Ringkasan dibuat dengan bantuan AI • Belum diverifikasi
Ceramah ini membahas pandangan benar (right view) sebagai faktor pertama Jalan Mulia Berunsur Delapan, dengan penekanan pada pemahaman tiga karakteristik (impermanence, dukkha, anatta) sebagai inti dari pandangan benar. Venerable Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu menjelaskan bahwa pandangan benar berkembang melalui tahap-tahap pengetahuan, dimulai dari memahami tubuh dan pikiran sebagai realitas, kemudian memahami sebab-akibat, dan akhirnya melihat tiga karakteristik secara langsung. Ia juga mengklarifikasi perbedaan antara Jalan Mulia (momen realisasi Nibbana) dan Jalan Vipassana (praktik menuju realisasi), serta menjelaskan peran moralitas (sila) dalam mendukung meditasi. Dalam sesi tanya jawab, ia memberikan nasihat praktis tentang mengatasi kantuk dan rasa sakit dalam meditasi, menangani trauma, berbagi Dhamma, dan menjaga sila dalam kehidupan sehari-hari. Pesan utama yang dapat dibawa adalah pentingnya mengembangkan pandangan benar melalui pengalaman langsung, menggunakan mindfulness untuk mengatasi hambatan, dan menjaga moralitas sebagai dasar praktik.
Welcome everyone to our online Dhamma group with Venerable Jutta Dhammo who is joining
us from Sri Lanka in the Meditation Center.
So if anyone is interested in doing a course, then it's ready and you just have to sign
up for it.
And we will today continue our study of the Dhammacakkha Pavadana Sutta commentary by
the late Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw for one hour.
And we have a reading group for that.
If you want to join that, the requisite is to have done at least the at-home course.
It's an online course that we also offer.
After that, there will be time for discussion and that is followed by a live Q&A.
So you are welcome to already.
Write your questions, maybe even about the text when we, when we are reading and we will
ask them later.
Before we start reading, we will together take the five precepts as usual.
It's something we always do before the study group because it helps us bring our mind to
the right mood.
To the correct state of mind.
And it's also a good reminder to keep the five precepts to reaffirm this practice and which is
very helpful, very fundamental to the practice of mindfulness.
And we take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
It's also a very old tradition, both of them, to strengthen this.
Connection to the Buddhist teachings, Buddha's teachings.
So is there anyone in the Discord who would like to do the recitation?
I would like to.
Thank you.
And you may start if you're ready.
AHA NG BAN TER.
TI SARA NENA SAHA PAN CHA SI LHA NI YAD CHA MI.
TU THI YAM PI AHA NG BAN TER.
TI SARA NENA SAHA PAN CHA SI LHA NI YAD CHA MI.
NAMO TASA BAGAVATU ARAHATU SAMA SAMBUDHASA.
NAMO TASA BAGAVATU ARAHATU SAMA SAMBUDHASA.
NAMO TASA BAGAVATU ARAHATU SAMA SAMBUDHASA.
NAMO TASA BAGAVATU ARAHATU SAMA SAMBUDHASA.
Dhammang saranam gacchami
Dhammang saranam gacchami
Sanghang saranam gacchami
Sanghang saranam gacchami
Dutiyampi buddhang saranam gacchami
Dutiyampi dhammang saranam gacchami
Dutiyampi sanghang saranam gacchami
Dutiyampi sanghang saranam gacchami
Dutiyampi buddhang saranam gacchami
Dutiyampi buddhang saranam gacchami
Dutiyampi dhammang saranam gacchami
Dutiyampi dhammang saranam gacchami
Dutiyampi saranam gacchami
sanghang saranam gacchami
isaranagamanam nititam
amabante
panatipata viramani sikapadam samadhyami
panatipata viramani sikapadam samadhyami
adinnadana viramani sikapadam samadhyami
adinnadana viramani sikapadam samadhyami
amesubh vichachara viramani sikapadam
samadhyami
amesubh vichachara viramani sikapadam samadhyami
musavadha viramani sikapadam samadhyami
musavadha viramani sikapadam samadhyami
sura meraya
majapamadhyami
canadott stereotypes
veeramani sikapadam samadhyami
sura meraya maja
kodapamadattana
veeramani sikapadam samadhyami
imani pancha sikapadami
idee na sukatingantье
idee na bhougasampadah
idee na nibutingant혀
Let me just change my screen.
So we will now continue with reading and studying the text.
And we are currently on page 163 of the book, which is 173 of the PDF, and the paragraph
is marked yellow.
It's the last one.
And before we start reading, please remember to read slowly, take your time and leave a
pause between each paragraph.
Because we are not trying to read the whole thing.
We are trying to read it quickly.
We want to learn as much as possible from this great work.
And also Venerable Jutadamu has comments, so we can give him time to explain some parts
of the text.
Or if you have questions, and we read two paragraphs usually, and last person to read
was me.
So the next person in the list, which Martin shared in the chat group.
Can I interrupt a moment?
Yes.
Can anyone else see Delawer's reading text stream?
They cannot.
Okay.
Let me try something.
I see it in his profile.
If you click on his profile, it shows it correctly.
So let's see.
Okay.
I see it.
Something's going wrong.
Did something change?
You might have to exit the chat and come back.
Okay.
Is it better?
That works now, friend.
Okay.
Thank you.
So Edit would be the next person.
And the rest of the list is in the Discord chat.
So Edit, if you're ready, please go ahead.
I am.
Okay.
I'm ready.
The ability to distinguish the knower, nama, from the known, rupa, constitutes right view.
Although it may have been learned from books that the knowing mind is separate from the
material body, prior to taking up the meditation practice, at the initial stage of the practice,
the meditator,
cannot distinguish the knowing mind and the material body through actual experience.
It is only at the stage when analytical knowledge is developed that the distinction between
these two occurs continuously.
When noting the phenomenon of thinking or painful feeling as it occurs,
the meditator,
discerns separately the thinking mind and the material object, or painful feeling at
the location of pain in the body.
This discernment of mind is distinct from matter, is knowing reality as it truly is,
that is right view.
The meditator becomes convinced that the knowing mind is separate from the material body.
That, then, that there is only the material body and the knowing mind.
Apart from them, there is no such thing as a living being or entity.
This is also knowing reality as it truly is, with right view.
So it is.
Okay, let's first let's contextualize, right?
We're on the fourth noble truth.
This is again the Dhamma Chakrabartana Sutta,
the first discourse of the Buddha.
This is the commentary by the Mahasi Sayadaw,
and he's gone through all three of the other noble truths,
and he's on the fourth noble truth.
Turning of the wheel of the Dhamma is the presenting of the four noble truths.
When the Buddha taught the four noble truths,
that set in motion the Dhamma wheel,
which as he will say,
cannot be stopped.
So that's the line after which
the Dhamma is inevitably given to the world
and spread throughout the world
once the four noble truths are taught.
He's on the fourth noble truth at the moment,
and Mahasi Sayadaw is discussing right view,
the fourth noble truth is of course the Eightfold Noble Path,
the path which leads to the cessation of suffering.
The first of the eight parts of the Noble Path,
is right view.
And so that's what he's talking about now.
It doesn't look like he's going to go through them all individually,
but he's going to discuss them.
Right view, I guess,
can be seen as the most important,
the one that needs perhaps the most explaining.
So this is the first of the stages of knowledge.
We talked about it last week as well.
For anyone who's done any significant amount of practice in mindfulness,
it's not really worth doubting whether you've experienced this or not.
It's not that deep.
I mean, it's an incredible attainment,
but it's not that difficult to attain
for someone who applies themselves to mindfulness,
even for a few days.
Let's say if you're not practicing intensively
for a week or a couple of weeks,
let's say a couple of weeks,
it's really just the eradicating of the wrong view,
something that dispels the wrong view.
So a lot of people come into the practice with views.
I mean, it's overwhelmingly common
for people to come into the practice with views of self,
belief that there is a self,
that we have a soul,
and that it is me that walks,
it is me that talks, and so on.
