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

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

[Music]

so today i'm going to be reading from

majmenikaya 139

this is

the exposition of non-conflict

unless have i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living at savathi in

jetta's grove anatapindicus park

there the blessed one addressed because

thus because venerable sir they replied

the blessed one said this

because i shall teach you an exposition

of non-conflict

listen and attend closely to what i

shall say

yes venerable sarah the beakers replied

the blessed one said this

one should not pursue sensual pleasure

which is low

vulgar

coarse

ignoble and unbeneficial

and one should not pursue self

mortification

which is painful

ignoble

and unbeneficial

the middle way discovered by the

tatargata avoids both extremes

giving vision giving knowledge

it leads to peace

to direct knowledge

to enlightenment to nibana

one should know what is to extol

and what is to disparage

and knowing both one should neither

extol nor disparage

but should only teach the dhamma

one should know how to define pleasure

and knowing that one should pursue

pleasure

within oneself

one should not utter covert speech and

one should not utter

overt sharp speech

one should speak unhurriedly not

hurriedly

one should not insist

on local language

and one should not override

its normal usage

this is the summary of the exposition of

non

conflict

so now he's going to go in depth into

what he just talked about what he just

said

one should not pursue sensual pleasure

which is low vulgar coarse

ignoble and unbeneficial

and one should not pursue

self-mortification

which is painful ignoble and

unbeneficial

so it was said and with reference to

what was this said

the pursuit of the enjoyment of one

whose pleasure is linked to sensual

desires

low

is linked to sensual desires low vulgar

coarse ignoble and unbeneficial

it is a state beset by suffering

vexation

despair

and fever

and it is the wrong way

disengagement from the pursuit of the

enjoyment of one whose pleasure is

linked to sensual desires

low vulgar coarse ignoble

and beneficial unbeneficial is a state

without suffering

vexation despair and fever and it is the

right way

so here the buddha is talking about the

three different paths there is the path

of sensual pleasures

there is the path of self-mortification

and there is the middle path the middle

way

what does it mean when he says the

pursuit of sensual pleasures

in a couple of sutas the buddha says

that it is not the central pleasures

themselves

that is the problem

the issue is the craving for sensual

pleasures

in other words

you have good food

you have

a good climate you have

uh good conditions all of these things

are apparent

but how do you take them to be

do you see them as being me mine and

myself

and therefore grasp onto them

or

you know do you see them as

impersonal

they arose because of a series of causes

and conditions

everything that you experience through

or everything you experience in this

world i should say

is through the sixth sense spaces

you see through your eyes you hear

through your ears you smell through your

nose you taste through your tongue

you feel through your body temperature

climate heat cold whatever it might be

and you think through your mind

these are all sense sensual experiences

sensations

so how do these experiences happen

they are conditioned

they are conditioned by what

conditioned by contact

what is contact

when the eye sees something when the eye

makes contact with the form and color

the light the photons bounce off of that

object

enter into the retina and then there is

the feeling of seeing

likewise with the ears and the nose and

the tongue and the body and the mind

there is the internal sense bases

which are the eyes the ears the nose the

tongue the body and the mind

and there is the external the form

or color form and color

the sound

the smell the taste the tangibles

and the thoughts

when these two the internal and external

connect that connection is contact

that contact that spursha or fusa

that gives rise to vedana that is

feeling

now feeling can be

pleasant

or painful

or neutral

if it's a pleasant feeling there's

nothing wrong in of itself

it's just this very pleasant feeling

a pleasant

sensation

but what happens

when you see that sensual experience

when you

taste good food when you see a wonderful

sight when you hear good music when you

smell something very fragrant it's all

pleasant

right but then what happens

now you want more of it that is the

craving

now you say i have to pursue this i have

to own this this is me this is mine

this is myself

on the flip side of that we talk about

aversion in relation to central

experiences

you see something that you don't like

you hear something you don't like

while you're meditating people keep

opening and closing the doors it gets

distracting

people cough

or they're clearing their throats or

they're walking up and down

or maybe you hear the lawnmower

or whatever it might be

that distracts you and what happens the

distraction in of itself is not the

issue here

it's how you react to it how do you

respond to it

and so that is the aversion in relation

to the sensual experience

so the pursuit of that which is linked

to desires sensual desire that sensual

craving

or aversion

so what is sensual desire what is

aversion

it's your response your reaction to that

situation

when you your mind becomes a servant

of sensual experiences

by craving for this or that by

identifying with this or that

by not wanting pushing away this or that

then you experience suffering

then it is beset by suffering by

vexation

so that's why the buddha says that it is

unbeneficial to do this

so how do you let go of that how do you

deal with that

six hours

you recognize that there's craving

or there's a version in relation to a

sensual experience

you release your mind from that

you relax the mind and body relax the

tightness and tension

associated with that craving or without

aversion

come back to the smile

keep your mind uplifted

and return back to your object

now the six hours aren't just for

meditation

formal sitting meditation or walking

meditation

the six hours can be used anywhere and

everywhere at any time you notice the

craving arises

anytime you notice that aversion arises

let's say you're standing in line and

you know you're waiting for some fried

rice

right

and there's no fried rice available

how do you respond

how do you react

do you get upset

yeah

you know do you say oh i was really

looking for forward to that fried rice

it's no longer there

or you say okay no big deal

so the pursuit of that the fried rice

isn't the problem

it's your craving for the fried rice

your expectation

of i'm gonna have fried rice and it's no

longer there so how do you know if

there's craving in your mind one of the

ways to understand if there's craving in

your mind is

if there's a

object there

and you really like that object and

somebody takes away that object how do

you respond you get upset by it you get

irritated by it

then that means you have an attachment

to it

you have clinging to it

you're identifying with it

so the pursuit of sensual desires this

the pursuit

of sensual experiences linked to the

desire or to the aversion or to the

identification

that is what is unbeneficial

that is what is ignoble

so whenever you notice that irritation

in the mind whenever you notice that

there's some kind of frustration

when you notice there's some kind of

clinging or craving

you notice it you recognize it you

release your attention to it

relax

re-smile

and return back to a wholesome object

now that wholesome object can be

loving-kindness or it can be compassion

or it can be empathetic joy or it can be

equanimity it could be quiet mind

whatever that might be

so disengagement from the pursuit that

disengagement

that is using the six hours

the pursuit of self-mortification

painful ignoble and unbeneficial

is a state beset by suffering

vexation despair and fever

and it is the wrong way

disengagement from the pursuit of

self-mortification

painful ignoble and unbeneficial

is a state without suffering

vexation

despair and fever

and it is the right way

so when we talk about self-mortification

what we're saying is

it's a mind that says i have to be a

certain way in order to meditate

i have to sleep only a certain amount of

hours

i have to get up at this particular time

i have to meditate for this long

i have to do my walking meditation for

