The Nature of the Unborn (Seeing Is Believing)

The Saṅgāthāvagga, the book of verses in the Saṃyutta Nikāya, contains the Buddha’s teachings. Some people take Nibbāna—the Unborn—to be a golden city, a paradise, or a place that exists somewhere. Even the Buddha was still alive, people had doubts with it.

A devatā from the Tāvatiṃsa Heaven once came to the Buddha and asked the question: “Where does Nibbāna exist?” (This was the devatā Rohitassa.)

The Buddha replied to him: “Do not ask me in that way.”

It cannot be said where Nibbāna is. Instead, the Buddha asked him:

“How do you search for it with the desire to arrive there?”

According to Rohitassa, he had searched for Nibbāna by travelling on foot, by vehicles, by making merits, and by using supernormal powers (see Devaputtasaṃyutta, Rohitassa Sutta). Wherever he went, he found only ageing, sickness, and death. Having khandha in any realm of existence, he encountered nothing but ageing, sickness, and death.

The Buddha then answered him that he could not find Nibbāna in these ways. Not finding Nibbāna means that ageing, sickness, and death will never come to an end. Therefore, one must arrive at Nibbāna.

Rohitassa then asked the Buddha how he should look for it. The Buddha answered that he must search with knowledge (ñāṇa). Within this very body—measured at two armed lengths—he must search with knowledge.

If we examine the khandha, we will see the truth of dukkha, the truth of the cause of dukkha (samudaya sacca), and the cessation of dukkha, which is Nibbāna. To discern these truths, one must practise insight meditation. All Four Noble Truths are found within the khandha.

If one does not practise, one possesses only two truths: the truth of dukkha and the truth of the cause of dukkha. Everyone has these two. Through practice and the discernment of impermanence (anicca), these two truths are transformed. This is the arising of the path (magga sacca).

Before practice, there are two truths: dukkha and its cause. With practice, there are again two truths: dukkha and the path. Therefore, when impermanence is clearly discerned, the cause of dukkha no longer exists. At the ending of dukkha, both dukkha and its cause disappear, and the yogi stands in the two truths of cessation (nirodha) and path (magga), that is, the Eightfold Path.

Even though the Buddha explained this, the devatā was still not clear about it.

The Buddha then said that Nibbāna does not exist within the khandha, nor did it exist there before. If it had existed before, there would be no need to search for it. Nibbāna cannot exist where the khandha exists.

The khandha itself has two aspects: one is the khandha of ageing, sickness, and death; the other is the khandha of rising and falling.

Does Nibbāna Exist Outside the Khandha?

Does Nibbāna exist outside the khandha? It does not exist as either inside or outside the khandha. According to the Abhidhamma texts, Nibbāna is an external dhamma, but it is not related to a self.

The Unborn element realised by many Buddhas and arahants (including paccekabuddhas) existed at the places where they entered total cessation (parinibbāna). Mogok Sayadaw explained that when speaking of “external Nibbāna,” this refers to the Nibbāna realised by others. Nibbāna exists only in accordance with one’s own practice.

When an object (ārammaṇa) and a sense door (dvāra) make contact, consciousness arises. For example, when a visible object and the eye meet, seeing-consciousness arises. All these are newly arising khandhas. The six sense doors themselves are part of the presently existing khandhas.

Yogis must contemplate these newly arising khandhas with insight. By watching and observing the impermanent khandhas—their rising and falling—they discern the truth of dukkha. After repeatedly seeing this, it becomes wearisome, and at last it comes to an end. Every beginning has its ending.

Do not say, “Nothing is happening yet in my practice.” If one knows how to contemplate, one will discern impermanence (anicca) and realise the truths of dukkha and the path (magga saccas). Yogis must apply effort and make it strong. By continuously discerning impermanence, unwholesome and wholesome mental states are unable to enter the practice.

We should not be satisfied merely with merit-making (as many Buddhists are). Upon truly encountering the Buddha’s teachings, we must practice to end dukkha—the great suffering. At that time, neither unwholesome nor wholesome minds can enter; only knowledge-based minds (ñāṇa) arise. As a result, the blood of the heart becomes clear and bright, and the body experiences lightness.

