From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=i4mQNGIDDXE

Context: Throughout this transcript, Bhante Vimalaramsi is the speaker unless otherwise indicated.

[Music]

thus have I heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living in Swati in

jeta's grove anathapindika's park there

he addressed amongst this monks

venerable sir they replied the Blessed

One said this monks when a cowherd

possesses eleven factors he is incapable

of keeping and rearing a herd of cattle

what 11 when a cowherd has no knowledge

of form he is unskilled in the

characteristics he fails to pick out the

Flies eggs he fails to dress wounds he

fails to smoke out the sheds he does not

know the ford that's a stream in places

where they can get across he does not

know what it is what it is to have drunk

he does not know the road he's unskilled

in pastures he milks dry and he shows no

extra veneration to those bulls who are

fathers and leaders of the herd when a

cowherd possesses these eleven qualities

or factors he's uncapable of keeping and

rearing a herd a cat have herd of cattle

so - when a monk possess and possesses

eleven qualities he is incapable of

growth increase and fulfilment in

and discipline what 11 here a monk has

no knowledge of four he's unskilled in

characteristics he fails to it out flies

eggs he fails to dress wounds he fails

to smoke out the herds smoking out the

hurts basically means correcting what's

been incorrectly given he does not know

the fort he does not know what it is to

have drunk he does not know the road

he's unskilled in pastures he milks dry

and he shows no extra veneration to

those monks elder monks of long standing

who have long gone forth the fathers and

leaders of the Sangha how has a monk no

knowledge of form here a monk does not

understand as it actually is thus all

material form whatever whatever kind of

consists of the four Great elements and

the material form derived from the four

Great elements that is how a monk has no

knowledge of form how is a monk

unskilled in characteristics here a

month does not understand as it actually

is

thus a fool is characterized by his

actions

a wise man is characterized by

his actions that is how a monk is

unskilled in characteristics how does a

monk fail to pick out flies eggs here

when a thought of sensual desire has

arisen among tolerates it he does not

abandon it and remove it so it's like

he's noting it until it supposedly goes

away and annihilates it when I thought

of ill-will ill-will has arisen or a

thought of cruelty has arisen when evil

and wholesome states have arisen among

tolerates them he does not abandon them

remove them and do away with them so

what are we talking about here he's not

using right effort in the correct way

he's not using the six hours

that is how our mom fails to pick up

flight to fails to pick out flies eggs

now we're talking about the hindrances

here now you've already had it at this

course on the hindrances and how

important it is not to get involved in

the hindrances not to get caught up and

don't make a big deal out of anything

that pulls your attention away let it be

relaxed smile lighten your mind come

back to your object of meditation stay

with your object of meditation here on

seeing a forum with the eye a monk grass

pettit signs and features he starts

thinking about the signs and features

and how he likes them or dislikes them

and then that has another thought and

another thought and it just pulls him

away and he doesn't even recognize it

even though he leaves the eye faculty

unguarded evil and wholesome states of

covetousness and grief I like it I don't

like it in other words it's allowing

craving to arise and might invade him

and he does not practice the way of its

restraint he does not guarded the eye

faculties not undertake the restraint of

the eye faculty when I was in Burma they

they have a system because they have so

much rain that they have these little

things that

the water can go and flow away and there

was a monk that decided that he was

going to do his meditation with his eyes

closed he didn't want to he wanted to

have restraint of the eye faculty that's

what he was thinking and of course he

hit one of these ditches as it were and

broke his leg

because he was being foolish he wasn't

doing it in the correct way on hearing a

sound was a year if you make a big deal

out of sound I don't like that it

stopping me from meditating it's causing

me to be disturbed well the last retreat

we had that's one of the first things

somebody said can they stop working on

the cabins and making so much noise

during the retreat no they can't do that

you have to change your perspective you

have to not make a big deal out of it in

your mind you have to allow that to be

there it's only a sound it's not good

it's not bad it's just a sound but when

you make a big deal out of it

all of a sudden that sound turns into a

problem for you and it causes you to not

see the

the craving as it begins to arise and at

the structural way it stops you from

staying with your object of meditation

and the same with the smell with the

nose and tasting flavor with the tongue

and touching a tangible with the body or

cognizing a mind object with mine if he

grasped at its sides and features even

though he leaves the my in fact of these

sense door faculties unguarded evil and

wholesome states of I want it and I

don't want to arise and might invade him

so making a big deal out of hindrances

not liking them trying to force them to

stop and to go away is making a big deal

out of it and when you make a big deal

out of it when you become obsessed with

it you're causing yourself a measurable

amounts of pain so you need to allow it

to be it's only what it is it's only

what's in the present moment it doesn't