And this kind of goes out the window as you pay attention.
It doesn't mean you have to completely give up wrong view.
What might be misleading about this is
it sounds like he's saying that someone who reaches this
is already enlightened, right?
There's already at least a sotapanna,
because a sotapanna is the one who has no wrong view.
But all this does really is
dispels the inclination to say that there is a self and so on.
It doesn't mean that you don't still believe in self.
Not entirely, because you haven't become a sotapanna yet.
But it really is just the first glimpse into the body and mind,
which allows you to say,
yes, there is only body and mind.
It doesn't really give you that view,
because that view is really only attained at sotapanna,
but it allows you to see that.
So it's the first glimpse.
A lot of this, the very beginning stages of knowledge
are just like a first glimpse that is challenging your views,
challenging wrong view.
And it's important because
if you apply yourself with that wrong view,
then you practice all wrong.
Practically speaking, it becomes about forcing your mind to be mindful,
forcing the foot to move correctly,
forcing the stomach to rise and fall.
I'm the one who's doing the rising and falling of the stomach.
It sets you on the wrong path
if you cling to those views,
if you apply them in the practice.
So it's not that you've completely eradicated those.
You don't have to be worried if you're,
oh, I still,
I'm not sure if there is a self or not.
Am I really doing this correctly?
Am I getting anywhere or am I failing?
It's not a problem.
It's just this is a challenge to that.
It's giving you a clearer glimpse into reality.
And by following that,
by applying your mind to that glimpse
and paying attention to it
and looking at the world,
starting to look at the world in that way,
is the way you'll progress on the path
and eventually reach the state
where you do see
things arising and ceasing
and have a sense that
all things that arise cease
and that they are not self.
It doesn't,
it isn't really the belief that there is no self.
Not really.
It just dispels the idea
or any conception of a self.
But again,
it mostly, practically,
it mostly comes about in the practice,
one, by seeing moments of arising and ceasing.
So you separate moments of body
into individual moments
and moments of mind
into individual moments
and being able to separate the body from the mind.
That's two things.
It's the first stage of knowledge.
It's pretty simple.
Not something you should overthink
and certainly not something
you should intellectualize or analyze.
It's just about watching, you know, and seeing.
If you can see the stomach rising,
if you can see the stomach falling,
if you can see the foot moving,
the right foot moving,
the left foot moving,
if you can see pain arising and ceasing,
you're already well on your way.
That's really all this is about.
Seeing how the mind goes to the object,
seeing how the mind is sometimes aware,
sometimes not aware,
and so on.
You're already on the way.
As the concentration becomes further strengthened
during the course of noting,
rising, falling,
ticking, touching,
seeing, hearing, thinking,
feeling, stiff,
hot or painful,
one discerns clearly
the origination of the object
as well as its dissolution,
the beginning and end of each phenomenon.
I think we're reading a different version.
Oh, sorry.
I will come back here then.
I was reading my own PDF,
but I guess, yes,
because this looks like a bigger paragraph.
Okay.
Sorry.
As the power of concentration becomes further developed
while noting rising,
falling,
sitting,
touching,
et cetera,
one comes to realize that one touches
because there is the material body to touch,
sees because the eye and a sight,
hears because of ear and sound,
bends because of the desire to bend.
One realizes also that one does not know the reality
because one fails to take note of the phenomenon
as it occurs.
One develops liking because,
one does not know the true nature.
One develops attachment because one likes it.
One then knows that when one has developed attachment,
one becomes engaged in activities such as doing or talking.
These activities of doing and talking produce effects.
Good when the action was wholesome,
bad when the action was unwholesome.
In this way,
one gains the knowledge of cause and effect
as far as one's perfections allow.
This again is knowing reality as it is
with the right view.
So this is basically saying that once you
are able to see clearly body and mind and
distinguish moments of
see clearly enough to be able to distinguish moments of
body and for moments of mind and from each other
that you start to see how they work according to cause and effect.
They don't just happen randomly, right?
There's an orderliness to things
and some things are inevitable after other certain things.
And you start to see these relationships
which is a very powerful
and perhaps it's understated here
and my explanation as well
because it's a very important stage.
I think I've mentioned this before
but this is the stage that is called
being a Jhula Sotapanna in the Visuddhimagga.
So the Visuddhimagga claims that
at this stage one is
destined to be freed from a bad rebirth.
In the next life
as a result of reaching this knowledge
which really makes sense.
I mean I don't know what the source is
like there's no
we don't have the Buddha's verification that this is true but
we tend to take the commentary at its word
and it does make sense because this is the
point where one understands cause and effect
understands karma
and appreciates the significance and the weight
of good karma and bad karma.
For oneself
not intellectually
not on faith
but actually sees how it's working
the mechanics of it
in real time.
And so attaining that
just the second stage of knowledge
really at the very beginning of the practice
one is safe.
Jhula Sotapanna nama hoti.
One who has attained a refuge
one has attained a refuge
one has attained security
as a Jhula Sotapanna.
Meaning
Jhula means small so it's like
you're a Sotapanna but only for this life.
They've entered the stream temporarily.
Understanding karma is enough to
set you on the right path for this life
according to the Vissudhimakas.
As concentration becomes further strengthened
during the course of noting, rising
falling, sitting, touching
seeing, hearing, thinking
feeling stiff, hot or painful
one discerns clearly
the origination of the object
as well as its dissolution
the beginning and end of each phenomenon.
One becomes convinced
through personal experience
that every phenomenon is impermanent
that it comes into being
only to vanish instantly.
One realizes too
that incessant arising
and ceasing
are dreadful suffering
and what is not subject
to one's control
is not self.
This knowledge is also right view
that knows reality.
This describes the third stage of knowledge
and really to some extent
the whole of the rest of the path.
Because the thing is
understanding karma is sort of just
it's something you pass on the way to the truth.
Understanding karma is great
and it's mundane right view
but it's not really the path.
Knowing what's right and what's wrong is great
but it's really only significant
in terms of how it
involves seeing clearly.
But the goal is to see things as they are
to understand and to not get things wrong.
And so of course doing bad deeds
and thinking they are good deeds
is a huge gross mistake
and misunderstanding of the nature of reality.
And that's all that's really significant about karma.
I mean it's a big deal, right?
If you understand karma
you do the right thing
and you stop doing the wrong thing.
You stop killing and stealing and cheating
and lying and taking drugs and alcohol
because you see for yourself
that they are the wrong thing.
But it's only significant in terms of
how it relates to seeing clearly.
It's a sign if anything
that you're starting to see more clearly.
What's really important
is that as you see more and more clearly
you see that
the point is that
any kind of clinging
is a cause for suffering
or more clearly even
nothing is worth clinging to, right?
We've already been through this.
Why is that the most important thing to know?
Because that's the most important truth.
That's the ultimate truth that you realize.
And why is nothing worth clinging to?
Well, here's what he starts to explain
because the path is always described
Vipassana path is always described
as seeing the three characteristics.
And why that's significant
seeing the three characteristics
is because that is what causes you to see
that nothing is worth clinging to.
And when you see that nothing is worth clinging to
obviously you stop clinging.
When you stop clinging
you stop suffering and you're free.
When you're free you can say I'm free and that's it.
So the third stage of knowledge
and really from there on is all about
deeper and deeper
clearer and clearer understanding
that nothing is worth clinging to
by seeing impermanence
by seeing suffering
by seeing non-self
in all things.
Seeing something arise and starting to say
Oh, I thought this was stable and it's not stable.
I thought this was satisfying and it's not satisfying.
I thought this was me and mine and under my control
and it's none of those things.
That's what you see from the practice.
It's quite limited.
It's quite simple
in the sense of not being a lot of things
or a lot to learn or a lot to understand.
It's not simple in the sense of it being easy.
It's certainly not easy
but simple in terms of not being complicated.