this long

i have to skip breakfast or i have to

skip lunch so that i can continue to sit

i have to go on a fast

so

you know the buddha he had done all of

these things to the most extreme levels

mortification self-modification

he went through a process of fasting

very very extreme bouts of fasting

he went through a process of

only surviving on fruits that fell from

the tree didn't even pluck the fruits

from the tree

or on very small grains of rice and so

on

he tried all of these different

ways you know staying awake for a long

period of time

using different kinds of practices to

keep the breath hold on to the breath

for a long period of time and

all of these things that you know just

cause a lot of pain to the body

he tried all of this and realized that

this is not the way to

awakening

this is not the way to nibana

he let go of that

and sujata gave him that bowl of

cure of

the rice pudding

right and then after that he built up

his body he started to eat

at

eat certain amounts of food he started

to rest

he got better

he realized that this is not the way

and then he realized and he recalled the

time

when he was sitting under the rose apple

tree

when he was a kid

and he said might that be the way to

nibana

using that memory he felt elated he felt

happy

he experienced jhana

he went through the jhanas

and then went through the threefold

knowledge and experienced nibana

experienced

arahatship and became a buddha

so when we talk about self-modification

in terms of the retreat

everything in moderation everything in

balance

and then on a very deep level it means

stop pushing

don't try so hard

there's a tendency for people when they

meditate

you know when you're radiating in the

six directions for example sending it

out in the different directions there's

a tendency to push it out in each

direction

and then one ex what one experiences

is this band of tension around the head

that's a form of self mortification

because you're causing yourself pain

in the pursuit of what you think

is going to lead to nibbana

that is unbeneficial

let go of the need to try so hard

the need to try so hard

is a kind of craving

it's a craving for becoming i have to

attain nebano in this retreat

i have to do this on this retreat

when you notice yourself and you notice

your mind doing that

sex are it let that go

relax keep the mind open keep the mind

spacious

so that you can notice where your

attachments are you can notice where

your points of aversion are and you can

let go of those and now you start to

teach yourself

how mind works

and therefore you develop and cultivate

wisdom

so it was with reference to this that it

was said one should not pursue sensual

pleasure which is low

vulgar coarse ignoble and unbeneficial

and one should not pursue

self-mortification

which is painful ignoble and

unbeneficial

the middle way discovered by the tata

avoids both these extremes

giving vision giving knowledge it leads

to peace

to direct knowledge to enlightenment to

nibana

so it was said

and with reference to what was this said

it is just this noble eightfold path

that is right view

right intention

right speech

right action

right livelihood

right effort

right mindfulness and right

collectedness

so this is the noble eightfold path

let's explore this let's understand what

this is because this is what you're

doing on retreat

you are pursuing the middle way

you are cultivating the middle path

which is a noble eightfold path

so the first aspect of that is right

view

so right view

there are many levels of understanding

right view but at the very basic

understanding of right view

is action and consequence

your actions mental verbal and physical

have consequences

this is karma

you understand that there is a way out

of suffering

maybe you don't fully understand or

comprehend what that is but your mind is

willing to see for itself what that is

so that is part of right view

now

the super mundane right view

is the understanding of the four noble

truths

what are the four noble truths

that there is suffering in life

it's not that life is suffering itself

but that there is suffering in life

the second noble truth

is that there is a source of the

suffering there is an origin of the

suffering and traditionally that is

understood as craving

but as we explore dependent origination

we'll see there are other components

that lead to that suffering

another form of suffering when you're

meditating is what distractions

hindrances

how do you deal with those

you use the six hours and so you

experience the third noble truth

which is the cessation of suffering

nirodha

and then the fourth noble truth is this

the eightfold path

so

i'm going to let you know that whenever

you do the six arcs

you are actually utilizing the entire

eightfold path

and i'm going to explain how that is

in the case of understanding the four

noble truths

when you see that there is a hindrance

present in your mind when you know that

there is suffering present in the mind

in the form of that hindrance and

distraction

you are seeing for yourself the first

noble truth

when you release your attention from it

because it is your attention your

attention is like a spotlight

when the spotlight is there it will

aggravate that situation so if your

attention is on there in the form of

resisting that hindrance

in the form of trying to change that

hindrance

in the form of pushing that hindrance or

doing anything else except for letting

go

you're going to cause yourself more

suffering

so you notice the hindrance that's the

first part

knowing there is suffering present

you abandon the second noble truth which

is the craving

the attention to that you release your

attention from that you've relax the

tightness and tension and you experience

the third noble truth right there and

then you experience nirotha

when you relax

you experience a mundane form of nibana

because when you relax

your mind is spacious

your mind is open

your mind is free in that moment

of greed hatred and delusion

with that mind then you generate

something that's wholesome through the

smile

and you return back to your object of

meditation

by doing this

you are cultivating the fourth noble

truth

which is the eightfold path itself

and then you repeat the process anytime

you see a distraction happening

right intention there are three parts to

right intention

there is

which is renunciation

there is non-ill will and there is

non-cruelty

when we talk about renunciation what

we're talking about really a mind that

is content

accepting everything as it is

that is the right intention

contentment

letting go

seeing things as being conditioned

dependently arisen

therefore impermanent therefore not

worth holding on to

therefore not to be considered as me

mine or myself

so every experience that you have

good bad or indifferent

pleasant

unpleasant neutral

all of that is conditioned

and if it's conditioned it's impermanent

it's arising

and passing away

subject to cessation so why hold on to

it

so they comma renunciation contentment

understands this process to be

dependently arisen

therefore impermanent therefore not

worth holding on to

non-ill will the second part

how do you cultivate that

through love and kindness

which is exactly what you guys are doing

here with the brahma viharas

non-cruelty

non-cruelty is non-violence

which is cultivated through

compassion

when we talk about non-ill will that's

basically a mind that says

i am friends with everyone

everyone is a friend of mine all beings

are my friends and you want the best for

them

when you talk about non-cruelty you

understand that all beings are suffering

when you understand that all beings are

suffering

you understand what is suffering

so why would you want to inflict more

suffering on a being that is suffering

through use of cruelty

through inflicting

harsh speech

harsh actions

harsh intentions

compassion is understanding that all

beings are suffering

and wishing them being free from that

suffering

this is the third component of right

intention

right speech

so how do you go from the wrong

intention to right intention

the wrong intention says

i want this

i want to own this or i don't like that

or i hate that individual i want to

inflict pain on that individual

how do you go from that to right

intention

is 6r

recognize the wrong intention in your

mind

release your attention from that

relax re-smile come back to the right

intention and act from there

so now we talk about right speech

right speech means abstaining from

