Treasury of The Buddha's Discourses

01SNSalayatanaCh3520090810

Okay, today is the 10th of August, 2009, and we've come to the fourth book of the Sangyutta Nikaya. I'm starting on the fourth book. This fourth book is named after the first chapter, Salayatana Sangyutta. So the book is called Salayatana Vaga, the book of the Six Sense Beasts. And this is another very important section concerning the Sixth Sense Basis. And in this book, there are ten Sankhyuttas, ten chapters. And the whole book is dominated by the first chapter, Salayatana Sankhyutta, which takes up half of the book. In the Pali Texts of the Pali Text Society, This book 4 has 403 pages and the first chapter takes up 208 pages, about half of it. In this first chapter, we are going into the Salayatana, the six sense bases. In this translation by Vibhuti Kubodhi, there are 248 suttas. I'll read you some of the important notes that Berbicu Bodhi has written here. He says, on first consideration, it would seem that the six internal and external sense bases should be understood simply as the six sense faculties and their objects. With the term ayatana base, having the sense of origin or source, Though many suttas lend support to this supposition, the Theravada exegetical tradition, beginning already from the Abhidhamma period, understands the six pairs of bases as a complete scheme of classification capable of accommodating all the factors of existence mentioned in the Nikayas. The Theravada commentarial tradition has diverted a bit from the original suttas and they have a slightly different interpretation. The main pragmatic concern with the six sense bases is the eradication of clinging For like the aggregates, the sense bases serve as the soil where clinging takes root and thrives, because clinging or attachment originates from ignorance and craving, and because ignorance sustains clinging by weaving its web of the triple delusion, permanence, happiness, and self. We find in the Salayat Tanah Sangyuta almost all the familiar templates used in the Khanda Sangyuta. Often, in fact, these templates are here applied twice to generate parallel suttas for the internal and external sense bases. Thus, to dispel ignorance and generate true knowledge, we repeatedly hear the same melodies in a slightly different key, reminding us that the sense bases and their derivatives are impermanent suffering and non-self, that we must discern the gratification danger, and escape in regard to the sense bases, that we should abandon desire and lust for the sense bases. Several suttas in this chapter identify the six sense bases with the world, because the world, loka, is whatever disintegrates, lojjati, and because in the Noble One's discipline, the world is understood as that in the world by which one is a perceiver and conceiver of the world. In one Sutta, the question is raised why the world is said to be empty, suniya, and the answer given is because the six bases are empty of a self, or of what belongs to self. No parallels to these discourses are found in the Khandasang Yuta. The Sanghuta also describes the six internal self-spaces as all kamma, which could not be said so plainly about the aggregates, for they comprise both karmically active and resultant phases of experience. We further find here that greater stress is placed on conceiving. Manyana, the distorted cognitions influenced by craving, conceit and views, with several discourses devoted to the methods of contemplation for uprooting all conceivings. The entire Samyutta ends with a masterly discourse, in which the Buddha urges the monks to uproot conceivings in all its guises. The Khandhasamyutta consistently treats the aggregates as the objective reference of identity view, sakkayaditti, the views that seek to give substance to the idea of a self, and the puttujana or whirling fashions a view about his or her identity. He or she always does so in relation to the five aggregates. We do not find any parallel text expressing identity view in terms of the sense basis. This difference in emphasis is understandable when we realize that the scheme of the aggregates spans a wider spectrum of categories. than the sense bases themselves, and therefore offers the worldling more variety to choose from when attempting to give substance to the notion of myself. This, it must be stressed, indicates a difference in emphasis, not a fundamental doctrinal difference, for the sense bases can be grasped upon with the notions, this is mine, this I am, this is myself, just as tenaciously as the aggregates can. Thus, we even find a series of three suttas which state that contemplating the sense bases as impermanent, suffering, and non-self leads, respectively, to the abandoning of wrong view, identity view, and view of self. However, as a general rule, the sense bases are not taken up for a thematic exposition of identity view in the way the five aggregates are, which is certainly significant. We see too that the entire Diti Sang Yuta on the diversity of views faces all views to a misapprehension of the aggregates, not of the sense bases. In relation to the sense bases, the interest in views recedes into the background, and a new theme takes centre stage. the need to control and master the senses. It is the sense faculties that give us access to the agreeable and disagreeable phenomena of the world. And it is our spontaneous, impulsive responses to these phenomena that sow the seeds of much suffering. Within the untrained mind, lust, hatred and delusion, the three roots of evil are always lying latent. And with delusion obscuring the true nature of things, agreeable objects are bound to provoke lust and greed, disagreeable objects hatred and aversion. These spontaneous reactions flood the mind and bid for our consent. If we are not careful, we may rush ahead in pursuit of immediate gratification, oblivious to the fact that the fruit of sensual enjoyment is misery. To inculcate sense restraint, the Salayatana Sanghuta makes constant use of two formulas. One is the stock description of sense restraint, Indriya Sanghvara, usually embedded in the sequence on the gradual training, commonly the Digha Nikaya. and the Majjhima Nikaya. This formula enjoins the practice of sense restraint to keep the evil, unwholesome states of covetousness and displeasure from invading the mind. In the present chapter, it occurs at 35.120127 etc. The second formula posits a contrast between one who is intent upon a pleasing form and repelled by a displeasing form, and one who is not swayed by these pairs of opposites. The latter has set up mindfulness of the body, dwells with a measureless mind, and understands that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, let the evil states of lust and aversion cease without remainder. The doctrine of dependent origination reveals that craving is the propelling cause of suffering, and craving springs up with feeling as its proximate cause. Feeling occurs in the six sense bases as pleasant, painful and neutral feeling, and through our unwholesome responses to these feelings, we nourish the craving that holds us in bondage. To gain full deliverance from suffering, craving must be contained and eradicated, and thus the restraint of the senses becomes an integral part of the discipline aimed at the removal of craving. Craving and other defilements arise and flourish because the mind seizes upon the signs, nimitta, and features, anubhyanjana, of sensory objects and uses them as raw material for creating imaginative constructs to which it clings as a basis for security. This process, called mental proliferation, papancha, is effectively synonymous with conceiving, manjana. These constructs, created under the influence of the defilements, serve in turn as springboards for still stronger and more tenacious defilements, thus sustaining a vicious cycle. To break this cycle, what is needed as a preliminary step is to restrain the senses, which involves stopping at the bare sense without plastering it over with layers of meaning whose origins are purely subjective. This aspect of sense restraint receives special emphasis in the last two Vadas of the Salayatanasang Yuta, which stand out by reason of their startling imagery and extended similes. Here the six sense faculties are spoken of as an ocean, the sense objects as their current, and the faring along the spiritual path as a voyage in which we are exposed to dangers that we can only surmount by sense restraint Again, agreeable sense objects are like baited hooks cast out by Mara. One who swallows them comes under Mara's control. One who resists them escapes unharmed. It is better, we are told, to have our sense faculties lacerated by sharp instruments, hot and glowing, than to become infatuated with attractive sense objects, for such infatuation can lead to rebirth in the lower realms. Our existential condition is depicted by the parable of a man pursued by four vipers, five murderous enemies, and an assassin. His only means to safety, a handmade raft. A monk in training should draw his senses inward as a tortoise draws its limbs into its shell, for Mara is like a hungry jackal trying to get a grip on him. The six senses are like six animals, each drawn to their natural habitat, which must be tied by the rope of sensory strain and bound to the strong poles of body-directed mindfulness. The Samyukta ends with a parable about the magical bonds of the Asura king, Vipacitti, and sounds a decisive call to eliminate all modes of conceiving rooted in craving and wrong views. So these are interesting notes that Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi has written. Now we start on the suttas themselves. We start with the first sutta, 35.1. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savarthi in Jhs. Grove, Anathapindika Spa. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks. Venerable Sir, those monks replied, the Blessed One said this, Monks, the I is impermanent. What is impermanent is suffering. What is suffering is non-self. What is non-self should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus. This is not mine. This I am not. This is not my self. The ear is similarly, the ear is impermanent. The nose, tongue, body, mind are impermanent. What is What is impermanent is suffering. What is suffering is non-self. What is non-self should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Seeing thus mounts, the learned noble disciple experiences revulsion towards the eye, revulsion towards the ear, revulsion towards the nose, revulsion towards the tongue, revulsion towards the body, revulsion towards the mind. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge it is liberated. He understands, destroyed is birth, holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. So this is one of the standard ways in which the Buddha teaches the Dhamma, that what is impermanent gives rise to suffering. And what is impermanent, ever-changing, and a cause for suffering should not be taken as the self. And what is not self should be seen with correct wisdom. This is not mine, this I'm not, this not myself. And then seeing clearly, learned disciple experiences revulsion for what is impermanent. And then from revulsion it becomes dispassionate and becomes liberated. The next sutra is 35.23, Asavarthi, page 1140. Monks, I will teach you the All. Listen to that. And what, monks, is the All? The Eye and Forms, Ear and Sounds, Nose and Odors, Tongue and Taste, Body and Tactile Objects or Touch, Mind and Mental Phenomena or Thoughts. This is called the All. If anyone, monks, should speak thus, having rejected this All, I shall make known another All. That would be a mere empty boast on its part. If he were questioned, he would not be able to reply. And further, he would meet with vexation. For what reason? Because monks, that would not be within his domain. That's the end of the sutra. So the Buddha says, all is the eye and forms, ear and nose, tongue and odours, sorry, nose and odours, tongue and taste, body and tactile objects, mind and mental phenomena. The six senses, The six senses comprise the six sense organs, and then the objects, the external objects, like forms, sounds, smells, taste, touch, and thoughts. Now, consider each sense base. If you have the eye and the forms, this is the condition for the eye consciousness to arise. And then the meeting of the three is contact. So, when there is contact, then feeling arises, followed by perception, thinking, volition, etc. Now, because the eye and the forms give rise to eye consciousness, and similarly for the other sense bases, the ear, gives rise to ear consciousness, nose-to-nose consciousness, tongue-to-tongue consciousness, etc. So the whole world is within the consciousness. Without consciousness, there is no world. So because the whole universe is to be found in consciousness, that's why the Buddha says that the essence basis is the all. all of the whole world is to be found in the six sense spaces. That's why there's one sutta where the Buddha says the world is within this body, this body and this mind. The origin of the world is also within this body, the end of the world is also within this body, and the path into the end of the world is also within this body. So we don't have to look far, we just have to go into our body and mind, and all the answers are there. The next Sutta is 35.28, Adhita-pariyaya Sutta. It's one of the famous Suttas. It's on page 1143. It's one of the very famous Suttas because in the early days when the Buddha was gathering disciples, he found 1000 ascetics who were staying by the banks of the river. and they were external ascetics, so they prayed to fire, they worshipped the fire, and they kept long hair, they were method hair ascetics, and their name was Jatilas, they were called Jatilas. But I believe, with good reason, that they all practiced jhana, and attained jhana. That's why the Buddha went to them. The Buddha generally, when he wants to gather disciples, he will look for those who have attained jhāna. Because those who have attained jhāna are very easy to teach. Even the first person the Buddha wanted to teach was his former teacher who taught him jhāna. And it is clear from the Vinaya books why he selected his teacher. first to teach was because he thought his teacher has attained jhāna, it would be very easy for him to understand the Dhamma. Similarly, the Buddha came to these 1,000 jatilas at the banks of the river, and because probably several of them had psychic power already, So it is not easy to convert, especially the leader. The leader thought that he was an Arahant, probably because he had psychic power. So the Buddha stayed with them for several weeks. And during those several weeks, the Buddha showed indirectly psychic power to them to impress them. For example, at night, the devas will come to meet, to see the Buddha. So when the devas come to pay respect to the Buddha and talk to the Buddha, the whole place is lighted up. So they know. And then the next day, they'll ask the Buddha, how come, who came to see you? And the whole kuti around there was bright. And the Buddha said, oh, Chakadevaraja came to see me. So they're very impressed. Then another night, Buddha said, oh, Brahma came to see me. So they were very impressed. And then other ways of showing psyche power. So much so that they were totally impressed with him. Then only the Buddha told off the leader, said, Kasapa, you keep thinking you are an Arahant, but you are not an Arahant, and you are not practicing the right way to become an Arahant. So he got a shock because all the time everybody respect him. Here the Buddha is challenging him. When he started thinking, then he realized the Buddha's cultivation is much higher than him. Then he shaved off his hair and became a disciple of the Buddha. And when the 999 other disciples saw, they also shaved off their hair and all became disciples of the Buddha. So after they became disciples of the Buddha, then only the Buddha decided to teach them the Dhamma. And the Buddha taught them this Sutta, Adhita-pariraya Sutta. and just teaching them one sutta, they just heard one sutta, all of them became arahants, which proves indirectly that they all had attained the four jhanas, because the condition for attaining arahanthood according to the Buddha is the four jhanas. So because they like to worship fire, the Buddha based his talk on fire. The moment the Buddha talked about fire, they all got very interested, all paid solid attention. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Gaya, at Gaya's head, together with a thousand monks. That's just after they had ordained with the Buddha. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Monks, all is burning. And what, monks, is the all that is burning? The I is burning. Forms are burning. The I-consciousness is burning. I-contact is burning. Whatever feeling arises with I-contact as condition, whether pleasant or painful, or neither painful nor pleasant, that too is burning. Burning with what? burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hatred, with the fire of delusion, burning with birth, aging and death, with sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair, I say." Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying, That the I, because we have the I, then we have the I-consciousness, and then there is contact. And from contact, feeling arises. And from feeling, you have craving. So all this, you have passion. So all this is a cause of greed, hatred, and delusion. And because of greed, hatred, and delusion, you will have birth, aging, and dying, and sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair, all kinds of suffering. Similarly, the Buddha said that ear is burning, sounds are burning, ear consciousness is burning, ear contact is burning, and whatever feeling arises with ear contact as condition, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, hatred and delusion. Burning with birth, aging and death. With sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair, I say. Similarly, The nose is burning, odours are burning, nose consciousness is burning, nose contact is burning, and whatever feeling arises with nose contact as condition, that too is burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, hatred, delusion, burning with birth, ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. Similarly, The tongue is burning, taste is burning, tongue consciousness etc is burning, body is burning, touch, tactile objects are burning, body consciousness is burning, body contact is burning, whatever feeling arises is burning, and the mind is burning. The mind is burning. Thoughts are burning. Mind consciousness is burning. Mind contact is burning. Whatever feeling arises, that too is burning. Burning with the fire of lust, hatred and delusion. Burning with birth, aging and death. Sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair, I say. Seeing thus, monk, the learned noble disciple experiences revulsion towards the eye, towards forms, towards eye consciousness, towards eye contact, towards whatever feeling arises with eye contact as condition. Similarly, the learned noble disciple experiences revulsion towards the ear, towards sounds, towards ear consciousness, towards ear contact, etc. Similarly, experiences revulsion towards the nose, towards odors, towards nose consciousness, etc. Towards tongue, towards taste, towards tongue consciousness, towards body, towards touch, towards body consciousness, etc. Similarly, towards mind, towards thoughts, towards mind consciousness, etc. Through experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge. It is liberated. He understands, destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. This is what the Blessed One said. elated, those monks delighted in the Blessed One's statement. And while this discourse was being spoken, the minds of the thousand monks were liberated from the asavas by non-clinging." Which means all 1,000 of them attained Arahanthood. So you see, for a simple discourse like this, for a person to attain Arahanthood, the mind must be so clear that every sentence that the Buddha says, they can absorb so clearly. The Buddha says, that when we listen to the Dhamma, whether we can absorb or not depends on the condition of our mind. If a person has attained the four jhanas like these monks, their mind is so clean of defilements, clean of the hindrances. So it's just like the Buddha says, give a simile, if you want to dye a piece of cloth, If you have a white, clean piece of cloth, you soak it in the dye. When you take it out, it absorbs all the color. Just like a clean mind absorbs all the dharma. But if you have a dirty piece of cloth, with colors already on it, with oil, with stain, dirty and all that, you go and soak it in the dye and you take it out, it cannot absorb. Can I absorb any colour? For most people, our mind is dirty, dirty with all the defilements, with all the hindrances and all that. So that's why the importance of attaining a focused mind, having samadhi, a mind that attains samadhi is rid of all the defilements, the hindrances. The next sutra is 35.30. Monks, I will teach you the way that is appropriate for uprooting all conceivings. Listen to that and attend closely. I will speak. This conceivings, the word is manyana. It is the distortional thought process. plus the notions that arise from it. For example, I am, I exist. What will I be in the next birth? What was I before? Who created me? And all these things. So this is all the... So this manyana, conceivings, is synonymous with proliferation of thoughts. Proliferation of thoughts generally is known by another name, papanca. but they are connected, similar. So the Buddha wants to teach how to uproot the conceivings. And what monks, you know why we want to uproot the conceivings? Because once we have views, we have views only because we have the ego, because of the ego, the self, then we have views. And what mounts is the way that is appropriate for uprooting all conceivings. Here mounts, a mount does not conceive the I, does not conceive in the I, does not conceive from the I, does not conceive the I is mine. Similarly, he does not conceive forms, eye consciousness, eye contact, and whatever feeling that arises with eye contact as condition, he does not conceive that does not conceive in that, does not conceive from that, does not conceive that is mine. Let's stop here for a moment. This dharma teaching here is similar to the first sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya. And the Majjhima Nikaya contains 152 suttas. So a lot of people when they start reading the Majjhima Nikaya, they start with this first sutta. It's like being punched so hard, you get knocked out. Because this sutra is so hard to understand. Most people who read it cannot make head or tail out of it. So they become very discouraged. That's why normally I tell people, when you study the Majjhima Nikaya, you skip the first sutra. You read all the other sutras, and then towards the end, you come to the first sutra. I don't know why they're going to put this uta right in the front to kill people. So this one, this one for many years or so I couldn't understand. Only recently I come to understand. So here it says, a monk does not conceive the I. That means he does not think about the I. There's no proliferation of views about the I. And he does not conceive in the I. What does this mean? He does not conceive in the I. He does not conceive from the I. This is a difficult part. He does not conceive in the I to me. It means he does not conceive an object in the I. And then he does not conceive from the I means he does not conceive a subject apart from the I. Because once you start thinking about the I, whatever you start thinking about it, then you think it is an object. And then you are the subject apart from that object. So there's a duality. I and other. There is a self, there is others. So he does not conceive an object in the I. He does not conceive a subject. That means myself apart from the I. Does not conceive the I is mine. This I is the physical I. Matter. Similarly, it does not conceive forms, it does not conceive an object in form, it does not conceive a subject apart from form, it does not conceive The form is mind. Similarly, he does not conceive eye consciousness, does not conceive an object in eye consciousness, does not conceive a subject from eye consciousness, does not conceive eye consciousness is mind. Similarly for eye contact and feeling. And then for the other basis also the same. He does not conceive the ear. does not conceive an object in the ear, does not conceive a subject apart from the ear, does not conceive the ear is mind, etc. Similarly, he does not conceive the nose, tongue, body, and mind, and all the other things that come with it. He does not conceive that, does not conceive An object in that does not conceive a subject apart from that, does not conceive that is mind. He does not conceive all, does not conceive an object in all, does not conceive a subject apart from all, does not conceive all is mind. Since he does not conceive anything thus, he does not cling to anything in the world. Not clinging, he is not agitated. Being unagitated, he personally attains Nibbana. He understands. Destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. This, monks, is the way that is appropriate for uprooting all conceiving itself. So the important point here is to see that there is no differentiating of something out there and you here. That's why there's one sutta where the Buddha was asked by an ascetic, if I remember correctly, the monk was going on alms round, Pindapad. And then this ascetic, he actually, he had psychic power. So, because he had psychic power, he thought he already finished his work, he already was an Arahant. And then a Deva came to tell him that he is not an Arahant. Then he was surprised. Then the Deva told him, but there is an Arahant in the world, Sammasambuddha. Then the Deva told him where and where. So, it seems he travelled the whole night. using his part psychic power, like he could run so fast, run so fast, and he traveled to where the Buddha was. And when he arrived, it was morning, and the Buddha was on the alms round. I think his name was Bahiya Dharucharya. So he asked the Buddha to teach him some Dhamma. The Buddha said, this is not the proper time, I'm on alms round. Second time he asked the Buddha. Again, the Buddha said, it's not appropriate. Third time he asked the Buddha, he said, I don't know how much time I have left. I don't know how much time you have left. So since life is so uncertain, please teach me some Dhamma. I don't need you to teach me a lot of Dhamma, just concise Dhamma. Then the Buddha gave him very brief instructions. The Buddha said, but here, always remember, In the seeing, there is just the seeing. Sometimes they translate as, in the seeing, there is just the seeing. In the hearing, there is just the hearing. In the smelling, there is just the smelling. In the tasting, there is just the tasting. Similarly for the touch and thinking. But the Buddha is trying to say, when this consciousness arises, this just consciousness arising. But usually when, for example, when we see something, we think we see an object out there. And I am doing the seeing, right? I am doing the seeing. So you have a self and you have others. Similarly with hearing. When there's hearing, you hear a sound, you think I hear the sound. And the sound is out there. So this creates the self, this creates others. But the Buddha is trying to say when consciousness arises, consciousness makes up the whole world. And what you perceive as the self and others are all inside consciousness, there's nothing else. So in the seeing, there's just the seeing. In the hearing, there's just the hearing. Don't start conceiving, don't start thinking there is a self, there's others out there and all these things. Everything is like a dream, just within our dream consciousness. So just giving these brief instructions, Because this Pahir, his mind was so clear, having attained the four jhanas, he understood. I think he attained arhanthood. Then he begged the Buddha to accept him as a disciple. Then the Buddha accepted him as a disciple. The Buddha asked him to go and look for a robe, a robe and an alms bowl, to become a monk in the Buddha's teaching Buddhist religion, you've got to have a proper robe and alms bowl. So he went to look for alms bowl. And then when he was looking for alms bowl, cow gored him to death. This happens quite often because cows, if they have the baby with them, the calf, they see a monk, they don't like this color. It's like a tiger color. So any monk wearing this robe goes near the calf, he will attack. I also had the experience, a few of us monks going on alms round the paddy field, we didn't notice that the cow was tied there with the calf nearby. So when we went near, suddenly he got up and chases. We were all scattered in all different directions. So this happens. So this sutra is quite deep sutra, not easy to understand this type of sutra. If you read by yourself, the first time you read, you can't make head or tail of it.

02SNSalayatanaCh3520090810

Now we come to 35.6060 on page 1149. Buddha said, monks, I will teach you the Dhamma for the full understanding of all clinging or attachment. Listen. And what monks, is the Dhamma for the full understanding of all clinging or attachment. Independence of the I informs, I-consciousness arises. The meeting of the tree is contact. With contact as condition, feeling comes to be. Seeing thus, the learned noble disciple experiences revulsion towards the eye, towards forms, towards eye-consciousness, towards eye-contact, towards feeling. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, the mind is liberated. With its deliverance, he understands, clinging has been understood by me. Similarly, independence on ear and sounds, ear consciousness arises, independence on nose and smells, independence on tongue and taste, body and touch, mind and thoughts, consciousness arises. The meeting of the trees, contact with contact, as conditioned feeling comes to be, and then seeing thus the noble The learned, noble disciple experiences revulsion towards the six sense pieces. And experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. And through dispassion, the mind is liberated. This is the Dhamma for the full understanding of all clinging. So why the Buddha says from this you can understand clinging? Firstly, you see, All these conditions, they are like a chain. For the eye, there must be forms in front of the eye. And then the consciousness arises. And then the meeting of the three is contact. And then, because of contact, you pay attention, and feeling arises. And then, because of feeling, you have pleasant feeling, you have unpleasant feeling, and you have neutral feeling. Pleasant feeling, when you experience, there is a tendency to cling to it, to lust for it, to crave for it, to want to experience it again. When you have unpleasant feeling, painful feeling, there is revulsion, you want to get far away from it, you don't want to experience it again. so if you understand that this craving arises from conditions arising from all these conditions and it gives you suffering and the suffering is because of the six sense bases when you have the six sense bases and you have contact then because of feeling then suffering comes to be so understanding this then learned disciple, he experiences revulsion towards the source of suffering, which is a six sense basis. Then when he becomes disenchanted, then that is followed by dispassion, and he becomes liberated. 35.63, Asavati. Then the Venerable Megha Jala approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, it is said, lone dweller, lone dweller. In what we, Venerable Sir, is one a lone dweller, and in what we is one dwelling with a partner, the Buddha said. Migajala There are forms cognizable by the eye that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk seeks delight in them, welcomes them, and remains holding to them, delight arises. When there is delight, there is infatuation. When there is infatuation, there is bondage. Bound by the fetter of delight, Migajala, a monk is called one dwelling with a partner. There are Mikajāla, sounds cognizable by the ear. So similarly, they are desirable, lovely, enticing, etc. Odors cognizable by the nose, taste cognizable by the tongue, tactile objects cognizable by the body, thoughts cognizable by the mind that are desirable, doubly agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a mouth seeks delight in them, welcomes them and remains holding to them, delight arises. When there is delight, there is infatuation. When there is infatuation, there is bondage. bound by the fetter of delight. A monk is called one dwelling with a partner. Migajala, even though a monk who dwells thus, resorts to forests and groves, to remote lodgings where there are few sounds and little noise, desolate, hidden from people, appropriate for seclusion, he is still called one dwelling with a partner. For what reason? Because craving is his partner, and he has not abandoned it. Therefore, he is called one dwelling with a partner. Let's stop here for a moment. So here you see, if a monk is infatuated still with the sense objects, then he is bound by them wherever he goes. Because he craves for them, he will always be thinking of them. So he's always thinking of them. The mind doesn't stop chattering. There's always somebody talking to him inside. That's why it's called dwelling with a partner. The Buddha continued, Meghajala, there are forms cognizable by the eye that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk does not seek delight in them, does not welcome them, and does not remain holding to them, delight ceases. When there is no delight, there is no infatuation. When there is no infatuation, there is no bondage. Released from the fetter of delight and gajala, a monk is called a lone dweller. Similarly, for sounds cognizable by the ear, odours, taste, touch, thoughts that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, etc. If a monk seeks delight in them, then he is bound to them. If a monk does not seek delight in them, he is not bound by them. So he is called a lone-dweller. Migajala, even though a monk who dwells thus lives in the vicinity of a village, associating with monks and nuns, with male and female lay followers, with kings and royal ministers, with sectarian teachers and their disciples, he is still called a lone-dweller. For what reason? Because craving It's his partner and he has abandoned it. Therefore, he's called a lone dweller. That's the end of the sutta. So sometimes, a lot of people, a lot of monks, they don't understand the suttas. Sometimes they think the outward renunciation is important or making a show of it. But it's not so important as the inner practice. in the practice. You don't have to go and cultivate all the ascetic practices to show that you are such a good monk. We have only to answer to ourselves. If our mind is clean, that is a good monk, not one who appears to Sometimes the monk appears to be dwelling alone, but he's not actually dwelling alone. He goes everywhere with craving. Now this is the next sutta, 35.64. Then the Venerable Nigajala approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, it would be good if the Blessed One would teach me Dhamma in brief, so that having heard the Dhamma from the Blessed One, I might dwell alone, withdrawn, diligent, hardened, and resolute. Stop here for a moment. You see, quite often, because the Buddha encouraged his monks, After five years of monkhood, the first five years of monkhood, a monk is supposed to dwell with a teacher, a teacher that can teach him the suttas and the Vinaya and traditions. But the most important is the suttas and the Vinaya. After five years having known the suttas and the Vinaya, he's encouraged to go off and practice alone, alone, because that's the ideal condition for practicing. That's why here, Vamikajala says, he wants to dwell alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent and resolute. And the Buddha said, Migajala, there are forms cognizable by the eye that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk seeks delight in them, welcomes them, and remains holding to them, delight arises. With the arising of delight, I say, migajala, there is the arising of suffering. There are migajala sounds cognizable by the ear, odors, taste, touch. and thoughts that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, etc. If a monk seeks delight in them, welcomes them and remains holding to them, delight arises. With the arising of delight, migajala, there is the arising of suffering. So let's stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, The six-sense objects that impinge, make contact with our six-sense doors, if we take delight in them, there is a cause for the arising of suffering because everything in the world is impermanent. When you are happy with something, you attach to it, later it will change. It's the nature of the world. So when it changes, there's a cause for suffering. There are migajala, forms cognizable by the eye, that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk does not seek delight in them, does not welcome them, and does not remain holding to them, delight ceases. With the cessation of delight, I say, comes the cessation of suffering. Similarly, in Vajjala, there are sounds cognizable by the ear, odours, taste, touch, thoughts that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, etc. If a monk does not seek delight in them, delight ceases. With the cessation of delight, I say, comes the cessation of suffering. Then the Venerable Migajala, having delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One's words, rose from his seat, and after paying homage to the Blessed One, keeping Him on his right, he departed. Then, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute, the Venerable Migajala, by realizing it for himself with direct knowledge in this very life, entered and dwelt in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life, for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the household life into homelessness. He directly knew, destroyed his birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for the state of being. And the Venerable Migajala became one of the Arahants. So you see this teaching, the Buddha is basically telling him that all the things in the world that are lovely, enticing, pleasing, they give you suffering. So don't cling to them. Let go. So if a person practices the holy path, he gives up worldly happiness and he goes within himself. When we go within ourselves, then we slowly begin to experience a different kind of happiness. It's totally different from worldly happiness. Worldly happiness gives you happiness for a very short time, does not last. But the happiness within is very hard to get, but when you can get it, it's long-lasting. That's why, for example, the Buddha said that those monks who attain the second jhāna, when they are reborn in the second jhāna heaven, their mind itself gives them so much happiness that every day they say sukha, sukha, sukha, just like an ecstasy pill. And that is for millions of years, millions and millions of years, not just for a short But because it's difficult to get that type of happiness and most people don't know about that type of happiness. That's why most people are not willing to renounce worldly happiness. Worldly happiness they think they can see here and now. Why want to chase after something that you cannot see? So as a way, foolish people think, they don't have the foresight, they don't think so long, they don't think so far. He asked the Buddha, Venerable Sir, it is said, the world, the world. In what way, Venerable Sir, might there be the world or the description of the world? And the Buddha said, where there is the I, Samadhi, where there are forms, I, consciousness, things to be cognized by I, consciousness. There the world exists, or the description of the world. Similarly, where there is the ear, sounds, ear consciousness, there the world exists. And similarly, where there is the nose, there are smells, etc., and the body, touch, etc., and mind and thoughts, etc. Whereas there is no I Samadhi, no forms, no I Consciousness, no things to be cognized by I Consciousness. There the world does not exist or any description of the world. Similarly where there is no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind. then the world does not exist or any description of the world. So here the Buddha is saying that the world is within our six senses and you have the six senses and you have the six sense consciousness and you have everything in the world is inside the six senses and six sense consciousness. The next sutra 35.69 On one occasion, the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Upasena were dwelling at Rajagaha, in the cool grove, in the snake's foot grotto. On that occasion, a viper had fallen on the Venerable Upasena's body. Then the Venerable Upasena addressed the monks thus, Come friends, lift this body of mine onto the bed, and carry it outside before it is scattered right here like a handful of chalk. Stop here for a moment. This Venerable Upasena, it seems, this very poisonous snake had fallen on his body. I don't know whether I admit him or not. But suddenly he realized that he was going to die. So he asked the other monks to carry his body outside. Let me see his face before it's scattered here. Because he has attained, he must have become an Arahant. His Siddhāki power is so great that when he dies, his body can just disappear. Probably one way of explaining it could be that he has been meditating on the fire element so that when he dies, he can just use the fire to burn the body completely until there's no trace of it. When this was said, the Venerable Sariputta said to the Venerable Upasena, we do not see any alteration in the Venerable Upasena's body or any change in his faculties. Yet, the Venerable Upasena says, come friends, lift this body of mine onto the bed and carry it outside before it is scattered right here like a handful of chaff. Stop here for a moment. So, Venerable Sariputta says, your body seems perfectly alright. Why do you say you are going to die? And then he replied, Friend Sariputta, for one who thinks I am the I, or the I is mine, or I am the ear, or the ear is mine, et cetera, There might be alteration of the body or a change of the faculties. My friend Sariputta, it does not occur to me, I am the I, or the I is mine, or I am the ear, or the ear is mine, or I am the nose, etc., the tongue, the body, the mind. So why should there be any alteration in my body? or any change in my faculties." Sariputta said, it must be because eye-making, mind-making, and the underlying tendency to conceit have been thoroughly uprooted in the verbal Upasena for a long time that it does not occur to him, I am the eye, or the eye is mine, or I am the ear, or the ear is mine, or I am the nose, tongue, body, and mind. Then those monks lifted the Venerable Upasena's body onto the bed and carried it outside. Then the Venerable Upasena's body was scattered right there just like a handful of chalk. So his body just disappeared. So here the Venerable Sariputta says that must be that he has totally rooted out this conceit, this ego, this selfhood in him a long time already. He thoroughly does not have any trace of self or ego left. That's why even when he's going to die, his body does not change at all. It's not affected, because it doesn't see the body as himself, so the mind does not affect the body in that sense. Let's stop here for tonight. Many of these suttas in the Salayatana Samyutta, they are similar to the Khanda Samyutta. So I didn't bother to read them, that's why I've gone through the So many suttas, I bypassed so many suttas. I think to ask? There is one sutta where the Buddha says, the Buddha was asked, this is Sakkapandha Sutta in the Digha Nikaya. The Buddha was asked by Sakkadevaraja, humans and devas, we like to be at peace. You don't like to quarrel and fight and all that. But even though we like peace, yet very often there is fighting, there is war. I asked the Buddha why. The Buddha says it's because of two things, covetousness or greed. and jealousy. We are greedy for things. And when we see that other people have and we don't have, we are jealous. Because of jealousy, it's a cause of conflict. And then he asked the Buddha, why is there covetousness and jealousy in the world? And the Buddha said, Because something like, I don't remember exactly, like because of desire. Why is there desire? He said because of thinking. Like and dislike. Like and dislike, then you have desire. Then he asked, why is there like and dislike? The Buddha said, because of thinking. And then, why is it that people like to think? Then the Buddha said, there are two kinds of happiness. One kind of happiness which most people experience is the happiness from thinking. We get happiness from thinking, that's why some people like to daydream, like to fantasize, oh, if I'm rich, I'll do this, I'll do that, and all these things. So we get pleasure from thinking. But the Buddha says there's another type of happiness devoid of thinking and that is a higher happiness and that is experienced when you attain the second jhāna and above the second jhāna, third jhāna, fourth jhāna. Without having to think, you are so happy. So unless you have attained that happiness, the higher happiness, devoid of thinking, you will only know the happiness of thinking. So that's why you keep thinking because it gives you pleasure. Just like worldly people, we only know worldly happiness. For example, we only know sensual pleasure, we only know the happiness of eating good food, we only know the happiness of going to see a good show, and all these things. So because that is the only type of happiness we know, we keep indulging in that type of happiness. It's only one day when you think it gives you enough of suffering already and you are willing to give it up. When you give it up and you walk the spiritual path, then you experience a higher type of happiness which is lasting. Then only you realize Ah, that is higher happiness. Then you totally don't want to experience the lower happiness anymore. The Buddha said, just like a person, when he was a human being in this world, he was rich and enjoyed worldly pleasures. But at the same time, he did a lot of good deeds. So after he passed away, he was reborn in heaven. When he was free-born in heaven, surrounded by all the heavenly maidens, he was enjoying himself even more. So when he was in heaven, he looked down on earth. Then he saw his son or his friend enjoying the happiness that he used to enjoy. Then the Buddha said, does he envy them? Does he want to come down and enjoy that happiness that he enjoyed before? No. Why? Because he enjoys a higher happiness now. So he doesn't want to enjoy a lower type of happiness. So unless you have experienced a high happiness, you don't know anything better. I think that is the best. Sometimes the Buddha gives a simile of the dung beetle. The dung beetle only knows the dung as its food. I think that's the best food in the world. It doesn't want to eat anything else. That's the best food. Yeah.

03SNSalayatanaCh3520090811

Okay, today is the 11th of August, and we are on this Salayatana Samyutta, the 35th chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya. Now we come to 35.7070. Then the Venerable Upavana approached the Blessed One and said to Him, Venerable Sir, it is said the directly visible Dhamma, the directly visible Dhamma, In what way, Venerable Sir, is the Dhamma directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable to be personally experienced by the wise? Stop here for a moment. When we chant the praise of the Dhamma, we chant, Svakkhato Bhagavata Dhammo Sanditiko Akaliko Ehipasiko. This is the one. Sanditiko is directly visible. Akaliko is not depending on time, not immediate. A-I-P-A-C-O, inviting one to come and see. All these words. So he's asking the Buddha, what do you mean by that? And the Buddha said, here Upavana, having seen a form With the eye, a monk experiences the form, as well as lust for the form. He understands that lust for forms exists internally thus. There is in me lust for forms internally. Since that is so, Upavana, the Dhamma is directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable to be personally experienced by the wise. Further Upavana, having heard a sound with the ear, odor with the nose, a taste with the tongue, a touch with the body, having cognized thought with the mind. A monk experiences the sense object as well as lust for the sense object. He understands that lust for the sense object exists internally thus. There isn't me in lust for the sense objects internally. Since that is so, Upavana, the Dhamma is directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable to be personally experienced by the wise. But here Upavana, having seen the form with the eye, a monk experiences the form without experiencing lust for the form. He understands that lust for forms does not exist internally thus. There is in me no lust for forms internally. Since that is so, Pavana, the Dhamma is directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable to be personally experienced by the wise. Similarly, with sounds, smells, tastes, touch and thoughts. He understands that lust for these sense objects do not exist internally. Since that is so, the Dhamma is directly visible immediately, inviting one to come and see, applicable to be personally experienced by the wise. So here, the Buddha is saying that a lot of the Dhamma that is taught, If we contemplate, actually we can experience it here and now. For example, the simple thing like kamavipaka. We should do some deeds to help others, to benefit others. Immediately, we get a happy feeling. And if we do something to harm others, sometimes just saying the wrong word, sometimes after that you feel your conscience pricking you. But then we must understand that when we are compassionate to others, we also have to be compassionate to ourselves. Because we are not arahant yet, sometimes we say things a bit careless. Sometimes it hurts others. So the Buddha says always to examine our kamma whenever we do whatever we say, whatever we think, what is past also we contemplate, what we are doing now we contemplate, and before we do something also we contemplate. That's how we keep our three karmas clear and clean. So the Buddha is saying that this one, the first part is for the ordinary person. An ordinary person when they experience contact at the six senses, that means seeing a form, a beautiful form, hearing beautiful music, smelling nice perfume, tasting good food, or having pleasant touch, or pleasant thoughts and all that, then lust arises. But then one who has cultivated himself, after many years, he has cultivated himself, done a lot of meditation, the mind becomes stronger and he has studied the Dhamma and he has absorbed it. Then now when the six senses impinge on him, he doesn't react in the same way. The mind is much stronger, not easily shaken by all these external objects. Next Sukta is 35.74. A Savati. Then a certain monk approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, and said to Him, Venerable Sir, in such and such a dwelling there is a certain newly ordained monk, not well known, who is sick, afflicted, gravely ill. It would be good, Venerable Sir, if the Blessed One would approach that monk out of compassion. Then when the Blessed One heard the words, newly ordained and sick, he understood that he was not a well-known monk. He went to him. That monk saw the Blessed One coming in the distance and stirred on his bed. The Blessed One said to him, Enough, monk. Do not stir on your bed. There are these seats ready. I will sit down there. The Blessed One then sat down on the appointed seat and said to that monk, I hope you are bearing up, monk. I hope you are getting better. I hope that your painful feelings are subsiding and not increasing, and that their subsiding, not their increase, is to be discerned. And he said, Venerable Sir, I am not bearing up. I am not getting better. Strong, painful feelings are increasing in me, not subsiding. And their increase, not their subsiding, is to be discerned. And the Buddha said, I hope then, monk, that you are not troubled by remorse and regret. Indeed, Venerable Sir, I have quite a lot of remorse and regret. I hope, monk, that you have nothing for which to reproach yourself in regard to virtue. And he said, I have nothing, Venerable Sir, for which to reproach myself in regard to virtue. Then, monk, if you have nothing for which to reproach yourself in regard to virtue, why are you troubled by remorse and regret? I understand, Brahma Sir, that it is not for the sake of purification of virtue that the Dhamma has been taught by the Blessed One. What I understand is that the purpose of the Dhamma is not to purify Sila only. And the Buddha said, If, monk, you understand that the Dhamma has not been taught by me for the sake of purification of virtue, then for what purpose do you understand the Dhamma to have been taught by me? Number Sir, I understand the Dhamma to have been taught by the Blessed One for the sake of the fading away of lust. Good, good, monk. It is good that you understand the Dhamma to have been taught by me for the sake of the fading away of lust. For the Dhamma is taught by me for the sake of the fading away of lust. What do you think, monk? Is the eye permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, rebel sir. Is the ear, the nose, the tongue, the body, mind permanent or impermanent? and sees impermanent venerable sir is what is impermanent suffering or happiness suffering venerable sir is what is impermanent suffering and subject to change fit to be regarded thus this is mine this i am this is myself no venerable sir seeing thus the noble disciple becomes disenchanted with the eye the ear the nose that tongue, the body and the mind. Becoming disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate and he attains liberation. This is what the Blessed One said. Elated, that monk delighted in the Blessed One's statement. And while this discourse was being spoken, there arose in that monk the dust-free, stainless vision of the Dhamma. Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation. In other words, he attained the Dhamma vision and attained stream entry. You see this Uttara, why this monk said he was troubled by remorse and regret and then when the Buddha asked him, why are you troubled by remorse and regret? He said, I understand that it is not for the sake of purification of virtue or sila that the Dhamma has been taught by the Blessed One. Maybe because there are some monks, they are not too fussy about precepts because they think that precepts are important. But some monks get carried away too far. They are too particular about precepts. And maybe he's not too particular about precepts because he feels that the purpose of the Dhamma is not is not mainly for the prerogation of virtue. Prerogation of virtue is just a stepping stone. He understands that the purpose of the Dhamma is to cut off lust. So why does he have remorse? Because sometimes if a monk like this is not too particular about precepts, although generally his precepts are okay, only minor points, he's not so fussy. But other monks who are very fussy, they can be very critical. Very critical, always finding fault with him. So he feels very uneasy. So when he told the Buddha that the Dhamma is taught, not for purification of virtue. Buddha then asked him, if that's the case, what do you understand the Dhamma is for? And he said, it's for the cutting off of lust. And the Buddha agreed. The final purpose is to cut off lust and craving. That is the way to liberation. There are some other sutras where the Buddha talks about the various stages of progress. In the beginning, sila is one of the things at the bottom. As you go higher, there are other things that are more important. So some monks, they are too fussy about sila. They concentrate on sila and they don't progress. They just stay there. So this monk, the Buddha, agreed with him. So after listening to the Buddha, he attained the vision of the Dhamma. 35.81. Then a number of monks approached the Blessed One and said to him, Here, Venerable Sir, wanderers of other sects ask us, for what purpose, friends, is the holy life lived under the ascetic Gotama, Samana Gotama? When we are asked thus, Venerable Sir, we answer those wondrous thus. It is, friends, for the full understanding of suffering that the holy life is lived under the Blessed One. We hope, Venerable Sir, that when we answer thus, we state what has been said by the Blessed One, and do not misrepresent Him with what is contrary to fact, that we explain in accordance with the Dhamma, and that no reasonable consequence of our assertion gives ground for criticism. The Buddha said, For sure, monks, when you answer thus, you state what has been said by me, and do not misrepresent me with what is contrary to fact. You explain in accordance with the Dhamma, and no reasonable consequence of your assertion gives grounds for criticism. For monks, it is for the full understanding of suffering that the holy life is lived under me. But monks, if wanderers of other sects ask you, What, friends, is that suffering for the full understanding of which the holy life is lived under the ascetic Gautama? Being asked thus, we should answer them thus. The I, friends, is suffering. It is for the full understanding of this that the holy life is lived under the Blessed One. Forms are suffering. Whatever feeling arises with I content as condition, that too is suffering. Similarly for the other senses, the ear, the nose, the tongue, body and mind, and the sense objects, and then the feeling that arises from contact, all that is suffering. It is for the full understanding of this that the holy life is lived under the Blessed One. This, friends, is that suffering for the full understanding of which the holy life is lived under the Blessed One. Being asked thus, monks, you should answer those wondrous of other sects in such a way. So you see this Sutta, because it is under the six sense basis, this chapter of Salayatana, six sense basis, so it talks about the source of suffering as the eye and the forms and feelings that arises and the eye contact etc. and similarly for the ear, nose and all that. Probably a similar sutra is in the Khanda Sanghuta, the Aggregate Sanghuta. The Buddha would describe the source of suffering as the five aggregates. The body, the feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. So actually, the Dhamma, we learn the Dhamma to understand suffering. So when we understand suffering, how suffering arises, how suffering ceases, and the path going to the end of suffering, then only we can eliminate suffering. 35.82. Then a certain monk approached the Blessed One and said to Him, Venerable Sir, it is said, the world, the world. In what way, Venerable Sir, is it said, the world? And the Buddha said, it is disintegrating monk, therefore it is called the world. I'll stop here for a moment. The word here in Pali is loka. Loka. And it comes from the word lojati, I think. Lojati. Lojati means disintegrating, changing. And what is disintegrating? The eye is disintegrating. Forms are disintegrating. Eye consciousness is disintegrating. Eye contact is disintegrating. Whatever feeling arises with eye contact as condition, that too is disintegrating. Similarly, the ear, the nose, tongue, body, and mind, these six sense spaces, and then the consciousness that arise the object of the sessile species also and the contact feeling all that is impermanent so disintegrating therefore the world is so called so here the buddha says the world is disintegrating. So now he refers to the six sense bases, meaning to say that the world is in the six sense bases. So because the world is in the six sense bases, and the six sense bases are impermanent and changing, and so therefore the world is impermanent and changing. 35.85. Then the Venerable Ananda approached the Blessed One and said to Him, Venerable Sir, it is said, empty is the world, empty is the world. In what way, Venerable Sir, is it said, empty is the world? This word, empty, is a translation in Chinese, is what, kong, comes from the word sunyata, sunya. It is because Ananda, It is empty of self and what belongs to self that it is said. Empty is the world. And what is empty of self and of what belongs to self? The I Ananda is empty of self and of what belongs to self. Forms are empty of self and of what belongs to self. I Consciousness is empty of self and of what belongs to self. I Contact is empty of self and of what belongs to self. Whatever feeling arises also is empty of self. Similarly for all the other sense pieces. So it is ananda because it is empty of self and of what belongs to self that it is said empty is the world. So here the word empty or emptiness, sunyata, does not mean that there's nothing in the world. Sometimes Chinese books, they always talk about kong, kong, so there's nothing. It's not the meaning. The meaning is that it is anatta, no-self. And no-self means there is no one thing that is unchanging, that is permanent, that remains the same. So because everything is changing all the time, you cannot identify any one thing as having a self, having a core, an unchanging core. So that's the meaning of emptiness, kong, sunyata. Next Sutta is 35.87. This same Sutta is found in the Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta no. 144. There it is called the Canovada Sutta, advice to Chana, the monk. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrel Sanctuary. On that occasion, the Venerable Sariputta, Venerable Mahacunda, and the Venerable Chana were dwelling on Mount Vauchapi, and the Venerable Chana was sick, afflicted, gravely ill. Then in the evening, the Venerable Sariputta emerged from seclusion, approached the Venerable Maha Chunda and said to him, Come friend Chunda, let us approach the Venerable Chana and ask about his illness. Yes, friend," the Venerable Maha Chunda replied. Then the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Maha Chunda approached the Venerable Channa and exchanged greetings with him, after which they sat down in the appointed seats. The Venerable Sariputta then said to the Venerable Channa, I hope you are bearing up, friend Channa. I hope you are getting better. I hope that your painful feelings are subsiding and not increasing, and that their subsiding, not their increase, is to be discerned. Friend Sariputta, I am not bearing up, I am not getting better. Strong painful feelings are increasing in me, not subsiding, and their increase, not their subsiding, is to be discerned. Just as if a strong man were to split my head open with a sharp sword, So, too, violent winds cut through my head. I am not bearing up. Just as if a strong man were to tighten a tough leather strap around my head as a headband, so, too, there are violent pains in my head. I am not bearing up. Just as if a skilled butcher or his apprentice were to carve up an ox's belly with a sharp butcher's knife, so, too, violent winds are carving up my belly. I am not bearing up. Just as if two strong men were to seize a weaker man by both arms and roast him over a pit of hot coals, so too there is a violent burning in my body. I am not bearing up. I am not getting better. Strong, painful feelings are increasing in me, not subsiding. And their increase, not their subsiding, is to be discerned. I will use the knife, friend Sariputta. I have no desire to live. Stop here for a moment. So this monk Chana is very sick and his body is giving him so much pain. He says he's going to commit suicide. Use the knife. Don't want to live anymore. Let the wearable Chana not use the knife. Let the wearable Chana live. We want the wearable Chana to live. If the wearable Chana lacks suitable food, I will go in search of suitable food for him. If he lacks suitable medicine, I will go in search of suitable medicine for him. If he lacks proper attendant, I will attend on him. Let the wearable Chana not use the knife. Let the wearable Chana live. We want the wearable Chana to live. stop it for a moment. You see this Venerable Sariputta is very compassionate. So he says if you don't, if you lack anything, I will get it for you. Even if you need an attendant also, I will attend on you. Then he said, Friend Sariputta, it is not that I lack suitable food. I have suitable food. It is not that I lack suitable medicine. I have suitable medicine. It is not that I lack proper attendance. I have proper attendance. Moreover, friend, for a long time the teacher has been served by me in an agreeable way, not in a disagreeable way. For it is proper for a disciple to serve the teacher in an agreeable way, not in a disagreeable way. Remember this, friend Sariputta. The Mount Jhana will use the knife blamelessly. stop here for a moment. So he says he has everything and also for a long time he has served the Buddha in a good way and he says you should know when I use the knife you will be blameless. In other words he He is saying that he has attained Arahanthood because the Buddha says if a person commits suicide and then he does not take rebirth after that, that is blameless. If he commits suicide and after that he is reborn again, that is blameworthy. Then the Venerable Sariputta, when he heard the Venerable Charna says indirectly that he is already an Arahant, the Venerable Sariputta decided to test him. We would ask the Venerable Channa about a certain point if he would grant us the favour of answering our question. Ask Friend Sariputta, when I have heard, I shall know. Friend Channa, do you regard the I, I Consciousness, and things cognisable with I Consciousness thus, this is mine, this I am, this is myself? You regard the ear, ear-consciousness, and things cognizable with ear-consciousness thus, this is mine, this I am, this is myself. Similarly, for the other six sense bases. And he said, Friend Sariputta, I regard the eye, eye-consciousness, and things cognizable with eye-consciousness thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Similarly, I regard the ear, ear consciousness and things cognizable with ear consciousness thus. This is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. And similarly for the other six sense bases. Friend Chana, what have you seen and directly known in the eye, in eye consciousness, and in things cognizable with eye consciousness, that you regard them thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself? What have you seen and directly known in the ear, in the nose, in the tongue, body and mind, that you regard them thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself? Friend Sariputta, it is because I have seen and directly known cessation in the eye, in eye consciousness, and in things cognizable with eye consciousness, that I regard them thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. It is because I have seen and directly known cessation in the ear, in the nose, in the tongue, in the body, in the mind, and in the consciousness, and in things cognizable that I regard them thus. This is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself." Stop here for a moment. So here he says he has seen the six sense bases seizing. So if he has seen them seizing, he must have attained a very high state of meditation. And this was said, the Venerable Maha Chunda said to the Venerable Channa, Therefore, friend Channa, this teaching of the Blessed One is to be constantly given close attention. For one who is dependent, there is wavering. For one who is independent, there is no wavering. When there is no wavering, there is tranquility. When there is tranquility, there is no inclination. When there is no inclination, there is no coming and going. When there is no coming and going, there is no passing away and being reborn. When there is no passing away and being reborn, there is neither here nor beyond, nor in between the two. This itself is the end of suffering. Talk here for a moment. So, Venerable Maha Chunda gave this advice to the Venerable Chana that we should remember the Buddha's teaching. One who is dependent, that means one who is attached, then there is wavering. The mind gets to a shape not yet steady. But one who is independent, not attached, there is no wavering. And because there is no wavering, there is tranquility. And so there is all this. Then there is no coming and going, no dying and being reborn. there's no passing away and being reborn. So when there's no passing away and being reborn there's neither here nor beyond nor in between the two. This here or beyond is like this life and another life and in between the two refers to the intermediate state of existence which the commentaries and the Abhidharma denies. But in the Sutta, Buddha did talk about this state that if a being is going to be reborn into the womb, then there is an intermediate state that he has to wait for some time, a suitable time. When the parents come together, the mother is in the right season, then he can enter the womb. So, but then this Abhidharma and the commentaries, it does not click with the Abhidharma teachings, so they don't recognize this. Then when the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Maha Chunda had given the Venerable Channa this exhortation, they rose from their seats and departed. Then soon after they had left, the Venerable Channa used the knife. Then the Venerable Sariputta approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, the Venerable Channa has used the knife. What is his destination? What is his future bond? The Buddha said, Sariputta, didn't the monk Chana declare his blamelessness right in your presence? So the Buddha said, didn't he tell you that his death is blameless? In other words, he's not reborn. And then the Venerable Sariputta said, Venerable Sir, there is a Vajran village named Pubhavijana. There the Venerable Chana had family friends, intimate families, hospitable families. And Buddha said, the Venerable Channa did indeed have these friendly families, Sariputta, intimate families, hospitable families. But I do not say that to this extent one is blameworthy. Sariputta, when one lays down this body and takes up another body, then I say one is blameworthy. This did not happen in the case of the monk Channa. The monk Channa used the knife blamelessly. Thus, Sariputta, should you remember it. So here the Venerable Sariputta thought maybe because this Venerable Channa he had very close disciples, intimate families who were very strong supporters. Venerable Sariputta thought maybe he's attached to them so he still still come back for rebirth. But the Buddha says even if he has all these strong supporters, that is not blameworthy. A monk is only blameworthy when after death he goes for rebirth again. So the Buddha says that the monk is blameless. He has met Nibbana. So you see, during the Buddha's time, there were monks like this who, when they were sick, they didn't have painkillers and they didn't have proper medical facilities to ease their pain. So when they were in great physical pain, they had no desire to live anymore.

04SNSalayatanaCh3520090811

35.88. This sutta is also found in the Majjhima Nikaya Sutta 145. There it is called Punu Vada Sutta, advice to Puna. Then the Venerable Puna approached the Blessed One and said to Him, Venerable Sir, it would be good if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief, so that having heard the Dhamma from the Blessed One, I might dwell alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent and resolute. And the Buddha said, Punna, there are forms cognizable by the eye that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk seeks delight in them, welcomes them, and remains holding to them, delight arises in him. With the arising of delight, Punna, there is the arising of suffering, I say. There are Punna sounds cognizable by the ear. odours cognisable by the nose, tastes cognisable by the tongue, touch or contact cognisable by the body, and thoughts cognisable by the mind that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalising. If a monk seeks delight in them, welcomes them, and remains holding to them, delight arises in him. With the arising of delight, puna, there is the arising of suffering, I say. Puna, there are forms cognizable by the eye, smells, tastes, touch, thoughts, that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk does not seek delight in them, does not welcome them, and does not remain holding to them, delight ceases in him. With the cessation of delight, puna, there is the cessation of suffering, I say. So the Buddha gave him this brief teaching and then told him, now that you have received this brief extortation from me, Punna, in which country will you dwell? And he said, there is, my noble sir, a country named Sunaparanta. I will dwell there. Punna, the people of Sunaparanta are wild and rough. If they abuse and revile you, what will you think about that? And he said, Venerable Sir, if the people of Sunapuranta abuse and revile me, then I will think, these people of Sunapuranta are excellent, truly excellent, in that they do not give me a blow with a fist. Then I will think thus, blessed one. Then I will think thus, fortunate one. But Poona, if the people of Sunapuranta do give you a blow with a fist, what will you think about that? Prabhupada said, if the people of Sunapuranta give me a blow with a fist, then I will think, these people of Sunapuranta are excellent, truly excellent, in that they do not give me a blow with a cloth. Then I will think thus, blessed one. Then I will think thus, fortunate one. But Purna, if the people of Sunapuranta do give you a blow with a cloth, what will you think about that? If the people of Suna Parantha give me a blow with a cloth, then I will think, these people of Suna Parantha are excellent, truly excellent, in that they do not give me a blow with a rod. Then I will think thus, blessed one, then I will think thus, fortunate one. But Poona, if the people of Suna Parantha do give you a blow with a rod, what will you think about that? Noble Sir, if the people of Suna Parantha give me a blow with a rod, then I will think, these people of Suna Parantha are excellent, truly excellent in that they do not stab me with a knife. Then I will think thus, blessed one, then I will think thus, fortunate one. But Poona, if the people of Suna Parantha do stab you with a knife, what will you think about that? I would say, if the people of Sunaparanta stabbed me with a knife, then I would think, these people of Sunaparanta are excellent, truly excellent, in that they do not take my life with a sharp knife. Then I would think thus, blessed one, then I would think thus, fortunate one. But Punna, if the people of Sunaparanta do take your life with a sharp knife, what would you think about that? Venerable Sir, if the people of Sunapuranta take my life with a sharp knife, then I will think, there have been disciples of the Blessed One who, being repelled, humiliated and disgusted by the body and by life, sought for an assailant, in other words, to kill them. But I have come upon this assailant even without a search. Then I will think thus, Blessed One. Then I will think thus, fortunate one. And the Buddha said, Good, good, Punna! Endowed with such self-control and peacefulness, you will be able to dwell in this Unaparanta country. Now, Punna, you may go at your own convenience. Then, having delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One's statement, the Venerable Punna rose from his seat, paid homage to the Blessed One, and departed, keeping Him on his right. He then set his lodging in order, took his bowl and outer robe, and set out to wander towards the Sunapuranta country. Wandering by stages, he eventually arrived in the Sunapuranta country, where he dwelt. Then during that rain season, the Venerable Punna established 500 male lay followers and 500 female lay followers in the practice, and he himself, during that same rains, realized the three true knowledges, and during that same rains he attained final Nibbana. Then a number of monks approached the Blessed One. Paid homage and sat down and said, Venerable Sir, the clansman named Punna, who was given a brief exhortation by the Blessed One, has died. What is his destination? What is his future born? And the Buddha said, Monks, the clansman Punna was wise. He practiced in accordance with the Dhamma and did not trouble me on account of the Dhamma. The clansman Punna has attained final Nibbana. the end of the sutta. At the end, this last part, the Buddha said, he practiced in accordance with the Dhamma. He did not trouble me on account of the Dhamma. That means, after the Buddha taught him the Dhamma, I didn't ask too much unnecessary questions and all that. So you see, this monk, he was one of the monks during the Buddha's time who went to various parts of India to teach the Dhamma. So he knew that these people, the Sunapuranta, are very fierce people, very hard to convert them. and it might even take your life. But because he was so dedicated to the Dhamma, so he decided to go there. So he went there and then he managed to convert 500 laymen and 500 laywomen to practice the Dhamma. And during the rain season, he himself attained Arahanthood and attained the three true knowledges. That means he had psychic power. But somehow, I don't know why, he died within the same rains. They don't know whether he was killed or he died naturally. So a lot of people, they don't understand. They say the Arahants are selfish, only practice for themselves. Actually, you see the Buddha's disciples, they went to so many places to spread the Dhamma. Now you find a lot of countries no more Buddhist. They used to be very strong Buddhist countries, like Pakistan. Bangladesh, Tibet. The next sutra is 35.93, page 1172. The Buddha said, monks, consciousness comes to be in dependence on a diet, on two things like diet, dual. And how, monks, does consciousness come to be in dependence on a diet? In dependence on the I and forms. there arises I-consciousness. The I is impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. Forms are impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. Thus this diet is moving and tottering, impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. Eye consciousness is impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. The cause and condition for the arising of eye consciousness is also impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. When monks' eye consciousness has arisen in dependence on a condition that is impermanent, how could it be permanent? Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that eye consciousness arises dependent on two things. That there is the eye and there are forms for you to see. So since eye consciousness depends on the eye and the forms, and these two things are impermanent, so the eye consciousness being dependent on impermanent things, so the eye consciousness is even more are impermanent since it depends on impermanent conditions. The meeting, the encounter, the concurrence of these three things is called eye-contact. Eye-contact too is impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. The cause and condition for the arising of eye-contact is also impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. And monks, eye-contact has arisen in dependence on a condition that is impermanent. How could it be permanent? Contacted monks, one feels. Contacted, one intends. Contacted, one perceives. Thus these things too are moving and tottering, impermanent, changing, becoming, otherwise. In other words, once you have contact at the eye base, then feeling arises, and then intention arises, perception arises, all this. Similarly, in dependence on the ear and sounds, there arises ear consciousness. Independence on the nose and smells that arises nose consciousness. Independence on the tongue and taste that arises tongue consciousness. Independence on the body and touch that arises body consciousness. Independence on the mind and thoughts that arises mind consciousness. And these sense bases are impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. And the sense objects are also impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. So the consciousness that arises is also impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. The cause and condition for the arising of the Sixth Sense Consciousness is also impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. Amongst the Sixth Sense Consciousness has arisen in dependence on conditions that are impermanent. Could they be permanent? The meeting, the encounter, the concurrence of these three things is called contact. Contact, too, is impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. Condition for the arising of contact is also impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. When mounts, contact has arisen in dependence on a condition that is impermanent. How could it be permanent? Contacted mounts, one feels. Contacted, one intends. Contacted, one perceives. Thus, these things, too, are moving and tottering, impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. It's in such a way, monks, that consciousness comes to be in dependence on a diet, on two things. So here, the Buddha is saying that the world that arises in our sense spaces is dependent on so many factors, and all these are impermanent. So how can we want to cling to anything in the world that is dependent on so many conditions that are impermanent? So if we cling to the things in the world that are impermanent, we are clinging to suffering. We will only experience suffering. Next sutra is 35.95. Then the Venerable Malumkyabuddha approached the Blessed One and said to Him, Venerable Sir, it would be good if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief, so that having heard the Dhamma from the Blessed One, I might dwell alone, diligent, withdrawn, ardent and resolute. And the Buddha said, Here now, Malunkyaputta, what should I say to the young monks? When a monk like you, old, aged, burdened with years, advanced in life, come to the last stage, ask me for an exhortation in brief. So here, the Buddha is saying, this Malunkyaputta is very old, and he's asking the Buddha for brief instructions. So the Buddha says, for somebody so old like you, you ask for brief instructions, then for younger monks, I should give even more brief instructions." And then he said, although, Venerable Sir, I am old, aged, burdened with years, advanced in life, come to the last stage, let the Blessed One teach me the Dhamma in brief. Let the fortunate one teach me the Dhamma in brief. Perhaps I may understand the meaning of the Blessed One's statement. Perhaps I may become an heir to the Blessed One's statement. And the Buddha said, What do you think, Malunkyaputta? Do you have any desire, lust or affection for those forms cognizable by the eye that you have not seen and never saw before, that you do not see and would not think might be seen? No, Venerable Sir. So there is something that you have not seen before. Surely you do not have any desire, lust or affection for it. Do you have any desire, lust or affection for those sounds cognizable by the ear, for those smells, tastes, touches and thoughts that you have not known before and you do not now know and would not in the future know?" And he says, Here, Malunkyaputta, regarding things seen, heard, sensed, and cognized by you. In the seen, there will be merely the seen. In the heard, there will be merely the heard. In the sensed, there will be merely the sensed. In the cognized, there will be merely the cognized. In other words, the Buddha is saying, whatever you see, hear, et cetera, the six senses, just know it. start conceiving, have ideas. When Malunkyaputta, regarding things seen, heard, sensed and cognized by you, in the seen there will be merely the seen, in the heard there will be merely the heard, in the sensed there will be merely the sensed, in the cognized there will be merely the cognized, then Malunkyaputta, you will not be by that. When Malunkyaputta, you are not by that, then you will not be therein. From Malunkyaputta, you are not therein, then you will be neither here nor beyond, nor in between the two. This itself is the end of suffering. Stop here for a moment. Here the Buddha is talking about the seen and the heard. That takes care of two senses, the eye and the ear. And then the last one is cognized, is the mind. So the sense refers to the other three. That means the smell, the taste, and the touch. refers to the sense. See? Can you catch it? Seen, heard, sensed, and cognized refers to six sense bases. So the seen and the heard is the first two, right? The eye and the ear. Cognized is the last one, the mind. So the sense refers to the third, the fourth, and the fifth, merely the nose base, the tongue base, and the body base. That refers to the sense. So the Buddha says, if you only know that in the seen there is the seen, in the heard there is the heard, in the sense there is the sense, in the cognized there is only the cognized, then you will not be by that. What do you mean by not be by that? You will not be born by that. You will not be caught by that. You will not be attached by that. And then when you are not caught by that, then you will not be therein. That means you won't be caught therein. And when you are not caught by the desire and lust therein, then there will be neither here nor beyond or in between the two. So there won't be rebirth in the human realm or some other realm beyond or in between the two, the intermediate state. This is the end of suffering. Then this monk said, I understand in detail, Venerable Sir, the meaning of what was stated by the Blessed One in brief. Having seen a form with mindfulness muddled, attending to the pleasing sign, one experiences it with infatuated mind, and remains tightly holding to it. Many feelings flourish there within, originating from the visible form, covetousness and annoyance as well, by which one's mind becomes disturbed. For one who accumulates suffering thus, Nibbāna is said to be far away. Similarly, having heard a sound with mindfulness muddled, having smelled and odoured, enjoyed a taste, felt a contact, having known an object with mindfulness muddled. For one who accumulates suffering thus, Nibbāna is said to be far away. When firmly mindful, one sees a form. One is not inflamed by lust for forms. One experiences it with dispassionate mind and does not remain holding it tightly. One fares mindfully in such a way that even as one sees the form and while one undergoes a feeling, suffering is exhausted, not built up. For one, dismantling suffering does. Nibbana is said to be close by. When firmly mindful, one hears a sound. One is not inflamed by lust for sounds. Similarly, when firmly mindful, one smells an odour. One is not inflamed by lust for odours. When firmly mindful, one enjoys a taste. One is not inflamed by lust for taste. When firmly mindful, one feels a contact. One is not inflamed by lust for contacts. And firmly mindful one knows an object in the mind, one is not inflamed by lust for objects. For one diminishing suffering thus Nibbāna is said to be close by. It is in such a way, Venerable Sir, that I understand in detail the meaning of what was stated by the Blessed One in brief." And the Buddha said, Good, good, Malunkyaputta. It is good that you understand in detail the meaning of what was stated by me in brief. And the Buddha repeated the entire verses that Malunkyaputta said. It is in such a way, Malunkyaputta, that the meaning of what was stated by me in brief should be understood in detail. Then the Venerable Malunkyaputta, having delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One's words, rose from his seat, and after paying homage to the Blessed One, keeping Him on his right, he departed. then dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute. The Venerable Malukya Buddha, by realizing it for himself with direct knowledge in this very life, entered and dwelt in the unsurpassed world of the holy life, for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the household life into homelessness. He directly knew, destroyed his birth, the holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. And the verbal Malunkyaputta became one of the Arahants. That's the end of the Sutta. So you see, this old monk came into monkhood at a very old age. But because he had such a strong determination, he still practiced until he attained Arahanthood. Actually, when we practice the holy path, sincerity is very important. If we are sincere, then a lot of things we can give up, including our pride, including all the unwholesome states. 35.96, the Buddha said, monks, I will teach you about one who is subject to decline. about one who is not subject to decline, and about the six mastered bases. Listen to that. And how, monks, is one subject to decline? Here, monks, when a monk has seen a form with the eye, there arise in him evil, unwholesome states, memories and intentions connected with the fetters. If a monk tolerates them, and does not abandon them, dispel them, put an end to them, and obliterate them, he should understand this thus, I am declining away from wholesome states, for this has been called decline by the Blessed One. Further monks, when a monk has heard a sound with the ear, smelled an odor with the nose, tasted a taste with the tongue, contacted a touch with the body, or thought a thought with the mind. There arise in him evil and wholesome states, memories and intentions connected with the fetters. If the monk tolerates them and does not abandon them, dispel them, put an end to them, and obliterate them, he should understand this thus, I am declining away from wholesome states, for this has been called decline by the Blessed One. It is in such a way, monks, that one is subject to decline. I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that when the six sense objects impinge on our six sense bases, then because of habit, evil and wholesome states based on memories and intentions arise. And then if a monk tolerates them, that means instead of getting rid of those thoughts, he still entertains the thoughts and he finds pleasure in the thoughts, then that is declining from wholesome states. And then the Buddha continued, And how, monks, is one not subject to decline? Here, monks, when a monk has seen a form of the I, there arise in him evil, unwholesome states, memories and intentions connected with the fetters. If the monk does not tolerate them, but abandons them, dispels them, puts an end to them, and obliterates them. He should understand this thus. I am not declining away from wholesome states, for this has been called non-decline by the Blessed One." Further monks, when a monk has heard a sound, smelled an odor, contacted a touch, and tasted a taste with the tongue, thought with the mind, there arise in him evil, unwholesome states, memories and intentions connected with the fetters. If the monk does not tolerate them, but abandons them, dispels them, puts an end to them, and obliterates them, he should understand this thus, I am not declining away from wholesome states, for this has been called non-decline by the Blessed One. It is in such a way, monks, that one is not subject to decline. Stop here for a moment. So a monk does not decline if, when there is contact at the Sixth Sense doors, and unwholesome states arise, then he recognizes them. He does not entertain them, puts a stop to all these unwholesome thoughts. Then he will not decline. And what monks are the six mastered bases? Here, monks, when a monk has seen a form with the eye, there do not arise in him evil and wholesome states, nor any memories and intentions connected with the fetters. The monk should understand this thus. This base has been mastered, for this has been called a mastered base by the Blessed One. Further, monks, when a monk has heard a sound with the ear, smelled a smell, contacted a touch, tasted a taste or have a thought, there do not arise in him evil, unwholesome states, nor any memories and intentions connected with the fetters. The monk should understand this thus. This base has been mastered, for this has been called a mastered base by the Blessed One." These monks are called the six mastered bases. So the first part is about a monk in training, who has not finished his work, even though he has attained Suttapanna or Sakadagamin, when there is contact at the Sixth Sense doors, because of habit, when we see a beautiful form, we want to see again. So if you know that it is not wholesome, then you turn your eye away, you don't entertain it, especially the thoughts that arise from there. So similarly for the other six sense bases. So among in training this will happen naturally that unwholesome thoughts tend to arise every now and then. But because the monk is training towards revulsion, he cannot straight away get rid of the thoughts. He has to put in effort. Then when he puts in effort to dispel unwholesome states of mind, then he will not decline. But the last part is about the master basis concerns the arahant. The arahant has finished his work, so that when his six senses contact anything, unwholesome states will not arise. he has cut off the tendency towards these unwholesome states. So this is interesting because in the other suttas, the Buddha talks about how a monk is, I think, mastered the body, but not mastered the mind. So you can It takes some time to master the body. You don't indulge in these unwholesome things. But the mind still takes some time to master. So I'll stop here for tonight. Anything to discuss? And compared to the first book, this third book and this fourth book is more heavy going. Now we have the Microphone, anybody want to use? At the end of the day, non-institutionals will ask the Buddha to teach them the Dharma and then they will go and practice in institutions all over the world. But usually, the Buddha will be more healthy, more mature, more old, then they will be allowed to practice in institutions all over the world. This day, in the middle of April, in the second month of the year, they go to practice the institution of Namo Buddhaya for teaching. So, we also know that the Buddha practices the I-practice of Nibbana Samvara and Veda. So, where can we draw the line? Given that the Buddha is no more, no more there, so most monks Actually, the Vinaya books are quite clear about this. The Buddha said that generally, a new monk should train with an experienced teacher. and for five years and the purpose of this training for five years is to understand the suttas and the vinaya thoroughly. and other things that a monk needs to know. So this is the general rule that a new monk should stay with a teacher. But the Buddha gave allowed exceptions. The exceptions allowed is like a monk has come into monkhood late in life, so he doesn't have much time. So if he wants to practice alone, strive very hard in meditation and live alone, the Buddha allows that. But even then, He should have a firm foundation in the suttas because the Buddha in one of the Satipatthana suttas, when a monk asked for instructions on meditation, the Buddha said, first you must establish two foundations. One is sila, moral conduct. That is basic for everybody. And secondly, the Buddha said you must have right view. And right view according to the suttas comes from learning the suttas. Only when you learn the suttas, the original discourses of the Buddha, then only you can get right view. So after you have right view, then you go and meditate, practice, then the chances of going on the right path is good. But if a monk does not learn the suttas, then straight away he goes into practice of meditation, he may go the wrong way and never achieve anything. So it's very important to get right view first. So generally, that is the case with monks. If they want to live alone, they should first get right view. So we are very fortunate nowadays. I like the Buddha's time. The Buddha's words are all in black and white in the book form. So if a monk takes the trouble to study the Nikaya books, he can also get right view. In that case, if he doesn't want to follow a teacher, then it's okay. But generally, a monk does not follow a teacher. Only if he's come into monkhood old, if he's still young, then he has time, he should follow a teacher, get guidance from the teacher whenever possible. The other thing is, a lot of monks we notice nowadays, like Malaysian monks, soon after they are ordained, they start going overseas. They go to Burma, they go to Sri Lanka, they go to Thailand, they go to Taiwan, they go everywhere. Go India, go China. Actually, the Vinaya books is not allowed. A young monk, wherever he wants to go, he should be accompanied by a senior monk. Because a young monk is not disciplined or trained. yet so he may misbehave or get into some trap or make some mistake or other so or not conduct himself well so if a monk has not had five vasas has not completed five years of monkhood he should never travel alone unless in exceptional cases, where you cannot find a senior monk to accompany him. Otherwise, wherever he goes, out of the monastery, he should not leave the monastery on his own. So, a lot of monks nowadays, they don't study the Sutta and the Vinaya, they don't know all these rules. So, they just go here, go there. Can we say that the monks who are really If a monk has attained Right View, that means he has attained Stream Entry. So you have attained Stream Entry, then he is an Arya. And if he is an Arya, it's not possible for him to do certain things. like break the major precepts, it's not possible. What page is that? Page 1? Page 1? It could be there is a state where this consciousness seizes, which means the what we call the cessation of perception and feeling above the arupa jhanas above all the jhanas we have this state called cessation of perception and feeling where the sixth consciousness stops when the sixth consciousness stops the world also disappears the body and the world and the eye everything disappears when a person comes out of that state it's a very high state he either becomes an anagamin or an arahant Oh yeah, this one, some monks they practice like that 32 parts of the body, loathsomeness of the body. And then they are repelled by the body, disgusted by the body. And then they want somebody to kill them. They look for somebody to kill them, take their life. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This one, it should not happen if that person understands the Dhamma, it should not happen. That's why right view is very important. A person does not have right view, he practice practice become disgusted with the body and then he wants to commit suicide. So it's what happened in the Vinaya books. There was a time when the monks, there was an early part when the Buddha, not so long after the Buddha was enlightened, he taught his disciples only one meditation on the loathsomeness of the body, 32 parts of the body. So the monks practiced very hard and then they became disgusted with the body. Then Mara, one of Mara's disciples, Devas entered the body of a monk, and then this monk used to be a butcher or something. So he asked the monk, he said, who is disgusted with the body, I will bring you to Nibbana faster. So being a butcher before, he got a very sharp knife. So some of them were very disgusted with life. They asked him to take their life. So I slit their throat or what. So at that time the Buddha went into seclusion, I think for two weeks. When the Buddha came out of seclusion, he found the monks, the number of monks reduced. He asked Ananda why. Ananda said, many of the monks were disgusted with their body. Then they allowed this fellow to take their life. Then Ananda asked the Buddha to teach another meditation subject out of compassion. Then the Buddha taught Anapanasati. And then when the Buddha taught Anapanasati, the Buddha said that before enlightenment, the Tathagata practiced Anapanasati. And even after enlightenment also, the Tathagata practices Anapanasati. Any other thing? It takes a lot of effort, many years of effort. That's why the Buddha said we need to attain jhāna. When you have jhāna, then the mind becomes strong, and you can see clearly, and also you have the strength of mind to do what should be done, and not do what should not be done. Very often our mind is not strong. We know we should not do something, we still go and do it. And sometimes we know that we should do something. We are lazy and all these things, but the mind is not strong. So only when the mind is very focused, Then we can see very clearly what we should do, what we should not do, and we have the strength of mind to go and do or not do. For example, a lot of people commit adultery. Not that they don't know it's wrong. They know it's wrong, but the flesh is weak. Come to Transamerica.

05SNSalayatanaCh3520090812

Today is the 12th of August. We are on the chapter 35, Salayat Tanah Sangyutta. Now we come to Sutra 35.97. Buddha said, monks, I will teach you about one who dwells negligently and about one who dwells diligently. Listen to that. And how, monks, does one dwell negligently? If one dwells without restraint over the I faculty, the mind is soiled among forms cognizable by the I. If the mind is soiled, there is no gladness. When there is no gladness, there is no delight, pity, or rapture. When there is no delight, there is no tranquility. When there is no tranquility, one dwells in suffering. The mind of one who suffers does not become concentrated. When the mind is not concentrated, phenomena do not become manifest. Because phenomena do not become manifest, one is reckoned as one who dwells negligently. Similarly, if one dwells without the strain over the ear faculty, the nose faculty, the tongue, body and mind faculty, the mind is soil and if the mind is soil, there is no gladness. When there is no gladness, there is no delight or rapture. and there's no delight, there's no tranquility. When there's no tranquility, one dwells in suffering. The mind of one who suffers does not become concentrated. When the mind is not concentrated, phenomena do not become manifest. Because phenomena do not become manifest, one is reckoned as one who dwells negligently. This in such a way amounts that one dwells negligently. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says a person is negligent when he does not restrain the sense faculties, the six sense faculties, and then the mind becomes soiled among the objects. That means like forms, sounds, smells, taste, touch, and thoughts. And because the mind is soiled, or you can say scattered, there is no gladness. When there is no gladness, there is no delight or rapture. So because of that there is no tranquility and one dwells in suffering and the mind is not concentrated and the mind is not concentrated. Phenomena do not become manifest. What do you mean by phenomena do not become manifest? It means that phenomena is what we sense through the eyes, through the ears and all that. sense by consciousness. Do not become manifest. That means you don't see clearly. You don't see the characteristics of impermanence, suffering and not-self. So because you don't see clearly, then you're one who dwells negligently. And how amongst does one dwell diligently? If one dwells with restraint over the I-faculty, the mind is not soiled amongst forms cognizable by the I. If the mind is not soiled, gladness is born. When one is gladdened, rapture is born. When the mind is uplifted by rapture or delight, the body becomes tranquil. One tranquil in body experiences happiness. The mind of one who is happy becomes concentrated. When the mind is concentrated, phenomena become manifest, become very clear. Because phenomena becomes manifest, one is reckoned as one who dwells diligently. Similarly for the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind faculties, it is in such a way monks that one dwells diligently. So here the Buddha says the diligent monk is one who puts a restraint on the six sense faculties. Puts a restraint means he is careful what he observes too. the 6th and 7th faculties and not pay too much attention to them. Later you will find Buddha says you should not pay attention to the signs and the details. So if the mind is not scattered among the six sense faculties, then the mind is concentrated and phenomena becomes very clear, becomes manifest, means very clear, you can see the characteristics of impermanence, suffering and not-self. So when you see phenomena clearly and then you understand the nature of the world is suffering and not self, then you become disenchanted and then dispassionate and then become liberated. 35.99 Buddha said monks develop concentration. A monk who is concentrated understands things as they really are. And what does he understand as they really are? He understands as it really is. The I is impermanent. He understands as it really is. Forms are impermanent. I consciousness is impermanent. I contact is impermanent. impermanent. Whatever feeling arises with eye contact as condition, whether pleasant or painful, or neither painful nor pleasant, that too is impermanent. He understands as it really is. Similarly for the other five sense bases. Monks develop concentration. A monk who is concentrated understands things as they really are. So here this Uttara is very similar to the one we saw earlier in the five khandas. Only thing is the five aggregates chapter, it says, what does he understand as they really are? He understands as they really are, the five aggregates, instead of the six sense bases earlier, he says he understands the five aggregates. So the Buddha always stressed concentration. Certainly nowadays, people teach that concentration is not necessary, but that is one of the conditions or the feeding away of true Dhamma. The next sutra is 35.100. Buddha says, monks make an exertion in seclusion. A secluded monk understands things as they really are. And what does he understand as they really are? He understands as it really is. The I is impermanent. He understands as it really is. Forms are impermanent. I, consciousness, is impermanent. I, contact, whatever feeling that arises, that too is impermanent. So similarly for the other six sense bases. So like before in the Khanda Sangyutta, here also the Buddha always stressed on concentration and seclusion. Seclusion means either both, body seclusion, kaya viveka, and mental seclusion, citta viveka. So concentration and seclusion are very important to see things clearly. Because when we are concentrated and we practice seclusion and we attain concentration, then we understand things as they really are and we become disenchanted. 35.103 months. Uddhaka Ramaputta used to make this declaration. This surely a knowledge master. This surely a universal conqueror. This surely he has excised. The tumour's root not excised before. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, Udaka Ramaputta used to make this statement. Udaka Ramaputta was the Buddha's teacher, before the Buddha was enlightened, he had two very good meditation teachers. The first one was Alara Kalama, who taught him the Arupa Jhanas, one of the Arupa Jhanas. And then he found that although he attained very high concentration, he did not become liberated. So he left Alara. And then later he came to this Udaka Ramaputta, another very accomplished meditation teacher who also could attain the highest state of Arupajana. And still the Buddha did not attain liberation, so the Buddha also left him. So here the Buddha says that this Udaka Ramaputta used to say that he was a knowledge master, a universal conqueror, that he has exercised The tumour's root, later the Buddha will explain, the tumour is a designation for the body and tumour's root is a designation for craving. And then the Buddha continued, monks, though Uddhaka Ramaputta was not himself a knowledge master, he declared, I am a knowledge master. Though he was not himself a universal conqueror, he declared, I am a universal conqueror. Though he had not excised the tumour's root, he declared, I have excised the tumour's root. But here monks, a monk speaking rightly, might say, this surely a knowledge master, this surely a universal conqueror, this surely he has exercised the tumour's root not exercised before. And how monks is one a knowledge master? When a monk understands as they really are, the origin, the passing away, the gratification, the danger and the escape, in regard to the six bases of contact. Such a monk is a knowledge master, and how monks is a monk a universal conqueror. When having understood as they really are, the origin, the passing away, the gratification, the danger and the escape, in regard to the six bases of contact, A monk is liberated by non-clinging. Such a monk is a universal conqueror. And how, monks, does a monk exercise the tumour's root not exercised before? The tumour, monks, this is a designation for this body, consisting of the four great elements, originating from mother and father, built up out of rise and growth, subject to impermanence, to rubbing and pressing, to breaking apart and dispersal. Stop here for a moment. Rubbing and pressing according to the commentary is rubbing every now and then you have to rub medicine on your body. Pressing is massage your body when you have aches and pains and all that. The tumour's root, this is a designation for craving. When craving has been abandoned by a monk, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that it is no more subject to future arising. In such a case, the monk has excised the tumour's root not excised before. Monks, though Uddhaka Ramaputta was not himself a knowledge master, he declared, I am a knowledge master. But here monks, a monk speaking rightly, might say, this surely a knowledge master, this surely a universal conqueror, this surely he has exercised the tumour's root not exercised before. That's the end of the sutta. So before the Buddha was enlightened, even though you had great meditation teachers with psychic power and all that, but not a single one of them could show the way to liberation, to enlightenment. It was only the Buddha, after the Buddha was enlightened, then he decided to teach and he was the Sammasambuddha, the highest in spiritual attainment. So that's the end of the sutta. The Buddha says somewhere in one of the suttas that only when you have the Noble Eightfold Path that you can find Ariens. If you don't have the Noble Eightfold Path, you cannot find Ariens. The next sutta is 35.110. It's on page 1186. Monks, I will teach you the things that can be clung to and the clinging. Listen to that. And what, monks, are the things that can be clung to and what is the clinging? The eye, monks, is a thing that can be clung to. The desire and lust for it is the clinging there. The ear is a thing that can be clung to. The desire and lust for it is the clinging there. Similarly, for the nose, tongue, body, and mind. So the sense organs are the things that can be clung to and the clinging is the desire and lust for the six sense organs. These are called the things that can be clung to and this is the clinging. 35.114 Monks, there are forms cognizable by the eye that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk seeks delight in them, welcomes them, and remains holding to them, he is called a monk who has entered Mara's lair, who has come under Mara's control. Mara's snare has been fastened on him so that he is bound by the bondage of Mara. and the evil one can do with him as he wishes. There are monks, sounds cognizable by the ear, that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, tantalizing. If a monk seeks delight in them, welcomes them, and remains holding to them, he is called a monk who has entered Mara's lair, has come under Mara's control. Mara's snare has been fastened on him so that he is bound by the bondage of Mara. Similarly for the other six senses, the other sense organs. So here, stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says that if a monk seeks delight in forms, sounds, smells, taste, touch and thoughts, then he has entered Mara's lair, Mara's dwelling. and he has come under Mara's control. And Mara's snare has been fastened on him, is bound by Mara. And then the Buddha continues. There are monks, forms cognizable by the eye, that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk does not seek delight in them, does not welcome them, and does not remain holding to them, he is called a monk who has not entered Mara's lair. who has not come under Mara's control. Mara's snare hasn't been unfastened from him so that he is not bound by the bondage of Mara and the evil one cannot do with him as he wishes. Similarly, there are sounds, smells, tastes, touch and thoughts that are desirable, lovely, pleasing, tantalizing, etc. If a monk does not seek delight in them, then he has not come under Mara's control and Mara's snare has been unfastened from him so that he is not bound by the bondage of Mara at the end of the sutra. So if we take delight in the sense objects and sense objects actually the sensual pleasures pleasures that come through the senses, worldly pleasures, then we are caught by Mara. But for people who don't know of any other happiness, that's the only happiness they know, so it's very natural to be caught by Mara. Certainly when we become streetwise, become world-wise, understand the world better, then we have more wisdom. Next sutra is 35.118. On one occasion, the Blessed One, that's on page 1192. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha on Mount Bauchepi. Then Sakadevaraja, the King of the Devas, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, stood to one side and said to him, Venerable Sir, what is the cause and reason why some beings here do not attain Nibbana in this very life? And what is the cause and reason why some beings here attain Nibbana in this very life? And the Buddha said, Lord of the Devas, Devaraja, there are forms cognizable by the eye that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk seeks delight in them, welcomes them, and remains holding to them, his consciousness becomes dependent upon them and clings to them. A monk with clinging does not attain nirvana. Nigraja, there are sounds cognizable by the ear, smells, taste, touch, and thoughts. that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk seeks delight in them, welcomes them, and remains holding to them, his consciousness becomes dependent upon them and clings to them. A monk with clinging does not attain Nibbana. This is the cause and reason, Devaraja, why some beings here do not attain Nibbana in this very life. So if we cling to the things of the world, then we can attain Nibbana. There are a lot of the devas, forms cognizable by the eye, sounds cognizable by the ear, etc. that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk does not seek delight in them, does not welcome them, and does not remain holding to them, his consciousness does not become dependent upon them or cling to them, a monk without clinging attains Nibbāna. This is the cause and reason, Devarāja, why some beings here attain Nibbāna in this very life. That's the end of the sutta. So from here you can understand, if you want the goal of the holy life, you have to give up. If you don't give up holy pleasures, you can never attain 35.120 On one occasion, the Venerable Sariputta was dwelling at Savarthi in Jeta's Grove, Nathapindika's Park. Then a certain monk approached the Venerable Sariputta and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to Venerable Sariputta, Friend Sariputta, a monk who was my co-resident has given up the training and returned to the lower life. He is saying that the monk who shares a kuti with him has this robe. And Venerable Sariputta said, So it is, friend, when one does not guard the doors of the sense faculties, is immoderate in eating, and is not devoted to wakefulness, that a monk who does not guard the doors of the sense faculties, who is immoderate in eating, and who is not devoted to wakefulness, will maintain all his life to complete and pure holy life. This is impossible. But friend, that a monk who guards the doors of the sense faculties, who is moderate in eating, and who is devoted to wakefulness, will maintain all his life, the complete and pure holy life. This is possible. And how, friend, does one guard the doors of the... I'll stop here for a moment. So here, Venerable Sariputta says, that these three things are very important for a monk. If he wants to maintain the pure holy life, three things are extremely important for him to practice. If he does not practice these three things, then he cannot maintain his holy life and will disrobe. So we go through these three things one by one. And how, friend, does one guard the doors of the Zen faculties? This one is called Indriya Guttadwara. Here, having seen a form with the eye, a monk does not grasp its signs and features, since if he left the eye faculty unrestrained, evil and wholesome states of covetousness and displeasure might invade him. He practices the way of its restraint. He guards the eye faculty. He understates the restraint of the eye faculty. Similarly, having heard a sound with the ear, a smell, with the nose, taste with the tongue, touch with the body, thought with the mind. A monk does not grasp its signs and features, since if he left the faculties unrestrained, evil and wholesome states of covetousness and displeasure might invade him. He practices the way of his restraint. He guards the mind-faculty. He undertakes the restraint of the restraint of the faculties. It is in this way, friend, that one guards the doors of the sense faculties. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, Buddha says, if a monk is diligent, then when the Sixth Sense objects are in pinch on his Sixth Sense basis, he does not pay too much attention to them. For example, when he sees something, he doesn't pay too much attention to the general features. Here it says the signs, all the details of it, the minor details of it. For example, you see somebody of the opposite sex. If you look closely, then you think, oh, this girl is beautiful, or that man is handsome. Then covetousness arises, desire. Then you cannot get what you want, then the displeasure If he left the faculties unrestrained, evil, unwholesome states of covetousness and displeasure might invade him. Similarly, when you hear a sound or you smell a smell or taste and all that, don't pay too much attention. In other words, the mind has got to be fixed on your object, object of contemplation, object of meditation. For example, if a monk is practicing Anapanasati, so he has to keep his attention on Anapanasati all the time. Or if he's watching his mind, then he keeps watching his mind. In other words, his attention is not diverted out to the world, it goes inwards. So there's a restraint of the faculties, guarding the doors of the sense faculties. In other words, you don't want to be too much of a kepo, interested in all the worldly things. and our friend is one moderate in eating. Here, reflecting carefully, a monk takes food neither for amusement nor for intoxication, nor for the sake of physical beauty and attractiveness, but only for the support and maintenance of this body, for ending discomfort, and for assisting the holy life, considering Thus, I shall terminate the old feeling, and not arouse a new feeling, and I shall be healthy and blameless, and live in comfort. This in this way, friend, that one is moderate in eating." Stop here for a moment. So here, when we take food, then we reflect that we are not taking the food for amusement, that means because we want to enjoy the food. or for beauty of the body. But the main purpose is to support and maintain the body and ending discomfort so that you won't get sick. For assisting the holy life so that you can practice the holy life. And then you have to consider, thus I shall terminate the old feeling. The old feeling is feelings of hunger and not arouse a new feeling. New feeling is like feeling of greed. So I should be healthy and blameless, live in comfort. So the Buddha's standard of moderation in eating would seem a bit ascetic to many people because the Buddha recommends one meal a day. The Buddha himself says he eats at one sitting. but because some monks complained that about this eating at one meal then he allowed them to keep the food the leftover food and eat it before noon in this country it's one o'clock so you can say then then he allowed two meals but generally the Buddha did not want to trouble lay people. So a monk can only go on alms round one time a day in the morning after dawn and before noon. That means in this country after 7am and before 1pm. And how, friend, is one devoted to wakefulness? Here, during the day, while walking back and forth and sitting, a monk purifies his mind of obstructive states. In the first watch of the night, while walking back and forth and sitting, he purifies his mind of obstructive states. In the middle watch of the night, he lies down on his right side, in the lion's posture, with one foot overlapping the other, mindful and clearly comprehending. Actually, this word, mindful and clearly comprehending, is sati sampajanya. Sati is recollection, and sampajanya is mindfulness. after noting in his mind the idea of rising. After rising in the last watch of the night, while walking back and forth and sitting, he purifies his mind of obstructive states. It is in this way, friend, that one is devoted to wakefulness. Therefore, friend, you should train yourself thus. We will guard the doors of the sense faculties. We will be moderate in eating. We will be devoted to wakefulness, thus friend, should you train yourself. So this devotion to wakefulness, here the Buddha says, during the daytime, a monk should purify his mind of unwholesome states. Unwholesome states meaning states of greed, hatred, delusion, states of sensual desire, states of ill will or anger, states of sloth and topper, states of restlessness and worry and doubt. These are the five hindrances. So to do that, we must always keep our mind on one of the four stations of recollection, the sati or satipatthana, the object of sati or satipatthana. This word Sati, sometimes people translate it as mindfulness. It is not general mindfulness. It is a specific mindfulness. The proper translation for Sati is recollection. That means Always remembering your object of contemplation. Always remembering because this word sati comes from a root word that means to remember. So to remember, to put your mind only on your object of meditation or contemplation and not to allow it to run out to the six senses. to see things, to hear sounds, to smell, taste, and all that. So here, the Buddha says during the daytime, the monk should sit and walk to keep his mind in check, to maintain his samadhi. And then at night, there are three watches of the night. The first watch is generally, if you take 12 midnight, midnight to be 12 o'clock, then 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. is the first watch, the first four hours. These 3 watches, add them together is 12 hours. The first 4 hours is the first watch. The middle 4 hours from 10pm until 2am is the middle watch. And from 2am to 6am is the last watch. So the Buddha said that his disciples, even the first watch, they should not go to sleep. They should maintain their wakefulness, not allow themselves to fall asleep. And then from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m., they should lie down, but still maintain sati sampajanya. To maintain sati sampajanya, that means you have to be mindful as well as recollect your object of meditation. So that is not easy to do because when you are tired, to maintain your wakefulness is very difficult. But because the Buddha's disciples, they practice very hard, so they maintain their mindfulness until they are able, when their samadhi is good, they are able to maintain it. If they have the four jhanas, then there's a chance they can maintain. If you don't have the four jhanas, I think it's is quite impossible. Because your mind is weak, you tend to lapse into a sleep state. So it's because the Buddha's disciples practice like this until they have actually mindfulness 24 hours a day. That's why when they become arahants, the Buddha says all arahants have mindfulness 24 hours a day. In the Vinaya books, you cannot fault any arahant. You cannot accuse an arahant of any fault because his mindfulness is maintained 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. So these are the three. So in the last watch, then he gets up and then he still does walking and sitting, walking and sitting, fighting. Actually, this meditation is basically a fight against sleep. Meditation is a fight against sleep. That's why meditation is so hard, so difficult. So these are the three things. One is guarding the doors of the science faculties. Second one is moderation in eating, because if you eat too much, you become very sleepy. And then third one is devotion to wakefulness.

06SNSalayatanaCh3520090812

Come to the next sutra, 35.121. This sutra is also found in the Majjhima Nikaya, Sutra 147. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi. in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Then while the Blessed One was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in his mind thus, the states that ripen in liberation have come to maturity in Rahula. Let me lead him on further to the destruction of the Asavas." That means to liberation. Stop here for a moment. This Rahula is actually the son of the Buddha. And when he was seven years old, the Buddha asked Sariputta, I think, to ordain him. So after that, he kept on the robes, and then later took the higher ordination. So because he was the Buddha's son, the Buddha was concerned for him, so the Buddha thought that it's time to lead him to enlightenment. Then in the morning, the Blessed One dressed, and taking bowl and robe, walked for alms in Savatthi. When he had returned from the alms round, After his meal, he addressed the Venerable Rahula, Take a sitting cloth, Rahula. Let us go to the blind man's grove for the day's abiding. Yes, Venerable Sir, the Venerable Rahula replied. And having taken a sitting cloth, he followed close behind the Blessed One. Now, on that occasion, many thousands of devatas followed the Blessed One, thinking, today the Blessed One will lead the venerable Rahula on further to the destruction of the Asavas. Then the Blessed One plunged into the blind man's grove and sat down at the foot of a certain tree, on a seat that was prepared for him. The Venerable Rahula paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, What do you think, Rahula? Is the I permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, Venerable Sir. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering, Venerable Sir. Is what is impermanent suffering and subject to change, fit to be regarded thus? This is mine, this I am, this is myself. No, Venerable Sir. Similarly, are forms permanent or impermanent? Is eye consciousness permanent or impermanent? Eye contact, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, permanent or impermanent? And to all these eyes is impermanent. And then is the ear, et cetera, for all the six sense bases. All these, that means the six sense based the sense organ itself and then the sense object and then the sense the consciousness and the contact feeling perception volition consciousness for each of the different sense bases so you see the buddha purposely he asked very slowly one bit one sense base by one sense base. And each sense base is so detailed. First he'll ask forms, are forms permanent or impermanent? Sorry, the I. The I permanent or impermanent? Then when Buddha says it's impermanent, then the Buddha makes him see that what is impermanent, subject to change and suffering, is not fit to regard it as this is I and mine. Then after that, he moves to the sense object and then to the consciousness, to the eye contact. So every one of these is repeating what is impermanent, is suffering or happiness. It's what is impermanent, suffering, subject to change, fit to be regarded. This is mine, this I am, this myself. And Venerable Rahula has to answer all these for so many times. You see, like one sense base, like the eye itself, how many times it has to go through? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 8 times. 8 times. Just one sense base. So 8 times 6 is 48, isn't it? 48 times. It has to repeat all this. The Buddha purposely makes him repeat all this to drive home the point that what is impermanent and suffering is not fit to be regarded as this is mine, this I am, this is myself. Seeing thus, Fahullah, the learned noble disciple, experiences revulsion towards the eye, revulsion towards forms, revulsion towards eye-consciousness, revulsion towards eye-contact, revulsion towards anything included in feeling, perception, volition, consciousness arisen with eye-contact as condition. He experiences, similarly, revulsion towards the ear and all the sense bases. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge it is liberated. He understands, destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. This is what the Blessed One said. Elated, the Venerable Rahula delighted in the Blessed One's statement. And while this discourse was being spoken, the Venerable Rahula's mind was liberated from the asavas by non-clinging. And in those many thousands of devatas, there arose the dust-free, stainless vision of the Dhamma. Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation. That's the end of the sutra. So the Buddha made this Venerable Rahula repeat all these statements until he really see it clearly. Then Venerable Rahula attained enlightenment, liberation. And the many thousands of devas and devis that were there listening, all of them attained the dharma vision or attained stream entry. That's the most devas can attain. They only listen because they don't cultivate like us, because there's no suffering for them, no incentive to cultivate. So you see this, the gamma that leads one to enlightenment. We hear it so many times, but we still haven't become enlightened. That's why everybody has time. 35.127. On one occasion, the Venerable Pindola Bharadwaja was dwelling at Kosambi in Gosita's park. I'll stop here for a moment. This Venerable Pindola Bharadwaja, you don't meet him many times in the suttas, but in the Vinaya books, he's quite famous. How he became famous was one day, a rich man, he wanted to see whether there were still any arahants in the world. So he sent a message. all over the place saying that he's going to hang a golden ball very high up and which Arahant has psychic power he can fly up and take that golden ball and that is his he can have it so this message went around So this Pindola Bharadwaja, he walked like the Buddha's time, the monks, they walked from place to place. So he came to this place, people told him about this. So he flew up into the air, took the bowl, and then holding the bowl, he circled that village, or that town, circled three times. And then he came down, so he became famous. And then people offered him so many things, until his kuti was overflowing with all the requisites, honey, all the things that were allowable at night, honey, whatever else, food, dates. There's another incident about him, is that the king, because the king was very impressed with the Buddha and the Buddha's disciples, They were trying to excavate, I think, a cave to practice. So the king gave them a lot of workers, and the workers came with their families. So the whole village of workers was meant to serve the monks, the sangha. So they did work for the monks. And the monks would also go to the village on alms round to collect food. One day, there's been Dola Baradwaja. He went to this village and one small girl was crying. And he asked why the small girl crying. And then this family happens to be very poor. So this small girl saw the other kids having things to play, put on their head and all these things. But she had nothing to play. Oh, this Pindola Bharadwaja, I think it was him. He used his psychic power. He created this, what do you call this? They put on the head, tiara, something like that, made of gold, solid gold, and gave it to this girl. And this girl saw it, oh, it's the most beautiful toy in the whole village, she was so happy. Then the news spread, the news spread, and then came to the king's ear that this small girl has got this golden, beautiful, what do you call it, tiara or what, which probably is more expensive than the queen's one or so. So the king sent for this man, asked him, asked him where he got the thing. And this man could not explain, because the father could not explain. The king put him in jail, said he must have stolen it. Then this Pindola Ambarat Vajra, this Arahant heard about it, and then he went to see the king. So he explained to the king, He explained it in a direct way. I think he used his toe to press on the ground and the whole palace became solid gold. So he asked the king where your gold came from. Then the king understood. So the king released that man. Then King Udena approached the memorable Pindola Bharadwaja and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to him, Master Bharadwaja, what is the cause and reason why these young monks, latched with black hair, endowed with the blessing of youth, in the prime of life, who have not delved with sensual pleasures, lead the complete and pure holy life all their lives? and maintain it continuously. And he said, Great King, this was said by the Blessed One who knows and sees, the Arahant, Samasambuddha. Come, monks, towards women old enough to be your mother. Set up the idea that they are your mother. Towards those of an age to be your sisters, set up the idea that they are your sisters. Towards those young enough to be your daughters, set up the idea that they are your daughters. This is a cause and reason, great King. Why these young monks, lashed with black hair, endowed with the blessing of youth, in the prime of life, who have not delved with sensual pleasures, lead the complete and pure holy life all their lives, and maintain it continuously. And then the king said, the mind is wanton, Master Bharadwaja. Sometimes states of lust arise even towards women old enough to be one's mother. Sometimes they arise towards women of an age to be one's sister. Sometimes they arise towards women young enough to be one's daughter. Is there any other cause and reason why these young monks lead the complete and pure holy life, all their lives, and maintain it continuously. And this Venerable Pindola said, Great King, this was said by the Blessed One who knows and sees, Arahant Sammasambuddha, come monks, we view this very body upwards from the soles of the feet, downwards from the tips of the hairs, and close in skin, as full of many kinds of impurities. There are in this body head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, bone, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, contents of the stomach, excrement, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tear, grease, saliva, snot, fluid of the joints, urine, This, too, great king, is a cause and reason why these young monks lead a complete and pure holy life, all their lives, and maintain it continuously. And the king said, That is easy, Master Bharadwaja, for those monks who are developed in body, developed in virtue, developed in mind, developed in wisdom, But it is difficult for those monks who are undeveloped in body, undeveloped in virtue, undeveloped in mind, undeveloped in wisdom. Sometimes though one thinks, I will attend to the body as foul, one beholds it as beautiful. Is there any other cause and reason why these young monks lead the complete and pure holy life all their lives and maintain it continuously? And the Venerable Pindola said, Great King, this was said by the Blessed One who knows and sees the Arahant Sammasambuddha. Come, monks, dwell guarding the doors of the sense faculties. Having seen a form with the eye, do not grasp its signs and features, since if you leave the eye-faculty unguarded, Evil, unwholesome states of covetousness and displeasure might invade you. Practice the way of its restraint. Guard the eye-faculty. Undertake the restraint of the eye-faculty. Similarly, having heard a sound with the ear, smell an odour with the nose, savour a taste with the tongue, contact a touch with the body, having Cognize a thought with the mind. Do not grasp its signs and features, since if you leave the faculties unguarded, evil and wholesome states of covetousness and displeasure might invade you. Practice the way of its restraint. Guard the faculties. Undertake the restraint of the sanest faculties. This too, great King, is a cause and reason why these young monks lead the complete and pure holy life all their lives, and maintain it continuously. And the king said, It is wonderful, Master Bharadvaja. It is amazing, Master Bharadvaja, how well this has been stated by the Blessed One who knows and sees the arahant Samasambuddha. So this is the cause and reason why these young monks, latched with black hair, endowed with the blessings of youth, in the prime of life, who have not delayed with sensual pleasures, lead the complete and pure holy life all their lives, and maintain it continuously, In my case too, when I enter my harem, unguarded in body, speech and mind, without setting up mindfulness, unrestrained in the sense faculties, on that occasion, states of lust assail me forcefully. But when I enter my harem, guarded in body, speech and mind, with mindfulness set up, restrained in the sense faculties, on that occasion, states of lust do not assail me in such a way. Magnificent Master Bharat Bhaja! Magnificent Master Bharat Bhaja! The Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by Master Bharat Bhaja, as though he were turning upright but had been turned upside down, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. Master Bharat Bhaja, I go for refuge to the Blessed One and to the Dhamma and to the Bhikkhu Sangha. From today, let Master Bharadwaja remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life." That's the end of the sutra. So you see this verbal Pindola, how well he answered the king. He said, why the king could not understand, why these young monks haven't tasted all the pleasures of life and still can lead their holy life so purely. So, the first thing the Venerable Pindola said was the Buddha taught them to consider them as their own relatives. All women to be your mother, some to be your sisters, and some, the young ones, to be like your daughters. But then this king says that is not easy to do. You still, when you see them, I still can have lust. Then the Venerable Pindola said, the Buddha also taught to contemplate the 32 parts of the body. We recite the 32 parts of the body and contemplate the 32 parts of the body. Then when you see the body, you not only see the outside. Generally, when we see somebody, we only see skin deep, we only see the outside. We think, oh, this girl is beautiful, or that man is handsome. But when you consider all the things inside the body, full of excrement and urine and blood and pus and snot and all these things, then it's not so attractive anymore. That's the purpose of this meditation on the 32 parts of the body. And on top of that, the Buddha also taught to guard the sense faculties. Whenever anything comes into our six senses, six sense doors, we have to set up mindfulness, not to pay too much attention. Because once you pay too much attention, then either you see it as attractive or you see it as unattractive. and different feelings arise. And when feelings arise, then a lot of thoughts come up, and then unwholesome states of mind come up. These are the three things he quoted. In fact, there are other things also, but here only three things are quoted. So the king was so impressed. The king says, It's true, I also, the king said, when he goes into his harem, he sees all his beautiful wives, he also finds it difficult to restrain himself. Later part of this chapter, you find some very beautiful similes, analogies, parables given by the Buddha. When she used the psychic power to transform a cup of grass into a cup of air, she was able to make thousands of dollars. So, she became an icon in Mongolia after that. But I found out that when I opened my new book, Safety in Foreigners, I thought, so, and I had a book, a book that I was involved in. I read it, it was quite interesting, and it's probably the best one I've ever read. So I'm going to read it now. I'll read it now. I'm going to read it now. I'll read it now. Yeah, but the Buddha said that these rules are made with a purpose, so we have to understand if a monk touches money or something valuable, an unwholesome state of mind develops, then he should not, in the case of an Arahant, he does not develop unwholesome states of mind, that's one thing. Even the Buddha himself, in his early years of teaching, was extremely ecstatic. I remember he forbade monks from using something in the bathroom, scrubbing the body or something like that. Minor, the Buddha did not allow. But we see in the suttas, when the Buddha grew old, he became more relaxed. Towards the end, somebody offered him, when he was about to pass away, in the Mahabarinibbana Sutta, offered him some cloth with gold, gold sworn on it. He also accepted, not that he wanted to use it, he definitely didn't want to use it, but out of compassion for the person who offered that, he gave that person a chance to do merit. Sometimes, all these things, the precepts are actually made for younger monks who find it difficult to restrain themselves. If you didn't have these precepts for them, they would not be able to restrain themselves. But for people who are matured, then actually the precepts are not a problem. The other thing is sometimes you find with the Buddha, sometimes he made certain rules, and yet some of the rules he did not keep himself. For example, he didn't allow I think after this incident, the Buddha did not allow monks to show off their psychic power. But sometimes he would also show off his psychic power to impress some people who didn't have any respect for him. Sometimes after debating with some external ascetic, then he'd fly off. fly off into the air and back to the monastery. or going to the kitchen sink, it's easy to say to people, but for the sake of the whole community, if everybody is doing their job, then you know, it will be, it will be everybody involved in it. Like, how, where can we go, what can we say, you know, Sometimes we feel that something needs to be said. We can see it, but try to put it in a nice way, not to offend people. For example, see it with a smile or in a joking way or something, people don't get offended. Or just point out the notice. So, that's one way. And then sometimes also you see that person, if that person is very sensitive, then you can forget about it. Don't say it, especially at that time. Maybe some other time, the Buddha says, right speech, we should also know the time to say it. So we have to sometimes use our wisdom. Usually if we say, things are in a nice way, usually people can accept that. The answer is not difficult. The only thing is whether a person can do it, renounce and go on. It was so easy, the Buddha would not ask people to go forth and renounce. That's enough. If you can practice at home and still do your business and all that, the Buddha would not ask people to renounce. It's for the purpose of that and that's why people renounce. I'm sorry, but I'm very tired and short of words. Is there any suggestion? Can you say it one more time? Say it again? Systematic attention. Where is this mentioned? Can you tell me more details about the sutta? Maybe this word, systematic attention, comes from the Pali word, yoniso manasikara. This word, yoniso manasikara, there are many translations for it. One is systematic attention, one is thorough attention, one is proper attention, one is thorough consideration, and all this. So what it means is when you contemplate something, that all your attention is there so that you can see right through. Actually, the word yoni, so manasikara comes from the word yoni. Yoni means the womb, the birthplace. And then manasikara comes from the word mana and kara. Mana is the mind. Kara is the work of the mind. Work of the mind is either you consider or you pay attention or you reflect. So the consideration or the attention that goes to the birthplace, the root of the problem. In other words, if you hear the Dhamma, then you consider it deeply. Thorough attention, you can say. Thorough attention. Then you can understand. If you listen to the Dhamma half-hearted attention, then you won't be able to absorb it. So that's why you need this Yoniso Manasikara. Thorough attention. It is said in the Suttas that you can attain Right View and become an Arya with two conditions, as in the Majjhima Nikaya Sutta 43. It says that you achieve right view with two conditions. The first one is the voice of another. That means somebody else teaching you the Dhamma. And the second condition is you only sow manasikara, thorough attention, proper attention. When you listen to the Dhamma, you pay proper attention, thorough attention, deep attention. Then you can understand, then you can achieve right view. And with that, you enter the stream, become an Arya. So, this thorough attention is very important. Whatever you do, you must have thorough attention. No, no, no. Perfect Sila is just a precondition. Precondition. If you have perfect Sila and you can enter the stream, then you don't have to be a Buddhist. You don't have to listen to the Buddha's words, you just keep a sila, like other religions also have sila. But if you don't hear the Dhamma, you can never attain Srimantri. I mean, uh... different centers or different Buddhist centers practice different things. But actually in the Sutta or maybe the Vinaya books, the Buddha did mention that in the Buddhist religion we don't just keep silent. Buddha said that this is an external sect practice. It is allowed to speak, but speak what is important, what is necessary. But even then, the Buddha's disciples sometimes did practice silence. There's one time, there's one sutta, where three monks, they lived alone, lived together, these three of them, and they practiced together. every morning they go on alms round and when they come back from alms round they will have their food they will cooperate by bringing the water for washing the feet water for washing the alms bowl and they bring the dustbin and all that and after eating their food they will clean up but even like they want to carry water They try not to talk at all to each other. Whole day they won't talk to each other. If they need somebody's help, they will just signal. So that's how they pass the day. But at night, after they spend the day in meditation, at night when they come together, then they will discuss Dhamma. So it's not that they keep Dhamma the whole day. When it's necessary to speak, they will speak. So like in certain monasteries or centers, you see, they maintain silence. That is maybe good for certain periods, but long term, it's not practical to maintain silence long term. That self, that person who thinks that he is the self, that person, because unless you're enlightened, you still have the self, right? So this person that is not liberated, he is the one, he thinks he gets the kamma. So in your dream, suppose somebody slaps you in your dream, in your dream, when you wake up, then you know that It was only a dream. But when you are dreaming, the time somebody slaps you, you feel the slap. Isn't it? You can't say. Because you have not woken up. You have not woken up from your dream. So when you get the slap, you feel it as real. Right? So similarly, before you are enlightened, the unenlightened person, he's the one who receives all that kamma. But only when he's enlightened, then he knows it's just like a dream. Somebody transferred merit.

07SNSalayatanaCh3520090813

Today is the 13th of August and we are at Samyutta Nikaya 35, Chapter Jalaiyatana Samyutta. This is Sutta 35.132. On one occasion, the noble Maha Kacana was dwelling among the people of Bhavanti in a forest hut at Makarakata. Then a number of Brahmin youths, students of the Brahmin Lohi Cha, were collecting firewood, approached the Vembul Mahakacanas forest hut. Having approached, they stomped and trampled all around the hut, and in a boisterous and noisy manner, they played various pranks, saying, These shrivelling ascetics, menials, swarthy offspring of the Lord's feet are honoured, respected, esteemed, worshipped and venerated by their servile devotees." Stop here for a moment. These Brahmins, because they are the priest sect, so They look down on Samanas. Samanas are the renunciants of other castes. These Brahmins are one caste and all the other castes, if they renounce and become monks or ascetics, they are called Samanas. So these Brahmins believe that the Brahmins are born from the head of Brahma, the god. whereas the other castes are born from the feet of Brahma. So now they know that these Buddha's disciples are respected and venerated by their devotees. So they are jealous, they don't like it. They came outside the kuti and made a lot of noise. Then the Venerable Mahakacana came out of his dwelling and said to those Brahmin youths, Don't make any noise, boys. I will speak to you on the Dhamma. And this was said, those youths became silent. Then the Venerable Maha Gacchana addressed those youths with verses. Those men of old who excelled in virtue, those Brahmins who recall the ancient rules, their sense doors guarded, well protected, dwelt having vanquished wrath within. They took delight in Dhamma and meditation, those Brahmins who recall the ancient rules. But these have fallen, claiming we recite, buffed up by clan, faring unrighteously, overcome by anger. Armed with diverse weapons, they molest both the frail and the firm. For one with sense-doors unguarded, all the vows he undertakes are vain. Just like the wealth a man gains in a dream. Fasting and sleeping on the ground, bathing at dawn, study of the three Vedas, rough heights, metal locks and dirt, hymns, rules and vows, austerities, hypocrisy, banned staffs, ablutions. These emblems of the Brahmins are used to increase their worldly gains. A mind that is well concentrated clear and free from blemish, tender towards all sentient beings. That is the path for attaining Brahma." I'll stop here for a moment. So here, the Prabhupada Mahakacana was annoyed by these Brahmin youths. So to tell them off, he said, those ancient Brahmins, they really practiced the Dhamma and meditated. But nowadays, Brahmins are not like before. They bully others and then their sense doors are unguarded. And then they do their rituals like fasting and sleeping on the ground, bathing at dawn, study the three Vedas, their books, wearing rough hides and matted locks and dirt when they do their sacrifices to heaven. and chanting the hymns and practicing the rules and vows and austerities. All that is hypocrisy, he says. All used to increase their worldly gains. So that will naturally make them angry. Then those Brahmin youths, angry and displeased, approached the Brahmin Lohit Shah and told him, this one should be Brahmana Lohit Shah, the holy man Brahmana. See now, sir, you should know that the ascetic Mahakacana categorically denigrates and scorns the hymns of the Brahmins." And this was said, oh sorry, they went back to their teacher, the Brahmin Lohit Shah, and complained to the Brahmin Lohit Shah, said this, Mahakacana said my past disparaging remarks about Brahmins. When this was said, the Brahmin Lohicha was angry and displeased. But then it occurred to him, it is not proper for me to abuse and revile the ascetic Mahakacana solely on the basis of what I have heard from these youths. Let me approach him and inquire." Then the Brahmin Lohi Cha, together with those Brahmin youths, approached the Venerable Mahakacana. He exchanged greetings with the Venerable Mahakacana, and when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said, Master Kacana, did a number of Brahmin youths, my students, come this way while collecting firewood? They did, Brahmin. Did Master Kachana have any conversation with them? I did have a conversation with them, Brahmin. What kind of conversation did you have with them, Master Kachana? The conversation I had with those youths was like this. Those men of old who excelled in virtue, those Brahmins who recall the ancient rules, they sensed those guarded, well-protected, without having vanquished wrath within. They took delight in Dhamma and meditation, etc., etc., as before. Such was the conversation I had with those youths. And Lohicha asked, Master Kachana, He said, I will sense doors unguarded. In what way Master Kachana is one which sense doors unguarded? And the Venerable Maha Kachana said, Here Brahmin, having seen a form with the eye, someone is intent upon a pleasing form and repelled by a displeasing form. He dwells without having set up mindfulness of the body, with a limited mind, and he does not understand, as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil, unwholesome states cease without remainder. Similarly, having heard a sound, having smelled an odor, having tasted a taste, and cognized a touch and thoughts, Someone is intent upon pleasing contact and repelled by a displeasing contact. He dwells without having set up mindfulness of the body with a limited mind and he does not understand as it really is that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom wherein those evil unwholesome states cease without remainder. It is in such a way, Brahmin, that one is with sense-doors unguarded. And the Brahmin said, It is wonderful, Master Kachana. It is amazing, Master Kachana, how Master Kachana has declared one whose sense-doors are actually unguarded to be one with sense-doors unguarded. Master Kachana said, with sense-doors guarded. In what way, Master Kachana, is one with sense-doors guarded? Here Brahmin, having seen a form with the eye, someone is not intent upon a pleasing form, and not repelled by a displeasing form. He dwells, having set up mindfulness of the body, with a measureless mind, and he understands, as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil and wholesome states cease without remainder. Similarly, for sounds, smells, taste, touch, and thoughts. It is in such a way, Brahmin, that one is with sense-doors guarded. It is wonderful, Master Kachana. It is amazing, Master Kachana, how Master Kachana has declared one whose sense-doors are actually guarded to be one with sense-doors guarded. Magnificent, Master Kachana. The Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by Master Kachana. From today, let Master Kachana remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life. Then Master Kachana approached the Lohicha family just as he approaches the families of the lay followers in Makara Akata. The Brahmin youths and maidens there would pay homage to Master Kachana. They would stand up for him out of respect. They would offer him a seat and water, and that would lead to their welfare and happiness for a long time. That's the end of the sutta. So here is Brahmin, he was a bit annoyed that the rebel Mahakacana had spoken ill of Brahmins. But he came to find out actually whether this was what he said. And the rebel Mahakacana was not shy to tell him exactly what he said. And he asked him about what he meant by Sen's doors unguarded and Sen's doors guarded. And when he heard the explanation that he He realised that this is a practising monk, he really practises this, so he had a lot of respect. But unlike the Buddha's followers who take refuge with the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, you find here, I think, does he take refuge with the Triple Gem or only with the Mahakacana? Oh yeah, he took refuge with the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. So generally, you find during the Buddha's days, the Brahmins, they were a bit jealous of the Buddha and his disciples. Not only the Brahmins, other ascetics also, because the Buddha and his disciples, they were very well-respected and well-supported. So the others were not so well-supported and respected, so they became jealous. Next Buddha is 35.133. On one occasion, the Venerable Udayi was living at Kamanda in the Brahmin Todeo's mango grove. Then a Brahmin youth, a student of the Brahmin lady of the Veera Achani clan, approached the Venerable Udayi and greeted him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side, and the Venerable Udayi instructed, exhorted, inspired, and gladdened him with the Dharma talk. Having been instructed, exhorted, inspired and gladdened by the Dhamma talk, the Brahmin youth rose from his seat, approached the Brahmin lady of the Veera Harchani clan and said to her, See now, madam, you should know that the ascetic Udayi teaches a Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle and good in the end. with the right meaning and phrasing, he reveals a holy life that is perfectly complete and pure. Let's stop here for a moment. So you see here, in the suttas, we find that the holy life explained by the Buddha and the Buddha's Arahant disciples is perfectly complete and pure. So the Buddha's teachings are complete and pure. So there's no need to add to the Buddha's teachings. A lot of later monks, they have added a lot of new books to the Buddha's teachings, which are not necessary. Because by adding the new books, they have distorted the Buddha's teachings. And then the lady said, in that case, young man, invite the ascetic Udayi in my name for tomorrow's meal. Yes, Madam," the youth replied. Then he went to the Venerable Udayi and said to him, That Master Udayi consented to accept tomorrow's meal from our revered teacher, the Brahmin lady of the Veera Hachani clan. The Venerable Udayi consented by silence. Then when the night had passed, in the morning the Venerable Udayi dressed, took his bowl and outer robe, and went to the residence of the Brahmin lady of the Veda-Pachani clan. There he sat down in the appointed seat. Then with her own hands, the Brahmin lady served and satisfied the Veda-Pachani clan with various kinds of delicious food. When the Venerable Udayi had finished eating and had put away his bowl, the Brahmin lady put on her sandals, sat on a high seat, covered her head and told him, preached the Dhamma ascetic, having said there will be an occasion for that sister, he rose from his seat and departed. So here this lady asked the Venerable Udayi to give a Dhamma talk. But Venerable Udayi said, on a later occasion and departed. Why did he depart? Because the lady didn't show enough respect by using her sandals and sitting on a high seat and covering her head. The second time that Brahmin youth approached the Venerable Udayi and received Dhamma teaching and he was very respectful and then he came and told the lady again, see now madam, you should know that the ascetic Uday teaches a Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle and good in the end, with the right meaning and phrasing. He reveals a holy life that is perfectly complete and pure. And she said, in such a way, young man, you keep on praising the ascetic Budai. But then I told him, preach the Dhamma, ascetic. He said, there will be an occasion for that, sister. And he rose from his seat and departed. And the youth said, that, madam, was because you put on your sandals, sat down on a high seat, covered your head, and told him, preach the Dhamma, ascetic. For these worthies respect and revere the Dhamma. Stop it for a moment. So here, the youth, the young man told his teacher that you didn't show enough respect. You were wearing your sandals, you sat on the highest seat and covered your head. And these pharaohs, they respect the Dhamma because the Dhamma is so respect, that if somebody behaves like this, does not show enough respect for the Dhamma, the monk will not teach. And then she said, in that case, young man, invite the ascetic Udayi in my name for tomorrow's meal. Yes, madam, he replied. Then he went to the Venerable Udayi and invited him. And the Venerable Udayi consented by silence. And similarly, the same thing happened. He came and had his meal. The lady served him and all that. When the Venerable Udayi had finished eating and had put away his bowl, the Brahmin lady removed her sandals, sat down on a low seat, uncovered her head, and said to him, Venerable Sir, what do the Arahants maintain must exist for there to be pleasure, and what is it that the Arahants maintain must cease to exist for there to be no pleasure and pain? And Rambo said, Sister, the Arahants maintain that when the eye exists, there is pleasure and pain, and when the eye does not exist, there is no pleasure and pain. The Arahants maintain that when the ear exists, there is pleasure and pain, and when the ear does not exist, there is no pleasure and pain. Similarly for the nose, tongue, body and mind. And this was said, the Brahmin lady of the Veda Kachani clan said to the Venerable Uday, Magnificent Venerable Sir, magnificent Venerable Sir, the Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by Venerable Uday, as though he were turning upright what had been turned upside down, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go for refuge to the Blessed One, to the Dhamma and to the Bhikkhu Sangha. From today, Master Udayi remembers me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life. That's the end of the sutra. So the second time she invited this Venerable Udayi after the meal, She knew what to do. She took off her sandals and covered her head, sat on a low seat, and then asked this question. And then the Venerable Uday explained, for there to be pleasure and pain, there must be the six sense organs. When you have the six sense organs, then you have contact. When you have contact, then the feeling arises. The feeling can be pleasant or painful. So similarly for all the other sense bases. So if there's no six sense doors, there's no contact, so there's no pleasure and pain, no feeling. So she was impressed by this and she took refuge in the Triple Gem and also lay follower of the Venerable Buddha. Next Sutra, 35.135. The Buddha said, monks, it is a gain for you. It is well gained by you that you have obtained the opportunity for living the holy life. I have seen monks, the hell named context, sixfold base. There, whatever form one sees with the eye is undesirable, never desirable, unlovely, never lovely, disagreeable, never agreeable. Similarly, whatever sounds one hears with the ear, whatever odour one smells, whatever taste one savours, whatever touch one feels, Whatever thoughts one cognizes is undesirable, never desirable, unlovely, never lovely, disagreeable, never agreeable. It is again for you monks. I stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that a monk who practices the holy life is very good. it's very beneficial because the Buddha says he has seen the hell where all the sixfold contacts are painful whatever you see is frightening painful whatever sounds you hear also frightening painful whatever smells etc even the mind on top of the physical suffering even the mental torture these beings in hell experience. So because of that, the Buddha says, if we live the holy life, that is really good. Because we are moving away from the direction of hell. If you don't live the holy life, and you don't attain, especially if you don't attain the stream entry and become an ariya, the chances that you will still go down to hell. And the Buddha continued, It is a gain for you monks, it is well gained by you, that you have obtained the opportunity for living the holy life. I have seen monks, the heaven named, contact sixfold base. There, whatever form one sees with the eye is desirable, never undesirable. Lovely, never unlovely. Agreeable, never disagreeable. Similarly, whatever sound one hears, whatever odour, taste, touch and thoughts one cognizes, is desirable, never undesirable. Lovely, never unlovely. Agreeable, never disagreeable. It is a gain for you monks. It is well gained by you that you have obtained the opportunity for living the holy life. So the second part, the Buddha says, he has seen the heavens, where if you are in that heaven, all your six sense bases, all the contacts, are lovely, desirable, agreeable. In other words, you will be very, very happy there. So the Buddha is hinting that if you practice the holy life sincerely, you will be able to attain rebirth in that heaven where you enjoy life for a long time. So this is just an incentive. It's an Indian belief that if you become a monk, practice the holy life, that heaven is assured for you. 35.136, the Buddha said. Monks, devas and humans delight in forms, take delight in forms, rejoice in forms. With the change fading away and cessation of forms, devas and humans dwell in suffering. Devas and humans delight in sounds, delight in odors, in taste, in touch, in thoughts. The change fading away and cessation of these sense objects, devas and humans dwell in suffering for a moment. So, heavenly beings and humans, we enjoy life through the six senses. sensual pleasures in terms of forms, sounds, smells, taste, touch, and thoughts. But because these sense objects are impermanent, they will change and fade away, cease. So when this change happens, then we will suffer. But monks, the Tathagata, the Arahant, Sammasambuddha, as understood as they really are, the origin and passing away, the gratification, danger and the escape, in the case of forms, he does not take delight in forms, does not take delight in forms. He does not rejoice in forms. With the change, fading away and cessation of forms, the Tathāgata dwells happily. He has understood, as they really are, the origin and passing away, gratification, danger and escape, in the case also of sounds, odours, tastes, touch, thoughts. It does not delight in the Sixth Sense objects, does not take delight in the Sixth Sense objects, does not rejoice in the Sixth Sense objects. With the change fading away and cessation of the Sixth Sense objects, the Dhargatha dwells happily. That is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, Further said, Forms, sounds, odours, tastes, touch, and thoughts are desirable, lovely, agreeable, so long as it said they are. These are considered happiness by the world with its devas, but when these cease, that they consider suffering. The noble ones have seen as happiness the ceasing of identity. This view of those who clearly see runs counter to the entire world. What others speak of as happiness, that the noble ones say is suffering. What others speak of as suffering, that the noble ones know as bliss. We hold this Dhamma hard to comprehend. Here the foolish are bewildered, for those with blocked minds it is obscure. Here darkness for those who do not see, but for the good it is disclosed. There is light here for those who see. The dullards are skilled in the Dhamma, don't understand it in its presence. This Dhamma isn't easily understood by those afflicted with lust for existence, who flow along the stream of existence, deeply mired in Mara's realm, who else apart from the noble ones are able to understand this state. When they have rightly known that state, the taintless ones are fully quenched." So, the noble disciples, Aryans, They do not take delight in the sense objects, worldly happiness. So when they change, because the six sense objects, everything in the world must change. So when there's change, we don't suffer. So what do we take happiness in? We take happiness in our mind. We look for happiness within and that happiness will not change. If we depend on outside things, outside things will change. So the Buddha also says that this Dhamma is very hard to comprehend. Foolish people are bewildered, cannot understand at all, sheer darkness for them. But for those people with wisdom can understand. Those people who practice the Dhamma, we are very different from worldly people. Worldly people like to laugh and joke and all that. People who are spiritually mature, they are very serious. They don't laugh and joke like worldly people. worldly people like to talk a lot, find somebody always to talk and joke, but people who understand the Dhamma know that this world is suffering, so they are more serious, they don't look for somebody to talk and joke. Time is so precious, a lot of people don't understand, time is very precious, time goes by very fast, you waste your time very soon, you find you don't have time left, 35.146 Buddha said, Monks, I will teach you new and old kamma, the cessation of kamma, and the way leading to the cessation of kamma. Listen to that and attend closely. I will speak. And what, monks, is old kamma? The I is old kamma, to be seen as generated and fashioned by volition, as something to be felt. The ear, nose, tongue, body and mind is old karma, to be seen as generated and fashioned by volition, as something to be felt. This is called old karma. And what mounts is new karma. Whatever action one does now, by body, speech or mind, this is called new karma. And what mounts is the cessation of karma. When one reaches liberation through the cessation of bodily action, verbal action and mental action, this is called the cessation of kamma. And what mounts is the way leading to the cessation of kamma, this noble eightfold path that is right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection, right concentration. Thus monks, I have taught old kamma, I have taught new kamma, I have taught the cessation of kamma, I have taught the way leading to the cessation of kamma. Whatever should be done, monks, by a compassionate teacher, out of compassion for his disciples, desiring their welfare, that I have done for you. These are the feet of trees, monks. These are empty hearts. Meditate, monks. Do not be negligent, lest you regret it later. This is our instruction to you." That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha says, our I, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. It's all kamma created by all kamma. Volition is kamma. A new karma is what we are doing now. Our intentional actions now, through the body, speech and mind, is a new karma. And karma ceases when one becomes liberated. When one becomes liberated, there is no self, no ego. So one does not do any more karma. Even though one does action, it does not count as karma because there is no ego behind that action. And the way leading to the cessation of kamma is the Noble Eightfold Path. When you practice the Noble Eightfold Path, then you become liberated from the ego, from the self. And whatever you do also is not counted as kamma.

