If we have not examined this verse by way of the fundamental principles of truth we are liable to think of it as just a verse which is repeated every time there is a funeral, whereas in fact it is like a shadow which follows us and reveals the basic truths which are there in all beings and sankhāras.1 This verse may be essentially translated as follows: ‘All sankhāras are unstable; they arise and then die away. ‘The complete cessation of all sankhāras which are constantly arising and ceasing, when done finally, is the greatest bliss.’ This verse says that ‘Sankhāra Dhammas’ are unstable (impermanent), that having arisen they can then cease, and we can see that whatever types of sankhāras are dangerous to everyone at this present time, and whatever types of sankhāras are the cause of tears, of melancholy partings, of depression and sorrow, of good cheer and rejoicing, of love and hate, and endless heartfelt anxieties and worries, with regard to all of them the Lord Buddha taught, saying Aniccā Vata Sankhārā (These sankhāras are unstable).
We should all take this to heart, for here in this present instance (at this funeral) there is the principal witness and confirmation of it, letting us see it in a way that we cannot deny. For here is the Venerable Chao Khun Dhammachedi who had great virtue and great merit, who trained and taught people to know the difference between good and evil and to turn themselves into good people. In addition he developed Wat Bodhisompon here, brought it to prosperity, and maintained it for the last forty years as a place where Buddhists of all types may practise what is good. But then death had to come and he went from the living to the dead. This is what is meant be ‘all Sankhāra Dhammas are unstable, having arisen they then break up and cease’—or as we say, they die—just that! For this reason all of you should realise that his Sankhāra Dhammas and ours are Sankhāra Dhammas of the same kind.
They have been born, and have arisen as a form (rūpa), a body (kāya), as a woman or man, and gradually a natural process of change takes place from the time of birth, for they become children, then young men or women, and then elderly and old; and when then changes in their natures have reached their limits, they display the phenomena of breaking up and coming to an end, letting all of us see it and name is saying ‘Dead’. We are speaking of this type of Sankhāra Dhamma only, for we must not think that just any type of Sankhāra Dhammas, such as those which are assumed to be natural things, are the causes of endless tears of all beings throughout the world, for it is only Sankhāra Dhammas of this type which is supremely important in the world. Love, hate, melancholy partings, delusion, pleasure, sorrow and depression, the whole lot come from just this kind of Sankhāra Dhammas, and so in regard to them this verse is quoted, which comes from all the Buddhas of the past, all of who taught that—Aniccā Vata Sankhāra—all sankhāras are unstable, having arisen they come to an end and cease. But it is not only those Sankhāra Dhammas which have already died that are unstable—not only those that are here before us, dead, that have been born, grown up and then died away.
We ought to turn this towards ourselves, for each of our bodies over which we rule as its owner here and now at this present time, is nothing but this type of sankhāras, whose natures change in the same way. They become old and senile, they cannot last long and they will inevitably be broken up and destroyed in the same way as the Venerable Chao Khun Dhammachedi’s. Love takes place in this type of sankhāras, hate and delusion also take place in them, and they are the cause of gladness, of regret and of receiving dukkha and affliction. sankhāras of this type can be those of an animal or human being, they can be of low or high class, they can be good or evil, and they can be those of the average person, of the black or white or of the beautiful or ugly person—all of them are Sankhāra Dhammas of this type. May all of you who are listening ‘Opanayiko’—turn inwards—and constantly teach yourselves. Don’t just think that other people die, that other people break up and disintegrate, or that other people experience dukkha and hardship just because of the types of Sankhāra Dhammas which other people and animals have.
We must understand that this type of Sankhāra Dhammas are like our treading feet which walk onward step by step. Of all the types of Sankhāra Dhammas which have come into existence in the world, none are as important as those which make up the bodies of animals and people and which have the nature of breaking up and disintegrating and following this course since past ages, and then coming to birth and being born again. In this way we ourselves have also been born, grown old, sick and died, time after time since past ages due to this type of Sankhāra Dhammas. We have loved and hated, and shed tears and also lost the strength of body and mind countless times already, due to this type of Sankhāra Dhammas, and we are unable to know our past lives. This is avijjā the ignorance we make for ourselves, letting it wrap round and cover the citta and preventing it from knowing the past, and making it go round and round, changing again and coming here, going after becoming and birth and being under the sway of good and evil tendencies.
