Today is Mãgha Pýjã day. It is the day when the Lord Buddha declared his intention to let go of life, taking leave of the world of saÿsãra and the prison of the cycle of birth and death (vaååa cakka). He chose to abandon his body and discard the very heavy burden he carried for eighty years. He had borne this extremely oppressive load during all that time, and it was never anything but a burden. Such is the nature of the human body (dhãtu khandha). By contrast, other things are sometimes heavy and sometimes light, allowing us to occasionally catch a breath. For example, food and water are heavy when we have to carry them, but as we steadily use them, they become lighter and lighter. But we have been bearing the load of our body since birth, and it never gets lighter. It’s always heavy. As we advance in years and our strength declines, it seems increasingly heavy. That is why the Buddha declared: “Bhãrã have pañcakhandhã”—these five groups are an extremely heavy load.
Apart from shouldering the heavy load of this body, we also have painful feeling, memory, thought and consciousness to put up with—all burdensome and piercing to the heart. Not only are they oppressive, but they are also sharp-pointed, so they pierce through the body and the heart. The Lord Buddha put up with this body until he was eighty years old. To put it simply, he must have said: “Oh! This body is beyond bearing. It is time to leave it!” Thus he declared that in three months’ time he would abandon life and lay down the burden. He made the decision on the full moon day of the third lunar month. On that very same day, twelve hundred and fifty noble disciples (Ariya Sãvakas) assembled together, spontaneously, without invitation, each coming his own initiative.
The Lord Buddha then expounded the teaching to the Arahant disciples, delighting them with the bliss of the Buddha Dhamna. This gathering thus became the Pure Assembly (Visuddhi Uposatha). Here is a brief outline of what was said on that day. Sabbapãpassa akaranaÿ kusalassýpasampadã Sacitta parlyodapanaÿ etaÿ Buddhãnasãsanaÿ Anýpavãdo anýpaghãto pãåimokkhe ca saÿvaro Mattaññutã ca bhattasmiÿ pantañca sayanãsanaÿ Adhicitte ca ãyogo, etaÿ Buddhãnasãsanaÿ T
he Buddha gave this teaching to the twelve hundred and fifty Arahants as a form of diversion on that afternoon. For those Arahants, it was more of an enjoyment than an exhortation, because all of them were already Pure Ones, no longer needing instruction to cleanse the kilesas and ãsavas from their hearts. That is why they were called the Pure Assembly. In the history of Buddhism, this was the sole occasion that the Lord Buddha expounded his teaching to a gathering of 1250 Arahant disciples.
During the Lord Buddha’s lifetime up until his final passing away (Parinibbãna), it never occurred again. We commemorate the Buddhas and Arahants because of their rare brilliance. They were figures of wonder among all people throughout the world, for worldly people’s hearts are corrupted by the stain of kilesas, so none of them could be considered pure like the Arahants. Sabbapãpassa akaranaÿ—to refrain from unwholesome actions which give rise to all kinds of dukkha.
The evil nature of the heart is critically important. We can act unwholesomely all the time. The bad actions of body and speech have their limitations, but the evil of the citta, which depresses and dulls itself, is prompted by our own thinking and imagining. The agents that push and compel the citta into sadness and depression are those things in the citta which are already murky and defiled. The Lord Buddha called them kilesas. They are those factors which maneuver saññã and sankhãra into functioning. They cause the citta to become gloomy and disconsolate. Evil acts of wrongdoing are not merely actions like robbery, looting and plundering. That is evil on a gross level.
But our tendency is to continually generate the intermediate and more subtle evils in our hearts all the time, and this automatically brings feelings of depression. The heart that is downcast will be downcast wherever we go because we constantly create that condition in our hearts. Walking, standing, sitting or reclining—our hearts always imagine and contrive, thus we become miserable in every posture. The Lord Buddha urged us not to produce gloom and misery for ourselves. This is one aspect of his teaching. What method will prevent the heart from being gloomy and depressed? Kusalassýpasampadã—we must develop enough wisdom to be capable of correcting this depression.
By cleaning out the gloom-makers and the evils, we will then have Sacitta pariyodapanaÿ—a bright and cheerful heart. When our cleverness— which is our satipaññã—has cleaned out all the filth and gloom from the heart, it becomes Sacitta pariyodapanaÿ—bright and clear. Evils, great and small, then gradually fade away as the citta becomes purified.
