. |
| |
Now you are grown up. |
| |
Are you a new person or the same person as before? |
| |
If you are the same as the old person, |
| |
how did you become an adult? |
| |
If you are a new person, where did you come from? |
| |
But talking about an old person and a new person doesnât really get to the point. |
| |
This question illustrates the limitations of conventional language and understanding. |
| |
If there is something called âbigâ, then there is âsmallâ. |
| |
If there is small there is big. |
| |
We can talk about small and large, young and old, |
| |
but there are really no such things in any absolute sense. |
| |
You canât really say somebody or something is big. |
| |
The wise do not accept such designations as real, |
| |
but when ordinary people hear about this, |
| |
that âbigâ is not really true and âsmallâ is not really true, |
| |
they are confused because they are attached to concepts of big and small. |
| |
You plant a sapling and watch it grow. |
| |
After a year it is one meter high. |
| |
After another year it is two meters tall. |
| |
Is it the same tree or a different tree? |
| |
If itâs the same tree, how did it become bigger? |
| |
If itâs a different tree, how did it grow from the small tree? |
| |
From the viewpoint of someone who is enlightened to the Dhamma and sees correctly, |
| |
there is no new or old tree, no big or small tree. |
| |
One person looks at a tree and thinks it is tall. |
| |
Another person will say itâs not tall. |
| |
But there is no âtallâ that really exists independently. |
| |
You canât say someone is big and someone is small, |
| |
someone is grown up and someone else is young. |
| |
Things end here and problems are finished with. |
| |
If we donât get tied up in knots over these conventional distinctions, |
| |
we wonât have doubts about practice. |
| |
Iâve heard of people who worship their deities by sacrificing animals. |
| |
They kill ducks, chickens and cows and offer them to their gods, |
| |
thinking that will be pleasing to them. |
| |
This is wrong understanding. |
| |
They think they are making merits, but itâs the exact opposite: they are actually making a lot of bad kamma. |
| |
Someone who really looks into this wonât think like that. |
| |
But have you noticed? |
| |
Iâm afraid people in Thailand are becoming like that. |
| |
Theyâre not applying real investigation. |
| |
Q: Is that vÄ«mamsÄ? |
| |
A: It means understanding cause and result. |
| |
Q: Then the teachings talk about chanda, |
| |
aspiration; viriya, exertion; and citta, |
| |
mind; together with vimamsÄ these are the four iddhipÄdÄ, |
| |
âbases for accomplishmentâ. |
| |
A: When thereâs satisfaction, is it with something that is correct? |
| |
Is exertion correct? |
| |
VÄ«mamsÄ has to be present with these other factors. |
| |
Q: Are citta and vÄ«mamsÄ different? |
| |
A: VÄ«mamsÄ is investigation. |
| |
It means skilfulness or wisdom. |
| |
It is a factor of the mind. |
| |
You can say that chanda is mind, viriya is mind, |
| |
citta is mind, vÄ«mamsÄ is mind. |
| |
They are all aspects of mind, they all can be summarized as âmindâ, |
| |
but here they are distinguished for the purpose of pointing out these different factors of the mind. |
| |
If there is satisfaction, we may not know if it is right or wrong. |
| |
If there is exertion, we donât know if itâs right or wrong. |
| |
Is what we call mind the real mind? |
| |
There has to be vÄ«mamsÄ to discern these things. |
| |
When we investigate the other factors with wise discernment, |
| |
our practice gradually comes to be correct and we can understand the Dhamma. |
| |
But Dhamma doesnât bring much benefit if we donât practise meditation. |
| |
We wonât really know what it is all about. |
| |
These factors are always present in the mind of real practitioners. |
| |
Then even if they go astray, they will be aware of that and be able to correct it. |
| |
So their path of practice is continuous. |
| |
People may look at you and feel your way of life, |
| |
your interest in Dhamma, makes no sense. |
| |
Others may say that if you want to practise Dhamma, |
| |
you ought to be ordained as a monk. |
| |
Being ordained is not really the crucial point. |
| |
Itâs how you practise. |
| |
As itâs said, one should be oneâs own witness. |
| |
Donât take others as your witness. |
| |
It means learning to trust yourself. |
| |
Then there is no loss. |
| |
People may think you are crazy, but never mind. |
| |
They donât know anything about Dhamma. |
| |
Othersâ words canât measure your practice. |
| |
And you donât realize the Dhamma because of what others say. |
| |
I mean the real Dhamma. |
| |
The teachings others can give you are to show you the path, |
| |
but that isnât real knowledge. |
| |
When people meet the Dhamma, they realize it specifically within themselves. |
| |
So the Buddha said, âThe TathÄgata is merely one who shows the way.â |
| |
When someone is ordained, I tell them, |
| |
âOur responsibility is only this part: the reciting Äcariya have done their chanting. |
| |
I have given you the Going Forth and vows of ordination. |
| |
Now our job is done. |
| |
The rest is up to you, to do the practice correctly.â |
| |
Teachings can be most profound, but those who listen may not understand. |
| |
But never mind. |
| |
Donât be perplexed over profundity or lack of it. |
| |
Just do the practice wholeheartedly and you can arrive at real |
| |
understanding; it will bring you to the same place the teachings are talking about. |
| |
Donât rely on the perceptions of ordinary people. |
| |
Have you read the story about the blind men and the elephant? |
| |
Itâs a good illustration. |
| |
Suppose thereâs an elephant and a bunch of blind people are trying to describe it. |
| |
One touches the leg and says itâs like a pillar. |
| |
Another touches the ear and says itâs like a fan. |
| |
Another touches the tail and says, âNo, |
| |
itâs not a fan; itâs like a broom.â |
| |
Another touches the shoulder and says itâs something else again from what the others say. |
| |
Itâs like this. |
| |
Thereâs no resolution, no end. |
| |
Each blind person touches part of the elephant and has a completely different idea of what it is. |
| |
But itâs the same one elephant. |
| |
Itâs like this in practice. |
| |
With a little understanding or experience, |
| |
you get limited ideas. |
| |
You can go from one teacher to the next seeking explanations and instructions, |
| |
trying to figure out if they are teaching correctly or incorrectly and how their teachings compare to each other. |
| |
Some monks are always travelling around with their bowls and umbrellas learning from different teachers. |
| |
They try to judge and measure, so when they sit down to meditate |
| |
they are constantly in confusion about what is right and what is wrong. |
| |
âThis teacher said this, but that teacher said that. |
| |
One guy teaches in this way, but the other guyâs methods are different. |
| |
They donât seem to agree.â |
| |
It can lead to a lot of doubt. |
| |
You might hear that certain teachers are really good and so you go to receive teachings from Thai Ajahns, |
| |
Zen masters and others. |
| |
It seems to me youâve probably had enough teaching, |
| |
but the tendency is to always want to hear more, |
| |
to compare and to end up in doubt as a result. |
| |
Then each successive teacher increases your confusion further. |
| |
Thereâs a story of a wanderer in the Buddhaâs time that was in this kind of situation. |
| |
He went to one teacher after the next, |
| |
hearing their different explanations and learning their methods. |
| |
He was trying to learn meditation but was only increasing his perplexity. |
| |
His travels finally brought him to the teacher Gotama, |
| |
and he described his predicament to the Buddha. |
| |
âDoing as you have been doing will not bring an end to doubt and confusion,â the Buddha told him. |
| |
âAt this time, let go of the past; whatever you may or may not have done, |
| |
whether it was right or wrong, let go of that now. |
| |
The future has not yet come. |
| |
Do not speculate over it at all, wondering how things may turn out. |
| |
Let go of all such disturbing ideas - it is merely thinking. |
| |
âLetting go of past and future, look at the present. |
| |
Then you will know the Dhamma. |
| |
You may know the words spoken by various teachers, |
| |
but you still do not know your own mind. |
| |
The present moment is empty; look only at arising and ceasing of sankhÄrÄ. |
| |
See that they are impermanent, unsatisfactory and empty of self. |
| |
See that they really are thus. |
| |
Then you will not be concerned with the past or the future. |
| |
You will clearly understand that the past is gone and the future has not yet arrived. |
| |
Contemplating in the present, you will realize that the present is the result of the past. |
| |
The results of past actions are seen in the present. |
| |
âThe future has not yet come. |
| |
Whatever does occur in the future will arise and pass away in the future; there is no point in worrying over it now, |
| |
as it has not yet occurred. |
| |
So contemplate in the present. |
| |
The present is the cause of the future. |
| |
If you want a good future, create good in the present, |
| |
increasing your awareness of what you do in the present. |
| |
The future is the result of that. |
| |
The past is the cause and the future is the result of the present. |
| |
âKnowing the present, one knows the past and the future. |
| |
Then one lets go of the past and the future, |
| |
knowing they are gathered in the present moment.â |
| |
Understanding this, that wanderer made up his mind to practise as the Buddha advised, |
| |
putting things down. |
| |
Seeing ever more clearly, he realized many kinds of knowledge, |
| |
seeing the natural order of things with his own wisdom. |
| |
His doubts ended. |
| |
He put down the past and the future and everything appeared in the present. |
| |
This was eko dhammo, the one Dhamma. |
| |
Then it was no longer necessary for him to carry his begging |
| |
bowl up mountains and into forests in search of understanding. |
| |
If he did go somewhere, he went in a natural way, |
| |
not out of desire for something. |
| |
If he stayed put, he was staying in a natural way, |
| |
not out of desire. |
| |
Practising in that way, he became free of doubt. |
| |
There was nothing to add to his practice, |
| |
nothing to remove. |
| |
He dwelt in peace, without anxiety over past or future. |
| |
This was the way the Buddha taught. |
| |
But itâs not just a story about something that happened long ago. |
| |
If we at this time practise correctly, |
| |
we can also gain realization. |
| |
We can know the past and the future because they are gathered at this one point, |
| |
the present moment. |
| |
If we look to the past we wonât know. |
| |
If we look to the future we wonât know, |
| |
because that is not where the truth is; it exists here, |
| |
in the present. |
| |
Thus the Buddha said, âI am enlightened through my own efforts, |
| |
without any teacher.â |
| |
Have you read this story? |
| |
A wanderer of another sect asked him, |
| |
âWho is your teacher?â |
| |
The Buddha answered, âI have no teacher. |
| |
I attained enlightenment by myself.â |
| |
But that wanderer just shook his head and went away. |
| |
He thought the Buddha was making up a story and so he had no interest in what he said. |
| |
He thought it was not possible to achieve anything without a teacher and guide. |
| |
Itâs like this: you study with a spiritual teacher and he tells you to give up greed and anger. |
| |
He tells you they are harmful and that you need to get rid of them. |
| |
Then you may practise and do that. |
| |
But getting rid of greed and anger didnât come about just because |
| |
he taught you; you had to actually practise and do that. |
| |
Through practice you came to realize something for yourself. |
| |
You see greed in your mind and give it up. |
| |
You see anger in your mind and give it up. |
| |
The teacher doesnât get rid of them for you. |
| |
He tells you about getting rid of them, |
| |
but it doesnât happen just because he tells you. |
| |
You do the practice and come to realization. |
| |
You understand these things for yourself. |
| |
Itâs like the Buddha is catching hold of you and bringing you to the beginning of the path, |
| |
and he tells you, âHere is the path - walk on it.â |
| |
He doesnât help you walk. |
| |
You do that yourself. |
| |
When you do travel the path and practise Dhamma, |
| |
you meet the real Dhamma, which is beyond anything that anyone can explain to you. |
| |
So one is enlightened by oneself, understanding past, |
| |
future and present, understanding cause and result. |
| |
Then doubt is finished. |
| |
We talk about giving up and developing, |
| |
renouncing and cultivating. |
| |
But when the fruit of practice is realized, |
| |
there is nothing to add and nothing to remove. |
| |
The Buddha taught that this is the point we want to arrive at, |
| |
but people donât want to stop there. |
| |
Their doubts and attachments keep them on the move, |
| |
keep them confused and keep them from stopping there. |
| |
So when one person has arrived but others are somewhere else, |
| |
they wonât be able to make any sense of what he may say about it. |
| |
They might have some intellectual understanding of the words, |
| |
but this is not real understanding or knowledge of the truth. |
| |
Usually when we talk about practice we talk about entering and leaving, |
| |
increasing the positive and removing the negative. |
| |
But the final result is that all of these are done with. |
| |
There is the sekha puggala, the person who needs to train in these things, |
| |
and there is the asekha puggala, the person who no longer needs to train in anything. |
| |
This is talking about the mind; when the mind has reached this level of full realization, |
| |
there is nothing more to practise. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
It is because such a person doesnât have to make use of any of the conventions of teaching and practice. |
| |
This person has abandoned the defilements. |
| |
The sekha person has to train in the steps of the path, |
| |
from the very beginning to the highest level. |
| |
When they have completed this they are called asekha, |
| |
meaning they no longer need to train because everything is finished. |
| |
The things to be trained in are finished. |
| |
Doubts are finished. |
| |
There are no qualities to be developed. |
| |
There are no defilements to remove. |
| |
Such people dwell in peace. |
| |
Whatever good or evil there is will not affect them; they are unshakeable no matter what they meet. |
| |
This is talking about the empty mind. |
| |
Now you will really be confused. |
| |
You donât understand this at all. |
| |
âIf my mind is empty, how can I walk?â |
| |
Precisely because the mind is empty. |
| |
âIf the mind is empty, how can I eat? |
| |
Will I have desire to eat if my mind is empty?â |
| |
Thereâs not much benefit in talking about emptiness like this when people havenât trained properly. |
| |
They wonât be able to understand it. |
| |
Those who use such terms have sought ways to give us some feeling that can lead us to understand the truth. |
| |
For example, the Buddha said that in truth these sankhÄrÄ that |
| |
we have been accumulating and carrying from the time of our birth |
| |
until this moment are not ourselves and do not belong to us. |
| |
Why did he say such a thing? |
| |
Thereâs no other way to formulate the truth. |
| |
He spoke in this way for people who have discernment, |
| |
so that they could gain wisdom. |
| |
But this is something to contemplate carefully. |
| |
Some people will hear the words, âNothing is mineâ, |
| |
and they will get the idea they should throw away all their possessions. |
| |
With only superficial understanding, people will get into arguments about what this means and how to apply it. |
| |
âThis is not my selfâ, doesnât mean you should end your life or throw away your possessions. |
| |
It means you should give up attachment. |
| |
There is the level of conventional reality and the level of ultimate reality - supposition and liberation. |
| |
On the level of convention, there is Mr. A, |
| |
Mrs. B, Mr. L, Mrs. N, and so on. |
| |
We use these suppositions for convenience in communicating and functioning in the world. |
| |
The Buddha did not teach that we shouldnât use these things, |
| |
but rather that we shouldnât be attached to them. |
| |
We should realize that they are empty. |
| |
Itâs hard to talk about this. |
| |
We have to depend on practice and gain understanding through practice. |
| |
If you want to get knowledge and understanding by studying and asking others you wonât really understand the truth. |
| |
Itâs something you have to see and know for yourself through practising. |
| |
Turn inwards to know within yourself. |
| |
Donât always be turning outwards. |
| |
But when we talk about practising people become argumentative. |
| |
Their minds are ready to argue, because they have learned this |
| |
or that approach to practice and have one-sided attachment to what they have learned. |
| |
They havenât realized the truth through practice. |
| |
Did you notice the Thai people we met the other day? |
| |
They asked irrelevant questions like, |
| |
âWhy do you eat out of your almsbowl?â |
| |
I could see that they were far from Dhamma. |
| |
Theyâve had modern education so I canât tell them much. |
| |
But I let the American monk talk to them. |
| |
They might be willing to listen to him. |
| |
Thai people these days donât have much interest in Dhamma and donât understand it. |
| |
Why do I say that? |
| |
If someone hasnât studied something, they are ignorant of it. |
| |
Theyâve studied other things, but they are ignorant of Dhamma. |
| |
Iâll admit that Iâm ignorant of the things they have learned. |
| |
The Western monk has studied Dhamma, so he can tell them something about it. |
| |
Among Thai people in the present time there is less and less interest in being ordained, |
| |
studying and practising. |
| |
I donât know if itâs because they are busy with work, |
| |
because the country is developing materially, |
| |
or what the reason might be. |
| |
In the past when someone was ordained they would stay for at least a few years, |
| |
four or five Rains. |
| |
Now itâs a week or two. |
| |
Some are ordained in the morning and disrobe in the evening. |
| |
Thatâs the direction itâs going in now. |
| |
One fellow told me, âIf everyone were to be ordained the way you prefer, |
| |
for a few Rains at least, there would be no progress in the world. |
| |
Families wouldnât grow. |
| |
Nobody would be building things.â |
| |
I said to him, âYour thinking is the thinking of an earthworm. |
| |
An earthworm lives in the ground. |
| |
It eats earth for its food. |
| |
Eating and eating, it starts to worry that it will run out of dirt to eat. |
| |
It is surrounded by dirt, the whole earth is covering its head, |
| |
but it worries it will run out of dirt.â |
| |
Thatâs the thinking of an earthworm. |
| |
People worry that the world wonât progress, |
| |
that it will come to an end. |
| |
Thatâs an earthwormâs view. |
| |
They arenât earthworms, but they think like them. |
| |
Thatâs the wrong understanding of the animal realm. |
| |
They are really ignorant. |
| |
Thereâs a story Iâve often told about a tortoise and a snake. |
| |
The forest was on fire and they were trying to flee. |
| |
The tortoise was lumbering along, and then it saw the snake slither by. |
| |
It felt pity for that snake. |
| |
Why? |
| |
The snake had no legs, so the tortoise figured it wouldnât be able to escape the fire. |
| |
It wanted to help the snake. |
| |
But as the fire kept spreading the snake fled easily, |
| |
while the tortoise couldnât make it, |
| |
even with its four legs, and it died there. |
| |
That was the tortoiseâs ignorance. |
| |
It thought, if you have legs you can move. |
| |
If you donât have legs, you canât go anywhere. |
| |
So it was worried about the snake. |
| |
It thought the snake would die because it didnât have legs. |
| |
But the snake wasnât worried; it knew it could easily escape the danger. |
| |
This is one way to talk to people who have confused ideas. |
| |
They feel pity for you if you arenât like them and donât have their views and their knowledge. |
| |
So who is ignorant? |
| |
Iâm ignorant in my own way; there are things I donât know about, |
| |
so Iâm ignorant on that account. |
| |
Meeting different situations can be a cause for tranquillity. |
| |
But I didnât understand how foolish and mistaken I was. |
| |
Whenever something disturbed my mind, |
| |
I tried to get away from it, to escape. |
| |
What I was doing was escaping from peace. |
| |
I was continually running away from peace. |
| |
I didnât want to see this or know about that; I didnât want to think about or experience various things. |
| |
I didnât realize that this was defilement. |
| |
I only thought that I needed to remove myself and get far away from people and situations, |
| |
so that I wouldnât meet anything disturbing or hear speech that was displeasing. |
| |
The farther away I could get, the better. |
| |
After many years had passed, I was forced by the natural progression of events to change my ways. |
| |
Having been ordained for some time, I ended up with more and more disciples, |
| |
more people seeking me out. |
| |
Living and practising in the forest was something that attracted people to come and pay respects. |
| |
So as the number of followers increased, |
| |
I was forced to start facing things. |
| |
I couldnât run away anymore. |
| |
My ears had to hear sounds, my eyes to see. |
| |
And it was then, as an Ajahn, that I started gaining more knowledge. |
| |
It led to a lot of wisdom and a lot of letting go. |
| |
There was a lot of everything going on and I learned not to grasp and hold on, |
| |
but to keep letting go. |
| |
It made me a lot more skilful than before. |
| |
When some suffering came about, it was OK; I didnât add on to it by trying to escape it. |
| |
Previously, in my meditation, I had only desired tranquillity. |
| |
I thought that the external environment was only useful insofar as it could be a cause to help me attain tranquillity. |
| |
I didnât think that having right view would be the cause for realizing tranquillity. |
| |
Iâve often said that there are two kinds of tranquillity. |
| |
The wise have divided it into peace through wisdom and peace through samatha. |
| |
In peace through samatha, the eye has to be far from sights, |
| |
the ear far from sounds, the nose far from smells and so on. |
| |
Then not hearing, not knowing and so forth, |
| |
one can become tranquil. |
| |
This kind of peacefulness is good in its way. |
| |
Is it of value? |
| |
Yes, it is, but it is not supreme. |
| |
It is short-lived. |
| |
It doesnât have a reliable foundation. |
| |
When the senses meet objects that are displeasing, |
| |
the mind changes, because it doesnât want those things to be present. |
| |
So the mind always has to struggle with these objects and no wisdom is born, |
| |
since the person always feels that he is not at peace because of those external factors. |
| |
On the other hand, if you determine not to run away but to look directly at things, |
| |
you come to realize that lack of tranquillity is not due to external objects or situations, |
| |
but only happens because of wrong understanding. |
| |
I often teach my disciples about this. |
| |
I tell them, when you are intently devoted to finding tranquillity in your meditation, |
| |
you can seek out the quietest, most remote place, |
| |
where you wonât meet with sights or sounds, |
| |
where there is nothing going on that will disturb you. |
| |
There the mind can settle down and become calm because there is nothing to provoke it. |
| |
Then, when you experience this, examine it to see how much strength it has. |
| |
When you come out of that place and start experiencing sense contact, |
| |
notice how you become pleased and displeased, |
| |
gladdened and dejected, and how the mind becomes disturbed. |
| |
Then you will understand that this kind of tranquillity is not genuine. |
| |
Whatever occurs in your field of experience is merely what it is. |
| |
When something pleases us, we decide that it is good and when something displeases us, |
| |
we say it isnât good. |
| |
That is only our own discriminating minds giving meaning to external objects. |
| |
When we understand this, then we have a basis for investigating these things and seeing them as they really are. |
| |
When there is tranquillity in meditation, |
| |
itâs not necessary to do a lot of thinking. |
| |
This sensitivity has a certain knowing quality that is born of the tranquil mind. |
| |
This isnât thinking; it is dhammavicaya, |
| |
the factor of investigating Dhamma. |
| |
This sort of tranquillity does not get disturbed by experience and sense contact. |
| |
But then there is the question, âIf it is tranquillity, |
| |
why is there still something going on?â |
| |
There is something happening within tranquillity; itâs not something happening in the ordinary, |
| |
afflicted way, where we make more out of it than it really is. |
| |
When something happens within tranquillity the mind knows it extremely clearly. |
| |
Wisdom is born there and the mind contemplates ever more clearly. |
| |
We see the way that things actually happen; when we know the truth of them, |
| |
then tranquillity becomes all-inclusive. |
| |
When the eye sees forms or the ear hears sounds, |
| |
we recognize them for what they are. |
| |
In this latter form of tranquillity, when the eye sees forms, |
| |
the mind is peaceful. |
| |
When the ear hears sounds, the mind is peaceful. |
| |
The mind does not waver. |
| |
Whatever we experience, the mind is not shaken. |
| |
So where does this sort of tranquillity come from? |
| |
It comes from that other kind of tranquillity, |
| |
that unknowing samatha. |
| |
That is a cause that enables it to come about. |
| |
It is taught that wisdom comes from tranquillity. |
| |
Knowing comes from unknowing; the mind comes to know from that state of unknowing, |
| |
from learning to investigate like this. |
| |
There will be both tranquillity and wisdom. |
| |
Then, wherever we are, whatever we are doing, |
| |
we see the truth of things. |
| |
We know that the arising and ceasing of experience in the mind is just like that. |
| |
Then there is nothing more to do, nothing to correct or solve. |
| |
There is no more speculation. |
| |
There is nowhere to go, no escape. |
| |
We can only escape through wisdom, through knowing things as they are and transcending them. |
| |
In the past, when I first established Wat Pah Pong and people started coming to see me, |
| |
some disciples said, âLuang Por is always socializing with people. |
| |
This isnât a proper place to stay anymore.â |
| |
But it wasnât that I had gone in search of people; we established |
| |
a monastery and people were coming to pay respects to our way of life. |
| |
Well, I couldnât deny what they were saying, |
| |
but actually I was gaining a lot of wisdom and coming to know a lot of things. |
| |
But the disciples had no idea. |
| |
They could only look at me and think my practice was degenerating - so many people were coming, |
| |
so much disturbance. |
| |
I didnât have any way to convince them otherwise, |
| |
but as time passed, I overcame the various obstacles and I finally |
| |
came to believe that real tranquillity is born of correct view. |
| |
If we donât have right view, then it doesnât matter where we stay, |
| |
we wonât be at peace and wisdom wonât arise. |
| |
People are trying to practise here in the West, |
| |
Iâm not criticizing anyone, but from what I can see, |
| |
sīla (morality) is not very well developed. |
| |
Well, this is a convention. |
| |
You can start by practising samÄdhi first. |
| |
Itâs like walking along and coming across a long piece of wood. |
| |
One person can take hold of it at one end. |
| |
Another person can pick up the other end. |
| |
But itâs the same one piece of wood, and taking hold of either end, |
| |
you can move it. |
| |
When there is some calm from samÄdhi practice, |
| |
then the mind can see things clearly and gain wisdom and see the harm in certain types of behaviour, |
| |
and the person will have restraint and caution. |
| |
You can move the log from either end, |
| |
but the main point is to have firm determination in your practice. |
| |
If you start with sīla, this restraint will bring calm. |
| |
That is samÄdhi and it becomes a cause for wisdom. |
| |
When there is wisdom, it helps develop samÄdhi further. |
| |
And samÄdhi keeps refining sÄ«la. |
| |
They are actually synonymous, developing together. |
| |
In the end, the final result is that they are one and the same; they are inseparable. |
| |
We canât distinguish samÄdhi and classify it separately. |
| |
We canât classify wisdom as something separate. |
| |
We canât distinguish sÄ«la as something separate. |
| |
At first we do distinguish among them. |
| |
There is the level of convention, and the level of liberation. |
| |
On the level of liberation, we donât attach to good and bad. |
| |
Using convention, we distinguish good and bad and different aspects of practice. |
| |
This is necessary to do, but it isnât yet supreme. |
| |
If we understand the use of convention, |
| |
we can come to understand liberation. |
| |
Then we can understand the ways in which different terms are used to bring people to the same thing. |
| |
So in those days, I learned to deal with people, |
| |
with all sorts of situations. |
| |
Coming into contact with all these things, |
| |
I had to make my mind firm. |
| |
Relying on wisdom, I was able to see clearly and abide without being affected by whatever I met with. |
| |
Whatever others might be saying, I wasnât bothered because I had firm conviction. |
| |
Those who will be teachers need this firm conviction in what they are doing, |
| |
without being affected by what people say. |
| |
It requires some wisdom, and whatever wisdom one has can increase. |
| |
We take stock of all our old ways as they are revealed to us and keep cleaning them up. |
| |
You really have to make your mind firm. |
| |
Sometimes there is no ease of body or mind. |
| |
It happens when we live together; itâs something natural. |
| |
Sometimes we have to face illness, for example. |
| |
I went through a lot of that. |
| |
How would you deal with it? |
| |
Well, everyone wants to live comfortably, |
| |
to have good food and plenty of rest. |
| |
But we canât always have that. |
| |
We canât just indulge our wishes. |
| |
But we create some benefit in this world through the virtuous efforts we make. |
| |
We create benefit for ourselves and for others, |
| |
for this life and the next. |
| |
This is the result of making the mind peaceful. |
| |
Coming here to England and the US is the same. |
| |
Itâs a short visit, but Iâll try to help as I can and offer teaching and guidance. |
| |
There are Ajahns and students here, so Iâll try to help them out. |
| |
Even though monks havenât come to live here yet, |
| |
this is pretty good. |
| |
This visit can prepare people for having monks here. |
| |
If they come too soon, it will be difficult. |
| |
Little by little people can become familiar with the practice and with the ways of the bhikkhusangha. |
| |
Then the sÄsana can flourish here. |
| |
So for now you have to take care of your own mind and make it right. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Whatever you will teach, it wonât be outside of sÄ«la, |
| |
samÄdhi and paññÄ, or, to use another standard classification, |
| |
morality, meditation and generosity. |
| |
People here are already pretty complicated. |
| |
You have to look at those you are teaching and understand them. |
| |
Because they are complicated you have to give them something they can relate to. |
| |
Just to say, âLet go, let go!â |
| |
wonât be right. |
| |
Put that aside for the time being. |
| |
Itâs like talking to older people in Thailand. |
| |
If you try to speak bluntly, they will resent it. |
| |
If I do that, itâs OK - if they hear it from me, |
| |
it pleases them - but otherwise they would get angry. |
| |
You can be able to speak well but still not be skilful. |
| |
Right, Sumedho? |
| |
Itâs like that, isnât it? |
| |
Ajahn Sumedho: It is. |
| |
They (some of the other monks) speak the truth, |
| |
but they donât do it skilfully, and the laypeople donât want to listen. |
| |
They donât have the skilful means. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: Right. |
| |
They donât have a âtechniqueâ. |
| |
They donât have the technique in speaking. |
| |
Like construction - I can build things, |
| |
but I donât have a technique for construction, |
| |
to make things beautiful and long-lasting. |
| |
I can speak, anyone can speak, but itâs necessary to have the skilful means to know what is appropriate. |
| |
Then saying even one word can be of benefit. |
| |
Otherwise, you can cause trouble with your words. |
| |
For example, people here have learned a lot of things. |
| |
Donât go extolling your way: âMy way is right! |
| |
Your way is wrong!â |
| |
Donât do that. |
| |
And donât merely try to be profound, either. |
| |
You can lead people to madness by that. |
| |
Just say, âDonât discard other ways you may have learned. |
| |
But for the time being, please put them aside and focus on what we are practising right now.â |
| |
For example, mindfulness of breathing. |
| |
Thatâs something you can all teach. |
| |
Teach to focus on the breath going in and out. |
| |
Just keep teaching in the same way, and let people get an understanding of this. |
| |
When you become skilled at teaching one thing, |
| |
your ability to teach will develop of its own, |
| |
and you will be able to teach other things. |
| |
Coming to know one thing well, people can then know many things. |
| |
It happens of its own. |
| |
But if you try to teach them many things, |
| |
they donât get a real understanding of any one thing. |
| |
If you point out one thing clearly, then they can know many things clearly. |
| |
Like those Christians who came today. |
| |
They just said one thing. |
| |
They said one thing that was full of meaning. |
| |
âOne day we will meet again in the place of ultimate truth.â |
| |
Just this one statement was enough. |
| |
Those were the words of a wise person. |
| |
No matter what kind of Dhamma we learn, |
| |
if we donât realize the ultimate truth, |
| |
paramatthadhamma, in our hearts, we wonât reach satisfaction. |
| |
For example, Sumedho might teach me. |
| |
I have to take that knowledge and try to put it into practice. |
| |
When Sumedho is teaching me, I understand, |
| |
but it isnât a real or deep understanding, |
| |
because I havenât yet practised. |
| |
When I do actually practise and realize the fruit of practising, |
| |
then I will get to the point and know the real meaning of it. |
| |
Then I can say I know Sumedho. |
| |
I will see Sumedho in that place. |
| |
That place is Sumedho. |
| |
Because he teaches that, that is Sumedho. |
| |
When I teach about the Buddha, itâs like that also. |
| |
I say the Buddha is that place. |
| |
The Buddha is not in the teachings. |
| |
When people hear this they will be startled. |
| |
âDidnât the Buddha teach those things?â |
| |
Yes, he did but, this is talking about ultimate truth. |
| |
People donât understand it yet. |
| |
What I gave those people to think about was, |
| |
this apple is something that you can see with your eyes. |
| |
The flavour of the apple isnât something you can know by looking at it. |
| |
But you do see the apple. |
| |
I felt that was as much as they were able to listen to. |
| |
You canât see the flavour, but itâs there. |
| |
When will you know it? |
| |
When you pick up the apple and eat it. |
| |
The Dhamma we teach is like the apple. |
| |
People hear it, but they donât really know the flavour of the apple. |
| |
When they practise, then it can be known. |
| |
The flavour of the apple canât be known by the eyes, |
| |
and the truth of the Dhamma canât be known by the ears. |
| |
There is knowledge, true, but it doesnât really reach the actuality. |
| |
One has to put it into practice. |
| |
Then wisdom arises and one recognizes the ultimate truth directly. |
| |
One sees the Buddha there. |
| |
This is the profound Dhamma. |
| |
So I compared it to an apple in this way for them; I offered it to that group of Christians to hear and think about. |
| |
That kind of talk was a little âsaltyâ.1 Salty is good. |
| |
Sweet is good, sour is good. |
| |
Many different ways of teaching are good. |
| |
Well, if youâve got something to say, |
| |
any of you, please feel free to say it. |
| |
Soon we wonât have a chance to discuss things. |
| |
Sumedhoâs probably run out of things to say. |
| |
Ajahn Sumedho: Iâm fed up explaining things to people. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: Donât do that. |
| |
You canât be fed up. |
| |
Ajahn Sumedho: Yes, Iâll cut that off. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: The head teacher canât do that. |
| |
There are a lot of people trying to reach NibbÄna, |
| |
so they are depending on you. |
| |
Sometimes teaching comes easily. |
| |
Sometimes you donât know what to say. |
| |
You are at a loss for words, and nothing comes out. |
| |
Or is it that you just donât want to talk? |
| |
Itâs a good training for you. |
| |
Ajahn Sumedho: People around here are pretty good. |
| |
They arenât violent and mean-spirited or troublesome. |
| |
The Christian priests donât dislike us. |
| |
The kinds of questions people ask are about things like God. |
| |
They want to know what God is, what NibbÄna is. |
| |
Some people believe that Buddhism teaches nihilism and wants to destroy the world. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: It means their understanding is not complete or mature. |
| |
They are afraid everything will be finished, |
| |
that the world will come to an end. |
| |
They conceive of Dhamma as something empty and nihilistic, |
| |
so they are disheartened. |
| |
Their way only leads to tears. |
| |
Have you seen what itâs like when people are afraid of âemptinessâ? |
| |
Householders try to gather possessions and watch over them, |
| |
like rats. |
| |
Does this protect them from the emptiness of existence? |
| |
They still end up on the funeral pyre, |
| |
everything lost to them. |
| |
But while they are alive they are trying to hold on to things, |
| |
every day afraid they will be lost, |
| |
trying to avoid emptiness. |
| |
Do they suffer this way? |
| |
Of course, they really do suffer. |
| |
Itâs not understanding the real insubstantiality and emptiness of things; not understanding this, |
| |
people are not happy. |
| |
Because people donât look at themselves, |
| |
they donât really know whatâs going on in life. |
| |
How do you stop this delusion? |
| |
People believe, âThis is me. |
| |
This is mine.â |
| |
If you tell them about non-self, that nothing is me or mine, |
| |
they are ready to argue the point until the day they die. |
| |
Even the Buddha, after he attained knowledge, |
| |
felt weary when he considered this. |
| |
When he was first enlightened, he thought that it would be extremely troublesome to explain the way to others. |
| |
But then he realized that such an attitude was not correct. |
| |
If we donât teach such people, who will we teach? |
| |
This is my question, which I used to ask myself at those times |
| |
I got fed up and didnât want to teach anymore: who should we teach, |
| |
if we donât teach the deluded? |
| |
Thereâs really nowhere else to go. |
| |
When we get fed up and want to run away from disciples to live alone, |
| |
we are deluded. |
| |
A bhikkhu: We could be Pacceka Buddhas. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: Thatâs good. |
| |
But itâs not really correct, being a Pacceka Buddha, |
| |
because you simply want to run away from things. |
| |
Ajahn Sumedho: Just living naturally, |
| |
in a simple environment, then we could naturally be Pacceka Buddhas. |
| |
But these days itâs not possible. |
| |
The environment we live in doesnât allow that to happen. |
| |
We have to live as monks. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: Sometimes you have to live in a situation like you have here first, |
| |
with some disturbance. |
| |
To explain it in a simple way, sometimes you will be an omniscient (sabbaññƫ) Buddha; sometimes you will be a Pacceka. |
| |
It depends on conditions. |
| |
Talking about these kinds of beings is talking about the mind. |
| |
Itâs not that one is born a Pacceka. |
| |
This is whatâs called âexplanation by personification of states of mindâ (puggalÄdhitthÄna). |
| |
Being a Pacceka, one abides indifferently and doesnât teach. |
| |
Not much benefit comes from that. |
| |
But when someone is able to teach others, |
| |
then they are manifesting as an omniscient Buddha. |
| |
These are only metaphors. |
| |
Donât be anything! |
| |
Donât be anything at all! |
| |
Being a Buddha is a burden. |
| |
Being a Pacceka is a burden. |
| |
Just donât desire to be. |
| |
âI am the monk Sumedho,â âI am the monk Änando.â |
| |
That way is suffering, believing that you really exist thus. |
| |
âSumedhoâ is merely a convention. |
| |
Do you understand? |
| |
Believing you really exist, brings suffering. |
| |
If there is Sumedho, then when someone criticizes you, |
| |
Sumedho gets angry. |
| |
Änando gets angry. |
| |
Thatâs what happens if you hold these things as real. |
| |
Änando and Sumedho get involved and are ready to fight. |
| |
If there is no Änando or no Sumedho, then thereâs no one there - no one to answer the telephone. |
| |
Ring ring - nobody picks it up. |
| |
You donât become anything. |
| |
No one is being anything, and there is no suffering. |
| |
If we believe ourselves to be something or someone, |
| |
then every time the phone rings, we pick it up and get involved. |
| |
How can we free ourselves of this? |
| |
We have to look at it clearly and develop wisdom, |
| |
so that there is no Änando or no Sumedho to pick up the telephone. |
| |
If you are Änando or Sumedho and you answer the telephone, |
| |
you will get yourself involved in suffering. |
| |
So donât be Sumedho. |
| |
Donât be Änando. |
| |
Just recognize that these names are on the level of convention. |
| |
If someone calls you good, donât be that. |
| |
Donât think, âI am good.â |
| |
If someone says you are bad, donât think, |
| |
âIâm bad.â |
| |
Donât try to be anything. |
| |
Know what is taking place. |
| |
But then donât attach to the knowledge either. |
| |
People canât do this. |
| |
They donât understand what itâs all about. |
| |
When they hear about this, they are confused and they donât know what to do. |
| |
Iâve given the analogy before about upstairs and downstairs. |
| |
When you go down from upstairs, you are downstairs, |
| |
and you see the downstairs. |
| |
When you go upstairs again, you see the upstairs. |
| |
The space in between you donât see - the middle. |
| |
It means NibbÄna is not seen. |
| |
We see the forms of physical objects, |
| |
but we donât see the grasping, the grasping at upstairs and downstairs. |
| |
Becoming and birth; becoming and birth. |
| |
Continual becoming. |
| |
The place without becoming is empty. |
| |
When we try to teach people about the place that is empty, |
| |
they just say, âThereâs nothing there.â |
| |
They donât understand. |
| |
Itâs difficult - real practice is required for this to be understood. |
| |
We have been relying on becoming, on self-grasping, |
| |
since the day of our birth. |
| |
When someone talks about non-self, itâs too strange; we canât change our perceptions so easily. |
| |
So itâs necessary to make the mind see this through practice, |
| |
and then we can believe it: âOh! |
| |
Itâs true!â |
| |
When people are thinking, âThis is mine! |
| |
This is mine!â |
| |
they feel happy. |
| |
But when the thing that is âmineâ is lost, |
| |
they will cry over it. |
| |
This is the path for suffering to come about. |
| |
We can observe this. |
| |
If there is no âmineâ or âmeâ, we can make use of things while we are living, |
| |
without attachment to them as being ours. |
| |
If they are lost or broken, that is simply natural; we donât see them as ours, |
| |
or as anyoneâs, and we donât conceive of self or other. |
| |
This isnât referring to a mad person; this is someone who is diligent. |
| |
Such a person really knows what is useful, |
| |
in so many different ways. |
| |
But when others look at him and try to figure him out, |
| |
they will see someone who is crazy. |
| |
When Sumedho looks at laypeople, he will see them as ignorant, |
| |
like little children. |
| |
When laypeople consider Sumedho, they will think he is someone whoâs lost it. |
| |
You donât have any interest in the things they live for. |
| |
To put it another way, an arahant and an insane person are similar. |
| |
Think about it. |
| |
When people look at an arahant, they will think he is crazy. |
| |
If you curse him, he doesnât care. |
| |
Whatever you say to him, he doesnât react - like a crazy person. |
| |
But he is crazy and has awareness. |
| |
A truly insane person may not get angry when he is cursed, |
| |
but thatâs because he doesnât know whatâs going on. |
| |
Someone observing the arahant and the mad person might see them as the same. |
| |
But the lowest is mad, the very highest is an arahant. |
| |
Highest and lowest are similar, if you look at their external manifestation. |
| |
But their inner awareness, their sense of things, |
| |
is very different. |
| |
Think about this. |
| |
When someone says something that ought to make you angry and you just let it go, |
| |
people might think youâre crazy. |
| |
So when you teach others about these things, |
| |
they donât understand very easily. |
| |
It has to be internalized for them to really understand. |
| |
For example, in this country, people love beauty. |
| |
If you just say, âNo, these things arenât really beautiful,â they donât want to listen. |
| |
If you talk about âageingâ, theyâre not pleased; âdeathâ, |
| |
they donât want to hear about it. |
| |
It means they arenât ready to understand. |
| |
If they wonât believe you, donât fault them for that. |
| |
Itâs like youâre trying to barter with them, |
| |
to give them something new to replace what they have, |
| |
but they donât see any value in the thing you are offering. |
| |
If what you have is obviously of the highest value, |
| |
of course they will accept it. |
| |
But now why donât they believe you? |
| |
Your wisdom isnât sufficient. |
| |
So donât get angry with them: âWhatâs wrong with you? |
| |
Youâre out of your mind!â |
| |
Donât do that. |
| |
You have to teach yourself first, establish the truth of the |
| |
Dhamma in yourself and develop the proper way to present it to others, |
| |
and then they will accept it. |
| |
Sometimes the Ajahn teaches the disciples, |
| |
but the disciples donât believe what he says. |
| |
That might make you upset, but instead of getting upset, |
| |
itâs better to search out the reason for their not believing: the thing you are offering has little value to them. |
| |
If you offer something of more value than what they have, |
| |
of course they will want it. |
| |
When youâre about to get angry at your disciples, |
| |
you should think like this, and then you can stop your anger. |
| |
Itâs really not much fun to be angry. |
| |
In order to get his disciples to realize the Dhamma, |
| |
the Buddha taught a single path, but with varying characteristics. |
| |
He didnât use only one form of teaching or present the Dhamma in the same way for everyone. |
| |
But he taught for the single purpose of transcending suffering. |
| |
All the meditations he taught were for this one purpose. |
| |
The people of Europe already have a lot in their lives. |
| |
If you try to lay something big and complicated on them, |
| |
it might be too much. |
| |
So what should you do? |
| |
Any suggestions? |
| |
If anyone has something to talk about, |
| |
now is the time. |
| |
We wonât have this chance again. |
| |
Or if you donât have anything to discuss, |
| |
if youâve exhausted your doubts, I guess you can be Pacceka Buddhas. |
| |
In the future, some of you will be Dhamma teachers. |
| |
You will teach others. |
| |
When you teach others you are also teaching yourselves. |
| |
Do any of you agree with this? |
| |
Your own skilfulness and wisdom increase. |
| |
Your contemplation increases. |
| |
For example, you teach someone for the first time, |
| |
and then you start to wonder why itâs like that, |
| |
what the meaning is. |
| |
So you start thinking like this and then you will want to contemplate to find out what it really means. |
| |
Teaching others, you are also teaching yourself in this way. |
| |
If you have mindfulness, if you are practising meditation, |
| |
it will be like this. |
| |
Donât think that you are only teaching others. |
| |
Have the idea that you are also teaching yourself. |
| |
Then there is no loss. |
| |
Ajahn Sumedho: It looks like people in the world are becoming more and more equal. |
| |
Ideas of class and caste are falling away and changing. |
| |
Some people who believe in astrology say that in a few years |
| |
there will be great natural disasters that will cause a lot of suffering for the world. |
| |
I donât really know if itâs true, but they think itâs something beyond our capabilities to deal with, |
| |
because our lives are too far from nature and we depend on machines for our lives of convenience. |
| |
They say there will be a lot of changes in nature, |
| |
such as earthquakes, that nobody can foresee. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: They talk to make people suffer. |
| |
Ajahn Sumedho: Right. |
| |
If we donât have mindfulness, we can really suffer over this. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: The Buddha taught about the present. |
| |
He didnât advise us to worry about what might happen in two or three years. |
| |
In Thailand, people come to me and say, |
| |
âOh, Luang Por, the communists are coming! |
| |
What will we do?â |
| |
I ask, âWhere are those communists?â |
| |
âWell, theyâre coming any day now,â they say. |
| |
Weâve had communists from the moment we were born. |
| |
I donât try to think beyond that. |
| |
Having the attitude that there are always obstacles and difficulties in life kills off the âcommunistsâ. |
| |
Then we arenât heedless. |
| |
Talking about what might happen in four or five years is looking too far away. |
| |
They say, âIn two or three years Thailand will be communist!â |
| |
Iâve always felt that the communists have been around since I was born, |
| |
and so Iâve always been contending with them, |
| |
right up to the present moment. |
| |
But people donât understand what Iâm talking about. |
| |
Itâs the truth! |
| |
Astrology can talk about whatâs going to happen in two years. |
| |
But when we talk about the present, they donât know what to do. |
| |
Buddhism talks about dealing with things right now and making yourself well-prepared for whatever might happen. |
| |
Whatever might happen in the world, we donât have to be too concerned. |
| |
We just practise to develop wisdom in the present and do what we need to do now, |
| |
not tomorrow. |
| |
Wouldnât that be better? |
| |
We can wait for an earthquake that might come in three or four years, |
| |
but actually, things are quaking now. |
| |
America is really quaking. |
| |
Peopleâs minds are so wild - thatâs your quake right there. |
| |
But folks donât recognize it. |
| |
Big earthquakes only occur once in a long while, |
| |
but this earth of our minds is always quaking, |
| |
every day, every moment. |
| |
In my lifetime, Iâve never experienced a serious earthquake, |
| |
but this kind of quake is always happening, |
| |
shaking us and throwing us all around. |
| |
This is where the Buddha wanted us to look. |
| |
But maybe thatâs not what people want to hear. |
| |
Things happen due to causes. |
| |
They cease due to causes ceasing. |
| |
We donât need to be worrying about astrological predictions. |
| |
We can just know what is occurring now. |
| |
Everyone likes to ask these questions, |
| |
though. |
| |
In Thailand, the officials come to me and say, |
| |
âThe whole country will be communist! |
| |
What will we do if that happens?â |
| |
âWe were born - what do we do about that? |
| |
I havenât thought much about this problem. |
| |
Iâve always thought, since the day I was born the âcommunistsâ have been after me.â |
| |
After I reply like this, they donât have anything to say. |
| |
It stops them. |
| |
People may talk about the dangers of communists taking over in a few years, |
| |
but the Buddha taught us to prepare ourselves right now, |
| |
to be aware and contemplate the dangers we face that are inherent in this life. |
| |
This is the big issue. |
| |
Donât be heedless! |
| |
Relying on astrology to tell you what will happen a couple of years from now doesnât get to the point. |
| |
Relying on âBuddhologyâ, you donât have to chew over the past, |
| |
you donât worry about the future, but you look at the present. |
| |
Causes are arising in the present, so observe them in the present. |
| |
People who say those things are only teaching others to suffer. |
| |
But if someone talks the way I do, people will say they are crazy. |
| |
In the past, there was always movement, |
| |
but it was only a little bit at a time, |
| |
so it wasnât noticeable. |
| |
For example, Sumedho, when you were first born, |
| |
were you this size? |
| |
This is the result of movement and change. |
| |
Is change good? |
| |
Of course it is; if there were no movement or change, |
| |
you never would have grown up. |
| |
We donât need to fear natural transformation. |
| |
If you contemplate Dhamma, I donât know what else you would need to think about. |
| |
If someone predicts what will happen in a few years, |
| |
we canât just wait to see what happens before we do anything. |
| |
We canât live like that. |
| |
Whatever we need to do, we have to do it now, |
| |
without waiting for anything in particular to happen. |
| |
These days the populace is in constant motion. |
| |
The four elements are in motion. |
| |
Earth, water, fire, and air are moving. |
| |
But people donât recognize that the earth is moving. |
| |
They only look at the external earth and donât see any movement. |
| |
In the future, in this world, if people are married and stay together more than a year or two, |
| |
others will think thereâs something wrong with them. |
| |
A few months will be the standard. |
| |
Things are in constant motion like this; itâs the minds of people that are moving. |
| |
You donât need to look to astrology. |
| |
Look to Buddhology and you can understand this. |
| |
âLuang Por, if the communists come, where will you go?â |
| |
Where is there to go? |
| |
We have been born and we face ageing, |
| |
sickness, and death; where can we go? |
| |
We have to stay right here and deal with these things. |
| |
If the communists take over, we will stay in Thailand and deal with that. |
| |
Wonât they have to eat rice, too?2 So why are you so fearful? |
| |
If you keep worrying about what might happen in the future, |
| |
thereâs no end to it. |
| |
There is only constant confusion and speculation. |
| |
Sumedho, do you know what will happen in two or three years? |
| |
Will there be a big earthquake? |
| |
When people come to ask you about these things, |
| |
you can tell them they donât need to look so far ahead to things |
| |
they canât really know for certain; tell them about the moving and quaking that is always going on, |
| |
about the transformation that allowed you to grow to be as you are now. |
| |
The way people think is that having been born, |
| |
they donât want to die. |
| |
Is that correct? |
| |
Itâs like pouring water into a glass but not wanting it to fill up. |
| |
If you keep pouring the water, you canât expect it not to be full. |
| |
But people think like this: they are born but donât want to die. |
| |
Is that correct thinking? |
| |
Consider it. |
| |
If people are born but never die, will that bring happiness? |
| |
If no one who comes into the world dies, |
| |
things will be a lot worse. |
| |
If no one ever dies, we will probably all end up eating excrement! |
| |
Where would we all stay? |
| |
Itâs like pouring water into the glass without ceasing yet still not wanting it to be full. |
| |
We really ought to think things through. |
| |
We are born but donât want to die. |
| |
If we really donât want to die, we should realize the deathless (amatadhamma), |
| |
as the Buddha taught. |
| |
Do you know what amatadhamma means? |
| |
It is the deathless - though you die, |
| |
if you have wisdom it is as if you donât die. |
| |
Not dying, not being born. |
| |
Thatâs where things can be finished. |
| |
Being born and wishing for happiness and enjoyment without dying is not the correct way at all. |
| |
But thatâs what people want, so there is no end of suffering for them. |
| |
The practitioner of Dhamma does not suffer. |
| |
Well, practitioners such as ordinary monks still suffer, |
| |
because they havenât yet fulfilled the path of practice. |
| |
They havenât realized amatadhamma, so they still suffer. |
| |
They are still subject to death. |
| |
Amatadhamma is the deathless. |
| |
Born of the womb, can we avoid death? |
| |
Apart from realizing that there is no real self, |
| |
there is no way to avoid death. |
| |
âIâ donât die; sankhÄrÄ undergo transformation, |
| |
following their nature. |
| |
This is hard to see. |
| |
People canât think like this. |
| |
You need to get free of worldliness, like Sumedho did. |
| |
You need to leave the big, comfortable home and the world of progress, |
| |
like the Buddha did. |
| |
If the Buddha had remained in his royal palace, |
| |
he wouldnât have become the Buddha. |
| |
It was by leaving the palace and going to live in forests that he attained that. |
| |
The life of pleasure and amusement in the palace was not the way to enlightenment. |
| |
Who is it that tells you about the astrological predictions? |
| |
Ajahn Sumedho: A lot of people talk about it, |
| |
often just like a hobby or a casual interest. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: If it really is as they say, |
| |
then what should people do? |
| |
Are they offering any path to follow? |
| |
From my point of view, the Buddha taught very clearly. |
| |
He said that the things we canât be sure about are many, |
| |
starting from the time we were born. |
| |
Astrology may talk about months or years in the future, |
| |
but the Buddha points to the moment of birth. |
| |
Predicting the future may make people anxious about what could happen, |
| |
but the truth is that the uncertainty is always with us, |
| |
right from birth. |
| |
People arenât likely to believe such talk, |
| |
are they? |
| |
If you (speaking to a layperson who was present) are afraid, |
| |
then consider this: suppose that you were convicted of a crime that calls for capital punishment, |
| |
and in seven days you will be executed. |
| |
What would go through your mind? |
| |
This is my question for you. |
| |
If in seven days you will be executed, |
| |
what will you do? |
| |
If you think about it and take it a step further, |
| |
you will realize that all of us right now are sentenced to die, |
| |
only we donât know when it will happen. |
| |
It could be sooner than seven days. |
| |
Are you aware that you are under this death sentence? |
| |
If you were to violate the law of the land and be sentenced to death, |
| |
you would certainly be most distressed. |
| |
Meditation on death is recollecting that death is going to take us and that it could be very soon. |
| |
But you donât think about it, so you feel you are living comfortably. |
| |
If you do think about it, it will cause you to have devotion to the practice of Dhamma. |
| |
So the Buddha taught us to practise the recollection of death regularly. |
| |
Those who donât recollect it live with fear. |
| |
They donât know themselves. |
| |
But if you do recollect and are aware of yourself, |
| |
it will lead you to want to practise Dhamma seriously and be free from such fear. |
| |
If you are aware of this death sentence, |
| |
you will want to find a solution. |
| |
Generally, people donât like to hear such talk. |
| |
Doesnât that mean they are far from the true Dhamma? |
| |
The Buddha urged us to recollect death, |
| |
but people get upset by such talk. |
| |
Thatâs the kamma of beings. |
| |
They do have some knowledge of this fact, |
| |
but the knowledge isnât yet clear. |
| |
1: Not the same connotation as in English. |
| |
Here it means âhardâ or âdirectâ. |
| |
2: Or: the communists will still let us eat rice, |
| |
wonât they? |
| |
* * * |
| |
This Rains Retreat I donât have much strength, |
| |
Iâm not well, so Iâve come up to this mountain here to get some fresh air. |
| |
People come to visit but I canât really receive them like I used to because my voice has just about had it, |
| |
my breath is just about gone. |
| |
You can count it a blessing that there is still this body sitting here for you all to see now. |
| |
This is a blessing in itself. |
| |
Soon you wonât see it. |
| |
The breath will be finished, the voice will be gone. |
| |
They will fare in accordance with supporting factors, |
| |
like all compounded things. |
| |
The Lord Buddha called it khaya-vayam, |
| |
the decline and dissolution of all conditioned phenomena. |
| |
How do they decline? |
| |
Consider a lump of ice. |
| |
Originally it was simply water; people freeze it and it becomes ice. |
| |
But it doesnât take long before itâs melted. |
| |
Take a big lump of ice, say as big as this tape recorder here, |
| |
and leave it out in the sun. |
| |
You can see how it declines, much the same as the body. |
| |
It will gradually disintegrate. |
| |
After not many hours or minutes all thatâs left is a puddle of water. |
| |
This is called khaya-vayam, the decline and dissolution of all compounded things. |
| |
Itâs been this way for a long time now, |
| |
ever since the beginning of time. |
| |
When we are born we bring this inherent nature into the world with us, |
| |
we canât avoid it. |
| |
At birth we bring old age, sickness and death along with us. |
| |
So this is why the Buddha said khaya-vayam, |
| |
the decline and dissolution of all compounded things. |
| |
All of us sitting here in this hall now, |
| |
monks, novices, laymen and laywomen, |
| |
are without exception âlumps of deteriorationâ. |
| |
Right now the lump is hard, just like the lump of ice. |
| |
It starts out as water, becomes ice for a while and then melts again. |
| |
Can you see this decline in yourself? |
| |
Look at this body. |
| |
Itâs ageing every day - hair is ageing, |
| |
nails are ageing - everything is ageing! |
| |
You werenât like this before, were you? |
| |
You were probably much smaller than this. |
| |
Now youâve grown up and matured. |
| |
From now on you will decline, following the way of nature. |
| |
The body declines just like the lump of ice. |
| |
Soon, just like the lump of ice, itâs all gone. |
| |
All bodies are composed of the four elements of earth, |
| |
water, wind and fire. |
| |
A body is the confluence of earth, water, |
| |
wind, and fire, which we proceed to call a person. |
| |
Originally itâs hard to say what you could call it, |
| |
but now we call it a âpersonâ. |
| |
We get infatuated with it, saying itâs a male, |
| |
a female, giving it names, Mr, Mrs, |
| |
and so on, so that we can identify each other more easily. |
| |
But actually there isnât anybody there. |
| |
Thereâs earth, water, wind and fire. |
| |
When they come together in this known form we call the result a âpersonâ. |
| |
Now donât get excited over it. |
| |
If you really look into it there isnât anyone there. |
| |
That which is solid in the body, the flesh, |
| |
skin, bones and so on, are called the earth element. |
| |
Those aspects of the body which are liquid are the water element. |
| |
The faculty of warmth in the body is the fire element, |
| |
while the winds coursing through the body are the wind element. |
| |
At Wat Pah Pong we have a body which is neither male or female: itâs the skeleton hanging in the main hall. |
| |
Looking at it you donât get the feeling that itâs a man or a woman. |
| |
People ask each other whether itâs a man or a woman and all they can do is look blankly at each other. |
| |
Itâs only a skeleton, all the skin and flesh are gone. |
| |
People are ignorant of these things. |
| |
Some go to Wat Pah Pong, into the main hall, |
| |
see the skeletons and then come running right out again! |
| |
They canât bear to look. |
| |
Theyâre afraid, afraid of the skeletons. |
| |
I figure these people have never seen themselves before. |
| |
Because they are afraid of the skeletons, |
| |
they donât reflect on the great value of a skeleton. |
| |
To get to the monastery they had to ride in a car or walk; if they didnât have bones how would they be? |
| |
Would they be able to walk about like that? |
| |
But they ride their cars to Wat Pah Pong, |
| |
go into the main hall, see the skeleton and run straight back out again! |
| |
Theyâve never seen such a thing before. |
| |
Theyâre born with it and yet theyâve never seen it. |
| |
Itâs very fortunate that they have a chance to see it now. |
| |
Even older people see the skeleton and get scared. |
| |
Whatâs all the fuss about? |
| |
This shows that theyâre not at all in touch with themselves, |
| |
they donât really know themselves. |
| |
Maybe they go home and still canât sleep for three or four days, |
| |
and yet theyâre sleeping with a skeleton! |
| |
They get dressed with it, eat food with it, |
| |
do everything with it, and yet theyâre scared of it. |
| |
This shows how out of touch people are with themselves. |
| |
How pitiful! |
| |
Theyâre always looking outwards, at trees, |
| |
at other people, at external objects, |
| |
saying âthis one is big,â âthatâs small,â âthatâs short,â âthatâs long.â |
| |
Theyâre so busy looking at other things they never see themselves. |
| |
To be honest, people are really pitiful; they have no refuge. |
| |
In the ordination ceremonies the ordinees must learn the five basic meditation themes: kesÄ, |
| |
head hair; lomÄ, body hair; nakhÄ, nails; dantÄ, |
| |
teeth; taco, skin. |
| |
Some of the students and educated people snigger to themselves when they hear this part of the ordination ceremony. |
| |
âWhatâs the Ajahn trying to teach us here? |
| |
Teaching us about hair when weâve had it for ages. |
| |
He doesnât have to teach us about this, |
| |
we know it already. |
| |
Why bother teaching us something we already know?â |
| |
Dim people are like this, they think they can see the hair already. |
| |
I tell them that when I say to âsee the hairâ I mean to see it as it really is. |
| |
See body hair as it really is, see nails, |
| |
teeth and skin as they really are. |
| |
Thatâs what I call âseeingâ - not seeing in a superficial way, |
| |
but seeing in accordance with the truth. |
| |
We wouldnât be so sunk up to the ears in things if we could see things as they really are. |
| |
Hair, nails, teeth, skin - what are they really like? |
| |
Are they pretty? |
| |
Are they clean? |
| |
Do they have any real substance? |
| |
Are they stable? |
| |
No, thereâs nothing to them. |
| |
Theyâre not pretty but we imagine them to be so. |
| |
Theyâre not substantial but we imagine them to be so. |
| |
Hair, nails, teeth, skin - people are really hooked on these things. |
| |
The Buddha established these things as the basic themes for meditation, |
| |
he taught us to know these things. |
| |
They are transient, imperfect and ownerless; they are not âmeâ or âthemâ. |
| |
We are born with and deluded by these things, |
| |
but really they are foul. |
| |
Suppose we didnât bathe for a week, could we bear to be close to each other? |
| |
Weâd really smell bad. |
| |
When people sweat a lot, such as when a lot of people are working hard together, |
| |
the smell is awful. |
| |
We go back home and rub ourselves down with soap and water and the smell abates somewhat, |
| |
the fragrance of the soap replaces it. |
| |
Rubbing soap on the body may make it seem fragrant, |
| |
but actually the bad smell of the body is still there, |
| |
it is just temporarily suppressed. |
| |
When the smell of the soap is gone the smell of the body comes back again. |
| |
Now we tend to think these bodies are pretty, |
| |
delightful, long lasting and strong. |
| |
We tend to think that we will never age, |
| |
get sick or die. |
| |
We are charmed and fooled by the body, |
| |
and so we are ignorant of the true refuge within ourselves. |
| |
The true place of refuge is the mind. |
| |
The mind is our true refuge. |
| |
This hall here may be pretty big but it canât be a true refuge. |
| |
Pigeons take shelter here, geckos take shelter here, |
| |
lizards take shelter here. |
| |
We may think the hall belongs to us but it doesnât. |
| |
We live here together with everything else. |
| |
This is only a temporary shelter, soon we must leave it. |
| |
People take these shelters for refuge. |
| |
So the Buddha said to find your refuge. |
| |
That means to find your real heart. |
| |
This heart is very important. |
| |
People donât usually look at important things, |
| |
they spend most of their time looking at unimportant things. |
| |
For example, when they do the house cleaning they may be bent on cleaning up the house, |
| |
washing the dishes and so on, but they fail to notice their own hearts. |
| |
Their heart may be rotten, they may be feeling angry, |
| |
washing the dishes with a sour expression on their face. |
| |
They fail to see that their own hearts are not very clean. |
| |
This is what I call âtaking a temporary shelter for a refugeâ. |
| |
They beautify house and home but they donât think of beautifying their own hearts. |
| |
They donât examine suffering. |
| |
The heart is the important thing. |
| |
The Buddha taught to find a refuge within your own heart: AttÄ hi attano nÄtho - âMake yourself a refuge unto yourself.â |
| |
Who else can be your refuge? |
| |
The true refuge is the heart, nothing else. |
| |
You may try to depend on other things, |
| |
but they arenât a sure thing. |
| |
You can only really depend on other things if you already have a refuge within yourself. |
| |
You must have your own refuge first before you can depend on anything else, |
| |
be it a teacher, family, friends or relatives. |
| |
So all of you, both laypeople and homeless ones who have come to visit today, |
| |
please consider this teaching. |
| |
Ask yourselves, âWho am I? |
| |
Why am I here?â |
| |
Ask yourselves, âWhy was I born?â |
| |
Some people donât know. |
| |
They want to be happy but the suffering never stops. |
| |
Rich or poor, young or old, they suffer just the same. |
| |
Itâs all suffering. |
| |
And why? |
| |
Because they have no wisdom. |
| |
The poor are unhappy because they donât have enough, |
| |
and the rich are unhappy because they have too much to look after. |
| |
In the past, as a young novice, I gave a Dhamma discourse. |
| |
I talked about the happiness of wealth and possessions, |
| |
having servants and so on ... |
| |
a hundred male servants, a hundred female servants, |
| |
a hundred elephants, a hundred cows, |
| |
a hundred buffaloes ... |
| |
a hundred of everything! |
| |
The laypeople really lapped it up. |
| |
But can you imagine looking after a hundred buffaloes? |
| |
Or a hundred cows, a hundred male and female servants? |
| |
Can you imagine having to look after all of that? |
| |
Would that be fun? |
| |
People donât consider this side of things. |
| |
They have the desire to possess, to have the cows, |
| |
the buffaloes, the servants, to have hundreds of them. |
| |
But I say fifty buffaloes would be too much. |
| |
Just twining the rope for all those brutes would be too much already! |
| |
But people donât consider this, they only think of the pleasure of acquiring. |
| |
They donât consider the trouble involved. |
| |
If we donât have wisdom, everything round us will be a source of suffering. |
| |
If we are wise these things - eyes, ears, |
| |
nose, tongue, body and mind - will lead us out of suffering. |
| |
Eyes arenât necessarily good things, you know. |
| |
If you are in a bad mood just seeing other people can make you angry and make you lose sleep. |
| |
Or you can fall in love with others. |
| |
Love is suffering too, if you donât get what you want. |
| |
Love and hate are both suffering, because of desire. |
| |
Wanting is suffering, wanting not to have is suffering. |
| |
Wanting to acquire things, even if you get them itâs still suffering because youâre afraid youâll lose them. |
| |
Thereâs only suffering. |
| |
How are you going to live with that? |
| |
You may have a large, luxurious house, |
| |
but if your heart isnât good it never really works out as you expected. |
| |
Therefore, you should all take a look at yourselves. |
| |
Why were we born? |
| |
Do we ever really attain anything in this life? |
| |
In the countryside here people start planting rice right from childhood. |
| |
When they reach seventeen or eighteen they rush off and get married, |
| |
afraid they wonât have enough time to make their fortunes. |
| |
They start working from an early age thinking theyâll get rich that way. |
| |
They plant rice until theyâre seventy or eighty or even ninety years old. |
| |
I ask them, âFrom the day you were born youâve been working. |
| |
Now itâs almost time to go, what are you going to take with you?â |
| |
They donât know what to say. |
| |
All they can say is, âbeats me!â |
| |
We have a saying in these parts, âDonât tarry picking berries along the way, |
| |
before you know it, night falls.â |
| |
Just because of this âbeats me!â |
| |
Theyâre neither here nor there, content with just a âbeats meâ sitting among the branches of the berry tree, |
| |
gorging themselves with berries. |
| |
âBeats me, beats me.â |
| |
When youâre still young you think that being single is not so good, |
| |
you feel a bit lonely. |
| |
So you find a partner to live with. |
| |
Put two together and thereâs friction! |
| |
Living alone is too quiet, but living with others thereâs friction. |
| |
When children are small the parents think, |
| |
âWhen they get bigger weâll be better off.â |
| |
They raise their children, three, four, |
| |
or five of them, thinking that when the children are grown up their burden will be lighter. |
| |
But when the children grow up they get even heavier. |
| |
Like two pieces of wood, one big and one small. |
| |
You throw away the small one and take the bigger one, |
| |
thinking it will be lighter, but of course itâs not. |
| |
When children are small they donât bother you very much, |
| |
just a ball of rice and a banana now and then. |
| |
When they grow up they want a motorcycle or a car! |
| |
Well, you love your children, you canât refuse. |
| |
So you try to give them what they want. |
| |
Sometimes the parents get into arguments over it. |
| |
âDonât go and buy him a car, we havenât got enough money!â |
| |
But when you love your children youâve got to borrow the money from somewhere. |
| |
Maybe the parents even have to go without to get the things their children want. |
| |
Then thereâs education. |
| |
âWhen theyâve finished their studies, |
| |
weâll be all right.â |
| |
Thereâs no end to the studying! |
| |
What are they going to finish? |
| |
Only in the science of Buddhism is there a point of completion, |
| |
all the other sciences just go round in circles. |
| |
In the end itâs a real headache. |
| |
If thereâs a house with four or five children in it the parents argue every day. |
| |
The suffering that is waiting in the future we fail to see, |
| |
we think it will never happen. |
| |
When it happens, then we know. |
| |
That kind of suffering, the suffering inherent in our bodies, |
| |
is hard to foresee. |
| |
When I was a child minding the buffaloes Iâd take charcoal and rub it on my teeth to make them white. |
| |
Iâd go back home and look in the mirror and see them so nice and white. |
| |
I was getting fooled by my own bones, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
When I reached fifty or sixty my teeth started to get loose. |
| |
When the teeth start falling out it hurts so much. |
| |
When you eat it feels as if youâve been kicked in the mouth. |
| |
It really hurts. |
| |
Iâve been through this one already. |
| |
So I just got the dentist to take them all out. |
| |
Now Iâve got false teeth. |
| |
My real teeth were giving me so much trouble I just had them all taken out, |
| |
sixteen in one go. |
| |
The dentist was reluctant to take out sixteen teeth at once, |
| |
but I said to him, âJust take them out, |
| |
Iâll take the consequences.â |
| |
So he took them all out at once. |
| |
Some were still good, too, at least five of them. |
| |
He took them all out. |
| |
But it was really touch and go. |
| |
After having them out I couldnât eat any food for two or three days. |
| |
Before, as a young child minding the buffaloes, |
| |
I used to think that polishing the teeth was a great thing to do. |
| |
I loved my teeth, I thought they were good things. |
| |
But in the end they had to go. |
| |
The pain almost killed me. |
| |
I suffered from toothache for months, |
| |
years. |
| |
Sometimes both my gums were swollen at once. |
| |
Some of you may get a chance to experience this for yourselves someday. |
| |
If your teeth are still good and youâre brushing them everyday to keep them nice and white, |
| |
watch out! |
| |
They may start playing tricks with you later on. |
| |
Iâm just letting you know about these things - the suffering that arises from within, |
| |
that arises within our own bodies. |
| |
Thereâs nothing within the body you can depend on. |
| |
Itâs not too bad when youâre still young, |
| |
but as you get older things begin to break down. |
| |
Everything begins to fall apart. |
| |
Conditions go their natural way. |
| |
Whether we laugh or cry over them they just go on their way. |
| |
It makes no difference how we live or die, |
| |
makes no difference to them. |
| |
And thereâs no knowledge or science which can prevent this natural course of things. |
| |
You may get a dentist to look at your teeth, |
| |
but even if he can fix them they still eventually go their natural way. |
| |
Eventually even the dentist has the same trouble. |
| |
Everything falls apart in the end. |
| |
These are things which we should contemplate while we still have some vigour; we should practise while weâre young. |
| |
If you want to make merit then hurry up and do so, |
| |
donât just leave it up to the oldies. |
| |
Most people just wait until they get old before they will go to a monastery and try to practise Dhamma. |
| |
Women and men say the same thing, âWait till I get old first.â |
| |
I donât know why they say that. |
| |
Does an old person have much vigour? |
| |
Let them try racing with a young person and see what the difference is. |
| |
Why do they leave it till they get old? |
| |
Just like theyâre never going to die. |
| |
When they get to fifty or sixty years old or more, |
| |
âHey, Grandma! |
| |
Letâs go to the monastery!â |
| |
âYou go ahead, my ears arenât so good anymore.â |
| |
You see what I mean? |
| |
When her ears were good what was she listening to? |
| |
âBeats me!â |
| |
she was just dallying with the berries. |
| |
Finally when her ears are gone she goes to the temple. |
| |
Itâs hopeless. |
| |
She listens to the sermon but she hasnât got a clue what theyâre saying. |
| |
People wait till theyâre all used up before theyâll think of practising the Dhamma. |
| |
Todayâs talk may be useful for those of you who can understand it. |
| |
These are things which you should begin to observe, |
| |
they are our inheritance. |
| |
They will gradually get heavier and heavier, |
| |
a burden for each of us to bear. |
| |
In the past my legs were strong, I could run. |
| |
Now just walking around they feel heavy. |
| |
Before, my legs carried me. |
| |
Now, I have to carry them. |
| |
When I was a child Iâd see old people getting up from their seat. |
| |
âOh!â |
| |
Getting up they groan, âOh!â |
| |
Thereâs always this âOh!â |
| |
But they donât know what it is that makes them groan like that. |
| |
Even when it gets to this extent people donât see the bane of the body. |
| |
You never know when youâre going to be parted from it. |
| |
Whatâs causing all the pain is simply conditions going about their natural way. |
| |
People call it arthritis, rheumatism, |
| |
gout and so on, the doctor prescribes medicines, |
| |
but it never completely heals. |
| |
In the end it falls apart, even the doctor! |
| |
This is conditions faring along their natural course. |
| |
This is their way, their nature. |
| |
Now take a look at this. |
| |
If you see it in advance youâll be better off, |
| |
like seeing a poisonous snake on the path ahead of you. |
| |
If you see it there you can get out of its way and not get bitten. |
| |
If you donât see it you may keep on walking and step on it. |
| |
And then it bites. |
| |
If suffering arises people donât know what to do. |
| |
Where to go to treat it? |
| |
They want to avoid suffering, they want to be free of it but they donât know how to treat it when it arises. |
| |
And they live on like this until they get old, |
| |
and sick, and die. |
| |
In olden times it was said that if someone was mortally ill one of the next of kin should whisper âBud-dho, |
| |
Bud-dhoâ in their ear. |
| |
What are they going to do with Buddho? |
| |
What good is Buddho going to be for them when theyâre almost on the funeral pyre? |
| |
Why didnât they learn Buddho when they were young and healthy? |
| |
Now with the breaths coming fitfully you go up and say, |
| |
âMother, Buddho, Buddho!â |
| |
Why waste your time? |
| |
Youâll only confuse her, let her go peacefully. |
| |
People donât know how to solve problems within their own hearts, |
| |
they donât have a refuge. |
| |
They get angry easily and have a lot of desires. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
Because they have no refuge. |
| |
When people are newly married they can get on together all right, |
| |
but after age fifty or so they canât understand each other. |
| |
Whatever the wife says the husband finds intolerable. |
| |
Whatever the husband says the wife wonât listen. |
| |
They turn their backs on each other. |
| |
Now Iâm just talking because Iâve never had a family. |
| |
Why havenât I had a family? |
| |
Just looking at this word âhouseholdâ1 I knew what it was all about. |
| |
What is a âhouseholdâ? |
| |
This is a âholdâ: if somebody were to get some rope and tie us up while we were sitting here, |
| |
what would that be like? |
| |
Thatâs called âbeing heldâ. |
| |
Whatever thatâs like, âbeing heldâ is like that. |
| |
There is a circle of confinement. |
| |
The man lives within his circle of confinement, |
| |
and the woman lives within her circle of confinement. |
| |
When I read this word âhouseholdâ, this is a heavy one. |
| |
This word is no trifling matter, itâs a real killer. |
| |
The word âholdâ is a symbol of suffering. |
| |
You canât go anywhere, youâve got to stay within your circle of confinement. |
| |
Now we come to the word âhouseâ. |
| |
This means âthat which hasslesâ. |
| |
Have you ever toasted chillies? |
| |
The whole house chokes and sneezes. |
| |
This word âhouseholdâ spells confusion, |
| |
itâs not worth the trouble. |
| |
Because of this word I was able to ordain and not disrobe. |
| |
âHouseholdâ is frightening. |
| |
Youâre stuck and canât go anywhere. |
| |
Problems with the children, with money and all the rest. |
| |
But where can you go? |
| |
Youâre tied down. |
| |
There are sons and daughters, arguments in profusion until your dying day, |
| |
and thereâs nowhere else to go to no matter how much suffering it is. |
| |
The tears pour out and they keep pouring. |
| |
The tears will never be finished with this âhouseholdâ, |
| |
you know. |
| |
If thereâs no household you might be able to finish with the tears but not otherwise. |
| |
Consider this matter. |
| |
If you havenât come across it yet you may later on. |
| |
Some people have experienced it already to a certain extent. |
| |
Some are already at the end of their tether. |
| |
âWill I stay or will I go?â |
| |
At Wat Pah Pong there are about seventy or eighty kutīs. |
| |
When theyâre almost full I tell the monk in charge to keep a few empty, |
| |
just in case somebody has an argument with their spouse. |
| |
Sure enough, in no long time a lady will arrive with her bags. |
| |
âIâm fed up with the world, Luang Por.â |
| |
âWhoa! |
| |
Donât say that. |
| |
Those words are really heavy.â |
| |
Then the husband comes and says heâs fed up too. |
| |
After two or three days in the monastery their world-weariness disappears. |
| |
They say theyâre fed up but theyâre just fooling themselves. |
| |
When they go off to a kutī and sit in the quiet by themselves, |
| |
after a while the thoughts come: âWhen is the wife going to come and ask me to go home?â |
| |
They donât really know whatâs going on. |
| |
What is this âworld-wearinessâ of theirs? |
| |
They get upset over something and come running to the monastery. |
| |
At home everything looked wrong; the husband was wrong, |
| |
the wife was wrong, but after three daysâ quiet thinking, |
| |
âHmm, the wife was right after all, |
| |
it was I who was wrong.â |
| |
âHubby was right, I shouldnât have got so upset.â |
| |
They change sides. |
| |
This is how it is, thatâs why I donât take the world too seriously. |
| |
I know its ins and outs already, thatâs why Iâve chosen to live as a monk. |
| |
I would like to present todayâs talk to all of you for homework. |
| |
Whether youâre in the fields or working in the city, |
| |
take these words and consider them: âWhy was I born? |
| |
What can I take with me?â |
| |
Ask yourselves over and over. |
| |
If you ask yourself these questions often youâll become wise. |
| |
If you donât reflect on these things you will remain ignorant. |
| |
Listening to todayâs talk, you may get some understanding, |
| |
if not now, then maybe when you get home. |
| |
Perhaps this evening. |
| |
When youâre listening to the talk everything is subdued, |
| |
but maybe things are waiting for you in the car. |
| |
When you get in the car it may get in with you. |
| |
When you get home it may all become clear. |
| |
âOh, thatâs what Luang Por meant. |
| |
I couldnât see it before.â |
| |
I think thatâs enough for today. |
| |
If I talk too long this old body gets tired. |
| |
1: There is a play on words in the Thai language here based on the word for family, |
| |
krorp krua, which literally means âkitchen-frameâ or âroasting circleâ. |
| |
In the English translation we have opted for a corresponding |
| |
English word rather than attempt a literal translation of the Thai. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Now determine in your mind to listen respectfully to the Dhamma. |
| |
While I am speaking, be as attentive to my words as if it was the Lord Buddha himself sitting before you. |
| |
Close your eyes and make yourself comfortable, |
| |
composing your mind and making it one-pointed. |
| |
Humbly allow the Triple Gem of wisdom, |
| |
truth and purity to abide in your heart as a way of showing respect to the Fully Enlightened One. |
| |
Today I have brought nothing of material substance to offer you, |
| |
only the Dhamma, the teachings of the Lord Buddha. |
| |
You should understand that even the Buddha himself, |
| |
with his great store of accumulated virtue, |
| |
could not avoid physical death. |
| |
When he reached old age he ceded his body and let go of the heavy burden. |
| |
Now you too must learn to be satisfied with the many years youâve already depended on the body. |
| |
You should feel that itâs enough. |
| |
Like household utensils that youâve had for a long time - cups, |
| |
saucers, plates and so on - when you first had them they were clean and shining, |
| |
but now after using them for so long, |
| |
theyâre starting to wear out. |
| |
Some are already broken, some have disappeared, |
| |
and those that are left are wearing out, |
| |
they have no stable form. |
| |
And itâs their nature to be that way. |
| |
Your body is the same; itâs been continually changing from the day you were born, |
| |
through childhood and youth, until now itâs reached old age. |
| |
You must accept this. |
| |
The Buddha said that conditions, whether internal, |
| |
bodily conditions or external conditions, |
| |
are not-self, their nature is to change. |
| |
Contemplate this truth clearly. |
| |
This very lump of flesh lying here in decline is reality (sacca-dhamma). |
| |
The facts of this body are reality, they are the timeless teaching of the Lord Buddha. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to contemplate this and come to terms with its nature. |
| |
We must be able to be at peace with the body, |
| |
no matter what state it is in. |
| |
The Buddha taught that we should ensure that itâs only the body |
| |
that is locked up in jail and the mind is not imprisoned along with it. |
| |
Now as your body begins to run down and wear out with age, |
| |
donât resist, but also donât let your mind deteriorate along with it. |
| |
Keep the mind separate. |
| |
Give energy to the mind by realizing the truth of the way things are. |
| |
The Lord Buddha taught that this is the nature of the body, |
| |
it canât be any other way. |
| |
Having been born it gets old and sick and then it dies. |
| |
This is a great truth that you are presently witnessing. |
| |
Look at the body with wisdom and realize this. |
| |
If your house is flooded or burnt to the ground, |
| |
whatever the threat to it, let it concern only the house. |
| |
If thereâs a flood, donât let it flood your mind. |
| |
If thereâs a fire, donât let it burn your heart. |
| |
Let it be merely the house, that which is outside of you that is flooded or burned. |
| |
Now is the time to allow the mind to let go of attachments. |
| |
Youâve been alive a long time now. |
| |
Your eyes have seen any number of forms and colours, |
| |
your ears have heard so many sounds, |
| |
youâve had any number of experiences. |
| |
And thatâs all they were - experiences. |
| |
Youâve eaten delicious foods, and all those good tastes were just good tastes, |
| |
nothing more. |
| |
The bad tastes were just bad tastes, thatâs all. |
| |
If the eye sees a beautiful form thatâs all it is - a beautiful form. |
| |
An ugly form is just an ugly form. |
| |
The ear hears an entrancing, melodious sound and itâs nothing more than that. |
| |
A grating, discordant sound is simply that. |
| |
The Buddha said that rich or poor, young or old, |
| |
human or animal, no being in this world can maintain itself in any single state for long. |
| |
Everything experiences change and deprivation. |
| |
This is a fact of life about which we can do nothing to remedy. |
| |
But the Buddha said that what we can do is to contemplate the body and mind to see their impersonality, |
| |
that neither of them is âmeâ nor âmineâ. |
| |
They have only a provisional reality. |
| |
Itâs like this house, itâs only nominally yours. |
| |
You couldnât take it with you anywhere. |
| |
The same applies to your wealth, your possessions and your family - theyâre yours only in name. |
| |
They donât really belong to you, they belong to nature. |
| |
Now this truth doesnât apply to you alone, |
| |
everyone is in the same boat - even the Lord Buddha and his enlightened disciples. |
| |
They differed from us only in one respect, |
| |
and that was their acceptance of the way things are. |
| |
They saw that it could be no other way. |
| |
So the Buddha taught us to probe and examine the body, |
| |
from the soles of the feet up to the crown of the head, |
| |
and then back down to the feet again. |
| |
Just take a look at the body. |
| |
What sort of things do you see? |
| |
Is there anything intrinsically clean there? |
| |
Can you find any abiding essence? |
| |
This whole body is steadily degenerating. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to see that it doesnât belong to us. |
| |
Itâs natural for the body to be this way, |
| |
because all conditioned phenomena are subject to change. |
| |
How else would you have it? |
| |
In fact there is nothing wrong with the way the body is. |
| |
Itâs not the body that causes suffering, |
| |
itâs wrong thinking. |
| |
When you see things in the wrong way, |
| |
thereâs bound to be confusion. |
| |
Itâs like the water of a river. |
| |
It naturally flows downhill, it never flows uphill. |
| |
Thatâs its nature. |
| |
If a person was to go and stand on the river bank and want the water to flow back uphill, |
| |
he would be foolish. |
| |
Wherever he went his foolish thinking would allow him no peace of mind. |
| |
He would suffer because of his wrong view, |
| |
his thinking against the stream. |
| |
If he had right view he would see that the water must inevitably flow downhill, |
| |
and until he realized and accepted that fact he would be bewildered and frustrated. |
| |
The river that must flow down the gradient is like your body. |
| |
Having been young your bodyâs become old and is meandering towards its death. |
| |
Donât go wishing it were otherwise, itâs not something you have the power to remedy. |
| |
The Buddha told us to see the way things are and then let go of our clinging to them. |
| |
Take this feeling of letting go as your refuge. |
| |
Keep meditating even if you feel tired and exhausted. |
| |
Let your mind be with the breath. |
| |
Take a few deep breaths and then establish the attention on the breath, |
| |
using the mantra word Bud-dho. |
| |
Make this practice continual. |
| |
The more exhausted you feel the more subtle and focused your concentration must be, |
| |
so that you can cope with any painful sensations that arise. |
| |
When you start to feel fatigued then bring all your thinking to a halt, |
| |
let the mind gather itself together and then turn to knowing the breath. |
| |
Just keep up the inner recitation, Bud-dho, |
| |
Bud-dho. |
| |
Let go of all externals. |
| |
Donât go grasping at thoughts of your children and relatives, |
| |
donât grasp at anything whatsoever. |
| |
Let go. |
| |
Let the mind unite in a single point and let that composed mind dwell with the breath. |
| |
Let the breath be its sole object of knowledge. |
| |
Concentrate until the mind becomes increasingly subtle, |
| |
until feelings are insignificant and there is great inner clarity and wakefulness. |
| |
Then any painful sensations that arise will gradually cease of their own accord. |
| |
Finally youâll look on the breath as if it were some relatives come to visit you. |
| |
When the relatives leave, you follow them out to see them off. |
| |
You watch until theyâve walked up the drive and out of sight, |
| |
and then you go back indoors. |
| |
We watch the breath in the same way. |
| |
If the breath is coarse we know that itâs coarse, |
| |
if itâs subtle we know that itâs subtle. |
| |
As it becomes increasingly fine we keep following it, |
| |
at the same time awakening the mind. |
| |
Eventually the breath disappears altogether and all that remains is that feeling of alertness. |
| |
This is called meeting the Buddha. |
| |
We have that clear, wakeful awareness called Bud-dho, |
| |
the one who knows, the awakened one, |
| |
the radiant one. |
| |
This is meeting and dwelling with the Buddha, |
| |
with knowledge and clarity. |
| |
It was only the historical Buddha who passed away. |
| |
The true Buddha, the Buddha that is clear, |
| |
radiant knowing, can still be experienced and attained today. |
| |
And if we do attain it, the heart is one. |
| |
So let go, put everything down, everything except the knowing. |
| |
Donât be fooled if visions or sounds arise in your mind during meditation. |
| |
Lay them all down. |
| |
Donât take hold of anything at all, just stay with this unified awareness. |
| |
Donât worry about the past or the future, |
| |
just be still and you will reach the place where thereâs no advancing, |
| |
no retreating and no stopping, where thereâs nothing to grasp at or cling to. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because thereâs no self, no âmeâ or âmineâ. |
| |
Itâs all gone. |
| |
The Buddha taught to empty yourself of everything in this way, |
| |
not to carry anything around; he taught us to know, |
| |
and having known, let go. |
| |
Realizing the Dhamma, the path to freedom from the round of birth and death, |
| |
is a task that we all have to do alone. |
| |
So keep trying to let go and understand the teachings. |
| |
Put effort into your contemplation. |
| |
Donât worry about your family. |
| |
At the moment they are as they are, in the future they will be like you. |
| |
Thereâs no-one in the world who can escape this fate. |
| |
The Buddha taught to lay down those things that lack a real abiding essence. |
| |
If you lay everything down you will see the real truth, |
| |
if you donât, you wonât. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is. |
| |
And itâs the same for everyone in the world. |
| |
So donât grasp at anything. |
| |
Even if you find yourself thinking, well thatâs all right too, |
| |
as long as you think wisely. |
| |
Donât think foolishly. |
| |
If you think of your children, think of them with wisdom, |
| |
not with foolishness. |
| |
Whatever the mind turns to, think of it with wisdom, |
| |
be aware of its nature. |
| |
To know something with wisdom is to let it go and have no suffering over it. |
| |
The mind is bright, joyful and at peace. |
| |
It turns away from distractions and is undivided. |
| |
Right now what you can look to for help and support is your breath. |
| |
This is your own work, no-one elseâs. |
| |
Leave others to do their own work. |
| |
You have your own duty and responsibility, |
| |
you donât have to take on those of your family. |
| |
Donât take on anything else, let it all go. |
| |
This letting go will make your mind calm. |
| |
Your sole responsibility right now is to focus your mind and bring it to peace. |
| |
Leave everything else to the others. |
| |
Forms, sounds, odours, tastes ... |
| |
leave them to the others to attend to. |
| |
Put everything behind you and do your own work, |
| |
fulfil your own responsibility. |
| |
Whatever arises in your mind, be it fear of pain, |
| |
fear of death, anxiety about others or whatever, |
| |
say to it, âDonât disturb me. |
| |
Youâre no longer any concern of mine.â |
| |
Just keep this to yourself when you see those âdhammasâ arise. |
| |
What does the word dhamma refer to? |
| |
Everything is a dhamma, there is nothing that is not a dhamma. |
| |
And what about âworldâ? |
| |
The world is the very mental state that is agitating you at the present moment. |
| |
âWhat are they going to do? |
| |
When Iâm gone who will look after them? |
| |
How will they manage?â |
| |
This is all just the âworldâ. |
| |
Even the mere arising of a thought fearing death or pain is the world. |
| |
Throw the world away! |
| |
The world is the way it is. |
| |
If you allow it to dominate your mind it becomes obscured and canât see itself. |
| |
So whatever appears in the mind, just say, |
| |
âThis isnât my business. |
| |
Itâs impermanent, unsatisfactory and not-self.â |
| |
Thinking youâd like to go on living for a long time will make you suffer. |
| |
But thinking youâd like to die right away or very quickly isnât right either. |
| |
Itâs suffering, isnât it? |
| |
Conditions donât belong to us, they follow their own natural laws. |
| |
You canât do anything about the way the body is. |
| |
You can beautify it a little, make it attractive and clean for a while, |
| |
like the young girls who paint their lips and let their nails grow long, |
| |
but when old age arrives, everybodyâs in the same boat. |
| |
Thatâs the way the body is, you canât make it any other way. |
| |
What you can improve and beautify is the mind. |
| |
Anyone can build a house of wood and bricks, |
| |
but the Buddha taught that that sort of home is not our real home, |
| |
itâs only nominally ours. |
| |
Itâs home in the world and it follows the ways of the world. |
| |
Our real home is inner peace. |
| |
An external, material home may well be pretty but it is not very peaceful. |
| |
Thereâs this worry and then that, this anxiety and then that. |
| |
So we say itâs not our real home, itâs external to us. |
| |
Sooner or later weâll have to give it up. |
| |
Itâs not a place we can live in permanently because it doesnât truly belong to us, |
| |
it belongs to the world. |
| |
Our body is the same. |
| |
We take it to be a self, to be âmeâ or âmineâ, |
| |
but in fact itâs not really so at all, |
| |
itâs another worldly home. |
| |
Your body has followed its natural course from birth, |
| |
and now that itâs old and sick, you canât forbid it from being that. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is. |
| |
Wanting it to be any different would be as foolish as wanting a duck to be like a chicken. |
| |
When you see that thatâs impossible - that a duck must be a duck and a chicken must be a chicken, |
| |
and that the bodies have to get old and die - you will find courage and energy. |
| |
However much you want the body to go on lasting, |
| |
it wonât do that. |
| |
The Buddha said: |
| |
AniccÄ vata sankhÄrÄ |
| |
Impermanent, alas, are all conditions, |
| |
UppÄda-vaya-dhammino |
| |
Subject to rise and fall. |
| |
UppajjitvÄ nirujjhanti |
| |
Having arisen, they cease. |
| |
Tesam vƫpasamo sukho. |
| |
Their stilling is bliss. |
| |
The word sankhÄrÄ refers to this body and mind. |
| |
SankhÄrÄ are impermanent and unstable. |
| |
Having come into being they disappear, |
| |
having arisen they pass away, and yet everyone wants them to be permanent. |
| |
This is foolishness. |
| |
Look at the breath. |
| |
Once itâs gone in, it goes out, thatâs its nature, |
| |
thatâs how it has to be. |
| |
The inhalations and exhalations have to alternate, |
| |
there must be change. |
| |
Conditions exist through change, you canât prevent it. |
| |
Just think, could you exhale without inhaling? |
| |
Would it feel good? |
| |
Or could you just inhale? |
| |
We want things to be permanent but they canât be, |
| |
itâs impossible. |
| |
Once the breath has come in, it must go out. |
| |
When itâs gone out it comes back in again, |
| |
and thatâs natural, isnât it? |
| |
Having been born we get old and then die, |
| |
and thatâs totally natural and normal. |
| |
Itâs because conditions have done their job, |
| |
because the in-breaths and out-breaths have alternated in this way, |
| |
that the human race is still here today. |
| |
As soon as we are born we are dead. |
| |
Our birth and our death are just one thing. |
| |
Itâs like a tree: when thereâs a root there must be branches, |
| |
when there are branches there must be a root. |
| |
You canât have one without the other. |
| |
Itâs a little funny to see how at death, |
| |
people are so grief-stricken and distracted and at birth, |
| |
how happy and delighted. |
| |
Itâs delusion, nobody has ever looked at this clearly. |
| |
I think if you really want to cry it would be better to do so when someoneâs born. |
| |
Birth is death, death is birth; the branch is the root, |
| |
the root is the branch. |
| |
If you must cry, cry at the root, cry at the birth. |
| |
Look closely: if there was no birth there would be no death. |
| |
Can you understand this? |
| |
Donât worry about things too much, just think âthis is the way things are.â |
| |
This is your work, your duty. |
| |
Right now nobody can help you, thereâs nothing that your family and possessions can do for you. |
| |
All that can help you now is clear awareness. |
| |
So donât waver. |
| |
Let go. |
| |
Throw it all away. |
| |
Even if you donât let go, everything is starting to leave you anyway. |
| |
Can you see how all the different parts of your body are trying to slip away? |
| |
Take your hair; when you were young it was thick and black. |
| |
Now itâs falling out. |
| |
Itâs leaving. |
| |
Your eyes used to be good and strong but now theyâre weak, |
| |
your sight is unclear. |
| |
When your organs have had enough they leave, |
| |
this isnât their home. |
| |
When you were a child your teeth were healthy and firm, |
| |
now theyâre wobbly, or youâve got false ones. |
| |
Your eyes, ears, nose, tongue - everything is trying to leave because this isnât their home. |
| |
You canât make a permanent home in conditions, |
| |
you can only stay for a short time and then you have to go. |
| |
Itâs like a tenant watching over his tiny little house with failing eyes. |
| |
His teeth arenât so good, his eyes arenât so good, |
| |
his bodyâs not so healthy, everything is leaving. |
| |
So you neednât worry about anything because this isnât your real home, |
| |
itâs only a temporary shelter. |
| |
Having come into this world you should contemplate its nature. |
| |
Everything there is is preparing to disappear. |
| |
Look at your body. |
| |
Is there anything there thatâs still in its original form? |
| |
Is your skin as it used to be? |
| |
Is your hair? |
| |
They arenât the same, are they? |
| |
Where has everything gone? |
| |
This is nature, the way things are. |
| |
When their time is up, conditions go their way. |
| |
In this world there is nothing to rely on - itâs an endless round of disturbance and trouble, |
| |
pleasure and pain. |
| |
Thereâs no peace. |
| |
When we have no real home weâre like aimless travellers out on the road, |
| |
going here and there, stopping for a while and then setting off again. |
| |
Until we return to our real homes we feel uneasy, |
| |
just like a villager whoâs left his village. |
| |
Only when he gets home can he really relax and be at peace. |
| |
Nowhere in the world is there any real peace to be found. |
| |
The poor have no peace and neither do the rich; adults have no peace and neither do the highly educated. |
| |
Thereâs no peace anywhere, thatâs the nature of the world. |
| |
Those who have few possessions suffer, |
| |
and so do those who have many. |
| |
Children, adults, old and young ... |
| |
everyone suffers. |
| |
The suffering of being old, the suffering of being young, |
| |
the suffering of being wealthy and the suffering of being poor - itâs all nothing but suffering. |
| |
When you have contemplated things in this way you will see aniccam, |
| |
impermanence, and dukkham, unsatisfactoriness. |
| |
Why are things impermanent and unsatisfactory? |
| |
Because they are anattÄ, not-self. |
| |
Both your body that is lying sick and in pain, |
| |
and the mind that is aware of its sickness and pain, |
| |
are called dhamma. |
| |
That which is formless, the thoughts, |
| |
feelings and perceptions, is called nÄmadhamma. |
| |
That which is racked with aches and pains is called rƫpadhamma. |
| |
The material is dhamma and the immaterial is dhamma. |
| |
So we live with dhamma, in dhamma, and we are dhamma. |
| |
In truth there is no self to be found, |
| |
there are only dhammas continually arising and passing away as is their nature. |
| |
Every single moment weâre undergoing birth and death. |
| |
This is the way things are. |
| |
When we think of the Lord Buddha, how truly he spoke, |
| |
we feel how worthy he is of reverence and respect. |
| |
Whenever we see the truth of something we see his teachings, |
| |
even if weâve never actually practised the Dhamma. |
| |
But even if we have a knowledge of the teachings, |
| |
have studied and practised them, as long as we still havenât seen the truth we are still homeless. |
| |
So understand this point. |
| |
All people, all creatures, are preparing to leave. |
| |
When beings have lived an appropriate time they must go on their way. |
| |
Rich, poor, young and old must all experience this change. |
| |
When you realize thatâs the way the world is youâll feel that itâs a wearisome place. |
| |
When you see that thereâs nothing real or substantial you can rely on youâll feel wearied and disenchanted. |
| |
Being disenchanted doesnât mean you are averse; the mind is clear. |
| |
It sees that thereâs nothing to be done to remedy this state of affairs, |
| |
itâs just the way the world is. |
| |
Knowing in this way you can let go of attachment; you can let go with a mind that is neither happy nor sad, |
| |
but at peace with conditions through seeing their changing nature with wisdom. |
| |
AniccÄ vata sankhÄrÄ - all conditions are impermanent. |
| |
To put it simply, impermanence is the Buddha. |
| |
If we truly see an impermanent condition, |
| |
weâll see that itâs permanent. |
| |
Itâs permanent in the sense that its subjection to change is unchanging. |
| |
This is the permanence that living beings possess. |
| |
There is continual transformation, from childhood through to old age, |
| |
and that very impermanence, that propensity to change, |
| |
is permanent and fixed. |
| |
If you look at it like this your heart will be at ease. |
| |
Itâs not just you who has to go through this, |
| |
everyone has to. |
| |
When you consider things in this way youâll see them as wearisome, |
| |
and disenchantment will arise. |
| |
Your delight in the world of sense pleasures will disappear. |
| |
Youâll see that if you have many possessions, |
| |
you have to leave a lot behind. |
| |
If you have a few, you leave few behind. |
| |
Wealth is just wealth, long life is just long life; theyâre nothing special. |
| |
What is important is that we should do as the Lord Buddha taught and build our own home, |
| |
building it by the method that Iâve been explaining to you. |
| |
Build your own home. |
| |
Let go. |
| |
Let go until the mind reaches the peace that is free from advancing, |
| |
free from retreating and free from stopping still. |
| |
Pleasure is not your home, pain is not your home. |
| |
Pleasure and pain both decline and pass away. |
| |
The great teacher saw that all conditions are impermanent and so he taught us to let go of our attachment to them. |
| |
When we reach the end of our life weâll have no choice anyway, |
| |
we wonât be able to take anything with us. |
| |
So wouldnât it be better to put things down before then? |
| |
Theyâre just a heavy burden to carry around, |
| |
why not throw off that load now? |
| |
Why bother to drag these things around? |
| |
Let go, relax, and let your family look after you. |
| |
Those who nurse the sick grow in goodness and virtue. |
| |
The patient who is giving others that opportunity shouldnât make things difficult for them. |
| |
If thereâs pain or some problem or other, |
| |
let them know and keep the mind in a wholesome state. |
| |
One who is nursing parents should fill his or her mind with warmth and kindness and not get caught up in aversion. |
| |
This is the one time you can repay your debt to them. |
| |
From your birth through your childhood, |
| |
as youâve grown up, youâve been dependent on your parents. |
| |
That you are here today is because your mother and father have helped you in so many ways. |
| |
You owe them an incredible debt of gratitude. |
| |
So today, all of you children and relatives gathered together here, |
| |
observe how your mother has become your child. |
| |
Before you were her children, now she has become yours. |
| |
She has become older and older until she has become a child again. |
| |
Her memory goes, her eyes donât see well and her ears arenât so good. |
| |
Sometimes she garbles her words. |
| |
Donât let it upset you. |
| |
You who are nursing the sick must know how to let go also. |
| |
Donât hold onto things, just let her have her own way. |
| |
When a young child is disobedient sometimes the parents let it have its own way just to keep the peace, |
| |
just to make it happy. |
| |
Now your mother is just like that child. |
| |
Her memories and perceptions are confused. |
| |
Sometimes she muddles up your names, or asks you to bring a cup when she wants a plate. |
| |
Itâs normal, donât be upset by it. |
| |
Let the patient bear in mind the kindness of those who nurse and patiently endure the painful feelings. |
| |
Exert yourself mentally, donât let the mind become scattered and confused, |
| |
and donât make things difficult for those looking after you. |
| |
Let those who are nursing fill their minds with virtue and kindness. |
| |
Donât be averse to the unattractive side of the job, |
| |
cleaning up the mucous and phlegm, urine and excrement. |
| |
Try your best. |
| |
Everyone in the family give a hand. |
| |
She is the only mother you have. |
| |
She gave you life, she has been your teacher, |
| |
your doctor and your nurse - sheâs been everything to you. |
| |
That she has brought you up, shared her wealth with you and made you her heir is the great goodness of parents. |
| |
That is why the Buddha taught the virtues of kataññƫ and katavedī, |
| |
knowing our debt of gratitude and trying to repay it. |
| |
These two dhammas are complimentary. |
| |
If our parents are in need, unwell or in difficulty, |
| |
then we do our best to help them. |
| |
This is kataññƫ-katavedī, the virtue that sustains the world. |
| |
It prevents families from breaking up, |
| |
and makes them stable and harmonious. |
| |
Today I have brought you the gift of Dhamma in this time of illness. |
| |
I have no material things to offer you, |
| |
there seem to be plenty of those in this house already. |
| |
And so I give you the Dhamma, something which has lasting worth, |
| |
something which youâll never be able to exhaust. |
| |
Having received it you can pass it on to as many others as you like and it will never be depleted. |
| |
That is the nature of Truth. |
| |
I am happy to have been able to give you this gift of Dhamma |
| |
and hope it will give you the strength to deal with your pain. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Today I have been invited by the abbot to give you a teaching, |
| |
so I ask you all to sit quietly and compose your minds. |
| |
Due to the language barrier we must make use of a translator, |
| |
so if you do not pay proper attention you may not understand. |
| |
My stay here has been very pleasant. |
| |
Both the Master and you, his followers, |
| |
have been very kind, all friendly and smiling, |
| |
as befits those who are practising the true Dhamma. |
| |
Your property, too, is very inspiring, |
| |
but so big! |
| |
I admire your dedication in renovating it to establish a place for practising the Dhamma. |
| |
Having been a teacher for many years now, |
| |
Iâve been through my share of difficulties. |
| |
At present there are altogether about forty branch monasteries1 of my monastery, |
| |
Wat Nong Pah Pong, but even these days I have followers who are hard to teach. |
| |
Some know but donât bother to practise, |
| |
some donât know and donât try to find out. |
| |
I donât know what to do with them. |
| |
Why do human beings have minds like this? |
| |
Being ignorant is not so good, but even when I tell them, |
| |
they still donât listen. |
| |
I donât know what more I can do. |
| |
People are so full of doubts in their practice, |
| |
theyâre always doubting. |
| |
They all want to go to NibbÄna, but they donât want to walk the path. |
| |
Itâs baffling. |
| |
When I tell them to meditate theyâre afraid, |
| |
or if not afraid then just plain sleepy. |
| |
Mostly they like to do the things I donât teach. |
| |
When I met the Venerable Abbot here I asked him what his followers were like. |
| |
He said theyâre the same. |
| |
This is the pain of being a teacher. |
| |
The teaching I will present to you today is a way to solve problems in the present moment, |
| |
in this present life. |
| |
Some people say that they have so much work to do that they have no time to practise the Dhamma. |
| |
âWhat can we do?â |
| |
they ask. |
| |
I ask them, âDonât you breathe while youâre working?â |
| |
âYes, of course we breathe!â |
| |
âSo how come you have time to breathe when youâre so busy?â |
| |
They donât know what to answer. |
| |
âIf you simply have sati while working you will have plenty of time to practise.â |
| |
Practising meditation is just like breathing. |
| |
While working we breathe, while sleeping we breathe, |
| |
while sitting down we breathe. |
| |
Why do we have time to breathe? |
| |
Because we see the importance of the breath, |
| |
we can always find time to breathe. |
| |
In the same way, if we see the importance of meditation practice we will find the time to practise. |
| |
Have any of you ever suffered? |
| |
Have you ever been happy? |
| |
Right here is the truth, this is where you must practise the Dhamma. |
| |
Who is it who is happy? |
| |
The mind is happy. |
| |
Who suffers? |
| |
The mind suffers. |
| |
Wherever these things arise, thatâs where they cease. |
| |
Have you experienced happiness? |
| |
Have you experienced suffering? |
| |
This is our problem. |
| |
If we know Dukkha, the cause of suffering, |
| |
the end of suffering and the way leading to the end of suffering we can solve the problem. |
| |
There are two kinds of suffering: ordinary suffering and the extraordinary kind. |
| |
Ordinary suffering is the suffering which is the inherent nature of conditions: standing is suffering, |
| |
sitting is suffering, lying down is suffering. |
| |
This is the suffering that is inherent in all conditioned phenomena. |
| |
Even the Buddha experienced these things, |
| |
he experienced comfort and pain, but he recognized them as conditions in nature. |
| |
He knew how to overcome these ordinary, |
| |
natural feelings of comfort and pain through understanding their true nature. |
| |
Because he understood this ânatural sufferingâ those feelings didnât upset him. |
| |
The important kind of suffering is the second kind, |
| |
the suffering that creeps in from the outside, |
| |
the âextraordinary sufferingâ. |
| |
If we are sick we may have to get an injection from the doctor. |
| |
When the needle pierces the skin there is some pain which is only natural. |
| |
When the needle is withdrawn that pain disappears. |
| |
This is like the ordinary kind of suffering, |
| |
itâs no problem, everybody experiences it. |
| |
The extraordinary suffering is the suffering that arises from what we call upÄdÄna, |
| |
grasping onto things. |
| |
This is like having an injection with a syringe filled with poison. |
| |
This is no longer an ordinary kind of pain, |
| |
it is the pain which ends in death. |
| |
This is similar to the suffering which arises from grasping. |
| |
Wrong view, not knowing the impermanent nature of all conditioned things, |
| |
is another kind of problem. |
| |
Conditioned things are the realm of samsÄra. |
| |
Not wanting things to change - if we think like this we must suffer. |
| |
When we think that the body is ourselves or belonging to us, |
| |
we are afraid when we see it change. |
| |
Consider the breath: once it comes in it must go out, |
| |
having gone out it must come in again. |
| |
This is its nature, this is how we manage to live. |
| |
Things donât function in that way. |
| |
This is how conditions are but we donât realize it. |
| |
Suppose we lost something. |
| |
If we thought that object was really ours, |
| |
we would brood over it. |
| |
If we couldnât see it as a conditioned thing faring according to the laws of nature, |
| |
we would experience suffering. |
| |
But if you breathe in, can you live? |
| |
Conditioned things must naturally change in this way. |
| |
To see this is to see the Dhamma, to see aniccam, |
| |
change. |
| |
We live dependent on this change. |
| |
When we know how things are, then we can let go of them. |
| |
The practice of Dhamma is to develop an understanding of the way of things so that suffering doesnât arise. |
| |
If we think wrongly we are at odds with the world, |
| |
at odds with the Dhamma and with the truth. |
| |
Suppose you were sick and had to go into hospital. |
| |
Most people think, âPlease donât let me die, |
| |
I want to get better.â |
| |
This is wrong thinking, it will lead to suffering. |
| |
You have to think to yourself, âIf I recover I recover, |
| |
if I die I die.â |
| |
This is right thinking, because you canât ultimately control conditions. |
| |
If you think like this, whether you die or recover, |
| |
you canât go wrong, you donât have to worry. |
| |
The mind that wants to get better at all costs, |
| |
and is afraid of the thought of dying, |
| |
is the mind which doesnât understand conditions. |
| |
You should think, âIf I get better thatâs fine, |
| |
if I donât get better thatâs fine.â |
| |
This way we canât go wrong, we donât have to be afraid or cry, |
| |
because we have tuned ourselves in to the way things are. |
| |
The Buddha saw clearly. |
| |
His teaching is always relevant, never out-dated. |
| |
It never changes. |
| |
In the present day itâs still the way it is, |
| |
it hasnât changed. |
| |
By taking this teaching to heart we can gain the reward of peace and well-being. |
| |
In the teachings there is the reflection of ânot-selfâ: âthis is not my self, |
| |
this does not belong to meâ. |
| |
But people donât like to listen to this kind of teaching because they are attached to the idea of self. |
| |
This is the cause of suffering. |
| |
You should take note of this. |
| |
Today a woman asked about how to deal with anger. |
| |
I told her that the next time she gets angry, |
| |
she should wind up her alarm clock and put it in front of her. |
| |
Then she should give herself two hours for the anger to go away. |
| |
If it was really her anger she could probably tell it to go away like this: âIn two hours be gone!â |
| |
But anger isnât really ours to command. |
| |
Sometimes in two hours itâs still not gone, |
| |
at other times in one hour itâs gone already. |
| |
Holding onto anger as a personal possession will cause suffering. |
| |
If it really belonged to us it would have to obey us. |
| |
If it doesnât obey us that means itâs only a deception. |
| |
Donât fall for it. |
| |
Whether the mind is happy or sad, donât fall for it. |
| |
Whether the mind loves or hates, donât fall for it, |
| |
itâs all a deception. |
| |
Have any of you ever been angry? |
| |
When you are angry does it feel good or bad? |
| |
If it feels bad then why donât you throw that feeling away? |
| |
Why bother to keep it? |
| |
How can you say that you are wise and intelligent when you hold on to such things? |
| |
Since the day you were born, how many times has the mind tricked you into anger? |
| |
Some days the mind can even cause a whole family to quarrel, |
| |
or cause you to cry all night. |
| |
And yet we still continue to get angry, |
| |
we still hold onto things and suffer. |
| |
If you donât see suffering, you will have to keep suffering indefinitely, |
| |
with no chance for respite. |
| |
The world of samsÄra is like this. |
| |
If we know the way it is, we can solve the problem. |
| |
The Buddhaâs teaching states that there is no better means to |
| |
overcome suffering than to see that âthis is not my self,â âthis is not mine.â |
| |
This is the greatest method. |
| |
But we donât usually pay attention to this. |
| |
When suffering arises we simply cry over it without learning from it. |
| |
Why is that so? |
| |
We must take a good hard look at these things, |
| |
to develop the Buddho, the one who knows. |
| |
Take note, some of you may not be aware that this is Dhamma teaching. |
| |
Iâm going to give you some Dhamma thatâs outside the scriptures. |
| |
Most people read the scriptures but donât see the Dhamma. |
| |
Today I am going to give you a teaching thatâs outside the scriptures. |
| |
Some people may miss the point or not be able to understand it. |
| |
Suppose two people are walking together and see a duck and a chicken. |
| |
One of them says, âWhy isnât that chicken like the duck, |
| |
why isnât the duck like the chicken?â |
| |
He wants the chicken to be a duck and the duck to be a chicken. |
| |
Itâs impossible. |
| |
If itâs impossible, then even if that person were to wish for |
| |
the duck to be a chicken and the chicken to be a duck for the rest of his life it would not come to pass, |
| |
because the chicken is a chicken and the duck is a duck. |
| |
As long as that person thought like that he would suffer. |
| |
The other person might see that the chicken is a chicken and the duck is a duck, |
| |
and thatâs all there is to it. |
| |
There is no problem. |
| |
He sees rightly. |
| |
If you want the duck to be a chicken and the chicken to be a duck, |
| |
you are really going to suffer. |
| |
In the same way, the law of aniccam states that all things are impermanent. |
| |
If you want things to be permanent youâre going to suffer. |
| |
Whenever impermanence shows itself youâre going to be disappointed. |
| |
One who sees that things are naturally impermanent will be at ease, |
| |
there will be no conflict. |
| |
The one who wants things to be permanent is going to have conflict, |
| |
maybe even losing sleep over it. |
| |
This is to be ignorant of aniccam, impermanence, |
| |
the teaching of the Buddha. |
| |
If you want to know the Dhamma where should you look? |
| |
You must look within the body and the mind. |
| |
You wonât find it in the shelves of a bookcase. |
| |
To really see the Dhamma you have to look within your own body and mind. |
| |
There are only these two things. |
| |
The mind is not visible to the physical eye, |
| |
it must be seen with the âmindâs eyeâ. |
| |
Before the Dhamma can be realized you must know where to look. |
| |
The Dhamma that is in the body must be seen in the body. |
| |
And with what do we look at the body? |
| |
We look at the body with the mind. |
| |
You wonât find the Dhamma looking anywhere else, |
| |
because both happiness and suffering arise right here. |
| |
Have you seen happiness arising in the trees? |
| |
Or from the rivers, or the weather? |
| |
Happiness and suffering are feelings which arise in our own bodies and minds. |
| |
Therefore the Buddha tells us to know the Dhamma right here. |
| |
The Dhamma is right here, we must look right here. |
| |
The Master may tell you to look at the Dhamma in the books, |
| |
but if you think that this is where the Dhamma really is, |
| |
youâll never see it. |
| |
Having looked at the books you must reflect on those teachings inwardly. |
| |
Then you can understand the Dhamma. |
| |
Where does the real Dhamma exist? |
| |
It exists right here in this body and mind of ours. |
| |
This is the essence of contemplation practice. |
| |
When we do this, wisdom will arise in our minds. |
| |
When there is wisdom in our minds, then no matter where we look there is Dhamma, |
| |
we will see aniccam, dukkham, and anattÄ at all times. |
| |
Aniccam means transient. |
| |
If we cling to the things that are transient we must suffer, |
| |
dukkham because they are not us or ours (anattÄ). |
| |
But we donât see this, we always see them as being our self and belonging to us. |
| |
This means that you donât see the truth of convention. |
| |
You should understand conventions. |
| |
For example, all of us sitting here have names. |
| |
Are our names born with us or are they assigned to us afterwards? |
| |
Do you understand? |
| |
This is convention. |
| |
Is convention useful? |
| |
Of course itâs useful. |
| |
For example, suppose there are four men, |
| |
A, B, C, and D. They all must have their individual names for convenience in communicating and working together. |
| |
If we wanted to speak to Mr. A we could call Mr. A and he would come, |
| |
not the others. |
| |
This is the convenience of convention. |
| |
But when we look deeply into the matter we will see that really there isnât anybody there. |
| |
We will see transcendence. |
| |
There is only earth, water, wind and fire, |
| |
the four elements. |
| |
This is all there is to this body of ours. |
| |
But we donât see it in this way because of the clinging power |
| |
of attavÄdupÄdÄna.2 If we were to look clearly we would see that there isnât really much to what we call a person. |
| |
The solid part is the earth element, the fluid part is the water element, |
| |
the part which provides heat is called the fire element. |
| |
When we break things down we see that there is only earth, |
| |
water, wind and fire. |
| |
Where is the person to be found? |
| |
There isnât one. |
| |
Thatâs why the Buddha taught that there is no higher practice |
| |
than to see that âthis is not my self and does not belong to me.â |
| |
They are simply conventions. |
| |
If we understand everything clearly in this way we will be at peace. |
| |
If we realize in the present moment the truth of impermanence, |
| |
that things are not our self or belonging to us, |
| |
then when they disintegrate we are at peace with them, |
| |
because they donât belong to anybody anyway. |
| |
They are merely the elements of earth, |
| |
water, wind and fire. |
| |
Itâs difficult for people to see this, |
| |
but even so itâs not beyond our ability. |
| |
If we can see this, we will find contentment, |
| |
we will not have so much anger, greed or delusion. |
| |
There will always be Dhamma in our hearts. |
| |
There will be no need for jealousy and spite, |
| |
because everybody is simply earth, water, |
| |
wind and fire. |
| |
Thereâs nothing more to them than this. |
| |
When we accept this truth we will see the truth of the Buddhaâs teaching. |
| |
If we could see the truth of the Buddhaâs teaching we wouldnât have to use up so many teachers! |
| |
It wouldnât be necessary to listen to teachings every day. |
| |
When we understand then we simply do whatâs required of us. |
| |
But what makes people so difficult to teach is that they donât |
| |
accept the teaching and argue with the teachers and the teaching. |
| |
In front of the teacher they behave a little better, |
| |
but behind his back they become thieves! |
| |
People are really difficult to teach. |
| |
The people in Thailand are like this, |
| |
thatâs why they have to have so many teachers. |
| |
Be careful; if youâre not careful you wonât see the Dhamma. |
| |
You must be circumspect, taking the teaching and considering it well. |
| |
Is this flower pretty? |
| |
Do you see the ugliness within this flower? |
| |
For how many days will it be pretty? |
| |
What will it be like from now on? |
| |
Why does it change so? |
| |
In three or four days you have to take it and throw it away, |
| |
right? |
| |
It loses all its beauty. |
| |
People are attached to beauty, attached to goodness. |
| |
If anything is good they just fall for it completely. |
| |
The Buddha tells us to look at pretty things as just pretty; we shouldnât become attached to them. |
| |
If there is a pleasant feeling, we shouldnât fall for it. |
| |
Goodness is not a sure thing, beauty is not a sure thing. |
| |
Nothing is certain. |
| |
There is nothing in this world that is a certainty. |
| |
This is the truth. |
| |
The things that arenât true are the things that change, |
| |
such as beauty. |
| |
The only truth it has is in its constant changing. |
| |
If we believe that things are beautiful, |
| |
when their beauty fades our mind loses its beauty too. |
| |
When things are no longer good our mind loses its goodness too. |
| |
When they are destroyed or damaged we suffer because we have clung to them as being our own. |
| |
The Buddha tells us to see that these things are simply constructs of nature. |
| |
Beauty appears and in not many days it fades. |
| |
To see this is to have wisdom. |
| |
Therefore we should see impermanence. |
| |
If we think something is pretty, we should tell ourselves it isnât, |
| |
if we think something is ugly, we should tell ourselves it isnât. |
| |
Try to see things in this way, constantly reflect in this way. |
| |
We will then see the truth within untrue things, |
| |
and see the certainty within the things that are uncertain. |
| |
Today I have been explaining the way to understand suffering, |
| |
what causes suffering, the cessation of suffering and the way leading to the cessation of suffering. |
| |
When you know suffering you should throw it out. |
| |
Knowing the cause of suffering you should throw it out. |
| |
Practise to see the cessation of suffering. |
| |
See aniccam, dukkham and anattÄ and suffering will cease. |
| |
When suffering ceases where do we go? |
| |
What are we practising for? |
| |
We are practising to relinquish, not in order to gain anything. |
| |
There was a woman this afternoon who told me that she is suffering. |
| |
I asked her what she wants to be, and she said she wants to be enlightened. |
| |
I said, âAs long as you want to be enlightened you will never become enlightened. |
| |
Donât want anything.â |
| |
When we know the truth of suffering, we throw out suffering. |
| |
When we know the cause of suffering, then we donât create those causes, |
| |
but instead practise to bring suffering to its cessation. |
| |
The practice leading to the cessation of suffering is to see that âthis is not a self,â âthis is not me or them.â |
| |
Seeing in this way enables suffering to cease. |
| |
Itâs like reaching our destination and stopping. |
| |
Thatâs cessation. |
| |
Thatâs getting close to NibbÄna. |
| |
To put it another way, going forward is suffering, |
| |
retreating is suffering and stopping is suffering. |
| |
Not going forward, not retreating and not stopping, |
| |
is anything left? |
| |
Body and mind cease here. |
| |
This is the cessation of suffering. |
| |
Hard to understand, isnât it? |
| |
If we diligently and consistently study this teaching we will |
| |
transcend things and reach understanding; there will be cessation. |
| |
This is the ultimate teaching of the Buddha, |
| |
itâs the finishing point. |
| |
The Buddhaâs teaching finishes at the point of total relinquishment. |
| |
Today I offer this teaching to you all and to the Venerable Master also. |
| |
If there is anything wrong in it I ask your forgiveness. |
| |
But donât be in a hurry to judge whether it is right or wrong, |
| |
just listen to it first. |
| |
If I were to give you all a fruit and tell you itâs delicious, |
| |
you should take note of my words, but not believe me offhand, |
| |
because you havenât tasted it yet. |
| |
The teaching I give you today is the same. |
| |
If you want to know whether the âfruitâ is sweet or sour you have to slice a piece off and taste it. |
| |
Then you will know its sweetness or sourness. |
| |
Then you could believe me, because then youâd have seen for yourself. |
| |
So please donât throw this âfruitâ away, |
| |
keep it and taste it, know its taste for yourself. |
| |
The Buddha didnât have a teacher, you know. |
| |
An ascetic once asked him who his teacher was, |
| |
and the Buddha answered that he didnât have one.3 The ascetic just walked off shaking his head. |
| |
The Buddha was being too honest. |
| |
He was speaking to one who couldnât know or accept the truth. |
| |
Thatâs why I tell you not to believe me. |
| |
The Buddha said that to simply believe others is foolish, |
| |
because there is no clear knowing within. |
| |
Thatâs why the Buddha said âI have no teacher.â |
| |
This is the truth. |
| |
But you should look at this in the right way. |
| |
If you misunderstand it you wonât respect your teacher. |
| |
Donât go saying âI have no teacher.â |
| |
You must rely on your teacher to tell you what is right and wrong, |
| |
and then you must practise accordingly. |
| |
Today is a fortunate day for all of us. |
| |
I have had a chance to meet with all of you and the Venerable Master. |
| |
You wouldnât think that we could meet like this because we live so far apart. |
| |
I think there must be some special reason that we have been able to meet in this way. |
| |
The Buddha taught that everything that arises must have a cause. |
| |
Donât forget this. |
| |
There must be some cause. |
| |
Perhaps in a previous existence we were brothers and sisters in the same family. |
| |
Itâs possible. |
| |
Another teacher didnât come, but I did. |
| |
Why is that? |
| |
Perhaps we are creating the causes in the present moment itself. |
| |
This is also possible. |
| |
I leave you all with this teaching. |
| |
May you be diligent and arduous in the practice. |
| |
There is nothing better than the practice of Dhamma; Dhamma is the supporter of the whole world. |
| |
People are confused these days because they do not know the Dhamma. |
| |
If we have the Dhamma with us we will be content. |
| |
I am happy to have had this opportunity to help you and the Venerable Teacher in developing the practice of Dhamma. |
| |
I leave you with my heartfelt good wishes. |
| |
Tomorrow I will be leaving, Iâm not sure where for. |
| |
This is only natural. |
| |
When there is coming there must be going, |
| |
when there is going there must be coming. |
| |
This is how the world is. |
| |
We shouldnât be overjoyed or upset by the changes in the world. |
| |
There is happiness and then there is suffering; there is suffering |
| |
and then there is happiness; there is gain and then there is loss; there is loss and then there is gain. |
| |
This is the way things are. |
| |
In the Buddhaâs time there were disciples of the Buddha who didnât like him, |
| |
because the Buddha exhorted them to be diligent, |
| |
to be heedful. |
| |
Those who were lazy were afraid of the Buddha and resented him. |
| |
When he died, one group of disciples cried and were distressed that they would no longer have the Buddha to guide them. |
| |
These ones were still not clever. |
| |
Another group of disciples were pleased and relieved that they |
| |
would no longer have the Buddha on their backs telling them what to do. |
| |
A third group of disciples were equanimous. |
| |
They reflected that what arises passes away as a natural consequence. |
| |
There were these three groups. |
| |
Which group do you identify with? |
| |
Do you want to be one of the pleased ones or what? |
| |
The group of disciples who cried when the Buddha passed away had not yet realized the Dhamma. |
| |
The second group were those who resented the Buddha. |
| |
He was always forbidding them from doing the things they wanted to do. |
| |
They lived in fear of the Buddhaâs scorn and reprimands, |
| |
so when he passed away they were relieved. |
| |
These days things arenât much different. |
| |
Itâs possible that the teacher here has some followers who are resentful towards him. |
| |
They might not show it outwardly but itâs there in the mind. |
| |
Itâs normal for people who still have defilements to feel this way. |
| |
Even the Buddha had people hating him. |
| |
I myself have followers who resent me also. |
| |
I tell them to give up evil actions, but they cherish their evil actions. |
| |
So they hate me. |
| |
There are plenty like this. |
| |
May all of you who are intelligent make yourselves firm in the practice of Dhamma. |
| |
1: At the time of printing this book (2011), |
| |
there are over three-hundred branch monasteries, |
| |
large and small, of Wat Nong Pah Pong. |
| |
2: One of the Four Bases of Clinging: KÄmupÄdÄna, |
| |
clinging to sense objects; sÄ«labbatupÄdÄna: clinging to rites and rituals; ditthupÄdÄna: clinging to views, |
| |
and attavÄdupÄdÄna, clinging to the idea of self. |
| |
3: Soon after his enlightenment, the Buddha was walking on his way to Benares and was approached by a wandering ascetic, |
| |
who said, âYour features are clear, |
| |
friend, your bearing serene. |
| |
Who is your teacher?â |
| |
The Buddha answered that there was no-one in this world who could claim to be his teacher, |
| |
because he was completely self-enlightened. |
| |
The ascetic could not understand his answer, |
| |
and walked off, muttering, âWell, good for you, |
| |
friend, good for you.â |
| |
* * * |
| |
There are two ways to support Buddhism. |
| |
One is known as ÄmisapĆ«jÄ, supporting through material offerings: the four requisites of food, |
| |
clothing, shelter and medicine. |
| |
There material offerings are given to the Sangha of monks and nuns, |
| |
enabling them to live in reasonable comfort for the practice of Dhamma. |
| |
This fosters the direct realization of the Buddhaâs teaching, |
| |
in turn bringing continued prosperity to the Buddhist religion. |
| |
Buddhism can be likened to a tree. |
| |
A tree has roots, a trunk, branches, twigs and leaves. |
| |
All the leaves and branches, including the trunk, |
| |
depend on the roots to absorb nutriment from the soil. |
| |
Just as the tree depends on the roots to sustain it, |
| |
our actions and our speech are like âbranchesâ and âleavesâ, |
| |
which depend on the mind, the ârootâ, |
| |
absorbing nutriment, which it then sends out to the âtrunkâ, |
| |
âbranchesâ and âleavesâ. |
| |
These in turn bear fruit as our speech and actions. |
| |
Whatever state the mind is in, skilful or unskilful, |
| |
it expresses that quality outwardly through our actions and speech. |
| |
Therefore, the support of Buddhism through the practical application |
| |
of the teaching is the most important kind of support. |
| |
For example, in the ceremony of determining the precepts on observance days, |
| |
the teacher describes those unskilful actions which should be avoided. |
| |
But if you simply go through this ceremony without reflecting on their meaning, |
| |
progress is difficult and you will be unable to find the true practice. |
| |
The real support of Buddhism must therefore be done through patipattipĆ«jÄ, |
| |
the âofferingâ of practice, cultivating true restraint, |
| |
concentration and wisdom. |
| |
Then you will know what Buddhism is all about. |
| |
If you donât understand through practice, |
| |
you still wonât know, even if you learn the whole Tipitaka. |
| |
In the time of the Buddha there was a monk known as Tuccho Pothila. |
| |
Tuccho Pothila was very learned, thoroughly versed in the scriptures and texts. |
| |
He was so famous that he was revered by people everywhere and had eighteen monasteries under his care. |
| |
When people heard the name âTuccho Pothilaâ they were awe-struck and nobody would dare question anything he taught, |
| |
so much did they revere his command of the teachings. |
| |
Tuccho Pothila was one of the Buddhaâs most learned disciples. |
| |
One day he went to pay respects to the Buddha. |
| |
As he was paying his respects, the Buddha said, |
| |
âAh, hello, Venerable Empty Scripture!â |
| |
Just like that! |
| |
They conversed for a while until it was time to go, |
| |
and then, as he was taking leave of the Buddha, |
| |
the Buddha said, âOh, leaving now, Venerable Empty Scripture?â |
| |
That was all the Buddha said. |
| |
On arriving, âOh, hello, Venerable Empty Scripture.â |
| |
When it was time to go, âAh, leaving now, |
| |
Venerable Empty Scripture?â |
| |
The Buddha didnât expand on it, that was all the teaching he gave. |
| |
Tuccho Pothila, the eminent teacher, was puzzled, |
| |
âWhy did the Buddha say that? |
| |
What did he mean?â |
| |
He thought and thought, turning over everything he had learned, |
| |
until eventually he realized, âItâs true! |
| |
Venerable Empty Scripture - a monk who studies but doesnât practise.â |
| |
When he looked into his heart he saw that really he was no different from laypeople. |
| |
Whatever they aspired to he also aspired to, |
| |
whatever they enjoyed he also enjoyed. |
| |
There was no real âsamanaâ within him, |
| |
no truly profound quality capable of firmly establishing him in the Noble Way and providing true peace. |
| |
So he decided to practise. |
| |
But there was nowhere for him to go to. |
| |
All the teachers around were his own students, |
| |
no-one would dare accept him. |
| |
Usually when people meet their teacher they become timid and deferential, |
| |
and so no-one would dare become his teacher. |
| |
Finally he went to see a certain young novice, |
| |
who was enlightened, and asked to practise under him. |
| |
The novice said, âYes, sure you can practise with me, |
| |
but only if youâre sincere. |
| |
If youâre not sincere then I wonât accept you.â |
| |
Tuccho Pothila pledged himself as a student of the novice. |
| |
The novice then told him to put on all his robes. |
| |
Now there happened to be a muddy bog nearby. |
| |
When Tuccho Pothila had neatly put on all his robes, |
| |
expensive ones they were, too, the novice said, |
| |
âOkay, now run down into this muddy bog. |
| |
If I donât tell you to stop, donât stop. |
| |
If I donât tell you to come out, donât come out. |
| |
Okay, run!â |
| |
Tuccho Pothila, neatly robed, plunged into the bog. |
| |
The novice didnât tell him to stop until he was completely covered in mud. |
| |
Finally he said, âYou can stop, nowâ so he stopped. |
| |
âOkay, come out now!â |
| |
and so he came out. |
| |
This clearly showed the novice that Tuccho Pothila had given up his pride. |
| |
He was ready to accept the teaching. |
| |
If he wasnât ready to learn he wouldnât have run into the bog like that, |
| |
being such a famous teacher, but he did it. |
| |
The young novice, seeing this, knew that Tuccho Pothila was sincerely determined to practise. |
| |
When Tuccho Pothila had come out of the bog, |
| |
the novice gave him the teaching. |
| |
He taught him to observe the sense objects, |
| |
to know the mind and to know the sense objects, |
| |
using the simile of a man catching a lizard hiding in a termite mound. |
| |
If the mound had six holes in it, how would he catch it? |
| |
He would have to seal off five of the holes and leave just one open. |
| |
Then he would have to simply watch and wait, |
| |
guarding that one hole. |
| |
When the lizard ran out he could catch it. |
| |
Observing the mind is like this. |
| |
Closing off the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body, |
| |
we leave only the mind. |
| |
To âclose offâ the senses means to restrain and compose them, |
| |
observing only the mind. |
| |
Meditation is like catching the lizard. |
| |
We use sati to note the breath. |
| |
Sati is the quality of recollection, as in asking yourself, |
| |
âWhat am I doing?â |
| |
Sampajañña is the awareness that ânow I am doing such and suchâ. |
| |
We observe the in and out breathing with sati and sampajañña. |
| |
This quality of recollection is something that arises from practice, |
| |
itâs not something that can be learned from books. |
| |
Know the feelings that arise. |
| |
The mind may be fairly inactive for a while and then a feeling arises. |
| |
Sati works in conjunction with these feelings, |
| |
recollecting them. |
| |
There is sati, the recollection that âI will speakâ, |
| |
âI will goâ, âI will sitâ and so on, |
| |
and then there is sampajañña, the awareness that ânow I am walkingâ, |
| |
âI am lying downâ, âI am experiencing such and such a mood.â |
| |
With sati and sampajañña, we can know our minds in the present |
| |
moment and we will know how the mind reacts to sense impressions. |
| |
That which is aware of sense objects is called âmindâ. |
| |
Sense objects âwander intoâ the mind. |
| |
For instance, there is a sound, like the electric drill here. |
| |
It enters through the ear and travels inwards to the mind, |
| |
which acknowledges that it is the sound of an electric drill. |
| |
That which acknowledges the sound is called âmindâ. |
| |
Now this mind which acknowledges that sound is quite basic. |
| |
Itâs just the average mind. |
| |
Perhaps annoyance arises within the one who acknowledges. |
| |
We must further train âthe one who acknowledgesâ to become âthe |
| |
one who knowsâ in accordance with the truth - known as Buddho. |
| |
If we donât clearly know in accordance with the truth then we get annoyed at sounds of people, |
| |
cars, electric drills and so on. |
| |
This is just the ordinary, untrained mind acknowledging the sound with annoyance. |
| |
It knows in accordance with its preferences, |
| |
not in accordance with the truth. |
| |
We must further train it to know with vision and insight, |
| |
ñÄnadassana,1 the power of the refined mind, |
| |
so that it knows the sound as simply sound. |
| |
If we donât cling to sound there is no annoyance. |
| |
The sound arises and we simply note it. |
| |
This is called truly knowing the arising of sense objects. |
| |
If we develop the Buddho, clearly realizing the sound as sound, |
| |
then it doesnât annoy us. |
| |
It arises according to conditions, it is not a being, |
| |
an individual, a self, an âusâ or âthemâ. |
| |
Itâs just sound. |
| |
The mind lets go. |
| |
This knowing is called Buddho, the knowledge that is clear and penetrating. |
| |
With this knowledge we can let the sound simply be sound. |
| |
It doesnât disturb us unless we disturb it by thinking, |
| |
âI donât want to hear that sound, itâs annoying.â |
| |
Suffering arises because of this thinking. |
| |
Right here is the cause of suffering, |
| |
that we donât know the truth of this matter, |
| |
we havenât developed the Buddho. |
| |
We are not yet clear, not yet awake, not yet aware. |
| |
This is the raw, untrained mind. |
| |
This mind is not yet truly useful to us. |
| |
Therefore the Buddha taught that this mind must be trained and developed. |
| |
We must develop the mind just like we develop the body, |
| |
but we do it in a different way. |
| |
To develop the body we must exercise it, |
| |
jogging in the morning and evening and so on. |
| |
This is exercising the body. |
| |
As a result the body becomes more agile, |
| |
stronger, the respiratory and nervous systems become more efficient. |
| |
To exercise the mind we donât have to move it around, |
| |
but bring it to a halt, bring it to rest. |
| |
For instance, when practising meditation, |
| |
we take an object, such as the in- and out-breathing, |
| |
as our foundation. |
| |
This becomes the focus of our attention and reflection. |
| |
We look at the breathing. |
| |
To look at the breathing means to follow the breathing with awareness, |
| |
noting its rhythm, its coming and going. |
| |
We put awareness into the breath, following the natural in and out breathing and letting go of all else. |
| |
As a result of staying on one object of awareness, |
| |
our mind becomes refreshed. |
| |
If we let the mind think of this, that and the other, |
| |
there are many objects of awareness; the mind doesnât unify, |
| |
it doesnât come to rest. |
| |
To say the mind stops means that it feels as if itâs stopped, |
| |
it doesnât go running here and there. |
| |
Itâs like having a sharp knife. |
| |
If we use the knife to cut at things indiscriminately, |
| |
such as stones, bricks and grass, our knife will quickly become blunt. |
| |
We should use it for cutting only the things it was meant for. |
| |
Our mind is the same. |
| |
If we let the mind wander after thoughts and feelings which have no value or use, |
| |
the mind becomes tired and weak. |
| |
If the mind has no energy, wisdom will not arise, |
| |
because the mind without energy is the mind without samÄdhi. |
| |
If the mind hasnât stopped you canât clearly see the sense objects for what they are. |
| |
The knowledge that the mind is the mind, |
| |
sense objects are merely sense objects, |
| |
is the root from which Buddhism has grown and developed. |
| |
This is the heart of Buddhism. |
| |
We must cultivate this mind, develop it, |
| |
training it in calm and insight. |
| |
We train the mind to have restraint and wisdom by letting the mind stop and allowing wisdom to arise, |
| |
by knowing the mind as it is. |
| |
You know, the way we human beings are, |
| |
the way we do things, we are just like little children. |
| |
A child doesnât know anything. |
| |
To an adult observing the behaviour of a child, |
| |
the way it plays and jumps around, its actions donât seem to have much purpose. |
| |
If our mind is untrained it is like a child. |
| |
We speak without awareness and act without wisdom. |
| |
We may fall to ruin or cause untold harm and not even know it. |
| |
A child is ignorant, it plays as children do. |
| |
Our ignorant mind is the same. |
| |
So we should train this mind. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to train the mind, |
| |
to teach the mind. |
| |
Even if we support Buddhism with the four requisites, |
| |
our support is still superficial, it reaches only the âbarkâ or âsapwoodâ of the tree. |
| |
The real support of Buddhism must be done through the practice, |
| |
nowhere else, training our actions, |
| |
speech and thoughts according to the teachings. |
| |
This is much more fruitful. |
| |
If we are straight and honest, possessed of restraint and wisdom, |
| |
our practice will bring prosperity. |
| |
There will be no cause for spite and hostility. |
| |
This is how our religion teaches us. |
| |
If we determine the precepts simply out of tradition, |
| |
then even though the Ajahn teaches the truth, |
| |
our practice will be deficient. |
| |
We may be able to study the teachings and repeat them, |
| |
but we have to practise them if we really want to understand. |
| |
If we do not develop the practice, this may well be an obstacle |
| |
to our penetrating to the heart of Buddhism for countless lifetimes to come. |
| |
We will not understand the essence of the Buddhist religion. |
| |
Therefore the practice is like a key, |
| |
the key of meditation. |
| |
If we have the right key in our hand, |
| |
no matter how tightly the lock is closed, |
| |
when we take the key and turn it, the lock falls open. |
| |
If we have no key we canât open the lock. |
| |
We will never know what is in the trunk. |
| |
Actually there are two kinds of knowledge. |
| |
One who knows the Dhamma doesnât simply speak from memory, |
| |
he speaks the truth. |
| |
Worldly people usually speak with conceit. |
| |
For example, suppose there were two people who hadnât seen each other for a long time, |
| |
maybe they had gone to live in different provinces or countries for a while, |
| |
and then one day they happened to meet on the train, |
| |
âOh! |
| |
What a surprise. |
| |
I was just thinking of looking you up!â |
| |
Perhaps itâs not true. |
| |
Really they hadnât thought of each other at all, |
| |
but they say so out of excitement. |
| |
And so it becomes a lie. |
| |
Yes, itâs lying out of heedlessness. |
| |
This is lying without knowing it. |
| |
Itâs a subtle form of defilement, and it happens very often. |
| |
So with regard to the mind, Tuccho Pothila followed the instructions of the novice: breathing in, |
| |
breathing out, mindfully aware of each breath, |
| |
until he saw the liar within him, the lying of his own mind. |
| |
He saw the defilements as they came up, |
| |
just like the lizard coming out of the termite mound. |
| |
He saw them and perceived their true nature as soon as they arose. |
| |
He noticed how one minute the mind would concoct one thing, |
| |
the next moment something else. |
| |
Thinking is a sankhata dhamma, something which is created or concocted from supporting conditions. |
| |
Itâs not asankhata dhamma, the unconditioned. |
| |
The well-trained mind, one with perfect awareness, |
| |
does not concoct mental states. |
| |
This kind of mind penetrates to the Noble Truths and transcends any need to depend on externals. |
| |
To know the Noble Truths is to know the truth. |
| |
The proliferating mind tries to avoid this truth, |
| |
saying, âthatâs goodâ or âthis is beautifulâ, |
| |
but if there is Buddho in the mind it can no longer deceive us, |
| |
because we know the mind as it is. |
| |
The mind can no longer create deluded mental states, |
| |
because there is the clear awareness that all mental states are unstable, |
| |
imperfect, and a source of suffering to one who clings to them. |
| |
For Tuccho Pothila, âthe one who knowsâ was constantly in his mind, |
| |
wherever he went. |
| |
He observed the various creations and proliferation of the mind with understanding. |
| |
He saw how the mind lied in so many ways. |
| |
He grasped the essence of the practice, |
| |
