The diseases of the heart are chronic. They can easily flame up and it is very hard to curb them. So as we gradually correct and remedy these diseases, we should at least try to get some calm in the process, so that the citta can be cool and peaceful. This is good and proper for us as bhikkhus. If we cannot find any calm in our hearts, then we will be like the lay people, and there will only be restlessness and agitation inside the heart. We must therefore focus our attention on the truth and Dhamma of the Lord Buddha. In every text, the Lord Buddha told us to take care of and restrain the citta and the sense organs. When the sense organs come into contact with the sense objects, one should not delight in them, like forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile objects.
Listen! The Lord Buddha said that we should not take delight in them. We must take this to heart. The Dhamma has been well taught, and what it teaches has no mistake in it. It teaches that we should not take delight in forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile objects when they come into contact with the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body. And how can we practice so that we don’t take delight in these things? We need to have discipline and control, and investigation to prevent the citta from taking delight in or having aversion for them. Or else we cannot be called practitioners. We must constantly con - centrate on taking care of the citta, for this is the duty of the practitio - ner—one who takes care of his heart. Apart from taking care of the citta, one must also nourish it. This nourishment is the calming of the citta or the calming of the heart, providing the heart with coolness and peace. Then we must also investigate with paññā, for the purpose of uprooting those harmful things inside the heart.
This is the way of giving nourishment to the heart by our diligent effort in our various modes of exertion. I was a young bhikkhu once, and was possessed with all sorts of kilesas. This I have never forgotten. I don’t remember much about the dukkha that I experienced as a layperson, but I remember very well the dukkha that arose in my heart as a bhikkhu, and this experience of dukkha taught me a very good lesson. When I was studying the texts, all the kilesas, taṇhā and āsava never seemed to appear or become ap - parent, but when I began to practice all of these kilesas, taṇhā and āsava came up from nowhere. They really gave me a strong fight and I had to struggle with them with all that I had. During the days of my practice, I could never gain any ease and comfort while doing noth - ing. This is part of my temperament. Whatever I do I really commit myself to, and the determination that I had for Dhamma was not just mere determination. I was determined for the Dhamma of de - liverance from dukkha, and this determination was firmly embedded inside my heart. Before I took up the practice of the Sāsana-dhamma, I was already convinced that it is possible to attain the magga, phala and Nibbāna.
There was no doubt in this because I had a strong belief in the magga, phala and Nibbāna, though I was not totally certain of my conviction. But when I went to Tan Ajaan Mun and heard his Dhamma, I was then totally convinced and believed in the magga, phala and Nibbāna — totally one hundred per cent, was the belief. All my doubts about the magga, phala and Nibbāna had been dispelled because Tan Ajaan Mun had shown them to me in every respect. And so my determination was total, without having anything to bring it down. So as it was like that, my exertion and diligent effort were at their maximum. So when I took up the practice, I really concentrated on my work of bhāvanā so that I could get to see the marvels of the citta again. I had experienced this only three times in all the time that I had spent studying the texts, and I was really determined to master and take hold of this citta.
I would not retreat, but struggled, coped and combated the kilesas that had been ruling over the heart for so long. I had to do it to the utmost of my ability by putting my life at stake. Therefore, my exertion had to be very intense and I had to experience a lot of dukkha and hardship. The dukkha that arises from one’s exertion is similar to the dukkha that a boxer experiences in the ring. He doesn’t pay much attention to it because he is being very careful and on his guard, and is to - tally committed in his effort in knocking down his opponent. So he is hardly bothered by this dukkha. It was the same way with me—I forgot all about this dukkha, the dukkha that arose from my exertion, and did not even think about it. This was because my exertion was so intense that I was constantly fighting and fighting. And it cannot be beyond your ability, so please listen well and take this to heart. All of us have the kilesas in us, and we have been carrying them with us for countless lives. It is my conviction that as long as the citta still possesses with avijjā within it, it will always continue on to take up new births, and then die again and again.
