Kammatthana Practice Lp Ruesi Ling Dam Vol1

Contents Page 1. Cutting off worry 1 2. Cutting off the hindrances 10 3. Together with truthfulness 16 4. Mindful awareness of the breath 23 5. Piti (rapture) 29 6. The first jhana 35 7. Maintaining jhana 40 8. The heart of practising kammatthana 46 9. Anapanasati in brief 52 10. The perils of sensuality 55 11. The path of the solitary person 59 12. The Noble Truths in brief 67 13. Kayagata (mindfulness of the body) 79 14. Maranassati (recollection of death) 85 15. Anapanasati 92 16. Right concentration, Buddhanussati 98 17. Buddhanussati up to the 8 attainments 105 18. Silanussati in detail 112 19. Buddhanussati as vipassana 123 20. Answering troubling questions 132 21. Admonishing the monks 140 22. Dhammanussati by way of contemplation 148 23. Dhammanussati by way of the [illegible] mental state 154 24. Dhammanussati as vipassana-nana 160 (3)

Page 25. Sanghanussati (recollection of the Sangha) 169 26. Caganussati (recollection of generosity) 176 27. Devatanussati (recollection of the devas) 182 28. Kayagatasati (mindfulness of the body) 189 29. Maranassati (recollection of death) 201 30. Maranassati (continued) 211 31. Upasamanussati (recollection of peace) 221 32. Anapanasati 229 33. New Year blessing 235 34. Anapanasati 243 35. Anapanasati (continued) 249 36. Anapanasati (continued) 257 37. The mental state of concentration 264 38. Asubha kammatthana (meditation on foulness) 270 39. Kasina by way of recitation-meditation 277 40. The 10 kasinas by way of vipassana 283 41. Ahare-patikula-sanna (perception of the loathsomeness of food) 291 42. Catudhatuvavatthana, the 4 elements 298 43. The 4 Brahmaviharas 304 44. Vipassana-nana 309 45. Vipassana-nana (continued) 315 46. The 4 Brahmaviharas guarding virtue 322 47. Shortcomings of practitioners 327 48. Using wisdom to govern virtue and concentration 334 (4)

Cutting Off Worry

On this occasion, all of you members of the Buddhist assembly have together taken the precepts and taken up the practice of kammatthana. Today's practice of kammatthana is not on an even footing, because some are old hands and some are newcomers. Therefore, today I will speak on the preliminary business of kammatthana; at the very end I may speak of the concluding stage. The practice of kammatthana is of 2 kinds: kind 1 is samatha-bhavana (tranquillity meditation), kind 2 is vipassana-bhavana (insight meditation). As for samatha-bhavana, we want one thing only: to maintain mindfulness and clear comprehension until they are complete — what is called the mind having samadhi. As for vipassana-bhavana, it uses wisdom as the instrument of meditation according to the true nature of the five aggregates; that is, striving to accept and honour the law of reality. That is the lesson of vipassana-bhavana.

In the beginning stage of practising kammatthana one must necessarily use samatha-bhavana, that is, controlling the moods of the mind so that they hold steady. If our samatha-bhavana is not stable, we will find that vipassana-bhavana bears no fruit either. If we can hold the mind, hold samatha, hold samadhi firmly, reaching the 4th jhana, then practising vipassana-bhavana is exceedingly easy. As for attaining the paths and fruits, the time can be reckoned according to what the Buddha said: if one's parami (perfections) are mature and strong, one will attain arahatship within 7 days; if one's parami are middling, one will attain arahatship within 7 months; if one's parami are of the very poorest, one will attain arahatship within 7 years.

The word parami here means strength of heart (willpower). If our strength of heart is complete, we are said to have full parami. To use the expression that our parami is weak — that is not true. Originally, before being born, it may have been possible for parami to be weak; but this parami is something we can build anew. If, having been born and having met the Buddha's religion, one still says it is weak, that shows one is far too lazy, not knowing how to control one's strength of heart, letting it drift along according to the condition of the defilements — what fruit will that have? And then to sit grumbling brings no benefit. Other folk can do it and we cannot, and we sit grumbling that we cannot do it — that is because we are simply not good enough. Use strength of heart as the key thing. Remembering the words, the counsel and teaching; having effort and perseverance; having mindfulness and wisdom in control — those are what matter. Practising samatha-bhavana at the start — the start and the finish have the same character, namely:

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First of all, do not take interest in any external concerns whatsoever. The affairs of other folk of every kind — set them aside, we take no interest. Our own affairs likewise. Cut off all worry completely — what is called palibodha (impediments). The Buddha said that first of all one must cut away all worry entirely, keeping one resolve only: fixing the mind to grasp solely the samatha-bhavana object that we want. All other mental objects we do not want at all. It must be done like this for it to bear fruit — not merely going through the motions, merely reciting, merely contemplating; done that way, however much one does, it bears no fruit. Remember well: first of all, cut off all worry — worry outside and worry inside, that is, worry over other people's affairs: children, wife, husband, relatives, brothers and sisters, friends and companions — set them all aside, take no interest. Whatever happens to anyone, let it be; each to his own. When we die, we cannot invite one another to fall into hell or rise to heaven together. This concerns the mental state we use in maintaining the concentrated mind.

And our own worrying moods are the same: whether it lives or dies, let it be. We want one thing only: the purity and firm establishment of the mind. It is not that when some sign or sensation of one kind or another arises in the body we grow suspicious of this and that, afraid it will be like this, afraid it will be like that. With the mind in such a state, one could practise for however many kotis of lifetimes and it would bear no fruit.

Then comes the second point: the Lord, the Perfectly Self-Awakened Buddha, has us keep our virtue pure — whether the five precepts or the eight precepts that we have undertaken; above all, in the first rank, the five precepts are the most important thing. The phrase "I cannot" may not be used; we must always be one who is able in maintaining virtue. To bring up whatever cause as a claim that it was necessary this way or necessary that way — that will not do, because from the standpoint of practising kammatthana one can see no necessity whatsoever that would require breaking the precepts. In this second point the Buddha has us maintain virtue purely, namely:

1. We will not transgress the precepts ourselves, nor destroy the precepts ourselves. 2. We will not incite others to destroy the precepts. 3. We will not rejoice when another person has destroyed the precepts.

This is the great principle. It must be achieved — not heard and then forgotten. One must both do it, and remember it, and accomplish it, for it to bear fruit. And even this much bears fruit only at the level of the outer bark-flakes.

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When virtue has been maintained in purity, then at the same time the mind must still the five hindrances (nivarana). The five hindrances are: desire for beautiful forms, sweet sounds, fragrant scents, delicious tastes, touches according to one's wishes, and the mood of being absorbed in sensuality — that is, taking pleasure in gain, rank, praise, and happiness. Moods of this type must be thrown away; do not take them.

Then, the second point: one must still anger and vindictiveness. The third point: still drowsiness, listlessness and yawning sleepiness. The fourth point: control the strength of the mind so that it thinks only of the one particular object that we want, not letting the mind wander in distraction or be irritated by sounds. The fifth point: have no doubt in the teachings of the Buddha; accept and honour the teachings of the Buddha. This is one principle — and it is not yet the end.

Then, as the next point, the Buddha has us keep the mind dwelling in the 4 Brahmaviharas, that is: radiating metta (loving-kindness) throughout the entire universe. We will not go and be an enemy to anyone; we will be a friend to all beings and persons. Our heart will be refreshed, seeing no one as our enemy. The fruit of metta — the word means love — is that we have love for our fellows in birth, aging, sickness, and death, equally with ourselves.

The second is having karuna (compassion), having pity, wishing others to have happiness. We keep the constant attitude of mind that we want to assist other people and other beings who are suffering, so that they may have happiness according to the ability we can bring to bear. If we cannot advise them ourselves, cannot help them ourselves, then we direct them to go to a person who has the ability, who can help and assist them.

The third is mudita, having a gentle mind — that is, stilling envy and jealousy, cutting it off and throwing it away; when anyone attains something good, we share in gladness at that goodness too.

Fourth is upekkha, equanimity. Whatever workings of the law of kamma arise concerning the body or the community, they are causes we cannot refuse — such as aging, sickness, death, and separation from what is loved and pleasing, and so forth. They are natural things. When they arise for ourselves or for the community, we remain even-minded, regarding it as a normal matter that cannot be avoided.

When all of you possess the virtues as described, namely: 1. Cutting off all palibodha (impediments)

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2. Maintaining pure sila (morality). 3. Suppressing the five nivarana (hindrances) decisively while maintaining samadhi. 4. Being able to maintain the four Brahmavihara.

Thus the Lord Buddha, the Teacher, said: you possess goodness only at the shell (outer bark) of the religion. Measure yourself well; measure your heart well as to whether, at this time, our goodness has yet reached the shell of the religion. This point, this shell-point, is the most important point. You must be very careful; you must keep it steady at all times, especially the maintaining of sila or of the four Brahmavihara. It is not that you maintain them only while formally undertaking kammatthana practice. As for sila, the four Brahmavihara, and the cutting off of palibodha — worry and concern — these must be maintained the full 24 hours. To put it simply, maintain them all your life, every hour, every minute, and every second. The mind must be governed like this. As for the five nivarana, they are ordinary things: now we defeat them, now they defeat us. But keep trying to control them and before long they will become mere underlings for us — that is, we defeat them; that is, we become one who maintains jhana. If you cannot suppress the five nivarana, then samadhi need not even be spoken of; nothing will be of any benefit. We can have samadhi reaching the first jhana because we can suppress the five nivarana. Suppressing them for one day, for one moment, is usable, but still not good. Ideally you must be able to suppress the nivarana all day long — only then is it truly good.

How does one suppress the nivarana? If we delight in beautiful, attractive things, we cultivate asubha-kammatthana (contemplation of foulness) or kayagatanussati (mindfulness of the body).

If we would subdue dosa — that is, anger or vindictiveness — then use the four Brahmavihara, or use the four color kasinas, namely the red kasina, yellow, green, or white, any one of them.

We suppress drowsiness by walking sometimes, changing posture sometimes, opening the eyes wide sometimes, washing the face with water sometimes, rubbing the eyes with the hands sometimes, or tilting the head back to look at the stars sometimes. If the mind's mood is scattered and will not hold steady, count the in-and-out breaths.

If doubt about the teaching of the Lord Buddha arises, we sit and look at ourselves: the Buddha said that once arising has occurred, there is change, and finally there is dissolution. Look at ourselves now, grown as big as father and mother — when newly born, were we this big? Go back 10 years, 20 years — were we as old as this? With just this much we will know that the Buddha

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preached rightly. And have we ever seen people who were born and then died? Animals and people are alike. If this is true, we can stop doubting: the Buddha taught truly. This is the great principle in cultivating vipassana-bhavana, and samatha-bhavana as well.

All these principles none of you in the whole Buddhist assembly can avoid; not a single item may be excused or omitted. This is speaking of when we mean to attain something good. If we do not aim for the good, that is all right — but then do not come and sit complaining that you have practiced kammatthana for a full three years, four years, five years with nothing to show for it. The reason there is no result is that we cannot cut off worry, cannot keep sila pure, cannot suppress all five nivarana, cannot maintain the four Brahmavihara. As for those who practice and before long reach this or that attainment, it is because these four virtues are complete in them at all times.

And please do not claim it is because their parami (accumulated perfections) is great. One should rather say their strength of heart is good, that they are diligent and persevering. A person who claims their parami is insufficient thereby shows they are very lazy and their strength of heart is poor. There is nothing to it: parami is something that can be built anew; it does not always have to be something built in previous lives. Otherwise no one would ever attain the paths and fruits.

In practicing kammatthana, as the very first step before meditating, the Lord Buddha taught us to contemplate — to take it simply — death first. We keep in mind always that we must certainly die; this life is not ours, this body is not ours, because there is birth, aging, sickness, and then death all the same. The word 'aging' here does not mean decrepit old age; it need not always be decrepitude. Once we have been born, as a day passes, as one minute or two minutes move by, it grows older every moment. At first it is soft and limp; then it grows bigger all the time — this movement toward growth they call 'growing older.' Once past the age of twenty-five, it now ages downward, it bends down — all of that is aging. The Buddha's word 'old' does not mean one must always lean on a staff. Born only two or three days, one is already called old — here arising has occurred, and change appears, that is, aging appears; in the end it dies.

Now, as for our body: we do not want aging, we do not want sickness, we do not want hardship, we do not want death — but we certainly must die. Whatever we do, we cannot avoid death. Think always: we will certainly die. And when will we die? Think: here we breathe in —

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if we do not breathe out, it dies; having breathed out, if we do not breathe in, it dies. When are we going to wait around to die? We must always keep in mind that death is with us at every mind-moment; we must be one who is not heedless.

On this matter the Lord, Refuge of the World, asked Phra Ananda: 'Anantha — behold, Ananda — how many times a day do you think of death?' Phra Ananda replied: 'I think of death seven times a day, Lord.' The Buddha said: 'Anantha — behold, Ananda — that is still too far apart. The Tathagata himself thinks of death with every in-and-out breath.' Here we take the Buddha as our model. Death must be thought of at every moment: we might die at this very time — and are we ready yet? Ready to die, or not yet? When we are ready to die, have we chosen the way we will go? Before dying — we have met Buddhism, so we ought to have chosen where to go already, if we are people with strength of heart, not lazy, with a firm state of mind, because whatever happens it must die. Before dying: the body is like a rented house; when the time comes to be evicted, we must go. But before going we should find a house first. Will we go find a hut, or a house the same as before, or a better house? Or will we go take up the station of a great millionaire? For that we must accumulate the goods to bring in for the sake of the greater benefit. If we mean to go badly, never mind — one can be as bad as one pleases.

If we would go better than before, we must choose the way to go. As for going better than before: dana and sila I will not discuss, because they are already normal; we will speak only of the time of meditation. This is the criterion of meditation: if we meditate, in samatha-bhavana or vipassana-bhavana, and the mind rests in the state of khanika-samadhi (momentary concentration), maintaining the concentrated mood a little, as is fitting, not very long, then the mind leaps off over there, leaps over here, flitting away to other objects; as soon as we catch it, as soon as we are aware, we pull it back in again, meditating or catching the in-and-out breath; a moment later it leaps away again; we do not give in — as soon as we are aware we pull it back — playing tug-of-war like this, pulling back and forth: this they call khanika-samadhi. But this khanika-samadhi, if it can hold — pulling back and forth like this — then when you die you go to be born in the Tavatimsa heaven in comfort. This is called preparing to find a new house, knowing the qualities we shall obtain from meditation.

If the mind has higher power — there is rapture and fullness, there is refreshment, concentration holds better, there is greater ease of heart, greater brightness of mind — this they call upacara-samadhi. Now, even though the heart may be bright, refreshed, and full of rapture, it still jumps as well; the mind still jumps — it is not

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that it does not jump: it runs off over there and over here; when we catch it we pull it in, and once pulled in it holds steady, with refreshment, ease of heart, cheerfulness and delight, ready to practice kammatthana at all times; and concentration holds well. But even this is not certain: good today, tomorrow it may not be good. This is called upacara-samadhi. If you can maintain it like this, then when you die you go to be born as a deva of the Yama level. Set your intention well — whichever level you want, you can take it.

Now, if we maintain jhana — maintaining the beginning jhana, above all the first jhana (pathama-jhana); today I will speak only of the first jhana; in speaking, the time has already run on. As for knowing whether our mind has reached the first jhana or not: reaching the first jhana may not last long — some two or three minutes and it slips from jhana; that is, the mood slips back into the ordinary state that we call bhavanga. The term bhavanga — try to use it correctly. Bhavanga does not mean being sound asleep, nor does it mean losing awareness of oneself. Bhavanga means the normal mood, having awareness and existing according to its original condition — that is called bhavanga. You have heard this often, but it is used incorrectly. Better not to use it at all — Pali, if you cannot use it properly, will spoil the matter; people who know will laugh at you.

If the mind is about to enter the first jhana, observe like this: when the mind enters the first jhana, we defeat the nivarana; the five nivarana are stilled and the mind enters the first jhana at once. Or, whether we are reciting our meditation or contemplating, the ear hears outside sounds clearly and distinctly, but our heart can still work as normal, does not go struggling after the sound, is not annoyed by the sound — this is called the first jhana. The first jhana also has coarse and refined grades; to explain them — the time is already up. We maintain the coarse first jhana: in a day we get two minutes, three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes — call it 'so be it'; there is no need to go setting a timer for the whole day. When it does not reach the first jhana, the mind still enters a little samadhi; when the mind settles well it enters the first jhana, perhaps sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, pulling back and forth. This is called the coarse first jhana; after death one goes to be born as a Brahma of the first level.

If, with a refreshed mood, one can hold longer than that — half an hour or one hour — this is a Brahma of the second level. If one maintains this condition well, one can set the time outright: say we will sit for about two hours — enter the first jhana and hold it straight through; at the two-hour mark the mind cuts off at once. This is the refined first jhana, a Brahma of the third level. Each level of jhana is a step higher and higher. Here we can choose our own place before we die. Before we die we must choose — what will we take?

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If we resolve that we will have none of it — that birth as a human, as a deva, or as a Brahma is no good — we want to go to Nibbana, not wishing to be born again: make the heart at ease by the power of jhana, and turn back to contemplate that this body is not us and not ours; it is merely the four elements come together as a temporary body; before long it collapses; it degenerates all the time. Whatever bears the name of the five khandhas, we do not want it any more; this life is the final life of birth for us. Love of forms, sounds, smells, tastes — of what use is it? When our own body is no good, how would the bodies of other folk anywhere be good? Our body is filthy; their bodies are filthy too. Since what we want is cleanliness, why would we take another person's body — it is filthy; and it has no stability, dissolving away in the end.

When we contemplate that our body is no good, that it no longer holds steady, that it must collapse, then love by the power of tanha (craving) lessens; quite possibly it is finished entirely — this is where they cut it. Greed (lobha): why scramble and claw — for what benefit? Making a living by samma-ajiva, making a living by right livelihood, the Buddha never called greed. This word greed means one must cheat others, snatch and wrestle things from others, destroy others' useful possessions to ruin — that is, obtaining things by dishonest means. That is called greed. If we trade in the ordinary way, farm fields and paddies, serve in government, work as employees receiving salary and wages according to our ability, this is not greed. However large a salary we receive, however much profit we make in trade, it is still not called greed — except passing off bad goods as good goods: that, indeed, is greed, cheating them. Now, if we must die, why would we cheat them — for what benefit? Make a living by right livelihood. When we die it does not go with us; the heart is at ease; greed can be cut off.

Now anger — wanting to kill someone: we must die, and he must die just the same. Why go and kill him? There is no need to kill; he will die by himself.

Now delusion — 'that is mine, this is mine' — just sit and look: even our own body is not ours, because our body still collapses; then will other people's bodies, other objects, be ours? The wealth of the world is useful only while there is a body. Once the body has dissolved, none of the wealth of the world is of any use at all. Why should we be infatuated, dreaming that that is us, that it is ours — for what benefit? There is none; it is not us and not ours. Cut the body away entirely by strength of mind

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It is not to be clung to, because this body is a fault, it is suffering, of no benefit. Known as the five khandhas — a body such as this will no longer be ours. Make the mind at ease, and it will be at peace, accepting and respecting the law of nature. When old age appears, be at ease, knowing it will age. When sickness appears, be at ease, knowing that once born, one must fall ill. When death appears, or separation from what is loved and cherished appears, there is no crying over it, no regret, because it is natural. If your mind accepts and respects the law of nature in this way, this is called an Arahant. In this way one can go to Nibbana, and has the greatest happiness of all.

Well then, fellow Buddhist followers, the two periods of time set aside are now both finished. From this point on, I ask everyone, first of all, to take hold of the in-and-out breath. When breathing in, know that you are breathing in; when breathing out, know that you are breathing out. When breathing in, think "Phut"; when breathing out, think "Tho" [together forming "Buddho"], until you hear the signal announcing that the time is up.

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2. Cutting Off the Hindrances

Tonight's explanation of the meditation practice continues from last night. Last night we emphasized that the key points for developing the meditation practice well are:

1. Cut off all concerns completely. What is called external concern refers to other people besides ourselves, or to objects. Internal concern refers to our own body. Cut it away entirely — consider that this burden we no longer have. We have only one single thing left: to control the mind so it rests in concentration (samadhi), or to use wisdom to examine and confirm knowledge according to the truth.

2. We are one whose precepts are pure. 3. Suppress the five hindrances (nivarana), and 4. Maintain the four Brahmavihara (divine abodes of mind).

This is the major principle for controlling the power of the mind. If we are unable to control the power of mind according to this, the development of the meditation practice bears no fruit. These four rules — I ask every one of you Buddhist followers — must be kept without fail, must be maintained without fail; it must not be done merely for form's sake. If these four rules dwell constantly in the mind of every one of you Buddhist followers, at every mind-moment, until it becomes one-pointedness (ekaggatarammana) — that is, a settled mental state — then it can be said that concern is absent, precepts are pure, the five hindrances are suppressed as fully as we wish, and the mind maintains the four Brahmavihara throughout the day. Even so, the Buddha said this only reaches the outer shell of the goodness of the Buddhist religion — this that we have attained is only the shell, these four things.

Now, as for maintaining goodness at the level of the shell — today I will continue on this. Maintaining goodness at the level of the shell, in truth, this shell-level is the four jhanas. If we cannot maintain the four jhanas, we have not yet even reached the shell, except for this one case: if our mind has reached the first jhana, it can then maintain vipassana-insight — this is reaching the core. Even if the mental state does not reach the fourth jhana, but is only the first jhana, if the mind can maintain vipassana-insight and cut off the fetters (samyojana) from the third fetter upward, this is called reaching the core, being the essence, being the supreme core that the Buddha intended.

To be able to maintain such a state of mind, we will not speak further of precepts or other such matters. First of all, we need to maintain samatha-bhavana (calm-meditation). Samatha-bhavana means: a technique that serves as an instrument for calming the mind; it is an important force

...great force for the practitioner who seeks goodness. If our mind is not calm, then worry will arise, precepts will not hold steady, and maintaining the four Brahmavihara will not go according to intention; developing vipassana-insight will bear no fruit either. This calm is therefore what sustains precepts, concentration, and wisdom together — it is very important, and is reckoned a great force.

As for how we go about calming the mind — we must look into the face of the hindrances (nivarana). We now study the topic of the hindrances. If our mental state is one that delights in beautiful forms, delicious tastes, fragrant smells, or pleasant sounds, and so on — this is called delighting in beauty and attractiveness, let us say. Beautiful things, beautiful people, beautiful animals — all included. That is, we are caught up in beauty; whether we ourselves are beautiful or others are beautiful, it is the same thing. In sum, the mind delights in beauty and attractiveness. The Buddha had us suppress this state with mindfulness of the body (kayagatasati) and the foulness meditation (asubha-kammatthana); the correct object of meditation must be used. This is what we mean by the hindrances. If we can subdue the hindrances, the mind can attain the first jhana. Developing the meditation practice does not require using only one method at all times and in all seasons — it should follow whatever mental state arises. But there are specific methods that are used for this purpose; I will explain them shortly.

When the mind develops love of beauty and attractiveness, one should use contemplation on the foulness meditation (asubha) as the key method. Asubha means not beautiful, not attractive. The Buddha had us look according to the truth: this thing we see as beautiful — is it truly beautiful, or how is it really? If we see a beautiful person — if a beautiful person is truly beautiful, they must not be dirty. If they become dirty, then however one tries to make it beautiful, it will not work. Whether it is a person or an animal that we see as beautiful, we should look and seek the truth. If it were truly beautiful, truly good, truly clean, then there would be no need to bathe, no need to cleanse the body — leave it as it is and the body would maintain its goodness at all times. Now, whether person or animal, the ones we call beautiful — do they need to cleanse the body or not? This is looking at it superficially, in a way we can see easily. Now then, suppose one were not to bathe for as long as 7 days — one could not bear it, the person themself could not bear it. It would become crusted with sweat and grime, full of filth — where then is the beauty in this? This is the mind deceiving itself, taking something not good and claiming it is good. This is what leads down to hell — this is why beings must keep circling through death and rebirth in the cycle (vatta), sometimes as a deva, sometimes as a Brahma, sometimes as a human, sometimes as an animal, sometimes as a hell-being, sometimes as a hungry ghost (peta), sometimes as an asura — spinning round and round like this, all because of the foolishness of the mind that takes something bad and calls it good.

Now let us look further still. Both humans and animals — cut through the surface to reach the flesh beneath: if we peel off the outer skin entirely, what condition would remain? The things we think are beautiful, the things we think are good — these are stuck only at the skin

...only this thin outer skin. If we peel further in, we will meet blood, and lymph and pus appearing within. Beyond the flesh lies the bony skeleton; what remains is liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs, new food and old food, all sorts of machinery within. It is entirely full of filth. This is called using mindfulness of the body (kayagatasati) and the foulness meditation (asubha-kammatthana) together. This is finding this point in order to find the truth. In developing this meditation practice we are searching, seeking to find the truth. Now try thinking: if the state of things is really like that, then the truth is that it is like that — is the body dirty, or is it clean?

If we are unable to see inside, and the mind is obstructed, then let us look instead at what flows out from within. As for the saliva we hold in our mouth — once we spit it out, can we pick it up again? While saliva is in the mouth we are able to swallow it; but once we have spat it out, can we swallow it again? Well — suppose we do not swallow it — can we take it back into our mouth and hold it there? If we do not hold it in the mouth, can we touch it with our hand and smear it on our own face? We would say it is dirty. And this dirty matter — where is it? It is inside our own body, is it not? Feces and urine are the same. We find them disgusting, calling them dirty — but where do they come from? Feces come from food that we ourselves have chosen with care — this food is good, this food is delicious, this food is clean enough to eat. If it were dirty we would not eat it. We think it is clean, but in truth it is dirty; once eaten — chosen with every care — once it becomes waste and is excreted, can we pick it up with our hand? It came out of our own body, did it not? This is speaking of the body. Speaking of what is dirty could go on for ten days and never finish. Let us contemplate only this much — use wisdom to contemplate and find the truth, cutting off the feeling in the phrase "seeing as beautiful, attractive, clean and tidy" according to how we wish it to be.

If we speak of material objects — we see something as beautiful — we must look: this object that is new now, can it become old? Before it becomes old, if we leave it with nothing covering it, without ever polishing its surface, within just a few days dust will come to settle on it, and tarnish will arise. This arises from external conditions coming to interfere with it. But even if external conditions do not interfere with it, if left alone for a long time, tarnish will arise by itself, because it is old, it deteriorates, and in the end it disintegrates. Now if we use wisdom to contemplate in this way as a regular practice, the mental state of loving beauty and attractiveness will subside. The striving after beauty and attractiveness will come to an end. If this striving comes to an end in this way, it is said that we have conquered the first hindrance. We are about to step into the first jhana, which is the milestone for developing vipassana-insight so as to attain the status of a noble one (ariya).

The second hindrance is dosa — anger, or ill-will, the thought of wishing harm on others that arises in the mind. The Lord of the Three Worlds, the Great Teacher, taught that we should use loving-kindness (metta) together with compassion (karuna), both of these, to strike it down and destroy it. Metta is love; karuna is compassion. We should think that others and ourselves share the very same condition — birth, old age, sickness, death — we suffer just the same. If another does something wrong, we should reflect in our own mind that every person, in everything they have done — whether speaking or acting — thought it was good, and so did it. If they had known it was bad, that it would cause trouble, they would not have done it. But why then do they still do evil? This is because an unwholesome state of mind — an unwholesome mind, that is, badness — has come to possess the heart, much like being possessed by a ghost. It steeps the mind in delusion, making one believe that badness is goodness. A person possessed by a ghost, or by defilements possessing them in this way, deserves to be forgiven for it. Seeing them do wrong that does not break rules or discipline, it may be said that we can forgive them on a personal level. But if it breaks the law, breaks discipline, breaks the rules, then this must be punished according to the discipline, according to the rules — it is not to be treated as a personal matter, because all rules and discipline are laid down in order to make people do good. If someone violates them, that shows wrongdoing; if we do not punish it, that shows we are letting that person remain wicked forever. This would not be called having a mind of loving-kindness and compassion. People who love one another and feel compassion for one another must be careful to guard against letting anyone become wicked, become bad. Punishing according to the rules and the discipline is considered an act of loving mercy, meant to prevent them from doing evil. When we already have love and compassion, then anger, ill-will, and the thought of doing harm simply cannot exist.

If this kind of loving, compassionate state of mind is one we cannot hold steady, our Great Teacher has another method to recommend: to use one of the four kasinas — that is, the color kasinas (vannakasina): the red kasina, the yellow, the white, the green — take up whichever one and hold it as the object of meditation, letting the mind rest fixed in that kasina image; this too is able to destroy an aversion-type (dosa-carita) temperament. When our mind has destroyed the aversion temperament, there will be only a cool, tranquil state of mind, because aversion is a hot, agitated state. If we can destroy it, there will be only coolness; the mind will have happiness, and will be able to maintain concentration for a long time. This means we are already very close to reaching Nibbana in full, even just from developing samatha-bhavana [calm meditation].

The third hindrance is drowsiness and sleepiness. This one is not hard to remedy: open the eyes wide, rub the eyes with the hand, wash the face with water, look up at the stars, walk back and forth — this follows the method that the Buddha—

...taught to Phra Maha Moggallana, because Phra Maha Moggallana, while practicing with the Buddha, kept sitting there falling asleep, dozing off. The Buddha instructed him to practice as follows. So if this kind of state arises, this is how it is remedied.

The fourth hindrance is uddhacca-kukkucca — restlessness, distraction, and irritation. The Victor over Mara, the Great Teacher, taught that specifically the mindfulness-of-breathing meditation (anapanasati) should be used, with no need to recite any formula at all. If one insists on reciting or contemplating while the mind is already scattered, it will only help it scatter all the more. He taught us to note the in-breath and the out-breath: when breathing in, know that one is breathing in; when breathing out, know that one is breathing out — just this much. Take hold only of the in-breath and out-breath. If holding on like this it still does not settle, then — very well, do not simply leave it at that; also bring in a counting device. This device is not a mental image. One in-breath and one out-breath together count as 1; continuing, the next in-breath and out-breath count as 2, forming the second pair; the third pair, the fourth pair, up through the tenth pair. Set the rule that from 1 to 10, we will not allow the mind to think of anything else. We will hold only to the in-breath and out-breath, nothing more; and there is no need to do more than that — just up to 10 and then stop. If the mind is still scattered — because at times even the counting itself does not stay steady — it thrashes about, refusing to settle. For this, the Buddha's teaching says: if it thrashes about and refuses to settle, then let it go. If we do not let it go, there is one further method: that is, to let it think according to its own inclination — whatever it wishes to think, let it think as it pleases — while still keeping hold of the power of mind. Whenever it stops thinking, at that very moment we will attain concentration. If we let the mind think in this way, it will not be long — about 4 minutes, 10 minutes, no more than 20 minutes at the very slowest — before the mental state grows weary and stops thinking. As soon as it stops thinking, we then take hold of the breath in and out once more; at that point the mental state will be drawn straight into jhana, and will then be able to maintain concentration for a long time. This is the method for suppressing the hindrances — suppressing them little by little.

