From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=pI4ENm8nYT8

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

okay there are four noble truths

of suffering

[Music]

me

[Music]

so today

we will be doing maj minikaya 44

chula veda

the shorter series of questions and

answers

thus have i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living at rajagaha in

the bamboo grove the squirrel's

sanctuary

then the lay follower visaka

went to the bhikkhuni damadina

and after paying homage to her he sat

down at one side and he asked her

so

visakha and bikuni damadina

so damadina used to be vasaka's

wife

she

noticed one day when she was still a

layperson

that after visakha had gone to visit the

buddha when he came back

that the sakta had changed

that he was no longer somebody who was

interested

in

sharing the same bed with her because he

had become an anagami

he was silent

and at peace

and relaxed

and she wondered what it is

that has changed him in such a way

so she asked him and he told her about

the buddha and what the bitter told him

and so on

and so she was interested in knowing

more about this since she visited the

buddha and was inspired then

to become a monastic to become ibikuni

so she did become a declaring and then

she became an arab

now for those of uh

for those who think or somehow there has

been this misperception

or this idea

this really nonsensical idea that women

cannot be fully awakened

that they cannot be fully enlightened

the madina is one of the foremost of

the female arhats

and in fact there is an entire section

in the

kudakanikaya i believe which is known as

the therigata

these are the the sayings of the

late the female ayahuas

so there's a lot of wonderful wisdom in

that perigatha a lot of wonderful wisdom

about

the practice about nibana how to get to

nibana and so on so

damadina was one of the foremost as you

will see

as you hear what is said in the sutta

so visakha now still a lay person goes

to

his former wife who is now a bikuni

and so now they go into a dialogue he

says

lady identity

identity is said

what is called identity by the blessed

one

what is

identity

identity meaning what is a person how is

a person defined what is an individual

what is a personality

friend visakha these five aggregates

affected by craving and clinging are

called identity by the blessed one

that is the material form aggregate

affected by craving and clinging

the feeling aggregate affected by

craving and clinging

the perception aggregate affected by

craving and clinging the formations

aggregate affected by craving and

cleaning

and the consciousness aggregate affected

by craving and clinging

these five aggregates affected by

craving and clinging are called identity

by the blessed one

there's a word in pali called

s-a-t-t-a

in sanskrit that is

the

[Music]

the word sattha is also in for example

bodhisattva or bodhisattva

and sata means person or

more specifically sata means being

and there is a suta called satta

in which a monastic abiku asks the

blessed one asked buddha

when you talk about being in the sense

of being

what is a being

what is the definition of the being

and the buddha says a being

or there being

a sense of being

that occurs when the mind

clings or identifies

with one or more of the five aggregates

in other words a being is defined by

their craving for the fine aggregates

by their identification with the five

aggregates

so anytime there is said to be an

identification process going on with the

form with the body

with experience feeling

with recognition of what it is you're

experiencing perception

intentions and actions dependent upon

formations your choices dependent upon

formations

and your awareness your cognition

anytime you take any of that personal

whether it is through meditation

practice

whether it is through radiating the

brahmaviharas

whether it is through walking meditation

whether it is just simply living anytime

you have this inherent sense of

identifying with

any of those five aggregates

there is said to be being there said to

be this

this sense of identity

and so for one who becomes fully

awakened

there is no more being

one there is no more power there is no

more process of

creating a sense of self through

acquiring different kinds of ideas and

clinging to different kinds of ideas

that then culminate in habitual

tendencies

that culminate in certain kinds of

existence

that's gone and the sense of being as

well

in the sense of sattha is gone as well

so sometimes i will ask the question so

is an arahat a being

or not a being

because you cannot it's it's like an

undefined

concept for an area

if you say that they are no longer a

being how can you say that

because there are still the five

aggregates there but what has gone away

is that sense of being in relation to

the five aggregates

that sense of personalizing the five

aggregates the five aggregates continue

as they would

the body continues as it would

experiences continue as they would

perceptions continue as they would

formations continue to arise and pass

away as they would and cognition arises

impassively as they would

but now there is no more of that craving

no more of that clinging

no more of taking it personally

so then this is what

the saka asks first he says saying good

lady

the lay follower of asaka delighted and

rejoiced in the bhikkhuni damadina's

words

then he asked her a further question

lady origin of identity

origin of identity is said

what is called the origin of identity by

the blessed one

friend

which brings renewal of being

is accompanied by delight and lust and

delights in this and that

that is craving for sensual pleasures

craving for being

and craving for non-being this is called

the origin of identity by the blessed

one

so as we said the identity is the five

aggregates

that is

form feeling perception

formations and consciousness

that definition of a being from the word

sattha

is the identification process with that

the craving for that

now he's asking how does cr how does

that being originate

how does the identity originate it is

through craving and as we understand

there are three types of craving

cravings for sensual pleasures

there is an experience that happens in

in whatever is going on

it's a pleasant feeling

and you look at it or you experience a

pleasant feeling and immediately you

want to grasp it

you want to own it you want to cling to

it you want to

make it part of who you are or who you

think you are

and that is the craving for central

pleasure it manifests as this tightness

and tension

craving for existence and craving for

non-existence

craving for existence is you are in

jhana it's not going the way you want it

to go

you know you want to go to

this jana or that jannah or the

meditation isn't working the way you

expect it to work

that is craving for existence

craving for non-existence you don't want

to be in this john you don't want to be

in this realm remember the most extreme

form of craving for non-existence

is

the desire for suicide

why does the desire for suicide happen

the mind becomes so overwhelmed

by all kinds of experiences

mental and sensual experiences

and it thinks about this and that it

identifies with this and that and it

becomes overwhelmed it says this is too

much for me

i need to end it all i can't deal with

it

i just can't deal with it anymore

thought process

is craving for non-existence

in the mind wanting to end it all

so there's still an identification

process with whatever is occurring

so when that happens when people commit

suicide

the

[Music]

kind of thought processes that arise in

that mind before suicide

is that of regret

to the suicide they say

this is relief

if i just

end this life everything will be fine

but as soon as they end their life as

soon as they

take that poison or slit their wrists or

slit their throat or whatever it is they

do to commit suicide

the last

thoughts that arise

are

it's regret

and where does that lead you

it leads you into a hell realm

it leads you into pain

into suffering

and remorse

so understand when somebody feels like

they want to commit suicide

it's because they're getting overwhelmed

by a lot of experiences that's the

extreme form of that

but on a very mundane level be

before all of that happens you may still

feel overwhelmed and you just want

things to end you might not want to

commit suicide but you just don't want

this to be here anymore

whenever you hear the word i want this

or i don't want this that's some kind of

a craving when you hear the word i want

to be

whatever that is

that's a craving for existence

whenever you hear i don't want to be

that's the craving for non-existence

and then when you say i don't want to be

or i want to be because

that because

is the rationalization of why you want

this or why you don't want it that's the

clinging

that's the reasoning that's the reason

you put in your head that this is why i

don't like it

therefore i'm going to act in this way

that therefore i'm going to act in this

way is the habitual tendencies

and the actual action is the birth of

action

so pay attention to your thought

processes the words that you use they

will help you identify where you are

craving clinging becoming birth of

action

lady

cessation of identity

cessation of identity is said

what is called the cessation of identity

by the blessed one

friend visakha it is the remainderless

fading away

and ceasing the giving up relinquishing

letting go and rejecting of that same

craving

this is called the cessation of identity

by the blessed one

lady the way leading to the cessation of

identity the way leading to the

cessation of identity is said

what is called the way leading to the

cessation of identity by the blessed one

friend vasaka

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 what have we gone through when we