The teaching of all the Buddhas is like this. They all say: “Do it this way. There is no alternative”. Any easier way would be known by the wisest of all, the Lord Buddha. He would have woven us all a hammock to lounge around in as we progressively eliminate the kilesas. This would accord with his reputation as a teacher full of love and compassion, ministering to a world full of frail and grumbling beings. In fact, the Lord Buddha had already used his superior skill and ability to establish the shortest and most direct path. Each of the Buddhas had to cultivate the Perfections (pãramï) before realizing Buddhahood.
They used the Dhamma in their hearts to drive out the kilesas and then taught this as the true and correct way. They tested and selected with the maximum power of their minds before discovering and teaching Dhamma suitable for all living beings. ‘Suitable’ here does not mean suitable to people’s liking; it refers to a practice suited to overcoming the kilesas. Dhamma that is right and suitable has just this one purpose. No other dhammas can surpass the Middle Way of practice passed on by the Lord Buddha. The kilesas are not frightened by any other means or methods. Nothing else can eject them from the heart, or even scratch their skins.
Anýpavãdo—Don’t slander other people. Anýpaghãto—Don’t harm or kill human beings or animals. Pãtimokkhe ca samvaro—Keep your behavior within the bounds of Dhamma, which is the means of uprooting the kilesas. Mattaññutã ca bhattasmim—Know the right measure in using food and living frugally. Don’t indulge and exceed what is reasonable for a practitioner. Know the right amount in whatever you’re involved with. Pantañca sayanãsanam—Look for seclusion, and use this solitude to deal with the kilesas. Adhicitte ca ãyogo—Develop the citta to excel in Dhamma, employing satipaññã, step by step. Etam Buddhãnasãsanam—This is the essence of the teaching of all the Buddhas.
This was the Dhamma with which the Lord Buddha delighted all the Sãvakas. To those Sãvakas who were not yet Arahants, he also taught Sabbapãpassa akaranaÿ. This is a practice necessary for us to follow, the only way we can gradually destroy the kilesas in our hearts. But do we genuinely feel this to be true, or is it merely that hammock that takes our fancy? The essence of the pure Dhamma, imparted by each Buddha, is directly drawn from each of their hearts. But have we received it into ours? The Lord Buddha shared it with his utmost love (mettã).
Do we receive it with full devotion and trust? With total mind and heart? If we merely feign acceptance of the Dhamma and later discard it, then it will have no value for us at all, and that would go against the Buddha’s original intention. The Lord Buddha decided to relinquish his body on the full moon day of the sixth lunar month. He had announced this on the third month’s full moon—which is today. From that moment on, the elements (dhãtu) and khandhas—with all their oppressive and irritating affects –vanished from the Lord. This is Anupãdisesa Nibbãna (complete passing away without remainder). No more worries, no more responsibilities to any sammuti (mundane convention). Nothing remained. This is the Dhamma that transcends the world. The ultimate Dhamma.
The world comprises various forms of sammuti, evident everywhere. The three realms of existence are the worlds of sammuti, the worlds of assumption and change, the worlds of anicca, dukkha and anattã—the governing principles of all existence. No one can resist them. But once we have transcended them, all concerns come to an end. Nicchãto parinibbuto—craving totally ends. No mundane conventions remain. It is from this Dhamma that all the truths taught by the Buddha emanate.
If we take this Dhamma deeply to heart in our practice, then it will ‘ring and roar’ in our hearts. At first, it will resound in a cool, calm and peaceful condition of heart: namely, the various levels of samãdhi. Then it will resonate with paññã in our reflection and analysis, so that we can gradually free ourselves, step by step. Finally, it will resound in the pure (visuddhi) state wherein we are completely released. There, Nicchãto parinibutto—all craving is entirely extinguished. The source of these cravings is all of the various kinds of kilesas, which are never sated, never satisfied. Such is the nature of the kilesas. All the waters of the ocean cannot match this craving. Natthi taçhã samã nadï—the waters of river and ocean cannot equal the kilesas—the cause of craving.