In fact it's in many ways the opposite
to the moving away
or the untying of all the knots of complexity in life.
As the power of concentration
gets still more developed
although the meditator is noting
the acts of rising
falling, sitting, bending
stretching, lifting
moving forward, dropping
he or she is no longer aware of the objects
in their various shapes and forms
such as the body, stomach
the limbs, etc.
He or she notices only
the rapid dissolution of successive phenomena.
He or she perceives the swift passing away
of the object of awareness
as well as the noting mind
and comes to the vivid realization
of the real nature of impermanence
unsatisfactoriness and not-self.
The object of awareness
passes away
the instant it makes its appearance
and there is no self
to fasten one's attachment onto.
The knowing mind also dissolves
so fast
that there is no self
nothing to hold onto.
Thus, with every noting
knowledge develops into
the true nature of impermanence
unsatisfactoriness
and not-self.
All of these constitute right view.
Again, this is a description
of part of the path
especially referring to
where the meditator begins to see
things as reality
as opposed to concepts.
What that means is
instead of seeing the foot moving
there is only an observation
of the sensation of the movement.
Basically the four elements.
It doesn't mean you say
this is fire, this is air and so on.
It means that's just what you experience.
What will often come is
you'll get a sense of
oh, my foot, that's not even a foot.
There's no foot there at all.
This is intellectual
but it's an observation
that occurs spontaneously
as a result of
the change in one's perception.
But again,
it's important to not
be too obsessed with
this knowledge that we're
gaining.
If this is news to you
and you haven't done any meditation practice
really don't take this as a
manual or a guide
for how your practice would go.
You're much better off to
go in
with a clear mind
and just see what's actually there.
Don't try and compare it to this
or worry about whether
or when you're going
to experience all of this.
This can be useful more
for people who've already done
a significant amount of practice
to have a clear
appreciation of what they've gone through
or a clear understanding
of what they've gone through.
From the time that analytical knowledge develops
to the stage of right view of insight
vipassana samaditti
the mind has been inclining towards
perceiving reality as it is.
This constitutes right thought.
Right concentration is involved too
to keep the mind fixed
on the right object
and right mindfulness
remains aware of it.
All this while the meditator
is engaged in one of the
four foundations of mindfulness.
Contemplating the body postures
feelings
mind
and mental objects.
He or she contemplates
with right effort.
Thus whenever a meditator
is engaged in meditation
five path factors are involved.
Three from the concentration group
and two from the wisdom group.
These five path factors
cooperate in each act
of heedful noting.
The commentary calls them
the five working factors.
Panchasu karakangesu.
In addition,
there are also
involved the three factors
of the morality group.
Right speech, right action
and right livelihood
by preserving the precepts
and fulfilling the abstentions.
This is how such involvement occurs.
The meditator starts observing
the precepts
even before beginning meditation
and keeps it purified.
During the course of meditation
morality remains unpolluted
and its purity is maintained.
If anything it may be said
that morality gets more and more refined.
Thus with three path factors
of morality added to the
five working factors
a meditator is developing
all eight path factors
at each instance of noting
and knowing the phenomenon.
The Maha Salaya Tanika Sutta
gives the following description
of how the eight path factors
are developed.
bhikkhus
When the eye is seen
as it truly is
when sights,
eye consciousness,
eye contact and feeling
that arises due to eye contact
are seen as they truly are
then no liking is developed.
for the eye,
sights,
eye consciousness,
etc.
Seeing the eye,
sights,
etc.
as they truly are
and no liking and attachment
being developed for them
for the person who sees
only revulsion in them
the aggregates of attachment
which may have arisen
through failure to note
get no opportunity to appear.
Craving for these objects
also ceases
and gets annihilated.
The view of such a person
is right view.
Thoughts are right thoughts.
Efforts are right efforts.
Mindfulness is right mindfulness.
Concentration is right concentration.
Even before starting meditation
the meditator
is well established
in right speech,
right action
and right livelihood.
In this way
the meditator
becomes established
in the noble eightfold path.
So the three morality factors
can be seen as sort of
clearing the way.
They don't actually do anything active.
Doesn't mean you have to go out of your way
to find someone
who you might want to hurt
and not hurt them
or steal and not steal.
But you don't have to be put in
a situation.
You just have to be
clear with all of them.
And you have to be
in a situation where you're not
inclining to do those things.
You have to really be in a state of mind
that is
not inclining to do those things.
So
it's a way of saying that
there are prerequisites of mind.
You have to be in the right frame of mind.
A thief has very great difficulty
sitting still
until they can
get the clarity of mind
to see that stealing is wrong
and to give it up.
So they're not
that's why they're not called active.
The other ones are
what you're actively doing.
That's why
sila is considered to be that
which leads to samadhi.
Sila is the state of mind
you could say
where you're in a state of mind
ready to begin practicing
and you're not inclining
to kill or steal
or you're not inclining in any way.
You're not inclining to do
corrupt way.
This is a brief account
in the Buddha's words
of how the Noble Eightfold Path
is developed
when the meditator discerns
what should be known
at the moment of seeing
the true nature
of the five phenomena involved
the eye
visual objects
etc.
For a detailed description
please refer
to the Mahasalaya Tanaka Sutta.
The five there are
the eyes
the eye
the thing that is seen
the consciousness
which is the experience
of that which is seen
and the contact
which is just the contact
between those three things.
When the eye and the sight
come together
and consciousness is present
then there is seeing
and them coming together
is called contact.
The feeling that arises
actually technically
feeling is just always neutral
because the light touching the eye
doesn't cause pain or pleasure
it's just a neutral feeling
but that's only technically
practically speaking
that you're going to like
what you see
and it's going to be
a happy feeling
or dislike what you see
and then be an unhappy feeling
a painful feeling
even a mental painful feeling
because you see something ugly
or unpleasant
or scary
or this sort of thing
or just obviously
a neutral feeling
because just see something ordinary.
Those are not the only five things
but in this sutta
and in general
you could say
they're the five important ones
and so at each of the six senses
or each of the five senses
this is what happens
this is how experience occurs.
And so you see this
the point is that
you're paying attention
for example with contact
you're seeing sometimes
the mind is not even at the eye
the eye is open
but you don't see anything
because the mind is occupied
somewhere else.
Without contact
there is no seeing.
For example
obviously if the lights are off
there's no light
then there's nothing to be seen.
If the eyes are closed as well
there's nothing to be seen
unless you just see mentally
but you can't see the things around you
with the eyes closed.
And of course
if you have no eyes
you also don't see the things around you.
What's important there
is seeing the
again the sort of
impersonal nature of it
the mechanical nature of it
that it's not really me
who is seeing
it's not
me who is intending to see
and therefore the seeing happens
it's all just coming together
orderly
in an orderly manner
but
really just mechanically
as it
as moments of experience.
Susan, you're next.
The commentary states that
the Noble Eightfold Path
becomes
established at the moment
of achieving the Noble Path.
This may be taken
as a superior interpretation
I prefer to take the view
that what is meant here
is the path of insight
rather than the Noble Path
which is achieved by
accomplishing the path of insight.
My interpretation will be found
to be in accord
with the fact that
knowledge
as to the true nature
of the eye
sights
eye consciousness
eye contact
and feeling
comes only through
insight meditation.
The Noble Path
on the other hand
does not take the eye
sights
etc.
as its object.
It accomplishes only
the function of knowing.
This paragraph is probably
a source of some confusion
for some of you who remember
I've already explained this
before but let's just recap.
Noble Path here
it sounds like
why is he talking about
two different things
Vipassana Path
and Noble Path.
In Noble Path
this is very technical
and you really don't have to
pay too much attention to this
because it's very technical
but he's trying to
arrange things properly
in a very theoretical framework.
And so there's not a conflict here
it's just the commentary
is being very technical
when it says
at the moment
of the Noble Path
that's when
the Eightfold Noble Path
is developed
because that's literally
what that means.
