From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=PyS55Bvk3po
Context: Throughout this transcript, Bhante Vimalaramsi is the speaker unless otherwise indicated.
Anaheim temple 2 and retreat number two
and it is Marcia 28 you find the clock
talk 1 TB malaria Fe regime in the kind
number 11 I'm sorry regime in the kind
number 111 the a new pad a suitor one by
one as they occur it's mine too the
reason that I'm partial to it is because
this proves that sorry put he was
considered a dry are a hot in other
words he never practiced anything but
vipassana that's what the belief is and
this proves that it's not true he
practiced vipassana while he was in each
one of the dramas
and there's other reasons that it's my
favorite about go over those in a little
bit what this suta is about is sorry
patas experience in meditation and it
goes through each one of the jhanas so
you'll be able to recognize possibly
recognize where you're at thus if i
heard on one occasion the blessed one
was living at swathi and Jettas grow
venoth in pendejas park there he
addressed the monks thus monks venerable
sir they replied the Blessed One said
this sorry puta is wise sorry puta has
great wisdom sorry puta thank you as
wide wisdom sorry puta has joyous wisdom
sorry puta has quick wisdom sorry puta
has keen wisdom sorry puta has
penetrative wisdom anytime the word wise
or wisdom is brought up in the suit does
it is talking about how he is able to
see the process of dependent origination
this is something that's not spoken of
very often so anytime you hear that
sorry par that anyone is wise it means
that they're able to see through their
own direct knowledge through their
direct experience how feeling arises and
then craving arises and then the
clinging Rises habitual tendency and
birth and the sorrow and
pain grief and despair
during half a month sorry puta had
insights in two states one by one as
they occurred now this is another
misunderstanding about getting into
Jonna when you're practicing a form of
one pointed concentration people think
that you have joy and happiness and and
collected pneus of mind all at the same
time but the suta says no it happens one
time it one at a time and through your
own direct experience you're able to see
this that these states come up now sorry
bhutas insights into states won by it
one as they occurred was this here quite
secluded from sensual pleasures secluded
from unwholesome states sorry puta
entered upon and abided in the first
Jonna Jonna again does not mean
concentration Jonna means a level of
understanding now how do you get into
Jonna that's the question you're sitting
and meditation and a hindrance comes up
and pulls your mind away you have
thoughts about this or that whatever it
happens to be and you recognize it and
you let it be there you don't try to
push it away you just let the thought be
there and you relax the tightness caused
by that and then you smile and you come
back to your object of meditation and
stay with your object of meditation as
you do this over and over again you
start to see how the hindrance starts to
arise
as you become familiar with it you'll
notice right before your mind really got
carried away there was some little thing
that happened so the next time you come
back to your object of meditation and
your mind gets distracted then at that
little thing then you start using the
six RS you recognize release it relax
smile come back stay with your object of
meditation as you do that you begin to
stay with your object of meditation
longer and the distraction becomes less
eventually because you're not feeding
that distraction anymore with your
attention you finally let it go one time
and it just fades away and doesn't come
back anymore now what happens for you is
you feel an immediate sense of relief
you've let go of an attachment right
after that you have a lot of joy arising
you feel happy and joy is it's a real
happy feeling but it has excitement in
it and then that will fade away and
right after the joy you feel your mind
become very very tranquil and peaceful
and you feel very comfortable in your
mind and in your body this is what the
Buddha called happiness suka and your
mind naturally stays on your object of
meditation without a distraction for a
long period of time and that I what I
just described to you is the first jhana
now what is your understanding of this
you saw how the hindrance arose and you
started seeing what happens right before
that what happens right before that what
happens right before that and as you
relax more and more than that hindrance
just doesn't arise anymore and your mind
is very pure your mind is very uplifted
and alert ok sorry puta entered upon and
abided in the first jhana which is
company accompanied by thinking and
examining thought with joy and happiness
born of seclusion and the states in the
first jhana the thinking the examining
thought the joy the happiness the
unification of mind now he had other
things happening while he was in this
jhana to is called the contact feeling
perception thoughts and mind this is
called the five aggregates the five
aggregates and the four foundations of
mindfulness are just different ways of
saying the same thing okay you have body
you have body with the four foundations
you have feeling you have feeling with
the four foundations feeling and
perception and consciousness always
arises
together and then you have thoughts the
thoughts are in Pali they call it Sin
Cara it's more than just thoughts but at
the beginning I call it thoughts because
that's what you're able to recognize and
you have consciousness the enthusiasm
decision energy mindfulness equanimity
and attention these states were defined
by him one by one as they occurred so
each one of these they things come up
while you're in the drama known to him
those states arose known they were
present known they disappeared he
understood thus so indeed these states
not have not having been come into being
having been they vanish now what what
are we talking about here we're talking
about how things arise and pass away
we're talking about impermanence they're
there for a little while and then they
disappear everything is impermanent and
because it's impermanent it's a form of
suffering it's a form of dukkha
and this whole process is impersonal you
don't have any control over it happens
because conditions are right for it to
happen regarding those states he abided
unattracted in other words he didn't
have any any lust or greed to hold on
unruhe pelt he didn't have any anger or
dissatisfaction or a version independent
detached free dissociated this is all
words describing the impersonal nature
of this with a mind rid of barriers when
you're in the jhana you don't have any
hindrances arise now what happens is
you're in that Jonna for a period of
time and then your mindfulness becomes
weak one reason or another comes
distracted for whatever reason now you
have another hindrance or ice now you
have to work with this hindrance in the
same way the hindrances are teaching you
where your attachments are what is your
attachment your attachment is i am that
i am that feeling i am those thoughts i
am this sensation when you start seeing
that in a more impersonal way as it's
only a feeling it's only a thought and
you let it be in your relax when you
relax you're letting go of craving
what is the second noble truth the cause
of suffering is craving so you're
letting go of that craving then you
experience the third noble truth that is
the cessation of suffering or cessation
of craving and what's the way to do that
by practicing the full path the entire
Eightfold Path manifests in the right
effort right effort and the six ours are
the same thing I just broke it up into
six pieces instead of four you recognize
that your mind is has an unwholesome
state you're identifying with something
you let go of that unwholesome state and
relax now you bring up a wholesome state
smile and you come back to your object
of meditation and you stay with your
object of meditation you keep that
wholesome state going so the six arse
and right effort are the same thing he
understood there's an escape beyond this
when you get into the first jhana you
know you still have more work to do
that's all this says and with the
cultivation of that attainment he
confirmed that there's still more to do
again with the stilling of thinking and
examining thoughts re puta entered and
abided in the second
which has self-confidence and stillness
of mind without thinking and examining
thought with joy and happiness born of
collectiveness what happens when you get
into the second Rana up until this time
you are verbalizing in your mind the
wish when you get to the second drawn
out you let go of the verbalizing and
just bring the feeling up the feeling of
the wish you know what it feels like to
be peaceful and calm now if you have
restlessness and you feel like your mind
is kind of scattered then you use the
wish for peace and calm and feel that
wish and put that in your heart and
surround your friend with that feeling
and radiate that feeling to your friend
that will help to let go of the
restlessness now you can make a wish for
happiness in any variety of ways it
doesn't matter as long as it's a
wholesome wish it doesn't matter what
your wish is as long as you feel that
which joy having a clear mind
being able to accept you know what it
feels like when you accept something
when you just say well it's there and
it's okay for it to be there you know
what that feeling is like you put that
feeling in your heart and radiate that
feeling to your friend when you do this
you start to have more confidence in
what you're doing and this confidence
starts to carry on through with your
daily activities you feel like you have
more confidence with whatever you're
doing now the thing with this particular
suit does it's talking about his sitting
in meditation but it's not just sitting
in meditation it's being able to see
this with your daily activities when a
hindrance arises somebody says something
you don't like what happens to your mind
and look at all those thoughts that you
have about not liking and aversion so
you let go of that and you relax you
smile you come back and continue smiling
during the day keep that smile going for
as long as you can and the states in the
second jhana the self confidence the joy
the happiness the unification of mind
when the joy arises it's a little bit
stronger it's a really a nice feeling
but it still has a little bit of
excitement in it and when that fades
away which it will then the tranquility
you feel is deeper and you feel much
more calm and
you feel more comfortable in your mind
and your body than you felt before so
you feel really nice and your mind stays
with your object to meditation for a
little bit longer period of time
the contact feeling perception thoughts
and mind there's the five aggregates
again which means you're still
practicing the four foundations of
mindfulness the enthusiasm decision
energy mindfulness equanimity and
attention these states were defined by
him one by one as they occurred known to
him those states arose known they were
present known need disappeared so what
happens is you start to get more
enthusiastic about sitting in meditation
and you start going well this is good so
you want to sit what you want to do is
make sure that you sit every day at
least for 30 minutes if you have longer
than sit longer but you can carry this
meditation with you when you're walking
you get off work and you say I want to
meditate but if I sit down it's been
such a hard day I'll probably go to
sleep so you do your walking meditation
and you stay with your spiritual friend
while you're walking now the thing with
walking is you're used to walking from
here to there and thinking about this
and thinking about that then just kind
of home humming with your mind so when
you start doing the walking meditation
