The Murderers

revised on 2020-06-15

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 8th October 1962

The most fearful thing for living beings is dying. Even though fear of it, they are buying the khandhas with dāna and sīla. They don’t know the death of the khandha is dukkha sacca — truth of dukkha — maraṇaṁpi dukkha saccaṁ.

Therefore, they are asking for future khandha by prayers and vows. How quite a difficult lunatic they are! Their fear of dying is fear with not knowing; in reality, not knowing that they are dying all the times. They are fearful of the death of after dying and carrying away by other people (conventional death which they can’t see by themselves).

But they don’t fear of the death which can be seen by themselves (i.e., rise and fall of khandhas) because they can’t see it. (It only can be seen with vipassanā practice). Ven. Rādha asked the Buddha, “What is death?” The five khandhas are King of the Death — the five murderers.

Therefore, you will be killed by whatever khandha you get. You don’t know the truth of death (sacca ñāṇa) and the oppressive function of the khandhas (kicca ñāṇa) that people do make prayers and vows to get them. It’s like the mouse is running towards the cat.

We have to kill them back with knowledge. But not doing things for them to kill us. It’s too foolish. We are not free from the present death yet. And then looking for the next death again is very deep foolishness. We have to kill him first or will be killed by him. These were coming from this Pali passages (Khandhavagga Saṃyutta).

If we can contemplate the mind/ body become cessation and it’s killed by us. That every day I talk in different ways means there are many things you don’t know. Changing your days around with practice is waiting for death to kill us. U Mya had already prepared the sleeping bag to come here.

He couldn’t make it because death came early. Death was staying with him. I was staying at distance. Death always exists within us. It’s still not killing you yet. (Note: Henzada U Mya was a well-known and successful business man in Burma. He was well-known by many.

Sayadaw met him in Rangoon (Yan-gon) a month before this talk. And Sayadaw was urging him for the practice. His reply was he couldn’t die yet. When he wanted to come, he couldn’t make it.)

Contemplation of impermanence is killing the murderers. Every time seeing the five khandhas, contemplate as murderers and dukkha sacca. In the Rādha Sutta (SN.22.71 Rādhasuttaṃ), the Buddha asked us to do this even when the killer is holding his knife on our neck.

But if you are still indulging in pleasure with wife, children and wealth, you are really blind and crazy. Whatever is arising, contemplate as dukkha sacca. The Buddha taught in different ways for contemplation. If condense all of them, only dukkha sacca.

(This is a very important point in the Buddha’s Teaching. He always emphasized on knowing dukkha and ending dukkha.)

It will kill the person who has affection with it. It’s like a cobra kills its master. If you see the khandha as King of the Death, you are seeing rightly − Sammāpattaṁ. Ven. Rādha continued to ask, “What’s the benefit of seeing in this way?” Every time seeing in this way, the knowledge of disenchantment (not wanting to see) will arise − sammāpattam nibbidāti.

Seeing the King of the Death is yathābhūta ñāṇa — knowledge of seeing things as it really is. And disenchantment is nibbidā ñāṇa. At here, The Buddha also taught about the process of insight knowledge. Therefore, don’t desire any khandha in the 31 realms of existences. I am warning you not to pray and vow for the khandha existence.

It is wrong that teachers teach people for life enrichments. And those who follow them are also wrong. It’s quite worse and terrible. Taking them as friends is wrong. And taking them as murderer is right. Ven. Rādha continued to ask again, “What’s the benefit of disenchantment?” With disenchantment, free from lust/attachment (rāga) and without affection; after that, followed with the Path Knowledge.

“What’s the benefit of free from rāga?” The answer was getting the fruition knowledge. Fruition knowledge is totally not mixing with kilesa. Path Knowledge is like pouring water on the burning red charcoal and becomes extinguished. But don’t go and touch it. Heat is still there. Fruition Knowledge is like pouring more water on the black charcoal and totally cool it down.

Ven. Rādha asked, “What’s the benefit of Fruition Knowledge?” The Buddha answered, “Arriving at Nibbāna.” Ven. Rādha asked again, “What’s the benefit of arriving at Nibbāna?” The Buddha answered, “You don’t need to ask this question. No more questions!” This is the ending of the path. Fruition Knowledge comes by itself. You don’t need to do for it.

(Some scholars have the opinion that to get fruition knowledge has to wait for sometimes. Yogis’ experiences are different. It has to be developed to become an adept. It is like the Jhāna attainers.)

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revised on 2020-06-15; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4202&p=35997#p35997 (posted on 2019-02-21)

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• Content of Part 9 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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