But that
what we call the Noble Path
is one moment
and it's the first moment
where the mind
let's say
experiences Nibbana
or there is the experience
of Nibbana
that first moment
because the experience
can last longer
than one moment
but the first moment
is called the Path
and that takes Nibbana
as the object
so it has nothing to do
with the eye
but it really doesn't
there's no conflict here
because that only comes about
and one becomes established
in that
as a result of seeing
very very clear
perfectly clearly
the eye
eye consciousness
and the sights
and so on
which is the Vipassana Path
so what he's talking about here
is one that leads
to the other
Vipassana Path
is the actual practice
that everyone's familiar with
that we do
and it leads
to eventually
perfect
observation
perfect understanding
which
in turn
leads to cessation
and the experience
of Nibbana
but that experience
of Nibbana
is technically called
the Path
and it's only
called that
and nothing else
is called that
because it's only
that moment
that actually cuts
the defilements
all the moments
before that
don't accomplish
that function
so they can't really
be called
the Path
as in the thing
that leads
technically to the goal
none of those other things
actually lead to the goal
it's just that
one last moment
and so the question is
which one is the Buddha
talking about here
I mean obviously
he's talking about both
he's saying that
when you
pay attention
to the eye
and sights
and the
consciousness
that's what gets you
established
and eventually leads
to perfect establishment
in the Path
and the attainment
of the Noble Path
which takes Nibbana
as the object
so Bhante
the
Noble Path
without
Eightfold
in between
so there's
the Noble Eightfold Path
and there's
the Noble Path
and
is the Noble Path
then
referring to
the four stages
or
am I lost
the Noble Path
is referring
well
the four stages
yes
but also
the Eightfold Noble Path
the Noble Path
is the Noble Eightfold Path
which is why
there's confusion
because
what does that
have to do
with any of those
eight things
at that moment
there's cessation
the point is
at that moment
one is perfect
in all of those
eight things
before that moment
even though
you can say
oh yes
I'm cultivating
all of these
eight Path factors
they're not perfect
in them
so it's just saying
you're perfect
that moment
is perfect
and that's why
it's Noble
because up into that point
no matter how hard
you're working at them
you're not yet perfect
right
simple
once the Eightfold
Path is perfect
it's called
the Eightfold Noble Path
and that's
the Noble Path
it's also just called
Maga Jnana
so it's
the word noble
is even dropped
Maga Jnana means
knowledge of the Path
and knowledge here
just means
the stage
on
the Path
of
Realization
that moment
on the Path
of Realization
after you've
realized
or after
you've
your
Realization
your
perception
your perspective
has become
perfectly in line
with the Truth
then there is
the Path
called
Maga Jnana
okay
I will have to
digest this a bit
but thank you
Bhante
Bhante
initially
I think
I
I kind of
thought that
something's missing
from here
but
I guess
now that I
read it
over
a
couple of times
so
don't
I
feel
I
don't
feel
but
that
I
don't
feel
at all
and
I
feel
a
lot
at all
do
anything
right and i think the true nature is containing that part right yes okay thank you the only true
nature you need to know is the three characteristics that's it okay yes which is basically you see it
arising and ceasing that's impermanence you see it arising and ceasing incessantly which is
basically dukkha and you see it happening without your uh without your control which is non-self
and in fact you only need to see one or the other three well you see all three but but the last
moment will be only really seeing one or the others one of the three in in great clarity
i mean practically speaking it's one one of the three
is
becomes the door the gateway to liberation yeah so just in regards to let's say just the
i as a matter right or a door or just just the sense sense door
like the process if you understand one of these true natures of the i as a matter then it
like the process if you understand one of these true natures of the i as a matter then you know
enlightenment can happen but not just like on seeing eyesight eye consciousness et cetera
right well when you see a tiger you see its stripe i mean when you see
how i as it's actually occurring you're also seeing impermanence you're seeing
suffering and you're seeing non-self yes but it will kind of i mean practically it kind of hits
you and it hits you again and again it's impressed upon you as you observe it as being or directly
impermanent suffering and non-self but it's just seeing it arise and cease
again and again basically yes so I think I think it's worth mentioning that the
true nature here is this is what it means
yeah I mean it kind of if you want to say it another way it's seeing all of
the stages of knowledge up to up to even well let's say 11 anyway
so it's more than it's more detailed you could say it in more detail than just
the three characteristics but it's really better not because those are the
kinds of things that you have to experience for yourself rather than talk
about them or explain them to people yeah I think I mean I also wanted to ask
but also just I think it's worth mentioning that
sometimes when we would just use this concept through nature
anyone can think of many things but in fact this is what it means similarly by
noting the phenomena of hearing smelling tasting touching and thinking the five
phenomena that become prominent at the respective moments of occurrence could
be known as Non-self or Non-self.
and the Noble Eightfold Path developed accordingly.
Thinking occurs a little bit differently, but basically it's the same.
What has been explained so far relates to involvement of the path factors of morality
by way of maintaining them unpolluted while practicing insight meditation.
There is no opportunity to commit wrong speech, such as lying,
with regard to the objects being observed as they really are at the moment of noting them.
Just consider for a moment, where is the necessity to lie about an object
that one neither likes nor dislikes, having seen its true nature of immorality
and impermanence and cessation after dissolution?
Similarly, no occasion arises to slander, to abuse, or to talk frivolously and brief
to commit wrong speech in connection with that object.
Likewise, there is no question of committing wrong acts, such as killing, stealing,
sexual misconduct, or engaging in wrong livelihood.
Thus, every time reality is seen while noting,
right speech, which is abstinence from wrong speech,
right action, which is abstinence from wrong action,
and right livelihood, which is abstinence from wrong livelihood,
are accomplished with reference to the object under review.
It is by abstinence that the path factors of morality are involved
in the development of the path of right view.
Yeah, in fact, you could even go further and say
it's not even that there's no opportunity,
it's that your activity is absolutely contrary to the idea of lying.
When you say rising, when the stomach rises, that's the truth.
And so, of course, it brings you closer to the truth.
It also keeps you awake.
It keeps you on the straight and narrow.
For lack of a better term, it's not really probably the best,
but it keeps you straight.
It keeps your mind not crooked.
The mind is just not in a state where it could do anything,
say anything, or do anything crooked,
because the mind is perfectly clear and in line with reality.
Reality, again, doesn't admit to immorality.
It's one thing that I think, I can't think of,
I haven't heard of any other moralist,
I mean, there may be, there very well may be,
who picks up on this.
You know, like all these people who talk about ethics,
all these philosophers.
There may very well be, but generally speaking,
it's missed, I think.
People will talk about reasons why you should be ethical
and giving, you know,
giving rationalization for being ethical or not.
You know, there are even existentialist philosophies
that say feeling is just an action.
I mean, what is good or bad about it?
But the truth is that it's baked into reality,
that you can't be immoral when you're in touch,
in tune with reality.
It's very much a feature of the system.
It's very much a part of reality.
Which is why it's so important to start there,
because you'll never get close to reality
if you're actively engaging in unethical behaviors.
So we will stop the reading then for today,
because we have hit the first hour.
And everyone is welcome to write their questions,
either in Discord, in the chat, or on YouTube.
And we will slowly start with a live Q&A.
And we encourage everyone to relate the questions
to something they want to ask with sincerity
or it's related to their practice.
And it would be good if it's related to the practice
the Venerable Yuttadhammo teaches,
because then you will get the best answers.
I suppose.
And anyone who is interested in learning how to practice
is welcome to use this opportunity to learn about it.
Or someone here in Discord who would like to comment
or say something,
continue the discussion from the text.
I'd like to start us off with the first question
that we have, and it's regarding the text.
The question is,
how does one know if right knowing of the right view
has been established?
Is that what this excerpt is talking about,
amongst other things?
How does one know?
Well, I mean, that's a little bit over-complicating it.
You shouldn't look for some kind of reassurance of knowing.
It's simpler than that.