I believe in this conviction firmly, and nobody in the whole universe, in the entire three worlds, could ever come and contravene this belief, because I strongly believe that when one dies then one also takes up birth. This is what I believe, and I have found verification of it as I have practiced and attained the more subtle Dhamma. I could see the cause and the source of birth, ageing, sickness and death, and what is the cause? It is the same old cause that functioned in the past, and this is Avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā—ignorance causes the arising of saṅkhāra. It cannot be anything else but this. We have all experienced dukkha, so we should not see anything good in this world but just the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, or in short, just the Dhamma. It is only the Dhamma, the teaching of the Lord Buddha that can uplift us from dukkha through our exertion in applying this Dhamma, using it to help and uplift ourselves. Please don’t ever imagine that you can find any marvel or rarity from anything in this world, to the extent where you totally forget about your exertion, the truth, and Dhamma, and turning this truth and Dhamma, which is the most supreme, into something useless or worthless, by seeing those things that have no worth or value as the real essence.
This is a misperception, and is the understanding which follows the commands of the kilesas, which we have always followed in the past without ourselves being aware of it. Dhamma must always be opposing the kilesas because the kilesas always oppose Dhamma. For this reason we must accumulate and develop satipaññā so that we have enough of it to combat the kilesas. Satipaññā is the means or tool with which to combat the kilesas. Not a single type of kilesa can surpass sati, paññā, saddhā and viriya, dili - gent effort. You must be firm and tough because you are a man and a bhikkhu. Be earnest and resolute. Don’t be weak or discouraged. Both discouragement and weakness are the kilesas. They are not the Dhamma. This is not the way of Dhamma and this way of thinking is not in line with Dhamma.
This kind of thinking is on the side of samudaya, which will cause more kilesas to afflict us with more dukkha, thus creating more discouragement in us. The result that we seek will never appear, and it will be contrary to our purpose and intention, and our determination for Dhamma. The kilesas are always permeat - ing and hiding within us, so we cannot be off-guard. This is because as soon as we are off-guard they will hit us. Remember this point well because the kilesas are always waiting. As soon as satipaññā is offguard, then the kilesas will emerge. As soon as we are off-guard, then saṅkhāra will begin to concoct.
As far as saññā is concerned, it is a lot more subtle than saṅkhāra, as far as I can observe this khandha. When saṅkhāra concocts, it stirs suddenly, but saññā doesn’t stir at all. As one establishes the khandhas to become still and quiet, and one begins to observe to see which khandha will arise first, saññā khandha will slowly permeate out like ink permeating across a piece of blotting paper. It slowly flows out until it creates a picture—a mental image, and then it will cause saṅkhāra to begin to concoct the various stories following the image that has been created. All of these pictures or images that are created by saññā, all come out by themselves.
Saññā draws up the images by itself, and then saṅkhāra takes hold of these images and begins to concoct the various concepts and stories about them. This is how it will happen when we are off our guard. If it is hard, we should endure it. We should not be concerned about this difficulty. As practitioners we should never be bothered by the hardships that arise from our exertion. The Lord Buddha went before us, and he experienced all sorts of hardships and difficulties. So when he taught the world the Dhamma, he selected and refined the teaching and came up with the Majjhimā Paṭipadā, the Middle Way of Practice. This is the shortest and most direct way. Please follow this path, no matter how difficult or easy it may be, for this is the shortest and most direct way to go. Let us not be concerned with the hard - ship for if we tread the roundabout ways, we may eventually get lost and not reach our destination. We must stick to this path. We must make our hearts brave and courageous.
Be tactful and versatile, and watch out for the kilesas, for they will whisper to us right inside the citta. Please don’t ever think that the kilesas are anywhere else but right inside the citta. In the scriptures there are only to be found the names of the kilesas, or the names of Dhamma, or the names of greed, hatred, and delusion, or the names of rāga-taṇhā, be it in the Book of the Discourses, or the Discipline or the Abhidhamma. They only con - tain the names of Dhamma, and the names of all sorts of kilesas, taṇhā and āsava that manifest themselves inside the hearts of all sentient beings.
The Lord Buddha expounded and pointed to the heart, but a few years after he had passed away, the Dhamma was collected and put into the scriptures so that it could be used as a signpost pointing out the way. We then study these texts and become attached to them by taking up the knowledge that we have committed into memory as our own knowledge. One thinks that one is wise and discerning, al - though the kilesas are constantly consuming one’s heart, and burning it worse than an erupting volcano. Such is the way when we commit things into memory. It can only increase the kilesas by letting us think that now we know the truth, and that we are very wise from doing a lot of studying. But this is the wrong way of learning. The correct way is to learn about the names of the kilesas, taṇhā and āsava, and the tech - nique and method of coping and correcting and getting rid of these kilesas, taṇhā and āsava.