matter whether it's a smell or taste or

touch or thought your job is to

develop your mindfulness this is a word

that has a lot of different meanings

this day and it's not very well

understood

mindfulness is remembering to observe

how Minds attention moves from one thing

to another when you see it first start

to move if you use the six artists right

then your mind will not be distracted

for very long but if you forget now

you're going to be distracted for longer

now you remember that hindrances are not

your enemy to fight with you're not

trying to control things you're not

trying to make things be the way you

want them to be your job is just to

observe and let it be there by itself

why because it's the truth

anytime you try to fight with the truth

or control it or make it be the way you

want that's the cause of suffering I

don't care if it's a feeling I don't

care if it's emotion I don't care what

the cause is your job is to observe that

it's there let it be there don't keep

your attention on it okay it's a sound

so

one of the things that I noticed that

happened when I was practicing so much

Street de Poisson uh was that somebody

would make a sound and it would point me

it would make make my mind oh and why

did that happen because your

concentration is too deep and your

mindfulness is not in balance with it if

your mindfulness is in balance it

doesn't matter what kind of sound that

there is you just let it be there by

itself relax let go of that I like it or

I don't like it mind the craving let it

be by itself smile the more you smile

all the time the better your mindfulness

becomes and you start progressing in

your meditation more and better because

your mindfulness gets sharper and you

start seeing things more easily

now the thing that happens quite a bit

especially at the start of the

meditation is people don't like that

sort of thing I don't like that sound I

don't want that sound there I don't like

that thought why is my mind doing this

now you're becoming obsessed with it

and you're further and further away from

staying with your spiritual friend and

smiling so don't criticize yourself

don't think that you're supposed to be

better than you are because you're as

good as you are it's easier as you

become more familiar with this process

but criticizing yourself is an

unwholesome state let go of the

expectation that you're supposed to be

this way or that way

because it's got to change everything is

in a state of change some days your

meditations going to be great

some days is going to be not so great

what people call great meditation

they're staying with their object of

meditation and their mind becomes real

calm and peaceful and all of these

wonderful things are happening people

call that good meditation and then they

have a day when their mind are just

running all over the place

my definition of good meditation is

seeing it using the six R's not trying

to control anything and even though your

mind is active it means that you have to

work because you're seeing all of this

now an interesting thing with meditation

that is not talked about very much and

that is learn to use your intuition you

ask yourself why is my mind so active

today what's the cause of this after you

asked that question just one time go

back to doing the meditation the way you

were your intuition will tell you what

the problem is and then you'll know how

to solve it you say yeah I have been

attached and thinking about this but you

hadn't noticed it so well but when you

have an active meditation that's when I

say that's your best meditation not your

worst when you have the good meditation

day that's your candy that's because you

did a lot of work before that and now

your mind is starting to actually see

that so you call it good meditation but

I call it nothing to get excited about

it's okay meditation

but you're eating the candy all the work

that you've done before when you have to

do a lot of work now that's what I call

good meditation because it improves your

mindfulness when you have to use the six

artists a lot but also you can find out

the cause of that

ask yourself what why is this happening

what's the cause of this then forget

about it don't ask it again don't try to

force an answer it will come when it's

convenient for it to come when you're

ready to listen to it but then you can

adjust you're sitting and you say oh

yeah that's that's really why trust your

intuition it's always correct one of the

things with intuition is it's a quiet

voice it's not a big voice that comes

into your mind and you know I have a

tendency to go yeah that's it if that's

happening but never mind I'm just gonna

keep going the way I have and if you

don't pay attention to your intuition

before long it will stop coming up and

then you really have some problems so

you want to use your intuition anytime

something is happening and you don't

understand it what is the cause of that

when you really trust your intuition

it will give you the correct answer

get in the habit of using the intuition

the more you use it the faster the

answers come and the easier everything

in life becomes now there are some

people that they insist on not paying

attention to their intuition and they

say well I know what's happening

and they don't really and that causes a

lot of suffering so don't do that to

yourself trust your intuition it's a

quiet voice but it's always correct

oh okay

that is how all Mach fails to dress the

wounds these things come up and then

they're purple they're painful they're

not going with the way you think your

meditation is supposed to be going and

then you start fighting it and then

you'd start trying to use the six

artists too much and you barely get

through the six artists or might not

even get through through them at all