The fifth hindrance is doubt regarding the teachings of the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha. This matter, I think, needs no explanation — if one still had doubt, what would one be doing sitting here at all? Would it not be better to go home and sleep? This point needs no explanation, because everyone who has come to sit here shows by that very fact that there is no doubt. Let us drop this and move along.

Now then — as for these five hindrances, if we are able to suppress them by this method, at first the suppression will not last long — perhaps 2 minutes, 3 minutes, 4 minutes, 5 minutes, or at most about 10 minutes. If [these] 10...

The minute [of holding it] has passed and the mental state will start to wander. We catch and pull it back in again — wherever it goes, let it go; when it slips away, let it go too. This mind of ours has been wandering for hundreds of thousands of aeons; now and then we come and catch it to make it still. Held quietly, it cannot stay long. We reckon that if we can sustain the mind, we can sustain it for a while; as soon as it goes we know it has gone — it doesn't take long — then we pull it back in, hold its object for a moment, and it slips out again. Even so, this is still better than the original condition where it did not even know it was wandering off. This shows our mind has begun to have concentration. His Holiness the Jeweled Lamp [an epithet of the Buddha] said: the state that appears like this is called khanika samadhi — that is, sometimes able to hold, sometimes not, pulled back and forth; we catch and sustain it for a moment and it pulls away again, pulls away and goes off thinking pleasantly of this and that; then when we come to our senses — oh, it has gone scattering off again! — and we pull it back in once more. This is what His Holiness the Lord of the Three Worlds calls khanika samadhi.

Khanika samadhi means 'minor concentration.' Concerning sustaining it, His Holiness the Great Teacher said: one who has attained khanika samadhi can, in a given day, hold the mind calm for only a single mind-moment. The Buddha said: we call such a person one never apart from jhana. Whoever can keep the khanika samadhi they have attained, when they die they go comfortably to the Tavatimsa heaven. We can go to heaven, and we can also walk among humans. Even though it is said that going to heaven cannot compare with going to the Brahma realm, and the Brahma realm cannot compare with Nibbana, still, for the first step, let us hold on to heaven first — call that already a great gain, a goodness, a happiness; after that we advance further toward the state of Brahma or Nibbana.

Well then, as for the time left to speak, it has run on quite a while already, since the signal announcing time is up has now appeared. From here on, may all you Buddhist devotees try to keep the body upright and the mind firmly established. For those newly practising the meditation exercise — whether new or old — try to hold the breath, aware of it going in and out. If we wish to recite, recite as we are inclined; or if we wish to contemplate something, we may do so as we are inclined, until we hear the signal that time is up.

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3. Ready with Sacca

On this occasion, all you Buddhist devotees have together undertaken the uposatha precepts and undertaken the meditation exercise. May all you Buddhist devotees hold the whole of this undertaking as the very heart of the practice.

Having undertaken the precepts, intend firmly to keep them pure — do not merely go through the motion of undertaking them. And keeping the precepts pure is not only for this present occasion; count it that from the first time in our life we undertook the precepts, we must keep them continuously until the day we die — only then can it be called valid. This applies equally to monks and novices. Being one who upholds pure precepts is naturally a cause that cuts off trouble. When we have pure precepts and habitually keep the precepts in mind, the Buddha calls this one who cultivates sīlānussati [recollection of virtue] as a meditation subject. This is one goodness that will bring us, at the very least, to the sensuous heavens, or else to the Brahma realm; and if the precepts are truly pure, we can go to Nibbana — if we have understanding of the precepts.

Second: when we undertake the meditation exercise we recite — imāhaṃ bhagavā attabhāvaṃ tumhākaṃ paricajjāmi — which translates in meaning as: 'I offer my body, I dedicate my life, to the Lord, the Perfectly Self-Awakened Buddha.' This phrase is the most important of all; let us be one who does not forget it. If we do not forget this phrase and intend to practise according to it, then we may be said to be one for whom taking up goodness is not difficult.

The phrase 'offer the body, dedicate the life to the Lord, the Perfectly Self-Awakened Buddha' means that we will practise according to everything He taught.

What did the Buddha teach?

The Buddha said: strive to abandon evil, practise good, and purify the mind. Abandoning evil means not transgressing the Five Precepts or the Eight Precepts. Practising good means conducting oneself according to the sense of the precepts already mentioned — not transgressing, and then following the precepts. Purifying the mind means calming the mind from passion, greed, anger, and delusion. Why did the Buddha teach us in that way? 16

That is because He knew well that —

— This physical body is not us, is not ours; we are not in the body, and the body is not in us.

— The body is merely the four elements — the water element, the earth element, the wind element, the fire element — combined into a temporary dwelling-frame.

— And once it has come into being at the start, it deteriorates moment by moment, and in the end it disintegrates — what we call dying.

— If the body truly were us, truly were ours, then it must not age, must not fall sick, and must not die. We do not want it to be so, but when the moment comes it takes on that condition anyway. Therefore the Buddha said: it is not us, it is not ours.

— Now then, who is this "us"?

The word "us" means the mind that dwells within the body. The body's condition is like a rented house, temporary; when the term of the lease is up, [the owner] evicts us, and this house collapses — it was only ever a temporary house. This kind of collapsing, in ordinary people's language, is called dying.

— This death has no omen, no sign, no fixed time. It is not that once we are born we must live out a full lifespan of 75 years or 100 years before we die — it is not like that at all. It can die at any time. Plenty of people born after us have died before our eyes; many people born at the same time as us have also died before our eyes; and there are people born before us who have died [later] too. This is why death is called the constant, and life is called the inconstant.

Therefore, may all you Buddhist devotees not be intoxicated with life, not be intoxicated with the body. In coming to practise according to the Dhamma teaching, we want to attain goodness together — so keep always in mind:

"We are certain to die" — hold this thought. And then do not become infatuated with beauty and loveliness. 17

Do not become infatuated with the plumpness of the body. Do not become infatuated with the radiance of the complexion. Reflect and see according to the truth that —

Our body is full of filth; it has excrement, rotten discharge, blood, lymph, and pus inside it. The only thing that hides this from our eyes is a thin sheet of skin. A person who is scalded by hot water, or burned by fire so that the skin peels away raw, would then let us see no beauty at all in that person's body.

The persistence of the body is never certain; it grows older every day, it deteriorates every day, and in the end it dies. What is there to hope for from it? Only foolishness clings to the delusion that the body still holds together, that it will not die. This intoxication with the body is a cause giving rise to, a cause bringing about, suffering.

Therefore, if we are to be without this intoxication with the body, at the outset we should think that we must always be on the verge of death. Think in the manner of the noble ones — they think:

"Waking this morning, whether we shall get to eat breakfast or not, we do not know. Having eaten breakfast, whether we shall get to eat lunch or not is not certain — we may die before then. Having eaten lunch, whether we shall get to eat dinner or not is not certain. Having eaten dinner, we cannot even be certain we shall see the sun again on the next day."

Now, a person who keeps death in mind like this must choose how to act — as to where we will go at the time we die. Will we go to hell, or become a hungry ghost, an asura-body being, or an animal? Will we be born as a human — a fine person or a base person? Or will we be born as a deva, be born as a Brahma, go to Nibbana free of all suffering? This is ours to choose.

If we want to be a hell-being, a hungry ghost, an asura-body, an animal, then we need not respect the Five Precepts or the Eight Precepts — we destroy them entirely, and then we can go to hell quite comfortably. That is the choice.

If we want to be born human — and if a fine kind of human — then we must be one with pure precepts. Once our precepts are pure, we then give alms and make donations, and cultivate meditation habitually; when we are then born [as human], we will have a form... 18

...a handsome face, wealth not lost to robbery, theft, fire, storm, or flood; people under one's authority; a husband or wife, sons and daughters; even one's servants are compliant and easy to instruct, staying within one's guidance; whatever one says to anyone becomes an authoritative word that people accept and are glad to hear; and one is never without mindfulness and clear awareness; one's wealth is complete and abundant in every respect. This is what happens if we want to be born a fine kind of human being.

But if we see that the state of being human cannot escape old age, cannot escape death, we may instead go and rest in goodness, escape suffering, at just the level of a deva. As for resting from suffering at the deva level, it is said: if our precepts are pure, we give alms habitually, we cultivate meditation regularly — this cultivation of meditation is what draws the mind upward, keeps us from forgetting goodness, brings our mind into khanika samadhi or upacara samadhi — then we can become a deva. If we practise in the ordinary way, we have hiri and ottappa, that is, shame at evil and fear of evil; we do not do evil either in private or in public; we do not consent to transgress the precepts either in private or in public. Whatever mental state tends toward greed, anger, or delusion will not arise in the mind, because such a state is a state of evil — called evil arising in private, which others cannot see but we ourselves see. When we can restrain such states habitually, then when we die we are born as a deva.

If we want to be born as a Brahma, then we cultivate concentration of mind until we attain jhana-samapatti; in this way we are born as a Brahma.

If we want Nibbana, then we set down the five khandhas — that is, the body — seeing that this body is not us, is not ours; we are not in the body, the body is not in us — until we no longer cling to the body, or to external possessions, as being us or ours. We regard everything as [subject to] ordinary law. We see the whole world as suffering; we no longer wish for further birth; the heart is refreshed, the mood is joyful, the mind fixes exclusively on Nibbana as its object. In this way we reach Nibbana. This has been said in brief.

Let us set our intention especially on this: we have already been born as a human; if we should fall back down into hell again, that would feel utterly wretched — instead of practising well we would revert to practising badly; having already become bright, we would turn dark again, and that would serve no purpose. This has been speaking of the meaning of why we must cultivate goodness in the position of being human. From here on, we will speak of the practice of sustaining concentration so that it is of benefit. 19

Cultivating goodness in the Buddha's teaching, we must always sustain the mental state of one who is victorious, not make ourselves a defeated person. We must have sacca, truthfulness; viriya, diligent effort; sati, the ability to call things to mind and recollect; paññā as the instrument for considering what is good, what is evil, what is proper, what is improper; khanti, patient endurance, as a constant quality of mind; and adhiṭṭhāna, sustaining the firm intention that 'we will do good.' All of these things we cannot discard; we must keep them constantly.

For all of us to practise toward goodness, the very first step must be to bring the mind into concentration. This concentration is extremely important — it is the great strength.

The first level of concentration I will tell you to attend to is this: noting the in-breath and out-breath. This is a very important factor; this meditation subject is a major meditation subject. And it is further recommended: when breathing in, think 'Bud'; when breathing out, think 'dho.' This matters. The word 'Buddho' is the Name expressing the goodness of the Buddha; it is said that we hold on to the Buddha by sustaining mindfulness and clear awareness together with it. This is the fresh goodness by which we can overcome the evil of the mind — why is that? The most important point is the mind's tendency to dart and scatter. As for this scattering of the mind, if we understand it, there is really nothing to be burdened about. If the mind is scattering, the Lord, the Perfectly Self-Awakened Buddha, has us take up only the ānāpānasati meditation subject — that is, the in-breath and out-breath — noting continually: 'this is our in-breath, this is our out-breath,' being aware of it constantly, restraining the mind. If it is truly going to scatter, it cannot be restrained for long. We fix the mind, saying: for this period of 5 minutes or 10 minutes, we will not allow our mental state to go to any other object; we will be aware only of the breath in and out, or of the recitation-word — when breathing in think 'Bud,' when breathing out think 'dho' — holding it at this point for a short period; once 5 minutes, 10 minutes is reached, we stop, we let it rest, because ordinarily our mind has had the nature of wandering for a very long time already, for many hundreds of thousands of aeons; to suddenly force it to stay under one single power for a long, long time is simply not possible. When the mood becomes comfortable, with a feeling of ease and clarity, we begin again. This kind of practice can be done by day or by night — any time will do. Whether sitting cross-legged, sitting with legs folded to the side, sitting with legs hanging down, lying on the left side, lying on the right side, lying face-up, sitting in a chair, walking back and forth, or standing — all of it can be done. That is, it is not necessary that it be done only by coming to sit together in formal meditation. If we think that we will let our mind hold mindfulness and clear awareness, noting the breath in and out and the recitation-word, only during this one particular time, once a day, that shows that we are still far from... 20

There is much goodness in this; do not let yourself be defeated by the mood of evil — we must be the one who wins. If we cannot win in a single day, then we win in stretches, though not the whole day through. Not long after, the mind grows accustomed to it. When the practice truly succeeds, it is, at one point, a measure of our own mind — it may serve as insight-knowledge (vipassana-nana) too. For those who are already experienced practitioners, we already know what is calm (samatha) and what is insight (vipassana), and which of the forty kammatthana subjects, or which subject of the Mahasatipatthana, we are drawn to. If we are content, we may go ahead and do it. But first — never forget to establish awareness of the in-and-out breath beforehand. Whether one is a new practitioner or an old one, if we intend to be one who habitually sustains jhana every day, then each day we should be one who is never without jhana. However it may be, we must manage to sustain jhana, both in the early evening and at dawn — meaning, even if the time is short.

In the early evening, make the mind at ease: chant, recite the blessings, undertake the meditation subject, do the meditation together with friends, then return to where you are staying, and go to sleep. As you lie down to sleep, hold fast to the mood of the Buddha. Resolve firmly that we want Nibbana — do not let go of this mood; keep thinking always that we want Nibbana. Remember this well. If we want Nibbana, what do we do? We must cling to the Lord Buddha, the Fully Self-Enlightened One — that is, the recitation word 'Buddho' — because the Buddha himself dwells in this Nibbana. If we truly wish to go to Nibbana, we reflect on the goodness of the Buddha. When the mind clings to the Buddha, where can it go? Even in death, it follows the Buddha.

As you lie down, recite: hold the in-and-out breath, recite 'Buddho', keep reciting until you fall asleep. If at first it does not bring sleep and becomes irritating, you may stop for now — lie down, and let yourself fall asleep afterward. If the mood grows accustomed through continued recitation, before long you will sleep. Or sometimes it becomes fluent — you say 'Bud' and before you can say 'dho' you are already asleep; let it happen, do not resist, because this is what we want — to fall asleep. And understand this well: if the mind has not reached the first jhana, it will not be able to fall asleep — it will only grow irritated instead.

If you recite until you fall asleep together with the recitation word, not even aware of where sleep overtook you — that is exactly the mind reaching the first jhana, the first level of absorption. We become a Brahma at ease. And throughout the whole period of sleep, it is held to be sleep within a state of samadhi. If, by chance, something should happen and we die during that sleep, we would go to be a Brahma instantly.

But if you wake and there is no urgent task requiring you to rise, then remain lying as you are, holding the in-and-out breath together with the recitation, keeping the mind at ease. However much moisture (freshness of contentment) your mind has, the time...

However long the mind can hold steady at dawn, that whole day will be nothing but happiness. This shows that we have sustained jhana from early evening all the way through to dawn. If one can do this as a regular habit, then the words hell, hungry ghost, asura, and animal do not apply to you. If you should die, you would become a Brahma at once, close to Nibbana.

Well then — in speaking these words of advice to all of you, the Buddhist faithful, let us remember that we must be the one who wins — that is, winning at some one point according to the rule of the forty kammatthana subjects, whichever it may be, according to one's own temperament. If you still do not understand, go and get the meditation manual and read it, or get the Mahasatipatthana Sutta and read it. Wherever you find it pleasing, recite there; wherever you find it pleasing, contemplate there — so that it suits your own temperament. But the most important thing is the awareness of the breath together with the recitation word 'Buddho'. Do not abandon this 'Buddho' — keep sustaining it. When the mind is at ease, then contemplate according to the meditation subjects as stated in the texts — this will not be wrong, and it will be of benefit to you.

Well then, from now on, may all of you, the Buddhist faithful, strive to keep the body upright, keep the mind firm, maintain awareness of the in-and-out breath, and use the recitation word and contemplation according to your own temperament until you hear the signal announcing that the time is up.

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4. Establishing Awareness of the Breath

For today, we continue our study from the previous day. On the previous days we spoke about the foundation of meditation practice in its beginning stages. Let all of you, the Buddhist faithful, understand the method of practice. Today we continue on to the subject of the mood of samadhi. As for listening to the Dhamma talk on meditation at night, please take it that you should listen continuously, in sequence. If there is anything you do not understand, go open the meditation manual and read it — everything will be found there. From tonight onward, teaching will proceed in sequence until it is finished, because if we keep going back and forth — with old students staying and new students arriving, and so returning again and again to the beginning — the knowledge will never come to a conclusion. As for some of you who have the book but have not read it, this is much to be reproached. To have the texts available and not read them seems far too careless; it is practicing without real wish for good in one's practice, doing it merely for form's sake — this yields no benefit. Studying the rules of practice according to the principles and criteria must be known thoroughly. If it is not known, it is like diving underwater searching for a needle — it yields no benefit at all; it would only be by chance that we could do well. Our rules of practice are complete in full; students and practitioners ought to have grown wise by now, after so long.

From here we will speak of the mood of samadhi; the background matters we will not speak of further — anyone newly studying may go research it in the texts. The word 'samadhi' has three levels, namely:

Khanika-samadhi, meaning momentary samadhi, a small samadhi.

Upacara-samadhi, meaning approaching samadhi, a middling samadhi, drawing near to jhana.

Appana-samadhi, the heaviest, foremost level of samadhi — that is, beginning from the first jhana up through the fourth jhana, a samadhi of firm stability.

In cultivating meditation, we should take hold of anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing) as the essential point, because this anapanasati kammatthana is necessary for every type of person without exception, since anapanasati is the meditation subject that quells the mind's distraction. Whatever we cultivate, if we cannot quell the mind's distraction, samadhi will not arise. And who, where, has a mood that is never distracted? Is there anyone? None can be found. Those whose moods are truly never distracted are only the Arahants. The Lord who upholds the Dhamma, that is, the Buddha himself...

...is the omniscient one, who knows the truth. Therefore, in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, he placed anapanasati first. This is the pattern of teaching; what we teach, we teach according to the Buddha's own pattern. As for the patterns that ordinary townsfolk have newly invented, we do not accept those. Why? Because the ones who created them are not the Buddha — at best, whoever created them is not even an Arahant. Since the creators of such patterns gained nothing from them, what could those who practice according to such patterns possibly gain?

Since the Buddha saw that anapanasati was of such importance, he placed it at the very beginning of the Mahasatipatthana Sutta. When one sustains anapanasati to the mood of jhana — this anapanasati especially — one can sustain the mood up to the fourth jhana, for one whose disposition is of the disciple-vehicle (savaka-bhumi); but for one whose disposition is of the Buddha-vehicle (buddha-bhumi), one can sustain it up to the fifth jhana. It is reckoned a meditation subject of very great importance, and it is also the meditation subject that quells the bodily formations (kaya-sankhara). When our body is sick, unwell, afflicted with painful feeling, we use anapanasati kammatthana to sustain jhana, and the painful feeling will ease; at best, if one reaches the fourth jhana, one will not even feel that painful sensation at all.

Another point: one who is skilled in anapanasati kammatthana knows the time of one's own death — knowing exactly when we will die, in what manner we will die, when we will die. Knowing this, one becomes a person free of dread toward death. And furthermore, anapanasati kammatthana is a meditation subject of great importance in yet another way: whatever other meditation subject we practice, whether in calm-meditation (samatha-bhavana) or insight-meditation (vipassana-bhavana), we must use anapanasati kammatthana as the foundation to calm the mind first. Otherwise, cultivating meditation in any other subject, whether in calm- or insight-meditation, will yield no result at all. The Lord of the Ten Powers, the Supreme Teacher, the Fully Self-Enlightened One, saw the virtue of anapanasati kammatthana in just this way; therefore the Great Sage had it placed first among the meditation subjects in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta.

In cultivating anapanasati kammatthana according to the commonly favored method of practice, one should also use buddhanussati kammatthana (recollection of the Buddha) to accompany and control it, helping to generate strength of will. In doing good within the Buddha's Dispensation, if one lacks strength of will alone, nothing will come of it, because this training is a training of the mind — we do not train the body. If there is only the awareness of the in-and-out breath, we might think the mind has simply become empty; but by recollecting the goodness of the Lord Supreme Conqueror, using the word 'Buddho', one feels that the mind becomes firm. This, too, I do not deny is a form of goodness.

There is one more layer added: first, we have anapanasati kammatthana; second, we have buddhanussati kammatthana. These become two meditation subjects combined together, without creating any extra fatigue, since only two words are used — breathing in, think 'Bud'; breathing out, think 'dho'. Done this way, it does not conflict with anapanasati kammatthana.

Having understood the qualities of anapanasati kammatthana, now for the qualities of buddhanussati kammatthana: this meditation subject is a very great power, with very high benefit. If one dies and becomes a deva, one's bodily radiance will be even more brilliant than that of devas who accumulated merit by other means. Devas themselves hold that whoever has the most brilliant bodily radiance is the deva with the greatest store of merit. And cultivating buddhanussati kammatthana is a cause that draws the mind, enabling all of you, the Buddhist faithful, to reach Nibbana swiftly. Remember this well — this is the benefit, the result.

Now let us return to the beginning. The practice of maintaining awareness of the in-and-out breath is called anapanussati kammatthana. The Buddha instructed that we should maintain awareness thus: 'this is my in-breath, this is my out-breath'; whether our in-breath is long or short, whether our out-breath is long or short, we should also know this. This makes the mind convenient to work with, makes the mind refined and meticulous, and makes mindfulness-and-clear-comprehension (sati-sampajanna) steady. He gave a simile: it is like a turner drawing the cord of a lathe — as he draws the cord long or short, he is aware of whether the drawing motion is long or short. This is what makes the mind aware, ever-present.

If one asks how long this awareness of mind should be maintained, the answer must be: be aware of it with every single in-and-out breath, from the moment you wake until you fall asleep — that indeed is the ideal. Cultivating meditation in this manner does feel burdensome for a newcomer, or for one who has not yet attained jhana. Anapanasati kammatthana is not something trivial — it holds great power. But if it is so great that one cannot bear to carry it, then no one at all would ever attain it. Since there are countless people who have attained it, this shows that it is not, in fact, too heavy — it is well within the strength of those among the Buddhist faithful who have genuine faith to accomplish it.

So then, in what manner should we cultivate it so that it bears merit? Here we combine it with buddhanussati: while breathing in, be aware that you are breathing in while thinking 'Bud'; while breathing out, think 'dho'. Done this way it is not tiring, because there is no need to force the breathing. One must let the breath proceed naturally — do not force it to go quickly, and do not slow it down either; do not hold the breath — let it go comfortably. Sometimes our mindfulness and clear comprehension are not good enough, so that ordinary breathing is not felt, and so we force the breath to be heavy — this will not do. The breath must be allowed to proceed...

...as it normally would, and then take our mind and measure it, hold it fast: 'this is breathing in, this is breathing out'. If, under ordinary conditions, the mood should slip and become inattentive, this shows that our mindfulness and clear comprehension have wandered off — the mind is not sustained in samadhi. This is a sign to watch for; this is the advice of the Supreme Lord of the World.

In cultivating mental samadhi, the anapanasati side is the enemy of the distracted mood and irritation at outside noise. Ordinarily, our mind has been wandering for many hundreds of thousands of aeons, with no one to control it — or perhaps in past lives we did have some measure of control over it, that may be so — but in this present life, we have only just begun to use it, only just begun to control it, and so it forgets the way, forgets the path, just the same. In the early stages, we set a time — half an hour, one hour, two hours — but forcing the mind to stay as we please for that long is simply not possible. We must look to the pattern that the Lord Supreme Conqueror, the Fully Self-Enlightened Teacher, explained in the Visuddhimagga, because in the Visuddhimagga he explained the method of controlling the mind in fine detail — that one should observe and examine the mind. If we maintain awareness of the in-and-out breath together with a recitation word, or without a recitation word, and use an unlimited span of time, the mind will become distracted and unsteady, unable to control the mood of mind so that it stays firm. The Lord Supreme Conqueror had us practice in this way: count the in-and-out breaths as we go — breathing in and out counted as one; this is the first beat. Then breathe in and out — one; breathe in and out — two; count up to two. Then start again from the beginning, counting up to three; start again, counting up to four; start again, counting up to five; then start again, counting up to six, seven, eight, and then to ten. Once you reach ten, go back and start again counting one; then start again counting one to two, and so on in sequence. He instructed us to do it this way so that it would control the power of the mind — that is, counting alongside gives the mind something to be occupied with in counting. The mood of the mind's awareness may become a little coarse in the process — never mind that; we are after the result, we are not practicing for the sake of accumulating a quantity of time. We want the mood of mind to become genuine samadhi.

Now then, we begin: in the first stage, we intend to count from 1 to 5. Within this range of 1 to 5, we will absolutely not allow the mood of our mind to become distracted toward any other object. One must have real firmness of resolve. In building goodness for the sake of heaven, for the Brahma world, or for Nibbana — if one is weak and merely goes through the motions, beware of becoming conceited, thinking oneself already accomplished, and falling into hell instead. Many people go this way. Those who cultivate meditation do not always go to heaven — the moment one becomes conceited, that is the moment one falls to hell. Whether a person has real goodness or not is easy for us to observe: a person with true goodness, whose samadhi reaches the heart, does not speak carelessly or ramble; their manner is composed and proper. If they do speak, there is reason behind it...

...bears result — not just speaking for the sake of speaking. This is an outward sign, easy to observe. A person who sustains samadhi — and even more so, one who sustains samadhi as jhana, truly maintaining jhana — such people are the most reluctant to speak at all. On seeing someone's face they already feel weary of talking, not wanting to speak, because if they engage in speech it wastes the time of their sustained samadhi. At worst, if someone invites them into idle chatter, it causes their jhana to deteriorate. Such people are averse to speaking; unless there is real necessity, they will not speak. This is a sign to observe.

If we want to set this up so it is easy to grasp: count from 1 to 5 — first stage 1, then stage 1-2, stage 1-2-3, stage 1-2-3-4, stage 1-2-3-4-5 — only up to 5, that's all; this is according to the Buddha's own pattern. Within this span of 1 to 5, we will absolutely not allow any other mood to intrude upon the mood of our mind. Once we can sustain it well, once the counting stays steady well, and no other mood intrudes up to 5, then stop right there. This means our mind does not yet sustain the mood enough, is not yet settled firmly enough — stop and let it relax. When we feel at ease again, start over: count 1 to 5 once more. When you stop, stop in a relaxed way — chat a bit, read a book a bit, lie down and rest a bit, listen to the radio a bit — let it go comfortably. We control it for a short while, then let it run about freely and comfortably; then afterward we come back and count 1 to 5 anew, until we can begin counting 1 to 10. In the first round of this rhythm, it may feel well-sustained, but as soon as the mind begins to waver, stop. After a few more days, once the mood grows accustomed, come to counting 1 to 10 for about two rounds, keeping it steady to this rhythm. This is according to the pattern set by the Fully Self-Enlightened One — practice this way. This has been tried by others already, by people who have gone through it and are still here today. There is no one who fails to practice according to the flow of the Supreme Teacher's own words — no one resists it. As for those who resist and yet claim to have attained it, that is simply delusion, not the real thing — it is a mistaken delusion; the truth is they have not really attained it, but merely think they have. This is one method by which we gather strength of resolve in the practice of anapanasati kammatthana.

There is another pattern too, namely: when the mind is truly so scattered that even 1 to 5, or 1 to 3, cannot be endured — this does happen as well. Sometimes today the mind is at ease, and tomorrow one intends to do even better, yet instead the mind refuses to cooperate, scattering in ways one cannot even describe, impossible to control. In such a case, the Supreme Teacher advises all of you, the Buddhist faithful, to simply let the mind go along with its mood. If it wants to think and cannot be controlled, let it think; and we take hold of our resolve to keep watch over it. Let it think wherever it wants to think; and the moment it stops thinking, we put it to use as samadhi immediately. He gave a simile, likening it to a person...

...training a horse. With a wild, unbroken horse — while it still has strength, whatever you try, you cannot bring it onto the path; you cannot train it to go according to the manner we want. When it truly cannot be done, one simply holds it back, letting it run about as it pleases. It wants to be wild, so it runs and runs; once it has spent its strength, then we lead it onto the path — it stops being wild simply because it no longer has the strength to be wild. Our own mental power is exactly the same. If it is truly scattered and cannot be controlled, do not go struggling with it — at worst you would make yourself ill with a nervous breakdown from it. He tells us to let it go — let it go, and then keep watch over it. It will stop thinking within twenty minutes at the very most — this has been tried and tested. The very instant it stops thinking, catch hold of the mood into samadhi — maintain awareness of the in-and-out breath. This time, in just a single moment, the mood will be drawn in and will settle firmly into jhana at once; it becomes calm and at ease. At best, half an hour, even a full hour, may pass without your wanting to stop — the mood is so pleasant, it has become jhana.

This is the basic training of samadhi; may all of you, the Buddhist faithful, remember it. If I were to say more it would not amount to much more than this — this much is the method of training. As for the mood of samadhi at each stage, we will speak of that gradually on the days to come.

From here on, may all of you, the Buddhist faithful, strive to keep the body upright, keep the mind firm, maintain awareness of the in-and-out breath, and use the recitation word or contemplation according to your own temperament, until you hear the signal announcing that the time is up.

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5. Closing

The other day we spoke of the mood of samadhi; we spoke only a little before the time ran out. Before any of you, the Buddhist faithful, think of anything else at all, the very first thing you should think of is death, taken as the object of contemplation, because life itself is impermanent, but death is certain. We come together to build goodness precisely so that it will serve as capital stored up for the time when we die. This taking of death as an object of contemplation the Buddha called maranassati kammatthana (mindfulness of death), and it is reckoned as heedfulness in life, because we should always think: if we should die, then for as long as we have not yet become an Arahant, we must still wander on through birth and death in the round of samsara. Before we die, then, let us seek out goodness to store up.

The first form of goodness that the Lord Supreme Conqueror, the Fully Self-Enlightened Teacher, recommended at the outset is the giving of alms (dana). Giving is the cause of love; giving is the cause of forming friendship. One who gives naturally has a mind that is happy — meaning that wherever one goes, the person who has received our gift will show us friendship in return, except only for certain rare people who do not recognize kindness — and even this we forgive, through the power of loving-kindness (metta-parami). After passing from human existence, one who has given alms will never encounter poverty or hardship; and for as long as we have not yet reached Nibbana, we shall have happiness in enjoying our wealth and possessions. This is the fruit of giving that we are entitled to receive.

