From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=T1-p0jaozhs

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

[Music]

thank you

[Music]

all right

well tonight we will talk about the

genos

so with uh meditation training we talked

about last night how there's maybe three

aspects the Sila Donna bhavana so Sila

is morality

that is following the precepts and

avoiding unwholesome courses of action

when we do that we prevent negative

aspects to enter our mind stream we can

help prevent and mitigate hindrances

we avoid the unwholesome courses of

action

and these are basically things done

based on greed desire and delusion

or I don't want it I want it and I or

mine yeah

the other aspect of our foundation for

meditation training is Donna which is

generosity

this is adding positive aspects to uh to

our mind stream so this is doing the

wholesome courses of action

this is important it again builds up our

capacity for successful meditation

Donna can be giving physically it can be

donating it can be doing things donating

time and so on and that's very important

and very beneficial and Donna can be in

our speech and mind

loving kindness is a great example of

Donna by the mind

in this they talk about the benefits of

loving kindness as absolutely tremendous

the the Merit gained by pervading the

world with loving kindness even for a

few seconds for a minute is is fantastic

so we can see this in people around us

when we smile when we send them loving

kindness they respond with positive uh

responses usually too

and it's certainly good for them even if

they don't smile back that they had

someone smile at them they had to deal

with that yeah

um

we are affecting the world around us

when we practice this way

uh we can we can look at neuroscience

and talk about mirror neurons we talk

about how when we see someone who's

happy we reflect that in our body mind

uh very simply and so we affect our

community we in fact we affect our

Sangha we affect our environment just as

we are affected by these things as well

and in fact there's a great

interconnection between ourselves and

those around us

so when we practice loving kindness it

is of great benefit to ourselves because

we are happy and we learn to benefit our

mind and there's great benefit to those

we interact with

and this sets us up to do uh bhavana to

do meditation

with a foundation of avoiding the

unwholesome courses of action

doing the wholesome courses of action we

have a mind that is ready to train and

look at itself

with meditation we are learning how our

mind works

we're learning to look at the world in a

way that is impersonal and see what

happens uh as it is as a result of

interconnectedness as a result of

conditions

and not as a result of us

what we have learned is what we want

when we try when we have an image of

reality

and it doesn't line up with reality that

is a cause of suffering

and in fact our image of what reality

should be is a driver of our Behavior

what we imagine something should be when

we act on that we set ourselves up for

disappointment

whereas if we act on what is what is

happening we set ourselves up if we're

not suffering for happiness yeah

so to do this investigation on mind we

have to set up conditions

um

we are habitual way of being in the

world is how we've been doing it most of

our Lives unless until we start uh

training mind

so this is the purpose of Jonah Jana is

a way of increasing our mindfulness and

it is a result of successful uh practice

it is both

uh

what we practice is samita vipasana

samata refers to collectiveness of Mind

vipassana refers to seeing things as

they are

another training schema is a common

training schema is Sila

samadhi panya

so morality

collectiveness appropriate

collectiveness and clear seeing that's

another way of seeing what we're doing

when we practice meditation like this we

are cultivating collecting this at the

same time we are called cultivating

clear seeing into what is happening

they go hand in hand the more clearly we

see what is happening the more collected

our mind can become

and they work in conjunction

simultaneously

so the Mind State we need to cultivate

in order to develop our mind needs to

have the ability to see change and see

what is happening

there are three characteristics of

condition reality that we can talk about

they are

impermanence in each of

uh unsatisfactory in this

and not self or non-self anata

when we are practicing meditation we are

learning about these and developing

insight into these

now we develop insight passively

over time we don't push our minds into

our concept

of these three characteristics hoping to

see them

as we practice the six hours

excuse me

as we practice the six arms

and our mind lets go of hindrances we

naturally start to see these in the

course of practice

but it's unavoidable

so impermanence is about how things

change

Everything Changes

we see this on every scale of our

experience

we see Seasons changing we see Life

coming and going

we see tamasuka changing

growing

we see it in ourselves

we see hair changing yourself see

ourselves maturing

we see it in our experience

sites come and go

feelings come and go

and we see it in the fine grain in our

experience when we look closely and when

we see closely at what's happening

things are changing rapidly

eventually we can see Consciousness

arise and pass away

quickly

impermanence and all of the three

characteristics can be uncomfortable

when we start noticing it

in fact when we start deeply seeing

impermanence a fear can arise

when fear arises in meditation

the instructions are clear

they are to keep doing what you're doing

stay in the same posture until the fear

passes

fear is a feeling fear is a habitual

tendency

it's a hindrance

when it comes up and goes away when we

let it go

on the other side of fear

is usually nothing that scary

when fear arises in our meditation

which happens to pretty much everyone

often on the brink of something that is

quite exciting

a new state oh my this is real oh

this is happening fear comes up

you put a toe Over The Line

you see if it's that scary or not

and you can back off

don't push it

try again was it that scary

no

turns out not to be

so when we investigate the three

characteristics I may initially seem

like this

but as we understand them more they

actually

lead to states of mind that are quite

positive

now Duca or unsatisfactoryeness is very

related to impermanence

we cannot rely on anything in our

experience

as self

as it appears

it will ultimately change and ultimately

not be a source of true satisfaction

that is the quality of conditioned

experience

and then there's anata

not self which is very uh challenging to

translate

ultimately anata means impersonal

means happening as a result of

conditions

it does not mean there is no self

or if you attain a particular state

that yourself will go away or something

like that well now we're talking about

words but everything will continue

and this is where fear comes in when

your mind goes oh my everything is

changing

everything is conditioned

what am I then yeah

but the fact is when you drop or weaken

the perspective of I am

everything is still there and in fact

everything is better

Beauty remains

Joy remains

what you lose is proliferation

what you lose is layers of ideas upon

reality that are not true

what you lose is a false perspective of

me and that

and what is left is what is and always

was

Beauty we talk about words like last

night about being humiliated by sense

desires but I want to point out or

humiliated by sensory perception in

training but the writings of our hearts

fully awakened ones talk about

appreciation of beauty

talk about appreciation of the natural

world

and we are not as we more developed we

are not moving away from appreciation

and positive States

that is not what is happening we're

moving into happiness

and

more appreciation and engagement with

what we are doing in our lives

of the training may involve carefully

watching how we interact with our senses

how we interact with our thoughts how we

interact with other people

what it leads to is freedom

so we'll

start with uh the anapada suta

one by one as they occurred

now this is one of bonte's favorite

sutas I may have heard it many many

times

and the way I read it may be unavoidably

similar to how he does but we shall see

thus have I heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living in saviti at

