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

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

[Music]

okay there are four noble truths

of suffering

[Music]

me

[Music]

so

today is the final day

of the retreat

and so i thought i would uh read a

special suta today

in honor of

rex who passed

this is majiminikaya 143 anata pindika

vada suta the advice to anatapindika

thus if i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living at savathi in

jettas grove

anatapindika's park

now on that occasion the householder

anata pindaka was afflicted suffering

and gravely ill

then he addressed a certain man thus

come good man go to the blessed one

pay homage in my name with your head at

his feet and say

venerable sir the householder

anathepindaka is afflicted

suffering and gravely ill

he pays homage to his head at the

blessed one's feet

homage with his head at the blessed

one's feet

then go to the venerable sariputta

in my name and with your head at his

feet and say

venerable sir the householder

anathepindaka is afflicted suffering and

gravely ill

he pays homage with his head at the

venerable sariputta's feet

then say it would be good venerable sir

if the venerable sariputta

would come to the residence of the

householder anata pindaka out of

compassion

anata pindika that was not his

real name actually it was a name given

because of his generosity

anata pindika means one who gives

dhana

one who gives

alms to the unprotected

anath anatha

means people who have no refuge

and pindika one who provides

alms to those people

his real name his birth name was sulata

and he was a

millionaire he was a very very wealthy

man

and

one day he had an opportunity to listen

to the buddha

and he got inspired by the buddha's

words and became a sodapana

so he decided that he wanted to

buy some land in order to make a

monastery for the buddha

so there was a wonderful little grove

that was there and it wasn't little but

it was pretty

expensive

and this grove was known as jethouse

grove that's why it says

salvati in jetta's grove anatapindicus

park

so jetta

was the son of king prasanjit

and jatha was a prince who had this land

and he was actually somebody who

king prasanji was somebody who didn't

actually like the buddha initially

and the reason is because when the

buddha was a prince

in his own right before he became a

buddha

was a

was part of the sakya clan which were

rivals

of king pasana jeet's people

and

so that

enmity that rivalry was still ongoing

even after the buddha became the buddha

of course the buddha didn't care but

basanjit was

very much unhappy with him

and by extension so was jetta so jetta

said okay i'll give you this land

under one condition

if you can take

if you can fill

this entire land if you can this whole

piece of land

if you can fill it up with gold coins

from one end to the other

in all directions

i'll give you the land

so anatomica said sure i'll do that

and he got his servants to bring up you

know big loads of gold coins

and they

basically threw them all on the ground

and covered the entire ground

with that

and when jetta saw that he said wow

there is something to the buddha if this

man is so committed to buying this piece

of land

so he said okay

the land is yours

and he took the money

all of that gold coin

and then he used that to create a

barrier for

yata's growth

and then anata pindaka used more of his

money more of his wealth to build this

wonderful

monastery and i think it's still there

in india you can still go and see it

of course it's not as

probably as prominent as it was before

but you could still see the original

place that the buddha would go and sit

and meditate and

you know the the

uh

the suganda

uh kuti the the perfume chamber as it

was called

and uh

so anathepindaka was the chief patron of

the buddha so he was a big supporter of

the buddha and he made sure that

everybody was well fed and well

supported and so on

yes sir the man replied and he went to

the blessed one and after paying homage

to the blessed one

he sat down at one side and delivered

his message

then he went to the venerable sariputta

and after paying homage to the venerable

sariputta he delivered his message

saying

it would be good venerable sir if the

venerable sorry would come to the

residence of the householder anata

pindika out of compassion

the venerable sorry put that consented

in silence

then the venerable sari put that rest

and taking his bowl and outer robe went

to the residence of the householder

anata pindaka with the venerable ananda

as his attendant

having gone there he sat down on a seat

made ready and said to the householder

another pinnacle

i hope you are getting well householder

i hope you are comfortable

i hope your painful feelings are

subsiding and not increasing

and that they're subsiding not their

increase is apparent

venerable sariputta i am not getting

well

i am not comfortable

my painful feelings are increasing not

subsiding

their increase and not their subsiding

is apparent

just as if a strong man was splitting my

head open with a sharp sword

so too

will violent winds run through my head

cut through my head

i am not getting well

just as if a strong man were tightening

a tough leather strap around my head as

a headband

so too there are violent pains in my

head

i wonder if he was trying too hard while

meditating

i am not getting well

just as if a skilled butcher or as

apprentice were to carve up an ox's

belly with a sharp butcher's knife

so too violent winds are carving up my

belly i am not getting

well just as if two strong men were to

seize a weaker men by men by both arms

and roast him over a pit of hot coals

so too there is a violent burning in my

body

i am not getting well i am not

comfortable my painful feelings are

increasing not subsiding

their increase and not their subsiding

is apparent

so he's dying he is ready to go

his painful feelings and all of the

different

conditions he has

suggests that he is not doing well

and so here is what sariputta says

then householder you should train thus

i will not cling to the eye and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the eye

so i will not cling to the eye

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the eye

i will not cling to the ear and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the ear i will not cling to the nose and

my consciousness will not be dependent

on the nose

i will not cling to the tongue and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the tongue

i will not cling to the body

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the body

i will not cling to the mind and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the mind

thus you should train

so i will not cling to the sixth sense

basis and my consciousness

will not be dependent upon them that's a

very interesting statement because as we

understand dependent origination we know

that consciousness gives rise

to nama rupa nama rupa gives rise to the

sixth sense basis

sixth sense basis give rise to contact

but what is contact

the i

meets with the form

and dependent on these there is i

consciousness

and three constitute eye contact

likewise with the ear

the sound and the ear make

contact

and dependent upon them there is your

consciousness

and the three of them make up

your contact

likewise with the nose and odors

tongue and tastes

body intangibles mind and mind objects

they make contact the joining of those

two give rise to that particular sensory

consciousness

and those three constitute that

particular kind of contact

so how can you have a consciousness

that is not dependent

upon the sixth sense faces or contact

itself

so what is he saying here

first he's saying i will not cling

to the sixth sense basis

in other words i will not identify

with the sixth sense spaces

my consciousness what is consciousness

here translated from vinyana

and what is another element of

consciousness attention

i will not put my attention on

these particular sensations

i will not put my attention

on that particular sixth sense space or

on that particular sense base rather

because if we understand mentality we

know mentality is made up of contact

feeling perception intention and

attention

so the faculty of contact allows us to

experience the link of contact the

faculty of feeling allows us to

experience the process of feeling

the faculty of perception allows us to

perceive

the faculty of intention allows

formations to arise

because wherever you incline your

formations will go there

now attention

that is mana sikara

literally means to take to heart

something

manisikar to put your mind onto

something

and so when you have attention

that's where consciousness flows

so what is he saying here he's saying

i'm not going to put my attention

i'm not going to identify with the sixth

sense basis and i'm not going to put my

attention on the sixth sense basis

householder you should train thus

i will not cling to forms i will not

cling to sounds i will not cling to

odors i will not cling to flavors i will

not cling to tangibles i will not cling

to mind objects and my consciousness

will not be dependent

on forms

dependent on sounds

dependent on orders dependent on flavors

dependent on tangibles and dependent on

mind objects

thus you should train

so now my attention is not going to pay

attention to the form

or to

the sound

or to

the taste or to the smell

or to the feeling on the body the touch

or to the mind objects themselves

so where is your attention going to be

that's the question here my attention is

not going to be in the eyes

it's not going to be in the ears it's

not going to be on the nose it's not

going to be on the tongue it's not going

to be on the body it's not going to be

outside

with the external sixth sense spaces

it's not going to be on forms it's not

going to be

on

sounds or odors or tastes or tangibles

or mind objects so where is it going to

be

householder you should train thus

i will not cling to eye consciousness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on eye consciousness

i will not cling to your consciousness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on your consciousness

i will not cling to nose consciousness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on nose consciousness i will

not cling to tongue consciousness and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

tongue consciousness

i will not cling to body consciousness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on body consciousness i will

not cling to mind consciousness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on mind consciousness

now that's interesting

so my consciousness will not be

dependent upon these sense-based

consciousnesses

so there is the i itself

there is the form

and there is the eye consciousness like

we said so the attention is not going to

be on the eye itself it's not going to

be on the

the form it's not going to be on the

attention to the feeling either it's not

going to be on the attention to the

consciousness tied to that feeling

it's not going to be tied to any of that

so in order in other words

is leading anata pindaka

to somewhere but what he's leading him

to we will see he's saying

don't put your attention on the eye

don't put your attention on the form

don't put your attention on eye

consciousness don't put your attention

on the ear don't put your attention on

the sound don't put your attention on

the sound consciousness don't put your

attention on

the nose don't put your attention on the

order don't put your attention on nose

consciousness don't put your attention

on the tongue don't put your attention

on the taste don't put your attention on

tongue consciousness don't put your

attention on the body don't put your

attention on the tangibles don't put

your attention on body consciousness

don't put your attention on mind

don't put your attention on

mind objects and to put your attention

on mind consciousness

so what is what are the sensory

consciousnesses just being aware of that

don't direct your attention there either

how do you not direct your attention to

that

sex art

your attention is on the i six are that

your attention is on the form six are

that your attention is on the

consciousness of it six are that

let go of landing your attention on any

of these things

householder

you should train thus i will not cling

to eye contact and my consciousness will

not be dependent on eye contact

i will not cling to your contact and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