You know when you see for yourself.
You know, you see.
What you see for yourself is what you know.
Let's put it that way.
You can't go beyond that.
Right?
Because you're asking a question out of doubt.
Have I experienced X?
X being, in this case, right view.
What you've experienced is what you've experienced.
What you've seen is what you've seen.
But the real question is,
what is the benefit of what I've seen?
What is the value of what I've seen?
And I can't answer that.
For the individual,
is what I've seen valuable?
Is what I've seen,
could it be considered wrong?
Could it be considered right view?
Basically,
if what you've seen is
the three characteristics.
In other words,
if you've seen how the things that you thought were stable and
consistent, constant and predictable are not that.
If you've seen that the things that you thought were satisfying
and a source of happiness are not that.
You've seen that the things that you've
thought were me,
mine,
under my control,
self,
entities that existed
as actual things.
That they're not that.
When you see that they're not that.
If you've seen that they're not that.
Then you could say that is right view.
But technically,
right view and where you'll get this confidence
that you have right view is at the Noble Path.
So you'll only get that confidence after
experiencing Nibbana.
After having taken Nibbana as an object,
had an experience of cessation.
Then there is confidence.
You have no doubt
or no uncertainty
or no suspicion that it might be otherwise.
So if you still have doubt and you think,
I don't know the nature of reality.
It's just because you're not there yet.
You haven't had that experience
of cessation.
Until that time,
you just pay more attention
and keep it simple.
Focusing on what you have experienced.
Because there's really no separation there.
It's not like you could
see things as they actually are
and not see the three characteristics.
They're not something that pops up at you.
They're kind of the absence.
What will happen is you'll see,
oh, I thought it was like this and it's not.
Or, oh, look at how I'm
acting as though it was like this.
And that's just causing me suffering
because it's not like that.
In the beginning, it's much more like,
why is my meditation so horrible?
I can't make things stable.
I can't make things satisfying.
I can't make things controllable.
In the beginning,
it's sort of still a rejection
of the three characteristics.
Why am I seeing these things?
Why is it like this?
How could I possibly see the truth
if I'm always
blocked by these,
this reality of
things being not stable,
not satisfying and not controllable?
How am I ever going to succeed
in meditation?
In the beginning, it really is about
realizing that
the things that you are complaining about
are actually the
whole point of the practice.
And the reason you're suffering is not
because things are like that.
They're because you believe they shouldn't be.
You're trying to seek out something
that is not that way.
That's the lesson.
The lesson is that you're suffering.
Even in meditation, you're suffering terribly
because you're still seeking out
stability, satisfaction and control.
Since reality isn't like that,
you're suffering.
If you're patient and persist in that,
what will change
is not the things.
They will not suddenly become stable,
satisfying and controllable.
It's so stable, so satisfying
and so controllable.
Your perception will change.
You'll say, yeah,
things are impermanent, unsatisfying
and controllable.
That's just the way they are.
Then you can see.
Then you can be reassured.
You've started to get right view.
Bhante, there seems to be no more questions
regarding the reading.
We'll move on to questions related to
practice.
The next question, Bhante.
What is sleepiness?
I see it as a problem
as it hinders meditation.
It feels like a fight.
How does noting help?
Isn't lazy a judgment
more than an observation?
I would start by saying
when you see something as a problem,
that's a problem.
Problem that you see it as a problem.
You should instead better
see it as an experience.
Because reality
doesn't admit the problem
in two ways.
First of all, it doesn't admit
of labeling them in such a way.
But also,
nothing can be a problem
if you're in touch with reality.
Once you're in touch with reality,
those things are not problems for you.
You should not be trying to
control the sleepiness.
In other words,
asking how it helps.
It helps initially by
changing your
perspective on things.
Stop trying to fix things.
Stop trying to control things.
Seeing that even sleepiness,
like everything else,
is not under your control.
It's not predictable.
You can say,
now it's going to go away.
It's not satisfying.
In other words,
you can make it stay away
and never have it arise
when you don't want it.
But there are strategies.
You may have heard of some of the strategies.
For facing the sleepiness.
But ultimately,
you have to just face it.
And it will change.
Sometimes you'll feel sleepy.
Sometimes you won't.
Like everything else,
it's just an experience.
You see it as a problem.
Practically, it can get in the way
of practice while you fall asleep.
But there's really not much
in the long term
that you can or should do about that.
What we're trying to do is
learn how to let go.
This is a thing that
you seeing it as a problem
makes it a problem
or makes a problem
because you're clinging to it.
You're holding on to it.
Sleepiness is just something
that comes and goes.
When you work really hard,
then you're sleepy.
When you have lots of hindrances,
then you get very sleepy.
But laziness isn't a very good noting.
Not very objective.
We've never known lazy.
We've never known tired or sleepy
or drowsy or something like that.
Bante, here is the next question.
If I feel stiffness in my leg,
for example,
would you recommend
focusing on the entire leg
or a smaller area
where the sensation is strongest?
The same question
for feelings and emotions.
For things like stiffness,
you don't have to place
too much importance on it.
You don't have to feel
stiff when you experience it.
You don't have to place
your mind anywhere.
Your mind is already
gone to the object.
But when you experience stiffness,
just say stiff.
You don't have to really
bend the mind anywhere.
The mind already goes there.
The point is not to just
blindly say stiff, stiff, stiff.
But when you experience it,
the mind is with the object already.
And if the mind is still there,
keep saying stiff, stiff.
But I wouldn't
spend too much time on it
or wait for it to go away
or anything like that.
Stiffness isn't a significant object.
Better just note it a few times
and then go back to the stomach
rising and falling.
For feelings, I don't know
which feelings you're talking about,
but for pain, for pleasure, for calm,
that's different because those are
the kinds of things that are significant.
So it's good to note them
until they disappear.
Try and note happy, happy,
calm, calm, pain, pain
until it goes away.
And emotions, absolutely.
Emotions are generally hindrances
so you have to note them.
When we say emotions,
we're usually talking about liking
or disliking of some sort,
which are hindrances.
It could be worry or fear
or doubt as well.
Or all sorts of things.
And also other hindrances.
But yeah, absolutely have to note them
until they disappear.
But again, not trying to make them disappear.
Just be vigilant to stay with them
and face them until they do go away.
But if after a long time
they still don't go away,
then go back to the stomach.
But with things like stiffness,
yeah, just note a few times
and then go back.
Here's the next question, Bhante.
Have you seen more difficulties
for people with CPTSD
in the course or making progress in the path?
In regards to what?
I don't know what that C is for.
I've heard of PTSD before.
No, I think,
I don't know what CPSD is,
but PTSD,
I see PTSD,
but I know what PTSD is.
People with PTSD,
I think PTSD could be
a really good catalyst
for helping someone inclined to learn
about how the mind works.
I don't think it's a severe
handicap.
I mean, it depends, I suppose.
If a person, it's not really the PTSD,
it's more the
the situation
surrounding it.
If a person has done terrible
things, right, if one was a soldier
with PTSD and they killed a lot of people,
it's not so much the PTSD
as it is the killing. That's the problem.
I mean, if one has survived horrible
experiences,
then it kind of
is the PTSD,
but it's just because it's so severe.
So, yes, the severity
is going to make a difference, but
it can be a real good catalyst
to help you learn about how the mind works.
I mean, I think PTSD is something
in my mind that goes away pretty quickly,
not goes away, that is
mitigated, alleviated
pretty quickly through the practice.
That's my
uh,
my thought on it.
It obviously depends on the individual,
depends on many other factors,
mostly depends on,
like in every case, depends
on the perfections of the person,
the qualities that they bring into this life,
the good and bad qualities.
If one has lots
of good qualities that they
brought to the practice already,
PTSD won't
stand in their way. Because
things like PTSD often
just come from lack of
knowledge.
