THE DIFFERENT VIEWS OF EMPTINESS
“We perceive something and we say “My perception, my one personal perception, is the only way it exists and it’s the right way that it exists.” Proof of it is everywhere in the scientific world and of course in Buddhist scriptures. This view is the source of every problem in the world.”
In the Maha-suññata Sutta: The Greater Discourse on Emptiness, you find emptiness approached from three perspectives, treating it (1) as a meditative dwelling, (2) as an attribute of objects (both internally and externally: mentally &, materially), and (3) as a type of awareness-release.
There are four schools of Buddhist philosophy — Vaibashika (che-tra-mra-wa), Sautrantika (do-de-pa), Cittamatra (sem-tsam) and Madhyamika (u-ma-pa). The fourth of these is the Middle Way school and is divided into two: Svatantrika (rang-gyu-pa) and Prasangika (thal-gyur-wa)
Prasangika
According to the Prasangika school, the object of refutation (or negation, gag-cha) is an extremely subtle object that is ever so slightly more than — a little over and above — what is merely labelled by the mind. The object of refutation is what appears to us; it is that in which we believe. In order to attain liberation from the entire round of suffering and its cause, we need to cut its very root, the fundamental ignorance that keeps us in it. Of the many kinds of ignorance, which is the specific one that we have to eradicate? It is not the concept that believes the bell to exist the way it appears, which is what the texts usually describe as the root of samsara — except that in the case of the root of samsara, we should be talking about the I, not the bell that I've been using as an example here. When the I appears to us, we believe that there is something slightly over and above what is merely labelled by the mind and that this is how the I exists. Then we believe that this is one hundred percent true and let our mind hold on to that. It is this specific, particular ignorance that is the root of all delusion, karma and suffering. This very one. It's not just any type of ignorance — it's this one.
Svatantrika
As well as this kind of ignorance, there's the one described by the second Madhyamika school, the Svatantrika — the hallucination on the I, the object to be refuted according to their view. I'm just mentioning this so that you'll have an idea of how trapped our minds are, how many different levels of ignorance we experience, how many kinds of hallucination there are. The hallucination on the I that the Svatantrikas describe is grosser than the one the Prasangikas explain.
Cittamatrins
Then there's the Cittamatrins' version, where they say that the I exists from its own side without depending on mental imprints, without the mind as creator. They describe a seventh level of consciousness — normally we talk about just six — that is called the basis of samsara and nirvana. So they say that the I exists totally from its own side without depending on imprints left on this seventh level of consciousness and describe it as a self-entity. According to Hindu philosophy, the I, which they call atman, is permanent. While the self is actually impermanent, they believe it to be permanent. Therefore, there's a lot of discussion in Buddhist texts refuting this view, explaining that while the self may appear to us to be permanent, in fact it changes moment by moment due to causes and conditions and is therefore impermanent. If you look at your I right now, you'll see that it appears to be permanent, whereas you know that in reality it is impermanent in nature.
Vaibashika
Other views hold, for example, that while the I is dependent upon parts, there is the appearance and the belief that it exists alone, not dependent upon parts, or that while the I is dependent upon causes and conditions, there is the appearance and the belief that it exists with its own freedom, without depending on causes and conditions. These gross hallucinations are described and posited as the object of refutation by the first Buddhist school, the Vaibashika. This school has eighteen divisions, each with its own variant view. Then there's the hallucination that even though the I exists dependent upon the group and continuity of the aggregates, it appears to us as a self-entity existing without depending on the group and continuity of the aggregates. So these are some of the positions held by the Vaibashika and the Sautrantika, the lower Buddhist schools.
Prasangika-Madhyamika
How has it come about that there are these four schools of Buddhist philosophy? It's due to the different ways of explaining what the I is. In reality, emptiness is just one, not many. There is only one emptiness that directly cuts the root of samsara. This is the emptiness taught by the Prasangika-Madhyamika school, whose view of emptiness is the unmistaken, pure one and the only one that can cut the specific ignorance that I mentioned before. However, not everybody has the karma to accept this, to understand this, to realize this. Sentient beings have different levels of mind. Therefore, the all-knowing, kind, compassionate Buddha taught varying levels of philosophy to guide sentient beings' minds gradually up to the level where they could realize the Prasangika view of emptiness. One could start with the gross explanations of emptiness taught by the lower schools and gradually progress up to the most subtle, the Prasangika. That's how the four schools came into being. The lower schools were steps to the higher ones, leading ultimately to the Prasangika. So even though the views of these various schools seem to contradict each other, actually they're a method for gradually developing through study and meditation the Prasangika view.
