From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ux5ueb3SR8Y
Context: Throughout this transcript, Bhante Vimalaramsi is the speaker unless otherwise indicated.
this course tonight is called the second
suit the discipline and hire training in
poly
it's not the same object
and that they teach from the books this
is from this is talking about fire
training with directly with your own
practice
thus as I heard on one occasion the
blessed one was living in the sake and
country of capital about his part now on
that occasion a new Assembly Hall had
recently been built for the sake ins of
cat Billabong - and they did not been
inhabited by any Rekluse or Brahman or
human being at all the assembly halls
the each individual place would put up
in assembly hall and then whatever
aesthetics or teachers that came through
they would give their talks there and
then they would spend the night there
either go all night with the dhamma talk
or they would speak so it was kind of a
special occasion for this particular one
and then the sock hands of kept alive I
too went to the Blessed One after paying
homage to him they sat down at one side
and said to him venerable sir a new
Assembly Hall has been recently built
for the sake ins of Capitol a lot too
and it has not yet been inhabited by any
recluse or a brahmin or human being at
all venerable sir let the Blessed One be
the first to use it when the blessed one
has used it first then the sake ins of
kept vulovic to will use it afterwards
that will lead to their welfare and
happiness for a long time the Blessed
One consented in silence
then when they saw that he had consented
they got up from their seats and after
paying homage to him keeping him on the
right they went to the assembly hall
they covered it completely with
coverings and prepared seats and they
put the foot out a large water jug and
hung up oil lamp
then they went to the Blessed One after
paying homage to him they sat down at
one side and said the noble sir the
Assembly Hall has been covered
completely with coverings seats have
been prepared a large water drug has
been put out in an oil lamp hung up let
the Blessed One come at his own
convenience then the blessed one dressed
taking his bowl and outer robe went to
the with the Sangha of monks to the
Assembly Hall when he arrived he washed
his feet then he entered the hall and
sat down by the center pillar facing the
east I read something very interesting
years ago and that when you faced the
East you get a lot of energy when you
face the north we get the least amount
so when you have
if you have restlessness
and after I found that out I went out
and bought a compass and I checked it
out and it's really true and if you if
you go to sleep with your head facing
the north you'll go to sleep very
quickly and have some sleep
saved or I don't know if it works for
anybody else but it sure seemed to work
for me
the bits the bhikkhus washed their feet
and then entered the hall and sat down
by the western wall facing east with the
Blessed One before them the sake ins of
kept Lobot to wash their feet and enter
the hall and sat down on the eastern
wall facing the West with the Buddha
before them
then when the blessed one had instructed
urge roused and gladden the sake ins of
kept Villa back to with talk on the
Dhamma for much of the night he said to
venerable Ananda Ananda speak to the
sake ins of capital about to about the
discipline in higher learning on higher
training who has entered upon the way my
back is uncomfortable I will rest this
statement right here says that this
particular discourse happened at the end
of the Buddha's life because he didn't
start having his back aches until the
last few years of his life
and somebody asked in one time why he
had backaches he had spent for Monica's
and a hundred thousand lifetimes
purifying himself but he couldn't purify
himself there was one time in the
distant past that he was a fighter and
get in a ring and fight and what he did
to the people that he thought was he
broke their backs lift him up come down
on his knee and break their backs so in
his last lifetime the Karma of that
period now when it says that I will rest
it
yes venerable sir the venerable Ananda
replied the Blessed one prepared his
patchwork cloak folded in four laid down
on his right side in the Lions pose with
foot one foot overlapping the other
mindful and fully aware this is a
formula that they use because this
particular statement comes up very often
and they added this part to it but it's
not true of this suit though it says
after noting in his mind the time for
rising he didn't do that he stayed a
work alert he didn't go to sleep he was
listening to what and
under center so he he was just resting
his back because it needed to have rest
and that lets you know that ara hots
still have some physical problems arise
from time
to know how to handle Proctor
and rest when needs rest and when the
resting is is done and it's okay for
them to mover out that there's a lot of
discussion with a lot of people that
when you become but just the fact that
you have a body means that there is you
have to feed it
yeah clean you have to take care of it
the bathroom all of that's one form or
another of distraction and suffering
when they get off of the wheel of
samsara then they die then there is no
more so that even the Buddha experienced
these kinds of suffering it was a lot
it's an important
then the venerable Ananda addressed
Mahanama the sake and us Mahama here a
noble disciple is possessed of virtue
guards the doors of his sense faculties
is moderate in eating and devoted to
wakefulness
he possesses seven good qualities and he
is one who obtains at will without
trouble or difficulties the four Jonah's
that constitute the higher mind and
provide a pleasant abiding and how is a
noble disciple possessed of virtue here
in noble disciple is virtuous he dwells
restrained by the restraint of the potty
moko the potty Moka is the rules for the
monks you're taking 8 precepts
I have 227
is perfect and conduct and resort and
seeing fear in the slightest fault he
trains by understanding the training
precepts this is how a noble disciple is
possessed of Richard you know the rules
well when when when there is a Sangha of
monks every new moon and full moon they
get together and recite all of the rules
so this keeps that in your mind so that
start to do something and you realize oh
that's breaking the rule and it's the
same for you with your 8 precepts now we
try to take the precepts every day at
least here
and
this is not a ritual this is a reminder
keep those precepts as closely
because if you break one of the precepts
your mind will get very restless and the
meditation will be non-existent that's
the nature of breaking retailers so the
reason you don't break the precepts is
so that your meditation can be better
