#
Preserving the Buddha's
Teachings
Introduction
In October 2001 we joined a large group of Thai
pilgrims led by our friend in Dhamma and teacher Acharn (the Thai
word for teacher) Sujin Boriharnwanaket, to the Buddhist sites in
India. We still have the opportunity to pay respect to the excellent
qualities of the Buddha and the arahats, and to recollect the
teachings contained in the Tipiìaka. But for the Buddha, there
would be no way to understand our life as it really is: phenomena
that arise and then fall away immediately. We would not be able to
develop the understanding that sees things as they really are:
impermanent, unsatisfactory (dukkha) and non-self. Only this
understanding leads to the eradication of ignorance, wrong view and
all other defilements. The Buddhaís teachings have been
corrupted in the course of time and eventually they will disappear.
Today we still have the opportunity to study the teachings, to
consider them thoroughly and to apply them, so that we gain
understanding of what our life really is: seeing, colour, hearing,
sound, feeling, thinking and the other phenomena as they present
themselves one at a time at this very moment. In this way we truly
take our refuge in the Dhamma.
Throughout our journey Acharn
Sujin taught us about the reality appearing at this moment because
only understanding of the present moment can lead to the elimination
of clinging to the concept of self. She taught with a great sense of
urgency in view of the eventual disappearance of the teachings.
Mr.
Suwat Chansuvityanant and his son Mr. Pakabutr were in charge of the
organisation of the tour, just as many times before when we made this
pilgrimage. We visited as usual Lumbini, the Buddhaís birth
place, Bodhgaya where he attained enlightenment, Sarnath, the place
of his first sermon and Kusinåra where he passed finally away.
Our journey brought us also again to Savatthí, Råjagaha
where we climbed the Vultureís Peak, Nålandå, the
Bamboo Grove and Vesalí 1 .
In addition, a few other places were included most people had not
visited before. We came to Saòkassa, the place were the Buddha
descended from the ìHeaven of the Thirtythreeî, after
having explained the Abhidhamma to his mother. We also visited
Kapilavatthu in Nepal, where he as a Bodhisatta grew up, and we
visited the park where he saw an old man, a sick man, a dead man and
a monk. We visited the place where Cunda offered the Buddha his last
meal and also the river where he took his last bath before he finally
passed away in Kusinåra. Kosambí was also included, but
not all of us went there since it was too far.
Most of the holy
places we visited were already described by the Chinese monk Chi Fah
Hian who in the fifth century A.D. traveled all the way from the
China of the Sung Dynasty to India and Sri Lanka in order to seek
complete copies of the Buddhist scriptures and the Rules of the
Vinaya 2. It was
very striking to find many places exactly as described by this monk
1600 years ago! In Saòkassa the remnants of Asokaís
column are still there. In Kapilavatthu we paid respect at the
Eastern Gate of the Palace where the royal prince Siddhatta left the
city in order to go forth from worldly life. In Savatthí we
had Dhamma discussion at the place where, Fah Hian tells us, ìthe
Buddha resided for a long time and expounded the Dhamma for the
salvation of men.î With regard to Sarnath, where the Buddha
began to turn the Wheel of the Dhamma, the Chinese monk wrote: î
in all these places towers (stupas) have been erected which still
existî. We paid respect at these same stupas!
In the
course of time the holy places were neglected for many centuries.
Bodhgaya and Sarnath were in a deplorable condition and wild beasts
were roaming there. The Head Monk in Sarnath, the Ven. Kahawatte Sri
Sumedha, told us about Anagarika Dharmapala who made great efforts to
restore the holy places at the beginning of the twentieth century.
After a life-long struggle to overcome all problems and legal battles
the temple at Sarnath was built under his supervision, and relics of
the Buddha that were given to the Mahå-Bodhi Society were
placed in this temple in a vault underneath the pedestal of the
Buddha image.
When we were in Sarnath we had the opportunity
to pay respect to the Buddhaís relics which are shown only
once a year. However, on the occasion of our visit they were taken
out by the Singhalese monks who are guarding them and they were
placed on Acharn Sujinís head. After that we all had the
opportunity to pay respect.
Another holy place that was until
recently neglected is the place where the Buddha preached the
Mahå-Satipaììhåna Sutta, the Discourse on
Mindfulness. This is in Kailash, in the region which was formerly
called Kuru. The place is marked by a rock with an old inscription
commemorating the preaching of the Sutta and a concrete roof has been
erected over it. Even two years ago we had to step over dirt to reach
this stone. I had written about the state of this place to a friend
and former colleague of us of the Indian diplomatic service, Mr. S.K.
Singh. He visited the people living around this place, belonging to
the lowest caste, the caste of the ìUntouchablesî. He
spoke to the families, especially to the mothers, explaining that the
parents should educate their children in good morality according to
the principles of the Lord Buddha. He persuaded the Department of
Archaeology and the New Delhi Development Authority to take care of
the place and as a consequence a high iron fence has been erected
around it and a caretaker has been engaged to clean up the grounds.
The Forest Department arranged for trees to be planted and we could
see the young trees placed in pots. Lodewijk, my husband, and I were
happily surprised of the change in outlook of this place and are most
grateful to S.K. Singh. As soon as the group from Thailand arrived in
Delhi we told them about this and Acharn Sujin wanted to go there
immediately. We all climbed up to the old rock with the inscription
and paid respect.
In this place the development of
satipaììhåna has been explained which is
specifically the teaching of the Buddha; no other teacher has taught
this. Mindfulness of all realities, mental phenomena and physical
phenomena, as they appear in our daily life is the greatest respect
shown to the Buddha. Acharn Sujin spoke untiringly and with great
patience about the development of right understanding. I am most
grateful for the way she has given us guidance by explaining about
the realities appearing at the present moment. I greatly appreciate
all her Dhamma talks given day after day.
For the writing of
this book I used the discussions we held, material from tapes and
from the scriptures and commentaries which relate to the subjects we
discussed.
*****
Footnotes
1. For the description of these places, see my ìIn
Asokaís Footstepsî.
2. Travels of Fah-Hian and
Sung-Yam, translated by Samuel Beal, Asian Educational Services, New
Delhi, 1996. ISBN: 81-206-0824-0.
****
Chapter 1
The Disappearance of
the Teachings
We live in a time close to the disappearance of
the teachings. The Sangha, the order of the monks have as their
foremost responsibility to preserve the teachings in explaining
Dhamma and in developing right understanding. When we were in
Sarnath, our group presented a meal to a large group of monks of
different nationalities in the building of the Mahå-Bodhi
Society. Acharn Sujin had requested my husband Lodewijk to address
words of thanks to the monks after the meal. He spoke the following
words:
ìI know that it is conceit, but I cannot help
feeling pleased and proud that, as one of the few foreigners in this
group of Thai pilgrims of the Dhamma Study and Support Foundation, I
may speak to you, venerable monks, to thank you for giving us the
opportunity to perform dåna.
As foreigners, Nina and I
came to Thailand more than thirtyfive years ago. This was kusala
vipåka of a high degree, because in Thailand we received the
highest gift one can receive in life: the gift of Dhamma. We received
this gift through the hands of Acharn Sujin Boriharnwanaket, the
spiritual leader of our group. We shall always remain most grateful
to her. Also during this tour she never tires of explaining with
great vigour the teachings of the Lord Buddha and she keeps exhorting
us to study the present moment in order to understand the truth of
impermanence and anattå.
At the end of one of these Dhamma
discussions, she asked each person present to tell her what part of
the teachings he or she found most striking. Each person answered
according to his own conditions and accumulations. If I would have
been present I would have answered: the Ten Perfections, Påramís.
For me, the Ten Perfections are an unique, unsurpassed, unequalled
set of moral and spiritual ideals to be pursued in everday life,
covering all aspects of human life.