before your mind is distracted again and

what is what does that cause that causes

the entrances to get bigger and more

intense because you're trying to control

them you don't like them you're obsessed

with them so you need to back off you

need to laugh at how selling your mind

can be because it really comes up with

some wonderful nonsense

okay so it's real important for your

progress to learn how to adjust the

amount of energy you're using when your

mind is needs adjustment and the

adjustment with restlessness is always

back off don't try so hard let go of

your ideas that things are supposed to

be the way you want them to be because

that doesn't meet reality quite often

and then that you start suffering more

and more and you cause your own

suffering

you can't blame anybody else for it so

relax that into it

let things unfold as they will and how

does a monk fail to smoke out the sheds

here a monk does not teach others in

detail the Dhamma he has learned and

mastered that is how a monk fails to

smoke out the sheds and I would add in

there the correct way of practice

there's a lot of people doing meditation

right now and they're not following the

Eightfold Path they're not following the

Four Noble Truths they just kind of say

yeah that's what these are and that's it

now I have to get back to the practice

not realizing that this is the practice

when you practice in the correct way and

that means by following right effort and

that means using the six hours when you

practice in the correct way you will

start to have nice insights in how you

cause your own pain and you can let go

of it then and you start to become more

happy all the time and it really does

work this way you're going to fall into

your old habits every now and then but

you'll catch it more quickly as you

practice this more you'll see

so this is how you are smoking out the

sheds there are certain kinds of

meditation that when it's practice is

not that you don't gain benefit from the

practice you do but what's the end

result of doing the practice are you

letting go of the suffering or are you

practicing a one pointed kind of

concentration that it actually the

concentration suppresses the hindrances

doesn't allow them to come up and when

it suppresses the hindrances then your

mind gets stuck just on one object

that's it and you're not seeing the

hindrances so you're not learning how to

let go of the hindrances and when you

lose the concentration of sitting in

meditation then the hindrances come and

you're not able to recognize them

because they've been suppressed they've

been pushed out so how is there any

personality development well I'm

supposed to be this way when I do

meditation I'm supposed to get good

sleep and I'm supposed to be more happy

but are you that's the question

so it's a real interesting phenomena

that if you add just one extra step in

that practice

that is relaxing the tension and

tightness it changes the entire

meditation and that's the the main thing

that the Buddha found out he'd done one

pointed concentration he tried all

different kinds of meditation while he

was still a bodhisattva looking for what

what he finally found out that you have

to let go of the gravy that's the cause

of the suffering that's the second noble

truth now a lot of people they call

craving or it's just desire wanting

something to happen in a particular way

well that's only a surface view of it

when you relax that tension and

tightness in your head right after that

your mind is clear your mind is very

bright your mind is very alert and it's

pure why is it pure because you've let

go of the craving craving is not

particularly big and it's not

particularly difficult to let go of but

it is very persistent it keeps coming

back over and over and over again so you

have to be able to recognize it so you

can let it be and that's the importance

of the second step of right effort don't

make a big deal out of whatever arises

let it be there by itself but don't keep

your attention on it psychology they

want you to follow it and find out why

is this coming

they're never really gonna find out

because it might be ten lifetimes ago

that you broke a precept and felt guilty

and you kept on trying to push that

guilty feeling down but when you really

let go there's a feeling of openness and

expansion in your mind and your mind

tends towards being more alert happier

uplifted it really does work this way

what's the cause of the hindrance

arising what is the cause this is

something that you never hear you hear

but I have a booklet in my in my cabin

right now and it talks about suppressing

and pushing down and pushing away and

crushing mind with mind well that's the

opposite of the Buddha's teaching don't

keep your attention on it it's something

that happened in the past event

you broke a precept and you've got a

guilty feeling from breaking the precept

and then you kind of shine it on and you

say now

with this and it really does make a

difference this is one of the reasons

that people hold on to the one pointed

concentration so much is because the

concentration gets deep they don't have

the hindrances and it's it's they get

into a state of bliss they get into a

state of joy because the hindrances are

suppressed but when they come out of

that they have the hindrances but they

can't recognize that they have them do

you have entrances arise during the day

well everybody does what do you do with

it if you practice one point in

concentration you get caught up in it

you can still have the same amount of

anger that you had before you meditate

it and then you start questioning well

why is this like why am I not letting go

of this why why am I caught up in this

still meditation is supposed to make you

happy but I'm not happy because I have

this anger or sadness or fear or anxiety