Justice Grove hanathan pedicos Park

there he addressed amongst us monks

venerable sir they replied the blessed

one said this monks sorry puta is wise

sorry puta was one of the Buddha's

Chief's disciples

the Buddha had two chief disciplesana

they uh

the chief disciples were

were talked about by their qualities

sorry puta was second only to the Buddha

in wisdom

wisdom of course is the ability to see

dependent origination

when we look at the life of saraputa

it's quite quite interesting he was

quite uh quite a monk

Not only was he in charge of training of

the younger monks he was in charge of

bringing people up to the first stage of

Awakening and

and was excellent at expounding the

dhamma but he was an incredibly kind and

compassionate guy

when you hear stories of the monks

moving uh sorry puto would always arrive

late because

he was helping people that were having

trouble moving he was taking care of the

Hill he was taking care of other people

and so as even though he was in charge

in so many ways

he was he was on the ground helping

people personally

so the compassion of sorry puta is

remarkable

and the wisdom of sorry puta is

remarkable he is one who had the four

analytic knowledges

the four analytic knowledges are deeply

understanding the dhamma deeply

understanding causality and deeply

understanding language in a way that

allowed him to present the dhamma in a

way that is clear and very accessible to

his listener

um

so you see throughout the sutahs many

many sutos with saraputa in them

so

and the Buddha is saying sorry puta is

wise

sorry puta has great wisdom sorry puta

has wide wisdom sorry puta has joyous

wisdom

sorry puta has quick wisdom

sorry puta has Keen wisdom

sorry puta has a penetrative wisdom

during half a month monks sorry put

again insight into States one by one as

they occurred

in half a month of training sari puta

attained the final stage of Awakening

this was a very long time at that time

many of his peers took a week or some a

sermon yeah

but sorry put a took two weeks

and why did it take so long

because he had so much to figure out

because it had so much to work through

uh

and that is that is why he was so wise

now sarri puts his insight into States

one by one as they occurred was this

here amongst quite secluded from sensual

pleasures

sensual Pleasures

our sights

tastes sounds

like that

the chords of the sensual desire

a sensual desire

is lost for the central pleasures

getting involved with them and wanting

them and craving and clinging to them

secluded from unwholesome States

oh and secluded from sensual pleasures

when we meditate we seclude ourselves

from sensual pleasures

we close our eyes to limit our vision

we do not move our body to limit contact

with our body

we are not tasting things usually we are

not smelling things usually

hearing is the hardest one to seclude

ourselves from

but that is what we try to do also to

seclude ourselves from sensual pleasures

secluded from unwholesome States

this means he did not have the

hindrances

when one is in Jannah one does not have

a hindrance

sorry puta entered upon and abided in

the first genre which is accompanied by

thinking and examining thought with joy

and happiness born of seclusion

so when we are meditating we are with

our object of meditation loving-kindness

or whatever our object is

we rest in our object observing our

object

and then of course hindrances can arise

we may hear a sound leading to feeling

leading to craving leading to thinking

about it leading to forgetting what

we're doing

when the sound is persistent it pulls us

away from our meditation object

so we 6r

we will we let it be there we do not

attend to it we relax our head and our

body and smile and come back

to our meditation object

now it's the nature of everything that

arises to pass away impermanence yes

unless conditions keep them there

unless there is attachment

unless there is attention

and in most cases our hindrances have

attachment behind them

and so our thoughts about the sound will

persist

and so we go back

find ourselves back thinking about the

sound again

it's always six R and we come back

and that we get pulled again yeah

and remember from this place of going

back and forth one of a couple of things

will happen

one is we will

give in to action we will forget our

mindfulness and

and we'll break our meditation or

whatever it is if it's a niche we'll

scratch it

if it's a thought we'll act on it and so

on

or uh we will let it go

and we will develop equanimity

we will 6r and come back and 6r

and eventually different hindrance or

distraction will takes its place but we

have Equanimity around

that thought or feeling or hindrance and

it will no longer pull our attention

anymore

or the third option is we will let go of

that attachment

when we starve our attachment of that

hindrance of our attention over and over

again

it has a chance to go away

so as our attachment and hindrance is

there we relax

and it pulls us again we six are and

come back and eventually it dissipates

and in this instance when it dissipates

right after an instant it dissipates we

have relief we have released we have

that attachment has gone away

he can feel like a weight is lifted off

your shoulders

and right after that relief it comes

joy and happiness in the body and mind

this joy and happiness can be uh

quite remarkable particularly the first

times you experience it

it can have excitement with it

and be quite a change

at the same time that happens our mind

becomes calm

with the hindrance gone our mind calms

down and it can be very steady with the

meditation object

at this stage there may be small amounts

of thoughts that come up and go away but

they don't pull our attention

this disturbance of Mind does not bother

us

as we attend to the meditation object

in this joy and excitement persists for

a period of time

five minutes 10 minutes 40 minutes

and when it passes we are left with

great comfort in the body happiness

sukkah

this is how the first genre arises

and this is how we first enter the first

genre practicing like this

in the states in the first genre

the thinking the examining thought

the excitement the pleasure and the

unification of mind

the body feeling perception formations

and mind

the enthusiasm disinter decision energy

mindfulness Equanimity and attention

these states were defined by him one by

one as they occurred

so these are lists of the states that

arise in the first Jonah

so you can see the the five Aggregates

are rising in the first runner

we have body feeling perception

formations in mind

and we have Equanimity and mindfulness

arising as well

these states are happening one at a time

they are not happening all at once

and and they are clearly seen

he understood thus so indeed these

states not having been come into being

having been they vanish

regarding these states he abided

unattracted unrepelled independent

detached free dissociated with a mind

rid of barriers

and so he's able to see uh these states

though they were pleasant and not be

attached to them

and allow them to come and go

this is important for we enter Janna by

letting go of attachment

we return to Jonna by letting go of

attachment

we don't return to vagina by wanting it

and this is a tough thing to do

particularly after the first couple of

times when you have a sit like this at

first

your immediate reaction is oh yes I want

more of that

let's do that again now yeah

and so invariably one will put in way

too much energy in the practice

and one will have a lot of restlessness

because what are you doing there

you have an image of how you want

reality to be

and you're trying to make that image

line up with what is happening

and that is the way you are in conflict

with what is what is happening that's

the way you cause yourself suffering

eventually with practice

it is very possible to enter into into

the genres again

he understood there is an escape Beyond

in what the cultivation of that

attainment he confirmed that there is

again monks with distilling of applied

and sustained thought

sorry puta entered and abided in the

second genre

we enter the second genre

um

in a very similar way as the first Donna

what generally starts to happen is when

one is in the first round one starts

noticing those small thoughts and

distractions actually are distractions

and actually are

pulling attention why it may not be

obvious at first

and so you start Six Ring these smaller

distractions

and as you can six are those smaller

distractions eventually the same process

happens again where you can let that

attachment go associated with them let

that dissipate

and then mine will go deeper into the

second genre

which has self-confidence and singleness

of mind without thinking and examining

thought

so the second genre is said to have

confidence

this is because at this point you are

getting

familiar with this process

and it's likely you're having Jonna

arise

frequently in practice

and you're seeing how this works

and you're understanding how it works

and that brings confidence

and it is without thinking and examining

thought

and this is an important thing to note

as well

because the second genre will not have

verbal thinking in it

and when you try to bring verbal

thinking to the second genre it will

cause tension

this often manifests as a headache

uh

and the solution to this is you stop

verbalizing

but this means you stop saying the

wishes for your spiritual friend at that

time

for the wishes are going to be causing

trouble

at this point with your confidence you

can simply bring up loving kindness

just bring it up by itself without the

need for a wish and you can rest in it

that way

at times you will lose loving kindness

still and you'll have to 6r and bring it

up as usual

but it won't include a verbal wish

there's other times in practice we may

develop a headache

and headaches often come when we are

trying too hard

when we are trying to fit what is

happening with our image of it

when we're trying to make something be

the way we expect it to be that can

bring up a headache

and this is a challenge with sutus like

this is because this gives us very clear

information about what can and will

happen with successful practice

this is a map of what can happen

and when you know what can happen you

may try to fit your experience into that

we also do this when we expect our

meditation to be a particular way when

we expect ourselves to not be sitting as

deeply as our mind wants to be or when

we expect our meditation object to feel

a particular way

and we try to make it be a different way

this will also generate tension and a

headache

so sutures like this are very important

it's helpful to have a map

but it's also important to know the map

is not the territory

so how we imagined the description of

these states is

no matter how Vivid they're written

it is not the same

how's your experience

in a variably you'll have an idea of

what it is to get a new particular genre

and then you're there and it is not

quite like that

so it's important to know basically what

to do at intersections but it's also

important to be curious about it what

exactly it will be like we won't know

until we're there

which has self-confidence and singleness

of mind without applied and sustained

thought

with Rapture and with uh

with joy and happiness born of

collectiveness

in the states and the second genre the

self-confidence

The Joy the happiness and the

unification of mind

the body feeling perception formations

in mind

the enthusiasm decision energy

mindfulness Equanimity and attention

these states were defined by him one by

one as they occurred known to the states

arose known they were present and known

they disappeared

so the second genre has quite a bit of

joy in it like the first Jonah

like the first genre it is has some

excitement in the joy as well

when we talk about Joy

we can talk about five different kinds

of joy that can arise

the first three kinds of Joy are worldly

joy that just happen to anyone without

practicing meditation or mental

development

these are joy and one was like

Goosebumps yeah Goosebumps a little

shiver

one is like a lightning bolt a sudden

flash a very intense Joy

that comes suddenly and goes suddenly

and another is like waves that wash up

and wash down up and down

and then we have Joys that we can talk

about in terms of mental cultivation one

is uplifting Joy

an uplifting Joy when one has that one

feels light in the body and happy

with uplifting Joy your fake smile

becomes a real toothy grin

um and it can feel like you're floating

that is possible to feel like that

and then there is all pervading joy

all pervading joy is an interesting one

uh

because when you have that you your eyes

may open in meditation

this is what many Buddha statues show is

the Buddha sitting there with eyes

gently open in front of him

that's what happens with your eyes and

all pervading joy you will be sitting

there

meditating comfortably and eyes will pop

open

and you'll close them again and they'll

pop open again

and they just will want to stay open

and this is a result of all pervading

joy

now at this time you can't really

seclude yourself from the sensual

pleasure of seeing

but also at this time it certainly

doesn't matter

as it is not drawing your attention and

your mind is nicely collected

it's okay if they want to be open let

them be open

he understood uh thus

there is an escape Beyond

and with the cultivation of that

attainment he had confirmed that there

is

again monks with the fading away

of Joy sorry puta abided in Equanimity

Mindful and fully aware still still

feeling pleasure with the body he

entered upon and abided on the third

genre still feeling happiness with the

body he entered upon and abided in the

third genre an account of which Noble

ones announced he has a pleasant abiding

who has Equanimity and is mindful

so as you heard the third genre involves

the fading away of joy

and of course this can be confusing for