your mind is going to wander it's going
to think like it always does when you're
walking and that's okay as soon as you
notice that you're doing it you practice
your six ours again let it go relax
smile come back stay with your spiritual
fret
when you're doing your walking
meditation you can walk up to 45 minutes
when you do you're walking you don't
walk slowly you walk at a normal pace
just like you do with when you're
walking from one place to another you
keep your eyes down not staring at
anything in front of you just keeping
your eyes down because if you're looking
around your mind goes over there what
you're looking at and then you're a
thousand miles away and you forget so if
you keep your eyes down then you can
stay with your spiritual friend but at
first it's a little difficult that's
okay every time you recognize that your
mind is distracted and you let go of
that distraction and relax and smile and
come back to your object of meditation
your mindfulness improves a little bit
so the hindrance the thing is pulling
you away is not an enemy to fight with
it's just a wandering thought and it's
okay for it to be there you let it be
there by itself and relax the relaxed
step is the most important because the
relaxed step is where you let go of the
craving that little tightness that wraps
around your brain you'll feel it open up
and it's a feeling of expansion that
happens you notice after a while that as
soon as you do that you don't have any
thoughts in your mind your mind is very
alert your mind is pure at that time
because there's no craving and you bring
that mind back to your object
meditation so continually you need to
remember to relax let go of that tension
and Titans what do you do when you feel
a headache coming on you start reaching
for the aspirin to get rid of the
headache but if you are mindful if you
see how my ins attention went to that
feeling you'll notice that there are
some tight muscles in the back of your
neck relax let those muscles go headache
fades away very quickly then now this
isn't a hundred percent there are times
that there's some chemical imbalance
that can cause a headache to continue on
but as you relax into it more and more
it will not last for Islam and it will
eventually fade away and he understood
the how everything is impermanent and
with the cultivation of this attainment
he confirmed that there still more to do
with the fading away of joy sorry puta
abided in equanimity mindful and fully
aware still feeling happiness with the
body he entered upon and abided in the
third John on account of which noble
ones announced he has a pleasant abiding
who has equanimity and
mindful when you get into the third
jhana you no longer have joy arise you
feel very comfortable in your mind and
in your body your mind stays on your
object of meditation very nicely for a
period of time without any distraction
at all five minutes ten minutes like
that and you start to feel that your
mind has very strong balance in it it's
like you lose your emotional upsets and
you feel this equanimity and you're
fully aware of the things around you you
still hear sounds there's something
touches your body you feel that fly or
mosquito or whatever you would feel it
but it doesn't make your mind shake
anymore now you have this very strong
balance and it's odds only feeling it's
nothing as you lose tension in your mind
you start to lose feeling in your body
so your hands will disappear or a leg
you just won't notice it anymore or an
arm eventually your body will just kind
of disappear and when that happens the
feeling of loving kindness will come up
into your head and you'll be able to
radiate loving kindness with your hip
the Chinese are great at calling they
call
they call mind they call it your heart
and your mind together and that's what's
really happening you don't have any more
feeling here in your body so that
feeling comes up and you can radiate
loving kindness to your friend don't try
to push the feeling down if it's going
to go up there let it be up there
sometimes you'll you'll sit and it
starts here and then it'll go up by
itself you don't have to do anything as
you become more familiar with this state
it will just start you'll just start
radiating from loving kindness from your
head and the states in the third jhana
the equanimity the pleasure the
happiness the mindfulness the full
awareness the unification of mind now
again we still have the five aggregates
while you're in the jhana you have a
contact feeling perception and
formations and mind you get more
enthusiastic about your practice because
now you're starting to feel like you're
really progressing you feel like ah this
is good I like this and the equanimity
starts to grow and get a little bit
stronger as you go deeper into the
practice decision energy mindfulness
equanimity and attention these states
were defined by him one by one as they
occurred so there's everything is
happening one thing at a time and you'll
be able to see that as you go deeper
into your meditation known to him those
states around Rose known they were
present known they disappeared so you're
still seeing impermanence and you're
seeing more and more clearly
the different links of dependent
origination you start to see them more
and more with with more clarity it
becomes more obvious because your mind
is settling down now and you have this
balance of mind and you see a feeling or
rise and right after that feeling you
see attention and then there are
thoughts and there's the identification
with these thoughts now the clinging has
your opinions your concepts your ideas
and the identification with those a I'm
right and they're wrong but when you
start having more balance in your mind
you start seeing this just as part of a
process and you six are that and you
come back to your object to meditation a
feeling might still arise there can be a
sensation in your body and that your
your mindfulness becomes weak and all of
a sudden that pain in the knee becomes
very big now that's a feeling and right
after that feeling I don't like that
feeling that's the craving and then all
of the thoughts about why you don't like
that feeling in your habitual tendency
every time a feeling like this comes up
I always do it this way I always try to
think my feeling away so the first thing
you do is let go of the thoughts and
relax now you see that tight mental fist
wrapped around the feeling when a
feeling arises it's there that's the
truth
you any time you try to change that any
time you try to control that feeling any
time you try to make it a little bit
different than it is you're fighting
with the truth and that's the cause for
more suffering and that's the cause for
the hindrance lasting longer so what you
have to do is say okay that feeling is
there and I don't like that feeling
that's the truth but it's okay for that
feeling to be there because it is the
truth it's there so you allow the space
for that feeling to be there without
resisting it now you relax smile come
back to your object to meditation the
nature of these kinds of sensations is
they don't go away right away so your
mind bounces back to that then you have
thoughts about it again so you let the
thoughts go and you relax let go of that
tight mental fist and relax smile come
back to your object of meditation
eventually one of two things will happen
either the pain will go away or it won't
but if it doesn't go away your
equanimity is so strong that it doesn't
even pull your attention to it so you
just ignore it let it be
he understood this state and he also
understood that there's more to do again
with the abandoning of pleasure and pain
with the previous disappearance of joy
and grief sorry puta entered upon and
abided in the 4th jhana which has
neither pain nor pleasure and purity of
mindfulness due to equanimity so pain
arises when you get into the 4th jhana
it doesn't make your mind shake you just
notice there's a sensation there doesn't
even pull your attention to it now when
you get to this drawn up this is when I
will tell you that you're an advanced
meditator you've been teaching yourself
how the process of dependent origination
works I mean you've seen it directly and
you're starting to understand that
happens every time this is the very
reason why the Western mine and the
eastern mine are the same because this
is how mind works it doesn't matter
where you come from
now when you get to this Jonna this is
when I will tell you to start changing
your meditation and not staying with
your spiritual friend anymore and
there's other people that I'll have you
radiating loving kindness to family
members neutral persons enemies when
you're done with that then I'll change
your meditation again and have you start
to send loving kindness in all of the
six directions in front and back to the
right to the left above below and you're
sending loving kindness in all of these
different directions to all beings and
the states in the 4th jhana the
equanimity the neither pain painful nor
pleasant feeling the mental unconcerned
due to tranquility the purity of
mindfulness and unification of mind your
mind begins to stay on your object of
meditation for a longer period of time
and your mind becomes very tranquil very
much at ease any little movement of
minds attention you're able to see and
when you see that is when your when your
mind is on your object of meditation
what happens is a thought or sensation
or whatever a distraction is will start
your mind to wobble and then it wobbles
and it gets bigger and bigger until
finally there's a distraction but now
when you get into the 4th jhana you'll
start to see your mind wobble and you
six are right then and then your mind
stays on your object of meditation
you're starting to learn what it is to
have a still mind
a composed mind
okay and the states in the 4th jhana the
equanimity the neither painful nor
pleasant feeling the mental unconcerned
due to tranquility purity of mindfulness
and unification of mind the contact
feeling perception formations and mind
still have the five aggregates here and
this is important to realize because if
you're practicing a one pointed kind of
concentration where your mind stays on
one object only you're not able to see
these five aggregates because your mind
is glued to that thing whatever you put
your attention on the enthusiasm
decision energy mindfulness equanimity
and attention these states were defined
by him one by one as they occurred known
to him those states arose known they
were present known they disappeared so
he's still seeing impermanence you're
seeing change continually you're seeing
it was a very balanced mind now people
that practice straight vipassana seeing
impermanence is a major thing and they
focus on seeing impermanence suffering
and the impersonal nature of things and
when they do that they don't see how
dependent origination arises they don't
see dependent origination at all but
when you're practicing the way that I'm
showing you you are able to see more
deeply how these links arise and how
they are there for a moment and
disappear so what you're seeing is
dependent or it
Nation but you're seeing the
impermanence at a much finer level it's
not this big gross level up here it's at
a much deeper level that you're seeing
impermanence happening all the time and
it happens with each link of the
dependent origination again with the
completes or mounting of perception of
gross perceptions of form with the
disappearance of gross perceptions of
sensory impact now what we're talking
about here is you don't feel your body
anymore unless there is contact so if I
came up to you and were to touch you you
would feel that your mind would not
shake or I could come up to you and I
could say I need to talk with you for a
minute you would hear that or a
motorcycle or somebody without a boom
box or whatever you would hear that but
it doesn't make your mind go to that so