if for some reason you happen to break
the preset
the spider gets on you and you're not
thinking Lee and then you realize you
just killed it your intention was to
stop that feeling from being there but
it was also to kill that will affect
your meditation
so come to me tell me you've broken the
precepts we will take the precepts again
right then
the precepts are very very important
when someone is dying if you're with
that person while they're dying if they
have there's there's five different
visions that they can have there's a
vision of fire there's a vision of ogres
very frightening beings there's a vision
of animals there's a vision of past
relatives that have died and then
there's a vision of Davos
now all of these correspond to different
kinds of mental state
anger and somebody dies and they start
to get angry with somebody in the room
they can have a very strong visual fire
and what you do at that time is you
being angry about this right now
let's take the precepts
if their their consciousness is not very
strong and they can't help loud verbally
take the precepts tell them to follow
this in their mind and then ask them
what their vision is right after that
because this purifiers mind very very
quickly
and they could very easily go from
seeing a hell realm to seeing a
developer just
see odors and black beings and things
like that in their mind that generally
has to do with the greeting light
they're thinking about their possessions
who should get their possessions and who
should take care of it how you don't you
want to take this possession with you
what those painful thoughts so again you
give them the precepts
if they have a vision of animals that
means that they have a clearance
we've diluted their thinking about
themselves very strongly and they're
identifying with what's happening with
them person so you talked with them
about the impersonal nature of things
get them to take them users if they have
a vision of the family members there is
some attachment to the family members
if they die at that time they will be
reborn but
being a monk I'm never satisfied with
that I wanted to be good in the day
warriors so I gave up my precepts tan
so keeping the virtue as high as you
possibly can it helps in always not only
what are you doing here meditation
and you get off retreat I'm going to
give you five reasons
and it improves your mindfulness it
makes you more aware of what you're
going to do and what you're going to say
before you do it per se and then you
have the conscious decision to either do
that or not but if you break the preset
take them again right there you don't
have to cut yourself to be
filled with remorse and anxiety because
you broke the precept forgive yourself
for making a mistake no take the
precepts again and right after you take
the presets you make the determination
I'm not going to break the precepts this
still is part of your training this is a
very important part see the first part
of your training is practicing your
generosity how do you practice your
generosity when you're sitting in
meditation
being very generous
so you're practicing your generosity
that's the first part of meditation the
second part of meditation is keeping
your foot
and the third part of the meditation is
learning how
their experiences that we'll talk
and of course you know there's always
these this one clown at a retreat
that'll say okay I'll keep the read help
keep with the Five Precepts
and I generally say well we'll start at
a hundred years and go up from there
in it
and how is a noble sample disciple for
the lady and how does a noble disciple
guard the doors of his sense faculties
on see a form with the I a noble
disciple does not grasp at its signs and
features what are at signs in future
colors
hair that signs and features and that
when you get involved in looking at the
beauty of this cleaning has better if it
was and then all I remember a time when
I saw this other thing and then near a
thousand miles away thinking about all
kinds of different things that's the the
problem with getting involved with the
signs and features
now your eye it's the color inform my
consciousness arises the meaning of
those three is called eye contact with
eye contact as condition I feeling
arises you see this and you say oh
that's nice
that's a pleasant
right after the feeling I'm craving
arises
take
and then your thoughts about it the
natural tendency of letting your
thoughts ramble on from one place to
another and being lost for a period when
you
clear about the signs and and you see
them yes that's color and foreign and
there's a nice feeling with that
and you relax right then what happens is
you get to see it completely pulling
your consciousness oh wait so when you
start practicing this form of meditation
everything becomes more clear colors
become more vivid you can stand in front
of something that's very nice and you
can allow your mind to feel that
pleasant feeling and relax into that and
experience it totally
without the strap
one of the things that happens in
Buddhist circles as somebody will say ah
you're attached they haven't got a clue
what attachment is before they came up
and said anything I wasn't thinking
about cheesecake when they mentioned it
that's okay it's good it's a pleasant
feel fine and then let it go right then
don't get in too I like it I don't like
it and all of the thoughts of
distractions so
it's okay to have preferences
right now I started learning more about
possibly what the cause of my swelling
is and it might have something to do
with diabetes so what did I do for lunch
today no dessert
wanted to buy a candy bar no I'll get
water instead wanted something to drink
water spit
we'll see
just okay let's cut that out I'm gonna
attach to it
I enjoy sweet things but I don't have to
have it and I don't think about it when
I don't have so there's no attachment
since if he left the I faculty unguarded
evil unwholesome states of covetousness
and brief might invade oh I hate that
thing I don't want that that's the creep
he practices the way of its restraint he
guards the high faculty undertakes the
restraint of the eye faculty on hearing
a sound with me here on smelling an odor
within those I'm tasting the flavor with
the tongue on touching that tangible
with the body on cognizing a bind object
with mine the noble disciple does not
grasp at its signs and be true
hold up it allows it to be and relaxes
into it then he can experience it since
if he left the mine faculty unguarded
the evil unwholesome states of
covetousness and grief might invade him
he practices the way of its restraint
he guards the mine faculty he undertakes
the restraint of the mine faculty that
is how noble disciple guards the doors
of instance faculties and how is a noble
disciple moderate and eating here
reflect reflecting wise and a noble
