No one can surpass the Lord Buddha in desiring that people should be good. The Teaching that he gave the world was intended solely to bring virtue, goodness and happiness to all living beings. He did not want the world to be troubled or harmed, which results from wrongdoing due to ignorance of the proper ways of conduct. Because of that, building the Pãramï (Perfections) to the extent of those possessed by a Buddha—a being full of mettã for all sentient beings—is extremely difficult; and so very different from all other levels of Pãramï. Both the ability and mettã go hand in hand. Those who listen to the Teaching of the Lord Buddha, either from his own mouth or from the scriptures, and believe in the principles of truth he espoused, will naturally try to correct and improve themselves so as to be a good people.
That is to say, anyone who practices his teaching correctly will be good; from the very first person to do so to the last. Regardless of how many members a family has, when each one practices the Buddha’s training to be good, then the whole family will also be good. The same truth applies when extended to a village community, a town or a country. In the end, there is no longer any need to ask about the peace and happiness of such a country, for peace and happiness will definitely follow from the goodness of all the virtuous people who live there. Conversely, the various kinds of hardship and unhappiness experienced in the world arise only due to wickedness. The number of “disturbers” (lit. splinters and thorns) a society has corresponds directly to the number of wicked people living in a community.
The more evil there is, the more hellish the world becomes. It becomes a dark place, both in daytime as well as nighttime, and in a constant state of agitation. One needn’t go searching for hell because it is being constructed right in people’s hearts, and then scattered and extended everywhere, turning everything into fire. This is very wrong. If people lived in accordance with the Buddha Dhamma, these things would not occur. There would be no need for judges, courts of appeal or even the Supreme Court, for there would be no cases to settle. Each person would have the intention to be virtuous, always trying to listen to reason for virtue’s sake. In talking with one another, whether they be young or old, man or woman, ordained or householder, people would easily reach a mutual understanding because they intuitively understand the nature of good and evil within the heart. People would be guided solely by the wish to see things in the way of reason, truth and virtue.
It would be easy for people to listen and understand each other, and their conduct would be always fair and unbiased with no need for secrecy. The world, however, does not follow the heart’s desire. Wherever one goes, one meets with troubles and complaints about dukkha. Even though everyone studies and searches for knowledge, the whole world remains in a state of confusion and unrest. Because the kinds of knowledge people gain are not permeated with Dhamma they serve no useful purpose, and instead end up burning those who use them. Lacking Dhamma as a support and a guide, as an accelerator and a brake, they just carry on in their own way (yathãkamma) without any limit or bounds. By thinking and investigating in this way you will come to see the value and the importance of the Dhamma of the Lord Buddha. If you simply try to conduct yourself so as to be a good person, this virtuous practice alone will result in peacefulness wherever you go, whatever the circumstances may be.
Even though you are still not capable of teaching others to be good, your heart will be peaceful and happy, which is the correct result from your practice. There are different levels of such peacefulness, but everyone is capable of experiencing the ordinary level if the intention is correct and the right effort is put forth for these experiences to arise. You should not overlook your spiritual potential, for this world can be a happy place, peaceful and worth living in, full of fun and joy. But further than this, those who want to focus on the internal happiness that arises solely within the heart should put their full effort into working towards that aim. Gradually the subtle type of happiness will arise. Those who are truly interested in the way of citta-bhãvanã will take the practice as a battle, a state of combat, and put themselves on the front line. Meditators who are engaged in combat on this battlefield cannot afford to be weak. They must always be vigilant in everything they do. Gradually they will become people who are constantly mindful.
Otherwise, they cannot be considered tough enough to be victorious in battle. Such toughness relies on vigilant effort and satipaññã observing your behavior to see if it’s going in the right way, or the wrong way, especially when the citta is thinking in a way that accumulates unwholesomeness. Because observation of the thinking process becomes increasingly more subtle and involved, it is necessary to depend on satipaññã as a guardian, protecting vigilantly at all times. The “stream of the citta” and its various imaginings will not then gravitate to those dangerous and poisonous ideas and emotions which burn and torment the mind. Once the mind has received proper care and nourishment it will gradually become peaceful, light and happy, without fading into gloominess and dullness as it did before. All of you disciples, who have been training here for a sufficient time, please take the Dhamma of the Lord Buddha and establish it within your hearts. When the time comes for you to leave, you should not think that you have left your teacher and the monastery behind, for your departure is only an action—a physical activity.