you have this very strong equanimity you
still do have feeling you still do have
the sixth sense doors and feeling can
arise at those but it's very fine
feeling it's not the big gross feeling
that will pull your attention away ok
sorry put the entered upon and abided in
the base of infinite space now we're
starting to get somewhere now an
interesting thing happens you're
practicing loving-kindness all the way
up to this level but when you get to
this the base of infinite space what
happens is the feeling of love
kindness changes you have to tell me how
it changes I don't tell you but it
changes from loving kindness to
compassion and it does it by itself and
you will feel an expansion in all the
directions at the same time and it's
just a continual expansion going out
that's what you'll feel but there's no
center point there's just this feeling
of expansion this is what it feels like
to be in the base of infinite space now
a lot of especially in mahayana they're
real big on compassion they talk about
compassion all the time and they talk
about infinite compassion and they say
that's what the buddha sat in meditation
every morning well what he was actually
sitting in was infinite space and
radiating compassion that's just a
little misunderstanding that they have
and the states in the base of infinite
space the perception of the base of
infinite space and the unification of
mind the contact feeling perception
foolish our formations and mind still
have the five aggregates you can still
feel things even though you don't feel
your body unless there's contact now you
can sit in this this realm for a while
and then you think well it's time for me
to get up and do some walking as you
stay with this feeling of compassion and
the expansion you can get up and you can
do your walking
the only thing you will feel on your
body is the bottom of your feet where
there's contact and your head now if a
wind comes up and it brushes your
clothing against your leg you would feel
that but you have to have contact in
order to feel things the enthusiasm
decision energy mindfulness equanimity
and attention these states were defined
by him one by one as they occurred known
to him those states arose known they
were present known they disappeared he
understood this and he also understood
there's more to do again by completely
surmounting the base of infinite space
aware that consciousness is infinite
sorry puta entered a bond and abided in
the base of infinite consciousness now
what happens is the feeling of
compassion changes again to a feeling of
joy now this kind of joy is called the
all-pervading joy every cell in your
body feels kind of happy and also at
each one of the sense doors there's a
kind of flickering that happens at each
cent store it's easiest to describe with
the eyes it's like watching a movie
that's going a little bit too slow and
you see there's one frame and there's a
blank spot there's another frame in a
blank spot this is you're beginning to
see individual consciousnesses arise and
pass away it happens fairly fast that
was a hundred thousand arising and
passing away
of consciousnesses of the year but
you'll be able to see this your
equanimity is very strong at this point
you have this balance of mine now in
between each of these different jonna's
when your mindfulness becomes weak you
will have a hindrance arise but at this
point the hindrance is not a problem for
you you see how it arises you can let it
go very easily and relax and come back
and as you let go of that that
attachment then you purify your mind
more so the hindrances are there to help
you go deeper
and the states in the base of infinite
consciousness the perception of the base
of infinite consciousness and
unification of mind the contact feeling
perception formations and mind still
have the four foundations of mindfulness
and the five aggregates here so you're
practicing vipassana while you are in an
immaterial jhana the enthusiasm decision
energy mindfulness equanimity and
attention these states were defined by
him one by one as they occurred we still
see these things you see how they arise
known to him those states arose known
they were present known they disappeared
he understood this and with the
cultivation of that obtainment he still
knew he had more to do again by
completely surmounting the base of
infinite consciousness aware that there
is nothing sorry puta entered upon and
abided in the base of nothingness now
when you get into infinite consciousness
I'll let you stay there for a little
while and I'll say now I want you to
focus in between those consciousnesses
when they arise and pass away now when I
say that there it you you do that with
the eyes it's kind of a blinking with
the ears with sound or smell or taste or
touch or thoughts
you'll see them rise and pass away very
quickly and as you focus in between each
one of those what will happen as your
mind goes a lot deeper and you will
begin to experience not looking outside
of mind anymore up until then you're
always looking at what's happening
outside now you're going inside and
there's nothing but there's a lot when
you get to this state the feeling of joy
changes again it changes to a very very
strong equanimity at the 4th jhana it
was strong at nothingness it's a lot
stronger and what you're doing is
sending equanimity in all of the six
directions in all the directions at the
same time now as odd as it sounds you're
looking at nothing but this is probably
the most interesting state of meditation
that you can be in because now you're
starting to to learn about the amount of
energy you need to keep with the
equanimity and radiating that bill if
you put a little bit too much your mind
gets restless if you don't put quite
enough your mind dolls out so you're
constantly having to adjust even during
the same sitting you might have to
adjust five six ten times depending on
what your mind is up to
as you go deeper in your meditation
you'll be able to stay with your object
of meditation for much longer period of
time an hour hour and a half without
having any distracting thoughts pull you
away or without having anything pulled
you away one of the mistakes some of the
meditators that have been practicing a
lot of other kinds of meditation the
mistake that they make because they have
practiced straight vipassana where you
watch what happens until it goes away
instead of noticing a slight movement of
mines attention and 6rn that and letting
it be they will watch this and be very
clear with watching it but they're not
really developing their mind to go
deeper so it's very important that you
practice the six ours and it becomes a
flow and it's just recognized and all of
the rest of the things kind of happen by
themselves you want it to be automatic
and by the time you get to this stage
it's pretty much automatic you still
sometimes need a little bit of veteran
energy to recognize and let go but
you'll see your mind it doesn't so much
wobble anymore it doesn't move very much
you're starting to see more and more
deeply how distractions arise then there
are other things that happen which I am
NOT going to tell you about you have to
tell me when it happens
sorry now all the way up to this realm
you still have the five aggregates you
still have the foundations of
mindfulness right there this is as far
as these will take you what happens next
is before your mind felt like it was
expanding out out out out now it starts
to get so small that it's really hard to
tell whether it's there or not and
that's what we call the base of neither
perception nor non perception again by
completely surmounting the base of
nothingness re puta entered upon and
abided in the base of neither perception
nor non perception he emerged mindful
from that attainment having done so he
contemplated the past States which had
ceased in it and changed so when you get
to this state what happens is you're
really very alert but it feels like you
went to sleep but you know it wasn't
sleep because your mind was so sharp and
alert that's what the feeling of neither
perception or non perception is like
and when you come out of that state then
you reflect on what you saw while you
were in that state and there's still
some things that that occur while you're
in that state I'm not going to tell you
about it I prefer you to tell me but
what you do is you automatically 6r
whatever it was that comes up into your
mind at that time so what you're doing
with the meditation is you're starting a
meditation and your mind flip flops like
this right and as you go deeper in your
meditation it moves less and less until
you get to the 4th jhana where it's more
like vibrating and every time you keep
relaxing the vibration becomes less and
less and less until it's hard to tell
whether it's there or not that's neither
perception or non perception but when
you come out you see there was still a
little bit little tiny bits of movement
you'll be able to sit in this this state
for a long period of time any slight
vibration or movement six are now this
starts to make the craving it starts to
make sense because the craving is that
movement of tightness that happens in
your mind now what you're doing is
you're seeing that it's just the start
of something happening and you six are
and that vibration that movement ceases
and now you're sitting and you're very
still your mind is very well balanced
it's really very nice date to be and
because you don't have any distractions
anymore as you continue to do this you
will go deeper and what happens next is
called the cessation of perception
feeling and consciousness it's just like
somebody turned off the lights there's
no consciousness you don't even know
you're in that state until you get out
you'll be in that state for a short
period of time five or ten minutes
something like that and when you come
out what happens is you will see just
like it's brand-new and you'd never seen
it before all of the links of dependent
origination they will come up and you'll
see them arise and then you'll see how
they cease and your understanding
becomes so good and your understanding
of everything that arises is part of an
impersonal process and you see it and
it's such a big wonderful realization
that your mind goes beyond all
conditions you've let go of all
conditions when you are letting go of
each one of these links of dependent
origination until ignorance and then you
let go of ignorance there's nothing left
to let go of it's an unconditioned state
this is Nibhana this is how you
experience it
okay again by completely surmounting the
base of neither perception nor non
perception sorry puta entered upon and
abided in the cessation of perception
feeling and consciousness and his tanks
were destroyed by his seeing with wisdom
what does that mean all of his
attachments gone because he saw how the
links of dependent origination come into
being and how they cease and how this is
all an impersonal process that's the big
oh wow he emerged mindful from that
attainment you'll be in it for a short
period of time it doesn't take very long
having done so he recalled the past
States which had ceased and changed thus
so indeed the state's not having been
come into being having been they
vanished regarding those states he
abided unattracted on repelled
independent detached freed associated
with a mind rid of barriers it doesn't
have any more teeth he understood there
is no escape beyond this and with the
cultivation of that of attainment he
confirmed that there is not now there's
four different states of sainthood so de
pana sakagami that's the second state on
agami is the third state are hot is the
fourth
now this whichever one you experience is
entirely personal and it's up to your
personal merit of which one you attain I
can show you right up to the door of
cessation of perception and feeling but
that's as far as I go the rest is yours
so don't ask me what state you're going