Being born and having a body sometimes appearing as an animal, sometimes as a human being, sometimes as a high person, sometimes low, and at times being thrown into prison and experiencing dukkha and hardship, and then becoming the son of a deva, a devatā, Indra or Brahma and then changing and altering and becoming a human being again. Being all confused and mixed up all the time—by virtue of avijjā—one’s deluded self. And this is the way that every one of us has gone, but we are unable to estimate the wherefore of our past lives. All the foregoing is the story of the Sankhāra Dhammas. So we should use ‘Yoniso’—which means wisdom, to investigate in accordance with the principles of true Dhamma that are proclaiming themselves everywhere throughout all the realms of existence (loka dhātus), for they can never have time to be clam and quieten down. In other words, birth, old age, sickness and death are there in both animals and people, outside and inside out homes, in the countryside and the town, under water and on the ground, under the earth and in the air.
Wherever beings and sankhāras dwell these natural processes are bound to be shadows yoked to them, and attached to them, and following this type of sankhāras around. But they have not yet come to what is ours and so we are not interested in such things, nor whether it will be like this with us—or not. When people or things have a relationship with us we feel that we own them in so far as we have our side of the relationship with these types of beings and sankhāras, and therefore birth, old age, sickness and death are seen with the greatest impact in our own homes and families. In other words our father, mother, brothers, sisters, children, nephews, relatives, friends, husband or wife, are sick, feel dukkha and are parted from each other. But when we have looked into the ways of nature we will see that these things are making themselves known all the time, and whether a Lord Buddha comes to be in the world or not, nature, or in other words, birth and death, and being separated, which is the lot of beings and these sankhāras, is something which has been there since ages past—this is the way of it.
We have all seen this today for it is there in the urn of the Venerable Chao Khun Dhammachedi which is just the urn of a dead person. He has died and has attained the honour of being put into an urn. But for us how will it be? Whether put in an urn or not, when life is ended it is just said that a person dies, or an animal dies. They are there even in fish paste and in fish sauce, for these are just beings that are dead, and even the market is full of live and dead animals, in fact it is the graveyard of beings from all over the country. If we investigate this story of life and death, we will—‘Opanayiko’—go inwardly—to investigate those sankhāras with which we are at present living and maintaining and looking after, and see without doubt that they are of the same type as those of beings and sankhāras everywhere. Because of this, the words Aniccā Vata Sankhāra are most seemly and suitable to the time and place. The ‘place’ refers to the world which is replete with births, old age, dukkha, afflictions and also replete with destruction, death and partings from beings and sankhāras. This is what we call the ‘place’.
Dhamma then shows us the track down into these conditions which are in a constant state of change, uncertainty, disintegration and cessation—or uprising and then disintegration and cessation, which is constantly happening to everyone. Furthermore this saying which the Lord Buddha spoke is appropriate at all times and in all ages, not only today and tomorrow but throughout aeons of time. For we should realise that while there are these unstable, changeable beings and sankhāras, these words which the Lord Buddha revealed are still true and will always remain so—and they are the ‘Svākkhāta Dhamma’ which he taught appropriately in accordance with the principles of truth as they really are. A person who contemplates the Sankhāra Dhammas and sees that they are unstable, dukkha, anattā, and things which disintegrate and end, in which there cannot be found even the least part of any ‘real essence’2 will then have obtained something of the ‘real essence’ to make him not negligent in his own sankhāras which, whether those of a child, a youth, a middle aged or an old person, are a mass of things which will disintegrate and come to an end just the same.
Because all of them are sankhāras of the same kind, for a child is only sankhāras, a young man or girl is just sankhāras, and a middle aged, elderly or very old person are also just sankhāras, all of the same kind. Sankhāras of this kind are pregnant with the latent tendency of disintegration, decomposition and destruction which has always been the case on this earth, this being the common dwelling place for the work of people and animals. It cannot be said when sankhāras of this kind started their process of changing and retransforming themselves, for there are natural processes of change which are transforming them the whole time. If all of us contemplated with consistency in this way, it would lead to the arising of ‘skilful means’ in our hearts such that—All things being unstable, we would search for something which is more stable than these things; All things being dukkha, we would search for something which is more sukha than these things; All things being anattā, we would search for something which is attā, which is more genuine and true than these things which come from natural things, which are themselves just sankhāras.
