From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=jm3Fse3TRhI

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

[Music]

so

[Music]

so today

we will be talking about

hindrances

so i'm going to start with the first

suta which is

majima nikaya 39

this is the greater discourse at asapura

thus have i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living in the ungan

country

at a town of the ungans named asapura

there the blessed one addressed the

bikus thus bhekus venerable sir they

replied

the blessed one said this

recluses recluses speakers that is how

people perceive you

and

when you are asked what are you

you claim that you are recluses

since that is what you are designated

and what you claim to be

you should train thus

we will undertake and practice those

things

that make one a recluse

that make one a brahmana

now

when he mentions brahman here he's not

talking about

it in the context of the religious order

of rahman's

the hindu brahmanas

brahmanas also means somebody who has

attained

so in this context he's talking about

someone who's become fully awakened

someone who has become an arahant

so that our designations may be true

and our claims genuine

and so that the services of those whose

robes

arms food

resting place and medicinal requisites

we use shall bring them great fruit and

benefit

and so that our going forth shall not be

in vain but fruitful and fertile

and what beekus are the things that make

one a recluse that make one a brahmana

because you should train thus

we will be

okay so just listen to the translation

we will be possessed of shame and fear

of wrongdoing

now because you may think thus

we are possessed

of shame and fear of wrongdoing

that much is enough and that much has

been done

the goal of reckless ship has been

reached there is nothing more for us to

do

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the recluse's status

do not fall short of the goal of

reckless ship

while there is more to be done

so here the buddha is talking about we

are possessed

of shame and fear of wrongdoing

we could say that that basically means

understanding the consequences of what

happens when you break a precept

when you break a precept what happens

your mind says

i shouldn't have done that

you know and it becomes restless and

agitated

so fear and

shame of wrongdoing

is really more about

understanding the consequences of

unwholesome intentions

unwholesome speech

and unwholesome actions

understanding that when you break a

precept

it creates disturbance in the mind it

creates restlessness and agitation

and therefore

not a great sit

ultimately

so

first you have to understand why do we

keep the precepts

what is the importance of keeping

precepts and what happens when we break

precepts we're going to further explore

this

what more is what more is to be done

because you should train thus

our bodily conduct shall be purified

clean

and open

flawless and restrained

and we will not laud ourselves and

disparage others on account of that

purified bodily conduct

now because you may think thus

we are possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing and our bodily conduct has

been purified

that much is enough

and that much has been done

the goal of recluseship has been reached

there is nothing more for us to do

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of recluseship

while there is more to be done

so here first the buddha talks about

purified bodily conduct

purified bodily conduct means

not to harm or kill on purpose

not to take what is not given

and not to

have sexual or sensual misconduct

so you're talking about the precepts

again so now the buddha's talking about

bodily then

mental and verbal and we'll talk about

that what more is to be done because you

should train thus

our verbal conduct shall be purified

clear and open

flawless and restrained and we will not

laud ourselves and disparage others on

account of that purified verbal conduct

so what is purified verbal conduct

right speech

not telling lies not indulging in gossip

not using harsh speech and so on

and look what it says it says we will

not we will not laud ourselves and

disparage others

so

no conceit about that no pride about

that

you're keeping the precepts for the sake

of keeping precepts not to show off

for the sake of purifying your mind so

that it's

ripe for practice of meditation

and disparaging others

don't have to judge others if they're

not keeping precepts

you know mind your own business

now because you may think thus we are

possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing

our bodily men bodily conduct has been

purified and our verbal conduct has been

purified that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status

do not fall short of the goal of

reckless ship while there is more to be

done

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

our mental conduct shall be purified

clear and open

flawless and restrained

and we will not laud ourselves and

disparage others on account of that

purified mental conduct

it's a purified mental conduct

that is imbuing the mind

with love and kindness

with compassion

with joy and

equanimity so it starts with right

intention

so purified mental conduct is right

intention purified verbal conduct is

right speech

and purified bodily conduct is right

action

and what is right intention

there is three components to right

intention

number one

it's called nakama

nekama means renunciation

renunciation of the idea that this is me

this is mine this is myself

not taking it personal

seeing everything as being an impersonal

process

so you're not holding on to anything

seeing everything that arises in the

moment as it actually is

with equanimity

without trying to push it resist it do

anything

this happens in your daily life

as well as in the practice

the second component of non-ill will

i'm sorry the second component of right

intention is non-ill will

so non-ill will is

loving-kindness

going from ill-will to non-ill will

is done through

loving-kindness

and then you have not

as the third component and as that is

developing compassion

so when you are purifying your mind

through the practice of radiating

loving-kindness

radiating compassion

with

equanimity meaning you're not bothered

about what happens just seeing things as

they are

and six arring whenever there's a

distraction you're purifying your mental

conduct

now because you may think thus we are

possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing

our bodily conduct and verbal conduct

have been purified and our mental

conduct has been purified that much is

enough and you may rest content with

that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of reclusive

while there is more to be done

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

our livelihood shall be purified

clear and open

flawless and restrained and we will not

laud ourselves and disparage others on

account of that purified livelihood

so now

when we talk about purified livelihood

what are we talking about

we're talking about right livelihood

so right livelihood is if i can remember

correctly

abstaining from trading in anything

dealing with weapons

alcohol

poisons

meat

and intoxicants

is that right

people

intoxicants and alcohol is the same

thing

human trafficking

it's about uh

being a butcher

now because you may think thus we are

possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing our bodily conduct verbal

conduct and mental conduct have been

purified and our livelihood has been

purified that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of recluseship

while there is more to be done

what more is to be done because you

should train thus

we will guard the doors of our sense

faculties

on seeing a form with the eye we will

not grasp at its signs and features

since if we left the i faculty unguarded

evil unwholesome states of covetousness

and grief might invade us

and we will practice the way of its

restraint we will guard the eye faculty

we will undertake the restraint of the

eye faculty

on hearing a sound with the year on

smelling an odor with the nose

on tasting a flavor with the tongue

on touching a tangible with the body

on cognizing a mind object with the mind

we will not grasp at its signs and

features

since if we left them if

we left these faculties unguarded

evil unwholesome states of covetousness

and grief might invade us

we will practice the way of their

restraint

we will guard these faculties

we will undertake the restraint of these

faculties

so

sense restraint comes from the word

uh samvara

and really what that is is understanding

what is happening through the process of

your sixth sense basis

it's not about trying to control them

the moment you try to control what's

happening you can't control what you see

you can't control what you hear you

can't control what you smell you can't

control what you taste

you can't control what you feel you

can't control the wind coming and going

when you're meditating outside

you can't control your mind you can't

control the thoughts that arise

so what are we talking about when we say

restraint

it's not about controlling them it's

about understanding what's happening

when

evil unwholesome states arise those are

the hindrances

having lack of attention

in whatever is happening

if you get carried away with what's

happening let's say you're sitting down

for practice

and you hear somebody rustling and

ruffling around

does your mind go to that and get

irritated by that

or does it just see it as it is and then

comes back to the meditation

so it's about how you respond to the

experience of your sun spaces

do you respond with craving

or covetousness as it said aversion

with anger with irritation

or do you just see it as an experience

of the same spaces

and don't let your mind become fettered

by them don't let your mind become

bothered by it

so this is seeing things as they are

allowing things to be as they are when

your thoughts come up in the meditation

do you get bothered by them there might

be thoughts in the background but you're

still with the object of meditation the

mind will do what it's doing

so it's not a process of tightening your

control over something it's a process of

understanding what they are

seeing that the experiences themselves

are impersonal not to be taken as self

seeing them as arising and passing away

so samvara or restraint

is about allowing things to be

and letting your mind

be unaffected by them

letting your

reactions be responses rather than

reacting or being reactive to them and

getting caught up by them and pulled by

them

you're just allowing them to be and

coming back to the meditation

using the six hours

that can happen while you're meditating

that can happen while you're having your

food that can happen while you're

walking that can happen at any point in

time

so it's all about maintaining that

ability to observe

how mind's attention moves from one

thing to another

now because you may think thus

we are possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing

our bodily conduct verbal conduct mental

conduct and livelihood have been

purified and we guard the doors of our

sense faculties

that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of recluseship

while there is more to be done

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

we will be moderate in eating reflecting

wisely we will take food neither for

amusement nor for intoxication

nor for the sake of

physical beauty and attractiveness

but only for the endurance and

continuance of this body for ending

discomfort and for assisting the holy

life

considering

thus i shall terminate old feelings

without arousing new feelings and i

shall be healthy and blameless and shall

live in comfort

now because you may think thus

we are possessed

of shame and fear of wrongdoing our

bodily conduct verbal conduct mental

conduct and livelihood have been

purified we guard the sense doors of our

faculties and we are moderate in eating

that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of reclusive

while there is more to be done

moderation in eating

so when you're on retreat you eat

until noon you don't eat anything after

that

that's one aspect that's the practical

aspect of keeping the body light keeping

the mind light

and not having slot intorpur from

overeating over indulging

but it's also about moderation in

consumption of other things moderation

and consumption through the other sixth

sense space through the other bases

which is to say what is it that you're

watching on tv what is it that you're

listening to

what is it that uh

you know you're feeling what is it that

you're doing

moderation in consumption of the sixth

sense spaces that includes food

so what is the quality of the things

that you're doing in the way of

consuming in the process of consuming

things

whether it's watching a movie or

listening to music

or tasting certain kinds of food does

the mind grasp onto them does the mind

want more and crave more for it without

realizing that this is enough

and what is the quality of whatever it

is that you're consuming this is one way

of understanding it when you're off

retreat

you know what kind of stuff are you

doing is it

wholesome or unwholesome is it leading

to wholesome intentions or leading to

unwholesome intentions

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

we will be devoted to wakefulness

during the day while walking back and

forth and sitting

we will purify our minds of obstructive

states

what are obstructive states

hindrances

while walking back and forth and sitting

that includes while eating as well while

taking a shower

while driving

while walking obviously

so that means you're always seeing

what's going on in the mind

and if there's craving arising if

there's aversion arising if there's

tightness and tension

you six are it it's a process of

applying right effort

whenever craving arises not just in the

meditation not just in walking

meditation

but all throughout your day

and that means that wakefulness that

arises arises because you have a smile

on your face you have a smile in your

heart you keep your mind light

well that's why there is an emphasis on

smiling all day long because it keeps

the mind uplifted it keeps the mind

awake and alert

and it sharpens the clarity and

mindfulness

in the first watch of the night while

walking back and forth and sitting we

will we will purify our minds of

obstructive states

in the middle watch of the night we will

lie down on the right side in the lion's

pose with one foot overlapping the other

mindful and fully aware

after noting in our minds the time for

arising

now you could do this if you want when

you go to sleep you can try doing the

lines pose and see how that works for

you

but ultimately what it's saying is

we will lie down

after noting in our minds the time for

rising

remember yesterday i said uh

whatever time you have to wake up making

the determination that you'll wake up

let's say if you have to wake up at five

o'clock

4 57

or 503 or 458 or whatever it might be

noting that time

creates a process in the mind that

allows it to be

watchful allows it to be alert

it trains the mind for certain things

that you'll do

and allows the mind to be uplifted all

the time

and you'll see the effect of it

after rising in the third watch of the

night

while walking back and forth and sitting

we will purify our minds of obstructive

states

now because you may think thus

we are possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing our bodily conduct verbal

