Ñāṇa Eye and Normal Eye

revised on 2019-08-12

Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 14th October 1961

It is form that you can touch with the hand. Its nature is hot and cold, rise and fall and with tension happening in many different ways. It’s changing and perishing. If know these things directly is seeing. It’s the aggregates of form (rūpa) or rūpakkhandha. Feeling aggregates are nāma dhamma — mind dhamma.

Sometime it’s itching and vanishing. Sometime the mind is happy and then disappears. Whatever arises in the mind and follow their impermanence. Know them as arising and passing away. Knowing this is ñāṇa view. Feeling aggregates tell about them and disappear. You have to watch and observe them.

Sitting on the bank of a stream, look at the water flowing by. Don’t look at the upper and lower parts of the water flowing in and flowing down, but only look at one point. Observing the water is passing through this point. And you know it as not the water before is enough. Knowing it as not the form before, not the mind before etc. is vipassanā ñāṇa.

Now, listen carefully to what I say. For example, you make a number five marked post in the water. Don’t look anywhere, only look at the water of number five marked post. Don’t look at the water above flowing in and the water below flowing down. It is enough only knowing at the number five water as not the water before. Don’t mix-up the ñāṇa seeing with the eye seeing. The eye seeing is — a fire burns and dies out. It’s only seeing the light and darkness.

This is the eye seeing. Ñāṇa eye finds out this dhamma not exists. The eye is seeing the differences (i.e., darkness and light). It doesn’t reach toward Nibbāna. Ñāṇa seeing is knowing them are not there (arise and disappear at the same spot). You must note down the differences.

Ñāṇa seeing is the dhamma before is not exist. And it’s another type of dhamma (i.e., emptiness). (This is the real emptiness. Not a concept of nothingness) For example, on the arm there is an itch and later not exist. Knowing the same thing not there (the same thing as there and not there). This is ñāṇa seeing. Knowing different things is not ñāṇa seeing (These are the worldly knowing). Ñāṇa view and the views of eye, ear, and nose are different.

Their views are not reaching toward Nibbāna. Ñāṇa view/mana view (mana=mind) is the right one. The Buddha had said pajānāti must know with knowledge. If you see a man is eye seeing. Seeing the arising and passing away of the khandha is ñāṇa seeing. For example, scratching your arm with a finger nail. Feeling arises and disappears. But the arm is still there. This is ñāṇa view.

Right view is ñāṇa seeing. Right thought (sammā-saṅkappa) is exposing to see it (in one of his talk Sayadaw gave similes for right view and right thought: the eye for right view and glasses for right thought, so that the eye can see clearer). Right mindfulness is reminding to be mindful. Right concentration is pointing at here (The object to be contemplated). Right effort is encouraging to develop ñāṇa seeing.

Four of them are helpers (except right view). The eye can’t see the arm in pain and its disappearance. Only ñāṇa sees it. It is the penetration of things that reach towards Nibbāna. The Buddha said; cakkhuṁ udapādi — eye seeing arises. This is not saying of the normal eye seeing. Therefore he continued to say; ñāṇaṁ udapādi-knowledge arises. All are the same. It is ñāṇa seeing. Every mind arises and know it as not exist is ñāṇa knowing.

So with ñāṇa observes the khandha. Moliya Sīvalī asked the Buddha, “Ven. Sir, I want to know the ñāṇa view.” The Buddha said to him; “Greed arises in your mind. Can you talk about its colour and size? It is arising but you can’t tell it. After that, greedy mind does not exist. Can you know it or not? This is ñāṇa view.” In the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, it was said that whatever mind arises had to know it (pajānāti).

Knowing is ñāṇa. Knowledge knows impermanence. It is other people seeing or your own seeing. It is sandiṭṭhiko — visible here and now. It knows the arising and falling. Why? The mind knows it after arising and falling. The arising and falling are before and the knowing is after. With listening Dhamma and you also have to practice. Practice to know it yourself — sandiṭṭhiko.

It becomes samatha practice if you use the attributes of Dhamma for prayers. It is vipassanā using it for knowing by you yourself. What are the differences between samatha and vipassanā? For example, a greedy mind of hungry for food arises. After it arises and passes away. Is it still existing? You know its arising and passing away (sandiṭṭhiko). It is becoming vipassanā. The greed of I want to eat so much not arise (i.e., clinging).

Bodily and verbal actions are not arising either. It kills taṇhā, upādāna and kamma. Vipassanā is cutting of the D. A. process. Samatha suppresses kilesa temporary only. It is akāliko-giving the result without delay. If you possess sandiṭṭhiko and everything is finished.

So do not go and ask others. Mahasi yogis are doing kāyanupassanā — Contemplation of the body, such as lifting, putting down (on walking etc.). After doing for a long time and the paramattha dhamma (ultimate reality of the phenomena) become apparent. Here is a mind wanting to eat arise. You contemplate and know it as not exists.

What do you know? You know the vanishing mind. It’s the paramattha dhamma contemplates the paramattha dhamma. Mind is paramattha dhamma and ñāṇa also. It’s not resisting by concepts. The Buddha said; it was easy to contemplate without the resistance of bodily concepts. Every contemplation becomes akāliko because it cut off the D. A. process.

No khandha process arises. It’s not a good khandha (i.e., D. A. process khandha or khandha continues). You are alive with the magga khandha (Path factors khandha). It’s a good khandha. The Buddha and arahants were alive with the magga. It becomes the akāliko only with the sandiṭṭhiko. Taṇhā and upādāna cease, it is Nibbāna. So next khandha does not arise. You have to work with sandiṭṭhiko (i.e., seeing impermanence).

revised on 2019-08-12; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4084&p=35759#p35759 (posted on 2019-01-14)

Content of Part 6 on "Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw"

Content of "Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw"

Content of Publications of Ven. Uttamo

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