From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=nqnx7b-eLNs

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

[Music]

hello everyone

happy new year about you here

hope you had a good week

so

the suit tonight is rather interesting

it has to do with dependent origination

and

the sensual pleasures material form and

feeling

and i found i found it quite interesting

as i was going through it

this is the mahaduca konda

suta the greater discourse on the mass

of suffering

one of the problems that i have with

giving this short short talks every week

is i don't get to finish the sutta for

you

so you have to finish it yourself

but if you have any questions about it

write the question down and next week

we'll discuss what he was talking about

okay

so

thus if i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living in sawayatee and

jettas grove

annathan pendika's park

then when it was morning a number of

monks dressed and taking their bowl and

outer ropes

went into sawatee for alms

the outer robe is a double thick robe

so monks can use that as a blanket or

stay warmer with a double thick robe

then they thought it's still too early

to wander for alms and sawatee

suppose we went to the park of the

wanderers of

other sects

so they went to the park of the

wanderers of other

sexed and exchanged greetings with the

wanderers

when this courteous and amiable talk was

finished

they sat down at one side and the

wanderer said

to them friends the recluse gotemon

describes the full

understanding of sensual pleasures

and we do so too

the recluse gotema describes the full

understanding of material form

and we do too

the recluse gotoma describes a full

understanding

of feeling and we do so

too what then

is the distinction here friends

what is the variance what is the

difference

between the riku's gotema's teaching of

the dhamma and ours

between his instruction and ours

do we have kleenex

then those monks neither approved or

disprove the wanderer's words

without doing either they rose from

their seats and went away thinking we

shall come to understand the meaning of

these words

in the blessed one's presence

i'm sure they had some discussion or

other

but they didn't answer as completely as

the buddha could

when they'd wandered for alms in sawati

and returned from their arms round after

the meal

they went to the blessed one after

paying homage to him

sat down at one side and said

and told him what had taken place

the blessed one monks

wanderers of other sects

who speak to us should be questioned

thus

but friend what is the gratification

what is the danger what is the escape in

the case of sensual pleasures

what is the gratification what is the

danger

and what is the escape in the case of

material forms

is the gratification what is the danger

and what is the escape in the case of

feeling

being questioned thus wanderers of

other sects will fail to

account for the matter

and what is more they will get into

difficulties

why is that because it's not their

province

i see no one in the world with its gods

and its maras

its promise and this generation with

recluses and brahmanas

with its princes and its people

who can satisfy the mind with a reply to

these questions

except for the tattagata or his

disciples

or one who has learned and learned it

from them

now we're going to get into the section

on central pleasures

and what monks is the gratification

in the case of sensual pleasures

monks there are these five chords of

sensual pleasure

what are the five forms cognizable by

the

eye that are wished for desire agreeable

and likable

connected with sensual desire and

inviting lust

sounds cognizable by the ear that are

wished for desired agreeable and likable

connected with sensual desire and

inviting lust

odor is cognizable by the nose

that are wished for desired agreeable

and likable

connected with sensual desire and

inviting lust

flavors cognizable with the tongue

that are wished for desired agreeable

and likable connected with sensual

desire and inviting lust

tangibles cognizable by the body

that are wished for desired agreeable

and likable connected with sensual

desire and inviting lust

these are the five cords of sensual

pleasure

now the pleasure and joy that arise

dependent on these five chords of

sensual pleasure

are the gratification in the case of

sensual pleasures

and what monks is the danger in the case

of sensual pleasures

here monks on account of the craft by

which a klansman makes a living

whether checking or accounting

or calculating or farming or trading

or husbandry or archery

or royal service or whatever

craft there it may be

he has to face cold

he has to face heat

he is injured by contact with gadflies

mosquitoes wind sun and creeping

things if you've ever lived in asia you

know that there's a lot of creeping

things

he risked death by hunger and thirst

now this is a danger in which the case

of sensual pleasures

is a mass of suffering visible here and

now

having sensual pleasures as its cause

sensual pleasures as its source

sensual pleasures as its basis

the cause simply being

sensual pleasures

if no property comes to the klansmen

while he works

and strives and makes effort thus

he sorrows grieves and laments

he weeps beating his breast and becomes

distraught

and crying my work

is in vain my

effort is fruitless now this too

is a danger in the case of sensual

pleasures

i think an awful lot of people

experience this sort of thing

um especially with the

virus the way it is forcing people to

stay

inside and they can't work

and they get depressed very easily they

don't know what to do with their mind

so there's a lot of sorrow

because of sensual pleasures because you

can't

get what you want when you want it you

can't do the things you want to do

so that you can be prosperous

the cause of this kind of fruit

fruitlessness

being simply sensual pleasures

that's part of the first noble truth

isn't it

not getting what you want or getting

what you don't

want getting in debt

always feeling bad and not being

able to improve your

lot in life

if property comes to the clansmen while

he works

and strives and makes an effort thus

he experiences pain and grief

and protecting it

how shall neither kings nor thieves come

make off with my property

nor fire burn it nor water sweep it away

nor hateful heirs make off with it

and as he guards and protects his

property

kings and thieves make off with it

or fire burns it or water sweeps it away

or hateful heirs make off with it

and he sorrows grieves and laments

he weeps beating his breast and becomes

distraught

what if i have

what i had i have no longer

now this too is a danger in the case of

sensual pleasures

the cause simply being sensual pleasures

what we do when somebody comes and takes

our

things away as we blame them

and we don't see that

our attachment to

material things

is the cause of the pain

again with sensual pleasures as the

cause

sensual pleasures as the source sensual

pleasures

as the basis the cause

simply being sensual pleasure

kings quarrel with kings nobles with

nobles

brahmanas with brahmanas householders

with householders

mother quarrel with child child with

mother

father with child child with father

brothers quarrel with brother brothers

with sister

sister with brothers

friend with friend and here in their

quarrels their brawls their disputes

they attack each other with fists clawed

sticks or knives

whereby they incur death or deadly

suffering

now this too is a danger in the case of

sanctual pleasures

the cause being simply sensual pleasures

again excuse me

with sensual pleasures as the cause

men take swords and shields and buckle

on

bows and and quivers

and they charge into battle masked in

double array with arrows and spears

flying

and swords flashing

and here they are wounded by arrows and

spears and their heads are cut off

by swords whereby they incur

death or deadly suffering

[Music]

now this too is a danger in the case of

sensual pleasures

the cause simply being sensual pleasures

again with sensual pleasures as the

cause

men take the swords and shields and

buckle on bows and quivers

and they charge slippery slippery

bastions with bows and arrows flying and

spears flying

and swords flashing

there they are wounded by arrows

and spears and slashed with boiling

liquids

and crushed under heavy weights

and their heads are cut off by swords

whereby they incur death or deadly

suffering

now this too is a danger in the case of

sensual pleasures

again with sensual pleasures as the

cause

men break into houses plunder wealth

commit burglary ambush highways

seduce others wives

and when they're caught

kings have many kinds of torture

inflicted on them

the kings have them flayed with whips

beaten with canes beaten with clubs

they have their hands cut off their feet

cut off

their hands and feet cut off

their ears cut off their nose cut off

their ears and nose cut off

they have them subjected to

a porridge pot that means being boiled

in oil

to a polished shell shave

that's taking off the skin with a

sea shell

there's something that's called rahu's

mouth

and it's fiery wreath

and the flaming hand and the

blades of grass they have a kind of

grass

in asia that's called cusa grass

and it is very very sharp it'll it'll

if if you pull a

one strand of grass through your fingers

you'll come up with bloody fingers

so one of the things that i noticed

in almost all of the holy books if you

want to find out anything

about torturing someone else you go to

the holy books and they

describe it very well for you

i'm not suggesting that you do it of

course

but i always found it very interesting i

mean in

in the bible in the quran there's all

kinds of different tortures

that they describe

i often wondered why it got put into

books that are supposed to be for

healing

for getting along with other people

but you have to know what to do when

they don't do that when they're not

healing

they're fighting

there's there's other of these tortures

that it goes through i'm not going to go

through these

it gets depressing listening to this

stuff after a period of time

no it

[Laughter]