talk about identity

the four noble truths

understand that the four noble truths

in initially allow you to understand

suffering but it also is a formula for

understanding

what is present

what is the origin of what is present

what is the cessation of what is present

and what is the way leading to the

cessation of what is present

the fourth noble truth is always going

to be

the noble eightfold path

the same way any question you ask the

answer will always be the six r's the

fourth noble truth will always be the

eightfold path

the third noble truth will always be

cessation nirodha the cessation of

suffering the cessation of identity the

cessation of craving the cessation of

clinging

the second noble truth will be the

origin of that what is it that is

fueling what is present

and the first noble truth usually is

suffering

but you can use the four noble truth

formula to understand

if you are clinging

there is clinging present what is the

source of that clinging craving

how do you

let go of clinging let go of craving

relax the craving that's the third noble

truth how do you do that

using the six r's which is the fourth

noble truth

so every time you use the six r's to

identify oh there is becoming present in

my mind there are habitual tendencies

present in my mind or there's clinging

in my mind or there's craving in my mind

there's identification in my mind

you recognize that

that's the first noble truth you

recognize that

you release your attention from that and

relax the tightness and tension

that is abandoning the second noble

truth

and then you experience relief

that is the third noble truth

and you do this by using the six r's

and smiling and coming back

because the six r's

are right effort

and so now the eightfold path is what we

will discuss in detail

right view right intention

right speech right action

right effort or right livelihood right

effort

right mindfulness and right

collectedness

what are these

what is right view

there are levels of right view there is

the mundane right view which is the

understanding

of what is wholesome and what is

unwholesome

of what is right view and what is wrong

view of what is right intention and what

is wrong in tension

so when you come here

to damasuka

you are learning that mundane right view

what is wrong and what is right

according to the dhamma

what leads to nirvana and what leads to

suffering according to the dharma

that's the very mundane right view and

there are levels to that there is the

right view which understands karma every

action has a consequence every intention

has a consequence

there is the understanding of there is

mother and father there is gratitude for

one's parents because they brought you

into this life into this existence for

you to experience the potential of

nibana

there are teachers there are assets and

brahmanas who know the way leading to

the cessation of suffering

and there is this world and the other

there is this world and the other that

there is a potential of being here and

there is a potential of life after this

existence

there is a potential for that to happen

and remember there was the other under

understanding which was really

interesting which is that there is the

mundane world which is you which is what

you experience through the five

physical sense spaces and there is a

super mundane world which is through the

jhanas

so there is a way of letting go of this

world

by getting through levels of cessation

janas are levels of understanding stages

of meditation

and levels of cessation

we'll get into that when we talk about

right collectiveness

then there is the supramundane right

view which is the full understanding of

the four noble truths

completely understanding what is

what is suffering

fully abandoning all kinds of origins

of that suffering craving conceit

ignorance

power and so on so forth

and then experiencing relief in the form

of nirodha in the form of nibana

and by perfecting

the development of the eightfold path

which then becomes the default

mode

of functioning for that mind

that's the

unhackable

operating system in that mind

unshakable

based on this right view there is right

intention

there now right intention is made up of

three things

[Applause]