Another point — a foundational goodness in preparing oneself for death — is keeping one's precepts pure. One who dies with pure precepts (sila) will have a long life and a handsome, pleasing appearance, if reborn as a human being; will have wealth and possessions that are not destroyed by fire, thieves, flood, or storm, owing to the protective power of the precepts as a boundary; those under one's care will feel bound to follow one's instruction, with no one transgressing; one's speech will be beloved by others; and one's mindfulness and clear comprehension will be complete. This is the second form of goodness we should prepare in readiness for death.

Third, the Lord Supreme Conqueror has us recite in contemplation, calling to mind the goodness that the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha himself practiced, and so forth. This the Lord of the Ten Powers had us hold onto so as to prevent forgetting mindfulness and clear comprehension — it is a way of sustaining mindfulness and clear comprehension, so that we do not forget at the very moment we are to die. Because at the time we are to die, if we have bound ourselves to recitation beforehand, the mood of the mind will have grown accustomed to the wholesome side; and if, at that moment, our mind calls to mind some portion of wholesomeness, or the recitation word 'Buddho, Dhammo, Sangho', or the like, any one of these...

...and then dies — the realms of misery (apaya-bhumi) hold no place for us. At worst, we will be a fine human being, or else a deva, or else a Brahma. Whichever verse we have recited until it has become second nature — later on, should we encounter the Lord Supreme Conqueror, the Fully Self-Enlightened Teacher, or an Arahant, he will preach the benefits of that verse, and we need only hear it through once to attain the fruit of Arahantship and reach Nibbana.

This, then, is what we should resolve before we die: that after death we will not be one who suffers hardship; that after death we will be one free of misery; that we will have a reasonable measure of happiness, even if we have not yet reached Nibbana. This is the kind of virtue the Buddha recommended. May all of you, the Buddhist faithful, remember this and practice it as a matter of course, so that it may be said we have not wasted our chance at this birth. For if we are born human and then, upon death, must be reborn in the realms of misery — as a hell-being, a hungry ghost, an asura, or an animal — then it must be said we have fared very badly indeed; it is a net loss. Building goodness, what is commonly called 'making merit', is the cause and condition that gives us ever-increasing happiness. This, I ask all of you, the Buddhist faithful, to keep prepared in every moment of mind.

From here on, I would like to speak of the mood of samadhi that we ought to attain. Last night we spoke a little of anapanasati, intending to continue, but the time to speak ran out. The binding of the mood, the restraining of the mind on account of its distraction — this we already know, as explained last night; there is no need to go back over it.

Now then, let us look at the strength of resolve — that is, the result we ought to gain from cultivating samadhi. In cultivating samadhi, we must have the disposition to know how to train, to know how to fix the mind, and to know, of the task we are performing, just how far its results extend — it is not a matter of simply sitting there doing something like endless diving underwater; that yields no result. At worst, we might even come across something good and then throw it away. Sometimes we encounter a cause that becomes an enemy to the mood of samadhi, whether on the side of calm-meditation or insight-meditation; the practice itself becomes an instrument that destroys virtue, while we believe we are holding onto something good — and so it turns out we have merely exhausted ourselves for nothing in our practice. Therefore, insofar as all of you, the Buddhist faithful, hold respect for the Fully Self-Enlightened One, please resolve firmly to fix this in mind for the sake of understanding.

Whether one sustains anapanasati kammatthana, or buddhanussati kammatthana, or any other single meditation subject — if we are able to sustain this goodness, then next we should fix the mind to consider the mood we ought to gain from it. If we sustain the goodness — that is, quelling distraction, quelling anger and ill-will, quelling the feeling of satisfaction in sensual objects, or quelling doubt regarding the goodness of the Lord Supreme Conqueror — even once, for just a single moment, for a mere minute or two, the mood of mind still tends to scatter...

...thinking of this matter and that matter, and then after a moment we become aware of it and pull the mind back in again, alternating back and forth like this — this is called momentary concentration (khanika samadhi). There is nothing here yet that need cause suspicion (of wrongness).

Just from this kind of momentary concentration alone, if all the Buddhist faithful maintain it every single day, the benefit we will gain — even more than that — is that at the time we are to die, we will not die in confusion. At a time of very serious illness, the mind gathers itself together and can hold itself in jhana, or if not that, can hold itself in concentration; higher still, up to the level of access concentration (upacara samadhi) — because a person who knows they are about to die will always gather the strength of body and mind to help themselves. This is a natural law. The results gained from momentary concentration: for the most part such a person will not be reborn as a human again — not reborn as an animal, as a hungry ghost (peta), as an asura, or as a hell-being. Momentary concentration brings the Buddhist faithful to the Tavatimsa heaven, the heavenly realm of the Thirty-Three.

There are many examples in Buddhism, such as the deity Matthakuladi [as printed], who had never made merit in any past life, because his father was a stingy man. The father's name was Atinnapubbaka the brahmin, meaning 'the brahmin who had never given anything before.' Extremely miserly — he never made merit, never did a good deed, because his attachment begrudged spending wealth. When the young Matthakuladi, as a son, fell gravely ill, his father would not fetch a doctor to treat him, out of stinginess, and only kept medicine to treat him with alone. In the end the son died. As the son neared death he thought: even if my parents are kind, all this wealth of up to forty koti is of no benefit to me. He thought the Lord of the Ten Powers must have great compassion to grant happiness, and so he called to mind the goodness of the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha, in the way we recite 'Buddho.' He reflected on the Buddha's goodness for only a brief moment, and his mind left the body — what we call dying. This small merit of recollecting the virtue of the Lord of Wisdom is called momentary concentration. He was then reborn in the Tavatimsa heaven with a golden mansion, with smooth earrings, with 500 celestial maidens as retinue — a considerable happiness, even though he had never made merit in any past life. If we were to do the same, we would gain far more than the deity Matthakuladi, because we have made merit in the religion of the Blessed One countless times, and we have also given charity outside the bounds of Buddhism countless times — such as giving to beggars, giving to those in hardship, giving to animals. Giving of this kind carries great blessing — the blessing

...will all gather together, and we will have goodness even greater than the deity Matthakuladi, more happiness, and better power and merit-based fortune.

As for the concentration that is to be feared, it is access concentration (upacara samadhi). This access concentration destroys a great deal of a person's goodness. The signs of access concentration are a feeling of being full and gratified, a feeling of joyful rapture, and diligence in the practice of tranquility meditation and insight meditation — all because rapture (piti) serves as a support for the mind, and there is bodily and mental happiness because the power of concentration reinforces it, causing us not to feel sated or bored in developing concentration or insight-knowledge. When a meditator reaches rapture — that is, access concentration — with rapture at its fullest, all such people fare well, except only those who go astray.

The signs of access concentration that arise: first there is a sudden rush of goosebumps, called 'hair standing on end.' While simply sitting, one has the sensation of hair standing on end as though it were normal, even though beforehand there was no cold and no contact with wind, yet the hair rises on its own for no reason — this is counted as the first stage of rapture. There is no need to correct it. If our mental strength is lower than that, this sign tends not to occur; if our mental strength rises a bit higher, this sign then disappears. As for this bodily sign, may all the Buddhist faithful please not let the mind get entangled with it. Let it be whatever it will be — we had better simply gather our mental strength and hold the mind's state in concentration instead. Some people let the mind get entangled with it until they lose the result — there are many such cases — and some, even after this has been explained to them, still do not lose their doubt, going back and forth over the bodily sign that occurs. If the state of mind is like this, then in this whole lifetime nothing good can be achieved. Bear in mind that the training of tranquility and insight meditation is a training of the mind; as the mental state becomes more refined, it will show up somewhat in the body — let it be whatever it will be, pay it no attention. Keep the mind in concentration, and that is enough.

The second sign: once the goosebump sensation has passed, this time tears flow. One sits, sits at ease, and the tears flow — whether one likes it or not they flow rather heavily — and then they stop; but at the time of sitting in concentration, sometimes one encounters something that touches the heart, or someone says something that touches the heart. The mind is already holding rapture at that point; we do not realize it because we were not being careful — this rapture is pent up within the mind, and the tears simply flow out on their own. But it is not crying; it flows in a way that cannot be restrained, without cause and without reason. This kind of sign occurs among the Buddhist faithful — one should think that our mental strength has advanced further, that concentration has risen to reach the level of the second rapture. This rapture means a feeling of fullness of heart. This kind of sign is the freshness in the practice of merit

...merit tends to increase progressively, with confidence in the goodness of Buddhism growing firm. It is people of this type whom the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha forbade from asking for any material object — because once they ask, since their mental strength is high, the giver will give. If a monk himself asks, it is a fault, an offense — except for the case where we simply see that we are lacking something, and the giver, out of sympathy, offers it to the monk; that is not wrong. But if any monk goes and opens his mouth to beg, he has every prospect of falling straight into hell. This sign is the second stage. If the mind's strength rises further, the sign of flowing tears will then disappear.

Now a new sign arises: the body sways back and forth, forward and backward. Sometimes it spins all around the body; sometimes it shows a stiff, jerking motion like a puppet being roused. This kind of sign is called Okkantika-piti [as printed], the third rapture. Whatever the strength or lightness of this bodily movement, one will feel that one's mental strength remains firmly established in the state of concentration without decline. As for this kind of bodily sign, if it appears one must use the phrase 'let it be' — whatever it shows itself to be, let it be. Once our mind is at ease that is enough; the matter of the body does not concern us. This must be well remembered. This kind of sign appears in a great many people, and many have come to ask about it, especially in Bangkok — they ask about it, and after it has been explained to them they still do not listen, do not accept it, and go back and forth in doubt. So one thinks to oneself that people of this type will achieve nothing good even until death, because as for the sign that arises in themselves, they themselves do not know it; even when someone who has already been through it tells them, they still will not listen, still sit there full of doubt. Wherever this doubt comes in and lodges, that is where ruin follows. The fruit of the practice then fails to appear. When this sign appears, we will feel that our mind has become more firmly established. We want only this one thing — that the mind be firmly established; let the body be whatever it will be.

Next comes the fourth rapture, called Uppenga-piti [as printed]. At this stage of rapture there will be a sensation of the body floating up into the air, yet the mind remains at ease. This floating sensation is not levitation — when the mind reaches this level, this rapture floats up on its own. If the mind's strength eases even slightly, it will drift back down to sit in its original place as usual; there is no need to fear that once floated up it cannot come back down. The state of mind will have a freshness, more joy and delight than the previous rapture.

If our mental strength rises a little further still, that sensation will disappear, and instead there will be a tingling sensation as if the body were light, the body feeling airy as though it were nothing — there will seem to be only a thin layer of skin mixed in, with the flesh and bones within not appearing at all; one has this kind of feeling. Sitting like this, the sensation seems as if one's body has grown larger somewhat, the face bigger somewhat, the body taller somewhat, yet the state of mind remains fresh, the mind stays normal

...the mind is firmly established in concentration. This sign is called Pharana-piti [as printed], the final rapture. It also carries a sensation close to happiness. Once this rapture has appeared and then subsides, happiness then appears. This 'appearance of happiness' is truly happiness — one could sit for twenty or thirty days without ever getting up. There will be no illness, no fatigue, no bodily or mental discomfort at all — only a sense of brightness and freshness that cannot be adequately described.

Now, once the mind enters between the stage of rapture and the stage of happiness, or reaches happiness itself, this is called access concentration. If it reaches the stage of happiness it is considered full access concentration; beginning from the first rapture onward it is called preliminary access concentration. The signs of rapture described above, through these five stages, do not mean that everyone must pass through them all in the same way. Some pass through only one or another of them; some whose mental state is higher do not pass through them at all — that is, they pass through without any noticeable sensation, entering straight into the first jhana at once. This applies to those who have attained jhana in a past life.

Then, at the point when the mental state reaches access concentration, from the stage of rapture onward, one must be careful, because various lights, colors, and images will appear. At this point the meditation masters have all instructed: do not pay attention to any such images, lights, or colors at all. If one pays attention to any image, light, or color, our mind will move away from concentration. We set our intention on one thing only: whatever comes, let it come; whatever goes, let it go — we pay it no attention. We are interested only in the concentration we are holding; maintain our mental strength firmly as before, such as continuing to note the breath in and out, whatever the word of recitation may be — hold that state as normal, and the mind will then reach the first jhana quickly. If we fall into getting lost in the lights and colors, our goodness will dissolve away.

For all of you whose mind reaches access concentration in this way, when you die from the human state, for the most part you will become a deva of the Yama heaven — that is, a deva who is continuing to build merit and fortune.

Well then, Buddhist faithful, for today the time for speaking has ended. From here on, may all the Buddhist faithful try to keep the body upright, keep the mind steady, note the breath going in and out, and use the word of recitation and contemplate according to your own inclination, until you hear the signal announcing that time is up.

* * *

6. The First Jhana

Today, before studying anything else, let us bear in mind the natural law as something important. The natural law that applies to us is: 'Jatipi dukkha' — birth is suffering; 'Jarapi dukkha' — old age is suffering; 'Maranampi dukkham' — death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, and grief and so on — sorrow and grief are suffering; separation from what is loved and cherished is suffering; having frustration or an unfulfilled wish is suffering. The Buddha said: we are born in order to encounter suffering. Among all who are born, there is no one at all who will be free of suffering. If we still hold to the view that the body is ours, that wealth is ours, that relatives and friends are ours, then the feeling of suffering arises — it arises because we cling, which is called clinging (upadana), especially with regard to the eight worldly conditions (lokadhamma): gaining wealth — joy; wealth dissolving away — sorrow; gaining status — joy; status dissolving away — sorrow; having happiness in sensual pleasure — joy; that happiness ending — distress; receiving slander — trouble; receiving praise — happiness. This too is considered a state of clinging, creating suffering, creating agitation for us.

What should we do, then, to be free of suffering?

The Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha advises us to hold the thought constantly in mind that this is the natural law of the world which we cannot avoid. If it happens to us, we regard it as 'let it be.' In the Pali language this is called khanti, patience. But if we use the word 'patience' it is hard to understand — better to use plain Thai: whatever kind of thing arises, let it be.

Being born is suffering — suffering through seeking a livelihood, earning a living, pursuing an occupation, managing the body, managing a group; the tasks that must be done are wearisome, and one meets with frustration. We regard it as simply doing our duty; we have done it to the best of our ability, and whether anyone criticizes it as good or bad, we do not hold on to that, we do not consider it important — because the Blessed One said: natthi loke aninditto — there is no one in the world who is never criticized. Therefore, whatever slander or ill-speech may come, we regard it as 'let it be,' as only natural. Everything we do, we do according to duty.

If being born is suffering in this way, we should regard it thus: this is because, through our own foolishness, we are born. Foolish because of what? Foolish because of clinging to the view that the body is us, is ours, that we exist within the body, that the body exists within us. Once we cling to the body alone, we then also cling to external possessions as well — but in truth

All these things are not us, are not ours. If they were truly us, truly ours, they could not grow old, could not fall ill, could not die. But once born, they must grow old, must fall ill, must die. Why then should our mind go on suffering over it? If we always bear in mind that we are born in order to grow old, born in order to fall ill, born in order to encounter states we dislike, born for the sake of separation from what is loved and cherished, which results in death in the end — in sum, we are born in order to die. Since it is our very lot, upon being born, to encounter matters of this kind, why should we suffer over it when such things occur? We should regard this simply as a natural matter, and before long we will be free of suffering.

How does one become free of suffering?

We practice giving as a matter of course. If our mind is fully engaged in giving, this is called cutting off greed. We keep loving-kindness (metta) as a matter of course. The state of loving-kindness that we maintain is what preserves our precepts (sila). If we have loving-kindness, our precepts will not be broken. If we have loving-kindness as a matter of course, besides keeping the precepts unbroken, loving-kindness also serves to destroy anger (dosa). We then contemplate to find the truth: 'Jatipi dukkha' — birth is suffering. You wish to be born — however much suffering it may bring, let it be; we keep the mind at rest regardless. 'Jarapi dukkha' — old age is suffering: the trembling, faltering movements, the body no longer strong, no longer sprightly, having wishes that go unfulfilled because one can no longer do things oneself — and so we then have suffering. We regard this as simply a natural matter for the aged; one is born in order to grow old. 'Maranampi dukkham' — death is suffering: an ordinary matter for common folk, but we do not suffer over it; we regard it as a natural law. It is even good to die, because then all this trouble comes to an end. And seeing the five aggregates (khandha) as a fault, as suffering for us, we then think further: as for what is called the five aggregates — this coming to be born with a body of the five aggregates — let this not happen to us again. We will not foolishly consent to having a body again. If our state of mind holds this thought as a matter of course, we will then be free of suffering; it will gradually come to be understood on its own.

This is a lesson that all Buddhist followers should keep in mind as a matter of course, in order to reach nibbana. This is the final insight-knowledge (vipassana-nana).

From here on, I will continue from yesterday. Yesterday we spoke up to the completion of access concentration. Today I will speak about reaching the point of jhana. As for maintaining the breath in and out and the recitation word 'Buddho' — in truth this recitation is not restricted; you may recite in whatever way suits your own inclination. Whatever recitation is used, note the breath going in and out along with it. When breathing in, think 'Bud'; when breathing out, think 'dho.'

At whatever moment our mind still has awareness, the mind still remains within the bounds of the word 'Buddho' or of the breath going in and out — one should know that at that moment our mind is established in the state of concentration.

As for maintaining concentration even a little each day, the Blessed One said: such a person is one who is never without jhana — that is, one whose virtue is high enough to save oneself. If we can maintain concentration better still — meaning that at the moment when you are noting the breath in and out and holding the word of recitation, reciting with a mind at ease — the ears clearly hear outside sounds: dogs barking, dogs howling, people talking, the sound of singing or a play, the sound of villagers quarreling, people gossiping, or even speaking ill of us — we hear it all, yet it appears that our mind is not annoyed; we have no irritation at the sound, and we are able to note the breath in and out and hold the recitation with ease. If this state can be maintained for two or three minutes, five minutes, or even ten minutes, this state is considered the state of the first jhana. Our mind has reached the first jhana — this is the first jhana.

For this first jhana we have a rough guide to observe: that is, we are not annoyed by sound, because sound is the enemy of the first jhana — take note of this. But reaching the first jhana and maintaining the first jhana are different things. Maintaining means we command the mind to remain in that state for however long we intend; this is called being one who maintains jhana. If the state of mind reaches the first jhana, it cannot stay long — sometimes it holds for a minute or two, three minutes, then it reduces and drops down, drops down low. Once it has dropped down low, we then intend to rise up again; whether it rises again or not is up to it.

In the early stage of reaching the first jhana, there is a matter that tends to cause doubt — that is, the initial sensation. If our mental state is coarse, there will be a sensation of dimness, a dozing feeling similar to falling asleep; there will be a dark sensation. Sometimes we have the feeling as if we are about to fall asleep. If the mind drops down out of that state, the mind will then have a sensation of brightness, and we think we may have dozed off or not, we are not sure. We can observe whether we were asleep or not asleep, or whether the mind entered a jhanic state of this kind, which is called 'coarse jhana.' If we were really asleep, we would have to nod forward or tilt backward, as is the manner of a sleeping person. If the body sits still and simply has this kind of dozing sensation, almost losing awareness and then becoming aware again — this shows that your mind has reached the first jhana, but it is coarse; it cannot be maintained for long. Later the mind will refine itself on its own. This is one characteristic that many practitioners have doubts about.

Another characteristic is this: while continuing to sit, there is a dizzy, swooping sensation resembling falling from a height, causing a sudden startled, heart-lurching feeling. Sometimes there is also a strong pounding of the heart as if falling from a height. Once one has had this sensation, the plunging feeling will not occur again; from then on there will only be a feeling of ease. This kind of sign — may all of you please understand — means that the mind has entered the first jhana, but the mind cannot hold there for long; it slips out of the jhana, meaning it slips out too forcefully, falling back into the ordinary state of consciousness (bhavanga) called the normal mind.

If it is the first jhana in refined form, there will simply be a feeling of ease, a brightness of mind; the mind will have a sense of calm stillness — the ears will hear all sounds, but the mind stays at ease, not annoyed by the sound. This is the refined first jhana.

If one has both of these signs, all Buddhist followers should feel proud that their mind has entered the first jhana — whether for just a moment, one minute, two minutes, or three minutes. If the mind can hold this every single day, one is then called one who is never without jhana. At the time of death one will become a Brahma deity. At a time of serious illness, the concentrated state of mind will gather itself together; once the mind has gathered together we will then have happiness. This is something we come to know only at a time of serious illness — how valuable it truly is. If the mind can gather and hold the first jhana, at a time of illness this truly bears fruit; it will be able to hold steady very well. When the mind can hold steady well at the time of death, dying while within the first jhana — if we have attained jhana in its coarse form we will be reborn as a first-level Brahma; if the middling kind, a second-level Brahma; if the refined kind, a third-level Brahma. This is speaking of the mundane (lokiya) side — this is mundane jhana.

If one's mental state reaches the first jhana in this way, and if we contemplate simply, in the elementary manner, this physical existence — this body is not us, is not ours; we do not exist within the body, the body does not exist within us; we do not cling to or hold on to the body; let it fall ill, let it grow old, let it die, let it be — we regard it as a natural matter. Whether anyone slanders or praises us, we pay no attention. However much wealth one has, however poor one may be, let it be — we earn our living according to our duty. Having much, we eat much; having little, we eat little. We consider: having much, one still dies; having little, one still dies. Having much, one still grows old; having little, one still grows old. Having much, one still falls ill; having little, one still falls ill. Having much, one still worries; having little, one still worries — it is worry all the same. All these things are natural; we keep our mind at ease.

If our mind does not cling to or hold on to the body, seeing that the body has birth, has old age, has illness and death in the end as its natural course, and has a firm resolve — that is, accepting and honoring the Buddha's teaching steadfastly, keeping the precepts pure, having the love of nibbana as one's constant state of mind — this is merely the first jhana

...attained to this extent, because the power of the first jhana has enough strength to cut off the defilements. In this way the Great Lord of the World calls it the fruit of stream-entry [sotapatti-phala, as printed]. If our state of mind reaches the condition of being a Stream-Enterer, or the fruit of stream-entry itself, the state of mind will no longer decline, will no longer move toward the states of misery (apaya). If we die from the human state, we will be reborn sometimes as a human, sometimes as a deva, alternating. If one attains stream-entry in its coarse form, one is reborn as a human for another 7 lifetimes and then goes to nibbana. A Stream-Enterer of the middling kind is reborn as a human for another 3 lifetimes. A Stream-Enterer of the refined kind is reborn as a human for only 1 more lifetime. This is spoken of according to the principle of whether we attain stream-entry, whether or not we get to meet a Buddha in person. Do not forget that the Stream-Enterer possesses only three qualities of virtue: constantly bearing in mind that we must die as a matter of course; seeing birth, old age, and any kind of distress as natural — yet greed, the desire to be wealthy, still remains; the desire to be beautiful still remains; anger still remains; delusion still remains. But this desire to be beautiful, to be wealthy, to be angry, to be deluded stays within the bounds of the precepts: wanting to be beautiful, one is beautiful without breaking the precepts; wanting to be wealthy, one obtains it without breaking the precepts, without cheating or defrauding anyone; one may become angry but cannot bring oneself to harm anyone, for fear of breaking the precepts; one is still deluded about the body as being 'self' and 'mine' — yet one still constantly knows that one must die, and the mind is able to let go. All work is done according to duty, with the attitude of accepting and honoring the Buddha's teaching, keeping the five precepts pure, and having the love of nibbana as a normal state of mind — this is merely the substance of the Stream-Enterer.

To put it briefly, the Stream-Enterer is:

1) One who has firm and certain respect for the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha.

2) One who keeps the five precepts as a matter of course, the five precepts never broken.

The sign of a Stream-Enterer is simply that of a fine, upstanding person. Practicing in this way to reach the state of Stream-Enterer is not a difficult thing.

Well then, from here on, all Buddhist faithful, try to keep the body upright, keep mindfulness steady, note the breath going in and out, use the word of recitation and contemplate according to your own inclination, until you hear the signal announcing that time is up.

* * *

7. Maintaining Jhana

On this occasion, all of you Buddhist faithful have together undertaken the meditation subject and undertaken the Uposatha precepts. From here on this is the occasion for all of you to together develop concentration of mind. In the very first stage of developing concentration of mind, the thing that must be set up as the object and maintained well is the breath going in and out. Try to maintain awareness of the breath going in and out — when breathing in, be aware that you are breathing in; when breathing out, be aware that you are breathing out. When breathing in, think 'Bud'; when breathing out, think 'dho.' Do not let go of this state at all; let it be maintained as normal. Why is this? Because the practice of concentration — the awareness of the breath in and out, the awareness of the word 'Buddho' — this is the sign of concentration. And then do not pay attention to any images or lights and colors that appear to the mind. If any image, light, or color appears to the mind, disregard the sign of that image; maintain the original state as normal. Only in this way can it be said to accord with the intention of the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha. This state — may all of you please maintain it throughout your whole life.

And then, another matter: in developing the meditation subject, we must also constantly reflect that we develop the meditation subject because we want knowledge as a means of liberation — liberation from birth, old age, illness, and death, because birth is suffering. The Buddha said: 'Jatipi dukkha' — birth is suffering; 'Jarapi dukkha' — old age is suffering; 'Maranampi dukkham' — death is suffering. If we must still be born, grow old, fall ill, and die in this way, we have nothing but suffering, revolving through birth and death within the round of existence (vatta). We develop tranquility meditation and insight meditation in order to put an end to birth, because we no longer want suffering any further. Contemplate and seek to find suffering within the Four Noble Truths.

From here on I will continue from last night. Last night we spoke about the state of the first jhana. In brief, observe the state of mind, or the extent to which we recite 'Buddho' or note the breath going in and out. If our mental state hears outside sounds clearly and distinctly, understanding everything, yet we are not annoyed by the sound, and we are able to control our state of mind to remain normal, or able to note the breath in and out, able to hold the recitation — however much sound intrudes, we are not annoyed, the mind does not become agitated by the sound. This kind of state is the state of the first jhana.

Whether we can control our emotional state to remain steady for a long time or not is a matter of mind training — training the method of sustaining concentration (samadhi). As for the method of training to sustain samadhi: in the first stage the Buddha used counting as the key technique — that is, counting from 1 to 10 of the in-and-out breath, counted in pairs. We compel our mental state to remain fixed on this: that during the count from 1 to 10 we will not allow any other mental state to intrude at all, and then the mind truly remains steady like that. When we reach 10 we then let go, or begin again if the mind is still at ease — that is, we hold the mental state steady for another 1 to 10. If, having reached 10, we can still hold it, this is called training to sustain samadhi. Once we have practiced this manner until fluent, we can then use the method of counting 1 to 20, or set the count at 1 to 30, to 50, to 100.

The method of training to attain jhana and samadhi with certainty — in ancient times they did it this way: they used a lit candle set up in front of them. This method of using a candle must be done with the candle stuck in a bowl, or in some fixed place, to prevent the candle from falling over and burning down the house or the temple. This must be done by a person who is fully possessed of mindfulness and clear comprehension, who has intelligence — not doing things in some foolish way, letting danger arise like that; that is not to be praised, and it is not the good way. If it goes badly it will lead one down into hell. Whatever one does, one must have full mindfulness and clear comprehension — "nisammakaranam seyyo" [it is better to act having reflected] — one should reflect carefully first and then act; that is better. To do anything without reflecting, without considering, is not the path of good; it is the path of ruin. Before cultivating a kasina, the fire-kasina (tejo-kasina) for instance, in fixing the mind in samadhi, training the method of sustaining the mental state, we must exercise care — not simply do it carelessly. Lighting incense and candles to worship the Buddha is the same — once lit, one must take care as to whether the incense or candle will go on to burn anything or not. When finished, one should remove the incense stub and candle-wax and dispose of them, so that they do not become a source of danger to property.

Testing one's ability to sustain samadhi — the training method of the ancient monks: they used a beeswax candle, then attached a coin or a one-baht coin at some particular point, reasoning that as long as the mind had not yet reached that point, they would not allow the mind to move toward any other mental object. While sitting in meditation, one focuses the intention solely on the recitation. When the candle burns down to the coin or one-baht coin fixed there, the coin drops off with a clink — this shows that we have been able to control our mind comfortably, with the mind not wavering. Our mind has sustained jhana to that degree — "sustaining samadhi, sustaining the duration for as long as we wish."

Training the mind in samadhi, or training the mental state to remain steady, is a matter of great importance; otherwise our mental state will not be able to be controlled as a matter of course. This is the method of controlling the mental state so that it remains steady, called...

...sustaining jhana. All of you must train to make this normal. If you come and sit here (in the meditation hall) it is not really certain, because we use only a limited time of 30 minutes; you should also go and train at your own dwelling, then sustaining the samadhi mental state will really be good. If we merely do it for the brief moment we come to practice here, and then go back to our dwelling and let the mind go however it pleases, this shows that we are still at a great loss. As for sustaining samadhi — if we are not able to sustain samadhi for long, insight-knowledge (vipassana-ñana) will be poor. How good our insight-knowledge is can be seen from the conduct with which we act in our work, train in our work, and carry out our tasks — whether or not we are thorough and careful. If we lack carefulness in this, it shows that we are still far from the mental state of samadhi, that is, mindfulness and clear comprehension are still greatly lacking. In doing any task whatsoever we must bring the mental state of the meditation subject in to help — not merely go through the motions. Do it by examining closely, do it by reflecting, do it using wisdom as the instrument for considering what will be good, what will be bad or not bad. This is what is called: we work while also using the mind to help, making every step, every movement we make into calm (samatha) and insight (vipassana) together, so that it becomes samadhi and then vipassana continuously at every moment. If, in any task, there is a slip, if there is still coarseness, one will know in one's own mind that it is still very far from the path and fruit [of attainment], still further than jhana-attainment.

Next I will speak about the second jhana. Last night I spoke about the first jhana. The first jhana has five factors, namely: initial application (vitakka), sustained application (vicara), rapture (piti), happiness (sukha), and one-pointedness (ekaggata).

The word vitakka means to think of — thinking that we are going to breathe, thinking that we are going to recite.

Vicara is this: knowing whether we are breathing or not, whether the breath is short or long, whether we are reciting or not, whether the recitation-word is correct or wrong — this is called vicara.

Piti is as already described; piti has five modes.

Sukha is having an at-ease mental state, sustaining a comfortable mind with a feeling of joy and gladness.