to be and when you come out of this
because it entirely depends on you if
you're going to be a soda paana then you
will see dependent origination arise and
pass away one time if you're going to be
a sock of the gummy you're going to see
it happened two times and it happens
fast big big big big thing like that if
you're going to be in on agami then it
will happen three times for you or if
you become an are hot it will happen
four times now when you when you think
about what the buddha was talking about
when he was talking about the sangha and
that happens to be one of the favorite
chance of the monks when they're talking
about Sangha they talk about the four
pairs of individuals what are the four
pairs so de pana sotapanna with fruition
sotapanna with the path Paula or maaga
and naga Paula
sakagami with the path psycho tegami
with path and fruition and it's that way
with a nogami andorra hot the fruition
doesn't necessarily happen right after
you experience the path it can be
anytime sorry puta spent a Maha kapa and
a hundred thousand lifetimes purifying
himself so he could be second to the
Buddha in wisdom as one or two I can't
remember which one it is one Maha copper
or two but it's a huge long period of
time so when he experienced the path
knowledge he also experienced the
fruition knowledge right after that it
happened very quickly for him but it
doesn't necessarily happen quickly for
anyone else sometimes you have the path
knowledge you know you've really
experienced something special and then
you get off of retreat or start doing
your daily activities and taking care of
things and it might be a week it might
be a month it might be a year later who
knows all of a sudden you'll feel that
your mind is starting to get very small
again and you say well i'm going to boo
sit down and watch this and then you
will experience the cessation of
perception and feeling again then you
will experience the links of dependent
origination when you come out of that
and you will experience the fruition of
that attainment and when you get the
fruition that's where the personality
change really happens that's when you
start losing the fetters if it's the
first stage you lose all doubt that this
is really the path you don't have doubt
come up again you lose the belief that
rites and rituals lead to nibhana you
know that it doesn't and you blues the
belief in a personal self that's what
happens with the first date the second
stage you weaken lust and hatred they're
not completely gone but they're
considerably less than new than they
were the third stage the lust and the
hatred disappeared I think about what is
what is it like to have a mind without
any lust or hatred ever arising in and
again no matter what happens to you in
daily life you have this very strong
equanimity and your mind is very much in
the present moment you still have some
fetters but they're not real big when
you get to be a Nara hot there's five
other feather fetters that you let go of
one of them is the desire to be reborn
in another realm in the brahmaloka or
whatever you lose restlessness got a
week till you get to be in our how to
get rid of that dirty rat you lose
dullness of mind you lose pride that
you're something special and you lose
ignorance
now with a mind like that someone can
come up and ask you a question and
you're completely using your intuition
to give them the answer there's no
distraction that all you're always in
your intuition nice okay there they
disappear when you become a nano gummy
yeah
monks rightly speaking were to be said
of anyone he has attained mastery and
perfection and Noble virtue attained
mastery and perfection and Noble
collectiveness attained mastery and
perfection in noble wisdom attained
mastery and perfection in noble
deliverance it is of sorry puta 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 from his breast born
from his mouth born of the Dhamma
created by the Dhamma an air in the
Dhamma not an errand material things it
is of sorry puta indeed that rightly
speaking this should be said monks the
matchless wheel of dhamma set rolling by
the tatata is kept rolling rightly by
sorry puta that is what the Blessed One
said the monks were satisfied and
delighted in the Blessed ones words and
every time I read this suit is so am I
so this gives you an idea of what you
can expect at each one of the jhanas
when they happen but you might not be
able to recognize it i know that the
last retreat I was helping this one lady
and she became an advanced meditator and
I told her and she didn't hear that she
didn't understand what I was saying and
she got up into the realm of infinite
consciousness she got off retreat she
started talking to other people about
not even experiencing one John
she's gotten crooked yeah she didn't
understand what was happening and
finally I heard this and I went to her
and I said look at you pay attention to
what I'm saying right now you are in the
immaterial realms you have experienced
six different types of Jonah don't be
talking about never experiencing Jonah
she'd been doing the straight vipassana
for so many years that she couldn't
believe it she didn't know how to
recognize she didn't know what she was
experienced by God so was she waiting to
shut down probably because that's what
she know she had been talked about
thinking that the absorption means that
you just sit with one thing in your mind
but I was shocked that she didn't hear
what I was saying about this stuff now
can this happen for you can it can you
attain nirvana in this lifetime yes
all you have to do is keep practicing
your six ours the six ours will take you
right up to the very doorstep of the
cessation perception and feeling I know
that there's a lot of months I met a lot
of monks in Sri Lanka that they don't
believe that it's possible to attain
nirvana in this lifetime why even try
why meditate it's because they're
they're caught up in intellect and study
and that's what their teachers have told
them now where did it come from
originally I don't but you can attain
nirvana the first stage or the second
stage just by listening to the suit does
you start contemplating how dependent
origination works and you start seeing
it in yourself by listening to the
dhamma and then somebody comes along and
they reads about dependent origination
and how you attain nirvana and you
understand it so deeply that you can
attain that first two stages of it of
sainthood are possible just through
study and listening
but people don't believe it and that
belief is the thing that stops it I'm
here to tell you you can believe it this
is real
how many people have even heard about
how you can attain nirvana about what it
really is there's not many people around
the talk about this sort of thing
because they don't understand and
because monks have been spending so long
with their books and not doing the
meditation they don't believe that it's
possible their loss
it is possible it is possible in this
lifetime
have to keep your precepts that's a
given don't break your precepts for any
reason or if you do happen to make a
mistake don't make yourself feel guilty
for doing it forgive yourself take the
precepts again right then in a language
that you understand what you're saying
not just parroting what the precepts are
in a language you don't understand you
have to do it with understanding and
then make the determination I'm not
going to do that again and you'll become
a lot more mindful of what you're going
to do before you do it and that helps
purify your mind right then in there and
then you keep practicing your 6rs with
your daily activities somebody says
something you don't like what happens to
your mind and you six are that and let
it be it's not so important that's why
the suit to that i did that i work with
last night is so important it doesn't
matter when somebody comes to you if
they're telling you the truth or a lie
it doesn't matter if they're coming to
you with anger or with loving-kindness
you see that person and you start
radiating loving kindness to that person
you use that person as the reminder to
radiate loving kindness to all beings
everywhere what you think and ponder on
that's the inflation of your mind yes
oh we put a lot of good stuff in here
and it's all up to you if you follow
these directions that have given you you
can be successful and you will be more
happy and everything starts to be easy
and you become more successful with
whatever you're doing
you know that this the economy is so bad
and everybody's so worried about this
and that if you trust in the Dhamma the
Dhamma takes care of you in wonderful
ways it protects you you don't have to
get upset because somebody lost their
job if they're taking care of the Dhamma
they'll find another one and it'll just
pop into him I mean there's somebody
will come up say I need your help do
this let's see when you take care of the
Dhamma the Dhamma takes care of you to
go to court I rented a house where the
owner wasn't telling the truth and he
was behind in the mortgage payment so
the bank was coming to take the house
away and i had to sri lankan students
and
I was there and they were going to take
the house away so I went to court and
then afterwards I came back and I told
by T this is just awful I'm going to
lose the house and I'm broke and I have
nothing I don't know what I'm going to
do because I'm going to have to leave
the house in April so I actually won
because instead of leaving in January
they were going to let me stay there
till April when kids were finished with
school but the fight part about it is I
told him I was broke and I didn't get
awarded any money and i didn't know what
i was going to do and he said how much
was their friends and i said it was
twenty-five hundred dollars a month for
the rent so from january-february March
and April she didn't have to pay any
rent so she got ten thousand dollars in
his complaining to me that she is broke
yes you have to give you I'm only going
to be here till tomorrow you keep you
keep practicing and when you lose your
body when you don't feel your body
anymore you just feel the
loving-kindness coming from your head
you let me know okay
patience patience you're doing very
nicely leads to Denis bond
so that's just about perfect timing in
it how about that well they might they
might be using here right yeah yeah so
they'll come whenever so does anybody
have any questions I'm only going to be
here till tomorrow absolutely now you
know I don't talk about those sort of
things I don't talk about it to anybody
even monks I don't talk to it about
because that's to me that's a private
thing
but
I see a lot of other people attainment
when they're practicing this way I
promise you that it really does work
okay now if you if you do happen to
become a Nara hot come and visit me in
the next two or three days after it
happens I'll put you in ropes well maybe
it depends on it's all on the individual
persons sorry put two he had no psychic
abilities at all but mogul Lana as soon
as he became an RIT he could do anything
he had all of these psychic abilities
and it depends on the individual well
yeah but I had a teacher who see Ellen
and I he was brilliant because the
finest mind I've ever been around and he
had no sensitivity to feeling at all
even doing loving-kindness was a mental
exercise for him
his friend that came an older monk was
very sensitive to feeling and he could
radiate loving kindness like you
couldn't believe and he had all kinds of
special abilities it just depends on the
individual how sensitive they are to
feeling so okay why don't we share some
merit may suffering ones be suffering
free and the fear struck fearless being
may the grieving shed all grief and may
all beings find relief may all being
share this merit that we've thus
acquired for the acquisition of all
kinds of happiness may beings inhabiting
space and earth Davis and nagas a mighty
