Correct One’s Mistakes in Time

revised on 2019-11-05

Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 18th December 1960

The Buddha said, one could know in two ways for one’s wholesome and unwholesome kammas one had done before. These were doing kammas still alive and near death mental signs arose. If you want to correct them at present is the best way. Before death it can be done. Near death some can do it and some can’t correct them. Near death people generally can’t make the corrections.

Now, you still can do it if you want to correct them. In this way and at near death you don’t need it. In the Aṅguttara Nikāya, the Buddha warned us that we should not take it as I had done unwholesome kamma and nobody knew it. At least you know it yourself. You have to correct them quickly.

If you die before, even though it has the 5000 years of Buddha Sāsana, and your own sāsana is disappeared (Buddhists should take this point seriously). Don’t count the Buddha Sāsana with years. Make the counting with your own death. Man, only has the life span of one mind. If one of the breathing in and out mind is not arising and becomes dead. What already has passed is nothing to do with you. Next year is also nothing to do with you.

Sāsana depends on your life span. Only you can cut off the D.A. process and seeing impermanent is your own sāsana. If you are choosing time for tomorrow or the day after tomorrow is a fool.

Today I have no time and not doing it. I will do it tomorrow is sassata diṭṭhi. Sassata here is tomorrow I will still alive. It means it doesn’t die. Choosing days and hours is by sassata. If you are glad with the forbidden dhamma which send beings to painful births and then you’ll finish. Forbidden the Path Knowledge is wrong view. In the whole of saṁsāra beings are hindered by it.

We were climbing up from the four woeful planes with difficulties (Some Buddhists might think we had good times in saṁsāra. We should go and have a check with the suttas in the Pali Nikāya, what the Buddha had said about it). Now, you know that diṭṭhi is the biggest enemy.

(Sayadaw told a story in the Majjhima Nikāya, how taṇhā – diṭṭhi hindered a man for realization. In the Kassapa Buddha’s time, a layman named Peya because of diṭṭhi – taṇhā missed the chance for Path and Fruition Knowledges. If he continued to listen for sometimes would enter the stream. But he had to wait until the Gautama Buddha’s time for realization. It was quite a very long period of time for the chance to arise.)

The Buddha taught three principles for the sure realization. (Sayadaw talked about the Governing Principles (adhipati) from the Aṅguttara Nikāya.

1. Taking oneself as a governing principle. 2. Taking others as a governing principle. 3. Taking the qualities of Dhamma as a governing principle.

1. I am neither practicing for the sake of the four requisites nor for the fortunes of future births; but to be freed from the dangers of birth, ageing, sickness and death, etc. We can’t realize it with the practice for the desire of sensuality and becoming – bhavataṇhā. You should not have your own desire in the practice. You can’t practice with desire.
2. If kilesa comes in or many thoughts arise and admonish oneself. And contemplate the impermanence of whatever mind state arises. Admonish oneself as there are unseen beings watching at me (e.g., devatas, monks have psychic abilities, etc.).
3. During the practice if worldly mental states come in and contemplate the Qualities of Dhamma, admonish oneself with it. (Sayadaw talked about the Dhamma is calling at you and also passes away. Therefore if you go with the calling and you are seeing death. The calling is arising, with the going and not seeing it is vanishing.

Anyone going with the calling will find out its impermanence. There are also wrong goings. For example, mosquito bites and going with the hand (bang!) This is going with anger (dosa). Therefore you must go with knowledge. It’s sure that it’ll become non – temporal – akāliko.

revised on 2019-11-05; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4241&p=36063#p36063 (posted on 2019-03-03)

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