In presenting these gifts to
you, venerable monks, we wish to pay tribute and respect to you. We
admire your courage, because you have chosen the difficult path of
going forth from home into homelessness. By observing the Vinaya,
penetrating the four noble Truths and by preserving the teachings,
you perform síla to a very high degree for the benefit of all
mankind. For that, we are most grateful to you. Thank you for giving
us this opportunity to perform dåna.î
Both monks
and layfollowers have the duty to study the teachings in detail and
to develop understanding of the Dhamma. Throughout our journey Acharn
Sujin explained the Dhamma to us with a great sense of urgency and
she encouraged us to develop understanding of the reality that
appears now. She said:
ìDhamma is the truth and it can
be verified. All that has been explained in the Tipiìaka is
appearing now, while we are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting,
experiencing tactile object and experiencing objects through the
mind-door. The Buddha had through his enlightenment penetrated the
true nature of all realities. It was not known before that seeing
arises and falls away, and that seeing does not belong to anybody. By
listening and considering the Dhamma we can come to see realities
appearing now. There is no self, but it is a reality that can see,
hear or experience objects through the other doorways.î
We
read in the Gradual Sayings (Book of the Twos, Ch II, § 10) that
the Buddha said:
Monks, these two things conduce to the
confusion and disappearance of true Dhamma. What two?
The wrong
expression of the letter (of the text) and wrong interpretation of
the meaning of it. For if the letter be wrongly expressed, the
interpretation of the meaning is also wrong.....
Monks, these two
things conduce to the establishment, the non-confusion, to the
non-disappearance of true Dhamma. What two?
The right expression
of the letter and right interpretation of the meaning. For if the
letter be rightly expressed, the interpretation of the meaning is
also right....
In the course of time the Buddhaís
teachings will be corrupted and then disappear. The last holy site we
visited was Bodhgaya. Here one of our group read a text about the
disappearance of the teachings. The ìDispeller of Delusionî
(the commentary to the Book of Analysis, commentary to Ch 16,
Classification of Knowledge) is one of the texts explaining about the
disappearance of the teachings 1 .
We read (431):
For there are three kinds of disappearance:
disappearance of theoretical understanding (pariyatti), disappearance
of penetration (paìivedha) and disappearance of practice
(paìipatti). Herein, pariyatti is the three parts of the
Tipiìaka; the penetration is the penetration of the Truths;
the practice is the way....
Further on we read that of the
Scriptures first the Book of the Paììhåna
(Conditional Relations) of the Abhidhamma disappears, and then
successively the other Books of the Abhidamma. After that the Books
of the Suttanta will successively disappear. We read:
But when
the two Piìakas 2
have disappeared, while the Vinaya Piìaka endures, the
teachings (såsana) endure.
Also the Vinaya will
disappear. Further on the text states that there are three kinds of
complete extinction:
Complete extinction of defilements,
complete extinction of the aggregates (khandhas) 3
and complete extinction of the relics. Herein, complete extinction of
the defilements took place on the Wisdom Seat, the complete
extinction of the aggregates at Kusinåra 4
and the complete extinction of the relics will take place in the
future.
It is then explained that all the relics will gather
together and will go to the ìGreat Wisdom Seatî in
Bodhgaya. We read:
Heaped up on the Great Wisdom Seat, they
will become one solid mass like a pile of gold and will emit
six-coloured rays...
We read that they will be burnt by the
fire element and that then the teachings have come to an end.
The
Buddhaís attainment of enlightenment under the Bodhi-tree was
the beginning of the teachings. He taught satipaììhåna,
the development of right understanding, from then on until his
passing away. When the relics disappear on the Great Wisdom Seat the
teachings have come to an end. Therefore, it was very meaningful that
the text of the disappearance of the teachings was read near the
Bodhi-tree. It reminds us not to neglect the study of the Dhamma the
Buddha had penetrated at the time of his enlightenment, and above
all, to develop right understanding in daily life, so that the
meaning of the teachings can be realized. After the reading of this
text we all asked the Triple Gem for forgiveness of our faults and
shortcomings through action, speech or thought. This is done each
time we visit the holy sites, at the very end of our visit, and in
this case it was near the Bodhi-tree.
The Buddha explained the
eightfold Path so that people could develop it and realize the four
noble Truths, the Truth of dukkha, unsatisfactoriness of all
conditioned realities that arise and fall away; the Truth of the
origination of dukkha that is clinging; the truth of the cessation of
dukkha that is nibbåna; the Truth of the Path leading to the
cessation of dukkha, that is the eightfold path. When there isnít
anybody who can clearly explain the right practice, the development
of the eightfold Path, people cannot develop it and they cannot
realize the four noble Truths. When nobody in this world can
penetrate the four noble Truths anymore, the world will be dark. The
Dhamma will gradually disappear.
At the last day of our
pilgrimage, when we were in Patna, Acharn Sujin said: ìThe
teachings are almost dying, let us develop right understandingî.
We do not have to feel depressed when thinking of the disappearance
of the teachings. On the contrary, we should have courage and
cheerfulness to begin again and again developing right understanding.
Each day Acharn Sujin exhorted us to take courage and to be cheerful.
We read in the ìKindred Sayingsî (I, Sågåtha
vagga, IV, Måra, Ch II, §6, The Bowl):
On one
occasion, at Såvatthí, the Exalted One was instructing,
inciting and inspiring the monks by a sermon on the five khandhas of
grasping (upadåna khandhas). And the monks with their whole
mind applied, attentive and intent, listened with rapt hearing to the
Dhamma.
The Commentary (the Såratthappakåsiní)
explains that the Buddha was instructing, teaching under different
aspects the specific and general characteristics of the khandhas of
grasping. The Buddha was enlightening, inciting and inspiring them.
The Commentary explains that he exhorted them to have energy and
endeavour. As we read in the sutta text, the monks listened with
enthousiasm, with rapture, to the dhamma. Thus, this text reminds us
to be courageous and not to give up developing understanding, and to
be cheerful, glad about the Dhamma. We discussed courage and
cheerfulness because of the Dhamma several times. Acharn Sujin
explained that when akusala citta arises we may dislike it, we may
feel bad about it, but akusala can be realized as only a conditioned
reality. Then we shall not try to do something else but the
development of right understanding of what appears now, even if it is
akusala. We have accumulated akusala for countless lives, and thus
there are conditions for its arising. We shall not be downhearted but
we can be courageous and glad to be able to know the truth. We may be
discouraged about our lack of awareness and understanding, our lack
of progress. We should not expect the arising of a great deal of
understanding when it has not yet been accumulated. Understanding
should be developed very naturally in our daily life and in that way
we can live happily, without anxiety. We can rejoice in the Dhamma we
learnt and take courage to continue developing right understanding.
Acharn Sujin reminded us also time and again to have patience
(khantí). She remarked that people may be able to be patient
when they have lack of sleep or when they have to sit for a long
time, but that it is most difficult to be patient with regard to the
development of right understanding. Usually people wish for the
arising of mindfulness and right understanding and they are impatient
when they do not notice any progress. Acharn Sujin often recited the
text of the ìDhammapadaî(vs. 184) about patience which
is the highest form of ascetism:
Forbearing patience is the
highest asceticism, nibbåna is supreme say the Buddhas; he
verily, is not a recluse who harms another; nor is he an ascetic who
oppresses others.
Patience is the highest ascetism (tapo). We
read in the Commentary to the Cariyåpiìaka, about the
perfection of patience the Bodhisatta developed 5
. It is defined as follows:
Patience
has the characteristic of acceptance; its function is to endure the
desirable and undesirable; its manifestation is tolerance or
non-opposition; seeing things as they really are is its proximate
cause.
We can have patience with regard to the desirable and
the undesirable when there is no attachment to a pleasant object nor
aversion towards an unpleasant object. When there is more
understanding we can see that whatever arises is conditioned, no
matter it is pleasant or unpleasant, and then there are conditions
for patience. As we read, ìseeing things as they really are is
the proximate cause of patienceî. The Dhamma can be our refuge
when we have patience while listening to the Dhamma, while studying
and considering it. Then there will be conditions for mindfulness of
realities and the development of right understanding. Time and again
Acharn Sujin said that understanding very gradually develops. During
this journey we listened to the Dhamma and heard things that we had
heard before, but do we have the patience to really consider what we
hear? We are still able to listen to the Dhamma, but the Dhamma will
not last forever. Therefore, we should not waste time but develop
more understanding now.