Previously, the yogi discerned only the coarser forms of impermanence. Now, he begins to discern the middle and refined forms. This is the discernment of many impermanences.

On Meditative Light and Personal Experience in Practice

If I speak of my own experience during practice, I once saw colourful, bright light and went to inform my teacher. He replied that this was not yet the appropriate stage. He explained that such experiences arise due to saddhā (confidence).

If one is able to contemplate continuously for three or four days, such light may appear. The light of wisdom (ñāṇa) is described as white, clear, and cool, like moonlight. I continued my practice, and after one or two months the light became truly bright. Whenever I closed my eyes, it appeared clearly, even without any intention to see it.

This was clarity of ñāṇa, and its brightness continued until cessation. It can last for a long time, but reaching this stage requires considerable effort. Calming the mind is not an easy task.

Cakkhuṃ udapādi, ñāṇaṃ udapādi, āloko udapādi — vision arose, knowledge arose, light arose. That is, the knowledge-eye and the light element arise together. The Buddha mentioned this in the first discourse describing his own experience.

There are two kinds of light: samādhi-light and insight-light. Samādhi-light does not last long, whereas the light associated with absorption (jhāna) lasts longer. According to the texts, the jhānic light of the hermits Devila and Ālāra spread upward into the sky for a distance of twelve miles.

Defilements (kilesa) do not enter the mind so that it becomes clear and luminous. The light arising from insight-knowledge is superior.

Note on the Luminous Mind

In some suttas, the Buddha speaks of the “luminous mind,” for example in suttas 51 and 52 of the Aṅguttara Nikāya (the Book of the Ones). The fourth jhānic mind, or luminous mind, does not refer to the mind itself possessing light. Rather, this is a direct reference to clarity of consciousness.

Just as the eyes see and the ears hear, seeing-consciousness arises at the eye-sensitivity (cakkhu-pasāda), and mind-sensitivity (mano-pasāda) is based at the heart-base. For practical purposes, this is spoken of as “the eye sees.”

The mind itself does not possess light or colour. The appearance of light arises from material elements (rūpa-dhātu) produced by the bhavaṅga-citta. These include cittaja-rūpa (mind-produced matter), which contains colour, and utuja-rūpa (temperature-produced matter), which also contains colour. Due to these, the mind appears bright.

On Light, Discernment, and the Path of Insight

These colour elements arise at the mano-pasāda, through the contact of cittaja-rūpa and utuja-rūpa, light may appear. (Extracted from a talk by Phā-auk Sayadaw)

If yogis follow the light, they tend to move toward samatha practice. When the light becomes bright, a yogi may be able to make the body appear small or large according to desire. In the Kammaṭṭhāna of Kanni system, yogis use samādhi-light to see distant objects or other realms of existence.

However, one should not follow the samatha line. There is nothing worthy of clinging to. Curiosity arises from defilements, whereas the ending of dukkha is the most important aim.

When a yogi attains the light element correctly, he discerns the whole body as a mass of disintegration—continuous rising and falling. This is described as discerning many instances of impermanence. With repeated discernment, it does not take long before the experience becomes wearisome.

Do not stand up or abandon the contemplation. Yogis must continue contemplating until the burdened load of the aggregates (khandha) falls away.

(This is an important point that Mogok Sayadaw often emphasized when warning his students.)

With the arising of weariness and disenchantment (nibbidā), the path-knowledge (magga-ñāṇa) arises.

Progression of Insight

The difference between magga and magga-ñāṇa lies in their associated factors.

• Magga refers to the five path factors—samādhi and paññā.
• Magga-ñāṇa refers to the Noble Eightfold Path—sīla, samādhi, and paññā.

On Nibbāna and the Aggregates

Nibbāna (the Unborn) does not exist together with the aggregates (the Born), nor does it exist separately from them. It exists only in dependence upon the correct cessation of the aggregates’ process.

Therefore, it is difficult to know the UNBORN.

• Content of Seeing Is Believing-- Dhamma Talks by Sayadaw U Nyanabhasa
• Content of Publications of Bhikkhu Uttamo

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