Then we must take up this learning and apply it inside our hearts, for this is where all the kilesas, taṇhā and āsava are. Where are rāga—lustful desire—and dosa—hatred and anger— found, if they are not found within the heart? They are found in the heart, and this is where they exhibit or manifest themselves. Where are cravings and ambitions? The texts or the scriptures never exhibit the greed, hatred, and delusion for us to see, but all of these things actually exhibit themselves right within our hearts. They are right here, so we must turn around and hit them right at this point. The kilesas are found here. Don’t look in the scriptures, for that is merely a compass pointing towards the heart. I am not speaking in contempt. There is both internal and external Dhamma. The texts are merely the external Dhamma which serves as a compass or a signpost point - ing back towards the heart so that we can practice and develop this heart. That is really the message of the texts. Don’t turn into worms eating up the paper.
Let’s do it at this point because this is where the Lord Buddha attained his Enlightenment. Be courageous and joyful. In your practice you must always use sati and paññā—mindfulness and wisdom, because they are the most important weapons. In your exertion sati is the foremost. It is the primary weapon. Even in the beginning stages of practice, you must depend on sati as your primary weapon and when you begin to in - vestigate with paññā, you must also depend on sati. That is why sati is always vital. That is why the Lord Buddha said that sati is always needed in every circumstance. The Lord Buddha said all circum - stances—there is no exception at all. Whatever you do, whether it is the internal or external work, you must always have mindfulness. You really must try to develop your sati. Don’t be interested in or pay at - tention to other things. Don’t ever have the idea that forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile objects, or other people, are harmful to us. They are merely the creations or concoctions of the heart that create images and concepts to fool ourselves, bother and disturb our heart. The one who really stirs up trouble is the heart itself. It is the heart that creates all sorts of troubling affairs. You must always look at this point.
When you have continuously observed and watched this point, then you will eventually come to realize that all the troubles that have been created come out from this point, this you will find out for yourselves in the heart. Once the heart comes to calm, then all the troubles also disappear. During that time the world is not apparent, although the world is there, but the heart doesn’t give it a thought. Because at that time the heart (knowingness or awareness) remains just with itself, not concocting any concepts about anything. It is likewise with the five khandhas that are found within us. Once the citta does not form any concepts about them, then they become just like any other objects that we can see with our eyes. They are like the four elements—the earth, water, air, and fire. These things form no concepts of themselves. It is we who form these con - cepts and give them names or labels like calling them earth, water, air, and fire. That thing is a mountain, a tree, a man or a woman. We just keep on forming concepts without end. This is the way of building up insanity because there is no mindfulness. But when the citta doesn’t form any concepts, and is very cautious and watching itself very care - fully, then it is as if there is nothing there.
Then we can really have fun in analyzing and investigating the main cause that creates all the problems inside the heart. But if the citta still cherishes the various concepts and thoughts about this and that, then this is really the work of the kilesas pushing us outward. The kilesas fool us and lead us to go out and be involved with the external things, rather than being concerned with the internal things. They fool us and lead us to go and chase after shadows. The real kilesas are found within the heart but we never have the chance to capture them. That is why we must concentrate all our effort right at this point. If we cannot yet pinpoint the spot where the citta is concocting the vari - ous concepts, then we must depend on our meditation object to take us there. Be solely aware of just the meditation object and nothing else. It can be ‘Buddho’, ‘Buddho’, ‘Buddho’, or anything else, but the point is to only be concentrated on that particular object. Constantly focus your attention just on this meditation object, so that eventually your awareness will become continuous. Then the flow of the citta that goes out to the various objects will now begin to be drawn back, as it cannot withstand the power of discipline and control.