We are reminded to be aware of the
realities that appear by the following text in the ìGradual
Sayingsî (Book of the Ones, Ch X):
Monks, I know not of
any other single thing that conduces to the confusion, to the
disappearance of true Dhamma as does negligence. Negligence indeed
conduces to the confusion and disappearance of true Dhamma.
Monks,
I know not of any single thing so conducive to the establishment, to
the non-disappearnace of true Dhamma as earnestness 6
. Earnestness indeed conduces to the
establishment, to the non-disappearance of true Dhamma.
*******
Footnotes
1. This has also been explained in the Commentary to
the ìDialogues of the Buddhaî, the ìSumaògala
Vilåsiníî (III, no. 28, the Faith that
satisfied).
2. The Abhidhamma and the Suttanta.
3. The five
aggregates or khandhas are: rúpakkhandha, all physical
phenomena; vedanåkkhandha, feelings; saññåkkhandha,
remembrance or perception; saòkhårakkhandha, formations
or activities, including all cetasikas other than feeling and
perception; viññåùakkhandha,
consciousness, including all cittas.
4. At the final passing away
of the Buddha there was the extinction of the khandhas; they would
not arise again because there were no more conditions for rebirth.
5. Translated by Ven. Bodhi. See the All-Embracing Net of Views,
B.P.S. Kandy.
6. Earnestness is a translation of the Påli
appamåda, non-negligence. It means non-forgetfulness,
mindfulness.
*****
Chapter 2
The Teaching of the
Abhidhamma
We read in the ìExpositorî, the
Commentary to ìBuddhist Psychological Ethics, the first of the
seven Books of the Abhidhamma (I, Introductory Discourse, 1-4), that
the prefix ìabhiî in Abhidhamma is used in the sense of
preponderance and distinction. The Abhidhamma exceeds and is
distinguished from the other Dhamma, namely the Suttanta. In the
Abhidhamma all realities are classified fully and in all details. We
read in the ìIntroductory Discourseî of the ìExpositorî
that the Buddha, during the fourth week after his attainment of
Enlightenment, sat in the ìJewel Houseî, contemplating
the seven books of the Abhidhamma. I paid respect at this place when
we were in Bodhgaya. Near the Jewel House is a stupa commemorating
the cremation place of the great Commentator Buddhaghosa, and I also
paid respect there. Buddhaghosa, who lived in the first half of the
fifth century A.D. , compiled and translated from Singhalese into
Påli the ancient commentarial materials he found in Sri Lanka.
He also wrote the ìVisuddhimaggaî, an Encyclopedia on
Buddhism.
If the Buddha had not attained enlightenment nobody
would know that what we take for a person or self, for things or for
the world are only different phenomena which do not last and which
are not self or belonging to a self. The Abhidhamma is not theory, it
explains everything that is real and that appears in our daily life.
Realities that appear in our daily life have each their own
characteristic that can be directly known, without having to think
about them. The Buddha did not need any words in order to penetrate
the truth of realities, but he used words when he explained the truth
to others.
We read in the Commentary to the ìDhammapadaî(
Buddhist Legends, Part 3, Book 14, Story 2) that the Buddha, after
having performed the ìTwin miracleî1,
ascended the Heaven of the Thirtythree (Tåvatiÿsa) and
taught the Abhidhamma for the sake of his mother who had passed away
on the seventh day after his birth, as is always the case for the
Bodhisattaís mother. When the Buddha wished to return to the
world of men, Sakka, the King of the Devas, created three ladders:
one of gold, one of jewels and one of silver. The devas descended
upon the ladder of gold, Mahå-Brahma and his retinue upon the
ladder of silver, and the Exalted One himself upon the ladder of
jewels. The Buddha came down at the gate of the city Saòkassa.
We visited this place and paid respect. We went up the hill that
marks the place and there we had a Dhamma discussion. Acharn Sujin
reminded us to have patience with regard to the development of the
eightfold Path. She said that at the Buddhaís time there were
four kinds of people with different capabilities to grasp the Dhamma.
Some people could realize the Truth immediately when they heard the
teaching (ugghaìitaññú), others after a
more detailed explanation (vipacitaññú), others
could gradually realize the truth through advice and questioning,
wise consideration and association with a good friend in Dhamma
(neyya puggala), and others again did not attain enlightenment,
although they had heard much, learnt much, knew many things by heart
(pada parama) 3 .
The first two types of people do not exist anymore in this world.
With regard to the third type of person, it is only after wise
consideration of the Dhamma and mindfulness of realities over and
over again that he can attain enlightenment. With regard to the
fourth type of person, the pada parama, the understanding he has
accumulated is not lost, it can lead to the attainment of
enlightenment in a future life.
We read in the Commentary to
the ìMiddle Length Sayingsî (III, 134, Baddhekaratta
Sutta, Discourse on ìOne Single Excellent Nightî 2),
that the Buddha, in the Heaven of Thirtythree, taught the Abhidhamma
in alternation with the Baddhekaratta Sutta to the devas who could
not penetrate the profound and detailed teaching of the Abhidhamma on
rúpa and arúpa (nåma) that have the three
characteristics (of dukkha, impermanence and non-self). We read in
the ìBhaddekaratta Sutta of Lomasakaògiyaî that
the deva Candana approached the venerable Lomasakaògiya and
asked him whether he remembered the exposition and analysis of the
Baddhekaratta Sutta. It appeared that both of them could not remember
this, but Candana remembered the verses. He related that the Buddha
had taught these when he dwelled in the Heaven of the Thirtythree.
They are the following verses:
The past should not be followed
after, the future not desired.
What is past is got rid of and the
future has not come.
But whoever has vision now here, now there of
a present dhamma,
The unmovable, unshakable, let him cultivate it
4 .
Swelter at
the task this very day. Who knows whether he will die tomorrow?
There
is no bargaining with the great hosts of Death.
Thus abiding
ardently, unwearied day and night,
He indeed is ìAuspiciousî
called, described as a sage at peace 5
.
The Buddha taught people to
develop right understanding of what appears at the present moment,
and this is satipaììhåna. The Abhidhamma explains
in detail all realities of our daily life, and therefore it is very
meaningful that he taught in the Heaven of the Thirtythree Abhidhamma
in alternation with satipaììhåna. During our
journey Acharn Sujin reminded us frequently not to follow after the
past nor to desire for what has not come yet, but to be aware of what
appears now. Seeing, hearing, attachment or aversion fall away
immediately, but we keep on thinking of what is past already, or we
may wish to be aware of what has not arisen yet. If there is
mindfulness of the characteristic of reality that appears now,
understanding can grow.
The Buddha taught that what we take for a
person are in reality mental phenomena, nåma, and physical
phenomena, rúpa. Seeing or hearing are nåmas, they
experience something, they experience an object. Seeing experiences
what is visible, colour or visible object. Hearing is quite different
from seeing, it experiences sound. Visible object is rúpa, a
physical phenomenon that does not experience anything. Visible object
impinges on the eyesense that is also rúpa. Eyesense does not
experience anything but it is a condition for seeing. Both visible
object and eyesense are conditions for seeing. In the same way sound
and earsense are conditions for hearing, odour and smellingsense for
smelling, flavour and tastingsense for tasting, tangible object and
bodysense for body-consciousness. The five senses are rúpas
that are called the doorways through which the relevant sense
objects, that are rúpas, are experienced. Through the
mind-door all kinds of nåma and rúpa can be experienced.
We are inclined to cling to a concept of self who is seeing,
hearing or thinking, but in reality there are different moments of
consciousness, cittas, that experience one object at a time and that
do not last. When hearing arises there cannot be seeing at the same
time. We cling to an idea of our body that belongs to us, but in
reality the body consists of different kinds of physical phenomena,
rúpas, that arise and fall away.
When we were in the Jeta
Grove we saw gardeners at work who were gathering grass and sticks,
just as in the Buddhaís time. Later on Acharn Sujin reminded
us of the Sutta in the ìKindred Sayingsî about grass and
sticks that are gathered and then burnt. We read in the ìKindred
Sayingsî(IV, Saîåyatana vagga, Kindred Sayings on
Sense, Second Fifty, Ch 5, §101, Not yours) that the Buddha
said:
ëWhat is not of you, monks, put it away. Putting it
away will be for your profit and welfare.