The important thing is to reflect on the Lord Buddha’s words: “Whoever practices Dhamma in accordance with the way of Dhamma, “He is truly one who gives pýja to the Tathãgata.” That practice is the way of conducting yourself with sati, paññã, saddhã (faith) and viriya (diligent effort), everywhere and in every posture with strict discipline. Conducting yourself well within the heart with constant watchfulness is what’s meant by the practice of Dhamma in accordance with the way of Dhamma and giving pýja to the Tathãgata—the Lord Buddha—at all times. The Lord Buddha continued: “Whoever sees Dhamma, sees the Tathãgata”. How should we practice so as to see the Dhamma and know its truth for ourselves? Simply by practicing the way of citta-bhãvanã. That is the way of practicing Dhamma. What is seeing Dhamma if not the overcoming of those obstructions existing right now within us? These obstructions are what we should consider as our enemies! They are represented in the first two saccadhammas, being dukkha and samudãya. We investigate these factors so as to understand their true nature as it exists in every human being and animal, except the Arahant, whom samudãya cannot enter.
The rest must possess those factors to some degree. This is what is called saccadhamma. When we have investigated and understood the true nature of those things, this is called seeing Dhamma. At that point it is possible to uproot and abandon all hindrances, resulting in peace and coolness within. This uprooting, letting go and abandoning of all defilement, we call “seeing Dhamma”. It is a gradual seeing, undertaken step by step, level by level, until we finally see the complete Tathãgata. Speaking of the levels of attainment: Those who have attained to the Sotãpattimagga and Sotãpatti-phala can be said to have seen the Lord Buddha at one level, with the heart penetrating to the stream of Dhamma. It is the beginning of seeing the Lord Buddha. It’s similar to standing in a field and seeing the Lord in the distance. The Sakadãgãmï would see the Lord Buddha closer and clearer; the Anãgãmï closer and clearer still, until finally with the Arahatta-phala one would see the Lord Buddha with complete clarity.
The Dhamma needed to achieve these various attainments exists within each and every one of us. Constantly taking up the practice in earnest is the same as following the Tathãgata and keeping him in one’s sight. One sees the Tathãgata by means of the practice. The Tathãgata is seen by way of the cause, which is the practice, and by way of the result, which is successively experiencing the things one should experience. This is like the Lord Buddha who truly saw and knew each stage of the practice before successfully passing beyond it. In truth, the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha are never apart from the heart of those who practice according to Dhamma and who, by virtue of their practice, give pýja to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. This is the true meaning of pýja.
The way of diligent effort is the way of having a continuous dialogue with the Lord Buddha. Saying farewell and departing are merely actions; they are mere conventions. Departures are an ever-present reality. For example, after sitting here one departs to sit over there; from there one returns to sit here. Life is a constant departing. But you mustn’t think of departure only in terms of going from this town to that town, or this place to that one. These are linear movements on a physical level. On a more subtle level, there is continual departing in the world of aniccaÿ. All conditions are impermanent and constantly changing. We can reflect on these conditions so that they become a Dhamma lesson using the ti-lakkhaõa, which is the way of all those who truly know and see. All those who practice the way must rely on the principles of the ti-lakkhaõa to guide them. Whether we are here or somewhere else we should always strive to cultivate Dhamma for the purpose of relinquishing and eradicating the kilesas, and for the extinguishing of all dukkha that exists within the heart.
When we are here we cultivate Dhamma; when we move there we cultivate Dhamma. Wherever we are we practice for the purpose of uprooting and relinquishing. The place does not matter; what’s important is the practice of eliminating the kilesas. For that reason, the Lord Buddha taught the Sãvakas: “Go bhikkhus, all of you seek secluded places! Be firm like warriors in those places! This is the way to remain close to the Tathãgata all the time. It is not necessary for all of you to gather round the Tathãgata here in order to have an audience. This is not the way! Rather, whoever has sati, being diligent in all postures, is living and worshipping in the presence of the Tathãgata then and there. Sitting around carelessly is not the way to live in the presence of the Tathãgata. The Tathãgata does not regard the comings and goings of his disciples as essential to communicating with him. The Tathãgata considers diligence in practice to eradicate the kilesas from the heart to be truly having an audience with the Tathãgata.”
This is the gradual seeing of the Tathãgata. It is the main point in the Teaching whereby the Lord Buddha taught his followers to practice with diligent effort to gradually and successively uproot the kilesas, which are the enemies within the heart, until they all are made to vanish. Then they would all see where the Tathãgata really is, without having to look at the Tathãgata with dim and blurry eyes, lacking in sati. All that’s necessary is to completely get rid of all those things which are the enemies of the heart. Then they can take that ‘nature’ and compare it with the Tathãgata to see if there is any difference. Undoubtedly, there is none, for all purified ‘nature’ is the same: Listen! The essence of the Lord Buddha’s Teaching is just like this.