speech that harms harmful speech harsh

speech abuse of speech

lying

saying things that are untrue

gossip slander those kinds of things we

talk about gossip what is gossip

when you talk about another person when

they're not in the room when you know

you're gossiping about them

you know because

if the person was in the room would you

say what you're going to say about them

if you're not then you're gossiping

so a very simple way of understanding

right speech is through an acronym

think

t h i n k think before you speak

so the t is for

timeliness

is it the right time

to say what you want to say

h is for honesty

do you know what you're going to say

is true

and honest

i is for intention what is the intention

behind what you want to say do you have

a wholesome intention or do you have an

unwholesome intention

n is for necessity is it necessary for

you to say what you're going to say for

yourself and for the other person is it

going to be beneficial for them

and k is for kindness

can you say what you're going to say

with kindness

this is really right speech

so you're talking to somebody and you

get into a heated debate and eventually

you start to want to argue with them and

you want to say things to them

that can be wrong speech

you can recognize you have an intention

for wrong speech

release your attention from that

relax the mind and body

come back to the smile uplift the mind

and then use right speech

when we talk about right action what is

right action

it's basically keeping the precepts

abstaining from intentionally harming

and killing living beings

abstaining from taking what is not given

abstaining from sexual misconduct

abstaining from

intoxicants of course it's traditionally

not said there but it's implied because

if you indulge in intoxicants that's

going to

harm your mind because it's going to

dull your mind and you're not going to

be mindful

so keeping your precepts is basically

right action

now

how do you go from wrong action to right

action

the six hours

notice in your mind that there is an

intention for wrong action an intention

to break a precept

an intention to inflict pain and

suffering on another individual an

intention

for taking what is not given

an intention for

having sexual or sensual misconduct

notice that

release your attention from that

relax uplift the mind

come back

to using right speech

or right action rather

keeping the precepts

right livelihood what is right

livelihood

right livelihood is dealing and engaging

in trade

that does not cause harm

to other individuals

that does not cause other individuals to

break precepts

so not dealing in trade that deals

with certain kinds of things like

poisons and weapons

and alcohol

human trafficking

deals in the slaughtering of meat and so

on these kinds of activities

you let go of that

so notice for yourself your lifestyle

your livelihood is it causing pain to

yourself and to others

if it is then you need to make a

decision and come to something that is

wholesome harmonious right

so notice that notice if there's an

intention to go into the wrong form of

livelihood

recognize that release that release your

attention to that relax

we smile

return to your object

whatever that might be a wholesome state

and wholesome intention to be in right

livelihood

and then we talk about right effort

right effort is

there are four parts to it

recognizing you have a whole unwholesome

state of mind

abandoning that unwholesome state of

mind

generating a wholesome state of mind

and maintaining that wholesome state of

mind

so how do you recognize you have an

unwholesome state of mind

you recognize

how do you abandon that unwholesome

state of mind

you release your attention from it and

you relax

how do you generate a wholesome state of

mind you re-smile

and how do you maintain it return to a

wholesome state of mind stay with it

so that's your object of meditation

loving kindness compassion

equanimity empathetic joy whatever that

might be

so the six r's as we understand them

israeli right effort

and so

the six hours or right effort

is really the heart of the eightfold

path

because it is through right effort that

you go from wrong view to right view

from wrong intention to right intention

from wrong speech to right speech

from wrong action to right action

from wrong livelihood to right

livelihood from wrong mindfulness to

right mindfulness and wrong

collectedness to right collectedness

so what is right mindfulness what is

mindfulness

mindfulness comes from the word sati

which comes from the sanskrit smriti

which means to remember to recollect

you're remembering to observe how your

mind's attention moves from one object

to the other

whenever you recognize

that your mind is distracted

you're remembering to observe that your

mind is no longer on its object

your mind's attention has moved from the

loving kindness or whatever the object

is

to something else

this is how you utilize right

mindfulness

what about right collectedness

right collectedness consists of the four

janas

the first jhana you have vitika and

vichara

vitika is the intention to bring up

something wholesome

the chara is to stay with it that is

thinking and examining thought

so you bring up through verbalizing in

your mind may i be happy may i be well

may i be filled with loving kindness or

you bring up a wholesome object like

holding a puppy or an infant in your

hands in your arms

or something like gratitude feeling

happy for yourself

you bring up that wholesome image

and then you stay with the feeling of

loving kindness

this constitutes vitica in vichara

from there there arises this feeling of

joy

there arises peace and tranquility in

the body and in the mind

this is the sukkah

the pithi is the joy the sukkah is the

comfort in the body

and then you have a kagata that's the

unification of mind

nikagatha is not one pointedness

means unification of mind

it is a mind that stays with its object

it is an

attention

that is non-dispersed that stays with

its object

here is the object here is your

attention

it orbits around the object of

meditation

that's that's how it stays there

and when it goes out of orbit which

means now it's getting distracted by

something else you use the six r's to

bring it back to orbit

and you stay with it

and then you have unification of mind

then in the second jhana

now you have self-confidence

now your mind knows i am feeling love

and kindness i am here with the loving

kindness

so it has let go of the verbalizations

it has let go of the intentionalizing

for loving kindness

and you have joy

and you have comfort in the body and you

have the kagata

then eventually in the third jhana the

joy dissipates

and now you have just happiness

just comfort in the body

and then in the fourth jhana that also

goes away and you have total equanimity

it's the purity of mindfulness

due to equanimity

why is that the case

because

when your mind is free

of any kind of hindrance that is the

secluded

being secluded from unwholesome states

that happens in the first jhana

it's free of any of the hindrances but

along with that

it has the enlightenment factors

it has the enlightenment factors of

mindfulness it has the like of

mindfulness

of investigation of states

of energy or effort

of joy of tranquility

of collectedness and of equanimity

as you progress through the jhanas you

cycle through the enlightenment factors

and eventually in the fourth jhana you

have mindfulness again

due to that equanimity

so you experience these enlightened

factors through the jhanas and they

happen

automatically because the causes and

conditions are right for them to happen

so the mindfulness there is recognizing

that you were distracted

knowing that you were distracted the

mind is no longer on its object is the

investigation of states

now you're not perplexed that your mind

is somewhere here or there it is

distracted

releasing your attention from that

is using energy

using effort

relaxing is utilizing the tranquility

re-smiling is utilizing the joy coming

back to your object returning to it is

utilizing collectedness

and then when you repeat that process

you have equanimity you stay equanimous

so the six hours also activate the

enlightenment factors every time you get

distracted so you come back to a giant

state

so right collectedness is not about

being one pointed it's about having

collectedness of mind

letting your mind be open enough to know

when there is a hindrance

or having it open enough so that

insights can arise

this is what sorry put the experiences

through majima nikaya 111.