08SNSalayatanaCh3520090813

35.151 Buddha said, monks, this holy life is lived without students and without a teacher. A monk who has students and a teacher dwells in suffering, not in comfort. A monk who has no students and no teacher dwells happily in comfort. And how, monks, does a monk who has students and a teacher dwell in suffering, not in comfort? Here, monks, when a monk has seen a form with the eye, there arise in him evil, unwholesome states, memories and intentions connected with the fetters. They dwell within him. Since those evil and wholesome states dwell within him, he is called one who has students. They assail him. Since evil and wholesome states assail him, he is called one who has a teacher. Similarly, when a monk has heard a sound, smelled an odor, tasted a taste, cognized a touch, cognized a thought, and There arise in him evil and wholesome states, memories and intentions connected with the fetters. And these unwholesome states dwell within him. Since those evil and wholesome states dwell within him, he is called one who has students. They assail him. Since evil and wholesome states assail him, he is called one who has a teacher. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, an ordinary, unlearning person, wailing, When the six senses are contacted by sense objects, evil and wholesome states arise. So when evil and wholesome states arise and dwell within him, because the unwholesome states dwell within him, they are called his students. But at the same time, because they assail him, meaning they attack him, they give him a lot of Dukkha. So they are called the teacher. In fact, Dukkha is our teacher. Dukkha is a very good teacher. If we go through life in an unskillful way, then we will have a lot of Dukkha. This Dukkha arises because whatever comes in contact with us, to our six sense doors, we perceive it in the wrong way, because we don't perceive it in the right way. And then they give us suffering. So when they give us suffering, then we start thinking, why am I suffering? Why am I suffering? And when you start asking questions slowly, you will get the answers. So because Dukkha teaches us, so Dukkha, these evil unwholesome states that give us Dukkha is called a teacher. And how, monks, does a monk who has no students and no teacher dwell happily in comfort? Here, monks, when a monk has seen a form with the eye, there do not arise in him evil, unwholesome states, memories and intentions connected with the fetters. They do not dwell within him. Since those evil, unwholesome states do not dwell within him, he is called one who has no students. They do not assail him. Since evil and wholesome states do not assail him, he is called one who has no teacher. Further, when a monk has heard a sound with the ear, smelled a smell, tasted a taste, cognized a touch, cognized a thought, and there do not arise in him evil and wholesome states, they do not dwell within him, then he is called one who has no students. And since they do not dwell within him, so they do not assail him, do not attack him. So he is called one who has no teacher. It is in this way, monks, that a monk who has no students and no teacher dwells happily in comfort. Monks, this holy life is lived without students and without a teacher. A monk who has students and a teacher dwells in suffering, not in comfort. A monk who has no students and no teacher dwells happily in comfort. That's the end of the sutra. So these unwholesome states that arise within us, they can be considered students and can be considered our teacher. That's why sometimes in some suttas, the Buddha says a monk goes to dwell alone in a cave or up in a forest, in a hill and all that. But if he brings along this craving and all this unwholesome state within him, then he's not living alone. He's living with a partner. Next sutta is 35.152. Buddha said, monks, if wanderers of other sects ask you, For what purpose, friends, is the holy life lived under the ascetic Gautama, Samana Gautama? Being asked thus, you should answer those wondrous thus. It is, friends, for the full understanding of suffering that the holy life is lived under the Blessed One. Then, monks, if those wondrous ask you, what, friends, is that suffering for the full understanding of which the holy life is lived under the ascetic Gautama? Being asked thus, you should answer those wondrous thus. The I, friends, is suffering. It is for the full understanding of this that the Holy Life is lived under the Blessed One. Forms are suffering. It is for the full understanding of them that the Holy Life is lived under the Blessed One. Similarly, I, consciousness, I, contact, whatever feeling that arises, it is for the full understanding of all these that the Holy Life is lived. Similarly, for the ear, the nose, the tongue, the body and the mind, and for each of these sense organs, then you have for each the sense object, the sense consciousness, the contact and the feeling that arises. All that gives suffering. So to understand suffering, you have to understand all these sense bases. This, friends, is the suffering for the full understanding of which the holy life is lived under the Blessed One. Being asked thus, monks, you should answer those wondrous of other sects in such a way. The end of the sutra. So here, the Buddha is saying that the purpose of the holy life, to understand suffering, where suffering comes from, and how suffering can cease, and the path that will bring you to the cessation of suffering. So here, because this Uttara is under the Samyutta, dealing with the six sense bases, the Buddha is saying that suffering comes from the six sense bases. In the previous Khanda Sangyuta, where the chapter on the five aggregates, the Buddha will explain the similar way in reference to the five aggregates. Holy life is lived for the understanding of suffering, and where does suffering come from? From the body, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. So to understand suffering, you've got to understand the five aggregates. then you will understand suffering. So here is about the similar thing with the six sense bases. The next sutra is 35.160 on page 1218. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in Jivaka's Mango Grove. There, He addressed the monks thus, Monks, develop concentration. When a monk is concentrated, things become manifest to him as they really are. And what becomes manifest to him as they really are? The I becomes manifest to him as they really are, as impermanent. Forms become manifest to him as they really are, as impermanent. Eye-consciousness, eye-contact, whatever feeling that arises becomes manifest to him as they really are, as impermanent. Similarly, the ear becomes manifest to him as it really is, as impermanent. Sounds become manifest to him as they really are, as impermanent. ear consciousness, ear contact, the feeling that arises, all become manifest to him as they really are, as impermanent. And similarly for the other sense bases. Develop concentration monks. When a monk is concentrated, things become manifest to him as they really are. So here the Buddha is saying that concentration is very important, that when you attain concentration, then things become manifest, becomes very clear, very clear as they really are. And what is it that we want to see very clearly? Here it says the eye, the eye, eye consciousness, eye contact, eye that forms and eye consciousness, eye contact and the feeling. And similarly for the ear, for sounds, for ear consciousness, ear contact and feeling. and for all the other sense bases. You will remember that we read a similar sutta under the Khanda or Samyutta. There, instead of the six sense bases, the Buddha says, when you develop concentration, things become manifest. And what is it that becomes manifest? It's the five aggregates. You see them as impermanent, as suffering, as not-self. The next sutra, 35.161. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Vajagaha in Divaka's mango grove. There, He addressed the monks thus, Monks, make an exertion in seclusion. When a monk is secluded, things become manifest to him as they really are. And what becomes manifest to him as they really are is the same as the previous sutra, the I. the forms, eye consciousness, eye contact, feeling that arises. Similarly for the other sense bases, it all becomes very clear. So here you see this pair of suttas we read before. It's also found in the Khanda Sanghuta. The Buddha stresses on concentration and seclusion. As I mentioned before, seclusion, there are two types of seclusion, kaya viveka and citta viveka. Kaya viveka is body seclusion, that means being aloof from other people. And citta viveka is mental seclusion, that means going into the mind and becoming secluded from all thoughts and all mental workings. In other words, you dwell in the mind and not in the world of the six senses. So, two things are always stressed by the Buddha, concentration and seclusion. The next sutta, 35.162. Then the Venerable Maha Kothita approached the Blessed One and said to Him, Venerable Sir, it would be good if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief, so that having heard the Dhamma from the Blessed One, I might dwell alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent and resolute. Stop here for a moment. This Maha Gotita is one of the famous arahants. So this Sutta, since he has come to the Buddha for brief instructions to practice, must be before he was enlightened. And the Buddha said, Gotita, you should abandon desire for whatever is impermanent. And what is impermanent? The I is impermanent. You should abandon desire for it. Forms are impermanent. We should abandon desire for them. Eye consciousness is impermanent. Similarly, the feeling that arises, contact and all that. So, similarly for the other sense bases, the sense organ, the sense object is impermanent. The sense consciousness, the sense contact and whatever feeling that arises, all is impermanent. So the Buddha says, you should abandon desire for whatever is impermanent. But you think about it, everything in the world is impermanent. So because everything in the world is impermanent, everything in the world will give us suffering if we cling to it. So understanding this, we should let go of craving for these things. Not only that, We must always remember that very soon we are going to die. And if we don't practice well, we're going to take a rebirth in a sorrowful place, a rebirth. So the faster we practice, the better for us. Okay, 35.228, 228. It's on page 1226. The Buddha said, monks, the unlearned Ordinary whirling speaks of the ocean, the ocean. But that is not the ocean in the noble one's discipline. That is only a great mass of water, a great expanse of water. The I amongst is the ocean for a person. Its current consists of forms. One who withstands that current consisting of forms is said to have crossed the ocean of the eye with its waves, whirlpools, sharks and demons. Crossed over, gone beyond, the Brahmana stands on high ground. Similarly, the ear amongst is the ocean for a person. Its current consists of sounds. One who withstands the current consisting of sounds is said to have crossed the ocean of the ear with its waves, whirlpools, sharks and demons. crossed over, gone beyond, the Brahmana stands on high ground. Similarly for all the other sense bases. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, further said, One who has crossed this ocean so hard to cross, with its dangers of sharks, demons and waves, The knowledge master who has lived the holy life, reached the world's end, is called one gone beyond." That's the end of the sutra. So here the Buddha says, to the ordinary person, the ocean is just the sea, the great expanse of water. But to a learned, noble disciple of the Buddha, the sixth sense object is the ocean. And the current consists of the The six sense bases, the six sense organs, is the ocean. The current consists of the six sense objects. The six sense objects will have a lot of whirlpools, and sharks, and demons, and waves, and all these storms and all that. They will come impinging on the six sense organs. And if you're not careful, you'll be drowned by all these sense objects. kill us also so we know how to go across this ocean then the brahmana stands on high ground the brahmana is a holy man so the buddha is telling us that our six senses we have to be very careful there's a lot of demons, waves and sharks and whirlpools all attacking us at a six sense basis through the six sense objects. forms. All kinds of forms will come in before your eyes. All kinds of sounds will come to you. All kinds of smells, tastes, touch and thoughts. So it depends on you how you're going to react. If you don't know how to react skillfully, you'll get into big problems. So the Buddha is telling us that if we understand the Dhamma, then whatever These waves and demons and sharks and all that come, we just don't react. We know how to keep our mind equanimous. We don't have craving as well as we don't have repulsion, aversion. If we don't know how to steady our mind, as the earlier sutta we read, when you see pleasant objects, you crave for pleasant objects. When you see ugly objects, you are repelled by ugly objects. Similarly with sounds, you hear nice sounds praising you, you become so happy. When you hear sounds criticizing you, you get so upset. So similarly for smell, taste, touch and thoughts. So the Buddha says if we have a bit of Kung Fu, then whatever comes to attack us, we just brush it off. Just don't react. The next sutra is 35.230. Monks, suppose a fisherman would cast a baited hook into a deep lake, and a fish on the lookout for food would swallow it. That fish who has thus swallowed the fisherman's hook would meet with calamity and disaster, and the fisherman could do with it as he wishes. So too, monks, there are these six hooks in the world for the calamity of beings, for the slaughter of living beings. There are, monks, forms cognizable by the eye that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk seeks delight in them, welcomes them, and remains holding to them, he is called a monk who has followed Mara's hope. He has met with calamity and disaster, and the evil one can do with him as he wishes. There are monks' sounds cognizable by the ear, smells cognizable by the nose, taste cognizable by the tongue, touch cognizable by the body, and thoughts cognizable by the mind. that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk seeks delight in them, welcomes them, and remains holding to them, he is called a monk who has followed Mara's hope. He has met with calamity and disaster, and the evil one can do with him as he wishes. There are monks, forms cognizable by the eye and that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. If a monk does not seek delight in them, does not welcome them, does not remain holding to them, he is called a monk who has not swallowed Mara's hook, who has broken the hook, demolished the hook. He has not met with calamity and disaster, and the evil one cannot do with him as he wishes. There are monks, sounds cognisable by the ear, odours cognisable by the nose, taste cognisable by the tongue, touch cognisable by the body, thoughts cognisable by the mind. If a monk does not seek delight in them, does not welcome them, does not remain holding to them, he is called a monk who has not followed Mara's hope. has broken the hook, demolished the hook. He has not met with calamity and the evil one cannot do with him as he wishes. That's the end of the sutra. So here, just like the fisherman wanting to catch the fish, he puts a hook with a bait on it, like a worm or something, into the water and the hungry fish will come and swallow the bait and get hooked. then he's at the mercy of the fishermen. So similarly, Mara has put out six hooks for us. These six hooks with the bait. What is the bait? Forms, beautiful forms for us to see. Beautiful sounds to entice us. Beautiful smells and lovely taste and touch and thoughts. So if we not careful, then we go and enjoy these worldly pleasures. Then we are caught by Mara's hook, we become a slave to them. Then we cannot get free of the hook, we become a slave of Mara. And there are some people who are hooked very badly, like drug addicts, drunks and all that. So all these suttas are giving us warning that the world is not so pleasurable as you think. Not so enjoyable. You can enjoy first and then you pay for them with tears later. I think I'll stop here for the moment. Nothing to discuss. We're coming towards the end of the chapter and the suttas are very interesting. If you are hooked by the six hooks, you'll be all around the samsara, Round of rebirth, you'll be slaughtered many times. You have to die many times in a round of samsara. Cycle of birth and death. When the five senses are very strong, the mind is often very weak. So, when the mind is weak, it's very difficult to battle and it looks like it's constrained. Yes. So, He's inside a religious circle. So he's like a person who has a very deep concentration of sort of a calm and safe, very rational mind. He doesn't see what's going on behind him. He's like a father to them. They are obsessed with everything about him. They are obsessed with him. They're not with people. They're obsessed with their loved ones. They don't want to hear the conversation about their obsessions with that. Yes. You know when we go to school, we go to kindergarten, then we go to elementary school or primary school, then we go to secondary school, then we go to college or university, then after that we go to postgraduate to some people. So for people whose hindrances are very strong, And they are like students in the kindergarten or primary school. They have a long way to go. That means they have to do a lot of work. So there's no shortcut. No shortcut in life. There are some people you can see that they are just not spiritually mature. So there are some people when you try to Encourage them to come and listen to the Dhamma. They will refuse to listen. Try to teach them to abstain from certain unwholesome practices. They refuse to abstain. They have just not come to that stage, that level. So they will have to suffer more. When they suffer, then they will learn this. If we don't discipline ourselves, the world will discipline us. So we have to learn the hard way. Just like we read the sutra, you have unwholesome states of mind within you, that is going to be your teacher, make you suffer until you wake up. The easy way is to do chanting. Chanting is a long tradition in all religions, not only Buddhism. In Buddhism, we do chanting like the Buddha. The first meditation the Buddha taught was actually chanting on the 32 parts of the body. And we can also chant like the Paritta. We can chant like Buddho, Buddho. We can chant Arahang, Arahang. We can chant Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa. Or we can chant Namo Buddhaya, Namo Buddhaya, Namo Buddhaya, Namo Buddhaya. So like in Hinduism, they have a lot of mantras for you to chant. And even in Islam also they chant. Even in Christianity also they chant. So it's a very universally recognized method to calm the mind. And that is the easiest way. In fact, this chanting is very powerful. If you try not to sleep at night, you try to chant. Keep chanting, chanting. Try to maintain your wakefulness. So there is one way and then we have to use our own wisdom depending on that person. He has to see his own problem, what is his problem and how to deal with it. So sometimes we have to fight our weaknesses, have to meet it head on. You don't have the courage to meet it head on, you don't have the strength to fight it, then you'll forever be a slave of your weakness. When I was young, I was frightened by adults, made to be frightened of dark places. And especially when I went with my parents to see Pontianak show. And after that, a ghost So after that, I remember for one continuous week, every night I had nightmares. So after that, I'd be afraid of dark places. But after I became a monk, Then I went to Thailand in 1986. After one year in Thailand, I came back to Malaysia. And because I had seen forest monasteries in Thailand, then I also had this inspiration to look for quiet, secluded place to practice on my own. So I went to Ipoh and looked for caves. I went to many caves and I found out all the beautiful caves were taken up. by people. So some devotees started to look for a cave for me. And they found one suitable cave behind Simphang Polai. But it was a very dark cave, totally dark, very dark. So when I first went into that cave, I dare not stay inside. I had to stay at the entrance there, actually the back entrance. I stayed in a higher place. outside where it was bright. I stayed two nights there. And then I realized that it's not so comfortable. There are two reasons why I like to stay in caves. One is it's very cool inside. On a hot afternoon or so, you feel cool inside. Secondly, it cuts out all the sound outside. You can't hear the traffic, you can't hear noise from houses and all that. I normally pass caves away from houses also. So the first two nights I stayed at the rear entrance, at the elevated place. Then I realized that it was not so comfortable because in the afternoons it would be warm. The warm air would come, so it's not conducive for meditation. Then the second night I stayed there, I had a dream. I had a dream that some devas asked me to come and they wanted to see who was this fellow sleeping there. And then I went to their presence and I saw about five devas. One of them was seated, the others were standing. And they all looked very nicely dressed, like Indian devas. So the leader was seated. So when I went to their presence, they looked at me and I looked at them. And after that, when I looked at myself, I found that I was exactly like them, like a deva. I was dressed up like a deva. Then I woke up. Then I realized they were trying to tell me, they accept me as a member, that if I stay inside the cave, there'll be no problem. Then after that, I moved into the cave. I moved into that cave, and then I stayed there for four months. So after four months, I got used to dark places. I got no more fear of dark places. So that's the only way to fight your fear. Similarly, to fight our weaknesses, sometimes we have to bash it head on. If you cannot, then you have to use your wisdom, see how to deal with it stage by stage. It's a disease which is very useful in medicine because it's a vegetable and it's a disease. So if you take a person who is white and who is black, and they have a parasite that's a little bit more involved in their health, If a person is possessed, then he needs to do a lot of meritorious deeds to bring up the kamma. That's one thing. One so-called ji-un-kwan. That's one thing. And then the place where that person stays is also important. you stay in a place like a monastery actually is very good and the vibrations are good here so it's not conducive for an evil spirit to stay in such a place then when a person does meritorious deeds like helping in the monastery and all that he or she becomes happy when you help others and that's the result of skillful action, wholesome action, action that benefits others, you become happy yourself. When you become happy, then your state of mind slowly changes. A lot of people, because of not doing enough good karma, they tend to become depressed. I know some people, One person I know was not filial enough to the parents. So when the parents died, he got into depression. Probably he doesn't understand also. But I can see most likely due to not doing enough for parents. So after parents have passed away, he will naturally regret. So such people, they have to do more good deeds, charity and all that. then they become happier persons. After they become more happy, then the mind is quietened down. When the mind quietens down, then they can see things more clearly. If you are not happy, then the mind is very easily agitated. Small things will make you agitated. So that's why wholesome karma is very important, very good for us. You see a lot of people who are miserable because they only think of themselves. A lot of people only think of their own problem. The more they think of their problem, the worse they become. On the other hand, there are some people who are smarter. If they have free time, they go and help others. Like a lot of Westerners, you see, they like to devote their free time to do charitable work, to do social work, and all that. And by helping others, you get a lot of happiness. I have some sisters who have migrated to Australia. Now they are old. They also join these charitable organisations whenever people are sick and need help. Sometimes need just somebody to talk to. You know, a lot of old people, they're very lonely, especially in the West. They need somebody to talk to them. So my sisters go and sometimes talk to them, keep them company. The old person becomes very happy, you know, you got a friend to talk to. And that makes the person, like my sister, also very happy, because you know you help people. So, helping others is very, very important. You think you help others, actually you're helping yourself. It's like a dana, you know. Sometimes like monks go begging for food. Sometimes monks, some people can see like the monastery is quite well supported. Even if the monk doesn't go and beg for food also, he will still get enough food to eat. But the Buddha taught monks to purposely go on alms round to give people the opportunity to do dana. to give the opportunity for people to get blessings. That's why in the Vinaya books, it is not allowed for a monk to stay alone in the deep forest and feed himself on roots, on fruits that have fallen from the forest, on leaves and all that. Not allowed. A monk must go and beg for his food or accept offerings in the monastery. So sometimes, you know, like a monk does this, it's for the good of the people. Sometimes if people don't realize, they think the monk actually really needs the food or what, sometimes it's not. OK, talking about meditation, I can see that most of the lecturers want to cut out of the setup and focus on meditation. So when you have a good technique, in general, the vibration is very good and very powerful. So let's say you're not well, then it's better for others to come and help you. You can sit in a chair and dance. Yeah, but in the monastery, I think the whole monastery is good vibration. Kosna is good to sit in a group. When you have a group sitting, the energy is very good. But if some people find it too difficult, then they allow. Except that for monastics, we are more strict. Once you wear the robe, you have signed a contract to practice the holy life as well as you can, at least for the duration that you are staying here. So that's why for monastics, people who wear the robe, I want all of them to sit here. But of course, if they want to do walking meditation, they can walk anywhere. But when it comes to sitting, they should sit together here. Okay, come, we transfer the red now.

09SNSalayatanaCh3520090814

Okay, today is the 14th of August. Here is the 35th chapter of Samhita Nikaya, Salayatana Samhita. Now we come to Sutra 35.231. The Buddha said, monks, in regard to forms cognizable by the eye, if in any monk or nun lust still exists and has not been abandoned, if hatred still exists and has not been abandoned, if delusion still exists and has not been abandoned, then even trifling forms that enter into the range of the eye obsess the mind not to speak of those that are prominent. For what reason because lust still exists and has not been abandoned. Hatred still exists and has not been abandoned. Delusion still exists and has not been abandoned. Similarly for sounds, smells, taste, touch and thoughts. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that if we have lust, hatred and delusion within, that any form comes before our eyes, they obsess the mind, they get obsessed by the form, smelly sounds, smells, etc. So even small forms, trifling, unimportant forms also, once we notice it, then we start thinking about it. So what more if they are prominent forms? That's why later you'll find the Buddha says not to pay attention. Then the Buddha says, suppose monks, there was a milk sap tree, an asata, or a banyan, or a pilaka, or an udambara, fresh, young, tender. If the man breaks it here and there with a sharp axe, would sap come out? Yes, Member Sir. For what reason? Because there is sap. I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says if the tree has got milk sap in it, you break off any part of it, or you cut it, then the milk sap will flow out, just like a rubber tree. We are very familiar with rubber tree. So you cut any part of the rubber tree. milk sap will flow out. So to monks, in regard to forms cognizable by the eye, even trifling forms that enter into the range of the eye obsess the mind, not to speak of those that are prominent. For what reason? Because lust still exists and has not been abandoned. Hatred still exists and has not been abandoned. Delusion still exists and has not been abandoned. The same in regards to sounds, smells, tastes, touch and thoughts. Monks, in regard to forms cognizable by the eye, if in any monk or nun lust does not exist and has been abandoned, if hatred does not exist and has been abandoned, if delusion does not exist and has been abandoned, then even prominent forms that enter into the range of the eye do not obsess the mind, not to speak of those that are trifling. For what reason? Because lust does not exist and has been abandoned. Hatred does not exist and has been abandoned. Delusion does not exist and has been abandoned. Similarly for sounds, smells, tastes, touch and thoughts. Suppose monks There was a milk sap tree, an Assata, or a Bunyan, or a Pilaka, or an Udambara, dried up, desiccated, past its prime. If a man breaks it here and there with a sharp axe, would sap come out? No, when we'll serve. For what reason? Because there is no sap. So too, monks, in regard to forms cognizable by the eye, even prominent forms that enter into the range of the eye do not obsess the mind, not to speak of those that are trifling. For what reason? Because lust does not exist and has been abandoned. Hatred does not exist and has been abandoned. Delusion does not exist and has been abandoned. Similarly for sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and thoughts. That's the end of the sutra. So when the six sense objects impinge on our senses, how we react depends on how much of this lust, hatred, and delusion is within us. If you have strong lust, hatred, and delusion, then if the sense object is attractive, you will have lust for it. You have craving for it, and that craving gives rise to attachment, and that attachment gives rise to suffering. You want something, you cannot get it permanently, then you will have suffering. But on the other hand, somebody who has cultivated himself until lust, hatred and delusion has been eliminated. then whatever forms, whatever sounds, etc., come into his attention, it does not affect him because he does not have the lust, hatred and delusion. So it's very important that we remove this poison inside us, these three poisons. So actually the problem is not outside there. The problem is not outside, the problem is inside. Sometimes we think the problem is outside. Because of this, because of that. It's not because of this and because of that out there. It's because of inside us. In Exhuta 35.232 On one occasion, the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Mahaputthita were dwelling at Baranasi in the Deer Park at Isipatana. Then in the evening, the Venerable Mahaputthita emerged from seclusion and approached the Venerable Sariputta. He exchanged greetings with the verbal Sariputta, and when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to him, How is it, friend Sariputta? Is the eye the fetter of forms, or are forms the fetter of the eye? Is the ear the fetter of sounds, or are sounds the fetter of the ear, etc. for the other? for the other sense bases also. And Venerable Sariputta replied, Friend Kothita, the I is not the factor of forms, nor are forms the factor of the I, but rather the desire and lust that arise there, independence on both, that is the factor there. Similarly, the ear is not the factor of sounds, nor are sounds the factor of the ear, but rather the desire and lust that arise there in dependence on both. That is the factor there. Similarly, for the other sense bases. Suppose, friend, a black ox and a white ox were yoked together by a single harness or yoke. Would one be speaking rightly if one were to say, the black ox is the factor of the white ox, The white ox is the fetter of the black ox. And Venerable Kothita said, No, friend, the black ox is not the fetter of the white ox, nor is the white ox the fetter of the black ox, but rather the single harness or yoke by which the two are yoked together. That is the fetter there. And Venerable Sariputta said, So too, friend, the eye is not the fetter of forms. He repeated what he said. nor are forms the factor of the eye, but rather the desire and lust that arise there, independent on both, that is the factor there. The ear is not the factor of sounds, nor are sounds the factor of the ear, but rather the desire and lust that arise there, independent on both, that is the factor there. Similarly for the others and spaces. If friend The eye were the factor of forms, or if forms were the factor of the eye, this living of the holy life could not be discerned for the complete destruction of suffering. But since the eye is not the factor of forms, nor are forms the factor of the eye, but rather the desire and lust that arise there, in dependence on both, is the factor there. The living of the holy life is discerned for the complete destruction of suffering. If, friend, the ear were the fetter of sounds, or if sounds were the fetter of the ear, this living of the holy life could not be discerned for the complete destruction of suffering, similarly for the others and spaces. In this way too, friend, it may be understood how that is so. There exists in the Blessed One the eye. The Blessed One sees a form with the eye. Yet there is no desire and lust in the Blessed One. The Blessed One is well liberated in mind. There exists in the Blessed One the ear. The Blessed One hears a sound with the ear. Yet there is no desire and lust in the Blessed One. Similarly for the other sense bases. In this way, friend, it can be understood how the I is not the factor of forms, nor are forms the factor of the I, but rather the desire and lust that arise there. Independence on both is the factor there. Similarly for the other sense bases. That's the end of the sutta. So here, you see, for each sense base, if you take, for example, the I, When you have the I and forms come before the I, then I-consciousness arises. And the coming together of the three, the I, the forms, and the I-consciousness, is the making of contact. When there is contact, feeling arises. And if the feeling is a pleasant feeling, then there is craving for it. If the feeling is an unpleasant feeling, then there is aversion towards it. so our mind is moved by craving and aversion depending on the object and sometimes if the feeling that arises is neither pleasant nor unpleasant then the feeling then there is no no craving and no aversion in fact generally People, if the feeling is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, then people become ignorant of it, not aware of it. So, the problem here is not the I. The problem is not the forms. The problem is the feeling that arises, giving rise to craving or aversion. So a mind that is untrained, undeveloped, it is moved by the external sense objects. The external sense objects either give you craving or give you aversion, leading to hatred. So it's because that is an undeveloped mind. So it's very important to develop our mind so that whatever comes impinges on our sixth sense basis, that we don't react in an unwholesome way, in an unskillful way. If we react in an unskillful way, for example, we crave for beautiful form, Then, since you cannot have that form all the time, then suffering will come. But if you realize the nature of the six sense spaces, that everything is impermanent, there's no happiness to be found from clinging to anything, then you don't react, then you will not have suffering. So the desire and lust, that is the factor that binds us in samsara. The next sutra is 35.234. On one occasion, the Venerable Ananda and the Venerable Udayi were dwelling at Kosambi in Gosita's park. Then in the evening, the Venerable Udayi emerged from seclusion and approached the Venerable Ananda. He exchanged greetings with the Venerable Ananda And when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said, Friend Ananda, in many ways the nature of this body has been declared, disclosed, and revealed by the Blessed One thus. For such a reason, this body is not self. Is it possible to explain the nature of this consciousness in a similar way? To teach, proclaim, establish, disclose, analyze and elucidate it thus. For such a reason, this consciousness is not self. Stop here for a moment. So here, the Venerable Buddha says that the Buddha has taught that this body is not self. Is it possible in a similar way to say, to explain that consciousness is not self? These two things, the body and consciousness of mind, the Buddha says it's much easier to see that the body is not self because we can see the body changing year by year as you grow older. And then also you can see not only your body, you can see your parents' body, your grandparents' body, your relatives and all that. They grow old, they become sick and they die. So it's much easier to see that the body is not the self. Very hard to see the mind or consciousness as not the self. That's why here he is asking Ananda, And remember Ananda said, It is possible, friend Udayi, doesn't I-consciousness arise in dependence on the I in forms? And he said, Yes, friend. If the cause and condition for the arising of I-consciousness would cease completely and totally without remainder, could I-consciousness be discerned? No, friend. In this way, friend, this has been declared, disclosed and revealed by the Blessed One thus. For such a reason, this consciousness is not self. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, Herbert Ananda says, eye consciousness arises on condition that two things are present. The eye must be there, forms must come before the eye. With these two conditions, eye consciousness arises. So since I-consciousness arises dependent on these two things, the I and forms, and these two things, the I and forms, are also impermanent, right? So when they cease, so if you say that I-consciousness is the Self, Then when the I and the form cease, that means the condition for I-consciousness to arise ceases, then naturally I-consciousness will cease. So if I-consciousness ceases, then where is the self? If there is a self, it must exist all the time. But if it arises and then passes away, arises and passes away, it cannot be the self. The idea of the self, atta, is something that is permanent. that is never changing, that there is a core, there is a core that is unchanging, which you can identify as the self. But if it changes and it can disappear, then how can it be the self? So Nanda is trying to say, for the reason that eye consciousness is dependent on conditions and when the conditions cease, then eye consciousness also must cease. So it cannot be, it is not self. Similarly, ear consciousness arises in dependence on the ear and sounds. In a similar way, ear consciousness also is not the self when the ear and sounds cease, and similarly for the other senses. In this way, friend, it has been declared, disclosed and revealed by the Blessed One thus. For such a reason, this consciousness is not self. Suppose, friend, a man needing hardwood, seeking hardwood, wandering in search of hardwood, would take a sharp axe and enter a forest. There he would see the trunk of a large plantain tree, straight, fresh, without a fruit but core. He would cut it down, At the root, cut off the crown and unroll the coil. As he unrolls the coil, he would not find even soft wood, let alone hard wood. So too, a monk does not recognize either a self or anything belonging to a self in these six senses, in these six bases for contact. the six sense bases. Since he does not recognize anything thus, he does not cling to anything in the world. Not clinging, he is not agitated. Being unagitated, he personally attains Nibbana. He understands. Destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. That's the end of the sutta. So the Buddha says, if a monk sees that the six sense bases and all the things connected with the Sixth Sense Basis are impermanent and not self. It means that the whole world is impermanent and not self because the whole world exists in the Sixth Sense Basis, the Sixth Consciousness. So when he does not cling to anything in the world, then he becomes disenchanted and becomes dispassionate and he attains liberation. 35.235 Monks, I will teach you a Dhamma exposition on the theme of burning. Listen to that. And what monks is the Dhamma exposition on the theme of burning? It would be better, monks, for the eye faculty to be lacerated by a red-hot iron pin, burning, blazing, and glowing, than for one to grasp the sign and the features in a form cognizable by the eye. For if consciousness should stand tight to gratification in the sign or in the features. And if one should die on that occasion, it is possible that one will go to one of two destinations, hell or the animal realm. Having seen this danger, I speak thus." I'll stop here for a moment. So the Buddha says, Instead of using the eye to grasp the signs and the features in any form that you see, it is better to take a red hot iron pin and tag or poke the eye until it cannot see because Buddha says if you use eye consciousness and you see forms that are pleasing and you are satisfied in the signs and features of the form and you cling to it, then if you die at that moment, you go to rebirth in hell or the animal realm. So dangerous is the clinging to the six senses, sense objects. And the Buddha continued, It would be better, monks, for the ear faculty to be lacerated by a sharp iron stick, burning, blazing, and glowing, than for one to grasp the sign and the features in sound cognizable by the ear. For if consciousness should stand tight to gratification in the sign or in the features, and if one should die on that occasion, it is possible that one will go to one of two destinations, hell or the animal realm. Having seen this danger, I speak thus. It would be better, monks, for the nose faculty to be lacerated by a sharp nail cutter, burning, blazing, and glowing, than for one to grasp the sign on the features in order cognizable by the nose. For if consciousness should stand tight to gratification in the sign or in the features, and if one should die on that occasion, it is possible that one will go to one of two destinations, hell or the Having seen this danger, I speak thus. It will be better amongst for the Tang faculty to be lacerated by a sharp razor, burning, blazing and glowing, than for one to grasp the sign and the features in taste cognizable by the tongue. For if consciousness should stand tight to gratification in the sign or in the features, and if one should die on that occasion, it is possible that one will go to one of two destinations, hell or the animal realm, having seen this danger I speak thus. It would be better amongst for the body faculty to be lacerated by a sharp spear, burning, blazing, and glowing, than for one to grasp the signs and the features in a tactile object. cognizable by the body. For if consciousness should stand tight to gratification in the sign or in the features, and if one should die on that occasion, it is possible that one will go to one of two destinations, hell or the animal realm. Having seen this danger, I speak thus. It would be better amongst to sleep For sleep, I say, is barren for the living, fruitless for the living, insensibility for the living, than to think such thoughts as would induce one who has come under their control to bring about a schism in the Sangha. Having seen this danger, I speak thus. stop here for a moment so here the Buddha is saying it's better to destroy all the six sense organs than to use them to enjoy sensual objects because if you use your sense organs to enjoy sensual objects and you cling to them at the moment when you die you're still attached to them then it's possible for you to go to hell or the animal realm, except the last one. This last one is not to enjoy, but if you use your mind to think and hold some thoughts, for example, to split the sangha of monks, cause a schism, then it's better not to use the mind. Go to sleep better. In regard to these monks, the learned noble disciple reflects thus, Leave off lacerating the eye faculty with the red-hot iron pin burning, blazing, and glowing. Let me attend only to this. So the eye is impermanent, the forms are impermanent, eye consciousness is impermanent, eye contact is impermanent. Whatever feeling arises with eye contact as condition, whether pleasant or painful, or neither painful nor pleasant, that too is impermanent. Leave off lacerating the ear-faculty with a sharp iron stick, burning, blazing and glowing. Let me attend only to this. So the ear is impermanent. Sounds are impermanent. Ear-consciousness is impermanent. Eye-ear-contact is impermanent. Whatever feeling arises with ear-contact as condition, that too is impermanent. Leave off lacerating the nose faculty with a sharp nail cutter, burning, blazing and glowing. Let me attend only to this. So the nose is impermanent. Borders are impermanent. Nose consciousness is impermanent. Nose contact is impermanent. Whatever feeling arises with nose contact as condition, that too is impermanent. Leave off lacerating the tongue faculty with a sharp razor, burning, blazing and glowing. Let me attend only to this. So the tongue is impermanent. Case are impermanent. Tongue consciousness is impermanent. Tongue contact is impermanent. Whatever feeling arises with tongue contact as condition, that too is impermanent. Thief of lacerating the body faculty with a sharp spear, burning, blazing and glowing. Let me attend only to this. So the body is impermanent. Tactile objects are impermanent. Body consciousness is impermanent. Body contact is impermanent. Whatever feeling arises with body contact as condition, that too is impermanent. Leave off sleeping. Let me attend only to this. So the mind is impermanent. Mental phenomena or thoughts are impermanent. Mind-consciousness is impermanent. Mind-contact is impermanent. Whatever feeling arises with mind-contact as condition, that too is impermanent. Seeing thus, monks, the learned noble disciple experiences revulsion towards the I, forms, I-consciousness, I-contact, or whatever feeling arises with I-contact as condition. and similarly for the other six sense bases. So the experience revolves towards the six sense bases, the six sense objects, the six sense consciousness, contact and the feeling that arises experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge it's liberated. He understands, destroying his birth, the holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There's no more for this state of being. This monk is the Dhamma exposition on the theme of burning. So here the Buddha says, instead of going to the extreme, step of destroying your six sense faculties. The Buddha says a learned, noble disciple having wisdom should only attend to the fact that the six sense bases are impermanent, the six sense objects are impermanent, the six sense consciousness are impermanent. The six sense contacts are impermanent. The feeling that arises at the six sense spaces are also impermanent. So when you realize that they are all impermanent, that means everything in the world is impermanent. So you feel that the noble disciple will feel revulsion, disenchanted. with the six sense bases, with everything in the world, and then experiencing this enchantment, he becomes dispassionate, and that will lead to liberation. This reminds me, like in India, a lot of ascetics, they practice these Dutanga practices. the ascetic practices to suffer, they think, to wear away their sins, wear away their evil karma, they think. So they do things like going naked, do things like living in the forest, living off the fruits that fall in the forest and the roots of trees and all that, plants. So that is one extreme for people who don't understand the Dhamma. The Buddha himself went through all these extreme conditions like starving himself until he ate one grain of rice a day. Later, he relaxed and practiced the Middle Way and attained enlightenment. After he attained enlightenment, he told his disciples not to practice all these unbeneficial ascetic practices. Instead, to direct your mind in the right way, like contemplating impermanence, contemplating suffering, contemplating not-self. That is the right way. Without having to suffer so much, you can attain enlightenment. So similarly here, the sutta, if you go to one extreme, because you think that the sixth sense basis is the cause, because of contact at the sixth sense basis, then feeling arises. And feeling gives rise to suffering when you cling to it, right? So a person is doesn't have much wisdom. You think the cause of all the suffering is the six sense bases. So go and destroy the six sense bases. Give something burning and burn it out. Burn out the eye, burn out the ear, the nose and all that. But the Buddha says you don't have to go to that extreme. Simple way is just to contemplate impermanence in all these six sense bases. Then you don't become attached to it. Then you can attain liberation.

10SNSalayatanaCh3520090814

Next sutra is 35.236. Buddha said, Monks, when there are hands picking up and putting down, are discerned, are seen. When there are feet coming and going, are discerned. When there are limbs bending and stretching, are discerned. When there is the belly, hunger and thirst are discerned. So, two monks, when there is the eye, pleasure and pain arise internally, with eye contact as condition. When there is the ear, pleasure and pain arise internally, with ear contact as condition. Similarly, when there is nose, also pleasure and pain arise. When there is tongue, pleasure and pain arise. When there is body, pleasure and pain arise. When there is mind, pleasure and pain arise internally, with contact as condition. When monks there are no hands, picking up and putting down are not discerned. When there are no feet, coming and going are not discerned. When there are no limbs, bending and stretching are not discerned. When there is no belly, hunger and thirst are not discerned. So too monks, when there is no eye, no pleasure and pain arise internally with eye contact as condition. When there is no ear, no pleasure and pain arise internally. When there is no nose, when there is no tongue, when there is no body, when there is no mind, no pleasure and pain arise internally with contact as condition. that's the end of the sutra so the six sense organs is the cause for pleasure and pain to arise so if we continue to have the success organs, then pleasure and pain continue to experience. So when you understand that the suffering is not worth the pleasure that you get, then only you become disenchanted with the Sixth Sense basis. Because however much pleasure you can get from the Sixth Sense basis is never enough, never satisfied. And yet the pain when you experience through the Sixth Sense basis, the pain is unbearable so that's why I say the pain that you experience is not worth the pleasure that you get out of the six sense pieces. One day when we realize it, we become disenchanted. The next sutra is quite a famous sutra, 35.238. Monks, suppose there were four vipers of fierce heat and deadly venom. Then a man would come along wanting to live, not wanting to die, desiring happiness and averse to suffering. They would tell him, good man, these four vipers are of fierce heat and deadly venom. From time to time, They must be lifted up. From time to time, they must be bathed. From time to time, they must be fed. From time to time, they must be laid to rest. But if one or another of these vipers ever becomes angry with you, then, good man, you will meet death or deadly suffering. Do whatever has to be done, good man. 10 monks, afraid of the four vipers of fierce heat and deadly venom, that man would flee in one direction or another, and they would tell him, Good man, five murderous enemies are pursuing you, thinking, wherever we see him, we will take his life right on the spot. Do whatever has to be done, good man. 10 monks, afraid of the four vipers of fierce heat, and deadly venom. And of the five murderous enemies, that man would flee in one direction or another. They would tell him, good man, a sixth murderer and intimate companion is pursuing you with drawn sword, thinking, wherever I see him, I will cut off his head right on the spot. Do whatever has to be done, good men. Ten monks, afraid of the four vipers of fierce heat and deadly venom, and of the five murderous enemies, and of the sixth murderer, the intimate companion with drawn sword, that man would flee in one direction or another. He would see an empty village. Whatever house he enters is void, deserted, empty. Whatever pot he takes hold of is void, hollow, empty. He would tell him, good man, just now village attacking the coits will raid this empty village. Do whatever has to be done, good man. Then monks, afraid of the four vipers of fierce heat and deadly venom, and of the five murderous enemies, and of the sixth murderer, the intimate companion with drawn sword, and of the village attacking the courts or bandits, that man would flee in one direction or another. He would see a great expanse of water, whose near shore was dangerous and fearful, and whose further shore was safe and free from danger. But there would be no ferry boat or bridge for crossing over from the near shore to the far shore. Then the man would think, there is this great expanse of water, whose near shore is dangerous and fearful, but whose further shore is safe and free from danger. But there is no ferry boat or bridge for crossing over. Let me collect grass, twigs, branches, and foliage, and bind them together into a raft, so that by means of that raft, making an effort with my hands and feet, I can get safely across to the far shore. Then the man would collect grass, twigs, branches, and foliage, and bind them together into a raft, so that by means of that raft, making an effort with his hands and feet, he would get safely across to the far shore. crossed over, gone beyond, the Brahmana stands on high ground. I have made up this simile, monks, in order to convey a meaning." I'll stop here before I explain what the Buddha says. So this man, poor white person, very poisonous, He has to take care of these four vipers, their trust onto him. And he has to lift them up from time to time. They must be bathed from time to time. They must be fed. They must be given some rest and all that. And if you make any one of them angry, once they bite you, either you die or you'll be half dead, suffering from so much pain. And then on top of that, five enemies are chasing him. And if they catch up with him, they will take his life. So he has to run. But he has to carry these four vipers on his body. They have already put around his body. And then he hears that a sixth murderer, an old friend, is also chasing him, wanting to kill him. So he has to run again. Then he comes to a village, and that village is deserted. Nobody, all the houses are empty. He enters every house also empty. And then even when he goes to the kitchen, takes up all the pots also empty. And then suddenly he hears some bandits will come and raid this empty village. Then he is afraid of the bandits. They may kill him. Then he runs again. Then he keeps running until he comes to water. And this side is very fearful. So many people want to kill him. Even the snake also can kill him. At the other side, The other shore is safe, so he collects grass and twigs and branches and leaves and buys them into a raft. And making great effort with his hands and feet, he managed to cross over to the other shore where it's safe. I have made up this simile, monks, in order to convey a meaning. This is the meaning here. The four vipers of fierce heat and deadly venom. This is the designation for the four great elements. The earth element, water element, heat element, air element. Let's stop here for a moment. So these four vipers is actually our own body. Our own body is made up of these four elements. And we have to take care of our body. We have no choice, we have to bathe our body, we have to feed our body, we have to brush our teeth, go and do our toilet, and if we don't take proper care of the body, if we have too much wind, then we will suffer. If you have too much heat, for example, you take too much curry, and then also you will suffer. Or if the weather is no good, also you will suffer. And to the extent that you may even die if you don't take proper care of your body. So these four vipers represent our body, the four elements in our body. The five murderous enemies, that is a designation for the five aggregates of attachment, that is the body aggregate, the feeling aggregate, perception aggregate, volition aggregate, consciousness aggregate. Stop here for a moment. So these five aggregates that we attach to as I and mine, they are also murderous enemies. Why? Because we attach to them, then when the body dies, the body and the mind dies, we don't think that the body dies, we think I die. So by attaching to them, they murder us. When we die, it's not that the five aggregates die, we think I die. That's why they are our murderous enemies. This we read before in a previous sutra, Sariputta giving this parable to Venerable Yamaka. The Sixth Murderer, the intimate companion with drawn sword. This is a designation for delight and lust. I'll stop here for a moment. This delight and lust, because of delight and lust, we think we enjoy, we are happy, we enjoy the world. So this Delight and lust is intimate companion. But because of delight and lust, we have the self. Once you delight in things of the world, you think, I enjoy. So that I, the ego, the conceit arises. So once you have the conceit, when the body dies, you feel I die. So this delight and lust is also a murderer. Because you are attached to delight and lust, you feel that one day I die. The Empty Village, this is a designation for the six internal sense bases. Six internal sense bases are our six organs. If monks, a wise, competent, intelligent person examines them by way of the eye, they appear to be void, hollow, empty. If he examines them by way of the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, they appear to be void, empty, hollow. So this empty village are our six sense organs. If you look into our six sense organs, There is no self. There is no anything that is permanent. There is no core. So that's why it's called the empty village. Village attacking the courts. This is a designation for the six external sense pieces. The eye amongst is attacked by agreeable and disagreeable forms. The ear is attacked by sounds, the nose attacked by odors, the tongue attacked by taste, the body attacked by touch, and the mind attacked by thoughts. So these six sense objects are called external sense bases. They keep attacking us. impinging on our six sense bases and giving rise to pleasant and unpleasant feelings. So that's why they are called village attacking bandits. They attack the village, the empty village, the six sense organs. The great expanse of water. This is a designation for the four floods. Flood of sensuality, the flood of existence, the flood of views and the flood of ignorance. This flood we have to cross. Give up sensuality, give up the craving for existence, give up all views and give up ignorance. This is the great expanse of water that we have to cross. The near shore, which is dangerous and fearful, this is a designation for identity, for identity view. Once you have an identity view, you identify yourself with the body and the mind. then it is dangerous and fearful. You always feel you have to protect this self from the moment we are born until we die. Every day we are trying to protect the self. The further shore which is safe and free from danger, that is the designation of Nibbana. That is our goal of the holy life. There is a designation for the Noble Eightfold Path. That is right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection, right concentration. Making an effort with hands and feet. This is a designation for arousing of energy. That means you make effort to cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path. Struggling with your hands and feet. Cross over, gone beyond. The Brahmana stands on high ground. This is a designation for the Arahant. The Brahmana, the meaning is a holy man. He stands on safe ground. That's the Arahant who is liberated. So this sutra is quite interesting. As we go through life, we are being chased by all these murderers. That's why every day we are so frightened. Every day we are trying to protect ourselves. So we are scheming a lot of people to earn their livelihood, how to make enough money to survive. Always thinking, thinking. So that is life. The next sutra, 35.239. Monks, by possessing three qualities, a monk lives full of happiness and joy in this very life, and he has laid a foundation for the destruction of the asavas. What are the three? He is one who guards the doors of the sense faculties, who is moderate in eating, and who is devoted to wakefulness. This one, we have come across another sutta which mentions exactly these three things. When a monk told, I think, Venerable Sariputta that his kuti companion has disrobed, then the Venerable Sariputta says it's natural for him to disrobe because he never cultivated these three things. So these three things are very important. And how monks, is a monk one who guards the doors of the Zen faculties? Here, having seen a form of the eye, a monk does not grasp its signs and features, since if he left the eye-faculty unrestrained, evil, unwholesome states of covetousness and grief, his displeasure might invade him. He practices the way of its restraint. He guards the eye-faculty. He undertakes the restraint of the eye-faculty. Similarly, for the other sense, So here, one who guards the doors of his sense faculties, when an external object, in this case for the eyes, a form, when you see a form, a practicing monk should not take too much notice of its general signs and its detailed features. If you start observing too clearly, then feelings arise and unwholesome states arise in the mind. So if he did not restrain the high faculty, evil, unwholesome states of covetousness and grief might invade him. This covetousness means when he sees something pleasant, he craves for it, he wants to possess it, that is covetousness. And if he cannot get it, then he will have grief, here it says displeasure, So either he is greedy for that thing, that object of the six sense bases, or if he cannot get it, then grief will invade his mind. So if he doesn't want these two states, unwholesome states of covetousness and grief, then he restrains the sense faculties. Suppose monks, a chariot harnessed to thoroughbreds, were standing ready on even ground at a crossroads, with a goal on hand. Then a skillful trainer, a charioteer of horses to be tamed, would mount it, and taking the reins in his left hand and the goat in his right, would drive away and return by any route he wants, whenever he wants. So too, a monk trains in protecting these six sense faculties, trains in controlling them, trains in taming them, trains in pacifying them. It is in this way, monks, that a monk guards the doors of the sense faculties. Let's stop here for a moment. So here, Buddha has given a very beautiful simile, just like a skillful horse driver, he gets up on the chariot and he can control the horses so well, they can go any direction he wants, any speed he wants. So similarly the Buddha says we should control our sixth sense organs so that they are tame. so that they listen to us instead of being uncontrolled. Usually for a lot of people, our six sense organs are uncontrolled because of habit. And our monks, is a monk moderate in eating? Here, reflecting wisely, a monk takes food neither for amusement nor for intoxication, nor for the sake of physical beauty and attractiveness, but only for the support and maintenance of this body, for ending discomfort, and for assisting the holy life, considering, thus I shall terminate the old feeling and not arouse a new feeling, and I shall be healthy, blameless, and live in comfort. Stop here for a moment. Here, terminate. So when he eats food, it's just to terminate the old feeling of hunger and not arouse a new feeling of greed. Just as a person anoints a wound only for the purpose of enabling it to heal, or just as one greases an axle only for the sake of transporting a load, so a monk reflecting wisely takes food for assisting the holy life. It's in this way, monks, that a monk is moderate in eating. Stop here for a moment. So here, a person who practices moderation in eating, in Hokkien we say what? Chu Leong. Then he understands that the food we take is only for a purpose of maintaining our body so that we can live a useful life, a skillful life, and not become greedy on account of food. And how monks, is a monk devoted to wakefulness? Here, during the day, while walking back and forth and sitting, a monk purifies his mind of obstructive states. In the first watch of the night, while walking back and forth and sitting, he purifies his mind of obstructive states. In the middle watch of the night, he lies down on the right side in the lion's posture with one foot overlapping the other, mindful and clearly comprehending, after noting in his mind the idea of rising. After rising in the last watch of the night, or walking back and forth and sitting, he purifies his mind of obstructive states. It is in this way, monks, that a monk is devoted to wakefulness. Monks, it is by possessing these three qualities that a monk lives full of happiness and joy in this very life, and he has laid the foundation for the destruction of the asavas, that means attainment of arahant buddha. So you see this last part devoted to wakefulness. A monk's duty actually is to practice meditation practically most of the time that he can. most of the daytime, and at night also, except when he has to rest during the middle watch. So the Buddha's standard is that his monks only rest for four hours during the middle watch, from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. This is quite a high standard. If our mind is not strong enough, it's very difficult to do that. But if you practice like the Buddha advised, walking and sitting the whole day, and much of the night and the mind becomes concentrated and we need less sleep. So you see amongst the lifestyle according to the Buddha is to spend his days and nights practicing because the Buddha also stressed that he should learn the sutta and the vinaya so whenever he has some time, he should learn the Sutta and Vinaya. But the Buddha says even when we learn the Sutta and Vinaya, we still have to devote some time to practice meditation to clear our mind of these unwholesome states. So that is the work of a monk, the lifestyle of a monk, to sit and walk, sit and walk, practice meditation until he can attain good samadhi. And when he attains good samadhi, then with the understanding of the suttas, the Buddha's teachings, then he can attain liberation. So these are two cornerstones of a monk's life, meditation and studying the Sutta Vinaya. Studying of the Sutta Vinaya can be said to be Vipassana because Buddha always stressed that you need Samatha and Vipassana for liberation. Samatha is the cultivation of Samadhi, the Jhanas. Vipassana is contemplation on the Sutta Vinaya or sometimes Buddha calls it Dhamma Vinaya. In the Suttas, it is defined as the Suttas and the Vinaya. So I'll stop here for tonight. Anything to discuss? I'm not too sure about that. But these two terms seem to be interchangeable in the suttas. But when you talk about lobha green, One of the strongest greed we have is raga, lust. Or maybe you can consider lust as an extreme form of greed. Lust not only for sensual pleasure, lust for other things like food. Say it again. oh i do chit chat when you start chatting then when you're finished with the chatting then it stays in your mind stays in your mind so that's why you start thinking about it so also it waste your time. When we cultivate Samadhi, we should try to practice it all the time. So the Satipatthana Sanghuta, where they explain how to practice Satipatthana, they give the simile of the most beautiful girl of the land coming out and then all the men start clapping and shouting the most beautiful girl and more men come out then they asked her to sing and dance and when she sang and danced a lot of men came to clap and see so ordinary guy came along and he was caught he was caught and forced to carry a bowl of oil filled with the brim and he was told that he has to walk in between the crowd of people with this bowl of oil and the man walked behind him with a long drawn sword and told him that if he spills the oil even one drop of it they will chop off his head so that being so he has to pay attention to that oil the bowl of oil all the time without It does not even look left and right. It does not look at the beautiful girl. So that is the way the Buddha indicated in this sutra, this simile, how to practice Satipatthana. So when we practice Satipatthana, it is undivided attention on your meditation object and all the time. And that will lead to Samadhi. So that's why meditation is a 24 hours a day practice. The mind should always be on the meditation object. That's why Satipatthana, I think the proper translation is an intense state of recollection. intense state of recollection where the mind does not go to anything else. It's all the time on one object. Satipatthana, if you practice it in the right way, the sutra says, it will definitely lead you to Samadhi. If you practice it in the wrong way, Satipatthana, you will not attain Samadhi. That is given in the Satipatthana Samyutta. putting a line down on the right side in the planning process. We want to put a word out there that mindful and caring community after the meeting is not the ideal policy. What does it mean by mindful and caring community after the meeting? This one very often the interpretation is not very correct. Actually that word, mindful and clearly comprehending, is sati sampajanya. So sati is recollection of your meditation object. Sampajñānya is awareness, mindfulness. So actually, the Buddha's teaching in this sutta is that even when a monk goes to rest during the middle watch, he does not really fall asleep. he still practices sati. That's why the first meditation taught by the Buddha was the 32 parts of the body. A monk recites the 32 parts of the body. So when he goes to rest, he still recites the 32 parts of the body. He still keeps the sati. And he tries to maintain his mindfulness by not falling asleep. So he's practicing mindfulness as well as sati, recollection of the meditation object. That's why practicing this way, the Buddha's disciples became mindful 24 hours a day. That's why Arhat is said to be mindful 24 hours a day. He has sapti 24 hours a day. If you say to not fall asleep, They try not to. Of course, if you have not attained very high samadhi, the mind is not strong, the mind will fall asleep. But for the monks who have attained very high samadhi, the mind is so strong, they don't need much sleep. In fact, in the sutra, as the Buddha says, there are different postures for resting. You have the lion posture, like this one, resting on the right side. Then you have the luxurious posture, resting on the left side. And you have the ghost posture, like most people sleep with their back on the ground, sleeping with their face facing the sky. That is the ghost posture. But the Buddha says that the Tathagata posture is to enter the Jhanas. So the Buddha and his Arahant disciples, they don't sleep. They enter jhana. That's how they get their rest. When they enter jhana, they charge their body. It's like charging the battery. That means when he goes to rest, he makes a note that he should get up after four hours. And then he maintains his sati sampajanya. He makes a determination, say like, I'll get up after four hours. And then he continues with his Sati Sampajanaya. He does not relax on his Sati Sampajanaya even when he sleeps, you know. I think that in Mahayana, there is this phalanx of the mind. A lot of the time, before we draw on to the old mind, You seem to say that you can cut me out of the box, you know? Yes. That you do the music. You talk a lot about being outside of music. Oh, yes, I do. You don't speak English. You just say, you talk a lot about being cut off. You don't speak any English. You don't talk any English. I don't think that you forget about what I've learned and what you've been through. Yes. That is when he is practising. When he is not practising, monks also have got duties. We find in the Vinaya books, during the Buddha's time, the monks built kutis. So that's why, like here in the sutra says, that when you see, when the monk sees something, or hears a sound, or smells an odor, he does not grasp at the signs and the features. He does not want to take too much notice. His mind goes inwards. mind goes inwards and it cultivates his concentration until it is so strong that anytime the six sense objects are impinged on his consciousness his mind is not easily shaken solid as a rock inside. And what is like being settled on the body? Say again. Like being settled on the body. Settled on the body. Centred on the body. This Mindfulness centered on the body or mindfulness of the body refers to being mindful of the body. But this body can be the physical body, it can also be the breath body. So like Anapanasati is mindfulness of the breath body. But why mindfulness of the body or centered on the body is so important? Because if we are not mindful, the mind runs away, right? We start daydreaming. When you start thinking and daydreaming, you forgot that you're sitting here in meditation. You forgot that you are this body. But the moment you are mindful of this body, then the mind cannot run away as long as you are mindful of the body. So it is very important to be mindful of the body especially when you are practicing meditation and the mind is having a lot of sloths and toppers and you are almost going to fall asleep. So what you do is you can move your finger a bit You do a chant, Arahang, Arahang, Arahang, Arahang. So you move the right finger in synchronization with your chanting. So when you chant Arahang, you move the right finger at the same time. When you chant Arahang, you move the left finger at the same time. So as long as you are aware of some part of your body, the mind cannot run. So it's a very good way of staying awake. that's why some people use the chanting beads because you use the chanting beads you keep moving your finger you won't fall asleep because when you're tired you stop moving then you fall asleep so mindfulness of the body prevents your mind from running away using your mindfulness may stop here for tonight

11SNSalayatanaCh3520090815

Today is the 15th of August and we are on the 35th chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya, Salayattana Samyutta. Now we come to Sutta 35.240. The Buddha said, Monks, in the past, a tortoise was searching for food along the bank of a river one evening. On that same evening, a jackal was also searching for food along the bank of that same river. The tortoise saw the jackal in the distance searching for food. It drew its limbs and neck inside its shell and passed the time keeping still and silent. The jackal had also seen the tortoise in the distance searching for food. So he approached and waited close by, thinking, When this tortoise extends one or another of its limbs or its neck, I will grab it right on the spot, pull it out and eat it. But because the tortoise did not extend any of its limbs or its neck, the jackal, failing to gain access to it, lost interest in it and departed. So, too, monks, Marat, the evil one, is constantly and continually waiting close by you, thinking, perhaps I will gain access to him through the eye, or through the ear, or through the nose, or tongue, or body, or mind. Therefore, monks, dwell guarding the doors of the sense faculties. Having seen a form with the eye, do not grasp its signs and features. Since if you leave the eye-faculty unguarded, evil and wholesome states of covetousness and grief might invade you. Practice the way of its restraint. Guard the eye-faculty. Undertake the restraint of the eye-faculty. Similarly, having heard a sound with the ear, smelled an odour with the nose, savoured a taste with the tongue, Felt a tactile object with the body, cognize a thought. Do not grasp its features and signs, since if you leave the faculties unguarded, evil and wholesome states of covetousness and grief might invade you. Practice the way of its restraint. Guard the faculties. Undertake the restraint of the faculties. When monks, you dwell guarding the doors of the sense faculties, Mara, the evil one, failing to gain access to you, will lose interest and depart, just as the jackal departed from the tortoise. Drawing in the mind's thoughts, as the tortoise draws its limbs into its shell, independent, not harassing others, fully quenched, a monk would not blame anyone. That's the end of the sutra. So this is a very interesting sutra. This tortoise was walking along the banks of the river looking for food. Suddenly he saw this jackal. Jackal is something like a bigger fox. Something like a wild dog. And he was also looking for food. And this tortoise would be a good food for this jackal. so the tortoise quickly withdrew its four limbs and its neck inside the shell and dare not come out so this jackal was waiting and waiting and waiting for him if any of the limbs or the head comes out he was thinking he would bite it and grab it out and eat it up but the tortoise dare not come out So after some time he got tired and he left. So the Buddha says in the same way, Mara is waiting to catch us at the six sense doors. If we come out, out of our domain, out of our territory, then we will get caught by Mara. In some other sutra, the Buddha says that our territory, we should only be at the four objects of Satipatthana. If we pay attention to the sense objects, that means forms, smells, tastes and all that, then we will get caught by Mara. Mara is always waiting at the sense doors to catch us. So we have to be very careful. That's why the Buddha says, don't observe the signs and the details of whatever you see or hear or smell, etc. So then you won't get interested in it, won't get caught. That's a good warning. The next sutra is another famous sutra, Simile of the Lock, 35.241. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Kosambi, on the bank of the river Ganges. The Blessed One saw a great lock being carried along by the current of the river Ganges, and He addressed amongst us, Do you see, monks, that great log being carried along by the current of the river Ganges? Yes, Venerable Sir. If monks, that log does not veer towards the near shore, does not veer towards the far shore, does not sink in midstream, does not get cast up on high ground, does not get caught by human beings, does not get caught by non-human beings, does not get caught in a whirlpool, and does not become inwardly rotten, it will slant, slope, and incline towards the ocean. For what reason? Because the current of the river Ganges slants slopes and inclines towards the ocean. So, two monks, if you do not veer towards the near shore, do not veer towards the far shore, do not sink in midstream, do not get cast up on high ground, do not get caught by human beings, do not get caught by non-human beings, do not get caught in a whirlpool, and do not become inwardly rotten, you will slant slope and incline towards Nibbana. For what reason? Because right view slants slopes and inclines towards Nibbana. Stop here for a moment. So here, this big log is flowing along this river Ganges, which is a big river. And as we know, all the rivers flow into the ocean. So this river water is bringing the log towards the ocean and if it does not get caught by all these conditions, that means get caught on the near shore, do not veer towards the far shore, the two banks, does not sink in midstream, does not get cast on the high ground, does not get caught by human beings or non-human beings, does not get caught in a whirlpool, and does not rot. Then it will follow the river water and keep flowing until it reaches the ocean. So the Buddha says in a similar way, If we have right view, then unless we get distracted or caught by these conditions, then we will naturally slope inclined towards Nibbana, just like the log will go towards the ocean. So with right view, you will go towards Nibbana. So that shows right view is extremely important. If you don't have right view, you have no chance of going towards Nibbana. So we always like to stress That right view is extremely important. And right view we know from the Majjhima Nikaya Sutta 43. There are two conditions for right view. One is the voice of another. That means you have to hear the Dhamma. from another person, you cannot get right view by yourself. It must be with the help of somebody teaching you the Dhamma. And the second condition is proper attention. You pay proper attention, full attention. Then only you can achieve right view. So that's why listening to the Dhamma is so important. The Buddha always stresses bahusacca, much knowledge of the Buddha's Dhamma, that means the suttas. When this was said, a certain monk asked the Blessed One, What, Venerable Sir, is the near shore? What is the far shore? What is sinking in midstream? What is getting cast up on high ground? What is getting caught by human beings? What is getting caught by non-human beings? What is getting caught in a whirlpool? What is inward rottenness? And the Buddha said, monk, the near shore, this is a designation for the six internal sense bases, that means the six sense organs. The far shore, this is a designation for the six external sense bases, that means the sense objects. Sinking in midstream, this is a designation for delight and lust. Getting cast up on high ground, this is a designation for the conceit I am. And what, monk, is getting caught by human beings? Here, someone lives in association with lay people. He rejoices with them and sorrows with them. He is happy when they are happy and sad when they are sad. And he evolves himself in their affairs and duties. This is called getting caught by human beings. And what monk is getting caught by non-human beings? Here someone lives the holy life with the aspiration to be reborn into a certain order of devas, thinking, by this virtue or vow or austerity or holy life, I will become a deva or one among the devas. This is called getting caught by non-human beings. Getting caught in a whirlpool. This monk is a designation for the five courts of sensual pleasure. And what monk is inward rottenness? Here someone is immoral, one of evil character, of impure and suspect behaviour, secretive in his acts, no ascetic though claiming to be one, not a celibate though claiming to be one, inwardly rotten, corrupt, depraved. This is called inward rottenness. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha is explaining that the near shore is the six sense organs, internal sense bases. The far shore is the six external sense objects, external sense bases, sense objects. So if you veer towards the near shore or veer towards the far shore, that means you have desire for the six sense bases, lust for the six sense bases. Or you have desire and lust for the sense objects, sight, sound, smell, taste and all that. And the sinking in midstream is delight and lust, delight and lust for sensual pleasures. Getting cast up on high ground, this is a designation for the conceit I am. So, just now if you have desire and lust, you will sink. So, and then getting cast up on high ground, you get stuck on high ground because of conceit. the I am, the ego. So you cannot flow, you cannot flow towards Nibbana. Similarly for just now, the delight and lust. If you sing, then you cannot flow towards Nibbana. Getting caught by human beings is associating too much with lay people. For a monk, that is not proper. to behave like a lay person for a monk, then you cannot go towards Nibbana. And caught by non-human beings is thinking that you are living the holy life so that you can be reborn as a deva. So that is another obstacle to attaining Nibbana. You still want to go for rebirth. Getting caught in a whirlpool is the five cause of sensual pleasure. If I have cause of sensual pleasure, I will turn us around like a whirlpool, and make us sing. Instead of going towards Nibbana, he will sing there. And inward rottenness is a monk of evil character, a hypocrite. Shows outside he is a good monk, but inside he is impure, rotten. So if that's the case, he rots within, he cannot Just like wood, when wood rots, the log when it rots, it will sink. Similarly, if a monk is rotten inside, then he will sink, he can't flow towards Nibbana. On that occasion, the cowherd Nanda was standing near the Blessed One. He then said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, I will not veer towards the near shore. I will not veer towards the far shore. I will not sink in midstream. I will not get cast up on high ground. I will not get caught by human beings. I will not get caught by non-human beings. I will not get caught in a whirlpool. I will not become inwardly rotten. May I receive the going forth under the Blessed One. May I receive the higher ordination." And the Buddha said, in that case, Nanda, return the cows to their owners. And he said, the cows will go back of their own accord, Venerable Sir, out of attachment to the calves. And the Buddha said, return the cows to their owners, Nanda. Then the cowherd Nanda returned the cows to their owners, came back to the Blessed One and said, The cows have been returned to their owners, Venerable Sir. May I receive the going forth unto the Blessed One. May I receive the higher ordination. Stop here for a moment. So here, this Nanda, he wants to ordain with the Buddha. and he has been looking after all these cows. And usually, if he leaves the cows alone, they will wander back to their cow pen because of the calves, attachment to the calves. But the Buddha thought that he is going to become a monk, he has to make sure that the cows given back to the owners and the owners know that the cows have been returned to them. Then only it goes forth. There is nothing that is unsettled. A lot of people are very careless over these minor things. They think it's so minor. Cows will naturally go back. Why am I going to return them to the owner? But the Buddha is very particular about these things because it is important. It's important because if you go forth as a monk and you assume that the cows will go back, along the way maybe some cow thieves will steal, will kill the cow, maybe one or two of the cows. the cows don't go back. In that case, then the owner will suspect that this Nanda stole the cow. That's why sometimes some people, they think the teacher is too fussy. Small things are so fussy, but actually it's important. because it doesn't have the wisdom, so it doesn't think it's important. Then the cowherd Nanda received the going forth under the Blessed One, and he received the higher ordination. And soon, not long after his higher ordination, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, resolute, Venerable Nanda became one of the Arahants. So, this Sutta is a very famous Sutta about the log flowing towards the ocean. So if we go through life, the stream, the river of life, every time we flow along the river of life, every birth we suffer. And then as we suffer, we become more and more mature. As you become more and more mature, then we start to ask why we suffer. And then you want to find a way out of suffering. Then we search, and if we come across the Dhamma, and if we get the right view, then you will naturally flow towards Nibbana. So unless these obstacles, there are several obstacles mentioned here, don't veer towards the near shore, don't veer towards the far shore, don't sink in the midstream, or get cast on high ground, etc. The next sutra is 35.243. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakyans at Kapilavatthu in the Grodas Park. On that occasion, a new assembly hall had just been built for the Sakyans of Kapilavatthu, and it had not yet been inhabited by any ascetic, or Brahmin, or any human being at all. Then the Sakyans of Kapilavatthu approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, a new Council Hall has just been built for the Sakyans of Kapilavatthu, and it has not yet been inhabited by any ascetic or Brahmin, or by any human being at all. Venerable Sir, let the Blessed One be the first to use it. When the Blessed One has used it first, then the Sakyans of Kapilavatthu will use it afterwards. That will lead to their welfare and happiness for a long time. Stop here for a moment. The Buddha is a Sakyan, belongs to the Sakya clan. So these Kapilavatthu, these people, are all related to him. So they had just built a hall and not yet used. They wanted him to use it first. Then after that, they will use it. So from here, some people, they follow this tradition. Sometimes they buy a new house. They invite some monks to go and stay first. I've had the experience, but sometimes these people, they think monks are very ascetic. They invite the monk to the house and then they just provide a mat and expect him to sleep on the cold floor. Young monk, maybe boleh lah. Old monk, susah. the Blessed One consented by silence. Then when the Sakyans understood that the Blessed One had consented, they rose from their seats, and after paying homage to the Blessed One, keeping Him on their right, they went to the new assembly hall. They covered it thoroughly with mats, prepared seats, put out a large water jug, and hung up an oil lamp. Then they approached the Blessed One and informed Him of this, adding, Let the Blessed One come at His own convenience. Then the Blessed One dressed, and taking bowl and robe, went together with the Sangha of monks to the new assembly hall. After washing His feet, He entered the hall and sat down against the central pillar facing east. The monks too, after washing their feet, entered the hall and sat down against the western wall facing east, with the Blessed One in front of them. The sakhins of Kapilavatthu too, after washing their feet, entered the hall and sat down against the eastern wall facing west, with the Blessed One in front of them. Stop here for a moment. So here you see the Buddha sat facing east. In yoga, it is recommended that when we meditate, we face the east. So here also you notice the Buddha faces the east. Just like we meditate, we face the east. So the monks sat behind the Buddha and the lay people sat facing the Buddha. The Blessed One then instructed, exhorted, inspired, and gladdened the Sakyans with the Dharma talk through much of the night, after which He dismissed them, saying, The night has passed, Gotamas. You may go at your own convenience. Stop here for a moment. You see, He called them Gotamas because they are the same clan as Him. He is also a Gotama. Yes, Venerable Sir," they replied. Then they rose from their seats, and after paying homage to the Blessed One, keeping Him on their right, they departed. Then not long after the sakhins of Kapilavatthu had left, the Blessed One addressed the Venerable Maha Moggallana thus, The Sangha of monks is free from sloth and torpor, Moggallana. Give a Dharma talk to the monks. My back is aching, so I will stretch it. Yes, Venerable Sir," the Venerable Maha Moggallana replied. Then the Blessed One prepared His outer robe, folded in four, and lay down on His right side in the lion's posture, with one foot overlapping the other, mindful and clearly comprehending, after noting in His mind the idea of rising. Stop here for a moment. So here, you see, the Buddha took His outer robe, this one that we wear, and folded it in four layers. And he lay down on the right side in the lion's posture. Thereupon, the Venerable Maha Moggallana addressed the monks thus, Friends, monks. Friend, those monks replied. The Venerable Maha Moggallana said this, I will teach you, friends, an exposition on the corrupted and the uncorrupted. Listen to it and attend closely. I will speak. Yes, friend, those mounts reply. The verbal Mahamuglana said, our friends is one corrupted. Here, having seen a form with the eye, a monk is intent upon a pleasing form, and repelled by a displeasing form. He dwells without having set up mindfulness of the body, with a limited mind, and he does not understand as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil unwholesome states cease without remainder. Similarly, having heard a sound, having smelled an odor, etc., He is intent upon a pleasing phenomenon and repelled by a displeasing phenomenon. He dwells without having set up mindfulness of the body, with a limited mind, and he does not understand, as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil unwholesome states cease without remainder, This is called, friends, a monk who is corrupted amidst forms cognizable by the eye, corrupted amidst sounds cognizable by the ear, corrupted amidst odours cognizable by the nose, corrupted amidst tastes cognizable by the tongue, corrupted amidst touch or tactile objects cognizable by the body, corrupted amidst thoughts cognizable by the mind. When a monk dwells thus, if Mara approaches him through the eye, Mara gains access to him, Mara gets a hold on him. If Mara approaches him through the ear, or through the nose, tongue, body and mind, Mara gains access to him, Mara gets a hold on him. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, one who is corrupted, is corrupted by forms, sounds, smells, taste, touch and thoughts. He is moved by them, corrupted by them. That means if he is pleasing, he attaches to it. If he is displeasing, then he feels aversion for it. Suppose, friends, there is a shed made of reeds or of grass, dried up, desiccated, past its prime. If a man approaches it from the east with a blazing grass torch, or from the west, from the north, from the south, from below or from above, whichever way he approaches it, the fire gains access to it, the fire gets a hold on it. So too, friends, when a monk dwells thus. If Mara approaches him to the eye, to the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind, Mara gains access to him. Mara gets a hold on him. When a monk dwells thus, forms overwhelm him. He does not overwhelm form. Sounds overwhelm him. He does not overwhelm sounds. Odours overwhelm him. He does not overwhelm odours. Tastes overwhelm him. He does not overwhelm tastes. Touch or tactile objects overwhelm him. He does not overwhelm touch or tactile objects. Thoughts overwhelm him. He does not overwhelm thoughts. This is called, friends, a monk who is overwhelmed by forms, overwhelmed by sounds. Odours, tastes, touch, and thoughts. One who is overwhelmed and who does not overwhelm. Evil, unwholesome states have overwhelmed him. States that defile, that lead to renewed existence, that bring trouble, that result in suffering, and that leads to future birth, aging, and death. It is in this way, friends, that one is corrupted. So here the Buddha says, if a monk's mind is not disciplined, then when the six sense objects impinge on his senses, he is moved by them. Either he craves if they are pleasing, or if they are displeasing, then he feels aversion for them. he is overwhelmed by these six sense objects, then once he is overwhelmed, the mind moves, these unwholesome states arise, and these unwholesome states lead to rebirth. Rebirth means future dukkha, aging, sickness and death. and how, friends, is one uncorrupted? Here, having seen a form with the eye, a monk is not intent upon a pleasing form, and not repelled by a displeasing form. He dwells, having set up mindfulness of the body, with a measureless mind, and he understands, as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil, unwholesome states cease without remainder. Similarly, having heard a sound with the ear, smelt an odour, tasted a taste, etc., he is not intent upon a pleasing sense object, and not repelled by a displeasing sense object. He dwells having set up mindfulness of the body with a measureless mind, and he understands, as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, are in those evil, unwholesome states ceased without remainder. This is called, friends, a monk who is uncorrupted amidst forms cognisable by the eye, uncorrupted amidst sounds cognisable by the ear, uncorrupted amidst odours, tastes, touches, and thoughts. When a monk dwells thus, if Mara approaches him to the eye, Mara feels to gain access to him, Mara feels to get a hold on him. Similarly, if Mara approaches him to the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind, Mara feels to gain access to him, Mara feels to get a hold on him. Suppose, friends, there is a peep house or a hall built of thickly packed clay and freshly plastered. If a man approaches it from the east with a blazing grass torch, or from the west, or from the north, from the south, from below, or from above, whichever way he approaches it, the fire fails to gain access to it, the fire fails to get a hold on it. So too, friends, when a monk dwells thus, if Mara approaches him through the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind, Mara fails to gain access to him, Mara fails to get a hold on him. When a monk dwells thus, he overwhelms forms. Forms do not overwhelm him. He overwhelms sounds. Sounds do not overwhelm him. Similarly, he overwhelms odours, taste, touch, thoughts. This is called, friends, a monk who overwhelms, forms, sounds, etc. One who overwhelms and who is not overwhelmed. He has overwhelmed those evil, unwholesome states that defile, that lead to renewed existence, that bring trouble, that result in suffering, and that leads to future birth, aging, and death. It is in this way, friends, that one is uncorrupted. Stop here for a moment. So here you see Venerable Maha Moggillana says, one who is uncorrupted, when he is contacted by these six sense objects, he is not intent upon a pleasing object or repelled by a displeasing object. He dwells having set up mindfulness of the body with a measureless mind. With a measureless mind, that means his mind is very well developed. He has very high concentration. A monk with a very high concentration, with a very strong concentration, the mind is like a rock, not easily shaken. So these external sense objects cannot move him because he dwells within the mind most of the time. So his foundation inside is very strong, so not easily shaken. In the first case, the person who is undeveloped in the mind, then his mind is easily moved. So the simile given is you have a shed made of dried reeds and grass and all that. If a man comes with a blazing torch, with a fire, he will easily catch fire. In the second case, the mind does not move. It's like a house built of clay and freshly plastered. You bring fire to it also, you cannot burn the clay. Then the Blessed One got up and addressed the Venerable Maha Moggallana thus, Good, good Moggallana. You have spoken well to the monks, the exposition on the corrupted and the uncorrupted. This is what the Venerable Moggallana said. The teacher approved. Elated, those monks delighted in the Venerable Maha Moggallana's statement." This is the end of the sutta. So here you see the Buddha went to this hall to stay for the night because he was invited by the sakhins. And then he gave a talk to them. After the talk, it must be getting late, so they went back, maybe about 10 or 11 at night. Then the Buddha said, the monks are all still very alert, they don't have sloths and toppers, so he asked Venerable Moggallana to give a talk to them. So Venerable Moggallana gave this talk. See, our Buddha and his disciples, they really value the Dhamma. Even though many of them are already arahants, they still like to discuss Dhamma.

12SNSalayatanaCh3520090815

and exercise 35.244 The Buddha said, Monks, when a monk understands as they really are the origin and the passing away of all states whatsoever that entail suffering, then sensual pleasures have been seen by him in such a way that as he looks at them, sensual desire, sensual affection, sensual infatuation, and sensual passion do not lie latent within him in regard to sensual pleasures. Then he has comprehended a mode of conduct and manner of dwelling in such a way that as he conducts himself thus, and as he dwells thus, evil and wholesome states of covetousness and grief do not flow in upon him. I'll stop here for a moment. This covetousness and grief, as I've explained before, if you have desire and lust for sensual pleasure, then you want to covet it, you want to possess it. And then if you fail to possess it, then grief will flow in on you. So that's why these two states, covetousness and grief. And how monks? Does a monk understand, as they really are, the origin and passing away of all states whatsoever that entail suffering? Such is body, such is origin, such is passing away. Such is feeling, such is origin, such is passing away. Such is perception, such is origin, such is passing away. Such is volition, such is origin, such is passing away. Such is consciousness, such is origin, such is passing away. It is in such a way that a monk understands, as they really are, the origin and passing away of all states whatsoever that entail suffering. I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying, if you want to understand the origin and the cessation of states that bring on suffering, you should understand the five aggregates. It's a bit surprising because this chapter is the Sixth Sense Basis, the Salayatana. It's a chapter concerning the Sixth Sense Basis. But instead of saying that you should understand the Sixth Sense Basis here, it says you have to understand the five aggregates, because the five aggregates, you know, in the definition of suffering, the Buddha says, in brief, the five aggregates of attachment are suffering. So the origin of suffering, basically, is in these five aggregates, body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. So to understand Suffering, you have to understand the Five Aggregates, the origin of the Five Aggregates, and the cessation of passing away of the Five Aggregates. And how monks are sensual pleasures seen by a monk in such a way that as he looks at them, sensual desire, sensual affection, sensual infatuation, and sensual passion do not lie latent within him in regard to sensual pleasures. Suppose there is a charcoal pit deeper than a man's height, filled with glowing coals, without flame or smoke. A man would come along wanting to live, not wanting to die, desiring happiness and averse to suffering. Then two strong men would grab him by both arms and drag him towards the charcoal pit. The man would wriggle his body this way and that. For what reason? Because he knows, I will fall into this charcoal pit and I will thereby meet death or deadly suffering. So too monks. When a monk has seen sensual pleasures as similar to a charcoal pit, sensual desire, sensual affection, sensual infatuation and sensual passion do not lie latent within him in regard to sensual pleasures. Stop here for a moment. So if we do not want this sensual infatuation, sensual desire to lie latent within us, we have to regard sensual pleasures as actually like a charcoal pit. If you fall into the charcoal pit, you'll be burned and you'll suffer a lot. So if you understand this, then you know the danger of sensual pleasures. A lot of young people, they don't know. For example, we have a college nearby here. You find a lot of these college students, they are living together like man and wife. So they don't understand. One day when the girl gets pregnant, then a lot of suffering will come because they don't realize this danger of sensual pleasures like this charcoal pit. Sometimes you see in the newspaper, some baby is born and they throw it somewhere. And how monks has a monk comprehended a mode of conduct and manner of dwelling in such a way that as he conducts himself thus, and as he dwells thus, evil unwholesome states of covetousness and grief do not flow in upon him. Suppose a man would enter a thorny forest. There would be thorns in front of him, thorns behind him, thorns to his left, thorns to his right, thorns below him, thorns above him. He would go forward mindfully, and he would go back mindfully, thinking, May no thorn prick me. So, two monks, whatever in the world has a pleasing and agreeable nature, that is called a thorn in the noble one's discipline. Having understood this thus, as a thorn, one should understand restraint and non-restraint. Stop here for a moment. So here, people who don't understand the Dhamma, whenever there is something to enjoy in the world, like sensual pleasures, etc., then we quickly want to enjoy it. But the Buddha says all these things that are pleasing, agreeable, and give us happiness and enjoyment, it's actually a thorn. Because when you become attached to it, then suffering will come. Either because it's impermanent, or you cannot get it. Then, just like a drug addict, he's hooked on to the drugs. And when he cannot get the drugs, then he'll suffer like mad. So, One who knows the Dhamma, we are very different from worldly people. Worldly people want to enjoy a lot of things in this world, but people who walk the holy path, the things that people want to enjoy, we don't want to enjoy. and how a monk is there non-restrained. Here, having seen a form with the eye, or a body with the eye, a monk is intent upon a pleasing form, and repelled by a displeasing form. He dwells without having set up mindfulness of the body, with a limited mind, and he does not understand as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil, unwholesome states cease without remainder. Similarly, having heard a sound with the ear, having smelt an odour, tasted a taste, etc., he is intent upon a pleasing sense object and repelled by a displeasing one. He dwells without having set up mindfulness of the body, with a limited mind, and does not understand as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil unwholesome states cease, without remaining there. It is in such a way that there is non-restraint. So one who is unrestrained in the mind, then he is moved by pleasing objects and displeasing objects of the senses. And how amongst is there restraint? Here, having seen a form with the eye, a monk is not intent upon a pleasing form, and not repelled by a displeasing form. He dwells, having set up mindfulness of the body, with a measureless mind, and he understands, as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil, unwholesome states cease without remainder. Similarly, having heard the sound with the ear, smelled the odour, tasted the taste, contacted a touch and got a nice thought. He is not intent upon a pleasing contact and not repelled by a displeasing one. He dwells, having set up mindfulness of the body with a measureless mind, and he understands, as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil, unwholesome states cease without remainder. It is in such a way that there is restraint. When monks, a monk is conducting himself and dwelling in such a way, if occasionally, due to a lapse of mindfulness, evil, unwholesome memories and intentions connected with the fetters arise in him, slow might be the arising of his mindfulness, but then he quickly abandons them, dispels them, puts an end to them, obliterates them. Suppose a man lets two or three drops of water fall onto an iron plate, heated for a whole day. Slow might be the falling of the water drops, but then they would quickly vaporize and vanish. So too when a monk is conducting himself and dwelling in such a way. Slow might be the arising of his mindfulness, but then he quickly abandons them, dispels them, puts an end to them, obliterates them. Thus a monk has comprehended a mode of conduct and manner of dwelling in such a way that as he conducts himself and as he dwells thus, evil and wholesome states of covetousness and grief do not flow in upon him. When a monk is conducting himself thus and dwelling thus, kings or royal ministers, friends or colleagues, relatives or kinsmen might invite him to accept wealth, saying, Come, good man, why let those saffron robes weigh you down? Why roam about with a shaven head and a begging bowl? Come, having returned to the lower life, enjoy wealth and do meritorious deeds. Indeed, monks, when that monk is conducting himself thus and dwelling thus, it is impossible that he will give up the training and return to the lower life." So if a monk is practicing well, he is not moved by sense objects, then even if he is persuaded to disrobe, he will never disrobe. Suppose, monks, that when the river Ganges slants, slopes, and inclines towards the east, a great crowd of people would come along, bringing a shovel and basket, thinking, we will make this river Ganges slope, slant, and incline towards the west. What do you think, monks, would that great crowd of people be able to make the river Ganges slant, slope, and incline towards the west? No, Venerable Sir. For what reason? Because the river Ganges slants slopes and inclines towards the east, and it is not easy to make it slant slope or incline towards the west. That great crowd of people would only reap fatigue and vexation. So too monks, when a monk is conducting himself thus and dwelling thus, kings or royal ministers, friends or colleagues, relatives or kinsmen might invite him to accept wealth, but it is impossible that he will give up the training and return to the lower life. For what reason? Because for a long time his mind has slanted slow and inclined towards seclusion, thus it is impossible that he will give up the training and return to the lower life. That's the end of the sutta. So here you see the Buddha, the last part. The Buddha says he will not disrobe. Why? Because for a long time his mind has slanted slope and inclined towards seclusion. So it is not for a short time that you can achieve result. It is a long time. So if a monk practices Because the practice of the holy life is very difficult, very difficult to progress. Year by year, you make small progress, make small progress. And after many years, then you have progressed quite a lot. Because the Buddha says that the spiritual path, the holy path, inclines slopes gently, does not suddenly slope, just like the ocean, when you walk into the ocean, the sea, you walk, the ocean becomes gradually deeper and deeper and deeper. It does not get suddenly deep. So in the same way, when we practice the holy path, we progress little by little, not suddenly we get enlightened. So this sutra is saying that If we are moved by sensual context, this sense context, then move means either we crave for pleasing sense objects or repel, feel aversion for displeasing sense objects. That's because the mind is not strong. not concentrated, so it is easily moved. But if we practice strong concentration, then the mind is not easily moved. The next sutta is 35.245. One monk approached another and asked him, In what way, friend, is a monk's vision well purified? And the other monk answered, When, friend, a monk understands as they really are the origin and the passing away of the six bases for contact, in this way his vision is well purified. Then the first monk, dissatisfied with the other's answer, approached another monk and asked him, In what way, friend, is a monk's vision well purified? And the second monk answered, When, friend, a monk understands as they really are the origin and the passing away of the five equities of attachment, in this way his vision is well purified. Again the first monk, dissatisfied with the other monk's answer, approached still another monk and asked him, In what way, friend, is a monk's vision well purified? And the third monk answered, When, friend, a monk understands as they really are the origin and the passing away of the four great elements, in this way his vision is well purified. Again the first monk, dissatisfied with the other monk's answer, approached still another monk and asked him, In what way, friend, is a monk's vision well purified? And the other monk said, When, friend, a monk understands as it really is, whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation. In this way his vision is well purified. Then the first monk, dissatisfied with the other's answer, approached the Blessed One, reported everything that had happened, and asked, In what way, Venerable Sir, is a monk's vision well purified? Stop here for a moment. So this monk He asked four different monks and they gave him four different answers. One told him that you have to understand the six pieces of contact and then your vision and your knowledge, seeing and knowing, is purified. The second monk says you have to understand the five aggregates of attachment. The third monk says the four great elements. And the fourth monk says you have to understand dependent origination. And then the Buddha answered this monk. Monk, suppose there was a man who had never before seen a kimsuka tree. He might approach a man who had seen a kimsuka tree and ask him, Sir, what is a kimsuka tree like? The other might answer, Good man, a kimsuka tree is blackish, like a charred stump. On that occasion, a kimsuka tree might have been exactly as that man had seen it. Then that man, dissatisfied with the other's answer, might approach another man who had seen a kimsuka tree and ask him, Sir, what is a kimsuka tree like? The other might answer, Good man, a kimsuka tree is reddish like a piece of meat. On that occasion, a kinsuka tree might have been exactly as that man had seen it. Then that man, dissatisfied with the other's answer, might approach still another man who had seen a kinsuka tree and ask, Sir, what is a kinsuka tree like? The other might answer, Good man, a kinsuka tree has strips of bark hanging down and burst spots like an acacia tree. On that occasion, a Kimsuka tree might have been exactly as that man had seen it. That that man, dissatisfied with the other's answer, might approach still another man who had seen a Kimsuka tree and ask, Sir, what is a Kimsuka tree like? The other might answer, Good man, a Kimsuka tree has plenty of leaves and foliage and gives abundant shade, like a bunion tree. On that occasion, a Kimsuka tree might have been exactly as that man had seen it. So, two monks, those superior men, answered as they were disposed, in just the way their own vision had been purified. I stop here for a moment. So, this kimsuka tree, depending on different times, it would look different. The first case, somebody has burned the tree, so it looked like a charred stump. So because that man saw it when it was burned, so he described it as a charred stump, which is exactly what he saw. It's not lying. Another person said the kimsuka tree is reddish, like a piece of meat. Maybe when the kimsuka tree was young, it was reddish. So he saw it at that time, it was actually reddish. So similarly for the other two, when they saw it, it was like that, so they answered in that way. So the Buddha says, those four men you asked, Actually, I think they were Arahants, and they had attained to Arahanthood by contemplating four different things. So they described what they knew best, and then the Buddha continued. Suppose, monk, a king had a frontier city with strong ramparts, walls and arches, and with six gates. The gatekeeper posted there would be a wise, competent and intelligent person, one who keeps out strangers and admits acquaintances. A swift pair of messengers would come from the east and ask the gatekeeper, where a good man is the lord of this city? And he would reply, he is sitting in the central square. Then the swift pair of messengers would deliver a message of reality to the lord of the city and leave by the route by which they had arrived. Similarly, messengers would come from the West, from the North, from the South, deliver their message and leave by the route by which they had arrived. I have made up this simile among in order to convey a meaning. This is the meaning here. The City, this is a designation for this body, consisting of the four great elements, originating from mother and father, built up out of boiled rice and gruel, subject to impermanence, to being worn and rubbed away, to breaking apart and dispersal. The Six Gates, this is a designation for the six internal sense bases. The Gatekeeper, this is a designation for mindfulness. The swift pair of messengers, this is a designation for Samatha and Vipassana. Samatha you can say is tranquility and Vipassana is contemplation. The lord of the city, this is a designation for consciousness. The central square, this is a designation for the four great elements, the earth element, water element, fire element and wind element, a message of reality. This is a designation for Nibbana, the route by which they had arrived. This is a designation for the Noble Eightfold Path, Right View, etc. That's the end of the sutta. So here, the Buddha has given a famous simile. The Buddha says there is a frontier city and there's a gatekeeper guarding the six gates. And a swift pair of messengers would come from the north, south, east, and west. And they would bring this message of reality and go off the way they came. So the Buddha says, the city is this body. So this body. And then the six gates refer to the six sense organs. The gatekeeper is mindfulness. The swift pair of messengers is Samatha and Vipassana. Samatha and Vipassana is bringing the message of Nibbana. And they come by the Noble Eightfold Path. They come and go out by the Noble Eightfold Path. So in other words, to practice the Noble Eightfold Path and attain Nibbana, you got to have this Samatha and Vipassana, both are necessary. Sometimes nowadays people say, oh, Vipassana is enough to give you wisdom. But it's not. This message, this simile is very clear. You need both Samatha and Vipassana. Samatha is practicing concentration, practicing meditation. Because in the Majjhima Nikaya, Venerable Ananda said, the type of meditation A proof praised by the Buddha himself is the first jhāna, second jhāna, third jhāna, fourth jhāna. So samatha is meditation that will bring you to the jhānas, especially the fourth jhāna. And vipassana is contemplation, contemplation on the Buddha's dharma, contemplation on the suttas that will bring you inside. And the depth of insight depends on your samatha, how deep is your concentration. The higher your concentration, your samadhi, then the deeper the insight. That is why those ascetics, the Buddha taught, those ascetics who had attained the four jhanas, when they listened to the Dhamma, they attained arhanthood. Whereas people without any jhana, when they listened to the same Dhamma, they became sotapanna. or attain stream entry. So this simile is then the central square as the four great elements. So this body we have mindfulness guarding the six sense doors and then we have to practice this Noble Eightfold Path and this Samatha and Vipassana especially But if you practice the Noble Eightfold Path, you won't attain Nibbana until Samatha and Vipassana is practiced. So when you perfect Samatha and Vipassana, then only you attain Nibbana. In other words, you need the four Jhanas and much study of the Suttas. So we study the Suttas. We have these four things that we can concentrate on, like some arahants, they attain arahanthood through thoroughly understanding the six bases for contact. Some arahants contemplate the five aggregates of attachment deeply until they see impermanence and they see dukkha and not-self. Then they become disenchanted with the five aggregates and become dispassionate and attain liberation. The third type of arahants are those that contemplate the body, the four great elements of the body. And the fourth type of arahants are those who contemplate dependent origination and attain liberation. So these are the four main ways to attain liberation. Six bases, five aggregates, Four Great Elements and Dependent Origination. But always remember you need Samatha and Vipassana both together and only you will attain the message of Nibbana. Let's stop here. We have only three more suttas to complete the Salayat Tanah Sangyutta. Very good. Anything to discuss? I think it's really important for everybody to do that. For everybody to do that, I mean, for everybody to do that, I think it's really important for everybody to do that. For everybody to do that, I mean, for everybody to do that, I think it's really important for everybody to do that. For everybody to do that, I mean, for everybody to do that, I think it's really important for everybody to do that. For everybody to do that, I mean, for everybody to do that, I think it's really important for everybody to do that. For everybody to do that, I mean, for everybody to do that, I think it's really important for everybody to do that. For everybody to do that, I mean, for everybody to do that, I think it's really important for everybody to do that. For everybody to do that, I mean, for everybody to do that, I think it's really important for everybody to do that. For everybody to do that, I mean, I didn't say it's not advisable to make cash donations. Because in Asuta The Buddha said that if we want to make merit for our departed relatives, they can only get it if they are reborn in the ghost realm. If they are reborn in the other four realms, namely heaven or human realm or animal or hell realm, then they would not be able to get it. Only ghosts can get it. Although the Buddha did not say why, I guess it's because only ghosts can come back to visit us. So my opinion, it's my personal opinion, is that ghosts need two things foremost. Most important to ghosts is food, and secondly is clothing. food, I think everybody agrees, clothing because a few years ago I was in Australia and I spent the Vasa there and it was winter and the Thai lady said that at night she would hear this ghost crying and then she saw this young male ghosts and female ghosts, they were shivering because it was winter. So I think they were asking for help. So he went to the monastery, donated food and he donated robes and transferred the merit to them. It's surprising, I mean, like her, probably they come to her because they know that they can get help from her. They don't simply go to anybody. When you go to a Christian, the Christian may not know what to do. So if you want to donate cash, it's also alright. You can inform the relative. that this donation so that the monastery, say for example, you give cash to a monastery, but before you give, it's best to inform your departed relative beforehand so that they are expecting the merit. Then you also tell them that this money, the monastery can use it in any way. So in the same way, this blessing from that offering you transfer to your relative so that they can get what they like, what they need. You mean funeral? For what? It would seem like when you offer and you burn, they can get it. Only thing is if you burn like paper stuff, then they get paper stuff. A lot of things that people burn, it's not necessary. For example, people burn paper cars. They don't need cars. They can fly faster than the car. I guess they can get it also. Everything in the world is mind made. And the Buddha said that when we do this merit, our departed relatives will get it. The Buddha didn't say any old ghost will get it. Our departed relatives can get it because they are waiting for you to do merit for them. So when you do it, then they believe that they get it. This belief is very important. Like a person under hypnosis, we tell him something, and he believes it's real to him. Just like in our dream. In our dream, we dream maybe we are stabbed. Actually, we feel like somebody stabbed us, even in the dream. Or somebody slapped you. In the dream also, you feel the slap. It's only when you wake up, only then you realize it's not real. So in the same way, because our relative is waiting for that merit, so when you do it, they actually believe that they get it. But some other ghost who is not your relative, they don't come near to you to expect this merit. Not really, because in that case, For example, you listen to Dhamma and you get wisdom. You cannot transfer your wisdom. But we still chant Itthavatha. Actually, the chanting is not telling them that we transfer merit to them. The chanting is saying, Anumodan to rejoice. May you rejoice in the goodness of what we are doing. think of them like this, then they know that we think of them, so they're happy. When we take the dharma out of our own world, and take the dharma out of our own body, we can always do what we want to do. And we don't have to suffer directly. We don't have to suffer. But if we follow the teachings, and we do something of our own will, As far as I know, in the suttas, there is no Veda known to come to listen to the Dhamma. It might be in later books, not in the original suttas. Because I would think that being in the woeful planes of rebirth like a ghost, their mind is very agitated. They cannot listen to the Dhamma. Even human beings, there are some that already find it difficult to listen to the Dhamma. So how can a ghost listen to the Dhamma? I don't think so. I don't believe that a ghost can listen to the Dhamma and become a Sotapanna. Devas can. Yeah, commentary or some later additions like for example, Kudaka Nikaya. Many of the books in the Kudaka Nikaya and later books, Xiaopu. Okay, come and transfer merit.

13SNSalayatanaCh3520090816

Today is the 16th of August and we are coming to the last three suttas of the Salayatana Samyutta, Sutta 35.246. Monks, if in any monk or nun, desire or lust or hatred or delusion or aversion of mind should arise in regard to forms cognizable by the eye, Such a one should reign in the mind from them thus. This path is fearful, dangerous, strewn with thorns, covered by jungle, a deviant path, an evil path, a way beset by scarcity. This is a path followed by inferior people. It is not the path followed by superior people. This is not for you. In this way the mind should be reined in from those states regarding forms cognizable by the eye, so too regarding sounds cognizable by the ear, smell, taste, touch and thoughts. So here the Buddha is saying that whenever the six sense objects impinge on our sense bases, if any desire or hatred or delusion should arise, or lust, hatred and delusion should arise, then we should keep the mind in check, remembering that this is happening, that this mind is moved by these sense objects. Remember that this is fearful, dangerous, an evil path, a path followed by inferior people Suppose, monks, that the barley has ripened and the watchman is negligent. If a bull fond of barley enters the barley field, he might indulge himself as much as he likes. So too, monks, the unlearned, ordinary whirling, who does not exercise restraint over the six bases for contact, indulges himself as much as he likes in the five courts of sensual pleasure. Suppose, monks, that the barley has ripened, and the watchman is vigilant. If a bull, fond of barley, enters the barley field, the watchman would catch hold of him firmly by the muzzle. While holding him firmly by the muzzle, he would get a secure grip on the locks between his horns, and keeping him in check there would give him a sound beating with his staff. After giving him that beating, he would drive the bull away. This might happen a second time and a third time. Thus that bull, born of barley, whether he has gone to the village or the forest, whether he is accustomed to standing or to sitting, remembering the previous beating he got from the staff, would not enter that barley field again. So too monks. When a monk's mind has been subdued, well subdued, regarding the six bases for contact, it then becomes inwardly steady, settled, unified and concentrated. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is giving an example of a bull. He goes into a barley field and then the watchman is negligent, does not notice. Because of his carelessness, the bull is able to enter the barley field and indulge and eat all that barley. It's like a person who does not exercise restraint, does not watch over the six spaces or contact. So he indulges himself in pleasurable things and feels aversion for unpleasant things. But if the watchman is vigilant, he will catch the bull and give him a sound beating. beat him severely, then the bull will run away. And if it comes a second time, beats him again, it comes a third time, beats him again, then the bull will remember the beating and will not enter the barley field again. So in the same way, most people who are not wise to the world, not street wise, not world wise, then we like to enjoy worldly pleasures. When we enjoy worldly pleasures, we get a sound beating, we suffer. We suffer, like the other day we read, either we have covetousness, when you enjoy something, you want to possess it, or when you cannot get it, then you feel grief. So, these two states, unwholesome states, covetousness and grief, So when we have this unwholesome stage, it's like getting a sound beating. So we suffer a few times, suffer a few times and then we learn a lesson, then we next time we are more careful. Then the Buddha said when a monk's mind has been subdued, well subdued regarding the six bases for contact, It then becomes inwardly steady, settled, unified and concentrated. This one is if a monk practices meditation and attains the jhanas. When he attains the jhanas, the mind is subdued. Subdue what? Subdue the five hindrances. When the five hindrances are subdued, then the mind becomes steady, settled, unified, concentrated. Then it is not easily moved by external sense objects. Suppose amongst there was a king or a royal minister who had never before heard the sound of a lute. He might hear the sound of a lute and say, Good man, what is making this sound so tantalizing, so lovely, so intoxicating, so entrancing, so enthralling? He would then say to him, Sire, it is a lute that is making this sound so tantalizing, so lovely, so intoxicating, so entrancing, so enthralling. He would reply, Go, man, bring me that lute. They would bring him the lute and tell him, Sire, this is that lute, the sound of which was so tantalizing, so lovely, etc. The king would say, I've had enough with this lute, man. Bring me just that sound. The man would reply, This lute-sire consists of numerous components, of a great many components, and it gives off a sound when it is played upon with its numerous components, that is, in dependence on the parchment, sounding-board, the belly, the arm, the head, the strings, the plectrum, and the appropriate effort of the musician. So it is, I hear, that this lute, consisting of numerous components, of a great many components, gives off a sound when it is played upon with its numerous components. The king would split the lute into ten or a hundred pieces. Then he would reduce these to splinters. Having reduced them to splinters, he would burn them in a fire, and reduce them to ashes. And he would winnow the ashes in a strong wind, or let them be carried away by the swift current of a river. Then he would say, The poor thing indeed, sir, is this so-called lute, as well as anything else called a lute. How can the multitude be how the multitude are utterly heedless about it, utterly taken in by it. So to monks, a monk investigates form to the extent that there is a range for form. He investigates feeling to the extent that there is a range for feeling. He investigates perception to the extent that there is a range for perception. He investigates volition to the extent that there is a range for volition. He investigates consciousness to the extent that there is a range for consciousness. As he investigates for feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, whatever notions of I and mind or I am had occurred to him before no longer occur to him. That's the end of the sutra. So here, this simile says that this king, when he heard the sound of the lute, he was so excited by it. thought it was so lovely so he asked them to bring him the lute so when he examined the lute he could not find the sound so trying to find the sound he cut the lute into many pieces and could not find it then he burned it and still could not find it so he said this is a useless thing so Simba Lee is trying to see that These five aggregates, because we derive pleasure from the body and the mind, so we think it's a very special thing. But when you start investigating the five aggregates, body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, then you find it is hollow, there's nothing in there. So when you understand the real nature of the five aggregates, how they arise to conditions, how they cease to conditions and all that, then the notions of I and mine and I am that we had before slowly vanish. So The first simile about the bull and the barley field is to tell us to keep a watch on our six sense pieces, not to allow the sense objects to move our mind. The second part is if we investigate the five aggregates thoroughly, then we'll slowly understand that there is no I or mind or I am. in them. Next sutra, 35.247. Monks, suppose a man with limbs wounded and festering would enter a wood of thorny reeds and the kusa grass and the kusa thorns would prick his feet and the reed blades would slash his limbs. Thus that man would thereby experience even more pain and displeasure. So two monks, some monk here, go on to the village or the forest, meet someone who reproaches him thus. This venerable one, acting in such a way, behaving in such a way, is a foul village thorn. Having understood him thus as a thorn, one should understand restraint and non-restraint. And how monks is there non-restraint? Here, having seen a form with the eye, a monk is intent upon a pleasing form, and repelled by a displeasing form. He dwells without having set up mindfulness of the body, with a limited mind, and he does not understand as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil, unwholesome states cease without remainder. Similarly, having heard a sound with the ear, having smelled an odor, having tasted a taste, having cognized a touch, and having cognized a thought, he is intent upon a pleasing contact, and repelled by a displeasing contact. He dwells without having set up mindfulness of the body, with a limited mind, and he does not understand as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, are in those evil unwholesome states, ceased without remainder. I'll stop you for a moment. So here the Buddha says a man is already his limbs are wounded and festering and open wound and he goes into a forest which has many thorny reeds and kusa thorns and so the thorns prick his feet and the reed blades, just like lalang, would cut his limbs so that man experiences even more pain. So in the same way, the Buddha says a monk, he goes to a village and then he meets someone who passes a nasty remark, saying that he's a village thorn. He already has enough Dukkha, so this person passes Asti Rimak, he has more Dukkha than the Buddha says. So he should understand restrained and non-restrained. Non-restrained means he is moved by the sense objects. If the sense object is pleasing, desires it and it is displeasing if you are aversion for it. Suppose monks, a man would catch six animals with different domains and different feeding grounds and tie them by a strong rope. He would catch a snake, a crocodile, a bird, a dog, a jackal and a monkey and tie each by a strong rope Having done so, he would tie the ropes together with a knot in the middle and release them. Then those six animals with different domains and different feeding grounds would each pull in the direction of its own feeding ground and domain. The snake would pull one way, thinking, let me enter an anthill. In other words, the snake wants to enter a hole. The crocodile would pull another way, thinking, let me enter the water. The bird would pull another way, thinking, let me fly up into the sky. The dog would pull another way, thinking, let me enter a village. The dog wants to look for food. The jackal would pull another way, thinking, let me enter a charnel ground, a cemetery. The monkey would pull another way, thinking, let me enter a forest. Now when these six animals become worn out and fatigued, they would be dominated by the one among them that was strongest. They would submit to it and come under its control. So, to monks, when a monk has not developed and cultivated mindfulness directed to the body, the eye pulls in the direction of agreeable forms, and disagreeable forms are repulsive. The ear pulls in the direction of agreeable sounds, and disagreeable sounds are repulsive. The nose pulls in the direction of agreeable orders, and disagreeable orders are repulsive. The tongue pulls in the direction of agreeable tastes, and disagreeable tastes are repulsive. The body pulls in the direction of agreeable tactile objects or touch, and disagreeable tactile objects are repulsive. The mind pulls in the direction of agreeable thoughts, and disagreeable thoughts are repulsive. It is in such a way that there is non-restraint. And how monks dare restrain? Here, having seen a form with the eye, a monk is not intent upon a pleasing form, and not repelled by a displeasing form. He dwells having set up mindfulness of the body. with a measureless mind, and he understands as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, wherein those evil unwholesome states cease without remainder, having heard a sound, having smelled a smell, etc. He is not intent upon a pleasing sense contact, and not repelled by a displeasing one. He dwells, having set up mindfulness of the body, with a measureless mind, and he understands, as it really is, that liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, are in those evil, unwholesome states, seized without remainder. It is in such a way that there is restraint. Suppose monks, a man would catch six animals with different domains and different feeding grounds and tie them by a strong rope. He would catch a snake, a crocodile, a bird, a dog, a jackal and a monkey and tie each by a strong rope. Having done so, he would bind them to a strong post or pillar. Then those six animals with different domains and different feeding grounds would each pull in the direction of its own feeding ground and domain. The snake would pull one way, thinking, let me enter, and heal, etc. And the six animals pull in the six different directions now. animals become worn out and fatigued. They would stand close to that post or pillar. They would sit down there. They would lie down there. So too monks. When a monk has developed and cultivated mindfulness directed to the body, the eye does not pull in the direction of agreeable forms, nor are disagreeable forms repulsive. The ear does not pull in the direction of agreeable sounds, nor are disagreeable sounds repulsive. The nose does not pull in the direction of agreeable odours, nor are disagreeable odours repulsive. The tongue does not pull in the direction of agreeable tastes, nor are disagreeable tastes repulsive. The body does not pull in the direction of agreeable tactile objects or touch, nor are disagreeable ones repulsive. The mind does not pull in the direction of agreeable thoughts, nor are disagreeable thoughts repulsive. This is in such a way that there is restraint. A strong post or pillar of these monks is a designation for mindfulness directed to the body. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will develop and cultivate mindfulness directed to the body, make it our vehicle, make it our basis, stabilize it, exercise ourselves in it, and fully perfect it. Thus should you train yourselves." That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha gives a simile to make us understand the unrestrained mind and the restrained mind. So the Buddha gives this simile of six animals that are caught by the hunter and he ties a rope around the neck of each animal and the six ropes he ties into a knot. And then he releases the animals. And the animals would go in six different directions. The bird wants to fly up the air. The monkey wants to go to the forest and climb up a tree. The snake wants to go into a hole. The crocodile wants to go into the water. The dog wants to go into town to look for food. The jackal wants to go up the hill. This is a charnel ground. So the six animals are pulling in different directions and whichever one is the strongest, it pulls and the rest have to follow him. When he's tired, another one will take over and pull and the others have to follow him. This is a very good simile for the working of the mind. Our mind is pulled by the six different sense objects, forms one has to see, sounds one has to hear, smells one has to smell, and similarly your taste, touch, and thoughts. So whichever one is strongest at any one time, we pay attention to it. For example, now you are listening to the dhamma talk, and it's supposed suddenly outside somebody sounds the horn so loud, your attention immediately is pulled there. So Actually, this is an unrestrained mind. So our attention is moving from one object to another object. And unfortunately, nowadays, people talk about momentary concentration. This is exactly momentary concentration. This momentary concentration is of no use at all. It's an unrestrained mind. And it's the normal mind. You don't have to practice Momentary concentration. We have momentary concentration all the time. The only problem is what we are paying attention to is of no benefit. Sometimes, for example, you might be meditating and then you fall asleep. When you fall asleep, you are still mindful, but you are mindful of your thoughts. of your dreams. So, for example, if your mind strays and you start having stray thoughts, you're still mindful, but you're mindful of the stray thoughts, which is totally useless. That's why when we practice sati, sati is not mindfulness. Sati is recollection, remembering to put your attention or your mindfulness on only four objects, only one of four objects, the body, the feeling, the mind, and Dhamma, the Buddha's teachings. So that's the meaning of Sati. Sati is remembering to put your mindfulness to these four things. That's why it's called recollection. Sati means recollection. If you want to use the word mindfulness, then it is a specific mindfulness. It is not general mindfulness. It is specific mindfulness directed only to four things. That is Sati. But it's better to remember it as recollection because it has to do with remembering. calling to mind these four things. So this unrestrained mind is the ordinary mind that is just momentary concentration. Your mind just goes from one object to another, one object to another, paying attention to one object and another, totally unrestrained. So the Buddha says to restrain the mind, Going back to these six animals, to restrain these animals, the Buddha says the hunter has to tie the six ropes to a stout pillar. When you tie it to a stout pillar, Whichever way they want to go, they can only go around that pillar. They cannot go anywhere else. They go around the pillar until they are totally fatigued. Then they will lie down beside the pillar. They will rest beside the pillar. They can't go anywhere else. That is the way to discipline them, restrain them. Then they are totally subdued. So this simile is telling us that this pillar represents mindfulness of The body. So mindfulness of the body. This body is not necessarily the physical body. It can be the breath body, like the Buddha himself practices Anapanasati, a recollection of the breath. So the breath itself can be considered as a body. You pay attention to it. But probably you can consider other things, like during the Buddha's time, they practiced meditation on the casinas. like meditating on candlelight. That probably can be considered a body. And meditation on water. Open your eyes, watch the water, see the water, and then close your eyes and open. Constantly keep seeing until the object stays with the mind. So that maybe can be considered a body also. Or you consider your physical body. Because as long as your mind is mindful of the physical body, the mind does not wander off. So it helps you to preserve your mindfulness. So this is the way to restrain our mind. So if we continually keep our attention fixed to one object, because here the pillar represents one object. So when we meditate, we're supposed to focus our attention only on one object, not to go from object to object, only one object. The mind tries to run away and we bring it back to that object, tries to run away, we bring it back to that object. Constantly do that until we are able to subdue the mind. So when your mindfulness stays with one object, then the mind becomes unified and you attain the state of jhāna. And when you attain the state of jhāna, then the five hindrances dissolve away. And that is the purpose of meditation, to get rid of the five hindrances, so that you can see things clearly as they really are. So that is why in the suttas, the type of meditation praised by the Buddha is always the first jhana, second jhana, third jhana, fourth jhana. So this is a very famous Sutta similarly of the six animals. Now we come to the last sutta in the Salayatana Sanghuta 35.248 the Buddha said monks. Suppose a chief of Bali were sat down at a crossroads. Then six men would come along with flails in their hands, and they would strike that chief of Bali with the six flails. Then that chief of Bali would be well struck, having been struck by the six flails. Then a seventh man would come along, with a flail in his hand and he would strike the chief of Bali with the seventh flail. Thus the chief of Bali would be struck even still more thoroughly having been struck by the seventh flail. So here this simile says you have this bunch of Bali tied up and then these six men come along with this flail. Flail is something to whip. So they whip the Bali Six of them whip the Bali, so the Bali will be well struck. Then a seventh man will come along and also strike it. So to monks, the unlearned ordinary worldling is struck in the eye by agreeable and disagreeable forms, struck in the ear by agreeable and disagreeable sounds, struck in the nose by agreeable and disagreeable odours, struck in the tongue by agreeable and disagreeable tastes, struck in the body by agreeable and disagreeable tactile objects, struck in the mind by agreeable and disagreeable thoughts. If that unlearned, ordinary worldling sets his mind upon future, renewed existence, then that senseless man is struck even still more thoroughly, just like the sheaf of barley struck by the seventh flail. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, just like that sheaf of barley, we are struck by the six sense objects. Why do we say we are struck? Because when the six-sense object is in pinch or six-sense basis, then feeling arises. Feeling is followed by perception, followed by thoughts, followed by chasing after the object. And so, from here, you get a lot of what we call 煩惱. all the mental defilements arise because of these six sense objects striking at our six sense bases. So that's why the Buddha gives a simile of that chief of Baling being hit and hit again. And then if this ordinary unlearned whirling He thinks about future rebirth, how he aspires to have a good rebirth in heaven or whatever place. Then he is said to be struck even more thoroughly. Why? Because when he thinks of making a wish for the future, then that gives him more anxiety, just like a lot of people, we not only have remorse over things that are past, we worry about things that have not come yet, worry about the future, we have remorse over the past. So, in the same way, this man, if he thinks about the future, rebirth and all that, Then maybe either he wants to think of going to heaven or he's afraid that because his karma is no good, he's going to hell or he's going to ghost realm or whatever. Then all that is to him is fan dao, mental disturbance, defilements. Then the Buddha continued. Once in the past months, the Devas and Asuras were arrayed for battle. Then Vipacitti, lord of the Asuras, addressed the Asuras thus, Good sirs, if in this impending battle the Asuras win and the Devas are defeated, bind Sakka Devaraja by his four limbs and neck and bring him to me in the city of the Asuras. And Sakka Devarajah addressed the Tavatimsa Devas, Good sirs, if in this impending battle the Devas win and the Asuras are defeated, bind Vepacitti, lord of the Asuras, by his four limbs and neck and bring him to me in Sudama, assembly hall of the Devas. In that battle the Devas won and the Asuras were defeated. Then the Tavatimsa Devas bound Vepacitti by his forelimbs and neck and brought him to Sakka in Sudamma, the assembly hall of the Devas. And there Vepacitti, lord of the Asuras, was bound by his forelimbs and neck. When it occurred to Vepacitti, The Devas are righteous, the Asuras are unrighteous or wrong. Now right here I have gone to the city of the Devas. He then saw himself freed from the bonds around his limbs and neck, and he enjoyed himself furnished and endowed with the five courts of divine sensual pleasure. But when it occurred to him, the Asuras are righteous, the Devas are unrighteous. Now I will go to the city of the Asuras. Then he But when it occurred to him, the Asuras are righteous, the Devas unrighteous. Now I'll go to the city of the Asuras. Then he saw himself bound by his four limbs and neck, and he was deprived of the five cause of divine sensual pleasure. So subtle in monks was the bondage of Vipacitti, but even subtler than that is the bondage of Mara. In conceiving, one is bound by Mara. By not conceiving, one is free from the evil one." Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that this king of the Asuras, he was caught by the Devas, and he was brought to the Devas' city. The Devas, they have Sakka Devaraja as their head. So when he was caught and tied up, if he thought that the Asuras are right, devas are wrong, then he feels himself a prisoner. He's very unhappy. He feels he should not be there, tied up like that. So he has a lot of mental suffering. But on the other hand, the Buddha says, if he had thought that actually the devas are right and the asuras are wrong in starting the fight or something like that, So he has nothing against the devas. So if they caught him, then he would be happy to be caught. Then he would have no thoughts troubling him when he is caught and brought to the devas. In which case, if he conquers with the devas, that the devas are right, then probably he can also, they would probably also release him and let him enjoy all the heavenly pleasures. So what the Buddha is trying to say is that our perception, our thinking is very important. If you think in the right way, you don't suffer. If you think in the wrong way, you suffer. A lot of people, like for example, when dukkha comes, a lot of people you cannot accept it. For example, if somebody says something nasty to you, then you start thinking, why did he say this to me? I've been so good to him, I've done him so many favours and all that. I don't deserve to be scolded like that and all that. The more you think, the more defilements arise. You become very angry and perhaps that whole night you cannot sleep. But on the other hand, if somebody says something nasty to you, then you think, that must be my karma. Maybe in the past I offended him, I didn't notice. or in a past life, I did something wrong, so now I deserve what I get. And then you have no problem anymore, right? You just forget about the incident. It's only when you cannot accept it, then all the mental defilements will follow. So the way we look at things is very important, our state of the mind. So the Buddha is saying, so subtle monks was the bondage of Vipacitti, but even subtler than that is the bondage of Mara. In conceiving, one is bound by Mara. By not conceiving, one is freed from the evil one. Monks, I am is a conceiving. I am this is a conceiving. I shall be is a conceiving. I shall not be is a conceiving. I shall consist of form is a conceiving. I shall be formless is a conceiving. I shall be percipient is a conceiving. I shall be non-percipient is a conceiving. I shall be neither percipient nor non-percipient is a conceiving. Conceiving is a disease. Conceiving is a tumour. Conceiving is a dart. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. You will dwell with a mind devoid of conceiving." I'll stop here for a moment. So the Buddha says, the tendency of the mind to conceive, conceive is like to have a concept, the kuan nian, Chinese call it kuan nian, that I exist. Because, for example, when happiness arises, For example, you see something beautiful, or you hear very nice sounds, or you taste very good food, then you like to think, I am enjoying myself. I am enjoying myself. Instead of just thinking, there is this pleasurable feeling arising. But because we have this perception that I enjoy, so the Buddha calls this the bondage of Mara. If you have this concept, I, Then one day you enjoy, I am happy. Another day, I will suffer. So happiness and suffering follows one after another because this world is impermanent. When you enjoy anything, when it goes away, then you will have suffering. So this I am, the Buddha says, is a trap of Mara. And if you keep on conceiving, you will suffer. So this concept that I am or I exist, we should be very careful. We don't have the concept I, then you don't suffer. Monks, I am is a perturbation. I am this is a perturbation. It's a disturbance of the mind and all these other views. It's a disturbance of the mind. It's a dark. It's a tumour. Monks, I am is a palpitation. Something that will shake you. I am this is a palpitation. I shall be is a palpitation. Palpitation is a disease. It's a tumour. It's a dark. Therefore monks, you should train yourselves. We will dwell with a mind devoid of palpitation. Monks, I am is a proliferation. Proliferation is papancha, proliferation of thoughts. I am this is a proliferation. I shall be is a proliferation. Proliferation is a disease. Proliferation is a tumor, is a dart. Therefore monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will dwell with a mind devoid of proliferation. Monks, I am is an involvement with conceit. I am this is an involvement with conceit. I shall be is an involvement with conceit. I shall whatever, etc. Involvement with conceit is a disease. Involvement with conceit is a tumour. Involvement with conceit is a dart. Therefore monks, you should train yourselves thus. You will dwell with the mind in which conceit has been struck down. Thus should you train yourselves. That's the end of the sutra. So in this last part, the Buddha says, just like the Vipacitti, when he was caught, depending on his state of mind, if his state of mind is not skillful, then he will suffer. If his state of mind, he has skillful thoughts, wholesome thoughts, then he will not have so much mental suffering. So in the same way, if we have this conceiving that I am, that I exist, then a lot of suffering will follow. And this conceiving, the Buddha says, is a perturbation. It's something that disturbs your mind. It's a palpitation. It's something that will shake your mind. It's a proliferation. It's a multiplication of thoughts. It's an involvement with conceit. Okay, so there we have finished the Salayatana Sanghuta.

14SNVedanaCh3620090816

Now we come to the second chapter of this book, this fourth book. Chapter 36 called Vedana Samyutta. Vedana is feeling. The first sutra I'll read is 36.3. Monks, there are these three feelings. What three? Pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither painful nor pleasant feeling. That is neutral feeling. The underlying tendency to lust should be abandoned in regard to pleasant feeling. The underlying tendency to aversion should be abandoned in regard to painful feeling. The underlying tendency to ignorance should be abandoned in regard to neither painful nor pleasant feeling. Stop here for a moment. So here, generally, when we have a pleasant feeling, there is a tendency to lust for it, to crave for it. And then when there is a painful feeling, there's a tendency to feel aversion for it, to be repelled by it. And then when there is neither painful nor pleasant feeling, neutral feeling, the economist feeling, then we tend to be ignorant of it. We don't notice it. When a monk has abandoned the underlying tendency to lust in regard to pleasant feeling, the underlying tendency to aversion in regard to painful feeling, and the underlying tendency to ignorance in regard to neither painful nor pleasant feeling, then he is called a monk without underlying tendencies, one who sees rightly. He has cut off craving, severed the fetters, and by completely breaking through conceit, he has made an end to suffering. So the Buddha says a monk should get rid of the tendency to lust for pleasant feelings, the tendency to aversion to other painful feelings, and the tendency to ignorance in regard to neutral feelings. This word lust, the other day someone asked about this greed, hatred, and delusion, and then lust, hatred and delusion. This word lust, I think, doesn't naturally mean in regard to sex. Lust means a strong, strong greed, very strong greed, so it is When one experiences pleasure, if one does not understand feeling, the tendency to lust is present, for one not seeing the escape from it. When one experiences pain, if one does not understand feeling, the tendency to aversion is present for one not seeing the escape from it. The one of broad wisdom has taught a reference to that peaceful feeling, neither painful nor pleasant. If one seeks delight even in this, one is still not released from suffering. But when a monk who is ardent does not neglect clear comprehension, then that wise man fully understands feelings in their entirety. Having fully understood feelings, he is dangerous in this very life. Standing in Dhamma with the body's breakup, the knowledge master cannot be reckoned." That's the end of the sutra. So how do we get rid of this underlying tendency? That is by cultivating samadhi. When our mind is very strong, then it is not easily moved by lust or aversion. The next sutta, 35.4, Buddha said. Monks, when the unlearned, ordinary worldling makes the statement, in the great ocean there is a bottomless abyss, he makes such a statement about something that is non-existent and unreal. This, monks, is rather a designation for painful bodily feelings. That is bottomless abyss. When the uninstructed, The unlearned ordinary worldling is contacted by a painful bodily feeling. He sorrows, grieves and laments. He weeps and beats his breast and becomes distraught. This is called an unlearned ordinary worldling who has not risen up in the bottomless abyss, one who has not gained a foothold. But monks, when the learned, noble disciple is contacted by a painful bodily feeling, he does not sorrow, grieve, or lament. He does not weep and beat his breasts and become distraught. This is called learned, noble disciple who has risen up in the bottomless abyss, one who has gained a foothold. And then the verse says, One who cannot endure the arisen painful feelings, bodily feelings that sap one's life, who trembles when they touch him, a weakling of little strength, who weeps out loud and wails, he has not risen up in the bottomless abyss, nor has he even gained a foothold. but one who is able to endure them, the arisen painful feelings, bodily feelings that sap one's life, who trembles not when they touch him. He has risen up in the bottomless abyss, and he has also gained a foothold." That's the end of the sutta. So the Buddha says, some people say there is a bottomless abyss in the ocean. The Buddha says there's no such thing. But the Buddha says, painful bodily feelings, that is the bottomless abyss. And if an ordinary person contacted by painful feeling, he sorrows, grieves, and totally becomes distraught, he has not risen up from the bottomless abyss. But the learned, noble disciple, when he is contacted by painful bodily feelings, he does not sorrow, grieve, or lament. He bears the pain. Then he is called one who has risen up from the bottomless abyss. That's the end of the sutra. These three feelings, what three? Pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither painful nor pleasant feeling. Pleasant feelings, monks, should be seen as pain. Pleasant-feeling monks should be seen as painful. Painful feelings should be seen as a dart. Neither painful nor pleasant feeling should be seen as impermanent. When monks, a monk has seen pleasant feeling as painful, painful feeling as a dart, and neither painful nor pleasant feeling as impermanent, he is called a monk who sees rightly. He has cut off craving, severed the fetters, and By completely breaking through conceit, he has made an end to suffering. One who has seen the pleasant as painful and the painful as a dart, seen as impermanent the peaceful feeling, neither painful nor pleasant, he is a monk who sees rightly, one who fully understands feelings. Having fully understood feelings, he is stainless in this very life. Standing in Dhamma, with the body's breakup, the knowledge master cannot be reckoned. That's the end of the sutra. So if you remember when we discussed dependent origination, the 12 links of dependent origination, suffering arises because when there is a pleasant feeling, we crave for it. because there is an underlying tendency to crave for pleasant feelings. So if you crave for pleasant feelings, then you have attachment, clinging. And clinging gives rise to bhava, this being. You feel that I am or I exist. And because you have this existence, I exist, then there is rebirth. So you want to break the chain of the twelve links of dependent origination, it is at feeling. that we can break the chain only at feeling. So, feeling is very important. We should not be thoroughly overpowered by feeling. There are some people, they cannot control themselves totally. You can see very normal people, for example, when they eat good food, the food is good, they cannot control themselves, they indulge. So, horribly, almost like our dogs, you know, when the dogs, you bring good food to them, saliva will come down the mouth. So human beings are a bit like that. So, unfortunately, people who cannot control their tongue, they cannot live long. Because even in the Sutta, I remember the Kosala Samyutta, the Buddha told the Vasanadi King, his dream is eating, then he'll have a long life. I had a devotee in Penang, he could not restrain his eating and he had a stroke. After that, for a few years, he restrained himself. After a few years, when he recovered, he could not restrain himself again. Before he reached 50, he passed away. So here, the Buddha says, Pleasant feeling should be seen as painful. This one, ordinary person will never see it this way. When pleasant feeling arises, if you have the wisdom, you know, you warn yourself, don't get attached to it, because if you get attached to it, then when you lose it, you are going to suffer. It reminds me, one of our devotees in KL, he told me something. Told me a few years ago, he sent his son to Australia to study. The son went swimming, I think, and drowned. The only son, he had one son, I think, and two daughters. So the only son drowned. He and his wife suffered so much. And after that, he told me, after that experience, he dare not love his daughter so much. So he knows, just like this, pleasant feeling should be seen as painful. And then painful feeling should be seen as a dart. When we have painful feeling, it pokes us like a dart. And then neither painful nor pleasant feeling should be seen as impermanent. For example, if you get a good meditation and your mind is very equanimous, you feel very nice, but you should realize that it is impermanent. It will pass away. Don't attach to it. So if a monk sees feelings in this way, then he has cut off craving, severed the affectors, and he begs to concede the I AM, then he will end suffering. You see, suttas like this, we never think that we should see pleasant feeling as painful. That's why it's so good to study the Buddha's words. When we study the Buddha's words, all these words of wisdom, the Buddha is giving us a shortcut. If you didn't hear these words, you'll have to meditate many years and attain jhāna before you realize this yourself. But here, the Buddha is telling us so that we see it clearly without even striving to attain it. The next sutra is 36.6. The Buddha said, Monks, the unlearned ordinary worldling feels a pleasant feeling, painful feeling, and a neither painful nor pleasant feeling. The learned noble disciple also feels a pleasant feeling, painful feeling, and a neither painful nor pleasant feeling. Therein mounts what is the distinction, the disparity, the difference between the learned noble disciple and the unlearned ordinary worldly. And the monk said, Venerable Sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, guided by the Blessed One, take recourse in the Blessed One. It would be good if the Blessed One would clear up the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from him, the monks will remember it. Then listen and attend closely, monks, I will speak." Yes, my Buddha sir," the monks replied. Monks, when the unlearned, ordinary worldling is being contacted by a painful feeling, he sorrows, grieves, and laments. He weeps, beating his breasts, and becomes distraught. He feels two feelings, a bodily one and a mental one. Suppose they were to strike a man with a dart. Then they would strike him immediately afterwards with a second dart. so that the man would feel a feeling caused by two darts. Tutu, when the unlearned ordinary whirling, is being contacted by a painful feeling. He sorrows, grieves and laments. He weeps, beating his breast and becomes distraught. He feels two feelings, a bodily one and a mental one. Being contacted by that same painful feeling, he harbours aversion towards it. When he harbours aversion towards painful feeling, the underlying tendency to aversion towards painful feeling lies behind this. Being contacted by painful feeling, he seeks delight in sensual pleasure. For what reason? Because the unlearned ordinary worldling does not know of any escape from painful feeling other than sensual pleasure. When he seeks delight in sensual pleasure, the underlying tendency to lust for pleasant feeling lies behind this. He does not understand, as it really is, the origin and the passing away, the gratification, danger and escape in the case of these feelings. When he does not understand these things, the underlying tendency to ignorance in regard to neither painful nor pleasant feeling lies behind this. When he feels a pleasant feeling, he feels it attached. If he feels a painful feeling, he feels it attached. If he feels a neither painful nor pleasant feeling, he feels it attached. This, monks, is called an unlearned, ornery whirling, who is attached to birth, aging, and death, who is attached to sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair, who is attached to suffering, I say. When the learned, noble disciple is contacted by a painful feeling, he does not sorrow, grieve or lament. He does not beat his breast and become distraught. He feels one feeling, a bodily one, not a mental one. Suppose they were to strike a man with a dart, but they would not strike him immediately after with a second dart, so that the man would feel a feeling caused by one dart only. So too, when the learned, noble disciple is contacted by a painful feeling, he does not sorrow, grieve, or lament. He does not weep, beating his breast, and become distraught. He feels one feeling, bodily one, not a mental one. Being contacted by that same painful feeling, he harbours no aversion towards it. Since he harbours no aversion towards painful feeling, the underlying tendency to aversion towards painful feeling does not lie behind this. Being contacted by painful feeling, he does not seek delight in sensual pleasure. For what reason? because the learned noble disciple knows of an escape from painful feeling other than sensual pleasure. Since he does not seek the life in sensual pleasure, the underlying tendency to lust for pleasant feeling does not lie behind this. He understands, as it really is, the origin and the passing away, the gratification, danger and escape in the case of these feelings. Since he understands these things, the underlying tendency to ignorance in regard to neither painful nor pleasant feeling does not lie behind this. If he feels a pleasant feeling, he feels it detached. If he feels a painful feeling, he feels it detached. If he feels a neither painful nor pleasant feeling, he feels it detached. This monk is called a noble disciple who is detached from birth, aging and death. who is detached from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair, who is detached from suffering, I say. This, monks, is the distinction, the disparity, the difference between the learned noble disciple and the unlearned ordinary worldly. The wise one, learned, does not feel the pleasant and painful mental feeling. This is the great difference between the wise one and the worldling. For the learned one who has comprehended the Dhamma, who clearly sees this world and the next, desirable things do not provoke his mind. Towards the undesired, he has no aversion. For him, attraction, repulsion, no more exist. Both have been extinguished, brought to an end. Having known the dust-free, sorrowless state, the transcender of existence rightly understands. That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha says that the difference between an ordinary whirling and an Aryan disciple is that the ordinary whirling is struck by two darts. One is the body pain, the other one is the mental pain. Whereas the Aryan disciple is only struck by one dark bodily suffering. So, why? Because the Aryan disciple, he understands the Dhamma. He understands that everything arises from causes and conditions. And because they arise from past causes and conditions, there is nothing much you can do about it. We can only plan for the future. We can only do something now to affect the future. We cannot change what is happening now, because what is happening now is kamavipaka, mainly causes and conditions from the past has been set in motion so that whatever causes, conditions that we generated in the past, now the results coming to us. So because we understand this, then whatever comes our way, we accept it. We accept it that this is our fate. That being the case, when we suffer, we don't have mental suffering because we don't think so much about it. For ordinary people, when suffering comes, they cannot accept it because they don't understand. Because they don't understand, they cannot accept things. And they have bodily suffering plus the mental suffering. The mental suffering is made by themselves because of proliferation of thoughts, because of not understanding the Dhamma, and because their mind is not cultivated to be strong. So that's the difference between an ordinary person and a learned, noble disciple. So a noble disciple, if he feels a pleasant feeling or so, he feels it detached. He makes himself detached from it because he understands if he attaches to it, it will be a source of suffering in future. So when he feels a painful feeling or so, he feels it detached. It's not that he does not have the pain, he has the body pain. But he does not multiply the pain by thinking about it and getting mental pain as well. So when there is a neutral feeling also he understands. So that's the end of the sutta. So for tonight I'll end the sutta here. This chapter on feelings also is quite important, quite important to understand. Yes. Oh yes, yes. Because they say that you are concentrated one object after another, so they call it Vipassana Jhana. But the Buddha never talked about Vipassana Jhana, so it's created by these Vipassana monks. That is not jhāna at all. There is only one jhāna, that is the Buddha's jhāna, the vipassana jhāna. The description of jhāna is very clear in the suttas, how you attain the jhānas and the states of the jhāna. description of all the jhānas are given very clearly in the suttas. In the case of the vipassana jhāna, the five hindrances are not eliminated, so how can it be jhāna? Yes, it is a method, but then, without cultivating your mind, it is very difficult to actually practice it. Just like we say, we like to radiate metta, but if your mind is not strong, You are not actually radiating metta. And also, because your mind is not strong, sometimes you think you want to radiate metta, but somebody says something nasty, immediately your metta is vanished. So, unless your mind is strong, it is one thing to say you want to practice something. It's another thing whether you can do it or not. That's the purpose of bhavana. Bhavana means development of the mind by meditation. Meditation in the Buddha's suttas always refer to the jhanas. There is no other meditation other than the jhanas in the Buddha's teachings. Because in the Majjhima Nikaya, Ananda said the type of meditation praised by the Buddha is the first jhana, second jhana, third jhana and fourth jhana. The type of meditation that the Buddha does not praise at all is the type of meditation where the five hindrances are not eliminated. So if you practice any meditation and you don't get rid of the five hindrances, that is not Buddhist meditation at all. You have to do both together, because this theory and practice, you need both together. That's why the study of the suttas, we combine with the meditation practice, so we progress in both ways. One of the Satipatthana Suttas, the Buddha told one of his monk disciples that two foundations are necessary before we practice meditation. One is sila, keeping good moral conduct. The second foundation is right view, because right view comes from understanding the suttas. So after you have attained these two foundations, then only the Buddha says you practice the Satipatthana meditation. Proliferation. Proliferation means proliferation of thoughts. Useless proliferation of thoughts that lead to a lot of abuse. Like, where did I come from? After that, where will I go? Who made me? Who made this world and all this? All this, the Buddha says, arises because of the conceit, I am or I exist. Once you have the concept, the conceiving that I exist, then you start asking questions. You have all these views. Where did I come from? And all these things. And the other word you said is contemplation. Contemplation is reflection. When we study the Buddha's words and we reflect on it, contemplate on it, we digest it. So they are different. Contemplation is control. Control, skillful application of the mind, wholesome application of the mind. But the other one, proliferation, is unskillful application of the mind. unbeneficial application of the mind say again yeah by studying the suttas study the suttas will give you a lot of ammunition to investigate the five aggregates and then when you study the suttas you reflect on it you try to understand the Buddha's words and if you are able to understand most of the Buddha's words in the suttas then you would have attained right view and when you attain right view you have already become an ariya We shall eat them? Lakana. to reduce the common legal trauma. 10,000 are jailed in jail and then every couple of months. And then it's even tougher more when they are paid in bulk. So, what we've been doing, 35 Kampesa, 25 competitors, competitors to practice, You have to know how to handle that. But so far, we've done that in the United Nations, and I think a lot of things have gone over the top. So, for me, I think it's important to have a word to stand out, or have a voice in that, and I would say it's a need. So, you want to do it now, and there are a lot of different concepts of how to do it effectively. But one thing that I've learned a lot, and I'm going to do it each time. So, for me, In the Buddha's teachings, the original Buddha's teachings in the Nikayas, nobody can help another person to go for rebirth. Even the Buddha also cannot help anyone. to go for rebirth. If the Buddha can, then he would have helped all the beings in the world, full planes, to come out of hell by, for example, making a vow, like they say, Amitabha Buddha made a vow. And the only way we can help these beings in the other realms of existence, the Buddha says, is like in the Sutta, where Brahmin came to asked the Buddha, he said, in the Brahmin practice, when the relative passes away, they offer food, and they burn the food. Do the relatives actually get it? And the Buddha says only ghosts can get it. And I assume that must be because only ghosts come back to their relatives to wait for merit. So only ghosts can help. The other realms, Whatever you do here, they are not even aware of it. For example, being in hell, like you do Chow Tu or whatever, this liberation of beings, they have no knowledge of it. If they have no knowledge of it, how can they be helped? We don't have psychic power. Even if we have psychic power, we still cannot help them in the Buddha's teachings. We must remember in Chinese Buddhism was very much influenced by Taoism because in the year 511, the Emperor Liang Wuti, he commanded that monks and nuns in China must not eat meat. And he made that command because he was a Taoist before. At the age of 40, he came to Buddhism. So he had a lot of Taoist concepts in him. So he noticed that Buddhist monks ate what we call misiku taongia, whatever types of corpse also they eat. So he compared them with Taoist monks. Taoist monks seem to be very pure in their food. So when he made, when he commanded that Buddhist monks and nuns not allowed to eat meat, that changed the lifestyle of monks and nuns totally. Because after that command, the monks and nuns could not go and beg for their food. Because when they go and beg for their food, they have to eat whatever is given. And most of the time, people are not vegetarians. So they could not get vegetarian food. That being the case, they had to start cooking the food. and we start cooking the food that is against the Buddha's vinaya, the Buddha's precepts for monks and nuns. And then not only that, they have to look for money to buy the food. That also is against the monks' precepts and nuns' precepts. So when they want to look for money, they have to follow the footsteps of the Taoist priest. They have to do chanting. So they start to do chanting just like the Taoist priests, and use instruments just like the Taoist priests, ting-ting-tong-tong and all that, which the Buddha did not allow monks and nuns to do. So after a while they find that they cannot keep most of the Vinaya precepts, they could not keep at all. Then they say phang pien. Expedient means Bodhisattva vows and all that, which the Buddha never talked about. They introduced Bodhisattva vows. And some of the Bodhisattva precepts are totally against the Vinaya also, and the Dhamma, the Suttas also. So that's what happened. So because of that, they did all this chanting and they adopted this Taoist belief that you can help beings out of hell. So they also created this concept that you can help beings out of hell. It's not a Buddhist concept, it's a Taoist concept, just like Feng Shui is Jomancy, nothing to do with Buddhism. It's from Taoism, but it crept into Buddhism. So there's some Mayana monks also, they practice Jomancy, Feng Shui. There are a lot of Things in Chinese Buddhism, which is not actually Buddhism, is contaminated. Sometimes with Chinese culture also, Chinese culture is also scrapped into Chinese Buddhism. So this Chao Tu has nothing to do with original Buddhism, liberation of beings from hell. Nobody can help beings come out from hell, if at all. This Chao Tu and they have this Mahayana, Chinese Sutra that says that Mahamoggalana helped his mother out of hell. If that is possible, then all the Buddhas would have helped all the beings out of hell. But now you find that the beings in hell, they have not reduced, they are still the same. The beings in the ghost realm are also still the same. Beings in the animal realm are also still the same amount. So who is helping who? Nobody is helping anybody. Buddha says that actually nobody can help another person. Nobody can bless another person. Even the Buddha cannot help us. That's why the Buddha said that the Buddha only shows the way. He indicates to you the way. Which way you want to walk is up to you. Why the Buddha cannot help us? Because the world is a creation of our mind. Our mind creates our world. Just like when you are in a nightmare, you are having a nightmare in your dream. Nobody can enter your dream and help you. You are having the nightmare you created yourself. So the karma we create gives us the nightmare of life. So when we create evil karma, we see ourselves lifetime after lifetime suffering. Doing good karma, then you'll see yourself happy. That's why the Buddha says in the Khanda Sanghuta that we should see consciousness as a show. As a show. Consciousness creates this show. We see ourselves like in a movie. Series of movies. One lifetime after another lifetime. I'm very informed that whatever happens now is called past karma. Whatever we do will affect our future. If we are creative we can come up with all that we need to do. Now, the past karma, how do we compare it? Now we have to compare it to things that are already achieved, usually not in the past life, or in the future. And how do we address the past karma? Because the past karma is there in the future, so we have to accept it. Yes, the Buddha says that we can mitigate, lessen the effect of our past unwholesome karma by doing a lot of good deeds now. If we do a lot of good deeds now, then that gives us instant happiness. When you are happy, then you don't think about your unhappy states. Because actually, karma ripening is we think about, we remember the evil that we did, and then remorse arises. And remorse gives us suffering. So if you don't remember your past deeds, then it doesn't ripen. Your karma does not ripen. That's why the Buddha says, if you keep doing a lot of good deeds now, Then we are happy. We are happy we don't think of the evil that we did. It does not surface. That's why in the Dharmapada, the Buddha says that mind is the forerunner of all states. So the mind is very important. How we perceive things. If we perceive wrongly, we suffer for it. If we perceive rightly, we are happy. Generally, our life is governed by kamavipaka. But not all suffering is due to kamavipaka. Why? The Buddha says in the Sutta, I think we'll be coming to it, that the Buddha says, for example, if your body is giving you pain, it might be because you have too much phlegm, or you might have too much bile, or you may have too much wind in your stomach. And these things are maybe because of the food you ate. You ate too much curry, or something, too much chili. And another one is the imbalance of the tree. When the tree is not well balanced, it also gives you body pain. And sometimes because of carelessness, then sometimes because of chance external happening, accident for example. For example, sometimes some people they go on the road, then they have an accident and they may die. So I think if that person dies because of kamavipaka, then that person will not be reborn as a human being. Because of kamavipaka, his blessing or what is used up, so he does not have the blessing to be reborn as a human being. But if it's due to accident, so it's not due to kamavipaka. So he suddenly dies, He did not finish his using up his blessings. He still has blessings to be a human being. Then he'll probably be reborn back as a human being again. That's why there are some people after they pass away, they come back to the human world. Some people, they go down to the ghost realm. But the Buddha says that most people, after they die, they will go down to the ghost realm. A few, because of great evil deeds they have done, they go to the animal and the hell realm. But most people after we die, because we have used up our good karma as a human being, then we will go to the ghost realm. The difference between the ghost realm and the human realm, the blessings, is not too great. There is a sutra describing, giving a simile for the five realms of existence. The Buddha says, if you go with a man walking a long distance, and he's lost, and he's hungry, and he's thirsty, Then suddenly he falls into a hole, a big deep hole which is higher than his height. So he cannot climb out of the hole and that hole is filled with burning embers, charcoal burning. So he gets burned and struggling to come up. He cannot come up. So that is a simile for the hell realm. And then for the animal realm, the Buddha says, the same man walking long distance, tired and hungry, he fell into a shit hole full of shit, excrement. And the hole is deeper than his height. And he also cannot climb up. And he's struggling and eating shit. That's the simile for the animal realm. And then the simile for the ghost realm is that this man walking a long distance, tired and hungry, comes and he sees a tree. He's so happy, he rests under the tree. But unfortunately, the tree does not have much leaves, so he still feels the sun, the heat of the sun. But he's able to get a bit of rest, but not good rest because of the hot sun. And similarly for the human realm, it's like this same man walking a long distance, he comes upon a very shady tree, full of leaves, and then he goes under the tree, he's not burned by the sun, so he's able to rest under the tree, and he's very happy resting under the tree. That's the human realm. So you see the difference between the human and the ghost, not that much difference. Both go under the tree. One has more shape, one has less shape. Then the heavenly realm is like this person, he walks a long distance and suddenly he comes upon a huge mansion. He enters the house and it's full of luxurious items. And then he sleeps on the bed, he drinks, he helps himself to the food, everything, and he's very happy in that house. He doesn't want to leave that house. That's the simile for the Deva realm. Okay, so we end here tonight.