Lack of any instruction
on the proper way to deal with such
things, or they just crop up like bad
habits. If a person
has the qualities required to develop
good habits, then they're very quickly
able to change. If they don't have
those qualities, then it doesn't
matter how much you teach them,
it will be very difficult for them.
It doesn't have so much to do with the PTSD,
it has to do more with
other things, deeper things,
like the
fiber of their
being, I guess you could say.
And basically the qualities
and the
qualities that they bring into this life,
or bring into the practice,
from this life and from past lives.
Basically, are they a good person?
Dante,
here's the next question.
Once, I encouraged
a friend to meditate,
but after a few tries, he
stopped, saying that he prefers
to be distracted from his mind.
Rather than having
to face it at the current
moment in his life.
Is there anything useful
that can be said in such
a situation, to such a person?
Yeah, not a lot.
You can lead a horse to water,
but you can't make it drink.
I mean, superficially
you're much better served
giving the practice
to people who want
the practice. But on a deeper
level, you can approach
them asking
why,
or what is it
specifically that they
want to be distracted from, because
the mind in general
is not something that they can be
distracted from. It's not the mind,
it's specific things.
And so if you help them break it down,
you can help show them that
it's much better to face those things.
And
that it is much more
possible to face those things.
Than to have to face the mind.
Right?
The big problem with that statement is
they're grouping
it all together.
They've turned it into a boogeyman.
A boogeyman meaning
something that doesn't exist, but is scary.
They've created this imaginary
monster,
the mind. You don't have to face
the mind, because the mind is not a thing
that exists. You only have to face present
moments. And the real
point is that you'll always face them
regardless of whether you want, or
you'll always be confronted by them.
You can't avoid them.
Your only choice is how you
respond to them. And so
the choice
we make is to
have a clear mind.
And to not respond to them with
greed, with anger, with delusion.
With a polluted mind.
But I guess
the most encouraging thing is
that they're only momentary.
That you don't have to ever deal with
pain. You only have to deal with
one mind state.
One moment of mind.
One experience.
And every experience is just momentary.
And that's all you'll ever have to deal with.
And if you perceive it that way,
it's actually not that scary.
It's not that hard.
And it's certainly valuable.
So help your friend,
him or her,
them.
Help him
break it up.
Deconstruct
what he's
really
averse to facing.
And help him
see that it's actually pretty
manageable.
And worth managing.
Because every time you avoid it,
you cultivate that bad habit
of aversion.
And you
make it into a bigger problem.
You don't actually fix anything.
It doesn't lead to a solution.
Mostly you're just better served.
You're mostly better served
just focusing on your own practice.
And the people who are interested will come to you.
Pante, I have a follow-up question.
Let's say there are
no people around you who are
interested, but you
yourself
wish to put your energy
towards sharing the
teachings and the practice.
What would you suggest
to that person?
I think the correct answer is
to a place where there are people
who are interested.
The Buddha said the whole
spiritual life is all about
association with good people.
And so that really is the base.
Trying to be out
on your own and help people
is
perfectly viable,
perfectly reasonable,
defensible.
But it's not the advice.
I guess
the advice is more once you've
established yourself
in the Buddhist teaching
then absolutely
you should associate
very closely with good people.
Like go to a meditation center
and stay there until you are established.
If once you are established
and then you move out,
then still the question is
why would you go to a place
where no one is interested?
What good is it?
It's not good for Buddhism either.
Buddhism needs people, needs strength,
and there's strength in numbers.
We need centers
where there are people working together
to share the Buddhist teaching.
We also do need
travel, I think.
I was thinking actually today
of maybe doing a
trip, maybe through
Europe, not through America
I don't think, but
to travel. Because I
have the skill,
I've done this enough to be
able to
share it with others.
Because I know there are people who are interested.
But that's the thing,
I would travel,
I would present it as
a potential trip and
solicit
interest.
When I did travel through America
or through the east coast of America
we asked people,
is there anyone on the east coast
who is interested in
hosting
something?
And we were doing a one day, two day,
three day meditation course.
Just a day course of meditation
inviting all their
friends and neighbors
and people in their community
and organizing something and letting me stay
a place to stay
for a night, me and someone
who could go with me.
But it would be those people.
It would still be soliciting
interest.
If people were interested we could do it
and go to those places
where people responded.
So there is room for
sharing the
teachings obviously and
spreading the teachings even
proselytizing, not really
but opening
the door and giving people the opportunity
to those who are interested.
Because the bigger
problem is not
that people are not
interested.
If people are not interested then that
should be the end of it. No problem.
If I'm not interested then I'll go my own way.
Real problem, and it is a real
problem I think, as far as
you can call something a problem.
It's an issue let's say.
Or it's an issue of
interest is that
those people who are interested
or would be interested
are interested
or would be interested are not
able to hear the
teachings. That's a real
travesty you could say.
And that's why the Buddha taught
and that's why he sent
his disciples out into
the world to teach.
Because there are people out there who
are ready to hear the Dhamma, even today.
Not perhaps as
many or as readily
as in the Buddha's time.
But readily enough.
And there are people out there who
would benefit quite
easily from the Buddha's
teaching, will not.
Will not. And they will not
because they won't hear of it.
There are such people.
I guess that sort of thing is said of all religions.
The Christians are
in a hurry to
head to all corners of the world because
there could be people who haven't heard
the Christian gospel.
But it's really kind of true with Buddhism.
Buddhism isn't
some belief in
an imaginary
being. Buddhism is a
practice that really
does lead to
peace, happiness, and freedom from suffering.
It's a real travesty that people
who could benefit and would
immediately see the benefit
or quickly anyway
see the benefit are just not going to.
I was kind of lucky.
Not overly so, but I was kind of
lucky in that I met a couple of people like
that when I went back. It really gave me
encouragement that I
met a couple of people who just came up
to me. They'd heard I'd been to practice
and were very quick
to come and learn from me. One of them is now a meditation
teacher.
In our tradition.
Two of them, I guess.
They're married, actually.
For them, it was easy.
I didn't have much
knowledge at the time, but I just gave them what I knew.
They were hooked
because they had
the requisites.
Ah, Dupante.
Thank you so much for sharing. I'm sure
your mention of travel
would ignite
some interest in many people here.
It's okay. I would like to move on
to the next question.
Here's the next question, Dupante.
When reading or doing
other intellectual work,
I am able to be mindful
of thinking, knowing,
seeing, etc.
However, this means I am
much slower to complete the work.
It's like working two jobs,
mindfulness and work.
Should I continue this?
Yeah, not really.
Your best bet
is probably do your work.
And take breaks.
Because work suffers
when you don't take breaks.
Right?
Work doesn't get better.
With studying,
for example, studying for exams
or whatever,
taking
relatively frequent breaks
actually improves the study.
You can read about this. There are studies done
about how
you only
best remember
the first thing and the last thing
that you study. Something like that.
And so shorter sessions are
actually better. But work is similar.
If you do work for a long time,
it doesn't improve
your ability,
your capacity to work
doesn't improve.
At some point,
you have to know to take a break.
And then when you take a break, then
dedicate your mind to mindfulness.
The problem
you're facing is that you are doing
two different things.
And mindfulness
doesn't really
progress
in that way.
It's not bad.
I mean, any moment when you're mindful
is actually good. So technically
it's not a problem.
But the problem is that you're
trying to do two things.
Two things mentally.
It's different than when you're doing
physical jobs. When you're doing a physical job,
physically I'm doing this, mentally I'm
doing it mindfully.
It doesn't really detract from the
physical work. But mental
work,
you're switching. You're back and forth.
So mindfulness
doesn't really
progress. And your work
really doesn't progress. Because both
really kind of require
continuity, generally
speaking.
And that's what you're experiencing. So no, it's not
really the best way.
I don't think there's any teacher that would
really recommend that.
What I would say as an exception
is the hindrances.
Hindrances are hindrances for meditation,
but they're hindrances for life as well.
Especially the mental part of your life,
obviously. So mental
hindrances, whenever they come up,
are something you absolutely
should stop and immediately
apply mindfulness to them.