david is in love with the hell realms he

reads all the books on the hell realms

he can't he wants to find out all of the

tortures that can happen

so so he thinks it's kind of a good

thing to be able to listen to this

but i'm not going to do that

again with this sensual pleasures as the

cause

sensual pleasures as the source

sensual pleasures as the basis

the cause simply being sensual pleasures

people indulge in misconduct of body

speech and mind having done so

on the dissolution of the body after

death

they reappear in a state of deprivation

in an unhappy destination even in hell

now this too is a danger in the case of

sensual pleasures

a mass of suffering in the life

to come having sensual pleasures

as its cause sensual pleasures as its

source

sensual pleasures as its basis

the cause simply being sensual pleasures

now the thing with the meditation that's

very interesting

is when

people before they start meditating

they go through everybody

that i've run across

they're looking for a way out of the

suffering

and then they run across meditation and

the advertising

for the meditation is well yeah you

become more happy and you don't

you let go of all these emotional

ties and emotional upsets and that sort

of thing

and you can sleep better and you do get

better at your job and you actually have

more fun in your life

actually there's

an awful lot of people that

get more into their suffering because of

the meditation

and they can they actually

suffer more if the meditation

is not being done in the

proper way

and the meditation that i teach the twim

is the only meditation that i've seen

that is very successful

because it teaches you to have more

balance

in your mind and the more

equanimity you have in your mind

the easier

everything in life becomes

so

i i've run across many many many people

that are more interested in

studying what the suit does say

than in following what the suta suggests

when you come here to meditate we take

your books away

except for the books we want you to read

the books we want you to read are mostly

instruction

in how to be doing this

and it's real important for you to

understand

that there is a lot of

misunderstanding of people

when we talk about keeping the precepts

and why

do we want you to keep the precepts

the reason that we want you to keep the

precepts and it's your choice whether

you do or not

but the reason we want you to keep the

precepts

is so that it will lead to

a more calm balanced mind

where there is a kind of mindfulness

that you get from keeping the precepts

and that is you

know what you're going to do and what

you're going to say

before you say it or do it

and that gives you the opportunity

to make a good choice for yourself

so the more clear you can become

with keeping the precepts without

breaking them

the less guilty feeling you will have

and that takes a big load off of your

emotional

states

and this leads to a form of letting go

of the suffering the third

mobile truth now what's the cause of

suffering

the cause of suffering is always

craving

how do you recognize craving when it

arises

it causes tension and tightness in your

head

in your mind

it causes you to get in to

emotional upsets

where you start arguing with somebody

else

and you talk over them while they're

talking

that's really kind of a strange

phenomena

because while you're talking you hear

what you say

but you don't hear what somebody else

says

they're talking they hear what they say

but they don't hear what you say so it's

a waste of effort

to be talking or trying to convince

somebody

else of a point of view

by talking over them

quite often this is the cause of a lot

of

these

[Music]

problems these days

because people haven't learned how to

listen and carry on

a good conversation without praise and

without blame

so anytime you get into a situation

where you you get

a uh emotional the emotion

arises because in the past you have

broken precepts and you feel guilty

and you want to blame somebody else for

your pain

but your pain is caused by

you you can't blame

other people for your pain

so

and what monks is the escape in the case

of sensual pleasures

it is the removal of desire

and lust the abandoning of

desire and lust for sensual pleasures

this is the escape in the case of

sensual pleasures

now isn't that what i was just talking

about

you use the six hours

in your daily activities

especially when you see that you're

getting caught up in an emotional

reaction

a reaction is an action that happens

the same way over and over again

something close arises that always sets

you off

and gets you mad that

is a reaction you're acting again

like you always act and this is part of

your habitual tendency

when you keep the precepts for a period

of time

you actually

are

starting to see how much pain

you cause yourself by reacting

and you start backing away from that

generally the the reaction the anger

the fear the anxiety the disappointment

whatever it happens to be

is because of an expectation that you

have

and you need to let go of your

expectations

you want people to act the way you want

them to

and when they don't act that way

well it's their fault

now you've heard me over the last little

bit talking a lot about

forgiveness and what does forgiveness

do it helps let

you to let go of your pain

of free actions

and then you respond with a clear mind

that's balanced

that doesn't insist that other people

act the way that you act

you see what i'm saying please

understand this is

important stuff

so the letting go of desire

and lust for sensual pleasures

and its sensual pleasures at any of the

sex doors

it doesn't matter which sensor it is

it's still

caused by

want desire

i want it to be way i want it to be

when i want it that way

and you hear all of that

craving that is in those statements

and what is the craving i like it or i

don't like it i want it or i don't want

it

i

it's taking it personally and then

it's not getting what you want when you

want it

so there's a lot

to the keeping of

the precepts

that lead to more and more

balance in your mind

that those recluses and brahmanas who do

not

understand as it actually is the

gratification

as gratification the danger

as danger and the escape

as in the case of sensual desires

can either fully

understand sensual pleasures

or instruct another

so that he can fully understand central

pleasures

that is impossible

that those recluses and brahmanas who

understand as it actually is the

gratification

is gratification the danger is danger

and the escape

as escape in the cause of sensual

pleasures

can either themselves fully

understand sensual pleasures or instruct

another so that they can be fully

they can fully understand sensual

pleasures

that is possible so what we're saying

here is you have to experience

it first for yourself

before you can convince anybody else

and the way you convince other people

about keeping the precepts is by keeping

them

for yourself and being the example

you know how little kids learn they

learn their behavior

by watching their parents behave in

different situations

if a parent gets angry and becomes

violent

then the little kid learns that that's

the way you handle

anger and it can cause

all kinds of suffering

and dissatisfaction

and miscommunication because you're not

being

the example you're not showing

how you don't use curse words

and you insist that they don't either

when i first came back to this country

after being in asia for 12 years

i was completely shocked

at the foul language that's being used

on television

on the radio in the movies

and with people that are just talking in

the normal everyday

kind of speech i was

completely shocked

i kept on walking around thinking that

people

were being taught to be foul-mouthed

and a purpose a person who uses a lot of

bad language

causes a lot of upset in other people

and it causes other people to

to

have more and more

dislike and dissatisfaction happening to

them

and they verbalize it

so

and what monks is the gratification in

the case of material form

suppose there were a girl of a noble

class

or a brahman class or a householder

stock

in her 15th or 16th year

neither too tall nor too short neither

too thin nor too fat neither too

dark nor too fair

is her beauty and loveliness

then at its height

yes venerable sir now the pleasure and

joy that arise

and dependence on that beauty and

loveliness

are the gratification in the case of

material form

and what monks is the danger in the case

of material form

later on one might see that same woman

here 80 or 90

or 100 years old

and see her as crooked as a roof

bracket doubled up supported by

walking sticks tottering frail

youth gone teeth broken grade-haired

scantily haired bald wrinkled

with limbs all blotchy

what do you think monks has her former

beauty and loveliness

vanished and the danger become evident

yes venerable sir

this is the danger in the case of

material

form aging

[Music]