this is how he's able to discern

here is contact here is feeling here is

perception here's intention now you

don't have to do all of that

as you progress deeper and deeper you'll

be able to recognize for yourself these

states

so investigation of states is not about

trying to analyze what's going on

it's about discerning that your mind is

no longer on its object and coming back

that's it

and so as you cycle through the

enlightenment factors which happened so

there's a linear process but then they

cycle through

your jaw you get into deeper and deeper

jaundice

and then from the fourth jhana you have

the experience of infinite space

the base of infinite space the ayathana

the base

of infinite space the base of infinite

consciousness the base of nothingness in

the base of neither perception nor

non-perception now when you utilize the

six r's to have the eightfold path and

be able to follow that

eventually you experience cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

and then you experience nibana

so it was with reference to this that it

was said that the middle way discovered

by the thaagat avoids both these

extremes

giving vision giving knowledge it leads

to peace to direct knowledge to

enlightenment to nimbana

one should know what it is to extol

and what it is to disparage

and knowing both one should neither

extol nor disparage

but should teach only the dharma

so it was said

and with reference to what was this said

how because does there come to be

extolling and disparaging and failure to

teach only the dhamma

when one says all those engaged in the

pursuit of the enjoyment of one whose

pleasure is linked to sensual desires

are beset by suffering

vexation despair and fever and they have

entered upon the wrong way

one thus disparages some

when one says

all those

disengaged from the pursuit of the

enjoyment of one whose pleasure is

linked to sensual desires

are without suffering

vexation despair and fever and they have

entered upon the right way

one thus extols some

when one says all those engaged in the

pursuit of self-mortification

painful ignoble and unbeneficial

are beset by suffering vexation despair

and fever and they have entered upon the

wrong way

one thus disparages some

when one says all those disengaged from

the pursuit of self-mortification

painful ignoble and unbeneficial are

without suffering vexation despair and

fever and they have entered upon the

right way

one thus extols some so disparaging here

is to criticize someone extolling here

is to praise someone

um

when one says all those who have not

abandoned the fetter of being

so when we talk about the fetter of

being that is the conceit

that is the bhava the the clinging to

becoming the desire to become this or

that

what is one form of desire to become

this or

that i want to

meditate and be the best meditator

possible i want to be in this channel i

want to have nibana

when your mind gets obsessed over that

has expectations of that

then it has craving for being

if it has chanda which is wholesome

inclination says that the mind wants

nibana

that's one thing but getting obsessed by

that

and expecting it to happen

that's where the trouble is

so the fetter of being are beset

by suffering vexation despair and fever

and they have entered upon the wrong way

one thus disparages some

when one says

all those who have abandoned the fetter

of being are without suffering vexation

despair and fever and they have entered

upon the right way one thus extols some

this is how there comes to be extolling

and disparaging and failure to teach

only the dhamma

and how because

does there come to be neither extolling

nor disparaging but teaching only the

dhamma

when one does not say

all those engaged in the pursuit of the

enjoyment of one whose pleasure is

linked to sensual desires have entered

upon the wrong way but says instead

the pursuit

is a state beset by suffering

vexation despair and fever and it is the

wrong way then one teaches only the

dhamma see the difference

the difference is when you extol you're

extolling a person

you're extolling a being

when you're disparaging you're

criticizing the person

you're making it personal you're taking

it personally you're saying this person

doesn't know what they're doing

but if you're teaching only the dhamma

you're only talking about in terms of

mind states

you're not taking into account the

person

because the sense of person the sense of

being changes all the time as do states

teaching only the dhamma is to say

that here is what is said about the

dhamma not you are doing it this way and

you are doing it that way and therefore

criticizing one person

and extolling another

praising another

the process of teaching the dhamma and

learning from the dhamma is not to take

it personally

just understand it in the form of here

is a state okay this is the wrong path

not that you are following the wrong

path or i am following the wrong path

or you are following the right path or i

am following the right path it's just

here's the wrong path here's the right

path

which one which one does the mind choose

that's it

and the larger lesson to be learned here

is that

mind your own business

somebody's breaking a precept that's

their problem

if you're keeping your precepts that's

good

that's it

mind your own business that's it

somebody's doing great good for them

doesn't matter

just do what you're doing

pay attention to your own practice

pay attention to what it is that you're

doing in terms of your mind states

that's it

and then on an even larger scale and

you'll probably hear about this later as

well as we talk about it in the last day

is trying to defend the dhamma

don't be dharma defenders you're not

here to say this is my dharma and that's

your dharma you're right i'm or i'm

right and you're wrong all of these

things

let go of all of that

neither praise

nor criticize

if you're if you're doing you're

following the eightfold path

that's all you have to do that's all

there is to do

otherwise what happens is there is the

fetter of being the fetter of clinging

to being to becoming to a person

when that happens that causes suffering

that causes suffering in the form of i i

need this and therefore there's craving

and that craving gives rise to clinging

that gives rise to becoming that gives

rise to birth of action that gives rise

to suffering

or just identifying with it in of itself

the clinging to self

which gives rise to becoming i am this

person

and then from there you act what happens

there's renewal of being there's renewal

of karma

you're creating new karma

which will result at a later stage in

some form of suffering or another

so coming back to the suta here what

we're saying is

don't think about it in terms of am i

doing it right or are they doing it

right or am i doing it wrong or are they

doing it wrong

what's going on is this effective or

non-effective is this harmonious or