ear contact i will not cling to nose

contact and my consciousness will not be

dependent on nose contact i will not

cling to tongue contact and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

tongue contact i will not cling to body

contact and my consciousness will not be

dependent on body contact i will not

cling to mind contact and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

mind contact

thus you should train

now he's talking about contact

so what is contact the joining of the

two itself that experience itself of

contact

when the light hits

bounces off of the tree and hits

the retina that's the contact right

there

don't pay attention to that how do you

sense contact how are you able to

perceive contact

at infinite consciousness

what's happening at infinite

consciousness

you're seeing the arising and passing

away of eye consciousness or your

consciousness or knows consciousness or

tongue consciousness how do you perceive

these things

you see the arising and passing away of

the flickering right

sometimes you'll see the flickering of

lights or sometimes you'll see a ringlet

of lights

or sometimes you'll just see a blank

white screen and then ringlets and other

things that come up sometimes you'll

hear the flickering

or sometimes you'll pay attention to

the nerve endings in your ear

or sometimes you pay attention to

the nose you might smell phantom odors

you might taste phantom tastes

you might feel an electricity going out

through your body you might feel

vibrations

all of these are part of mind contact

because it's happening internally

everything

runs its course through mind eventually

so when you're seeing infinite

consciousness what you're seeing

actually is the arising and passing away

of sensory contacts

so when you come to that what do you do

don't pay attention to that

don't get your mind

uh enamored by that

understand it to be a process

stay with your object of meditation

so if you get

intrigued by the arising and passing

away of eye consciousness or your

consciousness you see the flickering you

hear the clicking you smell phantom

smells you taste phantom

tastes or you have vibrations in the

body you have heat in the body

or whatever it might be or you see your

thoughts and they start to slow down

or you might hear something in the

distance and it starts to slow down

you hear every other word or every other

sound

or even when you're just walking around

suddenly everything slows down and you

start to see the frames individual

frames of

reality you know people move like that

like as if they're under strobe light

you know so all of these things this is

seeing contact as it arises

and passes away this is infinite

consciousness

but don't get your attention there don't

let your attention

be attracted by that if you see that

what do you do

6r

let that go come back to your object of

meditation

householder you should train thus i will

not cling to feeling born of eye contact

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on feeling

born of eye contact

i will not cling to feeling born of your

contact and my consciousness will not be

dependent

on the feeling born of your contact i

will not cling to feeling born of nose

contact and my consciousness will not be

dependent

on the feeling born of nose contact

i will not cling to feeling born of

tongue contact and my consciousness will

not be dependent on the feeling born of

tongue contact

i will not cling to feeling born of body

contact

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on feeling born of body

contact

i will not cling to feeling born of mind

contact and my consciousness will not be

dependent on feeling

born of mind contact

thus you should train so now we're

talking about feeling itself

so now your attention is not on the eye

your attention is not on the form your

attention is not on the awareness of any

of the sixth sense spaces

your attention is not in the contact

your attention is not even in the

hearing or the seeing

remember in the seeing there is only the

scene

in the hearing there is only the hearing

in the tasting there is only the tasting

in the touching there's only the

touching the smelling there's only the

smelling in the thinking there's only

the thinking

your attention should not even go there

at this point this is what sorry put

this saying to anata pindaka who was

going through the dying process

he's telling him to let go of these

different processes

he's walking him through dependent

origination and saying don't put your

attention on that

don't allow your attention to get pulled

in that direction

so when there is just the seeing when

there's just a hearing

the attention that's there is pure

meaning there is no sense of self there

there's no sense of self superimposed on

that remember when the buddha tells

baha'i

in the hearing there is only the herd

and so on

but when there is no you before that and

there is no you after that and there is

no you in that

there is the cessation of suffering

so don't put your attention there

householder

you should train thus

i will not cling to the earth element i

will not cling to the i will not cling

to the earth element and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the earth element

i will not cling to the water element

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the water element

i will not cling to the fire element and

my consciousness will not be dependent

on the fire element i will not cling to

the air element and my consciousness

will not be dependent on the air element

i will not cling to the space element

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the space element i will

not cling to the consciousness element

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the consciousness element

thus you should train

so now the body is made up of the four

great

states of matter or elements

you have the earth element

you have the air element you have the

fire element you have the water element

these constitute what what is the earth

element

the solidity of the body

my attention will not go there

what is the water element

it's the liquid of the body the blood

and so on all the different liquid

aspects

my attention will not go there

what about the air element

the gas in the body my attention will

not go there

what about the fire element the heat of

the body the metabolism of the body the

temperature of the body

my my

attention will not go there

what about the space element

those are the those are the different

spaces in between different apertures of

the body my attention will not go there

what about the consciousness element

what is the consciousness of my

consciousness will not be dependent on

is related to the mind itself

because you have the body and then the

mind that allows you to experience

things

my attention will not be there either

my attention will not be on this

awareness

or the awareness of

that particular element

my attention will not be on attention

itself

in other words i let go of trying to

need i let go of the need to try to pay

attention to something

oftentimes when you're meditating what

happens

i have to stay on my object of

meditation

right and this creates the sense of i am

the one who's paying attention

but if you have this

awareness

this metacognitive awareness

which is watching which is mind watching

mind

not mind becoming mind

just mind watching

any stream of thoughts that are coming

on or just like a stream

when you're out by the stream are you

trying to capture the water of the

stream or you're just watching the

stream go by

when you see the birds in the air and

the clouds in the air are you trying to

grasp on to the clouds and the birds are

you just watching them go by

when you watch the traffic on the road

you go in the middle of the traffic and

try to stop a car

or do you just watch the traffic go on

by

the same way the stream of consciousness

the thoughts

just let them go on by

remember in the very first time i said

when you have your object in meditation

and if there are thoughts in the

background

no problem you don't need to pay

attention to that you don't need to six

r that it's only when your attention

goes to that

that you 6r and come back to your object

you're distracted when you're never on

your object that's it your attention is

pulled away from your object

and now it's thinking about something

else so the stream is one thing but

getting caught up in the stream is the

other

so when you're in quiet mind the

formations come up

things come up

do you get upset by that or do you just

say okay this is just a process of the

mind

let it continue

your goal your your

your whole process there is to do

nothing

don't do anything

let mind rest in mind

everything else will take care of itself

just trust in the mind's ability to

relax

when you get pulled in the direction of

something then you relax it soften it

come back to the mind

come back to paying attention to mine

that's it

so don't pay attention to the streams of

consciousness

then you're going to identify the

clinging is the identifying the

consciousness becoming dependent upon it

is paying attention to it

householder you should train thus

i will not cling to material form and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

consciousness

i will not cling to feeling and my

consciousness will not be dependent

sorry i will not cling to material form

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on material form

i will not cling to feeling and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

feeling i will not cling to perception

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on perception i will not cling

to formations my consciousness will not

be dependent on formations

i will not cling to consciousness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on consciousness