10 15 years ago

i didn't have blackfish skin but i'm

starting to develop it now

that's one of the dangers of

material form it it ages it gets old

again one might see that same woman

afflicted suffering and bravely ill

lying fouled in their own experiments

and their urine

lifted up by some or set down

by others what do you think

has her former beauty and loveliness

vanished and the danger become

evident yes venerable serve

this too is a danger in the case of

material form

again one might see that same woman as a

corpse

thrown aside an eternal ground one

two or three days dead

bloated living livid

oozing matter what do you think monks

has her former beauty and loveliness

vanished and the danger become evident

yes venerable sir monks this too is a

danger in the case of material

form there's a story about this

very expensive courtesan

and she would charge

a thousand dollars for a night just

to spend a night with her she was very

well formed well well

uh the famous for her

singing ability for her dancing ability

for her charms in other ways

and then she died

now in india they

generally don't keep a body

around very long because it starts to

smell

because of the heat and the humidity and

that sort of thing

and the buddha after she had died the

buddha had her

out so people could see

that body and how it started bk

and after the third day

three days after her death

the buddha called all the villagers

together and they said

who will give me a thousand pieces of

gold

to spend a night with this person

this courtesan of course nobody's gonna

do anything like that

then the buddha said who will give me

500 pieces of

gold no takers

who will give me 100 pieces of gold

no takers who will give me 50 pieces of

gold no

takers who will give me one piece of

gold one coin

to spend the night with this courtesan

and the point being that

bodies do get old and they decay

and it's not us

this is not me this is not mine this is

not myself

so

it's real important

especially if you go to a funeral of a

friend

to spend time looking at that friend

reflecting on what they were like when

they were alive

and also it helps you to let go

of your grief because they are gone

quite often people ask me how to how to

overcome

grief uh

a friend or relative that is gone they

were much

loved

and i tell them to get a good picture of

them

and sit down every day for a period of

time

and tell them and remember the times

when they did good things

when they had laughs together

when they helped each other

and talk to the picture talk to that

person

after a short period of time the grief

starts to

let up an awful lot of people get

caught in the grief and they hold that

grief

for even years and they hold that

sadness for

for years because

they don't like the

idea that material form changes

bodies change and

it's not near as

beautiful or as much fun as it used to

be

so when you sit and you talk to a

picture

of that person you're you're going back

into your memories

and you remember how they were kind and

how they were helpful

and how you had fun being with them

the pain of the grief starts to

dissipate

and before long

you'll be able to

let go of the pain of separation

because that's what it actually is

but still remember the good things that

you did together

how you were happy together

and this helps a lot to let go of that

suffering

let go of that pain

now there can be some memories that pop

up

when you're talking with them about

things that they did that wasn't so

nice so forgive them for not

understanding

let go of the pain of that past

experience

you'll feel a lot more uplifted and

happy

when you're able to do that

and what monks is the gratification in

this

in the case of feelings here are monks

quite secluded from sensual pleasures

secluded from unwholesome states

a monk enters upon and abides in the

first

genome which is accompanied by thinking

and examining thought

with joy and happiness born of seclusion

on such an occasion he does not choose

for his own affliction

or for the affliction of another

or for the affliction of both

on that occasion he feels a feeling that

is free

from affliction free from pain

why because you have developed a mind

that is uplifted

while you are in the drama you will

experience

joy you will experience tranquility you

will experience

peaceful calm mind and it's quite

comfortable

the highest gratification in the case of

feelings

is freedom from afflicting

i say again

with distilling of thinking and

examining thought

a monk enters upon and abides in the

second genre

and in each genre you are experiencing a

pure mind

you're experiencing a mind that doesn't

have any craving

in it and if there's no craving in your

mind how can there be afflictions

how can there be pain and suffering

and it keeps going on through the third

genre and the fourth genre

the highest gratification in the case of

feelings is freedom from affliction

freedom from hindrances

when you are in a jhana you don't have

any hindrances

you don't have anything that you're

holding on to that's unwholesome

and this leads more and more

to a mind that is developed

equanimity and eventually you'll get to

a place where you start

getting into disenchantment

which means letting go of the

fascination of things

with attachment to them

and this includes foods and all kinds of

different

sensual pleasures

and what monks is the danger in the case

of feeling

feelings are impermanent

feelings are suffering and

subject to change this is the danger

in the case of feelings

now the way that i teach you can be in

a genre while you're doing your daily

activities

you do have to use the six hearts

you do have to keep your mindfulness

strong and remembering to smile

in your mind not

necessarily a big smile on your lips

i was with my teacher lucille ananda for

a number of years

and i know i've known him since the 80s

when he died

the funeral home

didn't have a picture of him

and he

always had a little grin

on his face always

and people used to look at him and

they'd say oh you have such a young

face your face is very beautiful because

you have this smile

at the funeral home they didn't put the

smile on his face and i hardly

recognized him as my teacher

i mean it was really remarkable i didn't

know that

this was intentional his smile was

intentional

all the time

and that says that his mindfulness

was exceptional

to keep that smile going

no matter what

and because of that his mindfulness

became more and more clear about what he

was going to do

before he did it and he would make the

choice

of choosing

the wholesome path

so with your daily activities put a

little smile on your face just a little

one

it doesn't have to be a big one but the

mindfulness you get

from keeping that smile on your face

will

improve your mindfulness and awareness

of what you're going to be doing before

you do it

which means that you're going to have

more and more

a tendency to

keep the precepts without breaking them

and that helps remind you

your mindfulness is remembering to

observe how your mind's attention moves

from one thing to another

you can use the six hours and you can

let go

the more you smile smile with your eyes

as much as you can smile

little tiny smile little buddha smile

on your lips

and that

dictates what happens

in your mind your mind will tend towards

the wholesome the uplifting the happy

and that makes you

want to help other

people to be happy

and help other people to

by example

allow other people to

let go of their suffering too because

you are being the example

and monks is the escape in the case of

feeling what is the escape

in the case of feeling it is the removal

of desire and lust

oh the relaxed step

the relaxing and smiling and

staying with the smiling as your object

of meditation

the abandonment of desire and lust for

feelings this is emotional feeling as

well as physical

feeling this is the escape in the case

of feeling

that those monks those recluses and

brahmanas who do not understand as it

act actually is the gratification

as gratification

the danger as danger and the escape as

escape in the case of feelings

can either themselves fully understand

or instruct another so that they can

fully understand

feeling if they don't do it and practice

it themselves they don't understand

this is why when so many people

want to just well i would rather

study the sutas than do the practice

they're missing out a lot

they're hurting themselves a lot because

it takes a combination of both

you can misinform and you can not

change yourself

and you can misrepresent the buddha's

teaching

if you don't practice it

i'm not saying all scholars are the same

and i'm not saying they all don't

understand as clearly as they could

but it takes a combination of both

to truly be able

to give the information

to other people

and again you give the information to

other people

by your example by your

helpfulness to other people by your

kindness

to other people

by your words that you speak to other

people

that those monks and recluses who

understand as it actually is the

gratification

is gratification the dangerous danger

and the escape

as escape in the case of feeling

can either themselves fully understand

feeling and instruct another so that

they can fully understand feeling

that's possible there's not going to be

any hesitation

in in your

helping other people to

relax helping other

people to open up

and

help relieve suffering from themselves

and other people

that's what the blessed one said the

monks were satisfied and delighted in

the blessed one's

words

so

one of the reasons that i became a

buddhist

and for a long time even as as i was a

monk i'd never claimed that i was a

buddhist now i do

because of the self-responsibility you

have to have

you can't give your happiness

to other people unless you have

happiness

in yourself you can't

give away something that you don't

directly

know and understand

so the more you can keep your practice

going

with sitting but especially with your

daily

life i know an awful lot of people that

are

i.t people and they tell me

that they have to be serious

why why can't you smile while you're

working

why can't you keep your mind uplifted

and not get frustrated at this

machine because it doesn't do things the

way you want it to when you want it done

why not

you can be happy or you can be unhappy

it's your choice

you can laugh you can cry i prefer

laughing to cry it makes my body feel

good

so

please uplift your mind understand about

the

the sense doors understand about

material

existence

and don't get so caught up in your

perspective

keep your mind uplifted

smile more

like my teacher he was amazing i mean i

was with him for

for uh two years

pretty constant all the time

i never saw him without that little grin