If we are thoughtful people we will be able to obtain value from these things which are not the ‘real essence’ so that what is the ‘real essence’ will develop in our hearts. The Lord said: ‘Aniccā Vata Sankhāra’, but we must not think that the sankhāras which have died and one which we may have seen or heard about are the only ones of that nature. For we should realise ‘that nature’ which we see and hear tight now is ourselves! In other words, the Sankhāra Dhammas of those who have died and of ourselves are of the same kind. They follow the same track, go in the same direction and they all equally move towards destruction and cessation, until ultimately they reach their limit—which is ‘Death’. When they are dead, the ‘citta which does not die’ must go and be born again as uprising sankhāras.
But the sankhāras which arise born from the citta which lived that life will be sankhāras which, whatever their characteristics, will be dependent on the kamma of their owner. The word ‘Kamma’ in this context has the meaning of ‘doing’ action. Doing good is ‘Kusala Kamma’, doing evil is ‘Akusala Kamma’, and doing neutral actions is ‘Avākata Kamma’—neither of merit not demerit. The person who does these forms of kamma is the owner of his kamma and it is he who is responsible for his own good or evil and sukha or dukkha. Thus each one of you should realise that you are the owner of your kamma, and you are the one who is responsible for the good or evil and sukha or dukkha of your kamma, which you have done in absolutely every case. Because of this all of us have differences even though we have been born with human forms which have been given the name ‘people’—and in so far as we are all people we are the same—but out characteristics, demeanour, habits, behaviour, knowledge, skill, the strength of good tendencies, stupidity and lack of wisdom, and wealth and prosperity are all different.
Even living in the same place, the same house or town the lives of people differ so that they variously have a lot or little of sukha or dukkha and they have all sorts of different degrees of stupidity and cleverness in all sorts of different ways. The Lord called this the fruit of kamma showing up, which has come from kamma that one has done in some place, on some day of some month of some year and in some life. It was bound to become manifest to the citta of the one who did it, and the one who did it is bound to be the owner of the kamma, and having done it, the ‘Fruition’ of it, which is sukha, dukkha, good or evil is bound to be his lot. One has to accept sukha or dukkha accordingly, because one is oneself responsible for one’s own kamma and this accords with the laws of nature. There is no need for anyone to command us to be responsible for the results of the kamma that we have done, and even if we want to go against it we cannot.
We may for instance have dukkha and physical hardships and our hearts may be full of anxiety and troubled, and we may be starving and in want because of poverty, but it is impossible to find anyone who will stand in our place and pay back the result of our kamma, which is our own dukkha. It is bound to be our own burden and we are bound to receive the fruits of our kamma, there is no alternative. As for a person who is intelligent, clever and wealthy, who has never had much illness, who has physical well-being and an easy heart, who when he thinks of anything that he wants it comes to him as though the gods sent it, and wherever he goes people look after him with care and respect and venerate him, and he has noble rank, status, titles and servants and plenty of wealth. But in the same way he cannot let anyone else be the recipient of this burden of good fortune, for each of us is bound tot be responsible for the results of his own good kamma.
This is the way of kamma, and the owner of good kamma is the ‘heart that knows’. Therefore the heart that rules over this body is what matters, and it is also what matters both in the ways of the world and of Dhamma. So we ought not to be careless about our hearts but try to train them in the way of good until it becomes habitual. “The way of good” means, in the worldly sense, that we make ourselves to be good citizens—and in the sense of Dhamma that we have the highest intention to go further in the essential meaning3 in Dhamma and in good (skilful) action. This is the way of training our characters so as to become accustomed to virtue, until the habit becomes fixed in our hearts. When our characters have been trained in “the way of good” until they have become apparent in the heart, which is the owner and the one responsible for it, is the result that comes from all the good things that we have done.
Whatever things we wish for, we then get as we hope to, because these things that we hope to get are the wealth of the actions which we negate the results of them. This is like the time when we were pupils at school, where we learnt our knowledge, but would hardly be able to remember how we learnt it on every occasion from the day we first went to school. On any one day how many subjects were we taught and how much knowledge did we learn, from how many teachers, how many subjects divided up in how many ways, and from which school? At the beginning we learnt the alphabet, arithmetic and so on until we absorbed all the knowledge that we are filled with at present. We learnt for how many days? On any one day how much knowledge did we absorb from our teachers? None of us can know these things about our knowledge even though we were the ones who learnt it.