thus you should train

so i will not cling to material form

what does that mean

i will not identify with the body the

body is just the body the body is just

made up of the states of matter

this is not my body sometimes we say

this is my body or sometimes we say i

have a body or sometimes we say

this is me all of that is clinging to

body

when we have this idea in ourselves

this

self-identification with the body don't

cling on that

now when we're talking about the paying

attention part this is the consciousness

not dependent upon

the body

meaning it's not paying attention to the

body

why is that why is he saying that my

consciousness will not be dependent upon

these things

because he's saying the attention should

not go anywhere why

because attention is that which fuels

what it sees

if your attention is on loving kindness

it continues to fuel the loving-kindness

if your attention is on the craving it

will continue to fuel that craving

if your attention is on a hindrance it

will continue to fuel that hindrance

that's why when we say six hours

recognize the hindrance release your

attention from that hindrance

relax the mind and body

that release part releasing your

attention from that

because you're if you put your attention

there you're fueling that

so any kind of suffering

the origin of that is said to be craving

but that kind of craving is attention

whenever your attention moves from

something

there can be craving there

if your mind is staying with its object

it is fueling the energy of that object

and meditation but if it gets

distracted there is craving present in

the form of

any of the five hindrances

sensual craving

aversion

restlessness slot intorpor doubt

so now your attention is on the doubt

thinking about this or that am i in a

wholesome state or unwholesome state is

this right or is that right what am i

doing is that correct i don't know if

this is right

maybe i'm trying too hard maybe i'm not

trying to enough enough

so all of these kinds of thoughts now

your attention is on there

and you're just continuing to feed all

of that

right and then that gives you rise to

further restlessness

now what about slot and torpor

slot intorpor is a feeling the mind

feels dull your mind is now there

instead of with its object and it gives

rise to further dullness

so now it's also because your attention

is very loose

so if you tighten up your attention a

little bit

instead of defocusing so much keep your

attention

on the object come back to the object by

using the six r's

then the slot and top two goes goes away

what about sensual craving

you know you

you're meditating and maybe you're

meditating at home and somebody's in the

kitchen making freshly baked cookies

and now you smell those cookies

and then you're thinking oh yeah right

after lunch i'm gonna have a couple of

those cookies

and i hope i can save them for later

i wonder what kind of cookies they are

they smell like chocolate chip but maybe

they might they might be macadamia i

don't know

you know all of these thoughts happen

right so now your attention is on all of

these thoughts

and it's fueling further those thoughts

so long as your attention is there it's

like a spotlight

the attention is the spotlight on where

wherever it is and it continues to shed

light on that

but if you recognize that release your

attention from that

revert the spotlight away from that

relax the tightness and tension come

back to the smile and put your spotlight

back

on your object and meditation

then you have let go of that sensual

craving or aversion

whatever that might be

so the feeling is also a hindrance i

will not identify with that hindrance

i will not identify with this experience

somebody is shouting at you don't

identify with that experience

you

you know it's feeling cold outside now

you feel irritated by that don't

identify with that experience

whatever the experience is it is just an

experience

so don't cling to the feeling

that means don't identify with the

feeling

don't pay attention to that don't you

don't let your attention go there

perception you think back to your

memories those are also feelings but

they're also perception

you think back with nostalgia oh those

were the days i wonder how it was back

then and i wish it was like this again

and

you know all of these kinds of thoughts

you see uh

you know you see a green tree and it's a

particular type of tree and now you

you're in that stream of consciousness

with that perception

so if you

recognize that and let go of that

using the six r's

then your attention is no longer there

so don't cling to the perception either

don't cling to the memories don't cling

to the labeling

what is name what is your name

when you say my name is so and so or

this is my name what is that

that's a perception

you identify with that name

you identify with this is me this is who

i am

or a title

this is me this is who i am

how can they talk to me this way i am

you know this boss of so-and-so or the

ceo of so-and-so or i am this type of

person

these are all kinds of perceptions of

self

don't cling to that idea

let go of that don't put your attention

on that

when you see that your mind is

identifying with these kinds of

names and titles and things like that

let go of that

six are that

don't put your attention on that

and then when he talks about formations

your intentions your choices

fine you made a terrible choice in the

past

why do you why are you beating yourself

up for it now

why eat why let your guilt eat you up

like this

maybe you made great choices why be

proud of those choices they were just

choices that you made in the past

why identify with them why cling to them

formations

are related to choices remember we said

there is

mental formations verbal formations

bodily formations

but it's through the inclination through

the chaitanya

through the intention that these

formations run through

okay i made certain choices

fine it was a terrible choice

but don't let your guilt eat you up

don't pay attention to that

forgive yourself for that

be kind to yourself

be happy

be accepting

so you notice that your mind is getting

eaten up by guilt

it's thinking about this or that

and so that was an intention you made

that was a choice you made you're

dealing with it now here in the present

moment

as guilt

what is guilt guilt is a karmic effect

of a choice that you made

why add to that guilt by having further

guilt let go of it

you're experiencing the effect of your

choices

and you're seeing that as a karmic

fruition

in the form of that guilt

so what do you do understand it is there

and let go of it and forgive yourself

come back to a wholesome state of mind

so don't put your attention on the

choices you've made or on the choices

you're going to make

that leads to indecision right

you become indecisive about something

use your intuition

oh if i do it this way this might happen

but if i do it that way this might

happen

and then you get into this whole

analysis paralysis

if i don't do it that way maybe i should

do it that way and you have these all

these flow charts going on in your mind

about what you should do or what you

shouldn't do

but use your intuition let go of all six

are all of that

and then use your intuition and make a

choice

but make the choice not dependent upon

fear not dependent upon anxiety not

dependent upon oh it happened that way

so i shouldn't do it again

how do you know it's going to happen

again the same way

just make the decision based on your

intuition

how do you use your intuition

you ask the mind this question what

should be done here

and then wait

don't analyze

don't reflect don't contemplate just

wait for the answer

maybe the answer might come right away

or the answer might come after a few

days but it will come when you least

expect it just like nibana comes when

you least expect it the intuitive

experience will come when you least

expect it

you've asked the mind the question it's

doing whatever it's doing and then it'll

bring up an answer

and it'll become in the form of a eureka

moment oh that's what i should be doing

then you make the choice based on that

this is the spontaneous intention speech

and action that arises when you live

from the eightfold path

so don't get bogged down by your

intentions which you made in the past or

intentions you intend for the future

let your attention not rest on that

so what does it rest on we'll get to

that

i will not cling to consciousness and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

consciousness again

don't cling

to the attention itself

don't cling to the idea that i have to

meditate in this way i have to be

collected in this way my attention has

to be super super sharp in this way

don't identify with that process

whatever you're paying attention to

don't identify with that process

whether it's writing an email whether

it's walking whether it's meditating

there is just meditating going on

and don't let your attention become

bogged down by it

your attention is there and that's more

than enough

don't think overthink it okay does my

attention need to be more here or more

there

just let it just let it be there

don't let your attention become locked

down by its own attention

don't try to pay attention to your

attention

just pay attention

that's it

a lot of times people will do that when

they're meditating am i paying attention

i wonder if i'm paying attention right

now

what do you think are you paying

attention if you're going to think if

you're paying attention or not

actually you're paying attention to that

whole thought process of whether you're

paying attention or not

so what do you do when that happens

6r

householder you should train thus

i will not cling

to the base of infinite space and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the base of infinite space

i will not cling to the base of infinite

consciousness and my consciousness will

not be dependent

on the base of infinite consciousness

i will not cling to the base of

nothingness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the base of nothingness

i will not cling to the base of neither

perception or non-perception and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the base of neither perception or

non-perception

thus you should train

so when you go through these formless

attainments

infinite space infinite consciousness

nothingness neither perception or

non-perception what's going on what is

the object there

is the object the infinite space or

infinite consciousness

or nothingness

or neither perception or non-perception

or is the object

the compassion

the joy the equanimity the mind itself

so notice if your mind gets distracted

by the expansiveness of space and don't

cling to that

one way you cling to it is i'm not there

yet and i want to be there and what do

you do you push out

the feeling of loving kindness you push

out the feeling of compassion

that's not what you have to do

remember what i said your attention

fuels whatever it is paying attention to

so if you're sending out loving kindness

in this direction or in that direction

or whatever direction it is

you're just paying attention in that

direction

your attention will bring up the loving

kindness and it will flow

think of the object like a sail

and your attention as the wind

and it's just moving

the feeling of loving kindness

you're not moving it you're not pushing

it it's just moving

in each of the directions and in all

directions

then don't cling to the expansion itself

oh i don't know how expanded my mind is

maybe it's just up until here

or maybe it's up until here or maybe

it's just up until

you know somewhere but

it doesn't matter whether it's expanded

here or it's expanded out towards the

outer limits of the galaxy doesn't

matter

that's just an experience

that's just a background of your mind

so don't cling to the jhanas themselves

don't cling to the jhana factors

themselves don't pay attention to that

the jhana factors and these experiences

of the formless attainments they're just

the ambience

of what's going on

if you pay attention to the ambience

right you're having a conversation with

a person and there's ambient noise

if the ambient noise grows larger and

your attention goes there

you're no longer paying attention to the

person that you're talking to or they're

talking to you

that is the object of meditation so pay

attention to the object let your

attention rest on the object everything

else is just ambient noise and let it be

there whatever it is it doesn't matter

infinite space infinite consciousness

nothingness neither perception or

non-perception it's just ambient noise

don't let your attention get bogged down

by that

and if it does

6r

householder you should train thus i will

not cling to this world

and my consciousness

will not be dependent on this world

i will not cling to the world beyond

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the world beyond

thus you should train

so now he's leading anatapindika away

from all of these things what is he

talking about he's leading anatapindika

towards something but what is that

towards something

not this world or the world beyond

this world what is this world that we

experience

this world is made up of the sixth sense

spaces and their experiences

my attention will not be there

and what is the world beyond there's two

ways of understanding it

an existence in the future

or an existence somewhere else after

this existence

or

an existence in a jhana realm meaning

being in jhana being in a super mundane

state

my consciousness will not depend on

those things

i won't look forward to an existence

i won't look forward

to a future existence

whether it's here in this life or

another life

my attention will not be there at all

and then he's saying

householder

you should train thus i will not cling

to what is seen

heard sensed cognized encountered

sought after and examined by the mind

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on that

remember whenever he says i will not

cling to

means i will not identify with it i will

not say this is me this is mine this i

am

so i will not identify with what is seen

with what is heard

with what is sensed through the other

sixth sense spaces

with what is cognized with what is

understood

with what is encountered

with whatever is experienced sought

after

and examined by the mind

meaning even when your mind is paying

attention

when you have the investigation of

states knowing that it is distracted

you don't get caught up in that my mind

does not get caught up in that

my attention doesn't get rooted in that

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on me my attention will not be