15SNVedanaCh3620090817

Today is the 17th of August and we're on the chapter 36, Vedana Samyutta. I come to Sutta 36.7. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesali in the great wood in the hall with the peak, in the hall with the peak roof. Then in the evening, the Blessed One emerged from seclusion and went to the sick ward, where He sat down in the appointed seat and addressed the monks thus. Monks, a monk should await his time mindful and clearly comprehending. This is the translation here. I prefer to use recollected and mindful. This is our instruction to you. And how, monks, is a monk Recollected. Here monks. A monk dwells contemplating the body in the body. Pardon. Mindful. Recollected. Having put away capriciousness and grief in regard to the world. Similarly, he dwells contemplating feelings in feelings. Mind in mind. Dhamma in dhamma. Pardon. Clearly comprehending. Sorry. Recollected. mindful, having put away covetousness and grief in regard to the world. It is in such a way that a monk is recollected. And how, monks, does a monk exercise mindfulness or full awareness? Dear monks, a monk is one who acts with full awareness when going forward and returning, and looking ahead and looking aside, and drawing in and extending the limbs, and wearing his robes and carrying his outer robe and bowl, and eating, drinking, doing his food and tasting, and defecating and urinating, and walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, speaking and keeping silent. It is in such a way that a monk exercises full awareness or mindfulness. A monk should await his time recollected and mindful. This is our instruction to you. Stop here for a moment. So here, one day the Buddha went to this place where the Sikh monks stay. And then he told the monks that they should practice Sati Sampajanya. Sati, the translation is recollection. That means the definition here is how is a monk sato, how is a monk recollected. A monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent. mindful, recollected, having put away covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Similarly, it was contemplating feelings, mind, dhamma, ardent, clear, mindful, recollected, having put away covetousness and grief. So that is how to practice sati. So sati is not general mindfulness. Sati, we use the word mindfulness, it is a specific mindfulness directed only to four things, to the body, feelings, mind and dhamma. So dhamma of course is the Buddha's teachings. Sati, when we said to be recollection, that means putting your mind only in these four objects of recollection or you can say sati means remembering to put your attention or your mindfulness only on four things. The first one it says, well contemplating the body in the body. Probably it means contemplating body in the body. That means your mind is not scattered. You're not like contemplating body among your thoughts. If you have a lot of thoughts, or stray thoughts, then you might attempt to contemplate the body. For example, the breath body. When you practice Anapanasati, trying to be mindful of the breath. But sometimes, a beginner will have a lot of stray thoughts. So when you have a lot of stray thoughts, you're trying to contemplate the body among the thoughts. But here it says, contemplating the body in the body. nowhere else. So it's a one-pointed attention on the body to the exclusion of everything else. Similarly, contemplating feelings, mind and dhamma. Dhamma is the Buddha's teachings and actually among all the four things, the Dhamma is the most important because later you will find out that out of five vocations in which a person attains liberation or Arahanthood, four of them have to do with contemplating Dhamma. So that is Sakti, how to practice Sakti, contemplating only four things. And how to practice Sampajñānya. Sakti Sampajñānya. Sampajñānya, the translation is full awareness or mindfulness. So here, Buddha says if a person practices Sampajñānya, then he is very mindful of his actions when going forward and returning and looking ahead, looking aside. When drawing in and extending his limbs, when wearing his robes, carrying his bowl and eating, drinking, urinating, walking, standing, sitting, everything is mindful. So this is the meaning of Sampajanya, mindful. Though sometimes people confuse, they say that Sati is mindful. It's actually Sampajanya, the meaning is mindful. So the Buddha says to the Sikh monks, you should wait your time, wait your time to pass away. But in the meantime, you should practice sati sampajanya. Monks, while a monk dwells thus, recollected and mindful, diligent, ardent and resolute, if there arises in him a pleasant feeling, he understands thus, there has arisen in me a pleasant feeling. Now, that is dependent, not independent. Dependent on what? Dependent on this very body. But this body is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen. So, when the pleasant feeling has arisen in dependence on a body that is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen, how could it be permanent? He dwells contemplating impermanence in the body and in pleasant feeling. He dwells contemplating vanishing contemplating fading away contemplating cessation contemplating relinquishment stop here for a moment so here he contemplates impermanence in the body and in the pleasant feeling and how they can vanish away fade away they can cease and So, he should contemplate also on letting go of the replenishment of them. As he dwells thus, the underlying tendency to lust in regard to the body and in regard to pleasant feeling is abandoned by him. Let's stop here for a moment. So the Buddha says if a monk practices sati sampajani and then when pleasant feeling arises, he knows that pleasant feeling is only temporary. It depends on conditions. It depends on the existence of the body and other factors. But the body is impermanent. So the body is impermanent The pleasant feeling is also impermanent. So he contemplates how they can pass away. So you can see impermanence, then the underlying tendency to lust for the body and for pleasant feeling is abandoned in him. Monks, while a monk dwells thus, eclectic and mindful, diligent, ardent and resolute. If there arises in him a painful feeling, he understands thus, there has arisen in me a painful feeling. Now that is dependent, not dependent on just this body. But this body is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen. So when the painful feeling has arisen in dependence on a body that is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen, how could it be permanent? He dwells contemplating impermanence in the body and in painful feeling. He dwells contemplating vanishing, contemplating fading away, contemplating cessation, contemplating relinquishment. As he dwells thus, the underlying tendency to aversion in regard to the body and in regard to painful feeling is abandoned by him. Monks, while a monk dwells thus, recollected and mindful, diligent, ardent and resolute, if there arises in him neither painful nor pleasant feeling, he understands thus, there has arisen in me neither painful nor pleasant feeling. Now that is dependent, not independent. Dependent on what? Dependent on just this body. But this body is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen. So when the neither painful nor pleasant feeling has arisen in dependence on a body that is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen, how could it be permanent? He dwells contemplating impermanence in the body and in neither painful nor pleasant feeling. He dwells contemplating vanishing, contemplating fading away, contemplating cessation, contemplating relinquishment. As he dwells thus, the underlying tendency to ignorance in regard to the body and in regard to neither painful nor pleasant feeling is abandoned by him. If he feels a pleasant feeling, he understands it is impermanent. He understands it is not held It is not held to. He understands. It is not delighted in. If he feels a painful feeling, he understands. It is impermanent. He understands. It is not held to. He understands. It is not delighted in. If he feels a neither painful nor pleasant feeling, he understands. It is impermanent. He understands. It is not held to. He understands. It is not delighted in. If he feels a pleasant feeling, he feels it detached. If he feels a painful feeling, he feels it detached. If he feels a neither painful nor pleasant feeling, he feels it detached. And if he feels a feeling Yes, he is terminating with the body. He understands. I feel a feeling terminating with the body. And he feels a feeling terminating with life. He understands. I feel a feeling terminating with life. He understands. With the breakup of the body, following the exhaustion of life, all that is felt, not being delighted in, will become cool right here. Just as monks, an oil lamp burns in dependence on the oil and the wick, and with the exhaustion of the oil and the wick, it is extinguished through lack of fuel. So too monks, when a monk understands a feeling, terminating with the body, terminating with life, he understands, with the breakup of the body following the exhaustion of life, all that is felt, not being delighted in, will become cool right here. That's the end of the sutta. This last part says, when he feels a feeling terminating with the body. It's a bit hard to understand what's a feeling terminating with the body. But the Pali Text Society translation says, when he feels a feeling that his bodily endurance has reached its limit, he understands that he so feels. When he feels a feeling that life has reached its limit, he understands that his soul feels. So the first part, according to the Pali Text Society, that his bodily endurance has reached its limit. Maybe enduring the pain has reached the limit. And the second one is he knows when the life is going to end. So this sutra was spoken for the monks who were in the sick ward. All of them sick, some of them seriously sick. So the Buddha is telling them how to face death, to be recollected and mindful. Recollected means to put their attention on the four stations of sati or satipatthana, not to think of unwholesome thoughts. And then on top of that, to practice Sampajanya, mindfulness of the body actions. When we are mindful of our body actions, it helps to keep our mind focused. Our mind does not run away. When our mind runs away, then we forget about our body. That's why mindfulness of the body is always stressed by the Buddha, probably for this reason, so that our mind does not stray away. So if a monk practices sati sampajani and whatever feeling arises, he knows that it is impermanent, it's not attached to it, he knows that it will pass away. And the last part it says, with the breakup of the body following the exhaustion of life, all that is felt not being delighted in will become cool right here. So when our life comes to an end, all whatever feelings we felt, all will become cool. So whatever we thought was important when we die, it's all no more important. When we die, the most important thing is where we are going. A lot of people, they don't prepare for that moment when we have to go off. Then they start crying because they are not prepared. But if you are prepared, then at the last moment we will have our confidence. The next sutra is 36.11 on page 1270. Then a certain monk approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, and said to Him, Here, Venerable Sir, while I was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in my mind thus. Three feelings have been spoken of by the Blessed One. Pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither painful nor pleasant feeling. These three feelings have been spoken of by the Blessed One. But the Blessed One has said, whatever is felt is included in suffering. Now, with reference to what was this stated by the Blessed One? Whatever is felt is included in suffering. And the Buddha said, Good, good monk. These three feelings have been spoken of by me. Pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither painful nor pleasant feeling. These three feelings have been spoken of by me. And I have also said, whatever is felt is included in suffering. That has been stated by me with reference to the impermanence of conditioners. The Pali word is sankara. Here it says formations. But I like to translate it as conditioners. Earlier we read conditioners condition other things. That has been stated by me with reference to conditioners being subject to destruction, to conditioners being subject to vanishing, to conditioners being subject to fading away, to conditioners being subject to cessation, to conditioners being subject to change. Stop here for a moment. This word Sankara, it means conditioners, that which condition something else. And in relation to our body, the main Sankara is volition, free will. And we use our will, then we condition the world around us, condition a lot of things with our free will. So, Conditioners generally condition other things. For example, when A comes into existence and then because of A, then B comes into existence. So A is the conditioner of B, and B is the conditioned thing. But after B arises, it will condition C to arise. So B then becomes the conditioner of C, and C becomes the conditioned thing. So in this world, everything are conditioners as well as conditioned things. Then the Buddha said, Then, monk, I have also taught the successive cessation of conditioners. For one who has attained the first jhāna, speech has ceased. For one who has attained the second jhāna, thought directed and sustained have ceased. For one who has attained the third jhāna, delight has ceased, piti. For one who has attained the fourth jhāna, breathing has ceased. For one who has attained the base of the infinity of space, the perception of form has ceased. For one who has attained the base of the infinity of consciousness, the perception pertaining to the base of the infinity of space has ceased. For one who has attained the base of nothingness, the perception pertaining to the base of the infinity of consciousness has ceased. For one who has attained the base of neither perception nor non-perception, the perception pertaining to the base of nothingness has ceased. For one who has attained the cessation of perception and feeling, perception and feeling have ceased. For a monk whose stains are destroyed, lust has ceased, hatred has ceased, delusion has ceased." Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, he has taught the successive cessation of conditioners. What do you mean by that? You see, for the second jhāna, some other suttas have mentioned this. When you attain the second jhāna, the thought directed and sustained have ceased. Now, thought is a conditioner, because you must have thought before you can speak. So, when a person attains the second jhāna, then the Speech Conditioner. Thought is called the Speech Conditioner. Vaci Sankara. The Speech Conditioner will have ceased. Then when one attains the fourth jhana, breathing stops. Now breathing is the Body Conditioner because for the body to exists to be alive, you need breathing. So breathing is the body conditioner. Body conditioner is called Kaya Sankara. So breathing being the Kaya Sankara, when you attain the fourth jhana, then Kaya Sankara ceases, breathing ceases. And then when you attain the cessation of perception and feeling, perception and feeling ceases. Now when perception and feeling ceases, the mind also ceases because perception and feeling, when it ceases, consciousness also will cease because they all come together. So perception and feeling is the mental conditioner, citta-sankara. So when a person attains a cessation of perception and feeling, citta-sankara ceases. So from here you can see, this is the successive cessation of the sankaras. Ten monks I have taught the successive subsiding of conditioners. For one who has attained the first jhana, speech has subsided. Similarly, for one who has attained the second jhāna, thought has subsided. For one who has attained the third jhāna, delight has subsided. So on, so on, just like before. There are among these six kinds of tranquilization Pasadi. For one who has attained the first jhāna, speech has been tranquilized. For one who has attained the second jhāna, thought directed and sustained has been tranquilized. For one who has attained the third jhāna, delight has been tranquilized. For one who has attained the fourth jhāna, breathing has been tranquilized. For one who has attained the cessation of perception and feeling, Perception and feeling have been tranquillized. For a monk whose asavas are destroyed, lust has been tranquillized, hatred has been tranquillized, delusion has been tranquillized. That's the end of the sutta. So earlier the monk said he doesn't understand what the Buddha means. Whatever is felt is included in suffering. So what the Buddha means is that whatever is felt is impermanent. So because it is impermanent, if you have pleasant feeling when it goes away, then you have suffering. And then if you have unpleasant feeling, it's also suffering. And then the neutral feeling, I guess if you are ignorant of it, it's also maybe considered as suffering. Then the Buddha taught Talking about the various jhanas. How can you attain one jhana after another? Certain conditions cease. If I go to the next sutra, it is 36.19, Panchakanga. This sutra is also found in the Majjhima Nikaya, sutra number 59. Then the carpenter Panchakanga approached the Venerable Udayi, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and asked him, Venerable Udayi, how many kinds of feelings have been spoken by the Blessed One? And he said, three kinds of feelings, carpenter, has been spoken of by the Blessed One. Pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither painful nor pleasant feeling. These are the three kinds of feelings that have been spoken of by the Blessed One. When this was said, the carpenter Panchakanga said to the Venerable Uday, The Blessed One did not speak of three kinds of feelings, Venerable Uday. He spoke of two kinds of feelings, pleasant feeling and painful feeling. As to this neither painful nor pleasant feeling, Venerable Sir, the Blessed One has said that this is included in the peaceful and sublime pleasure. The second time and the third time the rebel Udayi stated his position, and the second time and the third time the carpenter Panchakanga stated his, but the rebel Udayi could not convince the carpenter Panchakanga, nor could the carpenter Panchakanga convince the rebel Udayi. Venerable Ananda heard this conversation between the Venerable Udayi and the carpenter Panchakanga. Then he approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, and reported to the Blessed One the entire conversation. The Blessed One said, Ananda, it was a true method of exposition that the Carpenter Panchakanga would not approve of from the monk Udayi. And it was a true method of exposition that the monk Udayi would not approve of from the Carpenter Panchakanga. I have spoken of two kinds of feelings by one method of exposition. I have spoken of 3 kinds of healings by another method of exposition. I have spoken of 5 kinds of healings. Similarly, I have spoken of 6 kinds of healings, 18 kinds of healings, 36 kinds of healings, and I have spoken of 108 kinds of healings by still another method of exposition. Thus Ananda, the Dhamma has been taught by me to different methods of exposition. I'll stop here for a moment. That's why from here you can see why it's important to study many suttas. Because if you study one sutta, you find the Buddha says there are only two kinds of healings. Then you have this view, like this carpenter, he says the Buddha says there's only two kinds of healings. But the Venerable Udayi, he heard another talk by the Buddha, where the Buddha said there are three kinds of healings. Then he insists that there are only three kinds of healings. But actually, the Buddha says he has given many talks and given different kinds of teachings, saying not only two and three kinds of healings, there are also five kinds, six kinds, eighteen kinds, thirty-six kinds and a hundred and eight kinds of healings. The Dharma has been taught by me in such a way, through different methods of exposition. It may be expected of those who will not concede, allow, and approve of what is well stated and well spoken by others, that they will become contentious and quarrelsome and engage in disputes, and that they will dwell stabbing each other with verbal daggers. But when the Dhamma has been taught by me in such a way, through different methods of exposition, it may be expected of those who will concede, allow, and approve of what is well stated and well spoken by others, that they will live in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes. Ananda, there are these five courts of sensual pleasure. What five? Forms cognizable by the eye that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. Similarly, there are sounds cognizable by the ear, odours cognizable by the nose, tastes cognizable by the tongue, tactile objects cognizable by the body, that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. These are the five courts of sensual pleasure. The pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on these five courts of sensual pleasure. This is called sensual pleasure. Though some may say, this is the supreme pleasure and joy that beings experience, I would not concede this to them. Why is that? Because there is another kind of happiness more excellent and sublime than that happiness. And what is that other kind of happiness? Here Ananda, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a monk enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained. Delight and happiness born of seclusion. This is that other kind of happiness, more excellent and sublime than the previous kind of happiness. Let's stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha is saying that worldly pleasure is enjoyment of forms, of sounds, I can say sights, sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch. And most worldly people, since they know of no higher pleasure, they only enjoy this worldly sensual pleasure. But the Buddha says a higher type of pleasure, a higher kind of happiness, is the first jhāna. And the definition of the first jhāna is very clear here. Not like the Vipassana, Jhana we heard yesterday. And then the Buddha continued, Though some may say this is the supreme pleasure and joy that beings experience, I would not concede this to them. Why is that? Because there is another kind of happiness more excellent and sublime than that happiness. And what is that other kind of happiness? Here, Ananda, with the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, a monk enters and dwells in the second jhāna, which has internal confidence and unification of mind. It is without thought directed and sustained. and has delight and happiness born of concentration. This is that other kind of happiness, more excellent and sublime than the previous kind of happiness. Though some may say, this is the supreme pleasure and joy that beings experience, I would not conceive this to them. Why is that? Because there is another kind of happiness more excellent and sublime than that happiness. And what is that other kind of happiness? Here ananda, with the fading away as well of delight, among dwells equanimous and mindful and clearly comprehending. He experiences happiness with the body. He enters and dwells in the third jhāna, of which the noble ones declare, he is equanimous, collected, one who dwells happily. This is that other kind of happiness, more excellent and sublime than the previous kind of happiness. Though some may say, stop here for a moment, at this third jhāna, he is equanimous, Here it says mindful. The word is Sato. It's from Sati. It's collected. So some monks, they don't understand the state of jhana. They say, what's the use of jhāna? When you are in jhāna, you are not mindful. But if you look at the third jhāna, when the monk enters the third jhāna, he's very mindful. It's not like some monks think, when you enter jhāna, it's like a trance state. You don't know anything, as though you're asleep. There's some monks, they say, when they come out of jhāna, only they know that they were in jhāna. Then that is not jhāna. That was a sleep state. But here, this jhāna is very mindful, very collected. And then the Buddha continued, though some may say this is the supreme pleasure and joy that beings experience, I would not conceive this to them. Why is that? Because there is another kind of happiness more excellent and sublime than that happiness. And what is that other kind of happiness? Here Ananda, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous passing away of joy and displeasure, a monk enters and dwells in the fourth jhāna, which is neither painful nor pleasant, and includes the purification of mindfulness by equanimity. Actually, I think a better translation is perfect purification of Sati and Purnimiti. So this is that other kind of happiness, more excellent and sublime than the previous one, than the previous kind of happiness. So here you see in the definition of the four jhana, the Sati is completely purified. I think Pari Suddhi or something like that. Complete purification of In other words, sati cannot be more perfect than in this fourth jhāna. So it's not that there's no sati in the fourth jhāna. And then Buddha continued, though some may say this is the supreme pleasure and joy that beings experience, I would not concede this to them. Why is that? Because there is another kind of happiness more excellent and sublime than that happiness. And what is that other kind of happiness? Here Ananda, with the complete transcendence of perceptions of forms, with the passing away of perceptions of sensory impingement, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity, aware that space is infinite, a monk enters and dwells in the base of the infinity of space. This is that other kind of happiness more excellent and sublime than the previous kind of happiness. I'll stop here for a moment to comment on this base of the infinity of space. You see, when a monk enters this state, there is complete transcendence of perceptions of forms. He's no more aware of forms. And also the passing away of perceptions of sensory impingement. In other words, the senses, you can see the senses close. So it's actually only in this first Arupajana that the five sense doors close. Though some may say this is the supreme pleasure and joy that beings experience, I would not concede this to them. Why is that? Because there is another kind of happiness more excellent and sublime than that happiness. And what is that other kind of happiness? Here Ananda, by completely transcending the base of the infinity of space, aware that consciousness is infinite, A monk enters and dwells in the base of the infinity of consciousness. This is that other kind of happiness, more excellent and sublime than the previous kind of happiness. Though some may say, this is the supreme pleasure and joy that beings experience, I would not concede this to them. Why is that? Because there is another kind of happiness, more excellent and sublime than that happiness. And what is that other kind of happiness? Here Ananda, by completely transcending the base of the infinity of consciousness, aware that there is nothing, the monk enters and dwells in the base of nothingness. This is that other kind of happiness, more excellent and sublime than the previous kind of happiness. Though some may say, this is the supreme pleasure and joy that beings experience, I would not concede this to them. Why is that? Because there is another kind of happiness, more excellent and sublime than that happiness. And what is that other kind of happiness? Here Ananda, by completely transcending the base of nothingness. A monk enters and dwells in the base of neither perception nor non-perception. This is that other kind of happiness, more excellent and sublime than the previous kind of happiness. Though some may say this is the supreme pleasure and joy that beings experience, I would not concede this to them. Why is that? Because there is another kind of happiness more excellent and sublime than that happiness. And what is that other kind of happiness? Here, Ananda, by completely transcending the base of neither perception nor non-perception, a monk enters and dwells in the cessation of perception and feeling. This is that other kind of happiness more excellent and sublime than the previous kind of happiness. Now, it is possible, Ananda, that wanderers of other sects might speak thus. The ascetic Gautama speaks of the cessation of perception and feeling, and he maintains that it is included in happiness. What is that? How is that? When wanderers of other sects speak thus ananda, they should be told, the Blessed One, friends, does not describe a state as included in happiness only with reference to pleasant feeling, but rather, friends, wherever happiness is found, and in whatever way, the Tathagata describes that as included in happiness. the end of the sutta. So here you see the different states of happiness are going higher and higher. And the highest is this cessation of perception and feeling. When perception and feeling ceases, it also means that consciousness ceases. The sixth consciousness at the sense basis ceases. and there is no higher happiness than that because that is the state of parinibbana. When a monk dies and enters parinibbana, then the sixth consciousness stops. Even though there is no feeling, the Buddha says, Nibbanam paramam sukham. Nibbana is the highest bliss. When there is attainment of cessation of consciousness, Since there is no consciousness, there is no self. When there is no self, there is the greatest bliss. When we have a self, we keep worrying about the self. So these are the descriptions of the various states of happiness. One higher than the other until the highest is the cessation of perception and feeling.

16SNVedanaCh3620090817

The next sutra is 36.21. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. Then the wanderer, Moliya Sivaka, approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with Him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to the Blessed One, Master Gautama, there are some ascetics and brahmins who hold such a doctrine and view as this. Whatever a person experiences, whether it be pleasant or painful, or neither painful nor pleasant, all that is caused by what was done in the past. What does Master Gautama say about this? In other words, I was trying to say that all feelings are caused by kamma, past kamma. And the Buddha said, some feelings, ivaka, arise here originating from bowel disorders. That some feelings arise here originating from bowel disorders, one can know for oneself, and that is considered to be true in the world. Now when those ascetics and Brahmins hold such a doctrine and view as this, whatever a person experiences, whether it be pleasant or painful, or neither painful nor pleasant, all that is caused by what was done in the past. They overshoot what one knows by oneself, and they overshoot what is considered to be true in the world. Therefore, I say that this is wrong on the part of those ascetics and Brahmins. Some feelings, ivaka, arise here originating from phlegm disorders, originating from wind disorders, originating from an imbalance of the three, originating by change or produced by change of climate, produced by careless behaviour, caused by assault, assault is chance, external happenings, and finally produced as the result of kamma. Some feelings arise here produced as the result of kamma one can know for oneself and that is considered to be true in the world. Now, when those ascetics and Brahmins hold such a doctrine and view as this, whatever a person experiences, whether it be pleasant or painful, or neither painful nor pleasant, all that is caused by what was done in the past, they overshoot what one knows by oneself, and they overshoot what is considered to be true in the world. Therefore, I say that this is wrong on the part of those ascetics and Brahmins. When this was said, the wanderer Mulya Sivaka said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, Magnificent Master Gautama. And then he took refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and became a lay follower. Bile, phlegm, and also wind. Imbalance and climate too. Carelessness and assault. With karma result as the age." So here you can see that when we suffer, that means our body suffers, there are Eight reasons. One is bile disorder, another one is phlegm, another one because of wind, and then the fourth is because of imbalance of the tree. That means imbalance of the bile, phlegm, and the wind. And then the fifth is because of climate change. Six is because of our carelessness. Seven because of chance external happenings. and then the 8 is because of kamma. So not everything is due to kamma. The next sutra, 36.22. Monks, I will teach you a dhamma exposition on the theme of the 108. Listen to that. And what monks is the dhamma exposition on the theme of the 108? I have spoken of two kinds of healings by one method of exposition. I have spoken of three kinds of healings by another method of exposition. I have spoken of five kinds of healings, six kinds of healings, 18 kinds, 36 kinds, and I have spoken of 108 kinds of healings. And what monks are the two kinds of healings, bodily and mental? These are called the two kinds of healings. And what Monks are the three kinds of feelings. Pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither painful nor pleasant feeling. These are the three kinds of feelings. And what monks are the five kinds of feelings? The pleasure faculty, the pain faculty, the joy faculty, the displeasure faculty, the equanimity faculty. These are called the five kinds of feelings. And what marks are the six kinds of feelings? Feeling born of eye contact, feeling born of ear contact, nose contact. tongue contact, body contact, mind contact. These are called the six kinds of feeling. And what amongst are the eighteen kinds of feelings? Six examinations accompanied by joy, six examinations accompanied by displeasure, six examinations accompanied by equanimity. These are called the eighteen kinds of feeling. How do you get the six? It must be at the six-sense doors. At the six-sense doors, if you experience joy, there are six kinds of feelings. And if you experience displeasure, there are another six kinds of feelings. because of the different bases. And then the equanimity, so six times three, 18. And what monks are the 36 kinds of healings? Six types of joy based on the household life. Six types of joy based on renunciation. Six types of displeasure based on the household life. Six types of displeasure based on renunciation. six types of equanimity based on the household life, six types of equanimity based on renunciation. These are called the 36 kinds of healings. And what monks are the 108 kinds of healings? The above 36 feelings in the past, the above 36 feelings in the future, the above 36 feelings at present. These are called the 108 kinds of healings. This monk is the Dharma exposition on the theme of the 108. That's the end. The first two are two kinds of body feelings. Body and mental. Body feelings originate from the body. That means, say, you cut your finger or something. So you have a bodily feeling. And then mental feeling comes from the mind. So for example, if you suffer bodily pain, and then you start thinking about it, And then the more you think, the more you have mental suffering. So the mental suffering comes from the mind. There are three kinds of feeling, this way you understand. The five kinds of feeling, two, the pain and the pleasure from the body, pain and pleasure from the mind, and then the equanimity feeling. Okay, I think it's enough about that sutra. The next sutra is 36.23. Then a certain monk approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, what now is feeling? What is the origin of feeling? What is the way leading to the origination of feeling? What is the cessation of feeling? What is the way leading to the cessation of feeling? What is the gratification in feeling? What is the danger? What is the escape? And the Buddha said, There are among these three feelings, pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither painful nor pleasant feeling. This is called feeling. With the arising of contact, there is the arising of feeling. That means arising of contact at the sixth sense basis. There is the arising of feeling. Craving is the way leading to the origination the way leading to the origination of healing because feeling comes from the body and the body comes from craving. Because of craving, we have rebirth. We have rebirth, the rounds of rebirth. So that's why craving is the way leading to the origination of healing. With the cessation of contact, there is the cessation of feeling. This Noble Eightfold Path is the way leading to the cessation of feeling, that is, right view, right thoughts, etc. The pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on feeling, this is the gratification in feeling. That feeling is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change. This is the danger in feeling. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust for feeling, this is the escape from feeling. That's the end of the sutta. So here you see, it's a very concise explanation of feeling. Feeling arises from contact at the success basis and then the origination of feeling comes from the body and the body comes from craving that produces the round of rebirths. That's why craving is said to be the origination of feeling. Then when there's no contact, there's no feeling. The Noble Eightfold Path is the way leading to the permanent cessation of healing. Okay, the next sutra is 36.31. Monks, there is carnal delight. Here they say rapture, the word is piti. Piti like to translate as delight. There is spiritual delight. There is delight more spiritual than the spiritual. There is carnal happiness, sukha. There is spiritual happiness, and there is happiness more spiritual than the spiritual. There is carnal equanimity, upekka. There is spiritual equanimity, and there is equanimity more spiritual than the spiritual. There is carnal deliverance or liberation or release. The Pali word is vimokkha. There is spiritual release. There is release more spiritual than the spiritual. And what monks is carnal delight? There are monks. These five cause of sensual pleasure. What five? Forms cognizable by the eye that are lovely, enticing, etc. and then sound, smell, taste, touch, that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. These are the five cause of sensual pleasure. The delight that arises in dependence on these five cause of sensual pleasure, this is called carnal delight. And what, I'll stop you for a moment. This delight, pity, is not supposed to be a feeling. feeling is a happiness the pleasure and displeasure and equanimity but this pity is not exactly a feeling Exactly what it is, it's very hard to say because our mind consists of many constituents in the mind. So like feeling, perception, volition and all that are all part of the mind. So this delight is not defined under vedana, not defined under feeling. What mounts is spiritual delight. Here, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a monk enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, with delight and happiness born of seclusion. With the subsiding and thought directed and sustained, he enters and dwells in the second jhāna, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought directed and sustained, and has delight and happiness born of concentration. This is called spiritual delight. So here spiritual delight consists of the first jhāna and the second jhāna. And what mounts is the delight more spiritual than the spiritual. When a monk whose asavas are destroyed reveals his mind liberated from lust, liberated from hatred, liberated from delusion, there arises delight. This is called delight more spiritual than the spiritual. So here you can understand what is this delight. To the layman, delight is just a feeling. But somehow in the Buddha's definition, feeling does not seem to include delight. And what monks is carnal happiness? There are monks. These five cause of sensual pleasure. What five? Forms, sounds, smells, taste and touch that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. The happiness that arises in dependence on these five causes of sensual pleasure, this is called carnal happiness. And what monks is spiritual happiness? Here monks secluded from sensual pleasures. A monk enters and dwells in the first jhāna, second jhāna, third jhāna. This is called spiritual happiness. So spiritual happiness goes up from the first jhāna to the third jhāna. And what monks is happiness more spiritual than the spiritual? When a monk whose asavas are destroyed reveals his mind liberated from lust, liberated from hatred, liberated from delusion, there arises happiness. This is called happiness more spiritual than the spiritual. So you can see the difference maybe. It's a shade of difference between delight and happiness. In the case of this Arahant, he has just become liberated. Then when he reveals his mind having become liberated, You can imagine, probably first he has delight, and then after that is followed by happiness. And what monks? Is carnal equanimity, upekka. There are monks, these five cause of sensual pleasure. What five? Form, sound, smell, taste, touch, that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, etc. These are the five cause of sensual pleasure. The equanimity that arises in dependence on these five cause of sensual pleasure, This is called carnal equanimity. For example, you are on a very hot day, you are bothered by the heat and the dampness, and then you enter a room which is air-con, temperature is just right, and then when you stay in there, then all your disturbed feelings all subside, and then you feel equanimity. And what monks is spiritual equanimity. With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous passing away of joy and displeasure, a monk enters and dwells in the fourth jhana, which is neither painful nor pleasant, and includes the utter purification of sati and equanimity. And what monks is equanimity more So here, this fourth jhāna, there is utter purification of mindfulness and equanimity. That type of equanimity in the fourth jhāna is called the spiritual equanimity. And what mounts is equanimity more spiritual than the spiritual. When a monk whose asavasas are destroyed reveals his mind liberated from lust, liberated from hatred, liberated from delusion, there arises equanimity. This is called equanimity more spiritual than the spiritual. So probably, going back to the example I gave just now, probably the arahant, after he becomes liberated, and then when he reviews his struggle, how he became liberated, first there is delight that he has succeeded, and after that there is happiness. Then after, later, then his mind becomes equanimous. And what monks is carnal release, we mock up. Deliverance or release connected with the form sphere is carnal release. It probably means attainment of the rupajana. And what monks is spiritual release? Release connected with the formless fear is spiritual release. Probably means the arupacana. And what monks is release more spiritual than the spiritual? When a monk whose asavas are destroyed reveals his mind liberated from lust, from hatred, from delusion, there arises release. This is called release more spiritual than the spiritual. That's the end of the sutta. I think I can stop here for tonight. I'll just finish the Vedana Sanghita. Thank you, sir. Just now, in your role as a star of the world, there is an indication that the person who takes birth is a fish, that is a tree, and the second character of the person who takes birth is a tree. When a person attains the first jhāna, his mind is absorbed on the object of his meditation. He has this thought directed and sustained Thought-directed sustain means, for example, he's meditating on the breath, Anapanasati. So when he's putting his mindfulness on the breath, whenever his mind runs away, he directs it back to the breath. That is called thought-directed vittaka. And then vichara is sustaining the attention on the breath, keeping it there. That is vichara. So if he continues like this, then the other factors arise. Piti, sukha and ekagatha arise. Then he has entered the first jhana. So his mind is absorbed in the object of meditation. So he cannot speak. You see, for you to speak, you have to think first. You have to think. But in that state of the first jhana, he cannot think. His mind is already absorbed in the object of meditation. He cannot simply think to talk, so he cannot speak. So in the second jhāna, the thought directed and sustained ceases. After a monk attains the first jhāna, he has to constantly abide in that jhāna until he is quite proficient in that jhāna. Then later, when he wants to enter the second jhāna, instead of putting his attention on the breath, because now he's become, after much practice, he's become quite steady in the first jhāna. After he's got some confidence in the first jhāna, he can stay longer in the first jhāna, then he turns his attention from the breath to the Piti and Sukkha. So when he turns his attention to Piti and Sukkha, that is provided Piti and Sukkha are strong enough. So then his mind absorbs into Piti and Sukkha and he's forgotten about the breath. So when he's forgotten about the breath, then he enters the second jhana. He's no more concerned with the breath. So that paying attention on the breath is that vittaka and vichara. So when he enters the second jhana, there is no more vittaka and vichara. He has released, let go of the vittaka and vichara. And his mind is absorbed on piti and sukha. But then only enters the second jhana. Okay? The Buddha says that perfect samadhi Samma Samadhi in the Noble Eightfold Path is the Four Jhanas. If you have attained the Four Jhanas as mentioned in Samsutta, then everything becomes very clear to you. The mind becomes so clear because it's rid of all the defilements. And also you notice in the definition of the Four Jhana, there's complete purity of Sati. and equanimity, the mind is very equanimous, not disturbed at all. Then, when the person comes out of the fourth jhāna, the mind is so clear that whatever he contemplates, he can understand very well. So like, for example, on the night of the Buddha's enlightenment, he entered the four jhānas, and then he came out of the fourth jhāna, and then he contemplated his past life. Because the mind was so sharp, so strong, it could easily recall the past life. So the four jhanas are enough for a person to have psychic power. So the higher than the four jhanas, the rupa jhanas, the mind wide opens up, opens up to boundless space, boundless consciousness and all that. Those are bonus issues. Not necessary. If you can get that, even better. Normally, the Buddha talks about the four jhanas and the four arupa jhanas. The highest arupa jhana is the state of neither perception nor non-perception, where the mind It's like a candle light which is almost about to blow off. Sometimes it seems that there is light, sometimes there is no light. So the consciousness is waning. The consciousness is about to go off. So sometimes there is perception, sometimes there is no perception. That's why it says neither perception nor non-perception. There is a very high state where the mind is almost going to stop already. Then after that is a cessation of perception and feeling. That is not included under the Arupa Jhana, but it can be considered as a kind of concentration, the topmost, the highest, where the mind, just consciousness just stops. The perception and feeling stops and consciousness stops, and all the rest, feeling, perception, volition, thinking everything stops now. I never thought of that before. Here, none doubt, the abandoning of pleasure and pain. Is this pleasure and pain? Is body pleasure and pain? And then with the previous passing way of joy and displeasure, this mental pleasure and pain, a monk enters and dwells in the fourth jhāna, which is neither painful nor pleasant, and includes the purification of mind. So from here it appears like equanimity is similar to the state of neither painful nor pleasant feeling. But this, you know, like for people in their normal consciousness, normal state of consciousness, we may experience this neither painful nor pleasant feeling, that means this equanimous, equanimous feeling for a short while, and then you will be quickly succeeded by other feelings. because our feelings are changing so fast. I remember the simile given by the Buddha is that like the raindrops falling on the pond. As soon as one drop of rain falls on the surface of the pond, a bubble arises and then it bursts. And then another drop falls and then a bubble arises and it bursts. So when it rains, there's a lot of raindrops. So the feelings arise and pass away like the many bubbles arise and pass away. But in the fourth jhāna is different. In the fourth jhāna, the mental happiness and suffering has stopped. The bodily happiness and pain also has stopped. So he's completely equanimous for as long as he remains in the fourth jhāna. If he stays in that fourth jhāna 24 hours, then for 24 hours he only experiences this equanimity, neither painful nor pleasant. That's why it's called utter purification, sati and equanimity. I think this translation is wrong. Purification of mindfulness by equanimity. It is a complete purification of sati and equanimity. Which one? Are you talking about the fourth jhāna or not? I'm talking about the pinning. That one is the neither pin foot. In the sutta it is mentioned that neutral feeling, there is a tendency to be ignorant of it. Being ignorant of it means that you don't notice it. But whether you notice it or you don't notice it, it still exists. It doesn't matter whether you notice it or you don't notice it. It is still equanimity. What I mean is that when a person is actually ignorant, so you feel the mind has come to know present meaning. When a person doesn't have This ignorance is different from the dependent origination ignorance. This is ignorant of the feeling. Not aware, not mindful of the feeling. neither painful nor pleasant feeling. There is a kind of mandatory feeling that way. So when he doesn't have any more ignorance, he realizes the truth and all this. So he will have that equanimous feeling. It's the same, isn't it? It's the same, but because of the ignorance there. When a person is ignorant and the other person doesn't have ignorance anymore. I don't see the point. What is the point? Now we are talking about what's the difference between equanimity and neither painful nor pleasant feeling. That is different. That means this feeling, the feeling neither painful nor pleasant feeling is still not arising. This feeling can be like common people who have this feeling. I don't think so. Is that what you're trying to say? In this way, we are discovering the meaning. A person who is feeling this way, the other person who is feeling this way, the same feeling, the same feeling, but in a different way. But where is it stated? It is stated in the Bible. Ah, yes. So the carnal equanimity is this sensual pleasure can also give rise to equanimity sometimes. As I mentioned, when a person is very hot, outside is very hot, is bothered by the heat. So he's feeling unpleasant body feeling and unpleasant mental feeling. Then he enters the air-con room. Then the air-con cools down all his feelings. Then he's feeling equanimity. So this equanimity, Putujana can also experience. It's also called equanimity. And then spiritual equanimity, that's on page 1285. 1285, carnal equanimity is because of the five courts of sensual pleasure, he can also experience equanimity. And spiritual equanimity is the fourth jhāna. It's a higher kind of equanimity because it lasts long. If he enters the jhāna for one hour, he experiences only equanimity for one hour. Whereas the other one, the first one, carnal equanimity, the feelings are changing all the time. So he may feel equanimous for a short while, and then after that, his feelings change again. So equanimity is not only experienced by the arahant, it's experienced by puthujana, it can be experienced by anybody. Can you give us an example of a carnal equanimity? Yeah, yeah, yeah No, you didn't notice. I explained this, I think, more than once. That if a normal, an ordinary person, you are moved by the six sense objects like sights, sounds, smells, tastes and all that, because you pay attention to them. Then when you are moved by them, when they give you pleasant feeling, you crave for it. So that craving for it gives rise to covetousness. Covetousness is wanting to covet, wanting to possess. So wanting to possess something is an unwholesome state. It's an unwholesome state. It gives rise to depalments. And then if you cannot get it, you cannot get it, then you feel grief. the other extreme, you feel grief. So that's why if a person is not careful, he doesn't guard the six sense doors, then he will feel this unwholesome states of covetousness and grief coming to attack him. Having put aside, that means he has trained his mind to be to withdraw from the six sense bases and put it only on the four objects of Satipaṭṭhāna. So when he puts it only on the four objects of Satipaṭṭhāna, then he has put aside the covetousness and the grief for worldly things, because he does not pay attention to the six sense doors. Right? It depends because this satipatthana is just like concentration. If a monk is trying to practice concentration, if he has not perfected his concentration, has not attained jhāna, he is only trying to attain jhāna. So in the same way, if a person is practicing satipatthana, it might be that he is only trying to practice satipatthana, he has not perfected it yet. But when he has perfected it, then he attains Samadhi. Is that what the notes say in the commentary? Oh, there's a commentary slide. Probably there's a wrong interpretation. There's a danger with commentarial interpretations. Sometimes they misinterpret something. What's the danger between Samadhi and Jhana? Okay, Samadhi means concentration, okay? Now, in the Suttas, in the Noble Eightfold Path, the Buddha talks about Samma Samadhi, as perfect Samadhi. Perfect Samadhi in the Suttas is the four Jhanas. That means you must attain up to the fourth Jhana. That is perfect Samadhi. But sometimes in the Suttas, whenever the Suttas talk about Samadhi, the Buddha automatically means perfect Samadhi. But that means, since perfect samadhi is the fourth jhāna, so the first jhāna is not perfect samadhi. It's just concentration, it's just samadhi, one type of samadhi. First, second and third. It's not perfect samadhi. So jhāna, first jhāna, second jhāna, third jhāna, it's not necessarily perfect samadhi. Only the fourth jhāna is perfect samadhi. In other words, to become an arahant, you need four jhānas. If you have just one, two, and three, you might become a sakadagamin, second fruit attainer. If you want to attain third fruit and fourth fruit, you must have four jhānas. So you look in the case of our Siddhartha Gautama, our Buddha, he said in the previous life, he had met the Buddha Kassapa. And then after learning the Dhamma from the Buddha Kassapa, he renounced, became a monk. And then after that lifetime, he went to the Tusita Heaven. And after Tusita Heaven, he came down as Siddhartha Gautama, and became the Sakyamuni Buddha. So when he was a small boy, Siddhartha Gautama, about 10 years old, could attain the first jhāna, right? It's mentioned. So since as a small boy he could attain the first jhāna, it shows most probably he learned this first jhāna when he was a monk under the Buddha Kassapa. That means in that lifetime as a monk under Buddha Kassapa, he did not attain higher than the first jhāna. So having attained the first jhana and learned the Dhamma, very probably he became a Sakadagamin. That's why when he went up to Sita Heaven and came down on Siddhartha Gautama, it was time for him to attain enlightenment. Sakadagamin is a once-returner, comes back as a human being only once, must enter Nibbana. If you want to understand, then you look into the sutra, the description of the first jhāna In the description of the first jhāna, Buddha says, secluded or aloof, aloof from sensual pleasures, aloof from unwholesome states, aloof from sensual pleasures, that means he doesn't pay any attention to the sense doors, does not pay attention to sights, sounds, smells, tastes and all that. And then, aloof from unwholesome states, He has no unwholesome thoughts, does not think about the house, does not think about the office and all that. Then the monk enters and dwells in the first jhana, which is accompanied by five factors, vittaka, vichara, thought directed and sustained, and then piti and sukha, delight and happiness, and then ekagata, one-pointed mind. So, if you enter the first jhana, you must have these five factors. If you don't have these five factors, and you have not entered, and you notice these five factors does not include the light. Nowadays, a lot of meditation teachers talk about the light. It's not inside here. Okay, shall we stop here tonight?

17SNMatugamaCh37JambukhadakaCh3820090818

Today is the 18th of August, and we have just come to the 37th chapter of Samyutta Nikaya, called the Mathu Gama Samyutta, connected discourses concerning women. The sutra is 37.1. The Buddha said that monks When a woman possesses five factors, she is extremely disagreeable to a man. But why? She is not beautiful, not wealthy, not virtuous. She is lethargic and lazy. And she does not beget children. When a woman possesses these five factors, she is extremely disagreeable to a man. Monks, when a woman possesses five factors, she is extremely agreeable to a man. What five? She is beautiful, wealthy, virtuous, she is clever and industrious, and she begets children. When a woman possesses these five factors, she is extremely agreeable to a man, attractive to a man. Then the next sutta is a converse slant. 37.2. Monks. When a man possesses five factors, he is extremely disagreeable to a woman. But five, he is not handsome, not wealthy, not virtuous, he is lethargic, and he does not beget children. When a man possesses these five factors, he is extremely disagreeable to a woman. Monks. When a man possesses five factors, he is extremely agreeable to a woman. What five? He is handsome, wealthy, virtuous, he is clever and industrious, and he begets children. When a man possesses these five factors, he is extremely agreeable to a woman. So these two sitas, for a person to be attractive to another, agreeable to another, these are the five conditions. Beautiful, handsome, wealthy, virtuous, hard-working, diligent, and can get children. It's one of those worldly suttas. 37.3. I guess these conditions, up to today or so, 37.3. Monks, there are five kinds of suffering peculiar to women, which women experience but not men. What five? Dear monks, even when young, a woman goes to live with her husband's family and is separated from her relatives. This is the first kind of suffering peculiar to women. Again, a woman is subject to menstruation. This is the second kind of suffering peculiar to women. Again, a woman becomes pregnant. This is the third kind of suffering peculiar to women. Again, a woman gives birth. This is the fourth kind of suffering peculiar to women. Again, a woman is made to serve a man. This is the fifth kind of suffering peculiar to women. These monks, the five kinds of suffering peculiar to women, which women experience but not men. But nowadays, the world has changed a bit. Some women, they are a bit liberated. They don't suffer all these five. The first one, a woman in those days, when a woman gets married, has to go and stay with the husband's family. Nowadays, it's not true. Nowadays, a lot of women, they don't get pregnant or give birth or serve a man. 37.4, the Buddha said. Monks, when a woman possesses three qualities with the breakup of the body after death, she is generally reborn in a state of misery, in a bad destination, in the netherworld, in hell. What are the three? Dear monks, in the morning, a woman dwells at home with her heart obsessed by the taint of selfishness. At noon, she dwells at home with her heart obsessed by envy. In the evening, she dwells at home with her heart obsessed by sensual lust. When a woman possesses these qualities, she is generally reborn in a state of misery in hell. I guess these three qualities also applies to a man. A man is selfish, and then envious, and then lustful also will go to hell. 37.5. Then the Venerable Anuruddha approached the Blessed One, paid respect and all that, and sat down and said to him, Here, Venerable Sir, with a divine eye which is purified and surpasses the human, I see women with the breakup of the body after death being reborn in a state of misery. in a bad destination, in the netherworld, in hell. When a woman possesses how many qualities willables serve? Is she reborn thus? And the Buddha said, Anruddha, when a woman possesses five qualities, with the breakup of the body after death, she is reborn in a state of misery, in a bad destination, the netherworld, in hell. But five, she is without faith. That means without faith in the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha. Shameless, unafraid of wrongdoing, angry, unwise. When a woman possesses these five qualities, she is reborn in a state of misery in hell. These qualities also apply equally to a man. A man is without faith, shameless, unafraid of wrongdoing, angry, unwise, he will also go to hell. 37.24 The Buddha said, when Anuruddha, a woman possesses five qualities, with the breakup of the body after death, she is reborn in a good destination in the heavenly world. But other five, she abstains from the destruction of life, that means she does not kill, abstains from taking what is not given, does not steal, abstains from sexual misconduct. from adultery, abstains from false speech, abstains from wine, liquor and intoxicants that cause negligence. When a woman possesses these five qualities, with the breakup of the body after death, she is reborn in a good destination in a heavenly world. And this applies equally to men. Whoever keeps the five precepts will go for a good rebirth. Those who constantly break the five precepts will go to the woeful destinations of rebirth. 37.27 Buddha said, monks, there are five powers of a woman. What are the five? The power of beauty, the power of wealth, the power of relatives, the power of sons, the power of virtue. These are the five powers of a woman. When a woman possesses these five powers, she abides with her husband under her control. So these five qualities makes a woman have some power in the world and control the husband. Beauty, wealth. Power of relatives means he has a lot of relatives, especially powerful relatives, influential relatives. Power of sons means have a lot of sons. 37.28. Monks, when a man possesses one power, he abides with a woman under his control. What is that one power? Power of authority. When a woman has been overcome by the power of authority, neither the power of beauty can rescue her, nor the power of wealth, nor the power of relatives, nor the power of sons, nor the power of virtue. So, for example, a king has power, so everybody fears him, including women. 37.30. Buddha said, monks, there are these five powers of a woman. What are these five? The power of beauty, the power of wealth, the power of relatives, the power of sons, the power of virtue. If monks, a woman possesses the power of beauty, but not the power of virtue, they expel her. They do not accommodate her in the family. Right? She may be beautiful, but if she's does not have any virtue at all. They keep her out of the house. If monks, a woman possesses the powers of beauty and wealth, but not the power of virtue, still they expel her. They do not accommodate her in the family. If monks, a woman possesses the powers of beauty, wealth and relatives, but not the power of virtue, they expel her. They do not accommodate her in the family. If monks, a woman possesses the powers of beauty, wealth, relatives and sons, but not the power of virtue, they expel her, they do not accommodate her in the family. So you see, out of these five qualities, the virtue is the most important. If monks, a woman possesses the power of virtue, but not the power of beauty, they accommodate her in the family, they do not expel her. If monks, a woman possesses the power of virtue, but not the power of wealth, they accommodate her in the family, they do not expel her. If monks, a woman possesses the power of virtue, but not the power of relatives, they accommodate her in the family, they do not expel her. Dear monks, a woman possesses the power of virtue, but not the power of sons. They accommodate her in the family. They do not expel her. These are the five powers of a woman. So you see, out of these powers, the power of virtue is the most important, even for rebirth. Monks, there are these five powers of a woman. What are the five? The power of beauty, the power of wealth, the power of relatives, the power of sons, the power of virtue. These are the five monks. It is not because of the power of beauty, or the power of wealth, or the power of relatives, or the power of sons, that with the breakup of the body after death, a woman is reborn in a good destination in a heavenly world. It is because of the power of virtue that a woman is reborn in a good destination in a heavenly world. These are the five powers of a woman. So you see, of these five powers, only the power of virtue can bring you to heaven, not the others. 37.32. Monks, there are five situations that are difficult to obtain for a woman who has not done merit. What are the five? She may wish, May I be born into a suitable family. This is the first situation that is difficult to obtain for a woman who has not done merit. She may wish, having been born into a suitable family, may I marry into a suitable family. This is the second situation that is difficult to obtain for a woman who has not done merit. She may wish, having been born into a suitable family and having married into a suitable family, may I dwell at home without a rival. This is the third situation that is difficult to obtain for a woman who has not done merit. She may wish, having been born into a suitable family, and having married into a suitable family, and dwelling at home without a rival, may I bear sons. This is the fourth situation that is difficult to obtain for a woman who has not done merit. She may wish, having been born into a suitable family, and having married into a suitable family, and dwelling at home without a rival, and having born sons, may I abide with my husband under my control. This is the fifth situation that is difficult to obtain for a woman who has not done merit. There are these five situations that are difficult to obtain for a woman who has not done merit. monks, there are these five situations that are easy to obtain for a woman who has done merit. What are the five? She may wish, may I be born into a suitable family. This is the first situation that is easy to obtain for a woman who has done merit. She may wish, having born into a suitable family, may I be married into a suitable family. That is also easy to obtain. And then she Must you dwell at home without a rival, without a second wife? And that also easy for her to obtain if she has done merit. And if she wants to have many sons, that also is easy for her to obtain if she has done merit. And if she wants to control the husband, put the husband under her thumb, this is also easy for her if she has done merit in the past. These are the five situations that are easy to obtain for a woman who has done merit. So doing merit, meritorious deeds, is very important so that we can get what we want. And what are the ways to do meritorious deeds? The formula is dāna, sīla, bhāvanā. Dāna is doing charity. Sīla is keeping the precepts so that you don't harm other living beings. The basic is the five precepts. and also we have to know the 10 unwholesome karmas and to refrain from doing the 10 unwholesome karmas. And then the third is Bhavana. Bhavana is development of the mind. Through studying the Dhamma we get wisdom and then meditating to control our mind. In the last Uttara in this chapter, 37.34, the Buddha said that monks growing in five areas of growth, a woman noble disciple grows with a noble growth and she acquires the essence, acquires the best of this bodily existence. What are the five? She grows in faith, in virtue, in learning, in generosity and in wisdom. Growing in these five areas of growth, a woman noble disciple grows with the noble growth and she acquires the essence, acquires the best of this bodily existence. And she grows here in faith and virtue, in wisdom, generosity and learning. The virtuous woman lay disciple acquires right here the essence for herself. So there are five things that are very good to have. The first one is faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. The second one is virtue. Virtue is moral conduct. Third one is learning. Learning is in our Buddhist teaching, learning means to be learned in the Buddha's discourses. There's a term commonly found in the suttas, bahu-sutta and bahu-sacca. It means much learning of the Buddha's words, the Dhamma. And then the fourth is generosity, to be open-handed, not selfish, to be kind to others. And lastly, wisdom. Wisdom is very important. So these are the five things which are important. Faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom. Now we come to the next chapter, chapter 38. Jambu Kadaka Sangyutta. This course is concerning Jambu Kadaka, the wanderer, the external ascetic. The sutra I read is 38.3. At one time and on one occasion, the Venerable Sariputta was dwelling in Magadha at Nalaka Gama. Then the wanderer Jambu Kadaka approached the Venerable Sariputta and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to the Venerable Sariputta, Friend Sariputta, who are the proponents of Dhamma in the world? Who are practicing well in the world? Who are the fortunate ones in the world? Remember Sariputta replied, Friend, those who teach the Dhamma for the abandonment of lust, for the abandonment of hatred, for the abandonment of delusion, they are the proponents of Dhamma in the world. They are the teachers of Dharma. Those who are practicing for the abandonment of lust, for the abandonment of hatred, for the abandonment of delusion, they are practicing well in the world. Those for whom lust, hatred and delusion have been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like palm stumps, obliterated so that they are no more subject to future arising, they are the fortunate ones in the world. And then he asked, but friend, is there a path? Is there a way for the abandonment of this lust, hatred, and delusion? And then Sariputta said, there is a path, friend. There is a way for the abandonment of this lust, hatred, and delusion. And what, friend, is that path? The Venerable Sariputta said, it is this friend, this noble eightfold path, namely right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection, and right concentration. And then he said, excellent is the path, friend. Excellent is the way for the abandonment of this lust, hatred, and delusion. And it is enough, friend Sariputta, for diligence. Anyone who is supposed to teach the Dhamma should be teaching the Dhamma for the abandoning of lust, hatred and delusion. Nowadays sometimes some people are supposed to teach Dhamma but sometimes they teach worldly Dhamma because worldly Dhamma is more entertaining to a lot of people, not so tough to understand. So some people they like to listen to the Dhamma where they can laugh and be happy. But that doesn't teach you how to abandon lust, hatred and delusion. So in the Buddha's teaching, that is not teaching Dhamma. Those who are practicing well in the world are those who are practicing for abandoning lust, hatred and delusion. So that is real monks. If a monk wears the robe, and he does not practice to abandon lust, hatred, and delusion, then he's not doing the job of a monk. Okay, then next sutra is 38.8. In the same way, this Wanderer, Jambu Kadaka asks about Sariputta. Friend Sariputta, it is said, Asava, Asava, or Thane, Thane. What now is an Asava? And then Venerable Sariputta said, There are, friend, these three Asavas. The Asava of Sensuality, the Asava of Existence, and the Asava of Ignorance. These are the three Asavas. Then he asked, But friend, is there a path, is there a way for the abandonment of these three Asavas? There is a path, friend, there is a way. And this way is the Noble Eightfold Path, as mentioned earlier. So this asava, notice this asava. Asava here, you see there are three asavas. But in some other sutta, they say there are four asavas. They add another one, the asava of views, I think. This Asava, Pali word Asava, comes from a root word that means leakage, outflow. So, when you destroy these Asavas, you have become enlightened, you have broken the wheel of existence. Now, since the world arises only in consciousness, the world exists only within the six sense consciousness, the seeing consciousness, the hearing, smelling, taste, touch, and thinking consciousness. So, because the world exists in the consciousness, as long as consciousness flows, there is the world. So, when consciousness stops flowing and the world ceases, so enlightenment is defined as destruction of the asavas in the suttas. Destruction of the asavas To me it means destruction of the uncontrolled mental outflows, basically the uncontrolled consciousness. So when you stop the tendency of the mind to flow or consciousness to flow, then when that person dies, the consciousness does not flow anymore and he does not take rebirth. so asavas can be translated as the uncontrolled mental outflows 38.9 Again, this wanderer, Nyambu Kadaka asked, Friend Sariputta, it is said, ignorance, ignorance, avijja. What now is ignorance? And Sariputta replied, not knowing suffering, not knowing the origin of suffering, not knowing the cessation of suffering, not knowing the way leading to the cessation of suffering. This is called ignorance. But friend, is there a path, is there a way for the abandonment of this ignorance? There is a path friend, there is a way, namely this Noble Eightfold Path. So this ignorance is not understanding suffering, not exactly not knowing suffering, not understanding suffering, not understanding the origin of suffering, not understanding the cessation of suffering and the way leading to the cessation of suffering. If you understand these four things, then you understand the Four Noble Truths. If you understand it deeply, you will have become enlightened. 38.11. Friends, Sariputta, it is said, flood, flood, Pali word is oga. What now is a flood? And Venerable Sariputta replied, there are, friend, these four floods, the flood of sensuality, the flood of existence, the flood of views, the flood of ignorance, these are the four floods. But friend, is there a path, is there a way for the abandonment of these four floods? There is a path, friend, there is a way, namely this Noble Eightfold Path. These four floods, we have to cross to go to the other shore, to attain Ibana, sensuality or sensual desire and then the second one is a craving for existence and the third is a proliferation of views having all kinds of silly views and then ignorance ignorance of the four noble truths if we overcome all these then we go to the other shore in Iban 38.12 Friend Sariputta, it is said, clinging, clinging. Clinging here is Upadana, another translation is attachment. But now is clinging. There are, friend, these four kinds of clinging or attachment. Clinging to sensual pleasures. Clinging to views. Clinging to rules and vows. Clinging to a doctrine of self. These are the four kinds of clinging. But friend, is there a path, is there a way for the abandonment of these four kinds of clinging? There is a path, friend, there is a way, namely this Noble Eightfold Path. So these four kinds of attachment we have to get rid of if we don't want to take rebirth. Attachment to sensual pleasures, to views, to rules, and Vows, here it says rules and vows, sometimes translated as rules and rituals. And then, clinging to the doctrine of a self, belief that a self exists. This self is a little bit different from the worldly understanding of a self. In Buddhism, we say Anatta. Anatta, there's no self. But in Buddhism, the self means something that is unchanging. Something that is permanent, that will never change, that you can identify as myself. This is me. This is I. But everything in the world is changing. So because everything in the world is changing, whatever you try to identify as yourself, it will cease to exist. Everything in the world arises through conditions and ceases through conditions. Nothing lasts in the world. Nothing lasts forever. So because everything in the world is a flux of energy that keeps changing and changing and changing, you cannot find any single thing, even a small thing, that remains permanently the same. So because there is nothing that remains the same, it arises and passes away, arises and passes away. So there is no thing called the Atta, the Self. 38.14. Friend Sariputta, it is said, suffering, suffering. Must be Dukkha. But now is suffering. They are friend. These three kinds of suffering. The suffering due to pain. The suffering due to Sankaras. Sankaras can be translated as volition. Here it says formations. Thirdly, the suffering due to change. These are the three kinds of suffering. My friend, is there a path, is there a way for the full understanding of these three kinds of suffering? There is, friend. Namely, this Noble Eightfold Path. For these three kinds of suffering, the first one is suffering due to pain. This pain can be bodily pain or mental pain. The suffering due to Volition. This word sankara in the five aggregates, it means volition, will. When you exercise your will, you are creating kamma. When you create kamma, the kamma will ripen, ripen and then you get the vipaka, the ko, in ko. So you create the yin, the cause, the kamma, and then the result comes to you as the guo, the vipakka, kamma vipakka. So this is probably due to that. But according to the commentary, they say something else. They say this word, chankara, refers to conditioned things in the world. So conditioned things in the world rise and fall, rises and ceases, and that gives suffering. but I think maybe it probably means the word Sankara generally is understood as volition. So if you translate it as volition, suffering due to volition, that means due to kamma. The third, due to change. When we are used to something and it changes, It gives us suffering. For example, you are experiencing happiness or you are experiencing contentment and then conditions make it change. And so, you suffer. 38.15. Friend Sariputta, it is said, identity, identity. What now is identity? These five aggregates of attachment, friend, have been called identity by the Blessed One. That is, the body aggregate, the feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness aggregate of attachment. These five aggregates of attachment have been called identity by the Blessed One. Stop here for a moment. Why are they called identity? Because we tend to identify these five things as I or mine. These five things are body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. What do we understand? The other four are the main components of the mind. Feeling, perception, volition and consciousness taken together is supposed to be the mind. These five aggregates also mean the body and the mind. And we identify ourselves with these five aggregates. We take the five aggregates to be I or mine. Or I am in the five aggregates. Or the five aggregates are inside of me. So because we identify the five aggregates with the self, so these five aggregates are called identity. When we identify ourselves with the five aggregates, then we have identity view. My friend, is there a path, is there a way for the full understanding of this identity? There is a path, friend. There is a way for the full understanding of this identity. And what, friend, is that path? What is that way for the full understanding of this identity? It is, friend, this noble eightfold path, namely right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood. right effort, right recollection and right concentration. This is the path friend, this is the way for the full understanding of this identity. The last sutra 38.16 This sutra is quite interesting. Prince Sariputta, what is difficult to do in this Dhamma Vinaya? This Dhamma Vinaya refers to the teachings of the Buddha. In other words, in the Buddhist religion, what is difficult to do? And then Sariputta said, going forth, that means renouncing the home life, going forth is difficult to do in this Dhamma Vinaya. And then again he asked, What friend is difficult to do by one who has gone forth? To find delight or happiness is difficult to do by one who has gone forth. What friend is difficult to do by one who has found delight? To practice in accordance with the Dhamma, friend, is difficult to do by one who has found delight. But friend, if a monk is practicing in accordance with the Dhamma, would it take long to become an arahant? Not long, friend. That's the end of the sutta. So here, this sutta says, this is very interesting, in this Buddhist religion, what is difficult to do is to renounce the home life and go forth as a monk or a nun. And there is a sutta, I think in the Majjhima Nikaya, which gives this simile of the elephant. It's a very beautiful simile. The Buddha says that if you want to get a royal king's elephant, the king's elephant is one of the best elephants that has been trained to fight in battles. When he's trained properly, when he goes to war, he can withstand all the blows, he can withstand the arrows and stand being poked by spear and all that, and he's not afraid, he will fight. The trainer just has to tell him what to do, he will fight just like a warrior. Even if he's trained well enough, he will even give up his life for the trainer. So the Buddha used this elephant simile to say, just like it's very difficult for a person to renounce their home and go forth as a monk or a nun. So what the Buddha says, a wild elephant is also like that. If you want to train an elephant, first you have to bring the elephant out from the forest. To do that, they get a few big elephants and then they catch this elephant, maybe trap it or what. After that, they tie it with strong ropes and a few big elephants will pull it out of the forest. It will resist, it's used to the forest, it doesn't want to come out of the forest. So it will resist very hard, then you have to pull it out. Then after that, you bring it back to the town. Then after you bring it back to the town, you tie it. You tie it, then whether it will survive or not, that is very crucial. If you don't know how to treat it well, it will refuse to eat, it will die. So you have to know how to speak gently to it, give it the type of food it likes to eat, and all that. So, if he starts taking food, then the trainer is very happy, he knows that he will survive. Then after that, the trainer will teach him step by step how to take up the food, put down the food, walk, turn left, turn right, and all that. Gradually, train him, train him, until he's well trained, he becomes elephant, fit for the king. So in the same way, If a person wants to go forth or so, it's the same. Very difficult to pull him out from the home life, to become a monk or a nun. And after, if he comes out or so, when he wears the robe, whether he survives or he does not survive also is quite difficult. Some people they survive 1 year, some people they survive 5 years, some people survive 10 years, some people survive 20 years, some people survive 30 over years or so with this rope. Quite a number of monks. So if he survives, and then whether he knows how to train himself properly or not. So here, you see, so this one, the first part, difficult to do, is to go forth. Then after going forth, to find happiness in Rome is very difficult. To find happiness in Rome. Because as a monk, we have so many precepts. When you think you want to eat char kway teow, you don't have char kway teow. Not like a lay person, anything you want to do, you can do. So the only way to find happiness for a renunciant, a monk or a nun, is to find a different kind of happiness, to go into the mind. Go into the mind, give up worldly pleasures. We find another type of happiness, which is more satisfying and more lasting. In fact, even if you don't get the bliss of jhāna and all that, if you practice as a good monk, you keep very good precepts, and then you conduct yourself well, and you teach the Dhamma to people, you give advice to people and all, still you get a lot of satisfaction of leading a useful life. A lot of people live a useless life, especially a lot of people only care for themselves. Not people, we only care for ourselves, only want your own happiness and you don't benefit other people. So that is practically a useless life. But if you lead a good life as a monk or a nun, you benefit a lot of people. Then at the end of life, you feel satisfied with yourself. You have not wasted your life. But if you want a higher happiness, then you go into meditation. Go to meditation and then you can attain states of tranquility like the jhanas. Then the mind gives you a lot of happiness. So you have physical suffering, but you have mental happiness. Whereas worldly people is opposite. Worldly people, they have material happiness, but they have mental suffering. As well, last time, more than 10 years ago, when I was in Australia, I found a lot of Australians coming to the Buddhist center in Perth to learn meditation, and many of them were Christians. Then I learned that they come to learn meditation to reduce their mental suffering. Actually, they are not interested in Buddhism at all. They just want to reduce their mental suffering, so they come and learn meditation. Then later, when they are able to make progress in meditation and reduce their mental suffering, then they start to have some confidence. Then they want to investigate the Dharma. So to find delight for one who has gone forth is difficult. Then after a monk has found delight also, to be able to practice in accordance with the Dhamma is also difficult. Because a lot of monks, they don't study the suttas. So they don't study the suttas, and they meditate, they get bliss, they get jhana and all that. But they don't practice according to the Dhamma, then they cannot become an arahant. the most you can get is psychic power. So here, strangely enough, to practice in accordance with the Dhamma is difficult to do by one who has found delight. So it just proves that not many monks actually practice according to what the Buddha teaches. But if he does practice according to the Dhamma, he puts a lot of effort, then it does not take him long to become an Arahant. But then for that, he has to go into live alone for many years. That's the end of that chapter.

18SNSamandakaCh39MoggallanaCh4020090818

Now we come to chapter 39, Samandaka Samyutta. This concerns the external ascetic Samandaka. He approached the Venerable Sariputta and asked questions basically the same as just now Jambuka Daka. So the suttas are very similar to the chapter 38. So there's nothing to go through there. Then the next chapter is the 40th sanghuta called the Moggallana Sanghuta. 40.1. On one occasion, the Venerable Mahamoggalana was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Nathapindika's Park. There, the Venerable Mahamoggalana addressed the monks thus, Friend, those monks replied. The Venerable Mahamugalana said, Dear friends, while I was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in my mind-dust. It is said, first jhana, the first jhana. What now is the first jhana? Then friends, it occurred to me, here secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a monk enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, with delight and happiness born of seclusion. This is called the first jhāna. Then friends, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I entered and dwelt in the first jhāna, While I dwelt therein, perception and attention accompanied by sensuality assailed me. Then, friends, the Blessed One came to me by means of psychic power and said, Moglana, Moglana, do not be negligent, Brahmana, regarding the first jhāna. Steady your mind in the first jhāna. Unify your mind in the first jhāna. Concentrate your mind in the first jhāna. Then, friends, on a later occasion, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I entered and dwelt in the first jhana, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, with delight and happiness born of seclusion. If, friends, one speaking rightly could say of anyone, he is a disciple who attained to greatness of direct knowledge with the assistance of the teacher, It is of me that one could rightly say this. That's the end of the sutta. So here, whoever Moggallana was saying that he was practicing and he attained the first jhāna, but he could not stay long in the first jhāna. He could not maintain his first jhāna. He fell out of the first jhāna. And so the Buddha came to him and asked him to put more effort. Buddha came by psychic power. he realized that the Buddha was watching him then he made more effort and entered the first jhana so he says the Buddha helped him to attain to greatness of direct knowledge this must be the time you see the Venerable Moggallana he was following an external ascetic teacher then he and rebel Sariputta came to become disciples of the Buddha and then he practiced very hard without sleeping he practiced for seven days straight without sleeping and then attained liberation attained enlightenment so this must be one of the first day or the second day when he was practicing then the second sutta is similar to the first sutta but He talks about the second jhāna, how he entered the second jhāna and fell out of the second jhāna and the Buddha came to him. using psychic power and then help him to enter the second jhāna, inspire him to enter the second jhāna again. And the third sutta is similar but concerning the third jhāna. And the fourth sutta concerns the fourth jhāna. The fifth sutta concerns the base of the infinity of space, the first arūpa jhāna. And then the sixth sutta is the next highest state, of Samadhi, the base of the infinity of consciousness. The 7th Sutta is the next highest conscious state, is the base of nothingness. And the 8th Sutta is the base of neither perception nor non-perception, the highest Arupajana. I read to you the 8th Sutta. 40.8. Dear friends, while I was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in my mind dust. It is said, the base of neither perception nor non-perception. The base of neither perception nor non-perception. What now is the base of neither perception nor non-perception? Then friends, it occurred to me, here, by completely transcending the base of nothingness, a monk enters and dwells in the base of neither perception nor non-perception. This is called the base of neither perception nor non-perception. Then friends, by completely transcending the base of nothingness, I entered and dwelt in the base of neither perception nor non-perception. While I dwelt therein, perception and attention, accompanied by the base of nothingness, assailed me. Then, friends, the Blessed One came to me by means of psychic power and said, Mogulanna, Mogulanna, do not be negligent, Brahmana, regarding the base of neither perception nor non-perception. Steady your mind in the base of neither perception nor non-perception. Unify your mind in the base of neither perception nor non-perception. Concentrate your mind in the base of neither perception nor non-perception. Then, on a later occasion, by completely transcending the base of nothingness, I entered and dwelt in the base of neither perception nor non-perception. If, friends, one speaking rightly could say of anyone, he is a disciple who attained to greatness of direct knowledge with the assistance of the teacher, it is of me that one could rightly say this." The Buddha helped him all along the way, from the first jhāna upwards. Then the next sutta, 40.9. Dear friends, while I was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in my mind thus. It is said, the signless concentration of mind, the signless concentration of mind. But now is the signless concentration of mind. Then friends, it occurred to me, here, by non-attention to all signs, a monk enters and dwells in the signless concentration of mind. This is called the signless concentration of mind. Then, friends, by non-attention to all signs, I entered and dwelt in the signless concentration of mind. While I dwelt therein, my consciousness followed along with signs. Then, friends, the Blessed One came to me by means of psychic power and said, Moglana, Moglana, do not be negligent, Brahmana, regarding the signless concentration of mind. Steady your mind in the signless concentration of mind. Unify your mind in the signless concentration of mind. Concentrate your mind in the signless concentration of mind. Then on a later occasion, by non-attention to all signs, I entered and dwelt in the signless concentration of mind. If, friends, one speaking rightly could say of anyone, he is a disciple who attained to greatness of direct knowledge with the assistance of the teacher, it is of me that one could rightly say this." So this signless concentration must be a very high state because normally our mind cannot be signless. Signless means you have no object in the mind. Normally there is always something in our mind. There is always an object, a sign. There is one more sutra. I think we did another day. So we stop here for the sutras. Anything to discuss? What is contemplating the body within the body and contemplating the being within the being? This one I explained the other day. My personal opinion is that when we contemplate the body, sometimes if your mind is not very strong, you may have a lot of thoughts. So you are trying to pay attention, contemplating the body among a lot of thoughts, in the midst of a lot of thoughts. But here, Buddha says, contemplate body in the body. That means centered on body. You ignore all other things. When you are contemplating upon body, it's only body you are contemplating. Body in the body. If you are contemplating feelings, you are contemplating feelings only in the feelings, not among other thoughts. So what I'm trying to say is that you only contemplate that one particular thing, not any other thing. Don't allow the mind to be scattered. Say again? Oh, we'll be coming to that. The next book, do you want to refer to something in particular? If you look at the page 1485, the Four Intense States of Recollection, the Four Bright Efforts, the Four Bases of Psychic Power, the Five Faculties, the Five Powers, the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path. These are dealt in detail in the last book that we are coming to. For example, the Four Satipatthana is found in the 47 Samyutta, Satipatthana Samyutta, the 47th chapter. The four right efforts are found in the 49th Samyutta. The four bases of psychic power in the 51th Samyutta. The five faculties in Samyutta number 48. The five powers in number 50. The seven Bhojanga in 46. And the Noble Eightfold Path in 45, chapter 45. Shall we end tonight?

19SNCittaCh4120090819

Okay, so today is the 19th of August. Yesterday I was thinking of going to the last sutta of the Moggallana Samyutta, but today I decided not to because there's not much Dhamma there. It's just about how Mahamoggallana often goes up to the heavens and talks to the devas. And so now I start on chapter 41, Citta Samyutta. discourses connected with Citta, the Anagamin layman during the Buddha's time. These suttas are very inspiring, so I will read every sutta here in this Sanghita. 41.1. On one occasion, A number of elder monks were dwelling at Machi Kasanda in the wild mango grove. On that occasion, when the elder monks had returned from their alms round, after their meal they assembled in the pavilion and were sitting together when this conversation arose. Friends, the factor and the things that factor, are these things different in meaning and also different in phrasing, or are they one in meaning and different only in phrasing? Some elder monks answered thus, Friends, the factor and the things that factor are different in meaning and also different in phrasing. But some other elder monks answered thus, Friends, the factor and the things that factor are one in meaning and different only in phrasing. On that occasion, Chitta, the householder, had arrived in Migah Pataka on some business. Then Chitta, the householder, heard a number of elder monks, they said, on returning from their alms round, had assembled in the pavilion after their meal, and were sitting together when this conversation arose. Friends, the factor and the things that affect her. Are these things different in meaning and also different in phrasing, or are they one in meaning and different only in phrasing? Then Citta, the householder, approached those elder monks, paid homage to them, sat down to one side, and said to them, I have heard, ramblers, that when a number of elder monks were sitting together, this conversation arose. Friends, The factor and the things that factor, are these things different in meaning and also different in phrasing? Or are they one in meaning and different only in phrasing? That is so, householder. Venerable Sirs, the fetter and the things that fetter are different in meaning and also different in phrasing. I will give you a simile for this, since some wise people here understand the meaning of a statement by means of a simile. Suppose, Venerable Sirs, a black ox and a white ox were yoked together by a single harness or yoke. Would one be speaking rightly if one were to say, The black ox is the fetter of the white ox. The white ox is the fetter of the black ox. No householder. The black ox is not the fetter of the white ox, nor is the white ox the fetter of the black ox, but rather the single harness or yoke by which the two are yoked together. That is the fetter there. And Sita said, So too, friend, the eye is not the factor of forms, nor are forms the factor of the eye, but rather the desire and lust that arise there, independence on both, that is the factor there. The ear is not the factor of sounds, the nose is not the factor of odours, the tongue is not the factor of taste, the body is not the factor of tactile objects, the mind is not the factor of thoughts. nor are thoughts the factor of the mind, but rather the desire and lust that arises there, independence on both, that is the factor there. And they said, it is a gain for you householder, it is well gained by you householder, in that you have the eye of wisdom that ranges over the deep word of the Buddha. That's the end of the sutta. You see this citta, the layman, is an anagamin, third fruit, ariya. And he went to these monks because they didn't seem to really understand the difference between the fetter and the things that fetter. So he explained to them. But you see, when he went to them, he paid respect to them. He doesn't think, oh, I'm an anagamin. These are only putu jana, ordinary monks who don't know anything. Why should I pay respect to them? It's not like that. because a layman takes refuge with the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Bhikkhu Sangha. It's always mentioned in the suttas, the Sangha is the Bhikkhu Sangha. So, when he pays respect to the Sangha, he doesn't think I'm paying respect to this monk. But then, towards the end, he said, so too, friend, the I is not the factor of forms. So here he says friend, because actually the translation from the word Abuso. During the Buddha's time, monks addressed each other as Abuso. Abuso can be translated as reverend. Here they translate it as friend. So probably he used the word that was used at that time between monks. This Chitta is a very interesting person. Later you see that sometimes he requests the monks to teach Dhamma and if they don't know how to teach Dhamma, he will teach them Dhamma. So here the factor and the things that factor, the factor is the desire and grieving, that is the factor. And then the things that factor are the eye, forms, ear, sounds, nose, smells, tongue, taste, body, touch, and the mind and thoughts. So those are the things that factor because they are the cause of the factor. But the factor itself is the desire and lust for that. The next sutra is 41.2. On one occasion, a number of elder monks were dwelling at Machikasanda in the wild mango grove. A Chitta, the householder, approached those elder monks, paid homage to them, sat down to one side and said to them, Venerable Sirs, let the elder monks consent to accept tomorrow's meal from me. The elder monks consented by silence. Then Citta, the householder, having understood that the elders had consented, rose from his seat, paid homage to them, and departed, keeping them on his right. When the night had passed, in the morning the elder monks dressed, took their bowls and outer robes, and went to the residence of Citta, the householder. Then they sat down on the appointed seats. Then Citta, the householder, approached the elder monks, paid homage to them, sat down to one side, and said to the Venerable Chief Elder, Venerable Elder, Elder here refers to Thera, it is said, diversity of elements, diversity of elements. In what way, Venerable Sir, has the diversity of elements been spoken of by the Blessed One? When this was said, the Venerable Chief Elder was silent. A second time and a third time, Citta, the householder, asked the same question. And a second time and a third time, the Venerable Chief Elder was silent. On that occasion, the Venerable Isidarta was the most junior monk in that Sangha. Then the Venerable Isidarta said to the Venerable Chief Elder, Allow me, Venerable Elder, to answer Citta, the householder's question. And he said, answer it, Francis Isidarta. So, Venerable Isidarta asked Citta, Now, householder, are you asking thus? Venerable Elder, it is said, diversity of elements, diversity of elements. In what way, Venerable Sir, has the diversity of elements been spoken of by the Blessed One? The diversity of elements householder has been spoken of by the blessed one thus, the I element, form element, I consciousness element. ear element, the sound element and ear consciousness element, the nose element, the smell or odour element, the nose consciousness element, the tongue element, the taste element, the tongue consciousness element, the body element, the touch. element, the body consciousness element, the mind element, thought element, the mind consciousness element. It is in this way, householder, that the diversity of elements have been spoken of by the Blessed One. That Citta, the householder, having delighted and rejoiced in the Venerable Isiddhata's words, with his own hand served and satisfied the elder monks with the various kinds of delicious food, When the elder monks had finished eating and had put away their bowls, they rose from their seats and departed. Then the Venerable Chief Elder said to the Venerable Isidarta, It is good, Friend Isidarta, that the answer to this question occurred to you. The answer did not occur to me. Therefore, Friend Isidarta, whenever a similar question comes up at some other time, you should clear it up. That's the end of the sutta. So here you see the most senior monk, he was asked this question, he couldn't answer. And the most junior monk had to answer for him. Sometimes it's like that. So that's why a monk has to be learned in the suttas, in the Vinaya. Sometimes he's asked a question and he cannot answer. It's a bit embarrassing. But it's worse if he gives a wrong answer. and gives people the wrong view. 41.3, the next sutra. Stop here for a moment. This elder, Thera, means a monk who has been ordained with a higher ordination for 10 years or more. The translation in Chinese is Zhang Lao. But nowadays in Chinese Buddhism, because there are so many senior monks, so they reserve it only for a very respected monk, Chang Lao. But in Theravada Buddhism, any monk who has ten vasa is called Thera, an elder. That's according to Vinaya, earliest Buddhism. Venerable Elder, there are various views that arise in the world. The world is eternal. The world is not eternal. The world is finite. The world is infinite. The soul and the body are the same. The soul is one thing. The body is another. The Tathagata exists after death. The Tathagata does not exist after death. The Tathagata both exists and does not exist after death. The Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death. These as well as the 62 views mentioned in the Brahmajala Sutta. Now when what exists, do these views come to be? When what is non-existent, do these views not come to be? When this was said, the Venerable Chief Elder was silent. A second time and a third time, Citta, the householder, asked the same question. And a second time and a third time, the Venerable Chief Elder was silent. On that occasion, the Venerable Isidarta was the most junior monk in that Sangha. Then the Venerable Isidarta said to the Venerable Chief Elder, Allow me, Venerable Elder, to answer Citta the householder's question. Answer it, Friend Isidarta. Now, householder, are you asking thus? Venerable Elder, there are various views that arise in the world. The world is eternal, the world is not eternal, the world is finite, the world is infinite, etc. These, as well as the 62 speculative views, mention the Brahmajala. Now, when what exists, do these views come to be? When what is non-existent, do these views not come to be? Yes, Venerable Sir. As to the various views that arise in the world, householder, the world is eternal, the world is not eternal, the world is finite, the world is infinite, etc. These, as well as the 62 speculative views mentioned in the Brahma Jala Sutta, when there is identity view, these views come to be. When there is no identity view, these views do not come to be. And Sita asked, But Venerable Sir, how does identity view come to be? And the Venerable Isidarta replied, Here, householder, the unlearned ordinary whirling who does not see the noble ones and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, who does not see superior men, and is unskilled and undisciplined in that dharma, regard form as self, or self as possessing form, or form as in the self, or self as in the form. Similarly, for feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, he regards the aggregates as the self. or the aggregates as belonging to self, or the aggregates as in the self, or the self as in the aggregates. It is in such a way that identity view comes to be. And remember, sir, how does identity view not come to be? And he answered, Here, householder, the learned noble disciple who sees noble ones and is skilled and disciplined in their dharma, who sees superior persons and is skilled and disciplined in their dharma, does not regard form or body as self. or self as possessing form, or form as in the self, or self as in the form. Similarly, he does not regard feeling, perception, volition, or consciousness as the self, or as belonging to self, or in the self, or the self as in these aggregates. It is in such a way that identity view does not come to be. Then Chitta asked, Venerable Sir, where does Master Isidarta come from? And he said, I come from Avanti, householder. And Chitta said, there is, Venerable Sir, a clansman from Avanti named Isidarta, an unseen friend of ours who has gone forth. Has the Venerable One ever met him? And he said, yes, householder. Where is that Venerable One now dwelling, Venerable Sir? When this was said, the member Isidarta was silent. And then Jeta asked, is the master Isidarta a guest householder? Then Chitta said, Then let Master Isidarta delight in the delightful wild mango grove at Machi Kasanda. I will be jealous in providing Master Isidarta with robes, alms food, lodgings and medicinal requisites. That is kindly said, householder. Stop here for a moment. So this rebel Isidarta answered this Chitta's questions. Very well, so after that, Chitta asked him, where do you come from, Reverend? And he says, from Avanti. And he says, we also have a relative from Avanti, also called Isidata, who has renounced, although we have never met him. Because in India in those days, traveling was not easy. You have to walk from place to place. So because Avanti was very far from where this Chitta stays at Machikasanda, so he has never been to see this relative. But he heard that this relative of his had renounced. So he asked him, where is that rebel staying now? So that rebel Isidata was quiet, kept quiet. I guess it must be him. So when he learned that it was him, his relative, then he asked his parable Isidarta to stay long in his mango grove and he said he would provide all the necessary requisites. Then Citta, the householder, having delighted and rejoiced in the Venerable Isidarta's words, with his own hand served and satisfied the elder monks with the various kinds of delicious food. When the elder monks had finished eating and had put away their bowls, they rose from their seats and departed. Then the Venerable Chief Elder said to the Venerable Isidarta, It is good, Friend Isidarta, that the answer to this question occurred to you. The answer did not occur to me. Therefore, Friend Isidarta, whenever a similar question comes up at some other time, you should clear it up. Then the Venerable Isidarta set his lodging in order and took him bowl and robe. He left Machikasanda. When he left Machikasanda, he left for good and he never returned. That's the end of the Sutta. So here, you see, some people will be surprised. How come he stays here and his relative wants to provide him with everything and yet he left. Because he's a real cultivator. He doesn't want people to attach to him. He doesn't want to form ties. If he stays long, especially his own relative, feels maybe indebted to him. And also other relatives, when they hear, they will come. So he wants to be alone. See those monks who understand the Dhamma, and then they renounce to practice. Then they don't want to attach to anything. 41.4 On one occasion, a number of elder monks were dwelling at Machikasanda in the wild mango grove. Then Chitta, the householder, approached those elder monks, paid homage to them, sat down to one side, and said, Venerable Sirs, let the elders consent to accept tomorrow's meal from me in my cow shed. The elder monks consented by silence. Then Citta, the householder, having understood that the elders had consented, rose from his seat, paid homage to them, and departed, keeping them on his right. When the night had passed, in the morning, the elder monks dressed, took their bowls and outer robes, and went to the couchhead of Citta, the householder. There they sat down on the appointed seats. Then Citta, the householder, with his own hand, served and satisfied the elder monks with delicious milk rice made with ghee. Then the elder monks, when the elder monks had finished eating and had put away their bowls, they rose from their seats and departed. Then Citta, the householder, having said, give away the remainder. that means to his workers, followed close behind the elder monks. On that occasion, the heat was sweltering, very hot, and the elders went along as if their bodies were melting because of the food they had eaten. They were sweating a lot. On that occasion, the Venerable Mahaka was the most junior monk in that sangha. Then the Venerable Mahaka said to the Venerable Chief Elder, it would be good, Venerable Elder, if a cool wind would blow, and a canopy of clouds would form, and the sky would drizzle. And the Chief Monk said, that would be good, friend. Then the Venerable Mahaka performed such a feat of psychic power that a cool wind blew, and a canopy of clouds formed, and the sky drizzled. Then it occurred to Chitta, the householder, such is possessed by the most junior monk in this Sangha. Then when the Venerable Mahaka arrived at the monastery, he said to the Venerable Chief Elder, Is this much enough, Venerable Elder? That's enough, Friend Mahaka. What's been done is sufficient, Friend Mahaka. What's been offered is sufficient. Then the elder monks went to their dwellings, and the Venerable Mahaka went to his own dwelling. Then Citta, the householder, approached the Venerable Mahaka, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and said to him, It would be good, Venerable Sir, if Master Mahaka would show me a superhuman miracle of psychic power. Then, householder, spread your cloak upon the veranda and scatter a bundle of brass upon it. Yes, Venerable Sir," Citta, the householder, replied, and he spread his cloak upon the verandah and scattered a bundle of grass upon it. Then when he had entered his dwelling and shut the boat, the Venerable Mahaka performed a feat of psychic power such that a flame shot through the keyhole and the ching of the door and burned the grass but not the cloak. Citta, the householder, shook out his cloak and stood to one side, shocked and terrified. Then the Venerable Mahaka came out of his dwelling and said to Citta, the householder, Is this much enough, householder? That's enough, Venerable Mahaka. What's been done is sufficient, Venerable Mahaka. What's been offered is sufficient. Let Master Mahaka delight in the delightful wild mango grove at Machikasanda. I would be zealous in providing Master Mahaka with groves, alms food, lodgings and medicinal requisites. That is kindly said the householder. Then the Venerable Mahaka set his lodging in order and taking bowl and rope, he left Machikasanda. When he left Machikasanda, he left for good and he never returned. So this is another great monk. with psychic power and he doesn't like to also attach to anyone. And these good monks, they don't like people to know they have psychic power. If the news goes around, everybody will come on to see his psychic power. So he'll be very busy, got no time to meditate, so he prefer to go out. 41.5. On one occasion, the Venerable Kamabu was dwelling at Machikasanda in the wild mango grove. Then Citta, the householder, approached the Venerable Kamabu, paid homage to him, and sat down to one side. The Venerable Kamabu then said to him, This has been said, householder. With faultless will and a white horning, the one spoke, chariot rolls, see it coming, trouble-free, the stream cut without bondage. How, householder, should the meaning of this brief statement be understood in detail? And Chitta asked, Was this stated by the Blessed One, Venerable Sir? Yes, householder. Then wait a moment, Venerable Sir, while I consider its meaning. Then after a moment's silence, Chitta, the householder, said to the Venerable Kamabu, For opulence, this Venerable Sir is a designation for the virtues, Silat. White Horning, this is a designation for liberation. One Spoke, this is a designation for sati, I think should be sati, recollection. Rose, this is a designation for going forward and returning. Chariot, this is a designation for this body consisting of the four great elements, originating from mother and father, built up out of rise and growth, subject to impermanence, to being worn and rubbed away, to breaking apart and dispersal. Lust for a booster is trouble. Hatred is trouble. Delusion is trouble. For a monk whose asavas are destroyed, these have been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like palm stumps, obliterated so that they are no more subject to future arising. Therefore, the monk whose asavas are destroyed is called trouble-free. The one who is coming, this is a designation for the arahant. The stream, this verbal sir, is a designation for prohibiting. For a monk whose asavas are destroyed, this has been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that it is no more subject to future arising. Therefore, the monk whose asavas are destroyed is called one with the stream cut. Lust for a blessed soul is bondage. Hatred is bondage. Delusion is bondage. For a monk whose asavas are destroyed, these have been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like palm stumps, obliterated, so that they are no more subject to future arising. Therefore, the monk whose asavas are destroyed is called one no more in bondage. Thus, Venerable Sir, when it was said by the Blessed One, with faultless will and a white awning, the once-spoke chariot rose, see it coming, bubble free, the stream cut without bondage. It is in such a way that I understand in detail the meaning of what was stated by the Blessed One in brief. It is a gain for you, householder. It is well gained by you, householder, in that you have the eye of wisdom that ranges over the deep word of the Buddha." That's the end of the sutra. So here, the Venerable Kamabhu quoted the saying of the Buddha to this citta and asked him to explain. And after thinking a while about it, he could explain so well. It shows also that his knowledge of the Dhamma is very deep. That's why, compared to nowadays, people ask, why nowadays so hard to attain Sotapanna? See, it's not hard. Only thing, you don't make the effort. In the Buddha's time, they memorized those suttas. Every day, they memorized. And it's in their local language. When they memorized the suttas in their local language, then it sticks in their mind. If we were to study the Nikayas, Year in, year out. You finish it, you read it again. Finish it, you read it again. It will have the same effect. You listen to the talks based on the Nikayas. Listen again and again until it sticks in your mind. Then it will be very clear to you. You will be just like the people during the Buddha's time.

20SNCittaCh4120090819

41.6. On one occasion, the Venerable Kamabu was dwelling at Machikasanda, in the wild mango grove. Then Citta, the householder, approached the Venerable Kamabu, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and said to him, Venerable Sir, how many kinds of Sankaras are there? I stop here for a moment. So this Venerable Kamabu must have stayed quite long in this Chitta is a mango grove, so the two are probably quite familiar with each other. In the previous Uttara, the Venerable asked Chitta a question. Now in this Uttara, Chitta asks the Venerable a question, a dharma question. How many kinds of Sankaras are there? This word Sankara can be translated as conditional, something that conditions something else. Here it is translated as formations. In other places, sometimes this book translates as volitional formations. But after you see why I say the translation as conditioners is more apt. There are householder three kinds of Sankaras. The bodily Sankara, the verbal Sankara and the mental Sankara. This bodily Sankara is Kaya Sankara. And then the next one is Vajji Sankara. The third one is Citta Sankara. In the suttas, a lot of people don't notice that we need to study the suttas, like with a comb, go through very carefully and mark those interesting things. Because I've gone through the suttas, and I've noticed that there are two sets of Sankaras in the suttas. Both sounds the same, bodily Sankara, verbal Sankara and mental Sankara. But the difference is that one is Kaya Sankara, Vaci Sankara and Citta Sankara. The second one Kaya Sankara, Wachi Sankara, and Mano Sankara. Only the third one is different. One is Citta Sankara, one is Mano Sankara. And when we examine the suttas carefully, we find that the second one that has Mano Sankara has to do with kamma. Has to do with kamma. Creation of kamma. The first set, Kaya Sankara, Vaci Sankara, and Citta Sankara always occurs with Paticca Samuppada. Maybe some of the commentators, they were not careful, they didn't notice this. So they always say in Paticca Samuppada, the word Sankara means kamma, creation of kamma. Unfortunately, it cannot be because it's not Mano Sankara. In Paticca Samuppada, it's always Citta Sankara. So you see what are these three things here will be explained. Good Venerable Sir Ajita, the householder, said that having delighted and rejoiced in the Venerable Kamabhu's statement, he asked him a further question. But Venerable Sir, what is the bodily Sankara? What is the verbal Sankara? What is the mental Sankara? And Venerable Kamabhu replied, in breathing and out breathing, householder are the bodily Sankara, bodily conditioner. Thought directed and sustained are the verbal Sankara. Perception and feeling are the mental Sankara or mental conditioner. Citta, the householder, said. Then he asked him a further question. Venerable Sir, why are in-breathing and out-breathing the bodily Sankara? Why are thought directed and sustained the verbal Sankara? Why are perception and feeling the mental Sankara, mental conditioner? Here I think there is something wrong with the Translation. Here it says, householder, in-breathing and out-breathing are bodily. These things are dependent upon the body. That is why in-breathing and out-breathing are the bodily formation. I think I would translate it like this. Householder, in-breathing and out-breathing are connected with the body. These condition the body. That is why in-breathing and out-breathing are called bodily conditioner. Stop here for a moment. You see, the body depends on breathing. If there is no in-breathing and out-breathing, the body will die. Because the body depends on the breath, the breath is the body conditioner. The breath is the body conditioner. It conditions the body. It is not dependent upon the body, it conditions the body. And then, first one thinks and examines, then afterwards one breaks into speech. That is why, here it says, thought and examination are the verbal formation. I would translate it as, first one thinks and examines, then afterwards one breaks into speech. That is why, thought director and sustain are the verbal conditioner. You see, before we can speak, we have to think. So, thinking conditions the speech. What you think, it breaks up into speech. You think in a certain way, it follows that you speak in a certain way. So, speech is dependent on Speech is dependent on thought. So thought is the speech conditioner. It's not the other way around. So thought is the speech conditioner. So thought is vaccisankara, speech conditioner. Perception and feeling are mental. These things are dependent upon the mind. That is why perception and feeling are the mental formation. This also is not a good translation. I translate it as perception and feeling are mental. The mind depends on these things. That is why perception and feeling are the mental conditioner. You see, the mind cannot work without perception and feeling. When you have perception and feeling, that means you have consciousness. Then only the mind can work. So the mind depends on perception and feeling. Perception and feeling conditions the mind. That's why perception and feeling is the mental conditioner. Saying good, Venerable Sir, he then asked him a further question. Venerable Sir, how does the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling come about? Householder, when a monk is attaining the cessation of perception and feeling, it does not occur to him, I will attain the cessation of perception and feeling, or I am attaining the cessation of perception and feeling, or I have attained the cessation of perception and feeling. But rather, his mind has previously been developed in such a way that it leads him to such a state. Saying, Good Venerable Sir, he then asked him a further question. When a monk is attaining the cessation of perception and feeling, which of these things ceases first in him? The bodily conditioner, the verbal conditioner, or the mental conditioner? And he answered, Householder, when a monk is attaining the cessation of perception and feeling, first the verbal conditioner ceases. After that, the body conditional ceases. After that, the mental conditional ceases. I'll stop here for a while. How do you understand this? This cessation of perception and feeling is the highest state of meditation. It surpasses the four rupa jhanas and the four arupa jhanas. So, you see, It says here, first the verbal conditioner ceases. The verbal conditioner, you remember, is thoughts. So, thought ceases in the second jhāna. So, he has to pass through the second jhāna, then the thought ceases, that is, the verbal conditioner ceases. After that, the bodily conditioner refers to breath, breathing. When the breathing ceases at the fourth jhāna, at the fourth jhāna. So the breath seizing is the body conditional seizing at the fourth jhāna. Then only later, perception and feeling can cease. So you can see, he has to pass through the second jhāna, the fourth jhāna, before he can enter the state of the cessation of perception and feeling. Saying good, Venerable Sir, he then asked him a further question. Venerable Sir, what is the difference between one who is dead and gone and a monk who has attained the cessation of perception and feeling? Stop here for a moment. Why does he ask the difference between a body that is dead and a body that has attained the cessation of perception and feeling? Because they look quite the same. When a person attains the cessation of perception and feeling, consciousness also ceases. all the six consciousness ceases. So because the six consciousness ceases, when the person attains that state, he looks like a dead person, the breathing has stopped, the heart has stopped. Everything seems to have stopped. Just like a dead person. That's why I asked him what's the difference. And Rev. Kamabu said, Householder, in the case of one who is dead and gone, the bodily conditioners, that means the breath, has ceased and subsided. The verbal conditioners have ceased and subsided. That means the thoughts have ceased and subsided. The mental conditioners have ceased and subsided. That means perception and feeling have ceased and subsided. And then, his vitality is extinguished. For a dead person, his vital energy is extinguished. His physical heat has been dissipated. And his faculties are fully broken up. In the case of a monk who has attained the cessation of perception and feeling, the bodily conditioners have ceased and subsided, the verbal conditioners have ceased and subsided, the mental conditioner has ceased and subsided, but his vitality or vital energy is not extinguished, his physical heat has not been dissipated, and his faculties are serene. This is the difference between one who is dead and gone, and among who has attained the cessation of perception and feeling. I'll stop here for a moment. So, you see, the difference between a person who has attained this state, this high state of cessation of perception and feeling, is that when you touch him, his body is still warm compared to the dead. body the corpse has already become whole whereas the the monk in that cessation state his body is still warm and his vital energy he still has that means he can come up to life again whereas the dead corpse cannot come to life again Saying good, Venerable Sir, he then asked him a further question. Venerable Sir, how does emergence from the cessation of perception and feeling come about? Householder, when a monk is emerging from the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling, it does not occur to him, I will emerge from the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling, or I am emerging from the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling, or I have emerged from the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling. But rather, his mind has previously been developed in such a way that it leads him to such a state. saying, Good Venerable Sir. He then asked him a further question. Venerable Sir, when a monk is emerging from the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling, which of these things arise first in him, the bodily conditioner or the verbal conditioner or the mental conditioner? And he answered, Householder, when a monk is emerging from the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling, first the mental conditioner arises. Mental conditioner is perception and feeling. After that, the bodily conditioner, that means the breath. And after that, the verbal conditioner, that means the thoughts. In other words, when he is coming out, of this state of cessation. First, perception and feeling must come back. That means the mind starts working. Then after that, the bodily conditioner, which is the breath, the breathing starts. That means it comes out of the fourth jhāna. Then after that, the verbal Conditioner arises, that means he goes through the second jhāna, because the verbal conditioner is thoughts, so thoughts arise again, so he withdraws in that way, from the cessation down to the fourth jhāna, down to the second jhāna, first jhāna, and then he comes out of it. St. Good Venerable Sir, he then asked him a further question. Venerable Sir, when a monk has emerged from the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling, how many kinds of contact touch him? Householder, when a monk has emerged from the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling, three kinds of contact touch him. Emptiness contact, signless contact and undirected contact. The emptiness contact is called the sunyata. Silence is animita and undirected is apanihita. These three are high states of samadhi. The emptiness, sunyata samadhi, the animita samadhi and the apanihita samadhi. So, because he has emerged from this cessation, his mind has this contact. Saying, good, Venerable Sir, he then asked him a further question. Venerable Sir, when a monk has emerged from the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling, towards what does his mind slant, slope and incline? Householder, when a monk has emerged from the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling, his mind slants, slopes, and inclines towards seclusion. Stop here for a moment. So you see, a monk who has attained a high stage of concentration, when they come out of it, they don't want to talk to people, they don't want to associate with people, they want to be aloof, because it is so pleasant. does not experience any dukkha. So sometimes people say, some people go for retreat and then they come back, they're supposed to attain the four jhanas or eight jhanas and all that. But if they don't behave like this, be aloof from people, don't want to talk with people, always go into seclusion, then it's not quite possible that they have attained such high states of jhana or samadhi. Good Venerable Sir Achitta, the householder, said that having delighted and rejoiced in the Venerable Kamabhu's statement, he asked him a further question. Venerable Sir, how many things are helpful for the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling? And Venerable Kamabhu said, Indeed, householder, you are asking last what should have been asked first. But still I will answer you. For the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling, two things are helpful. Samatha and Vipassana. Samatha and Vipassana always come together. In some other sutras, the Buddha says you cannot attain liberation without Samatha and Vipassana. You cannot separate them. Unfortunately, nowadays, there are some monks who belittle Samadhi. belittle samatha and say that vipassana is enough but it's never so in the suttas in the buddha's teachings samatha and vipassana both are necessary for liberation as seen here so that's the end of the sutta it's quite an interesting sutta and a bit deep also 41.7 On one occasion, the Venerable Gaudatta was dwelling at Machikasanda in the wild mango grove. Then Citta, the householder, approached the Venerable Gaudatta, paid homage to him and sat down to one side. The Venerable Gaudatta then said to him as he was sitting to one side, Householder, the Majulis, here is this liberation of mind. The liberation of mind by nothingness, the liberation of mind by emptiness, and the signless liberation of mind. Are these things different in meaning and also different in phrasing? Or are they one in meaning and different only in phrasing? This is the first one. Measureless liberation of mind. The liberation of mind is ceto-vimutti. Maybe a better translation is the measureless liberation by mind. liberation by mind. And sometimes they talk about metta, ceto-vimutti. It is liberation of metta by mind or radiation of metta by mind. That means the mind radiates. or liberates the metta. So here is the measureless liberation by mind, the liberation by mind by nothingness, the liberation by mind by emptiness, and the signless liberation by mind. Are these things different in meaning and also different in phrasing? Or are they one in meaning and different only in phrasing? And Citta answered, There is a method, Venerable Sir, by which these things are different in meaning, and also different in phrasing. And there is a method by which they are one in meaning, and different only in phrasing. And what, Venerable Sir, is the method by which these things are different in meaning, and also different in phrasing? Here, a monk dwells pervading one quarter with the mind imbued with loving-kindness, metta, likewise the second quarter, the third quarter, and the fourth quarter, thus above, below, across, and everywhere, and to all as to himself, he dwells pervading the entire world with the mind imbued with loving-kindness, vast, exalted, measureless, without hostility, without ill-will. I'll stop here for a moment. So that's why you see here, he is liberating Mettā. He is not liberating the mind. He is liberating Mettā. So he is liberating Mettā by the mind, by the power of the mind. That's why I say ceto vimutti. It's liberation by mind. It's not liberation of mind. Here it is liberation of Mettā by the mind. Similarly, he dwells in view pervading one quarter with the mind imbued with compassion. Similarly, with the mind imbued with joy, compassion is karuna, joy is mudita, with the mind imbued with equanimity, upeka. Likewise, the second quarter, third quarter and the fourth quarter, thus above, below, across and everywhere and all as to himself, he dwells pervading the entire world with the mind imbued with these four things. either one of these four things, like metta, karuna, mudita and upekka. Vast, exalted, measureless, without hostility, without ill will. This is called the measureless liberation by mind. Liberation by mind of metta or of karuna. And what, Venerable Sir, is the liberation by mind, by nothingness? Here, by completely transcending the base of the infinity of consciousness, aware that there is nothing, a monk enters and dwells in the base of nothingness. This is called the liberation by mind, by nothingness. or maybe you can say the liberation by mind of nothingness. And what, Venerable Sir, is the liberation by mind of emptiness? Here a monk, gone to the forest or to the foot of a tree or to an empty hut, reflects thus, empty is this of self, all of what belongs to self. This is called the liberation by mind of emptiness. And what, Venerable Sir, is the signless liberation by mind? Here, with non-attention to all signs, a monk enters and dwells in the signless concentration of mind. This is called the signless liberation by mind. This, Venerable Sir, is the method by which these things are different in meaning and also different in phrasing. And what, Venerable Sir, is the method by which these things are one in meaning and different only in phrasing? Lust-perversion is a maker of measurement. Hatred is a maker of measurement. Delusion is a maker of measurement. For a monk whose asavas are destroyed, these have been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like palm stumps, obliterated, so that they are no more subject to future arising. To whatever extent there are measureless liberations by mind, the unshakable liberation by mind is declared the chief among them. Now that unshakable liberation by mind is empty of lust, empty of hatred, empty of delusion. Lust, Venerable Sir, is a something. Hatred is a something. Delusion is a something. For among whose asavas are destroyed, these have been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like palm stumps, obliterated so that they are no more subject to future arising. To whatever extent there are liberations by mind of nothingness, the unshakable liberation by mind is declared the chief among them. Now that unshakable liberation by mind is empty of lust, empty of hatred, empty of delusion. Lust for Abusir is a maker of signs. Hatred is a maker of signs. Delusion is a maker of signs. For among whose Asavas are destroyed, these have been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like palm stumps, obliterated so that they are no more subject to future arising. To whatever extent there are signless liberations by mind, the unshakable liberation by mind is declared the chief among them. Now, that unshakable liberation by mind is empty of lust, empty of hatred, empty of delusion. This Fembul Sir is the method by which these things are one in meaning, and different only in phrasing. It is a gain for you, householder. It is well gained by you, householder, in that you have the eye of wisdom that ranges over the deep world of the Buddha. That's the end of the sutta. So here you see, this monk is asking this citta, the layman, to explain such a deep subject, measureless liberation by mind, liberation by mind of nothingness, liberation by mind of emptiness, and the signless liberation by mind. These are very high states, and yet citta can explain so well. So, Citta is a person who is not only good in the theory of the Dhamma, that means he can explain the Suttas and the Dhamma extremely well, and I think he also has a very good meditation practice. So, because of a combination of both, that's why he has attained to the state of Anagamin. These two things are very important. The understanding of the Dhamma itself, the Suttas, the words of the Buddha, and then meditation practice, the theory and the practice. You can't have only one of them. You need both. Just like Samatha and Vipassana, you need both to be successful in the holy life. So I'll stop here for tonight. We've gone through seven Suttas of this Citta Samyutta. I think there's only three more in this Sangita, I think, to discuss. So this chapter is quite interesting, quite inspiring. So this is from the old Dastavatar. This is for explaining the situation of Mahāyāvāda Mahākārya and the reason Mahāyāvāda Mahākārya. So this means that Mahākārya, there are many many deities. These are very high states which I think probably even some Arahants don't experience because You see, in the Buddha's teaching, perfect concentration is the four jhanas. But there are some monks who attain all the arupa jhanas as well as cessation of perception and feeling. But it is that those higher states above the four jhanas are not absolutely necessary. to become an arahant. So those states, like just now he says that when he comes out of the cessation of perception and feeling, then he experiences these states. So these are very high states. He is contacted by this signless, signless, the undirected and the emptiness. So what is your question? No, no, no. Very high state that even some Arahants don't attain. Very high Samadhi states. But it is possible. But I think if a person attains these states, when he comes out of it, he should either probably be an Anagamin or an Arahant. Because he has seen emptiness. like this cessation of perception and feeling is a very high state and the person attains that state of cessation of perception and feeling, consciousness also stops. So when he is in that state, there is no awareness. But when he withdraws from that state, his consciousness comes back. Then he will realize that the world disappeared just now. The world only exists in consciousness. When consciousness stops, ceases. The world also ceases. So the world is like a dream state. Then he realized there is no such thing as a self. That self in the world is just like that person in the dream. When we had a dream at night, during the dream, we were very excited. We thought it's a real thing. And when we come out of the dream, then we realize, oh, it was only a dream. And that person that you thought was you in the dream, actually doesn't really exist. It only exists in the dream. So in the same way, when this monk comes out of the state of cessation of perception and feeling, Then he sees the world like a dream. So that self that he thought existed, doesn't exist. It's a condition only. So by this, there is a mark that is a mark of quite a long period. Not very long, but it cannot exceed 7 days. He can only enter that state, cessation of perception and feeling, for a maximum of 7 days. Then he has to come out of it. 7 days? Oh, that day we went through one sutta where we talk about emptiness, sunyata, and it's explained that emptiness, this word kong, the real meaning is that it is empty of a self. Self meaning something that is permanently abiding, that will not disappear, that will not die. But everything in the world arises and passes away. Arises and passes away just like the night follows the day. So, since there is nothing in the world that is permanently abiding, that stays the same, then so we say the world is empty of itself. That's why I say it's emptiness. The world is empty. My question is similar. In the state of cessation of perception, there are many different entities and No, no, no, no, no. The vitality means the Qi, the vital energy is still retained in the cells. That means the cells have gone to sleep, but they can wake up again, just like a seed. A seed, if you don't keep the seed for too long, the seed still has vital energy. So that when you plant it in the ground, it will sprout, become a tree. But if you keep the seed for too long already, it loses its vital energy, its vitality. Then you plant it on the ground also, it won't sprout. What's the difference between emptiness and nothingness? Are you talking about the Samadhi? Probably mean the same thing, the state of Samadhi. In that state, he feels he's empty of anything. Because everything exists only in consciousness. But when consciousness ceases, then the whole world is empty. And what's the other one? Empty and nothingness. But then there is a state of jhana, a state of arupa jhana, called the base of nothingness. where the mind first has to go through the base of boundless space, where the mind opens up and then his mind is boundless like space. Then after that, he goes to a higher state called the base of boundless consciousness. Then he feels that his consciousness is boundless, no limit to his consciousness. Then after that, he goes to a higher state. He realizes that within his consciousness, there is nothing There is nothing that is called the base of nothingness. Nothing in the sense that there is nothing that is permanent. There is nothing that is permanent. It is six days and four jhāna. No, higher than four jhāna. The fourth jhāna is the rūpa-jhāna. This is arūpa-jhāna. What is the meaning of three generations? Loving kindness is one of the four types of radiation of the mind. When that person to practice that, first he has to attain the jhana. 13th Jhana, so that he has some strength of mind. And using the strength of mind, he radiates that loving-kindness, the metta, all over, all around. You see, the first quarter, the second quarter, third quarter and fourth quarter. That is, when he is thinking of Mettā, he radiates Mettā. When he is thinking of compassion, because he sees that all the beings in the world are suffering, there's a lot of suffering beings in the world, so he thinks of compassion, so he radiates compassion. The third one, he feels joy, so he radiates joy all around. And the fourth one, he thinks of equanimity, so he radiates equanimity. This one, the four things, the loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, towards the end of the paragraph, when he released these four things, boundless. This is called the measureless liberation by mind. So this measureless liberation by mind is supposed to be another one of those high states of liberation by mind. These are all the different types of liberation by mind. You have measureless liberation by mind. That's the first one. So this one is talking about the first one. So we have the The first one is the measureless liberation by mind. Then the second one is liberation by mind of nothingness. And the third one is liberation by mind of emptiness. So each one He uses the mind to liberate whatever quality he wants. Like the first one, measureless liberation by mind is liberating loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. Then the second one, liberation by mind of nothingness. He thinks of nothingness and then he liberates this Nothingness. And the third one, he thinks of emptiness and then he liberates his emptiness. And the fourth one is the signless. He thinks of the signless and then he liberates the mind. Using that to liberate the signless. Chitta and Mano. Mano is one of the six sense organs. So Mano refers to the thinking faculty. Whenever we use the mind to think, to calculate, to scheme, to plan, we are using Mano. But Chitta refers more to the overall mind, encompassing mind. Mano is thinking. Whether it's creative or destructive, it's all thinking. It's still mano. Mano is the base. It's the thinking faculty. But these terms, citta, mano, vijnana, they're all related in a way. You cannot separate them strictly into one compartment each. They are related. They're all different aspects of the mind. Okay, we'll stop here. tonight.

21SNCittaCh4120090820

Today is the 20th of August and we are on the 41st chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya or the Chitta Samyutta. We have gone through seven suttas yesterday. Today we come to Sutta 41.8. On that occasion, Niganta Nataputta had arrived at Machikasanda, together with a large retinue of Nigantas. Citta, the householder, heard about this, and together with a number of lay followers, approached Niganta Nataputta. They exchanged greetings with Niganta Nataputta. And when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, sat down to one side. Stop here for a moment. These Nigantas, they are these ascetics, also known as Jains, and they are naked ascetics. They have a small cloth to cover their private part. Other than that, they are naked. And they are extreme vegetarians. In fact, they are vegans. Anything to do with animals, they won't eat or drink like milk also they don't take and even vegetables if the vegetable or leaf is green so they consider to have life but they won't take only when the leaf has turned brownish and only they take I mention this because my friend's father-in-law was a doctor in India in his younger days and he was called to a house to see old lady who was suffering from malnutrition. But this family was rich, so then he realised that they follow the Nivantas, the Jains, so they are extreme in practice. Nigganta Nataputta then said to him, householder, do you have faith in the ascetic Gautama when he says, there is concentration without thought directed and sustained. There is cessation of thought directed and sustained. And Citta said, in this matter, Venerable Sir, I do not go by faith in the Blessed One when He says, there is a concentration without thought directed and sustained. There is a cessation of thought directed and sustained. When this was said, Niganta Nataputta looked up proudly towards his own retinue and said, see this, Sirs, how straightforward is this Citta, the householder. How honest and open. One who thinks that thought directed and sustained can be stopped might imagine he could catch the wind in a net, or arrest the current of the river Ganges with his own fish. Stop you for a moment, this one. The Buddha taught that in the first jhāna, one of the five jhāna factors is vitakka and vicara, thought directed and sustained. But when you enter the second jhāna, this thought directed and sustained stops. The second jhāna is also called the state of the ariyan silence and the mind stops talking because there's no thought at all. The mind is so concentrated that no thought can arise. So this nīgānta must have heard about this but he didn't believe because he doesn't have the skill in meditation, hasn't attained the second jhāna. So he asked this citta and citta says he doesn't believe, doesn't It doesn't go by faith in what the Buddha says concerning this. So this Nikanta thought that this Citta sided with him. So he praised this Citta. And then Citta asked him, what do you think, Venerable Sir, which is superior, knowledge or faith? Knowledge, householder, is superior to faith. And Sita said, Well, Venerable Sir, to whatever extent I wish, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I enter and dwell in the first jhana, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, with delight and happiness born of seclusion. Then, to whatever extent I wish, with the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, I enter and dwell in the second jhana, Then, to whatever extent I wish the fading away as well of delight, I enter and dwell in the third jhāna. Then, to whatever extent I wish the abandoning of pleasure and pain, I enter and dwell in the fourth jhāna. Since I know and see thus, Fabulous Sir, in what other ascetic or Brahmin need I place faith regarding the claim that there is a concentration without thought directed and sustained, a cessation of thought directed and sustained? I'll stop here for a moment. So here, Citta is saying that he can easily enter the four jhanas. And because he has entered the four jhanas, he has experienced this state in the second jhana upwards, where thought directed and sustained ceases naturally. So he says he has the knowledge of it, the experience of it. That's why he doesn't need to have faith in what Buddha says. When this was said, Nigantha Nataputta looked askance at his own retinue and said, see this, sirs, how crooked is this citta, the householder, how fraudulent and deceptive. And citta said, just now, venerable sir, we understood you to say, see this, sirs, how straightforward is this citta, the householder, how honest and open, Yet now we understand you to say, see these sirs, how crooked is this chitta of the householder, how fraudulent and deceptive. If your former statement is true, venerable sir, then your latter statement is false. While if your former statement is false, then your latter statement is true. Further, venerable sir, these ten reasonable questions come up. When you understand their meaning, then you might respond to me along with your retinue. One question, one synopsis, one answer. Two questions, two synopsis, two answers. Three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten questions, ten synopsis, ten answers. Then Citta, the householder, rose from his seat and departed without having asked Niganta and Nakaputta these ten reasonable questions." That's the end of the Sutta. So when Citta said that he has that experience of that concentration without directed and sustained, and this Nigganta Nataputta, he got angry. He said, the fellow is a crooked fellow. Then Citta told him, normally when the Buddha taught his disciples, if they meet this type of external ascetics who like to argue, And then you ask them these ten things. One question, one synopsis, one answer, and then two and three, up to ten. And they won't be able to answer. But this Citta, I just mentioned this, but the Citta knows that this Nigantha won't be able to answer. So without asking, it just left. This Niganta Nataputta, his other name is Mahavira, I think. He's the leader, the founder of this Niganta sect. And he's one of the six famous external sect leaders at the time of the Buddha. And all of these six, they don't teach the correct Dhamma. But they are famous still, they have a lot of followers. This world, a lot of people don't have much wisdom because of being covered by the five hindrances. So a lot of people cannot see clearly what is right dharma, what is wrong dharma. 41.9. On that occasion, the naked ascetic Kasapa, who in lay life had been an old friend of Citta the householder, had arrived in Machikasanda. Citta the householder heard about this and approached the naked ascetic Kasapa. He exchanged greetings with him, and when they had concluded the greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to him, How long has it been, Venerable Kasapa, since you went forth? It has been thirty years, householder, since I went forth. In these 30 years, Venerable Sir, have you attained any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the Noble Ones, the Aryans, any dwelling in comfort?" And he said, In these 30 years since I went forth, householder, I have not attained any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the Noble Ones, no dwelling in comfort, but only nakedness and the shaven head and the brush for cleaning my seat. Stop here for a moment. So this Kasapa is an old friend of Citta and he has renounced for 30 years as a naked ascetic and now he came back to Machikasanda and he acknowledged that he did not attain any Aryan stage, any supernormal state, but he only had this nakedness. The shaven head, the bald head, and the brush for cleaning the seed. What is this brush for cleaning the seed? Because he goes around naked, so every time he wants to sit on the ground, you know these ascetics, when they go to the forest, they go anywhere, they have to sit on the ground. So when he sits on the ground, his backside is exposed, the pebbles and the stones will prick his backside. So he has to use the brush to clean away all the big stones so that he can sit without being poked by all the stones. When this was said, Citta, the householder, said to him, It is wonderful indeed, sir. It is amazing indeed, sir. How well expounded is the Dhamma, in that after thirty years you have not attained any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones. No dwelling in comfort, but only nakedness, and the shaven head, and the brush for cleaning your seat. So Citta was surprised that the Buddha's Dhammavinaya is so good that a person can attain this Aryan stage. But this naked ascetic, after suffering for 30 years as a naked ascetic, and still had attained nothing. And then Kesapa asked him, but householder, how long has it been since you became a lay follower, a lay follower of the Buddha? In my case too, Venerable Sir, it has been thirty years. In these thirty years, householder, have you attained any superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision, worthy of the noble ones, any dwelling in comfort?" And Citta said, How could I not, Venerable Sir? For to whatever extent I wish, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I enter and dwell in the first jhana, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained. with delight and happiness born of seclusion. Then, to whatever extent I wish, with the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, I enter and dwell in the second jhāna. Then, to whatever extent I wish, with the fading away as well of delight, I enter and dwell in the third jhāna. Then, to whatever extent I wish, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, I enter and dwell in the fourth jhāna. Further, if I were to die before the Blessed One does, it would not be surprising if the Blessed One were to declare of me, there is no factor bound by which Citta, the householder, could return to this world. And this was said, I stop here for a moment. So, Citta is saying that he can attain the four jhanas, which are considered superhuman states, supernormal. Uttari Manusa Dhamma, super normal states which a normal person cannot attain. Also, Citta says, if he were to die, the Buddha would say that he is a non-returner, he will not come back. to this human world, will not be reborn in this human world. And this was said, the naked ascetic Kassapa said to Chitta, the householder, it is wonderful indeed, sir. It is amazing indeed, sir, how well expounded is the Dhamma, in that a layman clothed in white can attain a superhuman distinction in knowledge and vision, worthy of the noble ones, a dwelling in comfort. May I receive the going forth in this Dhamma Vinaya. May I receive the higher ordination. So he is so impressed that Kasapa, even as a layman enjoying the family life, can attain such high states, whereas he is suffering as a naked ascetic and yet cannot attain anything. So he asked Citta to bring him to ordain. Then Citta, the householder, took the naked ascetic Kasapa to the elder monks and said to them, Venerable Sirs, this naked ascetic Kasapa is an old friend of ours from lay life. Let the elders give him the going forth. Let them give him the higher ordination. I would be zealous in providing him with robes, alms, food, lodging, and medicinal requisites. Then the naked ascetic Kassapa received the going forth in this Dhammavinaya. He received the higher ordination, and soon, not long after his higher ordination, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, hardened, and resolute, the Venerable Kassapa, by realizing it for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life, entered and dwelt in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life, for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth, from the household life into homelessness. He directly knew, destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being. And the Venerable Kasapa became one of the Arahants. So here it says, soon, not long after his higher ordination, he attained Arahanthood. This soon, not long after his higher ordination, would be at least a few years, because normally he has to train under a teacher for at least five years. Then after that, he's allowed to go and live alone and do his work very hard to attain liberation. So normally, Even during the Buddha's time, monks would take at least more than 10 years or 20 years and then become arahants. But there are of course exceptions like Sariputta and Moggallana and Mahakassapa and all that. The next Sutta, 41.10. On that occasion, Citta, the householder, was sick, afflicted, gravely ill. Citta was dying. Then a number of park devatas, grove devatas, tree devatas, and devatas dwelling in medicinal herbs and forest giants, assembled and said to Citta, the householder, Make a wish, householder. Make a wish thus. May I become a wheel-turning monarch in the future. Stop here for a moment. This wheel-turning monarch is a universal monarch. That means he rules over the whole earth. The whole earth wants him to become the king. And this was said, Citta, the householder, said to those devatas, that too is impermanent, that too is unstable. One must abandon that too and pass on. So Citta is saying, even that state of a wheel-turning monarch, although it is such a happy state, but it is impermanent, even that will pass away. And this was said, Citta, the householders, friends and companions, relatives and kinsmen said to him, set up mindfulness master, don't babble. And he said, what did I say that makes you speak to me thus? And they said, you said to us that two is impermanent, that two is unstable. One must abandon that two and pass on. Stop here for a moment. So these friends and relatives, they could not see the devas speaking to Chitta. So they thought he was out of his mind, his mind was not stable. So he's simply babbling, simply talking nonsense. And he said, that was because park devatas, grove devatas, tree devatas, and devatas dwelling in medicinal herbs and forest giants assembled and said to me, make a wish householder thus, may I become a wheel-turning monarch in the future. And I said to them, that too is impermanent, that too is unstable, one must abandon that too and pass on. And they asked him, what advantage do those devatas see, master, that they speak to you thus? And he said, it occurs to those devatas, this citta, the householder, is virtuous, of good character. If he should wish, may I become a wheel-turning monarch in the future. As he is virtuous, this wish of his could succeed because of its purity. The righteous king of righteousness will provide righteous offerings. Seeing this advantage, those devatas assembled and said, Make a wish, householder thus. May I become a real turning monarch in the future. And I said to them, That too is impermanent. That too is unstable. One must abandon that too and pass on. Stop here for a moment. So, Citta said, These devas, They thought that Chitta, if he makes a wish, he can become a wheel-turning king. And if he becomes a wheel-turning king, he's such a good person, then he will ask the people to make offerings to all these devatas. So that's why they thought it's good if he can become a king and humans will make offerings to these devatas. And his friends and relatives said to Chitta, then exhort us too, householder. Ask him to advise them also. And he said, therefore, you should train yourselves thus. We will be possessed of confirmed confidence in the Buddha. That means saddha, unshakable confidence in the Buddha thus. The Blessed One is an arahant. perfectly enlightened, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, fortunate knower of the world, unsurpassed leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, the enlightened one, the blessed one. We will be possessed of confirmed Confidence in the Dhamma thus. The Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable to be personally experienced by the wise. We will be possessed of confirmed confidence in the Sangha thus. The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing the good way, practicing the straight way, Practising the true way, practising the proper way, that is, the four pairs of persons, the eight types of individuals, this Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of reverential salutation, the unsurpassed field of merit for the world. Whatever there may be in our family that can be given away, all that we will share unreservedly with the virtuous ones who are of good character. It is in such a way that you should train yourselves." Then, having inspired confidence in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha among his friends and colleagues, his relatives and kinsmen, and having exhorted them in generosity, Citta, the householder, passed away. That's the end of the sutta. So he was reborn in the Suddhavasa Heavens, which is the fourth jhāna heaven, because he had attained the third fruit, anagamin. But later, I think he came back to see the Buddha. Many of the Buddha's disciples, after they had gone to heaven, they remember the Buddha, they still come back to see him. So we have finished with Chapter 41. Now we went through every of the 10 suttas, which was quite interesting.