The training of one’s heart and the behavior to be good and virtuous is the way of accumulating happiness. When there is steady growth and development within the heart the result is just happiness. Unhappiness or an incomplete happiness, occurs because of those kilesas which obstruct the heart, and nothing else. Only the kilesas can obstruct and pierce the hearts of all sentient beings; preventing them from experiencing happiness and satisfaction. The dukkha and hardship, both internal and external, are mostly caused by the kilesas, and nothing else. For example, when illness afflicts the body, the kilesas will also complain that it is painful here or painful there, causing restlessness and worry to arise within the heart.
This concern with bodily illness adds another dimension of dukkha to the heart. The Lord Buddha and Sãvakas also experienced physical ailments, for the human body falls under the conventional laws of sammuti, which means that the body is impermanent, unsatisfactory and not-self. The physical body cannot transcend these natural principles. All conventional realities must fall within the laws of nature; and within those natural principles change is always the norm. However, the heart that totally understands the nature of these things never wavers for a moment. But it is not like this with us. When bodily pain arises, no matter how seemingly small, the heart tends to accumulate additional dukkha beyond measure. The dukkha within the heart can even become greater than that of the body. This happens when the heart is infiltrated by the kilesas.
When we are absent-minded and careless, lacking satipaññã to know what the kilesas are up to, the kilesas can penetrate in every possible way, regardless of time, place, or posture. It can happen any time when the citta acts without satipaññã as the controlling factor. Then it is as if the citta becomes a servant of the kilesas, unknowingly helping them. How then can the lessons of Dhamma arise in the heart? The heart can only take lessons from the kilesas as they gradually keep on increasing. Therefore, it is necessary to throw the full force of your sati, paññã, saddhã and viriya to keep up with the events happening within the heart. Studying the dhãtu and khandha can make you a noble person. Other kinds of study will not lead to satisfaction because they will not eliminate that hunger that is a normal part of worldly affairs. Only when you have studied the dhãtu khandha and the heart to completion, will the hunger finally be finished, making you fully and completely satisfied.
At present you are still deficient in your knowledge of the khandha and your application of such knowledge in the practice. This knowledge comes from satipaññã, penetrative insight into the true nature of the body and mind so as to understand what they really are according to the principles of truth. It is a process of analysis that separates the true from the false. As long as this knowledge is poorly understood, the result is endless confusion and turmoil within the body and the mind. No other confusion and agitation is more troublesome than that which arises in an untrained mind, where all sorts of problems constantly occur. For that reason, you must study the mind thoroughly until you gain enough knowledge to clear up that tangled web of problems, using satipaññã to examine and pass judgment at each step of the way. Alright! Let’s study to completion! What is there in the dhãtu khandha?
As has been said, the rýpa khandha is just this physical body. The physical components of a person taken together comprise the rýpa khandha. Vedanã khandha is the sum of pleasant, unpleasant and neutral feelings that arise within the body and the heart. This is called vedanã khandha. Saññã khandha is memory, recognition and assumed knowledge about various things. This is called saññã khandha. Sankhãra khandha is the thought-formation created within the heart; that is, thinking good or bad thoughts; thinking about the past or the future, without limit. This is called sankhãra khandha. Khandha means group or heap. Viññãõa khandha is the consciousness that acknowledges forms, sounds, smells, tastes or tactile objects when they contact the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body respectively, and simultaneously reports that sense contact to the heart before it ceases according to its nature and another contact arises. This is called viññãõa khandha, being the viññãõa of the five khandhas.
The viññãya of the five khandhas is different from the paåisandhi-viññãõa. Paåisandhi-viññãõa refers to mano, or specifically the citta. It is the citta that enters into paåisandhi-viññãõa, just before being reborn into another form of existence. At that stage, the citta is referred to as paåisandhi-viññãõa,which is synonymous with the heart. With regard to the viññãõa of the five khandhas, it arises and ceases with the sensations that come into contact with it. When those sensations subsequently pass away, the corresponding viññãõa also passes away. That is, the acknowledgement ceases with the passing away of those sensations. The paåisandhi-viññãõa, however, refers to the heart which possesses the faculty of knowing, independent of all phenomena. Even if nothing comes into contact with it, this knowing does not cease. When you investigate the five khandhas, do it until you understand them thoroughly. What is not yet understood should be studied over and over again. Keep on digging and analyzing until you understand.