whatever the catcher that they is it

doesn't really matter what matters is

what you do with it if you get back into

your one-pointed concentration you're

not letting go of it you're suppressing

it with the concentration so you have to

be able to recognize it release it by

not keeping your attention on it

relaxing the tightness caused by that

and smile

bring the smiling light back to your

object of meditation stay with your

object of meditation as long as you can

don't force it just let it be by itself

you will naturally progress with this

meditation that happens all by itself

you don't have to make anything happen

you have to learn how to let go and let

it be and relax and smile and come back

now one of the things that happens

especially with people as they start is

they try to use the six artists with any

kind of thing that comes up in their

mind and you don't need do that if your

attention is not pulled away from your

object of meditation just let those

thoughts be there they'll disappear on

their own but if you get pulled away and

you're not with your spiritual friend

anymore you know whether your object of

meditation then that's the time you use

the six arts okay so don't try to

overuse it and another thing that

happens especially with people that

haven't done a whole lot of meditation

is that they will have a real good City

and they'll go

yeah but I need to get up and do

something go to the bathroom or whatever

and then you walk a little bit and you

come back and your first thought before

you get back is I'm gonna do that again

that was really nice and that's the last

thing that happens why because I want is

in there I'm trying to control I'm

trying to make it happen because it was

such a good city and it doesn't work

your mind is real restless so what is a

natural thing to do well let's try a

little bit harder so your meditation

gets even more active that's when you

need to laugh with yourself look what

I'm doing I don't need to be doing this

I just need to be relaxing and do it

so stop don't do that anymore start over

again let's just allow these things to

be there by themselves don't make a big

deal out of it because you make a big

deal out of it when you try to control

it and you'll see that your progress is

much faster when you do that it's it's

much easier when you do that whenever I

give a retreat one other thing

that I tell people is first you got a

smile all the time smile smile smile

second I want you to laugh with yourself

when you're caught why because when you

laugh you're not caught by it anymore

you go from I am this and it's not

working too well it's only this do I

need to carry that around no let it go

so that's the fastest way to overcome

any hindrance and I want you to have fun

now this is a brand new concept in the

world of meditation you mean it's

supposed to be fun well I've been to so

many retreats and believe me I've been

to a lot of them over the years and I've

done an awful lot of meditation and

what I found out was that when people

are doing one point in concentration or

noting things too much that they get

real serious with the practice and they

don't have fun and you see a lot of

students with these deep lines either

really drawing art and of course the

trying hard is the thing that makes a

meditation worse so there's not any real

progress and the progress you get is

very slow this meditation that I'm

showing you your progress is fast

everybody here is progressing and I see

it I don't necessarily talk about it

because that's a way to build up your

pride and I got I'm in miss Donna you

know I'm something special I don't talk

about that sort of thing because a drama

is misunderstood the kind of drama that

I'm showing you the drama is like a

signpost it just it tells me where you

are in the meditation so I could talk to

you in a different way about what you're

doing okay it's it's a level of your

understanding now this whole meditation

is about understanding but you have to

teach yourself this and when you go from

one job to the next that shows me that

you're doing it correctly you're doing

it just right

continue it's not going to be the same

all the time it's going to be changing

everything is changing so it's okay if

it's sometimes it's a little more

difficult than others well if it's a

little more difficult that means you

have to work a little harder and stay

with the six hours and that will fade

away and then you'll get peaceful and

calm so you don't judge yourself because

you really don't know what progress is I

do I know what the progress is because

I've done so many different kinds of

meditation I can recognize what's really

happening

so it's a interesting I've been with

people that are doing one pointed

concentration and they have this huge

pride you know I'm in the fourth jhana

and they tell me that sort of thing and

I go so you haven't learned anything

you're not doing the meditation in the

proper way that the Buddha taught that

leads to having a happier mind that has

a more balanced mind all the time so

it's a real different kind of meditation

that I'm showing you and having fun is a

big part of it now when you were in

school and you had a class that you

really liked I had a an English teacher

that was amazing and he would he would

make every class interesting and I got

to really like it what happened with my

grades oh I got a made why because it

was fun

it wasn't work and I understood what he

was talking about he had that that

talent to be able to explain things in a

simple way

so it was fun to learn it well you do

you had add that to every part of your

life you make every part fun and all of

a sudden you're going to be so

successful you won't know what to do

with it I don't know who came along and