disharmonious is this right or wrong

that's it

and then make adjustments that's all

okay mine got distracted don't get don't

beat yourself up for that

or i can't feel the loving kindness

don't beat yourself up for that

just let go of that six are that

when one does not say all those

disengaged from the pursuit of the

enjoyment of one whose pleasure is

linked to sensual desires have entered

upon the right way

but says instead

the disengagement is a state without

suffering vexation despair and fever and

it is the right way then one teaches

only the dhamma

when one does not say all those engaged

in the pursuit of self-mortification

have entered upon the wrong way but says

instead the pursuit is a state beset by

suffering vexation despair and fever and

it is the wrong way

then one teaches only the dhamma

when one does not say

all those disengaged from the pursuit of

self-mortification

have entered upon the right way but

instead says

the disengagement is a state without

suffering vexation despair and fever and

it is the right way then one teaches

only the dharma

when one does not say all those who have

not abandoned the fetter of being have

entered upon the wrong way

but says instead as long as the fetter

of being is unabandoned

being too is unabandoned

then one teaches only the dharma

when one does not say all those who have

abandoned the federal being have entered

upon the right way but instead says when

the feather of being is abandoned

being also is abandoned then one teaches

only the dhamma

so again

not making it personal

even the dhamma is impersonal the way it

is taught the six r's the twin practice

everything is impersonal

don't use them as a way of criticizing

yourself or others

or of bringing yourself up or praising

others

just see it as

see them as tools of understanding

to get off of the wheel of some samsara

to get off of the wheel of suffering

so it was with reference to this that it

was said one should not one should know

what is to extol and what is to

disparage and knowing both one should

neither extol nor disparage but should

teach only the dhamma

one should know how to define pleasure

and knowing that one should pursue

pleasure within oneself

so it was said

and with reference to what was this said

because there are these five chords of

sensual pleasure

what five

forms cognizable by the eye

sounds cognizable by the ear

orders cognizable by the nose

flavors cognizable by the tongue

tangibles cognizable by the body that

are that are wished for desired

agreeable and likable

connected with sensual desire and

provocative of lust

these are

the five chords of sensual pleasures

now the pleasure and joy that arise

dependent on these five chords of

sensual pleasure are called sensual

pleasures

a filthy pleasure a coarse pleasure an

ignoble pleasure

i say of this kind of pleasure that it

should not be pursued

that it should not be developed that it

should not be cultivated and that it

should be feared

so really simply put what he's saying is

the sensual pleasures that you

experience

how do you respond to it how do you

react to it

don't pursue them don't cling on to them

the joy that arises from them

the feeling of happiness that arises

from them

they're not worth pursuing because they

are dependent upon the central pleasure

being there as soon as they go away so

does the joy and

happiness dependent upon them

but then he said that one should pursue

a kind of pleasure within oneself

what's he talking about there

hirobiku is quite secluded from sensual

pleasures secluded from unwholesome

states a bike who enters upon and abides

in the first jhana

the second jhana the third jhana the

fourth jhana

this is called the bliss of renunciation

the bliss of letting go in other words

the bliss of letting go of unwholesome

states

the bliss of letting go of attaching to

sensual experiences

the bliss of seclusion the mind becomes

secluded

the mind becomes collected

the bliss of peace the mind experiences

tranquility

the bliss of enlightenment the mind

experiences wisdom

this is what is meant by tranquil wisdom

insight meditation

the tranquility part that's the

collectedness

the feeling of being at peace that

happens through the janus

the wisdom and insight that arises when

you use the six r's and recognize when

your mind gets distracted

now you understand how your mind works

from that arises insight into how your

mind works

from that arises wisdom into dependent

origination

thus that is twin

i say of this kind of pleasure

that it should be pursued that it should

be developed that it should be

cultivated that it should not be feared

now one caveat here when you're

experiencing these different genres

don't let the mind grasp onto the

different factors of the jhanas

don't mistake

the joy for loving-kindness

don't mistake the tranquility for

equanimity or whatever it might be

just observe

it's mind-watching mind

you're just watching a movie

and every time your mind gets distracted

from the movie

you're just 6r

you're watching how all of this plays

out oh here's joy now there's joy oh

here's pleasure now there's pleasure oh

here is equanimity now there's

equanimity but all the while your

attention should be on the loving

kindness

or on the brahmavihara

stay with

that and everything else just revolves

around that

so it was with reference to this that it

was said one should know how to define

pleasure and knowing that

one should pursue pleasure within

oneself

one should not utter covert speech and

one should not utter over

sharp speech so it was said and with

reference to what was this said

here because when one knows covert

speech to be untrue incorrect and

unbeneficial

one should on no account utter it

when one knows covert speech to be true

correct and

unbeneficial one should try not to utter

it

but when one knows covert speech to be

true

correct

and beneficial

one may utter it knowing the time to do

so so really what we're talking about is

think

think before you speak right

the timeliness is it the right time to

do so

honesty is it right is it true

is it correct is it factual do you know

it to be true

i what is the intention behind it and is

it necessary

is it beneficial nk can you say with

kindness

likewise hirobiku is when one knows

overt sharp speech to be untrue

incorrect and unbeneficial

one should on no account utter it

when one knows over sharp speech to be

true correct and unbeneficial one should

try not to utter it

but when one knows over charts sharp

speech to be

true correct and beneficial

one may utter it knowing the right time

to do so

so it was with reference to this that it

was said

one should not utter covert speech and

one should not utter over sharp speech

hirobiku when one speaks hurriedly

one's body grows tired and one's mind

becomes excited

one's voice is trai strained and one's

throat becomes hoarse

and the speech of one who speaks