But we also cannot deny that we have this knowledge—thus for example, let us think of the letter ‘A’ and immediately it comes to mind. Think of the letter ‘B’, and the letter ‘C’ and they immediately come to mind. Think of the alphabet and numerals from ‘1’ onwards, and all of the theory we have learnt; as soon as we turn our thoughts to any part of it, immediately it comes to mind. But we will probably not be able to remember even the name or the voice of the teacher who taught us this theory and knowledge—and from how many teachers did we receive teaching; how many schools; how much theory? Being able to remember is not important, but we can hardly deny that all the knowledge we learnt from our teachers is stored there now in our hearts so that whatever we think about appears to us as we want it. The merit and virtue which we have built up is similar to this, for we do not have to remember all the details of the good and virtuous things that we have done, or how many times we did them, or in how many lives and realms of becoming we have trained our characters. For the ‘fruit’ which becomes apparent is bound to be there in our hearts in the same way as the knowledge we learnt from out teachers.
Here an explanation will be given of the principles of kamma—which is the substance of Vaṭṭa (the Round) and we will come back to an explanation of Vaṭacakra (the Wheel) which is the heart that goes about initiating rūpa and nāma. When we die after having built up a lot of merit and virtue, we will be born in a good environment, an elegant way, and the things which come to us as our wealth will all be things which are desirable to us—can this depends upon good kamma. Even though we cannot remember the king of good kamma, nor the day or time we did it nor how many times, it makes no difference. It only matters that the things which have come to us, of which we are the owner are all good—such as children, wife, husband, grandchildren and all our relatives and the friends with whom we associate are all only good people. In fact, whoever comes into association with us, whether near or far will only be good people.
As to our wealth, property, dependent people and servants who come under out authority, they will all be good, and all this comes from our good kamma. If however, we have done evil, bad kamma, it is similar in that whether or not we are able to assess how much or little we have done, it is still bound to make itself apparent to us within ourselves alone. Whatever belongs to us becomes bad and spoilt. One sees a woman (or a man as the case may be respectively), and when she is the daughter of her parents, one likes her and feels that she is a good person. But if she comes to be one’s wife, then she becomes nothing but an enemy; and even one’s children who are born as though from one’s own heart are no good. When ladies or gentlemen of good upbringing associate with us they become bad people by going along with us. When wealth of every kind belongs to other it is good, but when it is handed onto us it all goes wrong and bad. The whole of this is all because of the evil which is within ourselves. The main principle here is that the owner or the one who is responsible is we ourselves who have done the evil.
So everything which is handed down to us and becomes ours turns bad to accord with what we are. We cannot then turn and blame the external things saying they are no good when the owner of them is evil and they change into evil things to accord with their owner. And the owner means the heart who acts, the heart who rules over the body where it dwells, which means that the whole of oneself is evil.
This is the story of kamma, and this explains kamma, the principle which we use in the process of going round and round changing and altering through birth, old age, pain and death over and over again. Having reached some situation in this round when we have endeavoured to train ourselves in merit and virtue, which is good kamma, and to accumulate it until our characters have become used to the way of virtue we will be like one of several people who are going along a road to various destinations. Someone who has wealth and possessions which are like gifts from the gods will probably travel in physical comfort, ease and convenience with his heart relaxed and easy. He rides in a car and wherever he stops to rest he has a house to rest in, or a hotel, and there is a store in the market where he can conveniently but what he wants with his own money.
But someone who has little wealth and possessions, or none at all, walks in the heat of the sun all day long until he almost dies and he has little money to feed himself. When he rests he has to rely on the shade of a tree, lie down on the bare earth and eat food sitting on the grass. He has no roof, cover or shelter, mosquitoes bite him, insects fly around him and when it rains or the sun shines he has to accept it as his lot—and it takes him a long time to reach his destination. The ways that these two travel are quite different, and even if they go along the same route, they respectively go fast and slow, and the convenience or hardship are similarly different because the mode of going onwards differs with these two types of people. The person who was previously mentioned as being the prosperous type who has plenty of wealth and possessions will find it easy and convenient wherever he goes, as though he had a mistress to sing soothingly to him and to look after him.
He has assistants and servants to attend to his wants all along the way until he reaches his destination, because money and valuables are the power and influence that come from the owner himself who has been able to get them by means of the right Dhamma—which then becomes happiness for himself. But the latter type of person must put up with difficulties wherever he goes. He lacks things on the way, he is poor and needy and he has neither physical comfort nor ease of heart. Even when he reaches his destination he cannot find anywhere to rest and stay and it is altogether difficult and uncomfortable. Our travelling on in the ‘Wheel of Saṁsāra’ is of the same nature, for some people are born here and never see happiness and prosperity. They see only dukkha, poverty and want, they live from hand to mouth and have too little to eat, they are hard up, in difficulties and destitute; they are without money and are mentally dull. They search daily for food and should be able to get enough to eat—but they don’t.