conduct mental conduct and livelihood

have been purified we will guard these

doors of our sense faculties

we are moderate

we guard the doors of our sense

faculties we are moderate in eating and

we are devoted to wakefulness

that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of recluseship

while there is more to be done

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

we will be possessed of mindfulness and

full awareness we will act in full

awareness when going forward and

returning we will act in full awareness

when looking ahead and looking away

we will act in full awareness when

flexing and extending our limbs we will

act in full awareness when wearing our

robes and carrying our outer robe in

bowl we will act in full awareness when

eating drinking consuming

food and tasting

we will act in full awareness when

defecating and urinating we will act in

full awareness when walking standing

sitting falling asleep waking up talking

and keeping silent

so all of this consists of mindfulness

when you go back to the sati patana suta

it talks about the full awareness the

mindfulness and full awareness

in doing all of these various activities

and what are you aware of

are you aware

you're aware of what the mind is doing

how the mind's attention moves

so are you aware that the mind is

staying with its loving kindness

whatever it is that you're doing or are

you aware that the mind is distracted

and having hindrances

in either case you win if you're mindful

if you realize that you're distracted

you can then use the six r's apply right

effort by using the six hours and come

back to your object of meditation

so it's not about the mindfulness of

eating in terms of oh now i'm noting

that i'm eating or when you're walking

oh i'm noting now i'm walking or when

you're sitting oh i'm noting now that

i'm sitting

you're looking at how mind's attention

moves while the body is doing these

things

while the mind is doing something you're

noting what's happening when it comes to

whether the mind is distracted or

undistracted whether the mind is

collected or not collected whether the

mind is in jhana or not in jhana whether

the mind is in the formless attainment

or not in a formless attainment and so

on and so forth

now we come to the crux there's a lot

more in here but this is the real crux

of what i wanted to talk about

abandoning the hindrances

no because that's a process of analysis

you're now like noting oh this body is

impermanent instead if you see it

as a as a process of observing not as a

process of intentionally seeing

something as impermanent because then

you're just going through a process of

thinking reflection and analysis

what more is to be done

here because a b crew resorts to a

secluded resting place

the forest the root of a tree

a mountain a ravine a hillside cave a

charnel ground a jungle thicket an open

space a heap of straw

on returning from his arms round after

his meal he sits down

folding his cr his legs crosswise

you don't have to do that you can sit in

a chair

setting his body erect and establishing

mindfulness before him

abandoning covetousness for the world

he abides in a mind free from

covetousness he purifies his mind from

covetousness

so first we have to understand what does

it mean when it says

establishing mindfulness

before him

just observing what's going on

observing when an intention to bring up

loving kindness happens observing when

the mind is experiencing and feeling the

loving kindness

so that

observation that process of observing

what's happening

is that process of establishing

mindfulness in the mind

and now we get to the first uh hindrance

here which is abandoning covetousness

he abides with the mind free from

covetousness

he purifies his mind from covetousness

abandoning ill will and hatred he abides

with the mind free from ill will

compassionate for the welfare of all

living beings he purifies his mind from

ill will and hatred

abandoning slot and torpor

he abides free from slot and torpor

percipient of light

mindful and fully aware

when they say percipient of light a lot

of times that's interpreted as when the

mind becomes so concentrated that it

experiences some kind of a light in the

mind's eye

but that's not the way to look at it

percipient of light means

being aware

light comes from the word obasa in pali

in obasa there's four kinds of obasas

there's the obasa we have here

okay there's five types of obasas

the first obasa is the light of fire

the second obasa is the light of the

moon the third obasa is the light of the

sun and the fourth of us is the light of

wisdom

it's a recipient of wisdom recipient of

seeing how mind works

that means applying right effort that's

how you're free from slot intorpor

mindful and fully aware

he purifies his mind from slot and

torpor

abandoning restlessness and remorse

he abides unagitated with the mind

inwardly peaceful

he purifies his mind from restlessness

and remorse

abandoning doubt he abides having gone

beyond doubt unperplexed about wholesome

states

he purifies his mind from doubt

so let's explore these five basic

hindrances that you will encounter at

some point in the meditation

so craving

this essential craving

maybe somehow while you're meditating

you smell

uh freshly baked muffins

and now

your mind is thinking about those

muffins

and it's thinking oh when i finish this

sit

when the lunch bell rings i'm gonna go

in line and get those muffins

that's sensual craving

so any kind of experience of the sixth

sense spaces or the five i should say

physical pieces

where the mind

listens to it or

smells it or tastes it or feels it

or sees it

and then wants more of it identifies it

and says i want more of this

that sensual craving becomes obsessed by

it this is sensual craving the mind

tightens around it the body tightens

around it

ill will and hatred ill will comes in

the form of annoyance irritation

aversion anger hatred

and so on

so maybe you're

sitting around in the room and you get

irritated by it it lands on your face or

it's just buzzing around your ear and

you try to you know swat it away or

whatever it might be you get irritated

by it

you have hatred against that fly

or anything else that might be happening

through the sixth sense spaces that you

get upset about

that is ill will and anger

restlessness restlessness is when you

try too hard

when you're pushing you're going to

experience tension in the head

and you're going to experience racing

thoughts

too many things going on

because you're trying too hard you're

pushing too hard

when you make too much of an effort and

you try to bring your mind to a

concentrated state you're going to see

that the mind starts to flutter around

you're going to see that the mind thinks

about this or that

and then slot and torpor

maybe you ate a really big meal

you haven't had your nap you go and sit

down

and you immediately notice that you

start to

fall asleep

the mind becomes dull it feels like the

mind is paying attention and then

suddenly there's like a gap in that

attention and then it's like okay i'm

paying attention and there's another gap

and then you're paying attention there's

another gap and eventually you just go

like this

and you fall asleep

right and your mind becomes very groggy

becomes a very dull

and there are some reasons for why this

happens it's either you haven't gotten

enough sleep

or you're not paying attention too much

you don't have enough energy

you don't have enough effort

that doesn't mean you have to become one

pointed it just means that you're not

paying attention you're not staying with

the object of meditation

and then you have doubt

now this isn't doubt like doubt about

the buddha dhamma sangha this is doubt

in relation to what is wholesome and

what is unwholesome this is doubt in

relation to am i doing the practice

right

am i doing this correctly uh what's

going on here i wonder if what he said

was right did was it like that or was it

like this

so these kinds of thoughts that arise

like am i really practicing the

meditation am i actually applying the

six hours am i with my object of

meditation

these kinds of thoughts are doubt

now

the way i see it is that there is a

connection between the hindrances and

the precepts

now this is the way i see it

so you can take it for what it's worth

to you

the way i see it is when you break the

precept

of

harming living beings or killing them on

purpose

you are bringing up an intention of ill

will

and as you do that you are strengthening

ill will

and that manifests

as ill will as irritation as a version

in the mind

in response to things

when you take what is not given

that can bring up restlessness

and taking what is not given the way i

see it is not just physical possessions

but taking what is not given in the form

of

seeking attention in the form of trying

to get credit for something all of these

different things that you do try to take

what is not given

this can cause restlessness because the

mind is always on the lookout for

looking for things whether it's physical

or mental or emotional

and this can create a form of

restlessness in the mind

now when you have sensual misconduct

it's actually sexual misconduct but we

also have sensual misconduct that means

you become so enamored by an experience

of the sixth sense basis that it causes

you to break another precept one of the

other precepts

so you become essentially obsessed by

that experience

and when that happens

you have sensual craving that comes up

so when you break this precept you

strengthen that hindrance of sensual

craving

when you break the precept of not

lying of not dealing in gossip not

dealing in false speech and so on

you create doubt in yourself you create

doubt in others

you have doubt about others you have

doubt about your own capacities and

capabilities

and so when you break this precept

you can have the strengthening of the

hindrance of doubt

and then finally indulging in

intoxicants

so indulging in alcohol or drugs but i

would also say over indulging in

anything

whether it's media or

the news or social media or the internet

or reading too many books or doing this

or that indulging or overindulging in

these things

can create a mind that becomes dull

think about it when you're watching

tv for a long period of time eventually

the mind just becomes like

dull it doesn't want to do anything it

has slot and twerper

so

alcohol intoxicants

all of these things drugs they

eventually dull the mind so if that

happens if you break that precept it can

strengthen the experience of slot and

torpor in your mind

so this is the importance in my

understanding of keeping the precepts

you're doing it so that you start to

strengthen your mind

you strengthen your mindfulness and you

weaken the hindrances

the only reason why you have hindrances

arising in your mind

they are the effects of previous choices

you've made in the past

at some point or another you broke a

precept whether it was in this life or

whether it was in a past life and

because of that it translates into

manifests

as a hindrance in the mind

now we're going to talk about well let's

just finish this part and then

i'll go to the next suitable

because suppose a man were to take a

loan and undertake business and his

business were to succeed

so that he could repay all the money of

the old loan and there would remain

enough extra to maintain a life

then on considering this

he would be glad and full of joy

or suppose a man were afflicted

suffering and gravely ill and his food

would not agree with him and his body

had no strength

but later he would recover from the

affliction and his food would agree with

him and his body would regain strength

then on considering this he would be

glad and full of joy or suppose a man

were imprisoned in a prison house but

later he would be released from prison

safe and secure with no loss to his

property

then on considering this he would be

glad and full of joy or suppose a man

wore a slave not self-dependent

but dependent on others unable to go

where he wants but later on he would be

released from slavery self-dependent

independent of others

a freed man able to go where he wants

then on considering this he would be

glad and full of joy or suppose a man

with wealth and pro

and property were to enter enter a road

across a desert but later on he would

cross over the desert safe and secure

with no loss to his property then on

considering this he would be glad and

full of joy

so too because when these five

hindrances are unabandoned

in himself ibiku sees them respectively

as a debt a disease

a prison

slavery and a road across a desert but

when these five hindrances have been

abandoned in himself he sees that as

freedom from death

healthiness

released from prison freedom from

slavery and the land of safety

so now we're going to talk about how do

you deal with these hindrances

any guesses

six hours

i can take a couple of questions

if you want

if anybody has any questions

i do yes

mindfulness

beforehand

that phrase

so

as i understand it that is how

many of the theravadas

think that

the

attention should be put

on the

nose tip before the breath goes in and

out of the nose yeah

so i mean if that sentence just had

ended at mindfulness

but i don't understand i mean is it a

translation

and

i mean is it a translation issue before

him or

you know in

instead of

what he is doing

put mindfulness

as the primary activity he is doing i

mean that's what

that's how i get it i mean it's a

stretch to say the nose yeah the buddha

knew what a nose was

yeah the nose before you right establish

yeah

but the way i see it is yeah we could

probably just stop and say established

in mindfulness

that is to say that you have an

intention of observing how your

attention is moving

so when you sit down to meditate

or you're doing walking meditation your

mind is observing what's going on

observing in terms of not

what you're doing physically observing

in terms of whether there is distraction

in the mind

so mindfulness established before him i

would say as

established in mindfulness

maybe that would be a better way of

looking at it

so now the thing happened

is

could be taught oh

write speech

talk about right speech

so the way i look at write speeches

think before you speak

so that's an acronym t h i n k

so t stands for timeliness

is it the right time to say what you're

going to say

h is for honesty is what you're going to

say that you know is truthful or not

truthful

i is for intention

what is the intention behind what you're

going to say is it a wholesome intention

or an unwholesome intention

n is for necessity

is it necessary for you to say it or for

the benefit of the other person

and k is kindness

can you say with kindness

so that's think think before you speak

all right

any other questions

no okay

so now we're going to talk about

differences and the nutriments for the

hindrances how they arise and how to let

go of them

what i'm reading from is

samyutta nikaya 46.51

nutriment

atsavati

bhikkhus i will teach you the nutriment

and the de-nourishment in regard to the

five hindrances

and the seven factors of enlightenment

listen to that

and what bekus is the nutriment for the

arising of unarisen sensual desire

and for the increase and expansion of

our risen sensual desire

there is beku's the sign of the

beautiful

frequently giving careless attention to

it

is the nutriment for the arising of

unarisen sensual desire

and for the increase and expansion of

arisen sensual desire

so the sign of the beautiful

we're not talking about the fourth jhana

here when we talk about the beautiful

we're talking about something that

is pleasant something that's pleasant a

pleasant sense experience

when there is a pleasant sense

experience

if there is a lack of mindfulness as to

what that is

then the mind can get caught up in it

the mind can see it as something that i

need or i want

identify with it and that careless

attention which is the lack

of mindfulness of how the mind is

responding to it

will create

sensual craving will create the arising

of sensual desire

and care careless attention is also

translated from

means

the source of something

yoni which is also the word for womb

of source of something and mani sakhara

literally means to take something to

heart so to pay attention to it

to understand it

so we're talking about careful attention

as yoni so many sakara

and careless attention as a yoni so many

sakai

the way i translate this in my book a

mind without craving is

yoni somane sakara is attention rooted

in reality

so that reality is the understanding of

the three characteristics of existence

so the lack of awareness of the

the

the awareness the lack of the awareness

of the impermanence of this

experience the

dukkha of this experience of not worth

holding on to

and the impersonal nature of this

experience the lack of attention to that

lack of awareness of that can lead the

mind to be unmindful can lead the mind

to cling to it to identify with it and

thus cause

sensual craving

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of honor is an ill will

and for the increase in expansion of a

risen ill will

there is beekus the sign of the

repulsive

frequently giving careless attention to

it is the nutriment for the arising of

honoris and ill will and for the

increase in expansion of arisen ill will

so something that is unpleasant

an experience that is unpleasant and the

mind sees that and says i don't like

that because it identifies it identifies

with it

and sees that it is mine or it is

affecting me

the mind clings to it and has repulsion

against it has

has aversion towards it

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of unaries and slot and

twerper and for the increase in

expansion of arisen slot intorpur

there are beku's discontent

lethargy lazy stretching

drowsiness after meals

sluggishness of mind

frequently giving careless attention to

them

is the nutriment for the arising of

unarisen slot and torpor and for the

increase in expansion of honor is in

slot and torpor

or rather a risen slot intorper

so what is slot and torpor there is

discontent

lethargy lazy stretching drowsiness

after meals

slugging sluggishness of mind

you come back from a big meal and you

come here to sit for meditation practice

and you're saying i will sit through

this

i will do whatever i can to sit through

us through this

but in doing so you're giving careless

attention to that you're not you're

resisting to that instead go take a walk

take a nap

another idea like monty says is walk

backwards to

strengthen the attention

or sit outside in the light

if that helps

so you have to be aware of your mind is

there sluggishness in the mind

if there's sluggishness maybe you need

to take some rest maybe you haven't had

enough rest so take a nap

i encourage naps on this retreat

there you go

david knows what i'm talking about

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of honor is in restlessness

and remorse

and for the increase in expansion of

arisen restlessness and remorse

there is bheku's unsettledness of mind

so this is really interesting

unsettledness of mind

somehow the you know there is this idea

that if the mind becomes super focused

very concentrated it becomes very

attentive

but what you'll notice is when you do

that you're trying too hard and when you

try too hard the attention actually

becomes dispersed

and as a reaction of that there's all of

these different

thoughts that come up and the mind feels

agitated the mind feels like there's a

lot of activity going on

but the settled mind

is the mind that allows everything to be

as it is

and it has

no process of trying too hard just

relaxing

allowing that water to settle down

restlessness is also understood as that

wind-whipped water you know things are

going on above the surface

and then

you know all of this mud comes up in the

form of all of these different thoughts

but if you allow the mind to collect

itself by relaxing

then those ripples stop

and the mud settles and you see the

clarity of the water

so by relaxing by keeping things light

you're actually being more collected

frequently giving careless attention to

it is the nutriment for the arising of

honoris and restlessness and remorse

and for the increase in expansion of

arisen restlessness and remorse and what

because is the nutriment for the arising

of honoris and doubt and for the

increase in expansion of arisen doubt

there are because things that are a

basis for doubt

frequently given careless attention to