And what, monks, is not
of you?
The eye, monks, is not of you. Put it away. Putting it
away will be for your profit and welfare.
Objects are not of
you... eye-consciousness... eye-contact... that pleasant or
unpleasant or indifferent feeling which arises owing to
eye-contact...
Tongue is not yours...mind, mental objects, etc.
are not yours. Put them away. Putting them away will be for your
profit and welfare.
Just as if, monks, a man should gather, burn
or do what he likes with all the grass, all the sticks, branches and
stalks in this Jeta Grove, pray, would he say ìThis man is
gathering, is burning us, doing what he pleases with usî? í
ëSurely not, lord.í
ëWhy not?í
ëBecause,
lord, this is not our self, nor of the nature of self.í
ëEven
so, monks, the eye is not of you. Put it away. Putting it away will
be for your profit and welfare. Objects and the rest are not of you.
Put them away. Putting them away will be for your profit and
welfare.í
Grass and sticks are physical phenomena, they
are rúpas outside that are not part of the body, they do not
belong to anyone. However, also the rúpas of the body do not
belong to us, they arise because of the appropriate conditions and
then they fall away. When right understanding is developed all
objects can be seen as non-self, anattå, and there can be
detachment from the concept of self.
The Buddha taught about
realities, dhammas, that appear one at a time through the five senses
and through the mind-door. He taught about mental phenomena, nåma,
and physical phenomena, rúpa. Consciousness or citta is nåma.
There is one citta at a time and it cognizes an object, be it visible
object, sound or one of the other sense objects, or a mental object
that can be experienced through the mind-door. There is one citta at
a time but it is accompanied by several mental factors, cetasikas,
that each perform their own function while they assist citta in
cognizing an object. Feeling and remembrance, for example, are
cetasikas accompanying citta. Thus, what we take for a person is in
reality citta and cetasika, which are both nåma, and rúpa.
Citta, cetasika and rúpa do not last, they arise and fall
away.
If one does not learn about the Buddhaís teaching
and develop more understanding of nåma and rúpa, the
world seems to be full of people and things which last. We take
fleeting realities for things that exist, such as a person, a table,
a cup or a chair.
Citta, cetasika and rúpa are real in the
ultimate or absolute sense, they are different from conventional
truth or concepts (paññattis). What is true in the
ultimate sense is called in Påli: paramattha dhamma 6
. We can also refer to paramattha dhammas
as dhammas, realities. When we speak about the Buddhaís
teachings we refer to it as the Dhamma, but the word dhamma has
several meanings. Dhamma can mean that which has its own
characteristic and is devoid of self. In that sense it is the same as
dhåtu, element. Nåma and rúpa are only elements,
devoid of self.
Paramattha dhammas have each their own
characteristic which is unalterable. Seeing has its own
characteristic that cannot be changed, no matter how we name it. We
can call it by another name, but seeing is always seeing, its
characteristic cannot be changed. Seeing experiences what is visible,
colour or visible object. Visible object has its own characteristic
and when it appears it can be directly experienced without having to
name it. Anger is a type of nåma that has its own
characteristic which cannot be changed. Anger is always anger, no
matter how we name it. Hardness is a kind of rúpa that can be
directly experienced through the bodysense, no matter how we name it.
When we touch a cup or a chair we know their different meanings in
conventional sense: we drink from a cup and we sit on a chair.
However, when we touch them hardness may appear. We can verify that
hardness is only an element, a kind of rúpa that has the
characteristic of hardness, to be experienced through the bodysense,
no matter it is hardness of a cup, a chair or a hand. We can directly
experience it without thinking of it, without naming it. It is
important to learn the difference between paramattha dhammas and
concepts. Right understanding developed through satipaììhåna
has as object paramattha dhammas, not concepts. Concepts are not real
in the ultimate or fundamental sense, they are objects of thinking.
When we see people walking, we cling immediately to shape and
form, to a conglomeration of things, to a concept of a whole. In
reality seeing sees just visible object, no people. Thinking thinks
of the concept of people who are walking; thinking is a paramattha
dhamma, it is nåma, but the concept it thinks of is not a
paramattha dhamma. Thinking is conditioned by seeing. Acharn Sujin
asked us: ìCan there be people without visible object?î
When
we are reading we are immediately absorbed in the story we read and
we have different feelings about it, we feel happy or sad. At such
moments we live in the world of concepts and ideas that are real
merely in conventional sense. When we are reading, different cittas
experience different objects. The citta that sees experiences only
colour or visible object which impinges on the eyesense. Other types
of cittas think of the meaning of the letters and of the whole story.
Acharn Sujin reminded us that in real life we are also as it were
ìreadingî. We are looking at lines and shapes and we
define these as this or that person.
We should not try to avoid
thinking of concepts of people and things, but we can learn the
difference between paramattha dhammas and concepts. When the object
citta experiences is not a paramattha dhamma it is a concept. The
Buddha spoke time and again of all the objets appearing one at a time
through the six doors so that people would understand what paramattha
dhammas are. Through mindfulness of paramattha dhammas as they appear
one at a time, understanding of their nature of anattå can be
developed.
Acharn Sujin often reminded us that everything is
dhamma. It is true that dhammas appear all the time: seeing, visible
object, hearing, sound, thinking. Usually we are absorbed in our
thoughts about the conventional world, we do not realize that there
is dhamma. Acharn Sujin said that when we learn that everything is
dhamma, we should not leave it at that, but that we should develop
understanding until we know through our own experience that
everything is dhamma. If there never is awareness of what appears
through the eyes at this moment, realities cannot appear as just
dhammas. Our life can change: first we were clinging to a self who
sees or hears, but now we can learn that there are only different
dhammas each with their own characteristic.
Dhammas are
ephemeral, many conditions must coincide for one moment of seeing. We
take seeing for granted and we think that it lasts, that we can
control it. We see and then we remember what it is, but it is no
longer there. How could we direct or control a reality that has
fallen away already? Nåma and rúpa do not belong to
anybody, they are beyond control, non-self. We cannot select the
dhammas that appear now, seeing or hearing have arisen already. We
have to see, we have to hear, we have to be born again and again so
that we see, hear and experience objects through the six doors. We
cannot select what reality arises at a particular moment, but
understanding of them can be gradually developed.
The Buddha
taught the Abhidhamma to the devas in the Heaven of the Thirtythree,
and he also taught vipassanå when he expounded the Discourse on
ìOne Single Excellent Nightî. He used conventional
expressions in the sutta, when he said that one should not cling to
the past nor desire for the future, but attend to the present moment.
We read in the Commentary to the ìDiscourse on no Blemishesî
(Middle Length Sayings I, no 5):
There is a twofold teaching
of the Buddha, the Blessed One: the teaching in the conventional way
and the teaching by way of ultimate realities. There is a human, a
being, a woman, a man, a man of the warrior caste, a brahman, a god,
and Måra. Such is the teaching in the conventional way.
Impermanence, dukkha, anattå, the aggregates, the elements,
the sensefields, satipaììhåna. Such is the
teaching by way of ultimate realities.
Here the Blessed One
taught to those in the conventional way who by means of it, after
having heard the teaching, penetrated the meaning and abandoned
ignorance, and were skilled to attain distinction.
But he taught
by way of ultimate realities to those who, after having heard the
teaching, penetrated the meaning and abandoned ignorance, and were
skilled to attain distinction.
Also when the Buddha
taught by way of conventional terms he explained what is dhamma:
namely, what appears right now.
******
Footnotes
1. This miracle consisted in the appearance of flames
from the upper part of the body and streams of water from the lower
part, and then alternatively, there were streams of water from the
upper part of the body and flames from the lower part. Moreoever,
flames of fire and streams of water also proceeded each in
alternation from the right side of the body and from the left side.
The Twin Miracle and his ascent to the Heaven of the Thirtythree took
place in the seventh year after his enlightenment.
2. In the
Middle Length Sayings III there is a series of four suttas (no.
131-135) the first one of which is the Bhaddekarattasutta. There are
different translations of the title. The P.T.S. translates it as
ìDiscourse on the Auspiciousî, whereas Ven. Bodhi
translates it as ìOne Single Excellent Nightî. The
following suttas in this series of four are the Bhaddekarattasutta of
Ånanda, of Mahåkaccåna and of Lomasakaògiya.