that he had on his face

and i was one of the pallbearers for him

after he had died and gone to the

funeral home

and seeing him without that little grin

changed his face completely

and i wanted to tell him to take take

the body back

and put that grin on his face that was

that was him

but i couldn't do that they wouldn't

allow

okay so

please keep your practice going as much

as possible

do you have any questions

thank you very much for your talk i have

a quick question

yes um i think i understand what you

mean

by you know we expect others to behave

the way we want them to and then when

they don't

we make ourselves suffer right so

it seems like i have to learn how to

navigate the world full of

co-workers who don't do what they're

supposed to do

children who don't listen when they're

supposed to

right it's like nothing in the world is

going

according to the way i want it to go and

i understand that's my

suffering right but like how do we

navigate

when nothing out there is really meant

to go the way we want it to go

um you know like how drop your

perspective

and demands that they be that way

you know i've been with a lot of

different kinds of monks

i've been with mahayana monks i've been

with the tibetan monks

and when we get into conversation we

don't have

arguments we can say

well this is your what you're saying

right here

is different than what i'm i'm learning

i'm not judging whether it's right or

wrong

i'm just stating a fact

and when i start talking to them about

smiling and uh

using right effort

we never disagree

which is really kind of an amazing

things

i've seen monks get together and they

they start getting very angry with each

other

the zen monks and the tibetan monks they

don't even want to

eat in this at the same table they have

their

perspective is so different

and their development of that

unwholesome mind of

judging and condemning see that's the

thing that we have to develop

so that we don't have so many problems

with that

and as we lose that demands

and likes and dislikes and that sort of

thing we become an example

of having a balanced mind

other people catch on to that

so you have to change your perspective

so that it's a little bit more accepting

and start looking with gratitude at

the different things that they're doing

okay this is a really important

because when you start looking with

gratitude

that sets up a feeling

around you of acceptance

and when that acceptance is there your

mind is

very uplifted your mind is very

happy and willing to

listen to what other people are saying

without judging

and when you start losing that judgment

they stop being so disagreeable

okay it's what we project out to the

world

when we project an accepting mind

then people become more agreeable

very seldom do i run across someone that

that is hateful

when i'm in an agreeable

accepting non-judgmental state

so we affect the world around us

and that's why i say giving

being the example for other people

it changes them as well as it changes

yourself

okay thank you okay

every central pleasure with craving for

that central pleasure would still be the

cause of suffering

if we were able to make samsara the way

we wanted to be

[Laughter]

well you have all the five cent stores

right

or six cent stores because you have mind

in there too

what is your perspective of what

which scent store arises and whether i

like it or i don't like it whether

i my mind feels tight around it

or you're relaxed and accepting of it

see anything we make a big deal of in

our mind

there is attachment there there is

craving there

there is the identification of this is

me

this is mind and it leads to

oh this piece of cake is really good

maybe i'll have another

but when you start developing a little

bit more

what happens is you start to get

disenchanted and that craving mind

becomes less and less so you don't take

that second piece because it tastes so

good

with as a first piece

it doesn't mean you can't enjoy

say a piece of

cheesecake you can enjoy the cheesecake

while you're eating it

but after it's gone

when you have good equanimity you don't

think about it anymore

there's no more craving for more of it i

want more because that was really

good it doesn't come up in your mind

your mind stays more and more peaceful

and calm

now uh

i i don't know about to send sarah and

ivana i don't know how to answer that

the reason that you're the reason that

you are

here is because you have broken

a lot of precepts in the past and you've

identified with

them and you're caught on this on the

wheel of sansara

nibana is letting go of that

letting go of the

judgments the opinions the

unwholesome nature of things and

developing a wholesome nature of

things that's what nibana actually

is so i'll let you decide for yourself

with

what you do with that

anybody else

hi hi i have two questions

yeah it's going well

when they have two questions first

question is

regarding the same suta i came across

this sentence

when they are mentioning about

quarreling

nobles with nobles i got shocked by

seeing that what is

mean by foreign between nobles and

nobles to nobles

well we don't really have much in the

way of nobles

in uh

in society like he used to but the

nobles were the ruling class

yeah i can go to them yeah

in india they still have the uh

different class levels the the brahmins

and the warrior class and that sort of

thing

and that would just mean that they're

quarreling among the

let's say the brahmanas

and the quarreling about among the

uh the warrior class they're the ones

that that

have more action

there was a lot of different sections

that was ruled by the warrior class

during the time of the buddha

and they they didn't they weren't so

influenced by the brahmanas

the brahmanas were more or less the

scholars

although they did get in arguments all

the time

just just like these days

okay uh i can go to my next

it is not a question next one uh

one day i see that in asia we have very

few

teachers we are just couple of teachers

in asia

but in us we have a lot of teachers can

you please plan more teachers in asia

[Laughter]

when i first started thinking of

sayadawusilananda that was in 1980

he told me that i was going to be a

teacher

and that i should let dhamma grow

by itself

you have to set a good foundation

which means keeping the precepts very

well

and if something grows too fast

it goes away real fast

and and you can see that with somebody

like

rajneesh he became

super super popular really fast

and now you hardly hear of anything that

he taught

so let it grow on its own one one of the

statements that i

very much like is when you take care of

drama dhamma takes care of you

and what that basically means is you

will grow

at the speed that is good for you

there are some decent teachers around

there are some good teachers around in

india

but they're india has so many people in

it and so many

different opinions and ideas it's hard

to run across

them sometimes

but sister kema in uh

uh where is she

mumbai mumbai

she's she's starting to become more and

more popular

and teaching other people how to be

teachers so get in touch with her

i don't know how to tell you how to do

that you'd have to

tell that to david and he can help you

with getting her email and that sort of

thing

i do attend some of her talks

good i know that she has two classes a

week

on uh on this kind of this program

the zoom

so

get in touch with her and she'll help

you as much as she can

but just like the suta was saying as you

get older you just

start hobbling around instead of walking

like normal and that sort of thing

it does happen

anyway do you have any other question

uh that's i don't have any other

question

okay thank you for this talk one thing

thank you

how is your

practice going it's going well

i'm sitting around one and a half or

every day

every day good for you

good for you turn that into a habit

thank you okay

anybody else have a question

i have a question bunted okay thank you

for your talk

and um i have my question is about

the fourth of the brahmaviharas

equanimity um i'm

usually it's translated well what the

upeka is usually translated as

equanimity

um i've i'm kind of getting the feeling

that

it's it may be a little more than that

kind of it's the balance of mind born

in understanding the equality

of everything and every um all the

beings

like the the fact that we are all made

up of the same

stuff and i have all the same suffering

is is this

do you think that is the right notion

in this word in this translation

i generally try to

say balance of mind when it comes

to equanimity because that's what it

really is

your mind stays in a sense of balance

not getting knocked off balanced by

emotional um attachments

and it starts making your perspective

more

accepting of what is happening

in the present so you won't have

near as many arguments

or disagreements you'll

listen and discuss

more often than having that emotional

uh dissatisfaction arise

with whatever the whatever problem there

is

so i i use the word balance a lot

and it seems to work all the way through

even through

neither perception or non-perception

because when you have strong balance

then

you can see slight movements

in that balance which is the start of

some kind of disturbance

and you can relax and let it go right

then without getting

distracted

okay okay thank you so

kind of keeping it keeping it simple and

practical

better thinking too much about it

thank you yeah thinking too much is

that's a western disease you know okay

there's an interesting thing between

people thinking too much and

just observing

and you you do have to use some words to

describe what you're seeing

and that doesn't mean that it's a

distraction

it's just it happens one time like

you can be sitting and all of a sudden

your mind feels

very strong peaceful and calm

and your mind your your mind will say

oh this is really peaceful and calm

and then that's it there's no more

thinking about it or analyzing where did

that come from

why did that happen you don't have that

you just have simple observation

thoughts

and they're they're not unwholesome

they're just

there they're just description

okay

anybody else have a question

okay then let's share some merit

may suffering ones be suffering free and

the fear-struck furious being

may the grieving should all grief male

beings find relief may all beings share

this merit that we've thus

acquired for the acquisition of all

kinds of happiness

may beings inhabiting space and earth

devas and nagas of mighty power

share the spirit of ours may they long

protect the buddha's dispensation

[Music]

so you all have a good weekend

and a good week and i hopefully

will see you again next sunday

thank you thank you thank you baby

yes thank you david

you

[Music]

