To Have Compassion and Wisdom for Oneself

revised on 2019-10-02

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 16th June 1962

Only by knowing the objects of contemplation, you will know what to contemplate. If not, you are sitting there by wasting time. What are the objects of contemplation? For example, if the eyes see form and eye consciousness arises. It’s the beginning of the object of contemplation and also the beginning of D. A. process. After the seeing and the feeling of choosing good or bad arises.

At that moment you are alive with feeling. Seeing is the beginning and choosing good or bad is the second. Phassa paccaya vedanā — contact conditions feeling. This is called saṁsāra. After feeling ceases and craving arises. Vedanā paccaya taṇhā-Feeling conditions craving.

So, at that moment you are with taṇhā. After that clinging and action arise (upādānaṁ and kamma bhava) These are objects of contemplation: ① Eye consciouscess ② Feeling ③ Craving ④ Clinging ⑤ action. After ① ceases and ② arises, ② ceases and ③ arises, etc.

The five minds are in a process. After, you will get the new khandha in next life. That is kamma paccaya jāti-Action conditions birth. The mind process arises one by one. The others five sense-doors are also in the same way. In the whole day from the six senses-doors actions are arising. In each day the causes of births are uncountable. (This is the reason why the beginning of a being is indiscernible.)

Therefore, the debts for bodily, verbal and mental kammas are quite a lot. We have to cut off these kammas. From the eye-door, the three D. A. processes of greed, hatred and delusion (lobha, dosa and moha) arise. The other doors also know in this way (6 * 3 = 18).

Every day unwholesome kammas are uncountable. You can only cut them off with the path knowledge. Therefore, the Buddha said that the permanent homes of living beings were the four woeful planes. So the wanderings in saṁsāra are quite frightening.

4. 1. process is showing the objects for contemplation. You can’t do it blindly. Only by knowing what’s arising and you’ll see the falling away. Mind arises one by one. Every living being is alive with one mind. Every day a lot of kammas are arising.

Therefore, your wholesome kammas which you have done only sometimes are incomparable with them. Also without the D. A. process and you can’t be alive. Make note of this point. If you don’t get the insight knowledges and all these kammas are not become fruitless. It is not my fault if you don’t know what have to contemplate. You don’t know what happening in you that and can’t do it.

I’ll show you the contemplation. Contemplate the impermanence of the mind, good or bad feeling. If you can contemplate them, taṇhā, upādāna and kamma can’t arise. Every time if it arises with contemplation cut off the round of existence of defilements, action and result (kilesa, kamma and vipāka vaṭṭas). So, this is asking you to cut off the three rounds of existence. The Buddha and teachers taught people with wisdom and compassion together. If not with compassion they wouldn’t give their times.

They could teach the truth (sacca) meant including wisdom. Both qualities have to be going together. It's no completion if one of them is lacking. It is useless talking without paññā. From the point of disciples also need compassion and wisdom. Have compassion for oneself to liberate from dukkha, and wisdom to understand what the teacher has said. Have compassion for yourself.

Take notes with wisdom to my talk. If not you can get the merit but not wisdom. It will be like the same as a frog listening to the talk of the Buddha. If you are listening the talk for merit, then like the frog. So, listen with a human mind for the talk. How to listen a talk also important?

When you contemplate on the arising dhamma (here is seeing), it already is passing away and not existing anymore. You are not alive with the seeing consciousness, and instead with the path factors consciousness. Vipassanā contemplation is abandoning the khandha means this point. Also it is abandoning kilesas not following with taṇhā and upādānaṁ.

Therefore, insight knowledges are abandoning khandha and kilesa. With the abandonment of khandha and wrong view also falls off because there is nothing to be called as a person or a being. It is really crazy if you’re making something out of nothing as me and mine.

(This point is quite funny. If we observe carefully and contemplate human problems and most of the sufferings are coming out from nothing, just stupidity and foolishness).

It will never become useless if you die with the vipassanā mind because after you arrive to the blissful plane and you'll enter the stream (There was a talk on this matter by the Buddha in the Aṅguttara Nikāya). Therefore, it is not important that you realize the Path Knowledge or not. Just do the practice and it will abandon taṇhā and kilesa.

(Sayadaw continued to explain the vipassanā process to Nibbāna) This knowledge from the ending of impermanence and it turns towards Nibbāna. Path Knowledge can’t arise if you do not start from the insight knowledge because it’s proximity condition — anantara paccayo.

Path Knowledge arises only with the cessation of insight knowledge. Path knowledge arises only once. With this only once can abandon or kill all the corresponding kilesas. Even the Buddha himself wouldn’t teach in details like this. He would start to teach you the contemplation of impermanence.

Even that much, he would come to you only when your spiritual faculties were matured. You must have faith in the Buddha and contemplate with your own wisdom. Faith and wisdom have to be in balance. Wisdom retreats due to over faith in the Buddha. You can see this in the Ven. Vakkali’s case.

The Buddha had to send him away. Viriya and samādhi must in balance towards impermanence. Over viriya the mind is turning towards restlessness. Over samādhi is turning toward torpor. Mindfulness is never over. Should have it always, and to watch and observe. In this way will realize the Path and Fruition Knowledges.

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revised on 2019-10-02; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4192&p=35951#p35951 (posted on 2019-02-15)

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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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