View of emptiness by way of time
All causative phenomena — our life, our body, our mind, our self, our possessions, our relatives and friends, all other people — are changing, not only day by day, minute by minute and second by second, but every tiny moment.
View of emptiness by way of the 4 elements: materiality
Hardness, softness, smoothness, roughness, heaviness, lightness, flowing, stickiness, pushing, pulling, hotness, coolness, + spaciousness, reverberation, odor, taste etc.
View of Emptiness by way of decay
All material and mental formations do not last for even a fraction of a second. Because they are under the control of causes and conditions, they are in a state of constant decay and can cease at any time. This is the nature of our life.
View of emptiness by way of ideas
Think how your I, actions, objects, and in fact all phenomena — everything that is called "such and such" and "this and that" — are just names. Names have to come from the mind; they don't exist from their own side. Names are labels applied by the mind. However, it is not just that phenomena are labelled by the mind — they are merely labelled by the mind. In other words, all phenomena — I, action, object, everything — are merely labelled by the mind, in relation to their base. Think about this.
What is the mind? What's true for the physical senses, as above, is also true for the mind, the perceiver, itself. The mind is a phenomenon too. What is the mind? It is a phenomenon that is not body, not substantial, has no form, no shape, no color, but, like a mirror, can clearly reflect objects. Objects appear to the mind and the mind can perceive these objects. As long as a mirror is not dirty, it will reflect whatever object comes before it clearly. Similarly, since the mind is unobstructed by substance, form, objects can appear to it. The phenomenon that is mind perceives objects. So, that is the base. In relation to that phenomenon, our thought creates, merely imputes, the label "mind," and that's how the mind exists. The mind also exists merely in name; what we call mind has been merely labelled by thought. It's like when a person is given a name. Mine is Zopa. Actually, it's Thubten Zopa, and it was given to me by my abbot. According to tradition, when an abbot ordains new monks, he gives them his first name. My abbot's first name was Thubten, and then he added the Zopa. With his mind, he labelled me "Zopa." You received your name in a similar way. Whether you named yourself or it was given to you by your parents, your name is a mind-created label. In the same way, then, what's called mind is also a name.
View of emptiness by way of prejudicial view
But our minds are so replete with negative imprints left by past ignorance, the simultaneously born concept of inherent existence, that even though things exist as merely labelled by the mind, we hold on to them as if they exist from their own side.
The thing is that we're unaware, or we forget, that what we're seeing is merely imputed by our mind. Basically, there are three things in the evolution of all this. First of all, as a start, our mind merely labels the object. Second, the negative imprints left by previous concepts of inherent existence project the appearance of inherent existence that the object we're looking at now exists from its own side, that there's a real bell there — not a bell from our mind, but a bell from the side of the bell. This is a totally, totally wrong idea — a complete hallucination projected onto the bell. Third, we allow our mind to believe that this is one hundred percent true. We allow our mind to hold on to this, to grasp this, as completely, one hundred percent true — that there's a real bell over there, that that's the reality. This is ignorance.
View of emptiness by way of dream like appearance
mindfulness on the hallucination that it is a hallucination — we constantly make our mind more and more ignorant. For example, when we dreaming, we can practice mindfulness that this is but a dream. Similarly, during the day, we can practice mindfulness that what we're seeing is but a hallucination. If we do this, we're not meditating on something that exists as a hallucination — we're meditating that a hallucination is a hallucination. As a result, what comes into our heart is an understanding of emptiness, the ultimate nature of the circle of three — I, action and object. By doing this, we stop making our mind increasingly ignorant. We stop constantly creating the basis for emotional thoughts, delusions, attachment — those unnecessary minds that bring no benefit, only harm, and motivate karma that becomes the cause of samsara and all its realms of suffering.
View of emptiness by way of deconstruction and construction
When we look at the A and do not analyze, do not meditate, it looks as if the A is there, on that pattern. That too is a complete hallucination. That is the object to be refuted — the A that is there not merely imputed by the mind. An A that if you look for it can be found. That's the object of refutation; that's what we have to realize is empty. And that emptiness is the ultimate nature of the A. The reason that seeing an A on the base is a false view is that if you try to find precisely where on each of the three lines it is (/\-), you can't find it.