them is the nutriment for the arising of

unrisen doubt and for the increase in

expansion of irvison doubt so what are

the things that are the basis for doubt

not being certain about what the

practice is not being certain about what

is a wholesome state and what is an

unwholesome state

but you know what is a wholesome state

and you know what is an unwholesome

state you know when the mind is

distracted you know when the mind is

undistracted you know what the precepts

are you know what the hindrances are

so then there's further doubt that

arises in the form of am i doing this

practice correctly

what's going on here

these kinds of thoughts when they arise

if there's careless attention given to

them

then they increase

but there's a way in

dealing with them and that is the

process of right effort that is the

process of the six r's

now we're going to talk about

the

nutriments for the enlightenment factors

so

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the unarisen

enlightenment factor of mindfulness and

for the fulfillment by development of

the

arisen enlightenment factor of

mindfulness

there are beku's

things that are a basis for the

enlightenment factor of mindfulness

frequently giving careful attention to

them is the nutriment for the arising of

the unarisen enlightenment factor of

mindfulness

and the fulfillment by development of

the arisen enlightenment factor of

mindfulness

so there's certain components that allow

the mind to be mindful and number one

that is intention

careful attention

allowing the mind to settle

on object allowing the mind to observe

what's going on

watching how the mind's attention moves

from one thing to the other

being able to do that you are fulfilling

the development of mindfulness

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the unarisen

enlightenment factor of discrimination

of states and

for the fulfillment by development of

the arisen enlightenment factor of

discrimination of states

there are beku's wholesome and

unwholesome states blameable and

blameless states inferior and superior

states dark and bright with their

counterparts

so when we talk about discrimination of

states this comes from the pali word

and sometimes it's translated as

investigation of states sometimes it's

translated as

analysis of states sometimes it's

translated as discrimination of states

discernment of states and so on and so

forth but all of these somehow denote

the idea that you have to think about

them

they know the idea that you have to

analyze or reflect on them

but that's not the case with this

enlightenment factor this enlightenment

factor is all about understanding

the mind is distracted or undistracted

so mindfulness leads

to the discrimination of states

the mindfulness the remembering of

observing how mind's attention moves

from one thing to the other

allows you to see that the mind is

distracted or the mind is collected

so when you recognize

that the mind is distracted when you

recognize that the mind is no longer on

its object of meditation

you fulfill

the enlightenment factor of mindfulness

and the enlightenment factor of

discernment of states because now you

recognize oh i am now distracted

somebody raised that no

so frequently giving careful attention

to them is a nutrient for the arising of

unarisen in light of the unresonant

enlightenment factor of discrimination

of states and for the fulfillment by

development of the arisen enlightenment

factor of discrimination of states

and what bekus is the nutriment for the

arising of the unrisen enlightenment

factor of energy

and for the fulfillment by development

of the arisen enlightenment factor of

energy

there are beekus

the element of arousal

the element of endeavor the element of

exertion

in

short it's all about having right effort

the effort to let go the effort to see

what's going on and to let go

so

when you recognize

you have mindfulness you have brought

back your mindfulness you have

discernment of states

when you

release

now you're taking your attention away

from that now you realize you allow that

to be there and you bring your attention

back to

mind and body to relax

this process requires

simple effort of placing your attention

back somewhere else this is a process of

awakening

the enlightenment factor of energy

you're using energy to let go of that

hindrance to abandon that hindrance by

releasing your attention from that

hindrance

and what bekus

oh

so frequently giving careful attention

to them is the nutriment for the arising

of the unarisen enlightenment factor of

energy and for the fulfillment by

development of the arisen enlightenment

factor of energy

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the unarisen

enlightenment factor of joy

and for the fulfillment by development

of the arisen enlightenment factor of

joy

there are beakers things that are a

basis for the enlightenment factor of

joy

frequently giving careful attention to

them

is the nutriment for the arising of the

unarisen enlightenment factor of joy

and for the fulfillment by development

of the arise arisen enlightenment factor

of joy

so here when you re-smile we'll get to

relax

but first when you re-smile

you bring some joy in back to your mind

you start to uplift your mind again

so that process of observing that your

mind got distracted allows you to

discern that the mind is distracted

that then allows you to release the

attention from that hindrance which is

fulfilling the energy

when we relax what we're doing is

actually awakening the enlightenment

factor of tranquility

so the there's an interdependence

between joy and tranquility

when you're joyful you're naturally

relaxed

and when you're relaxed you have the

ability to experience

joy and happiness

so here in this case the way it's talked

about is first joy and tranquility but

in either case it works so when you

relax you have tranquility and when you

re-smile you bring up the joy

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the urn arisen

enlightenment factor of tranquility and

for the fulfillment by development of

the arisen enlightenment factor of

tranquility

there are bheku's tranquility of body

tranquility of mind

how do you get tranquility of body and

mind

by relaxing

frequently giving careful attention to

them is the nutriment for the arising of

the unarisen enlightenment factor of

tranquility and for the fulfillment by

development of the arisen fact

enlightenment factor of tranquility

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the unarisen

enlightenment factor of collectedness

and for the fulfillment by development

of the arisen enlightenment factor of

collectedness

there are beku's the sign of serenity

the sign of non-dispersal

the sign of serenity is a mind that is

clear a mind that is calm

after having

relaxed after having re-smiled

then your mind becomes collected now you

return back to your object of meditation

when you return back to your object of

meditation you are fulfilling the

awakening factor of collectedness

and what is non-dispersal mean that

means now the mind collects its

attention around the object of

meditation remember earlier i said when

people think that they have to be super

one-pointed and focused they think that

their attention is non-dispersed but

actually what's happening is their mind

goes in different directions

whereas if your mind is relaxed

and you allow it to collect around its

object meditation the attention orbits

the object of meditation and so it's

sort of

it's sort of

because it's in the gravitational field

of loving kindness or whatever it might

be it's collected

and so that is the enlightenment factor

of collectedness

activated through the process of

returning back to your object of

meditation

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the honorism

enlightenment factor of equanimity and

for the fulfillment by development of

the arisen enlightenment factor of

equanimity

there are beku's things that are a basis

for the enlightenment factor of

equanimity

so mindfulness leads to the discernment

of states

the discernment of states leads to

energy and effort right effort

that leads

to joy

that joy leads to tranquility that

tranquility leads to collectedness and

that collectedness leads to equanimity

equanimity is the ability to see things

as they are without becoming agitated

one way or the other

in other words you see things as they

are for whatever they are there's a

hindrance

okay there is a hindrance

if you get annoyed by that hindrance you

are you don't have equanimity and so you

can't really six r but if you see okay

here is a hindrance you recognized it

and you allow the whole process of the

six hours to happen then you are

fulfilling equanimity naturally

because you're not allowing the mind to

become

unsettled by that hindrance

if the mind is collected okay it's

collected it doesn't get overjoyed by

that either so when we say unagitated we

mean unagitated

by

pleasant as well as

unpleasant experiences whether it's a

hindrance or whether it's collectedness

of mind with loving kindness

all right we're almost done

and what bekus is the deep nourishment

that prevents sensu unarisen sensual

desire from

arising and our risen sensual desire

from increasing and expanding

there is because the sign of

foulness

frequently giving careful attention to

it is the nourishment that prevents

unarisen sensual desire from arising and

arisen sensual desire from increasing

and expanding so this is the sign of

foulnesses about the asuba practices but

i would say the activating the

enlightenment factor of joy

actually deconditions deep nourishes

sensual desire

because when you have mental joy

it's better than sensual joy

and that happens when your mind becomes

collected when you're in jhana

and what bekus is the denourishment that

prevents honoris and ill will from

arising

and arisen ill will from increasing

and expanding

there is because the liberation of mind

through loving-kindness

frequently giving careful attention to

it is the de-nourishment that prevents

unarisen ill-will from arising and arv

is an ill will from increasing and

expanding so we're already doing that

with the meta practice

by keeping your mind on loving kindness

you let go of ill will

and what because is the nourishment that

prevents honorism slot and torpor from

arising and are risen slot and torpor

from increasing and expanding

their rb coups the element of arousal

the element of

the element of exertion

frequently giving careful attention to

them is a de-nourishment that prevents

unarisen slot and torpor from arising

and arisen slot interpret from

increasing and expanding so in other

words right effort the process of

applying the right effort

lets go of slot intorpor but we also

talked about a few other solutions

meditating out in the daylight

taking a nap

walking backwards to increase your

attention whatever works for you do that

but are you starting to see a trend here

the enlightenment factors

through the activation of them by using

the six r's

also lets go of these hindrances

so for example joy

replaces sensual craving

of course loving kindness we are doing

already so that lets go of the ill will

using the enlightenment factor of energy

of effort lets go of the slot intorpor

and what bekus is a denourishment that

prevents honor is in restlessness and

remorse from arising and are risen

restlessness and remorse from increasing

and expanding

what do you think it is

what's the antidote for

restlessness tranquility relaxation

peacefulness of mind

frequently giving careful attention to

it is the nourishment that prevents

unarisen sorry that prevents unarisen

restlessness and remorse from arising

and are risen restlessness and remorse

from increasing and expanding

and what because is the de-nourishment

that prevents honorism doubt from

arising and arisen doubt from increasing

and expanding now this is interesting it

says here

there are beku's wholesome and

unwholesome states

blameable and blameless states inferior

and superior states

dark and bright states with their

counterpart

this whole process of knowing what that

is is the discernment of states so the

enlightenment factor of the discernment

of states when you recognize that you

were distracted

let's go of that doubt

of what is wholesome what is unwholesome

what is distracted what is undistracted

frequently giving careful attention to

them is the de-nourishment that prevents

unarisen doubt from arising and irv is

in doubt from increasing and expanding

so in short how do you let go of the

hindrances

six hours

now you know why

yeah

that's why you know i say you know i

could save up two hours save up to two

hours of damatox by saying two words

observe and six are

that's it

okay

let's share some merit

may suffering ones be suffering free may

the

fearless be

may the grieving shed all grief and may

all beings find relief

may all beings bear this merit that we

have thus acquired

for the acquisition of all kinds of

happiness

may beings inhabiting space and earth

devas and nagas of mighty power share

this merit of ours may they long protect

the buddha's dispensation

through

[Music]

[Music]

so

[Music]

so today

we will be talking about

hindrances

so i'm going to start with the first

suta which is

majima nikaya 39

this is the greater discourse at asapura

thus have i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living in the ungan

country

at a town of the ungans named asapura

there the blessed one addressed the

bikus thus bhekus venerable sir they

replied

the blessed one said this

recluses recluses speakers that is how

people perceive you

and

when you are asked what are you

you claim that you are recluses

since that is what you are designated

and what you claim to be

you should train thus

we will undertake and practice those

things

that make one a recluse

that make one a brahmana

now

when he mentions brahman here he's not

talking about

it in the context of the religious order

of rahman's

the hindu brahmanas

brahmanas also means somebody who has

attained

so in this context he's talking about

someone who's become fully awakened

someone who has become an arahant

so that our designations may be true

and our claims genuine

and so that the services of those whose

robes

arms food

resting place and medicinal requisites

we use shall bring them great fruit and

benefit

and so that our going forth shall not be

in vain but fruitful and fertile

and what beekus are the things that make

one a recluse that make one a brahmana

because you should train thus

we will be

okay so just listen to the translation

we will be possessed of shame and fear

of wrongdoing

now because you may think thus

we are possessed

of shame and fear of wrongdoing

that much is enough and that much has

been done

the goal of reckless ship has been

reached there is nothing more for us to

do

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the recluse's status

do not fall short of the goal of

reckless ship

while there is more to be done

so here the buddha is talking about we

are possessed

of shame and fear of wrongdoing

we could say that that basically means

understanding the consequences of what

happens when you break a precept

when you break a precept what happens

your mind says

i shouldn't have done that

you know and it becomes restless and

agitated

so fear and

shame of wrongdoing

is really more about

understanding the consequences of

unwholesome intentions

unwholesome speech

and unwholesome actions

understanding that when you break a

precept

it creates disturbance in the mind it

creates restlessness and agitation

and therefore

not a great sit

ultimately

so

first you have to understand why do we

keep the precepts

what is the importance of keeping

precepts and what happens when we break

precepts we're going to further explore

this

what more is what more is to be done

because you should train thus

our bodily conduct shall be purified

clean

and open

flawless and restrained

and we will not laud ourselves and

disparage others on account of that

purified bodily conduct

now because you may think thus

we are possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing and our bodily conduct has

been purified

that much is enough

and that much has been done

the goal of recluseship has been reached

there is nothing more for us to do

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of recluseship

while there is more to be done

so here first the buddha talks about

purified bodily conduct

purified bodily conduct means

not to harm or kill on purpose

not to take what is not given

and not to

have sexual or sensual misconduct

so you're talking about the precepts

again so now the buddha's talking about

bodily then

mental and verbal and we'll talk about

that what more is to be done because you

should train thus

our verbal conduct shall be purified

clear and open

flawless and restrained and we will not

laud ourselves and disparage others on

account of that purified verbal conduct

so what is purified verbal conduct

right speech

not telling lies not indulging in gossip

not using harsh speech and so on

and look what it says it says we will

not we will not laud ourselves and

disparage others

so

no conceit about that no pride about

that

you're keeping the precepts for the sake

of keeping precepts not to show off

for the sake of purifying your mind so

that it's

ripe for practice of meditation

and disparaging others

don't have to judge others if they're

not keeping precepts

you know mind your own business

now because you may think thus we are

possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing

our bodily men bodily conduct has been

purified and our verbal conduct has been

purified that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status

do not fall short of the goal of

reckless ship while there is more to be

done

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

our mental conduct shall be purified

clear and open

flawless and restrained

and we will not laud ourselves and

disparage others on account of that

purified mental conduct

it's a purified mental conduct

that is imbuing the mind

with love and kindness

with compassion

with joy and

equanimity so it starts with right

intention

so purified mental conduct is right

intention purified verbal conduct is

right speech

and purified bodily conduct is right

action

and what is right intention

there is three components to right

intention

number one

it's called nakama

nekama means renunciation

renunciation of the idea that this is me

this is mine this is myself

not taking it personal

seeing everything as being an impersonal

process

so you're not holding on to anything

seeing everything that arises in the

moment as it actually is

with equanimity

without trying to push it resist it do

anything

this happens in your daily life

as well as in the practice

the second component of non-ill will

i'm sorry the second component of right

intention is non-ill will

so non-ill will is

loving-kindness

going from ill-will to non-ill will

is done through

loving-kindness

and then you have not

as the third component and as that is

developing compassion

so when you are purifying your mind

through the practice of radiating

loving-kindness

radiating compassion

with

equanimity meaning you're not bothered

about what happens just seeing things as

they are

and six arring whenever there's a

distraction you're purifying your mental

conduct

now because you may think thus we are

possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing

our bodily conduct and verbal conduct

have been purified and our mental

conduct has been purified that much is

enough and you may rest content with

that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of reclusive

while there is more to be done

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

our livelihood shall be purified

clear and open

flawless and restrained and we will not

laud ourselves and disparage others on

account of that purified livelihood

so now

when we talk about purified livelihood

what are we talking about

we're talking about right livelihood

so right livelihood is if i can remember

correctly

abstaining from trading in anything

dealing with weapons

alcohol

poisons

meat

and intoxicants

is that right

people

intoxicants and alcohol is the same

thing

human trafficking

it's about uh

being a butcher

now because you may think thus we are

possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing our bodily conduct verbal