22SNGamaniCh4220090820

Now we come to chapter 42, Kamani Sang Yutta. Kamani means the headman, what we call the penghulu, the village headman. At Svati, this is the first yutta, 42.1. These two yuttas are so very interesting. 42.1 at Svati. Then the headman, Chanda the Wrathful, approached the Blessed One. The angry man paid homage to him, sat down to one side and said to him, Venerable Sir, what is the cause and reason why someone here is reckoned as wrathful? And what is the cause and reason why someone here is reckoned as gentle? Maybe he asked this question because people call him the wrathful, the angry man. And the Buddha said, Here, headman, someone has not abandoned lust. Because he has not abandoned lust, other people irritate him. Being irritated by others, he manifests irritation. He is reckoned as wrathful. He has not abandoned hatred. Because he has not abandoned hatred, other people irritate him. Being irritated by others, he manifests irritation. He is reckoned as wrathful. He has not abandoned delusion. Because he has not abandoned delusion, other people irritate him. Being irritated by others, he manifests irritation. He is reckoned as wrathful. This headman is the cause and reason why someone here is reckoned as wrathful. Dear Headman, someone has abandoned lust. Because he has abandoned lust, other people do not irritate him. Not being irritated by others, he does not manifest irritation. He is reckoned as gentle. He has abandoned hatred. Because he has abandoned hatred, other people do not irritate him. Not being irritated by others, he does not manifest irritation. He is reckoned as gentle. He has abandoned delusion. Because he has abandoned delusion, other people do not irritate him. Not being irritated by others, he does not manifest irritation. He is reckoned as gentle. This headman is the cause and reason why someone here is reckoned as gentle. When this was said, Chanda, the headman, said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Venerable Sir, the Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by the Blessed One, as though He were turning upright what had been turned upside down, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go for refuge to the Blessed One and to the Dhamma and to the Bhikkhu Sangha. From today, let the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life." So here the Buddha says that a person, if he has lust, hatred and delusion, so because of these unwholesome states, it irritates other people. And so other people irritate him in return. So when other people irritate him in return, he becomes angry. That's why he is called wrathful, angry person. Whereas another person, if he has abandoned lust, hatred and delusion, then he does not irritate others. And other people not being irritated by him will not irritate him back. So he does not get angry. So because of that, he is called a gentle person. The next sutta Next sutra is quite a well-known sutra, 42.2. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. Then Talaputta, the troop headman, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said to Him, Rebel Sir, I have heard it said among actors of old, in the lineage of teachers, If an actor in the theatre or the arena entertains and amuses people by truth and lies, then with the breakup of the body after death, he is reborn in the company of the laughing devas. What does the Blessed One say about that? And Buddha said, Enough, headman. Let it be. Don't ask me that. A second and a third time, Kalaputta, the true headman, said to the Buddha. Venerable Sir, I have heard it said among actors of old, in the lineage of teachers, even an actor in the theatre or the arena entertains and amuses people by truth and lies. Then, with the breakup of the body after death, he is reborn in the company of the laughing devas. What does the Blessed One say about that? Stop here for a moment. This Talaputta is the head of this show people, what we call Taihei, Wahi. They go around from village to village putting up shows for people and they entertain people, make people laugh and all that. So he says, people tell him, because he is the manager, he is also an actor, and he entertains people. So because he makes people laugh, he says, I can go to heaven and become a laughing deva. Buddha said, don't ask me. He asked, but he continued to ask three times. Then the Buddha said, Surely, headman, I am not getting through to you. When I say, enough, headman, let it be, don't ask me that. But still I will answer you." So here the Buddha said, I told you not to ask me, but you still asked me three times. So generally, if a person requests the Buddha three times, then he will yield. In the theatre or arena, among beings who are not yet free from lust, who are bound by the bondage of lust, an actor entertains them with titillating things that excite them even more strongly to lust. In the theatre or arena, among beings who are not yet free from hatred, who are bound by the bondage of hatred, an actor entertains them with infuriating things that excite them even more strongly to hatred. In the theatre or arena, among beings who are not yet free from delusion, who are bound by the bondage of delusion, an actor entertains them with bewildering things that excite them even more strongly to delusion. thus being intoxicated and negligent himself. Having made others intoxicated and negligent, with the breakup of the body after death, he is reborn in the hell of laughter. But should he hold such a view as this? If an actor, in the theatre or the arena, entertains and amuses people by truth and lies, then with the breakup of the body after death, he is reborn in the company of the laughing devas. That is a wrong view on his part. For a person with wrong view, I say, there is one of two destinations, either hell or the animal realm. I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying, an actor or an actress, he entertains people on the shows and people with greed, lust, hatred and delusion, their lust, hatred and delusion become even stronger, then the actor or the actress will be reborn in hell, the hell of laughter. So they have to suffer in hell and they'll be laughing and crying maybe. And this was said, Thalaputta, the true headman, cried out and burst into tears. The Blessed One said, So I did not get through to you when I said, Enough, headman, let it be, don't ask me that. And he said, I am not crying, Venerable Sir, because of what the Blessed One said to me, but because I have been tricked. cheated and deceived for a long time by those actors of old, in the lineage of teachers who said, if an actor in the theatre or the arena entertains and amuses people by truth and lies, then with the breakup of the body after death, he is reborn in the company of the laughing devas. Magnificent Venerable Sir, the Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by the Blessed One, as though He were turning upright what had been turned upside down, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go for refuge to the Blessed One and to the Dhamma and to the Bhikkhu Sangha. May I receive the going forth unto the Blessed One, Venerable Sir. May I receive the higher ordination. Then Thalaputta, the troop headman, received the going forth under the Blessed One. He received the high ordination. And soon, not long after his high ordination, the Venerable Thalaputta became one of the Arahants. So when the Buddha told him that actors and actresses would be born in hell, then he started crying. and told the Buddha, it's not because of what the Buddha said that he's frightened or what, that he's crying, but he said he's so angry that he's been cheated by those people who misled him and told him that entertaining people, you can go to heaven. So that's why he's so angry with them, that he's shedding tears. So surprisingly, after hearing what the Buddha said, he went forth as a monk. So it can't be so simple. This is not the first time probably that he met the Buddha. He must have already met the Buddha several times and heard some Dhamma that gave him some confidence to renounce. And you can find his verses in the Theragatha, verses of the elders. There's a book called Theragatha and Therigatha. It's under the Kudaka Nikaya, the last Nikaya. And his verses are very inspiring because he was an actor. So he can speak very well. So in those verses, he kept complaining to his mind. He was talking to his mind all the time. Mind, you asked me to go forth and go and live in the mountains among the elephants and where the birds sing and all that. Now I'm here and then you promised me that the mind will calm down. Now you still cannot calm down." He kept arguing with his mind for many years. His mind could not calm down for many years. But later after struggling so hard, one day when his mind attained one-pointedness, attained the Jhanas, immediately he became Arahant. That shows actually the dharma foundation was already very strong. Very strong dharma foundation when he attained, very high jhana, he can understand. The next sutra is 42.3. Then the headman, Yodajiva, the machinery, approached the Blessed One. This machinery, the soldiers who fight for money. He approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, and said to Him, Venerable Sir, I have heard it said by machineries of old, in the lineage of teachers, when a machinery is one who strives and exerts himself in battle, if others slay him and finish him off while he is striving and exerting himself in battle, then with the breakup of the body, after death, He is reborn in the company of the battle-slain Devas. What does the best one say about that? And the Buddha said, enough, headman, let it be, don't ask me that. A second time and a third time, Yodajiva, the headman, said, Venerable Sir, I have heard it said among the machineries of old, in the lineage of teachers, when a machinery is one who strives and exerts himself in battle, if others slay him and finish him off while he is striving and exerting himself in battle, then with the breakup of the body after death, He is reborn in the company of the battle-slain devas. What does the Blessed One say about that? And then the Buddha said, after asking three times, the Buddha said, Worldly headman, I'm not getting through to you when I say, Enough, headman, let it be. Don't ask me that. But still, I will answer you. When hitman, a machinery, is one who strives and exerts himself in battle, his mind is already low, depraved, misdirected by the thought that these beings be slain, slaughtered, annihilated, destroyed or exterminated. If others then slay him and finish him off while he is striving and exerting himself in battle, then with the breakup of the body after death, he is reborn in the battle-slain hell. But should he hold such a view as this? When a machinery strives and exerts himself in battle, if others slay him and finish him off while he is striving and exerting himself in battle, then with the breakup of the body after death, he is reborn in the company of the battle-slaying devas. That is a wrong view on That is a wrong view on his part. For a person with wrong view, I say, there is one of two destinations, either hell or the animal realm. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, this machinery, this soldier who fights for money, If in the battle he is fighting, he wants to kill all the enemies, then if he is killed himself, because he has hatred in his mind, then he will go down to hell. But in case he is not killed, even if he is not killed, because he has wrong view that being a machinery, if he is killed in battle, he will go to heaven. Then the Buddha says that is wrong view, wrong view about karma. So that wrong view, even if he is not slain in battle, when he dies, he will either go to hell or the animal realm. When this was said, Yudhajiva, the headman, cried out and burst into tears. The Blessed One said, So I did not get through to you, and I said, Enough, headman, let it be, don't ask me that. And he said, I am not crying, Venerable Sir, because of what the Blessed One said to me, but because I have been tricked, cheated, and deceived for a long time by those machineries of old, in the lineage of teachers, who said, When a machinery is one who strives and exerts himself in battle, if others slay him and finish him off while he is striving and exerting himself in battle, then with the breakup of the body after death, he is reborn in the company of the battle-slain devas. And he said, Magnificent Venerable Sir, from today let the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life. So here, people who fight as a soldier for money, because they are violent, their mind is low, because they want to kill, their mind is low. So after death, They don't go to a good place. Which reminds us, we Chinese like to pray to Kuan Kung. Where do you think Kuan Kung has gone? 42.6. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Nalanda, in Pavarita's mango grove. Then Asi Bandhakaputta, the headman, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and said, The Brahmins of the Western region, those who carry around water pots, wear garlands of water plants, immerse themselves in water, and tend the sacred fire, are said to direct a dead person upwards to guide him along and conduct him to heaven. But the Blessed One, the Arahant, Sammasambuddha, is able to bring it about that with the breakup of the body after death, the entire world might be reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world. Stop here for a moment. So this Asibandhakaputta, he asked the Buddha, he said, I think he also is a Brahmin of the Western region, he said, these Brahmins of the Western region, they have a belief that when their relative passes away, The translation given in the Pali Text Society book is, they lift him up and carry him out, call on him by name and speed him heavenwards. In other words, when the relative passes away, they quickly take out his dead body and hold it facing the sky, hold it very high facing the sky and call out his name, Ali, do you see heaven? Go to heaven, heaven is there. Something like that. So they think because this corpse is facing heaven, so his soul will naturally go to heaven. So he said, but now we have an Arahant, Sammasambuddha in the world. Surely the Buddha, he can bring everybody to heaven. If the Buddha can bring you to the pure land, I think he also here can bring you to heaven. So see what the Buddha says about bring you to the pure land. The Buddha said, Well then, headman, I will question you about this. Answer as you see fit. What do you think, headman? Suppose there is a person here who destroys life, that means who takes life, takes what is not given, engages in sexual misconduct, speaks falsely, speaks divisively, speaks harshly, chatters idly, one who is capricious, full of ill will, and holds wrong view. Then a great crowd of people would come together and assemble around him, and they would send up prayers and recite praise and circumambulate him, making reverential salutations, saying, With the breakup of the body after death, may this person be reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world. What do you think it meant? Because of the prayers of the great crowd of people, because of their praise, because they circumambulate Him making reverential salutations, would that person, with the breakup of the body after death, be reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world? Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying, suppose there is a man, he breaks all the precepts. There's a lot of evil. So when he dies, people come together and pray and chant and ask him to go to heaven. Can he go to heaven? And the headman, after thinking about it, he said, No, Venerable Sir. Then the Buddha said, Suppose headman, a person would hurl a huge boulder or rock into a deep pool of water, then a great crowd of people would come together and assemble around it, and they would send up prayers and recite praise and circumambulate it making reverential salutations. saying, Emerge, good boulder! Rise up, good boulder! Come up onto high ground, good boulder! What do you think it meant? Because of the prayers of the great crowd of people, because of their praise, because they circumambulated making reverential salutations, would that boulder emerge, rise up, and come up onto high ground? And he said, No, Wembley Sir. So too hate men. If a person is one who destroys life, who takes what is not given, who engages in sexual misconduct, who speaks falsely, speaks divisively, speaks harshly, chatters idly, one who is covetous, full of ill will and holds wrong view. Even though a great crowd of people would come together and assemble around him and pray and chant and ask him to go to heaven, still with the breakup of the body after death, that person would be reborn in a state of misery, in a bad destination, in the netherworld, in hell. Stop here for a moment. So here, it's only logical if a person does something, does all kinds of evil, that when he dies, that he will go to a woeful destination of rebirth. If after doing a lot of evil, he still goes to a good destination of rebirth, then there must be something wrong with the world. And the Buddha said, What do you think, headman? Suppose there is a person here who abstains from the destruction of the life, from taking what is not given, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, from divisive speech, from harsh speech, from idle chatter, one who is not covetous, without ill will, who holds right view. Then a great crowd of people would come together and assemble around him, and they would send up prayers and recite praise and circumambulate. him making a reverential salutation, saying, with the breakup of the body after death, May this person be reborn in a state of misery, in a bad destination, in the netherworld, in hell. What do you think it meant? Because of the prayers of the great crowd of people, because of their praise, because they circumambulate him, making reverential salutations. Would that person, with the break-up of the body after death, be reborn in a state of misery, in hell? And he said, No, Wembley Sir. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, suppose there is a very good person who does not do any evil at all. So then when he has died, a big crowd of people come and pray and chant and curse him, ask him to go to hell. Is it possible that he will go to hell? And the headman said, it's not logical that he, being a good man, can go to hell. Then the Buddha continued, Suppose, said man, a man submerges a pot of ghee or a pot of oil in a deep pool of water and breaks it. Any of its shards or fragments there would sink downwards, but the ghee or oil would rise upwards. Then a great crowd of people would come together and assemble around it, and they would send up prayers and recite praise and circumambulate it, making reverential salutations, saying, Sing down, good ghee or oil! Settle, good ghee or oil! Go downwards, good ghee or oil! What do you think, headman, because of the prayers of the great crowd of people, because of their praise, because they circumambulated making reverential salutations, would that ghee or oil sink down or settle or go downwards? No, Wemble, sir. So too, headman, if a person is one who abstains from the destruction of life, etc., even though a great crowd of people would come together and assemble around him, still and curse him, to go to hell, even still with the break-up of the body after death, that person will be reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world. And this was said, Hasi Bandaka Putra, the headman, said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Venerable Sir, Magnificent Venerable Sir, then he took refuge in the Buddha Dhamma and Bhikkhu Sangha. From today, let the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life." That's the end of the sutta. It's a sutta that teaches a very important principle. This man is asking whether the Buddha can help us go to heaven or not. So instead of directly saying no, the Buddha is giving this simile. If a rock is heavy, you throw it into a pond, it will sink naturally. In spite of what you shout, you pray and all that, you cannot stop the rock from sinking because it is heavy. On the other hand, if you throw a pot of ghee or oil in the middle of the pond, suppose in the middle of the pond there happens to be a rock there, and you throw it and the pot breaks. the pot will sink, but even though the pot sinks, the ghee or the oil would float up. So when you curse the ghee and oil, ask it to sink down, it cannot sink down because it's lighter than water, it will float up. In the same way, the Buddha is telling us very clearly that it is our kamma that decides our rebirth. If we have heavy evil karma, that heavy evil karma will drag us down to the woeful planes of rebirth, no matter how other people pray. It doesn't help at all. On the other hand, if the person is a very good person, a virtuous person, his good karma will pull him up and he'll go for a good rebirth, no matter how people curse him. So nobody can influence another person's rebirth. It is entirely due to his karma. So you see, like in this Chinese Buddhism, they like to do a lot of chanting and all that. According to this type of sutra, it's of no effect at all. It's your karma that decides where you're reborn. So it's important to study these earlier sutras because nowadays there's a lot of wrong views around 42.7 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Nalanda in Pavarika's mango grove. Then Asibandhaka Puta, the headman, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said to Him, Rambhu Sir, doesn't the Blessed One dwell compassionate towards all living beings? And the Puta said, Yes, headman, the Tathagata dwells compassionate towards all living beings. And he asked, then why is it, Venerable Sir, that the Blessed One teaches the Dhamma thoroughly to some, yet not so thoroughly to others? Stop here for a moment. So this headman is saying, if the Buddha, you are compassionate towards all beings, why you discriminate? To some people, you teach a lot of Dhamma. To some people, you teach so little Dhamma. And then Buddha said, Well then, headman, I will question you about this. Answer as you see fit. What do you think, headman? Suppose a farmer here had three fields, one excellent field, one of middling quality, and one inferior. rough, salty, with bad ground. What do you think it meant? If that farmer wishes to sow seeds, where would he sow it first? In the excellent field, in the field of middling quality, or in the field that was inferior, the one that was rough, salty, with bad ground? The headman said, if a farmer wishes to sow seed, he would sow it in the excellent field. Having sown seed there, he would next sow seed in the field of middling quality. Having sown seed there, he might or might not sow seed in the field that was inferior, the one that was rough, salty with bad ground. For what reason? Because at least it can be used as fodder for the cattle. Stop here for a moment. So, if a farmer wishes to sow his seeds so that it can sprout. Of course, naturally he would sow it in the most fertile field, the best field. Then if he has some more left over, he would sow it in the second quality one, the middling quality one. Then if he still has some more left over, either he might sow it in the inferior ground or he might not sow it. If he doesn't sow it on the inferior ground, At least he can feed the cattle with the seed, because if he sows it on the inferior ground, it may be a waste of time, may not sprout at all. Then the Buddha said, Headman, just like the field that is excellent are the monks and nuns to me. I teach them the Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, with the right meaning and phrasing. I reveal the holy light that is perfectly complete and pure. For what reason? Because they dwell with me as their island, with me as their shelter, with me as their protector, with me as their refuge. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that the monks and the nuns are the best field for him to sow the seeds of Dhamma. Because they are committed, monks and nuns are committed to lead the holy life. However tough it is, they are willing to struggle, to give up a lot of things, to give up their attachments and all that, because they understand the value of the Dhamma. That being the case, the Buddha will teach them the most Dhamma. Also here, you see the Buddha says, I reveal the holy life that is perfectly complete and pure. So the Buddha's teaching of the holy life is perfectly complete and pure. It is complete, there is no reason to add to it. As I mentioned before, later monks, they try to add to the Buddha's words by making the commentaries, by making the Abhidhamma, by making the Mahayana Sutras and all that, which is not necessary. Those are what the Chinese call the fang pian expedient provisional means, which is not necessary at all because the Buddha's original teachings in the Nikayas are complete and pure. There's no need to add to it and no need to subtract from it. Then headman, just like the field of middling quality, are the male and female lay followers to me. To them too I teach the Dharma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end. With the right meaning and bracing, I reveal the holy life that is perfectly complete and pure. For what reason? Because they dwell with me as their island, with me as their shelter, with me as their protector, with me as their refuge. Then headman, Just like that field that is inferior, rough, salty, with bad ground, are the ascetics, brahmins, and wanderers of other sects to me. Yet to them too I teach the Dhamma, that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, with the right meaning and phrasing. I reveal the holy life that is perfectly complete and pure. For what reason? Because if they understand even a single sentence, that will lead to their welfare and happiness for a long time. Talk to you for a moment. So here the Buddha compares these three groups of people with the three fields. The monks, the Buddhist monks and nuns are the most excellent field where the Buddha will teach the most. Then the second is the lay supporters, the male and female lay followers. Since they also take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, the Buddha also teaches to them. But because they have less time, so the Buddha also teaches them less. Thirdly, the ascetics and Brahmins, those that are willing to listen, the Buddha will teach them. Not all of them will want to listen. Those that are willing to listen, the Buddha will teach, hoping that at least they will understand a bit. Some of them, after understanding a bit of the Dhamma, they convert and become disciples of the Buddha. Suppose headman, a man had three water pots, one without cracks, which does not let water seep through and escape, one without cracks, but which lets water seep through and escape, and one with cracks, which lets water seep through and escape. What do you think, headman? If that man wants to store water, where would he store it first? in the water pot that is without cracks, which does not let water seep through and escape, or in the water pot that is without cracks, but which lets water seep through and escape, or in the water pot that has cracks, and which lets water seep through and escape. And he said, If, verbal Sir, that man wants to store water, he would store it in the water-pot that is without cracks, which does not let water seep through and escape. Having stored water there, he would next store it in the water-pot that is without cracks, but which lets water seep through and escape. Having stored it there, he might or might not store it in the water-pot that has cracks, which lets water seep through and escape. For what reason? Because it can at least be used for washing dishes. stop here for a moment. So, if a man has these three types of pots, of course, first, he will store it in the best water pot, where it does not leak, so that the water will be kept useful whenever he wants to use it. Then, if he still has a lot of water left, he will store it in the second best water pot, which although is not cracked, but allows some water to seep through. And then the third water pot, which has cracks, Probably best not to keep it there, but for some reason or other, he may want to keep it there, even though it seeps through slowly, the water, because if he doesn't keep it there, at least he can use it for washing dishes, and don't waste it by letting it leak away. Eight men, just like the water pot that is without cracks, which does not let water seep through and escape, are the monks and nuns to me. I teach them the Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, with the right meaning and phrasing. I reveal the holy life that is perfectly complete and pure. For what reason? Because they dwell with me as their island, with me as their shelter, with me as their protector, with me as their refuge. Then, headman, just like the water pot that is without cracks, but which lets water seep through and escape, are the male and female lay followers to me. To them, too, I teach the Dharma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, with the right meaning and phrasing. I reveal the holy life that is perfectly complete and pure. For what reason? Because they dwell with me as their island, with me as their shelter, with me as their protector, with me as their refuge. Then, headman, Just like the water pot that has cracks, which lets water seep through and escape, are the ascetics, brahmins and wanderers of other sects to me. Yet to them too I teach the dharma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle and good in the end, the right meaning and phrasing. and reveal the holy life that is perfectly complete and pure. For what reason? Because if they understand even a single sentence, that will lead to their welfare and happiness for a long time. When this was said, Asibandhakaputta, the headman, said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Venerable Sir, Magnificent Venerable Sir, and then he took refuge with the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. From today, let the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life. That's the end of the Sutta. So here the Buddha explains why he doesn't teach the same amount of Dhamma to everybody. Sometimes we have to use our wisdom. If a person doesn't have the time to practice, no point to teach him so much. It's like casting pearls before swine. You have pearls or diamonds, you cast it before ox or pigs. They won't value it. So that's the end for today. Very interesting, some of these sutras. Okay, this one is from one of the personality actor in Sarvabhauma. So this, the Sarvabhauma, what do you call that? Is he acting? Is he a role model for the people? It depends on what type of acting, what type of show you put up. If you put up those very worldly shows, like Dallas and all that, although I haven't seen, I heard some people say a bit about it. And it's not very good. It increases people's greed, hatred and delusion. You see, nowadays especially, a lot of young people, they watch all these violent movies and they become very violent. And some people watch all kinds of shows, violent shows and all that, and then they go psycho, start killing people and all that. So a lot of these shows, it's not a good influence. But if you, maybe you act in a show that has a moral value, teach people to be good, then maybe it's different. But most of these shows, these entertainment shows, it's just full of lust, hatred and delusion. So you see a lot of these entertainers, whether it's entertainers in the music field or in the movies and all that, you see when they grow old, their end is not very good. They make money, they enjoy so much, they used up a lot of the blessings. It's true that informative things a lot are associated with a wide variety of knowledge that are available on the internet. I'd like to take a moment now to thank everyone on the panel for their presence. It's so important to that in this moment. Yet it bothers us that we can't explain exactly what's going to happen at the time and who we're going to be teaching. Not necessary. This knowledge depends on what knowledge. If it is worldly knowledge, then it is not beneficial. But if it is Dhamma knowledge, I think it is very beneficial because Dhamma knowledge teaches you how to contemplate the Dhamma in the right way. And like the Suttas we heard about Citta, the layman, his knowledge of the Dhamma is so good and he can correct the senior monks. So that Dhamma knowledge to him is not a hindrance. So it's not just like desires. The Buddha didn't say all desires are bad. The Buddha also didn't say that all attachments are bad. The Buddha said if that type of desire gives you suffering, then it's bad for you. But if that type of desire leads you to happiness, then it's good. For example, worldly desires, desires for worldly things, unwholesome because they end up with suffering, but if you desire to be liberated, desire to practice the holy life, to give up worldly pleasures and all that, And that is a good type of desire. Just like the Buddha says, indulging in pleasures. There are two types of pleasures, the Buddha said. To indulge in worldly pleasures, that is discouraged by the Buddha, because it gives you happiness in the end. What do we say? Tao Tim Boi Khor. Xin Tim Hao Fu. Xin Tim Hao Fu. That is the worldly happiness. But the holy life is the opposite. Tao ko bo yin ti, xin fu hao tim. Just now I was saying that there are two types of pleasures. One is worldly pleasures that you should not indulge in, which the Buddha discourages his disciples from indulging in. But the bliss of happiness, bliss that comes from meditation, deep meditation, the Buddha says that is blameless. And in fact, he encourages his disciples to indulge in that jhānic bliss, because for the simple reason that it leads you to attain the stages of ārya-hūtta. So tapanna, sakadagamin, anagamin and arahant-hūtta. So we have to differentiate between what is wholesome and what is unwholesome. So, it's been so far so good that the one thing I'm interested in is the way that I'm taught is that I'm so excited about my life. And I don't know if you guys have ever said to me how that when you talk about human education, you know, you talk about the way you do research and research and research, and so that's what people are talking about in all their... I don't know, it's totally different. They don't have the time and they don't know how to do it. And how do you go about doing it? In the suttas, the Buddha says it is alright for a monk to teach Dhamma, but even if he teaches Dhamma, every day he has to set aside some time for meditation to calm his mind, to tranquilize his mind. It is alright for a monk to investigate the Dhamma, to study the suttas or to repeat the suttas, but he must set aside some time every day to It's not like you set aside a few weeks or a few months. No, no, no. That is not. Every day you must do your meditation practice. Just like what we do now. We set aside four and a half hours every day to have a group sitting. There are other times if you want to meditate on your own, fine. If you want to investigate the Dhamma on your own, fine. If you want to listen to CDs, fine. But the minimum everyday here is four and a half hours group meditation. That is enough to make us progress. But of course, even investigating the Dhamma, we have to be very careful. As I mentioned in my book Liberation, studying too much is one extreme. Not studying at all the Dhamma is another extreme. So we have to take the middle path, and the middle path is to investigate only the Buddha's words in the Nikayas, in the original discourses of the Buddha in the Nikayas. Of course, if you want to investigate, for example, Abhidhamma, like I did, I spent some time, but not too much time, but with my foundation of the Suttas, my understanding of the Suttas, when I studied the Abhidhamma, I can know where are the contradictions with the Suttas. If your foundation of the suttas is not good enough, when you study Abhidhamma, you don't know there's a lot of contradictions. Similarly, when you study Mahayana books, and you compare them with the original suttas, if you have good knowledge of the original suttas and the Nikayas, straight away you will know contradictions, where there are contradictions. Because a lot of these later books, like Abhidhamma, Mahayana, Visuddhimagga, commentaries and all that, they have a lot of dhamma. but they add a bit of hard damma, what is contrary to damma. They put a bit of shit in the nice food. So if you are ignorant, you swallow the whole thing, including the shit inside. So you have to be very careful so that you know how to differentiate. So we study the other books just for comparison. But we should spend our time investigating only the original suttas in the earliest four Nikayas plus the six books of the Kutaka Nikaya that are mentioned in my book Liberation. So if you concentrate on these original words of the Buddha and study them again and again, you will have a very good foundation on the Dhamma. And this understanding of the Dhamma is extremely important because the Buddha says in the suttas that there are only five occasions when a person attains liberation. And out of these five vocations, four of them have to do with the Dhamma. So it shows that if you don't know enough Dhamma, you can never be liberated. One is when a person is listening to the Dhamma, he becomes liberated. Second, when a person is teaching the Dhamma, For example, these few weeks I have been teaching this Samyutta Nikaya, I have to do a lot of homework to study, and then there are some words which are not very clear, the translation, I have to check the Pali dictionary, I have to check the original Pali text, and then I have to compare with the Pali text, society translation, and all these things. prepare these suttas to teach. In the process of teaching, I also learn more Dharma. So the second time a person attains liberation is when he's teaching the Dharma. The third time when he's repeating the Dharma, during the Buddha's time, they repeat the suttas again and again. But nowadays, since we have it in book form, instead of repeating, we study the suttas again and again. It's the same as repeating the suttas. I keep studying them again and again, understand more. And the fourth occasion, when he reflects on the Dhamma. Having learnt the Dhamma, when we are free, we reflect on it to understand it better, to see it from different angles. So, four of these occasions, a person can become liberated, can become a Arahant. Only the fifth occasion is during meditation, when he is contemplating on the Samadhi Nimitta, the object. of the meditation. Because the object of the meditation is not the jhāna itself, but when he comes out of the jhāna, like the Buddha having come out of the four jhāna, he contemplated the Four Noble Truths. So at that time, that is his samādhi-nimitta, his object of concentration, his mind contemplating the Four Noble Truths and he became enlightened. So you see even this last moment may have to do with the Dhamma. So the Dhamma is extremely important. So the theory and the practice must go together. The theory is the studying of the suttas. The practice is sharpening our mind by practicing Satipatthana which will lead you to Jhana. In the Buddha's discourses, Satipatthana and Jhāna are not separate. Nowadays, some meditation teachers try to say that Satipatthana and Jhāna are different, nothing to do with each other. But in the suttas, if you practice Satipatthana correctly, it must lead you to the Jhānas. Otherwise, you are not practicing Satipatthana. You think you are practicing Satipatthana. That's exactly what the suttas say. When a person attains Sotapanna, destroys the factor called Sakkayaditti. Sakkayaditti, we have explained it in some suttas a few nights ago. Sakkayaditti means identity view. That means you identify yourself with the body and the mind. which is basically the five aggregates of attachment, body, feelings, perception, volition, and consciousness, which is basically body and mind. So we see the body and the mind as I or mind, or the body and mind as being in the self, or the self as being in the body and the mind. So we associate the body and the mind with the self, that's why it's called identity view, because you identify yourself with the body and the mind. So when a person becomes a Sotapanna, he sees that the body and the mind is not the self, because it is impermanent. One day the body and the mind will disappear, will die and perish. So he does not see the body and the mind as the self, but he still has the self. And somehow that self is associated with the five khandas, but yet it is not inside the five khandas. So that's the difference, because only the arahant has eliminated the self totally, that conceit, I am, I exist, is the last thing that we have to eliminate to become an arahant. No, it doesn't cling to that. He still has his self, but he does not see that the five aggregates are the self. Shall we stop here for tonight?

23SNGamaniCh4220090821

Today is the 21st of August and we are at the chapter 42, Gamani Sangyutta. So now we come to Sutra 42.8. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Nalanda in Pavarika's mango grove. Then Asi Bandhakaputta, the headman, a lay disciple of the Nigantas, approached the Blessed One. exchanged greetings and all that, and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him as he was sitting to one side, in what way, it meant, does Niganta Nataputta teach the Dhamma to his disciples? Troubled Sir, Niganta Nataputta teaches the Dhamma to his disciples thus. Anyone at all who destroys life is bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Anyone at all who takes what is not given is bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Anyone at all who engages in sexual misconduct is bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Anyone at all who speaks falsehood is bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. one is led on to rebirth by the manner in which one usually dwells. It is in such a way, Venerable Sir, that Nigantha Nataputta teaches the Dhamma to his disciples. When the Buddha said, If it meant it were the case that one is led on to rebirth by the manner in which one usually dwells, then according to Nigantha Nataputta's word, no one at all would be bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. What do you think, headman? In the case of a person who destroys life, if one compares one occasion with another, whether by day or by night, which is more frequent, the occasions when he is destroying life or those when he is not doing so? And Asibandhakaputta said, in the case of a person who destroys life and will serve, if one compares one occasion with another, whether by day or by night, The occasions when he is destroying life are infrequent, while those when he is not doing so are frequent. Then the Buddha said, So headman, if it were the case that one is led on to rebirth by the manner in which one usually dwells, then according to Nigantha Anathaputta's word, no one at all would be bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Stop here for a moment. So this In Kanta Nataputta says that one is led on to rebirth by the manner in which one usually dwells. So if a person is a killer, whether he's a butcher or he's a soldier or what, the Buddha says that in one day, like 24 hours, how much time does he spend killing? Maybe an hour or two. But the rest of the time, that means 23 hours or 22 hours, he does not do any killing. So most of the time, he does not do any killing. And that is the manner in which he usually dwells. So he wouldn't go to hell. Because most of the time he doesn't kill. What do you think, headman, in the case of a person who takes what is not given, or who engages in sexual misconduct, or who speaks falsehood, if one compares one occasion with another, whether by day or by night, which is more frequent, the occasions when he is speaking falsehood, or those when he is not speaking falsehood? In the case of a person who speaks falsehood, if one compares one occasion with another, whether by day or by night, the occasions when he is speaking falsehood are infrequent, while those when he is not speaking falsehood are frequent. Then the Buddha said, So had man, if it were the case that one is led on to rebirth by the manner in which one usually dwells, then according to Nigantha Nataputta's word, no one at all would be bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Here, headman, some teacher holds such a doctrine and view as this. Anyone at all who destroys life, who takes what is not given, who engages in sexual misconduct, who speaks falsehood, is bound for a state of misery, is bound for hell. Then a disciple has full confidence in that teacher. It occurs to him, my teacher holds such a doctrine and view as this, anyone at all who destroys life is bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Now I have destroyed life, so I too am bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Does he acquire such a view? If he does not abandon that assertion and that state of mind, and if he does not relinquish that view, then according to his deserts, he will be, as it were, dropped off in hell. It occurs to him, my teacher holds such a doctrine and view as this, anyone at all who takes what is not given is bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Now I have taken what is not given, so I too am bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Thus he acquires such a view. If he does not abandon that assertion, he will be, as it were, dropped off in hell. It occurs to him, my teacher holds such a doctrine and view as this, anyone at all who engages in sexual misconduct is bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Now I have engaged in sexual misconduct, so I too am bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Thus he acquires such a view. If he does not abandon that assertion, that view, he will be as it were dropped off in hell. It occurs to him, my teacher holds such a doctrine and view as this. Anyone and all who speaks falsehood is bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Now I have spoken falsehood, so I too am bound for a state of misery, bound for hell. Thus he acquires such a view. If he does not abandon that assertion, that view, he will be as it were dropped off in hell. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, that this teacher says that anyone at all who breaks the precepts is bound for hell. So his disciple, the disciple of that teacher, he has full confidence in that teacher. He believes thoroughly what the teacher says. So because These precepts, it's not possible to keep a hundred percent. So, because he has broken some of the precepts, so he believes what the teacher says, that he's bound for hell. And then the Buddha says, if he holds such a view, and such an assertion, and his state of mind is like that, so when he dies, he will naturally go to hell, because he believes that he's going to hell. So which reminds us, there's a lot of wrong views around, and a lot of people believe their teacher, and believe all these wrong views. And the Buddha says, if you have wrong view about karma, then you either one of two rebirths, one is hell, the other one is the animal realm. Then the Buddha continue. But here, headman, the Tathagata arises in the world, an arahant, perfectly enlightened, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, fortunate knower of the world, unsurpassed teacher of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, the enlightened one, the blessed one. In many ways, he criticizes and censures the destruction of life, and he says, abstain from the destruction of life. He criticizes and censures the taking of what is not given, and he says, abstain from taking what is not given. He criticizes and censures sexual misconduct, and he says, abstain from sexual misconduct. He criticizes and censures false speech, and he says, abstain from false speech. Then his disciple has full confidence in that teacher. He reflects thus, in many ways the Blessed One criticizes and censures the destruction of life, and He says, abstain from the destruction of life. Now, I have destroyed life to such and such an extent, that wasn't proper, that wasn't good, but though I feel regret over this, that evil deed of mine cannot be undone. Having reflected thus, He abandons the destruction of life, and He abstains from the destruction of life in the future. Thus there comes about the abandoning of that evil deed. Thus there comes about the transcending of that evil deed. He reflects thus, in many ways the Blessed One criticizes and censures the taking of what is not given. And he says, abstain from taking what is not given. Now I have taken what is not given to such and such an extent. That wasn't proper, that wasn't good. But though I feel regret over this, that evil deed of mine cannot be undone. Haring reflected thus, he abandons the taking of what is not given, and he abstains from taking what is not given in the future. Thus there comes about the abandoning of that evil deed. Thus there comes about the transcending of that evil deed. He reflects thus, in many ways the Blessed One criticises and censures sexual misconduct and He says, abstain from sexual misconduct. Now I have engaged in sexual misconduct to such and such an extent, that wasn't proper, that wasn't good. But though I feel regret over this, that evil deed of mine cannot be undone. Having reflected thus, he abandons sexual misconduct, and he abstains from sexual misconduct in the future. Thus there comes about the abandoning of that evil deed. Thus there comes about the transcending of that evil deed. He reflects thus, in many ways the Blessed One criticizes and censures false speech, and He says, abstain from false speech. Now, I have spoken falsehood to such and such an extent. That wasn't proper, that wasn't good. Although I feel regret over this, that evil deed of mine cannot be undone. Having reflected thus, he abandons false speech, and he abstains from false speech in the future. Thus there comes about the abandoning of that evil deed. Thus there comes about the transcending of that evil deed. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, he is unlike that Nigantha Nataputta. Nigantha Nataputta says that if you break any of the precepts, you will definitely go to hell. But the Buddha doesn't say that. The Buddha says that breaking the precepts is not skillful, not wholesome. He criticizes the breaking of the precepts. And the Buddha encourages his disciples to abstain from wrong conduct, to keep the precepts. So when a person follows the Buddha and he reflects that he has broken the precepts, he knows that he should not have done it. But the Buddha doesn't say that he will go to hell. realizes that it's not good, so he makes a determination that in the future he will not do it again. So that's the way we practice the precepts. Just like a child or a baby learning to walk. When the baby falls down, he gets up, tries again. Falls down, he gets up again. Gets up as many times as is necessary. So in the same way, when we keep the precepts, every now and then we break the precepts. It doesn't matter how many times we break, we just keep on trying to behave better. So, especially when we reflect, before we came to the Dhamma, we did a lot of wrong things. At that time, because of ignorance, we did a lot of wrong things. We broke the precepts. But now that we understand that it's not good, so we don't walk that path, because that path goes to the woeful plains. So slowly we change our character, change our character for the better. So slowly as we change our character for the better, then slowly we become like the ugly duckling becoming a beautiful swan. And the Buddha continued, having abandoned the destruction of life, he abstains from the destruction of life. Having abandoned the taking of what is not given, he abstains from taking what is not given. Having abandoned sexual misconduct, he abstains from sexual misconduct. Having abandoned false speech, he abstains from false speech. Having abandoned divisive, actually it's not divisive speech, it should be malicious speech. Having abandoned malicious speech, Malicious speech means speech that is motivated by anger. And there are two types of speech motivated by anger. One is slandering somebody else, telling lies, slandering another person. Or hearing A talking bad about B, you go and tell B, A says such and such a thing, and you cause A and B to quarrel. So that is divisive speech. So this is having abandoned malicious speech. He abstains from malicious speech. Having abandoned harsh speech, he abstains from harsh speech. Having abandoned idle chatter, he abstains from idle chatter. Having abandoned covetousness, he is uncovetous. Having abandoned ill-will and hatred, he has a mind without ill-will. Having abandoned wrong view, he is one of right view. Stop here for a moment. So here is a list of the ten unwholesome kamas. This is something you must always keep in mind. You must memorize these ten unwholesome kamas because it is very important to abstain from these ten unwholesome kamas. They are kamas through the body, speech and mind. Through the body there are three wrong kamas, three evil kamas. One is killing. Another one is taking what is not given or stealing. Third is sexual misconduct or adultery. So the body, three evil body kammas. Then four evil verbal kammas. Through the mouth, we can do wrong by false speech, lying. Secondly, malicious speech. Then thirdly, past speech or cause speech, using foul language and loud speech and all that. Then the fourth is idle chatter, gossip. So through the mouth we can do four wrong kammas. And then mental kamma, there are three. First is covetousness. Greed for other people's things. Greed for other people's property. Greed for other people's husband or wife. It's carpeciousness. And then the second mental evil karma is having a lot of ill will. Having a lot of anger and hatred in the mind. That is the second one. Third one is wrong view. Wrong view means not believing in kamavipaka, not believing that after death there is rebirth, that there is life, not believing that there are holy men who walk the spiritual path and can become liberated and all that. So that is wrong view. So these ten always keep in mind not to do these ten, any one of these ten unwholesome kamas because If you constantly do any one of these evil kammas, I can bring you to hell. Then the Buddha continued. Then it meant that noble disciple who is thus devoid of covetousness, devoid of ill will, unconfused, clearly comprehending, ever mindful, dwells pervading one quarter with the mind imbued with loving kindness. Likewise, the second quarter, the third quarter, and the fourth quarter, Thus, above, below, across, and everywhere, and to all as to himself, he dwells pervading the entire world with a mind imbued with loving-kindness, vast, exalted, measureless, without hostility, without ill-will. Just as a strong conch blower can easily send his signal to the four quarters, so too, when the liberation by mind of loving-kindness is developed and cultivated in this way, any limited kamma that was done does not remain there, does not persist there. Stop here for a moment. This one is liberation by mind or release by mind of loving-kindness. That means the mind is so strong it radiates loving-kindness. We can call it radiation by mind of loving-kindness. He dwells pervading one quarter with the mind imbued with compassion, karuna, with the mind imbued with joy, mudita, with the mind imbued with equanimity, upekka, likewise the second quarter, the third quarter, and the fourth quarter, thus above, below, across, and everywhere, and to all as to himself. He dwells pervading the entire world with the mind imbued with these four qualities. Vast, exalted, measureless, without hostility, without ill-will, just as a strong conch blower can easily send its signal to the four quarters, so too, when the liberation by mind of equanimity, or any of the four, is developed and cultivated in this way, any limited karma that was done does not remain there, does not persist there. When this was said, Asibandhakaputta, the headman, said to the Blessed One, Magnificent, Venerable Sir, magnificent. And he took refuge in the triple gems. And he said, from today, let the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life. In other words, he changed his religion from the Nigaantas to the Buddha. So this is a nice sutra about karma. So always remember in the Buddha's teachings, if we do wrong, we don't regret too much. Always think of the future. What is past, don't go and have a lot of remorse. I only have the remorse to the extent that we make a determination not to repeat it. Don't be like some people, they have remorse over the past and they commit suicide. The next sutta is 42.9. On one occasion, the Blessed One, while wandering on tour among the Kosalans, together with the large Sangha of monks, arrived at Nalanda. He stayed there at Nalanda, in Pavarika's mango grove. Stop here for a while. This Kosala is one of the two powerful countries during the Buddha's time, Kosala and Magadha. And the king of Kosala is Pasenadi. I think we read one sanghuta about Pasenadi. Raja Akosala. So he stayed at Nalanda, at Bavarika's mango grove. Now on that occasion, Nalanda was in the grip of famine, a time of scarcity, with crops blighted and turned to straw. On that occasion, Niganta Nataputta was residing at Nalanda, together with a large retinue of Nigantas. Then Asibandhakaputta, the headman, a lay disciple of the Nigantas, approached Nigantha Nataputta, paid homage to him, and sat down to one side. Dikanta Nataputta then said to him, Come headman, refute the doctrine of the ascetic Gautama, then a good report concerning you will be spread about thus. Asibandhakaputta, the headman, has refuted the doctrine of the ascetic Gautama, who is so powerful and mighty. Stop here for a moment. So, the Buddha with a large sangha of monks was at Nalanda. And this Nigantha Nataputta, he also was in the same place, Nalanda, with a large retinue of his monks. So he was jealous of the Buddha, because the Buddha had a very good reputation. So because he was jealous, he asked his lay follower, Asibandhakaputta, to go and argue with the Buddha. win the argument. But he himself dare not go. He is very smart. Instead of going himself, he go and ask this headman to go and argue for him. And then this Asibhandaka Buddha asked him, But how, Venerable Sir, shall I refute the doctrine of the ascetic Uttama, who is so powerful and mighty? And then he said, Go, headman, approach the ascetic Gautama and ask him, Venerable Sir, doesn't the Blessed One in many ways praise sympathy towards families, the protection of families, compassion towards families? If when he is questioned by you thus, the ascetic Gautama answers, Yes, headman, the Tathagata in many ways praises sympathy for families, the protection of families, compassion for families, then you should say to him, Then why, Venerable Sir, is the Blessed One wandering on tour with the large Sangha of monks at a time of famine, a time of scarcity, when crops are blighted and have turned to straw? The Blessed One is practicing for the annihilation of families, for the calamity of families, for the destruction of families. When the ascetic Gautama is posed this dilemma by you, he will neither be able to throw it up nor to gulp it down. Let's stop here for a moment. So, this Nigantha Anathaputta told this headman to ask the Buddha, you are supposed to be compassionate. Why you go around with a large sangha of monks and bringing hardship to the people? The people are already experiencing famine, not enough to eat. Now you bring such a large sangha of monks begging for food. You are causing people difficulty, they already don't have enough to eat. Then Asi Bandarka put out the headman and said, yes, I will serve. Then he rose from his seat, and after paying homage to Nigantha Nataputta, keeping him on his right, he departed and went to the Blessed One. After paying homage to the Blessed One, he sat down to one side and said to Him, Revered Sir, doesn't the Blessed One in many ways praise sympathy for families, the protection of families, compassion for families? And he said, yes, headman, the Tathagata in many ways praises sympathy for families, protection of families, compassion for families. Then why, Venerable Sir, is the Blessed One wandering on tour with the large Sangha of monks at a time of famine, a time of scarcity, when crops are blighted and have turned to straw? The Blessed One is practicing for the annihilation of families, for the calamity of families, for the destruction of families. And the Buddha said, I recollect, or I remember, 91 aeons, that means world cycles back then, but I do not recall any family that has ever been destroyed merely by offering cooked alms food. Rather, whatever families there are that are rich, with much wealth and property, with abundant gold and silver, with abundant possessions and means of subsistence, with abundant wealth and grain, they all have become so from giving, from truthfulness and from self-control." Stop here for a moment. So the Buddha says, just because they give food, to monks, they share their food with monks, it doesn't mean that they are destroyed. In fact, it's the opposite. If they give in the future, they'll be very, very rich. In fact, in the suttas, the Buddha always says, what is difficult to do is more meritorious. So like at the time of famine, when it's difficult to give and they can give, the merit is even more than in the time when there is no famine. And then also the Buddha says here that three things makes a person very wealthy. One is giving charity. Second one is truthfulness. And the third is self-control. Self-control, that means you keep the precepts. You don't over-indulge yourself in wine, women, and song, and all that. And then the Buddha continued. It meant there are eight causes and conditions for the destruction of families. Families come to destruction on account of the king, on account of thieves, and on account of fire, or on account of water, or they do not find what they have put away, or mismanaged undertakings fail, or there arises within a family a wastrel who squanders, dissipates, and fritters away his wealth. And impermanence is the eighth. These are the eight causes and conditions for the destruction of families. But while these eight causes and conditions for the destruction of families exist, if anyone speaks thus of me, the Blessed One is practising for the annihilation of families, for the calamity of families, for the destruction of families. If he does not abandon that assertion and that state of mind, and if he does not relinquish that view, then according to his desires, he will be, as it were, dropped off in hell. And this was said, Asibandhakaputta, the headman, said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Venerable Sir, Magnificent Venerable Sir, and then he took refuge in the three triple gems and became a lay follower of the Buddha. So this last part, the Buddha says, eight causes and conditions cause the downfall of a family, destruction of family. One is the king. For some reason, if you antagonize the king, the king can get his soldiers to slaughter your whole family. During those times, the king was very powerful. Secondly, because of thieves or bandits, they can come and rob your house and kill your family members. Number three, because of fire. Fire can destroy all your property. Number four, because of water, floodwaters. Floodwaters can kill all your crops, all your property. And then the fifth, they do not find what they have put away. That means they are careless. They simply don't look after their things properly. This one, a lot of people sometimes are very careless because you think we have a lot of things that simply can throw away, but actually it's not good. Then another one, mismanaged undertakings fail. That means you do something and like business, you know, business fails or you plant crops and the crops fail or whatever. For there arises within a family a wastrel who squanders dissipation, fritters away his wealth. That means one of the family members is a squanderer, squanders away the property that was hard earned. So in any organization or so, you have like this. Even in the monastery as well, we have to be careful. Sometimes some people stay in the monastery, especially monks, because monks sometimes they think that everything belongs to the Sangha. Sometimes they can raise things. They forget that the Sangha things are meant for the Sangha of the future. And then impermanence is, they say, the wealthy family usually doesn't grow past three generations or something. Unless the family is very careful, then otherwise the wealth cannot continue in the family. So these are the eight causes for the destruction of families. Our families can come to ruin. So you have a family man, take note of this. Now the next sutra is 42.10. I just mention one other thing. You see in this sutra, because of jealousy, this nirganta, nataputta, try to slander the Buddha. And sometimes for other reasons, sometimes even within our Buddhist religion, sometimes some people don't like a particular monk. Because he teaches different from what they are accustomed to hear. So sometimes for that reason they don't like him. Sometimes they can slander him. But they don't understand the Dhamma. It's very bad.

24SNGamaniCh42AsankhataCh4320090821

Now, Sutta 42.10. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. On that occasion, the members of the king's retinue had assembled in the royal palace and were sitting together, and the following conversation arose. Gold and silver Gold and silver represents money. Gold and silver are allowable for the ascetics following the Sakyan Sun. The ascetics following the Sakyan Sun consent to gold and silver. The ascetics following the Sakyan Sun accept gold and silver. On that occasion, Mani Chulaka, the headman, was sitting in that assembly. Then Mani Chulaka, the headman, said to that assembly, Do not speak thus, Masters. Gold and silver are not allowable for the ascetics following the Sakyan-san. The ascetics following the Sakyan-san do not consent to gold and silver. The ascetics following the Sakyan-san do not accept gold and silver. They have renounced jewelry and gold. They have given up the use of gold and silver. and Mani Chulaka was able to convince that assembly. Stop here for a moment. So here, some of these people were saying that Buddhist monks are allowed to accept money. Why they say this? Because There were some rotten monks, even during the Buddha's time, who accepted money but did not keep the precepts properly. Just as now, there are even much more monks who don't behave according to the precepts. But sometimes people misunderstand. They think the precept forbids a monk from touching money. That's not true. That is a misinterpretation by some monks purposely. The exact interpretation, as you see, according to this sutra, is that a monk is not allowed to possess money. Because if a monk possesses money, he can use the money in whichever way he likes. And if he uses the money to enjoy himself, then he is not of the nature of a monk, as stated here. So, in the monk's precepts, sometimes a monk is required to touch money or to touch valuable things. For example, in the monk's precepts, If a lay person comes to the monastery and left the purse with a lot of money in it and went home. So if a monk sees that, he is supposed, according to the precept, is required to take that purse and keep it for safekeeping. And then another day when that person returns to the monastery, he is supposed to hand it over to that person. In the same way, if a monk goes to a layperson's house for dāna or something, and then that layperson offers the food, and then in a hurry to do something, that layperson leaves the house, and the monk finishes his food, then he finds that the layperson maybe left a valuable diamond ring or something on the table, or a lot of money in the purse or something, on the couch or something. And if the monk goes away and the house is not locked, that valuable object may get lost. So the monk is required to keep take that valuable object and keep it in safekeeping to return to the owner. So even in the precepts, the monk is required to do that. So a lot of people have the wrong impression that the monk is not supposed to touch the money. So why some monks interpret it in this way? Because they like to possess money. So when they possess money, like recently somebody told me about some nun, She got money in her purse, in her bag. And then she wanted to use the money. She asked the layperson to take the money from the bag and to do some charity or buy something or other. So she thinks as long as she doesn't touch the money, there's nothing wrong. That's not correct. The real thing is that you're not allowed to possess the money. So whatever money is given, say to the monastery, is not considered as belonging to the monk. It's for the use of the Sangha in the present and the future. So if it's not used, it's supposed to be given back to the donors. So the monks can use the money, but they cannot at any time consider the money to be theirs. Because if the money is considered to be theirs, they can use it in any way they want. But if the money is not theirs, it's only for them to use when they require according to certain limits. That means they can use the money only for allowable items. They cannot use it for luxurious items. It's all very well spelt out in the Vinaya, Honestic Discipline. So in this case, even during the Buddha's time, some monks were accepting money. That's why these people were talking that surely the Buddha allowed these monks to accept. And this Maniculaka is more familiar with the Buddha than he told them. Actually, it's not allowed according to the precepts. and was able to convince them. Then Mani Chulaka approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him and sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, he reported to the Blessed One all that had happened, adding, I hope, Venerable Sir, that when I answered thus, I stated what has been said by the Blessed One and did not misrepresent Him in what is contrary to fact. that I explain in accordance with the Dhamma, and that no reasonable consequences of my statement gives rise for criticism." And the Buddha said, For sure ahead, man, when you answered thus, you stated what has been said by me, and did not misrepresent me with what is contrary to fact. You explain in accordance with the Dhamma, and no reasonable consequence of your statement gives ground for criticism. For headmen, gold and silver are not allowable for the ascetics following the Sakhin son. The ascetics following the Sakhin son do not consent to gold and silver. The ascetics following the Sakhin son do not accept gold and silver. They have renounced jewellery and gold. They have given up the use of gold and silver. If gold and silver are allowable for anyone, the five courts of sensual pleasure are allowable for him. If the five courts of sensual pleasure are allowable for anyone, you can definitely consider him to be one who does not have the character of an ascetic or of a follower of the Sakin son. Further, headman, I say this. Straw may be sought by one needing straw. Timber may be sought by one needing timber. A cart can be sought by one needing a cart. A workman may be sought by one needing a workman. But I do not say that there is any method by which gold and silver may be consented to or sought. That's the end of the sutra. So here the Buddha says, his disciples have given up money, given up jewelry and property. And here he states very clearly why he does not allow monks to possess money. He says if monks are allowed money, then they can use it to enjoy the five courts of sensual pleasure. to buy whatever they like to enjoy. And if they enjoy worldly pleasures, then they are definitely not of the character, of the nature of a Buddhist monk. Sakinsan is Sakyaputta, not a follower of the Then the Buddha says a monk is allowed to look for straw, to look for timber, to look for card, to look for workmen, but there is no way by which a monk may be allowed to look for money. So that's why it's not allowed for a monk to raise funds and all that. So we try as far as we can not to do anything to raise funds. If people give, then we use. Like when we started, we also lay quite low. So initially we had difficulties. Slowly as we do our work, gradually the support comes naturally. You don't have to look for money. You just do the right thing and your karma will give you the blessings. The next sutta, 42.11. So you see this sutta spells out exactly why money is not allowed for a monk. So here it says, if money is allowed to a monk, then he can enjoy worldly pleasures. In other words, when you say it's allowed, that means a monk is not allowed to possess money. If he considers the money as monastery money, then he cannot simply use it as he likes. There are rules for using the money. Next Sutta, 42.11, Bhadraka. This word sometimes is Bhadragaka. In the Pali Text Society book, it is called Bhadragaka. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at a town of the Malans named Uruvela Kappa. Then Bhadraka, the headman, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, It would be good, Venerable Sir, if the Blessed One would teach me about the origin and the passing away of suffering. And the Buddha said, If, headman, I were to teach you about the origin and the passing away of suffering with reference to the past, saying, So it was in the past, perplexity and uncertainty about that might arise in you. And if I were to teach you about the origin and the passing away of suffering with reference to the future, saying, So it will be in the future, Perplexity and uncertainty about that might arise in you. Instead, headman, while I am sitting right here and you are sitting right here, I will teach you about the origin and the passing away of suffering. Listen to that and attend closely. I will speak. Yes, Venerable Sir, Bhadraka the headman replied. The Blessed One said, What do you think, headman, are there any people in Uruvela Kappa on whose account sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair would arise in you if they were to be executed, imprisoned, fined or censured? There are such people, Venerable Sir. But are there any people on Uruvela Kappa on whose account sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair would not arise in you in such an event? There are such people, Venerable Sir. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, don't talk about suffering in the past or the future. We talk about suffering, the origin of suffering right now. The Buddha says, are there people, if they were executed or imprisoned, etc., you would feel suffering? And he says there are. You see, like if your family members, your close friends, they are imprisoned or executed, definitely you suffer. Then he asked, are there other people, if they were imprisoned and executed and all that, you would not feel anything? Then he said, there are also. What, headman, is the cause and reason why, in relation to some people in Uruvela Kappa, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair could arise in you if they were to be executed, imprisoned, fined, or censured, while in regard to others, no such sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair could arise in you? And he said, those people in Uruvela Kappa, Venerable Sir, in relation to whom sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair would arise in me if they were to be executed, imprisoned, fined or censured, these are the ones for whom I have desire and attachment. But those people in Uruvela Kappa, in relation to whom no sorrow or lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair would arise in me, these are the ones for whom I have no desire and attachment. And the Buddha said, Headman, by means of this principle that is seen, understood, immediately attained, fathom, apply the method to the past and to the future thus. Whatever suffering arose in the past, all that arose rooted in desire, with desire as its source, with desire as the root of suffering. Whatever suffering will arise in the future, all that will arise rooted in desire, with desire as its source, for desire is the root of suffering." And he said, it is wonderful, Venerable Sir, it is amazing, Venerable Sir, how well that has been stated by the Blessed One. Whatever suffering arises, all that is rooted in desire, has desire as its source, for desire is the root of suffering. Let's stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, just like these people you say, if something happens to them, they are imprisoned or executed, you feel a lot of sorrow. And you say it's because of desire for them, attachment to them. So in the same way, the Buddha said you should realize that whatever suffering in the past, that also arose for the same reason, because you have desire and attachment for them. And similarly in the future, if you suffer at all, it's also because of your desire and attachment for some people. And then this Bhadraka said, Venerable Sir, I have a boy named Chiravasi who stays at an outside residence. I rise early and send a man saying, go man and find out how Chiravasi is. Until that man returns, Venerable Sir, I am upset thinking I hope Chiravasi has not met with any affliction. Stop here for a moment. So this headman, he has a son. and he puts him somewhere else to stay somewhere else. Maybe he thinks if some bandits or the king decides to execute him, at least the son is not with him, will be safe. He put the son far away in some safe place. So every morning he sends a man to go and find out whether the son is all right. And the Buddha said, what do you think it meant? If Chiravasi were to be executed, imprisoned, fined, or censured, would sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair arise in you? And he said, Venerable Sir, if Chiravasi were to be executed, imprisoned, fined, or censured, even my life would be upset. So how could sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair not arise in me? So he's saying, If something happens to his son, his whole life, he will be upset. Then the Buddha said, In this way too, headman, it can be understood. Whatever suffering arises, all that arises rooted in desire, with desire as its source, for desire is the root of suffering. What do you think, headman? Before you saw Chiravasi's mother or heard about her, did you have any desire, attachment or affection for her? No, Venerable Sir. Then was it, headman, because of seeing her or hearing about her, that this desire, attachment and affection arose in you? Yes, noble sir. What do you think, headman, if Chiravasi's mother were to be executed, imprisoned, fined or censured, would sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair arise in you? And he said, Remember sir, if Chiravasi's mother were to be executed, imprisoned, fined or censured, even my life would be upset. So how could sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair not arise in me? And the Buddha said, in this way too, great man, it can be understood, whatever suffering arises, all that arises rooted in desire, with desire as its source, for desire is the root of suffering. That's the end of the Sutta. So you see, the Buddha says, all suffering arises because of desire, because of attachment. This one Sutta, Then the Buddha said this, and somebody was not happy. He said that he has a lot of desire for his son or his daughter. So he thinks the son or the daughter gives him a lot of happiness. But he doesn't realize when something happens to the son or the daughter, then that extreme happiness turns to extreme pain and suffering. So this happiness and suffering are just two sides of our hand, two sides of a coin. They come together. If you have happiness, you must have suffering. So if you do away with happiness, then only you do away with suffering. That's the path, that's the holy path. If you don't want suffering, then you don't want enjoyment, you don't want happiness also. So you see this part, the Buddha asked him, before you saw Chirovasi's mother or heard about her, did you have any desire, attachment or affection for her? He said, no, Venerable Sir. This is interesting because a lot of us, we chase after things, and the things we chase after, we think they give us a lot of happiness. But later when something happens because of impermanence, they are the very things that give us suffering. So in this world, if you didn't choose after so many things, you don't have so many things, then you won't suffer so much. Okay. I think for this Samyutta, that's enough because the next two suttas here are extremely long, but not much Dhamma in them. So we come to the next chapter. Chapter 43. Asankhata, Asankhuta. Asankhata means unconditioned. Asankhata means conditioned, conditioned things. So Asankhata is unconditioned. And unconditioned always refers to Nibbana, state of Nibbana. Things in the world are all conditioned. That means there is birth or arising. Then after it arises, it stays for a while. Then after that, it starts to deteriorate. Then after that, it ceases or dies. But the unconditioned, there is no birth, there is no change, and there is no cessation, death. The first Sutta, 43.1, as Savatthi, Buddha said, Monks, I will teach you the unconditioned and the path leading to the unconditioned. Listen to that. And what, monks, is the unconditioned? The destruction of lust, the destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion. This is called the unconditioned. For Nibbāna also the same. When a person attains Nibbāna, there is destruction of lust, hatred and delusion. And what mounts is the path leading to the unconditioned. Mindfulness directed to the body, this is called the path leading to the unconditioned. Thus, monks, I have taught you the unconditioned and the path leading to the unconditioned. Whatever should be done, monks, by a compassionate teacher, out of compassion for his disciples, desiring their welfare, that I have done for you. These are the feet of trees, monks. These are empty huts or kutis. Meditate monks, do not be negligent, lest you regret it later. This is our instruction to you. It's the end of the sutta. So the Buddha says, the path to the unconditioned is mindfulness directed to the body. The body can be our human body. It can be something else, like the Buddha says. The breath is also considered a body. So any form that you put attention on, you meditate on that form. that will bring you to the form jhana, that can be considered body. Because when we meditate, our aim is to attain the rupa jhanas first, and if possible the arupa jhanas. Why I say this is because in the Majjhima Nikaya Suttas, Venerable Ananda said the type of meditation praised by the Buddha is the first jhana, second jhana, third jhana, fourth jhana. So it means that Buddhist meditation is the first jhana, second, third, fourth jhana. So the aim of meditation is to attain these four jhanas. To attain these four jhanas, you have to These four jhanas are also called rupa jhanas. To attain rupa jhana, you have to meditate on rupa. Rupa is a form. It can be this body, it can be out of this body also. If you meditate on the form, they will bring you to the form jhana. So here the Buddha says mindfulness directed to the body, to one object. Remember we went through one sutta where we talk about the unrestrained mind. Similarly of the six animals that are allowed to go in six different directions, then the Buddha says to tame them, you have to tie them to a stout post or pillar. So that stout post or pillar represents one object of meditation. We meditate only on one object. If our mind strays away, we pull it back to that one object. That one object can be the breath or it can be any other object, any other form. So here, it's mindfulness directed to the body. So the Buddha says, meditate monks. This word meditate here in Bali is Jayata. Jayata, you can consider it also to cultivate jhana. Cultivate jhana monks, do not be negligent. The next sutra is 43.2. The Buddha said, monks, I will teach you the unconditioned and the path leading to the unconditioned. Listen to that. And what monks is the unconditioned? The destruction of lust, the destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion, this is called the unconditioned. And what monks is a path leading to the unconditioned? Samatha and Vipassana, this is called the path leading to the unconditioned. That's the end of the Sutta. So, to attain the unconditioned Nibbana, two things are necessary. Samatha and Vipassana. It's just like nowadays with the commentaries have misled people to believe that Vipassana alone is enough for liberation. totally contradicts the Buddha's words. The Buddha says here, both Samatha and Vipassana are necessary. And several other suttas, the Buddha also mentioned this. The Buddha also mentioned that when you cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path totally, then Samatha and Vipassana will be led to work together in you. And what is Samatha? Samatha is meditation. Meditation meaning cultivation of calmness, tranquility until you attain perfect Samadhi. And perfect Samadhi in the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path or the Buddha's teachings is the Four Jhanas. All the Four Jhanas. is Samatha. What is Vipassana? Vipassana is contemplation. So when we listen to the Dhamma and this contemplation will It's automatic. The moment you listen to dhamma, the mind digests that dhamma. That is contemplation. And when you understand the dhamma, that will lead you to attain some path and fruition. So depending on your state of samadhi, if you don't have the four jhanas, when you listen to the suttas, you can attain sotapanna, first fruit or second fruit. But to attain the anagamin, the third fruit and the fourth fruit, it is very clear in the Majjhima Nikaya Sutta that the Buddha says that you absolutely need the four jhanas. When a person has the four jhanas and he listens to a sutta like the Anathalakkhana Sutta or the Aditapariraya Sutta, then that person can become an anagamin or an arahant. So your attainment depends entirely on your samadhi, how calm your mind is, because the deeper the samadhi, the purer the mind. And the Buddha says a bright mind is the best condition for knowledge and insight to occur in the Anguttanikaya Sutta. So I'll stop here for tonight. Yes. Yes. Hm. And you'll see that in the morning, afternoon, in the evening, I can't give all of them. We're going to have to restrict what we're going to give away, because we have so many more tables, and we have to dial up very fast, because we're busy. We have to accept them, and we really need to make sure that all of us accept them, and have respect for them. We cannot talk like that because it contradicts the Buddha's word. But sometimes we may need to relax the rules slightly, if at all necessary. But generally speaking, we should uphold these precepts as best as we can. For example, sometimes a monk is working on a project, like building a kuti or working on the water pipes or something, and they cannot finish in time. So you see, according to our Vinaya, we have to eat before noon, finish our meal before noon. But sometimes because we are working and we cannot run away, we have to finish the job. By the time you finish the job, is maybe half an hour past noon so in that respect maybe you can relax slightly because of your work you have to eat a bit late but those are very rarely occur those kind of circumstances very rarely occur so you cannot generalize and say that you should not be attached to the precepts the thing is the Buddha says that we must understand the purpose of the precepts. So the purpose of the precepts is to help us lead a very disciplined life. When we lead a disciplined life, then only we can discipline ourselves and we are not sloppy. So then only you can progress on the spiritual path because the spiritual path needs a lot of discipline. Absolutely a huge amount of discipline. For example, the Buddha's teachings for us is to lead us on to liberation, to become an Arahant. If you want to hope to become an Arahant, you have to keep cutting your sleep. Keep cutting your sleep until you don't sleep at all. You are mindful 24 hours a day. If you don't have discipline, how can you do that? keeping this precept, not eating afternoon. It's such a small precept. And it's such a small thing to do in the holy life. And if you can't even do such a small thing, what big thing can you do? Yes or no? So we have to be very careful. Something is not very good to point out, but if I were to discuss what to do for the brain and what to do for the face, He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... He's a... So in that case where Nikānta Nataputta asked him to go and refute the Buddha's Dhamma, at that time it would appear definitely that he was a follower of the Nikānta. Then how about the 42.8? Sometimes this one, there might be a mistake that they added this last part of taking refuge twice. that in 42.9, probably at that time, he was definitely a disciple of the Gangtas. And then 42.8, I would think on that occasion he was already a disciple of the Buddha. You see, small mistakes like this can appear in the suttas because they were transmitted from one mouth to another. So probably at the end of 42.8, there should be no taking of refuge in the Buddha because he's already a disciple of the Buddha. That's why the Buddha could talk to him about Nibbhanta and Nataputta's teachings. You know, this portion is a very diverse set of information, and it's a bit long to think about on how we're going to do it on that. This particular work, I mean, it's very specific. It begins off at a pool, at the end of it. So, people, as I said earlier, it's really not that easy to go through a lot of what I've already told you. our own again and always. And I can't wait to have you with me, always. There are some things that belong to the Sangha. There are some things, you can say, belong to the monastery, not only the Sangha. And there are some things that don't belong to the Sangha. For example, food. Food, unless it is like things that are allowable at night, say like dark chocolate and prunes and dates and all that, if it's offered to the Sangha, It belongs to the Sangha. Unless the Sangha thinks that they have access, then they can give it to lay people, to the residents, the lay residents to use. Then there are certain things like monastery tools. It's meant for everybody, all the residents to use. But it is not strictly Sangha property. It's for general use of the residents. Even though it is not strictly Sangha property, it is a monastery property, but still lay people should be careful how they use it and not to damage it. If possible, take good care of it and put it properly. Remember in the Sutta, one of the causes for the downfall, destruction of a family, is to misplace items. Simply use items and simply misplace it. Months later you find a rusted parang somewhere because somebody mislaid it somewhere and never bothered to bring it back or something. So you have to be careful. Because sometimes we are not arahants, we are not mindful 24 hours a day. So sometimes small slip ups like this are forgivable. Even monks also do it. We try our best. Don't be sloppy. Sometimes you have bad habits from the past, so when you come to live in a monastery, you try to be more disciplined. Try to value the things in the monastery because a lot of things given in the monastery are given by devotees with a lot of devotion. Sometimes they themselves can't afford to use certain things or eat certain things, but because of the devotion to the Sangha, they offer certain things which are of good quality. So don't go and waste it. Learn to appreciate. because we are not thinking about politicians. For example, we do have a lot of big names, clowns, religious guys, and so on. So, sometimes we see those kinds of clowns, and there are people who are in the right in their communities to have some meaningful touch. That's not just for me alone. So, most of us, we are thinking so much about the performance of politicians, Oh no, covetousness means like taking without permission. But this is a slight greed. It's not covetousness, it's slight greed. When you see something good, you want to possess it. I see it in a lot of people. Sometimes they see anything for free, they quickly want to take. But they take so much, sometimes they bring home, they never use. Some people bring a lot of CDs home. Do they listen to all of it? If you don't listen to all of it, you are wasting the devotees' funds. It's not good for you. Some people also take a lot of books, bring home, never read. That's not good. If you don't read, pass it to somebody else. You have no time to read, give it to somebody else. Don't hoard it. Some people like to hoard. Sometimes, some people, they say they want something. And then when they find out they have to pay for it, then they change their mind. So just because it's available free, they have a different attitude. So we have to be careful. When we come to the Dhamma, we learn to be more skillful, to lead our lives more skillfully. And always reflect, the Buddha says, what you have done in the past, always reflect whether it is correct or not. And what you are doing now, also you must reflect whether it is good or not. Good kamma or not, skillful kamma or not. And what you are going to do also, you must reflect. whether you should do it or should not do it, whether you're skillful or unskillful. So when we reflect in this way, then our three kammas are very pure. When our three kammas are very pure, we are always very happy. Very happy. We don't have remorse. And when your mind is happy, when you meditate, you calm down very fast. Calm down and attain concentration. It's like me, like me. So, to reflect on this. But of course, if you work very hard, then you deserve it in your mind, close and high. Give and take, this monastery, give and take. There are some monasteries that are not so generous like here. There are some monasteries that only bring out the drinks. at four o'clock or five o'clock. And after you take one drink, they keep all the mellow and the coffee and all that. Yeah, it's available 24 hours a day. You can enjoy yourself. Amma is good, so we have a lot of offerings. When we stay in Thailand, we stay in those forest monasteries. 5.30, we go in the bath. By 7 o'clock, we are back. We walk through the village, sometimes go to many houses. When it rains, we have to go and carry umbrellas, come back all wet. Then, we go and sweep the floor and all these things. About one hour later, what time, 8.30 or what, we will eat. Very early, we eat. Eat only one meal. After eating that one meal, the rest of the day, nothing to eat. And then if the monastery is well-supported, like Wat Pah Nanachat, 4 o'clock we have our drink. And then your cup must be a small cup. Last time when I first went, I didn't know my cup was slightly bigger. They look at me and frown. Then give me even less. So at 4 o'clock, either we drink coffee, Quite thick coffee, very sweet coffee. Or, I think, cocoa. Small amount only. That's all. Nothing else. Sometimes you are lucky, sometimes you get a bit of cheese. Each one got one slice of cheese. Sometimes you get one or two pieces of dark chocolate. So, four o'clock we have our drink, we chat a bit with Hepburn. About half an hour, one hour, like that. After that, we go back to our kuti. Or before we go for the drink, we must go and do some work. Go to the well, get all the water, all the water from the well, put it in the buckets. Two monks will carry the pole, the bamboo pole, and the bucket in between the two monks walking. Go to the toilet and clean the toilet. They clean the bathroom, and they fill up the water. The monks, when they come back from Armstrong, they're supposed to wash their feet. There's a place where they have water, wash their feet. That one, they change the water. Every day, they must change the water, put water in there. So after that work only, we go and enjoy a drink. After the drink, go back and bathe. evening chanting and all that. So you see, the monastery is quite well supported, also you have one drink only. You go to a lot of other monasteries in Thailand, even that one drink also cannot get. So, what happened? Because we take only one meal, you dare not drink too much water. You drink too much water, you feel hungry. So you must control your water. When you're thirsty only, drink a bit of water. Thirsty, drink a bit of water. Drink too much water at night, their stomach grumbling. So in Malaysia, we are very fortunate. And among the monasteries in Malaysia, we are very well supported. We have a lot of drinks and all that, anytime available. So must appreciate it. Okay, I'll end here. Oh my gosh.

25SNAsankhataCh43AbyakataCh4420090822

Today is 22nd of August and we've come to the 43rd chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya called the Asangkatha Samyutta. Yesterday we read two suttas. Now we come to the third, 43.3. Buddha said, monks, I will teach you the unconditioned and the path leading to the unconditioned. Listen to that. And what mounts is the unconditioned. The destruction of lust, the destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion. This is called the unconditioned. And what mounts is the path leading to the unconditioned. Concentration with thought directed and sustained. Concentration without thought directed, with thought sustained only. Concentration without thought directed and sustained. This is called the path leading to the unconditioned. That's the end of the sutra. So here, Concentration without thought directed and sustained, vittaka and vichara. This is the first jhana. And then, Concentration without thought directed and sustained. That is the second jhana. So this one in between, is between the first jhana and the second jhana. It is without thought directed. You only need to sustain it. So, you know these states of concentration, different teachers classify them differently, put them under different categories. So like in the Hinduism, They talk about two types of Samadhi. Sabhi Kalpa Samadhi and Nirbhi Kalpa Samadhi. So I'm not sure what that is. Maybe it's Rupa Jhana and Arupa Jhana. So here, so the Buddha says that the path leading to the unconditioned are the Jhanas. So in the Buddha's discourses, the Jhanas are very important. 43.4, this part is the same. Monks, I will teach you the unconditioned and the path leading to the unconditioned. The unconditioned is the destruction of lust, hatred, and delusion. And what, monks, is the path leading to the unconditioned? The emptiness concentration, the signless concentration, and the undirected concentration, this is called the path leading to the unconditioned. These three states of concentration in Pali is called Sunyata Samadhi. It's the emptiness concentration. Then Animitta Samadhi is the signless concentration. And then the Apanikita Samadhi is the undirected or desireless concentration. Earlier we read that when a monk comes out, of that state called the cessation of perception and feeling is also the cessation of consciousness. Three contacts touch him. This emptiness contact, signless contact and the undirected or desireless contact. So these concentrations are very high concentrations left very near to the cessation of perception and feeling. That's why it's called the path leading to the unconditioned. If you attain those states, you're very near to the unconditioned. These three types of samadhi are not explained actually in the suttas. It's a very high state. There's only a few suttas, you meet these three concentrations and they seem to be grouped together. Next sutra is 43.5. The monks will teach you the uncondition and the path leading to the uncondition. The uncondition is the destruction of lust, hatred and delusion. What monks is the path leading to the uncondition? The four satipatthanas. This is called the path leading to the uncondition. The four satipatthanas are translated as the four intense states of recollection. Sati, later we'll come to that chapter on Satipatthana, and then we explain more. So, the four intense states of mindfulness is the path leading to the unconditioned. I think for this chapter that's all I'm going to go through, the suttas here. So we go to the next chapter, 44. Abhaya-katha-samyutta, Discourses on the Undeclared. Abhaya-katha is undeclared. It was not declared by the Buddha. 44.1 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savarthi in Jeta's Grove, in Nathapindika's park. On that occasion, the nun, Kema, while wandering on tour among the Kosalans, had taken up residence at Torana Vatu, between Savati and Sakeka. I'll stop here for a moment. This nun, Kema, must be the Buddha's nun. She picked two as the top nuns. One is for wisdom. This nun, Kema, wisdom is supposed to be taught most among the nuns. The other one that the Buddha praised was Upalavanna. Upalavanna was the nun who was chief in psychic powers among all the nuns. This Kema, one day, she came to Torana, Watu, between Savati and Saketa. Then King Pasenadi of Kausala, while travelling from Saketa to Savati, took up residence for one night in Torana, Watu, between Saketa and Savati. Then King Pasenadi, a Kosala, addressed the man thus, Go, good man, and find out whether there is any ascetic or Brahmin in Torana Vatthu whom I could visit today. Yes, sire, the man replied. But though he traversed the whole of Torana Vatthu, he did not see any ascetic or Brahmin there whom King Pasenadi could visit. The man did see, however, the nun Kema resident in Turanavatu. So he approached King Pasnadi and said to him, Sire, there is no ascetic or brahmin in Turanavatu whom your majesty could visit. Maybe he is not ascetic or brahmin, he is ascetic or brahmana. But sire, there is the nun named Kema, a disciple of the Blessed One, Arahant Sammasambuddha. Our good report concerning this revered lady has spread about thus. She is wise, competent, intelligent, learned, a splendid speaker, ingenious. Let Your Majesty visit her. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the nun Kema, paid homage to her, sat down to one side and said to her, How is it, revered lady, does the Tathagata exist after death? And she said, Great King, Maharaja, the Blessed One has not declared this, that the Tathagata exists after death. Then, revered lady, does the Tathagata not exist after death? Great King, the Blessed One has not declared this either. The Tathagata does not exist after death. How is it then, revered lady? Does the Tathagata both exist and not exist after death? Great King, the Blessed One has not declared this. The Tathagata both exist and does not exist after death. Then, revered lady, does the Tathagata neither exist nor not exist after death? Great King, the Blessed One has not declared this either. The Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death. And the King asked, How is it, revered lady? When asked, How is it, revered lady, does the Tathagata exist after death? And when asked, Does the Tathagata neither exist nor not exist after death? etc. In each case, you say, Great King, the Blessed One has not declared this. But now, revered lady, is the cause and reason why this has not been declared by the Blessed One. And she said, Well then, Great King, I will question you about this same matter. Answer as you see fit. What do you think, Great King? Do you have an accountant or calculator or mathematician who can count the grains of sand in the River Ganges? saying thus there are so many grains of sand there are so many hundreds of grains of sand or there are so many thousands of grains of sand or there are so many hundreds of thousands of grains of sand and the king said no revered lady Then, great king, do you have an accountant or calculator or mathematician who can count the water in the great ocean thus, there are so many gallons of water, or there are so many hundreds of gallons of water, or there are so many thousands of gallons of water, or there are so many hundreds of thousands of gallons of water? No, revered lady, for what reason? Because the great ocean is deep, immeasurable, hard to fathom. And she said, so too great king, that form by which one describing the Tathagata might describe him has been abandoned by the Tathagata, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, so that it is no more subject to future arising. The Tathagata, Great King, is liberated from reckoning in terms of form or body. He is deep, immeasurable, hard to fathom like the great ocean. The Tathagata exists after death, does not apply. The Tathāgata does not exist after death, does not apply. The Tathāgata both exist and does not exist after death, does not apply. The Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death, does not apply. Similarly, that feeling by which one describing the Tathagata might describe him, that perception, that volition, that consciousness by which one describing the Tathagata might describe him, has been abandoned by the Tathagata, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that it is no more subject to future arising. The Tathagata, Great King, is liberated from reckoning in terms of body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. He is deep, immeasurable, hard to fathom like the great ocean. The Tathagata exists after death, does not apply. The Tathagata does not exist after death, does not apply. The Tathagata both exists and does not exist after death, does not apply. The Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death, does not apply. Stop here for a moment. So, Usually the Buddha's disciples, they would say that the Buddha cannot be described as the body or the feeling or perception or volition or consciousness. Then they don't want to say that there is no Tathagata, that it is like this here. They say the Buddha is deep, immeasurable, hard to fathom, like the great ocean. This is because when the Buddha has passed into Parinibbana, he has gone to the unconditioned. Nibbana is the unconditioned. And the unconditioned, the unborn, is hard to fathom, is deep, immeasurable. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala, having delighted and rejoiced in the Nan Bikkema statement, rose from his seat, paid homage to her and departed, keeping her on his right. Then on a later occasion, King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side and said to Him, How is it, Venerable Sir, does the Tathagata exist after death? And the Buddha said, Great King, I have not declared this. Tathagata exists after death. And similarly he asked, Then does the Tathagata not exist after death? And again the Buddha said, He has not declared this. And then he says, Then does the Tathagata both exist and not exist after death? And the Buddha said, I have not declared this. And finally he says, Then does the Tathagata neither exist nor not exist after death? And the Buddha said, Read, King, I have not declared this either. The Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death. And the King asked, How is this, Venerable Sir? And asked, How is it, Venerable Sir, does the Tathagata exist after death? Does the Tathagata not exist after death? Does the Tathagata both exist and not exist after death? That's the Tathagata, neither exist or not exist after that. In each case you say, Great King, I have not declared this. But now, Venerable Sir, is the cause and reason why this has not been declared by the Blessed One. And the Buddha said, Well then, Great King, I will question you about this same matter. Answer as you see fit. What do you think, Great King? Do you have an accountant or calculator? Or mathematician? Who can count the grains of sand in the river Ganges does? There are so many grains of sand, there are so many hundreds or so many thousands or so many hundreds of thousands of grains of sand. And he said no. No, Venerable Sir. And then the Buddha asked again, Then great king, do you have an accountant or calculator or mathematician who can count the water in the great ocean thus there are so many gallons of water in the ocean or so many hundreds of gallons or so many thousands of gallons or so many hundreds of thousands of gallons of water in the ocean? And he said, No, Venerable Sir. For what reason? Because the great ocean is deep, immeasurable, hard to fathom. And the Buddha said, So too a great king. that form by which one describing the Tathagata might describe him has been abandoned by the Tathagata, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, so that it is no more subject to future arising. The Tathagata, great king, is liberated from reckoning in terms of body or form, his deep, immeasurable heart to fathom like the great ocean. The Tathagata exists after that does not apply. The Tathagata does not exist after death, does not apply. The Tathagata both exist and does not exist after death, does not apply. So the Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death, does not apply. Similarly, the feeling, perception, volition and consciousness by which one describing the Tathagata might describe has been abandoned by the Tathagata, cut off at the root, etc. the Buddha said that the Tathagata has a deep, immeasurable heart to fathom. And then the King said, This is wonderful, Venerable Sir. It is amazing, Venerable Sir, how the meaning and phrasing of both teacher and disciple coincide and agree with each other and do not diverge. That is in regard to the chief matter. On one occasion, Venerable Sir, I approached the nun, Kema, and asked her about this matter. The revered lady explained this matter to me in exactly the same terms and phrases that the Blessed One used. It is wonderful, Venerable Sir. It is amazing, Venerable Sir, how the meaning and the phrasing of both teacher and disciple coincide and agree with each other and do not diverge. That is in regard to the chief matter. Now, Venerable Sir, we must go. We are busy and have much to do. And the Buddha said, Then great King, you may go at your own convenience. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala, having delighted and rejoiced at the Blessed One's statement, rose from his seat, paid homage to him, and departed, keeping him on his right. This is the end of the Sutta. This is not the only Sutta where the Buddha and his disciples say exactly the same thing. There are some other Suttas also. Maybe it's because the Buddha can read his mind. So when he came to ask the Buddha this question, the Buddha already read his mind that this he had already asked. The nun came before, so the Buddha purposely answered him exactly the same way. The next sutra is 44.2. This 44.2 is found at page 936. This sutra is in the Kandasang Yuta. And when we went through the Khandasangita, I did not read this Sutta, although it's quite good, because it's quite similar to the other Suttas. So if I read too many of them, it will be boring for you. But now, we can read it, because it's quite good. This Sutta is 44.2. It's exactly the same as 22.86. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesali, the great wood in the hall with the peaked roof. Now on that occasion, the Venerable Anuradha was dwelling in a forest hut not far from the Blessed One. Then a number of wanderers of other sects approached the Venerable Anuradha and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, they sat down to one side and said to him, Friend Anuradha, when a Tathagata is describing a Tathagata, the highest type of person, the supreme person, the attainer of the supreme attainment, He describes him in terms of these four cases. The Tathagata exists after death, or the Tathagata does not exist after death, or the Tathagata both exists and does not exist after death, or the Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death. And this was said, the rebel Anuradha said to those wondrous friends, when a Tathagata is describing a Tathagata, the highest type of person, the supreme person, the attainer of the supreme attainment, he describes him, apart from these four cases, the Tathagata exists after death, or the Tathagata does not exist after death, or the Tathagata both exists and does not exist after death, or the Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death. When this was said, those wanderers said to the Venerable Anuradha, this monk must be newly ordained, not long gone forth, or, if he is an elder, he must be an incompetent fool. Then those wanderers of other sects, having denigrated the Venerable Anuradha with the terms newly ordained and fooled, rose from their seats and departed. Stop here for a moment. So these wanderers, they are not familiar with the Buddha's teachings. So they thought that the Buddha says that when describing the Tathagata, the Buddha, that the Buddha exists after death, or does not exist, or both exist, and neither exist, etc. But this Anuradha says, That is not the case. The Buddha never used these four terms to describe the Buddha. So they thought Anuradha must be a fool or just gone off. Then not long after those wanderers had left, it occurred to the Venerable Anuradha, if those wanderers of other sects should question me further, how should I answer if I am to state what has been said by the Blessed One, and not misrepresent Him with what is contrary to fact? And how should I explain in accordance with the Dhamma, so that no reasonable consequence of my assertion would give grounds for criticism? Then the Venerable Anuradha approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, and reported to the Blessed One everything that had happened, asking, If those wanderers of other sects should question me further, how should I answer so that no reasonable consequence of my assertion could give grounds for criticism? And the Buddha said, What do you think, Anuradha? Is body or form permanent or impermanent? I say impermanent when we serve. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? And he said, suffering will never serve. What is impermanent suffering is subject to change, to be regarded as, this is mine, this I am, this is myself. And he said, no, will never serve. Similarly, is feeling permanent or impermanent? Is perception, volition, consciousness permanent or impermanent? And it said, impermanent will serve. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering will serve. Is what is impermanent suffering and subject to change, fit to be regarded thus? This is mine, this I am, this is myself. No will serve. Therefore, Anuradha, any kind of body or form whatsoever, whether past, future or present, Any feeling, any perception, any volition, any consciousness whatsoever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all aggregates should be seen as they really are, with correct wisdom thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Seeing thus, Anuradha, The learned, noble disciple experiences revulsion towards body, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge it is liberated. He understands. Destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. He asked, What do you think, Anuradha? Do you regard body as the Tathagata? Do you regard feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as the Tathagata? And he said, No, Venerable Sir. What do you think, Anuradha? Do you regard the Tathagata as in the body? He said, No, Venerable Sir. Do you regard the Tathagata as apart from body? No, Venerable Sir. Similarly, do you regard the Tathagata as feeling, or perception, or volition as consciousness? And he said, no, I will serve. And do you regard the Tathagata as apart from these aggregates? No, I will serve. What do you think, Anuradha? Do you regard body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, taken together as the Tathagata? And he said, no, I will serve. What do you think, Anuradha? Do you regard the Tathagata as one who is without body, without feeling, without perception, without volition, without consciousness? No, I would say. But Anuradha, when the Tathagata is not apprehended by you as real and actual here in this very life, is it fitting for you to declare? Friends, when the Tathagata is describing a Tathagata, He describes him apart from these four cases. The Tragatha exists after death, does not exist. Both exist and does not exist. Neither exists nor does not exist. And said, No, Vembosa. Good, good, Anuradha. Formerly Anuradha and also now. I make known just suffering and the cessation of suffering. It's the end of the sutta. So here, first the Buddha goes through that standard questioning that the five aggregates are permanent or impermanent and he says impermanent. And what is impermanent? It's suffering or happiness and he says suffering. So what is impermanent, suffering, subject to change should not be regarded as this is mine, this I am, this myself. Therefore, All aggregates whatsoever, past, present, future, should be seen as they really are with wisdom. It's not I, it's not mine, et cetera. And seeing thus, the noble disciple experiences revulsion or disenchantment with the five aggregates. Experiencing revulsion or disenchantment, he becomes dispassionate, and from dispassion becomes liberated. Then he asks, is the five aggregates, the Tathagata, the Buddha, has to say no? Do you regard the Tathagata as inside the Five Aggregates? And he said no. Do you regard the Tathagata as outside the Five Aggregates, apart from the Five Aggregates? Again he says no. And then do you regard the Five Aggregates together as the Tathagata? But since the Five Aggregates are impermanent, they cannot be the Tathagata. So he says no. Do you regard the Tathagata as one without the five aggregates? Again, no. So the Buddha says, in this very life, when the Tathagata is alive, something that is, even when the Buddha is alive, that which you can describe is the Buddha. There's no one thing that you can describe as the Buddha, because the five aggregates that are supposed to be the Buddha, they are all impermanent. So there's no single thing that you can point to as the Buddha. So that being the case, even in this very life, you cannot find such a thing that you can call the Buddha. It's just a flux of conditions. So how can you talk about him after death? So here, the Buddha goes into describing the Buddha or the Tathagata in terms of the five aggregates and tries to make the person see that the five aggregates is not the Buddha. And yet, you cannot say that the Buddha has no five aggregates. And then if you analyze one by one, you find there's no one thing that you can call the Buddha, even when he's alive. So this is a different approach from the previous one. The previous sutra we read, the Buddha doesn't want to go into all this detail. He just says that the Tathagata is deep, unfathomable, hard to understand, hard to fathom. But this one is very different. This one goes into the five aggregates in detail. This type of suttas, I mean, reading it is one thing, but really seeing it, you need a very clear mind to see and become enlightened. But it is this type of suttas that the Buddha's disciples, after they attain the four jhanas, they listen to this type of suttas and actually become enlightened. So I would consider this type of suttas are very important, but a lot of vipassana followers, they say the most important sutta that the Buddha taught is the Maha Satipatthana Sutta. But I never seen in the suttas, anybody listened to the Satipatthana Sutta and became enlightened. Not a single person, Buddha's disciples, listened to the Satipatthana or the Mahasatipatthana Sutta and became enlightened. It is these types of suttas, when you analyze the aggregates in detail, that they become enlightened. So these types of suttas are much more important.

26SNAbyakataCh4420090822

The next Vitta is 44.7. Then the wanderer Vacca Gota approached the Venerable Maha Moggallana and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to the Venerable Maha Moggallana, How is it, Master Moggallana? Is the world eternal? Vacca, the Blessed One, has not declared this. The world is eternal. Then Master Moggallana, the world is not eternal. Vācāra, the Blessed One, has not declared this either. The world is not eternal. How is it then, Master Moggallāna, is the world finite? Vācāra, the Blessed One, has not declared this. The world is finite. Then, Master Moggallāna, is the world infinite? Vācāra, the Blessed One, has not declared this either. The world is infinite. How is it then, Master Moggallāna, are the soul and the body the same? Vācāra, the Blessed One, has not declared this. The soul and the body are the same. Then Master Moggallāna, is the soul one thing, the body another? Vācāra, the Blessed One, has not declared this either. The soul is one thing, the body is another. How is it, Master Moggallāna, does the Tathāgata exist after that? Vācāra, the Blessed One, has not declared this. The Tathāgata exists after that. Then Master Moggallāna, does the Tathāgata not exist after that? Vācāra, the Blessed One, has not declared this either. The Tathāgata does not exist after death. How is it then, Master Mogllana? Does the Tathāgata both exist and not exist after death? Vācāra, the Blessed One, has not declared this either. The Tathāgata both exist and does not exist after death. Then, Master Mogllana, does the Tathāgata neither exist nor not exist after death? Vajra, the Blessed One, has not declared this either. The Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death. Stop here for a moment. So you see, ordinary worldlings, unlearned ordinary worldlings, they have a lot of views. These are the type of views that was very popular during the Buddha's days. All this type of speculation about the world, all because of the identity. the ego, the conceit. Once you have the view of a self, then you ask all these questions about the world and about yourself. And then he asks, what, Master Mughlan, is the cause and reason when wanderers of other sects are asked such questions, they give such answers as the world is eternal, the world is not eternal, or the world is finite, or the world is infinite. or the soul and the body are the same, or the soul is one thing, the body is another, or the Tathagata exists after death, or the Tathagata does not exist after death, or the Tathagata both exist and does not exist after death, or the Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death. And what is the cause and reason why the ascetic Gautama is asked such questions? He does not give such answers. And Venerable Mopilana said, Vajra. Wanderers of other sects regard the I thus. This is mine, this I am, this is myself. Similarly, they regard the ear, the nose, the tongue, the body, the mind thus. This is mine, this I am, this is myself. Therefore, when the wanderers of other sects are asked such questions, they give such answers as the world is eternal, the world is not eternal, etc., etc. Pravacca, the Tathagata, Arahant, Samasambuddha regards the I thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Similarly, he regards the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Therefore, when the Tathagata is asked such questions, he does not give such answers. Then the wanderer Vajra Gautama rose from his seat and approached the Blessed One. He exchanged greetings with the Blessed One and said to Him, How is it, good Gautama, is the world eternal? And he asked all the same questions as before. And the Buddha said, Vajra, I have not declared this either. The Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death. And Vajra asks, What, Master Gautama, is the cause and reason why, when wanderers of other sects are asked such questions, they give such answers as the world is eternal, the world is not eternal, etc.? And what is the cause and reason why, when the ascetic Gautama is asked such questions, he does not give such answers? And the Buddha said, Vācāra, wondrous of other sects regard the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue, the body and the mind as this is mine, this I am, this is myself. Therefore, when the wondrous of other sects are asked such questions, they give such answers as the world is eternal, the world is not eternal, the world is finite, the world is infinite, etc. But Vācāra, the Tathāgata, Arahant, Samasambuddha, regards the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind does. This is not mine. This I am not. This is not myself. Therefore, when the Tathagata is asked such questions, she does not give such answers. And he said, It is wonderful, Master Gautama. It is amazing, Master Gautama, how the meaning and phrasing of both teacher and disciple coincide and agree with each other and do not diverge, that is, in regard to the chief matter. Just now, Master Gautama, I approached the ascetic Moggallana and asked him about this matter. The ascetic Moggallana explained this matter to me in exactly the same terms and phrases that Master Gautama used. This wonderful Master Gautama, this amazing Master Gautama, how the meaning and phrasing of both teacher and disciple coincide and agree with each other and do not diverge, that is in regard to the chief matter. That's the end of the Sutta. So this is another Sutta where the Buddha answers exactly the same as this disciple. So the Buddha said that the Buddha does not have all these views because the Buddha does not regard the five aggregates or the six sense bases as the self or as belonging to the self. So that is why, because he does not have the view of a self, that's why he does not have views about the world. The next sutra is 44.8. Then the wanderer Vāca-gota approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said, How is it, Master Gautama? Is the world eternal? Is the world not eternal? etc. And the Buddha said he has not declared all this. What, Master Gautama, is the cause and reason why, when wanderers of other sects are asked such questions, they give such answers, as the world is eternal, the world is not eternal, the world is finite, the world is not finite, it is infinite, etc. And what is the cause and reason why, Master Gautama, is asked such questions, he does not give such answers? And the Buddha said, What, wanderers of other sects, regard the body as the self, or self as possessing body, or body as in the self, or self as in the body. Similarly, they regard feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as the self, or as belonging to the self, or in the self, or the aggregates as in the self, or the self as in the aggregates. Therefore, when the wanderers of other sects are asked such questions, they give such answers. But the Tathagata, Arhats, Samasambuddha does not regard the body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness as the Self or as belonging to the Self, etc. Therefore, when the Tathagata is asked such questions, he does not give such answers. Then the Wanderer Vachagotha rose from his seat and approached the Venerable Maha Moggallana and he asked the same questions and Venerable Maha Moggallana gave exactly the same answers. So you see, because the Venerable Maha Moggallana also has psychic power like the Buddha, so he could also read this Wanderer's mind. So he quoted exactly what the Buddha said. These two suttas seem to be but very similar. One is regarding the six sense bases, the other one is regarding the five aggregates. 44.9. Then the wanderer Vajragota approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with Him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat to one side and said to the Blessed One, In recent days, Master Gautama, a number of ascetics Brahmanas and wanderers of various sects had assembled in the debating hall and were sitting together when this conversation arose among them. This Puranakasapa, the leader of an order, the leader of a group, the teacher of a group, the well-known and famous spiritual guide, considered holy by many people, declares the rebirth of a disciple who has passed away and died thus. That one was reborn there. That one was reborn there. In the case of a disciple who was a person of the highest kind, a supreme person, one who had attained the supreme attainment, when that disciple had passed away and died, he also declares his rebirth thus, that one was reborn there, that one was reborn there. Similarly, this Makali Gosala, Nigantha Nataputta, Sanjaya Belatiputta, Bakuda Kacayana, Ajita Kesa Kambali. When the disciples had passed away and died, they declared their rebirth thus, that one was reborn there, that one was reborn there. This ascetic Gautama, the leader of an order, the leader of a group, the teacher of a group, the well-known and famous spiritual guide, considered holy by many people, declares the rebirth of a disciple who has passed away and died thus. That one was reborn there. That one was reborn there. But in the case of a disciple who was a person of the highest kind, a supreme person, one who had attained the supreme attainment, When that disciple had passed away and died, he does not declare his rebirth thus, that one was reborn there. Rather, he declares of him, he cut off craving, severed the fetters, and by completely breaking through conceit, he has made an end to suffering. There was perplexity in me, Master Gautama. There was doubt. How is the Dhamma of the ascetic Gautama to be understood? And the Buddha said, It is fitting for you to be perplexed, Vajra. It is fitting for you to doubt. Doubt has arisen in you about a perplexing matter. I declare, Vajra, rebirth for one with fuel, not for one without fuel. Just as a fire burns with fuel, but not without fuel. So, Vajra, I declare rebirth for one with fuel, not for one without fuel. Stop here for a moment. So, unlike the other famous teachers in India at that time, the Buddha said that his highest disciples, after they pass away, they do not take rebirth because their arahants, they have stopped the round of rebirth. So this Vajra did not understand and asked why. The Buddha says that rebirth occurs because of fuel. just as a fire burns because of fuel. In some other suttas, the Buddha says that fuel for rebirth is greed, hatred and delusion. When you have greed, hatred and delusion, that is the cause for rebirth. And then he asked the Buddha, Master Gautama, when a flame is flung by the wind and goes some distance, what does Master Gautama declare to be its fuel on that occasion? And the Buddha said, Vajra, when a flame is flung by the wind and goes some distance, I declare that it is fueled by the wind, for on that occasion, the wind is its fuel. And Master Gautama, when a being has laid down this body, but has not yet been reborn in another body, what does Master Gautama declare to be its fuel on that occasion? Acha, when a being has laid down this body, but has not yet been reborn in another body, I declare that it is fueled by craving. On that occasion, craving is its fuel. That is the end of the sutra. This is a very interesting sutra because of this last part. This last part, he asked the Buddha that when a being has died, but has not yet been reborn into another body, In other words, he's saying that there is what we call an intermediate body. This being has died, but has not entered the womb yet. So he's asking, why does the being still survive? What is the fuel for the being to survive? And the Buddha says it is craving, craving for rebirth, craving for existence. So that is why it exists. So it is suttas like this that makes us see that it's what we call an intermediate body. And there's another sutta also where the Buddha says that for being to be born into the womb, it has to wait its time. And he has to wait for certain conditions before he can enter the womb. One of these conditions, the mother and the father must come together. And then the mother must be in the right season. Third condition is this being must be there waiting. And in that sutta, I think it's in the Majjhima Nikaya Sutta, the Buddha calls that being the Gandabha. The Gandabha. So this intermediate body seems like the later traditional Buddhism, they did not accept it, especially like Abhidharma. Because if they use Abhidharma, they cannot explain. So they don't accept this. But in the sutras, we see that this is part of the Buddha's teachings. The next sutra is 44.10. Then the Wanderer Vajragota approached the Blessed One and said to Him, How is it now, Master Gautama? Is there a Self? Atta la. When this was said, the Blessed One was silent. Then, Master Gautama, is there no Self? The second time, the Blessed One was silent. Then the Wanderer Vajragota rose from his seat and departed. Then not long after, the Wanderer Vajragota had left. The Venerable Ananda said to the Blessed One, Why is it, Venerable Sir, that when the Blessed One was questioned by the wanderer Vajragota, he did not answer? And the Buddha said, If Ananda, when I was asked by the wanderer Vajragota, is there a self? If I had answered, there is a self. This would have been siding with those ascetics and brahmanas who are eternalists. And if I was asked by him, is there no self? If I had answered, there is no self, this would have been siding with those ascetics and brahmanas who are annihilationists. Stop here for a moment. The Buddha says that during his time, they had two extreme views. One is that after you die, you will exist forever and ever. This is called the eternalist view. The other extreme view is after you die, There is nothing, absolutely nothing left. This is the view of the annihilationist. So, the Buddha says, if he answers, there is a self, this would be siding with the eternalist. If there is no self, there would be siding with the annihilationist. If and when I was asked by the wanderer Vajragota, is there a self? I had answered, there is a self. Would this have been consistent on my path with the arising of knowledge that all phenomena are non-self? No, Venerable Sir. And if, when I was asked by him, is there no self? I had answered, there is no self. The wanderer Vajragodha, already confused, would have fallen into even greater confusion, thinking, it seems that the self I formerly had does not exist now. That's the end of the sutra. So, the Buddha says in the last part, if he answered, there is a self, this is contradictory to what he understands, that all phenomena, everything in the world is not self, or no self. And if he had answered, there is no self, the Wanderer Vajra Gautama would be totally confused. He's not capable of understanding that. So the Buddha never bothered to explain. So, like just now, Two suttas we read earlier, when the Buddha was trying to describe the state of the Tathagata, to one person he says that the Tathagata is deep, up to fathom. Because he doesn't want to go into details, the other person would not be able to understand. So he just says the state of the Tathagata is too deep to understand. too deep to fathom. But to his own disciple, when he asked, then the Buddha explained more clearly in terms of the five aggregates. Similarly, this wanderer Vajragota is not capable of understanding, so the Buddha just refused to say anything to him. The last Sutta in this chapter 44 is Sutta 44.11. On one occasion, the Venerable Sabhya Kacchana was dwelling at Niyatika in the brick hall. Then the wanderer Vachagota approached the Venerable Sabhya Kacchana and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, He sat down to one side and said to him, How is it, Master Kacana, does the Tathagata exist after death? And the Venerable said, The Buddha has not declared this. And then, does the Tathagata not exist after death? And he said, The Buddha has not declared this either. Then, does the Tathagata both exist and does not exist after death? Again he says the Buddha has not declared this life. Then does the Tathagata neither exist nor does not exist after death. Again he says the Buddha has not declared this life. But then Master Gautama is the cause and reason why this has not been declared by the Blessed One. And this memorable Sambhaya said, Vajra, as to the cause and condition for describing him as consisting of form, or as formless, or as percipient, or as non-percipient, or as neither percipient nor non-percipient, if that cause and condition were to cease completely and totally without remainder, In what way could one describe him as consisting of form, or as formless, or as percipient, or as non-percipient, or as neither percipient nor non-percipient? And then he asked, Vajra asked, How long has it since you went forth, Master Kacchana? And Venerable Kacchana said, Not long, friend, three years. And Vajra Gotha said, Friend, one who has gotten so much in such a short time has indeed gotten much, not to speak of one who has surpassed this. That's the end of the sutta. So here, the Venerable Sabyakacana, he says, if the reason for describing the Buddha as consisting of form Okay, we take one by one. Suppose now you say the Buddha has formed. So what is a body? What's the reason or condition for saying that the Buddha has a body? Because the Buddha has got this physical flesh body, right? Now he says, if this condition, namely the flesh body, were to cease and die completely, Then, in what way can you describe the Buddha as consisting of body? If the body is going to die completely one day, how can you call the Buddha the body? And then, if you say the Buddha is percipient, that means he is conscious. You say the Buddha is conscious because he has consciousness. But one day the consciousness is going to cease totally. So when the consciousness ceases totally, In what way would you describe the Buddha as having consciousness? So all these conditions by which you can describe a being or the Buddha, etc., all these conditions are impermanent. They are all going to cease totally one day. So you cannot use that to describe the Buddha because When we say a self, ata, we mean something that is permanent, that is unchanging, that will remain forever the same. Then you can identify it as this is myself. But everything is changing, so there's nothing you can identify as the self. So this verbal Vacca Gota, he must have renounced for a long time, maybe 20 years or something. When he heard this explanation from this young monk, who had only been a monk for three years, he was very impressed. He said, wow, in such a short time, three years, you already got so much. Then he was very, very impressed. So that's the end of this sutra. Actually, this explanation by the verbal Sambhya is very good. You go back and think about it. All these conditions that we describe ourselves, you have body, you have feeling, you have perception, you have volition and all that, and all these conditions are impermanent. They're going to cease totally one day. So how can you use it to describe yourself? So this happens to be the last sutra in that book four. Book four. So tomorrow we'll go to the last book of the Samyutta Nikaya, Book 5. Book 5 is quite interesting, but I'll talk about it tomorrow.

27SNQandA20090822

So anything to discuss? Okay. This intermediate body is not for all rebirths. This intermediate body is only for the case of a being that is going to take rebirth in a womb. That means a being that is going to be reborn as a human being or as an animal that's going to the womb. So for it to go into the womb, the egg must be fertilized. The egg must be fertilized, then only the consciousness can descend into that fertilized egg. So for that egg to fertilize, there are three conditions. No, for that birth to take place, there are three conditions. First, the mother and father must come together. And then the mother must be in the right season, that means the egg must be there. And then this being is waiting to enter the womb is there. So these three conditions. Now, how long it takes for him to wait to enter that womb is not mentioned in our Theravada original suttas. The Buddha only said, then has to wait for the mother and father to come together. Then only, when the egg is fertilized, then it can enter. So, only for these two, and we know in our early suttas, there are five destinations of rebirth. Heavenly beings, human beings, ghosts, animal, and hell beings. Out of these five, only these human and Animal rebirth, that being has to wait. For the other three, it's immediate rebirth. In heaven, as a ghost, and in hell. In fact, hell is stated very clearly that when a being dies and his karma is going to bring him to hell, the hell beings will come up and drag him down to hell. What we say, ngau tau ma min, guu tau be bin, does exist, hell beings. That's another thing. That's what I'm working on today. It's a very big time. That's the people, maybe, or maybe some of the people who push the economy will be of the kind of, you know, when there's a lot of attacks, will be of the kind of, you know, It depends on his samadhi, how deep is his samadhi. In the suttas it is mentioned that one day a layman was praising an external sect ascetic, I am not sure which one, he said this external sect ascetic he was in deep samadhi, And then the king brought 500 soldiers, passed by the road, making a lot of noise, you know, these horses going, the horse carriage and everything. And this ascetic was sitting under the tree, and the king and 500 soldiers passed by, he didn't even know. He was in Samadhi, he didn't even know. So he praised this ascetic to the Buddha, and the Buddha asked him, Is this better?" Or the Buddha said, at one time, the Buddha was meditating in a hut in the forest, and then a storm arose, a big storm arose, and a lot of trees fell, a lot of trees fell down, and lightning struck and all these things, strong winds, and so many trees fell down that a number of cows were killed, cows and buffaloes were killed. And then after the big storm, a lot of villagers came out and tried to clear the road and clear the damage done and all that. So the Buddha happened to come out of the hut and asked them, what happened? Why so many people around here? And they said that there was a big storm. Where were you? They asked the Buddha. The Buddha said, I was in the hut. And they said, how come you're in the hut? You didn't know there was a big storm? The Buddha said, I was meditating. So the Buddha asked the man, which is better, not to hear the big storm or not to hear the 500 soldiers go by? So your samadhi, depending on how deep it is, is different. Probably if you are in the first jhana, somebody comes and gives you the slap, maybe you make it out of your first jhana. But if you're in the fourth jhāna, probably give you a slap, you may not come out of the fourth jhāna. But in the highest state, the cessation of perception and feeling, if you enter that state, and they come and see you, you see your breath has stopped, your heartbeat has stopped, and they think you are dead. There's a case in the suttas about the previous Buddha, one of the previous Buddha, the disciple, His name was Sanjiva. Sanjiva, I think, meaning come back to life. He was meditating in the deep forest alone and he had entered this cessation of perception and feeling where all his consciousness stopped. And then these villagers, they went to the forest to look for wood and look for this and look for that and they saw him. And then when they found that his breath had stopped, his heart had stopped, they assumed that he was dead. So they thought we could give him a proper send-off. So they found a lot of dry wood, piled all the wood on top of him and burned the thing. And they thought give him a proper cremation. The next morning, he went on Armstrong in the village. They got a shock. They thought his ghost came. Then they found that he survived the big flame. So you see, when he enters the cessation of perception and feeling, even a big fire also cannot harm him. So probably he didn't even harm his robes also, because otherwise he would have gone naked into the town. So that means there is a possibility that, for example, he was a meditator at home, and then for very long hours, and suddenly he opens the door and sees that he has been meditating for so long, and when he sees the prayer and he wants to ask, so he calls an antithesis. So when the antithesis came, That depends on this one, this Samadhi and also You know, before I came to Buddhism, I was practicing Hinduism for about four years. So I read about one of the Indian saints. When he was young, maybe because of his previous life, being able to enter Samadhi, sometimes when he sleeps, he goes into a very deep sleep. So his friends come and disturb him. He's not aware, you know. They tease him and slap him and all that, so he's not aware. So, that has to do with the previous life. But if for example, if you sit here, and you don't speak on your own, you don't talk to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to anyone, you don't speak to If he's in a deep samadhi, it will not affect him. He's not aware of his body. I would think so. But generally, it's hard to find a lay person who can attain that type of samadhi. If he can attain that type of samadhi, he won't stay as a lay person. According to the Buddha's words, definitely he won't stay as a lay person. No, we don't talk about specific cases. I don't know. So you can't just take a page and put it in a diary. You need a page in your life, a person who wants to renounce the things, renounce the world, and that's either if you want it or you don't want it. And this is something that she found. I presume that you have attained a certain level of emotion and satisfaction with the world, which may be at a moment because of this person. So, I was just wondering, what made you not renounce the world in the first place? You see, somebody like Chitta, even though he is not considered a renunciant, But I believe that the life he leads is very similar to a renunciant. So, because he has already seen the Dhamma, being an anagamin, he's not interested in worldly affairs, probably his business and all that. He leaves to the wife to run the home and all that. And then he just considers his room to be like a cave. And he hides himself in the room the whole day, most of the time. Except maybe when it's time to do dana to the monks, he'll come out and do dana. So a person who can attain even the first sotapanna, he would already have some revulsion. This word revulsion, you can say disenchantment, you can say wearied of the world. No more chasing after anything interesting in the world. No more interested to go and see Guatemalung. This one I can't tell you. I can't tell you. You see, like, I mean, you can think of various possibilities. Say, suppose, like, you take a plane, you go overseas on a holiday or something, and then your plane crashes, and then you die there. But, say you die in America, but the people you have affinity with is in Malaysia. Whether your, what you call, soul or whatever there can come back to Malaysia. Interesting. Some people, like Professor Ian Stevenson, has written a book, done a lot of research about reincarnation, has written a small booklet. And the other person, I think it's Francis Torrey, or something like that, Francis Torrey, or Agaton Baptiste, written about rebirth. And when they hear that a person remembers their past life, they go and question him. So it seems there was one case of a person, he remembered that when he died, he took form of a small being, a few inches only, and he didn't know where to go. And then he saw his funeral, everything. After that he was wandering around, he didn't know where to go for a few days. Then one day he saw somebody whom he recognized to come from the sister's house. That person maybe went to market or something and is going home with a basket. And then this being, he jumped into that basket and it seems he was reborn as the sister's son. So, I mean, that's what he remembers. So, it's interesting. The Gandabha you can consider it to be a kind of being because the Buddha says that When you have a being with consciousness, it must come together with the five aggregates. You cannot have consciousness without the five aggregates. So it's actually a being, but because it's a temporary being, the Buddha does not classify it as one of the five destinations of rebirth, because it's only temporary, maybe only for a few days or for a few weeks, then it will enter the womb. So it has consciousness. So when it enters the fertilized egg, in the sutra they call it the descent of consciousness. Descent of consciousness into that egg. So once it descends into that egg, then you have the six senses. Then it's aware. It's an egg in the womb. It's aware of the surroundings. So when that egg, that fertilized egg, when the consciousness enters, that has become a being already. So if you, after that, if you perform an abortion, that's a killing of a human being. Are you talking about monks? monks and nuns. I think that rotten monks and nuns, they are present in all traditions and in all religions. So that cannot be helped, the rotten eggs. But the motive of a person wearing the robe is very important. There are some people, they wear the robe as a means of livelihood, so that they have an easy life, they don't have to work. People just bring food to them. They don't have to slog so hard. And sometimes they get very good offerings. So, although like in different sects of Buddhism, this is found, but there are certain sects where it's more pronounced. For example, like in Chinese Buddhism. In Chinese Buddhism, because the peculiarity about Chinese Buddhism is that the monks and the nuns have been forced by the Emperor of China in the year 511 to become vegetarians. So after they became vegetarians, they found that they have to cook themselves, they have to look for money to buy food because they are not able to go on Armstrong. Once they become vegetarians, it's not practical to go on Armstrong. Nobody's going to provide you with vegetarian food. So then, as a result of taking vegetarian food, They found that at night they get hungry because vegetarian food digests very easily. Even you take breakfast and lunch, by night you get hungry already. unlike taking of meat. So it is generally true that most Mahayana monks and nuns, probably 90% of them or more, they eat at night. And sometimes they eat openly also. They even go for dinner with lay people and eat from the same dishes and all that, which is not allowed by the Vinaya. So because of relaxing the rules, they find that there's the danger with relaxing the rules. Once you start relaxing one rule, then you relax another and relax another. And very soon, you are not able to keep any rule because people take for granted that these are not important. So that's why they start talking about pang pian, pang men, expedient means, provisional means. The problem is phang pien phang men become sui pien phang men. Anything bole, anything can do. So, that's the problem. And this vegetarian practice is not a Mahayana practice. It is a han chuan fo chiao. It's peculiar only to Chinese Buddhism. Because you have other branches of Mahayana Buddhism, like Tibetan Buddhism, they don't practice vegetarianism. So it's only peculiar to China and those places like Vietnam, because they're influenced by China, or South Korea. So that's the thing. It's okay, during the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11th, when we go to stay, you know at the Tala Tala, staying together is the same for most people. It's better that we learn from each other together. That's how we learn a lot of things. And for me, the Tala Tala, for me, is that you don't feel that you're the same in my mind. You don't need to be together or be together in a cage. But hard to say because that was long after the Buddha passed away. Whether they actually kept the Vinaya or not, we don't know. But like in Tibetan Buddhism, a lot of external sect practices have crept into Tibetan Buddhism because Tibetan Buddhism started only 1,200 years after the Buddha passed away. So things like tantric Buddhism, which comes from tantra yoga, where the master and the disciple can make love and all these things, it's taught in the teachings, but it's totally against the Buddha's Vinaya. So this is one of the things that caused the downfall of Buddhism in India. So the Buddha always stressed that we have to uphold the Vinaya. and practice the Dhamma. That's why the Dhamma Vinaya is our teacher. So you cannot say if you want to practice part of the Buddha's teachings, you don't want to practice another part. So that will cause a disappearance of the true Dhamma. Unfortunately, all these wrong practices and wrong teachings are not Peculiar to one sect, they are found in all forms of Buddhism, even Theravada Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism now is also very much corrupted by later books like the Commentaries and Abhidharma and all that. So that nowadays people don't talk about attaining the Jhanas. But in the Buddha's time, the Jhanas were extremely important. This is a test. She works to earn her living. So in one of her biographies, she wrote about how she was left behind by her family because there was no food. She could hardly get her own food. So what she would do is she would go to the field and pick up insects that were around her. She would take it all and put it on the table. As I said, picking up from the farmer's farm, they said the mountain is too big. It can amount to stealing if they did not give her permission and they are not happy that she took those things. But you see, that's the danger of some people. Instead of following the Buddha's instructions and depending on the Buddha's wisdom to guide us, some people, they want to use their own wisdom. They think they are very smart, but they are not smart. The Buddha wanted monks and nuns to rely on lay people for their food so that the lay people would have a means of getting blessings, merit. That's why in the monks' Vinaya, it's not allowed for a monk to go deep into the forest and live like, for example, a Hindu ascetic and live off the roots of the trees or live off the fruits. and all that, and survive in the deep jungle. The Buddha did not allow that. The Buddha said a monk must come out and beg for his food. After getting your food, if you want, you can go into the deep forest to meditate, but every day you have to come out and beg for your food. That's because the Buddha wants the lay people and the monks and nuns to interact so that they benefit each other. If she had studied the Buddha's words in the earliest Nikayas and Vinayas, she would not come to that conclusion. because she didn't study, so probably she thought she was doing the right thing. In fact, we find in the suttas, sometimes external ascetics, they are very proud of their teaching, they are very proud of their sect, of their religion and all that. They come and argue with the Buddha, and then they argue, argue with the Buddha, and finally the Buddha defeats them and convinces them of the Buddha's teachings. Then they realize, you know what they realize? They realized, they thought that they were monks before. They said now they realize they were not monks before. They thought they were practicing the holy life, but now they realize they were not practicing the holy life. So you see, sometimes you use your own wisdom. You think you are doing the right thing. You are doing the wrong thing. That's why it's very important to rely on the wisdom of a Sammasambuddha. That's why sometimes people come and learn from a teacher. They are not willing to give up their own preconceived ideas. They think they are smarter than the teacher. That's the problem. When you learn from a teacher, you have to give up some of your views. Like the Buddha says in the Sutta, the Buddha told one of his disciples, when you come to learn, you must always have the view that the teacher knows more than me. Otherwise, no point to follow your teacher. You go on your own. If you think a person is smart enough, no need to follow a teacher. You go on your own. So in the same way, when we are disciples of the Buddha, when a person renounces, he is called the son of the Sakyen, Sakyaputta. So we must always follow the Buddha's instructions. Not like this, none. In fact, in the later several hundred years after the Buddha passed away, people who use their own thinking, they start creating new teachings and they call it expedient teachings. Phang Pien Pharman and all that, which is basically what Mayana Sutras are about. They create things like Kuan Yin Pusa. And why do they create things like Kuan Yin Pusa and Amitabha? Because they think it's difficult for ordinary people to practice the spiritual path, very difficult to meditate, difficult to keep the precepts and all these things. So you have this Phang Pien Pharman where you can pray to Kuan Yin for help. And they think that is bringing people into Buddhism so that slowly they can follow the Buddha. But that's a silly way of thinking because once they come into Buddhism with this Kuan Yin and Amitabha Buddha in their mind, they will cling to it, they will never give up. They are not going to change from Kuan Yin to become a great meditator. No, they will cling on to Kuan Yin. So, the Buddha, from the very beginning, the Buddha never compromised on such things. The Buddha always taught the essence of the holy life. Even if it's difficult to do also, the Buddha said, we should follow because that is necessary. So, if we want an easy way, I always say, cheap things are not good, good things are not cheap. He is going back tomorrow, must ask this question. In the Suttas, the Buddha says there are nine types of beings in the world, only nine types of beings. The first one is the Putujana. Putujana means an ordinary worldling. And then after that are eight Aryans. The eight Aryans are the first path, first fruit, second path, second fruit, third path, third fruit, fourth path, fourth fruit. So if you have not attained Any Aryan stage, that person will be a Puttujana. Doesn't matter whether he's a monk, or a nun, or a lay person. If he has not become an Arya, he's a Puttujana. So that will include all the beings in hell, all the beings in the ghost realm, all the beings in the animal realm, and most of the human beings, and most of the devas and devis. Oh yeah, yeah. Most of them are Puttujana. That's why when they come across an ariya or arahant, they have great respect. Okay, we stop here for tonight.

28SNMaggaCh4520090823

It is the 23rd of August and we have just come to the fifth book, the last book of the Samyutta Nikaya. It is called the Mahavagga, the Great Vagga, the Great Book. It is called the Great Book because out of the five books of the Samyutta Nikaya, it is the biggest. and it consists of 1,197 suttas in this translation by Rabbi Bikubodi and nearly 1,200 suttas here in this fifth book. And unlike some of the other books, this one has eight chapters out of the total of 12, which are quite sizable. Unlike some of the previous books, you only have one sizeable chapter, but here you have eight sizeable chapters out of the twelve. And in the Buddha's teachings, there are a set of seven things said to be training factors at the core of the Buddha's teachings dealing with meditation. And all these seven sets are to be found here. Later commentarial books call them the 37 Bodhipakya Dharmas, the 37 requisites of enlightenment. And what are these? This book starts with the Samhita number 45, first chapter. So Samhita number 45 consists of the Noble Eightfold Path. Then chapter 46, concerns the seven bhojangas, factors of enlightenment. And then 47 is about the Satipatthana, the four Satipatthana in ten states of recollection. 48 is the five faculties, Kanchaindriyani. And then 49 is the four right efforts, Samapadana. 50 is the five powers, Bala. 51 is the Four Bases of Psychic Power, the Idipada. So, all these are found here, and like some of the other books, these are all important topics. Now, just to To gain irreversible release from suffering, we have to cut through the tangle of craving and clinging. And for this entanglement to be final and complete, we must extricate the most deeply buried root of all, namely ignorance. The direct antidote to ignorance is knowledge. not mere conceptual knowledge, but direct insight into things as they really are. And it was one of the Buddha's key discoveries that the knowledge needed for liberation can be developed. Such knowledge does not depend on divine grace or arise as a mystical intuition, but emerges out of a matrix of persistent spiritual practice governed by a precisely articulated ground plan. This course of practice is a process of self-cultivation sustained by the unvarying laws of conditionality. The different factors embedded in the seven sets are the qualities that need to be developed. They are the conditions which, when methodically generated and fortified, directly conduce to the arising of the liberating knowledge. seven sets of things that amount to 37 Bodhipakya Dharmas. It is stated in some sutra that when you perfect the Noble Eightfold Path completely, then all the 37 Bodhipakya Dharmas are also perfected. Actually, out of these 37 Bodhipakya Dharmas, the most important is the first chapter that we're going to study. That is the Magha Samyutta, because Magha means path and refers to the Noble Eightfold Path. If there is one way out of suffering, only one path out of suffering, it is the Noble Eightfold Path, not the others. The Noble Eightfold Path is the most complete path. I read to you again these notes by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi on page 1494. on Sang Maga Sang Yuddha. The best-known of the seven sets is of course the Noble Eightfold Path, announced already by the Buddha in his first sermon at Baranasi and repeatedly referred to throughout his discourses. The Noble Eightfold Path is given such prominence not only because it has an honoured place as the fourth of the Four Noble Truths and is thus comprised within the chief doctrine of early Buddhism. but because it is the most comprehensive of the seven sets. Its eight factors have a wider scope than the others, making the practice of the Dhamma a complete way of life. The Eightfold Path spans the three trainings in Virtue, Sila, Concentration, Samadhi, and Wisdom. It guides action of body, speech, and mind, and it transforms our ordinary conduct, thought, and view into the conduct, thought, and view of the Noble Ones. The other sets, though oriented towards the same goal, are more restricted in scope, pertaining almost exclusively to the meditative phase of the Noble Eightfold Path. On page 4995, on gaining faith in the Buddha in his role as the Tathagata, the supreme guide to deliverance, the disciple must first arrive at a clear conceptual understanding of the teaching, particularly with respect to the principles of karma and its fruit, and the Four Noble Truths. This is the right view. Samaditthi in its embryonic stage. Right View alters the disciple's motives and purposes, steering him or her away from sensuality, ill-will and cruelty, towards renunciation, benevolence and compassion. This is Right Thoughts. Sama Sankappa Guided by Right Thoughts, the disciple undertakes the three ethical factors of the path. Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood. Standing on this foundation of virtue, the disciple trains the mind by diligently and energetically developing the four intense states of recollection, satipatthana, that is, right effort applied to the practice of right recollection. When the effort bears fruit, the disciple enters and dwells in the four jhanas. This is right concentration, samma samadhi. This first chapter of the book Magha Sanghuta comprises 180 sutras. Now we go into the Magha Sanghuta, page 1523. This is the 45th chapter of the Sanghuta Nikaya, the first Sutta V.45.1 Thus have I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savarthi in Jeta's Grove at Nathapindika's Park. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks! Noble Sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said, Monk, ignorance is the forerunner in the entry upon unwholesome states, with shamelessness and fearlessness of wrongdoing following along. For an unwise person immersed in ignorance, wrong view springs up. For one of wrong view, wrong thoughts spring up. For one of wrong thoughts, wrong speech springs up. For one of wrong speech, wrong action springs up. For one of wrong action, wrong livelihood springs up. For one of wrong livelihood, wrong effort springs up. For one of wrong effort, wrong recollection springs up. For one of wrong recollection, wrong concentration springs up. Monks, true knowledge is the forerunner in the entry upon wholesome states, with the sense of shame and fear of wrongdoing following along. Stop here for a moment. This sense of shame and fear of wrongdoing called hiri otapa. For a wise person who has arrived at true knowledge, right view springs up. For one of right view, right thoughts spring up. For one of right thoughts, right speech springs up. For one of right speech, right action springs up. For one of right action, right livelihood springs up. For one of right livelihood, right effort springs up. For one of right effort, right recollection springs up. For one of right recollection, right concentration springs up. That's the end of the Sutta. So here the Buddha says that true knowledge is the entry upon wholesome states. True knowledge means knowledge of the Buddha's words found in the suttas. Because if you listen to the Buddha's words in the suttas, then you will know what is hiri-ottapa, a sense of shame. You will possess a sense of shame and fear of wrongdoing. And then also when you have true knowledge of the Buddha's words, you attain right view. Right View is the entry into the Noble Eightfold Path. Without Right View, we have not entered the Noble Eightfold Path. And in Sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya, I think Sutta 117, the Buddha says that the Noble Eightfold Path must be cultivated in a systematic way, must always start with Right View. After Right View, After you attain Right View, Right View will bring you to Right Thoughts, and Right Thoughts will bring you to Right Speech, which will bring you to Right Action, which will bring you to Right Livelihood, which will bring you to Right Effort, and that will bring you to Right Recollection. and that will bring you to Right Concentration. So Right View is the entry into the Noble Eightfold Path. But for Right View to arise, you must listen to the Buddha's words, which will give you true knowledge. All right. That is the Buddha Amma 45.2. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakyans, where there was a town of the Sakyans named Nagaraka. Then the Venerable Ananda approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, sat down to one side and said to Him, Venerable Sir, this is half of the holy life, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. And the Buddha said, Not so, Ananda. Not so, Ananda. This is the entire holy life, Ananda. That is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. When a monk has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying good friendship, good comradeship, is the whole of the holy life. That means you want to practice the holy life, having a good friend, a good comrade, is extremely important. His word in Pali I think is kalyāṇamitta. In Chinese it's translated as good-knowing advisor. Sān zhī sī. The Venerable Ananda thought that 50% of the holy life has to do with a good comrade, but the Buddha says it's 100%. So, in our case, the best Kalyana Mittag we can have is the Buddha. Buddha's words are left for us. the best Kalyana Mitra we can have. The only problem is sometimes when you study the Buddha's words, there are certain things you may not understand. So if you can find another companion who can guide you in explaining the Buddha's teachings and all that, then you are very lucky. Many of us, when we start off, we can't find somebody who can actually explain to us the Buddha's words. And how, Ananda, does a monk who has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path? Here, Ananda, a monk develops Right View, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing and release. Similarly, he develops Right Thoughts, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Recollection, Right Concentration, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing in release. It is in this way, Ananda, that a monk who has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path. By the following method too, Ananda, it may be understood how the entire holy life is good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. By relying upon me as a good friend, Ananda, Being subject to birth are free from birth. Being subject to aging are free from aging. Being subject to death are free from death. Being subject to sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair are free from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. By this method, Ananda, it may be understood how the entire holy life is good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. So here the Buddha says that relying upon the Buddha, we rely upon the Buddha. So in other words, the Buddha is our best kalyāṇamitta. So we have to investigate the Buddha's words more. Later you find, when you come to the chapter on the seven bojjhangas, there is a factor called investigation of dhamma. In Exhuta read it's 45.6. Then a certain monk approached the Blessed One, etc. Sitting to one side, the monk said, Venerable Sir, it is said, the Holy Light, the Holy Light. What, Venerable Sir, is the Holy Light? What is the final goal of the Holy Light? And the Buddha said, monk, this noble eightfold path is the holy life, that is, right view, right thoughts, right speech, etc. The destruction of lust, the destruction of hatred, the destruction of delusion, this is the final goal of the holy life. So the holy life or the holy path that we need to Practice is a Noble Eightfold Path. And if we perfect the Noble Eightfold Path, we will attain the final goal of destruction of lust, hatred and delusion, which will bring you to Nibbana. 45.8 At Savatthi, the Buddha said, monks, I will teach you the Noble Eightfold Path, and I will analyze it for you. Listen to that and attend closely. I will speak. Yes, Venerable Sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said, and what, monks, is the Noble Eightfold Path? Right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection, right concentration. is the Noble Eightfold Path. And what monks is Right View? Knowledge of suffering, knowledge of the origin of suffering, knowledge of the cessation of suffering, knowledge of the way leading to the cessation of suffering. This is called Right View. In other words, knowledge of the Four Noble Truths is Right View. And what monks is Right Thoughts? Thoughts of renunciation, thoughts of non-ill will, thoughts of harmlessness. This is called right thoughts. At what mounts is right speech, abstinence from false speech, abstinence from malicious speech, abstinence from harsh speech, abstinence from idle chatter. This is called right speech. At what mounts is right action, abstinence from destruction of life, abstinence from taking what is not given. abstinence from sexual misconduct. This is called right action. And what mounts is right livelihood. Here a noble disciple, having abandoned a wrong mode of livelihood, earns his living by a right livelihood. This is called right livelihood. Basically, right livelihood is earning a livelihood without harming others. And what mounts is right effort. Dear monks, a monk generates desire for the non-arising of unarisen, evil, unwholesome states. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind and strives. He generates desire for the abandoning of abandoning of arisen evil unwholesome states. He generates desire for the arising of unarisen wholesome states. He generates desire for the maintenance of arisen wholesome states, for their non-decay, increase, expansion, and fulfillment by development. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind and strives. This is called right effort. And what mounts is recollection. Dear monks, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent, mindful, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. He dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, mindful, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. This is called Right Recollection. And what mounts is Right Concentration. Here monks secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, A monk enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, with delight and happiness born of seclusion. With the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, he enters and dwells in the second jhāna, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought directed and sustained, and has delight and happiness born of concentration. With the fading away as well of delight, he dwells equanimous and recollected and mindful. He experiences happiness with the body. He enters and dwells in the third jhana of which the noble ones declare, he is equanimous, recollected. one who dwells happily. With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and the previous passing away of joy and displeasure, he enters and dwells in the fourth jhana, which is neither painful nor pleasant, and includes the complete purification of recollection and equanimity. This is called right concentration. It's the end of the sutra. So here, all the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path are explained and analyzed. Now we come to 45.11. Or maybe before I go to that, maybe I just recapitulate the Noble Eightfold Path. Right view is right view of the Four Noble Truths. It's understanding Four Noble Truths. And when you attain right view, that is Aryan right view, then you have entered the stream and become an Aryan. And then right thoughts are these three thoughts. Thoughts of renunciation, which is non-grief. Thoughts of non-ill will. The opposite is ill will, not anger. Third is harmlessness, not harming anyone. And right speech has got four components. Abstinence from lying, from malicious speech, from false speech, and from idle gossip. Action comprises three biceps, abstinence from killing, from stealing and from adultery. Livelihood is earning a livelihood without harming others or yourself. Effort is to prevent the rising of unwholesome states of mind. And if the wholesome states of mind have already arisen, then to get rid of it. And also to develop wholesome states of mind if they have not arisen. And if wholesome states of mind have arisen, then we try to sustain it. The recollection is to remember to put your mindfulness on only four objects. of a collection. The body, feelings, mind and the Dhamma. Dhamma refers to the Buddha's Dhamma, Buddha's words. The right concentration refers to the four jhānas. In the Buddha's suttas, everywhere you find right concentration always is the four jhānas. Even when sometimes it's mentioned one-pointedness of mind, even that one-pointedness of mind is explained as the four jhānas. There's nothing short of the four jhānas. in right concentration. But nowadays, some monks mislead people by saying that right concentration can be Upacara Samadhi or Karnika Samadhi and all that, which are never mentioned in the suttas. Now we come to 45.11 at Savatthi. The Buddha said, monks, I wish to go into seclusion for half a month. I should not be approached by anyone except the one who brings me alms food. Yes, my noble sir, those monks replied, and no one approached the blessed one except the one who brought him alms food. Then when that half-month had passed, the Blessed One emerged from seclusion and addressed the monks thus, Monks, I have been dwelling in part of the abode in which I dwelt just after I became enlightened. I have understood thus, there is feeling with wrong view as condition, also feeling with right view as condition. There is feeling with wrong thoughts and right thoughts, feeling with wrong speech, right speech, etc. There is feeling with desire as condition. There's also feeling with thought as condition. There's also feeling with perception as condition. Stop here for a moment. This last part, feeling with desire as condition are the greed states. normal states of greed. Feeling with thought as condition probably refers to the first jhāna. And feeling with perception as condition refers to the second jhāna upwards to the base of nothingness. When desire has not subsided, and thought has not subsided, and perception has not subsided, there is feeling with that as condition. When desire has subsided, and thoughts have not subsided, and perceptions have not subsided, there is also feeling with that as condition. When desire has subsided, and thoughts have subsided, and perceptions have not subsided, there is also feeling with that as condition. When desire has subsided, and thought has subsided, and perception has subsided, there is also feeling with that as condition. There is effort for the attainment of the as-yet-unattained. When that stage has been reached, there is also feeling with that as condition. That's the end of the sutra. So I read this sutra mainly to let you see that sometimes the Buddha and his monks, they go into seclusion for a period of time where they don't want to meet anyone. And this is good practice. If you stay in a monastery, like during this Vassa, if any one of you want to go into a retreat for one or two weeks, then you can arrange to stay. If possible, I don't know whether you have a place for you to stay alone. You can have somebody bring you food. You have the time or some property, I'll try to do that.

29SNMaggaCh4520090823

The next sutra is 45.28, page 1537. Asavati, the Buddha said, monks, I will teach you noble right concentration with its supports and accessories. Listen to that. And what monks? It's noble or aryan right concentration with its supports and its accessories. These are right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection, right mindfulness. This is the support up to right mindfulness, up to right recollection. The one-pointedness of mind equipped with these seven factors is called Noble Right Concentration with its supports and also with its accessories. So, Right Concentration is the Four Jhanas. And then Aryan Right Concentration is the Four Jhanas supported by the other factors of the Noble Eightfold Path. So, you have Noble Right Concentration, then only you can attain liberation. But those people who practice concentration in the external sects, external ascetics, they may have Four Jhanas, but they don't have the other factors of the Noble Eightfold Path. So if they don't have the other factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, that is just Right Concentration, but it's not Noble Right Concentration, so they won't be able to attain Nirvana because they don't have the other factors. So it's very important that Right Concentration must always be supported by the other seven factors of the Noble Eightfold Path. The next sutra is 45.49, page 1543. At Salvati, the Buddha said, monks, this is the forerunner and precursor of the rising sun, that is, the dawn. So to monks, for a monk, this is the forerunner and precursor for the arising of the Noble Eightfold Path, that is, good friendship. When a monk has a good friend, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate this Noble Eightfold Path. And how does a monk who has a good friend develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path? Here, a monk develops Right View, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing in release. Similarly, he develops Right Thoughts, Right Speech, etc. which are based on seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing and release. It is in this way, monks, that a monk who has a good friend develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path." That's the end of the sutra. So just like you must have the dawn before the rising of the sun. So in the same way, you need to have a good friend before you can walk the Noble Eightfold Path or see the Noble Eightfold Path very clearly. So a good friend, in our case, the best friend is the Buddha's words. But still, if you have another spiritual companion who can help you to understand the words of the Buddha. 45.140, page 1551. Monks, just as the footprints of all living beings that walk fit into the footprint of the elephant, and the elephant's footprint is declared to be the chief among them, that is, with respect to size, so too whatever wholesome states there are, they are all rooted in diligence, converge upon diligence, and diligence is declared to be the chief among them. When a monk is diligent, it is expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path. the end of the Sutta. So the Buddha says that among all footprints, the elephant's footprint is considered the chief because it's the biggest. So similarly, whatever wholesome states there are, diligence is the chief of all wholesome states. Diligence is the chief, the most important Because when we have diligence, diligence means effort, energetic effort to work to get what you want. So when you put effort in the right way, then you can achieve what you want. Effort also, it must be right effort put in the right The Buddha gave a simile that practicing the right way is extremely important. The Buddha said, somebody heard that you can get oil by crushing sesame seeds. You crush sesame seeds, you can get oil. But he didn't understand what was sesame seeds. He only heard that it's something very small. So he got sand and he tried to crush sand. Can he get oil? He can never get oil because he is crushing the wrong thing. In the same way, when we practice with effort, we must put effort in the right way. And what is the right way? Only the words of the Buddha can guide us. 45.155, page 1555. Buddha said, monks, just as various winds blow in the sky, easterly winds, westerly winds, northerly winds, southerly winds, dusty winds and dustless winds, cold winds and hot winds, gentle winds and strong winds, so too, when a monk develops and cultivates a noble eightfold path, then for him, the four intense states of recollection go to fulfilment by development, the four right efforts go to fulfilment by development, the four basis for psychic power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment go to fulfilment by development. And how is this so? Dear monks, a monk develops right view, right thoughts, right speech, etc. up to right concentration. This is based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing in release. It is in this way, monks, that when a monk develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path, then for him, the four intense stages of recollection, the four right efforts, the four pieces of psychic power, the five faculties, etc., all go to fulfillment by development. So, actually, when we want to perfect these 37 Bodhipakya Dhammas, out of these seven sets, the most important is the Noble Eightfold Path. perfect the Noble Eightfold Path, then all the others are perfected. Your four Satipatthana, your four Idipada, your four Samapadana, your five Indriya, five Bala, seven Bhojanga, all go to fulfillment. So sometimes people say the only way is the four Satipatthana. That's not correct. The only way is the Noble Eightfold Path. As mentioned just now in the Available Bhikkhu Bodhis notes, the other factors of these seven sets are not so important as the Noble Eightfold Path, because the Noble Eightfold Path is the most complete. The next sutra is 45.159. Buddha said, monks, suppose there is a guest house. People come from the east, west, north and south and lodge there. Katyas, that means warrior clan, Brahmins, Vesas, Vesas are merchants, and Sudas, Sudas are the workers. come and lodge there. So too, when a monk develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path, he fully understands by direct knowledge those things that are to be fully understood by direct knowledge. He abandons by direct knowledge those things that are to be abandoned by direct knowledge. He realizes by direct knowledge those things that are to be realized by direct knowledge. He develops by direct knowledge those things that are to be developed by direct knowledge. And what mounts are the things to be fully understood by direct knowledge? It should be said, the five aggregates of attachment. What five? The body aggregates of attachment. The feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, aggregates of attachment. These are to be fully understood by direct knowledge. And what monks are the things to be abandoned by direct knowledge? Ignorance and craving for existence. These are the things to be abandoned by direct knowledge. And what monks are the things to be realized by direct knowledge? True knowledge and liberation. These are the things to be realized by direct knowledge. And what monks are the things to be developed by direct knowledge? Samatha and Vipassana. These are the things to be developed by direct knowledge. And how is it? Samatha and Vipassana is tranquility or tranquilization of the mind. and contemplation. Contemplation refers mostly to contemplation of the Buddha's words, the Dhamma. And how is it monks, that when a monk develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path, he fully understands by direct knowledge those things that are to be fully understood by direct knowledge. He develops by direct knowledge those things that are to be developed Here, monks, a monk develops right view, right thoughts, right speech, etc., up to right concentration, which are based upon seclusion, dispassion, cessation, maturing in release. It is in this way, monks, that a monk who develops and cultivates a Noble Eightfold Path so that he fully understands by direct knowledge those things that are to be fully understood by direct knowledge, he abandons what are to be abandoned and he develops what are to be developed, etc. So this sutta tells us what we need to understand is the five aggregates of attachment. And to understand the five aggregates of attachment, we need the theory and the practice. The theory is to study the Buddha's words concerning the five aggregates. And then the practice is to contemplate the five aggregates, how they arise, how they cease, how they are subject to conditions, et cetera. And then the things to be abandoned are ignorance and craving for existence. Ignorance we abandon by learning the Buddha's words. But even learning the Buddha's words is not enough. Because if you have a lot of, your five hindrances are very strong, then even you read the Buddha's words or listen to the Buddha's words, it doesn't go in very much, doesn't go in very deep. So we need to meditate to get rid of the five hindrances by practicing Samatha meditation. When the five hindrances are eliminated, then we can understand the Buddha's words and be rid of ignorance. This craving for existence, we can only abandon when we really understand the Dhamma, Things to be realized by direct knowledge is true knowledge and liberation. Things to be developed are samatha and vipassana. Samatha, of course, you have to meditate to practice to get samadhi, one-pointedness of mind. And vipassana is listening to the Buddha's words or reading the suttas and contemplating to understand. So when we practice the Noble Eightfold Path, these develop naturally. The next verse is 45.160. Suppose, monks, that when the river Ganges slants, slopes, and inclines towards the east, a great crowd of people would come along, bringing a shovel and a basket, thinking, we will make this river Ganges slant, slope, and incline towards the west. What do you think, monks? Would that great crowd of people be able to make the river Ganges slant, slope, and incline towards the west? No, Rev. Sir. For what reason? Because the River Ganges slants slopes and inclines towards the east, and it is not easy to make it slant slopes and incline towards the west. That great crowd of people would only reap fatigue and vexation. And the Buddha said, to two monks, when a monk is developing and cultivating the Noble Eightfold Path, kings or royal ministers, friends or colleagues, relatives or kinsmen might invite him to accept wealth, saying, Come good man, why let these saffron robes weigh you down? Why roam about with a shaven head and a begging bowl? Come, having returned to the lower life, enjoy wealth and do meritorious deeds. Indeed, monks, but that monk is developing and cultivating the Noble Eightfold Path. It is impossible that he will give up the training and return to the lower life. For what reason? Because for a long time his mind has slanted, sloped and inclined towards seclusion. Thus, it is impossible that he will return to the lower life. And how, monks, does a monk develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path? Here, monks, a monk develops right view, right thoughts, right speech, etc., up to right concentration, which are based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release. It is in this way, monks, that a monk develops and cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path." That's the end of the sutta. So, The Buddha says, if a monk really practices the Noble Eightfold Path, then his mind inclines towards seclusion. It can be that he might want to stay alone, or even if he stays with others, then he is aloof. He is aloof from others. He doesn't go into people's kuti and chat and chat and all that. If he practices seclusion for a long time, then he wants to be alone. Then he will not want to disrobe and go back to society. When you go back to society, you have to mix with a lot of people. When you mix with a lot of people, your mind is always scattered. The next sutta is 45.175, page 1564. Buddha said, monks, there are these seven underlying tendencies. What seven? The underlying tendency to sensual lust, the underlying tendency to aversion, the underlying tendency to views, the underlying tendency to doubt, the underlying tendency to conceit, the underlying tendency to lust for existence, the underlying tendency to ignorance. These are the seven underlying tendencies. This Noble Eightfold Path is to develop for direct knowledge of these seven underlying tendencies, for the full understanding of them, for their utter destruction, for their abandoning. So these are the underlying Tendencies are within each person. The tendency to lust, to aversion, to views, to doubt, to conceit, to lust for existence, to ignorance. The next sutra is 45.177. Monks, there are these five hindrances, panca nivarana. What five? The hindrance of sensual desire, the hindrance of ill-will or anger, the hindrance of sloth and torpor, the hindrance of restlessness and remorse, the hindrance of doubt, These are the five hindrances. This noble Eightfold Path is to be developed for a direct knowledge of these five hindrances, for the full understanding of them, for their utter destruction, for their abandoning. These five hindrances are five things that obstruct us from seeing clearly. So they are the cause of our being very bodo-bodo and blur-blur. So when we practice meditation and when the mind becomes focused, then these five melt away. There's a lot about these five hindrances in the chapter on the seven bhojanga, because they are the opposite of the seven bhojanga. Seven bhojanga bring you to enlightenment. These five hindrances bring you away from enlightenment. That's why when we meditate, the most important aim of meditation is to get rid of the five hindrances. When the five hindrances are got rid of, then only wisdom can arise. The next sutra is 45.179. Monks, there are these five lower factors, sangyojana. What five? Identity view, sakkaya-ditthi, doubt, the distorted grasp of rules and vows, ilabhata-paramasa, sensual desire, ill-will. These are the five lower factors. This Noble Eightfold Path is to be developed for direct knowledge of these five lower factors, for the full understanding of them, for their destruction, for their abandoning. These five lower factors, when a person attains Sotapanna, the first fruit, the fruit of Ariahood, the first three are eliminated. Identity view, doubt, and attachment to rules and vows. And then when a person attains Anagamin, when a person attains Sakadagamin, the second fruit, then sensual desire and ill will are weakened. And then when one attains Anagamin, sensual desire and ill will are eliminated so that all the five lower factors are eliminated for an Anagamin. This identity view is to identify oneself with the body and the mind. Doubt is doubt about the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, not having faith. And then this attachment to rules and rituals, or rules and vows, means clinging to these rules and vows, not understanding that they are only meant for a purpose. The next sutra, 45.180. Monks, there are these five higher factors. What five? Lust for form, lust for the formless, conceit, restlessness, ignorance. These are the five higher factors. The Noble Eightfold Path is to be developed for a direct knowledge of these five higher factors, for the full understanding of them. for their utter destruction, for their abandoning. Noble Eightfold Path Dear monks, a monk develops right view, right thoughts, right speech, etc., up to right concentration, which are based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release. This Noble Eightfold Path is to be developed for direct knowledge of these five higher factors, for the full understanding of them, for their utter destruction, for their abandoning. I don't know why they repeat. So these five higher factors, what are they? The first one is lust for form. Actually it means attachment to be reborn in the form realm. The desire to be reborn in the jhana planes, the form realm. Then the second one is the desire to be reborn in the formless realm. That means the realm of the Arupa Janas. Then Conceit is the I Am, that feeling, that perception within us, that I exist. And Restlessness is another one. Ignorance is another one. Ignorance of the Four Noble Truths. So when a person destroys the five I Affectors, Only he attains Arahanthood. Arahant destroys the five higher factors. So you see all these five higher factors. Ignorance. Ignorance is only destroyed by an Arahant. Even an Anagamin has not destroyed ignorance. Still has a bit of ignorance. And restlessness also. Restlessness. Only the Arahant is totally cool. The Arahant is totally cool. There's no more restlessness. Then the conceit, I exist. Only the Arahant has eliminated that. So when the Arahant eliminates all these, he stands way above all the others in the world. That's the end of that chapter, 45. Maybe we go into the Bojangas tomorrow. Quite heavy, heavy going. Anything to discuss? Or shall we stop here? That one is Sila Bhattaparapasa clinging to rules and rituals or clinging to rules and vows. Aspiration is to aspire to something, to make a wish, to attain something. But making a vow is actually not very practical. A lot of people think that you make a vow, you make a vow to be reborn in the Pure Land or you make a vow to bring beings to the Pure Land and all this. I guess to most people's mind, it's like a stronger aspiration because it is a vow. It's like a do or die thing. It must succeed. But I think the Buddha says that what we want in the world cannot be achieved by prayers, cannot be achieved by making vows, cannot be achieved by thinking of them every day. we have to do the practical work of working towards what we want. And that working towards what we want, walking to where we want to go, you must walk in the right direction, as I mentioned just now. If you grind sand hoping to get oil, you'll never get oil until you die. So, making vows by themselves pointless in the Buddha's Dhamma since the Buddha says you're not going to get what you want by making vows. So making aspiration also in a way also is useless unless it is backed up by the effort. That's why the Buddha says of all wholesome states, diligence, energetic effort is the chief, is the most important. So whatever we want to achieve, no need to make a vow. We just aspire to achieve what we want and then forget about the aspiration and just do the work. If you put all your attention in working for what you want to get, then you will definitely get it. I think I remember reading somewhere, I think the Buddha said that if a person's mind is The determination is very strong that even the Deva also cannot obstruct you. So like for example, the Buddha's determination to become enlightened was so strong that he worked so hard for it. Even Mara wants to obstruct him from becoming enlightened. Mara also is unable to obstruct him. It depends on whose will is stronger. Yes, but it's a wrong view. Many years ago, we had a Malaysian monk who was telling people that when you do dana, when you do charity, when you make offerings, you should make a vow. May the merit of this charity enable me to obtain this and obtain that, or be released from samsara and all that. But in the Buddha's teachings, this kind of vow is useless. In fact, in the sutras, the Buddha says that it has the opposite effect. It actually lessens the merit of your dana. If you do charity with an aim or a motive to attain something, that means you have a selfish thought. When you have a selfish thought, then the merit of your dana, your charity, becomes less. But if you do your charity because you think it's good, that you should do it because it benefits others, and you're happy to do it without thinking of anything in return, Then that is a higher blessing. It's not like you are doing a swap. You are trying to give something and you want to get something back. Shall we stop here for tonight?