They continually engulf the hearts of sentient beings and never run out. How can we dry up these waters? We must bail them out, using the energy of our practice, until they eventually diminish. We must drain these waters every day, scrutinizing, understanding and relinquishing them every day. Then the waters will not appear to be so great. They are really only as large as our khandhas: rýpa, vedanã, saññã, sankhãra, viññãõa—that’s all. But for the heart that is attached to them, they are a heavy matter. The heart doesn’t grasp after a piece of land; instead it seizes hold right here. This is the big issue, a hot and heavy concern. The kilesas are the very things that fuel the fires of the heart. No other fires can burn as hot as the fires of kilesas-taçhã-ãsava.
They inhabit the heart where they endlessly turn up the heat. We all know about floods. And when our lungs are flooded, the doctor can drain them. But when kilesa-taçhã-ãsava engulf the heart, what are we going to use to pump them out? There are only faith, effort mindfulness and wisdom to use. So we must probe, examine and investigate in order to see things clearly, as they really are. What does the heart cling to? What are its false assumptions? Does it ever heed the voice of Dhamma?
The kilesas usually tend to play smart with the Buddha. They are his adversaries. They must always assert their cleverness with the Dhamma and contend with it. Grasping is the kilesa’s way, while correcting and uprooting the kilesas is Dhamma’s way. Dhamma extracts the kilesas with wisdom, transcending them to arrive at the supreme happiness of the Nibbãna Dhamma, or the Pure Dhamma. So there is always this rivalry between the kilesas and Dhamma. Keep on trying! Don’t lose out to those things. This time you have now entered the boxing ring and must resolve to be the champion. Fight without backing down. Better to die than to let them carry you out of the ring. Even though you may be floored, if you are alive and still able to return the fight, then battle on.
If you cannot manage to fight anymore, then you can still curse them right there in the ring. What harm can that do? We are fighters, so if we can no longer fight the kilesas, then at least we can curse every mother and father of them. This is your single remaining weapon. When you are down and cannot punch back, you still have a mouth. You can still denounce, scold and curse even though you are knocked down. This is only an analogy of course. To be a warrior doesn’t mean we go around cursing and abusing anyone, but rather that we combat the kilesas.
We must fight in a manner befitting a disciple of the Tathãgata, who was himself of the warrior class. Have you noticed how our teachers practiced? The ãcariyas whom we respect so deeply were all warriors in this way. If that’s how they triumphed, why should they teach us to go in a different direction? Alright! Keep switching and varying your probe with paññã and stay on top of events within your mind. This paññã possesses such a sharp discernment that it is capable of drawing us out of the deep mud hole where we’ve been stuck, buried in the dhãtus and khandhas, for countless eons. Ultimately, we end up with the citta, where again we must pull everything out. The ‘I’ must be extracted from form (rýpa), from the body (kãya) and from the elements: earth, water, fire and wind. We must pull the citta out of dukkha vedanã, the painful feeling which we have assumed to be the self.
The way to withdraw from rýpa is simply to let go of that very form that we grasped as self. We pull away from vedanã, saññã, sankhãra viññãõa which we think of as ‘I’ and ‘mine’. Use wisdom right there to try and root out the self-identity, keep up with whatever is going on. The citta is subtle and extraordinary. The body, in contrast, is nothing special—no matter how much we cling to it in our delusion. Is it not our utter stupidity that makes us so readily shoulder this gross thing without ever wanting to put it down? If we were really smart and considered what’s behind it all, instead of shouldering it, we’d let go of it. Why carry it? Probe and investigate this matter carefully. You do have mindfulness and wisdom, after all! We must not dread dying. Why be afraid? Fear is just another kilesa. Why build up kilesas by being frightened? We must build courage because this is the quality that counters the kilesas. Bring it out to fight the kilesas in order to find out what actually dies. In fact, nothing dies.
The kilesas are always lying to us about death. The moment we are unguarded, they immediately sneak in and whisper: “When will I die? Today? Tomorrow? Here? Over there? I’m going to die very soon!” We upset ourselves with such thinking, while the dhãtu (elements) just remain there, indifferent. In this way we complicate matters and confuse ourselves by thinking that we are responsible. What kind of responsibility is that? It’s more like selfconfusion than self-responsibility. If we are truly self-responsible and self-reliant, then our hearts must have full satipaññã for investigating and rooting out the kilesas. It must probe and extract all the anxieties and confusions about life, death, sickness and the rest—never easing off or allowing the kilesas in to fool us.