conduct and mental conduct have been

purified and our livelihood has been

purified that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of recluseship

while there is more to be done

what more is to be done because you

should train thus

we will guard the doors of our sense

faculties

on seeing a form with the eye we will

not grasp at its signs and features

since if we left the i faculty unguarded

evil unwholesome states of covetousness

and grief might invade us

and we will practice the way of its

restraint we will guard the eye faculty

we will undertake the restraint of the

eye faculty

on hearing a sound with the year on

smelling an odor with the nose

on tasting a flavor with the tongue

on touching a tangible with the body

on cognizing a mind object with the mind

we will not grasp at its signs and

features

since if we left them if

we left these faculties unguarded

evil unwholesome states of covetousness

and grief might invade us

we will practice the way of their

restraint

we will guard these faculties

we will undertake the restraint of these

faculties

so

sense restraint comes from the word

uh samvara

and really what that is is understanding

what is happening through the process of

your sixth sense basis

it's not about trying to control them

the moment you try to control what's

happening you can't control what you see

you can't control what you hear you

can't control what you smell you can't

control what you taste

you can't control what you feel you

can't control the wind coming and going

when you're meditating outside

you can't control your mind you can't

control the thoughts that arise

so what are we talking about when we say

restraint

it's not about controlling them it's

about understanding what's happening

when

evil unwholesome states arise those are

the hindrances

having lack of attention

in whatever is happening

if you get carried away with what's

happening let's say you're sitting down

for practice

and you hear somebody rustling and

ruffling around

does your mind go to that and get

irritated by that

or does it just see it as it is and then

comes back to the meditation

so it's about how you respond to the

experience of your sun spaces

do you respond with craving

or covetousness as it said aversion

with anger with irritation

or do you just see it as an experience

of the same spaces

and don't let your mind become fettered

by them don't let your mind become

bothered by it

so this is seeing things as they are

allowing things to be as they are when

your thoughts come up in the meditation

do you get bothered by them there might

be thoughts in the background but you're

still with the object of meditation the

mind will do what it's doing

so it's not a process of tightening your

control over something it's a process of

understanding what they are

seeing that the experiences themselves

are impersonal not to be taken as self

seeing them as arising and passing away

so samvara or restraint

is about allowing things to be

and letting your mind

be unaffected by them

letting your

reactions be responses rather than

reacting or being reactive to them and

getting caught up by them and pulled by

them

you're just allowing them to be and

coming back to the meditation

using the six hours

that can happen while you're meditating

that can happen while you're having your

food that can happen while you're

walking that can happen at any point in

time

so it's all about maintaining that

ability to observe

how mind's attention moves from one

thing to another

now because you may think thus

we are possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing

our bodily conduct verbal conduct mental

conduct and livelihood have been

purified and we guard the doors of our

sense faculties

that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of recluseship

while there is more to be done

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

we will be moderate in eating reflecting

wisely we will take food neither for

amusement nor for intoxication

nor for the sake of

physical beauty and attractiveness

but only for the endurance and

continuance of this body for ending

discomfort and for assisting the holy

life

considering

thus i shall terminate old feelings

without arousing new feelings and i

shall be healthy and blameless and shall

live in comfort

now because you may think thus

we are possessed

of shame and fear of wrongdoing our

bodily conduct verbal conduct mental

conduct and livelihood have been

purified we guard the sense doors of our

faculties and we are moderate in eating

that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of reclusive

while there is more to be done

moderation in eating

so when you're on retreat you eat

until noon you don't eat anything after

that

that's one aspect that's the practical

aspect of keeping the body light keeping

the mind light

and not having slot intorpur from

overeating over indulging

but it's also about moderation in

consumption of other things moderation

and consumption through the other sixth

sense space through the other bases

which is to say what is it that you're

watching on tv what is it that you're

listening to

what is it that uh

you know you're feeling what is it that

you're doing

moderation in consumption of the sixth

sense spaces that includes food

so what is the quality of the things

that you're doing in the way of

consuming in the process of consuming

things

whether it's watching a movie or

listening to music

or tasting certain kinds of food does

the mind grasp onto them does the mind

want more and crave more for it without

realizing that this is enough

and what is the quality of whatever it

is that you're consuming this is one way

of understanding it when you're off

retreat

you know what kind of stuff are you

doing is it

wholesome or unwholesome is it leading

to wholesome intentions or leading to

unwholesome intentions

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

we will be devoted to wakefulness

during the day while walking back and

forth and sitting

we will purify our minds of obstructive

states

what are obstructive states

hindrances

while walking back and forth and sitting

that includes while eating as well while

taking a shower

while driving

while walking obviously

so that means you're always seeing

what's going on in the mind

and if there's craving arising if

there's aversion arising if there's

tightness and tension

you six are it it's a process of

applying right effort

whenever craving arises not just in the

meditation not just in walking

meditation

but all throughout your day

and that means that wakefulness that

arises arises because you have a smile

on your face you have a smile in your

heart you keep your mind light

well that's why there is an emphasis on

smiling all day long because it keeps

the mind uplifted it keeps the mind

awake and alert

and it sharpens the clarity and

mindfulness

in the first watch of the night while

walking back and forth and sitting we

will we will purify our minds of

obstructive states

in the middle watch of the night we will

lie down on the right side in the lion's

pose with one foot overlapping the other

mindful and fully aware

after noting in our minds the time for

arising

now you could do this if you want when

you go to sleep you can try doing the

lines pose and see how that works for

you

but ultimately what it's saying is

we will lie down

after noting in our minds the time for

rising

remember yesterday i said uh

whatever time you have to wake up making

the determination that you'll wake up

let's say if you have to wake up at five

o'clock

4 57

or 503 or 458 or whatever it might be

noting that time

creates a process in the mind that

allows it to be

watchful allows it to be alert

it trains the mind for certain things

that you'll do

and allows the mind to be uplifted all

the time

and you'll see the effect of it

after rising in the third watch of the

night

while walking back and forth and sitting

we will purify our minds of obstructive

states

now because you may think thus

we are possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing our bodily conduct verbal