one who is so confident in the joy that

they get on when they sit down to

meditate

and you sit down and the joy doesn't

arise

and you're left in that situation like

you said to try to control your

experience and wanting it to come up and

that's not working

um

but one knows this is okay because your

mind is settled

mine is very calm

and body is incredibly comfortable

the third genre is incredibly

comfortable to be in

even more pleasant than the second genre

and this can be surprising why would

being comfortable in body be more

pleasant than intense Joy yeah

well Joy gets a little Annoying after a

while

yeah yeah it's kind of coarse

mine would prefer to be calmer than that

believe it or not

and but that is the case

so when one figures out that it's okay

for the joy to go away it's okay to help

you enjoy the comfort and be with that

community

in the object of meditation one can go

deeper into the third genre

as one goes through the third genre one

starts losing body sensation

initially maybe a body of heart for a

period of time might not feel your feet

or your knees

your hands might disappear for a while

and eventually a body will start to

disappear quite a bit

this is because as you go deeper you're

letting go of more craving

in less contact and body is happening

there is less to feel

and this is a useful state

when you have some degree of Mastery of

the third genre

you can enter the thanjana in times of

pain in times of injury

and start not feeling particular parts

of the body

it's a nice trick to have in your tool

book When You Buck that finger that's a

new habitual tendency to engage in

is releasing and relaxing the pain and

entering Jonah

and the states in the third genre

the Equanimity the pleasure the

mindfulness the full awareness and the

unification of mind

the body feeling perception formations

and mind

the enthusiasm to decision energy

mindfulness Equanimity and attention

these states were defined by him one by

one as they occurred known to him these

those States arose known that they were

present known they disappeared

he understood thus

there is an escape

Beyond

and with the cultivation

of that attainment he confirmed that

there is

again monks with the abandoning of

Pleasure and Pain with the previous

disappearance of joy and grief

so I put to enter upon and abided in the

fourth genre which has neither pain nor

pleasure and purity of mindfulness due

to equanimity

in the fourth genre Equanimity becomes

the predominant

characteristic you really start

developing strong Equanimity in the

fourth genre

strong Equanimity can be remarkable not

having aversion to pain

or a desire for pleasure

the first couple times you experience

that quite quite remarkable

as you start abiding in the fourth

genome more Equanimity pervades your

life and you start noticing fewer

reactions to things that normally

triggered you

and again this can be pretty Market

most people many people have the story

when they notice the Equanimity of the

fourth genre or John in practice

happening

it can be things like getting in car

crashes

and not having cortisol and fear

response

it can be things like interacting with

that toxic person that triggers you and

guess what they didn't trigger you

thing that they always says that gets

you doesn't you know

amazing

and you know you're normally triggered

by these things

but it doesn't happen

and you have full awareness

so you can see what's happening and

respond appropriately

even though you have Equanimity this

doesn't mean you don't respond

it actually means you can respond more

effectively

and the states in the fourth genre the

Equanimity the neither painful nor

Pleasant feeling the mental unconcerned

due to tranquility

the purity of mindfulness and the

unification of mind

the body feeling perception formations

in mind

the enthusiasm decision energy

mindfulness Equanimity and attention

these states were defined by him one by

one as they occurred

known to him these states arose known

they were president known they

disappeared

so as you're going deeper into the

fourth genre you start losing all body

awareness

or I should say most body awareness

you'll remain a feeling in your seat and

often remain feeling the top of your

head

but this is about all

this is a very interesting state to be

in

um

a particularly if you're meditating with

an open window

because you can be sitting there because

you still have the ability to feel

sensation you just are not

if you direct your attention and really

try to feel what you're touching you can

direct retention and feel that

if someone comes and comes and touches

you you will feel that or someone says

your name you'll feel that

but if you're meditating

with no sensation at all and a breeze

comes and

strikes your arm it can be your arm just

will light up out of nowhere and then go

away again

uh your Equanimity can be that strong

and your collectiveness can be that

strong

and as you're losing body awareness here

the meditation changes

so the feeling in your chest the loving

kindness in your chest moves up to your

head

it moves up quite automatically and on

its own

you can't feel your body so where is it

going to go

yeah

and sometimes it starts to happen at the

end of the third genre as well

but as you get deeper here the feeling

will start to go up into the head

when this happens

let it happen

this is another change that can be

confusing you can try to push it down

into your chest again but that will be

pretty awkward

and initially you may find it sometimes

wants to come from your chest for uh for

a few

a few times and you can let it come from

your chest it'll naturally come up to

your head again

and when it is consistently coming from

your head then we change instructions

meditation instructions

uh your Equanimity is such now that you

can send to anybody and your mind will

not Shake

and so you're ready to send to all kinds

of people

including other friends family members

adversaries

all of them

and then we send to the directions and

the world

when the loving kindness goes to your

head uh

there are specific instructions and we

can talk about it then

he understands thus there is an

attainment there is an escape Beyond

and with the cultivation of that

attainment he confirmed that they're his

so when sorry puta is saying he

understands that there is an attainment

Beyond

this is because he is understanding what

is happening with these states that

arise and pass away

he's seeing that they're impermanent

seeing the three characteristics seeing

there are dependently Arisen and

unsatisfactory

he is able to observe change in the

genre and able to understand

that indeed these states are not uh

these are they are unsatisfactory

and so he knows to look deeper look

beyond that

again monks with the complete uh

surmounting uh gross perceptions of form

with The Disappearance of gross

perceptions of sensory impact

with not attention to perceptions of

diversity aware that space is infinite

sorry I put to entered in and abided in

the base of Infinite Space

and so we are talking about arupa States

though

the arupa genres are continuations of

the fourth genre they are different

aspects of the fourth genre

actually all of these genres are

subtractive that is the further you go

in the genres the more is taken away

from your experience

the less and less is there and so what

is revealed

are these states

as you get rid of hindrances and as you

get rid of uh a gross thought what is

revealed is joy and happiness

as you get rid of more and more sensory

impact what is revealed is uh

tranquility

and as you go deeper what is revealed is

uh the Infinite Space

as we enter Infinite Space the feeling

of love and kindness changes to that of

compassion

this is a different feeling than uh than

loving kindness

and when you have a change in feeling of

your uh of of your meditation object

that is the new object you should try to

send

um don't try to make loving kindness be

there necessarily if your mind will go

right to compassion in that stage

and the states in the base of Infinite

Space

the perception of the base of Infinite

Space and the unification of mind

the body feeling perception

formations in mind the enthusiasm

decision energy mindfulness Equanimity

and attention

you notice the five Aggregates are still

present in the in the Abra pajamas

though we do not have uh perception of

our body necessarily

it is like with the fourth genre if you

are touched if there is impact you will

feel it

but that is not what you're feeling when

you're in the Jannah

an infinite space can be aptly named

Infinite Space can be a sensation of

expansion

it can be a sensation of expanding out

and out and out

further without Center

people experience Infinite Space

differently at different times though

and in fact the johnnas can different

factors maybe more and more or less

prevalented each time you enter them

and so every time you're in infant space

it may not be the same experience of

expansion but in general

it is a it is a cessation of getting

larger and larger

so

when we practice like this we go through

the genres as quickly as mine wants to

we go through them as quickly as mine

will

we let mind lead us deeper and deeper

and so we may not spend a lot of time in

any particular genre or we may

sometimes people spend months years in

the fourth genre

sometimes they spend less than a session

in the Fortuna it really just depends

it's not till much later in practice

that you're really going to explore

fully what the genres are like and

really develop them

that's a later practice of John a

Mastery and determinations

when we limit our experience to one

genre and when we do that we really

become familiar with all the ins and

outs and how the genre works

but until then we go through as quickly

as our mind wants to

whether it's one session or multiple

sessions

he understands thus there is an escape

Beyond and with the cultivation of that

attainment he confirmed that there is

again monks by completely surmounting

the base of Infinite Space aware that

Consciousness is infinite sorry puta

entered upon and abided in the base of

the feeling of compassion and changes to

the feeling of joy

which feels different than compassion

the feeling of expansion is not the same

and one becomes aware of consciousness

sometimes one may notice consciousnesses

arising and passing away

the further we go in the progression of

the genres the more we let go of in our

attachments and in the factors of our

mind and the sharper our attention and

ability to notice the movements of my

inattention becomes

as we go through the Aruba States our

ability to perceive things becomes more

and more subtle

and until in the base of infinite

Consciousness we begin to see

consciousnesses arise and pass away you

may begin to see a Consciousness arise

and pass away

you may notice this at each of the sun

stores

Horizon pass away

this can appear like sound appearing to

stutter very rapidly be there not be

there be there not be there

we're starting to see the frames in your

visual perception

we're seeing a Consciousness light up

and down again

not everyone perceives these things in

the same way don't go looking for that

if you don't notice it

but you may

and the states in the base of infinite

Consciousness the perception of the base

of infinite Consciousness and the

unification of mind

and you notice the base of Infinite

Space is not perceived in the base of

infinite Consciousness we're perceiving

a different base so we would expect it

to be different

the unification of mind

the body feeling perception formations

and mind

the enthusiasm decision energy

mindfulness and Equanimity and attention

these states were defined by him one by

one as they occurred known to him these

states Rose known they were present

known they disappeared

he understood thus there is an escape

Beyond and with the cultivation of that

attainment he had confirmed that there

is

again monks by completely surmounting

the base of infinite Consciousness aware

that there is nothing sorry puta entered

upon and abided in the base of

nothingness

as one continues meditating the feeling

of Joy transitions into the feeling of

equanimity

and again we uh the sensation of joy is

replaced with the calmer feeling

and we radiate this feeling of

equanimity

uh and this leads us into the base of

nothingness

in the states in the base of nothing is

the perception of the base of

nothingness and the unification of mind

the body feeling perception and volition

in mind the enthusiasm decision energy

mindfulness Equanimity and attention

these states were defined by him one by

one as they occurred known to him these

states arose known they were present

known they disappeared he understood

thus

so the base says nothingness

um at this point mind begins to be less

aware of the external environment and is

more focused on things arising

internally

um

it can be a very interesting place to

observe what is happening

and this is uh this is a place where

insights and clear seeing can be very

sharp

it can be a fascinating state to be in

if I completely surmounting the base of

nothingness sorry puta entered an

abundant upon and abided in the base of

neither perception nor non-perception

and this is as far as the Brahma the

horrors go

to enter the base of neither perception

or non-perception One lets go of even

equanimity

uh this happens quite automatically

just like the joy of the second genre

becomes too gross for mind

the Equanimity of nothingness becomes

too gross for mind and naturally mind

will drop it

and entering into neither perception or

non-perception

neither perception or non-perception can

be difficult to identify at first

it can feel like one has fallen asleep

but one is not asleep and afterwards one

reflects back and realizes no indeed I

was not asleep

it is more difficult to have Insight

during either perception or

non-perception

so as we enter it we uh and we exit it

we reflect back on what happened in the

state

