Searching for the Source

revised on 2019-09-12

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 11th December 1961

The Buddha under the Bodhi Tree investigated the source of ageing and death of the khandha. Living beings suffer a lot because of ageing and death. It happens due to birth. So these are their personal properties. They are complaining as I am old now and very soon I shall die.

These complaining are without any grace and blessing. Because of birth people are getting old, sick and death and crying. From here I have to remind you. Don’t pray for any life. If not, these are the things you want (i.e., ageing, sickness and death). You are afraid of ageing, sickness and death but prefer birth (jāti). It’s too crazy. You do like it blindly.

Nothing is worse than not knowing the truth. It becomes clear that only by knowing the truth, saṁsāra will be cut off. Not knowing the truth is ignorance. Therefore ignorance is asking you to pray for birth. Even dukkha can be got without asking. Is it not so extreme by asking for it? It already existed even it was not talked by the Buddha. Ignorance is unwholesome dhamma. This is going in front of the Buddha Image and doing unwholesome thing. People have ignorance without any shame at all.

They think by asking and will get it. It’s like praying for the murderer. Bodily and verbal actions are more frightening than birth. With them you get birth. Today I’ll talk about the D. A. of the reverse order (paṭiloma). This is searching for the source of dukkha.

We can talk about the prosperity of life. But don’t know the cessation of life. Isn’t teacher important? Isn’t life really good? So correct yourselves. You still have time to correct. Your parents and grandparents were already died and couldn’t do anything for them.

Feeling is more frightening than craving, because of it taṇhā arises. A poor man wants to be rich. A rich man wants to be richer. Feeling causes craving to arise. Middle class people are also the same. Living beings are not fear of feeling. Taṇhā will not arise without it because taṇhā gets dukkha sacca. But a person who fears of richness is very rare indeed.

Is the feeling dhamma for preference or fearful one? Pleasant feeling is the most popular one. Is there anyone giving retirement by taṇhā? It blindly orders you whatever it wants. Craving governs on all beings. Now you find out your leader. It governs the 31 realms of existence. He is ordering you as much as he can and at last gives you dukkha sacca.

Is there anyone complaining for taṇhā? Even we take it as a prestige. It comes first as soon as in the morning but not insight knowledge. You have to observe the impermanence of feeling. Investigate backwardly and at last you find the culprit of ageing and death which is ignorance. If ignorance falling away the whole will fall away (There are ten fetters — saṁyojana, ignorance is one of them).

So, after becoming an arahant D. A. process totally cut off. In the whole saṁsāra living beings are living around with samudaya and dukkha. Turning around with darkness and blackness (Ignorance and taṇhā are darkness and dukkha/khandha is blackness). Therefore the Buddha couldn’t enter these things to help people. Our eyes were never gaining the light. It means you never have been had the light of the path.

You can contemplate with any-one of the four satipaṭṭhāna which you prefer. Seeing impermanence is ignorance (avijjā) or knowledge (vijjā)? It’s knowledge, Ven. Sir. Therefore by seeing impermanence is making ignorance ceases. When ignorance ceases, and taṇhā also ceases.

Now, you catch the culprit and also know how to kill him. So the beginning of saṁsāra is ignorance and craving. Saṁsāra will end only without the ignorance. With the ending of the impermanence and it will end.

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revised on 2019-09-12; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4091&p=35855#p35855 (posted on 2019-01-18)

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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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