said life is supposed to be serious it's

not life is supposed to be fun the

Buddha said were the happy ones well he

wasn't kidding when you follow what he's

teaching and how he was teaching it more

and more precisely it gets to be more

and more fun and I've had people that

have been very very advanced with one

pointed concentration and they started

doing this and they would come to me

with a look of wonderment on their face

and they'd say this really is fun

anytime you're serious you have an

attachment

there's craving there there's judging

there there's all kinds of suffering

but when it's fun even though it can be

painful it's not so terrible because

you're starting to change your

perspective of things you're starting to

change your view you don't do the same

thing that you've been doing over and

over again because you start realizing

well that doesn't work why why do I keep

doing that why do I keep making the same

mistake over and over again so you laugh

with it then you start to say it but

this isn't so bad it's not that big a

deal we have to make mistakes because

that's how we learn oh that didn't work

so let's not do it that way again but

don't criticize your because you make a

mistake accept it as part of the

learning experience it's real important

and how does a month not know the Ford

he Rama does not go from time to time to

those monks who have learned much who

are well versed in the tradition who

maintained the dhamma and discipline and

the coats and he does not inquire ask

questions of them in another suit the

Buddha said that if people don't ask

questions they will become stupid

because you don't ask questions but if

you do ask questions you're gonna become

very intelligent and if you've seen any

of my past youtubes you know that I've

given this suit a few times and I've

actually caused people to feel a little

bit embarrassed because they don't ask

questions okay

then be stupid I don't care it's your

choice

and there's no such a thing as a stupid

question unless you ask the same thing

over and over hoping to get a different

answer so don't do that and how is this

venerable answered he doesn't ask what

is the meaning of this how do you look

at it how do you how do you understand

it these venerable ones do not reveal to

him what has not been revealed because

he wasn't asked they're not going to

just give you answers and hope that you

would have asked that question no it

doesn't work that way and that person

won't clarify what's not clear or remove

his doubts about the numerous things

that give rise to doubts this is how a

monk does not know the fort this dream

how does a monk not know what has been

drunk here when the dhamma and

discipline proclaimed by the d target is

being taught a monk does not gain an

inspiration in the meaning does not gain

inspiration in the dhamma does not gain

gladness connected with the dhamma

that is how does not know what it is to

have drunk okay and that means basically

when I'm giving a Dhamma talk and you

see me reading what the Buddha is say

you're letting your mind wander do you

think

but this thinking about that not paying

attention so you don't get inspired you

don't get more happiness from

understanding now you heard me talking

at lunch about this person that is

putting in stuff into the Dominus deep

the Buddha's teaching that's really

shouldn't be there and there's not a

great deal of true understanding and

that is a problem for them they're

trying to give definitions for things

that are from the dictionary and you

can't do that not with the Buddhist

teaching it has to be from your direct

practice now everybody here is going to

experience at least getting to the

fourth jhana now this is major this is a

major step in your understanding because

you have direct experience because

you're starting to understand more and

more carry how this meditation works

when I first came back from Asia I was

there for 12 years when I started

teaching people oh there were so many

complaints and so many judgments and so

many problems because they weren't

listening because they heard somebody

else said it well there's this thing

called the Kalam no tsuita that says you

don't you put down aside whatever

somebody else is said about Buddhism and

listen to what's being said

then you go back to the suitors and see

whether it's correct or not but you

don't just sit there and criticize

that's not the way this teacher taught

well that teacher might be teaching

directly might not and it has to do with

blind belief in the teacher during the

time of the Buddha the teacher the Guru

you got you've got to believe everything

that is it and that might not

necessarily take you on the path that

shows you how to get off of the

suffering cycle so don't just blindly

believe but when you have a practice and

you're being taught correctly you'll see

the change is happening and you'll

understand how this process actually

does work and you're teaching yourself

that all I'm doing it is giving you the

information what you do with it is up to

you sometimes it's really amazing how

many times I have to repeat myself would

you hear me do often and they might hear

something 50 or 60 times and then it

sinks in and they go oh this is really

amazing it is like you said and they

come to me all happy and they say look

at what I just found out and it's like

well yeah I've been telling you that for

the

six months don't you think if you were

to listen more closely you would

actually would add that insight so being

attentive when you're listening to the

Dhamma is very very important

letting thoughts just kind of ramble

through your mind and looking at you do

this or that well that means that you

have not absorbed the Dom you're just

playing with it and it takes a long time

to get progress if you do that so yeah