And when you look for it on the three lines assembled (A), you can't find it there either. Each piece is not A. Nor is the assembled pattern, because that is the base to be labelled A. By analyzing in this way, you can recognize your everyday hallucinations, your false view, and understand what you have to realize as empty. What emptiness means. Analysis makes it clear. Practicing mindfulness of this, meditating on this, helps you to control your emotional mind. It becomes almost impossible for emotional thoughts, such as attachment and anger, to arise. That means you stop motivating karma, the cause of samsara, the cause of the lower realms. Thus it becomes incredible protection, a great source of happiness and peace, and the cause of liberation and enlightenment for yourself and all other sentient beings.
View of emptiness by not mistaking substance for mentality
No formations are perceivable as materiality. They are sensed as sensations by the sense bases. In other words what is seen is an image, not an object. What we are perceiving is a rendering by the sense base, that approximates a conventional object. The mind does not know an external world. It only knows mental objects.
EXTRAORDINARY KNOWLEDGE
The knowledge here isn’t ordinary knowledge. It washes away your old knowledge. You don’t want the knowledge that comes from ordinary thinking and reasoning: Let go of it. You don’t want the knowledge that comes from directed thought and evaluation: Stop. Make the mind quiet. Still. When the mind is still and unhindered, this is the essence of all that’s meritorious and skillful. When your mind is on this level, it isn’t attached to any concepts at all. All the concepts you’ve known—dealing with the world or the Dhamma, however many or few—are washed away. Only when they’re washed away can new knowledge arise.
THE FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS from the Satipatthana Sutta: D.22
The Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw compared aVipassana meditator to a weak invalid, who by necessity moves about very slowly. Doing things very slowly helps to make the mind concentrated. If you want the meditation to develop, you must get accustomed to slowing down. When a fan is turning fast, you cannot see it as it really is, but when it is turning slowly then you can see. Therefore you need to slow down significantly to clearly see the mental and physical processes as they really are. Talking is a great danger to the progress of insight. A ‘five minute’ talk can wreck a meditator’s concentration for the whole day.
Pain and Patience
Pain is the friend of the meditator. Do not evade it, it can lead you to nibbana. Pain does not have to inform you of its coming. It may not disappear, but if it does, you may cry over it, for your friend has gone away. Pain is observed not to make it go away, but to realize its true nature. When concentration is good, pain is not a problem — it is a natural process. If you observe it attentively, the mind will be absorbed in it, and discover its true nature. When pain comes, note it directly. Ignore it only if it becomes overpoweringly persistent. It can be overcome by deep concentration brought about by continuous mindfulness. If intense pain arises during walking meditation, stop occasionally and take note of it. Be patient with anything and everything that stimulates your mind. Patience lead to Nibbana - impatience leads to hell.
Noting Mental States
When noting mental or emotional states, do it quickly, energetically and precisely so that the noting mind is continuous and powerful. Then thinking stops by itself. Unless you can note the wandering thoughts, you are already defeated when attempting to concentrate the mind. If your mind is inclined to wander, it indicates that you are not really noting thoughts energetically enough. The acquired ability to do this is indispensable. If you are aware of the content of thoughts, they will tend to go on. If you are aware of the thought itself, then thinking will cease.
Do not be attached to thinking and theory. Meditation is beyond time and space. So do not be caught up with thinking and theory. Insight will arise with deep concentration, but logical and philosophical thinking comes with shallow concentration.
Drowsiness can be overcome by putting in more effort. Labeling activities vigorously is helpful. Note sleepiness energetically, if you accept laziness, you will go on half asleep. Actually, the energy to note is always there. The trouble is that you are reluctant to do it. The mental attitude is very important. So, do not be pessimistic. If you are optimistic, you offer yourself an opportunity. Then there is satisfaction in every situation and there will be less distraction.
A human being has a great variety of abilities and the strength to do many things. If you want to develop this meditation to its ultimate goal of complete awareness you will need to put a determined effort into the practice. If you put in this all-out effort you will achieve the final liberation from habitual clinging, fear and confusion.
I. Mindfulness of the Body
- Mindfulness of Breathing: There are many variations of this exercise. A very basic one is to focus on the sensation of the breath at the nose-tip and to be keenly aware of the entire breath; both in-breath and out-breath are to be watched from beginning through the middle to the very end. A simple two-syllable mantra like "bud-dho" may be used as an aid.
