With Kilesa Sap, No Real Happiness

revised on 2021-08-28

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 29th May 1962

[Based on a sutta named "The Milk Sap Tree" from the Saḷāyatanasaṃyutta (SN.35.231 Khīrarukkhopamasuttaṃ). The Buddha compared kilesa (defilements) with sticky sap from a banyan tree. The six senses-bases are like a tree with sticky sap latent with the kilesas of lobha, dosa, and moha.

The six sense-objects are like knifes (in the sutta was axe). It contacts with the six senses-bases and latent kilesas flow out. The Buddha used a lot of similes, metaphors, examples from nature to teach the Dhamma. Sometimes it was quite amazing and profound. Human beings are part of nature. We are under the same natural laws.

If we can observe and contemplate, even nature becomes our great teacher. Sayadaw’s talk was quite humorous. Some of his talks were mentioned human stupidity in a humorous and profound ways. ]

Human beings have kilesa saps (even may be like a super-glue). It’s like a banyan or fig tree and cut with a knife and the saps flow out. In the same way, sense-objects contact with sense-bases and kilesa saps flowing out.

(For example, Sayadaw mentioned many things in daily life). It is immeasurable or uncountable times that kilesa saps are flowing out from the khandha because we are cutting it with the knives of sense-objects. There are six knives. Cutting by these knives is only one tree. It’s the tree of khandha. After the saps are flowing out and the tree dies out.

Every day I am giving talk is to make your kilesa sap becomes dry up. The six knives are the six senses-objects. The tree is the khandha. The sap is kilesa. Every time the saps flow out and make the tree to die. A good and holy person or not, has to decide with the sap comes out or not.

The reason you all don’t realize Nibbāna are the sap flows out continuously to connect life again and again. You all are happy with places making your saps flow out. If not flowing out and you take it as quite boring. D. A. process starts from where the sap flows out. When a person is getting old and has more knowledge. These more knowledges are making your saps flowing out. You all know how to make the saps come out. But don’t know how to stop it. You become bored without it.

If you’re not connecting saṁsāra and life becomes very dry. The work of drying up the sap is the only truly reliable thing to do. It is these kilesa saps that causes this tree to die and produce another tree. If the sap begins to flow, it’s the dukkha arising (dukkha samudayo hoti)—so it is the cause of the dukkha.)

If it continues to flow out is dukkha khandhassa hoti — the result of dukkha. Your khandhas have 1,500 kilesa saps. So it needs a lot of work to burn it. Ordinary kind of fire can’t do the job. You have to burn it with the maggin fire (the path fire) as strong as the hell fire.

Except the path fire, there is no other thing to rely on. For the Buddha and arahants, even they encountered with the worldly dhamma and no saps to flow out. Because they had already dried it up with the path fire.

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revised on 2021-08-28; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4192&p=35944#p35944 (posted on 2019-02-14)

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• Content of Part 8 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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