hello everyone

happy new year about you here

hope you had a good week

so

the suit tonight is rather interesting

it has to do with dependent origination

and

the sensual pleasures material form and

feeling

and i found i found it quite interesting

as i was going through it

this is the mahaduca konda

suta the greater discourse on the mass

of suffering

one of the problems that i have with

giving this short short talks every week

is i don't get to finish the sutta for

you

so you have to finish it yourself

but if you have any questions about it

write the question down and next week

we'll discuss what he was talking about

okay

so

thus if i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living in sawayatee and

jettas grove

annathan pendika's park

then when it was morning a number of

monks dressed and taking their bowl and

outer ropes

went into sawatee for alms

the outer robe is a double thick robe

so monks can use that as a blanket or

stay warmer with a double thick robe

then they thought it's still too early

to wander for alms and sawatee

suppose we went to the park of the

wanderers of

other sects

so they went to the park of the

wanderers of other

sexed and exchanged greetings with the

wanderers

when this courteous and amiable talk was

finished

they sat down at one side and the

wanderer said

to them friends the recluse gotemon

describes the full

understanding of sensual pleasures

and we do so too

the recluse gotema describes the full

understanding of material form

and we do too

the recluse gotoma describes a full

understanding

of feeling and we do so

too what then

is the distinction here friends

what is the variance what is the

difference

between the riku's gotema's teaching of

the dhamma and ours

between his instruction and ours

do we have kleenex

then those monks neither approved or

disprove the wanderer's words

without doing either they rose from

their seats and went away thinking we

shall come to understand the meaning of

these words

in the blessed one's presence

i'm sure they had some discussion or

other

but they didn't answer as completely as

the buddha could

when they'd wandered for alms in sawati

and returned from their arms round after

the meal

they went to the blessed one after

paying homage to him

sat down at one side and said

and told him what had taken place

the blessed one monks

wanderers of other sects

who speak to us should be questioned

thus

but friend what is the gratification

what is the danger what is the escape in

the case of sensual pleasures

what is the gratification what is the

danger

and what is the escape in the case of

material forms

is the gratification what is the danger

and what is the escape in the case of

feeling

being questioned thus wanderers of

other sects will fail to

account for the matter

and what is more they will get into

difficulties

why is that because it's not their

province

i see no one in the world with its gods

and its maras

its promise and this generation with

recluses and brahmanas

with its princes and its people

who can satisfy the mind with a reply to

these questions

except for the tattagata or his

disciples

or one who has learned and learned it

from them

now we're going to get into the section

on central pleasures

and what monks is the gratification

in the case of sensual pleasures

monks there are these five chords of

sensual pleasure

what are the five forms cognizable by

the

eye that are wished for desire agreeable

and likable

connected with sensual desire and

inviting lust

sounds cognizable by the ear that are

wished for desired agreeable and likable

connected with sensual desire and

inviting lust

odor is cognizable by the nose

that are wished for desired agreeable

and likable

connected with sensual desire and

inviting lust

flavors cognizable with the tongue

that are wished for desired agreeable

and likable connected with sensual

desire and inviting lust

tangibles cognizable by the body

that are wished for desired agreeable

and likable connected with sensual

desire and inviting lust

these are the five cords of sensual

pleasure

now the pleasure and joy that arise

dependent on these five chords of

sensual pleasure

are the gratification in the case of

sensual pleasures

and what monks is the danger in the case

of sensual pleasures

here monks on account of the craft by

which a klansman makes a living

whether checking or accounting

or calculating or farming or trading

or husbandry or archery

or royal service or whatever

craft there it may be

he has to face cold

he has to face heat

he is injured by contact with gadflies

mosquitoes wind sun and creeping

things if you've ever lived in asia you

know that there's a lot of creeping

things

he risked death by hunger and thirst

now this is a danger in which the case

of sensual pleasures

is a mass of suffering visible here and

now

having sensual pleasures as its cause

sensual pleasures as its source

sensual pleasures as its basis

the cause simply being

sensual pleasures

if no property comes to the klansmen

while he works

and strives and makes effort thus

he sorrows grieves and laments

he weeps beating his breast and becomes

distraught

and crying my work

is in vain my

effort is fruitless now this too

is a danger in the case of sensual

pleasures

i think an awful lot of people

experience this sort of thing

um especially with the

virus the way it is forcing people to

stay

inside and they can't work

and they get depressed very easily they

don't know what to do with their mind

so there's a lot of sorrow

because of sensual pleasures because you

can't

get what you want when you want it you

can't do the things you want to do

so that you can be prosperous

the cause of this kind of fruit

fruitlessness

being simply sensual pleasures

that's part of the first noble truth

isn't it

not getting what you want or getting

what you don't

want getting in debt

always feeling bad and not being

able to improve your

lot in life

if property comes to the clansmen while

he works

and strives and makes an effort thus

he experiences pain and grief

and protecting it

how shall neither kings nor thieves come

make off with my property

nor fire burn it nor water sweep it away

nor hateful heirs make off with it

and as he guards and protects his

property

kings and thieves make off with it

or fire burns it or water sweeps it away

or hateful heirs make off with it

and he sorrows grieves and laments

he weeps beating his breast and becomes

distraught

what if i have

what i had i have no longer

now this too is a danger in the case of

sensual pleasures

the cause simply being sensual pleasures

what we do when somebody comes and takes

our

things away as we blame them

and we don't see that

our attachment to

material things

is the cause of the pain

again with sensual pleasures as the

cause

sensual pleasures as the source sensual

pleasures

as the basis the cause

simply being sensual pleasure

kings quarrel with kings nobles with

nobles

brahmanas with brahmanas householders

with householders

mother quarrel with child child with

mother

father with child child with father

brothers quarrel with brother brothers

with sister

sister with brothers

friend with friend and here in their

quarrels their brawls their disputes

they attack each other with fists clawed

sticks or knives

whereby they incur death or deadly

suffering

now this too is a danger in the case of

sanctual pleasures

the cause being simply sensual pleasures

again excuse me

with sensual pleasures as the cause

men take swords and shields and buckle

on

bows and and quivers

and they charge into battle masked in

double array with arrows and spears

flying

and swords flashing

and here they are wounded by arrows and

spears and their heads are cut off

by swords whereby they incur

death or deadly suffering

[Music]

now this too is a danger in the case of

sensual pleasures

the cause simply being sensual pleasures

again with sensual pleasures as the

cause

men take the swords and shields and

buckle on bows and quivers

and they charge slippery slippery

bastions with bows and arrows flying and

spears flying

and swords flashing

there they are wounded by arrows

and spears and slashed with boiling

liquids

and crushed under heavy weights

and their heads are cut off by swords

whereby they incur death or deadly

suffering

now this too is a danger in the case of

sensual pleasures

again with sensual pleasures as the

cause

men break into houses plunder wealth

commit burglary ambush highways

seduce others wives

and when they're caught

kings have many kinds of torture

inflicted on them

the kings have them flayed with whips

beaten with canes beaten with clubs

they have their hands cut off their feet

cut off

their hands and feet cut off

their ears cut off their nose cut off

their ears and nose cut off

they have them subjected to

a porridge pot that means being boiled

in oil

to a polished shell shave

that's taking off the skin with a

sea shell

there's something that's called rahu's

mouth

and it's fiery wreath

and the flaming hand and the

blades of grass they have a kind of

grass

in asia that's called cusa grass

and it is very very sharp it'll it'll

if if you pull a

one strand of grass through your fingers

you'll come up with bloody fingers

so one of the things that i noticed

in almost all of the holy books if you

want to find out anything

about torturing someone else you go to

the holy books and they

describe it very well for you

i'm not suggesting that you do it of

course

but i always found it very interesting i

mean in

in the bible in the quran there's all

kinds of different tortures

that they describe

i often wondered why it got put into

books that are supposed to be for

healing

for getting along with other people

but you have to know what to do when

they don't do that when they're not

healing

they're fighting

there's there's other of these tortures

that it goes through i'm not going to go

through these

it gets depressing listening to this

stuff after a period of time

no it

[Laughter]