This flow of the citta will steadily return back to the citta itself which will then calm down. One will gain coolness, and one will be able to see this very clearly. This is one aspect of practice, and it is the same way with the investigation of the body. Every piece and part of this body is asubha and paṭikkūla—loath - some and filthy. This is the truth. Our perception and view that runs contrary to Dhamma, the seeing that this body is ‘I’ and ‘Mine’, as people and animals, this is precisely the kilesas. You must, therefore, try to investigate and analyze this body, in both aspects of paṭikkūla, or filthiness, and the dhātu or elements. And what are the elements? They are the earth, water, air, and fire, and mano—the knowing ele - ment which is the heart. You should also investigate that.
As far as people are concerned, after they have been born and die, does the body have any value or worth once it becomes a corpse? Is there any value in a dead person? There is none. It cannot even compare with a fish. When a fish dies, one can take it to the market, and similarly with all the other kinds of animals. Every piece and part of them be - comes useful after they die because it can be sold in the market. But with people, once they die, their bodies are not useful at all. In order to be useful, we must, therefore, do what we can now whilst we are still living, especially we who are bhikkhus, because we are of a spe - cial breed. Our duty and work is to cultivate and develop ourselves so that we can release ourselves from the kilesas and āsava. And we have full support from the lay people without them coming here to bother us at all. You must therefore exert to your fullest. Be resolute and earnest. In your investigation of death, you must investigate so that you can really get to see the truth of it. In this whole world of saṁsāra, every person, every man, every woman, every animal, must all die. Wherever they may be, there is always a cemetery.
Even right here where we are sitting there is a cemetery, for there are all sorts of little animals or organisms that die all over the place. It is just that we never think about it in that way. We don’t think of it as a cemetery. We just call it a sālā or assembly hall. In our bodies there can be found many organisms living inside us, like the germs for instance—they are one form of animal. And inside this body there is nothing that one can call attractive or beautiful. You must investigate and analyze to see according to the truth of the Lord Buddha. The kilesas tend to see it as something beautiful, as people, as animals, as ‘I’, as ‘mine’, and this attachment to this view, our upādāna, is much more tenaciously fixed than a nail driven into a piece of wood. It cannot be easily dislodged. This is because of the influence of the kilesas or our misperception of things. We must, therefore, uproot and correct this misperception which is truly the work of the kilesas with the Dhamma of the Lord Buddha, using sati, paññā, saddhā and viriya diligent effort. We must get to see it clearly. We have to establish our perception so that we really see this body passing away because death is the undeniable truth.
So why can’t the citta accept this truth? What is the cause or the reason for it? And it is the same way with paṭikkūla or filthiness—it is all over this body, and it is also the truth. It is really that way, so why cannot the citta see it like that? What is the reason? You must therefore probe and examine until you can really see it as such. You must open it up and reveal it with your sati and paññā. This work and undertak - ing is your work, and nobody can help you do this work. Your teacher can merely point out the various means and techniques of doing it. In doing this work, you must do it yourself. Attāhi attano nātho—you are your own refuge. When you have heard the instruction from your teacher and learned the various techniques, then you must use and apply these techniques in your practice.
The benefit that you gain while listening to the discourse of your teacher, is that either you will gain calm, or you will learn the various techniques and methods of practice. But other than that you must help yourselves. This is essen - tial. You should really get into it. I really have great concern for all of you, and that is why I always have to give you instruction. Although it can be hard on me, I try to struggle along. We are living in a Buddhist country which is the most suitable environment for us to strive for the elimination of dukkha by the means of our exertion and this is our sole duty as bhikkhus. I try my best to prevent other people from coming to disturb your exertion in your practice, because the most vital factor for a practitioner who is striving for the realization and penetration of truth is in his exertion that is, in his walking caṅkama and sitting in samādhi bhāvanā, having mindfulness as the most important tool in that exertion. This is more vital than anything else.
I do not see any other work in the world that is more challenging than the work that we are doing, such that I could be led into doing anything else, like building projects that might in - terrupt the exertion and ruin this most important work. I only do this extracurricular work when it is extremely necessary. But if it is not really necessary, I would not do it or allow anyone else to do it.
