Priceless Treasure of Mankind

revised on 2019-09-12

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 16th November 1961

Your life span is between a mind arising and passing away; if next mind does not arise, it is dead. The Buddha was reminding us for many times as living with mindfulness and wisdom (sati and paññā). Mindfulness is being aware of what happening in the body.

Every time the body is talking to you must aware of it. Wisdom is making a decision on the arising phenomenon as what it will be? Be mindful and making a decision with paññā. A person with mindfulness knows the arising and passing away of a mind one by one in a series.

All what is happening is one’s own dying. One does not do this practice and then he doesn’t know that the body is becoming older; and doesn’t know the disintegration of it either. He doesn’t know these things due to not looking at it with mindfulness and wisdom. Not knowing is ignorance. Ignorant person will do and say what he wants.

In that way, he is turning towards avijjā paccaya saṅkhāra — ignorance conditions volitional formation. And then it ends up with ageing, sickness and death. Observe with mindfulness and wisdom, then ignorance ceases and becomes vijjā udapādi — knowledge arises. He will not encounter with ageing, sickness and death.

This is a very important matter. Therefore be always mindful in the body and make decision with paññā. For example, an itch arises in the body. Itching is dukkha and it is sukha after vanishing (unpleasant and pleasant). Pain is dukkha and its disappearing is sukha. In our bodies feelings are changing.

Does the body tell you man or woman, a person or a being? Or does it tell you feelings are changing? These are aggregate of feeling (vedanākkhandha), neither a person nor a being. So during the contemplation man or woman disappears in the body. From the young age parents taught us these were men or women all the times (with concepts). So we are clinging to a person or a being (Here I summarize what Sayadaw had said in his talk.)

Therefore, the disappearance of feeling and khandha is due to the concepts. They taught us the conventional truth. Therefore I have to teach you the ultimate truth (paramattha sacca). They were also right as concepts. It’s not truth because it does not really exist.

Be mindful and observe with paññā, and three types of feeling are arising in turn (i.e., sukha, dukkha and upekkhā vedanās). This is seeing the existing phenomenon, and knowing the ultimate truth before we end up with conventional truth. So you all are alive with the changing of feelings. There are feelings all the time. There are no places free from feeling if you are using a needle poking on the body because it’s vedanākkhandha. I am analyzing it how to be mindful and observe with paññā. (Sayadaw gave many examples for the three physical feelings, i.e., sukha, dukkha, and upekkhā in daily life).

Why I am talking so detail about it? I am concerning with the wrong view of why it happens to be like this come into your mind. (He also mentioned about mental feelings with examples)

Therefore at anytime we are never free from feelings. Every time feeling arises must know it. Every time feeling arises, observe with mindfulness and wrong view dies. These are aggregate of feeling, not a man nor a woman. After with mindfulness and decide with paññā. Only with paññā you get the knowledge.

Every time feeling arises and knowing is mindfulness. Sukha vedanā is passing away. Dukkha vedanā is passing away. And upekkhā vedanā is passing away. Making these decisions is paññā. Then it becomes insight knowledges. Paññā is making the decision of one by one vanishing. Mindfulness is seeing the arising process. The life span of a feeling is now arising and now vanishing.

Therefore it’s too short of life span. It has the life span of moment arising and moment vanishing. Be mindful and observe with wisdom and seeing impermanence. To get the Path Knowledge you have to do like this. Praying for the Path Knowledge is not only you can’t get it, but also craving arises. It’s because of the desire. By contemplation only get the insight knowledge.

Be mindful and observe with paññā. The things you can ask is ageing, sickness and death. Contemplation without asking is ending the ageing, sickness and death. There are five path factors in sati and paññā (three samādhi factors with two wisdom factors). These five path factors are cutting off kilesa and leading to NIBBĀNA.

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revised on 2019-09-12; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4091&p=35771#p35771 (posted on 2019-01-14)

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• Content of Part 7 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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