3. See ìDesignation of Human Typesî, Ch IV, §
5.
4. This is from the translation of Ven. Nåùananda,
Wheel 188, Kandy. The P.T.S. translation has: knowing that it is
immovable, unshakable.
5. The Thai translation has: he is called
someone who has only one night of development. Night in Påli
stands for day and night. Someone who knows that he may only have one
day and night has a sense of urgency to develop insight.
6.
Parama means highest. Paramattha dhamma is what is real in the
highest, the ultimate sense, what is fundamentally true.
*******
Chapter
3
Clinging to Concepts
Citta, consciousness, experiences something, it
experiences an object. Acharn Sujin reminded us many times during our
journey that each citta experiences an object. Citta could not arise
if there were no object. The object is one of the conditions for the
arising of citta. Without citta, colour, sound and the other sense
objects could not appear. We should apply what the Abhidhamma teaches
about citta and object to this moment of our daily life. We heard
Acharn Sujin say many times that visible object appears now, and that
it could not appear if there were no seeing that experiences it. We
listen to the Dhamma and we read the texts about the objects
experienced through the six doorways, but do we really consider this
deeply and apply it to this very moment?
Theoretical knowledge,
pariyatti, is a foundation for the understanding of the level of
paìipatti, practice, that is direct understanding of realities
appearing one at a time through the six doorways. Acharn Sujin spoke
during our journey about seeing, hearing, the other sense-cognitions
and the sense objects time and again, but we found this not
monotonous. It is a vivid reminder to begin to investigate those
dhammas as they appear in daily life. In this way all we hear and
read in the Suttas can become more meaningful, we can come to see
that everything that appears is dhamma. Thus, studying dhamma,
reality, is studying with mindfulness of what appears at this very
moment. The purpose of our study should be understanding of our life
at this moment.
This is a new approach to life, to the world. We
are used to being infatuated with the world of people and all the
things around us without understanding what is really there: nåma
and rúpa that arise because of their appropriate conditions
and then fall away immediately. When we perceive people there are in
reality different moments of citta: seeing is different from thinking
of the meaning of what we see. When we perceive a person or a thing,
we pay attention to a mental image of a whole, and we are absorbed in
all the details of what is seen. This happens during all our
activities in daily life when we, for example, add sugar and milk to
our coffee, use knife and fork when we are eating, when we are
reading or walking. A mental image of a whole is not a reality, a
dhamma, it is a concept, paññatti. The word concept, in
Påli paññatti, has different meanings: it is a
name or term that conveys a meaning as well as the idea it makes
known. Thus, it makes known and also, it is what has been made known.
Names can denote persons or things that are not realities, or they
can denote realities, such as different nåmas and rúpas.
When we have a notion of a ìwholeî, such as a person or
thing, we are thinking of an idea, a concept, not a reality, not a
nåma or rúpa.
When we were in Nålandå,
we went to the grounds where the ancient monastic university has been
excavated and sat down on the grass for a Dhamma discussion. The
Buddha used to stay in Nålandå in Påvårikaís
Mango Grove where people from different religious groups visited him
to discuss with him. Several centuries later a university was founded
in Nålandå that became a famous center of learning for
different religious groups. The Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang, who
lived in the seventh cetury, became a bright scholar in this
university and he stayed in Nålandå for a long time. At
that time Buddhism was already disappearing from India. There must
have been many debates in Nålandå between different
schools of thought. Acharn Sujin mentioned that one should carefully
consider different points of view and that one should investigate the
scriptures and commentaries in order to understand the subtle points
of Dhamma, so that the teachings can be kept free from corruptions.
She mentioned that, after her return, there would be a board meeting
in Bangkok of the Dhamma Study and Support Foundation to compare
different viewpoints and clear up misunderstandings. The goal of such
meetings is preserving the purity of the Buddhaís teachings 1.
In Nålandå we discussed the meaning of nimitta, the
Påli term for image or mental picture. She explained that we
think of an image on account of what we see, hear, and experience
through all the sense-doors. We pay attention to an image of a whole
and we are absorbed in all its details (in Påli: anuvyañjana).
When we perceive a rose we think immediately of its shape and form,
of an image, a concept; we may not even think of the name ìroseî,
but when we perceive the shape and form of a rose we are bound to
take it for something that really exists.
Each citta is
accompanied by the cetasika saññå, perception or
remembrance, that remembers or ìmarksî the object so
that it can be recognized later on. The recognition of a thing or a
person is the result of many different processes of cittas, each of
which is accompanied by saññå performing its
function of marking and remembering. We may reason about the way
saññå operates and wonder how and when it
remembers a past object. This is only thinking, and by thinking we
shall not understand realities. When someone found it difficult to
understand that saññå marks as well as remembers,
she answered that it is difficult to find a term that covers the real
meaning of saññå. Acharn Sujin said that we
should not cling to terms but understand the characteristics of
realities appearing at this moment. The purpose of our study of the
Dhamma is detachment, detachment from the idea of self. We can begin
to understand, whenever we perceive different things we handle or use
in daily life, such as a cup and a saucer or the computer, or
whenever we perceive people, that it is not due to a self who
remembers but to saññå. Saññå
is an important condition for clinging.
When we cling to concepts
we misinterprete realities and take them as a unity. We take a
compact mass or collection of things as something that exists, such
as a table or a chair. We join different objects, such as visible
object or tangible object, into a whole but they appear one at a
time, through different doorways. What we take for a whole can be
resolved by paññå into different elements which
arise and fall away. We also take different cittas performing their
different functions for a ìwholeî, such as seeing and
thinking. We believe that there is a long moment of seeing, that it
lasts.
We have to think of concepts so that we can perform our
daily activities. Also the Buddha used concepts when he went out on
his alms rounds, when he recognized his disciples and spoke to
different people. However, he did not cling to concepts and he had no
ignorance about them. We should lead our daily life naturally, but we
can learn the difference between concepts and realities, dhammas.
Acharn Sujin said that when seeing sees visible object, a concept
does not arise together with seeing, but after seeing has fallen
away, thinking can arise with a concept as object. We pay attention
to concepts time and again, but we can learn to develop more
understanding of a reality such as visible object appearing right
now. We can learn to understand it as only a dhamma, not a person or
thing that exists. Gradually we can know the difference between what
is real and what is not real in the ultimate sense.
We read in
the ìKindred Sayingsî(IV, Saîåyattana vagga,
Kindred Sayings on Sense, § 78, Rådha, 3):
Then the
venerable Rådha came to the Exalted One... Seated at one side
the venerable Rådha said to the Exalted One: -
ìWell
for me, lord, if the Exalted One would teach me a teaching in brief,
hearing which I might dwell remote and earnest, ardent and
aspiring.î
ìWhat is non-self, Rådha, -for that
you must abandon desire. And what is non-self, Rådha? The
eye... visible objects... eye-consciousness... eye-contact... that
pleasant or unpleasant or indifferent feeling, which arises owing to
eye-contact. What is non-self, you must abandon desire for
that.
Tongue... body... mind... mental objects...
mind-consciousness... mind-contact... you must abandon desire for all
that.î
Time and again the Buddha spoke about realities
appearing through the six doorways so that people could develop
understanding of their true nature of impermanence and anattå.
Usually we live in the world of concepts and stories about life, but
when understanding of dhammas such as seeing, visible object or
feeling has been developed more, the concept of the whole world, a
person, a body, can be broken down, resolved into elements. Then we
learn that what we find so important are only insignificant dhammas
that arise and fall away, which are non-self. When we read a Sutta
about dhammas appearing through the six doorways we can be reminded
to deeply consider its meaning: seeing, hearing or feeling appear
time and again, even now. They are realities each with their own
distinct nature and characteristic.The Buddha said that one must
abandon desire for all realities. Understanding, paññå,
is associated with a level of detachment: the development of paññå
leads to detachment from the idea of self and eventually from all
realities.
In India I had a conversation about concepts with
Acharn Sujin:
Nina: We forget to develop understanding of
realities when we read the newspaper. We are absorbed in the news
about events that occur such as wars.