This is the practitioner who truly takes responsibility for himself. We must investigate everything—both close in and all around—until we know them and can extract them completely from the heart. Then we will have serene contentment. That happiness is found right here in the heart. Success and right responsibility are also right here. We may hear news that some person is Sotãpanna, Sakãdãgãmï, Anãgãmï or Arahant. But what about us? Our news is only about weakness, discouragement, depression, stupidity, dejection and chaos. This is our whole story. Doesn’t it run contrary to the reports we hear about those others? Our personal news is exactly the opposite of those who possess the ‘Aryan Treasure’, which is the Dhamma wealth in their hearts. If our news is really like that, then it can only concern the thousand-and-one kinds of dukkha. ‘Sinking in the mud’ is more like it.
Unwanted news makes up the account of our lives; and because we create this story, we must also bear the result. Who is Dhamma intended for? Who is it taught for? Who makes up the Buddhist community, if not us? Surely the Dhamma was taught and intended for us. What are we taught to overcome? Do we have the means to accomplish it? Yes, they are right here with us. It’s as if the Buddha is right here before our very eyes, pointing them out to us. They’re not in the distant past; they are fresh and up-to-date. The Dhamma of the Lord Buddha exists here with us now, so what’s the use of all our speculation? “The Buddha realized Nibbãna at a distant time and place. He taught the Dhamma long ago so by now it has become stale and insipid. Its true flavor cannot have lasted until today”.
There! Listen to that! The kilesas lie to us, can’t we hear them? Please beware this kind of Mãra whose fabrications destroy the person who believes in such ideas, mashing him to pulp. The truth of Dhamma belongs to no specific time or era; it is always with anyone who is searching for the truth.
How can Dhamma vanish with time? Why destroy the truth with these ideas, and needlessly bringing ourselves to ruin? Who in this world can know better than the Lord Buddha? The Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha always stand challenging the kilesas in the arena of truth. This condition is akãliko (timeless) and therefore sïla, samãdhi and paññã are never outmoded or behind the times. They are independent of time and place, and yet they are within everyone. They can be produced at anytime; and whenever cultivated, they grow and develop. This is the way leading to magga, phala and Nibbãna, which is beyond time and place (akãliko)—just as the kilesas too always exist in the hearts of beings in this world. People now, as in the Buddha’s time, all have kilesas.
The overcoming of the kilesas must also be done with the same sïla, samãdhi, paññã, faith and effort. How can the kilesas be something of the distant past? They cannot. By rectifying them at the right spot, we could all go beyond dukkha. We must uncover whatever is cloaking the heart. Mindfulness and wisdom must be focused on whatever is dark and obscure, taking that as the target for investigation. Where exactly are the sadness and gloom? They are conditions of the heart that we know. It’s just like when darkness and light contact our eyes. We perceive darkness as dark, but the “one who knows” the darkness is not in the dark. Light and darkness are known; sadness and cheerfulness are known. The one-who-knows, knows in this way. We must make paññã penetrate further, taking the citta or some mental object as our target. Don’t be alarmed. Be neither glad nor regretful when sadness and gloom appear within the heart.
Look on them as mental conditions that must be investigated, as things which arise, cease and come out from the heart. They depend on the heart for their birth, and then latch on to it. We must examine with persevering effort until we come to understand their true nature. Why get excited or concerned with them? Whatever passes through the heart—that we must know. Then we really are studying and practicing Buddhism. We have to study until we know, scrutinizing with paññã until we understand those things that appear within ourselves. This true knowingness has no ups and downs. It is never like that. Mere conditions should be recognized as such by the practitioner. When those conditions end, all that remains is the state of complete purity (pãrisuddhi).
From then on there’s no longer any concern for those conditions, because they remained a problem only as long as we encountered them in the citta. When they are there they have to declare their existence for us to know. So if we want the truth, we must take up the task of investigating vedanã (feeling) that appears simultaneously with any sadness, cheerfulness, depression, happiness or suffering which come up. Such is the way of one who knows with all-round paññã, and we must use this wisdom to know all those things dwelling as conditions in the citta. This is the only place where we can finish off our studies. They talk of graduating with a Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctor’s degree or passing the various levels of Pãli study, following popular conventions of the time.