means renunciation

a mind that lets go a mind that doesn't

hold on

understand that when you are doing the

correct form of jhana

the way you are practicing here

it's not about constructing an

experience

it's not about holding on to some kind

of an experience

you experience jhana because you let go

the first jhana arises because you let

go of the five hindrances

because you let go of attachment to

sensual experiences

and then you let go of the vitika and

machar are and

experience the second jhana and so on

and so forth so it's about continually

letting go this is the right intention

non-ill will what is non-ill will

how do you get to non-ill will

cultivating loving-kindness

when you cultivate loving-kindness you

have a mind free of ill will

non-cruelty

how do you have non-cruelty

through the cultivation of compassion

why

because why does a person harm another

being

because they are suffering

the person who suffers

inflicts suffering on another being

but they are not in tune

with the knowledge of their own

suffering

because if they knew that they were

suffering then they would also know that

others are suffering

so why would they want to add

to another being suffering that is

cruelty

but having compassion

understanding your own suffering and

therefore empathizing with another

suffering

is compassion

when you develop compassion

you have non-cruelty the non the

intention not to harm

this is right intention

the mundane version of that intention

is to cultivate a mind

that continues to have

um

intention to let go

has an intention to cultivate loving

kindness has an intention to cultivate

compassion

but then the super mundane is a mind

that is automatically having that

intention

has nothing to let go of anyone because

it has six art to the point that there

is nothing left to six are

it has perfected loving-kindness that it

always responds whatever situations

required to respond with loving-kindness

or to respond with compassion

then there is right speech

right speech means

abstaining from

harsh speech

abstaining from false speech

abstaining from abusive speech

abstaining from speech that divides

abstaining from slander abstaining from

gossip

so false speech speech which you know to

be false speech which you know that okay

this isn't true why would you speak that

harsh speech the way you speak

what is the intention behind that

abusive speech speech

intended to inflict pain and suffering

or on another

using

negative terminology using

verbiage that is negative and

unwholesome

slander and gossip

what is gossip

talking about another person

you know in a way that you don't know to

be true or untrue

and sometimes criticizing that person

for in front of others

so how do you know if you're gossiping

if you're talking about a person this is

what bhante would say if you're talking

about a person

and you might be criticizing that person

and if you are criticizing that person

to somebody else

would you say the same thing about that

person while they were in the room with

you

if you wouldn't then that's gossip

so

don't speak about others

in a critical manner

if you know them that to be hurtful to

them if you know that that's going to be

harmful for them

there's a very simple form of

understanding right speech and this is

the acronym

think

think before you speak

t h i n

k the t stands 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

going to be true or untrue

i is for intention what is the intention

is it a wholesome intention or un

wholesome intention

that when you're going to say whatever

it is you're going to say what is the

intention behind that

n is for necessity

is it necessary for you to say what

you're going to say is it going to be

beneficial

so in other words there is restless

speech that speech

that just is

speaking for no reason at all

so that would be unnecessary speech

so n is isn't necessary to say what

you're going to say

and k

is kindness

can you say what you are going to say

with kindness

t-h-i-n-k

think before you speak

and so the mundane form of right speech

is to cultivate this kind of speech

think always before you speak what

you're going to say

and then the super mundane is for that

fully awakened person the noble disciple

who

continually has right speech on an

automatic level

right action

right action is basically following the

precepts

abstaining from killing and harming

living beings

abstaining from taking what is not given

abstaining from sexual misconduct

so when we talk about abstaining from

ill will abstaining from harming other

beings

that is because that cultivates

an intention of non-ill will an

intention of loving kindness

it lets go of ill will

when we talk about

not taking

what is not given abstaining from what

is taking what is not given meaning

abstaining from stealing

that allows us to let go of restlessness

cultivates a mind that is non-agitated

and sexual misconduct also means sensual

misconduct

what is sexual misconduct

it's basically cheating on another

person

sexual misconduct means

having a relationship a sexual

relationship with somebody who is

betrothed to another

who is in a relationship with another

or who is

protected by another

so

in other words if you are

in a throuple

that's different

if you are

in any kind of relationship that doesn't

matter what kind of relationship you're

in it's about are you cheating on your

partners

so you could have whatever agreement

that you have but it's about cheating

the other person or persons

whoever they might be so this is

also

that also includes sensual misconduct

sensual misconduct is

getting attached to a sensual experience

which will cause you to break other

precepts

in the pursuit of that last piece of

chocolate cake

you push somebody aside

and you hurt them

that's sensual misconduct

and then

implied there in right mindfulness is

abstaining from intoxicants taking any

kind of

intoxicants like alcohol and drugs and

things like that

because they dull the mind

they cause slot and torpor

so if you let go of that and over

indulging

in anything

having a weekend binge of the latest

season of the netflix show

right how do you feel after doing that

your mind becomes very dull

or reading for a long period of time or

browsing the internet or social media

just scrolling endlessly

how do you feel after that

dull so overindulgence in anything let

go of that be practical be moderate

right use your common sense

and then

there are the two levels there's the

mundane level and there is the super

mundane level the mundane level is to do

with somebody who is cultivating this

eightfold path

that means they are continuously making

the effort to keep the precepts

and then eventually it becomes automatic

for a noble disciple that's the

supra-mundane level

and there are some other elements to

write intention right speech and right

action

which include the super mundane level

but on the very surface of it it's about

keeping precepts having a mind that is

filled with wholesome intentions

what is right livelihood

that's not dealing in certain kinds of

trade

certain kinds of businesses certain

kinds of practices

that engage

in selling

intoxicants or alcohol

that deal in selling

poisons that deal in selling weapons

that deal in human trafficking that deal

in selling people

and that deal in meat

and that has nothing to do with eating

meat here that has nothing to do with

purchasing meat or anything like that

that is causing a person to

that is dealing with the process of

killing for the purpose of meat

but when you eat meat here that's a

different case entirely you have an

intentionally killed a being for that

meat

so

dealing with practices that are dealing

with certain kinds of

trades

and businesses that cause harm to other

beings

that is what you're abstaining from

for the monastics that includes a whole

host of things that they cannot do

that includes

being doctors because that's not their

primary thing

that includes uh telling fortunes being

fortune tellers

reading palms reading the signs in the

sky

using astrology

you know telling

reading palm leaves and seeing you know

what is that person's future and this

and that selling amulets and

creating amulets and all of these other

things

you know a monastic is not there to do

anything except

to practice the dharma

so anything that gets in the way of

practicing the dhamma is wrong

livelihood for a monastic

their whole purpose for why they went

into the homeless life

is for the dhamma is for attaining

nirvana

everything else is a waste of time

there's wrong livelihood

so following the practice

following the precepts following the

patimoka and the vinaya and so on

for the purpose of purifying the mind so

that it is ripe for samadhi so that you

gain insight and experience

freedom of mind

and attain our hardship

right effort so now right effort is the

heart of this practice right effort is

the six r's

right effort is made up of four

components

recognizing

any kind of unwholesome states that

arise

abandoning

those arisen unwholesome states

generating a wholesome state of mind and

maintaining that wholesome state of mind

this is right effort

so

the six r's are right effort

because when you recognize

that there is a wholesome state of mind

present you are utilizing that first

right effort

when you release

and relax

you are abandoning that unwholesome

state of mind

so that is the second right effort

when you re-smile

that means either coming back to the

smile or having the intention to

generate a wholesome state of mind

that is the third right effort

generating a wholesome state of mind

and then when you come back to your

practice come back to the meditation

come back to loving kindness

come back to quiet mind you are

maintaining that wholesome state of mind

and then when you repeat you're

obviously repeating right effort

so right effort is the core of the

eightfold path it is the heart of the

eightfold path

because because it is only through right

effort that you know what is wrong with

you

you can recognize what is wrong with you

let that go and come to right view

you can recognize what is wrong in

tension an intention that wants to hold

on to things an intention that is not

friendly has ill will or intention that

wants to harm you can recognize that let

that go and then generate right