seeing that âThis lying mind is the one to watch - this is the |
| |
one which leads us into extremes of happiness and suffering and |
| |
causes us to endlessly spin around in the cycle of âsamsÄraâ, |
| |
with its pleasure and pain, good and evil - all because of this lying mind.â |
| |
Tuccho Pothila realized the truth, and grasped the essence of the practice, |
| |
just like a man grasping the tail of the lizard. |
| |
He saw the workings of the deluded mind. |
| |
For us itâs the same. |
| |
Only this mind is important. |
| |
Thatâs why we need to train the mind. |
| |
Now if the mind is the mind, what are we going to train it with? |
| |
By having continuous sati and sampajañña we will be able to know the mind. |
| |
This one who knows is a step beyond the mind, |
| |
it is that which knows the state of the mind. |
| |
The mind is the mind. |
| |
That which knows the mind as simply mind is the one who knows. |
| |
It is above the mind. |
| |
The one who knows is above the mind, and that is how it is able to look after the mind, |
| |
to teach the mind to know what is right and what is wrong. |
| |
In the end everything comes back to this proliferating mind. |
| |
If the mind is caught up in its proliferations there is no awareness and the practice is fruitless. |
| |
So we must train this mind to hear the Dhamma, |
| |
to cultivate the Buddho, the clear and radiant awareness; that which exists above and beyond the ordinary mind, |
| |
and knows all that goes on within it. |
| |
This is why we meditate on the word Buddho, |
| |
so that we can know the mind beyond the mind. |
| |
Just observe all the mindâs movements, |
| |
whether good or bad, until the one who knows realizes that the mind is simply mind, |
| |
not a self or a person. |
| |
This is called cittÄnupassanÄ, contemplation of mind.2 Seeing in this way we will understand that the mind is transient, |
| |
imperfect and ownerless. |
| |
This mind doesnât belong to us. |
| |
We can summarize thus: the mind is that which acknowledges sense |
| |
objects; sense objects are sense objects as distinct from the |
| |
mind; âthe one who knowsâ knows both the mind and the sense objects for what they are. |
| |
We must use sati to constantly cleanse the mind. |
| |
Everybody has sati, even a cat has it when itâs going to catch a mouse. |
| |
A dog has it when it barks at people. |
| |
This is a form of sati, but itâs not sati according to the Dhamma. |
| |
Everybody has sati, but there are different levels of it, |
| |
just as there are different levels of looking at things. |
| |
For instance, when I say to contemplate the body, |
| |
some people say, âWhat is there to contemplate in the body? |
| |
Anybody can see it. |
| |
KesÄ we can see already, lomÄ we can see already, |
| |
hair, nails, teeth and skin we can see already. |
| |
So what?â |
| |
This is how people are. |
| |
They can see the body all right but their seeing is faulty, |
| |
they donât see with the Buddho, âthe one who knowsâ, |
| |
the awakened one. |
| |
They only see the body in the ordinary way, |
| |
they see it visually. |
| |
Simply to see the body is not enough. |
| |
If we only see the body there is trouble. |
| |
You must see the body within the body, |
| |
then things become much clearer. |
| |
Just seeing the body you get fooled by it, |
| |
charmed by its appearance. |
| |
Not seeing transience, imperfection and ownerlessness, |
| |
kÄmachanda arises. |
| |
You become fascinated by forms, sounds, |
| |
odours, flavours and feelings. |
| |
Seeing in this way is to see with the mundane eye of the flesh, |
| |
causing you to love and hate and discriminate into pleasant and unpleasant feeling. |
| |
The Buddha taught that this is not enough. |
| |
You must see with the âmindâs eyeâ. |
| |
See the body within the body. |
| |
If you really look into the body, Ugh! |
| |
Itâs so repulsive. |
| |
There are todayâs things and yesterdayâs things all mixed up in there, |
| |
you canât tell whatâs what. |
| |
Seeing in this way is much clearer than to see with the carnal eye. |
| |
Contemplate, see with the eye of the mind, |
| |
with the wisdom eye. |
| |
People understand this in different ways. |
| |
Some people donât know what there is to contemplate in the five meditations, |
| |
head hair, body hair, nails, teeth and skin. |
| |
They say they can see all those things already, |
| |
but they can only see them with the carnal eye, |
| |
with this âcrazy eyeâ which only looks at the things it wants to look at. |
| |
To see the body in the body you have to look more clearly. |
| |
This is the practice that can uproot clinging to the five khandhas. |
| |
To uproot attachment is to uproot suffering, |
| |
because attachment to the five khandhas is the cause of suffering. |
| |
If suffering arises it is here. |
| |
Itâs not that the five khandhas are in themselves suffering, |
| |
but the clinging to them as being oneâs own, |
| |
thatâs suffering. |
| |
If you see the truth of these things clearly through meditation practice, |
| |
then suffering becomes unwound, like a screw or a bolt. |
| |
When the bolt is unwound, it withdraws. |
| |
The mind unwinds in the same way, letting go; withdrawing from the obsession with good and evil, |
| |
possessions, praise and status, happiness and suffering. |
| |
If we donât know the truth of these things itâs like tightening the screw all the time. |
| |
It gets tighter and tighter until itâs crushing you and you suffer over everything. |
| |
When you know how things are then you unwind the screw. |
| |
In Dhamma language we call this the arising of nibbidÄ, |
| |
disenchantment. |
| |
You become weary of things and lay down the fascination with them. |
| |
If you unwind in this way you will find peace. |
| |
The cause of suffering is clinging to things. |
| |
So we should get rid of the cause, cut off its root and not allow it to cause suffering again. |
| |
People have only one problem - the problem of clinging. |
| |
Just because of this one thing people will kill each other. |
| |
All problems, be they individual, family or social, |
| |
arise from this one root. |
| |
Nobody wins, they kill each other but in the end no-one gets anything. |
| |
It is all pointless, I donât know why people keep on killing each other. |
| |
Power, possessions, status, praise, happiness and suffering - these are the worldly dhammas. |
| |
These worldly dhammas engulf worldly beings. |
| |
Worldly beings are led around by the worldly dhammas: gain and loss, |
| |
acclaim and slander, status and loss of status, |
| |
happiness and suffering. |
| |
These dhammas are trouble makers; if you donât reflect on their true nature you will suffer. |
| |
People even commit murder for the sake of wealth, |
| |
status or power. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because they take this too seriously. |
| |
They get appointed to some position and it goes to their heads, |
| |
like the man who became headman of the village. |
| |
After his appointment he became âpower-drunkâ. |
| |
If any of his old friends came to see him heâd say, |
| |
âDonât come around so often. |
| |
Things arenât the same anymore.â |
| |
The Buddha taught us to understand the nature of possessions, |
| |
status, praise and happiness. |
| |
Take these things as they come but let them be. |
| |
Donât let them go to your head. |
| |
If you donât really understand these things, |
| |
you become fooled by your power, your children and relatives, |
| |
by everything! |
| |
If you understand them clearly, you know theyâre all impermanent conditions. |
| |
If you cling to them, they become defiled. |
| |
All of these things arise afterwards. |
| |
When people are first born there are simply nÄma and rĆ«pa, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
We add on the business of âMr. |
| |
Jonesâ, âMiss Smithâ or whatever later on. |
| |
This is done according to convention. |
| |
Still later there are the appendages of âColonelâ, |
| |
âGeneralâ and so on. |
| |
If we donât really understand these things we think they are real and carry them around with us. |
| |
We carry possessions, status, name and rank around. |
| |
If you have power you can call all the tunes ... |
| |
âTake this one and execute him. |
| |
Take that one and throw him in jail.â |
| |
Rank gives power. |
| |
Clinging takes hold here at this word, |
| |
ârankâ. |
| |
As soon as people have rank they start giving orders; right or wrong, |
| |
they just act on their moods. |
| |
So they go on making the same old mistakes, |
| |
deviating further and further from the true path. |
| |
One who understands the Dhamma wonât behave like this. |
| |
Good and evil have been in the world since who knows when. |
| |
If possessions and status come your way, |
| |
then let them simply be possessions and status - donât let them become your identity. |
| |
Just use them to fulfil your obligations and leave it at that. |
| |
You remain unchanged. |
| |
If we have meditated on these things, |
| |
no matter what comes our way we will not be mislead by it. |
| |
We will be untroubled, unaffected and constant. |
| |
Everything is pretty much the same, after all. |
| |
This is how the Buddha wanted us to understand things. |
| |
No matter what you receive, the mind does not add anything to it. |
| |
They appoint you a city councillor, âOkay, |
| |
so Iâm a city councillor, but Iâm not.â |
| |
They appoint you head of the group, âSure I am, |
| |
but Iâm not.â |
| |
Whatever they make of you, âYes I am, |
| |
but Iâm not!â |
| |
In the end what are we anyway? |
| |
We all just die in the end. |
| |
No matter what they make you, in the end itâs all the same. |
| |
What can you say? |
| |
If you can see things in this way you will have a solid abiding and true contentment. |
| |
Nothing is changed. |
| |
Donât be fooled by things. |
| |
Whatever comes your way, itâs just conditions. |
| |
Thereâs nothing which can entice a mind like this to create or proliferate, |
| |
to seduce it into greed, aversion or delusion. |
| |
This is what it is to be a true supporter of Buddhism. |
| |
Whether you are among those who are being supported (i.e., |
| |
the Sangha) or those who are supporting (the laity) please consider this thoroughly. |
| |
Cultivate the sīla-dhamma within you. |
| |
This is the surest way to support Buddhism. |
| |
To support Buddhism with the offerings of food, |
| |
shelter and medicine is good also, but such offerings only reach the âsapwoodâ of Buddhism. |
| |
Please donât forget this. |
| |
A tree has bark, sapwood and heartwood, |
| |
and these three parts are interdependent. |
| |
The heartwood must rely on the bark and the sapwood. |
| |
The sapwood relies on the bark and the heartwood. |
| |
They all exist interdependently, just like the teachings of moral discipline, |
| |
concentration and wisdom.3 The teaching on moral discipline is to establish your speech and actions in rectitude. |
| |
The teaching on concentration is to firmly fix the mind. |
| |
The teaching on wisdom is the thorough understanding of the nature of all conditions. |
| |
Study this, practise this, and you will understand Buddhism in the most profound way. |
| |
If you donât realize these things, you will be fooled by possessions, |
| |
fooled by rank, fooled by anything you come into contact with. |
| |
Simply supporting Buddhism in the external way will never put an end to the fighting and squabbling, |
| |
the grudges and animosity, the stabbing and shooting. |
| |
If these things are to cease we must reflect on the nature of possessions, |
| |
rank, praise, happiness and suffering. |
| |
We must consider our lives and bring them in line with the teaching. |
| |
We should reflect that all beings in the world are part of one whole. |
| |
We are like them, they are like us. |
| |
They have happiness and suffering just like we do. |
| |
Itâs all much the same. |
| |
If we reflect in this way, peace and understanding will arise. |
| |
This is the foundation of Buddhism. |
| |
1: Literally: knowledge and insight (into the Four Noble Truths). |
| |
2: One of the four foundations of mindfulness: body, |
| |
feeling, mind, and dhammas. |
| |
3: SÄ«la, samÄdhi, paññÄ. |
| |
* * * |
| |
When the group of five ascetics1 abandoned the Buddha, |
| |
he saw it as a stroke of luck, because he would be able to continue his practice unhindered. |
| |
With the five ascetics living with him, |
| |
things werenât so peaceful, he had responsibilities. |
| |
And now the five ascetics had abandoned him because they felt |
| |
that he had slackened his practice and reverted to indulgence. |
| |
Previously he had been intent on his ascetic practices and self-mortification. |
| |
In regards to eating, sleeping and so on, |
| |
he had tormented himself severely, but it came to a point where, |
| |
looking into it honestly, he saw that such practices just werenât working. |
| |
It was simply a matter of views, practising out of pride and clinging. |
| |
He had mistaken worldly values and mistaken himself for the truth. |
| |
For example, if one decides to throw oneself into ascetic practices |
| |
with the intention of gaining praise - this kind of practice is all âworld-inspiredâ, |
| |
practising for adulation and fame. |
| |
Practising with this kind of intention is called âmistaking worldly ways for truthâ. |
| |
Another way to practise is âto mistake oneâs own views for truthâ. |
| |
You only believe in yourself, in your own practice. |
| |
No matter what others say you stick to your own preferences. |
| |
You donât carefully consider the practice. |
| |
This is called âmistaking oneself for truthâ. |
| |
Whether you take the world or take yourself to be truth, |
| |
itâs all simply blind attachment. |
| |
The Buddha saw this, and saw that there was no âadhering to the Dhammaâ, |
| |
practising for the truth. |
| |
So his practice had been fruitless, he still hadnât given up defilements. |
| |
Then he turned around and reconsidered all the work he had put |
| |
into practice right from the beginning in terms of results. |
| |
What were the results of all that practice? |
| |
Looking deeply into it he saw that it just wasnât right. |
| |
It was full of conceit, and full of the world. |
| |
There was no Dhamma, no insight into not-self, |
| |
anattÄ, no emptiness or letting go. |
| |
There may have been letting go of a kind, |
| |
but it was the kind that still hadnât let go. |
| |
Looking carefully at the situation, the Buddha saw that even |
| |
if he were to explain these things to the five ascetics they wouldnât be able to understand. |
| |
It wasnât something he could easily convey to them, |
| |
because those ascetics were still firmly entrenched in the old way of practice and seeing things. |
| |
The Buddha saw that you could practise like that until your dying day, |
| |
maybe even starve to death, and achieve nothing, |
| |
because such practice is inspired by worldly values and by pride. |
| |
Considering deeply, he saw the right practice, |
| |
sammÄ-patipadÄ: the mind is the mind, |
| |
the body is the body. |
| |
The body isnât desire or defilement. |
| |
Even if you were to destroy the body you wouldnât destroy defilements. |
| |
Thatâs not their source. |
| |
Even fasting and going without sleep until the body was a shrivelled-up wraith wouldnât exhaust the defilements. |
| |
But the belief that defilements could be dispelled in that way, |
| |
the teaching of self-mortification, |
| |
was deeply ingrained into the five ascetics. |
| |
The Buddha then began to take more food, |
| |
eating as normal, practising in a more natural way. |
| |
When the five ascetics saw the change in the Buddhaâs practice |
| |
they figured that he had given up and reverted to sensual indulgence. |
| |
One personâs understanding was shifting to a higher level, |
| |
transcending appearances, while the other saw that that personâs view was sliding downwards, |
| |
reverting to comfort. |
| |
Self-mortification was deeply ingrained into the minds of the |
| |
five ascetics because the Buddha had previously taught and practised like that. |
| |
Now he saw the fault in it. |
| |
By seeing the fault in it clearly, he was able to let it go. |
| |
When the five ascetics saw the Buddha doing this they left him, |
| |
feeling that because he was practising wrongly they would no longer follow him. |
| |
Just as birds abandon a tree which no longer offers sufficient shade, |
| |
or fish leave a pool of water that is too small, |
| |
too dirty or not cool, just so did the five ascetics abandon the Buddha. |
| |
So now the Buddha concentrated on contemplating the Dhamma. |
| |
He ate more comfortably and lived more naturally. |
| |
He let the mind be simply the mind, the body simply the body. |
| |
He didnât force his practice in excess, |
| |
just enough to loosen the grip of greed, |
| |
aversion, and delusion. |
| |
Previously he had walked the two extremes: kÄmasukhallikÄnuyogo |
| |
- if happiness or love arose he would be aroused and attach to them. |
| |
He would identify with them and he wouldnât let go. |
| |
If he encountered pleasantness he would stick to that, |
| |
if he encountered suffering he would stick to that. |
| |
These two extremes he called kÄmasukhallikÄnuyogo and attakilamathÄnuyogo. |
| |
The Buddha had been stuck on conditions. |
| |
He saw clearly that these two ways are not the way for a samana. |
| |
Clinging to happiness, clinging to suffering: a samana is not like this. |
| |
To cling to those things is not the way. |
| |
Clinging to those things he was stuck in the views of self and the world. |
| |
If he were to flounder in these two ways he would never become one who clearly knew the world. |
| |
He would be constantly running from one extreme to the other. |
| |
Now the Buddha fixed his attention on the mind itself and concerned himself with training that. |
| |
All facets of nature proceed according to their supporting conditions; they arenât any problem in themselves. |
| |
For instance, illnesses in the body. |
| |
The body experiences pain, sickness, fever and colds and so on. |
| |
These all naturally occur. |
| |
Actually people worry about their bodies too much. |
| |
They worry about and cling to their bodies so much because of wrong view, |
| |
they canât let go. |
| |
Look at this hall here. |
| |
We build the hall and say itâs ours, but lizards come and live here, |
| |
rats and geckos come and live here, |
| |
and we are always driving them away, |
| |
because we see that the hall belongs to us, |
| |
not the rats and lizards. |
| |
Itâs the same with illnesses in the body. |
| |
We take this body to be our home, something that really belongs to us. |
| |
If we happen to get a headache or stomach-ache we get upset, |
| |
we donât want the pain and suffering. |
| |
These legs are âour legsâ, we donât want them to hurt, |
| |
these arms are âour armsâ, we donât want anything to go wrong with them. |
| |
Weâve got to cure all pains and illnesses at all costs. |
| |
This is where we are fooled and stray from the truth. |
| |
We are simply visitors to this body. |
| |
Just like this hall here, itâs not really ours. |
| |
We are simply temporary tenants, like the rats, |
| |
lizards and geckos - but we donât know this. |
| |
This body is the same. |
| |
Actually the Buddha taught that there is no abiding self within this body, |
| |
but we go and grasp on to it as being our self, |
| |
as really being âusâ and âthemâ. |
| |
When the body changes we donât want it to do so. |
| |
No matter how much we are told, we donât understand. |
| |
If I say it straight you get even more fooled. |
| |
âThis isnât yourself,â I say, and you go even more astray, |
| |
you get even more confused and your practice just reinforces the self. |
| |
So most people donât really see the self. |
| |
One who sees the self is one who sees that âthis is neither the self nor belonging to selfâ. |
| |
He sees the self as it is in nature. |
| |
Seeing the self through the power of clinging is not real seeing. |
| |
Clinging interferes with the whole business. |
| |
Itâs not easy to realize this body as it is because upÄdÄna clings fast to it all. |
| |
Therefore it is said that we must investigate to clearly know with wisdom. |
| |
This means to investigate the sankhÄrÄ according to their true nature, |
| |
use wisdom. |
| |
Knowing the true nature of sankhÄrÄ is wisdom. |
| |
If you donât know the true nature of sankhÄrÄ you are at odds with them, |
| |
always resisting them. |
| |
Now, it is better to let go of the sankhÄrÄ than to try to oppose or resist them. |
| |
And yet we plead with them to comply with our wishes. |
| |
We look for all sorts of means to organize them or âmake a dealâ with them. |
| |
If the body gets sick and is in pain we donât want it to be, |
| |
so we look for various suttas to chant, |
| |
such as Bojjhango, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, |
| |
the Anattalakkhana Sutta and so on. |
| |
We donât want the body to be in pain, |
| |
we want to protect it, control it. |
| |
These suttas become some form of mystical ceremony, |
| |
getting us even more entangled in clinging. |
| |
This is because they chant them in order to ward off illness, |
| |
to prolong life and so on. |
| |
Actually the Buddha gave us these teachings in order to see clearly, |
| |
but we end up chanting them to increase our delusion. |
| |
RĆ«pam aniccam, vedanÄ aniccÄ, saĂ±Ă±Ä aniccÄ, |
| |
sankhÄrÄ aniccÄ, viññÄnam aniccam.2 We donât chant these words for increasing our delusion. |
| |
They are recollections to help us know the truth of the body, |
| |
so that we can let it go and give up our longing. |
| |
This is called chanting to cut things down, |
| |
but we tend to chant in order to extend them all, |
| |
or if we feel theyâre too long we try chanting to shorten them, |
| |
to force nature to conform to our wishes. |
| |
Itâs all delusion. |
| |
All the people sitting there in the hall are deluded, |
| |
every one of them. |
| |
The ones chanting are deluded, the ones listening are deluded, |
| |
theyâre all deluded! |
| |
All they can think is, âHow can we avoid suffering?â |
| |
When are they ever going to practise? |
| |
Whenever illnesses arise, those who know see nothing strange about it. |
| |
Getting born into this world entails experiencing illness. |
| |
However, even the Buddha and the Noble Ones, |
| |
contracting illness in the course of things, |
| |
would also, in the course of things, |
| |
treat it with medicine. |
| |
For them it was simply a matter of correcting the elements. |
| |
They didnât blindly cling to the body or grasp at mystic ceremonies and such. |
| |
They treated illnesses with right view, |
| |
they didnât treat them with delusion. |
| |
âIf it heals, it heals, if it doesnât then it doesnâtâ - thatâs how they saw things. |
| |
They say that nowadays Buddhism in Thailand is thriving, |
| |
but it looks to me like itâs sunk almost as far as it can go. |
| |
The Dhamma Halls are full of attentive ears, |
| |
but theyâre attending wrongly. |
| |
Even the senior members of the community are like this; so everybody just leads each other into more delusion. |
| |
One who sees this will know that the true practice is almost |
| |
opposite from where most people are going; the two sides can barely understand each other. |
| |
How are those people going to transcend suffering? |
| |
They have chants for realizing the truth but they turn around and use them to increase their delusion. |
| |
They turn their backs on the right path. |
| |
One goes eastward, the other goes west - how are they ever going to meet? |
| |
Theyâre not even close to each other. |
| |
If you have looked into this you will see that this is the case. |
| |
Most people are lost. |
| |
But how can you tell them? |
| |
Everything has become rites and rituals and mystic ceremonies. |
| |
They chant but they chant with foolishness, |
| |
they donât chant with wisdom. |
| |
They study, but they study with foolishness, |
| |
not with wisdom. |
| |
They know, but they know foolishly, not with wisdom. |
| |
So they end up going with foolishness, |
| |
living with foolishness, knowing with foolishness. |
| |
Thatâs how it is. |
| |
And regarding teaching, all they do these days is teach people to be stupid. |
| |
They say theyâre teaching people to be clever, |
| |
giving them knowledge, but when you look at it in terms of truth, |
| |
you see that theyâre really teaching people to go astray and grasp at deceptions. |
| |
The real foundation of the teaching is in order to see attÄ, |
| |
the sense of self, as being empty, having no fixed identity. |
| |
Itâs void of intrinsic being. |
| |
But people come to the study of Dhamma to increase their self-view; |
| |
they donât want to experience suffering or difficulty. |
| |
They want everything to be cosy. |
| |
They may want to transcend suffering, |
| |
but if there is still a self how can they ever do so? |
| |
Suppose we came to possess a very expensive object. |
| |
The minute that thing comes into our possession our mind changes. |
| |
âNow, where can I keep it? |
| |
If I leave it there somebody might steal it.â |
| |
We worry ourselves into a state, trying to find a place to keep it. |
| |
And when did the mind change? |
| |
It changed the minute we obtained that object - suffering arose right then. |
| |
No matter where we leave that object we canât relax, |
| |
so weâre left with trouble. |
| |
Whether sitting, walking, or lying down, |
| |
we are lost in worry. |
| |
This is suffering. |
| |
And when did it arise? |
| |
It arose as soon as we understood that we had obtained something, |
| |
thatâs where the suffering lies. |
| |
Before we had that object there was no suffering. |
| |
It hadnât yet arisen because there wasnât yet an object for us to cling to. |
| |
AttÄ, the self, is the same. |
| |
If we think in terms of âmy selfâ, then everything around us becomes âmineâ. |
| |
Confusion follows. |
| |
Why so? |
| |
The cause of it all is that there is a self; we donât peel off the apparent in order to see the transcendent. |
| |
You see, the self is only an appearance. |
| |
You have to peel away the appearances in order to see the heart of the matter, |
| |
which is transcendence. |
| |
Upturn the apparent to find the transcendent. |
| |
You could compare it to unthreshed rice. |
| |
Can unthreshed rice be eaten? |
| |
Sure it can, but you must thresh it first. |
| |
Get rid of the husks and you will find the grain inside. |
| |
Now if we donât thresh the husks we wonât find the grain. |
| |
Like a dog sleeping on the pile of unthreshed grain. |
| |
Its stomach is rumbling âjork-jork-jork,â but all it can do is lie there, |
| |
thinking, âWhere can I get something to eat?â |
| |
When itâs hungry it bounds off the pile of rice grain and runs off looking for scraps of food. |
| |
Even though itâs sleeping right on top of a pile of food it knows nothing of it. |
| |
Why? |
| |
It canât see the rice. |
| |
Dogs canât eat unthreshed rice. |
| |
The food is there but the dog canât eat it. |
| |
We may have learning but if we donât practise accordingly we |
| |
still donât really know; we are just as oblivious as the dog sleeping on the pile of rice grain. |
| |
Itâs sleeping on a pile of food but it knows nothing of it. |
| |
When it gets hungry itâs got to jump off and go trotting around elsewhere for food. |
| |
Itâs a shame, isnât it? |
| |
There is rice grain but what is hiding it? |
| |
The husk hides the grain, so the dog canât eat it. |
| |
And there is the transcendent. |
| |
What hides it? |
| |
The apparent conceals the transcendent, |
| |
making people simply âsit on top of the pile of rice, |
| |
unable to eat it,â unable to practise, |
| |
unable to see the transcendent. |
| |
And so they simply get stuck in appearances time and again. |
| |
If you are stuck in appearances, suffering is in store. |
| |
You will be beset by becoming, birth, |
| |
old age, sickness and death. |
| |
So there isnât anything else blocking people off, |
| |
they are blocked right here. |
| |
People who study the Dhamma without penetrating to its true meaning |
| |
are just like the dog on the pile of unthreshed rice who doesnât know the rice. |
| |
He might even starve and still find nothing to eat. |
| |
A dog canât eat unthreshed rice, it doesnât even know there is food there. |
| |
After a long time without food it may even die, |
| |
on top of that pile of rice! |
| |
People are like this. |
| |
No matter how much we study the Dhamma of the Buddha we wonât see it if we donât practise. |
| |
If we donât see it, then we donât know it. |
| |
Donât go thinking that by learning a lot and knowing a lot youâll know the Buddha Dhamma. |
| |
Thatâs like saying youâve seen everything there is to see just because youâve got eyes, |
| |
or that youâve got ears. |
| |
You may see but you donât see fully. |
| |
You see only with the âouter eyeâ, not with the âinner eyeâ; you hear with the âouter earâ, |
| |
not with the âinner earâ. |
| |
If you upturn the apparent and reveal the transcendent, |
| |
you will reach the truth and see clearly. |
| |
You will uproot the apparent and uproot clinging. |
| |
But this is like some sort of sweet fruit: even though the fruit |
| |
is sweet we must rely on contact with and experience of that fruit before we will know what the taste is like. |
| |
Now that fruit, even though no-one tastes it, |
| |
is sweet all the same. |
| |
But nobody knows of it. |
| |
The Dhamma of the Buddha is like this. |
| |
Even though itâs the truth it isnât true for those who donât really know it. |
| |
No matter how excellent or fine it may be it is worthless to them. |
| |
So why do people grab after suffering? |
| |
Who in this world wants to inflict suffering on themselves? |
| |
No one, of course. |
| |
Nobody wants suffering and yet people keep creating the causes of suffering, |
| |
just as if they were wandering around looking for suffering. |
| |
Within their hearts people are looking for happiness, |
| |
they donât want suffering. |
| |
Then why is it that this mind of ours creates so much suffering? |
| |
Just seeing this much is enough. |
| |
We donât like suffering and yet why do we create suffering for ourselves? |
| |
Itâs easy to see, it can only be because we donât know suffering, |
| |
we donât know the end of suffering. |
| |
Thatâs why people behave the way they do. |
| |
How could they not suffer when they continue to behave in this way? |
| |
These people have micchÄ-ditthi3 but they donât see that itâs micchÄ-ditthi. |
| |
Whatever we say, believe in or do which results in suffering is all wrong view. |
| |
If it wasnât wrong view it wouldnât result in suffering; we couldnât cling to suffering, |
| |
nor to happiness or to any condition at all. |
| |
We would leave things be their natural way, |
| |
like a flowing stream of water. |
| |
We donât have to dam it up, we should just let it flow along its natural course. |
| |
The flow of Dhamma is like this, but the flow of the ignorant mind tries to resist the Dhamma in the form of wrong view. |
| |
Suffering is there because of wrong view - this people donât see. |
| |
This is worth looking into. |
| |
Whenever we have wrong view we will experience suffering. |
| |
If we donât experience it in the present it will manifest later on. |
| |
People go astray right here. |
| |
What is blocking them off? |
| |
The apparent blocks off the transcendent, |
| |
preventing people from seeing things clearly. |
| |
People study, they learn, they practise, |
| |
but they practise with ignorance, just like a person whoâs lost his bearings. |
| |
He walks to the west but thinks heâs walking east, |
| |
or walks to the north thinking heâs walking south. |
| |
This is how far people have gone astray. |
| |
This kind of practice is really only the dregs of practice, |
| |
in fact itâs a disaster. |
| |
Itâs a disaster because they turn around and go in the opposite direction, |
| |
they fall from the objective of true Dhamma practice. |
| |
This state of affairs causes suffering and yet people think that doing this, |
| |
memorizing that, studying such-and-such will be a cause for the cessation of suffering. |
| |
Just like a person who wants a lot of things. |
| |
He tries to amass as much as possible, |
| |
thinking if he gets enough his suffering will abate. |
| |
This is how people think, but their thinking goes astray of the true path, |
| |
just like one person going northward, |
| |
another going southward, and yet both believing theyâre going the same way. |
| |
Most people are still stuck in the mass of suffering, |
| |
still wandering in samsÄra, just because they think like this. |
| |
If illness or pain arise, all they can do is wonder how they can get rid of it. |
| |
They want it to stop as fast as possible, |
| |
theyâve got to cure it at all costs. |
| |
They donât consider that this is the normal way of sankhÄrÄ. |
| |
Nobody thinks like this. |
| |
The body changes and people canât endure it, |
| |
they canât accept it, theyâve got to get rid of it at all costs. |
| |
However, in the end they canât win, they canât beat the truth. |
| |
It all collapses. |
| |
This is something people donât want to look at, |
| |
they continually reinforce their wrong view. |
| |
Practising to realize the Dhamma is the most excellent of things. |
| |
Why did the Buddha develop all the Perfections? |
| |
So that he could realize this and enable others to see the Dhamma, |
| |
know the Dhamma, practise the Dhamma and be the Dhamma - so that they could let go and not be burdened. |
| |
âDonât cling to things.â |
| |
Or to put it another way: âHold, but donât hold fast.â |
| |
This is also right. |
| |
If we see something we pick it up, âoh, |
| |
itâs thisâ; then we lay it down. |
| |
We see something else, pick it up and hold it, |
| |
but not fast. |
| |
We hold it just long enough to consider it, |
| |
to know it, then to let it go. |
| |
If you hold without letting go, carry without laying down the burden, |
| |
then you are going to be heavy. |
| |
If you pick something up and carry it for a while, |
| |
then when it gets heavy you should lay it down, |
| |
throw it off. |
| |
Donât make suffering for yourself. |
| |
This we should know as the cause of suffering. |
| |
If we know the cause of suffering, suffering can not arise. |
| |
For either happiness or suffering to arise there must be the attÄ, |
| |
the self. |
| |
There must be the âIâ and âmineâ, there must be this appearance. |
| |
If when all these things arise the mind goes straight to the transcendent, |
| |
it removes the appearances. |
| |
It removes the delight, the aversion and the clinging from those things. |
| |
Just as when something that we value gets lost, |
| |
when we find it again our worries disappear. |
| |
Even before we see that object our worries may be relieved. |
| |
At first we think itâs lost and suffer over it, |
| |
but there comes a day when we suddenly remember, |
| |
âOh, thatâs right! |
| |
I put it over there, now I remember!â |
| |
As soon as we remember this, as soon as we see the truth, |
| |
even if we havenât laid eyes on that object, |
| |
we feel happy. |
| |
This is called âseeing withinâ, seeing with the mindâs eye, |
| |
not seeing with the outer eye. |
| |
If we see with the mindâs eye then even though we havenât laid eyes on that object we are already relieved. |
| |
Similarly, when we cultivate Dhamma practice and attain the Dhamma, |
| |
see the Dhamma, then whenever we encounter a problem we solve the problem instantly, |
| |
right then and there. |
| |
It disappears completely, it is laid down, |
| |
released. |
| |
The Buddha wanted us to contact the Dhamma, |
| |
but people only contact the words, the books and the scriptures. |
| |
This is contacting that which is about Dhamma, |
| |
not contacting the actual Dhamma as taught by our great teacher. |
| |
How can people say they are practising well and properly? |
| |
They are a long way off. |
| |
The Buddha was known as lokavidƫ, having clearly realized the world. |
| |
Right now we see the world all right, |
| |
but not clearly. |
| |
The more we know the darker the world becomes, |
| |
because our knowledge is murky, itâs not clear knowledge. |
| |
Itâs faulty. |
| |
This is called âknowing through darknessâ, |
| |
lacking in light and radiance. |
| |
People are only stuck here but itâs no trifling matter. |
| |
Itâs important. |
| |
Most people want goodness and happiness but they just donât know what the causes for that goodness and happiness are. |
| |
Whatever it may be, if we havenât yet seen the harm of it we canât give it up. |
| |
No matter how bad it may be, we still canât give it up if we havenât truly seen the harm of it. |
| |
However, if we really see the harm of something beyond a doubt, |
| |
then we can let it go. |
| |
As soon as we see the harm of something, |
| |
and the benefit of giving it up, thereâs an immediate change. |
| |
Why is it we are still unattained, still can not let go? |
| |
Itâs because we still donât see the harm clearly, |
| |
our knowledge is faulty, itâs dark. |
| |
Thatâs why we canât let go. |
| |
If we knew clearly like the Lord Buddha or the arahant disciples we would surely let go, |
| |
our problems would dissolve completely with no difficulty at all. |
| |
When your ears hear sound, let them do their job. |
| |
When your eyes perform their function with forms, |
| |
let them do so. |
| |
When your nose works with smells, let it do its job. |
| |
When your body experiences sensations, |
| |
then it perform its natural functions. |
| |
Where will problems arise? |
| |
There are no problems. |
| |
In the same way, all those things which belong to the apparent, |
| |
leave them with the apparent and acknowledge that which is the transcendent. |
| |
Simply be the âone who knowsâ, knowing without fixation, |
| |
knowing and letting things be their natural way. |
| |
All things are just as they are. |
| |
All our belongings, does anybody really own them? |
| |
Does our father own them, or our mother, |
| |
or our relatives? |
| |
Nobody really gets anything. |
| |
Thatâs why the Buddha said to let all those things be, |
| |
let them go. |
| |
Know them clearly. |
| |
Know them by holding, but not fast. |
| |
Use things in a way that is beneficial, |
| |
not in a harmful way by holding fast to them until suffering arises. |
| |
To know Dhamma you must know in this way. |
| |
That is, to know in such a way as to transcend suffering. |
| |
This sort of knowledge is important. |
| |
Knowing about how to make things, to use tools, |
| |
knowing all the various sciences of the world and so on, |
| |
all have their place, but they are not the supreme knowledge. |
| |
The Dhamma must be known as Iâve explained it here. |
| |
You donât have to know a whole lot, just this much is enough for the Dhamma practitioner - to know and then let go. |
| |
Itâs not that you have to die before you can transcend suffering, |
| |
you know. |
| |
You transcend suffering in this very life because you know how to solve problems. |
| |
You know the apparent, you know the transcendent. |
| |
Do it in this lifetime, while you are here practising. |
| |
You wonât find it anywhere else. |
| |
Donât cling to things. |
| |
Hold, but donât cling. |
| |
You may wonder, âWhy does the Ajahn keep saying this?â |
| |
How could I teach otherwise, how could I say otherwise, |
| |
when the truth is just as Iâve said it? |
| |
Even though itâs the truth donât hold fast to even that! |
| |
If you cling to it blindly it becomes a falsehood. |
| |
Like a dog if you grab its leg. |
| |
If you donât let go the dog will spin around and bite you. |
| |
Just try it out. |
| |
All animals behave like this. |
| |
If you donât let go itâs got no choice but to bite. |
| |
The apparent is the same. |
| |
We live in accordance with conventions. |
| |
They are here for our convenience in this life, |
| |
but they are not things to be clung to so hard that they cause suffering. |
| |
Just let things pass. |
| |
Whenever we feel that we are definitely right, |
| |
so much so that we refuse to open up to anything or anybody else, |
| |
right there we are wrong. |
| |
It becomes wrong view. |
| |
When suffering arises, where does it arise from? |
| |
The cause is wrong view, the fruit of that being suffering. |
| |
If it was right view it wouldnât cause suffering. |
| |
So I say, âAllow space, donât cling to things.â |
| |
âRightâ is just another supposition; just let it pass. |
| |
âWrongâ is another apparent condition; just let it be that. |
| |
If you feel you are right and yet others contend the issue, |
| |
donât argue, just let it go. |
| |
As soon as you know, let go. |
| |
This is the straight way. |
| |
Usually itâs not like this. |
| |
People donât often give in to each other. |
| |
Thatâs why some people, even Dhamma practitioners who still donât know themselves, |
| |
may say things that are utter foolishness and yet think theyâre being wise. |
| |
They may say something thatâs so stupid that others canât even |
| |
bear to listen and yet they think they are being cleverer than others. |
| |
Other people canât even listen to it and yet they think they are smart, |
| |
that they are right. |
| |
They are simply advertising their own stupidity. |
| |
Thatâs why the wise say, âWhatever speech disregards aniccam is not the speech of a wise person, |
| |
itâs the speech of a fool. |
| |
Itâs deluded speech. |
| |
Itâs the speech of one who doesnât know that suffering is going to arise right there.â |
| |
For example, suppose you had decided to go to Bangkok tomorrow and someone were to ask, |
| |
âAre you going to Bangkok tomorrow?â |
| |
âI hope to go to Bangkok. |
| |
If there are no obstacles Iâll probably go.â |
| |
This is called speaking with the Dhamma in mind, |
| |
speaking with aniccam in mind, taking into account the truth, |
| |
the transient, uncertain nature of the world. |
| |
You donât say, âYes, Iâm definitely going tomorrow.â |
| |
If it turns out you donât go, what are you going to do, |
| |
send news to all the people who you told you were going? |
| |
Youâd be just talking nonsense. |
| |
Thereâs still much more to the practice of Dhamma; it becomes more and more refined. |
| |
But if you donât see it, you may think you are speaking right |
| |
even when you are speaking wrongly and straying from the true nature of things with every word. |
| |
And yet you may think you are speaking the truth. |
| |
To put it simply: anything that we say or do that causes suffering to arise should be known as micchÄ-ditthi. |
| |
Itâs delusion and foolishness. |
| |
Most practitioners donât reflect in this way. |
| |
Whatever they like, they think is right and they just go on believing themselves. |
| |
For instance, they may receive some gift or title, |
| |
be it an object, rank or even words of praise, |
| |
and they think itâs good. |
| |
They take it as some sort of permanent condition. |
| |
So they get puffed up with pride and conceit, |
| |
they donât consider, âWho am I? |
| |
Where is this so-called âgoodness?â |
| |
Where did it come from? |
| |
Do others have the same things?â |
| |
The Buddha taught that we should conduct ourselves normally. |
| |
If we donât dig in, chew over and look into this point, |
| |
it means itâs still sunk within us. |
| |
It means these conditions are still buried within our hearts - we are still sunk in wealth, |
| |
rank and praise. |
| |
So we become someone else because of them. |
| |
We think we are better than before, that we are something special and so all sorts of confusion arises. |
| |
Actually, in truth there isnât anything to human beings. |
| |
Whatever we may be itâs only in the realm of appearances. |
| |
If we take away the apparent and see the transcendent we see that there isnât anything there. |
| |
There are simply the universal characteristics - birth in the beginning, |
| |
change in the middle and cessation in the end. |
| |
This is all there is. |
| |
If we see that all things are like this, |
| |
then no problems arise. |
| |
If we understand this we will have contentment and peace. |
| |
Where trouble arises is when we think like the five ascetic disciples of the Buddha. |
| |
They followed the instruction of their teacher, |
| |
but when he changed his practice they couldnât understand what he thought or knew. |
| |
They decided that the Buddha had given up his practice and reverted to indulgence. |
| |
If we were in that position weâd probably think the same thing and thereâd be no way to correct it. |
| |
Weâd be holding on to the old ways, thinking in the lower way, |
| |
yet believing itâs higher. |
| |
Weâd see the Buddha and think heâd given up the practice and reverted to indulgence, |
| |
just like those five ascetics: consider how many years they had been practising at that time, |
| |
and yet they still went astray, they still werenât proficient. |
| |
So I say to practise and also to look at the results of your practice. |
| |
Look especially where you refuse to follow, |
| |
where there is friction. |
| |
Where there is no friction, there is no problem, |
| |
things flow. |
| |
If there is friction, they donât flow; you set up a self and things become solid, |
| |
like a mass of clinging. |
| |
There is no give and take. |
| |
Most monks and cultivators tend to be like this. |
| |
However theyâve thought in the past they continue to think. |
| |
They refuse to change, they donât reflect. |
| |
They think they are right so they canât be wrong, |
| |
but actually âwrongnessâ is buried within ârightnessâ, |
| |
even though most people donât know that. |
| |
How is it so? |
| |
âThis is rightâ ... |
| |
but if someone else says itâs not right you wonât give in, |
| |
youâve got to argue. |
| |
What is this? |
| |
Ditthi-mÄna. |
| |
Ditthi means views, mÄna is the attachment to those views. |
| |
If we attach even to what is right, refusing to concede to anybody, |
| |
then it becomes wrong. |
| |
To cling fast to rightness is simply the arising of self, |
| |
there is no letting go. |
| |
This is a point which gives people a lot of trouble, |
| |
except for those Dhamma practitioners who know that this matter, |
| |
this point, is a very important one. |
| |
They will take note of it. |
| |
If it arises while theyâre speaking, clinging comes racing on to the scene. |
| |
Maybe it will linger for some time, perhaps one or two days, |
| |
three or four months, a year or two. |
| |
This is for the slow ones, that is. |
| |
For the quick, response is instant - they just let go. |
| |
Clinging arises and immediately there is letting go, |
| |
they force the mind to let go right then and there. |
| |
You must see these two functions operating. |
| |
Here there is clinging. |
| |
Now who is the one who resists that clinging? |
| |
Whenever you experience a mental impression you should observe these two functions operating. |
| |
There is clinging, and there is one who prohibits the clinging. |
| |
Now just watch these two things. |
| |
Maybe you will cling for a long time before you let go. |
| |
Reflecting and constantly practising like this, |
| |
clinging gets lighter, it becomes less and less. |
| |
Right view increases as wrong view gradually wanes. |
| |
Clinging decreases, non-clinging arises. |
| |
This is the way it is for everybody. |
| |
Thatâs why I say to consider this point. |
| |
Learn to solve problems in the present moment. |
| |
1: The pañcavaggiyÄ, or âgroup of fiveâ, |
| |
who followed the bodhisatta, the Buddha-to-be, |
| |
when he was cultivating ascetic practices, |
| |
and who left him when he renounced these ascetic practices for the Middle Way. |
| |
2: Form is impermanent, feeling is impermanent, |
| |
perception is impermanent, volition is impermanent, |
| |
consciousness is impermanent. |
| |
3: MicchÄ-ditthi: Wrong-view. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Our way of practice is looking closely at things and making them clear. |
| |
Weâre persistent and constant, yet not rushed or hurried. |
| |
Neither are we too slow. |
| |
Itâs a matter of gradually feeling our way and bringing it together. |
| |
However, all of this bringing together is working towards something, |
| |
there is a point to our practice. |
| |
For most of us, when we first start to practise, |
| |
itâs nothing other than desire. |
| |
We start to practise because of wanting. |
| |
At this stage our wanting is wanting in the wrong way. |
| |
That is, itâs deluded. |
| |
Itâs wanting mixed with wrong understanding. |
| |
If wanting is not mixed with wrong understanding like this, |
| |
we say that itâs wanting with wisdom (paññÄ). |
| |
Itâs not deluded - itâs wanting with right understanding. |
| |
In a case like this we say that itâs due to a personâs pÄramÄ« or past accumulations. |
| |
However, this isnât the case with everyone. |
| |
Some people donât want to have desire, |
| |
or they want to not have desires, because they think that our practice is directed at not wanting. |
| |
However, if there is no desire, then thereâs no way of practice. |
| |
We can see this for ourselves. |
| |
The Buddha and all his disciples practised to put an end to defilements. |
| |
We must want to practise and must want to put an end to defilements. |
| |
We must want to have peace of mind and want to not have confusion. |
| |
However, if this wanting is mixed with wrong understanding, |
| |
then it will only amount to more difficulties for us. |
| |
If we are honest about it, we really know nothing at all. |
| |
Or, what we do know is of no consequence, |
| |
since we are unable to use it properly. |
| |
Everybody, including the Buddha, started out like this, |
| |
with the desire to practise - wanting to have peace of mind and wanting to not have confusion and suffering. |
| |
These two kinds of desire have exactly the same value. |
| |
If not understood, then both wanting to be free from confusion and not wanting to have suffering are defilements. |
| |
Theyâre a foolish way of wanting - desire without wisdom. |
| |
In our practice we see this desire as either sensual indulgence or self-mortification. |
| |
Itâs in this very conflict, just this dilemma, |
| |
that our teacher, the Buddha, was caught up. |
| |
He followed many ways of practice which merely ended up in these two extremes. |
| |
And these days we are exactly the same. |
| |
We are still afflicted by this duality, |
| |
and because of it we keep falling from the Way. |
| |
However, this is how we must start out. |
| |
We start out as worldly beings, as beings with defilements, |
| |
with wanting devoid of wisdom, desire without right understanding. |
| |
If we lack proper understanding, then both kinds of desire work against us. |
| |
Whether itâs wanting or not wanting, itâs still craving (tanhÄ). |
| |
If we donât understand these two things then we wonât know how to deal with them when they arise. |
| |
We will feel that to go forward is wrong and to go backwards is wrong, |
| |
and yet we canât stop. |
| |
Whatever we do we just find more wanting. |
| |
This is because of the lack of wisdom and because of craving. |
| |
Itâs right here, with this wanting and not wanting, |
| |
that we can understand the Dhamma. |
| |
The Dhamma which we are looking for exists right here, |
| |
but we donât see it. |
| |
Rather, we persist in our efforts to stop wanting. |
| |
We want things to be a certain way and not any other way. |
| |
Or, we want them not to be a certain way, |
| |
but to be another way. |
| |
Really these two things are the same. |
| |
They are part of the same duality. |
| |
Perhaps we may not realize that the Buddha and all of his disciples had this kind of wanting. |
| |
However the Buddha understood wanting and not wanting. |
| |
He understood that they are simply the activity of mind, |
| |
that such things merely appear in a flash and then disappear. |
| |
These kinds of desires are going on all the time. |
| |
When there is wisdom, we donât identify with them - we are free from clinging. |
| |
Whether itâs wanting or not wanting, we simply see it as such. |
| |
In reality itâs merely the activity of the natural mind. |
| |
When we take a close look, we see clearly that this is how it is. |
| |
The Wisdom of Everyday Experience |
| |
So itâs here that our practice of contemplation will lead us to understanding. |
| |
Let us take an example, the example of a fisherman pulling in his net with a big fish in it. |
| |
How do you think he feels about pulling it in? |
| |
If heâs afraid that the fish will escape, |
| |
heâll be rushed and start to struggle with the net, |
| |
grabbing and tugging at it. |
| |
Before he knows it, the big fish has escaped - he was trying too hard. |
| |
In the olden days they would talk like this. |
| |
They taught that we should do it gradually, |
| |
carefully gathering it in without losing it. |
| |
This is how it is in our practice; we gradually feel our way with it, |
| |
carefully gathering it in without losing it. |
| |
Sometimes it happens that we donât feel like doing it. |
| |
Maybe we donât want to look or maybe we donât want to know, |
| |
but we keep on with it. |
| |
We continue feeling for it. |
| |
This is practice: if we feel like doing it, |
| |
we do it, and if we donât feel like doing it, |
| |
we do it just the same. |
| |
We just keep doing it. |
| |
If we are enthusiastic about our practice, |
| |
the power of our faith will give energy to what we are doing. |
| |
But at this stage we are still without wisdom. |
| |
Even though we are very energetic, we will not derive much benefit from our practice. |
| |
We may continue with it for a long time and then a feeling arises that we arenât going to find the Way. |
| |
We may feel that we can not find peace and tranquillity, |
| |
or that we arenât sufficiently equipped to do the practice. |
| |
Or maybe we feel that this Way just isnât possible anymore. |
| |
So we give up! |
| |
At this point we must be very, very careful. |
| |
We must use great patience and endurance. |
| |
Itâs just like pulling in the big fish - we gradually feel our way with it. |
| |
We carefully pull it in. |
| |
The struggle wonât be too difficult, so without stopping we continue pulling it in. |
| |
Eventually, after some time, the fish becomes tired and stops fighting and weâre able to catch it easily. |
| |
Usually this is how it happens, we practise gradually gathering it together. |
| |
Itâs in this manner that we do our contemplation. |
| |
If we donât have any particular knowledge or learning in the theoretical aspects of the teachings, |
| |
we contemplate according to our everyday experience. |
| |
We use the knowledge which we already have, |
| |
the knowledge derived from our everyday experience. |
| |
This kind of knowledge is natural to the mind. |
| |
Actually, whether we study about it or not, |
| |
we have the reality of the mind right here already. |
| |
The mind is the mind whether we have learned about it or not. |
| |
This is why we say that whether the Buddha is born in the world or not, |
| |
everything is the way it is. |
| |
Everything already exists according to its own nature. |
| |
This natural condition doesnât change, |
| |
nor does it go anywhere. |
| |
It just is that way. |
| |
This is called saccadhamma. |
| |
However, if we donât understand about this saccadhamma, |
| |
we wonât be able to recognize it. |
| |
So we practise contemplation in this way. |
| |
If we arenât particularly skilled in scripture, |
| |
we take the mind itself to study and read. |
| |
Continually we contemplate,1 and understanding regarding the nature of the mind will gradually arise. |
| |
We donât have to force anything. |
| |
Constant Effort |
| |
Until we are able to stop our mind, until we reach tranquillity, |
| |
the mind will just continue as before. |
| |
Itâs for this reason that the teacher says, |
| |
âJust keep on doing it, keep on with the practice!â |
| |
Maybe we think, âIf I donât yet understand, |
| |
how can I do it?â |
| |
Until we are able to practise properly, |
| |
wisdom doesnât arise. |
| |
So we say just keep on with it. |
| |
If we practise without stopping, weâll begin to think about what we are doing. |
| |
Weâll start to consider our practice. |
| |
Nothing happens immediately, so in the beginning we canât see any results from our practice. |
| |
This is like the example I have often given you of the man who |
| |
tries to make fire by rubbing two sticks of wood together. |
| |
He says to himself, âThey say thereâs fire here,â and he begins rubbing energetically. |
| |
Heâs very impetuous. |
| |
He rubs on and on but his impatience doesnât end. |
| |
He keeps wanting to have that fire, but the fire doesnât come. |
| |
So he stops to rest for a while. |
| |
He starts again but the going is slow, |
| |
so he rests again. |
| |
By then the heat has disappeared; he didnât keep at it long enough. |
| |
He rubs and rubs until he tires and then he stops altogether. |
| |
Not only is he tired, but he becomes more and more discouraged until he gives up completely. |
| |
âThereâs no fire here!â |
| |
Actually he was doing the work, but there wasnât enough heat to start a fire. |
| |
The fire was there all the time but he didnât carry on to the end. |
| |
This sort of experience causes the meditator to get discouraged in his practice, |
| |
and so he restlessly changes from one practice to another. |
| |
And this sort of experience is also similar to our own practice. |
| |
Itâs the same for everybody. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because we are still grounded in defilements. |
| |
The Buddha had defilements also, but he had a lot of wisdom in this respect. |
| |
While still worldlings the Buddha and the arahants were just the same as us. |
| |
If we are still worldlings then we donât think correctly. |
| |
Thus when wanting arises we donât see it, |
| |
and when not wanting arises we donât see it. |
| |
Sometimes we feel stirred up, and sometimes we feel contented. |
| |
When we have not wanting we have a kind of contentment, |
| |
but we also have a kind of confusion. |
| |
When we have wanting, this can be contentment and confusion of another kind. |
| |
Itâs all intermixed in this way. |
| |
Knowing Oneself and Knowing Others |
| |
The Buddha taught us to contemplate our body, |
| |
for example: hair of the head, hair of the body, |
| |
nails, teeth, skin ... |
| |
itâs all body. |
| |
Take a look! |
| |
We are told to investigate right here. |
| |
If we donât see these things clearly as they are in ourselves, |
| |
we wonât understand regarding other people. |
| |
We wonât see others clearly nor will we see ourselves. |
| |
However, if we do understand and see clearly the nature of our own bodies, |
| |
our doubts and wonderings regarding others will disappear. |
| |
This is because body and mind (rĆ«pa and nÄma) are the same for everybody. |
| |
It isnât necessary to go and examine all the bodies in the world |
| |
since we know that they are the same as us - we are the same as them. |
| |
If we have this kind of understanding then our burden becomes lighter. |
| |
Without this kind of understanding, all we do is develop a heavier burden. |
| |
In order to know about others, we would have to go and examine everybody in the entire world. |
| |
That would be very difficult. |
| |
We would soon become discouraged. |
| |
Our Vinaya is similar to this. |
| |
When we look at our Vinaya we feel that itâs very difficult. |
| |
We must keep every rule, study every rule, |
| |
review our practice with every rule. |
| |
If we just think about it, we think âOh, |
| |
itâs impossible!â |
| |
We read the literal meaning of all the numerous rules and, |
| |
if we merely follow our thinking about them, |
| |
we could well decide that itâs beyond our ability to keep them all. |
| |
Anyone who has had this kind of attitude towards the Vinaya has the same feeling about it - there are a lot of rules! |
| |
The scriptures tell us that we must examine ourselves regarding each and every rule and keep them all strictly. |
| |
We must know them all and observe them perfectly. |
| |
This is the same as saying that to understand others we must go and examine absolutely everybody. |
| |
This is a very heavy attitude. |
| |
And itâs like this because we take what is said literally. |
| |
If we follow the textbooks, this is the way we must go. |
| |
Some teachers teach in this manner - strict adherence to what the textbooks say. |
| |
It just canât work that way.2 |
| |
Actually, if we study theory like this, |
| |
our practice wonât develop at all. |
| |
In fact our faith will disappear, our faith in the Way will be destroyed. |
| |
This is because we havenât yet understood. |
| |
When there is wisdom we will understand that all the people in the entire world really amount to just this one person. |
| |
They are the same as this very being. |
| |
So we study and contemplate our own body and mind. |
| |
With seeing and understanding the nature of our own body and |
| |
mind comes the understanding of the bodies and minds of everyone. |
| |
And so, in this way, the weight of our practice becomes lighter. |
| |
The Buddha said we should teach and instruct ourselves - nobody else can do it for us. |
| |
When we study and understand the nature of our own existence, |
| |
we will understand the nature of all existence. |
| |
Everyone is really the same. |
| |
We are all the same âmakeâ and come from the same company - there are only different shades, |
| |
thatâs all! |
| |
Just like Bort-hai and Tum-jai. |
| |
They are both pain-killers and do the same thing, |
| |
but one type is called Bort-hai and the other Tum-jai. |
| |
Really they arenât different. |
| |
You will find that this way of seeing things gets easier and easier as you gradually bring it all together. |
| |
We call this âfeeling our wayâ, and this is how we begin to practise. |
| |
Weâll become skilled at doing it. |
| |
We keep on with it until we arrive at understanding, |
| |
and when this understanding arises, |
| |
we will see reality clearly. |
| |
Theory and Practice |
| |
So we continue this practice until we have a feeling for it. |
| |
After a time, depending on our own particular tendencies and abilities, |
| |
a new kind of understanding arises. |
| |
This we call investigation of Dhamma (dhammavicaya), |
| |
and this is how the seven factors of enlightenment arise in the mind. |
| |
Investigation of Dhamma is one of them. |
| |
The others are: mindfulness, energy, rapture, |
| |
tranquillity, concentration (samÄdhi) and equanimity. |
| |
If we have studied about the seven factors of enlightenment, |
| |
then weâll know what the books say, |
| |
but we wonât have seen the real factors of enlightenment. |
| |
The real factors of enlightenment arise in the mind. |
| |
Thus the Buddha came to give us all the various teachings. |
| |
All the enlightened ones have taught the way out of suffering |
| |
and their recorded teachings we call the theoretical teachings. |
| |
This theory originally came from the practice, |
| |
but it has become merely book learning or words. |
| |
The real factors of enlightenment have disappeared because we donât know them within ourselves, |
| |
we donât see them within our own minds. |
| |
If they arise they arise out of practice. |
| |
If they arise out of practice, then they are factors leading to enlightenment of the Dhamma, |
| |
and we can use their arising as an indication that our practice is correct. |
| |
If we are not practising rightly, such things will not appear. |
| |
If we practise in the right way, we can see Dhamma. |
| |
So we say to keep on practising, feeling your way gradually and continually investigating. |
| |
Donât think that what you are looking for can be found anywhere other than right here. |
| |
One of my senior disciples had been learning PÄli at a study temple before he came here. |
| |
He hadnât been very successful with his studies so he thought that, |
| |
since monks who practise meditation are able to see and understand everything just by sitting, |
| |
he would come and try this way. |
| |
He came here to Wat Pah Pong with the intention of sitting in |
| |
meditation so that he would be able to translate PÄli scriptures. |
| |
He had this kind of understanding about practice. |
| |
So I explained to him about our way. |
| |
He had misunderstood completely. |
| |
He had thought it an easy matter just to sit and make everything clear. |
| |
If we talk about understanding Dhamma then both study monks and practice monks use the same words. |
| |
But the actual understanding which comes from studying theory |
| |
and that which comes from practising Dhamma is not quite the same. |
| |
It may seem to be the same, but one is more profound. |
| |
One is deeper than the other. |
| |
The kind of understanding which comes from practice leads to surrender, |
| |
to giving up. |
| |
Until there is complete surrender we persevere - we persist in our contemplation. |
| |
If desires or anger and dislike arise in our mind, |
| |
we arenât indifferent to them. |
| |
We donât just leave them, but rather take them and investigate to see how and from where they arise. |
| |
If such moods are already in our mind, |
| |
then we contemplate and see how they work against us. |
| |
We see them clearly and understand the difficulties we cause ourselves by believing and following them. |
| |
This kind of understanding is not found anywhere other than in our own pure mind. |
| |
Itâs because of this that those who study theory and those who practice meditation misunderstand each other. |
| |
Usually those who emphasize study say things like this, |
| |
âMonks who only practice meditation just follow their own opinions. |
| |
They have no basis in the Teaching.â |
| |
Actually, in one sense, these two ways of study and practice are exactly the same thing. |
| |
It can help us to understand if we think of it like the front and back of our hand. |
| |
If we put our hand out, it seems as if the back of the hand has disappeared. |
| |
Actually the back of our hand hasnât disappeared, |
| |
itâs just hidden underneath. |
| |
When we say that we canât see it, it doesnât mean that it has disappeared completely, |
| |
it just means that itâs hidden underneath. |
| |
When we turn our hand over, the same thing happens to the palm of the hand. |
| |
It doesnât go anywhere, itâs merely hidden underneath. |
| |
We should keep this in mind when we consider practice. |
| |
If we think that it has âdisappearedâ, |
| |
weâll go off to study, hoping to get results. |
| |
But it doesnât matter how much you study about Dhamma, |
| |
youâll never understand, because you wonât know in accordance with truth. |
| |
If we do understand the real nature of Dhamma, |
| |
then it becomes letting go. |
| |
This is surrender - removing attachment (upÄdÄna), |
| |
not clinging anymore, or, if there still is clinging, |
| |
it becomes less and less. |
| |
There is this kind of difference between the two ways of study and practice. |
| |
When we talk about study, we can understand it like this: our eye is a subject of study, |
| |
our ear is a subject of study - everything is a subject of study. |
| |
We can know that form is like this and like that, |
| |
but we attach to form and donât know the way out. |
| |
We can distinguish sounds, but then we attach to them. |
| |
Forms, sounds, smells, tastes, bodily feelings and mental impressions are all like a snare to entrap all beings. |
| |
To investigate these things is our way of practising Dhamma. |
| |
When some feeling arises, we turn to our understanding to appreciate it. |
| |
If we are knowledgeable regarding theory, |
| |
we will immediately turn to that and see how such and such a thing happens like this and then becomes that ... |
| |
and so on. |
| |
If we havenât learned theory in this way, |
| |
then we have just the natural state of our mind to work with. |
| |
This is our Dhamma. |
| |
If we have wisdom then weâll be able to examine this natural mind of ours and use this as our subject of study. |
| |
Itâs exactly the same thing. |
| |
Our natural mind is theory. |
| |
The Buddha said to take whatever thoughts and feelings arise and investigate them. |
| |
Use the reality of our natural mind as our theory. |
| |
We rely on this reality. |
| |
Insight Meditation (VipassanÄ) |
| |
If you have faith it doesnât matter whether you have studied theory or not. |
| |
If our believing mind leads us to develop practice, |
| |
if it leads us to constantly develop energy and patience, |
| |
then study doesnât matter. |
| |
We have mindfulness as a foundation for our practice. |
| |
We are mindful in all bodily postures, |
| |
whether sitting, standing, walking or lying. |
| |
And if there is mindfulness there will be clear comprehension to accompany it. |
| |
Mindfulness and clear comprehension will arise together. |
| |
They may arise so rapidly, however, that we canât tell them apart. |
| |
But, when there is mindfulness, there will also be clear comprehension. |
| |
When our mind is firm and stable, mindfulness will arise quickly and easily and this is also where we have wisdom. |
| |
Sometimes, though, wisdom is insufficient or doesnât arise at the right time. |
| |
There may be mindfulness and clear comprehension, |
| |
but these alone are not enough to control the situation. |
| |
Generally, if mindfulness and clear comprehension are a foundation of mind, |
| |
then wisdom will be there to assist. |
| |
However, we must constantly develop this wisdom through the practice of insight meditation. |
| |
This means that whatever arises in the mind can be the object of mindfulness and clear comprehension. |
| |
But we must see according to anicca, dukkha, |
| |
anattÄ. |
| |
Impermanence (anicca) is the basis. |
| |
Dukkha refers to the quality of unsatisfactoriness, |
| |
and anattÄ says that it is without individual entity. |
| |
We see that itâs simply a sensation that has arisen, |
| |
that it has no self, no entity and that it disappears of its own accord. |
| |
Just that! |
| |
Someone who is deluded, someone who doesnât have wisdom, |
| |
will miss this occasion, he wonât be able to use these things to his advantage. |
| |
If wisdom is present then mindfulness and clear comprehension will be right there with it. |
| |
However, at this initial stage the wisdom may not be perfectly clear. |
| |
Thus mindfulness and clear comprehension arenât able to catch every object, |
| |
but wisdom comes to help. |
| |
It can see what quality of mindfulness is there and what kind of sensation has arisen. |
| |
Or, in its most general aspect, whatever mindfulness there is or whatever sensation there is, |
| |
itâs all Dhamma. |
| |
The Buddha took the practice of insight meditation as his foundation. |
| |
He saw that this mindfulness and clear comprehension were both uncertain and unstable. |
| |
Anything thatâs unstable, and which we want to have stable, |
| |
causes us to suffer. |
| |
We want things to be according to our own desires, |
| |
but we suffer because things just arenât that way. |
| |
This is the influence of an unclean mind, |
| |
the influence of a mind which is lacking wisdom. |
| |
When we practise we tend to become caught up in wanting it easy, |
| |
wanting it to be the way we like it. |
| |
We donât have to go very far to understand such an attitude. |
| |
Merely look at this body! |
| |
Is it ever really the way we want it? |
| |
One minute we like it to be one way and the next minute we like it to be another way. |
| |
Have we ever really had it the way we liked? |
| |
The nature of our bodies and minds is exactly the same in this regard. |
| |
It simply is the way it is. |
| |
This point in our practice can be easily missed. |
| |
Usually, if whatever we feel doesnât agree with us, |
| |
we throw out; whatever doesnât please us, |
| |
we throw out. |
| |
We donât stop to think whether the way we like and dislike things is really the correct way or not. |
| |
We merely think that the things we find disagreeable must be wrong, |
| |
and those which we find agreeable must be right. |
| |
This is where craving comes from. |
| |
When we receive stimuli by way of eye, |
| |
ear, nose, tongue, body or mind, a feeling of liking or disliking arises. |
| |
This shows that the mind is full of attachment. |
| |
So the Buddha gave us this teaching of impermanence. |
| |
He gave us a way to contemplate things. |
| |
If we cling to something which isnât permanent, |
| |
weâll experience suffering. |
| |
Thereâs no reason why we should want to have these things in accordance with our likes and dislikes. |
| |
It isnât possible for us to make things be that way. |
| |
We donât have that kind of authority or power. |
| |
Regardless of how we may like things to be, |
| |
everything is already the way it is. |
| |
Wanting like this is not the way out of suffering. |
| |
Here we can see how the mind which is deluded understands in one way, |
| |
and the mind which is not deluded understands in another way. |
| |
When the mind with wisdom receives some sensation, |
| |
for example, it sees it as something not to be clung to or identified with. |
| |
This is what indicates wisdom. |
| |
If there isnât any wisdom we merely follow our stupidity. |
| |
This stupidity is not seeing impermanence, |
| |
unsatisfactoriness and not-self. |
| |
That which we like we see as good and right. |
| |
That which we donât like we see as not good. |
| |
We canât arrive at Dhamma this way - wisdom can not arise. |
| |
If we can see this, then wisdom arises. |
| |
The Buddha firmly established the practice of insight meditation |
| |
in his mind and used it to investigate all the various mental impressions. |
| |
Whatever arose in his mind he investigated like this: even though we like it, |
| |
itâs uncertain. |
| |
Itâs suffering, because these things which are constantly rising and falling donât follow the influence of our minds. |
| |
All these things are not a being or a self, |
| |
they donât belong to us. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to see them just as they are. |
| |
We stand on this principle in our practice. |
| |
We understand then, that we arenât able to just bring about various moods as we wish. |
| |
Both good moods and bad moods are going to come up. |
| |
Some of them are helpful and some of them are not. |
| |
If we donât understand correctly regarding these things, |
| |
we wonât be able to judge correctly. |
| |
Rather, we will go running after craving - running off following our desire. |
| |
Sometimes we feel happy and sometimes we feel sad, |
| |
but this is natural. |
| |
Sometimes weâll feel pleased and at other times disappointed. |
| |
What we like we hold as good, and what we donât like we hold as bad. |
| |
In this way we separate ourselves further and further from Dhamma. |
| |
When this happens, we arenât able to understand or recognize Dhamma, |
| |
and thus we become confused. |
| |
Desires increase because our minds have nothing but delusion. |
| |
This is how we talk about the mind. |
| |
It isnât necessary to go far away from ourselves to find understanding. |
| |
We simply see that these states of mind arenât permanent. |
| |
We see that they are unsatisfactory and that they arenât a permanent self. |
| |
If we continue to develop our practice in this way, |
| |
we call it the practice of vipassanÄ or insight meditation. |
| |
We say that it is recognizing the contents of our mind and in this way we develop wisdom. |
| |
Samatha (Calm) Meditation |
| |
Our practice of samatha is like this: we establish the practice of mindfulness on the in-and out-breath, |
| |
for example, as a foundation or means of controlling the mind. |
| |
By having the mind follow the flow of the breath it becomes steadfast, |
| |
calm and still. |
| |
This practice of calming the mind is called âsamatha meditationâ. |
| |
Itâs necessary to do a lot of this kind of practice because the mind is full of many disturbances. |
| |
Itâs very confused. |
| |
We canât say how many years or how many lives itâs been this way. |
| |
If we sit and contemplate weâll see that thereâs a lot that doesnât |
| |
conduce to peace and calm and a lot that leads to confusion! |
| |
For this reason the Buddha taught that we must find a meditation subject which is suitable to our particular tendencies, |
| |
a way of practice which is right for our character. |
| |
For example, going over and over the parts of the body: hair of the head, |
| |
hair of the body, nails, teeth and skin, |
| |
can be very calming. |
| |
The mind can become very peaceful from this practice. |
| |
If contemplating these five things leads to calm, |
| |
itâs because they are appropriate objects for contemplation according to our tendencies. |
| |
Whatever we find to be appropriate in this way, |
| |
we can consider to be our practice and use it to subdue the defilements. |
| |
Another example is recollection of death. |
| |
For those who still have strong greed, |
| |
aversion and delusion and find them difficult to contain, |
| |
itâs useful to take this subject of personal death as a meditation. |
| |
Weâll come to see that everybody has to die, |
| |
whether rich or poor. |
| |
Weâll see both good and evil people die. |
| |
Everybody must die! |
| |
When we develop this practice we find that an attitude of dispassion arises. |
| |
The more we practise the easier our sitting produces calm. |
| |
This is because itâs a suitable and appropriate practice for us. |
| |
If this practice of calm meditation is not agreeable to our particular tendencies, |
| |
it wonât produce this attitude of dispassion. |
| |
If the object is truly suited to us weâll find it arising regularly, |
| |
without great difficulty, and weâll find ourselves thinking about it often. |
| |
We can see an example of this in our everyday lives. |
| |
When laypeople bring trays of many different types of food to offer the monks, |
| |
we taste them all to see which we like. |
| |
When we have tried each one, we can tell which is most agreeable to us. |
| |
This is just an example. |
| |
That which we find agreeable to our taste weâll eat. |
| |
We wonât bother about the other various dishes. |
| |
The practice of concentrating our attention on the in-and out-breath |
| |
is an example of a type of meditation which is suitable for us all. |
| |
It seems that when we go around doing various different practices, |
| |
we donât feel so good. |
| |
But as soon as we sit and observe our breath we have a good feeling, |
| |
we can see it clearly. |
| |
Thereâs no need to go looking far away, |
| |
we can use what is close to us and this will be better for us. |
| |
Just watch the breath. |
| |
It goes out and comes in, out and in - we watch it like this. |
| |
For a long time we keep watching our breathing in and out and slowly our mind settles. |
| |
Other activity will arise but we feel like it is distant from us. |
| |
Just like when we live apart from each other and donât feel so close anymore. |
| |
We donât have the same strong contact anymore or perhaps no contact at all. |
| |
When we have a feeling for this practice of mindfulness of breathing, |
| |
it becomes easier. |
| |
If we keep on with this practice, we gain experience and become skilled at knowing the nature of the breath. |
| |
Weâll know what itâs like when itâs long and what itâs like when itâs short. |
| |
We can talk about the food of the breath. |
| |
While sitting or walking we breathe, while sleeping we breathe, |
| |
while awake we breathe. |
| |
If we donât breathe, then we die. |
| |
If we think about it we see that we exist only with the help of food. |
| |
If we donât eat ordinary food for ten minutes, |
| |
an hour or even a day, it doesnât matter. |
| |
This is a coarse kind of food. |
| |
However, if we donât breathe for even a short time weâll die. |
| |
If we donât breathe for five or ten minutes we will be dead. |
| |
Try it! |
| |
One who is practising mindfulness of breathing should have this kind of understanding. |
| |
The knowledge that comes from this practice is indeed wonderful. |
| |
If we donât contemplate then we wonât see the breath as food; but actually we are âeatingâ air all the time, |
| |
in, out, in, out ... |
| |
all the time. |
| |
Also youâll find that the more you contemplate in this way, |
| |
the greater the benefits derived from the practice and the more delicate the breath becomes. |
| |
It may even happen that the breath stops. |
| |
It appears as if we arenât breathing at all. |
| |
Actually, the breath is passing through the pores of the skin. |
| |
This is called the âdelicate breathâ. |
| |
When our mind is perfectly calm, normal breathing can cease in this way. |
| |
We need not be at all startled or afraid. |
| |
If thereâs no breathing what should we do? |
| |
Just know it! |
| |
Know that there is no breathing, thatâs all. |
| |
This is the right practice here. |
| |
Here we are talking about the way of samatha practice, |
| |
the practice of developing calm. |
| |
If the object which we are using is right and appropriate for us, |
| |
it will lead to this kind of experience. |
| |
This is the beginning, but there is enough in this practice to take us all the way, |
| |
or at least to where we can see clearly and continue in strong faith. |
| |
If we keep on with contemplation in this manner, |
| |
energy will come to us. |
| |
This is similar to the water in an urn. |
| |
We put in water and keep it topped up. |
| |
We keep on filling the urn with water and thereby the insects which live in the water donât die. |
| |
Making effort and doing our everyday practice is just like this. |
| |
It all comes back to practice. |
| |
We feel very good and peaceful. |
| |
This peacefulness comes from our one-pointed state of mind. |
| |
This one-pointed state of mind, however, |
| |
can be very troublesome, since we donât want other mental states to disturb us. |
| |
Actually, other mental states do come and, |
| |
if we think about it, that in itself can be the one-pointed state of mind. |
| |
Itâs like when we see various men and women, |
| |
but we donât have the same feeling about them as we do about our mother and father. |
| |
In reality all men are male just like our father and all women are female just like our mother, |
| |
but we donât have the same feeling about them. |
| |
We feel that our parents are more important. |
| |
They hold greater value for us. |
| |
This is how it should be with our one-pointed state of mind. |
| |
We should have the same attitude towards it as we would have towards our own mother and father. |
| |
All other activity which arises we appreciate in the same way as we feel towards men and women in general. |
| |
We donât stop seeing them, we simply acknowledge their presence and donât ascribe to them the same value as our parents. |
| |
Undoing the Knot |
| |
When our practice of samatha arrives at calm, |
| |
the mind will be clear and bright. |
| |
The activity of mind will become less and less. |
| |
The various mental impressions which arise will be fewer. |
| |
When this happens great peace and happiness will arise, |
| |
but we may attach to that happiness. |
| |
We should contemplate that happiness as uncertain. |
| |
We should also contemplate unhappiness as uncertain and impermanent. |
| |
Weâll understand that all the various feelings are not lasting and therefore not to be clung to. |
| |
We see things in this way because thereâs wisdom. |
| |
Weâll understand that things are this way according to their nature. |
| |
If we have this kind of understanding, |
| |
itâs like taking hold of one strand of a rope which makes up a knot. |
| |
If we pull it in the right direction, |
| |
the knot will loosen and begin to untangle. |
| |
Itâll no longer be so tight or so tense. |
| |
This is similar to understanding that it doesnât always have to be this way. |
| |
Before, we felt that things would always be the way they were and, |
| |
in so doing, we pulled the knot tighter and tighter. |
| |
This tightness is suffering. |
| |
Living that way is very tense. |
| |
So we loosen the knot a little and relax. |
| |
Why do we loosen it? |
| |
Because itâs tight! |
| |
If we donât cling to it then we can loosen it. |
| |
Itâs not a permanent condition that must always be that way. |
| |
We use the teaching of impermanence as our basis. |
| |
We see that both happiness and unhappiness are not permanent. |
| |
We see them as not dependable. |
| |
There is absolutely nothing thatâs permanent. |
| |
With this kind of understanding we gradually stop believing in the various moods and feelings which come up in the mind. |
| |
Wrong understanding will decrease to the same degree that we stop believing in it. |
| |
This is what is meant by undoing the knot. |
| |
It continues to become looser. |
| |
Attachment will be gradually uprooted. |
| |
Disenchantment |
| |
When we come to see impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and not-self in ourselves, |
| |
in this body and mind, in this world, |
| |
then weâll find that a kind of boredom will arise. |
| |
This isnât the everyday boredom that makes us feel like not wanting to know or see or say anything, |
| |
or not wanting to have anything to do with anybody at all. |
| |
That isnât real boredom, it still has attachment, |
| |
we still donât understand. |
| |
We still have feelings of envy and resentment and are still clinging to the things which cause us suffering. |
| |
The kind of boredom which the Buddha talked about is a condition without anger or lust. |
| |
It arises out of seeing everything as impermanent. |
| |
When pleasant feeling arises in our mind, |
| |
we see that it isnât lasting. |
| |
This is the kind of boredom we have. |
| |
We call it nibbidÄ or disenchantment. |
| |
That means that itâs far from sensual craving and passion. |
| |
We see nothing as being worthy of desire. |
| |
Whether or not things accord with our likes and dislikes, |
| |
it doesnât matter to us, we donât identify with them. |
| |
We donât give them any special value. |
| |
Practising like this we donât give things reason to cause us difficulty. |
| |
We have seen suffering and have seen that identifying with moods can not give rise to any real happiness. |
| |
It causes clinging to happiness and unhappiness and clinging to liking and disliking, |
| |
which is in itself the cause of suffering. |
| |
When we are still clinging like this we donât have an even-minded attitude towards things. |
| |
Some states of mind we like and others we dislike. |
| |
If we are still liking and disliking, |
| |
then both happiness and unhappiness are suffering. |
| |
Itâs this kind of attachment which causes suffering. |
| |
The Buddha taught that whatever causes us suffering is in itself unsatisfactory. |
| |
The Four Noble Truths |
| |
Hence we understand that the Buddhaâs teaching is to know suffering and to know what causes it to arise. |
| |
And further, we should know freedom from suffering and the way of practice which leads to freedom. |
| |
He taught us to know just these four things. |
| |
When we understand these four things weâll be able to recognize |
| |
suffering when it arises and will know that it has a cause. |
| |
Weâll know that it didnât just drift in! |
| |
When we wish to be free from this suffering, |
| |
weâll be able to eliminate its cause. |
| |
Why do we have this feeling of suffering, |
| |
this feeling of unsatisfactoriness? |
| |
Weâll see that itâs because we are clinging to our various likes and dislikes. |
| |
We come to know that we are suffering because of our own actions. |
| |
We suffer because we ascribe value to things. |
| |
So we say, know suffering, know the cause of suffering, |
| |
know freedom from suffering and know the Way to this freedom. |
| |
When we know about suffering we keep untangling the knot. |
| |
But we must be sure to untangle it by pulling in the right direction. |
| |
That is to say, we must know that this is how things are. |
| |
Attachment will be torn out. |
| |
This is the practice which puts an end to our suffering. |
| |
Know suffering, know the cause of suffering, |
| |
know freedom from suffering and know the path which leads out of suffering. |
| |
This is magga. |
| |
It goes like this: right view, right thought, |
| |
right speech, right action, right livelihood, |
| |
right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. |
| |
When we have the right understanding regarding these things, |
| |
then we have the path. |
| |
These things can put an end to suffering. |
| |
They lead us to morality, concentration and wisdom (sīla, |
| |
samÄdhi, paññÄ). |
| |
We must clearly understand these four things. |
| |
We must want to understand. |
| |
We must want to see these things in terms of reality. |
| |
When we see these four things we call this saccadhamma. |
| |
Whether we look inside or in front or to the right or left, |
| |
all we see is saccadhamma. |
| |
We simply see that everything is the way it is. |
| |
For someone who has arrived at Dhamma, |
| |
someone who really understands Dhamma, |
| |
wherever he goes, everything will be Dhamma. |
| |
1: Literally: âtalk with ourselvesâ |
| |
2: On another occasion the Venerable Ajahn completed the analogy by saying that if we know how to guard our own minds, |
| |
then it is the same as observing all of the numerous rules of the Vinaya. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Question: Iâm trying very hard in my practice but donât seem to be getting anywhere. |
| |
Answer: This is very important. |
| |
Donât try to get anywhere in the practice. |
| |
The very desire to be free or to be enlightened will be the desire that prevents your freedom. |
| |
You can try as hard as you wish, practise ardently night and day, |
| |
but if it is still with the desire to achieve in mind, |
| |
you will never find peace. |
| |
The energy from this desire will be a cause for doubt and restlessness. |
| |
No matter how long or how hard you practise, |
| |
wisdom will not arise from desire. |
| |
So, simply let go. |
| |
Watch the mind and body mindfully but donât try to achieve anything. |
| |
Donât cling even to the practice of enlightenment. |
| |
Q: What about sleep? |
| |
How much should I sleep? |
| |
A: Donât ask me, I canât tell you. |
| |
A good average for some is four hours a night. |
| |
What is important, though, is that you watch and know yourself. |
| |
If you try to go with too little sleep, |
| |
the body will feel uncomfortable and mindfulness will be difficult to sustain. |
| |
Too much sleep leads to a dull or a restless mind. |
| |
Find the natural balance for yourself. |
| |
Carefully watch the mind and body and keep track of sleep needs until you find the optimum. |
| |
If you wake up and then roll over for a snooze, |
| |
this is defilement. |
| |
Establish mindfulness as soon as your eyes open. |
| |
Q: How about eating? |
| |
How much should I eat? |
| |
A: Eating is the same as sleeping. |
| |
You must know yourself. |
| |
Food must be consumed to meet bodily needs. |
| |
Look at your food as medicine. |
| |
Are you eating so much that you only feel sleepy after the meal and are you getting fatter every day? |
| |
Stop! |
| |
Examine your own body and mind. |
| |
There is no need to fast. |
| |
Instead, experiment with the amount of food you take. |
| |
Find the natural balance for your body. |
| |
Put all your food together in your bowl following the ascetic practice. |
| |
Then you can easily judge the amount you take. |
| |
Watch yourself carefully as you eat. |
| |
Know yourself. |
| |
The essence of our practice is just this. |
| |
There is nothing special you must do. |
| |
Only watch. |
| |
Examine yourself. |
| |
Watch the mind. |
| |
Then you will know what is the natural balance for your own practice. |
| |
Q: Are minds of Asians and Westerners different? |
| |
A: Basically there is no difference. |
| |
Outer customs and language may appear different, |
| |
but the human mind has natural characteristics which are the same for all people. |
| |
Greed and hatred are the same in an Eastern or a Western mind. |
| |
Suffering and the cessation of suffering are the same for all people. |
| |
Q: Is it advisable to read a lot or study the scriptures as a part of practice? |
| |
A: The Dhamma of the Buddha is not found in books. |
| |
If you want to really see for yourself what the Buddha was talking about, |
| |
you donât need to bother with books. |
| |
Watch your own mind. |
| |
Examine it to see how feelings come and go, |
| |
how thoughts come and go. |
| |
Donât be attached to anything. |
| |
Just be mindful of whatever there is to see. |
| |
This is the way to the truths of the Buddha. |
| |
Be natural. |
| |
Everything you do in your life here is a chance to practise. |
| |
It is all Dhamma. |
| |
When you do your chores, try to be mindful. |
| |
If you are emptying a spittoon or cleaning a toilet, |
| |
donât feel you are doing it as a favour for anyone else. |
| |
There is Dhamma in emptying spittoons. |
| |
Donât feel you are practising only when sitting still, |
| |
cross-legged. |
| |
Some of you have complained that there is not enough time to meditate. |
| |
Is there enough time to breathe? |
| |
This is your meditation: mindfulness, |
| |
naturalness in whatever you do. |
| |
Q: Why donât we have daily interviews with the teacher? |
| |
A: If you have any questions, you are welcome to come and ask them any time. |
| |
But we donât need daily interviews here. |
| |
If I answer your every little question, |
| |
you will never understand the process of doubt in your own mind. |
| |
It is essential that you learn to examine yourself, |
| |
to interview yourself. |
| |
Listen carefully to the lecture every few days, |
| |
then use this teaching to compare with your own practice. |
| |
Is it still the same? |
| |
Is it different? |
| |
Why do you have doubts? |
| |
Who is it that doubts? |
| |
Only through self-examination can you understand. |
| |
Q: Sometimes I worry about the monksâ discipline. |
| |
If I kill insects accidentally, is this bad? |
| |
A: SÄ«la or discipline and morality is essential to our practice, |
| |
but you must not cling to the rules blindly. |
| |
In killing animals or in breaking other rules, |
| |
the important thing is intention. |
| |
Know your own mind. |
| |
You should not be excessively concerned about the monksâ discipline. |
| |
If it is used properly, it supports the practice, |
| |
but some monks are so worried about the petty rules that they canât sleep well. |
| |
Discipline is not to be carried as a burden. |
| |
The foundation of our practice here is discipline; good discipline, |
| |
plus the ascetic rules and practices. |
| |
Being mindful and careful of even the many supporting rules as well as the basic 227 precepts has great benefit. |
| |
It makes life very simple. |
| |
There need be no wondering about how to act, |
| |
so you can avoid thinking and instead just be simply mindful. |
| |
The discipline enables us to live together harmoniously; the community runs smoothly. |
| |
Outwardly everyone looks and acts the same. |
| |
Discipline and morality are the stepping stones for further concentration and wisdom. |
| |
By proper use of the monksâ discipline and the ascetic precepts, |
| |
we are forced to live simply, to limit our possessions. |
| |
So here we have the complete practice of the Buddha: refrain from evil and do good, |
| |
live simply keeping to basic needs, |
| |
purify the mind. |
| |
That is, be watchful of our mind and body in all postures: sitting, |
| |
standing, walking or lying down, know yourself. |
| |
Q: What can I do about doubts? |
| |
Some days Iâm plagued with doubts about the practice or my own progress, |
| |
or the teacher. |
| |
A: Doubting is natural. |
| |
Everyone starts out with doubts. |
| |
You can learn a great deal from them. |
| |
What is important is that you donât identify with your doubts: that is, |
| |
donât get caught up in them. |
| |
This will spin your mind in endless circles. |
| |
Instead, watch the whole process of doubting, |
| |
of wondering. |
| |
See who it is that doubts. |
| |
See how doubts come and go. |
| |
Then you will no longer be victimized by your doubts. |
| |
You will step outside of them and your mind will be quiet. |
| |
You can see how all things come and go. |
| |
Just let go of what you are attached to. |
| |
Let go of your doubts and simply watch. |
| |
This is how to end doubting. |
| |
Q: What about other methods of practice? |
| |
These days there seem to be so many teachers and so many different systems of meditation that it is confusing. |
| |
A: It is like going into town. |
| |
One can approach from the north, from the south-east, |
| |
from many roads. |
| |
Often these systems just differ outwardly. |
| |
Whether you walk one way or another, fast or slow, |
| |
if you are mindful, it is all the same. |
| |
There is one essential point that all good practice must eventually come to - not clinging. |
| |
In the end, all meditation systems must be let go of. |
| |
Neither can one cling to the teacher. |
| |
If a system leads to relinquishment, to not clinging, |
| |
then it is correct practice. |
| |
You may wish to travel, to visit other teachers and try other systems. |
| |
Some of you have already done so. |
| |
This is a natural desire. |
| |
You will find out that a thousand questions asked and knowledge of many systems will not bring you to the truth. |
| |
Eventually you will get bored. |
| |
You will see that only by stopping and examining your own mind can you find out what the Buddha talked about. |
| |
No need to go searching outside yourself. |
| |
Eventually you must return to face your own true nature. |
| |
Here is where you can understand the Dhamma. |
| |
Q: A lot of times it seems that many monks here are not practising. |
| |
They look sloppy or unmindful. |
| |
This disturbs me. |
| |
A: It is not proper to watch other people. |
| |
This will not help your practice. |
| |
If you are annoyed, watch the annoyance in your own mind. |
| |
If othersâ discipline is bad or they are not good monks, |
| |
this is not for you to judge. |
| |
You will not discover wisdom watching others. |
| |
Monksâ discipline is a tool to use for your own meditation. |
| |
It is not a weapon to use to criticize or find fault. |
| |
No one can do your practice for you, nor can you practise for anyone else. |
| |
Just be mindful of your own doings. |
| |
This is the way to practise. |
| |
Q: I have been extremely careful to practise sense restraint. |
| |
I always keep my eyes lowered and am mindful of every little action I do. |
| |
When eating, for example, I take a long time and try to see each touch: chewing, |
| |
tasting, swallowing, etc. I take each step very deliberately and carefully. |
| |
Am I practising properly? |
| |
A: Sense restraint is proper practice. |
| |
We should be mindful of it throughout the day. |
| |
But donât overdo it! |
| |
Walk and eat and act naturally. |
| |
And then develop natural mindfulness of what is going on within yourself. |
| |
Donât force your meditation nor force yourself into awkward patterns. |
| |
This is another form of craving. |
| |
Be patient. |
| |
Patience and endurance are necessary. |
| |
If you act naturally and are mindful, |
| |
wisdom will come naturally too. |
| |
Q: Is it necessary to sit for very long stretches? |
| |
A: No, sitting for hours on end is not necessary. |
| |
Some people think that the longer you can sit, |
| |
the wiser you must be. |
| |
I have seen chickens sit on their nests for days on end! |
| |
Wisdom comes from being mindful in all postures. |
| |
Your practice should begin as you awaken in the morning. |
| |
It should continue until you fall asleep. |
| |
Donât be concerned about how long you can sit. |
| |
What is important is only that you keep watchful whether you are working or sitting or going to the bathroom. |
| |
Each person has his own natural pace. |
| |
Some of you will die at age fifty, some at age sixty-five, |
| |
and some at age ninety. |
| |
So, too, your practices will not all be identical. |
| |
Donât think or worry about this. |
| |
Try to be mindful and let things take their natural course. |
| |
Then your mind will become quieter and quieter in any surroundings. |
| |
It will become still like a clear forest pool. |
| |
Then all kinds of wonderful and rare animals will come to drink at the pool. |
| |
You will see clearly the nature of all things (sankhÄrÄ) in the world. |
| |
You will see many wonderful and strange things come and go. |
| |
But you will be still. |
| |
Problems will arise and you will see through them immediately. |
| |
This is the happiness of the Buddha. |
| |
Q: I still have very many thoughts. |
| |
My mind wanders a lot even though I am trying to be mindful. |
| |
A: Donât worry about this. |
| |
Try to keep your mind in the present. |
| |
Whatever there is that arises in the mind, |
| |
just watch it. |
| |
Let go of it. |
| |
Donât even wish to be rid of thoughts. |
| |
Then the mind will reach its natural state. |
| |
No discriminating between good and bad, |
| |
hot and cold, fast and slow. |
| |
No me and no you, no self at all. |
| |
Just what there is. |
| |
When you walk on almsround, no need to do anything special. |
| |
Simply walk and see what there is. |
| |
No need to cling to isolation or seclusion. |
| |
Wherever you are, know yourself by being natural and watching. |
| |
If doubts arise, watch them come and go. |
| |
Itâs very simple. |
| |
Hold on to nothing. |
| |
It is as though you are walking down a road. |
| |
Periodically, you will run into obstacles. |
| |
When you meet defilements, just see them and just overcome them by letting go of them. |
| |
Donât think about the obstacles you have passed already. |
| |
Donât worry about those you have not yet seen. |
| |
Stick to the present. |
| |
Donât be concerned about the length of the road or about the destination. |
| |
Everything is changing. |
| |
Whatever you pass, do not cling to it. |
| |
Eventually the mind will reach its natural balance where practice is automatic. |
| |
All things will come and go of themselves. |
| |
Q: Have you ever looked at the Altar Sutra of the 6th Patriarch, |
| |
Hui Neng? |
| |
A: Hui Nengâs wisdom is very keen. |
| |
It is a very profound teaching, not easy for beginners to understand. |
| |
But if you practice with our discipline and with patience, |
| |
if you practise not-clinging, you will eventually understand. |
| |
Once I had a disciple who stayed in a grass-roofed hut. |
| |
It rained often that rainy season and one day a strong wind blew off half the roof. |
| |
He did not bother to fix it, he just let it rain in. |
| |
Several days passed and I asked him about his hut. |
| |
He said he was practising not-clinging. |
| |
This is not-clinging without wisdom. |
| |
It is about the same as the equanimity of a water buffalo. |
| |
If you live a good life and live simply, |
| |
if you are patient and unselfish, you will understand the wisdom of Hui Neng. |
| |
Q: You have said that samatha and vipassanÄ, |
| |
or concentration and insight, are the same. |
| |
Could you explain this further? |
| |
A: It is quite simple. |
| |
Concentration (samatha) and wisdom (vipassanÄ) work together. |
| |
First the mind becomes still by holding on to a meditation object. |
| |
It is quiet only while you are sitting with your eyes closed. |
| |
This is samatha and eventually this samÄdhi-base is the cause for wisdom or vipassanÄ to arise. |
| |
Then the mind is still whether you sit with your eyes closed or walk around in a busy city. |
| |
Itâs like this. |
| |
Once you were a child. |
| |
Now you are an adult. |
| |
Are the child and the adult the same person? |
| |
You can say that they are, or looking at it another way, |
| |
you can say that they are different. |
| |
In this way samatha and vipassanÄ could also be looked at as separate. |
| |
Or it is like food and faeces. |
| |
Food and faeces could be called the same and they can be called different. |
| |
Donât just believe what I say, do your practice and see for yourself. |
| |
Nothing special is needed. |
| |
If you examine how concentration and wisdom arise, |
| |
you will know the truth for yourself. |
| |
These days many people cling to the words. |
| |
They call their practice vipassanÄ. |
| |
Samatha is looked down on. |
| |
Or they call their practice samatha. |
| |
It is essential to do samatha before vipassanÄ, |
| |
they say. |
| |
All this is silly. |
| |
Donât bother to think about it in this way. |
| |
Simply do the practice and youâll see for yourself. |
| |
Q: Is it necessary to be able to enter absorption in our practice? |
| |
A: No, absorption is not necessary. |
| |
You must establish a modicum of tranquillity and one-pointedness of mind. |
| |
Then you use this to examine yourself. |
| |
Nothing special is needed. |
| |
If absorption comes in your practice, |
| |
this is OK too. |
| |
Just donât hold on to it. |
| |
Some people get hung up with absorption. |
| |
It can be great fun to play with. |
| |
You must know proper limits. |
| |
If you are wise, you will know the uses and limitations of absorption, |
| |
just as you know the limitations of children versus grown men. |
| |
Q: Why do we follow the ascetic rules such as only eating out of our bowls? |
| |
A: The ascetic precepts are to help us cut defilement. |
| |
By following one such as eating out of our bowls, |
| |
we can be more mindful of our food as medicine. |
| |
If we have no defilements, then it does not matter how we eat. |
| |
But here we use the form to make our practice simple. |
| |
The Buddha did not make the ascetic precepts necessary for all monks, |
| |
but he allowed them for those who wished to practise strictly. |
| |
They add to our outward discipline and thereby help increase our mental resolve and strength. |
| |
These rules are to be kept for yourself. |
| |
Donât watch how others practise. |
| |
Watch your own mind and see what is beneficial for you. |
| |
The rule that we must take whatever meditation hut is assigned to us is a similarly helpful discipline. |
| |
It keeps monks from being attached to their dwelling place. |
| |
If they go away and return, they must take a new dwelling. |
| |
This is our practice - not to cling to anything. |
| |
Q: If putting everything together in our bowls is important, |
| |
why donât you as a teacher do it yourself? |
| |
Donât you feel it is important for the teacher to set an example? |
| |
A: Yes, it is true, a teacher should set an example for his disciples. |
| |
I donât mind that you criticize me. |
| |
Ask whatever you wish. |
| |
But it is important that you do not cling to the teacher. |
| |
If I were absolutely perfect in outward form, |
| |
it would be terrible. |
| |
You would all be too attached to me. |
| |
Even the Buddha would sometimes tell his disciples to do one thing and then do another himself. |
| |
Your doubts in your teacher can help you. |
| |
You should watch your own reactions. |
| |
Do you think it is possible that I keep some food out of my bowl |
| |
in dishes to feed the laymen who work around the temple? |
| |
Wisdom is for yourself to watch and develop. |
| |
Take from the teacher what is good. |
| |
Be aware of your own practice. |
| |
If I am resting while you must all sit up, |
| |
does this make you angry? |
| |
If I call the colour blue red or say that male is female, |
| |
donât follow me blindly. |
| |
One of my teachers ate very fast. |
| |
He made noises as he ate. |
| |
Yet he told us to eat slowly and mindfully. |
| |
I used to watch him and get very upset. |
| |
I suffered, but he didnât! |
| |
I watched the outside. |
| |
Later, I learned. |
| |
Some people drive very fast but carefully. |
| |
Others drive slowly and have many accidents. |
| |
Donât cling to rules, to outer form. |
| |
If you watch others at most ten percent of the time and watch yourself ninety percent, |
| |
this is the proper practice. |
| |
At first I used to watch my teacher Ajahn Tongrat and had many doubts. |
| |
People even thought he was mad. |
| |
He would do strange things or get very fierce with his disciples. |
| |
Outside he was angry, but inside there was nothing. |
| |
Nobody there. |
| |
He was remarkable. |
| |
He stayed clear and mindful until the moment he died. |
| |
Looking outside the self is comparing, |
| |
discriminating. |
| |
You will not find happiness that way. |
| |
Nor will you find peace if you spend your time looking for the perfect man or the perfect teacher. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to look at the Dhamma, |
| |
the truth, not to look at other people. |
| |
Q: How can we overcome lust in our practice? |
| |
Sometimes I feel as if I am a slave to my sexual desire. |
| |
A: Lust should be balanced by contemplation of loathsomeness. |
| |
Attachment to bodily form is one extreme and one should keep in mind the opposite. |
| |
Examine the body as a corpse and see the process of decay or think of the parts of the body such as the lungs, |
| |
spleen, fat, faeces, and so forth. |
| |
Remember these and visualize this loathsome aspect of the body when lust arises. |
| |
This will free you from lust. |
| |
Q: How about anger? |
| |
What should I do when I feel anger arising? |
| |
A: You must use loving-kindness. |
| |
When angry states of mind arise in meditation, |
| |
balance them by developing feelings of loving-kindness. |
| |
If someone does something bad or gets angry, |
| |
donât get angry yourself. |
| |
If you do, you are being more ignorant than they. |
| |
Be wise. |
| |
Keep in mind compassion, for that person is suffering. |
| |
Fill your mind with loving-kindness as if he were a dear brother. |
| |
Concentrate on the feeling of loving-kindness as a meditation subject. |
| |
Spread it to all beings in the world. |
| |
Only through loving-kindness is hatred overcome. |
| |
Sometimes you may see other monks behaving badly. |
| |
You may get annoyed. |
| |
This is suffering unnecessarily. |
| |
It is not yet our Dhamma. |
| |
You may think like this: âhe is not as strict as I am. |
| |
They are not serious meditators like us. |
| |
Those monks are not good monks.â |
| |
This is a great defilement on your part. |
| |
Do not make comparisons. |
| |
Do not discriminate. |
| |
Let go of your opinions, watch your opinions and watch yourself. |
| |
This is our Dhamma. |
| |
You canât possibly make everyone act as you wish or be like you. |
| |
This wish will only make you suffer. |
| |
It is a common mistake for meditators to make, |
| |
but watching other people wonât develop wisdom. |
| |
Simply examine yourself, your feelings. |
| |
This is how you will understand. |
| |
Q: I feel sleepy a great deal. |
| |
It makes it hard to meditate. |
| |
A: There are many ways to overcome sleepiness. |
| |
If you are sitting in the dark, move to a lighted place. |
| |
Open your eyes. |
| |
Get up and wash your face or take a bath. |
| |
If you are sleepy, change postures. |
| |
Walk a lot. |
| |
Walk backwards. |
| |
The fear of running into things will keep you awake. |
| |
If this fails, stand still, clear the mind and imagine it is full daylight. |
| |
Or sit on the edge of a high cliff or deep well. |
| |
You wonât dare sleep! |
| |
If nothing works, then just go to sleep. |
| |
Lay down carefully and try to be aware until the moment you fall asleep. |
| |
Then as you awaken, get right up. |
| |
Donât look at the clock or roll over. |
| |
Start mindfulness from the moment you awaken. |
| |
If you find yourself sleepy everyday, |
| |
try to eat less. |
| |
Examine yourself. |
| |
As soon as five more spoonfuls will make you full, |
| |
stop. |
| |
Then take water until just properly full. |
| |
Go and sit. |
| |
Watch your sleepiness and hunger. |
| |
You must learn to balance your eating. |
| |
As your practice goes on you will feel naturally more energetic and eat less. |
| |
But you must adjust yourself. |
| |
Q: Why must we do so much prostrating here? |
| |
A: Prostrating is very important. |
| |
It is an outward form that is part of practice. |
| |
This form should be done correctly. |
| |
Bring the forehead all the way to the floor. |
| |
Have the elbows near the knees and the palms of the hands on the floor about three inches apart. |
| |
Prostrate slowly, be mindful of your body. |
| |
It is a good remedy for our conceit. |
| |
We should prostrate often. |
| |
When you prostrate three times you can keep in mind the qualities of the Buddha, |
| |
the Dhamma and the Sangha, that is, |
| |
the qualities of mind of purity, radiance and peace. |
| |
So we use the outward form to train ourselves. |
| |
Body and mind become harmonious. |
| |
Donât make the mistake of watching how others prostrate. |
| |
If young novices are sloppy or the aged monks appear unmindful, |
| |
this is not for you to judge. |
| |
People can be difficult to train. |
| |
Some learn fast but others learn slowly. |
| |
Judging others will only increase your pride. |
| |
Watch yourself instead. |
| |
Prostrate often, get rid of your pride. |
| |
Those who have really become harmonious with the Dhamma get far beyond the outward form. |
| |
Everything they do is a way of prostrating. |
| |
Walking, they prostrate; eating, they prostrate; defecating, |
| |
they prostrate. |
| |
This is because they have got beyond selfishness. |
| |
Q: What is the biggest problem of your new disciples? |
| |
A: Opinions. |
| |
Views and ideas about all things: about themselves, |
| |
about practice, about the teachings of the Buddha. |
| |
Many of those who come here have a high rank in the community. |
| |
There are wealthy merchants or college graduates, |
| |
teachers and government officials. |
| |
Their minds are filled with opinions about things. |
| |
They are too clever to listen to others. |
| |
It is like water in a cup. |
| |
If a cup is filled with dirty, stale water, |
| |
it is useless. |
| |
Only after the old water is thrown out can the cup become useful. |
| |
You must empty your minds of opinions, |
| |
then you will see. |
| |
Our practice goes beyond cleverness and beyond stupidity. |
| |
If you think, âI am clever, I am wealthy, |
| |
I am important, I understand all about Buddhismâ, |
| |
you cover up the truth of anattÄ or no-self. |
| |
All you will see is self, I, mine. |
| |
But Buddhism is letting go of self. |
| |
Voidness, emptiness, NibbÄna. |
| |
Q: Are defilements such as greed or anger merely illusory or are they real? |
| |
A: They are both. |
| |
The defilements we call lust or greed, |
| |
or anger or delusion, these are just outward names, |
| |
appearances; just as we call a bowl large, |
| |
small, pretty, or whatever. |
| |
This is not reality. |
| |
It is the concept we create from craving. |
| |
If we want a big bowl, we call this one small. |
| |
Craving causes us to discriminate. |
| |
The truth, though, is merely what is. |
| |
Look at it this way. |
| |
Are you a man? |
| |
You can say âyes.â |
| |
This is the appearance of things. |
| |
But really you are only a combination of elements or a group of changing aggregates. |
| |
If the mind is free, it does not discriminate. |
| |
No big and small, no you and me. |
| |
There is nothing: anattÄ, we say, or non-self. |
| |
Really, in the end there is neither attÄ nor anattÄ. |
| |
Q: Could you explain a little more about kamma? |
| |
A: Kamma is action. |
| |
Kamma is clinging. |
| |
Body, speech, and mind all make kamma when we cling. |
| |
We make habits. |
| |
These can make us suffer in the future. |
| |
This is the fruit of our clinging, of our past defilement. |
| |
All attachment leads to making kamma. |
| |
Suppose you were a thief before you became a monk. |
| |
You stole, made others unhappy, made your parents unhappy. |
| |
Now you are a monk, but when you remember how you made others unhappy, |
| |
you feel bad and suffer even today. |
| |
Remember, not only body, but speech and mental action can make conditions for future results. |
| |
If you did some act of kindness in the past and remember it today, |
| |
you will be happy. |
| |
This happy state of mind is the result of past kamma. |
| |
All things are conditioned by cause - both long term and, |
| |
when examined, moment to moment. |
| |
But you need not bother to think about past, |
| |
or present, or future. |
| |
Merely watch the body and mind. |
| |
You must figure kamma out for yourself. |
| |
Watch your mind. |
| |
Practise and you will see clearly. |
| |
Make sure, however, that you leave the kamma of others to them. |
| |
Donât cling and donât watch others. |
| |
If I take a poison, I suffer. |
| |
No need for you to share it with me! |
| |
Take what is good that your teacher offers. |
| |
Then you can become peaceful, your mind will become like that of your teacher. |
| |
If you examine it, you will see. |
| |
Even if now you donât understand, when you practise, |
| |
it will become clear. |
| |
You will know by yourself. |
| |
This is called practising the Dhamma. |
| |
When we were young, our parents used to discipline us and get angry. |
| |
Really they wanted to help us. |
| |
You must see it over the long term. |
| |
Parents and teachers criticize us and we get upset. |
| |
Later on we see why. |
| |
After long practice you will know. |
| |
Those who are too clever leave after a short time. |
| |
They never learn. |
| |
You must get rid of your cleverness. |
| |
If you think yourself better than others, |
| |
you will only suffer. |
| |
What a pity. |
| |
No need to get upset. |
| |
Just watch. |
| |
Q: Sometimes it seems that since becoming a monk I have increased my hardships and suffering. |
| |
A: I know that some of you have had a background of material comfort and outward freedom. |
| |
By comparison, now you live an austere existence. |
| |
Then in the practice, I often make you sit and wait for long hours. |
| |
Food and climate are different from your home. |
| |
But everyone must go through some of this. |
| |
This is the suffering that leads to the end of suffering. |
| |
This is how you learn. |
| |
When you get angry and feel sorry for yourself, |
| |
it is a great opportunity to understand the mind. |
| |
The Buddha called defilements our teachers. |
| |
All my disciples are like my children. |
| |
I have only loving-kindness and their welfare in mind. |
| |
If I appear to make you suffer, it is for your own good. |
| |
I know some of you are well-educated and very knowledgeable. |
| |
People with little education and worldly knowledge can practise easily. |
| |
But it is as if you Westerners have a very large house to clean. |
| |
When you have cleaned the house, you will have a big living space. |
| |
You can use the kitchen, the library, |
| |
the living room. |
| |
You must be patient. |
| |
Patience and endurance are essential to our practice. |
| |
When I was a young monk I did not have it as hard as you. |
| |
I knew the language and was eating my native food. |
| |
Even so, some days I despaired. |
| |
I wanted to disrobe or even commit suicide. |
| |
This kind of suffering comes from wrong views. |
| |
When you have seen the truth, though, |
| |
you are free from views and opinions. |
| |
Everything becomes peaceful. |
| |
Q: I have been developing very peaceful states of mind from meditation. |
| |
What should I do now? |
| |
A: This is good. |
| |
Make the mind peaceful, concentrated. |
| |
Use this concentration to examine the mind and body. |
| |
When the mind is not peaceful, you should also watch. |
| |
Then you will know true peace. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because you will see impermanence. |
| |
Even peace must be seen as impermanent. |
| |
If you are attached to peaceful states of mind you will suffer when you do not have them. |
| |
Give up everything, even peace. |
| |
Q: Did I hear you say that you are afraid of very diligent disciples? |
| |
A: Yes, thatâs right, I am afraid. |
| |
I am afraid that they are too serious. |
| |
They try too hard, but without wisdom. |
| |
They push themselves into unnecessary suffering. |
| |
Some of you are determined to become enlightened. |
| |
You grit your teeth and struggle all the time. |
| |
This is trying too hard. |
| |
People are all the same. |
| |
They donât know the nature of things (sankhÄrÄ). |
| |
All formations, mind and body, are impermanent. |
| |
Simply watch and donât cling. |
| |
Others think they know. |
| |
They criticize, they watch, they judge. |
| |
Thatâs OK. |
| |
Leave their opinions to them. |
| |
This discrimination is dangerous. |
| |
It is like a road with a very sharp curve. |
| |
If we think others are worse or better or the same as us, |
| |
we go off the curve. |
| |
If we discriminate, we will only suffer. |
| |
Q: I have been meditating many years now. |
| |
My mind is open and peaceful in almost all circumstances. |
| |
Now I would like to try to backtrack and practise high states of concentration or mind absorption. |
| |
A: This is fine. |
| |
It is a beneficial mental exercise. |
| |
If you have wisdom, you will not get hung up on concentrated states of mind. |
| |
It is the same as wanting to sit for long periods. |
| |
This is fine for training, but really, |
| |
practice is separate from any posture. |
| |
It is a matter of directly looking at the mind. |
| |
This is wisdom. |
| |
When you have examined and understood the mind, |
| |
then you have the wisdom to know the limitations of concentration, |
| |
or of books. |
| |
If you have practised and understand not-clinging, |
| |
you can then return to the books. |
| |
They will be like a sweet dessert. |
| |
They can help you to teach others. |
| |
Or you can go back to practise absorption. |
| |
You have the wisdom to know not to hold on to anything. |
| |
Q: Would you review some of the main points of our discussion? |
| |
A: You must examine yourself. |
| |
Know who you are. |
| |
Know your body and mind by simply watching. |
| |
In sitting, in sleeping, in eating, know your limits. |
| |
Use wisdom. |
| |
The practice is not to try to achieve anything. |
| |
Just be mindful of what is. |
| |
Our whole meditation is looking directly at the mind. |
| |
You will see suffering, its cause and its end. |
| |
But you must have patience; much patience and endurance. |
| |
Gradually you will learn. |
| |
The Buddha taught his disciples to stay with their teachers for at least five years. |
| |
You must learn the values of giving, of patience and of devotion. |
| |
Donât practise too strictly. |
| |
Donât get caught up with outward form. |
| |
Watching others is bad practice. |
| |
Simply be natural and watch that. |
| |
Our monksâ discipline and monastic rules are very important. |
| |
They create a simple and harmonious environment. |
| |
Use them well. |
| |
But remember, the essence of the monksâ discipline is watching intention, |
| |
examining the mind. |
| |
You must have wisdom. |
| |
Donât discriminate. |
| |
Would you get upset at a small tree in the forest for not being tall and straight like some of the others? |
| |
This is silly. |
| |
Donât judge other people. |
| |
There are all varieties. |
| |
No need to carry the burden of wishing to change them all. |
| |
So, be patient. |
| |
Practise morality. |
| |
Live simply and be natural. |
| |
Watch the mind. |
| |
This is our practice. |
| |
It will lead you to unselfishness, to peace. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Wat Wana Potiyahn1 here is certainly very peaceful, |
| |
but this is meaningless if our minds are not calm. |
| |
All places are peaceful. |
| |
That some may seem distracting is because of our minds. |
| |
However, a quiet place can help us to become calm, |
| |
by giving us the opportunity to train and thus harmonize with its calm. |
| |
You should all bear in mind that this practice is difficult. |
| |
To train in other things is not so difficult, |
| |
itâs easy, but the human mind is hard to train. |
| |
The Lord Buddha trained his mind. |
| |
The mind is the important thing. |
| |
Everything within this body-mind system comes together at the mind. |
| |
The eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body all receive sensations and send them into the mind, |
| |
which is the supervisor of all the other sense organs. |
| |
Therefore, it is important to train the mind. |
| |
If the mind is well trained, all problems come to an end. |
| |
If there are still problems, itâs because the mind still doubts, |
| |
it doesnât know in accordance with the truth. |
| |
That is why there are problems. |
| |
So recognize that all of you have come fully prepared for practising Dhamma. |
| |
Whether standing, walking, sitting or reclining, |
| |
you are provided with the tools you need to practise, |
| |
wherever you are. |
| |
They are there, just like the Dhamma. |
| |
The Dhamma is something which abounds everywhere. |
| |
Right here, on land or in water, wherever, |
| |
the Dhamma is always there. |
| |
The Dhamma is perfect and complete, but itâs our practice thatâs not yet complete. |
| |
The Lord, the fully enlightened Buddha, |
| |
taught a means by which all of us may practise and come to know this Dhamma. |
| |
It isnât a big thing, only a small thing, |
| |
but itâs right. |
| |
For example, look at hair. |
| |
If we know even one strand of hair, then we know every strand, |
| |
both our own and also that of others. |
| |
We know that they are all simply âhairâ. |
| |
By knowing one strand of hair we know it all. |
| |
Or consider people. |
| |
If we see the true nature of conditions within ourselves, |
| |
then we know all the other people in the world also, |
| |
because all people are the same. |
| |
Dhamma is like this. |
| |
Itâs a small thing and yet itâs big. |
| |
That is, to see the truth of one condition is to see the truth of them all. |
| |
When we know the truth as it is, all problems come to an end. |
| |
Nevertheless, the training is difficult. |
| |
Why is it difficult? |
| |
Itâs difficult because of wanting, tanhÄ. |
| |
If you donât âwantâ then you donât practise. |
| |
But if you practise out of desire you wonât see the Dhamma. |
| |
Think about it, all of you. |
| |
If you donât want to practise, you canât practise. |
| |
You must first want to practise in order to actually do the practice. |
| |
Whether stepping forward or stepping back you meet desire. |
| |
This is why the cultivators of the past have said that this practice is something thatâs extremely difficult to do. |
| |
You donât see Dhamma because of desire. |
| |
Sometimes desire is very strong, you want to see the Dhamma immediately, |
| |
but the Dhamma is not your mind - your mind is not yet Dhamma. |
| |
The Dhamma is one thing and the mind is another. |
| |
Itâs not that whatever you like is Dhamma and whatever you donât like isnât. |
| |
Thatâs not the way it goes. |
| |
Actually this mind of ours is simply a condition of nature, |
| |
like a tree in the forest. |
| |
If you want a plank or a beam, it must come from a tree, |
| |
but a tree is still only a tree. |
| |
Itâs not yet a beam or a plank. |
| |
Before it can really be of use to us we must take that tree and saw it into beams or planks. |
| |
Itâs the same tree but it becomes transformed into something else. |
| |
Intrinsically itâs just a tree, a condition of nature. |
| |
But in its raw state it isnât yet of much use to those who need timber. |
| |
Our mind is like this. |
| |
It is a condition of nature. |
| |
As such it perceives thoughts, it discriminates into beautiful and ugly and so on. |
| |
This mind of ours must be further trained. |
| |
We canât just let it be. |
| |
Itâs a condition of nature! |
| |
Train it to realize that itâs a condition of nature. |
| |
Improve on nature so that itâs appropriate to our needs, |
| |
which is Dhamma. |
| |
Dhamma is something which must be practised and brought within. |
| |
If you donât practise you wonât know. |
| |
Frankly speaking, you wonât know the Dhamma by just reading it or studying it. |
| |
Or if you do know it, your knowledge is still defective. |
| |
For example, this spittoon here. |
| |
Everybody knows itâs a spittoon but they donât fully know the spittoon. |
| |
Why donât they fully know it? |
| |
If I called this spittoon a saucepan, |
| |
what would you say? |
| |
Suppose that every time I asked for it I said, |
| |
âPlease bring that saucepan over here,â that would confuse you. |
| |
Why so? |
| |
Because you donât fully know the spittoon. |
| |
If you did, there would be no problem. |
| |
You would simply pick up that object and hand it to me, |
| |
because actually there isnât any spittoon. |
| |
Do you understand? |
| |
Itâs a spittoon due to convention. |
| |
This convention is accepted all over the country, |
| |
so itâs a spittoon. |
| |
But there isnât any real âspittoonâ. |
| |
If somebody wants to call it a saucepan it can be a saucepan. |
| |
It can be whatever you call it. |
| |
This is called âconceptâ. |
| |
If we fully know the spittoon, even if somebody calls it a saucepan thereâs no problem. |
| |
Whatever others may call it, we are unperturbed because we are not blind to its true nature. |
| |
This is one who knows Dhamma. |
| |
Now letâs come back to ourselves. |
| |
Suppose somebody said, âYouâre crazy!â |
| |
or, âYouâre stupid,â for example. |
| |
Even though it may not be true, you wouldnât feel so good. |
| |
Everything becomes difficult because of our ambitions to have and to achieve. |
| |
Because of these desires to get and to be, |
| |
because we donât know according to the truth, |
| |
we have no contentment. |
| |
If we know the Dhamma, are enlightened to the Dhamma, |
| |
greed, aversion and delusion will disappear. |
| |
When we understand the way things are, |
| |
there is nothing for them to rest on. |
| |
Why is the practice so difficult and arduous? |
| |
Because of desires. |
| |
As soon as we sit down to meditate we want to become peaceful. |
| |
If we didnât want to find peace we wouldnât sit, |
| |
we wouldnât practise. |
| |
As soon as we sit down we want peace to be right there, |
| |
but wanting the mind to be calm makes for confusion, |
| |
and we feel restless. |
| |
This is how it goes. |
| |
So the Buddha says, âDonât speak out of desire, |
| |
donât sit out of desire, donât walk out of desire. |
| |
Whatever you do, donât do it with desire.â |
| |
Desire means wanting. |
| |
If you donât want to do something you wonât do it. |
| |
If our practice reaches this point, we can get quite discouraged. |
| |
How can we practise? |
| |
As soon as we sit down there is desire in the mind. |
| |
Itâs because of this that the body and mind are difficult to observe. |
| |
If they are not the self nor belonging to self, |
| |
then who do they belong to? |
| |
Because itâs difficult to resolve these things, |
| |
we must rely on wisdom. |
| |
The Buddha says we must practise with âletting goâ. |
| |
But if we let go, then we just donât practise, |
| |
right? |
| |
Because weâve let go. |
| |
Suppose we went to buy some coconuts in the market, |
| |
and while we were carrying them back someone asked: |
| |
âWhat did you buy those coconuts for?â |
| |
âI bought them to eat.â |
| |
âAre you going to eat the shells as well?â |
| |
âNo.â |
| |
âI donât believe you. |
| |
If youâre not going to eat the shells then why did you buy them also?â |
| |
Well what do you say? |
| |
How are you going to answer their question? |
| |
We practise with desire. |
| |
If we didnât have desire we wouldnât practise. |
| |
Practising with desire is tanhÄ. |
| |
Contemplating in this way can give rise to wisdom, |
| |
you know. |
| |
For example, those coconuts: Are you going to eat the shells as well? |
| |
Of course not. |
| |
Then why do you take them? |
| |
Because the time hasnât yet come for you to throw them away. |
| |
Theyâre useful for wrapping up the coconut in. |
| |
If, after eating the coconut, you throw the shells away, |
| |
there is no problem. |
| |
Our practice is like this. |
| |
The Buddha said, âDonât act on desire, |
| |
donât speak from desire, donât eat with desire.â |
| |
Standing, walking, sitting or reclining, |
| |
whatever, donât do it with desire. |
| |
This means to do it with detachment. |
| |
Itâs just like buying the coconuts from the market. |
| |
Weâre not going to eat the shells but itâs not yet time to throw them away. |
| |
We keep them first. |
| |
This is how the practice is. |
| |
Concept (sammuti) and transcendence (vimutti) are co-existent, |
| |
just like a coconut. |
| |
The flesh, the husk and the shell are all together. |
| |
When we buy a coconut we buy the whole lot. |
| |
If somebody wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells thatâs their business, |
| |
we know what weâre doing. |
| |
Wisdom is something each of us finds for oneself. |
| |
To see it we must go neither fast nor slow. |
| |
What should we do? |
| |
Go to where there is neither fast nor slow. |
| |
Going fast or going slow is not the way. |
| |
But weâre all impatient, weâre in a hurry. |
| |
As soon as we begin we want to rush to the end, |
| |
we donât want to be left behind. |
| |
We want to succeed. |
| |
When it comes to fixing their minds for meditation some people go too far. |
| |
They light the incense, prostrate and make a vow, |
| |
âAs long as this incense is not yet completely burnt I will not rise from my sitting, |
| |
even if I collapse or die, no matter what, |
| |
Iâll die sitting.â |
| |
Having made their vow they start their sitting. |
| |
As soon as they start to sit, MÄraâs hordes come rushing at them from all sides. |
| |
Theyâve only sat for an instant and already they think the incense must be finished. |
| |
They open their eyes for a peek, âOh, |
| |
thereâs still ages left!â |
| |
They grit their teeth and sit some more, |
| |
feeling hot, flustered, agitated and confused. |
| |
Reaching the breaking point they think, |
| |
âIt must be finished by nowâ. |
| |
They have another peek. |
| |
âOh, no! |
| |
Itâs not even half-way yet!â |
| |
Two or three times and itâs still not finished, |
| |
so they just give up, pack it in and sit there hating themselves. |
| |
âIâm so stupid, Iâm so hopeless!â |
| |
They sit and hate themselves, feeling like a hopeless case. |
| |
This just gives rise to frustration and hindrances. |
| |
This is called the hindrance of ill-will. |
| |
They canât blame others so they blame themselves. |
| |
And why is this? |
| |
Itâs all because of wanting. |
| |
Actually it isnât necessary to go through all that. |
| |
To concentrate means to concentrate with detachment, |
| |
not to concentrate yourself into knots. |
| |
But maybe we read the scriptures about the life of the Buddha, |
| |
how he sat under the Bodhi tree and determined to himself: |
| |
âAs long as I have still not attained Supreme Enlightenment I will not rise from this place, |
| |
even if my blood dries up.â |
| |
Reading this in the books you may think of trying it yourself. |
| |
Youâll do it like the Buddha. |
| |
But you havenât considered that your car is only a small one. |
| |
The Buddhaâs car was a really big one, |
| |
he could take it all in one go. |
| |
With only your tiny, little car, how can you possibly take it all at once? |
| |
Itâs a different story altogether. |
| |
Why do we think like that? |
| |
Because weâre too extreme. |
| |
Sometimes we go too low, sometimes we go too high. |
| |
The point of balance is so hard to find. |
| |
Now Iâm only speaking from experience. |
| |
In the past my practice was like this. |
| |
Practising in order to get beyond wanting. |
| |
If we donât want, can we practise? |
| |
I was stuck here. |
| |
But to practise with wanting is suffering. |
| |
I didnât know what to do, I was baffled. |
| |
Then I realized that the practice which is steady is the important thing. |
| |
One must practise consistently. |
| |
They call this the practice that is âconsistent in all posturesâ. |
| |
Keep refining the practice, donât let it become a disaster. |
| |
Practice is one thing, disaster is another.2 Most people usually create disaster. |
| |
When they feel lazy they donât bother to practise, |
| |
they only practise when they feel energetic. |
| |
This is how I tended to be. |
| |
All of you ask yourselves now, is this right? |
| |
To practise when you feel like it, not when you donât: is that in accordance with the Dhamma? |
| |
Is it straight? |
| |
Is it in line with the teaching? |
| |
This is what makes practice inconsistent. |
| |
Whether you feel like it or not you should practise just the same: this is how the Buddha taught. |
| |
Most people wait till theyâre in the mood before practising; when they donât feel like it they donât bother. |
| |
This is as far as they go. |
| |
This is called âdisasterâ, itâs not practice. |
| |
In the true practice, whether you are happy or depressed you |
| |
practice; whether itâs easy or difficult you practise; whether itâs hot or cold you practise. |
| |
Itâs straight like this. |
| |
In the real practice, whether standing, |
| |
walking, sitting or reclining you must have the intention to continue the practice steadily, |
| |
making your sati consistent in all postures. |
| |
At first thought it seems as if you should stand for as long as you walk, |
| |
walk for as long as you sit, sit for as long as you lie down. |
| |
Iâve tried it but I couldnât do it. |
| |
If a meditator were to make his standing, |
| |
walking, sitting and lying down all equal, |
| |
how many days could he keep it up for? |
| |
Stand for five minutes, sit for five minutes, |
| |
lie down for five minutes. |
| |
I couldnât do it for very long. |
| |
So I sat down and thought about it some more. |
| |
âWhat does it all mean? |
| |
People in this world canât practise like this!â |
| |
Then I realized. |
| |
âOh, thatâs not right, it canât be right because itâs impossible to do. |
| |
Standing, walking, sitting, reclining ... |
| |
make them all consistent. |
| |
To make the postures consistent the way they explain it in the books is impossible.â |
| |
But it is possible to do this: the mind, |
| |
just consider the mind. |
| |
To have sati, recollection, sampajañña, |
| |
self-awareness, and paññÄ, all-round wisdom, |
| |
this you can do. |
| |
This is something thatâs really worth practising. |
| |
This means that while standing we have sati, |
| |
while walking we have sati, while sitting we have sati, |
| |
and while reclining we have sati - consistently. |
| |
This is possible. |
| |
We put awareness into our standing, walking, |
| |
sitting, lying down - into all postures. |
| |
When the mind has been trained like this it will constantly recollect Buddho, |
| |
Buddho, Buddho ... |
| |
which is knowing. |
| |
Knowing what? |
| |
Knowing what is right and what is wrong at all times. |
| |
Yes, this is possible. |
| |
This is getting down to the real practice. |
| |
That is, whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down there is continuous sati. |
| |
Then you should understand those conditions which should be given up and those which should be cultivated. |
| |
You know happiness, you know unhappiness. |
| |
When you know happiness and unhappiness your mind will settle at the point which is free of happiness and unhappiness. |
| |
Happiness is the loose path, kÄmasukhallikÄnuyogo. |
| |
Unhappiness is the tight path, attakilamathÄnuyogo.3 If we know these two extremes, |
| |
we pull it back. |
| |
We know when the mind is inclining towards happiness or unhappiness and we pull it back, |
| |
we donât allow it to lean over. |
| |
We have this sort of awareness, we adhere to the One Path, |
| |
the single Dhamma. |
| |
We adhere to the awareness, not allowing the mind to follow its inclinations. |
| |
But in your practice it doesnât tend to be like that, |
| |
does it? |
| |
You follow your inclinations. |
| |
If you follow your inclinations itâs easy, |
| |
isnât it? |
| |
But this is the ease which causes suffering, |
| |
like someone who canât be bothered working. |
| |
He takes it easy, but when the time comes to eat he hasnât got anything. |
| |
This is how it goes. |
| |
Iâve contended with many aspects of the Buddhaâs teaching in the past, |
| |
but I couldnât really beat him. |
| |
Nowadays I accept it. |
| |
I accept that the many teachings of the Buddha are straight down the line, |
| |
so Iâve taken those teachings and used them to train both myself and others. |
| |
The practice which is important is patipadÄ. |
| |
What is patipadÄ? |
| |
It is simply all our various activities: standing, |
| |
walking, sitting, reclining and everything else. |
| |
This is the patipadÄ of the body. |
| |
Now the patipadÄ of the mind: how many times in the course of today have you felt low? |
| |
How many times have you felt high? |
| |
Have there been any noticeable feelings? |
| |
We must know ourselves like this. |
| |
Having seen those feelings, can we let go? |
| |
Whatever we canât yet let go of, we must work with. |
| |
When we see that we canât yet let go of some particular feeling, |
| |
we must take it and examine it with wisdom. |
| |
Reason it out. |
| |
Work with it. |
| |
This is practice. |
| |
For example, when you are feeling zealous, |
| |
practise, and when you feel lazy, try to continue the practice. |
| |
If you canât continue at âfull speedâ then at least do half as much. |
| |
Donât just waste the day away by being lazy and not practising. |
| |
Doing that will lead to disaster, itâs not the way of a practitioner. |
| |
Now Iâve heard some people say, âOh, this year I was really in a bad way.â |
| |
âHow come?â |
| |
âI was sick all year. |
| |
I couldnât practise at all.â |
| |
Oh! |
| |
If they donât practise when death is near, |
| |
when will they ever practise? |
| |
If theyâre feeling well, do you think theyâll practise? |
| |
No, they only get lost in happiness. |
| |
If theyâre suffering they still donât practise, |
| |
they get lost in that. |
| |
I donât know when people think theyâre going to practise! |
| |
They can only see that theyâre sick, in pain, |
| |
almost dead from fever - thatâs right, |
| |
bring it on heavy, thatâs where the practice is. |
| |
When people are feeling happy it just goes to their heads and they get vain and conceited. |
| |
We must cultivate our practice. |
| |
What this means is that whether you are happy or unhappy you must practise just the same. |
| |
If you are feeling well you should practise, |
| |
and if you are feeling sick you should also practise. |
| |
There are those who think, âThis year I couldnât practise at all, |
| |
I was sick the whole timeâ. |
| |
If these people are feeling well, they just walk around singing songs. |
| |
This is wrong thinking, not right thinking. |
| |
This is why the practitioners of the past have all maintained the steady training of the heart. |
| |
If things go wrong, just let them be with the body, |
| |
not in the mind. |
| |
There was a time in my practice, after I had been practising about five years, |
| |
when I felt that living with others was a hindrance. |
| |
I would sit in my kutī and try to meditate and people would keep coming by for a chat and disturbing me. |
| |
I ran off to live by myself. |
| |
I thought I couldnât practise with those people bothering me. |
| |
I was fed up, so I went to live in a small, |
| |
deserted monastery in the forest, near a small village. |
| |
I stayed there alone, speaking to no-one because there was nobody else to speak to. |
| |
After Iâd been there about fifteen days the thought arose, |
| |
âHmm. |
| |
It would be good to have a novice or pah-kow here with me. |
| |
He could help me out with some small jobs.â |
| |
I knew it would come up, and sure enough, |
| |
there it was! |
| |
âHey! |
| |
Youâre a real character! |
| |
You say youâre fed up with your friends, |
| |
fed up with your fellow monks and novices, |
| |
and now you want a novice. |
| |
Whatâs this?â |
| |
âNo,â it says, âI want a good novice.â |
| |
âThere! |
| |
Where are all the good people, can you find any? |
| |
Where are you going to find a good person? |
| |
In the whole monastery there were only no-good people. |
| |
You must have been the only good person, |
| |
to have run away like this!â |
| |
You have to follow it up like this, follow up the tracks of your thoughts until you see. |
| |
âHmm. |
| |
This is the important one. |
| |
Where is there a good person to be found? |
| |
There arenât any good people, you must find the good person within yourself. |
| |
If you are good in yourself then wherever you go will be good. |
| |
Whether others criticize or praise you, |
| |
you are still good. |
| |
If you arenât good, then when others criticize you, |
| |
you get angry, and when they praise you, |
| |
you are pleased. |
| |
At that time I reflected on this and have found it to be true from that day on until the present. |
| |
Goodness must be found within. |
| |
As soon as I saw this, that feeling of wanting to run away disappeared. |
| |
In later times, whenever I had that desire arise I let it go. |
| |
Whenever it arose I was aware of it and kept my awareness on that. |
| |
Thus I had a solid foundation. |
| |
Wherever I lived, whether people condemned me or whatever they said, |
| |
I would reflect that the point is not whether they were good or bad. |
| |
Good or evil must be seen within ourselves. |
| |
The way other people are, thatâs their concern. |
| |
Donât go thinking, âOh, today is too hot,â or, |
| |
âToday is too cold,â or, âToday is ....â |
| |
Whatever the day is like, thatâs just the way it is. |
| |
Really, you are simply blaming the weather for your own laziness. |
| |
We must see the Dhamma within ourselves, |
| |
then there is a surer kind of peace. |
| |
So for all of you who have come to practise here, |
| |
even though itâs only for a few days, |
| |
many things will arise. |
| |
Many things may be arising which youâre not even aware of. |
| |
There is some right thinking, some wrong thinking - many, |
| |
many things. |
| |
So I say this practice is difficult. |
| |
Even though some of you may experience some peace when you sit in meditation, |
| |
donât be in a hurry to congratulate yourselves. |
| |
Likewise, if there is some confusion, |
| |
donât blame yourselves. |
| |
If things seem to be good, donât delight in them, |
| |
and if theyâre not good donât be averse to them. |
| |
Just look at it all, look at what you have. |
| |
Just look, donât bother judging. |
| |
If itâs good, donât hold fast to it; if itâs bad, |
| |
donât cling to it. |
| |
Good and bad can both bite, so donât hold fast to them. |
| |
The practice is simply to sit, sit and watch it all. |
| |
Good moods and bad moods come and go as is their nature. |
| |
Donât only praise your mind or only condemn it, |
| |
know the right time for these things. |
| |
When itâs time for congratulations, congratulate it, |
| |
but just a little, donât overdo it. |
| |
Just like teaching a child, sometimes you may have to spank it a little. |
| |
In our practice sometimes we may have to punish ourselves, |
| |
but donât punish yourself all the time. |
| |
If you punish yourself all the time, in a while youâll just give up the practice. |
| |
But then you canât just give yourself a good time and take it easy either. |
| |
Thatâs not the way to practise. |
| |
We practise according to the Middle Way. |
| |
What is the Middle Way? |
| |
This Middle Way is difficult to follow, |
| |
you canât rely on your moods and desires. |
| |
Donât think that just sitting with your eyes closed is practise. |
| |
If you do think this way then quickly change your thinking! |
| |
Steady practice is having the attitude of practice while standing, |
| |
walking, sitting and lying down. |
| |
When coming out of sitting meditation, |
| |
reflect that youâre simply changing postures. |
| |
If you reflect in this way you will have peace. |
| |
Wherever you are, you will have this attitude of practice with you constantly, |
| |
you will have a steady awareness within yourself. |
| |
Those of you who, simply indulge in your moods, |
| |
spending the whole day letting the mind wander where it wants, |
| |
will find that the next evening in sitting meditation all you get is the âbackwashâ from the dayâs aimless thinking. |
| |
There is no foundation of calm because you have let it go cold all day. |
| |
If you practise like this, your mind gets gradually further and further from the practice. |
| |
When I ask some of my disciples, âHow is your meditation going?â |
| |
They say, âOh, itâs all gone now.â |
| |
You see? |
| |
They can keep it up for a month or two but in a year or two itâs all finished. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
Itâs because they donât take this essential point into their practice. |
| |
When theyâve finished sitting they let go of their samÄdhi. |
| |
They start to sit for shorter and shorter periods, |
| |
till they reach the point where as soon as they start to sit they want to finish. |
| |
Eventually they donât even sit. |
| |
Itâs the same with bowing to the Buddha image. |
| |
At first they make the effort to prostrate every night before going to sleep, |
| |
but after a while their minds begin to stray. |
| |
Soon they donât bother to prostrate at all, |
| |
they just nod, till eventually itâs all gone. |
| |
They throw out the practice completely. |
| |
Therefore, understand the importance of sati, |
| |
practise constantly. |
| |
Right practice is steady practice. |
| |
Whether standing, walking, sitting or reclining, |
| |
the practice must continue. |
| |
This means that practice, meditation, |
| |
is done in the mind, not in the body. |
| |
If our mind has zeal, is conscientious and ardent, |
| |
there will be awareness. |
| |
The mind is the important thing. |
| |
The mind is that which supervises everything we do. |
| |
When we understand properly, we practise properly. |
| |
When we practise properly, we donât go astray. |
| |
Even if we only do a little, that is still all right. |
| |
For example, when you finish sitting in meditation, |
| |
remind yourselves that you are not actually finishing meditation, |
| |
you are simply changing postures. |
| |
Your mind is still composed. |
| |
Whether standing, walking, sitting or reclining, |
| |
you have sati with you. |
| |
If you have this kind of awareness you can maintain your internal practice. |
| |
In the evening when you sit again the practice continues uninterrupted. |
| |
Your effort is unbroken, allowing the mind to attain calm. |
| |
This is called steady practice. |
| |
Whether we are talking or doing other things we should try to make the practice continuous. |
| |
If our mind has recollection and self-awareness continuously, |
| |
our practice will naturally develop, |
| |
it will gradually come together. |
| |
The mind will find peace, because it will know what is right and what is wrong. |
| |
It will see what is happening within us and realize peace. |
| |
If we are to develop sÄ«la or samÄdhi, |
| |
we must first have paññÄ. |
| |
Some people think that theyâll develop moral restraint one year, |
| |
samÄdhi the next year and the year after that theyâll develop wisdom. |
| |
They think these three things are separate. |
| |
They think that this year they will develop sīla, |
| |
but if the mind is not firm (samÄdhi), |
| |
how can they do it? |
| |
If there is no understanding (paññÄ), |
| |
how can they do it? |
| |
Without samÄdhi or paññÄ, sÄ«la will be sloppy. |
| |
In fact these three come together at the same point. |
| |
When we have sÄ«la we have samÄdhi, when we have samÄdhi we have paññÄ. |
| |
They are all one, like a mango. |
| |
Whether itâs small or fully grown, itâs still a mango. |
| |
When itâs ripe itâs still the same mango. |
| |
If we think in simple terms like this, |
| |
we can see it more easily. |
| |
We donât have to learn a lot of things, |
| |
just know these things, know our practice. |
| |
When it comes to meditation some people donât get what they want, |
| |
so they just give up, saying they donât yet have the merit to practise meditation. |
| |
They can do bad things, they have that sort of talent, |
| |
but they donât have the talent to do good. |
| |
They give it up, saying they donât have a good enough foundation. |
| |
This is the way people are, they side with their defilements. |
| |
Now that you have this chance to practise, |
| |
please understand that whether you find it difficult or easy to develop samÄdhi it is entirely up to you, |
| |
not the samÄdhi. |
| |
If it is difficult, it is because you are practising wrongly. |
| |
In our practice we must have âright viewâ (sammÄ-ditthi). |
| |
If our view is right, everything else is right: right view, |
| |
right intention, right speech, right action, |
| |
right livelihood, right effort, right recollection, |
| |
right concentration - the Eightfold Path. |
| |
When there is right view all the other factors will follow. |
| |
Whatever happens, donât let your mind stray off the track. |
| |
Look within yourself and you will see clearly. |
| |
As I see it, for the best practice, it isnât necessary to read many books. |
| |
Take all the books and lock them away. |
| |
Just read your own mind. |
| |
You have all been burying yourselves in books from the time you entered school. |
| |
I think that now you have this opportunity and have the time, |
| |
take the books, put them in a cupboard and lock the door. |
| |
Just read your mind. |
| |
Whenever something arises within the mind, |
| |
whether you like it or not, whether it seems right or wrong, |
| |
just cut it off with, âthis is not a sure thing.â |
| |
Whatever arises just cut it down, ânot sure, |
| |
not sure.â |
| |
With just this single axe you can cut it all down. |
| |
Itâs all ânot sureâ. |
| |
For the duration of this next month that you will be staying in this forest monastery, |
| |
you should make a lot of headway. |
| |
You will see the truth. |
| |
This ânot sureâ is really an important one. |
| |
This one develops wisdom. |
| |
The more you look, the more you will see ânot sure-nessâ. |
| |
After youâve cut something off with ânot sureâ it may come circling round and pop up again. |
| |
Yes, itâs truly ânot sureâ. |
| |
Whatever pops up just stick this one label on it all - ânot sureâ. |
| |
You stick the sign on, ânot sureâ, and in a while, |
| |
when its turn comes, it crops up again, |
| |
âAh, not sure.â |
| |
Dig here! |
| |
Not sure. |
| |
You will see this same old one whoâs been fooling you month in, |
| |
month out, year in, year out, from the day you were born. |
| |
Thereâs only this one whoâs been fooling you all along. |
| |
See this and realize the way things are. |
| |
When your practice reaches this point you wonât cling to sensations, |
| |
because they are all uncertain. |
| |
Have you ever noticed? |
| |
Maybe you see a clock and think, âOh, |
| |
this is nice.â |
| |
Buy it and see - in not many days youâre bored with it already. |
| |
âThis pen is really beautiful,â so you take the trouble to buy one. |
| |
In not many months you tire of it. |
| |
This is how it is. |
| |
Where is there any certainty? |
| |
If we see all these things as uncertain, |
| |
their value fades away. |
| |
All things become insignificant. |
| |
Why should we hold on to things that have no value? |
| |
We keep them only as we might keep an old rag to wipe our feet with. |
| |
We see all sensations as equal in value because they all have the same nature. |
| |
When we understand sensations we understand the world. |
| |
The world is sensations and sensations are the world. |
| |
If we arenât fooled by sensations, we arenât fooled by the world. |
| |
If we arenât fooled by the world, we arenât fooled by sensations. |
| |
The mind which sees this will have a firm foundation of wisdom. |
| |
Such a mind will not have many problems. |
| |
Any problems it does have, it can solve. |
| |
When there are no more problems there are no more doubts. |
| |
Peace arises in their stead. |
| |
This is called âpracticeâ. |
| |
If we really practise it must be like this. |
| |
1: One of the many branch monasteries of Ajahn Chahâs main monastery, |
| |
Wat Pah Pong. |
| |
2: The play on words here between the Thai âpatibatâ (practice) and âwibutâ (disaster) is lost in the English. |
| |