The customs and rituals of people with kilesas are numerous beyond description, unlike the ways of Dhamma which are always constant and unalterable. You can have as many grades and degrees as you like, but the kilesas don’t seem to bother with these things. They just enjoy themselves singing away on top of people’s hearts all the time. When were they ever more humble than people? They have greater power than people, stupid people, that is. Intelligent people are able to crush and destroy them, so this is the way we should gain our knowledge and qualification. The Bachelor’s degree in sïla, samãdhi and paññã is all around us. That’s the one we should get. Then it’s on to the Master’s and the highest grade, so that we have eka citta, eka Dhamma—one citta, one Dhamma. But this isn’t the ‘oneness’ (eka) of somebody with only one eye, who is nearly blind already. Don’t be an eka of that kind.
The true eka of the Lord Buddha is eka citta, eka Dhamma. Study up to this Ph.D. We must have all-round knowledge for this highest (eka) degree, replacing ignorance with knowledge about ourselves. We must bring in paññã to examine, probe and clear-up until reaching the supreme (eka) Dhamma level, or the genuine Dhamma, which are the same. The citta and the Dhamma are then one and the same. Buddhaÿ, Dhammaÿ, Sanghaÿ saraõaÿ gacchãmi—taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha falls within this One Dhamma. Dhammo padïpo (the light of Dhamma) always shines brightly. This is the true Dhamma—timeless and unconditioned. Alright! Let’s build the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha right here within our hearts. Buddhaÿ, Dhammaÿ, Sanghaÿ saraõaÿ gacchãmi—we go for refuge to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. More precisely, we arrive at the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha in the purity inside the heart, which is the coming together of all three refuges. Get to see them clearly within the heart.
This is the way to create a refuge within ourselves. This is the complete attãhi attano nãtho. We are our own refuge, not needing to depend on anything else. As is the Buddha, so are the Dhamma, Sangha—Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha are the same. When one has reached this stage, there is no need to go anywhere to pay our respects to the Lord Buddha. We can offer this purity of heart, this wholly pure Dhamma, as our pýjã to him. Nothing else can fit together as well as the heart and Dhamma do. The Buddha of the Lord Buddha and our Buddha, are one and the same Buddha. This is indisputable. Did the Lord Buddha pass away (Parinibbãna) a long time ago or not? We no longer ask, because it’s only a process involving the dhãtu khandha (physical elements).
The Lord simply let go of his khandhas at a certain time, in a certain year and place. The Noble Disciples (Sãvaka Sangho) were just the same. Were they all completely annihilated after they passed away? Was it really like that? This is the view of empty, useless men and women—not the truth of the Dhamma of Supreme Happiness, which validates that state of purity. What is Sangha? It is the one who is now in possession of the state of purity. This is the real Sangha, which is found within all of us. Attãhi attano nãtho—we are our own refuge. Make this refuge sufficiently secure. This is an essential point. It is imperative for the citta to free itself from all dangers and attain freedom. Whatever is worth attaining is worth striving for. So go for it right here. Don’t upset yourself over anything at all.
Nothing in this world really matters. It’s simply that our hearts go and get involved with things. We actually look for matters to disturb ourselves, so we must cut them off with sati and paññã. Wherever we are, we are always alone. We are born alone. When we are sick, it isn’t the assembled relatives that are in pain. When we die, we die alone; nobody else can die in our place or deputize for our pain. We alone must suffer illness and die. Therefore, we must help ourselves—attãhi attano nãtho—using our own mindfulness and wisdom. This is the most correct and appropriate way. The Lord Buddha decided to let go of his life on this same full moon day.
Today we should also resolve to relinquish the kilesas. These are the essential things that we must get rid of. As far as dying is concerned, the Lord Buddha said it wasn’t important which day we die on. Whenever the breath runs out, that is the day we die. The only criteria is our last breath. If there’s still breath, then we haven’t yet died. So we keep on breathing, which is itself no real problem. It’s merely a lot of wind. The important point is the laying of a firm spiritual basis and putting ourselves on the alert for the sake of our heart. Attãhi attano nãtho—we are our own refuge. When this is fully realized we experience contentment in living and dying, whenever or wherever it may happen. No more problems remain, for they were only a matter of sammuti (mundane conventions).
By Ajahn Maha Boowa Nanasampanno Translated by Ajahn Suchard Abhijato