it's in neither perception or

non-perception that our sun stores start

not operating as they did before

and we may not perceive sound uh we may

we may not perceive time we may

when we reflect back on what happens

after our sit take a second to 6r

anything you remember about that state

your object is your Quiet Mind

this will naturally transition from

equanimity

and my Envision just rest in the

Stillness

there is motion happening in neither

perception or non-perception

and when we have the habit of relaxing

we can relax with the small little

movements as they come up

as we get in these deeper States

the six hours become more and more

subtle

if we were to try to fully 6r in uh

neither perception or not perception

that would

that would kick us out yeah that's a lot

of movement

so at that time we are only relaxing in

response to the small small ripples that

come up

as as he emerged mindfully from that

attainment having done so he

contemplated the states that had passed

ceased and changed since us

so indeed these states not having been

come into being having been they

vanished

so afterwards he reflected on what

happened

regarding these states he abided

unattracted unrepelled independent

detached

free dissociated with the Mind rid of

barriers

he understood there is an escape Beyond

and with the cultivation of that

attainment he had confirmed that there

is

so as

we follow the Brahma the Horrors

through meta through compassion through

joy to equanimity

there is a movement and direction of

Mind towards greater and greater still

lives we are writing these as they

automatically take us through deeper

we don't control our experience

we just attend to the Brahma vaharas and

they will take us deeper and deeper

and this motion of mind

this habit of going deeper will persist

through neither perception or

non-perception and we train our mind

that way

though our object is just quiet mind

will naturally go deeper and deeper as

we trained it to

again monks by completely surmounting

the base of neither perception or

non-perception sorry puta entered upon

and abided in the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

perception and feeling and Consciousness

are conjoined they always call rise

together

and his taints were destroyed by seeing

with wisdom

so when enter one enters into the

cessation of perception and feeling

one is not aware one is in the cessation

of perception and feeling

one cannot intend to enter into the

cessation and perception and feeling you

cannot try to do it

guess what any trying involves

consciousness

volition

any any craving

any longing will prevent you from

entering this

what allows you to enter it is the habit

of your mind of relaxing

going deeper and deeper and when it

happens it happens

all you do to enter the cessation of

perception and feeling is rest and quiet

mind

and relax

and let mind rest there and settle down

more and more

when one is resting in either perception

or non-perception

mind can get

Restless

it can get bored

especially when mind is nice and quiet

nothing's happening here I might as well

get up

this is so ordinary and boring I can't

possibly be having a good sit this is

not right

anything

but dealing with

not much happening at all

so when you're sitting in the state have

fun with your funny mind

telling you to do something else but the

best thing which is to rest in

the highest base of clinging the best

thing to cling to which is neither

perception or not perception

so that's how you enter the cessation of

perception and feeling

is by not trying and resting in Quiet

Mind

he emerged mindful from that attainment

when one enters the cessation of

perception and feeling

one emerges

and there's no awareness of what

happened before what happened during

it's a complete blackout

and blackout is even strong of a word

maybe there's some perception of

blackout before and after it actually

happens but the actual cessation is

nothing

no consciousness no perception nor no

feeling

having emerged from that mind is

incredibly pure

the deeper and deeper you go through the

genres the more and more purified mind

is

and when you enter the cessation of

perception the feeling exited

mine is incredibly pure as it watches

things start again

when you emerge from that you may notice

and see the links of dependent

origination

the first time you do this you may

notice them come up

and pass away

and after that happens there is the

experience of Nirvana of the

unconditioned

this is a stream entry or attaining path

of sodapana

by seeing a dependent origination by

experiencing nabana you have a complete

perspective change

and you have experience the

unconditioned

and you have not done that before

and this is a tremendous relief

with the attainment of sodapana

immediately after that comes relief

enjoy

and the joy

is remarkable

The Joy will persist for a period of

time

24 48 72 hours or more

the effects of this will be noticeable

it's not a small thing

when this happens

are released

because of your clear seeing of how this

works

now your perception and understanding of

the world is forever different

um

you lose doubt

you know that the path works because

you've experienced it

it's not a matter of confidence it's a

matter of experience this happened

I did this and it resulted in that

in this change is because of what I have

seen

and because of this your uh

Reliance on rights and rituals belief

that rights and rituals will somehow be

liberating

is gone too because again you know how

this happened for you

and the belief in a personal self

is gone

you have seen states without a personal

self

and you know how that is

conceit is not gone the I am will come

back that is not released too much later

but you know

things happen personal nature

you've seen it

so the first time that happens

this is uh this is called path

this

this attainment uh theoretically can be

lost

um

it can be lost with a great a grievous

breaking of the precepts

like that

and so it's important to watch your mind

of behavior

until the experience happens again

the best time to start working for a

second experience or start allowing the

second experience to happen is right

after

the first attainment

now it's maybe the last time you want to

be doing that because you're so happy

and joy and mind is you want to talk to

people and have yeah it's not sit down

and uh yeah

but this is the time you sit down for

most people many people it happens

reasonably quickly afterwards

in hours days

sometimes it happens after Retreat

um

sometimes that happens years later too

it's hard to know these things happen

because of

you your your karma your your comma your

what is what's going to happen we can't

make these things happen

so the instruction is after this happens

you go back and sit some more

and do it again

and don't want it to happen again just

do the practice Yeah

with your clear mind it will not it will

be naturally inclined to happen with the

purity of mind at this point

uh when it happens again this is called

fruit or fruition

and the attainment is locked in at that

point

when you have them close together and

you can see the resultant States you can

see that the joy is different the the

relief happens the upwelling of Joy

happens after fruition too it's when you

when they're close enough you can notice

that it's a different feeling

um and so

if they're far apart you may not notice

just have joy and relief

the later stages when you keep

practicing

um and you keep letting go of attachment

these later stages will happen on their

own like this as well

again we don't make these things happen

we set up conditions

we do the practice and it will happen

when they happen

the the next set of Fetters at the next

stage called saktagami

or weakened sensual desires weakened and

ill will is greatly weakened and

attenuated

the first time there may or may not be

personality change

you will have perception change

things may your sense doors May operate

differently things may seem brighter

more focused more clear there may be

differences in how you perceive the

world

on

when you start attenuating sensual

desire and ill will how we are in the

world changes and there's real

noticeable personality and change

the second stage stocked economy happens

in the same way as the first stage there

is a surprise there is a cessation and

after the cessation one sees the links

of dependent reagination

the first time you actually may or may

not see them clearly

it's possible that for sodapani you

actually don't see them precisely

you may reflect back and and remember

them that certainly can happen

or you have memory may be triggered and

you're like oh yes that did happen but

it's octagami you see them clearly

you see how they arise and pass away

after that happens there is the

experience of Nevada again

in later past the experience of Nevada

is more clear the the seeing the links

of the dependent origination is more

clear

and the the change is is deeper

like sodapana saktagami is uh

path and fruit and so you practice for

fruition

and when we have fruition then the

attainment is is sustained

it can be anxiety provoking to talk

about having to lock in a fruition I

will say the texts are pretty clear

however if anyone to Pat is passes away

without attaining fruition they will

they will not leave this world without

attaining progression

that is it is pretty clear this will

happen before you pass

so that that is written pretty that is

written clearly

so it's if there's concern no no when

will it happen well it will it will

at onagamian

sensual desire and ill will are

eradicated

and at our hardship um the last five

Fetters are eradicated

conceit

restlessness ignorance

desire for rebirth and Heavenly Realms

form Realms or immaterial realms

desire for any kind of existence at all

reached true dispassion for

an aura hot with fruition

has completed the task

uh

they are done with the path

they have attained a similar State of

Mind to the Buddha and which is why the

Buddha taught

now the Buddha has

had developments that were more than

Madam in terms of ability to teach and

wisdom and other faculties like that

and that's necessary for the Buddha had

to discover the path

without any help

arahas have the luxury of having the

dhamma in the Sangha to learn from

it is a tremendous gift

that is left to learn learn this

so that's the difference between an

arahat and the Buddha is the ability to

discover and teach

he emerged mindful from that attainment

having done so he recalled the states

that have passed ceased and changed us

so indeed these states not having been

come into being having been they

vanished regarding these states he

abided unattracted unrepelled

independent detached free dissociated

with the Mind rid of barriers

he understood There Is No Escape Beyond

with the cultivation of entertainment he

confirmed that there is not

there's nothing Beyond

monks rightly speaking weren't said to

be of anyone he has attained Mastery and

perfection in normal Noble virtue

attained Mastery and Perfection Noble

concentrate Noble collectiveness Team

Mastery and perfection in Noble wisdom

obtained Mastery and Perfection and

Noble Deliverance

it is indeed that rightly speaking this

should be said

monks rightly speaking were to be said

of anyone he is the son of the blessed

one born of his breast born of his mouth

born of the dhamma created by the dhamma

an heir in the dhamma not an air

immaterial things it is of sari puta

indeed rightly speaking this should be

said

monks the matchless wheel of dhamma set

rolling by the tatagata is kept rolling

rightly by sari puta

this is what the blessed one said

the monks were satisfied and delighted

in the Blessed one's words

so any questions about that

higher paths that can be confusing

um

what I didn't talk about is Mastery of

cessation and that there can be

cessations without the experience of

nabana

and these happen more and more

frequently as you proceed along uh the

path

so the yep you can you can identify the

experience in Nevada is pretty clear

um and a large experience of Nevada will

is associated with path

you can understand nabana

through cessation sometime but it is not

the paths are big deals with big relief

and big release with them

like that

the real way but but as you progress you

know there and as you have more and more

Mastery and cessation big experiences

happen more right and it absolutely can

be confusing

um

yeah and they can be absolutely

fantastic yeah

yep

so the real gauge is what is happening

with your Fetters

yeah and and how they're operating

uh not just that you had a big whopping

cessation that lasted for three days

because that that will happen when

you're working on Mastery of cessation

that's what yeah yeah

um but for the were the Fetters affected

by it

and another thing people can run into is

they try to repeat the fruition that

happened before they're like oh I did

this I directed my mind this way let's

do that again

yeah and then you can do that again but

that's not A New Path necessarily you

just he just did that again

yeah New Paths are a result of letting

go of attachment and cultivation and

development and they they happen on

their own we don't really get to pick

yeah

but we get to experience cessation and

have wonderful experiences along the way

yeah yeah

yes it is

yeah yeah the Fetters are described many

places the higher and lower Fetters are

are explained um you can look in uh the

the the DN 33 that's a Suitor that talks

about the different fetas Fetters

uh so yeah this is talked about

well let's share some Merit

May suffering ones be suffering free and

the fear struck Fearless bee May The

Grieving shed all grief and may all

beings find relief

male being share this marriage that we

have thus acquired for the acquisition

of all kinds of happiness

May beings inhabiting space under Davis

and nagas and mighty power sharing this

narrative on us may they long protect

the Buddhist dispensation

[Music]