hurriedly is indistinct and hard to

understand

so you want to speak in an even way

don't want to try to get all your words

out all at the same time take your time

with your words

you know if if you have the patience to

say what you have to say people will

have the patience to listen to it

and if they don't then they don't

but don't be so much in a hurry

to say what you have to say

right

here because when one speaks unhurtly

one's body does not grow tired nor does

one's mind become excited

one's voice is not strained nor does

one's throat become hoarse

and the speech of one who speaks her

unhurriedly is distinct and easy to

understand

so it was with reference to this that it

was said one should speak

unheardly not unhurtly

one should not insist on local language

and one should not override normal usage

so it was said and with reference to

what was this said

how

uh how because does there come to be

incense insistence on local language and

overriding of normal usage hirabiku's in

different localities

they call the same thing a dish

a bowl a vessel a saucer a pan a pot or

a basin

here in the pali he says the dish is

pati

a bowl is pata a vessel is vitta a

saucer is serava

pan is dharopa a pot is ponya and a

basin is pesilla

so different usages of meaning the same

thing

right oftentimes people get into an

argument about things like i said this

and you said that and eventually at the

end of the argument you guys realize you

were saying the same thing

but there was an insistence on no the

way i was saying it was right and the

way you were saying it was wrong

this gives rise to arguments

misunderstanding

right

so don't get so attached to your words

don't get so attached to other people's

words

don't get so attached to the way people

express themselves

or how

they express whatever it is that they

say

don't get attached to your own

usage of words that it has to be said in

this

way or you hurt me because you said it

in that way

well they just said it no big deal

right so you have to let go of what you

think has to be a certain way

that is clinging that is craving that is

attachment

let go of that and you will experience

peace of mind

you won't be bothered by anything at all

everything will just flow through you

you won't have any excitement where the

mind gets agitated because they said

this

but i meant to say it this way and they

misunderstood what i said

actually they probably didn't understand

what you said but they just understood

in a different way that's all

so whatever they call it in such

in uh whatever they call it in such and

such a locality one speaks

accordingly

firmly adhering to that expression and

insisting only this is correct anything

else is wrong

this is how there comes to be instant

insistence on local language and

overriding normal usage

and how because there does there come to

be non-insistence on local language and

non-overriding of normal usage

hirobikus in different localities they

call the same thing in different words

so they whatever they call it in such

and such a locality

without adhering to that expression one

speaks accordingly thinking

these venerable ones it seems are

speaking with reference to this

this is how there comes to be

non-insistence on local language

and non-overriding of normal usage so it

was with reference to this that it was

said one should not insist on local

language one should not override

normal usage

here because the pursuit of the

enjoyment

of one whose pleasure is linked to

sensual desires

is a state beset

by suffering despair vexation and fever

and it is the wrong way

therefore this is a state with conflict

why because you are in pursuit of

something

now that pursuit of that sensual

pleasure

you might have sensual misconduct

you might get in other people's way or

if people get in your way in the pursuit

of that sensual pleasure

you push them away

let's say you see that fried rice and

you're in that line

and you push people away and say i need

to get that fried rice

right that's conflict

because this engagement from the pursuit

of enjoyment of one whose pleasure is

linked to sensual desires

is a state without suffering vexation

despair and fever and it is the right

way therefore it is a state without

conflict

here because the pursuit of

self-mortification

painful ignoble and unbeneficial is a

state beset by suffering vexation

despair and fever and it is the wrong

way

therefore it is a state with conflict

because it is a state of conflict of the

mind

the mind wants to pursue something that

is noble the mind wants to pursue

something that leads to nibbana

but if you cause the mind to pursue

something that is causing self

mortification then you are in conflict

there is disharmony

there hirabiku's disengagement from the

pursuit

of

self-mortification painful ignoble and

unbeneficial

is a state without suffering vexation

despair and fever and it is the right

way therefore it is a state without

conflict

hirabiku is the middle way discovered by

the tatargata avoids both these extremes

giving vision giving knowledge it leads

to peace to direct knowledge to

enlightenment to nibana it is a state

without suffering and it is the right

way

therefore it is a state without conflict

the eightfold path is a wonderful way of

living it is a lifestyle

the arahat automatically lives that

lifestyle always has right view right

intention right speech right action

right effort right livelihood

right mindfulness right collectedness

it's their nature

to be that way

and it's a state without conflict

having right

having the eightfold path and pers and

following the eightfold path

the mind doesn't produce any further

karma

it ceases any old karma that arises

now when we talk about dependent

origination tomorrow you will understand

karma arises

through dependent origination

the karma we talk about is twofold

there is the karma in terms of activity

and action that which you do in terms of

intention mental intention in terms of

verbalization in terms of speaking in

terms of physical action in terms of

whatever it is you do with your body

these are the different kinds of karma

then there is karma in terms of vipaka

which is the fruition of that karma and

that is known as old karma punya karma

puna karma

that karma

arises through dependent origination and

is experienced and felt in vedana in

feeling

if you are following the eightfold path

if you use the six r's

then you won't have craving clinging

becoming

birth of action and suffering

which means you won't add with new karma

through craving clinging and becoming

and birth of new action

instead you let go of that karma you let

let karma

when you are experiencing hindrances

in your meditation

that is old karma

because a hindrance arises because at

some point your mind became agitated

and it broke a precept at some point and

there's no point in getting becoming

guilty about it the hindrance arose