In two or three days they have difficulty to get enough to fill their stomachs for even one day even though in this world things are not lacking for they are plentiful here with markets and shops selling things everywhere. But they cannot think of a way to get hold of this wealth of things for they have nothing to exchange as barter and they have no money to buy with. In the end they just have to accept and put up with the hunger in their stomachs and with lying down on the bare ground—and we can see as many as we want. In the markets in this our town of Udon, there are both those who have plenty and those who are poor—the latter lying down on the side of the road, some without even a coat to cover them, and even their trousers make up with numerous pieces of cloth patched and darned together and full of tears and ragged edges. They are like this because poverty compels them to be so. Having looked at them we feel pity for they who have reached such a state, for they are basically human beings in the same way as other.
As for the very wealthy whose money is reckoned in millions, of whom there are a lot in Udon, they are human beings in the same way, but why is there such a great disparity in their social status? To begin with we cannot blame and find fault with the poor, not praise the wealthy on this account alone, because they are poor due to kamma and well of due to kamma respectively. kamma such as this also dwells within ourselves in the same way. If we want to turn ourselves into people such as those pitiful and disgusting types, we must make that type of kamma and be that type of person. But if we want to be well off we must endeavour to train and develop ourselves, to change ourselves and turn ourselves into people who are strong in the ways of virtue, who are resolute, energetic and diligent, who have the capacity to make special efforts in every way that will bring about an increase of valuables and wealth, Then we will become the latter type of person, the type who is good and wealthy as described above.
Everything that one can do or get in this world derives from the activity of the heart which is therefore the most important thing of all. It is this that explains the process of wandering around in the ‘Round of Saṁsāra’ (Vaṭṭa Saṁsāra) which is varied and different in accordance with the over-ruling tendencies of character due to accumulated merit (Puññādhisambhāra). Someone who has abilities due to these over-ruling tendencies of character never has disorder and confusion wherever he goes and he always has a state of well being. When he comes to be born into this world he has little dukkha and few difficulties and he is able to reach the goal, the end of the road, which is the attainment of freedom from dukkha. Thus when the time came for out Lord Buddha to be born into the Ksatriya line to become the King and rule over the city of Kapilavastu, there were no difficulties, nothing was lacking and all was entirely convenient and easy as regards wealth, sensual pleasures, attendants, and in fact there was no obstacle to his getting any material thing he wanted.
When he left home and became ordained, he practised the way of merit and virtue, and he attained enlightenment and became the World Teacher. After which, wherever he went there were always people, sons of devas, and devatās to pay homage to him and always full of respect. To say that this was so because of the authority and power of the Lord Buddha is wrong. On the contrary, it was because of the Lord’s virtue that it came about, and even when the Lord became the Buddha it arose out of his merit and virtue. In the same way, someone who has paññā, skill and cleverness, who carefully investigates and considers things and trains his own heart, if he comes to be born in the world of human beings will be a good person having sufficient livelihood, enough to eat, the necessities of life, convenience of travelling about, a house to live in and all the essential requisites of living and so on, including his wealth both in terms of that which is living and that which is not. The former includes children, wife, husband and friends, all of whom will be good people who are respected, looked up to and in whom he can place confidence. All this comes about because of the influence of good kamma.
While we are wandering in the Round of Saṁsāra, let us get physical well being and an easy heart coming to us because of the influence and power of good kamma. When the influence of the good tendencies in our characters is sufficient we will then manifest Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho and we will be able to quell those sankhāras which are replete with birth, old age, pain and death, and get rid of these four. With regard to the words Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho, there are two ways in which these sankhāras are quelled. Firstly there is the quelling of the ‘External Sankhāras’, which are the sankhāras of this physical body. Secondly there is the quelling of the ‘Internal Sankhāras’, being the thinking and imagining of the heart (mind) that takes place because of the over-ruling power of avijjā—which is delusion itself. Even though we have been wandering though birth, old age, sickness and death for incalculable ages and uncountable lives we have not yet been able to get away from this ‘Round’ (Vaṭṭa). The Lord called this avijjā—delusion—in our own life or existence, and in our knowledge.