Ekaggata is having the mental state as one single thing, sustaining the mental state — reciting and simply continuing to recite like that, holding the in-and-out breath, knowing only that one is holding the in-and-out breath like that. This condition is called the first jhana.

As for the second jhana, vitakka and vicara are cut away, leaving only piti, sukha, and ekaggata. As for the method of cutting away vitakka and vicara, most practitioners tend to misunderstand it — it is the same for everyone, practitioners in their early stage...

That is, when reciting or holding the in-and-out breath, reciting on and on, the mind becomes at ease with increasing freshness — on and on — the recitation word simply stops of itself, but the breath continues, only the breath becomes slightly softer. There is freshness, there is a feeling of fullness, the mind sustains samadhi well, though there is no recitation-word. This condition is called the second jhana, that is, jhana 2.

In some cases, or generally — I should say 100 percent of those who have gone through this themselves, or whom I have met — while the mind is in the first jhana, as soon as it reaches the second jhana, as soon as one becomes aware, the mind falls from the second jhana and one feels: "Oh no, this is really dying! I've forgotten to recite!" — fearing that one has fallen asleep or lost awareness — and then one grasps at the beginning and end without quite getting it right, reaches for the recitation-word without quite getting it right. The reason one has this feeling is because we misunderstand, thinking that we have dropped the recitation-word, forgotten to recite, drifted off or fallen asleep. That feeling is a mistaken understanding, but it happens to everyone just the same — if you have been through it, you get hit by it just like everyone else. So we should understand this: if by chance that condition appears — that is, reciting on and on, and it turns out the recitation-word has disappeared, the mind is fresh, the mental state is settled and at ease — then, at the moment the mind drops down and one feels "I've forgotten to recite," if this is what happens, know that at the moment it drops, one thinks one has forgotten to recite, and one almost cannot get hold of the recitation-word properly — this is the condition of the mind falling from the second jhana, jhana 2.

If we can sustain this second jhana, then when we die we go to be a Brahma of the 4th, 5th, or 6th level, according to the strength of the jhana. Jhana at the coarse level becomes a 4th-level Brahma; at the middling level, a 5th-level Brahma; at the refined level, a 6th-level Brahma.

Sustaining samadhi is important. In cultivating samadhi, if we have only ordinary samadhi, we feel that our resolve is not firm. Once we sustain samadhi comfortably, at ease to a reasonable degree, we then incline toward vipassana-insight, using it briefly — that is, contemplating the body: that this physical body is not us, it is not ours; we are not present in the body, the body is not present in us; we have arising at the beginning and then dissolution in the end — this is called: this body is not us, it is only a dwelling temporarily lodged in. Especially, if we think of it briefly, we may simply say that this body of ours will certainly die. When we are going to die, we think: if it dies, then that is that; once it is called death, there is no further turn for us [to take], because the body is full of suffering — whatever suffering we have is because...

...depending mainly on the body. Since the body is full of suffering like that, from now on we no longer want this kind of suffering — that is, we do not want the body. This is the first article of resolve; keep this in mind.

The second article: we will not doubt the teachings of the Fully Self-Enlightened One. We are certain of the result of the teaching that the Buddha taught — the Buddha himself became an Arahant, and those who practiced following it as we do also became Arahants, countless of them; there is nothing to be doubtful about.

The third article: resolve to keep one's precepts pure — laypeople keep the Five Precepts pure and firm; monks and novices likewise keep their own precepts pure.

The fourth article: our mind holds love of Nibbana as its object.

If our mental state thinks in this way, and we can practice like this automatically, without needing to exercise this kind of caution — this is called a Sotapanna [Stream-Enterer].

If our mental state advances a little higher still than this, one becomes an Anagami [Non-Returner]. One must then contemplate personality-view (sakkaya-ditthi), or some form of foulness meditation (asubha-kammatthana), contemplating so as to see that the bodies of people and animals are not solid masses — they are composed of the 32 parts, having liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs, new food, old food, feces and urine; the body is full of filth, full of dirtiness, nothing lovable or desirable about it, no cleanliness. We come to be disgusted with the body, until our mind grows weary — seeing people, seeing animals, other persons, or ourselves — feeling that it is all full of dirtiness, seeing that the body composed of the four elements of each person is dirty and repulsive, not to be desired for coupling and living together with, until our mind attains happiness free from love of beautiful form, pleasant sound, fragrant smell, delicious taste, and soft touch. After that, one cultivates loving-kindness, the four Brahma-viharas, as a means of cutting off anger and ill-will, until, seeing anyone do something one used to dislike, the mind has an easy, comfortable feeling — instead of anger, instead of harboring ill-will and wishing to harm them, there arises instead loving-kindness and love, compassion and pity, thinking that a person who does evil in that way is a person exceedingly pitiable, because it is self-destruction. This is gradually smoothed over, little by little.

As for the subject of vipassana-insight, I will reserve it specifically for the topic of the Anagami level, because at this time — the time for speaking has already gone on too long, as the time-signal has already appeared. First of all, please take hold...

...the in-and-out breath together with the recitation-word. Try to fix the mental resolve firmly, thinking: "From now on, for 30 minutes, I will absolutely not allow any other mental state to come and disturb my mind" — except that we sustain mindfulness and clear comprehension, knowing the in-and-out breath, knowing the recitation-word "Buddho" as normal. This requires making the mind strong, sustaining the mental state throughout. If one has become full and satisfied and at ease, when the mind turns back to thinking, let it think that this body of ours is not us, is not ours — sooner or later it will fall apart, sooner or later it will die; for what benefit should we cling to it? Since our own body will fall apart, for what benefit should we desire the bodies of others? And then, apart from the body, all wealth and possessions likewise have no benefit; yet we must still work and seek [a livelihood], since we still must eat and use things. If it should happen that we must die, then let us die — without regret for wealth, without regret for the body. We believe in the Lord of the Triple World, the Supreme Teacher, and then strive to keep our precepts pure. This matter of precepts should be regarded as a necessary point that cannot be avoided — necessary, absolutely necessary; there is no exception to this for one who cultivates calm-meditation and insight-meditation. It must be held as our normal, ordinary practice that we must observe. If it is like this, the mental state of the Buddhist congregation will attain the mental state of a Sotapanna. This is a matter of the greatest necessity; at the outset, if we do not practice to reach this point, then it is a waste of having been born to encounter the Buddha's Dispensation.

Very well, from now on, may all of you members of the Buddhist congregation, every one of you, strive to hold the body upright and steady the mind firmly, note the in-and-out breath, use the recitation-word, and contemplate according to inclination, until you hear the signal announcing that the time is up.

***

4. The Heart of Cultivating the Meditation Subject

Today I would like to go back and speak about the heart of the cultivation of calm-meditation (samatha-bhavana) and insight-meditation (vipassana-bhavana). Once you have heard it, please remember it. As a rule, the Buddha never repeated himself. In line with the Buddha's teaching there is a saying: "akkhataro tathagata" — Tathagatas are only those who point the way; the Buddha is not one who flatters or grants anyone the attainment of jhana. For practice to go well within the domain of the Buddha's Dispensation, we have the greatest necessity to practice in accordance with the current of the True Dhamma teaching of the Fully Self-Enlightened One. Whatever the Buddha prohibited, or advised was unsuitable, that we must avoid absolutely. If there is anything that the Buddha supported, that thing must be done with our whole life; strive to do it with a truly sincere mind.

Regarding the cultivation or practice of goodness within the Buddha's Dispensation for the sake of the Path and Fruit — many Buddhists still have a great deal of mistaken understanding about this, thinking that practicing with a strained, tense manner is a good thing. For this we must turn to look at the Dhamma-teaching of the Fully Self-Enlightened One, reckoned as the First Sermon, delivered to the Group of Five ascetics, headed by the Venerable Anna Kondanna, in the time when the Lord of the Ten Powers, the Supreme Teacher, the Fully Self-Enlightened One, had newly attained the consecration of Perfect Self-Enlightenment. At that time the Lord of the Triple World intended to come and preach for the benefit of the five members of the assembly. The heart of the True Dhamma teaching delivered at that time consisted of three things together, namely:

1. Attakilamathanuyoga [devotion to self-mortification]

2. Kamasukhallikanuyoga [devotion to sensual pleasure]

3. Majjhima patipada [the Middle Way]

These three, because at that time it was a time bridging between the Buddha's Dispensation and the Brahmanical religion. Originally the Brahmins liked to practice in the way of self-mortification — torturing the body in various ways: sitting without eating, eating only once a day, eating only from one house that offered it, eating only a very small amount, refusing to sleep, torturing the body, fasting, and so on. The Brahmins liked to torture themselves. This method — when the Lord of the Ten Powers, the Supreme Teacher, the Fully Self-Enlightened One, was newly going forth in search of the liberating Dhamma, the Lord of the Triple World also tried it likewise, because in that era it was held to be good. The Lord Jinasiha [the Victorious Lion] also did it — did it for a span of six years, until his body became extremely emaciated...

...walking would sway as if about to fall; running his hand over his body he felt that the hair fell out along with his hand, showing that there was no blood to nourish it — and it brought no success. Then the Lord of the Ten Powers, relying on the fact that his old accumulated merit (parami) was fully mature and complete, had a thought arise in his mind that attainment was, it seemed, not to be found by way of self-mortification, that is, torturing oneself. The Lord of the Ten Powers therefore took solid food until his strength was restored. The Lord, the Jewel Lamp [of the world], then took the eight bundles of kusa grass offered to him and laid them at the foot of the Bodhi tree, then sat with his back resting against the base of the Bodhi tree, facing the east, and made a resolution in his heart: "For as long as I have not attained Perfect Self-Enlightenment, let my blood and flesh dry up, or let this life come to an end — I will not consent to rise from this spot." And so it was that on that very day, the Lord Jinasiha, the Supreme Teacher, the Fully Self-Enlightened One, attained the consecration of Perfect Self-Enlightenment on that day — that is, the full-moon day of the eighth month, the same day on which the Buddha delivered his Dhamma teaching for the benefit of the Group of Five. The Lord Jinasiha then made this Buddha-utterance:

"Behold, monks, there are two extremes which one who seeks the Path and Fruit should not go near." That is, attakilamathanuyoga — practicing oneself with hardship, being tense and strained, torturing the body. This, I see, is much favored nowadays among practitioners who like to follow the wrong track — that is, they like to sit for a long time, torturing themselves for hours on end, holding this to be good. This is wrong. So it is that this torturing of the body is held by the Lord of the Triple World, the Supreme Teacher, to be wrong — it is not the way to attain the Path and Fruit; it is too tense.

The other low extreme is kamasukhallikanuyoga — the time when we sit reciting, and we think, wanting to reach this, wanting to reach that, wanting to become like this, wanting to become like that. This wanting is craving (tanha), that is, it is a defilement (kilesa) — so why then should we go wanting things?

These two conditions, the Lord who holds the Dhamma, the Supreme Teacher, had us abandon — do not go near them. The part that is truly proper for attaining the Path and Fruit is the Middle Way (majjhima patipada) — conducting oneself moderately, just enough: if sitting makes one tired, lie down; if lying down is uncomfortable, stand; if standing is inconvenient, walk — usable in all four postures. Take only what is just right and proper, not eating to excess, and make the mind steady, focused specifically on the mental object we require. This is what is called the Middle Way, which practitioners must strive to practice truly on the right track. This is the great rule.

Next let us turn to look at the Udumbarika Sutta, or the boon that Devadatta asked of the Buddha, which contains several matters that are minor defilements (upakkilesa), which present-day practitioners feel a need for, and then...

...what would that achieve? There is still the view that eating only once a day, or never eating meat at all, constitutes attainment of the Path and Fruit. Let us consider the Lord of the Ten Powers in that era: Devadatta asked a boon of the Buddha, that monks who dwell in the forest should remain in the forest and not enter villages, that monks who dwell in villages should not go out to the forest, and especially, that monks should never eat meat, because it encourages the laity to commit sin — when lay people wish to make merit they bring meat to offer. This the Lord of the Triple World, the Supreme Teacher, refused to comply with, because this too is a part of self-mortification (attakilamathanuyoga). Because if the villagers eat meat and the monks do not eat meat, the villagers would find it troublesome, having to prepare food in two separate ways; and further, the monks themselves would also have difficulty — difficulty over food, because the villagers would have nothing to give them.

Regarding the consumption of food, the Lord of the Triple World already has an established discipline for this. Whatever kind of food it may be, apart from what the monastic discipline (Vinaya) prohibits and food that is harmful to the body, before eating, the Lord of the Triple World has [us] contemplate it as "loathsome-food-perception" (ahare patikulasanna) — contemplating that this food has its basis in filth: plant crops and grains are also dirty, meat is also dirty; since we take in dirty things, our body too is dirty — what could make it clean? Our own body, and the bodies of animals alike, are in a disgusting condition, but we eat only in order to keep the physical being going. We shall not be intoxicated with life, we shall not be intoxicated with the body, we shall not become attached to the taste of food. This discipline the Lord Vanquisher of Mara already has in place.

As for the Udumbarika Sutta, the Lord, the Jewel Lamp [of the world], spoke of many kinds of minor defilements (upakkilesa), forty in total altogether, in which the Fully Self-Enlightened One said: "You should not think that other people are greedy for food; do not be conceited, thinking yourself a good person because you eat little, consume little, [while thinking] that person eats much, consumes much; that such a person does not choose their food," and so on. So it is that this kind of outward practice the Lord of the Ten Powers, the Supreme Teacher, did not praise, because it is not the way to attain the Path and Fruit. The way to attain the Path and Fruit exists only in the mind. Keep yourself at ease; wherever we go, we can fit in with that society. If we should practice in some way that is unlike that society, conceit will arise, becoming a defilement, thinking: "that society cannot compare with us, this society cannot compare with us, that society is better than us, this society is worse than us" — turning into pride and self-conceit. This is a mental state of upakkilesa [minor defilement] that is of no use.

Look at the Fully Self-Enlightened One — the great number of Arahants who attained the Path and Fruit: the Lord of the Ten Powers never ordered [anyone] to suppress this or suppress that, apart from ordinary conduct. As for eating meals, let it follow the ordinary practice of whatever the villagers bring to offer, according to what they have — they have only this much, we do not pick and choose otherwise, holding that it is only to sustain the physical being. If they give much, eat much; if they give little, eat little — though if they give too much, one should not eat to excess. Consuming food should follow "bhojane mattannuta" — knowing moderation in eating, eating neither too much nor too little, taking what is suitable, without sitting in judgment finding fault with others. This is one mental attitude.

Another point: we must make our mind come to rest at a point of calm. This means: we look only at our own mind, according to the Pali saying "attana codayattanam" — always admonish yourself by yourself, reminding yourself what the teaching of the Fully Self-Enlightened One has taught us to practice, and in what way it has forbidden us to act. This we must practice strictly — not go thinking according to the mental attitude of what the villagers happen to do. Seeing the villagers do something — the villagers are not the Buddha. If that person were truly so good, he would have to be a Buddha himself, [for anyone else] who sets up a new pattern to overturn the Buddha's teaching — we, as disciples of the Buddha, cannot follow that. If we insist on following it, we will attain no Path or Fruit whatsoever as taught by the Buddha, because we would already be contradicting the Buddha's teaching.

As for the mental attitude regarding the mind: the mental attitude is this — first of all, the Lord of the Triple World, the Supreme Teacher, has us consider only our own mind; whatever the conduct of other people may be, never mind. As it is said, "akkhataro tathagata" — Tathagatas are only those who point the way; "attana codayattanam" — admonish yourself by yourself, reminding yourself of what manner the Buddha taught us, [and] we act accordingly; whatever manner the Buddha forbade, we abstain from accordingly. This is one point we must practice strictly.

As for the method of practice for bringing the mind to attain jhana or a good level of vipassana-insight, remember this: samatha means the technique that is an instrument for calming the mind. Samatha-bhavana is not a technique for seeing ghosts or seeing devas, seeing hell or seeing heaven, seeing various visions — it is not like that. Remember the translation well: samatha means the technique that is an instrument for calming the mind, making the mind calm from external mental objects, holding to only the single mental object that we have resolved upon.

First of all, the Lord of the Triple World has us suppress the thought of going to sit in judgment over the villagers — that this person is good, that person is bad. Look only at our own mind — whether our own mind is good or whether our own mind is bad. Use mindfulness and clear comprehension to control it.

The second article: keep one's precepts pure.

The third article: suppress the five hindrances (nivarana) at every moment. The five hindrances are:

Suppress desire for sensual objects — beautiful forms, pleasant sounds, delicious tastes, fragrant smells, the touch we desire; the mind rolling about after sense-desire — this must be suppressed instantly, at once, every single time.

Suppress anger and ill-will.

Suppress drowsiness and sleepiness.

Such as today, hearing faint sounds drifting in — we must pay no attention to the sound; [suppress] restlessness and worry (uddhacca-kukkucca); the mind must not shoot off after the sound, and must not be irritated by the sound; hold onto the object of recitation and contemplate according to inclination, so as to sustain it.

Have no doubt in the teachings of the Fully Self-Enlightened One.

Besides this, the Blessed One has us sustain the four Brahma-viharas, that is:

Have loving-kindness (metta) as the normal state — think that we are enemies with no one, that we will be a friend to all people and animals throughout the world; make the mind at ease.

Compassion (karuna) — we have pity, and will help people and animals to have happiness according to our ability to do so.

Sympathetic joy (mudita) — have a gentle mind, envy no one, and rejoice when others attain good fortune.

Equanimity (upekkha) — remain unmoved; such as the sound of people amplifying sound today — that is a matter for those who are gathered together [in that situation]; they must use enticing sound as their own business; the work of cultivating samadhi of the mind is our own business.

This — this is the main principle in the cultivation of the meditation subject; that is all there is to it. If we can sustain the mental state according to this, without transgressing the admonitions of the Lord, the Jewel Lamp [of the world], and practice according to the teaching, before long we will attain jhana-attainment.

Well then, today let us test our own minds together. Today is actually very good, because there is a sound of amplified noise coming in to disturb us — all the better; it is not a bad thing. First of all, let us try to hold the in-and-out breath, because the in-and-out breath suppresses the wandering, distracted state of the mind. Breathing in, know that one is breathing in; breathing out, know that one is breathing out — or one may count. Breathing in and breathing out counts as 1. Try counting and see how far it gets — count it...

...just 10 pairs. Once we reach 10 pairs, we start over again. Let's see — within this 30-minute period, will we lose to the sound, or will we win against the sound?

If our ears still hear the sound clearly, we can tell they are singing every kind of song, but our mind is not annoyed by it — this is called: our mind has reached the first jhana. If the sound we hear grows fainter, our mood turns pleasant and refreshed, but the recitation-word drops away and is lost — this is called the second jhana. If the in-and-out breath feels like it has grown very faint and light, there is a tense, tight sensation, the body feels as if strained, the ears hear the sound only faintly, now and then, and the mind holds concentration well — this is the third jhana. At whatever moment, while continuing to recite and to contemplate, it happens that the ears no longer hear the sound at all, and one thinks the singer must have stopped, the mind feels at ease and open — this is the fourth jhana.

This is the measuring device for today, for [testing] the progress [of practice] — we have been developing meditation together for a long time now; what results has this had?

Well then — from this point on, may all of you Buddhist devotees please try to hold the body upright and steady the mind firmly, noting the in-and-out breath, using the recitation-word and contemplation as suits your own temperament, until you hear the signal announcing that time is up. Try testing your own mind to see whether the concentration we have been training has borne fruit or not. Today it went very well — this itself served as the practice, and it's now complete.

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9. Anapanasati in Brief

From this point on it is the occasion for all of you to develop concentration of mind and insight-knowledge. Please understand that the development of meditation practice — whether it is the development of calm (samatha) meditation or of insight (vipassana) meditation — is, in either case, what is called "ultimate practice" (paramattha-patibatti). If classed as a perfection, it is called "ultimate perfection" (paramattha-parami); it is the building of resolve within the wholesome side [of the mind].

Today I will speak briefly, just a little. The reason we do it this way is because the Lord Buddha, the Fully Self-Enlightened One, taught that birth is suffering — "jatipi dukkha," birth is suffering. We can see this easily: birth is suffering. This birth cannot be stopped; we must do every kind of work for our own livelihood and that of our family. No matter what occupation we take up, no matter how much wealth we may have, in the end we must die. If, after we die, evil still clings to the mind, it will drag us down into the states of loss — to be born as a hell-being, a hungry ghost, an asura, an animal, and so on. If we have goodness clinging to our mind, then at worst we are reborn as a fine human being, or as a deva or a Brahma. If [our mind] is fully pure, we reach Nibbana.

For our mind to cling to goodness, or for goodness to be able to cling to our mind, we must rely on: 1. Giving (dana) 2. Keeping the precepts (sila) 3. Developing meditation (bhavana)

Especially with regard to meditation, the Lord Buddha, the Fully Self-Enlightened One, wants to make the mind accustomed to wholesome states of mind, because the development of the forty kammatthana meditation subjects, as well as insight-knowledge, are all classed as wholesome — which the Great Blessed One declared to be the condition for reaching Nibbana. Therefore, may all you Buddhist devotees please understand that the first aim of developing meditation practice is to establish mindfulness and clear comprehension — that is, to have full mindfulness and clear comprehension, not forgetting goodness: giving, keeping precepts, and developing meditation.

In developing calm meditation, we want the mind to be at peace, away from unwholesome states, and for the mind to incline habitually toward the wholesome. Normally the ancient teachers advise recollecting the goodness of the Buddha as the object [of meditation], using the recitation-word "Buddho." But if one simply recites without more, the mind tends to drift too far, having nothing to hold onto, because the mind's nature is restless and wavering. For this reason, the teachers therefore advise taking up mindfulness of breathing (anapanasati) [as the anchor]...

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...meditation subject: hold the in-and-out breath, note the in-and-out breath — while breathing in, think 'Bud,' while breathing out, think 'dho.' As for this anapanasati meditation, or the noting of the in-and-out breath, it is a meditation subject that lessens the mind's distraction. It is also called a meditation subject that calms the bodily formations (kayasankhara). At times when we are sick and unwell, when the symptoms are severe, when there is intense tension, one should use anapanasati meditation to calm it — hold the in-and-out breath until the mind-state becomes jhana, or access concentration (upacara-samadhi); the painful feeling will then subside. In truth, the [physical] symptom itself has not lessened, but because our mind no longer accepts the sensation from the bodily condition, it brings ease. And second, this anapanasati is a meditation subject that calms delusion-temperament (moha-carita) and worry-temperament (vitakka-carita) — in sum, it cuts off the mind's foolishness; moha is foolishness — it makes the mind sharper.

As for buddhanussati — the meditation subject of recollecting the virtues of the Buddha as the object — this kind, if one is reborn as a human being, brings only prosperity, never falling back, never inferior to anyone. If reborn as a deva or a Brahma, one has great bodily radiance; devas and Brahmas measure goodness and merit by bodily radiance. It is said that, especially, developing this buddhanussati meditation is the easiest way to reach Nibbana.

Well then, from this point on, may all you Buddhist devotees please intend to note the in-and-out breath — while breathing in, think 'Bud,' while breathing out, think 'dho.' At whatever moment we know the in-breath and out-breath, and know the recitation-word 'Buddho,' at that moment our mind is said to be in the concentration we seek. If, as we go on reciting, the mind grows at ease and the recitation-word simply stops on its own, this is a happiness even greater than before — so do not be alarmed by this. This is the state of the second jhana, which is an improved state of mind. If, continuing on, the sense of freshness disappears, there is a feeling of tension, the breath grows faint, the ears hear outside sounds only very faintly, and the mind stays firmly and closely fixed — this is the state of the third jhana. If, by chance, while continuing to recite and note the in-and-out breath, it turns out one does not know whether the breath is coming in or going out at all, there is simply a neutral feeling, a feeling of ease of mind — this is the state of the fourth jhana, reckoned to be the most important jhana-state in the Buddhist religion.

From here on, may all you Buddhist devotees, each and every one, try to hold the body upright, steady the mind firmly, note the in-and-out breath, using the recitation-word and contemplation as suits your own temperament, until you hear the signal announcing that time is up.

***

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10. The Faults of Sensual Desire

With this, the undertaking of the meditation precepts is concluded. From here on, may all of you please compose your minds and bring the mind into concentration — that is, holding mindfulness and clear comprehension, noting the in-and-out breath as the foundation. Breathing in and breathing out is the great foundation. Together with this, use whatever recitation-word suits your own temperament: "Buddho," "Dhammo," "Sangho," or "Arahang," or any other, as you find fitting — but let the mind incline, above all, toward the Blessed One who is endowed with well-being and glory, [reflecting] that we have entered within the bounds of the Buddhist religion because we have faith in Him, having no doubt in His teaching, and let us resolve our intention that we will accept and revere the Triple Gem — the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Noble Sangha — as the ones who lead us to happiness both in this present life and in the life to come.

Having inclined the mind to recollect the goodness of the Lord Buddha, the Fully Self-Enlightened One, let us then take up the Dhamma-teaching of the Blessed Lamp of the World, who taught us that this world is impermanent (anicca), nothing lasting can be found; it is suffering (dukkha), there is only suffering; it is non-self (anatta) — everything, every single thing, ultimately disintegrates. Being born as a human, born as a deva, born as a Brahma, or born as an animal — all are full of suffering. We must manage and carry out work for our own livelihood; in every kind of work there is no end — once done, it must be done again, done again and it must be done yet again, on and on like this all the time. We work until we die, and even then we are never free of it. After death, for as long as our defilements are not yet exhausted, we must still wander round in the cycle of birth and death — stepping down to become a hell-being, a hungry ghost, an asura, an animal — we would then be said to have suffered a loss. Even if we merely circle back to being reborn human again, we are likewise said to have suffered a loss, because if, having been human, we are reborn human once more, it is said that nothing has improved for us — we remain a slave to defilement, craving, clinging, and unwholesome kamma. So let us hold fast to the teaching of the Great Teacher: at the very least, when we die in this life, may we become a deva; or, doing good to a middling degree, may we be reborn as a Brahma; or else, what we want most of all is Nibbana — for Nibbana is the one and only place where the task is finished, where nothing more needs to be done; there is no other task left to perform. The Blessed Lamp of the World taught this in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, the Adittapariyaya Sutta, and the Anattalakkhana Sutta as well; in the end, the Blessed Conqueror, the Great Teacher, the Fully Self-Enlightened One, taught in this manner.

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...that whatever we needed to do, we have finished doing, and there is no other task left to do — this means we have become an Arahant. So long as we have not yet attained Arahantship, we must continue to act. That kind of task is the task that still must be done — one must carry out and manage [affairs] for oneself, for one's family, for one's friends, for one's group, or for the nation, and so on — it is a wearisome task indeed.

There is an example of growing weary of a task that, once done, must be done again and again, found in the Dhammapada, in the Khuddaka Nikaya, from the time when the Blessed Lord of the Triple World, the Great Teacher, the Fully Self-Enlightened One, had arisen for about 10 years — within this period, no more than 10 years. During that time, among the Sakya royal house and the Devadaha royal house alike — the Sakya being the royal relatives of the Blessed Conqueror, the Great Teacher, the Fully Self-Enlightened One, and Devadaha being the relatives on the side of Princess Phimpha, the [Buddha's] royal consort — both of these two lineages were royal relatives within the same clan, and, one after another, many of them went forth and were ordained in the Buddhist religion. Now at that time, King Mahanama was the ruler of the Sakya line at Kapilavatthu. King Mahanama had two siblings, namely King Mahanama [himself], Prince Anuruddha, and Princess Rohini. As for Princess Rohini, it seems she need not be counted in this, since she was a woman. [The people of] Sakya as well as [those of] Devadaha city had, one after another, all gone forth as monks following the Blessed Conqueror, so that only our two [from this] lineage remained who had not yet gone forth — [King Mahanama said,] 'we shall become as if barren [of ordained descendants].' [He said,] 'If it must be so, then I, elder brother, will ask to be ordained; may you, younger brother, remain and inherit the estate, becoming king.' Prince Anuruddha listened in silence. Then King Mahanama said, 'If you are to be king and govern the people, you must learn the duties of a king, or of the common people in general, and what they need.' In those days a king had much work to do — he had to farm the rice fields. But Prince Anuruddha, being the younger brother, had never had to endure hardship or do such work, and so he asked how farming was done.

King Mahanama then said: 'When the time comes to begin, first you take the oxen and buffaloes out, take out the plough, take out the equipment, plough to make furrows, then scatter the rice seed down, then plough it under, then use the harrow to harrow it, and then gather up the weeds.'

Prince Anuruddha asked, 'Is that finished, then?' Mahanama said it was not yet finished. 'Next you must watch the water, and see whether the rice plants are coming up well or not. If it turns out there are weeds — that is, plants that would harm the rice plants — you must hack them, clear them, and pull them up; this is tending the rice. If there are insect pests or worms, you must find a way to drive off the pests and worms that eat the rice clusters.'

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Prince Anuruddha asked whether it was finished yet. Mahanama said not yet. 'Next, when the rice grows up it forms into ears; once it has formed ears and the grains are fully ripe, they must be harvested. Once harvested, they must be threshed. Once threshed, they must be stored away in the granary or the rice-barn.'

Prince Anuruddha asked whether it was finished yet. Mahanama said not yet, and went on to say: 'Next, the rice must be brought to be cleaned and milled to make it ready as milled rice, and then it can be brought [to eat].'

Prince Anuruddha asked whether it was finished yet. King Mahanama said not yet: 'Once we have eaten our way through the old rice, when the new farming season arrives, we must take the old rice to make new seed rice for planting again, and go on doing it this way continually. Every year it must be done anew; once the rice is harvested it goes on this way for a whole lifetime.'

Prince Anuruddha asked: 'Is there truly no stopping this business of farming and making a living?' King Mahanama said it cannot be stopped, because we must eat. 'Our elders, of every generation, all do it this way; even right up until death they never get the chance to stop, because it is a task we are obliged to do.' At this Prince Anuruddha said, 'If that is so, then I shall be ordained — you shall go on being king.'

So it was that King Mahanama let him have his way. In truth, at that time, though Mahanama was indeed a king, he had practiced the Dhamma to the point of attaining the state of Anagami (Non-returner). Once Prince Anuruddha received his elder brother's permission, he invited four other companions to go along with him, Devadatta among them, and Upali, who was a barber, went along too. When the time came to be ordained, [Anuruddha] had Upali ordained first — this was because, in the Buddhist religion, it is held that whoever is ordained first is the senior, the elder; those ordained afterward must show respect in due order. Having Upali ordained first, in his position as a servant, carried the inner intention: 'we have cut off our pride, not regarding ourselves as master or lord' — taking him as their senior would let go of that pride as a first step. After this, [Anuruddha] himself was ordained in the Buddhist religion. Having had the chance to hear the Dhamma from King Mahanama's account, that being born human means one cannot ever stop — one must go on making a living, and being reborn human again means having to make a living in just the same way, without end — he therefore no longer wanted to go on making a living [in that sense]. Once ordained, he went to attend upon the Blessed Lord of the Triple World. The Blessed One, the Lord, then spoke of Nibbana as the goal, [saying] that Nibbana is the single, supreme happiness, a happiness of the highest degree; it is said that not even one kind of suffering exists at all within the five aggregates [in that state] — it is a pure happiness, entirely filled with lightness.

