Why So Many Corpses?

revised on 2019-12-02

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 29th December 1961

I am old now. I’ll die very soon. Think yourself with these things. Where are ageing and death coming from? It is from birth (jāti). Aging and death are dukkha sacca – the result. Birth is samudaya sacca – the cause.

Thinking about the khandha and these things appear. Then you know about truths (sacca). Again where is jāti coming from? From kamma-bhava – the producing of kamma for becoming. Kammabhava is the cause – samudaya. And jāti is the result – dukkha.

It becomes nirodha sacca if both of them cease. The practice of their cessation is magga sacca. Therefore you have to practice magga sacca. Thinking in this way is knowing about the truths. You’re afraid of kamma (here, black or unwholesome ones).

Why is that? Because it makes jāti – birth (painful births). It makes dukkha sacca. But also you’re expecting good kamma (for blissful rebirths and enjoying the fruits). This also will give you dukkha sacca. By thinking backwardly (the reverse order – paṭiloma of D.A. process) and will find the five khandhas as the cause.

Because of the five khandhas that taṇhā arises. From the khandha and taṇhā arises is not knowing about it. This is not knowing it as the five khandhas (with ignorance and have diṭṭhi/taṇhā). The Buddha said that taṇhā came from upadhi (acquisition); it means khandha.

With affection to one’s own khandha and others’ khandhas that taṇhā arises. If you have affection to the khandha means you want to die. (According to the D.A. process; section② → section③ → section④ = the five khandha → taṇhā, upādāna, kamma → jarā, maraṇa).

It is wanting to die whatever khandha you have affection. With the affection to the khandha, you have to die wherever you’ll be. All your corpses were piling up (like mountains). Don’t say that it’s kamma. It’s the cause of affection to the khandha (taṇhā). Affection means foolishness for deaths. The D.A. process is telling you that you have to die because of affection.

Khandha is section ②, affection is sec.③ and death is sec.④. Having to die again and again are tormenting by affection. In the many kinds of death which one do you like? (Sayadaw mentioned some of them) If you contemplate the impermanence of your khandha and you have no affection for it. No affection is magga. It’s non-greed (alobha).

This khandha is like a kind of liquor mixed with poison. You have to die if you drink it. In the same way, you also have to die if you have affection to the khandha. The poisonous liquor is like the khandha (In one of the sutta, the Buddha compared it with the four poisonous snakes). The foolish worldling is the person clinging to it; the one who drinks the poisonous liquor. No affection arises if you contemplate the impermanence of the khandha. You will not die again if you are without affection for it.

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revised on 2019-12-02; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=4362&p=36285#p36285 (posted on 2019-04-12)

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• Content of Part 11 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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