your interest has to be strong fun you

get from learning I have a lot of

students that they tell me they get back

from learning the Dhamma the way it's

being taught and people tell them you

know I really feel more intelligent you

you sound more intelligent you're making

more sense you're not caught up in a lot

of speculation and that sort of thing so

they want to find out more about it

what's different about you you're you're

different now

you're more accepting you have more

balance in your money well that's the

result of good meditation

and how does a monk not know the road

here a monk does not understand the

Noble Eightfold Path as it actually is

this is how Allah does not know the road

that is the path following that every

time you use the six artists you were

following the entire Eightfold Path at

that time you're on the right path and

your mind gets lighter you start having

more balance in your mind you see and

feel the difference and how as a monk

unskilled in pastures here among does

not understand the four foundations of

my informants now this is kind of an

interesting topic because we're just

talking about it today and the

translation that people are using is the

first foundation is observing the body

in the body and that's a bad translation

and it leads people off of what the

Buddha was talking about its observing

the body as the body and you see the

difference this is real important

because when you're looking in the body

that gives you more flexibility with

experimenting and other things that

don't work but when you see the body as

the body

as it actually is and you see how this

process actually does work then the four

foundations of mindfulness are actually

talking about the jhana practice people

that are doing street Fasano they don't

understand the four foundations of

mindfulness very well because of that

one difference to letters instead of in

it's as and when it's as the body then

you're observing this it's the body this

is how this works that's why you have

the 32 body parts and all these other

things because now you are observing it

as it is without having other

disturbances so the feeling as feeling

mind as mind

damas as Damas so this is how there's a

much deeper practice when you practice

the four foundations of mindfulness the

way the Buddha taught and not change the

words like that

that is how a monk is unskilled in

pastures

you don't understand exactly what this

field of observation is about how does a

monk milk dry here when faithful

householders invite a month to take as

much as he likes of robes arms food

resting-place and medicinal requisites

the monk does not know moderation and

accepting I've been around monks that

they oh yeah I'll take more of that a

lot more of that and they're not

monitored they're not moderate and

they're taking now when I was in Burma I

had a man come to me and he said I want

to take care of requisites for you them

he was into vitamins and all of that

kind of thing he said can I get these

vitamins for you and I said yeah well

what ones do you want and how many

bottles of each one do you want and I

couldn't tell him because that's not the

mom's way

it's allowing people to give what they

want to give and let them do that

without feeling like you're a burden to

them that is a monk milks bride have you

ever been around somebody that always

ask you for stuff can you give me this

can you give me that I want that can I

have that well I think it's tiresome

being around the person like that so all

of a sudden you know when you see them

coming you know they're gonna ask you

for something and you go hide go away

don't don't be around somebody that has

a greedy mind and how does a month show

no extra veneration to those elder monks

of long standing who have gone forth the

fathers and leaders of the Sangha here

Rama does not maintain acts of

loving-kindness both openly and

privately towards those elder monks does

not maintain verbal acts of loving

kindness towards them both openly and

privately he does not maintain mental

acts of loving kindness towards them

both openly

privately that is how bunk fills no

extra veneration to those counter mocks

of long-standing live long gone forth

the fathers and elders of the Sangha so

mock's that are good monks that have

long-standing you pay attention to what

they're saying

you don't argue with them you don't

fight with them

you don't gossip about them because

that's breaking a precept right there

and that seems to be a real problem in

Asia is gossip they don't even

understand what true gossip is and

that's perpetuating unwholesome states

is basically what it boils down to

making up stories about someone else and

that happens a lot and they tell white

lies white lies are still lies you don't

say something that isn't true so keeping

the precepts this is one of the most

important parts of the practice because

you got to do it all the time you have

to keep your precepts without breaking

them if you break a precept and you come

to a retreat guess who has a lot of

entrances until they can purify their

mind so that they don't have that

problem anymore and the meditation might

be two weeks or a month or three months

and they have all of these entrances

coming up over and over and over again

their progress is almost non-existent

now in America when they won at Buddhism

first got a popular in 60s and 70s

people would they would take the

precepts one time in a language that

they didn't understand so they got no

benefit from it and in the 70s I know

that there were some people that would

go to retreat and they would take drugs

they would take peyote and mescaline and

these kind of things

well what advantage do they have of

doing that you're hurting themselves and

they're breaking a precept but they