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But one who would reach Nibbana must strive to cut off greed (lobha), desire; hatred (dosa), anger; delusion (moha), confusion — seeing that the body is without substance, without essence, that it is impermanent (anicca) — once born, nothing lasting can be found in it; suffering (dukkha), full of suffering; non-self (anatta), disintegrating in the end. If we remain foolish and continue awaiting further rebirth, there is no benefit in it. The Blessed One, the Lord, pointed out this fault for Prince Anuruddha and the assembly of monks to hear, [saying] that the body is a den of disease, a nest of illness — from the day one is born, every day there is nothing but sickness; there is no human being without some sickness, not even for a single second. Even if no other kind of sickness is present, one sickness always dwells confined within the body, namely: 'jighacchā paramā rogā' — it is said that hunger is the very worst of diseases. 'Roga' [disease] is explained as meaning something that stabs and pierces; when hunger arises, one can find no comfort at all — there is no ease in it. If we could cut off hunger, cut off this evil disease that is craving/wanting, then we would have happiness.

Prince Anuruddha asked, 'How is that done, Lord Buddha?' The Blessed Teacher then said: contemplate and see that the body is not us, is not ours; we do not exist within the body, the body does not exist within us. Once we have cut off [attachment to] the body, no longer seeing the body as ourselves or as ours, then we can cut off everything else in the world as well, because the reason we want possessions or want to have a family is because we hold the notion of 'body' to be important. Therefore, if we can cut off the sense of 'mine-ness' regarding the body, we are then said to be an Arahant. Having heard just this much of the teaching from the Blessed Conqueror of Mara, [Anuruddha] entered the forest to develop the ascetic's practice, that is, meditation. Having steadied his mind well into concentration, he then contemplated the five aggregates thus: not us, not ours; we do not exist within the five aggregates, the five aggregates do not exist within us. The body is merely the four elements — the earth element, the air element, the fire element, the water element — mixed together as a temporary mass, and in the end it must die. Even while it has not yet died, the body is impermanent, nothing lasting or certain can be found in it; it is suffering, filled with suffering; it is a den of disease, a nest of illness; 'pabhaṅguṇaṃ' — it must eventually decay and rot away. Neither our own body nor anyone else's body has anything of substance or essence in it — there is no cleanliness, only filth, no coolness, only being full of burning heat. Having contemplated along the stream of this true Dhamma-teaching of the Blessed Victorious One to just this extent, it is said that he attained the fruit of Arahantship, becoming a Noble One within the Buddhist religion.

Therefore, from this point on, may the monks and novices, every one of them, as well as all you lay devotees, please settle your minds and fix your minds into concentration — that is, note the in-and-out breath, and...

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...the recitation-word, and once the mind is at ease, contemplate just as Prince Anuruddha did. The result you may then obtain is bodily and mental happiness in this life and in the life to come. Well then, from this point on, may all of you please intend to develop meditation practice — you may sit, or stand, or lie down, or walk, as you find fitting, and hold mindfulness and clear comprehension in mind, that we shall know the in-and-out breath, or that we shall know the recitation-word, or keep reciting throughout the whole time we are practicing. In this practice, the timing need not be strictly fixed — let it proceed as suits your own temperament. If you are lying down, it is even better if you can rely on reciting or contemplating until you fall asleep — that is, if, having recited or contemplated, you fall asleep, this shows that the mind has reached the first jhana, which is reckoned a good sign. Now, as for the development of our meditation practice, it seems there is still much lacking on the side of wisdom (panna). Please make much use of wisdom in reflecting carefully; use mindfulness and clear comprehension to keep control — that is, keep the mind at ease — and then use wisdom to contemplate the five aggregates and the conditions surrounding them continually. Good results will come to all of you. Well then, from now on, may all of you hold the body upright, steady the mind firmly, note the in-and-out breath, recite and contemplate as suits your own temperament, until the time comes when you wish to stop.

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11. The Path of a Single Person

On this occasion, all you Buddhist devotees have together undertaken the precepts and undertaken meditation practice. The development of meditation practice naturally has forty different approaches. On the side of calm meditation [there are many]; insight meditation especially has only a single approach — namely, the contemplation of the five aggregates — though the wording used [in the various expositions] naturally is not repeated exactly the same, being presented in many different ways. From here on, before you Buddhist devotees make the mind-object into a jhana-object, first of all the mind must be brought to reach insight-knowledge (vipassana-nana). But in truth this insight-knowledge is very important, yet it must still rely on being controlled together with calm (samatha). If calm is absent, insight-meditation bears no fruit. The ancient teachers have always tried to instruct their pupils that, before reciting in whatever manner, you should all first contemplate according to the principles of insight-knowledge. If you contemplate in this way until you all remain seated for the full allotted time without using any recitation-word at all, this the Blessed Conqueror regards as the pinnacle of practitioners — that is, having a mind that has truly reached the state of Dhamma itself. Developing calm is merely the laying of the groundwork; but what truly cuts off defilement is contemplation according to the pattern of insight-knowledge.

As for the pattern of insight-knowledge that we can easily see for ourselves, that is to say, the Buddha declared: "Ekayano ayam, bhikkhave, maggo sattanam visuddhiya," and so on — meaning in substance that this path is the sole path, the path of a single person; when practiced to the point of attainment, one will together be freed from suffering, reaching the utmost end of suffering, which is Nibbana. This is the mind-object of a person who is able to reach Nibbana — it must be a mind-object of letting-go, a mind that knows and keeps pace with reality as it truly is, that accepts and respects what is true, and does not grasp firmly at what is [merely] clinging (upadana) — that is, [not] creating a state of mind that reaches defilement, having an easy mind, a normal mind, an open mind — this is called the mind-object of Nibbana. It is this kind of mind-object that we want. For such a mind-object to arise, one must rely on wisdom to contemplate that:

"Jatipi dukkha" — birth is suffering. "Jarapi dukkha" — old age is suffering. "Maranampi dukkham" — death is suffering.

"Sokaparidevadukkhadomanassupayasa" — sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are also suffering; separation from what is loved and cherished is also suffering.

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All these conditions are the ordinary condition of human beings and animals alike who are born into the world. 'Jatipi dukkha' — the Buddha said that birth is suffering. Let us sit and contemplate that people and animals born into the world have suffering constantly, finding no happiness anywhere. If we truly use wisdom to contemplate, we will see that there is no happiness at all, from the very moment we open our eyes and wake up until the moment we fall asleep — we will never meet with happiness, we will meet only with suffering. The only exception is if we are devoid of mindfulness and clear comprehension — if we lack the mindful wisdom to contemplate with, then we will be unable to see the suffering at all. There is suffering simply because of the condition of a person's being born; we can see this easily — as children we do not yet speak of it, but nowadays it is said: 'jatipi dukkha,' birth is suffering. The word 'suffering' (dukkha) here means: a task that must be endured — whatever must be endured in doing, whatever must be endured in thinking — this is entirely a matter of suffering. The task that must be endured is hunger. When hunger arises, the Buddha said: 'jighaccha parama roga' — hunger is the very worst disease. This hunger means something that stabs and pierces; discomfort of body and mind arises from it — and it is precisely this bodily and mental discomfort that the Buddha called suffering. When hunger compels us, we must make a living by various means, undertaking work through right livelihood in some cases, wrong livelihood in others. As for 'right livelihood' — earning a living rightly in some cases; sometimes, when necessity compels us, we end up earning a living wrongfully. Even though it may be wrong, even though it may bring loss in whatever way, we are still ready to act for the sake of the body's comfortable existence — yet the mind remains full of suffering. Even when we earn our living through right livelihood, weariness and hardship still arise for us, and this too is a condition of suffering. Since time is limited, let this be taken only in brief summary, for you to contemplate further on your own. Doing every kind of work in order to obtain what is to be consumed — this itself is suffering. What tires us most of all is chiefly the matter of consumption. A set of clothes, once bought, lasts a long time; but as for eating, once eaten it says 'full' only for a moment, and before long, not too long, it says 'hungry' again — one must go and find food anew. Having eaten, if we do not prepare food for next time, do not set aside resources for next time, then when hunger comes again we will not know what to do — so we must keep on preparing, over and over. Thus it is that people do every kind of work to get by, and can never find time to rest and relax the mind, all because hunger is what matters most. We can thus see that this hunger truly is the very pinnacle of suffering. It is for this — enduring all this hardship and toil through every kind of work, passing through obstacles, staking our very life — all only for the sake of hunger, only to prevent the body from being hungry. Just from this one thing, hunger alone, we can see that it is suffering throughout the whole of life, no matter at what moment one continues to live, there still is [this hunger]...

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...the life-breath continues we must struggle with hunger. When hunger appears, we look for food to feed it; having eaten, one then needs to pass stool and urine again — this is called nibaddha-dukkha (recurring suffering); this too is a symptom of suffering.

Now, jarāpi dukkhā — old age is suffering. This 'old age' means that life moves on every day, from being a child to being a young man or woman. But for this ageing we instead use the word 'growing up' — becoming greater, growing bigger, becoming better. In truth the body really does grow, but when the body grows, the Teacher says that ageing/suffering also increases just as much as the body that grows. While we are children, the only duty we must perform is to seek food from our parents; our parents, our guardians in authority, are the providers. When we need to pass stool or urine, they clean us; when we need to bathe, they bathe us. In sum, a child's suffering amounts only to this: first, wanting to eat — wishing to eat as one pleases; second, wanting to play — wishing to play as one pleases. Now, as ageing arises and the body grows, suffering increases along with it, because desire advances further; the mind's desire grows greater, one wants more and more possessions — a small child does not want this, a child has only one want, depending entirely on father and mother, or the guardian, as provider. Once grown, merely receiving as before is no longer enough; one wants to obtain still more. Desire and want become greater than a child's. When desire and want go unfulfilled, distress arises; this distress is itself suffering. Now the emotions produce even more suffering; desire to form a partnership arises, the mind becomes restless and cannot bear it. But once married, we meet with suffering on a tremendous scale. If we use wisdom to consider: alone, one may eat whenever, sleep whenever, wake whenever one likes; not bathing for seven or eight days, nothing seems wrong with that; complaining troubles no one but oneself, and no one else will complain either, because we are a single person, free to do anything as we please. But once married it is not like that — one must sit and please one's spouse, please the spouse's whole family as well, adding no small heaviness to the heart. Here we must use wisdom to see that having a partner is suffering. Hence the Buddha declared: 'ekāyano ayaṃ, bhikkhave, maggo sattānaṃ visuddhiyā' — the path of the solitary person is the one path that leads beings to the ending of suffering. This means that if we are a single person, if no one else becomes entangled with us or a cause for worry, we can reach the ending of suffering easily, because there is no other burden apart from the burden of oneself alone. As ageing increases, suffering increases; as desire increases, [so does suffering]. A child and a young adult do not have the same wants...

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...the mind becomes even more restless. Jarāpi dukkhā — when youth has passed, real old age of the body appears, and this itself creates suffering. Eyes that used to be good are no longer good; looking at things, one can barely see. Ears that used to hear clearly no longer hear clearly. Things one used to use with ease begin [to give trouble]; suffering and heaviness of heart arise. One must borrow another's nose to breathe [i.e., depend on others], which is inconvenient. Besides the eyes and ears failing, the body also deteriorates, becoming shaky and unsteady; nothing good can be had from it — it is filled entirely with suffering. We who used to walk with ease and do this and that with ease must now rely on others, and things no longer go as we wish; heavy feelings of suffering arise — this is the suffering we can see clearly.

Now, maraṇampi dukkhaṃ — death is suffering. Old age is already heavy suffering; as nearness to death draws near, suffering arises. How does it arise? One who is about to die has severe painful feeling (dukkha-vedanā), which presses and crushes, producing bodily and mental discomfort — aching here, stabbing there — together with distress of mind, because we do not want such a condition, yet it will occur regardless. Death itself may not truly be suffering, but we suffer beforehand, before it happens; not wanting to die is what makes us suffer. Why must one grow old? Why must one die? Because it is the natural law of one who has been born — once birth has occurred, change inevitably appears, dissolution inevitably appears; this is the natural law. If we simply know that all these things are natural, the emotion that is suffering will not arise. Most who are Arahants did not study a great deal; they simply accepted and respected the law of nature — that alone is called being an Arahant.

Next comes what is called soka-paridēva-dukkha-domanassa-upāyāsa — grief, lamentation, sorrow, and separation from what one loves — which produces suffering. The Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha declared that everything in the world is aniccaṃ, impermanent, nothing constant can be found; the world is aniccaṃ, nothing constant can be found; dukkhaṃ is a mark of suffering; anattā — we cannot control anyone, not even our own body, we cannot control it; if it is to age, it will age, if it is to die, it will die, if it is to fall apart, it will fall apart. Now, the things we love, we always think must stay with us, that we must stay with them — this condition is the condition of clinging, of upādāna, the very peak of defilement, which is avijjā, ignorance. If we would set aside avijjā and bring in vijjā (knowledge) instead, bringing the knowing mind into use, knowing according to truth — as the Buddha told us — that birth, old age, sickness, death, separation from...

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Beloved and cherished things naturally belong to people and creatures who are born. Now let us sit and consider: must a person who has been born undergo change? We ourselves are constantly changing, especially the body, because we grow up or grow old. People of the same generation — when they were schoolchildren together — at that time the body was still lively and agile, still supple. Now if we meet a friend from that era, though it is the same span of time, we will see that his appearance has changed a great deal, not like when we were schoolchildren together. We see he has aged, has changed — do we ever think that we too must change in the same way? This is the impermanence (aniccaṃ) of the body made visible.

Now the impermanence of feeling exists too. The feelings we love and cling to firmly, believing they will remain with us forever, for all time — this very kind of feeling, dear members of the Buddhist assembly, is the feeling that creates suffering, because according to the natural law of the world, is there anything at all that stays fixed? A person or creature we love staying with us forever, never separating from us, is impossible, because impermanence, inconstancy, compels it so; dukkhaṃ — the feeling that cannot remain fixed compels it; anattā — dissolution compels it. People and creatures that appear to be with us undergo ageing, decline, and dissolution. Dissolution occurs in two ways: dissolution through the ending of the life-breath, which we call death; or dissolution away from our heart, when the mind grows distant — this too is called a form of dissolution. If we always apply wisdom to consider that nothing in the world is 'us' or 'ours' — we do not exist within that thing, that thing does not exist within us; everything, we merely dwell with temporarily, and before long it and we must separate — keeping the mind at ease in this way: when ageing of the body occurs we will not be burdened at heart, because we already know it will age; when illness and discomfort arise we will not be burdened at heart, because we already know it will occur — knowing beforehand. Now, when death comes to us we will not be burdened at heart, because we know it will die, we know that once born, one must die. Now, whichever condition — separation from what is loved and cherished — arises, we will not be burdened at heart, because we have already considered that people, animals, and objects, all these things, must separate from us, and we must separate from them; it is an ordinary matter for the people of this world, nothing strange for us. If we apply wisdom to consider this, our mind will have happiness, just like an Arahant.

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We can see that all the Arahants have no emotion of suffering, but they know that the body, or the five khandhas, or material things, are the condition of suffering — they are not burdened by it. Whatever happens to the five khandhas, let it be. If the five khandhas fall ill, that is regarded as an ordinary matter, and one knows it will fall ill; once ill, there is treatment to relieve the painful feeling — recover, and it recovers; if it does not recover and one dies, so be it — one thinks of it as ordinary. When the body is about to die, we are not surprised, knowing that we will die. Even knowing that we will die, we keep thinking always that we will die — the mind thinks this at all times. Whatever we love or cherish, whether person, animal, or object, we must always think that one day it will be separated from us. Hold this understanding, feeling always that if anything we love is separated from us, it is regarded as ordinary, because we know it is not us, and we are not it — let it be a normal condition.

And hold to this one thing alone: that being born, we are a single individual. Even though we may have a spouse, siblings, father and mother, hunger that arises in us, we alone are hungry — other villagers do not sit hungry along with us. If we fall ill and suffer painful feeling, it arises with us alone. Separation from what we love and cherish, disturbance of the emotions, occurs with us alone; others do not get involved. When death truly comes to us, no one else can share the burden of painful feeling — we alone are the one who must receive it. Hence, since we alone must be the one to receive all these feelings, the Lord Sugata therefore said that one must use the phrase 'I alone,' who does not accept and hold to any natural law as being 'me' or 'mine.' When birth appears, when ageing appears — it does not concern me, it is not my business; when illness and discomfort come, I am not concerned with it; when separation from what is loved and cherished occurs, we can still smile and say it is ordinary — I already knew it would be so. A beloved glass falls and shatters; instead of getting angry, one is instead pleased, saying, I already knew it would shatter. A beloved person, a beloved animal, will die, will be separated from us — we can still smile, saying it is the natural law. Let alone others — before long we ourselves will be in that same condition. This is the disposition of the Arahants: they accept and respect the natural law, they apply the law of nature, and they smile at every condition that appears to them. An Arahant appears to have no suffering, but in truth he knows the suffering of the five khandhas. The five khandhas — the body — grow old, walking becomes difficult, and he knows this is suffering; but his mind has happiness, because he knows it is an ordinary matter. Let ageing age; one is born in order to age. When what is loved and cherished appears and then perishes, he still smiles, feeling no heaviness of heart at all.

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An example is the wife of the minister named Phanthulasēnā, who had studied together with King Pasenadi of Kosala and King Bimbisāra; she had great strength, great power, and great knowledge. Later the king sent [her husband] to suppress bandits, together with his sons, but it happened that they were all killed by the bandits. Someone brought a written report of this to the wife. That day, the wife of Phanthulasēnā happened to be making merit at home. When she received and read the letter, she tucked it into the front of her blouse and continued performing meritorious deeds, receiving precepts and offering things to the monk as usual. After the precepts had been undertaken and the monk was eating, a maidservant happened to bring a glass of water; before it arrived, the glass slipped and fell — the woman stumbled, the glass shattered and was completely ruined — it had been a fine glass. The monk therefore admonished her, saying, 'Lay devotee, all these things are external to the body; and the body too is the same — it is aniccaṃ, nothing constant can be found; dukkhaṃ, it is composed of suffering; and anattā, it must eventually dissolve. Lay devotee, do not be troubled at heart.' — for that day was a merit-making day, and the monk feared the woman's mind would become sorrowful. When the monk gave this admonition the woman smiled, but in truth she showed not the slightest sign of distress — even upon learning that her husband and all her sons had died. She then took out the letter and handed it to the monk. The monk received it, read it, and was shocked, and asked, 'Bhaginī, sister, now that this news has appeared, how do you feel?' She answered, 'This matter, I learned of it before Your Reverence arrived at the house. But did Your Reverence notice at all how I was feeling?' The monk observed that she appeared perfectly normal, showing no particular feeling. The monk was pleased and said, 'I thought you, lay devotee, had only just heard the news.' In truth she had heard the news even earlier than that. The woman then said, 'The glass is a thing external to the body, Venerable Sir. As for my husband, whom I called my dearest beloved, and my sons, whom I regarded as the very blood of my heart, even their dying together does not trouble me — why then should I be troubled over a mere broken glass? It is only a thing easily obtained.' The monks thus came to know that the wife of Phanthulasēnā was a Noble One. This, dear members of the Buddhist assembly, is exactly it: if we wish to make our emotions peaceful, we must train the mind as the wife of Phanthulasēnā did — make the mind normal, accepting and respecting the law of nature, thinking that whatever has come into being must, as a matter of course, come to an end. Let it be — whether it is a living thing or a non-living thing. But while it still remains with us, we should cherish and care for it as best we can; and when the occasion comes for separation from what is loved and cherished, we should regard it as an ordinary matter. Instead of clinging to it anxiously with the mind, we must regard it as 'let it be' — it is natural that it will be so; it is the law of nature, impossible to avoid — and so make the mind accept as ordinary that all these things will separate from us.

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...only we remain, who must separate from the body; and before we separate from the body, wherever we go, we must choose the path ourselves.

The other day we spoke of the second jhāna; today we will speak of the third jhāna. The third jhāna is the maintaining of mindfulness and clear comprehension, knowing the in-breath and out-breath together with the meditation word. When breathing in, think 'Bud'; when breathing out, think 'dho' — that much is enough. Using the in-and-out breath paired with the recitation 'Buddho' — this alone brings benefit beyond what one could ever exhaust, use up, or spend. Now look at the state of mind: if our mind is at ease, the ear hears sound without being annoyed by the sound — that state is the first jhāna. If, while reciting and reciting, the words of recitation disappear by themselves, simply vanishing without our stopping them ourselves, and the mind becomes more refreshed and pleasant — this is the second jhāna. As for the condition of the third jhāna, the words of recitation will not appear at all, they will vanish; the breath grows very much fainter; the body is well settled, the mind is settled and unwavering; there is a bodily sensation as if we were sitting perfectly upright and rigid, or lying perfectly rigid, as though bound with rope — that is the exact feeling, exactly that; one feels extremely upright and fixed, because the state of mind is held very firmly. The ear hears outside sounds very faintly, the breath is very faint, the mind does not wish to move away from its object, does not wish to converse with anyone; the mind is still, away from all various emotions, and at ease — this is the condition of the third jhāna. If you are all able to hold the state of the third jhāna, then upon dying out of the human state you will become a Brahma of the seventh, eighth, or ninth level — three levels together: the coarse attainment becomes a seventh-level Brahma, the middling attainment becomes an eighth-level Brahma, the refined attainment becomes a ninth-level Brahma — showing that one has drawn near to Nibbāna. If one's mind reaches the third jhāna, and also contemplates according to the insight-knowledge (vipassanā-ñāṇa) as described just now a moment ago, becoming an Arahant is then not difficult. Laying down the burden — that is, foolishness, ignorance (avijjā) — is not a very heavy matter; it becomes easy, because the mind is settled.

Very well, from this point on, I ask all of you members of the Buddhist assembly to hold the body upright, keep the mind firm, fix upon the word of recitation, and contemplate as you see fit, until you hear the signal indicating that the time is up.

＊＊＊

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12. The Noble Truths, in Brief

From now on is the time for you all to cultivate concentration of mind and insight-knowledge. For today I will speak briefly on the Noble Truths, as a reminder for you all, members of the Buddhist assembly. In truth this matter of the mind we remind one another of every day, yet there are still some of you who forget to be mindful, to the point of forgetting time and season altogether, not knowing what occasion is fitting and what is not. This is extremely disheartening — the teaching given throughout the whole rains-retreat would then be of no benefit. Know well that acting without knowing the proper time and occasion is harmful to oneself — it makes one a person lacking charm for oneself; wherever one goes in society, one is disliked. No matter which group one joins — among scholars, one is disliked; among thieves, one is disliked too. Here is another way we can improve ourselves: kālaññutā, knowing the time, knowing the occasion — which time is fitting, which is not. Parisaññutā, knowing the assembly — that is, the group of persons; the task we are to do, the words we are to speak, before that person, that group, at that time — whether it is fitting or not. This is an important matter, and likewise the conduct we should practice: observe the time, observe the occasion, observe the assembly, observe the group of persons. If we act unsuited to the time and occasion, we become a black sheep within that group. So all of you, whether you intend to remain [as monks] or to disrobe, please consider this matter carefully as important, and as an ordinary matter of practice for living happily. If we become a person who does not know the time, does not know the occasion, does not know the assembly — the group or the individuals — as to what occasion is fitting or not, and we do what is unfitting, it will be seen as an irritant to those persons, that assembly, or that group — this too is a great danger for us. We may even be denied food we would otherwise get to eat; if we go to lodge somewhere for the night, they may refuse to let us stay, refuse to let us sleep, refuse to let us take shelter — this is a great danger, that is, trouble of our own making. To maintain oneself happily, one must know how to be careful, know the time, know the occasion, know the moment when we must speak, whether it is fitting to speak or not, the duties we should perform or should not perform. The monastic discipline (Vinaya) we recite every day could likewise serve us well, but it is understood to go in one ear and out the other — sometimes it flies clean out of the head, nothing at all is remembered. This is a great fault for ourselves. Here we can put to the test whether you all are interested or not interested in the Dhamma and Vinaya. Meditation practice is done every night; early morning there is some, daytime there is some, and in the evening there is the Vinaya — yet we still do not take interest. But the conduct that we display, being unfitting, is a clear outward sign that we have ordained into the religion of the Blessed One Who Bears Well-Being and Glory merely for the sake of ordaining — we did not intend to ordain properly. Ordaining like this only leads one to hell; one is not even reborn as a human — how, then, is one to be reborn...

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One who does not practice fully, has no interest in the Dhamma and Vinaya — the true state of being a monk will not appear. Where the true state of being a monk is absent, but one is only dressed as a monk, then there is only the latrine-pit [i.e., a bad destination] as one's destination. I ask you all to be careful — whoever has a deficient mind, not interested in the Dhamma-Vinaya, yet still wishes to remain within the boundary of the Buddhist religion, should from now on determine to practice the Dhamma-Vinaya fully. The time that has passed, being three months, is now sufficient; anything older would be even worse — that is, it is a fitting length of time. As for practicing together these three months, ordinarily this period is enough to go well beyond the fourth jhāna, wherever one wishes. Speaking of the side of calm-meditation (samatha-bhāvanā), for those who hold jhāna, for the most part they do not lapse in matters of wholesome and unwholesome conduct; but some deficiency still remains for those who hold jhāna, though it is quite minor.

From here let us go on to speak of the Noble Truths in brief. The Venerable Assaji taught Venerable Sāriputta thus: 'Ye dhammā hetuppabhavā tesaṃ hetuṃ tathāgato / tesañ ca yo nirodho ca evaṃ vādī mahāsamaṇo' — which translates in essence as: whatever phenomena arise from a cause, the Buddha has declared their cause, and also their cessation — the Buddha spoke thus. This is merely the brief essential heading of the Dhamma, only this much. Venerable Sāriputta, when he was still a wandering ascetic, attained stream-entry (sotāpanna) upon hearing this to the end. He then went back to Venerable Moggallāna, his fellow wandering ascetic, and told him, 'Now we have gained the eye that sees the Dhamma.' Moggallāna then said, 'How did you attain it — tell me, let me hear.' So he said: 'Whatever phenomena arise from a cause, the Buddha has declared the cause of that phenomenon, and the cessation of that phenomenon — the Buddha spoke thus.' Upon hearing only this much, Venerable Moggallāna also attained stream-entry. Was that easy, all of you? It seems they attained it easily, because those venerable ones were persons of habitual interest [in the Dhamma]; their ordaining aimed at one thing only — the liberating Dhamma (mokkha-dhamma), the Dhamma that is the means of liberation, liberation from birth.

The reason those two venerable ones came to ordain was this: one day they went to watch an entertainment — in truth they went to watch every day as usual. One of them had a retinue of 250, both being sons of great wealthy men; together the two had a retinue of 500. Whenever they went to watch the show and were pleased, they would give rewards, showing joyful, merry behavior. But that day was strange — the two of them sat watching the show the whole day; the performers performed well, but it turned out that both of them had minds that remained melancholy the entire time. When the show ended, the performance over, Venerable Upatissa, that is, Sāriputta, asked Venerable Kolita, that is, Moggallāna, 'Why are you so listless now, not joyful as on previous days?' Venerable Kolita then asked Venerable Upatissa, that is, Sāriputta, 'You are the same — why...

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...are you not joyful. We sit and watch shows every day and our minds are joyful, but today the mind feels strange. Sitting and thinking it over: these performers, before long, will all die; the people who came to watch this show, before long, will all die too; we too will die before long, in the same way, because life has arising at the beginning, has fluctuation and change and ageing in the middle stage, and has death in the end. Now, when people are born, they all die alike. Now, since death exists, there must exist a phenomenon (dhamma) that causes a being to be born and then die, and there must also exist a phenomenon that causes a being to be born and not die. Should the two of us go seek out the phenomenon that causes a being to be born and not die? They had thus grown weary of dying, because after dying one is reborn again, and once reborn one suffers hardship again, and then dies again. At that time they had not yet met the Buddha, yet the Dhamma arose within their hearts on its own — this is the way of a wise person; a wise person thinks in this way, seeking out what is true. Insight-knowledge, or the Dhamma of the Buddha, is not found in texts — it dwells with truth itself. If our mind reaches true reality, then our mind is said to have reached the Dhamma of the Buddha. So when the two of them had agreed on this, they returned home to tell their parents, both families, saying they would go seek the Dhamma that grants freedom from death. Their parents were glad and gave permission. They then took their respective retinues of 250 each, making 500 together, 502 in all, and set out from their [former] school in search of the deathless Dhamma — that is, the liberating Dhamma (mokkha-dhamma) as the means of release, release from death. They went and found a new teacher, one Sañjaya the wandering ascetic; he was a great teacher, teaching very many disciples. Venerable Moggallāna and Venerable Sāriputta — that is, Venerable Upatissa and Venerable Kolita — the two of them entered that teacher's school together with their retinue of 500. They were sons of great wealthy families; when the two of them came to reside there, their many followers who respected and revered that school made its master rich with gifts and offerings, which pleased the teacher greatly. Later, when they had finished their studies in the school of Sañjaya the wandering ascetic, they reflected and saw that this was not the Dhamma that is the means of release from death. People of wisdom act this way, think this way — one should not rely on things blindly or foolishly, relying here and relying there, relying until nothing is left to rely on, and once relied upon, no longer paying it any interest. In the end, after three months, nothing good could be got out of it. Yet there was also much that was good [elsewhere], and there were also those who did not know the proper time and occasion — this is extremely disheartening.

So they used wisdom to consider: Sañjaya the wandering ascetic said that having completed the training in this way made one an Arahant, but the two of them said this was not so, this was not an Arahant — 'Let us go on searching further, it would be better.' The two of them then made an agreement that whichever of them found the Dhamma that is the means of release from death must come and tell the other...