I want you to do this work. That is, you should concentrate all of your effort that you have spent in doing other things, on the work of overcoming and uprooting the kilesas. When we have many kilesas in ourselves, then we experience a lot of dukkha, and this dukkha is caused by nothing else but the kilesas right within our hearts. Please really take this to heart, and do keep in mind that the intensity of your dukkha is proportional to the intensity of the kilesas. There is nothing else that can cause the heart trouble and hardship but just the kilesas. Please listen well and take this to heart and really see the menace of the kilesas. Then you will be able to exert to your fullest. It is the only way to catch up with the kilesas, taṇhā and āsava, which have been so powerful and domineering for such a long time, and have been so for countless eons. So are we still willing to go on being born and dying, again and again?
In these three worlds of existence, who is the one who stands out as the most extraordinary? There is nobody else but the Lord Buddha—he was the first to truly realize the peril of the kilesas. Apart from him, nobody could perceive this. No one could perceive the danger of lobha, dosa and moha, greed, hatred, and delusion, or rāga - taṇhā, lustful desire. Everybody was obsessed with and deceived by them, and had to wander in the cycle of births and deaths over and over again without being able to find anything definite or certain. The only thing that was certain was their kamma. But again, what they had done—that is, what kind of kamma they had made could not be of any guarantee either, because they did not know what they had done or kept an account of their deeds. The Lord Buddha saw the danger of greed, hatred, and delusion, and he exerted to the utmost of his ability, putting his life at stake and striving and struggling against the kilesas, until finally attaining vic - tory and becoming the world’s greatest Teacher.
He attained the pure heart, and this is the knowledge and realization of the Lord Buddha, which differs from the knowledge and realization found in the three worlds of existence. No one else could have attained this knowledge that can be used to cope with, suppress, or defeat the kilesas, and all those things which are harmful to the heart, as the Lord Buddha did. He then taught us how to achieve it. We have all set up our determina - tion to come here to listen to the Dhamma of the Lord Buddha so that we can take it up and practice it, and it is only we who can practice it to the utmost of our ability. You must therefore commit yourselves to this work. I would really like to see you experience the calm that will arise from your medita - tion practice. Furthermore, I would also like to see you use paññā in your investigation, following what I have explained to you concerning the internal and external objects, or the investigation of the body. But if you are inclined to investigate the external objects, then you must set them up in front of your mind.
Whether it is the form of a man or a woman, you must take the form that is the most detrimental or harmful to your chastity. In the beginning, if you are not certain of yourself, then you should not set up this form too close to you, but instead put it at quite a distance. You must establish this form and make it break down, decompose, go rotten, and disperse. Establish it with the vultures and dogs scavenging and devouring this body. Set up as many forms or bodies as you like. Establish all of them so that they appear loathsome, filthy, and as a living cemetery. Then you must turn this inwards into your own body, and then compare your own body with those bodies. You have to investigate this again and again and again. You have to coerce the citta to traverse this path. You must not let it go out to perceive all the attractive and pretty things, for is it really pretty, beautiful, or attractive? Of course not, there is no such thing! This is merely looking for trouble. The kilesas create trouble for us and we tend to believe in them.
Where is this charm and beauty? All there is is a collection of filth. We must look into this filth so that we can see it very clearly, following the way that the Lord Buddha described it to us. You should really investigate it. Then you should bring it closer and closer, at the time when having investigated you notice that the citta has become bold and courageous. Move it closer and closer to - wards you, so that you can see it very clearly. Next, you must form the image of beauty, and spread the image of asubha, or loathsomeness, all over it, similar to the way you might pour petrol over something and then set a match to it, letting it go up in flames. This is the technique of satipaññā, and it is up to each individual to come up with it, for they are all magga or path to enlightenment. Saṅkhāra is concoction. If it is the kilesas that influence this concoc - tion of saṅkhāra, then it falls on the side of samudaya, the creator of dukkha. But if saṅkhāra is influenced to concoct the truth of Dhamma, then it is the means of correcting and overcoming the kilesas, similar to the way one analyzes and investigates the parts of the body in their various aspects of asubha, loathsomeness, or paṭikkūla—filthiness, as a living cemetery, and as it decomposes, until it eventually breaks down into the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air.