intention

you can go from wrong speech the

intention to have wrong speech you

recognize you want to say something

terrible to this person

you let that go relax

uplift the mind

and then utilize right speech

likewise you recognize the intention to

wanting to break a precept you can

recognize that

let that intention go

generate a wholesome state of mind and

practice right action

right livelihood notice what your

intentions are what kind of trade are

you doing what kind of business are you

in

that leads to the suffering of others

you can recognize that let that go

and then utilize right livelihood

what about

right mindfulness

now before we get into right mindfulness

when it comes to right effort

in the mundane level this is about

utilizing the four right efforts

utilizing the six r's

but then in the super mundane level you

have six r to the point that you don't

have to do anything it's effortless the

eightfold path becomes effortless

so right mindfulness

and wrong mindfulness so what is right

mindfulness

there are the four foundations of

mindfulness that we went through

seeing the body as body seeing

feeling as feeling seeing mind as mind

seeing mind objects as mind objects or

phenomena as phenomena

so right mindfulness is understanding

having the full awareness of how your

mind moves from one thing to the other

so it's remembering to observe how your

mind's attention moves from one thing to

the other

getting absorbed

in something getting absorbed in

walking mindfully getting absorbed in

mindfully eating getting absorbed in

mindfully standing mindfully sitting

mindfully driving

that is not right mindfulness

right mindfulness leads you to right

collectedness

through the process of right effort

you go into the process of right

mindfulness which leads you to right

collectedness so when you are doing

bhavana when you are in meditation

these three are continuously there right

effort right mindfulness right

collectedness

the mundane form of right mindfulness is

just being aware being attentive having

attention to whatever it is that's going

on when you're meditating you're doing a

walking meditation whatever it is what

is the quality of your mind how do you

utilize full awareness remember we

talked about full awareness being the

full awareness of your object of

meditation for the purpose of this

retreat

how are you in terms of your mindfulness

in regards to how well

you keep your attention on your object

of meditation

so right collectedness culminates

or is cultivated through the practice of

the four janus

so you bring up the intention of loving

kindness that's right intention

you make the effort when you recognize

that you're no longer on the object of

meditation

so you use the six hours and now you

have cultivated further mindfulness

dropping the hindrances

dropping attachment to sensual pleasures

your mind feels relief your mind feels

elated it feels uplifted it feels

nice warm cozy with that loving kindness

and so from there comes the joy in the

first jhana

so you have the vitika and the vichara

the vitika is the

thinking though the vicar is the

examining thought remember what

bodhisattva was talking about thinking

and examining thought that's bringing up

the intention of loving kindness that's

the vitaka

the vichara

is to sustain that is to stay with your

object once you bring up

the object through verbalizing

through

a wholesome image

through a wholesome memory whatever it

might be

then

the feeling comes up and you make the

intention to stay with that you let go

of the vittaka then you let go of the

vichara

then you get into the second jana where

thou the loving kindness is flowing your

attention is flowing now you have

self-confidence

and

you have from the first jhana the

ekagata the mind that is unified

that means using the analogy of

let's say

here is the object which is the planet

and here's your attention with this

which is the satellite

orbiting the object

the unification of mind is the

gravitational field around that object

staying there staying in orbit

when your mind doesn't become unified

what happens it goes out of orbit so

what do you do you use the six r's

to bring it back into orbit

so that you stay with your object

so the ekagata is that

now that's there in the second jana and

you have further collectedness now your

mind is very collected

staying there

because of that there's elation there's

joy

and there's further comfort in the body

then

as you get into the third jhana the joy

tapers off and there's only sukkah

there's only peace there's only

contentment there's only tranquility

comfort in the body

then even that fades away and there's

only equanimity

there's the purity of mindfulness

due to equanimity why is that

because the jhanas are not just

the letting go or the non-presence of

the five hindrances but it is also the

activation and

the presence of the seven enlightenment

factors

so you cycle through the enlightenment

factors as you go through jhanas and so

now your mindfulness becomes so clear

that purity of mindfulness due to the

equanimity the mindfulness

leads to investigation

or the interest which leads to energy

which leads to joy which leads to

tranquility which leads to collectedness

which leads to equanimity and it cycles

through

becoming

stronger and stronger and more

stabilized

so as you go through these jhanas

then you have an experience of

infinite space which is part of the

fourth jhana

the ayatanas the spheres the realms the

dimensions

the base of infinite space the base of

infinite consciousness the base of

nothingness the base of neither

perception or non-perception these are

all part of the fourth jhana

so your mind is still very stable

and now your mind becomes expensive

experiencing infinite space

you start to see the arising and passing

away of consciousness and infinite

consciousness

you start to see that there is nothing

at all and now there's equanimity tied

to it further equanimity tied to it

and so now you are in nothingness

and then you are

mind resting on mind

which is neither perception or

non-perception when you are in mind

resting in mind don't do anything

don't look for anything

don't even try to observe anything just

stay with mind

that's it

any intention anything beyond that now

you come out of neither perception

nor non-perception

so the only thing you have to do is when

your mind becomes bored when you have

restlessness or slot interpret that's

when you start to bring up the

enlightenment factors at the eighth

jhana

or

the realm of neither perception nor

non-perception

now jhanas in right

collectedness they are

levels of cessation

why

because in the first jhana what ceases

the five hindrances

the attachment to sensual pleasures

ceases

the second jhana what ceases

the vitika and vichar the thinking and

examining thoughts cease

the third jhana once jesus

the joy ceases

the fourth jhana what ceases

the contentment the tranquility the

sukkah

ceases

in the fifth jhana what ceases in

infinite space what ceases

the contact with the body now you don't

you're no longer with the body now the

mind is expansive

and that doesn't mean you're radiating

just from your head there's no don't

think about it from that perspective

just radiate

okay just radiate that's it

now

there is little contact with the body if

at all

so what ceases

is the

is the body or contact with the body

what about infinite consciousness

the perception of infinite space ceases

in

infinite consciousness

what about nothingness

the perception of

infinite

consciousness jesus

and then in neither perception or

non-perception the perception of nothing

ceases

and then you have total cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

when we say neither perception nor

non-perception why are we saying that

because

when you are in that state there are

these proto-thoughts that arise these

are the formations that start to cook up

fully formed thoughts

but you're not able to recognize so

you're not able to fully perceive what

those thoughts are but it's neither

non-perception because you are seeing

something there but you're not able to

fully grasp and interpret what it is

that you're seeing

and then eventually all perception

ceases all feeling ceases and you have

cessation of perception feeling and

consciousness

now right view having the right view

starts with knowing what is wholesome

and unwholesome

so keeping the precepts and so on leads

to right intention cultivating loving

kindness cultivating a mind that lets go

which leads you to have right speech and

right action and right livelihood

because of that the mind is able to have

right effort

you which is

rooted in that right intention that

leads to right mindfulness which leads

to right collectedness which leads to

the cessation of identifying with any

process

so whenever you do the six r's you're

doing a few things

you are activating the enlightenment

factors why because when you recognize

you are mindful

and you are

aware of what's going on that's the

investigation when you release

you have energy you have the right

effort when you relax

you have

tranquility when you re-smile you have

joy

when you return you have collectedness

and when you repeat you have equanimity

when you're doing that whole process

there's equanimity because you're not

pulled in one direction or the other

you're just staying with whatever is

going on

when you use the six r's you're also

understanding the four noble truths as i

said earlier you recognize the first

noble truth

you release and relax

you release the second noble truth and

you experience the cessation of that

second noble truth by relaxing the

tightness and tension

and when you re-smile and return and

repeat you're cultivating the fourth

noble truth

because you are using the six r's you're

using right effort which allows you go

allows you to go from the wrong factors

of the wrong path to the right factors

of the right path which is the eightfold

path

leading to nibana

and so

now visakha asks a very very interesting

question

lady is that craving and clinging

the same as these five aggregates that

are affected by craving and clinging

or is the craving and clinging something

apart

from the five aggregates that are

affected by craving and clinging

and sudamadena says

friend visaka