But I wouldn't recommend
trying to apply mindfulness in general
to your job. Another thing is
things like pain.
Things that give rise to hindrances.
So you're working mentally
and you get a headache, or you get a crick
in your neck, or you get a stomach ache,
or something like that.
When that comes up,
it's really
pretty good to stop and note.
Because the hindrances follow quite
quickly after.
If you're not mindful.
So things like that. It's not a
cut-and-dried thing where no, you should not.
But I don't think it's a good strategy
I think you're better off
taking mindfulness breaks.
And you'll find probably better
success that way.
In both ways. Better success
in mindfulness.
Better success in your work.
Bante, here is the next question that we have.
I try to follow
the five precepts,
but I cannot just
stop lying. Telling
the truth can lead to
negative outcomes or troubles.
Is there any way around this?
I also cannot
just let mosquitoes live
once I see them.
I don't hate them.
But it's a responsibility to kill them.
Well, lying
obviously leads to negative
consequences as well.
Mostly for yourself.
Just think of how it affects your life.
It affects
your conscience.
You're lying to people.
You don't see that as having negative
consequences.
You're denying them the truth.
You're denying them reality.
Not lying doesn't, however,
mean that you always
have to tell the truth.
It's a false dichotomy.
There's a third option.
You don't have to say anything.
You can also say something
that's not a lie.
But not
the bare
unfettered
truth that you're thinking
in your mind.
A little silly one.
Do I look fat in this dress?
I mean, it's a pretty
subjective question.
So you don't have to
if you think, wow, they really do
look fat in that dress.
You don't have to say, yes,
I think you look really fat in that dress.
You can look at them and
maybe look at them
in a certain way and say
to yourself,
well,
fat is not this.
Or you can think
they look beautiful.
Don't think of the fact that they look
fat in the dress and you say, you look beautiful.
That's a good example.
Instead of saying you look fat,
you look beautiful.
If you didn't say no,
for example,
there's many ways to be
a little bit more conscientious,
a little bit more thoughtful.
And you're thoughtful in two ways.
You're thoughtful in terms of how you
express what you say,
but you're also thoughtful in terms of
how damaging it is to
deny someone the truth
by misleading them in that way,
by telling them something that is not
false. But I mean,
the big deal is actually not that.
The bigger deal is how it
corrupts your mind.
A person who is mindful cannot lie.
If you want to really
be able to keep the five
precepts that you're trying to follow,
mindfulness is going to guide you.
We say it starts
by keeping the five precepts,
but it really starts by
a determination to keep the five
precepts followed by mindfulness,
which in turn
makes you actually able to
keep the five precepts.
The same goes with things like alcohol.
People who
strive to keep the five precepts often
fail because they take drugs or they take alcohol.
But a person who
determines to keep the five precepts
and then undertakes mindfulness
will quite quickly see why
things like alcohol are a
breach. Because they don't
go with being
mindful. But none of them do.
Killing, stealing, cheating, lying.
Drugs and alcohol.
None of them at all
can exist in
combination with mindfulness.
So it's choosing one or the other.
Lying is absolutely the worst choice.
There's no question. You're
corrupting your own mind, you're polluting
their mind. You're just
distorting reality. It's just a
vicious, evil thing to do.
Don't ever do it.
The problem is
people think, well, then I have to
tell the truth all the time. You don't actually.
You don't have to say anything.
But when you do speak, it has to be
true.
It should be beneficial, but
the problem is
it's difficult to always understand
what is beneficial, but you should have an idea
that it's beneficial. And it should be
timely.
Sometimes something is true and beneficial,
but it's just not the right time to say that.
A person is
not able to hear it, not ready to hear it.
Those are the three things
that make speech worth
saying. There's another
factor in that it's
pleasing
to the ear, pleasant.
And that isn't always
an
absolute deal breaker.
So
this is when it comes to something being
timely.
If something is not
pleasing,
then you know the time
at which to say it.
If something is pleasing, true, and
beneficial, then you should just right away say it.
You know,
this person is going to like hearing this, and it's
true, and it's going to benefit them.
Say it. But if it's not
pleasing,
then you have to know the right time to say it.
So if someone is fat,
and like, do you think
I'm getting fat? Do you think I'm
overweight?
Know when the right time is to say
yes. When the right time is to
maybe equivocate,
or hmm, not sure.
Or say
something like, you look okay.
You look okay to me. Because that's
pretty vague. It's not lying.
And then when you think
this person is ready to say it,
maybe you could go on a diet.
Or stop eating these
things that are unhealthy for you.
Obviously this is not speech
that's really, but this is the kind of idea
and example.
More important are things like,
do you think I should stop taking drugs and alcohol?
Do you think
I'm wrong to get angry?
For example, if someone's getting
angry all the time, and they ask
you, you know,
am I right to get angry at this person?
Absolutely the answer is no, you should never
get angry. But they may
not be ready to hear that. They may get angry at you.
if you say that.
So sometimes you have to be a little bit more
thoughtful about how you approach it.
But never lie.
There's never a good reason to lie.
You're just doing yourself
a disservice. You're doing them a disservice.
That's just
not right. And you know
that because mindfulness prevents
it. You can't be mindful
and lie. It just doesn't
happen. So it's baked
into reality. It really is.
For killing,
you can just let mosquitoes live
once you see them. You can.
You absolutely can.
Nobody is pointing a gun
to your head and saying you must kill them.
You absolutely can.
Even if someone is pointing a gun to your head,
you still absolutely can let them live.
And that's the Buddhist way.
As a Buddhist, even if someone was holding a gun
to your head, you die
before you kill.
You die before you kill.
Because mindfulness doesn't allow
for it.
It's just baked into reality.
Killing is always wrong.
I mean, the killing itself isn't wrong.
You can step on an ant and it's not wrong
if you didn't notice the ant was there.
But the mind states are
not compatible with reality.
They're not compatible with truth.
They're not compatible with mindfulness,
clarity, purity.
So I don't understand why you have a responsibility
to kill mosquitoes. Because let's analyze it.
You kill a mosquito,
what have you actually done?
Have you made the world run out of mosquitoes
quicker?
You haven't done anything.
There's always more mosquitoes.
Just as there's always more living beings
and there's always more samsara.
Even if you were able to eradicate all the mosquitoes
on earth,
kill them all off, you haven't really done anything.
Because samsara will just
reproduce more.
Ultimately you haven't come any closer
to freedom from suffering.
Which is really the only important thing.
You talk about responsibility.
What is the meaning of responsibility?
Responsibilities
are not real.
Responsibilities are conventional.
They serve a purpose.
You don't have any
responsibility to
this person or that person, to this society
or that society, to this culture.
They're just convention.
They don't have any meaning.
They're meaningless
in the long term.
They're ultimately meaningless.
Obviously in the short term, in the practical sense,
if you don't live up to your
responsibilities, people get angry
and people might throw you in jail
or this sort of thing.
You can be killed for not fulfilling
responsibilities.
Practically they're very important.
When you talk about having a responsibility to kill,
well, you're just buying into
the corruptness
of the world.
Which is also baked into the world.
We're being baked in.
A lot of the things that are called responsibilities
are polluted by evil.
The responsibility to drink alcohol
when your friends are drinking
to fit in.
The responsibility to kill,
yes, that's a common one.
Steal, not so common.
Responsibility to lie,
that's a common one.
These are not real.
And it doesn't matter
who says you're responsible.
For killing,
you don't benefit from it.
The world doesn't benefit from it.
No good comes from it.
All it does is pollute your mind.
It cultivates revenge,
vengeance,
so the beings who you've killed end up coming back
and meting out revenge on you.
If not in this life,
then in future lives.
There's all that to worry about.
There's no good that comes from it.
And you see that.
This isn't theory.
This isn't belief.
This is what you see through the practice of mindfulness,
which is why trying to keep the five precepts alone
is not very effective.