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It so happened that Venerable Sāriputta walked out to the back of the house, and along the way — at that time the Buddha had just newly arisen in the world and was teaching the group of five (pañcavaggiya): Venerable Aññā Koṇḍañña, Venerable Vappa, Venerable Mahānāma, Venerable Bhaddiya, and Venerable Assaji — [they] became five Arahants, six including the Buddha. Once they had become Arahants, the Blessed One, the Jewel Lamp [of the world], sent these five out to proclaim the religion, but each going alone, one route each alone, not going together, because their following was still small. It happened that Venerable Assaji was walking this way, going for almsround. Venerable Upatissa, that is, Venerable Sāriputta, saw Venerable Assaji walking calmly and composedly, restrained, his gaze cast down no further than a yoke's length ahead, with a restrained manner of walking, and thought: that ascetic is worthy of respect, worthy of confidence, worthy of veneration, worthy of homage. 'I would like to know whose disciple he is. If I ask while he is walking on almsround, that would surely be improper' — for a person of wisdom is one who knows the time and the occasion, not one who thinks he may do whatever he pleases carelessly. So he waited for the time of his return, sitting and waiting along that way, thinking: 'If he came this way, he must return this way.' When Venerable Assaji returned, he indeed returned that way. Venerable Sāriputta then approached and paid respects, raising his hands in homage, saying: 'Venerable Sir, whose disciple are you? Whose Dhamma do you delight in? What does your Teacher teach?'

Venerable Assaji, being of the very first generation of Arahants, was of great importance; looking at the face of Upatissa the wandering ascetic, that is, Sāriputta, he knew at once that this wandering ascetic was very intelligent. [He thought:] 'If I speak too much, it may not be proper; I must speak briefly.' He said: 'I am a disciple of the ascetic Gotama. The Buddha is the Teacher who teaches us; we are newly ordained in this religion. It would not be possible for us to state the matter at length; but if it is to be stated briefly, that we can manage.' In truth he was being modest — there is no such thing as an Arahant who cannot speak at length. Sāriputta then said, 'Why would you need to speak the matter at length? We want only the brief essence.' Venerable Assaji then spoke: 'Ye dhammā hetuppabhavā tesaṃ hetuṃ tathāgato / tesañ ca yo nirodho ca evaṃ vādī mahāsamaṇo' — that whatever phenomena arise from a cause, the Buddha has declared the cause of that phenomenon, and the cessation of that phenomenon — the Buddha spoke thus. As soon as he finished hearing this, he attained stream-entry (sotāpanna); rapture in the Dhamma arose. He then asked, 'Where does our Teacher now dwell?' Venerable Assaji told him the Blessed One was residing at Veḷuvana Mahāvihāra. With that, Venerable Assaji then took his leave.

Venerable Sāriputta then took his leave in turn, and went to bring Venerable Moggallāna and the remaining assembly of 500 to go pay homage to the Buddha. As soon as the Buddha saw them arrive, he announced to the assembly of monks that the two chief disciples...

70

...that had come to us. As soon as he arrived, the Buddha preached the Four Noble Truths in brief as before, in his usual manner, but this time it seemed his sermon went into somewhat more detail than usual. That is, when he preached he said: "Ye dhammā hetuppabhavā" likewise — whatever phenomena arise from a cause, he declared the cause of that phenomenon, and the cessation of that phenomenon. This means that the arising which happens in every one of us comes from defilement, from the tarnishing of the mind, from wanting — craving, the yearning-desire, wanting everything: wanting to get this, wanting to get that, wanting to be this way, wanting to be that way, wanting to wallow in sense-pleasure. The word "sense-pleasure" here does not always mean intimacy between a woman and a man — wanting to be rich, wanting to be poor, wanting rank and title, wanting great status, all of this is called sense-pleasure, that is, a mind-state bound up with sensual desire, a state that knows no stopping, together with clinging, the grasping that holds "that is mine": the body is us, is ours; that is our child, our spouse, our servants and dependents, our home — and unwholesome action. When the mind has turned bad it acts in ways that are unwholesome; "unwholesome" means sin, "wholesome" means wise, "unwholesome" means foolish, unwise — so one commits unwholesome deeds, foolishly grasping at everything, taking oneself as what matters, not taking the release from suffering as what matters. And so suffering comes looking for us.

In truth the Buddhist teaching teaches us to turn inward to ourselves alone, cutting away everything external until only the body is left: "Ekāyano ayaṃ bhikkhave maggo sattānaṃ" — the path is a single path, the foremost path, the path that ends suffering, the path that leads to Nibbāna. This means the Buddha taught that each of us, alone, has no one else. In this world, if we say we have a father and mother, brothers and sisters, a husband or wife, children and grandchildren — that is true by convention, but in true essence we are alone. We alone are hungry; we hunger alone, no one hungers along with us. Sometimes we are hungry almost to death while the villagers are not yet hungry — they sit chatting and laughing, ha-ha — while we can bear it no longer, starving. This shows that in this world we have only ourselves. If we fall ill, we fall ill alone. Father, mother, grandparents, relatives, servants, friends who come to visit in a group — they do not consent to be sick together with us. We are alone in this; sick, we are sick alone; when the time comes to die, we die alone. Those we love or cherish, whom we regard as "us" and "ours," will not consent to fall ill with us, will not consent to die together with us. Now, whether we fall to hell or rise to heaven, we are a single individual. If we do evil we alone fall to hell; if we do good we alone go to heaven, to the Brahma-world, to Nibbāna. The word "alone" here means we are but...

...alone. The Buddha said this body alone belongs to us — yet he taught us to cut even further, that this body is not even ours. It is merely a dwelling we inhabit temporarily, a rented house only. Defilement, craving, clinging, and unwholesome action built it for us to rent temporarily, and it does not last long — it cannot stand firm, it decays all the time, and before long it collapses. When the time comes it evicts us from the house, and lets fire burn the house down besides, or else the house is buried in the ground — this refers to death.

Who are we? We are the mind that clings inside this house, which is the body. The Buddhist teaching teaches us to cut away the external until only the body remains, then cut away the body until only the mind remains — we are only the mind. Since our body can only improve by relying on a cause as condition — "whatever phenomena arise from a cause, the Buddha declared the cause of that phenomenon" — as for the arising that will appear, we no longer want further arising, because arising appears only because it relies upon defilement, craving, clinging, and unwholesome action. This is a bit hard to break down; to make it simpler, it arises from greed, anger, and delusion. Greed wanting rebirth is greed; greed wanting a husband, wanting a wife, wanting children, wanting all manner of possessions, wanting this and that endlessly as worldlings do — this is called greed, meaning wanting to get.

Now, this wanting-to-get, in the part that brings about arising — whatever condition is a condition of suffering, our heart likes it that way. Living alone comfortably is not bearable, it feels lonely, so one must find a partner. Once a partner is found, then comes real hardship. If the "father-deva, mother-angel" is good, fine; if not good, one worries oneself to death. They say: build the house wrongly and worry until the house collapses; take a spouse wrongly and worry until husband or wife dies, or else one must find another. Heartache and hardship arise in the midst of married life. Having husband and wife is still not enough — one still wants children as well. When a little "father-deva, mother-angel" appears, the lord-father and lady-mother can hardly sleep anymore. For better or worse, in the dead of night while sleeping comfortably, the little deva appears, soils itself and is unwell, and the mother must get up, must rouse herself from sleep, however drowsy she may be — because of love for the child, come what may, she accepts every hardship. This is because love for children matters most; this is what we want — is it craving, or is it greed? Greed is the wanting itself. If we lived alone, would this exist? It would not. Alone, one eats when one pleases, sleeps when one pleases, and no one has anything to say.

But being alone like this is still not good either — it too still has suffering. Therefore the Buddha said: suffering arises from craving, that is, wanting — wanting to be rich, wanting a partner, wanting possessions, having a house...

...there is room for it. Wanting to be angry, wanting to destroy and kill — wanting is the same for all of these. If we are to succeed in cutting off arising, this very wanting is what causes it. "Whatever phenomena arise from a cause, the Buddha declared the cause of that phenomenon and its cessation" — so we must cut off wanting itself, so as to reach the cessation of greed. Earn a living by right livelihood, but always keep in mind that all the wealth we obtain is merely a support for the body, nothing more. Even so it cannot support well — it can only relieve painful feeling for a time. When the time comes it cannot prevent our death. When death arrives, sickness and discomfort arrive, separation from what is loved and cherished arrives, every kind of suffering arrives — wealth of every kind cannot help us at all. When we die, we cannot even take a single hair with us. So we should always keep in mind: while we are alive, all beings need food to sustain life, so we must seek wealth in order to use it to support the body, to quiet painful feeling — but we should not cling to all this wealth we have gathered as being "us" or "ours"; we may only rely on it while the body still stands. Once dead, it is finished. However many millions one has, once dead it is useless. At the office of Yama the King of Death, even if you offered a bribe, he would not take it, and we cannot carry it along either. This kind of principle is what causes us to be born and then to die.

To be free from death we must abandon wanting. Whatever the case, consider it simply doing one's duty: as a householder, husband or wife, one must seek wealth in order to sustain one's standing — we must indeed seek it; it is not that we should not seek it. The Buddha never forbade seeking wealth. Having sought it, do not hold it as something essential. We must keep and preserve it as a support while we are alive; once dead, it is finished. Keep in mind always that we and our possessions will before long part ways, will cease to associate further — when we die, they do not go with us. Put the mind at ease, not attached to gain, status, praise, and pleasure; do not be intoxicated with life; think that we will die; keep in mind always that this body will before long collapse — it persists only in a condition of suffering. When we die, if our mind still clings to defilement, craving, clinging, and unwholesome action — defilement is the tarnishing of the mind, chief among them greed; craving is the yearning-desire as already described; clinging is the firm grasp that we and it will remain together always, never parting; and unwholesome action is acting foolishly, building up defilement, craving, and clinging — we cut these off and cast them away. Since once born one must die, and this brings hardship, we place our faith in the Blessed One's teaching that the principle of craving is the very essence of suffering. We will not take it up...

...further on. If we can abandon craving, suffering will no longer exist for us, either in the present life or in the life to come. Once craving — wanting, ambition — is cut off, the mind becomes at ease; whatever comes, in whatever form, is simply held to be natural law. One understands everything, using wisdom to investigate and find the truth. What we encounter is present every day for us: we see children, we see young men and women, we see the middle-aged, we see the elderly, we see the dying, constantly. Take it that this body is no good, it is suffering, it deteriorates, and in the end it dies. We will no longer go along with it — we let it go.

How does one let go? Giving cuts off greed; keeping the precepts cuts off anger; cultivating meditation is the search for truth in setting down the five aggregates. Think that we no longer want this body, that it is a fault. Once something is called a "body" like this, in the future it will no longer exist for us; we take no interest in it. Let it age — let it age; being aware that it is aging is fine too. Let it fall sick — let it fall sick; being sick is fine too — such is its nature, it cannot be prevented, so it is better to simply release it, and the mind will be at ease. This is how the Arahants thought. Sickness is simply the nature of sickness, but they thought: let it be sick, then — we won't even use a hundred years before we are free of it, going to Nibbāna. If it is to die, take it as a natural matter. If what is loved and cherished is to be parted from us, take it as a natural matter. If it is to be lost, let it be lost; if it is to break, let it break — it was born to break, it exists in order to break. What we have gained, when it slips away and is lost, let it be lost, never mind — the mind stays at ease. Once the mind is at ease like this regarding external objects, it extends to the body itself: that this body ages like this, falls sick like this — we no longer want it. Before long it will die; once it dies we let go, we no longer want it. As for the five aggregates composed of the water element, earth element, wind element, and fire element — they will no longer exist for us, whatever kind of aggregate it may be, even existing at the lowest divine level, that is, as a Brahma or a deva — we do not want even that, because it is not the realm free of suffering. The one realm free of suffering, of supreme happiness, is the realm of Nibbāna alone.

We resolve to give, taking giving as our meditation subject and object of mind, intending to help and show loving-kindness, spreading goodness to people and creatures who suffer, so that they may have happiness as equally as we are able to bring about.

Compassion: have pity and be helpful at all times. Keep the precepts pure and radiant.

...having a clear, radiant spirit, sustaining jhāna-attainment — hold a single mind-state, hold the mind steady; call upon it just once and it is remembered, because it is kept in mind. In sustaining jhāna like this, the mind does not need to be repeatedly retrained — call upon it just once, and even after a hundred years the mind still remembers it, the mind still holds steady, always able to recall it.

And one has mindfulness and clear comprehension, knowing the right time and the wrong time — this is the character of one who sustains jhāna: the mind is not restless, does not dart about, does not become distracted; the mind stays within the bounds of concentrated mind — that is mindfulness and clear comprehension.

When the mind sustains the jhāna-state, with a clear mind-state, a strong mind-state, it then sees the Noble Truth: that birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, separation from what is loved and cherished is suffering; wanting through greed, wanting through anger, wanting through delusion — wanting nothing at all except to be free of it; the very greed, the very anger, the very delusion no longer come, they no longer exist.

We cut off greed by giving; We cut off anger by keeping the precepts; We cut off delusion — that is, foolishness — by cultivating meditation. Cultivating meditation does not mean sitting and reciting like a parrot or a mynah bird. Look at anything at all — day or night alike, eyes open — see a new building: before long it will be old, and it will collapse. A well-built road: before long it must be repaired. Know this, and look at our own body likewise: before long it too will collapse; it deteriorates every day. See the villagers falling ill — before long we too will fall ill. Be prepared for it — not prepared to flee from sickness, but prepared as to how we will settle our mind-state when we ourselves fall sick. Whatever mind-state we settle on, never mind — it is simply its nature. Treatment is held to be a relief of painful feeling, not a cutting-off of sickness so that it disappears entirely. If it can be endured, endure it; if it cannot, let it collapse, never mind. Whenever it collapses, that is when Nibbāna comes. We take no further interest in the five aggregates.

This much alone — for one who practices in this way, it is not yet attainment of the Dhamma-eye, not yet Stream-entry like the Venerable Sāriputta or Moggallāna, that is, an Arahant — this is the Noble Truth in brief. If we consider it — consider just this much — there is no need to sit staring at texts until our eyes ache; the lesson is there before us at all times. Those of us sitting here — are we the same age? At the very start we all came out from our father's and mother's womb as infants alike, grew up to be young alike, but we do not age at the same rate, we are not born at the same time. In the end, how many of those who used to talk with us have already died? And as for us — will we not be the same? Being born into a condition like this — is it good or is it bad? It is bad, not good. If it is not good, then why go on being born again?

...We are not born again. We are born because of greed, anger, and delusion. We do not want further birth, so we must not associate with greed, anger, and delusion — that alone is enough to end it. This is the matter of the Four Noble Truths. If we consider it seriously, it becomes so easy it is almost trifling.

Becoming a Stream-enterer, Once-returner, Non-returner, or Arahant is not difficult, if our mind is good enough — except that our mind-state may refuse to accept and honor the goodness given by the Blessed Lord, the Supreme Teacher, the Perfectly Enlightened One. If we regard the Dhamma-Vinaya of the Lord of the Three Worlds, the Supreme Teacher, merely as something to cling to for making a living — if our mind thinks this way, then we cannot attain Stream-entry, Once-returning, Non-returning, or Arahantship, because the Dhamma-Vinaya of the Lord of the Three Worlds is something we must practice, to bring genuine happiness by truly settling our mind. Set the mind firmly like this, and there is no one who takes more than three months — they all become Stream-enterers. This refers to truly settling the mind.

Now let us speak of how we can know a Stream-enterer. Every precept of the Vinaya is guarded with utmost care. If we have a habituated mind-state, our mindfulness sustains clear comprehension at all times. Now we examine: are we good in accordance with this or not yet? Look even at the coarse tasks we do — know what should be done with force, what should be done gently, what goes where, where to stand, where to lie down, where to sit so as to be at ease — not sleeping to shirk work. What time is proper to sleep; where is proper to stand — in front of an elder one is forbidden to stand directly in front, forbidden to stand too close beside an elder, and forbidden to stand behind, because when the elder speaks one cannot hear. Stand slightly to the left or right, just enough not to block, so the elder need not turn and strain. This is someone of complete mindfulness and clear comprehension — even such small, minor matters as these must be heeded. There is refinement of mind, and we think to maintain our mind-state as a constant habit. The Dhamma-Vinaya of the Buddha has two parts: both Dhamma and Vinaya — not willing to transgress even a single precept. Having fixed the mind on everything, not willing to allow any deficiency. Once it is called the teaching of the Buddha, one does not transgress it, there is no altering it. Ordinarily one keeps death in mind as a natural matter, with the mind-state of loving Nibbāna as one's object of mind. This much alone makes one a Stream-enterer — I see nothing difficult about it. But it seems difficult only because we pay no attention, being too used to the religion. Having ordained, one gains nothing, ordaining in name only. Whatever anyone says, on trivial matters I simply don't listen — that settles it. Having heard, I simply pay it no mind — no harm done. In truth it makes no difference to the one who spoke either; it makes no difference to us who received it. When we die...

...it comes for certain — that is, the Avīci great hell is where such a monk is destined to go. He goes nowhere else; he goes to Avīci for certain, if he remains in the religion of the Blessed Conqueror without practicing accordingly. If we do not go and practice accordingly, there is no need to worry or be anxious — we will surely go to the Avīci great hell, because we have used monastic form to deceive the villagers, making the villagers come to pay homage and worship, bringing offerings. All these people offer to the Triple Gem alone, not to some village boy who has ordained without keeping the precepts, whose precepts are incomplete, who has no interest in the Dhamma-Vinaya. This is where we fall short, lacking the quality of a Noble One. We cannot attain it because we are deficient in this very point — that is, ordaining in name only, that is, "upasamajīvikā," relying on the religion to make a living. So I ask you all to fix your minds well: we ordain for the sake of the Path and Fruit, we ordain into the religion of the Blessed One of the Ten Powers, not merely as convention. We set our resolve on this matter, always resolving: we will be one who keeps the precepts pure, we will be one whose concentration is firmly established, that is, whose mindfulness and clear comprehension is complete — whatever work we do is done the same way, not done merely for form's sake; practicing according to the Dhamma-Vinaya likewise is not done merely for form's sake. If the Dhamma-Vinaya is good, even the coarse work we do will also be good — you can see it, you can observe it at the very time of working. If it is done coarsely, carelessly, and this goes on for a very long time, one will not attain Stream-entry — but Avīci is certain, because the mind is not refined enough. This is the mark by which to observe one's practice. Whatever is customary according to instruction — once instructions are received, one must remember and act precisely at the appointed time, practicing strictly, not receiving instructions and then acting indifferently, feigning ignorance like this. We can then observe how far we have already sunk into Avīci without knowing it — when will we ever rise out of it? We rise out of Avīci through our own good mindfulness and clear comprehension, taking care not to let evil appear; not letting the world be tainted, not letting the Dhamma be spoiled; we do not oppose the customs of the world. If our mind does not cling, does not doubt — that is, does not transgress the teaching of the Buddha — keeps the precepts pure, keeps death in mind as its object, knowing that we must certainly die, with no regret for life at the moment we are to die, the mind keeping Nibbāna in mind as its object — this much alone makes us a Stream-enterer.

We have been speaking of this for a long time now. Even at dawn we spoke of it — if after three or four months you all still have not attained Stream-entry, it would be most disheartening indeed, because we have been chattering on and on in a way that cannot properly convey it. In truth, those who attained it did not learn it this way — I myself did not learn it this way. I had only just come from Luang Phor Pan. One day I went into the forest for eight or ten days, then came out to ask him just once — whatever we were unsure of, we came and asked him on that one specific point, then went back into the forest again. We went to train our own minds in the forest. The monks who attained goodness did...

...like this — there is no need to sit and teach them every day; they sit and teach themselves at all times. "Attanā codayattānaṃ" — admonish yourself by yourself. This is what the Buddha himself instructed. Now, what we are teaching here may go too far — I am aware myself that this teaching goes too far, but I consider that I am simply doing my duty as a disciple of the Blessed, Fully Enlightened One. Whoever loves goodness may take it up; whoever does not love goodness may go on practicing evil. Whoever wants only heaven may take heaven; whoever wants to go to the Brahma-world may take the Brahma-world; whoever wants to go to Nibbāna may take Nibbāna — the teaching is given at every level. Whoever wants to fall into hell may take hell — there is nothing to be said against anyone for it.

From now on, let everyone sit with the body upright, keep the mind firm, endeavor to note the breath going in and out, and recite and reflect according to one's own disposition, until the signal is heard marking the end of the session.

***

13. Mindfulness of the Body (Kāyagatāsati)

Now that the assembly of Buddhist lay followers have together undertaken the precepts and undertaken the meditation subject, this is now the occasion for you all to develop concentration of mind and insight-knowledge. Today I wish to speak on the topic of samatha, that is, the meditation subject of mindfulness of the body, together with insight-knowledge, hand in hand. But before you all go on to consider anything else, first of all establish awareness of the breath going in and out as a constant practice. When breathing in, know that you are breathing in; when breathing out, know that you are breathing out — this is a way of sustaining the mind-state. And at the same time, if you use the ear to listen to sound and the mind follows the sound in thought — if the ear is hearing a sound and the mind is following the sound in thought, then there is no need to also note the breath going in and out. At whatever moment the ear is still listening to a sound and the mind, following the sound, understands its meaning, this shows that our mindfulness and clear comprehension is good, that we have concentration. If our mind also reflects along with the sound, and understanding arises following the sound such that disenchantment-knowledge appears, this is reckoned as wisdom arising, that is, insight-knowledge. This is how to study the meditation subject — one must study it correctly; it is not a difficult thing, because the meditation subject taught by the Blessed One was not taught to be difficult — it was taught simply. But the reason people cannot accomplish it is only because they are not truly interested. If it were truly difficult, no one at all would ever attain it. Now, or in the time since the Blessed, Fully Enlightened One came to liberate the Buddhist assembly up until the present age, the land of Siam has never once been without Noble Ones — this shows that the meditation subject of the Blessed One is not difficult; what makes it difficult is only that we do not want it.

In cultivating the meditation subject, the first step must be to establish awareness of the breath going in and out — this is a way of preventing the mind's distraction. Then afterward one moves on to attend to the matter of the body, because this meditation subject teaches specifically about the body alone, so as to bring about disenchantment with the body — seeing that being born is suffering; once born, there is aging, there is illness and sickness and discomfort, there is separation from what is loved and cherished, there is wanting that goes unfulfilled, and in the end there is death. If the mind clings to it, the mind then suffers. If the mind goes and clings within the body, this shows that we are not yet free from worldly conditions, that we must still wander through death and rebirth in the round of existence — this shows that we still love foolishness and hate goodness. If we love goodness and hate foolishness, we must abandon the round; abandoning the round means abandoning the five aggregates, that is, the body, alone. This contemplation of the body is something every Arahant must pass through — meaning that those who become Arahants must pass through this meditation subject. If one does not pass through this entire subject, one cannot become a Noble One...

...cannot become a Noble One. This important meditation subject is the one called mindfulness of the body, which involves contemplating the body together with the contemplation of foulness — the two combined together. The Buddha's contemplation of the body considers that it consists of hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs, new food, old food, feces, large intestine, small intestine, and the blood and pus-fluid present within the body — sit and reflect on this too, reflect on what is present within our own body, thus. In truth the body is not a solid mass — it is a framework, filled within with mechanism.

Perceiving that the body is filled with mechanism like this is an important matter. The Blessed Lord had us consider whether this body's condition is permanent or impermanent. If it were truly permanent, it would necessarily remain fixed, without change. Is our body permanent? Consider it. If we were truly permanent, then when we were born as children our body would never come to know how to grow up; we still spoke a language the villagers could not understand, so we would still be unable to speak. Whatever we were like on the first day of birth, we would have to remain exactly that way. Now, do we and a child have the same condition? No, we are no longer the same — we are bigger, we speak intelligibly, we can do every kind of work and take responsibility; for better or worse, we are no longer a single individual alone — we have a husband, a wife, children — this shows that the body's condition is impermanent; the condition of childhood has vanished, the condition of adulthood has arrived. This is impermanence. And being impermanent, is it happiness or is it suffering? Sit and reflect on this to the end — this is the Noble Truth. Is it happiness or suffering? The body is filled with suffering, because owing to impermanence it is therefore suffering. If the condition were permanent, if we ate one meal to fullness, we would remain full with no hunger — but here, having eaten, before long we are hungry again; the state of hunger is itself suffering. Having eaten, there then arises the urge to defecate and urinate — is the urge to defecate and urinate happiness or suffering? If we answer this in an ordinary way, the urge to urinate is itself suffering. Sickness and discomfort naturally befall the body — is sickness and discomfort happiness or suffering? You must see that it is suffering. Here we are, born, and we have wants that go unfulfilled — wanting something and not getting it as we wish, seeking after every good thing and not obtaining it as desired — is a condition like this happiness or suffering? Consider it. If one still sees it as happiness, then let one go on being born again, that's up to them — but it is suffering. And further, what is loved being separated from us, loved ones dying and leaving us, what is loved falling apart and dissolving — is this happiness or suffering? If we cling to it, it is not without suffering. If our life is drawing near to death, is it happiness or suffering? It is itself a condition of suffering. Our body came to exist owing to a cause — that is, a condition that gives rise to suffering, not a condition that gives rise to happiness. The body is suffering.

What else does the body have? The body is full of filth and foulness — blood, lymph, pus, feces, urine, and so on. Whether we see it as dirty or see it as clean, I suppose there is no need to answer that. If you want to see it as clean, that is up to you, but it goes against the truth in your heart; the heart cannot escape the body, cannot escape the world. It amounts to this: it is dirty. When new food, old food, blood, lymph, and pus are in the body, how can we see the body as clean? Now, as for the things outside — hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh and so on — take just the skin, not even the flesh: it lies on the outside. What we see as beautiful and lovely is merely the outer cuticle that deceives our eyes. We like to deceive ourselves. Our body is full of filth. When we want to show it off, we bathe and wash, scrub the body, polish the complexion, dab a bit of this here, a bit of that there, apply a little of this, a little of that, comb the hair neatly, put on beautifully colored cloth to adorn the body, then go look in the mirror and admire ourselves as beautiful. This is deceiving ourselves, deceiving other people. How could it be beautiful, when our body's condition is like a walking latrine — inside it is like a latrine. Now would you say a latrine is clean or a latrine is dirty? This means our body is full of filth. In kāyagatāsati (mindfulness of the body) one sees the body as pieces, as chunks, as something not solid. Adding in asubha-kammaṭṭhāna (meditation on foulness), one sees that the body is full of filthy foulness — this is the truth. One must contemplate all these things until they become ekaggatārammaṇa. The word ekaggatārammaṇa means a single object of mind — whether sitting, lying, walking, or standing, at whatever time, the mind sees constantly that the body is nothing but full of suffering. The body is full of filth. When someone else walks past, do not let your eyes fix only on the cloth or only on the skin — look right through: through the skin, through the flesh, right to the liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs; see the feces, urine, lymph and pus within. See the small intestine, liver, kidneys, intestines, lungs as they truly are, and look closely. See a person walking by as a moving latrine that has arrived. This latrine is a filthy thing — do we really want to embrace and cherish a latrine, or what? This mind of ours — the Lord Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha taught us to seek the truth from the body until we find it. This very thing is the meditation subject. If we practice this one subject alone until the mind becomes ekaggatārammaṇa, becoming a stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner, or arahant is no difficult matter — it is finished with just this one subject alone. If we really mean it — but the important thing is, will we forget? We rely on the Vinaya every day, we rely on the Dhamma every day, and still we forget. If we try relying on it every day and still forget, then resolve firmly which hell realm we will go to — do not even sit and imagine that we will be reborn as a human being, or become

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...become a deva or a Brahma. Choose well, mind you, which hell realm you will go to, so you can set your intention straight toward it, without needing to pass through the office of Phraya Yom (King Yama). If our ears still come into contact with the Dhamma, we are still bad off; when our ears come into contact with the Vinaya, we forget it — this shows we are good at forgetting. If we go anywhere and forget our money, we become a person without money. A person without wealth has nothing but hardship wherever he goes. Having the Dhamma of the Lord Blessed One as wealth is having ariya-dhana, noble wealth — that is, excellent wealth. When the mind leaves the body it cannot carry worldly wealth away, but it can carry ariya-dhana away. If, while we are alive, we neglect ariya-dhana, then at death it too will be forgotten — there will be no chance to take it. The reason the Lord of the Triple World taught us to meditate or to contemplate as a regular habit is so that the mind becomes accustomed to it, so the mind has something to hold onto, so it will have jhāna as its object — that is, sustaining that state of mind wherever one goes. On this point: if the state of mind is jhāna, then seeing a person or animal walking by, one sees that one's own body is a dirty thing at all times; there arises revulsion toward the body. Our own body is disgusting enough to loathe — what then of other people's bodies? If we are disgusted by our own body, yet go and love someone else's body, that is a worrying sign of poor mindfulness. A person with good mindfulness and clear comprehension does not act that way. So then, when we contemplate our body as a dirty thing, full of suffering — this must be thought about every day, with every in-breath and out-breath. Full of filth, and full of suffering — there is nothing lovable about it. If we bring our mind to true jhāna, revulsion toward the body will arise, seeing that it is dirty, full of suffering, that no happiness can be found in it. Once this revulsion has arisen, we no longer wish to have this body again — that is, the five khandhas. The arising of revulsion toward the body the Buddha called nibbidā-ñāṇa, the sixth insight-knowledge (vipassanā-ñāṇa). This is already close to completing the insight-knowledges.

Seeing that the body is impermanent, is suffering, is not-self, utterly filthy and foul — what feeling should our mind have toward the body? The body feels hunger, the body feels heat, the body feels cold — our mind should abide in saṅkhārupekkhā-ñāṇa (equanimity toward formations), regarding all these conditions as merely ordinary matters of the body, so that they do not trouble our heart. If it is too hot, find something cooling for it; if it is hungry, find food for it, because we still depend on it; if it is cold, find warmth for it — but always keep in mind that this body of ours is a dirty thing. As long as we depend on it we perform our duty toward it, but whenever it disintegrates, we and it part ways. Once it is called "body," it will no longer be with us — how could it remain with us? It being merely dirty is not enough on its own — it is also full of suffering, creating suffering and hardship for...