These saṅkhāra fall on the side of magga, the Path. This is the means of correcting and uprooting the perception of beauty of an individual, of people, or of animals, so that one can see them decompose and break down into the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air. How then can one have any affection for this body? It is merely earth, water, air, and fire. It is the same way with a pile of corpses—does anyone have any affection for these corpses? When one looks at these corpses, there can only be sadness and sorrow, aversion and creepy feelings for them. How then can one see this body as attractive and beautiful? One must investigate this again and again repeatedly. Satipaññā must force one to make the citta tread on this path of investigation continually, and then one will be fighting and battling with the kilesas. If we only investigate this way occasionally, once in a long while, then it is not possible to consider this to be the work of investigation to combat the kilesas. This is useless. This is not the way of exerting for the sake of Dhamma and the truth. As a follower of the Lord Buddha, you must be earnest and reso - lute—really commit yourselves in this work.
There are many techniques of paññā that we can come up with. If we can calm the citta with the means of sati and paññā, then we must do so, and if we can calm the citta with the use of a parikamma object like ‘Buddho’, then we must use that particular method. Or if we can calm down the citta by our command, that is, if we can calm the citta down any time we want to, then it means that we already know the way of getting the citta to calm down. Then you must investigate with paññā. You must not remain idle and lie clinging to this state of calm. I was stuck in this state of calm before, and I have told you this many times, so I shall not repeat it again. If one clings onto one’s samādhi, then one can only gain just this samādhi, and one will never be able to progress along the Path.
But when one begins to develop paññā, then one begins to see all the things that come into contact and be involved with oneself, and one can manage to cut them down and get rid of them. Then one can search and dig for them further, struggle with them, cope with them, and eventually destroy them, with the means of our sati and paññā. This is the way of developing our satipaññā to become strong, pierc - ing, bright, sharp, and absorbed in this investigation, and it is up to each individual practitioner to devise his own different techniques of sati and paññā. What has been elaborated here is only presented in general terms, and it is up to each practitioner to come up with the different specific means of coping with his problem. When you have come up with your own technique, then this becomes your own possession, and you should not let what the teacher has presented to you slip out of your hands and go down the drain, for this will be of no benefit to you. You must take what the teacher has given you as your source of investment in your business of practicing, so that you can come up with more profit.
No matter how much one has studied in higher education, one cannot help but become the tools of the kilesas if one doesn’t have any Dhamma inside one’s heart. The kilesas can really enjoy using one who has learned a lot and studied a lot. When there is no Dhamma inside the heart of one who has learned and studied a lot, and who is an influential person, he can only create a lot of damage and trouble for others and himself, without him realizing it. This is because one’s lobha or greed, and one’s ambition, and one’s delusion in one’s power and position of influence, blocks one from seeing these things and from being aware that one has done wrong to other people. But if one has some Dhamma, then one must know. Why be so greedy? When one dies, one just lies in a coffin.
The bhikkhus just come and chant the kusalā-dhammā, the meritori - ous Dhamma. But once the body has been cremated, all that is left is just bones and ashes. So why be obsessed with greed? When one has enough to eat and a place to live, that really is enough. Why then be so greedy? Greed never makes people happy, and neither does one›s hatred and anger make one happy. It is the same way with rāga -taṇhā, sensual lust. When it arises, it really makes people struggle like a dog in heat. Where can any happiness be found? But when all these things disappear, then one doesn›t grasp or struggle for things. When the citta calms down, it will not be grasping at things. And when one has totally got rid of all of these disturbing influences, then there will be no grasping or struggling inside one’s heart at all. Nothing can disturb or bother one anymore, and this is what the Lord Buddha means by freedom. One can then see very clearly that what was harmful to oneself was one’s greed, one’s delusion, one’s hatred, and one’s sensual lust.
They are like heaps of fire or like volcanoes erupting and burning one’s heart constantly. Before we never saw their harm, but now we can see it very clearly. Once one has learned the nature of the kilesas, taṇhā and āsava, and has dispersed and scattered them from within one’s heart, then wherever one looks outside and sees other people, one cannot help but understand every action that people take, be - cause one now understands the driving force that urges people and oneself to do these things, because they are of the same nature. The things that people do are usually driven by the kilesas, but they don’t realize that. You must, therefore, try to learn the deceptions and tricks of the kilesas within your hearts. Get to see them very clearly. You must be very careful in observing your heart—take care of it well. When greed, hatred, and delusion, and rāga-taṇhā arise, please re - alize that they arise out of the heart, because it is the heart that creates them. It is the heart that conjures them up, and it is the heart that is always in the state of hunger. You must look at the heart and investi - gate what it is hungry for.