disciple takes food neither for
amusement nor for intoxication nor for
the sake of physical beauty and
attractiveness but only for the
endurance and continuation of the body
an awful lot of people when they when
they eat they will eat very quickly
they chew their food very little and
swallow and they wind up overeating
quite often
the Buddha it is said that he would eat
until his stomach was half full and then
he would take one quarter water in one
quarter here
and when he put food in his mouth
not even one green of rice went unmess
to keep everything so a rule of thumb
when you're eating is to chew until it
turns to liquid in your mouth
and this helps you with your digestion a
lot and it also helps very much with be
more aware
troubling
hopefully we have dessert
you don't eat
for any other reason
to keep your body strong so you can
and if you don't eat
then you don't find that
it does affect your
your mind and you start to get a little
bit grumpy
when you eat food you want to learn
especially when you're vegetarian
the difference between Hartfield and
suck and you want to eat it in a
balanced way soft food fruits
whatever
hard food would be beans nuts
and you want to have the balance of both
a side note if you're going to eat nuts
you should always soak the nuts for at
least overnight
as there are
maps that are
any
you eat so that you can continue
thus I shall terminate old feelings from
being hungry without arousing new
feelings of overeating and I read I
shall be healthy and blameless and move
in comfort
that is how a noble disciple is
moderated and how as a noble disciple
devoted to wakefulness a noble disciple
purifies his mind of obstructive states
in the first watch of the night while
walking back and forth and sitting he
purifies his mind though obstructive
stays in the middle watch of the night
he lies down on his right side in the
Lions pose with one foot overlapping the
other mindful and fully aware after
noting in his mind the time for rising
after rising the third watch of the
night while walking back and forth and
sitting the purifies his mind of
obstructive States that is how
disciple is devoted to wakefulness first
watcher of the night seven o'clock to 11
a little watch of the night 11 o'clock
last watch of the night
when I was
at mahasin sector
that's
they're gonna
they've been there for
a couple of months and arrange retreat
and the first
time I went to see my teacher after the
rains retreat started he said how much
are you sleeping at 4 hours I said why
are you sleeping
so I cut it down to two hours
I went to bed at midnight
I did that
I found some real interesting things
that happen
this one is I was eating huge quantities
of fruit
because it takes a lot of energy to stay
away
when I got done with that right after
the
they were social unrest so at the end of
the range retreat thieves that all
foreigners have to get out of the temple
we don't want you here
I wasn't real happy about that I was
really starting to come on to the
meditation real good
but I had to leave so I left and I went
back to Thailand and then
I
go up for homes ramen
I generally go out for arms around 6:00
what you do is you wait until the light
is is enough that you can see the
wrinkles in their hand you see that then
you can go out
because by that time they pretty much
have all the food prepared they've been
up since 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning
preparing
and then I came back for a mom's round
and I ate retreat now maybe all the way
down
and I would lay down
that kind of wandered around a little
bit
the shower and did all of the body
things that need to be
so I slept from about 6 o'clock until 5
o'clock in the morning and I did that
every day
capturing pushing
I went when you're here I'm not pushing
you very hard
seven hours you need to take a rest ring
that they take a rest during the day
that makes it eight hours you get plenty
of sleep I don't want you walking around
being tired because if you're tired then
you have all kinds of structures
obstructing states arising
when I first became a monk I was in
Thailand and I went to this monastery
I told them that I just wanted to be
left
and I would sit in a chair
and watch obstructive States and all of
my games that have
right after you ordain doesn't mean that
you have up your mind at that time
so you have all of this nonsense worldly
stuff running through your mind
these are obstructing states so I would
sit and I would watch all of this
nonsense go through and then I would get
up
come in six when they watch it some more
and I did that for about a month
I wasn't meditating necessarily I was
just generally being mindful and
watching how my mind got into its trips
and as you become more familiar with
that
not to get caught but that's why we do
this practice that's why we do the
wakefulness
and that's what we're talking about here
and how does the noble disciple possess
seven good qualities here a noble
disciple has faith he places his faith
in the two target does enlightenment
does the Blessed One has accomplished
fully enlightened perfect and true
knowledge and conduct sublime knower of
the world's incomparable leader of
persons to be a teacher of gods and
humans enlightened and blessed he has
shame he is ashamed of misconduct in the
body speak ashamed of engaging and evil
unwholesome deeds
he has fear of wrongdoing he's afraid of
misconduct and body speech and I afraid
of engaging in evil unwholesome in other
words
in general ways so that this fear and
the shame will arise it and it is a
practice
be perfect with it at first
you don't beat yourself up you're
mindful that you did that one of the
things that happens every no informant
when the monks do their the potty they
all meet together in a particular place
and you read citation
rules all of the monks that sit in the
potty vodka they have to
and that means that we have to do a
little confession
with each other before we
so this is some of the practices that
the monks have and they're very useful
and because monks are amongst that means
that
and try to keep our roles as close as
possible
so that the shame and the fear doesn't
arise
he has learned much remembers what he
has learned and then Salah dates what he
is learned such teachings as are good in
the beginning good in the middle good in
the end with the right meaning and
phrasing and affirm the holy life that
is utterly perfect and pure such
teaching as these he has learned much of
remembered recited verbally investigated
with mine and penetrated by view and
this means studying the symptoms
memorizing the suit
residing in the cities that's what
ranting is supposed to be
but it's gotten into ritualized things
where we have these suitors that are
called protections so we have to recite
these protections just empty sight
that's why I put those the two things