30SNBojjhangaCh4620090824

Today is the 24th of August. We've just come to the 46th chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya, Bhojanga Samyutta. It's one of the important chapters. Bhojanga means the actors of enlightenment. The word bodhi and anga. The first sutra is 46.1, at Savatthi, the Buddha said, monks, based upon the Himalayas, the king of mountains, the Nagas nurture their bodies and acquire strength. When they have nurtured their bodies and acquired strength, they then enter the pools. From the pools, they enter the lakes. then the streams, then the rivers, and finally they enter the ocean. There they achieve greatness and expansiveness of body. So two monks, based upon virtue, established upon virtue, a monk develops and cultivates the seven factors of enlightenment, and thereby he achieves greatness and expansiveness in wholesome states. Stop here for a moment. These Nagas, serpent spirits, I think it's mentioned in some other suttas, that when the mother Naga wants to give birth, will go up these big rivers, and then go up, and these big rivers that come down from the Himalayas, Himalayan mountains, then they go up to the Himalayan mountains and they give birth there. So these baby Nagas, once they grow up, then they slowly find their way back to the rivers and down to the ocean. So the Buddha says, when they enter the ocean, they achieve greatness and expansiveness of body. So just like the ocean, the seven factors of enlightenment will help us to achieve greatness and expansiveness in wholesome states. And how does a monk, based upon virtue, established upon virtue, develop the seven factors of enlightenment? Here monks, a monk develops the enlightenment factor of recollection, satya, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing in release. He develops the enlightenment factor of investigation of dhamma, the factor of energy, the factor of delight, the factor of tranquility, the factor of concentration, the factor of equanimity, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing, and release. It is in this way, monks, that a monk, based upon virtue, established upon virtue, develops the seven factors of enlightenment, and thereby achieves greatness and expansiveness in wholesome states. So virtue is the starting point. Virtue is moral conduct, keeping the precepts. If you keep the precepts, you don't harm others. That is virtue. And based upon virtue, we cultivate the seven bhojangas. The second sutta is a very important sutta. I had originally intended to read this sutta, but then as I went along, I found that it is repeated in 46.51 and then 46.51 there is a bigger it's more detail there are some other things are not mentioned in this sutta so i will not i will skip this 46.2 and later we'll read the 46.51 the next sutta is 46.3 this sutta is quite important It tells you how to practice, how to develop the 7 Bhojangas, how to practice the 7 Bhojangas. Buddha said monks, those monks who are accomplished in virtue, accomplished in concentration, I stopped there, I just mentioned a while ago, because in the introduction I forgot to mention this. Pujangas are factors of enlightenment. That means if you practice these seven factors, they will bring you to enlightenment. They are very important factors to achieve enlightenment. Monks, those monks who are accomplished in virtue, accomplished in concentration, accomplished in wisdom, accomplished in liberation, accomplished in the knowledge and vision of liberation, even the sight of those monks is helpful, I say. Even listening to them, even approaching them, even attending on them, even recollecting them, even going forth after them is helpful, I say. For what reason? Because when one has heard the Dharma from such monks, one dwells withdrawn by way of two kinds of withdrawal. Withdrawal of body and withdrawal of mind. I will stop here for a moment. Here the Buddha says it is very helpful, very beneficial to come into contact with arahants. Arahants and because why? Because when you come into contact with Arahants then you are able to learn the Dhamma from them. And then when you have learned the Dhamma from them you will dwell withdrawn. Withdrawal of body and withdrawal of mind. The Pali word here for withdrawal is Upakasena. Possibly, it is similar to the word viveka, seclusion of body and seclusion of mind. Because if you don't withdraw from the world, you will have a lot of suffering. The world is a world of suffering. So, as Chinese say, ku hai. So, to get away from suffering, we have to withdraw from the world. So, there are two ways of withdrawing. by body and the other one is by mind. Dwelling thus withdrawn, one recollects that Dhamma and thinks it over. Whenever a monk dwelling thus withdrawn recollects that Dhamma and thinks it over, on that occasion the enlightenment factor of Sakti Recollection is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of sati. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of sati comes to fulfilment by development in the monk. Stop here for a moment. You see here the explanation of sati. You have to be very careful because nowadays people simply give a wrong interpretation of sati. Sati is not general mindfulness. Nowadays people like to translate sati as general mindfulness. Here sati is recollection, recalling the dhamma that you have heard. So, Sati generally refers to recalling four things, bringing to mind, recollecting four things, body, feeling, mind, and the Dhamma. Dhamma refers to the Buddha's teachings, not the states of mind. So, out of these four, actually recollecting the Dhamma is the most important, as I mentioned before. If you want to become enlightened, there are five occasions of enlightenment. and four of them have directly to do with Dhamma. Without Dhamma knowledge, you cannot become enlightened. So here, you see, the meaning of Sati is very different from what people interpret nowadays. So the Buddha says it is very important to come into contact with somebody enlightened, like the Buddha. Because when actually we are in contact with the Buddha, even though the Buddha's physical body is no more with us, the Buddha is still around. The Dhamma he has left for us is the Buddha. The Buddha says when you see the Dhamma, you see the Buddha. When you see the Buddha, you see the Dhamma. The Dhamma represents the Buddha. You don't need his physical body. You need his teachings. so now because we have come into contact with the buddha we have heard his dhamma So, after hearing this Dhamma, we must recollect, remember, recall that Dhamma that we have heard from the Buddha. And when you recall that Dhamma, you recollect that Dhamma, that is Sati, not mindfulness of how you walk, how you sit, that is totally nothing, the general mindfulness has nothing to do with the Sati, the Buddha Sati. Especially here, when it concerns the Bhojanga, as a factor of enlightenment, you have to recollect the Dhamma. So in this Bhojanga, this factor of enlightenment, Sati is recollecting the Dhamma more than anything else. So when you recollect the Dhamma, then the Buddha says, you develop the enlightenment factor of sati. And on that occasion, the enlightenment factor of sati comes to fulfilment by development in the mind. So remember, sati is recollecting the dhamma, mainly, if you want to become enlightened. Dwelling thus mindfully, he investigates that Dhamma with wisdom, examines it, makes an investigation of it. Whenever monks, a monk dwelling thus mindfully, investigates that Dhamma with wisdom, examines it, makes an investigation of it. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma comes to fulfillment by development in the mind. Stop here for a moment. So you see, you see carefully how the Bojjhanga's development is not in any order, you know. Firstly, you must learn the Dhamma first. That's why in some other suttas, especially I think in the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha mentioned, before he wanted to teach a monk how to meditate using the Satipatthana, the Buddha said, you must first establish two foundations. One is Sila, moral conduct. The second one is right view. And right view comes from listening to the Dhamma. That's why I say here, when you come into contact With Arahant, the first thing, the most important thing is to learn the Dhamma from him. After you learn the Dhamma, then you recollect the Dhamma, that is Sati. So, Sati is the first factor to practice out of these seven Bhojangas. The first one you need to practice is Sati, recollecting the Dhamma first. After recollecting the Dhamma, then you investigate the Dhamma. You reflect on the Dhamma. That is the second factor called investigation of Dhamma, Dhammavichaya. While he investigates that Dhamma with wisdom, examines it, makes an investigation of it, his energy is aroused without slackening. Whenever monks, a monk's energy is aroused without slackening as he investigates that Dhamma with wisdom. examines it. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of energy is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of energy. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of energy comes to fulfilment by development in the monk. So the third factor to develop is energy. Because after you have heard the Dhamma and you recollect it and you investigate it, then you understand how to practice the Dhamma. So having understood how to practice the Dhamma, you put the practice into motion, that is energy. using energetic effort to practice the Dhamma. Practicing the Dhamma means you recall the Dhamma, you sit in meditation, you keep your precepts, etc. Sila, Samadhi, Panna. So that's the third factor to practice. When his energy is aroused, there arises in him spiritual delight. Whenever monks' spiritual delight arises in a monk whose energy is aroused, on that occasion the enlightenment factor of delight is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of delight, piti. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of delight, piti, comes to fulfilment by development in the monk. So here the fourth factor to develop after energy is delight. When you put energy in meditation, this delight, pity arises. Now what is spiritual delight? You turn to page 1284. We went through that sutta in case you have forgotten. actually the bottom of 1, 2, 8, 3. And what monks is carnal delight? Then the Buddha said, monks, there are these five courts of sensual pleasure. The delight that arises in dependence on these five courts of sensual pleasure, this is called carnal delight. And what monks is spiritual delight? Spiritual delight is secluded from sensual pleasures and from unwholesome states. A monk enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, with delight and happiness born of seclusion. With the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, he enters and dwells in the second jhāna, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought directed and sustained, and has delight and happiness born of concentration. This is called spiritual delight. So spiritual delight, the Pali word is Piti Niramisa. Piti Niramisa. So, spiritual delight refers to the delight that arises in the first and the second jhana, right? It's very clear here from this Sutta 36.31. So now we go back to this page 1571. So the Buddha says, when this monk puts forth energetic effort, that means meditates, then spiritual delight arises. So just now we just saw that this Piti Niramisa refers to the delight that arises in the first and the second jhāna. So in other words, this monk, after learning the Dhamma, then he puts forth energy, he meditates, then he attains the first and the second jhāna, then only he has that spiritual delight. So he develops that spiritual delight by attaining the first and the second jhāna. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of tranquility comes to fulfilment by development in the mind. Here, this tranquility can refer to the first jhāna, can refer to the second jhāna, can refer to the third jhāna also. So, this tranquility is the tranquility of mind as a result of having that piti. After that piti arises, then here the Buddha says tranquility is developed. For one whose body is tranquil and who is happy, the mind becomes concentrated. Whenever monks, the mind becomes concentrated in a monk whose body is tranquil, and who is happy. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of concentration is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of concentration. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of concentration comes to fulfillment by development in the monk. Stop here for a moment. In the sutras, the Buddha, whenever he refers to samadhi, concentration, He says samadhi refers to four things. First jhāna, second jhāna, third jhāna, fourth jhāna. So here, when the Buddha says concentration, it refers to any one of these four jhānas. A perfect concentration is the fourth jhāna. So here refers to the four jhanas. And then the Buddha continues. He closely looks on with equanimity at the mind thus concentrated. Whenever monks, a monk closely looks on with equanimity at the mind thus concentrated. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of equanimity is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the Enlightenment factor of equanimity. On that occasion, the Enlightenment factor of equanimity comes to fulfilment by development in the monk. Now, what is this equanimity? We go back to page 1284. That's why it's very important to study many suttas so you cross-reference the suttas and you can understand better. Page 1285. Here it says there are two types Three types of equanimity, actually two types. Carnal equanimity and spiritual equanimity. Carnal equanimity refers to the equanimity that arises in dependence on the five courts of sensual pleasure. And then spiritual equanimity refers to the fourth jhana. This is very important. So here we are talking, just now we talked about spiritual delight. spiritual piti. So now we must be referring to spiritual equanimity, upeka. So spiritual equanimity in this sutra, 36.31, it means the fourth jhāna. So just now we went through the first jhāna and second jhāna when that piti arises. Then after that we talk about tranquility, concentration. So it's natural that we end up with the fourth jhāna. So this The last factor of the Bhojangas refers to the fourth jhāna. So you see these seven factors, these seven Bhojangas, how they are cultivated from the learning, the hearing, the dhamma, you practice and slowly you go through the first jhāna, second jhāna, third jhāna, fourth jhāna. Then only, after you have attained the fourth jhāna, then all these factors are complete. Monks, when these seven factors of enlightenment have been developed and cultivated in this way, seven fruits and benefits may be expected. What are the seven fruits and benefits? One attains final knowledge early in this very life. If one does not attain final knowledge early in this very life, then one attains final knowledge at the time of death. If one does not attain final knowledge early in this very life, or at the time of death, then with the utter destruction of the five lower factors, one becomes an attainer of Nibbana in the interval. If one does not attain final knowledge early in this life, or when one dies, or in the interval, then with the utter destruction of the five lower factors, one becomes an attainer of Nibbana upon landing. Then if one does not attain final Nibbana early in this life, or at the time of death, or in the interval, or upon landing, then with the other destruction of five lower factors, one becomes an attainer of Nibbana without exertion. Then after that, with exertion, then after that, one bound upstream heading towards the Akanitta realm. So these are the seven factors. the seven truths and benefits to be expected. The last few benefits are mentioned. Bound for the akhanita realm and then with exertion, without exertion, upon landing and in the interval. These five descriptions refer to the Anagamin. The Anagamin person, after he passes away, he can attain Nibbana in these five ways. This one we won't talk about it tonight. We'll come across it some other day. So this is a very important sutra. It explains very clearly how to develop the seven Bhojangas. This is one of those very important sutras. A lot of monks don't refer to it. If you want to learn meditation, you want to learn the practice of the holy life, this is the type of sutra you want to understand. How to practice the Bhojangas in the right way, systematically, one by one. Even like the Noble Eightfold Path, also is to be practiced systematically, from the first factor, right view onwards. People who don't understand, they come to the Dhamma, they start practicing the last factor, meditation. So exactly with the Bhojangas, you start by learning the Dhamma, then you recollect the Dhamma. Then after recollecting the Dhamma, then you investigate the Dhamma. And after investigating and understanding the Dhamma, then you put it into practice. When you put it into practice, you use energetic effort. So when you use energetic effort, then you attain the first and the second jhana. Then this piti arises. So after attaining the first and second jhana, the mind becomes tranquil. And after that, the mind becomes concentrated. After that, when you say the mind is concentrated, it may be that person has already attained the fourth jhāna or has already attained the three jhānas. But the last factor is definitely the fourth jhāna when the mind becomes equanimous. So these seven bhujangas all refer to learning the Dhamma and practicing Samatha meditation. Because learning the Dhamma is actually vipassana. When you recall the Dhamma, when you investigate the Dhamma, all that is vipassana, contemplation. 46.5, that's a Vati. Then a certain monk approached the Blessed One and said, Remember, sir, it is said, factors of enlightenment, factors of enlightenment. In what sense are they called factors of enlightenment? Or why are they called factors of enlightenment? They lead to enlightenment, monk. Therefore, they are called factors of enlightenment. Here, monk, one develops the enlightenment factor of mindfulness, which is based upon seclusion. enlightenment factor of recollection which is based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing and release. One develops the enlightenment factor one by one. It has to go in that order. The last one is equanimity. While one is developing these seven factors of enlightenment, one's mind is liberated from the asava of sensuality, from the asava of existence, from the asava of ignorance. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge it's liberated. One understands, destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being. They lead to enlightenment, monk, therefore they are called factors of enlightenment. These factors of enlightenment are very important. If a person wants to attain enlightenment, without developing these seven factors, they cannot attain enlightenment. So here the Buddha explains, they lead to enlightenment, therefore they are called factors of enlightenment. The next sutra we come to is also very important, 46.6. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Sakyetha. in the Deer Path at the Anjana Grove. Then the wanderer, Kundaliya, approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with Him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to the Blessed One, Master Gautama, I am one who stays around monastic parks and frequents assemblies. After the meal, when I have finished my breakfast, it is my custom to roam and wander from park to park, from garden to garden. There I see some ascetics and Brahmins engage in discussion for the benefits of rescuing their own theses in debate and condemning the theses of others. But what is the benefit that Master Gautama lives for? And the Buddha said, Kundalini, the Tathagata, lives for the benefit and fruit of true knowledge and liberation. In other words, for liberation or enlightenment. But Master Gautama, what things, when developed and cultivated, fulfill true knowledge and liberation? And Buddha said, The seven factors of enlightenment, Kundalini, when developed and cultivated, fulfill true knowledge and liberation. But Master Gautama, what things, when developed and cultivated, fulfill the seven factors of enlightenment? The four intense states of recollection, Satipatthana, Kundaliya, when developed and cultivated, fulfill the seven factors of enlightenment. But Master Gautama, what things, when developed and cultivated, fulfill the four intense states of recollection? The three kinds of good conduct, Kundaliya, when developed and cultivated, fulfill the four intense states of recollection. But Master Gautama, what things, when developed and cultivated, fulfill the three kinds of good conduct? Restraint of the sense faculties, Kundaliya, when developed and cultivated, fulfills the three kinds of good conduct. And how Kundaliya is restraint of the sense faculties developed and cultivated so that it fulfills the three kinds of good conduct. Dear Kundalini, having seen an agreeable form with the eye, a monk does not long for it, or become excited by it, or generate lust for it. His body is steady and his mind is steady, inwardly well composed and well liberated. But having seen a disagreeable form with the eye, he is not dismayed by it. not daunted, not rejected, without ill-will. His body is steady and his mind is steady, inwardly well-composed and well-liberated. Further, Kundaliya, having heard an agreeable sound with the ear, having smelled an agreeable odour with the nose, having savoured an agreeable taste with the tongue, tactile object with the body, thought with the mind. A monk does not long for it, or become excited by it, or generate lust for it. But having cognized a disagreeable thought with the mind, he is not dismayed by it, not daunted, not dejected, without ill-will. His body is steady and his mind is steady, inwardly well composed and liberated. When Kundalini, after it has seen a form with the eye, a monk's body is steady and his mind is steady, inwardly well composed and well liberated, in regard to both agreeable and disagreeable forms. When after it has heard a sound with the ear, smelled an odor, tasted a taste, felt a tactile object, cognized a thought, A monk's body is steady and his mind is steady, inwardly well-composed and well-liberated, in regard to both agreeable and disagreeable mental phenomena, that his restraint of the sense faculties has been developed and cultivated in such a way that it fulfils the three kinds of good conduct. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, a monk has to develop his mind so well that when the six sense objects impinge at the six sense faculties, whether it's pleasant or unpleasant, it's not moved by them. Whether it's sights or sounds or smells or tastes, etc., it's not moved by them. And if that is the case, his sense faculties are restrained, then It also means that the three kinds of good conduct are restrained. These three kinds of good conduct refers to the body conduct, speech and thoughts. And how Kundalini are the three kinds of good conduct developed and cultivated, so that they fulfil the four intense states of recollection. Here Kundalini, having abandoned bodily misconduct, a monk develops good bodily conduct. Having abandoned verbal misconduct, he develops a good verbal conduct. Having abandoned Mental misconduct pre-develops good mental conduct. It is in this way that the three kinds of good conduct are developed and cultivated, so that they fulfil the four intense states of recollection. and how Kundalini are the four intense states of recollection developed and cultivated so that they fulfil the seven factors of enlightenment. Here, Kundalini among dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Similarly, it dwells contemplating feelings, mind, dhamma, Here it is translated as phenomena, it is not phenomena, it is Dhamma, the Buddha's teachings. Ardent, clearly comprehending and mindful, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. It is in this way that the four Satipatthanas are developed and cultivated, so that they fulfil the seven factors of enlightenment. And how Kundalini are the seven factors of enlightenment developed and cultivated? so that it fulfills true knowledge and liberation. Here, Kundalini, a monk, develops the enlightenment factor of recollection which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, cessation, maturing and release. It develops the factor of investigation of Dhamma, etc. down to equanimity. It is in this way that the seven factors of enlightenment are developed and cultivated, so that they fulfill true knowledge and liberation. And this was said, the Wanderer Kundalini has said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, Magnificent Master Gautama, The Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by Master Gautama, as though he were turning upright what had been turned upside down, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go for refuge to Master Gautama and to the Dhamma and to the Bhikkhu Sangha. Up to today, let Master Gautama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for a life. That's the end of the sutra. So here, the Buddha explains how one thing leads to another. Namely, first we have to restrain our sense faculties. If we restrain our sense faculties, we don't get attracted to pleasant sense objects or feel repelled by unpleasant sense objects, then in that way we can fulfill the three kais or good kandaks or three kamas to the body, speech and mind. And after that, it means that if you have the three good kandaks, then you will be able to cultivate and develop the four satipatthanas. And when you develop the four satipatthanas, then the seven bojangas also come to fulfilment. When you develop fully the seven bhojangas, then you attain liberation and true knowledge. So the benefit that Master Gautama lives for is for true knowledge and liberation. So for us practicing the holy life, that is also the ultimate benefit, true knowledge and liberation. Even if we don't attain fully this liberation, at least we try as much as we can. But there are some people, come in and wear the robe, but they don't practice the Dharma, they don't strive for liberation, then their direction has gone the wrong way.

31SNBojjhangaCh4620090824

Next Sutta is 46.12. Buddha said, Monks, this is the forerunner and precursor of the arising of the sun, that is, the dawn. So too monks. For a monk, this is the forerunner and precursor for the arising of the seven factors of enlightenment, that is, good friendship. Kalyāṇamitā. When a monk has a good friend, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the seven factors of enlightenment. And how does a monk who has a good friend develop and cultivate the seven factors of enlightenment? Here monks, a monk develops the enlightenment factor of mind or recollection, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing and release. It develops the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, etc. It is in this way, monks, that a monk who has a good friend develops and cultivates the seven factors of enlightenment. So here, the Buddha says that before the sun can rise, the dawn must come. So in the same way, the Buddha says that before you can develop the seven factors of enlightenment, you need a good friend who will help you to develop these seven factors of enlightenment. So this is a good spiritual friend. So in the Buddha's teachings, a good spiritual friend is very important. So the best spiritual friend, of course, as I mentioned, is the Buddha's words. And then if on top of the Buddha's words, you have another spiritual friend who can help you to understand more of the Buddha's words, that will be ideal. 46.14. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. On that occasion, the Venerable Maha Kasapa was dwelling in the Pipali cave, sick, afflicted, gravely ill. Then in the evening, the Blessed One emerged from seclusion and approached the Venerable Maha Kasapa. He sat down in the appointed seat and said to the Venerable Maha Kasapa, I hope you are bearing up, Kasapa. I hope you are getting better. I hope that your painful feelings are subsiding and not increasing, and that their subsiding, not their increase, is to be discerned. And he said, Venerable Sir, I am not bearing up, I am not getting better. Strong painful feelings are increasing in me, not subsiding, and their increase, not their subsiding, is to be discerned. And the Buddha said, These seven factors of enlightenment, Kasapa, have been rightly expounded by me. When developed and cultivated, they lead to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. But seventh, the enlightenment factor of recollection has been rightly expounded by me. When developed and cultivated, it leads to direct knowledge to enlightenment to Nibbana. The enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma has been rightly expounded by me, and similarly for the other factors. These seven factors of enlightenment, Kasapa, have been rightly expounded by me. When developed and cultivated, they lead to direct knowledge to enlightenment to Nibbana. And Mahakassapa said, Surely, blessed one, they are factors of enlightenment. Surely, fortunate one, they are factors of enlightenment. This is what the Blessed One said. Elated, the Venerable Mahakassapa delighted in the Blessed One's statement. And the Venerable Mahakassapa recovered from that illness. In such a way, the Venerable Mahakassapa was cured of his illness. So here, the Venerable Mahakassapa was very sick. So the Buddha came to him and found that he was very sick, then reminded him of the seven factors of enlightenment, the seven bhojangda. When he heard of the seven bhojangda, he was so happy that all the sickness went away. The next sutra is also similar, 46.16. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. On that occasion, the Blessed One was sick, afflicted, gravely ill. Then the Venerable Maha Chunda approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to the Venerable Maha Chunda, recite the factors of enlightenment, Chunda. And he said, These seven factors of enlightenment, Venerable Sir, have been rightly expounded by the Blessed One. When developed and cultivated, they lead to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. What seven? The enlightenment factor of recollection has been rightly expounded by the Blessed One. When cultivated and developed, they lead to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. The enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, etc. etc. These seven factors of enlightenment, Venerable Sir, have been rightly expounded by the Blessed One. When developed and cultivated, they lead to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. Surely, Chunda, they are factors of enlightenment. Surely, Chunda, they are factors of enlightenment. This is what the Venerable Maha Chunda said. The teacher approved, and the Blessed One recovered from that illness. In such a way, the Blessed One was cured of His illness. So in the same way, the Buddha, when he heard about the seven factors of enlightenment, he was so happy and he recovered from his sickness. If you all remember, when we do the Bhojanga Chant, it's mentioned there, the second paragraph, Ekasaminsamayinato Mughalananchakasapangilane Dukkhitedisvabhojange Then the second one is that. So it refers to these two suttas. The next sutta is 46.18. The Buddha said, monks, those who have neglected the seven factors of enlightenment have neglected the noble path leading to the complete destruction of suffering. Those who have undertaken the seven factors of enlightenment have undertaken the noble path leading to the complete destruction of suffering. What seven? The enlightenment factor of recollection, the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, etc. Amongst those who have neglected the seven factors of enlightenment have neglected the noble path leading to the complete destruction of suffering. And those who have undertaken the seven factors of enlightenment have undertaken the noble path leading to the complete destruction of suffering. So this is just to reiterate the importance of the seven factors of enlightenment. If you neglect the seven factors of enlightenment, you are not walking the path to the destruction of suffering. It is only when you undertake the seven factors of enlightenment, cultivate the seven pojangas, that you are walking the path to the complete destruction of suffering. The next sutta is 46.26. The Buddha said, monks develop the path and the way that leads to the destruction of craving. And what is the path and the way that leads to the destruction of craving? It is the seven factors of enlightenment. What seven? The enlightenment factor of recollection, enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, enlightenment factor of energy, enlightenment factor of delight, the enlightenment factor of tranquility, the enlightenment factor of concentration, the enlightenment factor of equanimity. And this was said, the Venerable Udayi asked the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, how are the seven factors of enlightenment developed and cultivated so that they lead to the destruction of craving? Buddha said, Here Udayi, a monk develops the enlightenment factor of recollection, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, association, maturing and release, which is vast, exalted, measureless, without ill-will. When he develops the enlightenment factor of recollection, which is based upon seclusion, etc., craving is abandoned. With the abandoning of craving, kamma is abandoned. With the abandoning of kamma, suffering is abandoned. Similarly, he develops the enlightenment factors of investigation of Dharma, Energy, Piti, Tranquility, Concentration, Equanimity. When he develops these seven factors, craving is abandoned. With the abandoning of craving, kamma is abandoned. With the abandoning of kamma, suffering is abandoned. Thus with the destruction of craving comes the destruction of kamma. With the destruction of kamma comes the destruction of suffering. When the monk develops the seven factors of enlightenment, then the craving is abandoned because There's no need to crave for external things. The happiness is within him. So when he has no craving for external things, he does not look for anything. So he does not do any karma. And slowly, it will lead him to liberation. Not doing any karma means not doing anything evil, which is necessary. And not even doing any good deeds like charity and all that. 46.29. Monks, I do not see even one other thing that, when developed and cultivated, leads to the abandoning of the things that fetter so effectively as this, the seven factors of enlightenment. What seven? The Enlightenment factor of recollection, the Enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, etc. And how, monks, are the seven factors of Enlightenment developed and cultivated, so that they lead to the abandoning of the things that factor? Here, monks, a monk develops the Enlightenment factor of recollection, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release. He develops the Enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, etc. which is based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing and release. It is when the seven factors of Enlightenment are developed and cultivated in this way that they lead to the abandoning of the things that fatter. And what monks are the things that fatter? The I is the thing that fatters. It is here that these fetters, shackles and clamps arise. The ear is a thing that fetters. The nose, the tongue, the body, the mind is a thing that fetters. It is here that these fetters, shackles and clamps arise. These are called the things that fetter. It's the end of the sutta. So the six sense bases are the things that fetter us to samsara. And when we cultivate, the seven Bhojangas, it leads to liberation and then all the six sense bases will be abandoned. 46.40 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sumbas, where there was a town of the Sumbas named Siddhaka. Then the Venerable Uday approached the Blessed One and said, It is wonderful, Venerable Sir. It is amazing, Venerable Sir. How helpful has been my devotion and reverence for the Blessed One, my sense of shame and fear of wrongdoing. For in the past, Venerable Sir, when I was still a householder, I did not have much concern for the Dhamma or the Sangha. But when I considered my devotion and reverence for the Blessed One, and my sense of shame and fear of wrongdoing, I went forth from the household life into homelessness. The Blessed One taught me the Dhamma thus, such is form, such is origin, such is passing away, such is feeling, such is perception, volition, consciousness, such their origin, such their passing away. Then, Venerable Sir, while I was staying in an empty hut, following along with the surge and decline, of the five aggregates of attachment. I directly knew as it really is. This is suffering. I directly knew as it really is. This is the origin of suffering. I directly knew as it really is. This is the cessation of suffering. I directly knew as it really is. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. I have made the breakthrough to the Dhamma, Venerable Sir, and have obtained the path which, when I have developed and cultivated, will lead me on while I am dwelling in the appropriate way, to such a state that I shall understand. Destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. I have obtained the enlightenment factor of recollection, which, when I have developed and cultivated, will lead me on, while I am dwelling in the appropriate way, to such a state that I shall understand destroyed is birth. I have developed the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, etc., which when developed and cultivated, will lead me on while I am dwelling in the appropriate way to such a state that I shall understand destroyed is birth. This, venerable sir, is the path that I have obtained, which will lead me on to such a state that I shall understand destroyed is birth. There is no more for the state of being." And the Buddha said, Good, good Uday! Indeed, Uday! This is the path that you have obtained. and when you have developed and cultivated it, it will lead you on while you are dwelling in the appropriate way, to such a way, to such a state that you will understand, destroy this birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. So this Udai said that when he was a householder, he did not have much concern for the Dhamma or the Sangha. But when But when he reflected on the Buddha's teachings and on the Buddha and all that, then he went forth. And after he went forth, the Buddha taught him about the five these five aggregates of attachment. Then when he was staying in an empty kuti, he was contemplating the rise and fall of the five aggregates of attachment, the body, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, how impermanent they are. Then he understood the Four Noble Truths, and then he obtained the first path. It looks like What he means is that he has attained the stream entry. And then he says that if he continues practicing the seven bojanga, it will lead him to complete liberation. So, the next sutra is 46.31. Monks, whatever states there are that are wholesome, partaking of the wholesome, pertaining to the wholesome, they are all rooted in diligence. Appamada converge upon diligence, and diligence is declared to be the chief among them. When a monk is diligent, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the seven bhojangas, factors of enlightenment. And how, monks, does a monk who is diligent develop and cultivate the seven factors of enlightenment? Here, monks, a monk develops the enlightenment factor of recollection, enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, etc., which are based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release. It is in this way, monks, that a monk who is diligent develops and cultivates the seven factors of enlightenment. So here the Buddha says that, of course, the wholesome states, diligence, energetic effort is the most important. If we want anything, we need to put in a lot of effort to get what we want. And we must also have the Dhamma to guide us so that we put our effort in the right direction. If you put your effort in the wrong direction, you'll be wasting your time. So it's very important to understand the path very clearly and then to be diligent. The next sutra, 46.32, Monks, whatever states there are that are wholesome, partaking of the wholesome, pertaining to the wholesome, they are all rooted in careful attention. Yoniso manasikara, converge upon careful attention, and careful attention is declared to be the chief among them. When a monk is accomplished in careful attention, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the seven factors of enlightenment. How does a monk who is accomplished in careful attention develop and cultivate the seven factors of enlightenment? As before, he cultivates the factor of recollection, followed by the factor of investigation of Dhamma, followed by energy, etc. So here, the Buddha says that careful attention is extremely important. Just like the diligence. What is this careful attention? The Pali word is yoniso manasikara. Yoniso comes from the word yoni, which means the womb or the birthplace. Mana is the mind. Kara is work. So it is work or mind that leads you to the birthplace or origin of the problem. So when you think of a problem, you are able to consider up to the cause, the origin of the problem. In other words, a good translation is thorough consideration. Thorough consideration, so you consider carefully and you can see very clearly. So if a person, his mind is very clear, then he can consider very thoroughly and he can see the situation very well. Which reminds me, like the King Solomon supposed to be very wise. So one day, two ladies were fighting over one baby. So one claimed that this baby belongs to her, the other claimed that the baby belongs to her. So they brought these two ladies and the baby to the king. So the king looked at the problem, And then he thought about the problem, so he must have had this yoniso manasikara, he could see the problem very clearly. So he said to some ladies, They came big fast. Okay, you want a baby. Ask the soldier to cut the baby in half. You take half, he take half. So the real mother, when she heard this, she cried. She said, no, don't do that. If she wants a baby, let her have her. So it's very clear King Solomon, this lady that cried, is the mother. So I gave the baby to her. So you see, to be able to see clearly, the problem and how to solve the problem is this Yoniso Manasikara. So here, this translation, careful attention, although it's not exact, the translation, but it conveys the meaning that when you pay attention, you have to be very careful, consider thoroughly. So this is another factor that's very important. So I'll stop here for tonight. So you see how important it is to go through the suttas carefully, so that we understand exactly the Buddha's teaching. Because generally when you hear from other teachers, they talk about seven bojjhangas, and they don't tell you how to practice the seven bojjhangas in the correct way. But here the Buddha tells you exactly. These seven bojjhangas must be practiced one by one. Just like the Noble Eightfold Path, you must start with Right View, and then after that, that will lead you to Right Thoughts, and that will lead you to Right Speech, and that will lead you to Right Action, and like that. Yeah, anything? I just want to remind all of you, when you meet with a Baba, a teacher, a Diocesan, another person, a disciple, seven, eight, ten people, what causes you to go? Nowadays, doctors say a lot of our sickness, maybe 90%, is from the mind. Of course, for the Arahants, it's not from the mind, even though it's a physical sickness. because of their love for the Dharma. They have so much respect and love for the Dharma that when they hear these seven factors of enlightenment, they are so happy. And this happiness pervades the body, and they feel better. Okay, so that was the significance of the theories. When we get to the Siddhartha point, they say that Yes, but this destruction of kamma means doesn't mean total destruction of karma. It means that firstly, if you walk the spiritual path or the holy path, you don't want to create bad karma, right? And then you don't want to create good karma like charity and all that. You don't go out of your way to do charity. Why? Because the person on the holy path, he goes inwards into his mind. He develops the seven factors of enlightenment. He has attained the four jhanas. When he has attained the four jhanas, he keeps going into his mind. He doesn't go out into the world. So in that way, he doesn't do any more karma. In that sense, it's called destruction of karma. It's not that it's impossible for him to do any karma. He can do karma. Unless when the ego is eliminated, when the person attains Arahanthood, there is no self, there is no force behind that karma. So when he does anything, when the Buddha, for example, when the Buddha says he decides, the Buddha decides to turn the Dharma wheel, set in motion the Dharma wheel to teach the Dharma to the world. Actually, for an ordinary person, when you have this intention, it's karma. But for the Buddha, for the enlightened person, there is no kamma because there is no being behind that intention. So there is no kamma. So in the case of a person who has not yet become enlightened, he still can create kamma. It's only that he has no more interest to create kamma. Sometimes our friends are found to fall in love with a man who is wrongly accused of Call them what? They are not exactly correct. They are more like what we call soulmate. The mind refers to our mind, the state of the mind. You can say thoughts or so, whatever is in the mind. To keep an eye on the mind, what is coming out in the mind. Just like feelings, when you refer to feelings, that means you just be aware when certain feelings arise. So when certain feelings arise, for example, like happy feelings, the Buddha says we should not allow these happy and unhappy feelings to shake our mind. So when happy feelings come up, naturally you want to be happy. So for an ordinary person, when you're happy, you want to jump for joy and you want to make a big thing out of it, you want to prolong it. But when it goes away, then you have a lot of dukkha. So because of that, the Buddha says, when happiness arises, just know it's happy. Don't be overjoyed. Just know that it's something temporary. It arises, it will pass away. So if you are able to control your happy feeling, so when suffering arises, In the same way, your mind is not easily moved. You can also just know that it is impermanent. But you need to develop a strong mind. If your mind is not strong, you may have the theory, but you cannot put it into effect because that strong state of feeling will just knock you down. Why we need to observe the mind? Because sometimes unwholesome states arise, unwholesome states of mind arise, thoughts and all that. So one of the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path is right effort. Right effort is when unwholesome states arise, you quickly try to get rid of it. And if wholesome states arise, then you try to prolong it. So observing the mind, observing the feelings is useful. A lot of us, we don't observe our mind. So when we don't observe our mind, our mind tricks us. For example, this Goenka meditation, they taught to these prisoners. prisoners who had killed people, murdered people and all that. So, because the mind is very cunning, these people had actually killed somebody, but the mind tricked them into believing that they did not kill. They refused to believe that they killed somebody. Maybe they thought it's only in self-defense and all that. Then when they learned this Vipassana meditation, they start to observe their mind, then they realize that they actually killed that person. Then only they admitted. So in the same way, all of us, we have a lot of faults. But a lot of people never want to look inside. So a lot of people always look at other people's fault. Never look at your own fault. So in that way, you can never change. And then when somebody criticizes you, tells you your fault, such people will refuse to believe. They get angry. They refuse to accept that they have these faults. But when we start looking into ourselves, instead of looking at other people's faults, we look into our own faults, then slowly we realize it's true that we have such faults. And then we start changing. If you don't change, you're wasting your human life. The Buddha says you might as well go and die. Kisi kaho. Because you're using up all your blessings. Every day you're using up your blessings. If you walk the spiritual path, then you are a living person. Otherwise, if you don't use your life in a good way, in a way that benefits you spiritually, you are as good as a dead man. Buddha says, if you live for a hundred more years, you are not going to progress from now. So you might as well pass away. Even Jesus also said, when he asked his new disciples to follow him, because some of his disciples were fishermen, he said, come, I will make you fishers of men, instead of catch fish, go and catch men. So one of them said, Lord, my father or something just died, I have to go back and bury him. Then what did Jesus say? Jesus said, let the dead bury the dead. In other words, those people who are not interested in the spiritual path, they are dead people. Let them take care of these dead affairs. Even the Buddha, when he was about to pass away, the Buddha said, after he has passed away, he told his disciples, you don't worry about my funeral and cremation and all that. Let the lay people look after that. So the Buddha is only interested in the spiritual path. All these worldly matters are not important. Okay, shall I transfer that in?

32SNBojjhangaCh4620090825

Okay, today is 25th of August, and we are on the 46th chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya, Bhojanga Samyutta. Today we come to Sutta 46.35. Buddha said, monks, when one attends carelessly, unarisen sensual desire arises, and arisen sensual desire increases and expands. Unarisen ill-will arises, and arisen ill-will increases and expands. Unarisen sloth and torpor arise, and arisen sloth and torpor increase and expand. Unarisen restlessness and remorse arise, and arisen restlessness and remorse increase and expand. Unarisen doubt arises, and arisen doubt increases and expands. monks. When one attends carefully, the unarisen enlightenment factor of recollection arises, and the arisen enlightenment factor of recollection goes to fulfillment by development. When one attends carefully, the unarisen enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma arises and the arisen enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma goes to fulfillment by development and similarly for the other factors enlightenment factors they arise and the unarisen factors arise and the arisen factors goes to fulfillment because of careful attention That's the end of the sutra. So it says that if one does not have yoniso manasikara, careful attention, or thorough attention, then the five hindrances arise. Or if they have already arisen, then they will increase. Conversely, if one does have yoniso manasikara, careful attention or thorough attention, then the unarisen enlightenment factors arise and the arisen enlightenment factors goes to fulfillment by development. It goes to show the importance of this yoniso manasikara, thorough attention or thorough consideration or careful attention. The next sutra is 46.38 The Buddha said When monks, a noble disciple listens to the Dhamma with eager ears, attending to it as a matter of vital concern, directing his whole mind to it, on that occasion the five hindrances are not present in him. On that occasion, the seven factors of enlightenment go to fulfilment by development. And what are the five hindrances that are not present on that occasion? The hindrance of sensual desire is not present on that occasion. The hindrance of ill-will, sloth and topper, restlessness and remorse, doubt, is not present on that occasion. These are the five hindrances that are not present on that occasion. And what are the seven factors of enlightenment that go to fulfilment by development on that occasion? The enlightenment factor of recollection goes to fulfilment by development on that occasion. The enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, etc. All the enlightenment factors go to fulfilment by development on that occasion. When monks and noble disciples listen to the Dhamma with eager ears, attending to it as a matter of vital concern, directing his whole mind to it, on that occasion, these five hindrances are not present in him. And on that occasion, these seven factors of enlightenment go to fulfillment by development." That's the end of the Sutta. So here, when we listen to the Dhamma, it says we must listen with eager ears, directing the whole mind to it. This is having yoniso manasikara, careful attention or thorough attention. So when one pays thorough attention, that means one is concentrating one's mind on hearing the Dhamma, then the five hindrances for a short while are not present. And the seven factors of enlightenment, when you concentrate your mind for that short while, they are considered to be present. Although not fully present because you don't attain up to the jhanas yet, it is enough. So what the Buddha is saying is that if we listen to the Dhamma with careful attention, directing our own mind to it, the conditions are right for us to attain the path of the fruit. Because the five hindrances are not there, that means you have wisdom, because the five hindrances are the cause of delusion, the cause of not seeing things. clearly. So when the five hindrances are absent, then we can see things clearly, knowledge and vision arises. And also the factors of enlightenment are present, that means they help us to attain partial enlightenment, depending on whether you have Samadhi or not. If you have perfect Samadhi, then it's enough to attain perfect enlightenment. But if the factors are not that strong for somebody who has not attained the Jhanas, still if you concentrate on listening to the Dhamma or reading the Suttas, Here, the Buddha is saying there's enough of the seven factors of enlightenment for you to attain partial liberation. That means attain the paths and the fruits. That's why we see in the suttas that most, almost all of the people who attain stream entry, the first path, the first stage of Ariya-hood, Almost all of them do so by listening to the Dhamma. And usually the Buddha will see whether that person, his mind is clear enough to understand the Dhamma. If he has the potential to understand the Dhamma, then only the Buddha will teach the Four Noble Truths to him. And when he listens to the Four Noble Truths, he has enough understanding to attain the first path, attain Shreem Entry. The next sutra is, so here also this sutra is 46.38. It is saying indirectly that listening to the Dhamma is the occasion for attaining the path of the fruit. So indicates how important it is to listen to the Dhamma with careful attention, with thorough attention. The next sutra is 46.39. The Buddha said, monks, there are huge trees with tiny seeds and huge bodies, encirclers of other trees, and the trees which they encircle become bent, twisted and split. And what are those huge trees with tiny seeds and huge bodies? the Asata, the Banyan, the Pilaka, the Udambara, the Kacaka and the Kapitana. These are those huge trees with tiny seeds and huge bodies, encirclers of other trees, and the trees which they encircle become bent, twisted and split. So too monks, when some clansmen here has left behind sensual pleasures and gone forth from the household life into homelessness, he becomes bent, twisted and split because of those same sensual pleasures, or because of others worse than them. Let's stop here for a moment. In Malaysia, we are very familiar with the Bodhi tree, with the Banyan tree. These two trees we very often see on old buildings. The birds eat the small seeds and sit and defecate on these old buildings. These trees start to grow at the top of old shop houses. Sometimes they grow quite big and you can see their roots coming down. So imagine if the same trees, the same seeds were to be lodged inside some other tree, they will also grow in that way. Especially, there's one called the strangling fig. Strangling fig, maybe some of you have seen, some of you have not seen, but there's one devotee in Chenbriang, he has this 12 acres piece of land is very beautiful with a lot of trees. And years ago, about 12 years ago, he planted many oil palm trees. What happened? These oil palm trees grew to quite tall, you know, I think about 40 feet. But then these birds dropped the seeds of this strangling fig on it. And this strangling fig has grown over this oil palm tree until the oil palm tree has died and it's standing tall on its roots just like the banyan tree you know the banyan tree lets down its roots after a while all the roots become the trunk itself so these are very powerful trees and the peculiar thing is that the seeds are so small and the trees are so huge so So the Buddha says, a person, when he goes forth from the household life into homelessness, is left behind worldly pleasures. But if he's not careful, these worldly pleasures will come back to him. The craving for worldly pleasures will come back to him. So he becomes bentwisted and split. because of his craving for these pleasures. What becomes bent, twisted, and split? Not his body, but his monkhood. The monk in him becomes bent, twisted, and split. Then Buddha continued, these five monks are obstructions, hindrances, and circlers of the mind, weaknesses of wisdom. What five? Sensual desire is an obstruction, a hindrance, and circling the mind. a weakener of wisdom. Ill-will is an obstruction, a hindrance encircling the mind, a weakener of wisdom. Sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, doubt are all obstructions, hindrances encircling the mind, weakeners of wisdom. These are the five obstructions, hindrances, and circles of the mind, weaknesses of wisdom. These seven factors of Enlightenment monks are non-obstructions, non-hindrances, non-and-circles of the mind. When developed and cultivated, they lead to the realization of the fruit of true knowledge and liberation. Part Seven The Enlightenment factor of recollection is a non-obstruction, non-hindrance, non-and-circles of the mind. Similarly, the investigation of Dhamma, energy, etc., all these factors of enlightenment are non-obstructions, torn hindrances, torn and circular of the mind, and developed and cultivated, they lead to the realization of the fruit of true knowledge and liberation. It's the end of the sutta. This chapter on the Bhojangas, about the seven factors of enlightenment but you find in this chapter they talk a lot about the five hindrances because the five hindrances are the opposite of the seven factors of enlightenment whereas the seven factors of enlightenment bring you to enlightenment the five hindrances bring you the other way to non-wisdom they are an obstruction, a hindrance to liberation to enlightenment, that's why they are often mentioned in this chapter. The next sutra is quite similar, but slightly different. 46.40. Monks, these five hindrances are makers of blindness, causing lack of vision, causing lack of knowledge, detrimental to wisdom, tending to vexation, leading away from Nibbana. What five? The hindrance of sensual desire is a maker of blindness, causing lack of vision, causing lack of knowledge, detrimental to wisdom, tending to vexation, leading away from Nibbana. Similarly, the hindrance of ill-will, sloth and topper, restlessness and remorse, doubt, These five hindrances are makers of blindness, causing lack of vision, causing lack of knowledge, detrimental to wisdom, tending to vexation, leading away from Nibbāna. These seven factors of Enlightenment monks are makers of vision, makers of knowledge, promoting the growth of wisdom, free from vexation, leading towards Nibbāna. Seventh, Enlightenment factors of recollection. The factor of investigation of Dhamma, the factor of energy, etc. These seven factors of enlightenment are makers of vision, makers of knowledge, promoting the growth of wisdom, free from vexation, leading towards Nibbana, that's the end of the sutta. So you see, the reason why we are blind, we don't have vision and knowledge, is because of these five hindrances. and they lead us away from Nibbana. So, whereas the seven factors of enlightenment, lead us to Nibbana. Now, the other day we read that the seven factors of enlightenment, when you develop all the seven factors, they lead you progressively from the first jhāna to the second jhāna to the fourth jhāna. Only when you attain the fourth jhāna do you attain the last factor of this last enlightenment factor, which is called Upekka equanimity and spiritual equanimity. In the sutra we read earlier, it refers to the fourth jhāna. Only when you attain the fourth jhāna do you have spiritual equanimity. So from here, when you compare these two, you realize why in the Majjhima Nikaya, when Venerable Ananda was asked what type of meditation is praised by the Buddha, what type of meditation is not praised by the Buddha, Venerable Ananda said the type of meditation praised by the Buddha is the first jhāna, second jhāna, third jhāna, fourth jhāna. So when you develop the seven factors of enlightenment, you are actually developing these four jhanas. And the type of meditation not praised by the Buddha is the type of meditation where the five hindrances are not eliminated. So like nowadays, people teach Vipassana meditation, although it's useful for people to understand themselves. When you practice pure Vipassana meditation, you don't get rid of the five hindrances. So when you don't get rid of the five hindrances, you are still blinded. You are still here. The sutra says you have lack of vision, lack of knowledge. You are being led away from Nibbana. So in that sense, the pure Vipassana meditation does not lead you to Nibbana at all. They give you understanding of your own mind, of yourself, but definitely they cannot lead you to enlightenment. Only when you practice the seven factors of enlightenment and attain all the seven factors, which means you have attained the four jhanas, then you are rid of the five hindrances. that will lead you to Nibbana. So any meditation where the five hindrances are not got rid of, that is definitely not Buddhist meditation. Buddhist meditation is only one type stated by Venerable Ananda in the Majjhima Nikaya. First jhāna, second jhāna, third jhāna, fourth jhāna, only that.

33SNBojjhangaCh4620090825

Now we come to the next sutra, it's 46.51. It's a very important sutra. And half of it was in the sutra 46.2. I mentioned earlier that the 46.2 is very important, but I said I would not read it because all of it is contained in this sutra, 46.51. And this 46.51, It is much more than the 46.2. Okay, at Savatthi, monks, the Buddha said, I will teach you the nutriment and the de-nourishment in regard to the five hindrances and the seven factors of enlightenment. Stop here for a moment. Nutriments means the food, food for the five hindrances or the seven factors of enlightenment. That means the conditions to nourish these five hindrances or the seven factors of enlightenment. And conversely, de-nourishment means that which weakens the five hindrances or the seven factors of enlightenment. And what mounts is the nutriment for the arising of unarisen sensual desire and for the increase and expansion of arisen sensual desire. There is mounts the sign of the beautiful Sukha-Nimitta. Frequently giving careless attention to it is the nutriment for the arising of unarisen sensual desire and for the increase and expansion of arisen sensual desire. I stop here for a moment to explain. When we see something, if we pay attention, then it may strike us as beautiful or attractive, especially like the opposite sex. So if we pay attention to that sign, the sign of beauty in that body in that being, then lust arises, lust is sensual desire. So that is why we read earlier in the suttas on the six sense basis, when we are attracted by sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and thoughts, We should be very careful not to pay attention to the signs and the details. In other words, we just know, don't go and observe too closely. If you observe too closely, then either you see it as attractive or repulsive. If it's attractive, then sensual desire increases. If it's repulsive, perhaps as we come to see, anger arises, ill will. So, from here you can understand why in the earlier suttas it was said that don't pay too much attention to the signs and features. And what mounts is the nutriment for the arising of unarisen ill-will and for the increase and expansion of arisen ill-will. There is mounts, the sign of the repulsive. Pratikarnimitta, frequently giving careless attention to it, is the nutriment for the arising of unarisen ill-will and for the increase and expansion of arisen ill-will. So, this one, I stop here to explain. Sign of the repulsive, something that is repulsive, something that is obnoxious, that you don't like. So, if you are not careful, When that feeling arises, or that perception arises, you're not careful about it, then the ill will arises. Give an example, a lot of young people are very vain about their beauty or their handsomeness and all that. So when they see somebody old, wrinkled skin and almost a few teeth left, white hair or not much hair left, and crooked hunchback and all that, skin blotchy and all that. Then when they see, they feel repulsive, repulsiveness, they don't like, they look down. on that old man or that old lady. But they forget that one day they're going to be exactly like that old man or that old lady. So this is what is meant by careless attention. That's why it's very important to look at our mind all the time. The states that come up in our mind, desire or ill will, repulsion and all this. So only when we keep observing our mind that we can know whether we have wholesome states or unwholesome states, then only we can change our character. Otherwise, we can never change. So, that's the sign of the repulsive. And what mounts is the nutriment for the arising of unarisen sloth and torpor, and for the increase and expansion of arisen sloth and torpor. There are monks discontent, lethargy, lazy stretching, drowsiness after meals, sluggishness of mind. Frequently giving careless attention to them is the nutriment for the arising of unarisen sloth and torpor, and for the increase and expansion of arisen sloth and torpor. Let's stop here for a while. This sloth and topper consist of two things. One is sloth. Sloth is like lethargy, like no desire to do anything, laziness. And topper is what we call blur-blur. The mind is blur-blur. Cannot see clearly, cannot understand clearly. So he mentions drowsiness after meals. If you take a heavy meal, it's very natural. After a heavy meal, all the blood goes to your stomach. You feel sleepy. When you feel lazy and sleepy, actually it's trying to hypnotize you. This laziness and sleepiness is trying to hypnotize you. And most of us, we are hypnotized by the laziness and sleepiness. When we have that feeling, And then if you are not careful, we believe, very sleepy. So you tend to want to sleep. So there is careless attention to this sloth and topper. So sloth and torpor will increase if we are not careful when we have this sluggishness of mind and this lethargy. And what mounts is the nutriment for the arising of unarisen restlessness and remorse and for the increase and expansion of arisen restlessness and remorse. there is mounts unsettledness of mind frequently giving careless attention to it is the nutriment for the arising of unarisen restlessness and remorse and for the increase and expansion of arisen restlessness and remorse so when this unsettledness of mind the mind is disturbed cannot settle down and then if we given to it, we believe it. That means we are not giving careful attention to it. Then this restlessness and remorse increases. What mounts is the nutriment for the arising of unarisen doubt and for the increase and expansion of arisen doubt. There are mounts, things that are the basis for doubt, frequently giving Careless attention to them is the nutriment for the arising of un-arisen doubt and for the increase and expansion of arisen doubt. Suppose you have something that gives you doubt and you are unable to give careful attention to it, then this doubt increases. And the reason why we are unable to give careful attention to it is because our mind is not very clear. Our mind has all these five hindrances and we are blur-blur most of the time. So this doubt arises when we sometimes have to make a decision. For example, you want to do something and you have a few options, A, B, C, D, and your mind is not very clear. You have a lot of doubt, is A better, or B better, or C better, or D better, and you cannot see clearly. The only way you can see clearly, then is to have unison. Manasikara, careful attention, or careful consideration, is a clear mind. That's why it's important to get rid of these five hindrances. Now, the next set, the Nutriments for the Enlightenment Factors. And what mounts is the Nutriments for the arising of the un-arisen Enlightenment Factor of Recollection, Sati, and for the fulfilment by development of the arisen Enlightenment Factor of Recollection. There are monks, things that are the basis for the enlightenment factor of recollection. Frequently giving careful attention to them is the nutriment for the arising of the un-arisen enlightenment factor of recollection, and for the fulfillment by development of the arisen enlightenment factor of recollection. Stop here a moment. So these things that are the basis for recollection. For example, Dhamma, the suttas that you have heard, they are the basis for recollection. So if you frequently give careful attention to the Dhamma that you have heard, to the suttas that you have read, and then this factor of recollection rises or increases. And what monks is a nutriment for the arising of the unarisen Enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, and for the fulfilment by development of the arisen Enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, Dhammavichaya. There are monks, wholesome and unwholesome states, blamable and blameless states, inferior and superior states, dark and bright states with their counterparts, frequently giving careful attention to them, is the nutriment for the arising of the unarisen Enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, and for the fulfilment by development of the arisen Enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma. Stop here for a moment. This Dhamma, basically, Dhamma is teaching us to differentiate between wholesome and unwholesome states. We study all the Buddha's words. Basically, this is the message that the Buddha is trying to bring to us, to differentiate between skillful and unskillful states. You can also call them blamable and blameless states, inferior and superior states, dark and bright states. Why dark and bright? Because if you cultivate unwholesome states, evil states, they will bring you to dark places of rebirth. And if you practice skillful or wholesome states, then they bring you to bright states of rebirth. So, if we frequently give careful attention to the Dhamma that is teaching us the difference between these wholesome and unwholesome states, etc., then this factor of investigation of Dhamma arises or develops. And what mounts is the nutriment for the arising of the unarisen alignment factor of energy. and for the fulfilment by development of the arisen Enlightenment factor of energy. There are monks, the element of arousal, the element of endeavour, the element of exertion, frequently giving attention to them, is the nutriment for the arising of the un-arisen Enlightenment factor of energy, and for the fulfilment by development of the arisen Enlightenment factor of energy. So we exert ourselves, arouse our energy, our endeavor. So that is called energetic effort, which here is called energy. It's virya. Virya is having energetic effort, making the effort, exerting ourselves. Effort mounts is a nutriment for the arising of the unarisen enlightenment factor of piti. And for the D-Liner, here it is ruptured, but I prefer the and for the fulfilment by development of the arisen enlightenment factor of delight. There are monks, things that are the basis for the enlightenment factor of delight. Frequently giving careful attention to them is the nutriment for the arising of the un-arisen enlightenment factor of delight, and for the fulfilment by development of the arisen enlightenment factor of delight. Stop here again. So here, earlier we read in the suttas, this piti, there are two types of piti. One is carnal piti, the other one is spiritual piti, spiritual delight. Carnal delight refers to the delight that arises from the five courts of sensual desire, worldly enjoyment, When you enjoy worldly things and the delight arises, that is carnal delight. But that has nothing to do with the seven factors of enlightenment. What is meant here is the spiritual delight. Spiritual delight, we read earlier in the suttas, refers to the first and second jhana. You remember, we read about the, I think it's 1284, was it? Page 12, we check again. 1, 2, 8, 3, 1, 2, 8, 4. So here explains that the spiritual delight refers to the first jhāna and the second jhāna. So you want to pay attention to the things that are the basis for the first jhāna and the second jhāna to arise. So depending on what is your meditation object, if your meditation object is the breath, So that is the basis for the enlightenment factor of delight. So if you frequently give careful attention to your meditation object, that is the new treatment for the first and second jhāna to arise, and hence the enlightenment factor of piti. arises with the first and second jhana. That is what is meant here. The things that are the basis for the factor of delight is basically your meditation object. And what monks is the nutriment for the arising of the un-arisen Enlightenment factor of tranquility, and for the fulfilment by development of the arisen Enlightenment factor of tranquility? There are monks, tranquility of body, tranquility of mind. Frequently giving careful attention to them is the for the arising of the un-arisen enlightenment factor of tranquility and for the fulfilment by development of the arisen enlightenment factor of tranquility. So here we have tranquility of body and tranquility of mind. So if you want to develop this enlightenment factor of tranquility, you always have to try to maintain tranquility of body and tranquility of mind. So whatever it is that disturbs your body or disturbs your mind, don't entertain it. For example, if you are too busy, a good example is doing business. In business, you have a lot of stress, you have a lot of times when you cannot become tranquil. If you are tranquil, your business cannot succeed, you cannot grow. So you have to give up all these things if you want tranquility of mind. Tranquility of body is also not to allow your body to become too active. Either too much exertion, physical exertion and all that doesn't give you tranquility of body. So you want tranquility of mind, don't go out to the world so much, go inwards. And what monks is as nutriment for the arising of the un-arisen enlightenment factor of concentration and for the fulfilment by development of the arisen enlightenment factor of concentration. There are monks the sign of serenity, the sign of non-dispersal, frequently giving careful attention to them. of the Unarisen Enlightenment Factor of Concentration and for the fulfilment by development of the Arisen Enlightenment Factor of Concentration. gives you serenity, whatever gives you non-dispersal of mind, you pay attention to it, and that will maintain your concentration. A simple example is, for example, if we sit down in meditation, we can achieve deep states of meditation. But most of the time, or at least for most people, a lot of our time we cannot be sitting in meditation, right? We have to be walking around doing this, doing that. In that case, if you want to maintain your concentration, a simple way is to do your chanting. You do some chanting, what the Hindus call japa. Maybe that became jampi in Malay. So this, you keep chanting. Whatever chant suits you, you can chant. Arahang, Arahang, or Buddho, Buddho, or Itibiso, Bhagava, a longer chant if you want. So whatever chant gives you serenity of mind, gives you non-dispersal of mind, so you do that. Or another one is, for example, if you pay attention to your breath, then it gives you serenity, gives you non-dispersal of mind, then if you can do that, you do that. What monks is a nutriment for the arising of the unarisen Enlightenment factor of equanimity and for the fulfilment by development of the arisen Enlightenment factor of equanimity? There are monks, things that are the basis for the Enlightenment factor of equanimity. Frequently giving careful attention to them is the nutriment for the arising of the unarisen Enlightenment factor of equanimity and for the fulfilment by development of the arisen Enlightenment factor of equanimity. So this one, you have to be very observant. What are the things that give you equanimity? So you try to maintain it. For example, if you have already a good state of meditation, then your mind becomes very blissful. And then sometimes somebody says some nasty thing to you, normally you would get angry. But if you already have a good state of mind, a peaceful state of mind, even though there is reason to get angry, you don't want to get angry. Because you know if you get angry, it upsets your mind, upsets your whole system. So you just laugh it off. You don't get angry. So other conditions, like you know, one of the things that make you agitated, you don't go and get involved with it. For example, if you go to a place where there's a lot of people, then you cannot maintain an equanimous mind. So you try to go to be aloof from society, and then only the mind is equanimous. So all these factors you have to observe for yourself. What are the things that suit your practice? Now we come to the third part. What mounts is the de-knowledgement that prevents unarisen sensual desire from arising and arisen sensual desire from increasing and expanding. There is mounts, the sign of foulness or unattractiveness. Frequently giving careful attention to it is the denourishment that prevents unarisen sensual desire from arising and arisen sensual desire from increasing and expanding. This one, the sign of our oneness or unattractiveness, if we refer to sensual desire, there is a practice taught by the Buddha called the 32 paths of the body, where we recite the head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, liver, midriff, spleen, lung, bowel, entrail, gorge, dung, brain, bowel, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, pittles, snot, all of the joint urine. So these 32 parts, we can either recite them slowly or we recite them fast. If we recite them fast, it is a concentration exercise. It's a concentration exercise that maintains our concentration. If we recite it slowly, then we can consider one by one head hair, then consider it for a moment, then body hair, and then consider it for a moment. So if we frequently do this, then we can see these 32 parts of the body quite clearly, so that when we look at a body, we don't only look at its skin deep. Mostly, we look at somebody, we only look at that person's skin deep. As they say, beauty is only skin deep. Below that skin, there's a lot of unattractive body parts, urine, excrement, blood, pus. So if we practice these 32 paths of the body, then we can see the unattractiveness of the body and that will weaken sensual desire, prevent it from increasing. And what mounts is the de-knowledgement that prevents un-arisen ill-will from arising and un-arisen ill-will from increasing and expanding. There is mount the liberation by mind of loving-kindness, metta. Frequently giving careful attention to it is the de-knowledgement that prevents un-arisen ill-will from arising and un-arisen ill-will from increasing and expanding. This one, liberation by mind of loving-kindness, that means we can say release, release by mind of loving-kindness or radiation by mind of loving-kindness. In the sutras, the Buddha says If you really want to practice this radiation of loving-kindness, you have to attain strong samadhi. When you have strong samadhi, then it's like a kind of psychic power. You radiate loving-kindness out and other beings can feel it, other beings can know. But for most people, if you don't have that strong samadhi to do this, then We give loving kindness to others through our body language, through our verbal language, and if possible, through our mental thoughts also. So through the three kammas, if you always think in that way, that you want to be to have loving kindness to all beings, because all beings are basically like us. We have a lot of unhappiness. Other beings also have a lot of unhappiness. Probably other beings have much more unhappiness than you have. So you give them loving kindness instead of anger. So we always think, have this in our mind. then even though you don't have the psychic power to read it out to people, but people can sense it through your body language and your verbal language especially, and sometimes through your mental kamma also. So if you frequently think of loving kindness, that will prevent ill will or anger from arising. And what mounts is the de-knowledgement. that prevents unarisen sloth and torpor from arising, and arisen sloth and torpor from increasing and expanding. There are monks, the element of arousal, the element of endeavour, the element of exertion, frequently giving careful attention to them, is the de-nourishment that prevents unarisen sloth and torpor from arising, and arisen sloth and torpor from increasing and expanding. For most of us, sloth and topper is one of the big obstacles to meditation, especially in the morning when you want to meditate, very sleepy. So here the Buddha says, you want to weaken your sloth and topper, put forth energy. A good way, if you sit, it's very difficult. You become hypnotized by the sloth and topper, cannot fight it. So a good way is to do walking meditation. You walk. The more sleepy you are, the faster you should walk. So when you walk faster, then all your blood starts moving. Then, I am not so sleepy. One of the reasons we feel sleepy is that the blood in our brain is stale. We need to change it. That's why you notice one of the yoga practices, they go upside down. Yes or no? Upside down. So all the blood goes to the brain. But don't do too long or you'll get a headache. Try not to do more than one minute. If you can't go vertically, upside down, you can still go to the wall. Edge yourself to the wall. Put your leg as high as you can. If you even do it for one minute, you'll change the blood in your head. You don't feel so sleepy. Even if you don't go to that extent, even if you just lie down horizontally on the floor, you just lie for one or two minutes, then the blood flows better, then after that you get up, you don't feel so sleepy. So this element of exertion will decrease your sloth and torpor, put forth energy. So always remember, when this sloth and torpor comes, always consider it's like the magician ghost trying to hypnotize you, so you have to fight. And what, monks, is the de-nourishment that prevents un-arisen restlessness and remorse from arising, and un-arisen restlessness and remorse from increasing and expanding? There is, monks, peacefulness of mind. Frequently giving careful attention to it is the de-nourishment that prevents un-arisen restlessness and remorse from arising, and un-arisen restlessness and remorse from increasing and expanding. So this restlessness arises, we try to make the mind peaceful. How to make the mind peaceful? Think of thoughts that will give you peace of mind. I can think of the Buddha, the Arahants, think of Whatever it is that gives you happiness, gives you peace of mind. Don't think of your problems. You think of your problems, you become more restless. That's why there are some people actually, they should not meditate. Many years ago, I heard about one girl. She went to a meditation center and practiced meditation. She had some problem with her boyfriend. broke off or something, and she was heartbroken. So she thought, go and meditate, it's good for her. But the problem is when you have such a problem, when you sit down, you think of nothing except that problem. It cannot go away, it's a very strong problem. So as a result of staying in that meditation center a few days, she committed suicide. So you have to be very careful. When you have that type of traumatic experience, you cannot meditate. So to bring your mind to a more peaceful state, think of things that make you happy. Think of things that make you calm down. And what mounts is the de-knowledgement that prevents un-arisen doubt from arising and un-arisen and unwholesome states, blamable and blameless states, inferior and superior states, dark and bright states with their counterparts. Frequently giving careful attention to them is the denourishment that prevents unarisen doubt from arising and arisen doubt from increasing. Now this doubt here in the seven factors of enlightenment I think it refers to doubt about the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. There is no doubt about worldly affairs, about worldly things. So, when we think about wholesome and unwholesome states, blameable and blameless states, inferior and superior states, etc., basically we are thinking of the Dhamma. So, when we think of the Dhamma, And if you pay careful attention to the Dharma that you have learned, then slowly your doubt about the Buddha Dharma and Sangha will decrease or become eliminated. Now we come to the fourth part. the de-nourishment or the weakening of the Enlightenment factors. And what mounts is the de-nourishment that prevents the un-arisen Enlightenment factor of recollection from arising and the arisen Enlightenment factor of recollection from reaching fulfilment by development. There are monks, things that are the basis for the enlightenment factor of recollection. Not frequently giving attention to them is the de-knowledgement that prevents the un-arisen enlightenment factor of recollection from arising, and the arisen enlightenment factor of recollection from reaching fulfilment by development. So this one, things that are the basis for recollection, is like the the suttas, the dhamma that we have heard. If we recollect the dhamma that we have heard, that is practicing recollection, the enlightenment factor of recollection. So we don't frequently give attention to the dhamma that we have learned, then that is the weakening of the recollection factor. So we have to We don't want this factor to decrease, to weaken, then we have to frequently give, to recall the Dhamma, remember the Dhamma that we have learned. And what mounts is the de-nourishment that prevents the unarisen enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma from arising, and the arisen enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma from reaching fulfillment by development. There are monks, wholesome and unwholesome states, blamable and blameless states, inferior and superior states, dark and bright states with their counterparts. But frequently giving attention to them is the denourishment that prevents the unarisen enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma from arising, and the arisen enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma from reaching fulfilment by development. In other words, if we do not constantly investigate the Dhamma, the words of the Buddha, then there is the weakening of this factor, investigation of Dhamma. So if we don't want this factor of investigation of Dhamma to weaken, then we have to constantly investigate the Dhamma that we have learned, study the suttas. When we study the sutras, we have to go through them like with a comb. If you have your own book, it's the best. Then you start underlying, making notes and all that. And what mounts is the de-nourishment that prevents the unarisen enlightenment factor of energy from arising, and the arisen enlightenment factor of energy from reaching fulfillment by development. There are mounts, the element of arousal, the element of endeavor, the element of exertion, not frequently giving attention to them. is the de-nourishment that prevents the un-arisen enlightenment factor of energy from arising, and the arisen enlightenment factor of energy from reaching fulfillment by development. In other words, This element, this factor of energy, if we don't constantly exert ourselves or think of exerting yourself, then your factor of energy weakens. So if you don't want that factor of energy to weaken, you must constantly think of exerting yourself, exerting yourself in the spiritual path. Exhorting yourself, there are two aspects of it, two important aspects of the holy path. One is to study the Buddha's words, that is the theory part. The second part is the practice of meditation, where we try to focus our mind, to get strength of mind. And then the third part is at other times when we observe our mind, observe our body, feelings, the mind, And recall the Dhamma when you are not reading the book or sitting down in meditation. Try to recollect these four objects of Sati. And what monks is the de-nourishment that prevents the un-arisen Enlightenment factor of delight from arising, and the arisen Enlightenment factor of delight from reaching fulfilment by development? There are monks, things that are the basis for the Enlightenment factor of delight, more frequently giving attention to them, is the de-nourishment that prevents the un-arisen Enlightenment factor of delight from arising, and the arisen Enlightenment factor of delight from reaching fulfilment by development. This enlightenment factor of delight we mentioned earlier refers to the delight that is attained from dwelling in the first jhāna and the second jhāna. So the things that are the basis for the factor of delight is, for example, to meditate frequently, sit down in meditation frequently. Secondly, like giving up a lot worldly worldly attachments, cut off worldly attachments so that you have more time to practice. And then another factor may be like becoming more aloof from society. You are going to the karaoke and to the race course and all that. So these things that are the basis for your attaining of the first and second jhana. frequently give attention to them, those things that support your attaining of the first jhāna, then if you practice them, then this factor of delight increases. But if you don't pay attention to all these factors that support your attaining of the first and second jhāna, then your factor of delight weakens. And what mounts is the de-knowledgement that prevents the un-arisen enlightenment factor of tranquility from arising and the arisen enlightenment factor of tranquility from reaching fulfilment by development. There are mounts, tranquility of body, tranquility of mind. Not frequently giving attention to them is the de-knowledgement that prevents the un-arisen enlightenment factor of tranquility from arising and the arisen enlightenment factor of tranquility from reaching fulfilment by development. So not frequently giving attention to tranquility of body and tranquility of mind and the conditions that support tranquility of body and tranquility of mind. If you don't give attention to them, then this factor of tranquility weakens. At what mounts is the de-knowledgement that prevents the unarisen enlightenment factor of concentration from arising and the arisen enlightenment factor of concentration from reaching fulfilment by development. There are mounts, the sign of serenity, the sign of non-dispersal, not frequently giving attention to them, is the de-knowledgement that prevents the unarisen enlightenment factor of concentration from arising. and the arisen enlightenment factor of concentration from reaching fulfillment by development. So the sign of serenity and the sign of non-dispersal, those things that give you serenity of mind, non-dispersal of mind, if you don't pay attention to them, then your factor of concentration weakens. For example, if you don't constantly Keep your mind concentrated by chanting. Instead, you go and make your mind disperse by giving attention to sights, sounds, smells, taste and touch and thoughts. Then all your energy goes out to the six senses and your mind becomes scattered. That is the de-nourishment. for the factor of concentration. And what mounts is the de-knowledgement that prevents the un-arisen enlightenment factor of equanimity from arising and the arisen enlightenment factor of equanimity from reaching fulfilment by development. There are mounts, things that are the basis for the enlightenment factor of equanimity, not frequently giving attention to them is the denourishment that prevents the unarisen enlightenment factor of equanimity from arising and the arisen enlightenment factor of equanimity from reaching fulfilment by development. Things that are the basis for the factor of equanimity, things that support equanimity, if you don't give attention to them, don't cultivate the conditions that give rise to equanimity, then the equanimity factor will weaken. So that's the end of the sutta. So here it's very clear, this sutta is a very important sutta. It tells you how to nourish these enlightenment factors and how to get rid of the five hindrances and conversely what are the things that weaken the enlightenment factors and what are the things that strengthen the five hindrances. So if we understand these conditions then we know how to practice to develop the seven factors of enlightenment and to weaken the hindrances. So I'll stop here because tonight we've gone over our question time discussion. I did not say revulsion towards the internal and external sense bases. I was talking about revulsion of... Or the one about the six sense bases. The six sense bases, the Buddha said that when we, the objects that impinge on our six sense bases, if they give us pleasant feelings, then we pray for them. And then when they give us unpleasant feelings, then we feel revulsion, we feel not happy with them. So our mind is moved by this like and dislike. If your mind is like an orderly mind, an orderly mind always has dislike and dislike, Juicy, we want the best things. Second, not so good things, we don't want all these things. And that applies to everything. The forms that we see, the sounds that we hear, the smells, the taste in food, touch, even thoughts. So if that is the case, then your mind is not steady like a rock. So it's easily moved by outside conditions. So the Buddha said in some other sutra, you are moved by the eight winds. You like praise, you don't like blame. You like to be famous and all these things. So if you are moved by these states, then you always experience sukha and dukkha. So if you don't want to experience dukkha, you must also not be moved by sukha. If your mind moves too much when you experience sukha, happiness, then when the happiness goes away, because everything in the world is impermanent, your happiness cannot last. So when happiness goes away, then you experience a lot of dukkha. But if you allow, if you train your mind not to be moved by sukha so much. Then when dukkha hits you, you also don't move so much. So how to train your mind to be not so easily moved is to cultivate strength of mind. And strength of mind comes from cultivating samadhi. When we have samadhi, we train the mind to focus. When the mind trains itself to focus, develops muscle power in the mind, then when you put your attention to something, it becomes like a laser beam, you can focus there. So that is strength of mind. So that is the only way not to be moved by external conditions. Not only that, also that's why we study the suttas. The suttas tell us The danger, for example, of sensual pleasure. The Buddha says sensual pleasure, consider it like a pit, a hole, deeper than a man's height, filled with charcoal. If you fall into that pit of charcoal, you are not able to climb out because it's higher than your height. and you get burned all the time and you're struggling to come out and you cannot come out. So when you see sensual pleasures, the Buddha says, you see it that way, then you don't become more careful. You don't simply indulge in it. When we are young, we don't know the dangers in the world. As they say, we are not streetwise. So a lot of young people, when something is nice, you straight go ahead and enjoy it without realizing the dangers. And then sometimes you can get caught caught in there and you cannot get out of it. For example, some people who go into drugs, they go into drugs, they are hooked to drugs, and their mind becomes so weak, they want to get out, but they are just unable to help themselves because their mind is too weak. So there are also other things. I mean, drugs is one extreme, but there are many other situations. For example, a lot of young people, When you're young, you think it's very good to fall in love. Then after you fall in love, you get your hands burned, your heart burned. Then after that, next time somebody wants to fall in love with you, then you become very careful. The world is like that. When you're young, a lot of things we don't know. So the Dhamma is teaching us to lead our life in a skillful way, to differentiate between wholesome states and unwholesome states. States that give you happiness and states that give you suffering. There are a lot of states that give you happiness for a short while, and you think it's very good, but the end result is suffering. As they say, These are the things in life a lot of people don't know. So when we learn the Dharma, then the Dharma teaches us. For example, if you didn't study the Dharma, you didn't realize that life is so dangerous that when you pass away, a lot of people will go into the ghost realm. So a lot of people, when they don't study the Dharma, they never realize that it is possible to be reborn as a ghost or an animal or fall into hell. But the Dharma tells us that it is very possible. In fact, most people after dying go into the ghost realm because we have used up our blessings, our store of blessings as a human being. And most people take the trouble to replenish your blessings by doing a lot of good deeds. So when they die, their store of blessings is less than when they came. With that being the case, they will go into the ghost realm. Even without doing evil deeds, without harming others, just lead an ordinary life, you will go into the ghost realm. So, these are the things that we never realize until you learn the Dharma. Okay, shall we end for tonight?

34SNBojjhangaCh4620090826

Today is the 26th of August and we are on the Bojanga Samyutta. Now we come to Kuta 46.52. Then in the morning, a number of monks dressed and taking their bows and robes, entered Sabbathi for alms. Then it occurred to them that it is still too early to walk for alms in Savatthi. Let us go to the path of the wanderers of other sects. Then those monks went to the path of the wanderers of other sects. They exchanged greetings with those wanderers, and when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, sat down to one side. The wanderers then said to them, Friends, the ascetic Gautama teaches the Dhamma to his disciples thus. Come, monks, abandon the hindrances, the corruptions of the mind that weaken wisdom, and develop correctly the seven factors of enlightenment. We too teach the Dharma to our disciples thus. Come, friends, abandon the five hindrances, the corruptions of the mind that weaken wisdom, and develop correctly the seven factors of enlightenment. So friends, what here is the distinction, the disparity, the difference between the ascetic Gautama and us, that is regarding the one Dhamma teaching and the other, regarding the one manner of instruction and the other. Then those monks neither delighted in nor rejected the statement of those wanderers. Without delighting in it, without rejecting it, they rose from their seats and left, thinking, we shall learn the meaning of this statement in the presence of the Blessed One. Then when those monks had walked for alms in Savatthi and had returned from the alms round, after their meal, they approached the Blessed One. Having paid homage to him, they sat down to one side and reported to him the entire discussion between those wanderers and themselves. The Blessed One said, Monks, when wanderers of other sects speak thus, they should be asked, Friends, is there a method of exposition by means of which the five hindrances become ten, and the seven factors of enlightenment become fourteen? Being asked thus, those wanderers would not be able to reply, and further, they would meet with vexation. For what reason? Because that would not be within their domain. I do not see anyone, monks, in this world with its devas, Mara and Brahma, in this generation with its ascetics and Brahmins, its devas and humans, who could satisfy the mind with an answer to these questions, except the Tathagata or a disciple of the Tathagata, a one who has heard it from them. And what, monks, is the method of exposition by means of which the five hindrances become ten? Whatever sensual desire there is for the internal is a hindrance. Whatever sensual desire there is for the external is also a hindrance. Thus, what is spoken of concisely as the hindrance of sensual desire becomes by this method of exposition twofold. Whatever ill-will there is towards the internal is a hindrance. Whatever ill-will there is towards the external is also a hindrance. Thus, what is spoken of concisely as the hindrance of ill-will becomes by this method of exposition twofold. Whatever sloth there is is a hindrance. Whatever topper there is, is also a hindrance. That's what is spoken of concisely as the hindrance of sloth and topper becomes by this method of exposition twofold. Whatever restlessness there is, is a hindrance. Whatever remorse there is, is also a hindrance. Thus, what is spoken of concisely as the hindrance of restlessness and remorse becomes, by this method of exposition, twofold. Whatever doubt there is about the internal is a hindrance. Whatever doubt there is about the external is also a hindrance. Thus, what is spoken of concisely as the hindrance of doubt becomes, by this method of exposition, twofold. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, he has broken this sensual desire, ill will and doubt. These three things, Buddha has said, if it is directed towards the internal, it is counted as one. If it is directed towards the external, that means outside of ourselves. Internal should be our own body. External is outside, concerning other bodies. So one becomes two, and then for the sloth and topper, they break it up into sloth one and topper another. Then similarly restlessness and remorse. And what monks is the exposition by means of which the seven factors of enlightenment become 14? Whatever recollection there is of internal Dharma, is the enlightenment factor of recollection. Whatever recollection there is of external dharmas is also the enlightenment factor of recollection. That's what is spoken of concisely as the enlightenment factor of recollection. It comes by this method of exposition twofold. Stop here for a moment. Here it is things internal. The Pali word is Ajatam Dhamma. So it is internal dharmas. and then the external is pahida dhamma, external dhamma. So internal dhamma should be dhamma concerning ourself, our body. And external dhamma is concerning others. Whenever one investigates internal Dhamma with wisdom, examines them, makes an investigation of them, that is the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma. Whenever one investigates external Dhamma with wisdom, examines them, makes an investigation of them, that is also the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma. That's what is spoken of concisely as the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma becomes by this method of exposition twofold. Whatever bodily energy there is, is the enlightenment factor of energy or energetic effort. Whatever mental energy there is, is also the enlightenment factor of energy. Thus, what is spoken of concisely as the enlightenment factor of energy becomes, by this method of exposition, twofold. Whatever delight, piti, there is, accompanied by thought, directed and sustained, is the enlightenment factor of delight. Whatever delight there is, without thought directed and sustained, is also the enlightenment factor of Piti. That's what is spoken of concisely as the enlightenment factor of Piti. It comes by this method of exposition twofold. Stop it for a moment. The day we discussed that spiritual delight, Spiritual delight or rapture refers to the first jhāna and the second jhāna. So in the first jhāna, Diti is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, whereas in the second jhāna, it is without thought directed and sustained, vittaka and vicara. Whatever tranquility of body there is, is the Enlightenment factor of tranquility. Whatever tranquility of mind there is, is also the Enlightenment factor of tranquility. Thus what is spoken of concisely as the Enlightenment factor of tranquility, becomes by this method of exposition twofold. Whatever concentration there is accompanied by thought directed and sustained is the enlightenment factor of concentration. Whatever concentration there is without thought directed and sustained is also the enlightenment factor of concentration. That's what is spoken of concisely as the enlightenment factor of concentration becomes by this method of exposition twofold. Stop here for a moment. So concentration accompanied by thought directed and sustained is the first jhāna and concentration without thought directed and sustained is the second jhāna, third jhāna and fourth jhāna. Whatever equanimity there is Regarding internal Dhammas is the Enlightenment factor of equanimity. Whatever equanimity there is regarding external Dhammas is also the Enlightenment factor of equanimity. Thus, what is spoken of concisely as the Enlightenment factor of equanimity becomes by this method of exposition twofold. This monks is the method of exposition by means of which the seven factors of Enlightenment become fourteen. This sutta is not that important, just that sometimes the Buddha, his external ascetics want to come and argue with him, so he says these kind of things. Okay, the next sutta is more important, 46.53. Then in the morning, a number of monks dressed and taking their bows and robes entered savatthi for alms. That means the monks went for alms round as the previous sutta and then encountered the wanderers of other sects. And the wondrous of other sects asked them, what's the difference between the Buddha's teachings and their teachings? And the Buddha said, monks, when wondrous of other sects speak thus, they should be asked, friends, when the mind becomes sluggish, which factors of enlightenment is it untimely to develop on that occasion? And which factors of enlightenment is it timely to develop on that occasion? Dear friends, when the mind becomes excited, which factors of enlightenment is it untimely to develop on that occasion? And which factors of enlightenment is it timely to develop on that occasion? Being asked thus, those wanderers would not be able to reply. And further, they would meet with vexation. For what reason? Because that would not be within their domain. I do not see anyone monks in this world with its devas, Mara and Brahma, in this generation with its ascetics and Brahmins, its devas and humans. who could satisfy the mind with an answer to these questions, except the Tathagata, or a disciple of the Tathagata, or one who has heard it from them. On an occasion, monks, when the mind becomes sluggish, it is untimely to develop the Enlightenment Factor of Tranquility, the Enlightenment Factor of Concentration, and the Enlightenment Factor of Equanimity. For what reason? Because the mind is sluggish, monks, and it is difficult to arouse it with those things. Suppose monks, a man wants to make a small fire flare. If he throws wet grass, wet cow dung and wet timber into it, sprays it with water and scatters soil over it, would he be able to make a small fire flare? No, Venerable Sir. So too, monks, on an occasion when the mind becomes sluggish, it is untimely to develop the Enlightenment factor of tranquillity, the Enlightenment factor of concentration, and the Enlightenment factor of equanimity. For what reason? Because the mind is sluggish, monks, and it is difficult to arouse it with those things. On an occasion, monks, when the mind becomes sluggish, it is timely to develop the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, the enlightenment factor of energy, and the enlightenment factor of delight. For what reason? Because the mind is sluggish, monks, and it is easy to arouse it with those things. Suppose, monks, a man wants to make a small firefly up. If he throws dry grass, dry cow dung, and dry timber into it, blows on it, and does not scatter soil over it, would he be able to make that small firefly up? Yes, Venerable Sir. So, to monks, on an occasion when the mind becomes sluggish, it is timely to develop the enlightenment factor of this of investigation of Dhamma, the enlightenment factor of energy and the enlightenment factor of delight. For what reason? Because the mind is sluggish, monks, and it is easy to arouse it with those things. Let's stop here for a moment. So, when the mind is sluggish, like we are having a sloth and topper, then It is not the right time to try to concentrate the mind when the mind is having a lot of sloth and torpor. At that time, it is more beneficial to investigate dhamma and use energy. So this investigate dhamma for us can be like if we are in our kuti, we can read the book in the morning. feeling a bit sleepy, you read the book and then you become quite interested. And the other one about energy, it's like you find it difficult to sit in meditation, then we walk, walk, walk, and get our energy going. So maybe when you use energy, then say like in walking, then maybe the delight may start to arise. On an occasion, monks, when the mind becomes excited, it is untimely to develop the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, the enlightenment factor of energy, and the enlightenment factor of delight. For what reason? Because the mind is excited, monks, and it is difficult to calm it down with those things. Suppose, monks, a man wants to extinguish a great bonfire. If he throws dry grass, dry cow dung and dry timber into it, blows on it, and does not scatter soil over it, would he be able to extinguish the great bonfire? No, Venerable Sir. So too monks, on an occasion when the mind becomes excited, it is untimely to develop the alignment factor of discrimination of investigation of Dhamma, the alignment factor of energy, and the alignment factor of delight. For what reason? Because the mind is excited, monks, and it is difficult to calm it down with those things. On an occasion, monks, when the mind becomes excited, it is timely to develop the enlightenment factor of tranquility, the enlightenment factor of concentration, and the enlightenment factor of equanimity. For what reason? Because the mind is excited, monks, and it is easy to calm it down with those things. Suppose, monks, a man wants to extinguish a great bonfire. If he throws wet grass, wet cow dung, and wet timber into it, sprays it with water, and scatters soil over it, would he be able to extinguish that great bonfire? Yes, Member Sir. So too monks, on an occasion when the mind becomes excited, it is timely to develop the enlightenment factor of tranquility, the enlightenment factor of concentration, and the enlightenment factor of equanimity. For what reason? Because the mind is excited, monks, and it is easy to calm it down with those things. But recollection monks, I say, is always useful. So recollection is recollection of the Dhamma, mainly, as far as the seven bojjhanas are concerned. So when the mind is excited, it is a good time to calm it down by sitting down to meditate. The mind's excited, I'll cheese. is moving, so maybe when you sit down, it calms down. The next sutra is 46.54. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Kolyans, where there was a town of the Kolyans named Halida Vassana. Then in the morning, a number of monks, dressed and taking their bows and robes, entered Halida Vassana for alms. Then it occurred to them, it is still too early to walk for alms in Halida Vassana, let us go to the path of the wanderers of other sects. Then those monks went to the path of the Wanderers of other sites. They exchanged greetings with those Wanderers, and when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, sat down to one side. The Wanderers then said to them, Friends, the ascetic Gotama teaches the Dhamma to his disciples thus. Come, monks, abandon the five hindrances, the corruptions of the mind that weaken wisdom. and dwell pervading one quarter with the mind imbued with loving-kindness. Likewise, the second quarter, the third quarter, and the fourth quarter, thus above, below, across, and everywhere, and to all as to oneself, dwell pervading the entire world with the mind imbued with loving-kindness, vast, exalted, measureless, without hostility, without ill-will. dwelt pervading one quarter with the mind imbued with compassion, likewise the second quarter, the third quarter, and the fourth quarter, thus above, below, across, and everywhere, and to all as to oneself, dwelt pervading the entire world with the mind imbued with compassion, vast, exalted, measureless, without hostility, without ill-will. dwell pervading one quarter with the mind imbued with joy, likewise the second quarter, the third quarter, the fourth quarter, thus above, below, across, and everywhere, and to all as to oneself, dwell pervading the entire world with the mind imbued with joy, vast, exalted, measureless, without hostility, without ill-will. dwelt pervading one quarter with the mind imbued with equanimity, likewise the second quarter, the third quarter, and the fourth quarter, thus above, below, across, and everywhere, and to all as to oneself, dwelt pervading the entire world with the mind imbued with equanimity, vast, exalted, measureless, without hostility, without ill will. We too, friends, teach the Dharma to our disciples thus. Come, friends, abandon the five hindrances, etc." And he quoted exactly as above. So, friends, what here is the distinction, the disparity, the difference between the ascetic Gautama and us, that is, regarding the one Dhamma teaching and the other, regarding the one manner of instruction and the other, that those miles neither delighted in nor rejected the statement of those wanderers. Without delighting in it, without rejecting it, they rose from their seats and left, thinking, we shall learn the meaning of this statement in the presence of the Blessed One. Then when those monks had walked for alms in Halida Vassana and had returned from the alms round, after their meal they approached the Blessed One. Having paid homage to Him, they sat down to one side and reported to Him the entire discussion between those wanderers and themselves. So actually just now they said that the Buddha taught that we should pervade the entire world with these four things, metta, loving kindness, then karuna, compassion, and then mudita, joy, and then upekka, equanimity. So they say, we also practice the same thing. So what's the difference? Then the Buddha said, Monks, when wanderers of other sects speak thus, they should be asked, Friends, how is the liberation by mind of loving-kindness developed? What does it have as its destination, its culmination, its fruit, its final goal? How is the liberation by mind of compassion developed? What does it have as its destination, its culmination, its fruit, its final goal? How is the liberation by mind of joy developed? What does it have as its destination, its culmination, its fruit, its final goal? How is the liberation by mind of equanimity developed? What does it have as its destination, its culmination, its fruit, its final goal? Being asked thus, those wanderers would not be able to reply, and further, they would meet with vexation. For what reason? because that would not be within their domain. I do not see anyone, monks, in this world with its devas, Mara and Brahma, in this generation with its ascetics and Brahmins, its devas and humans, who could satisfy the mind with an answer to these questions, except the Tathagata, or a disciple of the Tathagata, or one who has heard it from them. And how, monks, is the liberation by mind of loving-kindness developed? What does it have as its destination, its culmination, its fruit, its final goal? Here, monks, a monk develops the enlightenment factor of recollection accompanied by loving-kindness, the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma. the factor of energy etc accompanied by loving kindness based upon seclusion dispassion and cessation maturing in release if he wishes may i dwell perceiving the repulsive in the unrepulsive He dwells perceiving the repulsive therein. If he wishes, may I dwell perceiving the unrepulsive in the repulsive. He dwells perceiving the unrepulsive therein. If he wishes, may I dwell perceiving the repulsive in the unrepulsive and in the repulsive. He dwells perceiving the repulsive therein. If he wishes, may I dwell perceiving the unrepulsive in the repulsive and in the unrepulsive. He dwells perceiving the unrepulsive therein. If he wishes, avoiding both the unrepulsive and the repulsive, may I dwell equanimously, mindful and clearly comprehending. Maybe this one is collected and mindful. Then he dwells therein, equanimously, collected and mindful. Or else he enters and dwells in the deliverance of the beautiful. Monks, the liberation by mind of loving-kindness has the beautiful as its culmination, I say, for a wise monk here who has not penetrated to a superior liberation. stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that if a monk develops the enlightenment factors or the seven enlightenment factors and they are accompanied by loving kindness then the mind becomes strong because if he has developed the seven enlightenment factors he would have attained the fourth jhana and then further if he practices this loving kindness meditation, then the mind becomes strong so that if he wants to perceive the repulsive or the unrepulsive, the mind is so strong that he can. Normally our mind is conditioned. So when we see something, we feel it is attractive or repulsive, but we can actually, this perception can be changed. For example, if we see the body of someone of the opposite sex, it may appear attractive. But if we train our mind on the 32 parts of the body, to see the body in terms of all the 32 things, then if the mind is strong enough, then it can feel that the body, instead of being attractive, it is repulsive. So here, this person has strained the mind so that he can perceive repulsive or unrepulsive as he wishes. And then also, the culmination of this liberation by mind of loving-kindness meditation as the beautiful, as its end result. Beautiful is the third of the eight deliverances. The eight deliverances are this Atavimokkha. He perceives beautiful, everything beautiful. If this monk has not attained enlightenment, then this is the culmination of his meditation of liberation by mind of loving kindness. The topmost he can achieve is to perceive beautiful And how, monks, is the liberation by mind of compassion developed? What does it have as its destination, its culmination, its fruit, its final goal? Hey, monks, a monk develops the enlightenment factor of recollection accompanied by compassion. He develops the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma accompanied by compassion. He develops the enlightenment factor of energy accompanied by compassion, et cetera. If he wishes, may I dwell perceiving repulsive in the unrepulsive, he dwells perceiving the repulsive therein. If he wishes to perceive the unrepulsive, then he does so. If he wishes avoiding both the unrepulsive and the repulsive, may I dwell equanimously mindful and collected, then he dwells therein, equanimously, mindful and collected. Or else, with the complete transcendence of perceptions of forms, with the passing away of perceptions of sensory impingement, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity, aware that space is infinite, he enters and dwells in the base of the infinity of space. Monks, the liberation by mind of compassion has the base of the infinity of space at its culmination, I say. For a wise monk here who has not penetrated to a superior liberation, I stop here for a moment. So here, a monk practicing liberation by mind of compassion, the topmost point is to attain this Arupa Jhāna, or the base of the infinity of space. If this monk has not attained liberation, he would attain this Arupa Jhāna, base of infinity of space. And here is one of those suttas which contradicts the later books, like the Visuddhimagga. In the Visuddhimagga, it is stated that this practice of meditation on Metta, Karuna, Mudita and Upekka can only go up to the Rupajanas. It is mentioned in the back of the book, the note number 111. Look at the note 111. It does say that there is a contradiction with the Visuddhimagga. So a lot of people are not familiar with the suttas. They take the later books as though it's the words of the Buddha. Actually, there are contradictions. And how, monks, is the liberation by mind of joy developed? What does it have as its destination, its culmination, its fruit, its final goal? Here monks, a monk develops the enlightenment factor of recollection accompanied by joy. He develops the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma accompanied by joy. He develops the enlightenment factor of energy accompanied by joy, etc. If he wishes me, I dwell perceiving the repulsive. He dwells perceiving the repulsive. If he wishes me, I dwell perceiving the unrepulsive. He dwells perceiving the unrepulsive. If he wishes avoiding both the unrepulsive and the repulsive. Me, I dwell equanimously, mindful and Then he dwells therein, equanimously, mindful and collected. Or else, by completely transcending the base of infinity of space, aware that consciousness is infinite, he enters and dwells in the base of infinity of consciousness. Monks, the liberation by mind of joy has the base of the infinity of consciousness as its culmination, I say. For a wise monk here, who has not penetrated to a superior liberation, stop here for a moment. So one who practices the meditation on mudita, liberation by mind of mudita, the topmost point if he does not become liberated is to attain this second rupa jhana called the base of the infinity of consciousness. This again is a contradiction with the Visuddhimalda. And how monks, is the liberation by mind of equanimity developed? What does it have as its destination, its culmination, its fruit, its final goal? Here monks, a monk develops the enlightenment factor of recollection accompanied by equanimity. He develops the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma accompanied by equanimity. He develops the enlightenment factor of energy accompanied by equanimity, etc. He develops all the alignment factors accompanied by equanimity. If he wishes, may I dwell perceiving the repulsive, he dwells perceiving the repulsive. If he wishes, may I dwell perceiving the unrepulsive, he dwells perceiving the unrepulsive. If he wishes, avoiding both the unrepulsive and the repulsive, may I dwell equanimously, mindful and Then he dwells therein, equanimously, mindful and collected. Or else, by completely transcending the base of the infinity of consciousness, aware that there is nothing, he enters and dwells in the base of nothingness. Monks, the liberation by mind of equanimity has the base of nothingness as its culmination, I say. For a wise monk here, who has not penetrated to a superior liberation, That's the end of the sutta. So here, if a monk practices meditation on Upeka, equanimity, and if he does not become enlightened, then he can attain up to the third Arupajana, the base of nothingness. This is again a contradiction with the Visuddhi Maga. It says that when you practice meditation on the four Brahma Viharas, Metta, Karuna, Mudita, Bhupeka, the most you can attain is the four Jhanas. And also I've noticed In the Visuddhi Maga also, it says that if you practice Anapanasati, the most you can attain is four jhanas. But in the Suttas, the Buddha says, if you practice Anapanasati, you can attain all the four Arupa Jhanas up to the cessation of perception and feeling. So, again, contradicts the Visuddhi Maga. So, you have to be very careful. Nowadays, some monks, They believe everything in the Visuddhimagga and the Abhidhamma. They don't know. There's a lot of contradiction with the early suttas.

35SNBojjhangaCh4620090826

The next sutta is 46.55. It's also an important sutta. Asavati. Then the Brahmin Sangharava approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to the Blessed One, Master Gautama, what is the cause and reason why sometimes those hymns that have been recited over a long period do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. What is the cause and reason why sometimes those hymns that have not been recited over a long period recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited?" Stop here for a moment. So these Brahmins, they like to chant their hymns. So he says, sometimes He cannot remember these hymns. Even those that he often chants, he cannot remember. Not to mention those that he seldom chants. Even worse, he cannot remember. And then sometimes when the mind is very clear, then he can remember all the hymns that he chants. Even those that he hasn't chanted for a long time, he can also remember. So he wants to know why. Then the Buddha said, Brahmin, when one dwells with a mind obsessed by sensual lust, overwhelmed by sensual lust, and one does not understand as it really is, he escaped from arisen sensual lust. On that occasion, one neither knows nor sees as it really is, one's own good, or the good of others, or the good of both. Then even those hymns that have been recited over a long period, do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. Suppose, Brahmin, there is a bowl of water mixed with lac, turmeric, blue dye or crimson dye. If a man with good sight were to examine his own facial reflection in it, he would neither know nor see it as it really is. So too, Brahmin, when one dwells with a mind obsessed by sensual lust, on that occasion, even those hymns that have been recited over a long period do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited." Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, because of the hindrance of sensual lust, We do not see clearly things as they really are. So that being the case, we do not know what is good for ourselves, we do not know what is good for others. And then our memory becomes very bad. Even those chants that we often do also, we cannot remember. So to give a simile, to make us understand the effect of the hindrance of sensual lust, the Buddha gave a simile of a bowl of water that is mixed with the different colors of dye. the different colors of dye. They look very beautiful. But when you want to look into the water to see your own reflection, you cannot see properly. So the mind also becomes like that. The mind becomes like the water, full of different beautiful colors. So we have all the sensual lust in our mind, all the delicious thoughts, just like these beautiful colors. But we cannot see clearly. It obsesses our mind. Again Brahmin, when one dwells with a mind obsessed by ill-will or anger, overwhelmed by ill-will, and one does not understand as it really is the escape from arisen ill-will, on that occasion one neither knows nor sees as it really is one's own good or the good of others or the good of both, then even those hymns that have been recited over a long period do not recur to the mind. let alone those that have not been recited. Suppose, Brahmin, there is a bowl of water being heated over a fire, bubbling and boiling. If a man with good sight were to examine his own facial reflection in it, He would neither know, nor see it as it really is. So too Brahmin, for one dwells with the mind obsessed by ill-will. On that occasion, even those hymns that have been recited over a long period do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited." Let's stop here for a moment. So here, the simile for ill-will in our mind is like this bowl of water, heated until it is boiling. So it's boiling when you look into it. It is so disturbed that you cannot see your own reflection clearly. So in the same way, when we have ill will in our mind, our mind is boiling, boiling with anger. That being the case, we cannot think clearly. We cannot see things as they really are. Again Brahmin, when one dwells with the mind obsessed by sloth and torpor, overwhelmed by sloth and torpor, and one does not understand, as it really is, the escape from arisen sloth and torpor, on that occasion one neither knows nor sees, as it really is, one's own good, or the good of others, or the good of both, then even those hymns that have been recited over a long period do not recur to the mind. let alone those that have not been recited. Suppose, Brahmin, there is a bowl of water, covered over with water plants and algae. If a man with good sight were to examine his own facial reflection in it, he would neither know nor see it as it really is. So too, Brahmin, when one dwells with the mind obsessed by sloth and topper, on that occasion, even those hymns that have been recited over a long period do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. So here, the simile for sloth and topper is a bowl of water covered over with water plants, like water lilies and algae growing on the surface. So when these plants are on the surface, if you look into the water, you cannot see your own reflection clearly. Similarly, when our mind is obsessed, covered over with sloth and torpor, then we cannot see clearly, we cannot think clearly. Again Brahmin, when one dwells with a mind obsessed by restlessness and remorse, overwhelmed by restlessness and remorse, and one does not understand, as it really is, the escape from arisen restlessness and remorse, on that occasion one neither knows nor sees, as it really is, one's own good or the good of others or the good of both, then even those hymns that have been recited over a long period do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. Suppose, Brahmin, there is a bowl of water stirred by the wind, rippling, swirling, churned into wavelengths. If a man with good sight were to examine his own facial reflection in it, he would neither know nor see as it really is. So too Brahmin, when one dwells with a mind obsessed by restlessness and remorse. On that occasion, even those hymns that have been recited over a long period do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. So here the simile for restlessness and remorse, an agitated mind, a disturbed mind, is like the bowl of water stirred by the wind. The wind is so strong that it creates wavelengths in the bowl. water is swirling, rippling, then you cannot see your reflection clearly. So in the same way, our mind is turned by this restlessness and remorse, so that we cannot think clearly, cannot see clearly. Again Brahmin, when one dwells with a mind obsessed by doubt, overwhelmed by doubt, and one does not understand as it really is, the escape from arisen doubt, on that occasion one neither knows nor sees as it really is, one's own good, or the good of others, or the good of both, then even those hymns that have been recited over a long period do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. Suppose, Brahmin, there is a bowl of water that is turbid, unsettled, muddy, glazed in the dark. Would a man with good sight go to examine his own facial reflection in it? He would neither know nor see as it really is. So too, Brahmin, when one dwells with a mind obsessed by doubt, on that occasion even those hymns that have been recited over a long period do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. This Brahmin is the cause and reason why even those hymns that have been recited over a long period do not recur to the mind, let alone those that have not been recited. So here the simile for doubt is a bowl of water that is muddy, unclear, and it is put in a dark place. and then you go and look into the bowl, you definitely cannot see your reflection. So in the same way, when our mind is overcome by doubt, our mind is murky, muddy, dark and we cannot see clearly. Brahmin, when one dwells with a mind that is not obsessed by sensual lust, not overwhelmed by sensual lust, and one understands as it really is, the escape from arisen sensual lust, on that occasion, one knows and sees as it really is, one's own good, and the good of others, and the good of both, then even those hymns that have not been recited over a long period, recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited. Suppose, Brahmin, there is a bowl of water, not mixed with lead, turmeric, blue dye or crimson dye. If a man with good sight were to examine his own facial reflection in it, he would know and see as it really is. So too, Brahmin, when one dwells with a mind that is not possessed by sensual lust, on that occasion, even those hymns that have not been recited over a long period, recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited. Again, Brahmin, when one dwells with a mind that is not obsessed by ill-will, then even those hymns that have not been recited over a long period recur to the mind. Suppose, Brahmin, there is a bowl of water not heated over a fire, not bubbling, not boiling, then a man with good eyesight would see his reflection clearly. So too, when one dwells with a mind not obsessed by ill-will, that occasion, even those hymns that have not been recited, recur to the mind. So similarly, a mind that is not obsessed by sloths and toppers can remember very well, because it is very clear. just like a bowl of water not covered with water plants and algae. And a mind that is not obsessed by restlessness and remorse also can remember very clearly, just like a bowl of water not stirred by the wind. And a mind that is not obsessed by doubt can remember very well, just like a bowl of water that is clear and set in a bright place, then you can see clearly. This Brahman is the cause and reason why even those hymns that have not been recited over a long period recur to the mind, let alone those that have been recited. These seven factors of enlightenment Brahman are non-obstructions, non-hindrances, non-corruptions of the mind. When cultivated and developed, they lead to the realization of the fruit of true knowledge and liberation. 7. The enlightenment factor of recollection is a non-obstruction. The enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, etc., are non-obstructions. These seven factors of enlightenment are non-obstructions, non-hindrances, non-corruptions of the mind. When developed and cultivated, they lead to the realization of the fruit of true knowledge and liberation. And this was said, the Brahmin Sangharava said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, and he took refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Bhikkhu Sangha. From today, let Master Gautama remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life. It's the end of the sutta. So here, this sutta makes us see very clearly the effect of the five hindrances on the mind. The simile is given. The next sutra is 46.56. The Blessed One was dwelling at Vajagaha on Mount Vajapi. Then Prince Abhaya approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, Puranakasapa says, there is no cause or condition for lack of knowledge and vision. Lack of knowledge and vision is without cause or condition. There is no cause or condition for knowledge and vision. Knowledge and vision are without cause or condition. What does the Blessed One say about this? And the Buddha said, There is, Prince, a cause and condition for lack of knowledge and vision. Lack of knowledge and vision is with cause and condition. There is a cause and condition for knowledge and vision. Knowledge and vision are with cause and condition. And then he asked, but Venerable Sir, what is the cause and condition for lack of knowledge and vision? How is it that lack of knowledge and vision is with cause and condition? And the Buddha said, On an occasion, Prince, when one dwells with a mind obsessed by sensual lust, overwhelmed by sensual lust, and one neither knows nor sees as it really is, he escapes from arisen sensual lust. This is a cause and condition for lack of knowledge and vision. It is in this way that lack of knowledge and vision is with cause and condition. Again, Prince, on an occasion when one dwells with a mind obsessed by ill-will, Obsessed by sloth and torpor, obsessed by restlessness and remorse, obsessed by doubt, overwhelmed by doubt. One neither knows nor sees as it really is. This too is a cause and condition for lack of knowledge and vision. It is in this way too that lack of knowledge and vision is with cause and condition. And the Prince asks, What is this dhamma exposition called, Venerable Sir? These are called the hindrances, Prince. And then the prince said, surely there are hindrances, blessed one. Surely there are hindrances, fortunate one. One overcome by even a single hindrance would not know and see things as they really are. Not to speak of one overcome by the five hindrances. So here he says, no need the five hindrances. Even one will already block us from seeing things as they really are. But Venerable Sir, what is the cause and condition for knowledge and vision? How is it that knowledge and vision are with cause and condition? And the Buddha said, Dear Prince, a monk develops the enlightenment factor of recollection, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing in release. With a mind that has developed the enlightenment factor of recollection, he knows and sees things as they really are. This is a cause for knowledge and vision. It is in this way that knowledge and vision are with cause and condition. Again Prince, a monk develops the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, energy, delight, tranquility, concentration, equanimity, which are based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing and release. With a mind that has developed the enlightenment factors, he knows and sees things as they really are. This is the cause for knowledge and vision. It is in this way that knowledge and vision are with cause and condition. The prince asked, What is this Dhamma exposition called, Venerable Sir? Buddha said, These are called Factors of Enlightenment, Prince. And the prince said, Surely there are factors of enlightenment, blessed one. Surely there are factors of enlightenment, fortunate one. One who possesses even a single factor of enlightenment would know and see things as they really are, not to speak of one who possesses the seven factors of enlightenment. The bodily fatigue and the mental fatigue that I experienced from climbing Mount Balchapit have subsided. I have made the breakthrough to the Dhamma. That's the end of the sutta. So this prince was so happy that his bodily tiredness and the mental tiredness from climbing the hill so high to see the Buddha, he said, I've all gone away. He says he's made a breakthrough to the Dhamma. He's understood the Dhamma. So this Buddha is saying, everything in the world happens due to causes and conditions. There's nothing that happens without a cause and condition. So knowledge and vision also, because the five hindrances obstruct us, that we don't see things as they really are. We don't have knowledge and vision, jnana, dasana. But On the other hand, if we develop the seven factors of enlightenment, then we have clear vision and knowledge. So that's the end of the Bojangas, the rest of the suttas. I won't be reading because there are a lot of repetitions. So maybe I'll stop here and go into Satipatthana tomorrow. Anything to discuss? Yes, yes. They are like opposite. Actually this chapter is on the seven factors of enlightenment, the seven bhojangas. But because The five hindrances are the opposite. It has the opposite effect. So the Buddha mentions them so much in this chapter. You don't find one chapter on the five hindrances by themselves. Most of the suttas concerning the five hindrances are found in the Dispojangasangita. The Suryamagga is a book compiled by monks and written by this monk called Buddha Gosa. And this book appeared around the year 400 A.D., 400 C.E., Common Era, which is about 900 years after the Buddha passed into Nirvana. He compiled them from different sources at that time. So like a lot of later books, it has a lot of good dhamma in it. But unfortunately, it's also mixed with some wrong dhamma. So unless you are very familiar with the suttas, you won't notice these contradictions with the words of the Buddha. So that's why it's not advisable to rely on later books. We should make the earliest suttas our cornerstone, our foundation. If you have a very good foundation, in the original suttas of the Buddha found in the four Nikayas, plus the six books, in the Kudakanikaya, then when you read later books like the Abhidhamma, Commentaries, Visuddhimagga, Mayana books and all that, you can see the contradiction, so you won't fall into the trap. That's why in the suttas, remember we read the Buddha gave a warning that he asked the monks to master the suttas. He said that in the future, people don't want to listen to the Buddha's words in the suttas. They want to listen to the words of disciples. That means later monks, and all these later books. And then the Buddha called them the words of poets. Nice sounding words, but they cannot compare with the Buddha's suttas. We will finish this Samhita Nikaya and then if we have time, I would like to go into the Majjhima Nikaya. Even though we cannot finish, we will do as much as we can. And then maybe next year during the Vassa. If you are still around, you can listen to that. There's nothing we can do about it.

36SNSatipatthanaCh4720090827

Today is the 27th of August and we have just come to the 47th Samyutta of the Samyutta Nikaya, a very important chapter called the Satipatthana Samyutta. A lot of people only read one sutta about Satipatthana, that is the Satipatthana Sutta. and they think they know all about Satipatthana. But inside here, there are many suttas concerning Satipatthana. According to this translation, 104 suttas. So, if you go through this Satipatthana Samyutta Ayambola, you will have a very much better idea about Satipatthana. Because the Satipatthana Sutta or the Maha Satipatthana Sutta doesn't talk so much. It gives the objects of meditation. It doesn't tell you exactly how to practice it as well as the many Suttas in this chapter. Now what is Satipatthana? First we have to understand what is Sati. because sati or right sati is the seventh factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. So because it is a factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, it is very important. You've got to practice right sati if you want to attain liberation, if you want to walk the Noble Eightfold Path of the Buddha. And a lot of people think that Sati and Satipatthana are the same. Even the translation of Satipatthana doesn't distinguish between Sati and Satipatthana. Actually, there should be a difference. So in this translation by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, he calls Satipatthana the establishments of mindfulness. Other books you'll find, they call it the foundations of mindfulness. common translation, but I think the more correct translation, according to my understanding of Satipatthana, is intense state of recollection. So this sati, first we have to be very clear what is sati. The definition of sati, fortunately, is given in about nine suttas in the Nikayas, and it's very consistent and it's always the same. And you can find this in the Sutta Samyutta Nikaya 48.10. That's on page 1672. Here it is a factor of Indriya faculties. Look at page 1672 in the middle. And what mounts is the faculty of Sati. Here amongst the noble disciple is recollected. Here it says mindful. Possessing supreme discretion. That's according to the Pali text society translation. Possessing supreme discrimination. One who remembers and recollects what was done and said long ago. So here you may argue about this translation about mindful or recollected. possessing supreme discrimination or possessing supreme mindfulness and discretion. But you cannot argue about the last part. The last part says, he remembers and recollects what was done and said long ago. So this word sati has a lot to do with remembering. Here it says, it's the quality of being able to Remember, because if you have sati, then you can remember what was done and said a long time ago. In fact, if you have perfect sati, like the Buddha, he can recall his past lives. His sati is so good that he can remember what he said and did a long time ago, or even in the past lives. So that has to do with sati. That is why later you will find this Arahant Anuruddha who has very powerful psychic power. His psychic power is so great that you can see 1000 world systems lying in the palm of his hand. And they asked him, what did you cultivate to attain such great psychic power? And he said satipatthana. So, Sati and Satipatthana have a lot to do with remembering. So, when we go to the Suttas, you will understand why Sati has to do with remembering. So, the main point about Sati is that it is a quality of remembering. Now, Satipatthana should be intense according to my translation. Intense state of recollection. So this Sakti, a good translation for it is recollection, remembering. And Patthana consists of two words, Lapa and Tana. If you look into my book, Mindfulness, Recollection and Concentration, it explains why I use this translation, intense state of recollection. So this definition of Sati is given in sutas like Angutra Nikaya 5.14, Panjima Nikaya 53, etc. Okay, let's go to the first suta. As we go to the sutas slowly. The pieces will fall together and you'll get a better understanding. 47.1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesali, in Amba Pali's Grove. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks? No, Busser, the monks replied. The Blessed One said, Monks, this is the one-way path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the passing away of pain and displeasure, for the achievement of the method, for the realization of Nibbana, that is, the Four Satipatthanas. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, this translation calls it a one-way path for the purification of beings. The Pali word is Ekayana Mago, and a good translation according to Bikunyanamoli is the path leading one way. That means a path, it's a one way road. Jalan sehala, it goes only one direction. So it only leads you to Nibbana, nowhere else. So that's the meaning of this paragraph that says the four Satipatthana leads you to the achievement of Nibbana. Dear monks, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful. having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. He dwells contemplating feelings in feelings ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful, having removed covetousness and displeasure in regard to the world. He dwells contemplating mind in mind, ardent, clearly comprehending, mindful or recollected, having removed covetousness and displeasure or grief in regard to the world. He dwells contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma, ardent, clearly comprehending, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Stop here for a moment. So here, You can see, what is this Satipatthana? Satipatthana is contemplating the body in the body, contemplating feelings in feelings, contemplating mind in mind, and contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma. In other words, Satipatthana, when you practice Satipatthana, you only contemplate four things. Four things, not any other thing. That's what has got to do with remembering. to remember to put your mindfulness only on four objects. Because if you don't remember, then your mind will start wandering out to the six sense doors. So instead of putting your mind wherever it likes to drift, you pull it back only to be mindful of all things. That's why the quality of remembering, to remember to put your mindfulness only on all things. So why does it say contemplating the body in the body? I think what it means is that your mindfulness is centered on the body, not among thoughts and all that. Sometimes if you are contemplating one thing, your mind can stray and at the same time you can contemplate other things. In which case you are contemplating one object among other objects. But if you contemplate One object, in that object only, your mind doesn't stray. It's fully focused on one thing only. This one also has to do with the Anapanasati Sutta. They talk about first having set up mindfulness in front of him. I'll come to explain that. It's a bit connected. So contemplating the body in the body means your full attention is placed in the body, not in thoughts and other things. Sometimes, for example, if we are practicing mindfulness of the breath, we can be contemplating on our breath. But if your mind is not strongly focused on the breath, it starts to wander. You're still aware of your breath in and out. But at the same time, you're thinking of your office work of your family, all these things. So that is not totally focused. So the idea here is the body in the body is totally focused on one and only one object. Here the obvious is really comprehending, mindful of these two words. In this translation, it always refers to two Pali words. Clearly comprehending means clearly aware. And that is the translation for Sampajanya. And this word mindful here, that's the translation for Sati, which we translate as recollected, because Sati is also recollection. you can say, mindful, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. This one I explained before, covetousness and grief in regard to the world. This arises when you crave for sensual objects like sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, thoughts. So when you crave for it, you have this covetousness, you want to covet it, you want to possess it. And then, if you cannot get it, then displeasure or grief arises. So on the one hand, there's one person who can get what he wants, he continues to want to possess something. On the other hand, if he cannot get it, then displeasure or grief arises. So in other words, this person, if he wants to practice his sati, he gives up the things connected with the world. He does not want to possess things in the world, so that no grief arises. So similarly, he dwells contemplating feelings and feelings, mind and mind, and dhamma and dhamma. Here, dhamma translates it as phenomena. But as we saw the other day, when we went through the chapter on the Bhojangas, It was stated how to practice the 7 Bojangas. First you draw near to an Aryan or Arahant if possible. And then you learn the Dhamma from him. Having learned the Dhamma from him, then you recollect the Dhamma. That is Sati. You recollect the Dhamma. And then after you recollect the Dhamma, you start investigating the Dhamma. It's the investigation of states. Although we have these four objects of sati here, of satipatthana, actually the dhamma, the teachings of the Buddha are the most important. Because, as I mentioned before, there are only five occasions when a person becomes enlightened, becomes an arahant, and four of them have to do with the dhamma. The first one is listening to the dhamma and becomes liberated. The second one is teaching the dhamma. The third one is repeating the dhamma. The fourth is reflecting on the dhamma. that only the last is during meditation. So the Buddha's Dhamma is extremely important. So here Dhamma should not be phenomenal, it should be the Buddha's Dhamma. This monk is the one way path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming sorrow and lamentation, for the passing away of pain and displeasure, for the achievement of the method, for the realization of Nibbana, that is the four Satipatthanas, four intense states of recollection. This is what the Blessed One said. Deleted, those monks delighted in the Blessed One's statement. That's the end of the sutta. Sutta I think is the first part of the Satipatthana Sutta. So this gives you a basic idea of the practice of Satipatthana. You only contemplate four things. The second Sutta, 47.2. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesali in Amba Pali's grove. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks, humble sir, the monks replied. The Blessed One said, Monks, a monk should dwell at Sati Sampajania. These two words, here we come across them again. Mindful and clearly comprehending is their translation. But I prefer recollected and clearly aware. Clearly aware also means mindful. This is our instruction to you. And how monks is a monk sato. Here sato, this is mindful. Sato comes from the word sati. You can say how is a monk recollected. Here monks, A monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly aware, recollected, having removed covetousness and displeasure in regard to the world. He dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, Dhamma in Dhamma. It is in this way that a monk is collected. And how monks does a monk exercise? This is sampajano, clear awareness or mindfulness. Here monks, a monk is one who acts with clear Awareness, when going forward and returning, when looking ahead and looking aside, when drawing in and extending the limbs, when wearing his robes and carrying his outer robe and bowl, when eating, drinking, chewing his food and tasting, when defecating and urinating, when walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up, speaking and keeping silent, is in such a way that among exercises, clear awareness or mindfulness. amongst you dwell recollected and clearly aware or mindful. This is our instruction to you. So here the meaning of these two words Sati Sampajanya is very clearly spelled out here. Sati means putting your attention to contemplate only four things. That's why it has a lot to do with remembering. You have to remember always to put your attention only on four things, not to allow it to stray to other things. Later we'll see why. And then Sampajanya is mindfulness. Whatever you do, like walking, standing, sitting, wearing your robes, eating, drinking, etc. you are clearly aware of whatever you are doing. So that is Sampajñānya. So this Sampajñānya is general mindfulness. So be very clear, it is not sati that is general mindfulness. It is Sampajñānya that is general mindfulness. Sati is remembering to put your attention only on four things. Why only put your attention on four things? Because these are the things that if you contemplate, it will help you to attain liberation. If you're mindful of your walking, sitting, and all that, it only helps you to be mindful. It doesn't help you become an ariya. But even though it does not help you to become an ariya, this sampajanya, mindfulness, helps you to keep your mind focused instead of running away. As long as you are aware of your body actions, your mind does not run away. I mentioned this before. Once our mind runs away, you forgot about your body already. For example, when you are sitting in meditation, the moment your mind starts running away, you forgot that you are here sitting in meditation. But the moment you remember I'm here sitting in meditation, the mind comes back to your body. That's why the Buddha always calls mindfulness of the body It's a path to the deathless mindfulness of the body. As long as you are mindful of your body, your mind does not run away, does not leak away. Because that leaking away is the Asava. Asava, the one that causes rebirth. Okay, the third sutta, 47.3. These suttas are quite important, so I'll be going through most of the suttas. 47.3. On one occasion, The Blessed One was dwelling at Savati, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Then a certain monk approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, it would be good if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief, so that, having heard the Dhamma from the Blessed One, I might dwell alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent and resolute. Stop here for a moment. Many of the Buddha's disciples, after becoming a monk, they have to stay with an Acharya, a teacher, for five years, basically to learn the suttas and the Vinaya. And after five years, the Buddha encouraged them to go off and stay alone in a cave or up in the forest somewhere. So this monk also wants to go off, so he asked the Buddha for some brief instructions. And the Buddha said, It is in just such a way that some foolish persons here make requests of me. But when the Dhamma has been spoken to them, they think only of following me around. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see this remark of the Buddha. He says, a lot of foolish people, they want to learn the Dhamma from the Buddha. After learning the Dhamma from the Buddha, they want to stick close to the Buddha. Now the disciples are like that. They like to stick close to the teacher. But good teachers like the Buddha, they want to be alone. They don't want to have a big crowd around them. They don't want to be a superstar. Nowadays we have a lot of superstar monks. So the Buddha doesn't want to be a superstar. He says, these fellows only think of following me around. Then the monk said, let the Blessed One teach me the Dhamma in brief. Let the fortunate one teach me the Dhamma in brief. Perhaps I may understand the meaning of the Blessed One's statement. Perhaps I may become an heir to the Blessed One's statement. And the Buddha said, Well then, monk, purify the very starting point of wholesome states. And what is the starting point of wholesome states? Virtue that is well purified and view that is straight. Then, monk, when your virtue is well purified and your view straight, Based upon virtue, established upon virtue, you should develop the four Satipatthanas in a threefold way. I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that actually later he will explain how to practice the four Satipatthanas in a threefold way. But the Buddha is telling this monk, basically before you practice Satipatthana, you have two foundations you have to establish. One is Sila. Sila, Aryan Sila. Aryan Sila is not so difficult. A lot of people think Aryan Sila, when the Buddha says an Arya has got perfect Sila, people think, wow, perfect Sila is very hard to keep. The monk already got 227 precepts, maybe that is perfect Sila. But it is not. In the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, three factors constitute Sila. Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood. Right Speech consists of 4 precepts. Right Action consists of 3 precepts. Right Livelihood means not harming others and that is covered by Right Speech and Right Action already. So actually, this Sila component in the Noble Eightfold Path, consisting of these three things, is actually seven precepts. Only seven precepts. If you can uphold seven precepts, you have the qualification to become an Arya. So it's not so difficult. So this is the Sila, the virtue that the Buddha is talking about. Aryan Sila. First you must have Aryan Sila. And then you must have Right View. View that is straight is Right View. Right View means basically understanding the Four Noble Truths. And if you listen to some of my talks, I've quoted the Majjhima Nikaya, 1943, where it is stated that to attain right view, you need to hear the voice of another person, basically the teaching of the Dhamma from somebody else. You cannot attain Right View on your own. And the second condition is Yoniso Manasikara, having careful attention or proper attention. Only these two conditions. If you listen to Dhamma with proper attention, you can attain Right View. Only this invention In Aguttha Nikaya 9.20, the Sotapanna has right view. So once you have attained right view, you have entered the stream. Once you enter the stream, it takes some time. In that same lifetime, you will become a Sotapanna. Stream-enterer, first path, will change to Sotapanna, the fruit, within the same lifetime. So what the Buddha is saying is that first you have to keep your sila, moral conduct, and then you learn the Dhamma until you understand the basic Four Noble Truths. And then only you practice Satipatthana. Then the Buddha says, what for? What for, Satipatthana? Here, monk, dwell contemplating the body in the body, internally, ardent, clearly comprehending, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Dwell contemplating the body in the body, externally, ardent, clearly comprehending or mindful, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Contemplating the body, the body internally and externally, clearly comprehending, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. So here the Buddha is saying that contemplation of body It can be done in three ways. One is contemplating the body internally, that means your own body. And then the second one is contemplating the body externally, external bodies, maybe your children's body or wife or husband or anybody. And then you are contemplating both internally and externally. the nature of the body. So that is body. And then in a similar way, we are contemplating feelings, mind, and dhamma, internally and externally, and both. When, monk, based upon virtue, established upon virtue, you develop these four intense states of recollection, thus in a threefold way, then whether night or day comes, you may expect only growth in wholesome states, not decline. Then that monk, having delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One's statement, rose from his seat, and after paying homage to the Blessed One, he departed, keeping him on his right. Then, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent and resolute, that monk, by realising it for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life, entered and dwelt in the unsurpassed goal of the holy life. For the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth, from the household life into homelessness, he directly knew, destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. And that monk became one of the Arahants. The important teaching in this Sutta is that before you practice meditation you must have good moral conduct and you must also possess right view. That means you must listen to the Dhamma and get right view first before anything else. That is why In the Majjhima Nikaya Sutta 117, it is mentioned that when you practice the Noble Eightfold Path, you must always start with Right View. After you get Right View, that will lead you to right thoughts and right thoughts will lead you to right speech, etc. So if a lot of people come into Buddhism and start practicing meditation without a good knowledge of the Buddha's teachings, sometimes they are practicing wrong methods that they don't know and they waste many years.