the hindrance arose because you made

certain choices

okay let's say that way you made certain

choices that were not in alignment that

were not harmonious that were not in the

pursuit of nibana that were not

wholesome

that gave rise to a hindrance at some

point

that hindrance now is old karma

for things that you did in the past

things that you said thought about or

did in the past

if you had ill will in your mind and you

pursued that ill will by harming another

individual now what have you done you've

killed cultivated that ill will

therefore that ill will will arise as a

hindrance

if you pursue sensual pleasures by

trying to grab onto them and become

determined to have them

then you are cultivating sensual craving

if you have a mind that wants to take

what is not given even if that is credit

for something or seeking attention for

something that agitates the mind

and so you can have restlessness as a

hindrance that arises

if you lie and gossip

you become distrustful

you just you have no trust in yourself

and trust in others

that culminates in the hindrance of

doubt

if you pursue intoxicants over indulge

in your consumption of things whether

it's

you know

music or media or reading or whatever it

is

going on netflix binges it dulls the

mind and now you have slot intorpur

so these hindrances there are old karma

now how do you choose to deal with that

old karma you can crave and have a

version or identify with it that causes

clinging becoming birth of action and

suffering or you can use the eightfold

path which ceases that karma

which is using the six r's you're not

six aring the hindrance mind you

you are six aring you are using the six

hours

to let go of your attachment to that

hindrance or your aversion towards that

hindrance

so that hindrance is present

and you release your attention from that

you relax the tightness and tension you

re-smile and you come back to a

wholesome state of mind

when you use the six hours in this way

that hindrance dissipates

sure it'll come back again

but this time when it comes back it will

be weaker because your attention hasn't

grasped onto it your attention hasn't

fueled it

to cause further suffering

rather it will dissipate and arise but

it will be weaker this time and then you

6r again

and then it'll go away it might arise

another time but it'll be weaker

and weaker and weaker until it

completely dissipates and there is a

remainderless

fading away of that hindrance

so using the six r's in this way you are

dealing with karma right there and then

how is karma experienced

karma is experienced as feeling as

vedana

which means

that a hindrance is the feeling a

hindrance is an experience

anything that you're experiencing is

karma

now you can choose to add to that

repository of karma by having craving

for it clinging to it and becoming it

and then continue to have

further bouts of that renewal and that

arising of that karma or you can choose

to see it and not take it personal

let go of it

and then experience peace right there

and then

the mind without craving mind without

any clinging mind without any becoming

mind without any suffering

and it all starts with just

understanding

okay here is a pleasant feeling here is

a pleasant unpleasant feeling here's a

neutral feeling

how is the mind reacting to it

noticing how the mind reacts to it if it

is unwholesome

if it is identifying with it taking it

personally

you let go of it you 6r and in that

moment you experience nibana

nirodha

and therefore you experience the nirodha

of that karma in that moment

that's why it is a state without

conflict

right speech does not result

in people becoming offended

right action does not result in the harm

of other beings

right livelihood does not result in the

harm of other beings

all of these aspects of the eightfold

path

do not result in any kind of conflict

imagine a life like that

a life without conflict

and fine you might be surrounded by

conflict

he said this she said that he did this

he did that she said this

why do they do this why do they do that

you're bombarded by all of that

but if your mind

is pursuing

it's cultivating is developing the

eightfold path

utilizing the six stars when it's

required

then it creates this bubble

all of that conflict does not penetrate

through that bubble

and in fact using the eightfold path

utilizing it in this way

you also dissipate that conflict that's

there around you

just by radiating sending out loving

kindness by sending out compassion

your words become compassionate your

words become loving and kind your

actions become loving and kind and

compassionate

and therefore people around you respond

in a like way

in a similar manner

so this is why it is a state without

conflict

here because

extolling and

disparaging and failure to teach only

the dhamma is a state beset by suffering

and it is the wrong way therefore it is

a state with conflict

why

because when you praise someone

you're comparing there's conflict there

comparing is another word for conceit

comes from the pali

mana which means to compare

to measure

i am better than this person or they are

better than me or this person is doing

that or this person is doing this

i'm doing that i'm worse off than this

person is or i am equal to this person

and all of these other things

that is a state of conflict

so if you let go of identifying with

that and just

follow the dharma

for the sake of letting go of suffering

for the sake of understanding suffering

and ceasing suffering that's all you

have to do

then you are said to be in a state

without conflict in a state of

non-conflict

therefore here because not extolling and

not disparaging and teaching only the

dhamma is a state without suffering and

it is the right way

therefore this is a state without

conflict

here because

sensual pleasure a filthy pleasure a

coarse pleasure an ignoble pleasure

is a state beset by suffering and it is

the wrong way therefore it is a state

with conflict

when we talk about this we're talking

about the pursuit of that through

craving and clinging and becoming

identifying with that sensual pleasure

wanting more and more of it and in the

pursuit of that there is conflict

from there there is mental proliferation

mental proliferation gives rise to

taking up of the stick and the sword

as it's talked about in majamenekai 18

the honeyball sutta

so conflict

when we talk about conflict it can be

just a little bit of a state of unease

that arises in the mind and if you put

more attention to that and you have

mental proliferation that gets bigger

and bigger and bigger and then boom

you're in conflict with other people

and that causes wars it causes

destruction

this is how it starts

if you just notice that this the unease

in your own mind and let go of that you

are said to be in a state of

non-conflict

so the pursuit of sensual pleasures

which gives rise to craving which gives

rise to aversion which gives rise to ill