[Music]

thank you

[Music]

all right

well tonight we will talk about the

genos

so with uh meditation training we talked

about last night how there's maybe three

aspects the Sila Donna bhavana so Sila

is morality

that is following the precepts and

avoiding unwholesome courses of action

when we do that we prevent negative

aspects to enter our mind stream we can

help prevent and mitigate hindrances

we avoid the unwholesome courses of

action

and these are basically things done

based on greed desire and delusion

or I don't want it I want it and I or

mine yeah

the other aspect of our foundation for

meditation training is Donna which is

generosity

this is adding positive aspects to uh to

our mind stream so this is doing the

wholesome courses of action

this is important it again builds up our

capacity for successful meditation

Donna can be giving physically it can be

donating it can be doing things donating

time and so on and that's very important

and very beneficial and Donna can be in

our speech and mind

loving kindness is a great example of

Donna by the mind

in this they talk about the benefits of

loving kindness as absolutely tremendous

the the Merit gained by pervading the

world with loving kindness even for a

few seconds for a minute is is fantastic

so we can see this in people around us

when we smile when we send them loving

kindness they respond with positive uh

responses usually too

and it's certainly good for them even if

they don't smile back that they had

someone smile at them they had to deal

with that yeah

um

we are affecting the world around us

when we practice this way

uh we can we can look at neuroscience

and talk about mirror neurons we talk

about how when we see someone who's

happy we reflect that in our body mind

uh very simply and so we affect our

community we in fact we affect our

Sangha we affect our environment just as

we are affected by these things as well

and in fact there's a great

interconnection between ourselves and

those around us

so when we practice loving kindness it

is of great benefit to ourselves because

we are happy and we learn to benefit our

mind and there's great benefit to those

we interact with

and this sets us up to do uh bhavana to

do meditation

with a foundation of avoiding the

unwholesome courses of action

doing the wholesome courses of action we

have a mind that is ready to train and

look at itself

with meditation we are learning how our

mind works

we're learning to look at the world in a

way that is impersonal and see what

happens uh as it is as a result of

interconnectedness as a result of

conditions

and not as a result of us

what we have learned is what we want

when we try when we have an image of

reality

and it doesn't line up with reality that

is a cause of suffering

and in fact our image of what reality

should be is a driver of our Behavior

what we imagine something should be when

we act on that we set ourselves up for

disappointment

whereas if we act on what is what is

happening we set ourselves up if we're

not suffering for happiness yeah

so to do this investigation on mind we

have to set up conditions

um

we are habitual way of being in the

world is how we've been doing it most of

our Lives unless until we start uh

training mind

so this is the purpose of Jonah Jana is

a way of increasing our mindfulness and

it is a result of successful uh practice

it is both

uh

what we practice is samita vipasana

samata refers to collectiveness of Mind

vipassana refers to seeing things as

they are

another training schema is a common

training schema is Sila

samadhi panya

so morality

collectiveness appropriate

collectiveness and clear seeing that's

another way of seeing what we're doing

when we practice meditation like this we

are cultivating collecting this at the

same time we are called cultivating

clear seeing into what is happening

they go hand in hand the more clearly we

see what is happening the more collected

our mind can become

and they work in conjunction

simultaneously

so the Mind State we need to cultivate

in order to develop our mind needs to

have the ability to see change and see

what is happening

there are three characteristics of

condition reality that we can talk about

they are

impermanence in each of

uh unsatisfactory in this

and not self or non-self anata

when we are practicing meditation we are

learning about these and developing

insight into these

now we develop insight passively

over time we don't push our minds into

our concept

of these three characteristics hoping to

see them

as we practice the six hours

excuse me

as we practice the six arms

and our mind lets go of hindrances we

naturally start to see these in the

course of practice

but it's unavoidable

so impermanence is about how things

change

Everything Changes

we see this on every scale of our

experience

we see Seasons changing we see Life

coming and going

we see tamasuka changing

growing

we see it in ourselves

we see hair changing yourself see

ourselves maturing

we see it in our experience

sites come and go

feelings come and go

and we see it in the fine grain in our

experience when we look closely and when

we see closely at what's happening

things are changing rapidly

eventually we can see Consciousness

arise and pass away

quickly

impermanence and all of the three

characteristics can be uncomfortable

when we start noticing it

in fact when we start deeply seeing

impermanence a fear can arise

when fear arises in meditation

the instructions are clear

they are to keep doing what you're doing

stay in the same posture until the fear

passes

fear is a feeling fear is a habitual

tendency

it's a hindrance

when it comes up and goes away when we

let it go

on the other side of fear

is usually nothing that scary

when fear arises in our meditation

which happens to pretty much everyone

often on the brink of something that is

quite exciting

a new state oh my this is real oh

this is happening fear comes up

you put a toe Over The Line

you see if it's that scary or not

and you can back off

don't push it

try again was it that scary

no

turns out not to be

so when we investigate the three

characteristics I may initially seem

like this

but as we understand them more they

actually

lead to states of mind that are quite

positive

now Duca or unsatisfactoryeness is very

related to impermanence

we cannot rely on anything in our

experience

as self

as it appears

it will ultimately change and ultimately

not be a source of true satisfaction

that is the quality of conditioned

experience

and then there's anata

not self which is very uh challenging to

translate

ultimately anata means impersonal

means happening as a result of

conditions

it does not mean there is no self

or if you attain a particular state

that yourself will go away or something

like that well now we're talking about

words but everything will continue

and this is where fear comes in when

your mind goes oh my everything is

changing

everything is conditioned

what am I then yeah

but the fact is when you drop or weaken

the perspective of I am

everything is still there and in fact

everything is better

Beauty remains

Joy remains

what you lose is proliferation

what you lose is layers of ideas upon

reality that are not true

what you lose is a false perspective of

me and that

and what is left is what is and always

was

Beauty we talk about words like last

night about being humiliated by sense

desires but I want to point out or

humiliated by sensory perception in

training but the writings of our hearts

fully awakened ones talk about

appreciation of beauty

talk about appreciation of the natural

world

and we are not as we more developed we

are not moving away from appreciation

and positive States

that is not what is happening we're

moving into happiness

and

more appreciation and engagement with

what we are doing in our lives

of the training may involve carefully

watching how we interact with our senses

how we interact with our thoughts how we

interact with other people

what it leads to is freedom

so we'll

start with uh the anapada suta

one by one as they occurred

now this is one of bonte's favorite

sutas I may have heard it many many

times

and the way I read it may be unavoidably

similar to how he does but we shall see

thus have I heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living in saviti at