david is in love with the hell realms he

reads all the books on the hell realms

he can't he wants to find out all of the

tortures that can happen

so so he thinks it's kind of a good

thing to be able to listen to this

but i'm not going to do that

again with this sensual pleasures as the

cause

sensual pleasures as the source

sensual pleasures as the basis

the cause simply being sensual pleasures

people indulge in misconduct of body

speech and mind having done so

on the dissolution of the body after

death

they reappear in a state of deprivation

in an unhappy destination even in hell

now this too is a danger in the case of

sensual pleasures

a mass of suffering in the life

to come having sensual pleasures

as its cause sensual pleasures as its

source

sensual pleasures as its basis

the cause simply being sensual pleasures

now the thing with the meditation that's

very interesting

is when

people before they start meditating

they go through everybody

that i've run across

they're looking for a way out of the

suffering

and then they run across meditation and

the advertising

for the meditation is well yeah you

become more happy and you don't

you let go of all these emotional

ties and emotional upsets and that sort

of thing

and you can sleep better and you do get

better at your job and you actually have

more fun in your life

actually there's

an awful lot of people that

get more into their suffering because of

the meditation

and they can they actually

suffer more if the meditation

is not being done in the

proper way

and the meditation that i teach the twim

is the only meditation that i've seen

that is very successful

because it teaches you to have more

balance

in your mind and the more

equanimity you have in your mind

the easier

everything in life becomes

so

i i've run across many many many people

that are more interested in

studying what the suit does say

than in following what the suta suggests

when you come here to meditate we take

your books away

except for the books we want you to read

the books we want you to read are mostly

instruction

in how to be doing this

and it's real important for you to

understand

that there is a lot of

misunderstanding of people

when we talk about keeping the precepts

and why

do we want you to keep the precepts

the reason that we want you to keep the

precepts and it's your choice whether

you do or not

but the reason we want you to keep the

precepts

is so that it will lead to

a more calm balanced mind

where there is a kind of mindfulness

that you get from keeping the precepts

and that is you

know what you're going to do and what

you're going to say

before you say it or do it

and that gives you the opportunity

to make a good choice for yourself

so the more clear you can become

with keeping the precepts without

breaking them

the less guilty feeling you will have

and that takes a big load off of your

emotional

states

and this leads to a form of letting go

of the suffering the third

mobile truth now what's the cause of

suffering

the cause of suffering is always

craving

how do you recognize craving when it

arises

it causes tension and tightness in your

head

in your mind

it causes you to get in to

emotional upsets

where you start arguing with somebody

else

and you talk over them while they're

talking

that's really kind of a strange

phenomena

because while you're talking you hear

what you say

but you don't hear what somebody else

says

they're talking they hear what they say

but they don't hear what you say so it's

a waste of effort

to be talking or trying to convince

somebody

else of a point of view

by talking over them

quite often this is the cause of a lot

of

these

[Music]

problems these days

because people haven't learned how to

listen and carry on

a good conversation without praise and

without blame

so anytime you get into a situation

where you you get

a uh emotional the emotion

arises because in the past you have

broken precepts and you feel guilty

and you want to blame somebody else for

your pain

but your pain is caused by

you you can't blame

other people for your pain

so

and what monks is the escape in the case

of sensual pleasures

it is the removal of desire

and lust the abandoning of

desire and lust for sensual pleasures

this is the escape in the case of

sensual pleasures

now isn't that what i was just talking

about

you use the six hours

in your daily activities

especially when you see that you're

getting caught up in an emotional

reaction

a reaction is an action that happens

the same way over and over again

something close arises that always sets

you off

and gets you mad that

is a reaction you're acting again

like you always act and this is part of

your habitual tendency

when you keep the precepts for a period

of time

you actually

are

starting to see how much pain

you cause yourself by reacting

and you start backing away from that

generally the the reaction the anger

the fear the anxiety the disappointment

whatever it happens to be

is because of an expectation that you

have

and you need to let go of your

expectations

you want people to act the way you want

them to

and when they don't act that way

well it's their fault

now you've heard me over the last little

bit talking a lot about

forgiveness and what does forgiveness

do it helps let

you to let go of your pain

of free actions

and then you respond with a clear mind

that's balanced

that doesn't insist that other people

act the way that you act

you see what i'm saying please

understand this is

important stuff

so the letting go of desire

and lust for sensual pleasures

and its sensual pleasures at any of the

sex doors

it doesn't matter which sensor it is

it's still

caused by

want desire

i want it to be way i want it to be

when i want it that way

and you hear all of that

craving that is in those statements

and what is the craving i like it or i

don't like it i want it or i don't want

it

i

it's taking it personally and then

it's not getting what you want when you

want it

so there's a lot

to the keeping of

the precepts

that lead to more and more

balance in your mind

that those recluses and brahmanas who do

not

understand as it actually is the

gratification

as gratification the danger

as danger and the escape

as in the case of sensual desires

can either fully

understand sensual pleasures

or instruct another

so that he can fully understand central

pleasures

that is impossible

that those recluses and brahmanas who

understand as it actually is the

gratification

is gratification the danger is danger

and the escape

as escape in the cause of sensual

pleasures

can either themselves fully

understand sensual pleasures or instruct

another so that they can be fully

they can fully understand sensual

pleasures

that is possible so what we're saying

here is you have to experience

it first for yourself

before you can convince anybody else

and the way you convince other people

about keeping the precepts is by keeping

them

for yourself and being the example

you know how little kids learn they

learn their behavior

by watching their parents behave in

different situations

if a parent gets angry and becomes

violent

then the little kid learns that that's

the way you handle

anger and it can cause

all kinds of suffering

and dissatisfaction

and miscommunication because you're not

being

the example you're not showing

how you don't use curse words

and you insist that they don't either

when i first came back to this country

after being in asia for 12 years

i was completely shocked

at the foul language that's being used

on television

on the radio in the movies

and with people that are just talking in

the normal everyday

kind of speech i was

completely shocked

i kept on walking around thinking that

people

were being taught to be foul-mouthed

and a purpose a person who uses a lot of

bad language

causes a lot of upset in other people

and it causes other people to

to

have more and more

dislike and dissatisfaction happening to

them

and they verbalize it

so

and what monks is the gratification in

the case of material form

suppose there were a girl of a noble

class

or a brahman class or a householder

stock

in her 15th or 16th year

neither too tall nor too short neither

too thin nor too fat neither too

dark nor too fair

is her beauty and loveliness

then at its height

yes venerable sir now the pleasure and

joy that arise

and dependence on that beauty and

loveliness

are the gratification in the case of

material form

and what monks is the danger in the case

of material form

later on one might see that same woman

here 80 or 90

or 100 years old

and see her as crooked as a roof

bracket doubled up supported by

walking sticks tottering frail

youth gone teeth broken grade-haired

scantily haired bald wrinkled

with limbs all blotchy

what do you think monks has her former

beauty and loveliness

vanished and the danger become evident

yes venerable sir

this is the danger in the case of

material

form aging

[Music]

