Day 13: 29th October, 2002 (Eighteen Days In Solitude-- Instructional Dhamma Talks in Retreat)

revised on 2019-12-05

If you are arriving to this stage, other mental states can arise. One thing which has to be careful is not to lose your sati; the importance of having strong sati. When walking, your sati must stick wholly with the process. Increase your time in walking meditation; it's only five days left after today. Maybe you’ll think as: "Could I attain it?"

Here you have to know are; approaching a teacher and listening Dhamma. The teacher is explaining to you how to do the practice – it’s ñāta pariññā. This is the part of a teacher’s teaching and correcting, which the yogis should know. It’s the part which a teacher has to be fulfilled.

In the second part a teacher can’t do it for you. The yogis should have the intention of doing things exactly what the teacher has taught and exhorted. It means if you practice like this and can attain it. This part includes faith (saddhā) and effort (viriya). Therefore there are two parts connection with the teacher and yogis.

The third part: the teacher and yogi can’t do it. It’ll happen in accordance with the Dhamma nature. You have to understand these natures clearly. These Dhammas are happening by its nature. You do your practice and the Dhammas do its process.

For you understanding, practice is like a person building a fire. In the ancient time, people rub two pieces of bamboo for fire. After it’s hot enough, the fire comes out. If you’re cutting off the bamboos and looking for fire, you can’t find it. (He gave the simile of a king’s searching for the music in the harp.) In the harp there was no music (sound). In the same way fire not exists in the bamboo. (It seems the sound is more peculiar than fire, both need the medium of air; but sound is not included in the basic forms like fire.)

Therefore Nibbāna not exists in this khandha. How does Nibbāna arise? It arises by practice (purification). With the practice, if the time is ripe and Path and Fruit arise. Your mind can be confused as originally not exists and where it’s arising from. However, you cut off a mango tree and looking for the mango fruit, you can’t find it there. Also, it doesn’t exist in the mango seed either. The mango tree functions its own matter and when the time comes it flowers and grows out. The small mango fruit appears and grows slowly. Nibbāna element also not originally exists in the khandha. For someone who practices when the time is ripe it’ll appear. Only don’t know when and how it’ll appear. A yogi is like climbing a mountain. During the practice it’ll arise.

Now some yogis are on the path to the goal. For some, their minds are running outside. People are also talking about their feelings and experiences with concepts. For example, it’s like pricking with a thorn on the feet, etc. They take the khandha as solidity. Don’t take it with concepts, but as khandha arises. All the five khandhas are arising together. For example, there are tension, stiffness, hot, cold, etc. and you have to take them as khandhas arise. If with concepts, you go in and feel it. These khandhas arise as its intrinsic nature. It shouldn’t mix with the solid body. It arises and then vanishes. You also should not be disappointed with it. After establishing Samādhi and concentrate the mind on the top of the head. And then if hot, numbness, etc. appears at any place of the khandha and observe it. It’s ehi-passiko – come and contemplate me.

So, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, etc. any of them arise and contemplate it as anicca. Don’t make them as any solidity. Sandiṭṭhiko – will see impermanence directly. Khandha is impermanent and knowing it is magga (anicca and magga). Impermanence and magga must go together continuously. Don’t let any kilesa comes in between them. Sayadawgyi said that if kilesa not come in between them and by practicing in the morning will realize Dhamma in the evening (also mentioned by the Buddha). He gave guarantee to us. It’ll appear instantly if the time is ripe. Here are the differences between someone easy to attain Dhamma and someone not.

There are also many reasons. Some yogis even can’t stabilize their postures up to this day. Their resolutions not succeed. During the practice their minds are here and there. I am also observing them. They are appearing to be in the practice but their hands are moving, etc. The mind is going back to the past objects and thinking about them. So, forget about the meditation object. You cannot transcend the mount if the mind is not quite like this. You have to practice become anicca and magga by yourself. I can only encourage you.

You can’t concentrate in the practice when kilesa comes in. Uplift your mind again as I must attain it. The desire for attainment is lobha (greed and as a wholesome desire). Sayadawgyi said that in practice, this kind of lobha mind couldn’t fall into apāya. He / She should have this kind of lobha. Its nature is attaining of Nibbāna. Lobha here is the motivated power of the mind. Even you become a stream enterer (sotāpanna) and still have taṇhā. But sotāpanna can’t fall into painful destinations. Therefore, this taṇhā is good to have.