This is the appropriate field of work for those who want eradicate the kilesas, taçhã and ãsava from the heart. This work will result in the destruction of the “cycle of vaååa”—which is the revolving of the citta as it goes on taking birth in various forms of existence, endlessly wandering from birth to birth and always reserving a place in the cemetery. Even before death it has already made its reservation there. This endless wandering is cause by delusion. Due to a fundamental ignorance about the true nature of the khandhas, we become attached to the khandhas of body and mind. As though that attachment were not enough, we carry that clinging forward life after life until we are completely lost in delusion, with no end in sight. This will continue to happen indefinitely unless we apply paññã to analyze and investigate until we understand the truth and are capable of severing that craving, the cause of dukkha. Studying the dhãtu khandha takes you to the essence of the Sacca dhamma, which is also the essence of the four Satipaååhãna. When we investigate any aspect of the khandhas, we find that they are all concerned with the essence of the Sacca dhamma and the essence of the four Satipaååhãna.
The body is simply the body, as it is, regardless of whether it is healthy or sick. In either case, rýpa is still just rýpa. Illness and disease are merely part of the body’s natural state. The dukkha vedanã that arises due to such bodily changes does not remain for long, so one should see it for what it is. This is the way to study the khandhas. Do not be alarmed or frightened or saddened with them, for these changes are normal and natural occurrences of sammuti. Conditioned phenomena must inevitably change in accordance with their very nature—at every period, in every second. Even a second is too long a measure of time to describe this change—rather every instant or continuously. All phenomena are constantly changing. There is no pause, no taking time off for rest and sleep like animals and people do. As for dukkha, that also manifests itself constantly. It never stops for sleep or rest. People take time off to rest, sleep and to recuperate so as to feel relax and be comfortable, but not so the Sacca dhamma and the ti-lakkhaõa.
They never stop; they never ease off with anybody. They follow their unceasing course both day and night, whether one is standing, walking, sitting or lying down. Every condition thing must revolve. This body too revolves; that is, its conditions change. Having sat still for a little while, pain arises. Is this change or not? If there is no change, then why does pain arise? This pain is called dukkha vedanã. It is an arising condition that we should focus our attention on. Pain is one type of Sacca dhamma, so investigate it in order to see it as it really is. In critical times of bodily illness we cannot expect depend on others. Thinking that you can depend on this or that person in times of stress is a misunderstanding, which can only drain your mental energy, leaving you too discouraged and disheartened to think about helping yourself. This wrong understanding is created by the kilesas constantly whispering their deceptions and thus cutting the ground from under your feet by means of their trickery. In times of sickness and emergency, you must assume the attitude of a boxer in the ring. Before a boxer climbs into the ring, he takes detailed instructions from his trainer can. But once he enters the ring, he can’t rely on the trainer anymore.
Right or wrong; good or bad; dead or alive—he must rely entirely on himself. He must help himself to the fullest of his ability. Boxing techniques can no longer be taught at that time. Entering the boxing ring is synonymous with the final battle when the khandhas and the citta are breaking up and going their separate ways. The time when death is approaching. When a vulture lands on the branches of a tree, the branch hardly shakes at all. But when it springs off to fly away it shakes the branch until the whole tree vibrates. If the branch is dead, it will probably break off. At the time when the dhãtu khandha are leaving us, how hard will it shake us? What are we going to use to stand up to this shaking, if not satipaññã? Without that wisdom we will surely be unable to endure, losing our balance and our control. Because of that, we must fight to the very end using the full capacity of our satipaññã in every moment. Don’t entertain any thoughts that the body will be destroyed in the fight.
You investigate the dhãtu khandha for the purpose of seeing their true nature and gaining release from suffering, not to destroy the body. This path of wisdom is followed as a means of helping you emerge victorious at the moment when death approaches. When that time arrives, dukkha vedanã will manifest itself very clearly. Every part throughout the body will appear to be on fire. Internally, the body will feel like a red-hot and glowing furnace. What are you going to do then? You must probe into the pain with satipaññã until you understand the true nature of dukkha. Once you see that mass of fire clearly with paññã, then turn to examine your heart—is that red-hot as well? Or is it only the bodily khandha that is on fire? A heart that possesses satipaññã will not be moved. It will remain cool within the mass of painful feelings that burns like a fire within the body.
This is the correct way of practice. Analyzing the dhãtu khandha in this way allows you to help yourself at critical times, instead of expecting to rely on others. This is what we mean by entering the boxing ring. Once you have resolved to do battle, then fight with reason using all your strength. Be prepared to die, if need be. It doesn’t matter who carries you out of the ring. It is a fight to the end with your maximum capacity of paññã. Do not fight blindly or halfheartedly. Don’t fight like a dummy, allowing the kilesas to strike blow after blow without dodging or counter- punching. That’s a useless strategy! You must put your life on the line and fight to win. If you die, then so be it. But don’t fight ineptly for lack of that most advanced weapon—satipaññã. Battling with vedanã means investigating so as to see the true nature of pain. Do not force the pain to disappear. Such coercion goes against the course of nature. Instead, you must investigate the pain to see it as it really is and let it disappear on its own.