conduct mental conduct and livelihood

have been purified we will guard these

doors of our sense faculties

we are moderate

we guard the doors of our sense

faculties we are moderate in eating and

we are devoted to wakefulness

that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of recluseship

while there is more to be done

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

we will be possessed of mindfulness and

full awareness we will act in full

awareness when going forward and

returning we will act in full awareness

when looking ahead and looking away

we will act in full awareness when

flexing and extending our limbs we will

act in full awareness when wearing our

robes and carrying our outer robe in

bowl we will act in full awareness when

eating drinking consuming

food and tasting

we will act in full awareness when

defecating and urinating we will act in

full awareness when walking standing

sitting falling asleep waking up talking

and keeping silent

so all of this consists of mindfulness

when you go back to the sati patana suta

it talks about the full awareness the

mindfulness and full awareness

in doing all of these various activities

and what are you aware of

are you aware

you're aware of what the mind is doing

how the mind's attention moves

so are you aware that the mind is

staying with its loving kindness

whatever it is that you're doing or are

you aware that the mind is distracted

and having hindrances

in either case you win if you're mindful

if you realize that you're distracted

you can then use the six r's apply right

effort by using the six hours and come

back to your object of meditation

so it's not about the mindfulness of

eating in terms of oh now i'm noting

that i'm eating or when you're walking

oh i'm noting now i'm walking or when

you're sitting oh i'm noting now that

i'm sitting

you're looking at how mind's attention

moves while the body is doing these

things

while the mind is doing something you're

noting what's happening when it comes to

whether the mind is distracted or

undistracted whether the mind is

collected or not collected whether the

mind is in jhana or not in jhana whether

the mind is in the formless attainment

or not in a formless attainment and so

on and so forth

now we come to the crux there's a lot

more in here but this is the real crux

of what i wanted to talk about

abandoning the hindrances

no because that's a process of analysis

you're now like noting oh this body is

impermanent instead if you see it

as a as a process of observing not as a

process of intentionally seeing

something as impermanent because then

you're just going through a process of

thinking reflection and analysis

what more is to be done

here because a b crew resorts to a

secluded resting place

the forest the root of a tree

a mountain a ravine a hillside cave a

charnel ground a jungle thicket an open

space a heap of straw

on returning from his arms round after

his meal he sits down

folding his cr his legs crosswise

you don't have to do that you can sit in

a chair

setting his body erect and establishing

mindfulness before him

abandoning covetousness for the world

he abides in a mind free from

covetousness he purifies his mind from

covetousness

so first we have to understand what does

it mean when it says

establishing mindfulness

before him

just observing what's going on

observing when an intention to bring up

loving kindness happens observing when

the mind is experiencing and feeling the

loving kindness

so that

observation that process of observing

what's happening

is that process of establishing

mindfulness in the mind

and now we get to the first uh hindrance

here which is abandoning covetousness

he abides with the mind free from

covetousness

he purifies his mind from covetousness

abandoning ill will and hatred he abides

with the mind free from ill will

compassionate for the welfare of all

living beings he purifies his mind from

ill will and hatred

abandoning slot and torpor

he abides free from slot and torpor

percipient of light

mindful and fully aware

when they say percipient of light a lot

of times that's interpreted as when the

mind becomes so concentrated that it

experiences some kind of a light in the

mind's eye

but that's not the way to look at it

percipient of light means

being aware

light comes from the word obasa in pali

in obasa there's four kinds of obasas

there's the obasa we have here

okay there's five types of obasas

the first obasa is the light of fire

the second obasa is the light of the

moon the third obasa is the light of the

sun and the fourth of us is the light of

wisdom

it's a recipient of wisdom recipient of

seeing how mind works

that means applying right effort that's

how you're free from slot intorpor

mindful and fully aware

he purifies his mind from slot and

torpor

abandoning restlessness and remorse

he abides unagitated with the mind

inwardly peaceful

he purifies his mind from restlessness

and remorse

abandoning doubt he abides having gone

beyond doubt unperplexed about wholesome

states

he purifies his mind from doubt

so let's explore these five basic

hindrances that you will encounter at

some point in the meditation

so craving

this essential craving

maybe somehow while you're meditating

you smell

uh freshly baked muffins

and now

your mind is thinking about those

muffins

and it's thinking oh when i finish this

sit

when the lunch bell rings i'm gonna go

in line and get those muffins

that's sensual craving

so any kind of experience of the sixth

sense spaces or the five i should say

physical pieces

where the mind

listens to it or

smells it or tastes it or feels it

or sees it

and then wants more of it identifies it

and says i want more of this

that sensual craving becomes obsessed by

it this is sensual craving the mind

tightens around it the body tightens

around it

ill will and hatred ill will comes in

the form of annoyance irritation

aversion anger hatred

and so on

so maybe you're

sitting around in the room and you get

irritated by it it lands on your face or

it's just buzzing around your ear and

you try to you know swat it away or

whatever it might be you get irritated

by it

you have hatred against that fly

or anything else that might be happening

through the sixth sense spaces that you

get upset about

that is ill will and anger

restlessness restlessness is when you

try too hard

when you're pushing you're going to

experience tension in the head

and you're going to experience racing

thoughts

too many things going on

because you're trying too hard you're

pushing too hard

when you make too much of an effort and

you try to bring your mind to a

concentrated state you're going to see

that the mind starts to flutter around

you're going to see that the mind thinks

about this or that

and then slot and torpor

maybe you ate a really big meal

you haven't had your nap you go and sit

down

and you immediately notice that you

start to

fall asleep

the mind becomes dull it feels like the

mind is paying attention and then

suddenly there's like a gap in that

attention and then it's like okay i'm

paying attention and there's another gap

and then you're paying attention there's

another gap and eventually you just go

like this

and you fall asleep

right and your mind becomes very groggy

becomes a very dull

and there are some reasons for why this

happens it's either you haven't gotten

enough sleep

or you're not paying attention too much

you don't have enough energy

you don't have enough effort

that doesn't mean you have to become one

pointed it just means that you're not

paying attention you're not staying with

the object of meditation

and then you have doubt

now this isn't doubt like doubt about

the buddha dhamma sangha this is doubt

in relation to what is wholesome and

what is unwholesome this is doubt in

relation to am i doing the practice

right

am i doing this correctly uh what's

going on here i wonder if what he said

was right did was it like that or was it

like this

so these kinds of thoughts that arise

like am i really practicing the

meditation am i actually applying the

six hours am i with my object of

meditation

these kinds of thoughts are doubt

now

the way i see it is that there is a

connection between the hindrances and

the precepts

now this is the way i see it

so you can take it for what it's worth

to you

the way i see it is when you break the

precept

of

harming living beings or killing them on

purpose

you are bringing up an intention of ill

will

and as you do that you are strengthening

ill will

and that manifests

as ill will as irritation as a version

in the mind

in response to things

when you take what is not given

that can bring up restlessness

and taking what is not given the way i

see it is not just physical possessions

but taking what is not given in the form

of

seeking attention in the form of trying

to get credit for something all of these

different things that you do try to take

what is not given

this can cause restlessness because the

mind is always on the lookout for

looking for things whether it's physical

or mental or emotional

and this can create a form of

restlessness in the mind

now when you have sensual misconduct

it's actually sexual misconduct but we

also have sensual misconduct that means

you become so enamored by an experience

of the sixth sense basis that it causes

you to break another precept one of the

other precepts

so you become essentially obsessed by

that experience

and when that happens

you have sensual craving that comes up

so when you break this precept you

strengthen that hindrance of sensual

craving

when you break the precept of not

lying of not dealing in gossip not

dealing in false speech and so on

you create doubt in yourself you create

doubt in others

you have doubt about others you have

doubt about your own capacities and

capabilities

and so when you break this precept

you can have the strengthening of the

hindrance of doubt

and then finally indulging in

intoxicants

so indulging in alcohol or drugs but i

would also say over indulging in

anything

whether it's media or

the news or social media or the internet

or reading too many books or doing this

or that indulging or overindulging in

these things

can create a mind that becomes dull

think about it when you're watching

tv for a long period of time eventually

the mind just becomes like

dull it doesn't want to do anything it

has slot and twerper

so

alcohol intoxicants

all of these things drugs they

eventually dull the mind so if that

happens if you break that precept it can

strengthen the experience of slot and

torpor in your mind

so this is the importance in my

understanding of keeping the precepts

you're doing it so that you start to

strengthen your mind

you strengthen your mindfulness and you

weaken the hindrances

the only reason why you have hindrances

arising in your mind

they are the effects of previous choices

you've made in the past

at some point or another you broke a

precept whether it was in this life or

whether it was in a past life and

because of that it translates into

manifests

as a hindrance in the mind

now we're going to talk about well let's

just finish this part and then

i'll go to the next suitable

because suppose a man were to take a

loan and undertake business and his

business were to succeed

so that he could repay all the money of

the old loan and there would remain

enough extra to maintain a life

then on considering this

he would be glad and full of joy

or suppose a man were afflicted

suffering and gravely ill and his food

would not agree with him and his body

had no strength

but later he would recover from the

affliction and his food would agree with

him and his body would regain strength

then on considering this he would be

glad and full of joy or suppose a man

were imprisoned in a prison house but

later he would be released from prison

safe and secure with no loss to his

property

then on considering this he would be

glad and full of joy or suppose a man

wore a slave not self-dependent

but dependent on others unable to go

where he wants but later on he would be

released from slavery self-dependent

independent of others

a freed man able to go where he wants

then on considering this he would be

glad and full of joy or suppose a man

with wealth and pro

and property were to enter enter a road

across a desert but later on he would

cross over the desert safe and secure

with no loss to his property then on

considering this he would be glad and

full of joy

so too because when these five

hindrances are unabandoned

in himself ibiku sees them respectively

as a debt a disease

a prison

slavery and a road across a desert but

when these five hindrances have been

abandoned in himself he sees that as

freedom from death

healthiness

released from prison freedom from

slavery and the land of safety

so now we're going to talk about how do

you deal with these hindrances

any guesses

six hours

i can take a couple of questions

if you want

if anybody has any questions

i do yes

mindfulness

beforehand

that phrase

so

as i understand it that is how

many of the theravadas

think that

the

attention should be put

on the

nose tip before the breath goes in and

out of the nose yeah

so i mean if that sentence just had

ended at mindfulness

but i don't understand i mean is it a

translation

and

i mean is it a translation issue before

him or

you know in

instead of

what he is doing

put mindfulness

as the primary activity he is doing i

mean that's what

that's how i get it i mean it's a

stretch to say the nose yeah the buddha

knew what a nose was

yeah the nose before you right establish

yeah

but the way i see it is yeah we could

probably just stop and say established

in mindfulness

that is to say that you have an

intention of observing how your

attention is moving

so when you sit down to meditate

or you're doing walking meditation your

mind is observing what's going on

observing in terms of not

what you're doing physically observing

in terms of whether there is distraction

in the mind

so mindfulness established before him i

would say as

established in mindfulness

maybe that would be a better way of

looking at it

so now the thing happened

is

could be taught oh

write speech

talk about right speech

so the way i look at write speeches

think before you speak

so that's an acronym t h i n k

so t stands for timeliness

is it the right time to say what you're

going to say

h is for honesty is what you're going to

say that you know is truthful or not

truthful

i is for intention

what is the intention behind what you're

going to say is it a wholesome intention

or an unwholesome intention

n is for necessity

is it necessary for you to say it or for

the benefit of the other person

and k is kindness

can you say with kindness

so that's think think before you speak

all right

any other questions

no okay

so now we're going to talk about

differences and the nutriments for the

hindrances how they arise and how to let

go of them

what i'm reading from is

samyutta nikaya 46.51

nutriment

atsavati

bhikkhus i will teach you the nutriment

and the de-nourishment in regard to the

five hindrances

and the seven factors of enlightenment

listen to that

and what bekus is the nutriment for the

arising of unarisen sensual desire

and for the increase and expansion of

our risen sensual desire

there is beku's the sign of the

beautiful

frequently giving careless attention to

it

is the nutriment for the arising of

unarisen sensual desire

and for the increase and expansion of

arisen sensual desire

so the sign of the beautiful

we're not talking about the fourth jhana

here when we talk about the beautiful

we're talking about something that

is pleasant something that's pleasant a

pleasant sense experience

when there is a pleasant sense

experience

if there is a lack of mindfulness as to

what that is

then the mind can get caught up in it

the mind can see it as something that i

need or i want

identify with it and that careless

attention which is the lack

of mindfulness of how the mind is

responding to it

will create

sensual craving will create the arising

of sensual desire

and care careless attention is also

translated from

means

the source of something

yoni which is also the word for womb

of source of something and mani sakhara

literally means to take something to

heart so to pay attention to it

to understand it

so we're talking about careful attention

as yoni so many sakara

and careless attention as a yoni so many

sakai

the way i translate this in my book a

mind without craving is

yoni somane sakara is attention rooted

in reality

so that reality is the understanding of

the three characteristics of existence

so the lack of awareness of the

the

the awareness the lack of the awareness

of the impermanence of this

experience the

dukkha of this experience of not worth

holding on to

and the impersonal nature of this

experience the lack of attention to that

lack of awareness of that can lead the

mind to be unmindful can lead the mind

to cling to it to identify with it and

thus cause

sensual craving

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of honor is an ill will

and for the increase in expansion of a

risen ill will

there is beekus the sign of the

repulsive

frequently giving careless attention to

it is the nutriment for the arising of

honoris and ill will and for the

increase in expansion of arisen ill will

so something that is unpleasant

an experience that is unpleasant and the

mind sees that and says i don't like

that because it identifies it identifies

with it

and sees that it is mine or it is

affecting me

the mind clings to it and has repulsion

against it has

has aversion towards it

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of unaries and slot and

twerper and for the increase in

expansion of arisen slot intorpur

there are beku's discontent

lethargy lazy stretching

drowsiness after meals

sluggishness of mind

frequently giving careless attention to

them

is the nutriment for the arising of

unarisen slot and torpor and for the

increase in expansion of honor is in

slot and torpor

or rather a risen slot intorper

so what is slot and torpor there is

discontent

lethargy lazy stretching drowsiness

after meals

slugging sluggishness of mind

you come back from a big meal and you

come here to sit for meditation practice

and you're saying i will sit through

this

i will do whatever i can to sit through

us through this

but in doing so you're giving careless

attention to that you're not you're

resisting to that instead go take a walk

take a nap

another idea like monty says is walk

backwards to

strengthen the attention

or sit outside in the light

if that helps

so you have to be aware of your mind is

there sluggishness in the mind

if there's sluggishness maybe you need

to take some rest maybe you haven't had

enough rest so take a nap

i encourage naps on this retreat

there you go

david knows what i'm talking about

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of honor is in restlessness

and remorse

and for the increase in expansion of

arisen restlessness and remorse

there is bheku's unsettledness of mind

so this is really interesting

unsettledness of mind

somehow the you know there is this idea

that if the mind becomes super focused

very concentrated it becomes very

attentive

but what you'll notice is when you do

that you're trying too hard and when you

try too hard the attention actually

becomes dispersed

and as a reaction of that there's all of

these different

thoughts that come up and the mind feels

agitated the mind feels like there's a

lot of activity going on

but the settled mind

is the mind that allows everything to be

as it is

and it has

no process of trying too hard just

relaxing

allowing that water to settle down

restlessness is also understood as that

wind-whipped water you know things are

going on above the surface

and then

you know all of this mud comes up in the

form of all of these different thoughts

but if you allow the mind to collect

itself by relaxing

then those ripples stop

and the mud settles and you see the

clarity of the water

so by relaxing by keeping things light

you're actually being more collected

frequently giving careless attention to

it is the nutriment for the arising of

honoris and restlessness and remorse

and for the increase in expansion of

arisen restlessness and remorse and what

because is the nutriment for the arising

of honoris and doubt and for the

increase in expansion of arisen doubt

there are because things that are a

basis for doubt