- Postures of the Body: The four basic postures are walking, standing, sitting and lying. The exercise here is simply to be aware at all times of the disposition of the body.
- Clear Comprehension (sampajañña): Clear Comprehension of Purpose- Why are you undertaking this action? Clear Comprehension of Suitability- Is this action suitable under the circumstances (skill-in-means)? Clear Comprehension of the Domain (of Meditation) - Can this action be incorporated into the practice? Take the meditation into the life. Clear Comprehension of Reality- See the three characteristics in all activities. (i.e. impermanence, suffering and not-self)
- Reflection on the Reality of this Body: To see the body as a collection of parts; solid and liquid. The traditional list of thirty-two parts; hair of the head, hair of the body, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, membranes, spleen, lungs, bowels, intestines, gorge, dung, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, grease, snot, spittle, oil-of-the-joints, urine (and brain is added from the commentary)
- Reflection on the Material Elements: to see the body as a physical process. The traditional physics is based on the four elements; earth (extension), water (cohesion), air (motility) and fire (energy). Alternatively, modern concepts may be used.
- The Cemetery Contemplations: These are used to become keenly aware of the impermanence of the body and to break the illusion of immortality. The list given by the Buddha can be taken as a visualization exercise which goes through repulsiveness to tranquillity. The festering body (a few days old), the corpse being devoured by birds, beasts and worms, a skeleton held together by tendons, with some flesh and blood remaining, a skeleton held together by tendons, fleshless, smeared with blood, a skeleton held together by tendons, fleshless and bloodless, loose bones scattered about, bones bleached white by the sun, bones a year old lying piled in a heap, rotted bones crumbling to dust.
- Contemplation of Feelings:
The Feelings (Vedana) are not to be confused with the more complex mental functions called "emotions" . Feelings in the technical sense used here are much more basic. They can be classified in several ways; pleasant, neutral, unpleasant, bodily, mental, worldly, unwordly. As examples of the last; a worldly pleasant feeling is sense pleasure of any kind (food, sex etc.) an unworldly pleasant feeling is rapture arising from jhana. A worldly unpleasant feeling is grief at loss of possessions, an unworldly unpleasant feeling is distress at slow progress in meditation. An important note: unseen pleasant feelings lead to craving, unseen unpleasant feelings lead to ill-will (negative craving) and unseen neutral feelings lead to ignorance. The feelings -> cravings link is the key point in the cycle of dependent origination where the process can be transcended and liberation achieved.
- Contemplation of the Mind (State of Consciousness)
What is the state of mind? Is it with lust or without? With hatred or without? With delusion or without? Is it shrunken? Is it distracted? Is it developed or undeveloped? Is it surpassable or unsurpassable? Is it Is it concentrated or scattered? Is it freed or bound? This refers to the "background" of mind, the basic level or tone of conscious awareness that is present.
- Contemplation of Mind Objects (Dhammas)
- The Five Hindrances; mental states that lead one astray: sense-desire, anger, sloth-and-torpor, worry and flurry, skeptical doubt. These to be countered as follows; sense-desire -> body meditation (e.g.. 32 parts and/or corpse med.) anger -> loving-kindness, sloth-and-torpor -> change of posture, perception of light, worry -> mindfulness of breathing, doubt -> study, asking questions, puja
- The Five Aggregates of Clinging: An analysis of all phenomena into five constituents to dispel the idea of a self-entity. The five: form (materiality), feeling, perception, mental-formations, consciousness
- The Six External and Six Internal Sense- Bases: All consciousness arises through one or the other of these doors; eye and form, ear and sound, nose and odour, tongue and flavour, body and touch, mind and idea.
- The Seven factors of Enlightenment: Investigation of Dhammas, Energy, Rapture (Joy), Mindfulness, Tranquillity, Concentration, Equanimity. The first three are to be developed when the mind is dull; the last three when the mind is agitated. Mindfulness is to be developed in all circumstances.
- The Four Noble Truths: The Noble Truth of Suffering; birth, sickness, old age, death, not getting what you want, in brief, the Five Aggregates of Clinging, The Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering; craving, The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering; extinction of craving, Nibbana. The Noble Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering; the eightfold path; right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
THE 7 FACTORS OF ENLIGHTENMENT
Mindfulness (sati) i.e. to be aware and mindful in all activities and movements both physical and mental
Investigation (dhamma vicaya) into the nature of dhamma mental and material phenomena
Energy (viriya)
Joy or rapture (pīti)
Relaxation or tranquility (passaddhi) of both body and mind
Equanimity (upekkha), to be able to face life in all its vicissitudes with calm of mind and tranquility, without disturbance.