didn't see it that way

and then they wonder why you know I've

been doing this meditation for 15 years

and well yeah I smoke pot every now and

then but I take these different kinds of

drugs and then they wonder why they

can't progress this is serious stuff

and

all of the precepts are equally

important the reason I having to take

the precepts every day in a language you

understand is not just some write-in

ritual just to go through and not think

about it's a reminder to keep the

precepts without breaking them if you

break a preset your meditation is going

to be horrible and it's got to stay that

way until you seriously take the

precepts again we'll talk more about

that later

when a monk possesses these 11 qualities

he's incapable of growth increase and

fulfillment in this common discipline

well that makes sense that because

they're not following the true teachings

as they should be monks when a Cowherd

possesses eleven factors he's capable of

keeping and rearing a herd of cattle

what 11 here a cowherd has knowledge of

form and he's killed in characteristics

he picks out the Flies eggs he dresses

wounds he smokes out the sheds

he knows the forg he knows what had what

it is to have drunk he knows the road

he's skilled and pastures he does not

milk dry and he shows extra veneration

to those bulls who are fathers and

leaders of the herd when a coward

possesses

these eleven factors he's capable of

keeping and rearing a herd of cattle so

two months when a mop possesses these

eleven qualities he's capable of growth

increase and fulfillment

it's real simple so in this dhamma and

discipline he follows the dhamma and

discipline closely what 11 here a monk

has knowledge of form his guild and

characteristics he picks out the Flies

eggs he dresses the ones he smokes out

the sheds

he knows the fort he knows what it is to

have drunk he knows the road is filled

in passengers he does not melt dry and

he shows extra veneration to those elder

most of a long standing who have long

since gone forth the fathers and elders

of the Sangha as much as I don't like

the idea of becoming a

of the Sangha I've been doing this for a

lot of years how does a mockup knowledge

reform here a monk understands as it

actually is thus all material all

material form of whatever kind consists

of the four Great elements that means

you don't take it personally and the

material form derived from the four

Great elements when you actually look at

the body where is it where is a body a

body is a concept it's an idea it's made

up of a lot of different little parts

head hairs body hairs nails teeth skin

and phlegm and bile and pus and all

kinds of disgusting things are in the

body but where am I when I was teaching

in Malaysia I had a lot of college

students that came and they they were in

their early 20s and they had a lot of

lust coming up just like an early 20

person events and they would see some

beautiful body walk by and all of a

sudden they started lusting after it and

everything

and they were concerned with that so

they asked me what can we do about this

I said okay turn the body inside out

tell me how beautiful it is

oh you have a great looking liver I've

never seen such magnificent intestines

the smell of your your puss and mile is

really good and what it does is it it

starts showing you that's not something

to be lust after it it's something that

not be so interested in it so it's

really an important part of the practice

but you only do that kind of practice

with a monk you don't do it on your own

as you'll get real disgusted then you

can even become so disgusted that you

would you want to get rid of the body

and commit suicide that's not a good

thing this is how Allah has knowledge

informs how is a monk skilled and

characteristics here among understands

as it actually is a fool is

characterized by his

actions a wise man is characterized by

his actions a fool does things that

cause themselves pain and suffering and

they kind of wallow and I didn't like

that sort of thing that's not healthy

but a wise man he sees it as it actually

is so he doesn't get so involved in it

and he sees it him personally every time

you use the six hours and you let go of

that tension and tightness in your head

right after that your mind is clear

you're seeing the impersonal nature of

how this process works and you don't

take it this is me this is mine this is

Who I am

you don't have those kind of things come

up the things that you have come up are

the observations of how this process

actually does work that is how the monk

is skilled in characteristics and how

there's a monk pick pick out flies eggs

here what a thought of sexual desire has

arisen among does not tolerate it

the abandons it removes it does away

with it now these are all descriptions

that are rather harsh it is he relaxes

and lets go of the craving for these

things to

right this is how he gets rid of it over

a period of time that's how it really

works

what a thought of ill-will or a thought

of cruelty is arisen when evil and

wholesome states have arisen a month is

not tolerated him he does not get caught

up in it he does not become obsessed

with it he sees how he causes himself

pain by getting obsessed with it that's

how you use the six artists and you

become more awesome and what does that

mean that means your mind is going to

tend towards uplifting things on joy and

happiness and and having fun you're

gonna have that more and more

that is how a mum picks out the Flies

eggs

how does a monk dress wounds here on

seeing a form with the eye does not

grasp it assigns and features sense if

he left the eye faculty and guarded evil

and wholesome states of I like it or I

don't like it crazy might enter is his

mind and invade his mind so it keeps