frequently given careless attention to

them is the nutriment for the arising of

unrisen doubt and for the increase in

expansion of irvison doubt so what are

the things that are the basis for doubt

not being certain about what the

practice is not being certain about what

is a wholesome state and what is an

unwholesome state

but you know what is a wholesome state

and you know what is an unwholesome

state you know when the mind is

distracted you know when the mind is

undistracted you know what the precepts

are you know what the hindrances are

so then there's further doubt that

arises in the form of am i doing this

practice correctly

what's going on here

these kinds of thoughts when they arise

if there's careless attention given to

them

then they increase

but there's a way in

dealing with them and that is the

process of right effort that is the

process of the six r's

now we're going to talk about

the

nutriments for the enlightenment factors

so

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the unarisen

enlightenment factor of mindfulness and

for the fulfillment by development of

the

arisen enlightenment factor of

mindfulness

there are beku's

things that are a basis for the

enlightenment factor of mindfulness

frequently giving careful attention to

them is the nutriment for the arising of

the unarisen enlightenment factor of

mindfulness

and the fulfillment by development of

the arisen enlightenment factor of

mindfulness

so there's certain components that allow

the mind to be mindful and number one

that is intention

careful attention

allowing the mind to settle

on object allowing the mind to observe

what's going on

watching how the mind's attention moves

from one thing to the other

being able to do that you are fulfilling

the development of mindfulness

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the unarisen

enlightenment factor of discrimination

of states and

for the fulfillment by development of

the arisen enlightenment factor of

discrimination of states

there are beku's wholesome and

unwholesome states blameable and

blameless states inferior and superior

states dark and bright with their

counterparts

so when we talk about discrimination of

states this comes from the pali word

and sometimes it's translated as

investigation of states sometimes it's

translated as

analysis of states sometimes it's

translated as discrimination of states

discernment of states and so on and so

forth but all of these somehow denote

the idea that you have to think about

them

they know the idea that you have to

analyze or reflect on them

but that's not the case with this

enlightenment factor this enlightenment

factor is all about understanding

the mind is distracted or undistracted

so mindfulness leads

to the discrimination of states

the mindfulness the remembering of

observing how mind's attention moves

from one thing to the other

allows you to see that the mind is

distracted or the mind is collected

so when you recognize

that the mind is distracted when you

recognize that the mind is no longer on

its object of meditation

you fulfill

the enlightenment factor of mindfulness

and the enlightenment factor of

discernment of states because now you

recognize oh i am now distracted

somebody raised that no

so frequently giving careful attention

to them is a nutrient for the arising of

unarisen in light of the unresonant

enlightenment factor of discrimination

of states and for the fulfillment by

development of the arisen enlightenment

factor of discrimination of states

and what bekus is the nutriment for the

arising of the unrisen enlightenment

factor of energy

and for the fulfillment by development

of the arisen enlightenment factor of

energy

there are beekus

the element of arousal

the element of endeavor the element of

exertion

in

short it's all about having right effort

the effort to let go the effort to see

what's going on and to let go

so

when you recognize

you have mindfulness you have brought

back your mindfulness you have

discernment of states

when you

release

now you're taking your attention away

from that now you realize you allow that

to be there and you bring your attention

back to

mind and body to relax

this process requires

simple effort of placing your attention

back somewhere else this is a process of

awakening

the enlightenment factor of energy

you're using energy to let go of that

hindrance to abandon that hindrance by

releasing your attention from that

hindrance

and what bekus

oh

so frequently giving careful attention

to them is the nutriment for the arising

of the unarisen enlightenment factor of

energy and for the fulfillment by

development of the arisen enlightenment

factor of energy

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the unarisen

enlightenment factor of joy

and for the fulfillment by development

of the arisen enlightenment factor of

joy

there are beakers things that are a

basis for the enlightenment factor of

joy

frequently giving careful attention to

them

is the nutriment for the arising of the

unarisen enlightenment factor of joy

and for the fulfillment by development

of the arise arisen enlightenment factor

of joy

so here when you re-smile we'll get to

relax

but first when you re-smile

you bring some joy in back to your mind

you start to uplift your mind again

so that process of observing that your

mind got distracted allows you to

discern that the mind is distracted

that then allows you to release the

attention from that hindrance which is

fulfilling the energy

when we relax what we're doing is

actually awakening the enlightenment

factor of tranquility

so the there's an interdependence

between joy and tranquility

when you're joyful you're naturally

relaxed

and when you're relaxed you have the

ability to experience

joy and happiness

so here in this case the way it's talked

about is first joy and tranquility but

in either case it works so when you

relax you have tranquility and when you

re-smile you bring up the joy

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the urn arisen

enlightenment factor of tranquility and

for the fulfillment by development of

the arisen enlightenment factor of

tranquility

there are bheku's tranquility of body

tranquility of mind

how do you get tranquility of body and

mind

by relaxing

frequently giving careful attention to

them is the nutriment for the arising of

the unarisen enlightenment factor of

tranquility and for the fulfillment by

development of the arisen fact

enlightenment factor of tranquility

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the unarisen

enlightenment factor of collectedness

and for the fulfillment by development

of the arisen enlightenment factor of

collectedness

there are beku's the sign of serenity

the sign of non-dispersal

the sign of serenity is a mind that is

clear a mind that is calm

after having

relaxed after having re-smiled

then your mind becomes collected now you

return back to your object of meditation

when you return back to your object of

meditation you are fulfilling the

awakening factor of collectedness

and what is non-dispersal mean that

means now the mind collects its

attention around the object of

meditation remember earlier i said when

people think that they have to be super

one-pointed and focused they think that

their attention is non-dispersed but

actually what's happening is their mind

goes in different directions

whereas if your mind is relaxed

and you allow it to collect around its

object meditation the attention orbits

the object of meditation and so it's

sort of

it's sort of

because it's in the gravitational field

of loving kindness or whatever it might

be it's collected

and so that is the enlightenment factor

of collectedness

activated through the process of

returning back to your object of

meditation

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the honorism

enlightenment factor of equanimity and

for the fulfillment by development of

the arisen enlightenment factor of

equanimity

there are beku's things that are a basis

for the enlightenment factor of

equanimity

so mindfulness leads to the discernment

of states

the discernment of states leads to

energy and effort right effort

that leads

to joy

that joy leads to tranquility that

tranquility leads to collectedness and

that collectedness leads to equanimity

equanimity is the ability to see things

as they are without becoming agitated

one way or the other

in other words you see things as they

are for whatever they are there's a

hindrance

okay there is a hindrance

if you get annoyed by that hindrance you

are you don't have equanimity and so you

can't really six r but if you see okay

here is a hindrance you recognized it

and you allow the whole process of the

six hours to happen then you are

fulfilling equanimity naturally

because you're not allowing the mind to

become

unsettled by that hindrance

if the mind is collected okay it's

collected it doesn't get overjoyed by

that either so when we say unagitated we

mean unagitated

by

pleasant as well as

unpleasant experiences whether it's a

hindrance or whether it's collectedness

of mind with loving kindness

all right we're almost done

and what bekus is the deep nourishment

that prevents sensu unarisen sensual

desire from

arising and our risen sensual desire

from increasing and expanding

there is because the sign of

foulness

frequently giving careful attention to

it is the nourishment that prevents

unarisen sensual desire from arising and

arisen sensual desire from increasing

and expanding so this is the sign of

foulnesses about the asuba practices but

i would say the activating the

enlightenment factor of joy

actually deconditions deep nourishes

sensual desire

because when you have mental joy

it's better than sensual joy

and that happens when your mind becomes

collected when you're in jhana

and what bekus is the denourishment that

prevents honoris and ill will from

arising

and arisen ill will from increasing

and expanding

there is because the liberation of mind

through loving-kindness

frequently giving careful attention to

it is the de-nourishment that prevents

unarisen ill-will from arising and arv

is an ill will from increasing and

expanding so we're already doing that

with the meta practice

by keeping your mind on loving kindness

you let go of ill will

and what because is the nourishment that

prevents honorism slot and torpor from

arising and are risen slot and torpor

from increasing and expanding

their rb coups the element of arousal

the element of

the element of exertion

frequently giving careful attention to

them is a de-nourishment that prevents

unarisen slot and torpor from arising

and arisen slot interpret from

increasing and expanding so in other

words right effort the process of

applying the right effort

lets go of slot intorpor but we also

talked about a few other solutions

meditating out in the daylight

taking a nap

walking backwards to increase your

attention whatever works for you do that

but are you starting to see a trend here

the enlightenment factors

through the activation of them by using

the six r's

also lets go of these hindrances

so for example joy

replaces sensual craving

of course loving kindness we are doing

already so that lets go of the ill will

using the enlightenment factor of energy

of effort lets go of the slot intorpor

and what bekus is a denourishment that

prevents honor is in restlessness and

remorse from arising and are risen

restlessness and remorse from increasing

and expanding

what do you think it is

what's the antidote for

restlessness tranquility relaxation

peacefulness of mind

frequently giving careful attention to

it is the nourishment that prevents

unarisen sorry that prevents unarisen

restlessness and remorse from arising

and are risen restlessness and remorse

from increasing and expanding

and what because is the de-nourishment

that prevents honorism doubt from

arising and arisen doubt from increasing

and expanding now this is interesting it

says here

there are beku's wholesome and

unwholesome states

blameable and blameless states inferior

and superior states

dark and bright states with their

counterpart

this whole process of knowing what that

is is the discernment of states so the

enlightenment factor of the discernment

of states when you recognize that you

were distracted

let's go of that doubt

of what is wholesome what is unwholesome

what is distracted what is undistracted

frequently giving careful attention to

them is the de-nourishment that prevents

unarisen doubt from arising and irv is

in doubt from increasing and expanding

so in short how do you let go of the

hindrances

six hours

now you know why

yeah

that's why you know i say you know i

could save up two hours save up to two

hours of damatox by saying two words

observe and six are

that's it

okay

let's share some merit

may suffering ones be suffering free may

the

fearless be

may the grieving shed all grief and may

all beings find relief

may all beings bear this merit that we

have thus acquired

for the acquisition of all kinds of

happiness

may beings inhabiting space and earth

devas and nagas of mighty power share

this merit of ours may they long protect

the buddha's dispensation

through

so

[Music]

so today

we will be talking about

hindrances

so i'm going to start with the first

suta which is

majima nikaya 39

this is the greater discourse at asapura

thus have i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living in the ungan

country

at a town of the ungans named asapura

there the blessed one addressed the

bikus thus bhekus venerable sir they

replied

the blessed one said this

recluses recluses speakers that is how

people perceive you

and

when you are asked what are you

you claim that you are recluses

since that is what you are designated

and what you claim to be

you should train thus

we will undertake and practice those

things

that make one a recluse

that make one a brahmana

now

when he mentions brahman here he's not

talking about

it in the context of the religious order

of rahman's

the hindu brahmanas

brahmanas also means somebody who has

attained

so in this context he's talking about

someone who's become fully awakened

someone who has become an arahant

so that our designations may be true

and our claims genuine

and so that the services of those whose

robes

arms food

resting place and medicinal requisites

we use shall bring them great fruit and

benefit

and so that our going forth shall not be

in vain but fruitful and fertile

and what beekus are the things that make

one a recluse that make one a brahmana

because you should train thus

we will be

okay so just listen to the translation

we will be possessed of shame and fear

of wrongdoing

now because you may think thus

we are possessed

of shame and fear of wrongdoing

that much is enough and that much has

been done

the goal of reckless ship has been

reached there is nothing more for us to

do

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the recluse's status

do not fall short of the goal of

reckless ship

while there is more to be done

so here the buddha is talking about we

are possessed

of shame and fear of wrongdoing

we could say that that basically means

understanding the consequences of what

happens when you break a precept

when you break a precept what happens

your mind says

i shouldn't have done that

you know and it becomes restless and

agitated

so fear and

shame of wrongdoing

is really more about

understanding the consequences of

unwholesome intentions

unwholesome speech

and unwholesome actions

understanding that when you break a

precept

it creates disturbance in the mind it

creates restlessness and agitation

and therefore

not a great sit

ultimately

so

first you have to understand why do we

keep the precepts

what is the importance of keeping

precepts and what happens when we break

precepts we're going to further explore

this

what more is what more is to be done

because you should train thus

our bodily conduct shall be purified

clean

and open

flawless and restrained

and we will not laud ourselves and

disparage others on account of that

purified bodily conduct

now because you may think thus

we are possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing and our bodily conduct has

been purified

that much is enough

and that much has been done

the goal of recluseship has been reached

there is nothing more for us to do

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of recluseship

while there is more to be done

so here first the buddha talks about

purified bodily conduct

purified bodily conduct means

not to harm or kill on purpose

not to take what is not given

and not to

have sexual or sensual misconduct

so you're talking about the precepts

again so now the buddha's talking about

bodily then

mental and verbal and we'll talk about

that what more is to be done because you

should train thus

our verbal conduct shall be purified

clear and open

flawless and restrained and we will not

laud ourselves and disparage others on

account of that purified verbal conduct

so what is purified verbal conduct

right speech

not telling lies not indulging in gossip

not using harsh speech and so on

and look what it says it says we will

not we will not laud ourselves and

disparage others

so

no conceit about that no pride about

that

you're keeping the precepts for the sake

of keeping precepts not to show off

for the sake of purifying your mind so

that it's

ripe for practice of meditation

and disparaging others

don't have to judge others if they're

not keeping precepts

you know mind your own business

now because you may think thus we are

possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing

our bodily men bodily conduct has been

purified and our verbal conduct has been

purified that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status

do not fall short of the goal of

reckless ship while there is more to be

done

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

our mental conduct shall be purified

clear and open

flawless and restrained

and we will not laud ourselves and

disparage others on account of that

purified mental conduct

it's a purified mental conduct

that is imbuing the mind

with love and kindness

with compassion

with joy and

equanimity so it starts with right

intention

so purified mental conduct is right

intention purified verbal conduct is

right speech

and purified bodily conduct is right

action

and what is right intention

there is three components to right

intention

number one

it's called nakama

nekama means renunciation

renunciation of the idea that this is me

this is mine this is myself

not taking it personal

seeing everything as being an impersonal

process

so you're not holding on to anything

seeing everything that arises in the

moment as it actually is

with equanimity

without trying to push it resist it do

anything

this happens in your daily life

as well as in the practice

the second component of non-ill will

i'm sorry the second component of right

intention is non-ill will

so non-ill will is

loving-kindness

going from ill-will to non-ill will

is done through

loving-kindness

and then you have not

as the third component and as that is

developing compassion

so when you are purifying your mind

through the practice of radiating

loving-kindness

radiating compassion

with

equanimity meaning you're not bothered

about what happens just seeing things as

they are

and six arring whenever there's a

distraction you're purifying your mental

conduct

now because you may think thus we are

possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing

our bodily conduct and verbal conduct

have been purified and our mental

conduct has been purified that much is

enough and you may rest content with

that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of reclusive

while there is more to be done

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

our livelihood shall be purified

clear and open

flawless and restrained and we will not

laud ourselves and disparage others on

account of that purified livelihood

so now

when we talk about purified livelihood

what are we talking about

we're talking about right livelihood

so right livelihood is if i can remember

correctly

abstaining from trading in anything

dealing with weapons

alcohol

poisons

meat

and intoxicants

is that right

people

intoxicants and alcohol is the same

thing

human trafficking

it's about uh

being a butcher

now because you may think thus we are

possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing our bodily conduct verbal