that clinging is neither the same as

these five aggregates

affected by that clinging

nor is the clinging something apart from

the five aggregates affected by that

clinging

it is the desire in lust in regard to

the five aggregates

affected by clinging that is the

clinging there in other words

if you were to say that the five

aggregates are the same

as craving and clinging

if you six r

the craving and clinging if you use the

six hours to let go of craving and

clinging then you let go of the five

aggregates too

that means you six already a form you're

not you no longer have the body you no

longer have the feeling you no longer

have perception you no longer have

formations or consciousness

but if you were to say that the craving

and clinging were separate from the five

aggregates then why are you six houring

anyway because they're separate you

don't have to deal with them at all

but what it is is the pers the the

personalizing of the five aggregates

taking personal

identifying with the five advocates that

you have to let go of

the craving in relation to what what

arises

in regards to the feeling in regards to

the perception in regards to the

formations in regards to the awareness

and contact with the body of course

lady how does identity view come to be

so this is self-view this is sakaya

ditty one of the

feathers the first feather

sakaya ditty

taking on a personal view of self

hear a friend visakha an untaught

ordinary person

who has no regard for noble ones and is

unskilled and undisciplined in their

dharma who has no regard for true men

and is unskilled and undisciplined in

their tama regards material form as self

that's the first view

or self as possessed of material form

that's the second view

or material form as in self that's the

third view

or self as in material form that's the

fourth view

these are the twenty different types of

clinging to self view that we talked

about earlier

or he regards feeling a self or self as

possessed of feeling

or feeling as in self

or self as in feeling

he regards perception as self

or self as possessed of perception

or perception as in self

or self as in perception

he regards formations as self

or self as possessed of formations

or formations as in self

or self as in formations

he regards consciousness as self

or self as possessed of consciousness or

consciousness as in self or as self or

self as in consciousness

this is how identity view comes to be

taking any of these as self one way or

the other

that that's on an experiential

intellectual level there's this idea

that this is self or that itself or self

is separate from these things

and how does identity view not come to

be hear a friend visakha a well taught

noble disciple

that is somebody who becomes a stream

enterer and so forth who has regard for

noble ones and is skilled and

disciplined in their dhamma who has

regard for true men and is skilled and

disciplined

and is skilled and disciplined in their

dharma

does not regard material form as self or

self as possessed of material form or

material form as in self or self as in

material form

he does not regard feeling as self

or self as possessed of feeling

or feeling as in self or self as in

feeling

he does not regard perception as self

or self as possessed or perception

or perception as in self

or self as in perception

he does not regard formations as self or

self as possessed of formations or

formations as in self or self as in

formations he does not regard

consciousness as self

or self as possessed or

or s

or self as possessed of consciousness or

consciousness as in self

or self as in consciousness

this is how identity view does not come

to be now sakaya ditty identity view and

mana or conceit are two different things

you can understand the impersonal nature

of things

on a

intellectual level on a mental level on

a experiential level

but there can still be conceit that is

still having this intrinsic

identification

you can have the sakaya ditty gone the

self-view gone but there can still be

this i me or mine in relation to the

five aggregates

this has nothing to to do with whether

there is a self or not a self

remember yesterday i said the buddha was

asked is there a self or is there not a

self he didn't answer in either way he

talked about dependent origination

because if he said that there is a self

then the mind will say okay then there

must be a self and identify with that

and that causes

all of this craving to arise

if he said that there is no self then

there is a self that thinks that there

is no self

right there is still a self there

there is a self to be annihilated

but understanding that the arising and

passing away of the links that depend on

origination means the arising of a sense

of self

whenever you crave cling and become and

act with that sense of self

so it's about not self anata the

impersonal nature of things

is about what is not self

because as we understand

all conditioned things are impermanent

therefore not worth holding on to

therefore not to be considered as me

mine or myself

so this form this body

changes

why would you take that as a self

feeling continues to arise and pass away

perception continues to arise and pass

away tied to that feeling

intentions and choices based on those

formations continue to arise and pass

away

awareness cognition arises and passes

away as you see in infinite

consciousness

seeing these

how can you take them to be self

having seen this then the conceit goes

away where the mind doesn't land on

anything as self

first the self view goes away but there

can still be taking things personal from

the sense of this is me this is mine

that's this is myself but when the

conceit goes away then there is no

there is no view there is no landing on

a sense of self in anything

intrinsically

everything is seen as impersonal

there's no projection of this is me this

is mine this is myself on anything

whatsoever

not even the dhamma

everything is seen as impersonal

lady what is the noble eightfold path we

just went through it

friend visaka 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

lady is the noble eightfold path

conditioned or unconditioned

what do you guys think is it conditioned

or unconditioned

conditioned

there's only one thing that is

unconditioned that is nibana that is the

unconditioned

when you have the cessation of all

conditions

that is the unconditioned

where you decondition the mind

completely

of all dependently or risen phenomena

then there is

non-greed non-hatred non-delusion

these are part of nibana

that mind without craving

does that sound familiar

that is the unconditioned

a mind that is not conditioned by things

that doesn't project onto things

but you require the eightfold path which

leads you to the unconditioned

which allows you to decondition

whole process

using the eightfold path

you understand and come to the

unconditioned

so the wheel of samsara is mechanized

through dependent origination

but the wheel of dharma is mechanized

through the eightfold path

so then the wheel of dharma replaces the

wheel of samsara

and that

arises or that that gives rise rather to

write insight and write liberation

samanyana

that is the right knowledge or right

vision or right

insight

into the four noble truths which gives

you complete liberation of mind

some of the vimuti

that is the ten-fold path of one who

becomes fully awakened

then that means that they have let go of

all the taints that go of all of the

feathers

so they have come from the conditioned

using the conditioned to come to the

unconditioned

it's like when you step

on a thorn

you take another thorn to prick out the

thorn on in your foot and you let go of

both thorns

the same way when you are

using the raft to get from one side to

the other you don't carry the raft with

you after you get to the other side you

let go of the raft

so the eightfold path doesn't mean you

let go of the eightfold path it means

you let go of any attachment to the

dharma

you have utilized the dharma

for the purpose of what it is which is

freedom of mind

which is freedom from suffering

the cessation of suffering

and then you continue on your way

because your mind now has been

has been completely purified

and now it is functioning automatically

using the eightfold path

and so she says friend visaka the noble

eightfold path is conditioned

lady are the three aggregates included

by the noble eightfold path or is a

noble eightfold path included by the

three aggregates

here when she talks about aggregate

sorry when he visaka talks about

aggregates he's not talking about the

five aggregates

you have to understand where the word

aggregate comes from skanda or kanda

which just means heaps

categories that's it

so the five categories of experience are

the five kandas the five aggregates the

three categories here

are sila samadhi and panya that's what

they're referring to

the three aggregates are not included by

the noble eightfold path friend visakha

but the noble eightfold path is included

by the three aggregates in other words

right speech right action and right

livelihood

these states are included in the

aggregate of virtue or sila

when you keep the precepts

right effort right mindfulness and right

collectedness these states are included

in the aggregate of collectedness

samadhi what did i say what meditation

is

right effort leads to right mindfulness

which leads to right collectedness and

they circle around each other

this is samadhi right view and right

intention

these states are included in the

aggregate of wisdom or panya

why

because you get to the

the understanding of the four noble

truths that's the right view you use the

right intention which is the super

mundane right intention

that supra mundane right intention

is the understanding of what is wrong

and right

is of letting go

it's of investigating in the proper way

it's of cultivating wisdom it's of

cultivating the faculty of wisdom

it's just it's of seeing the lings of

dependent origination that lead you

to that clear wisdom

to the dharma

lady what is

collectedness what is the basis of

collectedness what is the equipment of

collectedness

what is the development of collectedness

unification of mind friend visaka is

collectedness

that orbiting around your object of

meditation this is collectiveness

an attention that is non-dispersed

