Why Should We Cultivate Insight? (With an Open Mind-- Dhamma Talks by Sayadaw Jhaneyya)

(There are ten talks given in Malaysia in 2011. I am just making notes of them and combining them all together here.)

Ahetuka-diṭṭhi rejects the cause (it can be translated as a causeless view).

Natthika-diṭṭhi rejects the result or effect (a non-result view). Akiriya-diṭṭhi rejects the law of kamma (it rejects both cause and result).

Identity view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi) arises by clinging to the five aggregates (khandha). Self-view (atta-diṭṭhi) arises by clinging to concepts (paññatti).

They arise together, and the mind that takes them as mental factors of the mind is influenced and controlled by them.

Consciousness (viññāṇa) is special knowing—knowing of what? Feeling, perception, and mental formations. These are known by consciousness through differentiation.

Wisdom or discernment (paññā) is knowing through analysis, such as the Four Noble Truths, dependent co-origination, and the three universal characteristics, etc.

People with ordinary merits and perfections are unable to rely on and take refuge in the teachings of the Buddha, who possesses great merits, power, perfection, and holiness. They also cannot encounter him or remain under his influence. Therefore, you all have merits and perfections. Therefore, you must succeed in your practice. (This is not mere encouragement.)

Note: How many Buddhists are there around the world? It is far fewer than adherents of any other belief. Even among these few Buddhists, true Buddhists are rarer still. You cannot count the Chinese population alone as Buddhists. The majority of them are deity worshippers who only have faith in and take refuge in external powers.

If they declare themselves as Buddhists, it is often in name only.

Why? Because deities and external powers are regarded as more important than the law of kamma. Even the Buddha cannot help everyone; he can help only beings who possess good merits and the appropriate potential. Buddhists who have noble qualities should cultivate them, rather than merely seeking the fulfillment of prayers and wishes. Therefore, they should understand the five noble qualities taught in the suttas—saddhā, sīla, suta, cāga, and paññā—and cultivate them in daily life. This leads to the seven noble treasures, the becoming of a noble person, and the ending of dukkha.

Buddhists who wish to examine whether they possess merits and perfections can do so without difficulty if they have knowledge of the suttas. There are two suttas relevant to this topic: The Eight Faults of Inopportune Moments (AN 8.29, Akkhaṇasutta) and The Five Rarities (AN 5.143, Sārandadasutta).

I would also like to refer to a Dhamma talk by Mogok Sayadawgyi, Part 14, The Five Rarities (5th–7th April 1962).

Contemplation of painful feeling does not imply self-mortification; rather, it is to understand the nature of vedanā. This explanation is related to criticism of a lay teacher who taught dhammānupassanā satipaṭṭhāna while overemphasizing it on the Middle Way. Sayadaw U Candimā did not accept this approach. Sayadaw U Thaneyya continued to discuss Thae-inn Gu yogis’ experiences during ānāpānasati meditation (see my translation of U Candimā’s teachings).

At the beginning of practice, both body and mind are painful. With extensive contemplation, the body may remain painful but the mind does not. The yogi is then able to contemplate and understand the nature of feelings as painful and as disappearing. Pain arises and passes away.

As Mogok Sayadawgyi said: If you discern anicca, you are no longer concerned with vedanā.

There are four types of full awareness (sampajañña): full awareness of the purpose of one’s actions; full awareness of the suitability of one’s means;

full awareness of the domain, that is, not abandoning the subject of meditation;

and full awareness of reality. If types 1, 2, and 3 are developed and completed, type 4 will arise (that is, 1, 2, and 3 are the causes for 4).

(Continuing on the subjects of atta and anattā.) People with few kilesa (defilements) perform actions for the welfare of human beings and the world. Because of fools and bad people, there are problems and suffering in the world; such suffering never arises through noble beings (ariyas).

Someone with sharp wisdom who becomes an arahant in a single sitting also begins from the lower path knowledges, but passes through them too quickly to be discerned one by one. It is like using a very sharp pointed nail on a pile of paper and striking it forcefully with a heavy hammer: the iron nail passes from the top to the bottom very quickly.

(Mention is made of experiences of the four elements in practice.)

If the four elements change, yogis may have doubts without the knowledge of full understanding of what is known (ñāta-pariññā).

(This point is very important. Mogok Sayadawgyi reminded us of this frequently in his many talks.)

Yogis can be obstructed by wrong views in their practice. This can happen in many ways when bhāvanā is developing and one is near realization. It is important not to give up; if one gives up, the practice will collapse.

Therefore, in Mahāsi Sayadaw’s Dhamma verse: “Do not be concerned for the body and life to be treated cruelly.”