conduct and mental conduct have been

purified and our livelihood has been

purified that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of recluseship

while there is more to be done

what more is to be done because you

should train thus

we will guard the doors of our sense

faculties

on seeing a form with the eye we will

not grasp at its signs and features

since if we left the i faculty unguarded

evil unwholesome states of covetousness

and grief might invade us

and we will practice the way of its

restraint we will guard the eye faculty

we will undertake the restraint of the

eye faculty

on hearing a sound with the year on

smelling an odor with the nose

on tasting a flavor with the tongue

on touching a tangible with the body

on cognizing a mind object with the mind

we will not grasp at its signs and

features

since if we left them if

we left these faculties unguarded

evil unwholesome states of covetousness

and grief might invade us

we will practice the way of their

restraint

we will guard these faculties

we will undertake the restraint of these

faculties

so

sense restraint comes from the word

uh samvara

and really what that is is understanding

what is happening through the process of

your sixth sense basis

it's not about trying to control them

the moment you try to control what's

happening you can't control what you see

you can't control what you hear you

can't control what you smell you can't

control what you taste

you can't control what you feel you

can't control the wind coming and going

when you're meditating outside

you can't control your mind you can't

control the thoughts that arise

so what are we talking about when we say

restraint

it's not about controlling them it's

about understanding what's happening

when

evil unwholesome states arise those are

the hindrances

having lack of attention

in whatever is happening

if you get carried away with what's

happening let's say you're sitting down

for practice

and you hear somebody rustling and

ruffling around

does your mind go to that and get

irritated by that

or does it just see it as it is and then

comes back to the meditation

so it's about how you respond to the

experience of your sun spaces

do you respond with craving

or covetousness as it said aversion

with anger with irritation

or do you just see it as an experience

of the same spaces

and don't let your mind become fettered

by them don't let your mind become

bothered by it

so this is seeing things as they are

allowing things to be as they are when

your thoughts come up in the meditation

do you get bothered by them there might

be thoughts in the background but you're

still with the object of meditation the

mind will do what it's doing

so it's not a process of tightening your

control over something it's a process of

understanding what they are

seeing that the experiences themselves

are impersonal not to be taken as self

seeing them as arising and passing away

so samvara or restraint

is about allowing things to be

and letting your mind

be unaffected by them

letting your

reactions be responses rather than

reacting or being reactive to them and

getting caught up by them and pulled by

them

you're just allowing them to be and

coming back to the meditation

using the six hours

that can happen while you're meditating

that can happen while you're having your

food that can happen while you're

walking that can happen at any point in

time

so it's all about maintaining that

ability to observe

how mind's attention moves from one

thing to another

now because you may think thus

we are possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing

our bodily conduct verbal conduct mental

conduct and livelihood have been

purified and we guard the doors of our

sense faculties

that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of recluseship

while there is more to be done

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

we will be moderate in eating reflecting

wisely we will take food neither for

amusement nor for intoxication

nor for the sake of

physical beauty and attractiveness

but only for the endurance and

continuance of this body for ending

discomfort and for assisting the holy

life

considering

thus i shall terminate old feelings

without arousing new feelings and i

shall be healthy and blameless and shall

live in comfort

now because you may think thus

we are possessed

of shame and fear of wrongdoing our

bodily conduct verbal conduct mental

conduct and livelihood have been

purified we guard the sense doors of our

faculties and we are moderate in eating

that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of reclusive

while there is more to be done

moderation in eating

so when you're on retreat you eat

until noon you don't eat anything after

that

that's one aspect that's the practical

aspect of keeping the body light keeping

the mind light

and not having slot intorpur from

overeating over indulging

but it's also about moderation in

consumption of other things moderation

and consumption through the other sixth

sense space through the other bases

which is to say what is it that you're

watching on tv what is it that you're

listening to

what is it that uh

you know you're feeling what is it that

you're doing

moderation in consumption of the sixth

sense spaces that includes food

so what is the quality of the things

that you're doing in the way of

consuming in the process of consuming

things

whether it's watching a movie or

listening to music

or tasting certain kinds of food does

the mind grasp onto them does the mind

want more and crave more for it without

realizing that this is enough

and what is the quality of whatever it

is that you're consuming this is one way

of understanding it when you're off

retreat

you know what kind of stuff are you

doing is it

wholesome or unwholesome is it leading

to wholesome intentions or leading to

unwholesome intentions

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

we will be devoted to wakefulness

during the day while walking back and

forth and sitting

we will purify our minds of obstructive

states

what are obstructive states

hindrances

while walking back and forth and sitting

that includes while eating as well while

taking a shower

while driving

while walking obviously

so that means you're always seeing

what's going on in the mind

and if there's craving arising if

there's aversion arising if there's

tightness and tension

you six are it it's a process of

applying right effort

whenever craving arises not just in the

meditation not just in walking

meditation

but all throughout your day

and that means that wakefulness that

arises arises because you have a smile

on your face you have a smile in your

heart you keep your mind light

well that's why there is an emphasis on

smiling all day long because it keeps

the mind uplifted it keeps the mind

awake and alert

and it sharpens the clarity and

mindfulness

in the first watch of the night while

walking back and forth and sitting we

will we will purify our minds of

obstructive states

in the middle watch of the night we will

lie down on the right side in the lion's

pose with one foot overlapping the other

mindful and fully aware

after noting in our minds the time for

arising

now you could do this if you want when

you go to sleep you can try doing the

lines pose and see how that works for

you

but ultimately what it's saying is

we will lie down

after noting in our minds the time for

rising

remember yesterday i said uh

whatever time you have to wake up making

the determination that you'll wake up

let's say if you have to wake up at five

o'clock

4 57

or 503 or 458 or whatever it might be

noting that time

creates a process in the mind that

allows it to be

watchful allows it to be alert

it trains the mind for certain things

that you'll do

and allows the mind to be uplifted all

the time

and you'll see the effect of it

after rising in the third watch of the

night

while walking back and forth and sitting

we will purify our minds of obstructive

states

now because you may think thus

we are possessed of shame and fear of

wrongdoing our bodily conduct verbal

conduct mental conduct and livelihood

have been purified we will guard these

doors of our sense faculties

we are moderate

we guard the doors of our sense

faculties we are moderate in eating and

we are devoted to wakefulness

that much is enough

and you may rest content with that much

because i inform you i declare to you

you who seek the reclusive status do not

fall short of the goal of recluseship

while there is more to be done

what more is to be done

because you should train thus

we will be possessed of mindfulness and

full awareness we will act in full

awareness when going forward and

returning we will act in full awareness

when looking ahead and looking away

we will act in full awareness when

flexing and extending our limbs we will

act in full awareness when wearing our

robes and carrying our outer robe in

bowl we will act in full awareness when

eating drinking consuming

food and tasting

we will act in full awareness when

defecating and urinating we will act in

full awareness when walking standing

sitting falling asleep waking up talking

and keeping silent

so all of this consists of mindfulness

when you go back to the sati patana suta

it talks about the full awareness the

mindfulness and full awareness

in doing all of these various activities

and what are you aware of

are you aware

you're aware of what the mind is doing

how the mind's attention moves

so are you aware that the mind is

staying with its loving kindness

whatever it is that you're doing or are

you aware that the mind is distracted

and having hindrances

in either case you win if you're mindful

if you realize that you're distracted

you can then use the six r's apply right

effort by using the six hours and come

back to your object of meditation

so it's not about the mindfulness of

eating in terms of oh now i'm noting

that i'm eating or when you're walking

oh i'm noting now i'm walking or when

you're sitting oh i'm noting now that

i'm sitting

you're looking at how mind's attention

moves while the body is doing these

things

while the mind is doing something you're

noting what's happening when it comes to

whether the mind is distracted or

undistracted whether the mind is

collected or not collected whether the

mind is in jhana or not in jhana whether

the mind is in the formless attainment

or not in a formless attainment and so

on and so forth

now we come to the crux there's a lot

more in here but this is the real crux

of what i wanted to talk about

abandoning the hindrances

no because that's a process of analysis

you're now like noting oh this body is

impermanent instead if you see it

as a as a process of observing not as a

process of intentionally seeing

something as impermanent because then

you're just going through a process of

thinking reflection and analysis

what more is to be done

here because a b crew resorts to a

secluded resting place

the forest the root of a tree

a mountain a ravine a hillside cave a

charnel ground a jungle thicket an open

space a heap of straw

on returning from his arms round after

his meal he sits down

folding his cr his legs crosswise

you don't have to do that you can sit in

a chair

setting his body erect and establishing

mindfulness before him

abandoning covetousness for the world

he abides in a mind free from

covetousness he purifies his mind from

covetousness

so first we have to understand what does

it mean when it says

establishing mindfulness

before him

just observing what's going on

observing when an intention to bring up

loving kindness happens observing when

the mind is experiencing and feeling the

loving kindness

so that

observation that process of observing

what's happening

is that process of establishing

mindfulness in the mind

and now we get to the first uh hindrance

here which is abandoning covetousness

he abides with the mind free from

covetousness

he purifies his mind from covetousness

abandoning ill will and hatred he abides

with the mind free from ill will

compassionate for the welfare of all

living beings he purifies his mind from

ill will and hatred

abandoning slot and torpor

he abides free from slot and torpor

percipient of light

mindful and fully aware

when they say percipient of light a lot

of times that's interpreted as when the

mind becomes so concentrated that it

experiences some kind of a light in the

mind's eye

but that's not the way to look at it

percipient of light means

being aware

light comes from the word obasa in pali

in obasa there's four kinds of obasas

there's the obasa we have here

okay there's five types of obasas

the first obasa is the light of fire

the second obasa is the light of the

moon the third obasa is the light of the

sun and the fourth of us is the light of

wisdom

it's a recipient of wisdom recipient of

seeing how mind works

that means applying right effort that's

how you're free from slot intorpor

mindful and fully aware

he purifies his mind from slot and

torpor

abandoning restlessness and remorse

he abides unagitated with the mind

inwardly peaceful

he purifies his mind from restlessness

and remorse

abandoning doubt he abides having gone

beyond doubt unperplexed about wholesome

states

he purifies his mind from doubt

so let's explore these five basic

hindrances that you will encounter at

some point in the meditation

so craving

this essential craving

maybe somehow while you're meditating

you smell

uh freshly baked muffins

and now

your mind is thinking about those

muffins

and it's thinking oh when i finish this

sit

when the lunch bell rings i'm gonna go

in line and get those muffins

that's sensual craving

so any kind of experience of the sixth

sense spaces or the five i should say

physical pieces

where the mind

listens to it or

smells it or tastes it or feels it

or sees it

and then wants more of it identifies it

and says i want more of this

that sensual craving becomes obsessed by

it this is sensual craving the mind

tightens around it the body tightens

around it

ill will and hatred ill will comes in

the form of annoyance irritation

aversion anger hatred

and so on

so maybe you're

sitting around in the room and you get

irritated by it it lands on your face or

it's just buzzing around your ear and

you try to you know swat it away or

whatever it might be you get irritated

by it

you have hatred against that fly

or anything else that might be happening

through the sixth sense spaces that you

get upset about

that is ill will and anger

restlessness restlessness is when you

try too hard

when you're pushing you're going to

experience tension in the head

and you're going to experience racing

thoughts

too many things going on

because you're trying too hard you're

pushing too hard

when you make too much of an effort and

you try to bring your mind to a

concentrated state you're going to see

that the mind starts to flutter around

you're going to see that the mind thinks

about this or that

and then slot and torpor

maybe you ate a really big meal

you haven't had your nap you go and sit

down

and you immediately notice that you

start to

fall asleep

the mind becomes dull it feels like the

mind is paying attention and then

suddenly there's like a gap in that

attention and then it's like okay i'm

paying attention and there's another gap

and then you're paying attention there's

another gap and eventually you just go

like this

and you fall asleep

right and your mind becomes very groggy

becomes a very dull

and there are some reasons for why this

happens it's either you haven't gotten

enough sleep

or you're not paying attention too much

you don't have enough energy

you don't have enough effort

that doesn't mean you have to become one

pointed it just means that you're not

paying attention you're not staying with

the object of meditation

and then you have doubt

now this isn't doubt like doubt about

the buddha dhamma sangha this is doubt

in relation to what is wholesome and

what is unwholesome this is doubt in

relation to am i doing the practice

right

am i doing this correctly uh what's

going on here i wonder if what he said

was right did was it like that or was it

like this

so these kinds of thoughts that arise

like am i really practicing the

meditation am i actually applying the

six hours am i with my object of

meditation

these kinds of thoughts are doubt

now

the way i see it is that there is a

connection between the hindrances and

the precepts

now this is the way i see it

so you can take it for what it's worth

to you

the way i see it is when you break the

precept

of

harming living beings or killing them on

purpose

you are bringing up an intention of ill

will

and as you do that you are strengthening

ill will

and that manifests

as ill will as irritation as a version

in the mind

in response to things

when you take what is not given

that can bring up restlessness

and taking what is not given the way i

see it is not just physical possessions

but taking what is not given in the form

of

seeking attention in the form of trying

to get credit for something all of these

different things that you do try to take

what is not given

this can cause restlessness because the

mind is always on the lookout for

looking for things whether it's physical

or mental or emotional

and this can create a form of

restlessness in the mind

now when you have sensual misconduct

it's actually sexual misconduct but we

also have sensual misconduct that means

you become so enamored by an experience

of the sixth sense basis that it causes

you to break another precept one of the

other precepts

so you become essentially obsessed by

that experience

and when that happens

you have sensual craving that comes up

so when you break this precept you

strengthen that hindrance of sensual

craving

when you break the precept of not

lying of not dealing in gossip not

dealing in false speech and so on

you create doubt in yourself you create

doubt in others

you have doubt about others you have

doubt about your own capacities and

capabilities

and so when you break this precept

you can have the strengthening of the

hindrance of doubt

and then finally indulging in

intoxicants

so indulging in alcohol or drugs but i

would also say over indulging in

anything

whether it's media or

the news or social media or the internet

or reading too many books or doing this

or that indulging or overindulging in

these things

can create a mind that becomes dull

think about it when you're watching

tv for a long period of time eventually

the mind just becomes like

dull it doesn't want to do anything it

has slot and twerper

so

alcohol intoxicants

all of these things drugs they

eventually dull the mind so if that

happens if you break that precept it can

strengthen the experience of slot and

torpor in your mind

so this is the importance in my

understanding of keeping the precepts

you're doing it so that you start to

strengthen your mind

you strengthen your mindfulness and you

weaken the hindrances

the only reason why you have hindrances

arising in your mind

they are the effects of previous choices

you've made in the past

at some point or another you broke a

precept whether it was in this life or

whether it was in a past life and

because of that it translates into

manifests

as a hindrance in the mind

now we're going to talk about well let's

just finish this part and then

i'll go to the next suitable

because suppose a man were to take a

loan and undertake business and his

business were to succeed

so that he could repay all the money of

the old loan and there would remain

enough extra to maintain a life

then on considering this

he would be glad and full of joy

or suppose a man were afflicted

suffering and gravely ill and his food

would not agree with him and his body

had no strength

but later he would recover from the

affliction and his food would agree with

him and his body would regain strength

then on considering this he would be

glad and full of joy or suppose a man

were imprisoned in a prison house but

later he would be released from prison

safe and secure with no loss to his

property

then on considering this he would be

glad and full of joy or suppose a man

wore a slave not self-dependent

but dependent on others unable to go

where he wants but later on he would be

released from slavery self-dependent

independent of others

a freed man able to go where he wants

then on considering this he would be

glad and full of joy or suppose a man

with wealth and pro

and property were to enter enter a road

across a desert but later on he would

cross over the desert safe and secure

with no loss to his property then on

considering this he would be glad and

full of joy

so too because when these five

hindrances are unabandoned

in himself ibiku sees them respectively

as a debt a disease

a prison

slavery and a road across a desert but

when these five hindrances have been

abandoned in himself he sees that as

freedom from death

healthiness

released from prison freedom from