3: These are the two extremes pointed out as wrong paths by the Buddha in his First Discourse. |
| |
They are normally rendered as âindulgence in sense pleasuresâ and âself-mortificationâ. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Take a look at the example of the Buddha. |
| |
Both in his own practice and in his methods for teaching the disciples he was exemplary. |
| |
The Buddha taught the standards of practice as skilful means for getting rid of conceit. |
| |
He couldnât do the practice for us. |
| |
Having heard that teaching, we must further teach ourselves, |
| |
practise for ourselves. |
| |
The results will arise here, not at the teaching. |
| |
The Buddhaâs teaching can only enable us to get an initial understanding of the Dhamma, |
| |
but the Dhamma is not yet within our hearts. |
| |
Why not? |
| |
Because we havenât yet practised, we havenât yet taught ourselves. |
| |
The Dhamma arises within the practice. |
| |
If you know it, you know it through the practice. |
| |
If you doubt it, you doubt it in the practice. |
| |
Teachings from the Masters may be true, |
| |
but simply listening to Dhamma is not yet enough to enable us to realize it. |
| |
The teaching simply points out the way to realizing the Dhamma. |
| |
To realize the Dhamma we must take that teaching and bring it into our hearts. |
| |
That part which is for the body we apply to the body, |
| |
that part which is for speech we apply to speech, |
| |
and that part which is for the mind we apply to the mind. |
| |
This means that after hearing the teaching we must further teach ourselves to know that Dhamma, |
| |
to be that Dhamma. |
| |
The Buddha said that those who simply believe others are not truly wise. |
| |
A wise person practises until he is one with the Dhamma, |
| |
until he can have confidence in himself, |
| |
independent of others. |
| |
On one occasion, while Venerable SÄriputta was sitting at the Buddhaâs feet, |
| |
listening respectfully as the Buddha expounded the Dhamma, |
| |
the Buddha turned to him and asked, |
| |
âSÄriputta, do you believe this teaching?â |
| |
Venerable SÄriputta replied, âNo, I donât yet believe it.â |
| |
Now this is a good illustration. |
| |
Venerable SÄriputta listened, and he took note. |
| |
When he said he didnât yet believe he wasnât being careless, |
| |
he was speaking the truth. |
| |
He simply took note of that teaching, |
| |
because he had not yet developed his own understanding of it, |
| |
so he told the Buddha that he didnât yet believe - because he really didnât believe. |
| |
These words almost sound as if Venerable SÄriputta was being rude, |
| |
but actually he wasnât. |
| |
He spoke the truth, and the Buddha praised him for it. |
| |
âGood, good, SÄriputta. |
| |
A wise person doesnât readily believe. |
| |
He should consider first before believing.â |
| |
Conviction in a belief can take various forms. |
| |
One form reasons according to Dhamma, |
| |
while another form is contrary to the Dhamma. |
| |
This second way is heedless, it is a foolhardy understanding, |
| |
micchÄ-ditthi, wrong view. |
| |
One doesnât listen to anybody else. |
| |
Take the example of DÄ«ghanakha the BrÄhman. |
| |
This BrÄhman only believed himself, he wouldnât believe others. |
| |
At one time when the Buddha was resting at RÄjagaha, |
| |
DÄ«ghanakha went to listen to his teaching. |
| |
Or you might say that DÄ«ghanakha went to teach the Buddha because he was intent on expounding his own views. |
| |
âI am of the view that nothing suits me.â |
| |
This was his view. |
| |
The Buddha listened to DÄ«ghanakhaâs view and then answered, |
| |
âBrÄhman, this view of yours doesnât suit you either.â |
| |
When the Buddha had answered in this way, |
| |
DÄ«ghanakha was stumped. |
| |
He didnât know what to say. |
| |
The Buddha explained in many ways, till the BrÄhman understood. |
| |
He stopped to reflect and saw. |
| |
âHmm, this view of mine isnât right.â |
| |
On hearing the Buddhaâs answer the BrÄhman abandoned his conceited views and immediately saw the truth. |
| |
He changed right then and there, turning right around, |
| |
just as one would invert oneâs hand. |
| |
He praised the teaching of the Buddha thus: |
| |
âListening to the Blessed Oneâs teaching, |
| |
my mind was illumined, just as one living in darkness might perceive light. |
| |
My mind is like an overturned basin which has been uprighted, |
| |
like a man who has been lost and finds the way.â |
| |
Now at that time a certain knowledge arose within his mind, |
| |
within that mind which had been uprighted. |
| |
Wrong view vanished and right view took its place. |
| |
Darkness disappeared and light arose. |
| |
The Buddha declared that the BrÄhman DÄ«ghanakha was one who had opened the Dhamma Eye. |
| |
Previously DÄ«ghanakha clung to his own views and had no intention of changing them. |
| |
But when he heard the Buddhaâs teaching his mind saw the truth, |
| |
he saw that his clinging to those views was wrong. |
| |
When the right understanding arose, he was able to perceive his previous understanding as mistaken, |
| |
so he compared his experience with a person living in darkness who had found light. |
| |
This is how it is. |
| |
At that time the BrÄhman DÄ«ghanakha transcended his wrong view. |
| |
Now we must change in this way. |
| |
Before we can give up defilements, we must change our perspective. |
| |
We must begin to practise correctly and practise well. |
| |
Previously we didnât practise rightly or well, |
| |
and yet we thought we were right and good just the same. |
| |
When we really look into the matter we upright ourselves, |
| |
just like turning over oneâs hand. |
| |
This means that the âone who knowsâ, or wisdom, |
| |
arises in the mind, so that it is able to see things anew. |
| |
A new kind of awareness arises. |
| |
Therefore, practitioners must develop this knowing, |
| |
which we call Buddho, the one who knows, |
| |
in their minds. |
| |
Originally the one who knows is not there, |
| |
our knowledge is not clear, true or complete. |
| |
This knowledge is therefore too weak to train the mind. |
| |
But then the mind changes, or inverts, |
| |
as a result of this awareness, called âwisdomâ or âinsightâ, |
| |
which exceeds our previous awareness. |
| |
That previous âone who knowsâ did not yet know fully and so was unable to bring us to our objective. |
| |
The Buddha therefore taught to look within, |
| |
opanayiko. |
| |
Look within, donât look outwards. |
| |
Or if you look outwards, then look within to see the cause and effect therein. |
| |
Look for the truth in all things, because external objects and internal objects are always affecting each other. |
| |
Our practice is to develop a certain type of awareness until it becomes stronger than our previous awareness. |
| |
This causes wisdom and insight to arise within the mind, |
| |
enabling us to clearly know the workings of the mind, |
| |
the language of the mind and the ways and means of all the defilements. |
| |
The Buddha, when he first left his home in search of liberation, |
| |
was probably not really sure what to do, |
| |
much like us. |
| |
He tried many ways to develop his wisdom. |
| |
He looked for teachers, such as Uddaka RÄmaputta to practise meditation - right leg on left leg, |
| |
right hand on left hand, body erect, |
| |
eyes closed, letting go of everything until he was able to attain |
| |
a high level of absorption (samÄdhi).1 But when he came out of |
| |
that samÄdhi his old thinking came up and he would attach to it just as before. |
| |
Seeing this, he knew that wisdom had not yet arisen. |
| |
His understanding had not yet penetrated to the truth, |
| |
it was still incomplete, still lacking. |
| |
Seeing this he nonetheless gained some understanding - that this |
| |
was not yet the summation of practice - but he left that place to look for a new teacher. |
| |
When the Buddha left his old teacher he didnât condemn him, |
| |
he did as the bee does, it takes nectar from the flower without damaging the petals. |
| |
The Buddha then proceeded to study with ÄlÄra KÄlÄma and attained an even higher state of samÄdhi, |
| |
but when he came out of that state Bimba and RÄhula2 came back into his thoughts again, |
| |
the old memories and feelings came up again. |
| |
He still had lust and desire. |
| |
Reflecting inward he saw that he still hadnât reached his goal, |
| |
so he left that teacher also. |
| |
He listened to his teachers and did his best to follow their teachings. |
| |
He continually reviewed the results of his practice; he didnât |
| |
simply do things and then discard them for something else. |
| |
Then, after trying ascetic practices, |
| |
he realized that starving until one is almost a skeleton is simply a matter for the body. |
| |
The body doesnât know anything. |
| |
Practising in that way was like executing an innocent person while ignoring the real thief. |
| |
When the Buddha really looked into the matter he saw that practise is not a concern of the body, |
| |
it is a concern of the mind. |
| |
The Buddha had tried AttakilamathÄnuyogo (self-mortification) and found that it was limited to the body. |
| |
In fact, all Buddhas are enlightened in mind. |
| |
Whether in regard to the body or to the mind, |
| |
just throw them all together as transient, |
| |
imperfect and ownerless - aniccam , |
| |
dukkham and anattÄ. |
| |
They are simply conditions of nature. |
| |
They arise depending on supporting factors, |
| |
exist for a while and then cease. |
| |
When there are appropriate conditions they arise again; having arisen they exist for a while, |
| |
then cease once more. |
| |
These things are not a âselfâ, a âbeingâ, |
| |
an âusâ or a âthemâ. |
| |
Thereâs nobody there, there are simply feelings. |
| |
Happiness has no intrinsic self, suffering has no intrinsic self. |
| |
No self can be found, there are simply elements of nature which arise, |
| |
exist and cease. |
| |
They go through this constant cycle of change. |
| |
All beings, including humans, tend to see the arising as themselves, |
| |
the existence as themselves, and the cessation as themselves. |
| |
Thus they cling to everything. |
| |
They donât want things to be the way they are, |
| |
they donât want them to be otherwise. |
| |
For instance, having arisen they donât want things to cease; having experienced happiness, |
| |
they donât want suffering. |
| |
If suffering does arise they want it to go away as quickly as possible, |
| |
but it is even better if it doesnât arise at all. |
| |
This is because they see this body and mind as themselves, |
| |
or belonging to themselves, and so they demand those things to follow their wishes. |
| |
This sort of thinking is like building a dam or a dyke without making an outlet to let the water through. |
| |
The result is that the dam bursts. |
| |
And so it is with this kind of thinking. |
| |
The Buddha saw that thinking in this way is the cause of suffering. |
| |
Seeing this cause, the Buddha gave it up. |
| |
This is the Noble Truth of the cause of suffering. |
| |
The truths of suffering, its cause, its cessation and the way leading to that cessation - people are stuck right here. |
| |
If people are to overcome their doubts, |
| |
itâs right at this point. |
| |
Seeing that these things are simply rĆ«pa and nÄma, |
| |
or corporeality and mentality, it becomes obvious that they are not a being, |
| |
a person, an âusâ, or a âthemâ. |
| |
They simply follow the laws of nature. |
| |
Our practice is to know things in this way. |
| |
We donât have the power to really control these things, |
| |
we arenât really their owners. |
| |
Trying to control them causes suffering, |
| |
because they arenât really ours to control. |
| |
Neither body nor mind are âselfâ or âotherâ. |
| |
If we know this as it really is, then we see clearly. |
| |
We see the truth, we are at one with it. |
| |
Itâs like seeing a lump of red hot iron which has been heated in a furnace. |
| |
Itâs hot all over. |
| |
Whether we touch it on top, the bottom or the sides itâs hot. |
| |
No matter where we touch it, itâs hot. |
| |
This is how you should see things. |
| |
Mostly when we start to practise we want to attain, |
| |
to achieve, to know and to see, but we donât yet know what it is weâre going to achieve or know. |
| |
There was once a disciple of mine whose practice was plagued with confusion and doubts. |
| |
But he kept practising, and I kept instructing him, |
| |
till he began to find some peace. |
| |
But when he eventually became a bit calm he got caught up in his doubts again, |
| |
saying, âWhat do I do next?â |
| |
There! |
| |
The confusion arises again. |
| |
He says he wants peace but when he gets it, |
| |
he doesnât want it, he asks what he should do next! |
| |
So in this practice we must do everything with detachment. |
| |
How are we to detach? |
| |
We detach by seeing things clearly. |
| |
Know the characteristics of the body and mind as they are. |
| |
We meditate in order to find peace, but in doing so we see that which is not peaceful. |
| |
This is because movement is the nature of the mind. |
| |
When practising samÄdhi we fix our attention on the in-breath and out-breath at the nose tip or the upper lip. |
| |
This âliftingâ the mind to fix it is called vitakka, |
| |
or âlifting upâ. |
| |
When we have thus âliftedâ the mind and are fixed on an object, |
| |
this is called vicÄra, the contemplation of the breath at the nose tip. |
| |
This quality of vicÄra will naturally mingle with other mental sensations, |
| |
and we may think that our mind is not still, |
| |
that it wonât calm down, but actually this is simply the workings of vicÄra as it mingles with those sensations. |
| |
Now if this goes too far in the wrong direction, |
| |
our mind will lose its collectedness. |
| |
So then we must set up the mind afresh, |
| |
lifting it up to the object of concentration with vitakka. |
| |
As soon as we have thus established our attention vicÄra takes over, |
| |
mingling with the various mental sensations. |
| |
Now when we see this happening, our lack of understanding may lead us to wonder: âWhy has my mind wandered? |
| |
I wanted it to be still, why isnât it still?â |
| |
This is practising with attachment. |
| |
Actually the mind is simply following its nature, |
| |
but we go and add on to that activity by wanting the mind to be still and thinking, |
| |
âWhy isnât it still?â |
| |
Aversion arises and so we add that on to everything else, |
| |
increasing our doubts, increasing our suffering and increasing our confusion. |
| |
So if there is vicÄra, reflecting on the various happenings within the mind in this way, |
| |
we should wisely consider, âAh, the mind is simply like this.â |
| |
There, thatâs the one who knows talking, |
| |
telling you to see things as they are. |
| |
The mind is simply like this. |
| |
We let it go at that and the mind becomes peaceful. |
| |
When itâs no longer centred we bring up vitakka once more, |
| |
and shortly there is calm again. |
| |
Vitakka and vicÄra work together like this. |
| |
We use vicÄra to contemplate the various sensations which arise. |
| |
When vicÄra becomes gradually more scattered we once again âliftâ our attention with vitakka. |
| |
The important thing here is that our practice at this point must be done with detachment. |
| |
Seeing the process of vicÄra interacting with the mental sensations |
| |
we may think that the mind is confused and become averse to this process. |
| |
This is the cause right here. |
| |
We arenât happy simply because we want the mind to be still. |
| |
This is the cause - wrong view. |
| |
If we correct our view just a little, |
| |
seeing this activity as simply the nature of mind, |
| |
just this is enough to subdue the confusion. |
| |
This is called letting go. |
| |
Now, if we donât attach, if we practise with âletting goâ - detachment |
| |
within activity and activity within detachment - if we learn to practise like this, |
| |
then vicÄra will naturally tend to have less to work with. |
| |
If our mind ceases to be disturbed, then vicÄra will incline to contemplating Dhamma, |
| |
because if we donât contemplate Dhamma, |
| |
the mind returns to distraction. |
| |
So there is vitakka then vicÄra, vitakka then vicÄra, |
| |
vitakka then vicÄra and so on, until vicÄra becomes gradually more subtle. |
| |
At first vicÄra goes all over the place. |
| |
When we understand this as simply the natural activity of the mind, |
| |
it wonât bother us unless we attach to it. |
| |
Itâs like flowing water. |
| |
If we get obsessed with it, asking âWhy does it flow?â |
| |
then naturally we suffer. |
| |
If we understand that the water simply flows because thatâs its nature, |
| |
then thereâs no suffering. |
| |
VicÄra is like this. |
| |
There is vitakka, then vicÄra, interacting with mental sensations. |
| |
We can take these sensations as our object of meditation, |
| |
calming the mind by noting those sensations. |
| |
If we know the nature of the mind like this, |
| |
then we let go, just like letting the water flow by. |
| |
VicÄra becomes more and more subtle. |
| |
Perhaps the mind inclines to contemplating the body, |
| |
or death for instance, or some other theme of Dhamma. |
| |
When the theme of contemplation is right, |
| |
there will arise a feeling of well-being. |
| |
What is that well-being? |
| |
It is pīti (rapture). |
| |
PÄ«ti, well-being, arises. |
| |
It may manifest as goose-pimples, coolness or lightness. |
| |
The mind is enrapt. |
| |
This is called pīti. |
| |
There is also pleasure, sukha, the coming and going of various sensations; and the state of ekaggatÄrammana, |
| |
or one-pointedness. |
| |
Now if we talk in terms of the first stage of concentration, |
| |
it must be like this: vitakka, vicÄra, |
| |
pÄ«ti, sukha, ekaggatÄ. |
| |
So what is the second stage like? |
| |
As the mind becomes progressively more subtle, |
| |
vitakka and vicÄra become comparatively coarser, |
| |
so that they are discarded, leaving only pīti, |
| |
sukha, and ekaggatÄ. |
| |
This is something that the mind does of itself, |
| |
we donât have to conjecture about it, |
| |
we just know things as they are. |
| |
As the mind becomes more refined, pīti is eventually thrown off, |
| |
leaving only sukha and ekaggatÄ, and so we take note of that. |
| |
Where does pīti go to? |
| |
It doesnât go anywhere, itâs just that the mind becomes increasingly |
| |
more subtle so that it throws off those qualities that are too coarse for it. |
| |
Whatever is too coarse it throws out, |
| |
and it keeps throwing off like this until it reaches the peak of subtlety, |
| |
known in the books as the fourth jhÄna, |
| |
the highest level of absorption. |
| |
Here the mind has progressively discarded whatever becomes too coarse for it, |
| |
until only ekaggatÄ and upekkhÄ, equanimity remain. |
| |
Thereâs nothing further, this is the limit. |
| |
When the mind is developing the stages of samÄdhi it must proceed in this way, |
| |
but please let us understand the basics of practice. |
| |
We want to make the mind still but it wonât be still. |
| |
This is practising out of desire, but we donât realize it. |
| |
We have the desire for calm. |
| |
The mind is already disturbed and then we further disturb things by wanting to make it calm. |
| |
This very wanting is the cause. |
| |
We donât see that this wanting to calm the mind is tanhÄ. |
| |
Itâs just like increasing the burden. |
| |
The more we desire calm the more disturbed the mind becomes, |
| |
until we just give up. |
| |
We end up fighting all the time, sitting and struggling with ourselves. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
Because we donât reflect back on how we have set up the mind. |
| |
Know that the conditions of mind are simply the way they are. |
| |
Whatever arises, just observe it. |
| |
It is simply the nature of the mind; it isnât harmful unless we donât understand its nature. |
| |
Itâs not dangerous if we see its activity for what it is. |
| |
So we practise with vitakka and vicÄra until the mind begins to settle down and becomes less forceful. |
| |
When sensations arise we contemplate them, |
| |
we mingle with them and come to know them. |
| |
However, usually we tend to start fighting with them, |
| |
because right from the beginning weâre determined to calm the mind. |
| |
As soon as we sit, the thoughts come to bother us. |
| |
As soon as we set up our meditation object our attention wanders, |
| |
the mind wanders off following all the thoughts, |
| |
thinking that those thoughts have come to disturb us, |
| |
but actually the problem arises right here, |
| |
from the very wanting to calm the mind. |
| |
If we see that the mind is simply behaving according to its nature, |
| |
that it naturally comes and goes like this, |
| |
and if we donât get over-interested in it, |
| |
we can understand that its ways are much the same as a child. |
| |
Children donât know any better, they may say all kinds of things. |
| |
If we understand them we just let them talk, |
| |
because children naturally talk like that. |
| |
When we let go like this, we are not obsessed with the child. |
| |
We can talk to our guests undisturbed, |
| |
while the child chatters and plays around. |
| |
The mind is like this. |
| |
Itâs not harmful unless we grab on to it and get obsessed over it. |
| |
Thatâs the real cause of trouble. |
| |
When pīti arises one feels an indescribable pleasure, |
| |
which only those who experience it can appreciate. |
| |
Sukha (pleasure) arises, and there is also the quality of one-pointedness. |
| |
There is vitakka, vicÄra, pÄ«ti, sukha and ekaggatÄ. |
| |
These five qualities all converge at one place. |
| |
Even though they are different qualities they are all collected in one place, |
| |
and we can see them all there, just like seeing many different kinds of fruit in one bowl. |
| |
Vitakka, vicÄra, pÄ«ti, sukha and ekaggatÄ - we can see them all in one mind, |
| |
all five qualities. |
| |
If one were to ask, âHow is there vitakka, |
| |
how is there vicÄra, how is there pÄ«ti and sukha? |
| |
âIt would be difficult to answer, but when they converge in the mind we will see how it is for ourselves. |
| |
At this point our practice becomes somewhat special. |
| |
We must have recollection and self-awareness and not lose ourselves. |
| |
Know things for what they are. |
| |
These are stages of meditation, the potential of the mind. |
| |
Donât doubt anything with regard to the practice. |
| |
Even if you sink into the earth or fly into the air, |
| |
or even âdieâ while sitting, donât doubt it. |
| |
Whatever the qualities of the mind are, |
| |
just stay with the knowing. |
| |
This is our foundation: to have sati, |
| |
recollection, and sampajañña, self-awareness, |
| |
whether standing, walking, sitting, |
| |
or reclining. |
| |
Whatever arises, just leave it be, donât cling to it. |
| |
Whether itâs like or dislike, happiness or suffering, |
| |
doubt or certainty, contemplate with vicÄra and gauge the results of those qualities. |
| |
Donât try to label everything, just know it. |
| |
See that all the things that arise in the mind are simply sensations. |
| |
They are transient. |
| |
They arise, exist and cease. |
| |
Thatâs all there is to them, they have no self or being, |
| |
they are neither âusâ nor âthemâ. |
| |
None of them are worthy of clinging to. |
| |
When we see all rĆ«pa and nÄma in this way with wisdom, |
| |
then we will see the old tracks. |
| |
We will see the transience of the mind, |
| |
the transience of the body, the transience of happiness, |
| |
suffering, love and hate. |
| |
They are all impermanent. |
| |
Seeing this, the mind becomes weary; weary of the body and mind, |
| |
weary of the things that arise and cease and their transience. |
| |
When the mind becomes disenchanted it will look for a way out of all those things. |
| |
It no longer wants to be stuck in things, |
| |
it sees the inadequacy of this world and the inadequacy of birth. |
| |
When the mind sees like this, wherever we go, |
| |
we see aniccam (transience), dukkham (imperfection) and anattÄ (ownerlessness). |
| |
Thereâs nothing left to hold on to. |
| |
Whether we sit at the foot of a tree, |
| |
on a mountain top or in a valley, we can hear the Buddhaâs teaching. |
| |
All trees will seem as one, all beings will be as one, |
| |
thereâs nothing special about any of them. |
| |
They arise, exist for a while, age and then die, |
| |
all of them. |
| |
We thus see the world more clearly, we see this body and mind more clearly. |
| |
They are clearer in the light of transience, |
| |
clearer in the light of imperfection and clearer in the light of ownerlessness. |
| |
If people hold fast to things, they suffer. |
| |
This is how suffering arises. |
| |
If we see that body and mind are simply the way they are, |
| |
no suffering arises, because we donât hold fast to them. |
| |
Wherever we go we will have wisdom. |
| |
Even when seeing a tree we can consider it with wisdom. |
| |
Seeing grass and the various insects will be food for reflection. |
| |
When it all comes down to it, they all fall into the same boat. |
| |
They are all Dhamma, they are invariably transient. |
| |
This is the truth, this is the true Dhamma, |
| |
this is certain. |
| |
How is it certain? |
| |
It is certain in that the world is that way and can never be otherwise. |
| |
Thereâs nothing more to it than this. |
| |
If we can see in this way, we have finished our journey. |
| |
In Buddhism, with regard to view, it is said that to feel that |
| |
we are more foolish than others is not right; to feel that we |
| |
are equal to others is not right; and to feel that we are better than others is not right, |
| |
because there isnât any âweâ. |
| |
This is how it is, we must uproot conceit. |
| |
This is called lokavidƫ - knowing the world clearly as it is. |
| |
If we thus see the truth, the mind will know itself completely and will sever the cause of suffering. |
| |
When there is no longer any cause, the results can not arise. |
| |
This is the way our practice should proceed. |
| |
The basics which we need to develop are: firstly, |
| |
to be upright and honest; secondly, |
| |
to be wary of wrongdoing; thirdly, to have the attribute of humility within our heart, |
| |
to be aloof and content with little. |
| |
If we are content with little in regards to speech and all other things, |
| |
we will see ourselves, we wonât be drawn into distractions. |
| |
The mind will have a foundation of sīla, |
| |
samÄdhi, and paññÄ. |
| |
Therefore, practitioners of the path should not be careless. |
| |
Even if you are right, donât be careless. |
| |
And if you are wrong, donât be careless. |
| |
If things are going well or youâre feeling happy, |
| |
donât be careless. |
| |
Why do I say âdonât be carelessâ? |
| |
Because all of these things are uncertain. |
| |
Note them as such. |
| |
If you get peaceful just leave the peace be. |
| |
You may really want to indulge in it but you should simply know the truth of it, |
| |
the same as for unpleasant qualities. |
| |
This practice of the mind is up to each individual. |
| |
The teacher only explains the way to train the mind, |
| |
because that mind is within each individual. |
| |
We know whatâs in there, nobody else can know our mind as well as we can. |
| |
The practice requires this kind of honesty. |
| |
Do it properly, donât do it half-heartedly. |
| |
When I say âdo it properly,â does that mean you have to exhaust yourselves? |
| |
No, you donât have to exhaust yourselves, |
| |
because the practice is done in the mind. |
| |
If you know this, you will know the practice. |
| |
You donât need a whole lot. |
| |
Just use the standards of practice to reflect on yourself inwardly. |
| |
Now the Rains Retreat is half way over. |
| |
For most people itâs normal to let the practice slacken off after a while. |
| |
They arenât consistent from beginning to end. |
| |
This shows that their practice is not yet mature. |
| |
For instance, having determined a particular practice at the beginning of the retreat, |
| |
whatever it may be, then we must fulfil that resolution. |
| |
For these three months make the practice consistent. |
| |
You must all try. |
| |
Whatever you have determined to practise, |
| |
consider that and reflect whether the practice has slackened off. |
| |
If so, make an effort to re-establish it. |
| |
Keep shaping up the practice, just the same as when we practise meditation on the breath. |
| |
As the breath goes in and out the mind gets distracted. |
| |
Then re-establish your attention on the breath. |
| |
When your attention wanders off again bring it back once more. |
| |
This is the same. |
| |
In regard to both the body and the mind the practice proceeds like this. |
| |
Please make an effort with it. |
| |
1: The level of nothingness, one of the âformless absorptionsâ, |
| |
sometimes called the seventh jhÄna, |
| |
or absorption. |
| |
2: Bimba, or Princess YasodharÄ, the Buddhaâs former wife; RÄhula, |
| |
his son. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Staying or going is not important, but our thinking is. |
| |
So all of you, please work together, cooperate and live in harmony. |
| |
This should be the legacy you create here at Wat Pah Nanachat Bung Wai, |
| |
the International Forest Monastery of Bung Wai District. |
| |
Donât let it become Wat Pah Nanachat Woon Wai, |
| |
the International Forest Monastery of Confusion and Trouble.1 |
| |
Whoever comes to stay here should be helping create this legacy. |
| |
The way I see it, the laypeople are providing robes material, |
| |
almsfood, the dwelling place, and medicines in appropriate measure. |
| |
Itâs true that they are simple country folk, |
| |
but they support you out of their faith as best they can. |
| |
Donât get carried away with your ideas of how you think they should be, |
| |
such as, âOh, I try to teach these laypeople, |
| |
but they do make me upset. |
| |
Today is the observance day, and they came to take precepts. |
| |
Then tomorrow theyâll go casting their fishing nets. |
| |
Theyâll drink their whisky. |
| |
They do these things right out there where anyone can see. |
| |
Then the next observance day, theyâll come again. |
| |
Theyâll take the precepts and listen to the Dhamma talk again, |
| |
and then theyâll go to put out their nets again, |
| |
kill animals again, and drink again.â |
| |
You can get pretty upset thinking like this. |
| |
Youâll think that your activities with the laypeople donât bring any benefit at all. |
| |
Today they take the precepts, and tomorrow they go cast fishing nets. |
| |
A monk without much wisdom might get discouraged and feel heâs failed, |
| |
thinking his work bears no fruit. |
| |
But itâs not that his efforts have no result; itâs those laypeople who get no result. |
| |
Of course there is some good result from making efforts at virtue. |
| |
So when there is such a situation and we start to suffer over it, |
| |
what should we do? |
| |
We contemplate within ourselves to recognize that our good intentions have brought some benefit and do have meaning. |
| |
Itâs just that the spiritual faculties of those people arenât developed. |
| |
They arenât strong yet. |
| |
Thatâs how it is for now, so we patiently continue to advise them. |
| |
If we just give up on such people, they are likely to become worse than they are now. |
| |
If we keep at it, they may come to maturity one day and recognize their unskilful actions. |
| |
Then they will feel some remorse and start to be ashamed of doing such things. |
| |
Right now, they have the faith to support us with material offerings, |
| |
giving us our requisites for living. |
| |
Iâve considered this; itâs quite a big deal. |
| |
Itâs no small thing. |
| |
Donating our food, our dwellings, the medicines to treat our illnesses, |
| |
is not a small thing. |
| |
We are practising for the attainment of NibbÄna. |
| |
If we donât have any food to eat, that will be pretty difficult. |
| |
How would we sit in meditation? |
| |
How would we be able to build this monastery? |
| |
We should recognize when peopleâs spiritual faculties are not yet mature. |
| |
So what should we do? |
| |
We are like someone selling medicine. |
| |
Youâve probably seen or heard them driving around with their |
| |
loudspeakers touting the different medicines they have for different maladies. |
| |
People who have bad headaches or poor digestion might come to buy. |
| |
We can accept money from those who buy our medicine; we donât take money from someone who doesnât buy anything. |
| |
We can feel glad about the people who do buy something. |
| |
If others stay in their houses and donât come out to buy, |
| |
we shouldnât get angry with them for that. |
| |
We shouldnât criticize them. |
| |
If we teach people but they canât practise properly, |
| |
we shouldnât be getting angry with them. |
| |
Donât do that! |
| |
Donât criticize them, but rather keep on instructing them and leading them along. |
| |
Whenever their faculties have ripened sufficiently, |
| |
then they will want to do it. |
| |
Just like when we are selling medicine, |
| |
we just keep on doing our business. |
| |
When people have ailments that trouble them, |
| |
they will buy. |
| |
Those who donât see a need to buy medicine probably arenât suffering from any such conditions. |
| |
So never mind. |
| |
Keeping at it with this attitude, these problems will be done with. |
| |
There were such situations in the Buddhaâs time too. |
| |
We want to do it right, but somehow we canât get there yet; our own faculties are not sufficiently mature. |
| |
Our pÄramÄ« are not complete. |
| |
Itâs like fruit thatâs still growing on the tree. |
| |
You canât force it to be sweet - itâs still unripe, |
| |
itâs small and sour, simply because it hasnât finished growing. |
| |
You canât force it to be bigger, to be sweet, |
| |
to be ripe - you have to let it ripen according to its nature. |
| |
As time passes and things change, people may come to spiritual maturity. |
| |
As time passes the fruit will grow, ripen and sweeten of its own accord. |
| |
With such an attitude you can be at ease. |
| |
But if you are impatient and dissatisfied, |
| |
you keep asking, âWhy isnât this mango sweet yet? |
| |
Why is it sour?â |
| |
Itâs still sour because itâs not ripe. |
| |
Thatâs the nature of fruit. |
| |
The people in the world are like that. |
| |
It makes me think of the Buddhaâs teaching about four kinds of lotus. |
| |
Some are still in the mud, some have grown out of the mud but are under the water, |
| |
some are at the surface of the water, |
| |
and some have risen above the water and blossomed. |
| |
The Buddha was able to give his teachings to so many various |
| |
beings because he understood their different levels of spiritual development. |
| |
We should think about this and not feel oppressed by what happens here. |
| |
Just consider yourselves to be like someone selling medicine. |
| |
Your responsibility is to advertise it and make it available. |
| |
If someone gets sick, they are likely to come and buy it. |
| |
Likewise, if peopleâs spiritual faculties mature sufficiently, |
| |
one day they are likely to develop faith. |
| |
Itâs not something we can force them to do. |
| |
Seeing it in this way, we will be okay. |
| |
Living here in this monastery is certainly meaningful. |
| |
Itâs not without benefit. |
| |
All of you, please practise together harmoniously and amicably. |
| |
When you experience obstacles and suffering, |
| |
recollect the virtues of the Buddha. |
| |
What was the knowledge the Buddha realized? |
| |
What did the Buddha teach? |
| |
What does the Dhamma point out? |
| |
How does the Sangha practise? |
| |
Constantly recollecting the qualities of the Three Jewels brings a lot of benefit. |
| |
Whether you are Thais or people from other countries is not important. |
| |
Itâs important to maintain harmony and work together. |
| |
People come from all over to visit this monastery. |
| |
When folks come to Wat Pah Pong, I urge them to come here, |
| |
to see the monastery, to practise here. |
| |
Itâs a legacy you are creating. |
| |
It seems that the populace have faith and are gladdened by it. |
| |
So donât forget yourselves. |
| |
You should be leading people rather than being led by them. |
| |
Make your best efforts to practise well and establish yourselves firmly, |
| |
and good results will come. |
| |
Are there any doubts about practice you need to resolve now? |
| |
Questions and Answers |
| |
Question: When the mind isnât thinking much, |
| |
but is in a sort of dark and dull state, |
| |
is there something we should do to brighten it? |
| |
Or should we just sit with it? |
| |
Answer: Is this all the time or when you are sitting in meditation? |
| |
What exactly is this darkness like? |
| |
Is it a lack of wisdom? |
| |
Q: When I sit to meditate, I donât get drowsy, |
| |
but my mind feels dark, sort of dense or opaque. |
| |
A: So you would like to make your mind wise, |
| |
right? |
| |
Change your posture, and do a lot of walking meditation. |
| |
Thatâs one thing to do. |
| |
You can walk for three hours at a time, |
| |
until youâre really tired. |
| |
Q: I do walking meditation a couple of hours a day, |
| |
and I usually have a lot of thinking when I do it. |
| |
But what really concerns me is this dark state when I sit. |
| |
Should I just try to be aware of it and let go, |
| |
or is there some means I should use to counter it? |
| |
A: I think maybe your postures arenât balanced. |
| |
When you walk, you have a lot of thinking. |
| |
So you should do a lot of discursive contemplation; then the mind can retreat from thinking. |
| |
It wonât stick there. |
| |
But never mind. |
| |
For now, increase the time you spend on walking meditation. |
| |
Focus on that. |
| |
Then if the mind is wandering, pull it out and do some contemplation, |
| |
such as, for example, investigation of the body. |
| |
Have you ever done that continuously rather than as an occasional reflection? |
| |
When you experience this dark state, do you suffer over it? |
| |
Q: I feel frustrated because of my state of mind. |
| |
Iâm not developing samÄdhi or wisdom. |
| |
A: When you have this condition of mind the suffering comes about because of not knowing. |
| |
There is doubt as to why the mind is like this. |
| |
The important principle in meditation is that whatever occurs, |
| |
donât be in doubt over it. |
| |
Doubt only adds to the suffering. |
| |
If the mind is bright and awake, donât doubt that. |
| |
Itâs a condition of mind. |
| |
If itâs dark and dull, donât doubt about that. |
| |
Just continue to practise diligently without getting caught up in reactions to that state. |
| |
Take note and be aware of your state of mind, |
| |
donât have doubts about it. |
| |
It is just what it is. |
| |
When you entertain doubts and start grasping at it and giving it meaning, |
| |
then it is dark. |
| |
As you practise, these states are things you encounter as you progress along. |
| |
You neednât have doubts about them. |
| |
Notice them with awareness and keep letting go. |
| |
How about sleepiness? |
| |
Is your sitting more sleepy or awake? |
| |
(No reply) |
| |
Maybe itâs hard to recall if youâve been sleepy! |
| |
If this happens meditate with your eyes open. |
| |
Donât close them. |
| |
Instead, you can focus your gaze on one point, |
| |
such as the light of a candle. |
| |
Donât close your eyes! |
| |
This is one way to remove the hindrance of drowsiness. |
| |
When youâre sitting you can close your eyes from time to time and if the mind is clear, |
| |
without drowsiness, you can then continue to sit with your eyes closed. |
| |
If itâs dull and sleepy, open your eyes and focus on the one point. |
| |
Itâs similar to kasina meditation. |
| |
Doing this, you can make the mind awake and tranquil. |
| |
The sleepy mind isnât tranquil; itâs obscured by hindrance and itâs in darkness. |
| |
We should talk about sleep also. |
| |
You canât simply go without sleep. |
| |
Thatâs the nature of the body. |
| |
If youâre meditating and you get unbearably, |
| |
utterly sleepy, then let yourself sleep. |
| |
This is one way to quell the hindrance when itâs overwhelming you. |
| |
Otherwise you practise along, keeping the eyes open if you have this tendency to get drowsy. |
| |
Close your eyes after a while and check your state of mind. |
| |
If itâs clear, you can practise with eyes closed. |
| |
Then after some time, take a rest. |
| |
Some people are always fighting against sleep. |
| |
They force themselves not to sleep, and the result is that when |
| |
they sit they are always drifting off to sleep and falling over themselves, |
| |
sitting in an unaware state. |
| |
Q: Can we focus on the tip of the nose? |
| |
A: Thatâs fine. |
| |
Whatever suits you, whatever you feel comfortable with and helps you fix your mind, |
| |
focus on that. |
| |
Itâs like this: if we get attached to the ideals and take the |
| |
guidelines that we are given in the instructions too literally, |
| |
it can be difficult to understand. |
| |
When doing a standard meditation such as mindfulness of breathing, |
| |
first we should make the determination that right now we are going to do this practice, |
| |
and we are going to make mindfulness of breathing our foundation. |
| |
We only focus on the breath at three points, |
| |
as it passes through the nostrils, the chest and the abdomen. |
| |
When the air enters, it first passes the nose, |
| |
then through the chest, then to the end point of the abdomen. |
| |
As it leaves the body, the beginning is the abdomen, |
| |
the middle is the chest, and the end is the nose. |
| |
We merely note it. |
| |
This is a way to start controlling the mind, |
| |
tying awareness to these points at the beginning, |
| |
middle and end of the inhalations and exhalations. |
| |
Before we begin we should first sit and let the mind relax. |
| |
Itâs similar to sewing robes on a treadle sewing machine. |
| |
When we are learning to use the sewing machine, |
| |
first we just sit in front of the machine to get familiar with it and feel comfortable. |
| |
Here, we just sit and breathe. |
| |
Not fixing awareness on anything, we merely take note that we are breathing. |
| |
We take note of whether the breath is relaxed or not and how long or short it is. |
| |
Having noticed this, then we begin focusing on the inhalation and exhalation at the three points. |
| |
We practise like this until we become skilled in it and it goes smoothly. |
| |
The next stage is to focus awareness only on the sensation of the breath at the tip of the nose or the upper lip. |
| |
At this point we arenât concerned with whether the breath is long or short, |
| |
but only focus on the sensation of entering and exiting. |
| |
Different phenomena may contact the senses, |
| |
or thoughts may arise. |
| |
This is called initial thought (vitakka). |
| |
The mind brings up some idea, be it about the nature of compounded phenomena (sankhÄrÄ), |
| |
about the world, or whatever. |
| |
Once the mind has brought it up, the mind will want to get involved and merge with it. |
| |
If itâs an object that is wholesome, let the mind take it up. |
| |
If it is something unwholesome, stop it immediately. |
| |
If it is something wholesome, let the mind contemplate it, |
| |
and gladness, satisfaction and happiness will come about. |
| |
The mind will be bright and clear as the breath goes in and out, |
| |
and as the mind takes up these initial thoughts. |
| |
Then initial thought becomes discursive thought (vicÄra). |
| |
The mind develops familiarity with the object, |
| |
exerting itself and merging with it. |
| |
At this point, there is no sleepiness. |
| |
After an appropriate period of this, take your attention back to the breath. |
| |
As you continue on, there will be initial thought and discursive thought, |
| |
initial thought and discursive thought. |
| |
If you are contemplating skilfully on an object such as the nature of sankhÄra, |
| |
the mind will experience deeper tranquillity and rapture is born. |
| |
There is the vitakka and vicÄra, and that leads to happiness of mind. |
| |
At this time there wonât be any dullness or drowsiness. |
| |
The mind wonât be dark if we practise like this. |
| |
It will be gladdened and enraptured. |
| |
This rapture will start to diminish and disappear after a while, |
| |
so you can take up initial thought again. |
| |
The mind will become firm and certain with it - undistracted. |
| |
Then you go on to discursive thought again, |
| |
the mind becoming one with it. |
| |
When you are practising a meditation that suits your temperament and doing it well, |
| |
then whenever you take up the object, |
| |
rapture will come about: the hairs of the body stand on end and the mind is enraptured and satiated. |
| |
When itâs like this there canât be any dullness or drowsiness. |
| |
You wonât have any doubts. |
| |
Back and forth between initial and discursive thought, |
| |
initial and discursive thought, over and over again and rapture comes. |
| |
Then there is sukha. |
| |
This takes place in sitting practice. |
| |
After sitting for a while, you can get up and do walking meditation. |
| |
The mind can be the same in the walking. |
| |
Not sleepy, it has vitakka and vicÄra, |
| |
vitakka and vicÄra, then rapture. |
| |
There wonât be any of the nÄ«varana, and the mind will be unstained. |
| |
Whatever takes place, never mind; you donât need to doubt about any experiences you may have, |
| |
be they of light, of bliss, or whatever. |
| |
Donât entertain doubts about these conditions of mind. |
| |
If the mind is dark, if the mind is illumined, |
| |
donât fixate on these conditions, donât be attached to them. |
| |
Let go, discard them. |
| |
Keep walking, keep noting what is taking place without getting bound or infatuated. |
| |
Donât suffer over these conditions of mind. |
| |
Donât have doubts about them. |
| |
They are just what they are, following the way of mental phenomena. |
| |
Sometimes the mind will be joyful. |
| |
Sometimes it will be sorrowful. |
| |
There can be happiness or suffering; there can be obstruction. |
| |
Rather than doubting, understand that conditions of mind are |
| |
like this; whatever manifests is coming about due to causes ripening. |
| |
At this moment this condition is manifesting; thatâs what you should recognize. |
| |
Even if the mind is dark you donât need to be upset over that. |
| |
If it becomes bright, donât be excessively gladdened by that. |
| |
Donât have doubts about these conditions of mind, |
| |
or about your reactions to them. |
| |
Do your walking meditation until you are really tired, |
| |
then sit. |
| |
When you sit determine your mind to sit; donât just play around. |
| |
If you get sleepy, open your eyes and focus on some object. |
| |
Walk until the mind separates itself from thoughts and is still, |
| |
then sit. |
| |
If you are clear and awake, you can close your eyes. |
| |
If you get sleepy again, open your eyes and look at an object. |
| |
Donât try to do this all day and all night. |
| |
When youâre in need of sleep, let yourself sleep. |
| |
Just as with our food: once a day we eat. |
| |
The time comes and we give food to the body. |
| |
The need for sleep is the same. |
| |
When the time comes, give yourself some rest. |
| |
When youâve had an appropriate rest, get up. |
| |
Donât let the mind languish in dullness, |
| |
but get up and get to work - start practising. |
| |
Do a lot of walking meditation. |
| |
If you walk slowly and the mind becomes dull, |
| |
then walk fast. |
| |
Learn to find the right pace for yourself. |
| |
Q: Are vitakka and vicÄra the same? |
| |
A: Youâre sitting and suddenly the thought of someone pops into your head - thatâs vitakka, |
| |
the initial thought. |
| |
Then you take that idea of the person and start thinking about them in detail. |
| |
Vitakka picks up the idea, vicÄra investigates it. |
| |
For example, we pick up the idea of death and then we start considering it: âI will die, |
| |
others will die, every living being will die; when they die where will they go?â |
| |
Then stop! |
| |
Stop and bring it back again. |
| |
When it gets running like that, stop it again; and then go back to mindfulness of the breath. |
| |
Sometimes the discursive thought will wander off and not come back, |
| |
so you have to stop it. |
| |
Keep at it until the mind is bright and clear. |
| |
If you practise vicÄra with an object that you are suited to, |
| |
you may experience the hairs of your body standing on end, |
| |
tears pouring from your eyes, a state of extreme delight, |
| |
many different things occur as rapture comes. |
| |
Q: Can this happen with any kind of thinking, |
| |
or is it only in a state of tranquillity that it happens? |
| |
A: Itâs when the mind is tranquil. |
| |
Itâs not ordinary mental proliferation. |
| |
You sit with a calm mind and then the initial thought comes. |
| |
For example, I think of my brother who just passed away. |
| |
Or I might think of some other relatives. |
| |
This is when the mind is tranquil - the tranquillity isnât something certain, |
| |
but for the moment the mind is tranquil. |
| |
After this initial thought comes, I go into discursive thought. |
| |
If itâs a line of thinking thatâs skilful and wholesome, |
| |
it leads to ease of mind and happiness, |
| |
and there is rapture with its attendant experiences. |
| |
This rapture came from the initial and discursive thinking that took place in a state of calmness. |
| |
We donât have to give it names such as first jhÄna, |
| |
second jhÄna and so forth. |
| |
We just call it tranquillity. |
| |
The next factor is bliss (sukha). |
| |
Eventually we drop the initial and discursive thinking as tranquillity deepens. |
| |
Why? |
| |
The state of mind is becoming more refined and subtle. |
| |
Vitakka and vicÄra are relatively coarse, |
| |
and they will vanish. |
| |
There will remain just the rapture accompanied by bliss and one-pointedness of mind. |
| |
When it reaches full measure there wonât be anything, |
| |
the mind is empty. |
| |
Thatâs absorption concentration. |
| |
We donât need to fixate or dwell on any of these experiences. |
| |
They will naturally progress from one to the next. |
| |
At first there is initial and discursive thought, |
| |
rapture, bliss and one-pointedness. |
| |
Then initial and discursive thinking are thrown off, |
| |
leaving rapture, bliss, and one-pointedness. |
| |
Rapture is thrown off,2 then bliss, and finally only one-pointedness and equanimity remain. |
| |
It means the mind becomes more and more tranquil, |
| |
and its objects are steadily decreasing until there is nothing but one-pointedness and equanimity. |
| |
When the mind is tranquil and focused this can happen. |
| |
It is the power of mind, the state of the mind that has attained tranquillity. |
| |
When itâs like this there wonât be any sleepiness. |
| |
It canât enter the mind; it will disappear. |
| |
The other hindrances of sensual desire, |
| |
aversion, doubt and restlessness and agitation wonât be present. |
| |
Though they may still exist latent in the mind of the meditator, |
| |
they wonât occur at this time. |
| |
Q: Should we be closing our eyes so as to shut out the external |
| |
environment or should we just deal with things as we see them? |
| |
Is it important whether we open or close the eyes? |
| |
A: When we are new to training, itâs important to avoid too much sensory input, |
| |
so itâs better to close the eyes. |
| |
Not seeing objects that can distract and affect us, |
| |
we build up the mindâs strength. |
| |
When the mind is strong then we can open the eyes and whatever we see wonât sway us. |
| |
Open or closed wonât matter. |
| |
When you rest you normally close your eyes. |
| |
Sitting in meditation with eyes closed is the dwelling place for a practitioner. |
| |
We find enjoyment and rest in it. |
| |
This is an important basis for us. |
| |
But when we are not sitting in meditation, |
| |
will we be able to deal with things? |
| |
We sit with eyes closed and we profit from that. |
| |
When we open our eyes and leave the formal meditation, |
| |
we can handle whatever we meet. |
| |
Things wonât get out of hand. |
| |
We wonât be at a loss. |
| |
Basically we are just handling things. |
| |
Itâs when we go back to our sitting that we really develop greater wisdom. |
| |
This is how we develop the practice. |
| |
When it reaches fulfilment, it doesnât matter whether we open or close our eyes, |
| |
it will be the same. |
| |
The mind wonât change or deviate. |
| |
At all times of the day - morning, noon or night - the state of mind will be the same. |
| |
We dwell thus. |
| |
There is nothing that can shake the mind. |
| |
When happiness arises, we recognize, âItâs not certain,â and it passes. |
| |
Unhappiness arises and we recognize, âItâs not certain,â and thatâs that. |
| |
You get the idea that you want to disrobe. |
| |
This is not certain. |
| |
But you think itâs certain. |
| |
Before you wanted to be ordained, and you were so sure about that. |
| |
Now you are sure you want to disrobe. |
| |
Itâs all uncertain, but you donât see it because of your darkness of mind. |
| |
Your mind is telling you lies, âBeing here, |
| |
Iâm only wasting time.â |
| |
If you disrobe and go back to the world, |
| |
wonât you waste time there? |
| |
You donât think about that. |
| |
Disrobing to work in the fields and gardens, |
| |
to grow beans or raise pigs and goats, |
| |
wonât that be a waste of time? |
| |
There was once a large pond full of fish. |
| |
As time passed, the rainfall decreased and the pond became shallow. |
| |
One day a bird showed up at the edge of the pond. |
| |
He told the fish, âI really feel sorry for you fish. |
| |
Here you barely have enough water to keep your backs wet. |
| |
Do you know that not very far from here thereâs a big lake, |
| |
several meters deep where the fish swim happily?â |
| |
When the fish in that shallow pond heard this, |
| |
they got excited. |
| |
They said to the bird, âIt sounds good. |
| |
But how could we get there?â |
| |
The bird said, âNo problem. |
| |
I can carry you in my bill, one at a time.â |
| |
The fish discussed it among themselves. |
| |
âItâs not so great here anymore. |
| |
The water doesnât even cover our heads. |
| |
We ought to go.â |
| |
So they lined up to be taken by the bird. |
| |
The bird took one fish at a time. |
| |
As soon as he flew out of sight of the pond, |
| |
he landed and ate the fish. |
| |
Then he would return to the pond and tell them, |
| |
âYour friend is right this moment swimming happily in the lake, |
| |
and he asks when you will be joining him!â |
| |
It sounded fantastic to the fish. |
| |
They couldnât wait to go, so they started pushing to get to the head of the line. |
| |
The bird finished off the fish like that. |
| |
Then he went back to the pond to see if he could find anymore. |
| |
There was only one crab there. |
| |
So the bird started his sales pitch about the lake. |
| |
The crab was sceptical. |
| |
He asked the bird how he could get there. |
| |
The bird told him he would carry him in his bill. |
| |
But this crab had some wisdom. |
| |
He told the bird, âLetâs do it like this - Iâll sit on your back with my arms around your neck. |
| |
If you try any tricks, Iâll choke you with my claws.â |
| |
The bird felt frustrated by this, but he gave it a try thinking he might still somehow get to eat the crab. |
| |
So the crab got on his back and they took off. |
| |
The bird flew around looking for a good place to land. |
| |
But as soon as he tried to descend, the crab started squeezing his throat with his claws. |
| |
The bird couldnât even cry out. |
| |
He just made a dry, croaking sound. |
| |
So in the end he had to give up and return the crab to the pond. |
| |
I hope you can have the wisdom of the crab! |
| |
If you are like those fish, you will listen to the voices that |
| |
tell you how wonderful everything will be if you go back to the world. |
| |
Thatâs an obstacle ordained people meet with. |
| |
Please be careful about this. |
| |
Q: Why is it that unpleasant states of mind are difficult to see clearly, |
| |
while pleasant states are easy to see? |
| |
When I experience happiness or pleasure I can see that itâs something impermanent, |
| |
but when Iâm unhappy thatâs harder to see. |
| |
A: You are thinking in terms of your attraction and aversion and trying to figure it out, |
| |
but actually delusion is the predominant root. |
| |
You feel that unhappiness is hard to see while happiness is easy to see. |
| |
Thatâs just the way your afflictions work. |
| |
Aversion is hard to let go of, right? |
| |
Itâs a strong feeling. |
| |
You say happiness is easy to let go of. |
| |
Itâs not really easy; itâs just that itâs not so overpowering. |
| |
Pleasure and happiness are things people like and feel comfortable with. |
| |
Theyâre not so easy to let go of. |
| |
Aversion is painful, but people donât know how to let go of it. |
| |
The truth is that they are equal. |
| |
When you contemplate thoroughly and get to a certain point you will quickly recognize that theyâre equal. |
| |
If you had a scale to weigh them their weight would be the same. |
| |
But we incline towards the pleasurable. |
| |
Are you saying that you can let go of happiness easily, |
| |
while unhappiness is difficult to let go of? |
| |
You think that the things we like are easy to give up, |
| |
but youâre wondering why the things we dislike are hard to give up. |
| |
But if theyâre not good, why are they hard to give up? |
| |
Itâs not like that. |
| |
Think anew. |
| |
They are completely equal. |
| |
Itâs just that we donât incline to them equally. |
| |
When there is unhappiness we feel bothered, |
| |
we want it to go away quickly and so we feel itâs hard to get rid of. |
| |
Happiness doesnât usually bother us, so we are friends with it and feel we can let go of it easily. |
| |
Itâs not like that; itâs not oppressing and squeezing our hearts, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
Unhappiness oppresses us. |
| |
We think one has more value or weight than the other, |
| |
but in truth they are equal. |
| |
Itâs like heat and cold. |
| |
We can be burned to death by fire. |
| |
We can also be frozen stiff by cold and we die just the same. |
| |
Neither is greater than the other. |
| |
Happiness and suffering are like this, |
| |
but in our thinking we give them different values. |
| |
Or consider praise and criticism. |
| |
Do you feel that praise is easy to let go of and criticism is hard to let go of? |
| |
They are really equal. |
| |
But when we are praised we donât feel disturbed; we are pleased, |
| |
but itâs not a sharp feeling. |
| |
Criticism is painful, so we feel itâs hard to let go of. |
| |
Being pleased is also hard to let go of, |
| |
but we are partial to it so we donât have the same desire to get rid of it quickly. |
| |
The delight we take in being praised and the sting we feel when criticized are equal. |
| |
They are the same. |
| |
But when our minds meet these things we have unequal reactions to them. |
| |
We donât mind being close to some of them. |
| |
Please understand this. |
| |
In our meditation we will meet with the arising of all sorts of mental afflictions. |
| |
The correct outlook is to be ready to let go of all of it, |
| |
whether pleasant or painful. |
| |
Even though happiness is something we desire and suffering is something we donât desire, |
| |
we recognize they are of equal value. |
| |
These are things that we will experience. |
| |
Happiness is wished for by people in the world. |
| |
Suffering is not wished for. |
| |
NibbÄna is something beyond wishing or not wishing. |
| |
Do you understand? |
| |
There is no wishing involved in NibbÄna. |
| |
Wanting to get happiness, wanting to be free of suffering, |
| |
wanting to transcend happiness and suffering - there are none of these things. |
| |
It is peace. |
| |
As I see it, realizing the truth doesnât happen by relying on others. |
| |
You should understand that all doubts will be resolved by our own efforts, |
| |
by continuous, energetic practice. |
| |
We wonât get free of doubt by asking others. |
| |
We will only end doubt through our own unrelenting efforts. |
| |
Remember this! |
| |
Itâs an important principle in practice. |
| |
The actual doing is what will instruct you. |
| |
You will come to know all right and wrong. |
| |
âThe Brahmin shall reach the exhaustion of doubt through unceasing practice.â |
| |
It doesnât matter wherever we go - everything can be resolved through our own ceaseless efforts. |
| |
But we canât stick with it. |
| |
We canât bear the difficulties we meet; we find it hard to face up to our suffering and not to run away from it. |
| |
If we do face it and bear with it, then we gain knowledge, |
| |
and the practice starts instructing us automatically, |
| |
teaching us about right and wrong and the way things really are. |
| |
Our practice will show us the faults and ill results of wrong thinking. |
| |
It really happens like this. |
| |
But itâs hard to find people who can see it through. |
| |
Everyone wants instant awakening. |
| |
Rushing here and there following your impulses, |
| |
you only end up worse off for it. |
| |
Be careful about this. |
| |
Iâve often taught that tranquillity is stillness; flowing is wisdom. |
| |
We practise meditation to calm the mind and make it still; then it can flow. |
| |
In the beginning we learn what still water is like and what flowing water is like. |
| |
After practising for a while we will see how these two support each other. |
| |
We have to make the mind calm, like still water. |
| |
Then it flows. |
| |
Both being still and flowing: this is not easy to contemplate. |
| |
We can understand that still water doesnât flow. |
| |
We can understand that flowing water isnât still. |
| |
But when we practise we take hold of both of these. |
| |
The mind of a true practitioner is like still water that flows, |
| |
or flowing water thatâs still. |
| |
Whatever takes place in the mind of a Dhamma practitioner is like flowing water that is still. |
| |
To say that it is only flowing is not correct. |
| |
To say only still is not correct. |
| |
Ordinarily, still water is still and flowing water flows. |
| |
But when we have experience of practice, |
| |
our minds will be in this condition of flowing water that is still. |
| |
This is something weâve never seen. |
| |
When we see flowing water it is just flowing along. |
| |
When we see still water, it doesnât flow. |
| |
But within our minds, it will really be like this; like flowing water that is still. |
| |
In our Dhamma practice we have samÄdhi, |
| |
or tranquillity, and wisdom mixed together. |
| |
We have morality, meditation and wisdom. |
| |
Then wherever we sit the mind is still and it flows. |
| |
Still, flowing water. |
| |
With meditative stability and wisdom, |
| |
tranquillity and insight, itâs like this. |
| |
The Dhamma is like this. |
| |
If you have reached the Dhamma, then at all times you will have this experience. |
| |
Being tranquil and having wisdom: flowing, |
| |
yet still. |
| |
Still, yet flowing. |
| |
Whenever this occurs in the mind of one who practises, |
| |
it is something different and strange; it is different from the ordinary mind that one has known all along. |
| |
Before, when it was flowing, it flowed. |
| |
When it was still, it didnât flow, but was only still - the mind can be compared to water in this way. |
| |
Now it has entered a condition that is like flowing water being still. |
| |
Whether standing, walking, sitting, or lying down, |
| |
it is like water that flows yet is still. |
| |
If we make our minds like this, there is both tranquillity and wisdom. |
| |
What is the purpose of tranquillity? |
| |
Why should we have wisdom? |
| |
They are only for the purpose of freeing ourselves from suffering, |
| |
nothing else. |
| |
At present we are suffering, living with dukkha, |
| |
not understanding dukkha, and therefore holding onto it. |
| |
But if the mind is as Iâve been speaking about, |
| |
there will be many kinds of knowledge. |
| |
One will know suffering, know the cause of suffering, |
| |
know the cessation of suffering and know the way of practice to reach the end of suffering. |
| |
These are the Noble Truths. |
| |
They will appear of themselves when there is still, |
| |
flowing water. |
| |
When it is like this, then no matter what we are doing we will |
| |
have no heedlessness; the habit of heedlessness will weaken and disappear. |
| |
Whatever we experience we wonât fall into heedlessness because the mind will naturally hold fast to the practice. |
| |
It will be afraid of losing the practice. |
| |
As we keep on practising and learning from experience we will be drinking of the Dhamma more and more, |
| |
and our faith will keep increasing. |
| |
For one who practises it has to be like this. |
| |
We shouldnât be the kind of people who merely follow others: |
| |
If our friends arenât doing the practice we wonât do it either because we would feel embarrassed. |
| |
If they stop, we stop. |
| |
If they do it, we do it. |
| |
If the teacher tells us to do something, |
| |
we do it. |
| |
If he stops, we stop. |
| |
This is not a very quick way to realization. |
| |
Whatâs the point of our training here? |
| |
Itâs so that when we are alone, we will be able to continue with the practice. |
| |
So now, while living together here, when there are morning and evening gatherings to practise, |
| |
we join in and practise with the others. |
| |
We build up the habit so that the way of practice is internalized in our hearts, |
| |
and then we will be able to live anywhere and still practise in the same way. |
| |
Itâs like having a certificate of guarantee. |
| |
If the King is coming here, we prepare everything as perfectly as we can. |
| |
He stays a short while and then goes on his way, |
| |
but he gives his royal seal to acknowledge that things are in order here. |
| |
Now many of us are practising together, |
| |
and itâs time to learn the practice well, |
| |
to understand it and internalize it so that each of you can be a witness to yourself. |
| |
Itâs like children coming of age. |
| |
1: One of Ajahn Chahâs favourite plays on words. |
| |
2: The scriptures usually say, âwith the fading of rapture.â |
| |
* * * |
| |
All things just as they are display the truth. |
| |
But we have biases and preferences about how we want them to be. |
| |
Lokavidƫ means knowing the world clearly. |
| |
The world is these phenomena (sabhÄva) abiding as they are. |
| |
To sum it up simply, the world is arom.1 Thatâs an easy way to put it. |
| |
The world is arom. |
| |
If we say âworldâ, thatâs pretty vast. |
| |
âArom are the worldâ is a lot simpler. |
| |
The world is arom. |
| |
Being deluded by the world is being deluded by arom; being deluded by arom is being deluded by the world. |
| |
Lokavidƫ, knowing the world clearly: however the world is, |
| |
thatâs what we should know. |
| |
It exists according to its conditions. |
| |
So we should have full, present awareness of it. |
| |
Similarly, we should know sankhÄra for what they are; develop wisdom that knows sankhÄrÄ. |
| |
Whatever the truth of sankhÄrÄ is, however they really are, |
| |
thatâs the truth we should know. |
| |
Thatâs called wisdom that accepts and knows without obstacles. |
| |
We need to develop a mind that has tranquillity together with wisdom in control of things. |
| |
We talk about sÄ«la, samÄdhi, paññÄ, and about samatha meditation and vipassanÄ meditation. |
| |
But they are really all the same matter. |
| |
They are the same, but we divide them into different categories and get confused. |
| |
Iâve often made a simple analogy about it - there are things |
| |
to compare it to - which can make it easier to contemplate and understand. |
| |
A little mango later becomes a large, |
| |
ripe mango. |
| |
Is the little mango the same piece of fruit as the large one? |
| |
From the time itâs just a bud flowering on the tree, |
| |
itâs the same one mango. |
| |
As it grows into a small mango and then gets bigger and bigger, |
| |
almost ripe, then finally ripe, itâs only undergoing change. |
| |
The aspects of practice we talk about are the same. |
| |
SÄ«la simply means giving up wrongdoing. |
| |
A person without sīla is in a hot condition. |
| |
Giving up wrongdoing and evil ways, brings coolness, |
| |
preventing harm or ill effects. |
| |
The blessing that comes from this freedom from harmful effects is a tranquil mind - that is samÄdhi. |
| |
When the mind is in samÄdhi, clean and pure, |
| |
it will see many things. |
| |
Itâs like water that is still and undisturbed. |
| |
You can see your face in it. |
| |
You can see things further away reflected as well. |
| |
You can see the roof of the building over there. |
| |
If a bird alights on the roof you can see it. |
| |
These factors are really all one, just like the one mango. |
| |
The tiny fruit is that same one mango. |
| |
The growing fruit is the same mango. |
| |
The ripe fruit is the same mango. |
| |
From green to yellow, itâs the same mango; itâs undergoing change, |
| |
and thatâs why we see difference. |
| |
Having this kind of simple understanding can put us at ease. |
| |
Doubts will diminish. |
| |
If instead we are relying on texts and seeking detailed explanations, |
| |
we are likely to end up in confusion. |
| |
So we have to watch our own minds. |
| |
âBhikkhus! |
| |
You should be watching over your minds. |
| |
Those who watch over their minds shall escape the snares of MÄra.â |
| |
Both MÄra and his snares. |
| |
And it depends on our own investigation. |
| |
My way of practice was a little strange. |
| |
After I ordained and started to practise, |
| |
I had a lot of doubts and questions. |
| |
But I didnât like to ask anyone about them very much. |
| |
Even when I met Ajahn Mun, I didnât ask him many questions. |
| |
I wanted to ask, but I didnât. |
| |
I sat and listened to his teaching. |
| |
I had questions, but I didnât ask. |
| |
Asking someone else is like borrowing someone elseâs knife to cut something. |
| |
We never come to have our own knife. |
| |
Thatâs the way I felt. |
| |
So I didnât ask many questions of others. |
| |
If I stayed with a teacher for a year or two, |
| |
Iâd listen to his discourses and try to work things out for myself. |
| |
I would seek my own answers. |
| |
I was different from other disciples, |
| |
but I was able to develop wisdom; this way made me resourceful and clever. |
| |
I didnât become heedless, rather I contemplated things until I could see for myself, |
| |
increasing my understanding and removing my doubts. |
| |
My advice is to not let yourself get wrapped up in doubts and questions. |
| |
Let them go and directly contemplate whatever you are experiencing. |
| |
Donât make a big deal out of any physical pleasure or pain you experience. |
| |
When you sit in meditation and start to feel tired or uncomfortable, |
| |
adjust your position. |
| |
Endure as much as you can, and then move. |
| |
Donât overdo it. |
| |
Develop a lot of mindfulness - thatâs the point. |
| |
Do your walking and sitting meditation as much as you can; the aim is to be developing mindfulness as much as you can, |
| |
knowing things fully. |
| |
Thatâs enough. |
| |
Please take my words to contemplate. |
| |
Whatever form of practice youâre doing, |
| |
when objects of mind arise, whether internally or externally, |
| |
those are called arom. |
| |
The one who is aware of the arom is called ... |
| |
well, whatever you want to call it is OK; you can call it âmindâ. |
| |
The arom is one thing, and the one who knows the arom is another. |
| |
Itâs like the eye and the objects it sees. |
| |
The eye isnât the objects, and the objects arenât the eye. |
| |
The ear hears sounds, but the ear isnât the sound and the sound isnât the ear. |
| |
When there is contact between the two, |
| |
then things happen. |
| |
All states of mind, happy or unhappy, |
| |
are called arom. |
| |
Whatever they may be, never mind - we should constantly be reminding ourselves that âthis is uncertainâ. |
| |
People donât consider very much, that âthis is uncertainâ. |
| |
Just this is the vital factor that will bring about wisdom. |
| |
Itâs really important. |
| |
In order to cease our coming and going and come to rest, |
| |
we only need to say, âthis is uncertain.â |
| |
Sometimes we may be distraught over something to the point that tears are flowing; this is something not certain. |
| |
When moods of desire or aversion come to us, |
| |
we should just remind ourselves of this one thing. |
| |
Whether standing, walking, sitting, or lying down, |
| |
whatever appears is uncertain. |
| |
Canât you do this? |
| |
Keep it up no matter what happens. |
| |
Give it a try. |
| |
You donât need a lot - just this will work. |
| |
This is something that brings wisdom. |
| |
The way I practise meditation is not very complicated - just this. |
| |
This is what it all comes down to: âitâs uncertain.â |
| |
Everything meets at this point. |
| |
Donât keep track of the various instances of mental experience. |
| |
When you sit, there may be various conditions of mind appearing, |
| |
seeing and knowing all manner of things, |
| |
experiencing different states. |
| |
Donât be keeping track of them2 and donât get wrapped up in them. |
| |
You only need to remind yourself that theyâre uncertain. |
| |
Thatâs enough. |
| |
Thatâs easy to do. |
| |
Itâs simple. |
| |
Then you can stop. |
| |
Knowledge will come, but then donât make too much out of that or get attached to it. |
| |
Real investigation, investigation in the correct way, |
| |
doesnât involve thinking. |
| |
As soon as something contacts the eye, |
| |
ear, nose, tongue, or body, it immediately takes place of its own. |
| |
You donât have to pick up anything to look at - things just present themselves and investigation happens of its own. |
| |
We talk about vitakka, âinitial thoughtâ. |
| |
It means raising something up. |
| |
VicÄra is âdiscursive thoughtâ. |
| |
Itâs investigation, seeing the planes of existence (bhĆ«mi) that appear. |
| |
In the final analysis, the way of the Buddha flourishes through impermanence. |
| |
It is always timely and relevant, whether in the time of the Buddha, |
| |
in other times past, in the present age, |
| |
or in the future. |
| |
At all times, it is impermanence that rules. |
| |
This is something you should meditate on. |
| |
The true and correct words of the sages will not lack mention of impermanence. |
| |
This is the truth. |
| |
If there is no mention of impermanence, |
| |
it is not the speech of the wise. |
| |
It is not the speech of the Buddha or the ariyas; itâs called speech that does not accept the truth of existence. |
| |
All things have need of a way of release. |
| |
Contemplation is not a matter of holding on and sticking to things. |
| |
Itâs a matter of releasing. |
| |
A mind that canât release phenomena is in a state of intoxication. |
| |
In practice, itâs important not to be intoxicated. |
| |
When practice really seems to be good, |
| |
donât be intoxicated by that good. |
| |
If youâre intoxicated by it, it becomes something harmful, |
| |
and your practice is no longer correct. |
| |
We do our best, but itâs important not to become drunk on our efforts, |
| |
otherwise we are out of harmony with Dhamma. |
| |
This is the Buddhaâs advice. |
| |
Even the good is not something to get intoxicated by. |
| |
Be aware of this when it happens. |
| |
A dam needs a sluiceway so that the water can run off. |
| |
Itâs the same for us in practice. |
| |
Using willpower to push ourselves and control the mind is something we can do at times, |
| |
but donât get drunk on it. |
| |
We want to be teaching the mind, not merely controlling it, |
| |
so that it becomes aware. |
| |
Too much forcing will make you crazy. |
| |
Whatâs vital is to keep on increasing awareness and sensitivity. |
| |
Our path is like this. |
| |
There are many points for comparison. |
| |
We could talk about construction work and bring it back to the way of training the mind. |
| |
There is a lot of benefit to be had from practising meditation, |
| |
from watching over your mind. |
| |
This is the first and foremost thing. |
| |
The teachings you can study in the scriptures and commentaries are true and valuable, |
| |
but they are secondary. |
| |
They are peopleâs explanations of the truth. |
| |
But there is actual truth that surpasses the words. |
| |
Sometimes the expositions that are derived seem uneven or are not so accessible, |
| |
and with the passing of time they can become confusing. |
| |
But the actual truth they are based on remains the same and isnât affected by what anyone says or does. |
| |
It is the original, natural state of things that does not change or deteriorate. |
| |
The explanations people compose are secondary or tertiary, |
| |
one or two steps removed, and though they can be good and beneficial and flourish for some time, |
| |
they are subject to deterioration.3 |
| |
Itâs like the way that as population keeps increasing, |
| |
troubles increase along with it. |
| |
Thatâs quite natural. |
| |
The more people there are, the more issues there will be to deal with. |
| |
Then leaders and teachers will try to show us the right way to live, |
| |
to do good and solve problems. |
| |
That can be valid and necessary, but itâs still not the same as the reality those good ideas are based on. |
| |
The true Dhamma that is the essence of all good has no way to decline or deteriorate, |
| |
because it is immutable. |
| |
It is the source, the saccadhamma, existing as it is. |
| |
All the followers of the Buddhaâs way who practise the Dhamma must strive to realize this. |
| |
Then they may find different means to illustrate it. |
| |
Over time, the explanations lose their potency, |
| |
but the source remains the same. |
| |
So the Buddha taught to focus your attention and investigate. |
| |
Practitioners in search of the truth, |
| |
do not be attached to your views and knowledge. |
| |
Donât be attached to the knowledge of others. |
| |
Donât be attached to anyoneâs knowledge. |
| |
Rather, develop special knowledge; allow the saccadhamma to be revealed in full measure. |
| |
In training the mind, investigating the saccadhamma, |
| |
our own minds are where it can be seen. |
| |
When there is doubt about anything, we should pay attention to our thoughts and feelings, |
| |
our mental processes. |
| |
This is what we should know. |
| |
The rest is all superficial. |
| |
In practising Dhamma, we will meet with many sorts of experiences, |
| |
such as fear. |
| |
What will we rely on then? |
| |
When the mind is wrapped up in fear, it canât find anything to rely on. |
| |
This is something Iâve gone through; the deluded mind stuck in fear, |
| |
unable to find a safe place anywhere. |
| |
So where can this be settled? |
| |
It gets settled right at that place where it appears. |
| |
Wherever it arises, that is where it ceases. |
| |
Wherever the mind has fear, it can end fear right there. |
| |
Putting it simply: when the mind is completely full of fear, |
| |
it has nowhere else to go, and it can stop right there. |
| |
The place of no fear is there in the place of fear. |
| |
Whatever states the mind undergoes, if it experiences nimitta, |
| |
visions, or knowledge in meditation, |
| |
for example, it doesnât matter - we are taught to focus awareness on this mind in the present. |
| |
That is the standard. |
| |
Donât chase after external phenomena. |
| |
All the things we contemplate come to conclusion at the source, |
| |
the place where they arise. |
| |
This is where the causes are. |
| |
This is important. |
| |
Feeling fear is a good example, since itâs easy to see; if we let ourselves experience it until it has nowhere to go, |
| |
then we will have no more fear, because it will be exhausted. |
| |
It loses its power, so we donât feel fear anymore. |
| |
Not feeling fear means it has become empty. |
| |
We accept whatever comes our way, and it loses its power over us. |
| |
This is what the Buddha wanted us to place our trust in; he wanted us not to be attached to our own views, |
| |
not to be attached to othersâ views. |
| |
This is really important. |
| |
We are aiming at the knowledge that comes from realization of the truth, |
| |
so we donât want to get stuck in attachment to our own or othersâ views and opinions. |
| |
But when we have our ideas or interact with others, |
| |
watching them contact the mind can be illuminating. |
| |
Knowledge can be born in those things that we have and experience. |
| |
In watching the mind and cultivating meditation, |
| |
there can be many points of wrong understanding or deviation. |
| |
Some people focus on conditions of mind and want to analyse them excessively, |
| |
so their minds are always active. |
| |
Or maybe we examine the five khandhÄ, |
| |
or we go into further detail with the thirty-two parts of the |
| |
body; there are many such classifications that are taught for contemplation. |
| |
So we ponder and we analyse. |
| |
Looking at the five khandhÄ doesnât seem to get us to any conclusion, |
| |
so we might go into the thirty-two parts, |
| |
always analysing and investigating. |
| |
But the way I see it, our attitude towards these five khandhÄ, |
| |
these heaps that we see right here, |
| |
should be one of weariness and disenchantment, |
| |
because they donât follow our wishes. |
| |
I think thatâs probably enough. |
| |
If they survive, we shouldnât be overly joyful to the point of forgetting ourselves. |
| |
If they break up, we shouldnât be overly dejected by that. |
| |
Recognizing this much should be enough. |
| |
We donât have to tear apart the skin, |
| |
the flesh, and the bones. |
| |
This is something Iâve often talked about. |
| |
Some people have to analyse like that, |
| |
even if they are looking at a tree. |
| |
Students in particular want to know what merit and demerit are, |
| |
what form they have, what they look like. |
| |
I explain to them that these things have no form. |
| |
Merit is in our having correct understanding, |
| |
correct attitude. |
| |
But they want to know everything so clearly in such great detail. |
| |
So Iâve used the example of a tree. |
| |
The students will look at a tree, and they want to know all about the parts of the tree. |
| |
Well, a tree has roots, it has leaves. |
| |
It lives because of the roots. |
| |
The students have to know, how many roots does it have? |
| |
Major roots, minor roots, branches, leaves, |
| |
they want to know all the details and numbers. |
| |
Then they will feel they have clear knowledge about the tree. |
| |
But the Buddha said that a person who wants such knowledge is actually pretty stupid. |
| |
These things arenât necessary to know. |
| |
Just knowing that there are roots and leaves is sufficient. |
| |
Do you want to count all the leaves on a tree? |
| |
If you look at one leaf, you should be able to get the picture. |
| |
Itâs the same with people. |
| |
If we know ourselves, then we understand all people in the universe without having to go and observe them. |
| |
The Buddha wanted us to look at ourselves. |
| |
As we are, so are others. |
| |
We are all sÄmaññalakkhana, all being of the same characteristics. |
| |
All sankhÄrÄ are like this. |
| |
So we practise samÄdhi to be able to give up the defilements, |
| |
to give birth to knowledge and vision and let go of the five khandhÄ. |
| |
Sometimes people talk about samatha. |
| |
Sometimes they talk about vipassanÄ. |
| |
I feel this can become confusing. |
| |
Those who practise samÄdhi will praise samÄdhi. |
| |
But, it is just for making the mind tranquil so it can know those things we have been talking about. |
| |
Then there are those who will say, âI donât need to practise samÄdhi so much. |
| |
This plate will break one day in the future. |
| |
Isnât that good enough? |
| |
That will work, wonât it? |
| |
Iâm not very skilled in samÄdhi, but I already know that the plate must break someday. |
| |
Yes, I take good care of it, because Iâm afraid it will break, |
| |
but I know that such is its future, |
| |
and when it does break, I wonât be suffering over that. |
| |
Isnât my view correct? |
| |
I donât need to practise a lot of samÄdhi, |
| |
because I already have this understanding. |
| |
You practise samÄdhi only for developing this understanding. |
| |
After training your mind through sitting, |
| |
you came to this view. |
| |
I donât sit much, but I am already confident that this is the way of phenomena.â |
| |
This is a question for us practitioners. |
| |
There are many factions of teachers promoting their different methods of meditation. |
| |
It can get confusing. |
| |
But the real point of it all is to be able to recognize the truth, |
| |
seeing things as they really are and being free of doubt. |
| |
As I see it, once we have correct knowledge, |
| |
the mind comes under our command. |
| |
What is this command about? |
| |
The command is in anicca, knowing that everything is impermanent. |
| |
Everything stops here when we see clearly, |
| |
and it becomes the cause for us to let go. |
| |
Then we let things be, according to their nature. |
| |
If nothing is occurring, we abide in equanimity, |
| |
and if something comes up, we contemplate: does it cause us to have suffering? |
| |
Do we hold onto it with grasping attachment? |
| |
Is there anything there? |
| |
This is what supports and sustains our practice. |
| |
If we practise and get to this point, |
| |
I think every one of us will realize genuine peace. |
| |
Whether we are undertaking vipassanÄ meditation or samatha meditation, |
| |
just this is what itâs really about. |
| |
But these days, it seems to me that when Buddhists talk about these things according to the traditional explanations, |
| |
it becomes vague and mixed up. |
| |
But the truth (saccadhamma) isnât vague or mixed up. |
| |
It remains as it is. |
| |
So I feel itâs better to seek out the source, |
| |
looking at the way things originate in the mind. |
| |
Thereâs not a lot to this. |
| |
Birth, ageing, illness, and death: itâs brief, |
| |
but itâs a universal truth. |
| |
So see it clearly and acknowledge these facts. |
| |
If you acknowledge them, you will be able to let go. |
| |
Gain, rank, praise, happiness, and their opposites - you can let them go, |
| |
because you recognize them for what they are. |
| |
If we reach this place of ârecognizing truthâ, |
| |
we will be uncomplicated, undemanding people, |
| |
content with simple food, dwelling, |
| |
and other requisites for life, easy to speak to and unassuming in our actions. |
| |
Without difficulty or trouble, we will live at ease. |
| |
One who meditates and realizes a tranquil mind will be like this. |
| |
At present we are trying to practise in the way of the Buddha and his disciples. |
| |
Those beings had achieved awakening, yet they still maintained their practice as long as they were living. |
| |
They acted for the benefit of themselves and for the benefit of others, |
| |
yet even after they had accomplished all that they could, |
| |
they still kept up their practice, seeking their own and othersâ well-being in various ways. |
| |
I think we should take them as the model for our practice. |
| |
It means not becoming complacent - that was their deeply ingrained nature. |
| |
They never slackened their efforts. |
| |
Effort was their way, their natural habit. |
| |
Such is the character of the sages, of genuine practitioners. |
| |
We can compare it to rich people and poor people. |
| |
The rich are especially hard-working, |
| |
much more so than the poor. |
| |
And the less effort poor people make, |
| |
the less chance they have of becoming rich. |
| |
The rich have knowledge and experience of a lot of things, |
| |
so they maintain the habit of diligence in all they do. |
| |
If we want to take a break or get some rest, |
| |
we will find rest in the practice itself. |
| |
Once weâve practised to get to the goal, |
| |
know the goal, and be the goal, then when we are active, |
| |
thereâs no way to incur loss or be harmed. |
| |
When we are sitting still, there is no way we can be harmed. |
| |
In all situations, nothing can affect us. |
| |
Practice has matured to fulfilment and we have reached the destination. |
| |
Maybe today we donât have a chance to sit and practise samÄdhi, |
| |
but we are OK. |
| |
SamÄdhi doesnât mean only sitting. |
| |
There can be samÄdhi in all postures. |
| |
If we are really practising in all postures, |
| |
we will enjoy samÄdhi thus. |
| |
There wonât be anything that can interfere. |
| |
Such words as âIâm not in a clear state of mind now, |
| |
so I canât practiseâ will not be heard. |
| |
We wonât have such ideas; we will never feel that way. |
| |
Our practice is well developed and complete - this is how it should be. |
| |
When we are free of doubt and perplexity, |
| |
we stop at this point and contemplate. |
| |
You can look into this: self-view, sceptical doubt, |
| |
superstitious attachment to rites and rituals. |
| |
The first step is to get free of these. |
| |
The mind needs to get free of whatever sort of knowledge you gain. |
| |
What are they like now? |
| |
To what extent do we still have them? |
| |
We are the only ones who can know this; we have to know for ourselves. |
| |
Who else can know better than we? |
| |
If we are stuck in attachment to self-view, |
| |
doubt, superstition here, have doubt here, |
| |
are still groping here, then there is the conception of self here. |
| |
But now we can only think, if there is no self, |
| |
then who is it that takes interest and practises? |
| |
All these things go together. |
| |
If we come to know them through practice and make an end of them, |
| |
we live in an ordinary way. |
| |
Just like the Buddha and the ariyas. |
| |
They lived just like worldly beings (puthujjana). |
| |
They used the same language as worldly beings. |
| |
Their everyday existence wasnât really different. |
| |
They used many of the same conventions. |
| |
Where they differed was that they didnât create suffering for themselves with their minds. |
| |
They had no suffering. |
| |
This is the crucial point; they went beyond suffering, |
| |
extinguishing suffering. |
| |
NibbÄna means âextinguishingâ. |
| |
Extinguishing suffering, extinguishing heat and torment, |
| |
extinguishing doubt and anxiety. |
| |
Thereâs no need to be in doubt about the practice. |
| |
Whenever there is doubt about something, |
| |
donât have doubt about the doubt - look directly at it and crush it like that. |
| |
In the beginning, we train to pacify the mind. |
| |
This can be difficult to do. |
| |
You have to find a meditation that suits your own temperament. |
| |
That will make it easier to gain tranquillity. |
| |
But in truth, the Buddha wanted us to return to ourselves, |
| |
to take responsibility and look at ourselves. |
| |
Anger is hot. |
| |
Pleasure, the extreme of indulgence is too cool. |
| |
The extreme of self-torment is hot. |
| |
We want neither hot nor cold. |
| |
Know hot and cold. |
| |
Know all things that appear. |
| |
Do they cause us to suffer? |
| |
Do we form attachment to them? |
| |
The teaching that birth is suffering doesnât only mean dying from this life and taking rebirth in the next life. |
| |
Thatâs so far away. |
| |
The suffering of birth happens right now. |
| |
Itâs said that becoming is the cause of birth. |
| |
What is this âbecomingâ? |
| |
Anything that we attach to and put meaning on is becoming. |
| |
Whenever we see anything as self or other or belonging to ourselves, |
| |
without wise discernment to know it as only a convention, |
| |
that is all becoming. |
| |
Whenever we hold on to something as âusâ or âoursâ, |
| |
and it then undergoes change, the mind is shaken by that. |
| |
It is shaken with a positive or negative reaction. |
| |
That sense of self experiencing happiness or unhappiness is birth. |
| |
When there is birth, it brings suffering along with it. |
| |
Ageing is suffering, illness is suffering, |
| |
death is suffering. |
| |
Right now, do we have becoming? |
| |
Are we aware of this becoming? |
| |
For example, take the trees in the monastery. |
| |
The abbot of the monastery can take birth as a worm in every tree in the monastery if he isnât aware of himself, |
| |
if he feels that it is really âhisâ monastery. |
| |
This grasping at âmyâ monastery with âmyâ orchard and âmyâ trees is the worm that latches on there. |
| |
If there are thousands of trees, he will become a worm thousands of times. |
| |
This is becoming. |
| |
When the trees are cut or meet with any harm, |
| |
the worms are affected; the mind is shaken and takes birth with all this anxiety. |
| |
Then there is the suffering of birth, |
| |
the suffering of ageing, and so forth. |
| |
Are you aware of the way this happens? |
| |
Well, those objects in our homes or our orchards are still a little far away. |
| |
Letâs look right at ourselves sitting here. |
| |
We are composed of the five aggregates and the four elements. |
| |
These sankhÄrÄ are designated as a self. |
| |
Do you see these sankhÄrÄ and these suppositions as they really are? |
| |
If you donât see the truth of them, there is becoming, |
| |
being gladdened or depressed over the five khandhÄ, |
| |
and we take birth, with all the resultant sufferings. |
| |
This rebirth happens right now, in the present. |
| |
This glass isnât broken now, and we are happy about it now. |
| |
But if this glass breaks right now, we are upset right now. |
| |
This is how it happens, being upset or being happy without any wisdom in control. |
| |
One only meets with ruination. |
| |
You donât need to look far away to understand this. |
| |
When you focus your attention here, you can know whether or not there is becoming. |
| |
Then, when it is happening, are you aware of it? |
| |
Are you aware of convention and supposition? |
| |
Do you understand them? |
| |
Itâs the grasping attachment that is the vital point, |
| |
whether or not we are really believing in the designations of me and mine. |
| |
This grasping is the worm, and it is what causes birth. |
| |
Where is this attachment? |
| |
Grasping onto form, feeling, perception, |
| |
thoughts, and consciousness, we attach to happiness and unhappiness, |
| |
and we become obscured and take birth. |
| |
It happens when we have contact through the senses. |
| |
The eyes see forms, and it happens in the present. |
| |
This is what the Buddha wanted us to look at, |
| |
to recognize becoming and birth as they occur through our senses. |
| |
If we know the inner senses and the external objects, |
| |
we can let go, internally and externally. |
| |
This can be seen in the present. |
| |
Itâs not something that happens when we die from this life. |
| |
Itâs the eye seeing forms right now, the ear hearing sounds right now, |
| |
the nose smelling aromas right now, |
| |
the tongue tasting flavours right now. |
| |
Are you taking birth with them? |
| |
Be aware and recognize birth right as it happens. |
| |
This way is better. |
| |
To do this requires having wisdom to steadily apply mindfulness and clear comprehension. |
| |
Then you can be aware of yourself and know when you are undergoing becoming and birth. |
| |
You wonât need to ask a fortune-teller. |
| |
I have a Dhamma friend in central Thailand. |
| |
In the old days we practised together, |
| |
but we went our separate ways long ago. |
| |
Recently I saw him. |
| |
He practises the foundations of mindfulness, |
| |
reciting the sutta and giving discourses on it. |
| |
But he hadnât resolved his doubts yet. |
| |
He prostrated to me and said, âOh, Ajahn, |
| |
Iâm so happy to see you!â |
| |
I asked him why. |
| |
He told me he had gone to some shrine where people go for divinations. |
| |
He held the Buddha statue and said, âIf I have already attained the state of purity, |
| |
may I be able to raise up this statue. |
| |
If I have not yet attained the state of purity, |
| |
may I not be able to raise it up.â |
| |
And then he was able to raise it up, which made him very delighted. |
| |
Just this little act, which has no real basis in anything, |
| |
meant so much to him and made him think he was pure. |
| |
So he had it engraved on a stone to say, |
| |
âI raised up the Buddha statue and have thus attained the state of purity.â |
| |
Practitioners of the Dhamma shouldnât be like that. |
| |
He didnât see himself at all. |
| |
He was only looking outside and seeing external objects made of stone and cement. |
| |
He didnât see the intentions and movements in his own mind in the present moment. |
| |
When our meditation is looking there, |
| |
we wonât have doubts. |
| |
So the way I see it, our practice may be good, |
| |
but thereâs no one who can vouch for us. |
| |
Like this chapel we are sitting in. |
| |
It was built by someone with a fourth-grade education. |
| |
He did a great job, but he has no brand name. |
| |
He canât provide the guarantee or vouch for himself, |
| |
showing qualifications like an architect who has the full training and education, |
| |
but still he does it well. |
| |
The saccadhamma is like this. |
| |
Even though we havenât studied much and donât know the detailed explanations, |
| |
we can recognize suffering, we can recognize what brings suffering, |
| |
and we can let go of it. |
| |
We donât need to investigate the explanations or anything else. |
| |
We just look at our minds, look at these matters. |
| |
Donât make your practice confusing. |
| |
Donât create a bunch of doubts for yourself. |
| |
When you do have doubt, control it by seeing it as merely what it is, |
| |
and let go. |
| |
Really, there is nothing. |
| |
We create the sense that there is something, |
| |
but really thereâs nothing - there is anattÄ. |
| |
Our doubtful minds think there is something, |
| |
and then thereâs attÄ. |
| |
Then meditation becomes difficult because we think we have to get something and become something. |
| |
Are you going to practise meditation to get or be something? |
| |
Is that the correct way? |
| |
Itâs only tanhÄ that gets involved in having and becoming. |
| |
Thereâs no end in sight if you practise like that. |
| |
Here, we are talking about cessation, |
| |
extinguishing. |
| |
We are talking about everything extinguished, |
| |
ceasing because of knowledge, not in a state of indifferent ignorance. |
| |
If we can practise like this and vouch for our own experience, |
| |
then never mind what anyone else says. |
| |
So please donât get lost in doubts about the practice. |
| |
Donât get attached to your own views. |
| |
Donât get attached to othersâ views. |
| |
Staying in this middle place, wisdom can be born, |
| |
correctly and to full measure. |
| |
Iâve often made the simple analogy of comparing grasping to the place we live. |
| |
For example, there is the roof and the floor, |
| |
the upper and lower storeys. |
| |
If someone goes upstairs, he knows he is up there. |
| |
If he comes downstairs, he knows he is downstairs, |
| |
standing on the floor. |
| |
This is all we can recognize. |
| |
We can sense where we are, either upstairs or downstairs. |
| |
But the space in the middle we arenât aware of, |
| |
because thereâs no way to identify or measure it - itâs just space. |
| |
We donât comprehend the space in between. |
| |
But it remains as it is, whether or not anyone descends from upstairs or not. |
| |
The saccadhamma is like that, not going anywhere, |
| |
not changing. |
| |
When we say âno becomingâ, that is the middle space, |
| |
not marked or identified by anything. |
| |
It canât be described. |
| |
For example, these days, the youngsters who are interested in Dhamma want to know about NibbÄna. |
| |
Whatâs it like? |
| |
But if we tell them about a place without becoming, |
| |
they donât want to go. |
| |
They back off. |
| |
We tell them that this place is cessation, |
| |
it is peace, but they want to know how they will live, |
| |
what they will eat and enjoy there. |
| |
So thereâs no end to it. |
| |
The real questions for those who want to know the truth, |
| |
are questions about how to practise. |
| |
There was an ÄjÄ«vaka who met the Buddha. |
| |
He asked, âWho is your teacher?â |
| |
The Buddha replied, âI was enlightened through my own efforts. |
| |
I have no teacher.â |
| |
But his reply was incomprehensible to that wanderer. |
| |
It was too direct. |
| |
Their minds were in different places. |
| |
Even if the wanderer asked all day and all night, |
| |
there was nothing about it he could understand. |
| |
The enlightened mind is unmoving and thus can not be recognized. |
| |
We can develop wisdom and remove our doubts only through practice, |
| |
nothing else. |
| |
So should we not listen to the Dhamma? |
| |
We should, but then we should put the knowledge we gain into practice. |
| |
But this doesnât mean that weâre following a person who teaches |
| |
us; we follow the experience and awareness that arise as we put the teaching into practice. |
| |
For instance, we feel, âI really like this thing. |
| |
I like doing things this way!â |
| |
But the Dhamma doesnât allow such liking and attachment. |
| |
If we are really committed to the Dhamma, |
| |
then we let go of that object of attraction when we see that it is contrary to Dhamma. |
| |
This is what the knowledge is for. |
| |
A lot of talk - youâre probably tired by now. |
| |
Do you have any questions? |
| |
Well, you probably do; you should have awareness in letting go. |
| |
Things flow by and you let them go, but not in a dull, |
| |
indifferent manner, without seeing what is happening. |
| |
There has to be mindfulness. |
| |
All the things Iâve been saying are pointing to having mindfulness protecting you at all times. |
| |
It means practising with wisdom, not with delusion. |
| |
Then we will gain true knowledge as wisdom becomes bold and keeps increasing. |
| |
1: Arom: (Thai) All states (or objects) of mind, |
| |
whether happy or unhappy, internal or external. |
| |
2: literally âcountâ |
| |
3: Because they are still in the realm of concepts. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Seekers of goodness who have gathered here, |
| |
please listen in peace. |
| |
Listening to the Dhamma in peace means to listen with a one-pointed mind, |
| |
paying attention to what you hear and then letting go. |
| |
Listening to the Dhamma is of great benefit. |
| |
While listening to the Dhamma we are encouraged to firmly establish both body and mind in samÄdhi, |
| |
because it is one kind of Dhamma practice. |
| |
In the time of the Buddha people listened to Dhamma talks intently, |
| |
with a mind aspiring to real understanding, |
| |
and some actually realized the Dhamma while listening. |
| |
This place is well suited to meditation practice. |
| |
Having stayed here a couple of nights I can see that it is an important place. |
| |
On the external level it is already peaceful, |
| |
all that remains is the internal level, |
| |
your hearts and minds. |
| |
So I ask all of you to make an effort to pay attention. |
| |
Why have you gathered here to practise meditation? |
| |
Itâs because your hearts and minds do not understand what should be understood. |
| |
In other words, you donât truly know how things are, |
| |
or what is what. |
| |
You donât know what is wrong and what is right, |
| |
what it is that brings you suffering and causes you to doubt. |
| |
So first you have to make yourselves calm. |
| |
The reason that you have come here to develop calm and restraint is that your hearts and minds are not at ease. |
| |
Your minds are not calm, not restrained. |
| |
They are swayed by doubting and agitation. |
| |
This is why you have come here today and are now listening to the Dhamma. |
| |
I would like you to concentrate and listen carefully to what I say, |
| |
and I ask permission to speak frankly because thatâs how I am. |
| |
Please understand that even if I do speak in a forceful manner, |
| |
I am doing so out of goodwill. |
| |
I ask your forgiveness if there is anything I say that upsets you, |
| |
because the customs of Thailand and those of the West are not the same. |
| |
Actually, speaking a little forcefully can be good because it |
| |
helps to stir people up who might otherwise be sleepy or drowsy; and rather than rousing themselves to hear the Dhamma, |
| |
allow themselves to drift instead into complacency, |
| |
and as a result they never understand anything. |
| |
Although there may appear to be many ways to practise, |
| |
really there is only one. |
| |
As with fruit trees, it is possible to get fruit quickly by planting a cutting, |
| |
but the tree would not be resilient or long lasting. |
| |
Another way is to cultivate a tree right from the seed, |
| |
which produces a strong and resilient tree. |
| |
Practice is the same. |
| |
When I first began to practise I had problems understanding this. |
| |
As long as I still didnât know what was what, |
| |
sitting meditation was a real chore, |
| |
even bringing me to tears on occasion. |
| |
Sometimes I would be aiming too high, |
| |
other times not high enough, never finding the point of balance. |
| |
To practise in a way thatâs peaceful means to place the mind neither too high or too low, |
| |
but at the point of balance. |
| |
I can see that itâs very confusing for you, |
| |
coming from different places and having practised in different ways with different teachers. |
| |
Coming to practise here, you must be plagued with all kinds of doubts. |
| |
One teacher says you must practise in one way, |
| |
another says you should practise another way. |
| |
You wonder which method to use, unsure of the essence of the practice. |
| |
The result is confusion. |
| |
There are so many teachers and so many teachings that nobody knows how to harmonize their practice. |
| |
As a result there is a lot of doubt and uncertainty. |
| |
So you must try not to think too much. |
| |
If you do think, then do so with awareness. |
| |
But so far your thinking has been done with no awareness. |
| |
First you must make your mind calm. |
| |
Where there is knowing there is no need to think; awareness will arise in its place, |
| |
and this will in turn become wisdom (paññÄ). |
| |
But the ordinary kind of thinking is not wisdom, |
| |
it is simply the aimless and unaware wandering of the mind, |
| |
which inevitably results in agitation. |
| |
This is not wisdom. |
| |
At this stage you donât need to think. |
| |
Youâve already done a great deal of thinking at home, |
| |
havenât you? |
| |
It just stirs up the heart. |
| |
You must establish some awareness. |
| |
Obsessive thinking can even bring you tears, |
| |
just try it out. |
| |
Getting lost in some train of thought wonât lead you to the truth, |
| |
itâs not wisdom. |
| |
The Buddha was a very wise person, heâd learned how to stop thinking. |
| |
In the same way you are practising here in order to stop thinking and thereby arrive at peace. |
| |
If you are already calm it is not necessary to think, |
| |
wisdom will arise in its place. |
| |
To meditate you do not have to think much more than to resolve |
| |
that right now is the time for training the mind and nothing else. |
| |
Donât let the mind shoot off to the left or to the right, |
| |
to the front or behind, above or below. |
| |
Our only duty right now is to practise mindfulness of the breathing. |
| |
Fix your attention at the head and move it down through the body to the tips of the feet, |
| |
and then back up to the crown of the head. |
| |
Pass your awareness down through the body, |
| |
observing with wisdom. |
| |
We do this to gain an initial understanding of the way the body is. |
| |
Then begin the meditation, noting that at this time your sole duty is to observe the inhalations and exhalations. |
| |
Donât force the breath to be any longer or shorter than normal, |
| |
just allow it to continue easily. |
| |
Donât put any pressure on the breath, |
| |
rather let it flow evenly, letting go with each in-breath and out-breath. |
| |
You must understand that you are letting go as you do this, |
| |
but there should still be awareness. |
| |
You must maintain this awareness, allowing the breath to enter and leave comfortably. |
| |
There is no need to force the breath, |
| |
just allow it to flow easily and naturally. |
| |
Maintain the resolve that at this time you have no other duties or responsibilities. |
| |
Thoughts about what will happen, what you will know or see during the meditation may arise from time to time, |
| |
but once they arise just let them cease by themselves, |
| |
donât be unduly concerned over them. |
| |
During the meditation there is no need to pay attention to sense impressions. |
| |
Whenever the mind is affected by sense impingement, |
| |
wherever there is a feeling or sensation in the mind, |
| |
just let it go. |
| |
Whether those sensations are good or bad is unimportant. |
| |
It is not necessary to make anything out of those sensations, |
| |
just let them pass away and return your attention to the breath. |
| |
Maintain the awareness of the breath entering and leaving. |
| |
Donât create suffering over the breath being too long or too short, |
| |
simply observe it without trying to control or suppress it in any way. |
| |
In other words, donât attach. |
| |
Allow the breath to continue as it is, |
| |
and the mind will become calm. |
| |
As you continue the mind will gradually lay things down and come to rest, |
| |
the breath becoming lighter and lighter until it becomes so faint that it seems like itâs not there at all. |
| |
Both the body and the mind will feel light and energized. |
| |
All that will remain will be a one-pointed knowing. |
| |
You could say that the mind has changed and reached a state of calm. |
| |
If the mind is agitated, set up mindfulness and inhale deeply till there is no space left to store any air, |
| |
then release it all completely until none remains. |
| |
Follow this with another deep inhalation until you are full, |
| |
then release the air again. |
| |
Do this two or three times, then re-establish concentration. |
| |
The mind should be calmer. |
| |
If anymore sense impressions cause agitation in the mind, |
| |
repeat the process on every occasion. |
| |
Similarly with walking meditation. |
| |
If while walking, the mind becomes agitated, |
| |
stop still, calm the mind, re-establish the awareness with the meditation object and then continue walking. |
| |
Sitting and walking meditation are in essence the same, |
| |
differing only in terms of the physical posture used. |
| |
Sometimes there may be doubt, so you must have sati, |
| |
to be the one who knows, continually following and examining the agitated mind in whatever form it takes. |
| |
This is to have sati. |
| |
Sati watches over and takes care of the mind. |
| |
You must maintain this knowing and not be careless or wander astray, |
| |
no matter what condition the mind takes on. |
| |
The trick is to have sati taking control and supervising the mind. |
| |
Once the mind is unified with sati a new kind of awareness will emerge. |
| |
The mind that has developed calm is held in check by that calm, |
| |
just like a chicken held in a coop; the chicken is unable to wander outside, |
| |
but it can still move around within the coop. |
| |
Its walking to and fro doesnât get it into trouble because it is restrained by the coop. |
| |
Likewise the awareness that takes place when the mind has sati and is calm does not cause trouble. |
| |
None of the thinking or sensations that take place within the calm mind cause harm or disturbance. |
| |
Some people donât want to experience any thoughts or feelings at all, |
| |
but this is going too far. |
| |
Feelings arise within the state of calm. |
| |
The mind is both experiencing feelings and calm at the same time, |
| |
without being disturbed. |
| |
When there is calm like this there are no harmful consequences. |
| |
Problems occur when the âchickenâ gets out of the âcoopâ. |
| |
For instance, you may be watching the breath entering and leaving and then forget yourself, |
| |
allowing the mind to wander away from the breath, |
| |
back home, off to the shops or to any number of different places. |
| |
Maybe even half an hour passes before you suddenly realize youâre |
| |
supposed to be practising meditation and reprimand yourself for your lack of sati. |
| |
This is where you have to be really careful, |
| |
because this is where the chicken gets out of the coop - the mind leaves its base of calm. |
| |
You must take care to maintain the awareness with sati and try to pull the mind back. |
| |
Although I use the words âpull the mind backâ, |
| |
in fact the mind doesnât really go anywhere, |
| |
only the object of awareness has changed. |
| |
You must make the mind stay right here and now. |
| |
As long as there is sati there will be presence of mind. |
| |
It seems like you are pulling the mind back but really it hasnât gone anywhere, |
| |
it has simply changed a little. |
| |
It seems that the mind goes here and there, |
| |
but in fact the change occurs right at the one spot. |
| |
When sati is regained, in a flash you are back with the mind without it having to be brought from anywhere. |
| |
When there is total knowing, a continuous and unbroken awareness at each and every moment, |
| |
this is called presence of mind. |
| |
If your attention drifts from the breath to other places then the knowing is broken. |
| |
Whenever there is awareness of the breath the mind is there. |
| |
With just the breath and this even and continuous awareness you have presence of mind. |
| |
There must be both sati and sampajañña. |
| |
Sati is recollection and sampajañña is self-awareness. |
| |
Right now you are clearly aware of the breath. |
| |
This exercise of watching the breath helps sati and sampajañña develop together. |
| |
They share the work. |
| |
Having both sati and sampajañña is like having two workers to lift a heavy plank of wood. |
| |
Suppose there are two people trying to lift some heavy planks, |
| |
but the weight is so great, they have to strain so hard, |
| |
that itâs almost unendurable. |
| |
Then another person, imbued with goodwill, |
| |
sees them and rushes in to help. |
| |
In the same way, when there is sati and sampajañña, |
| |
then paĂ±Ă±Ä (wisdom) will arise at the same place to help out. |
| |
Then all three of them support each other. |
| |
With paĂ±Ă±Ä there will be an understanding of sense objects. |
| |
For instance, during the meditation sense objects are experienced which give rise to feelings and moods. |
| |
You may start to think of a friend, but then paĂ±Ă±Ä should immediately |
| |
counter with âIt doesnât matter,â âStopâ or âForget it.â |
| |
Or if there are thoughts about where you will go tomorrow, |
| |
then the response would be, âIâm not interested, |
| |
I donât want to concern myself with such things.â |
| |
Maybe you start thinking about other people, |
| |
then you should think, âNo, I donât want to get involved.â |
| |
âJust let go,â or âItâs all uncertain and never a sure thing.â |
| |
This is how you should deal with things in meditation, |
| |
recognizing them as ânot sure, not sureâ, |
| |
and maintaining this kind of awareness. |
| |
You must give up all the thinking, the inner dialogue and the doubting. |
| |
Donât get caught up in these things during the meditation. |
| |
In the end all that will remain in the mind in its purest form are sati, |
| |
sampajañña and paññÄ. |
| |
Whenever these things weaken doubts will arise, |
| |
but try to abandon those doubts immediately, |
| |
leaving only sati, sampajañña and paññÄ. |
| |
Try to develop sati like this until it can be maintained at all times. |
| |
Then you will understand sati, sampajañña and samÄdhi thoroughly. |
| |
Focusing the attention at this point there will be sati, |
| |
sampajañña, samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä together. |
| |
Whether you are attracted to or repelled by external sense objects, |
| |
you will be able to tell yourself, âItâs not sure.â |
| |
Either way they are just hindrances to be swept away till the mind is clean. |
| |
All that should remain is sati, recollection; sampajañña, |
| |
clear awareness; samÄdhi, the firm and unwavering mind; and paññÄ, |
| |
or consummate wisdom. |
| |
For the time being I will say just this much on the subject of meditation. |
| |
Now, about the tools or aids to meditation practice - there should be mettÄ (goodwill) in your heart; in other words, |
| |
the qualities of generosity, kindness and helpfulness. |
| |
These should be maintained as the foundation for mental purity. |
| |
For example, begin doing away with lobha, |
| |
or selfishness, by giving. |
| |
When people are selfish they arenât happy. |
| |
Selfishness leads to a sense of discontent, |
| |
and yet people tend to be very selfish without realizing how it affects them. |
| |
You can experience this at any time, especially when you are hungry. |
| |
Suppose you get some apples and you have the opportunity to share them with a friend; you think it over for a while, |
| |
and, sure, the intention to give is there all right, |
| |
but you want to give the smaller one. |
| |
To give the big one would be ... |
| |
well, such a shame. |
| |
Itâs hard to think straight. |
| |
You tell them to go ahead and take one, |
| |
but then you say, âTake this one!â |
| |
and give them the smaller apple! |
| |
This is one form of selfishness that people usually donât notice. |
| |
Have you ever been like this? |
| |
You really have to go against the grain to give. |
| |
Even though you may really only want to give the smaller apple, |
| |
you must force yourself to give away the bigger one. |
| |
Of course, once you have given it to your friend, |
| |
you feel good inside. |
| |
Training the mind by going against the grain in this way requires |
| |
self-discipline - you must know how to give and how to give up, |
| |
not allowing selfishness to stick. |
| |
Once you learn how to give, if you are still hesitating over which fruit to give, |
| |
then while you are deliberating you will be troubled, |
| |
and even if you give the bigger one, |
| |
there will still be a sense of reluctance. |
| |
But as soon as you firmly decide to give the bigger one, |
| |
the matter is over and done with. |
| |
This is going against the grain in the right way. |
| |
Doing this you win mastery over yourself. |
| |
If you canât do it you will be a victim of yourself and continue to be selfish. |
| |
All of us have been selfish in the past. |
| |
This is a defilement which needs to be cut off. |
| |
In the PÄli scriptures, giving is called âdÄna,â which means bringing happiness to others. |
| |
It is one of those conditions which help to cleanse the mind from defilement. |
| |
Reflect on this and develop it in your practice. |
| |
You may think that practising like this involves hounding yourself, |
| |
but it doesnât really. |
| |
Actually itâs hounding craving and the defilements. |
| |
If defilements arise within you, you have to do something to remedy them. |
| |
Defilements are like a stray cat. |
| |
If you give it as much food as it wants, |
| |
it will always be coming around looking for more food, |
| |
but if you stop feeding it, after a couple of days itâll stop coming around. |
| |
Itâs the same with the defilements, they wonât come to disturb you, |
| |
theyâll leave your mind in peace. |
| |
So rather than being afraid of defilement, |
| |
make the defilements afraid of you. |
| |
To make the defilements afraid of you, |
| |
you must see the Dhamma within your minds. |
| |
Where does the Dhamma arise? |
| |
It arises with our knowing and understanding in this way. |
| |
Everyone is able to know and understand the Dhamma. |
| |
Itâs not something that has to be found in books, |
| |
you donât have to do a lot of study to see it, |
| |
just reflect right now and you can see what I am talking about. |
| |
Everybody can see it because it exists right within our hearts. |
| |
Everybody has defilements, donât they? |
| |
If you are able to see them, you can understand. |
| |
In the past youâve looked after and pampered your defilements, |
| |
but now you must know your defilements and not allow them to come and bother you. |
| |
The next constituent of practice is moral restraint (sīla). |
| |
SÄ«la watches over and nurtures the practice in the same way as parents look after their children. |
| |
Maintaining moral restraint means not only to avoid harming others but also to help and encourage them. |
| |
At the very least you should maintain the Five Precepts, |
| |
which are: |
| |
Not only not to kill or deliberately harm others, |
| |
but to spread goodwill towards all beings. |
| |
To be honest, refraining from infringing on the rights of others, |
| |
in other words, not stealing. |
| |
Knowing moderation in sexual relations: In the household life there exists the family structure, |
| |
based around husband and wife. |
| |
Know who your husband or wife is, know moderation, |
| |
know the proper bounds of sexual activity. |
| |
Some people donât know the limits. |
| |
One husband or wife isnât enough, they have to have a second or third. |
| |
The way I see it, you canât consume even one partner completely, |
| |
so to have two or three is just plain indulgence. |
| |
You must try to cleanse the mind and train it to know moderation. |
| |
Knowing moderation is true purity, without it there are no limits to your behaviour. |
| |
When eating delicious food, donât dwell too much on how it tastes, |
| |
think of your stomach and consider how much is appropriate to its needs. |
| |
If you eat too much you get trouble, so you must know moderation. |
| |
To be honest in speech â this is also a tool for eradicating defilements. |
| |
You must be honest and straight, truthful and upright. |
| |
To refrain from taking intoxicants. |
| |
You must know restraint and preferably give these things up altogether. |
| |
People are already intoxicated enough with their families, |
| |
relatives and friends, material possessions, |
| |
wealth and all the rest of it. |
| |
Thatâs quite enough already without making things worse by taking intoxicants as well. |
| |
These things just create darkness in the mind. |
| |
Those who take large amounts should try to gradually cut down and eventually give it up altogether. |
| |
Maybe I should ask your forgiveness, but my speaking in this way is out of a concern for your benefit, |
| |
so that you can understand that which is good. |
| |
You need to know what is what. |
| |
What are the things that are oppressing you in your everyday lives? |
| |
What are the actions which cause this oppression? |
| |
Good actions bring good results and bad actions bring bad results. |
| |
These are the causes. |
| |
Once moral restraint is pure there will be a sense of honesty and kindness towards others. |
| |
This will bring about contentment and freedom from worries and remorse. |
| |
Remorse resulting from aggressive and hurtful behaviour will not be there. |
| |
This is a form of happiness. |
| |
It is almost like a heavenly state. |
| |
There is comfort, you eat and sleep in comfort with the happiness arising from moral restraint. |
| |
This is the result; maintaining moral restraint is the cause. |
| |
This is a principle of Dhamma practice - refraining from bad actions so that goodness can arise. |
| |
If moral restraint is maintained in this way, |
| |
evil will disappear and good will arise in its place. |
| |
This is the result of right practice. |
| |
But this isnât the end of the story. |
| |
Once people have attained some happiness they tend to be heedless and not go any further in the practice. |
| |
They get stuck on happiness. |
| |
They donât want to progress any further, |
| |
they prefer the happiness of âheavenâ. |
| |
Itâs comfortable but thereâs no real understanding. |
| |
You must keep reflecting to avoid being deluded. |
| |
Reflect again and again on the disadvantages of this happiness. |
| |
Itâs transient, it doesnât last forever. |
| |
Soon you are separated from it. |
| |
Itâs not a sure thing; once happiness disappears then suffering arises in its place and the tears come again. |
| |
Even heavenly beings end up crying and suffering. |
| |
So the Lord Buddha taught us to reflect on the disadvantages of happiness, |
| |
that there exists an unsatisfactory side to it. |
| |
Usually when this kind of happiness is experienced, |
| |
there is no real understanding of it. |
| |
The peace that is truly certain and lasting is covered over by this deceptive happiness. |
| |
This happiness is not a certain or permanent kind of peace, |
| |
but rather a form of defilement, a refined form of defilement to which we attach. |
| |
Everybody likes to be happy. |
| |
Happiness arises because of our liking for something. |
| |
As soon as that liking changes to dislike, |
| |
suffering arises. |
| |
We must reflect on this happiness to see its uncertainty and limitation. |
| |
Once things change suffering arises. |
| |
This suffering is also uncertain; donât think that it is fixed or absolute. |
| |
This kind of reflection is called ÄdÄ«navakathÄ, |
| |
the reflection on the inadequacy and limitation of the conditioned world. |
| |
This means to reflect on happiness rather than accepting it at face value. |
| |
Seeing that it is uncertain, you shouldnât cling fast to it. |
| |
You should take hold of it but then let it go, |
| |
seeing both the benefit and the harm of happiness. |
| |
To meditate skilfully you have to see the disadvantages inherent within happiness. |
| |
Reflect in this way. |
| |
When happiness arises, contemplate it thoroughly until the disadvantages become apparent. |
| |
When you see that things are imperfect (dukkha) your heart will come to understand the nekkhammakathÄ, |
| |
the reflection on renunciation. |
| |
The mind will become disinterested and seek for a way out. |
| |
Disinterest comes from having seen the way forms really are, |
| |
the way tastes really are, the way love and hatred really are. |
| |
By disinterest we mean that there is no longer the desire to cling to or attach to things. |
| |
There is a withdrawal from clinging, to a point where you can abide comfortably, |
| |
observing with an equanimity that is free of attachment. |
| |
This is the peace that arises from practice. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Now please pay attention, not allowing your mind to wander off after other things. |
| |
Create the feeling that right now you are sitting on a mountain or in a forest somewhere, |
| |
all by yourself. |
| |
What do you have sitting here right now? |
| |
There is body and mind, thatâs all, only these two things. |
| |
All that is contained within this frame sitting here now is called âbodyâ. |
| |
The âmindâ is that which is aware and is thinking at this very moment. |
| |
These two things are also called nÄma and rĆ«pa. |
| |
NÄma refers to that which has no rĆ«pa, |
| |
or form. |
| |
All thoughts and feelings, or the four mental khandhas of feeling, |
| |
perception, volition and consciousness, |
| |
are nÄma, they are all formless. |
| |
When the eye sees form, that form is called rƫpa, |
| |
while the awareness is called nÄma. |
| |
Together they are called nÄma and rĆ«pa, |
| |
or simply mind and body. |
| |
Understand that only body and mind are sitting here in this present moment. |
| |
But we get these two things confused with each other. |
| |
If you want peace you must know the truth of them. |
| |
The mind in its present state is still untrained; itâs dirty, |
| |
not clear. |
| |
It is not yet the pure mind. |
| |
We must train this mind further through the practice of meditation. |
| |
Some people think that meditation means to sit in some special way, |
| |
but in actual fact standing, sitting, |
| |
walking and reclining are all vehicles for meditation practice. |
| |
You can practise at all times. |
| |
SamÄdhi literally means âthe firmly established mind.â |
| |
To develop samÄdhi you donât have to go bottling the mind up. |
| |
Some people try to get peaceful by sitting quietly and having nothing disturb them at all, |
| |
but thatâs just like being dead. |
| |
The practice of samÄdhi is for developing wisdom and understanding. |
| |
SamÄdhi is the firm mind, the one-pointed mind. |
| |
On which point is it fixed? |
| |
Itâs fixed on the point of balance. |
| |
Thatâs its point. |
| |
But people practise meditation by trying to silence their minds. |
| |
They say, âI try to sit in meditation but my mind wonât be still for a minute. |
| |
One instant it flies off one place, the next instant it flies off somewhere else. |
| |
How can I make it stop and be still?â |
| |
You donât have to make it stop, thatâs not the point. |
| |
Where there is movement is where understanding can arise. |
| |
People complain, âIt runs off and I pull it back again; then it goes off again and I pull it back once more.â |
| |
So they just sit there pulling back and forth like this. |
| |
They think their minds are running all over the place, |
| |
but actually it only seems like the mind is running around. |
| |
For example, look at this hall here. |
| |
âOh, itâs so big!â |
| |
you say. |
| |
Actually itâs not big at all. |
| |
Whether or not it seems big depends on your perception of it. |
| |
In fact this hall is just the size it is, |
| |
neither big nor small, but people run around after their feelings all the time. |
| |
In order to meditate to find peace, you must understand what peace is. |
| |
If you donât understand it you wonât be able to find it. |
| |
For example, suppose today you brought a very expensive pen with you to the monastery. |
| |
Now suppose that, on your way here, you put the pen in your front pocket, |
| |
but later you put it in the back pocket. |
| |
Now when you search your front pocket, |
| |
itâs not there! |
| |
You get a fright. |
| |
You get a fright because of your misunderstanding, |
| |
you donât see the truth of the matter. |
| |
Suffering is the result. |
| |
Whether standing, walking, coming and going, |
| |
you canât stop worrying about your lost pen. |
| |
Your wrong understanding causes you to suffer. |
| |
Understanding wrongly causes suffering. |
| |
âSuch a shame! |
| |
I only bought that pen a few days ago and now itâs lost.â |
| |
But then you remember, âOh, of course! |
| |
When I went to bathe I put the pen in my back pocket.â |
| |
As soon as you remember this you feel better again, |
| |
even without seeing your pen. |
| |
You see that? |
| |
Youâre happy again, you can stop worrying about your pen. |
| |
Youâre sure about it now. |
| |
As youâre walking along you run your hand over your back pocket and there it is. |
| |
Your mind was deceiving you all along. |
| |
The worry comes from your ignorance. |
| |
Now, seeing the pen, you are beyond doubt, |
| |
your worries are calmed. |
| |
This sort of peace comes from seeing the cause of the problem, |
| |
samudaya, the cause of suffering. |
| |
As soon as you remember that the pen is in your back pocket there is nirodha, |
| |
the cessation of suffering. |
| |
So you must contemplate in order to find peace. |
| |
What people usually refer to as peace is simply the calming of the mind, |
| |
not the calming of the defilements. |
| |
The defilements are simply being temporarily subdued, |
| |
just like grass covered by a rock. |
| |
In three or four days you take the rock off the grass and in no long time it grows up again. |
| |
The grass hadnât really died, it was simply being suppressed. |
| |
Itâs the same when sitting in meditation: the mind is calmed but the defilements are not really calmed. |
| |
Therefore, samÄdhi is not a sure thing. |
| |
To find real peace you must develop wisdom. |
| |
SamÄdhi is one kind of peace, like the rock covering the grass. |
| |
In a few days you take the rock away and the grass grows up again. |
| |
This is only a temporary peace. |
| |
The peace of wisdom is like putting the rock down and not lifting it up, |
| |
just leaving it where it is. |
| |
The grass canât possibly grow again. |
| |
This is real peace, the calming of the defilements, |
| |
the sure peace which results from wisdom. |
| |
We speak of wisdom (paññÄ) and samÄdhi as separate things, |
| |
but in essence they are one and the same. |
| |
Wisdom is the dynamic function of samÄdhi; samÄdhi is the passive aspect of wisdom. |
| |
They arise from the same place but take different directions. |
| |
They have different functions, like this mango here. |
| |
A small green mango eventually grows larger and larger until it is ripe. |
| |
It is the same mango, the small one, the larger one and the ripe one are the same mango, |
| |
but its condition changes. |
| |
In Dhamma practice, one condition is called samÄdhi, |
| |
the later condition is called paññÄ, |
| |
but in actuality sÄ«la, samÄdhi, and paĂ±Ă±Ä are all the same thing, |
| |
just like the mango. |
| |
In any case, in our practice, no matter what aspect you refer to, |
| |
you must always begin from the mind. |
| |
Do you know what this mind is? |
| |
What is the mind like? |
| |
What is it? |
| |
Where is it? |
| |
Nobody knows. |
| |
All we know is that we want to go over here or over there, |
| |
we want this and we want that, we feel good or we feel bad, |
| |
but the mind itself seems impossible to know. |
| |
What is the mind? |
| |
The mind doesnât have form. |
| |
That which receives impressions, both good and bad, |
| |
we call âmindâ. |
| |
Itâs like the owner of a house. |
| |
The owner stays at home while visitors come to see him. |
| |
He is the one who receives the visitors. |
| |
Who receives sense impressions? |
| |
What is it that perceives? |
| |
Who lets go of sense impressions? |
| |
That is what we call âmindâ. |
| |
But people canât see it, they think themselves around in circles. |
| |
âWhat is the mind, what is the brain?â |
| |
Donât confuse the issue like this. |
| |
What is it that receives impressions? |
| |
Some impressions it likes and some it doesnât like. |
| |
Who is that? |
| |
Is there one who likes and dislikes? |
| |
Sure there is, but you canât see it. |
| |
That is what we call âmindâ. |
| |
In our practice it isnât necessary to talk of samatha or vipassanÄ; just call it the practice of Dhamma, |
| |
thatâs enough. |
| |
And conduct this practice from your own mind. |
| |
What is the mind? |
| |
The mind is that which receives, or is aware of, |
| |
sense impressions. |
| |
With some sense impressions there is a reaction of like, |
| |
with others the reaction is dislike. |
| |
The receiver of impressions leads us into happiness and suffering, |
| |
right and wrong. |
| |
But it doesnât have any form. |
| |
We assume it to be a self, but itâs really only nÄmadhamma. |
| |
Does âgoodnessâ have any form? |
| |
Does evil? |
| |
Do happiness and suffering have any form? |
| |
You canât find them. |
| |
Are they round or are they square, short or long? |
| |
Can you see them? |
| |
These things are nÄmadhamma, they canât be compared to material things, |
| |
they are formless, but we know that they do exist. |
| |
Therefore, it is said, to begin the practice by calming the mind. |
| |
Put awareness into the mind. |
| |
If the mind is aware it will be at peace. |
| |
Some people donât go for awareness, they just want to have peace, |
| |
a kind of blanking out. |
| |
So they never learn anything. |
| |
If we donât have this âone who knowsâ, |
| |
what is there to base our practice on? |
| |
If there is no long, there is no short, |
| |
if there is no right, there can be no wrong. |
| |
People these days study away, looking for good and evil. |
| |
But that which is beyond good and evil they know nothing of. |
| |
All they know is the right and the wrong - âIâm going to take only what is right. |
| |
I donât want to know about the wrong. |
| |
Why should I?â |
| |
If you try to take only what is right in a short time it will go wrong again. |
| |
Right leads to wrong. |
| |
People keep searching among the right and wrong, |
| |
they donât try to find that which is neither right nor wrong. |
| |
They study about good and evil, they search for virtue, |
| |
but they know nothing of that which is beyond good and evil. |
| |
They study the long and the short, but that which is neither long nor short they know nothing of. |
| |
This knife has a blade, an edge and a handle. |
| |
Can you lift only the blade? |
| |
Can you lift only the the edge of the blade, |
| |
or the handle? |
| |
The handle, the edge and the blade are all parts of the same |
| |
knife: when you pick up the knife you get all three parts together. |
| |
In the same way, if you pick up that which is good, |
| |
the bad must follow. |
| |
People search for goodness and try to throw away evil, |
| |
but they donât study that which is neither good nor evil. |
| |
If you donât study this, there can be no completion. |
| |
If you pick up goodness, badness follows. |
| |
If you pick up happiness, suffering follows. |
| |
The practice of clinging to goodness and rejecting evil is the Dhamma of children, |
| |
itâs like a toy. |
| |
Sure, itâs all right, you can take just this much, |
| |
but if you grab onto goodness, evil will follow. |
| |
The end of this path is confused, itâs not so good. |
| |
Take a simple example. |
| |
You have children - now suppose you want to only love them and never experience hatred. |
| |
This is the thinking of one who doesnât know human nature. |
| |
If you hold onto love, hatred will follow. |
| |
In the same way, people decide to study the Dhamma to develop wisdom, |
| |
studying good and evil as closely as possible. |
| |
Now, having known good and evil, what do they do? |
| |
They try to cling to the good, and evil follows. |
| |
They didnât study that which is beyond good and evil. |
| |
This is what you should study. |
| |
âIâm going to be like this,â âIâm going to be like that,â but they never say, |
| |
âIâm not going to be anything because there really isnât any âIâ. |
| |
This they donât study. |
| |
All they want is goodness. |
| |
If they attain goodness, they lose themselves in it. |
| |
If things get too good theyâll start to go bad, |
| |
and so people end up just swinging back and forth like this. |
| |
In order to calm the mind and become aware of the perceiver of sense impressions, |
| |
we must observe it. |
| |
Follow the âone who knowsâ. |
| |
Train the mind until it is pure. |
| |
How pure should you make it? |
| |
If itâs really pure, the mind should be above both good and evil, |
| |
above even purity. |
| |
Itâs finished. |
| |
Thatâs when the practice is finished. |
| |
What people call sitting in meditation is merely a temporary kind of peace. |
| |
But even in such peace there are experiences. |
| |
If an experience arises there must be someone who knows it, |
| |
who looks into it, queries it and examines it. |
| |
If the mind is simply blank then thatâs not so useful. |
| |
You may see some people who look very restrained and think they are peaceful, |
| |
but the real peace is not simply the peaceful mind. |
| |
Itâs not the peace which says, âMay I be happy and never experience any suffering.â |
| |
With this kind of peace, eventually even the attainment of happiness becomes unsatisfying. |
| |
Suffering results. |
| |
Only when you can make your mind beyond both happiness and suffering will you find true peace. |
| |
Thatâs the true peace. |
| |
This is the subject most people never study, |
| |
they never really see this one. |
| |
The right way to train the mind is to make it bright, |
| |
to develop wisdom. |
| |
Donât think that training the mind is simply sitting quietly. |
| |
Thatâs the rock covering the grass. |
| |
People get drunk over it. |
| |
They think that samÄdhi is sitting. |
| |
Thatâs just one of the words for samÄdhi. |
| |
But really, if the mind has samÄdhi, then walking is samÄdhi, |
| |
sitting is samÄdhi, there is samÄdhi in the sitting posture, |
| |
in the walking posture, in the standing and reclining postures. |
| |
Itâs all practice. |
| |
Some people complain, âI canât meditate, |
| |
Iâm too restless. |
| |
Whenever I sit down I think of this and that. |
| |
I canât do it. |
| |
Iâve got too much bad kamma I should use up my bad kamma first and then come back and try meditating.â |
| |
Sure, just try it. |
| |
Try using up your bad kamma. |
| |
This is how people think. |
| |
Why do they think like this? |
| |
These so-called hindrances are the things we must study. |
| |
Whenever we sit, the mind immediately goes running off. |
| |
We follow it and try to bring it back and observe it once more, |
| |
then it goes off again. |
| |
This is what youâre supposed to be studying. |
| |
Most people refuse to learn their lessons from nature, |
| |
like a naughty schoolboy who refuses to do his homework. |
| |
They donât want to see the mind changing. |
| |
How then are you going to develop wisdom? |
| |
We have to live with change like this. |
| |
When we know that the mind is just this way, |
| |
constantly changing, when we know that this is its nature, |
| |
we will understand it. |
| |
We have to know when the mind is thinking good and bad, |
| |
changing all the time, we have to know these things. |
| |
If we understand this point, then even while we are thinking we can be at peace. |
| |
For example, suppose at home you have a pet monkey. |
| |
Monkeys donât stay still for long, they like to jump around and grab onto things. |
| |
Thatâs how monkeys are. |
| |
Now you come to the monastery and see the monkey here. |
| |
This monkey doesnât stay still either, |
| |
it jumps around just the same. |
| |
But it doesnât bother you, does it? |
| |
Why doesnât it bother you? |
| |
Because youâve raised a monkey before, |
| |
you know what theyâre like. |
| |
If you know just one monkey, no matter how many provinces you go to, |
| |
no matter how many monkeys you see, |
| |
you wonât be bothered by them, will you? |
| |
This is one who understands monkeys. |
| |
If we understand monkeys, then we wonât become a monkey. |
| |
If you donât understand monkeys you may become a monkey yourself! |
| |
Do you understand? |
| |
When you see it reaching for this and that, |
| |
you shout, âHey!â |
| |
You get angry. |
| |
âThat damned monkey!â |
| |
This is one who doesnât know monkeys. |
| |
One who knows monkeys sees that the monkey at home and the monkey in the monastery are just the same. |
| |
Why should you get annoyed by them? |
| |
When you see what monkeys are like, thatâs enough, |
| |
you can be at peace. |
| |
Peace is like this. |
| |
We must know sensations. |
| |
Some sensations are pleasant, some are unpleasant, |
| |
but thatâs not important. |
| |
Thatâs just their business. |
| |
Just like the monkey, all monkeys are the same. |
| |
We understand sensations as sometimes agreeable, |
| |
sometimes not - thatâs just their nature. |
| |
We should understand them and know how to let them go. |
| |
Sensations are uncertain. |
| |
They are transient, imperfect and ownerless. |
| |
Everything that we perceive is like this. |
| |
When eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind receive sensations, |
| |
we know them, just like knowing the monkey. |
| |
Then we can be at peace. |
| |
When sensations arise, know them. |
| |
Why do you run after them? |
| |
Sensations are uncertain. |
| |
One minute they are one way, the next minute another. |
| |
They exist dependent on change. |
| |
And all of us here exist dependent on change. |
| |
The breath goes out, then it must come in. |
| |
It must have this change. |
| |
Try only breathing in, can you do that? |
| |
Or try just breathing out without taking in another breath, |
| |
can you do it? |
| |
If there was no change like this, how long could you live for? |
| |
There must be both the in-breath and the out-breath. |
| |
Sensations are the same. |
| |
There must be these things. |
| |
If there were no sensations, you couldnât develop wisdom. |
| |
If there is no wrong, there can be no right. |
| |
You must be right first before you can see what is wrong, |
| |
and you must understand the wrong first to be right. |
| |
This is how things are. |
| |
For the really earnest student, the more sensations the better. |
| |
But many meditators shrink away from sensations, |
| |
they donât want to deal with them. |
| |
This is like the naughty schoolboy who wonât go to school, |
| |
wonât listen to the teacher. |
| |
These sensations are teaching us. |
| |
When we know sensations, then we are practising Dhamma. |
| |
The peace within sensations is just like understanding the monkey here. |
| |
When you understand what monkeys are like, |
| |
you are no longer troubled by them. |
| |
The practice of Dhamma is like this. |
| |
Itâs not that the Dhamma is very far away, |
| |
itâs right with us. |
| |
The Dhamma isnât about the angels on high or anything like that. |
| |
Itâs simply about us, about what we are doing right now. |
| |
Observe yourself. |
| |
Sometimes there is happiness, sometimes suffering, |
| |
sometimes comfort, sometimes pain, sometimes love, |
| |
sometimes hate. |
| |
This is Dhamma. |
| |
Do you see it? |
| |
You should know this Dhamma, you have to read your experiences. |
| |
You must know sensations before you can let them go. |
| |
When you see that sensations are impermanent you will be untroubled by them. |
| |
As soon as a sensation arises, just say to yourself, |
| |
âHmmm, this is not a sure thing.â |
| |
When your mood changes, âHmmm, not sure.â |
| |
You can be at peace with these things, |
| |
just like seeing the monkey and not being bothered by it. |
| |
If you know the truth of sensations, that is knowing the Dhamma. |
| |
You let go of sensations, seeing that invariably, |
| |
they are all uncertain. |
| |
What we call uncertainty, here, is the Buddha. |
| |
The Buddha is the Dhamma. |
| |
The Dhamma is the characteristic of uncertainty. |
| |
Whoever sees the uncertainty of things sees the unchanging reality of things. |
| |
Thatâs what the Dhamma is like. |
| |
And that is the Buddha. |
| |
If you see the Dhamma you see the Buddha; seeing the Buddha, |
| |
you see the Dhamma. |
| |
If you know aniccam, (uncertainty), you will let go of things and not grasp onto them. |
| |
You say, âHey, donât break my glass!â |
| |
Can you prevent something that is breakable from breaking? |
| |
If it doesnât break now it will break later on. |
| |
If you donât break it, someone else will. |
| |
If someone else doesnât break it, one of the chickens will! |
| |
The Buddha says to accept this. |
| |
He penetrated the truth of these things, |
| |
seeing that this glass is already broken. |
| |
Whenever you use this glass you should reflect that itâs already broken. |
| |
Do you understand this? |
| |
The Buddhaâs understanding was like this. |
| |
He saw the broken glass within the unbroken one. |
| |
Whenever its time is up it will break. |
| |
Develop this kind of understanding. |
| |
Use the glass, look after it, until when, |
| |
one day, it slips out of your hand. |
| |
âSmash!â |
| |
No problem. |
| |
Why is there no problem? |
| |
Because you saw its brokenness before it broke! |
| |
But usually people say, âI love this glass so much, |
| |
may it never break.â |
| |
Later on the dog breaks it. |
| |
âIâll kill that damn dog!â |
| |
You hate the dog for breaking your glass. |
| |
If one of your children breaks it youâll hate them too. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
Because youâve dammed yourself up, the water canât flow. |
| |
Youâve made a dam without a spillway. |
| |
The only thing the dam can do is burst, |
| |
right? |
| |
When you make a dam you must make a spillway also. |
| |
When the water rises up too high, the water can flow off safely. |
| |
When itâs full to the brim you open your spillway. |
| |
You have to have a safety valve like this. |
| |
Impermanence is the safety valve of the Noble Ones. |
| |
If you have this âsafety valveâ you will be at peace. |
| |
Practise constantly, standing, walking, |
| |
sitting, lying down, using sati to watch over and protect the mind. |
| |
This is samÄdhi and wisdom. |
| |
They are both the same thing, but they have different aspects. |
| |
If we really see uncertainty clearly, |
| |
we will see that which is certain. |
| |
The certainty is that things must inevitably be this way, |
| |
they can not be otherwise. |
| |
Do you understand? |
| |
Knowing just this much you can know the Buddha, |
| |
you can rightly do reverence to him. |
| |
As long as you donât throw out the Buddha you wonât suffer. |
| |
As soon as you throw out the Buddha you will experience suffering. |
| |
As soon as you throw out the reflections on transience, |
| |
imperfection and ownerlessness youâll have suffering. |
| |
If you can practise just this much itâs enough; suffering wonât arise, |
| |
or if it does arise you can settle it easily, |
| |
and it will be a cause for suffering not arising in the future. |
| |
This is the end of our practice, at the point where suffering doesnât arise. |
| |
And why doesnât suffering arise? |
| |
Because we have sorted out the cause of suffering, |
| |
samudaya. |
| |
For instance, if this glass were to break, |
| |
you would experience suffering. |
| |
We know that this glass will be a cause for suffering, |
| |
so we get rid of the cause. |
| |
All dhammas arise because of a cause. |
| |
They must also cease because of a cause. |
| |
So, if there is suffering on account of this glass here, |
| |
we should let go of this cause. |
| |
If we reflect beforehand that this glass is already broken, |
| |
even when it isnât, the cause ceases. |
| |
When there is no longer any cause, that suffering is no longer able to exist; it ceases. |
| |
This is cessation. |
| |
You donât have to go beyond this point, |
| |
just this much is enough. |
| |
Contemplate this in your own mind. |
| |
Basically you should all have the Five Precepts as a foundation for behaviour. |
| |
Itâs not necessary to go and study the Tipitaka, |
| |
just concentrate on the Five Precepts first. |
| |
At first you will make mistakes. |
| |
When you realize it, stop, come back and establish your precepts again. |
| |
Maybe youâll go astray and make another mistake. |
| |
When you realize it, re-establish yourself. |
| |
Practising like this, your sati will improve and become more consistent, |
| |
just like the drops of water falling from a kettle. |
| |
If we tilt the kettle just a little, the drops fall out slowly; plop! |
| |
... |
| |
plop! |
| |
... |
| |
plop! |
| |
... |
| |
If we tilt the kettle up a little bit more, |
| |
the drops become more rapid; plop, plop, |
| |
plop! |
| |
... |
| |
If we tilt the kettle up even further the âplopsâ go away and the water flows into a steady stream. |
| |
Where do the âplopsâ go to? |
| |
They donât go anywhere, they change into a steady stream of water. |
| |
We have to talk about the Dhamma like this, |
| |
using similes, because the Dhamma has no form. |
| |
Is it square or is it round? |
| |
You canât say. |
| |
The only way to talk about it is through similes like this. |
| |
Donât think that the Dhamma is far away from you. |
| |
It lies right with you, all around. |
| |
Take a look; one minute you are happy, |
| |
the next sad, the next angry. |
| |
Itâs all Dhamma. |
| |
Look at it and understand. |
| |
Whatever it is that causes suffering, |
| |
you should remedy. |
| |
If suffering is still there, take another look, |
| |
you donât yet see clearly. |
| |
If you could see clearly you wouldnât suffer because the cause would no longer be there. |
| |
If suffering is still there, if youâre still having to endure, |
| |
then youâre not yet on the right track. |
| |
Wherever you get stuck, whenever youâre suffering too much, |
| |
right there youâre wrong. |
| |
Whenever youâre so happy youâre floating in the clouds, |
| |
there, wrong again! |
| |
If you practise like this, you will have sati at all times, |
| |
in all postures. |
| |
With sati, and sampajañña, you will know right and wrong, |
| |
happiness and suffering. |
| |
Knowing these things, you will know how to deal with them. |
| |
I teach meditation like this. |
| |
When itâs time to sit in meditation then sit, |
| |
thatâs not wrong. |
| |
You should practise this also. |
| |
But meditation is not only sitting. |
| |
You must allow your mind to fully experience things, |
| |
allow them to flow and consider their nature. |
| |
How should you consider them? |
| |
See them as transient, imperfect and ownerless. |
| |
Itâs all uncertain. |
| |
âThis is so beautiful, I really must have it.â |
| |
Thatâs not a sure thing. |
| |
âI donât like this at allâ. |
| |
Tell yourself right there, âNot sure!â |
| |
Is this true? |
| |
Absolutely, no mistake. |
| |
But just try taking things for real. |
| |
âIâm going to get this thing for sure.â |
| |
Youâve gone off the track already. |
| |
Donât do this. |
| |
No matter how much you like something, |
| |
you should reflect that itâs uncertain. |
| |
Some kinds of food seem so delicious, |
| |
but still you should reflect that itâs not a sure thing. |
| |
It may seem so sure, that itâs so delicious, |
| |
but still you must tell yourself, âNot sure!â |
| |
If you want to test out whether itâs sure or not, |
| |
try eating your favourite food every day. |
| |
Every single day, mind you. |
| |
Eventually youâll complain, âThis doesnât taste so good anymore.â |
| |
Eventually youâll think, âActually I prefer that kind of food.â |
| |
Thatâs not a sure thing either! |
| |
You must allow things to flow, just like the in and out breaths. |
| |
There has to be both the in breath and the out breath, |
| |
the breathing depends on change. |
| |
Everything depends on change like this. |
| |
These things lie with us, nowhere else. |
| |
If we no longer doubt, whether sitting, |
| |
standing, walking, or reclining, we will be at peace. |
| |
SamÄdhi isnât just sitting. |
| |
Some people sit until they fall into a stupor. |
| |
They might as well be dead, they canât tell north from south. |
| |
Donât take it to such an extreme. |
| |
If you feel sleepy, then walk, change your posture. |
| |
Develop wisdom. |
| |
If you are really tired, have a rest. |
| |
As soon as you wake up then continue the practice, |
| |
donât let yourself drift into a stupor. |
| |
You must practise like this. |
| |
Have reason, wisdom, circumspection. |
| |
Start the practice with your own mind and body, |
| |
seeing them as impermanent. |
| |
Everything else is the same. |
| |
Keep this in mind when you think the food is so delicious, |
| |
you must tell yourself, âNot a sure thing!â |
| |
You have to whack it first. |
| |
But usually it just whacks you every time, |
| |
doesnât it? |
| |
If you donât like anything, you just suffer over it. |
| |
This is how things whack us. |
| |
âIf she likes me, I like her.â |
| |
They whack us again. |
| |
You never get a punch in! |
| |
You must see it like this. |
| |
Whenever you like anything just say to yourself, |
| |
âThis is not a sure thing!â |
| |
You have to go against the grain somewhat in order to really see the Dhamma. |
| |
Practise in all postures, sitting, standing, |
| |
walking, lying. |
| |
You can experience anger in any posture, |
| |
right? |
| |
You can be angry while walking, while sitting, |
| |
while lying down. |
| |
You can experience desire in any posture. |
| |
So our practice must extend to all postures; standing, |
| |
walking, sitting and lying down. |
| |
It must be consistent. |
| |
Donât just put on a show, really do it. |
| |
While sitting in meditation, some incident might arise. |
| |
Before it is settled another one comes racing in. |
| |
Whenever these things come up, just tell yourself, |
| |
âNot sure, not sure.â |
| |
Just whack it before it gets a chance to whack you. |
| |
Now this is the important point. |
| |
If you know that all things are impermanent, |
| |
all your thinking will gradually unwind. |
| |
When you reflect on the uncertainty of everything that passes, |
| |
