A Poisonous Snake

revised on 2021-03-15

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 11th March 1961

Fire element (tejo) increases the material form (rūpa). It also makes the material form to stop function. We were dying under the hands of fire element for many lives. Therefore in some of the Buddha’s teachings it mentioned that no fire element in Nibbāna.

Examine your body and it’s warm. It’s fire element and waiting to kill you. King of the Death already exists in the khandha. Who was putting you into the prison of your mother’s womb?

It’s craving (taṇhā). Taṇhā is a good preacher. By its teaching you created kamma and got the resultant khandha (vipāka vaṭṭa khandha). Therefore birth is the truth of dukkha. If you are not free from taṇhā and can’t escape from put into a prison. After coming out from the prison you are beaten by the fire element. And become aging, sickness and death.

Because of the fire element don’t have the chance of happiness. It’s terrible. Every day you have to request aging and sickness with foods and drinks. In this way to have a human life is without the dignity. For sickness you have to request with medicines. For King of the Death you can’t do anything for him. You have to go into the coffin. You have to feel your body very often (for fire element).

And then remind yourself that King of the Death is in the khandha and practice hard (Here Sayadaw’s talk was humorous). In this talk, I am asking you to f eel your body and look for liberation. You handle it with mindfulness practice (satipaṭṭhāna). There are two ways you can choose from the king of the Death: the way to death and the way of liberation. But you all are enthusiastically following the way of death.

(continued Susīma’s story). Of the five khandhas, whatever arises, follow the impermanence. When impermanence is ending, the khandha is also disappearing. With khandha disappears and King of the Death also disappears.

Without King of the Death is Nibbāna. Therefore going to a place free from the King of the Death is the way of the path factors (maggaṅga). In the eight path factors, samādhi path factor does not include as a jhāna but including as access concentration (upacāra samādhi); and arising and passing away together. It does not include as absorption jhāna (appanājhāna) but including as vipassanā jhāna or lakkhaṇūpanijjhāna which is discerning the three universal characteristics. (anicca, dukkha and anatta, this explanation was from the commentary)

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revised on 2021-03-15; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4049&p=35714#p35714 (posted on 2019-01-10)

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• Content of Part 5 on "Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw"

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• Content of "Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw"

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• Content of Publications of Ven. Uttamo

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