Sujin: We take the
stories for reality but actually they are contained in one moment of
thinking. We can develop understanding of realities, no matter where
we are, whatever event occurs.
Nina: We have accumulated so much
forgetfulness of realities.
Sujin: We should listen to the Dhamma,
consider it and develop more understanding.
On other
occasions we spoke about fear we may have on account of the truth of
non-self:
Sujin: The world appears dark and lonely without
people. There are no family, no friends. There is nobody in this
room.
Nina: Where is the gladness on account of the Dhamma?
Sujin:
There can be gladness on account of paññå that
knows the truth. You cannot change the characteristics of realities
that make up the world. They are only elements. One should be very
sincere as to oneís own development of understanding. When
someone is frightened it shows that paññå has not
sufficiently been developed. When he realizes this, he should be
courageous to continue developing paññå. The
concept of self is deeply rooted.
She also reminded me:
ìThere
is no Lodewijk, there is just our own world of thinking, thinking of
Lodewijk. When we were born we were alone. When seeing, we are alone,
there is just citta that sees. We are alone because there is no self.
Seeing arises and then thinking of the world of concepts and this
hides the reality of seeing, visible object and the other
realities.î
Each citta that falls away conditions the
arising of next one, this is one of the many conditions for citta:
anantara-paccaya, contiguity condition. Our life is an unbroken
series of cittas, otherwise we could not stay alive. Cittas arise and
fall away extremely fast. We see only what appears through the eyes,
but it seems that we see and immediately know that this or that
person is there, this or that thing, and that we also at the same
time have like or dislike of what we see. In reality there are
countless moments of cittas succeeding one another. The fact that
many impressions seem to occur all at the same time shows that cittas
arise and fall away, succeeding one another extremely fast.
Cittas
arise in succession, without a pause in between, and therefore, good
and bad qualities, kusala cetasikas and akusala cetasikas, can be
accumulated from moment to moment, from one life to the next life.
Attachment, aversion, loving kindness or understanding can be
accumulated so that there are conditions for their arising again and
again.
Three akusala cetasikas are roots, hetus, and these are:
attachment, lobha, aversion or hate, dosa, and ignorance, moha.
Akusala cittas can be rooted in attachment, in aversion or in
ignorance, but the hetu that is ignorance accompanies each akusala
citta. Thus, ignorance of realities conditions all akusala that
arises. Besides the three akusala hetus, several other akusala
cetasikas may accompany akusala citta such as wrong view, stinginess
or conceit. There are three beautiful roots, sobhana hetus:
non-attachment, alobha, non-aversion, adosa and wisdom or paññå.
Alobha and adosa accompany each kusala citta and paññå
may or may not accompany kusala citta. Besides the three sobhana
hetus several other sobhana cetasikas accompany kusala citta, such as
confidence in wholesomeness and mindfulness.
Cittas such as
seeing or hearing arise within a series or process of cittas. When
seeing experiences visible object, it arises in a process of cittas
experiencing visible object through the eye-door, they are eye-door
process cittas. Seeing does not like or dislike, it is not wholesome,
kusala, nor unwholesome, akusala; it is citta that is result of
kamma, of a wholesome or unwholesome deed performed in the past.
Seeing is vipakacitta, citta that is result.
Thus, seeing arises
when the right conditions are present, and the rúpas which
condition it are eyesense and colour or visible object. What occurs
at this moment? Shouldn't we verify realities at this moment? There
is seeing now, but no self who sees. Can we make seeing arise? It has
arisen already because of conditions. Do we really consider and
investigate this? We have to see, we have to hear, because there are
conditions, no ìIî who can cause their arising. If we do
not consider this again and again we cannot understand the meaning of
anattå.
Seeing is not the only citta arising in the
eye-door process, there are other cittas that also experience visible
object but perform each their own function. After seeing has fallen
away, there are several more types of cittas and then kusala cittas
or akusala cittas arise experiencing visible object in a wholesome or
unwholesome way. When the sense-door process has ended a mind-door
process of cittas arise that experience visible object. After that
there may be other mind-door processes of cittas thinking of
concepts.
When we experience a sense object through one of the
sense-doors we often react with attachment, lobha, when the object is
pleasant, and with aversion, dosa, when the object is unpleasant. Let
us consider our daily life. When we experience a disgusting odour,
aversion can arise even before it is known what kind of odour it is.
When a delicious morsel of food is on the tongue, attachment can
arise even before knowing what kind of flavour it is. When we are
sitting on a soft chair, the rupa that is softness may appear through
the bodysense and attachment arises already, but we may not even
realize that there is attachment. This may happen just now while we
are sitting. Many moments of akusala cittas arise but we do not even
notice them. Cittas arise extremely fast, it seems that many
impressions occur all at the same time. But there are different
realities each with their own characteristic. We should verify this
so that we can understand, at least in theory, the rapidity of the
cittas arising and falling away in processes, cittas which have no
owner and cannot be controlled. They have the characteristic of
non-self, anattå. We don't have to do anything special to cause
the arising of lobha or dosa, they arise already because of their own
conditions. After odour or flavour is experienced during the
sense-door process it is experienced through the mind-door, and again
there can be aversion or attachment. It is still not known what kind
of odour or flavour it is. That is known afterwards in other
mind-door processes which experience concepts.
We can think
of concepts with kusala citta or with akusala citta, but usually we
think with akusala citta. When the objective of the cittas that think
is not generosity, dåna, morality, síla or mental
development, bhåvanå, they are akusala cittas. There is
no person who is good or bad, wholesomeness and unwholesomeness are
particular cetasikas arising because of conditions that perform their
functions in a wholesome way or in an unwholesome way. When we act,
speak and think we can gradually find out that usually akusala cittas
motivate deeds, speech and thinking. When we are stretching out our
hands to take hold of things, when we walk or speak, cittas with
attachment, lobha, are bound to arise. We like to speak, we speak
with attachment or conceit. There are many degrees of akusala, they
can be coarse or more subtle. Also when we do not hurt others there
may be akusala cittas, but we do not notice them. Even when we
consider the Dhamma, there can be clinging to the idea of self who
wishes to make progress in understanding.
The Buddha spoke to
the monks about síla, morality, under the aspect of restraint
of the sense faculties (indriya saÿvara síla) by
mindfulness of realities that are experienced through the six doors.
At such moments one is not overwhelmed by defilements that may arise
on account of what one experiences. The ìVisuddhimaggaî
(I, 42) quotes from the ìMiddle Length Sayingsî (I, 27,
Lesser Discourse on the Elephantís Footprint), explaining the
virtue of restraint of the sense faculties as follows:
... On
seeing a visible object with the eye, he apprehends neither the sign
(nimitta) nor the particulars (anubyañjana) through which, if
he left the eye faculty unguarded, evil and unprofitable states of
covetousness and grief might invade him, he enters upon the way of
its restraint, he guards the eye faculty, undertakes the restraint of
the eye faculty. On hearing a sound with the ear... On smelling an
odour with the nose... On tasting a flavour with the tongue... On
touching a tangible object with the body... On cognizing a mental
object with the mind, he apprehends neither the signs nor the
particulars through which, if he left the mind faculty unguarded,
evil and unprofitable states of covetousness and grief might invade
him, he enters upon the way of its restraint, he guards the mind
faculty, undertakes the restraint of the mind faculty...
We
read in the ëVisuddhimaggaî (I, 54): ìApprehends
neither the signsî: he does not apprehend the sign (nimitta) of
woman or man, or any sign that is a basis for defilement such as the
sign of beauty, etc.: he stops at what is merely seen. ìNor
the particularsî (anubyañjana): he does not apprehend
any aspect classed as hand, foot, smile, laughter, talk, looking
ahead, looking aside, etc., which has acquired the name ìparticularî
because of its particularizing defilements, because of its making
them manifest themselves. He only apprehends what is really
there...