youâll see that all things go the same way. |
| |
Whenever anything arises, all you need to say is, |
| |
âOh, another one!â |
| |
Have you ever seen flowing water? |
| |
Have you ever seen still water? |
| |
If your mind is peaceful, it will be just like still, |
| |
flowing water. |
| |
Have you ever seen still, flowing water? |
| |
There! |
| |
Youâve only ever seen flowing water and still water, |
| |
havenât you? |
| |
But youâve never seen still, flowing water. |
| |
Right there, right where your thinking can not take you, |
| |
even though itâs peaceful you can develop wisdom. |
| |
Your mind will be like flowing water, |
| |
and yet itâs still. |
| |
Itâs almost as if it were still, and yet itâs flowing. |
| |
So I call it âstill, flowing water.â |
| |
Wisdom can arise here. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Today is the day on which we Buddhists come together to observe the uposatha precepts and listen to the Dhamma, |
| |
as is our custom. |
| |
The point of listening to the Dhamma is, |
| |
firstly, to create some understanding of the things we donât yet understand; to clarify them and secondly, |
| |
to improve our grasp of the things we understand already. |
| |
We must rely on Dhamma talks to improve our understanding, |
| |
and listening is the crucial factor. |
| |
For todayâs talk please pay special attention. |
| |
First of all, straighten up your posture to make it suitable for listening. |
| |
Donât be too tense. |
| |
Now, all that remains is to establish your minds, |
| |
making your minds firm in samÄdhi. |
| |
The mind is the important ingredient. |
| |
The mind is that which perceives good and evil, |
| |
right and wrong. |
| |
If we are lacking in sati for even one minute, |
| |
we are crazy for that minute; if we are lacking in sati for half an hour, |
| |
we will be crazy for half an hour. |
| |
However much our mind is lacking in sati, |
| |
thatâs how crazy we are. |
| |
Thatâs why itâs especially important to pay attention when listening to the Dhamma. |
| |
All creatures in this world are plagued by nothing other than suffering. |
| |
There is only suffering disturbing the mind. |
| |
The purpose of studying the Dhamma is to utterly destroy this suffering. |
| |
If suffering arises, itâs because we donât really know it. |
| |
No matter how much we try to control it through will power, |
| |
or through wealth and possessions, it is impossible. |
| |
If we donât thoroughly understand suffering and its cause, |
| |
no matter how much we try to âtrade it offâ with our deeds, |
| |
thoughts or worldly riches, thereâs no way we can get rid of it. |
| |
Only through clear knowledge and awareness, |
| |
through knowing the truth of it, can suffering disappear. |
| |
And this applies not only to homeless ones, |
| |
the monks and novices, but also to householders. |
| |
For anybody who knows the truth of things, |
| |
suffering automatically ceases. |
| |
The states of good and evil are constant truths. |
| |
Dhamma means that which is constant, which maintains itself. |
| |
Turmoil maintains its turmoil, serenity maintains its serenity. |
| |
Good and evil maintain their respective conditions - like hot water: it maintains its hotness, |
| |
it doesnât change for anybody. |
| |
Whether a young person or an old person drinks it, |
| |
itâs hot. |
| |
Itâs hot for every nationality of people. |
| |
So Dhamma is defined as that which maintains its condition. |
| |
In our practice we must know heat and coolness, |
| |
right and wrong, good and evil. |
| |
Knowing evil, for example, we will not create the causes for evil, |
| |
and evil will not arise. |
| |
Dhamma practitioners should know the source of the various dhammas. |
| |
By quelling the cause of heat, heat can not arise. |
| |
The same with evil: it arises from a cause. |
| |
If we practise the Dhamma till we know the Dhamma, |
| |
we will know the source of things, their causes. |
| |
If we extinguish the cause of evil, evil is also extinguished, |
| |
we donât have to go running after evil to put it out. |
| |
This is the practice of Dhamma. |
| |
But many study the Dhamma, learn it, even practise it, |
| |
but are not yet with the Dhamma, and have not yet quenched the cause of evil and turmoil within their own hearts. |
| |
As long as the cause of heat is still present, |
| |
we canât possibly prevent heat from being there. |
| |
In the same way, as long as the cause of confusion is within our minds, |
| |
we can not possibly prevent confusion from being there, |
| |
because it arises from this source. |
| |
As long as the source is not quenched, |
| |
confusion will arise again. |
| |
Whenever we create good actions, goodness arises in the mind. |
| |
It arises from its cause. |
| |
This is called kusala. |
| |
If we understand causes in this way, we can create those causes and the results will naturally follow. |
| |
But people donât usually create the right causes. |
| |
They want goodness so much, and yet they donât work to bring it about. |
| |
All they get are bad results, embroiling the mind in suffering. |
| |
All people want these days is money. |
| |
They think that if they just get enough money everything will |
| |
be all right; so they spend all their time looking for money, |
| |
they donât look for goodness. |
| |
This is like wanting meat, but not wanting salt to preserve it. |
| |
You just leave the meat around the house to rot. |
| |
Those who want money should know not only how to find it, |
| |
but also how to look after it. |
| |
If you want meat, you canât expect to buy it and then just leave it laying around in the house. |
| |
Itâll just go rotten. |
| |
This kind of thinking is wrong. |
| |
The result of wrong thinking is turmoil and confusion. |
| |
The Buddha taught the Dhamma so that people would put it into practice, |
| |
in order to know it and see it, and to be one with it, |
| |
to make the mind Dhamma. |
| |
When the mind is Dhamma, it will attain happiness and contentment. |
| |
The restlessness of samsÄra is in this world, |
| |
and the cessation of suffering is also in this world. |
| |
The practice of Dhamma is therefore for leading the mind to the transcendence of suffering. |
| |
The body canât transcend suffering - having been born it must experience pain and sickness, |
| |
ageing and death. |
| |
Only the mind can transcend clinging and grasping. |
| |
All the teachings of the Buddha, which we call pariyatti, |
| |
are a skilful means to this end. |
| |
For instance, the Buddha taught about upÄdinnaka-sankhÄrÄ and |
| |
anupÄdinnaka-sankhÄrÄ; mind-attended conditions and non-mind-attended conditions. |
| |
Non-mind-attended conditions are usually defined as such things as trees, |
| |
mountains, rivers and so on - inanimate things. |
| |
Mind-attended conditions are defined as animate things - animals, |
| |
human beings and so on. |
| |
Most students of Dhamma take this definition for granted, |
| |
but if you consider the matter deeply, |
| |
how the human mind gets so caught up in sights, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, and mental states, |
| |
you might see that really there isnât anything which is not mind-attended. |
| |
As long as there is craving in the mind everything becomes mind-attended. |
| |
Studying the Dhamma without practising it, |
| |
we will be unaware of its deeper meanings. |
| |
For instance, we might think that the pillars of this meeting hall, |
| |
the tables, benches and all inanimate things are ânot mind-attendedâ. |
| |
We only look at one side of things. |
| |
But just try getting a hammer and smashing some of these things and youâll see whether theyâre mind-attended or not! |
| |
Itâs our own mind, clinging to the tables, |
| |
chairs and all of our possessions, which attends these things. |
| |
Even when one little cup breaks it hurts, |
| |
because our mind is âattendingâ that cup. |
| |
Whatever we feel to be ours, trees, mountains or whatever, |
| |
have a mind attending them. |
| |
If not their own, then someone elseâs. |
| |
These are all âmind-attended conditionsâ, |
| |
not ânon-mind-attendedâ. |
| |
Itâs the same for our body. |
| |
Normally we would say that the body is mind-attended. |
| |
The âmindâ which attends the body is none other than upÄdÄna; |
| |
latching onto the body and clinging to it as being âmeâ and âmineâ. |
| |
Just as a blind man can not conceive of colours - no matter where he looks, |
| |
no colours can be seen - just so for the mind blocked by craving |
| |
and delusion; all objects of consciousness become mind-attended. |
| |
For the mind tainted with craving and obstructed by delusion, |
| |
everything becomes mind-attended. |
| |
Tables, chairs, animals and everything else. |
| |
If we understand that there is an intrinsic self, |
| |
the mind attaches to everything. |
| |
All of nature becomes mind-attended, there is always clinging and attachment. |
| |
The Buddha talked about sankhata dhammas and asankhata dhammas - conditioned and unconditioned things. |
| |
Conditioned things are innumerable - material or immaterial, |
| |
big or small. |
| |
If our mind is under the influence of delusion, |
| |
it will proliferate about these things, |
| |
dividing them up into good and bad, |
| |
short and long, coarse and refined. |
| |
Why does the mind proliferate like this? |
| |
Because it doesnât know determined reality (sammuti-sacca), |
| |
it doesnât see the Dhamma. |
| |
Not seeing the Dhamma, the mind is full of clinging. |
| |
As long as the mind is held down by clinging, |
| |
there can be no escape; there is confusion, |
| |
birth, old age, sickness and death, |
| |
even in the thinking processes. |
| |
This kind of mind is called the sankhata dhamma (conditioned mind). |
| |
Asankhata dhamma, the unconditioned, refers to the mind which has seen Dhamma, |
| |
the truth, of the five khandhas as they are - as transient, |
| |
imperfect and ownerless. |
| |
All ideas of âmeâ and âthemâ, âmineâ and âtheirsâ, |
| |
belong to the determined reality. |
| |
Really, they are all conditions. |
| |
When we know the truth of conditions, |
| |
as neither ourselves nor belonging to us, |
| |
we let go of conditions and the determined. |
| |
When we let go of conditions we attain the Dhamma, |
| |
we enter into and realize the Dhamma. |
| |
When we attain the Dhamma we know clearly. |
| |
What do we know? |
| |
We know that there are only conditions and determinations, |
| |
no being, no self, no âusâ nor âthemâ. |
| |
This is knowledge of the way things are. |
| |
Seeing in this way the mind transcends things. |
| |
The body may grow old, get sick and die, |
| |
but the mind transcends this state. |
| |
When the mind transcends conditions, it knows the unconditioned. |
| |
The mind becomes the unconditioned, the state which no longer contains conditioning factors. |
| |
The mind is no longer conditioned by the concerns of the world, |
| |
conditions no longer contaminate the mind. |
| |
Pleasure and pain no longer affect it. |
| |
Nothing can affect the mind or change it, |
| |
the mind is assured, it has escaped all constructions. |
| |
Seeing the true nature of conditions and the determined, |
| |
the mind becomes free. |
| |
This freed mind is called the âunconditionedâ, |
| |
that which is beyond the power of constructing influences. |
| |
If the mind doesnât really know conditions and determinations, |
| |
it is moved by them. |
| |
Encountering good, bad, pleasure, or pain, |
| |
it proliferates about them. |
| |
Why does it proliferate? |
| |
Because there is still a cause. |
| |
What is the cause? |
| |
The cause is the understanding that the body is oneâs self, |
| |
or belongs to the self; that feelings are self or belonging |
| |
to self; that perception is self or belonging to self; that conceptual |
| |
thought is self or belonging to self; that consciousness is self or belonging to self. |
| |
The tendency to conceive things in terms of self is the source of happiness, |
| |
suffering, birth, old age, sickness and death. |
| |
This is the worldly mind, spinning around and changing at the directives of worldly conditions. |
| |
This is the conditioned mind. |
| |
If we receive some windfall, our mind is conditioned by it. |
| |
That object influences our mind into a feeling of pleasure, |
| |
but when it disappears, our mind is conditioned by it into suffering. |
| |
The mind becomes a slave of conditions, |
| |
a slave of desire. |
| |
No matter what the world presents to it, |
| |
the mind is moved accordingly. |
| |
This mind has no refuge, it is not yet assured of itself, |
| |
not yet free. |
| |
It is still lacking a firm base. |
| |
This mind doesnât yet know the truth of conditions. |
| |
Such is the conditioned mind. |
| |
All of you listening to the Dhamma here, |
| |
reflect for a while. |
| |
Even a child can make you angry, isnât that so? |
| |
Even a child can trick you. |
| |
He could trick you into crying, laughing - he could trick you into all sorts of things. |
| |
Even old people get duped by these things. |
| |
The mind of a deluded person who doesnât know the truth of conditions is always being shaped into countless reactions, |
| |
such as love, hate, pleasure and pain. |
| |
They shape our minds like this because we are enslaved by them. |
| |
We are slaves of tanhÄ, craving. |
| |
Craving gives all the orders, and we simply obey. |
| |
I hear people complaining, âOh, Iâm so miserable. |
| |
Night and day I have to go to the fields, |
| |
I have no time at home. |
| |
In the middle of the day I have to work in the hot sun with no shade. |
| |
No matter how cold it is I canât stay at home, |
| |
I have to go to work. |
| |
Iâm so oppressed.â |
| |
If I ask them, âWhy donât you just leave home and become a monk?â |
| |
they say, âI canât leave, I have responsibilities.â |
| |
TanhÄ pulls them back. |
| |
Sometimes when youâre doing the ploughing you might be bursting |
| |
to urinate so much you just have to do it while youâre ploughing, |
| |
like the buffaloes! |
| |
This is how much craving enslaves them. |
| |
When I ask, âHow are you going? |
| |
Havenât you got time to come to the monastery?â |
| |
they say, âOh, Iâm really in deep.â |
| |
I donât know what it is theyâre stuck in so deeply! |
| |
These are just conditions, concoctions. |
| |
The Buddha taught to see appearances as such, |
| |
to see conditions as they are. |
| |
This is seeing the Dhamma, seeing things as they really are. |
| |
If you really see these two things, you must throw them out, |
| |
let them go. |
| |
No matter what you may receive, it has no real substance. |
| |
At first it may seem good, but it will eventually go bad. |
| |
It will make you love and make you hate, |
| |
make you laugh and cry, make you go whichever way it pulls you. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
Because the mind is undeveloped. |
| |
Conditions become conditioning factors of the mind, |
| |
making it big and small, happy and sad. |
| |
In the time of our forefathers, when a person died they would |
| |
invite the monks to go and recite the recollections on impermanence: |
| |
AniccÄ vata sankhÄrÄ |
| |
Impermanent are all conditioned things |
| |
UppÄda-vaya-dhammino |
| |
Of the nature to arise and pass away |
| |
UppajjitvÄ nirujjhanti |
| |
Having been born, they all must perish |
| |
Tesam vƫpasamo sukho. |
| |
The cessation of conditions is true happiness. |
| |
All conditions are impermanent. |
| |
The body and the mind are both impermanent. |
| |
They are impermanent because they do not remain fixed and unchanging. |
| |
All things that are born must necessarily change, |
| |
they are transient - especially our body. |
| |
What is there that doesnât change within this body? |
| |
Are hair, nails, teeth, skin still the same as they used to be? |
| |
The condition of the body is constantly changing, |
| |
so it is impermanent. |
| |
Is the body stable? |
| |
Is the mind stable? |
| |
Think about it. |
| |
How many times is there arising and ceasing even in one day? |
| |
Both body and mind are constantly arising and ceasing, |
| |
conditions are in a state of constant turmoil. |
| |
The reason you canât see these things in line with the truth is because you keep believing the untrue. |
| |
Itâs like being guided by a blind man. |
| |
How can you travel in safety? |
| |
A blind man will only lead you into forests and thickets. |
| |
How could he lead you to safety when he canât see? |
| |
In the same way our mind is deluded by conditions, |
| |
creating suffering in the search for happiness, |
| |
creating difficulty in the search for ease. |
| |
Such a mind only makes for difficulty and suffering. |
| |
Really we want to get rid of suffering and difficulty, |
| |
but instead we create those very things. |
| |
All we can do is complain. |
| |
We create bad causes, and the reason we do is because we donât know the truth of appearances and conditions. |
| |
Conditions are impermanent, both the mind-attended and the non-mind-attended ones. |
| |
In practice, the non-mind-attended conditions are non-existent. |
| |
What is there that is not mind-attended? |
| |
Even your own toilet, which you would think would be non-mind-attended; |
| |
try letting someone smash it with a sledge hammer! |
| |
He would probably have to contend with the âauthoritiesâ. |
| |
The mind attends everything, even faeces and urine. |
| |
Except for the person who sees clearly the way things are, |
| |
there are no such things as non-mind-attended conditions. |
| |
Appearances are determined into existence. |
| |
Why must we determine them? |
| |
Because they donât intrinsically exist. |
| |
For example, suppose somebody wanted to make a marker. |
| |
He would take a piece of wood or a rock and place it on the ground, |
| |
and then call it a marker. |
| |
Actually itâs not a marker. |
| |
There isnât any marker, thatâs why you must determine it into existence. |
| |
In the same way we âdetermineâ cities, |
| |
people, cattle - everything! |
| |
Why must we determine these things? |
| |
Because originally they do not exist. |
| |
Concepts such as âmonkâ and âlaypersonâ are also âdeterminationsâ. |
| |
We determine these things into existence because intrinsically they arenât here. |
| |
Itâs like having an empty dish - you can put anything you like into it because itâs empty. |
| |
This is the nature of determined reality. |
| |
Men and women are simply determined concepts, |
| |
as are all the things around us. |
| |
If we know the truth of determinations clearly, |
| |
we will know that there are no beings, |
| |
because âbeingsâ are determined things. |
| |
Understanding that these things are simply determinations, |
| |
you can be at peace. |
| |
But if you believe that the person, being, |
| |
the âmineâ, the âtheirsâ, and so on are intrinsic qualities, |
| |
then you must laugh and cry over them. |
| |
These are the proliferations of conditioning factors. |
| |
If we take such things to be ours there will always be suffering. |
| |
This is micchÄditthi, wrong view. |
| |
Names are not intrinsic realities, they are provisional truths. |
| |
Only after we are born do we obtain names, |
| |
isnât that so? |
| |
Or did you have your name already when you were born? |
| |
The name usually comes afterwards, right? |
| |
Why must we determine these names? |
| |
Because intrinsically they arenât there. |
| |
We should clearly understand these determinations. |
| |
Good, evil, high, low, black and white are all determinations. |
| |
We are all lost in determinations. |
| |
This is why at the funeral ceremonies the monks chant, |
| |
AniccÄ vata sankhÄrÄ ... |
| |
Conditions are impermanent, they arise and pass way. |
| |
Thatâs the truth. |
| |
What is there that, having arisen, doesnât cease? |
| |
Good moods arise and then cease. |
| |
Have you ever seen anybody cry for three or four years? |
| |
At the most, you may see people crying a whole night, |
| |
and then the tears dry up. |
| |
Having arisen, they cease. |
| |
Tesam vĆ«pasamo sukho: If we understand sankhÄras (proliferations), |
| |
and thereby subdue them, this is the greatest happiness. |
| |
To be calmed of proliferations, calmed of âbeingâ, |
| |
calmed of individuality, of the burden of self, |
| |
is true merit. |
| |
Transcending these things one sees the unconditioned. |
| |
This means that no matter what happens, |
| |
the mind doesnât proliferate around it. |
| |
Thereâs nothing that can throw the mind off its natural balance. |
| |
What else could you want? |
| |
This is the end, the finish. |
| |
The Buddha taught the way things are. |
| |
Our making offerings and listening to Dhamma talks and so on is in order to search for and realize this. |
| |
If we realize this, we donât have to go and study vipassanÄ, |
| |
it will happen of itself. |
| |
Both samatha and vipassanÄ are determined into being, |
| |
just like other determinations. |
| |
The mind which knows, which is beyond such things, |
| |
is the culmination of the practice. |
| |
Our practice, our inquiry, is in order to transcend suffering. |
| |
When clinging is finished with, states of being are finished with. |
| |
When states of being are finished with, |
| |
there is no more birth or death. |
| |
When things are going well, the mind does not rejoice, |
| |
and when things are going badly, the mind does not grieve. |
| |
The mind is not dragged all over the place by the tribulations of the world, |
| |
and so the practice is finished. |
| |
This is the basic principle for which the Buddha gave the teaching. |
| |
The Buddha taught the Dhamma for use in our lives. |
| |
Even when we die there is the teaching Tesam vƫpasamo sukho. |
| |
But we donât subdue these conditions, |
| |
we only carry them around, as if the monks were telling us to do so. |
| |
We carry them around and cry over them. |
| |
This is getting lost in conditions. |
| |
Heaven, hell and NibbÄna are all to be found at this point. |
| |
Practising the Dhamma is in order to transcend suffering in the mind. |
| |
If we know the truth of things as Iâve explained here, |
| |
we will automatically know the Four Noble Truths - suffering, |
| |
the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering and the way leading to the cessation of suffering. |
| |
People are generally ignorant when it comes to determinations, |
| |
they think they all exist of themselves. |
| |
When the books tell us that trees, mountains and rivers are non-mind-attended conditions, |
| |
this is simplifying things. |
| |
This is just the superficial teaching, |
| |
thereâs no reference to suffering, as if there was no suffering in the world. |
| |
This is just the shell of Dhamma. |
| |
If we were to explain things in terms of ultimate truth, |
| |
we would see that itâs people who go and tie all these things down with their attachments. |
| |
How can you say that things have no power to shape events, |
| |
that they are not mind-attended, when people will beat their children even over one tiny needle? |
| |
One single plate or cup, a plank of wood - the mind attends all these things. |
| |
Just watch what happens if someone goes and smashes one of them up and youâll find out. |
| |
Everything is capable of influencing us in this way. |
| |
Knowing these things fully is our practice, |
| |
examining those things which are conditioned, |
| |
unconditioned, mind-attended, and non-mind-attended. |
| |
This is part of the âexternal teachingâ, |
| |
as the Buddha once referred to them. |
| |
At one time the Buddha was staying in a forest. |
| |
Taking a handful of leaves, He asked the bhikkhus, |
| |
âBhikkhus, which is the greater number, |
| |
the leaves I hold in my hand or the leaves scattered over the forest floor?â |
| |
The bhikkhus answered, âThe leaves in the Blessed Oneâs hand are few, |
| |
the leaves scattered around the forest floor are by far the greater number.â |
| |
âIn the same way, bhikkhus, the whole of the Buddhaâs teaching is vast, |
| |
but these are not the essence of things, |
| |
they are not directly related to the way out of suffering. |
| |
There are so many aspects to the teaching, |
| |
but what the TathÄgata really wants you to do is to transcend suffering, |
| |
to inquire into things and abandon clinging and attachment to form, |
| |
feeling, perception, volition and consciousness.1 Stop clinging to these things and you will transcend suffering. |
| |
These teachings are like the leaves in the Buddhaâs hand. |
| |
You donât need so much, just a little is enough. |
| |
As for the rest of the teaching, you neednât worry yourselves over it. |
| |
It is just like the vast earth, abundant with grasses, |
| |
soil, mountains, forests. |
| |
Thereâs no shortage of rocks and pebbles, |
| |
but all those rocks are not as valuable as one single jewel. |
| |
The Dhamma of the Buddha is like this, |
| |
you donât need a lot. |
| |
So whether you are talking about the Dhamma or listening to it, |
| |
you should know the Dhamma. |
| |
You neednât wonder where the Dhamma is, |
| |
itâs right here. |
| |
No matter where you go to study the Dhamma, |
| |
it is really in the mind. |
| |
The mind is the one who clings, the mind is the one who speculates, |
| |
the mind is the one who transcends, |
| |
who lets go. |
| |
All this external study is really about the mind. |
| |
No matter if you study the tipitaka, the Abhidhamma or whatever, |
| |
donât forget where it came from. |
| |
When it comes to the practice, the only things you really need to make a start are honesty and integrity, |
| |
you donât need to make a lot of trouble for yourself. |
| |
None of you laypeople have studied the Tipi\.taka, |
| |
but you are still capable of greed, |
| |
anger and delusion, arenât you? |
| |
Where did you learn about these things from? |
| |
Did you have to read the Tipi\.taka or the Abhidhamma to have greed, |
| |
hatred and delusion? |
| |
Those things are already there in your mind, |
| |
you donât have to study books to have them. |
| |
But the teachings are for inquiring into and abandoning these things. |
| |
Let the knowing spread from within you and you will be practising rightly. |
| |
If you want to see a train, just go to the central station, |
| |
you donât have to go travelling all the way up the Northern Line, |
| |
the Southern Line, the Eastern Line and the Western Line to see all the trains. |
| |
If you want to see trains, every single one of them, |
| |
youâd be better off waiting at Grand Central Station, |
| |
thatâs where they all terminate. |
| |
Now some people tell me, âI want to practise but I donât know how. |
| |
Iâm not up to studying the scriptures, |
| |
Iâm getting old now, my memoryâs not good.â |
| |
Just look right here, at âCentral Stationâ. |
| |
Greed arises here, anger arises here, |
| |
delusion arises here. |
| |
Just sit here and you can watch as all these things arise. |
| |
Practise right here, because right here is where youâre stuck. |
| |
Right here is where the determined arises, |
| |
where conventions arise, and right here is where the Dhamma will arise. |
| |
Therefore, the practice of Dhamma doesnât distinguish between class or race, |
| |
all it asks is that we look into, see and understand. |
| |
At first, we train the body and speech to be free of taints, |
| |
which is sīla. |
| |
Some people think that to have sÄ«la you must memorize PÄli phrases and chant all day and all night, |
| |
but really all you have to do is make your body and speech blameless, |
| |
and thatâs sÄ«la. |
| |
Itâs not so difficult to understand, just like cooking food; put in a little bit of this and a little bit of that, |
| |
till itâs just right and itâs delicious! |
| |
You donât have to add anything else to make it delicious, |
| |
itâs delicious already, if only you add the right ingredients. |
| |
In the same way, taking care that our actions and speech are proper will give us sīla. |
| |
Dhamma practice can be done anywhere. |
| |
In the past I travelled all over looking for a teacher because I didnât know how to practise. |
| |
I was always afraid that I was practising wrongly. |
| |
Iâd be constantly going from one mountain to another, |
| |
from one place to another, until I stopped and reflected on it. |
| |
Now I understand. |
| |
In the past I must have been quite stupid, |
| |
I went all over the place looking for places to practise meditation - I didnât realize it was already there, |
| |
in my heart. |
| |
All the meditation you want is right there inside you. |
| |
There is birth, old age, sickness and death right here within you. |
| |
Thatâs why the Buddha said Paccattam veditabbo viññƫhi: the wise must know for themselves. |
| |
Iâd said the words before but I still didnât know their meaning. |
| |
I travelled all over looking for it until I was ready to drop dead from exhaustion - only then, |
| |
when I stopped, did I find what I was looking for, |
| |
inside of me. |
| |
So now I can tell you about it. |
| |
So in your practice of sÄ«la, just practise as Iâve explained here. |
| |
Donât doubt the practice. |
| |
Even though some people may say you canât practise at home, |
| |
that there are too many obstacles; if thatâs the case, |
| |
then even eating and drinking are going to be obstacles. |
| |
If these things are obstacles to practise, |
| |
then donât eat! |
| |
If you stand on a thorn, is that good? |
| |
Isnât not standing on a thorn better? |
| |
Dhamma practice brings benefit to all people, |
| |
irrespective of class. |
| |
However much you practise, thatâs how much you will know the truth. |
| |
Some people say they canât practise as a lay person, |
| |
the environment is too crowded. |
| |
If you live in a crowded place, then look into crowdedness, |
| |
make it open and wide. |
| |
The mind has been deluded by crowdedness, |
| |
train it to know the truth of crowdedness. |
| |
The more you neglect the practice, the more you neglect going to the monastery and listening to the teaching, |
| |
the more your mind will sink down into the bog, |
| |
like a frog going into a hole. |
| |
Someone comes along with a hook and the frogâs done for, |
| |
he doesnât have a chance. |
| |
All he can do is stretch out his neck and offer it to them. |
| |
So watch out that you donât work yourself into a tiny corner - someone may just come along with a hook and scoop you up. |
| |
At home, being pestered by your children and grandchildren, |
| |
you are even worse off than the frog! |
| |
You donât know how to detach from these things. |
| |
When old age, sickness and death come along, |
| |
what will you do? |
| |
This is the hook thatâs going to get you. |
| |
Which way will you turn? |
| |
This is the predicament our minds are in. |
| |
Engrossed in the children, the relatives, |
| |
the possessions, and you donât know how to let them go. |
| |
Without morality or understanding to free things up, |
| |
there is no way out for you. |
| |
When feeling, perception, volition and consciousness produce suffering you always get caught up in it. |
| |
Why is there this suffering? |
| |
If you donât investigate you wonât know. |
| |
If happiness arises, you simply get caught up in happiness, |
| |
delighting in it. |
| |
You donât ask yourself, âWhere does this happiness come from?â |
| |
So change your understanding. |
| |
You can practise anywhere because the mind is with you everywhere. |
| |
If you think good thoughts while sitting, |
| |
you can be aware of them; if you think bad thoughts, |
| |
you can be aware of them also. |
| |
These things are with you. |
| |
While lying down, if you think good thoughts or bad thoughts, |
| |
you can know them also, because the place to practise is in the mind. |
| |
Some people think you have to go to the monastery every single day. |
| |
Thatâs not necessary, just look at your own mind. |
| |
If you know where the practice is youâll be assured. |
| |
The Buddhaâs teaching tells us to watch ourselves, |
| |
not to run after fads and superstitions. |
| |
Thatâs why he said, |
| |
SÄ«lena sugatim yanti |
| |
Moral rectitude leads to well-being |
| |
SÄ«lena bhogasampadÄ |
| |
Moral rectitude leads to wealth |
| |
SÄ«lena nibbutim yanti |
| |
Moral rectitude leads to NibbÄna |
| |
TasmÄ sÄ«lam visodhaye |
| |
Therefore, maintain your precepts purely |
| |
SÄ«la refers to our actions. |
| |
Good actions bring good results, bad actions bring bad results. |
| |
Donât expect the gods to do things for you, |
| |
or the angels and guardian deities to protect you, |
| |
or the auspicious days to help you. |
| |
These things arenât true, donât believe in them. |
| |
If you believe in them, you will suffer. |
| |
Youâll always be waiting for the right day, |
| |
the right month, the right year, the angels and guardian deities ... |
| |
youâll suffer that way. |
| |
Look into your own actions and speech, |
| |
into your own kamma. |
| |
Doing good you inherit goodness, doing bad you inherit badness. |
| |
If you understand that good and bad, right and wrong all lie within you, |
| |
then you wonât have to go looking for those things somewhere else. |
| |
Just look for these things where they arise. |
| |
If you lose something here, you must look for it here. |
| |
Even if you donât find it at first, keep looking where you dropped it. |
| |
But usually, we lose it here then go looking over there. |
| |
When will you ever find it? |
| |
Good and bad actions lie within you. |
| |
One day youâre bound to see it, just keep looking right there. |
| |
All beings fare according to their kamma. |
| |
What is kamma? |
| |
People are too gullible. |
| |
If you do bad actions, they say YÄma, |
| |
the king of the underworld, will write it all down in a book. |
| |
When you go there he takes out his accounts and looks you up. |
| |
Youâre all afraid of the YÄma in the after-life, |
| |
but you donât know the YÄma within your own minds. |
| |
If you do bad actions, even if you sneak off and do it by yourself, |
| |
this YÄma will write it all down. |
| |
There are probably many among you people sitting here who have secretly done bad things, |
| |
not letting anyone else see. |
| |
But you see it, donât you? |
| |
This YÄma sees it all. |
| |
Can you see it for yourself? |
| |
All of you, think for a while ... |
| |
YÄma has written it all down, hasnât he? |
| |
Thereâs no way you can escape it. |
| |
Whether you do it alone or in a group, |
| |
in a field or wherever. |
| |
Is there anybody here who has ever stolen something? |
| |
There are probably a few of us who are ex-thieves. |
| |
Even if you donât steal other peopleâs things you still may steal your own. |
| |
I myself have that tendency, thatâs why I reckon some of you may be the same. |
| |
Maybe you have secretly done bad things in the past, |
| |
not letting anyone else know about it. |
| |
But even if you donât tell anyone else about it, |
| |
you must know about it. |
| |
This is the YÄma who watches over you and writes it all down. |
| |
Wherever you go he writes it all down in his account book. |
| |
We know our own intention. |
| |
When you do bad actions, badness is there, |
| |
if you do good actions, goodness is there. |
| |
Thereâs nowhere you can go to hide. |
| |
Even if others donât see you, you must see yourself. |
| |
Even if you go into a deep hole youâll still find yourself there. |
| |
Thereâs no way you can commit bad actions and get away with it. |
| |
In the same way, why shouldnât you see your own purity? |
| |
See it all - the peaceful, the agitated, |
| |
the liberation or the bondage - see all these for yourselves. |
| |
In this Buddhist religion you must be aware of all your actions. |
| |
We donât act like the BrÄhmans, who go into your house and say, |
| |
âMay you be well and strong, may you live long.â |
| |
The Buddha doesnât talk like that. |
| |
How will the disease go away with just talk? |
| |
The Buddhaâs way of treating the sick was to say, |
| |
âBefore you were sick what happened? |
| |
What led up to your sickness?â |
| |
Then you tell him how it came about. |
| |
âOh, itâs like that, is it? |
| |
Take this medicine and try it out.â |
| |
If itâs not the right medicine he tries another one. |
| |
If itâs right for the illness, then thatâs the right one. |
| |
This way is scientifically sound. |
| |
As for the BrÄhmans, they just tie a string around your wrist and say, |
| |
âOkay, be well, be strong, when I leave this place you just get right on up and eat a hearty meal and be well.â |
| |
No matter how much you pay them, your illness wonât go away, |
| |
because their way has no scientific basis. |
| |
But this is what people like to believe. |
| |
The Buddha didnât want us to put too much store in these things, |
| |
he wanted us to practise with reason. |
| |
Buddhism has been around for thousands of years now, |
| |
and most people have continued to practise as their teachers have taught them, |
| |
regardless of whether itâs right or wrong. |
| |
Thatâs stupid. |
| |
They simply follow the example of their forebears. |
| |
The Buddha didnât encourage this sort of thing. |
| |
He wanted us to do things with reason. |
| |
For example, at one time when he was teaching the monks, |
| |
he asked Venerable SÄriputta, âSÄriputta, |
| |
do you believe this teaching?â |
| |
Venerable SÄriputta replied, âI donât yet believe it.â |
| |
The Buddha praised his answer: âVery good, |
| |
SÄriputta. |
| |
A wise person doesnât believe too readily. |
| |
He looks into things, into their causes and conditions, |
| |
and sees their true nature before believing or disbelieving.â |
| |
But most teachers these days would say, |
| |
âWhat?! |
| |
You donât believe me? |
| |
Get out of here!â |
| |
Most people are afraid of their teachers. |
| |
Whatever their teachers do they just blindly follow. |
| |
The Buddha taught to adhere to the truth. |
| |
Listen to the teaching and then consider it intelligently, |
| |
inquire into it. |
| |
Itâs the same with my Dhamma talks - go and consider it. |
| |
Is what I say right? |
| |
Really look into it, look within yourself. |
| |
So it is said to guard your mind. |
| |
Whoever guards his mind will free himself from the shackles of MÄra. |
| |
Itâs just this mind which goes and grabs onto things, |
| |
knows things, sees things, experiences happiness and suffering - just this very mind. |
| |
When we fully know the truth of determinations and conditions, |
| |
we will naturally throw off suffering. |
| |
All things are just as they are. |
| |
They donât cause suffering in themselves, |
| |
just like a thorn, a really sharp thorn. |
| |
Does it make you suffer? |
| |
No, itâs just a thorn, it doesnât bother anybody. |
| |
But if you go and stand on it, then youâll suffer. |
| |
Why is there this suffering? |
| |
Because you stepped on the thorn. |
| |
The thorn is just minding its own business, |
| |
it doesnât harm anybody. |
| |
Only if you step on the thorn will you suffer over it. |
| |
Itâs because of ourselves that thereâs pain. |
| |
Form, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness - all things in this world are simply there as they are. |
| |
Itâs us who pick fights with them. |
| |
And if we hit them theyâre going to hit us back. |
| |
If theyâre left on their own, they wonât bother anybody; only the swaggering drunkard gives them trouble. |
| |
All conditions fare according to their nature. |
| |
Thatâs why the Buddha said, Tesam vĆ«pasamo sukho. |
| |
If we subdue conditions, seeing determinations and conditions as they really are, |
| |
as neither âmeâ nor âmineâ, âusâ nor âthemâ, |
| |
when we see that these beliefs are simply sakkÄya-ditthi, |
| |
the conditions are freed of the self-delusion. |
| |
If you think âIâm goodâ, âIâm badâ, âIâm greatâ, |
| |
âIâm the bestâ, then you are thinking wrongly. |
| |
If you see all these thoughts as merely determinations and conditions, |
| |
then when others say âgoodâ or âbadâ you can leave it be with them. |
| |
As long as you still see it as âmeâ and âyouâ itâs like having |
| |
three hornets nests - as soon as you say something the hornets come buzzing out to sting you. |
| |
The three hornets nests are sakkÄya-ditthi, |
| |
vicikicchÄ, and sÄ«labbata-parÄmÄsa.2 |
| |
Once you look into the true nature of determinations and conditions, |
| |
pride can not prevail. |
| |
Other peopleâs fathers are just like our father, |
| |
their mothers are just like ours, their children are just like ours. |
| |
We see the happiness and suffering of other beings as just like ours. |
| |
If we see in this way, we can come face to face with the future Buddha, |
| |
itâs not so difficult. |
| |
Everyone is in the same boat. |
| |
Then the world will be as smooth as a drum skin. |
| |
If you want to wait around to meet Pra Sri Ariya Metteyya, |
| |
the future Buddha, then just donât practise; youâll probably be around long enough to see him. |
| |
But heâs not crazy that heâd take people like that for disciples! |
| |
Most people just doubt. |
| |
If you no longer doubt about the self, |
| |
then no matter what people may say about you, |
| |
you arenât concerned, because your mind has let go, |
| |
it is at peace. |
| |
Conditions become subdued. |
| |
Grasping after the forms of practice, |
| |
that teacher is bad, that place is no good, |
| |
this is right, thatâs wrong .... |
| |
No. Thereâs none of these things. |
| |
All this kind of thinking is all smoothed over. |
| |
You come face to face with the future Buddha. |
| |
Those who only hold up their hands and pray will never get there. |
| |
So this is the practice. |
| |
If I talked anymore it would just be more of the same. |
| |
Another talk would just be the same as this. |
| |
Iâve brought you this far, now you think about it. |
| |
Iâve brought you to the path, whoeverâs going to go, |
| |
itâs there for you. |
| |
Those who arenât going can stay. |
| |
The Buddha only sees you to the beginning of the path. |
| |
AkkhÄtaro TathÄgatÄ - the TathÄgata only points the way. |
| |
For my practice he only taught this much. |
| |
The rest was up to me. |
| |
Now I teach you, I can tell you just this much. |
| |
I can bring you only to the beginning of the path, |
| |
whoever wants to go back can go back, |
| |
whoever wants to travel on can travel on. |
| |
Itâs up to you, now. |
| |
1: The five khandhas. |
| |
2: Self-view, doubt, and attachment to rites and practices. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Meditate reciting âBuddho, Buddhoâ until it penetrates deep into the heart of your consciousness (citta). |
| |
The word Buddho represents the awareness and wisdom of the Buddha. |
| |
In practice, you must depend on this word more than anything else. |
| |
The awareness it brings will lead you to understand the truth about your own mind. |
| |
Itâs a true refuge, which means that there is both mindfulness and insight present. |
| |
Wild animals can have awareness of a sort. |
| |
They have mindfulness as they stalk their prey and prepare to attack. |
| |
Even the predator needs firm mindfulness to keep hold of the |
| |
captured prey however defiantly it struggles to escape death. |
| |
That is one kind of mindfulness. |
| |
For this reason you must be able to distinguish between different kinds of mindfulness. |
| |
The Buddha taught to meditate reciting Buddho as a way to apply the mind. |
| |
When you consciously apply the mind to an object, |
| |
it wakes up. |
| |
The awareness wakes it up. |
| |
Once this knowing has arisen through meditation, |
| |
you can see the mind clearly. |
| |
As long as the mind remains without the awareness of Buddho, |
| |
even if there is ordinary worldly mindfulness present, |
| |
the mind is unawakened and without insight. |
| |
It will not lead you to what is truly beneficial. |
| |
Sati or mindfulness depends on the presence of Buddho - the knowing. |
| |
It must be a clear knowing, which leads to the mind becoming brighter and more radiant. |
| |
The illuminating effect that this clear knowing has on the mind |
| |
is similar to the brightening of a light in a darkened room. |
| |
As long as the room is pitch black, any objects placed inside |
| |
remain difficult to distinguish or else completely obscured from view because of the lack of light. |
| |
But as you begin intensifying the brightness of the light inside, |
| |
it will penetrate throughout the whole room, |
| |
enabling you to see more clearly from moment to moment, |
| |
thus allowing you to know more and more the details of any object inside there. |
| |
You could also compare training the mind with teaching a child. |
| |
It would be impossible to force children who still hadnât learnt to speak, |
| |
to accumulate knowledge at an unnaturally fast rate that is beyond their capability. |
| |
You canât get too tough with them or try teaching them more language than they can take in at any one time, |
| |
because the children would simply be unable to hold their attention long enough on what you were saying. |
| |
Your mind is similar. |
| |
Sometimes itâs appropriate to give yourself some praise and encouragement; |
| |
sometimes itâs more appropriate to be critical. |
| |
Itâs like with children: if you scold them too often and are too intense in the way you deal with this, |
| |
they wonât progress in the right way, |
| |
even though they might be determined to do well. |
| |
If you force them too much, the child will be adversely affected, |
| |
because they still lack knowledge and experience and as a result will naturally lose track of the right way to go. |
| |
If you do that with your own mind, it isnât sammÄ patipadÄ or the way of practice that leads to enlightenment. |
| |
PatipadÄ or practice refers to the training and guidance of body, |
| |
speech and mind. |
| |
Here I am specifically referring to the training of the mind. |
| |
The Buddha taught that training the mind involves knowing how |
| |
to teach yourself and go against the grain of your desires. |
| |
You have to use different skilful means to teach your mind because |
| |
it constantly gets caught into moods of depression and elation. |
| |
This is the nature of the unenlightened mind - itâs just like a child. |
| |
The parents of a child who hasnât learnt to speak are in a position |
| |
to teach it because they know how to speak and their knowledge of the language is greater. |
| |
The parents are constantly in a position to see where their child is lacking in its understanding, |
| |
because they know more. |
| |
Training the mind is like this. |
| |
When you have the awareness of Buddho, |
| |
the mind is wiser and has a more refined level of knowing than normal. |
| |
This awareness allows you to see the conditions of the mind and |
| |
to see the mind itself; you can see the state of mind in the midst of all phenomena. |
| |
This being so, you are naturally able to employ skilful techniques for training the mind. |
| |
Whether you are caught into doubt or any other of the defilements, |
| |
you see it as a mental phenomenon that arises in the mind and must be investigated and dealt with in the mind. |
| |
That awareness which we call Buddho is like the parents of the child. |
| |
The parents are the childrenâs teachers in charge of its training, |
| |
so itâs quite natural that whenever they allow it to wander freely, |
| |
simultaneously they must keep one eye on it, |
| |
aware of what itâs doing and where itâs running or crawling to. |
| |
Sometimes you can be too clever and have too many good ideas. |
| |
In the case of teaching children, you might think so much about what is best for them, |
| |
that you could reach the point where the more methods you think up for teaching them, |
| |
the further away they move from the goals you want them to achieve. |
| |
The more you try and teach them, the more distant they become, |
| |
until they actually start to go astray and fail to develop in the proper way. |
| |
In training the mind, it is crucial to overcome sceptical doubt. |
| |
Doubt and uncertainty are powerful obstacles that must be dealt with. |
| |
Investigation of the three fetters of personality view (sakkÄya-ditthi), |
| |
blind attachment to rules and practices (sÄ«labbata-parÄmÄsa) |
| |
and sceptical doubt (vicikicchÄ) is the way out of attachment practised by the Noble Ones (ariyapuggalÄ). |
| |
But at first you just understand these defilements from the books - you still lack insight into how things truly are. |
| |
Investigating personality view is the way to go beyond the delusion that identifies the body as a self. |
| |
This includes attachment to your own body as a self or attaching to other peopleâs bodies as solid selves. |
| |
SakkÄya-ditthi or personality view refers to this thing you call yourself. |
| |
It means attachment to the view that the body is a self. |
| |
You must investigate this view until you gain a new understanding |
| |
and can see the truth that attachment to the body is defilement |
| |
and it obstructs the minds of all human beings from gaining insight into the Dhamma. |
| |
For this reason, before anything else the preceptor will instruct |
| |
each new candidate for bhikkhu ordination to investigate the five meditation objects: hair of the head (kesÄ), |
| |
hair of the body (lomÄ), nails (nakhÄ), |
| |
teeth (dantÄ) and skin (taco). |
| |
It is through contemplation and investigation that you develop insight into personality view. |
| |
These objects form the most immediate basis for the attachment that creates the delusion of personality view. |
| |
Contemplating them leads to the direct examination of personality |
| |
view and provides the means by which each generation of men and |
| |
women who take up the instructions of the preceptor upon entering the community can actually transcend personality view. |
| |
But in the beginning you remain deluded, |
| |
without insight and hence are unable to penetrate personality view and see the truth of the way things are. |
| |
You fail to see the truth because you still have a firm and unyielding attachment. |
| |
Itâs this attachment that sustains the delusion. |
| |
The Buddha taught to transcend delusion. |
| |
The way to transcend it is through clearly seeing the body for what it is. |
| |
With penetrating insight you must see that the true nature of |
| |
both your own body and other peopleâs is essentially the same. |
| |
There is no fundamental difference between peopleâs bodies. |
| |
The body is just the body; itâs not a being, |
| |
a self, yours or theirs. |
| |
This clear insight into the true nature of the body is called kÄyÄnupassanÄ. |
| |
A body exists; you label it and give it a name. |
| |
Then you attach and cling to it with the view that it is your body or his or her body. |
| |
You attach to the view that the body is permanent and that it is something clean and pleasant. |
| |
This attachment goes deep into the mind. |
| |
This is the way that the mind clings to the body. |
| |
Personality view means that you are still caught in doubt and uncertainty about the body. |
| |
Your insight hasnât fully penetrated the delusion that sees the body as a self. |
| |
As long as the delusion remains, you call the body a self or |
| |
attÄ and interpret your entire experience from the viewpoint that there is a solid, |
| |
enduring entity which you call the self. |
| |
You are so completely attached to the conventional way of viewing the body as a self, |
| |
that there is no apparent way of seeing beyond it. |
| |
But clear understanding according to the truth of the way things |
| |
are means you see the body as just that much: the body is just the body. |
| |
With insight, you see the body as just that much and this wisdom counteracts the delusion of the sense of self. |
| |
This insight that sees the body as just that much, |
| |
leads to the destruction of attachment (upÄdÄna) through the gradual uprooting and letting go of delusion. |
| |
Practise contemplating the body as being just that much, |
| |
until it is quite natural to think to yourself: âOh, |
| |
the body is merely the body. |
| |
Itâs just that much.â |
| |
Once this way of reflection is established, |
| |
as soon as you say to yourself that itâs just that much, |
| |
the mind lets go. |
| |
There is letting go of attachment to the body. |
| |
There is the insight that sees the body as merely the body. |
| |
By sustaining this sense of detachment through continuous seeing of the body as merely the body, |
| |
all doubt and uncertainty are gradually uprooted. |
| |
As you investigate the body, the more clearly you see it as just the body rather than a person, |
| |
a being, a me or a them, the more powerful the effect on the mind, |
| |
resulting in the simultaneous removal of doubt and uncertainty. |
| |
Blind attachment to rules and practices (sÄ«labbata-parÄmÄsa), |
| |
which manifests in the mind as blindly fumbling and feeling |
| |
around through lack of clarity as to the real purpose of practice, |
| |
is abandoned simultaneously because it arises in conjunction with personality view. |
| |
You could say that the three fetters of doubt, |
| |
blind attachment to rites and practices and personality view are inseparable and even similes for each other. |
| |
Once you have seen this relationship clearly, |
| |
when one of the three fetters, such as doubt for instance, |
| |
arises and you are able to let it go through the cultivation of insight, |
| |
the other two fetters are automatically abandoned at the same time. |
| |
They are extinguished together. |
| |
Simultaneously, you let go of personality view and the blind |
| |
attachment that is the cause of fumbling and fuzziness of intention over different practices. |
| |
You see them each as one part of your overall attachment to the sense of self, |
| |
which is to be abandoned. |
| |
You must repeatedly investigate the body and break it down into its component parts. |
| |
As you see each part as it truly is, the perception of the body being a solid entity or self is gradually eroded away. |
| |
You have to keep putting continuous effort into this investigation of the truth and canât let up. |
| |
A further aspect of mental development that leads to clearer |
| |
and deeper insight is meditating on an object to calm the mind down. |
| |
The calm mind is the mind that is firm and stable in samÄdhi. |
| |
This can be khanika samÄdhi (momentary concentration), |
| |
upacÄra-samÄdhi (neighbourhood concentration) or appanÄ samÄdhi (absorption). |
| |
The level of concentration is determined by the refinement of |
| |
consciousness from moment to moment as you train the mind to maintain awareness on a meditation object. |
| |
In khanika samÄdhi (momentary concentration) the mind unifies for just a short space of time. |
| |
It calms down in samÄdhi, but having gathered together momentarily, |
| |
immediately withdraws from that peaceful state. |
| |
As concentration becomes more refined in the course of meditation, |
| |
many similar characteristics of the tranquil mind are experienced at each level, |
| |
so each one is described as a level of samÄdhi, |
| |
whether it is khanika, upacÄra or appanÄ. |
| |
At each level the mind is calm, but the depth of the samÄdhi |
| |
varies and the nature of the peaceful mental state experienced differs. |
| |
On one level the mind is still subject to movement and can wander, |
| |
but moves around within the confines of the concentrated state. |
| |
It doesnât get caught in activity that leads to agitation and distraction. |
| |
Your awareness might follow a wholesome mental object for a while, |
| |
before returning to settle down at a point of stillness where it remains for a period. |
| |
You could compare the experience of khanika samÄdhi with a physical |
| |
activity like taking a walk somewhere: you might walk for a period before stopping for a rest, |
| |
and having rested start walking again until itâs time to stop for another rest. |
| |
Even though you interrupt the journey periodically to stop walking and take rests, |
| |
each time remaining completely still, |
| |
it is only ever a temporary stillness of the body. |
| |
After a short space of time you have to start moving again to continue the journey. |
| |
This is what happens within the mind as it experiences such a level of concentration. |
| |
If you practise meditation focusing on an object to calm the |
| |
mind and reach a level of calm where the mind is firm in samÄdhi, |
| |
but there is still some mental movement occurring, |
| |
that is known as upacÄra-samÄdhi. |
| |
In upacÄra-samÄdhi the mind can still move around. |
| |
This movement takes place within certain limits, |
| |
the mind doesnât move beyond them. |
| |
The boundaries within which the mind can move are determined by the firmness and stability of concentration. |
| |
The experience is as if you alternate between a state of calm and a certain amount of mental activity. |
| |
The mind is calm some of the time and active for the rest. |
| |
Within that activity there is still a certain level of calm and concentration that persists, |
| |
but the mind is not completely still or immovable. |
| |
It is still thinking a little and wandering about. |
| |
Itâs like you are wandering around inside your own home. |
| |
You wander around within the limits of your concentration, |
| |
without losing awareness and moving outdoors away from the meditation object. |
| |
The movement of the mind stays within the bounds of wholesome (kusala) mental states. |
| |
It doesnât get caught into any mental proliferation based on unwholesome (akusala) mental states. |
| |
Any thinking remains wholesome. |
| |
Once the mind is calm, it necessarily experiences wholesome mental states from moment to moment. |
| |
During the time it is concentrated the mind only experiences |
| |
wholesome mental states and periodically settles down to become completely still and one-pointed on its object. |
| |
So the mind still experiences some movement, |
| |
circling around its object. |
| |
It can still wander. |
| |
It might wander around within the confines set by the level of concentration, |
| |
but no real harm arises from this movement because the mind is calm in samÄdhi. |
| |
This is how the development of the mind proceeds in the course of practice. |
| |
In appanÄ samÄdhi the mind calms down and is stilled to a level where it is at its most subtle and skilful. |
| |
Even if you experience sense impingement from the outside, |
| |
such as sounds and physical sensations, |
| |
it remains external and is unable to disturb the mind. |
| |
You might hear a sound, but it wonât distract your concentration. |
| |
There is the hearing of the sound, but the experience is as if you donât hear anything. |
| |
There is awareness of the impingement but itâs as if you are not aware. |
| |
This is because you let go. |
| |
The mind lets go automatically. |
| |
Concentration is so deep and firm that you let go of attachment to sense impingement quite naturally. |
| |
The mind can absorb into this state for long periods. |
| |
Having stayed inside for an appropriate amount of time, |
| |
it then withdraws. |
| |
Sometimes, as you withdraw from such a deep level of concentration, |
| |
a mental image of some aspect of your own body can appear. |
| |
It might be a mental image displaying an aspect of the unattractive nature of your body that arises into consciousness. |
| |
As the mind withdraws from the refined state, |
| |
the image of the body appears to emerge and expand from within the mind. |
| |
Any aspect of the body could come up as a mental image and fill up the mindâs eye at that point. |
| |
Images that come up in this way are extremely clear and unmistakable. |
| |
You have to have genuinely experienced very deep tranquillity for them to arise. |
| |
You see them absolutely clearly, even though your eyes are closed. |
| |
If you open your eyes you canât see them, |
| |
but with eyes shut and the mind absorbed in samÄdhi, |
| |
you can see such images as clearly as if viewing the object with eyes wide open. |
| |
You can even experience a whole train of consciousness, |
| |
where from moment to moment the mindâs awareness is fixed on images expressing the unattractive nature of the body. |
| |
The appearance of such images in a calm mind can become the basis for insight into the impermanent nature of the body, |
| |
as well as into its unattractive, unclean and unpleasant nature, |
| |
or into the complete lack of any real self or essence within it. |
| |
When these kinds of special knowledge arise they provide the |
| |
basis for skilful investigation and the development of insight. |
| |
You bring this kind of insight right inside your heart. |
| |
As you do this more and more, it becomes the cause for insight knowledge to arise by itself. |
| |
Sometimes, when you turn your attention to reflecting on the subject of asubha, |
| |
images of different unattractive aspects of the body can manifest in the mind automatically. |
| |
These images are clearer than any you could try to summon up |
| |
with your imagination and lead to insight of a far more penetrating |
| |
nature than that gained through the ordinary kind of discursive thinking. |
| |
This kind of clear insight has such a striking impact that the |
| |
activity of the mind is brought to a stop followed by the experience of a deep sense of dispassion. |
| |
The reason it is so clear and piercing is that it originates from a completely peaceful mind. |
| |
Investigating from within a state of calm, |
| |
leads you to clearer and clearer insight, |
| |
the mind becoming more peaceful as it is increasingly absorbed in the contemplation. |
| |
The clearer and more conclusive the insight, |
| |
the deeper inside the mind penetrates with its investigation, |
| |
constantly supported by the calm of samÄdhi. |
| |
This is what the practice of kammatthÄna: involves. |
| |
Continuous investigation in this way helps you to repeatedly |
| |
let go of and ultimately destroy attachment to personality view. |
| |
It brings an end to all remaining doubt and uncertainty about |
| |
this heap of flesh we call the body and the letting go of blind attachment to rules and practices. |
| |
Even in the event of serious illness, |
| |
tropical fevers or different health problems that normally have a strong physical impact and shake the body up, |
| |
your samÄdhi and insight remains firm and imperturbable. |
| |
Your understanding and insight allows you to make a clear distinction |
| |
between mind and body - the mind is one phenomenon, |
| |
the body another. |
| |
Once you see body and mind as completely and indisputably separate from each other, |
| |
it means that the practice of insight has brought you to the |
| |
point where your mind sees for certain the true nature of the body. |
| |
Seeing the way the body truly is, clearly and beyond doubt from within the calm of samÄdhi, |
| |
leads to the mind experiencing a strong sense of weariness and turning away (nibbidÄ). |
| |
This turning away comes from the sense of disenchantment and |
| |
dispassion that arises as the natural result of seeing the way things are. |
| |
Itâs not a turning away that comes from ordinary worldly moods such as fear, |
| |
revulsion or other unwholesome qualities like envy or aversion. |
| |
Itâs not coming from the same root of attachment as those defiled mental states. |
| |
This is turning away that has a spiritual quality to it and has |
| |
a different effect on the mind from that of the normal moods |
| |
of boredom and weariness experienced by ordinary unenlightened human beings (puthujjana). |
| |
Usually when ordinary unenlightened human beings are weary and fed up, |
| |
they get caught into moods of aversion, |
| |
rejection and seeking to avoid. |
| |
The experience of insight is not the same. |
| |
The sense of world-weariness that grows with insight, |
| |
however, leads to detachment, turning away and aloofness that |
| |
comes naturally from investigating and seeing the truth of the way things are. |
| |
It is free from attachment to a sense of self that attempts to control and force things to go according to its desires. |
| |
Rather, you let go with an acceptance of the way things are. |
| |
The clarity of insight is so strong that you no longer experience |
| |
any sense of a self that has to struggle against the flow of its desires or endure through attachment. |
| |
The three fetters of personality view, |
| |
doubt and blind attachment to rules and practices that are normally |
| |
present underlying the way you view the world canât delude you or cause you to make any serious mistakes in practice. |
| |
This is the very beginning of the path, |
| |
the first clear insight into ultimate truth, |
| |
and paves the way for further insight. |
| |
You could describe it as penetrating the Four Noble Truths. |
| |
The Four Noble Truths are things to be realized through insight. |
| |
Every monk and nun, who has ever realized them, |
| |
has experienced such insight into the truth of the way things are. |
| |
You know suffering, you know the cause of suffering, |
| |
you know the cessation of suffering and you know the path leading to the cessation of suffering. |
| |
Understanding of each Noble Truth emerges at the same place within the mind. |
| |
They come together and harmonize as the factors of the Noble |
| |
Eightfold Path; and the Buddha taught that they are to be realized within the mind. |
| |
As the path factors converge in the centre of the mind, |
| |
they cut through any doubts and uncertainty you still have concerning the way of practice. |
| |
During the course of practising, it is normal that you experience the different conditions of the mind. |
| |
You constantly experience desires to do this and that or to go different places, |
| |
as well as the different moods of mental pain, |
| |
frustration or else indulgence in pleasure seeking - all of which are the fruits of past kamma. |
| |
All this resultant kamma swells up inside the mind and puffs it out. |
| |
However, it is the product of past actions. |
| |
Knowing that it is all stuff coming up from the past, |
| |
you donât allow yourself to make anything new or extra out of it. |
| |
You observe and reflect on the arising and cessation of conditions. |
| |
That which has not yet arisen is still unarisen. |
| |
This word âariseâ refers to upÄdÄna or the mindâs firm attachment and clinging. |
| |
Over time your mind has been exposed to and conditioned by craving and defilement, |
| |
and the mental conditions and characteristics you experience reflect that. |
| |
Having developed insight, your mind no longer follows those old habit patterns that were fashioned by defilement. |
| |
A separation occurs between the mind and those defiled ways of thinking and reacting. |
| |
The mind separates from the defilements. |
| |
You can compare this with the effect of putting oil and water together in a bottle. |
| |
Each liquid has a very different density so it doesnât matter |
| |
whether you keep them in the same bottle or in separate ones, |
| |
because the difference in their density prevents the liquids from mixing together or permeating into each other. |
| |
The oil doesnât mix with the water and vice versa. |
| |
They remain in separate parts of the bottle. |
| |
You can compare the bottle with the world, |
| |
and these two different liquids in the bottle, |
| |
that have been put there are forced to stay within its confines |
| |
are similar to you living in the world with insight that separates your mind from the defilements. |
| |
You can say that you are living in the world and following the conventions of the world, |
| |
but without attaching to it. |
| |
When you have to go somewhere you say you are going, |
| |
when you are coming you say you are coming or whatever you are doing you use the conventions and language of the world, |
| |
but itâs like the two liquids in the bottle - they are in the same bottle but donât mix together. |
| |
You live in the world, but at the same time you remain separate from it. |
| |
The Buddha knew the truth for himself. |
| |
He was the lokavidƫ - the knower of the world. |
| |
What are the sense bases (Äyatana)? |
| |
They consist of the eyes, ears, nose, |
| |
tongue, body and mind. |
| |
The ears hear sound; the nose performs the function of smelling different smells, |
| |
whether fragrant or pungent; the tongue has the function of tasting tastes whether sweet, |
| |
sour, rich or salty; the body senses heat and cold, |
| |
softness and hardness; the mind receives mind objects which arise in the same way as they always have. |
| |
The sense bases function just as they did before. |
| |
You experience sensory impingement in just the same way as you always have. |
| |
Itâs not true that after the experience of insight your nose no longer experiences any smells, |
| |
or your tongue that formerly was able to taste can no longer taste anything, |
| |
or the body is unable to feel anything anymore. |
| |
Your ability to experience the world through the senses remains intact, |
| |
just the same as before you started practising insight, |
| |
but the mindâs reaction to sense impingement is to see it as âjust that muchâ. |
| |
The mind doesnât attach to fixed perceptions or make anything out of the experience of sense objects. |
| |
It lets go. |
| |
The mind knows that it is letting go. |
| |
As you gain insight into the true nature of the Dhamma, |
| |
it naturally results in letting go. |
| |
There is awareness followed by abandoning of attachment. |
| |
There is understanding and then letting go. |
| |
With insight you set things down. |
| |
Insight knowledge doesnât lead to clinging or attachment; it doesnât increase your suffering. |
| |
Thatâs not what happens. |
| |
True insight into the Dhamma results in letting go. |
| |
You know that attachment is the cause of suffering, |
| |
so you abandon it. |
| |
Once you have insight the mind lets go. |
| |
It puts down what it was formerly holding on to. |
| |
Another way to describe this is to say that you are no longer fumbling or groping around in your practice. |
| |
You are no longer blindly groping and attaching to forms, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes, bodily sensations or mind objects. |
| |
The experience of sense objects through the eyes, |
| |
ears, nose, tongue, body and mind no longer stimulates the same |
| |
old habitual movements of mind where it is seeking to get involved |
| |
with such sense objects or adding on to the experience through further proliferation. |
| |
The mind doesnât create things around sense contact. |
| |
Once contact has occurred you automatically let go. |
| |
The mind discards the experience. |
| |
This means that if you are attracted to something, |
| |
you experience the attraction in the mind but you donât attach or hold on fast to it. |
| |
If you have a reaction of aversion, there is simply the experience |
| |
of aversion arising in the mind and nothing more: there isnât |
| |
any sense of self arising that attaches and gives meaning and importance to the aversion. |
| |
In other words the mind knows how to let go; it knows how to set things aside. |
| |
Why is it able to let go and put things down? |
| |
Because the presence of insight means you can see the harmful |
| |
results that come from attaching to all those mental states. |
| |
When you see forms the mind remains undisturbed; when you hear sounds it remains undisturbed. |
| |
The mind doesnât take a position for or against any sense objects experienced. |
| |
This is the same for all sense contact, |
| |
whether it is through the eyes, ears, |
| |
nose, tongue, body or mind. |
| |
Whatever thoughts arise in the mind canât disturb you. |
| |
You are able to let go. |
| |
You may perceive something as desirable, |
| |
but you donât attach to that perception or give it any special |
| |
importance - it simply becomes a condition of mind to be observed without attachment. |
| |
This is what the Buddha described as experiencing sense objects as âjust that muchâ. |
| |
The sense bases are still functioning and experiencing sense objects, |
| |
but without the process of attachment stimulating movements to and fro in the mind. |
| |
There is no conditioning of the mind occurring in the sense of |
| |
a self moving from this place to that place or from that place moving to this place. |
| |
Sense contact occurs between the six sense bases as normal, |
| |
but the mind doesnât take sides by getting caught in conditions of attraction or aversion. |
| |
You understand how to let go. |
| |
There is awareness of sense contact followed by letting go. |
| |
You let go with awareness and sustain the awareness after you have let go. |
| |
This is how the process of insight works. |
| |
Every angle and every aspect of the mind and its experience naturally becomes part of the practice. |
| |
This is the way the mind is affected as you train it. |
| |
It becomes very obvious that the mind has changed and is not the same as usual. |
| |
It no longer behaves in the way you are accustomed to. |
| |
You are no longer creating a self out of your experience. |
| |
For example, when you experience the death of your mother, |
| |
father or anyone else who is close to you, |
| |
if your mind remains firm in the practice of calm and insight and is able to reflect skilfully on what has happened, |
| |
you wonât create suffering for yourself out of the event. |
| |
Rather than panicking or feeling shocked at the news of that personâs death, |
| |
there is just a sense of sadness and dispassion coming from wise reflection. |
| |
You are aware of the experience and then let go. |
| |
There is the knowing and then you lay it aside. |
| |
You let go without generating any further suffering for yourself. |
| |
This is because you know clearly what causes suffering to arise. |
| |
When you do encounter suffering you are aware of that suffering. |
| |
As soon as you start to experience suffering you automatically ask yourself the question: where does it come from? |
| |
Suffering has its cause and that is the attachment and clinging still left in the mind. |
| |
So you have to let go of the attachment. |
| |
All suffering comes from a cause. |
| |
Having created the cause, you abandon it. |
| |
Abandon it with wisdom. |
| |
You let go of it through insight, which means wisdom. |
| |
You canât let go through delusion. |
| |
This is the way it is. |
| |
The investigation and development of insight into the Dhamma gives rise to this profound peace of mind. |
| |
When you have gained such clear and penetrating insight, |
| |
it is sustained at all times whether you are sitting meditation with your eyes closed, |
| |
or even if you are doing something with your eyes open. |
| |
Whatever situation you find yourself in, |
| |
be it in formal meditation or not, the clarity of insight remains. |
| |
When you have unwavering mindfulness of the mind within the mind, |
| |
you donât forget yourself. |
| |
Whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down, |
| |
the awareness within makes it impossible to lose mindfulness. |
| |
Itâs a state of awareness that prevents you forgetting yourself. |
| |
Mindfulness has become so strong that it is self-sustaining to |
| |
the point where it becomes natural for the mind to be that way. |
| |
These are the results of training and cultivating the mind and it is here where you go beyond doubt. |
| |
You have no doubts about the future; you have no doubts about |
| |
the past and accordingly have no need to doubt about the present either. |
| |
You still have awareness that there is such a thing as past, |
| |
present and future. |
| |
You are aware of the existence of time. |
| |
There is the reality of the past, present and future, |
| |
but you are no longer concerned or worried about it. |
| |
Why are you no longer concerned? |
| |
All those things that took place in the past have already happened. |
| |
The past has already passed by. |
| |
All that is arising in the present is the result of causes that lay in the past. |
| |
An obvious example of this is to say that if you donât feel hungry now, |
| |
itâs because you have already eaten at some time in the past. |
| |
The lack of hunger in the present is the result of actions performed in the past. |
| |
If you know your experience in the present, |
| |
you can know the past. |
| |
Eating a meal was the cause from the past that resulted in you feeling at ease or energetic in the present, |
| |
and this provides the cause for you to be active and work in the future. |
| |
So the present is providing causes that will bring results in the future. |
| |
The past, present and future can thus be seen as one and the same. |
| |
The Buddha called it eko dhammo - the unity of the Dhamma. |
| |
It isnât many different things; there is just this much. |
| |
When you see the present, you see the future. |
| |
By understanding the present you understand the past. |
| |
Past, present and future make up a chain of continuous cause |
| |
and effect and hence are constantly flowing on from one to the other. |
| |
There are causes from the past that produce results in the present |
| |
and these are already producing causes for the future. |
| |
This process of cause and result applies to practice in the same way. |
| |
You experience the fruits of having trained the mind in samÄdhi and insight, |
| |
and these necessarily make the mind wiser and more skilful. |
| |
The mind completely transcends doubt. |
| |
You are no longer uncertain or speculating about anything. |
| |
The lack of doubt means you no longer fumble around or have to feel your way through the practice. |
| |
As a result you live and act in accordance with nature. |
| |
You live in the world in the most natural way. |
| |
That means living in the world peacefully. |
| |
You are able to find peace even in the midst of that which is unpeaceful. |
| |
You are fully able to live in the world. |
| |
You are able to live in the world without creating any problems. |
| |
The Buddha lived in the world and was able to find true peace of mind within the world. |
| |
As practitioners of the Dhamma, you must learn to do the same. |
| |
Donât get lost in and attached to perceptions about things being this way or that way. |
| |
Donât attach or give undue importance to any perceptions that are still deluded. |
| |
Whenever the mind becomes stirred up, |
| |
investigate and contemplate the cause. |
| |
When you arenât making any suffering for yourself out of things, |
| |
you are at ease. |
| |
When there are no issues causing mental agitation, |
| |
you remain equanimous. |
| |
That is, you continue to practise normally with a mental equanimity |
| |
maintained by the presence of mindfulness and an all-round awareness. |
| |
You keep a sense of self-control and equilibrium. |
| |
If any matter arises and prevails upon the mind, |
| |
you immediately take hold of it for thorough investigation and contemplation. |
| |
If there is clear insight at that moment, |
| |
you penetrate the matter with wisdom and prevent it creating any suffering in the mind. |
| |
If there is not yet clear insight, you let the matter go temporarily |
| |
through the practice of samatha meditation and donât allow the mind to attach. |
| |
At some point in the future, your insight will certainly be strong enough to penetrate it, |
| |
because sooner or later you will develop insight powerful enough |
| |
to comprehend everything that still causes attachment and suffering. |
| |
Ultimately, the mind has to make a great effort to struggle with |
| |
and overcome the reactions to stimulations by every kind of sense object and mental state that you experience. |
| |
It must work hard with every single object that contacts it. |
| |
All the six internal sense bases and their external objects converge on the mind. |
| |
By focusing awareness on the mind alone, |
| |
you gain understanding and insight into the eyes, |
| |
ears, nose, tongue, body, mind and all their objects. |
| |
The mind is there already, so the important thing is to investigate right at the centre of the mind. |
| |
The further you go investigating the mind itself, |
| |
the clearer and more profound the insight that emerges. |
| |
This is something I emphasize when teaching, |
| |
because understanding this point is crucial to the practice. |
| |
Normally, when you experience sense contact and receive impingement from different objects, |
| |
the mind is just waiting to react with attraction or aversion. |
| |
That is what happens with the unenlightened mind. |
| |
Itâs ready to get caught into good moods because of one kind of stimulation or bad moods because of another kind. |
| |
Here you examine the mind with firm and unwavering attention. |
| |
As you experience different objects through the senses, |
| |
you donât let it feed mental proliferation. |
| |
You donât get caught in a lot of defiled thinking - you are already |
| |
practising vipassanÄ and depending on insight wisdom to investigate all sense objects. |
| |
The mode of vipassanÄ meditation is what develops wisdom. |
| |
Training with the different objects of samatha meditation - whether it is the recitation of a word such as Buddho, |
| |
Dhammo, Sangho or the practice of mindfulness with the breathing |
| |
- results in the mind experiencing the calm and firmness of samÄdhi. |
| |
In samatha meditation you focus awareness on a single object and let go of all others temporarily. |
| |
VipassanÄ meditation is similar because you use the reflection |
| |
âdonât believe itâ as you make contact with sense objects. |
| |
Practising vipassanÄ, you donât let any sense object delude you. |
| |
You are aware of each object as soon as it converges in on the mind, |
| |
whether it is experienced with the eyes, |
| |
ears, nose, tongue, body or mind and you use this reflection |
| |
âdonât believe itâ almost like a verbal meditation object to be repeated over and over again. |
| |
Every object immediately becomes a source of insight. |
| |
You use the mind that is firm in samÄdhi to investigate each objectâs impermanent nature. |
| |
At each moment of sense contact you bring up the reflection: âItâs not certainâ or âThis is impermanent.â |
| |
If you are caught in delusion and believe in the object experienced you suffer, |
| |
because all these dhammas (phenomena) are non-self (anattÄ). |
| |
If you attach to anything that is non-self and misperceive it as self, |
| |
it automatically becomes a cause for pain and distress. |
| |
This is because you attach to mistaken perceptions. |
| |
Repeatedly examine the truth, over and over again until you understand |
| |
clearly that all these sense objects lack any true self. |
| |
They do not belong to any real self. |
| |
Why, then, do you misunderstand and attach to them as being a self or belonging to a self? |
| |
This is where you must put forth effort to keep reflecting on the truth. |
| |
They arenât truly you. |
| |
They donât belong to you. |
| |
Why do you misunderstand them as being a self? |
| |
None of these sense objects can be considered as you in any ultimate sense. |
| |
So why do they delude you into seeing them as a self? |
| |
In truth, thereâs no way it could possibly be like that. |
| |
All sense objects are impermanent, so why do you see them as permanent? |
| |
Itâs incredible how they delude you. |
| |
The body is inherently unattractive, so how can you possibly attach to the view that it is something attractive? |
| |
These ultimate truths - the unattractiveness of the body and |
| |
the impermanence and lack of self in all formations - become |
| |
obvious with investigation and finally you see that this thing |
| |
we call the world is actually a delusion created out of these wrong views. |
| |
As you use insight meditation to investigate the three characteristics and penetrate the true nature of phenomena, |
| |
itâs not necessary to do anything special. |
| |
Thereâs no need to go to extremes. |
| |
Donât make it difficult for yourself. |
| |
Focus your awareness directly, as if you are sitting down receiving guests who are entering into a reception room. |
| |
In your reception room there is only one chair, |
| |
so the different guests that come into the room to meet you |
| |
are unable to sit down because you are already sitting in the only chair available. |
| |
If a visitor enters the room, you know who they are straight away. |
| |
Even if two, three or many visitors come into the room together, |
| |
you instantly know who they are because they have nowhere to sit down. |
| |
You occupy the only seat available, so every single visitor who |
| |
comes in is quite obvious to you and unable to stay for very long. |
| |
You can observe all the visitors at your ease because they donât have anywhere to sit down. |
| |
You fix awareness on investigating the three characteristics of impermanence, |
| |
suffering and non-self and hold your attention on this contemplation not sending it anywhere else. |
| |
Insight into the transient, unsatisfactory and selfless nature |
| |
of all phenomena steadily grows clearer and more comprehensive. |
| |
Your understanding grows more profound. |
| |
Such clarity of insight leads to a peace that penetrates deeper |
| |
into your heart than any you might experience from the practice of tranquillity (samatha) meditation. |
| |
It is the clarity and completeness of this insight into the way things are that has a purifying effect on the mind. |
| |
Wisdom arising as a result of deep and crystal clear insight acts as the agent of purification. |
| |
Through repeated examination and contemplation of the truth, |
| |
over time, your views change and what you once mistakenly perceived |
| |
as attractive gradually loses its appeal as the truth of its unattractive nature becomes apparent. |
| |
You investigate phenomena to see if they are really permanent or of a transient nature. |
| |
At first you simply recite to yourself the teaching that all conditions are impermanent, |
| |
but after time you actually see the truth clearly from your investigation. |
| |
The truth is waiting to be found right at the point of investigation. |
| |
This is the seat where you wait to receive visitors. |
| |
There is nowhere else you could go to develop insight. |
| |
You must remain seated on this one spot - the only chair in the room. |
| |
As visitors enter your reception room, |
| |
it is easy to observe their appearance and the way they behave, |
| |
because they are unable to sit down; inevitably you get to know all about them. |
| |
In other words you arrive at a clear and distinct understanding of the impermanent, |
| |
unsatisfactory and selfless nature of all these phenomena and |
| |
this insight has become so indisputable and firm in your mind, |
| |
that it puts an end to any remaining uncertainty about the true nature of things. |
| |
You know for certain that there is no other possible way of viewing experience. |
| |
This is realization of the Dhamma at the most profound level. |
| |
Ultimately, your meditation involves sustaining the knowing, |
| |
followed by continuous letting go as you experience sense objects through the eyes, |
| |
ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. |
| |
It involves just this much and there is no need to make anything more out of it. |
| |
The important thing is to put repeated effort into developing |
| |
insight through investigation of the three characteristics. |
| |
Everything can become a cause for wisdom to arise, |
| |
and that is what completely destroys all forms of defilement and attachment. |
| |
This is the fruit of vipassanÄ meditation. |
| |
But donât assume that everything you do is coming from insight. |
| |
Sometimes you still do things following your own desires. |
| |
If you are still practising following your desires, |
| |
then you will only put effort in on the days when you are feeling energetic and inspired, |
| |
and you wonât do any meditation on the days when you are feeling lazy. |
| |
Thatâs called practising under the influence of the defilements. |
| |
It means you donât have any real power over your mind and just follow your desires. |
| |
When your mind is in line with the Dhamma, |
| |
there is no one who is diligent and there is no one who is lazy. |
| |
Itâs a matter of how the mind is conditioned. |
| |
The practice of insight keeps flowing automatically without laziness or diligence. |
| |
Itâs a state that is self-sustaining, |
| |
fuelled by its own energy. |
| |
Once the mind has these characteristics, |
| |
it means you no longer have to be the doer in the practice. |
| |
You could say that itâs as if you have finished all the work |
| |
you have been doing and the only thing left is for you to leave things to themselves and watch over the mind. |
| |
You donât have to be someone who is doing something anymore. |
| |
There is still mental activity occurring - you experience pleasant |
| |
and unpleasant sense contact according to your kammic accumulations |
| |
- but you see it as âjust that muchâ and are letting go of attachment to the sense of self the whole time. |
| |
At this point, you arenât creating a self and so you arenât creating any suffering. |
| |
All the sense objects and moods you experience ultimately have exactly the same value in the mind. |
| |
Whatever mental or physical phenomena you examine appear the same as everything else, |
| |
bearing the same inherent qualities. |
| |
All phenomena become one and the same. |
| |
Your wisdom has to develop that far for all uncertainty to come to an end in the mind. |
| |
When you first start meditating, it seems like all you know how to do is to doubt and speculate about things. |
| |
The mind is always wavering and vacillating. |
| |
You spend the whole time caught in agitated thinking and proliferating about things. |
| |
You have doubts about every last thing. |
| |
Why? |
| |
It stems from impatience. |
| |
You want to know all the answers and fast. |
| |
You want to have insight quickly, without having to do anything. |
| |
You want to know the truth of the way things are, |
| |
but that wanting is so strong in the mind that it is more powerful than the insight you desire. |
| |
For that reason the practice has to develop in stages. |
| |
You must go one step at a time. |
| |
In the first place you need to put forth persistent effort. |
| |
You also need the continuous support of your past good actions |
| |
and development of the ten spiritual perfections (pÄramÄ«). |
| |
Keep summoning up effort in training the mind. |
| |
Donât get caught into desiring quick results; that just leads |
| |
you to disappointment and frustration when the insights are slow to come. |
| |
Thinking like that wonât help you. |
| |
Is it correct to expect suddenly to experience some kind of permanent |
| |
state where you are experiencing no pleasure or pain at all? |
| |
It doesnât matter what the mind throws up at you. |
| |
At that time when you do get overwhelmed by pleasure and pain |
| |
stimulated by contact between the mind and different sense objects, |
| |
you donât have any idea what level your practice has reached. |
| |
But within a short space of time such moods lose power over the mind. |
| |
Actually, such impingement can be of benefit, |
| |
because it reminds you to examine your own experience. |
| |
You get to know what reactions all the sense objects, |
| |
thoughts and perceptions you experience bring up in the mind. |
| |
You know, both in the cases when they lead the mind towards agitation and suffering, |
| |
and when they hardly stir the mind at all. |
| |
Some meditators just want to have insight into the way the mind |
| |
is affected by pleasant objects; they only want to investigate the good moods. |
| |
But that way they never gain true insight. |
| |
They donât become very smart. |
| |
Really, you must also examine what happens when you experience unpleasant sense impingement. |
| |
You have to know what that does to the mind. |
| |
In the end, thatâs the way you have to train yourself. |
| |
It is also important to understand that when it comes to the practice itself, |
| |
you donât need to seek out the past experiences and accumulated memories available from external sources, |
| |
because itâs your own experience that counts. |
| |
The only way to really put an end to your doubts and speculation |
| |
is through practising until you reach the point where you see the results clearly for yourself. |
| |
This is the most important thing of all. |
| |
Learning from different teachers is an essential preliminary to practice. |
| |
It is a valuable support as you move from hearing the teachings to learning from your own experience. |
| |
You have to contemplate the teachings you receive in light of your own practice until you gain your own understanding. |
| |
If you already possess some spiritual qualities and virtue accumulated from the past, |
| |
practice is more straightforward. |
| |
When other people give you advice, generally it can save you time, |
| |
by helping you to avoid mistakes and to go directly to the heart of practice. |
| |
If you try practising alone without any guidance from others, |
| |
the path you follow will be a slower one with more detours. |
| |
If you try to discover the correct way to practise all by yourself, |
| |
you tend to waste time and end up going the long way round. |
| |
Thatâs the truth of it. |
| |
In the end, the practice of Dhamma itself is the surest way to |
| |
make all the doubting and wavering wither away and vanish. |
| |
As you keep enduring and training yourself to go against the |
| |
grain of your defilements the doubts will just shrivel up and die. |
| |
If you think about it, you have already gained much from your efforts in the practice. |
| |
You have made progress, but itâs still not enough to make you feel completely satisfied. |
| |
If you look carefully and reflect on your life, |
| |
you can see just how much of the world you have experienced through your mind from the time you were born, |
| |
through your youth until the present. |
| |
In the past you werenât training yourself in virtue, |
| |
concentration and wisdom, and itâs easy to see just how far the defilements took you. |
| |
When you look back on all that you have experienced through the |
| |
senses it becomes obvious that you have been experiencing the truth about the way things are on countless occasions. |
| |
As you contemplate the things that have happened in your life, |
| |
it helps lighten the mind as you see that the defilements donât cover it over quite so thickly as before. |
| |
From time to time you need to encourage yourself in this way. |
| |
It takes away some of the heaviness. |
| |
However, itâs not wise to only give yourself praise and encouragement. |
| |
In training the mind, you have to criticize yourself every now and then. |
| |
Sometimes you have to force yourself to do things you donât want to do, |
| |
but you canât push the mind to its limits all the time. |
| |
As you train yourself in meditation it is normal that the body, |
| |
which is a conditioned phenomenon, is subject to stress, |
| |
pain and all sorts of different problems as conditions affect it. |
| |
Itâs just normal for the body to be like that. |
| |
The more you train yourself in sitting meditation, |
| |
the more skilled at it you become and naturally you can sit for longer periods. |
| |
At first you might only be able to manage five minutes before you have to get up. |
| |
But as you practise more, the length of time you can sit comfortably |
| |
increases from ten to twenty minutes to half an hour, |
| |
until in the end you can sit for a whole hour without having to get up. |
| |
Then other people look at you and praise you for being able to sit so long, |
| |
but at the same time, you might feel within yourself, |
| |
that you still canât sit for very long at all. |
| |
This is the way the desire for results can affect you in the course of meditation. |
| |
Another important aspect of the training is to sustain the practice |
| |
of mindfulness evenly in all the four postures of standing, |
| |
walking, sitting and lying down. |
| |
Be careful not to mistakenly think that you are only really practising when sitting in the formal meditation posture. |
| |
Donât see it as the only posture for cultivating mindfulness. |
| |
Thatâs a mistake. |
| |
Itâs quite possible that calm and insight might not even arise during the course of formal sitting meditation. |
| |
Itâs only feasible to sit for so many hours and minutes in one |
| |
day but you have to train yourself in mindfulness constantly as you change from posture to posture, |
| |
developing a continuous awareness. |
| |
Whenever you lose awareness, re-establish it as soon as possible to try and keep as much continuity as you can. |
| |
This is the way to make fast progress. |
| |
Insight comes quickly. |
| |
Itâs the way to become wise. |
| |
That means wise in understanding sense objects and how they affect the mind. |
| |
You use this wisdom to know your moods and to train the mind in letting go. |
| |
This is how you should understand the way to cultivate the mind. |
| |
Even as you lie down to sleep, you have to fix attention on the |
| |
in- and out-breaths until the moment you fall asleep and continue on as soon as you wake up. |
| |
That way there is only a short period when you are in deep sleep that you are not practising awareness. |
| |
You have to throw all your energy into training yourself. |
| |
Once you have developed awareness, the longer you train yourself, |
| |
the more wakefulness the mind experiences until you reach a point where you donât seem to sleep at all. |
| |
Only the body sleeps, the mind remains aware. |
| |
The mind remains awake and vigilant even as the body sleeps. |
| |
You remain with the knowing throughout. |
| |
As soon as you awake, mindfulness is right there from the first |
| |
moment as the mind leaves the sleeping state and immediately takes hold of a fresh object. |
| |
You are attentive and watchful. |
| |
Sleeping is really a function of the body. |
| |
It involves resting the body. |
| |
The body takes the rest it needs, but there is still the knowing present, |
| |
watching over the mind. |
| |
Awareness is sustained both throughout the day and night. |
| |
So, even though you lie down and go to sleep, |
| |
itâs as if the mind doesnât sleep. |
| |
But you donât feel tired out and hungry for more sleep. |
| |
You remain alert and attentive. |
| |
Itâs for this reason that you hardly dream at all when you are practising in earnest. |
| |
If you do dream, it is in the form of a supina nimitta - an unusually |
| |
clear and vivid dream that holds some special significance. |
| |
Generally, however, you experience very few dreams. |
| |
As you watch over the mind itâs as if there are no causes left for the mental proliferation that fuels dreams. |
| |
You remain in a state where you arenât caught in delusion. |
| |
You sustain mindfulness, with awareness present deep inside the mind. |
| |
The mind is in a state of wakefulness, |
| |
being sharp and responsive. |
| |
The presence of unbroken mindfulness makes the mindâs ability |
| |
to investigate smooth and effortless and keeps it abreast of whatever is arising from moment to moment. |
| |
You have to cultivate the mind until itâs totally fluent and skilled in keeping mindfulness and investigating phenomena. |
| |
Whenever the mind reaches a state of calm, |
| |
train it in examining your own body and that of other people |
| |
until you have deep enough insight to see the common characteristics. |
| |
Pursue the investigation to the point where you see all bodies |
| |
as having the same essential nature and having come from the same material elements. |
| |
You must keep observing and contemplating. |
| |
Before you go to sleep at night, use awareness to sweep over |
| |
the entire body and repeat the contemplation when you first wake up in the morning. |
| |
This way you wonât have to experience nightmares, |
| |
talk in your sleep or get caught up in a lot of dreaming. |
| |
You sleep and wake up peacefully without anything bothering you. |
| |
You sustain the state of knowing both in your sleep and as you wake up. |
| |
When you wake up with mindfulness, the mind is bright, |
| |
clear and unbothered by sleepiness. |
| |
As you awaken the mind is radiant, being free from dullness and moods conditioned by the defilements. |
| |
Here I have been giving details of the development of the mind in the course of practice. |
| |
Normally, you wouldnât think it possible that the mind could actually be peaceful during the time you are asleep, |
| |
when you first wake up or in other situations where you would expect mindfulness to be weak. |
| |
For instance, you might be sitting down soaking wet having just walked through a heavy rainstorm, |
| |
but because you have cultivated samÄdhi and learnt to contemplate, |
| |
the mind remains untouched by defiled moods and is still able to experience peace and clarity of insight, |
| |
just as I have been describing. |
| |
The last teaching the Buddha gave to the community of monks was an exhortation not to get caught in heedlessness. |
| |
He said that heedlessness is the way that leads to death. |
| |
Please understand this and take it to heart as fully and sincerely as you can. |
| |
Train yourself to think with wisdom. |
| |
Use wisdom to guide your speech. |
| |
Whatever you do, use wisdom as your guide. |
| |
* * * |
| |
The whole reason for studying the Dhamma, |
| |
the teachings of the Buddha, is to search for a way to transcend suffering and attain peace and happiness. |
| |
Whether we study physical or mental phenomena, |
| |
the mind (citta) or its psychological factors (cetasikÄ), |
| |
itâs only when we make liberation from suffering our ultimate goal that weâre on the right path; nothing less. |
| |
Suffering has a cause and conditions for its existence. |
| |
Please clearly understand that when the mind is still, |
| |
itâs in its natural, normal state. |
| |
As soon as the mind moves, it becomes conditioned (sankhÄra). |
| |
When the mind is attracted to something, |
| |
it becomes conditioned. |
| |
When aversion arises, it becomes conditioned. |
| |
The desire to move here and there arises from conditioning. |
| |
If our awareness doesnât keep pace with these mental proliferations as they occur, |
| |
the mind will chase after them and be conditioned by them. |
| |
Whenever the mind moves, at that moment, |
| |
it becomes a conventional reality. |
| |
So the Buddha taught us to contemplate these wavering conditions of the mind. |
| |
Whenever the mind moves, it becomes unstable and impermanent (anicca), |
| |
unsatisfactory (dukkha) and can not be taken as a self (anattÄ). |
| |
These are the three universal characteristics of all conditioned phenomena. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to observe and contemplate these movements of the mind. |
| |
Itâs likewise with the teaching of dependent origination (paticca-samuppÄda): |
| |
deluded understanding (avijjÄ) is the cause and condition for |
| |
the arising of volitional kammic formations (sankhÄra); which |
| |
is the cause and condition for the arising of consciousness (viññÄna); |
| |
which is the cause and condition for the arising of mentality and materiality (nÄma and rĆ«pa), |
| |
and so on, just as weâve studied in the scriptures. |
| |
The Buddha separated each link of the chain to make it easier to study. |
| |
This is an accurate description of reality, |
| |
but when this process actually occurs in real life, |
| |
the scholars arenât able to keep up with whatâs happening. |
| |
Itâs like falling from the top of a tree and crashing down to the ground below. |
| |
We have no idea how many branches weâve passed on the way down. |
| |
Similarly, when the mind is suddenly hit by a mental impression, |
| |
if it delights in it, then it flies off into a good mood. |
| |
It considers it good without being aware of the chain of conditions that led there. |
| |
The process takes place in accordance with what is outlined in the theory, |
| |
but simultaneously it goes beyond the limits of that theory. |
| |
Thereâs nothing that announces, âThis is delusion. |
| |
These are volitional kammic formations, |
| |
and that is consciousness.â |
| |
The process doesnât give the scholars a chance to read out the list as itâs happening. |
| |
Although the Buddha analysed and explained the sequence of mind moments in minute detail, |
| |
to me itâs more like falling out of a tree. |
| |
As we come crashing down thereâs no opportunity to estimate how many feet and inches weâve fallen. |
| |
What we do know is that weâve hit the ground with a thud and it hurts! |
| |
The mind is the same. |
| |
When it falls for something, what weâre aware of is the pain. |
| |
Where has all this suffering, pain, grief, |
| |
and despair come from? |
| |
It didnât come from theory in a book. |
| |
There isnât anywhere where the details of our suffering are written down. |
| |
Our pain wonât correspond exactly with the theory, |
| |
but the two travel along the same road. |
| |
So scholarship alone canât keep pace with the reality. |
| |
Thatâs why the Buddha taught us to cultivate clear knowing for ourselves. |
| |
Whatever arises, arises in this knowing. |
| |
When that which knows, knows in accordance with the truth, |
| |
then the mind and its psychological factors are recognized as not ours. |
| |
Ultimately all these phenomena are to be discarded and thrown away as if they were rubbish. |
| |
We shouldnât cling to or give them any meaning. |
| |
Theory and Reality |
| |
The Buddha did not teach about the mind and its psychological factors so that weâd get attached to the concepts. |
| |
His sole intention was that we would recognize them as impermanent, |
| |
unsatisfactory and not-self. |
| |
Then let go. |
| |
Lay them aside. |
| |
Be aware and know them as they arise. |
| |
This mind has already been conditioned. |
| |
Itâs been trained and conditioned to turn away and spin out from a state of pure awareness. |
| |
As it spins it creates conditioned phenomena which further influence the mind, |
| |
and the proliferation carries on. |
| |
The process gives birth to the good, the evil, |
| |
and everything else under the sun. |
| |
The Buddha taught to abandon it all. |
| |
Initially, however, you have to familiarize yourself with the |
| |
theory in order that youâll be able to abandon it all at the later stage. |
| |
This is a natural process. |
| |
The mind is just this way. |
| |
Psychological factors are just this way. |
| |
Take the Noble Eightfold Path, for example. |
| |
When wisdom (paññÄ) views things correctly with insight, |
| |
this right view then leads to right intention, |
| |
right speech, right action, and so on. |
| |
This all involves psychological conditions that have arisen from that pure knowing awareness. |
| |
This knowing is like a lantern shedding light on the path ahead on a dark night. |
| |
If the knowing is right, if it is in accordance with truth, |
| |
it will pervade and illuminate each of the other steps on the path in turn. |
| |
Whatever we experience, it all arises from within this knowing. |
| |
If this mind did not exist, the knowing would not exist either. |
| |
All these are phenomena of the mind. |
| |
As the Buddha said, the mind is merely the mind. |
| |
Itâs not a being, a person, a self, or yourself. |
| |
Itâs neither us nor them. |
| |
The Dhamma is simply the Dhamma. |
| |
It is a natural, selfless process. |
| |
It does not belong to us or anyone else. |
| |
Itâs not anything. |
| |
Whatever an individual experiences, it all falls within five fundamental categories (khandhÄ): body, |
| |
feeling, memory / perception, thoughts and consciousness. |
| |
The Buddha said to let it all go. |
| |
Meditation is like a single stick of wood. |
| |
Insight (vipassanÄ) is one end of the stick and serenity (samatha) the other. |
| |
If we pick it up, does only one end come up or do both? |
| |
When anyone picks up a stick both ends rise together. |
| |
Which part then is vipassanÄ, and which is samatha? |
| |
Where does one end and the other begin? |
| |
They are both the mind. |
| |
As the mind becomes peaceful, initially the peace will arise from the serenity of samatha. |
| |
We focus and unify the mind in states of meditative peace (samÄdhi). |
| |
However, if the peace and stillness of samÄdhi fades away, |
| |
suffering arises in its place. |
| |
Why is that? |
| |
Because the peace afforded by samatha meditation alone is still based on attachment. |
| |
This attachment can then be a cause of suffering. |
| |
Serenity is not the end of the path. |
| |
The Buddha saw from his own experience that such peace of mind was not the ultimate. |
| |
The causes underlying the process of existence (bhava) had not yet been brought to cessation (nirodha). |
| |
The conditions for rebirth still existed. |
| |
His spiritual work had not yet attained perfection. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because there was still suffering. |
| |
So based on that serenity of samatha he proceeded to contemplate, |
| |
investigate, and analyse the conditioned nature of reality until he was free of all attachments, |
| |
even the attachment to serenity. |
| |
Serenity is still part of the world of conditioned existence and conventional reality. |
| |
Clinging to this type of peace is clinging to conventional reality, |
| |
and as long as we cling, we will be mired in existence and rebirth. |
| |
Delighting in the peace of samatha still leads to further existence and rebirth. |
| |
Once the mindâs restlessness and agitation calms down, |
| |
one clings to the resultant peace. |
| |
So the Buddha examined the causes and conditions underlying existence and rebirth. |
| |
As long as he had not yet fully penetrated the matter and understood the truth, |
| |
he continued to probe deeper and deeper with a peaceful mind, |
| |
reflecting on how all things, peaceful or not, |
| |
come into existence. |
| |
His investigation forged ahead until it was clear to him that |
| |
everything that comes into existence is like a lump of red-hot iron. |
| |
The five categories of a beingâs experience (khandhÄ) are all a lump of red-hot iron. |
| |
When a lump of iron is glowing red-hot, |
| |
is there anywhere you can touch it without getting burnt? |
| |
Is there anywhere at all that is cool? |
| |
Try touching it on the top, the sides, |
| |
or underneath. |
| |
Is there a single spot that can be found thatâs cool? |
| |
Impossible. |
| |
This searing lump of iron is entirely red-hot. |
| |
We canât even attach to serenity. |
| |
If we identify with that peace, assuming that there is someone who is calm and serene, |
| |
this reinforces the sense that there is an independent self or soul. |
| |
This sense of self is part of conventional reality. |
| |
Thinking, âIâm peaceful,â âIâm agitated,â âIâm good,â âIâm bad,â |
| |
âIâm happy,â or âIâm unhappy,â we are caught in more existence and birth. |
| |
Itâs more suffering. |
| |
If our happiness vanishes, then weâre unhappy instead. |
| |
When our sorrow vanishes, then weâre happy again. |
| |
Caught in this endless cycle, we revolve repeatedly through heaven and hell. |
| |
Before his enlightenment, the Buddha recognized this pattern in his own heart. |
| |
He knew that the conditions for existence and rebirth had not yet ceased. |
| |
His work was not yet finished. |
| |
Focusing on lifeâs conditionality, he contemplated in accordance with nature: âDue to this cause there is birth, |
| |
due to birth there is death, and all this movement of coming and going.â |
| |
So the Buddha took up these themes for contemplation in order to understand the truth about the five (khandhÄ). |
| |
Everything mental and physical, everything conceived and thought about, |
| |
without exception, is conditioned. |
| |
Once he knew this, he taught us to set it down. |
| |
Once he knew this, he taught to abandon it all. |
| |
He encouraged others to understand in accordance with this truth. |
| |
If we donât, weâll suffer. |
| |
We wonât be able to let go of these things. |
| |
However, once we do see the truth of the matter, |
| |
weâll recognize how these things delude us. |
| |
As the Buddha taught, âThe mind has no substance, |
| |
itâs not anything.â |
| |
The mind isnât born belonging to anyone. |
| |
It doesnât die as anyoneâs. |
| |
This mind is free, brilliantly radiant, |
| |
and unentangled with any problems or issues. |
| |
The reason problems arise is because the mind is deluded by conditioned things, |
| |
deluded by this misperception of self. |
| |
So the Buddha taught to observe this mind. |
| |
In the beginning what is there? |
| |
There is truly nothing there. |
| |
It doesnât arise with conditioned things, |
| |
and it doesnât die with them. |
| |
When the mind encounters something good, |
| |
it doesnât change to become good. |
| |
When the mind encounters something bad, |
| |
it doesnât become bad as well. |
| |
Thatâs how it is when there is clear insight into oneâs nature. |
| |
There is understanding that this is essentially a substance-less state of affairs. |
| |
The Buddhaâs insight saw it all as impermanent, |
| |
unsatisfactory and not-self. |
| |
He wants us to fully comprehend in the same way. |
| |
The knowing then knows in accordance with truth. |
| |
When it knows happiness or sorrow, it remains unmoved. |
| |
The emotion of happiness is a form of birth. |
| |
The tendency to become sad is a form of death. |
| |
When thereâs death there is birth, and what is born has to die. |
| |
That which arises and passes away is caught in this unremitting cycle of becoming. |
| |
Once the meditatorâs mind comes to this state of understanding, |
| |
no doubt remains about whether there is further becoming and rebirth. |
| |
Thereâs no need to ask anyone else. |
| |
The Buddha comprehensively investigated conditioned phenomena and so was able to let it all go. |
| |
The five khandhas were let go of, and the knowing carried on merely as an impartial observer of the process. |
| |
If he experienced something positive, |
| |
he didnât become positive along with it. |
| |
He simply observed and remained aware. |
| |
If he experienced something negative, |
| |
he didnât become negative. |
| |
And why was that? |
| |
Because his mind had been cut free from such causes and conditions. |
| |
Heâd penetrated the Truth. |
| |
The conditions leading to rebirth no longer existed. |
| |
This is the knowing that is certain and reliable. |
| |
This is a mind that is truly at peace. |
| |
This is what is not born, doesnât age, |
| |
doesnât get sick, and doesnât die. |
| |
This is neither cause nor effect, nor dependent on cause and effect. |
| |
It is independent of the process of causal conditioning. |
| |
The causes then cease with no conditioning remaining. |
| |
This mind is above and beyond birth and death, |
| |
above and beyond happiness and sorrow, |
| |
above and beyond both good and evil. |
| |
What can you say? |
| |
Itâs beyond the limitations of language to describe it. |
| |
All supporting conditions have ceased and any attempt to describe it will merely lead to attachment. |
| |
The words used then become the theory of the mind. |
| |
Theoretical descriptions of the mind and its workings are accurate, |
| |
but the Buddha realized that this type of knowledge was relatively useless. |
| |
We understand something intellectually and then believe it, |
| |
but itâs of no real benefit. |
| |
It doesnât lead to peace of mind. |
| |
The knowing of the Buddha leads to letting go. |
| |
It results in abandoning and renunciation, |
| |
because itâs precisely this mind that leads us to get involved with both whatâs right and whatâs wrong. |
| |
If weâre smart we get involved with those things that are right. |
| |
If weâre stupid we get involved with those things that are wrong. |
| |
Such a mind is the world, and the Blessed One took the things of this world to examine this very world. |
| |
Having come to know the world as it actually was, |
| |
he was then known as the âOne who clearly comprehends the worldâ. |
| |
Concerning this issue of samatha and vipassanÄ, |
| |
the important thing is to develop these states in our own hearts. |
| |
Only when we genuinely cultivate them ourselves will we know what they actually are. |
| |
We can go and study what all the books say about psychological factors of the mind, |
| |
but that kind of intellectual understanding is useless for actually cutting off selfish desire, |
| |
anger, and delusion. |
| |
We only study the theory about selfish desire, |
| |
anger, and delusion, merely describing the various characteristics |
| |
of these mental defilements: âSelfish desire has this meaning; anger means that; delusion is defined as this.â |
| |
Only knowing their theoretical qualities, |
| |
we can talk about them only on that level. |
| |
We know and we are intelligent, but when these defilements actually appear in our minds, |
| |
do they correspond with the theory or not? |
| |
When, for instance, we experience something undesirable do we react and get into a bad mood? |
| |
Do we attach? |
| |
Can we let it go? |
| |
If aversion comes up and we recognize it, |
| |
do we still hang on to it? |
| |
Or once we have seen it, do we let it go? |
| |
If we find that we see something we donât like and retain that aversion in our hearts, |
| |
weâd better go back and start studying again. |
| |
Itâs still not right. |
| |
The practice is not yet perfect. |
| |
When it reaches perfection, letting go happens. |
| |
Look at it in this light. |
| |
We truly have to look deeply into our own hearts if we want to experience the fruits of this practice. |
| |
Attempting to describe the psychology of the mind in terms of |
| |
the numerous separate moments of consciousness and their different characteristics is, |
| |
in my opinion, not taking the practice far enough. |
| |
Thereâs still a lot more to it. |
| |
If we are going to study these things, |
| |
then we need to know them absolutely, |
| |
with clarity and penetrative understanding. |
| |
Without clarity of insight, how will we ever be finished with them? |
| |
Thereâs no end to it. |
| |
Weâll never complete our studies. |
| |
Practising Dhamma is thus extremely important. |
| |
When I practised, thatâs how I studied. |
| |
I didnât know anything about mind moments or psychological factors. |
| |
I just observed the quality of knowing. |
| |
If a thought of hate arose, I asked myself why. |
| |
If a thought of love arose, I asked myself why. |
| |
This is the way. |
| |
Whether itâs labelled as a thought or called a psychological factor, |
| |
so what? |
| |
Just penetrate this one point until youâre able to resolve these feelings of love and hate, |
| |
until they completely vanish from the heart. |
| |
When I was able to stop loving and hating under any circumstance, |
| |
I was able to transcend suffering. |
| |
Then it doesnât matter what happens; the heart and mind are released and at ease. |
| |
Nothing remains. |
| |
It has all stopped. |
| |
Practise like this. |
| |
If people want to talk a lot about theory thatâs their business. |
| |
But no matter how much itâs debated, the practice always comes down to this single point right here. |
| |
When something arises, it arises right here. |
| |
Whether a lot or a little, it originates right here. |
| |
When it ceases, the cessation is right here. |
| |
Where else? |
| |
The Buddha called this point the âKnowingâ. |
| |
When it knows the way things are accurately, |
| |
in line with the truth, weâll understand the meaning of mind. |
| |
Things incessantly deceive. |
| |
As you study them, theyâre simultaneously deceiving you. |
| |
How else can I put it? |
| |
Even though you know about them, you are still being deluded by them precisely where you know them. |
| |
Thatâs the situation. |
| |
The issue is this: itâs my opinion that the Buddha didnât intend that we only know what these things are called. |
| |
The aim of the Buddhaâs teachings is to figure out the way to |
| |
liberate ourselves from these things through searching for the underlying causes. |
| |
SÄ«la, SamÄdhi, and PaĂ±Ă±Ä |
| |
I practised Dhamma without knowing a great deal. |
| |
I just knew that the path to liberation began with virtue (sīla). |
| |
Virtue is the beautiful beginning of the Path. |
| |
The deep peace of samÄdhi is the beautiful middle. |
| |
Wisdom (paññÄ) is the beautiful end. |
| |
Although they can be separated as three unique aspects of the training, |
| |
as we look into them more and more deeply, |
| |
these three qualities converge as one. |
| |
To uphold virtue, you have to be wise. |
| |
We usually advise people to develop ethical standards first by |
| |
keeping the Five Precepts so that their virtue will become solid. |
| |
However, the perfection of virtue takes a lot of wisdom. |
| |
We have to consider our speech and actions, |
| |
and analyse their consequences. |
| |
This is all the work of wisdom. |
| |
We have to rely on our wisdom in order to cultivate virtue. |
| |
According to the theory, virtue comes first, |
| |
then samÄdhi and then wisdom, but when I examined it I found |
| |
that wisdom is the foundation stone for every other aspect of the practice. |
| |
In order to fully comprehend the consequences of what we say |
| |
and do - especially the harmful consequences - we need to use wisdom to guide and supervise, |
| |
to scrutinize the workings of cause and effect. |
| |
This will purify our actions and speech. |
| |
Once we become familiar with ethical and unethical behaviour, |
| |
we see the place to practise. |
| |
We then abandon whatâs bad and cultivate whatâs good. |
| |
We abandon whatâs wrong and cultivate whatâs right. |
| |
This is virtue. |
| |
As we do this, the heart becomes increasingly firm and steadfast. |
| |
A steadfast and unwavering heart is free of apprehension, |
| |
remorse, and confusion concerning our actions and speech. |
| |
This is samÄdhi. |
| |
This stable unification of mind forms a secondary and more powerful source of energy in our Dhamma practice, |
| |
allowing a deeper contemplation of the sights, |
| |
sounds, etc., that we experience. |
| |
Once the mind is established with firm and unwavering mindfulness and peace, |
| |
we can engage in sustained inquiry into the reality of the body, |
| |
feeling, perception, thought, consciousness, |
| |
sights, sounds, smells, tastes, bodily sensations and objects of mind. |
| |
As they continually arise, we continually investigate with a sincere determination not to lose our mindfulness. |
| |
Then weâll know what these things actually are. |
| |
They come into existence following their own natural truth. |
| |
As our understanding steadily grows, wisdom is born. |
| |
Once thereâs clear comprehension of the way things truly are, |
| |
our old perceptions are uprooted and our conceptual knowledge transforms into wisdom. |
| |
Thatâs how virtue, samÄdhi and wisdom merge and function as one. |
| |
As wisdom increases in strength and intrepidity, |
| |
samÄdhi evolves to become increasingly firm. |
| |
The more unshakeable samÄdhi is, the more unshakeable and all-encompassing virtue becomes. |
| |
As virtue is perfected, it nurtures samÄdhi, |
| |
and the additional strengthening of samÄdhi leads to a maturing of wisdom. |
| |
These three aspects of the training mesh and intertwine. |
| |
United, they form the Noble Eightfold Path, |
| |
the way of the Buddha. |
| |
Once virtue, samÄdhi, and wisdom reach their peak, |
| |
this Path has the power to eradicate those things which defile (kilesÄ) the mindâs purity. |
| |
When sensual desire comes up, when anger and delusion show their face, |
| |
this Path is the only thing capable of cutting them down in their tracks. |
| |
The framework for Dhamma practice is the Four Noble Truths: suffering (dukkha), |
| |
the origin of suffering (samudaya), |
| |
the cessation of suffering (nirodha) and the Path leading to the cessation of suffering (magga). |
| |
This Path consists of virtue, samÄdhi and wisdom, |
| |
the framework for training the heart. |
| |
Their true meaning is not to be found in these words but dwells in the depth of our hearts. |
| |
Thatâs what virtue, samÄdhi and wisdom are like. |
| |
They revolve continually. |
| |
The Noble Eightfold Path will envelop any sight, |
| |
sound, smell, taste, bodily sensation, |
| |
or object of mind that arises. |
| |
However, if the factors of the Eightfold Path are weak and timid, |
| |
the defilements will possess our minds. |
| |
If the Noble Path is strong and courageous, |
| |
it will conquer and destroy the defilements. |
| |
If the defilements are powerful and brave while the Path is feeble and frail, |
| |
the defilements will conquer the Path. |
| |
They conquer our hearts. |
| |
If the knowing isnât quick and nimble enough as forms, |
| |
feelings, perceptions, and thoughts are experienced, |
| |
they possess and devastate us. |
| |
The Path and the defilements proceed in tandem. |
| |
As Dhamma practice develops in the heart, |
| |
these two forces have to battle it out every step of the way. |
| |
Itâs as though there are two people arguing inside the mind, |
| |
but itâs just the Path of Dhamma and the defilements struggling to win domination of the heart. |
| |
The Path guides and fosters our ability to contemplate. |
| |
As long as we are able to contemplate accurately, |
| |
the defilements will be losing ground. |
| |
But if we are shaky, whenever defilements regroup and regain their strength, |
| |
the Path will be routed as defilements take its place. |
| |
The two sides will continue to fight it out until eventually there is a victor and the whole affair is settled. |
| |
If we focus our endeavour on developing the way of Dhamma, |
| |
defilements will be gradually and persistently eradicated. |
| |
Once fully cultivated, the Four Noble Truths reside in our hearts. |
| |
Whatever form suffering takes, it always exists due to a cause. |
| |
Thatâs the Second Noble Truth. |
| |
And what is the cause? |
| |
Weak virtue. |
| |
Weak samÄdhi. |
| |
Weak wisdom. |
| |
When the Path isnât durable, the defilements dominate the mind. |
| |
When they dominate, the Second Noble Truth comes into play, |
| |
and it gives rise to all sorts of suffering. |
| |
Once we are suffering, those qualities which are able to quell the suffering disappear. |
| |
The conditions which give rise to the Path are virtue, |
| |
samÄdhi, and wisdom. |
| |
When they have attained full strength, |
| |
the Path of Dhamma is unstoppable, advancing unceasingly to |
| |
overcome the attachment and clinging that bring us so much anguish. |
| |
Suffering canât arise because the Path is destroying the defilements. |
| |
Itâs at this point that cessation of suffering occurs. |
| |
Why is the Path able to bring about the cessation of suffering? |
| |
Because virtue, samÄdhi, and wisdom are attaining their peak of perfection, |
| |
and the Path has gathered an unstoppable momentum. |
| |
It all comes together right here. |
| |
I would say for anyone who practises like this, |
| |
theoretical ideas about the mind donât come into the picture. |
| |
If the mind is liberated from these, then it is utterly dependable and certain. |
| |
Now whatever path it takes, we donât have to goad it much to keep it going straight. |
| |
Consider the leaves of a mango tree. |
| |
What are they like? |
| |
By examining just a single leaf we know. |
| |
Even if there are ten thousand of them we know what all those leaves are like. |
| |
Just look at one leaf. |
| |
The others are essentially the same. |
| |
Similarly with the trunk. |
| |
We only have to see the trunk of one mango tree to know the characteristics of them all. |
| |
Just look at one tree. |
| |
All the other mango trees will be essentially no different. |
| |
Even if there were one hundred thousand of them, |
| |
if I knew one Iâd know them all. |
| |
This is what the Buddha taught. |
| |
Virtue, samÄdhi, and wisdom constitute the Path of the Buddha. |
| |
But the way is not the essence of the Dhamma. |
| |
The Path isnât an end in itself, not the ultimate aim of the Blessed One. |
| |
But itâs the way leading inwards. |
| |
Itâs just like how you travelled from Bangkok to my monastery, |
| |
Wat Nong Pah Pong. |
| |
Itâs not the road you were after. |
| |
What you wanted was to reach the monastery, |
| |
but you needed the road for the journey. |
| |
The road you travelled on is not the monastery. |
| |
Itâs just the way to get here. |
| |
But if you want to arrive at the monastery, |
| |
you have to follow the road. |
| |
Itâs the same with virtue, samÄdhi, and wisdom. |
| |
We could say they are not the essence of the Dhamma, |
| |
but they are the road to arrive there. |
| |
When virtue, samÄdhi, and wisdom have been mastered, |
| |
the result is profound peace of mind. |
| |
Thatâs the destination. |
| |
Once weâve arrived at this peace, even if we hear a noise, |
| |
the mind remains unruffled. |
| |
Once weâve reached this peace, thereâs nothing remaining to do. |
| |
The Buddha taught to give it all up. |
| |
Whatever happens, thereâs nothing to worry about. |
| |
Then we truly, unquestionably, know for ourselves. |
| |
We no longer simply believe what other people say. |
| |
The essential principle of Buddhism is empty of any phenomena. |
| |
Itâs not contingent upon miraculous displays of psychic powers, |
| |
paranormal abilities, or anything else mystical or bizarre. |
| |
The Buddha did not emphasize the importance of these things. |
| |
Such powers, however, do exist and may be possible to develop, |
| |
but this facet of Dhamma is deluding, |
| |
so the Buddha did not advocate or encourage it. |
| |
The only people he praised were the ones who were able to liberate themselves from suffering. |
| |
To accomplish this requires training, |
| |
and the tools and equipment to get the job done are generosity, |
| |
virtue, samÄdhi, and wisdom. |
| |
We have to take them up and train with them. |
| |
Together they form a Path inclining inwards, |
| |
and wisdom is the first step. |
| |
This Path can not mature if the mind is encrusted with defilements, |
| |
but if we are stout-hearted and strong, |
| |
the Path will eliminate these impurities. |
| |
However, if itâs the defilements that are stout-hearted and strong they will destroy the Path. |
| |
Dhamma practice simply involves these two forces battling it out incessantly until the end of the road is reached. |
| |
They engage in unremitting battle until the very end. |
| |
The Dangers of Attachment |
| |
Using the tools of practice entails hardship and arduous challenges. |
| |
We rely on patience, endurance and going without. |
| |
We have to do it ourselves, experience it for ourselves, |
| |
realize it ourselves. |
| |
Scholars, however, tend to get confused a lot. |
| |
For example, when they sit in meditation, |
| |
as soon as their minds experience a teeny bit of tranquillity they start to think, |
| |
âHey, this must be first jhÄna.â |
| |
This is how their minds work. |
| |
And once those thoughts arise the tranquillity theyâd experienced is shattered. |
| |
Soon they start to think that it must have been the second jhÄna theyâd attained. |
| |
Donât think and speculate about it. |
| |
There arenât any billboards which announce which level of samÄdhi weâre experiencing. |
| |
The reality is completely different. |
| |
There arenât any signs like the road signs that tell you, |
| |
âThis way to Wat Nong Pah Pong.â |
| |
Thatâs not how I read the mind. |
| |
It doesnât announce. |
| |
Although a number of highly esteemed scholars have written descriptions of the first, |
| |
second, third, and fourth jhÄna, whatâs written is merely external information. |
| |
If the mind actually enters these states of profound peace, |
| |
it doesnât know anything about those written descriptions. |
| |
It knows, but what it knows isnât the same as the theory we study. |
| |
If the scholars try to clutch their theory and drag it into their meditation, |
| |
sitting and pondering, âHmm ... |
| |
what could this be? |
| |
Is this first jhÄna yet?â |
| |
There! |
| |
The peace is shattered, and they donât experience anything of real value. |
| |
And why is that? |
| |
Because there is desire, and once thereâs craving what happens? |
| |
The mind simultaneously withdraws out of the meditation. |
| |
So itâs necessary for all of us to relinquish thinking and speculation. |
| |
Abandon them completely. |
| |
Just take up the body, speech and mind and delve entirely into the practice. |
| |
Observe the workings of the mind, but donât lug the Dhamma books in there with you. |
| |
Otherwise everything becomes a big mess, |
| |
because nothing in those books corresponds precisely to the reality of the way things truly are. |
| |
People who study a lot, who are full of theoretical knowledge, |
| |
usually donât succeed in Dhamma practice. |
| |
They get bogged down at the information level. |
| |
The truth is, the heart and mind canât be measured by external standards. |
| |
If the mind is getting peaceful, just allow it to be peaceful. |
| |
The most profound levels of deep peace do exist. |
| |
Personally, I didnât know much about the theory of practice. |
| |
Iâd been a monk for three years and still had a lot of questions about what samÄdhi actually was. |
| |
I kept trying to think about it and figure it out as I meditated, |
| |
but my mind became even more restless and distracted than it had been before! |
| |
The amount of thinking actually increased. |
| |
When I wasnât meditating it was more peaceful. |
| |
Boy, was it difficult, so exasperating! |
| |
But even though I encountered so many obstacles, |
| |
I never threw in the towel. |
| |
I just kept on doing it. |
| |
When I wasnât trying to do anything in particular, |
| |
my mind was relatively at ease. |
| |
But whenever I determined to make the mind unify in samÄdhi, |
| |
it went out of control. |
| |
âWhatâs going on here,â I wondered. |
| |
âWhy is this happening?â |
| |
Later on I began to realize that meditation was comparable to the process of breathing. |
| |
If weâre determined to force the breath to be shallow, |
| |
deep or just right, itâs very difficult to do. |
| |
However, if we go for a stroll and weâre not even aware of when weâre breathing in or out, |
| |
itâs extremely relaxing. |
| |
So I reflected, âAha! |
| |
Maybe thatâs the way it works.â |
| |
When a person is normally walking around in the course of the day, |
| |
not focusing attention on their breath, |
| |
does their breathing cause them suffering? |
| |
No, they just feel relaxed. |
| |
But when Iâd sit down and vow with determination that I was going to make my mind peaceful, |
| |
clinging and attachment set in. |
| |
When I tried to control the breath to be shallow or deep, |
| |
it just brought on more stress than I had before. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because the willpower I was using was tainted with clinging and attachment. |
| |
I didnât know what was going on. |
| |
All that frustration and hardship was coming up because I was bringing craving into the meditation. |
| |
Unshakeable Peace |
| |
I once stayed in a forest monastery that was half a mile from a village. |
| |
One night the villagers were celebrating with a loud party as I was doing walking meditation. |
| |
It must have been after 11:00 and I was feeling a bit peculiar. |
| |
Iâd been feeling strange like this since midday. |
| |
My mind was quiet. |
| |
There were hardly any thoughts. |
| |
I felt very relaxed and at ease. |
| |
I did walking meditation until I was tired and then went to sit in my grass-roofed hut. |
| |
As I sat down I barely had time to cross my legs before, |
| |
amazingly, my mind just wanted to delve into a profound state of peace. |
| |
It happened all by itself. |
| |
As soon as I sat down, the mind became truly peaceful. |
| |
It was rock solid. |
| |
It wasnât as if I couldnât hear the noise of the villagers singing |
| |
and dancing - I still could - but I could also shut the sound out entirely. |
| |
Strange. |
| |
When I didnât pay attention to the sound, |
| |
it was perfectly quiet - I didnât hear a thing. |
| |
But if I wanted to hear, I could, without it being a disturbance. |
| |
It was like there were two objects in my mind that were placed side by side but not touching. |
| |
I could see that the mind and itâs object of awareness were separate and distinct, |
| |
just like this spittoon and water kettle here. |
| |
Then I understood: when the mind unifies in samÄdhi, |
| |
if you direct your attention outward you can hear, |
| |
but if you let it dwell in its emptiness then itâs perfectly silent. |
| |
When sound was perceived, I could see that the knowing and the sound were distinctly different. |
| |
I contemplated: âIf this isnât the way it is, |
| |
how else could it be?â |
| |
Thatâs the way it was. |
| |
These two things were totally separate. |
| |
I continued investigating like this until my understanding deepened even further: âAh, |
| |
this is important. |
| |
When the perceived continuity of phenomena is cut, |
| |
the result is peace.â |
| |
The previous illusion of continuity (santati) transformed into peace of mind (santi). |
| |
So I continued to sit, putting effort into the meditation. |
| |
The mind at that time was focused solely on the meditation, |
| |
indifferent to everything else. |
| |
Had I stopped meditating at this point it would have been merely because it was complete. |
| |
I could have taken it easy, but it wouldnât have been because of laziness, |
| |
tiredness, or feeling annoyed. |
| |
Not at all. |
| |
These were absent from the heart. |
| |
There was only perfect inner balance and equipoise - just right. |
| |
Eventually I did take a break, but it was only the posture of sitting that changed. |
| |
My heart remained constant, unwavering and unflagging. |
| |
I pulled a pillow over, intending to take a rest. |
| |
As I reclined, the mind remained just as peaceful as it had been before. |
| |
Then, just before my head hit the pillow, |
| |
the mindâs awareness began flowing inwards, |
| |
I didnât know where it was headed, but it kept flowing deeper and deeper within. |
| |
It was like a current of electricity flowing down a cable to a switch. |
| |
When it hit the switch my body exploded with a deafening bang. |
| |
The knowing during that time was extremely lucid and subtle. |
| |
Once past that point the mind was released to penetrate deeply inside. |
| |
It went inside to the point where there wasnât anything at all. |
| |
Absolutely nothing from the outside world could come into that place. |
| |
Nothing at all could reach it. |
| |
Having dwelt internally for some time, |
| |
the mind then retreated to flow back out. |
| |
However, when I say it retreated, I donât mean to imply that I made it flow back out. |
| |
I was simply an observer, only knowing and witnessing. |
| |
The mind came out more and more until it finally returned to normal. |
| |
Once my normal state of consciousness returned, |
| |
the question arose, âWhat was that?!â |
| |
The answer came immediately, âThese things happen of their own accord. |
| |
You donât have to search for an explanation.â |
| |
This answer was enough to satisfy my mind. |
| |
After a short time my mind again began flowing inwards. |
| |
I wasnât making any conscious effort to direct the mind. |
| |
It took off by itself. |
| |
As it moved deeper and deeper inside, |
| |
it again hit that same switch. |
| |
This time my body shattered into the most minute particles and fragments. |
| |
Again the mind was released to penetrate deeply inside itself. |
| |
Utter silence. |
| |
It was even more profound than the first time. |
| |
Absolutely nothing external could reach it. |
| |
The mind abided here for some time, for as long as it wished, |
| |
and then retreated to flow outwards. |
| |
At that time it was following its own momentum and happening all by itself. |
| |
I wasnât influencing or directing my mind to be in any particular way, |
| |
to flow inwards or retreat outwards. |
| |
I was merely the one knowing and watching. |
| |
My mind again returned to its normal state of consciousness, |
| |
and I didnât wonder or speculate about what was happening. |
| |
As I meditated, the mind once again inclined inwards. |
| |
This time the entire cosmos shattered and disintegrated into minute particles. |
| |
The earth, ground, mountains, fields and forests - the whole world - disintegrated into the space element. |
| |
People had vanished. |
| |
Everything had disappeared. |
| |
On this third time absolutely nothing remained. |
| |
The mind, having inclined inwards, settled down there for as long as it wished. |
| |
I canât say I understand exactly how it remained there. |
| |
Itâs difficult to describe what happened. |
| |
Thereâs nothing I can compare it to. |
| |
No simile is apt. |
| |
This time the mind remained inside far longer than it had previously, |
| |
and only after some time did it come out of that state. |
| |
When I say it came out, I donât mean to imply that I made it come out or that I was controlling what was happening. |
| |
The mind did it all by itself. |
| |
I was merely an observer. |
| |
Eventually it again returned to its normal state of consciousness. |
| |
How could you put a name on what happened during these three times? |
| |
Who knows? |
| |
What term are you going to use to label it? |
| |
The Power of SamÄdhi |
| |
Everything Iâve been relating to you concerns the mind following the way of nature. |
| |
This was no theoretical description of the mind or of psychological states. |
| |
Thereâs no need for that. |
| |
When thereâs faith or confidence, you get in there and really do it. |
| |
Not just playing around, you put your life on the line. |
| |
And when your practice reaches the stage that Iâve been describing, |
| |
afterwards the whole world is turned upside down. |
| |
Your understanding of reality is completely different. |
| |
Your view is utterly transformed. |
| |
If someone saw you at that moment, they might think you were insane. |
| |
If this experience happened to someone who didnât have a thorough grip on themselves, |
| |
they might actually go crazy, because nothing is the same as it was before. |
| |
The people of the world appear differently from how they used to. |
| |
But youâre the only one who sees this. |
| |
Absolutely everything changes. |
| |
Your thoughts are transmuted: other people now think in one way, |
| |
while you think in another. |
| |
They speak about things in one way, while you speak in another. |
| |
Theyâre descending one path while youâre climbing another. |
| |
Youâre no longer the same as other human beings. |
| |
This way of experiencing things doesnât deteriorate. |
| |
It persists and carries on. |
| |
Give it a try. |
| |
If it really is as I describe, you wonât have to go searching very far. |
| |
Just look into your own heart. |
| |
This heart is staunchly courageous, unshakably bold. |
| |
This is the heartâs power, its source of strength and energy. |
| |
The heart has this potential strength. |
| |
This is the power and force of samÄdhi. |
| |
At this point itâs still just the power and purity that the mind derives from samÄdhi. |
| |
This level of samÄdhi is samÄdhi at its ultimate. |
| |
The mind has attained the summit of samÄdhi; itâs not mere momentary concentration. |
| |
If you were to switch to vipassanÄ meditation at this point, |
| |
the contemplation would be uninterrupted and insightful. |
| |
Or you could take that focused energy and use it in other ways. |
| |
From this point on you could develop psychic powers, |
| |
perform miraculous feats or use it anyway you wanted. |
| |
Ascetics and hermits have used samÄdhi energy for making holy water, |
| |
talismans or casting spells. |
| |
These things are all possible at this stage, |
| |
and may be of some benefit in their own way; but itâs like the benefit of alcohol. |
| |
You drink it and then you get drunk. |
| |
This level of samÄdhi is a rest stop. |
| |
The Buddha stopped and rested here. |
| |
It forms the foundation for contemplation and vipassanÄ. |
| |
However, itâs not necessary to have such profound samÄdhi as this in order to observe the conditions around us, |
| |
so keep on steadily contemplating the process of cause and effect. |
| |
To do this we focus the peace and clarity of our minds to analyse the sights, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes, physical sensations, |
| |
thoughts, and mental states we experience. |
| |
Examine moods and emotions, whether positive or negative, |
| |
happy or unhappy. |
| |
Examine everything. |
| |
Itâs as though someone else has climbed up a mango tree and is |
| |
shaking down the fruit while we wait underneath to gather them up. |
| |
The ones which are rotten, we donât pick up. |
| |
Just gather the good mangoes. |
| |
Itâs not exhausting, because we donât have to climb up the tree. |
| |
We simply wait underneath to reap the fruit. |
| |
Do you get the meaning of this simile? |
| |
Everything experienced with a peaceful mind confers greater understanding. |
| |
No longer do we create proliferating interpretations around what is experienced. |
| |
Wealth, fame, blame, praise, happiness, |
| |
and unhappiness come of their own accord. |
| |
And weâre at peace. |
| |
Weâre wise. |
| |
Itâs actually fun. |
| |
It becomes fun to sift through and sort out these things. |
| |
What other people call good, bad, evil, |
| |
here, there, happiness, unhappiness, |
| |
or whatever - it all gets taken in for our own profit. |
| |
Someone else has climbed up the mango tree and is shaking the branches to make the mangoes fall down to us. |
| |
We simply enjoy ourselves gathering the fruit without fear. |
| |
Whatâs there to be afraid of anyway? |
| |
Itâs someone else whoâs shaking the mangoes down to us. |
| |
Wealth, fame, praise, criticism, happiness, |
| |
unhappiness, and all the rest are no more than mangoes falling down, |
| |
and we examine them with a serene heart. |
| |
Then weâll know which ones are good and which are rotten. |
| |
Working in Accord with Nature |
| |
When we begin to wield the peace and serenity weâve been developing in meditation to contemplate these things, |
| |
wisdom arises. |
| |
This is what I call wisdom. |
| |
This is vipassanÄ. |
| |
Itâs not something fabricated and construed. |
| |
If weâre wise, vipassanÄ will develop naturally. |
| |
We donât have to label whatâs happening. |
| |
If thereâs only a little clarity of insight, |
| |
we call this âlittle vipassanÄâ. |
| |
When clear seeing increases a bit, we call that âmoderate vipassanÄâ. |
| |
If knowing is fully in accordance with the Truth, |
| |
we call that âultimate vipassanÄâ. |
| |
Personally I prefer to use the word paĂ±Ă±Ä (wisdom) rather than âvipassanÄâ. |
| |
If we think we are going to sit down from time to time and practise âvipassanÄ meditationâ, |
| |
weâre going to have a very difficult time of it. |
| |
Insight has to proceed from peace and tranquillity. |
| |
The entire process will happen naturally of its own accord. |
| |
We canât force it. |
| |
The Buddha taught that this process matures at its own rate. |
| |
Having reached this level of practice, |
| |
we allow it to develop according to our innate capabilities, |
| |
spiritual aptitude and the merit weâve accumulated in the past. |
| |
But we never stop putting effort into the practice. |
| |
Whether the progress is swift or slow is out of our control. |
| |
Itâs just like planting a tree. |
| |
The tree knows how fast it should grow. |
| |
If we want it to grow more quickly than it is, |
| |
this is pure delusion. |
| |
If we want it to grow more slowly, recognize this as delusion as well. |
| |
If we do the work, the results will be forthcoming - just like planting a tree. |
| |
For example, say we wanted to plant a chilli bush. |
| |
Our responsibility is to dig a hole, plant the seedling, |
| |
water it, fertilize it and protect it from insects. |
| |
This is our job, our end of the bargain. |
| |
This is where faith then comes in. |
| |
Whether the chilli plant grows or not is up to it. |
| |
Itâs not our business. |
| |
We canât go tugging on the plant, trying to stretch it and make it grow faster. |
| |
Thatâs not how nature works. |
| |
Our responsibility is to water and fertilize it. |
| |
Practising Dhamma in the same way puts our hearts at ease. |
| |
If we realize enlightenment in this lifetime, |
| |
thatâs fine. |
| |
If we have to wait until our next life, |
| |
no matter. |
| |
We have faith and unfaltering conviction in the Dhamma. |
| |
Whether we progress quickly or slowly is up to our innate capabilities, |
| |
spiritual aptitude, and the merit weâve accumulated so far. |
| |
Practising like this puts the heart at ease. |
| |
Itâs like weâre riding in a horse cart. |
| |
We donât put the cart before the horse. |
| |
Or itâs like trying to plough a rice paddy while walking in front of our water buffalo rather than behind. |
| |
What Iâm saying here is that the mind is getting ahead of itself. |
| |
Itâs impatient to get quick results. |
| |
Thatâs not the way to do it. |
| |
Donât walk in front of your water buffalo. |
| |
You have to walk behind the water buffalo. |
| |
Itâs just like that chilli plant we are nurturing. |
| |
Give it water and fertilizer, and it will do the job of absorbing the nutrients. |
| |
When ants or termites come to infest it, |
| |
we chase them away. |
| |
Doing just this much is enough for the chilli to grow beautifully on its own, |
| |
and once it is growing beautifully, |
| |
we donât try to force it to flower when we think it should flower. |
| |
Itâs none of our business. |
| |
It will just create useless suffering. |
| |
Allow it to bloom on its own. |
| |
And once the flowers do bloom, donât demand that it immediately produce chilli peppers. |
| |
Donât rely on coercion. |
| |
That really causes suffering! |
| |
Once we figure this out, we understand what our responsibilities are and what they are not. |
| |
Each has their specific duty to fulfil. |
| |
The mind knows its role in the work to be done. |
| |
If the mind doesnât understand its role, |
| |
it will try to force the chilli plant to produce peppers on the very day we plant it. |
| |
The mind will insist that it grow, flower, |
| |
and produce peppers all in one day. |
| |
This is nothing but the second Noble Truth: craving causes suffering to arise. |
| |
If we are aware of this Truth and ponder it, |
| |
weâll understand that trying to force results in our Dhamma practice is pure delusion. |
| |
Itâs wrong. |
| |
Understanding how it works, we let go and allow things to mature according to our innate capabilities, |
| |
spiritual aptitude and the merit weâve accumulated. |
| |
We keep doing our part. |
| |
Donât worry that it might take a long time. |
| |
Even if it takes a hundred or a thousand lifetimes to get enlightened, |
| |
so what? |
| |
However many lifetimes it takes we just keep practising with a heart at ease, |
| |
comfortable with our pace. |
| |
Once our mind has entered the stream, |
| |
thereâs nothing to fear. |
| |
It will have gone beyond even the smallest evil action. |
| |
The Buddha said that the mind of a sotÄpanna, |
| |
someone who has attained the first stage of enlightenment, |
| |
has entered the stream of Dhamma that flows to enlightenment. |
| |
These people will never again have to experience the grim lower realms of existence, |
| |
never again fall into hell. |
| |
How could they possibly fall into hell when their minds have abandoned evil? |
| |
Theyâve seen the danger in making bad kamma. |
| |
Even if you tried to force them to do or say something evil, |
| |
they would be incapable of it, so thereâs no chance of ever |
| |
again descending into hell or the lower realms of existence. |
| |
Their minds are flowing with the current of Dhamma. |
| |
Once youâre in the stream, you know what your responsibilities are. |
| |
You comprehend the work ahead. |
| |
You understand how to practise Dhamma. |
| |
You know when to strive hard and when to relax. |
| |
You comprehend your body and mind, this physical and mental process, |
| |
and you renounce the things that should be renounced, |
| |
continually abandoning without a shred of doubt. |
| |
Changing our Vision |
| |
In my life of practising Dhamma, I didnât attempt to master a wide range of subjects. |
| |
Just one. |
| |
I refined this heart. |
| |
Say we look at a body. |
| |
If we find that weâre attracted to a body then analyse it. |
| |
Have a good look: head hair, body hair, |
| |
nails, teeth and skin.1 The Buddha taught us to thoroughly and repeatedly contemplate these parts of the body. |
| |
Visualize them separately, pull them apart, |
| |
peel off the skin and burn them up. |
| |
This is how to do it. |
| |
Stick with this meditation until itâs firmly established and unwavering. |
| |
See everyone the same. |
| |
For example, when the monks and novices go into the village on almsround in the morning, |
| |
whoever they see - whether itâs another monk or a villager - they imagine him or her as a dead body, |
| |
a walking corpse staggering along on the road ahead of them. |
| |
Remain focused on this perception. |
| |
This is how to put forth effort. |
| |
It leads to maturity and development. |
| |
When you see a young woman whom you find attractive, |
| |
imagine her as a walking corpse, her body putrid and reeking from decomposition. |
| |
See everyone like that. |
| |
And donât let them get too close! |
| |
Donât allow the infatuation to persist in your heart. |
| |
If you perceive others as putrid and reeking, |
| |
I can assure you the infatuation wonât persist. |
| |
Contemplate until youâre sure about what youâre seeing, |
| |
until itâs definite, until youâre proficient. |
| |
Whatever path you then wander down you wonât go astray. |
| |
Put your whole heart into it. |
| |
Whenever you see someone itâs no different from looking at a corpse. |
| |
Whether male or female, look at that person as a dead body. |
| |
And donât forget to see yourself as a dead body. |
| |
Eventually this is all thatâs left. |
| |
Try to develop this way of seeing as thoroughly as you can. |
| |
Train with it until it increasingly becomes part and parcel of your mind. |
| |
I promise itâs great fun - if you actually do it. |
| |
But if you are preoccupied with reading about it in books, |
| |
youâll have a difficult time of it. |
| |
Youâve got to do it. |
| |
And do it with utmost sincerity. |
| |
Do it until this meditation becomes a part of you. |
| |
Make realization of truth your aim. |
| |
If youâre motivated by the desire to transcend suffering, |
| |
then youâll be on the right path. |
| |
These days there are many people teaching vipassanÄ and a wide range of meditation techniques. |
| |
Iâll say this: doing vipassanÄ is not easy. |
| |
We canât just jump straight into it. |
| |
It wonât work if itâs not proceeding from a high standard of morality. |
| |
Find out for yourself. |
| |
Moral discipline and training precepts are necessary, |
| |
because if our behaviour, actions and speech arenât impeccable, |
| |
weâll never be able to stand on our own two feet. |
| |
Meditation without virtue is like trying to skip over an essential section of the Path. |
| |
Similarly, occasionally you hear people say, |
| |
âYou donât need to develop tranquillity. |
| |
Skip over it and go straight into the insight meditation of vipassanÄ.â |
| |
Sloppy people who like to cut corners say things like this. |
| |
They say you donât have to bother with moral discipline. |
| |
Upholding and refining your virtue is challenging, |
| |
not just playing around. |
| |
If we could skip over all the teachings on ethical behaviour, |
| |
weâd have it pretty easy, wouldnât we? |
| |
Whenever weâd encounter a difficulty, |
| |
we just avoid it by skipping over it. |
| |
Of course, weâd all like to skip over the difficult bits. |
| |
There was once a monk I met who told me he was a real meditator. |
| |
He asked for permission to stay with me here and enquired about the schedule and standard of monastic discipline. |