You have to analyze the object of hunger so that the heart will get to know the nature of this object and then lose its curiosity and hunger for it. For instance with rūpa or form, the form of a woman is inimical and harmful to a man. One must investi - gate this form or body to really see the truth of it—not that it is a man or a woman, but that it is just made up of various bodily parts, like the hair of the head, the hair of the body, the nails, the teeth, the skin, the flesh and the sinews, for example. Apart from that, there is just filth all over the body. How can there be any beauty in it? Then one must mentally decompose the body. When a person dies, his body slowly decomposes, and becomes rotten and fetid, and eventually scatters and disperses into earth, water, air, and fire. Get the heart to see this very clearly. Then this misperception, this presumption and assumption, will steadily diminish. It will lessen and lessen. The truth will increasingly become more distinct—the truth of asubha, loathsomeness, paṭikkūla, filthiness, and the truth of the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air. They will all become obvious. The truth about the four elements is the truth on a very subtle level. When one has entered into the knowledge of the four elements, then one has entered into the subtle truth. What then can come and bother the citta?
This is the way of correcting the citta. This is the way of correcting ourselves. We must take a good hold of sati and paññā. We must not remain idle. We must come up with the vari - ous techniques and means and methods that will develop ourselves. I really want to see all of you experience the Dhamma, for it is within a hand’s reach—because it is right within our hearts. The attainment of deliverance from all of these things is right within the heart, and all the kilesas are also found right within this heart. The sati and paññā, mindfulness and wisdom, that will penetrate and pierce the kilesas are also found right within ourselves. But why can’t we pierce and penetrate the kilesas? On the other hand, when the kilesas want to pierce us, they seem to be able to do so very efficiently. When we want to pierce the kilesas, all we can do is to poke at their shadows, not the real kilesas themselves. We have always been deceived by the kilesas to go after something else other than them. The real kilesas are right within our hearts.
The deceptions are found right within our hearts, but the kilesas that deceive us draw up the pictures and images and project them to the outside, and fool us to go and chase after shadows. So we never seem to be able to achieve anything. We must now turn around to look inside to find where the principal culprit is. It is right within the heart. When one attains calm, it is inside the heart, because when the kilesas are subdued, they are subdued within the heart, and satipaññā, the tools to curb the kilesas, are also found within the heart. Be really earnest, and really get into it. When we have attained some calm, then it will be possible for us to see clearly what the citta is like. We will be able to differentiate between the citta and the khandhas. Even though it might not be clearly distinct, we will at least see the difference between them. The calmness, cool-heartedness, and brightness of the citta will become apparent corresponding to the intensity of our exertion in correcting and overcoming the kilesas. The enormous change in the citta will come when one begins to investigate with paññā. The more the kilesas are being eliminated by paññā, then the more skilful and adaptable will be the citta. The conditions of the citta namely feelings, perceptions, thoughts, and awareness will steadily change and become more and more subtle as we progress in our practice and ex - ertion.
All of these are sammati or mundane, and until all of the things that are involved with the citta, even the most subtle things like avijjā, have been eradicated, then the citta will cease to exhibit any changes. It will now remain stable and unchanging. As we progress in our practice, the change will steadily occur, following the change of the sammati-dhammas found within the citta. There will only be change on the good side, and will become more and more subtle. This is be - cause good is sammati, and so is evil, and so is wholesomeness and unwholesomeness. They are all sammati. When one has come to this subtle level, one will understand this. And once one has attained and passed beyond this stage, then one will become one who has relin - quished or let go of both good and evil. It means that now one has let go of all sammati, both the good and evil, the coarse and the subtle.
One has now let go totally of all sammati—none of this sammati is found within the citta anymore. All that is left is just the natural state of knowingness. Therefore, I am not very certain about the translation of the Pāli verse that says Sacitta pariyodapanaṁ, which translates as “Purify your citta until it attains the state of luminosity.” If it had been translated as “Purify your citta to the state of purity,” then I could accept this wholeheartedly. Furthermore, consider the Dhamma which says “Behold, bhikkhus, the true original citta is luminous, but the kilesas act like visitors, which make the citta become dull.” The Lord Buddha did actually describe this true original citta as the original citta of the vaṭṭa-cakka, the Cycle of Birth and Death. The Lord Buddha did not say that the true original citta is purified, and for what reason? This is because the original citta of each individual has avijjā deeply embed - ded within it, without any exception. That is why the Lord Buddha said “Behold, bhikkhus, the true original citta is luminous.”