Further on the ìVisuddhimaggaî (I,56)
explains: ìHe enters upon the way of its restraint: he enters
upon the way of closing that eye faculty by the door-panel of
mindfulness.î
Understanding of realities should be
naturally developed, we should not force ourselves to ignore concepts
and try to know realities such as seeing or hearing. When we are
listening to music we may try to know the reality that is just sound,
different from the concept of a whole, of a melody, but this is not
the way to develop right understanding naturally. Then there would be
attachment that obstructs the development of paññå.
Direct understanding of a characteristic of a reality is already
developed paññå, and how can we expect to have
developed paññå in the beginning?
*********
Footnote
1. For more than thirty years Acharn Sujin has been given regular lectures in Temples and these have been recorded and relayed on the radio within Thailand and in neighbouring countries. The Dhamma Study and Support Foundation is an organisation set up around these activities. A few years ago a centre was built on donated land and, here, Acharn Sujin, the main teacher, and her students now teach and discuss the Dhamma.
******
Chapter 4
A Long Way to go
Paramattha dhammas, ultimate realities, are all that
appears now. Seeing, visible object, hearing, sound, and the other
sense-cognitions that experience sense objects appear in our daily
life, also at this moment. They each have their own characteristic
that is unchangeable and that is true for everybody. We can verify
this when they appear and this is what the Buddha taught time and
again.
We read in the ìKindred Sayingsî (IV,
Saîåyatana vagga, Kindred Sayings on Sense, Third Fifty,
Ch 5, §152, Is there a method) that the Buddha said:
ìIs
there, monks, any method by following which a monk, apart from
belief, apart from inclination, apart from hearsay, apart from
argument as to method, apart from reflection on reasons, apart from
delight in speculation, could affirm insight thus: ìEnded is
birth, lived is the righteous life, done is the task, for life in
these conditions there is no hereafterí?î
ìFor
us, lord, things have their root in the Exalted One... Hearing it
from him the monks will remember it.î
ìThere is
indeed a method, monks, by following which a monk...could affirm
insight... And what is that method?
Herein, monks, a monk, seeing
an object with the eye, either recognizes within him the existence of
lust, malice and illusion, thus: ëI have lust (råga),
malice (dosa) and illusion (moha),í or thus: ëI have not
lust, malice and illusion.í Now as to that recognition of
their existence or non-existence within him, are these conditions, I
ask, to be understood by belief, or inclination, or hearsay, or
argument as to method, or reflection on reasons, or delight in
speculation?î
ìSurely not, lord.î
ìAre
not these states to be understood by seeing them with the eye of
wisdom?î
ìSurely lord.î
ìThen, monks,
this is the method by following which, apart from belief... a brother
could affirm insight thus: ëEnded is birth... for life in these
conditions there is no hereafter.í
Again, as to hearing a
sound with the ear... smelling a scent with the nose, tasting a
savour with the tongue... contacting a tangible with the body...
cognizing a mental object with the mind.... is that recognition to be
understood by belief, or inclination, or hearsay, or argument as to
method, or reflection on reasons, or delight in speculation? Are not
these states to be understood by seeing them with the eye of
wisdom?î
ìSurely lord.î
ìThen, monks,
this is the method by following which a monk, apart from belief...
affirm insight.î
Insight refers here to arahatship,
according to the Commentary, the ìSåratthappakåsiníî.
One can attain arahatship with this method, that is, developing
understanding of realities appearing through the senses and the
mind-door.
In all the holy sites we visited Acharn Sujin
explained about the way to develop understanding of the realities
that appear at this moment. She stressed the difference between
thinking of terms and words denoting realities and the direct
awareness of nåma and rúpa, the development of
satipaììhåna. She reminded us that we need
patience to listen to the Dhamma, to consider it and to develop right
understanding of realities. We have a long way to go in order to see
realities as they are. On the basis of her explanations and our
discussions I would like to deal with some points stressed by Acharn
Sujin and often raised by others.
We may know in theory that
seeing sees what is visible, visible object, but it seems that we see
people all the time. We usually think of concepts with ignorance and
clinging, we are totally absorbed in them. Only through the
development of direct awareness of realities can we prove that what
the Buddha taught about the phenomena of our life is the truth.
However, we need a firm foundation knowledge of paramattha dhammas so
that we can verify the truth of these phenomena.
Acharn Sujin
stressed many times that there are three levels of the understanding
of the Dhamma: the level of study, pariyatti, the level of practice,
paìipatti and the level of direct realization of the truth,
paìivedha. Pariyatti is the firm foundation knowledge that can
be a condition for paìipatti, the practice or development of
direct understanding. If we only think about it that citta, cetasika
and rúpa are impermanent and that they arise and fall away, it
is theoretical understanding that stems from listening to the
teachings. Through the development of satipaììhåna,
which is the practice, can the truth of what the Buddha taught be
directly realized. The aim of the study of the teachings should be
direct understanding of the dhammas appearing at this moment.
We
should understand what satipaììhåna is and what
the objects of satipaììhana are. Satipaììhåna
is the development of insight, vipassanå, the direct
understanding of all realities of our life, of citta, cetasika
(mental factors arising with the citta) and rúpa.
Only one
citta at a time arises and experiences one object. It seems that we
see and hear at the same time, but when visible object is
experienced, sound cannot be experienced at the same time. Acharn
Sujin explained about the development of satipaììhåna
when we were sitting on the ground in the Jeta Grove, near the place
where once the Buddha stayed. In the Jeta Grove he taught the Dhamma
to the monks and to the layfollowers who visited him daily. Acharn
Sujin said:
ìDhamma is what is real, it has no owner. There
are two kinds of dhammas: nåma and rúpa. Hearing and
sound arise and fall away very rapidly, can we slow them down? Sati
can arise and be aware of them. In the beginning there cannot be
awareness of all realities that can be experienced through the six
doors, because understanding has to be developed. Sati can arise and
paññå can begin to understand realities, there is
no other way. Thinking arises in between moments of awareness and
there is bound to be doubt about realities, because doubt has not
been eradicated. When sati arises, pañña must arise
together with it. We should have understanding of the characteristics
of realities and of satipaììhåna and this can
condition the arising of sati and pañña that directly
understands nåma and rúpa. This is not intellectual
understanding, but it is paññå of another level
that penetrates thoroughly the characteristics of realities, that
realizes them as only elements, dhåtus.î
How do we
experience the body? We think of our whole body but what we take for
our body consists of different groups of rúpas. The rúpas
that are the four Great Elements arise in each group of rúpas
no matter whether they are of the body or rúpas outside, and
these are: the Element of Earth or solidity, the Element of Water or
cohesion, the Element of Fire or heat and the Element of Wind or
motion. In addition to these four there are other rúpas
arising together with them in different combinations. Through touch
three of these Great Elements can be directly experienced, one at a
time, and these are: solidity appearing as hardness or softness, heat
appearing as heat or cold, and motion appearing as motion or
pressure. Cohesion cannot be experienced through touch, it can only
be known through the mind-door.
Hardness or heat are
characteristics of rúpa, and these cannot be changed, no
matter how we name them. We can experience the characteristics that
appear without the need to think of them. In this way we can begin to
consider in our own life what the Abhidhamma teaches. The Abhidhamma
is not a dry subject that concerns theoretical knowledge, it deals
with our life. We learn about nåma and rúpa through the
study of the Abhidhamma, but this relates to daily life. Do
characteristics of rúpa such as hardness, softness, heat or
cold not appear all the time whenever we touch things? The purpose of
the enumeration of different nåmas and rúpas is not
merely to memorize them or to think of them, but to realize their
true nature by the development of satipaììhåna.
Apart from the three rúpas of solidity, heat and motion
that can be directly experienced in daily life, there are in addition
four rúpas that appear all the time: visible object or colour,
sound, odour and flavour. Also these rúpas arise in a group
together with the four Great Elements and other rúpas. Thus,
there are seven rúpas that appear time and again in daily
life, they have characteristics that can be directly experienced
without the need to name them or to think about them. We do not have
to think of sound or odour in order to experience them, they appear
just for a moment and then they disappear. We cannot cause their
arising, they arise when there are the right conditions and then they
disappear. We cannot prevent them from disappearing, and they are
beyond control, non-self. Development of right understanding leads
gradually, from the very beginning, to detachment until the ultimate
stage, when arahatship is reached. First there will be detachment
from the wrong view of self and later on other defilements will be
abandoned, but this is a long way. We have accumulated ignorance for
aeons and therefore there cannot be right understanding immediately.