somebody that recites the text very well
but doesn't follow the text is like a
cow watching others cows yes no holy
night it's not the reciting of the Texas
understanding
so it's a real interesting thing
some places that they put such emphasis
on
as that in
you'll notice that here we don't have
much in the way of rites and rituals
i watch you spending your time not
learning what these rites and rituals
are i want you spending here time so you
can attain nirvana you can
just a short period of time doesn't take
that long as long as you follow
don't have anything goes
you will progress along very quickly
this leads to your permanent
one of the things that happens if you
is that you lose the belief that rites
and rituals lead to name on
that's one of the things that happens do
you don't have any doubt that what
you're doing is exactly
and you start to begin to truly
understand what the impersonal nature
that's what happens
there are some people that
they go much deeper
you don't have to follow first step the
second step the third step the fourth
step to follow like that it depends on
your understand
he is energetic in abandoning
unwholesome states and in undertaking
wholesome states he is steadfast firm
and striving not remiss in developing
wholesome States
having that uplifted night
knowing when your mind first starts to
say
now what happens is you'll notice that
your mind is on your object of
meditation and when your mindfulness is
very sharp you'll see that there's all
kinds of little things that happen
and it keeps wobbling and
as soon as you see that your mind is
just starting to move
staying on your object - meditation is
the most wholesome thing you can do
he has mindfulness he possesses the
highest mindfulness and skill
observation
mine's
the observation of how Minds attention
moves from
when your observation power is very good
you are able to see dependent
origination and again
before your mind starts to wobble
there's something that happens before
that
say what I experienced as I'll always
seem like
the concept that I need a concept type
of thing
this is for real stuff
I just experienced just
it's a lot was the first thing
little shift or something come up
whoops for a second
yeah what happens right before that
nothing
yes there's something that the driving
for them
there is something that happens before
the slightest little water
actually there's two things
and I told somebody left after
doing a retreat thing they went quite
deep in our meditation and said your job
is to tell me what happened
before that so I don't hear from that
very year
then he rates me an email he says I know
what it is it's this told me about what
happened before that I'm missing one
thing I could hear him Sylvania I could
hear him complain to me about that is
wise he possesses wisdom and regard to
rise and disappearance that Noble that
is noble and penetrating and leads to
the complete destruction of suffering
that means exactly
you hear me talk a lot about dependent
origination don't go to other retreats
and you don't hear that much and the
depth of your practice is much better
when you know what you're looking for
and what you're looking for is how does
this process work
how does it work
at singing the process over and over and
over and over again until you start
recognizing it very well and then you
see it on more and more levels
that is how a noble disciple possesses
seven good qualities and how is a noble
disciple of one who attains that will
without trouble or difficulty the four
jhanas that constitute the higher mind
and provide a pleasant inviting here
it's skill at going in and
how the Trevor of John I do want to
going start working with the determining
they don't generally teach people
determination
you want to have there's five five
powers
we will work with once you're good at
getting in
of the four jobs the power of
going into the drum
the tiny one stayed to the end the drama
to the second
me out of the job
reflecting
but these lead to mastery
so you can sit here and in the blink of
an eye
I'm gonna go into
for three seconds
I'm gonna go into the Jonah for one hour
21 minutes and 14 seconds
takes a lot of practice
and the way you start
is before you go to sleep
exactly
so and don't make at the same time every
day I'm gonna get up at 4:59 34 and when
you hit that then I'm gonna get up at
find a bowl on 13 and when you hit that
regularly then you're ready to start
practicing for your determinations of
mastery it is
can you also use the same practice on
meditation itself
it's all learning how to develop your
mind and set your internal
you should when you start working
with say I want you to sit in the second
guy higher than and I want you to sit in
the second job for 14 minutes at 28
seconds and then when you hit that
exactly
then you pick
other times with it
and you change it and then you go well
okay I can do that in a second Donna
let's see if I could do that in the
fourth day
so you're bouncing around for 15 minutes
at a pub and when you can hit it right
on every time then
and you said in each one of the four
dramas for however long
minutes 58 seconds 31 minutes 14 seconds
and when you hit that every time then
you do that for an hour
when you hit that
then when you get out of that drama then
I want you to go in and drama for in
that drama for
when you're able to hit that then we sit
for longer periods of time and shorter
periods of time I want you to go into
the fourth jhana in three three seconds
once you've done you've came pretty good
control
it's not an easy practice I guarantee
and there is more to the instruction
than what I just did
but if you want to start working at
waking up in exactly that the time
and when you can hit it every day for a
few weeks
exactly
and how is a noble's disciple and how is
a noble disciple one who attains that
will without difficulty or trouble the
four jhanas that constitute the higher
mind
Pleasant abiding here and now here quite
secluded from sensual pleasures secluded
from unwholesome states a noble disciple
enters upon and abides in the first job
with the still with the fading away
Lovejoy with the abandoning of pleasure
in pain he enters upon n abides in the
fourth jhana which has no pain or
pleasure and purity of mindfulness -
that is how a noble disciple is one who
attains at will without trouble or
difficulty for for jhanas that
constitute the higher mine and provide a
pleasant abiding
each one of these jhanas is a level of
your understanding
the hindrances are very very
they're not your enemy to fight with
they're not something to push away they
are your teachers
as you begin to apply the six hours to
the inference it starts to lose its
energy and after a while it will fade
away and you're buying this Bureau at
that time that's why you can get into
the different stages of Johnathan
through this understanding of the