But when you do establish yourself,
I'm going to keep the five precepts,
and then you undertake mindfulness,
you find yourself keeping them as a matter of course.
My father.
My father used to kill,
used to drink alcohol,
and now he does neither.
I mean, these are the two really
clearly obvious ones that people break.
The others are occasional.
I mean, lying,
it doesn't come up all the time, right?
But killing,
for many people, killing mosquitoes is just so common.
And drugs and alcohol.
For many people, alcohol is just a part of life.
He doesn't either anymore.
As far as I know, he doesn't kill.
He's told me that he doesn't.
And he certainly doesn't take alcohol anymore.
He just doesn't.
He just can't.
He said, it just doesn't work.
I can't be mindful.
I can't be mindful
if I'm even a little bit intoxicated.
He saw that.
I think you just have to reevaluate
your priorities and
truth
and reality.
Don't worry too much about the precepts.
Worry more about
the mindfulness that you undertake
after
desiring to keep the five precepts.
Because the mindfulness will
show you the way to keep them.
Bhante, here's the next question.
I tried a bit,
as you recommend,
to note hearing
during a Dhamma talk.
I feel as if drunk.
Like words are echoing in the head
chaotically.
Is this all good?
Should I just keep going
and what sticks, sticks?
It's the three characteristics
you're seeing right there.
It's evidence that it's effective.
That's great.
You're getting that far.
That's all you really need.
There are different reasons
to listen to Dhamma talks.
You can listen to a Dhamma talk
for knowledge, information.
In that case,
you probably don't want to
emphasize too much the practice.
The best way,
even listening to a Dhamma talk,
is to be mindful.
Don't worry so much about the information.
Here's the next question, Bhante.
You mentioned hindrances
make one sleepy.
But my experience
is that mental work
is the cause of sleepiness.
And work is needed
for food and shelter.
So is sleepiness not a hindrance
in my case?
Some aspect of sleepiness
is a hindrance.
The mental
or stiffness of mind.
But the thing is,
your work
There are two people
doing the same work,
mental work especially.
One with hindrances
and one without hindrances.
The one without hindrances
is going to absolutely
have a lot more energy
at the end of it.
When you say doing mental work,
the question is,
what is your state of mind
when you do that work?
Are you stressed?
Are you much more tiresome?
And leave you more tired
at the end of it?
As far as mental work
being the cause of sleepiness,
not really.
Not really.
It's the hindrances.
Absolutely the hindrances.
The impurities of mind.
Because the mind
is always doing something, right?
It's not the mind
that makes itself sleepy.
But that being said,
the physical,
the body shuts down.
And so,
there is that
element of it.
You know, a person who is truly mindful
has no problem
staying awake
night and day
without sleep.
There are stories of monks
who did this for months.
There are stories of people
doing it for days anyway.
And they really have no problem.
So, the mental work,
the problem with it is
it's conducive to hindrances.
That's really the problem.
You're not using the mind
mindfully.
And so,
it's not the actual work itself.
It's the state of mind.
Which is why,
if you're mindful,
if your mind is clear and pure,
you're able to do mental work
a lot more efficiently.
I found that
after practicing meditation,
going back to study,
I was always quite intellectually smart
and good memory and all these things that you need.
But I couldn't succeed very well in school,
in university anyway,
because I was too distracted.
I couldn't apply myself.
And when I went back after meditating,
everything was a breeze.
I was no longer stressed.
There was no worry about exams.
I would come out of exams happy,
you know, at peace.
I ended up getting awards.
I got a huge scholarship
in university.
Just because I always got A+.
A+, everything.
A or A+.
Not a huge scholarship,
but it was quite a generous one.
It doesn't really matter how you classify it,
but yes,
the torpor of the mind is a hindrance.
But most important is just that
you note it as well.
Tired, tired, drowsy, drowsy.
Here is the next question.
If I go to meditation retreats
where there are chores to do
a bit more than simple,
could that distract my practice?
Well, I mean,
it could be excessive,
but it's not really a problem
because you can do it mindfully.
If it's mental chores,
right,
if you're asked to do taxes
for the meditation center
or something,
then that's a problem.
Or public relations,
or writing letters,
or reading letters,
or whatever.
Once it becomes mental work,
then you've got an issue
because that's mental time
that you could otherwise be using
being mindful.
But if it's chores,
physical chores,
with very little mental labor required,
really not that much of a hindrance.
I guess it would be more
if it cuts into your meditation time
where you're asked to do many hours a day
instead.
You'd be better served instead
doing many hours of meditation,
of course.
And it's harder to be mindful
during chores, for sure.
No question.
The Buddha even mentions that.
He says in regards to that,
he mentions how it might come to mind
that,
oh, I did this hard work
and I wasn't really able to be mindful,
or I did this very hard work
and it tired me out
so I should rest now.
And the Buddha said
that's not how you should think.
You should think,
I did this hard labor
and during that time it was very difficult
for me to be mindful
so now I should apply myself
twice as hard to meditation
in order to make up for that time.
But he does point out
that it is harder to be mindful
for most people anyway.
For a trainee,
it's harder to be mindful
during physical labor.
Bhante, we've reached
the end of our second hour,
so that will conclude
our session for today.
Thank you deeply
for always offering
your time every week
and for sharing your invaluable wisdom.
Thank you, Bhante.
You're most welcome.
Thank you to everyone
who made this broadcast possible
for those of you doing the organizing
and presenting.
Most of you behind the scenes
who are gathering the questions
and of course all the volunteers
and the board of directors
at Sri Mangalo
who make this all possible
by doing the work of keeping
the organization running.
Much appreciation for everyone
who asks questions,
for all the people who read the text,
people who have insightful comments,
and most important for everyone
who used this opportunity
to cultivate mindfulness
and to actually practice
the Buddhist teaching.
Much appreciation for your mindfulness.
Not because it benefits me directly,
necessarily,
or not because of how it might
benefit me in some way,
but appreciation for how it benefits you.
You see, in Buddhism,
we want benefit for others.
We like that.
We appreciate that.
We admire that.
We laud it. We praise it.
For two reasons.
One, because it's the right thing to do,
obviously.
But two, because it's actually
good practice in and of itself.
It reminds us of what's good to do.
It aligns us with good things.
It's a way of overcoming jealousy.
You know, you can be jealous of someone.
Oh, they're so much better at Buddhism than me.
But that doesn't happen
if you appreciate them.
Oh, I appreciate them.
Wow, I'm so happy to see
and so appreciative.
I praise you,
who are so good at this,
much better at this than I am.
That's good for you, right?
Better than being jealous
or frustrated
or self-deprecating.
Self-conscious.
Low self-esteem.
Oh, I'm not as good
as this person.
It's actually conceit.
It's like reverse conceit.
So much appreciation
and
through the power
of this goodness,
all of the goodness
that I've talked about here,
all of these types of goodness
that I mentioned,
along with all other types of goodness,
all the goodness that you've done
on this occasion
and in this life,
and all the goodness you bring to this life
that's allowed you to
meet with the Buddha Sāsana
as a human being
and the interest in
putting the Buddha's teaching into practice.
May all of that goodness
along with the power of the Buddha,
the power of the Dhamma,
the power of the Sangha protect you
and keep you from
suffering,
keep you from pain,
keep you from danger,
keep you from animosity,
keep you from sickness
and keep you from suffering.
May you all live healthy,
happy,
long lives
with the strength to face
whatever challenges come your way.
May your minds ever be directed towards
the cultivation of good things,
the cultivation of the Dhamma
taught by the Lord Buddha.
May you all progress on the path
and
find progress and success
in the practice of the Buddha's teaching
that in this life
you may find happiness,
happiness in the next life,
happiness in all lives to come.
May all of you
be able to attain the path,
fruition and Nibbana
and find true peace,
happiness and freedom from suffering.
Sadhu
Sadhu
Sadhu
Sadhu
Sadhu
Sadhu
Sadhu
Sadhu