| |
I explained to him that in this monastery we live according to the Vinaya, |
| |
the Buddhaâs code of monastic discipline, |
| |
and if he wanted to come and train with me heâd have to renounce his money and private supplies of goods. |
| |
He told me his practice was ânon-attachment to all conventionsâ. |
| |
I told him I didnât know what he was talking about. |
| |
âHow about if I stay here,â he asked, |
| |
âand keep all my money but donât attach to it. |
| |
Moneyâs just a convention.â |
| |
I said sure, no problem. |
| |
âIf you can eat salt and not find it salty, |
| |
then you can use money and not be attached it.â |
| |
He was just speaking gibberish. |
| |
Actually he was just too lazy to follow the details of the Vinaya. |
| |
Iâm telling you, itâs difficult. |
| |
âWhen you can eat salt and honestly assure me itâs not salty, |
| |
then Iâll take you seriously. |
| |
And if you tell me itâs not salty then Iâll give you a whole sack to eat. |
| |
Just try it. |
| |
Will it really not taste salty? |
| |
Non-attachment to conventions isnât just a matter of clever speech. |
| |
If youâre going to talk like this, you canât stay with me.â |
| |
So he left. |
| |
We have to try and maintain the practice of virtue. |
| |
Monastics should train by experimenting with the ascetic practices (dhutanga), |
| |
while laypeople practising at home should keep the Five Precepts. |
| |
Attempt to attain impeccability in everything said and done. |
| |
We should cultivate goodness to the best of our ability, |
| |
and keep on gradually doing it. |
| |
When starting to cultivate the serenity of samatha meditation, |
| |
donât make the mistake of trying once or twice and then giving up because the mind is not peaceful. |
| |
Thatâs not the right way. |
| |
You have to cultivate meditation over a long period of time. |
| |
Why does it have to take so long? |
| |
Think about it. |
| |
How many years have we allowed our minds to wander astray? |
| |
How many years have we not been doing samatha meditation? |
| |
Whenever the mind has ordered us to follow it down a particular path, |
| |
weâve rushed after it. |
| |
To calm that wandering mind, to bring it to a stop, |
| |
to make it still, a couple of months of meditation wonât be enough. |
| |
Consider this. |
| |
When we undertake to train the mind to be at peace with every situation, |
| |
please understand that in the beginning when a defiled emotion comes up, |
| |
the mind wonât be peaceful. |
| |
Itâs going to be distracted and out of control. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because thereâs craving. |
| |
We donât want our mind to think. |
| |
We donât want to experience any distracting moods or emotions. |
| |
Not wanting is craving, the craving for non-existence. |
| |
The more we crave not to experience certain things, |
| |
the more we invite and usher them in. |
| |
âI donât want these things, so why do they keep coming to me? |
| |
I wish it wasnât this way, so why is it this way?â |
| |
There we go! |
| |
We crave for things to exist in a particular way, |
| |
because we donât understand our own mind. |
| |
It can take an incredibly long time before we realize that playing around with these things is a mistake. |
| |
Finally, when we consider it clearly we see, |
| |
âOh, these things come because I call them.â |
| |
Craving not to experience something, craving to be at peace, |
| |
craving not to be distracted and agitated - itâs all craving. |
| |
Itâs all a red-hot chunk of iron. |
| |
But never mind. |
| |
Just get on with the practice. |
| |
Whenever we experience a mood or emotion, |
| |
examine it in terms of its impermanence, |
| |
unsatisfactoriness, and selfless qualities, |
| |
and toss it into one of these three categories. |
| |
Then reflect and investigate: these defiled emotions are almost always accompanied by excessive thinking. |
| |
Wherever a mood leads, thinking straggles along behind. |
| |
Thinking and wisdom are two very different things. |
| |
Thinking merely reacts to and follows our moods, |
| |
and thoughts carry on with no end in sight. |
| |
But if wisdom is operating, it will bring the mind to stillness. |
| |
The mind stops and doesnât go anywhere. |
| |
Thereâs simply knowing and acknowledging whatâs being experienced. |
| |
When this emotion comes, the mindâs like this; when that mood comes, |
| |
itâs like that. |
| |
We sustain the âknowingâ. |
| |
Eventually it occurs to us, âHey, all this thinking, |
| |
this aimless mental chatter, this worrying and judging - itâs all insubstantial nonsense. |
| |
Itâs all impermanent, unsatisfactory and not me or mine.â |
| |
Toss it into one of these three all-encompassing categories, |
| |
and quell the uprising. |
| |
You cut it off at its source. |
| |
Later when we again sit meditation, it will come up again. |
| |
Keep a close watch on it. |
| |
Spy on it. |
| |
Itâs just like raising water buffaloes. |
| |
Youâve got the farmer, some rice plants, |
| |
and the water buffalo. |
| |
Now the water buffalo wants to eat those rice plants. |
| |
Rice plants are what water buffaloes like to eat, |
| |
right? |
| |
Your mind is a water buffalo. |
| |
Defiled emotions are like the rice plants. |
| |
The knowing is the farmer. |
| |
Dhamma practice is just like this. |
| |
No different. |
| |
Compare it for yourself. |
| |
When tending a water buffalo, what do you do? |
| |
You release it, allowing it to wander freely, |
| |
but you keep a close eye on it. |
| |
If it strays too close to the rice plants, |
| |
you yell out. |
| |
When the buffalo hears, it backs away. |
| |
Donât be inattentive, oblivious to what the buffalo is doing. |
| |
If youâve got a stubborn water buffalo that wonât heed your warning, |
| |
take a stick and give it a stout whack on the backside. |
| |
Then it wonât dare go near the rice plants. |
| |
Donât get caught taking a siesta. |
| |
If you lie down and doze off, those rice plants will be history. |
| |
Dhamma practice is the same: you watch over your mind; the knowing tends the mind. |
| |
âThose people who keep a close watch over their minds will be liberated from MÄraâs snare.â |
| |
And yet this knowing mind is also the mind, |
| |
so whoâs the one observing the mind? |
| |
Such ideas can make you extremely confused. |
| |
The mind is one thing, the knowing another; and yet the knowing originates in this very same mind. |
| |
What does it mean to know the mind? |
| |
Whatâs it like to encounter moods and emotions? |
| |
Whatâs it like to be without any defiled emotions whatsoever? |
| |
That which knows what these things are is what is meant by the âknowingâ. |
| |
The knowing observantly follows the mind, |
| |
and itâs from this knowing that wisdom is born. |
| |
The mind is that which thinks and gets entangled in emotions, |
| |
one after another - precisely like our water buffalo. |
| |
Whatever directions it strays in, maintain a watchful eye. |
| |
How could it get away? |
| |
If it starts to drift over towards the rice plants, |
| |
yell out. |
| |
If it wonât listen, pick up a stick and stride over to it. |
| |
âWhack!â |
| |
This is how you frustrate craving. |
| |
Training the mind is no different. |
| |
When the mind experiences an emotion and instantly grabs it, |
| |
itâs the job of the knowing to teach. |
| |
Examine the mood to see if itâs good or bad. |
| |
Explain to the mind how cause and effect functions. |
| |
And when it again grabs onto something that it thinks is adorable, |
| |
the knowing has to again teach the mind, |
| |
again explain cause and effect, until the mind is able to cast that thing aside. |
| |
This leads to peace of mind. |
| |
After finding out that whatever it grabs and grasps is inherently undesirable, |
| |
the mind simply stops. |
| |
It canât be bothered with those things anymore, |
| |
because itâs come under a constant barrage of rebukes and reprimands. |
| |
Thwart the craving of the mind with determination. |
| |
Challenge it to its core, until the teachings penetrate to the heart. |
| |
Thatâs how you train the mind. |
| |
Since the time when I withdrew to the forest to practise meditation, |
| |
Iâve been practising like this. |
| |
When I train my disciples, I train them to practise like this, |
| |
because I want them to see the truth, |
| |
rather than just read whatâs in the scriptures; I want them |
| |
to see if their hearts have been liberated from conceptual thinking. |
| |
When liberation occurs, you know; and when liberation has not yet happened, |
| |
then contemplate the process of how one thing causes and leads to another. |
| |
Contemplate until you know and understand it through and through. |
| |
Once itâs been penetrated with insight, |
| |
it will fall away on its own. |
| |
When something comes your way and gets stuck, |
| |
investigate it. |
| |
Donât give up until it has released its grip. |
| |
Repeatedly investigate right here. |
| |
Personally, this is how I approached the training, |
| |
because the Buddha taught that you have to know for yourself. |
| |
All sages know the truth for themselves. |
| |
Youâve got to discover it in the depths of your own heart. |
| |
Know yourself. |
| |
If you are confident in what you know and trust yourself, |
| |
you will feel relaxed whether others criticize or praise you. |
| |
Whatever other people say, youâre at ease. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because you know yourself. |
| |
If someone bolsters you with praise, but you know youâre not actually worthy of it, |
| |
are you really going to believe them? |
| |
Of course not. |
| |
You just carry on with your Dhamma practice. |
| |
When people who arenât confident in what they know get praised by others, |
| |
they get sucked into believing it and it warps their perception. |
| |
Likewise when someone criticizes you, |
| |
take a look at and examine yourself. |
| |
âNo, what they say isnât true. |
| |
They accuse me of being wrong, but actually Iâm not. |
| |
Their accusation isnât valid.â |
| |
If thatâs the case, what would be the point of getting angry with them? |
| |
Their words arenât true. |
| |
If, however, we are at fault just as they accuse, |
| |
then their criticism is correct. |
| |
If thatâs the case, what would be the point of getting angry with them? |
| |
When youâre able to think like this, life is truly untroubled and comfortable. |
| |
Nothing that then happens is wrong. |
| |
Then everything is Dhamma. |
| |
That is how I practised. |
| |
Following the Middle Path |
| |
Itâs the shortest and most direct path. |
| |
You can come and argue with me on points of Dhamma, |
| |
but I wonât join in. |
| |
Rather than argue back, Iâd just offer some reflections for you to consider. |
| |
Please understand what the Buddha taught: let go of everything. |
| |
Let go with knowing and awareness. |
| |
Without knowing and awareness, the letting go is no different than that of cows and water buffaloes. |
| |
Without putting your heart into it, the letting go isnât correct. |
| |
You let go because you understand conventional reality. |
| |
This is non-attachment. |
| |
The Buddha taught that in the beginning stages of Dhamma practice you should work very hard, |
| |
develop things thoroughly and attach a lot. |
| |
Attach to the Buddha. |
| |
Attach to the Dhamma. |
| |
Attach to the Sangha. |
| |
Attach firmly and deeply. |
| |
Thatâs what the Buddha taught. |
| |
Attach with sincerity and persistence and hold on tight. |
| |
In my own search I tried nearly every possible means of contemplation. |
| |
I sacrificed my life for the Dhamma, because I had faith in the reality of enlightenment and the Path to get there. |
| |
These things actually do exist, just like the Buddha said they did. |
| |
But to realize them takes practice, right practice. |
| |
It takes pushing yourself to the limit. |
| |
It takes the courage to train, to reflect, |
| |
and to fundamentally change. |
| |
It takes the courage to actually do what it takes. |
| |
And how do you do it? |
| |
Train the heart. |
| |
The thoughts in our heads tell us to go in one direction, |
| |
but the Buddha tells us to go in another. |
| |
Why is it necessary to train? |
| |
Because the heart is totally encrusted with and plastered over with defilements. |
| |
Thatâs what a heart is like that has not yet been transformed through the training. |
| |
Itâs unreliable, so donât believe it. |
| |
Itâs not yet virtuous. |
| |
How can we trust a heart that lacks purity and clarity? |
| |
Therefore, the Buddha warned us not to put our trust in a defiled heart. |
| |
Initially the heart is only the hired hand of defilement, |
| |
but if they associate together for an extended period of time, |
| |
the heart is distorted to become defilement itself. |
| |
Thatâs why the Buddha taught us not to trust our hearts. |
| |
If we take a good look at our monastic training discipline, |
| |
weâll see that the whole thing is about training the heart. |
| |
And whenever we train the heart we feel hot and bothered. |
| |
As soon as weâre hot and bothered we start to complain, |
| |
âBoy, this practice is incredibly difficult! |
| |
Itâs impossible.â |
| |
But the Buddha didnât think like that. |
| |
He considered that when the training was causing us heat and friction, |
| |
that meant we were on the right track. |
| |
We donât think that way. |
| |
We think itâs a sign that something is wrong. |
| |
This misunderstanding is what makes the practice seem so arduous. |
| |
In the beginning we feel hot and bothered, |
| |
so we think weâre off track. |
| |
Everyone wants to feel good, but theyâre less concerned about whether itâs right or not. |
| |
When we go against the grain of the defilements and challenge our cravings, |
| |
of course we feel suffering. |
| |
We get hot, upset, and bothered and then quit. |
| |
We think weâre on the wrong path. |
| |
The Buddha, however, would say weâre getting it right. |
| |
Weâre confronting our defilements, and they are what is getting hot and bothered. |
| |
But we think itâs us who are hot and bothered. |
| |
The Buddha taught that itâs the defilements that get stirred up and upset. |
| |
Itâs the same for everyone. |
| |
Thatâs why Dhamma practice is so demanding. |
| |
People donât examine things clearly. |
| |
Generally, they lose the Path on either the side of self-indulgence or self-torment. |
| |
They get stuck in these two extremes. |
| |
On one hand they like to indulge their heartâs desires. |
| |
Whatever they feel like doing they just do it. |
| |
They like to sit in comfort. |
| |
They love to lie down and stretch out in comfort. |
| |
Whatever they do, they seek to do it in comfort. |
| |
This is what I mean by self-indulgence: clinging to feeling good. |
| |
With such indulgence how could Dhamma practice possibly progress? |
| |
If we can no longer indulge in comfort, |
| |
sensuality and feeling good, we become irritated. |
| |
We get upset and angry and suffer because of it. |
| |
This is falling off the Path on the side of self-torment. |
| |
This is not the path of a peaceful sage, |
| |
not the way of someone whoâs still. |
| |
The Buddha warned not to stray down these two sidetracks of self-indulgence and self-torment. |
| |
When experiencing pleasure, just know that with awareness. |
| |
When experiencing anger, ill-will, and irritation, |
| |
understand that you are not following in the footsteps of the Buddha. |
| |
Those arenât the paths of people seeking peace, |
| |
but the roads of common villagers. |
| |
A monk at peace doesnât walk down those roads. |
| |
He strides straight down the middle with self-indulgence on the left and self-torment on the right. |
| |
This is correct Dhamma practice. |
| |
If youâre going to take up this monastic training, |
| |
you have to walk this Middle Way, not getting worked up about either happiness or unhappiness. |
| |
Set them down. |
| |
But it feels like theyâre kicking us around. |
| |
First they kick us from one side, âOw!â |
| |
, then they kick us from the other, âOw!â |
| |
We feel like the clapper in our wooden bell, |
| |
knocked back and forth from side to side. |
| |
The Middle Way is all about letting go of happiness and unhappiness, |
| |
and the right practice is the practice in the middle. |
| |
When the craving for happiness hits and we donât satisfy it, |
| |
we feel the pain. |
| |
Walking down the Middle Path of the Buddha is arduous and challenging. |
| |
There are just these two extremes of good and bad. |
| |
If we believe what they tell us, we have to follow their orders. |
| |
If we become enraged at someone, we immediately go searching for a stick to attack them. |
| |
We have no patient endurance. |
| |
If we love someone we want to caress them from head to toe. |
| |
Am I right? |
| |
These two sidetracks completely miss the middle. |
| |
This is not what the Buddha recommended. |
| |
His teaching was to gradually put these things down. |
| |
His practice was a path leading out of existence, |
| |
away from rebirth - a path free of becoming, |
| |
birth, happiness, unhappiness, good, |
| |
and evil. |
| |
Those people who crave existence are blind to whatâs in the middle. |
| |
They fall off the Path on the side of happiness and then completely |
| |
pass over the middle on their way to the other side of dissatisfaction and irritation. |
| |
They continually skip over the centre. |
| |
This sacred place is invisible to them as they rush back and forth. |
| |
They donât stay in that place where there is no existence and no birth. |
| |
They donât like it, so they donât stay. |
| |
Either they go down out of their home and get bitten by a dog or fly up to get pecked by a vulture. |
| |
This is existence. |
| |
Humanity is blind to that which is free from existence with no rebirth. |
| |
The human heart is blind to it, so it repeatedly passes it by and skips it over. |
| |
The Middle Way walked by the Buddha, the Path of correct Dhamma practice, |
| |
transcends existence and rebirth. |
| |
The mind that is beyond both the wholesome and the unwholesome is released. |
| |
This is the path of a peaceful sage. |
| |
If we donât walk it weâll never be a sage at peace. |
| |
That peace will never have a chance to bloom. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because of existence and rebirth. |
| |
Because thereâs birth and death. |
| |
The path of the Buddha is without birth or death. |
| |
Thereâs no low and no high. |
| |
Thereâs no happiness and no suffering. |
| |
Thereâs no good and no evil. |
| |
This is the straight path. |
| |
This is the path of peace and stillness. |
| |
Itâs peacefully free of pleasure and pain, |
| |
happiness and sorrow. |
| |
This is how to practise Dhamma. |
| |
Experiencing this, the mind can stop. |
| |
It can stop asking questions. |
| |
Thereâs no longer any need to search for answers. |
| |
There! |
| |
Thatâs why the Buddha said that the Dhamma is something that the wise know directly for themselves. |
| |
No need to ask anybody. |
| |
We understand clearly for ourselves without a shred of doubt that things are exactly as the Buddha said they were. |
| |
Dedication to the Practice |
| |
So Iâve told you a few brief stories about how I practised. |
| |
I didnât have a lot of knowledge. |
| |
I didnât study much. |
| |
What I did study was this heart and mind of mine, |
| |
and I learned in a natural way through experimentation, |
| |
trial and error. |
| |
When I liked something, then I examined what was going on and where it would lead. |
| |
Inevitably, it would drag me to some distant suffering. |
| |
My practice was to observe myself. |
| |
As understanding and insight deepened, |
| |
gradually I came to know myself. |
| |
Practise with unflinching dedication! |
| |
If you want to practise Dhamma, then please try not to think too much. |
| |
If youâre meditating and you find yourself trying to force specific results, |
| |
then itâs better to stop. |
| |
When your mind settles down to become peaceful and then you think, |
| |
âThatâs it! |
| |
Thatâs it, isnât it? |
| |
Is this it?,â then stop. |
| |
Take all your analytical and theoretical knowledge, |
| |
wrap it up and store it away in a chest. |
| |
And donât drag it out for discussion or to teach. |
| |
Thatâs not the type of knowledge that penetrates inside. |
| |
They are different types of knowledge. |
| |
When the reality of something is seen, |
| |
itâs not the same as the written descriptions. |
| |
For example, letâs say we write down the word âsensual desireâ. |
| |
When sensual desire actually overwhelms the heart, |
| |
itâs impossible that the written word can convey the same meaning as the reality. |
| |
Itâs the same with âangerâ. |
| |
We can write the letters on a blackboard, |
| |
but when weâre actually angry the experience is not the same. |
| |
We canât read those letters fast enough, |
| |
and the heart is engulfed by rage. |
| |
This is an extremely important point. |
| |
The theoretical teachings are accurate, |
| |
but itâs essential to bring them into our hearts. |
| |
It must be internalized. |
| |
If the Dhamma isnât brought into the heart, |
| |
itâs not truly known. |
| |
Itâs not actually seen. |
| |
I was no different. |
| |
I didnât study extensively, but I did do enough to pass some of the exams on Buddhist theory. |
| |
One day I had the opportunity to listen to a Dhamma talk from a meditation master. |
| |
As I listened, some disrespectful thoughts came up. |
| |
I didnât know how to listen to a real Dhamma talk. |
| |
I couldnât figure out what this wandering meditation monk was talking about. |
| |
He was teaching as though it was coming from his own direct experience, |
| |
as if he was after the truth. |
| |
As time went on and I gained some first-hand experience in the practice, |
| |
I saw for myself the truth of what that monk taught. |
| |
I understood how to understand. |
| |
Insight then followed in its wake. |
| |
Dhamma was taking root in my own heart and mind. |
| |
It was a long, long time before I realized that everything that |
| |
that wandering monk had taught came from what heâd seen for himself. |
| |
The Dhamma he taught came directly from his own experience, |
| |
not from a book. |
| |
He spoke according to his understanding and insight. |
| |
When I walked the Path myself, I came across every detail heâd described and had to admit he was right. |
| |
So I continued on. |
| |
Try to take every opportunity you can to put effort into Dhamma practice. |
| |
Whether itâs peaceful or not, donât worry about it at this point. |
| |
The highest priority is to set the wheels of practice in motion and create the causes for future liberation. |
| |
If youâve done the work, thereâs no need to worry about the results. |
| |
Donât be anxious that you wonât gain results. |
| |
Anxiety is not peaceful. |
| |
If however, you donât do the work, how can you expect results? |
| |
How can you ever hope to see? |
| |
The one who searches discovers. |
| |
The one who eats is full. |
| |
Everything around us lies to us. |
| |
Recognizing this even ten times is still pretty good. |
| |
But the same old coot keeps telling us the same old lies and stories. |
| |
If we know heâs lying, itâs not so bad, |
| |
but it can be an exceedingly long time before we know. |
| |
The old fellow comes and tries to hoodwink us with deception time and time again. |
| |
Practising Dhamma means upholding virtue, |
| |
developing samÄdhi and cultivating wisdom in our hearts. |
| |
Remember and reflect on the Triple Gem: the Buddha, |
| |
the Dhamma and the Sangha. |
| |
Abandon absolutely everything without exception. |
| |
Our own actions are the causes and conditions that will ripen in this very life. |
| |
So strive on with sincerity. |
| |
Even if we have to sit in a chair to meditate, |
| |
itâs still possible to focus our attention. |
| |
In the beginning we donât have to focus on many things - just our breath. |
| |
If we prefer, we can mentally repeat the words âBuddhaâ, |
| |
âDhammaâ, or âSanghaâ in conjunction with each breath. |
| |
While focusing attention, resolve not to control the breath. |
| |
If breathing seems laborious or uncomfortable, |
| |
this indicates weâre not approaching it right. |
| |
As long as weâre not yet at ease with the breath, |
| |
it will seem too shallow or too deep, |
| |
too subtle or too rough. |
| |
However, once we relax with our breath, |
| |
finding it pleasant and comfortable, |
| |
clearly aware of each inhalation and exhalation, |
| |
then weâre getting the hang of it. |
| |
If weâre not doing it properly we will lose the breath. |
| |
If this happens then itâs better to stop for a moment and refocus the mindfulness. |
| |
If while meditating you get the urge to experience psychic phenomena |
| |
or the mind becomes luminous and radiant or you have visions of celestial palaces, |
| |
etc., thereâs no need to fear. |
| |
Simply be aware of whatever youâre experiencing, |
| |
and continue on meditating. |
| |
Occasionally, after some time, the breath may appear to slow to a halt. |
| |
The sensation of the breath seems to vanish and you become alarmed. |
| |
Donât worry, thereâs nothing to be afraid of. |
| |
You only think your breathing has stopped. |
| |
Actually the breath is still there, but itâs functioning on a much more subtle level than usual. |
| |
With time the breath will return to normal by itself. |
| |
In the beginning, just concentrate on making the mind calm and peaceful. |
| |
Whether sitting in a chair, riding in a car, |
| |
taking a boat ride, or wherever you happen to be, |
| |
you should be proficient enough in your meditation that you can enter a state of peace at will. |
| |
When you get on a train and sit down, |
| |
quickly bring your mind to a state of peace. |
| |
Wherever you are, you can always sit. |
| |
This level of proficiency indicates that youâre becoming familiar with the Path. |
| |
You then investigate. |
| |
Utilize the power of this peaceful mind to investigate what you experience. |
| |
At times itâs what you see; at times what you hear, |
| |
smell, taste, feel with your body, or think and feel in your heart. |
| |
Whatever sensory experience presents itself - whether you like it or not - take that up for contemplation. |
| |
Simply know what you are experiencing. |
| |
Donât project meaning or interpretations onto those objects of sense awareness. |
| |
If itâs good, just know that itâs good. |
| |
If itâs bad, just know that itâs bad. |
| |
This is conventional reality. |
| |
Good or evil, itâs all impermanent, unsatisfying and not-self. |
| |
Itâs all undependable. |
| |
None of it is worthy of being grasped or clung to. |
| |
If you can maintain this practice of peace and inquiry, |
| |
wisdom will automatically be generated. |
| |
Everything sensed and experienced then falls into these three pits of impermanence, |
| |
unsatisfactoriness, and not-self. |
| |
This is vipassanÄ meditation. |
| |
The mind is already peaceful, and whenever impure states of mind surface, |
| |
throw them away into one of these three rubbish pits. |
| |
This is the essence of vipassanÄ: discarding everything into impermanence, |
| |
unsatisfactoriness, and not-self. |
| |
Good, bad, horrible, or whatever, toss it down. |
| |
In a short time, understanding and insight - feeble insight, |
| |
that is, will blossom forth in the midst of the three universal characteristics. |
| |
At this beginning stage the wisdom is still weak and feeble, |
| |
but try to maintain this practice with consistency. |
| |
Itâs difficult to put into words, but itâs like if somebody wanted to get to know me, |
| |
theyâd have to come and live here. |
| |
Eventually with daily contact we would get to know each other. |
| |
Respect the Tradition |
| |
Itâs high time we started to meditate. |
| |
Meditate to understand, to abandon, to relinquish, |
| |
and to be at peace. |
| |
I used to be a wandering monk. |
| |
Iâd travel by foot to visit teachers and seek solitude. |
| |
I didnât go around giving Dhamma talks. |
| |
I went to listen to the Dhamma talks of the great Buddhist masters of the time. |
| |
I didnât go to teach them. |
| |
I listened to whatever advice they had to offer. |
| |
Even when young or junior monks tried to tell me what the Dhamma was, |
| |
I listened patiently. |
| |
However, I rarely got into discussions about the Dhamma. |
| |
I couldnât see the point in getting involved in lengthy discussions. |
| |
Whatever teachings I accepted I took on board straight away, |
| |
directly where they pointed to renunciation and letting go. |
| |
What I did, I did for renunciation and letting go. |
| |
We donât have to become experts in the scriptures. |
| |
Weâre getting older with every day that passes, |
| |
and every day we pounce on a mirage, |
| |
missing the real thing. |
| |
Practising the Dhamma is something quite different from studying it. |
| |
I donât criticize any of the wide variety of meditation styles and techniques. |
| |
As long as we understand their true purpose and meaning, |
| |
theyâre not wrong. |
| |
However, calling ourselves Buddhist meditators, |
| |
but not strictly following the monastic code of discipline (Vinaya) will, |
| |
in my opinion, never meet with success. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because we try to bypass a vital section of the Path. |
| |
Skipping over virtue, samÄdhi or wisdom wonât work. |
| |
Some people may tell you not to get attached to the serenity |
| |
of samatha meditation: âDonât bother with samatha; advance straight to the wisdom and insight practices of vipassanÄ.â |
| |
As I see it, if we attempt to detour straight to vipassanÄ, |
| |
weâll find it impossible to successfully complete the journey. |
| |
Donât forsake the style of practice and meditation techniques of the eminent forest masters, |
| |
such as the Venerable Ajahns Sao, Mun, |
| |
Taungrut, and UpÄli. |
| |
The path they taught is utterly reliable and true - if we do it the way they did. |
| |
If we follow in their footsteps, weâll gain true insight into ourselves. |
| |
Ajahn Sao cared for his virtue impeccably. |
| |
He didnât say we should bypass it. |
| |
If these great masters of the forest tradition recommended practising |
| |
meditation and monastic etiquette in a particular way, |
| |
then out of deep respect for them we should follow what they taught. |
| |
If they said to do it, then do it. |
| |
If they said to stop because itâs wrong, |
| |
then stop. |
| |
We do it out of faith. |
| |
We do it with unwavering sincerity and determination. |
| |
We do it until we see the Dhamma in our own hearts, |
| |
until we are the Dhamma. |
| |
This is what the forest masters taught. |
| |
Their disciples consequently developed profound respect, |
| |
awe and affection for them, because it was through following their path, |
| |
that they saw what their teachers saw. |
| |
Give it a try. |
| |
Do it just like I say. |
| |
If you actually do it, youâll see the Dhamma, |
| |
be the Dhamma. |
| |
If you actually undertake the search, |
| |
what would stop you? |
| |
The defilements of the mind will be vanquished if you approach them with the right strategy: be someone who renounces, |
| |
one who is frugal with words, who is content with little, |
| |
and who abandons all views and opinions stemming from self-importance and conceit. |
| |
You will then be able to listen patiently to anyone, |
| |
even if what theyâre saying is wrong. |
| |
You will also be able to listen patiently to people when theyâre right. |
| |
Examine yourself in this way. |
| |
I assure you, itâs possible, if you try. |
| |
Scholars however, rarely come and put the Dhamma into practice. |
| |
There are some, but they are few. |
| |
Itâs a shame. |
| |
The fact that youâve made it this far and have come to visit is already worthy of praise. |
| |
It shows inner strength. |
| |
Some monasteries only encourage studying. |
| |
The monks study and study, on and on, |
| |
with no end in sight, and never cut that which needs to be cut. |
| |
They only study the word âpeaceâ. |
| |
But if you can stop still, youâll discover something of real value. |
| |
This is how you do research. |
| |
This research is truly valuable and completely immobile. |
| |
It goes straight to what youâve been reading about. |
| |
If scholars donât practise meditation however, |
| |
their knowledge has little understanding. |
| |
Once they put the teachings into practice, |
| |
those things which they have studied about then become vivid and clear. |
| |
So start practising! |
| |
Develop this type of understanding. |
| |
Give living in the forest a try, come and stay in one of these tiny huts. |
| |
Trying out this training for a while and testing it for yourself would be of far greater value than just reading books. |
| |
Then you can have discussions with yourself. |
| |
While observing the mind itâs as if it lets go and rests in its natural state. |
| |
When it ripples and wavers from this still, |
| |
natural state in the form of thoughts and concepts, |
| |
the conditioning process of sankhÄra is set in motion. |
| |
Be very careful and keep a watchful eye on this process of conditioning. |
| |
Once it moves and is dislodged from this natural state, |
| |
Dhamma practice is no longer on the right track. |
| |
It steps off into either self-indulgence or self-torment. |
| |
Right there. |
| |
Thatâs what gives rise to this web of mental conditioning. |
| |
If the state of mind is a good one, this creates positive conditioning. |
| |
If itâs bad, the conditioning is negative. |
| |
These originate in your own mind. |
| |
Iâm telling you, itâs great fun to observe closely how the mind works. |
| |
I could happily talk about this one subject the whole day. |
| |
When you get to know the ways of the mind, |
| |
youâll see how this process functions and how itâs kept going through being brainwashed by the mindâs impurities. |
| |
I see the mind as merely a single point. |
| |
Psychological states are guests who come to visit this spot. |
| |
Sometimes this person comes to call; sometimes that person pays a visit. |
| |
They come to the visitor centre. |
| |
Train the mind to watch and know them all with the eyes of alert awareness. |
| |
This is how you care for your heart and mind. |
| |
Whenever a visitor approaches you wave them away. |
| |
If you allow them to enter, where are they going to sit down? |
| |
Thereâs only one seat, and youâre sitting in it. |
| |
Spend the whole day in this one spot. |
| |
This is the Buddhaâs firm and unshakeable awareness that watches over and protects the mind. |
| |
Youâre sitting right here. |
| |
Since the moment you emerged from the womb, |
| |
every visitor thatâs ever come to call has arrived right here. |
| |
No matter how often they come, they always come to this same spot, |
| |
right here. |
| |
Knowing them all, the Buddhaâs awareness sits alone, |
| |
firm and unshakeable. |
| |
Those visitors journey here seeking to exert influence, |
| |
to condition and sway your mind in various ways. |
| |
When they succeed in getting the mind entangled in their issues, |
| |
psychological states arise. |
| |
Whatever the issue is, wherever it seems to be leading, |
| |
just forget it - it doesnât matter. |
| |
Simply know who the guests are as they arrive. |
| |
Once theyâve dropped by they will find that thereâs only one chair, |
| |
and as long as youâre occupying it they will have nowhere to sit down. |
| |
They come thinking to fill your ear with gossip, |
| |
but this time thereâs no room for them to sit. |
| |
Next time they come there will also be no chair free. |
| |
No matter how many times these chattering visitors show up, |
| |
they always meet the same fellow sitting in the same spot. |
| |
You havenât budged from that chair. |
| |
How long do you think they will continue to put up with this situation? |
| |
In just speaking to them you get to know them thoroughly. |
| |
Everyone and everything youâve ever known since you began to experience the world will come for a visit. |
| |
Simply observing and being aware right here is enough to see the Dhamma entirely. |
| |
You discuss, observe and contemplate by yourself. |
| |
This is how to discuss Dhamma. |
| |
I donât know how to talk about anything else. |
| |
I can continue on speaking in this fashion, |
| |
but in the end itâs nothing but talking and listening. |
| |
Iâd recommend you actually go and do the practice. |
| |
Mastering the Meditation |
| |
If you have a look for yourself, youâll encounter certain experiences. |
| |
Thereâs a Path to guide you and offer directions. |
| |
As you carry on, the situation changes and you have to adjust your approach to remedy the problems that come up. |
| |
It can be a long time before you see a clear signpost. |
| |
If youâre going to walk the same Path as I did, |
| |
the journey definitely has to take place in your own heart. |
| |
If not, youâll encounter numerous obstacles. |
| |
Itâs just like hearing a sound. |
| |
The hearing is one thing, the sound another, |
| |
and we are consciously aware of both without compounding the event. |
| |
We rely on nature to provide the raw material for the investigation in search of Truth. |
| |
Eventually the mind dissects and separates phenomena on its own. |
| |
Simply put, the mind doesnât get involved. |
| |
When the ears pick up a sound, observe what happens in the heart and mind. |
| |
Do they get bound up, entangled, and carried away by it? |
| |
Do they get irritated? |
| |
At least know this much. |
| |
When a sound then registers, it wonât disturb the mind. |
| |
Being here, we take up those things close at hand rather than those far away. |
| |
Even if weâd like to flee from sound, |
| |
thereâs no escape. |
| |
The only escape possible is through training the mind to be unwavering in the face of sound. |
| |
Set sound down. |
| |
The sounds we let go of we can still hear. |
| |
We hear but we let sound go, because weâve already set it down. |
| |
Itâs not that we have to forcefully separate the hearing and the sound. |
| |
It separates automatically due to abandoning and letting go. |
| |
Even if we then wanted to cling to a sound, |
| |
the mind wouldnât cling. |
| |
Because once we understand the true nature of sights, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes, and all the rest, |
| |
and the heart sees with clear insight, |
| |
everything sensed without exception falls within the domain of the universal characteristics of impermanence, |
| |
unsatisfactoriness, and not-self. |
| |
Whenever we hear a sound itâs understood in terms of these universal characteristics. |
| |
Whenever thereâs sense contact with the ear, |
| |
we hear but itâs as if we didnât hear. |
| |
This doesnât mean the mind no longer functions. |
| |
Mindfulness and the mind intertwine and merge to monitor each other at all times without a lapse. |
| |
When the mind is trained to this level, |
| |
no matter what path we then choose to walk we will be doing research. |
| |
We will be cultivating the analysis of phenomena, |
| |
one of the essential factors of enlightenment, |
| |
and this analysis will keep rolling on with its own momentum. |
| |
Discuss Dhamma with yourself. |
| |
Unravel and release feeling, memory, perception, |
| |
thinking, intentions, and consciousness. |
| |
Nothing will be able to touch them as they continue to perform their functions on their own. |
| |
For people who have mastered their minds, |
| |
this process of reflection and investigation flows along automatically. |
| |
Itâs no longer necessary to direct it intentionally. |
| |
Whatever sphere the mind inclines towards, |
| |
the contemplation is immediately adept. |
| |
If Dhamma practice reaches this level, |
| |
thereâs another interesting side benefit. |
| |
While asleep, snoring, talking in our sleep, |
| |
gnashing our teeth, and tossing and turning will all stop. |
| |
Even if weâve been resting in deep sleep, |
| |
when we wake up we wonât be drowsy. |
| |
Weâll feel energized and alert as if weâd been awake the whole time. |
| |
I used to snore, but once the mind remained awake at all times, |
| |
snoring stopped. |
| |
How can you snore when youâre awake? |
| |
Itâs only the body that stops and sleeps. |
| |
The mind is wide awake day and night, |
| |
around the clock. |
| |
This is the pure and heightened awareness of the Buddha: the One Who Knows, |
| |
the Awakened One, the Joyous One, the Brilliantly Radiant One. |
| |
This clear awareness never sleeps. |
| |
Its energy is self-sustaining, and it never gets dull or sleepy. |
| |
At this stage we can go without rest for two or three days. |
| |
When the body begins to show signs of exhaustion, |
| |
we sit down to meditate and immediately enter deep samÄdhi for five or ten minutes. |
| |
When we come out of that state, we feel fresh and invigorated as if weâve had a full nightâs sleep. |
| |
If weâre beyond concern for the body, |
| |
sleep is of minimal importance. |
| |
We take appropriate measures to care for the body, |
| |
but we arenât anxious about its physical condition. |
| |
Let it follow its natural laws. |
| |
We donât have to tell the body what to do. |
| |
It tells itself. |
| |
Itâs as if someone is prodding us, urging us to strive on in our efforts. |
| |
Even if we feel lazy, thereâs a voice inside that constantly rouses our diligence. |
| |
Stagnation at this point is impossible, |
| |
because effort and progress have gathered an unstoppable momentum. |
| |
Please check this out for yourself. |
| |
Youâve been studying and learning a long time. |
| |
Now itâs time to study and learn about yourself. |
| |
In the beginning stages of Dhamma practice, |
| |
physical seclusion is of vital importance. |
| |
When you live alone in isolation you will recall the words of |
| |
Venerable SÄriputta: âPhysical seclusion is a cause and condition for the arising of mental seclusion, |
| |
states of profound samÄdhi free from external sense contact. |
| |
This seclusion of the mind is in turn a cause and condition for seclusion from mental defilements, |
| |
enlightenment.â |
| |
And yet some people still say that seclusion is not important: âIf your heart is peaceful, |
| |
it doesnât matter where you are.â |
| |
Itâs true, but in the beginning stages we should remember that physical seclusion in a suitable environment comes first. |
| |
Today, or sometime soon, seek out a lonely cremation ground in a remote forest far from any habitation. |
| |
Experiment with living all alone. |
| |
Or seek out a fear-inspiring mountain peak. |
| |
Go off and live alone, okay? |
| |
Youâll have lots of fun all night long. |
| |
Only then will you know for yourself. |
| |
Even I once thought that physical seclusion wasnât particularly important. |
| |
Thatâs what I thought, but once I actually got out there and did it, |
| |
I reflected on what the Buddha taught. |
| |
The Blessed One encouraged his disciples to practise in remote locations far removed from society. |
| |
In the beginning this builds a foundation for internal seclusion |
| |
of the mind which then supports the unshakeable seclusion from defilements. |
| |
For example, say youâre a lay person with a home and a family. |
| |
What seclusion do you get? |
| |
When you return home, as soon as you step inside the front door you get hit with chaos and complication. |
| |
Thereâs no physical seclusion. |
| |
So you slip away for a retreat in a remote environment and the atmosphere is completely different. |
| |
Itâs necessary to comprehend the importance of physical isolation and solitude in the initial stages of Dhamma practice. |
| |
You then seek out a meditation master for instruction. |
| |
He or she guides, advises and points out those areas where your understanding is wrong, |
| |
because itâs precisely where you misunderstand that you think you are right. |
| |
Right where youâre wrong, youâre sure youâre right. |
| |
Once the teacher explains, you understand what is wrong, |
| |
and right where the teacher says youâre wrong is precisely where you thought you were right. |
| |
From what Iâve heard, there are a number of Buddhist scholar |
| |
monks who search and research in accordance with the scriptures. |
| |
Thereâs no reason why we shouldnât experiment. |
| |
When itâs time to open our books and study, |
| |
we learn in that style. |
| |
But when itâs time to take up arms and engage in combat, |
| |
we have to fight in a style that may not correspond with the theory. |
| |
If a warrior enters battle and fights according to what heâs read, |
| |
heâll be no match for his opponent. |
| |
When the warrior is sincere and the fight is real, |
| |
he has to battle in a style that goes beyond theory. |
| |
Thatâs how it is. |
| |
The Buddhaâs words in the scriptures are only guidelines and examples to follow, |
| |
and studying can sometimes lead to carelessness. |
| |
The way of the forest masters is the way of renunciation. |
| |
On this Path thereâs only abandoning. |
| |
We uproot views stemming from self-importance. |
| |
We uproot the very essence of our sense of self. |
| |
I assure you, this practice will challenge you to the core, |
| |
but no matter how difficult it is donât discard the forest masters and their teachings. |
| |
Without proper guidance the mind and samÄdhi are potentially very deluding. |
| |
Things which shouldnât be possible begin to happen. |
| |
Iâve always approached such phenomena with caution and care. |
| |
When I was a young monk, just starting out in practice during my first few years, |
| |
I couldnât yet trust my mind. |
| |
However, once Iâd gained considerable experience and could fully trust the workings of my mind, |
| |
nothing could pose a problem. |
| |
Even if unusual phenomena manifested, |
| |
Iâd just leave it at that. |
| |
If we are clued in to how these things work, |
| |
they cease by themselves. |
| |
Itâs all fuel for wisdom. |
| |
As time goes on we find ourselves completely at ease. |
| |
In meditation, things which usually arenât wrong can be wrong. |
| |
For example, we sit down cross-legged with determination and resolve: âAll right! |
| |
No pussyfooting around this time. |
| |
I will concentrate the mind. |
| |
Just watch me.â |
| |
No way that approach will work! |
| |
Everytime I tried that my meditation got nowhere. |
| |
But we love the bravado. |
| |
From what Iâve observed, meditation will develop at its own rate. |
| |
Many evenings as I sat down to meditate I thought to myself, |
| |
âAll right! |
| |
Tonight I wonât budge from this spot until at least 1:00 am.â |
| |
Even with this thought I was already making some bad kamma, |
| |
because it wasnât long before the pain in my body attacked from all sides, |
| |
overwhelming me until it felt as though I was going to die. |
| |
However, those occasions when the meditation went well were times when I didnât place any limits on the sitting. |
| |
I didnât set a goal of 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 or whatever, |
| |
but simply kept sitting, steadily carrying on, |
| |
letting go with equanimity. |
| |
Donât force the meditation. |
| |
Donât attempt to interpret whatâs happening. |
| |
Donât coerce your heart with unrealistic demands that it enter |
| |
a state of samÄdhi - or else youâll find it even more agitated and unpredictable than normal. |
| |
Just allow the heart and mind to relax, |
| |
be comfortable and at ease. |
| |
Allow the breathing to flow easily at just the right pace, |
| |
neither too short nor too long. |
| |
Donât try to make it into anything special. |
| |
Let the body relax, comfortable and at ease. |
| |
Then keep doing it. |
| |
Your mind will ask you, âHow late are we going to meditate tonight? |
| |
What time are we going to quit?â |
| |
It incessantly nags, so you have to bellow out a reprimand, |
| |
âListen buddy, just leave me alone.â |
| |
This busybody questioner needs to be regularly subdued, |
| |
because itâs nothing other than defilement coming to annoy you. |
| |
Donât pay it any attention whatsoever. |
| |
You have to be tough with it. |
| |
âWhether I call it quits early or have a late night, |
| |
itâs none of your damn business! |
| |
If I want to sit all night, it doesnât make any difference to anyone, |
| |
so why do you come and stick your nose into my meditation?â |
| |
You have to cut the nosy fellow off like that. |
| |
You can then carry on meditating for as long as you wish, |
| |
according to what feels right. |
| |
As you allow the mind to relax and be at ease, |
| |
it becomes peaceful. |
| |
Experiencing this, youâll recognize and appreciate the power of clinging. |
| |
When you can sit on and on, for a very long time, |
| |
going past midnight, comfortable and relaxed, |
| |
youâll know youâre getting the hang of meditation. |
| |
Youâll understand how attachment and clinging really do defile the mind. |
| |
When some people sit down to meditate they light a stick of incense in front of them and vow, |
| |
âI wonât get up until this stick of incense has burned down.â |
| |
Then they sit. |
| |
After what seems like an hour they open their eyes and realize only five minutes have gone by. |
| |
They stare at the incense, disappointed at how exceedingly long the stick still is. |
| |
They close their eyes again and continue. |
| |
Soon their eyes are open once more to check that stick of incense. |
| |
These people donât get anywhere in meditation. |
| |
Donât do it like that. |
| |
Just sitting and dreaming about that stick of incense, |
| |
âI wonder if itâs almost finished burning,â the meditation gets nowhere. |
| |
Donât give importance to such things. |
| |
The mind doesnât have to do anything special. |
| |
If you are going to undertake the task of developing the mind in meditation, |
| |
donât let the defilement of craving know the ground rules or the goal. |
| |
âHow will you meditate, Venerable?,â it inquires. |
| |
âHow much will you do? |
| |
How late are you thinking of going?â |
| |
Craving keeps pestering until we submit to an agreement. |
| |
Once we declare weâre going to sit until midnight, |
| |
it immediately begins to hassle us. |
| |
Before even an hour has passed weâre feeling so restless and impatient that we canât continue. |
| |
Then more hindrances attack as we berate ourselves, |
| |
âHopeless! |
| |
What, is sitting going to kill you? |
| |
You said you were going to make your mind unshakeable in samÄdhi, |
| |
but itâs still unreliable and all over the place. |
| |
You made a vow and you didnât keep it.â |
| |
Thoughts of self-depreciation and dejection assail our minds, |
| |
and we sink into self-hatred. |
| |
Thereâs no one else to blame or get angry at, |
| |
and that makes it all the worse. |
| |
Once we make a vow we have to keep it. |
| |
We either fulfil it or die in the process. |
| |
If we do vow to sit for a certain length of time, |
| |
we shouldnât break that vow and stop. |
| |
In the meantime however, just gradually practise and develop. |
| |
Thereâs no need for making dramatic vows. |
| |
Try to steadily and persistently train the mind. |
| |
Occasionally, the meditation will be peaceful, |
| |
and all the aches and discomfort in the body will vanish. |
| |
The pain in the ankles and knees will cease by itself. |
| |
Once we try our hand at cultivating meditation, |
| |
if strange images, visions or sensory perceptions start coming up, |
| |
the first thing to do is to check our state of mind. |
| |
Donât discard this basic principle. |
| |
For such images to arise the mind has to be relatively peaceful. |
| |
Donât crave for them to appear, and donât crave for them not to appear. |
| |
If they do arise examine them, but donât allow them to delude. |
| |
Just remember theyâre not ours. |
| |
They are impermanent, unsatisfying and not-self just like everything else. |
| |
Even if they are real, donât dwell on or pay much attention to them. |
| |
If they stubbornly refuse to fade, then refocus your awareness on your breath with increased vigour. |
| |
Take at least three long, deep breaths and each time slowly exhale completely. |
| |
This may do the trick. |
| |
Keep re-focusing the attention. |
| |
Donât become possessive of such phenomena. |
| |
They are nothing more than what they are, |
| |
and what they are is potentially deluding. |
| |
Either we like them and fall in love with them or the mind becomes poisoned with fear. |
| |
Theyâre unreliable: they may not be true or what they appear to be. |
| |
If you experience them, donât try to interpret their meaning or project meaning onto them. |
| |
Remember theyâre not ours, so donât run after these visions or sensations. |
| |
Instead, immediately go back and check the present state of mind. |
| |
This is our rule of thumb. |
| |
If we abandon this basic principle and become drawn into what we believe we are seeing, |
| |
we can forget ourselves and start babbling or even go insane. |
| |
We may lose our marbles to the point where we canât even relate to other people on a normal level. |
| |
Place your trust in your own heart. |
| |
Whatever happens, simply carry on observing the heart and mind. |
| |
Strange meditative experiences can be beneficial for people with wisdom, |
| |
but dangerous for those without. |
| |
Whatever occurs donât become elated or alarmed. |
| |
If experiences happen, they happen. |
| |
Another way to approach Dhamma practice is to contemplate and examine everything we see, |
| |
do, and experience. |
| |
Never discard the meditation. |
| |
When some people finish sitting or walking meditation they think itâs time to stop and rest. |
| |
They stop focusing their minds on their object of meditation or theme of contemplation. |
| |
They completely drop it. |
| |
Donât practise like that. |
| |
Whatever you see, inquire into what it really is. |
| |
Contemplate the good people in the world. |
| |
Contemplate the evil ones too. |
| |
Take a penetrating look at the rich and powerful; the destitute and poverty-stricken. |
| |
When you see a child, an elderly person or a young man or woman, |
| |
investigate the meaning of age. |
| |
Everything is fuel for inquiry. |
| |
This is how you cultivate the mind. |
| |
The contemplation that leads to the Dhamma is the contemplation of conditionality, |
| |
the process of cause and effect, in all its various manifestations: major and minor, |
| |
black and white, good and bad. |
| |
In short, everything. |
| |
When you think, recognize it as a thought and contemplate that itâs merely that, |
| |
nothing more. |
| |
All these things wind up in the graveyard of impermanence, |
| |
unsatisfactoriness and not-self, so donât possessively cling to any of them. |
| |
This is the cremation ground of all phenomena. |
| |
Bury and cremate them in order to experience the Truth. |
| |
Having insight into impermanence means not allowing ourselves to suffer. |
| |
Itâs a matter of investigating with wisdom. |
| |
For example, we obtain something we consider good or pleasurable, |
| |
and so weâre happy. |
| |
Take a close and sustained look at this goodness and pleasure. |
| |
Sometimes after having it for a long time we get fed up with it. |
| |
We want to give it away or sell it. |
| |
If thereâs nobody who wants to buy it, |
| |
weâre ready to throw it away. |
| |
Why? |
| |
What are the reasons underlying this dynamic? |
| |
Everything is impermanent, inconstant, |
| |
and changing, thatâs why. |
| |
If we canât sell it or even throw it away, |
| |
we start to suffer. |
| |
This entire issue is just like that, and once one incident is fully understood, |
| |
no matter how many more similar situations arise, |
| |
they are all understood to be just the same. |
| |
Thatâs simply the way things are. |
| |
As the saying goes, âIf youâve seen one, |
| |
youâve seen them all.â |
| |
Occasionally we see things we donât like. |
| |
At times we hear annoying or unpleasant noises and get irritated. |
| |
Examine this and remember it, because some time in the future we might like those noises. |
| |
We might actually delight in those very same things we once detested. |
| |
Itâs possible! |
| |
Then it occurs to us with clarity and insight, |
| |
âAha! |
| |
All things are impermanent, unable to fully satisfy, |
| |
and not-self.â |
| |
Throw them into the mass grave of these universal characteristics. |
| |
The clinging to the likeable things we get, |
| |
have, and are, will then cease. |
| |
We come to see everything as essentially the same. |
| |
Everything we then experience generates insight into the Dhamma. |
| |
Everything Iâve said so far is simply for you to listen to and think about. |
| |
Itâs just talk, thatâs all. |
| |
When people come to see me, I speak. |
| |
These sorts of subjects arenât the things we should sit around and gab about for hours. |
| |
Just do it. |
| |
Get in there and do it. |
| |
Itâs like when we call a friend to go somewhere. |
| |
We invite them. |
| |
We get an answer. |
| |
Then weâre off, without a big fuss. |
| |
We say just the right amount and leave it at that. |
| |
I can tell you a thing or two about meditation, |
| |
because Iâve done the work. |
| |
But you know, maybe Iâm wrong. |
| |
Your job is to investigate and find out for yourself if what I say is true. |
| |
1: KesÄ, LomÄ, NakhÄ, DantÄ, Taco; contemplation of these five |
| |
bodily parts constitutes the first meditation technique taught to a newly ordained monk or nun by their preceptor. |
| |
* * * |
| |
In our lives we have two possibilities: indulging in the world or going beyond the world. |
| |
The Buddha was someone who was able to free himself from the world and thus realized spiritual liberation. |
| |
In the same way, there are two types of knowledge: knowledge of the worldly realm and knowledge of the spiritual, |
| |
or true wisdom. |
| |
If we have not yet practised and trained ourselves, |
| |
no matter how much knowledge we have, |
| |
it is still worldly, and thus can not liberate us. |
| |
Think and really look closely! |
| |
The Buddha said that things of the world spin the world around. |
| |
Following the world, the mind is entangled in the world, |
| |
it defiles itself whether coming or going, |
| |
never remaining content. |
| |
Worldly people are those who are always looking for something, |
| |
never finding enough. |
| |
Worldly knowledge is really ignorance; it isnât knowledge with clear understanding, |
| |
therefore there is never an end to it. |
| |
It revolves around the worldly goals of accumulating things, |
| |
gaining status, seeking praise and pleasure; itâs a mass of delusion which has us stuck fast. |
| |
Once we get something, there is jealousy, |
| |
worry and selfishness. |
| |
And when we feel threatened and canât ward it off physically, |
| |
we use our minds to invent all sorts of devices, |
| |
right up to weapons and even nuclear bombs, |
| |
only to blow each other up. |
| |
Why all this trouble and difficulty? |
| |
This is the way of the world. |
| |
The Buddha said that if one follows it around there is no reaching an end. |
| |
Come to practise for liberation! |
| |
It isnât easy to live in accordance with true wisdom, |
| |
but whoever earnestly seeks the path and fruit and aspires to NibbÄna will be able to persevere and endure. |
| |
Endure being contented and satisfied with little; eating little, |
| |
sleeping little, speaking little and living in moderation. |
| |
By doing this we can put an end to worldliness. |
| |
If the seed of worldliness has not yet been uprooted, |
| |
then we are continually troubled and confused in a never-ending cycle. |
| |
Even when you come to ordain, it continues to pull you away. |
| |
It creates your views, your opinions. |
| |
It colours and embellishes all your thoughts - thatâs the way it is. |
| |
People donât realize! |
| |
They say that they will get things done in the world. |
| |
Itâs always their hope to complete everything. |
| |
Just like a new government minister who is eager to get started with his new administration. |
| |
He thinks that he has all the answers, |
| |
so he carts away everything of the old administration saying, |
| |
âLook out! |
| |
Iâll do it all myself.â |
| |
Thatâs all they do, cart things in and cart things out, |
| |
never getting anything done. |
| |
They try, but never reach any real completion. |
| |
You can never do something which will please everyone - one person likes a little, |
| |
another likes a lot; one likes short and one likes long; some like salty and some like spicy. |
| |
To get everyone together and in agreement just can not be done. |
| |
All of us want to accomplish something in our lives, |
| |
but the world, with all of its complexities, |
| |
makes it almost impossible to bring about any real completion. |
| |
Even the Buddha, born with all the opportunities of a noble prince, |
| |
found no completion in the worldly life. |
| |
The Trap of the Senses |
| |
The Buddha talked about desire and the six things by which desire is gratified: sights, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes, touch and mind-objects. |
| |
Desire and lust for happiness, for suffering, |
| |
for good, for evil and so on, pervade everything! |
| |
Sights ... |
| |
There isnât any sight thatâs quite the same as that of a woman. |
| |
Isnât that so? |
| |
Doesnât a really attractive woman make you want to look? |
| |
One with a really attractive figure comes walking along, |
| |
âsak, sek, sak, sek, sak, sekâ, you canât help but stare! |
| |
How about sounds? |
| |
Thereâs no sound that grips you more than that of a woman. |
| |
It pierces your heart! |
| |
Smell is the same; a womanâs fragrance is the most alluring of all. |
| |
Thereâs no other smell thatâs quite the same. |
| |
Taste - even the taste of the most delicious food can not compare with that of a woman. |
| |
Touch is similar; when you caress a woman you are stunned, |
| |
intoxicated and sent spinning all around. |
| |
There was once a famous master of magical spells from Taxila in ancient India. |
| |
He taught his disciple all his knowledge of charms and incantations. |
| |
When the disciple was well-versed and ready to fare on his own, |
| |
he left with this final instruction from his teacher: âI have taught you all that I know of spells, |
| |
incantations and protective verses. |
| |
Creatures with sharp teeth, antlers or horns, |
| |
and even big tusks, you have no need to fear. |
| |
You will be guarded from all of these, |
| |
I can guarantee that. |
| |
However, there is only one thing that I can not ensure protection against, |
| |
and that is the charms of a woman.1 I can not help you here. |
| |
Thereâs no spell for protection against this one, |
| |
youâll have to look after yourself.â |
| |
Mental objects arise in the mind. |
| |
They are born out of desire: desire for valuable possessions, |
| |
desire to be rich, and just restless seeking after things in general. |
| |
This type of greed isnât all that deep or strong, |
| |
it isnât enough to make you faint or lose control. |
| |
However, when sexual desire arises, youâre thrown off balance and lose your control. |
| |
You would even forget those who raised and brought you up - your own parents! |
| |
The Buddha taught that the objects of our senses are a trap - a trap of MÄra. |
| |
MÄra should be understood as something which harms us. |
| |
The trap is something which binds us, |
| |
the same as a snare. |
| |
Itâs a trap of MÄraâs, a hunterâs snare, |
| |
and the hunter is MÄra. |
| |
If animals are caught in the hunterâs trap, |
| |
itâs a sorrowful predicament. |
| |
They are caught fast and held waiting for the owner of the trap. |
| |
Have you ever snared birds? |
| |
The snare springs and âboopâ - caught by the neck! |
| |
A good strong string now holds it fast. |
| |
Wherever the bird flies, it can not escape. |
| |
It flies here and flies there, but itâs held tight waiting for the owner of the snare. |
| |
When the hunter comes along, thatâs it - the bird is struck with fear, |
| |
thereâs no escape! |
| |
The trap of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, |
| |
touch and mind-objects is the same. |
| |
They catch us and bind us fast. |
| |
If you attach to the senses, youâre the same as a fish caught on a hook. |
| |
When the fisherman comes, struggle all you want, |
| |
but you canât get loose. |
| |
Actually, youâre not caught like a fish, |
| |
itâs more like a frog - a frog gulps down the whole hook right to its guts, |
| |
a fish just gets caught in its mouth. |
| |
Anyone attached to the senses is the same. |
| |
Like a drunk whose liver is not yet destroyed, |
| |
he doesnât know when he has had enough. |
| |
He continues to indulge and drink carelessly. |
| |
Heâs caught and later suffers illness and pain. |
| |
A man comes walking along a road. |
| |
He is very thirsty from his journey and is craving a drink of water. |
| |
The owner of the water says, âYou can drink this water if you like; the colour is good, |
| |
the smell is good, the taste is good, |
| |
but if you drink it you will become ill. |
| |
I must tell you this beforehand, itâll make you sick enough to die or nearly die.â |
| |
The thirsty man does not listen. |
| |
Heâs as thirsty as a person after an operation who has been denied water for seven days - heâs crying for water! |
| |
Itâs the same with a person thirsting after the senses. |
| |
The Buddha taught that they are poisonous - sights, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes, touch and mind-objects are poison; they are a dangerous trap. |
| |
But this man is thirsty and doesnât listen; because of his thirst he is in tears, |
| |
crying, âGive me water, no matter how painful the consequences, |
| |
let me drink!â |
| |
So he dips out a bit and swallows it down finding it very tasty. |
| |
He drinks his fill and gets so sick that he almost dies. |
| |
He didnât listen because of his overpowering desire. |
| |
This is how it is for a person caught in the pleasures of the senses. |
| |
He drinks in sights, sounds, smells, tastes, |
| |
touch and mind-objects - they are all very delicious! |
| |
So he drinks without stopping and there he remains, |
| |
stuck fast until the day he dies. |
| |
The Worldly Way and Liberation |
| |
Some people die, some people almost die - thatâs how it is to be stuck in the way of the world. |
| |
Worldly wisdom seeks after the senses and their objects. |
| |
However wise it is, itâs only wise in a worldly sense. |
| |
No matter how appealing it is, itâs only appealing in a worldly sense. |
| |
However much happiness it is, itâs only happiness in a worldly sense. |
| |
It isnât the happiness of liberation; it wonât free you from the world. |
| |
We have come to practise as monks in order to penetrate true wisdom, |
| |
to rid ourselves of attachment. |
| |
Practise to be free of attachment! |
| |
Investigate the body, investigate everything around you until |
| |
you become weary and fed up with it all and then dispassion will set in. |
| |
Dispassion will not arise easily however, |
| |
because you still donât see clearly. |
| |
We come and ordain; we study, we read, |
| |
we practise, we meditate. |
| |
We determine to make our minds resolute but itâs hard to do. |
| |
We resolve to do a certain practice, we say that weâll practise in this way - only a day or two goes by, |
| |
maybe just a few hours pass and we forget all about it. |
| |
Then we remember and try to make our minds firm again, |
| |
thinking, âThis time Iâll do it right!â |
| |
Shortly after that we are pulled away by one of our senses and it all falls apart again, |
| |
so we have to start all over again! |
| |
This is how it is. |
| |
Like a poorly built dam, our practice is weak. |
| |
We are still unable to see and follow true practice. |
| |
And it goes on like this until we arrive at true wisdom. |
| |
Once we penetrate to the truth, we are freed from everything. |
| |
Only peace remains. |
| |
Our minds arenât peaceful because of our old habits. |
| |
We inherit these because of our past actions and thus they follow us around and constantly plague us. |
| |
We struggle and search for a way out, |
| |
but weâre bound by them and they pull us back. |
| |
These habits donât forget their old grounds. |
| |
They grab onto all the old familiar things to use, |
| |
to admire and to consume - thatâs how we live. |
| |
The sexes of men and women - women cause problems for men, |
| |
men cause problems for women. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is, they are opposites. |
| |
If men live together with men, then thereâs no trouble. |
| |
If women live together with women, then thereâs no trouble. |
| |
When a man sees a woman his heart pounds like a rice pounder, |
| |
âdeung, dung, deung, dung, deung, dung.â |
| |
What is this? |
| |
What are those forces? |
| |
It pulls and sucks you in - no one realizes that thereâs a price to pay! |
| |
Itâs the same in everything. |
| |
No matter how hard you try to free yourself, |
| |
until you see the value of freedom and the pain in bondage, |
| |
you wonât be able to let go. |
| |
People usually just practise enduring hardships, |
| |
keeping the discipline, following the form blindly but not in order to attain freedom or liberation. |
| |
You must see the value in letting go of your desires before you |
| |
can really practise; only then is true practise possible. |
| |
Everything that you do must be done with clarity and awareness. |
| |
When you see clearly, there will no longer be any need for enduring or forcing yourself. |
| |
You have difficulties and are burdened because you miss this point! |
| |
Peace comes from doing things completely with your whole body and mind. |
| |
Whatever is left undone leaves you with a feeling of discontent. |
| |
These things bind you with worry wherever you go. |
| |
You want to complete everything, but itâs impossible to get it all done. |
| |
Take the case of the merchants who regularly come here to see me. |
| |
They say, âOh, when my debts are all paid and properly in order, |
| |
Iâll come to ordain.â |
| |
They talk like that but will they ever finish and get it all in order? |
| |
Thereâs no end to it. |
| |
They pay off their debts with another loan, |
| |
they pay off that one and do it all again. |
| |
A merchant thinks that if he frees himself from debt he will be happy, |
| |
but thereâs no end to paying things off. |
| |
Thatâs the way worldliness fools us - we go around and around like this never realizing our predicament. |
| |
Constant Practice |
| |
In our practice we just look directly at the mind. |
| |
Whenever our practice begins to slacken off, |
| |
we see it and make it firm - then shortly after, |
| |
it goes again. |
| |
Thatâs the way it pulls you around. |
| |
But the person with good mindfulness takes a firm hold and constantly re-establishes himself, |
| |
pulling himself back, training, practising and developing himself in this way. |
| |
The person with poor mindfulness just lets it all fall apart, |
| |
he strays off and gets side-tracked again and again. |
| |
Heâs not strong and firmly rooted in practice. |
| |
Thus heâs continuously pulled away by his worldly desires - something pulls him here, |
| |
something pulls him there. |
| |
He lives following his whims and desires, |
| |
never putting an end to this worldly cycle. |
| |
Coming to ordain is not so easy. |
| |
You must determine to make your mind firm. |
| |
You should be confident in the practice, |
| |
confident enough to continue practising until you become fed |
| |
up with both your likes and dislikes and see in accordance with truth. |
| |
Usually, you are dissatisfied with only what you dislike, |
| |
if you like something then you arenât ready to give it up. |
| |
You have to become fed up with both what you like and what you dislike, |
| |
your suffering and your happiness. |
| |
You donât see that this is the very essence of the Dhamma! |
| |
The Dhamma of the Buddha is profound and refined. |
| |
It isnât easy to comprehend. |
| |
If true wisdom has not yet arisen, then you canât see it. |
| |
You donât look forward and you donât look back. |
| |
When you experience happiness, you think that there will only be happiness. |
| |
Whenever there is suffering, you think that there will only be suffering. |
| |
You donât see that wherever there is big, |
| |
there is small; wherever there is small, |
| |
there is big. |
| |
You donât see it that way. |
| |
You see only one side and thus itâs never-ending. |
| |
There are two sides to everything; you must see both sides. |
| |
Then, when happiness arises, you donât get lost; when suffering arises, |
| |
you donât get lost. |
| |
When happiness arises, you donât forget the suffering, |
| |
because you see that they are interdependent. |
| |
In a similar way, food is beneficial to all beings for the maintenance of the body. |
| |
But actually, food can also be harmful, |
| |
for example, when it causes various stomach upsets. |
| |
When you see the advantages of something, |
| |
you must perceive the disadvantages also, |
| |
and vice versa. |
| |
When you feel hatred and aversion, you should contemplate love and understanding. |
| |
In this way, you become more balanced and your mind becomes more settled. |
| |
The Empty Flag |
| |
I once read a book about Zen. |
| |
In Zen, you know, they donât teach with a lot of explanation. |
| |
For instance, if a monk is falling asleep during meditation, |
| |
they come with a stick and âwhack!â |
| |
they give him a hit on the back. |
| |
When the erring disciple is hit, he shows his gratitude by thanking the attendant. |
| |
In Zen practice one is taught to be thankful for all the feelings which give one the opportunity to develop. |
| |
One day there was an assembly of monks gathered for a meeting. |
| |
Outside the hall a flag was blowing in the wind. |
| |
There arose a dispute between two monks as to how the flag was actually blowing in the wind. |
| |
One of the monks claimed that it was because of the wind, |
| |
while the other argued that it was because of the flag. |
| |
Thus they quarrelled because of their narrow views and couldnât come to any kind of agreement. |
| |
They would have argued like this until the day they died. |
| |
However, their teacher intervened and said, |
| |
âNeither of you is right. |
| |
The correct understanding is that there is no flag and there is no wind.â |
| |
This is the practice, not to have anything, |
| |
not to have the flag and not to have the wind. |
| |
If there is a flag, then there is a wind; if there is a wind, |
| |
then there is a flag. |
| |
You should contemplate and reflect on this thoroughly until you see in accordance with truth. |
| |
If considered well, then there will remain nothing. |
| |
Itâs empty - void; empty of the flag and empty of the wind. |
| |
In the great void there is no flag and there is no wind. |
| |
There is no birth, no old age, no sickness or death. |
| |
Our conventional understanding of flag and wind is only a concept. |
| |
In reality there is nothing. |
| |
Thatâs all! |
| |
There is nothing more than empty labels. |
| |
If we practise in this way, we will come to see completeness and all of our problems will come to an end. |
| |
In the great void the King of Death will never find you. |
| |
There is nothing for old age, sickness and death to follow. |
| |
When we see and understand in accordance with truth, |
| |
that is, with right understanding, then there is only this great emptiness. |
| |
Itâs here that there is no more âweâ, |
| |
no âtheyâ, no âselfâ at all. |
| |
The Forest of the Senses |
| |
The world with its never-ending ways goes on and on. |
| |
If we try to understand it all, it leads us only to chaos and confusion. |
| |
However, if we contemplate the world clearly, |
| |
then true wisdom will arise. |
| |
The Buddha himself was one who was well-versed in the ways of the world. |
| |
He had great ability to influence and lead because of his abundance of worldly knowledge. |
| |
Through the transformation of his worldly mundane wisdom, |
| |
he penetrated and attained to supramundane wisdom, |
| |
making him a truly superior being. |
| |
So, if we work with this teaching, turning it inwards for contemplation, |
| |
we will attain to an understanding on an entirely new level. |
| |
When we see an object, there is no object. |
| |
When we hear a sound, there is no sound. |
| |
In smelling, we can say that there is no smell. |
| |
All of the senses are manifest, but they are void of anything stable. |
| |
They are just sensations that arise and then pass away. |
| |
If we understand according to this reality, |
| |
then the senses cease to be substantial. |
| |
They are just sensations which come and go. |
| |
In truth there isnât any âthing.â |
| |
If there isnât any âthingâ, then there is no âweâ and no âtheyâ. |
| |
If there is no âweâ as a person, then there is nothing belonging to âusâ. |
| |
Itâs in this way that suffering is extinguished. |
| |
There isnât anybody to acquire suffering, |
| |
so who is it who suffers? |
| |
When suffering arises, we attach to the suffering and thereby must really suffer. |
| |
In the same way, when happiness arises, |
| |
we attach to the happiness and consequently experience pleasure. |
| |
Attachment to these feelings gives rise to the concept of âselfâ or âegoâ, |
| |
and thoughts of âweâ and âtheyâ continually manifest. |
| |
Nah!! |
| |
Here is where it all begins and then carries us around in its never-ending cycle. |
| |
So, we come to practise meditation and live according to the Dhamma. |
| |
We leave our homes to come and live in the forest and absorb the peace of mind it gives us. |
| |
We have fled in order to contend with ourselves and not through fear or escapism. |
| |
But people who come and live in the forest become attached to |
| |
living in it; just as people who live in the city become attached to the city. |
| |
They lose their way in the forest and they lose their way in the city. |
| |
The Buddha praised living in the forest because the physical |
| |
and mental solitude that it gives us is conducive to the practice for liberation. |
| |
However, He didnât want us to become dependent upon living in the forest or get stuck in its peace and tranquillity. |
| |
We come to practise in order for wisdom to arise. |
| |
Here in the forest we can sow and cultivate the seeds of wisdom. |
| |
Living amongst chaos and turmoil these seeds have difficulty in growing, |
| |
but once we have learned to live in the forest, |
| |
we can return and contend with the city and all the stimulation of the senses that it brings us. |
| |
Learning to live in the forest means to allow wisdom to grow and develop. |
| |
We can then apply this wisdom no matter where we go. |
| |
When our senses are stimulated, we become agitated and the senses become our antagonists. |
| |
They antagonize us because we are still foolish and donât have the wisdom to deal with them. |
| |
In reality they are our teachers, but, |
| |
because of our ignorance, we donât see it that way. |
| |
When we lived in the city we never thought that our senses could teach us anything. |
| |
As long as true wisdom has not yet manifested, |
| |
we continue to see the senses and their objects as enemies. |
| |
Once true wisdom arises, they are no longer our enemies but become the doorway to insight and clear understanding. |
| |
A good example are the wild chickens here in the forest. |
| |
We all know how much they are afraid of humans. |
| |
However, since I have lived here in the forest I have been able to teach them and learn from them as well. |
| |
At one time I began throwing out rice for them to eat. |
| |
At first they were very frightened and wouldnât go near the rice. |
| |
However, after a long time they got used to it and even began to expect it. |
| |
You see, there is something to be learned here - they originally thought that there was danger in the rice, |
| |
that the rice was an enemy. |
| |
In truth there was no danger in the rice, |
| |
but they didnât know that the rice was food and so were afraid. |
| |
When they finally saw for themselves that there was nothing to fear, |
| |
they could come and eat without any danger. |
| |
The chickens learn naturally in this way. |
| |
Living here in the forest we learn in a similar way. |
| |
Formerly we thought that our senses were a problem, |
| |
and because of our ignorance in the proper use of them, |
| |
they caused us a lot trouble. |
| |
However, by experience in practice we learn to see them in accordance with truth. |
| |
We learn to make use of them just as the chickens could use the rice. |
| |
Then we no longer see them as opposed to us and our problems disappear. |
| |
As long as we think, investigate and understand wrongly, |
| |
these things will appear to oppose us. |
| |
But as soon as we begin to investigate properly, |
| |
that which we experience will bring us to wisdom and clear understanding, |
| |
just as the chickens came to their understanding. |
| |
In this way, we can say that they practised âvipassanÄâ. |
| |
They know in accordance with truth, itâs their insight. |
| |
In our practice, we have our senses as tools which, |
| |
when rightly used, enable us to become enlightened to the Dhamma. |
| |
This is something which all meditators should contemplate. |
| |
When we donât see this clearly, we remain in perpetual conflict. |
| |
So, as we live in the quietude of the forest, |
| |
we continue to develop subtle feelings and prepare the ground for cultivating wisdom. |
| |
Donât think that when you have gained some peace of mind living here in the quiet forest that thatâs enough. |
| |
Donât settle for just that! |
| |
Remember that we have to cultivate and grow the seeds of wisdom. |
| |
As wisdom matures and we begin to understand in accordance with the truth, |
| |
we will no longer be dragged up and down. |
| |
Usually, if we have a pleasant mood, we behave one way; and if we have an unpleasant mood, |
| |
we are another way. |
| |
We like something and we are up; we dislike something and we are down. |
| |
In this way we are still in conflict with enemies. |
| |
When these things no longer oppose us, |
| |
they become stabilized and balance out. |
| |
There are no longer ups and downs or highs and lows. |
| |
We understand these things of the world and know that thatâs just the way it is. |
| |
Itâs just âworldly dhammaâ. |
| |
âWorldly dhammaâ2 changes to become the âpathâ. |
| |
âWorldly dhammaâ have eight ways; the âpathâ has eight ways. |
| |
Wherever âworldly dhammaâ exist, the âpathâ is to be found also. |
| |
When we live with clarity, all of our worldly experience becomes the practising of the âeightfold pathâ. |
| |
Without clarity, âworldly dhammaâ predominates and we are turned away from the âpathâ. |
| |
When right understanding arises, liberation from suffering lies right here before us. |
| |
You will not find liberation by running around looking elsewhere! |
| |
So donât be in a hurry and try to push or rush your practice. |
| |
Do your meditation gently and gradually step by step. |
| |
In regard to peacefulness, if you want to become peaceful, |
| |
then accept it; if you donât become peaceful, |
| |
then accept that also. |
| |
Thatâs the nature of the mind. |
| |
We must find our own practice and persistently keep at it. |
| |
Perhaps wisdom does not arise! |
| |
I used to think, about my practice, that when there is no wisdom, |
| |
I could force myself to have it. |
| |
But it didnât work, things remained the same. |
| |
Then, after careful consideration, I saw that to contemplate things that we donât have can not be done. |
| |
So whatâs the best thing to do? |
| |
Itâs better just to practise with equanimity. |
| |
If there is nothing to cause us concern, |
| |
then thereâs nothing to remedy. |
| |
If thereâs no problem, then we donât have to try to solve it. |
| |
When there is a problem, thatâs when you must solve it, |
| |
right there! |
| |
Thereâs no need to go searching for anything special, |
| |
just live normally. |
| |
But know what your mind is! |
| |
Live mindfully and clearly comprehending. |
| |
Let wisdom be your guide; donât live indulging in your moods. |
| |
Be heedful and alert! |
| |
If there is nothing, thatâs fine; when something arises, |
| |
then investigate and contemplate it. |
| |
Coming to the Centre |
| |
Try watching a spider. |
| |
A spider spins its web in any convenient niche and then sits in the centre, |
| |
staying still and silent. |
| |
Later, a fly comes along and lands on the web. |
| |
As soon as it touches and shakes the web, |
| |
âboop!â |
| |
- the spider pounces and winds it up in thread. |
| |
It stores the insect away and then returns again to collect itself silently in the centre of the web. |
| |
Watching a spider like this can give rise to wisdom. |
| |
Our six senses have mind at the centre surrounded by eye, |
| |
ear, nose, tongue and body. |
| |
When one of the senses is stimulated, |
| |
for instance, form contacting the eye, |
| |
it shakes and reaches the mind. |
| |
The mind is that which knows, that which knows form. |
| |
Just this much is enough for wisdom to arise. |
| |
Itâs that simple. |
| |
Like a spider in its web, we should live keeping to ourselves. |
| |
As soon as the spider feels an insect contact the web, |
| |
it quickly grabs it, ties it up and once again returns to the centre. |
| |
This is not at all different from our own minds. |
| |
âComing to the centreâ means living mindfully with clear comprehension, |
| |
being always alert and doing everything with exactness and precision - this is our centre. |
| |
Thereâs really not a lot for us to do; we just carefully live in this way. |
| |
But that doesnât mean that we live heedlessly thinking, |
| |
âThere is no need to do sitting or walking meditation!â |
| |
and so forget all about our practice. |
| |
We canât be careless! |
| |
We must remain alert just as the spider waits to snatch up insects for its food. |
| |
This is all that we have to know - sitting and contemplating that spider. |
| |
Just this much and wisdom can arise spontaneously. |
| |
Our mind is comparable to the spider, |
| |
our moods and mental impressions are comparable to the various insects. |
| |
Thatâs all there is to it! |
| |
The senses envelop and constantly stimulate the mind; when any of them contact something, |
| |
it immediately reaches the mind. |
| |
The mind then investigates and examines it thoroughly, |
| |
after which it returns to the centre. |
| |
This is how we abide - alert, acting with precision and always mindfully comprehending with wisdom. |
| |
Just this much and our practice is complete. |
| |
This point is very important! |
| |
It isnât that we have to do sitting practice throughout the day and night, |
| |
or that we have to do walking meditation all day and all night long. |
| |
If this is our view of practice, then we really make it difficult for ourselves. |
| |
We should do what we can according to our strength and energy, |
| |
using our physical capabilities in the proper amount. |
| |
Itâs very important to know the mind and the other senses well. |
| |
Know how they come and how they go, how they arise and how they pass away. |
| |
Understand this thoroughly! |
| |
In the language of Dhamma we can also say that, |
| |
just as the spider traps the various insects, |
| |
the mind binds up the senses with anicca-dukkha-anattÄ (impermanence, |
| |
unsatisfactoriness, not-self). |
| |
Where can they go? |
| |
We keep them for food, these things are stored away as our nourishment.3 Thatâs enough; thereâs no more to do, |
| |
just this much! |
| |
This is the nourishment for our minds, |
| |
nourishment for one who is aware and understanding. |
| |
If you know that these things are impermanent, |
| |
bound up with suffering and that none of it is you, |
| |
then you would be crazy to go after them! |
| |
If you donât see clearly in this way, |
| |
then you must suffer. |
| |
When you take a good look and see these things as really impermanent, |
| |
even though they may seem worth going after, |
| |
really they are not. |
| |
Why do you want them when their nature is pain and suffering? |
| |
Itâs not ours, there is no self, there is nothing belonging to us. |
| |
So why are you seeking after them? |
| |
All problems are ended right here. |
| |
Where else will you end them? |
| |
Just take a good look at the spider and turn it inwards, |
| |
turn it back unto yourself. |
| |
You will see that itâs all the same. |
| |
When the mind has seen anicca-dukkha-anattÄ, |
| |
it lets go and releases itself. |
| |
It no longer attaches to suffering or to happiness. |
| |
This is the nourishment for the mind of one who practises and really trains himself. |
| |
Thatâs all, itâs that simple! |
| |
You donât have to go searching anywhere! |
| |
So no matter what you are doing, you are there, |
| |
no need for a lot of fuss and bother. |
| |
In this way the momentum and energy of your practice will continuously grow and mature. |
| |
Escape |
| |
This momentum of practice leads us towards freedom from the cycle of birth and death. |
| |
We havenât escaped from that cycle because we still insist on craving and desiring. |
| |
We donât commit unwholesome or immoral acts, |
| |
but doing this only means that we are living in accordance with the Dhamma of morality: for instance, |
| |
the chanting when people ask that all beings not be separated from the things that they love and are fond of. |
| |
If you think about it, this is very childish. |
| |
Itâs the way of people who still canât let go. |
| |
This is the nature of human desire - desire for things to be other than the way that they are; wishing for longevity, |
| |
hoping that there is no death or sickness. |
| |
This is how people hope and desire. |
| |
When you tell them that whatever desires they have which are not fulfilled cause suffering, |
| |
it clobbers them right over the head. |
| |
What can they say? |
| |
Nothing, because itâs the truth! |
| |
Youâre pointing right at their desires. |
| |
When we talk about desires we know that everyone has them and wants them fulfilled, |
| |
but nobody is willing to stop, nobody really wants to escape. |
| |
Therefore, our practice must be patiently refined down. |
| |
Those who practise steadfastly, without deviation or slackness, |
| |
and have a gentle and restrained manner, |
| |
always persevering with constancy, those are the ones who will know. |
| |
No matter what arises, they will remain firm and unshakeable. |
| |
1: Lit.: creatures with soft horns on their chest. |
| |
2: Worldly dhamma: the eight worldly conditions are: gain and loss, |
| |
honour and dishonour, happiness and misery, |
| |
praise and blame. |
| |
3: Nourishment for contemplation, to feed wisdom. |
| |
* * * |
| |
In the time of Ajahn Mun1 and Ajahn Sao2 life was a lot simpler, |
| |
a lot less complicated than it is today. |
| |
In those days monks had few duties and ceremonies to perform. |
| |
They lived in the forests without permanent resting places. |
| |
There they could devote themselves entirely to the practice of meditation. |
| |
In those times one rarely encountered the luxuries that are so commonplace today, |
| |
there simply werenât any. |
| |
One had to make drinking cups and spittoons out of bamboo and laypeople seldom came to visit. |
| |
One didnât want or expect much and was content with what one had. |
| |
One could live and breathe meditation! |
| |
The monks suffered many privations living like this. |
| |
If someone caught malaria and went to ask for medicine, |
| |
the teacher would say, âYou donât need medicine! |
| |
Keep practising.â |
| |
Besides, there simply werenât all the drugs that are available now. |
| |
All one had were the herbs and roots that grew in the forest. |
| |
The environment was such that monks had to have a great deal |
| |
of patience and endurance; they didnât bother over minor ailments. |
| |
Nowadays you get a bit of an ache and youâre off to the hospital! |
| |
Sometimes one had to walk ten to twelve kilometres on almsround. |
| |
You would leave as soon as it was light and maybe return around ten or eleven oâclock. |
| |
One didnât get very much either, perhaps some glutinous rice, |
| |
salt or a few chillies. |
| |
Whether you got anything to eat with the rice or not didnât matter. |
| |
Thatâs the way it was. |
| |
No one dared complain of hunger or fatigue; they were just not |
| |
inclined to complain but learned to take care of themselves. |
| |
They practised in the forest with patience and endurance alongside the many dangers that lurked in the surroundings. |
| |
There were many wild and fierce animals living in the jungles |
| |
and there were many hardships for body and mind in the ascetic practice of the dhutanga or forest-dwelling monk. |
| |
Indeed, the patience and endurance of the monks in those days |
| |
was excellent because the circumstances compelled them to be so. |
| |
In the present day, circumstances compel us in the opposite direction. |
| |
In ancient times, one had to travel by foot; then came the ox cart and then the automobile. |
| |
Aspiration and ambition increased, so that now, |
| |
if the car is not air-conditioned, one will not even sit in it; impossible to go if there is no air-conditioning! |
| |
The virtues of patience and endurance are becoming weaker and weaker. |
| |
The standards for meditation and practice are lax and getting laxer, |
| |
until we find that meditators these days like to follow their own opinions and desires. |
| |
When the old folks talk about the old days, |
| |
itâs like listening to a myth or a legend. |
| |
You just listen indifferently, but you donât understand. |
| |
It just doesnât reach you! |
| |
As far as we should be concerned about the ancient monksâ tradition, |
| |
a monk should spend at least five years with his teacher. |
| |
Some days you should avoid speaking to anyone. |
| |
Donât allow yourself to speak or talk very much. |
| |
Donât read books! |
| |
Read your own heart instead. |
| |
Take Wat Pah Pong for example. |
| |
These days many university graduates are coming to ordain. |
| |
I try to stop them from spending their time reading books about Dhamma, |
| |
because these people are always reading books. |
| |
They have so many opportunities for reading books, |
| |
but opportunities for reading their own hearts are rare. |
| |
So, when they come to ordain for three months following the Thai custom, |
| |
we try to get them to close their books and manuals. |
| |
While they are ordained they have this splendid opportunity to read their own hearts. |
| |
Listening to your own heart is really very interesting. |
| |
This untrained heart races around following its own untrained habits. |
| |
It jumps about excitedly, randomly, because it has never been trained. |
| |
Therefore train your heart! |
| |
Buddhist meditation is about the heart; developing the heart or mind, |
| |
developing your own heart. |
| |
This is very, very important. |
| |
This training of the heart is the main emphasis. |
| |
Buddhism is the religion of the heart. |
| |
Only this! |
| |
One who practises to develop the heart is one who practises Buddhism. |
| |
This heart of ours lives in a cage, and whatâs more, |
| |
thereâs a raging tiger in that cage. |
| |
If this maverick heart of ours doesnât get what it wants, |
| |
it makes trouble. |
| |
You must discipline it with meditation, |
| |
with samÄdhi. |
| |
This is called âtraining the heartâ. |
| |
At the very beginning, the foundation of practice is the establishment of moral discipline (sīla). |
| |
SÄ«la is the training of the body and speech. |
| |
From this arises conflict and confusion. |
| |
When you donât let yourself do what you want to do, |
| |
there is conflict. |
| |
Eat little! |
| |
Sleep little! |
| |
Speak little! |
| |
Whatever worldly habits you may have; lessen them, |
| |
go against their power. |
| |
Donât just do as you like, donât indulge in your thought. |
| |
Stop this slavish following. |
| |
You must constantly go against the stream of ignorance. |
| |
This is called âdisciplineâ. |
| |
When you discipline your heart, it becomes very dissatisfied and begins to struggle. |
| |
It becomes restricted and oppressed. |
| |
When the heart is prevented from doing what it wants to do, |
| |
it starts wandering and struggling. |
| |
Suffering (dukkha) becomes apparent to us. |
| |
This dukkha, this suffering, is the first of the four noble truths. |
| |
Most people want to get away from it. |
| |
They donât want to have any kind of suffering at all. |
| |
Actually, this suffering is what brings us wisdom; it makes us contemplate dukkha. |
| |
Happiness (sukha) tends to make us close our eyes and ears. |
| |
It never allows us to develop patience. |
| |
Comfort and happiness make us careless. |
| |
Of these two defilements, dukkha is the easiest to see. |
| |
Therefore we must bring up suffering in order to put an end to our suffering. |
| |
We must first know what dukkha is before we can know how to practise meditation. |
| |
In the beginning you have to train your heart like this. |
| |
You may not understand what is happening or what the point of it is, |
| |
but when the teacher tells you to do something you must do it. |
| |
You will develop the virtues of patience and endurance. |
| |
Whatever happens, you endure, because that is the way it is. |
| |
For example, when you begin to practise samÄdhi you want peace and tranquillity. |
| |
But you donât get any. |
| |
You donât get any because you have never practised this way. |
| |
Your heart says, âIâll sit until I attain tranquillity,â but when tranquillity doesnât arise, |
| |
you suffer. |
| |
And when there is suffering, you get up and run away! |
| |
To practise like this can not be called âdeveloping the heartâ. |
| |
Itâs called âdesertionâ. |
| |
Instead of indulging in your moods, train yourself with the Dhamma of the Buddha. |
| |
Lazy or diligent, just keep on practising. |
| |
Donât you think that this is a better way? |
| |
The other way, the way of following your moods, |
| |
will never reach the Dhamma. |
| |
If you practise the Dhamma, then whatever the mood may be, |
| |
you keep on practising, constantly practising. |
| |
The other way of self-indulgence is not the way of the Buddha. |
| |
When we follow our own views on practice, |
| |
our own opinions about the Dhamma, we can never see clearly what is right and what is wrong. |
| |
We donât know our own heart. |
| |
We donât know ourselves. |
| |
Therefore, to practise following your own teachings is the slowest way. |
| |
To practise following the Dhamma is the direct way. |
| |
When you are lazy you practise; when you are diligent you practise. |
| |
You are aware of time and place. |
| |
This is called âdeveloping the heartâ. |
| |
If you indulge in following your own views and try to practise accordingly, |
| |
you will start thinking and doubting a lot. |
| |
You think to yourself, âI donât have very much merit. |
| |
I donât have any luck. |
| |
Iâve been practising meditation for years now and Iâm still unenlightened. |
| |
I still havenât seen the Dhamma.â |
| |
To practise with this kind of attitude can not be called âdeveloping the heartâ. |
| |
Itâs called âdeveloping disasterâ. |
| |
If, at this time, you are like this, if you are a meditator who still doesnât know, |
| |
who doesnât see, if you havenât renewed yourself yet, |
| |
itâs because youâve been practising wrongly. |
| |
You havenât been following the teachings of the Buddha. |
| |
The Buddha taught like this: âÄnanda, |
| |
practise a lot! |
| |
Develop your practice constantly! |
| |
Then all your doubts, all your uncertainties, |
| |
will vanish.â |
| |
These doubts will never vanish through thinking, |
| |
nor through theorizing, nor through speculation, |
| |
nor through discussion. |
| |
Nor will doubts disappear by not doing anything. |
| |
All defilements will vanish through developing the heart, |
| |
through right practice only. |
| |
The way of developing the heart as taught by the Buddha is the exact opposite of the way of the world, |
| |
because his teachings come from a pure heart. |
| |
A pure heart, unattached to defilements, |
| |
is the Way of the Buddha and his disciples. |
| |
If you practise the Dhamma, you must bow your heart to the Dhamma. |
| |
You must not make the Dhamma bow to you. |
| |
When you practise this way suffering arises. |
| |
There isnât a single person who can escape this suffering. |
| |
So when you commence your practice suffering is right there. |
| |
The duties of meditators are to develop mindfulness, |
| |
collectedness and contentment. |
| |
These things stop us. |
| |
They stop the habits of the hearts of those who have never trained. |
| |
And why should we bother to do this? |
| |
If you donât bother to train your heart, |
| |
then it remains wild, following the ways of nature. |
| |
Itâs possible to train that nature so that it can be used to advantage. |
| |
This is comparable to the example of trees. |
| |
If we just left trees in their natural state we would never be able to build a house with them. |
| |
We couldnât make planks or anything of use in building a house. |
| |
However, if a carpenter came along wanting to build a house, |
| |
he would go looking for trees such as these. |
| |
He would take this raw material and use it to advantage. |
| |
In a short time he could have a house built. |
| |
Meditation and developing the heart are similar to this. |
| |
You must take this untrained heart, the same as you would take a tree in its natural state in the forest, |
| |
and train this natural heart so that it is more refined, |
| |
so that itâs more aware of itself and is more sensitive. |
| |
Everything is in its natural state. |
| |
When we understand nature, then we can change it, |
| |
we can detach from it, we can let go of it. |
| |
Then we wonât suffer anymore. |
| |
The nature of our heart is such that whenever it clings and grasps there is agitation and confusion. |
| |
First it might wander over there, then it might wander over here. |
| |
When we come to observe this agitation, |
| |
we might think that itâs impossible to train the heart and so we suffer accordingly. |
| |
We donât understand that this is the way the heart is. |
| |
There will be thoughts and feelings moving about like this even though we are practising, |
| |
trying to attain peace. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is. |
| |
When we have contemplated many times the nature of the heart, |
| |
we will come to understand that this heart is just as it is and canât be otherwise. |
| |
We will know that the heartâs ways are just as they are. |
| |
Thatâs its nature. |
| |
If we see this clearly, then we can detach from thoughts and feelings. |
| |
And we donât have to add on anything more by constantly having to tell ourselves that âthatâs just the way it is.â |
| |
When the heart truly understands, it lets go of everything. |
| |
Thinking and feeling will still be there, |
| |
but that very thinking and feeling will be deprived of power. |
| |
This is similar to a child who likes to play and frolic in ways that annoy us, |
| |
to the extent that we scold or spank him. |
| |
We should understand that itâs natural for a child to act that way. |
| |
Then we could let go and leave him to play in his own way. |
| |
So our troubles are over. |
| |
How are they over? |
| |
Because we accept the ways of children. |
| |
Our outlook changes and we accept the true nature of things. |
| |
We let go and our heart becomes more peaceful. |
| |
We have âright understandingâ. |
| |
If we have wrong understanding, then even living in a deep, |
| |
dark cave would be chaos, or living high up in the air would be chaos. |
| |
The heart can only be at peace when there is âright understandingâ. |
| |
Then there are no more riddles to solve and no more problems to arise. |
| |
This is the way it is. |
| |
You detach. |
| |
You let go. |
| |
Whenever there is any feeling of clinging, |
| |
we detach from it, because we know that that very feeling is just as it is. |
| |
It didnât come along especially to annoy us. |
| |
We might think that it did, but in truth it is just that way. |
| |
If we start to think and consider it further, |
| |
that too, is just as it is. |
| |
If we let go, then form is merely form, |
| |
sound is merely sound, odour is merely odour, |
| |
taste is merely taste, touch is merely touch and the heart is merely the heart. |
| |
Itâs similar to oil and water. |
| |
If you put the two together in a bottle, |
| |
they wonât mix because of the difference in their nature. |
| |
Oil and water are different in the same way that a wise man and an ignorant man are different. |
| |
The Buddha lived with form, sound, odour, |
| |
taste, touch and thought. |
| |
He was an arahant, so he turned away from, |
| |
rather than toward these things. |
| |
He turned away and detached little by little since he understood |
| |
that the heart is just the heart and thought is just thought. |
| |
He didnât confuse and mix them together. |
| |
The heart is just the heart; thoughts and feelings are just thoughts and feelings. |
| |
Let things be just as they are! |
| |
Let form be just form, let sound be just sound, |
| |
let thought be just thought. |
| |
Why should we bother to attach to them? |
| |
If we think and feel in this way, then there is detachment and separateness. |
| |
Our thoughts and feelings will be on one side and our heart will be on the other. |
| |
Just like oil and water - they are in the same bottle but they are separate. |
| |
The Buddha and his enlightened disciples lived with ordinary, |
| |
unenlightened people. |
| |
They not only lived with these people, |
| |
but they taught these ordinary, unenlightened, |
| |
ignorant ones how to be noble, enlightened, |
| |
wise ones. |
| |
They could do this because they knew how to practise. |
| |
They knew that itâs a matter of the heart, |
| |
just as I have explained. |
| |
So, as far as your practice of meditation goes, |
| |
donât bother to doubt it. |
| |
If we run away from home to ordain, itâs not running away to get lost in delusion. |
| |
Nor out of cowardice or fear. |
| |
Itâs running away in order to train ourselves, |
| |
in order to master ourselves. |
| |
If we have understanding like this, then we can follow the Dhamma. |
| |
The Dhamma will become clearer and clearer. |
| |
The one who understands the Dhamma, understands himself; and the one who understands himself, |
| |
understands the Dhamma. |
| |
Nowadays, only the sterile remains of the Dhamma have become the accepted order. |
| |
In reality, the Dhamma is everywhere. |
| |
There is no need to escape to somewhere else. |
| |
Instead escape through wisdom. |
| |
Escape through intelligence. |
| |
Escape through skill, donât escape through ignorance. |
| |
If you want peace, then let it be the peace of wisdom. |
| |
Thatâs enough! |
| |
Whenever we see the Dhamma, there is the right way, |
| |
the right path. |
| |
Defilements are just defilements, the heart is just the heart. |
| |
Whenever we detach and separate so that there are just these things as they really are, |
| |
then they are merely objects to us. |
| |
When we are on the right path, then we are impeccable. |
| |
When we are impeccable, there is openness and freedom all the time. |
| |
The Buddha said, âListen, monks. |
| |
You must not cling to any dhammas.â3 What are these dhammas? |
| |
They are everything; there isnât anything which is not dhamma. |
| |
Love and hate are dhammas, happiness and suffering are dhammas, |
| |
like and dislike are dhammas; all of these things, |
| |
no matter how insignificant, are dhammas. |
| |
When we practise the Dhamma, when we understand, |
| |
then we can let go. |
| |
And thus we can comply with the Buddhaâs teaching of not clinging to any dhammas. |
| |
All conditions that are born in our heart, |
| |
all conditions of our mind, all conditions of our body, |
| |
are always in a state of change. |
| |
The Buddha taught not to cling to any of them. |
| |
He taught his disciples to practise in order to detach from all |
| |
conditions and not to practise in order to attain to anything. |
| |
If we follow the teachings of the Buddha, |
| |
then we are right. |
| |
We are right but it is also troublesome. |
| |
Itâs not that the teachings are troublesome, |
| |
but our defilements. |
| |
The defilements wrongly comprehended obstruct us and cause us trouble. |
| |
There isnât really anything troublesome with following the Buddhaâs teaching. |
| |
In fact we can say that clinging to the path of the Buddha doesnât bring suffering, |
| |
because the path is simply âlet goâ of every single dhamma! |
| |
For the ultimate in the practice of Buddhist meditation, |
| |
the Buddha taught the practice of âletting goâ. |
| |
Donât carry anything around! |
| |
Detach! |
| |
If you see goodness, let it go. |
| |
If you see rightness, let it go. |
| |
These words, âlet goâ, do not mean that we donât have to practise. |
| |
It means that we have to practise following the method of âletting goâ itself. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to contemplate all dhammas, |
| |
to develop the path through contemplating our own body and heart. |
| |
The Dhamma isnât anywhere else. |
| |
Itâs right here! |
| |
Not someplace far away. |
| |
Itâs right here in this very body and heart of ours. |
| |
Therefore a meditator must practise with energy. |
| |
Make the heart grander and brighter. |
| |
Make it free and independent. |
| |
Having done a good deed, donât carry it around in your heart, |
| |
let it go. |
| |
Having refrained from doing an evil deed, |
| |
let it go. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to live in the immediacy of the present, |
| |
in the here and now. |
| |
Donât lose yourself in the past or the future. |
| |
The teaching that people least understand and which conflicts the most with their own opinions, |
| |
is this teaching of âletting goâ or âworking with an empty mindâ. |
| |
This way of talking is called âDhamma languageâ. |
| |
When we conceive this in worldly terms, |
| |
we become confused and think that we can do anything we want. |
| |
It can be interpreted this way, but its real meaning is closer to this: itâs as if we are carrying a heavy rock. |
| |
After a while we begin to feel its weight but we donât know how to let it go. |
| |
So we endure this heavy burden all the time. |
| |
If someone tells us to throw it away, |
| |
we say, âIf I throw it away, I wonât have anything left!â |
| |
If told of all the benefits to be gained from throwing it away, |
| |
we wouldnât believe them but would keep thinking, |
| |
âIf I throw it away, I will have nothing!â |
| |
So we keep on carrying this heavy rock until we become so weak and exhausted that we can no longer endure, |
| |
then we drop it. |
| |
Having dropped it, we suddenly experience the benefits of letting go. |
| |
We immediately feel better and lighter and we know for ourselves how much of a burden carrying a rock can be. |
| |
Before we let go of the rock, we couldnât possibly know the benefits of letting go. |
| |
So if someone tells us to let go, an unenlightened man wouldnât see the purpose of it. |
| |
He would just blindly clutch at the rock and refuse to let go |
| |
until it became so unbearably heavy that he just had to let go. |
| |
Then he can feel for himself the lightness and relief and thus know for himself the benefits of letting go. |
| |
Later on we may start carrying burdens again, |
| |
but now we know what the results will be, |
| |
so we can now let go more easily. |
| |
This understanding that itâs useless to carry burdens around |
| |
and that letting go brings ease and lightness is an example of knowing ourselves. |
| |
Our pride, our sense of self that we depend on, |
| |
is the same as that heavy rock. |
| |
Like that rock, if we think about letting go of self-conceit, |
| |
we are afraid that without it, there would be nothing left. |
| |
But when we can finally let it go, we realize for ourselves the ease and comfort of not clinging. |
| |
In the training of the heart, you mustnât cling to either praise or blame. |
| |
To just want praise and not to want blame is the way of the world. |
| |
The Way of the Buddha is to accept praise when it is appropriate and to accept blame when it is appropriate. |
| |
For example, in raising a child itâs very good not to just scold all the time. |
| |
Some people scold too much. |
| |
A wise person knows the proper time to scold and the proper time to praise. |
| |
Our heart is the same. |
| |
Use intelligence to know the heart. |
| |
Use skill in taking care of your heart. |
| |
Then you will be one who is clever in the training of the heart. |
| |
And when the heart is skilled, it can rid us of our suffering. |
| |
Suffering exists right here in our hearts. |
| |
Itâs always complicating things, creating and making the heart heavy. |
| |
Itâs born here. |
| |
It also dies here. |
| |
The way of the heart is like this. |
| |
Sometimes there are good thoughts, sometimes there are bad thoughts. |
| |
The heart is deceitful. |
| |
Donât trust it! |
| |
Instead look straight at the conditions of the heart itself. |
| |
Accept them as they are. |
| |
Theyâre just as they are. |
| |
Whether itâs good or evil or whatever, |
| |
thatâs the way it is. |
| |
If you donât grab hold of these conditions, |
| |
they donât become anything more or less than what they already are. |
| |
If we grab hold weâll get bitten and will then suffer. |
| |
With âright viewâ thereâs only peace. |
| |
SamÄdhi is born and wisdom takes over. |
| |
Wherever you may sit or lie down, there is peace. |
| |
There is peace everywhere, no matter where you may go. |
| |
So today you have brought your disciples here to listen to the Dhamma. |
| |
You may understand some of it, some of it you may not. |
| |
In order for you to understand more easily, |
| |
Iâve talked about the practice of meditation. |
| |
Whether you think it is right or not, |
| |
you should take it and contemplate it. |
| |
As a teacher myself, Iâve been in a similar predicament. |
| |
I, too, have longed to listen to Dhamma talks because, |
| |
wherever I went, I was giving talks to others but never had a chance to listen. |
| |
So, at this time, you really appreciate listening to a talk from a teacher. |
| |
Time passes by so quickly when youâre sitting and listening quietly. |
| |
Youâre hungry for Dhamma so you really want to listen. |
| |
At first, giving talks to others is a pleasure, |
| |
but after a while, the pleasure is gone. |
| |
You feel bored and tired. |
| |
Then you want to listen. |
| |
So when you listen to a talk from a teacher, |
| |
you feel much inspiration and you understand easily. |
| |
When you are getting old and thereâs hunger for Dhamma, |
| |
its flavour is especially delicious. |
| |
Being a teacher of others you are an example to them, |
| |
youâre a model for other bhikkhus. |
| |
Youâre an example to your disciples. |
| |
Youâre an example to everybody, so donât forget yourself. |
| |
But donât think about yourself either. |
| |
If such thoughts do arise, get rid of them. |
| |
If you do this then you will be one who knows himself. |
| |
There are a million ways to practise Dhamma. |
| |
Thereâs no end to the things that can be said about meditation. |
| |
There are so many things that can make us doubt. |
| |
Just keep sweeping them out, then thereâs no more doubt! |
| |
When we have right understanding like this, |
| |
no matter where we sit or walk, there is peace and ease. |
| |
Wherever we may meditate, thatâs the place you bring your awareness. |
| |
Donât hold that one only meditates while sitting or walking. |
| |
Everything and everywhere is our practice. |
| |
Thereâs awareness all the time. |
| |
There is mindfulness all the time. |
| |
We can see birth and death of mind and body all the time and we donât let it clutter our hearts. |
| |
Let it go constantly. |
| |
If love comes, let it go back to its home. |
| |
If greed comes, let it go home. |
| |
If anger comes, let it go home. |
| |
Follow them! |
| |
Where do they live? |
| |
Then escort them there. |
| |
Donât keep anything. |
| |
If you practise like this you are like an empty house. |
| |
Or, explained another way, this is an empty heart, |
| |
a heart empty and free of all evil. |
| |
We call it an âempty heartâ, but it isnât empty as if there was nothing, |
| |
itâs empty of evil but filled with wisdom. |
| |
Then whatever you do, youâll do with wisdom. |
| |
Youâll think with wisdom. |
| |
Youâll eat with wisdom. |
| |
There will only be wisdom. |
| |
This is the teaching for today and I offer it to you. |
| |
Iâve recorded it on tape. |
| |
If listening to Dhamma makes your heart at peace, |
| |
thatâs good enough. |
| |
You donât need to remember anything. |
| |
Some may not believe this. |
| |
If we make our heart peaceful and just listen, |
| |
letting it pass by but contemplating continuously like this, |
| |
then weâre like a tape recorder. |
| |
After some time when we turn on, everything is there. |
| |
Have no fear that there wonât be anything. |
| |
As soon as you turn on your tape recorder, |
| |
everything is there. |
| |
I wish to offer this to every bhikkhu and to everyone. |
| |
Some of you probably know only a little Thai, |
| |
but that doesnât matter. |
| |
May you learn the language of the Dhamma. |
| |
Thatâs good enough! |
| |
1: Ajahn Sao: Ajahn Munâs teacher. |
| |
2: Ajahn Sao: Ajahn Munâs teacher. |
| |
3: Dhamma and dhamma: please note the various meanings of the |
| |
words âDhammaâ (the liberating law discovered and proclaimed by the Buddha), |
| |
and dhamma (any quality, thing, object of mind and/or any conditioned or unconditioned phenomena). |
| |
Sometimes the meanings also overlap. |
| |
* * * |
| |
This practice of ours is not easy. |
| |
We may know some things but there is still much that we donât know. |
| |
For example, when we hear teachings such as âknow the body, |
| |
then know the body within the bodyâ; or âknow the mind, |
| |
then know the mind within the mindâ. |
| |
If we havenât yet practised these things, |
| |
then when we hear them we may feel baffled. |
| |
The Vinaya is like this. |
| |
In the past I used to be a teacher,1 but I was only a âsmall teacherâ, |
| |
not a big one. |
| |
Why do I say a âsmall teacher?â |
| |
Because I didnât practise. |
| |
I taught the Vinaya but I didnât practise it. |
| |
This I call a small teacher, an inferior teacher. |
| |
I say an âinferior teacherâ because when it came to the practice I was deficient. |
| |
For the most part my practice was a long way off the theory, |
| |
just as if I hadnât learned the Vinaya at all. |
| |
However, I would like to state that in practical terms itâs impossible to know the Vinaya completely, |
| |
because some things, whether we know them or not, |
| |
are still offences. |
| |
This is tricky. |
| |
And yet it is stressed that if we do not yet understand any particular training rule or teaching, |
| |
we must study that rule with enthusiasm and respect. |
| |
If we donât know, then we should make an effort to learn. |
| |
If we donât make an effort, that is in itself an offence. |
| |
For example, if you doubt - suppose there is a woman and, |
| |
not knowing whether she is a woman or a man, |
| |
you touch her.2 Youâre not sure, but still go ahead and touch - thatâs still wrong. |
| |
I used to wonder why that should be wrong, |
| |
but when I considered the practice, |
| |
I realized that a meditator must have sati, |
| |
he must be circumspect. |
| |
Whether talking, touching or holding things, |
| |
he must first thoroughly consider. |
| |
The error in this case is that there is no sati, |
| |
or insufficient sati, or a lack of concern at that time. |
| |
Take another example: itâs only eleven oâclock in the morning but at the time the sky is cloudy, |
| |
we canât see the sun, and we have no clock. |
| |
Now suppose we estimate that itâs probably afternoon - we really |
| |
feel that itâs afternoon - and yet we proceed to eat something. |
| |
We start eating and then the clouds part and we see from the position of the sun that itâs only just past eleven. |
| |
This is still an offence.3 I used to wonder, |
| |
âEh? |
| |
Itâs not yet past midday, why is this an offence?â |
| |
An offence is incurred here because of negligence, |
| |
carelessness; we donât thoroughly consider. |
| |
There is a lack of restraint. |
| |
If there is doubt and we act on the doubt, |
| |
there is a dukkata4 offence just for acting in the face of the doubt. |
| |
We think that it is afternoon when in fact it isnât. |
| |
The act of eating is not wrong in itself, |
| |
but there is an offence here because we are careless and negligent. |
| |
If it really is afternoon but we think it isnât, |
| |
then itâs the heavier pÄcittiya offence. |
| |
If we act with doubt, whether the action is wrong or not, |
| |
we still incur an offence. |
| |
If the action is not wrong in itself it is the lesser offence; if it is wrong then the heavier offence is incurred. |
| |
Therefore the Vinaya can get quite bewildering. |
| |
At one time I went to see Venerable Ajahn Mun.5 At that time I had just begun to practise. |
| |
I had read the PubbasikkhÄ6 and could understand that fairly well. |
| |
Then I went on to read the Visuddhimagga, |
| |
where the author writes of the SÄ«laniddesa (Book of Precepts), |
| |
SamÄdhiniddesa (Book of Mind-Training) and PaññÄniddesa (Book of Understanding). |
| |
I felt my head was going to burst! |
| |
After reading that, I felt that it was beyond the ability of a human being to practise. |
| |
But then I reflected that the Buddha would not teach something that is impossible to practise. |
| |
He wouldnât teach it and he wouldnât declare it, |
| |
because those things would be useful neither to himself nor to others. |
| |
The SÄ«laniddesa is extremely meticulous, |
| |
the SamÄdhiniddesa more so, and the PaññÄniddesa even more so! |
| |
I sat and thought, âWell, I canât go any further. |
| |
Thereâs no way ahead.â |
| |
It was as if Iâd reached a dead end. |
| |
At this stage I was struggling with my practice, |
| |
I was stuck. |
| |
It so happened that I had a chance to go and see Venerable Ajahn Mun, |
| |
so I asked him: âVenerable Ajahn, what am I to do? |
| |
Iâve just begun to practise but I still donât know the right way. |
| |
I have so many doubts I canât find any foundation at all in the practice.â |
| |
He asked, âWhatâs the problem?â |
| |
âIn the course of my practice I picked up the Visuddhimagga and read it, |
| |
but it seems impossible to put into practice. |
| |
The contents of the SÄ«laniddesa, SamÄdhiniddesa and PaññÄniddesa seem to be completely impractical. |
| |
I donât think there is anybody in the world who could do it, |
| |
itâs so detailed and meticulous. |
| |
To memorize every single rule would be impossible, |
| |
itâs beyond me.â |
| |
He said to me: âVenerable, thereâs a lot, |
| |
itâs true, but itâs really only a little. |
| |
If we were to take account of every training rule in the SÄ«laniddesa that would be difficult, |
| |
that is true; but actually, what we call the SÄ«laniddesa has evolved from the human mind. |
| |
If we train this mind to have a sense of shame and a fear of wrongdoing, |
| |
we will then be restrained, we will be cautious .... |
| |
âThis will condition us to be content with little, |
| |
with few wishes, because we canât possibly look after a lot. |
| |
When this happens our sati becomes stronger. |
| |
We will be able to maintain sati at all times. |
| |
Wherever we are we will make the effort to maintain thorough sati. |
| |
Caution will be developed. |
| |
Whatever you doubt donât say it, donât act on it. |
| |
If thereâs anything you donât understand, |
| |
ask the teacher. |
| |
Trying to practise every single training rule would indeed be burdensome, |
| |
but we should examine whether we are prepared to admit our faults or not. |
| |
Do we accept them?â |
| |
This teaching is very important. |
| |
Itâs not so much that we must know every single training rule, |
| |
if we know how to train our own minds. |
| |
âAll that stuff that youâve been reading arises from the mind. |
| |
If you still havenât trained your mind to have sensitivity and clarity, |
| |
you will be doubting all the time. |
| |
You should try to bring the teachings of the Buddha into your mind. |
| |
Be composed in mind. |
| |
Whatever arises that you doubt, just give it up. |
| |
If you donât really know for sure, then donât say it or do it. |
| |
For instance, if you wonder, âIs this wrong or not?â |
| |
- that is, youâre not really sure - then donât say it, |
| |
donât act on it, donât discard your restraint.â |
| |
As I sat and listened, I reflected that this teaching conformed |
| |
with the eight ways for measuring the true teaching of the Buddha: |
| |
any teaching that speaks of the diminishing of defilements; which |
| |
leads out of suffering; which speaks of renunciation (of sensual |
| |
pleasures); of contentment with little; of humility and disinterest |
| |
in rank and status; of aloofness and seclusion; of diligent effort; |
| |
of being easy to maintain - these eight qualities are characteristics of the true Dhamma-Vinaya, |
| |
the teaching of the Buddha. |
| |
Anything in contradiction to these is not. |
| |
If we are genuinely sincere we will have a sense of shame and a fear of wrongdoing. |
| |
We will know that if there is doubt in our mind we will not act on it nor speak on it. |
| |
The SÄ«laniddesa is only words. |
| |
For example, hiri-ottappa in the books is one thing, |
| |
but in our minds it is another. |
| |
Studying the Vinaya with Venerable Ajahn Mun I learned many things. |
| |
As I sat and listened, understanding arose. |
| |
So, when it comes to the Vinaya, Iâve studied considerably. |
| |
Some days during the Rains Retreat I would study from six oâclock in the evening through till dawn. |
| |
I understand it sufficiently. |
| |
All the factors of Äpatti7 which are covered in the PubbasikkhÄ I wrote down in a notebook and kept in my bag. |
| |
I really put effort into it, but in later times I gradually let go. |
| |
It was too much. |
| |
I didnât know which was the essence and which was the trimming, |
| |
I had just taken all of it. |
| |
When I understood more fully I let it drop off because it was too heavy. |
| |
I just put my attention into my own mind and gradually did away with the texts. |
| |
However, when I teach the monks here I still take the PubbasikkhÄ as my standard. |
| |
For many years here at Wat Pah Pong it was I myself who read it to the assembly. |
| |
In those days I would ascend the Dhamma-seat and go on until at least eleven oâclock or midnight, |
| |
some days even until one or two oâclock in the morning. |
| |
We were interested. |
| |
And we trained. |
| |
After listening to the Vinaya reading we would go and consider what weâd heard. |
| |
You canât really understand the Vinaya just by listening to it. |
| |
Having listened to it you must examine it and delve into it further. |
| |
Even though I studied these things for many years my knowledge was still not complete, |
| |
because there were so many ambiguities in the texts. |
| |
Now that itâs been such a long time since I looked at the books, |
| |
my memory of the various training rules has faded somewhat, |
| |
but within my mind there is no deficiency. |
| |
There is a standard there. |
| |
There is no doubt, there is understanding. |
| |
I put away the books and concentrated on developing my own mind. |
| |
I donât have doubts about any of the training rules. |
| |
The mind has an appreciation of virtue, |
| |
it wonât dare do anything wrong, whether in public or in private. |
| |
I do not kill animals, even small ones. |
| |
If someone were to ask me to intentionally kill an ant or a termite, |
| |
to squash one with my hand, for instance, |
| |
I couldnât do it, even if they were to offer me thousands of baht to do so. |
| |
Even one ant or termite! |
| |
The antâs life would have greater value to me. |
| |
However, it may be that I may cause one to die, |
| |
such as when something crawls up my leg and I brush it off. |
| |
Maybe it dies, but when I look into my mind there is no feeling of guilt. |
| |
There is no wavering or doubt. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because there was no intention. |
| |
CetanÄham bhikkhave sÄ«lam vadÄmi: intention is the essence of moral training. |
| |
Looking at it in this way I see that there was no intentional killing. |
| |
Sometimes while walking I may step on an insect and kill it. |
| |
In the past, before I really understood, |
| |
I would really suffer over things like that. |
| |
I would think I had committed an offence. |
| |
âWhat? |
| |
There was no intention.â |
| |
âThere was no intention, but I wasnât being careful enough!â |
| |
I would go on like this, fretting and worrying. |
| |
So this Vinaya is something which can disturb practitioners of Dhamma, |
| |
but it also has its value, in keeping with what the teachers |
| |
say - âWhatever training rules you donât yet know you should learn. |
| |
If you donât know you should question those who do.â |
| |
They really stress this. |
| |
Now if we donât know the training rules, |
| |
we wonât be aware of our transgressions against them. |
| |
Take, for example, a Venerable Thera of the past, |
| |
Ajahn Pow of Wat Kow Wong Got in Lopburi Province. |
| |
One day a certain MahÄ, a disciple of his, |
| |
was sitting with him, when some women came up and asked, |
| |
âLuang Por! |
| |
We want to invite you to go with us on an excursion, |
| |
will you go?â |
| |
Luang Por Pow didnât answer. |
| |
The MahÄ sitting near him thought that Venerable Ajahn Pow hadnât heard, |
| |
so he said, âLuang Por, Luang Por! |
| |
Did you hear? |
| |
These women invited you to go for a trip.â |
| |
He said, âI heard.â |
| |
The women asked again, âLuang Por, are you going or not?â |
| |
He just sat there without answering, and so nothing came of the invitation. |
| |
When they had gone, the MahÄ said, |
| |
âLuang Por, why didnât you answer those women?â |
| |
He said, âOh, MahÄ, donât you know this rule? |
| |
Those people who were here just now were all women. |
| |
If women invite you to travel with them you should not consent. |
| |
If they make the arrangements themselves thatâs fine. |
| |
If I want to go I can, because I didnât take part in making the arrangements.â |
| |
The MahÄ sat and thought, âOh, Iâve really made a fool of myself.â |
| |
The Vinaya states that to make an arrangement, |
| |
and then travel together with women, |
| |
even though it isnât as a couple, is a pÄcittiya offence. |
| |
Take another case. |
| |
Lay people would bring money to offer Venerable Ajahn Pow on a tray. |
| |
He would extend his receiving cloth,8 holding it at one end. |
| |
But when they brought the tray forward to lay it on the cloth he would retract his hand from the cloth. |
| |
Then he would simply abandon the money where it lay. |
| |
He knew it was there, but he would take no interest in it. |
| |
He would just get up and walk away, because in the Vinaya it |
| |
is said that if one doesnât consent to the money it isnât necessary to forbid laypeople from offering it. |
| |
If he had desire for it, he would have to say, |
| |
âHouseholder, this is not allowable for a monk.â |
| |
He would have to tell them. |
| |
If you have desire for it, you must forbid them from offering that which is unallowable. |
| |
However, if you really have no desire for it, |
| |
it isnât necessary. |
| |
You just leave it there and go. |
| |
Although the Ajahn and his disciples lived together for many years, |
| |
still some of his disciples didnât understand Ajahn Powâs practice. |
| |
This is a poor state of affairs. |
| |
As for myself, I looked into and contemplated many of Venerable Ajahn Powâs subtler points of practice. |
| |
The Vinaya can even cause some people to disrobe. |
| |
When they study it all the doubts come up. |
| |
It goes right back into the past ... |
| |
âMy ordination, was it proper?9 Was my preceptor pure? |
| |
None of the monks who sat in on my ordination knew anything about the Vinaya, |
| |
were they sitting at the proper distance? |
| |
Was the chanting correct?â |
| |
The doubts come rolling on ... |
| |
âThe hall I ordained in, was it proper? |
| |
It was so small ...â |
| |
They doubt everything and fall into hell. |
| |
So until you know how to ground your mind itâs really difficult. |
| |
You have to be very cool, you canât just jump into things. |
| |
But to be so cool that you donât bother to look into things is wrong also. |
| |
I was so confused I almost disrobed because I saw so many faults within my own practice and that of some of my teachers. |
| |
I was on fire and couldnât sleep because of those doubts. |
| |
The more I doubted, the more I meditated, |
| |
the more I practised. |
| |
Wherever doubt arose I practised right at that point. |
| |
Wisdom arose. |
| |
Things began to change. |
| |
Itâs hard to describe the change that took place. |
| |
The mind changed until there was no more doubt. |
| |
I donât know how it changed. |
| |
If I were to tell someone they probably wouldnât understand. |
| |
So I reflected on the teaching Paccattam veditabbo viññƫhi - the wise must know for themselves. |
| |
It must be a knowing that arises through direct experience. |
| |
Studying the Dhamma-Vinaya is certainly correct but if itâs just the study itâs still lacking. |
| |
If you really get down to the practice you begin to doubt everything. |
| |
Before I started to practise I wasnât interested in the minor offences, |
| |
but when I started practising, even the dukkata offences became as important as the pÄrÄjika offences. |
| |
Before, the dukkata offences seemed like nothing, |
| |
just a trifle. |
| |
Thatâs how I saw them. |
| |
In the evening you could confess them and they would be done with. |
| |
Then you could commit them again. |
| |
This sort of confession is impure, because you donât stop, |
| |
you donât decide to change. |
| |
There is no restraint, you simply do it again and again. |
| |
There is no perception of the truth, no letting go. |
| |
Actually, in terms of ultimate truth, |
| |
itâs not necessary to go through the routine of confessing offences. |
| |
If we see that our mind is pure and there is no trace of doubt, |
| |
then those offences drop off right there. |
| |
That we are not yet pure is because we still doubt, |
| |
we still waver. |
| |
We are not really pure so we canât let go. |
| |
We donât see ourselves, this is the point. |
| |
This Vinaya of ours is like a fence to guard us from making mistakes, |
| |
so itâs something we need to be scrupulous with. |
| |
If you donât see the true value of the Vinaya for yourself itâs difficult. |
| |
Many years before I came to Wat Pah Pong I decided I would give up money. |
| |
For the greater part of a Rains Retreat I had thought about it. |
| |
In the end I grabbed my wallet and walked over to a certain MahÄ who was living with me at the time, |
| |
setting the wallet down in front of him. |
| |
âHere, MahÄ, take this money. |
| |
From today onwards, as long as Iâm a monk, |
| |
I will not receive or hold money. |
| |
You can be my witness.â |
| |
âYou keep it, Venerable, you may need it for your studies.â |
| |
The Venerable MahÄ wasnât keen to take the money, |
| |
he was embarrassed. |
| |
âWhy do you want to throw away all this money?â |
| |
âYou donât have to worry about me. |
| |
Iâve made my decision. |
| |
I decided last night.â |
| |
From the day he took that money it was as if a gap had opened between us. |
| |
We could no longer understand each other. |
| |
Heâs still my witness to this very day. |
| |
Ever since that day I havenât used money or engaged in any buying or selling. |
| |
Iâve been restrained in every way with money. |
| |
I was constantly wary of wrongdoing, even though I hadnât done anything wrong. |
| |
Inwardly I maintained the meditation practice. |
| |
I no longer needed wealth, I saw it as a poison. |
| |
Whether you give poison to a human being, |
| |
a dog or anything else, it invariably causes death or suffering. |
| |
If we see clearly like this we will be constantly on our guard not to take that âpoisonâ. |
| |
When we clearly see the harm in it, itâs not difficult to give up. |
| |
Regarding food and meals brought as offerings, |
| |
if I doubted them, then I wouldnât accept them. |
| |
No matter how delicious or refined the food might be, |
| |
I wouldnât eat it. |
| |
Take a simple example, like raw pickled fish. |
| |
Suppose you are living in a forest and you go on almsround and |
| |
receive only rice and some pickled fish wrapped in leaves. |
| |
When you return to your dwelling and open the packet you find that itâs raw pickled fish, |
| |
just throw it away!10 Eating plain rice is better than transgressing the precepts. |
| |
It has to be like this before you can say you really understand, |
| |
then the Vinaya becomes simpler. |
| |
If other monks wanted to give me requisites, |
| |
such as bowl, razor or whatever, I wouldnât accept, |
| |
unless I knew them as fellow practitioners with a similar standard of Vinaya. |
| |
Why not? |
| |
How can you trust someone who is unrestrained? |
| |
They can do all sorts of things. |
| |
Unrestrained monks donât see the value of the Vinaya, |
| |
so itâs possible that they could have obtained those things in improper ways. |
| |
I was as scrupulous as this. |
| |
As a result, some of my fellow monks would look askance at me. |
| |
âHe doesnât socialize, he wonât mix ....â |
| |
I was unmoved: âSure, we can mix when we die. |
| |
When it comes to death we are all in the same boat,â I thought. |
| |
I lived with endurance. |
| |
I was one who spoke little. |
| |
If others criticized my practice I was unmoved. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because even if I explained to them they wouldnât understand. |
| |
They knew nothing about practice. |
| |
Like those times when I would be invited to a funeral ceremony and somebody would say, |
| |
âDonât listen to him! |
| |
Just put the money in his bag and donât say anything about it, |
| |
donât let him know.â11 I would say, |
| |
âHey, do you think Iâm dead or something? |
| |
Just because one calls alcohol perfume doesnât make it become perfume, |
| |
you know. |
| |
But you people, when you want to drink alcohol you call it perfume, |
| |
then go ahead and drink. |
| |
You must be crazy!â |
| |
The Vinaya, then, can be difficult. |
| |
You have to be content with little, aloof. |
| |
You must see, and see right. |
| |
Once, when I was travelling through Saraburi, |
| |
my group went to stay in a village temple for a while. |
| |
The Abbot there had about the same seniority as myself. |
| |
In the morning, we would all go on almsround together, |
| |
then come back to the monastery and put down our bowls. |
| |
The laypeople would then bring dishes of food into the hall and set them down. |
| |
Then the monks would go and pick them up, |
| |
open them and lay them in a line to be formally offered. |
| |
One monk would put his hand on the dish at the other end. |
| |
And that was it! |
| |
With that the monks would bring them over and distribute them to be eaten. |
| |
About five monks were travelling with me at the time, |
| |
but not one of us would touch that food. |
| |
On almsround all we received was plain rice, |
| |
so we sat with them and ate plain rice. |
| |
None of us would dare eat the food from those dishes. |
| |
This went on for quite a few days, until I began to sense that the Abbot was disturbed by our behaviour. |
| |
One of his monks had probably gone to him and said, |
| |
âThose visiting monks wonât eat any of the food. |
| |
I donât know what theyâre up to.â |
| |
I had to stay there for a few days more, |
| |
so I went to the Abbot to explain. |
| |
I said, âVenerable Sir, may I have a moment please? |
| |
At this time I have some business which means I must call on your hospitality for some days, |
| |
but in doing so Iâm afraid there may be one or two things which you and your fellow monks find puzzling: namely, |
| |
concerning our not eating the food which has been offered by the laypeople. |
| |
Iâd like to clarify this with you, sir. |
| |
Itâs really nothing, itâs just that Iâve learned to practise like this, |
| |
that is, the receiving of the offerings, |
| |
sir. |
| |
When the laypeople lay the food down and then the monks go and open the dishes, |
| |
sort them out and then have them formally offered, |
| |
this is wrong. |
| |
Itâs a dukkata offence. |
| |
Specifically, to handle or touch food which hasnât yet been formally offered into a monkâs hands, |
| |
âruinsâ that food. |
| |
According to the Vinaya, any monk who eats that food incurs an offence.â |
| |
âItâs simply this one point, sir. |
| |
Itâs not that Iâm criticizing anybody, |
| |
or that Iâm trying to force you or your monks to stop practising like this - not at all. |
| |
I just wanted to let you know of my good intentions, |
| |
because it will be necessary for me to stay here for a few more days.â |
| |
He lifted his hands in añjali, âSÄdhu! |
| |
Excellent! |
| |
Iâve never yet seen a monk who keeps the minor rules in Saraburi. |
| |
There arenât any to be found these days. |
| |
If there still are such monks they must live outside of Saraburi. |
| |
May I commend you. |
| |
I have no objections at all, thatâs very good.â |
| |
The next morning when we came back from almsround not one of the monks would go near those dishes. |
| |
The laypeople themselves sorted them out and offered them, |
| |
because they were afraid the monks wouldnât eat. |
| |
From that day onwards the monks and novices there seemed really on edge, |
| |
so I tried to explain things to them, |
| |
to put their minds at rest. |
| |
I think they were afraid of us, they just went into their rooms and closed themselves in, |
| |
in silence. |
| |
For two or three days I tried to make them feel at ease because they were so ashamed, |
| |
I really had nothing against them. |
| |
I didnât say things like âThereâs not enough food,â or âBring this or that food.â |
| |
Why not? |
| |
Because I had fasted before, sometimes for seven or eight days. |
| |
Here I had plain rice, I knew I wouldnât die. |
| |
Where I got my strength from was the practice, |
| |
from having studied and practised accordingly. |
| |
I took the Buddha as my example. |
| |
Wherever I went, whatever others did, |
| |
I wouldnât involve myself. |
| |
I devoted myself solely to the practice, |
| |
because I cared for myself, I cared for the practice. |
| |
Those who donât keep the Vinaya or practise meditation and those who do practise canât live together, |
| |
they must go their separate ways. |
| |
I didnât understand this myself in the past. |
| |
As a teacher I taught others but I didnât practise. |
| |
This is really bad. |
| |
When I looked deeply into it, my practice and my knowledge were as far apart as earth and sky. |
| |
Therefore, those who want to go and set up meditation centres in the forest, |
| |
donât do it. |
| |
If you donât yet really know, donât bother trying, |
| |
youâll only make a mess of it. |
| |
Some monks think that by going to live in the forest they will find peace, |
| |
but they still donât understand the essentials of practice. |
| |
They cut grass for themselves,12 do everything themselves. |
| |
Those who really know the practice arenât interested in places like this, |
| |
they wonât prosper. |
| |
Doing it like that wonât lead to progress. |
| |
No matter how peaceful the forest may be you canât progress if you do it wrong. |
| |
They see the forest monks living in the forest and go to live in the forest like them, |
| |
but itâs not the same. |
| |
The robes are not the same, eating habits are not the same, |
| |
everything is different. |
| |
Namely, they donât train themselves, they donât practise. |
| |
The place is wasted, it doesnât really work. |
| |
If it does work, it does so only as a venue for showing off or publicizing, |
| |
just like a medicine show. |
| |
It goes no further than that. |
| |
Those who have only practised a little and then go to teach others are not yet ripe, |
| |
they donât really understand. |
| |
In a short time they give up and it falls apart. |
| |
It just brings trouble. |
| |
So we must study somewhat, look at the NavakovÄda,13 what does it say? |
| |
Study it, memorize it, until you understand. |
| |
From time to time ask your teacher concerning the finer points, |
| |
he will explain them. |
| |
Study like this until you really understand the Vinaya. |
| |
1: This refers to the Venerable Ajahnâs early years in the monkhood, |
| |
before he had begun to practise in earnest. |
| |
2: The second sanghÄdisesa offence, deals with touching a woman with lustful intentions. |
| |
3: Referring to pÄcittiya offence No. 36, |
| |
for eating food outside of the allowed time, |
| |
which is from dawn until noon. |
| |
4: Dukkata, offences of âwrongdoingâ, |
| |
the lightest class of offences in the Vinaya, |
| |
of which there are a great number; pÄrÄjika - offences of defeat, |
| |
of which there are four, are the most serious, |
| |
involving expulsion from the Bhikkhu Sangha. |
| |
5: PubbasikkhÄ VannanÄ, âThe Elementary Trainingâ, |
| |
a Thai Commentary on Dhamma-Vinaya based on the PÄli Commentaries; Visuddhimagga, |
| |
âThe Path to Purityâ, Äcariya Buddhaghosaâs exhaustive commentary on Dhamma-Vinaya. |
| |
6: PubbasikkhÄ VannanÄ, âThe Elementary Trainingâ, |
| |
a Thai Commentary on Dhamma-Vinaya based on the PÄli Commentaries; Visuddhimagga, |
| |
âThe Path to Purityâ, Äcariya Buddhaghosaâs exhaustive commentary on Dhamma-Vinaya. |
| |
7: Äpatti: the offences of various classes for a Buddhist monk or nun. |
| |
8: A âreceiving clothâ is a cloth used by Thai monks for receiving things from women, |
| |
from whom they do not receive things directly. |
| |
That Venerable Ajahn Pow lifted his hand from the receiving cloth |
| |
indicated that he was not actually receiving the money. |
| |
9: There are very precise and detailed regulations governing the ordination procedure which, |
| |
if not adhered to, may render the ordination invalid. |
| |
10: The Vinaya forbids bhikkhus from eating raw meat or fish. |
| |
11: Although it is an offence for monks to accept money, |
| |
there are many who do. |
| |
Some may accept it while appearing not to, |
| |
which is probably how the laypeople in this instance saw the Venerable Ajahnâs refusal to accept money. |
| |
They thought that he actually would accept it if they didnât overtly offer it to him, |
| |
but just slipped it into his bag. |
| |
12: Another transgression of the precepts, |
| |
a pÄcittiya offence. |
| |
13: NavakovÄda: a simplified synopsis of elementary Dhamma-Vinaya. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Today we are meeting together as we do every year after the annual |
| |
Dhamma examinations.1 At this time all of you should reflect |
| |
on the importance of carrying out the various duties of the monastery; |
| |
those toward the preceptor and those toward the teachers. |
| |
These are what hold us together as a single group, |
| |
enabling us to live in harmony and concord. |
| |
They are also what lead us to have respect for each other, |
| |
which in turn benefits the community. |
| |
In all communities, from the time of the Buddha till the present, |
| |
no matter what form they may take, if the residents have no mutual respect they can not succeed. |
| |
Whether they be secular communities or monastic ones, |
| |
if they lack mutual respect they have no solidarity. |
| |
If there is no mutual respect, negligence sets in and the practice eventually degenerates. |
| |
Our community of Dhamma practitioners has lived here for about twenty-five years now, |
| |
steadily growing, but it could deteriorate. |
| |
We must understand this point. |
| |
But if we are all heedful, have mutual respect and continue to maintain the standards of practice, |
| |
I feel that our harmony will be firm. |
| |
Our practice as a group will be a source of growth for Buddhism for a long time to come. |
| |
Now in regard to study and practice, they are a pair. |
| |
Buddhism has grown and flourished until the present time because of study going hand in hand with practice. |
| |
If we simply learn the scriptures in a heedless way, |
| |
negligence sets in. |
| |
For example, in the first year here we had seven monks for the Rains Retreat. |
| |
At that time, I thought to myself, âWhenever monks start studying |
| |
for Dhamma Examinations the practice seems to degenerate.â |
| |
Considering this, I tried to determine the cause, |
| |
so I began to teach the monks who were there for the Rains Retreat - all seven of them. |
| |
I taught for about forty days, from after the meal till six in the evening, |
| |
every day. |
| |
The monks went for the exams and it turned out there was a good result in that respect, |
| |
all seven of them passed. |
| |
That much was good, but there was a certain complication regarding those who were lacking in circumspection. |
| |
To study, it is necessary to do a lot of reciting and repeating. |
| |
Those who are unrestrained and unreserved tend to grow lax with meditation practice and spend all their time studying, |
| |
repeating and memorizing. |
| |
This causes them to throw out their old abiding, |
| |
their standards of practice. |
| |
And this happens very often. |
| |
So it was that when they had finished their studies and taken |
| |
their exams I could see a change in the behaviour of the monks. |
| |
There was no walking meditation, only a little sitting, |
| |
and an increase in socializing. |
| |
There was less restraint and composure. |
| |
Actually, in our practice, when you do walking meditation, |
| |
you should really determine to walk; when sitting in meditation, |
| |
you should concentrate on doing just that. |
| |
Whether you are standing, walking, sitting or lying down, |
| |
you should strive to be composed. |
| |
But when people do a lot of study, their minds are full of words, |
| |
they get high on the books and forget themselves. |
| |
They get lost in externals. |
| |
Now this is so only for those who donât have wisdom, |
| |
who are unrestrained and donât have steady sati. |
| |
For these people studying can be a cause for decline. |
| |
When such people are engaged in study they donât do any sitting |
| |
or walking meditation and become less and less restrained. |
| |
Their minds become more and more distracted. |
| |
Aimless chatter, lack of restraint and socializing become the order of the day. |
| |
This is the cause for the decline of the practice. |
| |
Itâs not because of the study in itself, |
| |
but because certain people donât make the effort, |
| |
they forget themselves. |
| |
Actually the scriptures are pointers along the path of practice. |
| |
If we really understand the practice, |
| |
then reading or studying are both further aspects of meditation. |
| |
But if we study and then forget ourselves, |
| |
it gives rise to a lot of talking and fruitless activity. |
| |
People throw out the meditation practice and soon want to disrobe. |
| |
Most of those who study and fail soon disrobe. |
| |
Itâs not that study is not good, or that the practice is not right. |
| |
Itâs that people fail to examine themselves. |
| |
Seeing this, in the second Rains Retreat I stopped teaching the scriptures. |
| |
Many years later more and more young men came to become monks. |
| |
Some of them knew nothing about the Dhamma-Vinaya and were ignorant of the texts, |
| |
so I decided to rectify the situation; asking those senior monks who had already studied to teach, |
| |
and they have taught up until the present time. |
| |
This is how we came to have studying here. |
| |
However, every year when the exams are finished, |
| |
I ask all the monks to re-establish their practice. |
| |
So all those scriptures which arenât directly concerned with the practice, |
| |
put them away in the cupboards. |
| |
Re-establish yourselves, go back to the regular standards. |
| |
Re-establish the communal practices such as coming together for the daily chanting. |
| |
This is our standard. |
| |
Do it even if only to resist your own laziness and aversion. |
| |
This encourages diligence. |
| |
Donât discard your basic practices: eating little, |
| |
speaking little, sleeping little; restraint and composure; aloofness; |
| |
regular walking and sitting meditation; meeting together regularly at the appropriate times. |
| |
Please make an effort with these, every one of you. |
| |
Donât let this excellent opportunity go to waste. |
| |
Do the practice. |
| |
You have this chance to practise here because you live under the guidance of the teacher. |
| |
He protects you on one level, so you should all devote yourselves to the practice. |
| |
Youâve done walking meditation before, |
| |
now also you should walk. |
| |
Youâve done sitting meditation before, |
| |
now also you should sit. |
| |
In the past youâve chanted together in the mornings and evenings, |
| |
and now also you should make the effort. |
| |
These are your specific duties, please apply yourselves to them. |
| |
Those who simply âkill timeâ in the robes donât have any strength, |
| |
you know. |
| |
The ones who are floundering, homesick, |
| |
confused - do you see them? |
| |
These are the ones who donât put their minds into the practice. |
| |
They donât have any work to do. |
| |
We canât just lie around here. |
| |
Being a Buddhist monk or novice you live and eat well; you shouldnât take it for granted. |
| |
KÄmasukhallikÄnuyogo2 is a danger. |
| |
Make an effort to find your own practice. |
| |
Whatever is faulty, work to rectify, donât get lost in externals. |
| |
One who has zeal never misses walking and sitting meditation, |
| |
never lets up in the maintenance of restraint and composure. |
| |
Just observe the monks here. |
| |
Whoever, having finished the meal and any business, |
| |
having hung out his robes, walks meditation - and when we walk |
| |
past his kutī we see that this walking path is a well-worn trail, |
| |
and we see him often walking on it - this monk is not bored with the practice. |
| |
This is one who has effort, who has zeal. |
| |
If all of you devote yourselves to the practice like this, |
| |
not many problems will arise. |
| |
If you donât abide with the practice, |
| |
the walking and sitting meditation, |
| |
you are doing nothing more than just travelling around. |
| |
Not liking it here you go travelling over there; not liking it there you come touring back here. |
| |
Thatâs all you are doing, following your noses everywhere. |
| |
These people donât persevere, itâs not good enough. |
| |
You donât have to do a lot of travelling around, |
| |
just stay here and develop the practice, |
| |
learn it in detail. |
| |
Travelling around can wait till later, |
| |
itâs not difficult. |
| |
Make an effort, all of you. |
| |
Prosperity and decline hinge on this. |
| |
If you really want to do things properly, |
| |
then study and practise in proportion; use both of them together. |
| |
Itâs like the body and the mind. |
| |
If the mind is at ease and the body free of disease and healthy, |
| |
then the mind becomes composed. |
| |
If the mind is confused, even if the body is strong there will be difficulty, |
| |
let alone when the body experiences discomfort. |
| |
The study of meditation is the study of cultivation and relinquishment. |
| |
What I mean by study here is: whenever the mind experiences a sensation, |
| |
do we still cling to it? |
| |
Do we create problems around it? |
| |
Do we experience enjoyment or aversion over it? |
| |
To put it simply: do we still get lost in our thoughts? |
| |
Yes, we do. |
| |
If we donât like something we react with aversion; if we do like |
| |
it we react with pleasure the mind becomes defiled and stained. |
| |
If this is the case then we must see that we still have faults, |
| |
we are still imperfect, we still have work to do. |
| |
There must be more relinquishing and more persistent cultivation. |