10 15 years ago

i didn't have blackfish skin but i'm

starting to develop it now

that's one of the dangers of

material form it it ages it gets old

again one might see that same woman

afflicted suffering and bravely ill

lying fouled in their own experiments

and their urine

lifted up by some or set down

by others what do you think

has her former beauty and loveliness

vanished and the danger become

evident yes venerable serve

this too is a danger in the case of

material form

again one might see that same woman as a

corpse

thrown aside an eternal ground one

two or three days dead

bloated living livid

oozing matter what do you think monks

has her former beauty and loveliness

vanished and the danger become evident

yes venerable sir monks this too is a

danger in the case of material

form there's a story about this

very expensive courtesan

and she would charge

a thousand dollars for a night just

to spend a night with her she was very

well formed well well

uh the famous for her

singing ability for her dancing ability

for her charms in other ways

and then she died

now in india they

generally don't keep a body

around very long because it starts to

smell

because of the heat and the humidity and

that sort of thing

and the buddha after she had died the

buddha had her

out so people could see

that body and how it started bk

and after the third day

three days after her death

the buddha called all the villagers

together and they said

who will give me a thousand pieces of

gold

to spend a night with this person

this courtesan of course nobody's gonna

do anything like that

then the buddha said who will give me

500 pieces of

gold no takers

who will give me 100 pieces of gold

no takers who will give me 50 pieces of

gold no

takers who will give me one piece of

gold one coin

to spend the night with this courtesan

and the point being that

bodies do get old and they decay

and it's not us

this is not me this is not mine this is

not myself

so

it's real important

especially if you go to a funeral of a

friend

to spend time looking at that friend

reflecting on what they were like when

they were alive

and also it helps you to let go

of your grief because they are gone

quite often people ask me how to how to

overcome

grief uh

a friend or relative that is gone they

were much

loved

and i tell them to get a good picture of

them

and sit down every day for a period of

time

and tell them and remember the times

when they did good things

when they had laughs together

when they helped each other

and talk to the picture talk to that

person

after a short period of time the grief

starts to

let up an awful lot of people get

caught in the grief and they hold that

grief

for even years and they hold that

sadness for

for years because

they don't like the

idea that material form changes

bodies change and

it's not near as

beautiful or as much fun as it used to

be

so when you sit and you talk to a

picture

of that person you're you're going back

into your memories

and you remember how they were kind and

how they were helpful

and how you had fun being with them

the pain of the grief starts to

dissipate

and before long

you'll be able to

let go of the pain of separation

because that's what it actually is

but still remember the good things that

you did together

how you were happy together

and this helps a lot to let go of that

suffering

let go of that pain

now there can be some memories that pop

up

when you're talking with them about

things that they did that wasn't so

nice so forgive them for not

understanding

let go of the pain of that past

experience

you'll feel a lot more uplifted and

happy

when you're able to do that

and what monks is the gratification in

this

in the case of feelings here are monks

quite secluded from sensual pleasures

secluded from unwholesome states

a monk enters upon and abides in the

first

genome which is accompanied by thinking

and examining thought

with joy and happiness born of seclusion

on such an occasion he does not choose

for his own affliction

or for the affliction of another

or for the affliction of both

on that occasion he feels a feeling that

is free

from affliction free from pain

why because you have developed a mind

that is uplifted

while you are in the drama you will

experience

joy you will experience tranquility you

will experience

peaceful calm mind and it's quite

comfortable

the highest gratification in the case of

feelings

is freedom from afflicting

i say again

with distilling of thinking and

examining thought

a monk enters upon and abides in the

second genre

and in each genre you are experiencing a

pure mind

you're experiencing a mind that doesn't

have any craving

in it and if there's no craving in your

mind how can there be afflictions

how can there be pain and suffering

and it keeps going on through the third

genre and the fourth genre

the highest gratification in the case of

feelings is freedom from affliction

freedom from hindrances

when you are in a jhana you don't have

any hindrances

you don't have anything that you're

holding on to that's unwholesome

and this leads more and more

to a mind that is developed

equanimity and eventually you'll get to

a place where you start

getting into disenchantment

which means letting go of the

fascination of things

with attachment to them

and this includes foods and all kinds of

different

sensual pleasures

and what monks is the danger in the case

of feeling

feelings are impermanent

feelings are suffering and

subject to change this is the danger

in the case of feelings

now the way that i teach you can be in

a genre while you're doing your daily

activities

you do have to use the six hearts

you do have to keep your mindfulness

strong and remembering to smile

in your mind not

necessarily a big smile on your lips

i was with my teacher lucille ananda for

a number of years

and i know i've known him since the 80s

when he died

the funeral home

didn't have a picture of him

and he

always had a little grin

on his face always

and people used to look at him and

they'd say oh you have such a young

face your face is very beautiful because

you have this smile

at the funeral home they didn't put the

smile on his face and i hardly

recognized him as my teacher

i mean it was really remarkable i didn't

know that

this was intentional his smile was

intentional

all the time

and that says that his mindfulness

was exceptional

to keep that smile going

no matter what

and because of that his mindfulness

became more and more clear about what he

was going to do

before he did it and he would make the

choice

of choosing

the wholesome path

so with your daily activities put a

little smile on your face just a little

one

it doesn't have to be a big one but the

mindfulness you get

from keeping that smile on your face

will

improve your mindfulness and awareness

of what you're going to be doing before

you do it

which means that you're going to have

more and more

a tendency to

keep the precepts without breaking them

and that helps remind you

your mindfulness is remembering to

observe how your mind's attention moves

from one thing to another

you can use the six hours and you can

let go

the more you smile smile with your eyes

as much as you can smile

little tiny smile little buddha smile

on your lips

and that

dictates what happens

in your mind your mind will tend towards

the wholesome the uplifting the happy

and that makes you

want to help other

people to be happy

and help other people to

by example

allow other people to

let go of their suffering too because

you are being the example

and monks is the escape in the case of

feeling what is the escape

in the case of feeling it is the removal

of desire and lust

oh the relaxed step

the relaxing and smiling and

staying with the smiling as your object

of meditation

the abandonment of desire and lust for

feelings this is emotional feeling as

well as physical

feeling this is the escape in the case

of feeling

that those monks those recluses and

brahmanas who do not understand as it

act actually is the gratification

as gratification

the danger as danger and the escape as

escape in the case of feelings

can either themselves fully understand

or instruct another so that they can

fully understand

feeling if they don't do it and practice

it themselves they don't understand

this is why when so many people

want to just well i would rather

study the sutas than do the practice

they're missing out a lot

they're hurting themselves a lot because

it takes a combination of both

you can misinform and you can not

change yourself

and you can misrepresent the buddha's

teaching

if you don't practice it

i'm not saying all scholars are the same

and i'm not saying they all don't

understand as clearly as they could

but it takes a combination of both

to truly be able

to give the information

to other people

and again you give the information to

other people

by your example by your

helpfulness to other people by your

kindness

to other people

by your words that you speak to other

people

that those monks and recluses who

understand as it actually is the

gratification

is gratification the dangerous danger

and the escape

as escape in the case of feeling

can either themselves fully understand

feeling and instruct another so that

they can fully understand feeling

that's possible there's not going to be

any hesitation

in in your

helping other people to

relax helping other

people to open up

and

help relieve suffering from themselves

and other people

that's what the blessed one said the

monks were satisfied and delighted in

the blessed one's

words

so

one of the reasons that i became a

buddhist

and for a long time even as as i was a

monk i'd never claimed that i was a

buddhist now i do

because of the self-responsibility you

have to have

you can't give your happiness

to other people unless you have

happiness

in yourself you can't

give away something that you don't

directly

know and understand

so the more you can keep your practice

going

with sitting but especially with your

daily

life i know an awful lot of people that

are

i.t people and they tell me

that they have to be serious

why why can't you smile while you're

working

why can't you keep your mind uplifted

and not get frustrated at this

machine because it doesn't do things the

way you want it to when you want it done

why not

you can be happy or you can be unhappy

it's your choice

you can laugh you can cry i prefer

laughing to cry it makes my body feel

good

so

please uplift your mind understand about

the

the sense doors understand about

material

existence

and don't get so caught up in your

perspective

keep your mind uplifted

smile more

like my teacher he was amazing i mean i

was with him for

for uh two years

pretty constant all the time

i never saw him without that little grin