37SNSatipatthanaCh4720090827

The next sutra is Bhakti 7.4. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Kausalans at the Brahmin village of Sala. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Monks, those monks who are newly ordained, not long gone forth, recently come to this Dhamma Vinaya, should be exhorted, settled, and established by you in the development of the Four Satipatthanas. What for? Come, friends, dwell contemplating the body in the body, ardent, really comprehending, Unified with limpid mind, concentrated with one-pointed mind, in order to know the body as it really is. Similarly, dwell contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma. Hardened, clearly comprehending, unified with limpid mind, concentrated with one-pointed mind, in order to know the body, feelings, mind and dhamma as they really are. Stop here for a moment. It's quite important here. The Buddha says you have to contemplate the four Satipatthanas, one pointed mind, in order to know the four objects as they really are. The Buddha always says in the suttas that to see things as they really are, the condition is one-pointed mind, concentrated mind. That's why here it's stated that to know things as they really are, you need concentrated, one-pointed mind. Monks, those monks who are trainees, who have not attained the mind's ideal, who dwell aspiring for the unsurpassed security from bondage, they too dwell contemplating the body in the body, hardened, clearly comprehending, unified, with limpid mind, concentrated, with one-pointed mind, in order to fully understand the body as it really is. They too dwell contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, clearly comprehending, unified, with limpid mind, concentrated, with one-pointed mind, in order to fully understand the four objects as they really are. Monks, those monks who are arahants, whose asavas are destroyed, who have lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached their own goal, utterly destroyed the factors of existence, and are completely liberated through final knowledge. They too dwell contemplating the body in the body, feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, hardened, clearly comprehending, unified with limpid mind, concentrated with one-pointed mind, monks, those monks who are newly ordained, not long gone forth, recently come to this Dhamma Vinaya, should be exhorted, settled and established by you in the development of these four Satipatthanas. So the Buddha, his disciples, the monks, when they are ordained, first they have to learn this Vinaya, which will teach them to uphold the sila, and they have to learn the suttas. During the Buddha's days, they had no books, so they had to memorize the suttas. All of them had to memorize the suttas. So then at the same time, they are taught this meditation. So the important point in this sutta is that when you practice the four Satipatthana, the mind has got to be one-pointed, concentrated, in order to know the four objects of Satipatthana as they really are. In the Buddha's suttas, when he says concentration, he always refers to the jhanas. The four jhanas. First jhana, second jhana, third and fourth jhana. 47.5 at Sabbati. There the Blessed One said, monks, if one were to say of anything, the heap of the unwholesome, it is about the five hindrances that one could rightly say this, for this is a complete heap of the unwholesome, that is, the five hindrances. 5. The hindrance of sensual desire, the hindrance of ill-will, the hindrance of sloth and torpor, the hindrance of restlessness and remorse, the hindrance of doubt, if one were to say of anything, the heap of the unwholesome, It is about these five hindrances that one could rightly say this, for this is a complete heap of the unwholesome, that is, the five hindrances. If monks, one were to say of anything, a heap of the wholesome, it is about the force Satipatthana's intense states of recollection, that one could rightly say this, for this is the complete heap of the wholesome, that is, the four intense states of recollection. What for? Here monks, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Similarly, he dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, Dhamma in Dhamma, ardent, clearly comprehending, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. If one were to say of anything a heap of the wholesome, it is above these four intense states of recollection that one could rightly say this, for this is a complete heap of the wholesome, that is, the four intense states of recollection." That's the end of the Sutta. So here, the Sutta says, The four Satipatthanas are complete sheep of the wholesome and the five hindrances are completely unwholesome. So this is quite similar to the seven Bhojangas, seven factors of enlightenment suttas that we went through. where the Buddha said that the seven Bojangas are completely wholesome, whereas the five hindrances are completely unwholesome. So, it's a bit similar. Okay, the next sutra is also a very important sutra. It gives a very beautiful simile. 47.6. Monks, once in the past, a hawk suddenly swooped down and seized a quail. Then while the quail was being carried off by the hawk, he lamented, we were so unlucky, of so little merit, we strayed out of our own resort into the domain of others. If we had stayed in our own resort today, in our own ancestral domain, this hawk wouldn't have stood a chance against me in a fight. And then this hawk said, but what is your own resort quail? What is your own ancestral domain? And the quail said, the freshly ploughed field covered with clods of soil. Then the hawk, confident of her own strength, not boasting of her own strength, released the quail, saying, Go now, quail, but even there you won't escape me. Then monks, the quail went to a freshly ploughed field covered with clods of soil. Having climbed up on a large cloth, he stood there and addressed the hawk, Come get me now, hawk, come get me now, hawk. Then the hawk, confident of her own strength, not boasting of her own strength, folded up both her wings and suddenly scooped down on the quail. But when the quail knew that hawk has come close, he slipped inside that cloth, and the hawk shattered her breast right on the spot. So it is, monks, when one strays outside one's own resort, into the domain of others. Therefore, monks, do not stray outside your own resort, into the domain of others. Mara will gain access to those who stray outside their own resort, into the domain of others. Mara will get a hold on them. And what is not a man's own resort, but the domain of others? It is the five cause of sensual pleasure. What five? Forms cognizable by the eye, that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. Similarly, sounds, odours, tastes, touch. that are desirable, lovely, agreeable, pleasing, sensually enticing, tantalizing. These are the five courts of sensual pleasure. This is what is not a monk's own domain, but the domain of others. Move in your own resort, monks, in your own ancestral domain. Mara will not gain access to those who move in their own resort, in their own ancestral domain. Mara will not get a hold on them. And what is a monk's resort, his own ancestral domain? It is the four intense states of recollection. What for? Here, monks, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body. feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, clearly mindful, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. This is the monk's resort, his own ancestral domain." That's the end of the sutta. So from this sutta, The Buddha is saying that if we put our attention and we contemplate or pay attention of worldly objects like sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, we can get caught. We get caught by Mara, just like this quail. It ventured out of her own territory and got caught by the hawk. So, when she went back to her own territory, then the Orc would not get her, because she jumped into the hole underneath the cloth of earth. So, we are protected when we put our attention on these four things, because we are not going into Mara's domain. Mara's domain, in some other suttas, is mentioned. Mara's bait. Mara has six hooks, trying to hook us just like a fisherman. putting out pain. So Mara entices us with beautiful forms, with nice sounds, with nice pleasant odours, great taste and touch. So if we go and pay attention to these things that are enticing, exciting, then we get caught by Mara. That is why in the practice of Sati or Satipatthana, it's always important to remember to withdraw our attention from worldly objects to these four objects that are beneficial to us, like contemplating the body, feelings, the mind, and the Buddha's Dharma. The next sutta is also quite similar. It gives a simile, but it's another beautiful simile. 47.7. Monks, in the Himalayas, the king of mountains, there are rugged and uneven zones where neither monkeys nor human beings can go. There are rugged and uneven zones where monkeys can go, but not human beings. There are even and delightful regions where both monkeys and humans can go. There, along the monkey trails, hunters set out traps of pitch for catching monkeys. I'll stop here for a moment. These traps of pitch are supposed to be like bitumen. It's very gluey. If a monkey touches it, it gets glued and can't pull itself away. Those monkeys who are not foolish and frivolous, when they see the pitch, avoid it from afar. But a monkey who is foolish and frivolous approaches the pitch and seizes it with his hand. He gets caught there. You see what happens is this hunter, he brings a kind of a stick, almost like a branch like that, and then he puts his fruits and all that for the monkey, to attract the monkey. Sometimes they put coconut and all that. put bananas and all that. So many monkeys in the group, some are more experienced, they see this, they sense danger, they won't go near. But these young fellows, they are hungry and they are greedy, it's like a greedy pup. They will go near and they see the fruit, they cannot resist, saliva coming down already. So they go there and they grab, but this fruit probably is sticking to the pitch, So, once he grabs, the hand gets caught there. He gets caught there. Thinking, I will free my hand, he seizes it with his other hand. He gets caught there too. Thinking I will free both hands, he seizes it with his foot. He gets caught there. Thinking I will free both hands and my foot, he seizes it with his other foot. He gets caught there. Thinking I will free both hands and feet, he applies his muzzle or mouth to it. He gets caught there too. Thus, monks, that monkey, trapped at five points, lies there screeching. He has met with calamity and disaster, and the hunter can do with him as he wishes. The hunter spears him, fastens him to that same block of wood, and goes off where he wants. So it is, monks, when one strays outside one's own resort into the domain of others. Therefore, monks, do not stray outside your own resort into the domain of others. Mara will gain access to those who stray outside their own resort into the domain of others. Mara will get a hold on them. And what is not a monk's own resort, but the domain of others. It is the five cause of sensual pleasure, namely sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, which are enticing. This is what is not a monk's own resort, but the domain of others. Move in your own resort, monks, in your own ancestral domain. Mara will not gain access to those who move in their own resort, in their own ancestral domain. Mara will not get a hold on them. And what is a monk's resort? His own ancestral domain. It is the four intense states of recollection. What for? Here, monks, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body. Feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, clearly aware, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. This is a monk's resort, his own ancestral domain. So here is another beautiful simile. And here it says this monkey, this greedy monkey is caught at five points, the two hands, the two feet and the mouth. And these five points symbolizes the five areas where Mara can catch sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. So that's why it is dangerous to go out into the world. And when you want to enjoy worldly pleasures, you get caught. So you stay in Bihara. It's much safer. The next sutra is also a very, very good and important sutra, 47.8. Monks suppose a foolish, incompetent, unskillful cook were to present a king or a royal minister with various kinds of curries – sour, bitter, pungent, sweet, sharp, mild, salty, bland. That foolish, incompetent, unskillful cook does not pick up the sign of his own master's preference. For example, today this curry pleased my master, or he reached for this one, or he took a lot of this one, or he spoke in praise of this one, or the sour curry pleased my master today, or he reached out for the sour one, or he took a lot of the sour one, or he spoke in praise of the sour one. Similarly, of the bitter curry, or the pungent curry, or the sweet curry, or the sharp curry, or the mild curry, or the salty curry, or the bland curry pleased my master, or he spoke in praise of it, that foolish, incompetent, unskillful cook does not gain gifts of clothing, wages, and bonuses. For what reason? Because that foolish, incompetent, unskillful cook does not pick up the sign of his own master's preference. So too monks. Here some foolish, incompetent, unskillful monk dwells contemplating the body in the body. Ardent, clearly mindful, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. While he dwells contemplating the body in the body, his mind does not become concentrated. His corruptions are not abandoned. He does not pick up that sign. Similarly, he dwells feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma. While he dwells contemplating these four objects of Satipatthana, his mind does not become concentrated. His corruptions are not abandoned. He does not pick up that sign. That foolish, incompetent, unskillful monk does not gain pleasant dwellings in this very life, nor does he gain recollection and mindfulness. For what reason? Because monks, that foolish, incompetent, unskillful monk does not pick up the sign of his own mind. I finish the sutta first before we explain. Suppose monks, a wise, competent, skillful cook, were to present a king or a royal minister with various kinds of curries, sour, bitter, pungent, sweet, sharp, mild, salty, bland. That wise, competent, skillful cook picks up the sign of his own master's preference. For example, today this curry pleased my master, or he spoke in praise of that one. That wise, competent, skillful cook gains gifts of clothing, wages, and bonuses. For what reason? Because that wise, competent, skillful cook picks up the sign of his own master's preference. So two monks, here some wise, competent, skillful monk, dwells contemplating the body in the body, feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma. While he dwells contemplating, his mind becomes concentrated, his corruptions are abandoned. He picks up that sign. That wise, competent, skillful monk gains pleasant dwellings in this very life, and he gains recollection and clear awareness. For what reason? Because monks, that wise, competent, skillful monk picks up the sign of his own mind. It's an interesting sutra. The Buddha gives this simile about the cook who cooks for the king. And the foolish cook does not notice, does not pay attention to what the master likes to eat. So because he does not pay attention, he does not serve the master with exactly the type of food that the master likes. So the master is not happy with him, so he does not get bonus and all that. Whereas the wise cook, he will notice exactly what the master prefers, and cooks exactly what the master prefers. Then he gets the bonus and all that. So the Buddha says, in the same way, a monk, when he practices the four satipatthanas, his mind does not become concentrated. His corruptions are not abandoned. Corruption refers to his five hindrances. kilesas, five hindrances are not abandoned. And then, this monk, he does not notice, does not pay attention, why the mind does not become concentrated. So because of that, this foolish monk, this unskillful monk, does not gain pleasant dwellings in this very life. Pleasant dwellings means, normally in the suttas, it means if a monk attains the jhanas, then he is usually dwelling very happily, blissed out every day. nor does he gain Sati Sampajanya. So, in other words, if one practices Satipatthana and the mind does not become concentrated and attain the Jhanas, that means he is not skillful, that monk is not skillful, and he does not attain Sati Sampajanya. That means he is not really practicing Sati Sampajanya. He only thinks that he is practicing Sati Sampajanya. And then on the other hand, the skillful monk, he practices in the right way, and the mind becomes concentrated. His five hindrances are abandoned, and he pays attention to that sign. What is that sign? The sign is what are the things the mind prefers, just like the master has a certain preference or certain taste. So similarly, when we meditate, we have to see the conditions that make our mind calm down. In other words, you have to notice your object of meditation that is suitable for you. Some people, they meditate certain objects, they just cannot calm down. For example, a lot of people in practice Anapanasati, their mind cannot calm down because it's a very fine object to find whereas if you do simple chanting chanting then the mind can stay with the chanting that's why the first meditation the buddha thought is actually chanting chanting on the 32 parts of the body So here it says that the skillful monk, his mind becomes concentrated and the five hindrances are abandoned. So, and he gains sati sampajanya. That means he attains sati sampajanya, recollection and mindfulness. And why? Because he notices the sign of his own mind. He notices the preference of the mind. So it is not only has to do with the object of meditation. You have to see other conditions. Maybe a certain place is too noisy. You go and practice in a meditation center that's in the heart of town next to a market and all that with a lot of noise. How can your mind calm down? The vibes are also no good. You go to a quiet place like VBG. And the vibrations are good. And the air is very clear. The water is from the hills. And the conditions are good, right? Then your mind can more easily calm down. So the environment is another thing. Object of meditation is another thing. And then the time of your meditation also. If you come back from office and your mind is all disturbed, you try to meditate, that's not a good time. A very good time I suggest to people is early in the morning, just after you wake up. Just after you wake up, your body is not so tired. Although your mind is still sleepy. So that is a good time to meditate early in the morning. So in this practice of the four satipaṭṭhāna, we have to be very observant like the cook. The cook has to notice what the master likes. So in the same way, we have to notice what our mind likes, what our mind inclines to. So you have to notice all these conditions. And one day, if you have a good meditation, you have to ask yourself, why? Why today the meditation is so good? Then you start considering Maybe because today I didn't flare up, didn't lose my temper. So all these things you have to... These are very practical instructions that we can use. That's why a lot of people don't understand. They think that the suttas are just dry stuff. There's theory on it. There's a lot of practical instructions in the suttas. If only you take the trouble to go and see. You can't get these instructions from any meditation teacher, because the best meditation teacher is our Buddha. All his instructions are very clear here already. Why you go and look for some present-day monks? They can never come near the Buddha's standard. So for the suttas, we finish for tonight. Anything to discuss? Master, you said you mentioned about mindfulness of the body. This Buddha's disciples, if they want to practice for liberation, they have to try to maintain their mindfulness 24 hours a day. So even though they lie down to rest, to sleep, Actually, they try not to sleep. They try to maintain their mindfulness. So for example, like the first meditation, the Buddha taught 32 parts of the body. So the monk chants head, hair, body, hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, the new bone, bone, marrow, kidney, heart, etc. So even when he lies down, he will still continue that chant. That's why the chanting is very useful in that even when you go and rest, you still practice it. So that's why the Buddha's disciples, they practice to the extent that, up to the extent when the mindfulness is maintained like 24 hours a day. That's why all arahants have mindfulness 24 hours a day. So nowadays, some meditation masters, they don't understand. Either they don't understand or because they themselves cannot practice to that stage. They say you can sleep. When you fall asleep, be mindful just before you fall asleep. You can be mindful before you fall asleep, but after you fall asleep, you are no more mindful. Ok, I'm going to sleep now. I'm going to sleep. Where are you from, Yuta? We haven't come to it. Okay, okay. Yeah. Feelings. What page is that? 1 7 6 5. 1 7 6 5. Ok. Where is the path? Ok. So which line are you talking about? This whole body is the breath body. So when the breath goes in, goes out, that is experiencing the whole body, the breath body. This one, when the Rapture is Piti. When Piti arises, he knows that Piti arises. So he still breathes in, breathes out. He still knows. This is in the first jhana. When he attains the first jhana, he is still aware of his breath. So he's just aware of it. At the same time, he's aware of his breath. At the same time, he's aware of the pity, the delight that arises. He's aware of the happiness that arises. When we talk about the deep contemplation of the living heart, can you talk about what are the main motives of the deep contemplation of the living heart? Some of these contemplations, like 32 parts of the body, it's more for monastics, monks and nuns. Because some lay people, they practice already after they are no more interested in their wife or their husband. How did you start? they can meditate at the same time you encourage them to study the suttas the two can go hand in hand because for lay people you can't spend a lot of time in this spiritual pursuit so if you can like early in the morning when you get up do some meditation And when you come back from office, you study the suttas because your mind is tired, your body is tired, not suitable for meditation. And in the free time you have before you go to sleep, study the suttas or listen to the suttas. So the two can go hand in hand. Okay, shall we end tonight?

38SNSatipatthanaCh4720090828

Today is the 28th of August and we are on this chapter 47 of the Samyutta Nikaya, Satipatthana Samyutta. So now we come to Sutta 47.9. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesavi in Beluva, Gamaka. There the Blessed One addressed amongst us. Come monks, enter upon the reins wherever you have friends, acquaintances and intimates in the vicinity of Esali. I myself will enter upon the reins right here in Beluva Gamaka. Yes, humble sir, those monks replied. And they entered upon the reins wherever they had friends, acquaintances and intimates in the vicinity of Esali, while the Blessed One entered upon the reins right there in Beluva Gamaka. For this topic to mention, the entering upon the rains means to reside in one place for three months and not to go anywhere unless it's important. And even if it's important, a monk can only leave it for not more than six nights during the rain season. India. And when the Blessed One had entered upon the rains, a severe illness arose in him, and terrible pains bordering on death assailed him. But the Blessed One endured them, collected and mindful, without becoming distressed. Then the thought occurred to the Blessed One, it is not proper for me to attain final Nibbana without having addressed my attendance and taken leave of the Bhikkhu Sangha. Let me then suppress this illness by means of energy and live on, having resolved upon the life-conditioner. Then the Blessed One suppressed that illness by means of energy and lived on, having resolved upon the life-conditioner. Stop here for a moment now. This Life Conditioner is Jivita Sankara. Jivita is Life, Sankara is Conditioner. So Life Conditioner probably is the vital energy. In Chinese we say Qi. So we use energy, mental energy to probably to get the Qi going. The Blessed One then recovered from that illness. Soon after He had recovered, He came out from His dwelling and sat down in the seat that had been prepared in the shade behind the dwelling. The Venerable Ananda then approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, It's splendid, Venerable Sir, that the Blessed One is bearing up. Splendid that He has recovered. But, Venerable Sir, when the Blessed One was ill, my body seemed as if it were drunk. I had become disoriented. The teachings were not clear to me. Nevertheless, I had this much consolation that the Blessed One would not attain final Nibbana without having made some pronouncement concerning the Bhikkhu Sangha. And the Buddha said, What does the Bhikkhu Sangha now expect from me, Ananda? I have taught the Dhamma, Ananda, without making a distinction between inside and outside. The Tathagata has no close fish of a teacher in regard to the teachings. If, Ananda, anyone thinks I will take charge of the Bhikkhu Sangha, or the Bhikkhu Sangha is under my direction, it is he who should make some pronouncement concerning the Bhikkhu Sangha. But Ananda, it does not occur to the Tathagata. I will take charge of the Bhikkhu Sangha. All the Bhikkhu Sangha is under my direction. So why should the Tathagata make some pronouncement concerning the Bhikkhu Sangha? Now I am old and under, aged, burdened with years. Advanced in life, come to the last stage. My age is now turning 80. This as an old card keeps going by a combination of straps. So it seems the body of the Tathagata keeps going by a combination of straps. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, I have taught the Dhamma without making a distinction between inside and outside. Maybe it means, like we Chinese, we say, lai ka gwa, lai sun gwa sun, loi sin ngoi sin. So like there's no special inside clique of disciples and outside disciples. They treat them all the same. And here, see, the Buddha says, the Tathagata has no close fist of a teacher. In other words, he does not keep back anything. This contradicts the Mahayana because the founder of the Mahayana Buddhism is Longshu Pusa Nagarjuna. He came up with a lot of new sutras. So in his biography, he was asked, how come previously there were no such sutras? Now you say that all these are the words of the Buddha. So he said the Buddha hid all these books in the Dragon Palace in the ocean. And he went to the Dragon Palace and took out all these secret teachings, Mahayana teachings. He said they were too high for the Buddha's disciples. It's a bit ridiculous. that present-day people can understand the Mahayana, that Buddha's disciples can understand the Mahayana. So, the Buddha here says he has no close fish of a teacher, so he never hid any of his teachings. Furthermore, during the Buddha's time, there were no books, so how could he have hidden the books in the ocean? Whenever Ananda, by non-attention to all signs and by the cessation of certain feelings, the Tathagata enters and dwells in the signless concentration of mind. On that occasion, Ananda, the body of the Tathagata is more comfortable. Therefore, Ananda, dwell with yourselves as your own island, with yourselves as your own refuge, with no other refuge. Dwell with the Dhamma as your island, with the Dhamma as your refuge, with no other refuge. Stop here for a moment. So the Buddha says that when he, the body gives him a lot of pain, then he enters into this Samadhi where feelings cease and dwells in the signless concentration of mind. It's a very high Samadhi, a very high state of meditation. So here the Buddha says, dwell with yourself as your own island. But I think the Pali text society is, therefore Ananda, be a lamp unto yourselves, be a refuge unto yourselves with no other refuge. Take the Dhamma as your lamp, take the Dhamma as your refuge with no other refuge. And how, Ananda, does a monk dwell? With himself as his own island, with himself as his own refuge, with no other refuge. With the Dhamma as his island, with the Dhamma as his refuge, with no other refuge. Here, Ananda, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, hardened. recollected, mindful, having removed consciousness and grief in regard to the world. He dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind. Dhamma in Dhamma hardened, recollected, mindful, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Those monks ananda, either now or after I am gone, who dwell with themselves as their own island, with themselves as their own refuge, with no other refuge, with the Dhamma as their island, with the Dhamma as their refuge, with no other refuge, it is these monks ananda who will be for me taught most of those keen on the training at the end of the Sutta. So you see, the Buddha was almost going to pass away, but he resolved to live on. Then he continued to live on. In some other Sutta, the Buddha also said that if we also experience that state where we feel that life is coming to an end, if possible, we should cling to life. Because the Buddha says this human body is hard to come by. And this human body, only in this human body we can really practice the Dhamma. If you are in heaven, you don't want to practice because you want to enjoy. You don't see any dukkha. And if you are in the woeful plains, even if you want to practice, you cannot practice. So it's only in this human life. So the Buddha says we should cling on to life and make the best use of our time. A lot of us, we tend to waste our time. We think that either we think we have a lot of time or most likely a lot of people never think. whether they have time or no time. They're so busy, caught up with all the worldly affairs, trying to enjoy, that they never give it a thought. It's like some people, they're not interested in religion, they say they're free thinkers. They're not really free thinkers, they are non-thinkers. So, people, we waste our time. If we only know how many years we have left, we won't really waste our time. So the Buddha says that we should be a lamp unto ourselves, be a refuge unto ourselves with no other refuge. And we should take the Dhamma as our lamp, the Dhamma as our refuge and no other refuge. Otherwise we should depend on our own efforts and on the Buddha's teachings. I always say that the Buddha's teachings is complete and perfect. There's no need to look for any other teacher. Everything that you want to know about the holy path, it's all in the four Nikayas, plus the six books of the Kudaka Nikaya. Only thing is, if you're not sure on some of the explanation, you can look for Kalyanamita, a spiritual friend, a spiritual guide to guide you. But the main teacher is the Buddha's words in the Nikayas. in Exhuta 47.10. Then in the morning, the Venerable Ananda dressed, and taking bowl and robe, he approached the bhikkhuni's quarters, the nuns' quarters, and sat down in the appointed seat. Then a number of bhikkhunis, or nuns, approached the Venerable Ananda, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said, Here, Venerable Ananda, a number of nuns, dwelling with their minds well established, In the four intense stages of recollection, perceive successively loftier stages of distinction. In other words, they have made great progress in the holy path. Venerable Ananda said, So it is, sisters, so it is. It may be expected of anyone, sisters, whether monk or nun, who dwells with a mind well established in the four intense states of recollection, that such a one would perceive successively loftier stages of distinction. Then the Venerable Ananda instructed, exhorted, inspired and gladdened those nuns with the Dharma talk, after which he rose from his seat and left. Stop here for a moment. In the monks' Vinaya and the nuns' Vinaya, every two weeks on the Uposatha day, the monks have to recite the precepts, the Patimokkha, and then the nuns have to get a Dhamma instruction from a senior monk. preferably one with at least 20 years as a monk. So here, that's why the Venerable Ananda must have gone to the nun's quarters with another monk. So after giving the Dhamma teaching, he left. Then the Venerable Ananda walked for alms in Savarthi. When he had returned from the alms round, after his meal, he approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, and reported all that had happened. The Blessed One said, So it is, Ananda, so it is. It may be expected of anyone, Ananda, whether monk or nun, who dwells with a mind well established in the four intense states of recollection, that such a one will perceive successively loftier stages of distinction. 4. Peer Ananda, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly aware, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. While he is contemplating the body in the body, there arises in him, based on the body, either a fever in the body, or sluggishness of mind, or the mind is distracted outwardly. That monk should then direct his mind towards some inspiring sign. When he directs his mind towards some inspiring sign, gladness is born. When he is gladdened, Delight, pity is born. When the mind is uplifted by delight, the body becomes tranquil. One tranquil in body experiences happiness. The mind of one who is happy becomes concentrated. He reflects thus, the purpose for the sake of which I directed my mind has been achieved. Let me now withdraw it. Stop it for a moment. It's quite a mouthful to digest. So the Buddha here is trying to explain the four intense states of recollection, the four Satipatthanas. The Buddha says a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body. And when he is contemplating the body in the body, that means his attention is all on the body. It is not among other thoughts or any other thing. The body only in the body. focus on the body. There arises in him either a fever in the body. This fever is a disturbance and uncomfortableness in the body. There is a fever in the body. Or sluggishness of mind, sloth and torpor. Or the mind is distracted outwardly, going out towards the senses. Then that monk should direct his mind towards some inspiring sign. This inspiring sign is something that the mind likes. Just like yesterday we talked about the cook. He has to notice what his master likes to eat. So he should serve his master what kind of food the master likes to eat. So in the same way, we have to see what the mind likes. So here we direct the mind to some object of meditation that the mind finds inspiration in, that the mind likes. So if you choose a meditation object that the mind is inclined towards, then gladness is born. And following gladness, you have piti, delight. Then after delight, the body becomes tranquil. And then the body experiences happiness. And then when the body has piti, delight, and sukha, happiness, the mind becomes concentrated. Here when it says the mind becomes concentrated, that means it has attained the first jhana. The first jhana is accompanied by this piti and sukha. Then he reflects, the purpose for the sake of which I directed my mind has been achieved. What is this purpose? The purpose of his meditation for practicing the Satipatthana is to attain the jhanas. That is clear in the earlier suttas we read. So since he practiced Satipatthana to attain the jhanas, so now he knows the purpose for the sake of which I directed my mind has been achieved. the first jhana has been achieved. So he said, now he thinks, let me now withdraw it. So he withdraws the mind and does not think or examine his vittaka and vichara. He does not have his thought directed and sustained. He understands without thought directed and sustained, internally mindful, I am happy here. So just now in the first jhana, the first jhana has five factors. vittaka, vichara, which is thought directed and sustained, and then piti, delight, sukha, happiness, and ekagata, one-pointedness of mind. So now, having attained the first jhana, he is happy, he has achieved the purpose of his practice of satipatthana, which is to attain the first jhana. So having attained the first jhana, now he withdraws his vittaka and vichara, He has all these five factors. When the five factors are strong, then he withdraws this vittaka and vichara. How to withdraw? Instead of putting the attention on the breath, he puts the attention on piti and sukha, because the piti and sukha become stronger. then he can change his object from the breath, he changes to this happy and delightful feeling, perception. So when he does that, he does not pay attention to the breath anymore, then he attains the second jhana. So without thought directed and sustained, internally mindful, I'm happy. So he has attained the second jhana. Again, a monk dwells contemplating feelings in feelings in the same way. Mind in mind, Dhamma in Dhamma, hardened, recollected, mindful, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. While he is contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma, there arises in him, based on Dhamma, either a fever in the body or sluggishness of the mind, or the mind is distracted outwardly. The monk should now direct his mind towards some inspiring sign. When he directs his mind towards some inspiring sign, gladness is born, and after gladness, rapture, after rapture, tranquility, and after that, happiness, etc. He understands, without thought directed and sustained, internally mindful, I am happy. It is in such a way, Ananda, that there is development by direction. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha calls this development by direction. Development normally is bhavana. Bhavana is actually development of mind. But development of mind, bhavana, has become synonymous with meditation. So here the Buddha says there is bhavana with direction. He directs his mind first to vittaka, vichara. direction of mind to his object of meditation and after that he withdraws from there and directs it to that piti and sukha. And how Ananda is there development without direction? not directing his mind outwardly. A monk understands, my mind is not directed outwardly. Then he understands, it is unconstricted after and before, liberated, undirected. Then he further understands, I dwell contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly aware, recollected, I am happy. not directing his mind outwardly. A monk understands when mind is not directed outwardly, then he understands it is unconstricted, after and before, liberated, undirected. Then he further understands, I dwell contemplating feelings in feelings, ardent, clearly aware, recollected, I am happy. Similarly, for the other factors, that is mind in mind and dhamma in dhamma, It is in this way, Ananda, that there is development without direction. So here, the Buddha says, instead of directing the mind to an outside object of meditation, he does not direct it outwardly. In other words, it is directed inwardly. Then, it probably means he attains the third jhāna. Then it is stated here, it is unconstricted after and before. Unconstricted, the meaning is it is without sloth and torpor. This you can find on page 1737. There's an explanation in another sutta about this unconstricted. And after and before, it's probably before he started to meditate and after he started to meditate. That means all the time. So that is development without direction. Thus, Ananda, I have taught development by direction. I have taught development without direction. Whatever should be done, Ananda, by a compassionate teacher, out of compassion for his disciples, desiring their welfare, that I have done for you. There are the feet of trees, Ananda. These are empty hearts. Meditate Ananda. Do not be negligent, lest you regret it later. This is our instruction to you. This is what the Blessed One said. Elated, the verbal Ananda. Delighted in the Blessed One's state. This word meditate, do not be negligent. This word meditate is also, you can say, cultivate jhana. Cultivate jhana Ananda. Because in the Buddha's discourses, meditation is cultivating jhāna. It's the only type of meditation the Buddha prays. First, second, third and fourth jhāna. The next sutta is 47.12. It's also quite an interesting sutta. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Nalanda, in Pavarika's mango grove. Then the Venerable Sariputta approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, I have such confidence in the Blessed One that I believe there has not been, nor ever will be, nor exists at present another ascetic or brahmana more knowledgeable than the Blessed One with respect to Enlightenment." And the Buddha said, Lofty indeed is this bellowing utterance of yours, Sariputta. You have brought a definitive categorical lion's roar. Rambo Sir, I have such confidence in the Blessed One that I believe there has not been, nor ever will be, nor exists at present another ascetic or brahmana more knowledgeable than the Blessed One. With respect to enlightenment, Have you now, Sariputta, encompassed with your mind the minds of all the arahants, samasambuddhas, arisen in the past and known thus? These blessed ones were of such virtue, of such qualities, or of such wisdom, or of such dwellings, or of such liberation. And he said, No, Venerable Sir. Then Sariputta, have you encompassed with your mind the minds of all the Arahants, Sammasambuddhas, who will arise in the future, and known thus, those blessed ones will be of such virtue, of such qualities, of such wisdom, or of such dwellings, or of such liberation. No, Venerable Sir. 10. Sariputta, have you encompassed with your mind my own mind, I being at present the Arahant Samasambuddha, and known thus, the Blessed One is of such virtue, or of such qualities, or of such wisdom, or of such dwellings, or of such liberation? No, Venerable Sir. Sariputta, when you do not have any knowledge encompassing the minds of the arahants, samasambuddhas, of the past, future, and present, why do you utter this lofty, bellowing utterance, and roar these definitive, categorical lines raw? Rebel Sir, I have such confidence in the Blessed One that I believe there has not been, nor ever will be, nor exists at present another ascetic or brahmana more knowledgeable than the Blessed One with respect to enlightenment." Venerable Sariputta said, I do not have, Venerable Sir, any knowledge encompassing the minds of the Arahants, Sammasambuddhas of the past, the future and the present. But still, I have understood this by inference from the Dhamma. Suppose, Venerable Sir, A king had a frontier city with strong ramparts, walls and arches, and with a single gate. The gatekeeper posted there would be wise, competent and intelligent, one who keeps out strangers and admits acquaintances. While he is walking along the path that encircles the city, he would not see a cleft or an opening in the wall. even big enough for a cat to slip through. He might think, whatever large creatures enter or leave this city, all enter and leave through this one gate. So too, Venerable Sir, I have understood this by inference from the Dhamma. Whatever arahants, samasambuddhas arose in the past, all those blessed ones had first abandoned the five hindrances, corruptions of the mind, and weakness of wisdom. Then, with the minds well established in the four intensities of recollection, they had developed correctly the seven factors of enlightenment, bhojangas, and thereby they had awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. And, Venerable Sir, whatever arahants, sammasambuddhas, will arise in the future, all those blessed ones will first abandon the five hindrances, corruptions of the mind, and weakness of wisdom, and then, with the minds well established in the four intense states of recollection, they will develop correctly the seven factors of enlightenment, and thereby they will awaken to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. And, Venerable Sir, The Blessed One, who is at present the Arahant, Sammasambuddha, first abandoned the five hindrances, corruptions of the mind, and weakness of wisdom, and then, with His mind well established in the four intense states of recollection, He developed correctly the seven factors of enlightenment, and thereby He has awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. And the Buddha said, Good, good, Sariputta. Therefore, Sariputta, you should repeat this Dhamma exposition frequently to the monks and the nuns, to the male lay followers and the female lay followers. Even though some foolish people may have perplexity or uncertainty regarding the Tathagata, and they hear this Dhamma exposition, their perplexity or uncertainty regarding the Tathagata will be abandoned. So we know that the Venerable Sariputta, even though he does not have psychic power, he is the disciple of the Buddha with the highest wisdom. So when he says that the Buddha is the best, Sammasambuddha, there is or ever will be, you can believe that our Buddha is one of the most perfect Buddhas. That's why you see his nickname is Angirasa, kinsman of the sun. His brightness surpasses the sun. And we know from the suttas that sometimes whenever these Brahmas in the heavens with wrong view, the Buddha will fly there. There's one sutta where he said, in the air above the Brahma and emitted light so bright. You know these Brahmas, their brightness also is first class because these Brahmas, their brightness can reach the minimum I think is 1000 worlds. Their brightness can reach 1000 worlds. And some of them can reach a hundred thousand worlds. And yet the Buddha goes there, his lightness surpasses all of them. So his disciples also, following his footsteps also, their psychic power is so great that when the Buddha was sitting in the air, emitting this bright light, four of them all flew, surrounded him, and also emitted light. So that's why you see, since our Buddha is one of the most perfect, so the teachings that he has left behind for us is also one of the most perfect. The Buddha says in the Vinaya books, somebody asked him, are all the Buddhas the same? He says no. Why? Because there are some Buddhas teach very little Dhamma and very little Vinaya. And some Buddhas teach a lot of Dhamma, a lot of Vinaya. So the Buddha says, those that teach little Dhamma and little Vinaya, the Sāsana, the Buddhist religion, will not last long. But those that teach a lot of Dhamma, a lot of Suttas, and a lot of Vinaya, monastic discipline, Sāsana, the Buddhist religion, will last a long time. And he also says in the Vinaya books that after the Buddha entered Nibbāna, he depends on his monk disciples to keep the Dhamma wheel turning. So, you want to keep the Dharma wheel turning, the Buddha says that we should teach the Buddha's suttas or any other books. Nowadays, some monks want to teach Abhidharma, want to teach Abhisuddhi Marga, all these without concentrating on the suttas. The suttas are our primary source of the Buddha's words. All the rest are secondary, not so important. So, it's very important, as the Buddha mentioned in all of the suttas, I think 20.7 of Samyutta Nikaya, that we should master the suttas and continue to teach the suttas. Then the Buddha's Dhamma wheel will keep rolling.

39SNSatipatthanaCh4720090828

Okay, the next sutra, 47.13. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Nathapindika's Park. Now on that occasion, the Venerable Sariputta was dwelling among the Magadans and Nalakagama, sick, afflicted, gravely ill, and the novice Chunda was his attendant. Then because of that illness, the Venerable Sariputta attained final Nibbana. Stop here for a moment. It seems that this place where Venerable Sariputta passed away was his hometown. So he went back there and he died there. And this novice Chunda is not really a novice. He's a more junior monk. He's supposed to be Venerable Sariputta's younger brother, one of his younger brothers. The novice Chunda, taking the Venerable Sariputta's bowl and robe, went to Sabati, to Jeta's grove, Anathapindika's park. There he approached the Venerable Ananda, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said, Venerable Sir, the Venerable Sariputta has attained final Nibbana. This is bowl and robe. Friend Chunda, you should see the Blessed One about this piece of news. Come, friend Chunda, let us go to the Blessed One, and report this matter to Him. Yes, Venerable Sir," the novice jhunda replied. Then the Venerable Ananda and the novice jhunda approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him and sat down to one side. The Venerable Ananda then said to the Blessed One, This novice Cunda, Venerable Sir, says that the Venerable Sariputta has attained final Nibbana and this is his bowl and robe. Venerable Sir, since I heard that the Venerable Sariputta has attained final Nibbana, my body seems as if it has been dropped. I have become disoriented. The teachings are no longer clear to me. And the Buddha said, why Ananda, when Sariputta attained final Nibbana, did he take away your aggregate of virtue, or your aggregate of concentration, or your aggregate of wisdom, or your aggregate of liberation, or your aggregate of the knowledge and vision of liberation? Stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha is asking Ananda, Whether Venerable Sariputta, when he passed away, did he take away your virtue, or your concentration, or your wisdom, or your liberation, or your knowledge and vision of liberation? These last two seem a bit out of place here, because at that time, Venerable Ananda had not become liberated. So, possibly, it refers to his partial liberation, because he's also an Arya. dispassionate liberation, and also dispassionate knowledge and vision of liberation. There's another sutta in Sankhyuta Nikaya, 55.26, where also another monk, who is also a Sutta Panna, also was said to have this liberation. Venerable Ananda said, No, he did not, Venerable Sir. But for me, the Venerable Sariputta was an advisor and counselor, one who instructed, exhorted, inspired, and gladdened me. He was unwavering in teaching the Dhamma. He was helpful to his brothers in the holy life. We recollect the nourishment of Dhamma, the wealth of Dhamma, the help of Dhamma given by the Venerable Sariputta. Stop here for a moment. So you see, Venerable Ananda praised Venerable Sariputta as being unwearing, not tired of teaching the Dhamma, helping all his brother monks. He says, we recollect the nourishment of Dhamma, the wealth of Dhamma, the help of Dhamma. So to the monks, the Buddha's disciples, the Dhamma is so important. That's why they keep teaching the Dhamma. Then Buddha said, But have I not already declared, Ananda, that we must be parted, separated, and severed from all who are dear and agreeable to us? How, Ananda, is it to be obtained here? May what is born come to be conditioned and subject to disintegration, not disintegrate. That is impossible. This is just as if the largest branch could break off a great tree standing possessed of hardwood. So too Ananda. In the great Bhikkhu Sangha standing possessed of hardwood, Sariputta has attained final Nibbana. How Ananda is it to be obtained here? May what is born come to be conditioned and subject to disintegration, not disintegrate. That is impossible. Therefore, Ananda, dwell with yourselves as your own island. or be a lamp unto yourselves, be a refuge unto yourselves with no other refuge. Take the Dhamma as your lamp, take the Dhamma as your refuge with no other refuge. Those monks ananda either now or after I am gone who dwell with themselves as their own who are a lamb unto themselves, who are a refuge unto themselves, with no other refuge, who dwell with the Dhamma as their lamb, with the Dhamma as their refuge, with no other refuge. It is these monks, Ananda, who will be, for me, topmost of those keen on the training." That's the end of the sutta. So you see, the Buddha always stressed that we should be a lamb unto ourselves, a refuge unto ourselves, with no other That means don't rely on any other person. Rely on your own efforts. And then rely on the Dhamma to guide you. So relying on the Dhamma is your guide. You put in all the effort. Remember the sutra we read about the hen? Hatching the eggs. If the eggs are not hatched, it only means she did not sit enough. Similarly, when we practice, if we don't get results, that means we didn't put in enough effort. We didn't sit enough, like the hand. So we have to sit until our bottoms are warm, then we get results with the hand. So the Buddha says here, the last part, that those monks who rely on themselves only and rely on the Dhamma, those are the topmost as far as the Buddha is concerned. 47.14 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Vajjians at Ukha Chela on the bank of the river Ganges, together with the great Bhikkhu Sangha, not long after Sariputta and Moggallana had attained final Nibbana. On that occasion, the Blessed One was sitting in the open air, in the midst of the Bhikkhu Sangha. Then the Blessed One, having surveyed the silent Bhikkhu Sangha, addressed the monks thus, Monks, this assembly appears to me empty now that Sariputta and Moggallana have attained final Nibbana. This assembly was not empty for me earlier, and I had no concern for whatever quarter Sariputta and Moggallana were dwelling in. The Arahants, Sammasambuddhas who arose in the past, also had just such a supreme pair of disciples as I had in Sariputta and Moggallana. The arahants, samasambuddhas, who will arise in the future, will also have just such a supreme pair of disciples as I had in Sariputta and Moggallana. These wonderful monks on the part of the disciples, it is amazing on the part of the disciples that they will act in accordance with the teacher's instructions and comply with his admonitions, that they will be dear and agreeable to the Four Assemblies, that they will be revered and esteemed by them. It is wonderful, monks, on the part of the Tathagata. It is amazing on the part of the Tathagata that when such a pair of disciples has attained final nibbana, there is no sorrow or lamentation in the Tathagata. How, monks, is it to be obtained here? May what is born come to be conditioned and subject to disintegration, not disintegrate. That is impossible. It is just as if the largest branches would break off a great tree standing possessed of hardwood. So too, monks, in the great Bhikkhu Sangha standing possessed of hardwood, Sariputta and Moggallana have attained final Nibbana. How, monks, is it to be obtained here? May what is born come to be conditioned and subject to disintegration, not disintegrate. That is impossible. Therefore, monks, be a lamp unto yourselves, be a refuge unto yourselves, with no other refuge. Take the Dhamma as your lamp, take the Dhamma as your refuge, with no other refuge. Those monks, either now or after I am gone, who are a lamp unto themselves, are a refuge unto themselves, with no other refuge. With the Dhamma as their lamp, with the Dhamma as their refuge, with no other refuge. It is these monks who will be for me, topmost of those keen on the training. So in this sutta, we find after the two top disciples have entered Nibbana, the Buddha, Even though he has so many monks left, he feels that the Bhikkhu Sangha is empty for him. The next sutta is 47.19, page 1648. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sumbas, where there was a town of the Sumbas named Sedaka. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Monks, once in the past, an acrobat set up his bamboo pole and addressed his apprentice, Medaka Talika thus, Come, dear Medaka Talika, climb the bamboo pole and stand on my shoulders. I'll stop here for a moment. This is like Penang, the Chinggye procession. They put the bamboo on the shoulder. Then somebody has to climb up on that man and climb up the bamboo pole. Having replied, Yes, Teacher, the apprentice Medaka Talika climbed up the bamboo pole and stood on the teacher's shoulders. The acrobat then said to the apprentice Medaka Talika, You protect me, dear Medaka Talika, and I will protect you. Thus guarded by one another, protected by one another, we will display our skills, collect our fee, and get down safely from the bamboo pole. So the teacher is telling his disciple, you look after me and I will look after you. You put on a good show. And this was said, the apprentice Medaka Thalika replied, that's not the way to do it, teacher. You protect yourself, teacher, and I'll protect myself. Thus, each self-guarded and self-protected will display our skills, collect our fee, and get down safely from the bamboo pole. Apprentice or the disciple, also he doesn't want to rely on his teacher, he wants to rely on himself, safer. And the Buddha said, that's the method there. It's just as the apprentice, as the apprentice, Medaka Talika, said to the teacher, I will protect myself, monks. Thus should the intense stage of recollection be practiced. I will protect others, monks. Thus should the intense stage of mindfulness of recollection be practiced. Protecting oneself, monks, one protects others. Protecting others, one protects oneself. And how is it, monks, that by protecting oneself, one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the Four Intensities of Recollection, it is in such a way that by protecting oneself, one protects others. And how is it, monks, that by protecting others, one protects oneself? by patience, harmlessness, loving-kindness and sympathy towards others. It is in such a way that by protecting others, one protects oneself. I will protect myself, monks. Thus should the intense stage of recollection be practiced. I will protect others, monks. Thus should the intense stage of recollection be practiced. Protecting oneself, monks, one protects others. Protecting others, one protects oneself. That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha says that if we practice the four intense states of recollection, the four Satipatthanas, we are protecting ourselves as well as protecting others. Remember the sutra we read last night, that if we stray out of these four satipatthanas, you go into Mara's territory and you can get caught. Mara is always waiting to catch us through the six sense doors, putting the big, nice sights, nice sounds, smells, tastes, touch and thoughts. So if we stray out into these out of these six sense gates, doors, then we get caught. So we should always remember to put our mindfulness on the four objects of Satipatthana. That's why Satipatthana always has to do with remembering. Remember to put your attention in the right place. The next sutta is a very important sutta, 47.20. On one occasion, the Blessed One was living among the Sumbas, where there was a town of the Sumbas named Sedaka. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, ''Monks?'' ''Very well, sir,'' the monks replied. The Blessed One said, Monks, suppose that on hearing the most beautiful girl of the land, the most beautiful girl of the land, a great crowd of people would assemble. Now that most beautiful girl of the land would dance exquisitely and sing exquisitely. On hearing the most beautiful girl of the land is dancing, the most beautiful girl of the land is singing, an even larger crowd of people would assemble. Then a man would come along, wishing to live, not wishing to die, wishing for happiness, averse to suffering. Someone would say to him, good man, you must carry around this bowl of oil filled to the brim between the crowd and the most beautiful girl of the land. A man with drawn sword will be falling right behind you, and wherever you spill even a little of the oil, right there he will fell your head. What do you think monks, would that man stop attending to that bowl of oil, and out of negligence turn his attention outwards? No, Venerable Sir. have made up this simile, monks, in order to convey a meaning. This here is the meaning. The bowl of oil filled to the brim. This is a designation for recollection directed to the body. Therefore, monks, you should trade yourselves thus. We will develop and cultivate recollection directed to the body, make it our vehicle, make it our basis, stabilize it, exercise ourselves in it, and fully perfect it. Thus monks, should you train yourselves. That's the end of the sutra. So here, the Buddha is actually telling us how the practice of Satipatthana should be done. Just like this man carrying the bowl of oil filled to the brim. And there's somebody walking behind him with an uplifted sword. If he spills even one drop of oil, his head will go off. So he dare not pay attention to anything else except the bowl of oil. His eyes are glued to the bowl of oil. His attention is glued to the bowl of oil. His mindfulness is glued to the bowl of oil. Every step he takes, he has to make sure that the oil does not spill. That is the simile to make us understand that is the way to practice satipaṭṭhāna. Because in the earlier sutta we read, the Buddha said a skillful monk who practices satipaṭṭhāna in the right way, his mind becomes concentrated. and if it becomes one-pointed. So in this case, you can see, if this man is walking, all his attention is fixed on that bowl of oil. Nowhere else, his mind becomes one-pointed. So that is why when you practice Satipatthana, you must end up with the jhanas. If you don't end up with the jhanas, the Buddha says that you are not practicing Sati Sampajjhāna. That monk thinks he is practicing Sati Sampajjhāna, but he is not practicing Sati Sampajjhāna because his mind does not become concentrated. So the end result of practicing Satipatthana is a concentrated mind. That means the jhanas. So this is a very important simile on how to practice Satipatthana. The next sutra is 47.28, page 1653. On one occasion, the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Mahamoggalana and the Venerable Anuruddha were dwelling at Saketa in the thorn bush below. Then in the evening, the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Mahamoggalana emerged from seclusion, approached the Venerable Anuruddha and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, they sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, the Venerable Sariputta said to the Venerable Anuruddha, having developed and cultivated what things has the Venerable Anuruddha attained to Maha Abhinaya. This Maha Abhinaya here is translated as Greatness of Direct Knowledge. Abhinaya, this is the Sutta 28, 47.28. Abhinaya refers to the six Higher knowledges, five of them are psychic powers. The sixth one is destruction of the asavas, that means attainment of arahanthood. So these Abhinyas can be called supernormal powers, because all six of them are supernormal powers. So Maha Abhinya is great supernormal powers. This is the translation in the Pali Text Society book, so it's quite correct. So he asked the Venerable Aniruddha, by having developed and cultivated, what thing has the Venerable Aniruddha attained to great supernormal power? Because Venerable Aniruddha's psychic power is one of the greatest among the many disciples. He is said to be able to see 1,000 world systems like in the palm of his hand so clearly. His mind has opened up to boundless space. And he said, It is, friend, because I have developed and cultivated the four Satipatthanas that I have attained to great supernormal power. What for? Here, friend, I dwell contemplating the body in the body, feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, recollected, mindful, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. It is, friend, because I have developed and cultivated these four Satipatthanas that I directly know this thousandfold world. In other words, he sees the thousand-fold world like in the palm of his hand. So here he says it is because of the four Satipatthana that he has developed great psychic power. Normally in other suttas, psychic power is always due to the jhanas. Without jhanas, you cannot get psychic power. So in other words, these four Satipatthana are synonymous with jhana. When you practice Satipatthana, It is practicing to attain the jhanas. But nowadays people give a lot of opinions which are very different from the sutras. They say Satipatthana has nothing to do with jhana. But in the Buddha's discourses, Satipatthana and jhanas are synonymous. So I think I'll stop here for tonight and continue tomorrow. Anything to discuss? Yes. Just like the cook has got to notice the taste of his master, what his master likes to eat. So in the same way, we have to notice what object of meditation our mind likes. So you have to choose the a tasty object for the mind, something that the mind inclines to. This one you have to try out yourself. That's why the Buddha always says, be a lama to yourself, be a refuge unto yourself. You rely on your own experience. You try different types of meditation objects and see which one suits you. Sometimes some people, they follow a certain meditation teacher. And the meditation teacher, maybe he found certain method suitable for him. And the way he practiced was suitable for him. And then he teaches you that, and then some people go and, in Hokkien, they say si pan. Si pan. Si pan. to fix. So you can't follow your teacher 100%. What he practices is good for him. You have to find out what is good for you, yourself. Both. When you practice When you are sitting down in meditation, you observe one object only. One object. And just the simile, even just now on the man watching the bowl of oil, you pay attention to that one object without being distracted by any other thing. So for example, if you are paying attention to your breath, your breathing, all your attention is anchored on your breath. Any sound outside, you don't bother. Mosquito disturb you, so you try not to be bothered. Pain in your leg, also you try to ignore it, unless it's unbearable. So you put your attention only on one thing. Nowadays, a lot of meditation teachers, vipassana teachers, they tell you, if sound comes, you note, note. Whatever comes, you note. Not the Buddha's teachings. Your mind is totally fixed on one object. That is when you are sitting. When you are not sitting, you can observe any one of these four. If feelings change in your mind, you note how the feelings change in your mind. If thought arises in your mind, you also note. When you note, you always remember that they are impermanent. Also try to analyze why you have a certain thought. For example, is it motivated by anger? Is it motivated by your ego? So if you know it's motivated by anger or your ego, you know it's an unwholesome state. So try to get rid of it. And then also, if you can remember the Dhamma, then you recollect the Dhamma when you are not sitting. So when you are sitting, you try to attain one-pointedness of mind. When we are sitting, we always practice Mata meditation. Only when you are not sitting, for example, you are walking on the street, or you are sitting in a bus or something, then you can observe your mind, you can observe your feelings, you can think of Dhamma. If you find your mind is very scattered, a lot of people, our mind tends to be very scattered, especially if we sleep a lot, then we have to constantly put our attention on one object, also bring it back to one object. And a simple way is to do chanting. I always encourage people to do chanting. Choose a chant that's suitable for you, buddho, buddho, arahang, arahang. But when I just said that when you're sitting down, you only cultivate one object. You pick one. You don't meditate on a feeling when you're sitting down. It's only going calm meditation. In the Buddha suttas, the Buddha always talks about mindfulness directed to the body. The body means one object, one form. It can be your breath, it can be a light, it can be a casino. All this is a body. Because when you meditate on a form object, a body, it brings you to form jhāna, rūpa jhāna. And that is our object. The object of your meditation is to attain the first rūpa jhāna, the second rūpa jhāna, the third and the fourth rūpa jhāna. So to attain the rūpa jhāna, you have to meditate on a rūpa, a form. That's why the Buddha always talks about mindfulness directed to the body, leads you to the deathless, the Buddha always says. Unless you have already attained the jhanas. If you have already attained the jhanas, like the Buddha on the night of enlightenment, he used the jhanas to recollect his past life. Then he used the jhanas, coming out of the fourth jhana with his psychic power, he could see beings dying and reborn, dying and reborn. And the third watch, He recollected the four noble truths that he had learned from the Buddha Kassapa, and then he attained enlightenment. So, if you have not attained the jhanas, our object in sitting down meditating is to attain the jhanas. After you attain the jhanas, then you've got rid of the hindrances. Then only you use your mind to practice vipassana, contemplate on the Dhamma. That will lead you to enlightenment. If your mind is full of the hindrances, you have not attained jhāna, then you cannot see clearly, even when you remember the suttas. But if you pay a lot of attention to the Dhamma, it is possible to attain the first fruit. Strict entry, but not liberation. The Buddha always says to become liberated, you need four jhānas. But can you see your body? Yes, maybe you can consider it as a contemplation of the body or feelings. If it's not feelings then it's sensation, what is it? Now, the thing is whether If it can bring you to the four jhanas, then it is the correct method. If you don't end up with the four jhanas practicing that way, then it is not Buddhist meditation. Because in the Majjhima Nikaya, Venerable Ananda says the only type of meditation praised by the Buddha is the first jhana, second jhana, third jhana, and fourth jhana. So it doesn't matter what object you use, what method you use. The important thing is you must end up with the four jhanas. If you don't end up with the four jhanas, you are not practicing Buddhist meditation. Because the purpose of attaining the four jhanas is to get rid of the five hindrances. The five hindrances are only got rid of when you attain the jhanas. Although they are not rooted out, but they have been cut down until there are no more obstructions, there are no more hindrances. But fish? Okay. In this sutra we are supposed to practice the seven bhujangas. in that same sequence. First you cultivate this recollection of the Dhamma. Recollection usually means recollection of the Dhamma. So when you think of the skeleton, then you can imagine that one day your body will become a skeleton. In other words, you think of impermanence and how it is a source of suffering. Then after that, you practice the investigation, what are the things that cause the arising of the skeleton, and how even the skeleton can vanish, can cease, go away. And before the skeleton also, this is a human body and all that. And after that, energy. If you want to use it to attain the jhanas, then you have to probably fix the skeleton in the mind. You have to observe a skeleton. Open your eyes and close your eyes and open your eyes and close your eyes. Probably until that skeleton becomes your object, your body that you are meditating on. So just like a casino object, you meditate on an object, casino object, like a fire, a water, or a color. So if you look at a skeleton, and then we close our eyes and open our eyes, et cetera, until it stays with us. I guess in that way, that's a casino. There are certain objects of meditation where it is both Samatha and Vipassana, just like the 32 parts of the body.

40SNSatipatthanaCh4720090831

Today is the 31st of August. We missed two nights of talks, the 29th and the 30th. So now we're on the Satipatthana Samyutta. But before we proceed with the sutta itself, I'd like to explain a little about the practice of Satipatthana, because the other day somebody asked me about a question about how to practice Satipatthana, so I thought I would spend a little bit of time to explain. There's a bit of confusion nowadays on the practice of Sampajanya, Sati, Satipatthana, Samadhi. In the Buddha's teachings, talk about Sati Sampajanya. So the other day we went to the sutras, we saw that Sampajanya means mindfulness, Sampajanya means mindfulness, general mindfulness, more of mindfulness of the body, how you when you walk you know you're walking, when you sit you know you're sitting, when you eat you know you're eating, when you drink, when you change your clothes etc. Later you find there's a sutra that refers to mindfulness of the mind. So Sampajañña is general mindfulness. General mindfulness helps us to keep our attention focused, not scattered. Because in meditation, what we are trying to do is to walk the path to destruction of the Asavas. Liberation, attainment of Arahanthood, means destruction of the Asavas. So that is our aim. So before you can totally destroy the Asavas, at least you have to keep it under control. And asavas, as I mentioned before, my interpretation, asavas means uncontrolled mental outflows, the mind flowing without control, stray thoughts, daydreaming, and all that. So we want to keep a check on it, not allow it to flow. So sampajanya, mindfulness, helps in that respect. But you should notice, in the Noble Eightfold Path, General mindfulness is not a factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. Sampajñānya is not a factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. But sati is. Sati is remembering to put your attention on only four things. The body, feelings, mind and dhamma. So sati means recollection. Recalling these four things. always remembering to recall these four things instead of putting your attention out into Mara's field, Mara's domain, which is sights, sounds, smells, taste and touch and thoughts. Because the Buddha says if we pay attention to the objects of the six sense bases, then we get caught because Mara is trying to bait us, give us beautiful sights to see nice sounds, nice odours, great taste, and all that. So, that's why the Buddha says we have to keep to our domain, to our home ground, where we are safe. That is to keep our attention on the four objects of Sati. Now, Sati, or Samma Sati, is the seventh factor, the Noble Eightfold Path. So, samasati, right recollection, is just what I mentioned just now, always keeping your attention on these four things, not to stray out of these four objects, to contemplate these four objects. And then, in the Noble Eightfold Path, samasamadhi, right concentration, is the four jhanas, the four jhanas. Now in the Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta 117, the Buddha says, the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path, we start with Right View. You must always start with Right View. Right View means hearing the suttas, that is, words of the Buddha. Then after that, having heard the words of the Buddha and attaining Right View, you enter the stream already, the ariya. Then because you have Right View, you will naturally Begin to have right thoughts. Once you understand what right view means, then you know the importance of right thoughts. So you always watch your thoughts. Don't have greed, don't have intention of harming others, having ill will, anger. These three are wrong thoughts. So we counter it with right thoughts, the opposite. So after you attain right thoughts, it will lead you to right speech. Because why? To talk. Before you talk, you must think first. What you think determines what comes out of your mouth. So right thoughts determines your right speech. And when you have right speech, because you have right thoughts and right speech, you will also naturally have right action. Because it's motivated by right thoughts and right view. Right view will help you to control your actions. So you have right actions and also following that, you have right livelihood. Livelihood is a natural consequence of having right view. right thoughts, right speech, right action, right? So you will have right livelihood. After you have right livelihood, if you proceed further, that means you walk the path to the holy path, then you will also have right effort. Right effort actually is an extension of right thoughts. Right thoughts means you watch your mind. So right effort is also the same. Any unwholesome states arise in your mind, you discard it. And then you encourage wholesome states of mind to arise. So that's right effort. And then after that, once you have right effort, then you also begin to have right sati. That means you try to guard your sense doors. You don't let your attention stray out to the six sense doors. Instead, you pull it back. Always remember to pull it back to the four objects of sati. That's why sati has a lot to do with remembering. It is not general mindfulness. It is a specific mindfulness directed only to four things. So now, what is it from sati that goes to samadhi? This one, a lot of monks don't explain. Because the Buddha says, the Noble Eightfold Path, one leads to another. So sati must lead to samadhi. So how does sati lead to samadhi? The link between sati and samadhi is satipatthana. A lot of books translate satipatthana as foundations of mindfulness, establishments of mindfulness and all that. But it doesn't show a difference between sati and satipatthana. They assume as though sati and satipatthana is almost the same thing. There's a great difference between sati and satipatthana. As we read in the suttas the other day, if you practice satipatthana correctly, it must lead you to the jhanas. Remember the sutta and the Buddha talk about the clever cook and the stupid cook. The clever cook, he notices the taste of the master. The stupid cook doesn't notice what his master likes to eat. So in the same way, a skillful monk, when he meditates, he has to notice what the mind inclines towards, what the mind likes, the object of meditation and the environment and all that. So in that sutra, the Buddha said, the skillful monk, when he practices satipatthana, he must attain samadhi. If he does not attain Samadhi, then the Sutta says he is unskillful. And on top of that, the Sutta says that he is not practicing Sati Sampajanaya. He thinks he is practicing Sati Sampajanaya, but he is actually not practicing Sati Sampajanaya. Because it does not end up, the end result is not the Samadhi, the Jhanas. So Satipatthana, As I translated the other day, it's an intense state of sati. Why intense? Because the simile given by the Buddha on how to practice satipatthana was this man who was caught and forced to carry a bowl of oil in between a great crowd of people watching the beautiful girl of the land dancing and singing. So there's a man following him behind with an uplifted sword ready to chop off his head. If he spills a drop of the oil, even a drop of the oil, his head will go up. So he has to walk with all his attention on that bowl of oil. He dare not make a slip. Dare not look left, dare not look right. Pay full attention to that bowl of oil all the time. Watching one object all the time. So that simile was given by the Buddha to make us understand how to practice satipatthana. So when we practice satipatthana in that way, watching one object without changing our attention to any other object, we must end up with jhana, one-pointedness of mind. So from here you can understand how the practice of sati, if you intensify it until it becomes intense sati, then it will lead you to samadhi. That's why the other day we read one sutra where it was mentioned that he attained the first jhāna. Then he was happy that his object had been achieved. because he was meditating, for example, on the breath. Then he put his vittaka and vichara, thought directed and sustained, on the breath, on the object. Then he went into the first jhana. After having into the first jhana, the sutta says that he was satisfied, that he had attained his objective. Then after that, he withdrew the mind from that object. And I mentioned that he withdrew his mind by focusing instead on piti and sukha. When he put his attention on piti and sukha, he entered the second jhana because he dropped off the vitakka and vichara. So that's the point I want to make. That's the difference between Sati and Satipatthana. And that Satipatthana, if you practice it, it must lead you to Samadhi, the 8th factor. Just as the Majjhima Nikaya 117 says, when you practice the 7th factor, it must lead you to the 8th factor. Not only that, I'd like to point out something. which a lot of people don't notice. In the suttas, the Buddha always says that to attain liberation, you need two things, samatha and vipassana. But instead, nowadays, some vipassana monks say you don't need right concentration. Or their interpretation of right concentration is momentary concentration, which is not concentration at all according to the suttas. In the suttas, the Buddha's standard of samadhi concentration are the jhanas, nothing short of the jhanas. Anything short of the jhanas is not up to the Buddha's mark, not up to the Buddha's standard. That's why in the suttas, it always talks about the four jhanas. So samadhi can refer to any of the four jhanas, but perfect samadhi must be the fourth jhana. That's why in the Suttas, Majjhima, Nikaya, the Buddha says that an Anagamin and an Arahant, the precondition to becoming an Anagamin and an Arahant is the Pujanas, perfect Samadhi. So, we were saying that Samatha and Vipassana are two necessary conditions for liberation. There are several Suttas in the Nikayas that says this very clearly. For example, the sutra about the messenger bringing the message to the lord of the city. The two messengers bringing the samatha and vipassana. So now, what is samatha and what is vipassana? Samatha, if you practice it, it will lead you to samadhi, the eighth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. Now, vipassana, is contemplation. And contemplation is contemplation of the four things, the four objects of sati, the body, feelings, mind and dhamma. So the practice of the seventh factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, Samasati, that is Vipassana. So if you only practice Vipassana, you are only practicing up to the 7th factor. So you need the 8th factor. So you cannot say you only want to practice pure Vipassana, you don't want the Jhanas. Because if you do that, then you are practicing 7 factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, not 8. So it must be very clear, the 7th factor and the 8th factor are completely different. The seventh factor is Vipassana, the eighth factor is Samatha. So you need both Samatha and Vipassana. That's why in one of the suttas we read earlier, the Buddha says there are five conditions that lead to the disappearance of the true Dhamma. And one of them is no respect for Samadhi, no respect for the Jhanas, saying that it is not necessary. Just like some monks nowadays, they say jhāna is not necessary. Pure vipassana is enough. The Buddha gave a warning that this type of teaching will lead to the disappearance of the true Dharma. Because in the suttas, the Buddha says that the jhānas are the footprints of the Buddha. So if you want to follow the Buddha's steps to enlightenment, you must follow his footprints, namely, attain the jhānas. So that's enough what I want to say about the Sati and Satipatthana. Okay, tonight we come to the last three suttas I'm going to talk on the Satipatthana, Samyutta. Sutta 47.35, that's on page 1657. That's Sabati. Buddha said monks, a monk should dwell collected and mindful or clearly aware. This is our instruction to you. And how monks? Is a monk collected or recollected? Dear monks, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, clearly aware, collected, having removed selfishness and grief in regard to the world. It is in this way, monks, that a monk is collected, sato, which means having sati. And how monks, does a monk exercise clear awareness, sampajano? Dear monks, for a monk, feelings are understood as they arise, understood as they remain present, understood as they pass away. Thoughts are understood as they arise, understood as they remain, understood as they pass away. Perceptions are understood as they arise, understood as they remain present, understood as they pass away. It is in this way, monks, that a monk exercises clear awareness. Monks should dwell collected and clearly aware or mindful. This is our instruction to you. That's the end of the sutra. So in this sutra, it's slightly different from a previous sutra we read. which explain these same two things, sati and sampajñānya. The sati part, the top part, is exactly the same as in the previous sutta, but the bottom part about sampajñānya, mindfulness or clear awareness, is slightly different. In the previous sutta, the Buddha talked about mindfulness of our bodily actions, but here Buddha says that Sampajanya can also mean mindfulness of our feelings, our thoughts, and our perceptions. So in other words, it is mindfulness of our feelings and our mind. So here there's an overlap because in the practice of sati, we are also supposed to be aware when our feelings change, when our thoughts change, when our perceptions change and all that. So when you're aware, then you can understand yourself better. For example, when certain feelings arise, you don't try not to react. You know that they are impermanent. Buddha gave a simile of feelings like raindrops falling on the pond. When the raindrops fall on the pond, on the surface of the pond, bubble appears. And in a short while, it breaks up and then another drop of water or raindrop falls on the pond another bubble appears and it breaks so in the same way our six sense bases these sense objects impinge on our six sense bases like sights impinge on the eye sounds impinge on the ear etc in the same way a feeling arises and then it doesn't last very long it disappears But it continues to be there if you think about it. For example, somebody says something nasty to you, and an unpleasant feeling arises. And then you start thinking about it, and that unpleasant feeling persists. So that's why the Buddha says we have to be careful. That's why we want to keep an eye on our feelings and keep an eye on our thoughts. So if certain thoughts arise, then we have to try to understand what is the motive behind the thoughts. What is the thought motivated by? Is it ego? Is it motivated by anger? If it is, then you know that you have an unwholesome state of mind and you try to discard it. Mindfulness of the feelings and of the mind is quite important. So it is also stated to be connected with sati and also to be connected with samvajjana mindfulness. The next sutta is 47.40. The Buddha said, monks, I will teach you the intense states of recollection, and the development of the intense states of recollection, and the way leading to the development of the intense states of recollection. Listen to that. And what mounts is satipatthana, intense state of recollection. Here mounts, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, garden, clearly aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. He dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma. This is called the satipatthana, intense state of recollection. And what mounts is the development of the intense state of recollection. A monk dwells contemplating the nature of origination or arising in the body. He dwells contemplating the nature of vanishing or ceasing in the body. He dwells contemplating the nature of origination and vanishing in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Similarly, it dwells contemplating the nature of origination and vanishing in feelings, in mind, in dharma. This is called the development of the intense state of recollection. And what mounts is the way leading to the development of the intense state of recollection. This is Noble Eightfold Path. That is right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, etc. This is called the way leading to the development of the establishment of intense, to the development of the intense state of recollection. It's the end of the sutta. So here, the second part, that the development of Satipatthana means contemplating the arising and the ceasing factors in the body, feelings, mind and Dhamma. What is the conditions for the arising of the four objects of Satipatthana? What is the conditions for the ceasing of the four objects of Satipatthana? We know from previous sutras that the body subsists on nutriment, on food. The arising of the body also is stated by the Buddha that the body arises because of the coming together of mother and father, and the mother is in the right season, and then there's a thing called Gandaba, waiting to be reborn, and then he enters the womb. Then after that, he can only continue to survive if the food nutriment he gets, then the nature of seizing of the body can be like this, no more nutriment for the body, then the body will seize, will die, because there are other factors also. And similarly for feelings, it was mentioned before that feelings arises because of contact. Contact are the six sense bases. So if there's no contact, there is no arising of feelings. And feelings vanish and there's no more contact. And then mind depends on perception and feeling. When there is perception and feeling, then there is consciousness and the mind starts working. So when there's no perception and feeling, the mind also sees. And Dhamma, Dhamma is I forgot the conditions of the arising of the Dhamma and the ceasing of the Dhamma, but we can refer to the earlier Sutta. We're leading to the development of the Satipatthana Noble Eightfold Path. The last sutra I'm going to read is 47.42 of the Satipatthana. Monks, I will teach you the origination and the passing away of the four Satipatthanas. Listen to that. And what, monks, is the origination of the body? With the origination of nutriment, there is the origination of body. With the cessation of nutriment, there is the passing away of the body. This one I think you can understand. The body subsists. or nutriment, depends on nutriment, namely food. With the origination of contact, there is the origination of feeling. With the cessation of contact, there is the passing away of feeling. So contact at the sixth sense basis gives rise to feelings. When there is no contact, there is no arising of feelings. With the origination of name and form, there is the origination of mind. Right here. With the cessation of name and form, there is the passing away of mind. Here, mine should mean Vinayana because Nama Rupa arises with Vinayana. When Vinayana ceases, then Nama Rupa also ceases. Vijnana also comes along with perception and feeling because earlier we read one sutra where the Buddha says there is no coming and going of consciousness without the other factors of the five aggregates. The five aggregates, they come together. Body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. So when you have Nama Rupa, Nama Rupa arises because there is Vijnana. And when there is Vijnana, of course, it means that there is the other components of the mind, feeling and perception, etc. So when the mind ceases, Nama Rupa also ceases. Then the fourth one, with the origination of attention, there is the origination of Dhamma. With the cessation of attention, there is a passing away of Dhamma. Dhamma, there is Dhamma only when we pay attention. Dhamma can be said to be Buddha's teachings, can be said to be the truth, reality of the world. So when you pay attention, there is arising of Dhamma. When you don't pay attention, there is the cessation of Dhamma. Let's see what the footnotes say. Note 182 says, Manasikara Samudaya, Dhammanam Samudayo. And the commentary says, the phenomena of the enlightenment factors should be put attention on. All phenomena should be put attention on. But the interpretation of Dhamma is phenomena. But I think the Dhamma should mean the Buddha's teachings. When you pay attention, there is Dhamma. When you don't pay attention, there is Dhamma. Dhamma also in some other sutras is mentioned that when you learn Dhamma, you learn to differentiate between wholesome states and unwholesome states, between skillful states and unskillful states, between good and evil, etc. So if you don't pay attention, you cannot see the Dhamma. When you pay attention, you see the Dhamma. So that's the end of the Satipatthana suttas that I am going to read. There are a few other suttas but they are not really important and many of them are repetitions.

41SNIndriyaCh4820090831

So now we come to the 48th chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya, Indriya Samyutta. Indriya means the faculties. There are five faculties. The first sutra is 48.8. The Buddha said, monks, there are these five faculties. What five? The faculty of faith, the faculty of energy, the faculty of Recollection, Sati, the Faculty of Concentration, Samadhi, the Faculty of Wisdom, of Faith, Energy, Recollection, Concentration and Wisdom. These are the five faculties. And where, monks, is the Faculty of Faith to be seen? The Faculty of Faith is to be seen here in the four factors of stream entry. And a person, stop here for a moment, these four factors of stream entry, when a person attains stream entry he attains four factors. One is, you can call it unshakable faith in the Buddha. Second is unshakable faith in the Dhamma. Third is unshakable faith in the Sangha. And then the last factor he has, sometimes it's called perfect sila, perfect moral conduct. Sometimes it's called Aryan moral conduct. So I mentioned that Aryan Sila refers to three factors in the Noble Eightfold Path, right speech, right action, and right livelihood, which also means seven factors, not to kill, not to steal, actually not to kill, not to take what is not given, not to engage in sexual misconduct, and then the four verbal ones are not to lie, not to engage in malicious speech or divisive speech, The third is not to engage in coarse speech, not to engage in idle gossip. So Aryan Sila basically consists of seven precepts. So this faith is to be seen in the four factors of stream entry. Once a person has attained stream entry, he has faith. But later we'll see, actually faith has two types. One is faith, one is unshakable faith, and there is a difference. And where monks is the faculty of energy to be seen. The faculty of energy is to be seen here in the Four Right Efforts. Four Right Efforts is a factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, namely the six factors, isn't it? Right Effort. When you apply effort, that means right effort, that is faculty of energy, energetic effort. And where monks is the faculty of sati, recollection, to be seen? The faculty of recollection is to be seen here in the four intense states of recollection, the four satipatthanas. It is not only to be seen in the four satipatthana, it is also to be seen in the samasati, perfect or right sati. Remounts is the faculty of concentration to be seen. The faculty of concentration is to be seen here in the four jhanas. I note here carefully, in the suttas, when the Buddha talks about concentration, it is always like this. Buddha refers to four jhanas, nothing short of the four jhanas. The first three jhanas are easier to attain. The fourth jhana is very difficult to attain. The difference between the first three jhanas and the fourth jhana is that the first three jhanas, the Buddha says, are still perturbable. The mind can still shake. But the fourth jhana is so solid, so stable. It is because the mind is so strong in the fourth jhāna. The Buddha says when you attain the fourth jhāna, you can see things very clearly. Everything falls into place. You can understand everything. So that's why psychic powers come. And you can recollect your past life and other psychic powers. And that is the condition for attaining anagamin and arahanthood also. And where monks is the faculty of wisdom to be seen? The faculty of wisdom is to be seen here in the Four Noble Truths. These monks are the five faculties. So, if you understand the Four Noble Truths, then you have wisdom. So, these are the five faculties. Five faculties are important factors. Okay, we come to the next sutta, 48.10. Monks, there are these five faculties. What five? The faculty of faith, the faculty of energy, the faculty of recollection, the faculty of concentration, the faculty of wisdom. And what monks is the faculty of faith? Dear monks, the noble disciple is a person of faith, one who places faith in the enlightenment of the Tathāgata, thus the blessed one This one refers to that itty-bitty soul, bhagava, arahang, samma, sambuddho, and all that. So, teacher of devas and humans, enlightened one, blessed one. What monks is the faculty of energy? Dear monks, a noble disciple dwells with energy aroused for the abandoning of unwholesome states and the acquisition of wholesome states. He is strong, firm in exertion, not shirking the responsibility of cultivating wholesome states. He generates desire for the non-arising of un-arisen evil unwholesome states. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind, and strives. He generates desire for the abandoning of arisen evil unwholesome states. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind, and strives. He generates desire for the arising of un-arisen wholesome states. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind, and strives. It generates desire for the maintenance of arisen wholesome states, for their non-decay, increase, expansion, and fulfillment by development. It makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind, and strives. This is called the faculty of energy. So here, faculty of energy means striving to get rid of unwholesome states and developing wholesome states. And what mounts is the faculty of recollection. Here mounts the noble disciple is collected or recollected possessing supreme discrimination and one who remembers and recollects what was done and said long ago similarly he dwells contemplating and then he dwells contemplating the body in the body feelings and feelings mind in mind dhamma in dhamma ardent clearly aware, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. This is called the faculty of recollection, sati. So here you see the definition of sati is one who possesses supreme discrimination. That's the translation in the Pali text society. One who remembers and recollects what was done and said long ago. So this sati has a lot to do with remembering. If you have good sati, then you remember what was done and said a long time ago. So in the practice of sati, it means remembering to put your mind on the four objects of sati. That's why it has to do with sati. It is not general mindfulness. specific mindfulness directed to only four things. So to prevent your mind from running away from these four things, you need to remember. That's why this sati has a lot to do with remembering. Always remember to put your mind on these four things and not to allow it to go out through the six sense doors. To see, to hear, to smell, taste and all that. And what monks is the faculty of concentration. Here monks, the noble disciple gains concentration, gains one-pointedness of mind. Having made release the object, secluded from sensual desires, secluded from unwholesome states, he enters and dwells in the first jhāna. which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, with delight and happiness born of seclusion. With the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, he enters and dwells in the second jhana, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought directed and sustained, and has delight and happiness born of concentration. With the fading away as well of delight, he dwells equanimous and Collected and mindful, he experiences happiness with the body. He enters and dwells in the third jhana, of which the noble ones declare, he is equanimous. Collected, one who dwells happily. With the abandoning of pleasure and pain and the previous passing way of joy and displeasure, he enters and dwells in the fourth jhāna, which is neither painful nor pleasant, and includes the utter purification of sati and upekkhā. Utter purification of recollection and equanimity. This is called the faculty of concentration. Look carefully at this explanation of samadhi here. In the beginning it says that he gains one-pointedness of mind and then to explain one-pointedness of mind the sutra talks about the four jhanas. So in the sutras one-pointedness of mind always refers to the four jhanas. It's only later monks using writing in the commentaries and all that, there's such thing as khanika samadhi, momentary concentration, and then upacara samadhi. But this is not recognized by the Buddha. We fall short of the Buddha's samadhi. Buddha's one-pointedness of mind, as seen here very clearly, one-pointedness of mind always refers to the four jhanas. And what mounts is the faculty of wisdom. Dear monks, the noble disciple is wise. He possesses wisdom directed to arising and passing away, which is noble and penetrative, leading to the complete destruction of suffering. He understands, as it really is, this is suffering. He understands, as it really is, this is the origin of suffering. He understands, as it really is, this is the cessation of suffering. He understands as it really is. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. This is called the faculty of wisdom. These monks are the five faculties. So one has wisdom when one sees arising and passing away of everything in the world. How things are so impermanent. And then you will understand the Four Noble Truths. That is wisdom. So here you see, the five faculties are explained in a very detailed way. Having faith in the enlightenment of the Buddha. You can also say having faith in the triple gems, in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. And the faculty of energy is directed to the mind. To get rid of unwholesome states of mind and to develop wholesome states of mind is the meaning of energy or effort. This is very important. A lot of people meditate, we don't look at our mind so much. If you don't look at your mind so much, you don't see your faults and you cannot progress. You have to see our faults, to see our unwholesome states like anger, greed, ego and all that. And then when we recognize these unwholesome states in us, then slowly we keep changing ourselves. But you must have the humility to acknowledge that you have these faults in you. and then when you make an effort to get rid of them, then if you understand the Dhamma, even if it is very difficult, you make a strong effort to get rid of your unwholesome states. And then you slowly change from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan. Then the faculty of sati is a faculty of remembering. Remembering to put your attention or your mindfulness only on body, feelings, mind and dhamma, four objects only, and not to go out into outside the six sense doors to see, to hear, to smell, taste, touch and think. So that is sati, remembering to put your attention in the right place. And concentration means one-pointedness of mind. And in the Sutta, one-pointedness of mind always refers to the four jhanas. And then the faculty of wisdom means seeing the nature of arising and passing away of everything in the world, how everything in the world is impermanent, and then to see the four noble truths and that is real wisdom. Okay, let's go to the next sutta. 48.12. The Buddha said, monks, there are these five faculties. What five? Faculty of faith, energy, recollection, concentration and wisdom. These are the five faculties. One who has completed and fulfilled these five faculties is an Arahant. If they are weaker than that, one is a non-returner. If still weaker, a once-returner. If still weaker, a stream-enterer. If still weaker, a Dhamma follower. If still weaker, a faith follower. That's the end of the Sutta. It's also a quite interesting sutra. It says that if you have developed fully the five faculties, you become enlightened, become an arahant. But if you don't fulfill completely, don't develop completely the five faculties, maybe say you cultivate it up to 80%, then you can become an anagami, non-returner. And then if you develop still less than that, maybe 70%, you can be a Once Returner, Sakadagamin. And if still weaker than that, maybe 50%, you can attain Stream Entry, Sotapanna. And then if still weaker than that, maybe 30%, you may be a Dhamma Follower. This Dhamma Follower is a First Path Attainer. First Path Attainer is still an Arya. We have eight Arya. The lowest one is Path Attainer. And if still weaker than that, that means he doesn't understand the Dhamma so much, but he has a lot of faith. So he's called a Faith Follower. Understand some Dhamma, but he has more faith. So he still has entered the stream. So there are Two important points here, that this can be applied similarly to the Noble Eightfold Path. You fulfill all the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path completely. For example, Right View. You have Aryan Right View. Understand the Four Noble Truths. But also this understanding Right View, also got different levels. You got the Suttapanna level, you got the Sakadagamin level, Anagamin and Arahant level. And similarly for the Samadhi factor. Samadhi factor, a perfect Samadhi is four jhanas. So to become Arahant and Anagamin, third and fourth fruit, you must attain four jhanas. But to become a Sakadagamin, Once returned, you can have three jhanas, or two jhanas, or one jhana. You can be a Sakadagami. But to be a Sotapanna, even if you don't have any jhana, you can still be a Sotapanna. But a Sotapanna can also possess one, two, three jhanas. But more likely, no jhana. Because if you have one, two, three jhanas, your greed, hatred and delusion will reduce. Sakadagami, second fruit attainer. So, Sotapanna is more likely not to have any jhana. Similarly, with the first path attainer. That's one very important thing I just mentioned. The second important thing about this sutta is that you notice the stream enterer, the Sotapanna, is separate from the Dhamma follower and the faith follower. The Dhamma follower and faith follower, they are the first path attainer. The stream-enterer or the stream-attainer is a sotapanna, the fruit. So this one, the path-attainer, that means the path-attainer exists. There's a difference between the path-attainer and the fruit-attainer. This contradicts the Abhidhamma. Abhidhamma says when you attain the path, immediately it becomes fruit. This is not acceptable in the Sutta. In the suttas, once you attain the path, then it takes some time before it becomes fruit. But the latest, when the person dies, in the same lifetime, the path will become fruit. It takes some time, maybe a few years, generally a few years. If it is immediately, then you cannot have 3 persons, 3 mantra, dharma follower, faith follower. So these are the 2 things about this sutra. Ok, the next sutra is 48.15. Buddha said, monks, there are these five faculties. What five? The faculty of faith, energy, recollection, concentration and wisdom. These are the five faculties. One who has completed and fulfilled these five faculties is an arahant. If they are weaker than that, one is an attainer of Nibbana in the interval. If still weaker, an attainer of Nibbana upon landing. If still weaker, an attainer of Nibbana without exertion. You are still weaker than a tainer or nibbana with exertion. You are still weaker than one who is bound upstream, heading towards the akhanita realm. You are still weaker than a once-returner. You are still weaker than a stream-enterer. You are still weaker than a dharma-follower. You are still weaker than a faith-follower. The sutra is very similar to the previous one we read, except that here the anagamin is explained more in detail. There are five types of anagamin. And this simile for the five types of anagamin is given somewhere. I forgot where, maybe in the Anguttara Nikaya. Like the simile given was a blacksmith heated the iron to red-hot. Then he bangs, use a big hammer. He knocks the heated iron to shape it into a hammer. sword or anything, it keeps banging. So what happens, a chip of iron flies off, flies off, then it hits the ground, then it cools down. So how long it takes to cool down is different, five ways it can cool down. One is when it's flying in the air, it's cooled down. Another one, it touches the ground, and then it cools down. Another one, it touches the ground, then it starts a fire, takes some time to cool down, etc. So here, there are five descriptions. One is Athena and Nibbana in the interval. In the interval, probably, in the interval, when he's going to the heaven, along the way, probably, it cools down, enters Nibbana, and then Athena Nibbana upon landing, that means Anagamin is generally reborn in the Suddhavasa heaven. Suddhavasa heaven is the 4th jhana heaven, which also proves that Anagamin must have attained 4 jhanas already, otherwise how can he be reborn in the 4th jhana heaven? So the second time he reaches that heaven and then he enters Nibbana. And then another one, without practice, he is reborn in the heaven. Without practice, after a short while, enters Nibbana. Then after that, there's another one. He is reborn in the fourth jhāna, heaven. And then he has to spend some time and exert himself in meditation, contemplation of the Dhamma. Then he enters Nibbana. Then the last one, The last one, he has to go to the Suddhavasa heaven in the Anagamins. It seems they have five levels of heaven. So he has to... He is reborn in one level and then he passes away from there and he is reborn in another level. Then after that another level goes up to the Akanitta heaven, probably the highest. From there he enters Nibbana. So that's the only difference between this Uttara and the previous one. It talks about the Anagamin, the five types of Anagamin in more detail. Okay, the next Uttara is 48.37. That's on page 1681. The Buddha said monks, there are these five faculties, what five? The pleasure faculty, the pain faculty, the joy faculty, the displeasure faculty, the equanimity faculty. Now this is a different type of faculty now. What mounts is the pleasure faculty. Pleasure faculty is the sukhindriyani, or sukha-indriya. Pleasure is sukha. Whatever bodily pleasure there is, whatever bodily comfort, the pleasant, comfortable feeling born of body contact, these monks are called the pleasure faculty. Bodily pleasure in Pali is called kāyika-sukkha-vedana. Kaya is body, sukkha is pleasure, kaika-sukha-vedana feeling. And what mounts is the pain faculty, dukkhin-driyani-dukkha-indriya. Whatever bodily pain there is, whatever bodily discomfort, the painful, uncomfortable feeling, or the body contact, this mounts is called the pain faculty. That means kaika-dukkha-vedana. So for example, when a person is born in hell, he gets poked, he gets burned, he gets toasted and all that. He has the pain faculty. And what mounts is the joy faculty. Joy faculty is Somanasindriyani or Somanasaindriya. Whatever mental pleasure there is, whatever mental comfort, the pleasant, comfortable feeling born of mind contact, This mount is called the joy faculty. This mental pleasure is cetasika-sukha-vedana. Cetasika-sukha-vedana, mental pleasure feeling. And what mounts is the displeasure faculty, domana-sindriyani or domana-sa-indriya, whatever Mental pain there is, whatever mental discomfort, the painful, uncomfortable feeling born of mind contact. This monk is called the displeasure faculty. This mental pain is called cetasika dukkha vedana. Maybe we can call it grief also, mental pain. And what monks is the equanimity faculty. Upekindriyāni or Upekāindriyā. Whatever feeling there is, whether bodily or mental, that is neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. These monks are called the equanimity faculty. It is also called Adhukāmasukhāvedanā. Adhukā is neither sukha. Adhukā is neither dukha. Asukhā is neither sukha. neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. Also called the Upekkha. So from here, Upekkha, the meaning of Upekkha is neither comfortable or uncomfortable. It's neither pleasant or unpleasant. That is Upekkha. There's no difference between Upekkha and neither pleasant or unpleasant. It's the same thing. These are the five faculties. Therein mounts the pleasure faculty and the joy faculty should be seen as pleasant feeling, sukha vedana. The painful faculty and the displeasure faculty should be seen as painful feeling, dukkha vedana. The equanimity faculty should be seen as neither painful nor pleasant feeling. These monks are the five faculties. So this last part is a repeat of what I said. Equanimity faculty or equanimity feeling means neither painful nor pleasant. So there's no difference between neither painful nor pleasant and equanimity is the same thing. So here, the Sutta has explained what is pain and happy feeling in the body, and pain and happy feeling in the mind, and equanimity feeling. Okay, the next vector is 48.40. Months. There are these five faculties. What five? The pleasure faculty, the pain faculty, the joy faculty, the displeasure or grief faculty, the equanimity faculty, Dear monks, while a monk is dwelling in diligent, ardent and resolute, there arises in him the pain faculty. He understands thus, there has arisen in me this pain faculty. That has a basis, a source. causal formation, a condition. It is impossible for that pain faculty to arise without a basis, without a source, without a causal formation, without a condition. He understands the pain faculty, he understands the origin of the pain faculty, he understands the cessation of the pain faculty, and he understands where the arisen pain faculty ceases without remainder. And where does the arisen pain faculty cease without remainder? Here monks, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome stays, a monk enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, with delight and happiness born of seclusion. It is here that the arisen pain faculty ceases without remainder. This monk is called a monk who has understood the cessation of the pain faculty. He directs his mind accordingly. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, the body pain ceases in the first jhāna. So next time you have a lot of body pain, just have to enter the first jhāna, no more pain. You see, because when a person enters the first jhana, as in the definition here, it says secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states. Secluded means he is aloof. Lu from central, the six, the six sense bases, the mind withdraws from the six sense bases. It's not that the six sense bases are closed. It's that he does not pay attention, does not pay attention to sights, sounds, smell, taste. So when he does not pay attention to the six sense bases, he does not pay attention to the body also. So because he does not pay attention to the body, he has entered his mind. So he is not aware of his body pain. That's why here in the first jhāna, the arisen pain faculty ceases without remainder. Dear monks, while a monk is dwelling in diligence, ardent and resolute, there arises in him the displeasure faculty. Displeasure faculty means the mental pain, the grief. He understands thus, there has arisen in me this displeasure faculty. That has a basis, a source, a causal formation, a condition. It is impossible for the displeasure... Oh, this sutra is quite long and I have already passed one hour. I think I'll stop here and maybe continue tomorrow night.

42SNQandA20090831

Nothing to discuss. I got absorbed in the sutra, I didn't know the timers. These sutras are actually, if you have affinity and you read the sutras, you get a lot of joy, so you forgot about other things. Page 1-6, 1-6-0, 1-7-1-4-3. This one now is I remember I mentioned, I quoted the Sutta Majjhima Nikaya 117. The Buddha says when you practice the Noble Eightfold Path, you practice one by one the factors. So this Satipatthana is in between the seven and the eight factor. So when you practice the Noble Eightfold Path, you cultivate the factors one by one up to the eight factor. then he would have developed the 4 Satipatthanas. Because when you develop the 4 Satipatthanas, you are supposed to have attained the Jhanas. Vishnu says that the Jhanas themselves, the factors are very similar to the Namo Tipo Tantra. Likewise, he finds there the 5 Namo Tipo Tantra. So, Vishnu says that all the 7 Namo Tipo Tantra, all the 3 fruits, Correct. But as I read Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi's comment in his notes at the beginning of this last book, he says that out of these different sets, I think there are seven sets, the most complete one is the Noble Eightfold Path. It encompasses all the others. The most important is the Noble Eightfold Path. You see, like when we talk about Satipatthana or Sati, the practice of Sati, you concentrate on paying attention to the body, feelings, the mind and Dhamma, right? But when you compare it with the Noble Eightfold Path, the Noble Eightfold Path talks about right speech, right action, right livelihood. It's not inside. It's not inside the four satipatthana. That's why where Bodhi says the Noble Eightfold Path is the most complete. So if you want to say there's the only way, the only way is the Noble Eightfold Path. not any other one. So there's no such thing as 84,000 Dharma doors. There's only one Dharma door to liberation. It's the Noble Eightfold Path. If you want more of what's important to you, thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for coming. Thank you for being here. Thank you for coming. Yes, yes, yes. For example, there are some people, they think, oh, I only practice Satipatthana, that's the only way. Then they think dana is not important, charity is not important, keeping sila, moral precept, is not important. I just cultivate wisdom only. That's very silly because just now we read the sutra, the Buddha says that when you practice this the faculties or the Noble Eightfold Path, if you fulfill the practice completely, 100%, you become an Arahant. But if you fulfill less than that, you can become an Anagamin. If you fulfill less than that, it is a Sakadagamin and down to this First Path Attainer. But it means that all the Eightfold factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, you practice a little of each, a little of each, a little of each, then you can become a Sotapanna. But if you concentrate on one factor, or two factors, and you practice it even up to 100%, you cannot become even a Sotapanna. You need all the eight factors, a little bit of each, a little bit of each, that will make you Sotapanna. This is something I believe, I think it's one of the reasons why I'm here to say that when you look down on us, we see the job, we see the happiness, and the happiness, we feel the energy inside. So, I think, I also think that there's issues when you see us in the form of films, we sort of take away our pride, we cut away our selfishness totally. We just need a lot of documentation and a lot of data to understand. But we don't know things, a lot of documents we don't know. We don't think that the thing that is so important that has to be high quality, we don't know how to do it. We don't know what it's all about. We don't know all of those things that go into it. I have a few old devotees in Penang now. They are very simple people. Because of listening to my dharma talks, they have a lot of faith in me. I observe that they serve all monks, having learned the dharma. They serve all monks and they don't look down on any monk. Last time when I was staying in the cave in Penang Hill, so high also, some of them are quite old. They climb all the way up on a Sunday. to clean my cave, mop my cave and all that. And when we did extension of the cave, they also helped carry building materials up and all these things. So I see because they listen to the Dharma and all that, they have a lot of faith and they are very humble and they are very generous. They have whatever money their children give them, they spend a lot of it doing dana. When you compare them with some of these people who only do meditation, like some of these people in KL I know, they only concentrate on meditation. And you see them, their ego is very big. They think, oh, they have already attained Sotapanna and all this, and they differentiate a lot between monks. They only value those monks that practice the practice that they are practicing. For example, Vipassana. They look down on monks who practice Samatha. And some of them, because they follow the Burmese tradition, they look down on Thai monks. So all this is bad karma, very bad karma. Buddha says the highest merit is you serve the Sangha. You don't differentiate. Even corrupt monks, the Buddha says, if you offer to corrupt monks who don't practice well, but your intention is to support the Sangha, it's the highest merit. Even higher than you go and offer to an Arahant, because offering to the Sangha is the highest blessing, highest merit. I think in the case of Vietnam, we don't want to stop that, because the person's pathophysics, regardless of the amount of area, is the key for the work. Yeah. And then, while the Dharma for the work is a shorter pathophysics, so the meaning that they are closer to being absorbed by, Actually, the faith follower and the dhamma follower, both of them also have an understanding of the dhamma. Because without an understanding of the dhamma, you cannot get right view. But in the dhamma follower, his understanding is more pronounced. His understanding is stronger. Whereas in the faith follower, he has some understanding, he has already attained right view. But his faith faculty is stronger. He may not understand so much. But he has a lot of health, that's the difference. What piece is this? Like feelings in feelings, body in body, I mentioned before that his focus is contemplating on the body. All his attention is in the body, not among other thoughts. Because sometimes you can contemplate the body at the same time you can contemplate your home problems, your office problems and all that. So here, that's what you mean by body in the body. Secondly, ardent. Ardent is with energy, diligence. And then this clearly comprehending is that Sampajanya. Sampajanya is mindful, with clear awareness. That means he practices with clear awareness. And then this one, mindful, stands for Sati. Sati is recollected. That means his mind is not out through the six sense doors, but he is recalling only these four objects of Sati. He remembers to put his attention in the right place. This one, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. This one I mentioned before that if you put your attention out to the six sense doors and then when there are pleasant sights and there are pleasant sounds, pleasant odours and tastes and all that, then you want to possess them. So you have covetousness. And then if you cannot get them, then you have displeasure or grief. So in other words, you give up worldly things. You give up worldly things to practice your Satipatthana. If you give up worldly things, then you don't have covetousness and displeasure in regard to the world. You're not chasing after worldly things. This covetousness and displeasure arise when you chase after worldly things. Sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. then you want to possess them. That is covetousness. You cannot get them. Displeasure or grief will arise. No, it's not that one moment. It means that having given up covetousness and displeasure in regard to them. Before you practice, you already have to give up. You still have been carrying a lot of problems on your head. You want to practice? Impossible. Without giving up. Thank you very much to those for the wonderful presentation. Today at the beginning of the time, I really appreciate it. Really, we are able to develop a bigger, correct, coherent data, which means we are able to see our own health and safety, our safe environment. So, because we are not able to see, because we have a lot of investors, especially people, we can't see, and even if we have a good foundation, we can't find a way, we have to continue to coming up with a way that we are able to accept the fault of the investors. In the other case of diversity, we want to be able to accept even our own faults. So how do you prepare for that case? This one, it depends on that person's sincerity. I remember there's one sutra where the Buddha said he teaches different amount of Dhamma to different people. Because of their commitment, the Buddha says those monks and nuns who come and become his disciples, they are fully committed. to the holy path, then he teaches them the most Dhamma because they are fully committed. And then the lay persons, they are half committed, not fully committed. So in that case, the Buddha teaches them less Dhamma because they are not able to practice so much. No point in teaching them too much when they cannot practice. And then lastly, those who are not his disciples, if he has the opportunity, he will teach them, but he won't be able to teach them much, because firstly, they might not be interested. So in the same way, like those monks who come and stay in our monastery, and then they think dependence, nisaya, with the abbot, then it is the abbot's duty to teach them. But even though it's the abbot's duty to teach them because they have taken dependence, and a monk who has not completed five vassal, five years as a monk, he has to take dependence on a senior monk to guide him. But sometimes even this new monk, we have to see his attitude. Sometimes you try to correct him, he rebels. His temper goes up and all that. He exchanges nasty words with you sometimes. You have to be careful. You have to see how much he can take. How much he can take, you give him how much. Because good medicine is always bitter. A lot of people cannot take. So you have to see how much he can take and then you give him. If you give him too much medicine, he stops taking any medicine. But there are some people, they run away or they disrobe or something. So we have to see, to use our wisdom to see. So there are some people, if they want to be taught, then it is the teacher's duty to teach them. But there are some people, they don't want to be taught, they think they know enough. So we leave it to them. Okay, so we stop here tonight.

43SNIndriyaCh4820090901

Today is the 1st of September and we are on the 48th chapter of the Sanghuta Nikaya, Indriya Sanghuta. Yesterday I started on the Sutta and I stopped. So I continue from the beginning again. Sutta 48.40 Buddha said, monks, there are these five faculties, Indriya. What five? The pleasure, faculty, sukha, Indriya. the pain faculty, Dukkha and Driya, the joy faculty, Somanasa, the displeasure or grief faculty, Domanasa, the equanimity faculty, Upekha. Here monks, while a monk is dwelling diligent, ardent and resolute, there arises in him the pain faculty, Pain faculty refers to the bodily pain. He understands thus, there has arisen in me this pain faculty that has a basis, a source, a causal formation, a condition. It is impossible for that pain faculty to arise without a basis, without a source, without a causal formation, without a condition. He understands the pain faculty. He understands the origin of the pain faculty. He understands the cessation of the pain faculty. And he understands where the arisen pain faculty ceases without remainder. And where does the arisen pain faculty cease without remainder? Here monks, excluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a monk enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, with delight and happiness born of seclusion. And it is here that the arisen pain faculty ceases without remainder. This monk was called a monk who has understood the cessation of the pain faculty. He directs his mind accordingly. Stop here for a moment. So here, this part says that the bodily pain ceases entirely when a person enters the first jhāna. As I mentioned last night, when a person enters the first jhāna, he is secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, Secluded from sensual pleasures means he does not pay attention to the sense doors that has been drawn into his mind. And then secluded from wholesome states means unwholesome states of mind. So because he has gone into his mind, he doesn't pay attention to his body. That's why the bodily pain ceases without remainder. Here monks, while among his dwelling diligent, ardent and resolute, there arises in him the displeasure or grief faculty. This displeasure or grief refers to the mental pain. He understands thus, There has arisen in me displeasure or grief, faculty, that has a basis, a source, a causal formation, a condition. It is impossible for that displeasure or grief, faculty, to arise without a basis, without a source, without a causal formation, without a condition. He understands the displeasure faculty. He understands the origin of the displeasure faculty. He understands the cessation of the displeasure faculty. And he understands where the arisen displeasure faculty ceases without remainder. And where does the arisen displeasure faculty cease without remainder? With the subsiding of thought-directed and sustained vittaka and vichara, A monk enters and dwells in the second jhāna, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought directed and sustained, and has delight and happiness born of concentration. And it is here that the arisen displeasure of faculty ceases without remainder. This monk is called a monk who has understood the cessation of the displeasure faculty. He directs his mind accordingly. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, when a monk enters the second jhana, he has internal confidence and unification of mind and has delight and happiness born of concentration. So the mind is very delighted and very happy. That's why any mental discomfort or pain ceases without remainder in the second jhāna. And the second jhāna is a state where the mind is quite strong. It is because it is strong that no thoughts can arise. The pleasure faculty. Dear monks, while a monk is dwelling diligent, ardent and resolute, there arises in him the pleasure faculty. Pleasure faculty here refers to the bodily pleasure. He understands thus, there has arisen in me this pleasure faculty that has a basis, a source, a causal formation, a condition. It is impossible for that pleasure faculty to arise without a basis, without a source, without a causal formation, without a condition. He understands the pleasure faculty. He understands the origin of the pleasure faculty. He understands the cessation of the pleasure faculty. And he understands where the arisen pleasure faculty ceases without remainder. And where does the arisen pleasure faculty cease without remainder? With a fading away as well of delight, a monk dwells equanimous and collected and clearly aware experiences happiness with the body. He enters and dwells in the third jhāna, of which the noble ones declare, he is equanimous, collected, one who dwells happily. And it is here that the arisen pleasure faculty ceases without remainder. This monk is called a monk who has understood the cessation of the pleasure faculty. He directs his mind accordingly. Here, this When the monk enters the third jhāna, the body pleasure faculty ceases. But you see in the description of the third jhāna, it says he experiences happiness with the body. This happiness with the body is the mental happiness, not the bodily happiness. So because it is a higher state of jhāna compared to the second jhāna, he experiences the mental happiness, but not the coarser bodily happiness. So these two types of happiness is found in the second jhāna, bodily happiness and mental happiness. When he attains the third jhāna, because he's going deeper into his mind, then the bodily pleasure ceases and he experiences only the mental happiness. Dear monks, while a monk is dwelling diligent, ardent, and resolute, there arises in him the joy faculty. The joy refers to the mental pleasure. He understands thus, there has arisen in me this joy faculty that has a basis, a source, a causal formation, a condition. It's impossible for that joy faculty to arise without a basis, without a source, without a causal formation, without a condition. He understands the joy faculty, he understands the origin of the joy faculty, he understands the cessation of the joy faculty, and he understands where the arisen joy faculty ceases without remainder, and where does the arisen joy faculty cease without remainder. With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous passing away of joy and displeasure, a monk enters and dwells in the fourth jhana, which is neither painful nor pleasant, with complete purification of sati and upeka, with complete purification of recollection and equanimity. And it is here that the arisen joy faculty ceases without remainder. This monk is called a monk who has understood the cessation of the joy faculty. He directs his mind accordingly. So in the fourth jhāna, even that mental happiness ceases because in this state of the fourth jhāna, there is complete purification of sakti and upekkhā. That means sakti and upekkhā is very strong. So because of upekkhā, equanimity is so strong that the joy faculty, that mental pleasure is eliminated by the equanimity, upekkhā. So in the fourth jhāna, you notice here, there is complete purification of sati. You cannot have purer sati than in the fourth jhāna. There's some, I've seen some book by some Vipassana monk that says that, he says there's no benefit of attaining jhāna. He says when you're in the state of jhāna, there's no sati. But if you look at the description of the third jhāna, it is said He enters and dwells in the third jhāna of which the Āryans declare he is equanimous. mindful or collected, one who dwells happily. This word here, mindful, the Pali word is satima. Kamsi has sati. So even in the third jhana, the sati is quite pronounced. Actually, even the first and second jhana, it already has sati. But in the third jhana, it's quite pronounced. In the fourth jhana, it is the most pure sati. Completely pure sati. The Pali word is upekasati parisuddhi. Parisuddhi is completely pure, not utterly pure. So the sati and the upeka is utterly pure in the fourth jhana. That's why the joy faculties ceases. Dear monks, while a monk is dwelling in diligence, ardent and resolute, there arises in him the equanimity faculty. He understands thus, there has arisen in me this equanimity faculty that has a basis, a source, a causal formation, a condition. It is impossible for that equanimity faculty to arise without a basis, without a source, without a causal formation, without a condition. He understands the equanimity faculty. He understands the origin of the equanimity faculty. He understands the cessation of the equanimity faculty. And he understands where the arisen equanimity faculty ceases without remainder. And where does the arisen equanimity faculty cease without remainder? Here monks, having completely transcended the base of neither perception nor non-perception, a monk enters and dwells in the cessation of perception and feeling, and it is here that the arisen equanimity faculty ceases without remainder. This monk is called a monk who has understood the cessation of the equanimity faculty. He directs his mind accordingly. This equanimity although it is neither painful nor pleasurable, but it is still a feeling. It is still a feeling. So, the only time when this feeling can cease is when a person enters the state of cessation. When cessation of perception and feeling, when there is cessation of perception and feeling, it means that consciousness also ceases. So in that state, there is no feeling. That's why the equanimity also ceases without remainder. The Buddha and the Suttas, when the Buddha was very old, 80 years old, the body was giving him pain. The body was about to break up. Every now and then he feels very intense pain. So he said that he has to enter this cessation of perception and feeling. He enters this deep Samadhi state where all feelings and consciousness ceases. Then he has no pain. Then when he withdraws from that state, maybe for a few hours, there's no pain. But after a few hours, probably the pain will come back again. So, this sutra tells you that in the first jhāna, bodily pain ceases. In the second jhāna, the mental pain ceases. In the third jhāna, the bodily pleasure ceases. In the fourth jhāna, the mental pleasure ceases. And in the highest, the cessation of perception and feeling, then even equanimity ceases. In Executives 48.41, on one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling a Savatthi in the eastern park in the mansion of Migara's mother. Migara's mother is a nickname for Visakha. On that occasion, the Blessed One had emerged from seclusion in the evening and was sitting, warming his back in the last rays of the sun. That means the sun was setting down, was going down, and the monks came out of seclusion. Then the Venerable Ananda approached the Blessed One. Having approached and paid homage, while massaging the Blessed One's limbs, he said to Him, This wonderful Venerable Sir, this amazing Venerable Sir, the Blessed One's complexion is no longer pure and bright. His limbs are all flaccid and wrinkled. His body is stooped, and some alteration is seen in his faculties, in the eye faculty, the ear faculty, the nose faculty, the tongue faculty, the body faculty. And the Buddha said, So it is, Ananda. In youth, one is subject to aging. In health, one is subject to illness. While alive, one is subject to death. The complexion is no longer pure and bright. The limbs are all flaccid and wrinkled, the body is stooped, and some alteration is seen in the faculties, in the eye-faculty, ear-faculty, nose-faculty, tongue-faculty, the body-faculty. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, further said, Fire on you, wretched aging, aging which makes beauty fade. So much has the charming puppet been crushed beneath advancing age. One who might live a hundred years also has death as destination. Death spares none along the way, but comes crushing everything. That's the end of the sutta. So you see, when the Buddha was young, He used to constantly meditate and emit a lot of light. That's why his nickname was Angirasa, kinsman of the sun, relative of the sun. The sun is always so bright. But when the Buddha was old, at this time he must have been about 80 years old, then the Buddha is no longer, his complexion is no longer pure and bright like before. And his limbs are all, you know, all his hands and all that are wrinkled and the skin becomes soft. Body also bent already, like a hunchback a bit. And in his, the eye and the ear and nose and tongue and body all, there's some change. Don't look so handsome anymore, the Buddha. So, everyone is like that. When we are young, When you are very young, you look, especially like children, they look very cute, everybody. Even puppies also look very cute when they are young. But as you grow older, they start to change. So, after 40, then you know, because at the age of about 40, we have this alteration in our eye faculty, Lufangan. Cannot read the newspaper, small letters to put far away. So after 40, you go downhill very fast. The beauty will fade away and become more and more ugly looking. So even the Buddha is not spared. So if we constantly think of this, then we should quickly use our time because as we grow older, we become weaker. You see old people, if you go to any meditation center, you see people meditating. Usually it is the old people, their heads will be bent. No strength to meditate. 48.42, that's Savatthi. Then the Brahmin, Unnaba, approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with Him. Then they had concluded the greetings and cordial talk. He sat down to one side and said to the Blessed One, Master Gautama, these five faculties have different domains, different resorts. They do not experience each other's resort and domain. What five? The eye faculty, the ear faculty, the nose faculty, the tongue faculty, the body faculty. Now, Master Gautama, as these five faculties have different domains, different resorts, and do not experience each other's resort and domain, what is it that they take recourse in? This word, recourse. And what is it that experiences their resort and domain? This word, recourse, is a translation of the Pali word, patisaranam. Patisaranam, you see, the last word is sarana. Just like we chant Buddham, Saranam, Gacchami, so it's refuge, means refuge, shelter. So these five faculties, they have different, how do you say, resort and domain. But what is it that they take refuge in? What experiences that resort and domain? And the Buddha said, Brahmin, these five faculties have different domains, different resorts. They do not experience each other's resort and domain. Got five. The eye faculty, ear faculty, nose, tongue, body faculties. Now Brahmin, these five faculties having different domains, different resorts, not experiencing each other's resort and domain. They take refuge or shelter in the mind. And the mind experiences their resort and domain. So the mind is the one that controls all these five. But Master Gautama, what is it that the mind takes refuge or shelter in? The mind Brahmin takes refuge in, here it says mindfulness, it's a specific mindfulness, actually it's recollection, sati. The mind Brahmin takes refuge in sati, recollection. But Master Gautama, what is it that sati or recollection takes recourse or refuge in? Recollection Brahmin takes refuge in liberation. But Master Gautama, what is it that liberation takes refuge in? Liberation Brahmin takes refuge in Nibbana. But Master Gautama, what is it that Nibbana takes refuge in or takes shelter in? And the Buddha said, you have gone beyond the range of questioning Brahmin. You weren't able to grasp the limit to questioning. For Brahmin, the holy life is lived with Nibbāna as its ground, Nibbāna as its destination, Nibbāna as its final goal. Then the Brahmin Unāmbā, having delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One's statement, rose from his seat and paid homage to the Blessed One, after which he departed, keeping him on his right. Then, not long after the Brahmin Unamba had departed, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks, suppose in a house or hall with a peaked roof opposite a window facing east, the sun was rising. When its rays entered through the window, where would they settle? On the western wall of Amphosa. So, to monks, the Brahmin Unabha has gained faith in the Tathagata that is settled, deeply rooted, established, firm. It cannot be removed by any ascetic or Brahmin or Deva or Mara or Brahma or by anyone in the world. If, monks, the Brahmin Unabha were to die at this time, there is no factor bound by which he might come again to this world. That's the end of the sutta. There's no factor bound by which he might come again to this world. That means he won't be reborn as a human being anymore. That means he is an anagamin. Maybe he has been listening to the Buddha's teachings so that he understood the Dhamma and probably he had the four jhanas. That's what the Buddha says. And he is an anagamin. So here, the five faculties are eye, ear, tongue, body and mind. They are separate from each other, but they have shelter in the mind. The mind controls all these five. And then the mind takes shelter in sati, recollection. And sati takes shelter or refuge in liberation. Liberation takes refuge in nibbana. The next Vita, 48.43. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Saketa in the Anjana Grove in the Deer Park. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Monks, is there a method of exposition by means of which the five faculties become the five powers, and the five powers become the five faculties? Prabhupada said, Our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, guided by the Blessed One, take recourse in the Blessed One. It would be good if the Blessed One would clear up the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from Him, the monks will remember. And the Buddha said, There is a method of exposition, monks, by means of which the five faculties become the five powers, and the five powers become the five faculties. And what is that method of exposition? That which is the faculty of faith is the power of faith. That which is the power of energy is the faculty of energy. That which is the faculty of recollection is the power of recollection. That which is the faculty of wisdom is the power of wisdom. That which is the power of wisdom is the faculty of wisdom. Suppose, monks, there is a river which slants slopes and inclines towards the east, with an island in the middle. There is a method of exposition by means of which that river could be considered to have one stream. But there is a method of exposition by means of which it could be considered to have two streams. And what is the method of exposition by means of which that river can be considered to have one stream, taking into account the water to the east of the island and the water to its west? This is the method of exposition by means of which that river could be considered to have one stream. And what is the method of exposition by means of which that river could be considered to have two streams, taking into account the water to the north of the island and the water to the south This is the method of exposition by means of which that river could be considered to have two streams. So two monks, that which is the faculty of faith, is the power of faith. And similarly, that which is the power of faith is the faculty of faith, etc. It is monks, because he has developed and cultivated these five faculties, that a monk, by the destruction of the Asavas, in this very life, enters and dwells in the dangerous liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge." So here, The five faculties are exactly the five powers. So you can consider them actually to be one thing, just like that river. Basically, it's one river. But when it comes across the island, it divides into two. So you can consider it to be two separate streams or so. So here, you can consider the five powers and the five faculties actually to be the same thing, one thing only. On the other hand, you can also consider them to be two. I guess you see when you say five powers, when you possess them, then they are powers. And they are faculties in the sense maybe that which is to be practiced, that which is to be attained. But these kind of things are a bit technical, not so important.

44SNIndriyaCh4820090901

Next return is 48.45 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savarthi in the eastern park, in the mansion of Migara's mother. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Monks, by having developed and cultivated how many faculties, does a monk who has destroyed the Asavas declare final knowledge thus? I understand. Destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. And the monk said, Venerable Sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, etc. And the Buddha said, It is, monks, because he has developed and cultivated one faculty, that a monk who has destroyed the Asavas declares his final knowledge thus. What is that one faculty? The faculty of wisdom. For a noble disciple who possesses wisdom, the faith that follows from it becomes stabilized, the energy that follows from it becomes stabilized, the recollection that follows from it becomes stabilized, the concentration that follows from it becomes stabilized. It is monks. Because this one faculty has been developed and cultivated, that the monk who has destroyed the asavas, declares final knowledge thus. I understand. Destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. So basically, the Sutta says, of the five faculties, wisdom is the most important. But to attain wisdom, it must be supported by the other four faculties. The faith, the energy, the recollection, and the concentration. And they grow together. When wisdom grows, the others also grow. The next sutra is quite important, Sutra 48.50. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Angans, where there was a town of the Angans named Appana. There, the Blessed One addressed the Venerable Sariputta thus, Sariputta, thus a noble disciple who is completely dedicated to the Tathagata and has full confidence in Him, entertain any perplexity or doubt about the Tathagata or the Tathagata's teaching. And Venerable Sariputta said, Venerable Sir, the noble disciple who is completely dedicated to the Tathāgata and has full confidence in him does not entertain any perplexity or doubt about the Tathāgata or the Tathāgata's teaching. It is indeed to be expected, Venerable Sir, that a noble disciple who has faith will dwell with energy aroused for the abandoning of unwholesome states and the acquisition of wholesome states, that he will be strong, firm in exertion, not shirking the responsibility of cultivating wholesome states. That energy of his, Venerable Sir, is his faculty of energy. It is indeed to be expected, noble sir, that a noble disciple who has faith, and whose energy is aroused, will be collected, here it says mindful, but when it says mindful, it means a specific mindfulness, not general mindfulness, possessing supreme mindfulness and discretion, one who remembers and recollects what was done and said long ago, That mindfulness of his, or that recollection of his, Venerable Sir, is his faculty of sati. Stop here for a moment. You see, whenever the Buddha describes sati, he says a person who has sati remembers and recollects what was done and said a long time ago. So sati has always to do with remembering. Remembering to put your attention or your mindfulness in the right place, not out among the six-hence doors, out of the six-hence doors, but focus on four objects of sati. It is indeed to be expected, Venerable Sir, that a noble disciple who has faith, whose energy is aroused, and whose mindfulness or recollection is established, will gain concentration, will gain one-pointedness of mind, having made release the object that concentration of his Venerable Sir is his faculty of concentration. Let's talk here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, when a person has faith and his energy is aroused, and then he practices sati, he will gain concentration, one-pointedness of mind. And we read in the earlier sutta that this concentration or one-pointedness of mind refers to the four jhanas. Earlier we read one sutta which explained the meaning of concentration and one-pointedness of mind as the four jhanas. So when you practice sati, it must end up with the four jhanas. It is indeed to be expected, Member Sir, that a noble disciple who has faith, whose energy is aroused, whose mindfulness or recollection is established, and whose mind is concentrated, will understand thus. This samsara is without discoverable beginning. The first point is not discern of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance, and fettered by craving, but the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance, the mass of darkness. This is the peaceful state, this is the sublime state, that is, the stilling of all formations of conditioners, the relinquishment of all acquisitions, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, nibbana. That wisdom of His, Venerable Sir, is His faculty of wisdom. So you see from here, in this paragraph, one whose mind is concentrated will understand what needs to be understood and he will have wisdom. That is his faculty of wisdom. In the suttas, It is mentioned like this, the condition for wisdom to arise is seeing things as they really are. Seeing and knowing things as they really are. And the condition for seeing things as they really are is Samadhi, the Jhanas. Because when you attain the Jhanas, the five hindrances drop away. So when the five hindrances are eliminated, then only you can see things as they really are. Otherwise, you're like a person covered with dark glasses. You cannot see colour. And venerable sir, when he has again and again strived in such a way, again and again recollected in such a way, again and again concentrated his mind in such a way, again and again understood with wisdom in such a way, that noble disciple gains complete faith thus. As to these things that previously I had only heard about, now I dwell having contacted them with the body, and having pierced them through with wisdom, I see. That faith of his, Venerable Sir, is his faculty of faith. Good, good Sariputta. Sariputta, the noble disciple who is completely dedicated to the Tathagata and has full confidence in him, does not entertain any perplexity or doubt about the Tathagata or the Tathagata's teaching. And the Buddha repeats exactly what the Venerable Sariputta said. So, this Sutta is saying that person who has faith, confidence in the Buddha, has no doubt about the teaching, the Dhamma. I think Majjhima Nikaya, the Buddha made some new rules concerning food, that he wanted the monks to eat only one meal a day. And there were certain monks who were not happy. They said, previously we ate three meals. It was good for us. Then later the Buddha said, you cannot eat three meals, only eat two meals. Now the Buddha says, eat only one meal. And then also have to eat in the morning. He said, the best meal is when people cook dinner. So he was not happy, so he refused to follow the Buddha's instructions. For the Vassa three months, he never saw the Buddha. Then at the end of the Vassa, other monks came to advise him, told him that very soon the Buddha is going to leave. You better go and see the Buddha and apologize to the Buddha. Otherwise, you'll regret. So he went to see the Buddha and apologized to the Buddha. And the Buddha gave him a telling off. The Buddha said, I lay this instruction, lay down this instruction. Just a simple thing or so you cannot follow. Why? Because I noticed every time when I teach the Dhamma, you're not paying attention, the Buddha said. Your attention is going here, going there. You're not really paying attention. So the Buddha said, you look at the other monks, it's because they pay attention to the Dhamma, to the teaching, and they understood. They have attained Sotapanna, Sakadagamin, Anagamin, Arahant, and all that. And these monks who have understood the teaching, if I ask them to do something difficult, also they will do. Not to say such a simple thing as this, the Buddha said. If I was walking, I see a lot of mud on the road, the Buddha said. I just ask one of the disciples to slide down in the mud for me to step over. They will willingly step down the mud for me to cross. But can you do it? The Buddha said, you cannot do it. Why? Because you don't have the faith, you don't have the confidence, you don't have the understanding. So you see, from here, if a person understands the Dhamma, is willing to commit himself, There are some monks to go to the forest and meditate. Some of them are eaten up by tigers, some are eaten up by pythons and all that. But they are willing to lay down their life to that extent to practice the Dhamma because they have a strong faith in the Buddha's teachings. Like the Sutta says, if a person understands the Dhamma, he has confidence in the Buddha, faith in the Buddha, and there's no doubt at all. It does not entertain any doubt or hesitation about the Buddha's teachings. So usually it's like this. Those people who find hard to do this, hard to do that, they don't have enough understanding. When they have enough understanding, it's hard to do, also they do. Hard to let go, also they let go. Those who cannot let go are those who don't understand enough. The next futa is 48.53. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Kosambi in Gositha's Park. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Monks, is there a method by means of which a monk who is a trainee, standing on the plane of a trainee, might understand, I am a trainee? While a monk who has gone beyond training, standing on the plane of one beyond training, might understand, I am one beyond training. Stop here for a moment. This trainee, one who is training, refers to the seven types of ariya. First path attainer, first fruit, second path, second fruit, third path, third fruit, and fourth path attainer. These, they are called trainees because they still have to train. They have not finished their work. They are called sekas, trainees. And then the one who is beyond training is called the aseka. who has no more work to do, no need to train anymore. That refers to the four fruit attainers. The four fruit attainers is called the Arahant. It also refers to the Paccikabuddha. It also refers to the Sammasambuddha. All of them are four fruit attainers. And they said, Remember sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, etc. And the Buddha said, There is a method, monks, by means of which a monk who is a trainee might understand, I am a trainee, while a monk who is one beyond training might understand, I am one beyond training. And what monks is the method by means of which a monk who is a trainee, standing on the plane of a trainee, understands, I am a trainee. Dear monks, a monk who is a trainee understands as it really is, this is suffering. He understands as it really is, this is the origin of suffering. He understands as it really is. This is the cessation of suffering. He understands as it really is. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. This is a method by means of which a monk who is a trainee, standing on the plane of a trainee, understands I am a trainee. So here, Arya is one who understands the Four Noble Truths. So for you to understand the Four Noble Truths, that means you have right view. And right view, the Buddha says in the Majjhima Nikaya, in the Sutta Majjhima Nikaya 43, that there are only two conditions to attain right view. The voice of another person, that means another person teaching you the Dhamma, and you have careful attention, or proper attention. So all here is very clear, all Aryans, understand the Four Noble Truths. It's only the different degree. If you understand fully, you become an Arahant. If you understand partially, you become one of the Aryans. Again monks, a monk who is a trainee considers thus, is there outside here another ascetic or Brahmin who teaches a Dhamma so real, true, actual as the Blessed One does? He understands thus, there is no ascetic or Brahmin outside here who teaches a Dhamma so real, true, actual as the Blessed One does. This too is a method by means of which a monk who is a trainee, standing on the plane of a trainee, understands, I am a trainee. So here it's saying that there is no teaching outside of the Buddha Dharma, of the original Buddha's discourses, that can compare with the Blessed One's teachings. Outside means external, external to the Buddha's teachings. So even later books can be considered external. because the original Buddha Dhamma is only found in the earliest Nikayas, original Pali Suttas. Again monks, a monk who is a trainee understands the five spiritual faculties, the faculty of faith, energy, recollection, concentration, and wisdom. He does not yet dwell having contacted with the body that is their destination, their culmination, their fruit, their final goal. But having pierced it with wisdom, he sees, this too is a method by means of which a monk who is a trainee, standing on the plane of a trainee, understands, I am a trainee. In other words, a trainee, an ariya, who has not finished his work, he has developed the five faculties, but not completely developed. Partially he has developed them, partially. And what monks is the method by means of which a monk who is one beyond training, standing on the plane beyond training, understands, I am one beyond training. Dear monks, a monk who is one beyond training understands the five spiritual faculties. The faculty of faith, energy, recollection, concentration and wisdom involves having contacted with the body their destination, their culmination, their fruit, their final goal, and having pierced it through with wisdom, he sees. This is a method by means of which a monk who is one beyond training, standing on the plane of one beyond training, understands, I am one beyond training. That means Arhan has completely developed the five faculties. Again monks, a monk who is one beyond training understands the six faculties, the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind faculties. He understands these six faculties will cease completely and totally without remainder, and no other six faculties will arise anywhere in any way. This too is a method by means of which a monk who is one beyond training, standing on the plane of one beyond training, understands I am one beyond training. In other words, this Arahant, he has full confidence that when he dies, he will not be reborn again. So that is When Arya understands he is an Arya. If that Arya has not finished his work, there are three ways by which he understands. The first one is he understands the Four Noble Truths. The second one, he knows that outside the Buddha Dhamma, the original Buddha Dhamma, there is no other teaching that can compare with the original or true Dhamma. And the third, he has developed the five faculties but not completely. And then the Arahant has two ways of knowing that he has finished his work. One is he has completely developed the five faculties. And secondly, he is confident that when he lays down the body, that he will not be reborn again. Okay, the last sutta I'm going to read in this Indriya Samyutta is 48.58. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha on Mount Bauchepi in the Boa's Cave. There, the Blessed One addressed the noble Sariputta thus, Considering what benefit Sariputta, thus a monk whose asavas are destroyed, conduct himself in a way that shows supreme honour towards the Tathagata and the Tathagata's teaching. Venerable Sariputta said, It is, Venerable Sir, considering as benefit the unsurpassed security from bondage that a monk whose asavasas are destroyed conducts himself in a way that shows supreme honour towards the Tathagata and the Tathagata's teaching. Stop here for a moment. Here the Buddha is asking, when a monk has attained liberation, if he shows complete reverence complete veneration of the Buddha, it is because of what benefit the Venerable Sariputta says. Arahant, who has become liberated, he shows supreme veneration for the Buddha because he has attained the benefit of unsurpassed security from bondage. That means he has destroyed the cycle of rebirth, because if you have not destroyed the cycle of rebirth, you will suffer in the round of rebirth. But this Arahant, he has been liberated from the rounds of rebirth. So because of this benefit, he owes complete loyalty and obedience and veneration of the Buddha. And Buddha said, Good, good, Sariputta! For Sariputta, it is considering as benefit the unsurpassed security from bondage that a monk whose asavas are destroyed conducts himself in a way that shows supreme honour towards the Tathagata and the Tathagata's teaching. And what Sariputta is the unsurpassed security from bondage that a monk whose asavasas are destroyed considers as the benefit when he conducts himself in a way that shows supreme honour towards the Tathagata and the Tathagata's teaching. And Venerable Sariputta said, here Venerable Sir, among whose asavas are destroyed, develops the faculty of faith, which leads to peace, leads to enlightenment. Similarly, he develops the faculties of energy, recollection, concentration, wisdom, which leads to peace, to enlightenment. This, Venerable Sir, is the unsurpassed security from bondage that a monk whose asavas are destroyed considers as the benefit when he conducts himself in a way that shows supreme honour towards the Tathagata and the Tathagata's teaching. In other words, Venerable Sariputta is saying that when a monk develops these five faculties completely, then he attains liberation. Good-good Sariputta, for that Sariputta is the unsurpassed security from bondage that a monk whose asavasa destroyed considers as the benefit when he conducts himself in a way that shows supreme honour towards the Tathagata and the Tathagata's teachings. And what Sariputta is the supreme honour with which a monk whose asavasa destroyed conducts himself towards the Tathagata and the Tathagata's teachings. Here, Venerable Sir, a monk whose asavasa destroyed dwells reverential and deferential towards the teacher, the Dhamma, the Sangha, the training and concentration. This, Venerable Sir, is the supreme honour with which a monk whose asavasa destroyed conducts himself towards the Tathagata and the Tathagata's teaching. Good, good Sariputta, for that Sariputta is the supreme honour with which a monk whose asavasa destroyed conducts himself towards the Tathagata and the Tathagata's teaching. That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha is saying that an Arahant, after he has attained liberation, he will very naturally have supreme veneration for the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha, the training and concentration, Samadhi. But nowadays, you find that some monks, they belittle the Samadhi. If they belittle the Samadhi, that shows they're probably not even an Arya, because And Arahant can have supreme veneration for the triple gem, the training and concentration. So it is natural that even an Arya would have supreme veneration for the triple gem, the training and concentration. So if a monk can belittle the Janas, I don't think he's an Arya at all. That's the end of the India Sangh Yutta.

45SNSammappadhanaCh49BalaCh5020090901

So let me see, the next Sanghuta is Samapadana, Right Efforts. Oh, there's only one Sutta I want to read, so I might as well read it. So this is Chapter 49, Discourses on the Four Right Efforts, Samapadana. This Sanghuta, there's only 54. But a lot of them are very similar to previous sutras, so no need to read them. So I only read one sutra. That's the first sutra, 49.1. At Savatthi, there the Blessed One said, monks, there are these four right efforts. What for? Here monks, a monk generates desire for the non-arising of unarisen evil and wholesome states. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind and strives. He generates desire for the abandoning of arisen evil, unwholesome states. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind and strives. He generates desire for the arising of unarisen wholesome states. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind, and strives. He generates desire for the maintenance of arisen wholesome states, for their non-decay, increase, expansion, and fulfillment by development. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind, and strives. These are the four right strivings or four right efforts. Monks, just as the river Ganges slants, slopes, and inclines towards the east, so too a monk who develops and cultivates the four right strivings or efforts slants, slopes, and inclines towards Nibbāna. And how, monks, does a monk develop and cultivate the four right strivings so that he slants, slopes, and inclines towards Nibbāna? Dear monks, a monk generates desire for the non-arising of unarisen, evil, unwholesome states. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind and strives. Similarly, he generates desire for the abandoning of arisen, evil, unwholesome states. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind and strives. He generates desire for the arising of unarisen wholesome states. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind and strives. He generates desire for the maintenance of arisen wholesome states, for the non-decay, increase, expansion and fulfilment by development. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind and strives. These are the four right strivings or four right efforts. It is in this way, monks, that a monk develops and cultivates the four right efforts or strivings, so that he slants, slopes and inclines towards Nibbāna as the end of the sutta. So, there are four parts of this right effort. The first two are connected with unwholesome states of mind. So, if the unwholesome states of mind have not arisen, then we don't allow it to arise. And if it has already arisen, then we quickly abandon, get rid of arisen unwholesome states of mind. And then the third and the fourth concerns wholesome states of mind. If wholesome states of mind have not arisen, then we make an effort to arouse, to make wholesome states of mind arise. And if wholesome states of mind have already arisen, then we make an effort to maintain, to the arisen wholesome states of mind. So if you want to practice these four right efforts, you constantly have to look into your mind, see whether your mind has wholesome states of mind or unwholesome states of mind, and you take corresponding action, you make the effort. So this is the sixth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. Important so that we can change our character. Without observing your mind, you cannot change your character. Now we go to the next Sanghuta. Sanghuta number 50, Bala Sanghuta. Bala means the powers. Just now we read the Indriya, the faculties now. It's a similar thing, the Balas. 50.1. Monks, there are these five powers. What five? The power of faith, the power of energy, the power of recollection, sati, the power of concentration, samadhi, the power of wisdom, pannaya. These are the five powers. Monks, just as the river Ganges slants, slopes, and inclines towards the east, so too a monk who develops and cultivates the five powers slants, slopes, and inclines towards Nibbāna. And how, monks, does a monk develop and cultivate the five powers so that he slants, slopes, and inclines towards Nibbāna? Dear monks, a monk develops the power of faith, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing in release. He develops the power of energy, the power of recollection, the power of concentration, the power of wisdom, which are based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing in release. It is in this way, monks, that a monk develops and cultivates the five powers, so that he slants slopes and inclines towards Nibbana. That's the end of the sutta. So these five powers are the same as the five faculties. And you notice that when you develop each of these powers, that it is based upon seclusion. Seclusion means aloofness, aloofness from society, from people. If you want to develop the holy path, you must develop seclusion from other people so that you can go into your mind. Liberation is not found outside. Liberation is found inside here. Because the Buddha says the world is inside us. The arising of the world is also inside us. The cessation of the world is also inside us. The path leading to the cessation of the world, this world of suffering, wu hai, is also inside us. So when he says inside us, it means in our mind. The source of the world is in consciousness, and consciousness is in our mind. So the source of liberation is to end the flow of consciousness. And because consciousness flows from inside the mind, we have to go to the inside of our mind to stop the flow of consciousness, which is the cause of the world. That's why you have to practice inclusion. Eventually, if you want to attain liberation, It's like being tired of the world, weary of the world. And sensation, sensation of all our grieving and all that. And then you will mature in liberation. This is the only sutra that is worth reading in this chapter. So I think I'll stop here because the next chapter is the Edhibhadra. There's quite a number of suttas to read, so we'll start it tomorrow. Anything to discuss? Are we using Yoniso Umanasikara or Satipatthana? When we look at our mind, that's using Sati. not exactly satipadana, but sati and yoniso manasikara means paying proper attention paying proper attention and that is usually used for like when we listen to the dhamma then we are supposed to have yoniso manasikara so when we look into the mind it's more of sati Oh yes, yes. That could be for his parents, that could be carnal happiness, carnal delight. Because remember we read one sutra, I think on page 1284, we look at 1284. Yeah, 1284 talk about spiritual delight. And then before that is carnal delight, carnal rapture here. So, carnal delight refers to the delight that arises because of the five chords of sensual pleasure. When the sight, sound, smell, taste and touch give us pleasure, that delight that arises because of that is the carnal delight. Whereas the spiritual delight must enter the jhāna to attain spiritual delight. So since they were not in the state of jhāna, so it probably is not spiritual delight. Because spiritual delight here refers to that first jhāna and second jhāna. And then similarly at the bottom, you see carnal happiness and spiritual happiness. Carnal happiness also is because of the five courts of sensual pleasure. Whereas spiritual happiness is because of the first, second and third jhana. And then on page 1285, carnal equanimity is also dependent on the five courts of sensual pleasure. And spiritual equanimity refers to the fourth jhana. It's quite an important sutta. Always keep this sutta in mind. Since we are talking about right effort and right effort talks about wholesome and unwholesome states of mind, that means you put energy to observe the mind whether it is having wholesome or unwholesome states of mind. And then once you recognize whether it is wholesome or unwholesome states, then you take appropriate action either to discard the unwholesome states of mind or to develop wholesome states of mind etc. So putting effort in that direction is energy. There are some suttas in the Majjhima Nikaya which tell you how to get rid of all the taints, sabba-sabba, sabba-asabba, suttas. Sabba is all, asabba is these taints, these defilements. So that's why it's good to study more suttas. All the techniques are given by the Buddha already. That's why the Buddha's teaching is complete. I think if I put this on the globe, Chitra and Ananda Sampath, they are both from another family. I think they are very different. Maybe it's like if you need to take a mission to go whatever it is to Vietnam, and you don't have time to go to school, you need to shift school to go to Vietnam. So, I was wondering that in your session, you were very inclusive about the meditations and the kind of place. They are very attached to each other. So, I was wondering what kind of relationship did they develop? Mostly, people are all different. So you see, even the arahants, their characters are very different. Like Ananda is a very friendly arahant, a very friendly monk. Whereas Kassapa is very aloof and very direct. Some of his words are very piercing and they poke you. So in the case of these Anagamins who like to do dana, I'm sure it's out of gratitude, out of gratitude for what they have learned from the Sangha. So they want to support the Sangha as best as they can. And also because the Buddha has already stated that it is the duty of lay devotees to support the Sangha. That's why they do it, but mostly out of gratitude to the Sangha. There are some people who are so devoted to the Sangha that sometimes they buy very good things for the monks, very good things that they themselves don't use, they think it's too expensive for them to use, but sometimes they go out with me to buy for monks, devotion. People can only do this when they understand the Dhamma. If they understand the Dhamma, then they do more than what is normally done by most people. In fact, in the monk's vinaya, in the monk's precepts, the Buddha said there are some stream-enterers, people who have just entered the stream because of understanding the Dhamma, and they have become an Arya, and they have so much faith for the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, that they do dana more than they can afford. Because some of these devotees, they are not rich, but they give more than they can afford, so much so that their family suffers. And in the monk's Vinaya, the Buddha said, if a monk knows that such a family is like that, I think the word he uses, initiates. People have been recently initiated into the Buddhist religion, and they have full faith and confidence in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha so that they do dana offerings beyond their capacity. Then the Buddha said, the monk, if you know there's such a family, you should not go there. Because if you go there, it'll make it difficult for them. Which reminds me, many years ago, 20 over years ago, when I was a new monk, I was in Thailand. So I went on this, what do you call, with one Thai monk. So this Thai monk, at that time I was about 38 years old and he was 45 years old. And he was very fit. And he brought me to a cave, you know. We walked a long way from somewhere, Ratburi, and down to Padang Besar. So he brought me to a cave beside The stream, the river was muddy river. When you want to make tea or you want to drink water, you have to collect the muddy water and boil it. And then nearby, there were only three houses, three Buddhist houses. And you know, Padang Besar area, all the people are very poor, and the other houses are Muslim. So the only three houses would support us, So he had stayed there for, I think, two years previously. So he encouraged me to stay alone there. He was about to leave. He asked me to stay there. But I thought, these people are so poor. If I stay there, I'll be a burden on them. So I didn't stay there. So it's like this. And I thought about these people who give beyond their means. OK, shall we end here? uh

46SNIddhipadaCh5120090902

Okay, today is the 2nd of September and we are starting on the 51st Samyutta of the Samyutta Nikaya. 51st chapter is the Idi Pada Samyutta. Idi Pada, from the word Idi and Pada. Idi means psychic power. The Idi is psychic power. And Pada is the path. Usually the Dhammapada, normally here they translate it as basis for psychic powers. Here it says spiritual powers but it means the same thing. And there are four basis for psychic powers. The first one is Chanda Samadhi, Padana, Sankara, Samana Gatam, The second one is Viriya, Samadhi, Padana, Sankara, Samana, Gatam. The third one is Citta and the fourth one is Vimamsa. Chanda is desire, desire to do something. And Viriya is energy, Citta is mind. Vimamsa is investigation. So, they have translated the four bases as the basis for spiritual power that possesses concentration due to desire and volitional formations of striving. But I prefer to say the basis for psychic power of concentration due to desire accompanied by effort and volition. So each of these basis, it is Concentration due to desire or concentration due to energy or concentration due to the mind or concentration due to investigation. Maybe you can also say concentration of desire, concentration of energy, concentration of mind and concentration of investigation. accompanied by effort and volition. Volition can also mean willpower. Okay, the first sutra read is 51.2. Buddha said monks Those who have neglected the four bases for psychic power have neglected the noble path leading to the complete destruction of suffering. Those who have undertaken the four bases for psychic power have undertaken the noble path leading to the complete destruction of suffering. Stop here for a moment. Why is that the psychic power has to do with the destruction of suffering? There are six what are known as higher knowledges, Abhinaya. And these six higher knowledges are the fruits of cultivating the holy life. The higher knowledges, the higher fruits. And out of these six, five of them have to do with psychic power. The first one is, I think the English word is psychokinesis. Various types of psychic power like flying in the air, going to the wall, diving into the earth like diving into water, walking on the surface of the water, one body multiplying into many bodies etc. So that's the first one. The second one is like a heavenly eye or divine eye. You can see devas and devis and ghosts etc. And then another one is a divine ear or heavenly ear where you can hear the sounds of spiritual beings And then another one is being able to remember your past lives. Another one is being able to read other people's minds. So these are the five, plus another one now, which is not considered psychic power, but which is the most important, is the destruction of the asavas. When you destroy the asavas, you become liberated, become an arahant. So that is why if you can attain psychic power, you are very near to enlightenment already. All you need is to listen to the right sutta and you will become enlightened. So that's why here it says that those who have undertaken the four bases for psychic powers have undertaken the noble path leading to the complete destruction of suffering. What for? Dear monks, a monk develops the basis for psychic power, for psychic power of concentration due to desire accompanied by effort and volition. He develops the basis for psychic power of concentration due to energy and then the basis for psychic power of concentration due to mind and similarly the basis for psychic power of concentration due to investigation accompanied by effort and volition. Monks, those who have neglected the four bases for psychic power, have neglected the noble path leading to the complete destruction of suffering. So, you look at these four bases, this is always concentration. Concentration either due to desire, that means the desire to to attain psychic power, or concentration due to the energy, putting forth energy to attain psychic power, or concentration due to the mind, you can say, determination, having strong determination, using the mind fully. concentrated mind to attain this psychic power. And the last one is concentration due to investigation. Even you want to attain higher concentration, also you have to investigate, which is what are the conditions that will lead you to concentration. And it is accompanied, each one of these are accompanied by effort. You need effort and volition volition you can consider as willpower. So you put forth effort and strong willpower and then you concentrate your mind on the basis of desire, energy, determination and investigation. Then you can get what you want. Next victa is 51.5. Monks, whatever ascetics or Brahmins in the past generated psychic power in part, all did so because they had developed and cultivated the four bases for psychic powers. Whatever ascetics or Brahmins in the future will generate psychic powers in part, all will do so because all will do so because they have developed and cultivated the four bases for psychic powers. What four? Here monks, a monk develops the basis for psychic power of concentration due to desire accompanied by effort and volition. He develops the basis for psychic power of concentration due to energy of concentration due to mind, of concentration due to investigation, accompanied by effort and volition. Monks, whatever ascetics or Brahmins in the past, in the future or at present, generate psychic power in part or do so because they have developed and cultivated these four bases for psychic power. And then the next sutta is quite similar except that instead of instead of generate psychic power in partner. The Sutta 6 is whatever ascetics or Brahmins in the past, in the future or at present generate psychic power completely, all did so because they had developed and cultivated the four bases for psychic powers. So I won't read it because it's very similar. The next Sutta is 51.10. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesali, in the great wood, in the hall with the peaked roof. Then in the morning, the Blessed One dressed, and taking bowl and robe, entered Vesali for alms, when He had walked for alms in Vesali, and had returned from the alms round. After His meal, He addressed the Venerable Ananda thus, Take a sitting-cloth, Ananda. Let us go to the Chapala shrine for the days abiding. Yes, Venerable Sir," the Venerable Ananda replied, and having taken a sitting cloth, he followed closely behind the Blessed One. The Blessed One then went to the Chapala Shrine and sat down on a seat that was prepared. The Venerable Ananda, having paid homage to the Blessed One, also sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to the Venerable Ananda, Delightful is Vesali Ananda. Delightful is the Udena Shrine. Delightful is the Gautamaka Shrine. Delightful the Satamba Shrine. Delightful the Bahuputta Shrine. Delightful, the Sarandada Shrine. Delightful, the Chapala Shrine. Stop here for a moment. So around Vesali, there are so many shrines. These shrines must be for praying to the spirits, the devas. It's an Indian or Hindu tradition to be friendly to the devas around so that they will not give us problems. In fact, they protect us. Whoever Ananda has developed and cultivated the four bases for psychic powers, made them a vehicle, made them a basis, stabilized them, exercised himself in them, and fully perfected them, could, if he so wished, live on for the aeon, or for the remainder of the aeon. The Tathāgata Ananda has developed and cultivated the four bases for psychic powers, made them a vehicle, made them a basis, stabilized them, exercised himself in them, and fully perfected them, if he so wished, the Tathāgata could live on for the aeon, or for the remainder of the aeon. But although the Venerable Ananda was given such an obvious signal by the Blessed One, though he was given such an obvious hint, he was unable to penetrate it. He did not implore the Blessed One. Venerable Sir, let the Blessed One live on for the aeon. Let the fortunate one live on for the aeon, for the welfare of the multitude, for the happiness of the multitude. out of compassion for the world, for the good, welfare and happiness of devas and humans. To such an extent was his mind obsessed by Mara. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is hinting that if he wanted to, he could live on for an aeon. Eon here is Kappa, world cycle. This is an extremely long time. So the commentaries found it difficult to accept it. So the commentary said, he must be talking about the Ayu Kappa, the life, the life cycle, meaning during the Buddha's time, the lifespan, the full lifespan was supposed to be about 100 years. So at that time, the Buddha probably was about 80 years. So a commentary says, what he means is if he wanted to, he could live on for another 20 years. But then there's no indication of this. Could be true, might not be true. A second time and a third time, the Blessed One addressed the Venerable Ananda. Delightful is Vesali Ananda. Delightful the various shrines. Whoever Ananda has developed and cultivated the four bases for psychic power, could, if he so wished, live on for the aeon or for the remainder of the aeon. If he so wished, the Tathagata could live on for the aeon or for the remainder of the aeon. But again, though the Venerable Ananda was given such an obvious signal by the Blessed One, though he was given such an obvious hint, he was unable to penetrate it. To such an extent was his mind obsessed by Mara. Stop here again. So here the Sutra says his mind was obsessed by Mara, meaning probably Mara the Deva, because Maharaja Deva did not want the Buddha to stay so long in the world and help other living beings get out of the world. He wants the world to have a lot of beings. Then the Blessed One addressed the Venerable Ananda, you may go Ananda at your own convenience. Yes, Venerable Sir, Venerable Ananda replied. and he rose from his seat, paid homage to the Blessed One, and keeping his right side towards him, sat down nearby at the foot of a tree. Then not long after the Venerable Ananda had left, Mara the Evil One approached the Blessed One and said to him, Venerable Sir, let the Blessed One now attain final Nibbana. Let the fortunate one now attain final Nibbana. Now is the time for the Blessed One's final Nibbana. This statement was made, Venerable Sir, by the Blessed One. I will not attain final Nibbāna, evil one, until I have bhikkhu disciples who are wise, disciplined, confident, secure from bondage, learned, upholders of the Dhamma, practicing in accordance with the Dhamma, practicing in the proper way, conducting themselves accordingly, who have learned their own teacher's doctrine and can explain it, teach it, proclaim it, establish it, disclose it, analyze it, and elucidated, who can refute thoroughly with reasons the prevalent tenets of others and can teach the efficacious Dharma. But at present, Venerable Sir, the Blessed One has bhikkhu or monk disciples who are wise, disciplined, confident, secure, from bondage, learned, upholders of the Dhamma, etc., and who can teach the efficacious Dhamma. Venerable Sir, let the Blessed One now attain final Nibbana. Let the fortunate one now attain final Nibbana. Now is the time for the Blessed One's final Nibbana. And this statement was made, Venerable Sir, by the Blessed One, I will not attain final Nibbana, evil one, until I have bhikkhuni, or nun disciples, And then again, until I have male lay disciples, until I have female lay disciples who are wise. disciplined, confident, secure from bondage, learned, upholders of the Dhamma, practicing in accordance with the Dhamma, practicing in the proper way, conducting themselves accordingly, who have learned their own teacher's doctrine and can explain it, teach it, proclaim it, establish it, disclose it, analyze it, and elucidate it, who can refute thoroughly with reasons the prevalent tenets of others, and can teach the efficacious Dhamma, But at present, Venerable Sir, the Blessed One has female lay disciples who are wise, disciplined, secure from bondage, etc., practicing in the proper way, and can refute with reasons. the prevalent tenets of others and teach the efficacious Dhamma. Prabhu Sir, let the blessed one now attain final Nibbana. Let the fortunate one now attain final Nibbana. Now is the time for the blessed one's final Nibbana. And this statement was made by the Blessed One, I would not attain final Nibbana, Evil One, until this holy life of mine has become successful and prosperous, extensive, popular, widespread, well-proclaimed among devas and humans. That holy life of the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, has become successful and prosperous, extensive, popular, widespread, well-proclaimed among devas and humans. Venerable Sir, let the Blessed One now attain Final Nibbana. Let the fortunate one now attain Final Nibbana. Now is the time for the Blessed One's Final Nibbana. stop it for a moment. So you can see from here, Mara has been asking the Buddha to enter Nibbana many times. And at one time, the Buddha said he will not enter Nibbana until the monk disciples are many, who can teach the Dhamma and refute the teachings of other sects, etc. And another time when The Mara asked the Buddha to enter Nibbana. The Buddha said he won't enter Nibbana until the nun disciples are many and they have learned the Dhamma so that they can spread the Dhamma. At the time, the Buddha said, now wait until my meal lay disciples are many and they understand the Dhamma, can teach the Dhamma, etc. Another time the Buddha said, wait until my female lay disciples are many and they can teach the Dhamma and refute the teachings of others, etc. And another time the Buddha said, I will not enter Nibbana until the holy life, that means the Buddhist religion has become successful and prosperous. widespread, well-proclaimed among devas and humans. Now the Mara said, all these conditions have been fulfilled, so please enter Nibbana, asked the Buddha. And this was said, the Blessed One said to Mara, the evil one, be at ease, evil one. You will not be long before the Tathagata's final Nibbana takes place. Three months from now, the Tathagata will enter final Nibbana. Then the Blessed One at the Chapala Shrine, mindfully and with clear comprehension, relinquished his vital formation. This word, vital formation, the Pali word is ayu-sankara. Ayu is life. Sankara is conditioner. So it is the life conditioner, that which conditions life. He let go. I guess it must be the will to live because the will to live conditions life. If somebody holds on to the will to live, he will not die until the body gives him so much pain that he cannot stand. Then only you let go of the will to live and die. So here the Buddha finally let go of the life conditioner. And when the Blessed One had relinquished His life-conditioner, a great earthquake occurred, frightening and terrifying, and peals of thunder shook the sky. Then, having understood the meaning of this, the Blessed One on that occasion uttered this inspired utterance. Comparing the incomparable and continued existence, the sage relinquished the life-conditioner. Rejoicing within, concentrated, he broke continued self-existence like a coat of armor. That's the end of the sutra. So, even though the Buddha hinted to Ananda several times that he could prolong his life, Ananda could not take the hint. and did not request the Buddha to stay on. So when Mara came again to ask the Buddha to enter Nibbana, then the Buddha thought he has finished his work and his body is giving him a lot of pain. At the age of 80, the body constantly gave him a lot of pain so that sometimes he had to enter this cessation of perception and feeling. Then only he did not have the pain. then he decided to enter Nibbāna. So you see, even for the Buddha to enter Nibbāna, to pass away, he has to let go of that life condition, the will to live. So that is why I feel in the dependent origination, avijjā paccaya saṅkara saṅkara paccaya viññānaṁ, that saṅkara is probably volition, the will to live. Because in the five aggregates, sankara is also volition. So in the dependent origination, it's probably the same. So because of ignorance, people have the will to live. And because of the strong will to live, every moment our consciousness arises and ceases. After it ceases, because of the will to live, it shoots up again, arises again, and then ceases. And then because of the will to live again, it arises. So the Buddha let go of the will to live, and then a great earthquake occurred. Later, after the Buddha had passed into Parinibbana, because this was one of the things, the 500 Arahants, including the Venerable Ananda, when they held the first Sangha Council, that was the time when the 499 Arahants criticized Ananda, said, why Buddha gave you a broad hint, you never asked him to stay back.