in any of these things

thus you should train

so

there are there is another suta

just so you understand the context of

what sariputta is leading anata pindaka

two words

there is an another suta where

ananda goes to sariputta and says

is there a perception

or is there a cognizing

of

a state

which is

not on the sensed which is not on the

felt which is not on perception which is

not on the five aggregates which is not

in the four janas which are not in the

formless

realms which are not in the brahmalokas

which are not on the deva lokas which

are not in this world or beyond

and sariputta says yes there is

and ananda asks him what is that

and he says bhava

the cessation of existence

that is what i perceive in every moment

the cessation of existence

what does he mean by that he's talking

about nibana

so he's a sneaky monk

sorry putra is taking anathapinika away

from all of the conditioned states

and leading him to the unconditioned

cessation of existence

and arhat always sees the cessation of

existence

because whatever arises and passes away

they always tend towards the cessation

of it

the trouble is when people's minds look

at what is arising

and they get caught up in that

in that whole stream they get caught up

in the stream

in that traffic they get they get caught

up in the middle of that traffic

instead of just seeing it and letting it

cease

and tending to the cessation of that

so bhava nirodo doesn't mean the

cessation of all existence bhava nirodo

just means

seeing cessation right here and now

the cessation of what cessation of

suffering

meaning the mind doesn't stick to

anything

the mind doesn't identify with anything

the mind doesn't cling to anything

it doesn't land anywhere

it just is

when this was said the householder

anathepindaka wept and shed tears

then the venerable ananda asked him are

you foundering householder are you

sinking

so he ananda thinks that maybe

anathependika might be in pain and he's

ready to go very soon

i am not foundering venerable ananda i

am not sinking but although i have

waited long waited upon the teacher

meaning i have served the teacher and

biku is worthy of esteem

never before i have ever never before

have i heard

such a talk on the dhamma

this is interesting what sariputta says

he says

such talk on the dhamma householder is

not given to lay people clothed in white

such talk on the dhamma is given to

those who have gone

forth so what sariputta is saying that

usually the monastics are the ones who

are the audience of the buddha so such

talk is given to them

it's not talking about some kind of

secret teaching

there's no secret esoteric esoteric

teaching here

right because you have to understand the

context behind everything that the

buddha says or the arahat say

they're speaking and teaching

their fellow monastics

99 of the time

rest of the time they're talking to lay

people and usually it's about

keeping precepts and sometimes going

into jhana and

also talking about you know how to lead

a good household life how to generate

generosity

how to lead a life filled with happiness

that lay kind of happiness

in some suitables the buddha talks about

how to be a good store manager

you know

so it depends on his audience depends on

the context

well then venerable sariputta let such

talk on the dhamma be given to lay

people clothed in white

there are clansmen with little dust in

their eyes who are wasting away through

not hearing such talk on the dhamma

there will be those who will understand

the dhamma

then after giving the householder anata

pindaka's

this advice

the venerable sariputta and the venable

ananda rose from their seats and

departed

soon after they had left the householder

anata pindika died and reappeared in the

tusita heaven

so tusita is the place where

the future buddha is

the present bodhisattva that is the

maitreya buddha

he's over there chilling

right

and all the people who are very uh

very devoted to the buddha

meaning who have been with the buddha

and been very devoted

as lay followers mostly

end up into sita heaven when there is

this very big devotion for the dharma

and the buddha not necessarily that you

train your mind but you just have ex

very large amounts of

faith in the buddha dhamma and sangha

they have a tendency to get to to see

the heaven because that's where the

future buddha is

it's a nice place to be

nothing wrong with it but there's better

then when the night was well advanced

anata pindaka now a young god of

beautiful appearance

went to the blessed one illuminating the

whole of jetta's grove

after paying homage to the blessed one

he stood at one side and addressed the

blessed one in stanzas

o blessed is this yeta's grove dwelt in

by the sagely sangha wherein resides the

king of dhamma the fount of all my

happiness

by action knowledge and dhamma

by virtue

and noble way of life

by these are mortals purified not by

lineage or wealth that's such an

important statement

and this is what these are the words

that you should go with when you leave

the retreat

by action knowledge and dhamma

by virtue and noble way of life

by these

are beings purified

not by lineage and by wealth or by

wealth

so by action what does that mean by

action

by your efforts

so your karma

so remember karma is intentioned by your

intentions

by knowledge studying the suthas or the

dhamma understanding dependent

origination

by virtue and noble way of life by

virtue keeping the precepts

keep your precepts when you leave

the more you do this the clearer your

mind will become

and the easier it is for you to follow

the noble way of life the noble way of

life being the noble eightfold path

the precepts protects you

keeping the precepts

keeps your mind calm and collected

be generous

and when i say be generous doesn't mean

be generous just with your

with your money be generous with your

time

be generous through compa through

compassion compassionate listening

oftentimes people want to talk to you

and just listen to them

just listen without an agenda

right just listen

and don't have anything formulating in

your mind to try to come up with

something just listen for the sake of

listening to them

that's a form of compassion

be generous in that manner be generous

with your time

be generous with your efforts

be generous with your smile

smile all the time

smile and this and the world will smile

back at you

there was this one individual who was

there at the netherlands retreat

and he was a very

hard-pressed

very

very rigid

practitioner

of vipassana and mahasi style

you know practice

and he was very technical about the

abhidharma he talked about the different

types of mental factors

and this abhidharma and that abhidharma

and so on

and as he was doing the retreat over a

couple of days he was doing the loving

kindness he was smiling more and he

realized he was taking a walk and he was

looking at the sunrise and looking at

the glorious mountains and the hills and

he realized oh wow

how beautiful is that

and for the first time he experienced

all this joy

all of this happiness

and then he he was sending he sent an

email to me later and he said you know i

was i was in milan at the at the train

station and i was walking around and i

realized this woman was smiling at me

and i looked at her and i was i wanted

to smile back at her but i realized i

was already smiling at him

so you smile to such a level that you're

just smiling all the time be generous

with your smile

so this is how

you know by virtue

by action knowledge in dhamma by virtue

and noble way of life by these are

beings purified not by lineage or wealth

therefore a wise person who sees what

truly leads to his own good

should investigate the dhamma and purify

himself with it

a wise person one who understands

dependent origination

one who pays attention to contact

feeling and perception

notices when craving arises and lets go

of that craving purify his mind through

that so that's how you investigate the

dhamma what truly leads to his own good

is investigating the dharma

and purifies himself with it

sariputta has reached the peak in virtue

peace and wisdom's ways

meaning he has reached the peak in selah

and keeping the precepts

reached the peak in peace

in experiencing all of the different

genres samadhi

and reach the peak in wisdom has

understood dependent origination through

and through

any beku who has gone beyond at best can

only equal him

that is what the young god anatapindika

said

and the teacher approved

then the young god anata pindaka

thinking the teacher has approved of me

paid homage to the blessed one and

keeping him on his right he vanished at

once

when the night had ended the blessed one

addressed the bheku's thus

last night when the night was well

advanced there came to me a certain

young god of beautiful appearance who

illuminated the whole of jetta's grove

after paying homage to me he stood at

one side and addressed me in stands as

thus

and that was

again all blessed is this jetta's grove

dwelt in by the sagely sangha wherein

resides the king of dhamma

the fount of all my happiness

by action knowledge and dhamma by virtue

and noble way of life

by these are mortals purified not by

lineage or wealth

therefore a wise person who sees what

truly leads to his own good should

investigate the dhamma and purify

himself with it

sariputta has reached the peak in

virtual peace and wisdom's ways

any beku who has gone beyond at best can

only equal him

that is what the young god said

then the young god thinking the teacher

has approved of me paid homage to me and

keeping me on his right he vanished at

once

when this was said the venerable ananda

said to the blessed one

surely venerable sir

that young god must have been

anathapindica

for the householder anata pindika had

perfect confidence in the venerable sari

putta

good good ananda as far as reasoning

goes you have drawn the right conclusion

that young god was anata pindaka no one

else

that is what the blessed one said the

venerable ananda was satisfied

and delighted in the blessed one's words

[Music]