Justice Grove hanathan pedicos Park

there he addressed amongst us monks

venerable sir they replied the blessed

one said this monks sorry puta is wise

sorry puta was one of the Buddha's

Chief's disciples

the Buddha had two chief disciplesana

they uh

the chief disciples were

were talked about by their qualities

sorry puta was second only to the Buddha

in wisdom

wisdom of course is the ability to see

dependent origination

when we look at the life of saraputa

it's quite quite interesting he was

quite uh quite a monk

Not only was he in charge of training of

the younger monks he was in charge of

bringing people up to the first stage of

Awakening and

and was excellent at expounding the

dhamma but he was an incredibly kind and

compassionate guy

when you hear stories of the monks

moving uh sorry puto would always arrive

late because

he was helping people that were having

trouble moving he was taking care of the

Hill he was taking care of other people

and so as even though he was in charge

in so many ways

he was he was on the ground helping

people personally

so the compassion of sorry puta is

remarkable

and the wisdom of sorry puta is

remarkable he is one who had the four

analytic knowledges

the four analytic knowledges are deeply

understanding the dhamma deeply

understanding causality and deeply

understanding language in a way that

allowed him to present the dhamma in a

way that is clear and very accessible to

his listener

um

so you see throughout the sutahs many

many sutos with saraputa in them

so

and the Buddha is saying sorry puta is

wise

sorry puta has great wisdom sorry puta

has wide wisdom sorry puta has joyous

wisdom

sorry puta has quick wisdom

sorry puta has Keen wisdom

sorry puta has a penetrative wisdom

during half a month monks sorry put

again insight into States one by one as

they occurred

in half a month of training sari puta

attained the final stage of Awakening

this was a very long time at that time

many of his peers took a week or some a

sermon yeah

but sorry put a took two weeks

and why did it take so long

because he had so much to figure out

because it had so much to work through

uh

and that is that is why he was so wise

now sarri puts his insight into States

one by one as they occurred was this

here amongst quite secluded from sensual

pleasures

sensual Pleasures

our sights

tastes sounds

like that

the chords of the sensual desire

a sensual desire

is lost for the central pleasures

getting involved with them and wanting

them and craving and clinging to them

secluded from unwholesome States

oh and secluded from sensual pleasures

when we meditate we seclude ourselves

from sensual pleasures

we close our eyes to limit our vision

we do not move our body to limit contact

with our body

we are not tasting things usually we are

not smelling things usually

hearing is the hardest one to seclude

ourselves from

but that is what we try to do also to

seclude ourselves from sensual pleasures

secluded from unwholesome States

this means he did not have the

hindrances

when one is in Jannah one does not have

a hindrance

sorry puta entered upon and abided in

the first genre which is accompanied by

thinking and examining thought with joy

and happiness born of seclusion

so when we are meditating we are with

our object of meditation loving-kindness

or whatever our object is

we rest in our object observing our

object

and then of course hindrances can arise

we may hear a sound leading to feeling

leading to craving leading to thinking

about it leading to forgetting what

we're doing

when the sound is persistent it pulls us

away from our meditation object

so we 6r

we will we let it be there we do not

attend to it we relax our head and our

body and smile and come back

to our meditation object

now it's the nature of everything that

arises to pass away impermanence yes

unless conditions keep them there

unless there is attachment

unless there is attention

and in most cases our hindrances have

attachment behind them

and so our thoughts about the sound will

persist

and so we go back

find ourselves back thinking about the

sound again

it's always six R and we come back

and that we get pulled again yeah

and remember from this place of going

back and forth one of a couple of things

will happen

one is we will

give in to action we will forget our

mindfulness and

and we'll break our meditation or

whatever it is if it's a niche we'll

scratch it

if it's a thought we'll act on it and so

on

or uh we will let it go

and we will develop equanimity

we will 6r and come back and 6r

and eventually different hindrance or

distraction will takes its place but we

have Equanimity around

that thought or feeling or hindrance and

it will no longer pull our attention

anymore

or the third option is we will let go of

that attachment

when we starve our attachment of that

hindrance of our attention over and over

again

it has a chance to go away

so as our attachment and hindrance is

there we relax

and it pulls us again we six are and

come back and eventually it dissipates

and in this instance when it dissipates

right after an instant it dissipates we

have relief we have released we have

that attachment has gone away

he can feel like a weight is lifted off

your shoulders

and right after that relief it comes

joy and happiness in the body and mind

this joy and happiness can be uh

quite remarkable particularly the first

times you experience it

it can have excitement with it

and be quite a change

at the same time that happens our mind

becomes calm

with the hindrance gone our mind calms

down and it can be very steady with the

meditation object

at this stage there may be small amounts

of thoughts that come up and go away but

they don't pull our attention

this disturbance of Mind does not bother

us

as we attend to the meditation object

in this joy and excitement persists for

a period of time

five minutes 10 minutes 40 minutes

and when it passes we are left with

great comfort in the body happiness

sukkah

this is how the first genre arises

and this is how we first enter the first

genre practicing like this

in the states in the first genre

the thinking the examining thought

the excitement the pleasure and the

unification of mind

the body feeling perception formations

and mind

the enthusiasm disinter decision energy

mindfulness Equanimity and attention

these states were defined by him one by

one as they occurred

so these are lists of the states that

arise in the first Jonah

so you can see the the five Aggregates

are rising in the first runner

we have body feeling perception

formations in mind

and we have Equanimity and mindfulness

arising as well

these states are happening one at a time

they are not happening all at once

and and they are clearly seen

he understood thus so indeed these

states not having been come into being

having been they vanish

regarding these states he abided

unattracted unrepelled independent

detached free dissociated with a mind

rid of barriers

and so he's able to see uh these states

though they were pleasant and not be

attached to them

and allow them to come and go

this is important for we enter Janna by

letting go of attachment

we return to Jonna by letting go of

attachment

we don't return to vagina by wanting it

and this is a tough thing to do

particularly after the first couple of

times when you have a sit like this at

first

your immediate reaction is oh yes I want

more of that

let's do that again now yeah

and so invariably one will put in way

too much energy in the practice

and one will have a lot of restlessness

because what are you doing there

you have an image of how you want

reality to be

and you're trying to make that image

line up with what is happening

and that is the way you are in conflict

with what is what is happening that's

the way you cause yourself suffering

eventually with practice

it is very possible to enter into into

the genres again

he understood there is an escape Beyond

in what the cultivation of that

attainment he confirmed that there is

again monks with distilling of applied

and sustained thought

sorry puta entered and abided in the

second genre

we enter the second genre

um

in a very similar way as the first Donna

what generally starts to happen is when

one is in the first round one starts

noticing those small thoughts and

distractions actually are distractions

and actually are

pulling attention why it may not be

obvious at first

and so you start Six Ring these smaller

distractions

and as you can six are those smaller

distractions eventually the same process

happens again where you can let that

attachment go associated with them let

that dissipate

and then mine will go deeper into the

second genre

which has self-confidence and singleness

of mind without thinking and examining

thought

so the second genre is said to have

confidence

this is because at this point you are

getting

familiar with this process

and it's likely you're having Jonna

arise

frequently in practice

and you're seeing how this works

and you're understanding how it works

and that brings confidence

and it is without thinking and examining

thought

and this is an important thing to note

as well

because the second genre will not have

verbal thinking in it

and when you try to bring verbal

thinking to the second genre it will

cause tension

this often manifests as a headache

uh

and the solution to this is you stop

verbalizing

but this means you stop saying the

wishes for your spiritual friend at that

time

for the wishes are going to be causing

trouble

at this point with your confidence you

can simply bring up loving kindness

just bring it up by itself without the

need for a wish and you can rest in it

that way

at times you will lose loving kindness

still and you'll have to 6r and bring it

up as usual

but it won't include a verbal wish

there's other times in practice we may

develop a headache

and headaches often come when we are

trying too hard

when we are trying to fit what is

happening with our image of it

when we're trying to make something be

the way we expect it to be that can

bring up a headache

and this is a challenge with sutus like

this is because this gives us very clear

information about what can and will

happen with successful practice

this is a map of what can happen

and when you know what can happen you

may try to fit your experience into that

we also do this when we expect our

meditation to be a particular way when

we expect ourselves to not be sitting as

deeply as our mind wants to be or when

we expect our meditation object to feel

a particular way

and we try to make it be a different way

this will also generate tension and a

headache

so sutures like this are very important

it's helpful to have a map

but it's also important to know the map

is not the territory

so how we imagined the description of

these states is

no matter how Vivid they're written

it is not the same

how's your experience

in a variably you'll have an idea of

what it is to get a new particular genre

and then you're there and it is not

quite like that

so it's important to know basically what

to do at intersections but it's also

important to be curious about it what

exactly it will be like we won't know

until we're there

which has self-confidence and singleness

of mind without applied and sustained

thought

with Rapture and with uh

with joy and happiness born of

collectiveness

in the states and the second genre the

self-confidence

The Joy the happiness and the

unification of mind

the body feeling perception formations

in mind

the enthusiasm decision energy

mindfulness Equanimity and attention

these states were defined by him one by

one as they occurred known to the states

arose known they were present and known

they disappeared

so the second genre has quite a bit of

joy in it like the first Jonah

like the first genre it is has some

excitement in the joy as well

when we talk about Joy

we can talk about five different kinds

of joy that can arise

the first three kinds of Joy are worldly

joy that just happen to anyone without

practicing meditation or mental

development

these are joy and one was like

Goosebumps yeah Goosebumps a little

shiver

one is like a lightning bolt a sudden

flash a very intense Joy

that comes suddenly and goes suddenly

and another is like waves that wash up

and wash down up and down

and then we have Joys that we can talk

about in terms of mental cultivation one

is uplifting Joy

an uplifting Joy when one has that one

feels light in the body and happy

with uplifting Joy your fake smile

becomes a real toothy grin

um and it can feel like you're floating

that is possible to feel like that

and then there is all pervading joy

all pervading joy is an interesting one

uh

because when you have that you your eyes

may open in meditation

this is what many Buddha statues show is

the Buddha sitting there with eyes

gently open in front of him

that's what happens with your eyes and

all pervading joy you will be sitting

there

meditating comfortably and eyes will pop

open

and you'll close them again and they'll

pop open again

and they just will want to stay open

and this is a result of all pervading

joy

now at this time you can't really

seclude yourself from the sensual

pleasure of seeing

but also at this time it certainly

doesn't matter

as it is not drawing your attention and

your mind is nicely collected

it's okay if they want to be open let

them be open

he understood uh thus

there is an escape Beyond

and with the cultivation of that

attainment he had confirmed that there

is

again monks with the fading away

of Joy sorry puta abided in Equanimity

Mindful and fully aware still still

feeling pleasure with the body he

entered upon and abided on the third

genre still feeling happiness with the

body he entered upon and abided in the

third genre an account of which Noble

ones announced he has a pleasant abiding

who has Equanimity and is mindful

so as you heard the third genre involves

the fading away of joy

and of course this can be confusing for

one who is so confident in the joy that

