Not for Chanting But for Practice

revised on 2024-07-30

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; (no date)

[Sayadaw gave two talks on the qualities of Dhamma with humour]

The work of seeing Dhamma by oneself is the practice leading to path knowledge. If you contemplate to see the object of contemplation, the contemplative knowledge will send you to Nibbāna directly. Sandiṭṭhiko – it’s visible here and now through insight. Whatever dhamma arises, you have to ask yourself – is it still there or not? You have to contemplate your own death. If you see it, it becomes sandiṭṭhika. Seeing moment-to-moment dying and not finding the corpses is insight. Finding the corpse in a moment of death is samatha. You will not see your death even once if you are only looking for deaths. If you see it, you will not need to look for it (it’s meaningful). If you are mindful, you will think about it (i.e., the way of insight). With mindful attention, think about the minds which arise for the worldling. This is called sati sampajañña – mindfulness with full awareness. With practice, let maggaṅga – the path factors – arise. The path factors will send you to Nibbāna.

You all do not want the true happiness of Nibbāna, but instead desire the fake happiness found in wives and children. Therefore, the Buddha called you all – CRAZY PEOPLE! Or Lunatics! Puthujjana-ummattako – worldlings are crazy fools. Which one do you prioritize – Dhamma or rice? Rice becomes excrement and Dhamma sends you to Nibbāna. In the whole of saṁsāra, you all prefer the useless things and resist the right and useful things (it is easy to do demerits and difficult to do merits).

If people don’t know the truth, they will continue to do things that cause suffering. Not knowing the truth is more fearful than anything else. In the Sacca saṃyutta, the Buddha took some monks to a very steep mountain top. One of the monks said to the Buddha that falling down from there was quite frightening. The Buddha responded that not knowing the truth is more dangerous. Discerning anicca means knowing the truth. Only with the contemplation of insight will you discern it. Only this way will you know the arising of dukkha and the vanishing of dukkha. With a lot of contemplation, you will come to discern the truth. (Sayadaw continues to explain how taṇhā keeps the result power of kamma intact). As long as taṇhā never dies, kamma will never die. If the path factors come in, they cut off taṇhā and kamma. I am urging you to practice because I worry about the seriousness of bad results. Your own desire will never do it, because you don’t know its ugliness.

Taṇhā is the cause of Dukkha and not kammas. (Sayadaw continues to talk on insight practice with the six attributes of Dhamma). The duty of the Buddha is to talk about goodness. Your duty is to do goodness. The Buddha has done his duty, but you’re still irresponsible (this refers to svākkhāto – talking about goodness and sandiṭṭhiko – to do goodness ). If you respect the Buddha, you will go to sugati; and if you do what he asks of you, you will arrive at Nibbāna. You recite the attributes of Dhamma by heart, but you never think about it as your own business (i.e., sandiṭṭhika – develop it in the heart).

Sīvalī the monk asked the Buddha about the sandiṭṭhika dhamma for himself. Every time it becomes sandiṭṭhika (i.e., knowing the arising dhamma), the five path factors arise. When it becomes mature, it fulfills the eight path factors and you become a person with path knowledge.

If it does not become sandiṭṭhika and does not become akālika (i.e., apparent here and now – not cutting off taṇhā, upādāna, and kamma) then Ehi-passiko – dhamma is calling to you, "come and contemplate me." Ehi is the object of contemplation, passa is contemplative knowledge. When dhamma is calling to you, and you go there with diṭṭhi and taṇhā, you fall into the trap. For example, a mosquito bites you, and you go there with your hand (bang!) It’s a direct path for you to go to apāyas. The path to the wok (cauldron) is straight, but the task of going toward Nibbāna is crooked with twists and turns. If you don’t follow with ñāṇa the itching of mosquito bites, then lobha, dosa, and moha will follow you.

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revised on 2024-07-30

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• Content of Part 16 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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According to the translator— Ven. Uttamo's words, this is strictly for free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma—Dhamma Dāna. You may re-format, reprint, translate, and redistribute this work in any medium.