okay there are four noble truths

of suffering

[Music]

me

[Music]

so

today is the final day

of the retreat

and so i thought i would uh read a

special suta today

in honor of

rex who passed

this is majiminikaya 143 anata pindika

vada suta the advice to anatapindika

thus if i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living at savathi in

jettas grove

anatapindika's park

now on that occasion the householder

anata pindaka was afflicted suffering

and gravely ill

then he addressed a certain man thus

come good man go to the blessed one

pay homage in my name with your head at

his feet and say

venerable sir the householder

anathepindaka is afflicted

suffering and gravely ill

he pays homage to his head at the

blessed one's feet

homage with his head at the blessed

one's feet

then go to the venerable sariputta

in my name and with your head at his

feet and say

venerable sir the householder

anathepindaka is afflicted suffering and

gravely ill

he pays homage with his head at the

venerable sariputta's feet

then say it would be good venerable sir

if the venerable sariputta

would come to the residence of the

householder anata pindaka out of

compassion

anata pindika that was not his

real name actually it was a name given

because of his generosity

anata pindika means one who gives

dhana

one who gives

alms to the unprotected

anath anatha

means people who have no refuge

and pindika one who provides

alms to those people

his real name his birth name was sulata

and he was a

millionaire he was a very very wealthy

man

and

one day he had an opportunity to listen

to the buddha

and he got inspired by the buddha's

words and became a sodapana

so he decided that he wanted to

buy some land in order to make a

monastery for the buddha

so there was a wonderful little grove

that was there and it wasn't little but

it was pretty

expensive

and this grove was known as jethouse

grove that's why it says

salvati in jetta's grove anatapindicus

park

so jetta

was the son of king prasanjit

and jatha was a prince who had this land

and he was actually somebody who

king prasanji was somebody who didn't

actually like the buddha initially

and the reason is because when the

buddha was a prince

in his own right before he became a

buddha

was a

was part of the sakya clan which were

rivals

of king pasana jeet's people

and

so that

enmity that rivalry was still ongoing

even after the buddha became the buddha

of course the buddha didn't care but

basanjit was

very much unhappy with him

and by extension so was jetta so jetta

said okay i'll give you this land

under one condition

if you can take

if you can fill

this entire land if you can this whole

piece of land

if you can fill it up with gold coins

from one end to the other

in all directions

i'll give you the land

so anatomica said sure i'll do that

and he got his servants to bring up you

know big loads of gold coins

and they

basically threw them all on the ground

and covered the entire ground

with that

and when jetta saw that he said wow

there is something to the buddha if this

man is so committed to buying this piece

of land

so he said okay

the land is yours

and he took the money

all of that gold coin

and then he used that to create a

barrier for

yata's growth

and then anata pindaka used more of his

money more of his wealth to build this

wonderful

monastery and i think it's still there

in india you can still go and see it

of course it's not as

probably as prominent as it was before

but you could still see the original

place that the buddha would go and sit

and meditate and

you know the the

uh

the suganda

uh kuti the the perfume chamber as it

was called

and uh

so anathepindaka was the chief patron of

the buddha so he was a big supporter of

the buddha and he made sure that

everybody was well fed and well

supported and so on

yes sir the man replied and he went to

the blessed one and after paying homage

to the blessed one

he sat down at one side and delivered

his message

then he went to the venerable sariputta

and after paying homage to the venerable

sariputta he delivered his message

saying

it would be good venerable sir if the

venerable sorry would come to the

residence of the householder anata

pindika out of compassion

the venerable sorry put that consented

in silence

then the venerable sari put that rest

and taking his bowl and outer robe went

to the residence of the householder

anata pindaka with the venerable ananda

as his attendant

having gone there he sat down on a seat

made ready and said to the householder

another pinnacle

i hope you are getting well householder

i hope you are comfortable

i hope your painful feelings are

subsiding and not increasing

and that they're subsiding not their

increase is apparent

venerable sariputta i am not getting

well

i am not comfortable

my painful feelings are increasing not

subsiding

their increase and not their subsiding

is apparent

just as if a strong man was splitting my

head open with a sharp sword

so too

will violent winds run through my head

cut through my head

i am not getting well

just as if a strong man were tightening

a tough leather strap around my head as

a headband

so too there are violent pains in my

head

i wonder if he was trying too hard while

meditating

i am not getting well

just as if a skilled butcher or as

apprentice were to carve up an ox's

belly with a sharp butcher's knife

so too violent winds are carving up my

belly i am not getting

well just as if two strong men were to

seize a weaker men by men by both arms

and roast him over a pit of hot coals

so too there is a violent burning in my

body

i am not getting well i am not

comfortable my painful feelings are

increasing not subsiding

their increase and not their subsiding

is apparent

so he's dying he is ready to go

his painful feelings and all of the

different

conditions he has

suggests that he is not doing well

and so here is what sariputta says

then householder you should train thus

i will not cling to the eye and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the eye

so i will not cling to the eye

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the eye

i will not cling to the ear and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the ear i will not cling to the nose and

my consciousness will not be dependent

on the nose

i will not cling to the tongue and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the tongue

i will not cling to the body

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the body

i will not cling to the mind and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the mind

thus you should train

so i will not cling to the sixth sense

basis and my consciousness

will not be dependent upon them that's a

very interesting statement because as we

understand dependent origination we know

that consciousness gives rise

to nama rupa nama rupa gives rise to the

sixth sense basis

sixth sense basis give rise to contact

but what is contact

the i

meets with the form

and dependent on these there is i

consciousness

and three constitute eye contact

likewise with the ear

the sound and the ear make

contact

and dependent upon them there is your

consciousness

and the three of them make up

your contact

likewise with the nose and odors

tongue and tastes

body intangibles mind and mind objects

they make contact the joining of those

two give rise to that particular sensory

consciousness

and those three constitute that

particular kind of contact

so how can you have a consciousness

that is not dependent

upon the sixth sense faces or contact

itself

so what is he saying here

first he's saying i will not cling

to the sixth sense basis

in other words i will not identify

with the sixth sense spaces

my consciousness what is consciousness

here translated from vinyana

and what is another element of

consciousness attention

i will not put my attention on

these particular sensations

i will not put my attention

on that particular sixth sense space or

on that particular sense base rather

because if we understand mentality we

know mentality is made up of contact

feeling perception intention and

attention

so the faculty of contact allows us to

experience the link of contact the

faculty of feeling allows us to

experience the process of feeling

the faculty of perception allows us to

perceive

the faculty of intention allows

formations to arise

because wherever you incline your

formations will go there

now attention

that is mana sikara

literally means to take to heart

something

manisikar to put your mind onto

something

and so when you have attention

that's where consciousness flows

so what is he saying here he's saying

i'm not going to put my attention

i'm not going to identify with the sixth

sense basis and i'm not going to put my

attention on the sixth sense basis

householder you should train thus

i will not cling to forms i will not

cling to sounds i will not cling to

odors i will not cling to flavors i will

not cling to tangibles i will not cling

to mind objects and my consciousness

will not be dependent

on forms

dependent on sounds

dependent on orders dependent on flavors

dependent on tangibles and dependent on

mind objects

thus you should train

so now my attention is not going to pay

attention to the form

or to

the sound

or to

the taste or to the smell

or to the feeling on the body the touch

or to the mind objects themselves

so where is your attention going to be

that's the question here my attention is

not going to be in the eyes

it's not going to be in the ears it's

not going to be on the nose it's not

going to be on the tongue it's not going

to be on the body it's not going to be

outside

with the external sixth sense spaces

it's not going to be on forms it's not

going to be

on

sounds or odors or tastes or tangibles

or mind objects so where is it going to

be

householder you should train thus

i will not cling to eye consciousness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on eye consciousness

i will not cling to your consciousness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on your consciousness

i will not cling to nose consciousness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on nose consciousness i will

not cling to tongue consciousness and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

tongue consciousness

i will not cling to body consciousness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on body consciousness i will

not cling to mind consciousness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on mind consciousness

now that's interesting

so my consciousness will not be

dependent upon these sense-based

consciousnesses

so there is the i itself

there is the form

and there is the eye consciousness like

we said so the attention is not going to

be on the eye itself it's not going to

be on the

the form it's not going to be on the

attention to the feeling either it's not

going to be on the attention to the

consciousness tied to that feeling

it's not going to be tied to any of that

so in order in other words

is leading anata pindaka

to somewhere but what he's leading him

to we will see he's saying

don't put your attention on the eye

don't put your attention on the form

don't put your attention on eye

consciousness don't put your attention

on the ear don't put your attention on

the sound don't put your attention on

the sound consciousness don't put your

attention on

the nose don't put your attention on the

order don't put your attention on nose

consciousness don't put your attention

on the tongue don't put your attention

on the taste don't put your attention on

tongue consciousness don't put your

attention on the body don't put your

attention on the tangibles don't put

your attention on body consciousness

don't put your attention on mind

don't put your attention on

mind objects and to put your attention

on mind consciousness

so what is what are the sensory

consciousnesses just being aware of that

don't direct your attention there either

how do you not direct your attention to

that

sex art

your attention is on the i six are that

your attention is on the form six are

that your attention is on the

consciousness of it six are that

let go of landing your attention on any

of these things

householder

you should train thus i will not cling

to eye contact and my consciousness will

not be dependent on eye contact

i will not cling to your contact and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