Even if it does not disappear during the course of investigation, you will understand the nature of vedanã and so not cling to it. Rýpa is rýpa; don’t contradict the truth and assume it’s something else. Rýpa is body; body is rýpa—rýpa is just physical body. Vedanã is just vedanã, be it sukha, dukkha, or neutral—it is just feeling. What is it that knows the body and knows vedanã—sukha, dukkha, or neutral—if it is not the heart? The heart is not the same as those dhammas. Separate them apart so as to see them clearly with paññã. This is the correct way of investigating Sacca dhamma so that the heart does not waver, even if the body does not last. Alright! Let’s face the battle; let’s see what will disappear first and what will be last to vanish. We have confidence in satipaññã and the truth—the truth that the heart is not the one that dies. The heart is simply the one that acknowledges everything. Alright! Whatever is impermanent, let it go. The body is impermanent; alright, let it break up. Feelings are impermanent; alright, let them melt away. Whatever is impermanent, let it all dissolve. Whatever is permanent will last and be firm. And what is that which remains? What else other than the “one who knows”, which is the heart. There! It’s the “one who knows” standing out distinctly all the time.
Once you have trained yourself in the way of satipaññã until you become adept, the results will definitely be like this. But if you are lacking in satipaññã, the heart will become discouraged and weak. All sorts of dukkha will then converge into the heart because it is the heart itself that accumulates dukkha due to its own stupidity. Weakness can never be the path that leads away from all harm and danger; rather it is diligence and hard work, that is, being a warrior with satipaññã. It is these factors that can cause bravery and fearlessness to arise within the heart. Nothing else can bring victory over dukkha and its causes. Please consider this matter carefully. When you must live at home without a teacher or instructor, you should consider what teaching was it that the teacher gave you for living without him? The teacher that the Tathãgata left behind for us is the Dhamma. You are with the Dhamma, with the Lord Buddha, and with the Sangha at all times by means of the Teaching that you use to train and conduct yourself.
These three all represent our teachers. Because of that, you are never without a teacher or his instructions. You live under the protection of sati, paññã, saddha and viriya, which will fight to the end against those defilements which are the enemies in your heart. How can you say you are without a teacher—you are living with your teacher! When you know and understand you will do so like one who is following in the teacher’s footsteps. There is no loneliness, no wavering. There is only firmness and steadfastness in the truth of Dhamma. His teaching should be constantly adhered to as a guide within your heart. Then no matter where you are you can say that you’re with the teacher—with the Lord Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha— because the real Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha exist within the heart. Only the citta can accommodate the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and the whole essence of Truth.
Only the citta can know the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha—nothing else. The body doesn’t know—how then can it know about the Lord Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha? Vedanã doesn’t know either; saññã is just a function of memory that having arisen just disappears without trace; sankhãra thinks and imagines and then vanishes. How can there be any essence in these mental aggregates sufficient to accommodate the Lord Buddha? The citta is what truly knows and understands the Lord Buddha, until citta and Buddha become one and the same. For this reason, you should investigate the citta to the utmost. Do not be weak or discouraged! In any case, at the time of death every one of us will have to enter into the battle. It is something that none of us can avoid. We have no other option but to help ourselves; that’s for certain. When the critical time comes, it will not be possible for others to help. Regardless of who they are—whether father or mother, sons or daughters, husband or wife—they can only watch on with affection, sympathy and yearning. They will long to help, but when the time comes it will be beyond their power. The only powers that can help us transcend dukkha and torment and free us from all bondage are satipaññã and our own effort.
Nothing else works. So we have to be strict with ourselves and firm at heart especially when the body is nearing its end. We should focus on developing these powers from this moment on! Then we will not lose control when the khandhas begin to break up, for these aggregates cannot transcend death. No matter how they manifest themselves in this lifetime, they end at death. So the “one who knows” knows body and mind until death, at which time the dhãtu khandha all dissolve, ridding the “one who knows” of all problems and all responsibilities, and the need for any further investigation. Let’s get down to the crux of the matter! Right to the essence of truth and reason! Then you will arrive at the really genuine Dhamma within the heart. This Dhamma presentation is quite appropriate; may it now come to an end.
By Ajahn Maha Boowa Nanasampanno Translated by Ajahn Suchard Abhijato