Die with Wrong Views

revised on 2024-07-10

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Dhamma Talks by Mogok Sayadaw; 31st July 1961

Today I’ll talk about the D.A processes arising from the body. In the Dhammapada, the Buddha warns us that if sakkāya diṭṭhi does not fall away, the four apāya realms are the frequent homes of living beings. Firstly, you have to strip off sakkāya diṭṭhi with knowing. And after that, you must practise dāna, sīla, Samatha, and vipassanā. (This point is very important and not just Sayadaw’s idea. We can find it in the suttas; but before his time, monks did not emphasise it. This is one of the reasons most Buddhists have wrong views). Every time phassa → vedanā → taṇhā → upādāna arise, you must know them. Every time, if you do not contemplate that they are not a person or a being, they become wrong views. With right attention, diṭṭhi falls off. So yoniso is important. If sakkāya diṭṭhi does not fall away, and one is doing merits, don’t take it as "I am happy to die" (as an example, Sayadaw refers to Queen Mallika’s story). Only with the right knowledge does the process of the practice become right.

Therefore, whatever dhamma arises from the khandha, follow with knowing. If phassa arises, know it as phassa. If Vedanā arises, know it as Vedanā. With the knowing, it becomes magga. This magga cuts off kilesas. Knowing of the arising dhamma means knowing by falling away (i.e., wrong view). Discerning anicca is the falling away by contemplating. The first Nibbāna is very important. Even if I tell you that after the attainment, you just sleep (rest).

And then the Dhamma will continue by itself. Now it has the momentum. You learn the method or way here and practise it at home. With the good knowledge (ñāṇa), you can attain it in seven days. (see the biography of The-inn Gu Sayadaw; he became sotāpanna within six days of practice, Two Sides of a Coin) Nibbāna is near – near at your own khandha (the two-arm-length khandha ). Not knowing this, at the end of the khandha, people take it as far away. Normally, people think the practice requires doing it bit by bit. There are some who encourage this way of bit-by-bit practice, but it often goes undone.

From the age of 50 to over 50, kamma and ñāṇa are still good, and after 60 it’s not good anymore (Buddhists should take this point seriously). Don’t be afraid of starving to death. You have to be afraid of dying without diṭṭhi falling away. If you’re like this, you will continue to starve. Your long life will be a long starving life (starving with taṇhā). Upāsakas and upasikas prioritize their businesses first, and the matter of diṭṭhi falling away comes later (i.e., very unwise). Every time taṇhā arises, there is no need to be in fear. You have to be afraid of not knowing when it is arising (it’ll connect to clinging). In satipaṭṭhāna, it is mentioned to know when taṇhā is arising. If you know its arising, it becomes magga. With this knowing, sakkāya falls away and diṭṭhi-kamma does not arise.

For example, the male boss Visākhā, after becoming a sotāpanna to anagami, still had taṇhā (i.e., bhava-taṇhā). Going to apāya is not because of taṇhā but because of diṭṭhi. When it arises, observe it with ñāṇa to see if it exists or not. If you see its arising and vanishing, this is abandoning through contemplation. If phassa arises and you miss it, and it leads to Vedanā, then you must contemplate the anicca of Vedanā. You can close the doors to apāyas only with magga.

Now, I’ll show you the way to abandon the doors to apāyas. Only this becomes safety from apāyas. This time, don’t follow up to taṇhā, upādāna, and kamma. Instead, contemplate the anicca of the arising of Vedanā (three types of feeling). If you can contemplate the ending of Vedanā, it is Nibbāna (from the Saṃyutta Nikāya). The ending of the khandha (here, Vedanā) is Nibbāna. Khandha is fuel and kilesas are fire. The Buddha taught Aggivaccha brahmin in this way. Before you die, you have to observe and discern the ending of dukkha, which is Nibbāna. It’s better to make yourself safe before you die.

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revised on 2024-07-10

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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.