they get on when they sit down to

meditate

and you sit down and the joy doesn't

arise

and you're left in that situation like

you said to try to control your

experience and wanting it to come up and

that's not working

um

but one knows this is okay because your

mind is settled

mine is very calm

and body is incredibly comfortable

the third genre is incredibly

comfortable to be in

even more pleasant than the second genre

and this can be surprising why would

being comfortable in body be more

pleasant than intense Joy yeah

well Joy gets a little Annoying after a

while

yeah yeah it's kind of coarse

mine would prefer to be calmer than that

believe it or not

and but that is the case

so when one figures out that it's okay

for the joy to go away it's okay to help

you enjoy the comfort and be with that

community

in the object of meditation one can go

deeper into the third genre

as one goes through the third genre one

starts losing body sensation

initially maybe a body of heart for a

period of time might not feel your feet

or your knees

your hands might disappear for a while

and eventually a body will start to

disappear quite a bit

this is because as you go deeper you're

letting go of more craving

in less contact and body is happening

there is less to feel

and this is a useful state

when you have some degree of Mastery of

the third genre

you can enter the thanjana in times of

pain in times of injury

and start not feeling particular parts

of the body

it's a nice trick to have in your tool

book When You Buck that finger that's a

new habitual tendency to engage in

is releasing and relaxing the pain and

entering Jonah

and the states in the third genre

the Equanimity the pleasure the

mindfulness the full awareness and the

unification of mind

the body feeling perception formations

and mind

the enthusiasm to decision energy

mindfulness Equanimity and attention

these states were defined by him one by

one as they occurred known to him these

those States arose known that they were

present known they disappeared

he understood thus

there is an escape

Beyond

and with the cultivation

of that attainment he confirmed that

there is

again monks with the abandoning of

Pleasure and Pain with the previous

disappearance of joy and grief

so I put to enter upon and abided in the

fourth genre which has neither pain nor

pleasure and purity of mindfulness due

to equanimity

in the fourth genre Equanimity becomes

the predominant

characteristic you really start

developing strong Equanimity in the

fourth genre

strong Equanimity can be remarkable not

having aversion to pain

or a desire for pleasure

the first couple times you experience

that quite quite remarkable

as you start abiding in the fourth

genome more Equanimity pervades your

life and you start noticing fewer

reactions to things that normally

triggered you

and again this can be pretty Market

most people many people have the story

when they notice the Equanimity of the

fourth genre or John in practice

happening

it can be things like getting in car

crashes

and not having cortisol and fear

response

it can be things like interacting with

that toxic person that triggers you and

guess what they didn't trigger you

thing that they always says that gets

you doesn't you know

amazing

and you know you're normally triggered

by these things

but it doesn't happen

and you have full awareness

so you can see what's happening and

respond appropriately

even though you have Equanimity this

doesn't mean you don't respond

it actually means you can respond more

effectively

and the states in the fourth genre the

Equanimity the neither painful nor

Pleasant feeling the mental unconcerned

due to tranquility

the purity of mindfulness and the

unification of mind

the body feeling perception formations

in mind

the enthusiasm decision energy

mindfulness Equanimity and attention

these states were defined by him one by

one as they occurred

known to him these states arose known

they were president known they

disappeared

so as you're going deeper into the

fourth genre you start losing all body

awareness

or I should say most body awareness

you'll remain a feeling in your seat and

often remain feeling the top of your

head

but this is about all

this is a very interesting state to be

in

um

a particularly if you're meditating with

an open window

because you can be sitting there because

you still have the ability to feel

sensation you just are not

if you direct your attention and really

try to feel what you're touching you can

direct retention and feel that

if someone comes and comes and touches

you you will feel that or someone says

your name you'll feel that

but if you're meditating

with no sensation at all and a breeze

comes and

strikes your arm it can be your arm just

will light up out of nowhere and then go

away again

uh your Equanimity can be that strong

and your collectiveness can be that

strong

and as you're losing body awareness here

the meditation changes

so the feeling in your chest the loving

kindness in your chest moves up to your

head

it moves up quite automatically and on

its own

you can't feel your body so where is it

going to go

yeah

and sometimes it starts to happen at the

end of the third genre as well

but as you get deeper here the feeling

will start to go up into the head

when this happens

let it happen

this is another change that can be

confusing you can try to push it down

into your chest again but that will be

pretty awkward

and initially you may find it sometimes

wants to come from your chest for uh for

a few

a few times and you can let it come from

your chest it'll naturally come up to

your head again

and when it is consistently coming from

your head then we change instructions

meditation instructions

uh your Equanimity is such now that you

can send to anybody and your mind will

not Shake

and so you're ready to send to all kinds

of people

including other friends family members

adversaries

all of them

and then we send to the directions and

the world

when the loving kindness goes to your

head uh

there are specific instructions and we

can talk about it then

he understands thus there is an

attainment there is an escape Beyond

and with the cultivation of that

attainment he confirmed that they're his

so when sorry puta is saying he

understands that there is an attainment

Beyond

this is because he is understanding what

is happening with these states that

arise and pass away

he's seeing that they're impermanent

seeing the three characteristics seeing

there are dependently Arisen and

unsatisfactory

he is able to observe change in the

genre and able to understand

that indeed these states are not uh

these are they are unsatisfactory

and so he knows to look deeper look

beyond that

again monks with the complete uh

surmounting uh gross perceptions of form

with The Disappearance of gross

perceptions of sensory impact

with not attention to perceptions of

diversity aware that space is infinite

sorry I put to entered in and abided in

the base of Infinite Space

and so we are talking about arupa States

though

the arupa genres are continuations of

the fourth genre they are different

aspects of the fourth genre

actually all of these genres are

subtractive that is the further you go

in the genres the more is taken away

from your experience

the less and less is there and so what

is revealed

are these states

as you get rid of hindrances and as you

get rid of uh a gross thought what is

revealed is joy and happiness

as you get rid of more and more sensory

impact what is revealed is uh

tranquility

and as you go deeper what is revealed is

uh the Infinite Space

as we enter Infinite Space the feeling

of love and kindness changes to that of

compassion

this is a different feeling than uh than

loving kindness

and when you have a change in feeling of

your uh of of your meditation object

that is the new object you should try to

send

um don't try to make loving kindness be

there necessarily if your mind will go

right to compassion in that stage

and the states in the base of Infinite

Space

the perception of the base of Infinite

Space and the unification of mind

the body feeling perception

formations in mind the enthusiasm

decision energy mindfulness Equanimity

and attention

you notice the five Aggregates are still

present in the in the Abra pajamas

though we do not have uh perception of

our body necessarily

it is like with the fourth genre if you

are touched if there is impact you will

feel it

but that is not what you're feeling when

you're in the Jannah

an infinite space can be aptly named

Infinite Space can be a sensation of

expansion

it can be a sensation of expanding out

and out and out

further without Center

people experience Infinite Space

differently at different times though

and in fact the johnnas can different

factors maybe more and more or less

prevalented each time you enter them

and so every time you're in infant space

it may not be the same experience of

expansion but in general

it is a it is a cessation of getting

larger and larger

so

when we practice like this we go through

the genres as quickly as mine wants to

we go through them as quickly as mine

will

we let mind lead us deeper and deeper

and so we may not spend a lot of time in

any particular genre or we may

sometimes people spend months years in

the fourth genre

sometimes they spend less than a session

in the Fortuna it really just depends

it's not till much later in practice

that you're really going to explore

fully what the genres are like and

really develop them

that's a later practice of John a

Mastery and determinations

when we limit our experience to one

genre and when we do that we really

become familiar with all the ins and

outs and how the genre works

but until then we go through as quickly

as our mind wants to

whether it's one session or multiple

sessions

he understands thus there is an escape

Beyond and with the cultivation of that

attainment he confirmed that there is

again monks by completely surmounting

the base of Infinite Space aware that

Consciousness is infinite sorry puta

entered upon and abided in the base of

the feeling of compassion and changes to

the feeling of joy

which feels different than compassion

the feeling of expansion is not the same

and one becomes aware of consciousness

sometimes one may notice consciousnesses

arising and passing away

the further we go in the progression of

the genres the more we let go of in our

attachments and in the factors of our

mind and the sharper our attention and

ability to notice the movements of my

inattention becomes

as we go through the Aruba States our

ability to perceive things becomes more

and more subtle

and until in the base of infinite

Consciousness we begin to see

consciousnesses arise and pass away you

may begin to see a Consciousness arise

and pass away

you may notice this at each of the sun

stores

Horizon pass away

this can appear like sound appearing to

stutter very rapidly be there not be

there be there not be there

we're starting to see the frames in your

visual perception

we're seeing a Consciousness light up

and down again

not everyone perceives these things in

the same way don't go looking for that

if you don't notice it

but you may

and the states in the base of infinite

Consciousness the perception of the base

of infinite Consciousness and the

unification of mind

and you notice the base of Infinite

Space is not perceived in the base of

infinite Consciousness we're perceiving

a different base so we would expect it

to be different

the unification of mind

the body feeling perception formations

and mind

the enthusiasm decision energy

mindfulness and Equanimity and attention

these states were defined by him one by

one as they occurred known to him these

states Rose known they were present

known they disappeared

he understood thus there is an escape

Beyond and with the cultivation of that

attainment he had confirmed that there

is

again monks by completely surmounting

the base of infinite Consciousness aware

that there is nothing sorry puta entered

upon and abided in the base of

nothingness

as one continues meditating the feeling

of Joy transitions into the feeling of

equanimity

and again we uh the sensation of joy is

replaced with the calmer feeling

and we radiate this feeling of

equanimity

uh and this leads us into the base of

nothingness

in the states in the base of nothing is

the perception of the base of

nothingness and the unification of mind

the body feeling perception and volition

in mind the enthusiasm decision energy

mindfulness Equanimity and attention

these states were defined by him one by

one as they occurred known to him these

states arose known they were present

known they disappeared he understood

thus

so the base says nothingness

um at this point mind begins to be less

aware of the external environment and is

more focused on things arising

internally

um

it can be a very interesting place to

observe what is happening

and this is uh this is a place where

insights and clear seeing can be very

sharp

it can be a fascinating state to be in

if I completely surmounting the base of

nothingness sorry puta entered an

abundant upon and abided in the base of

neither perception nor non-perception

and this is as far as the Brahma the

horrors go

to enter the base of neither perception

or non-perception One lets go of even

equanimity

uh this happens quite automatically

just like the joy of the second genre

becomes too gross for mind

the Equanimity of nothingness becomes

too gross for mind and naturally mind

will drop it

and entering into neither perception or

non-perception

neither perception or non-perception can

be difficult to identify at first

it can feel like one has fallen asleep

but one is not asleep and afterwards one

reflects back and realizes no indeed I

was not asleep

it is more difficult to have Insight

during either perception or

non-perception

so as we enter it we uh and we exit it

we reflect back on what happened in the

state

it's in neither perception or