| |
This is what I mean by studying. |
| |
If we get stuck on anything, we recognize that we are stuck. |
| |
We know what state weâre in, and we work to correct ourselves. |
| |
Living with the teacher or apart from the teacher should be the same. |
| |
Some people are afraid. |
| |
Theyâre afraid that if they donât do walking meditation the teacher will upbraid or scold them. |
| |
This is good in a way, but in the true practice you donât need to be afraid of others, |
| |
just be wary of faults arising within your own actions, |
| |
speech or thoughts. |
| |
When you see faults in your actions, speech or thoughts you must guard yourselves. |
| |
Attano codayattÄnam - âyou must exhort yourself,â donât leave it to others to do. |
| |
We must quickly improve ourselves, know ourselves. |
| |
This is called âstudyingâ, cultivating and relinquishing. |
| |
Look into this till you see it clearly. |
| |
Living in this way we rely on endurance, |
| |
persevering in the face of all defilements. |
| |
Although this is good, it is still on the level of âpractising the Dhamma without having seen itâ. |
| |
If we have practised the Dhamma and seen it, |
| |
then whatever is wrong we will have already given up, |
| |
whatever is useful we will have cultivated. |
| |
Seeing this within ourselves, we experience a sense of well-being. |
| |
No matter what others say, we know our own mind, |
| |
we are not moved. |
| |
We can be at peace anywhere. |
| |
Now, the younger monks and novices who have just begun to practise |
| |
may think that the senior Ajahn doesnât seem to do much walking or sitting meditation. |
| |
Donât imitate him in this. |
| |
You should emulate, but not imitate. |
| |
To emulate is one thing, to imitate another. |
| |
The fact is that the senior Ajahn dwells within his own particular contented abiding. |
| |
Even though he doesnât seem to practise externally, |
| |
he practises inwardly. |
| |
Whatever is in his mind can not be seen by the eye. |
| |
The practice of Buddhism is the practice of the mind. |
| |
Even though the practice may not be apparent in his actions or speech, |
| |
the mind is a different matter. |
| |
Thus, a teacher who has practised for a long time, |
| |
who is proficient in the practice, may seem to let go of his actions and speech, |
| |
but he guards his mind. |
| |
He is composed. |
| |
Seeing only his outer actions you may try to imitate him, |
| |
letting go and saying whatever you want to say, |
| |
but itâs not the same thing. |
| |
Youâre not in the same league. |
| |
Think about this. |
| |
Thereâs a real difference, you are acting from different places. |
| |
Although the Ajahn seems to simply sit around, |
| |
he is not being careless. |
| |
He lives with things but is not confused by them. |
| |
We canât see this, because whatever is in his mind is invisible to us. |
| |
Donât judge simply by external appearances, |
| |
the mind is the important thing. |
| |
When we speak, our minds follow that speech. |
| |
Whatever actions we do, our minds follow, |
| |
but one who has practised already may do or say things which his mind doesnât follow, |
| |
because it adheres to Dhamma and Vinaya. |
| |
For example, sometimes the Ajahn may be severe with his disciples, |
| |
his speech may appear to be rough and careless, |
| |
his actions may seem coarse. |
| |
Seeing this, all we can see are his bodily and verbal actions, |
| |
but the mind which adheres to Dhamma and Vinaya canât be seen. |
| |
Adhere to the Buddhaâs instruction: âDonât be heedless.â |
| |
âHeedfulness is the way to the Deathless. |
| |
Heedlessness is death.â |
| |
Consider this. |
| |
Whatever others do is not important, just donât be heedless yourself, |
| |
this is the important thing. |
| |
All I have been saying here is simply to warn you that now, |
| |
having completed the exams, you have a chance to travel around and do many things. |
| |
May you all constantly remember yourselves as practitioners of the Dhamma; a practitioner must be collected, |
| |
restrained and circumspect. |
| |
Consider the teaching which says âBhikkhu: one who seeks alms.â |
| |
If we define it this way our practice takes on one form - a very coarse one. |
| |
If we understand this word the way the Buddha defined it, |
| |
as one who sees the danger of samsÄra, |
| |
this is much more profound. |
| |
One who sees the danger of samsÄra is one who sees the faults, |
| |
the liability of this world. |
| |
In this world there is so much danger, |
| |
but most people donât see it, they see the pleasure and happiness of the world. |
| |
Now, the Buddha says that a bhikkhu is one who sees the danger of samsÄra. |
| |
What is samsÄra? |
| |
The suffering of samsÄra is overwhelming, |
| |
itâs intolerable. |
| |
Happiness is also samsÄra. |
| |
The Buddha taught us not to cling to it. |
| |
If we donât see the danger of samsÄra, |
| |
then when there is happiness we cling to the happiness and forget suffering. |
| |
We are ignorant of it, like a child who doesnât know fire. |
| |
If we understand Dhamma practice in this way, |
| |
Bhikkhu: one who sees the danger of samsÄra; if we have this understanding, |
| |
walking, sitting or lying down, wherever we may be, |
| |
we will feel dispassion. |
| |
We reflect on ourselves, heedfulness is there. |
| |
Even sitting at ease, we feel this way. |
| |
Whatever we do we see this danger, so we are in a very different state. |
| |
This practice is called being âone who sees the danger of samsÄraâ. |
| |
One who sees the danger of samsÄra lives within samsÄra and yet doesnât. |
| |
That is, he understands concepts and he understands their transcendence. |
| |
Whatever such a person says is not like that of ordinary people. |
| |
Whatever he does is not the same, whatever he thinks is not the same. |
| |
His behaviour is much wiser. |
| |
Therefore it is said: âEmulate but donât imitate.â |
| |
There are two ways - emulation and imitation. |
| |
One who is foolish will grab on to everything. |
| |
You mustnât do that! |
| |
Donât forget yourselves. |
| |
As for me, this year my body is not so well. |
| |
Some things I will leave to the other monks and novices to help take care of. |
| |
Perhaps I will take a rest. |
| |
From time immemorial itâs been this way, |
| |
and in the world itâs the same: as long as the father and mother are still alive, |
| |
the children are well and prosperous. |
| |
When the parents die, the children separate. |
| |
Having been rich they become poor. |
| |
This is usually how it is, even in the lay life, |
| |
and one can see it here as well. |
| |
For example, while the Ajahn is still alive everybody is well and prosperous. |
| |
As soon as he passes away decline begins to set in immediately. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
Because while the teacher is still alive people become complacent and forget themselves. |
| |
They donât really make an effort with the study and the practice. |
| |
As in lay life, while the mother and father are still alive, |
| |
the children just leave everything up to them. |
| |
They lean on their parents and donât know how to look after themselves. |
| |
When the parents die they become paupers. |
| |
In the monkhood itâs the same. |
| |
If the Ajahn goes away or dies, the monks tend to socialize, |
| |
break up into groups and drift into decline, |
| |
almost every time. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
Itâs because they forget themselves. |
| |
Living off the merits of the teacher everything runs smoothly. |
| |
When the teacher passes away, the disciples tend to split up. |
| |
Their views clash. |
| |
Those who think wrongly live in one place, |
| |
those who think rightly live in another. |
| |
Those who feel uncomfortable leave their old associates and set |
| |
up new places and start new lineages with their own groups of disciples. |
| |
This is how it goes. |
| |
In the present itâs the same. |
| |
This is because we are at fault. |
| |
While the teacher is still alive we are at fault, |
| |
we live heedlessly. |
| |
We donât take up the standards of practice taught by the Ajahn and establish them within our own hearts. |
| |
We donât really follow in his footsteps. |
| |
Even in the Buddhaâs time it was the same. |
| |
Remember the scriptures? |
| |
That old monk, what was his name ...? |
| |
Subhadda Bhikkhu! |
| |
When Venerable MahÄ Kassapa was returning from PÄvÄ he asked an ascetic on the way: âIs the Lord Buddha faring well?â |
| |
The ascetic answered: âThe Lord Buddha entered ParinibbÄna seven days ago.â |
| |
Those monks who were still unenlightened were grief-stricken, |
| |
crying and wailing. |
| |
Those who had attained the Dhamma reflected to themselves, |
| |
âAh, the Buddha has passed away. |
| |
He has journeyed on.â |
| |
But those who were still thick with defilements, |
| |
such as Venerable Subhadda, said: |
| |
âWhat are you all crying for? |
| |
The Buddha has passed away. |
| |
Thatâs good! |
| |
Now we can live at ease. |
| |
When the Buddha was still alive he was always bothering us with some rule or other, |
| |
we couldnât do this or say that. |
| |
Now the Buddha has passed away, thatâs fine! |
| |
We can do whatever we want, say what we want. |
| |
Why should you cry?â |
| |
Itâs been so from way back then till the present day. |
| |
However that may be, even though itâs impossible to preserve |
| |
entirely; suppose we had a glass and we took care to preserve it. |
| |
Each time we used it we cleaned it and put it away in a safe place. |
| |
Being very careful with that glass we can use it for a long time, |
| |
and then when weâve finished with it others can also use it. |
| |
Now, using glasses carelessly and breaking them every day or |
| |
using one glass for ten years before it breaks - which is better? |
| |
Our practice is like this. |
| |
For instance, if out of all of us living here, |
| |
practising steadily, only ten practise well, |
| |
then Wat Pah Pong will prosper. |
| |
Just as in the villages: in a village of one hundred houses, |
| |
even if there are only fifty good people that village will prosper. |
| |
Actually to find even ten would be difficult. |
| |
Or take a monastery like this one here: it is hard to find even five or six monks who have real commitment, |
| |
who really do the practice. |
| |
In any case, we donât have any responsibilities now, |
| |
other than to practise well. |
| |
Think about it, what do we own here? |
| |
We donât have wealth, possessions, and families anymore. |
| |
Even food we take only once a day. |
| |
Weâve given up many things already, even better things than these. |
| |
As monks and novices we give up everything. |
| |
We own nothing. |
| |
All those things people really enjoy have been discarded by us. |
| |
Going forth as a Buddhist monk is in order to practise. |
| |
Why then should we hanker for other things, |
| |
indulging in greed, aversion or delusion? |
| |
To occupy our hearts with other things is no longer appropriate. |
| |
Consider: why have we gone forth? |
| |
Why are we practising? |
| |
We have gone forth to practise. |
| |
If we donât practise then we just lie around. |
| |
If we donât practise, then we are worse off than laypeople, |
| |
we donât have any function. |
| |
If we donât perform any function or accept our responsibilities, |
| |
itâs a waste of the samanaâs life. |
| |
It contradicts the aims of a samana. |
| |
If this is the case then we are heedless. |
| |
Being heedless is like being dead. |
| |
Ask yourself, will you have time to practise when you die? |
| |
Constantly ask yourself, âWhen will I die?â |
| |
If we contemplate in this way our mind will be alert every second; heedfulness will always be present. |
| |
When there is no heedlessness, sati - recollection of what is what - will automatically follow. |
| |
Wisdom will be clear, seeing all things clearly as they are. |
| |
Recollection guards the mind, knowing the arising of sensations at all times, |
| |
day and night. |
| |
That is to have sati. |
| |
To have sati is to be composed. |
| |
To be composed is to be heedful. |
| |
If one is heedful then one is practising rightly. |
| |
This is our specific responsibility. |
| |
So today I would like to present this to you all. |
| |
If in the future you leave here for one of the branch monasteries or anywhere else, |
| |
donât forget yourselves. |
| |
The fact is you are still not perfect, |
| |
still not completed. |
| |
You still have a lot of work to do, many responsibilities to shoulder, |
| |
namely, the practices of cultivation and relinquishment. |
| |
Be concerned about this, every one of you. |
| |
Whether you live at this monastery or a branch monastery, |
| |
preserve the standards of practice. |
| |
Nowadays there are many of us, many branch temples. |
| |
All the branch monasteries owe their origination to Wat Pah Pong. |
| |
We could say that Wat Pah Pong was the âparentâ, |
| |
the teacher, the example for all branch monasteries. |
| |
So, especially the teachers, monks and novices of Wat Pah Pong should try to set the example, |
| |
to be the guide for all the other branch monasteries, |
| |
continuing to be diligent in the practices and responsibilities of a samana. |
| |
1: Many monks undertake written examinations of their scriptural knowledge, |
| |
sometimes, as Ajahn Chah points out, |
| |
to the detriment of their application of the teachings in daily life. |
| |
2: Indulgence in sense pleasures, indulgence in comfort. |
| |
* * * |
| |
KÄmogha, the flood of sensuality: sunk in sights, |
| |
in sounds, in smells, in tastes, in bodily sensations. |
| |
Sunk because we only look at externals, |
| |
we donât look inwardly. |
| |
People donât look at themselves, they only look at others. |
| |
They can see everybody else but they canât see themselves. |
| |
Itâs not such a difficult thing to do, |
| |
but itâs just that people donât really try. |
| |
For example, look at a beautiful woman. |
| |
What does that do to you? |
| |
As soon as you see the face you see everything else. |
| |
Do you see it? |
| |
Just look within your mind. |
| |
What is it like to see a woman? |
| |
As soon as the eyes see just a little bit the mind sees all the rest. |
| |
Why is it so fast? |
| |
Itâs because you are sunk in the âwaterâ. |
| |
You are sunk, you think about it, fantasize about it, |
| |
are stuck in it. |
| |
Itâs just like being a slave, somebody else has control over you. |
| |
When they tell you to sit youâve got to sit, |
| |
when they tell you to walk youâve got to walk; you canât disobey them because youâre their slave. |
| |
Being enslaved by the senses is the same. |
| |
No matter how hard you try you canât seem to shake it off. |
| |
And if you expect others to do it for you, |
| |
you really get into trouble. |
| |
You must shake it off for yourself. |
| |
Therefore, the Buddha left the practice of Dhamma, |
| |
the transcendence of suffering, up to us. |
| |
Take NibbÄna for example. |
| |
The Buddha was thoroughly enlightened, |
| |
so why didnât he describe NibbÄna in detail? |
| |
Why did he only say that we should practise and find out for ourselves? |
| |
Why is that? |
| |
Shouldnât he have explained what NibbÄna is like? |
| |
âThe Buddha practised, developing the perfections over countless world ages for the sake of all sentient beings, |
| |
so why didnât he point out NibbÄna so that they all could see it and go there too?â |
| |
Some people think like this. |
| |
âIf the Buddha really knew he would tell us. |
| |
Why should he keep anything hidden?â |
| |
Actually this sort of thinking is wrong. |
| |
We canât see the truth in that way. |
| |
We must practise, we must cultivate, in order to see. |
| |
The Buddha only pointed out the way to develop wisdom, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
He said that we ourselves must practise. |
| |
Whoever practises will reach the goal. |
| |
But that path which the Buddha taught goes against our habits. |
| |
We donât really like to be frugal, to be restrained so we say, |
| |
âShow us the way, show us the way to NibbÄna, |
| |
so that those who like it easy like us can go there too.â |
| |
Itâs the same with wisdom. |
| |
The Buddha canât show you wisdom, itâs not something that can be simply handed around. |
| |
The Buddha can show the way to develop wisdom, |
| |
but whether one develops much or only a little depends on the individual. |
| |
Merit and accumulated virtues of people naturally differ. |
| |
Just look at a material object, such as the wooden lions in front of the hall here. |
| |
People come and look at them and canât seem to agree: one person says, |
| |
âOh, how beautiful,â while another says, |
| |
âHow revolting!â |
| |
Itâs the one lion, both beautiful and ugly. |
| |
Just this is enough to know how things are. |
| |
Therefore the realization of Dhamma is sometimes slow, |
| |
sometimes fast. |
| |
The Buddha and his disciples were all alike in that they had to practise for themselves, |
| |
but even so they still relied on teachers to advise them and give them techniques in the practice. |
| |
Now, when we listen to Dhamma we may want to listen until all our doubts are cleared up, |
| |
but theyâll never be cleared up simply by listening. |
| |
Doubt is not overcome simply by listening or thinking, |
| |
we must first clean out the mind. |
| |
To clean out the mind means to revise our practice. |
| |
No matter how long we were to listen to the teacher talk about |
| |
the truth we couldnât know or see that truth just from listening. |
| |
If we did, it would be only through guesswork or conjecture. |
| |
However, even though simply listening to the Dhamma may not lead to realization, |
| |
it is beneficial. |
| |
There were, in the Buddhaâs time, those who realized the Dhamma, |
| |
even realizing the highest realization - arahantship - while listening to a discourse. |
| |
But those people were already highly developed, |
| |
their minds already understood to some extent. |
| |
Itâs like a football. |
| |
When a football is pumped up with air it expands. |
| |
Now the air in that football is all pushing to get out, |
| |
but thereâs no hole for it to do so. |
| |
As soon as a needle punctures the football the air comes bursting out. |
| |
This is the same. |
| |
The minds of those disciples who were enlightened while listening to the Dhamma were like this. |
| |
As long as there was no catalyst to cause the reaction this âpressureâ was within them, |
| |
like the football. |
| |
The mind was not yet free because of this very small thing concealing the truth. |
| |
As soon as they heard the Dhamma and it hit the right spot, |
| |
wisdom arose. |
| |
They immediately understood, immediately let go and realized the true Dhamma. |
| |
Thatâs how it was. |
| |
It was easy. |
| |
The mind uprighted itself. |
| |
It changed, or turned, from one view to another. |
| |
You could say it was far, or you could say it was very near. |
| |
This is something we must do for ourselves. |
| |
The Buddha was only able to give techniques on how to develop wisdom, |
| |
and so with the teachers these days. |
| |
They give Dhamma talks, they talk about the truth, |
| |
but still we canât make that truth our own. |
| |
Why not? |
| |
Thereâs a âfilmâ obscuring it. |
| |
You could say that we are sunk, sunk in the water. |
| |
KÄmogha - the âfloodâ of sensuality. |
| |
Bhavogha - the âfloodâ of becoming. |
| |
âBecomingâ (bhava) means âthe sphere of birthâ. |
| |
Sensual desire is born at the sights, |
| |
sounds, tastes, smells, feelings and thoughts, |
| |
with which we identify. |
| |
The mind holds fast and is stuck to sensuality. |
| |
Some cultivators get bored, fed up, tired of the practice and are lazy. |
| |
You donât have to look very far, just look at how people canât seem to keep the Dhamma in mind, |
| |
and yet if they get scolded theyâll hold on to it for ages. |
| |
They may get scolded at the beginning of the Rains, |
| |
and even after the Rains Retreat has ended they still havenât forgotten it. |
| |
They wonât forget it their whole lives if it goes down deep enough. |
| |
But when it comes to the Buddhaâs teaching, |
| |
telling us to be moderate, to be restrained, |
| |
to practise conscientiously - why donât people take these things to their hearts? |
| |
Why do they keep forgetting these things? |
| |
You donât have to look very far, just look at our practice here. |
| |
For example, establishing standards, such as, |
| |
after the meal not chattering while washing your bowls! |
| |
Even this much seems to be beyond people. |
| |
Even though we know that chattering is not particularly useful and binds us to sensuality, |
| |
people still like talking. |
| |
Pretty soon they start to disagree and eventually get into arguments and squabbles. |
| |
Thereâs nothing more to it than this. |
| |
Now this isnât anything subtle or refined, |
| |
itâs pretty basic, and yet people donât seem to really make much effort with it. |
| |
They say they want to see the Dhamma, |
| |
but they want to see it on their own terms, |
| |
they donât want to follow the path of practice. |
| |
Thatâs as far as they go. |
| |
All these standards of practice are skilful means for penetrating and seeing the Dhamma, |
| |
but people donât practise accordingly. |
| |
To say âreal practiceâ or âardent practiceâ doesnât necessarily |
| |
mean you have to expend a whole lot of energy - just put some effort into the mind, |
| |
making some effort with all the feelings that arise, |
| |
especially those which are steeped in sensuality. |
| |
These are our enemies. |
| |
But people canât seem to do it. |
| |
Every year, as the end of the Rains Retreat approaches, |
| |
it gets worse and worse. |
| |
Some of the monks have reached the limit of their endurance, |
| |
the âend of their tetherâ. |
| |
The closer we get to the end of the Rains the worse they get, |
| |
they have no consistency in their practice. |
| |
I speak about this every year and yet people canât seem to remember it. |
| |
We establish a certain standard and in not even a year itâs fallen apart. |
| |
It starts when the retreat is almost finished - the chatter, |
| |
the socializing and everything else. |
| |
The practice all goes to pieces. |
| |
This is how it tends to be. |
| |
Those who are really interested in the practice should consider |
| |
why this is so: itâs because people donât see the adverse results of these things. |
| |
When we are accepted into the Buddhist monkhood we live simply. |
| |
And yet some disrobe to go to the front, |
| |
where the bullets fly past them every day - they prefer it like that. |
| |
They really want to go. |
| |
Danger surrounds them on all sides and yet theyâre prepared to go. |
| |
Why donât they see the danger? |
| |
Theyâre prepared to die by the gun but nobody wants to die developing virtue. |
| |
Just seeing this is enough. |
| |
Itâs because theyâre slaves, nothing else. |
| |
See this much and you know what itâs all about. |
| |
People donât see the danger. |
| |
This is really amazing, isnât it? |
| |
Youâd think they could see it but they canât. |
| |
If they canât see it even then, then thereâs no way they can get out. |
| |
Theyâre determined to whirl around in samsÄra. |
| |
This is how things are. |
| |
Just talking about simple things like this we can begin to understand. |
| |
If you were to ask them, âWhy were you born?â |
| |
theyâd probably have a lot of trouble answering, |
| |
because they canât see it. |
| |
Theyâre sunk in the world of the senses and sunk in becoming (bhava).1 Bhava is the sphere of birth, |
| |
our birthplace. |
| |
To put it simply, beings are born from bhava - it is the preliminary condition for birth. |
| |
Wherever birth takes place, thatâs bhava. |
| |
For example, suppose we had an orchard of apple trees that we were particularly fond of. |
| |
Thatâs a bhava for us if we donât reflect with wisdom. |
| |
How so? |
| |
Suppose our orchard contained a hundred or a thousand apple trees |
| |
- it doesnât really matter what kind of trees they are, |
| |
just so long as we consider them to be âour ownâ trees. |
| |
Then we are going to be âbornâ as a âwormâ in every single one of those trees. |
| |
We bore into every one, even though our human body is still back there in the house, |
| |
we send out âtentaclesâ into every one of those trees. |
| |
Now, how do we know that itâs a bhava? |
| |
Itâs a bhava (sphere of existence) because of our clinging to the idea that those trees are our own, |
| |
that that orchard is our own. |
| |
If someone were to take an axe and cut one of the trees down, |
| |
the owner over there in the house âdiesâ along with the tree. |
| |
He gets furious, and has to go and set things right, |
| |
to fight and maybe even kill over it. |
| |
That quarrelling is the âbirthâ. |
| |
The âsphere of birthâ is the orchard of trees that we cling to as our own. |
| |
We are âbornâ right at the point where we consider them to be our own, |
| |
born from that bhava. |
| |
Even if we had a thousand apple trees, |
| |
if someone were to cut down just one it would be like cutting the owner down. |
| |
Whatever we cling to, we are born right there, |
| |
we exist right there. |
| |
We are born as soon as we âknowâ. |
| |
This is knowing through not-knowing: we know that someone has cut down one of our trees. |
| |
But we donât know that those trees are not really ours. |
| |
This is called âknowing through not-knowingâ. |
| |
We are bound to be born into that bhava. |
| |
Vatta, the wheel of conditioned existence, |
| |
operates like this. |
| |
People cling to bhava, they depend on bhava. |
| |
If they cherish bhava, this is birth. |
| |
And if they fall into suffering over that same thing, |
| |
this is also a birth. |
| |
As long as we canât let go we are stuck in the rut of samsÄra, |
| |
spinning around like a wheel. |
| |
Look into this, contemplate it. |
| |
Whatever we cling to as being us or ours, |
| |
that is a place for birth. |
| |
There must be a bhava, a sphere of birth, |
| |
before birth can take place. |
| |
Therefore, the Buddha said, whatever you have, |
| |
donât âhaveâ it. |
| |
Let it be there but donât make it yours. |
| |
You must understand this âhavingâ and ânot havingâ, |
| |
know the truth of them, donât flounder in suffering. |
| |
The place that we were born from; you want to go back there and be born again, |
| |
donât you? |
| |
All of you monks and novices, do you know where you were born from? |
| |
You want to go back there, donât you? |
| |
Right there, look into this. |
| |
All of you getting ready. |
| |
The nearer we get to the end of the retreat, |
| |
the more you start preparing to go back and be born there. |
| |
Really, youâd think that people could appreciate what it would be like, |
| |
living in a personâs belly. |
| |
How uncomfortable would that be? |
| |
Just look, merely staying in your kutī for one day is enough. |
| |
Shut all the doors and windows and youâre suffocating already. |
| |
How would it be to lie in a personâs belly for nine or ten months? |
| |
Think about it. |
| |
People donât see the liability of things. |
| |
Ask them why they are living, or why they are born, |
| |
and they have no idea. |
| |
Do you still want to get back in there? |
| |
Why? |
| |
It should be obvious but you donât see it. |
| |
Why canât you see it? |
| |
What are you stuck on, what are you holding on to? |
| |
Think it out for yourself. |
| |
Itâs because there is a cause for becoming and birth. |
| |
Just take a look at the preserved baby in the main hall, |
| |
have you seen it? |
| |
Isnât anybody alarmed by it? |
| |
No, no oneâs alarmed by it. |
| |
A baby lying in its motherâs belly is just like that preserved baby. |
| |
And yet you want to make more of those things, |
| |
and even want to get back and soak in there yourself. |
| |
Why donât you see the danger of it and the benefit of the practice? |
| |
You see? |
| |
Thatâs bhava. |
| |
The root is right there, it revolves around that. |
| |
The Buddha taught to contemplate this point. |
| |
People think about it but still donât see. |
| |
Theyâre all getting ready to go back there again. |
| |
They know that it wouldnât be very comfortable in there, |
| |
to put their necks in the noose is really uncomfortable, |
| |
yet they still want to lay their heads in there. |
| |
Why donât they understand this? |
| |
This is where wisdom comes in, where we must contemplate. |
| |
When I talk like this people say, âIf thatâs the case then everybody would have to become monks, |
| |
and then how would the world be able to function?â |
| |
Youâll never get everybody to become monks, |
| |
so donât worry. |
| |
The world is here because of deluded beings, |
| |
so this is no trifling matter. |
| |
I first became a novice at the age of nine. |
| |
I started practising from way back then. |
| |
But in those days I didnât really know what it was all about. |
| |
I found out when I became a monk. |
| |
Once I became a monk I became so wary. |
| |
The sensual pleasures people indulged in didnât seem like so much fun to me. |
| |
I saw the suffering in them. |
| |
It was like seeing a delicious banana which I knew was very sweet but which I also knew to be poisoned. |
| |
No matter how sweet or tempting it was, |
| |
if I ate it I would die. |
| |
I considered in this way every time; every time I wanted to âeat a bananaâ I would see the âpoisonâ steeped inside, |
| |
and so eventually I could withdraw my interest from those things. |
| |
Now at this age, such things are not at all tempting. |
| |
Some people donât see the âpoisonâ; some see it but still want to try their luck. |
| |
âIf your hand is wounded donât touch poison, |
| |
it may seep into the wound.â |
| |
I used to consider trying it out as well. |
| |
When I had lived as a monk for five or six years, |
| |
I thought of the Buddha. |
| |
He practised for five or six years and was finished, |
| |
but I was still interested in the worldly life, |
| |
so I thought of going back to it: âMaybe I should go and âbuild the worldâ for a while, |
| |
I would gain some experience and learning. |
| |
Even the Buddha had his son, RÄhula. |
| |
Maybe Iâm being too strict?â |
| |
I sat and considered this for some time, |
| |
until I realized: âYes, well, thatâs all very fine, |
| |
but Iâm just afraid that this âBuddhaâ wonât be like the last one.â |
| |
A voice in me said, âIâm afraid this âBuddhaâ will just sink into the mud, |
| |
not like the last one.â |
| |
And so I resisted those worldly thoughts. |
| |
From my sixth or seventh Rains Retreat up until the twentieth, |
| |
I really had to put up a fight. |
| |
These days I seem to have run out of bullets, |
| |
because Iâve been shooting for a long time. |
| |
Iâm just afraid that you younger monks and novices have still got so much ammunition, |
| |
you may just want to go and try out your guns. |
| |
Before you do, consider carefully first. |
| |
Itâs hard to give up sensual desire. |
| |
Itâs really difficult to see it as it is. |
| |
We must use skilful means. |
| |
Consider sensual pleasures as like eating meat which gets stuck in your teeth. |
| |
Before you finish the meal you have to find a toothpick to pry it out. |
| |
When the meat comes out you feel some relief for a while, |
| |
maybe you even think that you wonât eat anymore meat. |
| |
But when you see it again you canât resist it. |
| |
You eat some more and then it gets stuck again. |
| |
When it gets stuck you have to pick it out again, |
| |
which gives some relief once more, until you eat some more meat. |
| |
Thatâs all there is to it. |
| |
Sensual pleasures are just like this, |
| |
no better than this. |
| |
When the meat gets stuck in your teeth thereâs discomfort. |
| |
You take a toothpick and pick it out and experience some relief. |
| |
Thereâs nothing more to it than this sensual desire. |
| |
The pressure builds up and up until you let a little bit out. |
| |
Oh! |
| |
Thatâs all there is to it. |
| |
I donât know what all the fuss is about. |
| |
I didnât learn these things from anybody else, |
| |
they occurred to me in the course of my practice. |
| |
I would sit in meditation and reflect on sensual pleasure as |
| |
being like a red antsâ nest.2 Someone takes a piece of wood and pokes the nest until the ants come running out, |
| |
crawling down the wood and into their faces, |
| |
biting their eyes and ears. |
| |
And yet they still donât see the difficulty they are in. |
| |
However, itâs not beyond our ability. |
| |
In the teaching of the Buddha it is said that if weâve seen the harm of something, |
| |
no matter how good it may seem to be, |
| |
we know that itâs harmful. |
| |
Whatever we havenât yet seen the harm of, |
| |
we just think itâs good. |
| |
If we havenât yet seen the harm of anything we canât get out of it. |
| |
Have you noticed? |
| |
No matter how dirty it may be people like it. |
| |
This kind of âworkâ isnât clean but you donât even have to pay people to do it, |
| |
theyâll gladly volunteer. |
| |
With other kinds of dirty work, even if you pay a good wage people wonât do it, |
| |
but this kind of work they submit themselves to gladly, |
| |
you donât even have to pay them. |
| |
Itâs not that itâs clean work, either, |
| |
itâs dirty work. |
| |
Yet why do people like it? |
| |
How can you say that people are intelligent when they behave like this? |
| |
Think about it. |
| |
Have you ever noticed the dogs in the monastery grounds here? |
| |
There are packs of them. |
| |
They run around biting each other, some of them even getting maimed. |
| |
In another month or so theyâll be at it. |
| |
As soon as one of the smaller ones gets into the pack the bigger ones are at him - out he comes yelping, |
| |
dragging his leg behind him. |
| |
But when the pack runs on he hobbles on after it. |
| |
Heâs only a little one, but he thinks heâll get his chance one day. |
| |
They bite his leg for him and thatâs all he gets for his trouble. |
| |
For the whole of the mating season he may not even get one chance. |
| |
You can see this for yourself in the monastery here. |
| |
When these dogs run around howling in packs, |
| |
I figure if they were humans theyâd be singing songs! |
| |
They think itâs such great fun theyâre singing songs, |
| |
but they donât have a clue what it is that makes them do it, |
| |
they just blindly follow their instincts. |
| |
Think about this carefully. |
| |
If you really want to practise you should understand your feelings. |
| |
For example, among the monks, novices or laypeople, |
| |
who should you socialize with? |
| |
If you associate with people who talk a lot they induce you to talk a lot also. |
| |
Your own share is already enough, theirs is even more; put them together and they explode! |
| |
People like to socialize with those who chatter a lot and talk of frivolous things. |
| |
They can sit and listen to that for hours. |
| |
When it comes to listening to Dhamma, |
| |
talking about practice, there isnât much of it to be heard. |
| |
Like when giving a Dhamma talk: as soon as I start off âNamo Tassa Bhagavato3 theyâre all sleepy already. |
| |
They donât take in the talk at all. |
| |
When I reach the âEvamâ they all open their eyes and wake up. |
| |
Every time thereâs a Dhamma talk people fall asleep. |
| |
How are they going to get any benefit from it? |
| |
Real Dhamma cultivators will come away from a talk feeling inspired and uplifted, |
| |
they learn something. |
| |
Every six or seven days the teacher gives another talk, |
| |
constantly boosting the practice. |
| |
This is your chance, now that you are ordained. |
| |
Thereâs only this one chance, so take a close look. |
| |
Look at things and consider which path you will choose. |
| |
You are independent now. |
| |
Where are you going to go from here? |
| |
You are standing at the crossroads between the worldly way and the Dhamma way. |
| |
Which way will you choose? |
| |
You can take either way, this is the time to decide. |
| |
The choice is yours to make. |
| |
If you are to be liberated it is at this point. |
| |
1: The Thai word for bhava, âpopâ, would have been a familiar term to Ajahn Chahâs audience. |
| |
It is generally understood to mean âsphere of rebirthâ. |
| |
Ajahn Chahâs usage of the word here is somewhat unconventional, |
| |
emphasizing a more practical application of the term. |
| |
2: Both the red ants and their eggs are used for food in North-East Thailand, |
| |
so such raids on their nests were not so unusual. |
| |
3: The first line of the traditional PÄli words of homage to the Buddha, |
| |
recited before giving a formal Dhamma talk. |
| |
Evam is the traditional PÄli word for ending a talk. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Take a look at your fear. |
| |
One day, as it was nearing nightfall, |
| |
there was nothing else for it. |
| |
If I tried to reason with myself Iâd never go, |
| |
so I grabbed a pah-kow and just went. |
| |
âIf itâs time for it to die then let it die. |
| |
If my mind is going to be so stubborn and stupid then let it die.â |
| |
Thatâs how I thought to myself. |
| |
Actually in my heart I didnât really want to go but I forced myself to. |
| |
When it comes to things like this, if you wait till everythingâs just right youâll end up never going. |
| |
When would you ever train yourself? |
| |
So I just went. |
| |
Iâd never stayed in a charnel ground before. |
| |
When I got there, words canât describe the way I felt. |
| |
The pa-kow wanted to camp right next to me but I wouldnât have it. |
| |
I made him stay far away. |
| |
Really I wanted him to stay close to keep me company but I wouldnât have it. |
| |
I made him move away, otherwise Iâd have counted on him for support. |
| |
âIf itâs going to be so afraid then let it die tonight.â |
| |
I was afraid, but I dared. |
| |
Itâs not that I wasnât afraid, but I had courage. |
| |
In the end you have to die anyway. |
| |
Well, just as it was getting dark I had my chance, |
| |
in they came carrying a corpse. |
| |
Just my luck! |
| |
I couldnât even feel my feet touch the ground, |
| |
I wanted to get out of there so badly. |
| |
They wanted me to do some funeral chants but I wouldnât get involved, |
| |
I just walked away. |
| |
In a few minutes, after theyâd gone, I just walked back and found that they had buried the corpse right next to my spot, |
| |
making the bamboo used for carrying it into a bed for me to stay on. |
| |
So now what was I to do? |
| |
Itâs not that the village was nearby, |
| |
it was a good two or three kilometres away. |
| |
âWell, if Iâm going to die, Iâm going to die.â |
| |
If youâve never dared to do it youâll never know what itâs like. |
| |
Itâs really an experience. |
| |
As it got darker and darker I wondered where there was to run to in the middle of that charnel ground. |
| |
âOh, let it die. |
| |
One is born to this life only to die, |
| |
anyway.â |
| |
As soon as the sun sank the night told me to get inside my glot. |
| |
I didnât want to do any walking meditation, |
| |
I only wanted to get into my net. |
| |
Whenever I tried to walk towards the grave it was as if something was pulling me back from behind, |
| |
to stop me from walking. |
| |
It was as if my feelings of fear and courage were having a tug-of-war with me. |
| |
But I did it. |
| |
This is the way you must train yourself. |
| |
When it was dark I got into my mosquito net. |
| |
It felt as if I had a seven-tiered wall all around me. |
| |
Seeing my trusty alms bowl there beside me was like seeing an old friend. |
| |
Even a bowl can be a friend sometimes! |
| |
Its presence beside me was comforting. |
| |
I had a bowl for a friend at least. |
| |
I sat in my net watching over the body all night. |
| |
I didnât lie down or even doze off, I just sat quietly. |
| |
I couldnât be sleepy even if I wanted to, |
| |
I was so scared. |
| |
Yes, I was scared, and yet I did it. |
| |
I sat through the night. |
| |
Now who would have the guts to practise like this? |
| |
Try it and see. |
| |
When it comes to experiences like this who would dare to go and stay in a charnel ground? |
| |
If you donât actually do it you donât get the results, |
| |
you donât really practise. |
| |
This time I really practised. |
| |
When day broke I felt, âOh! |
| |
Iâve survived!â |
| |
I was so glad, I just wanted to have daytime, |
| |
no night time at all. |
| |
I wanted to kill off the night and leave only daylight. |
| |
I felt so good, I had survived. |
| |
I thought, âOh, thereâs nothing to it, |
| |
itâs just my own fear, thatâs all.â |
| |
After almsround and eating the meal I felt good, |
| |
the sunshine came out, making me feel warm and cosy. |
| |
I had a rest and walked a while. |
| |
I thought, âThis evening I should have some good, |
| |
quiet meditation, because Iâve already been through it all last night. |
| |
Thereâs probably nothing more to it.â |
| |
Then, later in the afternoon, wouldnât you know it? |
| |
In comes another one, a big one this time.1 They brought the corpse in and cremated it right beside my spot, |
| |
right in front of my glot. |
| |
This was even worse than last night! |
| |
âWell, thatâs good,â I thought, âbringing in this corpse to burn here is going to help my practice.â |
| |
But still I wouldnât go and do any rites for them, |
| |
I waited for them to leave first before taking a look. |
| |
Burning that body for me to sit and watch over all night, |
| |
I canât tell you how it was. |
| |
Words canât describe it. |
| |
Nothing I could say could convey the fear I felt. |
| |
In the dead of night, remember. |
| |
The fire from the burning corpse flickered red and green and the flames pattered softly. |
| |
I wanted to do walking meditation in front of the body but could hardly bring myself to do it. |
| |
Eventually I got into my net. |
| |
The stench from the burning flesh lingered all through the night. |
| |
And this was before things really started to happen. |
| |
As the flames flickered softly I turned my back on the fire. |
| |
I forgot about sleep, I couldnât even think of it, |
| |
my eyes were fixed rigid with fear. |
| |
And there was nobody to turn to, there was only me. |
| |
I had to rely on myself. |
| |
I could think of nowhere to go, there was nowhere to run to in that pitch-black night. |
| |
âWell, Iâll sit and die here. |
| |
Iâm not moving from this spot.â |
| |
Here, talking of the ordinary mind, would it want to do this? |
| |
Would it take you to such a situation? |
| |
If you tried to reason it out youâd never go. |
| |
Who would want to do such a thing? |
| |
If you didnât have strong faith in the teaching of the Buddha youâd never do it. |
| |
Now, about 10 p.m., I was sitting with my back to the fire. |
| |
I donât know what it was, but there came a sound of shuffling from the fire behind me. |
| |
Had the coffin just collapsed? |
| |
Or maybe a dog was getting the corpse? |
| |
But no, it sounded more like a buffalo walking steadily around. |
| |
âOh, never mind.â |
| |
But then it started walking towards me, |
| |
just like a person! |
| |
It walked up behind me, the footsteps heavy, |
| |
like a buffaloâs, and yet not. |
| |
The leaves crunched under the footsteps as it made its way round to the front. |
| |
Well, I could only prepare for the worst, |
| |
where else was there to go? |
| |
But it didnât really come up to me, it just circled around in front and then went off in the direction of the pa-kow. |
| |
Then all was quiet. |
| |
I donât know what it was, but my fear made me think of many possibilities. |
| |
It must have been about half an hour later, |
| |
I think, when the footsteps started coming back from the direction of the pa-kow. |
| |
Just like a person! |
| |
It came right up to me, this time, heading for me as if to run me over! |
| |
I closed my eyes and refused to open them. |
| |
âIâll die with my eyes closed.â |
| |
It got closer and closer until it stopped dead in front of me and just stood stock still. |
| |
I felt as if it were waving burnt hands back and forth in front of my closed eyes. |
| |
Oh! |
| |
This was really it! |
| |
I threw out everything, forgot all about Buddho, |
| |
Dhammo and Sangho. |
| |
I forgot everything else, there was only the fear in me, |
| |
stacked in full to the brim. |
| |
My thoughts couldnât go anywhere else, |
| |
there was only fear. |
| |
From the day I was born I had never experienced such fear. |
| |
Buddho and Dhammo had disappeared, I donât know where. |
| |
There was only fear welling up inside my chest until it felt like a tightly stretched drum skin. |
| |
âWell, Iâll just leave it as it is, thereâs nothing else to do.â |
| |
I sat as if I wasnât even touching the ground and simply noted what was going on. |
| |
The fear was so great that it filled me, |
| |
like a jar completely filled with water. |
| |
If you pour water until the jar is completely full, |
| |
and then pour some more, the jar will overflow. |
| |
Likewise, the fear built up so much within me that it reached its peak and began to overflow. |
| |
âWhat am I so afraid of anyway?â |
| |
a voice inside me asked. |
| |
âIâm afraid of death,â another voice answered. |
| |
âWell, then, where is this thing âdeath?â |
| |
Why all the panic? |
| |
Look where death abides. |
| |
Where is death?â |
| |
âWhy, death is within me!â |
| |
âIf death is within you, then where are you going to run to escape it? |
| |
If you run away you die, if you stay here you die. |
| |
Wherever you go it goes with you because death lies within you, |
| |
thereâs nowhere you can run to. |
| |
Whether you are afraid or not you die just the same, |
| |
thereâs nowhere to escape death.â |
| |
As soon as I had thought this, my perception seemed to change right around. |
| |
All the fear completely disappeared as easily as turning over oneâs own hand. |
| |
It was truly amazing. |
| |
So much fear and yet it could disappear just like that! |
| |
Non-fear arose in its place. |
| |
Now my mind rose higher and higher until I felt as if I was in the clouds. |
| |
As soon as I had conquered the fear, rain began to fall. |
| |
I donât know what sort of rain it was, |
| |
the wind was so strong. |
| |
But I wasnât afraid of dying now. |
| |
I wasnât afraid that the branches of the trees might come crashing down on me. |
| |
I paid it no mind. |
| |
The rain thundered down like a hot season torrent, |
| |
really heavy. |
| |
By the time the rain had stopped everything was soaking wet. |
| |
I sat unmoving. |
| |
So what did I do next, soaking wet as I was? |
| |
I cried! |
| |
The tears flowed down my cheeks. |
| |
I cried as I thought to myself, âWhy am I sitting here like some sort of orphan or abandoned child, |
| |
sitting, soaking in the rain like a man who owns nothing, |
| |
like an exile?â |
| |
And then I thought further, âAll those people sitting comfortably |
| |
in their homes right now probably donât even suspect that there is a monk sitting, |
| |
soaking in the rain all night like this. |
| |
Whatâs the point of it all?â |
| |
Thinking like this I began to feel so thoroughly sorry for myself that the tears came gushing out. |
| |
âTheyâre not good things anyway, these tears, |
| |
let them flow right on out until theyâre all gone.â |
| |
This was how I practised. |
| |
Now I donât know how I can describe the things that followed. |
| |
I sat and listened. |
| |
After conquering my feelings I just sat and watched as all manner of things arose in me, |
| |
so many things that were possible to know but impossible to describe. |
| |
And I thought of the Buddhaâs words, paccattam veditabbo viññƫhi: âThe wise will know for themselves.â |
| |
I had endured such suffering and sat through the rain like this. |
| |
Who was there to experience it with me? |
| |
Only I could know what it was like. |
| |
There was so much fear and yet the fear disappeared. |
| |
Who else could witness this? |
| |
The people in their homes in the town couldnât know what it was like, |
| |
only I could see it. |
| |
It was a personal experience. |
| |
Even if I were to tell others they wouldnât really know, |
| |
it was something for each individual to experience for himself. |
| |
The more I contemplated this the clearer it became. |
| |
I became stronger and stronger, my conviction become firmer and firmer, |
| |
until daybreak. |
| |
When I opened my eyes at dawn, everything was yellow. |
| |
I had been wanting to urinate during the night but the feeling had eventually stopped. |
| |
When I got up from my sitting in the morning everywhere I looked was yellow, |
| |
just like the early morning sunlight on some days. |
| |
When I went to urinate there was blood in the urine! |
| |
âEh? |
| |
Is my gut torn or something?â |
| |
I got a bit of fright. |
| |
âMaybe itâs really torn inside there.â |
| |
âWell, so what? |
| |
If itâs torn itâs torn, who is there to blame?â |
| |
a voice told me straight away. |
| |
âIf itâs torn itâs torn, if I die I die. |
| |
I was only sitting here, I wasnât doing any harm. |
| |
If itâs going to burst, let it burst,â the voice said. |
| |
My mind was as if arguing or fighting with itself. |
| |
One voice would come from one side, saying, |
| |
âHey, this is dangerous!â |
| |
Another voice would counter it, challenge it and over-rule it. |
| |
My urine was stained with blood. |
| |
âHmm. |
| |
Where am I going to find medicine?â |
| |
âIâm not going to bother with that stuff. |
| |
A monk canât cut plants for medicine anyway. |
| |
If I die, I die, so what? |
| |
What else is there to do? |
| |
If I die while practising like this then Iâm ready. |
| |
If I were to die doing something bad thatâs no good, |
| |
but to die practising like this Iâm prepared.â |
| |
Donât follow your moods. |
| |
Train yourself. |
| |
The practice involves putting your very life at stake. |
| |
You must have cried at least two or three times. |
| |
Thatâs right, thatâs the practice. |
| |
If youâre sleepy and want to lie down then donât let it sleep. |
| |
Make the sleepiness go away before you lie down. |
| |
But look at you all, you donât know how to practise. |
| |
Sometimes, when you come back from almsround and youâre contemplating the food before eating, |
| |
you canât settle down, your mind is like a mad dog. |
| |
The saliva flows, youâre so hungry. |
| |
Sometimes you may not even bother to contemplate, |
| |
you just dig in. |
| |
Thatâs a disaster. |
| |
If the mind wonât calm down and be patient then just push your bowl away and donât eat. |
| |
Train yourself, drill yourself, thatâs practice. |
| |
Donât just keep on following your mind. |
| |
Push your bowl away, get up and leave, |
| |
donât allow yourself to eat. |
| |
If it really wants to eat so much and acts so stubborn then donât let it eat. |
| |
The saliva will stop flowing. |
| |
If the defilements know that they wonât get anything to eat theyâll get scared. |
| |
They wonât dare bother you next day, theyâll be afraid they wonât get anything to eat. |
| |
Try it out if you donât believe me. |
| |
People donât trust the practice, they donât dare to really do it. |
| |
Theyâre afraid theyâll go hungry, afraid theyâll die. |
| |
If you donât try it out you wonât know what itâs about. |
| |
Most of us donât dare to do it, donât dare to try it out; weâre afraid. |
| |
Iâve suffered for a long time over eating and the like, |
| |
so I know what theyâre about. |
| |
And thatâs only a minor thing as well. |
| |
So this practice is not something one can study easily. |
| |
Consider: what is the most important thing of all? |
| |
Thereâs nothing else, just death. |
| |
Death is the most important thing in the world. |
| |
Consider, practice, inquire. |
| |
If you donât have clothing you wonât die. |
| |
If you donât have betel nut to chew or cigarettes to smoke you still wonât die. |
| |
But if you donât have rice or water, then you will die. |
| |
I see only these two things as being essential in this world. |
| |
You need rice and water to nourish the body. |
| |
So I wasnât interested in anything else, |
| |
I just contented myself with whatever was offered. |
| |
As long as I had rice and water it was enough to practise with, |
| |
I was content. |
| |
Is that enough for you? |
| |
All those other things are extras. |
| |
Whether you get them or not doesnât matter, |
| |
the only really important things are rice and water. |
| |
âIf I live like this can I survive?â |
| |
I asked myself. |
| |
âThereâs enough to get by on all right. |
| |
I can probably get at least rice on almsround in just about any village, |
| |
a mouthful from each house. |
| |
Water is usually available. |
| |
Just these two are enough.â |
| |
I didnât aim to be particularly rich. |
| |
In regards to the practice, right and wrong are usually coexistent. |
| |
You must dare to do it, dare to practise. |
| |
If youâve never been to a charnel ground you should train yourself to go. |
| |
If you canât go at night then go during the day. |
| |
Then train yourself to go later and later until you can go at dusk and stay there. |
| |
Then you will see the effects of the practice, |
| |
then you will understand. |
| |
This mind has been deluded now for who knows how many lifetimes. |
| |
Whatever we donât like or love we want to avoid; we just indulge in our fears. |
| |
And then we say weâre practising. |
| |
This canât be called âpracticeâ. |
| |
If itâs real practice youâll even risk your life. |
| |
If youâve really made up your mind to practise why would you take an interest in petty concerns? |
| |
âI only got a little, you got a lot.â |
| |
âYou quarrelled with me so Iâm quarrelling with you.â |
| |
I had none of these thoughts because I wasnât looking for such things. |
| |
Whatever others did was their business. |
| |
When I went to other monasteries I didnât get involved in such things. |
| |
However high or low others practised I wouldnât take any interest, |
| |
I just looked after my own business. |
| |
And so I dared to practise, and the practice gave rise to wisdom and insight. |
| |
If your practice has really hit the spot then you really practise. |
| |
Day or night you practise. |
| |
At night, when itâs quiet, Iâd sit in meditation, |
| |
then come down to walk, alternating back and forth like this at least two or three times a night. |
| |
Walk, then sit, then walk some more. |
| |
I wasnât bored, I enjoyed it. |
| |
Sometimes itâd be raining softly and Iâd think of the times I used to work the rice paddies. |
| |
My pants would still be wet from the day before but Iâd have to get up before dawn and put them on again. |
| |
Then Iâd have to go down to below the house to get the buffalo out of its pen. |
| |
All I could see of the buffalo would be covered in buffalo shit. |
| |
Then the buffaloâs tail would swish around and spatter me with shit on top of that. |
| |
My feet would be sore with athleteâs foot and Iâd walk along thinking, |
| |
âWhy is life so miserable?â |
| |
And now here I was walking meditation. |
| |
What was a little bit of rain to me? |
| |
Thinking like this I encouraged myself in the practice. |
| |
If the practice has entered the stream then thereâs nothing to compare with it. |
| |
Thereâs no suffering like the suffering of a Dhamma cultivator |
| |
and thereâs no happiness like the happiness of one either. |
| |
Thereâs no zeal to compare with the zeal of the cultivator and thereâs no laziness to compare with them either. |
| |
Practitioners of the Dhamma are tops. |
| |
Thatâs why I say if you really practise itâs a sight to see. |
| |
But most of us just talk about practice without having done it or reached it. |
| |
Our practice is like the man whose roof is leaking on one side so he sleeps on the other side of the house. |
| |
When the sunshine comes in on that side he rolls over to the other side, |
| |
all the time thinking, âWhen will I ever get a decent house like everyone else?â |
| |
If the whole roof leaks then he just gets up and leaves. |
| |
This is not the way to do things, but thatâs how most people are. |
| |
This mind of ours, these defilements - if you follow them theyâll cause trouble. |
| |
The more you follow them the more the practice degenerates. |
| |
With the real practice sometimes you even amaze yourself with your zeal. |
| |
Whether other people practise or not, |
| |
donât take any interest, simply do your own practice consistently. |
| |
Whoever comes or goes it doesnât matter, |
| |
just do the practice. |
| |
You must look at yourself before it can be called âpracticeâ. |
| |
When you really practise there are no conflicts in your mind, |
| |
there is only Dhamma. |
| |
Wherever you are still inept, wherever you are still lacking, |
| |
thatâs where you must apply yourself. |
| |
If you havenât yet cracked it donât give up. |
| |
Having finished with one thing you get stuck on another, |
| |
so persist with it until you crack it, |
| |
donât let up. |
| |
Donât be content until itâs finished. |
| |
Put all your attention on that point. |
| |
While sitting, lying down or walking, |
| |
watch right there. |
| |
Itâs just like a farmer who hasnât yet finished his fields. |
| |
Every year he plants rice but this year he still hasnât managed to get it all finished, |
| |
so his mind is stuck on that, he canât rest contented. |
| |
His work is still unfinished. |
| |
Even when heâs with friends he canât relax, |
| |
heâs all the time nagged by his unfinished business. |
| |
Or like a mother who leaves her baby upstairs in the house while |
| |
she goes to feed the animals below; sheâs always got her baby in mind, |
| |
lest it should fall from the house. |
| |
Even though she may do other things, her baby is never far from her thoughts. |
| |
Itâs just the same for us and our practice - we never forget it. |
| |
Even though we may do other things our practice is never far from our thoughts, |
| |
itâs constantly with us, day and night. |
| |
It has to be like this if you are really going to make progress. |
| |
In the beginning you must rely on a teacher to instruct and advise you. |
| |
When you understand, then practice. |
| |
When the teacher has instructed you, follow the instructions. |
| |
If you understand the practice itâs no longer necessary for the teacher to teach you, |
| |
just do the work yourselves. |
| |
Whenever heedlessness or unwholesome qualities arise know for yourself, |
| |
teach yourself. |
| |
Do the practice yourself. |
| |
The mind is the one who knows, the witness. |
| |
The mind knows for itself if you are still very deluded or only a little deluded. |
| |
Wherever you are still faulty try to practise right at that point, |
| |
apply yourself to it. |
| |
Practice is like that. |
| |
Itâs almost like being crazy, or you could even say you are crazy. |
| |
When you really practice you are crazy, |
| |
you âflipâ. |
| |
You have distorted perception and then you adjust your perception. |
| |
If you donât adjust it, itâs going to be just as troublesome and just as wretched as before. |
| |
So thereâs a lot of suffering in the practice, |
| |
but if you donât know your own suffering you wonât understand the Noble Truth of suffering. |
| |
To understand suffering, to kill it off, |
| |
you first have to encounter it. |
| |
If you want to shoot a bird but donât go out and find it, |
| |
how will you ever shoot it? |
| |
Suffering, suffering - the Buddha taught about suffering: the suffering of birth, |
| |
the suffering of old age. |
| |
If you donât want to experience suffering, |
| |
you wonât see suffering. |
| |
If you donât see suffering, you wonât understand suffering. |
| |
If you donât understand suffering, you wonât be able to get rid of suffering. |
| |
Now people donât want to see suffering, |
| |
they donât want to experience it. |
| |
If they suffer here, they run over there. |
| |
You see? |
| |
Theyâre simply dragging their suffering around with them, |
| |
they never kill it. |
| |
They donât contemplate or investigate it. |
| |
If they feel suffering here, they run over there; if it arises there they run back here. |
| |
They try to run away from suffering physically. |
| |
As long as you are still ignorant, wherever you go youâll find suffering. |
| |
Even if you boarded an aeroplane to get away from it, |
| |
it would board the plane with you. |
| |
If you dived under the water it would dive in with you, |
| |
because suffering lies within us. |
| |
But we donât know that. |
| |
If it lies within us, where can we run to escape it? |
| |
People have suffering in one place so they go somewhere else. |
| |
When suffering arises there they run off again. |
| |
They think theyâre running away from suffering but theyâre not, |
| |
suffering goes with them. |
| |
They carry suffering around without knowing it. |
| |
If we donât know the cause of suffering then we canât know the cessation of suffering, |
| |
thereâs no way we can escape it. |
| |
You must look into this intently until youâre beyond doubt. |
| |
You must dare to practise. |
| |
Donât shirk it, either in a group or alone. |
| |
If others are lazy it doesnât matter. |
| |
Whoever does a lot of walking meditation, |
| |
a lot of practice, I guarantee results. |
| |
If you really practise consistently, whether others come or go or whatever, |
| |
one Rains Retreat is enough. |
| |
Do it like Iâve been telling you here. |
| |
Listen to the teacherâs words, donât quibble, |
| |
donât be stubborn. |
| |
Whatever he tells you to do, go right ahead and do it. |
| |
You neednât be timid about the practice, |
| |
knowledge will surely arise from it. |
| |
Practice is also patipadÄ. |
| |
What is patipadÄ? |
| |
Practice evenly, consistently. |
| |
Donât practice like Old Reverend Peh. |
| |
One Rains Retreat he determined to stop talking. |
| |
He stopped talking all right but then he started writing notes. |
| |
âTomorrow please toast me some rice.â |
| |
He wanted to eat toasted rice! |
| |
He stopped talking but ended up writing so many notes that he was even more scattered than before. |
| |
One minute heâd write one thing, the next another, |
| |
what a farce! |
| |
I donât know why he bothered determining not to talk. |
| |
He didnât know what practice was. |
| |
Actually our practice is to be content with little, |
| |
to just be natural. |
| |
Donât worry whether you feel lazy or diligent. |
| |
Donât even say âIâm diligentâ or âIâm lazy.â |
| |
Most people practise only when they feel diligent, |
| |
if they feel lazy they donât bother. |
| |
This is how people usually are. |
| |
But monks shouldnât think like that. |
| |
If you are diligent you practise, when you are lazy you still practise. |
| |
Donât bother with other things, cut them off, |
| |
throw them out, train yourself. |
| |
Practise consistently, whether day or night, |
| |
this year, next year, whatever the time, |
| |
donât pay attention to thoughts of diligence or laziness, |
| |
donât worry whether itâs hot or cold, |
| |
just do it. |
| |
This is called sammÄ patipadÄ - right practice. |
| |
Some people really apply themselves to the practice for six or seven days. |
| |
Then, when they donât get the results they wanted, |
| |
give it up and revert completely, indulging in chatter, |
| |
socializing and whatever. |
| |
Then they remember the practice and go at it for another six or seven days, |
| |
then give it up again. |
| |
Itâs like the way some people work. |
| |
At first they throw themselves into it, |
| |
then, when they stop, they donât even bother picking up their tools, |
| |
they just walk off and leave them there. |
| |
Later on, when the soil has all caked up, |
| |
they remember their work and do a bit more, |
| |
only to leave it again. |
| |
Doing things this way youâll never get a decent garden or paddy. |
| |
Our practice is the same. |
| |
If you think this patipadÄ is unimportant you wonât get anywhere with the practice. |
| |
SammÄ patipadÄ is unquestionably important. |
| |
Do it constantly. |
| |
Donât listen to your moods. |
| |
So what if your mood is good or not. |
| |
The Buddha didnât bother with those things. |
| |
He had experienced all the good things and bad things, |
| |
the right things and wrong things. |
| |
That was his practice. |
| |
Taking only what you like and discarding whatever you donât like isnât practice, |
| |
itâs disaster. |
| |
Wherever you go you will never be satisfied, |
| |
wherever you stay there will be suffering. |
| |
Practising like this is like the BrÄhmans making their sacrifices. |
| |
Why do they do it? |
| |
Because they want something in exchange. |
| |
Some of us practise like this. |
| |
Why do we practise? |
| |
Because we seek rebirth, another state of being, |
| |
we want to attain something. |
| |
If we donât get what we want then we donât want to practise, |
| |
just like the Brahmans making their sacrifices. |
| |
They do so because of desire. |
| |
The Buddha didnât teach like that. |
| |
The cultivation of the practice is for giving up, |
| |
for letting go, for stopping, for uprooting. |
| |
You donât do it for re-birth into any particular state. |
| |
There was once a Thera who had gone forth into the MahÄnikaya2 sect initially. |
| |
But he found it not strict enough so he took Dhammayuttika ordination. |
| |
Then he started practising. |
| |
Sometimes he would fast for fifteen days, |
| |
then when he ate heâd eat only leaves and grass. |
| |
He thought that eating animals was bad kamma, |
| |
that it would be better to eat leaves and grass. |
| |
After a while he thought âHmm. |
| |
Being a monk is not so good, itâs inconvenient. |
| |
Itâs hard to maintain my vegetarian practice as a monk. |
| |
Maybe Iâll disrobe and become a pa-kow.â |
| |
So he disrobed and became a pa-kow so that he could gather the leaves and grass for himself and dig for roots and yams. |
| |
He carried on like that for a while till in the end he didnât know what he should be doing. |
| |
He gave it all up. |
| |
He gave up being a monk, gave up being a pa-kow, |
| |
gave up everything. |
| |
These days I donât know what heâs doing. |
| |
Maybe heâs dead, I donât know. |
| |
This is because he couldnât find anything to suit his mind. |
| |
He didnât realize that he was simply following defilements. |
| |
The defilements were leading him on but he didnât know it. |
| |
Did the Buddha disrobe and become a pa-kow? |
| |
How did the Buddha practice? |
| |
What did he do? |
| |
He didnât consider this. |
| |
Did the Buddha go and eat leaves and grass like a cow? |
| |
Sure, if you want to eat like that go ahead, |
| |
if thatâs all you can manage, but donât go round criticizing others. |
| |
Whatever standard of practice you find suitable then persevere with that. |
| |
Donât gouge or carve too much or you wonât have a decent handle.3 |
| |
Youâll be left with nothing and in the end just give up. |
| |
Some people are like this. |
| |
When it comes to walking meditation they really go at it for fifteen days or so. |
| |
They donât even bother eating, just walk. |
| |
Then when they finish that they just lie around and sleep. |
| |
They donât bother considering carefully before they start to practise. |
| |
In the end nothing suits them. |
| |
Being a monk doesnât suit them, being a pa-kow doesnât suit them, |
| |
so they end up with nothing. |
| |
People like this donât know practice, |
| |
they donât look into the reasons for practising. |
| |
Think about what youâre practising for. |
| |
This teaching is taught for the sake of letting go, |
| |
for giving up. |
| |
The mind wants to love this person and hate that person. |
| |
These things may arise but donât take them to be real. |
| |
So what are we practising for? |
| |
Simply so that we can give up these very things. |
| |
Even if you attain peace, throw out the peace. |
| |
If knowledge arises, throw out the knowledge. |
| |
If you know then you know, but if you take that knowing to be your own then you think you know something. |
| |
Then you think you are better than others. |
| |
After a while you canât live anywhere, |
| |
wherever you live problems arise. |
| |
If you practise wrongly itâs just as if you didnât practise at all. |
| |
Practise according to your capacity. |
| |
Do you sleep a lot? |
| |
Then try going against the grain. |
| |
Do you eat a lot? |
| |
Then try eating less. |
| |
Take as much practice as you need, using sīla, |
| |
samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä as your basis. |
| |
Then throw in the dhutanga practices also. |
| |
These dhutanga practices are for digging into the defilements. |
| |
You may find the basic practices still not enough to really uproot the defilements, |
| |
so you have to incorporate the dhutanga practices as well. |
| |
These dhutanga practices are really useful. |
| |
Some people canât kill off the defilements with basic sÄ«la and samÄdhi, |
| |
they have to bring in the dhutanga practices to help out. |
| |
The dhutanga practices cut off many things. |
| |
Living at the foot of a tree isnât against the precepts. |
| |
But if you determine the dhutanga practice of living in a charnel ground and then donât do it, |
| |
thatâs wrong. |
| |
Try it out. |
| |
Whatâs it like to live in a charnel ground? |
| |
Is it the same as living in a group? |
| |
Dhutanga: this translates as âthe practices which are hard to doâ. |
| |
These are the practices of the Noble Ones. |
| |
Whoever wants to be a Noble One must use the dhutanga practices to cut the defilements. |
| |
Itâs difficult to observe them and itâs hard to find people with the commitment to practise them, |
| |
because they go against the grain. |
| |
For instance they say to limit your robes to the basic three |
| |
robes; to maintain yourself on almsfood; to eat only from the |
| |
bowl; to eat only what you get on almsround - if anyone brings food to offer afterwards you donât accept it. |
| |
Keeping this last practice in central Thailand is easy. |
| |
The food is quite adequate, because there they put a lot of food in your bowl. |
| |
But when you come to the north-east here, |
| |
this dhutanga takes on subtle nuances - here you get plain rice! |
| |
In these parts the tradition is to put only plain rice in the almsbowl. |
| |
In central Thailand they give rice and other foods also, |
| |
but around these parts you get only plain rice. |
| |
This dhutanga practice becomes really ascetic. |
| |
You eat only plain rice, whatever is offered afterwards you donât accept. |
| |
Then there is eating once a day, at one sitting, |
| |
from only one bowl - when youâve finished eating you get up from your seat and donât eat again that day. |
| |
These are called dhutanga practices. |
| |
Now who will practise them? |
| |
Itâs hard these days to find people with enough commitment to |
| |
practise them because they are demanding; but that is why they are so beneficial. |
| |
What people call practice these days is not really practice. |
| |
If you really practise itâs no easy matter. |
| |
Most people donât dare to really practise, |
| |
donât dare to really go against the grain. |
| |
They donât want to do anything which runs contrary to their feelings. |
| |
People donât want to resist the defilements, |
| |
they donât want to dig at them or get rid of them. |
| |
In our practice they say not to follow your own moods. |
| |
Consider: for countless lifetimes already we have been fooled into believing that the mind is our own. |
| |
Actually it isnât, itâs just an imposter. |
| |
It drags us into greed, drags us into aversion, |
| |
drags us into delusion, drags us into theft, |
| |
plunder, desire and hatred. |
| |
These things arenât ours. |
| |
Just ask yourself right now: do you want to be good? |
| |
Everybody wants to be good. |
| |
Now doing all these things, is that good? |
| |
There! |
| |
People commit malicious acts and yet they want to be good. |
| |
Thatâs why I say these things are tricksters, |
| |
thatâs all they are. |
| |
The Buddha didnât want us to follow this mind, |
| |
he wanted us to train it. |
| |
If it goes one way, then take cover another way. |
| |
When it goes over there take cover back here. |
| |
To put it simply: whatever the mind wants, |
| |
donât let it have it. |
| |
Itâs as if weâve been friends for years but we finally reach a point where our ideas are no longer the same. |
| |
We split up and go our separate ways. |
| |
We no longer understand each other; in fact we even argue, |
| |
so we break up. |
| |
Thatâs right, donât follow your own mind. |
| |
Whoever follows his own mind, follows its likes and desires and everything else. |
| |
That person hasnât yet practised at all. |
| |
This is why I say that what people call practice is not really practice itâs disaster. |
| |
If you donât stop and take a look, donât try the practice, |
| |
you wonât see, you wonât attain the Dhamma. |
| |
To put it straight, in our practice you have to commit your very life. |
| |
Itâs not that it isnât difficult, this practice has to entail some suffering. |
| |
Especially in the first year or two, thereâs a lot of suffering. |
| |
The young monks and novices really have a hard time. |
| |
Iâve had a lot of difficulties in the past, |
| |
especially with food. |
| |
What can you expect? |
| |
Becoming a monk at twenty when you are just getting into your food and sleep, |
| |
some days I would sit alone and just dream of food. |
| |
Iâd want to eat bananas in syrup, or papaya salad, |
| |
and my saliva would start to run. |
| |
This is part of the training. |
| |
All these things are not easy. |
| |
This business of food and eating can lead one into a lot of bad kamma. |
| |
Take someone whoâs just growing up, just getting into his food and sleep, |
| |
and constrain him in these robes and his feelings run amok. |
| |
Itâs like damming a flowing torrent, sometimes the dam just breaks. |
| |
If it survives thatâs fine, but if not it just collapses. |
| |
My meditation in the first year was nothing else, |
| |
just food. |
| |
I was so restless. |
| |
Sometimes I would sit there and it was almost as if I was actually popping bananas into my mouth. |
| |
I could almost feel myself breaking the bananas into pieces and putting them in my mouth. |
| |
And this is all part of the practice. |
| |
So donât be afraid of it. |
| |
Weâve all been deluded for countless lifetimes now so coming to train ourselves, |
| |
to correct ourselves, is no easy matter. |
| |
But if itâs difficult itâs worth doing. |
| |
Why should we bother with easy things? |
| |
Anybody can do the easy things. |
| |
We should train ourselves to do that which is difficult. |
| |
It must have been the same for Buddha. |
| |
If he had just worried about his family and relatives, |
| |
his wealth and his past sensual pleasures, |
| |
heâd never have become the Buddha. |
| |
These arenât trifling matters, either, |
| |
theyâre just what most people are looking for. |
| |
So going forth at an early age and giving up these things is just like dying. |
| |
And yet some people come up and say, âOh, |
| |
itâs easy for you, Luang Por. |
| |
You never had a wife and children to worry about, |
| |
so itâs easier for you!â |
| |
I say, âDonât get too close to me when you say that or youâll get a clout over the head!â |
| |
... |
| |
As if I didnât have a heart or something! |
| |
When it comes to people itâs no trifling matter. |
| |
Itâs what life is all about. |
| |
So we Dhamma practitioners should earnestly get into the practice, |
| |
really dare to do it. |
| |
Donât believe others, just listen to the Buddhaâs teaching. |
| |
Establish peace in your hearts. |
| |
In time you will understand. |
| |
Practise, reflect, contemplate, and the fruits of the practice will be there. |
| |
The cause and the result are proportional. |
| |
Donât give in to your moods. |
| |
In the beginning even finding the right amount of sleep is difficult. |
| |
You may determine to sleep a certain time but canât manage it. |
| |
You must train yourself. |
| |
Whatever time you decide to get up, then get up as soon as it comes round. |
| |
Sometimes you can do it, but sometimes as soon as you awake you say to yourself âget up!â |
| |
and the body wonât budge! |
| |
You may have to say to yourself, âOne, |
| |
two, if I reach the count three and still donât get up may I fall into hell!â |
| |
You have to teach yourself like this. |
| |
When you get to three youâll get up immediately, |
| |
youâll be afraid of falling into hell. |
| |
You must train yourself, you canât dispense with the training. |
| |
You must train yourself from all angles. |
| |
Donât just lean on your teacher, your friends or the group all the time or youâll never become wise. |
| |
Itâs not necessary to hear so much instruction, |
| |
just hear the teaching once or twice and then do it. |
| |
The well-trained mind wonât dare cause trouble, |
| |
even in private. |
| |
In the mind of the adept there is no such thing as âprivateâ or âpublicâ. |
| |
All Noble Ones have confidence in their own hearts. |
| |
We should be like this. |
| |
Some people become monks simply to find an easy life. |
| |
Where does ease come from? |
| |
What is its cause? |
| |
All ease has to be preceded by suffering. |
| |
In all things itâs the same: you must work before you get rice. |
| |
In all things you must first experience difficulty. |
| |
Some people become monks in order to rest and take it easy, |
| |
they say they just want to sit around and rest a while. |
| |
If you donât study the books do you expect to be able to read and write? |
| |
It canât be done. |
| |
This is why most people who have studied a lot and become monks never get anywhere. |
| |
Their knowledge is of a different kind, |
| |
on a different path. |
| |
They donât train themselves, they donât look at their minds. |
| |
They only stir up their minds with confusion, |
| |
seeking things which are not conducive to calm and restraint. |
| |
The knowledge of the Buddha is not worldly knowledge, |
| |
it is supramundane knowledge, a different knowledge altogether. |
| |
This is why whoever goes forth into the Buddhist monkhood must |
| |
give up whatever level or status or position they have held previously. |
| |
Even when a king goes forth he must relinquish his previous status, |
| |
he doesnât bring that worldly stuff into the monkhood with him to throw his weight around with. |
| |
He doesnât bring his wealth, status, knowledge or power into the monkhood with him. |
| |
The practice concerns giving up, letting go, |
| |
uprooting, stopping. |
| |
You must understand this in order to make the practice work. |
| |
If you are sick and donât treat the illness with medicine do you think the illness will cure itself? |
| |
Wherever you are afraid you should go. |
| |
Wherever there is a cemetery or charnel ground which is particularly fearsome, |
| |
go there. |
| |
Put on your robes, go there and contemplate, |
| |
âAniccÄ vata sankhÄrÄâ4 do standing and walking meditation there, |
| |
look inward and see where your fear lies. |
| |
It will be all too obvious. |
| |
Understand the truth of all conditioned things. |
| |
Stay there and watch until dusk falls and it gets darker and darker, |
| |
until you are even able to stay there all night. |
| |
The Buddha said, âWhoever sees the Dhamma sees the TathÄgata. |
| |
Whoever sees the TathÄgata sees NibbÄna.â |
| |
If we donât follow his example, how will we see the Dhamma? |
| |
If we donât see the Dhamma, how will we know the Buddha? |
| |
If we donât see the Buddha, how will we know the qualities of the Buddha? |
| |
Only if we practise in the footsteps of the Buddha will we know that what the Buddha taught is utterly certain, |
| |
that the Buddhaâs teaching is the supreme truth. |
| |
1: The body on the first night had been that of a child. |
| |
2: MahÄnikaya and Dhammayuttika are the two sects of the TheravÄda Sangha in Thailand. |
| |
3: A translated Thai expression meaning, |
| |
âDonât overdo itâ. |
| |
4: âTruly, conditioned things cannot lastâ |
| |
* * * |
| |
All of us have made up our minds to become bhikkhus and sÄmaneras in the Buddhist Dispensation in order to find peace. |
| |
Now what is true peace? |
| |
True peace, the Buddha said, is not very far away, |
| |
it lies right here within us, but we tend to continually overlook it. |
| |
People have their ideas about finding peace but still tend to experience confusion and agitation, |
| |
they still tend to be unsure and havenât yet found fulfilment in their practice. |
| |
They havenât yet reached the goal. |
| |
Itâs as if we have left our home to travel to many different places. |
| |
Whether we get into a car or board a boat, |
| |
no matter where we go, we still havenât reached our home. |
| |
As long as we still havenât reached home we donât feel content, |
| |
we still have some unfinished business to take care of. |
| |
This is because our journey is not yet finished, |
| |
we havenât reached our destination. |
| |
We travel all over the place in search of liberation. |
| |
All of you bhikkhus and sÄmaneras here want peace, |
| |
every one of you. |
| |
Even myself, when I was younger, searched all over for peace. |
| |
Wherever I went I couldnât be satisfied. |
| |
Going into forests or visiting various teachers, |
| |
listening to Dhamma talks, I could find no satisfaction. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
We look for peace in peaceful places, |
| |
where there wonât be sights, or sounds, |
| |
or odours, or flavours, thinking that living quietly like this is the way to find contentment, |
| |
that herein lies peace. |
| |
But actually, if we live very quietly in places where nothing arises, |
| |
can wisdom arise? |
| |
Would we be aware of anything? |
| |
Think about it. |
| |
If our eyes didnât see sights, what would that be like? |
| |
If the nose didnât experience smells, |
| |
what would that be like? |
| |
If the tongue didnât experience flavours, |
| |
what would that be like? |
| |
If the body didnât experience feelings at all, |
| |
what would that be like? |
| |
To be like that would be like being a blind and deaf man, |
| |
one whose nose and tongue had fallen off and who was completely numb with paralysis. |
| |
Would there be anything there? |
| |
And yet people tend to think that if they went somewhere where nothing happened they would find peace. |
| |
Well, Iâve thought like that myself, I once thought that way. |
| |
When I was a young monk just starting to practise, |
| |
Iâd sit in meditation and sounds would disturb me. |
| |
Iâd think to myself, âWhat can I do to make my mind peaceful?â |
| |
So I took some beeswax and stuffed my ears with it so that I couldnât hear anything. |
| |
All that remained was a humming sound. |
| |
I thought that would be peaceful, but no, |
| |
all that thinking and confusion didnât arise at the ears after all. |
| |
It arose in the mind. |
| |
That is the place to search for peace. |
| |
To put it another way, no matter where you go to stay, |
| |
you donât want to do anything because it interferes with your practice. |
| |
You donât want to sweep the grounds or do any work, |
| |
you just want to be still and find peace that way. |
| |
The teacher asks you to help out with the chores or any of the daily duties, |
| |
but you donât put your heart into it because you feel it is only an external concern. |
| |
Iâve often brought up the example of one of my disciples who was really eager to âlet goâ and find peace. |
| |
I taught about âletting goâ and he accordingly understood that to let go of everything would indeed be peaceful. |
| |
Actually right from the day he had come to stay here he didnât want to do anything. |
| |
Even when the wind blew half the roof off his kutÄ« he wasnât interested. |
| |
He said that that was just an external thing. |
| |
So he didnât bother fixing it up. |
| |
When the sunlight and rain streamed in from one side heâd move over to the other side. |
| |
That wasnât any business of his. |
| |
His business was to make his mind peaceful. |
| |
That other stuff was a distraction, he wouldnât get involved. |
| |
That was how he saw it. |
| |
One day I was walking past and saw the collapsed roof. |
| |
âEh? |
| |
Whose kutÄ« is this?â |
| |
Someone told me whose it was, and I thought, |
| |
âHmm. |
| |
Strange ....â |
| |
So I had a talk with him, explaining many things, |
| |
such as the duties in regard to our dwellings, |
| |
the senÄsana-vatta. |
| |
âWe must have a dwelling place, and we must look after it. |
| |
âLetting goâ isnât like this, it doesnât mean shirking our responsibilities. |
| |
Thatâs the action of a fool. |
| |
The rain comes in on one side so you move over to the other side. |
| |
Then the sunshine comes out and you move back to that side. |
| |
Why is that? |
| |
Why donât you bother to let go there?â |
| |
I gave him a long discourse on this; then when Iâd finished, |
| |
he said, |
| |
âOh, Luang Por, sometimes you teach me to cling and sometimes you teach me to let go. |
| |
I donât know what you want me to do. |
| |
Even when my roof collapses and I let go to this extent, |
| |
still you say itâs not right. |
| |
And yet you teach me to let go! |
| |
I donât know what more you can expect of me.â |
| |
You see? |
| |
People are like this. |
| |
They can be as stupid as this. |
| |
Are there visual objects within the eye? |
| |
If there are no external visual objects would our eyes see anything? |
| |
Are there sounds within our ears if external sounds donât make contact? |
| |
If there are no smells outside would we experience them? |
| |
Where are the causes? |
| |
Think about what the Buddha said: All dhammas1 arise because of causes. |
| |
If we didnât have ears would we experience sounds? |
| |
If we had no eyes would we be able to see sights? |
| |
Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind - these are the causes. |
| |
It is said that all dhammas arise because of conditions; when they cease itâs because the causal conditions have ceased. |
| |
For resulting conditions to arise, the causal conditions must first arise. |
| |
If we think that peace lies where there are no sensations, |
| |
would wisdom arise? |
| |
Would there be causal and resultant conditions? |
| |
Would we have anything to practise with? |
| |
If we blame the sounds, then where there are sounds we canât be peaceful. |
| |
We think that place is no good. |
| |
Wherever there are sights we say thatâs not peaceful. |
| |
If thatâs the case then to find peace weâd have to be one whose senses have all died, |
| |
blind, and deaf. |
| |
I thought about this. |
| |
âHmm. |
| |
This is strange. |
| |
Suffering arises because of eyes, ears, |
| |
nose, tongue, body and mind. |
| |
So should we be blind? |
| |
If we didnât see anything at all maybe that would be better. |
| |
One would have no defilements arising if one were blind, |
| |
or deaf. |
| |
Is this the way it is?â |
| |
But, thinking about it, it was all wrong. |
| |
If that was the case then blind and deaf people would be enlightened. |
| |
They would all be accomplished if defilements arose at the eyes and ears. |
| |
There are the causal conditions. |
| |
Where things arise, at the cause, thatâs where we must stop them. |
| |
Where the cause arises, thatâs where we must contemplate. |
| |
Actually, the sense bases of the eye, |
| |
ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are all things which can facilitate the arising of wisdom, |
| |
if we know them as they are. |
| |
If we donât really know them we must deny them, |
| |
saying we donât want to see sights, |
| |
hear sounds, and so on, because they disturb us. |
| |
If we cut off the causal conditions, what are we going to contemplate? |
| |
Think about it. |
| |
Where would there be any cause and effect? |
| |
This is wrong thinking on our part. |
| |
This is why we are taught to be restrained. |
| |
Restraint is sīla. |
| |
There is the sīla of sense restraint; eyes, |
| |
ears, nose, tongue, body and mind: these are our sīla, |
| |
and they are our samÄdhi. |
| |
Reflect on the story of SÄriputta. |
| |
At the time before he became a bhikkhu he saw Assaji Thera going on almsround. |
| |
Seeing him, SÄriputta thought, |
| |
âThis monk is most unusual. |
| |
He walks neither too fast nor too slow, |
| |
his robes are neatly worn, his bearing is restrained.â |
| |
SÄriputta was inspired by him and so approached Venerable Assaji, |
| |
paid his respects and asked him, |
| |
âExcuse me, sir, who are you?â |
| |
âI am a samana.â |
| |
âWho is your teacher?â |
| |
âVenerable Gotama is my teacher.â |
| |
âWhat does Venerable Gotama teach?â |
| |
âHe teaches that all things arise because of conditions. |
| |
When they cease itâs because the causal conditions have ceased.â |
| |
When asked about the Dhamma by SÄriputta, |
| |
Assaji explained only in brief, he talked about cause and effect. |
| |
âDhammas arise because of causes. |
| |
The cause arises first and then the result. |
| |
When the result is to cease the cause must first cease.â |
| |
Thatâs all he said, but it was enough for SÄriputta.2 |
| |
Now this was a cause for the arising of Dhamma. |
| |
At that time SÄriputta had eyes, he had ears, |
| |
he had a nose, a tongue, a body and a mind. |
| |
All his faculties were intact. |
| |
If he didnât have his faculties would there have been sufficient causes for wisdom to arise for him? |
| |
Would he have been aware of anything? |
| |
But most of us are afraid of contact. |
| |
Either that or we like to have contact but we develop no wisdom from it; instead, |
| |
we repeatedly indulge through eyes, |
| |
ears, nose, tongue, body and mind, delighting in and getting lost in sense objects. |
| |
This is how it is. |
| |
These sense bases can entice us into delight and indulgence or they can lead to knowledge and wisdom. |
| |
They have both harm and benefit, depending on our wisdom. |
| |
Now let us understand that, having gone forth and having come here to practise, |
| |
we should take everything as practice. |
| |
Even the bad things. |
| |
We should know them all. |
| |
Why? |
| |
So that we may know the truth. |
| |
When we talk of practice we donât simply mean those things that are good and pleasing to us. |
| |
Thatâs not how it is. |
| |
In this world some things are to our liking, |
| |
some are not. |
| |
These things all exist in this world, |
| |
nowhere else. |
| |
Usually, whatever we like we want, even regarding fellow monks and novices. |
| |
Whatever monk or novice we donât like we donât want to associate with, |
| |
we only want to be with those we like. |
| |
You see? |
| |
This is choosing according to our likes. |
| |
Whatever we donât like we donât want to see or know about. |
| |
Actually the Buddha wanted us to experience these things. |
| |
Lokavidƫ - look at this world and know it clearly. |
| |
If we donât know the truth of the world clearly, |
| |
then we canât go anywhere. |
| |
Living in the world we must understand the world. |
| |
The Noble Ones of the past, including the Buddha, |
| |
all lived with these things; they lived in this world, |
| |
among deluded people. |
| |
They attained the truth right in this very world, |
| |
nowhere else. |
| |
They didnât run off to some other world to find the truth. |
| |
They had wisdom. |
| |
They restrained their senses, but the practice is to look into all these things and know them as they are. |
| |
Therefore, the Buddha taught us to know the sense bases, |
| |
our points of contact. |
| |
The eye contacts forms and sends them âinâ to become sights. |
| |
The ears make contact with sounds, the nose makes contact with odours, |
| |
the tongue makes contact with tastes, |
| |
the body makes contact with tactile sensations, |
| |
and so awareness arises. |
| |
Where awareness arises is where we should look and see things as they are. |
| |
If we donât know these things as they really are we will either fall in love with them or hate them. |
| |
Where these sensations arise is where we can become enlightened, |
| |
where wisdom can arise. |
| |
But sometimes we donât want things to be like that. |
| |
The Buddha taught restraint, but restraint doesnât mean we donât see anything, |
| |
hear anything, smell, taste, feel or think anything. |
| |
Thatâs not what it means. |
| |
If practitioners donât understand this then as soon as they see or hear anything they cower and run away. |
| |
They donât deal with things. |
| |
They run away, thinking that by so doing those things will eventually lose their power over them, |
| |
that they will eventually transcend them. |
| |
But they wonât. |
| |
They wonât transcend anything like that. |
| |
If they run away not knowing the truth of them, |
| |
later on the same stuff will pop up to be dealt with again. |
| |
For example, those practitioners who are never content, |
| |
be they in monasteries, forests, or mountains, |
| |
wander on âdhutanga pilgrimageâ looking at this, |
| |
that and the other, thinking theyâll find contentment that way. |
| |
They go, and then they come back. |
| |
They didnât see anything. |
| |
They try going to a mountain top. |
| |
âAh! |
| |
This is the spot, now Iâm right.â |
| |
They feel at peace for a few days and then get tired of it. |
| |
âOh, well, off to the seaside.â |
| |
âAh, here itâs nice and cool. |
| |
Thisâll do me fine.â |
| |
After a while they get tired of the seaside as well. |
| |
Tired of the forests, tired of the mountains, |
| |
tired of the seaside, tired of everything. |
| |
This is not being tired of things in the right sense,3 this is not right view. |
| |
Itâs simply boredom, a kind of wrong view. |
| |
Their view is not in accordance with the way things are. |
| |
When they get back to the monastery, âNow, |
| |
what will I do? |
| |
Iâve been all over and came back with nothing.â |
| |
So they throw away their bowls and disrobe. |
| |
Why do they disrobe? |
| |
Because they havenât got any grip on the practice, |
| |
they donât see anything; they go to the north and donât see anything; they go to the seaside, |
| |
to the mountains, into the forests and still donât see anything. |
| |
So itâs all finished - they âdieâ. |
| |
This is how it goes. |
| |
Itâs because theyâre continually running away from things. |
| |
Wisdom doesnât arise. |
| |
Now take another example. |
| |
Suppose there is one monk who determines to stay with things, |
| |
and not run away. |
| |
He looks after himself. |
| |
He knows himself and also knows those who come to stay with him. |
| |
Heâs continually dealing with problems. |
| |
Take the abbot for example. |
| |
If one is an abbot of a monastery there are constant problems to deal with, |
| |
thereâs a constant stream of things that demand attention. |
| |
Why so? |
| |
Because people are always asking questions. |
| |
The questions never end, so you must be constantly on the alert. |
| |
You are constantly solving problems, your own as well as other peopleâs. |
| |
You must be constantly awake. |
| |
Before you can doze off they wake you up again with another problem. |
| |
So this causes you to contemplate and understand things. |
| |
You become skilful: skilful in regard to yourself and skilful in regard to others. |
| |
Skilful in many, many ways. |
| |
This skill arises from contact, from confronting and dealing with things, |
| |
from not running away. |
| |
We donât run away physically but we ârun awayâ in mind, |
| |
using our wisdom. |
| |
We understand with wisdom right here, |
| |
we donât run away from anything. |
| |
This is a source of wisdom. |
| |
One must work, must associate with other things. |
| |
For instance, living in a big monastery like this we must all help out to look after the things here. |
| |
Looking at it in one way you could say that itâs all defilement. |
| |
Living with lots of monks and novices, |
| |
with many laypeople coming and going, |
| |
many defilements may arise. |
| |
Yes, I admit, but we must live like this for the development of wisdom and the abandonment of foolishness. |
| |
Which way are we to go? |
| |
Are we going to live in order to get rid of foolishness or to increase our foolishness? |
| |
We must contemplate. |
| |
Whenever our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, |
| |
body or mind make contact we should be collected and circumspect. |
| |
When suffering arises, we should ask, |
| |
âWho is suffering? |
| |
Why did this suffering arise?â |
| |
The abbot of a monastery has to supervise many disciples. |
| |
Now that may be suffering. |
| |
We must know suffering when it arises. |
| |
Know suffering. |
| |
If we are afraid of suffering and donât want to face it, |
| |
where are we going to do battle with it? |
| |
If suffering arises and we donât know it, |
| |
how are we going to deal with it? |
| |
This is of utmost importance - we must know suffering. |
| |
Escaping from suffering means knowing the way out of suffering, |
| |
it doesnât mean running away from wherever suffering arises. |
| |
By doing that you just carry your suffering with you. |
| |
When suffering arises again somewhere else youâll have to run away again. |
| |
This is not transcending suffering, itâs not knowing suffering. |
| |
If you want to understand suffering you must look into the situation at hand. |
| |
The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there. |
| |
Where suffering lies is right where non-suffering will arise, |
| |
it ceases at the place where it arises. |
| |
If suffering arises you must contemplate it right there, |
| |
you donât have to run away. |
| |
You should settle the issue right there. |
| |
One who runs away from suffering out of fear is the most foolish person of all. |
| |
He will simply increase his stupidity endlessly. |
| |
We must understand: suffering is none other than the First Noble Truth, |
| |
isnât that so? |
| |
Are you going to look on it as something bad? |
| |
Dukkha sacca, samudaya sacca, nirodha sacca, |
| |
magga sacca. |
| |
Running away from these things isnât practising according to the true Dhamma. |
| |
When will you ever see the truth of suffering? |
| |
If we keep running away from suffering we will never know it. |
| |
Suffering is something we should recognize - if you donât observe it, |
| |
when will you ever recognize it? |
| |
Not being content here you run over there, |
| |
when discontent arises there you run off again. |
| |
You are always running. |
| |
If thatâs the way you practice youâll be racing with the Devil all over the country! |
| |
The Buddha taught us to ârun awayâ using wisdom. |
| |
For instance: suppose you had stepped on a thorn or splinter and it got embedded in your foot. |
| |
As you walk it occasionally hurts, occasionally not. |
| |
Sometimes you may step on a stone or a stump and it really hurts, |
| |
so you feel around your foot. |
| |
But not finding anything you shrug it off and walk on a bit more. |
| |
Eventually you step on something else, |
| |
and the pain arises again. |
| |
Now this happens many times. |
| |
What is the cause of that pain? |
| |
The cause is that splinter or thorn embedded in your foot. |
| |
The pain is constantly near. |
| |
Whenever the pain arises you may take a look and feel around a bit, |
| |
but, not seeing the splinter, you let it go. |
| |
After a while it hurts again so you take another look. |
| |
When suffering arises you must note it, |
| |
donât just shrug it off. |
| |
Whenever the pain arises, âHmm ... |
| |
that splinter is still there.â |
| |
Whenever the pain arises there arises also the thought that that splinter has got to go. |
| |
If you donât take it out there will only be more pain later on. |
| |
The pain keeps recurring again and again, |
| |
until the desire to take out that thorn is constantly with you. |
| |
In the end it reaches a point where you make up your mind once and for all to get that thorn out - because it hurts! |
| |
Now our effort in the practice must be like this. |
| |
Wherever it hurts, wherever thereâs friction, |
| |
we must investigate. |
| |
Confront the problem, head on. |
| |
Take that thorn out of your foot, just pull it out. |
| |
Wherever your mind gets stuck you must take note. |
| |
As you look into it you will know it, |
| |
see it and experience it as it is. |
| |
Our practice must be unwavering and persistent. |
| |
They call it viriyÄrambha - putting forth constant effort. |
| |
Whenever an unpleasant feeling arises in your foot, |
| |
for example, you must remind yourself to get that thorn out, |
| |
and not to give up your resolve. |
| |
Likewise, when suffering arises in our hearts we must have the unwavering resolve to try to uproot the defilements, |
| |
to give them up. |
| |
This resolve is constantly there, unremitting. |
| |
Eventually the defilements will fall into our hands where we can finish them off. |
| |
So in regard to happiness and suffering, |
| |
what are we to do? |
| |
If we didnât have these things what could we use as a cause to precipitate wisdom? |
| |
If there is no cause how will the effect arise? |
| |
All dhammas arise because of causes. |
| |
When the result ceases itâs because the cause has ceased. |
| |
This is how it is, but most of us donât really understand. |
| |
People only want to run away from suffering. |
| |
This sort of knowledge is short of the mark. |
| |
Actually we need to know this very world that we are living in, |
| |
we donât have to run away anywhere. |
| |
You should have the attitude that to stay is fine, |
| |
and to go is fine. |
| |
Think about this carefully. |
| |
Where do happiness and suffering lie? |
| |
If we donât hold fast to, cling to or fix on to anything, |
| |
as if it werenât there - suffering doesnât arise. |
| |
Suffering arises from existence (bhava). |
| |
If there is existence, then there is birth. |
| |
UpÄdÄna - clinging or attachment - this is the pre-requisite which creates suffering. |
| |
Wherever suffering arises look into it. |
| |
Donât look too far away, look right into the present moment. |
| |
Look at your own mind and body. |
| |
When suffering arises ask, why is there suffering? |
| |
Look right now. |
| |
When happiness arises ask, what is the cause of that happiness? |
| |
Look right there. |
| |
Wherever these things arise be aware. |
| |
Both happiness and suffering arise from clinging. |
| |
The cultivators of old saw their minds in this way. |
| |
There is only arising and ceasing. |
| |
There is no abiding entity. |
| |
They contemplated from all angles and saw that there was nothing much to this mind, |
| |
they saw nothing is stable. |
| |
There is only arising and ceasing, ceasing and arising, |
| |
nothing is of any lasting substance. |
| |
While walking or sitting they saw things in this way. |
| |
Wherever they looked there was only suffering, |
| |
thatâs all. |
| |
Itâs just like a big iron ball which has just been blasted in a furnace. |
| |
Itâs hot all over. |
| |
If you touch the top itâs hot, touch the sides and theyâre hot - itâs hot all over. |
| |
There isnât any place on it which is cool. |
| |
Now if we donât consider these things we wonât know anything about them. |
| |
We must see clearly. |
| |
Donât get âbornâ into things, donât fall into birth. |
| |
Know the workings of birth. |
| |
Such thoughts as, âOh, I canât stand that person, |
| |
he does everything wrong,â will no longer arise. |
| |
Or, âI really like so and so.â |
| |
These things donât arise. |
| |
There remains merely the conventional worldly standards of like and dislike, |
| |
but oneâs speech is one way, oneâs mind another. |
| |
They are separate things. |
| |
We must use the conventions of the world to communicate with each other, |
| |
but inwardly we must be empty. |
| |
The mind is above those things. |
| |
We must bring the mind to transcendence like this. |
| |
This is the abiding of the Noble Ones. |
| |
We must all aim for this and practise accordingly. |
| |
Donât get caught up in doubts. |
| |
Before I started to practise, I thought to myself, |
| |
âThe Buddhist religion is here, available for all, |
| |
and yet why do only some people practise while others donât? |
| |
Or if they do practise, they do so only for a short while and then give up. |
| |
Or again those who donât give it up still donât knuckle down and do the practice. |
| |
Why is this?â |
| |
So I resolved to myself, âOkay, Iâll give up this body and mind |
| |
for this lifetime and try to follow the teaching of the Buddha down to the last detail. |
| |
Iâll reach understanding in this very lifetime, |
| |
because if I donât Iâll still be sunk in suffering. |
| |
Iâll let go of everything else and make a determined effort, |
| |
no matter how much difficulty or suffering I have to endure, |
| |
Iâll persevere. |
| |
If I donât do it Iâll just keep on doubting.â |
| |
Thinking like this I got down to practice. |
| |
No matter how much happiness, suffering or difficulty I had to endure I would do it. |
| |
I looked on my whole life as if it was only one day and a night. |
| |
I gave it up. |
| |
âIâll follow the teaching of the Buddha, |
| |
Iâll follow the Dhamma to understanding - why is this world of delusion so wretched?â |
| |
I wanted to know, I wanted to master the teaching, |
| |
so I turned to the practice of Dhamma. |
| |
How much of the worldly life do we monastics renounce? |
| |
If we have gone forth for good then it means we renounce it all, |
| |
thereâs nothing we donât renounce. |
| |
All the things of the world that people enjoy are cast off: sights, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes and feelings - we throw them all away. |
| |
And yet we experience them. |
| |
So Dhamma practitioners must be content with little and remain detached. |
| |
Whether in regard to speech, eating or whatever, |
| |
we must be easily satisfied: eat simply, |
| |
sleep simply, live simply. |
| |
Just like they say, âan ordinary personâ is one who lives simply. |
| |
The more you practise the more you will be able to take satisfaction in your practice. |
| |
You will see into your own heart. |
| |
The Dhamma is paccattam, you must know it for yourself. |
| |
To know for yourself means to practise for yourself. |
| |
You can depend on a teacher only fifty percent of the way. |
| |
Even the teaching I have given you today is completely useless in itself, |
| |
even if it is worth hearing. |
| |
But if you were to believe it all just because I said so, |
| |
you wouldnât be using the teaching properly. |
| |
If you believed me completely youâd be foolish. |
| |
To hear the teaching, see its benefit, |
| |
put it into practice for yourself, see it within yourself, |
| |
do it yourself - this is much more useful. |
| |
You will then know the taste of Dhamma for yourself. |
| |
This is why the Buddha didnât talk about the fruits of the practice in much detail, |
| |
because itâs something one canât convey in words. |
| |
It would be like trying to describe different colours to a person blind from birth, |
| |
âOh, itâs so white,â or âItâs bright yellow,â for instance. |
| |
You couldnât convey those colours to them. |
| |
You could try but it wouldnât serve much purpose. |
| |
The Buddha brings it back down to the individual - see clearly for yourself. |
| |
If you see clearly for yourself you will have clear proof within yourself. |
| |
Whether standing, walking, sitting or reclining you will be free of doubt. |
| |
Even if someone were to say, âYour practice isnât right, |
| |
itâs all wrong,â still you would be unmoved, |
| |
because you have your own proof. |
| |
A practitioner of the Dhamma must be like this wherever he goes. |
| |
Others canât tell you, you must know for yourself. |
| |
SammÄ-ditthi must be there. |
| |
The practice must be like this for every one of us. |
| |
To do the real practice like this for even one month out of five or ten Rains Retreats would be rare. |
| |
Our sense organs must be constantly working. |
| |
Know content and discontent, be aware of like and dislike. |
| |
Know appearance and know transcendence. |
| |
The apparent and the transcendent must be realized simultaneously. |
| |
Good and evil must be seen as coexistent, |
| |
arising together. |
| |
This is the fruit of the Dhamma practice. |
| |
So whatever is useful to yourself and to others, |
| |
whatever practice benefits both yourself and others, |
| |
is called âfollowing the Buddhaâ. |
| |
Iâve talked about this often. |
| |
The things which should be done, people seem to neglect. |
| |
For example, the work in the monastery, |
| |
the standards of practice and so on. |
| |
Iâve talked about them often and yet people donât seem to put their hearts into it. |
| |
Some donât know, some are lazy and canât be bothered, |
| |
some are simply scattered and confused. |
| |
But thatâs a cause for wisdom to arise. |
| |
If we go to places where none of these things arise, |
| |
what would we see? |
| |
Take food, for instance. |
| |
If food doesnât have any taste, is it delicious? |
| |
If a person is deaf, will he hear anything? |
| |
If you donât perceive anything, will you have anything to contemplate? |
| |
If there are no problems, will there be anything to solve? |
| |
Think of the practice in this way. |
| |
Once I went to live up north. |
| |
At that time I was living with many monks, |
| |
all of them elderly but newly ordained, |
| |
with only two or three Rains Retreats. |
| |
At the time I had ten Rains. |
| |
Living with those old monks I decided to perform the various duties - receiving their bowls, |
| |
washing their robes, emptying their spittoons and so on. |
| |
I didnât think in terms of doing it for any particular individual, |
| |
I simply maintained my practice. |
| |
If others didnât do the duties Iâd do them myself. |
| |
I saw it as a good opportunity for me to gain merit. |
| |
It made me feel good and gave me a sense of satisfaction. |
| |
On the uposatha days I knew the required duties. |
| |
Iâd go and clean out the uposatha hall and set out water for washing and drinking. |
| |
The others didnât know anything about the duties, |
| |
they just watched. |
| |
I didnât criticize them, because they didnât know. |
| |
I did the duties myself, and having done them I felt pleased with myself, |
| |
I had inspiration and a lot of energy in my practice. |
| |
Whenever I could do something in the monastery, |
| |
whether in my own kutÄ« or in othersâ, |
| |
if it was dirty, Iâd clean up. |
| |
I didnât do it for anyone in particular, |
| |
I didnât do it to impress anyone, I simply did it to maintain a good practice. |
| |
Cleaning a kutī or dwelling place is just like cleaning rubbish out of your own mind. |
| |
Now this is something all of you should bear in mind. |
| |
You donât have to worry about harmony, |
| |
it will automatically be there. |
| |
Live together with Dhamma, with peace and restraint, |
| |
train your mind to be like this and no problems will arise. |
| |
If there is heavy work to be done, everybody helps out and in no time the work is done, |
| |
it gets taken care of quite easily. |
| |
Thatâs the best way. |
| |
I have come across some other types, though - I used it as an opportunity to grow. |
| |
For instance, living in a big monastery, |
| |
the monks and novices may agree among themselves to wash robes on a certain day. |
| |
Iâd go and boil up the jackfruit wood.4 Now thereâd be some monks |
| |
whoâd wait for someone else to boil up the jackfruit wood and then come along and wash their robes, |
| |
take them back to their kutīs, hang them out and then take a nap. |
| |
They didnât have to set up the fire, didnât have to clean up afterwards. |
| |
They thought they were on a good thing, |
| |
that they were being clever. |
| |
This is the height of stupidity. |
| |
These people are just increasing their own stupidity because they donât do anything, |
| |
they leave all the work up to others. |
| |
They wait till everything is ready then come along and make use of it, |
| |
itâs easy for them. |
| |
This is just adding to oneâs foolishness. |
| |
Those actions serve no useful purpose whatsoever to them. |
| |
Some people think foolishly like this. |
| |
They shirk the required duties and think that this is being clever, |
| |
but it is actually very foolish. |
| |
If we have that sort of attitude we wonât last. |
| |
Therefore, whether speaking, eating or doing anything whatsoever, |
| |
reflect on yourself. |
| |
You may want to live comfortably, eat comfortably, |
| |
sleep comfortably and so on, but you canât. |
| |
What have we come here for? |
| |
If we regularly reflect on this we will be heedful, |
| |
we wonât forget, we will be constantly alert. |
| |
Being alert like this you will put forth effort in all postures. |
| |
If you donât put forth effort, things go quite differently. |
| |
Sitting, you sit like youâre in the town, |
| |
walking, you walk like youâre in the town. |
| |
You just want to go and play around in the town with the laypeople. |
| |
If there is no effort in the practice the mind will tend in that direction. |
| |
You donât oppose and resist your mind, |
| |
you just allow it to waft along the wind of your moods. |
| |
This is called following oneâs moods. |
| |
Like a child, if he indulges all his wants will he be a good child? |
| |
If the parents indulge all their childâs wishes is that good? |
| |
Even if they do indulge him somewhat at first, |
| |
by the time he can speak they may start to occasionally spank him because theyâre afraid heâll end up stupid. |
| |
The training of our mind must be like this. |
| |
You have to know yourself and know how to train yourself. |
| |
If you donât know how to train your own mind, |
| |
waiting around expecting someone else to train it for you, |
| |
youâll end up in trouble. |
| |
So donât think that you canât practise in this place. |
| |
Practice has no limits. |
| |
Whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down, |
| |
you can always practise. |
| |
Even while sweeping the monastery grounds or seeing a beam of sunlight, |
| |
you can realize the Dhamma. |
| |
But you must have sati at hand. |
| |
Why so? |
| |
Because you can realize the Dhamma at any time at all, |
| |
in any place, if you ardently meditate. |
| |
Donât be heedless. |
| |
Be watchful, be alert. |
| |
While walking on almsround all sorts of feelings arise, |
| |
and itâs all good Dhamma. |
| |
When you get back to the monastery and are eating your food thereâs plenty of good Dhamma for you to look into. |
| |
If you have constant effort, all these things will be objects for contemplation. |
| |
There will be wisdom, you will see the Dhamma. |
| |
This is called dhamma-vicaya, reflecting on Dhamma. |
| |
Itâs one of the enlightenment factors. |
| |
If there is sati, recollection, there will be dhamma-vicaya as a result. |
| |
These are factors of enlightenment. |
| |
If we have recollection then we wonât simply take it easy, |
| |
there will also be inquiry into Dhamma. |
| |
These things become factors for realizing the Dhamma. |
| |
If we have reached this stage, our practice will know neither day or night, |
| |
it will continue on regardless of the time of day. |
| |
There will be nothing to taint the practice, |
| |
or if there is we will immediately know it. |
| |
Let there be dhamma-vicaya within our minds constantly, |
| |
looking into Dhamma. |
| |
If our practice has entered the flow, |
| |
the mind will tend to be like this. |
| |
It wonât go off after other things. |
| |
âI think Iâll go for a trip over there, |
| |
or perhaps this other place, over in that province should be interesting.â |
| |
Thatâs the way of the world. |
| |
Not long and the practice will die. |
| |
So resolve yourselves. |
| |
Itâs not just by sitting with your eyes closed that you develop wisdom. |
| |
Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind are constantly with us, |
| |
so be constantly alert. |
| |
Study constantly. |
| |
Seeing trees or animals can all be occasions for study. |
| |
Bring it all inwards. |
| |
See clearly within your own heart. |
| |
If some sensation makes an impact on the heart, |
| |
witness it clearly for yourself, donât simply disregard it. |
| |
Take a simple comparison: baking bricks. |
| |
Have you ever seen a brick-baking oven? |
| |
They build the fire up about two or three feet in front of the oven, |
| |
then the smoke all gets drawn into it. |
| |
Looking at this illustration you can more clearly understand the practice. |
| |
To make a brick kiln work the right way you have to make the fire so that all the smoke gets drawn inside, |
| |
none is left over. |
| |
All the heat goes into the oven, and the job gets done quickly. |
| |
We Dhamma practitioners should experience things in this way. |
| |
All our feelings should be drawn inwards to be turned into right view. |
| |
The sights we see, the sounds we hear, |
| |
the odours we smell, the flavours we taste, |
| |
and so on, the mind draws them all inward to be converted into right view. |
| |
Those feelings thus become experiences which give rise to wisdom. |
| |
1: The word dhamma can be used in different ways. |
| |
In this talk, the Venerable Ajahn refers to Dhamma, |
| |
the teachings of the Buddha; to dhammas, |
| |
âthingsâ; and to Dhamma, the experience of transcendent âTruthâ. |
| |
2: At that time SÄriputta had his first insight into the Dhamma, |
| |
attaining sotÄpatti, or âstream-entryâ. |
| |
3: That is, nibbidÄ, disinterest in the lures of the sensual world. |
| |
4: The heartwood from the jackfruit tree is boiled down and the |
| |
resulting colour used both to dye and to wash the robes of the forest monks. |
| |
* * * |
| |
There was once a Western monk, a student of mine. |
| |
Whenever he saw Thai monks and novices disrobing he would say, |
| |
âOh, what a shame! |
| |
Why do they do that? |
| |
Why do so many of the Thai monks and novices disrobe?â |
| |
He was shocked. |
| |
He would get saddened at the disrobing of the Thai monks and novices, |
| |
because he had only just come into contact with Buddhism. |
| |
He was inspired, he was resolute. |
| |
Going forth as a monk was the only thing to do, |
| |
he thought heâd never disrobe. |
| |
Whoever disrobed was a fool. |
| |
Heâd see the Thais taking on the robes at the beginning of the |
| |
Rains Retreat as monks and novices and then disrobing at the end of it. |
| |
He would say âOh, how sad! |
| |
I feel so sorry for those Thai monks and novices. |
| |
How could they do such a thing?â |
| |
Well, as time went by some of the Western monks began to disrobe, |
| |
so he came to see it as something not so important after all. |
| |
At first, when he had just begun to practise, |
| |
he was excited about it. |
| |
He thought that it was a really important thing, |
| |
to become a monk. |
| |
He thought it would be easy. |
| |
When people are inspired it all seems to be so right and good. |
| |
Thereâs nothing there to gauge their feelings by, |
| |
so they go ahead and decide for themselves. |
| |
But they donât really know what practice is. |
| |
Those who do know will have a thoroughly firm foundation within |
| |
their hearts - but even so they donât need to advertise it. |
| |
As for myself, when I was first ordained I didnât actually do much practice, |
| |
but I had a lot of faith. |
| |
I donât know why, maybe it was there from birth. |
| |
The monks and novices who went forth together with me, |
| |
all disrobed at the end of the Rains. |
| |
I thought to myself, âEh? |
| |
What is it with these people?â |
| |
However, I didnât dare say anything to them because I wasnât yet sure of my own feelings, |
| |
I was too stirred up. |
| |
But within me I felt that they were all foolish. |
| |
âItâs difficult to go forth, easy to disrobe. |
| |
These guys donât have much merit, they think that the way of the world is more useful than the way of Dhamma.â |
| |
I thought like this but I didnât say anything, |
| |
I just watched my own mind. |
| |
Iâd see the monks whoâd gone forth with me disrobing one after the other. |
| |
Sometimes theyâd dress up and come back to the monastery to show off. |
| |
Iâd see them and think they were crazy, |
| |
but they thought they looked snappy. |
| |
When you disrobe you have to do this and that. |
| |
Iâd think to myself that that way of thinking was wrong. |
| |
I wouldnât say it, though, because I myself was still an uncertain quantity. |
| |
I still wasnât sure how long my faith would last. |
| |
When my friends had all disrobed I dropped all concern, |
| |
there was nobody left to concern myself with. |
| |
I picked up the PÄtimokkha and got stuck into learning that. |
| |
There was nobody left to distract me and waste my time, |
| |
so I put my heart into the practice. |
| |
Still I didnât say anything because I felt that to practise all oneâs life, |
| |
maybe seventy, eighty or even ninety years, |
| |
and to keep up a persistent effort, |
| |
without slackening up or losing oneâs resolve, |
| |
seemed like an extremely difficult thing to do. |
| |
Those who went forth would go forth, those who disrobed would disrobe. |
| |
Iâd just watch it all. |
| |
I didnât concern myself whether they stayed or went. |
| |
Iâd watch my friends leave, but the feeling I had within me was that these people didnât see clearly. |
| |
That Western monk probably thought like that. |
| |
Heâd see people become monks for only one Rains Retreat, |
| |
and get upset. |
| |
Later on he reached a stage we call bored; bored with the Holy Life. |
| |
He let go of the practice and eventually disrobed. |
| |
âWhy are you disrobing? |
| |
Before, when you saw the Thai monks disrobing youâd say, |
| |
âOh, what a shame! |
| |
How sad, how pitiful.â |
| |
Now, when you yourself want to disrobe, |
| |
why donât you feel sorry?â |
| |
He didnât answer. |
| |
He just grinned sheepishly. |
| |
When it comes to the training of the mind it isnât easy to find |
| |
a good standard if you havenât yet developed a âwitnessâ within yourself. |
| |
In most external matters we can rely on others for feedback, |
| |
there are standards and precedents. |
| |
But when it comes to using the Dhamma as a standard, |
| |
do we have the Dhamma yet? |
| |
Are we thinking rightly or not? |
| |
And even if itâs right, do we know how to let go of rightness or are we still clinging to it? |
| |
You must contemplate until you reach the point where you let go, |
| |
this is the important thing, until you reach the point where there isnât anything left, |
| |
where there is neither good nor bad. |
| |
You throw it off. |
| |
This means you throw out everything. |
| |
If itâs all gone, then thereâs no remainder; if thereâs some remainder, |
| |
then itâs not all gone. |
| |
So in regard to this training of the mind, |
| |
sometimes we may say itâs easy. |
| |
Itâs easy to say, but itâs hard to do, |
| |
very hard. |
| |
Itâs hard in that it doesnât conform to our desires. |
| |
Sometimes it seems almost as if the angels are helping us out. |
| |
Everything goes right, whatever we think or say seems to be just right. |
| |
Then we go and attach to that rightness and before long we go wrong and it all turns bad. |
| |
This is where itâs difficult. |
| |
We donât have a standard to gauge things by. |
| |
People who have a lot of faith, who are endowed with confidence and belief but are lacking in wisdom, |
| |
may be very good at samÄdhi but they may not have much insight. |
| |
They see only one side of everything, |
| |
and simply follow that. |
| |
They donât reflect. |
| |
This is blind faith. |
| |
In Buddhism we call this saddhÄ-adhimokkha, |
| |
blind faith. |
| |
They have faith all right but itâs not born of wisdom. |
| |
But they donât see this at the time; they believe they have wisdom, |
| |
so they donât see where they are wrong. |
| |
Therefore, they teach about the five powers (balÄ): saddhÄ, |
| |
viriya, sati, samÄdhi, paññÄ. |
| |
SaddhÄ is conviction; viriya is diligent effort; sati is recollection; |
| |
samÄdhi is fixedness of mind; paĂ±Ă±Ä is all-embracing knowledge. |
| |
Donât say that paĂ±Ă±Ä is simply knowledge - paĂ±Ă±Ä is all-embracing, |
| |
consummate knowledge. |
| |
The wise have given these five steps to us so that we can link them, |
| |
firstly as an object of study, then as a gauge to use for measuring the state of our practice as it is. |
| |
For example, saddhÄ, conviction. |
| |
Do we have conviction, have we developed it yet? |
| |
Viriya: do we have diligent effort or not? |
| |
Is our effort right or is it wrong? |
| |
We must consider this. |
| |
Everybody has some sort of effort, but does our effort contain wisdom or not? |
| |
Sati is the same. |
| |
Even a cat has sati. |
| |
When it sees a mouse, sati is there. |
| |
The catâs eyes stare fixedly at the mouse. |
| |
This is the sati of a cat. |
| |
Everybody has sati, animals have it, delinquents have it, |
| |
sages have it. |
| |
SamÄdhi, fixedness of mind - everybody has this as well. |
| |
A cat has it when its mind is fixed on grabbing the mouse and eating it. |
| |
It has fixed intent. |
| |
That sati of the catâs is sati of a sort; samÄdhi, |
| |
fixed intent on what it is doing, is also there. |
| |
PaññÄ, knowledge, like that of human beings. |
| |
It knows as an animal knows, it has enough knowledge to catch mice for food. |
| |
These five things are called powers. |
| |
Have these five powers arisen from sammÄ-ditthi, |
| |
or not? |
| |
SaddhÄ, viriya, sati, samÄdhi, paĂ±Ă±Ä - have these arisen from right view? |
| |
What is right view? |
| |
What is our standard for gauging right view? |
| |
We must clearly understand this. |
| |
Right view is the understanding that all these things are uncertain. |
| |
Therefore, the Buddha and all the Noble Ones donât hold fast to them. |
| |
They hold, but not fast. |
| |
They donât let that holding become an identity. |
| |
The holding which doesnât lead to becoming is that which isnât tainted with desire. |
| |
Without seeking to become this or that there is simply the practice itself. |
| |
When you hold on to a particular thing, |
| |
is there enjoyment, or is there displeasure? |
| |
If there is pleasure, do you hold on to that pleasure? |
| |
If there is dislike, do you hold on to that dislike? |
| |
Some views can be used as principles for gauging our practice |
| |
more accurately: for instance knowing views such as one is better than others, |
| |
or equal to others, or more foolish than others - knowing them all as wrong views. |
| |
We may feel these things but we also know them with wisdom, |
| |
that they simply arise and cease. |
| |
Seeing that we are better than others is not right; seeing that |
| |
we are equal to others is not right; seeing that we are inferior to others is not right. |
| |
The right view is the one that cuts through all of this. |
| |
So where do we go to? |
| |
If we think we are better than others, |
| |
pride arises. |
| |
Itâs there but we donât see it. |
| |
If we think we are equal to others, we fail to show respect and humility at the proper times. |
| |
If we think we are inferior to others we get depressed, |
| |
thinking we are inferior, born under a bad sign and so on. |
| |
We are still clinging to the five khandhas, |
| |
itâs all simply becoming and birth. |
| |
This is one standard for gauging ourselves by. |
| |
Another one is: if we encounter a pleasant experience we feel happy, |
| |
if we encounter a bad experience we are unhappy. |
| |
Are we able to look at both the things we like and the things we dislike as having equal value? |
| |
Measure yourself against this standard. |
| |
In our everyday lives, in the various experiences we encounter, |
| |
if we hear something which we like, |
| |
does our mood change? |
| |
If we encounter an experience which isnât to our liking, |
| |
does our mood change? |
| |
Or is the mind unmoved? |
| |
Looking right here we have our gauge. |
| |
Just know yourself, this is your witness. |
| |
Donât make decisions on the strength of your desires. |
| |
Desires can puff us up into thinking we are something which weâre not. |
| |
We must be very circumspect. |
| |
There are so many angles and aspects to consider, |
| |
but the right way is not to follow your desires, |
| |
but the Truth. |
| |
We should know both the good and the bad, |
| |
and when we know them to let go of them. |
| |
If we donât let go we are still there, |
| |
we still âexistâ, we still âhaveâ. |
| |
If we still âareâ then there is a remainder, |
| |
becoming and birth are in store. |
| |
Therefore the Buddha said to judge only yourself; donât judge others, |
| |
no matter how good or evil they may be. |
| |
The Buddha merely points out the way, |
| |
saying âThe truth is like this.â |
| |
Now, is our mind like that or not? |
| |
For instance, suppose a monk took some things belonging to another monk. |
| |
Then that other monk accused him, âYou stole my things.â |
| |
âI didnât steal them, I only took them.â |
| |
So we ask a third monk to adjudicate. |
| |
How should he decide? |
| |
He would have to ask the offending monk to appear before the convened Sangha. |
| |
âYes, I took it, but I didnât steal it.â |
| |
Or in regard to other rules, such as pÄrÄjika or sanghÄdisesa offences: âYes, |
| |
I did it, but I didnât have intention.â |
| |
How can you believe that? |
| |
Itâs tricky. |
| |
If you canât believe it, all you can do is leave the onus with the doer, |
| |
it rests on him. |
| |
But you should know that we canât hide the things that arise in our minds. |
| |
You canât cover them up, either the wrongs or the good actions. |
| |
Whether actions are good or evil, you canât dismiss them simply by ignoring them, |
| |
because these things tend to reveal themselves. |
| |
They conceal themselves, they reveal themselves, |
| |
they exist in and of themselves. |
| |
They are all automatic. |
| |
This is how things work. |
| |
Donât try to guess at or speculate about these things. |
| |
As long as there is still avijjÄ they are not finished with. |
| |
The Chief Privy Councillor once asked me, |
| |
âLuang Por, is the mind of an anÄgÄmÄ« pure yet?â |
| |
âItâs partly pure.â |
| |
âEh? |
| |
An anÄgÄmÄ« has given up sensual desire, |
| |
how is his mind not yet pure?â |
| |
âHe may have let go of sensual desire, |
| |
but there is still something remaining, |
| |
isnât there? |
| |
There is still avijjÄ. |
| |
If there is still something left then there is still something left. |
| |
Itâs like the bhikkhusâ alms bowls. |
| |
There are, a large-sized large bowl, a medium-sized large bowl, |
| |
a small-sized large bowl; then a large-sized medium bowl, |
| |
a medium-sized medium bowl, a small-sized medium bowl; then there are a large-sized small bowl, |
| |
a medium-sized small bowl and a small-sized small bowl. |
| |
No matter how small it is there is still a bowl there, |
| |
right? |
| |
Thatâs how it is with this - sotÄpanna, |
| |
sakadÄgÄmÄ«, anÄgÄmÄ«. |
| |
They have all given up certain defilements, |
| |
but only to their respective levels. |
| |
Whatever still remains, those Noble Ones donât see. |
| |
If they could they would all be arahants. |
| |
They still canât see all. |
| |
AvijjÄ is that which doesnât see. |
| |
If the mind of the anÄgÄmÄ« was completely straightened out he wouldnât be an anÄgÄmÄ«, |
| |
he would be fully accomplished. |
| |
But there is still something remaining.â |
| |
âIs his mind purified?â |
| |
âWell, it is somewhat, but not 100 percent.â |
| |
How else could I answer? |
| |
He said that later on he would come and question me about it further. |
| |
He can look into it, the standard is there. |
| |
Donât be careless. |
| |
Be alert. |
| |
The Lord Buddha exhorted us to be alert. |
| |
In regards to this training of the heart, |
| |
Iâve had my moments of temptation too, |
| |
you know. |
| |
Iâve often been tempted to try many things but theyâve always seemed like theyâre going astray of the path. |
| |
Itâs really just a sort of swaggering in oneâs mind, |
| |
a sort of conceit. |
| |
Ditthi (views) and mÄna (pride) are there. |
| |
Itâs hard enough just to be aware of these two things. |
| |
There was once a man who wanted to become a monk here. |
| |
He carried in his robes, determined to become a monk in memory of his late mother. |
| |
He came into the monastery, laid down his robes, |
| |
and without so much as paying respects to the monks, |
| |
started walking meditation right in front of the main hall back and forth, |
| |
back and forth, like he was really going to show his stuff. |
| |
I thought, âOh, so there are people around like this, |
| |
too!â |
| |
This is called saddhÄ adhimokkha - blind faith. |
| |
He must have determined to get enlightened before sundown or something, |
| |
he thought it would be so easy. |
| |
He didnât look at anybody else, he just put his head down and walked as if his life depended on it. |
| |
I just let him carry on, but I thought, |
| |
âOh, man, you think itâs that easy or something?â |
| |
In the end I donât know how long he stayed, |
| |
I donât even think he ordained. |
| |
As soon as the mind thinks of something we send it out, |
| |
send it out every time. |
| |
We donât realize that itâs simply the habitual proliferation of the mind. |
| |
It disguises itself as wisdom and waffles off into minute detail. |
| |
This mental proliferation seems very clever; if we didnât know, |
| |
we would mistake it for wisdom. |
| |
But when it comes to the crunch itâs not the real thing. |
| |
When suffering arises where is that so-called wisdom then? |
| |
Is it of any use? |
| |
Itâs only proliferation after all. |
| |
So stay with the Buddha. |
| |
As Iâve said before many times, in our practice we must turn inwards and find the Buddha. |
| |
Where is the Buddha? |
| |
The Buddha is still alive to this very day, |
| |
go in and find him. |
| |
Where is he? |
| |
At aniccam, go in and find him there, |
| |
go and bow to him: aniccam, uncertainty. |
| |
You can stop right there for starters. |
| |
If the mind tries to tell you, âIâm a sotÄpanna now,â go and bow to the sotÄpanna. |
| |
Heâll tell you himself, âItâs all uncertain.â |
| |
If you meet a sakadÄgÄmÄ« go and pay respects to him. |
| |
When he sees you heâll simply say, âNot a sure thing!â |
| |
If there is an anÄgÄmÄ« go and bow to him. |
| |
Heâll tell you only one thing - âUncertain.â |
| |
If you even meet an arahant, go and bow to him, |
| |
heâll tell you even more firmly, âItâs all even more uncertain!â |
| |
Youâll hear the words of the Noble Ones: âeverything is uncertain, |
| |
donât cling to anything.â |
| |
Donât just look at the Buddha like a simpleton. |
| |
Donât cling to things, holding fast to them without letting go. |
| |
Look at things as functions of the apparent and then send them on to transcendence. |
| |
Thatâs how you must be. |
| |
There must be appearance and there must be transcendence. |
| |
So I say, âGo to the Buddha.â |
| |
Where is the Buddha? |
| |
The Buddha is the Dhamma. |
| |
All the teachings in this world can be contained in this one teaching: aniccam. |
| |
Think about it. |
| |
Iâve searched for over forty years as a monk and this is all I could find. |
| |
That and patient endurance. |
| |
This is how to approach the Buddhaâs teaching - aniccam: itâs all uncertain. |
| |
No matter how sure the mind wants to be, |
| |
just tell it, âNot sure!â |
| |
Whenever the mind wants to grab on to something as a sure thing, |
| |
just say, âItâs not sure, itâs transient.â |
| |
Just ram it down with this. |
| |
Using the Dhamma of the Buddha it all comes down to this. |
| |
Itâs not that itâs merely a momentary phenomenon. |
| |
Whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down, |
| |
you see everything in that way. |
| |
Whether liking arises or dislike arises you see it all in the same way. |
| |
This is getting close to the Buddha, close to the Dhamma. |
| |
Now I feel that this is a more valuable way to practise. |
| |
All my practice from the early days up to the present time has been like this. |
| |
I didnât actually rely on the scriptures, |
| |
but then I didnât disregard them either. |
| |
I didnât rely on a teacher but then I didnât exactly âgo it aloneâ. |
| |
My practice was all âneither this nor thatâ. |
| |
Frankly itâs a matter of âfinishing offâ; that is, |
| |
practising to the finish by taking up the practice and then seeing it to completion, |
| |
seeing the apparent and also the transcendent. |
| |
Iâve already spoken of this, but some of you may be interested |
| |
to hear it again: if you practise consistently and consider things thoroughly, |
| |
you will eventually reach this point. |
| |
At first you hurry to go forward, hurry to come back, |
| |
and hurry to stop. |
| |
You continue to practise like this until you reach the point where it seems that going forward is not it, |
| |
coming back is not it, and stopping is not it either! |
| |
Itâs finished. |
| |
This is the finish. |
| |
Donât expect anything more than this, |
| |
it finishes right here. |
| |
KhÄ«nÄsavo - one who is completed. |
| |
He doesnât go forward, doesnât retreat and doesnât stop. |
| |
Thereâs no stopping, no going forward and no coming back. |
| |
Itâs finished. |
| |
Consider this, realize it clearly in your own mind. |
| |
Right there you will find that there is really nothing at all. |
| |
Whether this is old or new to you depends on you, |
| |
on your wisdom and discernment. |
| |
One who has no wisdom or discernment wonât be able to figure it out. |
| |
Just take a look at trees, like mango or jackfruit trees. |
| |
If they grow up in a clump, one tree may get bigger first and then the others will bend away, |
| |
growing outwards from that bigger one. |
| |
Why does this happen? |
| |
Who tells them to do that? |
| |
This is nature. |
| |
Nature contains both the good and the bad, |
| |
the right and the wrong. |
| |
It can either incline to the right or incline to the wrong. |
| |
If we plant any kind of trees at all close together, |
| |
the trees which mature later will branch away from the bigger tree. |
| |
How does this happen? |
| |
Who determines it thus? |
| |
This is nature, or Dhamma. |
| |
Likewise, tanhÄ leads us to suffering. |
| |
Now, if we contemplate it, it will lead us out of desire, |
| |
we will outgrow tanhÄ. |
| |
By investigating tanhÄ we will shake it up, |
| |
making it gradually lighter and lighter until itâs all gone. |
| |
The same as the trees: does anybody order them to grow the way they do? |
| |
They canât talk or move around and yet they know how to grow away from obstacles. |
| |
Wherever itâs cramped and crowded and growing is difficult, |
| |
they bend outwards. |
| |
Right here is Dhamma, we donât have to look at a whole lot. |
| |
One who is astute will see the Dhamma in this. |
| |
Trees by nature donât know anything, they act on natural laws, |
| |
yet they do know enough to grow away from danger, |
| |
to incline towards a suitable place. |
| |
Reflective people are like this. |
| |
We go forth into the homeless life because we want to transcend suffering. |
| |
What is it that makes us suffer? |
| |
If we follow the trail inwards we will find out. |
| |
That which we like and that which we donât like are suffering. |
| |
If they are suffering then donât go so close to them. |
| |
Do you want to fall in love with conditions or hate them? |
| |
Theyâre all uncertain. |
| |
When we incline towards the Buddha all this comes to an end. |
| |
Donât forget this. |
| |
And patient endurance. |
| |
Just these two are enough. |
| |
If you have this sort of understanding this is very good. |
| |
Actually in my own practice I didnât have a teacher to give as much teachings as all of you get from me. |
| |
I didnât have many teachers. |
| |
I ordained in an ordinary village temple and lived in village temples for quite a few years. |
| |
In my mind I conceived the desire to practise. |
| |
I wanted to be proficient, I wanted to train. |
| |
There wasnât anybody giving any teaching in those monasteries but the inspiration to practise arose. |
| |
I travelled and I looked around. |
| |
I had ears so I listened, I had eyes so I looked. |
| |
Whatever I heard people say, Iâd tell myself, |
| |
ânot sure.â |
| |
Whatever I saw, I told myself, ânot sure,â or when the tongue contacted sweet, |
| |
sour, salty, pleasant or unpleasant flavours, |
| |
or feelings of comfort or pain arose in the body, |
| |
Iâd tell myself, âThis is not a sure thing!â |
| |
And so I lived with Dhamma. |
| |
In truth itâs all uncertain, but our desires want things to be certain. |
| |
What can we do? |
| |
We must be patient. |
| |
The most important thing is khanti, patient endurance. |
| |
Donât throw out the Buddha, what I call âuncertaintyâ - donât throw that away. |
| |
Sometimes Iâd go to see old religious sites with ancient monastic buildings, |
| |
designed by architects, built by craftsmen. |
| |
In some places they would be cracked. |
| |
Maybe one of my friends would remark, |
| |
âSuch a shame, isnât it? |
| |
Itâs cracked.â |
| |
Iâd answer, âIf that werenât the case then thereâd be no such thing as the Buddha, |
| |
thereâd be no Dhamma. |
| |
Itâs cracked like this because itâs perfectly in line with the Buddhaâs teaching.â |
| |
Really down inside I was also sad to see those buildings cracked |
| |
but Iâd throw off my sentimentality and try to say something which would be of use to my friends, |
| |
and to myself. |
| |
Even though I also felt that it was a pity, |
| |
still I tended towards the Dhamma. |
| |
âIf it wasnât cracked like that there wouldnât be any Buddha!â |
| |
Iâd say it really heavy for the benefit of my friends, |
| |
perhaps they werenât listening, but still I was listening. |
| |
This is a way of considering things which is very, |
| |
very useful. |
| |
For instance, say someone were to rush in and say, |
| |
âLuang Por! |
| |
Do you know what so and so just said about you?â |
| |
or, âHe said such and such about you.â |
| |
Maybe you even start to rage. |
| |
As soon as you hear words of criticism you start getting these moods every step of the way. |
| |
As soon as we hear words like this we may start getting ready to retaliate, |
| |
but on looking into the truth of the matter we may find that no, |
| |
they had said something else after all. |
| |
And so itâs another case of âuncertaintyâ. |
| |
So why should we rush in and believe things? |
| |
Why should we put our trust so much in what others say? |
| |
Whatever we hear we should take note of, |
| |
be patient, look into the matter carefully and stay straight. |
| |
Itâs not that we write whatever pops into our heads as some sort of truth. |
| |
Any speech which ignores uncertainty is not the speech of a sage. |
| |
Remember this. |
| |
Whatever we see or hear, be it pleasant or sorrowful, |
| |
just say âthis is not sure!â |
| |
Say it heavy to yourself, hold it all down with this. |
| |
Donât build those things up into major issues, |
| |
just keep them all down to this one. |
| |
This point is the important one. |
| |
This is the point where defilements die. |
| |
Practitioners shouldnât dismiss it. |
| |
If you disregard this point you can expect only suffering, |
| |
expect only mistakes. |
| |
If you donât make this a foundation for your practice you are |
| |
going to go wrong; but then you will come right again later on, |
| |
because this principle is a really good one. |
| |
Actually the real Dhamma, the gist of what I have been saying today, |
| |
isnât so mysterious. |
| |
Whatever you experience is simply form, |
| |
simply feeling, simply perception, simply volition, |
| |
and simply consciousness. |
| |
There are only these basic qualities; where is there any certainty within them? |
| |
If we come to understand the true nature of things like this, |
| |
lust, infatuation and attachment fade away. |
| |
Why do they fade away? |
| |
Because we understand, we know. |
| |
We shift from ignorance to understanding. |
| |
Understanding is born from ignorance, |
| |
knowing is born from unknowing, purity is born from defilement. |
| |
It works like this. |
| |
Not discarding aniccam, the Buddha - this is what it means to say that the Buddha is still alive. |
| |
To say that the Buddha has passed into NibbÄna is not necessarily true. |
| |
In a more profound sense the Buddha is still alive. |
| |
Itâs much like how we define the word âbhikkhuâ. |
| |
If we define it as âone who asksâ,1 the meaning is very broad. |
| |
We can define it this way, but to use this definition too much is not so good - we donât know when to stop asking! |
| |
If we were to define this word in a more profound way we would say: âBhikkhu - one who sees the danger of samsÄra.â |
| |
Isnât this more profound? |
| |
It doesnât go in the same direction as the previous definition, |
| |
it runs much deeper. |
| |
The practice of Dhamma is like this. |
| |
If you donât fully understand it, it becomes something else again. |
| |
When it is fully understood, then it becomes priceless, |
| |
it becomes a source of peace. |
| |
When we have sati, we are close to the Dhamma. |
| |
If we have sati we will see aniccam, the transience of all things. |
| |
We will see the Buddha and transcend the suffering of samsÄra, |
| |
if not now, then sometime in the future. |
| |
If we throw away the attribute of the Noble Ones, |
| |
the Buddha or the Dhamma, our practice will become barren and fruitless. |
| |
We must maintain our practice constantly, |
| |
whether we are working or sitting or simply lying down. |
| |
When the eye sees form, the ear hears sound, |
| |
the nose smells an odour, the tongue tastes a flavour or the body experiences sensation - in all things, |
| |
donât throw away the Buddha, donât stray from the Buddha. |
| |
This is how to be one who has come close to the Buddha, |
| |
to be one who reveres the Buddha constantly. |
| |
We have ceremonies for revering the Buddha, |
| |
such as chanting in the morning, Araham SammÄ Sambuddho BhagavÄ .... |
| |
This is one way of revering the Buddha but itâs not revering the Buddha in such a profound way as Iâve described here. |
| |
Itâs the same with the word âbhikkhuâ. |
| |
If we define it as âone who asksâ then they keep on asking because itâs defined like that. |
| |
To define it in the best way we should say âBhikkhu - one who sees the danger of samsÄra.â |
| |
Revering the Buddha is the same. |
| |
Revering the Buddha by merely reciting PÄli phrases as a ceremony |
| |
in the mornings and evenings is comparable to defining the word âbhikkhuâ as âone who asksâ. |
| |
If we incline towards annicam, dukkham and anattÄ2 whenever the eye sees form, |
| |
the ear hears sound, the nose smells an odour, |
| |
the tongue tastes a flavour, the body experiences sensation or the mind cognizes mental impressions; at all times, |
| |
this is comparable to defining the word âbhikkhuâ as âone who sees the danger of samsÄra.â |
| |
Itâs so much more profound, cuts through so many things. |
| |
If we understand this teaching we will grow in wisdom and understanding. |
| |
This is called patipadÄ. |
| |
Develop this attitude in the practice and you will be on the right path. |
| |
If you think and reflect in this way, |
| |
even though you may be far from your teacher you will still be close to him. |
| |
If you live close to the teacher physically but your mind has |
| |
not yet met him you will spend your time either looking for his faults or adulating him. |
| |
If he does something which suits you, |
| |
you say heâs so good - and thatâs as far as your practice goes. |
| |
You wonât achieve anything by wasting your time looking at someone else. |
| |
But if you understand this teaching you can become a Noble One in the present moment. |
| |
Thatâs why this year3 Iâve distanced myself from my disciples, |
| |
both old and new, and not given much teaching: so that you can all look into things for yourselves as much as possible. |
| |
For the newer monks Iâve already laid down the schedule and rules of the monastery, |
| |
such as: âDonât talk too much.â |
| |
Donât transgress the existing standards, |
| |
the path to realization, fruition and NibbÄna. |
| |
Anyone who transgresses these standards is not a real practitioner, |
| |
not one who has a pure intention to practise. |
| |
What can such a person ever hope to see? |
| |
Even if he slept near me every day he wouldnât see me. |
| |
Even if he slept near the Buddha he wouldnât see the Buddha, |
| |
if he didnât practise. |
| |
So knowing the Dhamma or seeing the Dhamma depends on practice. |
| |
Have confidence, purify your own heart. |
| |
If all the monks in this monastery put awareness into their respective |
| |
minds we wouldnât have to reprimand or praise anybody. |
| |
We wouldnât have to be suspicious of or favour anybody. |
| |
If anger or dislike arise just leave them at the mind, |
| |
but see them clearly! |
| |
Keep on looking at those things. |
| |
As long as there is still something there it means we still have to dig and grind away right there. |
| |
Some say, âI canât cut it, I canât do itâ - if we start saying |
| |
things like this there will only be a bunch of thugs here, |
| |
because nobody cuts at their own defilements. |
| |
You must try. |
| |
If you canât yet cut it, dig in deeper. |
| |
Dig at the defilements, uproot them. |
| |
Dig them out even if they seem hard and fast. |
| |
The Dhamma is not something to be reached by following your desires. |
| |
Your mind may be one way, the truth another. |
| |
You must watch up front and keep a lookout behind as well. |
| |
Thatâs why I say, âItâs all uncertain, |
| |
all transient.â |
| |
This truth of uncertainty, this short and simple truth, |
| |
is at the same time so profound and faultless that people tend to ignore it. |
| |
They tend to see things differently. |
| |
Donât cling to goodness, donât cling to badness. |
| |
These are attributes of the world. |
| |
We are practising to be free of the world, |
| |
so bring these things to an end. |
| |
The Buddha taught to lay them down, to give them up, |
| |
because they only cause suffering. |
| |
1: That is, one who lives dependent on the generosity of others. |
| |
2: Transience, imperfection, and ownerlessness. |
| |
3: 2522 of the Buddhist Era, or 1979 CE. |
| |
* * * |
| |
In every home and in every community, |
| |
whether we live in the city, the countryside, |
| |
the forests or the mountains, we are the same in experiencing happiness and suffering. |
| |
So many of us lack a place of refuge, |
| |
a field or garden where we can cultivate positive qualities of heart. |
| |
We experience this spiritual poverty because we donât really |
| |
have commitment; we donât have clear understanding of what this life is all about and what we ought to be doing. |
| |
From childhood and youth until adulthood, |
| |
we only learn to seek enjoyment and take delight in the things of the senses. |
| |
We never think that danger will threaten us as we go about our lives, |
| |
making a family and so on. |
| |
If we donât have land to till and a home to live in, |
| |
we are without an external refuge and our lives are filled with difficulty and distress. |
| |
Beyond that, there is the inner lack of not having sīla and Dhamma in our lives, |
| |
of not going to hear teachings and practise Dhamma. |
| |
As a result there is little wisdom in our lives and everything regresses and degenerates. |
| |
The Buddha, our supreme teacher, had mettÄ for beings. |
| |
He led sons and daughters of good families to be ordained; to practise and realize the truth, |
| |
to establish and spread the Dhamma to show people how to live in happiness in their daily lives. |
| |
He taught the proper ways to earn a livelihood, |
| |
to be moderate and thrifty in managing finances, |
| |
to act without carelessness in all affairs. |
| |
But when we are lacking in both ways, |
| |
externally in the material supports for life and internally in spiritual supports as well, |
| |
then as time goes by and the number of people grows, |
| |
the delusion and poverty and difficulty become causes for us to grow further and further estranged from Dhamma. |
| |
We arenât interested in seeking the Dhamma because of our difficult circumstances. |
| |
Even if there is a monastery nearby, we donât feel much like |
| |
going to listen to teachings because we are obsessed with our |
| |
poverty and troubles and the difficulty of merely supporting our lives. |
| |
But the Lord Buddha taught that no matter how poor we may be, |
| |
we should not let it impoverish our hearts and starve our wisdom. |
| |
Even if there are floods inundating our fields, |
| |
our villages and our homes to the point where it is beyond our capability to do anything, |
| |
the Buddha taught us not to let it flood and overcome the heart. |
| |
Flooding the heart means that we lose sight of and have no knowledge of the Dhamma. |
| |
There is the ogha of sensuality, the flood of becoming, |
| |
the flood of views and the flood of ignorance. |
| |
These four obscure and envelop the hearts of beings. |
| |
They are worse than water that floods our fields, |
| |
our villages or our towns. |
| |
Even if water floods our fields again and again over the years, |
| |
or fire burns down our homes, we still have our minds. |
| |
If our minds have sīla and Dhamma we can use our wisdom and find ways to earn a living and support ourselves. |
| |
We can acquire land again and make a new start. |
| |
Now, when we have our means of livelihood, |
| |
our homes and possessions, our minds can be comfortable and upright, |
| |
and we can have energy of spirit to help and assist each other. |
| |
If someone is able to share food and clothing and provide shelter to those in need, |
| |
that is an act of loving-kindness. |
| |
The way I see it, giving things in a spirit of loving-kindness is far better than selling them to make a profit. |
| |
Those who have mettÄ arenât wishing for anything for themselves. |
| |
They only wish for others to live in happiness. |
| |
If we really make up our minds and commit ourselves to the right way, |
| |
I think there shouldnât be any serious difficulty. |
| |
We wonât experience extreme poverty - we wonât be like earthworms. |
| |
We still have a skeleton, eyes and ears, |
| |
arms and legs. |
| |
We can eat things like fruit; we donât have to eat dirt like an earthworm. |
| |
If you complain about poverty, if you become mired in feeling how unfortunate you are, |
| |
the earthworm will say, âDonât feel too sorry for yourself. |
| |
Donât you still have arms and legs and bones? |
| |
I donât have those things, yet I donât feel poor.â |
| |
The earthworm will shame us like this. |
| |
One day a pig farmer came to see me. |
| |
He was complaining, âOh man, this year itâs really too much! |
| |
The price of feed is up. |
| |
The price of pork is down. |
| |
Iâm losing my shirt!â |
| |
I listened to his laments, then I said, |
| |
âDonât feel too sorry for yourself, |
| |
Sir. |
| |
If you were a pig, then youâd have good reason to feel sorry for yourself. |
| |
When the price of pork is high, the pigs are slaughtered. |
| |
When the price of pork is low, the pigs are still slaughtered. |
| |
The pigs really have something to complain about. |
| |
The people shouldnât be complaining. |
| |
Think about this seriously, please.â |
| |
He was only worried about the prices he was getting. |
| |
The pigs have a lot more to worry about, |
| |
but we donât consider that. |
| |
Weâre not being killed, so we can still try to find a way to get by. |
| |
I really believe that if you listen to the Dhamma, |
| |
contemplating it and understanding it, |
| |
you can make an end of your suffering. |
| |
You know what is right to do, what you need to do, |
| |
what you need to use and spend. |
| |
You can live your life according to sīla and Dhamma, |
| |
applying wisdom to worldly matters. |
| |
But most of us are far from that. |
| |
We donât have morality or Dhamma in our lives, |
| |
so our lives are filled with discord and friction. |
| |
There is discord between husbands and wives, |
| |
discord between children and parents. |
| |
Children donât listen to their parents, |
| |
just because of lack of Dhamma in the family. |
| |
People arenât interested in hearing the Dhamma and learning anything, |
| |
so instead of developing good sense and skilfulness, |
| |
they remain mired in ignorance, and the result is lives of suffering. |
| |
The Buddha taught Dhamma and set out the way of practice. |
| |