power share this merit of ours may they
long protect the Buddhist dispensation
side to side
you
you
Anaheim temple 2 and retreat number two
and it is Marcia 28 you find the clock
talk 1 TB malaria Fe regime in the kind
number 11 I'm sorry regime in the kind
number 111 the a new pad a suitor one by
one as they occur it's mine too the
reason that I'm partial to it is because
this proves that sorry put he was
considered a dry are a hot in other
words he never practiced anything but
vipassana that's what the belief is and
this proves that it's not true he
practiced vipassana while he was in each
one of the dramas
and there's other reasons that it's my
favorite about go over those in a little
bit what this suta is about is sorry
patas experience in meditation and it
goes through each one of the jhanas so
you'll be able to recognize possibly
recognize where you're at thus if i
heard on one occasion the blessed one
was living at swathi and Jettas grow
venoth in pendejas park there he
addressed the monks thus monks venerable
sir they replied the Blessed One said
this sorry puta is wise sorry puta has
great wisdom sorry puta thank you as
wide wisdom sorry puta has joyous wisdom
sorry puta has quick wisdom sorry puta
has keen wisdom sorry puta has
penetrative wisdom anytime the word wise
or wisdom is brought up in the suit does
it is talking about how he is able to
see the process of dependent origination
this is something that's not spoken of
very often so anytime you hear that
sorry par that anyone is wise it means
that they're able to see through their
own direct knowledge through their
direct experience how feeling arises and
then craving arises and then the
clinging Rises habitual tendency and
birth and the sorrow and
pain grief and despair
during half a month sorry puta had
insights in two states one by one as
they occurred now this is another
misunderstanding about getting into
Jonna when you're practicing a form of
one pointed concentration people think
that you have joy and happiness and and
collected pneus of mind all at the same
time but the suta says no it happens one
time it one at a time and through your
own direct experience you're able to see
this that these states come up now sorry
bhutas insights into states won by it
one as they occurred was this here quite
secluded from sensual pleasures secluded
from unwholesome states sorry puta
entered upon and abided in the first
Jonna Jonna again does not mean
concentration Jonna means a level of
understanding now how do you get into
Jonna that's the question you're sitting
and meditation and a hindrance comes up
and pulls your mind away you have
thoughts about this or that whatever it
happens to be and you recognize it and
you let it be there you don't try to
push it away you just let the thought be
there and you relax the tightness caused
by that and then you smile and you come
back to your object of meditation and
stay with your object of meditation as
you do this over and over again you
start to see how the hindrance starts to
arise
as you become familiar with it you'll
notice right before your mind really got
carried away there was some little thing
that happened so the next time you come
back to your object of meditation and
your mind gets distracted then at that
little thing then you start using the
six RS you recognize release it relax
smile come back stay with your object of
meditation as you do that you begin to
stay with your object of meditation
longer and the distraction becomes less
eventually because you're not feeding
that distraction anymore with your
attention you finally let it go one time
and it just fades away and doesn't come
back anymore now what happens for you is
you feel an immediate sense of relief
you've let go of an attachment right
after that you have a lot of joy arising
you feel happy and joy is it's a real
happy feeling but it has excitement in
it and then that will fade away and
right after the joy you feel your mind
become very very tranquil and peaceful
and you feel very comfortable in your
mind and in your body this is what the
Buddha called happiness suka and your
mind naturally stays on your object of
meditation without a distraction for a
long period of time and that I what I
just described to you is the first jhana
now what is your understanding of this
you saw how the hindrance arose and you
started seeing what happens right before
that what happens right before that what
happens right before that and as you
relax more and more than that hindrance
just doesn't arise anymore and your mind
is very pure your mind is very uplifted
and alert ok sorry puta entered upon and
abided in the first jhana which is
company accompanied by thinking and
examining thought with joy and happiness
born of seclusion and the states in the
first jhana the thinking the examining
thought the joy the happiness the
unification of mind now he had other
things happening while he was in this
jhana to is called the contact feeling
perception thoughts and mind this is
called the five aggregates the five
aggregates and the four foundations of
mindfulness are just different ways of
saying the same thing okay you have body
you have body with the four foundations
you have feeling you have feeling with
the four foundations feeling and
perception and consciousness always
arises
together and then you have thoughts the
thoughts are in Pali they call it Sin
Cara it's more than just thoughts but at
the beginning I call it thoughts because
that's what you're able to recognize and
you have consciousness the enthusiasm
decision energy mindfulness equanimity
and attention these states were defined
by him one by one as they occurred so
each one of these they things come up
while you're in the drama known to him
those states arose known they were
present known they disappeared he
understood thus so indeed these states
not have not having been come into being
having been they vanish now what what
are we talking about here we're talking
about how things arise and pass away
we're talking about impermanence they're
there for a little while and then they
disappear everything is impermanent and
because it's impermanent it's a form of
suffering it's a form of dukkha
and this whole process is impersonal you
don't have any control over it happens
because conditions are right for it to
happen regarding those states he abided
unattracted in other words he didn't
have any any lust or greed to hold on
unruhe pelt he didn't have any anger or
dissatisfaction or a version independent
detached free dissociated this is all
words describing the impersonal nature
of this with a mind rid of barriers when
you're in the jhana you don't have any
hindrances arise now what happens is
you're in that Jonna for a period of
time and then your mindfulness becomes
weak one reason or another comes
distracted for whatever reason now you
have another hindrance or ice now you
have to work with this hindrance in the
same way the hindrances are teaching you
where your attachments are what is your
attachment your attachment is i am that
i am that feeling i am those thoughts i
am this sensation when you start seeing
that in a more impersonal way as it's
only a feeling it's only a thought and
you let it be in your relax when you
relax you're letting go of craving
what is the second noble truth the cause
of suffering is craving so you're
letting go of that craving then you
experience the third noble truth that is
the cessation of suffering or cessation
of craving and what's the way to do that
by practicing the full path the entire
Eightfold Path manifests in the right
effort right effort and the six ours are
the same thing I just broke it up into
six pieces instead of four you recognize
that your mind is has an unwholesome
state you're identifying with something
you let go of that unwholesome state and
relax now you bring up a wholesome state
smile and you come back to your object
of meditation and you stay with your
object of meditation you keep that
wholesome state going so the six arse
and right effort are the same thing he
understood there's an escape beyond this
when you get into the first jhana you
know you still have more work to do
that's all this says and with the
cultivation of that attainment he
confirmed that there's still more to do
again with the stilling of thinking and
examining thoughts re puta entered and
abided in the second
which has self-confidence and stillness
of mind without thinking and examining
thought with joy and happiness born of
collectiveness what happens when you get
into the second Rana up until this time
you are verbalizing in your mind the
wish when you get to the second drawn
out you let go of the verbalizing and
just bring the feeling up the feeling of
the wish you know what it feels like to
be peaceful and calm now if you have
restlessness and you feel like your mind
is kind of scattered then you use the
wish for peace and calm and feel that
wish and put that in your heart and
surround your friend with that feeling
and radiate that feeling to your friend
that will help to let go of the
restlessness now you can make a wish for
happiness in any variety of ways it
doesn't matter as long as it's a
wholesome wish it doesn't matter what
your wish is as long as you feel that
which joy having a clear mind
being able to accept you know what it
feels like when you accept something
when you just say well it's there and
it's okay for it to be there you know
what that feeling is like you put that
feeling in your heart and radiate that
feeling to your friend when you do this
you start to have more confidence in
what you're doing and this confidence
starts to carry on through with your
daily activities you feel like you have
more confidence with whatever you're
doing now the thing with this particular
suit does it's talking about his sitting
in meditation but it's not just sitting
in meditation it's being able to see
this with your daily activities when a
hindrance arises somebody says something
you don't like what happens to your mind
and look at all those thoughts that you
have about not liking and aversion so
you let go of that and you relax you
smile you come back and continue smiling
during the day keep that smile going for
as long as you can and the states in the
second jhana the self confidence the joy
the happiness the unification of mind
when the joy arises it's a little bit
stronger it's a really a nice feeling
but it still has a little bit of
excitement in it and when that fades
away which it will then the tranquility
you feel is deeper and you feel much
more calm and
you feel more comfortable in your mind
and your body than you felt before so
you feel really nice and your mind stays
with your object to meditation for a
little bit longer period of time
the contact feeling perception thoughts
and mind there's the five aggregates
again which means you're still
practicing the four foundations of
mindfulness the enthusiasm decision
energy mindfulness equanimity and
attention these states were defined by
him one by one as they occurred known to
him those states arose known they were
present known need disappeared so what
happens is you start to get more
enthusiastic about sitting in meditation
and you start going well this is good so
you want to sit what you want to do is
make sure that you sit every day at
least for 30 minutes if you have longer
than sit longer but you can carry this
meditation with you when you're walking
you get off work and you say I want to
meditate but if I sit down it's been
such a hard day I'll probably go to
sleep so you do your walking meditation
and you stay with your spiritual friend
while you're walking now the thing with
walking is you're used to walking from
here to there and thinking about this
and thinking about that then just kind
of home humming with your mind so when
you start doing the walking meditation
your mind is going to wander it's going
to think like it always does when you're