in other words

the light of your attention doesn't go

through a prism

and disperse

instead it unifies

around an object of meditation

that gravitational field staying within

that gravitational field

is collectedness that is the eka gata

the four foundations of mindfulness are

the basis of collectedness

why

because right mindfulness

leads

to right collect right mindfulness leads

to right collectiveness right

collectedness is dependent upon right

mindfulness when you recognize you are

no longer on your object

then you come back to it and now you are

back

in collectedness

the four right efforts are the equipment

of collectedness these are the tools

that you use to come back to a collected

mind the six r's

remember the four right efforts

recognizing an unwholesome state

abandoning the wholesome state

generating a wholesome state

and maintaining a wholesome state

recognizing that there's an unwholesome

state present abandoning that

unwholesome state bringing up the smile

that generates a wholesome state and

staying with your object and meditation

which is the maintaining of that

wholesome state

this these are the tools to get you to

collectiveness

to get you into meditation

the repetition

development and cultivation of these

same states

is the development of collectedness

therein

the

continual use of right effort

the continual coming back to observing

how your mind's attention moves using

right effort to come back

this is

how you develop collectedness

this is mental development

and by continuously having that

process of orbiting around your object

in meditation

having that ekagata you have

clear collectedness

okay now we're going to get even deeper

now

yeah lady how many formations are there

sankaras how many sankaras are there

there are these three formations friend

visaka

the bodily formation the verbal

formation

and the mental formation

but lady

what is the bodily formation

what is the verbal formation

what is the mental formation

in breathing and out breathing friend

vusaka are the bodily formation

that's the breath

you inhale and exhale that's connected

to the body but that also includes a

movement walking around that's connected

to bodily formations

anything related to the body is a bodily

formations

except for i use sankara sankhara is

completely different

that is to do with the aging process

that is on the cellular level

and the metabolic level you don't have

any control over that

applied thought and sustained thought

meaning thinking and examining thought

the verbalizing

are the verbal formations

perception and feeling are the mental

formation

but lady why are in breathing and out

breathing also bodily movement part of

the bodily formation

why are thinking and examining thought

the verbal formation why are perception

and feeling the mental formation

friend visaka

in breathing and out breathing are

bodily these states

are bound up with the body that is why

they are the bodily formation

anything related to the body in terms of

movement inhalation exhalation so on

tied up with the body is a bodily

formation or is part of the bodily

formation

first

one thinks

about something

and then examines that and then

subsequently one breaks out into speech

that is why thinking and examining

thought are the verbal formations

when you bring up a wholesome intention

when you bring up a verbalization may i

be happy may i be well may i be at peace

may i be filled with loving kindness

what is that

utilizing verbal formations

when you see something and you want to

say what that thing is you you're

thinking about it you're examining it

and then you come up with what you want

to say

this verbal formations

allows you to do that process and

express in speech

perception and feeling are mental these

states are bound up

in the mind that is why perception and

feeling

are the mental formation

even if you're having a physical

sensation

it's bound up in the mind

whatever it is that you are seeing

hearing

smelling tasting

touching

and

thinking

it all culminates in the process of the

mind because you have the contact

feeling perception intention attention

this is how you know mind

mind is chief

mind is the forerunner of all states

so when you feel and perceive

it all culminates in the mind that's why

they are the mental formations

allow you to feel and perceive

whether it's through the mind or the

five physical sense basis

lady how does the attainment of the

cessation of perception feeling and

consciousness come to be

friend visakha when one is attaining the

cessation of perception feeling and

consciousness it does not occur to them

i shall attain the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness or

i am attaining the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness or

i have attained the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness but

rather their mind has previously been

developed in such a way that it leads

them to that state

in other words when you get into

cessation perception feeling and

consciousness the attainment when you

get into it

through the process of janus

you're not thinking let me get into

cessation

when you are in cessation there's no

thought whatsoever so you're not having

that and when you come out of cessation

you don't think i just was in cessation

many times when you come out of

cessation the first thought that arises

what was that

what just happened

you have no idea what just happened

so what is that previous development of

the mind

it's utilizing the eightfold path

that is how you previously developed the

mind to come to cessation

utilizing six hours

developing right view right intention

right speech right action right

livelihood right mindfulness right

collectedness

leads you to liberation of the mind when

your mind ceases

that cessation there's completely

no

thought

no feeling no perception no

consciousness

it happens

for a millisecond

just have a gap

and you have no idea what happened

and when you come out

you realize your mind went somewhere

something happened

and then you have contact with nibana

and so on and so forth

lady when one is attaining the cessation

of perception feeling and consciousness

which which states sees first in him

the bodily formation the verbal

formation or the mental formation

friend visaka

when a beku or when one is attaining the

cessation of perception feeling

unconsciousness

first the verbal formation ceases

then the bodily formation then the

mental formation

why

because as you're progressing through

janas

remember in the first sean of what's he

says the hindrance cease attachment to

central experiences cease

then in the second jhana what ceases

verbal formations because you're no

longer having to apply intention to

think about this or that now the mind is

just flowing

then bodily formation cease where do

they cease

at the fourth jhana

from the fourth jhana onwards

contact with the body

dissipates

it's not that you stop breathing

it's just contact with the body

dissipates

and the mental formation when does that

cease

when you have cessation of perception

feeling and consciousness

when one is emerging from the attainment

of the cessation of perception feeling

and consciousness

oh sorry i skipped a line

a lady how does the emergence from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

come to be

friend visaka when one is emerging from

the attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness it

does not occur to him i shall emerge

from the attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness or

i am emerging from the attainment of the

cessation of perception feeling and

consciousness

or i have emerged from the attainment of

the cessation perception feeling and

consciousness

but rather

his mind has previously developed in

such a way that it leads him to that

state

when you first have the experience of

cessation

you have no idea what just happened

so you don't have this idea that i have

just emerged

from the cessation of perception feeling

and consciousness you've developed your

mind to such an extent that it ceases

and then it comes out from that

attainment

now in order for you to remain in that

there's another word there's the

attainment and there's the remaining

association these are two different

things the attainment happens when you

are naturally progressing through the

meditation

the remaining of that

is the

intention of going into cessation that

you can do as an anagami or an arahat

so that happens through prior

determination of going into cessation

but even there there's no prior

determination that i will attain the

cessation it's just

certain kinds of determinations that you

do and you have an intention for how

long you'll be in that

and then

after that time

that time it goes you then arise from

that you come out of that the mind comes

out or emerges from that attainment

but that is a process of remaining

remaining in cessation through prior

determination here when you're talking

about the attainment they're talking

about when you're just practicing

on a retreat for example

lady when a biku is emerging from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

which states arise in him first

the bodily formation the verbal

formation or the mental formation

what do you guys think arises first

mental formations

friend visaka when the bhikkhu is

emerging from the attainment of the

cessation of perception feeling and

consciousness

first the mental formation arises then

the bodily formation arises

then the verbal formation arises why

because when you come out of cessation

your mind is completely pure

absolutely pure

and then it makes contact which we'll

talk about in a little bit

but the feeling that arises is obviously

coming from a mental formation that joy

and relief that you feel

that

this gush of joy that you feel

that relief that you feel it's a feeling

that's coming from a mental formation

then you say what was that that is

a verbal formation

but before that happens you feel

that in the body so that's the bodily

formation

you feel

light you feel uplifted and then you say

what was that

that's the verbal formation

so it happens like that very quickly

these formations arise

now here's the important part what lady

when ebiku has emerged from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness how