He wasnât trying to make our lives difficult. |
| |
He wanted us to improve, to become better and more skilful. |
| |
Itâs just that we donât listen. |
| |
This is pretty bad. |
| |
Itâs like a little child who doesnât want to take a bath in the middle of winter, |
| |
because itâs too cold. |
| |
The child starts to stink so much that the parents canât even sleep at night, |
| |
so they grab hold of the child and give him a bath. |
| |
That makes the child mad, and he cries and curses the father and mother. |
| |
The parents and the child see the situation differently. |
| |
For the child itâs too uncomfortable to take a bath in the winter. |
| |
For the parents the childâs smell is unbearable. |
| |
The two views canât be reconciled. |
| |
The Buddha didnât simply want to leave us as we are. |
| |
He wanted us to be diligent and work hard in ways that are good and beneficial, |
| |
and to be enthusiastic about the right path. |
| |
Instead of being lazy, we have to make efforts. |
| |
His teaching is not something that will make us foolish or useless. |
| |
He teaches us how to develop and apply wisdom to whatever we are doing - working, |
| |
farming, raising a family, managing our finances, |
| |
being aware of all aspects of these things. |
| |
If we live in the world, we have to pay attention and know the ways of the world. |
| |
Otherwise we end up in dire straits. |
| |
We live in a place where the Buddha and his Dhamma are familiar to us. |
| |
But then we get the idea that all we need to do is go hear teachings and then take it easy, |
| |
living our lives as before. |
| |
This is badly mistaken. |
| |
How would the Buddha have attained any knowledge like that? |
| |
There would never have been a Buddha. |
| |
He taught about the various kinds of wealth: the wealth of human life, |
| |
the wealth of the heaven realm, the wealth of NibbÄna. |
| |
Those with Dhamma, even though they are living in the world, |
| |
are not poor. |
| |
Even though they may be poor, they donât suffer over it. |
| |
When we live according to Dhamma, we feel no distress when looking back on what we have done. |
| |
We are only creating good kamma. |
| |
If we are creating bad kamma, then the result later on will be misery. |
| |
If we havenât created bad kamma, we wonât suffer such results in the future. |
| |
But if we donât try to change our habits and put a stop to wrong actions, |
| |
our difficulties go on and on, both the mental distress and the material troubles. |
| |
So we need to listen and contemplate, |
| |
and then we can figure out where the difficulties come from. |
| |
Havenât you ever carried things to the fields on a pole over your shoulders? |
| |
When the load is too heavy in front, isnât that uncomfortable to carry? |
| |
When itâs too heavy at the back, isnât that uncomfortable to carry? |
| |
Which way is balanced and which way is imbalanced? |
| |
When youâre doing it, you can see. |
| |
Dhamma is like that. |
| |
There is cause and effect, there is common sense. |
| |
When the load is balanced, itâs easier to carry. |
| |
We can manage our lives in a balanced way, |
| |
with an attitude of moderation. |
| |
Our family relations and our work can be smoother. |
| |
Even if you arenât rich, you can still have ease of mind; you donât need to suffer over that. |
| |
If a family is not hard working, they fall on difficulty and when they see others with more than they have, |
| |
they start to feel covetousness, jealousy and resentment, |
| |
and it may lead to stealing. |
| |
Then the village becomes an unhappy place. |
| |
Itâs better to work at benefiting yourselves and your families, |
| |
for this life and also for future lives. |
| |
If your material needs are met through your efforts, |
| |
then your mind is happy and at ease, |
| |
and that is conducive to listening to Dhamma teachings, |
| |
to learn about right and wrong, virtue and demerit, |
| |
and to keep on changing your lives for the better. |
| |
You can learn to recognize how doing wrong deeds only creates hardship, |
| |
and you will give up such actions and keep improving. |
| |
Your way of working will change and your mind will change too. |
| |
From being someone ignorant you will become someone with knowledge. |
| |
From being someone with bad habits you will become someone with a good heart. |
| |
You can teach what you know to your children and grandchildren. |
| |
This is creating benefit for the future by doing what is right in the present. |
| |
But those without wisdom donât do anything of benefit in the present, |
| |
and they only end up bringing hardship upon themselves. |
| |
If they become poor, they just think about gambling. |
| |
Then that finally leads them to becoming thieves. |
| |
We havenât died yet, so now is the time to talk about these things. |
| |
If you donât hear the Dhamma when you are a human being, |
| |
there wonât be any other chance. |
| |
Do you think animals can be taught the Dhamma? |
| |
Animal life is a lot harder than our life. |
| |
Being born as a toad or a frog, a pig or a dog, |
| |
a cobra or a viper, a squirrel or a rabbit. |
| |
When people see them, they only think about killing or beating them, |
| |
catching them or raising them for food. |
| |
We have this opportunity as humans. |
| |
Itâs much better! |
| |
Weâre still alive, so now is the time to look into this and mend our ways. |
| |
If things are difficult, try to bear with the difficulty for |
| |
the time being and live in the right way until one day you can do it. |
| |
Practising the Dhamma is like that. |
| |
Iâd like to remind you all of the need for having a good mind and living your lives in an ethical way. |
| |
However you may have been doing things up to now, |
| |
you should take a close look and see whether that is good or not. |
| |
If youâve been following wrong ways, give them up. |
| |
Give up wrong livelihood. |
| |
Earn your living in a good and decent way that doesnât harm others and doesnât harm yourself or society. |
| |
When you practise right livelihood, then you can live with a comfortable mind. |
| |
We monks and nuns rely on the laypeople for all our material needs. |
| |
And we rely on contemplation so that we are able to explain the |
| |
Dhamma to the laypeople for their own understanding and benefit, |
| |
enabling them to improve their lives. |
| |
You can learn to recognize and remove whatever causes misery and conflict. |
| |
Make efforts to get along with each other, |
| |
to have harmony in your relations rather than exploiting or harming each other. |
| |
These days things are pretty bad. |
| |
Itâs hard for folks to get along. |
| |
Even when a few people get together for a little meeting, |
| |
it doesnât work out. |
| |
They just look at each otherâs faces three times and theyâre ready to start killing each other. |
| |
Why is it like this? |
| |
Itâs only because people have no sÄ«la or Dhamma in their lives. |
| |
In the time of our parents it was a lot different. |
| |
Just the way people looked at each other showed that they felt love and friendship. |
| |
Itâs not anything like that now. |
| |
If a stranger shows up in the village as evening comes everyone |
| |
will be suspicious: âWhatâs he doing coming here at night?â |
| |
Why should we be afraid of a person coming into the village? |
| |
If a strange dog comes into the village, |
| |
nobody will give it a second thought. |
| |
So is a person worse than a dog? |
| |
âItâs an outsider, a strange person!â |
| |
How can anyone be an outsider? |
| |
When someone comes to the village, we ought to be glad: they are in need of shelter, |
| |
so they can stay with us and we can take care of them and help them out. |
| |
We will have some company. |
| |
But nowadays thereâs no tradition of hospitality and goodwill anymore. |
| |
There is only fear and suspicion. |
| |
In some villages Iâd say there arenât any people left - there are only animals. |
| |
Thereâs suspicion about everything, possessiveness over every bush and every inch of ground, |
| |
just because there is no morality, no spirituality. |
| |
When there is no sīla and no Dhamma, then we live lives of unease and paranoia. |
| |
People go to sleep at night and soon they wake up, |
| |
worrying about whatâs going on or about some sound they heard. |
| |
People in the villages donât get along or trust each other. |
| |
Parents and children donât trust each other. |
| |
Husband and wife donât trust each other. |
| |
Whatâs going on? |
| |
All of this is the result of being far from the Dhamma and living lives bereft of Dhamma. |
| |
So everywhere you look itâs like this, |
| |
and life is hard. |
| |
If a few people show up in the village and request shelter for the night now, |
| |
theyâre told to go and find a hotel. |
| |
Everything is business now. |
| |
In the past no one would think of sending them away like that. |
| |
The whole village would join in showing hospitality. |
| |
People would go and invite their neighbours and everyone would bring food and drink to share with the guests. |
| |
Now that canât be done. |
| |
After people eat their dinner, they lock the doors. |
| |
Wherever we look in the world now, this is the way things are going. |
| |
It means that the non-spiritual is proliferating and taking over. |
| |
We are generally not very happy and we donât trust anyone very much. |
| |
Some people even kill their parents now. |
| |
Husbands and wives may cut each otherâs throats. |
| |
There is a lot of pain in society and itâs simply because of this lack of sÄ«la and Dhamma. |
| |
So please try to understand this and donât discard the principles of virtue. |
| |
With virtue and spirituality, human life can be happy. |
| |
Without them we become like animals. |
| |
The Buddha was born in the forest. |
| |
Born in the forest, he studied Dhamma in the forest. |
| |
He taught Dhamma in the forest, beginning with the Discourse on the Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma. |
| |
He entered NibbÄna in the forest. |
| |
Itâs important for those of us who live in the forest to understand the forest. |
| |
Living in the forest doesnât mean that our minds become wild, |
| |
like those of forest animals. |
| |
Our minds can become elevated and spiritually noble. |
| |
This is what the Buddha said. |
| |
Living in the city we live among distraction and disturbance. |
| |
In the forest, there is quiet and tranquillity. |
| |
We can contemplate things clearly and develop wisdom. |
| |
So we take this quiet and tranquillity as our friend and helper. |
| |
because such an environment is conducive to Dhamma practice, |
| |
we take it as our dwelling place; we take the mountains and caves for our refuge. |
| |
Observing natural phenomena, wisdom comes about in such places. |
| |
We learn from and understand trees and everything else, |
| |
and it brings about a state of joy. |
| |
The sounds of nature we hear donât disturb us. |
| |
We hear the birds calling, as they will, |
| |
and it is actually a great enjoyment. |
| |
We donât react with any aversion and we arenât thinking harmful thoughts. |
| |
We arenât speaking harshly or acting aggressively towards anyone or anything. |
| |
Hearing the sounds of the forest gives delight to the mind; even as we are hearing sounds, |
| |
the mind is tranquil. |
| |
The sounds of people on the other hand are not peaceful. |
| |
Even when people speak nicely it doesnât bring any deep tranquillity to the mind. |
| |
The sounds that people like, such as music, |
| |
are not peaceful. |
| |
They cause excitement and enjoyment, but there is no peace in them. |
| |
When people are together and seeking pleasure in this way, |
| |
it will usually lead to mindless, aggressive and contentious speech; and the condition of disturbance keeps increasing. |
| |
The sounds of humans are like this. |
| |
They do not bring real comfort or happiness, |
| |
unless words of Dhamma are being spoken. |
| |
Generally, when people live together in society, |
| |
they are speaking out of their own interests, |
| |
upsetting each other, taking offence and accusing each other, |
| |
and the only result is confusion and upset. |
| |
Without Dhamma people naturally tend to be like that. |
| |
The sounds of humans lead us into delusion. |
| |
The sounds of music, and the words of songs agitate and confuse the mind. |
| |
Take a look at this. |
| |
Consider the pleasurable sensations that come from listening to music. |
| |
People feel itâs really something great, |
| |
that itâs so much fun. |
| |
They can stand out in the hot sun when theyâre listening to a music and dance show. |
| |
They can stand there until theyâre baked to a crisp, |
| |
but still they feel theyâre having fun. |
| |
But then if someone speaks harshly, criticizing or cursing them, |
| |
they are unhappy again. |
| |
This is how it is with the ordinary sounds of humans. |
| |
But if the sounds of humans become the sounds of Dhamma, |
| |
if the mind is Dhamma and we are speaking Dhamma, |
| |
that is something worth listening to, |
| |
something to think about, something to study and contemplate. |
| |
That kind of sound is good, not in any excessive, |
| |
unbalanced way, but in a way that brings happiness and tranquillity. |
| |
The ordinary sounds of humans generally only bring confusion, |
| |
upset and torment. |
| |
They lead to the arising of lust, anger and confusion, |
| |
and they incite people to be covetous and greedy, |
| |
to want to harm and destroy others. |
| |
But the sounds of the forest arenât like that. |
| |
If we hear the cry of a bird, it doesnât cause us to have lust or anger. |
| |
We should be using our time to create benefit right now, |
| |
in the present. |
| |
This was the Buddhaâs intention: benefit in this life, |
| |
benefit in future lives. |
| |
In this life, from childhood we need to apply ourselves to study, |
| |
to learn at least enough to be able to earn a living so that |
| |
we can support ourselves and eventually establish a family and not live in poverty. |
| |
But we generally donât have such a responsible attitude. |
| |
We only want to seek enjoyment instead. |
| |
Wherever thereâs a festival, a play or a concert, |
| |
weâre on our way there, even when itâs getting near harvest time. |
| |
The old folks will drag the grandchildren along to hear the famous singer. |
| |
âWhere are you off to, Grandmother?â |
| |
âIâm taking the kids to hear the concert!â |
| |
I donât know if Grandma is taking the kids, |
| |
or the kids are taking her. |
| |
It doesnât matter how long or difficult a trip it might be. |
| |
And they go again and again. |
| |
They say theyâre taking the grandchildren to listen, |
| |
but the truth is they just want to go themselves. |
| |
To them, thatâs what a good time is. |
| |
If you invite them to come to the monastery to listen to Dhamma and learn about right and wrong, |
| |
theyâll say, âYou go ahead. |
| |
I want to stay home and rest,â or, âIâve got a bad headache, |
| |
my back hurts, my knees are sore, I really donât feel well.â |
| |
But if itâs a popular singer or an exciting play, |
| |
theyâll rush to round up the kids and nothing bothers them then. |
| |
Thatâs how folks are. |
| |
They make such efforts yet all theyâre doing is bringing suffering and difficulty on themselves. |
| |
Theyâre seeking out darkness, confusion and intoxication on this path of delusion. |
| |
The Buddha is teaching us to create benefit for ourselves in this life - ultimate benefit, |
| |
spiritual welfare. |
| |
We should do it now, in this life. |
| |
We should be seeking out the knowledge that will help us do that, |
| |
so that we can live our lives well, |
| |
making good use of our resources, working with diligence in ways of right livelihood. |
| |
After I was ordained, I started practising - studying and then practising - and faith came about. |
| |
When I first started practising I would think about the lives of beings in the world. |
| |
It all seemed very heart-rending and pitiful. |
| |
What was so pitiful about it? |
| |
All the rich people would soon die and have to leave their big houses behind, |
| |
leaving the children and grandchildren to fight over the estate. |
| |
When I saw such things happening, I thought, |
| |
hm ... |
| |
this got to me. |
| |
It made me feel pity towards rich and poor alike, |
| |
towards the wise and the foolish - everyone living in this world was in the same boat. |
| |
Reflecting on our bodies, about the condition of the world and the lives of sentient beings, |
| |
brings about weariness and dispassion. |
| |
Thinking about the ordained life, that we have taken up this way of life to dwell and practise in the forest, |
| |
and developing a constant attitude of disenchantment and dispassion, |
| |
our practice will progress. |
| |
Thinking constantly about the factors of practice, |
| |
rapture comes about. |
| |
The hairs of the body stand on end. |
| |
There is a feeling of joy in reflecting on the way we live, |
| |
in comparing our lives previously with our lives now. |
| |
The Dhamma caused such feelings to fill my heart. |
| |
I didnât know who to talk to about it. |
| |
I was awake and whatever situations I met, |
| |
I was awake and alert. |
| |
It means I had some knowledge of Dhamma. |
| |
My mind was illumined and I realized many things. |
| |
I experienced bliss, a real satisfaction and delight in my way of life. |
| |
To put it simply, I felt I was different from others. |
| |
I was a fully grown, normal man, but I could live in the forest like this. |
| |
I didnât have any regrets or see any loss in it. |
| |
When I saw others having families, I thought that was truly regrettable. |
| |
I looked around and thought, how many people can live like this? |
| |
I came to have real faith and trust in the path of practice I |
| |
had chosen and this faith has supported me right up to the present. |
| |
In the early days of Wat Pah Pong, I had four or five monks living here with me. |
| |
We experienced a lot of difficulties. |
| |
From what I can see now, most of us Buddhists are pretty deficient in our practice. |
| |
These days, when you walk into a monastery you only see the kutīs, |
| |
the temple hall, the monastery grounds and the monks. |
| |
But as to what is really the heart of the Buddhaâs way (BuddhasÄsanÄ), |
| |
you wonât find that. |
| |
Iâve spoken about this often; itâs a cause for sadness. |
| |
In the past I had one Dhamma companion who became more interested in study than in practice. |
| |
He pursued the PÄli and Abhidhamma studies, |
| |
going to live in Bangkok after a while, |
| |
and last year he finally completed his studies and received a certificate and titles commensurate with his learning. |
| |
So now he has a brand name. |
| |
Here, I donât have any brand name. |
| |
I studied outside the models, contemplating things and practising, |
| |
thinking and practising. |
| |
So I didnât get the brand label like the others. |
| |
In this monastery we had ordinary monks, |
| |
people who didnât have a lot of learning but who were determined to practise. |
| |
I originally came to this place at the invitation of my mother. |
| |
She was the one who had cared for me and supported me since my birth, |
| |
but I hadnât repaid her kindness, so I thought this would be the way to do that, |
| |
coming here to Wat Pah Pong. |
| |
I had some connection with this place. |
| |
When I was a child, I remember hearing my father say that Ajahn Sao1 came to stay here. |
| |
My father went to hear the Dhamma from him. |
| |
I was a child, but the memory stayed with me; it stuck in my mind always. |
| |
My father was never ordained, but he told me how he went to pay respects to this meditation monk. |
| |
It was the first time he saw a monk eating out of his bowl, |
| |
putting everything together in the one alms bowl - rice, |
| |
curry, sweet, fish, everything. |
| |
Heâd never seen such a thing, and it made him wonder what kind of monk this might be. |
| |
He told me about this when I was a little child; that was a meditation monk. |
| |
Then he told me about getting Dhamma teachings from Ajahn Sao. |
| |
It wasnât the ordinary way of teaching; he just spoke what was on his mind. |
| |
That was the practice monk who came to stay here once. |
| |
So when I went off to practise myself, |
| |
I always retained some special feeling about this. |
| |
When I would think back to my home village, |
| |
I always thought about this forest. |
| |
Then, when the time came to return to this area, |
| |
I came to stay here. |
| |
I invited one high-ranking monk from Piboon district to come and stay here too. |
| |
But he said he couldnât. |
| |
He came for a while and said, âThis is not my place.â |
| |
He told this to the local people. |
| |
Another Ajahn came to stay here for a while and left. |
| |
But I remained. |
| |
In those days this forest was really remote. |
| |
It was far from everything and living here was very hard. |
| |
There were mango trees the villagers had planted here and the fruit often ripened and went bad. |
| |
Yams were growing here too and they would just rot on the ground. |
| |
But I wouldnât dare to take any of it. |
| |
The forest was really dense. |
| |
When you arrived here with your bowl, |
| |
there wouldnât be any place to put it down. |
| |
I had to ask the villagers to clear some spaces in the forest. |
| |
It was a forest that people didnât dare enter - they were very afraid of this place. |
| |
Nobody really knew what I was doing here. |
| |
People didnât understand the life of a meditation monk. |
| |
I stayed here like this for a couple of years and then the first few monk disciples followed me here. |
| |
We lived very simply and quietly in those days. |
| |
We used to get sick with malaria, all of us nearly dying. |
| |
But we never went to a hospital. |
| |
We already had our safe refuge, relying on the spiritual power of the Lord Buddha and his teachings. |
| |
At night it would be completely silent. |
| |
Nobody ever came in here. |
| |
The only sound you heard was the sound of the insects. |
| |
The kutīs were far apart in the forest. |
| |
One night, about nine oâclock, I heard someone walking out of the forest. |
| |
One monk was extremely ill with fever and was afraid he would die. |
| |
He didnât want to die alone in the forest. |
| |
I said, âThatâs good. |
| |
Letâs try to find someone who isnât ill to watch the one who is; how can one sick person take care of another?â |
| |
That was about it. |
| |
We didnât have medicine. |
| |
We had borapet (an extremely bitter medicinal vine). |
| |
We boiled it to drink. |
| |
When we talked about âpreparing a hot drinkâ in the afternoon, |
| |
we didnât have to think much about it; it only meant borapet. |
| |
Everyone had fever and everyone drank borapet. |
| |
We didnât have anything else and we didnât request anything of anyone. |
| |
If any monks got really sick, I told them, |
| |
âDonât be afraid. |
| |
Donât worry. |
| |
If you die, Iâll cremate you myself. |
| |
Iâll cremate you right here in the monastery. |
| |
You wonât need to go anywhere else.â |
| |
This is how I dealt with it. |
| |
Speaking like this gave them strength of mind. |
| |
There was a lot of fear to deal with. |
| |
Conditions were pretty rough. |
| |
The laypeople didnât know much. |
| |
They would bring us plah rah (fermented fish, |
| |
a staple of the local diet), but it was made with raw fish, |
| |
so we didnât eat it; I would stir it and take a good look at |
| |
it to see what it was made from and just leave it sitting there. |
| |
Things were very hard then and we donât have those kinds of conditions these days - nobody knows about them. |
| |
But there is some legacy remaining in the practice we have now, |
| |
in the monks from those days who are still here. |
| |
After the Rains Retreat, we could go âtudongâ right here within the monastery. |
| |
We went and sat deep in the quiet of the forest. |
| |
From time to time we would gather, I would give some teaching |
| |
and then everyone went back into the forest to continue meditating, |
| |
walking and sitting. |
| |
We practised like this in the dry season; we didnât need to go |
| |
wandering in search of forests to practise in because we had the right conditions here. |
| |
We maintained the âtudongâ practices right here. |
| |
Now, after the rains everyone wants to take off somewhere. |
| |
The result is usually that their practice gets interrupted. |
| |
Itâs important to keep at it steadily and sincerely so that you come to know your defilements. |
| |
This way of practice is something good and authentic. |
| |
In the past it was much harder. |
| |
Itâs like the saying that we practise to no longer be a person: the person should die in order to become a monk. |
| |
We adhered to the Vinaya strictly and everyone had a real sense of shame about their actions. |
| |
When doing chores, hauling water or sweeping the grounds, |
| |
you didnât hear monks talking. |
| |
During bowl washing, it was completely silent. |
| |
Now, some days I have to send someone to tell them to stop talking and find out what all the commotion is about. |
| |
I wonder if theyâre boxing out there; the noise is so loud I canât imagine whatâs going on. |
| |
So, again and again I have to forbid them to chat. |
| |
I donât know what they need to talk about. |
| |
When theyâve eaten their fill they become heedless because of the pleasure they feel. |
| |
I keep on saying, âWhen you come back from almsround, |
| |
donât talk!â |
| |
If someone asks why you donât want to talk, |
| |
tell them, âMy hearing is bad.â |
| |
Otherwise it becomes like a pack of barking dogs. |
| |
Chattering brings about emotions, and you can even end up in a fistfight, |
| |
especially at that time of day when everyone is hungry - the dogs are hungry and defilements are active. |
| |
This is what Iâve noticed. |
| |
People donât enter the practice wholeheartedly. |
| |
Iâve seen it changing over the years. |
| |
Those who trained in the past got some results and can take care of themselves, |
| |
but now hearing about the difficulties would scare people away. |
| |
Itâs too hard to conceive of. |
| |
If you make things easy, then everyone is interested, |
| |
but whatâs the point? |
| |
The reason we were able to realize some benefit in the past is that everyone trained together wholeheartedly. |
| |
The monks who lived here then really practised endurance to the utmost. |
| |
We saw things through together, from the beginning to the end. |
| |
They have some understanding about the practice. |
| |
After several years of practising together, |
| |
I thought it would be appropriate to send them out to their home villages to establish monasteries. |
| |
Those of you who came later canât really imagine what it was like for us then. |
| |
I donât know who to talk to about it. |
| |
The practice was extremely strict. |
| |
Patience and endurance were the most important things we lived by. |
| |
No one complained about the conditions. |
| |
If we only had plain rice to eat, no one complained. |
| |
We ate in complete silence, never discussing whether or not the food was tasty. |
| |
Borapet was what we had for our hot drink. |
| |
One of the monks went to central Thailand and drank coffee there. |
| |
Someone offered him some to bring back here. |
| |
So we had coffee once. |
| |
But there was no sugar to put in it. |
| |
No one complained about that. |
| |
Where would we get sugar? |
| |
So we could say we really drank coffee, |
| |
without any sugar to sweeten the taste. |
| |
We depended on others to support us and we wanted to be people who were easy to support, |
| |
so of course we didnât make requests of anyone. |
| |
Like that, we were continually doing without things and enduring whatever conditions we found ourselves in. |
| |
One year the lay supporters, Mr Puang and Mrs Daeng came to be ordained here. |
| |
They were from the city and had never lived like this, |
| |
doing without things, enduring hardship, |
| |
eating as we do, practising under the guidance of an Ajahn and performing the duties outlined in the rules of training. |
| |
But they heard about their nephew living here so they decided to come and be ordained. |
| |
As soon as they were ordained, a friend was bringing them coffee and sugar. |
| |
They were living in the forest to practise meditation, |
| |
but they had the habit of getting up early in the morning and making milk coffee to drink before doing anything else. |
| |
So they stocked their kutīs full of sugar and coffee. |
| |
But here, we would have our morning chanting and meditation, |
| |
then immediately the monks would prepare to go for alms, |
| |
so they didnât have a chance to make coffee. |
| |
After a while it started to sink in. |
| |
Mr Puang would pace back and forth, thinking what to do. |
| |
He didnât have anywhere to make his coffee and no one was coming to make it and offer it to him, |
| |
so he ended up bringing it all to the monastery kitchen and leaving it there. |
| |
Coming to stay here, actually seeing the conditions in the monastery and the way of life of meditation monks, |
| |
really got him down. |
| |
He was an elderly man, an important relative to me. |
| |
That same year he disrobed; it was appropriate for him, |
| |
since his affairs were not yet settled. |
| |
After that we first got ice here. |
| |
We saw some sugar once in a while too. |
| |
Mrs Daeng had gone to Bangkok. |
| |
When she talked about the way we lived, |
| |
she would start crying. |
| |
People who hadnât seen the life of meditation monks had no idea what it was like. |
| |
Eating once a day, was that making progress or falling behind? |
| |
I donât know what to call it. |
| |
On almsround, people would make little packages of chilli sauce to put in our bowls in addition to the rice. |
| |
Whatever we got we would bring it back, |
| |
share it out and eat. |
| |
Whether we had different items that people liked or whether the |
| |
food was tasty or not was never something we discussed; we just ate to be full and that was it. |
| |
It was really simple. |
| |
There were no plates or bowls - everything went into the almsbowl. |
| |
Nobody came here to visit. |
| |
At night everyone went to their kutīs to practise. |
| |
Even dogs couldnât bear to stay here. |
| |
The kutīs were far apart and far from the meeting place. |
| |
After everything was done at the end of the day, |
| |
we separated and entered the forest to go to our kutīs. |
| |
That made the dogs afraid they wouldnât have any safe place to stay. |
| |
So they would follow the monks into the forest, |
| |
but when they went up into their kutīs, |
| |
the dogs would be left alone and felt afraid, |
| |
so they would try to follow another monk, |
| |
but that monk would also disappear into his kutī. |
| |
So even dogs couldnât live here - this was our life of practising meditation. |
| |
I thought about this sometimes: even the dogs canât bear it, |
| |
but still we live here! |
| |
Pretty extreme. |
| |
It made me a little melancholy too. |
| |
All kinds of obstacles ... |
| |
we lived with fever, but we faced death and we all survived. |
| |
Beyond facing death we had to live with difficult conditions such as poor food. |
| |
But it was never a concern. |
| |
When I look back to the conditions at that time compared to the conditions we have now, |
| |
they are so far apart. |
| |
Before, we never had bowls or plates. |
| |
Everything was put together in the almsbowl. |
| |
Now that canât be done. |
| |
So if one hundred monks are eating, we need five people to wash dishes afterwards. |
| |
Sometimes they are still washing up when itâs time for the Dhamma talk. |
| |
This kind of thing makes for complications. |
| |
I donât know what to do about it; Iâll just leave it to you to use your own wisdom to consider. |
| |
It doesnât have an end. |
| |
Those who like to complain will always find something else to complain about, |
| |
no matter how good the conditions become. |
| |
So the result is that the monks have become extremely attached to flavours and aromas. |
| |
Sometimes I overhear them talking about their ascetic wandering. |
| |
âOh boy, the food is really great there! |
| |
I went âtudongâ to the south, by the coast, |
| |
and I ate lots of shrimp! |
| |
I ate big ocean fish!â |
| |
This is what they talk about. |
| |
When the mind is taken up with such concerns, |
| |
itâs easy to get attached and immersed in desire for food. |
| |
Uncontrolled minds are roaming about and getting stuck in sights, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes, physical sensations and ideas, |
| |
and practising Dhamma becomes difficult. |
| |
It becomes difficult for an Ajahn to teach people to follow the right way, |
| |
when they are attached to tastes. |
| |
Itâs like raising a dog. |
| |
If you just feed it plain rice, it will grow strong and healthy. |
| |
But give it some tasty curry on top of its rice for a couple |
| |
of days and after that it wonât look at the plain rice anymore. |
| |
Sights, sounds, smells and tastes are the undoing of Dhamma practice. |
| |
They can cause a lot of harm. |
| |
If each one of us does not contemplate the use of our four requisites - robes, |
| |
almsfood, dwelling and medicines - the Buddhaâs way can not flourish. |
| |
You can look and see that however much material progress and development there is in the world, |
| |
the confusion and suffering of humans increase right along with it. |
| |
And after it goes on for some time, itâs almost impossible to find a solution. |
| |
Thus I say that when you go to a monastery you see the monks, |
| |
the temple and the kutÄ«s, but you donât see the BuddhasÄsana. |
| |
The sÄsana is in decline like this. |
| |
Itâs easy to observe. |
| |
The sÄsana, meaning the genuine and direct teaching that instructs people to be honest and upright, |
| |
to have loving-kindness towards each other, |
| |
has been lost and turmoil and distress are taking its place. |
| |
Those who went through the years of practice with me in the past have still maintained their diligence, |
| |
but after twenty-five years here, I see how the practice has become slack. |
| |
Now people donât dare to push themselves and practise too much. |
| |
They are afraid. |
| |
They fear it will be the extreme of self-mortification. |
| |
In the past we just went for it. |
| |
Sometimes monks fasted for several days or a week. |
| |
They wanted to see their minds, to train their minds: if itâs stubborn, |
| |
you whip it. |
| |
Mind and body work together. |
| |
When we are not yet skilled in practice, |
| |
if the body is too fat and comfortable, |
| |
the mind gets out of control. |
| |
When a fire starts and the wind blows, |
| |
it spreads the fire and burns the house down. |
| |
Itâs like that. |
| |
Before, when I talked about eating little, |
| |
sleeping little and speaking little, |
| |
the monks understood and took it to heart. |
| |
But now such talk is likely to be disagreeable to the minds of practitioners. |
| |
âWe can find our way. |
| |
Why should we suffer and practise so austerely? |
| |
Itâs the extreme of self-mortification; itâs not the Buddhaâs path.â |
| |
As soon as anyone talks like this, everyone agrees. |
| |
They are hungry. |
| |
So what can I say to them? |
| |
I keep on trying to correct this attitude, |
| |
but this is the way it seems to be now. |
| |
So all of you, please make your minds strong and firm. |
| |
Today you have gathered from the different branch monasteries to pay your respects to me as your teacher, |
| |
to gather as friends in Dhamma, so I am offering some teaching about the path of practice. |
| |
The practice of respect is a supreme Dhamma. |
| |
When there is true respect, there will be no disharmony, |
| |
people will not fight and kill each other. |
| |
Paying respects to a spiritual master, |
| |
to our preceptors and teachers, causes us to flourish; the Buddha spoke of it as something auspicious. |
| |
People from the city may like to eat mushrooms. |
| |
They ask, âWhere do the mushrooms come from?â |
| |
Someone tells them, âThey grow in the earth.â |
| |
So they pick up a basket and go walking out into the countryside, |
| |
expecting the mushrooms will be lined up along the side of the road for them to pick. |
| |
But they walk and walk, climbing hills and trekking through fields, |
| |
without seeing any mushrooms. |
| |
A village person has gone picking mushrooms before and knows |
| |
where to look for them; he knows which part of which forest to go to. |
| |
But the city folk only have the experience of seeing mushrooms on their plate. |
| |
They hear they grow in the earth and get the idea that they would be easy to find, |
| |
but it doesnât work out that way. |
| |
Training the mind in samÄdhi is like this. |
| |
We get the idea it will be easy. |
| |
But when we sit, our legs hurt, our back hurts, |
| |
we feel tired, we get hot and itchy. |
| |
Then we start to feel discouraged, thinking that samÄdhi is as far away from us as the sky from the earth. |
| |
We donât know what to do and become overwhelmed by the difficulties. |
| |
But if we can receive some training, it will get easier little by little. |
| |
So you who come here to practise samÄdhi and experience it as being difficult. |
| |
I had my troubles with it, too. |
| |
I trained with an Ajahn, and when we were sitting Iâd open my eyes to look: âOh! |
| |
Is Ajahn ready to stop yet?â |
| |
Iâd close my eyes again and try to bear a little longer. |
| |
I felt like it was going to kill me and I kept opening my eyes, |
| |
but he looked so comfortable sitting there. |
| |
One hour, two hours, I would be in agony but the Ajahn didnât move. |
| |
So after a while I got to fear the sittings. |
| |
When it was time to practise samÄdhi, |
| |
Iâd feel afraid. |
| |
When we are new to it, training in samÄdhi is difficult. |
| |
Anything is difficult when we donât know how to do it. |
| |
This is our obstacle. |
| |
But training at it, this can change. |
| |
That which is good can eventually overcome and surpass that which is not good. |
| |
We tend to become faint-hearted as we struggle - this is a normal reaction and we all go through it. |
| |
So itâs important to train for some time. |
| |
Itâs like making a path through the forest. |
| |
At first itâs rough going, with a lot of obstructions, |
| |
but returning to it again and again, |
| |
we clear the way. |
| |
After some time we have removed the branches and stumps, |
| |
and the ground becomes firm and smooth from being walked on repeatedly. |
| |
Then we have a good path for walking through the forest. |
| |
This is what itâs like when we train the mind. |
| |
Keeping at it, the mind becomes illumined. |
| |
For example, we country people grow up eating rice and fish. |
| |
Then when we come to learn Dhamma we are told to refrain from harming: we should not kill living creatures. |
| |
What can we do then? |
| |
We feel we are really in a bind. |
| |
Our market is in the fields. |
| |
If the teachers are telling us not to kill, |
| |
we wonât eat. |
| |
Just this much and we are at our witsâ ends. |
| |
How will we feed ourselves? |
| |
There doesnât seem to be any way for us rural people. |
| |
Our marketplace is the field and the forest. |
| |
We have to catch animals and kill them in order to eat. |
| |
Iâve been trying to teach people ways to deal with this issue for many years. |
| |
Itâs like this: farmers eat rice. |
| |
For the most part, people who work in the fields grow and eat rice. |
| |
So what about a tailor in town? |
| |
Does he eat sewing machines? |
| |
Does he eat cloth? |
| |
Letâs just consider this first. |
| |
You are a farmer so you eat rice. |
| |
If someone offers you another job, will you refuse, |
| |
saying, âI canât do it - I wonât have rice to eat?â |
| |
Matches that you use in your home - are you able to make them? |
| |
You canât; so how do you come to have matches? |
| |
Is it only the case that those who can make matches have matches to use? |
| |
What about the bowls you eat from? |
| |
Here in the villages, does anyone know how to make them? |
| |
Do people have them in their houses? |
| |
So where do you get them from? |
| |
There are plenty of things we donât know how to make, |
| |
but still we can earn money to buy them. |
| |
This is using our intelligence to find a way. |
| |
In meditation we also need to do this. |
| |
We find ways to avoid wrongdoing and practise what is right. |
| |
Look at the Buddha and his disciples. |
| |
Once they were ordinary beings, but they developed themselves |
| |
to progress through the stages of stream entry on up to arahant. |
| |
They did this through training. |
| |
Gradually wisdom grows. |
| |
A sense of shame towards wrongdoing comes about. |
| |
I once taught a sage. |
| |
He was a lay patron who came to practise and keep precepts on the observance days, |
| |
but he would still go fishing. |
| |
I tried to teach him further but couldnât solve this problem. |
| |
He said he didnât kill fish; they simply came to swallow his hook. |
| |
I kept at it, teaching him until he felt some contrition over this. |
| |
He was ashamed of it, but he kept doing it. |
| |
Then his rationalization changed. |
| |
He would put the hook in the water and announce, |
| |
âWhichever fish has reached the end of its kamma to be alive, |
| |
come and eat my hook. |
| |
If your time has not yet come, do not eat my hook.â |
| |
He had changed his excuse, but still the fish came to eat. |
| |
Finally he started looking at them, their mouths caught on the hook, |
| |
and he felt some pity. |
| |
But he still couldnât resolve his mind. |
| |
âWell, I told them not to eat the hook if it wasnât time; what can I do if they still come?â |
| |
And then heâd think, âBut they are dying because of me.â |
| |
He went back and forth on this until finally he could stop. |
| |
But then there were the frogs. |
| |
He couldnât bear to stop catching frogs to eat. |
| |
âDonât do this!â |
| |
I told him. |
| |
âTake a good look at them ... |
| |
okay, if you canât stop killing them, |
| |
I wonât forbid you, but please just look at them before you do that.â |
| |
So he picked up a frog and looked at it. |
| |
He looked at its face, its eyes, its legs. |
| |
âOh man, it looks like my child: it has arms and legs. |
| |
Its eyes are open, itâs looking at me.â |
| |
He felt hurt. |
| |
But still he killed them. |
| |
He looked at each one like this and then killed it, |
| |
feeling he was doing something bad. |
| |
His wife was pushing him, saying they wouldnât have anything to eat if he didnât kill frogs. |
| |
Finally he couldnât bear it anymore. |
| |
He would catch them but wouldnât break their legs like before; |
| |
previously he would break their legs so they couldnât hop away. |
| |
Still, he couldnât make himself let them go. |
| |
âWell, Iâm just taking care of them, feeding them here. |
| |
Iâm only raising them; whatever someone else might do, |
| |
I donât know about that.â |
| |
But of course he knew. |
| |
The others were still killing them for food. |
| |
After a while he could admit this to himself. |
| |
âWell, Iâve cut my bad kamma by 50 percent anyhow. |
| |
Someone else does the killing.â |
| |
This was starting to drive him crazy, |
| |
but he couldnât yet let go. |
| |
He still kept the frogs at home. |
| |
He wouldnât break their legs anymore, |
| |
but his wife would. |
| |
âItâs my fault. |
| |
Even if I donât do it, they do it because of me.â |
| |
Finally he gave it up altogether. |
| |
But then his wife was complaining. |
| |
âWhat are we going to do? |
| |
What should we eat?â |
| |
He was really caught now. |
| |
When he went to the monastery, the Ajahn lectured him on what he should do. |
| |
When he returned home, his wife lectured him on what he should do. |
| |
The Ajahn was telling him to stop doing that and his wife was egging him on to continue doing it. |
| |
What to do? |
| |
What a lot of suffering. |
| |
Born into this world, we have to suffer like this. |
| |
In the end, his wife had to let go too. |
| |
So they stopped killing frogs. |
| |
He worked in his field, tending his buffaloes. |
| |
Then he developed the habit of releasing fish and frogs. |
| |
When he saw fish caught in nets he would set them free. |
| |
Once he went to a friendâs house and saw some frogs in a pot and he set them free. |
| |
Then his friendâs wife came to prepare dinner. |
| |
She opened the lid of the pot and saw the frogs were gone. |
| |
They figured out what had happened. |
| |
âItâs that guy with the heart of merit.â |
| |
She did manage to catch one frog and made a chilli paste with it. |
| |
They sat down to eat and as he went to dip his ball of rice in the chilli, |
| |
she said, âHey, heart of merit! |
| |
You shouldnât eat that! |
| |
Itâs frog chilli paste.â |
| |
This was too much. |
| |
What a lot of grief, just being alive and trying to feed oneself! |
| |
Thinking about it, he couldnât see any way out. |
| |
He was already an old man, so he decided to ordain. |
| |
He prepared the ordination gear, shaved his head and went inside the house. |
| |
As soon as his wife saw his shaved head, |
| |
she started crying. |
| |
He pleaded with her: âSince I was born, |
| |
I havenât had the chance to be ordained. |
| |
Please give me your blessing to do this. |
| |
I want to be ordained, but I will disrobe and return home again.â |
| |
So his wife relented. |
| |
He was ordained in the local monastery and after the ceremony he asked the preceptor what he should do. |
| |
The preceptor told him, âIf youâre really doing this seriously, |
| |
you ought to just go to practise meditation. |
| |
Follow a meditation master; donât stay here near the houses.â |
| |
He understood and decided to do that. |
| |
He slept one night in the temple and in the morning took his leave, |
| |
asking where he could find Ajahn Tongrat.2 |
| |
He shouldered his bowl and wandered off, |
| |
a new monk who couldnât yet put on his robes very neatly. |
| |
But he found his way to Ajahn Tongrat. |
| |
âVenerable Ajahn, I have no other aim in life. |
| |
I want to offer my body and my life to you.â |
| |
Ajahn Tongrat replied, âVery good! |
| |
Lots of merit! |
| |
You almost missed me. |
| |
I was just about to go on my way. |
| |
So do your prostrations and take a seat there.â |
| |
The new monk asked, âNow that Iâm ordained, |
| |
what should I do?â |
| |
It happened that they were sitting by an old tree stump. |
| |
Ajahn Tongrat pointed to it and said, |
| |
âMake yourself like this tree stump. |
| |
Donât do anything else, just make yourself like this tree stump.â |
| |
He taught him meditation in this way. |
| |
So Ajahn Tongrat went on his way and the monk stayed there to contemplate his words. |
| |
âAjahn taught to make myself like a tree stump. |
| |
What am I supposed to do?â |
| |
He pondered this continuously, whether walking, |
| |
sitting or lying down to sleep. |
| |
He thought about the stump first being a seed, |
| |
how it grew into a tree, got bigger and aged and was finally cut down, |
| |
just leaving this stump. |
| |
Now that it is a stump, it wonât be growing anymore and nothing will bloom from it. |
| |
He kept on pondering this in his mind, |
| |
considering it over and over, until it became his meditation object. |
| |
He expanded it to apply to all phenomena and was able to turn it inwards and apply it to himself. |
| |
âAfter a while, I am probably going to be like this stump, |
| |
a useless thing.â |
| |
Realizing this gave him the determination not to disrobe. |
| |
His mind was made up at this point; he had the conditions which came together to get him to this stage. |
| |
When the mind is like this, there wonât be anything that can stop it. |
| |
All of us are in the same boat. |
| |
Please think about this and try to apply it to your practice. |
| |
Being born as humans is full of difficulties. |
| |
And itâs not just that itâs been difficult for us so far - in the future there will also be difficulty. |
| |
Young people will grow up, grown-ups will age, |
| |
aged ones will fall ill, ill people will die. |
| |
It keeps on going like this, the cycle of ceaseless transformation that never comes to an end. |
| |
So the Buddha taught us to meditate. |
| |
In meditation, first we have to practise samÄdhi, |
| |
which means making the mind still and peaceful, |
| |
like water in a basin. |
| |
If we keep putting things in it and stirring it up, |
| |
it will always be murky. |
| |
If the mind is always allowed to be thinking and worrying over things, |
| |
we can never see anything clearly. |
| |
If we let the water in the basin settle and become still, |
| |
we can see all sorts of things reflected in it. |
| |
When the mind is settled and still, wisdom will be able to see things. |
| |
The illuminating light of wisdom surpasses any other kind of light. |
| |
What was the Buddhaâs advice on how to practise? |
| |
He taught to practise like the earth; practise like water; practise like fire; practise like wind. |
| |
Practise like the âold thingsâ, the things we are already made of: the solid element of earth, |
| |
the liquid element of water, the warming element of fire, |
| |
the moving element of wind. |
| |
If someone digs the earth, the earth is not bothered. |
| |
It can be shovelled, tilled, or watered. |
| |
Rotten things can be buried in it. |
| |
But the earth will remain indifferent. |
| |
Water can be boiled or frozen or used to wash something dirty; it is not affected. |
| |
Fire can burn beautiful and fragrant things or ugly and foul things - it doesnât matter to the fire. |
| |
When wind blows, it blows on all sorts of things; fresh and rotten, |
| |
beautiful and ugly, without concern. |
| |
The Buddha used this analogy. |
| |
The aggregation that is us is merely a coming together of the elements of earth, |
| |
water, fire and wind. |
| |
If you try to find an actual person there, |
| |
you canât. |
| |
There are only these collections of elements. |
| |
But for all our lives, we never thought to separate them like this to see what is really there; we have only thought, |
| |
âThis is me, that is mine.â |
| |
We have always seen everything in terms of a self, |
| |
never seeing that there is merely earth, |
| |
water, fire and wind. |
| |
But the Buddha teaches in this way. |
| |
He talks about the four elements and urges us to see that this is what we are. |
| |
There are earth, water, fire and wind; there is no person here. |
| |
Contemplate these elements to see that there is no being or individual, |
| |
but only earth, water, fire and wind. |
| |
Itâs deep, isnât it? |
| |
Itâs hidden deep - people will look but they canât see this. |
| |
We are used to contemplating things in terms of self and other all the time. |
| |
So our meditation is still not very deep. |
| |
It doesnât reach the truth and we donât get beyond the way these things appear to be. |
| |
We remain stuck in the conventions of the world and being stuck |
| |
in the world means remaining in the cycle of transformation: getting things and losing them, |
| |
dying and being born, being born and dying, |
| |
suffering in the realm of confusion. |
| |
Whatever we wish for and aspire to doesnât really work out the way we want, |
| |
because we are seeing things wrongly. |
| |
Our grasping attachments are like this. |
| |
We are still far, very far from the real path of Dhamma. |
| |
So please get to work right now. |
| |
Donât say, âAfter Iâm older, I will start going to the monastery.â |
| |
What is ageing? |
| |
Young people have aged as well as old people. |
| |
From birth, they have been ageing. |
| |
We like to say, âWhen Iâm older, when Iâm olderâ Hey! |
| |
Young folks are older, older than they were. |
| |
This is what âageingâ means. |
| |
All of you, please take a look at this. |
| |
We all have this burden; this is a task for all of us to work on. |
| |
Think about your parents or grandparents. |
| |
They were born, then they aged and in the end they passed away. |
| |
Now we donât know where theyâve gone. |
| |
So the Buddha wanted us to seek the Dhamma. |
| |
This kind of knowledge is whatâs most important. |
| |
Any form of knowledge or study that does not agree with the Buddhist way is learning that involves dukkha. |
| |
Our practice of Dhamma should be getting us beyond suffering; if we canât fully transcend suffering, |
| |
then we should at least be able to transcend it a little, |
| |
now, in the present. |
| |
For example, when someone speaks harshly to us, |
| |
if we donât get angry with them we have transcended suffering. |
| |
If we get angry, we have not transcended dukkha. |
| |
When someone speaks harshly to us, if we reflect on Dhamma, |
| |
we will see it is just heaps of earth. |
| |
Okay, he is criticizing me - heâs just criticizing a heap of earth. |
| |
One heap of earth is criticizing another heap of earth. |
| |
Water is criticizing water. |
| |
Wind is criticizing wind. |
| |
Fire is criticizing fire. |
| |
But if we really see things in this way, |
| |
others will probably call us mad. |
| |
âHe doesnât care about anything. |
| |
He has no feelings.â |
| |
When someone dies we wonât get upset and cry, |
| |
and they will call us crazy again. |
| |
Where can we stay? |
| |
It really has to come down to this. |
| |
We have to practise to realize for ourselves. |
| |
Getting beyond suffering does not depend on othersâ opinions of us, |
| |
but on our own individual state of mind. |
| |
Never mind what they will say - we experience the truth for ourselves. |
| |
Then we can dwell at ease. |
| |
But generally we donât take it this far. |
| |
Youngsters will go to the monastery once or twice, |
| |
then when they go home their friends make fun of them: âHey, |
| |
Dhamma Dhammo!â |
| |
They feel embarrassed and donât feel like coming back here. |
| |
Some of them have told me that they came here to listen to teachings and gained some understanding, |
| |
so they stopped drinking and hanging out with the crowd. |
| |
But their friends belittled them: âYou go to the monastery and now you donât want to go out drinking with us anymore. |
| |
Whatâs wrong with you?â |
| |
So they get embarrassed and eventually end up doing the same old things again. |
| |
Itâs hard for people to stick to it. |
| |
So rather than aspiring too high, letâs practise patience and endurance. |
| |
Exercising patience and restraint in our families is already pretty good. |
| |
Donât quarrel and fight - if you can get along, |
| |
youâve already transcended suffering for the moment and thatâs good. |
| |
When things happen, recollect Dhamma. |
| |
Think of what your spiritual guides have taught you. |
| |
They teach you to let go, to give up, |
| |
to refrain, to put things down; they teach you to strive and fight in this way to solve your problems. |
| |
The Dhamma that you come to listen to is just for solving your problems. |
| |
What kind of problems are we talking about? |
| |
How about your families? |
| |
Do you have any problems with your children, |
| |
your spouses, your friends, your work and other matters? |
| |
All these things give you a lot of headaches, |
| |
donât they? |
| |
These are the problems we are talking about; the teachings are |
| |
telling you that you can resolve the problems of daily life with Dhamma. |
| |
We have been born as human beings. |
| |
It should be possible to live with happy minds. |
| |
We do our work according to our responsibilities. |
| |
If things get difficult we practise endurance. |
| |
Earning a livelihood in the right way is one sort of Dhamma practice, |
| |
the practice of ethical living. |
| |
Living happily and harmoniously like this is already pretty good. |
| |
But we are usually taking a loss. |
| |
Donât take a loss! |
| |
If you come here on the observance day to take precepts and then go home and fight, |
| |
thatâs a loss. |
| |
Do you hear what I am saying, folks? |
| |
Itâs just a loss to do this. |
| |
It means you donât see the Dhamma even a tiny little bit - thereâs no profit at all. |
| |
Please understand this. |
| |
Now you have listened to the Dhamma for an appropriate length of time today. |
| |
1: A highly respected monk of the forest tradition, |
| |
considered to be an arahant and a teacher of Ajahn Mun. |
| |
2: Ajahn Tongrat was a well-known meditation teacher during Ajahn Chahâs early years. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Exercise restraint and caution about the six sense faculties of the eye seeing forms, |
| |
the ear hearing sounds, and so forth. |
| |
This is what we are constantly teaching about in so many different ways. |
| |
It always comes back to this. |
| |
But to be truthful with ourselves, are we really aware of what goes on? |
| |
When the eye sees something, does delight come about? |
| |
Do we really investigate? |
| |
If we investigate, we will know that it is just this delight that is the cause for suffering to be born. |
| |
Aversion is the cause for suffering to be born. |
| |
These two reactions actually have the same value. |
| |
When they occur, we can see the fault of them. |
| |
If there is delight, it is merely delight. |
| |
If there is aversion, it is merely aversion. |
| |
This is the way to quell them. |
| |
For example, we attach special importance to the head. |
| |
From the time we are born, in this society, |
| |
we learn that the head is something of the utmost significance. |
| |
If anyone touches it or hits it, we are ready to die. |
| |
If we are slapped on other parts of our body, |
| |
itâs no big deal; but we give this special importance to the head, |
| |
and we get really angry if anyone slaps it. |
| |
Itâs the same with the senses. |
| |
Sexual intercourse excites the minds of people, |
| |
but it really isnât different from sticking a finger in your nostril. |
| |
Would that mean anything special to you? |
| |
But worldly beings have this attachment to the other entrance; whether it is animals or humans, |
| |
it has special importance to them. |
| |
If it were a finger picking a nostril, |
| |
they wouldnât get excited over that. |
| |
But the sight of this one inflames us. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
This is where becoming is. |
| |
If we donât attach special importance to it, |
| |
then itâs just the same as putting a finger in your nostril. |
| |
Whatever happened inside, you wouldnât get excited; youâd just pull out some snot and be done with it. |
| |
But how far is your thinking from such a perception? |
| |
The ordinary, natural truth of the matter is just like this. |
| |
Seeing in this way, we arenât creating any becoming, |
| |
and without becoming there wonât be a birth; there wonât be happiness or suffering over it, |
| |
there wonât be delight coming about. |
| |
There is no grasping attachment when we realize this place for what it is. |
| |
But worldly beings want to put something there. |
| |
Thatâs what they like. |
| |
They want to work in the dirty place. |
| |
Working in a clean place is not interesting, |
| |
but they rush to work in this place. |
| |
And they donât even have to be paid to do it! |
| |
Please look at this. |
| |
Itâs just a conventional reality that people are stuck in. |
| |
This is an important point of practice for us. |
| |
If we contemplate the holes and entrances of our nose and ears and the rest, |
| |
we can see that they are all the same, |
| |
just orifices filled with unclean substances. |
| |
Or are any of them clean? |
| |
So we should contemplate this in the way of Dhamma. |
| |
The truly fearful is here, nowhere else. |
| |
This is where we humans lose our minds. |
| |
Just this is a cause, a basic point of practice. |
| |
I donât feel that itâs necessary to ask a lot of questions of anyone or interview a lot. |
| |
But we donât investigate this point carefully. |
| |
Sometimes I see monks heading off carrying the big glot, |
| |
walking here and there under the hot sun, |
| |
wandering through many provinces. |
| |
When I watch them, I think, âThat must be tiring.â |
| |
âWhere are you going?â |
| |
âIâm seeking peace.â |
| |
I donât have any answer for that. |
| |
I donât know where they can seek peace. |
| |
Iâm not disparaging them; I was like that too. |
| |
I sought peace, always thinking it must be in some other place. |
| |
Well, it was true, in a way. |
| |
When I would get to some of those places, |
| |
I was a little bit at ease. |
| |
It seems people have to be like this. |
| |
We always think some other place is comfortable and peaceful. |
| |
When I was travelling I saw the dog in PabhÄkaroâs house.1 They had this big dog. |
| |
They really loved it. |
| |
They kept it outside most of the time. |
| |
They fed it outside, and it slept out there too, |
| |
but sometimes it wanted to come inside, |
| |
so it would go and paw at the door and bark. |
| |
That bothered the owner, so he would let it in, |
| |
then close the door behind it. |
| |
The dog would walk around inside the house for a while, |
| |
and then it would get bored and want to go out again: back to the door, |
| |
pawing and barking. |
| |
So the owner would get up and go to let it out. |
| |
It would be happy outside for a little while, |
| |
and then want to come back in, barking at the door again. |
| |
When it was outside, it seemed like being inside would be better. |
| |
Being inside was fun for a spell, then it was bored and had to go out again. |
| |
The minds of people are like that - like a dog. |
| |
They are always in and out, here and there, |
| |
not really understanding where the place is that they will be happy. |
| |
If we have some awareness of this, then whatever thoughts and feelings arise in our minds, |
| |
we will make efforts to quell them, |
| |
recognizing that they are merely thoughts and feelings. |
| |
The grasping attachment to them is really important. |
| |
So even though we are living in the monastery, |
| |
we are still far away from correct practice - very far away. |
| |
When I went abroad I saw a lot of things. |
| |
The first time, I gained some wisdom from it to a certain extent, |
| |
and the second time to another extent. |
| |
On my first trip, I made notes of what I experienced in a journal. |
| |
But this time, I put down the pen. |
| |
I thought, if I write these things down, |
| |
will the people at home be able to bear it? |
| |
Itâs like us living in our own country and not being very comfortable. |
| |
When Thai people go abroad, they think they must have some very good kamma to be able to get there. |
| |
But you have to consider, when you go to a place that is strange to you, |
| |
will you be able to compete with those who have lived their whole lives there? |
| |
Still, we go there for a little while and we feel it is so great, |
| |
and that we are some special kind of people who have such good kamma. |
| |
The foreign monks were born there, so does that mean they have better kamma than we do? |
| |
These are the kind of ideas people get from their attachment and grasping. |
| |
What it means is that when people contact things, |
| |
they get excited. |
| |
They like being excited. |
| |
But when the mind is excited it is not in a normal state. |
| |
We see things we havenât seen and experience things we havenât experienced, |
| |
and the abnormality occurs. |
| |
When it comes to scientific knowledge, |
| |
I concede to them. |
| |
As far as Buddhist knowledge goes, I still have something to tell them. |
| |
But in science and material development, |
| |
we canât compete with them. |
| |
In practice, some people have a lot of suffering and difficulty, |
| |
but they keep on in the same rut that has been making them suffer. |
| |
Thatâs someone who hasnât made up his mind to practise and get |
| |
to the end of suffering; itâs someone who doesnât see clearly. |
| |
Their practice isnât steady or continuous. |
| |
When feelings of good and bad come, the person isnât aware of what is happening. |
| |
âWhatever is disagreeable, I rejectâ - this is the conceited view of the Brahmin. |
| |
âWhatever is pleasing to me, I accept.â |
| |
For example, some people are very easy to get along with if you speak pleasingly to them. |
| |
But if you say things they disagree with, |
| |
then thereâs no getting along with them. |
| |
Thatâs extreme conceit (ditthi). |
| |
They have strong attachment, but they feel thatâs a really good standard to live by. |
| |
So the ones who will walk this path are few indeed. |
| |
Itâs not different with us who live here; there are very few who have right view. |
| |
When we contemplate the Dhamma, we feel itâs not right. |
| |
We donât agree. |
| |
If we agreed and felt it were right, we would give up and let go of things. |
| |
Sometimes we donât agree with the teachings. |
| |
We see things differently; we want to change the Dhamma to be different from what it is. |
| |
We want to correct the Dhamma, and we keep working at that. |
| |
This trip made me think about many things. |
| |
I met some people who practise yoga. |
| |
It was certainly interesting to see the kinds of postures they could get into - Iâd break my leg if I tried. |
| |
Anyhow, they feel their joints and muscles arenât right, |
| |
so they have to stretch them out. |
| |
They need to do it every day, then they feel good. |
| |
I thought they were actually giving themselves some affliction through this. |
| |
If they donât do it, they donât feel good, |
| |
so they have to do it every day. |
| |
It seems to me that they are making some burden for themselves this way and are not really being aware. |
| |
Thatâs the way people are - they get into the habit of doing something. |
| |
I met one Chinese man. |
| |
He didnât lie down to sleep for four or five years. |
| |
He only sat, and he was comfortable that way. |
| |
He bathed once a year. |
| |
But his body was strong and healthy. |
| |
He didnât need to run or do other such exercises; if he did, |
| |
he probably wouldnât feel good. |
| |
Itâs because he trained himself that way. |
| |
So itâs just our manner of training that makes us comfortable with certain things. |
| |
We can increase or decrease illness through training. |
| |
This is how it is for us. |
| |
Thus the Buddha taught to be fully aware of ourselves - donât let this slip. |
| |
All of you, donât have grasping attachment. |
| |
Donât let yourselves be excited by things. |
| |
For example, living here in our native country, |
| |
in the company of spiritual friends and teachers, |
| |
we feel comfortable. |
| |
Actually, there isnât really anything so comfortable about it. |
| |
Itâs like small fish living in a large pond. |
| |
They swim around comfortably. |
| |
If a large fish is put in a small pond, |
| |
it would feel cramped. |
| |
When we are here in our own country, we are comfortable with the food and dwellings we have, |
| |
and many other things. |
| |
If we go somewhere everything is different, |
| |
then we are like the big fish in the small pond. |
| |
Here in Thailand we have our distinct culture, |
| |
and we are satisfied when everyone acts properly according to our customs. |
| |
If someone comes here and violates our customs, |
| |
we arenât happy about that. |
| |
Now we are small fish in the large pond. |
| |
If large fish have to live in a small pond, |
| |
how will it be for them? |
| |
Itâs the same for natives of other countries. |
| |
When they are in their home land and everything is familiar, |
| |
they are comfortable with those conditions - small fish in a big pond. |
| |
If they come to Thailand and have to adapt to different conditions and customs, |
| |
it can be oppressive for them - like the big fish in the small pond. |
| |
Eating, getting around, everything is different. |
| |
The big fish is in a small pond now, and it canât swim freely anymore. |
| |
The habits and attachments of beings differ like this. |
| |
One person may be stuck on the left side, |
| |
another is stuck on the right side. |
| |
So the best thing for us to do is to be aware. |
| |
Be aware of customs in the different places we go. |
| |
If we have Dhamma custom, then we can smoothly adapt to societyâs customs, |
| |
abroad or at home. |
| |
If we donât understand Dhamma custom, |
| |
then thereâs no way to get along. |
| |
Dhamma custom is the meeting point for all cultures and traditions. |
| |
Iâve heard the words of the Buddha that say, |
| |
âWhen you donât understand someoneâs language, |
| |
when you donât understand their way of speaking, |
| |
when you donât understand their ways of doing things in their land, |
| |
you shouldnât be proud or put on airs.â |
| |
I can attest to these words - they are a true standard in all times and places. |
| |
These words came back to me when I travelled abroad, |
| |
and I put them into practice these last two years when I was outside our country. |
| |
Theyâre useful. |
| |
Before I held tightly; now I hold, but not tightly. |
| |
I pick something up to look at it, then I let it go. |
| |
Before, I would pick things up and hold on. |
| |
That was holding tightly. |
| |
Now itâs holding but not tightly. |
| |
So you can allow me to speak harshly to all of you or get angry at you, |
| |
but itâs in the way of âholding but not tightlyâ, |
| |
picking up and letting go. |
| |
Please donât lose this point. |
| |
We can be truly happy and comfortable if we understand the Dhamma of the Lord Buddha. |
| |
So I am always praising the Buddhaâs teachings and practising to unite the two customs, |
| |
that of the world and that of the Dhamma. |
| |
I gained some understanding on this trip that Iâd like to share with you. |
| |
I felt that I was going to create benefit, |
| |
benefit for myself, for others, and for the sÄsanÄ; benefit of the populace in general and of our Sangha, |
| |
every one of you. |
| |
I didnât just go for sightseeing, to visit various countries out of curiosity. |
| |
I went for good purpose, for myself and others, |
| |
for this life and the next - for the ultimate purpose. |
| |
When you come down to it, everyone is equal. |
| |
Someone with wisdom will see in this way. |
| |
Someone with wisdom is always travelling good paths, |
| |
finding meaning in their comings and goings. |
| |
Iâll give an analogy. |
| |
You may go to some place and encounter some bad people there. |
| |
When that happens, some folks will have aversion to them. |
| |
But a person with Dhamma will come across bad people and think, |
| |
âI have found my teacher.â |
| |
Through that one comes to know what a good person is. |
| |
Encountering a good person, one also finds a teacher, |
| |
because it shows what a bad person is. |
| |
Seeing a beautiful house is good; we can then understand what an ugly house is. |
| |
Seeing an ugly house is good; we can then understand what a beautiful house is. |
| |
With Dhamma, we donât discard any experience, |
| |
not even the slightest. |
| |
Thus the Buddha said, âO Bhikkhus, view this world as an ornamented and bejewelled royal chariot, |
| |
by which fools are entranced, but which is meaningless to the wise.â |
| |
When I was studying Nak Tham Ehk,2 I often contemplated this saying. |
| |
It seemed really meaningful. |
| |
But it was when I started practising that the meaning became clear. |
| |
âO Bhikkhus:â this means all of us sitting here. |
| |
âView this world:â the world of humans, |
| |
the ÄkÄsaloka, the worlds of all sentient beings, |
| |
all existing worlds. |
| |
If one knows the world clearly, it isnât necessary to do any special sort of meditation. |
| |
If one knows, âthe world is thusâ according to reality, |
| |
there will be nothing lacking at all. |
| |
The Buddha knew the world clearly. |
| |
He knew the world for what it actually was. |
| |
Knowing the world clearly is knowing the subtle Dhamma. |
| |
One is not concerned with or anxious about the world. |
| |
If one knows the world clearly, then there are no worldly dhammas. |
| |
We are no longer influenced by the worldly dhammas. |
| |
Worldly beings are ruled by worldly dhammas, |
| |
and they are always in a state of conflict. |
| |
So whatever we see and encounter, we should contemplate carefully. |
| |
We delight in sights, sounds, smells, |
| |
tastes, touches, and ideas. |
| |
So please contemplate. |
| |
You all know what these things are. |
| |
Forms the eye sees, for example, the forms of men and women. |
| |
You certainly know what sounds are, as well as smells, |
| |
tastes, and physical contacts. |
| |
Then there are the mental impressions and ideas. |
| |
When we have these contacts through the physical senses, |
| |
mental activity arises. |
| |
All things gather here. |
| |
We may be walking along together with the Dhamma a whole year |
| |
or a whole lifetime without recognizing it; we live with it our whole lives without knowing it. |
| |
Our thinking goes too far. |
| |
Our aims are too great; we desire too much. |
| |
For example, a man sees a woman, or a woman sees a man. |
| |
Everyone is extremely interested here. |
| |
Itâs because we overestimate it. |
| |
When we see an attractive member of the opposite sex, |
| |
all our senses become engaged. |
| |
We want to see, to hear, to touch, to observe their movements, |
| |
all sorts of things. |
| |
But if we get married, then it is no longer such a big deal. |
| |
After a while we may even want to get some distance between us - maybe even go and ordain! |
| |
But then we canât. |
| |
Itâs like a hunter tracking a deer. |
| |
When he first spots the deer, he is excited. |
| |
Everything about the deer interests him, |
| |
the ears, the tail, everything. |
| |
The hunter becomes very happy. |
| |
His body is light and alert. |
| |
He is only afraid the deer will get away. |
| |
Itâs the same here. |
| |
When a man sees a woman he likes, or a woman sees a man, |
| |
everything is so intriguing, the sight, |
| |
the voice - we fixate on them, canât tear ourselves away, |
| |
looking and thinking as much as we can, |
| |
to the point where it takes control of our heart. |
| |
Just like the hunter. |
| |
When he sees the deer, he is excited. |
| |
He becomes anxious that it will see him. |
| |
All his senses are heightened, and he takes extreme enjoyment from it. |
| |
Now his only concern is that the deer might get away. |
| |
What the deer really is, he doesnât know. |
| |
He hunts it down and finally shoots and kills it. |
| |
Then his work is done. |
| |
Arriving at the place where the deer has fallen, |
| |
he looks at it: âOh, itâs dead.â |
| |
Heâs not very excited anymore - itâs just some dead meat. |
| |
He can cook some of the meat and eat it, |
| |
then he will be full, and thereâs not much more to it. |
| |
Now he sees the parts of the deer, and they donât excite him so much anymore. |
| |
The ear is only an ear. |
| |
He can pull the tail, and itâs only a tail. |
| |
But when it was alive, oh boy! |
| |
He wasnât indifferent then. |
| |
Seeing the deer, watching its every movement, |
| |
was totally engrossing and exciting, |
| |
and he couldnât bear the thought of it getting away. |
| |
We are like this, arenât we? |
| |
The form of an attractive person of the opposite sex is like this. |
| |
When we havenât yet captured it, we feel it is unbearably beautiful. |
| |
But if we end up living together with that person, |
| |
we get tired of them. |
| |
Like the hunter who has killed the deer and can now freely touch the ear or take hold of the tail. |
| |
Thereâs not much to it anymore, no excitement once the animal is dead. |
| |
When we are married, we can fulfil our desires, |
| |
but it is no longer such a big thing, |
| |
and we end up looking for a way out. |
| |
So we donât really consider things thoroughly. |
| |
I feel that if we do contemplate, we will see that there isnât really much there, |
| |
not anything more than what I just described. |
| |
Itâs only that we make more out of things than they really are. |
| |
When we see a body, we feel we will be able to consume every piece of it, |
| |
the ears, the eyes, the nose. |
| |
The way our thinking runs wild, we might even get the idea that the person we are attracted to will have no shit. |
| |
I donât know, maybe they think that way in the West. |
| |
We get the idea there wonât even be shit, |
| |
or maybe just a little. |
| |
We want to eat the whole thing. |
| |
We over-estimate; itâs not really like that. |
| |
Itâs like a cat stalking a mouse. |
| |
Before it catches the mouse, the cat is alert and focused. |
| |
When it pounces and kills the mouse, itâs not so keen anymore. |
| |
The mouse is just lying there dead, and the cat loses interest and goes on its way. |
| |
Itâs only this much. |
| |
The imagination makes it out to be more than it is. |
| |
This is where we perish, because of our imagination. |
| |
Ordained persons have to forbear more than others here, |
| |
in the realm of sensuality. |
| |
KÄma means lusting. |
| |
Desiring evil things and desiring good are a kind of lusting, |
| |
but here it refers to desiring those things that attract us, |
| |
meaning sensuality. |
| |
It is difficult to get free of. |
| |
When Änanda asked the Buddha, âAfter the TathÄgata has entered NibbÄna, |
| |
how should we practise mindfulness? |
| |
How should we conduct ourselves in relation to women? |
| |
This is an extremely difficult matter; how would the Lord advise us to practise mindfulness here?â |
| |
The Buddha replied, âÄnanda! |
| |
It is better that you not see women at all.â |
| |
Änanda was puzzled by this; how can people not see other people? |
| |
He thought it over, and asked the Buddha further, |
| |
âIf there are situations that make it unavoidable that we see, |
| |
how will the Lord advise us to practise?â |
| |
âIn such a situation, Änanda, do not speak. |
| |
Do not speak!â |
| |
Änanda considered further. |
| |
He thought, sometimes we might be travelling in a forest and lose our way. |
| |
In that case we would have to speak to whomever we met. |
| |
So he asked, âIf there is a need for us to speak, |
| |
then how will the Lord have us act?â |
| |
âÄnanda! |
| |
Speak with mindfulness!â |
| |
At all times and in all situations, mindfulness is the supremely important virtue. |
| |
The Buddha instructed Änanda what to do when it was necessary. |
| |
We should contemplate to see what is really necessary for us. |
| |
In speaking, for example, or in asking questions of others, |
| |
we should only say what is necessary. |
| |
When the mind is in an unclean state, |
| |
thinking lewd thoughts, donât let yourself speak at all. |
| |
But thatâs not the way we operate. |
| |
The more unclean the mind is, the more we want to talk. |
| |
The more lewdness we have in our minds, |
| |
the more we want to ask, to see, to speak. |
| |
These are two very different paths. |
| |
So I am afraid. |
| |
I really fear this a lot. |
| |
You are not afraid, but itâs just possible you might be worse than me. |
| |
âI donât have any fear about this. |
| |
Thereâs no problem!â |
| |
But I have to remain fearful. |
| |
Does it ever happen that an old person can have lust? |
| |
So in my monastery, I keep the sexes as far apart as possible. |
| |
If thereâs no real necessity, there shouldnât be any contact at all. |
| |
When I practised alone in the forest, |
| |
sometimes Iâd see monkeys in the trees and Iâd feel desire. |
| |
Iâd sit there and look and think, and Iâd have lust: âWouldnât be bad to go and be a monkey with them!â |
| |
This is what sexual desire can do - even a monkey could get me aroused. |
| |
In those days, women lay-followers couldnât come to hear Dhamma from me. |
| |
I was too afraid of what might happen. |
| |
Itâs not that I had anything against them; I was simply too foolish. |
| |
Now if I speak to women, I speak to the older ones. |
| |
I always have to guard myself. |
| |
Iâve experienced this danger to my practice. |
| |
I didnât open my eyes wide and speak excitedly to entertain them. |
| |
I was too afraid to act like that. |
| |
Be careful! |
| |
Every samana has to face this and exercise restraint. |
| |
This is an important issue. |
| |
Really, the teachings of the Buddha all make sense. |
| |
Things you wouldnât imagine really are so. |
| |
Itâs strange. |
| |
At first I didnât have any faith in sitting in meditation. |
| |
I thought, what value could that possibly have? |
| |
Then there was walking meditation - I walked from one tree to another, |
| |
back and forth, back and forth, and I got tired of it and thought, |
| |
âWhat am I walking for? |
| |
Just walking back and forth doesnât have any purpose.â |
| |
Thatâs how I thought. |
| |
But in fact walking meditation has a lot of value. |
| |
Sitting to practise samÄdhi has a lot of value. |
| |
But the temperaments of some people make them confused about walking or sitting meditation. |
| |
We canât meditate in only one posture. |
| |
There are four postures for humans: standing, |
| |
walking, sitting and lying down. |
| |
The teachings speak about making the postures consistent and equal. |
| |
You might get the idea from this that it means you should stand, |
| |
walk, sit and lie down for the same number of hours in each posture. |
| |
When you hear such a teaching, you canât figure out what it really means, |
| |
because itâs talking in the way of Dhamma, |
| |
not in the ordinary sense. |
| |
âOK, Iâll sit for two hours, stand for two hours and then lie down for two hoursâ You probably think like this. |
| |
Thatâs what I did. |
| |
I tried to practise in this way, but it didnât work out. |
| |
Itâs because of not listening in the right way, |
| |
merely listening to the words. |
| |
âMaking the postures evenâ refers to the mind, |
| |
nothing else. |
| |
It means making the mind bright and clear so that wisdom arises, |
| |
so that there is knowledge of whatever is happening in all postures and situations. |
| |
Whatever the posture, you know phenomena and states of mind for what they are, |
| |
meaning that they are impermanent, unsatisfactory and not your self. |
| |
The mind remains established in this awareness at all times and in all postures. |
| |
When the mind feels attraction or when it feels aversion, |
| |
you donât lose the path; you know these conditions for what they are. |
| |
Your awareness is steady and continuous, |
| |
and you are letting go steadily and continuously. |
| |
You are not fooled by good conditions. |
| |
You arenât fooled by bad conditions. |
| |
You remain on the straight path. |
| |
This can be called âmaking the postures evenâ. |
| |
It refers to the internal, not the external; it is talking about mind. |
| |
If we do make the postures even with the mind, |
| |
then when we are praised, it is just so much. |
| |
If we are slandered, it is just so much. |
| |
We donât go up or down with these words but remain steady. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
Because we see the danger in these things. |
| |
We see equal danger in praise and in criticism; this is called making the postures even. |
| |
We have this inner awareness, whether we are looking at internal or external phenomena. |
| |
In the ordinary way of experiencing things, |
| |
when something good appears, we have a positive reaction, |
| |
and when something bad appears, we have a negative reaction. |
| |
In this way, the postures are not even. |
| |
If they are even, we always have awareness. |
| |
We will know when we are grasping at good and grasping at bad - this is better. |
| |
Even though we canât yet let go, we are aware of these states continuously. |
| |
Being continuously aware of ourselves and our attachments, |
| |
we will come to see that such grasping is not the path. |
| |
Knowing is fifty percent even if we are unable to let go. |
| |
Though we canât let go, we do understand that letting go of these things will bring peace. |
| |
We see the danger in the things we like and dislike. |
| |
We see the danger in praise and blame. |
| |
This awareness is continuous. |
| |
So whether we are being praised or criticized, |
| |
we are continuously aware. |
| |
When worldly people are criticized and slandered, |
| |
they canât bear it; it hurts their hearts. |
| |
When they are praised, they are pleased and excited. |
| |
This is what is natural in the world. |
| |
But for those who are practising, when there is praise, |
| |
they know there is danger. |
| |
When there is blame, they know the danger. |
| |
They know that being attached to either of these brings ill results. |
| |
They are all harmful if we grasp at them and give them meaning. |
| |
When we have this kind of awareness, we know phenomena as they occur. |
| |
We know that if we form attachments to phenomena, |
| |
there really will be suffering. |
| |
If we are not aware, then grasping at what we conceive of as good or bad gives rise to suffering. |
| |
When we pay attention, we see this grasping; we see how we catch |
| |
hold of the good and the bad and how this causes suffering. |
| |
So at first we grasp hold of things and with awareness see the fault in that. |
| |
How is that? |
| |
Itâs because we grasp tightly and experience suffering. |
| |
We will then start to seek a way to let go and be free. |
| |
We ponder, âWhat should I do to be free?â |
| |
Buddhist teaching says not to have grasping attachment, |
| |
not to hold tightly to things. |
| |
We donât understand this fully. |
| |
The point is to hold, but not tightly. |
| |
For example, I see this object in front of me. |
| |
I am curious to know what it is, so I pick it up and look; itâs a flashlight. |
| |
Now I can put it down. |
| |
Thatâs holding but not tightly. |
| |
If we are told not to hold to anything at all, |
| |
what can we do? |
| |
We will think we shouldnât practise sitting or walking meditation. |
| |
So at first we have to hold without tight attachment. |
| |
You can say this is tanhÄ, but it will become pÄramÄ«. |
| |
For instance, you came here to Wat Pah Pong; before you did that, |
| |
you had to have the desire to come. |
| |
With no desire, you wouldnât have come. |
| |
We can say you came with desire; itâs like holding. |
| |
Then you will return; thatâs like not grasping. |
| |
Just like having some uncertainty about what this object is; then picking it up, |
| |
seeing itâs a flashlight and putting it down. |
| |
This is holding but not grasping, or to speak more simply, |
| |
knowing and letting go. |
| |
Picking up to look, knowing and letting go - knowing and putting down. |
| |
Things may be said to be good or bad, |
| |
but you merely know them and let them go. |
| |
You are aware of all good and bad phenomena and you are letting go of them. |
| |
You donât grasp them with ignorance. |
| |
You grasp them with wisdom and put them down. |
| |
In this way the postures can be even and consistent. |
| |
It means the mind is able. |
| |
The mind has awareness and wisdom is born. |
| |
When the mind has wisdom, then what could there be beyond that? |
| |
It picks things up but there is no harm. |
| |
It is not grasping tightly, but knowing and letting go. |
| |
Hearing a sound, we will know, âThe world says this is good,â and we let go of it. |
| |
The world may say, âThis is bad,â but we let go. |
| |
We know good and evil. |
| |
Someone who doesnât know good and evil attaches to good and evil and suffers as a result. |
| |
Someone with knowledge doesnât have this attachment. |
| |
Letâs consider: for what purpose are we living? |
| |
What do we want from our work? |
| |
We are living in this world; for what purpose are we living? |
| |
We do our work; what do we want to get from our work? |
| |
In the worldly way, people do their work because they want certain things and this is what they consider logical. |
| |
But the Buddhaâs teaching goes a step beyond this. |
| |
It says, do your work without desiring anything. |
| |
In the world, you do this to get that; you do that to get this; |
| |
you are always doing something in order to get something as a result. |
| |
Thatâs the way of worldly folk. |
| |
The Buddha says, work for the sake of work without wanting anything. |
| |
Whenever we work with the desire for something, |
| |
we suffer. |
| |
Check this out. |
| |
1: Ajahn Chah is referring to his trip to England, |
| |
France and the USA in 1979. |
| |
2: Nak Tham Ehk: The third and highest level of examinations in Dhamma and Vinaya in Thailand. |
| |
* * * |
| |
At the time of the Buddha, there lived a monk who yearned to find the true way to enlightenment. |
| |
He wanted to know for certain what was the correct way and what was the incorrect way to train his mind in meditation. |
| |
Having decided that living in a monastery with a large group of monks was confusing and distracting, |
| |
he went off wandering looking for quiet places to meditate on his own. |
| |
Living alone, he practised continuously, |
| |
sometimes experiencing periods of calm when his mind gathered itself in concentration (samÄdhi), |
| |
at other times not finding much calm at all. |
| |
There was still no real certainty in his meditation. |
| |
Sometimes he was very diligent and put forth great effort, |
| |
sometimes he was lazy. |
| |
In the end, he became caught up in doubt and scepticism due to |
| |
his lack of success in trying to find the right way to practise. |
| |
During that time in India there were many different meditation teachers, |
| |
and the monk happened to hear about one famous teacher, |
| |
âAjahn Aâ, who was very popular and had a reputation for being skilled in meditation instruction. |
| |
The monk sat down and thought it through, |
| |
and decided that just in case this famous teacher really knew the correct way to enlightenment, |
| |
he would find him and train under his guidance. |
| |
Having received teachings, the monk returned to meditate on his |
| |
own again and found that while some of the new teachings were in line with his own views, |
| |
some were different. |
| |
He found that he was still constantly getting caught into doubt and uncertainty. |
| |
After a while he heard of another famous monk, |
| |
âAjahn Bâ, who also was reputed to be fully enlightened and |
| |
skilled in teaching meditation; this news simply fuelled further doubts and questions in his mind. |
| |
Eventually his speculation drove him to go off in search of the new teacher. |
| |
Having received fresh teachings, the monk went away to practise in solitude once more. |
| |
He compared all the teachings he had absorbed from this latest teacher with those from the first teacher, |
| |
and found that they werenât the same. |
| |
He compared the different styles and characters of each teacher, |
| |
and found that they were also quite different. |
| |
He compared everything he had learnt with his own views about |
| |
meditation and found that nothing seemed to fit together at all! |
| |
The more he compared, the more he doubted. |
| |
Not long after that, the monk heard excited rumours that âAjahn Câ was a really wise teacher. |
| |
People were talking about the new teacher so much that he felt compelled to seek him out. |
| |
The monk was willing to listen and to try out whatever the new teacher suggested. |
| |
Some things he taught were the same as other teachers, |
| |
some things not; the monk kept thinking and comparing, |
| |
trying to work out why one teacher did things a certain way and another teacher did it differently. |
| |
In his mind, he was churning over all the information he had |
| |
accumulated on the diverse views and styles of each teacher and when he put it together with his own views, |
| |
which were completely different, he ended up with no samÄdhi at all. |
| |
The more he tried to work out where each teacher was at, |
| |
the more he became restless and agitated, |
| |
burning up all his energy until he became both mentally and physically drained, |
| |
utterly defeated by his endless doubting and speculation. |
| |
Later the monk heard the fast spreading news that a fully enlightened teacher named Gotama had arisen in the world. |
| |
Immediately his mind was completely overwhelmed, |
| |
racing twice as fast, speculating about the teacher. |
| |
Just as before, he could not resist the urge to see the new teacher for himself, |
| |
so he went to pay respects and listen to him. |
| |
Gotama the Buddha expounded the Dhamma, |
| |
explaining that ultimately, itâs impossible to gain true understanding |
| |
and transcend doubt simply through seeking out and receiving teaching from other people. |
| |
The more you hear, the more you doubt; the more you hear, |
| |
the more mixed up you become. |
| |
The Buddha emphasized that other peopleâs wisdom canât cut through your doubts for you. |
| |
Other people can not let go of doubt for you. |
| |
All that a teacher can do is explain the way doubts arise in the mind and how to reflect on them, |
| |
but you have to take his or her words and put them into practice until you gain insight and know for yourself. |
| |
The Buddha taught that the place of practice lies within the body. |
| |
Form, feeling, memories, thoughts and sense consciousness (the |
| |
five khandhas) are your teachers; they already provide you with the basis for insight. |
| |
What you still lack is a basis in mental cultivation (bhÄvanÄ) and wise reflection. |
| |
The Buddha taught that the only way to truly end doubt is through |
| |
contemplation of your own body and mind - âjust that much.â |
| |
Abandon the past; abandon the future - practise knowing, |
| |
and letting go. |
| |
Sustain the knowing. |
| |
Once you have established the knowing, |
| |
let go - but donât try to let go without the knowing. |
| |
It is the presence of this knowing that allows you to let go. |
| |
Let go of everything you did in the past: both the good and the bad. |
| |
Whatever you did before, let go of it, |
| |
because there is no benefit in clinging to the past. |
| |
The good you did was good at that time, |
| |
the bad you did was bad at that time. |
| |
What was right was right. |
| |
So now you can cast it all aside, let go of it. |
| |
Events in the future are still waiting to happen. |
| |
All the arising and cessation that will occur in the future hasnât actually taken place yet, |
| |
so donât attach too firmly to ideas about what may or may not happen in the future. |
| |
Be aware of yourself and let go. |
| |
Let go of the past. |
| |
Whatever took place in the past has ceased. |
| |
Why spend a lot of time proliferating about it? |
| |
If you think about something that happened in the past let that thought go. |
| |
It was a dhamma (phenomenon) that arose in the past. |
| |
Having arisen, it then ceased in the past. |
| |
Thereâs no reason to mentally proliferate about the present either. |
| |
Once you have established awareness of what you are thinking, |
| |
let it go. |
| |
Practise knowing and letting go. |
| |
Itâs not that you shouldnât experience any thoughts or hold views |
| |
at all: experience thoughts and views and then let go of them - because they are already completed. |
| |
The future is still ahead of you: whatever is going to arise in the future will end in the future also. |
| |
Be aware of your thoughts about the future and then let go. |
| |
Your thoughts and views about the past are uncertain, |
| |
in just the same way. |
| |
The future is totally uncertain. |
| |
Be aware and then let go, because itâs uncertain. |
| |
Be aware of the present moment, investigate what you are doing right here and now. |
| |
There is no need to look at anything outside of yourself. |
| |
The Buddha didnât praise those who still invest all their faith |
| |
and belief in what other people say; neither did he praise those |
| |
who still get caught up in good and bad moods as a result of the things other people say and do. |
| |
What other people say and do has to be their own concern; you can be aware of it, |
| |
but then let go. |
| |
Even if they do the right thing, see that itâs right for them; |
| |
but if you donât bring your own mind in line with right view, |
| |
you can never really experience that which is good and right for yourself, |
| |
it remains something external. |
| |
All those teachers are doing their own practice - whether correctly or incorrectly - somewhere else, |
| |
separate from you. |
| |
Any good practice they do doesnât actually change you; if itâs correct practice, |
| |
itâs correct for them, not you. |
| |
What this means is that the Buddha taught that those who fail |
| |
to cultivate their minds and gain insight into the truth for themselves are not worthy of praise. |
| |
I emphasize the teaching that the Dhamma is opanayiko - to be brought inside oneself - so that the mind knows, |
| |
understands and experiences the results of the training within itself. |
| |
If people say you are meditating correctly, |
| |
donât be too quick to believe them, |
| |
and similarly, if they say youâre doing it wrong, |
| |
donât just accept what they say until youâve really practised and found out for yourself. |
| |
Even if they instruct you in the correct way that leads to enlightenment, |
| |
this is still just other peopleâs words; you have to take their |
| |
teachings and apply them until you experience results for yourself right here in the present. |
| |
That means you must become your own witness, |
| |
able to confirm the results from within your own mind. |
| |
Itâs like the example of the sour fruit. |
| |
Imagine I told you that a certain fruit tasted sour and invited you to try some of it. |
| |
You would have to take a bite from it to taste the sourness. |
| |
Some people would willingly take my word for it if I told them the fruit was sour, |
| |
but if they simply believed that it was sour without ever tasting it, |
| |
that belief would be useless (mogha), |
| |
it wouldnât have any real value or meaning. |
| |
If you described the fruit as sour, it would be merely going by my perception of it. |
| |
Only that. |
| |
The Buddha didnât praise such belief. |
| |
But then you shouldnât just dismiss it either: investigate it. |
| |
You must taste the fruit for yourself, |
| |
by actually experiencing the sour taste, |
| |
you become your own internal witness. |
| |
If somebody says itâs sour, find out if it really is sour or not by eating it. |
| |
Itâs like youâre making doubly sure - relying on your own experience as well as what other people say. |
| |
This way you can really have confidence in the authenticity of |
| |
its sour taste; you have a witness who attests to the truth. |
| |
Venerable Ajahn Mun referred to this internal witness that exists within the mind as sakkhibhƫto. |
| |
The authenticity of any knowledge acquired merely from what other people say remains unsubstantiated, |
| |
it is only a truth proven to someone else - you only have someone elseâs word to go on that the fruit is sour. |
| |
You could say that itâs a half-truth, |
| |
or fifty percent. |
| |
But if you taste the fruit and find it sour, |
| |
that is the one hundred percent, whole truth: you have evidence |
| |
from what other people say and also from your own direct experience. |
| |
This is a fully one hundred percent substantiated truth. |
| |
This is sakkhibhƫto; the internal witness has risen within you. |
| |
The way to train is thus opanayiko. |
| |
You direct your attention inwards, until your insight and understanding become paccattam. |
| |
Understanding gained from listening to and watching other people |
| |
is superficial in comparison with the deep understanding that is paccattam; it remains on the outside of paccattam. |
| |
Such knowledge doesnât arise from self-examination; itâs not your own insight - itâs other peopleâs insight. |
| |
That doesnât mean you should be heedless and dismissive of any |
| |
teachings you receive from other sources; they should also become the subject for study and investigation. |
| |
When you first come across and begin to understand some aspect of the teaching from the books, |
| |
itâs fine to believe it on one level, |
| |
but at the same time to recognize that you havenât yet trained |
| |
the mind and developed that knowledge through your own experience. |
| |
For that reason you still havenât experienced the full benefit of the teaching. |
| |
Itâs as if the true value of your understanding is still only half complete. |
| |
So then you must cultivate the mind and let your insight mature, |
| |
until you completely penetrate the truth. |
| |
In that way your knowledge becomes fully complete. |
| |
It is then that you go beyond doubt. |
| |
If you have profound insight into the truth from within your own mind, |
| |
all uncertainty about the way to enlightenment disappears completely. |
| |
When we speak of practising with the paccuppanna dhamma it means |
| |
that whatever phenomenon is immediately arising into the mind, |
| |
you must investigate and deal with it at once. |
| |
Your awareness must be right there. |
| |
Because paccuppanna dhamma refers to the experience of the present moment - it encompasses both cause and effect. |
| |
The present moment is firmly rooted within the process of cause |
| |
and effect; the way you are in the present reflects the causes |
| |
that lay in the past - your present experience is the result. |
| |
Every single experience youâve had right up until the present has arisen out of past causes. |
| |
For instance, you could say that walking out from your meditation hut was a cause, |
| |
and that you sitting down here is the result. |
| |
This is the truth of the way things are, |
| |
there is a constant succession of causes and effects. |
| |
So what you did in the past was the cause, |
| |
the present experience is the result. |
| |
Similarly, present actions are the cause for what you will experience in the future. |
| |
Sitting here right now, you are already initiating causes! |
| |
Past causes are coming to fruition in the present, |
| |
and these results are actually forming causes that will produce results in the future. |
| |
What the Buddha saw was that you must abandon both the past and the future. |
| |
When we say âabandonâ, it doesnât mean you literally get rid of them. |
| |
Abandoning means the focus of your mindfulness and insight is right here at this one point - the present moment. |
| |
The past and the future link together right here. |
| |
The present is both the result of the past and the cause of what lies ahead in the future. |
| |
So you must completely abandon both cause and result, |
| |
and simply abide with the present moment. |
| |
We say abandon them, but these are just words used to describe the way of training the mind. |
| |
Even though you let go of your attachment and abandon the past and future, |
| |
the natural process of cause and effect remains in place. |
| |
In fact, you could call this the halfway point; itâs already part of the process of cause and result. |
| |
The Buddha taught to watch the present moment where you will see a continuous process of arising and passing away, |
| |
followed by more arising and passing away. |
| |
Whatever arises in the present moment is impermanent. |
| |
I say this often, but most people donât pay much attention. |
| |
Theyâre reluctant to make use of this simple little teaching. |
| |
All that is subject to arising is impermanent. |
| |
Itâs uncertain. |
| |
This really is the easiest, least complicated way to reflect on the truth. |
| |
If you donât meditate on this teaching, |
| |
when things actually do start to show themselves as uncertain and changeable, |
| |
you donât know how to respond wisely and tend to get agitated and stirred up. |
| |
Investigation of this very impermanence brings you insight and understanding of that which is permanent. |
| |
By contemplating that which is uncertain, |
| |
you see that which is certain. |
| |
This is the way you have to explain it to make people understand |
| |
the truth - but they tend not to understand and spend the whole time lost, |
| |
rushing here and there. |
| |
Really, if you want to experience true peace, |
| |
you must bring the mind to that point where it is fully mindful in the present moment. |
| |
Whatever happiness or suffering arises there, |
| |
teach yourself that itâs transient. |
| |
The part of the mind that recollects that happiness and suffering |
| |
are impermanent is the wisdom of the Buddha within each of you. |
| |
The one who recognizes the uncertainty of phenomena is the Dhamma within you. |
| |
That which is the Dhamma is the Buddha, |
| |
but most people donât realize this. |
| |
They see the Dhamma as something external, |
| |
out there somewhere, and the Buddha as something else over here. |
| |
If the mindâs eye sees all conditioned things as uncertain, |
| |
then all of your problems that arise out of attaching and giving undue importance to things will disappear. |
| |
Whatever way you look at it, this intrinsic truth is the only thing that is really certain. |
| |
When you see this, rather than clinging and attaching, |
| |
the mind lets go. |
| |
The cause of the problem, the attachment, |
| |
disappears, resulting in the mind penetrating the truth and merging with the Dhamma. |
| |
There is nothing higher or more profound to seek other than the realization of this truth. |
| |
In that way the Dhamma is equal to the Buddha, |
| |
the Buddha is equal to the Dhamma. |
| |
This teaching that all conditioned things are uncertain and subject to change is the Dhamma. |
| |
The Dhamma is the essence of the Buddha; it isnât anything else. |
| |
The purpose of cultivating awareness through continuous recitation of âBuddhoâ, |
| |
âBuddhoâ-that which knows - is to see this truth. |
| |
When the mind becomes one-pointed through the recitation of âBuddhoâ, |
| |
this supports the development of insight into the three characteristics of impermanence (anicca), |
| |
suffering (dukkha) and non-self (anattÄ); the clarity of awareness |
| |
brings you to view things as uncertain and changeable. |
| |
If you see this clearly and directly the mind lets go. |
| |
So when you experience any kind of happiness, |
| |
you know itâs uncertain; when you experience any kind of suffering, |
| |
you know itâs uncertain just the same. |
| |
If you go to live somewhere else, hoping it will be better than where you are already, |
| |
remember that itâs not a sure thing whether you will really find what you are looking for. |
| |
If you think itâs best to stay here, again, |
| |
itâs not sure. |
| |
Thatâs just the point! |
| |
With insight, you see that everything is uncertain, |
| |
so wherever you go to practise you donât have to suffer. |
| |
When you want to stay here, you stay. |
| |
When you want to go elsewhere, you go and you donât make any problems for yourself. |
| |
All that doubting and vacillation about what is the right thing to do ends. |
| |
It is the way of training in fixing mindfulness solely on the present moment that brings the doubts to an end. |
| |
So donât worry about the past or the future. |
| |
The past has already ceased. |
| |
Whatever occurred in the past has already taken place and is over and done with; itâs finished. |
| |
Whatever is going to arise in the future is also going to end in the future - let go of that too. |
| |
Why get worried about it? |
| |
Observe the phenomena (dhamma) arising in the present moment and notice how they are changing and unreliable. |
| |
As âBuddhoâ (the knowing) matures and penetrates deeper, |
| |
you gain a more profound awareness of the essential truth that all conditioned phenomena are of an impermanent nature. |
| |
This is where insight deepens and allows the stability and tranquillity |
| |
of samÄdhi to strengthen and become more refined. |
| |
SamÄdhi means the mind that is firm and stable, |
| |
or the mind that is calm. |
| |
There are two kinds. |
| |
One kind of calm comes from practising in a quiet place, |
| |
where there are no sights, sounds or other sensual impingement to disturb you. |
| |
The mind with such calm is still not free from the defilements (kilesa). |
| |
The defilements still cover over the mind, |
| |
but during the time when it is calm in samÄdhi they remain in abatement. |
| |
Itâs like pond water that is temporarily clear after all the |
| |
dirt and dust particles have settled on the bottom; as long as |
| |
the sediment hasnât been stirred up the water remains clear, |
| |
but as soon as something does disturb it, |
| |
the dirt rises up and the water becomes cloudy again. |
| |
You are just the same. |
| |
When you hear a sound, see a form or the mind is affected by a mental state, |
| |
any reaction of disliking clouds over the mind. |
| |
If no aversion is stimulated you feel comfortable; but that feeling |
| |
of comfort comes from the presence of attachment and defilement rather than wisdom. |
| |
For example, suppose you wanted this tape recorder. |
| |
As long as this desire was unfulfilled you would feel dissatisfaction. |
| |
However, once you had gone out looking and found one for yourself, |
| |
you would feel content and satisfied, |
| |
wouldnât you? |
| |
However, if you attached to the feeling of contentment that arose because you managed to get your own tape recorder, |
| |
you would actually be creating the conditions for future suffering. |
| |
You would be creating the conditions for future suffering, |
| |
without being aware of it. |
| |
This is because your sense of satisfaction would be dependent on you gaining a tape recorder, |
| |
so as long as you still didnât possess one, |
| |
you would experience suffering. |
| |
Once you acquired a tape recorder you would feel content and satisfied. |
| |
But then if, perhaps, a thief were to steal it, |
| |
that sense of satisfaction would disappear with it and you would fall back into a state of suffering again. |
| |
This is the way it is. |
| |
Without a tape recorder you suffer; with one youâre happy, |
| |
but when for some reason you lose it, |
| |
you become miserable again. |
| |
It goes on like this the whole time. |
| |
This is what is meant by samÄdhi that is dependent on peaceful conditions. |
| |
Itâs uncertain, like the happiness you experience when you get what you want. |
| |
When you finally get the tape recorder you have been looking for, |
| |
you feel great. |
| |
But whatâs the true cause of that pleasant feeling? |
| |
It arises because your desire has been satisfied. |
| |
Thatâs all. |
| |
Thatâs as deep as that kind of happiness can reach. |
| |
Itâs happiness conditioned by the defilements that control your mind. |
| |
You arenât even aware of this. |
| |
At any time somebody could come along and steal that tape recorder causing you to fall right back into suffering again. |
| |
So that kind of samÄdhi only provides a temporary experience of calm. |
| |
You have to contemplate the nature of the calm that arises out |
| |
of serenity (samatha) meditation to see the whole truth of the matter. |
| |
That tape recorder you obtain, or anything else you possess is bound to deteriorate, |
| |
break up and disappear in the end. |
| |
You have something to lose because you gained a tape recorder. |
| |
If you donât own a tape recorder you donât have one to lose. |
| |
Birth and death are the same. |
| |
Because there has been a birth, there has to be the experience of death. |
| |
If nothing gets born, there is nothing to die. |
| |
All those people who die had to be born at some time; those who donât get born donât have to die. |
| |
This is the way things are. |
| |
Being able to reflect in this way means that as soon as you acquire that tape recorder, |
| |
you are mindful of its impermanence - that one day it will break down or get stolen, |
| |
and that in the end it must inevitably fall apart and completely disintegrate. |
| |
You see the truth with wisdom, and understand that the tape recorderâs very nature is impermanent. |
| |
Whether the tape recorder actually breaks or gets stolen, |
| |
these are all just manifestations of impermanence. |
| |
If you can view things in the correct way, |
| |
you will be able to use the tape recorder without suffering. |
| |
You can compare this with setting up some kind of business in the lay life. |
| |
If at first you needed to get a loan from the bank to set up the business operation, |
| |
immediately you would begin to experience stress. |
| |
You suffered because you wanted somebody elseâs money. |
| |
Looking for money is both difficult and tiring, |
| |
and as long as you were unsuccessful in trying to raise some, |
| |
it would cause you suffering. |
| |
Of course, the day you successfully managed to get a loan from the bank you would feel over the moon, |
| |
but that elation wouldnât last more than a few hours, |
| |
because in no time at all the interest payments on the loan would start to eat up all your profits. |
| |
You wouldnât have to do so much as raise one finger and already |
| |
your money would be draining away to the bank in interest payments. |
| |
Can you believe it! |
| |
You would be sitting there suffering again. |
| |
Can you see this? |
| |
Why is it like this? |
| |
When you didnât have any money you would suffer; when you finally receive some you think your problems are over, |
| |
but before long the interest payments would start eating away at your funds, |
| |
just leading you to more suffering. |
| |
This is the way it is. |
| |
The Buddha taught that the way to practise with this is to observe the present moment, |
| |
and develop insight into the transient nature of the body and |
| |
mind; to see the truth of the Dhamma - that conditioned things simply arise and pass away, |
| |
and nothing more. |
| |
Itâs the nature of the body and mind to be that way, |
| |
so donât attach or cling firmly on to them. |
| |
If you have insight into this, it gives rise to peace as the result. |
| |
This is peace that comes from letting go of defilements; it arises in conjunction with the arising of wisdom. |
| |
What causes wisdom to arise? |
| |
It comes from contemplating the three characteristics of impermanence, |
| |
suffering and non-self, which brings you insight into the truth of the way things are. |
| |
You have to see the truth clearly and unmistakably in your own mind. |
| |
That is the only way to really gain wisdom. |
| |
There has to be continuous clear insight. |
| |
You see for yourself that all mental objects and moods (Ärammana) |
| |
that arise into consciousness pass away and after that cessation there is more arising. |
| |
After more arising there is further cessation. |
| |
If you still have attachment and clinging, |
| |
suffering must arise from moment to moment; but if you are letting go, |
| |
you wonât create any suffering. |
| |
When the mind clearly sees the impermanence of phenomena, |
| |
this is what is meant by sakkhibhƫto - the internal witness. |
| |
The mind is so firmly absorbed in its contemplation that the insight is self-sustaining. |
| |
So in the end, you can only accept as partial truths all the teachings and wisdom that you receive from others. |
| |
On one occasion the Buddha gave a discourse to a group of monks, |
| |
and afterwards asked Venerable SÄriputta, |
| |
who had been listening: |
| |
âSÄriputta, do you believe what I have been teaching you?â |
| |
âI still donât believe it, Bhante,â SÄriputta replied. |
| |
The Buddha was pleased with this response and continued, |
| |
âThat is good SÄriputta. |
| |
You shouldnât believe any teaching people give you too easily. |
| |
A sage must contemplate thoroughly everything he hears before accepting it fully. |
| |
You should take this teaching away with you and contemplate it first.â |
| |
Even though he had received a teaching from the Buddha himself, |
| |
Venerable SÄriputta didnât immediately believe every single word of it. |
| |
He was heedful of the right way to train his mind, |
| |
and took the teaching away with him to investigate it further. |
| |
He would only accept the teaching if, |
| |
after reflecting upon the Buddhaâs explanation of the truth, |
| |
he found that it stimulated the arising of wisdom in his own |
| |
mind and this insight made his mind peaceful and unified with the Dhamma (Truth). |
| |
The understanding that arose must lead to the Dhamma becoming fixed within his own mind. |
| |
It had to be in accordance with the truth of the way things are. |
| |
The Buddha taught his disciples to accept a point of Dhamma only if, |
| |
beyond all doubt, they found it to be in line with the way things |
| |
are in reality - as seen both from oneâs own and other peopleâs experience and understanding. |
| |
In the end, the important thing is simply to investigate the truth. |
| |
You donât have to look very far away, |
| |
just observe whatâs happening in the present moment. |
| |
Watch what is happening in your own mind. |
| |
Let go of the past. |
| |
Let go of the future. |
| |
Just be mindful of the present moment, |
| |
and wisdom will arise from investigating and seeing clearly the characteristics of impermanence, |
| |
suffering and non-self. |
| |
If you are walking see that itâs impermanent, |
| |
if sitting see that itâs impermanent, |
| |
if lying down see that itâs impermanent - whatever you are doing, |
| |
these characteristics will be manifesting the whole time, |
| |
because this is the way things are. |
| |
That which is permanent is this truth of the way things are. |
| |
That never changes. |
| |
If you cultivate insight to the point where the way you view |
| |
things is completely and unwaveringly in line with this truth, |
| |
you will be at ease with the world. |
| |
Will it really be that peaceful going to live alone up in the mountains somewhere? |
| |
Itâs only a temporary kind of peace. |
| |
Once you start to feel hungry on a regular basis and the body lacks the nourishment that itâs used to, |
| |
youâll become weary of the whole experience again. |
| |
The body will be crying out for its vitamins, |
| |
but the hill-tribe people who provide your almsfood donât know |
| |
much about the level of vitamins needed for a balanced diet. |
| |
In the end youâll probably come back down and return here to the monastery. |
| |
If you stay in Bangkok youâll probably complain that the people |
| |
offer too much food and that itâs just a burden and lots of hassle, |
| |
so perhaps you will decide it is better to go and live way out in seclusion in the forest somewhere. |
| |
In truth, you must be pretty foolish if you find living on your own causes you suffering. |
| |
If you find living in a community with lots of people is a lot of suffering, |
| |
you are equally foolish. |
| |
Itâs like chicken shit. |
| |
If you are walking on your own somewhere carrying chicken shit, |
| |
it stinks. |
| |
If there is a whole group of people walking around carrying chicken shit, |
| |
it stinks just the same. |
| |
It can become habitual to keep lugging around that which is rotten and putrid. |
| |
This is because you still have wrong view; but for someone with right view, |
| |
although they might be quite correct to think that living in a large community isnât very peaceful, |
| |
they would still be able to gain much wisdom from the experience. |
| |
For myself, teaching large numbers of monks, |
| |
nuns and laypeople has been a great source of wisdom for me. |
| |
In the past I had fewer monks living with me, |
| |
but then as more laypeople came to visit me and the resident community of monks and nuns grew in size, |
| |
I was exposed to much more because everybody has different thoughts, |
| |
views and experiences. |
| |
My patience, endurance and tolerance matured and strengthened as it was stretched to its very limits. |
| |
When you keep reflecting, all such experience can be of benefit to you, |
| |
but if you donât understand the truth of the way things are, |
| |
at first you might think that living alone is best; then after a while you might get bored with it, |
| |
so then you might think that living in a large community is better. |
| |
Or perhaps you might feel that being in a place where there is only a little food offered is the ideal. |
| |
You might decide that a plentiful supply of food is actually the best and that little food is no good at all, |
| |
or you might change again and conclude that too much food is a bad thing. |
| |
In the end, most people just remain forever caught up in views and opinions, |
| |
because they donât have enough wisdom to decide for themselves. |
| |
So try to see the uncertainty of things. |
| |
If you are in a large community, itâs uncertain. |
| |
If you are living with just a small group, |
| |
itâs also not a sure thing. |
| |
Donât attach or cling to views about the way things are. |
| |
Put effort into being mindful of the present moment; investigate the body, |
| |
penetrating deeper and deeper inside. |
| |
The Buddha taught monks and nuns to find a place to live and train where they are at ease, |
| |
where the food is suitable, the company of fellow practitioners |
| |
(kalyÄnamitta) is suitable and the lodgings are comfortable. |
| |
But actually finding a place where all these things are just |
| |
right and suited to your needs is difficult; so at the same time, |
| |
he also taught that wherever you go to live you might have to |
| |
encounter discomfort and put up with things that you donât like. |
| |
For instance, how comfortable is this monastery? |
| |
If the laypeople made it really comfortable for you, |
| |
what would it be like? |
| |
Every day they would be at your service to bring you hot and |
| |
cold drinks as you wished and all the sweets and treats that you could eat. |
| |
They would be polite and praise you, saying all the right things. |
| |
Thatâs what having good lay support is like, |
| |
isnât it? |
| |
Some monks and nuns like it that way: âThe lay supporters here are really great, |
| |
itâs really comfortable and convenient.â |
| |
In no time at all the whole training in mindfulness and insight just dies. |
| |
Thatâs how it happens. |
| |
What is really comfortable and suitable for meditation can mean different things to different people, |
| |
but once you know how to make your own mind content with what you have, |
| |
then wherever you go you will feel at ease. |
| |
If you have to stay somewhere that would perhaps not be your first choice, |
| |
you still know how to remain content while you train there. |
| |
If itâs time to go elsewhere then you are content to go. |
| |
You donât have any worries about these external things. |
| |
If you donât know very much, things can be difficult; if you |
| |
know too much it can also bring you a lot of suffering - everything can be a source of discomfort and suffering. |
| |
As long as you donât have any insight you will constantly be caught in moods of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, |
| |
stimulated by the conditions around you, |
| |
and potentially every little thing can cause you to suffer. |
| |
Wherever you go, the meaning of the Buddhaâs teaching remains correct, |
| |
but it is the Dhamma in your own mind that is still not correct. |
| |
Where will you go to find the right conditions for practice? |
| |
Maybe such and such a monk has got it right and is really practising |
| |
hard with the meditation - as soon as the meal is finished he hurries away to meditate. |
| |
All he does is practise developing his samÄdhi. |
| |
Heâs really dedicated and serious about it. |
| |
Or maybe he isnât so dedicated, because you canât really know. |
| |
If you really practise wholeheartedly for yourself, |
| |
you are certain to reach peace of mind. |
| |
If others are really dedicated and genuinely training themselves, |
| |
why are they not yet peaceful? |
| |
This is the truth of the matter. |
| |
In the end, if they arenât peaceful, it shows that they canât be really that serious about the practice after all. |
| |
When reflecting on the training in samÄdhi, |
| |
itâs important to understand that virtue (sÄ«la), |
| |
concentration (samÄdhi) and wisdom (paññÄ) are each essential roots that support the whole. |
| |
They are mutually supporting, each having its own indispensable role to play. |
| |
Each provides a necessary tool to be used in developing meditation, |
| |
but itâs up to each individual to discover skilful ways to make use of them. |
| |
Someone with a lot of wisdom can gain insight easily; someone |
| |
with little wisdom gains insight with difficulty; someone without any wisdom wonât gain any insight. |
| |
Two different people might be following the same way of cultivating the mind, |
| |
but whether they actually gain insight into the Dhamma will depend on the amount of wisdom each has. |
| |
If you go to observe and train with different teachers you must use wisdom to put what you see in perspective. |
| |
How does this Ajahn do it? |
| |
Whatâs that Ajahnâs style like? |
| |
You watch them closely but thatâs as far as it goes. |
| |
Itâs all just watching and judging on the external level. |
| |
Itâs just looking at their behaviour and way of doing things on the surface. |
| |
If you simply observe things on this level you will never stop doubting. |
| |
Why does that teacher do it this way? |
| |
Why does this teacher do it another way? |
| |
In that monastery the teacher gives lots of talks, |
| |
why does the teacher in this monastery give so few talks? |
| |
In that other monastery the teacher doesnât even give any talks at all! |
| |
Itâs just crazy when the mind proliferates endlessly, |
| |
comparing and speculating about all the different teachers. |
| |
In the end you simply wind yourself up into a mess. |
| |
You must turn your attention inward and cultivate for yourself. |
| |
The correct thing to do is focus internally on your own training, |
| |
as this is how right practice (sammÄ-patipadÄ) develops. |
| |
You simply observe different teachers and learn from their example, |
| |
but then you have to do it yourself. |
| |
If you contemplate at this more subtle level, |
| |
all that doubting will stop. |
| |
There was one senior monk who didnât spend a lot of time thinking and reflecting about things. |
| |
He didnât give much importance to thoughts about the past or the future, |
| |
because he wouldnât let his attention move away from the mind itself. |
| |
He watched intently what was arising in his awareness in the present moment. |
| |
Observing the mindâs changing behaviour and different reactions as it experienced things, |
| |
he wouldnât attach importance to any of it, |
| |
repeating the teaching to himself: âIts uncertain.â |
| |
âIts not a sure thing.â |
| |
If you can teach yourself to see impermanence in this way, |
| |
it wonât be long before you gain insight into the Dhamma. |
| |
In fact, you donât have to run after the proliferating mind. |
| |
Really, it just moves around its own enclosed circuit; it spins around in circles. |
| |
This is the way your mind works. |
| |
Itâs samsÄra vatta - the endless cycle of birth and death. |
| |
This completely encircles the mind. |
| |
If you tried pursuing the mind as it spins around would you be able to catch it? |
| |
It moves so fast, would you even be able to keep up with it? |
| |
Try chasing after it and see what happens. |
| |
What you need to do is stand still at one point, |
| |
and let the mind spin around the circuit by itself. |
| |
Imagine the mind was a mechanical doll, |
| |
which was able to run around. |
| |
If it began running faster and faster until it was running at full speed, |
| |
you wouldnât be able to run fast enough to keep up with it. |
| |
But actually, you wouldnât need to run anywhere. |
| |
You could just stand still in one place and let the doll do the running. |
| |
If you were to stand still in the middle of the circuit, |
| |
without chasing after it, you would be able to see the doll every time it ran past you and completed a lap. |
| |
In fact, if you did try running after it, |
| |
the more you tried to chase after and catch it, |
| |
the more it would be able to elude you. |
| |
As far as going on tudong is concerned, |
| |
I both encourage it and discourage it at the same time. |
| |
If the practitioner already has some wisdom in the way of training, |
| |
there should be no problem. |
| |
However, there was one monk I knew who didnât see it as necessary |
| |
to go on tudong into the forest; he didnât see tudong as a matter of travelling anywhere. |
| |
Having thought about it, he decided to stay and train in the monastery, |
| |
vowing to undertake three of the dhutanga practices and to keep them strictly, |
| |
without going anywhere. |
| |
He felt it wasnât necessary to make himself tired walking long distances with the heavy weight of his monkâs almsbowl, |
| |
robes and other requisites slung over his shoulder. |
| |
His way was quite a valid one too; but if you really had a strong |
| |
desire to go out wandering about the forests and hills on tudong, |
| |
you wouldnât find his style very satisfying. |
| |
In the end, if you have clear insight into the truth of things, |
| |
you only need to hear one word of the teaching and that will bring you deep and penetrating insight. |
| |
Another example I could mention is that a young novice I once |
| |
encountered wanted to practise living in a cemetery completely alone. |
| |
As he was still more or less a child, |
| |
hardly into his teens, I was quite concerned for his well-being, |
| |
and kept an eye on him to see how he was doing. |
| |
In the morning he would go on almsround in the village, |
| |
and afterwards bring his food back to the cremation ground where he would eat his meal alone, |
| |
surrounded by the pits where the corpses of those who hadnât been burned were buried. |
| |
Every night he would sleep quite alone next to the remains of the dead. |
| |
After I had been staying nearby for about a week I went along to check and see how he was. |
| |
On the outside he seemed at ease with himself, |
| |
so I asked him: |
| |
âSo youâre not afraid staying here then?â |
| |
âNo Iâm not afraid,â he replied. |
| |
âHow come youâre not frightened?â |
| |
âIt seems to me unlikely that thereâs anything much to be afraid of.â |
| |
All it needed was this one simple reflection for the mind to stop proliferating. |
| |
That novice didnât need to think about all sorts of different things that would merely complicate the matter. |
| |
He was âcuredâ straight away. |
| |
His fear vanished. |
| |
You should try meditating in this way. |
| |
I say that whatever you are doing - whether standing, |
| |
walking, coming or going - if you sustain mindfulness without giving up, |
| |
your samÄdhi wonât deteriorate. |
| |
It wonât decline. |
| |
If thereâs too much food you say that itâs suffering and just trouble. |
| |
Whatâs all the fuss about? |
| |
If there is a lot, just take a small amount and leave the rest for everybody else. |
| |
Why make so much trouble for yourself over this? |
| |
Itâs not peaceful. |
| |
Whatâs not peaceful? |
| |
Just take a small portion and give the rest away. |
| |
But if you are attached to the food and feel bad about giving it up to others, |
| |
then of course you will find things difficult. |
| |
If you are fussy and want to have a taste of this and a taste of that, |
| |
but not so much of something else, youâll find that in the end |
| |
youâve chosen so much food that youâve filled the bowl to the point where none of it tastes very delicious anyway. |
| |
So you end up attaching to the view that being offered lots of food is just distracting and a load of trouble. |
| |
Why get so distracted and upset? |
| |
Itâs you who are letting yourself get stirred up by the food. |
| |
Does the food itself ever get distracted and upset? |
| |
Itâs ridiculous. |
| |
You are getting all worked up over nothing. |
| |
When there are a lot of people coming to the monastery, |
| |
you say itâs disturbing. |
| |
Where is the disturbance? |
| |
Actually, following the daily routine and the ways of training is fairly straightforward. |
| |
You donât have to make a big deal out of this: you go on almsround, |
| |
come back and eat the meal, you do any necessary business and chores training yourself with mindfulness, |
| |
and just get on with things. |
| |
You make sure you donât miss out on the various parts of the monastic routine. |
| |
When you do the evening chanting, does your cultivation of mindfulness really collapse? |
| |
If simply doing the morning and evening chanting causes your meditation to fall apart, |
| |
it surely shows that you havenât really learnt to meditate anyway. |
| |
In the daily meetings, the bowing, chanting praise to the Buddha, |
| |
Dhamma, Sangha and everything else you do are extremely wholesome |
| |
activities; so can they really be the cause for your samÄdhi to degenerate? |
| |
If you think that itâs distracting going to meetings, |
| |
look again. |
| |
Itâs not the meetings that are distracting and unpleasant, |
| |
itâs you. |
| |
If you let unskilful thinking stir you up, |
| |
then everything becomes distracting and unpleasant - even if you donât go to the meetings, |
| |
you end up just as distracted and stirred up. |
| |
You have to learn how to reflect wisely and keep your mind in a wholesome state. |
| |
Everybody gets caught into such states of confusion and agitation, |
| |
particularly those who are new to the training. |
| |
What actually happens is that you allow your mind to go out and interfere with all these things and stir itself up. |
| |
When you come to train with a monastic community, |
| |
determine for yourself to just stay there and keep practising. |
| |
Whether other people are training in the correct way or wrong way is their business. |
| |
Keep putting effort into the training, |
| |
following the monastic guidelines and helping each other with any useful advice you can offer. |
| |
Anyone who isnât happy training here is free to go elsewhere. |
| |
If you want to stay then go ahead and get on with the practice. |
| |
It has an extremely beneficial effect on the community if there |
| |
is one of the group who is self-contained and solidly training himself. |
| |
The other monks around will start to notice and take example from the good aspects of that monkâs behaviour. |
| |
They will observe him and ask themselves how it is that he manages |
| |
to maintain a sense of ease and calm while training himself in mindfulness. |
| |
The good example provided by that monk is one of the most beneficial things he can do for his fellow beings. |
| |
If you are a junior member of a monastic community, |
| |
training with a daily routine and keeping to rules about the way things are done, |
| |
you have to follow the lead of the senior monks and keep putting effort into the routine. |
| |
Whatever the activity is you do it, and when itâs time to finish you stop. |
| |
You say those things that are appropriate and useful, |
| |
and train yourself to refrain from speech that is inappropriate and harmful. |
| |
Donât allow that kind of speech to slip out. |
| |
Thereâs no need to take lots of food at the mealtime - just take a few things and leave the rest. |
| |
When you see that thereâs a lot of food, |
| |
the tendency is to indulge and start picking a little of this |
| |
and trying a little of that and that way you end up eating everything thatâs been offered. |
| |
When you hear the invitation, âPlease take some of this, |
| |
Ajahn,â âPlease take some of that, Venerable,â if youâre not careful it will just stir up the mind. |
| |
The thing to do is let go. |
| |
Why get involved with it? |
| |
You think that itâs the food stirring you up, |
| |
but the real root of the problem is that you let the mind go out and meddle with the food. |
| |
If you can reflect and see this, it should make life a lot easier. |
| |
The problem is you donât have enough wisdom. |
| |
You donât have enough insight to see how the process of cause and effect works. |
| |
Actually, when I was on the road in the past, |
| |
when it was necessary I was even prepared to stay in one of |
| |
the village or city monasteries.1 In the course of your travels |
| |
when you are alone and have to pass through different monastic |
| |
communities that have varying standards of training and discipline, |
| |
recite the verse to yourself: âsuddhi asuddhi paccattamâ (the |
| |
purity or impurity of oneâs virtue is something one knows for oneself), |
| |
both as a protection and as a guideline for reflection. |
| |
You might end up having to rely on your own integrity in this way. |
| |
When you are moving through an area you havenât been to before |
| |
you might have to make a choice over the place you are going to stay for the night. |
| |
The Buddha taught that monks and nuns should live in peaceful places. |
| |
So, depending on whatâs available, you should try and find a peaceful place to stay and meditate. |
| |
If you canât find a really quiet place, |
| |
you can, as second best, at least find a place where you are able to be at peace internally. |
| |
So, if for some reason itâs necessary to stay in a certain place, |
| |
you must learn how to live there peacefully - without letting craving (tanhÄ) overcome the mind. |
| |
If you then decide to leave that monastery or forest, |
| |
donât leave because of craving. |
| |
Similarly, if you are staying somewhere, |
| |
donât stay there because of craving. |
| |
Understand what is motivating your thinking and actions. |
| |
Itâs true that the Buddha advised monastics to lead a lifestyle |
| |
and find living conditions that are conducive to peace and suitable for meditation. |
| |
But how will you cope on those occasions when you canât find a peaceful place? |
| |
In the end the whole thing could just drive you crazy. |
| |
Where will you go next? |
| |
Stay right where you are; stay put and learn to live in peace. |
| |
Train yourself until you are able to stay and meditate in the place you are in. |
| |
The Buddha taught that you should know and understand proper |
| |
time and place according to conditions; he didnât encourage monks |
| |
and nuns to roam around all over the place without any real purpose. |
| |
Certainly he recommended that we find a suitable quiet place, |
| |
but if thatâs not possible, it might be necessary to spend a |
| |
few weeks or a few months in a place that isnât so quiet or suitable. |
| |
What would you do then? |
| |
You would probably just die from the shock of it! |
| |
So learn to know your own mind and know your intentions. |
| |
In the end, travelling around from place to place is only that much. |
| |
When you move on to somewhere else, you tend to find more of the same of what you left behind, |
| |
and youâre always doubting about what might lie ahead at the next place. |
| |
Then, before you know it, you could find yourself with malaria or some other unpleasant illness, |
| |
and youâd have to find a doctor to treat you, |
| |
give you drugs and injections. |
| |
In no time at all, your mind would be more agitated and distracted than ever! |
| |
Actually, the secret to successful meditation is to bring your |
| |
way of viewing things in line with the Dhamma; the important |
| |
thing is to establish right view (sammÄ-ditthi) in the mind. |
| |
It isnât anything more complicated than that. |
| |
But you have to keep putting forth effort to investigate and seek out the correct way for yourself. |
| |
Naturally, this involves some difficulty, |
| |
because you still lack maturity of wisdom and understanding. |
| |
So, what do you think youâll do? |
| |
Try giving tudong a go and see what happens ... |
| |
you might get fed up with wandering about again; itâs never a sure thing. |
| |
Or maybe youâre thinking that if you really get into the meditation, |
| |
you wonât want to go on tudong, because the whole proposition |
| |
will seem uninteresting; but that perception is uncertain. |
| |
You might feel totally bored with the idea of going on tudong, |
| |
but that can always change and it might not be long before you start wanting to go off moving about again. |
| |
Or you might just stay out on tudong indefinitely and continue |
| |
to wander from place to place with no time limits or any fixed destination in mind - again, |
| |
itâs uncertain. |
| |
This is what you have to reflect upon as you meditate. |
| |
Go against the flow of your desires. |
| |
You might attach to the view that youâll go on tudong for certain, |
| |
or you might attach to the view that you will stay put in the monastery for certain, |
| |
but either way you are getting caught in delusion. |
| |
You are attaching to fixed views in the wrong way. |
| |
Go and investigate this for yourself. |
| |
I have already contemplated this from my own experience, |
| |
and Iâm explaining the way it is as simply and directly as I can. |
| |
So listen to what I am saying, and then observe and contemplate for yourself. |
| |
This really is the way things are. |
| |
In the end you will be able to see the truth of this whole matter for yourself. |
| |
Then, once you do have insight into the truth, |
| |
whatever decision you make will be accompanied by right view and in accordance with the Dhamma. |
| |
Whatever you decide to do, whether to go on tudong or stay on in the monastery, |
| |
you must wisely reflect first. |
| |
It isnât that you are forbidden from going off wandering in the forest, |
| |
or going to find quiet places to meditate. |
| |
If you do go off walking, really make a go of it and walk until |
| |
you are worn out and ready to drop - test yourself to the limits of your physical and mental endurance. |
| |
In the old days, as soon as I caught sight of the mountains, |
| |
Iâd feel elated and be inspired to take off. |
| |
Nowadays when I see them, the body starts moaning just at the |
| |
sight of them and all I want to do is turn around and go back to the monastery. |
| |
Thereâs not much enthusiasm for all that anymore. |
| |
Before, Iâd be really happy to live up in the mountains - I even thought Iâd spend my whole life living up there! |
| |
The Buddha taught to be mindful of whatâs arising in the present moment. |
| |
Know the truth of the way things are in the present moment. |
| |
These are the teachings he left you and they are correct, |
| |
but your own thoughts and views are still not correctly in line with the Dhamma, |
| |
and thatâs why you continue to suffer. |
| |
So try out tudong if it seems like the right thing to do. |
| |
See what itâs like moving around from place to place and how that affects your mind. |
| |
I donât want to forbid you from going on tudong, |
| |
but I donât want to give you permission either. |
| |
Do you understand my meaning? |
| |
I neither want to prevent you, nor allow you to go, |
| |
but I will share with you some of my experience. |
| |
If you do go on tudong, use the time to benefit your meditation. |
| |
Donât just go like a tourist, having fun travelling around. |
| |
These days it looks like more and more monks and nuns go on tudong |
| |
to indulge in a bit of sensual enjoyment and adventure rather than to really benefit their own spiritual training. |
| |
If you do go, then really make a sincere effort to use the dhutanga practices to wear away the defilements. |
| |
Even if you stay in the monastery, you can take up these dhutanga practices. |
| |
These days, what they call âtudongâ tends to be more a time for |
| |
seeking excitement and stimulation than training with the thirteen dhutanga practices. |
| |
If you go off like that you are just lying to yourself when you call it âtudongâ. |
| |
Itâs an imaginary tudong. |
| |
Tudong can actually be something that supports and enhances your meditation. |
| |
When you go you should really do it. |
| |
Contemplate what is the true purpose and meaning of going on tudong. |
| |
If you do go, I encourage you to use the experience as an opportunity to learn and further your meditation, |
| |
not just waste time. |
| |
I wonât let monks go off if they are not yet ready for it, |
| |
but if someone is sincere and seriously interested in the practice, |
| |
I wonât stop them. |
| |
When you are planning to go off, itâs worth asking yourself these questions and reflecting on them first. |
| |
Staying up in the mountains can be a useful experience; I used to do it myself. |
| |
In those days I would have to get up really early in the morning |
| |
because the houses where I went on almsround were such a long way away. |
| |
I might have to go up and down an entire mountain and sometimes |
| |
the walk was so long and arduous that I wouldnât be able to get |
| |
there and back in time to eat the meal at my camp before midday. |
| |
If you compare it with the way things are these days, |
| |
you can see that maybe itâs not actually necessary to go to such lengths and put yourself through so much hardship. |
| |
It might actually be more beneficial to go on almsround to one of the villages near to the monastery here, |
| |
return to eat the meal and have lots of energy left in reserve to put forth effort in the formal practice. |
| |
Thatâs if youâre training yourself sincerely, |
| |
but if youâre just into taking it easy and like to go straight back to your hut for a sleep after the meal, |
| |
that isnât the correct way to go it. |
| |
In the days when I was on tudong, I might have to leave my camp |
| |
at the crack of dawn and use up much of my energy just in the |
| |
walk across the mountains - even then I might be so pushed for |
| |
time Iâd have to eat my meal in the middle of the forest somewhere before getting back. |
| |
Reflecting on it now, I wonder if itâs worth putting oneself to all that bother. |
| |
It might be better to find a place to practise where the alms route to the local village is not too long or difficult, |
| |
which would allow you to save your energy for formal meditation. |
| |
By the time you have cleaned up and are back at your hut ready to continue meditating, |
| |
that monk up in the mountains would still be stuck out in the forest without even having begun to eat his meal. |
| |
Views on the best way of practice can differ. |
| |
Sometimes, you actually have to experience some suffering before |
| |
you can have insight into suffering and know it for what it is. |
| |
Tudong can have its advantages, and I neither criticize those |
| |
who stay in the monastery nor those who go off on tudong - if their aim is to progress in training themselves. |
| |
I donât praise monks just because they stay in the monastery, |
| |
nor do I praise monks simply because they go off on tudong either. |
| |
Those who really deserve praise are the ones with right view. |
| |
If you stay in the monastery, it should be for cultivating the mind. |
| |
If you go off, it should be for cultivating the mind. |
| |
The meditation and training goes wrong when you go off with the group of friends you are attached to, |
| |
only interested in having a good time together and getting involved in foolish pursuits. |
| |
Questions and Answers |
| |
What do you have to say about the way of training? |
| |
What do you think about what I have been saying? |
| |
What do you think youâll decide to do in the future then? |
| |
A bhikkhu: Iâd like to ask for some teaching about the suitability |
| |
of different meditation objects for different temperaments. |
| |
For a long time now Iâve tried calming the mind by focusing attention |
| |
on the breathing in conjunction with reciting the meditation word Buddho, |
| |
but I have never become very peaceful. |
| |
Iâve tried contemplating death, but that hasnât helped calm the mind down. |
| |
Reflecting on the five aggregates (khandha) hasnât worked either. |
| |
So Iâve finally exhausted all my wisdom. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: Just let go! |
| |
If youâve exhausted all your wisdom, you must let go. |
| |
A bhikkhu: As soon as I begin to experience a little bit of calm during sitting meditation, |
| |
a multitude of memories and thoughts immediately spring up and disturb the mind. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: Thatâs just the point. |
| |
Itâs uncertain. |
| |
Teach yourself that itâs not certain. |
| |
Sustain this reflection on impermanence as you meditate. |
| |
Every single sense object and mental state you experience is impermanent without exception. |
| |
Keep this reflection present in the mind constantly. |
| |
In the course of meditation, reflect that the distracted mind is uncertain. |
| |
When the mind does become calm with samÄdhi, |
| |
itâs uncertain just the same. |
| |
The reflection on impermanence is the thing you should really hold on to. |
| |
You donât need to give too much importance to anything else. |
| |
Donât get involved with the things that arise in the mind. |
| |
Let go. |
| |
Even if you are peaceful, you donât need to think too much about it. |
| |
Donât take it too seriously. |
| |
Donât take it too seriously if youâre not peaceful either. |
| |
ViññÄnam aniccam - have you ever read that anywhere? |
| |
It means sense consciousness is impermanent. |
| |
Have you ever heard that before? |
| |
How should you train yourself in relation to this truth? |
| |
How should you contemplate when you find that both peaceful and agitated mind states are transient? |
| |
The important thing is to sustain awareness of the way things are. |
| |
In other words, know that both the calm mind and the distracted mind are uncertain. |
| |
Once you know this, how will you view things? |
| |
Once this understanding is implanted in the mind, |
| |
whenever you experience peaceful states you know that they are |
| |
transient and when you experience agitated states you know that they are transient also. |
| |
Do you know how to meditate with this kind of awareness and insight? |
| |
A bhikkhu: I donât know. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: Investigate impermanence. |
| |
How many days can those tranquil mental states really last? |
| |
Sitting meditation with a distracted mind is uncertain. |
| |
When the meditation brings good results and the mind enters a state of calm, |
| |
thatâs also uncertain. |
| |
This is where insight comes. |
| |
What is there left for you to attach to? |
| |
Keep following up on whatâs happening in the mind. |
| |
As you investigate, keep questioning and prodding, |
| |
probing deeper and deeper into the nature of impermanence. |
| |
Sustain your mindfulness right at this point - you donât have to go anywhere else. |
| |
In no time at all, the mind will calm down just as you want it to. |
| |
The reason practising with the meditation word âBuddhoâ doesnât make the mind peaceful, |
| |
or practising mindfulness of breathing doesnât make the mind peaceful, |
| |
is because you are attaching to the distracted mind. |
| |
When reciting âBuddhoâ or concentrating on the breath and the mind still hasnât calmed down, |
| |
reflect on uncertainty and donât get too involved with whether the state of mind is peaceful or not. |
| |
Even if you enter a state of calm, donât get too involved with it, |
| |
because it can delude you and cause you to attach too much meaning and importance to that state. |
| |
You have to use some wisdom when dealing with the deluded mind. |
| |
When it is calm you simply acknowledge the fact and take it as |
| |
a sign that the meditation is going in the right direction. |
| |
If the mind isnât calm you simply acknowledge the reality that the mind is confused and distracted, |
| |
but thereâs nothing to be gained from refusing to accept the truth and trying to struggle against it. |
| |
When the mind is peaceful you can be aware that it is peaceful, |
| |
but remind yourself that any peaceful state is uncertain. |
| |
When the mind is distracted, you observe the lack of peace and |
| |
know that it is just that - the distracted state of mind is equally as prone to change as a peaceful one. |
| |
If you have established this kind of insight, |
| |
the attachment to the sense of self collapses as soon as you begin to confront it and investigate. |
| |
When the mind is agitated, the moment you begin to reflect on the uncertainty of that state, |
| |
the sense of self, blown up out of attachment, |
| |
begins to deflate. |
| |
It tilts to one side like an inflatable boat that has been punctured. |
| |
As the air rushes out of the boat, it starts to capsize and similarly the sense of self collapses. |
| |
Try it out for yourself. |
| |
The trouble is that usually you fail to catch your deluded thinking fast enough. |
| |
As it arises, the sense of self immediately forms around the mental agitation, |
| |
but as soon as you reflect on its changing nature the attachment collapses. |
| |
Try looking at this for yourself. |
| |
Keep questioning and examining deeper and deeper into the nature of attachment. |
| |
Normally, you fail to stop and question the agitation in the mind. |
| |
But you must be patient and feel your way. |
| |
Let the agitated proliferation run its course, |
| |
and then slowly continue to feel your way. |
| |
You are more used to not examining it, |
| |
so you must be determined to focus attention on it; be firm and donât give it any space to stay in the mind. |
| |
But when I give talks, you usually burst out complaining in frustration: |
| |
âAll this old Ajahn ever talks about is impermanence and the changing nature of things.â |
| |
From the first moment you canât stand hearing it and just want to flee somewhere else. |
| |
âLuang Por only has one teaching. |
| |
that everything is uncertain.â |
| |
If you are truly fed up with this teaching, |
| |
you should go off and pursue your meditation until you develop |
| |
enough insight to bring some real confidence and certainty to your mind. |
| |
Go ahead and give it a go. |
| |
In no time at all you will probably be back here again! |
| |
So try to commit these teachings to memory and store them in your heart. |
| |
Then go ahead and try out wandering about on tudong. |
| |
If you donât come to understand and see the truth in the way Iâve explained, |
| |
youâll find little peace. |
| |
Wherever you are, you wonât be at ease within yourself. |
| |
You wonât be able to find anywhere that you can really meditate at all. |
| |
I agree that doing a lot of formal meditation to develop samÄdhi is a good thing. |
| |
Are you familiar with the terms ceto-vimutti and paññÄ-vimutti? |
| |
Do you understand the meaning of them? |
| |
Vimutti means liberation from the mental taints (ÄsavÄ). |
| |
There are two ways the mind can gain liberation: ceto-vimutti |
| |
refers to liberation that comes after samÄdhi has been developed and perfected to its most powerful and refined level. |
| |
The practitioner first develops the ability to suppress the defilements |
| |
completely through the power of samÄdhi and then turns to the development of insight to finally gain liberation. |
| |
PaññÄ-vimutti means release from the outflows where the practitioner |
| |
develops samÄdhi to a level where the mind is completely one-pointed and firm enough to support and sustain insight, |
| |
which then takes the lead in cutting through the defilements. |
| |
These two kinds of liberation are comparable to different kinds of trees. |
| |
Some species of trees grow and flourish with frequent watering, |
| |
but others can die if you give them too much water. |
| |
With those trees you only need to give them small amounts of water, |
| |
just enough to keep them going. |
| |
Some species of pine are like that: if you over-water them they just die. |
| |
You only need to give them a little water once in a while. |
| |
Strange, isnât it? |
| |
Look at this pine tree. |
| |
It appears so dry and parched that you wonder how it manages to grow. |
| |
Think about it. |
| |
Where does it get the water it needs to survive and produce those big, |
| |
lush branches? |
| |
Other kinds of trees would need much more water to grow to a similar size. |
| |
Then there are those kinds of plants that they put in pots and |
| |
hang up in different places with the roots dangling in mid-air. |
| |
Youâd think they would just die, but very quickly the leaves grow longer and longer with hardly any water at all. |
| |
If they were just the ordinary kind of plants that grow on the ground, |
| |
they would probably just shrivel up. |
| |
Itâs the same with these two kinds of release. |
| |
Do you see it? |
| |
It is just that they naturally differ in this way. |
| |