THE TEN PERFECTIONS
Generosity (dana) can be characterized by unattached and unconditional generosity, giving and letting go.
Morality (sila)-virtue, integrity It is an action that is an intentional effort. It refers to moral purity of thought, word, and deed. The four conditions of sila are chastity, calmness, quiet, and extinguishment, i.e. no longer being susceptible to perturbation by the passions
Renunciation (nekkhamma) "giving up the world and leading a holy life" or "freedom from lust, craving and desires."
Wisdom (pañña) impermanence, interdependent origination, non-self, emptiness, etc. Prajña is the wisdom that is able to extinguish afflictions
Energy/Strength (viriya)- effort It stands for strenuous and sustained effort to overcome unskillful ways, such as indulging in sensuality, ill will and harmfulness. It stands for the right endeavour to attain jhana. In the absence of sustained efforts in practicing meditation, craving creeps in and the meditator comes under its influence. Right effort known as viryabala is, thus, required to overcome unskillful mental factors and deviation from jhana.
Patience (khanti) Khanti (Pali) has been translated as patience, forbearance and forgiveness. It is the practice of exercising patience toward behavior or situations that might not necessarily deserve it. It is seen as a conscious choice to actively give patience as if a gift.
Truthfulness (sacca)
Resolution determination (adhitthana) (Pali; from adhi meaning "higher" or "best" plus stha meaning "standing") "resolute determination."
Lovingkindness (metta)
Equanimity (upekkha) equanimity, not indifference in the sense of unconcern for others. As a spiritual virtue, upekkha means equanimity in the face of the fluctuations of worldly fortune. It is evenness of mind, unshakeable freedom of mind, a state of inner equipoise that cannot be upset by gain and loss, honor and dishonor, praise and blame, pleasure and pain. Upekkha is freedom from all points of self-reference; it is indifference only to the demands of the ego-self with its craving for pleasure and position, not to the well-being of one's fellow human beings. True equanimity is the pinnacle of the four social attitudes that the Buddhist texts call the 'divine abodes': boundless loving-kindness, compassion, altruistic joy, and equanimity. The last does not override and negate the preceding three, but perfects and consummates them."
The Four Immeasurables:
Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness:
Body Contemplation Mindfulness, Feeling Contemplation Mindfulness, Consciousness Contemplation Mindfulness, Dhammas Contemplation Mindfulness
The Four Right Efforts: The effort to prevent unwholesome states from arising, The effort to eradicate unwholesome states that have arisen, The effort to produce wholesome states that have not yet arisen (Concentration wholesome dhammas, Vipassana wholesome dhammas, Path wholesome dhammas)
WITHSTANDING SUFFERING
When the heart has rapture as its companion, it will be free from unrest. It will be cool. It will be able to use the fresh water it has distilled from salt water as a means of washing its clothing, as a means of bathing its body. Then it will be able to wash the earth property—which is like a rag—the water property, the wind property, and the fire property, all of which are like rags. They’re always ripping and tearing, always getting dirty. This is why we have to care for them at all times. When the mind has given rise to the factors of concentration, the power of rapture will come to wash our properties of earth, water, wind, and fire. Then, if we want to be warm, we won’t have to sit in the sunlight; if we want to be cool, we won’t have to sit in the breeze. If, when we’re stuck in the sunlight, we want to be cool, we’ll be cool. If, when we’re stuck in water, we want to be warm, we’ll be warm. That way we can be at our ease, like a person who has clothing to cover his body and so has no need to feel bashful when entering human society. This is why meditators have no fear of difficult conditions. Why is that? Because they have their own source of fresh water: water to bathe in, water to drink. They’ve got all the water they need to use for bathing their body; for bathing their eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind; for bathing the properties of earth, water, wind, and fire. That’s water for using. As for water for drinking, they can develop concentration to an even higher level, to give rise to a sense of inner pleasure: pleasure that arises from within the mind itself. When the mind feels pleasure, both the body and mind will be at their ease. —Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo
When right concentration arises in the mind, it has a shadow. When you can catch sight of the shadow appearing, that’s vipassan›: insight meditation. Vipassan›-ñana is the first branch of knowledge and skill in the Buddha’s teaching. The second branch is iddhividhı, the power of mind over matter. The third is manomayiddhi, the power of mind-made images. The fourth is dibbacakkhu, clairvoyance. The fifth is dibbasota, clairaudience. The sixth is cetopariya-ñana, the ability to read minds. The seventh is pubbeniv›s›nussati-ñana,knowledge of previous lifetimes. And the eighth: ›savakkhaya-ñana, knowledge of the ending of mental fermentations. All eight of these branches are forms of knowledge and skill that arise from concentration. People without concentration can’t gain them: That’s an absolute guarantee. No matter how smart or clever they may be, they can’t gain these forms of knowledge. They have to fall under the power of ignorance. These eight branches of knowledge come from right concentration. When they arise they’re not called thoughts or ideas. They’re called right views. What looks wrong to you is really wrong. What looks right is really right. If what looks right is really wrong, that’s wrong view. If what looks wrong is really right, again—wrong view. With right view, though, right looks right and wrong looks wrong.