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...arise. Now, once saṅkhārupekkhā-ñāṇa has arisen, we are no longer intoxicated with the body; we regard the body as not good, as not us, not ours — habitually dirty and full of suffering. When it ages, the heart remains at ease, for we already know that it will age — this is called saṅkhārupekkhā-ñāṇa. If it falls sick, we are not troubled, because it is the body's nature to fall sick — this too is called saṅkhārupekkhā-ñāṇa. Caring for the body is simply a matter of easing the physical feeling, an ordinary matter, but we always keep in mind: whenever it is to collapse, let it collapse; whenever it collapses, that is when we part ways with it. Now, once our mind can sustain this state, then contact with external sense-objects — being criticized, being praised, gaining wealth, receiving gain, receiving status — whatever arises for our mind, we regard as an ordinary matter. The mind is unshaken, seeing it as normal, as simply a condition of the body which, existing in the world, must be like that. Keeping it normal and untroubled — this is called saṅkhārupekkhā-ñāṇa. When the time truly comes for death to arrive, we regard it too as an ordinary matter: having been born, one must die; we cannot escape death. The mind stays normal — if it is to die, let it die, we are ready. The duties that ought to be done we have done in full. Whatever path leads to heaven, we have already built it; whatever path leads to the Brahma world, we have already built it; whatever path leads to Nibbāna, we have already made it. When these three things are complete, death becomes an ordinary matter. Better to die out of the human state — going to be a deva is far more comfortable than being human; if one becomes a Brahma, that is more comfortable than a deva; if one goes to Nibbāna, that is the most comfortable of all, with no falling back down again. This state of mind, when it remains normal like this, means that our mind has certainly reached the Dhamma of the Lord Jinasīha (the Victorious Lion, the Buddha). The Lord Jinavara has said: what one had to do has been done; there is no other task remaining — that is, the state of being an Arahant.

This, briefly, is the practice of meditation — its purpose amounts to just this. Then simply do it in earnest — just this much, and one becomes an Arahant. But you must truly be earnest about it, that is all. Do not deceive yourself, do not deceive other people, do not become intoxicated with wrongdoing while thinking it is something good. Be one who is fully endowed with mindfulness and clear comprehension: sati keeps things in mind, sampajañña knows oneself. Whatever is proper or improper, one must know it — it is not a matter of deciding what is proper or improper according to one's own inclination. The Vinaya exists, the precepts exist, the Buddha's teaching exists. Study the teaching of the Great Teacher thoroughly, then practice according to it, exactly matching the point the Buddha taught — only then will "goodness" appear. If our mind still does not respect the Dhamma and the teachings of the Buddha — that is, does not hold to it as a foundation, does not investigate it, is not interested in it, and instead acts according to its own inclination — taking what is improper for proper...

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That which one should think improper, and instead seizes on a wrong state of mind to put into practice — rather than getting the result that the Lord, the One of Blessed Fortune, advised, namely that we would go to heaven, the Brahma world, or Nibbāna — none of that would happen at all. We would go right back to looking behind us, starting all over again from hell. We are truly disciples of the Lord of the Triple World only if we do not deceive other people — monks, novices, and the Buddhist laity alike, both men and women. Becoming a Noble One (ariya) is not in itself a difficult matter; what makes it difficult is that we are too fond of what is base. If we simply do not like what is base — if we like what is good, then good will come to us. Sometimes our mind, our mouth, says we want to be good in this way or that, but as for the disposition toward goodness, we do not honor it — we honor baseness instead. Then where would goodness come from?

From this point on, may all of you, the assembly of Buddhist followers, please try to keep the body upright and hold the mind firm, noting the in-breath and out-breath, using the meditation word and contemplating according to your own inclination, until you hear the signal announcing that the time is up.

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14. Maraṇassati (Mindfulness of Death)

Today I would like to speak about samatha and vipassanā together, because if we are to practice samatha and vipassanā to get real results, they must always go together. Yesterday we spoke about kāyagatāsati and asubha-kammaṭṭhāna combined with vipassanā-ñāṇa. The term maraṇassati-kammaṭṭhāna means taking the thought of death as one's object of mind. This meditation subject is one of the important ones — because all the Arahants, even the Buddha himself, would not give it up. Even though he was already the Buddha, already an Arahant, he still would not give up this meditation subject either.

We can see this from the occasion when the Lord Blessed One called Venerable Ānanda to come to him, and the Lord Teacher asked: "Ānanda, listen, Ānanda — how many times a day do you think of death?" Venerable Ānanda answered: "I, your disciple, think of death seven times a day." The Lord Blessed One then gave this Buddha-utterance: "Ānanda, listen, Ānanda — that is still far too little. In truth, you are a stream-enterer (sotāpanna), and you think of death only about seven times a day." The Buddha told him it was much too infrequent — the Tathāgata thinks of death with every in-breath and out-breath. This thinking of death is samatha-bhāvanā. If anyone tells you that samatha-bhāvanā is not important, that it is not the final goal of attaining the path and fruit, do not believe them — because if samatha-bhāvanā were not truly good, the Buddha would not have taught us to practice it, and the Buddha would not have kept samatha-bhāvanā as his own object of mind, even though he was already the Buddha. So do not forget that every Arahant, even the Lord Fully Self-Enlightened One himself, used the forty meditation subjects together with vipassanā-ñāṇa in order to dwell in happiness. It is not the case that once one is an Arahant, one is finished with it — that is a misunderstanding. Arahants, in fact, are more diligent than all of us, because they are ones fully endowed with mindfulness and clear comprehension. To be fully endowed with mindfulness and clear comprehension means seeing the true nature of the five khandhas as it really is; they see it as a normal, constant matter; they do not let it go, do not abandon it, because sustaining the five khandhas is itself a condition of suffering. If we were to abandon both samatha and bhāvanā, the mind would let go, would refuse to accept reality, and the condition of suffering would arise. But if our mind's state maintains mindfulness and clear comprehension as normal, and keeps samatha-bhāvanā as its object, then the mind...

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...becomes at ease, at peace, accepting and respecting the law of nature. This — taking the thought of death as one's object — is a good thing, because it makes us heedful, not negligent. And do not think that we are still young in years, not yet due to die — thinking this way is wrong. Thinking of death must be done at every mind-moment, knowing that we might die at any time. Now, before we think that we are going to die, we must find the right way to go, befitting this present time. Being born at this particular time counts as very great fortune — the Dispensation of the Lord Blessed One is still complete and in good condition. The only exception is if we refuse to accept and respect the teaching of the Great Teacher, becoming a black sheep within the Buddhist religion — that is when suffering will reach into the heart.

When we know that we are going to die, we set our intention — it is not difficult. If we do not wish to go to the states of loss, we keep the five precepts pure. If we keep the five precepts pure, we will not go to the states of loss; we will mostly be reborn as human beings. If we wish to be reborn as a deva, then maintain hiri and ottappa. Hiri means shame — shame toward wrongdoing. Ottappa means fear of the results of wrongdoing, that it will yield suffering as its result. A person who takes the thought of death as an object must seek out this kind of choice — the way we choose is something we choose every day. Hiri, shame toward wrongdoing: people like us, being of good repute, do not do wrong. Ottappa, fear that wrongdoing will yield suffering as its result: we also do not do it, because we are already afraid — how could we do it? Wrongdoing has two sides: the side of discipline, that is, the precepts, and the side of Dhamma. Whatever part of the Dhamma the Lord of the Triple World declared to be adhamma (non-Dhamma), is Dhamma that causes suffering to arise — for example, the five hindrances (nīvaraṇa). If we encounter the five hindrances, even though we have not broken the precepts, we can still go to the states of loss, because the mind is defiled. This is how good it is to take the thought of death as one's object.

If we wish to become a Brahma, then maintain concentration of mind to reach the state of jhāna, sustaining jhāna at all times. Now, if we consider that being reborn as a human being, or a deva, or a Brahma, does not in itself accomplish the ultimate benefit — that is, one cannot sustain happiness forever, for all time — it is happiness only for a moment, and then one goes back to seeking out new suffering once one's merit, disposition, and accumulated perfections are exhausted. We do not want that. So we set our intention toward Nibbāna instead.

To go toward Nibbāna, we set our intention using maraṇānussati-kammaṭṭhāna as our guide — taking the thought of death as an object, thinking that we ourselves must die. If we hope to rely on someone else as our refuge...

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...we must also think that this person who is our refuge will not be long before he too must die. If we hope to take some object as our refuge, we should know that that object too will disintegrate just the same — nothing remains permanent. For us to truly reach a real refuge, we must, above all, reach into ourselves. This is what the Buddha meant when he said: attā hi attano nātho, ko hi nātho paro siyā; attanā hi sudantena nāthaṃ labhati dullabhaṃ — which in meaning says: oneself indeed is one's own refuge; what other person could possibly be a refuge? When we have trained ourselves well, we will gain a refuge that is difficult for anyone else to obtain. This is the Buddha's saying by which the Lord Fully Self-Enlightened One admonished us: attā hi attano nātho — oneself indeed is one's own refuge. This saying does not mean that we should abandon the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha, and all goodness. We can reach goodness precisely because we rely on training ourselves — that is, training the mind. The word "self" here refers to the mind, not the body — that is, taking our mind and fastening it onto goodness. Whatever part of the Dhamma is able to bring us to reach Nibbāna, that is the part we should practice. The Dhamma of great importance that is easy for us to see is the cutting of the roots of defilement, namely:

Lobha, greed — we cut this by giving alms, keeping the mind constantly thinking: we give in order to destroy greed, so that greed will have no more hold on the heart.

Now, another root of defilement is anger. When our mind maintains the four Brahmavihāras as its normal state, this serves to counteract anger. When our mind maintains the four Brahmavihāras, anger and ill will simply do not exist.

The third, moha, delusion — this is the important one, the great root, the one that commands the arising of lust, greed, and anger. If delusion alone were absent, the others would not arise. If we can cut delusion, this one thing alone, then we can cut everything. Now, how is delusion cut? It is cut precisely through maraṇānussati-kammaṭṭhāna. We think to ourselves that human beings and all animals, once born, have death as their end. Various objects that are possessions of the world also have an arising, an initial forming, and in the end likewise disintegrate. For an object we call it "breaking down"; for people and animals we call it "dying." This means there is no certainty in the life that exists — no certainty of any kind can be found; there is disintegration in the end regardless. We then come back and take hold of vipassanā-ñāṇa: seeing that it is born, that it dies, is still samatha. But if we turn to grasp the very fact of death as sakkāya-diṭṭhi (personality view), it becomes vipassanā-ñāṇa, asking why must it die at all. This body — is it truly ours...

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...or not. If the body were truly us, truly ours, how could it die? We are the mind. We keep thinking that we care for and nurture our body to keep it normal, building up growth and improvement for the body. Whatever type of food is said to be beneficial, we try to get it and eat it, no matter how expensive, how tiring, or how difficult it may be — we seek it out to nourish and pamper the body so that it stays sound. But in the end, does our body actually stay sound? It cannot find soundness — it walks toward death every day, deteriorating all the time. Every day, when we eat food, if it were truly us, truly ours, we would not want it to be hungry; having eaten, we would want it to stay full forever, but it will not comply. We do not want it to age, yet it ages; we do not want it to fall ill, yet it falls ill; we do not want it to die, yet it dies. We do not want it to suffer, but we cannot forbid these things — we cannot forbid aging, cannot forbid illness, cannot forbid deterioration, cannot forbid death. That would be fine, except that we cannot even prevent suffering from arising in it. Wherever there is the finest doctor, wherever there is a scholar or expert, they go in and try everything to make the body happy. Can we actually find happiness from the body, or not? We cannot — the body has nothing but suffering with every in-breath and out-breath.

As long as there is a body, suffering from hunger arises; suffering from cold and heat arises; suffering from sickness, from defecation and urination, arises; suffering from bodily and mental discomfort arises — bodily discomfort meaning disease and illness disturbing it. Suffering from mental discomfort means unfulfilled desires; contact with conditions we do not want also produces it. In sum, for the full 24 hours, we can find nothing good from the body at all — especially [what is described as] the worst of diseases: the disease that is constantly present in the body above all is the disease of hunger. Hunger for food is hunger; it creates suffering arising simply from hunger for food. When we have no opportunity to eat, agitation arises; pain that stabs through the body arises; the heart, too, is uncomfortable. This hunger persists all day, existing continually for all time until death. Hunger is a thing that stabs the body, stabs the mind — how could it possibly be happiness? It is only suffering. And hunger is not only hunger for food — hunger to obtain this thing, hunger to obtain that thing — it is hunger of the heart. Mental desire arises, and wanting and desiring arise, and there is suffering again from that. If a desire is not fulfilled — that is, for a desire to be fulfilled, one must resolve, struggle, and strive, engage in work and occupation, gather wealth in order to...

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...obtain that thing as our possession — this is itself a great danger, namely the exhaustion of the body, a torment of the body. And even once we have obtained everything we desired and our hopes are fulfilled, when we die, can we take it with us or not? We cannot — nothing at all can be taken along.

This means the body has no benefit. Being born with a body brings only harm, only suffering, only trouble; nothing beneficial can be found in it at all. So then, why should we sit here intoxicated with the body, for what benefit? Now let us come to cutting off delusion itself. Since we are deluded about ourselves as the important thing, all the exhaustion we must undergo in every way is because we are deluded about ourselves. Doing everything, seeking out everything, is solely for the benefit of the body; as for the mind, it is merely a matter of desire. If we die, then everything becomes without benefit. But earning a living, seeking wealth, is to be regarded as the duty of staying alive — yet let our mind release its grip; do not become intoxicated with possessions, thinking they will stay with us forever, for all time — keep the mind at ease. This is like the time when the Lord of the Triple World, the Great Teacher, the Fully Self-Enlightened Buddha, was still living: there was one monk who had formerly been a king. He was spending the rains retreat in a forest not very far from a town. One day there was an annual festival, and he saw lanterns lit up brightly throughout the whole town — it was said to be exceedingly beautiful and dazzling to the eye at night; the light made it bright, made it beautiful. He himself was standing in the forest, sitting in the forest alone, and as he watched the light, he sat and reflected in his mind: "Aciraṃ vata ayaṃ kāyo pathaviṃ adhisessati chuddho apetaviññāṇo niratthaṃva kaliṅgaraṃ" — which, translated briefly in meaning, says: this body of mine, at this time, is comparable to a log discarded in the forest — no one takes any interest in it. This body of ours has no worthwhile benefit at all; right now it is useless, no different from a log that happens to be able to move about. Before long, death will arrive. Just from thinking this much, as soon as this state of mind truly took hold, he attained the fruit of Arahantship. As for thinking that the body must die, or that the body has no benefit — we simply do not cling to the body alone. Since we see that the body is no good, we do not hold the body as our refuge. But maintaining the body is still necessary, as long as it has not yet died. If we do not maintain the body, do not find food to eat, do not care for it, then every painful feeling presses upon us heavily. In seeking food for it to eat, seeking clothing, seeking medicine to treat illness, seeking things to provide coolness or warmth — we should think that we seek these only to relieve painful feeling for the moment...

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It is not that we seek these things to maintain the body forever, for all time. And always keep in mind that the body must die; the body is full of suffering; the body is not a realm of happiness — it is a source that gives rise to suffering. Whatever birth we take next, in future lives, whatever condition this present life has, the next life will have that same condition — that is, it will be full of suffering. So we do not want the five khandhas, and we set our mind firmly: from this moment onward, whatever is called the five khandhas, that is, the body, will not exist for us. We do not want any future birth that has a body. What we want is Nibbāna.

But merely thinking about it will not bring Nibbāna — we must actually turn and take up the practice.

Cutting off attachment to forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations by the power of asubha-saññā (perception of foulness) — this we have already studied.

Now cutting off greed through giving; cutting off anger by maintaining the four Brahmavihāras.

Cutting off delusion by seeing sakkāya-diṭṭhi (personality-view) as it is: that this body of ours is not us, is not ours; we are not in the body, the body is not in us.

Walking back and forth, we constantly think that the body may collapse at any time; the body is full of suffering; the body is full of filth — that is, dirty foulness; it is a land that brings suffering. The body is roganīḍaṃ (a nest of disease) — it is a nest of disease; pabhaṅguṇaṃ (subject to decay) — it must inevitably decay and rot, as a matter of course. We no longer want it. This life is held to be our final life; we no longer want a body. Attaining stream-entry, once-returning, non-returning, and Arahantship ends with just this much. Then strive to keep the precepts pure, maintaining mindfulness and clear comprehension over them — matters of precepts, matters of giving, matters of cultivating meditation. If all of you, the entire assembly of Buddhist followers, hold this mind as ekaggatārammaṇa, that is, a single object of mind — meaning seeing that the body is a realm of suffering, that the body is anicca (impermanent), with no constancy to be found, dukkha (suffering), anattā (not-self), that it will disintegrate in the end, and we no longer want the body — maintaining mindfulness and clear comprehension well, maintaining asubha-saññā as our normal state, having generosity, cāgānussati-kammaṭṭhāna, the mind wanting to give as its normal state, having sīlānussati-kammaṭṭhāna, maintaining the precepts as normal, having the four Brahmavihāras as normal, seeing that the body is not us, is not ours, and however soon it may collapse, so be it — accepting and respecting the law of nature as our normal state — in this way we can enter the Noble Path and attain the Noble Fruits...

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...without much difficulty. The Dhamma of the Blessed One is important to this extent only: in reaching the Noble Path and Noble Fruit, one does not come merely to study it — relying on it and forgetting, relying on it and remembering, remembering and then thinking, thinking at all times, in every era. Make the mind at ease, without agitation of feeling whenever the body experiences any sensation. To this extent alone, the minds of everyone, without exception, will attain happiness — that is, the Noble Path and the Noble Fruit — as one wishes for oneself.

From this point on, I ask everyone to hold the body upright and keep the mind firm, noting the in-and-out breath. When breathing in, know that you are breathing in; when breathing out, know that you are breathing out. When the mind is at ease, contemplate as has been said, until you hear the signal announcing that the time is up.

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14. Mindfulness of Breathing (Anapanasati)

Today I will continue speaking about the anapanasati kammatthana [meditation subject]. Anapanasati kammatthana is a form of samatha bhavana [calm-abiding meditation], namely the contemplation and noting of the in-and-out breath. This anapanasati kammatthana is the most important of all the kammatthana, and is a kammatthana of exceedingly great power, because among all 40 kammatthana subjects, if the anapana subject is set aside, the remaining 39 subjects all depend upon anapanasati kammatthana. This is because, whatever kammatthana subject one undertakes to cultivate, one must always first take up anapanasati kammatthana. That is, the first step is to take hold of the in-and-out breath: when breathing in, know that one is breathing in; when breathing out, know that one is breathing out; whether the in-breath is long or short, whether the out-breath is long or short, one knows it too — in-breath long or short, out-breath long or short. This is the standard method as in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, which likewise yields results — it works, and one can likewise attain and sustain jhana through it; it yields great results.

According to another approach that the Blessed One taught within the 40 kammatthana, he gave another consideration: when breathing in, take hold of the in-breath and note that it strikes the nose, then strikes the chest, then strikes the point slightly above the navel. Breathing out, it strikes the point above the navel, strikes the chest, and then strikes the nose or the lips. If a person has drawn-in lips, they will feel it strike the nose; if a person has protruding lips, it will strike at the lips.

For the 40 kammatthana, one is to know the sensation of contact. Should any of you wonder and ask why the Buddha taught anapanasati kammatthana in different ways in different places — in truth it is the same method, but the manner of observation differs. In the Mahasatipatthana [Sutta], one observes whether the breath in and out is long or short, or simply whether one is breathing in or breathing out. In the 40 kammatthana, one observes the sensation of contact of the mind — bodily contact, that is, striking the nose, the chest, and the point above the navel, and so on. In particular, this Mahasatipatthana Sutta the Buddha taught specifically to the people of the Kuru country only; it is a subtle kammatthana, because the people of the Kuru country had very refined mental dispositions. Whenever he would go into that country, the Buddha would teach only the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, and no other teaching. Other manners [of practice] the Buddha taught along other lines; the dispositions of people's understanding are not all equal. In particular, the people of the Kuru state had this as their normal habit...

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But even before they encountered the Buddha, they had cultivated the Mahasatipatthana Sutta as their normal practice. According to the Pali text, it says that even the parrot which a bhikkhuni kept — this term 'bhikkhuni' refers to the time after the Buddha had already arisen in the world — but as for the conduct of the entire Kuru people, they had cultivated the fourfold Mahasatipatthana Sutta even before the Buddha taught it. Since in that land they practiced this as their custom, the Blessed Fully Self-Enlightened One acknowledged the result, and so entered [that land] and then explained it to raise it higher, so that they would understand that beyond simply maintaining mindfulness and clear comprehension, there was also insight-knowledge (vipassana-nana). This the Buddha appended by the power of insight-knowledge, including the Four Noble Truths, so as to bring them to the Path, Fruit, and Nibbana.

So the people of that land were people of refined mind. It is said that even the parrot which a novice nun kept, when it was snatched up by a hawk's talons, the young female novice, seeing this, cried out loudly, startling the hawk. The startled hawk released its talons and the parrot fell down. The novice asked the bird what it had felt at the moment the hawk snatched it up into its talons. The parrot replied that at that moment it felt as though a skeleton were carrying off a skeleton to eat. This shows that this parrot was interested in the contemplation of bones as loathsome (atthika-patikulam) within the 40 kammatthana, or, in terms of the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, interested in what is called the nine charnel-ground contemplations (navasi) and the perception of foulness (asubha-sanna). It was for this reason that the Buddha taught the Mahasatipatthana Sutta specifically to that land, while teaching the 40 kammatthana to outside circles in general, because their mental dispositions were not the same.

The noting of the in-breath and out-breath — this in-breath and out-breath is a subtle matter; we must pay close attention to it. If we are the least bit careless, we will notice that we have drifted off, not knowing whether the breath is coming in or going out. This is a way of compelling the mind to maintain and improve its mindfulness and clear comprehension. The cultivation of this calm-abiding meditation requires mindfulness and clear comprehension as its essential factor. Whatever moment one knows the in-breath and out-breath, at that moment the mind is said to be in concentration — concentration within anapanasati kammatthana. It is also a kammatthana that eliminates the deluded temperament (moha-carita), that is, the discursive temperament (vitakka-carita) — called eliminating the foolishness of the mind — and it guards against a distracted, scattered mental state, that is, restlessness and worry (uddhacca-kukkucca) among the five hindrances. Whoever has a scattered, unsteady mental state — if they practice anapanasati kammatthana regularly, the mind will settle into concentration by itself.

In cultivating anapanasati kammatthana one must also observe, while breathing in and out — if one wishes to recite along with it, one may use the recitation word 'Buddho': on the in-breath think 'Bud,' on the out-breath think 'dho.'

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As for 'Buddho,' it is a Buddhanussati kammatthana [recollection of the Buddha]. While breathing, do not breathe harder than normal or lighter than normal — let the breath proceed naturally, and let the mind note it on its own. It is not the case that when noting the in- and out-breath one should force it so as not to feel it at all — breathing hard like that will not do. One must let it be natural and simply remain aware.

Anapanasati kammatthana allows one to enter jhana easily; this can be observed at the highest jhana level — that is, when taking hold of the in- and out-breath, whether or not a recitation word accompanies it does not matter, either is fine. When one reaches the fourth jhana, one will feel as though in a state of not breathing at all — not knowing whether the breath exists or not — yet the mind is at ease, with a sense of openness and inner radiance, with fully complete mindfulness and clear comprehension, with awareness present at all times, yet not receiving external sense-contact. Mosquitoes may feed, gnats may bite — in truth mosquitoes will not bite. One who cultivates jhana, wherever he goes to sit, if the mind reaches the level of jhana, mosquitoes will not bite; even if mosquitoes do feed and gnats do bite, as is said, he will not feel it. But the one thing that can still be observed is sound — no matter how loud a sound may be, if the mind rests within the fourth jhana, we will not hear that sound. This is the characteristic of the fourth jhana.

Cultivating the kammatthana this way is still not entirely certain — attaining jhana is possible, but sustaining jhana (mastery over entering and emerging at will) may be somewhat difficult, because sustaining jhana means that we set a time: from this time to this time we will enter the fourth jhana, or we will emerge at that time, and it emerges exactly at the destination point set. This is called being one who has mastery over jhana. As for anapanasati, it has already been said that it is a kammatthana by which jhana is easily sustained; it is a kammatthana that suppresses the mind's distraction; it is a kammatthana that suppresses discursive thought (vitakka), that is, delusion (moha) — that is, it suppresses foolishness. Therefore only cleverness remains; foolishness disappears. When cleverness arises, concentration arises; in the meantime the mental state will continue to have further feeling. Once the mind has fully sustained jhana, if it relaxes slightly, wisdom will arise, as when sitting and reflecting that a person's life consists of nothing but the in- and out-breath alone; whenever this life-breath comes to an end, that moment is called death — the death that occurs as an ordinary death for people.

In truth, if one truly reaches it, wisdom is far better than this. What is being said here is only so as to give a comparison toward the real thing; going by the feeling of the mental state, it does not even reach — not even 10 percent of it is possible. But speaking of it as a general approach, it will become clear regarding the body: that this body is merely the four elements — the water element, the earth element, the air element, the fire element — and it is full of filth and impurity, full of conditions...

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...of suffering — suffering from hunger, thirst, sickness and discomfort, the discomfort of needing to defecate or urinate, suffering from separation from what is loved and cherished, being struck by disagreeable mental states, and so on. One sees suffering clearly; wisdom arises by itself. This is what is called wisdom arising by the power of concentration, just as the teachers say regarding morality — they say the precepts must be made pure. When the precepts are pure, the mind will give rise to concentration; when concentration is firmly established, wisdom will then arise; and in the end one will reach Nibbana, bringing about the Noble Path and Noble Fruit. It is the same for anapanasati: if one makes the mind at ease and the mind reaches the fourth jhana, or the first, second, or third jhana, whenever the mind is withdrawn and still, wisdom will arise by itself; it will declare itself clearly; a sense of disenchantment with the body will arise of its own accord; there will be a feeling that this body has no essence, no substance, no stability. Why? Because once there is birth, there is also aging, sickness, and death; and even while the body persists, it is full of suffering — no happiness whatsoever can be found in it. However much we may care for and maintain the body, it remains full of decay at all times. This gives rise to the knowledge of disenchantment (nibbida-nana) — disenchantment with the five aggregates, that is, with the body itself. This is what wisdom will see. Once disenchanted with the body, one then thinks further of the liberating Dhamma (mokkha-dhamma): if only we did not have to be born again, then what is called aging, sickness, death, and separation from what is loved and cherished would not exist at all. These conditions can only arise in dependence upon birth as their cause.

This anapanasati kammatthana builds the mind so that wisdom arises. It will go on to teach further: if we no longer wish for further rebirth, then we must cut off the roots of all three defilements entirely — that is, cut the power of greed through giving (dana); cut the root of the defilement of anger through cultivating the perfection of loving-kindness (metta); and cut the third root, delusion, through contemplating and seeking the truth of the five aggregates. In particular, we come to cut just this one — cutting directly through contemplation and seeking the truth of the five aggregates, that is, the body, which is called form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. Wisdom will clearly see that the body is merely the four elements, has no stability, is subject to change, and is inwardly full of impurity. This is called samatha and vipassana-nana going together always. If one proceeds with samatha alone by itself, before long it will collapse; but if vipassana-nana walks alongside it, it will not collapse — there is only forward progress.

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The body is merely the four elements — water, earth, air, fire — it decays constantly, it suffers constantly. Perceiving that it decays constantly and suffers constantly — this is vipassana-nana. If we were to maintain a body like this, wanting it to continue this way into the next life, there would only be suffering like this. If we wish to cut off suffering, we must cut off greed, hatred, and delusion. As for greed, hatred, and delusion — if one truly cuts them off with firmness of will, one comes to cut them right here at this very body — coming to contemplate and seek the truth of whether this body is us or is not ours. This will declare itself clearly; wisdom is far better than this — it is very sharp and penetrating. If it truly reaches [the truth], it will see clearly that this body has no essence, no substance; it is a thing to be wearied of, full of filth and impurity, full of conditions of impermanence and instability, and in the end it disintegrates. Yet we go on thinking it is us, is ours — but in truth it is not. The body is not us, is not ours; it is merely a rented house we dwell in temporarily. Before long we must part from it, because it will collapse. Once it has collapsed, if we still wanted further rebirth, would it hold up? It would not hold up — it would only be suffering like this again. If we do not want to be born again, what should we do? We apply the principle by the power of the mind, letting our own mind declare to itself periodically that we release the body, that we do not want further rebirth. Whatever is called birth — whether as a human, an animal, a deva, or a Brahma — none of it shall be for us. What we want is Nibbana alone. At this the mind will become clear and pure by the power of jhana; it will think along these lines — though in reality it is far better than this, far clearer.

From that point on, once one has come to rely on a lessening of satisfaction in the body, then the power of sexual desire, greed, anger, and delusion all loosen their grip. All these things that appear to the mind do so because the mind has been absorbed in defilements — that is, chiefly deluded about its own body. When deluded about one's own body, thinking it will endure, thinking it is a good thing, one then also sees the bodies of others and other objects as good too; and foolishness possesses the mind, thinking that our body and another's body, or the body of any object, will not disintegrate. By relying on anapanasati, one destroys this foolishness — that is, the deluded temperament or the discursive temperament, both — and drives away the mind's distraction; the mind therefore attains concentration quickly, and wisdom arises easily. Thus, whatever teaching the Blessed Lord of the Three Worlds, the Fully Self-Enlightened Teacher, taught for the sake of Nibbana — if we cultivate anapanasati kammatthana as our regular practice, our mind will have...

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...clarity, and will be able to cut off the fetters (samyojana) — that is, becoming a Stream-enterer (Sotapanna), Once-returner (Sakadagami), Non-returner (Anagami), or Arahant — before long.

Very well, from this point on I ask all of you to strive to hold the body upright and keep mindfulness firm, noting the in- and out-breath, using anapanasati as the foundation, and also using the recitation word together with contemplation, according to your own disposition, until you hear the signal announcing that the time is up.

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16. Right Concentration, Recollection of the Buddha (Sammasamadhi, Buddhanussati)

From here on, I ask all of you to try to gather your inner strength into concentration. The word 'samadhi' (concentration) means gathering one's inner strength so that it rests in the mind on some wholesome object; this is called sammā-samadhi (right concentration). Concentration is divided into two kinds together: right concentration on the one hand, and wrong concentration (miccha-samadhi) on the other. Concentration, if spoken of in Thai, may be called 'setting the mind' or 'holding a mental object.' Setting the mind on any one particular thing, thinking of any one particular thing specifically — this is called samadhi. If we think of something evil, doing harm to ourselves and to others, causing suffering — this is called wrong concentration. Thinking so that our mind is happy, in accordance with the way of the Dhamma — this is called right concentration. Whatever mental object the mind may rest upon, if it remains fixed on that object — whether for a short or a long duration of time — it is called samadhi.

As for right concentration, the Blessed Fully Self-Enlightened One distinguished it into as many as 40 kinds. We have already spoken of anapanasati kammatthana. For today I will speak of Buddhanussati kammatthana, briefly, to the extent needed for the understanding of the Buddhist congregation.

