The End of the World

revised on 2021-03-15

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 4th August 1961

A person who knows dukkha can appreciate Nibbāna more than others. You have to observe the khandha intensely if you want to know dukkha. The khandha will tell you that it has no happiness at all. That this kind of dukkha has gone is Nibbāna. It will take long to look for Nibbāna at the wrong place.

In the Saṃyutta Nikāya, the Buddha said that Nibbāna was not far away, and near us. The yogis know about this. By practice and knowing that it is true and near us. You have to follow to the end of impermanence. At the end you will see it.

Contemplate any one of the vipassanā you like (i.e., the four satipaṭṭhāna): By contemplation of feeling and will see it after the end of feeling. By contemplation of mind and will see it after the end of mind. By contemplation of form and will see it after the end of form.

It is close to this body. This end here and that is the beginning (dukkha end and Nibbāna begin). The Buddha taught about it. And I also tell you about this. You can do the experiment with care. There were some who had done it before and had the experiences.

At the end of saṅkhāra dukkha, Nibbāna exists. Saṅkhāra are mind, feeling, form, dhamma and they arise and disappear. And after sometime they are totally cease, and not arise anymore, and you will see Nibbāna. At the end of the conditioned dukkha (saṅkhāra), unconditioned sukha (asaṅkhata) exists.

At the end of your contemplation of impermanence and will see it. Nibbāna appears as sun and moon at this place (Here Sayadaw used it as a metaphorical term). The five dhammas; wrong view, doubt, greed, hatred, wrong practices in sīla are ceased. Without latent defilements khandha becomes light. The khandha is heavy because of kilesas.

(With the lightness of body, in one of his talks Sayadaw mentioned an interesting story. One time a practiced monk travelled alone in a forest and had an accident. He couldn’t walk and sit there. Sometime later a man came by and carried him on his back. The monk continued the practice on his back and became an arahant.

The layman felt his body lightness. He told the monk, “Ven. Sir, in the beginning your body is too heavy for me. Now, it seems very light.” Instead of telling the truth directly his answer was: “May be it’s not the same body as before.”)

Heavy elements of kilesa are disappeared. (A documentary film of a Chinese woman who had a lot of hatred and anger to her husband and in-laws very often that later developed illness. Later to see in a hospital and had an operation. The surgeon took out a few pebble size stones changed from the chemical elements from her body).

If you see the ending of impermanence once become a sotāpanna. A person sees the ending of saṅkhāra dukkha and the seed of hell is destroyed. If you still have the seed of hell, don’t be feel proud and enjoyment in pleasure. After you have done it away and can be in pleasure If not like taking pleasure with death sentence in jail.

Other people are seeking in pleasure but no need to imitate them. Noble beings (ariyans) have saṁvega (sense of urgency) by seeing others in seeking pleasure. They feel pity on them. But are also happy for themselves because of free from the worse misfortune (fall into the planes of misery, especially in hells).

However long the road may be always has the end. Here the end is the end of dukkha. Even it’s close to us can’t go there with other dhammas. It can be only with the chariot of Noble Eightfold Path. In some of the suttas the Buddha taught us to search Nibbāna in the two armed-lengths khandha.

First, the insight knowledges discover saṅkhāra dukkha and later supramundane knowledge discovers nirodha Nibbāna. (Sayadaw continued the Ānanda’s story)

[ There are three worlds (loka). These are: space (ākāsa loka), living beings (satta loka) and conditioned world (saṅkhāra loka). One time the Buddha mentioned these worlds to the monks and said that couldn’t go to the end of the world on foot or by vehicles.

Without the ending of saṅkhāra loka could not reach Nibbāna. After these words the Buddha went away. The monks did not understand the meaning and asked Ven. Ānanda for the answer. He said the five khandhas were saṅkhāra loka and the six senses bases also.

Only by following the Noble Eightfold Path, the world would be end. Observing the five khandhas which arise from the 6sense doors is on the way to the end of the world. In the D. A. of cause and effect process, the effects are saṅkhāra. Seeing the khandha arises is seeing saṅkhāra.

Observing anicca is seeing dukkha. With saṅkhāra ends and dukkha also ends. The end of dukkha is Nibbāna. Without saṅkhāra loka the other lokas not exist (i.e., space and beings). They can only exist together. ]

Do not mix up Nibbāna with the wholesome kamma, with only wholesome kamma can’t realize Nibbāna. It connects with dukkha (i.e., kamma).

Maggan (path factors) cut off dukkha. They are different things. You can’t find Nibbāna in the satta and ākāsa and only in saṅkhāra loka. (This is the main reason except a Buddha no other beings can teach the way to Nibbāna). It exists at the end of saṅkhāra loka. I will talk about saṅkhāra loka. Every resultant dhamma is saṅkhāra (arising by conditioning). This itself also will condition other dhammas (In the Buddha’s Teaching no original cause or the first cause, so the Buddha rejected the Creator.)

For example, according to the D. A. process: Ignorance (the cause) → volitional formation (result/cause) → viññāṇaṁ (result/cause)……etc. The 6sense doors (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind) are called loka. People have wrong view taking them as loka. At the end of sense bases (saḷāyatana) Nibbāna exists.

People taking my eyes, my ears, etc. and perceive them as loka. In short take the mind and body as loka. Contemplate one of the six senses bases. You cut off saṅkhāra and satta lokas if you can contemplate them to the end. Nibbāna exists at the end of the khandha or āyatana.

Contemplate the arising mind in oneself. Contemplate the preceding mind with the following mind (i.e. ñāṇa). If someone is not an ariyan and no ariyan mind states arise. Minds are not many (What sayadaw meant here was for practice by a worldling. According to the Abhidhamma there were 89 types of mind. But Sayadaw made it simple and condensed into 13 kinds of mind for vipassanā practice).

You can find the mind at any time. If no other mind arises, then contemplate the in-breath and out-breath minds. By contemplating the impermanent of the minds, their disenchantment and ending, and then saṅkhāra dukkha will end.

That is your khandha ends. Therefore sometime I ask you; “Do your khandha disappear?” The ending of khandha is Nibbāna. (This may be quite frightening for most people because eternalists are the majority in the world). Knowing the ending is Path Knowledge. At the ending of sense bases Nibbāna exists.

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revised on 2021-03-15; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4084&p=35746#p35746 (posted on 2019-01-14)

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• Content of Part 6 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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