walking and that's okay as soon as you
notice that you're doing it you practice
your six ours again let it go relax
smile come back stay with your spiritual
fret
when you're doing your walking
meditation you can walk up to 45 minutes
when you do you're walking you don't
walk slowly you walk at a normal pace
just like you do with when you're
walking from one place to another you
keep your eyes down not staring at
anything in front of you just keeping
your eyes down because if you're looking
around your mind goes over there what
you're looking at and then you're a
thousand miles away and you forget so if
you keep your eyes down then you can
stay with your spiritual friend but at
first it's a little difficult that's
okay every time you recognize that your
mind is distracted and you let go of
that distraction and relax and smile and
come back to your object of meditation
your mindfulness improves a little bit
so the hindrance the thing is pulling
you away is not an enemy to fight with
it's just a wandering thought and it's
okay for it to be there you let it be
there by itself and relax the relaxed
step is the most important because the
relaxed step is where you let go of the
craving that little tightness that wraps
around your brain you'll feel it open up
and it's a feeling of expansion that
happens you notice after a while that as
soon as you do that you don't have any
thoughts in your mind your mind is very
alert your mind is pure at that time
because there's no craving and you bring
that mind back to your object
meditation so continually you need to
remember to relax let go of that tension
and Titans what do you do when you feel
a headache coming on you start reaching
for the aspirin to get rid of the
headache but if you are mindful if you
see how my ins attention went to that
feeling you'll notice that there are
some tight muscles in the back of your
neck relax let those muscles go headache
fades away very quickly then now this
isn't a hundred percent there are times
that there's some chemical imbalance
that can cause a headache to continue on
but as you relax into it more and more
it will not last for Islam and it will
eventually fade away and he understood
the how everything is impermanent and
with the cultivation of this attainment
he confirmed that there still more to do
with the fading away of joy sorry puta
abided in equanimity mindful and fully
aware still feeling happiness with the
body he entered upon and abided in the
third John on account of which noble
ones announced he has a pleasant abiding
who has equanimity and
mindful when you get into the third
jhana you no longer have joy arise you
feel very comfortable in your mind and
in your body your mind stays on your
object of meditation very nicely for a
period of time without any distraction
at all five minutes ten minutes like
that and you start to feel that your
mind has very strong balance in it it's
like you lose your emotional upsets and
you feel this equanimity and you're
fully aware of the things around you you
still hear sounds there's something
touches your body you feel that fly or
mosquito or whatever you would feel it
but it doesn't make your mind shake
anymore now you have this very strong
balance and it's odds only feeling it's
nothing as you lose tension in your mind
you start to lose feeling in your body
so your hands will disappear or a leg
you just won't notice it anymore or an
arm eventually your body will just kind
of disappear and when that happens the
feeling of loving kindness will come up
into your head and you'll be able to
radiate loving kindness with your hip
the Chinese are great at calling they
call
they call mind they call it your heart
and your mind together and that's what's
really happening you don't have any more
feeling here in your body so that
feeling comes up and you can radiate
loving kindness to your friend don't try
to push the feeling down if it's going
to go up there let it be up there
sometimes you'll you'll sit and it
starts here and then it'll go up by
itself you don't have to do anything as
you become more familiar with this state
it will just start you'll just start
radiating from loving kindness from your
head and the states in the third jhana
the equanimity the pleasure the
happiness the mindfulness the full
awareness the unification of mind now
again we still have the five aggregates
while you're in the jhana you have a
contact feeling perception and
formations and mind you get more
enthusiastic about your practice because
now you're starting to feel like you're
really progressing you feel like ah this
is good I like this and the equanimity
starts to grow and get a little bit
stronger as you go deeper into the
practice decision energy mindfulness
equanimity and attention these states
were defined by him one by one as they
occurred so there's everything is
happening one thing at a time and you'll
be able to see that as you go deeper
into your meditation known to him those
states around Rose known they were
present known they disappeared so you're
still seeing impermanence and you're
seeing more and more clearly
the different links of dependent
origination you start to see them more
and more with with more clarity it
becomes more obvious because your mind
is settling down now and you have this
balance of mind and you see a feeling or
rise and right after that feeling you
see attention and then there are
thoughts and there's the identification
with these thoughts now the clinging has
your opinions your concepts your ideas
and the identification with those a I'm
right and they're wrong but when you
start having more balance in your mind
you start seeing this just as part of a
process and you six are that and you
come back to your object to meditation a
feeling might still arise there can be a
sensation in your body and that your
your mindfulness becomes weak and all of
a sudden that pain in the knee becomes
very big now that's a feeling and right
after that feeling I don't like that
feeling that's the craving and then all
of the thoughts about why you don't like
that feeling in your habitual tendency
every time a feeling like this comes up
I always do it this way I always try to
think my feeling away so the first thing
you do is let go of the thoughts and
relax now you see that tight mental fist
wrapped around the feeling when a
feeling arises it's there that's the
truth
you any time you try to change that any
time you try to control that feeling any
time you try to make it a little bit
different than it is you're fighting
with the truth and that's the cause for
more suffering and that's the cause for
the hindrance lasting longer so what you
have to do is say okay that feeling is
there and I don't like that feeling
that's the truth but it's okay for that
feeling to be there because it is the
truth it's there so you allow the space
for that feeling to be there without
resisting it now you relax smile come
back to your object to meditation the
nature of these kinds of sensations is
they don't go away right away so your
mind bounces back to that then you have
thoughts about it again so you let the
thoughts go and you relax let go of that
tight mental fist and relax smile come
back to your object of meditation
eventually one of two things will happen
either the pain will go away or it won't
but if it doesn't go away your
equanimity is so strong that it doesn't
even pull your attention to it so you
just ignore it let it be
he understood this state and he also
understood that there's more to do again
with the abandoning of pleasure and pain
with the previous disappearance of joy
and grief sorry puta entered upon and
abided in the 4th jhana which has
neither pain nor pleasure and purity of
mindfulness due to equanimity so pain
arises when you get into the 4th jhana
it doesn't make your mind shake you just
notice there's a sensation there doesn't
even pull your attention to it now when
you get to this drawn up this is when I
will tell you that you're an advanced
meditator you've been teaching yourself
how the process of dependent origination
works I mean you've seen it directly and
you're starting to understand that
happens every time this is the very
reason why the Western mine and the
eastern mine are the same because this
is how mind works it doesn't matter
where you come from
now when you get to this Jonna this is
when I will tell you to start changing
your meditation and not staying with
your spiritual friend anymore and
there's other people that I'll have you
radiating loving kindness to family
members neutral persons enemies when
you're done with that then I'll change
your meditation again and have you start
to send loving kindness in all of the
six directions in front and back to the
right to the left above below and you're
sending loving kindness in all of these
different directions to all beings and
the states in the 4th jhana the
equanimity the neither pain painful nor
pleasant feeling the mental unconcerned
due to tranquility the purity of
mindfulness and unification of mind your
mind begins to stay on your object of
meditation for a longer period of time
and your mind becomes very tranquil very
much at ease any little movement of
minds attention you're able to see and
when you see that is when your when your
mind is on your object of meditation
what happens is a thought or sensation
or whatever a distraction is will start
your mind to wobble and then it wobbles
and it gets bigger and bigger until
finally there's a distraction but now
when you get into the 4th jhana you'll
start to see your mind wobble and you
six are right then and then your mind
stays on your object of meditation
you're starting to learn what it is to
have a still mind
a composed mind
okay and the states in the 4th jhana the
equanimity the neither painful nor
pleasant feeling the mental unconcerned
due to tranquility purity of mindfulness
and unification of mind the contact
feeling perception formations and mind
still have the five aggregates here and
this is important to realize because if
you're practicing a one pointed kind of
concentration where your mind stays on
one object only you're not able to see
these five aggregates because your mind
is glued to that thing whatever you put
your attention on the enthusiasm
decision energy mindfulness equanimity
and attention these states were defined
by him one by one as they occurred known
to him those states arose known they
were present known they disappeared so
he's still seeing impermanence you're
seeing change continually you're seeing
it was a very balanced mind now people
that practice straight vipassana seeing
impermanence is a major thing and they
focus on seeing impermanence suffering
and the impersonal nature of things and
when they do that they don't see how
dependent origination arises they don't
see dependent origination at all but
when you're practicing the way that I'm
showing you you are able to see more
deeply how these links arise and how
they are there for a moment and
disappear so what you're seeing is
dependent or it
Nation but you're seeing the
impermanence at a much finer level it's
not this big gross level up here it's at
a much deeper level that you're seeing
impermanence happening all the time and
it happens with each link of the
dependent origination again with the
completes or mounting of perception of
gross perceptions of form with the
disappearance of gross perceptions of
sensory impact now what we're talking
about here is you don't feel your body
anymore unless there is contact so if I
came up to you and were to touch you you
would feel that your mind would not
shake or I could come up to you and I
could say I need to talk with you for a
minute you would hear that or a
motorcycle or somebody without a boom
box or whatever you would hear that but
it doesn't make your mind go to that so
you have this very strong equanimity you
still do have feeling you still do have