slavery and the land of safety

so now we're going to talk about how do

you deal with these hindrances

any guesses

six hours

i can take a couple of questions

if you want

if anybody has any questions

i do yes

mindfulness

beforehand

that phrase

so

as i understand it that is how

many of the theravadas

think that

the

attention should be put

on the

nose tip before the breath goes in and

out of the nose yeah

so i mean if that sentence just had

ended at mindfulness

but i don't understand i mean is it a

translation

and

i mean is it a translation issue before

him or

you know in

instead of

what he is doing

put mindfulness

as the primary activity he is doing i

mean that's what

that's how i get it i mean it's a

stretch to say the nose yeah the buddha

knew what a nose was

yeah the nose before you right establish

yeah

but the way i see it is yeah we could

probably just stop and say established

in mindfulness

that is to say that you have an

intention of observing how your

attention is moving

so when you sit down to meditate

or you're doing walking meditation your

mind is observing what's going on

observing in terms of not

what you're doing physically observing

in terms of whether there is distraction

in the mind

so mindfulness established before him i

would say as

established in mindfulness

maybe that would be a better way of

looking at it

so now the thing happened

is

could be taught oh

write speech

talk about right speech

so the way i look at write speeches

think before you speak

so that's an acronym t h i n k

so t stands for timeliness

is it the right time to say what you're

going to say

h is for honesty is what you're going to

say that you know is truthful or not

truthful

i is for intention

what is the intention behind what you're

going to say is it a wholesome intention

or an unwholesome intention

n is for necessity

is it necessary for you to say it or for

the benefit of the other person

and k is kindness

can you say with kindness

so that's think think before you speak

all right

any other questions

no okay

so now we're going to talk about

differences and the nutriments for the

hindrances how they arise and how to let

go of them

what i'm reading from is

samyutta nikaya 46.51

nutriment

atsavati

bhikkhus i will teach you the nutriment

and the de-nourishment in regard to the

five hindrances

and the seven factors of enlightenment

listen to that

and what bekus is the nutriment for the

arising of unarisen sensual desire

and for the increase and expansion of

our risen sensual desire

there is beku's the sign of the

beautiful

frequently giving careless attention to

it

is the nutriment for the arising of

unarisen sensual desire

and for the increase and expansion of

arisen sensual desire

so the sign of the beautiful

we're not talking about the fourth jhana

here when we talk about the beautiful

we're talking about something that

is pleasant something that's pleasant a

pleasant sense experience

when there is a pleasant sense

experience

if there is a lack of mindfulness as to

what that is

then the mind can get caught up in it

the mind can see it as something that i

need or i want

identify with it and that careless

attention which is the lack

of mindfulness of how the mind is

responding to it

will create

sensual craving will create the arising

of sensual desire

and care careless attention is also

translated from

means

the source of something

yoni which is also the word for womb

of source of something and mani sakhara

literally means to take something to

heart so to pay attention to it

to understand it

so we're talking about careful attention

as yoni so many sakara

and careless attention as a yoni so many

sakai

the way i translate this in my book a

mind without craving is

yoni somane sakara is attention rooted

in reality

so that reality is the understanding of

the three characteristics of existence

so the lack of awareness of the

the

the awareness the lack of the awareness

of the impermanence of this

experience the

dukkha of this experience of not worth

holding on to

and the impersonal nature of this

experience the lack of attention to that

lack of awareness of that can lead the

mind to be unmindful can lead the mind

to cling to it to identify with it and

thus cause

sensual craving

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of honor is an ill will

and for the increase in expansion of a

risen ill will

there is beekus the sign of the

repulsive

frequently giving careless attention to

it is the nutriment for the arising of

honoris and ill will and for the

increase in expansion of arisen ill will

so something that is unpleasant

an experience that is unpleasant and the

mind sees that and says i don't like

that because it identifies it identifies

with it

and sees that it is mine or it is

affecting me

the mind clings to it and has repulsion

against it has

has aversion towards it

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of unaries and slot and

twerper and for the increase in

expansion of arisen slot intorpur

there are beku's discontent

lethargy lazy stretching

drowsiness after meals

sluggishness of mind

frequently giving careless attention to

them

is the nutriment for the arising of

unarisen slot and torpor and for the

increase in expansion of honor is in

slot and torpor

or rather a risen slot intorper

so what is slot and torpor there is

discontent

lethargy lazy stretching drowsiness

after meals

slugging sluggishness of mind

you come back from a big meal and you

come here to sit for meditation practice

and you're saying i will sit through

this

i will do whatever i can to sit through

us through this

but in doing so you're giving careless

attention to that you're not you're

resisting to that instead go take a walk

take a nap

another idea like monty says is walk

backwards to

strengthen the attention

or sit outside in the light

if that helps

so you have to be aware of your mind is

there sluggishness in the mind

if there's sluggishness maybe you need

to take some rest maybe you haven't had

enough rest so take a nap

i encourage naps on this retreat

there you go

david knows what i'm talking about

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of honor is in restlessness

and remorse

and for the increase in expansion of

arisen restlessness and remorse

there is bheku's unsettledness of mind

so this is really interesting

unsettledness of mind

somehow the you know there is this idea

that if the mind becomes super focused

very concentrated it becomes very

attentive

but what you'll notice is when you do

that you're trying too hard and when you

try too hard the attention actually

becomes dispersed

and as a reaction of that there's all of

these different

thoughts that come up and the mind feels

agitated the mind feels like there's a

lot of activity going on

but the settled mind

is the mind that allows everything to be

as it is

and it has

no process of trying too hard just

relaxing

allowing that water to settle down

restlessness is also understood as that

wind-whipped water you know things are

going on above the surface

and then

you know all of this mud comes up in the

form of all of these different thoughts

but if you allow the mind to collect

itself by relaxing

then those ripples stop

and the mud settles and you see the

clarity of the water

so by relaxing by keeping things light

you're actually being more collected

frequently giving careless attention to

it is the nutriment for the arising of

honoris and restlessness and remorse

and for the increase in expansion of

arisen restlessness and remorse and what

because is the nutriment for the arising

of honoris and doubt and for the

increase in expansion of arisen doubt

there are because things that are a

basis for doubt

frequently given careless attention to

them is the nutriment for the arising of

unrisen doubt and for the increase in

expansion of irvison doubt so what are

the things that are the basis for doubt

not being certain about what the

practice is not being certain about what

is a wholesome state and what is an

unwholesome state

but you know what is a wholesome state

and you know what is an unwholesome

state you know when the mind is

distracted you know when the mind is

undistracted you know what the precepts

are you know what the hindrances are

so then there's further doubt that

arises in the form of am i doing this

practice correctly

what's going on here

these kinds of thoughts when they arise

if there's careless attention given to

them

then they increase

but there's a way in

dealing with them and that is the

process of right effort that is the

process of the six r's

now we're going to talk about

the

nutriments for the enlightenment factors

so

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the unarisen

enlightenment factor of mindfulness and

for the fulfillment by development of

the

arisen enlightenment factor of

mindfulness

there are beku's

things that are a basis for the

enlightenment factor of mindfulness

frequently giving careful attention to

them is the nutriment for the arising of

the unarisen enlightenment factor of

mindfulness

and the fulfillment by development of

the arisen enlightenment factor of

mindfulness

so there's certain components that allow

the mind to be mindful and number one

that is intention

careful attention

allowing the mind to settle

on object allowing the mind to observe

what's going on

watching how the mind's attention moves

from one thing to the other

being able to do that you are fulfilling

the development of mindfulness

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the unarisen

enlightenment factor of discrimination

of states and

for the fulfillment by development of

the arisen enlightenment factor of

discrimination of states

there are beku's wholesome and

unwholesome states blameable and

blameless states inferior and superior

states dark and bright with their

counterparts

so when we talk about discrimination of

states this comes from the pali word

and sometimes it's translated as

investigation of states sometimes it's

translated as

analysis of states sometimes it's

translated as discrimination of states

discernment of states and so on and so

forth but all of these somehow denote

the idea that you have to think about

them

they know the idea that you have to

analyze or reflect on them

but that's not the case with this

enlightenment factor this enlightenment

factor is all about understanding

the mind is distracted or undistracted

so mindfulness leads

to the discrimination of states

the mindfulness the remembering of

observing how mind's attention moves

from one thing to the other

allows you to see that the mind is

distracted or the mind is collected

so when you recognize

that the mind is distracted when you

recognize that the mind is no longer on

its object of meditation

you fulfill

the enlightenment factor of mindfulness

and the enlightenment factor of

discernment of states because now you

recognize oh i am now distracted

somebody raised that no

so frequently giving careful attention

to them is a nutrient for the arising of

unarisen in light of the unresonant

enlightenment factor of discrimination

of states and for the fulfillment by

development of the arisen enlightenment

factor of discrimination of states

and what bekus is the nutriment for the

arising of the unrisen enlightenment

factor of energy

and for the fulfillment by development

of the arisen enlightenment factor of

energy

there are beekus

the element of arousal

the element of endeavor the element of

exertion

in

short it's all about having right effort

the effort to let go the effort to see

what's going on and to let go

so

when you recognize

you have mindfulness you have brought

back your mindfulness you have

discernment of states

when you

release

now you're taking your attention away

from that now you realize you allow that

to be there and you bring your attention

back to

mind and body to relax

this process requires

simple effort of placing your attention

back somewhere else this is a process of

awakening

the enlightenment factor of energy

you're using energy to let go of that

hindrance to abandon that hindrance by

releasing your attention from that

hindrance

and what bekus

oh

so frequently giving careful attention

to them is the nutriment for the arising

of the unarisen enlightenment factor of

energy and for the fulfillment by

development of the arisen enlightenment

factor of energy

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the unarisen

enlightenment factor of joy

and for the fulfillment by development

of the arisen enlightenment factor of

joy

there are beakers things that are a

basis for the enlightenment factor of

joy

frequently giving careful attention to

them

is the nutriment for the arising of the

unarisen enlightenment factor of joy

and for the fulfillment by development

of the arise arisen enlightenment factor

of joy

so here when you re-smile we'll get to

relax

but first when you re-smile

you bring some joy in back to your mind

you start to uplift your mind again

so that process of observing that your

mind got distracted allows you to

discern that the mind is distracted

that then allows you to release the

attention from that hindrance which is

fulfilling the energy

when we relax what we're doing is

actually awakening the enlightenment

factor of tranquility

so the there's an interdependence

between joy and tranquility

when you're joyful you're naturally

relaxed

and when you're relaxed you have the

ability to experience

joy and happiness

so here in this case the way it's talked

about is first joy and tranquility but

in either case it works so when you

relax you have tranquility and when you

re-smile you bring up the joy

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the urn arisen

enlightenment factor of tranquility and

for the fulfillment by development of

the arisen enlightenment factor of

tranquility

there are bheku's tranquility of body

tranquility of mind

how do you get tranquility of body and

mind

by relaxing

frequently giving careful attention to

them is the nutriment for the arising of

the unarisen enlightenment factor of

tranquility and for the fulfillment by

development of the arisen fact

enlightenment factor of tranquility

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the unarisen

enlightenment factor of collectedness

and for the fulfillment by development

of the arisen enlightenment factor of

collectedness

there are beku's the sign of serenity

the sign of non-dispersal

the sign of serenity is a mind that is

clear a mind that is calm

after having

relaxed after having re-smiled

then your mind becomes collected now you

return back to your object of meditation

when you return back to your object of

meditation you are fulfilling the

awakening factor of collectedness

and what is non-dispersal mean that

means now the mind collects its

attention around the object of

meditation remember earlier i said when

people think that they have to be super

one-pointed and focused they think that

their attention is non-dispersed but

actually what's happening is their mind

goes in different directions

whereas if your mind is relaxed

and you allow it to collect around its

object meditation the attention orbits

the object of meditation and so it's

sort of

it's sort of

because it's in the gravitational field

of loving kindness or whatever it might

be it's collected

and so that is the enlightenment factor

of collectedness

activated through the process of

returning back to your object of

meditation

and what because is the nutriment for

the arising of the honorism

enlightenment factor of equanimity and

for the fulfillment by development of

the arisen enlightenment factor of

equanimity

there are beku's things that are a basis

for the enlightenment factor of

equanimity

so mindfulness leads to the discernment

of states

the discernment of states leads to

energy and effort right effort

that leads

to joy

that joy leads to tranquility that

tranquility leads to collectedness and

that collectedness leads to equanimity

equanimity is the ability to see things

as they are without becoming agitated

one way or the other

in other words you see things as they

are for whatever they are there's a

hindrance

okay there is a hindrance

if you get annoyed by that hindrance you

are you don't have equanimity and so you

can't really six r but if you see okay

here is a hindrance you recognized it

and you allow the whole process of the

six hours to happen then you are

fulfilling equanimity naturally

because you're not allowing the mind to

become

unsettled by that hindrance

if the mind is collected okay it's

collected it doesn't get overjoyed by

that either so when we say unagitated we

mean unagitated

by

pleasant as well as

unpleasant experiences whether it's a

hindrance or whether it's collectedness

of mind with loving kindness

all right we're almost done

and what bekus is the deep nourishment

that prevents sensu unarisen sensual

desire from

arising and our risen sensual desire

from increasing and expanding

there is because the sign of

foulness

frequently giving careful attention to

it is the nourishment that prevents

unarisen sensual desire from arising and

arisen sensual desire from increasing

and expanding so this is the sign of

foulnesses about the asuba practices but

i would say the activating the

enlightenment factor of joy

actually deconditions deep nourishes

sensual desire

because when you have mental joy

it's better than sensual joy

and that happens when your mind becomes

collected when you're in jhana

and what bekus is the denourishment that

prevents honoris and ill will from

arising

and arisen ill will from increasing

and expanding

there is because the liberation of mind

through loving-kindness

frequently giving careful attention to

it is the de-nourishment that prevents

unarisen ill-will from arising and arv

is an ill will from increasing and

expanding so we're already doing that

with the meta practice

by keeping your mind on loving kindness

you let go of ill will

and what because is the nourishment that

prevents honorism slot and torpor from

arising and are risen slot and torpor

from increasing and expanding

their rb coups the element of arousal

the element of

the element of exertion

frequently giving careful attention to

them is a de-nourishment that prevents

unarisen slot and torpor from arising

and arisen slot interpret from

increasing and expanding so in other

words right effort the process of

applying the right effort

lets go of slot intorpor but we also

talked about a few other solutions

meditating out in the daylight

taking a nap

walking backwards to increase your

attention whatever works for you do that

but are you starting to see a trend here

the enlightenment factors

through the activation of them by using

the six r's

also lets go of these hindrances

so for example joy

replaces sensual craving

of course loving kindness we are doing

already so that lets go of the ill will

using the enlightenment factor of energy

of effort lets go of the slot intorpor

and what bekus is a denourishment that

prevents honor is in restlessness and

remorse from arising and are risen

restlessness and remorse from increasing

and expanding

what do you think it is

what's the antidote for

restlessness tranquility relaxation

peacefulness of mind

frequently giving careful attention to

it is the nourishment that prevents

unarisen sorry that prevents unarisen

restlessness and remorse from arising

and are risen restlessness and remorse

from increasing and expanding

and what because is the de-nourishment

that prevents honorism doubt from

arising and arisen doubt from increasing

and expanding now this is interesting it

says here

there are beku's wholesome and

unwholesome states

blameable and blameless states inferior

and superior states

dark and bright states with their

counterpart

this whole process of knowing what that

is is the discernment of states so the

enlightenment factor of the discernment

of states when you recognize that you

were distracted

let's go of that doubt

of what is wholesome what is unwholesome

what is distracted what is undistracted

frequently giving careful attention to

them is the de-nourishment that prevents

unarisen doubt from arising and irv is

in doubt from increasing and expanding

so in short how do you let go of the

hindrances

six hours

now you know why

yeah

that's why you know i say you know i

could save up two hours save up to two

hours of damatox by saying two words

observe and six are

that's it

okay

let's share some merit

may suffering ones be suffering free may

the

fearless be

may the grieving shed all grief and may

all beings find relief

may all beings bear this merit that we

have thus acquired

for the acquisition of all kinds of

happiness

may beings inhabiting space and earth

devas and nagas of mighty power share

this merit of ours may they long protect

the buddha's dispensation

through

[Music]