Vimutti means liberation. |
| |
Ceto-vimutti is liberation that comes from the strength of mind that has been trained in samÄdhi to the maximum level. |
| |
Itâs like those trees that need lots of water to flourish. |
| |
The other kinds of trees only need a small amount of water. |
| |
With too much water they just die. |
| |
Itâs their nature to grow and thrive requiring only small amounts of water. |
| |
So the Buddha taught that there are two kinds of liberation from the defilements, |
| |
ceto-vimutti and paññÄ-vimutti. |
| |
To gain liberation, it requires both wisdom and the power of samÄdhi. |
| |
Is there any difference between samÄdhi and wisdom? |
| |
A bhikkhu: No. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: Why do they give them different names? |
| |
Why is there this split between ceto-vimutti and paññÄ-vimutti? |
| |
A bhikkhu: Itâs just a verbal distinction. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: Thatâs right. |
| |
Do you see it? |
| |
If you donât see this, you can very easily go running around |
| |
labelling and making such distinctions and even get so carried away that you start to lose your grip on reality. |
| |
Actually though, each of these two kinds of liberation does have a slightly different emphasis. |
| |
It wouldnât be correct to say that they were exactly the same, |
| |
but they arenât two different things either. |
| |
Am I correct if I answer in this way? |
| |
I will say that these two things are neither exactly the same, |
| |
nor different. |
| |
This is the way I answer the question. |
| |
You must take what I have said away with you and reflect on it. |
| |
Talking about the speed and fluency of mindfulness makes me think |
| |
of the time I was wandering alone and having come across an old abandoned monastery in the course of my travels, |
| |
set up my umbrella and mosquito net to camp there and practise meditation for a few days. |
| |
In the grounds of the monastery there were many fruit trees, |
| |
the branches of which were laden with ripe fruit. |
| |
I really wanted to eat some but I didnât dare to because I was |
| |
afraid that the trees were the property of the monastery and I hadnât received permission to take any. |
| |
Later on a villager came by with a basket and seeing that I was staying there, |
| |
asked me for permission to pick the fruit. |
| |
Perhaps they asked me because they thought I was the owner of the trees. |
| |
Reflecting on it, I saw that I had no real authority to give them permission to take the fruit, |
| |
but that if I forbade them they would criticize me as being |
| |
possessive and stingy with the monasteryâs fruit trees - either way there would be some harmful results. |
| |
So I replied to the layperson: âEven though Iâm staying in this monastery, |
| |
Iâm not the owner of the trees. |
| |
I understand you want some of the fruit. |
| |
I wonât forbid you from taking any, but I wonât give you permission either. |
| |
So itâs up to you.â |
| |
Thatâs all it needed: they didnât take any! |
| |
Speaking in this way was actually quite useful; I didnât forbid them, |
| |
but I didnât give them permission either, |
| |
so there was no sense of being burdened by the matter. |
| |
This was the wise way to deal with such a situation - I was able to keep one step ahead of them. |
| |
Speaking that way produced good results then and itâs still a useful way of speaking to this day. |
| |
Sometimes if you speak to people in this unusual manner itâs enough to make them wary of doing something wrong. |
| |
What do they mean by temperament (carita)? |
| |
A bhikkhu: Temperament? |
| |
Iâm not sure how to answer that. |
| |
Ajahn Chah: The mind is one thing, temperament is another and the wisdom faculty another. |
| |
So how do you train with this? |
| |
Contemplate them. |
| |
How do they talk about them? |
| |
There is the person of lustful temperament, |
| |
hateful temperament, deluded temperament, |
| |
intelligent temperament and so on. |
| |
Temperament is determined by those mental states within which the mind attaches and conceals itself most often. |
| |
For some people itâs lust, for others itâs aversion. |
| |
Actually, these are all just verbal descriptions of the characteristics of the mind, |
| |
but they can be clearly distinguished from each other. |
| |
So youâve been a monk for six years already. |
| |
Youâve probably been running after your thoughts and moods long |
| |
enough - youâve already been chasing them for many years. |
| |
There are quite a few monks who want to go and live alone and Iâve got nothing against it. |
| |
If you want to live alone then give it a go. |
| |
If youâre living in a community, stick with it. |
| |
Neither is wrong - if you donât reflect in the wrong way. |
| |
If you are living alone and caught into wrong thinking, |
| |
that will prevent you benefiting from the experience. |
| |
The most appropriate kind of place for practising meditation is somewhere quiet and peaceful. |
| |
But when a suitably peaceful place is not available, |
| |
if you are not careful your meditation practice will just die. |
| |
Youâll find yourself in trouble. |
| |
So be careful not to scatter your energy and awareness by seeking out too many different teachers, |
| |
different techniques or places to meditate. |
| |
Gather together your thoughts and focus your energy. |
| |
Turn attention inwards and sustain awareness on the mind itself. |
| |
Use these teachings to observe and investigate the mind over a long period of time. |
| |
Donât discard them; keep them with you as a subject for reflection. |
| |
Look at what Iâve been saying about all conditioned things being subject to change. |
| |
Impermanence is something to investigate over time. |
| |
It wonât take long before you gain clear insight into it. |
| |
One teaching a senior monk gave me when I was new to meditation |
| |
that has stuck with me is simply to go ahead and train the mind. |
| |
The important thing is not to get caught up in doubting. |
| |
Thatâs enough for now. |
| |
1: Generally the monks living in the village and city monasteries |
| |
in Thailand will spend more time studying the PÄli language and |
| |
the Buddhist scriptures than training in the rules of discipline or meditation, |
| |
which is more emphasized in the forest tradition. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Some of us start to practise, and even after a year or two, |
| |
still donât know whatâs what. |
| |
We are still unsure of the practice. |
| |
When weâre still unsure, we donât see that everything around us is purely Dhamma, |
| |
and so we turn to teachings from the Ajahns. |
| |
But actually, when we know our own mind, |
| |
when there is sati to look closely at the mind, |
| |
there is wisdom. |
| |
All times and all places become occasions for us to hear the Dhamma. |
| |
We can learn Dhamma from nature, from trees for example. |
| |
A tree is born due to causes and it grows following the course of nature. |
| |
Right here the tree is teaching us Dhamma, |
| |
but we donât understand this. |
| |
In due course, it grows and grows until it buds, |
| |
flowers and fruit appear. |
| |
All we see is the appearance of the flowers and fruit; weâre unable to bring this within and contemplate it. |
| |
Thus we donât know that the tree is teaching us Dhamma. |
| |
The fruit appears and we merely eat it without investigating: sweet, |
| |
sour or salty, itâs the nature of the fruit. |
| |
And this is Dhamma, the teaching of the fruit. |
| |
The leaves then grow old. |
| |
They wither, die and then fall from the tree. |
| |
All we see is that the leaves have fallen down. |
| |
We step on them, we sweep them up, thatâs all. |
| |
We donât investigate thoroughly, so we donât know that nature is teaching us. |
| |
Later on the new leaves sprout, and we merely see that, |
| |
without taking it further. |
| |
We donât bring these things into our minds to contemplate. |
| |
If we can bring all this inwards and investigate it, |
| |
we will see that the birth of a tree and our own birth are no different. |
| |
This body of ours is born and exists dependent on conditions, |
| |
on the elements of earth, water, wind and fire. |
| |
It has its food, it grows and grows. |
| |
Every part of the body changes and flows according to its nature. |
| |
Itâs no different from the tree; hair, |
| |
nails, teeth and skin all change. |
| |
If we know the things of nature, then we will know ourselves. |
| |
People are born. |
| |
In the end they die. |
| |
Having died they are born again. |
| |
Nails, teeth and skin are constantly dying and regrowing. |
| |
If we understand the practice then we can see that a tree is no different from ourselves. |
| |
If we understand the teaching of the Ajahns, |
| |
then we realize that the outside and the inside are comparable. |
| |
Things which have consciousness and those without consciousness do not differ. |
| |
They are the same. |
| |
And if we understand this sameness, then when we see the nature of a tree, |
| |
for example, we will know that itâs no different from our own five khandhÄ - body, |
| |
feeling, memory, thinking and consciousness. |
| |
If we have this understanding then we understand Dhamma. |
| |
If we understand Dhamma we understand the five khandhÄ, |
| |
how they constantly shift and change, |
| |
never stopping. |
| |
So whether standing, walking, sitting or lying we should have sati to watch over and look after the mind. |
| |
When we see external things itâs like seeing internal ones. |
| |
When we see internals itâs the same as seeing externals. |
| |
If we understand this we can hear the teaching of the Buddha. |
| |
If we understand this, we can say that âBuddha-natureâ, |
| |
the âone who knowsâ, has been established. |
| |
It knows the external. |
| |
It knows the internal. |
| |
It understands all things which arise. |
| |
When we understand like this, then sitting at the foot of a tree, |
| |
we hear the Buddhaâs teaching. |
| |
Standing, walking, sitting or lying, we hear the Buddhaâs teaching. |
| |
Seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking, |
| |
we hear the Buddhaâs teaching. |
| |
The Buddha is just this âone who knowsâ within this very mind. |
| |
It knows the Dhamma, it investigates the Dhamma. |
| |
Itâs not that the Buddha who lived so long ago comes to talk to us, |
| |
but this Buddha-nature, the âone who knowsâ arises. |
| |
The mind becomes illuminated. |
| |
If we establish the Buddha within our mind then we see everything, |
| |
we contemplate everything, as no different from ourselves. |
| |
We see the different animals, trees, mountains and vines as no different from ourselves. |
| |
We see poor people and rich people - theyâre no different from us. |
| |
Black people and white people - no different! |
| |
They all have the same characteristics. |
| |
One who understands like this is content wherever he is. |
| |
He listens to the Buddhaâs teaching at all times. |
| |
If we donât understand this, then even if we spend all our time listening to teachings from the Ajahns, |
| |
we still wonât understand their meaning. |
| |
The Buddha said that enlightenment of the Dhamma is just knowing nature,1 the reality which is all around us, |
| |
the nature which is right here. |
| |
If we donât understand this nature we experience disappointment and joy, |
| |
we get lost in moods, giving rise to sorrow and regret. |
| |
Getting lost in mental objects is getting lost in nature. |
| |
When we get lost in nature then we donât know Dhamma. |
| |
The Enlightened One merely pointed out this nature. |
| |
Having arisen, all things change and die. |
| |
Things we make, such as plates, bowls and dishes, |
| |
all have the same characteristic. |
| |
A bowl is moulded into being due to a cause, |
| |
manâs impulse to create, and as we use it, |
| |
it gets old, breaks up and disappears. |
| |
Trees, mountains and vines are the same, |
| |
right up to animals and people. |
| |
When AĂ±Ă±Ä Kondañña, the first disciple, |
| |
heard the Buddhaâs teaching for the first time, |
| |
the realization he had was nothing very complicated. |
| |
He simply saw that whatever thing is born, |
| |
that thing must change and grow old as a natural condition and eventually it must die. |
| |
AĂ±Ă±Ä Kondañña had never thought of this before, |
| |
or if he had it wasnât thoroughly clear, |
| |
so he hadnât yet let go, he still clung to the khandhÄ. |
| |
As he sat mindfully listening to the Buddhaâs discourse, |
| |
Buddha-nature arose in him. |
| |
He received a sort of Dhamma âtransmissionâ which was the knowledge that all conditioned things are impermanent. |
| |
Anything which is born must have ageing and death as a natural result. |
| |
This feeling was different from anything heâd ever known before. |
| |
He truly realized his mind, and so âBuddhaâ arose within him. |
| |
At that time the Buddha declared that AĂ±Ă±Ä Kondañña had received the âEye of Dhammaâ. |
| |
What is it that this Eye of Dhamma sees? |
| |
This Eye sees that whatever is born has ageing and death as a natural result. |
| |
âWhatever is bornâ means everything! |
| |
Whether material or immaterial, it all comes under this âwhatever is bornâ. |
| |
It refers to all of nature. |
| |
Like this body for instance - itâs born and then proceeds to extinction. |
| |
When itâs small it âdiesâ from smallness to youth. |
| |
After a while it âdiesâ from youth and becomes middle-aged. |
| |
Then it goes on to âdieâ from middle-age and reaches old-age, |
| |
then finally reaches the end. |
| |
Trees, mountains and vines all have this characteristic. |
| |
So the vision or understanding of the âone who knowsâ clearly entered the mind of AĂ±Ă±Ä Kondañña as he sat there. |
| |
This knowledge of âwhatever is bornâ became deeply embedded in his mind, |
| |
enabling him to uproot attachment to the body. |
| |
This attachment was sakkÄya-ditthi. |
| |
This means that he didnât take the body to be a self or a being, |
| |
he didnât see it in terms of âheâ or âmeâ. |
| |
He didnât cling to it. |
| |
He saw it clearly, thus uprooting sakkÄya-ditthi. |
| |
And then vicikicchÄ (doubt) was destroyed. |
| |
Having uprooted attachment to the body he didnât doubt his realization. |
| |
SÄ«labbata parÄmÄsa2 was also uprooted. |
| |
His practice became firm and straight. |
| |
Even if his body was in pain or fever he didnât grasp it, |
| |
he didnât doubt. |
| |
He didnât doubt, because he had uprooted clinging. |
| |
This grasping of the body is called sÄ«labbata parÄmÄsa. |
| |
When one uproots the view of the body being âthe selfâ, |
| |
grasping and doubt are finished with. |
| |
When this view of the body as âthe selfâ arises within the mind, |
| |
grasping and doubt begin right there. |
| |
So as the Buddha expounded the Dhamma, |
| |
AĂ±Ă±Ä Kondañña opened the Eye of Dhamma. |
| |
This Eye is just the âone who knows clearlyâ. |
| |
It sees things differently. |
| |
It sees this very nature. |
| |
Seeing nature clearly, clinging is uprooted and the âone who knowsâ is born. |
| |
Previously he knew but he still had clinging. |
| |
You could say that he knew the Dhamma but he still hadnât seen it, |
| |
or he had seen the Dhamma but still wasnât one with it. |
| |
At this time the Buddha said, âKondañña knows.â |
| |
What did he know? |
| |
He knew nature. |
| |
Usually we get lost in nature, as with this body of ours. |
| |
Earth, water, fire and wind come together to make this body. |
| |
Itâs an aspect of nature, a material object we can see with the eye. |
| |
It exists depending on food, growing and changing until finally it reaches extinction. |
| |
Coming inwards, that which watches over the body is consciousness - just this âone who knowsâ, |
| |
this single awareness. |
| |
If it receives through the eye itâs called seeing. |
| |
If it receives through the ear itâs called hearing; through the nose itâs called smelling; through the tongue, |
| |
tasting; through the body, touching; and through the mind, |
| |
thinking. |
| |
This consciousness is just one but when it functions at different places we call it different things. |
| |
Through the eye we call it one thing, |
| |
through the ear we call it another. |
| |
But whether it functions at the eye, ear, |
| |
nose, tongue, body or mind itâs just one awareness. |
| |
Following the scriptures we call it the six consciousnesses, |
| |
but in reality there is only one consciousness arising at these six different bases. |
| |
There are six âdoorsâ but a single awareness, |
| |
which is this very mind. |
| |
This mind is capable of knowing the truth of nature. |
| |
If the mind still has obstructions, then we say it knows through ignorance. |
| |
It knows wrongly and it sees wrongly. |
| |
Knowing wrongly and seeing wrongly, or knowing and seeing rightly, |
| |
is just a single awareness. |
| |
We call it wrong view and right view but itâs just one thing. |
| |
Right and wrong both arise from this one place. |
| |
When there is wrong knowledge we say that ignorance conceals the truth. |
| |
When there is wrong knowledge then there is wrong view, |
| |
wrong intention, wrong action, wrong livelihood - everything is wrong! |
| |
And on the other hand the path of right practice is born in this same place. |
| |
When there is right then the wrong disappears. |
| |
The Buddha practised enduring many hardships and torturing himself with fasting and so on, |
| |
but he investigated deeply into his mind until finally he uprooted ignorance. |
| |
All the Buddhas were enlightened in mind, |
| |
because the body knows nothing. |
| |
You can let it eat or not, it doesnât matter, |
| |
it can die at any time. |
| |
The Buddhas all practised with the mind. |
| |
They were enlightened in mind. |
| |
The Buddha, having contemplated his mind, |
| |
gave up the two extremes of practice - indulgence in pleasure |
| |
and indulgence in pain - and in his first discourse expounded the Middle Way between these two. |
| |
But we hear his teaching and it grates against our desires. |
| |
Weâre infatuated with pleasure and comfort, |
| |
infatuated with happiness, thinking we are good, |
| |
we are fine - this is indulgence in pleasure. |
| |
Itâs not the right path. |
| |
Dissatisfaction, displeasure, dislike and anger - this is indulgence in pain. |
| |
These are the extreme ways which one on the path of practice should avoid. |
| |
These âwaysâ are simply the happiness and unhappiness which arise. |
| |
The âone on the pathâ is this very mind, |
| |
the âone who knowsâ. |
| |
If a good mood arises we cling to it as good, |
| |
this is indulgence in pleasure. |
| |
If an unpleasant mood arises we cling to it through dislike - this is indulgence in pain. |
| |
These are the wrong paths, they arenât the ways of a meditator. |
| |
Theyâre the ways of the worldly, those who look for fun and happiness and shun unpleasantness and suffering. |
| |
The wise know the wrong paths but they relinquish them, |
| |
they give them up. |
| |
They are unmoved by pleasure and pain, |
| |
happiness and suffering. |
| |
These things arise but those who know donât cling to them, |
| |
they let them go according to their nature. |
| |
This is right view. |
| |
When one knows this fully there is liberation. |
| |
Happiness and unhappiness have no meaning for an Enlightened One. |
| |
The Buddha said that the Enlightened Ones were far from defilements. |
| |
This doesnât mean that they ran away from defilements, |
| |
they didnât run away anywhere. |
| |
Defilements were there. |
| |
He compared it to a lotus leaf in a pond of water. |
| |
The leaf and the water exist together, |
| |
they are in contact, but the leaf doesnât become damp. |
| |
The water is like defilements and the lotus leaf is the enlightened mind. |
| |
The mind of one who practises is the same; it doesnât run away anywhere, |
| |
it stays right there. |
| |
Good, evil, happiness and unhappiness, |
| |
right and wrong arise, and he knows them all. |
| |
The meditator simply knows them, they donât enter his mind. |
| |
That is, he has no clinging. |
| |
He is simply the experiencer. |
| |
To say he simply experiences is our common language. |
| |
In the language of Dhamma we say he lets his mind follow the Middle Way. |
| |
These activities of happiness, unhappiness and so on are constantly |
| |
arising because they are characteristics of the world. |
| |
The Buddha was enlightened in the world, |
| |
he contemplated the world. |
| |
If he hadnât contemplated the world, if he hadnât seen the world, |
| |
he couldnât have risen above it. |
| |
The Buddhaâs enlightenment was simply enlightenment of this very world. |
| |
The world was still there: gain and loss, |
| |
praise and criticism, fame and disrepute, |
| |
happiness and unhappiness were all still there. |
| |
If there werenât these things there would be nothing to become enlightened to! |
| |
What he knew was just the world, that which surrounds the hearts of people. |
| |
If people follow these things, seeking praise and fame, |
| |
gain and happiness, and trying to avoid their opposites, |
| |
they sink under the weight of the world. |
| |
Gain and loss, praise and criticism, fame and disrepute, |
| |
happiness and unhappiness - this is the world. |
| |
The person who is lost in the world has no path of escape, |
| |
the world overwhelms him. |
| |
This world follows the Law of Dhamma so we call it worldly dhamma. |
| |
He who lives within the worldly dhamma is called a worldly being. |
| |
He lives surrounded by confusion. |
| |
Therefore the Buddha taught us to develop the path. |
| |
We can divide it up into morality, concentration and wisdom. |
| |
One should develop them to completion. |
| |
This is the path of practice which destroys the world. |
| |
Where is this world? |
| |
It is just in the minds of beings infatuated with it! |
| |
The action of clinging to praise, gain, |
| |
fame, happiness and unhappiness is called âthe worldâ. |
| |
When these things are there in the mind, |
| |
then the world arises, the worldly being is born. |
| |
The world is born because of desire. |
| |
Desire is the birthplace of all worlds. |
| |
To put an end to desire is to put an end to the world. |
| |
Our practice of morality, concentration and wisdom is otherwise called the eightfold path. |
| |
This eightfold path and the eight worldly dhammas are a pair. |
| |
How is it that they are a pair? |
| |
If we speak according to the scriptures, |
| |
we say that gain and loss, praise and criticism, |
| |
fame and disrepute, happiness and unhappiness are the eight worldly dhammas. |
| |
Right view, right intention, right speech, |
| |
right action, right livelihood, right effort, |
| |
right mindfulness and right concentration: this is the eightfold path. |
| |
These two eightfold ways exist in the same place. |
| |
The eight worldly dhammas are right here in this very mind, |
| |
with the âone who knowsâ; but this âone who knowsâ has obstructions, |
| |
so it knows wrongly and thus becomes the world. |
| |
Itâs just this one âone who knowsâ, no other. |
| |
The Buddha-nature has not yet arisen in this mind, |
| |
it has not yet extracted itself from the world. |
| |
The mind like this is the world. |
| |
When we practise the path, when we train our body and speech, |
| |
itâs all done in that very same mind. |
| |
Itâs in the same place so they see each other; the path sees the world. |
| |
If we practise with this mind of ours we encounter this clinging to praise, |
| |
fame, pleasure and happiness, we see the attachment to the world. |
| |
The Buddha said, âYou should know the world. |
| |
It dazzles like a kingâs royal carriage. |
| |
Fools are entranced, but the wise are not deceived.â |
| |
Itâs not that he wanted us to go all over the world looking at everything, |
| |
studying everything about it. |
| |
He simply wanted us to watch this mind which attaches to the world. |
| |
When the Buddha told us to look at the world he didnât want us to get stuck in it, |
| |
he wanted us to investigate it, because the world is born just in this mind. |
| |
Sitting in the shade of a tree you can look at the world. |
| |
When there is desire the world comes into being right there. |
| |
Wanting is the birth place of the world. |
| |
To extinguish wanting is to extinguish the world. |
| |
When we sit in meditation we want the mind to become peaceful, |
| |
but itâs not peaceful. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
We donât want to think but we think. |
| |
Itâs like a person who goes to sit on an antsâ nest: the ants just keep on biting him. |
| |
When the mind is the world then even sitting still with our eyes closed, |
| |
all we see is the world. |
| |
Pleasure, sorrow, anxiety, confusion - it all arises. |
| |
Why is this? |
| |
Itâs because we still havenât realized Dhamma. |
| |
If the mind is like this the meditator canât endure the worldly dhammas, |
| |
he doesnât investigate. |
| |
Itâs just the same as if he were sitting on an antsâ nest. |
| |
The ants are going to bite because heâs right on their home! |
| |
So what should he do? |
| |
He should look for some poison or use fire to drive them out. |
| |
But most Dhamma practitioners donât see it like that. |
| |
If they feel content they just follow contentment, |
| |
feeling discontent they just follow that. |
| |
Following the worldly dhammas the mind becomes the world. |
| |
Sometimes we may think, âOh, I canât do it, |
| |
itâs beyond me,â so we donât even try. |
| |
This is because the mind is full of defilements; the worldly dhammas prevent the path from arising. |
| |
We canât endure in the development of morality, |
| |
concentration and wisdom. |
| |
Itâs just like that man sitting on the antsâ nest. |
| |
He canât do anything, the ants are biting and crawling all over him, |
| |
heâs immersed in confusion and agitation. |
| |
He canât rid his sitting place of the danger, |
| |
so he just sits there, suffering. |
| |
So it is with our practice. |
| |
The worldly dhammas exist in the minds of worldly beings. |
| |
When those beings wish to find peace the worldly dhammas arise right there. |
| |
When the mind is ignorant there is only darkness. |
| |
When knowledge arises the mind is illumined, |
| |
because ignorance and knowledge are born in the same place. |
| |
When ignorance has arisen, knowledge canât enter, |
| |
because the mind has accepted ignorance. |
| |
When knowledge has arisen, ignorance can not stay. |
| |
So the Buddha exhorted his disciples to practise with the mind, |
| |
because the world is born in this mind, |
| |
the eight worldly dhammas are there. |
| |
The eightfold path, that is, investigation through calm and insight meditation, |
| |
our diligent effort and the wisdom we develop, |
| |
all these things loosen the grip of the world. |
| |
Attachment, aversion and delusion become lighter, |
| |
and being lighter, we know them as such. |
| |
If we experience fame, material gain, |
| |
praise, happiness or suffering weâre aware of it. |
| |
We must know these things before we can transcend the world, |
| |
because the world is within us. |
| |
When weâre free of these things itâs just like leaving a house. |
| |
When we enter a house what sort of feeling do we have? |
| |
We feel that weâve come through the door and entered the house. |
| |
When we leave the house we feel that weâve left it, |
| |
we come into the bright sunlight, itâs not dark like it was inside. |
| |
The action of the mind entering the worldly dhammas is like entering the house. |
| |
The mind which has destroyed the worldly dhammas is like one who has left the house. |
| |
So the Dhamma practitioner must become one who witnesses the Dhamma for himself. |
| |
He knows for himself whether the worldly dhammas have left or not, |
| |
whether or not the path has been developed. |
| |
When the path has been well developed it purges the worldly dhammas. |
| |
It becomes stronger and stronger. |
| |
Right view grows as wrong view decreases, |
| |
until finally the path destroys defilements - either that or defilements will destroy the path! |
| |
Right view and wrong view, there are only these two ways. |
| |
Wrong view has its tricks as well, you know. |
| |
It has its wisdom - but itâs wisdom thatâs misguided. |
| |
The meditator who begins to develop the path experiences a separation. |
| |
Eventually itâs as if he is two people: one in the world and the other on the path. |
| |
They divide, they pull apart. |
| |
Whenever heâs investigating thereâs this separation, |
| |
and it continues on and on until the mind reaches insight, |
| |
vipassanÄ. |
| |
Or maybe itâs vipassanĆ«! |
| |
Having tried to establish wholesome results in our practice, |
| |
seeing them, we attach to them. |
| |
This type of clinging comes from our wanting to get something from the practice. |
| |
This is vipassanĆ«, the wisdom of defilements (i.e. âdefiled wisdomâ). |
| |
Some people develop goodness and cling to it, |
| |
they develop purity and cling to that, |
| |
or they develop knowledge and cling to that. |
| |
The action of clinging to that goodness or knowledge is vipassanƫ, |
| |
infiltrating our practice. |
| |
So when you develop vipassanÄ, be careful! |
| |
Watch out for vipassanĆ«, because theyâre so close that sometimes you canât tell them apart. |
| |
But with right view we can see them both clearly. |
| |
If itâs vipassanĆ« there will be suffering arising at times as a result. |
| |
If itâs really vipassanÄ thereâs no suffering. |
| |
There is peace. |
| |
Both happiness and unhappiness are silenced. |
| |
This you can see for yourself. |
| |
This practice requires endurance. |
| |
Some people, when they come to practise, |
| |
donât want to be bothered by anything, |
| |
they donât want friction. |
| |
But thereâs friction the same as before. |
| |
We must try to find an end to friction through friction itself. |
| |
So, if thereâs friction in your practice, |
| |
then itâs right. |
| |
If thereâs no friction itâs not right, |
| |
you just eat and sleep as much as you want. |
| |
When you want to go anywhere or say anything, |
| |
you just follow your desires. |
| |
The teaching of the Buddha grates. |
| |
The supramundane goes against the worldly. |
| |
Right view opposes wrong view, purity opposes impurity. |
| |
The teaching grates against our desires. |
| |
Thereâs a story in the scriptures about the Buddha, |
| |
before he was enlightened. |
| |
At that time, having received a plate of rice, |
| |
he floated that plate on a stream of water, |
| |
determining in his mind, âIf I am to be enlightened, |
| |
may this plate float against the current of the water.â |
| |
The plate floated upstream! |
| |
That plate was the Buddhaâs right view, |
| |
or the Buddha-nature that he became awakened to. |
| |
It didnât follow the desires of ordinary beings. |
| |
It floated against the flow of his mind, |
| |
it was contrary in every way. |
| |
These days, in the same way, the Buddhaâs teaching is contrary to our hearts. |
| |
People want to indulge in greed and hatred but the Buddha wonât let them. |
| |
They want to be deluded but the Buddha destroys delusion. |
| |
So the mind of the Buddha is contrary to that of worldly beings. |
| |
The world calls the body beautiful, he says itâs not beautiful. |
| |
They say the body belongs to us, he says not so. |
| |
They say itâs substantial, he says itâs not. |
| |
Right view is above the world. |
| |
Worldly beings merely follow the flow of the stream. |
| |
Continuing on, when the Buddha rose from that spot, |
| |
he received eight handfuls of grass from a Brahmin. |
| |
The real meaning of this is that the eight handfuls of grass were the eight worldly dhammas - gain and loss, |
| |
praise and criticism, fame and disrepute, |
| |
happiness and unhappiness. |
| |
The Buddha, having received this grass, |
| |
determined to sit on it and enter samÄdhi. |
| |
The action of sitting on the grass was itself samÄdhi, |
| |
that is, his mind was above the worldly dhammas, |
| |
subduing the world until it realized the transcendent. |
| |
The worldly dhammas became like refuse for him, |
| |
they lost all meaning. |
| |
He sat over them but they didnât obstruct his mind in any way. |
| |
Demons came to try to overcome him, but he just sat there in samÄdhi, |
| |
subduing the world, until finally he became enlightened to the Dhamma and completely defeated MÄra. |
| |
That is, he defeated the world. |
| |
So the practice of developing the path is that which kills defilements. |
| |
People these days have little faith. |
| |
Having practised a year or two they want to get there, |
| |
and they want to go fast. |
| |
They donât consider that the Buddha, our teacher, |
| |
had left home a full six years before he became enlightened. |
| |
This is why we have âfreedom from dependenceâ.3 According to the scriptures, |
| |
a monk must have at least five Rains4 before he is considered able to live on his own. |
| |
By this time he has studied and practised sufficiently, |
| |
he has adequate knowledge, he has faith, |
| |
his conduct is good. |
| |
I say someone who practises for five years is competent. |
| |
But he must really practise, not just âhanging outâ in the robes for five years. |
| |
He must really look after the practice, |
| |
really do it. |
| |
Until you reach five Rains you may wonder, |
| |
âWhat is this âfreedom from dependenceâ that the Buddha talked about?â |
| |
You must really try to practise for five years and then youâll know for yourself the qualities he was referring to. |
| |
After that time you should be competent, |
| |
competent in mind, one who is certain. |
| |
At the very least, after five Rains, one should be at the first stage of enlightenment. |
| |
This is not just five Rains in body but five Rains in mind as well. |
| |
That monk has fear of blame, a sense of shame and modesty. |
| |
He doesnât dare to do wrong either in front of people or behind their backs, |
| |
in the light or in the dark. |
| |
Why not? |
| |
Because he has reached the Buddha, âthe one who knowsâ. |
| |
He takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. |
| |
To depend truly on the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha we must see the Buddha. |
| |
What use would it be to take refuge without knowing the Buddha? |
| |
If we donât yet know the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, |
| |
our taking refuge in them is just an act of body and speech, |
| |
the mind still hasnât reached them. |
| |
Once the mind reaches them we know what the Buddha, |
| |
the Dhamma and the Sangha are like. |
| |
Then we can really take refuge in them, |
| |
because these things arise in our minds. |
| |
Wherever we are we will have the Buddha, |
| |
the Dhamma and the Sangha within us. |
| |
One who is like this doesnât dare to commit evil acts. |
| |
This is why we say that one who has reached the first stage of |
| |
enlightenment will no longer be born in the woeful states. |
| |
His mind is certain, he has entered the Stream, |
| |
there is no doubt for him. |
| |
If he doesnât reach full enlightenment today it will certainly be some time in the future. |
| |
He may do wrong but not enough to send him to Hell, |
| |
that is, he doesnât regress to evil bodily and verbal actions, |
| |
he is incapable of it. |
| |
So we say that person has entered the Noble Birth. |
| |
He can not return. |
| |
This is something you should see and know for yourselves in this very life. |
| |
These days, those of us who still have doubts about the practice hear these things and say, |
| |
âOh, how can I do that?â |
| |
Sometimes we feel happy, sometimes troubled, |
| |
pleased or displeased. |
| |
For what reason? |
| |
Because we donât know Dhamma. |
| |
What Dhamma? |
| |
Just the Dhamma of nature, the reality around us, |
| |
the body and the mind. |
| |
The Buddha said, âDonât cling to the five khandhÄ, |
| |
let them go, give them up!â |
| |
Why canât we let them go? |
| |
Because we donât see them or know them fully. |
| |
We see them as ourselves, we see ourselves in the khandhÄ. |
| |
We see happiness and suffering as ourselves, |
| |
we see ourselves in happiness and suffering. |
| |
We canât separate ourselves from them. |
| |
That means we canât see Dhamma, we canât see nature. |
| |
Happiness, unhappiness, pleasure and sadness - none of them is us but we take them to be so. |
| |
These things come into contact with us and we see a lump of attÄ, |
| |
or self. |
| |
Wherever there is self, there you will find happiness, |
| |
unhappiness and everything else. |
| |
So the Buddha said to destroy this âlumpâ of self, |
| |
that is to destroy sakkÄya-ditthi. |
| |
When attÄ (self) is destroyed, anattÄ (non-self) naturally arises. |
| |
We take nature to be us and ourselves to be nature, |
| |
so we donât know nature truly. |
| |
If itâs good we laugh with it, if itâs bad we cry over it. |
| |
But nature is simply sankhÄrÄ. |
| |
As we say in the chanting, âTesam vĆ«pasamo sukhoâ - pacifying the sankhÄrÄ is real happiness. |
| |
How do we pacify them? |
| |
We simply remove clinging and see them as they really are. |
| |
So there is truth in this world. |
| |
Trees, mountains and vines all live according to their own truth, |
| |
they are born and die following their nature. |
| |
Itâs just we people who arenât true. |
| |
We see it and make a fuss over it, but nature is impassive, |
| |
it just is as it is. |
| |
We laugh, we cry, we kill, but nature remains in truth, |
| |
it is truth. |
| |
No matter how happy or sad we are, this body just follows its own nature. |
| |
Itâs born, it grows up and ages, changing and getting older all the time. |
| |
It follows nature in this way. |
| |
Whoever takes the body to be himself and carries it around with him will suffer. |
| |
So AĂ±Ă±Ä Kondañña recognized this âwhatever is bornâ in everything, |
| |
be it material or immaterial. |
| |
His view of the world changed. |
| |
He saw the truth. |
| |
Having got up from his sitting place he took that truth with him. |
| |
The activity of birth and death continued but he simply looked on. |
| |
Happiness and unhappiness were arising and passing away but he merely noted them. |
| |
His mind was constant. |
| |
He no longer fell into the woeful states. |
| |
He didnât get over-pleased or unduly upset about these things. |
| |
His mind was firmly established in the activity of contemplation. |
| |
There! |
| |
AĂ±Ă±Ä Kondañña had received the Eye of Dhamma. |
| |
He saw nature, which we call sankhÄrÄ, |
| |
according to truth. |
| |
Wisdom is that which knows the truth of sankhÄrÄ. |
| |
This is the mind which knows and sees Dhamma, |
| |
the mind which has surrendered. |
| |
Until we have seen the Dhamma we must have patience and restraint. |
| |
We must endure, we must renounce! |
| |
We must cultivate diligence and endurance. |
| |
Why must we cultivate diligence? |
| |
Because weâre lazy! |
| |
Why must we develop endurance? |
| |
Because we donât endure! |
| |
Thatâs the way it is. |
| |
But when we are already established in our practice, |
| |
have finished with laziness, then we donât need to use diligence. |
| |
If we already know the truth of all mental states, |
| |
if we donât get happy or unhappy over them, |
| |
we donât need to exercise endurance, |
| |
because the mind is already Dhamma. |
| |
The âone who knowsâ has seen the Dhamma, |
| |
he is the Dhamma. |
| |
When the mind is Dhamma, it stops. |
| |
It has attained peace. |
| |
Thereâs no longer a need to do anything special, |
| |
because the mind is Dhamma already. |
| |
The outside is Dhamma, the inside is Dhamma. |
| |
The âone who knowsâ is Dhamma. |
| |
The state is Dhamma and that which knows the state is Dhamma. |
| |
It is one. |
| |
It is free. |
| |
This nature is not born, it does not age nor sicken. |
| |
This nature does not die. |
| |
This nature is neither happy nor sad, |
| |
neither big nor small, heavy nor light; neither short nor long, |
| |
black nor white. |
| |
Thereâs nothing you can compare it to. |
| |
No convention can reach it. |
| |
This is why we say NibbÄna has no colour. |
| |
All colours are merely conventions. |
| |
The state which is beyond the world is beyond the reach of worldly conventions. |
| |
So the Dhamma is that which is beyond the world. |
| |
It is that which each person should see for himself. |
| |
It is beyond language. |
| |
You canât put it into words, you can only talk about ways and means of realizing it. |
| |
The person who has seen it for himself has finished his work. |
| |
1: Nature here refers to all things, mental and physical, |
| |
not just trees, animals etc. |
| |
2: SÄ«labbata parÄmÄsa is traditionally translated as attachment to rites and rituals. |
| |
Here the Venerable Ajahn relates it, along with doubt, |
| |
specifically to the body. |
| |
These three things, sakkÄya-ditthi, vicikicchÄ, |
| |
and sÄ«labbata parÄmÄsa, are the first three of ten âfettersâ which are given up on the first glimpse of Enlightenment, |
| |
known as âStream Entryâ. |
| |
At full Enlightenment all ten âfettersâ are transcended. |
| |
3: âRainsâ refers to the yearly three-month Rains Retreat by which monks count their age; thus, |
| |
a monk of five Rains has been ordained for five years. |
| |
4: âRainsâ refers to the yearly three-month Rains Retreat by which monks count their age; thus, |
| |
a monk of five Rains has been ordained for five years. |
| |
* * * |
| |
Today I will give a teaching particularly for you as monks and novices, |
| |
so please determine your hearts and minds to listen. |
| |
There is nothing else for us to talk about other than the practice of the Dhamma-Vinaya. |
| |
Every one of you should clearly understand that now you have |
| |
been ordained as Buddhist monks and novices and should be conducting yourselves appropriately. |
| |
We have all experienced the lay life, |
| |
which is characterized by confusion and a lack of formal Dhamma practice; now, |
| |
having taken up the form of a Buddhist âsamanaâ, |
| |
some fundamental changes have to take place in our minds so that we differ from laypeople in the way we think. |
| |
We must try to make all of our speech and actions - eating and drinking, |
| |
moving around, coming and going - befitting for one who has been ordained as a spiritual seeker, |
| |
who the Buddha referred to as a âsamanaâ. |
| |
What he meant was someone who is calm and restrained. |
| |
Formerly, as laypeople, we didnât understand what it meant to be a samana, |
| |
to have a sense of peacefulness and restraint. |
| |
We gave full licence to our bodies and minds to have fun and games under the influence of craving and defilement. |
| |
When we experienced pleasant Ärammana, |
| |
these would put us into a good mood, |
| |
unpleasant mind-objects would put us into a bad one - this is |
| |
the way it is when we are caught in the power of mind-objects. |
| |
The Buddha said that those who are still under the sway of mind-objects arenât looking after themselves. |
| |
They are without a refuge, a true abiding place, |
| |
and so they let their minds follow moods of sensual indulgence and pleasure-seeking and get caught into suffering, |
| |
sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair. |
| |
They donât know how or when to stop and reflect upon their experience. |
| |
In Buddhism, once we have received ordination and taken up the life of the samana, |
| |
we have to adjust our physical appearance in accordance with the external form of the samana: we shave our heads, |
| |
trim our nails and don the brown bhikkhusâ robes - the banner of the Noble Ones: the Buddha and the Arahants. |
| |
We are indebted to the Buddha for the wholesome foundations he established and handed down to us, |
| |
which allow us to live as monks and find adequate support. |
| |
Our lodgings were built and offered as a result of the wholesome |
| |
actions of those with faith in the Buddha and his teachings. |
| |
We do not have to prepare our food because we are benefiting from the roots laid down by the Buddha. |
| |
Similarly, we have inherited the medicines, |
| |
robes and all the other requisites that we use from the Buddha. |
| |
Once ordained as Buddhist monastics, on the conventional level |
| |
we are called monks and given the title âVenerableâ;1 but simply |
| |
having taken on the external appearance of monks does not make us truly venerable. |
| |
Being monks on the conventional level means we are monks as far as our physical appearance goes. |
| |
Simply by shaving our heads and putting on brown robes we are called âVenerableâ, |
| |
but that which is truly worthy of veneration has not yet arisen within us - we are still only âVenerableâ in name. |
| |
Itâs the same as when they mould cement or cast brass into a Buddha image. |
| |
They call it a Buddha, but it isnât really that. |
| |
Itâs just metal, wood, wax or stone. |
| |
Thatâs the way conventional reality is. |
| |
Itâs the same for us. |
| |
Once we have been ordained, we are given the title Venerable Bhikkhu, |
| |
but that alone doesnât make us venerable. |
| |
On the level of ultimate reality - in other words, |
| |
in the mind - the term still doesnât apply. |
| |
Our minds and hearts have still not been fully perfected through the practice with such qualities as mettÄ, |
| |
karunÄ, muditÄ, and upekkhÄ. |
| |
We havenât reached full purity within. |
| |
Greed, hatred and delusion are still barring the way, |
| |
not allowing that which is worthy of veneration to arise. |
| |
Our practice is to begin destroying greed, |
| |
hatred and delusion - defilements which for the most part can be found within each and every one of us. |
| |
These are what hold us in the round of becoming and birth and prevent us from achieving peace of mind. |
| |
Greed, hatred and delusion prevent the samana - peacefulness - from arising within us. |
| |
As long as this peace does not arise, |
| |
we are still not samana; in other words, |
| |
our hearts have not experienced the peace that is free from the influence of greed, |
| |
hatred and delusion. |
| |
This is why we practise - with the intention of expunging greed, |
| |
hatred and delusion from our hearts. |
| |
It is only when these defilements have been removed that we can reach purity, |
| |
that which is truly venerable. |
| |
Internalising that which is venerable within your heart doesnât involve working only with the mind, |
| |
but your body and speech as well. |
| |
They have to work together. |
| |
Before you can practise with your body and speech, |
| |
you must be practising with your mind. |
| |
However, if you simply practise with the mind, |
| |
neglecting body and speech, that wonât work either. |
| |
They are inseparable. |
| |
Practising with the mind until itâs smooth, |
| |
refined and beautiful is similar to producing a finished wooden |
| |
pillar or plank: before you can obtain a pillar that is smooth, |
| |
varnished and attractive, you must first go and cut a tree down. |
| |
Then you must cut off the rough parts - the roots and branches - before you split it, |
| |
saw it and work it. |
| |
Practising with the mind is the same as working with the tree; you have to work with the coarse things first. |
| |
You have to destroy the rough parts. |
| |
You have to destroy the roots, destroy the bark and everything which is unattractive, |
| |
in order to obtain that which is attractive and pleasing to the eye. |
| |
You have to work through the rough to reach the smooth. |
| |
Dhamma practice is just the same. |
| |
You aim to pacify and purify the mind, |
| |
but itâs difficult to do. |
| |
You have to begin practising with externals - body and speech |
| |
- working your way inwards until you reach that which is smooth, |
| |
shining and beautiful. |
| |
You can compare it with a finished piece of furniture, |
| |
such as these tables and chairs. |
| |
They may be attractive now, but once they were just rough bits of wood with branches and leaves, |
| |
which had to be planed and worked with. |
| |
This is the way you obtain furniture that is beautiful or a mind that is perfect and pure. |
| |
Therefore the right path to peace, the path the Buddha laid down, |
| |
which leads to peace of mind and the pacification of the defilements, |
| |
is sÄ«la, samÄdhi and paññÄ. |
| |
This is the path of practice. |
| |
It is the path that leads you to purity and leads you to realize and embody the qualities of the samana. |
| |
It is the way to the complete abandonment of greed, |
| |
hatred and delusion. |
| |
The practice does not differ from this whether you view it internally or externally. |
| |
This way of training and maturing the mind - which involves chanting, |
| |
meditation, Dhamma talks and all the other parts of the practice |
| |
- forces you to go against the grain of the defilements. |
| |
You have to go against the tendencies of the mind, |
| |
because normally we like to take things easy, |
| |
to be lazy and to avoid anything which causes us friction or involves suffering and difficulty. |
| |
The mind simply doesnât want to make the effort or get involved. |
| |
This is why you have to be ready to endure hardship and bring forth effort in the practice. |
| |
You have to use the Dhamma of endurance and really struggle. |
| |
Previously your bodies were simply vehicles for having fun, |
| |
and having built up all sorts of unskilful habits itâs difficult for you to start practising with them. |
| |
Before, you didnât restrain your speech, |
| |
so now itâs hard to start restraining it. |
| |
But as with that wood, it doesnât matter how troublesome or hard it seems. |
| |
Before you can make it into tables and chairs, |
| |
you have to encounter some difficulty. |
| |
Thatâs not the important thing; itâs just something you have to experience along the way. |
| |
You have to work through the rough wood to produce the finished pieces of furniture. |
| |
The Buddha taught that this is the way the practice is for all of us. |
| |
All of his disciples who had finished their work and become fully enlightened, |
| |
had, (when they first came to take ordination and practise with him) previously been puthujjana. |
| |
They had all been ordinary unenlightened beings like ourselves, |
| |
with arms and legs, eyes and ears, greed and anger - just the same as us. |
| |
They didnât have any special characteristics that made them particularly different from us. |
| |
This was how both the Buddha and his disciples had been in the beginning. |
| |
They practised and brought forth enlightenment from the unenlightened, |
| |
beauty from ugliness and great benefit from that which was virtually useless. |
| |
This work has continued through successive generations right up to the present day. |
| |
It is the children of ordinary people - farmers, |
| |
traders and businessmen - who, having previously been entangled in the sensual pleasures of the world, |
| |
go forth to take ordination. |
| |
Those monks at the time of the Buddha were able to practise and train themselves, |
| |
and you must understand that you have the same potential. |
| |
You are made up of the five khandhÄ, just the same. |
| |
You also have a body, pleasant and unpleasant feelings, |
| |
memory and perception, thought formations and consciousness - as well as a wandering and proliferating mind. |
| |
You can be aware of good and evil. |
| |
Everythingâs just the same. |
| |
In the end, that combination of physical and mental phenomena present in each of you, |
| |
as separate individuals, differs little from that found in those |
| |
monastics who practised and became enlightened under the Buddha. |
| |
They had all started out as ordinary, |
| |
unenlightened beings. |
| |
Some had even been gangsters and delinquents, |
| |
while others were from good backgrounds. |
| |
They were no different from us. |
| |
The Buddha inspired them to go forth and practise for the attainment of magga (the Noble Path) and phala (fruition), |
| |
and these days, in similar fashion, |
| |
people like yourselves are inspired to take up the practice of sīla, |
| |
samÄdhi and paññÄ. |
| |
SÄ«la, samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä are the names given to the different aspects of the practice. |
| |
When you practise sÄ«la, samÄdhi and paññÄ, |
| |
it means you practise with yourselves. |
| |
Right practice takes place here within you. |
| |
Right sÄ«la exists here, right samÄdhi exists here. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because your body is right here. |
| |
The practice of sīla involves every part of the body. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to be careful of all our physical actions. |
| |
Your body exists here! |
| |
You have hands, you have legs right here. |
| |
This is where you practise sīla. |
| |
Whether your actions will be in accordance with sīla and Dhamma depends on how you train your body. |
| |
Practising with your speech means being aware of the things you say. |
| |
It includes avoiding wrong kinds of speech, |
| |
namely divisive speech, coarse speech and unnecessary or frivolous speech. |
| |
Wrong bodily actions include killing living beings, |
| |
stealing and sexual misconduct. |
| |
Itâs easy to reel off the list of wrong kinds of behaviour as found in the books, |
| |
but the important thing to understand is that the potential for them all lies within us. |
| |
Your body and speech are with you right here and now. |
| |
You practise moral restraint, which means taking care to avoid the unskilful actions of killing, |
| |
stealing and sexual misconduct. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to take care with our actions from the very coarsest level. |
| |
In lay life you might not have had very refined moral conduct and frequently transgressed the precepts. |
| |
For instance, in the past you may have killed animals or insects by smashing them with an axe or a fist, |
| |
or perhaps you didnât take much care with your speech: false |
| |
speech means lying or exaggerating the truth; coarse speech means |
| |
you are constantly being abusive or rude to others - âyou scum,â |
| |
âyou idiot,â and so on; frivolous speech means aimless chatter, |
| |
foolishly rambling on without purpose or substance. |
| |
Weâve indulged in it all. |
| |
No restraint! |
| |
In short, keeping sīla means watching over yourself, |
| |
watching over your actions and speech. |
| |
So who will do the watching over? |
| |
Who will take responsibility for your actions? |
| |
When you kill an animal, who is the one who knows? |
| |
Is your hand the one who knows, or is it someone else? |
| |
When you steal someone elseâs property, |
| |
who is aware of the act? |
| |
Is your hand the one who knows? |
| |
This is where you have to develop awareness. |
| |
Before you commit some act of sexual misconduct, |
| |
where is your awareness? |
| |
Is your body the one who knows? |
| |
Who is the one who knows before you lie, |
| |
swear or say something frivolous? |
| |
Is your mouth aware of what it says, or is the one who knows in the words themselves? |
| |
Contemplate this: whoever it is who knows is the one who has to take responsibility for your sīla. |
| |
Bring that awareness to watch over your actions and speech. |
| |
That knowing, that awareness is what you use to watch over your practice. |
| |
To keep sīla, you use that part of the mind which directs your actions and which leads you to do good and bad. |
| |
You catch the villain and transform him into a sheriff or a mayor. |
| |
Take hold of the wayward mind and bring it to serve and take responsibility for all your actions and speech. |
| |
Look at this and contemplate it. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to take care with our actions. |
| |
Who is it who does the taking care? |
| |
The body doesnât know anything; it just stands, |
| |
walks around and so on. |
| |
The hands are the same; they donât know anything. |
| |
Before they touch or take hold of anything, |
| |
there has to be someone who gives them orders. |
| |
As they pick things up and put them down there has to be someone telling them what to do. |
| |
The hands themselves arenât aware of anything; there has to be someone giving them orders. |
| |
The mouth is the same - whatever it says, |
| |
whether it tells the truth or lies, |
| |
is rude or divisive, there must be someone telling it what to say. |
| |
The practice involves establishing sati, |
| |
mindfulness, within this âone who knowsâ. |
| |
The âone who knowsâ is that intention of mind, |
| |
which previously motivated us to kill living beings, |
| |
steal other peopleâs property, indulge in illicit sex, |
| |
lie, slander, say foolish and frivolous things and engage in all kinds of unrestrained behaviour. |
| |
The âone who knowsâ led us to speak. |
| |
It exists within the mind. |
| |
Focus your mindfulness or sati - that constant recollectedness - on this âone who knowsâ. |
| |
Let the knowing look after your practice. |
| |
In practice, the most basic guidelines for moral conduct stipulated by the Buddha were: to kill is evil, |
| |
a transgression of sīla; stealing is a transgression; sexual |
| |
misconduct is a transgression; lying is a transgression; vulgar and frivolous speech are all transgressions of sīla. |
| |
Commit all this to memory. |
| |
Itâs the code of moral discipline, as laid down by the Buddha, |
| |
which encourages you to be careful of that one inside of you |
| |
who was responsible for previous transgressions of the moral precepts. |
| |
That one, who was responsible for giving the orders to kill or hurt others, |
| |
to steal, to have illicit sex, to say untrue or unskilful things |
| |
and to be unrestrained in all sorts of ways - singing and dancing, |
| |
partying and fooling around. |
| |
The one who was giving the orders to indulge in all these sorts |
| |
of behaviour is the one you bring to look after the mind. |
| |
Use sati or awareness to keep the mind recollecting in the present moment and maintain mental composure in this way. |
| |
Make the mind look after itself. |
| |
Do it well. |
| |
If the mind is really able to look after itself, |
| |
it is not so difficult to guard speech and actions, |
| |
since they are all supervised by the mind. |
| |
Keeping sīla - in other words taking care of your actions and speech - is not such a difficult thing. |
| |
You sustain awareness at every moment and in every posture, |
| |
whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down. |
| |
Before you perform any action, speak or engage in conversation, |
| |
establish awareness first - donât act or speak first, |
| |
establish mindfulness first and then act or speak. |
| |
You must have sati, be recollecting, before you do anything. |
| |
It doesnât matter what you are going to say, |
| |
you must first be recollecting in the mind. |
| |
Practise like this until you are fluent. |
| |
Practise so that you can keep abreast of whatâs going on in the |
| |
mind to the point where mindfulness becomes effortless and you are mindful before you act, |
| |
mindful before you speak. |
| |
This is the way you establish mindfulness in the heart. |
| |
It is with the âone who knowsâ that you look after yourself, |
| |
because all your actions spring from here. |
| |
This is where the intentions for all your actions originate and |
| |
this is why the practice wonât work if you try to bring in someone else to do the job. |
| |
The mind has to look after itself; if it canât take care of itself, |
| |
nothing else can. |
| |
This is why the Buddha taught that keeping sīla is not that difficult, |
| |
because it simply means looking after your own mind. |
| |
If mindfulness is fully established, whenever you say or do something harmful to yourself or others, |
| |
you will know straight away. |
| |
You know that which is right and that which is wrong. |
| |
This is the way you keep sīla. |
| |
You practise with your body and speech from the most basic level. |
| |
By guarding your speech and actions they become graceful and pleasing to the eye and ear, |
| |
while you yourself remain comfortable and at ease within the restraint. |
| |
All your behaviour, manners, movements and speech become beautiful, |
| |
because you are taking care to reflect upon, |
| |
adjust and correct your behaviour. |
| |
You can compare this with your dwelling place or the meditation hall. |
| |
If you are regularly cleaning and looking after your dwelling place, |
| |
then both the interior and the area around it will be pleasant to look at, |
| |
rather than a messy eyesore. |
| |
This is because there is someone looking after it. |
| |
Your actions and speech are similar. |
| |
If you are taking care with them, they become beautiful, |
| |
and that which is evil or dirty will be prevented from arising. |
| |
ÄdikalyÄna, majjhekalyÄna, pariyosÄnakalyÄna: beautiful in the beginning, |
| |
beautiful in the middle and beautiful in the end; or harmonious in the beginning, |
| |
harmonious in the middle and harmonious in the end. |
| |
What does that mean? |
| |
Precisely that the practice of sÄ«la, samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä is beautiful. |
| |
The practice is beautiful in the beginning. |
| |
If the beginning is beautiful, it follows that the middle will be beautiful. |
| |
If you practise mindfulness and restraint until it becomes comfortable |
| |
and natural to you - so that there is a constant vigilance - |
| |
the mind will become firm and resolute in the practice of sīla and restraint. |
| |
It will be consistently paying attention to the practice and thus become concentrated. |
| |
That characteristic of being firm and unshakeable in the monastic form and discipline, |
| |
and unwavering in the practice of mindfulness and restraint can be referred to as samÄdhi. |
| |
That aspect of the practice characterized by a continuous restraint, |
| |
where you are consistently taking care with your actions and |
| |
speech and taking responsibility for all your external behaviour, |
| |
is referred to as sīla. |
| |
The characteristic of being unwavering in the practice of mindfulness and restraint is called samÄdhi. |
| |
The mind is firmly concentrated in this practice of sīla and restraint. |
| |
Being firmly concentrated in the practice of sīla means that |
| |
there is an evenness and consistency to the practice of mindfulness and restraint. |
| |
These are the external characteristics of samÄdhi used in the practice for keeping sÄ«la. |
| |
However, it also has an inner, deeper side to it. |
| |
It is essential that you develop and maintain sÄ«la and samÄdhi |
| |
from the beginning - you have to do this before anything else. |
| |
Once the mind is determined in the practice and sÄ«la and samÄdhi are firmly established, |
| |
you will be able to investigate and reflect on that which is |
| |
wholesome and unwholesome - asking yourself âIs this right?â |
| |
âIs that wrong?â |
| |
- as you experience different mind-objects. |
| |
When the mind makes contact with different sights, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations or ideas, |
| |
the âone who knowsâ will arise and establish awareness of liking and disliking, |
| |
happiness and suffering and the different kinds of mind-objects that you experience. |
| |
You will come to see clearly, and see many different things. |
| |
If you are mindful, you will see the different objects which |
| |
pass into the mind and the reaction which takes place upon experiencing them. |
| |
The âone who knowsâ will automatically take them up as objects for contemplation. |
| |
Once the mind is vigilant and mindfulness is firmly established, |
| |
you will note all the reactions displayed through either body, |
| |
speech or mind, as mind-objects are experienced. |
| |
That aspect of the mind which identifies and selects the good from the bad, |
| |
the right from the wrong, from amongst all the mind-objects within your field of awareness, |
| |
is paññÄ. |
| |
This is paĂ±Ă±Ä in its initial stages and it matures as a result of the practice. |
| |
All these different aspects of the practice arise from within the mind. |
| |
The Buddha referred to these characteristics as sīla, |
| |
samÄdhi and paññÄ. |
| |
This is the way they are, as practised in the beginning. |
| |
As you continue the practice, fresh attachments and new kinds of delusion begin to arise in the mind. |
| |
This means you start clinging to that which is good or wholesome. |
| |
You become fearful of any blemishes or faults in the mind, |
| |
anxious that your samÄdhi will be harmed by them. |
| |
At the same time you begin to be diligent and hard working, |
| |
and to love and nurture the practice. |
| |
Whenever the mind makes contact with mind-objects, |
| |
you become fearful and tense. |
| |
You become aware of other peopleâs faults as well, |
| |
even the slightest things they do wrong. |
| |
Itâs because you are concerned for your practice. |
| |
This is practising sÄ«la, samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä on one level - on |
| |
the outside - based on the fact that you have established your |
| |
views in accordance with the form and foundations of practice laid down by the Buddha. |
| |
Indeed, these are the roots of the practice and it is essential to have them established in the mind. |
| |
You continue to practise like this as much as possible, |
| |
until you might even reach the point where you are constantly judging and picking fault with everyone you meet, |
| |
wherever you go. |
| |
You are constantly reacting with attraction and aversion to the world around you, |
| |
becoming full of all kinds of uncertainty and continually attaching to views of the right and wrong way to practise. |
| |
Itâs as if you have become obsessed with the practice. |
| |
But you donât have to worry about this yet - at that point itâs better to practise too much than too little. |
| |
Practise a lot and dedicate yourself to looking after body, |
| |
speech and mind. |
| |
You can never really do too much of this. |
| |
This is said to be practising sīla on one level; in fact, |
| |
sÄ«la, samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä are all in there together. |
| |
If you were to describe the practice of sīla at this stage, |
| |
in terms of pÄramÄ«, it would be dÄna pÄramÄ«, |
| |
or sÄ«la pÄramÄ« (the spiritual perfection of moral restraint). |
| |
This is the practice on one level. |
| |
Having developed this much, you can go deeper in the practice |
| |
to the more profound level of dÄna upapÄramÄ«2 and sÄ«la upapÄramÄ«. |
| |
These arise out of the same spiritual qualities, |
| |
but the mind is practising on a more refined level. |
| |
You simply concentrate and focus your efforts to obtain the refined from the coarse. |
| |
Once you have gained this foundation in your practice, |
| |
there will be a strong sense of shame and fear of wrongdoing established in the heart. |
| |
Whatever the time or place - in public or in private - this fear of wrongdoing will always be in the mind. |
| |
You become really afraid of any wrongdoing. |
| |
This is a quality of mind that you maintain throughout every aspect of the practice. |
| |
The practice of mindfulness and restraint with body, |
| |
speech and mind, and the consistent distinguishing between right and wrong is what you hold as the object of mind. |
| |
You become concentrated in this way and by firmly and unshakeably attaching to this way of practice, |
| |
the mind actually becomes sÄ«la, samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä - the characteristics |
| |
of the practice as described in the conventional teachings. |
| |
As you continue to develop and maintain the practice, |
| |
these different characteristics and qualities are perfected together in the mind. |
| |
However, practising sÄ«la, samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä at this level is |
| |
still not enough to produce the factors of jhÄna - the practice is still too coarse. |
| |
Still, the mind is already quite refined - on the refined side of coarse! |
| |
For an ordinary unenlightened person who has not been looking |
| |
after the mind or practised much meditation and mindfulness, |
| |
just this much is already something quite refined. |
| |
Itâs like to a poor person - owning two or three pounds can mean a lot, |
| |
though for a millionaire itâs almost nothing. |
| |
This is the way it is. |
| |
A few quid is a lot when youâre down and out and hard up for cash, |
| |
and in the same way, even though in the early stages of the |
| |
practice you might still only be able to let go of the coarser defilements, |
| |
this can still seem quite profound to one who is unenlightened and has never practised or let go of defilements before. |
| |
At this level, you can feel a sense of satisfaction with being able to practise to the full extent of your ability. |
| |
This is something you will see for yourself; itâs something that |
| |
has to be experienced within the mind of the practitioner. |
| |
If this is so, it means that you are already on the path, |
| |
i.e. practising sÄ«la, samÄdhi and paññÄ. |
| |
These must be practised together; for if any are lacking, |
| |
the practice will not develop correctly. |
| |
The more your sīla improves, the firmer the mind becomes. |
| |
The firmer the mind is, the bolder paĂ±Ă±Ä becomes and so on, |
| |
each part of the practice supporting and enhancing all the others. |
| |
In the end, because the three aspects of the practice are so closely related to each other, |
| |
these terms virtually become synonymous. |
| |
When you are practising like this continuously, |
| |
without relaxing your effort, this is sammÄ patipadÄ (right practice). |
| |
If you are practising in this way, it means that you have entered upon the correct path of practice. |
| |
You are travelling along the very first stages of the path - |
| |
the coarsest level - which is something quite difficult to sustain. |
| |
As you deepen and refine the practice, |
| |
sÄ«la, samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä will mature together from the same place - they are refined down from the same raw material. |
| |
Itâs the same as our coconut palms. |
| |
The coconut palm absorbs the water from the earth and pulls it up through the trunk. |
| |
By the time the water reaches the coconut itself, |
| |
it has become clean and sweet, even though it is derived from that plain water in the ground. |
| |
The coconut palm is nourished by what are essentially the coarse earth and water elements, |
| |
which it absorbs and purifies, and these are transformed into something far sweeter and purer than before. |
| |
In the same way, the practice of sīla, |
| |
samÄdhi and paĂ±Ă±Ä - in other words magga - has coarse beginnings, |
| |
but, as a result of training and refining the mind through meditation and reflection, |
| |
it becomes increasingly subtle. |
| |
As the mind gradually becomes more refined, |
| |
the practice of mindfulness becomes more focused, |
| |
being concentrated on a more and more narrow area. |
| |
The practice actually becomes easier as the mind turns more and more inwards to focus on itself. |
| |
You no longer make big mistakes or go wildly wrong. |
| |
Now, whenever the mind is affected by a particular matter, |
| |
doubts will arise - such as whether acting or speaking in a certain way is right or wrong. |
| |
Simply keep halting the mental proliferation and, |
| |
through intensifying effort in the practice, |
| |
continue turning your attention deeper and deeper inside. |
| |
The practice of samÄdhi will become progressively firmer and more concentrated. |
| |
The practice of paĂ±Ă±Ä is then enhanced so that you can see things more clearly and with increasing ease. |
| |
The end result is that you are clearly able to see the mind and its objects, |
| |
without having to make any distinction between the mind, |
| |
body or speech. |
| |
You no longer have to separate anything at all - whether you |
| |
are talking about the mind and the body or the mind and its objects. |
| |
You see that it is the mind which gives orders to the body. |
| |
The body has to depend on the mind before it can function. |
| |
However, the mind itself is constantly subject to different objects |
| |
contacting and conditioning it before it can have any effect on the body. |
| |
As you continue to turn attention inwards and reflect on the Dhamma, |
| |
the wisdom faculty gradually matures, |
| |
and eventually you are left contemplating the mind and mind-objects |
| |
- which means that you start to experience the body, |
| |
rƫpadhamma (material), as arƫpadhamma (immaterial). |
| |
Through your insight, you are no longer groping at or uncertain in your understanding of the body and the way it is. |
| |
The mind experiences the bodyâs physical characteristics as arĆ«padhamma |
| |
- formless objects - which come into contact with the mind. |
| |
Ultimately, you are contemplating just the mind and mind-objects - those objects which come into your consciousness. |
| |
Now, examining the true nature of the mind, |
| |
you can observe that in its natural state, |
| |
it has no preoccupations or issues prevailing upon it. |
| |
Itâs like a piece of cloth or a flag that has been tied to the end of a pole. |
| |
As long as itâs on its own and undisturbed, |
| |
nothing will happen to it. |
| |
A leaf on a tree is another example - ordinarily it remains quiet and unperturbed. |
| |
If it moves or flutters this must be due to the wind, |
| |
an external force. |
| |
Normally, nothing much happens to leaves; they remain still. |
| |
They donât go looking to get involved with anything or anybody. |
| |
When they start to move, it must be due to the influence of something external, |
| |
such as the wind, which makes them swing back and forth. |
| |
In its natural state, the mind is the same; in it there exists no loving or hating, |
| |
nor does it seek to blame other people. |
| |
It is independent, existing in a state of purity that is truly clear, |
| |
radiant and untarnished. |
| |
In its pure state, the mind is peaceful, |
| |
without happiness or suffering; indeed it is not experiencing any vedanÄ (feeling) at all. |
| |
This is the true state of the mind. |
| |
The purpose of the practice, then, is to seek inwardly, |
| |
searching and investigating until you reach the original mind. |
| |
The original mind is also known as the pure mind. |
| |
The pure mind is the mind without attachment. |
| |
It doesnât get affected by mind-objects. |
| |
In other words, it doesnât chase after the different kinds of pleasant and unpleasant mind-objects. |
| |
Rather, the mind is in a state of continuous knowing and wakefulness - thoroughly mindful of all it is experiencing. |
| |
When the mind is like this, no pleasant or unpleasant mind-objects it experiences will be able to disturb it. |
| |
The mind doesnât âbecomeâ anything. |
| |
In other words, nothing can shake it. |
| |
Why? |
| |
Because there is awareness. |
| |
The mind knows itself as pure. |
| |
It has evolved its own, true independence; it has reached its original state. |
| |
How is it able to bring this original state into existence? |
| |
Through the faculty of mindfulness, wisely reflecting and seeing |
| |
that all things are merely conditions arising out of the influence of elements, |
| |
without any individual being controlling them. |
| |
This is how it is with the happiness and suffering we experience. |
| |
When these mental states arise, they are just âhappinessâ and âsufferingâ. |
| |
There is no owner of the happiness. |
| |
The mind is not the owner of the suffering - mental states do not belong to the mind. |
| |
Look at it for yourself. |
| |
In reality these are not affairs of the mind, |
| |
they are separate and distinct. |
| |
Happiness is just the state of happiness; suffering is just the state of suffering. |
| |
You are merely the knower of these. |
| |
In the past, because the roots of greed, |
| |
hatred and delusion already existed in the mind, |
| |
whenever you caught sight of the slightest pleasant or unpleasant mind-object, |
| |
the mind would react immediately - you would take hold of it and have to experience either happiness or suffering. |
| |
You would be continuously indulging in states of happiness and suffering. |
| |
Thatâs the way it is as long as the mind doesnât know itself - as long as itâs not bright and illuminated. |
| |
The mind is not free. |
| |
It is influenced by whatever mind-objects it experiences. |
| |
In other words, it is without a refuge, |
| |
unable to truly depend on itself. |
| |
You receive a pleasant mental impression and get into a good mood. |
| |
The mind forgets itself. |
| |
In contrast, the original mind is beyond good and bad. |
| |
This is the original nature of the mind. |
| |
If you feel happy over experiencing a pleasant mind-object, |
| |
that is delusion. |
| |
If you feel unhappy over experiencing an unpleasant mind-object, |
| |
that is delusion. |
| |
Unpleasant mind-objects make you suffer and pleasant ones make you happy - this is the world. |
| |
Mind-objects come with the world. |
| |
They are the world. |
| |
They give rise to happiness and suffering, |
| |
good and evil, and everything that is subject to impermanence and uncertainty. |
| |
When you separate from the original mind, |
| |
everything becomes uncertain - there is just unending birth and death, |
| |
uncertainty and apprehensiveness, suffering and hardship, |
| |
without any way of halting it or bringing it to cessation. |
| |
This is vatta. |
| |
Through wise reflection, you can see that you are subject to old habits and conditioning. |
| |
The mind itself is actually free, but you have to suffer because of your attachments. |
| |
Take, for example, praise and criticism. |
| |
Suppose other people say you are stupid; why does that cause you to suffer? |
| |
Itâs because you feel that you are being criticized. |
| |
You âpick upâ this bit of information and fill the mind with it. |
| |
The act of âpicking upâ, accumulating and receiving that knowledge without full mindfulness, |
| |
gives rise to an experience that is like stabbing yourself. |
| |
This is upÄdÄna. |
| |
Once you have been stabbed, there is bhava. |
| |
Bhava is the cause for jÄti (birth). |
| |
If you train yourself not to take any notice of or attach importance to some of the things other people say, |
| |
merely treating them as sounds contacting your ears, |
| |
there wonât be any strong reaction and you wonât have to suffer, |
| |
as nothing is created in the mind. |
| |
It would be like listening to a Cambodian scolding you - you would hear the sound of his speech, |
| |
but it would be just sound because you wouldnât understand the meaning of the words. |
| |
You wouldnât be aware that you were being told off. |
| |
The mind wouldnât receive that information, |
| |
it would merely hear the sound and remain at ease. |
| |
If anybody criticized you in a language that you didnât understand, |
| |
you would just hear the sound of their voice and remain unperturbed. |
| |
You wouldnât absorb the meaning of the words and be hurt over them. |
| |
Once you have practised with the mind to this point, |
| |
it becomes easier to know the arising and passing away of consciousness from moment to moment. |
| |
As you reflect like this, penetrating deeper and deeper inwards, |
| |
the mind becomes progressively more refined, |
| |
going beyond the coarser defilements. |
| |
SamÄdhi means the mind that is firmly concentrated, |
| |
and the more you practise the firmer the mind becomes. |
| |
The more firmly the mind is concentrated, |
| |
the more resolute in the practice it becomes. |
| |
The more you contemplate, the more confident you become. |
| |
The mind becomes truly stable - to the point where it canât be swayed by anything at all. |
| |
You are absolutely confident that no single mind-object has the power to shake it. |
| |
Mind-objects are mind-objects; the mind is the mind. |
| |
The mind experiences good and bad mental states, |
| |
happiness and suffering, because it is deluded by mind-objects. |
| |
If it isnât deluded by mind-objects, thereâs no suffering. |
| |
The undeluded mind canât be shaken. |
| |
This phenomenon is a state of awareness, |
| |
where all things and phenomena are viewed entirely as dhÄtu arising and passing away - just that much. |
| |
It might be possible to have this experience and yet still be unable to fully let go. |
| |
Whether you can or canât let go, donât let this bother you. |
| |
Before anything else, you must at least develop and sustain this level of awareness or fixed determination in the mind. |
| |
You have to keep applying the pressure and destroying defilements through determined effort, |
| |
penetrating deeper and deeper into the practice. |
| |
Having discerned the Dhamma in this way, |
| |
the mind will withdraw to a less intense level of practice, |
| |
which the Buddha and subsequent Buddhist scriptures describe as the Gotrabhƫ citta. |
| |
The Gotrabhƫ citta refers to the mind which has experienced going beyond the boundaries of the ordinary human mind. |
| |
It is the mind of the puthujjana (ordinary unenlightened individual) |
| |
breaking through into the realm of the ariyan (Noble One) - however, |
| |
this phenomena still takes place within the mind of the ordinary unenlightened individual like ourselves. |
| |
The Gotrabhƫ puggala is someone, who, |
| |
having progressed in their practice until they gain temporary experience of NibbÄna, |
| |
withdraws from it and continues practising on another level, |
| |
because they have not yet completely cut off all defilements. |
| |
Itâs like someone who is in the middle of stepping across a stream, |
| |
with one foot on the near bank, and the other on the far side. |
| |
They know for sure that there are two sides to the stream, |
| |
but are unable to cross over it completely and so step back. |
| |
The understanding that two sides to the stream exist is similar to that of the gotrabhƫ puggala or the Gotrabhƫ citta. |
| |
It means that you know the way to go beyond the defilements, |
| |
but are still unable to go there, and so step back. |
| |
Once you know for yourself that this state truly exists, |
| |
this knowledge remains with you constantly as you continue to practise meditation and develop your pÄramÄ«. |
| |
You are certain both of the goal and the most direct way to reach it. |
| |
Simply speaking, this state that has arisen is the mind itself. |
| |
If you contemplate according to the truth of the way things are, |
| |
you can see that there exists just one path and it is your duty to follow it. |
| |
It means that you know from the very beginning that mental states of happiness and suffering are not the path to follow. |
| |
This is something that you have to know for yourself - it is the truth of the way things are. |
| |
If you attach to happiness, you are off the path because attaching to happiness will cause suffering to arise. |
| |
If you attach to sadness, it can be a cause for suffering to arise. |
| |
You understand this - you are already mindful with right view, |
| |
but at the same time, are not yet able to fully let go of your attachments. |
| |
So what is the correct way to practise? |
| |
You must walk the middle path, which means keeping track of the various mental states of happiness and suffering, |
| |
while at the same time keeping them at a distance, |
| |
off to either side of you. |
| |
This is the correct way to practise; you maintain mindfulness and awareness even though you are still unable to let go. |
| |
Itâs the correct way, because whenever the mind attaches to states of happiness and suffering, |
| |
awareness of the attachment is always there. |
| |
This means that whenever the mind attaches to states of happiness, |
| |
you donât praise it or give value to it, |
| |
and whenever it attaches to states of suffering, |
| |
you donât criticize it. |
| |
This way you can actually observe the mind as it is. |
| |
Happiness is not right, suffering is not right. |
| |
There is the understanding that neither of these is the right path. |
| |
You are aware, awareness of them is sustained, |
| |
but still you canât fully abandon them. |
| |
You are unable to drop them, but you can be mindful of them. |
| |
With mindfulness established, you donât give undue value to happiness or suffering. |
| |
You donât give importance to either of those two directions which the mind can take, |
| |
and you hold no doubts about this; you know that following either of those ways is not the right path of practise, |
| |
so at all times you take this middle way of equanimity as the object of mind. |
| |
When you practise to the point where the mind goes beyond happiness and suffering, |
| |
equanimity will necessarily arise as the path to follow, |
| |
and you have to gradually move down it, |
| |
little by little. |
| |
The heart knows the way to go to be beyond defilements, |
| |
but, not yet being ready finally to transcend them, |
| |
it withdraws and continues practising. |
| |
Whenever happiness arises and the mind attaches, |
| |
you have to take that happiness up for contemplation, |
| |
and whenever it attaches to suffering, |
| |
you have to take that up for contemplation. |
| |
Eventually, the mind reaches a stage when it is fully mindful of both happiness and suffering. |
| |
Thatâs when it will be able to lay aside the happiness and the suffering, |
| |
the pleasure and the sadness, and lay aside all that is the world and so become lokavidƫ. |
| |
Once the mind - âthe one who knowsâ - can let go it will settle down at that point. |
| |
Why does it settle down? |
| |
Because you have done the practice and followed the path right down to that very spot. |
| |
You know what you have to do to reach the end of the path, |
| |
but are still unable to accomplish it. |
| |
When the mind attaches to either happiness or suffering, |
| |
you are not deluded by them and strive to dislodge the attachment and dig it out. |
| |
This is practising on the level of the yogÄvacara - one who is |
| |
travelling along the path of practice - striving to cut through the defilements, |
| |
yet not having reached the goal. |
| |
You focus upon these conditions and the way it is from moment to moment in your own mind. |
| |
Itâs not necessary to be personally interviewed about the state of your mind or do anything special. |
| |
When there is attachment to either happiness or suffering, |
| |
there must be the clear and certain understanding that any attachment to either of these states is deluded. |
| |
It is attachment to the world. |
| |
It is being stuck in the world. |
| |
Happiness means attachment to the world, |
| |
suffering means attachment to the world. |
| |
This is the way worldly attachment is. |
| |
What is it that creates or gives rise to the world? |
| |
The world is created and established through ignorance. |
| |
Itâs because we are not mindful that the mind attaches importance to things, |
| |
fashioning and creating sankhÄrÄ (formations) the whole time. |
| |
It is here that the practice becomes really interesting. |
| |
Wherever there is attachment in the mind, |
| |
you keep hitting at that point, without letting up. |
| |
If there is attachment to happiness, you keep pounding at it, |
| |
not letting the mind get carried away with the mood. |
| |
If the mind attaches to suffering, you grab hold of that, |
| |
really getting to grips with it and contemplating it straight away. |
| |
You are in the process of finishing the job off; the mind doesnât |
| |
let a single mind-object slip by without reflecting on it. |
| |
Nothing can resist the power of your mindfulness and wisdom. |
| |
Even if the mind is caught in an unwholesome mental state, |
| |
you know it as unwholesome and the mind is not heedless. |
| |
Itâs like stepping on thorns; of course, |
| |
you donât seek to step on thorns, you try to avoid them, |
| |
but nevertheless sometimes you step on one. |
| |
When you do step on one, do you feel good about it? |
| |
You feel aversion when you step on a thorn. |
| |
Once you know the path of practice, it means you know that which is the world, |
| |
that which is suffering and that which binds us to the endless cycle of birth and death. |
| |
Even though you know this, you are unable to stop stepping on those thorns. |
| |
The mind still follows various states of happiness and sadness, |
| |
but doesnât completely indulge in them. |
| |
You sustain a continuous effort to destroy any attachment in |
| |
the mind - to destroy and clear from the mind all that which is the world. |
| |
You must practise right in the present moment. |
| |
Meditate right there; build your pÄramÄ« right there. |
| |
This is the heart of practice, the heart of your effort. |
| |
You carry on an internal dialogue, discussing and reflecting on the Dhamma within yourself. |
| |
Itâs something that takes place right inside the mind. |
| |
As worldly attachment is uprooted, mindfulness and wisdom untiringly penetrate inwards, |
| |
and the âone who knowsâ sustains awareness with equanimity, |
| |
mindfulness and clarity, without getting involved with or becoming enslaved to anybody or anything. |
| |
Not getting involved with things means knowing without clinging - knowing while laying things aside and letting go. |
| |
You still experience happiness; you still experience suffering; you still experience mind-objects and mental states, |
| |
but you donât cling to them. |
| |
Once you are seeing things as they are you know the mind as it is and you know mind-objects as they are. |
| |
You know the mind as separate from mind-objects and mind-objects as separate from the mind. |
| |
The mind is the mind, mind-objects are mind-objects. |
| |
Once you know these two phenomena as they are, |
| |
whenever they come together you will be mindful of them. |
| |
When the mind experiences mind-objects, |
| |
mindfulness will be there. |
| |
Our teacher, the Buddha, described the practice of the yogÄvacara, |
| |
who is able to sustain such awareness, |
| |
whether walking, standing, sitting or lying down, |
| |
as being a continuous cycle. |
| |
It is sammÄ patipadÄ (right practice). |
| |
You donât forget yourself or become heedless. |
| |
You donât simply observe the coarser parts of your practice, |
| |
but also watch the mind internally, |
| |
on a more refined level. |
| |
That which is on the outside, you set aside. |
| |
From here onwards you are just watching the body and the mind, |
| |
just observing this mind and its objects arising and passing away, |
| |
and understanding that having arisen they pass away. |
| |
With passing away there is further arising - birth and death, |
| |
death and birth; cessation followed by arising, |
| |
arising followed by cessation. |
| |
Ultimately, you are simply watching the act of cessation. |
| |
Khayavayam means degeneration and cessation. |
| |
Degeneration and cessation are the natural way of the mind and its objects - this is khayavayam. |
| |
Once the mind is practising and experiencing this, |
| |
it doesnât have to follow up on or search for anything else - it will be keeping abreast of things with mindfulness. |
| |
Seeing is just seeing. |
| |
Knowing is just knowing. |
| |
The mind and mind-objects are just as they are. |
| |
This is the way things are. |
| |
The mind isnât proliferating about or creating anything in addition. |
| |
Donât be confused or vague about the practice. |
| |
Donât get caught in doubting. |
| |
This applies to the practice of sīla just the same. |
| |
As I mentioned earlier, you have to look at it and contemplate whether itâs right or wrong. |
| |
Having contemplated it, then leave it there. |
| |
Donât have doubts about it. |
| |
Practising samÄdhi is the same. |
| |
Keep practising, calming the mind little by little. |
| |
If you start thinking, it doesnât matter; if youâre not thinking, |
| |
it doesnât matter. |
| |
The important thing is to gain an understanding of the mind. |
| |
Some people want to make the mind peaceful, |
| |
but donât know what true peace really is. |
| |
They donât know the peaceful mind. |
| |
There are two kinds of peacefulness - one is the peace that comes through samÄdhi, |
| |
the other is the peace that comes through paññÄ. |
| |
The mind that is peaceful through samÄdhi is still deluded. |
| |
The peace that comes through the practice of samÄdhi alone is dependent on the mind being separated from mind-objects. |
| |
When itâs not experiencing any mind-objects, |
| |
then there is calm, and consequently one attaches to the happiness that comes with that calm. |
| |
However, whenever there is impingement through the senses, |
| |
the mind gives in straight away. |
| |
Itâs afraid of mind-objects. |
| |
Itâs afraid of happiness and suffering; afraid of praise and criticism; afraid of forms, |
| |
sounds, smells and tastes. |
| |
One who is peaceful through samÄdhi alone is afraid of everything |
| |
and doesnât want to get involved with anybody or anything on the outside. |
| |
People practising samÄdhi in this way just want to stay isolated in a cave somewhere, |
| |
where they can experience the bliss of samÄdhi without having to come out. |
| |
Wherever there is a peaceful place, they sneak off and hide themselves away. |
| |
This kind of samÄdhi involves a lot of suffering - they find it difficult to come out of it and be with other people. |
| |
They donât want to see forms or hear sounds. |
| |
They donât want to experience anything at all! |
| |
They have to live in some specially preserved quiet place, |
| |
where no-one will come and disturb them with conversation. |
| |
They have to have really peaceful surroundings. |
| |
This kind of peacefulness canât do the job. |
| |
If you have reached the necessary level of calm, |
| |
then withdraw from it. |
| |
The Buddha didnât teach to practise samÄdhi with delusion. |
| |
If you are practising like that, then stop. |
| |
If the mind has achieved calm, then use it as a basis for contemplation. |
| |
Contemplate the peace of concentration itself and use it to connect |
| |
the mind with and reflect upon the different mind-objects which it experiences. |
| |
Use the calm of samÄdhi to contemplate sights, |
| |
smells, tastes, tactile sensations and ideas. |
| |
Use this calm to contemplate the different parts of the body, |
| |
such as the hair of the head, hair of the body, |
| |
nails, teeth, skin and so on. |
| |
Contemplate the three characteristics of aniccam (impermanence), |
| |
dukkham (suffering) and anattÄ (not-self). |
| |
Reflect upon this entire world. |
| |
When you have contemplated sufficiently, |
| |
it is all right to re-establish the calm of samÄdhi. |
| |
You can re-enter it through sitting meditation and afterwards, |
| |
with calm re-established, continue with the contemplation. |
| |
Use the state of calm to train and purify the mind. |
| |
Use it to challenge the mind. |
| |
As you gain knowledge, use it to fight the defilements, |
| |
to train the mind. |
| |
If you simply enter samÄdhi and stay there you donât gain any |
| |
insight - you are simply making the mind calm and thatâs all. |
| |
However, if you use the calm mind to reflect, |
| |
beginning with your external experience, |
| |
this calm will gradually penetrate deeper and deeper inwards, |
| |
until the mind experiences the most profound peace of all. |
| |
The peace which arises through paĂ±Ă±Ä is distinctive, |
| |
because when the mind withdraws from the state of calm, |
| |
the presence of paĂ±Ă±Ä makes it unafraid of forms, |
| |
sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations and ideas. |
| |
It means that as soon as there is sense contact the mind is immediately aware of the mind-object. |
| |
As soon as there is sense contact you lay it aside; as soon as |
| |
there is sense contact mindfulness is sharp enough to let go right away. |
| |
This is the peace that comes through paññÄ. |
| |
When you are practising with the mind in this way, |
| |
the mind becomes considerably more refined than when you are developing samÄdhi alone. |
| |
The mind becomes very powerful, and no longer tries to run away. |
| |
With such energy you become fearless. |
| |
In the past you were scared to experience anything, |
| |
but now you know mind-objects as they are and are no longer afraid. |
| |
You know your own strength of mind and are unafraid. |
| |
When you see a form, you contemplate it. |
| |
When you hear a sound, you contemplate it. |
| |
You become proficient in the contemplation of mind-objects. |
| |
You are established in the practice with a new boldness, |
| |
which prevails whatever the conditions. |
| |
Whether it be sights, sounds or smells, |
| |
you see them and let go of them as they occur. |
| |
Whatever it is, you can let go of it all. |
| |
You clearly see happiness and let it go. |
| |
You clearly see suffering and let it go. |
| |
Wherever you see them, you let them go right there. |
| |
Thatâs the way! |
| |
Keep letting them go and casting them aside right there. |
| |
No mind-objects will be able to maintain a hold over the mind. |
| |
You leave them there and stay secure in your place of abiding within the mind. |
| |
As you experience, you cast aside. |
| |
As you experience, you observe. |
| |
Having observed, you let go. |
| |
All mind-objects lose their value and are no longer able to sway you. |
| |
This is the power of vipassanÄ. |
| |
When these characteristics arise within the mind of the practitioner, |
| |
it is appropriate to change the name of the practice to vipassanÄ: clear knowing in accordance with the truth. |
| |
Thatâs what itâs all about - knowledge in accordance with the truth of the way things are. |
| |
This is peace at the highest level, the peace of vipassanÄ. |
| |
Developing peace through samÄdhi alone is very, |
| |
very difficult; one is constantly petrified. |
| |
So when the mind is at its most calm, |
| |
what should you do? |
| |
Train it. |
| |
Practise with it. |
| |
Use it to contemplate. |
| |
Donât be scared of things. |
| |
Donât attach. |
| |
Developing samÄdhi so that you can just sit there and attach |
| |
to blissful mental states isnât the true purpose of the practice. |
| |
You must withdraw from it. |
| |
The Buddha said that you must fight this war, |
| |
not just hide out in a trench trying to avoid the enemyâs bullets. |
| |
When itâs time to fight, you really have to come out with guns blazing. |
| |
Eventually you have to come out of that trench. |
| |
You canât stay sleeping there when itâs time to fight. |
| |
This is the way the practice is. |
| |
You canât allow your mind to just hide, |
| |
cringing in the shadows. |
| |
SÄ«la and samÄdhi form the foundation of practice and it is essential to develop them before anything else. |
| |
You must train yourself and investigate according to the monastic form and ways of practice which have been passed down. |
| |
Be it as it may, I have described a rough outline of the practice. |
| |
You as the practitioners must avoid getting caught in doubts. |
| |
Donât doubt about the way of practice. |
| |
When there is happiness, watch the happiness. |
| |
When there is suffering, watch the suffering. |
| |
Having established awareness, make the effort to destroy both of them. |
| |
Let them go. |
| |
Cast them aside. |
| |
Know the object of mind and keep letting it go. |
| |
Whether you want to do sitting or walking meditation it doesnât matter. |
| |
If you keep thinking, never mind. |
| |
The important thing is to sustain moment to moment awareness of the mind. |
| |
If you are really caught in mental proliferation, |
| |
then gather it all together, and contemplate it in terms of being one whole, |
| |
cut it off right from the start, saying, |
| |
âall these thoughts, ideas and imaginings of mine are simply thought proliferation and nothing more. |
| |
Itâs all anicca, dukkha and anattÄ. |
| |
None of it is certain at all.â |
| |
Discard it right there. |
| |
1: Venerable: in Thai, âPraâ. |
| |
2: UpapÄramÄ«: refers to the same ten spiritual perfections, |
| |
but practised on a deeper, more intense and profound level (practised to the highest degree, |
| |
they are called paramattha pÄramÄ«). |
| |
* * * |
| |
Introduction by Ajahn JayasÄro |
| |
The following talk was originally given in the Lao language and |
| |
translated into Central Thai for Luang Por Chahâs biography, |
| |
Upalamani. |
| |
Itâs a very powerful talk and why I was particularly keen to |
| |
include this in the Thai biography and a certain amount of it |
| |
in the new English version is that nothing quite like it exists in English translation. |
| |
Most of the work that has been done has focused on the meditation and wisdom teachings. |
| |
In fact in daily life at Wat Pah Pong those types of Dhamma talks |
| |
were really quite infrequent and very much treasured when they were given. |
| |
But the daily kind of instruction and most of the talks were on what we call korwat - monastic regulations, |
| |
emphasizing the sīla side of practice. |
| |
Part of that probably has to do with the fact that forest monasteries, |
| |
particularly Ajahn Chah monasteries twenty years ago, |
| |
were of a very different composition, |
| |
a different nature from how they are these days because of the large number of novices then. |
| |
Then teenage novices would tend to be very energetic and boisterous |
| |
and would affect the atmosphere of the monastery quite significantly, |
| |
as you can imagine. |
| |
Thatâs the reason why work projects were so predominant in monasteries in those days. |
| |
Abbots had the problem of trying to administer a community in |
| |
which as many as half of the members werenât that interested in being monastics. |
| |
Monks of my generation have a lot of stories of naughty novices, |
| |
difficult, obstreperous and obnoxious novices. |
| |
Although at Wat Pah Pong the percentage of novices was somewhat less, |
| |
they did have an influence, together with temporarily ordained monks, |
| |
or monks who were hanging out not really knowing why they were |
| |
there - ordaining as a gesture to show gratitude to their parents. |
| |
I was surprised when I first went to Wat Pah Pong, |
| |
because I was expecting a boot camp - a really tough kind of monastery. |
| |
Certainly there was that, but what surprised me was the number |
| |
of monks and novices who didnât seem to appreciate what was going on, |
| |
and werenât that committed to the training Ajahn Chah was giving. |
| |
This meant that many of the talks that were given stressed korwat |
| |
patipadÄ rather than being refined talks on the nature of samÄdhi |
| |
and jhÄna etc. The kind of rhythm you would find in monasteries |
| |
- whether it was Wat Pah Pong or a branch - was that you would |
| |
have a storming âdesanaâ that would blow everyone over and leave people shaking. |
| |
Then things would be really strict for a few days. |
| |
Then it would gradually deteriorate until one or two things happened |
| |
that were really gross and you knew there would be one of these rousing âdesanasâ. |
| |
So you would then brace yourself. |
| |
Then the same pattern would start again. |
| |
Ajahn Chah gave the strongest and best of this particular genre of monastic discourse. |
| |
This talk is particularly strong. |
| |
Whatâs remarkable about it is that this wasnât given in his so called early days, |
| |
in his forties or fifties, when he was still very vigorous and strong, |
| |
but actually towards the end of his teaching career - when the |
| |
abiding image of Ajahn Chah among Western monks was of this grandfatherly |
| |
figure; but that was very much a simplification. |
| |
The kind of Ajahn Chah you see in photographs in books, |
| |
smiling and kind, was certainly one Ajahn Chah, |
| |
but it was not the whole story. |
| |
I think this talk gives quite a good impression of that. |
| |
Itâs very difficult to render the tone of one of these talks. |
| |
With Dhamma talks there is the content of whatâs being said, |
| |
but there are also all sorts of non-verbal things going on, |
| |
as well as the whole background of the relationship between a teacher and his students. |
| |
This is something of course which doesnât appear in print. |
| |
For someone who has never lived in a forest monastery with a Krooba Ajahn, |
| |
when they listen to one of these talks it can seem to be a rather hectoring and bullying kind of talk, |
| |
over the top and a bit too much. |
| |
So you really have to try to put yourself in that position of |
| |
living in a forest monastery where things are starting to go |
| |
downhill a bit and itâs time for the teacher to get people back on track. |
| |
Toilets on the Path |
| |
There isnât much work that needs to be done at the moment, |
| |
apart from Ajahn Liamâs project out at the dyeing shed. |
| |
When itâs finished, washing and dyeing robes will be more convenient. |
| |
When he goes out to work, Iâd like everyone to go and give him a hand. |
| |
Once the new dying shed is finished there wonât be much else to do. |
| |
It will be the time to get back to our practice of the observances, |
| |
to the basic monastic regimen. |
| |
Bring these observances up to scratch. |
| |
If you donât, itâs going to be a real disaster. |
| |
These days the practice of the observances related to lodgings, |
| |
the senÄsana-vatta is particularly dreadful. |
| |
Iâm beginning to doubt whether or not you know what these words âsenÄsanavattaâ means. |
| |
Donât just turn a blind eye to the state of the kutÄ«s that you live in and the toilets that you use. |
| |
Laypeople from Bangkok, Ayudhaya, all over the country, |
| |
offer funds for our needs; some send money in the post for the monastery kitchen. |
| |
We are monastics, think about that. |
| |
Donât come to the monastery and become more selfish than you were in the world - that would be a disgrace. |
| |
Reflect closely on the things that you make use of every day: the four requisites of robes, |
| |
almsfood, dwelling place and medicines. |
| |
If you donât pay attention to your use of these requisites, |
| |
you wonât make it as a monk. |
| |
The situation with regard to dwelling places is especially bad. |
| |
The kutīs are in a dreadful state. |
| |
Itâs hard to tell which ones have got monks living in them and which are empty. |
| |
There are termites crawling up the concrete posts and nobody does anything about it. |
| |
Itâs a real disgrace. |
| |
Soon after I came back I went on an inspection tour and it was heartrending. |
| |
I feel sorry for the laypeople whoâve built these kutÄ«s for you to live in. |
| |
All you want to do is to wander around with your bowls and glots |
| |
over your shoulders looking for places to meditate; you donât |
| |
have a clue how to look after the kutīs and Sangha property. |
| |
Itâs shocking. |
| |
Have some consideration for the feelings of the donors. |
| |
On my inspection tour I saw pieces of cloth that had been used in the kutīs, |
| |
and then thrown away - still in good condition. |
| |
There were spittoons that had been used and not properly stored. |
| |
In some places people had pissed in them, |
| |
and then not tipped the urine away. |
| |
It was really disgusting; even laypeople donât do that. |
| |
If you practitioners of Dhamma canât even manage to empty spittoons, |
| |
then what hope is there for you in this life? |
| |
People bring brand-new toilet bowls to offer. |
| |
I donât know whether you ever clean them or not but there are rats going in the toilets to shit, |
| |
and geckos. |
| |
Rats, geckoes and monks - all using the place together. |
| |
The geckos never sweep the place out and neither do the monks. |
| |
Youâre on the same level as they are. |
| |
Ignorance is no excuse with something like this. |
| |
Everything you use in this life are supports for the practice. |
| |
Ven. |
| |
SÄriputta kept wherever he lived immaculately clean. |
| |
If he found somewhere dirty he would sweep it with a broom. |
| |
If it was during almsround, heâd use his foot. |
| |
The living place of a true practice monk is different from that of an ordinary person. |
| |
If your kutī is an utter mess then your mind will be the same. |
| |
This is a forest wat. |
| |
In the rainy season, branches and leaves fall to the ground. |
| |
In the afternoon, before sweeping, collect the dead branches in a pile or drag them well into the forest. |
| |
Sweep the borders of the paths completely clean. |
| |
If youâre sloppy and just work and sweep in a perfunctory way, |
| |
then the kutīs and paths will be completely ruined. |
| |
At one time I made walking meditation paths to separate the paths leading to the kutīs. |
| |
Each kutī had its own individual path. |
| |
Everyone came out from their kutī alone, |
| |
except for the people out at the back. |
| |
Youâd walk straight to and from your own kutÄ« so that you could look after your own path. |
| |
The kutīs were clean and neat. |
| |
These days itâs not like that. |
| |
I invite you to take a walk up to the top end of the monastery |
| |
and see the work Iâve been doing on the kutÄ« and surrounding area, |
| |
as an example. |
| |
As for repairing the kutÄ«s: donât put a lot of work into repairing things that donât need to be repaired. |
| |
These are dwellings of the Sangha which the Sangha has allotted to you. |
| |
Itâs not right to make any changes to them that take your fancy. |
| |
You should ask permission or consult with a senior monk first. |
| |
Some people donât realize what is involved and overestimate themselves; |
| |
they think they are going to make an improvement, |
| |
but when they get down to it they make something ugly and awkward. |
| |
Some people are just plain ignorant. |
| |
They take hammers and start banging nails into hardwood walls, |
| |
and before they know it theyâve destroyed the wall. |
| |
I donât know who it is because as soon as theyâve done it the culprits run away. |
| |
When someone else moves in it looks awful. |
| |
Carefully consider the link between a clean, |
| |
orderly and pleasing dwelling place, |
| |
and meditation practice. |
| |
If thereâs lust or aversion in your mind, |
| |
try to concentrate on that, hone in on it, |
| |
meditate on it, wear away the defilements right where they occur. |
| |
Do you know what looks pleasing and what doesnât? |
| |
If youâre trying to make out that you donât, |
| |
itâs a disgrace and youâre in for a hard time. |
| |
Things will just get worse day by day. |
| |
Spare a thought for the people who come from every province in the country to see this wat. |
| |
The dwelling of a Dhamma practitioner isnât large; itâs small but clean. |
| |
If a Noble One lives in a low-lying area, |
| |
then it becomes a cool and pleasant land. |
| |
If he goes to live in the uplands, then those uplands become cool and pleasant. |
| |
Why should that be? |
| |
Listen to this well. |
| |
Itâs because his heart is pure. |
| |
He doesnât follow his mind, he follows Dhamma. |
| |
He is always aware of his state of mind. |
| |
But itâs difficult to get to that stage. |
| |
During sweeping periods, I tell you to sweep inwards towards the middle of the path and you donât do it. |
| |
I have to stand there and shout âInwards! |
| |
Inwards!â |
| |
Or is it because you donât know what âinwardsâ means that you donât do it? |
| |
Perhaps you donât. |
| |
Perhaps youâve been like this since you were kids - Iâve come up with quite a few theories. |
| |
When I was a child Iâd walk past peopleâs houses and often hear |
| |
parents tell their kids to shit well away from the house. |
| |
Nobody ever did. |
| |
As soon as they were just a small distance from the house that would be it. |
| |
Then when the stink got bad everyone would complain. |
| |
Itâs the same kind of thing. |
| |
Some people just donât understand what theyâre doing; they donât follow things all the way through to their conclusion. |
| |
Either that or else they know what needs to be done but theyâre too lazy to do it. |
| |
Itâs the same with meditation. |
| |
There are some people who donât know what to do and as soon as |
| |
you explain to them they do it well; but there are others who |
| |
even after it has been explained to them still donât do it - theyâve made up their minds not to. |
| |
Really consider what the training of the mind consists of for a monk. |
| |
Distinguish yourselves from the monks and novices that donât practise; be different from laypeople. |
| |
Go away and reflect on what that means. |
| |
Itâs not as easy as you seem to think. |
| |
You ask questions about meditation, the peaceful mind and the |
| |
path all the way to NibbÄna; but you donât know how to keep clean the path to your kutÄ« and toilet. |
| |
Itâs really awful. |
| |
If you carry on like this then things are going to steadily deteriorate. |
| |
The observances that the Buddha laid down regarding the dwelling place are concerned with keeping it clean. |
| |
A toilet is included amongst the senÄsanÄ - in fact it is considered |
| |
to be a very small kutÄ« - and shouldnât be left dirty and slovenly. |
| |
Follow the Buddhaâs injunction and make it a pleasant place to use, |
| |
so that whichever way you look thereâs nothing offensive to the eye. |
| |
Aow! |
| |
That little novice over there. |
| |
Why are you yawning already? |
| |
Itâs still early in the evening. |
| |
Are you usually asleep by this time or what? |
| |
Nodding backwards and forwards there as if youâre on the point of death. |
| |
Whatâs wrong with you? |
| |
The moment you have to listen to a talk you get groggy. |
| |
Youâre never like this at the meal time I notice. |
| |
If you donât pay any attention then what benefit are you going to get from being here? |
| |
How are you ever going to improve yourself? |
| |
Someone who doesnât practise is just a burden on the monastery. |
| |
When he lives with the teacher he is just a burden on the teacher, |
| |
creating difficulties and giving him a heavy heart. |
| |
If youâre going to stay here then make a go of it. |
| |
Or do you think you can just play around at being a monk? |
| |
Take things to their limit, dig down until you reach bedrock. |
| |
If you donât practise, things wonât just get better by themselves. |
| |
People from all over the country send money for the kitchen, |
| |
to see to your needs, and what do you do? |
| |
You leave the toilets dirty and your kutīs unswept. |
| |
Whatâs this all about? |
| |
Put things away, look after them. |
| |
Youâre pissing into the spittoons and leaving them right where you used them. |
| |
If you have a mosquito net you donât like, |
| |
donât just throw it away. |
| |
If the laypeople were to see that, they would be disheartened: âHowever poor we are, |
| |
whatever the hardships might be, we still managed to buy some cloth to offer to the monks. |
| |
But theyâre living like kings. |
| |
Really good cloth without a single tear in it thrown away all over the place.â |
| |
They would lose all their faith. |
| |
You donât have to give Dhamma talks to proclaim the teachings. |
| |
When laypeople come and they see that the monastery is clean and beautiful, |
| |
they know that the monks here are diligent and know their observances. |
| |
You donât have to flatter or make a fuss of them. |
| |
When they see the kutīs and the toilets, |
| |
they know what kind of monks live in the wat. |
| |
Keeping things clean is one part of proclaiming Buddhism. |
| |
While I was a young novice at Wat Ban Gor a vihÄra was built and they bought over a hundred spittoons for it. |
| |
On the annual Pra Vessandara ngan when there were lots of visiting monks, |
| |
the spittoons were used as receptacles for betel juice. |
| |
Remember this ngan is a festival of merit-making to commemorate the last life of the Bodhisatta himself, |
| |
and yet when it was over the dirty spittoons would just be stashed away in odd corners of the hall. |
| |
A hundred spittoons, every one of them full of betel juice, |
| |
and none were emptied. |
| |
I came across these spittoons and I thought âif this is not evil then nothing isâ. |
| |
They filled them with betel juice and left them there until the next year; then theyâd pull them out, |
| |
scrape off enough of the dried crud to make them recognizable as spittoons and start spitting in them again. |
| |
Thatâs the kind of kamma that gets you reborn in hell! |
| |
Absolutely unacceptable. |
| |
Monks and novices who act like that lack any sense of good and bad, |
| |
long and short, right and wrong. |
| |
They are acting in a lazy and shiftless way, |
| |
assuming that as monks and novices they can take things easy - and, |
| |
without realizing it, they turn into dogs. |
| |
Have you seen them: the old people with grey hair who pay homage |
| |
to you as they lift up their bamboo containers to put rice in your bowl? |
| |
When they come here to offer food they bow and bow again. |
| |
Take a look at yourself. |
| |
Thatâs what made me leave the village monastery - the old people coming to offer food and bowing over and over again. |
| |
I sat thinking about it. |
| |
Whatâs so good about me that people should keep bowing to me so much? |
| |
Wherever I go people raise their hands in añjali. |
| |
Why is that? |
| |
In what way am I worthy of it? |
| |
As I thought about it I felt ashamed - ashamed to face my lay supporters. |
| |
It wasnât right. |
| |
If you donât think about this and do something about it right now, |
| |
then when will you? |
| |
Youâve got a good opportunity and youâre not taking it. |
| |
Look into this matter if you donât believe me. |
| |
Really think it over. |
| |
Iâve mentioned Chao Khun Nor of Wat Tepsirin in discourses before. |
| |
During the reign of King Vajiravudh he was a royal page. |
| |
When the King died [in 1925] he became a monk. |
| |
The only time he ever left his kutī was for formal meetings of the Sangha. |
| |
He wouldnât even go downstairs to receive lay guests. |
| |
He lived in his kutī together with a coffin. |
| |
During his entire monastic life he never went on tudong. |
| |
He didnât need to, he was unshakeable. |
| |
You go on tudong until your skin blisters. |
| |
You go up mountains and then down to the sea and once you get there you donât know where to go next. |
| |
You go blindly searching for NibbÄna with your mind in a muddle, |
| |
sticking your nose in every place you can. |
| |
And wherever you go, you leave dirty toilets behind you - too busy looking for NibbÄna to clean them. |
| |
Are you blind or what? |
| |
I find it amazing. |
| |
Thereâs a lot more to enlightenment and NibbÄna than that. |
| |
The first thing is to look after your dwelling place well. |
| |
Is it necessary to compel everyone to do this, |
| |
or what? |
| |
If youâre not really stubborn and recalcitrant then it shouldnât have to go that far. |
| |
At the moment the people who do take care of things work themselves |
| |
half dead; the ones who couldnât care less remain indifferent: they donât look, |
| |
they donât pay any attention, they havenât a clue. |
| |
Whatâs to be done with people like that? |
| |
The problems that come up with the requisites of dwellings, |
| |
almsfood, robes are like green-head flies; you can drive them off for a while, |
| |
but after theyâve buzzed around for a bit they come back and land in the same place. |
| |
These days a lot of you are leaving the equivalent of one or two plates of leftovers each. |
| |
I donât know why you take such a huge amount of food. |
| |
One lump of sticky rice is enough to fill your belly. |
| |
Just take a sufficient amount. |
| |
You take more than you can eat and then tip away whatâs left to go rotten in the pit. |
| |
These days thereâs about a dozen big bowls of leftover food. |
| |
I think itâs shameful that you donât know the capacity of your own stomach. |
| |
Only take as much as you can eat. |
| |
Whatâs the point of taking anymore than that? |
| |
If your leftovers are enough to furnish three or four laypeopleâs breakfast and more, |
| |
then itâs too much. |
| |
How is someone who has no sense of moderation going to understand how to train his mind? |
| |
When youâre practising sitting meditation and your mindâs in a turmoil, |
| |
where are you going to find the wisdom to pacify it? |
| |
If you donât even know basic things like how much food you need, |
| |
what it means to take little, thatâs really dire. |
| |
If you donât know your limitations, youâll be like the greedy |
| |
fellow in the story who tried to carry such a big log of wood out of the forest that he fell down dead from its weight. |
| |
BhojanemattaññutÄ means moderation in the consumption of food; |
| |
jÄgariyÄnuyoga means putting forth effort without indulging in |
| |
the pleasure of rest; indriyÄsamvara means restraining the eyes, |
| |
ears, nose, tongue, body and mind in order to prevent thoughts of satisfaction and dissatisfaction from arising. |
| |
These practices have all gone out the window. |
| |
Itâs as if youâve got no eyes, no ears and no mouth I donât know what kind of hungry ghost that makes you. |
| |
You donât sweep your lodging. |
| |
Chickens are the only animals I know of who eat and then make a mess where theyâre standing. |
| |
When you donât understand what youâre doing, |
| |
the more you practise the more you decline. |
| |
Youâre looking more and more gluttonous all the time. |
| |
Know your limits. |
| |
Look at that time when we were building the bot and some coffee was brought over. |
| |
I heard some people complaining, âOhhh! |
| |
Enough! |
| |
Enough! |
| |
Iâve had so much I feel sick.â |
| |
Thatâs an utterly disgusting thing for a monk to say! |
| |
Drinking so much you feel like vomiting. |
| |
Seven or eight cups each. |
| |
What were you thinking of? |
| |
Itâs taking things too far. |
| |
Do you think you became monastics in order to eat and drink? |
| |
If it was some kind of competition it was an insane one. |
| |
After youâd finished, the cups were left out in a long line and so were the kettles. |
| |
Nobody did any washing up. |
| |
Only dogs donât clean up after theyâve eaten. |
| |
What I am saying is that if you were real monks and novices the kettles would all have been washed. |
| |
This kind of behavior points to all kinds of unwholesome habits inside you. |
| |
Wherever someone who acts like that goes, |
| |
he takes his mediocrity with him. |
| |
Iâm saying all this as food for thought. |
| |
Really look at how youâre living these days. |
| |
Can you see anything that needs improving? |
| |
If you carry on as you are now, the monks who are really dedicated to practice wonât be able to endure it. |
| |
Theyâll all leave or if they donât, the ones that stay wonât want to speak to you, |
| |
and the wat will suffer. |
| |
When the Buddha entered NibbÄna he didnât take the ways of practice along with him you know. |
| |
He left them here for all of us. |
| |
Thereâs no need to complicate matters by talking about anything too far away from us. |
| |
Just concentrate on the things that can be seen here, |
| |
the things we do everyday. |
| |
Learn how to live together in harmony and help each other out. |
| |
Know whatâs right and whatâs wrong. |
| |
âGÄravo ca nivÄto ca santutthi ca kataññutÄâ1 - This subject of respect needs to be understood. |
| |
Nowadays things have gone far beyond whatâs acceptable. |
| |
Iâm the only one many of you show any deference to. |
| |
Itâs not good for you to be like that. |
| |
And itâs not good to be afraid of me. |
| |
The best thing is to venerate the Buddha. |
| |
If you only do good because youâre afraid of the teacher, |
| |
then thatâs hopeless. |
| |
You must be fearful of error, revere the Dhamma that the Buddha |
| |
taught and be in awe of the power of the Dhamma which is our refuge. |
| |
The Buddha taught us to be content and of few wishes, |
| |
restrained and composed. |
| |
Donât get ahead of yourself; look at whatâs near to hand. |
| |
Laypeople think that the Sangha of Wat Nong Pah Pong practises well and they send money to the kitchen to buy food. |
| |
You take it for granted. |
| |
But sometimes when I sit and think about it - and Iâm criticizing the bhikkhus and novices that arenât practising here, |
| |
not those that do - I feel ashamed to consider that things arenât as they think. |
| |
Itâs like two oxen pulling a cart. |
| |
The clever one gets harnessed right in front of the yoke and leaves the other one to struggle up front. |
| |
The ox near the yoke can go all day without getting tired. |
| |
It can keep going or it can rest, it can do whatever it likes, |
| |
because itâs not taking any weight, |
| |
its not expending any energy. |
| |
With only one ox pulling it, the cart moves slowly. |
| |
The ox at the back enjoys its unfair advantage. |
| |
Supatipanno: one who practises well. |
| |
Ujupatipanno: one who practises with integrity. |
| |
ĂÄyapatipanno: one who practises to truly abandon defilements. |
| |
SÄmÄ«cipatipanno: one who practises with great correctness. |
| |
Read those words frequently. |
| |
They are the virtues of the Sangha: the virtues of monks, |
| |
the virtues of novices, the virtues of pah-kows, |
| |
the virtues of practitioners. |
| |
In my opinion you do well to leave the world to practise in this way. |
| |
The villagers that come to pay their respects have so much faith in you, |
| |
that at the start of the green rice season they donât let their |
| |
family have any rice - the first of the crop is put aside for the Sangha. |
| |
At the start of the mango season, the children donât get to eat |
| |
the big mangoes: their parents ripen them up and keep them for the monks. |
| |
When I was a child, Iâd get angry at my mother and father for that. |
| |
I couldnât see why they had so much faith. |
| |
They didnât know what went on in the monastery. |
| |
But, Iâd often see the novices sneaking an evening meal. |
| |
(And if thatâs not bad kamma then what is?) Speaking and acting |
| |
in various unwholesome ways and then having people offer you food. |
| |
Thatâs kamma that will take you deeper than the deepest hell realm. |
| |
What good can come of it? |
| |
Really think about this well. |
| |
Right now, your practice is a mess. |
| |
Disseminating Buddhism isnât just a matter of expounding on Dhamma; itâs a matter of reducing wants, |
| |
being content, keeping your dwelling clean. |
| |
So whatâs going on? |
| |
Every time someone goes into the toilet he has to hold his nose |
| |
up to the roof; it smells so bad nobody dares to take a full breath of air. |
| |
What are you going to do about it? |
| |
Itâs not difficult to see what your problem is. |
| |
Itâs obvious as soon as you see the state of the toilet. |
| |
Try it out. |
| |
Make this a good monastery. |
| |
Making it good doesnât require so much. |
| |
Do what needs to be done. |
| |
Look after the kutīs and the central area of the monastery. |
| |
If you do, laypeople who come in and see it may feel so inspired |
| |
by religious emotion2 that they realize the Dhamma there and then. |
| |
Donât you have any sympathy for them? |
| |
Think of how it is when you enter a mountain or a cave, |
| |
how that feeling of religious emotion arises and the mind naturally inclines towards Dhamma. |
| |
If people walk in and all they see are monks and novices with |
| |
unkempt demeanor living in ill-kept kutīs and using ill-kept toilets, |
| |
where is the religious emotion going to arise from? |
| |
When wise people listen to someone talking they know straightaway whatâs what; a single glance is enough for them. |
| |
When someone starts speaking, the sages know right away whether he is a selfish person accumulating defilements, |
| |
whether he has views in conflict with the Dhamma or the Discipline, |
| |
or if he knows the Dhamma. |
| |
If youâve already practised and been through these things theyâre plain to see. |
| |
You donât have to do anything original. |
| |
Just do the traditional things, revive the old practices that have declined. |
| |
If you allow the degeneration to continue like this then everything will fall apart, |
| |
and youâll be unable to restore the old standards. |
| |
So make a firm determination with your practice, |
| |
both the external and internal. |
| |
Donât be deceitful. |
| |
Monks and novices should be harmonious and do everything in unity. |
| |
Go over to that kutÄ« and see what Iâve been doing. |
| |
Iâve been working on it for many weeks now. |
| |
Thereâs a monk, a novice and a layman helping me. |
| |
Go and see. |
| |
Is it done properly? |
| |
Does it look nice? |
| |
Thatâs the traditional way of looking after the lodgings. |
| |
After using the toilet you scrub the floor down. |
| |
In the old days there was no water toilet; the toilets we had then werenât as good as the ones we use today. |
| |
But the monks and novices were good and there were only a few of us. |
| |
Now the toilets are good but the people that use them are not. |
| |
We never seem to get the two right at the same time. |
| |
Really think about this. |
| |
The only problem is that lack of diligence in the practice leads to a complete disaster. |
| |
No matter how good and noble a task is, |
| |
it canât be accomplished if thereâs no grasp of the right method; it becomes a complete debacle. |
| |
Recollect the Buddha and incline your mind to his Dhamma. |
| |
In it you will see the Buddha himself - where else could he be? |
| |
Just look at his Dhamma. |
| |
Read the teachings. |
| |
Can you find anything faulty? |
| |
Focus your attention on the Buddhaâs teaching and you will see him. |
| |
Do you think that you can do what you like because the Buddha canât see you? |
| |
How foolish! |
| |
Youâre not examining yourself. |
| |
If youâre lazy all the time, how are you going to practise? |
| |
Thereâs nothing to compare with the slyness of defilement. |
| |
Itâs not easy to see. |
| |
Wherever insight arises, the defilements of insight follow. |
| |
Donât think that if nobody objects, you can just hang out eating and sleeping. |
| |
How could the Dhamma elude you if you really devoted yourselves to practise? |
| |
Youâre not deaf and dumb or mentally retarded; youâve got all your faculties. |
| |
And what can you expect if youâre lazy and heedless? |
| |
If you were still the same as when you arrived it wouldnât be so bad, |
| |
Iâm just afraid youâre making yourself worse. |
| |
Reflect on this deeply. |
| |
Ask yourself the question, âWhat have I come here for? |
| |
What am I doing here?â |
| |
Youâve shaved off your hair, put on the brown robe. |
| |
What for? |
| |
Go ahead, ask yourself. |
| |
Do you think itâs just to eat and sleep and be heedless? |
| |
If thatâs what you want, you can do that in the world. |
| |
Take out the oxen and buffalo, come back home, |
| |
eat and sleep - anyone can do that. |
| |
If you come and act in that heedless indulgent way in the monastery, |
| |
then youâre not worthy of the name of monks and novices. |
| |
Raise up your spirits. |
| |
Donât be sleepy or slothful or miserable. |
| |
Get back into the practice without delay. |
| |
Do you know when death will come? |
| |
Little novices can die as well you know. |
| |
Itâs not just Luang Por thatâs going to die. |
| |
Pah-kows as well. |
| |
Everyone is going to die. |
| |
What will be left when death comes? |
| |
Do you want to find out? |
| |
You may have what youâre going to do tomorrow all worked out, |
| |
but what if you were to die tonight? |
| |
You donât know your own limitations. |
| |
The chores are for putting forth effort. |
| |
Donât neglect the duties of the Sangha. |
| |
Donât miss the daily meetings. |
| |
Keep up both your own practice and your duties towards the community. |
| |
You can practise whether youâre working, |
| |
writing, watering the trees or whatever, |
| |
because practice is what youâre doing. |
| |
Donât believe your defilements and cravings: theyâve led many people to ruin. |
| |
If you believe defilements you cut yourself off from goodness. |
| |
Think about it. |
| |
In the world people who let themselves go can even end up addicted to drugs like heroin. |
| |
It gets as bad as that. |
| |
But people donât see the danger. |
| |
If you practise sincerely then NibbÄna is waiting for you. |
| |
Donât just sit there waiting for it to come to you. |
| |
Have you ever seen anyone successful in that way? |
| |
Wherever you see youâre in the wrong, |
| |
quickly remedy it. |
| |
If youâve done something incorrectly, |
| |
do it again properly. |
| |
Investigate. |
| |
You have to listen if you want to find the good. |
| |
If you nod off while youâre listening to the Dhamma, |
| |
the âInfernal Guardiansâ will grab you by the arms and pitch you into hell! |
| |
Right at the beginning of a talk, during the PÄli invocation, |
| |
some of you are already starting to slump. |
| |
Donât you feel any sense of shame? |
| |
Donât you feel embarrassed to sit there like that in front of the laypeople? |
| |
And where did you get those appetites from? |
| |
Are you hungry ghosts or what? |
| |
At least after theyâve eaten, dogs can still bark. |
| |
All you can do is sit there in a stupor. |
| |
Put some effort into it. |
| |
You arenât conscripts in the army.3 As soon as the chaplain starts to instruct them, |
| |
the soldiersâ heads start slumping down onto their chests: âWhen will he ever stop?â |
| |
How do you think you will ever realize the Dhamma if you think like a conscript? |
| |
Folk singers canât sing properly without a reed pipe accompaniment. |
| |
The same applies to a teacher. |
| |
If his disciples put their hearts into following his teachings and instructions he feels energized. |
| |
But when he puts down all kinds of fertilizer and the soil remains dry and lifeless, |
| |
itâs awful. |
| |
He feels no joy, he loses his inspiration, |
| |
he wonders why he should bother. |
| |
Be very circumspect before you eat. |
| |
On wan pra4 or on any day when you tend to get very sleepy, |
| |
donât let your body have any food, let someone else have it. |
| |
You have to retaliate. |
| |
Donât eat at all. |
| |
âIf youâre going to be so evil, then today you donât have to eat.â |
| |
Tell it that. |
| |
If you leave your stomach empty then the mind can be really peaceful. |
| |
Itâs the path of practice. |
| |
Sitting there as dull as a moron, not knowing south from north, |
| |
you can be here until the day you die and not get anything from it; you can still be as ignorant as you are now. |
| |
Consider this matter closely. |
| |
What do you have to do to make your practice, |
| |
âgood practiceâ. |
| |
Look. |
| |
People come from other places, other countries to see our way |
| |
of practice here; they come to listen to Dhamma and to train themselves. |
| |
Their practice is of benefit to them. |
| |
Your own benefit and the benefit of others are interdependent. |
| |
Itâs not just a matter of doing things in order to show off to others, |
| |
but for your own benefit as well. |
| |
When laypeople see the Sangha practising well they feel inspired. |
| |
What would they think if they came and saw monks and novices like monkeys. |
| |
In the future, who could the laypeople place their hopes on? |
| |
As for proclaiming the Dhamma, you donât have to do very much. |
| |
Some of the Buddhaâs disciples, like Venerable Assaji, |
| |
hardly spoke. |
| |
They went on almsround in a calm and peaceful manner, |
| |
walking neither quickly nor slowly, |
| |
dressed in sober-coloured robes. |
| |
Whether walking, moving, going forwards or back they were measured and composed. |
| |
One morning, while Ven. |
| |
SÄriputta was still the disciple of a brahmin teacher called Sanjaya, |
| |
he caught sight of Venerable Assaji and was inspired by his demeanour. |
| |
He approached him and requested some teaching. |
| |
He asked who Venerable Assajiâs teacher was and received the answer: |
| |
âThe Revered Gotama.â |
| |
âWhat does he teach that enables you to practise like this?â |
| |
âHe doesnât teach so much. |
| |
He simply says that all dhammas arise from causes. |
| |
If they are to cease their causes must cease first.â |
| |
Just that much. |
| |
That was enough. |
| |
He understood. |
| |
That was all it took for Venerable SÄriputta to realize the Dhamma. |
| |
Whereas many of you go on almsround as if you were a bunch of boisterous fishermen going out to catch fish. |
| |
The sounds of your laughing and joking can be heard from far away. |
| |
Most of you just donât know whatâs what; you waste your time thinking of irrelevant and trivial things. |
| |
Every time you go on almsround you can bring back a lot of Dhamma with you. |
| |
Sitting here eating the meal too. |
| |
Many kinds of feelings arise; if you are composed and restrained youâll be aware of them. |
| |
You donât have to sit cross-legged in meditation for these things to occur. |
| |
You can realize enlightenment in ordinary everyday life. |
| |
Or do you want to argue the point? |
| |
Once youâve removed a piece of burning charcoal from the fire it doesnât cool straightaway. |
| |
Whenever you pick it up itâs hot. |
| |
Mindfulness retains its wakefulness in the same way as charcoal does its heat; self-awareness is still present. |
| |
That being so, how could the mind become deluded? |
| |
Maintain a concerted gaze on your mind. |
| |
That doesnât mean staring at it unblinkingly like a madman. |
| |
It means constantly tracking your feelings. |
| |
Do it a lot; concentrate a lot; develop it a lot: this is called progress. |
| |
You donât know what I mean by this gazing at the mind, |
| |
this kind of effort and development. |
| |
Iâm talking about knowing the present state of your mind. |
| |
If lust or ill-will or whatever arise in your mind, |
| |
then you have to know all about it. |
| |
In practice, the mind is like a child crawling about and the sense of knowing is like the parent. |
| |
The child crawls around in the way that children do and the parent lets it wander, |
| |
but, all the same, he keeps a constant eye on it. |
| |
If the child looks like its going to fall in a pit, |
| |
down a well or wander into danger in the jungle, |
| |
the parent knows. |
| |
This type of awareness is called âthe one who knows, |
| |
the one who is clearly aware, the radiant oneâ. |
| |
The untrained mind doesnât understand whatâs going on, |
| |
its awareness is like that of a child. |
| |
Knowing thereâs craving in the mind and not doing anything about it, |
| |
knowing that youâre taking advantage of someone else, |
| |
eating more than your share, knowing how to lift the light weight and let someone else take the heavy one, |
| |
knowing that youâve got more than the other person - thatâs an insane kind of knowing. |
| |
Selfish people have that kind of knowing. |
| |
It turns the clarity of awareness into darkness. |
| |
A lot of you tend to have that kind of knowing. |
| |
Whatever feels heavy - you push it away and go off looking for something light instead. |
| |
That kind of knowing! |
| |
We train our minds as parents look after their children. |
| |
You let the children go their way but if theyâre about to put a hand in the fire, |
| |
fall down the well or get into danger, |
| |
youâre ready. |
| |
Who could love a child like its parents? |
| |
Because parents love their children they watch over them continually. |
| |
They have a constant awareness in their minds, |
| |
which they continually develop. |
| |
The parent doesnât neglect the children but neither do they keep right on top of them all the time. |
| |
Because children lack knowledge of the way things are the parent has to watch over them, |
| |
keep track of their movements. |
| |
When it looks like they are going to fall down the well, |
| |
their mother picks them up and carries them somewhere far from danger. |
| |
Then the parent goes back to work but continues to keep an eye on the children, |
| |
and keeps consciously training this knowledge and awareness of their movements. |
| |
When they run towards the well again, |
| |
their mother picks them up and returns them to a safe place. |
| |
Raising up the mind is the same. |
| |
If that wasnât the case then how could the Buddha look after you? |
| |
Buddho means the one who knows, who is awakened and radiant. |
| |
If your awareness is that of a small child how could you be awake and radiant? |
| |
Youâll just keep putting your hand in the fire. |
| |
If you know your mind but you donât train it, |
| |
how could that be intelligence? |
| |
Worldly knowledge means cunning, knowing how to hide your mistakes, |
| |
how to get away with things. |
| |
Thatâs what the world says is good. |
| |
The Buddha disagreed. |
| |
Whatâs the point of looking outside yourself? |
| |
Look really close, right here. |
| |
Look at your mind. |
| |
This feeling arises and itâs unwholesome, |
| |
this thought arises and itâs wholesome. |
| |
You have to know when the mind is unwholesome and when itâs not. |
| |
Abandon the unwholesome and develop the wholesome. |
| |
Thatâs how it has to be if you want to know. |
| |
It happens through looking after the practice, |
| |
including the observances regarding the dwelling place. |
| |
First thing in the morning, as soon as you hear the sound of the bell, |
| |
get up quickly. |
| |
Once youâve closed the doors and windows of the kutÄ«, |
| |
go to morning chanting. |
| |
Do the group duties. |
| |
And these days? |
| |
As soon as you get up you rush off, door and windows left open, |
| |
pieces of cloth left on the line outside. |
| |
Youâre completely unprepared for the rain. |
| |
As soon as it starts or you hear a peal of thunder, |
| |
you have to run all the way back. |
| |
Whenever you leave your kutī, close the door and windows. |
| |
If your robe is out on the line, bring it in and put it away neatly. |
| |
I donât see many people doing this. |
| |
Take your bathing cloth over to your kutī to dry. |
| |
During the rainy season put it out underneath the kutī. |
| |
Donât have a lot of cloth. |
| |
Iâve seen bhikkhus go to wash robes half-buried in cloth. |
| |
Either that or theyâre off to make a bonfire of some sort. |
| |
If youâve got a lot itâs a hassle. |
| |
All you need is one jiwon, one sanghati, |
| |
a sabong or two. |
| |
I donât know what this big jumbled pile youâre carrying around is. |
| |
On robe washing day some of you come along after everyone else, |
| |
when the waterâs all boiled, and just go straight ahead and wash your robes obliviously. |
| |
When youâve finished you rush off and donât help to clean up. |
| |
The others are about to murder you, do you realize that? |
| |
When everybody is helping cutting chips and boiling the water if there is someone who is nowhere to be seen, |
| |
thatâs really ugly. |
| |
Washing one or two pieces of cloth each shouldnât be such a big deal. |
| |
But from the âdterng dterngâ sound of cutting jackfruit wood |
| |
chips it sounds like youâre cutting down a huge tree to make a house post. |
| |
Be frugal. |
| |
If you only use the wood chips once or twice and then throw them away, |
| |
where do you think weâre going to keep getting the wood from? |
| |
Then thereâs firing bowls. |
| |
You just keep banking up the fire more and more and then when the bowl cracks you throw it away. |
| |
Now thereâs a whole pile of discarded bowls piled up at the foot of the mango tree. |
| |
Why do you do that? |
| |
If you donât know how to fire a bowl then ask. |
| |
Ask a senior monk. |
| |
Confer with him. |
| |
There have been bhikkhus whoâve just gone ahead and fired their bowls anyway, |
| |
even though they didnât know the right method; then when the bowl cracked they would come and ask for a new one. |
| |
How can you have the gall? |
| |
This is all wrong action and bad kamma. |
| |
Look after the trees in the monastery to the best of your ability. |
| |
Donât, under any circumstances, build fires near them so that their branches and leaves are singed. |
| |
Care for the trees. |
| |
I donât even allow the laypeople to build fires for warming themselves on winter mornings. |
| |
There was one time when some of them went ahead and did it anyway - they ended up with a head full of fleas. |
| |
Worse still, ashes blew all over the place and made everywhere filthy. |
| |
Only people on fishing trips do things like that. |
| |
When I went to have a look around the monastery I saw tin cans, |
| |
packets of detergent and soap wrappers strewn around the forest floor. |
| |
It looks more like the backyard of a slaughter-house than a monastery where people come to pay homage. |
| |
Itâs not auspicious. |
| |
If youâre going to throw anything away then do it in the proper place, |
| |
and then all the rubbish can be taken away and be incinerated. |
| |
But whatâs going on now? |
| |
As soon as youâre out of the immediate area of your kutÄ« you just sling your rubbish out into the forest. |
| |
Weâre monks, practitioners of the Dhamma. |
| |
Do things beautifully - beautiful in the beginning, |
| |
beautiful in the middle and beautiful in the end; beautiful in the way that the Buddha taught us. |
| |
This practice is all about abandoning defilements. |
| |
So if youâre accumulating, them youâre going on a different path to the Buddha. |
| |
He removes defilements and youâre taking them on. |
| |
Itâs sheer madness. |
| |
The reason is not hard to find: itâs simply that you donât reflect consistently enough to make things clear. |
| |
For the reflection on birth, old age, |
| |
sickness and death to have any real effect, |
| |
it has to be taken to the extent that, |
| |
on waking up in the morning - you shudder. |
| |
Acknowledge the fact that death could occur at any time. |
| |
You could die tomorrow. |
| |
You could die today. |
| |
And if thatâs the case, then you canât just carry on blithely. |
| |
Youâve got to get up. |
| |
Practise walking meditation. |
| |
If youâre afraid of death, then you must try to realize the Dhamma in the time you have. |
| |
But if you donât meditate on death, you wonât think like this. |
| |
If the bell wasnât rung so vigorously and for so long, |
| |
I donât know if thereâd be a single person at the morning meeting, |
| |
or when youâd ever do any chanting. |
| |
Some of you wake up at dawn, grab your bowl and then rush straight off on one of the short almsrounds. |
| |
Everyone just leaves the monastery when they feel like it. |
| |
Talk over the question of who goes on what almsround; what time |
| |
those on the Ban Glang route should leave; what time those on |
| |
the Ban Gor route should leave; what time those on the Ban Bok route should leave. |
| |
Take this clock as your standard. |
| |
When the bell goes set off straightaway. |
| |
These days those who leave first stand waiting at the edge of the village; the ones that leave later run to catch up. |
| |
Sometimes one group has been right through the village and are already on their way out when a second group arrives. |
| |
The villagers donât know what to put in the bowls of the second group. |
| |
Thatâs a dreadful way to carry on. |
| |
Discuss it amongst yourselves once more. |
| |
Decide who is going on which route. |
| |
If anyone is unwell, or has some problem and wants to change their route, |
| |
then say so. |
| |
There is an agreed way of doing things. |
| |
What do you think youâre doing, just following your desires like that? |
| |
Itâs an utter disgrace! |
| |
It would serve you right if all you got on almsround was a chisel.5 |
| |
If you need more sleep donât stay up so late. |
| |
Whatâs all this great activity youâre involved in that makes you need so much sleep? |
| |
Just putting forth effort, practising sitting and walking meditation doesnât cause you to miss that much sleep. |
| |
Spending your time indulging in socializing does though. |
| |
When youâve done a sufficient amount of walking meditation and youâre feeling tired then go to bed. |
| |
Divide your time correctly between Sangha activities and your own private activities so that you get enough rest. |
| |
On some days in the hot season, for instance, |
| |
when itâs very humid, we may take a break from evening chanting. |
| |
After water hauling, you can take your bath and then practise as you wish. |
| |
If you want to do walking meditation then get right down to it. |
| |
You can walk for as long as you like. |
| |
Try it out. |
| |
Even if you walk until seven oâclock youâve still got the whole night ahead of you. |
| |
You could walk until eight oâclock and go to sleep then if you really wanted to. |
| |
Thereâs no reason to miss out on sleep. |
| |
The problem is that you donât know how to manage your time. |
| |
Itâs up to you. |
| |
Whether you get up late or early is up to you. |
| |
How can you ever achieve anything without training and straightening yourself out? |
| |
The training is indispensable. |
| |
If you do it, this small thing will offer no difficulties. |
| |
You canât just play at it. |
| |
Make your practice of benefit to yourself and others. |
| |
Train yourselves well in the practice. |
| |
If you develop your mind, wisdom is bound to arise. |
| |
If you put your heart into walking jongrom6 then after three lengths of the path the Dhamma will be flowing strongly. |
| |
But instead of that, you drag yourself up and down in a drowsy state with your head hung down. |
| |
Those of you with broken necks: if you go in a forest or to a mountain they say the spirits will get you, |
| |
you know. |
| |
If youâre sleepy while youâre sitting, |
| |
get up! |
| |
Do some walking meditation; donât keep sitting there. |
| |
Standing, walking or sitting, you have to rid yourself of sleepiness. |
| |
If something arises and you donât do anything to solve the problem or to improve yourself, |
| |
then how will it ever get better? |
| |
Memorize the PÄtimokkha while youâre walking jongrom. |
| |
Itâs really enjoyable, and peaceful too. |
| |
Train yourself. |
| |
Go on the almsround to Ban Gor, keep yourself to yourself, |
| |
away from the ones that like to chat. |
| |
Let them go ahead, they walk fast. |
| |
Donât talk with the garrulous ones. |
| |
Talk with your own heart a lot, meditate a lot. |
| |
The kind of people who enjoy talking all day are like chattering birds. |
| |
Donât stand any nonsense from them. |
| |
Put your robes on neatly and then set off on almsround. |
| |
As soon as you get into your stride you can start memorizing the PÄtimokkha. |
| |
It makes your mind orderly and radiant. |
| |
Itâs a sort of handbook. |
| |
The idea is not that you should get obsessed with it, |
| |
simply that once youâve memorized it, |
| |
the PÄtimokkha will illuminate your mind. |
| |
As you walk you focus on it. |
| |
Before long youâve got it and it arises automatically. |
| |
Train yourself like that. |
| |
Train yourself. |
| |
You have to train. |
| |
Donât just hang around. |
| |
The moment that you do that youâre like a dog. |
| |
In fact a real dog is better: it barks when you walk past it late at night - you donât even do that. |
| |
âWhy are you only interested in sleeping? |
| |
Why wonât you get up?â |
| |
You have to teach yourself by asking those questions. |
| |
In the cold season some of you wrap yourself up in your robes in the middle of the day and go to sleep. |
| |
It wonât do. |
| |
When you go out to the toilet bow first. |
| |
Bow in the morning when the bell goes before leaving. |
| |
After the meal, once youâve washed your bowl and gathered your things, |
| |
then bow first before going back to your kutī. |
| |
Donât let those occasions pass. |
| |
The bell goes for water hauling; bow first before leaving your kutī. |
| |
If you forget and youâve walked as far as the central area of the monastery before you realize, |
| |
then go back again and bow. |
| |
You have to take the training to that level. |
| |
Train your heart and mind. |
| |
Donât just let it go. |
| |
Whenever you forget and donât bow, then go back and bow. |
| |
How will you forget if youâre that diligent, |
| |
when you have to keep walking back and forth. |
| |
Whatâs the attitude now? |
| |
âI forgot. |
| |
It doesnât matter. |
| |
Never mind.â |
| |
Thatâs why the monastery is in the state it is. |
| |
Iâm referring here to the old traditional methods. |
| |
Now it looks as if theyâve disappeared; I donât know what youâd call how you do things these days. |
| |
Go back to the old ways, the ascetic practices. |
| |
When you sit down at the foot of a tree, |
| |
then bow. |
| |
Even if thereâs no Buddha image, bow. |
| |
Your mindfulness is there if you do that. |
| |
When youâre sitting, maintain an appropriate posture; donât sit there grasping your knees like a fool. |
| |
Sitting like that is the beginning of the end. |
| |
Training yourself wonât kill you; itâs just laziness that is the problem. |
| |
Donât let it into your head. |
| |
If youâre really drowsy, then lie down, |
| |
but do it mindfully, reminding yourself to get up the moment you wake and be stern with yourself, |
| |
âif I donât, may I fall into hell!â |
| |
A full stomach makes you feel weary and weariness makes lying down seem a wonderful thing. |
| |
Then if youâre lying there comfortable and easy when you hear |
| |
the sound of the bell you get very angry at having to get up - maybe you even feel like killing the bell-ringer. |
| |
Count. |
| |
Tell your mind, âIf I get as far as three and I donât get up may I fall into hell.â |
| |
You have to really mean it. |
| |
You have to get hold of the defilement and kill it. |
| |
Donât just tease with your mind. |
| |
Read the biographies of the great teachers. |
| |
Theyâre singular people, arenât they? |
| |
Theyâre different. |
| |
Think carefully about that difference. |
| |
Train your mind in the correct way. |
| |
You donât have to depend on anyone else; discover your own skilful means to train your mind. |
| |
If it starts thinking of worldly things, |
| |
quickly subdue it. |
| |
Stop it. |
| |
Get up. |
| |
Change your posture. |
| |
Tell yourself not to think about such things; there are better things to think about. |
| |
Itâs essential that you donât just mildly yield to those thoughts. |
| |
Once theyâve gone from your mind youâll feel better. |
| |
Donât imagine that you can take it easy and your practice will take care of itself. |
| |
Everything depends on training. |
| |
Some animals are able to find the food they need and keep themselves alive because theyâre so quick and dexterous. |
| |
But then look at monitor lizards and tortoises. |
| |
Tortoises are so slow that you may wonder how they can survive. |
| |
Donât be fooled. |
| |
Creatures have will, they have their methods. |
| |
Itâs the same with sitting and walking meditation. |
| |
The great teachers have their methods but theyâre difficult to communicate. |
| |
Itâs like that old fellow who used to live in Piboon. |
| |
Whenever someone drowned he was the one who would dive down looking for the corpse. |
| |
He could keep diving for a long time - until the leaves of a |
| |
broken branch were all withered by the sun - and heâd find the bodies every time. |
| |
If there was a drowning, he was the man to see. |
| |
When I asked him how he did it, he said he knew all right, |
| |
but he couldnât put it into words. |
| |
Thatâs how it is: an individual matter. |
| |
Itâs difficult to communicate; you have to learn to do it yourself. |
| |
And itâs the same with the training of the mind. |
| |
Hurry on with this training! |
| |
I say this to you but Iâm not telling you that the Dhamma is something that you can run after, |
| |
or that you can realize it through physical effort alone, |
| |
by going without sleep or by fasting. |
| |
Itâs not about exhausting yourself, itâs about making your mind âjust rightâ for the Dhamma. |
| |
1: âTo be reverent and humble, content and gratefulâ: a line from the Mangala Sutta, |
| |
Snp 2.4 |
| |
2: Salot sangwaet: In other places in the text the more literal âsober sadnessâ has been used. |
| |
3: forced to listen to Dhamma talks |
| |
4: Wan Pra: observance day with all-night meditation. |
| |
5: A chisel is commonly used as a weapon. |
| |
A chisel put into a bhikkhuâs almsbowl would be interpreted as a threat of violence. |
| |
6: Jongrom: walking meditation, usually back and forth on a straight path. |
| |
* * * |