the sixth sense doors and feeling can
arise at those but it's very fine
feeling it's not the big gross feeling
that will pull your attention away ok
sorry put the entered upon and abided in
the base of infinite space now we're
starting to get somewhere now an
interesting thing happens you're
practicing loving-kindness all the way
up to this level but when you get to
this the base of infinite space what
happens is the feeling of love
kindness changes you have to tell me how
it changes I don't tell you but it
changes from loving kindness to
compassion and it does it by itself and
you will feel an expansion in all the
directions at the same time and it's
just a continual expansion going out
that's what you'll feel but there's no
center point there's just this feeling
of expansion this is what it feels like
to be in the base of infinite space now
a lot of especially in mahayana they're
real big on compassion they talk about
compassion all the time and they talk
about infinite compassion and they say
that's what the buddha sat in meditation
every morning well what he was actually
sitting in was infinite space and
radiating compassion that's just a
little misunderstanding that they have
and the states in the base of infinite
space the perception of the base of
infinite space and the unification of
mind the contact feeling perception
foolish our formations and mind still
have the five aggregates you can still
feel things even though you don't feel
your body unless there's contact now you
can sit in this this realm for a while
and then you think well it's time for me
to get up and do some walking as you
stay with this feeling of compassion and
the expansion you can get up and you can
do your walking
the only thing you will feel on your
body is the bottom of your feet where
there's contact and your head now if a
wind comes up and it brushes your
clothing against your leg you would feel
that but you have to have contact in
order to feel things the enthusiasm
decision energy mindfulness equanimity
and attention these states were defined
by him one by one as they occurred known
to him those states arose known they
were present known they disappeared he
understood this and he also understood
there's more to do again by completely
surmounting the base of infinite space
aware that consciousness is infinite
sorry puta entered a bond and abided in
the base of infinite consciousness now
what happens is the feeling of
compassion changes again to a feeling of
joy now this kind of joy is called the
all-pervading joy every cell in your
body feels kind of happy and also at
each one of the sense doors there's a
kind of flickering that happens at each
cent store it's easiest to describe with
the eyes it's like watching a movie
that's going a little bit too slow and
you see there's one frame and there's a
blank spot there's another frame in a
blank spot this is you're beginning to
see individual consciousnesses arise and
pass away it happens fairly fast that
was a hundred thousand arising and
passing away
of consciousnesses of the year but
you'll be able to see this your
equanimity is very strong at this point
you have this balance of mine now in
between each of these different jonna's
when your mindfulness becomes weak you
will have a hindrance arise but at this
point the hindrance is not a problem for
you you see how it arises you can let it
go very easily and relax and come back
and as you let go of that that
attachment then you purify your mind
more so the hindrances are there to help
you go deeper
and the states in the base of infinite
consciousness the perception of the base
of infinite consciousness and
unification of mind the contact feeling
perception formations and mind still
have the four foundations of mindfulness
and the five aggregates here so you're
practicing vipassana while you are in an
immaterial jhana the enthusiasm decision
energy mindfulness equanimity and
attention these states were defined by
him one by one as they occurred we still
see these things you see how they arise
known to him those states arose known
they were present known they disappeared
he understood this and with the
cultivation of that obtainment he still
knew he had more to do again by
completely surmounting the base of
infinite consciousness aware that there
is nothing sorry puta entered upon and
abided in the base of nothingness now
when you get into infinite consciousness
I'll let you stay there for a little
while and I'll say now I want you to
focus in between those consciousnesses
when they arise and pass away now when I
say that there it you you do that with
the eyes it's kind of a blinking with
the ears with sound or smell or taste or
touch or thoughts
you'll see them rise and pass away very
quickly and as you focus in between each
one of those what will happen as your
mind goes a lot deeper and you will
begin to experience not looking outside
of mind anymore up until then you're
always looking at what's happening
outside now you're going inside and
there's nothing but there's a lot when
you get to this state the feeling of joy
changes again it changes to a very very
strong equanimity at the 4th jhana it
was strong at nothingness it's a lot
stronger and what you're doing is
sending equanimity in all of the six
directions in all the directions at the
same time now as odd as it sounds you're
looking at nothing but this is probably
the most interesting state of meditation
that you can be in because now you're
starting to to learn about the amount of
energy you need to keep with the
equanimity and radiating that bill if
you put a little bit too much your mind
gets restless if you don't put quite
enough your mind dolls out so you're
constantly having to adjust even during
the same sitting you might have to
adjust five six ten times depending on
what your mind is up to
as you go deeper in your meditation
you'll be able to stay with your object
of meditation for much longer period of
time an hour hour and a half without
having any distracting thoughts pull you
away or without having anything pulled
you away one of the mistakes some of the
meditators that have been practicing a
lot of other kinds of meditation the
mistake that they make because they have
practiced straight vipassana where you
watch what happens until it goes away
instead of noticing a slight movement of
mines attention and 6rn that and letting
it be they will watch this and be very
clear with watching it but they're not
really developing their mind to go
deeper so it's very important that you
practice the six ours and it becomes a
flow and it's just recognized and all of
the rest of the things kind of happen by
themselves you want it to be automatic
and by the time you get to this stage
it's pretty much automatic you still
sometimes need a little bit of veteran
energy to recognize and let go but
you'll see your mind it doesn't so much
wobble anymore it doesn't move very much
you're starting to see more and more
deeply how distractions arise then there
are other things that happen which I am
NOT going to tell you about you have to
tell me when it happens
sorry now all the way up to this realm
you still have the five aggregates you
still have the foundations of
mindfulness right there this is as far
as these will take you what happens next
is before your mind felt like it was
expanding out out out out now it starts
to get so small that it's really hard to
tell whether it's there or not and
that's what we call the base of neither
perception nor non perception again by
completely surmounting the base of
nothingness re puta entered upon and
abided in the base of neither perception
nor non perception he emerged mindful
from that attainment having done so he
contemplated the past States which had
ceased in it and changed so when you get
to this state what happens is you're
really very alert but it feels like you
went to sleep but you know it wasn't
sleep because your mind was so sharp and
alert that's what the feeling of neither
perception or non perception is like
and when you come out of that state then
you reflect on what you saw while you
were in that state and there's still
some things that that occur while you're
in that state I'm not going to tell you
about it I prefer you to tell me but
what you do is you automatically 6r
whatever it was that comes up into your
mind at that time so what you're doing
with the meditation is you're starting a
meditation and your mind flip flops like
this right and as you go deeper in your
meditation it moves less and less until
you get to the 4th jhana where it's more
like vibrating and every time you keep
relaxing the vibration becomes less and
less and less until it's hard to tell
whether it's there or not that's neither
perception or non perception but when
you come out you see there was still a
little bit little tiny bits of movement
you'll be able to sit in this this state
for a long period of time any slight
vibration or movement six are now this
starts to make the craving it starts to
make sense because the craving is that
movement of tightness that happens in
your mind now what you're doing is
you're seeing that it's just the start
of something happening and you six are
and that vibration that movement ceases
and now you're sitting and you're very
still your mind is very well balanced
it's really very nice date to be and
because you don't have any distractions
anymore as you continue to do this you
will go deeper and what happens next is
called the cessation of perception
feeling and consciousness it's just like
somebody turned off the lights there's
no consciousness you don't even know
you're in that state until you get out
you'll be in that state for a short
period of time five or ten minutes
something like that and when you come
out what happens is you will see just
like it's brand-new and you'd never seen
it before all of the links of dependent
origination they will come up and you'll
see them arise and then you'll see how
they cease and your understanding
becomes so good and your understanding
of everything that arises is part of an
impersonal process and you see it and
it's such a big wonderful realization
that your mind goes beyond all
conditions you've let go of all
conditions when you are letting go of
each one of these links of dependent
origination until ignorance and then you
let go of ignorance there's nothing left
to let go of it's an unconditioned state
this is Nibhana this is how you
experience it
okay again by completely surmounting the
base of neither perception nor non
perception sorry puta entered upon and
abided in the cessation of perception
feeling and consciousness and his tanks
were destroyed by his seeing with wisdom
what does that mean all of his
attachments gone because he saw how the
links of dependent origination come into
being and how they cease and how this is
all an impersonal process that's the big
oh wow he emerged mindful from that
attainment you'll be in it for a short
period of time it doesn't take very long
having done so he recalled the past
States which had ceased and changed thus
so indeed the state's not having been
come into being having been they
vanished regarding those states he
abided unattracted on repelled
independent detached freed associated
with a mind rid of barriers it doesn't
have any more teeth he understood there
is no escape beyond this and with the
cultivation of that of attainment he
confirmed that there is not now there's
four different states of sainthood so de
pana sakagami that's the second state on
agami is the third state are hot is the
fourth
now this whichever one you experience is
entirely personal and it's up to your
personal merit of which one you attain I
can show you right up to the door of
cessation of perception and feeling but
that's as far as I go the rest is yours
so don't ask me what state you're going
to be and when you come out of this
because it entirely depends on you if