ear contact i will not cling to nose

contact and my consciousness will not be

dependent on nose contact i will not

cling to tongue contact and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

tongue contact i will not cling to body

contact and my consciousness will not be

dependent on body contact i will not

cling to mind contact and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

mind contact

thus you should train

now he's talking about contact

so what is contact the joining of the

two itself that experience itself of

contact

when the light hits

bounces off of the tree and hits

the retina that's the contact right

there

don't pay attention to that how do you

sense contact how are you able to

perceive contact

at infinite consciousness

what's happening at infinite

consciousness

you're seeing the arising and passing

away of eye consciousness or your

consciousness or knows consciousness or

tongue consciousness how do you perceive

these things

you see the arising and passing away of

the flickering right

sometimes you'll see the flickering of

lights or sometimes you'll see a ringlet

of lights

or sometimes you'll just see a blank

white screen and then ringlets and other

things that come up sometimes you'll

hear the flickering

or sometimes you'll pay attention to

the nerve endings in your ear

or sometimes you pay attention to

the nose you might smell phantom odors

you might taste phantom tastes

you might feel an electricity going out

through your body you might feel

vibrations

all of these are part of mind contact

because it's happening internally

everything

runs its course through mind eventually

so when you're seeing infinite

consciousness what you're seeing

actually is the arising and passing away

of sensory contacts

so when you come to that what do you do

don't pay attention to that

don't get your mind

uh enamored by that

understand it to be a process

stay with your object of meditation

so if you get

intrigued by the arising and passing

away of eye consciousness or your

consciousness you see the flickering you

hear the clicking you smell phantom

smells you taste phantom

tastes or you have vibrations in the

body you have heat in the body

or whatever it might be or you see your

thoughts and they start to slow down

or you might hear something in the

distance and it starts to slow down

you hear every other word or every other

sound

or even when you're just walking around

suddenly everything slows down and you

start to see the frames individual

frames of

reality you know people move like that

like as if they're under strobe light

you know so all of these things this is

seeing contact as it arises

and passes away this is infinite

consciousness

but don't get your attention there don't

let your attention

be attracted by that if you see that

what do you do

6r

let that go come back to your object of

meditation

householder you should train thus i will

not cling to feeling born of eye contact

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on feeling

born of eye contact

i will not cling to feeling born of your

contact and my consciousness will not be

dependent

on the feeling born of your contact i

will not cling to feeling born of nose

contact and my consciousness will not be

dependent

on the feeling born of nose contact

i will not cling to feeling born of

tongue contact and my consciousness will

not be dependent on the feeling born of

tongue contact

i will not cling to feeling born of body

contact

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on feeling born of body

contact

i will not cling to feeling born of mind

contact and my consciousness will not be

dependent on feeling

born of mind contact

thus you should train so now we're

talking about feeling itself

so now your attention is not on the eye

your attention is not on the form your

attention is not on the awareness of any

of the sixth sense spaces

your attention is not in the contact

your attention is not even in the

hearing or the seeing

remember in the seeing there is only the

scene

in the hearing there is only the hearing

in the tasting there is only the tasting

in the touching there's only the

touching the smelling there's only the

smelling in the thinking there's only

the thinking

your attention should not even go there

at this point this is what sorry put

this saying to anata pindaka who was

going through the dying process

he's telling him to let go of these

different processes

he's walking him through dependent

origination and saying don't put your

attention on that

don't allow your attention to get pulled

in that direction

so when there is just the seeing when

there's just a hearing

the attention that's there is pure

meaning there is no sense of self there

there's no sense of self superimposed on

that remember when the buddha tells

baha'i

in the hearing there is only the herd

and so on

but when there is no you before that and

there is no you after that and there is

no you in that

there is the cessation of suffering

so don't put your attention there

householder

you should train thus

i will not cling to the earth element i

will not cling to the i will not cling

to the earth element and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the earth element

i will not cling to the water element

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the water element

i will not cling to the fire element and

my consciousness will not be dependent

on the fire element i will not cling to

the air element and my consciousness

will not be dependent on the air element

i will not cling to the space element

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the space element i will

not cling to the consciousness element

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the consciousness element

thus you should train

so now the body is made up of the four

great

states of matter or elements

you have the earth element

you have the air element you have the

fire element you have the water element

these constitute what what is the earth

element

the solidity of the body

my attention will not go there

what is the water element

it's the liquid of the body the blood

and so on all the different liquid

aspects

my attention will not go there

what about the air element

the gas in the body my attention will

not go there

what about the fire element the heat of

the body the metabolism of the body the

temperature of the body

my my

attention will not go there

what about the space element

those are the those are the different

spaces in between different apertures of

the body my attention will not go there

what about the consciousness element

what is the consciousness of my

consciousness will not be dependent on

is related to the mind itself

because you have the body and then the

mind that allows you to experience

things

my attention will not be there either

my attention will not be on this

awareness

or the awareness of

that particular element

my attention will not be on attention

itself

in other words i let go of trying to

need i let go of the need to try to pay

attention to something

oftentimes when you're meditating what

happens

i have to stay on my object of

meditation

right and this creates the sense of i am

the one who's paying attention

but if you have this

awareness

this metacognitive awareness

which is watching which is mind watching

mind

not mind becoming mind

just mind watching

any stream of thoughts that are coming

on or just like a stream

when you're out by the stream are you

trying to capture the water of the

stream or you're just watching the

stream go by

when you see the birds in the air and

the clouds in the air are you trying to

grasp on to the clouds and the birds are

you just watching them go by

when you watch the traffic on the road

you go in the middle of the traffic and

try to stop a car

or do you just watch the traffic go on

by

the same way the stream of consciousness

the thoughts

just let them go on by

remember in the very first time i said

when you have your object in meditation

and if there are thoughts in the

background

no problem you don't need to pay

attention to that you don't need to six

r that it's only when your attention

goes to that

that you 6r and come back to your object

you're distracted when you're never on

your object that's it your attention is

pulled away from your object

and now it's thinking about something

else so the stream is one thing but

getting caught up in the stream is the

other

so when you're in quiet mind the

formations come up

things come up

do you get upset by that or do you just

say okay this is just a process of the

mind

let it continue

your goal your your

your whole process there is to do

nothing

don't do anything

let mind rest in mind

everything else will take care of itself

just trust in the mind's ability to

relax

when you get pulled in the direction of

something then you relax it soften it

come back to the mind

come back to paying attention to mine

that's it

so don't pay attention to the streams of

consciousness

then you're going to identify the

clinging is the identifying the

consciousness becoming dependent upon it

is paying attention to it

householder you should train thus

i will not cling to material form and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

consciousness

i will not cling to feeling and my

consciousness will not be dependent

sorry i will not cling to material form

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on material form

i will not cling to feeling and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

feeling i will not cling to perception

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on perception i will not cling

to formations my consciousness will not

be dependent on formations

i will not cling to consciousness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on consciousness