many kinds of contact touch him

fenvesaka when ebiku has emerged from

the attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

three kinds of contact touch him

voidness contact

signless contact and desireless contact

this is nirvana

why is it void it is void of

any kind of self there

nirvana is void of any kind of self

why is it signless

because nibana is not an object you

don't take that as an object

when we say signless

we mean objectless animita no nimita no

object

and desireless why because there's no

inclination one way or the other when

you come out of cessation your mind is

so pure completely pure

it doesn't have an inclination to go

here or there it's just

there is the unconditioned it makes

contact with the unconditioned

which is empty of self

which is desireless which is not an

object and right from there comes the

feeling of joy and relief

now what happens you experience the joy

and relief and the mind says

that was amazing i want more of that

so from that feeling there comes craving

so that initial point the mind is pure

when the mind makes contact with nibana

for that split second the mind is like

an arahat's mind

there are pure formations that come up

pure consciousness that comes up the

contact that arises is pure and then

the feeling is there that's pure joy and

relief

but then what happens oh i love that

feeling

that was amazing to me

so what that what does that mean now the

conceit has arisen

i want more of that the craving has

arisen so the next arising of the links

are now feathered still by that craving

feathered still

by that conceit feathered still by that

ignorance

when you have the next attainment

you have let go of some craving let go

of some aversion because you continue to

utilize

the six r's to recognize when craving an

aversion happen

so the next time it happens you make

contact with nibana again

but still there's still personalizing

going on not to

such a strong extent but still there's

some identification going on and you

feel that joy and relief it might not be

as

uh

as explosive as it was the first time

around let's say

but then you still take it personally

but because you continue to purify your

mind to be able to recognize

sensual craving and aversion it has

reduced

at the level of the sake

then when you have the attainment of

anagami again you make contact with the

nirvana element

now the feeling is very equanimous

very quiet very peaceful very calm

you don't have any craving there

but guess what

i have attained nirvana that i have

is the conceit

that conceit is still there conceit

restlessness

craving for jannah craving for formless

jaundice ignorance that's still there so

for that moment it's pure and then you

still have a clinging somewhere and then

the next arising of the links are

fettered by conceit and by

ignorance and then when you're becoming

arahat

you have that experience again

but you don't take anything personally

now there is no more fuel

for any kind of clinging to eye me or

mine to arise so that means then the

next arising is still pure

you still have a very balanced mind

the next arising will have formations

that are completely pure as well

purified unfettered

from ignorance unfettered from clinging

to self unfettered from any kind of

conceit unfettered from any kind of

wrong view or clinging to the dharma

because of that the consciousness is

pure

which means that the consciousness

doesn't taint

your reality there's no grasping going

on anymore

and so the nama rupa when it experiences

this reality around it doesn't grasp at

anything

the feeling is pure the perception is

pure there's no potential for the link

of craving to arise

the ignorance is now replaced by right

view

the wisdom

and so the formations that arise

are conditioned by right view so they

don't take anything personally

they don't have any craving

they don't have any intention to harm

anyone

so then the consciousness too therefore

the non-marupa therefore this extent

spaces therefore even that contact that

arises

and the feeling that arises is just all

karma to be experienced and felt but no

new karma is produced because you don't

have any of the craving any of the

clinging any of the becoming or habitual

tendencies that create the birth of

reaction rooted in a sense of self

so what kind of action does the arahat

produce

spontaneous action

rooted in the eightfold path

that mind's intention is right intention

that mind speech is right speech that

mind's action is right action

it's effortless

you have completely deconditioned the

mind from all kinds of suffering

reconditioned with the eightfold path

so that it is unconditioned by any greed

hatred or delusion

lady when a beku has emerged from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness to