If your faith is going down, uplift it. From here onwards practice becomes very important. On climbing the last stage of a high mountain and there can be many things leading to mishaps. You can’t overcome it without sati and right decision.

There are four types of yogis.

Difficult practice and slow attainment.

Make notes of them and check for yourself. These things are coming with you from the past. If you discern impermanence, you will have the potentiality of attainment in this life. You have the ariyan seed as (potentiality of a noble being) a tihetuka person (a person born with three wholesome roots, such as non-greed, non-hatred and non-delusion). Don’t think that you can’t make it. And you’ll get it. But you have to practice with the difficulties and with more times.

Difficult practice and quick attainment. I had seen these kinds of yogis before.
Easy practice and slow attainment. This kind of yogi doesn’t see difficulties. I had known a laywoman doctor from Mandalay in this type.
Easy practice and quick attainment. This is a special person. You can’t decide yourself in this type. It’ll appear by practice. If other can realize it and I must also. You have to practice with this kind of spirit. One of the possible problems here is impermanence become not very clear. If you contemplate on it as dukkha sacca also solve the problem. But the yogi becomes dissatisfaction with it. At that time it’ll not go away. It reinforces itself for the strike. It looks like a climber reinforces his strength from crossing one mount to the other mount.

If you can’t contemplate it like a stranger and will sink in there. Without sati and can’t bear that you let go of it. Then it becomes a problem. Watching impermanence like a stranger at near is magga. You have to be in ready to face the arising phenomena. Don’t give up your resolution. Catch on the beginning and follow to the end of the process. It’s dukkha and without any essence. See this point. If the time is up and the process does not end, then don’t take the time limit, and have to follow to the end.

Increase half an hour for sitting and walking meditations. After one and half hours and the process does not end, change the posture. After changing the posture, it doesn’t matter the process is continuous or not. If not continue, it can change into another thing. It can arise in many ways, and seems like fighting a battle. Also, counterfeit dhammas can come in, such as light and lightness of the body. Whatever arises contemplate its impermanence. Not looking and taking pleasure in it. Separate yourself from it with the contemplation. You’ll see the khandha as nothing can be held on to life. It’s arising and vanishing. Nothing is leaving behind and everything is useless. Life existence is nothing. Human being are taking all these seriously.

Clinging to concepts, wrong views come in. whatever your status and job may be and after death becomes nothing. Even you’re still alive and have no essence. So, it’s anatta – not-self. Today we contemplate anatta. What are the meanings of all these happening to you. You’ll experience them as pricking with thorns, poking with stick, etc. in the body. (Yogis are having different experiences. It depends on the four great elements.) What is the essence of it? Pains and knowing them are arising and vanishing. Whatever arises and vanishes, no essence at all. There is no solidity to hold on.

[ Note: About "lobha" ]

Chapter II COMPENDIUM OF MENTAL FACTORS

Guide to § 3

Desire (chanda): Chanda here means desire to act (kattu-kāmatā), that is, to perform an action or achieve some result. This kind of desire must be distinguished from desire in the reprehensible sense, that is, from lobha, greed, and rāga, lust11. Whereas the latter terms are invariably unwholesome, chanda is an ethically variable factor which, when conjoined with wholesome concomitants, can function as the virtuous desire to achieve a worthy goal. The characteristic of chanda is desire to act, its function is searching for an object, its manifestation is need for an object, and that same object is its proximate cause. It should be regarded as the stretching forth of the mind’s hand towards the object.

Note 11 of Chapter II : In the Suttas chanda is often used as a synonym for lobha and rāga, thus as meaning desire in the reprehensive sense as well. But the Suttas also recognize chanda as a potentially beneficial factor, as when they speak about the arousing of desire for the abandoning of unwholesome states and for the acquisition of wholesome states. See for example the definition of right effort at D. 22/ii, 312 (= M. 141/iii, 251-52)

("A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma", Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, BPS, 1999)

revised on 2019-12-05; cited from https://oba.org.tw/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4021&p=35463#p35463 (posted on 2018-12-14)

Content of "Eighteen Days in Solitude"

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