thus you should train

so i will not cling to material form

what does that mean

i will not identify with the body the

body is just the body the body is just

made up of the states of matter

this is not my body sometimes we say

this is my body or sometimes we say i

have a body or sometimes we say

this is me all of that is clinging to

body

when we have this idea in ourselves

this

self-identification with the body don't

cling on that

now when we're talking about the paying

attention part this is the consciousness

not dependent upon

the body

meaning it's not paying attention to the

body

why is that why is he saying that my

consciousness will not be dependent upon

these things

because he's saying the attention should

not go anywhere why

because attention is that which fuels

what it sees

if your attention is on loving kindness

it continues to fuel the loving-kindness

if your attention is on the craving it

will continue to fuel that craving

if your attention is on a hindrance it

will continue to fuel that hindrance

that's why when we say six hours

recognize the hindrance release your

attention from that hindrance

relax the mind and body

that release part releasing your

attention from that

because you're if you put your attention

there you're fueling that

so any kind of suffering

the origin of that is said to be craving

but that kind of craving is attention

whenever your attention moves from

something

there can be craving there

if your mind is staying with its object

it is fueling the energy of that object

and meditation but if it gets

distracted there is craving present in

the form of

any of the five hindrances

sensual craving

aversion

restlessness slot intorpor doubt

so now your attention is on the doubt

thinking about this or that am i in a

wholesome state or unwholesome state is

this right or is that right what am i

doing is that correct i don't know if

this is right

maybe i'm trying too hard maybe i'm not

trying to enough enough

so all of these kinds of thoughts now

your attention is on there

and you're just continuing to feed all

of that

right and then that gives you rise to

further restlessness

now what about slot and torpor

slot intorpor is a feeling the mind

feels dull your mind is now there

instead of with its object and it gives

rise to further dullness

so now it's also because your attention

is very loose

so if you tighten up your attention a

little bit

instead of defocusing so much keep your

attention

on the object come back to the object by

using the six r's

then the slot and top two goes goes away

what about sensual craving

you know you

you're meditating and maybe you're

meditating at home and somebody's in the

kitchen making freshly baked cookies

and now you smell those cookies

and then you're thinking oh yeah right

after lunch i'm gonna have a couple of

those cookies

and i hope i can save them for later

i wonder what kind of cookies they are

they smell like chocolate chip but maybe

they might they might be macadamia i

don't know

you know all of these thoughts happen

right so now your attention is on all of

these thoughts

and it's fueling further those thoughts

so long as your attention is there it's

like a spotlight

the attention is the spotlight on where

wherever it is and it continues to shed

light on that

but if you recognize that release your

attention from that

revert the spotlight away from that

relax the tightness and tension come

back to the smile and put your spotlight

back

on your object and meditation

then you have let go of that sensual

craving or aversion

whatever that might be

so the feeling is also a hindrance i

will not identify with that hindrance

i will not identify with this experience

somebody is shouting at you don't

identify with that experience

you

you know it's feeling cold outside now

you feel irritated by that don't

identify with that experience

whatever the experience is it is just an

experience

so don't cling to the feeling

that means don't identify with the

feeling

don't pay attention to that don't you

don't let your attention go there

perception you think back to your

memories those are also feelings but

they're also perception

you think back with nostalgia oh those

were the days i wonder how it was back

then and i wish it was like this again

and

you know all of these kinds of thoughts

you see uh

you know you see a green tree and it's a

particular type of tree and now you

you're in that stream of consciousness

with that perception

so if you

recognize that and let go of that

using the six r's

then your attention is no longer there

so don't cling to the perception either

don't cling to the memories don't cling

to the labeling

what is name what is your name

when you say my name is so and so or

this is my name what is that

that's a perception

you identify with that name

you identify with this is me this is who

i am

or a title

this is me this is who i am

how can they talk to me this way i am

you know this boss of so-and-so or the

ceo of so-and-so or i am this type of

person

these are all kinds of perceptions of

self

don't cling to that idea

let go of that don't put your attention

on that

when you see that your mind is

identifying with these kinds of

names and titles and things like that

let go of that

six are that

don't put your attention on that

and then when he talks about formations

your intentions your choices

fine you made a terrible choice in the

past

why do you why are you beating yourself

up for it now

why eat why let your guilt eat you up

like this

maybe you made great choices why be

proud of those choices they were just

choices that you made in the past

why identify with them why cling to them

formations

are related to choices remember we said

there is

mental formations verbal formations

bodily formations

but it's through the inclination through

the chaitanya

through the intention that these

formations run through

okay i made certain choices

fine it was a terrible choice

but don't let your guilt eat you up

don't pay attention to that

forgive yourself for that

be kind to yourself

be happy

be accepting

so you notice that your mind is getting

eaten up by guilt

it's thinking about this or that

and so that was an intention you made

that was a choice you made you're

dealing with it now here in the present

moment

as guilt

what is guilt guilt is a karmic effect

of a choice that you made

why add to that guilt by having further

guilt let go of it

you're experiencing the effect of your

choices

and you're seeing that as a karmic

fruition

in the form of that guilt

so what do you do understand it is there

and let go of it and forgive yourself

come back to a wholesome state of mind

so don't put your attention on the

choices you've made or on the choices

you're going to make

that leads to indecision right

you become indecisive about something

use your intuition

oh if i do it this way this might happen

but if i do it that way this might

happen

and then you get into this whole

analysis paralysis

if i don't do it that way maybe i should

do it that way and you have these all

these flow charts going on in your mind

about what you should do or what you

shouldn't do

but use your intuition let go of all six

are all of that

and then use your intuition and make a

choice

but make the choice not dependent upon

fear not dependent upon anxiety not

dependent upon oh it happened that way

so i shouldn't do it again

how do you know it's going to happen

again the same way

just make the decision based on your

intuition

how do you use your intuition

you ask the mind this question what

should be done here

and then wait

don't analyze

don't reflect don't contemplate just

wait for the answer

maybe the answer might come right away

or the answer might come after a few

days but it will come when you least

expect it just like nibana comes when

you least expect it the intuitive

experience will come when you least

expect it

you've asked the mind the question it's

doing whatever it's doing and then it'll

bring up an answer

and it'll become in the form of a eureka

moment oh that's what i should be doing

then you make the choice based on that

this is the spontaneous intention speech

and action that arises when you live

from the eightfold path

so don't get bogged down by your

intentions which you made in the past or

intentions you intend for the future

let your attention not rest on that

so what does it rest on we'll get to

that

i will not cling to consciousness and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

consciousness again

don't cling

to the attention itself

don't cling to the idea that i have to

meditate in this way i have to be

collected in this way my attention has

to be super super sharp in this way

don't identify with that process

whatever you're paying attention to

don't identify with that process

whether it's writing an email whether

it's walking whether it's meditating

there is just meditating going on

and don't let your attention become

bogged down by it

your attention is there and that's more

than enough

don't think overthink it okay does my

attention need to be more here or more

there

just let it just let it be there

don't let your attention become locked

down by its own attention

don't try to pay attention to your

attention

just pay attention

that's it

a lot of times people will do that when

they're meditating am i paying attention

i wonder if i'm paying attention right

now

what do you think are you paying

attention if you're going to think if

you're paying attention or not

actually you're paying attention to that

whole thought process of whether you're

paying attention or not

so what do you do when that happens

6r

householder you should train thus

i will not cling

to the base of infinite space and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the base of infinite space