process of dependent origination and
seeing it over and over again
you
this course tonight is called the second
suit the discipline and hire training in
poly
it's not the same object
and that they teach from the books this
is from this is talking about fire
training with directly with your own
practice
thus as I heard on one occasion the
blessed one was living in the sake and
country of capital about his part now on
that occasion a new Assembly Hall had
recently been built for the sake ins of
cat Billabong - and they did not been
inhabited by any Rekluse or Brahman or
human being at all the assembly halls
the each individual place would put up
in assembly hall and then whatever
aesthetics or teachers that came through
they would give their talks there and
then they would spend the night there
either go all night with the dhamma talk
or they would speak so it was kind of a
special occasion for this particular one
and then the sock hands of kept alive I
too went to the Blessed One after paying
homage to him they sat down at one side
and said to him venerable sir a new
Assembly Hall has been recently built
for the sake ins of Capitol a lot too
and it has not yet been inhabited by any
recluse or a brahmin or human being at
all venerable sir let the Blessed One be
the first to use it when the blessed one
has used it first then the sake ins of
kept vulovic to will use it afterwards
that will lead to their welfare and
happiness for a long time the Blessed
One consented in silence
then when they saw that he had consented
they got up from their seats and after
paying homage to him keeping him on the
right they went to the assembly hall
they covered it completely with
coverings and prepared seats and they
put the foot out a large water jug and
hung up oil lamp
then they went to the Blessed One after
paying homage to him they sat down at
one side and said the noble sir the
Assembly Hall has been covered
completely with coverings seats have
been prepared a large water drug has
been put out in an oil lamp hung up let
the Blessed One come at his own
convenience then the blessed one dressed
taking his bowl and outer robe went to
the with the Sangha of monks to the
Assembly Hall when he arrived he washed
his feet then he entered the hall and
sat down by the center pillar facing the
east I read something very interesting
years ago and that when you faced the
East you get a lot of energy when you
face the north we get the least amount
so when you have
if you have restlessness
and after I found that out I went out
and bought a compass and I checked it
out and it's really true and if you if
you go to sleep with your head facing
the north you'll go to sleep very
quickly and have some sleep
saved or I don't know if it works for
anybody else but it sure seemed to work
for me
the bits the bhikkhus washed their feet
and then entered the hall and sat down
by the western wall facing east with the
Blessed One before them the sake ins of
kept Lobot to wash their feet and enter
the hall and sat down on the eastern
wall facing the West with the Buddha
before them
then when the blessed one had instructed
urge roused and gladden the sake ins of
kept Villa back to with talk on the
Dhamma for much of the night he said to
venerable Ananda Ananda speak to the
sake ins of capital about to about the
discipline in higher learning on higher
training who has entered upon the way my
back is uncomfortable I will rest this
statement right here says that this
particular discourse happened at the end
of the Buddha's life because he didn't
start having his back aches until the
last few years of his life
and somebody asked in one time why he
had backaches he had spent for Monica's
and a hundred thousand lifetimes
purifying himself but he couldn't purify
himself there was one time in the
distant past that he was a fighter and
get in a ring and fight and what he did
to the people that he thought was he
broke their backs lift him up come down
on his knee and break their backs so in
his last lifetime the Karma of that
period now when it says that I will rest
it
yes venerable sir the venerable Ananda
replied the Blessed one prepared his
patchwork cloak folded in four laid down
on his right side in the Lions pose with
foot one foot overlapping the other
mindful and fully aware this is a
formula that they use because this
particular statement comes up very often
and they added this part to it but it's
not true of this suit though it says
after noting in his mind the time for
rising he didn't do that he stayed a
work alert he didn't go to sleep he was
listening to what and
under center so he he was just resting
his back because it needed to have rest
and that lets you know that ara hots
still have some physical problems arise
from time
to know how to handle Proctor
and rest when needs rest and when the
resting is is done and it's okay for
them to mover out that there's a lot of
discussion with a lot of people that
when you become but just the fact that
you have a body means that there is you
have to feed it
yeah clean you have to take care of it
the bathroom all of that's one form or
another of distraction and suffering
when they get off of the wheel of
samsara then they die then there is no
more so that even the Buddha experienced
these kinds of suffering it was a lot
it's an important
then the venerable Ananda addressed
Mahanama the sake and us Mahama here a
noble disciple is possessed of virtue
guards the doors of his sense faculties
is moderate in eating and devoted to
wakefulness
he possesses seven good qualities and he
is one who obtains at will without
trouble or difficulties the four Jonah's
that constitute the higher mind and
provide a pleasant abiding and how is a
noble disciple possessed of virtue here
in noble disciple is virtuous he dwells
restrained by the restraint of the potty
moko the potty Moka is the rules for the
monks you're taking 8 precepts
I have 227
is perfect and conduct and resort and
seeing fear in the slightest fault he
trains by understanding the training
precepts this is how a noble disciple is
possessed of Richard you know the rules
well when when when there is a Sangha of
monks every new moon and full moon they
get together and recite all of the rules
so this keeps that in your mind so that
start to do something and you realize oh
that's breaking the rule and it's the
same for you with your 8 precepts now we
try to take the precepts every day at
least here
and
this is not a ritual this is a reminder
keep those precepts as closely
because if you break one of the precepts
your mind will get very restless and the
meditation will be non-existent that's
the nature of breaking retailers so the
reason you don't break the precepts is
so that your meditation can be better
if for some reason you happen to break
the preset
the spider gets on you and you're not