that he had on his face

and i was one of the pallbearers for him

after he had died and gone to the

funeral home

and seeing him without that little grin

changed his face completely

and i wanted to tell him to take take

the body back

and put that grin on his face that was

that was him

but i couldn't do that they wouldn't

allow

okay so

please keep your practice going as much

as possible

do you have any questions

thank you very much for your talk i have

a quick question

yes um i think i understand what you

mean

by you know we expect others to behave

the way we want them to and then when

they don't

we make ourselves suffer right so

it seems like i have to learn how to

navigate the world full of

co-workers who don't do what they're

supposed to do

children who don't listen when they're

supposed to

right it's like nothing in the world is

going

according to the way i want it to go and

i understand that's my

suffering right but like how do we

navigate

when nothing out there is really meant

to go the way we want it to go

um you know like how drop your

perspective

and demands that they be that way

you know i've been with a lot of

different kinds of monks

i've been with mahayana monks i've been

with the tibetan monks

and when we get into conversation we

don't have

arguments we can say

well this is your what you're saying

right here

is different than what i'm i'm learning

i'm not judging whether it's right or

wrong

i'm just stating a fact

and when i start talking to them about

smiling and uh

using right effort

we never disagree

which is really kind of an amazing

things

i've seen monks get together and they

they start getting very angry with each

other

the zen monks and the tibetan monks they

don't even want to

eat in this at the same table they have

their

perspective is so different

and their development of that

unwholesome mind of

judging and condemning see that's the

thing that we have to develop

so that we don't have so many problems

with that

and as we lose that demands

and likes and dislikes and that sort of

thing we become an example

of having a balanced mind

other people catch on to that

so you have to change your perspective

so that it's a little bit more accepting

and start looking with gratitude at

the different things that they're doing

okay this is a really important

because when you start looking with

gratitude

that sets up a feeling

around you of acceptance

and when that acceptance is there your

mind is

very uplifted your mind is very

happy and willing to

listen to what other people are saying

without judging

and when you start losing that judgment

they stop being so disagreeable

okay it's what we project out to the

world

when we project an accepting mind

then people become more agreeable

very seldom do i run across someone that

that is hateful

when i'm in an agreeable

accepting non-judgmental state

so we affect the world around us

and that's why i say giving

being the example for other people

it changes them as well as it changes

yourself

okay thank you okay

every central pleasure with craving for

that central pleasure would still be the

cause of suffering

if we were able to make samsara the way

we wanted to be

[Laughter]

well you have all the five cent stores

right

or six cent stores because you have mind

in there too

what is your perspective of what

which scent store arises and whether i

like it or i don't like it whether

i my mind feels tight around it

or you're relaxed and accepting of it

see anything we make a big deal of in

our mind

there is attachment there there is

craving there

there is the identification of this is

me

this is mind and it leads to

oh this piece of cake is really good

maybe i'll have another

but when you start developing a little

bit more

what happens is you start to get

disenchanted and that craving mind

becomes less and less so you don't take

that second piece because it tastes so

good

with as a first piece

it doesn't mean you can't enjoy

say a piece of

cheesecake you can enjoy the cheesecake

while you're eating it

but after it's gone

when you have good equanimity you don't

think about it anymore

there's no more craving for more of it i

want more because that was really

good it doesn't come up in your mind

your mind stays more and more peaceful

and calm

now uh

i i don't know about to send sarah and

ivana i don't know how to answer that

the reason that you're the reason that

you are

here is because you have broken

a lot of precepts in the past and you've

identified with

them and you're caught on this on the

wheel of sansara

nibana is letting go of that

letting go of the

judgments the opinions the

unwholesome nature of things and

developing a wholesome nature of

things that's what nibana actually

is so i'll let you decide for yourself

with

what you do with that

anybody else

hi hi i have two questions

yeah it's going well

when they have two questions first

question is

regarding the same suta i came across

this sentence

when they are mentioning about

quarreling

nobles with nobles i got shocked by

seeing that what is

mean by foreign between nobles and

nobles to nobles

well we don't really have much in the

way of nobles

in uh

in society like he used to but the

nobles were the ruling class

yeah i can go to them yeah

in india they still have the uh

different class levels the the brahmins

and the warrior class and that sort of

thing

and that would just mean that they're

quarreling among the

let's say the brahmanas

and the quarreling about among the

uh the warrior class they're the ones

that that

have more action

there was a lot of different sections

that was ruled by the warrior class

during the time of the buddha

and they they didn't they weren't so

influenced by the brahmanas

the brahmanas were more or less the

scholars

although they did get in arguments all

the time

just just like these days

okay uh i can go to my next

it is not a question next one uh

one day i see that in asia we have very

few

teachers we are just couple of teachers

in asia

but in us we have a lot of teachers can

you please plan more teachers in asia

[Laughter]

when i first started thinking of

sayadawusilananda that was in 1980

he told me that i was going to be a

teacher

and that i should let dhamma grow

by itself

you have to set a good foundation

which means keeping the precepts very

well

and if something grows too fast

it goes away real fast

and and you can see that with somebody

like

rajneesh he became

super super popular really fast

and now you hardly hear of anything that

he taught

so let it grow on its own one one of the

statements that i

very much like is when you take care of

drama dhamma takes care of you

and what that basically means is you

will grow

at the speed that is good for you

there are some decent teachers around

there are some good teachers around in

india

but they're india has so many people in

it and so many

different opinions and ideas it's hard

to run across

them sometimes

but sister kema in uh

uh where is she

mumbai mumbai

she's she's starting to become more and

more popular

and teaching other people how to be

teachers so get in touch with her

i don't know how to tell you how to do

that you'd have to

tell that to david and he can help you

with getting her email and that sort of

thing

i do attend some of her talks

good i know that she has two classes a

week

on uh on this kind of this program

the zoom

so

get in touch with her and she'll help

you as much as she can

but just like the suta was saying as you

get older you just

start hobbling around instead of walking

like normal and that sort of thing

it does happen

anyway do you have any other question

uh that's i don't have any other

question

okay thank you for this talk one thing

thank you

how is your

practice going it's going well

i'm sitting around one and a half or

every day

every day good for you

good for you turn that into a habit

thank you okay

anybody else have a question

i have a question bunted okay thank you

for your talk

and um i have my question is about

the fourth of the brahmaviharas

equanimity um i'm

usually it's translated well what the

upeka is usually translated as

equanimity

um i've i'm kind of getting the feeling

that

it's it may be a little more than that

kind of it's the balance of mind born

in understanding the equality

of everything and every um all the

beings

like the the fact that we are all made

up of the same

stuff and i have all the same suffering

is is this

do you think that is the right notion

in this word in this translation

i generally try to

say balance of mind when it comes

to equanimity because that's what it

really is

your mind stays in a sense of balance

not getting knocked off balanced by

emotional um attachments

and it starts making your perspective

more

accepting of what is happening

in the present so you won't have

near as many arguments

or disagreements you'll

listen and discuss

more often than having that emotional

uh dissatisfaction arise

with whatever the whatever problem there

is

so i i use the word balance a lot

and it seems to work all the way through

even through

neither perception or non-perception

because when you have strong balance

then

you can see slight movements

in that balance which is the start of

some kind of disturbance

and you can relax and let it go right

then without getting

distracted

okay okay thank you so

kind of keeping it keeping it simple and

practical

better thinking too much about it

thank you yeah thinking too much is

that's a western disease you know okay

there's an interesting thing between

people thinking too much and

just observing

and you you do have to use some words to

describe what you're seeing

and that doesn't mean that it's a

distraction

it's just it happens one time like

you can be sitting and all of a sudden

your mind feels

very strong peaceful and calm

and your mind your your mind will say

oh this is really peaceful and calm

and then that's it there's no more

thinking about it or analyzing where did

that come from

why did that happen you don't have that

you just have simple observation

thoughts

and they're they're not unwholesome

they're just

there they're just description

okay

anybody else have a question

okay then let's share some merit

may suffering ones be suffering free and

the fear-struck furious being

may the grieving should all grief male

beings find relief may all beings share

this merit that we've thus

acquired for the acquisition of all

kinds of happiness

may beings inhabiting space and earth

devas and nagas of mighty power

share the spirit of ours may they long

protect the buddha's dispensation

[Music]

so you all have a good weekend

and a good week and i hopefully

will see you again next sunday

thank you thank you thank you baby

yes thank you david

you