The word 'Buddhanussati' means taking the virtues of the Buddha as the object of recollection. As for reflecting on the virtues of the Buddha in particular, we could never finish describing them, never finish contemplating them. According to the Pali texts, it is said that even if two Buddhas were to appear and sit questioning and answering one another about the goodness of a Buddha who had already arisen in the world, even after the passing of a full aeon (kappa) they still could not exhaust the goodness of that Buddha. Therefore the ancient teachers have said: 'Buddho appamano' — the virtues of the Buddha are beyond measure. Since the virtues of the Buddha cannot be measured, and we cannot finish contemplating them, how then should we go about contemplating them? The ancient teachers composed directly the formula: 'Itipi so bhagava arahaṃ samma sambuddho,' and so on, which in meaning translates as: 'For this reason, the Blessed Fully Self-Enlightened One, who has rightly attained — arahaṃ, is an Arahant' and so forth. Even this we cannot fully contemplate either. So, to state it briefly, the virtues that the Buddha holds toward us are these:

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1. Sabbapapassa akaranam — the Buddha taught us to refrain from all evil. 2. Kusalassupasampada — he taught, out of compassion, that we should practice only what is good/wholesome. 3. Sacittapariyodapanam — he taught us to purify the mind, making it bright and clear of defilements.

This, in brief, is the Dhamma teaching of the Blessed Elder of the World: teaching us to practice within these three rules that are the heart of the Buddhist religion. If we condense it even further, the Blessed Fully Self-Enlightened One taught us to be heedful, according to his final exhortation, the last words the Blessed Protector of the World spoke on the day close to his Parinibbana, spoken to the Venerable Ananda:

'Ananda, O Ananda, the Dhamma teaching that I have taught you all is entirely contained within heedfulness (non-negligence).' Then the Blessed Protector of the World said: 'Appamadena sampadetha,' which in meaning translates as: 'May you all bring heedfulness to completion.'

This means that the Buddha taught us to be heedful in abandoning evil — meaning, do not think 'I am not evil.' The Pali passage that the Blessed Lion of the Conquerors taught states: 'Attana codayattanam' — admonish yourself by yourself. This too means that he does not want us to be negligent; look upon evil, look upon one's own faults, look upon one's own harm as a regular habit. If we look upon our own evil, our own faults, in this way, then we shall have only goodness. Let us not be people who take our own side; take up the Vinaya and hold it up, take up the Dhamma and hold it up; examine by the Vinaya, examine by the Dhamma, whatever is wrong even in the slightest must be criticized — just like a whole white cloth: one single black spot is enough to be said to ruin the value of that white cloth entirely. Even if that spot is as tiny as the tip of a pen dipped and touched down, it is still considered a blemish. We are disciples of the Blessed Fully Self-Enlightened One; if we wish to contemplate his goodness, we must seek it right here — that the Buddha wants us to have a pure mind. If the mind is pure, where does it go? 'Citte parisuddhe sugati patikankha' — the Buddha said that if the mind is pure, at the very least we go to a good destination, the heavenly world. The word 'sugati' (good destination) can be extended to mean heaven, or the Brahma world, or even Nibbana. So we come to sit and reflect on the goodness of the Buddha, sitting and considering that the Buddha was able to become the Buddha by relying on cutting off love/attachment, cutting off greed, cutting off anger, cutting off delusion.

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Cutting off love/attachment: the Buddha already had a wife, and had a royal son, Rahula; the son was born on that very day. His wife was still young, only 16 years old. But the Blessed Lion of the Conquerors saw that household life was suffering, and so sought the happiness of Buddhahood (bodhi-knowledge) by going forth into homelessness; he was able to cut off love and attachment, leaving home in the night.

Cutting off greed: the Buddha already knew that in another 7 days the position of Universal Monarch (Cakkavatti) would come to him, yet he had no attachment or fondness for becoming a Universal Monarch, because being a Universal Monarch still meant growing old, still meant dying, still meant suffering all the same. Here, the Blessed World-Honored One, even though he could have been lord of the world, set it aside and cast it away, not wanting it. This we must follow in practice, reflecting that if it is not good, the Buddha set it aside; if it were good, he would not have set it aside. Whatever the Buddha has set aside, and whatever exceeds our capacity to possess — we may still have some lesser things — but what the Blessed Lion of the Conquerors, the Blessed Jewel Lamp, already had and set aside, we too must set aside in the same way, because what he had was greater than ours, higher than ours, weightier than ours, better than ours — and even he, who could have had it, set it aside. If what we have is not even equal to his, why then should we not set it aside?

Next, the Blessed Great Teacher sought the going-forth (abhinikkhamana) at the hermitage of the ascetic Alara [Kalama] and the ascetic Uddaka Ramaputta, practicing both form-jhana and formless-jhana until he became very skilled and proficient. The teacher praised him, offering to make the Blessed One a teacher in his place, but the Blessed One considered that mere form-jhana and formless-jhana, both of these, were not the path to attaining the Path and Fruit. So the One of Ten Powers set this aside and left that teacher's hermitage, seeking further goodness.

As for concentration, the Blessed Lord of the Three Worlds attained even to the utmost, the eight attainments (samapatti), yet still saw that this was not the ultimate path out of suffering; but he did not abandon this concentration — he kept it, and sought further to reach the ultimate end of suffering, namely, non-birth. Thereafter the Blessed One found the excellent Dhamma called the Noble Truths (Ariyasacca) — namely, suffering, the cause of the arising of suffering, the cessation of suffering, the path leading to the cessation of suffering, and then the cessation of suffering itself.

Suffering means that which is hard to endure — that is, having been born, one is entirely filled with suffering. This we have already discussed at length.

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The cause of suffering is craving (taṇhā) — wanting beyond what is fitting. This 'wanting' must be qualified by the phrase 'beyond what is fitting': the body being hungry for food, the body wanting to drink water, the body needing to relieve itself and having to go to the latrine, the body needing ordinary clothing, the body needing an ordinary dwelling — these happen naturally according to how life is. Such things are not counted as craving in the sense the Buddha spoke of, because they are merely sufficient — enough for what we truly need according to the body's necessity. But striving beyond what is fitting, not knowing when one has enough — having just enough and still striving for more, causing hardship, wanting without end — wanting like this is called craving, the cause that gives rise to suffering.

The path that extinguishes this craving the Lord, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened Buddha, called the Path (Magga). This path has 8 factors, condensed to 3: morality (sīla), concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (paññā).

Sīla is the restraining of body and speech so that they are orderly, so as to remain within the bounds of goodness that we call the monastic discipline (Vinaya).

Samādhi means having the mind firmly established in goodness — that is, keeping precepts, keeping up giving, the mind inclining toward these two things, and so on.

Paññā is reflecting and seeing that the Dhamma of the Lord of the Ten Powers is the conduct by which he abandoned love, abandoned greed, abandoned the desire for greatness and high ambition, abandoned birth — this, the Great Sage practiced rightly, and so the Lord, the Jewel Lamp, attained Arahantship. We practice by reflecting on the life-story of the Lord, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened Buddha — to speak of it further would never end. In sum, one day we sit and consider the goodness of the Buddha as recorded in the scriptures; wherever it strikes the heart, one holds that as the object of mind. This is called Buddhānussati — recollection of the goodness of the Buddha. If one practices this way for Buddhānussati, thinking along these lines can sustain the mind only up to access concentration (upacāra samādhi). This is one method.

And another method does not practice that way. Teachers instruct one to recite 'Buddho' — while breathing in, think 'Bud'; while breathing out, think 'dho.' The breath is regulated comfortably, combined with the mindfulness-of-breathing meditation (ānāpānasati). Make the mind comfortable and the heart joyful, recollect the goodness of the Conqueror of Māra, and hold in mind 'Buddho, Buddho' as the recitation. Then, whenever the mind becomes bound up with 'Buddho,' or the breath —

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...breathing in and out — at that moment it is called our mind being concentrated. Meditating in this way, the concentration will have a state of mind high enough to reach jhāna-attainment (jhāna-samāpatti).

As for the consideration of 'Buddho,' I will set aside the various mental states for now (to be discussed later). If the strength of our mind is steady, and a vision (nimitta) should specifically arise, the direct vision must be seeing a Buddha image, or seeing the form of a monk, but with a radiant, clear body-aura. This is called the sign of the Buddhānussati meditation; once grasped, this is a mark. From then on, whenever we recite 'Buddho,' let the mind incline to recollect that image as a matter of course. This is called the arising of the acquired sign (uggaha-nimitta).

If that sign changes — at first we see the Buddha image as black at times, white at times, yellow at times, but not clear — then further on, if there is concentration, as the concentration rises the Buddha image is seen more clearly, growing larger, changing to become more beautiful. This is called a high level of access concentration (upacāra samādhi). Here the mind recollects the image, and the image appears clearly within the mind — it is not a matter of sitting and searching for a new image to appear. Further on, when the mind recollects the image of the Lord of the Triple World, a body-radiance arises, the mind becomes clear instead of being yellow, or green, black, red, or whatever color; that color changes little by little from deep yellow to pale yellow, becoming clear. Further still it becomes like crystal — clear crystal sparkling like the morning star in full brilliance, or like a mirror reflecting the light of the sun. There is a sense of moist freshness; one may will it to be large or will it to be small. This is called the counterpart sign (paṭibhāga-nimitta) — that is the level of jhāna. If the mind holds only this much, our mind is joyful, and the mind will sustain jhāna by the power of the Buddhānussati meditation; it will have a state of happiness continuously. Once this image is obtained, do not let this image slip away — maintain that image. As long as the mind still perceives it — not merely a glimpse but truly seeing it, as long as the image remains — at that time it is called the mind sustaining concentration; your mind will have nothing but happiness.

If one can bring the mind to this level, wisdom (paññā) will arise; the word 'Noble Truths' (Ariyasacca) will appear in the hearts of you all. The understanding of the words 'birth is suffering, aging is suffering, death is suffering, separation from what is loved and cherished is suffering' — this will arise in the heart of itself. Weariness with birth will appear. Whatever Dhamma the Lord, the Well-Gone One, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened Teacher, taught us, telling us: 'this is unrighteousness, this is not good' — our mind...

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...will incline to see in accordance with the stream of the true Dhamma of the Lord Victor (Jinasīha), clearly, by the power of wisdom. Whatever Dhamma the Lord of the Triple World, the Great Teacher, told us was proper to practice and observe — bring it into being, because that Dhamma will produce moistness, that is, happiness, arising in the heart. The heart — that is, our wisdom — will then see that Dhamma clearly, without murkiness, and it becomes a true benefit. The teacher-commentators (Aṭṭhakathācariya) say that cultivating the Buddhānussati meditation is a practice capable of producing the goodness that reaches Nibbāna easily.

As for the Buddhānussati meditation, in brief, let us conclude it at this point. From here on, I ask everyone to sit with the body upright, establish mindfulness firmly, note the in-and-out breath, and use the recitation word 'Buddho' — when breathing in think 'Bud,' when breathing out think 'dho' — until you hear the signal announcing that the time is up.

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17. Buddhānussati unto (Jhāna-)Attainment

Today we will continue speaking of the Buddhānussati meditation. Yesterday we spoke up to the point of cultivating the meditation practice in the area of Buddhānussati, from the system of practice that considers the virtues of the Lord, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened Buddha — that is, reflecting on the goodness that the Lord Victor (Jinasīha) taught. In this manner, the Visuddhimagga states that cultivating the Buddhānussati meditation ordinarily has the strength of access concentration (upacāra samādhi) only. But for teachers who are skilled, the tradition passed down teaches that one can adapt the Buddhānussati meditation into jhāna-attainment, up to reaching the fourth jhāna.

Today I will explain the cultivation of this meditation practice in the area of Buddhānussati, from the state of access concentration into the fourth jhāna. If one understands the cultivation of meditation practice, every category of meditation subject can likewise be brought to the fourth jhāna, and can then continue on to the eightfold attainment (samāpatti).

To cultivate the Buddhānussati meditation into jhāna, the recitation is used as the foundation — that is, reflecting on the goodness that the Lord, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened Buddha, taught, in the manner already described. If one wishes it to become jhāna to the fullest, one then sets aside that reflection; the mind inclines to accept and revere the goodness of the Buddha. As for the mind inclining to accept and revere the goodness of the Buddha — we do not hold to his flesh, his skin, or regard his physical form as what matters. The flesh, skin, and form of the Buddha — the Buddha did not consider that to be Buddhahood, because being a Buddha comes from the attainment of a special Dhamma; it is not that one is born a person and is thereby a Buddha. Therefore the Buddha spoke to Ānanda, at the time he was about to enter the extinguishing of the aggregates and enter Parinibbāna, between the twin sal trees, saying:

'Ānanda, O Ānanda, when I have attained Nibbāna, this Dhamma and Vinaya that I have taught you in its entirety shall be your Teacher (Satthā).' Satthā means teacher. Here we can see that being the Buddha is itself the Dhamma, the teaching, that instruction.

We now change from reflecting upon the goodness to bringing the mind to grasp a small point of that goodness — that is, instead of reflecting, we return to reciting, thinking: 'The Buddha possesses immense great compassion.' We bind our mind to hold only to the goodness of the Buddha. Therefore he taught us to use recitation in place of reflection; but we do not abandon the reflection on the goodness of the Buddha — we let the mind reach the goodness of the Lord. This produces rapture in the Dhamma (dhammapīti), a confidence in goodness, first.

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When we have reflected and considered the goodness of the Lord, and when the mind is at ease, we then grasp the mental state as a special concentration — that is, using mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati) combined together with Buddhānussati, using the recitation word 'Buddho.' This is quite easy. In truth, the recitation in the area of the Buddhānussati meditation can be done in many ways — the initial Itipiso formula, all nine clauses — we may use any of them; whichever single clause one uses, it is still called the Buddhānussati meditation all the same. But the reason the teachers settled on using the word 'Buddho' is that it is convenient for a person training the mind at the beginning stage.

At the beginning, consider the in-and-out breath together with the recitation: while breathing in, think 'Bud'; while breathing out, think 'dho.' First, focus only at the nose: breathing in, think 'Bud'; breathing out, 'dho.' This alone is enough to make the mind at ease. Once the mind is at ease and its strength as concentration rises higher, the mind will come to know the breath's contact and touch within: breathing in, the breath touches the nose, touches the chest, touches the point above the navel; breathing out, it touches the point above the navel, touches the chest, touches the edge of the lips or the nose.

If it appears that the breath touches these 3 points with a feeling of ease, or if the mind becomes even more refined than that, one feels the breath flowing down from the start all the way to the belly, flowing from the belly back up to the nose, going out through the nose — this is even better. To have this feeling, one must let the in-and-out breath go according to its natural course; do not breathe hard, long, or force it heavily — this will not do. One must let the breath go according to the ordinary rule. What allows us to know this depends only on whether our mindfulness and clear comprehension (sati-sampajañña) are good or poor. If our mindfulness and clear comprehension are good, and the mind is highly concentrated, it can perceive contact at all three points; if the mental state becomes even more refined than that, one knows the breath flowing like water flowing in and flowing out.

If one can know the breath at the 3 points, that is good; or if one knows the breath flowing out and flowing in continuously, this is called the mind being in jhāna — called the first jhāna. At the same time, one still maintains the recitation word.

If one continues reciting and reciting, and feels that the breath becomes lighter, lighter still, the mind has a sense of moist freshness, and the recitation word fades away, the recitation simply stops on its own, but the mind remains at ease, the breath grows fainter, with more moist freshness than before, the mind more sustained than before — this is the second jhāna.

If, continuing further, the moist freshness fades away, leaving only a sense of tautness, the mind at ease, the breath growing lighter, hearing outside sounds less and less, growing much fainter, the mind holding itself taut, with a feeling of not wanting to move, the body feeling as if fixed in place like a post driven in firmly, or as if someone had bound and fastened the body still —

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...does not want to move, the mind is at ease, closely still, perfectly still, the mind has no desire to shift or move anywhere — this is called the third jhāna. Here too the recitation word is no longer present in the same way; the recitation word is only present from momentary concentration (khaṇika samādhi) and access concentration (upacāra samādhi) up through the first jhāna only.

Going further, at the start we hold to the recitation word, and then it appears that the mind has a bright, radiant quality, the mind is filled with moist freshness, the mental state remains steady as usual, not shifting anywhere, sustained comfortably, with a glowing brightness within the mind — a very great brightness. But the breath no longer appears; the ears do not hear outside sound — even if one brought a large firecracker or a rocket and set it off close by, it would not be heard. This is the condition of the fourth jhāna.

If we are to ask and answer according to the standard formula of concentration practice: this matter of mosquitoes and gnats biting — it does not trouble the mind from the level of access concentration onward. Once the mind passes through rapture (pīti) and reaches happiness (sukha), there is a cool, tranquil happiness, a sense of ease. The matter of sounds we hear is the same — it does not trouble the mind; our mind remains at ease, the body does not ache or grow weary, there is nothing at all — it is truly happiness, with only a moist freshness of mind. Whether mosquitoes bite or not, we do not know; we don't know if the mosquito is feeding or not. But for the most part mosquitoes do not trouble one — though for some individuals they do trouble them all the same; sometimes after sitting and finishing, the whole body is covered in welts, showing that mosquitoes bit — yet during the time of practice, while the mind is sustained in concentration, one does not feel the mosquito bite at all. This is really a matter of contact with external conditions, but the mind refuses to accept sensory contact starting from the stage of happiness (sukha), because the word 'happiness' here must contain no trace of the word 'suffering.' It is truly happiness — no element of suffering can be found. If there were aching, that would not be happiness; if one were aware of a mosquito bothering the ear, that would not be happiness; if one knew a mosquito had bitten and it itched or hurt, that would not be happiness — that would be suffering. So this word 'happiness' here cuts off all these conditions entirely.

In truth, the matter of sound that annoys us from outside, or mosquitoes and gnats biting, is the same — the dividing line is only where happiness has not yet reached the first jhāna; but the condition of happiness and the first jhāna are very close to one another — they say the distance is only the width of a hair split eight ways. I ask you all to remember this. If anyone asks you, answer them this way. If asked, 'do mosquitoes bite [the meditators]?' — say some individuals get bitten and some do not. If asked why mosquitoes bite or do not bite, why they bite or do not bite differently — some are bothered and some are not — one must answer: whoever has the Four Divine Abidings (Brahmavihāra) complete, whose mind sustains the Four Divine Abidings as its normal state, that person is not fed on by mosquitoes and not bitten by gnats. If one is deficient in the Four Divine Abidings, they will certainly bite, they will certainly feed — this is how you should answer them, and it applies to answering ourselves as well.

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This is the ordinary characteristic of the fourth jhana. Once the fourth jhana is reached, one must strive to maintain the jhana. Whatever level of samadhi it may be, make it fluent — what is called vasī (mastery) — whether the first jhana, second jhana, third jhana, or whatever: make it truly fluent, so that the instant you think of it the mind becomes concentrated. Walking back and forth, when tired, the moment you sit down the mind seizes concentration instantly. Having worked until exhausted, carrying water, carrying [loads] very heavily, doing hard labor — the moment you set the load down and sit, the mind seizes concentration instantly and steadies at once. This must be practiced until fluent in this way; only then is one called one who has attained jhana or one who maintains jhana — not merely going through the motions carelessly, in which case the object of mind cannot be put to any use. If done carelessly, sometimes succeeding and sometimes not, it does not count as true attainment — though it is still good enough to be reborn as a deva, but not as a Brahma. If our mind can maintain jhana at every mind-moment, then we will certainly become a Brahma, because at times when we are sick and in great pain, we seize the mind into jhana at once, and the painful feeling eases. If it eases well, one may not even feel the body at all, because the mind and the nervous system refuse to acknowledge one another — they separate from each other completely.

If we wish to maintain jhana through the Buddhānussati meditation subject up to the eighth jhana, how do we do it?

The tradition states that Buddhānussati and all the other recollections (anussati), except for ānāpānasati, reach only access concentration (upacāra samādhi) — that is what is stated. But we can adapt it to reach the eighth jhana fully; what would happen then? If we simply resolve to do it, it can be done — once understood, it can be done. The Buddha did not restrict it. If we wish to maintain the eighth jhana, how do we do it?

Instead of just reciting blankly, we take hold of an image of a Buddha statue and fix the image in mind. Open the eyes and look at the image of any Buddha statue — whichever one we wish, one toward which we feel confidence and satisfaction. While holding the in-and-out breath and reciting "Buddho," also bring to mind the image of the Great Teacher — it may be a Buddha statue — and let it appear in the mind. It is not a matter of sitting and waiting for an image to simply float up on its own; that will not work. As we recite, we also keep thinking of the image alongside it — whether we think of it as within the chest, or see it as outside, or see it as both within and without, it is not restricted.

If we recall that image following the original image, this is called uggaha-samādhi or uggaha-nimitta.

If that original image begins to expand and change, gradually becoming larger, or taller, or smaller, and its color and hue begin to change little by little — from the original color turning slightly pale, fading...

...fading further and further. But we feel that the mental object is seen clearly — genuinely seen, not an image merely floating up. When the mental image is seen so clearly that it appears as a clear crystal, this is called the middle stage of access concentration (upacāra samādhi).

Now the clear crystal turns into a crystal that sparkles like the morning star, glittering all over. The mind is able to make that image small, or large, high or low, place it in front or behind, as it wishes. However one thinks of it, the image appears accordingly, with a special clarity, cleanness, and brightness. This the Great Teacher of the World declared to be the first jhana.

This image should be held firmly, so that whenever one thinks of it, one has it — walking on alms round, going about errands, sitting — whenever one thinks of it, one sees it at once. This serves both as a kasina and as the Buddhānussati meditation subject.

If, while seeing the image in that way, the recitation "Buddho" fades away, and the image becomes clearer than before, this is the second jhana; the mind still has joyful moistness (pīti) — the characteristic of the mind is the same.

The image becomes clearer and cleaner, steadier, brighter; the joyful moistness disappears, and there is a sense of strain; the mind is steady, still, and firmly settled, and the breath becomes faint; outside sound is heard only faintly. This is the third jhana.

Seeing the image with special clarity and brightness — radiant like the sun with a halo, or like a mirror reflecting the great disc of sunlight — the mind is not entangled with any other object; it is equanimous and at ease. It is seen steady and still; one can sit for as long as one wishes and continue to see it as desired. The ears do not hear outside sound, the breath does not appear — this is the fourth jhana, and it is still a form-jhana (rūpa-jhāna).

Now, if we are to make it a formless jhana (arūpa-jhāna), how do we do it? We will proceed up to the eighth jhana. This is a method of instruction based on actual results of practice, not merely clinging to the texts until confused and unable to get anywhere. It is done like this:

Take hold of that same image of the Buddha, the one sparkling like the morning star. Focus and fix the point so the mind grips it well. Once the mind is well settled on the object, then discard (phoek) that image so it disappears — the word "phoek" is an old term, meaning to think, "may this image now disappear." Take hold of the sphere of infinite space (ākāsānañcāyatana) instead — that is, contemplate space, thinking: this space is boundless, it is vast emptiness, with no end point. Taking hold of space as the object in this way is called ākāsānañcāyatana. The mind remains at the level of the fourth jhana. Grasping space, its vastness, the movement of space — thinking: it is utterly empty...

...this world — no matter where — has no ultimate limit; there is no mark or sign to be found at all; no end point can be found — until the mind holds this object steadily and well. This is classed as the first formless jhana. If we count it among the jhanas, it is the fifth — the fifth attainment (samāpatti).

When we have grasped the object of space comfortably and easily, we bring to mind that space is boundless, that everything is empty, all becoming space. In the whole world nothing remains fixed — people are born and then die, animals are born and then die, trees are born and then die, mountains before long crumble, houses and buildings collapse; in the end everything becomes empty. This is called the mind having thoroughly entered space — it is ākāsānañcāyatana.

Now comes viññāṇañcāyatana. We bring to mind viññāṇa, that is, the mind — the nature of the mind that ordinarily has objects of thought. It has no fixed steadiness; it has no ultimate limit; nothing about it remains permanently fixed. Now it thinks this way, now it thinks that way, now it thinks some other way. When one takes the mind as clinging to an object, thinking "that is me, this is me" — this is not really anything true. In truth the mind's nature is unsettled; the mind's nature is uncertain — now it likes this, now it likes that, now it wants something else. Therefore the mind's object itself is held to be without any ultimate limit. So we should have no desire for this kind of object, until our mental object becomes firmly and closely settled, with no attachment at all — whether to the body or to material things — not taking them, not being interested in them, wanting only space, that is, emptiness devoid even of mind itself. If we hold that at any moment the five aggregates (khandha) still exist, images still exist, mind still exists as something to cling to, then there is suffering in that way. But if the mind can remain steady at all times — whenever we think of it, the object is empty, clinging to nothing at all — then let whatever happens happen, we don't care. None of the conditions in the world are "us" or "ours" at all; nothing remains fixed; the object is empty and without any ultimate limit. As long as we cling to the world, we are said to be one who suffers.

This condition resembles vipassanā-ñāṇa very closely. This is called attaining the viññāṇañcāyatana jhana. This is the object [of meditation] — we are speaking of the object. If one reads according to the textbooks, sometimes it will seem to contradict this. When we have attained the viññāṇañcāyatana jhana, this is called attaining the sixth attainment. Do not forget: we must first take hold of the image of the Buddha statue as the kasina, and afterward discard it so it disappears. We take the kasina to lead the mind to grip it as an object and become steady first, because the kasina is something coarse — the image of the Buddha statue is something coarse. Once we have made it steady, then we think: may this image now disappear.

Now we come to consider the seventh jhana, the seventh attainment, which is the ākiñcaññāyatana jhana. One contemplates that this world has nothing at all remaining — everything collapses, everything disintegrates completely. Buildings and houses, however well built, collapse. Old cities, however strongly built, collapse. Great city walls, such as the Great Wall of China, the walls of Thai cities, the walls of Western cities — however strongly built, they all collapse. Mountains too show signs of crumbling; when their soil is taken to make laterite gravel, it crumbles away until nothing is left. People, animals, trees, houses and buildings alike — in the end nothing remains. Ākiñcaññāyatana is translated as "nothing whatsoever can be found remaining." The mind becomes empty of objects and no longer clings to anything at all. What is there of real substance for us? There is none — even this body of ours will before long collapse. Maintaining a body in this way is suffering; we do not wish to have a body again. When this state of mind becomes well established, this is called attaining the ākiñcaññāyatana jhana, the seventh attainment.

Now to the eighth attainment. We take hold of the image of the Buddha statue as the object, holding the object clearly so the mind is at ease, as an equanimous object. This formless jhana is itself the same as the fourth jhana, but now taken up as a formless portion; the objects are equal. We now take up the neither-perception-nor-non-perception base (nevasaññānāsaññāyatana). We have perception, we have feeling, but we act as though we had no perception, because we see that the body has no essence, the body has no core substance, the body is a cause of suffering. None of material things is something to be relied upon; nothing is a genuinely reliable support — when we die, none of it can be taken along. Now, when the body is going to be hungry, if there is food we eat; if there is none, we remain at ease. We feel hungry but act as though we were not hungry. When it is cold and there is nothing to cover ourselves with, we just lie there indifferently — let it be cold, we act as though we were a person unaffected by cold. When it is hot we likewise act indifferently, as though unaffected by heat. Whatever anyone says or scolds, we act as though there were no one there; we pay no attention to anything at all. Though we have perception, it is as though we had none — that is, memory is present but we act as though we had no memory. Doing it this way, is the mind happy or suffering? The mind is happy, considering it all an ordinary matter. Cold — let it be cold, we don't care, pay it no mind. Heat — let it be hot. If it wants to be hungry, let it be hungry; if there is nothing to eat, so be it; if there is food, we eat, if not, we don't eat. If it wants to grow old, let it grow old; if it wants to fall sick, let it fall sick; whenever it is going to die, we don't care. The five aggregates (khandha) are of no good, of no benefit — because it is precisely because we have the five aggregates, that is, have a body, that we have heat, cold, happiness, suffering, hunger, thirst, the urge to defecate and urinate. The five aggregates are not good; we have no intention to associate with them at all; we have no wish to remember any of it; we take no interest in any of it whatsoever. This is called attaining the eighth attainment. This condition is very close indeed to vipassanā-ñāṇa. Therefore the Lord Conqueror [the Buddha] said: a person...

...who has attained the eighth attainment — if he develops vipassanā-ñāṇa, the ancient teacher-elders of former times said that in as little time as it takes to chew a betel quid to a pulp, he becomes an Arahant.

If we have attained the eighth attainment in this way, using the eighth attainment as a foundation, we contemplate vipassanā-ñāṇa with regard to the ten fetters (saṃyojana) — that is, having personality view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi) and so on — or contemplate the Four Noble Truths, the nine vipassanā-ñāṇas, or contemplate the five aggregates, whichever it may be — in a very short while one becomes a Stream-enterer, a Once-returner, a Non-returner. As soon as one reaches the state of Non-returner (Anāgāmī), we then gain paṭisambhidā-ñāṇa (analytical insight-knowledge), possessing the power that encompasses all of the Threefold Knowledge (vijjā 3) and the Sixfold Higher Knowledge (abhiññā 6). We obtain all of it entirely; there is no need to train separately as in the case of mundane jhana. Whatever the Threefold Knowledge can do, we can do; whatever the Sixfold Higher Knowledge can do, we can do. Knowing the languages of humans and animals — without needing to study, we know it all, understand everything. We have skill in condensing long, drawn-out passages — a lengthy passage we can condense to be short yet retain the sense; when someone speaks briefly, we can expand it out to be long while making the meaning clear. We can do this very well. This is called paṭisambhidā-ñāṇa.

Well then, everyone, today we have spoken of the Buddhānussati meditation subject up to this point — the eighth attainment — which none of you have ever heard before. But I have done it before; I am able to do it. What I have told you here, I myself am able to do. But it is done following what my teacher taught, not something I invented myself. In truth, this knowledge was indeed recommended by the Great Teacher [the Buddha] himself, but no one had brought it forward to teach it — that is not to say no one at all knew it; whether anyone else taught it, I do not know. What I came to know, I owe to the fact that the teachers of the previous generation were clever, able to adapt the teachings of the Great Lord of the World — not really "adapt," but rather bring them together: taking the recollections (anussati) — that is, Buddhānussati, ānāpānasati, and the kasina — and combining them all into a single point. Once one has reached the fourth jhana, one then takes hold of the image of the Buddha statue as the kasina, keeps it fixed and steady, and then discards it, taking up the formless jhana. This is the cleverness that makes the practice of this meditation subject beneficial in this way.

Well then, for today, our talk shall stop here for now. From this point on, may everyone keep the body upright, keep mindfulness firm, keep aware of the breath going in and out, use the recitation word, and contemplate as one is inclined, until the signal is heard announcing that the time is up.

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