For Practice or Reciting

revised on 2019-07-25

Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 1st to 2nd May 1961

[Sayadaw was using the qualities of Dhamma to give these talks. Most Buddhists are using it for chanting at pūjas, even may be they do not know the meanings very clear. The Buddha-Dhamma is very systematic and practical. It needs to be study, reflect, contemplate and put into practice. The results are remarkable. The mind becomes intelligent, wise and penetrative].

Ask you to do vipassanā is to see it for yourself—sandiṭṭhiko. The khandha has the truth of dukkha, but you don’t see it, or never have seen it before. You see only what does not exist, such as this is a man, a person, beautiful, ugly, etc.; only seeing the outer forms. You were wasting your time in saṁsāra with the danger of aging, sickness and death. In the whole saṁsāra you had not seen what was good to see.

In the same way you had seen what was not good to see and suffered a lot before. Today what do you need is very clear. You need sandiṭṭhiko (see the Salāyatana Saṃyutta, a teaching the Buddha gave to Ven. Upavāṇa; SN.35.70 Upavāṇasandiṭṭhikasuttaṃ).

Ven. Upavāṇa asked the Buddha: “What is sandiṭṭhiko? I want to know it” The Buddha answered: “You have to know it if lobha arises in you. So do dosa, moha, etc.”

Is this what others say or knowing by oneself? This becomes knowing the truth. Only by practice you can know it. In the Aṅguttara Nikāya a brahman asked about sandiṭṭhiko (AN.6.48 Dutiyasandiṭṭhikasuttaṃ). Today you’ll see it clearly with your own knowledge. For example, you see a form. In the seeing, the mind with affection will come to you (i.e., depending on the types of objects). The affectionate mind arises after the seeing consciousness.

You have to examine it with sandiṭṭhiko. What is the nature of the affectionate mind? You see it as not existing by examining with knowledge. The rise and fall of dukkha sacca becomes apparent in the mind because the mind of affection arises and passes away. This, you see it by yourself. You see it as it’s arising for dying and its death. Whatever arising, examine it as it exists or not. You’ll find it as not exists. You are examining your own death.

First, you are alive with the arising mind. Second you are alive with the examining mind. Only after the first mind is passing away and the examining mind can arise. This is a person seeing his own death. Craving for becoming not arises. The four Noble Truths are happening at the time of seeing one’s own death.

One’s own death is the truth of dukkha (dukkha sacca). The seeing is the truth of the path (magga sacca). Taṇhā, upādāna and kamma not arise is the truth of the cause (samudaya sacca). Next khandha not continues to arise is the truth of cessation (nirodha sacca). The power of direct seeing is indeed not small.

Every contemplation enters the four Noble Truths. This is the mundane truth. At the time enter Nibbāna also the four Noble Truths. It’s a kāliko—non-temporal or giving the result without delay. By seeing impermanence taṇhā, upādāna and kamma not follow behind. This is non-temporal.

Worldling mind is changing. (Sayadaw told the funny story of Ven. Sāriputta and an upāsaka) An upāsaka went a journey with Ven. Sāriputta. He had a plan of offering robes for him. On the journey, Sāriputta crossed the first small stream by jumping over it. The upāsaka saw that and lost respect and decided to reduce one robe for offering.

After sometime they encountered again a second stream and Sāriputta crossed it again by jumping over it. The upāsaka reduced another robe. Later they encountered a third stream, but instead of jumping Sāriputta went down and walking through it. The upāsaka asked him why he walked through it. Sāriputta answered was he didn’t want his mind to be disturbed and became unwholesome.

Without penetration of the four Noble Truths faith never becomes stable. No sandiṭṭhiko arises and akāliko never happens. Without the getting of sandiṭṭhiko, faith and rebirth are never in a stable stage. (He gave some stories of them.)

The Buddha took some monks to a very high steep mountain cliff. A monk looked down and exclaimed with a fright. The Buddha said that fall into the steep cliff only died once. There was something more terrible than that. It was not to know the Noble Truths. Without knowing and doing things out of desire will not free from birth. These doing things are only for the truth of dukkha.

How to know the truth? You have to know impermanence. By doing vipassanā will discern impermanence. For example, the mind of wanting to sleep arises. Contemplate it as exist or not exist. You’ll see it as not exist. It’s born and dies because it is arising and disappearing.

Is there any dukkha bigger than that? Even you can’t find any pieces of it left behind. You get the saccanulomika ñāṇa—knowledge of knowing the truth. With a lot of contemplation is knowing the truth. Without the practice you are surviving with the two truths of the cause and the suffering (result) (i.e., samudaya and dukkha saccas).

By doing vipassanā get the two truths of freedom from the existence; i.e., cessation and the path (nirodha and magga saccas). Not contemplate the mind of wanting to sleep and continue to taṇhā, upādāna and kamma. This kamma passes away but not its energy. It was stored by lobha / taṇhā. The kammic energy will not die away if taṇhā does not dies.

This point is very important. So don’t be afraid of kamma, but instead must be afraid of the cause (samudaya). Therefore the Buddha taught that Samudaya was the cause of dukkha (here taṇhā) (continued the qualities of Dhamma) Ehi-passiko—Come and contemplate. Ehi is the object and passiko is the contemplation. This is vipassanā. The dhamma is calling you but you go with taṇhā.

Example, in the dark bitten by mosquito and you go and slap it with the hand. This is going to the planes of misery. People are going to the planes of misery in a straight line, but to Nibbāna in a curved line. We must go there with knowledge. At first, the truth of dukkha is calling at you a lot. At the end the truth of cessation will call you.

(Here, Sayadaw used the two words straight line and curved line as followed. Human beings are easy and willing to do unwholesome things straight away—straight line. But for ending dukkha give many reasons, not easy and willing to do the practice. Even doing the practice, usually not straight forward—i.e., curved line)

revised on 2019-07-25; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4049&p=35722#p35722 (posted on 2019-01-10)

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

Content of "Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw"

Content of Publications of Ven. Uttamo

According to the translator— Ven. Uttamo's words, this is strictly for free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma—Dhamma Dāna. You may re-format, reprint, translate, and redistribute this work in any medium.

據英譯者—鄔達摩比丘交待，此譯文僅能免費與大眾結緣，作為法的禮物（Dhamma Dāna）。你可以在任何媒體上重新編製、重印、翻譯和重新發布這部作品。