what does their mind incline to what

does it mean to what does it tend

friend visaka when ebiku has emerged

from the attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

their mind inclines to seclusion

leans to seclusion

tends to seclusion

the word seclusion comes from the word

viveka

now viveka yes it can mean seclusion but

there is a different way of

understanding this word viveka

it means discernment

to know

to understand

and what is it that it knows

and understands what is it that it

discerns

insight

wisdom

dependent origination

the dharma

because

the mind emerges from cessation

experiences nibana

as a result there is the feeling and

then seeing the links of dependent

origination

the mind inclines towards seeing the

links

this is what is meant when it says

seclusion seclusion

should actually say viveka which is

discernment

understanding wisdom

lady how many kinds of feeling are there

friend visaka there are three kinds of

feeling

pleasant feeling painful feeling and

neither painful nor pleasant feeling

but lady what is pleasant feeling

what is painful feeling

what is neither painful nor pleasant

feeling

friend visakha whatever is felt bodily

or mentally

as pleasant and soothing is pleasant

feeling

whatever is felt bodily or mentally as

painful and hurting

is painful feeling

whatever is felt bodily or mentally as

neither soothing nor hurting

is neither painful nor pleasant feeling

that's it

lady what is pleasant and what is

painful in regard to pleasant feeling

what is painful and what is pleasant in

regard to painful feeling

what is pleasant and what is painful in

regard to neither painful nor pleasant

feeling

friend visaka pleasant feeling is

pleasant when it persists

and painful

when it changes

that is why you don't hold on to

pleasant feelings

that is why they are liable to cause

suffering because they change

painful feeling is painful when it

persists

and pleasant when it changes

you have a cramp in your leg that's a

painful feeling like i have a cramp in

my leg right now but when that goes away

that's going to be pleasant for me

right

neither painful nor pleasant feeling is

pleasant when there is knowledge of it

when you are aware of it

that is the pleasantness of that

but when it is painful there is no

knowledge of it you have lack of

mindfulness lack of attention to it

that is the painful in

the

neutral feeling in the neither pleasant

nor painful feeling

lady what underlying tendency underlies

pleasant feeling

what underlying tendency underlies

painful feeling what underlying tendency

underlies neither painful

nor pleasant feeling

so when we talk about underlying

tendencies these arise at the link of

feeling

they underlie the feeling they underlie

the experience

so friend visaka the underlying tendency

to craving

towards lust towards grabbing

underlies the pleasant feeling you see

something

that is

beautiful

you want to possess it

you have that piece of chocolate cake

you want another piece of chocolate cake

you hear a beautiful piece of music you

want you want to hear more of that

and so on and so forth

so that underlying tendency

if

if clung to

gives rise to full-blown craving

the underlying tendency towards aversion

towards ill-will towards hatred towards

frustration towards irritation underlies

the painful feeling

so

you see something that isn't beautiful

you smell something that is

you know

that's just very smelly you smell

something that is not fragrant

like garbage or something there's this

underlying tendency in that experience

which clings to like saying i don't like

that

if you

cling to that

you're going to have full-blown aversion

the underlying tendency to ignorance

underlies the neither painful nor

pleasant feeling

how is that the case

if you don't pay attention

to

a neutral feeling that is lack of

mindfulness

which then acts upon

the underlying tendency towards

ignorance now the underlying tendency

towards ignorance by the way can also

underlie pleasant feeling and painful

feeling

there are these seven underlying

tendencies underlying tendency towards

craving underlying tendency towards

aversion

underlying tendency towards ignorance

the underlying tendency towards views

having views about what you are

experiencing

it's a pleasant feeling now you want it

and you have a view about it you have an

opinion about it

underlying tendency towards doubt

it causes doubt in your mind is it

wholesome or is it unwholesome

should i take it should i not take it

am i breaking a precept if i act on it

or am i not breaking a precept

the underlying tendency towards conceit

this is me this is mine this is myself

the underlying tendency towards

power towards becoming

i want to be that

and of course the underlying tendency

towards ignorance which is the lack of

awareness the lack of mindfulness

so the seven are

towards craving towards aversion towards

ignorance towards views

towards doubt towards conceit and

towards becoming

but here's an interesting question

lady

does the underlying tendency

to craving

underlie all pleasant feeling

does the underlying tendency to over

aversion underlie all painful feeling

does the underlying tendency to

ignorance underlie all neither painful

nor pleasant feeling

friend visakha

the underlying tendency to lust does not

underlie all pleasant feeling

the underlying tendency to aversion

does not underlie all painful feeling

the underlying tendency to ignorance

does not underlie all neither painful

nor pleasant feeling why

because you if you have mindfulness

there if you have attention there if you

have what's known as yoni so manusakara

attention rooted in reality

then you are aware of what's going on

you have mindfulness there you have full

awareness of what's going on

so the underlying tendency towards

craving won't necessarily arise

these underlying tendencies arise

because there's lack of mindfulness

there's lack of attention at the feeling

or at the experience that you're having

only when there are when there is this

ignorance can the underlying tendency

towards craving arise in relation

to a pleasant feeling or an underlying

tendency towards aversion arise in

relation to a painful feeling

or underlying tendency towards ignorance

in relation to

a neither pleasant nor painful feeling

lady what should be abandoned in regard

to the pleasant feeling

what should be abandoned in regard to

the painful feeling

what should be abandoned in regard to

neither painful nor pleasant feeling

so in other words what do i have to let

go in relation to the pleasant feeling

if i'm having a pleasant feeling is

there anything i have to let go

if i'm having a painful feeling is there

anything i have to let go

if i'm having a neutral feeling is there

anything i have to let go

and she she says friend visaka the

underlying tendency to craving

should be abandoned in regard to

pleasant feeling the underlying tendency

towards aversion should be abandoned in

regard to painful feeling the underlying

pain the underlying tendency to

ignorance

should be abandoned in regard to neither

painful nor pleasant feeling

so when you are six houring when you are

using the six r's

there is a painful feeling when you are

meditating

are you six aring the pain away or are

you six aring the underlying tendency

towards aversion for that pain

you can't secure the pain away

but you can six are your reaction to

that pain

you can six are the

the inclination to grasp at a pleasant

feeling

when how do you six are the ignorance

just by recognizing oh you're no longer

mindful

in relation to an

neutral feeling

so it's all about developing your

mindfulness to be able to observe

how your mind is moving

how your mind's attention is moving

that way you can identify if there is an

underlying tendency

but as you'll see he says

lady does the underlying tendency to

craving have to be abandoned in regard

to all pleasant feeling

does the underlying tendency to aversion

have to be abandoned in regard to all

painful feeling

does the underlying tendency to

ignorance have to be abandoned in regard

to all

neither painful nor pleasant feeling

friend visaka the underlying tendency to

craving does not have to be abandoned in

regard to all pleasant feeling

the underlying tendency to aversion does

not have to be abandoned in regards to

all painful feeling

the underlying tendency to ignorance

doesn't have to be abandoned in regard

to all

neither painful nor pleasant feeling

and why is that

here

friend visaka quite secluded from

sensual pleasures secluded from

unwholesome states having abandoned the

hindrances one enters upon and abides in

the first jhana which is accompanied by

applied and sustained thought thinking

and examining thought with joy and

comfort born of seclusion

with that he abandons the craving and

the underlying tendency to craving does

not underlie that

jhana is a pleasant experience

you don't have to let go of any

underlying tendency towards

that but you can

because you might have craving for that

channel or clinging to that genre

but you have let go of the underlying

tendency in relation to

the sensual pleasures

by coming into the first jhana

here one considers thus when shall i

enter upon and abide in the base that

the noble ones now enter upon and abide

in

in one who thus generates a longing for

the supreme liberations

grief arises with that longing as

condition

with that he abandons aversion and the

underlying tendency to aversion does not

underlie that this is in relation to

chanda

wholesome desire wholesome inclination

your mind inclines towards

awakening

towards nibana

but the key here is it doesn't obsess

over it

if your mind says i want nibbana it's

one thing but if your mind says

i will do everything i can to attain

nirvana and i will just sit here until i

attain ibana you're gonna crave for that

that's craving

so let go of that

so the longing that's there the grief as

as it's put it's the chanda it's the

some vega

the dismay of having seen suffering

you don't have to let go of the aversion

to that you have to let go of any any

kind of propagation proliferation of

that that leads to aversion

but if you have the chanda if you have

the wholesome inclination if you have

some vega you understand that there is

suffering and you incline your mind

towards following the path and you

follow the path that's more than enough

don't let the mind obsess over when will

i get enlightenment when will i get

enlightenment when will i you know have

nibana

you're not going to get there

here with the abandoning of pleasure and

pain

and with the previous disappearance of

joy and grief

one enters upon and abides in the fourth

jhana which has neither painful nor

which has neither pain nor pleasure and

purity of mindfulness due to equanimity

with that he abandons ignorance

so there's no ignorance there the mind

is completely aware completely attentive

like in the preceding genres but now

there's total equanimity which is

a neither painful nor pleasant feeling

right

but the underlying tendency towards

ignorance does not underlie that

experience why because there is full

awareness there

clear comprehension of what is happening

anytime there's lack of mindfulness

there is ignorance or the underlying

tendency towards ignorance

lady what is the counterpart

of

pleasant feeling

counterpart this word is very crucial to

understand

in some contexts it says it means the

opposite of

in the in the spectrum

in some cases it means what does one

lead to the next so pati pada meaning

how does this lead to that so we will

see in terms of context how this is

answered

friend visaka

painful feeling is the counterpart of

pleasant feeling

so in other words

what is the opposite of pleasant feeling

painful feeling

what is the counterpart of painful

feeling

what do you guys think is the

counterpart of painful feeling

pleasant feeling

pleasant feeling is the counterpart of

painful feeling

what is the counterpart of neither

painful nor pleasant feeling

ignorance

is the counterpart of neither painful

nor pleasant feeling why

it's not that it's the opposite

of a neither painful nor pleasant

feeling it's that if you have a neither

painful not pleasant feeling there can

be the underlying tendency towards

ignorance that can arise

patipata a succession this can lead to

that

but now he goes back and says what is

the counterpart of ignorance

now he's saying what is the opposite of

ignorance

what is

it wisdom true knowledge

is the counterpart of ignorance

what is the counterpart of true

knowledge

don't say ignorance please

now he's talking about patipata what is

the succession of true knowledge what

does it lead to

liberation deliverance of mind

is the counterpart of true knowledge

that is cessation

mind gets into the unconditioned

what is the counterpart of deliverance

what does it lead to

nibana is the counterpart of deliverance

lady

what is the counterpart of nibana

friend visaka you have pushed this line

of questioning too far

you are not able to grasp the limit to

questions

for the holy life

friend visaka this whole process that

we're doing

is grounded upon nibana

culminates in ibana ends in nibana

if you wish

friend visaka

go to the blessed one and ask him about

the meaning of this

as the blessed one explains it to you

so you should remember it

then the lay follower visaka having

delighted and rejoiced in the bhikkhuni

damadina's words

rose from his seat and after paying

homage to her

keeping her on his right he went to the

blessed one

after paying homage to him he sat down

at one side and told the blessed one his

entire conversation with the bikuni

damadina

when he finished speaking the blessed

one told him

the bikini the bikuni

damadina is wise visakha

the bikuni damadina has great wisdom

if you had asked me the meaning of this

i would have explained it to you in the

same way that the bhikkhuni damadina has

explained it

such is its meaning

and so you should remember it

this is what the blessed one said

the lay follower of asaka was satisfied

and delighted in the blessed one's words

satisfied and delighted

okay

there you go

[Laughter]

especially if they're chocolate chip

cookies

may suffering ones be suffering free may

the fear struck fearless be

may they grieving

a grief and may all beings find relief

may all beings share this merit that we

have thus acquired for the acquisition

of all kinds of happiness many beings

inhabiting space and earth devas and

nagas of mighty power share this merit

of ours may they long protect the

buddha's dispensation sadhus