47SNIddhipadaCh5120090902

Okay, the next vitta is 51.11, a savati. The Buddha said, monks, before my enlightenment, while I was still a bodhisattva, not yet fully enlightened, it occurred to me, what now is the cause and condition for the development of the basis for psychic power? It occurred to me, here a monk develops the basis for psychic power of concentration due to desire, accompanied by effort and volition. Thinking, thus my desire will be neither too slack nor too tense, and it will be neither constricted internally nor distracted externally. And he dwells perceiving after and before, as before, so after, as after, so before, as below, so above, as above, so below, as by day, so at night, as at night, so by day. Thus with the mind that is open and unenveloped, he develops the mind imbued with luminosity. Stop here for a moment. Here, all these terms, You will come across it later on page 1737, 10 pages from here. And just go through it quickly. Your desire will be neither too slack nor too tense. That means if it's too slack, that means it's no effort. If it's too tense, it's too much effort, so it becomes restless. and constricted internally means you have sloth and torpor and distracted externally means the attention goes out to the five cause substantial pleasure to sight, sound, smell, taste and touch perceiving after and before that means The perception of after and before is well grasped by the monk, well attended to, well considered, well penetrated by wisdom. So probably it means, as before, so after. It's consistent all the time, before his meditation and after his meditation, it's the same. And by day, as by night, so as above and below, On page 1737, it says, a monk reveals his very body upwards from the soles of the feet, downwards from the tips of the hair. It is in this way that a monk dwells, as above, so below. Then, as at night, as by day, probably that means he makes the same effort at night as by day. He develops the basis for psychic power of concentration, due to energy accompanied by effort and volition. Similarly, he thinks, thus my energy will be neither too slack nor too tense, etc. Similarly, he develops the basis for psychic power of concentration due to mind accompanied by effort and volition. And similarly, he cultivates the basis of psychic power of concentration due to investigation accompanied by effort and volition. The four bases of psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way. Among wheels, the various kinds of psychic powers. This one is the Pali word is Iddhi Vida. I mentioned just now, Psychokinesis. Having been one, he becomes many. He multiplies his body. Having been many, he becomes one. He appears and vanishes. He goes unhindered through a wall, through a rampart, through a mountain as though through space. He dives in and out of the earth as though it were water. He walks on water without sinking as though it were earth. Seated cross-legged, he travels in space like a bird. With his hand, he touches and strokes the moon and sun, so powerful and mighty. He exercises mastery with the body as far as the Brahma world. This last part means that with the body, he can fly, the flesh body, he can fly with the flesh body up to the Brahma heavens, but not further than that. The other heavens are too far. When the four bases for psychic powers have been developed and cultivated in this way, a monk with the divine ear or heavenly ear, which is purified and surpasses the human, hears both kinds of sounds, the divine and human, those that are far as well as near. When the four bases for psychic powers have been developed and cultivated in this way, a monk understands the minds of other beings and persons, having encompassed them with his own mind. He understands a mind with lust as a mind with lust, a mind without lust as a mind without lust, a mind with hatred as a mind with hatred, a mind without hatred as a mind without hatred, etc. An exalted mind as an exalted mind. as a passable mind as a passable concentrated mind as concentrated liberated mind as liberated so here he can read the minds of other beings And the four bases for psychic powers have been developed and cultivated in this way. A monk recollects his manyfold past abodes, that is, one birth, two births, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, hundred, thousand, hundred thousand births, many aeons of world contraction, many aeons of world expansion, many aeons of world contraction and expansion thus. There I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such was my life span. Passing away from there, I was reborn elsewhere, and there too I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such my experience, etc. Thus he recollects his manyfold past abodes with emotes and detail. When the four bases for psychic powers have been developed and cultivated in this way, a monk with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, sees beings passing away and being reborn. inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings fare on in accordance with their kamma thus. Those beings who engage in misconduct of body, speech, and mind, who revile the noble ones, held wrong view, and undertook actions based on wrong view, with the breakup of the body after death, have been born in a state of misery, in a bad destination, in the netherworld, in hell. But those beings who engaged in good conduct of body, speech and mind, who did not revile the noble ones, Aryans, who held right view and undertook action based on right view, with the breakup of the body after death, have been reborn in a good destination in the heavenly world. Thus, with the divine eye which is purified and surpasses the human, he sees beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings fare on in accordance with their karma. When the four bases fall, Sakhi powers have been developed and cultivated in this way. A monk, by the destruction of the arts of arts, in this very life, enters and dwells in the taintless liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge. So, this sutra says, if you cultivate the four bases for psychic powers, then you can attain the five types of psychic powers plus the destruction of the Asavas, which means liberation, attainment of Arahanthood. The next sutra is 51.13. Monks, if a monk gains concentration, gains one-pointedness of mind based upon desire, this is called concentration due to desire. He generates desire for the non-arising of un-arisen evil and wholesome states. He makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind and strives. He generates desire for the abandoning of arisen evil and wholesome states. He generates desire for the arising of un-arisen wholesome states. He generates desire for the maintenance of arisen wholesome states. For the non-decay, increased expansion and fulfilment by development, he makes an effort, arouses energy, applies his mind and strives. These are called effort and volition. Thus, this concentration due to desire accompanied by effort and volition. This is called the basis for psychic power of concentration due to desire accompanied by effort and volition. Similarly, a monk gains concentration gains one-pointedness of mind based upon energy and this is called concentration due to energy and similarly for concentration due to mind and concentration due to investigation so these are the four bases of psychic powers the next sutra is 51.14 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in the eastern part, in the mansion of Nigara's mother. Now, on that occasion, a number of monks who dwelt on the ground floor of the mansion were restless, puffed up, personally vain, rough-tongued, rambling in their talk, muddle-minded, without clear awareness, unconcentrated, scatterbrained, loose in their faculties. I'll stop you for a moment. Sometimes this type of description of monks, the Buddha says, these are fake monks who don't practice the spiritual path. Then the Blessed One addressed the Venerable Maha Mughalana thus, Mughalana, your brothers in the holy life, dwelling on the ground floor of the mansion of Migara's mother, are restless, puffed up, personally vain, rough-tongued, rambling in their talk, muddle-minded, without clear comprehension or awareness, unconcentrated, scatterbrained, loose in their faculties. Go, Moggallana, stir up a sense of urgency in those monks." Yes, Venerable Sir," the Venerable Maha Moggallana replied, that he performed a feat of psychic power such that he made the mansion of Migara's mother shake, quake, and tremble with his toll. Then those monks, shocked and terrified, stood to one side and said, It is wonderful indeed, sir. It is amazing indeed, sir. There is no wind, and this mansion of Megara's mother has a deep base, that means a deep foundation, and it is purely planted, immobile, unshaking, yet it shook, quaked, and trembled. Stop here for a moment. So this Meru Mahamubalana, just by using his toe, pressed on the floor and the whole of the mansion shook. I don't know how many kutis, how many rooms this mansion has. Then the Blessed One approached those monks and said to them, why monks are you standing to one side, shocked and terrified? And they said, It is wonderful, Venerable Sir. It is amazing, Venerable Sir. There is no wind, and this mansion of Megara's mother has a deep base and is securely planted, immobile, unshaking. Yet it shook, it quaked, and it trembled. And the Buddha said, monks, the monk Mughalana, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in you, made the mansion of Migara's mother's shape, quake and tremble with his store. What do you think, monks? By having developed and cultivated, what things has the monk Mughalana become so powerful and mighty? And they said, Venerable Sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, guided by the Blessed One, take recourse in the Blessed One. It would be good if the Blessed One would clear up the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from him, the monks will remember it. Then listen, monks. It is because he has developed and cultivated the four bases for psychic powers that the monk Moggallana has become so powerful and mighty. But for, dear monks, The monk Moggallana has developed the basis for psychic power of concentration due to desire, accompanied by effort and volition. He has developed the basis for psychic power of concentration due to energy, concentration due to mind, concentration due to investigation, accompanied by effort and volition. Thinking, thus my investigation will be neither too slack nor too tense, will be neither constricted internally nor distracted externally, etc. Thus with the mind that is open and unenveloped, he has developed the mind imbued with luminosity. Stop here for a moment. So because of his cultivating concentration, strong concentration, the mind becomes luminous, becomes bright. And the Buddha says in the suttas, the mind becomes bright after a person has attained the fourth jhāna or highest state. It is monks, because he has developed and cultivated these four bases for psychic powers, that the monk Moggallāna has become so powerful and mighty. It is monks, because the monk Moggallāna has developed and cultivated these four bases for psychic power, that he wields the various kinds of psychic powers. And then the Buddha mentions all the psychic powers that we went through earlier. It is because the monk Moggallana has developed and cultivated these four bases of psychic power that by the destruction of the asavas in this very life, he enters and dwells in the taintless liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge. It's the end of the sutra. So sometimes the Buddha wants to stir those lazy monks He gets somebody with psychic power, like the Venerable Mahamoggalana, to do a feat like this. Then they get frightened. At the same time, they realize his psychic power is so great, they also want to attain those psychic powers. So then they will start to learn. The next sutra is 51.15. On one occasion, the Venerable Ananda was dwelling at Kosambi. in Gosita's path. Then the Brahmin Unaba approached the Venerable Ananda and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to the Venerable Ananda, For what purpose, Master Ananda, is the holy life lived under the ascetic Gautama? It is for the sake of abandoning desire, Brahmin, that the holy life is lived under the Blessed One. But Master Ananda, is there a path, is there a way for the abandoning of this desire? There is a path, Brahmin, there is a way for the abandoning of this desire. But Master Ananda, what is that path, what is the way for the abandoning of this desire? Here, Brahmin, a monk develops the basis for psychic power of concentration due to desire accompanied by effort and volition. He develops the basis for psychic power of concentration due to energy, of concentration due to mind, of concentration due to investigation. This, Brahmin, is the path, this is the way for the abandoning of this desire. And the Brahmin said, such being the case, Master Ananda, the situation is interminable. interminable, not terminable. It is impossible that one can abandon desire by means of desire itself. Stop here for a moment. So here this Brahmin is saying, you want to abandon desire, you develop the basis for psychic power of concentration due to desire. So you are using desire to abandon desire. So he said this cannot be, this situation is without an end. It is not with an N. That means you use desire to abandon desire, then you still have desire. If you still have a desire, how to abandon desire? Then Venerable Ananda said, Well then, Brahmin, I will question you about this matter. Answer as you see fit. What do you think, Brahmin? Did you earlier have the desire, I will go to the path, and after you went to the path, did the corresponding desire subside? Yes sir, he said. Did you earlier arouse energy thinking, I will go to the path, and after you went to the path, did the corresponding energy subside? Yes sir. Did you earlier make up your mind, I will go to the path, and after you went to the path, did the corresponding resolution or determination in the mind subside? He said, yes sir. Did you earlier make an investigation, shall I go to the park? And after you went to the park, did the corresponding investigation subside? Yes, sir. This is exactly the same Brahmin with a monk who is an arahant, one whose asavas are destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached his own goal, utterly destroyed the fetters of existence, and is completely liberated through final knowledge. He earlier had the desire for the attainment of arahantship, and when he attained arahantship, the corresponding desire subsided. He earlier had aroused energy for the attainment of arahantship, and when he attained arahantship, the corresponding energy subsided. He earlier had made up his mind to attain arahantship, and when he attained arahantship, the corresponding resolution or determination subsided. He earlier made an investigation for the attainment of arahantship, and when he had attained arahantship, the corresponding investigation subsided. What do you think, Brahmin, such being the case, is the situation terminable or interminable?" And he said, Surely, Master Gautama, such being the case, the situation is terminable, not interminable. Magnificent Master Ananda, Magnificent Master Ananda, who he took refuge in the Buddha Dhamma and Sangha, and he said, From today, let Master Ananda remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life. So you see this one, Ananda is a wise, a wise monk to explain it so well. 51.19. Monks, I will teach you spiritual power or psychic power, the basis for psychic power, the development of the basis for psychic power, and the way leading to the development for the basis for psychic power. And what monks is psychic power? Here monks, a monk wields the various kinds of psychic powers. Having been one, he becomes many. He exercises mastery with the body as far as the Brahma world. This is called psychic power. And what, monks, is the basis for psychic power? It is the path and practice that leads to gaining psychic power, to obtaining psychic power. This is called the basis for psychic power. And what, monks, is the development of the basis for psychic power? Here, monks, a monk develops the basis for psychic power of concentration due to desire, accompanied by effort and volition. Similarly, it develops the basis for psychic power of concentration due to energy, concentration due to mind, concentration due to investigation, accompanied by effort and volition. This is called the development of the basis for psychic power. And what monks is the way leading to the development of the basis for psychic power. It is this noble eightfold path that is right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection and right concentration. This is called the way leading to the development of the basis for psychic power. That's the end of the sutra. So you notice here, that the way leading to the development of the basis for psychic power is the Noble Eightfold Path. The Noble Eightfold Path is all-encompassing. Actually, if you cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path, you would have cultivated all the other sets in what they call the 37 Bodhipakya Dhammas, namely the Four Right Efforts, the Four Satipatthana, 4 bases for psychic power, then the 5 indriya, the 5 bala, the 7 bhojanga, all that would be perfected when you perfect the Noble Eightfold Path. So the most important is the Noble Eightfold Path. Okay, now we come to 51.20. Monks, these four bases for psychic power, when developed and cultivated, are of great fruit and benefit. And how monks are the four bases for psychic power, developed and cultivated, so that they are of great fruit and benefit? Dear monks, a monk develops the basis for psychic power of concentration due to desire, accompanied by effort and volition. Thinking, thus my desire will be neither too slack nor too tense, and it will be neither constricted internally nor distracted externally. and he dwells perceiving after and before, as before, so after, as after, so before, as below, so above, as above, so below, as by day, so at night, as at night, so by day. Thus with the mind that is open and unenveloped, he develops the mind imbued with luminosity. He develops the basis for psychic power that possesses concentration due to energy, concentration due to mind, concentration due to investigation, and he develops the mind imbued with luminosity. And what mounts is desire that is too slack. It is desire that is accompanied by lassitude, associated with lassitude. This is called desire that is too slack. And what mounts is desire that is too tense. It is desire that is accompanied by restlessness, associated with restlessness. This is called desire that is too tense. And what mounts is desire that is constricted internally. It is desire that is accompanied by sloth and torpor, associated with sloth and torpor. This is called desire that is constricted internally. And what mounts this desire that is distracted externally? It is desire that is repeatedly distracted externally, repeatedly disturbed, on account of the five causes of sensual pleasure. This is called desire that is distracted externally. And how, monks, does a monk dwell perceiving after and before, as before, so after, as after, so before? Here, monks, the perception of after and before is well grasped by a monk, well attended to, well considered, well penetrated by wisdom. It is in this way, monks, that a monk dwells perceiving after and before, as before, so after, as after, so before. And how, monks, does a monk dwell as below, so above, as above so below. Here monks, a monk reveals this very body upwards from the soles of the feet, downwards from the tips of the hairs, enclosed in skin as full of many kinds of impurities, There are in this body head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, genus, bone, bone, marrow, kidney, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lungs, intestine, mesentery, contents of the stomach, excrement, bowel, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tear, grease, saliva, snot, fluid of the joints, urine. It is in this way, monks, that a monk dwells as above, so below. And how, monks, does a monk dwell as by day, so at night, as at night, so by day? Here, monks, at night a monk develops the basis for psychic power of concentration due to desire accompanied by effort and volition. By way of the same qualities, the same features, the same aspects, as he develops that basis for psychic power by day. Or else by day he develops the basis for psychic power. By way of the same qualities, the same features, the same aspects, as he develops that basis for psychic power at night. This in this way amounts, that amount dwells as by day, so at night, as at night, so by day. And how, monks, does a monk with a mind that is open and unenveloped develop the mind imbued with luminosity? Here, monks, the perception of light is well grasped by a monk. The perception of day is well resolved upon. This in this way, monks, that a monk with a mind that is open and unenveloped develops the mind imbued with luminosity. So you see these are the various descriptions on how to practice. Two slacks is associated with lassitude. Two tents is associated with restlessness. Constricted internally is associated with sloth and torpor. Distracted externally is repeatedly disturbed on account of the five causes of sensual pleasure. After and below. The perception of after and below is well grasped by a monk. As below, so above. As above, so below, considers the body. the contents of the body, as by day, so at night, as at night, so by day. A monk practices in the same way, whether it's daytime or nighttime. But nowadays, a lot of meditation teachers don't talk like this. They say you can sleep mindfully. And the Buddha's standard, he practices daytime and nighttime is the same. So the last part, how does he develop the mind? Until it's luminous, it must have attained at least the four jhānas. When it attains the four jhānas, the whole body becomes bright. Or any jhāna above the fourth jhāna. And then in the same way, analysis of energy has a basis. What mounts is energy that is too slack. It is energy that is accompanied by lassitude associated with lassitude. This is called energy that is too slack. And what mounts is energy that is too dense. This energy that is accompanied by restlessness. So in the same way, the description is just as the previous one. Similarly for mind, concentration due to mind, concentration due to investigation, When monks, the four bases for psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way, they are of great fruit and benefit. When monks, the four bases for psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way, a monk wields the various kinds of psychic powers. Having been one, he becomes many. Having been many, he becomes one, etc. He exercises mastery with the body as far as the Brahma world. When monks, The four bases for psychic power have been developed and cultivated in this way. Among but the destruction of the Asavas, in this very life, enters and dwells in the taintless liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge. So that's the end of the sutra. So it's telling us how to practice the four bases for psychic powers. Most of it we know already, except this interesting part I mentioned is that if you really want to cultivate it until you get the psychic powers, then your practice in the daytime should be the same as your practice at night. Then there's a hope of getting psychic powers. 51.22 Then the Venerable Ananda approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, does the Blessed One recall ever having gone to the Brahma world by psychic power with a mind-made body? And the Buddha said, I recall Ananda having gone to the Brahma world by psychic power with a mind-made body. But, Venerable Sir, does the Blessed One recall ever having gone to the Brahma world by psychic power with this body composed of the four great elements? And he said, I recall Ananda having gone to the Brahma world by psychic power with this body composed of the four great elements. That means with this flesh body. Venerable Ananda said that the Blessed One is able to go to the Brahma world by psychic power with a mind-made body and that he recalls having gone to the Brahma world by psychic power with this body composed of the four great elements. That is wonderful and amazing, Venerable Sir, on the part of the Blessed One. And the Buddha said, the Tathagatas, Ananda, are wonderful and possess wonderful qualities. The Tathagatas are amazing and possess amazing qualities. When Ananda, the Tathagata, immerses the body in the mind and the mind in the body, and when he dwells having entered upon a blissful perception and a buoyant perception in regard to the body. On that occasion, the body of the Tathagata becomes more buoyant, malleable, wealthy and luminous. Just as an iron ball ananda heated all day becomes more buoyant, malleable, wealthy and luminous, so too when the Tathagata immerses the body in the mind, and the mind in the body, and when he dwells having entered upon the blissful perception and the buoyant perception in regard to the body, on that occasion the body of the Tathagata becomes more buoyant, malleable, wieldy and luminous. When Ananda, the Tathagata, immerses the body in the mind and the mind in the body, and when he dwells having entered upon a blissful perception and a buoyant perception in regard to the body, on that occasion the body of the Tathagata rises up without difficulty from the earth into the air. He wields the various kinds of psychic powers. Having been one, he becomes many. Having been many, he becomes one, etc. He exercises mastery with the body as far as the Brahma world. This has Ananda, a tuft of cotton wool or kapok, being light. sustained by the wind, rises up without difficulty from the earth into the air. So too, when the Tathagata immerses the body in the mind, and the mind in the body, and when he dwells having entered upon a blissful perception and a buoyant perception in regard to the body, On that occasion, the body of the Tathagata rises up without difficulty from the earth into the air. He wields the various kinds of psychic powers. Having been one, he becomes many. Having been many, he becomes one, etc. He exercises mastery with the body as far as the Brahma world." This is the end of the sutra. So here, the Buddha is saying that actually with his flesh body, he is able to go to the Brahma heavens. Is there anything to discuss? If there is nothing, we can stop.

48SNIddhipadaCh51AnuruddhaCh5220090903

Today is the 3rd of September and on the 51st chapter, Re'idi Pada Sangyuta, we come to Sutta 51.31. There the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, What do you think, monks? By having developed and cultivated what things has the monk Moggallana become so powerful and mighty? Let's stop here for a moment. Noble Mahamoggalana is the disciple of the Buddha with the greatest psychic power. And the monk said, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, etc. And the Buddha said, It is because he has developed and cultivated the four bases for psychic power that the monk Moggallana has become so powerful and mighty. What for? Dear monks, the monk Moggallana has developed the basis for psychic power. of concentration due to desire accompanied by effort and volition. Thinking, thus my desire will be neither too slack nor too tense, and it will be neither constricted internally nor distracted externally. And he has dwelt perceiving after and before, as before, so after, as after, so before, as below, so above, as above, so below, as by day, so at night, as at night, so by day. Thus with a mind that is open and unenveloped, he has developed the mind imbued with luminosity. He has developed the basis for psychic power of concentration due to energy. Similarly, of concentration due to mind, of concentration due to investigation, accompanied by effort and volition. Thus, with the mind that is open and unenveloped, he has developed the mind imbued with luminosity. It is monks, because he has developed and cultivated these four bases for psychic power, that the monk Moggallana has become so powerful and mighty. These monks, because the monk Mugdalana has developed and cultivated these four bases for psychic power, that he wields the various kinds of psychic power, such as having been one he becomes many, having been many he becomes one, etc. He exercises mastery with the body as far as the Brahma world. It is monks, because the monk Moggallana has developed and cultivated these four bases for psychic power, that by the destruction of the asavas, in this very life, he enters and dwells in the taintless liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge. That's the end of the sutra. In an earlier sutta, when we read about the Venerable Aniruddha, his psychic powers were due to the practice of Satipatthana. Because the practice of Satipatthana is synonymous with the development of jhāna. But here, the Venerable Moggallāna, his emphasis is on the four bases for psychic power. So that's the last sutra I'm reading of the Idi Pada Sangyutta. Now we come to the 52nd chapter of the Sangyutta Nikaya, Anuruddha Sangyutta. Anuruddha is the disciple of the Buddha, the Arhanna, with the greatest heavenly eye. He is supposed to be able to see 1,000 world systems so clearly like in the palm of his hand. In other words, his mind has opened up so to be boundless. He has attained this Arupajanas. The first sutra is 52.1. On one occasion, the Venerable Aniruddha was dwelling at Savatthi in Jaita's Grove, at Nathapindika's Park. Then, while the Venerable Aniruddha was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in his mind thus, those who have neglected these four intense states of recollection have neglected the noble path leading to the complete destruction of suffering. Those who have undertaken these four intense states of recollection have undertaken the Noble Path, leading to the complete destruction of suffering. I'll stop here for a moment. I just mentioned a while ago that the rebel Anuruddha, his emphasis is on the Satipatthana, and here we find him again talking about this Satipatthana. so you have because the buddha has taught the various ways of practicing and also the different objects of contemplation so like in this 37 bodhi pakya dharmas Different arahants, they succeed with different methods like the Verba Anuruddha is more on Satipatthana. Verba Mahamoggalana is more on the four idipada. And also, as far as the objects of contemplation, there's some arahants, they become arahants due to contemplation of the five aggregates. Some attain arahanthood from contemplating the six sense spaces, and some attain arahanthood from contemplating the twelve links of dependent origination. But even though there's a slight variation in their practice. All this practice is basically centered on the Noble Eightfold Path. Cannot run away from the Noble Eightfold Path. Then the Venerable Mahamoggalana, having known with his own mind the reflection in the Venerable Aniruddha's mind, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm, or draw in his extended arm, appeared in the presence of the Venerable Aniruddha and said to him, To what extent, friend Aniruddha, have these four intense states of recollection been undertaken by a monk? And Venerable Aniruddha replied, Dear friend, a monk dwells contemplating the nature of origination in the body internally. He dwells contemplating the nature of vanishing in the body internally. He dwells contemplating the nature of origination and vanishing in the body internally, ardent, clearly aware. recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. He dwells contemplating the nature of origination in the body externally. He dwells contemplating the nature of vanishing in the body externally. He dwells contemplating the nature of origination and vanishing in the body externally. Arden, clearly aware, recollected, having removed capriciousness and grief in regard to the world. He dwells contemplating the nature of origination in the body internally and externally. He dwells contemplating the nature of vanishing in the body internally and externally. He dwells contemplating the nature of origination and vanishing in the body internally and externally, hardened, clearly aware, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. If he wishes, may I dwell perceiving the repulsive in the unrepulsive, He dwells perceiving the repulsive therein. If he wishes, may I dwell perceiving the unrepulsive in the repulsive. He dwells perceiving the unrepulsive therein. If he wishes, may I dwell perceiving the repulsive in the unrepulsive and in the repulsive. He dwells perceiving the repulsive therein. If he wishes, may I dwell perceiving the unrepulsive in the repulsive and in the unrepulsive. He dwells perceiving the unrepulsive therein. If he wishes, avoiding both the unrepulsive and the repulsive, may I dwell equanimously, mindful and collected. Then he dwells therein, equanimously, collected and clearly aware. He dwells contemplating the nature of origination, the nature of vanishing, the nature of origination and vanishing in feelings internally, in feelings externally, in feelings internally and externally. ardent, clearly aware, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. If he wishes, may I dwell perceiving the repulsive and the unrepulsive. He dwells perceiving the repulsive therein. If he wishes, avoiding both the unrepulsive and the repulsive, may I dwell equanimously, recollected and clearly aware. Then he dwells therein, equanimously recollected and clearly aware. He dwells contemplating the nature of origination, the nature of vanishing, nature of origination and vanishing in the mind, internally, externally. Similarly, if he wishes, may I dwell perceiving the repulsive, he perceives the repulsive. And then he dwells contemplating the nature of origination, nature of vanishing, et cetera, in Dhamma, internally, externally. And similarly, if he wishes, if he wants to perceive the repulsive, he perceives the repulsive. It is in this way, friend, that these four intense states of recollection have been undertaken by a monk. So here, the Venerable Anuruddha says that if a monk practices the four Satipatthanas and develops them fully, then he is able to, if he wishes to perceive the repulsive, he perceives the repulsive either in the repulsive or in the unrepulsive. If he wants to perceive unrepulsive then he perceives unrepulsively. It's not easy to do because this perception of repulsiveness and unrepulsiveness is due to habit. We have developed it over many lifetimes, so it's very difficult to change unless the mind is very strong. So what do you mean by perceiving the repulsive and the unrepulsive? For example, if you see a body of the opposite sex, it is unrepulsive, and in fact it's very attractive. and lust arises. But if a monk develops his mind to be so strong, if he wants to see in the body repulsiveness, he can see like inside the body, the body consisting of head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinew, bones, etc., with all the excrement and blood and pus and all that, then he can feel it's repulsive. And on the other hand, the other extreme, suppose he sees a rotten corpse, To an ordinary person, when you see a rotten corpse, you feel it's very repulsive. You dare not look. You cannot stand the stench or so. But if he wants to perceive it as unrepulsive, because his mind is so strong, he can perceive it as unrepulsive. Many years ago, when I first went to Thailand, I met an old monk. I mean, that old monk is a Teochew monk. I knew him from Ipoh. before I went to Thailand, so I went to stay with him. He was telling me about a young Thai monk, many years ago, he was practicing. He was practicing very hard. Then he went to a place where they had thrown the corpse. He held the corpse for many hours, holding the corpse and contemplating the corpse. And then to the extent that he even beat the corpse just to So not to feel repulsiveness, then just spit in the corpse. So that's hard to do unless your mind is very strong enough. If your mind is not strong, then our feelings control us. But if the mind is strong enough, then the mind controls the feeling. Next sutra is 52.4. On one occasion, the Venerable Anuruddha, the Venerable Sariputta, and the Venerable Mahamoggalana were dwelling at Saketa in the thorn bush grove. Then in the evening, the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Mahamoggalana emerged from seclusion, approached the Venerable Anuruddha, and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, they sat down to one side, and the Venerable Sariputta said to the Venerable Anuruddha, Friend Aniruddha, what are the things that a monk who is a trainee should enter and dwell in? And he said, Friend Sariputta, a monk who is a trainee should enter and dwell in the four intense states of recollection, Satipatthana. What for? Dear friend, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body. This body in the body, Brother Mok has just informed me that the Venerable Dhanisaro's interpretation is dwells contemplating the body in and of itself, right? It was contemplating the body in and of itself. That means in the body, not outside of the body, just like what I said, not among thoughts and all that, but centered on the body, focused on the body. It was contemplating feelings in and of itself, mind in and of itself, Dhamma in and of itself, garden, clearly aware, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world, a monk who is a trainee should enter and dwell in these four intense states of recollection." Then the next sutra is similar, the Saketha. That's 52.5. Sitting to one side, the Venerable Sariputta said to the Venerable Anuruddha, Friend Anuruddha, what are the things that a monk who is beyond training should enter and dwell in? A monk beyond training, the Pali word is asekha. Sekha is one who is training. One who is in training means ariya. There are seven types of ariya. First path, first fruit, second path, second fruit, third path, third fruit, and the fourth path attainer. They have become ariya, but they have not finished their work. The one beyond training, the asekha, is the fourth fruit attainer. The arahant has finished his work. Venerable Aniruddha replied, Friend Sariputta, a monk who is beyond training should enter and dwell in the four intense states of recollection, Satipatthana. What for? Dear friend, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, or the body in and of itself. Feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma. hardened, clearly aware, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. A monk who is beyond training should enter and dwell in these four intense states of recollection." So you see from these two suttas that the Venerable Aniruddha, he is a specialist in the four Satipatthanas. That's why he recommends the four Satipatthanas to Arya who is cultivating to attain arahanthood. And even for the arahant who has finished his work, this Venerable Anuruddha still recommends that he practice the four Satipatthanas. The next sutta is 52.6 Asaketa. Sitting to one side, the Venerable Sariputta said to the Venerable Anuruddha, By having developed and cultivated what things has the Venerable Anuruddha attained great supernormal power of great spiritual power. This translation here is greatness of direct knowledge. This doesn't give a good idea because the Pali word is Maha Abhinaya. Abhinaya are the higher knowledges and actually a more appropriate term would be Maha great and Abhinaya is spiritual powers. Just like when we talk about the Edipada, four bases of spiritual power or four bases of psychic power. Because this Abhinaya are the six knowledges, and out of these six, five of them are psychic powers. psychokinesis where one body can become many bodies and can go to the wall, can fly like a bird etc. Then you have the heavenly eye or divine eye and then the divine ear and then recollecting past lives, and then reading other people's minds, other beings' minds. So these are the five types of psychic power. And the last one, the sixth one, is the destruction of the Asavas, that means becoming enlightened. So Abhinaya, a good translation would be spiritual powers. So Maha Abhinaya is great spiritual powers, or great supernormal powers. He answered. So remember Sariputta is asking him, what did you practice to get such great psychic powers, such great supernormal powers? And he said, Friend, it is because I have developed and cultivated the four intense states of recollection that I have attained to great supernormal powers. What for? Dear friend, I dwell contemplating the body in the body, feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, clearly aware, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. It is, friend, because I have developed and cultivated these four intense states of recollection that I have attained to great supernormal power or great psychic powers. Further friend, it is because I have developed and cultivated these four intense states of recollection that I directly know the thousand-fold world. In other words, he can see the thousand-fold world so clearly, like in the palm of his hand. So you see from this sutta that psychic powers come from the practice of Satipatthana. But nowadays some monks don't understand and they say the practice of Satipatthana has nothing to do with jhana. They say the practice of Satipatthana is a pure vipassana practice. totally different from what the Sutta says. It is because of practicing Satipatthana that he attains the jhanas. And because he has attained the jhanas, he has great psychic power. There is no possibility of having psychic powers without jhanas. Impossible. So, in other words, the practice of Satipatthana is synonymous with the practice of the jhanas. And this we saw earlier in the Satipatthana Samyutta. The next chapter is 52.8. On one occasion, the rebel Anuruddha was living at Savati in a salala tree hut. There, the rebel Anuruddha addressed amongst us, Friends, the river Ganges slants, slopes, and inclines towards the east. Now suppose a great crowd of people would come along. bringing a shovel and basket, thinking, we will make this River Ganges slant, slope, and incline towards the west. What do you think, friends? Would that great crowd of people be able to make the River Ganges slant, slope, and incline towards the west? And they said, no, friend. For what reason? Because the River Ganges slants slopes and inclines towards the east, and it is not easy to make it slant slope and incline towards the west. That great crowd of people would only reap fatigue and vexation. Then, remember Anundada said, So too, friends, when a monk is developing and cultivating the four intense states of recollection, kings or royal ministers, friends or colleagues, relatives or kinsmen might invite him to accept wealth, saying, Come, good man, why let these saffron robes weigh you down? Why roam about with a shaven head and begging bowl? Come, having returned to the lower life, enjoy wealth and do meritorious deeds. Indeed, friends, when that monk is developing and cultivating the four intense states of recollection, it is impossible that he will give up the training and return to the lower life. For what reason? Because for a long time, his mind has slanted, sloped, and inclined towards seclusion. Thus, it is impossible that he will give up the training and return to the lower life. And how, friends, does a monk develop and cultivate the four intense states of recollection. Dear friends, a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, clearly aware, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. It is in this way, friends, that a monk develops and cultivates the four intense states of recollection. So this sutra says that a monk practices the four satipatthanas and will never disrobe. Why? Because his mind has for a long time inclined towards seclusion. This is very important. For a monk to find happiness in robes, the only happiness he can find is in his mind. Because we know this world, the external world, is a world of suffering, is a world of impermanence, is a world of change. And because of that, if you stay in the world, you're going to suffer. You may enjoy it for a while, but eventually you will suffer. So... we leave the world and practice seclusion. Seclusion means aloofness, aloofness from society, aloofness from people. When I became a Theravada monk, then I wanted to live a lifestyle a bit similar to the Buddha's time. So I went to look for a cave to stay in Ipoh. Then I went to Opineng also. I stayed in a cave, and sometimes on a hilltop. So initially, it was not easy. Initially, because I came back from Thailand, I had gastric problem. So that was giving me a bit of problem. But later, I just practiced patience, slowly. It wasn't a problem anymore. I got used to it. So as the years went by, I got used to staying alone and I like staying alone better than staying with people. So, initially it takes some getting used to, but once you get used to it, then your mind, as the sutra says, your mind inclines towards seclusion. So if you want to progress in the spiritual path, you have to go into seclusion, not necessarily body seclusion. What is more important is mental seclusion, mental aloofness, going into the mind, dwelling in the mind more often. That's why like the Buddha's disciples, although they stay together in a monastery, like after they have taken their meal, they will each go different ways. They will find a quiet place under a tree, and they practice the meditation the whole day. Then at night, they come together and discuss the Dhamma. So most of the day, and probably at night or so, they are alone by themselves. 52.10 On one occasion, the Venerable Aniruddha was dwelling at Savatthi in the blind man's grove, sick, afflicted, gravely ill. Then a number of monks approached the Venerable Aniruddha and said to him, In what dwelling does the Venerable Aniruddha usually dwell, so that the arisen bodily painful feelings do not persist, obsessing his mind? And he said, It is, friends, because I dwell with a mind well established in the four intense states of recollection, that the arisen bodily feelings do not persist obsessing my mind, but fall. Here, friends, I dwell contemplating the body in the body, feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, clearly aware, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Friends, it is because I dwell with the mind well established in these four intense states of recollection that the arisen bodily painful feelings do not persist obsessing my mind. So you see, because he constantly dwells in the four Satipatthanas, that he does not, this pain, the bodily pain does not overwhelm him. But then you must It's only logical, right? to equate his dwelling in Satipatthana with the jhanas. Because when he dwells in the jhanas, then as we read earlier, the painful feelings, even in the first jhana, the first jhana, the painful bodily feelings are eliminated. And in the second jhana, the painful mental feelings are eliminated. And in the third jhana, the pleasant bodily feelings are also eliminated. In the fourth jhana, even the pleasant mental feelings are eliminated. So that's why pain cannot obsess him even from the first jhāna. First jhāna, body pains already cannot disturb you. So here again we see that the four satipatthānas are equivalent to the jhānas. 52.11 On one occasion, the Venerable Aniruddha was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Nathapindika's Park. Then a number of monks approached the Venerable Aniruddha and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, they sat down to one side and said to the Venerable Aniruddha, By having developed and cultivated what things has the Venerable Aniruddha attained to great supernormal power or to great spiritual powers? And he said, It is, friends, because I have developed and cultivated the four intense states of recollection that I have attained to great supernormal powers. What for? Dear friends, I dwell contemplating the body in the body, feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, clearly aware, recollected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. It is, friends, because I have developed and cultivated these four intense states of recollection that I have attained to great supernormal powers. Further, friends, it is because I have developed and cultivated these four intense states of recollection that I recollect or remember a thousand world cycles. That's the end of the sutta. Even to remember one world cycle is not easy. I can remember one thousand world cycles at such a long time. Because one world cycle is an extremely long time. The Buddha said it's hard to imagine how long is one world cycle. And he can remember 1000 world cycles. And it's all due to Satipatthana. 52.12. And he said, further friends, it is because I have developed and cultivated these four intense states of recollection that I wield the various kinds of spiritual powers. Having been one, I become many. Having been many, I become one. He can fly like a bird. He can go to the wall. He can dive into the earth like diving into the water. And he can walk on the water surface. And even with the human body, I can fly as far as the Brahma heavens. And then the next sutra, 52.13. Further, friends, it is because I have developed and cultivated these four intense states of recollection, satipatthana, that with the divine ear element, which is purified and surpasses the human, I hear both kinds of sound, the divine and the human, those that are far as well as near. So here, you see, if you want to develop the heavenly ear, you've got to practice satipatthana. And then 52.14. Further, friends, it is because I have developed and cultivated these four Satipatthanas that I understand the minds of other beings and persons, having encompassed them with my own mind. I understand a mind with lust as a mind with lust. An unliberated mind as an unliberated mind, etc., etc. So you see from these suttas that all the various psychic powers are due to the practice of Satipatthana, which also means the practice of the jhanas. So the Satipatthana is synonymous with jhana. 52.20 Further, friends, it is because I have developed and cultivated these four Satipatthanas that I understand as it really is the degrees of maturity in the spiritual faculties of other beings and persons." In other words, he can look into a person and understand how mature this person is. This is important for a Sammasambuddha. A Sammasambuddha or an Arahant who wants to teach the Dhamma to other beings, he has to gauge whether that being can understand the Dhamma or not. That's the end of the Aniruddha Samyutta.

49SNJhanaCh53AnapanaCh5420090903

Now we come to the 53rd chapter, Jhana Samyutta, concerning jhanas. This word jhana is a state of meditative absorption. When they first started translating Pali texts into English, they did not understand the meaning of the word jhana, so they translated it as trance. Trance is like you enter a state where you are bodo-bodo, blur-blur, you don't know what's going on. So because of that, some people have a misconception that jhanas are useless. When you enter jhana, you are not aware of anything. You are like asleep or half asleep. That's why some vipassana monks, some famous vipassana monks say that jhana is useless, that there is no sati. when you are in jhāna. So it's of no benefit, there's no mindfulness. But it's totally not true. When a person enters the jhāna, the mind is clearly aware, clearly mindful, intensely mindful in fact. Cannot be more mindful than in jhāna. So also as a person experiences jhāna, the five hindrances drop away and the mind becomes bright. The higher the jhāna, the more bright the mind becomes. And in the suttas, the Buddha says the condition for seeing and knowing clearly is a mind that is bright. In other words, a mind that has cultivated jhāna is the best condition for attaining wisdom because you are able to see and know clearly. Okay, 53.1. At Savatthi, there the Blessed One said this. Monks, there are these four jhanas. What four? Here monks, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states. This word secluded can also be translated as aloof from sensual pleasures, aloof from unwholesome states. A monk enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, with delight and happiness born of seclusion. With the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, he enters and dwells in the second jhāna, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought directed and sustained, and has delight and happiness born of concentration. With the fading away as well of delight, he dwells equanimous and mindful and collected, he experiences happiness with the body. He enters and dwells in the third jhāna, of which the noble ones declare, he is equanimous, mindful, one who dwells happily. With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous passing away of joy and displeasure, he enters and dwells in the fourth jhāna, which is neither painful nor pleasant, and has utter purification of sati and upekka. There is utter purification, complete purification of mindfulness or recollection, and equanimity. These are the four jhanas. Monks, just as the river Ganges slants, slopes, and inclines towards the east, so too a monk who develops and cultivates the four jhanas slants, slopes, and inclines towards Nibbana. And how, monks, does a monk who develops and cultivates the four jhanas slant, slope, and incline towards Nibbana. Here monks, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a monk enters and dwells in the first jhāna, and then similarly as before, in the second jhāna, third jhāna, and then fourth jhāna. It is in this way, monks, that a monk who develops and cultivates the four jhānas, slant, slopes, and inclines towards Nibbana. It's the end of the sutra. So here you see, the Buddha has stated very clearly that just as the river Ganges slants slopes and inclines towards the east, so when you practice the four jhanas, you will slant slope and incline towards Nibbana. So there's nothing better to practice than the Four Jhanas if you want to attain Nibbana. That's why in some suttas, the Buddha says that the footprints of the Tathagata, the footprints of the Buddha, are the Jhanas. So if you want to follow the path of the Buddha to Nibbana, you have to follow his footprints and attain the Jhanas. Otherwise, there's no hope of becoming enlightened. And also in the Majjhima Nikaya Sutta, Buddha said that it is impossible to eliminate the five lower factors without the four jhanas. One who eliminates the five lower factors is an anagamin and also an arahant, third fruit and fourth fruit. So that's why in the Noble Eightfold Path, perfect concentration is the four jhanas. Okay, the next sanghuta. is 54th Samyutta, Anapanasamyutta. Anapana is breathing in and out. Breathing in and out. Breathing. 54.1, that's savatthi. There the Blessed One said, monks, one thing when developed and cultivated is of great fruit and benefit. What one thing? Mindfulness of breathing or recollection of breathing. And how, monks, is mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated so that it is of great fruit and benefit? Here, monks, a monk, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, to an empty hut, sits down, having folded his legs crosswise, straightened his body, and set up mindfulness in front of him, just mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. Let's stop here for a moment. People like to ask, what is this, set up mindfulness in front of him? What happens when you set up something in front of you? You only see it, isn't it? You don't see any other thing. When you put something in front of you, you only see it. You don't see any other thing. Right? So when you set up mindfulness in front of you, you have full sight of mindfulness. Mindfulness. You have the sight of mindfulness. That means you are only aware of mindfulness. You are not paying attention to any other thing. You only have, you only see mindfulness, you are only aware of mindfulness. That is the meaning of set up mindfulness in front of him. He sets up mindfulness in full sight. Set up mindfulness in his sights. So just mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. In other words, he's paying total attention to mindfulness of the breath. He's not paying attention to any other thing. It's like if you put an object in front of you, you only see this object, you don't see any other object. That's the meaning. Set it up in front of you. Breathing in long, he knows I breathe in long. Breathing out long, he knows I breathe out long. Breathing in short, he knows I breathe in short. Breathing out short, he knows I breathe out short. He trains thus. Experiencing the whole body, I will breathe in. He trains thus. Experiencing the whole body, I will breathe out. He trains thus. Tranquilizing the body conditioner, I will breathe in. He trains thus. Tranquilizing the body conditioner, I will breathe out. I'll stop here for a moment. So, when he's practicing Anapanasati, mindfulness of the breath or recollection of the breath, each breath is aware. Each breath is aware. When the breath is long, he's aware the breath is long. When the breath is short, he's aware he's short. In this practice of Anapanasati, it is very important not to miss any breath. It's very important to make adhitana, a determination that you will not let your mindfulness slip. If you don't make this determination, you are mindful one breath after another. Very soon, your mind runs away. So you have to be very clear that you are not going to miss any breath. That's the only way. That's the meaning of setting up mindfulness in front of you. Don't let your mindfulness run away. You only see. The breath, you're only aware of the breath, nothing else. So, if the breath is long, he knows it's long, if it's short, he knows it's short. Experiencing the whole body. This whole body is the breath body. Experiencing the breath body. So, if you want to experience the breath body, when the breath goes in, you also experience it going in. In other words, you can follow the breath. It's only later books, like the Visuddhi Maga, they say you must put your attention at one point, and they say put your attention at the tip of the nose or at the upper lip, and the Buddha never said such a thing. They're just restricting yourself unnecessarily. So if you want to experience the breath, the breath goes in down to your Tantin, to your abdomen. You can also follow the breath right down to the abdomen. and out again. And then it says tranquilizing the body conditioner. What is the body conditioner? I think you all may have forgotten, earlier we talked about Sankaras. Kaya Sankara, the body conditioner is the breath. Because your body depends on the breath. Your body is alive because of the breath. So the body conditioner, Kaya Sankara, is the breath. So tranquilizing the breath, I will breathe in. Tranquilizing the breath, I will breathe out. In other words, you make your breath more and more quiet, more and more peaceful. Initially, when you start meditating, you're a bit agitated. Your breath is deep. And then slowly as you sit longer, the breath becomes shorter and becomes more peaceful. That's what I mean by tranquilizing, making the breath more peaceful. He trains us. Experiencing delight, I will breathe in. He trains us. Experiencing delight, I will breathe out. He trains us. Experiencing happiness, I will breathe in. He trains us. Experiencing happiness, I will breathe out. He trains us. Experiencing the mental conditioner, I will breathe in. He trains us. Experiencing the mental conditioner, I will breathe out. He trains us, tranquilizing the mental conditioner I will breathe in. He trains us, tranquilizing the mental conditioner I will breathe out. I'll stop here for a while. As he practices this Anapanasati, slowly the mind is able to concentrate on the breath. When he is able to concentrate on the breath, the mind is not so scattered. it becomes more towards one-pointedness of mind. Then the mind is not so strained. Our normal mind is very scattered now, and energy goes out to the eyes to see, to the ears to hear, to the nose to smell, to the tongue to taste, to the body to touch, and to the mind, out to the mind to think. So because of that, We are very stressed, especially if somebody is working the whole day, your energy is all out through your eyes and your ears and all that. At the end of the day, you feel very stressed, very tired. So if you close your eyes and you do your meditation, very slowly, your energy comes back in. As the energy comes back in, you feel your mind becoming more, it becomes a healthy mind, not a sick mind, not a stressed mind. So because it is not stressed, then it becomes one-pointed. Then this delight starts to arise. That's the beginning of one-pointedness of mind. So after that, happiness, sukha also you will experience. Then after that, experiencing the mental conditioner. What is the mental conditioner? Chitta Sankara. Earlier we read Chitta Sankara is perception and feeling. Perception and feeling. Because when you have perception and feeling, then you have consciousness. Then the mind works. So the mind works dependent on consciousness, which also means dependent on perception and feeling because they all come together. So when you experience perception and feeling, you breathe in and you out and breathe out, you experience perception of the breath, experience the feeling of the breath. Then Tranquilizing the mental conditioner, I will breathe in. Tranquilizing the mental conditioner, I will breathe out. You make the feeling calmer. As your meditation progresses, you become more and more calm. Your feeling becomes calmer and calmer. That's the meaning of tranquilizing the mental conditioners. Then he trains us experiencing the mind I will breathe in. He trains us experiencing the mind I will breathe out. He trains us gladdening the mind I will breathe in. He trains us gladdening the mind I will breathe out. He trains us concentrating the mind I will breathe in. He trains us concentrating the mind I will breathe out. He trains us liberating the mind I will breathe in. He trains us liberating the mind I will breathe out. This one, I guess, is a more advanced stage, when he goes into the mind. He's not aware of the external world, he's not aware of his body. As he goes deeper into the mind, then he experiences the mind. And then, also, the mind gives him gladness, gives him happiness. So, that's why it says, gladdening the mind, I will breathe in, gladdening the mind, I will breathe out. And then, concentrating the mind. The mind becomes more and more concentrated as it goes deeper and deeper into the mind. Then, liberating the mind, I will breathe in. This one, liberating the mind, I'm not sure, maybe liberating the mind from the klesas, the defilements and all that. He trains thus contemplating impermanence, I will breathe in. He trains thus contemplating impermanence, I will breathe out. He trains thus contemplating fading away, I will breathe in. He trains thus contemplating fading away, I will breathe out. He trains thus contemplating cessation, I will breathe in. He trains thus contemplating cessation, I will breathe out. He trains thus contemplating relinquishment, I will breathe in. He trains thus contemplating relinquishment, I will breathe out. It is monks, when mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated in this way, that is of great fruit and benefit. This last part, I'm also not so sure. Contemplating impermanence. Maybe when he withdraws from jhāna, then he can contemplate impermanence. Because when a person has entered jhāna, and then he comes out of jhāna, then only he can contemplate. In the state of jhāna, you cannot contemplate. It's impossible to contemplate. in Jhana because the state of Jhana is a state where the Asavas, the flow, the uncontrollable mental outflows and stops. That's why there are the steps to Nibbana, because if you are able to stop your asava from flowing for a short while, then only you have a chance of stopping the asavas permanently. If you cannot even stop the asavas for a short while, there's absolutely no chance for you to stop the asavas permanently. That's why without attaining the jhanas, there's no hope of becoming liberated. So, when a person is in Jhana, in the first Jhana, It is said that you only have skillful thoughts, you don't have unskillful thoughts. Skillful thoughts meaning, for example, when you attain the first jhana, then you think, ah, I have to remember to retrace my steps next time. How did I arrive at this state? I have to remember what steps I took to arrive at this state so that I can repeat it. That type of thought is not connected with your home or your office and all that. Then in the second jhāna onwards, from the second jhāna onwards, the mind becomes so strong that no thoughts can arise. You start to feel as though you have tapped all the energy from the solar system, the universe. As you are able to get all the energy from the universe, the mind becomes extremely strong. Then no thoughts can arise. No thoughts can arise. From the second jhāna onwards, there's no thoughts can arise. So it's impossible to contemplate inside jhāna. Only when you withdraw from jhāna. When you come out of jhāna, the hindrances are already eliminated. The state is as peaceful as in the jhāna. Then when you come out of jhāna, then you can contemplate. So it says, contemplating impermanence, I will breathe in. Contemplating impermanence, I will breathe out. Contemplating fading away. contemplating cessation, contemplating relinquishment, letting go. So that's the explanation of the Buddha on how to practice the Anapanasati. Now we come to 54.6 at Savatthi, there the Blessed One said, monks, do you develop mindfulness of breathing? When this was said, the Venerable Arita said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, I develop mindfulness of breathing. But in what way, Arita, do you develop mindfulness of breathing? And he said, I have abandoned sensual desire for past sensual pleasures. Venerable Sir, I have gotten rid of sensual desire for future sensual pleasures, and I have thoroughly dispelled perceptions of aversion towards things internally and externally. Just mindful, I breathe in. Mindful, I breathe out. It is in this way, Venerable Sir, that I develop mindfulness of breathing. And the Buddha said, That is mindfulness of breathing, Arita. I do not say it is not. But as to how mindfulness of breathing is fulfilled in detail, Arita, listen and attend closely. I will speak. Yes, Venerable Sir, the Venerable Arita replied. The Blessed One said, and how Arita, his mindfulness of breathing, fulfilled in detail. Here Arita, a monk, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, sits down, having folded his legs crosswise, straightened his body, and set up mindfulness in front of him. Just mindful, he breathes in. Mindful, he breathes out. And then this, the Buddha says, the description, just like what we read before, Breathing in long, he knows I breathe in long. Breathing out long, he knows I breathe out long. Breathing in short, he knows I breathe in short. Or breathing out short, he knows I breathe out short. He trains thus, experiencing the whole body, I will breathe in. He trains thus, experiencing the whole body, I will breathe out. It trains us. Tranquilizing the body conditioner, I will breathe in. It trains us. Tranquilizing the body conditioner, I will breathe out. It trains us. Experiencing delight, I will breathe in. It trains us. Experiencing delight, I will breathe out. Etc. As in the 54.1 that we read. It is in this way, Arita, that mindfulness of breathing is fulfilled in detail. So this monk Arita, he taught, he is practicing Anapanasati, but the Buddha said that is not the full development of Anapanasati. The full Anapanasati consists of all those things that the Buddha mentioned. The next sutra is 54.7 at Savatthi. On that occasion, the Venerable Maha Kapina was sitting not far from the Blessed One, with his legs folded crosswise, holding his body straight, having set up mindfulness in front of him. The Blessed One saw him sitting nearby, with his legs folded crosswise, his body straight, having set up mindfulness in front of him. Having seen him, he addressed amongst us, Monks, do you see any shaking or trembling in this monk's body? And they said, Venerable Sir, whenever we see that Venerable One, whether he is sitting in the midst of the Sangha or sitting alone in private, we never see any shaking or trembling in that Venerable One's body. And the Buddha said, monks, that monk gains at will, without trouble or difficulty, that concentration through the development and cultivation of which no shaking or trembling occurs in the body, and no shaking or trembling occurs in the mind. And what concentration is it through the development and cultivation of which no shaking or trembling occurs in the body, and no shaking or trembling occurs in the mind? It is monks, when concentration by mindfulness of breathing has been developed and cultivated, that no shaking or trembling occurs in the body, and no shaking or trembling occurs in the mind. And how monks, is concentration by mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated, so that no shaking or trembling occurs in the body, and no shaking or trembling occurs in the mind. Here, monks. A monk, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, to an empty hut, sits down. Having folded his legs crosswise, straightened his body and set up mindfulness in front of him. Since mindful, he breathes in. Mindful, he breathes out. And here, the description is like before, the full description. It is monks, when concentration by mindfulness of breathing has been developed and cultivated in this way, that no shaking or trembling occurs in the body, and no shaking or trembling occurs in the mind. This is the end of the sutra. This verbal Mahakapina is one of the arahants with great psychic powers. He is supposed to be a thin monk with a sharp nose. One of the four monks, when the Buddha went up to the Brahma heavens and emitted light, is one of those four who came to the Buddha. So his mind is very strong. So there's no trembling of his body and no shaking of his mind. When we sit in meditation, we are sitting properly. Normally we sit straight. It's only sometimes when the body is very tired, and then we can't help it, sometimes the body stoops. Just like the Venerable Mahamoggalana, when he was practicing for seven days and seven nights without sleeping, he was already nodding. But he was still aware. When he was too tired, the body nods. So the Buddha came to him and told him, Be more mindful. Because he knows that the Buddha is looking at him all the time. So he has to put in extra effort. That's how he attained Arahanthood in seven days. But if you are not too tired, normally, even though you're not sitting very straight, when the energy, the chi, starts to go, then the body will naturally become straight. It will straighten the body by itself. I think I'll stop here for tonight. Anything to discuss? This must be, I guess, my affinity from the past life. That's when I was six years old and seven years old. something happened, at that time I didn't know, but later I came to Buddhism only, I knew. One of them was when I went to school, when I was seven years old, I went to school, primary school, standard one. So the first day in school, one boy asked me what was my name. So I told him my lay name is Chun Hai. Chun Hai, so that's a Hokkien, So he translated into Cantonese. So when he thought of he laughed, I told all the other boys. So I was telling all the boys. So when that happened, I got annoyed, very annoyed. Then a strong thought flashed across my mind. And I may be ignorant, I may be chun choy, I may be ignorant of worldly things, but I have the knowledge that surpasses the world. When I was seven years old, I had this thought, I have the knowledge that surpasses the world. Then the next thing was I asked myself, what is this knowledge that surpasses the world? I could not remember. So something like this, years later when I came to Buddhism, then only I recall, and it struck me. So when I first came to Buddhism and I studied the suttas, I was so happy. I was not inclined to sleep. I just keep reading, reading, reading, until I'm very tired and then I went to sleep. So this affinity. How do we make our Buddhism within the suttas? Is there any way to You must understand, when you understand the suttas, the implication, you know, every time you read a sutta, there are certain implications in the sutta. So if you understand, that gives you great joy. Also, the suttas play into us a lot of things that should be common sense. A lot of things about the world should be common sense. Because of the five hindrances, we don't see so clearly, our mind is blur blur. So when the Buddha says something, then it strikes us. Yeah, why didn't I think of it before? You see, like in the Sutta, the Buddha said, the loved ones give us pain. Those that we love give us pain. So in the Sutta, there was somebody asked this, somebody asked this, I forgot who was it. He agreed with the Buddha. He or she. Then he left. Or maybe he didn't agree. Then he saw a group of people gambling. Then he told them, I just went to see this Samana Gautama. He told me, loved ones give us pain. They said, how can loved ones give us happiness? Those who love give us happiness. How can loved ones give us pain? Then the gambler said, yeah, how can this Samana Gautama say like this? And then they went to pass the word around. So these kind of things, when you are young, you haven't experienced dukkha yet, you haven't experienced pain yet, you find it hard to believe. But if you ask our brother Albert, he will tell you. Because of the love of the wife, when the wife passed away, so much pain. As brother Mok, when the mother passed away, she didn't want to die. Even though the time had come, she told the children, I love you all so much. I don't want to go. This happens. Now and then, I hear a lot of these stories. Sometimes, I know one case of one lady. She had a few children, and she was dying. She told the husband she doesn't want to go home because she cannot let go of the husband. She said she can let go of the children, but cannot let go of the husband. The husband must be very special to her. On the other hand, some other lady I know who was dying of cancer, she said she can let go of the husband, cannot let go of the children. So those that we love, we love so much, how can we bear to be parted from them? It's like the Sutta, what's the name of the Sutta? About one young man, he wanted to renounce. So after hearing the Buddha's Dhamma, He wanted to renounce, so he asked his parents for permission. The parents would not give him permission. Then he asked a few times, and the mother said, we love you so much, how can we let you go? Even if you were to die or so, we also cannot bear to part from you. Now you're alive, how can we bear to part from you? So he had to starve himself, refused to eat, until eventually the parents let him renounce. Rattapala Sutta, the Majjhima Nikaya. So love binds us together. There are so many people, when they die, they make a vow to meet again in their next life. Whether they meet or not, nobody knows. Even if they meet us, they may forget. So, love, things like this. When we don't understand the Dhamma, we want to cling to love. When you understand the Dhamma, then you know you have to be careful. Love is good, but you have to moderate your love. Otherwise, when it goes away, it gives you a lot of pain. Tongue is transcendental.

50SNAnapanaCh5420090904

Okay, today is the 4th of September, and we are on the Anapanasamyutta, the 54th chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya. Now we come to 54.8. The Buddha said, monks, concentration by mindfulness of breathing or recollection of breathing when developed and cultivated is of great fruit and benefit, and how monks' concentration by mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated so that it is of great fruit and benefit. Here monks, a monk having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, to an empty hut sits down, having folded his legs crosswise, straightened his body, and set up mindfulness in front of him, just mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. And then the series of exercises in contemplation of the breath as before follows. Until he trains us contemplating relinquishment, I will breathe in. He trains us contemplating relinquishment, I will breathe out. It is in this way amongst the concentration by mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated so that it is of great fruit and benefit I, too, monks, before my enlightenment, while I was still a bodhisatta, not yet fully enlightened, generally dwelt in this dwelling. While I generally dwelt in this dwelling, neither my body nor my eyes became fatigued, and my mind, by not clinging, was liberated from the ass of ass. I'll stop here for a moment. So here you see, the Buddha says, I, too, monks, before my enlightenment, while I was still a Bodhisatta, not yet fully enlightened, generally dwelt in this dwelling. So the Buddha's meditation is Anapanasati. It's very clear from the Sutta. Before his enlightenment, he practiced. That was his main object of meditation, mindfulness of the breath. And some other sutra, the Buddha says that even after enlightenment also, he generally dwells in the Anapanasati, mindfulness of the breath. So, but nowadays, people say that some Vipassana monks say that the Buddha's meditation is Vipassana meditation. But Vipassana meditation was only created in this century. It was not around During the Buddha's time, Vipassana meditation grew out of the commentaries and books like the Visuddhimagga. So, several hundred years after the Buddha passing away, Therefore, monks, if a monk wishes, may neither my body nor my eyes become fatigued, and may my mind, by not clinging, be liberated from the asavas. The same concentration, by mindfulness of breathing, should be closely attended to. Therefore, monks, if a monk wishes, may the memories and intentions connected with the household life be abandoned by me. The same concentration, by mindfulness of breathing, should be closely attended to. Therefore, monks, if among wishes may I dwell perceiving the repulsive in the unrepulsive, the same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. If among wishes may I dwell perceiving the unrepulsive in the repulsive, the same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. If among wishes, may I dwell perceiving the repulsive in the unrepulsive and the repulsive, the same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. If a monk wishes, avoiding both the unrepulsive and the repulsive, may I dwell equanimous, mindful and collected. This same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. Therefore, monks, if a monk wishes, may I Secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, enter and dwell in the First Jhana, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, with delight and happiness born of seclusion. This same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. Therefore, monks, if a monk wishes, may I, with the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, enter and dwell in the second jhāna, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought directed and sustained, and has delight and happiness born of concentration. This same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. Therefore, monks, if a monk wishes, may I, with the fading away as well of delight, dwell equanimous and mindful and collected, may I experience happiness with the body, may I enter and dwell in the third jhāna of which the noble ones declare. He is equanimous, mindful, one who dwells happily. The same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. Therefore, monks, if a monk wishes, may I, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous passing away of joy and displeasure, enter and dwell in the fourth jhāna, which is neither painful nor pleasant, and includes the purification of mindfulness by equanimity. The same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. Therefore, monks, if among wishers may I, with the complete transcendence of perceptions of forms, with the passing away of perceptions of sensory impingement, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity, aware that space is infinite, enter and dwell in the base of the infinity of space, the same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. Therefore, monks, if among wishes, may I, by completely transcending the base of the infinity of space, aware that consciousness is infinite, enter and dwell in the base of the infinity of consciousness, the same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. Therefore, monks, if a monk wishes, may I, by completely transcending the base of the infinity of consciousness, aware that there is nothing, enter and dwell in the base of nothingness. This same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. Therefore, monks, if a monk wishes, may I, by completely transcending the base of nothingness, enter and dwell in the base of neither perception nor non-perception, the same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. Therefore, monks, if a monk wishes, may I, by completely transcending the base of neither perception nor non-perception, enter and dwell in the cessation of perception and feeling, the same concentration by mindfulness of breathing should be closely attended to. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see, the Buddha is saying that there's a lot of benefit from practicing mindfulness of breathing. In the beginning, the Buddha says that if a monk wishes to perceive the repulsive in the unrepulsive, or to perceive the unrepulsive in the repulsive, or to perceive the repulsive in the unrepulsive and repulsive or to perceive the unrepulsive in the repulsive and the unrepulsive he can because of this of the strength of mind that is obtained from this meditation and then after that now if he wishes by practicing anapanasati he can attain the four Rupa Janas, the four Rupa Janas, and even up to the highest, which is the cessation of perception and feeling. So, in other words, this meditation on the breath can bring you to attain all these states of samadhi, like concentration. And I think there's a bit of contradiction with the Visuddhimagga, where it says in the Visuddhimagga that Anapanasati can only bring you to the four jhanas. So that's why it's good to study the suttas and learn the contradictions. When monks, the concentration by mindfulness of breathing has been developed and cultivated in this way, if he feels a pleasant feeling, he understands it is impermanent. He understands it is not held to. He understands it is not delighted in. If he feels a painful feeling, he understands it is impermanent. He understands it is not held to. He understands it is not delighted in. If he feels neither painful nor pleasant feeling, he understands it is impermanent. He understands it is not held to. He understands it is not delighted in. If he feels a pleasant feeling, he feels it detached. If he feels a painful feeling, he feels it detached. If he feels neither painful nor pleasant feeling, he feels it detached. When he feels a feeling terminating with the body, he understands. I feel a feeling terminating with the body. When he feels a feeling terminating with life, He understands, I feel a feeling terminating with life. He understands, with the breakup of the body, following the exhaustion of life, all that is felt not being delighted in will become cool right here. Just as monks, an oil lamp burns in dependence on the oil and the wick, and with the exhaustion of the oil and the wick, it is extinguished through lack of fuel. So too monks, when a monk feels a feeling terminating with the body, or terminating with life, he understands. The breakup of the body following the exhaustion of life, all that is felt, not being delighted in, will become cool right here. That's the end of the Sutta. So this Sutta is telling us what we can get from practicing Anapanasati. 54.9. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesali in the great wood in the hall with the peak roof. On that occasion, the Blessed One was giving the monks a talk on foulness in many ways, was speaking in praise of foulness or unattractiveness, was speaking in praise of the development of foulness meditation. Stop here for a moment. When the Buddha first gathered his disciples, he taught them this meditation on the unattractiveness of the body. He taught them to chant the 32 parts of the body and contemplate the body as it really is. Most of us, we don't think of the contents of the body. What we see is only skin deep. As they say, beauty is only skin deep. So the first meditation taught by the Buddha was this. foulness or unattractiveness of the body. Then the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Monks, I wish to go into seclusion for half a month. I should not be approached by anyone except the one who brings me alms food. Yes, Venerable Sir, those monks replied. And no one approached the Blessed One except the one who brought him alms food. Then those monks thinking, the Blessed One was giving a talk on foulness in many ways. was speaking in praise of foulness, was speaking in praise of the development of foulness meditation, dwelt devoted to the development of foulness meditation in its many aspects and factors. Being repelled, humiliated, and disgusted with this body, they sought for an assailant. In one day, ten monks used the knife, or in one day, twenty or thirty monks used the knife." Stop here for a moment. This What happened here is also discussed in more detail in the Vinaya books. What happened was among the monks, there was a monk who formerly was a butcher or something. And one of Mara's devas, it seems influenced him to want to kill the monks. So he asked the monks, Who wants to attain liberation from this body?" Something like that. This foul body, I can help you become liberated from this foul body. So he had this knife which was very sharp. So some monks after practicing this meditation, they were disgusted with the body and they didn't want to live. They went to him to take their life. So sometimes in one day, he took 10 lives, sometimes 20, sometimes 30. Then when that half month had passed, the Blessed One emerged from seclusion and addressed the Venerable Ananda. Why, Ananda, does the Bhikkhu Sangha look so diminished? Venerable Sir, that is because the Blessed One had given a talk on foulness in many ways, had spoken in praise of foulness, had spoken in praise of the development of foulness meditation. And those monks thinking the Blessed One was giving a talk on foulness in many ways, was speaking in praise of foulness, was speaking in praise of the development of foulness meditation, dwelt devoted to the development of foulness meditation in its many aspects and factors. Being repelled, humiliated, and disgusted with this body, they sought for an assailant. In one day, ten monks used the knife, or in one day, twenty or thirty monks used the knife. It would be good, Venerable Sir, if the Blessed One would explain another method so that this Bhikkhu Sangha may be established in final knowledge. And the Buddha said, Well then Ananda, assemble in the attendance hall all the monks who are living in dependence on Vesali. Stop here for a moment. In the Buddha's Vinaya, all the monks who come to a certain town like this, Vesali, for alms, they are considered one Sangha. Some of them might be staying up in the hills. Some of them might be staying in the forest. Some of them might be staying in caves and all that. But because all of them come to Vesali for alms, for their food, so in the Vinaya, that's considered One Sangha. And the vicinity of Vesali is the boundary called the Seema. So, originally, the Seema was a huge boundary enclosing all the monks in that area, which is considered to be one Sangha. Later monks, they start to shrink the Seema boundary. Shrink, shrink, until it becomes one building. but that defeats the purpose of the Seema. So nowadays they say, they call it the Seema Hall. But actually that is not the Seema Hall. That strictly is the Uposatha Ghara. That is the Uposatha Hall for reciting the precepts, for doing Sangha Kamma, official functions of the Sangha, it should be called Uposatha Ghara. But nowadays, even some monks mistake and call it the Seema Hall. It's common nowadays, they call it the Seema Hall. But originally, the Seema was meant to be a big area. Yes, Venerable Sir," the Venerable Ananda replied, and he assembled in the attendance hall all the monks who were living in dependence on Vesali, as many as there were. Then he approached the Blessed One and said to Him, The Bhikkhu Sangha has assembled, Venerable Sir. Let the Blessed One come at His own convenience. Then the Blessed One went to the Attendance Hall, sat down in the appointed seat, and addressed the monks thus, Monks, this concentration by mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated, is peaceful and sublime, an ambrosial, pleasant dwelling, and it disperses and quells right on the spot evil, unwholesome states whenever they arise. Just as monks in the last month of the hot season, when a mass of dust and dirt has swirled up, a great rain cloud out of season disperses it and quells it on the spot, so too concentration by mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated, is peaceful and sublime, an ambrosial pleasant dwelling, and it disperses and quells on the spot evil unwholesome states whenever they arise. And how is this so? Dear monks, A monk, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, sits down, having folded his legs crosswise, straightened his body, and set up mindfulness in front of him. Just mindful, he breathes in. Mindful, he breathes out. The rest of it is like in the first sutta. Breathing in long, He knows I breathe in long. Or breathing out long, he knows I breathe out long. Breathing in short, he knows I breathe in short. Or breathing out short, he knows I breathe out short. Etc. Like in the 1st Sutta 54.1. It is in this way, monks, that concentration by mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated, so that it is peaceful and sublime, an ambrosial, pleasant dwelling, and it disperses and quells on the spot evil, unwholesome states whenever they arise." So, that's the end of the sutta. So, because quite a number of monks committed suicide, remember Ananda, asked the Buddha to teach another meditation object. And so the Buddha taught this Anapanasati. And the Buddha also informed the monks that before he was enlightened, he practiced Anapanasati. And in some other suttas, he also said, after enlightenment, he also generally spends his time in the meditation of the breath, mindfulness of the breath. So the question arises, if the Buddha himself practiced Anapanasati, why did he teach the meditation on the 32 parts of the body? Something that he did not practice. So I also thought about this. Then I think that it's because when the Buddha wants to teach, he would have contemplated what the past Buddhas taught. So when he contemplated the past Buddhas, probably he found that most of the past Buddhas, or maybe all of them, taught this meditation on the unattractiveness of the body, foulness of the body. So he probably, because of that, he taught this meditation. So these are the two main meditations that the Buddha disciples learned from the Buddha. There are a few others, like the kassinas, which were popular even among external ascetics, and metta meditation. But in the Buddha's discourses, metta meditation is to be practiced after you attain the jhanas. The next sutta is 54.10. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Kibbila in the bamboo grove. There, the Blessed One addressed the Venerable Kimbila thus, How is it now, Kimbila, that concentration by mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated so that it is of great fruit and benefit? When this was said, the Venerable Kimbila was silent. A second time, a third time, the Blessed One addressed the Venerable Kimbila. How is it now, Kimbila, that concentration by mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated, so that it is of great fruit and benefit? A third time, the Venerable Kimbila was silent. When this happened, the Venerable Ananda said to the Blessed One, Now is the time for this, Blessed One. Now is the time for this, Fortunate One. The Blessed One should speak on concentration by mindfulness of breathing. Having heard it from the Blessed One, the monks will remember it. Well then, Ananda, listen and attend closely. I will speak. Yes, Venerable Sir," the Venerable Ananda replied. The Blessed One said, And how, Ananda, is concentration by mindfulness of breathing developed and cultivated so that it is of great fruit and benefit? Here Ananda, a monk, having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, sits down, having folded his legs crosswise, straightened his body, and set up mindfulness in front of him. Just mindful he breathes in, mindful he breathes out. Similarly, breathing in a long breath, he knows he breathes in a long breath. Breathing out a long breath, he knows he breathes out a long breath, et cetera. Whenever Ananda, a monk, when breathing in long, knows I breathe in long. Or when breathing out long, knows I breathe out long. When breathing in short, knows I breathe in short. Or when breathing out short, knows I breathe out short. When he trains thus, experiencing the whole body, I mean it's the breath body, I would breathe in. When he trains thus, experiencing the whole body, I would breathe out. When he trains thus, tranquilizing the body conditioner, I will breathe in. When he trains thus, tranquilizing the body conditioner, I will breathe out. On that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, hardened, clearly aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. For what reason? I call this a certain kind of body, Ananda, that is, breathing in and breathing out. In other words, the breath itself is a kind of body, the breath body. Therefore, Ananda, on that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly comprehending or aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Whenever Ananda, a monk, trains thus, Experiencing delight, I will breathe in. When he trains thus, Experiencing delight, I will breathe out. When he trains thus, Experiencing happiness, I will breathe in. When he trains thus, Experiencing happiness, I will breathe out. When he trains thus, Experiencing the mental conditioner, I will breathe in. When he trains thus, Experiencing the mental conditioner, I will breathe out. When he trains thus, tranquilizing the mental conditioner, I will breathe in. When he trains thus, tranquilizing the mental conditioner, I will breathe out. On that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, ardent, clearly aware and collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. For what reason? I call this a certain kind of feeling, Ananda, that is, close attention to breathing in and breathing out. Therefore, Ananda, on that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, ardent, clearly aware, collected. having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Whenever Ananda, a monk, trains thus, experiencing the mind, I will breathe in. When he trains thus, experiencing the mind, I will breathe out. When he trains thus, gladdening the mind, I will breathe in. When he trains thus, gladdening the mind, I will breathe out. When he trains thus, concentrating the mind, I will breathe in. When he trains thus, concentrating the mind, I will breathe out. When he trains thus, liberating the mind, I will breathe in. When he trains thus, liberating the mind, I will breathe out. On that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating mind in mind, ardent, clearly aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. For what reason? I say, Ananda, that there is no development of concentration by mindfulness of breathing for one who is muddled and who lacks clear comprehension. Therefore, Ananda, on that occasion the monk dwells contemplating mind in mind, ardent, clearly, aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Whenever Ananda among trains thus contemplating impermanence, I will breathe in. When he trains thus contemplating impermanence, I will breathe out. When he trains thus contemplating fading away, I will breathe in. When he trains thus contemplating fading away, I will breathe out. When he trains thus contemplating cessation, I will breathe in. When he trains thus contemplating contemplating cessation, I will breathe out. When it drains thus, contemplating relinquishment, I will breathe in. When it drains thus, contemplating relinquishment, I will breathe out. On that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma, hardened, clearly aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Having seen with wisdom the abandoning of covetousness and grief, he is one who looks on closely with equanimity. Therefore, Ananda, on that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma, hardened, clearly aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Suppose, Ananda, at the crossroads there is a great mound of soil. If a cart or chariot comes from the east, west, north or south, it would flatten that mound of soil. So too, Ananda, when a monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, he flattens evil and wholesome states. That's the end of the Sutta. So here, basically, the Buddha is saying, when you practice Anapanasati, mindfulness of the breath, you are also practicing Sati or Satipatthana. Because Sati is mindfulness directed to only four things, the body, feelings, mind, and Dhamma. So the Buddha says that when you practice Anapanasati, you are also practicing contemplation of these four things, which amounts to Sati, right Sati. Or if the contemplation is intense, then it becomes Satipatthana. So the contemplating of the breath, the Buddha says, is a kind of body. That's why it's called contemplation of body namely the breath body and then when you contemplate experiencing the different kinds of healings then that is contemplation of healings. and then when you breathe in and out and you are aware of the different states of mind that is also contemplation of mind and then when you are mindful of your breath and at the same time you are contemplating impermanence, fading away, cessation, relinquishment etc that is also practicing contemplation of Dhamma

51SNAnapanaCh5420090904

The next sutta is 54.11. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Icha Nanggala in the Icha Nanggala Wood. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Monks, I wish to go into seclusion for three months. I should not be approached by anyone except the one who brings me alms food. Yes, Venerable Sir, those monks replied. And no one approached the Blessed One except the one who brought him alms food. So the Buddha said, monks, I wish to go into seclusion for three months. I should not be approached by anyone except the one who brings me alms food. Yes, venerable sir, those monks replied. And no one approached the blessed one except the one who brought him alms food. Then when those three months had passed, the blessed one emerged from seclusion and addressed the monks thus. Monks, if wanderers of other sects ask you, In what dwelling, friends, did the Blessed One generally dwell during the rain's residence, the Vassa? Being asked thus, you should answer those wondrous thus. During the rain's residence, friends, the Blessed One generally dwelt in the concentration by mindfulness of breathing. Hear monks, mindful I breathe in, mindful I breathe out. When breathing in long, I know I breathe in long. When breathing out long, I know I breathe out long. When breathing in short, I know I breathe in short. When breathing out short, I know I breathe out short. Etc. etc. If anyone, monks, speaking rightly, could say of anything, it is a noble dwelling, a divine dwelling, the Tathagata's dwelling. It is of concentration by mindfulness of breathing that one could rightly say this." Stop here for a moment. The Buddha is saying very clearly that Anapanasati is the Tathagata's dwelling or abiding. The Buddha abides most of the time in Anapanasati. So the Buddha's meditation is Anapanasati. Monks, those monks who are trainees, who have not attained their mind's ideal, who dwell aspiring for the unsurpassed security from bondage. For them, concentration by mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated, leads to the destruction of the asavas. Those monks who are arahants, whose asavas are destroyed, who have lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached their own goal, utterly destroyed the fetters of existence, those who completely liberated through final knowledge, for them, concentration by mindfulness of breathing, when developed and cultivated, leads to a pleasant dwelling in this very life, and to recollection and clear awareness. If anyone monk speaking rightly could say of anything, it is a noble dwelling, a divine dwelling, the Tathagata's dwelling. It is of concentration by mindfulness of breathing that one could rightly say this. That's the end of the sutta. Some people, because they are not familiar with the suttas, they say that Samatha meditation is no use. There is no wisdom when you practice Samatha meditation. But here the Buddha says that it's Aryan dwelling. Aryans dwell in the concentration by mindfulness of breathing. So how can the Aryan dwelling, Aryan meditation not be one that gives you wisdom? So this sutra is important because it says very clearly that Anapanasati is the Tathagata's dwelling, is an Aryan dwelling. So don't have any doubt that the Buddha's meditation is Anapanasati, which is Samatha meditation. 54.12 On one occasion, the Venerable Lomasa Vangisa was dwelling among the Sakyans at Kapilavatu, in the Grodas Park. Then Mahanama, the Sakyan, approached the Venerable Lomasa Vangisa, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to him, Is it the case, Venerable Sir, that the dwelling of a trainee is itself the same as the Tathagata's dwelling? Or is it rather that the dwelling of a trainee is one thing and the Tathagata's dwelling is another? And the Buddha said, it is not the case, friend Mahanama, that the dwelling of a trainee is itself the same as the Tathagata's dwelling. Rather, the dwelling of a trainee is one thing, and the Tathagata's dwelling is another. Friend Mahanama, those monks who are trainees, who have not attained their mind's ideal, who dwell aspiring for the unsurpassed security from bondage, dwell having abandoned the five hindrances, What five? The hindrances of sensual desire, ill-will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, and doubt. Those monks who are trainees dwell having abandoned these five hindrances. But Friend Maha Nama, for those monks who are arahants, whose asavas are destroyed, who had lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reach their own goal, utterly destroy the fetters of existence, become completely liberated through final knowledge. The five hindrances have been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like palm stumps, obliterated so that they are no more subject to future arising. But five, the hindrances of sensual desire, ill-will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, Doubt? For those monks who are arahants, these five hindrances have been abandoned, cut off at the root, made like palm stumps, obliterated so that they are no more subject to future arising. By the following method too, friend, Mahanama, it can be understood how the dwelling of a trainee is one thing, and the Tathagata's dwelling is another. On this one occasion, Friend Mahanama, the Blessed One, was dwelling at Ichanangala in the Ichanangala Wood. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Monks, I wish to go into seclusion for three months. I should not be approached by anyone except the one who brings me alms food. Then here the Buddha repeats the entire contents of the preceding sutta that we just read, that the Blessed One said that the Tathagata generally spends his time on this mindfulness of breathing, and that is the Tathagata's dwelling. And the Trinis also develop this anapanasati, mindfulness of the breath. And when they develop trainees, when they practice Anapanasati, it leads to liberation, destruction of the asavas. But for arahants who have done their work, when they practice Anapanasati, it leads to a pleasant dwelling in this very life. That means they attain the jhanas, so it is a pleasant dwelling. So the difference here, the Buddha is trying to say, the difference between the dwelling of a trainee and the Tathagata's dwelling is that when a trainee dwells in this mindfulness of the breath, it leads him to liberation, whereas when the Tathagata or any arahant dwells in this mindfulness of breathing, then it gives him a pleasant abiding in this very life. If anyone monk speaking rightly could say of anything, it is a noble dwelling, a divine dwelling, the Tathagata's dwelling. It is of concentration, by mindfulness of breathing, that one could rightly say this. By this method, friend, Mahanama, it can be understood how the dwelling of a trainee is one thing, and the Tathagata's dwelling is another. So in this sutta, The Buddha says, trainees, that means Aryans, who have not finished their work, have abandoned the five hindrances. It's not only when they are inside jhāna that they abandon the five hindrances. Even when they come out of jhāna, they have also abandoned the five hindrances. And therefore, an arahant has not only abandoned the five hindrances, he has uprooted completely the five hindrances so that they cannot rise again. The next sutra is 54.13. At Savatthi, then the Venerable Ananda approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, is there one thing which, when developed and cultivated, fulfills four things, and four things which, when developed and cultivated, fulfill seven things, and seven things when developed and cultivated fulfilled two things and the Buddha said there is ananda one thing which when developed and cultivated fulfills four things and four things which when developed and cultivated fulfills seven things and seven things which when developed and cultivated fulfill two things But Venerable Sir, what is that one thing which, when developed and cultivated, fulfills four things, etc.? And the Buddha said, Concentration by mindfulness of breathing, ananda, is that one thing which, when developed and cultivated, fulfills the four intense states of recollection, satipatthana. The four satipatthanas, when developed and cultivated, fulfill the seven bhojanga, the seven factors of enlightenment. The seventh factors of enlightenment, when developed and cultivated, fulfill true knowledge and liberation. and how Ananda, his concentration by mindfulness of breathing, developed and cultivated, so that it fulfills the four intense states of recollection. Here Ananda, a monk having gone to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, sits down, having folded his legs crosswise, straightened his body, and set up mindfulness in front of him. Since mindful, he breathes in, mindful, he breathes out. When he breathes in a long breath, he knows he breathes in a long breath. When he breathes out a long breath, he knows he breathes out a long breath, etc. Whenever Ananda, a monk, when breathing in long, knows I breathe in long, etc. When He trains us, tranquilizing the body conditioner, I will breathe out. On that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, hardened, clearly aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. For what reason? I call this a certain kind of body ananda, that is, breathing in and breathing out. Therefore, Ananda, on that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world." So this is similar to what we read earlier, that when you practice Anapanasati, you are practicing contemplation of the four objects of sati. Whenever Ananda amongst twins starts experiencing the light I would breathe in, experiencing the light I would breathe out, etc. Tranquilizing the mental conditioner, I will breathe in. Tranquilizing the mental conditioner, I will breathe out. On that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, hardened, clearly aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. For what reason? I call this a certain kind of feeling, ananda, that is, close attention to breathing in and breathing out. Stop here for a moment. When we are contemplating on the breath, it is a kind of feeling. It's a kind of feeling of the breath. That's why the Buddha says that his close attention to breathing and breathing out is a kind of healing. Whenever Ananda, a monk, trains thus, experiencing the mind I will breathe in, experiencing the mind I will breathe out, etc., liberating the mind I will breathe in, liberating the mind I will breathe out. On that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating mind in mind, ardent, clearly aware. collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. For what reason? I say, Ananda, that there is no development of concentration by mindfulness of breathing for one who is muddled and who lacks clear awareness. Therefore, Ananda, on that occasion the monk dwells contemplating mind in mind, ardent, clearly aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Whenever Ananda, the monk, trains thus, contemplating impermanence, I will breathe in. Contemplating impermanence, I will breathe out. Contemplating relinquishment, I will breathe in. Contemplating relinquishment, I will breathe out, etc. On that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma, hardened, clearly aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. Having seen with wisdom what is the abandoning of covetousness and displeasure, or grief, he is one who looks on closely with equanimity. Therefore, Ananda, on that occasion, the monk dwells contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma, ardent, clearly aware, collected, having removed covetousness and grief in regard to the world. It is Ananda, when concentration by mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated in this way, that it fulfills the four Satipatthanas, intense states of recollection. and how Ananda are the four intense states of recollection developed and cultivated so that they fulfill the seven factors of enlightenment or Janga. Whenever Ananda, a monk, dwells contemplating the body in the body, on that occasion, unmuddled mindfulness is established in that monk. or unmuddled recollection is established in that monk. Whenever ananda, unmuddled recollection, has been established in a monk, on that occasion, the enlightenment factor of recollection is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of recollection. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of recollection goes to fulfillment by development in the monk. dwelling dust collected. He discriminates that Dhamma with wisdom, examines it, makes an investigation of it. Whenever Ananda, a monk dwelling dust collected, investigates that Dhamma with wisdom, examines it, On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma goes to fulfilment by development in the monk. While he discriminates that Dhamma with wisdom, examines it, makes an investigation of it, this energy is aroused without slackening. Whenever Ananda, a monk's energy is aroused without slackening, as he discriminates that Dhamma with wisdom, examines it, makes an investigation of it, On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of energy is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of energy. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of energy goes to fulfillment by development in the monk. When his energy is aroused, there arises in him spiritual delight. Whenever Ananda, spiritual delight arises in a monk whose energy is aroused, on that occasion the enlightenment factor of delight is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of delight. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of delight goes to fulfillment by development in the monk. For one whose mind is uplifted by delight, the body becomes tranquil and the mind becomes tranquil. Whenever Ananda, the body becomes tranquil and the mind becomes tranquil. In a monk whose mind is uplifted by delight, On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of tranquility is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of tranquility. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of tranquility goes to fulfillment by development in the monk. I'll just stop here for a moment, just to remind you, earlier when we read, spiritual delight, spiritual piti, refers to the first and the second jhana. For one whose body is so because he has attained to the first and second jhāna, pity arises and because of pity you have tranquility. For one whose body is tranquil and who is happy, the mind becomes concentrated. Whenever Ananda, the mind becomes concentrated, in a monk whose body is tranquil and who is happy, on that occasion the enlightenment factor of concentration is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of concentration. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of concentration goes to fulfillment by development in the monk. So concentration in the suttas always refers to the four jhanas. He becomes one who looks closely on with equanimity at the mind thus concentrated. Whenever Ananda, a monk, becomes one who looks closely on with equanimity at the mind thus concentrated, on that occasion the enlightenment factor of equanimity is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of equanimity. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of equanimity goes to fulfillment by development in the monk. I'll stop here for a moment, just to remind you again, in the earlier sutta we read, spiritual equanimity refers to the fourth jhāna. So here, we're talking about the fourth jhāna here. Whenever ananda, a monk, dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, on that occasion, unmuddled recollection is established in that monk. Whenever ananda, unmuddled recollection, has been established in a monk, on that occasion the enlightenment factor of recollection is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of recollection. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of recollection goes to fulfillment by development in the monk. So all this follows like in the case of the first intense state of recollection. He becomes one who closely looks on with equanimity at the mind thus concentrated. Whenever Ananda, a monk, becomes one who closely looks on with equanimity at the mind thus concentrated, on that occasion, the enlightenment factor of equanimity is aroused by the monk. On that occasion, the monk develops the enlightenment factor of equanimity. On that occasion, the enlightenment factor of equanimity goes to fulfillment by development in the monk. It is Ananda that the four intense states of recollection are developed and cultivated in this way that they fulfill the seven factors of enlightenment. And how Ananda are the seven factors of enlightenment developed and cultivated so that they fulfill true knowledge and liberation. Here Ananda, a monk, develops the enlightenment factor of recollection, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing and release. Similarly, he develops the enlightenment factor of investigation of Dhamma, the factor of energy, the factor of delight, the factor of tranquility, the factor of concentration, the factor of equanimity, which are based upon seclusion, dispassion, and cessation, maturing in release. It is Ananda, when the seven factors of enlightenment are developed and cultivated in this way, that they fulfill true knowledge and liberation." That's the end of the sutta. So when we practice Anapanasati, mindfulness of the breath, and we develop it and cultivate it, then it becomes the four Satipatthanas. And when we practice the four Satipatthanas and develop the four Satipatthanas, it becomes the seven Bhojangas, seven factors of enlightenment. And when the seven factors of enlightenment are practiced, then it ends with true knowledge and liberation. So it's very clear here that Anapanasati, if you practice it correctly, will lead to liberation. It's not that Samatha meditation is of no use, won't give you any wisdom, as some monks say. So I think I'll stop here for tonight. Tomorrow we start with the 55th chapter, Sotapatti Samyutta. Anything to discuss? I believe that it is more important that I understand and offer a piece of advice. You will be scared. There are a lot of people in the situation. Some of them, some of them can't even imagine what they are doing in the situation. One who intends to go on seclusion basically has to be prepared for going to seclusion. And it's just like there's some monks during the Buddha's time, they wanted to go into the forest to practice alone. And there's one sutra in the Majjhima Dikaya says that If you're not prepared for it, the fear that you can experience in the forest will make you go out of your mind. So the Buddha generally wants his monks to have at least attained the first jhana before they can go into the forest. That means they must have some samadhi. But for us, when we go to seclusion, it depends on where you go into seclusion. If you go into the deep forest, then you have to have a very strong mind. You got to be quite steady. But in our case, if you do seclusion in a kuti, not so dangerous. So even if you don't have the first jhana, it's all right. Only thing is you have to work hard. There are some monks, They see other monks stay in a cave, they also go and stay in a cave. They see some monks stay alone, they are going to stay alone. But I've seen certain monks, when they stay alone, they sleep most of the time. And if a monk sleeps most of the time, you can see it in his eyes. He's got sleepy eyes. And he keeps forgetting things. If you want to go and live alone, then you have to be very disciplined. If you are not disciplined enough, you should stay with other monks so that other monks can help you to become more disciplined. Because when you stay in a group with other monks, and then when you have faults, other monks can criticize you, try to wake you up. that's provided you are willing to learn. There are some monks also not willing to change, not willing to learn. So, being diligent is one prerequisite if you want to go into seclusion. In fact, that is the most important condition if you want to go into seclusion, so you don't waste your time, don't waste other people's time. And if you go into seclusion, and you think it is a short time, so you want to make the best use of it. Then you try not to read, try to meditate, either sit or walk, sit or walk as much as you can. But remember the sutra, the Buddha talks about the guitar, the guitar string too tight and too slack. If it's too tight or too slack, the sound doesn't carry. So similarly in our practice, if you use too much energy and you don't rest enough, then when you meditate, you will be nodding. You are not making use of your time. So you must know when you are too tired, you have to rest. But when you rest also, you have to be careful that you don't fall into a deep sleep. Try to get up quickly. And that is Reminds me that monks who go to the forest, who stay alone in the deep forest, a very good reason for staying in the deep forest alone is that there are a lot of spirits around. So that when you are lazy, they come and disturb you. So even they don't come and disturb you, you are also aware that they are looking at you. You have to be very careful. Even if you don't see them, you know a lot of eyes looking at you. When you are practicing alone in the forest, you tend to be very careful. Even if you are very tired, you take a nap, always eager to get up whenever you hear any sound. Especially if you are staying in a cemetery. So also you have to know like those things mentioned in the suttas, like you have to be moderate in your food, moderation in eating. But you see our precepts are such that we can only eat in the morning. And we can't eat in the evening. So if we practice hard, we tend to get hungry. So we need to be supported with those allowable requisites, like prunes and honey. And some people, if they need cheese, then they take cheese. But for me, I find cheese is no good. It raises my cholesterol. So like kumlum, olive dates. all these things and also I have to keep some like coconut oil or olive oil in case in the middle of the night you get gastric problems then you take a spoonful of oil it gets rid of the acid so also you have to if you want to be very diligent then you have to do quite a lot of walking that's why I advise Brother Albert to get some mosquito coil and get some lamp, some light, so that you can see the walking path. If you're walking outside, the floor might be cold, so it's good to wear sandals, slippers, not so cold. Especially if you're old, young, you don't need. When you are doing seclusion, you need to be supported by one or two persons who will bring you food and bring you anything that you require. For example, hot water. You need some hot water in the evening so that in the middle of the night if you feel you need coffee to keep you up, take some coffee in the night or something. In this practice, you have to use your wisdom. Because if you have some experience behind you, it is very valuable. Because if you don't have experience, sometimes we go to extremes. So we need to have some experience to know how to guide ourselves the middle way. So these are some of the things. Once you go into seclusion, you are not supposed to come out. So if you are not ready for a long seclusion, then you have to start with a short seclusion. So you have to know how long you can go into seclusion. If you think that you get stuck, then don't make a long seclusion. Generally, seclusion is not for beginners. It's for people who have some experience. What page is that? 177. Contemplating impermanence of breathing. Oh, that impermanence is not the impermanence of the breath. That means when you are contemplating, you try to be aware of the breath and also reflect on impermanence. Say like whatever you have learned in the Dharma about impermanence, that the body will grow old and all that. You see your relatives growing old and all that. This one I think is supposed to be after you have entered the jhana and you have come out of the jhana. Because previous to this, you have all these states. Experiencing happiness, experiencing rapture and all that, that is earlier. That's already jhana already. Then after that you come out, then you contemplate. It's not necessary, always the same person. But normally, a monk, when he goes into seclusion, he will pick somebody who's reliable. Somebody, for example, who knows, if possible, somebody who knows what food he prefers. So to take the suitable food for him. And somebody that he can trust and all that. So like the Buddha, used to have an attendant. And we find that in the earliest years of the Buddha, he used to change attendants quite a lot, until later, when he had Ananda as his attendant, and then he didn't change. because Ananda was very devoted to him. So Ananda was an ideal attendant, so he did not change. So generally, also the same, if a monk wants somebody to attend to him, he would also, for example, like in Thailand, they have many monks in a monastery. So according to the Vinaya, when a senior monk goes out, he generally has to be attended by a junior monk, junior bhikkhu. So he will pick one that can serve him the best. Instead of choosing any one. Sometimes some young monks are unreliable. So you choose one that knows how to take care of you well. He will always stick to that one. And yeah.

52SNSotapattiCh5520090905

Today is 5th of September and we start on the 55th chapter of the Sankhyuta Nikaya, Sotapatti Sankhyuta. Sotapatti means stream entry. Sometimes stream entry refers to the first path, sometimes refers to the first fruit. But in the Sutta, I think the 25th Sankhyuta we read, you obtain the first path, it must turn within the same lifetime into the first fruit. The path must turn to fruit in the same lifetime. How long is not certain. 55.1 at Savatthi. There the Blessed One said, Monks, although a wheel-turning monarch having exercised supreme sovereign rulership over the four continents, with the breakup of the body after death, is reborn in a good destination in the heavenly world, in the company of the Devas of the Tavatimsa Heaven. and there in the Nandana Grove, accompanied by a retinue of celestial nymphs, he enjoys himself supplied and endowed with the five courts of celestial sensual pleasure. Still, as he does not possess four things, he is not free from hell, the animal realm, and the domain of ghosts, not free from the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the netherworld, Although monks, a noble disciple, maintains himself by lumps of alms food and wears rag ropes, still, as he possesses four things, he is free from hell, the animal realm, and the domain of ghosts, free from the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the netherworld. What are the four? Here monks, the noble disciple, possesses confirmed confidence In the Buddha thus, the Blessed One is an Arahant, Sammasambuddha, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, fortunate knower of the world, unsurpassed leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma thus. The Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable to be personally experienced by the wise. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Sangha thus. The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing the good way, practicing the straight way, practicing the true way, practicing the proper way, that is, the four pairs of disciples, the eight types of individuals. This Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples is worthy of gifts. worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of reverential salutation, the unsurpassed field of merit for the world. He possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken, untorn, unblemished, unmortal, freeing, graced by the wise, ungrasped, needing concentration. He possesses these four things, and monks, between the obtaining of sovereignty over the four continents and the obtaining of the four things. The obtaining of sovereignty over the four continents is not worth a sixteenth part of the obtaining of the four things." That's the end of the sutra. So here the Buddha says, even a wheel-turning monarch, a wheel-turning monarch is a universal king. He's a king who is so good, he rules by Dhamma, that the whole world, the whole earth wants him to be the king. So he's the king of the whole earth. He has a very, that's supposed to be like the top of human life, the best human life you can have, the happiest human life, the most enjoyable human life, who is to be born as a wheel-turning monarch, like you have everything in the world. And after death, he is reborn in the Tavatimsa heaven, where he enjoys himself for a long time. But in spite of that, Buddha says, because he is still a Putu Jhana, an ordinary worldling, one day he will still be reborn in hell, in the animal realm, in the ghost realm. And how many times he is reborn in those places? As long as he is in samsara, he is still an ordinary worldling. He will continue to be born there for many, many lifetimes. But Aryan disciple of the Buddha, even though he begs for his food and wears broken rag ropes, but if he possesses four things, he will never be born into the woeful plains. These four things, here is his confirmed confidence. You can also call it unshakable faith. Unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. And Aryan Sila, Aryan moral conduct. Aryan moral conduct, Aryan Sila, or Aryan virtue, comprises the three factors of the Noble Eightfold Path. That is, right speech, right action, and right livelihood. And if you investigate this, it actually means seven precepts. Four verbal precepts and three bodily precepts. So these four things are called the practice of stream entry. Also called the characteristics of a sotapanna, first fruit, ariya. Later we'll see, first path, Arya, does not possess this unshakable faith. Later we'll see. So at the end, the Buddha says, even if you become a universal monarch, rule over the whole earth, it is nothing compared to gaining the four factors of stream entry, of stream winning. stream winning is much, much more worthwhile, more valuable. The next sutra is 55.2. The Buddha said, monk, a noble disciple who possesses four things is a stream enterer, Suttapanna, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, the enlightenment as his destination. But for, here monks, a noble disciple possesses confirmed confidence or unshakable faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. He possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones, Aryans, unbroken and blemished, leading to concentration. A noble disciple, monks, who possesses these four things is a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as his destination. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, further said, those who possess faith and virtue, confidence and vision of the Dhamma, in time arrived at the happiness grounded upon the holy life. That's the end of the Sutta. So, Here it says that the person who possesses these four factors is considered a stream enterer, Sotapanna, and he will never be reborn in the woeful plains and is fixed in destiny with enlightenment as his destination. Somewhere else it is said that he has a maximum of seven more rebirths. 55.3. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. On that occasion, the lay follower Digavu was sick, afflicted, gravely ill. Then the lay follower Digavu addressed his father, the householder Jyotikadas. Come, householder, approach the Blessed One. Pay homage to Him in my name with your head at His feet and say to Him, and say, Merable Sir, the lay follower Digavu is sick, afflicted, gravely ill. He pays homage to the Blessed One with his head at the Blessed One's feet. Then say, it would be good, Merable Sir, if the Blessed One would come to the residence of the lay follower Digavu out of compassion. Yes, dear, the householder Jyotika replied. And he approached the Blessed One and paid homage to him, sat down to one side and delivered his message. The Blessed One consented by silence. Then the Blessed One dressed, and taking bowl and robe, went to the residence of the lay follower Digavu. He then sat down in the appointed seat and said to the lay follower Digavu, I hope you are bearing up, Digavu. I hope you are getting better. I hope your painful feelings are subsiding and not increasing, and that their subsiding, not their increase, is to be discerned. And he said, Venerable Sir, I'm not bearing up. I'm not getting better. Strong, painful feelings are increasing in me, not subsiding. And that increase, not that subsiding, is to be discerned or seen. And the Buddha said, Therefore, Dighavu, you should train yourself thus. I'll be one who possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha thus. I'll be one who possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma. Confirm confidence in the Sangha of the one who possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones unbroken and blemished, leading to concentration. This in such a way that you should train yourself. Hendi Gabu said, Venerable Sir, as to these four factors of stream entry that have been taught by the Blessed One, these things exist in me, and I live in conformity with those things. For Venerable Sir, I possess confirmed confidence in the Buddha, in the Dhamma, in the Sangha, and I possess the virtues dear to the Noble Ones, unbroken, leading to concentration. And the Buddha said, Therefore, Digavu, established upon these four factors of stream entry, you should develop further six things that partake of true knowledge. Here Digavu, dwell contemplating impermanence in all conditioners, perceiving suffering in what is impermanent, perceiving non-self in what is suffering, perceiving abandonment, perceiving fading away, perceiving cessation. It is in such a way that you should train yourself. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says that since you are already Sotapanna, you should develop six other things. that will lead to true knowledge. Dwell contemplating impermanence in all conditioners. These words of conditioners is Sankara. All things in the world are conditioners as well as conditioned things. Anything that conditions something else is called a conditioner. But since it is... I'd say, for example, A. A because A has come into being. Because of A, B comes into being. So A is a conditioner of B. Then after B has come into existence, B will condition C to arise. So B is conditioned by A and B is the conditioner of C. So all things in the world are like that. Conditioned as well as conditioners. So the Buddha says, dwell contemplating impermanence in all things in the world and see suffering in what is impermanent. and perceive non-self in what is suffering. This perceive non-self in what is suffering is, the Buddha always says, like the body, is the body permanent or impermanent? Then the disciple says impermanent. And Buddha says, is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? And then he says, what is impermanent is suffering. And the Buddha says, what is impermanent suffering, subject to change? It's not I, it's not mine, it's not myself. In other words, this body and mind and all these things, they give a lot of suffering. So why do you continue to take it as yourself? If you take it to be yourself, then you will suffer. But if you let go, don't consider it as yourself. The body is just the body. Then you don't consider the self is suffering. Even when the body dies, it's the body that dies. It's not I that dies. So Buddha uses this kind of logical thinking to make us let go. And then perceiving abandonment. Letting go, perceiving fading away, perceiving cessation. So the Buddha says, should train in this way. And then Digavu said, Venerable Sir, as to these six things that partake of true knowledge that have been taught by the Blessed One, These things exist in me, and I live in conformity with those things. For Ven. Sir, I dwell contemplating impermanence in all conditioners, perceiving suffering in what is impermanent, perceiving non-self in what is suffering, perceiving abandonment, perceiving fading away, perceiving cessation. However, Ven. Sir, the thought occurs to me, after I am gone, may this householder Jyotika not fall into distress. Jyotika is the father. He is worried that after he passes away, the father will grieve. Then the father said, Don't be concerned about this, dear Digavu. Come now, dear Digavu. Pay close attention to what the Blessed One is saying to you. Then the Blessed One, having given this exhortation to the lay follower Digavu, rose from his seat and departed. Then not long after the Blessed One had left, the lay follower Digavu died. Then a number of monks approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, the lay follower named Digavu, to whom the Blessed One gave a brief exhortation, has died. What is his destination? What is his future bond? And the Buddha said, Monks, the lay follower Digavu was wise. He practiced in accordance with the Dhamma and did not trouble me on account of the Dhamma. monks the utter destruction of the five lower factors the lay follower digavu has become one of spontaneous birth due to attain nirvana there without returning from that world so this digavu was an anagamin third fruit attainer so this is the way it looks like this the way and some when a lay follower is dying the buddha reminds him to about these four factors of stream entry. You should train yourself thus. I will be one who possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha, in the Dhamma, in the Sangha. I will be one who possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones. Then this person says that he has attained it. Then the Buddha asks him to develop six other things. And he says that also he has developed. So That's a very good lay disciple of the Buddha. Now, the next sutra is 55.5. Then the Venerable Sariputta approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, Sariputta, this is said, a factor for stream entry. Sotapatti Yangani, a factor in stream entry. But now Sariputta is a factor for stream entry. And he said, association with superior persons, sometimes it's translated as true men, superior persons or true men. Sapurisa refers to Aryans, people who possess the true knowledge or superior knowledge. Association with superior persons, Venerable Sir, is a factor for stream entry. Hearing the true Dhamma is a factor for stream entry. Careful attention or thorough attention is a factor for stream entry. Practice in accordance with the Dhamma is a factor for stream entry. And the Buddha said, good, good, Sariputta. Association with superior person, Sariputta, is a factor for stream entry. Hearing the true Dhamma is a factor for stream entry. Careful attention is a factor for stream entry. Practice in accordance with the Dhamma is a factor for stream entry. Sariputta, this is said, the stream, the stream. But now, Sariputta is the stream. And he said, this noble eightfold path, venerable sir, is the stream. That is, right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection, right concentration. Good, good, Sariputta. This noble eightfold path is the stream. Sariputta, this is said, a stream enterer, a stream enterer. But now, Sariputta is a stream enterer. And he said, One who possesses this Noble Eightfold Path, Venerable Sir, is called a Stream-Enterer. This Venerable One is of such a name and clan. Good, good, Sariputta. One who possesses this Noble Eightfold Path is a Stream-Enterer. This Venerable One is of such a name and clan. That's the end of the sutra. This last part saying that the stream enterer possesses the Noble Eightfold Path. He does not possess it fully. Just like earlier we read the sutra about the faculties. If a person cultivates the five faculties completely, develops the five faculties completely, perfectly, he becomes an Arahant. But if he develops less than that, not fully, he may become an Anagamin, and less than that, a Sakadagamin, and less than that, a Sotapanna. So in the same way, if we perfect the Noble Eightfold Path, we become an Arahant. But for this stream enterer, he only develops the Noble Eightfold Path to a certain extent, possesses a little of each of the eight factors. So he becomes the stream-enterer for Sotapanna and Parthakthi. These four factors are called factors for stream entry. It is different from the other four called the factors of stream entry. The factors of stream entry are the characteristics of a stream enterer, a sutapanna. This one is the factors that will lead you to stream entry. That's why it's called a factor for stream entry. The first one says here, it says association with superior persons. That means going to see Aryans, going to see noble ones, associate with them and learn the Dhamma from them. That's the first condition. So if you want to become an Arya, you have to associate with Aryans. If you don't associate with Aryans, you can never learn the Aryan Dhamma. That's the first condition. The second one is to hear the true Dhamma. The true Dhamma is what we are studying now, the earliest discourses of the Buddha. found in the early Nikayas. This is the true Dhamma. So you have to either hear the true Dhamma or read. Now we have the books available. We read the true Dhamma in the Nikayas. Third one is when you are studying the true Dhamma, you have to pay careful attention, proper attention, thorough attention. That is the third condition. Fourth one is practice in accordance with the Dhamma. Having learned the Dhamma, we should put into practice basic things like Sila. Sila is one of the foundations of the holy path. Another one is Right View. When we learn the Dhamma and we understand the Dhamma, we obtain Right View. And so we become an Arya. So these four conditions are very important. So if you want to become an Arya, you have to always remember these four conditions. The next sutra is 55.6. That's of Ati. On that occasion, a number of monks were making a robe for the Blessed One, thinking, after the three months with this robe completed, the Blessed One will set out on tour. Stop here for a moment. These three months refers to the Vassa, like what we are having now, the Vassa retreat. In India, the Vasa is the rain season. And in India, there are three seasons in a year. The rain season, followed by the winter season, and followed by the summer season. So, each one of these seasons is four months, not three months, four months. So, during the rains, four months, the monks were going to retreat for three months. And after three months of retreat, the last month, they will use that one month to make the rope. Sometimes it's called the kathina robe. Why is it called the kathina robe? The kathina actually is a frame, a wooden frame, where the monks, during the Buddha's time, cloth was hard to come by. So they will go and pick up the cloth from the cemetery, on the roadside and all that. So these pieces of cloth, they will put on a wooden frame, put on the wooden frame and sew them together. That's why the monk's robe is like a patchwork like that. So that is a kathina robe. So once the robe is done, then the monks can go off. So here they plan to make the robe for the Buddha. And after the Buddha's robe is completed, the Buddha will set out on tour. He will go walk here and walk there to teach the Dhamma. Now on that occasion, the Chamberlains Isidarta and Purana were residing at Saduka on some business. They heard a number of monks, it is said, are making a robe for the Blessed One, thinking that after the three months with this robe completed, the Blessed One will set out on tour. These two Chamberlains, they look after the King's wives. I guess they look after the King's wife's residence, the chamber. Then the chamberlains Isidata and Purana posted a man on the road, telling him, Good man, when you see the Blessed One coming, the Arahant Samasambuddha, then you should inform us. After standing for two or three days, that man saw the Blessed One coming in the distance. Having seen Him, the man approached the chamberlains Isidata and Purana and told them, Sirs, this Blessed One is coming, Arahant Samasambuddha. You may come at your own convenience. Then the chamberlains Isidata and Purana approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, and followed closely behind Him. Then the Blessed One left the road, went to the foot of a tree, and sat down on a seat that was prepared for Him. The chamberlains Isidata and Purana paid homage to the Blessed One, sat down to one side and said to him, "'Rebel Sir, when we hear that the Blessed One will set out from Savatthi on tour among the Koh Salans, on that occasion, there arises in us distress and displeasure at the thought, the Blessed One will be far away from us. Then when we hear that the Blessed One has set out from Savatthi on tour among the Coastlands, on that occasion there arises in us distress and displeasure at the thought, the Blessed One is far away from us. Further, Venerable Sir, when we hear that the Blessed One will set out from among the Coastlands on tour in the Marlin country, then they feel distress and displeasure. or that he has set out from among the Coastlands on tour in the Marlin country, that he will set out from among the Marlins on tour in the Wajin country, that he has set out from among the Marlins on tour in the Wajin country, that he will set out from among the Wajins on tour in the Qasim country, But then he has set out from among the Vajrayans on tour in the Kassian country, that he will set out from among the Kassians on tour in Magadha. On that occasion there arises in us distress and displeasure at the thought, the Blessed One will be far away from us. Then when we hear that the Blessed One has set out from among the Kassians on tour in Magadha, on that occasion there arises in us great distress and displeasure at the thought, the Blessed One is far away from us. Stop here for a moment. Each time the Buddha plans to go away from Savatthi, they feel distress and grief, thinking the Buddha is going away from them. Then when the Buddha has left, again they feel distress and displeasure, thinking the Buddha is far away from them. So here they describe the various places where the Buddha keeps going away and away from them. And each time they have news of the Buddha going further away from them, they feel unhappy. But, Venerable Sir, when we hear that the Blessed One who set out from among the Magadans on tour in the Khasin country, on that occasion there arises in us elation and joy at the thought, the Blessed One will be near to us. Then when we hear that the Blessed One has set out from among the Magadans on tour in the Khasin country, on that occasion there arises in us elation and joy at the thought, the Blessed One is near to us. Further, Venerable Sir, when we hear that the Blessed One will set out from among the Kassians on tour in the Wajin country, that He will set out from among the Wajins on tour in the Malan country, that He will set out from among the Malans on tour in Kosala, So when the Buddha starts coming nearer to them, they are very joyful, thinking the Buddha is coming nearer and nearer to them. Then the Buddha said, Therefore, Chamberlains, the household life is confinement, a path of dust. The going forth is like the open air. It is enough for you Chamberlains to be diligent. And then they said, Venerable Sir, we are subject to another confinement even more confining and considered more confining than the former one. And the Buddha said, But what, Chamberlains, is that other confinement to which you are subject, which is even more confining and considered more confining than the former one? And they said, Dear Venerable Sir, when King Pasenadi of Kosala wants to make an excursion to his pleasure garden, after we have prepared his riding elephants, we have to place the King's dear and beloved wives on their seats, one in front and one behind. Now, Venerable Sir, the scent of those ladies is just like that of a perfume casket briefly opened. So it is with the royal ladies wearing sand. Also, Venerable Sir, the bodily touch of those ladies is just like that of a tuft of cotton wool or kapok. So it is with the royal ladies so delicately nurtured. Now on that occasion, Venerable Sir, the elephants must be guarded, and those ladies must be guarded, and we ourselves must be guarded. Yet we do not recall giving rise to an evil state of mind in regard to those ladies. This, Venerable Sir, is that other confinement to which we are subject, which is even more confining and considered more confining than the former one. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says to them that the lay life is confinement, path of dust. very cramped like that. Going forth, becoming a monk is like the open air. Then they said, oh, we have another confinement, even worse than that. And then they said, whenever the king wants to go and make a trip to the pleasure garden, they have to prepare the fighting elephants. They have to place the king's wives on the seats, on the elephant. And the king's wives are so beautiful and perfumed and so delicate and all that. Then they say they have to guard the elephant, they have to guard the king's wives, and they have to guard themselves. Probably of the three, guarding themselves is the most difficult. So it says that is really a problem for them. Each time the king's wives want to go makan angin, they have to do this work. Then the Buddha said, Therefore, Chamberlains, the household life is confinement, a path of dust. The going forth is like the open air. It is enough for you, Chamberlains, to be diligent. The noble disciple Chamberlains, who possesses four things, is a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with the Enlightenment as his destination. What for? Hear, Chamberlains, a noble disciple possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha thus. The Blessed One is a teacher of devas and humans, enlightened Blessed One. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Sangha. He dwells at home with a mind devoid of the stain of stinginess, freely generous, open-handed, delighting in relinquishment, one devoted to charity, delighting in giving and sharing. A noble disciple who possesses these four things is a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in death. destiny, with enlightenment as his destination. Chamberlains, you possess confirmed confidence in the Buddha, in the Dhamma, in the Sangha, moreover, whatever there is in your family that is suitable for giving, all that you share unreservedly among those who are virtuous and of good character. What do you think, Chamberlains, how many people are there among the co-cellants who are your equals, that is, in regard to giving and sharing? and they said it is again for us venerable sir it is well gained by us venerable sir that the blessed one understands us so well that's the end of the sutra so you see these two chamberlains the king's chamberlains They are very devoted disciples of the Buddha. That's why every time the Buddha goes away from where they are, that is, in savatthi, they are distressed to hear the Buddha is going away from them. Every time the Buddha is on the way back, they are so happy. So the Buddha says they are already Sotapanna. But you look at these four factors of stream entry, slightly different from the previous one. The last condition is not aryan seal, Generosity. So, a person who is very generous, likes to help others, he will naturally have good sila. Just like now, the famous person in the world is our Bill Gates. He's very generous with his money. 95% of his money he's going to give away. Such a person, he has natural sila. He wants to help others, does not harm others. So here, this generosity is an important factor. There are some people who practice meditation and they think they practice insight meditation. They are only concerned about wisdom, insight. They think that dana, charity, is not important. If they don't practice charity, you see from here, they cannot be a sotapanna. If you are a selfish person, how can you be a sotapanna?

53SNSotapattiCh5520090905

The next sutra is 55.7. On one occasion, the Blessed One was walking on tour among the Kosalans, together with a great Sangha of monks, when He reached the Brahmin village of the Kosalans, named Bamboo Gate. Then the Brahmin householders of Bamboo Gate heard, it is said, sirs, that the ascetic Gautama, the son of the Sakyans who went forth from a Sakyan family, has been walking on tour among the Kosalans, together with the great Sangha of monks, and has arrived at Bamboo Gate. Now a good report concerning that Master Gautama has spread about thus. That Blessed One is an Arahant, Sammasambuddha, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, fortunate knower of the world, unsurpassed leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One. Having realized by his own direct knowledge this world with its devas, Mara and Brahma, this generation with its ascetics and Brahmins, its devas and humans, he makes it known to others. He teaches a Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, good in the end, with the right meaning and phrasing. He reveals a holy life that is perfectly complete and pure. It is good to see such arahants. Then those Brahmin householders of Bamboo Gate approached the Blessed One. Having approached, Some paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Some greeted the Blessed One and, having exchanged greetings and cordial talk, sat down to one side. Some extended their joined hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Some announced their name and clan to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Some remained silent and sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, those Brahmin householders of Bamboo Gate said to the Blessed One, Master Gautama, we have such wishes, desires and hopes as these. May we dwell in a home crowded with children. May we enjoy Khasi or Khasian sandalwood. May we wear garlands, scents and anguans. May we receive gold and silver. With the breakup of the body after death, may we be reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world. As we have such wishes, desires and hopes, let Master Gautama teach us the Dhamma in a way that we might dwell in a home crowded with children. Enjoying Cassian sandalwood, where garland scents and anguins receive gold and silver, and with the breakup of the body after death, be reborn in heaven." Stop here for a moment. You see these people, just like a lot of worldly people, you want to enjoy life now, and after death, you want to be born in heaven again. Who doesn't want that? And the Buddha said, I will teach you, householders, a Dhamma exposition applicable to oneself. Listen to that and attend closely. I will speak. Yes, sir, those Brahmin householders of Bamboo Gate replied. The Blessed One said, What, householders, is the Dhamma exposition applicable to oneself? Here, householders, a noble disciple reflects thus. I am one who wishes to live, who does not wish to die. I desire happiness and am averse to suffering. Since I am one who wishes to live and does not wish to die, and I desire happiness and am averse to suffering, if someone were to take my life, that would not be pleasing and agreeable to me. Now, if I were to take the life of another, of one who wishes to live, who does not wish to die, who desires happiness and is averse to suffering, that would not be pleasing and agreeable to the other either. What is displeasing and disagreeable to me is displeasing and disagreeable to the other person too. How can I inflict upon another what is displeasing and disagreeable to me? Having reflected thus, he himself abstains from the destruction of life, exhorts others to abstain from the destruction of life, and speaks in praise of abstinence from the destruction of life. Thus, this bodily conduct of his is purified in three respects. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, because you don't want others to take your life, you should not take the life of others also, because they also value their life. Then the Buddha said, you practice in three ways. First, you keep the precept yourself, and then you exhort others, encourage others to keep the precept. And then you speak in praise of keeping the precept. So these are the three respects. Again, householders, a noble disciple reflects thus, if someone were to take from me what I have not given, that is, to commit theft, that would not be pleasing and agreeable to me. Now, if I were to take from another what he has not given, that is, to commit theft, That would not be pleasing and agreeable to the other either. What is displeasing and disagreeable to me, is displeasing and disagreeable to the other too. How can I inflict upon another? What is displeasing and disagreeable to me?" Herring reflected thus, He Himself abstains from taking what is not given, exhorts others to abstain from taking what is not given, and speaks in praise of abstinence from taking what is not given. Thus, His bodily conduct of His is purified in three respects. Again, householders, a noble disciple reflects thus, If someone were to commit adultery with my wives, that would not be pleasing and agreeable to me. Now, if I were to commit adultery with the wives of others, That would not be pleasing and agreeable to the other either. What is displeasing and disagreeable to me is displeasing and disagreeable to the other too. How can I inflict upon another what is displeasing and disagreeable to me? Having reflected thus, he himself abstains from sexual misconduct, exhorts others to abstain from sexual misconduct, and speaks in praise of abstinence from sexual misconduct. Thus, this bodily conduct of his is purified in three respects. Again, householders, a noble disciple reflects thus, if someone were to damage my welfare with false speech, that would not be pleasing and agreeable to me. Now, if I were to damage the welfare of another with false speech, that would not be pleasing and agreeable to the other either. What is displeasing and disagreeable to me? is displeasing and disagreeable to the other too. How can I inflict upon another what is displeasing and disagreeable to me? Having reflected thus, he himself abstains from false speech, exhausts others to abstain from false speech, and speaks in praise of abstinence from false speech. Thus this verbal conduct of his is purified in three respects. Again, householders, a noble disciple reflects thus, if someone were to divide me from my friends, by divisive speech, that would not be pleasing and agreeable to me. Now, if I were to divide another from his friends by divisive speech, that would not be pleasing and agreeable to the other either. Thus, this verbal conduct of his is purified in three respects in the same way. Again, householders, a noble disciple reflects thus, if someone were to address me with harsh speech or coarse speech, that would not be pleasing and agreeable to me. Now if I were to address another with harsh speech, that would not be pleasing and agreeable to the other either. So he keeps this precept now. Thus this verbal conduct of his is purified in three respects. Again householders, a noble disciple reflects thus, someone were to address me with frivolous speech and idle chatter. or idle gossip, that would not be pleasing and agreeable to me. Now if I were to address another with frivolous speech and idle gossip, that would not be pleasing and agreeable to the other either. What is displeasing and disagreeable to me, it is pleasing and disagreeable to the other too. How can I inflict upon another what is displeasing and disagreeable to me? Having reflected thus, He himself abstains from idle chatter, exhorts others to abstain from idle chatter, and speaks in praise of abstinence from idle chatter. Thus this verbal conduct of his is purified in three respects. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma, in the Sangha. He possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones. When householders, the noble disciple possesses these seven good qualities and these four desirable states, if he wishes, he could by himself. He declared of himself, I am one finished with hell, finished with the animal realm, finished with the domain of ghosts, finished with the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the netherworld. I am a stream enterer, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as my destination. And this was said, the Brahmin householders of Bamboo Gate said, magnificent Master Gautama. And they took refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. and they say from today let the blessed one remember us as slave followers who have gone for refuge for life so this sutta you notice carefully that the buddha taught them seven precepts in this earliest stage of the buddha's ministry teaching he used to teach seven precepts because these seven precepts are aryan precepts when we look into the Noble Eightfold Path. The Sila consists of three factors, right speech, right action, and right livelihood. And these comprise these seven precepts. And then the Buddha said, on top of the seven precepts, you should have unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, and keep this Arinsila, then you will never be reborn in the woeful destinations. So for mostly people, this is what we should teach them. You can enjoy life now and you can still enjoy life in the future birth if you follow these seven precepts and study enough Dhamma so that you have unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Nenek Sutta 55.8 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Nyartika in the brick hall. Then the Venerable Ananda approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, the monk named Salha has died. What is his destination? What is his future born? The bhikkhuni named Nanda has died. What is her destination? What is her future born? The male lay follower named Sudatta has died. What is his destination? What is his future born? The female lay follower named Sujata has died. What is her destination? What is her future born? And the Buddha said, Nanda, the monk Salha who has died by the destruction of the Asavas in this very life had entered and dwelt in the painless liberation by mine. Liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge, the Nanda who has died, head with the utter destruction of the five lower fetters, become one of spontaneous birth, due to attain Nibbana there, without returning from that world. The male lay followers who Datta, who has died, had, with the utter destruction of three fetters and with the diminishing of greed, hatred and delusion, become a once-returner who, after coming back to this world only one more time, will make an end to suffering. The female lay followers who Jatta, who has died, had, With the utter destruction of three fetters, become a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as her destination. It is not surprising, Ananda, that a human being should die. But if each time someone has died, you approach and question me about this matter, that would be troublesome for the Tathagata. Therefore, Ananda, I will teach you a Dhamma exposition called the Mirror of the Dhamma, equipped with which a noble disciple, if he wishes, could by himself declare of himself, am I finished with hell, finished with the animal realm, finished with the domain of ghosts, finished with a plane of misery. Their bad destination is the netherworld. I am a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as my destination. And what ananda is the dhamma exposition, the mirror of the dhamma, equipped with which a noble disciple, if he wishes, could by himself declare thus of himself. Here Ananda, a noble disciple, possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Sangha. He possesses the virtues moral conduct, dear to the noble ones, Aryans, leading to concentration. This Ananda is that Dhamma exposition, the mirror of the Dhamma, equipped with which a noble disciple, if he wishes, could by himself declare of himself, I am one finished with hell, finished with the woeful plains. I am a stream enterer, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as my destination. So here, the Buddha is saying that we should examine ourselves, whether we have these four qualities, unshakable faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. And we possess the seven precepts, called the Arinsila, the three bodily precepts, that means not to kill, not to steal, not to commit sexual misconduct, and four verbal precepts, not to lie, not to engage in malicious or divisive speech. Malicious speech means speech motivated by anger. We divide people or we talk bad about somebody purposely. And then the third verbal precept is not to engage in coarse language, engage in coarse speech. And the last one is not to engage in idle gossip, idle chatter. If you have these four factors, then we can be sure that we will never be reborn in the four planes of existence. But you must remember to have unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. You must know enough Dhamma. If you don't have right view, you cannot have unshakable faith. You must learn enough Dhamma to understanding of the Four Noble Truths. Then only you can have unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. And if you have that four qualities of stream entry, then you will realize that you have not wasted this life. A lot of people waste their life, their human life. And you'll be very glad that you have spent this life in the most worthwhile way, better than becoming the king of the whole world. The next victor is 55.12. That's a Vati. The Buddha said, monks, the Brahmins proclaim a way called going upwards. They enjoin the disciple thus, come good man, get up early and walk facing east. Do not avoid a pit, that means a hole, or a precipice, or a stump, or a thorny place, or a village pool, or a cesspool, a shithole. You should expect death wherever you fall. Thus good man, with the breakup of the body after death, you will be reborn in a good destination in the heavenly world. Now, this practice of the Brahmin monks is a foolish cause, a stupid cause. It does not lead to revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to nirvana. But I, monks, proclaim the way going upwards in the noble ones discipline, the way which leads to utter revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. And what, monks, is that way going upwards which leads to utter revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana? Here monks, a noble disciple, possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Sangha. He possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones. This monk is that way going upwards which leads to utter revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. That's the end of the sutta. So you see, during the Buddha's time also, they have such silly teachings as to get up early and walk facing east. Any hole, don't avoid, fall into that hole. Any shit hole also, you go inside. Any thorn also, you just step on it. Any pool also, you fall into it. Silly teaching, but the Buddha says he teaches the way of wisdom, that we should attain these four factors of stream entry, have unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and possess the Aryan Sila, the seven precepts. The next sutra I'm going to read is 55.17. The Buddha said, monks, Those for whom you have compassion and who think you should be heeded, whether friends or colleagues, relatives or kinsmen, these you should exhort, settle and establish in the four factors of stream entry, but four, you should exhort, settle and establish them in confirmed confidence in the Buddha. Monks, there may be alteration in the four great elements, in the earth element, water element, heat element, air element, but there cannot be alteration in the noble disciple who possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha. Therein, this is alteration, that the noble disciple who possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha might be reborn in hell, in the animal realm, or in the domain of ghosts. This is impossible. You should exhort, settle, and establish them. It confirms confidence in the Dhamma. You should exhort, settle, and establish them. It confirms confidence in the Sangha. And you should establish them in the virtues dear to the noble ones. Aryan Sila, leading to concentration. Monks, there may be alteration in the four great elements, but there cannot be alteration in the noble disciple who possesses the four factors. Therein this is alteration, that the noble disciple who possesses all factors might be reborn in the woeful plains. This is impossible. Those for whom you have compassion and who think you should be heeded, listen, whether friends or colleagues, relatives or kinsmen, these you should exhort, settle and establish them in the four factors of stream entry." That's the end of the sutta. So the Buddha is saying that those people who are near and dear to us and who also are willing To listen to us, we should bring them to have unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and to keep the Arinsila, the seven precepts. And the Buddha says, somebody who has these four factors of stream entry, it is impossible that they will be reborn in the woeful plains. So it is good to establish your children, your parents, and those near and beloved to you, but the relatives or friends are in these four things. Okay, I think I'll stop here for tonight. We can discuss anything. You see, for the Buddha or the Arhats, if they want to know something, they have to sit down and contemplate. For them to contemplate, they have to go into jhāna first. They have to sit down, go into samādhi, into states of deep concentration. Then when we withdraw from there, the mind is very peaceful. Then when they contemplate, they can know what they want to know. So like in everyday life, the Buddha doesn't know a lot of things. He has to sit down and meditate, then only he knows. There's an example of this in the Mahārāja Ajānya Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya. One day our Venerable Mahamoggalana coming back from alms round, he finished his food and he was doing walking meditation. When he was doing walking meditation, suddenly he felt the stomach very heavy because Mara went into his stomach. Then to contemplate, he went inside his kuti, sat down, entered jhana. Then he got to know that Mara was inside his stomach. Then he asked Mara to get out. You see, he's just walking meditation. He doesn't know, you know. He has to sit down and get into Samadhi. Then only he knows. So, when you have five, six, seven, eight goals, and you know that it's not out of six, seven, eight branches, and you know that it's not out of five, six, seven, eight branches, and you know that it's not out of five, six, seven, eight branches, and you know that it's not out of five, six, seven, eight branches, and you know that it's not out of five, six, seven, eight branches, and you know that it's not out of five, six, seven, eight branches, and you know that it's not out of five, six, seven, eight branches, and you know that it's not out of five, six, seven, eight branches, and you know that it's not out of five, six, seven, eight branches, and you know that it's not out of five, six, seven, eight branches, and you know that it's not out of five, six, seven, eight branches, and you know that it's not out of five, six Yes, but the problem with nowadays, these people who practice Vipassana meditation is that they use a different criteria. They use the 16 Jnanas in the Visuddhi Magga, which is not mentioned in the discourses of the Buddha. So those 16 Jnanas just is not valid at all. Not valid at all. We know of a few people who have attained all these 16 Jnanas and then give up Buddhism, they change their religion. If you look into my book, this Mindfulness Collection and Concentration, this word Jhana literally means fire, fire or brightness, something that is burning or bright. So when applied to meditation, when we enter the state of jhāna, your mind becomes brightened. burns like fire. That's why the Buddha is called Angirasa. Light streams out from his head, the aura. Where does this aura come from? From the fire within. This fire is due to meditation. When the mind becomes one-pointed, the energy is focused, focused at one point. So it's like a laser beam, full of energy. So because of that, light is emitted. Especially at the fourth jhana, Upwards. The Buddha says, when a person attains the fourth jhāna, the whole body becomes bright. So this brightness is not from outside. The brightness is from within. There are some people, they talk about seeing a nimitta, and the nimitta becomes bright. But like Ajahn Mahāprabhu, Nopal Mahāprabhu in Thailand, he says that the light comes from within the chest. The light comes outwards. It's getting quite noisy. Probably have to stop.