Note: No one dies in practice; only the body shows its cruelty through change (vipariṇāma). Yogis also have to show their cruelty to the kilesas. U Sun Lwin (Ven. Ādiccaramsī) also mentioned a Dhamma quotation in U Ba Khin’s place as follows: “Don’t be concerned about it; the concerning mind will be slanted and overturned.”

He already had a great deal of Dhamma knowledge at that time and was familiar with Mogok Dhamma, so he emphasized the importance of ñāta-pariññā. At that time, external disturbances were able to come in and destroy the practice (that is, worldly dhammas and unseen beings).

When pain becomes stronger, wanting to change is the mind; not wanting to change is also the mind. The nature of the mind is quite strange. When the noting mind becomes strong, it overcomes the mind that wants to change. This is done by noting the changing mind. A defiled mind is used to overwhelm the knowing mind. In worldlings, the defilement of mind is very strong. (because of long and powerful saṃsāric existence, it may be rotten inside.)

Meditation is a battle against the enemies of defilement. Therefore, whatever arises is to be overcome by noting. Yogis come to understand defilements by noting defiled states of mind and knowing them. This understanding arises from development (bhāvetabba): knowing, abandoning, and realization.

Vipassanā insight is the practice of knowing oneself.

(To know oneself is the Buddha’s way, the Dhamma way, or the Ariyan way. To know external beings and things is the worldly way, the defiled way. Most world leaders and politicians cannot protect themselves or others, including nature. Most worldlings are full of darkness (the five kinds of darkness: ignorance and delusion); therefore, there are many problems and much suffering continuing again and again.

Only Dhamma education can make humans free from problems and suffering. Otherwise, the human realm declines toward hell, animal, and ghost realms. These also become their future destinations.)

Reflection: Do mind and body have the same value?

Today, I and my kappiya (lay attendants) were talking about a water-heating machine and complaining about the low quality of most modern products. These products do not last long and are easily damaged. Today, humans are more centred on money than on quality, including the quality of themselves. In the past, businesspeople talked about quality rather than quantity; today, it is the opposite.

Then the kappiya suddenly made a remark: “Even the body can die at any time—why should the machine not break?” He missed my point, so I responded: “If you take the body and the mind as having the same value, you will never progress.” This point is very important for humans to contemplate thoroughly, for their own welfare, for others, and for nature. Human evolution must be based on this understanding; otherwise, it leads to devolution.

In the Khuddakapāṭha Pāli, there is a very important sutta for every human being, namely the Nidhikaṇḍa Sutta. For me, it is as important as other suttas such as the Maṅgala Sutta, the Metta Sutta, and the teaching on the law of kamma. Previously, I did not know that monks used this sutta to teach laypeople. Recently, I listened to a talk given by Sayadaw U Uttama (Sagaing) based on this sutta, using the similes of the body as a clay pot and merits as gold pots.

The Buddha himself used these similes in the sutta. Our physical bodies are like clay pots. The merits referred to here are dāna, sīla, samādhi, and paññā, which correspond to the four gold pots. This also relates to Dhammapada verse 183:

“The non-doing of all evil, the cultivation of what is wholesome, the cleansing of one’s own mind— this is the teaching of the Awakened Ones (all Buddhas).”

These verses are about sīla, samādhi, and paññā. The four gold pots are connected to the five noble growths: saddhā, sīla, suta, cāga, and paññā. Many of the Buddha’s teachings overlap with one another.

In fact, our physical body is weaker and more fragile than a clay pot. It not only has the nature of change (vipariṇāma), but is also conditioned by many factors and causes. Whatever or however we look after it, it always leads to ageing, sickness, and death. The mind, however, is a different matter: our evolution or devolution depends entirely on how each of us trains it.

Most humans are perishing through attachment to the body. Strong desire, greed, and lust continually defile the mind. People cling strongly to lowly, momentary pleasures, engaging in all kinds of unskillful actions—of mind, speech, and body—day in and day out, except when asleep. In this way, they create suffering for themselves and for others.

The body has value only when we use it to cultivate merits: the noble growths and the seven noble treasures—saddhā, sīla, hiri, ottappa, suta, cāga, and paññā. Otherwise, it has no real value at all, bringing only troubles, problems, and suffering. Therefore, the Buddha reminded us that the permanent homes of most living beings are the woeful planes of existence.

According to the Buddha, whoever possesses the four gold pots—merits—and fulfils the four powers of success (iddhipāda) in the highest sense may even become a Sammāsambuddha. Otherwise, if we treat the body like a devoted slave while constantly nourishing the defiled mind, we will inevitably encounter great suffering.

Every human being comes into this human world only temporarily. During the time of the Buddha Sāsana, people have the chance and the choice to decide which path to follow. One may choose suffering for oneself and others, or happiness for oneself and others. To choose happiness is also a very important duty, because no one loves dukkha, and everyone loves sukha.

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