We may have dukkha and hardship, or sukha. We may have known, see and met with experiences until we have had enough, but we still do not know the way to get free from this wheel of saṁsāra; so it is replete with sukha and dukkha all mixed and tangled together. Like rice which has been mixed with a bran made from it husks; it is not very tasty or good to eat. The world is mixed up with dukkha in a similar way, for although it also has sukha it is a mixture of sukha associated with dukkha. The Lord therefore called this world Loka-Sankhāradhamma—which means— Aniccā Vata Sankhāra—uncertain, changeable, fluctuating all the time. At the time of birth everyone is cheerful and happy but at the time of death they are sorrowful and depressed, and the cause of this is delusion in regard to the sankhāras with which we are associated. Thus for example, when at first they are born as a baby girl of boy: ‘Oh how beautiful is this child of ours, it is lovable and delights our hearts.
It is clever and careful, easy to speak to and teach, not obstinate and does not disobey its father and mother who look after it’. Then it happens to die and there is crying and weeping—and this is the delusion in regard to sankhāras. In things such as this if we have not thought carefully about all aspects of it we will only be able to see the pleasant side without seeing the unpleasant side, This shows that we have not looked into the matter in a properly reasoned way, which is the true way. So finally trouble comes to us and the gladness which we got at the beginning does not equal or compensate for the depression and sorrow at the end of it. Whenever we get anything that we want we feel pleasure to begin with, but when that thing changes, becomes different, gets spoilt and goes to ruin, depression and sorrow arise, and the loss of it is felt much more deeply than the gain. Because there is lack of reason in this, the gain and the loss are not equal. But a person who is endowed with reason does not think in this way.
A person who is endowed with the principles of Dhamma will think and see what gains come to him and know all aspects of what he loses and so he does not become depressed or sorry. For when sankhāras of this kind manifest, one should see that their shadow, which is their cessation, must follow them, and one day sooner or later it is quite certain that these types of Sankhāra Dhammas will break up, go to ruin an cease. Even with other possessions which we gained and lose we should have a basis of reason to back us up and enable us to diminish the gladness and sorrow so that they are not overpowering. The Sankhāras Dhammas which are the physical body come into being from the internal sankhāras, and the internal sankhāras come into being from avijjā—which is delusion itself. When we are under training in sīla, samādhi, and paññā, until we have become proficient and strong in them, we will surely be able to see the substance of the ‘Round’ (Vaṭṭa) which is going round and round associated with our hearts all the time.
In trying to get our hearts to see the source of our own going round and round, the Lord led the way saying firstly that we must try to give dāna, of whatever kind it may be—such as the dāna of forgiving (abhaya dāna), or the dāna in which we give goods and things. Whether much or little is not important, but it is important to do so constantly, and this is the way or one of the tools we must use. Secondly we must try to guard our sīla, whether much or little,4 with a wholehearted willingness, and this is another of the tools which can cure the avijjā which is obscuring the whole of our field. Thirdly, samādhi, which is a calm of heart, is the way or another one of the tools that can cure the substance of the ‘Round’ (Vaṭṭa). Fourthly, paññā, which is skill and wisdom, is graded from the basic levels tight up to the highest and ultimate levels of paññā, and these are tools at each level which can cure the whole field of avijjā.
When someone has sīla and samādhi, or dāna bhāvanā, sufficiently well developed, the ‘Round’ (Vaṭṭa) will have nowhere to hide in ambush for it cannot go and hide in a mountain. Nor does it dwell in the bottom of hell with the Venerable Devadatta, which would make it rather difficult to get at and cure. But it dwells here associated with the hearts of each one of you, for we are the people who are wandering on and we are also the people who come to birth, old age, sickness and death. There is nobody to be defeated by, nobody to defeat, and nobody to have the advantage over anyone, for in regard to birth, death, disintegration, destruction, and the parting and separation from beings and sankhāras, we all have equality in our wandering on in the Round of Saṁsāra (Vaṭṭa Saṁsāra).
Why should we not be able to see this wheel which makes us go round and round changing and altering all the time, causing us to be born and die over and over with the consequent dukkha and hardship—going round and round like this for kalpa, aeons? When paññā has the ability to investigate and examine precisely and to go in until it does see the citta which is the possessor of the ‘Wheel’ (Vaṭacakra) and brim full of avijjā turning us round and round—and sees it quite clearly—then we will be able to destroy the citta which is the ‘Wheel’ and we can do so by means of the overruling power of genuine paññā. When paññā has been able to destroy the ‘Wheel’ (Vaṭacakra), that is the citta which is avijjā entirely, then in regard to the words: Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho—the quelling and cessation of these sankhāras—they will cease on their own. Like a tree which has been pulled up by the roots, it is not necessary to destroy all the branches, twigs, leaves, or even the trunk of the tree, for it is enough just to completely uproot it, and then day by day every part of it will wither, weaken and die away.