54SNSotapattiCh5520090906

Today is the 6th of September, and we are on the 55th chapter, Sutta Pati Sangyutta. I come to Sutta 55.21, that's on page 1808. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakyans at Kapilavatthu in the Grodha Spa. Then Mahanama, the Sakyan approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, this Kapilavatthu is rich and prosperous, populous, crowded, with congested thoroughfares. In the evening when I am entering Kapilavatthu after visiting the Blessed One, All the monks worthy of esteem had come across a stray elephant, a stray horse, a stray chariot, a stray cart, a stray man. On that occasion, Venerable Sir, my mindfulness regarding the Blessed One becomes muddled. My mindfulness regarding the Dhamma becomes muddled. My mindfulness or recollection regarding the Sangha becomes muddled. The thought then occurs to me, If at this moment I should die, what would be my destination? What would be my future born? Stop here for a moment. So here this Mahanama. Mahanama is a relative of the Buddha and this Kapilavatthu is a place where all the Sakyans live. so he says in the evening after he has gone to visit the buddha or the monks during the buddha's time the monasteries were almost all forest monasteries out of the city so after visiting the buddha or the other monks he comes back into the city and then when he goes into the city sometimes he meets Stray elephant, stray horse, stray chariot, stray cart, stray man. These stray elephant and all that are those that are out of control sometimes. Or the stray chariot, stray cart, running very fast, out of control. So at that time, he's very excited because it might knock him and kill him. So he says at that time, his recollection of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha It's not there. And if he should die suddenly, where would he be reborn? This sutta is quite important because nowadays a lot of people talk about the last thought moment that comes from Abhidhamma. They say at the moment when you are dying, if you can think of a good thought, it will bring you to a good rebirth. Or at that moment you are excited, you're not thinking of a good thought, then you don't go off to a good rebirth. So let's see what the Buddha says. The Buddha said, don't be afraid, Maha Nama. Don't be afraid, Maha Nama. Your death will not be a bad one. Your demise will not be a bad one. If a person's mind has been fortified over a long time by faith, virtue, that means moral conduct, learning, Generosity and Wisdom Right here, crows, vultures, hawks, dogs, jackals, or various creatures eat his body, consisting of form, composed of the four great elements, originating from mother and father, built up out of rice and gruel, subject to impermanence, to being worn and rubbed away. to breaking apart and dispersal. But his mind, which has been fortified over a long time by faith, virtue, learning, generosity and wisdom, that goes upwards, goes to distinction. Suppose, Mahanama, a man submerges a pot of ghee or a pot of oil in a deep pool of water and breaks it. All of its shards and fragments would sink downwards, but the ghee or oil there would rise upwards. So too, Mahanama, when a person's mind has been fortified over a long time by faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom. Right here, clothes, etc. may eat his body, but his mind, which has been fortified over a long time by faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom, that goes upwards, goes to distinction. Don't be afraid, Mahanama. Don't be afraid, Mahanama. Your death will not be a bad one. Your demise will not be a bad one. That's the end of the Sutta. So here, the Buddha is saying, even though you may be attacked by various creatures and eaten. And even though you may feel fear at the last moment, but because you have practiced these few things, you have faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, you have moral conduct. Moral conduct normally refers to Aryan normal conduct. And basically it's the seven precepts, the three body precepts. and four verbal precepts. Learning here refers to much learning. Bahusacca or sometimes Bahusutta. This term in Chinese is called Tuowen. And it refers to much learning of the Buddha's Dhamma. Much understanding of the Buddha's Dhamma. Bahusacca means much roots. Sacca means roots. So that means much knowledge of the truths, the Buddhist truths. Bahuhusutta means much hearing, much hearing of the Dhamma, the Buddha's Dhamma. So here it just says learning, but it refers to these two words, having much knowledge of the Buddha's discourses, the Buddha's words. Generosity, form of giving to others, helping others, and wisdom, Because of these five qualities, the Buddha says, the mind will bring you up. It doesn't matter how your body dies, because your mind is an elevated mind. So, generally, I like to say that when a person dies, even though he may be certified dead by the doctor, that is only clinical death. That is not death. That is not actual death. teachings. In the Buddha's teachings, the Buddha says when a person dies, three things stop. I think in the Majjhima Nikaya Sutta. What are these three things? One is vitality, vital energy. Second one is consciousness. Third one is body heat. When a person really dies, these three things leave him. So when these three things leave him, then You will only know when you touch the body. When you touch the body, the body is cold and he definitely will not revive. If the corpse, the body is still warm, there's still a possibility that being is alive and may revive. So normally when a person dies, the six senses will shut off one by one, and the last to shut off is the consciousness. And the doctor says that the person is dead, usually only because of two things, because the breath has stopped and the heart has stopped. What happens is usually when he's pronounced dead by the doctor, usually he's still alive, the mind is still going, the body is still warm, maybe for another one or two hours or three hours or sometimes even more. So that period between that clinical death and the actual death, the mind is like dreaming, the mind is thinking, thinking. And those thoughts cannot be controlled by anyone. And those thoughts depend on his karma. If that person is like the Buddha says, has faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom, he always thinks of good things, thinks of wholesome things, thinks of elevated things, not low things. He doesn't have thoughts of greed, hatred, and delusion. So if he has good thoughts, wholesome thoughts, then at the moment when he's dying, he's thinking of all these thoughts, so he'll go to a good rebirth. So this teaching that you have to control your last thought is not valid because you just cannot control your last thought. It depends on your kamma. So like, for example, a few years ago, one of our devotees in Penang, she told me that the mother died of cancer. So when the mother died, she was in pain because of the cancer. So when she was certified dead by the doctor, the face showed a lot of pain. But one hour later, the daughter told me that the mother's face changed entirely. She was smiling and looked very happy and peaceful. Entirely different. So you can see that person must have been a very good person. So if your heart, your mind is good, so those last thoughts are good thoughts and will bring you, because of your happy state of mind, bring you to a happy rebirth. So what I always like to say is that our everyday mind is very important. That is our natural frequency. So if our everyday mind, we always think of good things, wholesome things, we always have wholesome states of mind. So when we die, we will naturally go to our natural frequency. Our last thoughts will be your everyday thoughts, what you generally think of every day. So that's why it's that everyday thoughts, if you want to have a good rebirth, you want to have wholesome states of mind every day. That needs a lot of training. That needs a lot of practice, cultivation of the mind. So it takes years. So I always say it takes years to prepare for death. Sometimes some people, they never learn the Dhamma. They're not interested in the Dhamma. Full of greed, hatred and delusion. And when they are dying, they come and tell us how to help their mother, how to help their father. cannot help because the habit, habitual tendency is already fixed. At the last moment, you cannot change that. It takes many years to change. So people don't understand. So sometimes worldly people, they see us interested in the spiritual path. They think we are very foolish, wasting our time, not enjoying all the worldly pleasures. Recently, we have one of our devotees, the sister-in-law, has never been interested in religion. Now she's dying of cancer. Now she cannot talk, but a few months ago when she could talk, she told our devotee that she has one big regret in life, that she was never interested in religion. Because of no interest in religion, now that she's dying, she's totally unprepared. So, this sutra tells us that our everyday mind is very important. Gurunekha Sutta, another very important sutta of the Sarakani Sutta, 55.24, at Kapilavatthu again. Now, on that occasion, Sarakani the Sakyan had died, and the Blessed One had declared him to be a stream-enterer, Sotapanna, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as his destination. Thereupon, a number of Sakyans, having met and assembled, deplored this grumble and complained about it, saying, This is wonderful indeed, sir. It is amazing indeed, sir. Now who here won't be a stream-enterer? When the Blessed One has declared Sarakani the Sakyan after he died to be a stream-enterer, with enlightenment as his destination. Sarakani the Sakyan was too weak for the training. He drank intoxicating drink. Come here for a moment. So, this Sarakani, the Sakyan, he had been a drinker. He drinks liquor. So, after he died, the Buddha said that he was a Sotapanna, gone for a good rebirth. And a lot of these Sakyans, They found it too difficult to believe. They thought the Buddha always talked about the five precepts. All lay people must keep the five precepts. And one of these five precepts is to refrain from taking intoxicants, including liquor. So they thought that he cannot even keep the five precepts, how can he go to heaven? How can he be an Arya? Then Mahanama, the Sakyan approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and reported this matter to him. The Blessed One said, Mahanama, when a lay follower has gone for refuge over a long time to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, how could he go to the nether world? For if one speaking rightly were to say of anyone, he was a lay follower who had gone for refuge over a long time to the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha. It is of Sarakani the Sakyan that one could rightly say this. Mahanama, Sarakani the Sakyan had gone for refuge over a long time to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. So how could he go to the netherworld? Here, Mahanama, some person possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha. That means uncheckable faith in the Buddha. and in the Dhamma and the Sangha. He is one of joyous wisdom, of swift wisdom, and he has attained liberation. By the disruption of the Asavas in this very life, he enters and dwells in the taintless liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge. This person, Mahanama, is freed from hell, the animal realm, and the domain of ghosts, free from the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the netherworld. The Buddha mentions the netherworld. He refers to the three woeful planes of rebirth, the ghost realm, the animal and the hell realm. Here Mahanama, some person possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. He is one of joyous wisdom, of swift wisdom. Yet he has not attained liberation with the utter destruction of the five lower factors. He becomes one of spontaneous birth, due to attain Nibbana there, without returning from that world. This person too, Mahanama, is free from hell, the animal realm and the domain of ghosts, free from the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the netherworld. This second type of Arya is the Anagamin. Here, Mahanama, some person possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. He is not one of joyous wisdom, nor of swift wisdom, and he has not attained liberation. The utter destruction of three fetters, and with the diminishing of greed, hatred, and delusion, he is a once-returner who, after coming back to this world only one more time, will make an end to suffering. This person too, Mahanama, is free from hell, the animal realm, and the domain of ghosts, free from the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the netherworld. Stop here for a moment. So here you see the description of the Sakadagamin, the second fruition ariya. He does not possess joyous wisdom or swift wisdom. Why? Because the Sakadagamin does not have perfect samadhi. Perfect Samadhi in the Buddha's teachings refers to the four jhanas. When a person possesses four jhanas, his wisdom is deep, he's of joyous wisdom, swift wisdom. So you see the Anagamin and the Arahant, they have joyous wisdom and swift wisdom. Joyous wisdom and swift wisdom, I think is Hathapanna and Javanapanna. The Sakadagamin, he may have one jhāna, two jhānas, three jhānas, but because he does not possess four jhānas, he does not have joyous wisdom or swift wisdom. That's the difference. Here, Mahanama, some person possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. He is not one of joyous wisdom nor of swift wisdom, and he has not attained liberation. With the utter destruction of three factors, he is a stream-enterer, Sotapanna, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as his destination. This person too, Mahanama, is freed from hell, the animal realm, and the domain of ghosts, freed from the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the netherworld. Here, Mahanama, some person does not possess firm confidence in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. He is not one of joyous wisdom, nor of swift wisdom, and he has not attained liberation. However, he has these five things, the faculty of faith, energy, recollection, concentration and wisdom, and the teachings proclaimed by the Tathagata are accepted by him after being pondered to a sufficient degree with wisdom. This person too, Mahanama, is one who does not go to hell, the animal realm or the domain of ghosts, to the plane of misery, the bad destination, the netherworld. Here, Mahanama, some person does not possess confirmed confidence in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. He is not one of joyous wisdom, nor of swift wisdom, and he has not attained liberation. However, he has these five things, the faculty of faith, energy, recollection, concentration, and wisdom. And he has sufficient faith in the Tathagata, sufficient devotion to him. This person too, Mahanama, is one who does not go to hell, the animal realm or the domain of ghosts, to the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the netherworld. Stop here for a moment. These last two, they are also Arya. They are called Dhamma-Nosari and Saddha-Nosari. And they refer to the first path attainer. The first path attainer, you see here, he does not possess unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. He is new to the Dhamma. He has just learned the Dhamma, has understood the Dhamma to a sufficient degree. So, because of that, the first one, because he is, compared to the second one, the first one, the emphasis is more on understanding of the Dhamma. The second one, he also has some understanding of the Dhamma and his faith is stronger. That's why he's called the Saddhanussari. You see, for a person to become an Arya, he must have right view. So these two persons must have right view. That means they have heard the Dhamma and understood the basic teachings about the Four Noble Truths. That's why they have become Arya. They won't be reborn into the woeful planes of rebirth. However, they do not have unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha yet. But it doesn't matter, because in the Suttas, the Buddha says, in the same lifetime, this person must become a Sotapanna. It's only a matter of time. It's not like the Abhidhamma says, immediately he will become a Sotapanna. No. It takes some time for him to understand deeper the Buddha's teachings and then he has unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. When he has unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and becomes a Sotapanna, the three factors are eliminated. At the stage of the first path attainment, they have not eliminated any factor yet. They just have the understanding, they just have attained the right view. They have just come into the Noble Eightfold Path. It takes some time to deepen the understanding and then become a Sotapanna. And then lastly, the Buddha said, Even if these great Salah trees, Mahanama, could understand what is well-spoken and what is badly spoken, then I would declare these great Salah trees to be stream-enterers, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with the Enlightenment as their destination. How much more than Sarakani the Sakyan. Mahanama, Sarakani the Sakyan undertook the training at the time of his death. That's the end of the Sutta. So here, this last part is very important. The Buddha says, even the trees, if they can differentiate between what is well spoken and what is badly spoken, and if they heard the Dhamma, the Buddha's teachings, even trees also can become Sotapanna. How can a human not become a Sotapanna from listening to the Dhamma? So what is important here is that, what is implied here is that to become a Sotapanna, you have to listen to the Dhamma. It is not from meditation. If Sotapanna is to be attained by meditation, the Buddha would have said, if I taught these trees to meditate, even they can become Sotapanna. But the Buddha did not say that. The Buddha said, if they can understand In other words, they can understand the Dhamma. So, this is a very important point. A lot of people, because they don't study the Suttas, they think that becoming a Suttapanna is by meditation, but actually it is by listening to the Dhamma. The other thing is, the Buddha says, if a person has taken refuge for a long time with the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, He cannot be. reborn in the woeful planes of destination. What is meant here is that he has learned the Dhamma, has gone for refuge over a long time, has learned the Dhamma for a long time. If he has learned the Dhamma for a long time, if he has associated with Aryans, then he would have learned the Aryan Dhamma. And after learning the Aryan Dhamma, he would have put it into practice. And so it's natural that he would go for a good rebirth. So the most important point of this Sutta is that Sotapanna is attained by listening to the Dhamma and understanding, not just by meditation. But meditation can help because if we meditate, we focus the mind and if the mind is focused, then when we listen to the Dhamma, it's easier to understand

55SNSotapattiCh5520090906

Okay, the next vector is 55.26 as a devotee. Now on that occasion, the householder, Anathapindika, was sick, afflicted, gravely ill. Then the householder, Anathapindika, addressed the man thus, Come, good man, approach the Venerable Sariputta, pay homage to him in my name with your head at his feet, and say, Venerable Sir, the householder, Anathapindika, is sick, afflicted, gravely ill. He pays homage to the Venerable Sariputta with his head at his feet. Then say, it would be good, Venerable Sir, if the Venerable Sariputta would come to the residence of the householder, Anathapindika, out of compassion." Stop here for a moment. This Anathapindika, his name is a nickname because he provides for orphans. He looks after orphans. That's why he's called Anathapindika. But his actual name, I think, is Sudatta. And he's a great fan of Venerable Sariputta. Of all the monks, he appreciates Venerable Sariputta the most. That's why when he was dying, he asked his workers to go and summon Venerable Sariputta. Yes, Master, the man replied. And he approached the Venerable Sariputta, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and delivered his message. The Venerable Sariputta consented by silence. Then in the morning, the Venerable Sariputta dressed and taking bowl and robe, went to the residence of the householder Anathapindika with the Venerable Ananda as his companion. He then sat down in the appointed seat and said to the householder Anathapindika, I hope you are bearing up, householder. I hope you are getting better. I hope your painful feelings are subsiding and not increasing, and that their subsiding, not their increase, is to be discerned." And Anathapindika said, I am not bearing up, Venerable Sir. I am not getting better. Strong painful feelings are increasing in me, not subsiding. And their increase, not their subsiding, is to be discerned. And Venerable Sariputta said, You, householder, do not have that distrust towards the Buddha, which the uninstructed whirling possesses, because of which the latter, with the breakup of the body after death, is reborn in the plane of misery, in a bad destination, in the netherworld, in hell. You have confirmed confidence in the Buddha, Thus, the Blessed One is a teacher of deities and humans, etc. As you consider within yourself that confirmed confidence in the Buddha, your pains may subside on the spot. Few householders do not have that distrust towards the Dhamma which the uninstructed worldling possesses, because of which the latter is reborn in the plane of misery in hell. You have confirmed confidence in the Dhamma thus. The Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One to be personally experienced by the wise. As you consider within yourself that confirmed confidence in the Dhamma, your pains may subside on the spot. You, householder, do not have that distrust towards the Sangha, which the uninstructed whirling possesses, because of which the latter is reborn in the plane of misery in hell. You have confirmed confidence in the Sangha thus. The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing the good way, the straight way, etc. As you consider within yourself that confirmed confidence in the Sangha, your pains may subside on the spot. You, householder, do not have that immorality which the uninstructed worldly possesses, because of which the latter is reborn in the plane of misery in hell. You have those virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken, leading to concentration. As you consider within yourself those virtues dear to the noble ones, your pains may subside on the spot. You, householder, do not have that wrong view which the uninstructed worldling possesses because of which the latter is reborn in the plane of misery in hell. You have right view. As you consider within yourself that right view, your pains may subside on the spot. You, householder, do not have wrong intention. wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong recollection, wrong concentration, wrong knowledge, wrong liberation, which the uninstructed whirling possesses, because of which the latter is reborn in the plane of misery in hell. You have right Right intention or right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection, right concentration, right knowledge, right liberation. As you consider within yourself that right liberation, your pains may subside on the spot. Let the pains of the householder, Anathapindika, subsided on the spot. Then the householder Anathapindika served the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Ananda from his own dish. When the Venerable Sariputta had finished his meal and had put away his bowl, the householder Anathapindika took a low seat and sat down to one side, and the Venerable Sariputta thanked him with these verses. When one has faith in the Tathagata, unshakeable and well-established, and good conduct built on virtue, dear to the noble ones and praised. When one has confidence in the Sangha and view that has been rectified, they say that one is not poor, that one's life is not in vain. Therefore, the person of intelligence, remembering the Buddha's teachings, should be devoted to faith and virtue, to confidence and vision of the Dhamma. Then the Venerable Sariputta, having thanked the householder Anattapindika with these verses, rose from his seat and departed. Then the Venerable Ananda approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, Now Ananda, where are you coming from in the middle of the day? And he said, the householder Anathapindika, Venerable Sir, has been exhorted by the Venerable Sariputta with such and such an exhortation. And Buddha said, Sariputta is wise than Anda. Sariputta has great wisdom, insofar as he can analyze the four factors of stream entry in ten modes. That's the end of the sutta. So here, the Venerable Sariputta, he came to see this Anathapindika and Anathapindika thought that he was going to die. Then Sariputta reminded him that he has this factors of stream entry, unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, and Arun Sila, moral conduct, and then also reminded him that he has these eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, plus right knowledge and right liberation. Now this Right Knowledge and Right Liberation is normally only used for the Arahant and Anathapindika is not an Arahant. But there is two or three suttas where this Right Knowledge and Right Liberation is mentioned even for the Sotapanna. So what is meant is that it is not Right knowledge is not perfect knowledge. It is partial knowledge. And right liberation is not full liberation. It's also partial liberation. Because once a person has become a Sotapanna, he definitely will attain liberation a maximum of seven more lifetimes. So he's already on the path to liberation. There's no stopping him from becoming liberated. Only thing is a matter of time. So in that sense, he has attained partial liberation. So you see this Venerable Sariputta is very skillful. Mention these things to remind this Anathapindika that he has already an ariya. So he became so happy that all his sickness disappeared. So a lot of sickness has to do with our mind. If you are very happy, you forgot about sickness already. The next sutra is 55.30. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesali in the Great Wood, in the hall with the peaked roof. Then Nandaka, the minister of the Licchavis, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, Nandaka, a noble disciple who possesses four things is a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the nether world, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as his destination. What for? Hear, Nandaka, a noble disciple who possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha, He possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Sangha. He possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken, unblemished, leading to concentration. A noble disciple who possesses these four things is a stream-enterer, Sotapanna, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as his destination. Further, Nandaka, a noble disciple who possesses these four things, becomes endowed with long lifespan, whether celestial or human. He becomes endowed with beauty, whether celestial or human. He becomes endowed with happiness, whether celestial or human. He becomes endowed with fame, whether celestial or human. He becomes endowed with sovereignty, whether celestial or human. Now I say this nandaka without having heard it from another ascetic or brahmin. Rather, I say it just what I have known, seen and understood by myself. And this was said, a man said to Nandaka, the minister of the Licchavis, it is time for your bath, sir. And he said, enough now, I say, with that external bath. This internal bath will suffice. Namely, confidence in the blessed one. That's the end of the sutta. So, in the last part, the man told him, time to take your bath. He said, no need for the outside bath. My inside already taken a bath. This last part of the Buddha's teaching is quite interesting. An Aryan disciple possesses four things. These four things in Pali is called Ayu, Vano, Sukkang, Balang. Sometimes when we do chanting, the monks do chanting, they chant this Ayu, Vano, Sukkang, Balang. Ayu is long life. Second one is Ayu Vano. Vano is beauty. Sukang is happiness. Balang is strength or power. So here it refers to fame and sovereignty. So if we become Sotapanna in this lifetime, next time if we are reborn as a human being or in heaven, we will possess these four things. That's why it is so good to become an ariya. There's nothing better than becoming an ariya, at least a sotapanna. Once you become a sotapanna, then you can slowly get out of saṃsāra. Don't have to finish in one lifetime. Since there's a maximum of seven more lifetimes, slowly enjoy every lifetime you come back. Sure, enjoy because you have these four things. Ayubhāna, sukhaṃ, bhālaṃ. The next sutra is 55.36. Buddha said, Monks, when a noble disciple possesses four things, the devas are elated and speak of his similarity to themselves. What for? Here, monks, a noble disciple possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha. Thus, the Blessed One is the teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One, etc. To those devatas who passed away from here in the human world and were reborn there in the heavenly world, possessing confirmed confidence in the Buddha, the thought occurs, as a noble disciple possesses the same confirmed confidence in the Buddha that we possess. and we passed away there and were reborn here, he will come into the presence of the Devas. Again, monks, a noble disciple possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma, confirmed confidence in the Sangha, and he possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken, unblemished, conducive to concentration. To those Devatas who passed away from here and were reborn in the heavenly world, possessing the virtue of the noble ones, the thought occurs that this noble disciple will come into the presence of the devas. When monks and noble disciples possess these four things, the devas are elated and speak of his similarity to themselves. That's the end of the sutra. It's quite interesting. What the Buddha is saying is that if we have these four factors of stream entry, the devas will be very happy with us. They know that one day we will join them in the heaven. So they are waiting for us to be a member there. So if that is the case, once you become an ariya, then they keep an eye on you. Must keep an eye on our member. Anyway, if you have the virtues of an Arya, your good karma itself is a great protection. 55.37 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakyans at Kapilavatthu in the Grodhas Park. Then Mahanama, the Sakyan, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, in what way is one a lay follower? And the Buddha said, When Mahanama, one has gone for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and Sangha, one is then a lay follower. In what way, Venerable Sir, is a lay follower accomplished in virtue? When Mahanama, a lay follower, abstains from the disruption of life, from taking what is not given, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, and from wines, liquor, and intoxicants that are a basis for negligence, the lay follower is accomplished in virtue. In what way, Venerable Sir, is a lay follower accomplished in faith? Here, Mahanama, a lay follower is a person of faith. He places faith in the enlightenment of the Tathagata. In that way, a lay follower is accomplished in faith. In what way, Principal Sir, is a lay follower accomplished in generosity? Here, Mahanama, a lay follower dwells at home with a mind devoid of the stain of stinginess, freely generous, open-handed, delighting in relinquishment, one devoted to charity, delighting in giving and sharing. In that way, a lay follower is accomplished in generosity. In what way Venerable Sir is a lay follower accomplished in wisdom? Here, Mahanama, a lay follower, is wise. He possesses wisdom directed to arising and passing away, which is noble and penetrative, leading to the complete destruction of suffering. In that way, a lay follower is accomplished in wisdom. That's the end of the Sutta. So this is also a very important sutta. Here, the first one, the Buddha defines a Buddhist. A lay follower is a Buddhist. A Buddhist is defined as a person who takes refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Only three refuges, but nowadays people talk about four refuges, but actually it's only three. They've added the refuge with the teacher, the monk or something. But actually we take refuge only with the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. And you don't necessarily have to go to a monk to take refuge. You can take refuge yourself. And taking refuge means you have trust in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. You acknowledge that the teachings of the Buddha, the best in the world, the Buddha has taught what is true, what is reality. And the Sangha is the disciples of the Buddha who carry on his message, prolong the sasana, and teach the Dhamma to the world. And then a Buddhist has moral conduct, virtue, when he keeps the five precepts, not to kill, not to take what is not given, to refrain from sexual misconduct, from false speech, and from intoxicants. And then a lay follower has faith, when he has faith in the enlightenment of the Tathagata, that the Buddha is an enlightened being, There are very few enlightened beings in the world. And then a lay follower or a Buddhist is generous if he is not stingy, he or she is not stingy, freely generous, open-handed, devoted to charity. A lay follower or a Buddhist is wise when he can see arising and passing away. Arising and passing away refers to impermanence. Everything in the world arises due to conditions and passes away due to conditions. So, this is very important. We have to see impermanence in everything. When you see impermanence in everything, then there is samvega, there is a sense of urgency to practice, knowing that your life very soon will come to an end. A lot of people think, wait until I'm old, wait a few more years. And a few more years comes, you find that your body is too weak to practice. I became a monk at the age of 35. I never regretted. The only regret I have is, a little bit, is that if I could have renounced earlier, it would have been better. You know why? Because after the age of 45, you want to be a forest monk or so, quite impossible. Because at the age of 45, I found all my body heat slowly going up. Before the age of 45, when I lived in caves, the wind can be very strong. I sit in meditation, the wind very strong also, no problem, because my body was like fire, emitting a lot of heat. But at the age of 45, the wind started to go into my bones. I could feel it going into my bones, and I cannot stand the direct wind blowing on me. If that is the case, then You cannot be a forest monk. Why? Because forest monks have to sleep in the forest on the ground. And sometimes you sleep on the ground. You just put a plastic sheet. There's no mattress for you. No tilam for you. So you just sleep on the bare floor. It can be very cold. Especially if you go to forest areas or you sleep in a cave. So after 45, that type of life is difficult already. So if some people still want to wait, it's no time already. 55.40 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakyans at Kapilavatthu in the Grodhas Park. Then Nandiya, the Sakyan approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, And I would say, when the four factors of stream entry are completely and totally non-existent in a noble disciple, would that noble disciple be one who dwells negligently? And the Buddha said, None, dear. I say that one in whom the four factors of stream entry are completely and totally absent is an outsider, one who stands in the faction of worldlings. But Nandiya, as to how a noble disciple is one who dwells negligently and one who dwells diligently, listen to that and attend closely, I will speak." Yes, Venerable Sir, Nandiya the Sakyan replied. The Blessed One said, And how, Nandiya, is a noble disciple one who dwells negligently? Dear Nandiya, a noble disciple possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha, Content with that confirmed confidence in the Buddha, he does not make further effort for solitude by day, nor for seclusion at night. When he thus dwells negligently, there is no gladness. When there is no gladness, there is no rep, there is no delight, piti. When there is no delight, there is no tranquility. When there is no tranquility, he dwells in suffering. The mind of one who suffers does not become concentrated. When the mind is not concentrated, phenomena or Dhamma do not become manifest. Because Dhamma do not become manifest, he is reckoned as one who dwells negligently. Again Nandiya, a noble disciple, possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Sangha. He possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken, unblemished, leading to concentration, content with those virtues dear to the noble ones. He does not make further effort for solitude by day, nor for seclusion at night. When he thus dwells negligently, there is no gladness. When there is no gladness, there is no delight. When there is no delight, there is no tranquility, etc. and phenomena or dhamma do not become manifest. He is reckoned as one who dwells negligently. It is in this way, Nandiya, that a noble disciple is one who dwells negligently. And how, Nandiya, is a noble disciple one who dwells diligently? Here, Nandiya, a noble disciple possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha. He makes further effort not content with that confirmed confidence in the Buddha. He makes further effort for solitude by day and for seclusion at night. When he thus dwells diligently, gladness is born. When he is gladdened, delight is born. When the mind is uplifted by delight, the body becomes tranquil. One tranquil in body experiences happiness. The mind of one who is happy becomes concentrated. When the mind is concentrated, phenomena or Dhamma become manifest. Because phenomena become manifest, become manifest means becomes clear, can be seen clearly. He is reckoned as one who dwells diligently. Again, Nandiya, a noble disciple, possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma, confirmed confidence in the Sangha. and he possesses the virtues dear to the Noble One. Not content with these, he makes further effort for solitude by day and for seclusion at night. When he thus dwells diligently, gladness is born, and from gladness, delight, tranquillity, etc. And then phenomena become manifest. He is reckoned as one who dwells diligently. It is in this way, Nandya, that a noble disciple is one who dwells diligently. That's the end of the sutta. So here this Nandya asks the Buddha, about a noble disciple who does not possess the factors of stream entry. But then, if a person does not possess the factors of stream entry, he cannot be a noble disciple. He is an ordinary disciple, a putujana disciple. That's why the Buddha said, if he does not possess the four factors of stream entry, he is considered an outsider. He stands with ordinary worldlings. Because Another way you can call him an outsider is that because his faith is not unshakable. Today he calls himself a Buddhist, another day he can change his religion. So he's not really a Buddhist yet. He's only a Buddhist when he enters the Noble Eightfold Path. And a person enters the Noble Eightfold Path by right view. You must possess right view to enter the Noble Eightfold Path. And when you possess right view, you have entered the stream, you attain stream entry, you become an Arya. So, if a person does not learn enough Dhamma, does not listen enough to the Buddha's original discourses, his faith is not unshakable faith. Anytime he can change his faith. So that's why he's considered an outsider. Then the Buddha talked about the Noble Disciple, Firstly, the noble disciple possesses these four factors of stream entry. He has unshakable faith in the Buddha, unshakable faith in the Dhamma, unshakable faith in the Sangha, and he possesses Aryan moral conduct. Now, after attaining these four factors of stream entry, he becomes a Sotapanna, then he does not make further effort for solitude by day and for seclusion at night. Solitude by day means he goes into seclusion, he does not mix with people. Once a person has understood the Dhamma, he knows there is nothing more important than practicing the holy path, then he does not associate with people. If somebody is a Buddhist and still wants to go holiday here, holiday there, go to China, go overseas and all that, He cannot be from here. He's not a sotapanna who dwells diligently. He's a negligent stream-enterer. And if he's negligent, then he cannot progress. There's no gladness and there's no delight, etc. The mind cannot become concentrated so that he cannot see things clearly as they really are. So a noble disciple, his diligence, if he makes further effort for seclusion, becomes aloof from others, doesn't want to mix with society and practices, spends most of his time studying the Dhamma and meditating. then he can make progress because when he makes effort then the mind becomes focused if he meditates. And when the mind is focused, it's not scattered, then gladness arises, followed by delight, tranquility, concentration. Then when a person attains concentration, it means he has attained the jhānas. When a person attains the jhānas, the five hindrances fall away so that he can see things as they really are. Yathā bhūta-jñāna-dasana. And that's very important. Because only when you can see things as they really are, that there is a chance for liberation. So, this is about a noble disciple, whether he's diligent or not diligent. Next Sutta is 55.53. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Baranasi in the Deer Park at Isipatana. Then the lay follower Dhammadina, together with 500 lay followers, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him and sat down to one side. Sitting to one side, the lay follower Dhammadina then said to the Blessed One, Let the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, exhort us and instruct us in a way that may lead to our wealth and happiness for a long time." And the Buddha said, Therefore, Dhammadina, you should train yourselves thus. From time to time, we will enter and dwell upon those discourses spoken by the Tathagata that are deep in meaning, supramundane, That means transcending the world, dealing with emptiness. It is in such a way that you should train yourselves. And they said, Venerable Sir, it is not easy for us, dwelling in a home crowded with children, enjoying khasi sandalwood, wearing garlands, scents and anguans, receiving gold and silver, that is money, from time to time to enter and dwell upon those discourses spoken by the Tathagata that are deep in meaning, supramundane, dealing with emptiness. As we are established in the five training rules, let the Blessed One teach us the Dhamma further. And the Buddha said, Therefore, Dhammadena, you should train yourselves thus. We will possess confirmed confidence in the Buddha, confirmed confidence in the Dhamma, confirmed confidence in the Sangha. We will possess the virtues dear to the Noble Ones, unbroken, unblemished, leading to concentration. This is in such a way that you should train yourselves. And they said, Venerable Sir, as to those four factors, stream and tree, taught by the Blessed One, these things exist in us and we live in conformity with those things. For, Venerable Sir, we possess confirmed confidence in the Buddha, the Dhamma and Sangha, and we possess the virtues dear to the Noble Ones, unbroken, unblemished, leading to concentration. And the Buddha said, it is a gain for you, Dhammadina. It is well gained by you, Dhammadina. You have declared the fruit of stream entry. That's the end of the sutta. So here, you can see that when lay people come to the Buddha for advice, the Buddha asks them to study the discourses of the Buddha, the suttas. For laypeople, it's quite difficult to practice meditation. So laypeople should concentrate on studying the suttas and understanding the suttas. When you understand the suttas, then you will attain Right View. And once you attain Right View, you will naturally come to have unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, and you will naturally keep the Arinsila, consisting of the seven precepts. So if you have these four factors of stream entry, then it is, the Buddha says, it is a gain for you. It is well gained by you. You have declared the fruit of stream entry. So you'll never be reborn in the woeful planes of existence. So I'll stop here.

56SNQandA20090906

We can discuss anything. What page is that? Okay. Noble disciple. means an Aryan disciple. An Aryan disciple can be a lay person or a monk. That is still necessary if you want to progress from Suttapanna to Sakadagamin and Anagamin and Arahant. A lot of lay people because they cannot let go, so they cannot progress. the most they can attain is stream entry. But there are some during the Buddha's time, like Citta, Hathakka, and all that, they go into seclusion. Their room, their house, their room becomes like a cave to them. They don't get out of their room. They practice day and night in their room until they attain the four jhanas and all that. Namah Namah. Talking about the last talk. Now, it's true that, just according to me, how coming from a bunch of opinions, that means it's an open conversation. All good. Most of the time, it's all going to be hard work, when the person is prepared, according to me, then. Yeah, because I remember reading about the news, there was a report on this, this girl had gone for second time, one on one. Why did the father regret? That's how I mentioned in the Buddha's teachings A person is really dead when three things leave him, right? The vitality, consciousness and body heat. So I would suggest that if any person wants to donate his organs, that he can stipulate this condition that only when the body becomes cold, that they can take away the organs. Because people have downloaded For me, from the internet, sometimes it seems that some people even declare to be brainstem dead. You know, some people get into accident and their brain is damaged and they have no chance of recovering because the brain is damaged. So once the brain stem is dead, the doctor says this person is dead and they start taking the organs. But it seems there's some evidence that when they do that, certain people, their body becomes frightened in the sense that the heartbeat, the heart pumps faster. blood pressure goes up and all that. Wait a minute. There's a difference between clinically dead and brainstem dead. Because I said clinically dead means the heart has stopped beating and the breath has stopped. But there have been cases of people, even clinically dead, declared clinically dead. After one or two days, they revive. They come to life again. So they have not died. The doctor thought they have died. So in the case of clinical death, if the body is still warm, usually he's not dead yet. And if you start taking the organs and all that, it may not be good for him. So as I mentioned just now, if you have already signed the form, then you can add a condition. Only when the body becomes cold, the doctor can take it. In certain countries, like Singapore, they don't need you to sign. They assume that you have already donated. Isn't it, Leslie? The parents still have to consent? I thought there's a certain law that they assume that you have... Malaysia definitely because it's Muslims and Christians, they don't like to have the body cut up. I'm going to be late because of college. I'm going to be late because of college. I'm going to be late because of college. I'm going to be late because of college. I'm going to be late because of college. I'm going to be late because of college. I'm going to be late because of college. I think it's also in the Majumah Nikayan. However, it is my thought, in the United Nations will say, okay, I don't know if we can do it, but we can. To say, um, um, um, yeah, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do it, we can do If the family can afford to hire a maid to look after, that would be ideal. So if you can, like once in a while, just go and pay a visit. At least show that you know their burden also. They like to share a bit of their burden. And once in a while, it's good. It's like moral, giving them moral support. But if you don't go at all, some people, they feel very annoyed. Yeah, and it's not that we don't go. For example, let's say you go out with a friend, let's say a couple of nights, or maybe a couple of nights a week, or a few weeks off. Just, we don't practice consistently. Then, we don't respect our enemies. We don't engage. Well, when we don't have the energy to talk about these questions, we first engage, of course, with them. And we, I'm talking about, I was talking about that a little bit already, where the participants come in, You have to compromise a bit, I guess. Like in her case, I know that she has some other sisters who are looking after her and they don't really need her. But once in a while, at least she shows her presence to make them happy. But like today, when I asked her to stay longer, she said that the family, if she comes too long, the family may not be happy. So it's not just that relative who is sick. It's her own family itself. She feels that if she comes too long, they feel like she's neglecting her duty. So it's a matter of compromise. We do what we can. Good rebirth? No, extreme entry. Extreme entry. Good rebirth, you don't have to learn the Dhamma. If you are a good Christian or so, you can go to heaven. Here, it's about extreme entry to become a Sotapanna. You must hear the Dhamma and understand the Dhamma. That's why the Buddha said, even the Jhala trees, if they can understand what is If they can differentiate between what is wholesome and unwholesome, that means if they hear the Dhamma, even the trees also can become Sotapanna. In other words, stream and tree becoming a Sotapanna is by listening to the Dhamma and not meditation. If you study those Mahayana Sutras as I have studied for nine years And you will know that there are contradictions with the Theravada suttas. That's one thing. Secondly, if you study the suttas, you find among Mahayana sutras themselves, there are contradictions. And then the third thing is that the Buddha gave a warning. I think in this Samyutta Nikaya, I think it's 20.7, the Buddha said in the future, people will not listen to his words. the discourses of the Buddha dealing with emptiness, dealing with not-self, dealing with suffering and all that. Instead, people want to study the words of later disciples. So when the Buddha talks about the words of later disciples, that refers to Mahayana Sutras because Mahayana Sutras appeared 500 years after the Buddha's passing away. Started by people like Nagarjuna, Asvaghosa, Vasubandhu, etc. And in the biography of Nagarjuna, what the Chinese call Longshu Pusa, he was asked, how is it that previously there were no such sutras? Now you say that these are the words of the Buddha, discourses of the Buddha. Then he said he went to the Dragon Palace under the ocean and took out all these sutras. That we cannot accept because firstly the Buddha says that he does not have the close fist of a teacher, he does not hide certain teachings. And also the Buddha said very clearly that the true Dhamma is for all to see. Only deviant teachings are secretive. If any teachings are secretive, there must be something wrong with it. That's why they want to be secretive. So that is one thing. The other thing is that during the Buddha's time, there were no books. So how could the Buddha have hidden the books in the Dragon Palace? There were no books during the Buddha's time. Books only appeared 500 years after the Buddha's passing away. Thirdly, if you look at the Mahayana sutras, at the back of the sutras, they always encourage people to rewrite those sutras and distribute Now during the Buddha's time, nobody could have asked anybody to write the sutras and distribute because there were no books during the Buddha's time. So we know definitely all these five things appeared years later. And another thing you find in Mahayana sutras, it is characteristic of Mahayana sutras to always talk about Mahayana and Hinayana, big vehicle and the small vehicle. And that shows the Sangha had already split. But during the Buddha's time, the Sangha was one Sangha. There was no split Sangha, no Mahayana and Hinayana. So these Mahayana Sutras must have occurred hundreds of years after the Buddha's passing away, when the Sangha was split into different sects. The other thing is not only later teachings, it's not only Mahayana sutras, but even in Theravada sect itself, you have commentaries, those are later teachings. You have Abhidhamma, you have Visuddhimagga, all those are later teachings. Of course there are certain good things inside there, but unfortunately it is mixed with Adhamma, things that are contradictory to what the Buddha said. Because of that, you have to be very careful. So in other words, they think they are Buddhists. They are not Buddhists. The Buddha says they are outsiders. They are not Buddhists. which reminds me that in certain suttas, when the Buddha taught to some external ascetics, of course, they argued with the Buddha, and after argument and all that, the Buddha showed them the true Dhamma, then they become converted. You know what they say? They say, they are so fortunate to hear the Buddha's words, and then they say, they thought that they were monks, but they were not monks. They thought they were following the true Dhamma. They were not following the true Dhamma. So, unless you have the good karma to come into the true Dharma, you can be been slain for many years. Just like the Citta Sangyuta, we read about the external sex ascetic, the naked ascetic by the name of Kasapa. He spent 30 years suffering as a naked ascetic and he gained nothing. And then when he met Citta, then he was shocked to find that Citta is a lay person following the Buddha and has become an anagamin, ascertained the four jhanas, and will be reborn in the four jhana heaven. Then he realized that he wasted all his time, and then he became a Buddhist monk. So a lot of people, because of not understanding the original teachings of the Buddha, we spend a lot of effort. Like I did, I spent nine years in Mahayana Buddhism. At the end of it, then I got disappointed. So it's very difficult to change such people's mindset because they have not investigated the original sutta. If they took the trouble to investigate, then only they may realize. It's just like people who follow other religions. They don't understand the Buddha's teachings, so they belittle the Buddha's teachings. But if only they took the effort to understand, then they may appreciate. Which one? Once a person possesses, that the sutra says, the noble disciple will possess these four qualities. That means once you become a noble disciple, you will attain these things, even in this lifetime. The only thing, it takes time. It takes time. Just... Because like you donate, you have a good intention, but because you are doing something that is not really beneficial, so the merit from there is very, very small. Even though you have a good intention, it's very small. It's like some people, they think that it's meritorious to bow to the Buddha statue. If there's any merit, it's negligible. It's so small. Or it's meritorious to offer rice to the Buddha or to chant repentance and all this. You have good intention, but the merit is so small. If you support A Dhamma, but your intention is good, there is some merit. However, if you believe in that wrong Dhamma, that is bad karma. Having that wrong view, believe in that wrong teaching, that will bring you to a bad rebirth. We find in the Sutta, there's one Sutta, I think earlier we read about the Devatasanghuta, one of those Suttas, that in the heavens you have disciples of external ascetic teachers in heaven also. Even the teacher is teaching wrong, but because they did good, they support the teacher. The only thing is they didn't understand maybe the teacher's wrong view. So they are reborn in the good heaven. It's about supporting the examiners. Even though we support the examiners, we still need to support them to get the sasana or something new. We don't support the examiners to get the sasana or something new. So we need to support them with something good. If you support some other Buddhist sect, it probably is not the Sangha. Because if you support them, in future what they teach is not the Buddha's teaching. Right? If you support the Sangha that propagates the right Dhamma, that is meritorious, that is very meritorious. But if you support a Sangha that teaches something else, It's not the Buddha's teaching and that is not supporting the Sangha. Do you know that in the monk's Vinaya, it is mentioned, the Buddha said that his disciples can have communion, that means associate, mix with even external ascetics if they practice the same Dhamma Vinaya. That means if a Hindu Swami What he practices is the same as what the Buddha teaches. We can consider him to be part of the Sangha. It's not that he wears the same robe. It's what he believes in, what he teaches. In the Vinaya, if we go according to Vinaya, they are not considered part of our Sangha. Because the Dhamma and the Vinaya they practice is different. The Suttas or the Sutras they follow is different from our Theravadas' Suttas. And the Vinaya they keep is also different. Not to mention Mahayana or Tibetan monks. Even Theravada monks, if they follow different Dhamma Vinaya, we also cannot mix with them. We cannot consider them as part of the Sangha. For example, if some monk, even though he wears a Theravada robe, he does not keep the precepts. We don't consider him as part of the Sangha. You know that? That's one thing. Secondly, the Buddha did not, other religions, consider the Sangha as all the monks. A Sangha is defined as a group of monks who live within a sima, within a boundary. Those who live within a certain boundary are considered one Sangha. Once you step out of the boundary, you are no more part of the Sangha. A lot of people don't realize. So for example, our monastery, The Seema, the boundary, is the boundary of our land, 15 acres land. Any monk who is outside our boundary is not considered part of our Sangha. Even though they are Theravada monks, even though they keep the same Dhamma Vinaya, only when they come into our boundary, they are considered one Sangha. A lot of things people don't understand. So that is one thing. Another thing is if they follow different Dhamma Vinaya, the Buddha says we must not associate with them, we must not treat them as the same Sangha or monks. So if Mahayana monks follow Mahayana Sutras, and they don't keep the Vinaya like we keep, then we don't associate with them. However, a monk like maybe Khong Haifasa from Taiwan, he teaches, even though he wears the Mahayana robes, but he teaches the Dhamma like our Theravada Dhamma, we can accept him as part of the Sangha, even though he wears different robe. So what is important is whether the Dhamma and the Vinaya he practices is the same as us, according to the Vinaya. Okay, shall we stop here?

57SNSotapattiCh55SaccaCh5620090907

Okay, today is the 7th of September. Before I go proceed with the suttas, I'd just like to refresh your memory on this Sarakani Sutta. I forgot to mention one or two things that are important, or I forgot to stress. So we look at this Sarakani Sutta 55.24 on page 1811. In this sutta, Sarakani, this layman, he died and the Buddha said that he was a stream-enterer. And a lot of people did not believe because they said that he did not keep the five precepts. Actually, one of the five precepts, because he drank liquor. But the Buddha did not say that because of drinking liquor there was anything wrong. The Buddha just said that he had gone for refuge for a long time to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. In other words, he had learned the Dhamma for a long time, so how can he be reborn in the woeful planes of existence? So now, to be a Sotapanna, stream-enterer, as part of his root ariya, that person sometimes is said to have vexilla, sometimes said to have ariyan-sila, or said to have the Sila, moral conduct, dear to the noble ones, to the Aryans. Now what is this Aryan Sila? Aryan Sila in the Noble Eightfold Path consists of three factors, right speech, right action, and right livelihood. Right speech consists of four precepts, not to lie, not to engage in malicious or divisive speech. not to engage in coarse or vulgar speech, and not to engage in idle gossip. So there are four precepts in right speech. In right action, there are three precepts. Not to kill, not to take what is not given, and not to engage in sexual misconduct or adultery. Three precepts. Right livelihood means earning your livelihood in a way that does not harm others. And that is covered by the seven precepts, right speech and right action, so you don't harm others. So these three things, these three factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, which is the Sila component, the Sila component of the Noble Eightfold Path, consists of seven precepts. And these seven precepts, you notice, there is no precept against liquor. In other words, there are some people, they are good Buddhists, but every evening after dinner, they like to drink a bit of wine. Especially Westerners in the country, it's very cold in the West, the winter, they need a bit of wine. There's nothing wrong with it. But sometimes, I mean, the precept is to prevent us from becoming intoxicated to the extent that you lose control of yourself. But if you don't lose control of yourself, it's quite okay. But sometimes some people, they don't see it that way. I've been told there are some monks on the internet, they say even if you drink one drop of liquor, you've broken the precept. That's a bit too extreme. The other thing I think I've mentioned the other day, but I'd just like to stress again, that if you notice on page 1812, it says that the Arahant, the one who is liberated by mind or liberated by wisdom, he has joyous wisdom, swift wisdom. And then the Anagamin also has joyous wisdom and swift wisdom. But the Sakadagamin does not. have joyous wisdom or swift wisdom, and the Sotapanna also does not have joyous wisdom and swift wisdom. So why is it that the Anagamin and the Arahant, both of them have joyous and swift wisdom, whereas Sakadagamin and Sotapanna do not have? Now in the Suttas, it is mentioned that the Suttapanna and Sakadagamin, they have perfect sila or ariyan sila. Whereas the Anagamin has perfect sila and perfect samadhi, perfect moral conduct and perfect concentration. The Arahant has perfect sila, samadhi and panna, perfect moral conduct, perfect concentration, perfect wisdom. The anagamin and arahan, they both possess one thing in common, which is perfect concentration. Perfect concentration in the Noble Eightfold Path means the four jhanas, nothing short of the four jhanas. If you have three jhanas also, it's not perfect concentration. It is concentration, but it's not perfect concentration. So that is why the anagamin and the arahan They are one step higher than the Sakadagamin and Sotapanna in the sense that they have deep wisdom. Joyous wisdom and swift wisdom refers to deep wisdom, and deep wisdom comes with deep samadhi. So that's why it is stated in the suttas that concentration brings you great wisdom. So that's something that the people who practice pure vipassana, they don't believe. So without a perfect concentration, if you practice Pure Vipassana, it is not possible to attain joyous wisdom and swift wisdom and others deep wisdom. So the last and most important thing about this sutta is that the Buddha said even the trees can become suttapanna if they can understand the Dhamma, meaning that suttapanna is to be attained by listening to the Dhamma and not just meditation. Although meditation does help, does assist, but the most important criterion for attaining stream entry is hearing the Dhamma, because there is one Sutta, Agatha Nikaya 9.20, where it is said that the Sotapanna, or it's implied that the Sotapanna has right view. In fact, all Aryans have right view. So, right view is obtained with two conditions, as mentioned in the Majjhima Nikaya Sutta 43. One is the voice of another, somebody else teaching you the Dhamma. And then you have Yoniso Manasikara, which can be translated as proper attention or careful attention. So right view comes from somebody else teaching you the Dhamma. So nowadays, that would include reading the Nikayas, the original suttas of the Buddha in the book form. Very important thing to remember that if you want to attain Sotapanna, you must listen to the Dhamma. Otherwise, you can never attain right view and become a Sotapanna. Okay, now we proceed with the Sutta. 55.54. That's on page 1834. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakhyans at Kapilavatthu in the Grodha Spa. On that occasion, a number of monks were making a robe for the Blessed One, thinking, after three months with this robe completed, the Blessed One will set out on tour. Mahanama the Sakyan heard, a number of monks, it is said, are making a robe for the Blessed One, thinking that after the three months with this robe completed, the Blessed One will set out on tour. Then Mahanama, the Sakyan, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, I heard that a number of monks are making a row for the Blessed One, thinking that after the three months with His row completed, the Blessed One will set out on tour. Now I have not heard and learned in the presence of the Blessed One how a wise lay follower who is sick afflicted and gravely ill, should be exhorted by another wise lay follower. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, Mahanama is asking, if a good Buddhist is dying, how should another lay Buddhist advise him? This is something you ought to know in case one of your Buddhist friends is passing away. And the Buddha said, A wise lay follower, Mahanama, who is sick, afflicted, and gravely ill, should be consoled by another wise lay follower with four consolations. Let the venerable one be consoled. You have confirmed confidence in the Buddha thus. The blessed one is a teacher of devas and humans, enlightened, The Blessed One, you have confirmed confidence in the Dhamma, you have confirmed confidence in the Sangha, and you have the virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken, unblemished, leading to concentration. After a wise lay follower, who is sick, afflicted, and gravely ill, has been consoled by a wise lay follower with these four consolations, he should be asked, are you anxious about your mother and father? If he says, I am, It should be told. But good sir, you are subject to death. Whether you are anxious about your mother and father or not, you will die anyway. So please abandon your anxiety about your mother and father. If he says, I have abandoned my anxiety about my mother and father, he should be asked, are you anxious about your wife and children? If he says, I am, he should be told, but good sir, you are subject to death. Whether you are anxious about your wife and children or not, you will die anyway, so please abandon your anxiety about your wife and children. If he says, I have abandoned my anxiety over my wife and children, he should be asked, Are you anxious about the five courts of human sensual pleasure? If he says, I am, he should be told, Celestial sensual pleasures, friend, are more excellent and sublime than human sensual pleasures. So please withdraw your mind from human sensual pleasures and resolve on the devas of the realm of the four great kings. If he says, my mind has been withdrawn from human sensual pleasures and resolved on the Devas of the realm of the Four Great Kings, he should be told, the Tavatimsa Devas, friend, are more excellent and sublime than the Devas of the realm of the Four Great Kings. So please withdraw your mind from the Devas of the realm of the Four Great Kings and resolve on the Tavatimsa Devas. If he says, my mind has been withdrawn from the devas of the realm of the four great kings and resolved on the Tavatimsa devas, he should be told, more excellent and sublime friend than the Tavatimsa devas are the Yama devas. Similarly, the Tusita Devas, Nimanarati Devas, Paranimitta Vatsavati Devas. The Brahma world, friend, is more excellent and sublime than the Paranimitta Vatsavati Devas. So please withdraw your mind from the Paranimitta Vatsavati Devas and resolve on the Brahma world. If he says, my mind has been withdrawn from the Paranimitta Vasavati Devas and resolved on the Brahma world, he should be told, even the Brahma world friend is impermanent, unstable, included in identity. So please withdraw your mind from the Brahma world and direct it to the cessation of identity. If he says, my mind has been withdrawn from the Brahma world, I have directed my mind to the cessation of identity. Then, Mahanama, I say there is no difference between a lay follower who is thus liberated by mind and a monk who has been liberated by mind for a hundred years. That is between one liberation and the other. That's the end of the sutta. So here, if the person dying is a good Buddhist who understands the Dhamma, then you remind him that he has these four factors of stream entry, so he'll be happy. And then after that, you ask him whether he still has anxiety or attachment to the parents. And if he says he has, then you tell him to let go, because you're going to die anyway. You have to let go. So after he says he has let go, then you ask him to let go the wife and children, the direct family. Then after that, human sensual pleasures. Then after that, the heavens, one by one, until the Brahma heavens. And then after that, He advised him that even the Brahma world is impermanent, unstable, and to direct his mind to cessation of identity, that means to get rid of identity view, to identify the self with the body and the mind. And if he's a wise Buddhist who has understood the Dhamma, perhaps he can do this and become liberated. But this type of advice, you can only give somebody who has practiced the Dharma for a long time. Otherwise, he won't be able to follow. A lot of people, when they are on their deathbed, they're so panicky and their mind is so disturbed, you cannot talk to them like that. They'll be seeing visions and frightened and all that. That's why I always say, it takes many years to prepare for death. So that's the last sutra that I am going to read on this this chapter on the Sotapatti Samyutta. Now we come to the last chapter, 56th chapter, called the Sacca Samyutta. Sacca means the truths, meaning like the Four Noble Truths of the Buddha. So this chapter is about the Four Noble Truths basically. The first sutta is 56.1. At savati, the Buddha said monks develop concentration, samadhi. A monk who is concentrated understands things as they really are. I'll stop here for a moment. You see, the Buddha in several suttas always says this, that you need to have a very concentrated mind to understand things as they really are, to see things as they really are. And what does he understand as it really is? He understands as it really is, this is suffering. He understands as it really is, this is the origin of suffering. He understands as it really is, this is the cessation of suffering. He understands as it really is, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. In other words, he understands the Four Noble Truths. Monks develop concentration. A monk who is concentrated understands things as they really are. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering. An exertion should be made to understand this is the origin of suffering. An exertion should be made to understand this is the cessation of suffering. An exertion should be made to understand this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. This is the end of the Sutta. So here the Buddha says, we should make an effort, we should make a strong effort to understand the Four Noble Truths. But if you have concentration, with a clear mind, it's much easier to understand. The next sutta, 56.2. The Buddha said, monks, make an exertion in seclusion. A monk who is secluded understands things as they really are. Stop here for a moment. These two seem to come together quite often. Concentration and seclusion. The Buddha always encouraged these two things. Seclusion means being aloof, aloof from society, aloof from others. If you want to practice the holy path and make spiritual progress, You have no other choice. You have to cut yourself away from society. You have to give up your business, give up your attachments, and give up all the happy life, the nightlife, and all that. Because without all these sacrifices, your mind cannot calm down. If we are all attached to all the things of the world, it cannot calm down. Which reminds me, the other day we read one sutra, the Buddha said that without tranquility, that person suffers. A lot of us in this world, we are so busy with this, with that, all the worldly worries that the mind cannot calm down. If your mind cannot calm down, there's a lot of suffering inside, mental suffering. And what does he understand as it really is? He understands as it really is. This is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. Monks, make an exertion in seclusion. A monk who is secluded understands things as they really are. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. That's the end of the Sutta. So these two, concentration and seclusion, are very important in the holy path. 56.3, Buddha said, monks, whatever clansmen in the past rightly went forth from the household life into homelessness, all did so in order to make the breakthrough to the Four Noble Truths as they really are. Whatever clansmen in the future will rightly go forth from the household life into homelessness, all will do so in order to make the breakthrough to the Four Noble Truths as they really are. Whatever clansmen at present have rightly gone forth from the household life into homelessness, all have done so in order to make the breakthrough to the Noble Truths as they really are. 4. The noble truth of suffering, the noble truth of the origin of suffering, the noble truth of the cessation of suffering, the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering. Whatever clansmen rightly went forth, will rightly go forth, have rightly gone forth from the household life into homelessness, all have done so in order to make the breakthrough to these four noble truths as they really are. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. So the objective in going forth In other words, to practice the holy path, or to walk the holy path, is to understand the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths are the most important Dhamma in the Buddha's teachings, because if you understand the Four Noble Truths fully, you will be liberated fully. If you understand the Four Noble Truths partially, you will be liberated partially. You'll become an Arya. 56.7. Monks, do not think evil and wholesome thoughts, that is, sensual thoughts, thoughts of ill-will, thoughts of harming. For what reason? These thoughts, monks, are unbeneficial, irrelevant to the fundamentals of the holy life, and do not lead to revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to nibbana. When you think monks, you should think, this is suffering. You should think, this is the origin of suffering. You should think, this is the cessation of suffering. You should think, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. For what reason? These thoughts, monks, are beneficial, relevant to the fundamentals of the holy life, and lead to revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to nibbana. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. Ordinary worldlings, ordinary people, their thoughts have these three ingredients, sensual thoughts, ill will or thoughts of anger, and thoughts of harming others. But one who practices the spiritual path, he should instead direct his thinking to the thoughts of the Four Noble Truths, thoughts of the Dhamma. Thoughts of the Dhamma are lofty thoughts, higher thoughts. These ordinary unwholesome thoughts are base thoughts. Low thoughts will bring you to a low rebirth. High thoughts will bring you to a high rebirth. 56.10, the Buddha said, monks, do not engage in the various kinds of pointless talk. That is, talk about kings, thieves, and ministers of state. Talk about armies, dangers, and wars. Talk about food, drink, garments, and beds. Talk about garlands and scents. Talk about relations, vehicles, villages, towns, cities, and countries. Talk about women and talk about heroes. Street talk and talk by the well. Talk beside the well. Talk about those departed in days gone by. Last time they talk by the well, nowadays they talk in the kopitiam. Rambling chit-chat. Speculation about the world and about the sea. Talk about becoming this or that. For what reason? Because monks, this talk is unbeneficial, irrelevant to the fundamentals of the holy life, and does not lead to revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to nibbana. When you talk monks, you should talk about this is suffering. We should talk about this is the origin of suffering. We should talk about this is the cessation of suffering. We should talk about this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. For what reason? Because monks, this talk is beneficial, relevant to the fundamentals of the holy life, and leads to revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. This first part, the description of the various types of what here is called pointless talk. Sometimes you can call it idle gossip. The Pali word is tiracana katha, which literally translates as animal talk. What do we say in Cantonese, gong sam gong say? So, this beast talk, wasting time talk. So, it's called animal talk because it's low talk, beast talk. So, then Buddha said, should talk dhamma. In some other suttas, sometimes Buddha comes across his monk disciples, and he finds them chatting, he asks them, what are you talking about? And then when they say they talk about some worldly topic, then the Buddha said, when you come together, only two things you should do. One is either you keep the Arin silence, shut up, don't talk, or if you talk, talk about Dhamma.

58SNSaccaCh5620090907

Okay, the next sutta is an important sutta. It's the first sutta that the Buddha spoke in the world. It's called the Dhammacakapavattana Sutta. Setting in motion the wheel of the Dhamma. Dhammacaka is Dhamma wheel. Our Tanna must be setting in motion or turning the Dhamma Wheel Sutta. Thus have I heard. This is the Sutta. After the Buddha was enlightened, he contemplated. At first, he didn't want to teach the Dhamma. He decided that people in the world are not interested in the Dhamma. Even if you teach them, they are not interested to practice. Most people are like that. And then this Brahma Sahampati came to plead with the Buddha. This Brahma Sahampati, in one of the suttas, he mentioned that he was a monk under the previous Buddha, the Sapa. He was a monk under the previous Buddha Kassapa. Passing away from there, he was reborn as Brahma Sahampatti. So he had, because of his, I guess his psychic power, probably he had seen a lot of holy men. So when he saw the Buddha, he knew that this was a fully enlightened arahant. So he pleaded with the Buddha to teach. He said, otherwise, there are a lot of people in the world, they have what we call the Shinkan, good roots. blessings from the past life, and if you don't teach them, they can't progress. So because he pleaded with the Buddha three times, then the Buddha contemplated again. The Buddha found there are some people who are interested in the Dhamma. So the Buddha decided to teach. Now after the Buddha decided to teach, he looked around, whom should he teach? The first person he thought he wanted to teach was his meditation teacher, the teacher who taught him the jhanas, the arupa jhanas, the first two teachers. In fact, he wanted to teach them. Why? Because he thought to himself, these two teachers, they have attained jhanas, so their mind is very clear. If I teach them the dhamma, they will understand immediately. But unfortunately, the two teachers had passed on. Then why didn't he go to heaven to teach them? Because they had passed away to a very high heaven, and the physical body cannot go there. The physical body can only fly up to the Brahma Heavens. That's the maximum. Cannot fly to the Arupa Heavens, extremely far away. So then after he realized that he had passed away, then he contemplated whom should he teach next. And he thought about his five disciples. So he came to his five disciples to teach to them. At first they did not accept him because they thought that he started to eat. Previously they were all fasting, and now he started to eat, getting luxurious. They couldn't believe that he had become enlightened. Then he managed to convince them. Then after that, when he taught them the Dharma, he just asked them to sit down. He said, sit down, I will teach you the Dharma. Never asked them to meditate. Listening to the Dharma is the way to enlightenment. But because the five disciples, being his disciples, and he had attained jhāna, it is logical to presume he would have taught all his five disciples the jhānas. So he sat down, and this is the first sutta he taught. Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Baranasi in the Deer Park at Isipatana. There the Blessed One addressed the monks of the Group of Five. Thus, monks, these two extremes should not be followed by one who has gone forth into homelessness, but two the pursuit of sensual happiness in sensual pleasures, which is low, vulgar, the way of worldlings, ignoble, unbeneficial, and the pursuit of self-mortification, which is painful, ignoble, unbeneficial. Without veering towards either of these two extremes, the Tathagata has awakened to the middle way, which gives rise to vision, which gives rise to knowledge, which leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. Stop here for a moment. So the Buddha is saying that there are two extremes in this world. One extreme is the extreme of ordinary worldlings who pursue sensual pleasures. Keep on enjoying sensual pleasures, which is unbeneficial. The other extreme is the extreme of the ascetics, who practice self-mortification, or in Chinese we call it ku xing. Ascetic practices, which they kind of torture themselves, go naked, do things like hold one hand up for years on end until the hand becomes stiff. or other ways of torturing themselves. So one extreme is to enjoy too much. The other extreme is to torture yourself for no good purpose. And what monks is the middle way awakened to by the Tathagata which gives rise to vision, which leads to Nibbana. It is this noble Eightfold Path that is Right View, Right Thoughts, Right Speech, Right Actions, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Recollection, Right Concentration. This monk is that Middle Way awakened to by the Tathagata, which gives rise to vision, which gives rise to knowledge, which leads to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. Now this monk is the Noble Truth of Suffering. Birth is suffering. Aging is suffering. Illness is suffering. Death is suffering. Union with what is displeasing is suffering. Separation from what is pleasing is suffering. Not to get what one wants is suffering. In brief, the five aggregates of attachment are suffering. These five aggregates are the body, feelings, perception, volition, and consciousness, which is basically body and mind. So this that we take as to be the self, the body and the mind, and which we attach to, we cling to, is the source of suffering. Now this month is the noble truth of the origin of suffering. This is craving which leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there. That is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, and craving for non-existence, or here it says extermination. Stop here for a moment. So the origin of suffering is craving. And this craving, we always want to seek happiness, enjoyment here and there. You see this seeking delight here and there. It's very common among worldly people. You go here and there looking for happiness, looking for enjoyment. Sometimes you go and see the show. Sometimes you go and surf the internet. Sometimes you go traveling to China. Sometimes you do this and you do that. Always trying to find happiness. Now this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering. It is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, non-reliance on it. Now this, monks, is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering. It is this noble eightfold path, that is, right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, etc. This is the noble truth of suffering. Thus, monks, in regard to things unheard of before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge and light. This noble truth of suffering is to be fully understood. Thus, monks, in regard to things unheard of before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge and light. This noble truth of suffering has been fully understood. Thus, monks, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge, and light. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see, this first noble truth is described in three phases. The first one, he describes, he calls it, or he describes it as the noble truth of suffering. The second paragraph says, this noble truth of suffering is to be understood. And the third one has been fully understood. Now you find the others also the same. This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering. Thus monks, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge and light. This noble truth of the origin of suffering is to be abandoned. Thus mounts, in regard to things unheard before, that arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge and light. This noble truth of the origin of suffering has been abandoned. Thus mounts, in regard to things unheard before, that arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge and light. Stop here for a moment. So this second noble truth, first he states the second noble truth, then he says, The second Noble Truth is the origin of suffering, namely craving. Craving is to be abandoned. Naturally, he says that craving has been abandoned. This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering. Thus, monks, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge, and light. This noble truth of the cessation of suffering is to be realized. Thus, monks, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge, and light. This noble truth of the cessation of suffering has been realized. Thus monks, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge, and light. This third truth of the cessation of suffering is the giving up of craving. So this noble truth of the cessation of suffering can also be said to be the attainment of Nibbāna. So here he says that he has realized the cessation of suffering. This noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering. This monks, in regard to things unheard before that arose in me, vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge and light. This noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering is to be developed The Noble Eightfold Path is to be developed. Thus, monks, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge, and light. This Noble Truth of the Way leading to the cessation of suffering has been developed. Thus, monks, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge, and light. I'll stop there for a moment. You see, when the Buddha attained enlightenment, when he realized fully these four noble truths, you see what happened? He rose in me, vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge and light. Light shone from his head. Actually, these Four Noble Truths, he had understood before in the previous life. He was a monk disciple of the Buddha Kassapa. He had already learned the Four Noble Truths, but he had not fully understood it. Now, in his last life as Siddhartha Gautama, having attained the Four Jhanas, and then when he contemplated on the Four Noble Truths, he understood fully. In the previous life under the Buddha Kassapa, I believe he did not attain the four jhanas. He attained one jhana. That's why after that lifetime under the Buddha Kassapa, he was reborn in the Tusita heaven. From the Tusita heaven, he came down to the earth as Siddhartha Gautama. And as a small boy, Siddhartha Gautama sat under the jambu tree and attained the first jhana. It's mentioned that he attained only the first jhana. So that means he probably had already cultivated only the first jhana, not anything higher. So if he had only attained the first jhana, his understanding of the Four Noble Truths is not, as we read, not of swift wisdom, not of joyous wisdom. So he probably, in the previous life under Buddha Kassapa, he had become a Sakka Degamin. second fruit attainer. So when he came back at Siddhartha Gautama, it was time for him to attain enlightenment. So that's how, even though he had such a good life, he gave up everything and went forth to renounce everything. So long, monks, as my knowledge and vision of these Four Noble Truths as they really are, in their three phases and twelve aspects, was not thoroughly purified in this way, I did not claim to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in this world with its Devas, Mara and Brahma, in this generation with its ascetics and Brahmins, its Devas and humans. But when my knowledge and vision of these Four Noble Truths as they really are, In the three phases and twelve aspects was thoroughly purified in this way. Then I claim to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in this world with its Devas, Mara and Brahma, in this generation with its ascetics and Brahmins, its Devas and humans. The knowledge and vision arose in me. Unshakable is the liberation of my mind. This is my last birth. Now there is no more renewed existence. This is what the Blessed One said. Elated, the monks of the group of five delighted in the Blessed One's statement. And while this discourse was being spoken, there arose in the Venerable Kondanya the dust-free, stainless vision of the Dhamma. Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation. And when the wheel of the Dhamma had been set in motion by the Blessed One, the earth-dwelling Devas raised a cry, At Baranasi in the Deer Park at Isipatana, this unsurpassed wheel of the Dhamma has been set in motion by the Blessed One, which cannot be stopped by any ascetic or Brahmin or Deva or Mara or Brahma, or by anyone in the world. Having heard the cry of the earth-dwelling devas, the devas of the realm of the four great kings raised a cry. At Paranasi in the Deer Park at Isipatana, this unsurpassed wheel of the Dhamma has been set in motion by the Blessed One, which cannot be stopped by any ascetic or Brahmin or Deva or Mara or Brahma, or by anyone in the world. Having heard the cry of the devas of the realm of the four great kings, the Tavatimsa devas raised the same cry, followed by the Yama devas, then the Tusita devas, then the Nimanavati devas, then the Paranimita Vasavati devas, up to the Devas of the Brahma's company, they raised the same cry, namely, at Varanasi in the Deer Park at Disipatana, this unsurpassed wheel of the Dhamma has been set in motion by the Blessed One, which cannot be stopped by any ascetic, or Brahmin, or Deva, or Mara, or Brahma, or by anyone in the world. Thus, at that moment, at that instant, At that second, the cry spread as far as the Brahma world, and this ten-thousand-fold world-system shook, quaked, and trembled, and an immeasurable glorious radiance appeared in the world, surpassing the divine majesty of the Devas. Then the Blessed One uttered His inspired utterance, Kondanya has indeed understood. In this way, the Venerable Kondanya acquired the name Anya Kondanya, Kondanya who has understood. That's the end of the sutta. So you see, when the Buddha gave the discourse, out of five monks, only one happened to understand and attain the vision of the Dhamma, that means attain stream entry. The others, it took a few more Sutas, they heard a few more sutas before they attained, all of them attained enlightenment. But you see, when the Buddha sat in motion, this turned the dharma wheel. These devas, they were happy and they shouted so loud. And one realm after another, they shouted the same thing up to the Brahma heavens. Why were they so happy? Because many of them must have been monks before. Monks and nuns in their previous life. That's why they are reborn in the heavens. It's an Indian belief. If you become a monk or a nun, it's natural that you'll be reborn in the heavens as a deva or a devi. Okay, the next sutra. 56.21. That's on page 1852. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Vajrayans at Koti Gama. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, monks, it is because of not understanding and not penetrating the Four Noble Truths that you and I have roamed and wandered through this long course of samsara. 4. It is, monks, because of not understanding and not penetrating the noble truth of suffering, that you and I have roamed and wandered through this long course of samsara. It is because of not understanding and not penetrating the noble truth of the origin of suffering, the noble truth of the cessation of suffering, the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering, that you and I have roamed and wandered through this long course of samsara. That noble truth of suffering mounts has been understood and penetrated. That noble truth of the origin of suffering has been understood and penetrated. That noble truth of the cessation of suffering has been understood and penetrated. That noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering has been understood and penetrated. Craving for existence has been cut off. The conduit to existence has been destroyed. Now there is no more renewed existence. This is what the blessed one said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, further said, because of not seeing as they are, the four noble truths, we have wandered through the long course in the various kinds of birds. Now these truths have been seen. The conduit to existence is severe. Cut off is the root of suffering. Now there is no more renewed existence. That's the end of the sutta. So, it's because of not meeting and understanding the Four Noble Truths that all of us have been turning in the samsara lifetime after lifetime after lifetime after lifetime. Now we are very lucky that we have met the true Dhamma, so we should take this opportunity to really study and understand the Buddha's words so that at least we attain stream entry and we will not be reborn in the woeful planes of existence again. And if you are not born in the woeful planes of existence, then there's not much suffering left. So you can take a slow boat out of samsara. There's one thing I want to mention here. The Buddha says that craving for existence has been cut off. Earlier, in the Sutta, we read about the three types of craving. Craving is the root of suffering. The cause of suffering is craving. And it was mentioned earlier in the Sutta that there are three types of craving. Craving for sensual pleasures, Craving for existence and craving for non-existence. Craving for sensual pleasures. I think most of us, we understand we crave for worldly happiness, worldly enjoyment. That's why you want to seek delight here and there, going here, going there, always looking for enjoyment. Then the second one is craving for existence. This is the will to live. The will to live is very strong. That's why when we are dying, most people refuse to let go. So we cling on. Our willpower, our mind is very strong. So the body is breaking up and giving us a lot of suffering. But because our willpower is so strong, we keep clinging. Even though we suffer also, we bear. We keep clinging, clinging, clinging for many days until it becomes quite... torture and too many days you can't stand it because all of us we have a threshold of pain beyond a certain limit. We don't want to stand it anymore. Then only we let go. We let go of the will to live and only we go for rebirth. So the second condition for for the origin of suffering is this craving for existence. The third one is a bit harder for many people to understand. Craving for non-existence. Why is it craving for non-existence will bring you to rebirth, to suffer? This craving for non-existence, there are two types. One is like a person experiences a lot of dukkha. Say, for example, his business collapses. Because of recession, it becomes bankrupt. Some people commit suicide. They want to die. They want to exterminate themselves. But at the moment of dying, their mind is very agitated. Their greed, hatred and delusion is still very strong. So when they die with that kind of mind, The will, even though they think they don't want to live, but actually, they're still clinging to life. I know of somebody who tried to commit suicide. He tried many times to commit suicide. He could not succeed. So eventually, one day, he went into the mining pond, deep mining pond, jumped into the mining pond. He started to drown. When he was starting to drown, the water, starting to swallow the water, then he panicked. Panicked, then he swam out of the pond. So then, you see, even though initially he thought he wants to commit suicide, but when he's actually dying, then he realizes, I want to live. Then he swam out of the pond. So a lot of people, because of delusion, we think we want to die, but actually we are, the will to live is very strong. So that is one type of person who commits suicide. Another type of person in this category, craving for non-existence, is the ascetic. The holy man who is practicing to get out of samsara, the desire is so strong that he practices with too much effort. He goes to all kinds of ascetic practices like the Buddha, becomes a naked ascetic, lives in the deep forest only on fallen fruits. and on the roots and all that. He suffered so much because of the extreme desire to get out of samsara. So he cannot get out of samsara. Do you remember the first sutra we read in this Samyutta Nikaya? There was the first sutra, what did it say? When I stood still, I sang When I strove too hard, I was whirled around. So without standing still, without striving, I crossed the flood, the middle path. No effort, you will sink. Too much effort, you get whirled around. So in the case of this ascetic, he got too much effort, he put too much effort. So when a person puts too much effort, this ascetic, his mind is extremely agitated. So when he's agitated, the mind is agitated. He cannot attain Nibbana because Nibbana is a cool state. The mind is cool. So like a Westerner would say, I have to play it cool. Okay, now the next sutra, 56.23. That's of Ati, the Buddha said, monks. There are these four noble truths. What four? The noble truth of suffering, the noble truth of the way, of the origin of suffering, the noble truth of the cessation of suffering, the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering. It is because he has fully awakened to these four noble truths as they really are, that the Tathagata is called the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One, Sammasambuddha. Therefore monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. See, I know the sutra. So this sutra says that an Arahant, a Sammasambuddha, attains enlightenment because of fully understanding the Four Noble Truths. So of all the Dhammas taught by the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths are the most important truths. So to attain enlightenment, you must understand fully the Four Noble Truths. 56.24 at Savatthi. Monks, whatever arahants, sammasambuddhas in the past, fully awaken to things as they really are, all will fully awaken to the Four Noble Truths as they really are. Whatever arahants, sammasambuddhas in the future, will fully awaken to things as they really are, all will fully awaken to the Four Noble Truths as they really are. Whatever arahants, sammasambuddhas, at present, have fully awakened to things as they really are, all have fully awakened to the Four Noble Truths as they really are, but for the Noble Truth of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Way leading to the Cessation of Suffering. Whatever arahants, sammasambuddhas, fully awakened ones, will fully awaken, have fully awakened to things as they really are. All have fully awakened to these four noble truths as they really are. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. So the Sutta also says that all Buddhas and all Arahants, whether past, present or future, all become enlightened because of understanding the Four Noble Truths. So the Four Noble Truths are extremely important. But understanding of the Four Noble Truths are at different levels. A person who understands at a low level will attain a low attainment, will have a low attainment. Someone who understands at an intermediate stage will have an intermediate attainment. One who understands fully, completely, becomes fully enlightened or liberated. But if you look at the Mahayana books, they like to belittle the Four Noble Truths, the Dependent Origination, Twelve Links of Dependent Origination and all that, saying this is Like primary school, but this is not what the Buddha says. The Buddha says it is the most important Dhamma. 56.29 Monks, there are these four Noble Truths. What four? The Noble Truth of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering. These are the four Noble Truths. Of these four Noble Truths, monks, there is a Noble Truth that is to be fully understood. There is a noble truth that is to be abandoned. There is a noble truth that is to be realized. There is a noble truth that is to be developed. And what mounts is the noble truth that is to be fully understood. The noble truth of suffering is to be fully understood. The noble truth of the origin of suffering is to be abandoned. The noble truth of the cessation of suffering is to be realized. The noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering is to be developed. Therefore monks, exertion should be made to understand. This is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha says that the noble truth of suffering is to be understood. So we have to understand suffering. Now to understand suffering, we have to know where suffering comes from. And we know suffering comes from attachment to our five aggregates. And also you can say there is suffering because we have a self. We have an identity view. We have this conceit, I am, I exist. So all this is tangled. what we call posse cut, like a string all connected, all in tied up. So we have to unravel this slowly. So we have to understand from learning the Dhamma. First we learn the theory and we learn the theory from the Dhamma. Then we practice meditation to sharpen our mind. When we sharpen our mind, then we see things more clearly. So these two things we develop at the same time. As we meditate, we learn the Dhamma. As we meditate, we learn the Dhamma and we keep progressing in this way. These are the two cornerstones of the holy life, learning the original Dhamma of the Buddha and practicing Samatha meditation. In fact, in the Buddha's teachings, there's only one meditation, that is Samatha meditation. The practice of Vipassana is in a way not meditation, it is called contemplation. Contemplation means listening to the Dhamma and contemplating the Dhamma, reflecting on the Dhamma. To understand this noble truth of suffering, we have to learn from the Dhamma, the teachings of the Buddha, things like the five aggregates, things like the six sense bases, things like dependent origination, things like the four elements, all these. And then the noble truth of the origin of suffering is to be abandoned. The origin of suffering is craving, so craving has to be abandoned. For craving to be abandoned, it's not so easy. Firstly, you have to see, realize that craving is a source of suffering. And then even though you know craving is a source of suffering, if your mind is not strong, you cannot let go. A lot of things we know is wrong, but we cannot let go. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. So we have to make our mind strong by meditation. Then we can let go of this craving. And then the noble truth of the cessation of suffering is to be realized. That means Nibbana, letting go of greed, hatred and delusion. That is a long process. And then the Noble Truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering is to develop the Noble Eightfold Path. And in the Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta 117, it says that the Noble Eightfold Path is to be developed one by one. The factors are starting with Right View. First, you must get Right View from studying the Buddha's words. Then Right View will bring you to practice Right Speech. Right Speech will bring you to Right Action. Right Action will bring you to Right Livelihood. Right Livelihood will bring you to Right Effort, Right Recollection, Right Concentration. That's how the Noble Eightfold Path is to be practiced, is to be developed. And the most important thing to understand is that to practice the Noble Eightfold Path, to develop the Noble Eightfold Path, you must always start with Right View. If you don't start with Right View, you have not entered the Noble Eightfold Path. The next letter is 56.30. On one occasion, a number of elder monks were dwelling among the Chaiteyans at Sahajati. On that occasion, when the elder monks had returned from their alms round, after their meal, they had assembled in the pavilion and were sitting together when this conversation arose. Friend, does one who sees suffering also see the origin of suffering, also see the cessation of suffering, also see the way leading to the cessation of suffering? In other words, if you see the first noble truth, can you also see all the others, the other three? And this was said, the Venerable Gawam Patti said to the elder monks, Friends, in the presence of the Blessed One, I have heard and learned this. Monks, one who sees suffering also sees the origin of suffering, also sees the cessation of suffering, also sees the way leading to the cessation of suffering. One who sees the origin of suffering also sees suffering, also sees the cessation of suffering, also sees the way leading to the cessation of suffering. One who sees the cessation of suffering also sees suffering, also sees the origin of suffering, also sees the way leading to the cessation of suffering. One who sees the way leading to the cessation of suffering also sees suffering, also sees the origin of suffering, also sees the cessation of suffering. In other words, the Buddha says, if you fully understand one noble truth, you will understand all the other noble truths. The next sutta is an interesting and important sutta. 56.31. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Kosambi in a Singsapa Grove. Singsapa is a kind of tree. Then the Blessed One took up a few Singsapa leaves in His hand and addressed the monks thus, What do you think, monks, which is more numerous, these few Singsapa leaves that I have taken up in my hand, or those in the Singsapa Grove overhead? In other words, These leaves in my hand, are they more or the leaves in the forest? And they said, Venerable Sir, the Singsapa leaves that the Blessed One has taken up in His hand are few, but those in the Singsapa grove overhead are numerous. And the Buddha said, So too, monks, the things I have directly known, but have not taught you are numerous, while the things I have taught you are few. And why, monks, have I not taught those many things? Because they are unbeneficial, irrelevant to the fundamentals of the holy life, and do not lead to revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. Therefore, I have not taught them. And what, monks, have I taught? I have taught this is suffering. I have taught this is the origin of suffering. I have taught this is the cessation of suffering. I have taught this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. And why, monks, have I taught this? Because this is beneficial, relevant to the fundamentals of the holy life, and leads to revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbāna. Therefore, I have taught this. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. well-known sutta where the Buddha held the leaves in his hand and said that the things that he has taught us are very little compared to the things that he knows. He knows a lot of things about this world that scientists would like to know, but there are no real benefit in the holy life. That's why he does not want to say all these things. What he says, he teaches us, is the way out of suffering. Okay, it's another nine. I've gone over the time.

59SNQandA20090907

Interesting Sutta. Okay, I'll stop here and we can discuss. I may be able to finish in another one or two nights, you know. Yeah. To see suffering, you have to see impermanence. You have to see how conditions are so impermanent that they change, they arise and pass away. If you accept that things are impermanent, so when suffering comes, you can accept it. You know that it is because of impermanence that suffering comes. And also because of impermanence, that suffering can also go away. So when we understand the Dhamma, whatever happens in the world, whatever suffering that comes to us, we accept it. We don't cry. and become frustrated and all that. So that's why in the suttas the Buddha says that an ordinary whirling is stabbed by two knives. A knife of bodily pain as well as a knife of mental pain. But the ariya, the person who understands the Dhamma, he only has bodily pain. He does not have mental pain. Whatever comes his way, he just knows it's due to causes and conditions, so he does not think too much about it. He just proceeds to do what needs to be done. Definitely, definitely. You know why this mental pain is so unbearable for most people? It's because we keep thinking about it. This is called papanca, proliferation of thoughts. For example, if somebody says something nasty to you, you get angry. And then actually, after that, everything should be settled. But then, because of attachment, you cannot let go. You think of it again. Again, anger comes up. And then you keep thinking of it, the whole night you cannot sleep. Tomorrow you're still angry. So it's a poison to our system. So this tendency for the mind to proliferate, to multiply your thoughts, why does your mind multiply these thoughts? Because it's the tendency of the mind to flow. Whereas a person who meditates, he learns to focus his mind. And the Buddha says, that because when the mind is focused, becomes one-pointed, he experiences a kind of happiness which is free from thinking. And that happiness is a superior happiness. When you have attained the happiness which is free from thinking, then you don't have the tendency to think so much. Because thinking is a kind of happiness, you know? A lot of ordinary people, we like to think and think and think. When you have nothing to do, you start daydreaming. You start fantasizing. Oh, if I become a millionaire, what I can do with my money and all these things. So if you have attained the happiness where the thinking stops, then you tend to go in that direction. The mind tends to go not to think. As an ordinary person who has a very scattered mind, he keeps thinking and thinking and thinking and gets a lot of mental dukkha. That's why about in 1996, 13 years ago, when I went to Perth, I went to Ajahn Brahm's monastery, a Buddhist center in the Perth city, I saw a lot of Westerners coming to learn meditation. And I was surprised, a bit surprised to hear that many of them are Christians. They come to learn meditation not because they are interested in Buddhism, but because they are interested to lessen their mental dukkha. You know, Westerners, they are very good at using their mind. They use their mind so much that they get a lot of mental dukkha, unlike a lot of Asians. Asians are more simple-minded. We don't use our mind so much. So they come to lessen their mental dukkha. Then when they progress in meditation, then they become interested in Buddhism. Nowadays, now and then you read in the papers, people become crazy because of Using the mind too much. Start killing people and all that. Okay. When we see the truth, we tend to let go and be more at peace with ourselves. Okay. Please, I would like to know, what's the difference between Asami and Sampui? What's the difference between Asami and Sampui? or we sit and we sit here for a very long time. I think there's a bit of difference. When you see the Dhamma, then you accept things as they come. But the other one, the Pasadhi, the tranquility, comes from a focused mind, a concentrated mind, a mind that has attained Jhana. So, for example, Suttapanna, a stream enterer, after learning the Dhamma, he accepts things that come his way, so he has peace of mind. But that is not deep peace. The Pasadhi, the tranquility of mind, is a deeper peace. But then of course the first one, the santi, the understanding of the Dhamma, helps you to progress in the direction of attaining the jhanas. Contentment is because of understanding the Dhamma, then Contentment also means having few desires, having few wants. So you don't think of wanting this and wanting that. And it helps a lot. Contentment is very much help. by Pasadi. Of course, if you understand the Dhamma, then you have peace of mind, and then contentment to a certain degree, to a slight degree, follows naturally. But if you have attained the Jhanas and attained tranquility, then you find happiness within you, in your mind. In which case, you don't look for happiness outside, through sensual pleasures, through sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. So your contentment, you can also say, is a more deeper contentment when you attain the Jhanas. I think that means when we learn to talk, we see the dharma, what has to be accepted from the lay people. It is like a big situation for one to move to Thailand and eventually you get the diversity, all come together. In a sense, if a person is not able to get the kindness that they want to give, So, it is frustrated that they tend to go out and look for sensual pleasures. That shows that if they go out and look for sensual pleasures, that means they haven't understood the Dhamma. If they have understood the Dhamma, then even though walking the spiritual path is so difficult, Then he will keep working on it. Just like, say for example, a monk who having understood the Dhamma, he renounces. Then he renounces, he goes to stay in a cave and he practices. When he's practicing in a cave, a lot of defilements come and disturb him. But he does not go out and try to find pleasure somewhere. He continues doing his work, even though it's very hard, very tough, he suffers. to the extent maybe he has gastric problems and all that, but he still continues struggling, struggling until he overcomes it. That must come from understanding the Dhamma. That's why the Buddha always says the foundation, there are two foundations, is moral conduct and right view. If you have right view, understanding of the Dhamma, then you know what is wholesome, what is unwholesome, what is worthy of striving for, what is not worthy of striving for. The Buddha says there are two The noble quest and the ignoble quest. The ignoble quest is the worldly striving. Ordinary worldlings strive for material benefit, for material pleasures and all that. Whereas the Aryan quest is striving for benefit in the holy life. And if he has that understanding, even though the Aryan quest is very difficult, still he will continue, like the Buddha says, he's willing even let the skin and bones remain. He will still clench his teeth and make the effort. So unless you have that Right view, the Aryan right view, you are not willing to suffer for this in the spiritual path. It's only when you have the right view that you are willing to let go. A lot of people, they say they want to attain this and attain that, but when they make a bit of effort and then they cannot get it, they get fed up and go to India first, go for a tour, enjoy first. It's just because they don't understand. If they understand, then they will keep plodding and they will let go. Keep letting go, keep letting go. A lot of people, they want this, they want that, but cannot let go. So when your hands are full of all the unnecessary things, how can you hold to higher things? You must let go all the rubbish in your hand, then only you can grab something worthwhile. Can a layperson also make progress? Only thing is it's slower. It's slower. Very simple answer. What is good is not cheap. What is cheap is not good. The price of something that is valuable, the price is high. If it's not high, it's not worthwhile. You can't get a Rolls-Royce with the price of a Toyota car or something like that, right? So, because the effort, you need a lot of effort, but after you make progress, then the path becomes sweet. The initial path is very difficult to strive to attain jhana, but after you have attained jhana, And then even after you have attained jhāna, to maintain your jhāna is not easy. There are many people who attain jhāna, they fall out of jhāna because they cannot let go of worldly things. So to maintain your jhāna, you have to keep letting go, keep letting go, loo from people, and then only your jhāna goes deeper and deeper and deeper. See again, you said about You see when the When the Buddha first started on the spiritual journey in this last life, he underwent a lot of unbeneficial ascetic practices and suffered a lot. And then eventually, he found the Noble Eightfold Path and succeeded. And then after that, he told his disciples not to practice those unbeneficial ascetic practices. However, he did not say that all ascetic practices are unbeneficial. So the Buddha said he taught the middle way, but his middle way to many people is also ascetic. For example, eating one meal a day, and then begging for the food, living in secluded places, isolated from people. That to many people is ascetic. So now, What is important is to understand the Dhamma so that we practice in the way that is the shortest way and the most beneficial way. That's why understanding of the Dhamma is so important. I see some monks, without much knowledge of the Dhamma, they go into ascetic practices. And sometimes they are very good in their ascetic practice. But unfortunately, it does not yield the corresponding desired result. For years, they practice ascetic practices, but they are not Sotapanna. They haven't even attained Sotapanna. Because they didn't know that to attain Sotapanna, they have to study the Dhamma first. So that's why the Buddha always says that we have to rely on the Dhamma and rely on ourselves. Whereas a lot of people, we practice the holy path, we just listen to the teacher. And we assume that the teacher is teaching what the Buddha taught. Very often, the teacher does not teach what the Buddha taught. That's why the Buddha says that we have to listen to his earliest discourses. Then, having heard the Buddha's teachings, then you practice. Then, if you start off in a comfortable monastery like this, it's good because firstly, you have not become, you know, you are not tuned to ascetic practices yet. Even practice ascetic practices, you cannot simply go into the, you want to learn swimming, you don't jump into the deep end of the pond, you know, you must learn in the shallow water first, and then slowly, slowly you progress. So you come here, you learn the basic Dharma, and then you learn the basic meditation, you learn to meditate, like here we practice four and a half hours a day, And then as you progress later, after a few years of monkhood, then if you can go off and live alone. But here also, if you really want, you can go into seclusion and other monks can serve. And then you cut off and do your intense practice. But it's very, very important to understand the Dhamma so that whatever you practice, you are practicing in the right way. I think the Buddha said that out of pity for him. As we grow older, definitely more difficult to be ascetic now. For example, Reverend Mahakassapa, in his old age, he stayed in the forest alone and all that. You know in the forest, at night when the wind blows, it's very cold. And when you're old, you have fung sap arthritis here and arthritis there. It's not easy to withstand all the cold wind and sleep on the bare floor and all these things. So out of pity for him, the Buddha suggested that he come and stay in the monastery. But he said, for the good of the future generation, he still maintained his practice so that to show the way to future monks that this is the way to becoming an arahant, staying alone, staying in the forest and all that. Nowadays you find some Mahayana teachings, they are telling you the opposite thing, don't go and live alone. Live alone, you are not facing the crowd, you must come and face the crowd. All this rubbish which the Buddha never taught. Can't we end here for tonight?

60SNSaccaCh5620090908

Today is the 8th of September, and we are on the last chapter, Sathya Samyutta. I come to Sutta 56.32. It's on page 1858. The Buddha said, monks, if anyone should speak thus without having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of suffering as it really is, without having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of the origin of suffering as it really is, without having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of the cessation of suffering as it really is, without having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering as it really is, I will completely make an end to suffering. This is impossible. Just as monks, if someone should speak thus, Having made a basket of acacia leaves, or of pine leaves, or of myrobalan leaves, I will bring water or a palm fruit. This would be impossible. So too, if anyone should speak thus, without having made the breakthrough to the Four Noble Truths, as they really are, I will make completely an end to suffering. This is impossible. But monks, if anyone should speak thus, having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of suffering as it really is, Having made the breakthrough to the noble truth of the cessation of suffering as it really is, I will completely make an end to suffering. This is possible. Just as monks, if someone should speak thus, having made a basket of lotus leaves, or of quinoa leaves, or of maluva leaves. I will bring water or a palm fruit. This would be possible. So too, if anyone should speak thus, having made the breakthrough to the Four Noble Truths, I will completely make an end to suffering. This is possible. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. That's the end of the sutta. So in this sutta, it's very clear that there is no liberation from samsara without thoroughly understanding the Four Noble Truths. So the Four Noble Truths are extremely important in the Buddha's teachings. The most important principles in the Buddha Dharma concerns these Four Noble Truths. It's not like some of the Mahayana books say, Four Noble Truths are primary school stuff. Now we come to 56.35. Monks, suppose there were a man with a lifespan of a hundred years who could live a hundred years. Someone would say to him, come good man, in the morning they will strike you with a hundred spears. At noon they will strike you with a hundred spears. In the evening they will strike you with a hundred spears. And you, good men, being struck day after day by three hundred spears, will have a lifespan of a hundred years, will live a hundred years. Then, after a hundred years have passed, you will make the breakthrough to the four noble truths to which you had not broken through earlier. It is fitting monks, for a clansman intent on his good, to accept the offer. For what reason? Because this saṃsāra is without discoverable beginning. The first point cannot be discerned of blows by spears, blows by swords, blows by axes. And even though this may be so, monks, I do not say that the breakthrough to the Four Noble Truths is accompanied by suffering or displeasure. Rather, the breakthrough to the Four Noble Truths is accompanied only by happiness and joy. But four, the Noble Truth of Suffering, the Origin of Suffering, the Cessation of Suffering, the Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering, this is the Origin of Suffering, this is the Cessation of Suffering, this is the Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering. at the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha is saying, suppose somebody were to make a bargain with you. Would you like to be struck with 300 spears each day for your whole life of 100 years? But because of being struck by 300 spears each day at the end of your life, you will understand thoroughly the Four Noble Truths and become liberated from samsara. And the Buddha says, if that is a bargain, you should quickly grab that offer, because samsara is without a beginning and without an end. If we don't make an effort to get out of samsara, there will be no end to being stabbed by spears, by swords, by axes, and all that. So, unless we attain at least the first stage of Aryahood, then this King Yama, Gen Lo Wong, is still waiting for us in hell, and we have to see him many, many times. So that's why the Buddha says, even if you were to be stabbed by 300 spears every day for 100 years, it's worth it if you can attain the understanding of the Four Noble Truths and get out of samsara. Otherwise, that suffering in samsara is endless. But then the Buddha says, actually, the breakthrough to the Four Noble Truths is not accompanied by suffering. If we make the effort, we practice according to the Buddha's teachings and attain the jhānas, then every day we'll be experiencing happiness and joy. In which case, it's even a better offer by the Buddha to practice the Noble Eightfold Path and get happiness in addition to getting out of samsara. The next sutra is 56.37. The Buddha said, monks, this is the forerunner and precursor of the rising of the sun, that is, the dawn. So to monks, for a monk, this is the forerunner and precursor of the breakthrough to the Four Noble Truths as they really are, that is, right view. It is to be expected that a monk with right view will understand as it really is. This is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the path leading to the cessation of suffering. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. So here the Buddha says that Before you can understand the Four Noble Truths, you must have Right View. Right View is stated in the Majjhima Nikaya Sutta 43. If you want to attain Right View, it says there that there are two conditions. One is the voice of another. Another person must teach you the Dhamma. You don't learn the Dhamma on your own. You cannot understand the Dhamma just by meditating. Somebody else has got to teach you the Dhamma. That's the first condition. The second condition is you only show Manasikara. You have proper attention or careful attention. So only two conditions. So that's why I always stress that right view is extremely important. When you come into the Dhamma, the first thing we must attain is right view. In other words, study the early suttas found in the Nikayas. And once you have right view, then you have started to understand the Four Noble Truths and you're on your way out of samsara. The next sutta is 56.39. This is an interesting as well as important sutra. Monks, those ascetics or Brahmins who do not understand as it really is, this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. They look up at the face of another ascetic or Brahmin, thinking, this worthy is surely one who really knows, who really sees. Suppose monks, a tuft of cotton wool or kapok, light wafted by the wind, had settled on an even piece of ground. An easterly wind would drive it westward, a westerly wind would drive it eastward, a northerly wind would drive it southward, a southerly wind would drive it northward. For what reason? Because of the likeness of the tough. So to monks, those ascetics or Brahmins who do not understand as it really is, this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. They look up at the face of another ascetic or brahmin, thinking, this worthy is surely one who really knows, who really sees. For what reason? Because they have not seen the Four Noble Truths. But monks, those ascetics or brahmins who understand as it really is, this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. They do not look up at the face of another ascetic or Brahmin, thinking, this worthy is surely one who really knows, who really sees. Suppose, monks, there was an iron pillar or an Indra's pillar with a deep base. deep foundation, securely planted, immobile, unshaking. Even if a forceful blast of wind comes, whether from the east, the west, north or the south, that pillar would not shake, quake or tremble. For what reason? Because the pillar has a deep base and is securely planted. So, true monks, those ascetics or brahmins who understand as it really is, this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering, they do not look up at the face of another ascetic or brahmin thinking, this worthy is surely one who really knows, who really sees. For what reason? Because monks, they have clearly seen the Four Noble Truths. But four, the Noble Truth of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering. This is the Origin of Suffering. This is the Cessation of Suffering. This is the Way Leading to the Cessation of Suffering. That's the end of the Sutta. So, this Sutta says, that some people, when they don't understand the Dhamma, they're always looking for the right teacher. So they observe the monk, and they think, wow, so smart, so mindful, all this. They forget that there's one sutra in the Anguttara Nikaya, The Buddha says there are four types of containers. There's one container which is open and empty. There's one container which is open and full. There's another container which is closed and empty. There's another container that is closed and full. So, it refers to The fact that there are some monks, they look very mindful and very impressive, but sometimes, bo liao, mo liu, they don't understand the Dhamma. And sometimes you have one who looks very impressive, mindful, and all that, but he, yao liu, he knows the Dhamma. On the other hand, you have some monk who is not impressive at all. And sometimes, this unimpressive monk does not understand the Dhamma. On the other hand, a monk can be very unimpressive, but he understands the Dhamma. So you look from the outside, you cannot see, so you cannot understand. I mean, you cannot know that person's heart, the mind. So looks are very deceiving. So don't look at the face of a monk and think, ah, have you or more you. So that's why the Buddha says, don't depend on another monk, depend on yourself and depend on the Buddha's Dharma. Okay, 56.41. From one location, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks, once in the past, a certain man set out from Rajagaha and went to the Sumagada lotus pond, thinking, I will reflect about the world. He then sat down on the bank of the Sumagada lotus pond, reflecting about the world. Then monks, that man saw a four-division army entering a lotus talk. on the bank of the pond. Having seen this, he thought, I must be mad. I must be insane. I've seen something that doesn't exist in the world. The man returned to the city and informed a great crowd of people. I must be mad, sirs. I must be insane. I've seen something that doesn't exist in the world. They said to him, but how is it, good man, that you are mad? How are you insane? And what have you seen that doesn't exist in the world? And he said, here sirs, I left Rajagaha and approached the Sumagada lotus pond, thinking I would reflect about the world. I then sat down on the bank of the Sumagada lotus pond, reflecting about the world. Then I saw a four-division army entering a lotus talk. on the bank of a pond. That's why I'm mad. That's why I'm insane. And that's what I've seen that doesn't exist in the world. And they said, surely you're mad, good man. Surely you're insane. And what you have seen doesn't exist in the world. And the Buddha said, Nevertheless, monks, what that man saw was actually real, not unreal. Once in the past, the Devas and the Asuras were arrayed for battle. In that battle, the Devas won, and the Asuras were defeated. In their defeat, the Asuras were frightened and entered the Asura city through the Lotus Talk to the bewilderment of the Devas. Therefore, monks, do not reflect about the world, thinking, the world is eternal, the world is not eternal, the world is finite, the world is infinite, the soul and the body are the same, the soul is one thing, the body is another, or the Tathagata exists after death, or the Tathagata does not exist after death, or the Tathagata both exists and does not exist after death, or the Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist after death. For what reason? Because, monks, this reflection is unbeneficial, irrelevant to the fundamentals of the holy life, and does not lead to revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. When you reflect, monks, you should reflect. This is suffering. You should reflect, this is the origin of suffering. You should reflect, this is the cessation of suffering. You should reflect, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. For what reason? Because, monks, this reflection is beneficial, relevant to the fundamentals of the holy life, and leads to revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to nibbana. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand, this is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. So here the Buddha says, sometimes, we might see what is very rare to see in the world, and we might think that we are mad. And also the Buddha says, don't be like this man, go to a corner and reflect about this world. And you reflect about this world, and then you have all kinds of views about the world. But the Buddha said, if you want to reflect, then you should reflect on the Four Noble Truths. because that is beneficial. If you reflect on other things, it is not beneficial. So this reflection can be said to be also contemplation as vipassana. So this vipassana, we should contemplate only on four things. Objects of vipassana are the body, feelings, the mind and dhamma. Others are not beneficial if you reflect on other things. The next sutra is quite important. 56.42. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Raja Gaha on Mount Vulture Peak. Then the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Come monks, let us go to Patibana Peak for the day's abiding. Yes, Venerable Sir, those monks replied. Then the Blessed One, together with a number of monks, went to Patibahana Peak. A certain monk saw the steep precipice of the Patibahana Peak and said to the Blessed One, That precipice is indeed steep, Venerable Sir. That precipice is indeed extremely frightful. But is there, Venerable Sir, any other precipice steeper and more frightful than that one? And the Buddha said, There is, monk. But what, Venerable Sir, is that precipice deeper and more frightful than that one?" And the Buddha said, Those ascetics and Brahmins, monks, who do not understand as it really is, this is suffering. Who do not understand as it really is, this is the origin of suffering. Who do not understand as it really is, this is the cessation of suffering. Who do not understand as it really is, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. They delight in volition that leads to birth. in volition that leads to aging, in volition that leads to death, in volition that leads to sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. Delighting in volition, degenerate volition, that leads to birth, generate volitions that lead to ageing, generate volitions that lead to death, generate volitions that lead to sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. Having generated such volitions, they tumble down the precipice of birth, tumble down the precipice of ageing, tumble down the precipice of death, tumble down the precipice of sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. They are not free from birth, aging, and death, not free from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair, not free from suffering, I say. But monks, those ascetics and Brahmins who understand as it really is, this is suffering, This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. They do not delight in volitions that lead to birth, nor in volitions that lead to ageing, nor in volitions that lead to death, nor in volitions that lead to sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. Not delighting in such volitions, they do not generate volitions that lead to birth, nor generate volitions that lead to aging, nor generate volitions that lead to death, nor generate volitions that lead to sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. Not having generated such volitions, they do not tumble down the precipice of birth. nor tumble down the precipice of aging, nor tumble down the precipice of death, nor tumble down the precipice of sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. They are free from birth, aging, and death, free from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. free from suffering, I say. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering." This is the end of the Sutta. So here, the Buddha brought the monks up the hill. And when they saw this precipice, which is very steep, the monk said, this is an extremely dangerous precipice. Because if you fall down this precipice, you will surely die. So it's extremely dangerous. So he asked the Buddha, is there any other precipice more dangerous? The Buddha said, yes, the precipice of samsara. We fall down the precipice of samsara, we don't die only once. We die many, many times, endless times. And even before, each time we die, we suffer so much. So every lifetime we come, unless we are born in heaven, every lifetime we come, we suffer. Even as human beings, we suffer. And much worse if you are reborn as a ghost, or as an animal, or in hell. So this precipice of samsara is not something to play with. Don't take it lightly. It's only because we haven't seen how ghosts live. that we take life lightly. If you have seen how ghosts live, or if you know about hell, then you won't take things so lightly. The next sutra is 56.45. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesali, in the great wood, in the hall with the peak roof. Then in the morning, the Venerable Ananda dressed, and taking bowl and robe, entered Vesali for alms. The Venerable Ananda saw a number of Licchavi youths practicing archery in the training hall, shooting arrows from a distance through a very small keyhole. head through butt, without missing. When he saw this, the thought occurred to him, these Licchavi youths are indeed trained, these Licchavi youths are indeed well trained, in that they shoot arrows from a distance through a very small keyhole, head through butt, without missing. Then when the Venerable Ananda had walked for alms in Vesali, and had returned from his alms round, after his meal he approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, and reported what he had seen. The Blessed One said, What do you think, Ananda, which is more difficult and challenging, to shoot arrows from a distance through a very small keyhole, head through butt, without missing, or to pierce through the arrowhead, or to pierce with the arrowhead the tip of a hair split into seven strands. And remember Ananda said, it is more difficult and challenging, venerable sir, pierce with the arrowhead the tip of a hair split into seven strands. And the Buddha said, but Ananda, they pierce something even more difficult to pierce. who appears as it really is, this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. Therefore, Ananda, an exertion should be made to understand, this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. So here the Buddha says it is much more difficult to really understand the Four Noble Truths than to shoot an arrow and split a hair into seven strands. Why? Because understanding the Four Noble Truths, to understand it at a shallow level is not so difficult. But to understand it thoroughly and become enlightened, that is difficult because you have to cultivate your mind until it is so sharp, totally rid of all the defilements, the five hindrances, which means attaining at least the four jhanas. And then after that, then only you can see the Dharma so clearly and understand the Four Noble Truths. Remember that we read in the earlier sutra, even the Sotapanna and the Sakadagamin do not have joyous wisdom. And what's the other one? Swift wisdom. Anagamin and the Arahant has joyous wisdom and swift wisdom, meaning deep wisdom, which comes only with the fourth jhana. That's why it's not so easy to totally understand the Four Noble Truths. There are some people, they just recite, 苦極滅道, and they think they understand the Four Noble Truths. That's really silly. That's why. Suffering, origin of suffering, cessation of suffering, and we're leading to the cessation of suffering. They just repeat it like a parent. The next sutra is 56.47. Now this is another famous sutra. Monks, suppose a man would throw a yoke with a single hole into the great ocean and there was a blind turtle which would come to the surface once every hundred years. What do you think, monks? Would that blind turtle coming to the surface once every hundred years insert its neck into that yoke with a single hole? Stop here for a moment. This yoke is a piece of wood which the floor The bulok uses this piece of wood, it's put around the neck of the bulok, the bull. And this bulok has to pull the cart, pull the cart, because this wood is placed around his neck, so when he moves, he pulls the cart. So this is the yoke. So this yoke, You throw into the ocean, the ocean is so huge, and it's floating on the ocean, and then you have a blind turtle at the bottom of the ocean. Once, only once, in 100 years, it comes up, what is the chance of it putting its head through the yoke? It's more difficult than winning the lotto, isn't it? And then the monk answered the Buddha, if it would ever do so, Venerable Sir, it would be only after a very long time. And then the Buddha said, sooner I say with that blind turtle coming to the surface once every hundred years, insert its neck into that yolk with a single hole, then the fool who has gone once to the netherworld would regain the human state. For what reason? Because here, monks, there is no conduct guided by the Dhamma, no righteous conduct, no wholesome activity, no meritorious activity. Here, there prevails mutual devouring, the devouring of the weak. For what reason? Because monks, they have not seen the Four Noble Truths, but Four, the Noble Truth of Suffering, the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering. the noble truth of the cessation of suffering, the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering. Therefore monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. So here actually what the Buddha means, I think, is that if a person He does not understand the Dhamma and does not have right view. He has wrong view. That leads him to rebirth in the animal realm and the hell realm. And these two realms, once you go down to the animal realm and the hell realm, you'll be there for a very, very long time. So the Buddha says, the one who goes to the woeful planes of rebirth is a fool. Actually, when we have the human body and we don't make use of it and we waste our life, we are really a fool. Then when you lose the human body, then you want to recover the human body. It's very, very hard. That's why you see sometimes some people, they go into a trance and they invite the spirit into their body. The ghost will quickly come and enter their body. Some people think it's a deva or something, but most of the time it's the ghost. Because the ghost is suffering in the in the ghost realm and then he remembers last time when i was a human being life was so good so you invite him to your body quickly he'll come and some of them also they come because they realize that they did not do enough merit that's why they are born in the ghost realm so they want to have the chance to do merit and they come into the human body so this sutta is very striking giving us lead a foolish life, then we will find it very difficult to get back this human form. And then the Buddha said, monks, suppose that this great earth had become one mass of water, and a man would throw a yoke with a single hole upon it. An easterly wind would drive it westward, a westerly wind would drive it eastward, a northerly wind would drive it southward, a southerly wind would drive it northward. There was a blind turtle who would come to the surface once every hundred years. What do you think, mouse, would that blind turtle coming to the surface once every hundred years insert its neck into that yolk with a single hole? It would be by chance, venerable sir, that that blind turtle coming to the surface once every hundred years would insert its neck into that yolk with a single hole. So, two monks, it is by chance that one obtains the human state or the human body. It is by chance that a Tathāgata, an Arhant, a perfectly enlightened one, arises in the world. It is by chance that the Dhamma Vinaya proclaimed by the Tathāgata shines in the world. You have obtained that human state, monks. Tathagata and Arahant Samasambuddha has arisen in the world. The Dhamma Vinaya proclaimed by the Tathagata shines in the world. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand this is suffering, this is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, this is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. So here is another warning by the Buddha that is so difficult to obtain the human body. Now we have it. So difficult for an arahant, Sammasambuddha, to arise in the world. Now we have it. So difficult for the Dhamma Vinaya to shine in the world. Now also, all the three perfect conditions we have. And if we don't make use of it, we are a real fool. And we have to suffer for being a fool. So, if you just imagine, The Buddha came into this world, and now, 2,500 years later, the Dhamma is still with us. How long is it going to last? We don't know. It's not going to last very long. Another few more thousand years, and it would have disappeared. And yet, this world, how long is this world? This Earth, scientists say, is at least 5 billion years old. And five billion years old inside there, for a short period, the light of the Dhamma appears in the world, shines in the world, only for a short time. You don't grab the opportunity, then you'll be reborn in the darkness again. Ignorance of the Dhamma is a darkness. Opportunity that has come to us is so rare, just like the turtle coming up once in a hundred years to put its neck through that hole in the yoke. Such a rare opportunity. In a similar way, this rare chance, we have already, the chance has come to us. Whether we make use of it or not is entirely up to us. So Buddha says, That's the difference between the wise man and the fool, written in the earlier sutra. The wise man is the one who practices the holy path. The fool is the one who ignores the holy path.

61SNSaccaCh5620090908

56.51 is another famous sutta. Then the Blessed One took up a little bit of soil in His fingernail and addressed the monks. Buddha took the soil on His fingernail like that, at the tip of His fingernail, just holding up a bit like that. What do you think which is more, the little bit of soil that I have taken up in my fingernail, or this great earth?" And they said, Venerable Sir, that great earth is more. That little bit of soil that the Blessed One has taken up in His fingernail is trifling. Compared to the great earth, that little bit of soil is not calculable, does not bear comparison, does not amount even to a fraction. And the Buddha said, So two monks, for a noble disciple, a person accomplished in view, that means with right view, who has made the breakthrough, the suffering that has been destroyed and eliminated is more, while that which remains is strifling. Compared to the former mass of suffering that has been destroyed and eliminated, the latter is not calculable. does not bear comparison, does not amount even to a fraction, as there is a maximum of seven more lives. He is one who understands as it really is. This is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering. Therefore, monks, an exertion should be made to understand. This is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the way leading to the cessation of suffering." So this sutra is telling us that If we attain Right View, we have made the breakthrough. And once you attain Right View, the suffering that you have left in existence is so little compared to the former suffering that you put behind you. Or you can say the suffering that you have left after attaining Right View is so little compared to your friend who has not attained Right View. The guy who has not attained Right View, he will turn in sansara for countless lifetimes more. So, the Buddha says also, once you have right view, there is a maximum of seven more lifetimes for you. He is very clear. Maximum of seven more lifetimes. You will only be reborn seven more lifetimes. Maximum. That is, even if you don't make any effort. Seven more. If you make some effort, you'll be shorter still. But once you have become ariya, with right view, as I mentioned, you can take a slow boat out of samsara, because you'll have a good life. You'll either be reborn in heaven, or as a human being. And each time you come back as a human or a heavenly being, you have these four things the other day. Ayuvano, sukham, balam. Long life, beauty, happiness, and power or strength. Therefore, the Buddha always says we should exert ourselves to understand the Four Noble Truths. And basically, to understand the Four Noble Truths is to study suttas like this in the Samyutta Nikaya. In fact, out of all the Five Nikayas, to me, this is the most important Nikaya. All the important teachings are inside here. Is there any more sutta? I think that's the end of the sutras that I want to read in this last chapter. So we have come to the end of the Sankhyuta Nikaya. It took us about two months. I think it was very good. All the important suttas in this Samyutta Nikaya, I believe we have gone through. Those that we did not go through are not so important. Sometimes there were repetitions, or the meaning was not so important. So I'll just recap the five books that we went through in the Samyutta Nikaya. We look at page seven. in the beginning, the general contents. The first book is the Sagatavagga. Sagata means sa is with, gata is verses. So it is suttas accompanied by verses. So the first book, you find all the suttas. At the end of the suttas, you have verses. And this first book, there were 11 chapters. And out of these 11 chapters, The important ones would be like Kosala Sangyutta, concerning the Pasenadi king, some good Dhamma was there. And then the Brahma Sangyutta, concerning the Brahma Devas. We found that some of the Brahma Devas had an affinity with the Buddha from the past life. The Buddha went to them mostly because some of them were his former teachers, and out of gratitude, he went to teach them. Then the Brahmana Sutta was quite interesting. Those Brahmins who argued with the Buddha and when they were converted by the Buddha, some of them so quickly renounced and became monks. And then Sakka Sanyutta also was quite interesting. Sakka Devaraja was an interesting Deva with a lot of good qualities. Then the second book, Nidana Bhaga. Nidana means causation, that means dependent origination. This is a very important topic. We went through this 12th chapter. We went through in quite detail. Let me see. I remember it took many days to go through it. One, two, three. Six days, you know, we spent six nights on this Nidana Samyutta, one of the longest times we spent. So on this Nidana Samyutta was very important. And then inside the second book, the Labha Sakra Samyutta was also very important for monks on the dangers of gains and owners, fame, offerings and fame, how we can corrupt a monk. And then the Upama Sanyuta, number 20, that was very important. Some very good similes were given in this chapter. And the third book was the Khanda Vagga we went through. Khanda is aggregates. So this is the chapter on the five aggregates of attachment. This is also an extremely important topic because if you want to understand non-self, it's very important to understand the five aggregates as not-self or non-self. And this Chapter 22, we also spent quite a number of days. We also spent about six days, six nights discussing this Chapter 22, Khandasang Yuddha. And then the other chapters in this book are not so important. This is an outstanding chapter in this third book. I remember we mentioned that they took a huge part of the book. And the fourth book we went through was Salayat Kena Vaga. Salayat Tanah means the six sense bases. This is another very important topic. In fact, these three are the main topics that we should understand if we want to see non-self, no-self. That is the dependent origination, the five aggregates, and the six sense bases. So this chapter 35, we spend also many days. One, two, three, four. We spent seven days, we spent seven days discussing this Salayatana Sanghuta and then Vedana Samyutta also, feelings also quite important. And then Citta Samyutta was interesting. Chapter 41 was interesting. And then Chapter 42 also had a number of very good suttas on the headman, Bhangulu, village headman. And then we came to the last book, Mahavagga, the great book, the great book because it's probably the biggest book And some of the chapters here were quite important. Magha, the path, Noble Eightfold Path, the first chapter. And Bhojanga was quite important. In fact, we spent quite a number of days on Bhojanga. We spent, let me see, one, two, we spent five days. We spent five days on this Bhojanga Samyutta, Factors of Enlightenment. That's a very important topic. The other important topic in this last book was the Satipatthana. We spent three days on the Satipatthana. And then this Satipatthana, the suttas here, if you study the suttas in this Satipatthana Samyutta, you will understand Satipatthana much better than if you study the Satipatthana Sutta itself. Satipatthana Sutta just tells you the objects of meditation, but how to, the meaning of Satipatthana, how to practice Satipatthana is all found in this Satipatthana Samyutta. And the Indriya Samyutta was another important chapter. And then the Anapanasati Samyutta, 54. And the Sotapatti Samyutta, on stream entry. All these were important. So I hope later you will, after we, after our Two ladies here are doing a lot of good work editing our talks. Later we will make into MP3s, probably two MP3s. make it for free distribution. So you can get a copy and then you slowly listen to them again and again. You have to listen many times and then slowly all the pieces fall together, fall into place. Because all these suttas are connected. They're connected. So you have to see it from different suttas, explain it from different angles. And if you can listen to the Dharma talk together with your book, you refer to your book. Anytime you can pause and look at the book and you'll understand better. If there's anything later, if you want to clarify, you can always contact me again. So we stop here for tonight and then we can have some discussion. I'm going to die. When you see the drama, or at least in the drama industry, we tend to let go more and we tend to give up. We should be able to accept the different types of patterns in the media somehow more. But on the other hand, for example, we have the guitar drama. Though we have it, I don't know, but some people say that it's supposed to be a lot of energy that we have, which is probably, probably... We look into the sutras and the Vinaya, we find that the Buddha was very tolerant. And sometimes when certain monks, there were a few monks, what we call in Chinese, huai tan, rotten eggs. And yet the Buddha was quite tolerant of them. And sometimes they step out of line, the Buddha will make a new precept. And they step out of line again, the Buddha makes another new precept. And also, We find that in other suttas and also in the Vinaya, sometimes the Buddha says that when a person misbehaves, if we cannot teach him, sometimes we have compassion on him, hope that he will change himself. So if people listen to the Dhamma, it has some effect. For some people, the effect to change is faster. For some people, it's slower. But usually, the Dhamma has some effect, very good effect on us. So when we live together, sometimes we have to learn to be tolerant. And sometimes we don't look at other people's faults so much. The spiritual path, we learn to look at our faults. And we only do something when the behavior is out of line so much that it adversely affects others. It hinders other people's practice. Then we cannot tolerate. If it is their personal defects, personal shortcomings, we try to ignore because every person, we have good points and bad points. And especially like in a monastery like this. In fact, for most monasteries, most monasteries are short of people. You can ask Beng Chow. Beng Chow has been around a few centers. He says they are always short of people. So because of that, we should be more tolerant. In the Buddha's Vinaya, there is no fixed number of times no fixed number of times and it's only up to the preceptor whether preceptor wants to accept him or not if he can find a preceptor who's willing to accept him and it's okay but in like in Mariana teachings they have a limit seven times or something like that and that is from the external sect In India, because we see in our Vinaya books, the Buddha mentioned the external sects, they have this figure of seven. For example, external sect ascetics, when they go on alms round, they go seven houses. They're not supposed to go more than seven houses. But this is not the Buddhist practice. The Buddha allowed monks to go as many times as they wanted, as they needed. I have one more comment on the area. And for now, uh, uh, uh, we take the, we take the benefit of the sector. Sometimes, uh, we do a renovation of the sector, um, we take the stressors, all of the patterns, It takes what? It takes... Yes, according to the Vinaya, in the Vinaya books we have a list of duties of the student towards his teacher, either his teacher or his preceptor. And that list of duties is very, how do you say, very complete. From the beginning of the day, when the preceptor or the acharya, the teacher, wakes up, the disciples are supposed to get the toothbrush for him, provide the water for him. And then if he wants to take the bath, to prepare the bathroom. If he wants hot water, to prepare hot water. And if he wants a drink, to prepare a drink. And if he wants to wear the robe, go and get the robe for him. And when he goes, or if he wants to go out for alms round, the disciple has to get his robe for him and then carry his bowl. Carry his bowl for him, together with his own bowl. Then when they have reached the town, then the disciple gives the bowl to the teacher. Then after alms round, the disciple will carry his own bowl and the teacher's bowl again. And then he's supposed to rush back to the monastery and then put down the bowl and get the water ready to wash the feet for the teacher when the teacher comes back. And then when the teacher comes back, he'll take off his robe and go and dry it on the string and do everything to serve the teacher. That is the tradition. Only thing is, Some monks, they take the trouble to teach their disciples all this. But some monks are so busy that they don't have time to teach so many things. But sometimes if the disciple, he takes the trouble to study the Vinaya books or the suttas, he should know. But at least, even if it is not so detailed in serving the teacher, he should have the respect, because in the Vinaya books it is stated that if the disciple does not have enough love and respect for the teacher, he should be asked to leave. If he does not carry the bowl of the teacher when he goes on alms round, so he's supposed to leave. So the Buddha was very strict about all these things. In a way it's good because Nowadays, monks do not have enough respect for the teacher. They think, I wear the robe, I am also a monk. You are also a monk. I am a member of the Sangha. I have equal rights. Some people are like that. Sometimes, the teacher cannot do much. He just has to look at the disciple and see the attitude. Attitude is very important. For some people, the attitude is no good. You try to teach them, they won't learn. Then, as I mentioned before, any monk wearing the robe, he should realize kamavipaka, how you treat your teacher and senior monks. Next time, in a few years' time, this kamavipaka will come back to you. You'll get the same treatment. I think that this is the real meaning, the inspiration of Vietnamese. So, can you explain about But then, you know, this is the modern world, so you cannot expect too much in their olden days. Also, it depends on the culture. In Thailand, children have been brought up from very young to bow to their parents, to bow to their teachers, to bow to monks. Last time when I lived in Thailand, we go to the village on alms round. And then these religious, they see us coming from the distance, they quickly tell their children, prak ma liao, prak ma liao. They tell their children, prak is monk, ma liao. Then I asked them to come and wipe up, wipe up, pay respect. And these children are very small, you know, very small children. They encouraged to go and offer food. So that's why I keep my bow strap. You notice my bow strap is very long. You have to bend down to the small girl, offer you food. You have to bend very low, so you have a long strap, easier to bend. So, it's the tradition. Years ago in China, we had that kind of tradition. Now we come to Malaysia, after so many years, we become westernized already. You know, the western attitude, ego is very strong. Individual first. So, it's... Times have changed, so we have to recognize that. You cannot expect what happened 2,500 years ago to practice it now. It's very difficult. I think if you guys, you know, sort of talk about life as a person themselves, how do you read the sutra and apply that in practice? What is the best way for me, Fred, between reading the sutra and practice? Perhaps if you share with us some of the experiences that you've had Reading the original discourses of the Buddha is the first step and you should try to spend much time Studying the suttas again and again. You finish the book, you read it again. You finish the book, you read it again. And as you study the suttas, as you understand the Buddha's teachings, you will slowly put them into practice. You will only practice what you understand. So it's difficult to tell you, you practice this, you practice that. But basically, initially, the precepts are important. Not initially, all the time precepts are important. So the foundation is always the precepts and right view. Right view means understanding of the original discourses of the Buddha. And then when you have time, You meditate, and I always encourage people to meditate early in the morning, the first thing you do when you get up. If you have more time when you get up, you do some reading of the suttas, because when we get up in the morning, we are a bit groggy, a bit sleepy. So when you read the suttas, you're more awake. Then after that, you meditate a bit. So for people like you who are retired, you have more time. So you should spend as much time as you can studying the suttas and meditating. These are the two cornerstones of the spiritual path. Studying the original suttas and meditating as much as you can. And in between that, you have to do your worldly duties. Even when you do your worldly duties, then if you understand the Dhamma, then you always keep the Dhamma in mind. Whatever you do, you are guided by the Dhamma. And you always think of the Dhamma. So the Buddha says that if you constantly think of the Dhamma, you have lofty thoughts, high thoughts. You don't think of base things. that will bring you to a good rebirth. The most important thing now that we have come to the original teachings of the Buddha is to make as much effort to study the sutras or listen to the teachings that have been recorded so that you get the right view. Once you get the right view, you have got the most valuable thing in life that you can get. There's nothing more valuable in life you can get than the right view. Then the sutra, the Buddha said, Even if somebody were to make a bargain with you that you be stabbed 300 times every day for 100 years, it's worth to take up that offer, special offer. So then the Buddha says, but then to get right view, you don't have to suffer so much actually. You just need the sincerity. You know, in this spiritual path, the sincerity, that earnestness is very important. If you are sincere, then you will make the effort. If you are not sincere, half-hearted efforts are not worthwhile, doesn't work out. So, if you are sincere on the spiritual path, you will make enough effort to reap the benefit. Tomorrow I can start on the Majjhima Nikaya, but I'll only be available for a week. And Su Ling has suggested that most of you be interviewed and give your comments, because we are going to make this into a video, part of the video. So you all can think what you want to say, and then after that, Brother Sampanno can record. Any other thing? Some years ago, we learned that human life is very precious and very difficult to get human, to be born as human. We learned that there is a saying in art, someone gave us a voice, a voice gave us to face human nature. I think the devas having psychic power, there are certain things that they know. So they probably know that their karma is good enough. after enjoying their deva or devi lifespan that they will be reborn in the human realm and it appears like some of them can even choose their rebirth where they want to be reborn into which family but i guess not for all of them those with very good karma But some devas, like it was mentioned in one of the suttas, like this, what's his name? Sambara or something. He used to play around with his mantra, I think. And after he died, he was reborn in hell. So that's why, that's why Sutta, if you remember, Sakadeva Raja wanted to learn that mantra. And then Vipacitti told him to wait and consult the other Asuras. And after a few days, he told Sakadeva Raja, I said, I think you better don't learn that mantra, the Sambara after. fooling around with that mantra now is in hell. So nowadays, a lot of people, they like to use mantras. It's very dangerous. Mantras are words of power. I always say in Hokkien. Do you understand? Do you understand the meaning of chow? Mantras apparently came from the devas and it was learned by the brahmins. The early brahmins, they were ascetics and they cultivated until they had psychic power so they could communicate with the devas and probably from there they learned the mantras. And because the mantras were very powerful, they kept it a secret. They refused to divulge it to other castes. But slowly, because of monetary gains, they slowly came out. So other people also practiced it. But it's very dangerous. This world, nothing is free. Make use of certain powers, later you have to pay for it. Mantras are not the Buddha's teaching. The Buddha mentioned in one of our suttas, many lifetimes ago, He learned mantras and he taught mantras. And now in this last lifetime, he teaches the way of wisdom. He doesn't teach the way of mantras. It's not so bad. But then some people, maybe their blessings or their merit is not so great. And they chant mantras, some of them, they get sick. I've come across some people, they tell me, so they stop, they stop. I'm just wondering, as a layperson teaching, what are the ways for people to learn? I think there are a lot of rites or things for certain kind of people. Do you think that, lately, there are many, many, many teachers That is possible, but that is only one way. Another way could be because all around you have these Hindu gods and all that, and teachings, so it has some influence. slowly creeps into Buddhism, like some of the Hindu gods were brought into Buddhism. For example, Guan Yin was this Evelokitesvara. Evelokitesvara, the last word is Isvara. This Isvara means god. In Pali, it's Isara. So Guan Yin was an Indian god. You go to a Hindu temple, you see this goddess with 16 hands. So probably something like that. So when they brought it into Buddhism, it was a male god. So the earliest statues of Guan Yin in China was a male Guan Yin. Then they gave him a sex change operation and then became female. So now we have beautiful Guan Yins. Like this Amitabha Buddha was, according to these Mahayana books that we have seen, was a Persian sun god, Posa Taiyangsen. So because the sun always sets in the west, so they say Amitabha resides in the west. That's why Amitabha, the characteristic has wu liang guang, wu liang shou, limitless life, light and limitless life. That's the characteristic of the sun. The Buddha mentioned in the Vinaya books that first the Buddha did not want to start the nun, the bhikkhuni order. And then he was persuaded by Venerable Ananda, and then also because of his foster mother pleading with him to become a nun, so he started. But after that, the Buddha said, because the nun's order started, that the true Dharma will last for 500 years. He said if not, it was supposed to last for 1000 years. And now it will only last for 500 years. And the reason the Buddha gave was that just like a family, if the family, the house is all men, and then if robbers come, they can fight better with the robbers. But if they have womenfolk in the house, they have to fight with the robbers, but at the same time, they have to worry about their womenfolk. So also, like if a group of caravans, they were traveling over the mountains and were attacked by bandits, if they are all men, it would be easier to defend themselves. If they have women inside the caravan, they have to fight and worry about the women at the same time. So in the same way, once you have nuns, then the monks, In a way, you have to look after the nuns because the nuns cannot live alone. When the nuns live alone, it was the experience that many of them were assaulted and raped and all that. So the Buddha stopped them from going to the forest alone and all that. They're not like monks. Monks can easily go alone into the forest with less worries. So the nuns have to depend on the monks. So the monks, they want to do their practice, they have to teach the nuns again. They have to worry about the nuns and all this. So their practice is not so good. That's one reason. Also, another reason is that why the true Dharma deteriorate. The Buddha said that inside the Sangha itself, foolish men arise. These foolish men, they adulterate the Dhamma by writing new books. So the Buddha warned in the Upamasamyutta, I think 20.7 later, that the monks will not want to listen to the original Buddha's suttas. Instead, they want to listen to the words of disciples. That means later writings. like the Mahayana Sutras, the Abhidhamma, the commentaries, the Visuddhimagga, Jataka stories, all these. These Jataka stories are so childish and yet people think, some people accept them to be true. How can animals talk? It's because of the Jataka stories that they create this concept of parami, that the Buddha cultivated paramis over a long period of time. But this word parami was never mentioned by the Buddha in the original discourses. Buddha doesn't even know the word parami, and the Buddha also never heard of the word parami. So, if you look into the stories about the paramis, how the Buddha cultivated the paramis, some of them contradict the Dhamma. For example, the Vesantara Jataka, The story of how the Buddha, to perfect his giving parami, he gave away his wife and two children to a heartless beggar whom he knew was going to beat them. And then, in spite of knowing that this heartless beggar is going to torture his children and his wife, he gave away the wife and children. This contradicts the Dhamma. The Buddha says a wise person's charity should not harm yourself, should not harm others. So when he gives away his wife to this beggar, he harms them. He harms himself. So, other things like in the Jatakas, they mention that a long time ago, our Bodhisatta was born as a rabbit, and then he saw this hunter hunting the whole day in the forest, could not shoot any animal. So at night the hunter was boiling the water, and he still was very hungry and nothing to eat. And this Bodhisatta, This rabbit, in order to perfect his dana, his charity parami, he jumped into the boiling water, committed suicide for the hunter to eat. This is a very silly story. And then also, like this story of the Bodhisatta, a long time ago, he was born as a human being. One day in the forest, from the top of the hill, he saw this tigress. was hungry. So, because the tigress was so hungry, had no milk to give its cubs. So, the cubs would die. So, this Bodhisatta, he jumped from the top of the hills, committed suicide to feed the tigress. This type of story, people are impressed, but it's really silly stories if you really think about it. And it contradicts the Dhamma that Buddha says that a good man or a wise man's charity must not harm himself or harm others. So okay, we'll stop here for tonight.