non-perception that our sun stores start

not operating as they did before

and we may not perceive sound uh we may

we may not perceive time we may

when we reflect back on what happens

after our sit take a second to 6r

anything you remember about that state

your object is your Quiet Mind

this will naturally transition from

equanimity

and my Envision just rest in the

Stillness

there is motion happening in neither

perception or non-perception

and when we have the habit of relaxing

we can relax with the small little

movements as they come up

as we get in these deeper States

the six hours become more and more

subtle

if we were to try to fully 6r in uh

neither perception or not perception

that would

that would kick us out yeah that's a lot

of movement

so at that time we are only relaxing in

response to the small small ripples that

come up

as as he emerged mindfully from that

attainment having done so he

contemplated the states that had passed

ceased and changed since us

so indeed these states not having been

come into being having been they

vanished

so afterwards he reflected on what

happened

regarding these states he abided

unattracted unrepelled independent

detached

free dissociated with the Mind rid of

barriers

he understood there is an escape Beyond

and with the cultivation of that

attainment he had confirmed that there

is

so as

we follow the Brahma the Horrors

through meta through compassion through

joy to equanimity

there is a movement and direction of

Mind towards greater and greater still

lives we are writing these as they

automatically take us through deeper

we don't control our experience

we just attend to the Brahma vaharas and

they will take us deeper and deeper

and this motion of mind

this habit of going deeper will persist

through neither perception or

non-perception and we train our mind

that way

though our object is just quiet mind

will naturally go deeper and deeper as

we trained it to

again monks by completely surmounting

the base of neither perception or

non-perception sorry puta entered upon

and abided in the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

perception and feeling and Consciousness

are conjoined they always call rise

together

and his taints were destroyed by seeing

with wisdom

so when enter one enters into the

cessation of perception and feeling

one is not aware one is in the cessation

of perception and feeling

one cannot intend to enter into the

cessation and perception and feeling you

cannot try to do it

guess what any trying involves

consciousness

volition

any any craving

any longing will prevent you from

entering this

what allows you to enter it is the habit

of your mind of relaxing

going deeper and deeper and when it

happens it happens

all you do to enter the cessation of

perception and feeling is rest and quiet

mind

and relax

and let mind rest there and settle down

more and more

when one is resting in either perception

or non-perception

mind can get

Restless

it can get bored

especially when mind is nice and quiet

nothing's happening here I might as well

get up

this is so ordinary and boring I can't

possibly be having a good sit this is

not right

anything

but dealing with

not much happening at all

so when you're sitting in the state have

fun with your funny mind

telling you to do something else but the

best thing which is to rest in

the highest base of clinging the best

thing to cling to which is neither

perception or not perception

so that's how you enter the cessation of

perception and feeling

is by not trying and resting in Quiet

Mind

he emerged mindful from that attainment

when one enters the cessation of

perception and feeling

one emerges

and there's no awareness of what

happened before what happened during

it's a complete blackout

and blackout is even strong of a word

maybe there's some perception of

blackout before and after it actually

happens but the actual cessation is

nothing

no consciousness no perception nor no

feeling

having emerged from that mind is

incredibly pure

the deeper and deeper you go through the

genres the more and more purified mind

is

and when you enter the cessation of

perception the feeling exited

mine is incredibly pure as it watches

things start again

when you emerge from that you may notice

and see the links of dependent

origination

the first time you do this you may

notice them come up

and pass away

and after that happens there is the

experience of Nirvana of the

unconditioned

this is a stream entry or attaining path

of sodapana

by seeing a dependent origination by

experiencing nabana you have a complete

perspective change

and you have experience the

unconditioned

and you have not done that before

and this is a tremendous relief

with the attainment of sodapana

immediately after that comes relief

enjoy

and the joy

is remarkable

The Joy will persist for a period of

time

24 48 72 hours or more

the effects of this will be noticeable

it's not a small thing

when this happens

are released

because of your clear seeing of how this

works

now your perception and understanding of

the world is forever different

um

you lose doubt

you know that the path works because

you've experienced it

it's not a matter of confidence it's a

matter of experience this happened

I did this and it resulted in that

in this change is because of what I have

seen

and because of this your uh

Reliance on rights and rituals belief

that rights and rituals will somehow be

liberating

is gone too because again you know how

this happened for you

and the belief in a personal self

is gone

you have seen states without a personal

self

and you know how that is

conceit is not gone the I am will come

back that is not released too much later

but you know

things happen personal nature

you've seen it

so the first time that happens

this is uh this is called path

this

this attainment uh theoretically can be

lost

um

it can be lost with a great a grievous

breaking of the precepts

like that

and so it's important to watch your mind

of behavior

until the experience happens again

the best time to start working for a

second experience or start allowing the

second experience to happen is right

after

the first attainment

now it's maybe the last time you want to

be doing that because you're so happy

and joy and mind is you want to talk to

people and have yeah it's not sit down

and uh yeah

but this is the time you sit down for

most people many people it happens

reasonably quickly afterwards

in hours days

sometimes it happens after Retreat

um

sometimes that happens years later too

it's hard to know these things happen

because of

you your your karma your your comma your

what is what's going to happen we can't

make these things happen

so the instruction is after this happens

you go back and sit some more

and do it again

and don't want it to happen again just

do the practice Yeah

with your clear mind it will not it will

be naturally inclined to happen with the

purity of mind at this point

uh when it happens again this is called

fruit or fruition

and the attainment is locked in at that

point

when you have them close together and

you can see the resultant States you can

see that the joy is different the the

relief happens the upwelling of Joy

happens after fruition too it's when you

when they're close enough you can notice

that it's a different feeling

um and so

if they're far apart you may not notice

just have joy and relief

the later stages when you keep

practicing

um and you keep letting go of attachment

these later stages will happen on their

own like this as well

again we don't make these things happen

we set up conditions

we do the practice and it will happen

when they happen

the the next set of Fetters at the next

stage called saktagami

or weakened sensual desires weakened and

ill will is greatly weakened and

attenuated

the first time there may or may not be

personality change

you will have perception change

things may your sense doors May operate

differently things may seem brighter

more focused more clear there may be

differences in how you perceive the

world

on

when you start attenuating sensual

desire and ill will how we are in the

world changes and there's real

noticeable personality and change

the second stage stocked economy happens

in the same way as the first stage there

is a surprise there is a cessation and

after the cessation one sees the links

of dependent reagination

the first time you actually may or may

not see them clearly

it's possible that for sodapani you

actually don't see them precisely

you may reflect back and and remember

them that certainly can happen

or you have memory may be triggered and

you're like oh yes that did happen but

it's octagami you see them clearly

you see how they arise and pass away

after that happens there is the

experience of Nevada again

in later past the experience of Nevada

is more clear the the seeing the links

of the dependent origination is more

clear

and the the change is is deeper

like sodapana saktagami is uh

path and fruit and so you practice for

fruition

and when we have fruition then the

attainment is is sustained

it can be anxiety provoking to talk

about having to lock in a fruition I

will say the texts are pretty clear

however if anyone to Pat is passes away

without attaining fruition they will

they will not leave this world without

attaining progression

that is it is pretty clear this will

happen before you pass

so that that is written pretty that is

written clearly

so it's if there's concern no no when

will it happen well it will it will

at onagamian

sensual desire and ill will are

eradicated

and at our hardship um the last five

Fetters are eradicated

conceit

restlessness ignorance

desire for rebirth and Heavenly Realms

form Realms or immaterial realms

desire for any kind of existence at all

reached true dispassion for

an aura hot with fruition

has completed the task

uh

they are done with the path

they have attained a similar State of

Mind to the Buddha and which is why the

Buddha taught

now the Buddha has

had developments that were more than

Madam in terms of ability to teach and

wisdom and other faculties like that

and that's necessary for the Buddha had

to discover the path

without any help

arahas have the luxury of having the

dhamma in the Sangha to learn from

it is a tremendous gift

that is left to learn learn this

so that's the difference between an

arahat and the Buddha is the ability to

discover and teach

he emerged mindful from that attainment

having done so he recalled the states

that have passed ceased and changed us

so indeed these states not having been

come into being having been they

vanished regarding these states he

abided unattracted unrepelled

independent detached free dissociated

with the Mind rid of barriers

he understood There Is No Escape Beyond

with the cultivation of entertainment he

confirmed that there is not

there's nothing Beyond

monks rightly speaking weren't said to

be of anyone he has attained Mastery and

perfection in normal Noble virtue

attained Mastery and Perfection Noble

concentrate Noble collectiveness Team

Mastery and perfection in Noble wisdom

obtained Mastery and Perfection and

Noble Deliverance

it is indeed that rightly speaking this

should be said

monks rightly speaking were to be said

of anyone he is the son of the blessed

one born of his breast born of his mouth

born of the dhamma created by the dhamma

an heir in the dhamma not an air

immaterial things it is of sari puta

indeed rightly speaking this should be

said

monks the matchless wheel of dhamma set

rolling by the tatagata is kept rolling

rightly by sari puta

this is what the blessed one said

the monks were satisfied and delighted

in the Blessed one's words

so any questions about that

higher paths that can be confusing

um

what I didn't talk about is Mastery of

cessation and that there can be

cessations without the experience of

nabana

and these happen more and more

frequently as you proceed along uh the

path

so the yep you can you can identify the

experience in Nevada is pretty clear

um and a large experience of Nevada will

is associated with path

you can understand nabana

through cessation sometime but it is not

the paths are big deals with big relief

and big release with them

like that

the real way but but as you progress you

know there and as you have more and more

Mastery and cessation big experiences

happen more right and it absolutely can

be confusing

um

yeah and they can be absolutely

fantastic yeah

yep

so the real gauge is what is happening

with your Fetters

yeah and and how they're operating

uh not just that you had a big whopping

cessation that lasted for three days

because that that will happen when

you're working on Mastery of cessation

that's what yeah yeah

um but for the were the Fetters affected

by it

and another thing people can run into is

they try to repeat the fruition that

happened before they're like oh I did

this I directed my mind this way let's

do that again

yeah and then you can do that again but

that's not A New Path necessarily you

just he just did that again

yeah New Paths are a result of letting

go of attachment and cultivation and

development and they they happen on

their own we don't really get to pick

yeah

but we get to experience cessation and

have wonderful experiences along the way

yeah yeah

yes it is

yeah yeah the Fetters are described many

places the higher and lower Fetters are

are explained um you can look in uh the

the the DN 33 that's a Suitor that talks

about the different fetas Fetters

uh so yeah this is talked about

well let's share some Merit

May suffering ones be suffering free and

the fear struck Fearless bee May The

Grieving shed all grief and may all

beings find relief

male being share this marriage that we

have thus acquired for the acquisition

of all kinds of happiness

May beings inhabiting space under Davis

and nagas and mighty power sharing this

narrative on us may they long protect

the Buddhist dispensation

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