What happens here is similar, for whether the sankhāras are those called ‘Rūpa Sankhārā’, in other words the physical body, or the sankhāras within the citta which think and imagine about the past or the future, or creating meritorious or demeritorious things in the present, they are all bound to die away. Because avijjā who is chief of the ‘Wheel’ (Vaṭacakra) and the chief of these sankhāras which are the basis of Samudaya (the origin of Dukkha), has been destroyed, brought to an end and dispersed entirely from the heart. There remains only ‘Buddho’ throughout it, which just means the heart that is pure. This truly is called Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho—the quelling and cessation of these sankhāras which are the source of Samudaya (the origin of Dukkha) have been brought to an end due to the supremacy of paññā which has unshakeable strength and ability to destroy avijjā—the bad and evil one—until there is nothing left in the heart and so it becomes: Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho—the quelling and cessation of these sankhāras entirely leaves nothing to go and build up dukkha and torment; nothing to go and build up dukkha, hardship, gladness or sorrow any more.
Then even though the sankhāras which are the physical body still live their life, those sankhāras of the type which are Samudaya (the origin of Dukkha), and which are the deceivers of the citta, giving pleasure and dissatisfaction and originating gladness, sorrow, dukkha and hardship have died away. As in a stove, when the fuel has all been used up and the fire has gone out, if one then puts on more fuel it makes no difference whether one adds a lot or a little, it just remains fuel and cannot burn up as fire. As for the heart, it can still be called the heart, but this heart has no fuel—that is, no avijjā. The sankhāras that form those imaginations which arise are then entirely Dhamma and whatever is thought about is also entirely Dhamma. As for feeling (vedanā) there will be the experience of some dukkha in accordance with the nature of the khandhas which still exist, but it will not cause the arising of any infatuation or, ‘being possessed by’, at all.
Viññāṇa—knowing the things which come and contact the senses, then acknowledges them by way of Dhamma, and not with delusion, nor acknowledging them in order that they may be causes which give rise to dukkha, to Samudaya (the origin of Dukkha), and to the accumulation of kilesas. So they have become mere khandhas which means khandhas without any kilesas and taṇhā, and this the Lord called Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho. Someone who has reached this sphere of Dhamma has reached what may be called the land of freedom from dukkha, and even though he has the elements and khandhas still living there is no trouble or turmoil within his heart, and this is Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho all the time. But the sankhāras in the five khandhas cannot be got rid of, for when the rūpa khandha has still not broken up it must be used in the normal way. As with our Lord Buddha, after he had attained enlightenment, he still depended on these five khandhas to be the tool for establishing Buddhism. In other words, he relied upon his physical body to walk to various places to teach: he relied on his sankhāras that made up the thought and imagination in his heart to explain and display the Dhamma so that all would listen to him. He relied on saññā to remember where various people lived, in which house and which town and whether they were suited to receive the Dhamma of the Lord, and to what extent.
He relied on viññāṇa, the awareness to know that such people understand the Dhamma of the Lord Buddha, and such do not understand, at times when he was answering questions or holding a conversation. Therefore these five khandhas were tools for establishing Buddhism, but they were no longer khandhas which gave rise to turbulence and distraction to the Lord as they had previously done. The khandhas which had at one time disturbed and troubled the Lord were the khandhas that had avijjā ruling over them. They were the tools of avijjā so that whenever it gave them orders to go in any way or direction, there they became Samudaya (the origin of Dukkha), being in trouble and turmoil all the time. But because these khandhas were overpowered and forced away from the grasp of the great originator of dukkha—which is avijjā, the sankhāras which were subordinates of avijjā came to an end—and this is called Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho—the quelling and cessation of these sankhāras which was said by the Lord to be the greatest happiness means this sphere of Dhamma alone. With everyone of us, the sankhāras which are the basis of Samudaya (the origin of Dukkha) create trouble and difficulty for us all the time, and this we know well enough within our hearts.