thinking Lee and then you realize you
just killed it your intention was to
stop that feeling from being there but
it was also to kill that will affect
your meditation
so come to me tell me you've broken the
precepts we will take the precepts again
right then
the precepts are very very important
when someone is dying if you're with
that person while they're dying if they
have there's there's five different
visions that they can have there's a
vision of fire there's a vision of ogres
very frightening beings there's a vision
of animals there's a vision of past
relatives that have died and then
there's a vision of Davos
now all of these correspond to different
kinds of mental state
anger and somebody dies and they start
to get angry with somebody in the room
they can have a very strong visual fire
and what you do at that time is you
being angry about this right now
let's take the precepts
if their their consciousness is not very
strong and they can't help loud verbally
take the precepts tell them to follow
this in their mind and then ask them
what their vision is right after that
because this purifiers mind very very
quickly
and they could very easily go from
seeing a hell realm to seeing a
developer just
see odors and black beings and things
like that in their mind that generally
has to do with the greeting light
they're thinking about their possessions
who should get their possessions and who
should take care of it how you don't you
want to take this possession with you
what those painful thoughts so again you
give them the precepts
if they have a vision of animals that
means that they have a clearance
we've diluted their thinking about
themselves very strongly and they're
identifying with what's happening with
them person so you talked with them
about the impersonal nature of things
get them to take them users if they have
a vision of the family members there is
some attachment to the family members
if they die at that time they will be
reborn but
being a monk I'm never satisfied with
that I wanted to be good in the day
warriors so I gave up my precepts tan
so keeping the virtue as high as you
possibly can it helps in always not only
what are you doing here meditation
and you get off retreat I'm going to
give you five reasons
and it improves your mindfulness it
makes you more aware of what you're
going to do and what you're going to say
before you do it per se and then you
have the conscious decision to either do
that or not but if you break the preset
take them again right there you don't
have to cut yourself to be
filled with remorse and anxiety because
you broke the precept forgive yourself
for making a mistake no take the
precepts again and right after you take
the presets you make the determination
I'm not going to break the precepts this
still is part of your training this is a
very important part see the first part
of your training is practicing your
generosity how do you practice your
generosity when you're sitting in
meditation
being very generous
so you're practicing your generosity
that's the first part of meditation the
second part of meditation is keeping
your foot
and the third part of the meditation is
learning how
their experiences that we'll talk
and of course you know there's always
these this one clown at a retreat
that'll say okay I'll keep the read help
keep with the Five Precepts
and I generally say well we'll start at
a hundred years and go up from there
in it
and how is a noble sample disciple for
the lady and how does a noble disciple
guard the doors of his sense faculties
on see a form with the I a noble
disciple does not grasp at its signs and
features what are at signs in future
colors
hair that signs and features and that
when you get involved in looking at the
beauty of this cleaning has better if it
was and then all I remember a time when
I saw this other thing and then near a
thousand miles away thinking about all
kinds of different things that's the the
problem with getting involved with the
signs and features
now your eye it's the color inform my
consciousness arises the meaning of
those three is called eye contact with
eye contact as condition I feeling
arises you see this and you say oh
that's nice
that's a pleasant
right after the feeling I'm craving
arises
take
and then your thoughts about it the
natural tendency of letting your
thoughts ramble on from one place to
another and being lost for a period when
you
clear about the signs and and you see
them yes that's color and foreign and
there's a nice feeling with that
and you relax right then what happens is
you get to see it completely pulling
your consciousness oh wait so when you
start practicing this form of meditation
everything becomes more clear colors
become more vivid you can stand in front
of something that's very nice and you
can allow your mind to feel that
pleasant feeling and relax into that and
experience it totally
without the strap
one of the things that happens in
Buddhist circles as somebody will say ah
you're attached they haven't got a clue
what attachment is before they came up
and said anything I wasn't thinking
about cheesecake when they mentioned it
that's okay it's good it's a pleasant
feel fine and then let it go right then
don't get in too I like it I don't like
it and all of the thoughts of
distractions so
it's okay to have preferences
right now I started learning more about
possibly what the cause of my swelling
is and it might have something to do
with diabetes so what did I do for lunch
today no dessert
wanted to buy a candy bar no I'll get
water instead wanted something to drink
water spit
we'll see
just okay let's cut that out I'm gonna
attach to it
I enjoy sweet things but I don't have to
have it and I don't think about it when
I don't have so there's no attachment
since if he left the I faculty unguarded
evil unwholesome states of covetousness
and brief might invade oh I hate that
thing I don't want that that's the creep
he practices the way of its restraint he
guards the high faculty undertakes the
restraint of the eye faculty on hearing
a sound with me here on smelling an odor
within those I'm tasting the flavor with
the tongue on touching that tangible
with the body on cognizing a bind object
with mine the noble disciple does not
grasp at its signs and be true
hold up it allows it to be and relaxes
into it then he can experience it since
if he left the mine faculty unguarded
the evil unwholesome states of
covetousness and grief might invade him
he practices the way of its restraint
he guards the mine faculty he undertakes
the restraint of the mine faculty that
is how noble disciple guards the doors
of instance faculties and how is a noble
disciple moderate and eating here
reflect reflecting wise and a noble
disciple takes food neither for
amusement nor for intoxication nor for
the sake of physical beauty and