will which gives rise to all kinds of

things

which gives rise to clinging and

becoming that is beset by the suffering

but

here because the bliss of renunciation

of letting go whatever you are

experiencing right now right here right

now

all of that is conditioned

knowing it to be conditioned understand

it to be impermanent

therefore not worth holding on to

therefore

letting go of it renunciation the bliss

of letting go

the bliss of not attaching a sense of

self to this that or the other

the bliss of seclusion the bliss of

having a mind that is free of any kind

of craving

the bliss of peace

the bliss of enlightenment the bliss of

having wisdom seeing things as they

actually are

is a state without suffering and it is

the right way

therefore it is a state without conflict

hirobiku's covert speech that is untrue

incorrect and unbeneficial is a state

beset by suffering therefore this is a

state with conflict

obviously if you say something that is

untrue something that is unbeneficial

people won't like it you're going to be

in a state of conflict

but that speech that covert speech that

is true correct

and unbeneficial is a state beset by

suffering

that too is a state with conflict

that speech which covert speech that is

true correct and beneficial is a state

without suffering

therefore it is a state without conflict

so that's the speech that you need to

have

it should be beneficial think think

before you speak

right whenever you speak think about

that is it true

is it the right time what is the

intention behind is it necessary can i

say with kindness

then only speak

and you'll be in a state

without conflict

likewise hirobiku's an overt sharp

speech that is untrue incorrect and

unbeneficial is a state beset by

suffering

therefore this is a state with conflict

hirabiku's overt sharp speech that is

true correct and unbeneficial is a state

beset by suffering therefore this is a

state with conflict

here because overt speech that is true

correct and beneficial is a state

without suffering

therefore this is a state without

conflict

here because the speech of one who

speaks hurriedly

is a state beset by vic by suffering

fixation despair and fever and it is the

wrong way therefore this is a state with

conflict

think about it when you speak in a

hurried manner

[Music]

people are trying to catch up to

whatever it is that you're saying

and they might misinterpret what it is

that you're saying

and by doing so there's a

misunderstanding and there is a state of

conflict

here

because the speech of one who speaks

unhurriedly is in a state without

suffering therefore this is a state

without conflict

hirobiku's insistence on local language

and overriding of normal usage is a

state beset by suffering

therefore this is a state with conflict

insisting that it has to be said in this

way

or arguing about how it should be said

that's obviously a state of conflict

hirobikus

non-insistence on local language and

non-overriding of normal usage is a

state without suffering vexation despair

and fever and it is the right way

therefore this is a state without

conflict

therefore because

you should train yourselves thus

we shall know the state with conflict

and we shall know the state without

conflict and knowing these we shall

enter upon the way without conflict that

is the eightfold path

now because subuti is a clansman

who has entered upon the way without

conflict

subuti was

the brother of

anata pindaka

nata pindika was a lay follower of the

buddha who was extremely generous

and there's there's a lot of stories

about him but every time you read a lot

of the majority of

the sutas are based in

anatapindika's park so that's

anathepindaka

and his brother subuti was known to be

somebody who was utmost in terms of

one without conflict

this is what the blessed one said

the beakers were satisfied and delighted

in the blessed one's words

any questions

yes

uh you mentioned mental action um

do you describe what that is

and maybe even give an example

mental action is

mental action is dependent upon

intention

so let's say you're thinking about

something and then you pursue that line

of thinking

that's a mental action

so thinking about you know

uh when the next meal is or thinking

about when the next break is and then

your mind goes there and it's thinking

about this that or the other and now

you're pursuing okay i'm going to do it

this way i'm going to do it that way now

you're entering into

mental proliferation

and now your pursuit of that

so even the

intention to bring up loving-kindness

that's mental action

the verbalizing of may i be happy may i

be well may i be free of suffering may i

be filled with loving kindness that's a

mental action

the bringing up of a wholesome image

that's mental action

the way to look at preferences is just

that this body has been accustomed to a

certain way of

doing things you know like uh

preferences for

uh certain kinds of weather preferences

for certain kinds of food preferences

for certain kinds of clothing

preferences for this that or the other

that's just the way that this body has

been brought up in the way that it

prefers things one thing over the other

but the craving happens when you want

you prefer something

and then

that preference is not met and how you

respond to that is the craving

the agitation

so you have a preference for this that's

okay but if the preference is not met

and then you get upset by that or you're

pursuing that you're saying i have to

have it this way

that's the craving

right here in this moment whatever

you're experiencing is a result

of past actions so

whatever it is that you're met with

that's all your karma right so the

buddha was talking about this in a suta

called

siva kasuta

and he said that there are there were at

that time people

and brahmanas who said

that everything is karma but they said

it with just not understanding that they

said oh everything arises because of

karma everything you're experiencing is

is a result of karma

but the buddha said don't pay attention

to that in that form just understand now

in the present moment

so there is other factors involved in

that there can be climate

there can be accidents there can be

environmental changes there can be your

health your bodily physical health

all of these are also inputs

that arise

whatever choices you make

results in whatever karma you experience

now to say that there is a chance

occurrence or there are coincidences

within the experience of the dhamma

there is no such thing as a coincidence

there is no such thing as luck

in fact the buddha talks about it he

says the pursuit

of something in the form of it should

happen by chance or the pursuit of it by

praying to certain deities and saying

that let me get this or that

anyone who does that doesn't have a true

understanding of the dhamma because

everything

is dependent upon karma

it is karma that fuels all of this