But when we have trained our hearts to attain calm we will know this for ourselves until we come to the point where we have paññā which is able to destroy the Kilesas and Āsavas, going in stage by stage from the most gross to the subtle, to the more subtle until it reaches the most subtle and there is nothing left in the heart. Even when only avijjā, who is the director of the ‘Wheel’ (Vaṭacakra), has been destroyed by paññā, there will be nothing left and this turns into Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho the quelling of the sankhāras so that they are subdued and peaceful. When the sankhāras within the heart, which are there because of the over-ruling power of avijjā, have died away and gone there is no more creating of new kinds of sankhāras and the quelling and cessation of these sankhāras lasts for all time. Even after leaving this body there is then no going on towards paṭisandhi anywhere and we do not have to go to birth, old age, sickness and death anymore. This is like our Lord Buddha who was able to destroy entirely those sankhāras that were baneful and the cause of this wandering in the ‘Round’ (Vaṭṭa), because of which there was nothing left to initiate any future births. This is sugato—his comings and goings were good—and he led and taught all classes of people to their benefit. When the time came for the life span of the Lord to come to an end, we call it ‘Parinibbāna’. He then abandoned these sankhāras letting the world pay homage and pūja to them—or one can say that he abandoned them and let them go back to earth, water, air, fire in accordance with nature.
But the true nature is the Vimuttibuddho of the Lord, which is the treasure of the Lord alone, and this is called the treasure that is Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho which is Dhamma throughout and is entirely pure without any admixture.
The Dhamma-desanā today has told about Sankhāra Dhammas. All of you who are listening and have heard that Aniccā Vata Sankhārā will understand that it is only quoted by rote, but the condition of nature which is implied, which is death, is occurring all the time. On this present occasion there are death and change and transformation going on continuously. Where we are, they die, at home they die, in the forests, in the hills, in the wood, in water and on the ground they die, they die all the time. If the process of change were to make a loud noise like a gun going off each time, all our eardrums would be shattered by the noise of these changes. The process of breaking up and disintegration would become very loud and the dukkha and hardship in each family and home would also become loud. From animals experiencing dukkha, from those living in the water, or on the ground it would become loud. Even we who are sitting listening to a desanā at this moment have dukkha and from each one there would be a loud noise like the sound of guns— loud with the story of the mass of dukkha.
Our ear drums could not stand it if the mass of dukkha displayed itself loudly to everyone in this way, and how should we not then accept that Aniccā Vata Sankhārā for thus it is over and over again all the time. It is necessary to show the truth in such a way so that you who are listening may examine and see that all these things when they occur do in fact make a ‘loud noise’ like this all the time—but they have no gun to give a signal to us at the moment of dukkha, or when changes appear in beings and sankhāras of all types. So it seems as though dukkha is only there in oneself alone, that trouble, distraction, turbulence and difficulties are there only in oneself—and that to be in want, poor, dull and bad are only in oneself, and it is as though the world of other people is all gold. But in truth it is all the same world, the dhātus (four elements) and khandhas are the same, the world of Aniccā Vata Sankhāra is the same, the heart is the same, and it has dukkha in the same way .
I request that all of you who are listening here should examine this verse carefully which goes: Aniccā Vata Sankhāra—all sankhāras both external and internal, of you and of we, are unstable. Uppādavayadhammino, Uppajitvā Niruijjhanti—having arisen, no matter where, they break up altogether. Tesaṁ Vūpasamo Sukho—Let us try to bring about the quelling and cessation of these ‘creators’, these sankhāras that are the basis of Samudaya (the origin of Dukkha) so that they are completely and finally dispersed from our hearts. So that resultant sankhāras which would be Aniccā Vata Sankhāra i.e. those sankhāras which are born and die, will no longer become manifest in our hearts to cause us anymore trouble. This is called, reaching the peace of Dhamma (Santi Dhamma), calm and tranquil, in other words, supreme happiness (Parama Sukha) which is ‘Vimutti’ or ‘Nibbāna’. In conclusion of this desanā, may the power of the merit of the Lord Buddha, and also of the Dhamma and Sangha come and overshadow all of you who are followers of Buddhism and who have made a special effort on this occasion to come from your villages and homes to listen wholeheartedly to this Dhamma-desanā, and may you always have physical well-being and ease of mind. Having given this teaching concerning these words of Dhamma as taught by the Lord Buddha, I feel that this is enough for the present and I now beg to bring this talk to an end.
Evaṁ Thus it is.
Ajaan Mahã Boowa Ñãnasampanno Translated by Ajaan Paññavaddho