To put it in terms of cause and effect, you see the four noble truths. You see stress, and it really is stressful. You see the cause of stress arising, and that it’s really causing stress. These are noble truths: absolutely, undeniably, indisputably true. You see that stress has a cause. Once the cause arises, there has to be stress. As for the way to the disbanding of stress, you see that the path you’re following will, without a doubt, lead to nibbana. Whether or not you go all the way, what you see is correct. This is right view. And as for the disbanding of stress, you see that there really is such a thing. You see that as long as you’re on the path, stress does in fact fall away. When you come to realize the truth of these things in your heart, that’s vipassan›-ñana.
To put it even more simply: You see that all things, inside as well as out, are undependable. The body is undependable, aging is undependable, death is undependable. They’re slippery characters, constantly changing on you. To see this is to see inconstancy. Don’t let yourself be pleased by inconstancy. Don’t let yourself be upset. Keep the mind neutral, on an even keel. That’s what’s meant by vipassana. —Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo
You can let go. This is where it gets good. How so? You don’t have to wear yourself out, lugging saºkh›ras around.
To be attached means to carry a load, and there are five heaps (khandhas) we carry: rÒpÒp›d›nakkhandho: physical phenomena are the first load; vedanÒp›d›nakkhandho: feelings that we’re attached to are another; saññÒp›d›nakkhandho: the concepts and labels that we claim are ours are a pole for carrying a load on our shoulder;
saºkh›rÒp›d›nakkhandho: the mental fabrications that we hang onto and think are ours; viññ›˚Òp›d›nakkhandho: our attachment to sensory consciousness. Go ahead: Carry them around. Hang one load from your left leg and one from your right. Put one on your left shoulder and one on your right. Put the last load on your head. And now: Carry them wherever you go—clumsy, encumbered, and comical. —Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo
bh›r› have pañcakkhandh›
Go ahead and carry them. The five khandhas are a heavy load,
bh›rah›ro ca puggalo
and as individuals we burden ourselves with them.
bh›r›d›naª dukkhaª loke
Carry them everywhere you go,
and you waste your time suffering in the world.
The Buddha taught that whoever lacks discernment, whoever is unskilled,
whoever doesn’t practice concentration leading to vipassan›-ñ›˚a, will have to be
burdened with stress, will always be loaded down. It’s pathetic. It’s a shame.
They’ll never get away. When they’re loaded down like this, it’s really pathetic.
Their legs are burdened, their shoulders burdened—and where are they going?
Three steps forward and two steps back. Soon they’ll get discouraged, and then
after a while they’ll pick themselves up and get going again.
Now, when we see inconstancy—that all fabrications, whether within us or
without, are undependable; when we see that they’re stressful; when we see that
they’re not our self, that they simply whirl around in and of themselves: When
we gain these insights, we can put down our burdens, i.e., let go of our
attachments. We can put down the past—i.e., stop dwelling in it. We can let go of
the future—i.e., stop yearning for it. We can let go of the present—i.e., stop
claiming it as the self. Once these three big baskets have fallen from our
shoulders, we can walk with a light step. We can even dance. We’re beautiful.