i will not cling to the base of infinite

consciousness and my consciousness will

not be dependent

on the base of infinite consciousness

i will not cling to the base of

nothingness

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the base of nothingness

i will not cling to the base of neither

perception or non-perception and my

consciousness will not be dependent on

the base of neither perception or

non-perception

thus you should train

so when you go through these formless

attainments

infinite space infinite consciousness

nothingness neither perception or

non-perception what's going on what is

the object there

is the object the infinite space or

infinite consciousness

or nothingness

or neither perception or non-perception

or is the object

the compassion

the joy the equanimity the mind itself

so notice if your mind gets distracted

by the expansiveness of space and don't

cling to that

one way you cling to it is i'm not there

yet and i want to be there and what do

you do you push out

the feeling of loving kindness you push

out the feeling of compassion

that's not what you have to do

remember what i said your attention

fuels whatever it is paying attention to

so if you're sending out loving kindness

in this direction or in that direction

or whatever direction it is

you're just paying attention in that

direction

your attention will bring up the loving

kindness and it will flow

think of the object like a sail

and your attention as the wind

and it's just moving

the feeling of loving kindness

you're not moving it you're not pushing

it it's just moving

in each of the directions and in all

directions

then don't cling to the expansion itself

oh i don't know how expanded my mind is

maybe it's just up until here

or maybe it's up until here or maybe

it's just up until

you know somewhere but

it doesn't matter whether it's expanded

here or it's expanded out towards the

outer limits of the galaxy doesn't

matter

that's just an experience

that's just a background of your mind

so don't cling to the jhanas themselves

don't cling to the jhana factors

themselves don't pay attention to that

the jhana factors and these experiences

of the formless attainments they're just

the ambience

of what's going on

if you pay attention to the ambience

right you're having a conversation with

a person and there's ambient noise

if the ambient noise grows larger and

your attention goes there

you're no longer paying attention to the

person that you're talking to or they're

talking to you

that is the object of meditation so pay

attention to the object let your

attention rest on the object everything

else is just ambient noise and let it be

there whatever it is it doesn't matter

infinite space infinite consciousness

nothingness neither perception or

non-perception it's just ambient noise

don't let your attention get bogged down

by that

and if it does

6r

householder you should train thus i will

not cling to this world

and my consciousness

will not be dependent on this world

i will not cling to the world beyond

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on the world beyond

thus you should train

so now he's leading anatapindika away

from all of these things what is he

talking about he's leading anatapindika

towards something but what is that

towards something

not this world or the world beyond

this world what is this world that we

experience

this world is made up of the sixth sense

spaces and their experiences

my attention will not be there

and what is the world beyond there's two

ways of understanding it

an existence in the future

or an existence somewhere else after

this existence

or

an existence in a jhana realm meaning

being in jhana being in a super mundane

state

my consciousness will not depend on

those things

i won't look forward to an existence

i won't look forward

to a future existence

whether it's here in this life or

another life

my attention will not be there at all

and then he's saying

householder

you should train thus i will not cling

to what is seen

heard sensed cognized encountered

sought after and examined by the mind

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on that

remember whenever he says i will not

cling to

means i will not identify with it i will

not say this is me this is mine this i

am

so i will not identify with what is seen

with what is heard

with what is sensed through the other

sixth sense spaces

with what is cognized with what is

understood

with what is encountered

with whatever is experienced sought

after

and examined by the mind

meaning even when your mind is paying

attention

when you have the investigation of

states knowing that it is distracted

you don't get caught up in that my mind

does not get caught up in that

my attention doesn't get rooted in that

and my consciousness will not be

dependent on me my attention will not be

in any of these things

thus you should train

so

there are there is another suta

just so you understand the context of

what sariputta is leading anata pindaka

two words

there is an another suta where

ananda goes to sariputta and says

is there a perception

or is there a cognizing

of

a state

which is

not on the sensed which is not on the

felt which is not on perception which is

not on the five aggregates which is not

in the four janas which are not in the

formless

realms which are not in the brahmalokas

which are not on the deva lokas which

are not in this world or beyond

and sariputta says yes there is

and ananda asks him what is that

and he says bhava

the cessation of existence

that is what i perceive in every moment

the cessation of existence

what does he mean by that he's talking

about nibana

so he's a sneaky monk

sorry putra is taking anathapinika away

from all of the conditioned states

and leading him to the unconditioned

cessation of existence

and arhat always sees the cessation of

existence

because whatever arises and passes away

they always tend towards the cessation

of it

the trouble is when people's minds look

at what is arising

and they get caught up in that

in that whole stream they get caught up

in the stream

in that traffic they get they get caught

up in the middle of that traffic

instead of just seeing it and letting it

cease

and tending to the cessation of that

so bhava nirodo doesn't mean the

cessation of all existence bhava nirodo

just means

seeing cessation right here and now

the cessation of what cessation of

suffering

meaning the mind doesn't stick to

anything

the mind doesn't identify with anything

the mind doesn't cling to anything

it doesn't land anywhere

it just is

when this was said the householder

anathepindaka wept and shed tears

then the venerable ananda asked him are

you foundering householder are you

sinking

so he ananda thinks that maybe

anathependika might be in pain and he's

ready to go very soon

i am not foundering venerable ananda i

am not sinking but although i have

waited long waited upon the teacher

meaning i have served the teacher and

biku is worthy of esteem

never before i have ever never before

have i heard

such a talk on the dhamma

this is interesting what sariputta says

he says

such talk on the dhamma householder is

not given to lay people clothed in white

such talk on the dhamma is given to

those who have gone

forth so what sariputta is saying that

usually the monastics are the ones who

are the audience of the buddha so such

talk is given to them

it's not talking about some kind of

secret teaching

there's no secret esoteric esoteric

teaching here

right because you have to understand the

context behind everything that the

buddha says or the arahat say

they're speaking and teaching

their fellow monastics

99 of the time

rest of the time they're talking to lay

people and usually it's about

keeping precepts and sometimes going

into jhana and

also talking about you know how to lead

a good household life how to generate

generosity

how to lead a life filled with happiness

that lay kind of happiness

in some suitables the buddha talks about

how to be a good store manager

you know

so it depends on his audience depends on

the context

well then venerable sariputta let such

talk on the dhamma be given to lay

people clothed in white

there are clansmen with little dust in

their eyes who are wasting away through

not hearing such talk on the dhamma

there will be those who will understand

the dhamma

then after giving the householder anata

pindaka's

this advice

the venerable sariputta and the venable

ananda rose from their seats and

departed

soon after they had left the householder

anata pindika died and reappeared in the

tusita heaven

so tusita is the place where

the future buddha is

the present bodhisattva that is the

maitreya buddha

he's over there chilling

right

and all the people who are very uh

very devoted to the buddha

meaning who have been with the buddha

and been very devoted

as lay followers mostly

end up into sita heaven when there is

this very big devotion for the dharma

and the buddha not necessarily that you

train your mind but you just have ex

very large amounts of

faith in the buddha dhamma and sangha

they have a tendency to get to to see

the heaven because that's where the

future buddha is

it's a nice place to be

nothing wrong with it but there's better

then when the night was well advanced

anata pindaka now a young god of

beautiful appearance

went to the blessed one illuminating the

whole of jetta's grove

after paying homage to the blessed one

he stood at one side and addressed the

blessed one in stanzas

o blessed is this yeta's grove dwelt in

by the sagely sangha wherein resides the

king of dhamma the fount of all my

happiness

by action knowledge and dhamma

by virtue

and noble way of life

by these are mortals purified not by

lineage or wealth that's such an

important statement

and this is what these are the words

that you should go with when you leave

the retreat

by action knowledge and dhamma

by virtue and noble way of life

by these

are beings purified

not by lineage and by wealth or by

wealth

so by action what does that mean by

action

by your efforts

so your karma

so remember karma is intentioned by your

intentions

by knowledge studying the suthas or the

dhamma understanding dependent

origination

by virtue and noble way of life by

virtue keeping the precepts

keep your precepts when you leave

the more you do this the clearer your

mind will become

and the easier it is for you to follow

the noble way of life the noble way of

life being the noble eightfold path

the precepts protects you

keeping the precepts

keeps your mind calm and collected

be generous

and when i say be generous doesn't mean

be generous just with your

with your money be generous with your

time

be generous through compa through

compassion compassionate listening

oftentimes people want to talk to you

and just listen to them

just listen without an agenda

right just listen

and don't have anything formulating in

your mind to try to come up with

something just listen for the sake of

listening to them

that's a form of compassion

be generous in that manner be generous

with your time

be generous with your efforts

be generous with your smile

smile all the time

smile and this and the world will smile

back at you

there was this one individual who was

there at the netherlands retreat

and he was a very

hard-pressed

very

very rigid

practitioner

of vipassana and mahasi style

you know practice

and he was very technical about the

abhidharma he talked about the different

types of mental factors

and this abhidharma and that abhidharma

and so on

and as he was doing the retreat over a

couple of days he was doing the loving

kindness he was smiling more and he

realized he was taking a walk and he was

looking at the sunrise and looking at

the glorious mountains and the hills and

he realized oh wow

how beautiful is that

and for the first time he experienced

all this joy

all of this happiness

and then he he was sending he sent an

email to me later and he said you know i

was i was in milan at the at the train

station and i was walking around and i

realized this woman was smiling at me

and i looked at her and i was i wanted

to smile back at her but i realized i

was already smiling at him

so you smile to such a level that you're

just smiling all the time be generous

with your smile

so this is how

you know by virtue

by action knowledge in dhamma by virtue

and noble way of life by these are

beings purified not by lineage or wealth

therefore a wise person who sees what

truly leads to his own good

should investigate the dhamma and purify

himself with it

a wise person one who understands

dependent origination

one who pays attention to contact

feeling and perception

notices when craving arises and lets go

of that craving purify his mind through

that so that's how you investigate the

dhamma what truly leads to his own good

is investigating the dharma

and purifies himself with it

sariputta has reached the peak in virtue

peace and wisdom's ways

meaning he has reached the peak in selah

and keeping the precepts

reached the peak in peace

in experiencing all of the different

genres samadhi

and reach the peak in wisdom has

understood dependent origination through

and through

any beku who has gone beyond at best can

only equal him

that is what the young god anatapindika

said

and the teacher approved

then the young god anata pindaka

thinking the teacher has approved of me

paid homage to the blessed one and

keeping him on his right he vanished at

once

when the night had ended the blessed one

addressed the bheku's thus

last night when the night was well

advanced there came to me a certain

young god of beautiful appearance who

illuminated the whole of jetta's grove

after paying homage to me he stood at

one side and addressed me in stands as

thus

and that was

again all blessed is this jetta's grove

dwelt in by the sagely sangha wherein

resides the king of dhamma

the fount of all my happiness

by action knowledge and dhamma by virtue

and noble way of life

by these are mortals purified not by

lineage or wealth

therefore a wise person who sees what

truly leads to his own good should

investigate the dhamma and purify

himself with it

sariputta has reached the peak in

virtual peace and wisdom's ways

any beku who has gone beyond at best can

only equal him

that is what the young god said

then the young god thinking the teacher

has approved of me paid homage to me and

keeping me on his right he vanished at

once

when this was said the venerable ananda

said to the blessed one

surely venerable sir

that young god must have been

anathapindica

for the householder anata pindika had

perfect confidence in the venerable sari

putta

good good ananda as far as reasoning

goes you have drawn the right conclusion

that young god was anata pindaka no one

else

that is what the blessed one said the

venerable ananda was satisfied

and delighted in the blessed one's words