But it was due to the kilesas that came in, which means that whatever comes into contact with the citta, the citta then takes up that object to be its own or itself. This is what is meant by the kilesas coming in as a visitor. The Lord Buddha spoke in sammati or mundane terms. But when one has purified the citta until reaching the state of purity, then this state of luminosity ceases to be an issue. This is be - cause this state of luminosity which is stated in the Dhammapāda, must be met with by the practitioner who will come across it. When he has arrived at this state of luminosity, the citta that is luminous, then he has come face to face with avijjā, or the avijjā-citta. This luminosity, or the magnificence of avijjā, is the most subtle level of the kilesa. Avijjā is the most clever and most deceptive of the kilesas. So when one has attained that state, then the citta becomes very luminous and very bright. One then becomes deluded with that state of luminosity. This thing is really like a trap or a deception.
It is not the real thing. It is only after this luminosity has broken apart that one attains the state of purity, the purified citta. This purified citta doesn’t take up any more birth, but the luminous citta will still take up birth. It is always ready to take up birth, because this lumi - nosity itself is the creator of birth. But once this luminosity has been dispersed, then there is nothing left within the citta. During practice, as one progresses to the different stages, at the stage of samādhi, there is one form of calm. It has its own foundation, the firmer the samādhi of the citta, the firmer will be its foundation. It is not easily shaken by anything, and for this reason samādhi is very good nourishment for the citta. The citta will not be restless or agitated, or hunger for any - thing, because it has samādhi as its nourishment. For this reason, the Lord Buddha taught that one must now develop paññā because now the citta is full and content. One must take this citta which is now full and content with samādhi, and put it to work by investigating with paññā, for it will then be able to perform its duty at its fullest. It is not like the citta that is still hungry for other things, because when it investigates in the way of paññā, it will all turn into saññā - ārammaṇa, memory.
The only exception to this is when one is driven into a corner and one has no other means, then one must use paññā to do the investigation on some occasions which I have discussed before, in what we call ‘Paññā develops samādhi’. This is when one is restless and agitated, and one cannot calm down the citta. One then has to investigate and find out the cause of this agitation and restlessness. This then becomes a special case, a special occasion. Where is this citta going? One now must begin to investigate and dig into it, not allowing the citta to go out of the confines of the kammaṭṭhāna, the forty meditation subjects. One must keep on probing, examining, and investigating, until eventually the citta calms down due to the power of paññā. One will become very bold and courageous from this practice of paññā that can coerce the citta to enter into calm.
When one withdraws from this calm, one feels sublime and majestic, and this is one case of samādhi. The reason for discussing this is because it really happens within the circle of practice for some people, although it might not happen to others. It happened to me, and that is why I have written about it and discussed it. I wrote about my own experiences, and there were no fabrications there. That is how it actually happened. It was when the citta became restless and agitated, and when I tried to investigate any aspect of Dhamma, the citta would not accept it. It kept on going in a different direction, so I had to be tough and strong in trying to discipline the citta. I had to investigate with paññā, using it to round up the citta. This is similar to being in a close encounter or in close combat, until the citta cowers and calms down. This manner of calm - ing the citta with paññā can really bring the citta to be tame. When the citta enters into calm, it enters with boldness and bravery. And when it withdraws from the state of calm, it does so with courage and it becomes very grand and magnificent. This is one special case, but generally it is the way of samādhi develops paññā.
Samādhi is the support for paññā because samādhi is good nourishment for the citta. It is the support for paññā that lets that paññā keep functioning and doing its work without hungering for other things, so that one’s in - vestigation doesn’t turn into saññā-ārammaṇa—memory, because the citta will now perform its function as it has been told, and this is the purpose of samādhi. It is one form of foundation. Now, when one begins to do a lot of investigation with paññā, this foundation of samādhi seems to have completely disappeared. But this is not comparable to one who does not have any samādhi at all. This is because the citta’s total awareness now revolves around paññā.