SUPERNORMAL KNOWLEDGE AND POWERS
So. Now that we’ve cleared away these splinters and thorns so that everything is level and smooth, we can relax. And now we’re ready for the knowledge we can use as a weapon. What’s the knowledge we use as a weapon? Iddhividhı. We can display powers in one way or another, and give rise to miraculous things by way of the body, by way of speech, or by way of the mind. We have powers we can use in doing the work of the religion. That’s called iddhividhı. But in the Canon they describe it as different kinds of walking: walking through the water without getting wet, walking through fire without getting hot, staying out in the rain without getting chilled, staying out in the wind without getting cold, resilient enough to withstand wind, rain, and sun. If you’re young, you can make yourself old; if old, you can make yourself young. If you’re tall, you can make yourself short; if short, you can make yourself tall. You can change your body in all kinds of ways. This is why the Buddha was able to teach all kinds of people. If he was teaching old people, he’d make his body look old. Old people talking with old people can have a good time because there’s no distrust or suspicion. If he met up with pretty young women, he could make himself look young. He’d enjoy talking with them; they’d enjoy talking with him and not get bored. This is why the Dhamma he taught appealed to all classes of people. He could adapt his body to fit with whatever type of society he found himself in. For instance, if he met
up with children, he’d talk about the affairs of children, act in a childlike way. If he met up with old people, he’d talk about the affairs of old people. If he met up with young men and women, he’d talk about the affairs of young men and women. They’d all enjoy listening to what he had to say, develop a sense of faith, become Buddhists, and even ordain. This is called iddhividhı.
Next is manomayiddhi, power in the area of the mind. The mind acquires power. What kind of power? You can go wherever you want. If you want to go sightseeing in hell, you can. If you want to get away from human beings, you can go sightseeing in hell. It’s nice and relaxing. You can play with the denizens of hell, fool around with the denizens of hell. Any of them who have only a little bad kamma can come up and chat with you, to send word back to their relatives. Once you get back from touring around hell you can tell the relatives to make merit in the dead person’s name. Or, if you want, you can travel in the world of common animals and chat with mynah birds, owls—any kind of bird—or with four-footed animals, two footed animals. You can go into the forests, into the wilds, and converse with the animals there. It’s a lot of fun, not like talking with people. Talking with people is hard; talking with animals is easy. You don’t have to say a lot, simply think in the mind: Tell them stories, ask them questions, like, “Now that you’re an animal, what do you eat? Do you get enough to stay full and content?” You find that you 5 have a lot. Or, if you want, you can travel in the world of the hungry ghosts.
The world of the hungry ghosts is even more fun. Hungry ghosts come in all different shapes and sizes—really entertaining, the hungry ghosts. Some of them have heads as big as large water jars, but their mouths are just like the eye of a needle: That’s all, no bigger than the eye of a needle! Some of them have legs six yards long, but hands only half a foot. They’re amazing to watch, just like a cartoon. Some of them have lower lips with no upper lips, some of them are missing their lips altogether, with their teeth exposed all the time. There are all kinds of hungry ghosts. Some of them have big, bulging eyes, the size of coconuts; others have fingernails as long as palm leaves. You really ought to see them. Some of them are so fat they can’t move; others so thin that they’re nothing but bones. And sometimes the different groups get into battles, biting each other, hitting each other. That’s the hungry ghosts for you. Really entertaining. This is called manomayiddhi. When the mind is firmly established, you can go see these things.
Or you can go to the land of the n›gas, the different lands on the human level—sometimes, when you get tired of human beings, you can go visit the heavens: the heaven of the Four Great Kings, the heaven of the Guardians of the Hours, the Thirty-three gods, all the way up there to the Brahm› worlds. The mind can go without any problem. This is called manomayiddhi. It’s a lot of fun. Your defilements are gone, your work is done, you’ve got enough food to eat and money to spend, so you can go traveling to see the sights and soak up the breezes. That’s manomayiddhi. Dibba-cakkhu: clairvoyance. You gain eyes on two levels. The outer level is called the maºsa-cakkhu, the eye of the flesh, which enables you to look at human beings in the world, devas in the world. The eye of discernment allows you to examine the defilements of human beings: those with coarse defilements, those with thick defilements, those with faith in the Buddha’s teachings, those with none, those who have the potential to be taught, those with no potential at all. You can consider them with your internal discernment. This is called pañña-cakkhu, the eye of discernment. In this way you have eyes on two levels. Most of us have eyes on only one level, the eye of the flesh, while the inner eye doesn’t arise. And how could it arise? You don’t wash the sleep out of your eyes. What are the bits of sleep in your eyes? Sensual desire, an enormous hunk.