you're going to be a soda paana then you
will see dependent origination arise and
pass away one time if you're going to be
a sock of the gummy you're going to see
it happened two times and it happens
fast big big big big thing like that if
you're going to be in on agami then it
will happen three times for you or if
you become an are hot it will happen
four times now when you when you think
about what the buddha was talking about
when he was talking about the sangha and
that happens to be one of the favorite
chance of the monks when they're talking
about Sangha they talk about the four
pairs of individuals what are the four
pairs so de pana sotapanna with fruition
sotapanna with the path Paula or maaga
and naga Paula
sakagami with the path psycho tegami
with path and fruition and it's that way
with a nogami andorra hot the fruition
doesn't necessarily happen right after
you experience the path it can be
anytime sorry puta spent a Maha kapa and
a hundred thousand lifetimes purifying
himself so he could be second to the
Buddha in wisdom as one or two I can't
remember which one it is one Maha copper
or two but it's a huge long period of
time so when he experienced the path
knowledge he also experienced the
fruition knowledge right after that it
happened very quickly for him but it
doesn't necessarily happen quickly for
anyone else sometimes you have the path
knowledge you know you've really
experienced something special and then
you get off of retreat or start doing
your daily activities and taking care of
things and it might be a week it might
be a month it might be a year later who
knows all of a sudden you'll feel that
your mind is starting to get very small
again and you say well i'm going to boo
sit down and watch this and then you
will experience the cessation of
perception and feeling again then you
will experience the links of dependent
origination when you come out of that
and you will experience the fruition of
that attainment and when you get the
fruition that's where the personality
change really happens that's when you
start losing the fetters if it's the
first stage you lose all doubt that this
is really the path you don't have doubt
come up again you lose the belief that
rites and rituals lead to nibhana you
know that it doesn't and you blues the
belief in a personal self that's what
happens with the first date the second
stage you weaken lust and hatred they're
not completely gone but they're
considerably less than new than they
were the third stage the lust and the
hatred disappeared I think about what is
what is it like to have a mind without
any lust or hatred ever arising in and
again no matter what happens to you in
daily life you have this very strong
equanimity and your mind is very much in
the present moment you still have some
fetters but they're not real big when
you get to be a Nara hot there's five
other feather fetters that you let go of
one of them is the desire to be reborn
in another realm in the brahmaloka or
whatever you lose restlessness got a
week till you get to be in our how to
get rid of that dirty rat you lose
dullness of mind you lose pride that
you're something special and you lose
ignorance
now with a mind like that someone can
come up and ask you a question and
you're completely using your intuition
to give them the answer there's no
distraction that all you're always in
your intuition nice okay there they
disappear when you become a nano gummy
yeah
monks rightly speaking were to be said
of anyone he has attained mastery and
perfection and Noble virtue attained
mastery and perfection and Noble
collectiveness attained mastery and
perfection in noble wisdom attained
mastery and perfection in noble
deliverance it is of sorry puta 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 from his breast born
from his mouth born of the Dhamma
created by the Dhamma an air in the
Dhamma not an errand material things it
is of sorry puta indeed that rightly
speaking this should be said monks the
matchless wheel of dhamma set rolling by
the tatata is kept rolling rightly by
sorry puta that is what the Blessed One
said the monks were satisfied and
delighted in the Blessed ones words and
every time I read this suit is so am I
so this gives you an idea of what you
can expect at each one of the jhanas
when they happen but you might not be
able to recognize it i know that the
last retreat I was helping this one lady
and she became an advanced meditator and
I told her and she didn't hear that she
didn't understand what I was saying and
she got up into the realm of infinite
consciousness she got off retreat she
started talking to other people about
not even experiencing one John
she's gotten crooked yeah she didn't
understand what was happening and
finally I heard this and I went to her
and I said look at you pay attention to
what I'm saying right now you are in the
immaterial realms you have experienced
six different types of Jonah don't be
talking about never experiencing Jonah
she'd been doing the straight vipassana
for so many years that she couldn't
believe it she didn't know how to
recognize she didn't know what she was
experienced by God so was she waiting to
shut down probably because that's what
she know she had been talked about
thinking that the absorption means that
you just sit with one thing in your mind
but I was shocked that she didn't hear
what I was saying about this stuff now
can this happen for you can it can you
attain nirvana in this lifetime yes
all you have to do is keep practicing
your six ours the six ours will take you
right up to the very doorstep of the
cessation perception and feeling I know
that there's a lot of months I met a lot
of monks in Sri Lanka that they don't
believe that it's possible to attain
nirvana in this lifetime why even try
why meditate it's because they're
they're caught up in intellect and study
and that's what their teachers have told
them now where did it come from
originally I don't but you can attain
nirvana the first stage or the second
stage just by listening to the suit does
you start contemplating how dependent
origination works and you start seeing
it in yourself by listening to the
dhamma and then somebody comes along and
they reads about dependent origination
and how you attain nirvana and you
understand it so deeply that you can
attain that first two stages of it of
sainthood are possible just through
study and listening
but people don't believe it and that
belief is the thing that stops it I'm
here to tell you you can believe it this
is real
how many people have even heard about
how you can attain nirvana about what it
really is there's not many people around
the talk about this sort of thing
because they don't understand and
because monks have been spending so long
with their books and not doing the
meditation they don't believe that it's
possible their loss
it is possible it is possible in this
lifetime
have to keep your precepts that's a
given don't break your precepts for any
reason or if you do happen to make a
mistake don't make yourself feel guilty
for doing it forgive yourself take the
precepts again right then in a language
that you understand what you're saying
not just parroting what the precepts are
in a language you don't understand you
have to do it with understanding and
then make the determination I'm not
going to do that again and you'll become
a lot more mindful of what you're going
to do before you do it and that helps
purify your mind right then in there and
then you keep practicing your 6rs with
your daily activities somebody says
something you don't like what happens to
your mind and you six are that and let
it be it's not so important that's why
the suit to that i did that i work with
last night is so important it doesn't
matter when somebody comes to you if
they're telling you the truth or a lie
it doesn't matter if they're coming to
you with anger or with loving-kindness
you see that person and you start
radiating loving kindness to that person
you use that person as the reminder to
radiate loving kindness to all beings
everywhere what you think and ponder on
that's the inflation of your mind yes
oh we put a lot of good stuff in here
and it's all up to you if you follow
these directions that have given you you
can be successful and you will be more
happy and everything starts to be easy
and you become more successful with
whatever you're doing
you know that this the economy is so bad
and everybody's so worried about this
and that if you trust in the Dhamma the
Dhamma takes care of you in wonderful
ways it protects you you don't have to
get upset because somebody lost their
job if they're taking care of the Dhamma
they'll find another one and it'll just
pop into him I mean there's somebody
will come up say I need your help do
this let's see when you take care of the
Dhamma the Dhamma takes care of you to
go to court I rented a house where the
owner wasn't telling the truth and he
was behind in the mortgage payment so
the bank was coming to take the house
away and i had to sri lankan students
and
I was there and they were going to take
the house away so I went to court and
then afterwards I came back and I told
by T this is just awful I'm going to
lose the house and I'm broke and I have
nothing I don't know what I'm going to
do because I'm going to have to leave
the house in April so I actually won
because instead of leaving in January
they were going to let me stay there
till April when kids were finished with
school but the fight part about it is I
told him I was broke and I didn't get
awarded any money and i didn't know what
i was going to do and he said how much
was their friends and i said it was
twenty-five hundred dollars a month for
the rent so from january-february March
and April she didn't have to pay any
rent so she got ten thousand dollars in
his complaining to me that she is broke
yes you have to give you I'm only going
to be here till tomorrow you keep you
keep practicing and when you lose your
body when you don't feel your body
anymore you just feel the
loving-kindness coming from your head
you let me know okay
patience patience you're doing very
nicely leads to Denis bond
so that's just about perfect timing in
it how about that well they might they
might be using here right yeah yeah so
they'll come whenever so does anybody
have any questions I'm only going to be
here till tomorrow absolutely now you
know I don't talk about those sort of
things I don't talk about it to anybody
even monks I don't talk to it about
because that's to me that's a private
thing
but
I see a lot of other people attainment
when they're practicing this way I
promise you that it really does work
okay now if you if you do happen to
become a Nara hot come and visit me in
the next two or three days after it
happens I'll put you in ropes well maybe
it depends on it's all on the individual
persons sorry put two he had no psychic
abilities at all but mogul Lana as soon
as he became an RIT he could do anything
he had all of these psychic abilities
and it depends on the individual well
yeah but I had a teacher who see Ellen
and I he was brilliant because the
finest mind I've ever been around and he
had no sensitivity to feeling at all
even doing loving-kindness was a mental
exercise for him
his friend that came an older monk was
very sensitive to feeling and he could
radiate loving kindness like you
couldn't believe and he had all kinds of
special abilities it just depends on the
individual how sensitive they are to
feeling so okay why don't we share some
merit may suffering ones be suffering
free and the fear struck fearless being
may the grieving shed all grief and may
all beings find relief may all being
share this merit that we've thus
acquired for the acquisition of all
kinds of happiness may beings inhabiting
space and earth Davis and nagas a mighty
power share this merit of ours may they
long protect the Buddhist dispensation
side to side