We are attached to the idea of my body, but, as Acharn Sujin
explained, what is it that appears? When hardness impinges on the
bodysense its characteristic can be experienced. Hardness appears and
then falls away immediately. We know through remembrance (saññå)
that we have arms, legs, and all the other body-parts, but these
cannot be experienced, they are concepts that are remembered. When we
truly consider that only one characteristic of rúpa is
experienced at a time when it impinges on the rúpa that is the
body-sense, and that it falls away immediately, we can understand, at
least in theory, that our whole body we find so important does not
exist in the ultimate sense. We think of ìIî who is
sitting, we are attached to the idea of a sitting posture. In the
ultimate sense rúpa does not sit. A posture is a
conglomeration of rúpas we can think of, but it is not real in
the ultimate sense. We cling to the idea of my body that is sick or
healthy, but the rúpas of which the body consists arise and
then fall away immediately, and they do not return. We can begin to
consider rúpas such as hardness, sound or visible object as
they appear in daily life, but thinking, even in the right way, is
not satipaììhåna, the development of direct
awareness and understanding. It is a foundation for satipaììhåna.
Acharn Sujin explained:
ìWhen we touch something,
hardness appears. The thinking of a concept follows instantly.
Understanding develops if we know that hardness only appears at the
point where it touches. The whole body does not appear, we just think
of the whole body. What we take for our whole body is not my body,
only hardness appears through touch. When one touches hardness one
thinks that it is there all the time, but when hardness appears it
must have arisen because of conditions. Whatever is real has
conditions to arise; the rúpa that has arisen and appears can
be the object of understanding. Paññå should be
developed so that one will understand that at each moment there is no
person there. Realities are not what we think them to be, we think of
concepts on account of what is experienced. Understanding should be
developed so that the level of pariyatti, intellectual understanding,
conditions the level of paìipatti, the practice, and that
again the level of paìivedha, the penetration of the true
nature of realities. ì
Some people believe that they
should just practise, that study is not necessary, but it is
necessary to know what sati and paññå are, what
the object of satipaììhåna is, and what the
conditions are for their arising. As we have seen, the object of
satipaììhåna is a paramattha dhamma, an ultimate
reality, that appears, not a concept. We should not forget that sati
of satipaììhåna is a cetasika that arises when
there are the appropriate conditions, that it is not self. It is
non-forgetful, mindful of the reality that appears, so that right
understanding of that reality can be developed at that moment.
Sati
can be of different levels of kusala, it accompanies each kusala
citta, it is non-forgetful of kusala: it arises with dåna,
generosity, with síla, morality, with samatha and with the
development of satipaììhåna. Only through
satipaììhåna the wrong view of self can be
eradicated. When we perform dåna, sati accompanies the kusala
citta that is non-forgetful of kusala, but when sati is not of the
level of satipaììhåna, we are bound to take dåna
for ìour dånaî, for self. It is the same in the
case of síla and samatha, if satipaììhåna
is not developed, one is bound to take these ways of kusala for self.
Paññå is a cetasika that arises when there
are the appropriate conditions, it is non-self. It may arise with
dåna and síla, but it does not always accompany these
ways of kusala. Paññå always accompanies mental
development, including samatha and vipassanå. When we study the
teachings and we acquire intellectual understanding of nåma and
rúpa, sati and paññå accompany the kusala
citta. However, thinking of paramattha dhammas is not the same as
direct awareness and understanding of the reality appearing at this
moment, and this is satipaììhåna.
The
development of satipaììhåna is a gradual process,
because there have to be the right conditions for the arising of sati
and paññå of satipaììhåna.
The right condition is the firm foundation knowledge of the
teachings. Thus, study of realities of our life and considering them
as they appear in our life. It depends on the individualís
inclinations to what extent he will study the details about citta,
cetasika and rúpa and the different processes of cittas, but a
basic knowledge of realities is necessary. Each person is unique,
there are no rules with regard to the development of understanding.
But at the present time it has to be a development that takes a long
time (cira kala bhavana).
Acharn Supee Thumthong who teaches Påli
in Bangkok remarked that when he studies realities he keeps firmly in
mind that the results become apparent only when the conditions are
fulfilled. If paññå does not arise to realize the
dhammas that appear, it means that one's understanding about the
dhammas at tthe paññatti level is not firm enough. He
said that if one truly understands this, one will not struggle and
strive for results. In other words, one will develop understanding
naturally and not force oneself, trying to reach a level one is not
yet ready for.
Acharn Sujin reminded us that people living at the
time of a previous Buddha, the Buddha Dípaòkara, were
very patient. We read in the ìKhuddhaka Nikåyaî,
ìChronicle of the Buddhasî (II A, Account of Sumedha,
vs. 71-75) that devas and men rejoiced when they heard that the
Buddha Dípaòkara proclaimed Sumedha to be the future
Buddha. We read that they said:
If we should fail of the
Dispensation (teachings) of this protector of the world, in the
distant future we will be face to face with this one.
As men,
crossing a river but, failing of the ford to the bank opposite,
taking a ford lower down cross over the great river, even so, all of
us, if we miss (the words of) this Conqueror, in the distant future
will be face to face with this one 1.
They
realized that the development of satipaììhåna
takes a long time, that it takes aeons. The Bodhisatta had to listen
to twentyfour Buddhas before he could attain Buddhahood in his last
life. We can still study his teachings, but time will come that these
disappear. There will be a future Buddha, Ariya Metteyya, and if we
do not attain enlightenment in this Buddha era, we may have an
opportunity to listen to his teachings. When Acharn Sujin spoke of
the gladness and patience of people at the time of Sumedha, I said
that I found it difficult to be glad about the prospect of having to
wait for many aeons until paññå is developed. But
Acharn Sujin reminded us to have courage and gladness while
developing right understanding. It is true, when paññå
arises there cannot be anxiety at the same time. Paññå
can be developed at the present moment and we should not think of the
future and how long the road is; what counts is only the present
moment. There is no self who can do anything and thus, it is of no
use to think of an idea of ìmy progressî. Listening to
the Dhamma, studying it and considering it are the right conditions
for satipaììhåna.
We had Dhamma conversations
in different places: apart from the holy sites, we discussed the
Dhamma in hotel halls when waiting for the bus, in dining rooms and
also in a teashop along the road when the drivers had to rest. I
quote from a discussion in a teashop where we sat at a long table,
drinking Indian tea. Acharn Sujin said:
ìWe say,
everything is dhamma, but are these just words? How can we understand
the characteristics of nåma and rúpa if there is no
direct awareness of them? We are talking about seeing and hardness,
but there may not be direct awareness of a characteristic, just one
at a time. There is seeing now, but no awareness of it. When
awareness arises we are beginning to understand seeing right now.
There is no need to think about it whether there is awareness of this
citta that sees or a past moment of citta that sees, that is
thinking. There can be awareness of any reality that sees now.
However, we should first study and understand what citta, cetasika
and rúpa are, so that there are conditions for the arising of
awareness. If someone says that one should just be aware from the
very beginning without study of realities, without knowing about the
conditions for sati, it is wrong.
Seeing sees all the time but
there is no development of understanding of seeing, we are only
thinking about seeing. Seeing appears, and this means that seeing at
that moment is the object of satipaììhåna, and
only in this way right understanding of it can develop. Paññå
begins to grow by understanding the characteristics of nåma and
rúpa, and the characteristic of sati. The development of
satipaììhåna should be very natural, if it is not
natural one is on the wrong way. Someone is on the wrong way if he
clings to an idea of self who can act in a particular way to make
sati arise, instead of just understanding reality. Paññå
can understand any reality that has arisen because of its own
conditions. We cannot know of what object sati will be aware, this is
beyond expectation.î
By study, listening and considering
the Dhamma there can each time be just a little more understanding
and we should be grateful for that. It should be enough for the
moment, because, as Acharn Sujin often said, paññå
works it way. It is accumulated little by little.
******
Footnote
1. They will be face to face with the Buddha
Gotamma, who was previously the Bodhisatta Sumedha.
*******