Ill will, another big hunk. Sloth and drowsiness, a hunk the size of a hammer head. Your mind calms down and begins to grow still, but this hunk of sleep in your eyes is so heavy it makes you nod. This is called sloth and drowsiness. All you can think about is lying down to sleep. Then there’s restlessness and anxiety, another hunk of sleep; and uncertainty, still another. When these things get stuck in the heart, how can it possibly be bright? It’s dark on all sides. Now, when you develop your meditation and bring the mind to stillness, that’s called getting the sleep out of your eyes. Directed thought loosens it up, and evaluation rinses it out. Once your eyes gets rinsed and washed clean this way, they can see clearly. The eye of your mind becomes the eye of discernment. This is called dibba-cakkhu.
Dibba-sota: clairaudience. There are two levels of ears as well. The outer ears 6 are the ones made of skin. The inner ear is the ear of the heart. The ear of the heart doesn’t appear for the same sort of reason: It’s full of earwax. You never clean it out. You don’t build up any goodness in the area of the mind. The mind isn’t centered in concentration. When it’s not in concentration, and hears an attractive sound, it can’t stay still. Your ears are full of wax. You hear people gossiping or cursing each other out, and you love to hear it. This is a humongous hunk of wax stuck in your ear. As for the Dhamma, you’re not really interested in listening, which is why there’s nothing but earwax: earwax stuck in your mind, earwax all over everything outside. This is why your powers of clairaudience don’t arise. Clairaudience is really refreshing. You don’t have to waste your time listening. If you feel like listening, you can hear anything. What the hungry ghosts are talking about, what common animals are talking about, what the devas are talking about—how fantastic it is to be in heaven—you can hear it all, unless you don’t want to listen. Like a radio: If it’s turned on, you can hear it loud and clear. If it becomes a nuisance, you don’t have to keep it on. If you have this skill, you can turn it on to listen for the fun of it; if you don’t want to listen, you can turn it off in an instant. This is called clairaudience, one of the skills of concentration practice.
Another skill is cetopariya-ñana, the ability to read minds, to see if people are thinking good thoughts or bad, high, low, crude, evil: You can use this insight to know. This is called cetopariya-ñana, an important skill.
Then there’s pubbeniv›s›nussati-ñana, the ability to remember previous lives, and ›savakkhaya-ñana, the ability to clean out the mind, washing away all the ignorance, craving, and clinging inside it. You can keep ignorance from arising in the heart. You can keep craving from taking charge of the heart. You can make sure that there’s no clinging or attachment. When you can let go of your defilements—kama-jaho, when you’re not stuck on sensual objects or sensual desires; di˛˛hi-jaho, when you’re not stuck on views and opinions; avijja-jaho, when you don’t mistake ignorance for knowledge and can let it go without any attachment—when you don’t latch onto evil, when you don’t latch onto your own goodness, when you can spit out evil and goodness, without holding onto them as your own, letting them go in line with their nature: That’s called ›savakkhaya-ñana, the knowledge of the ending of the fermentations in the mind.
This is the third noble truth: the truth of cessation, achieved through the practices that give rise to knowledge and skill. These are the skills that arise from meditation practice. They’re uparima-vijj›, higher learning in the area of the religion. When you’ve got them, you can be at your ease—at ease if you die, at ease if you don’t. You don’t have to build a rocket to go to Mars. You can live right here in the world, and nothing will be able to harm you. In other words, you know what things are dangerous, what things are harmful, and so you leave them alone and don’t touch them. This way you can live in safety and peace. The heart can stay blooming and bright like this at all times.
This is why we should be earnest and strict with ourselves in the practice, so that we can achieve the aims we all want. Here I’ve explained the eight 7 knowledges in brief. If I were to go into detail, there would be lots more to say.
To boil it down: All these forms of knowledge come from stillness. If the mind isn’t still, they don’t arise. At best, if the mind isn’t still, you can gain knowledge only from listening, reading, or thinking things over. But the person who can stop thinking, stop pondering, and yet still be intelligent: That’s something really amazing, something that goes against the currents of the world. Normally, people in the world have to study and read, think and ponder, if they want to be intelligent. But with the Dhamma, you have to stop thinking, stop writing, stop memorizing, stop doing in order to gain the highest level of knowledge. This is something that goes against the currents of the world and that human beings find hard to do.
But when you become intent in the practice that gives rise to knowledge, you’ll succeed in line with your aspirations. Having talked on the theme of vijj›-cara˚a-sampanno, I’ll end right here.
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