coming up over and over again any kind

of Pleasant feeling at all is just that

it is not yours it arises because of the

past work you have done to let go of

gravy

he practices the way of restraint he

guards the I faculty and that means all

of the thoughts about the I faculty I'm

hearing a sound with the ear smelling in

order with the nose tasting a flavor

with the tongue touching a tangible with

body on cognizant of mind object with

mind or any of these others and stores a

monk does not grasp it at signs and

features he notices things but doesn't

get caught up in it start thinking about

it sense if he left one of these

faculties unguarded evil and wholesome

states of craving might and might invade

his mind and read me he practices the

way of the restraint he guards the

faculties he undertakes the restraint of

the faculties that is how Allah dresses

wounds and how is among smoke out the

sheds hear about teaches others in

detail the Dhamma that he has learned

and mastered that's what I'm doing for

you right now I'm smoking out the Jets

trying to get you to let go of past

concepts and opinions that cause you

suffering and you'll see how is it done

by the end of this retreat you will know

for yourself

that is how a monk smokes out the sheds

how does a monk know the fort here a

monk goes from time to

to such monks who have learned much who

are well versed in in the tradition who

maintained the dhamma and discipline and

the codes and he inquires and asked

questions about them that is how how is

this venerable sir what is the meaning

of this these venerable ones revealed to

him what has not been revealed clarified

what is not cleared and removed his

doubts about the numerous things that

give rise to doubt this is how a ma

knows the Fords and how does amount know

what it is to have drunk here the dhamma

and discipline proclaimed by the two

toccatas being taught a monk gains

inspiration in the meaning gains

inspiration in the dhamma gains gladness

concerning connected with the dhamma

that is how knows what it is to have

drunk how does a monk know the road here

a month understands the Eightfold Path

as it actually is

that is how a monk understands the road

and how is a monks killed and pastors

here a monk understands the four

foundations of mindfulness as they

actually

that is how a monk is skilled and

pastors and how does a month not milk

dry

here when a faithful householder invites

a month to take as much as he likes of

the ropes alms food resting-place and

medicinal herbs the monk knows

moderation and accepting that is how a

monk does not milk right and how does a

month show extra veneration to those

elders and monks of long standing who

have long gone forth the fathers and

leaders of the Sangha here a monk

maintains bodily acts of loving kindness

both openly and privately towards those

elder monks he maintains verbal acts of

loving kindness towards them both openly

and privately it maintains mental acts

of loving kindness toward them both

openly and privately that is how a monk

should show veneration to those elder

monks

Oh long-standing who have long gone

forth the fathers and leaders of the

saga when a monk possesses these 11

quality is capable of growth increase in

fulfillment in this dhamma and

discipline that is what the Blessed One

said the monks were satisfied and

delighted in the Blessed ones words so

this is kind of a unique kind of

practice that puts things in perspective

more easily for you and it can help very

much to clear up any doubts that you

have the whether this is a correct path

or not and you are your own teacher you

are teaching yourself this way not

because somebody says you have to do it

that way because I say you have to do it

that way but by Harold practice by your

own observation by your own imperial

understanding and this is actually quite

scientific

one of the reasons that I like to read

the symptoms is because you know that

it's not coming from me it's coming from

the Buddha and when you follow what the

Buddha says when you practice in this

way and then you will be successful it's

pretty amazing how successful a lot of

my students really are because there is

this belief that it's impossible to

obtain name batata in this lifetime

and I'm here to tell you it's not

impossible it could be very probable

that you can have this sort of thing

happen how closely do you follow the

directions I'm not going to give you

directions that are going to lead you

off of the path

gonna give you suggestions and keep you

on the path but you have to decide to do

it so it's all up to you now this is

only a 10-day retreat can you be

successful in 10 days yes I have many

students that are successful in 10 days

and their understanding and the changes

that they go through in just a short

period of time is truly remarkable

because they were really going for it

and following the directions and seeing

that it works and that gives you more

confidence and then you start trusting

your own and Domitian again trust your

intuition if you have a problem that

you're going through you don't know why

ask yourself why is this happening now

what can I do to overcome this problem

you'll get the answer then you have to

adjust with what it says okay good we

have people that actually ask questions

that you're all going to be intelligent

that makes me happy okay let's hear some

merit

may suffering ones be suffering free and

the fear struck fearless be me the

grieving hit all grief and may all being

find relief may all be fair this merit

that we thus acquired for the

acquisition of all kinds of happiness

made beings inhabiting space and earth

Davis and Agnes of mighty power share

this merit of ours I mean they don't

protect the Buddha's dispensation design

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