attractiveness but only for the
endurance and continuation of the body
an awful lot of people when they when
they eat they will eat very quickly
they chew their food very little and
swallow and they wind up overeating
quite often
the Buddha it is said that he would eat
until his stomach was half full and then
he would take one quarter water in one
quarter here
and when he put food in his mouth
not even one green of rice went unmess
to keep everything so a rule of thumb
when you're eating is to chew until it
turns to liquid in your mouth
and this helps you with your digestion a
lot and it also helps very much with be
more aware
troubling
hopefully we have dessert
you don't eat
for any other reason
to keep your body strong so you can
and if you don't eat
then you don't find that
it does affect your
your mind and you start to get a little
bit grumpy
when you eat food you want to learn
especially when you're vegetarian
the difference between Hartfield and
suck and you want to eat it in a
balanced way soft food fruits
whatever
hard food would be beans nuts
and you want to have the balance of both
a side note if you're going to eat nuts
you should always soak the nuts for at
least overnight
as there are
maps that are
any
you eat so that you can continue
thus I shall terminate old feelings from
being hungry without arousing new
feelings of overeating and I read I
shall be healthy and blameless and move
in comfort
that is how a noble disciple is
moderated and how as a noble disciple
devoted to wakefulness a noble disciple
purifies his mind of obstructive states
in the first watch of the night while
walking back and forth and sitting he
purifies his mind though obstructive
stays in the middle watch of the night
he lies down on his right side in the
Lions pose with one foot overlapping the
other mindful and fully aware after
noting in his mind the time for rising
after rising the third watch of the
night while walking back and forth and
sitting the purifies his mind of
obstructive States that is how
disciple is devoted to wakefulness first
watcher of the night seven o'clock to 11
a little watch of the night 11 o'clock
last watch of the night
when I was
at mahasin sector
that's
they're gonna
they've been there for
a couple of months and arrange retreat
and the first
time I went to see my teacher after the
rains retreat started he said how much
are you sleeping at 4 hours I said why
are you sleeping
so I cut it down to two hours
I went to bed at midnight
I did that
I found some real interesting things
that happen
this one is I was eating huge quantities
of fruit
because it takes a lot of energy to stay
away
when I got done with that right after
the
they were social unrest so at the end of
the range retreat thieves that all
foreigners have to get out of the temple
we don't want you here
I wasn't real happy about that I was
really starting to come on to the
meditation real good
but I had to leave so I left and I went
back to Thailand and then
I
go up for homes ramen
I generally go out for arms around 6:00
what you do is you wait until the light
is is enough that you can see the
wrinkles in their hand you see that then
you can go out
because by that time they pretty much
have all the food prepared they've been
up since 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning
preparing
and then I came back for a mom's round
and I ate retreat now maybe all the way
down
and I would lay down
that kind of wandered around a little
bit
the shower and did all of the body
things that need to be
so I slept from about 6 o'clock until 5
o'clock in the morning and I did that
every day
capturing pushing
I went when you're here I'm not pushing
you very hard
seven hours you need to take a rest ring
that they take a rest during the day
that makes it eight hours you get plenty
of sleep I don't want you walking around
being tired because if you're tired then
you have all kinds of structures
obstructing states arising
when I first became a monk I was in
Thailand and I went to this monastery
I told them that I just wanted to be
left
and I would sit in a chair
and watch obstructive States and all of
my games that have
right after you ordain doesn't mean that
you have up your mind at that time
so you have all of this nonsense worldly
stuff running through your mind
these are obstructing states so I would
sit and I would watch all of this
nonsense go through and then I would get
up
come in six when they watch it some more
and I did that for about a month
I wasn't meditating necessarily I was
just generally being mindful and
watching how my mind got into its trips
and as you become more familiar with
that
not to get caught but that's why we do
this practice that's why we do the
wakefulness
and that's what we're talking about here
and how does the noble disciple possess
seven good qualities here a noble
disciple has faith he places his faith
in the two target does enlightenment
does the Blessed One has accomplished
fully enlightened perfect and true
knowledge and conduct sublime knower of
the world's incomparable leader of
persons to be a teacher of gods and
humans enlightened and blessed he has
shame he is ashamed of misconduct in the
body speak ashamed of engaging and evil
unwholesome deeds
he has fear of wrongdoing he's afraid of
misconduct and body speech and I afraid
of engaging in evil unwholesome in other
words
in general ways so that this fear and
the shame will arise it and it is a
practice
be perfect with it at first
you don't beat yourself up you're
mindful that you did that one of the
things that happens every no informant
when the monks do their the potty they
all meet together in a particular place
and you read citation
rules all of the monks that sit in the
potty vodka they have to
and that means that we have to do a
little confession
with each other before we
so this is some of the practices that
the monks have and they're very useful
and because monks are amongst that means
that
and try to keep our roles as close as
possible
so that the shame and the fear doesn't
arise
he has learned much remembers what he
has learned and then Salah dates what he
is learned such teachings as are good in
the beginning good in the middle good in
the end with the right meaning and
phrasing and affirm the holy life that
is utterly perfect and pure such
teaching as these he has learned much of
remembered recited verbally investigated
with mine and penetrated by view and
this means studying the symptoms
memorizing the suit
residing in the cities that's what
ranting is supposed to be
but it's gotten into ritualized things
where we have these suitors that are
called protections so we have to recite
these protections just empty sight
that's why I put those the two things
somebody that recites the text very well
but doesn't follow the text is like a
cow watching others cows yes no holy
night it's not the reciting of the Texas
understanding
so it's a real interesting thing
some places that they put such emphasis
on
as that in
you'll notice that here we don't have
much in the way of rites and rituals
i watch you spending your time not
learning what these rites and rituals
are i want you spending here time so you
can attain nirvana you can
just a short period of time doesn't take
that long as long as you follow
don't have anything goes
you will progress along very quickly
this leads to your permanent
one of the things that happens if you
is that you lose the belief that rites
and rituals lead to name on
that's one of the things that happens do
you don't have any doubt that what
you're doing is exactly
and you start to begin to truly
understand what the impersonal nature
that's what happens
there are some people that
they go much deeper
you don't have to follow first step the
second step the third step the fourth
step to follow like that it depends on
your understand
he is energetic in abandoning
unwholesome states and in undertaking
wholesome states he is steadfast firm
and striving not remiss in developing
wholesome States
having that uplifted night
knowing when your mind first starts to
say
now what happens is you'll notice that
your mind is on your object of
meditation and when your mindfulness is
very sharp you'll see that there's all
kinds of little things that happen
and it keeps wobbling and
as soon as you see that your mind is
just starting to move
staying on your object - meditation is
the most wholesome thing you can do
he has mindfulness he possesses the
highest mindfulness and skill
observation
mine's
the observation of how Minds attention
moves from
when your observation power is very good
you are able to see dependent
origination and again
before your mind starts to wobble
there's something that happens before
that
say what I experienced as I'll always
seem like
the concept that I need a concept type
of thing
this is for real stuff
I just experienced just
it's a lot was the first thing
little shift or something come up
whoops for a second
yeah what happens right before that
nothing
yes there's something that the driving
for them
there is something that happens before
the slightest little water
actually there's two things
and I told somebody left after
doing a retreat thing they went quite
deep in our meditation and said your job
is to tell me what happened
before that so I don't hear from that
very year
then he rates me an email he says I know
what it is it's this told me about what
happened before that I'm missing one
thing I could hear him Sylvania I could
hear him complain to me about that is
wise he possesses wisdom and regard to
rise and disappearance that Noble that
is noble and penetrating and leads to
the complete destruction of suffering
that means exactly
you hear me talk a lot about dependent
origination don't go to other retreats
and you don't hear that much and the
depth of your practice is much better
when you know what you're looking for
and what you're looking for is how does
this process work
how does it work
at singing the process over and over and
over and over again until you start
recognizing it very well and then you
see it on more and more levels
that is how a noble disciple possesses
seven good qualities and how is a noble
disciple of one who attains that will
without trouble or difficulty the four
jhanas that constitute the higher mind
and provide a pleasant inviting here
it's skill at going in and
how the Trevor of John I do want to
going start working with the determining
they don't generally teach people
determination
you want to have there's five five
powers
we will work with once you're good at
getting in
of the four jobs the power of
going into the drum
the tiny one stayed to the end the drama
to the second
me out of the job
reflecting
but these lead to mastery
so you can sit here and in the blink of
an eye
I'm gonna go into
for three seconds
I'm gonna go into the Jonah for one hour
21 minutes and 14 seconds
takes a lot of practice
and the way you start
is before you go to sleep
exactly
so and don't make at the same time every
day I'm gonna get up at 4:59 34 and when
you hit that then I'm gonna get up at
find a bowl on 13 and when you hit that
regularly then you're ready to start
practicing for your determinations of
mastery it is
can you also use the same practice on
meditation itself
it's all learning how to develop your
mind and set your internal
you should when you start working
with say I want you to sit in the second
guy higher than and I want you to sit in
the second job for 14 minutes at 28
seconds and then when you hit that
exactly
then you pick
other times with it
and you change it and then you go well
okay I can do that in a second Donna
let's see if I could do that in the
fourth day
so you're bouncing around for 15 minutes
at a pub and when you can hit it right
on every time then
and you said in each one of the four
dramas for however long
minutes 58 seconds 31 minutes 14 seconds
and when you hit that every time then
you do that for an hour
when you hit that
then when you get out of that drama then
I want you to go in and drama for in
that drama for
when you're able to hit that then we sit
for longer periods of time and shorter
periods of time I want you to go into
the fourth jhana in three three seconds
once you've done you've came pretty good
control
it's not an easy practice I guarantee
and there is more to the instruction
than what I just did
but if you want to start working at
waking up in exactly that the time
and when you can hit it every day for a
few weeks
exactly
and how is a noble's disciple and how is
a noble disciple one who attains that
will without difficulty or trouble the
four jhanas that constitute the higher
mind
Pleasant abiding here and now here quite
secluded from sensual pleasures secluded
from unwholesome states a noble disciple
enters upon and abides in the first job
with the still with the fading away
Lovejoy with the abandoning of pleasure
in pain he enters upon n abides in the
fourth jhana which has no pain or
pleasure and purity of mindfulness -
that is how a noble disciple is one who
attains at will without trouble or
difficulty for for jhanas that
constitute the higher mine and provide a
pleasant abiding
each one of these jhanas is a level of
your understanding
the hindrances are very very
they're not your enemy to fight with
they're not something to push away they
are your teachers
as you begin to apply the six hours to
the inference it starts to lose its
energy and after a while it will fade
away and you're buying this Bureau at
that time that's why you can get into
the different stages of Johnathan
through this understanding of the
process of dependent origination and
seeing it over and over again
you