From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=WlMSV-rZxDw

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

[Music]

so today we're going to be reading from

majamedikaya number 43

the mahave de la suta the greater series

of questions and answers

thus have i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living at savate in

jettas grove anata pindaka's park

then when it was evening the venerable

maha kotita rose from meditation

went to the venerable sariputta

and exchanged greetings with him

when this courteous and amiable talk was

finished he sat down at one side and

said to the venerable sariputta

one who is unwise

one who is unwise is said friend

with reference to what is this said one

who is unwise

now this dialogue is between two arahats

sariputa

and maha kotita

so he's asking these questions not to

clarify things

but as a way of helping his students

understand so oftentimes you have these

let's say fireside chats where you'd

have two arhats talking together and

you'd have an audience

listening and so this is what was going

on

one does not wisely understand

one does not wisely understand friend

that is why it is said one who is unwise

and what does one

what doesn't one wisely understand

one does not wisely understand this is

suffering

does not wisely understand this is the

origin of suffering

one does not wisely understand this is

the cessation of suffering

one does not wisely understand this is

the way leading to the cessation of

suffering

one does not wisely understand one does

not wisely understand

that is why it is said one who is unwise

so whenever they talk about being wise

or having wisdom or wisdom in general

they're referring to the understanding

of the links of dependent origination

when you understand the links of

dependent origination you have obtained

wisdom

and when you understand it fully you

understand the four noble truths fully

here sariputta is saying one who does

not understand suffering one who does

not understand the cause of suffering

one who does not understand the

cessation of suffering and one who

doesn't understand the way leading to

the cessation of suffering

in other words one who does not six are

is one who is unwise

why is that

because when you recognize what you are

doing

is you are understanding that there is

suffering present

that suffering arises in the form of a

hindrance

in the form of an unwholesome state

in a form of craving or aversion towards

a pleasant or unpleasant feeling

when you recognize that you say this is

suffering you understand okay here is

present a hindrance

when you release

and

let go of that hindrance take your

attention away from it

you are abandoning the cause of that and

when you relax

you're letting go of the craving

so you are abandoning the second noble

truth

and in that moment you experience the

third noble truth

of the cessation of suffering

see it for yourself when there is a

hindrance present when there's tightness

and tension present

and you six are it and you let it go

what happens

you feel relief in that moment

and that relief

manifests as a mind that's calm

cool collected

spacious

open

like a cloudless sky

and then when you

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re-smile come back to your object

repeat

you're cultivating the eightfold path

just by doing that process of the six

hours

because you're cultivating right effort

which is the core of the eightfold path

remember it's from right effort that you

go from

the wrong factors of the wrong path to

the right vectors of the right path

so this is how you understand the four

noble truths in every moment you six are

this is how you are teaching yourself

if you effectively 6r then you are

letting go of craving

letting go of suffering and

understanding

the cessation of that by cultivating the

eightfold path

saying good friend the venerable maha

kotita delighted and rejoiced in the

venerable sariputta's words

then he asked him a further question

one who is wise

one who is wise is said friend with

reference to what is this said one who

is wise

one wisely understands

one wisely understands friends that is

why it is said one who is wise

what does one wisely understand one

wisely understands this is suffering

one wisely understands this is the

origin of suffering

one wisely understands this is the

cessation of suffering

one wisely understands this is the way

leading to the cessation of suffering

one wisely understands one wisely

understands friends that is why it is

said one who is wise

so wisdom is developed every time you 6r

every time you're able to recognize

craving every time you are able to

recognize aversion every time you're

able to recognize any of the hindrances

anytime you're able to recognize the

mind's

desire to react

out of craving and aversion

you are developing wisdom

because now you're aware of that and

then you use the rest of the path to let

go of it

use the rest of the for right efforts in

the form of the rest of the six r's

to let go of it and then to generate

wholesome states of mind

and these wholesome states of mind

include

loving kindness compassion

joy equanimity

kindness

patience

and

kanti which is patience

and forgiveness

and generosity

and so on and so forth

along with that you're also cultivating

the seven enlightenment factors

because as we understand it when you six

are

you are also activating each of the

seven

factors of enlightenment

each of the seven factors of awakening

when you recognize you bring up

mindfulness and you bring up

investigation of states

when you let go using release

you bring up effort which is energy

and then when you

relax you bring up tranquility

when you smile you bring up the factor

of joy

and when you return back to your object

you bring up collectedness

and through that process you are

developing equanimity

and so this is how you cultivate and

activate the enlightened factors as well

and as you do this you start to develop

more and more wisdom you start to

penetrate the dhamma which is the

understanding of dependent origination

and letting go of suffering letting go

of craving and experiencing nirvana here

and now

consciousness consciousness is said

friend

with reference to what is consciousness

said

it cognizes

it cognizes friend

that is why consciousness is said

what does it cognize

it cognizes this is pleasant

it cognizes this is painful

it cognizes this is neither painful nor

pleasant

it cognizes it cognizes friend that is

why consciousness is said

so here when we talk about consciousness

we're talking about the aggregate of

consciousness

or the link of consciousness

which is the cognition of something the

awareness of something the knowing that

this experience is painful

the knowing that this experience is

pleasant

the knowing that this experience is

neither painful nor pleasant

so cognition is just a bare knowledge of

something

this is how it is understood

it has nothing to do with an

all-pervasive consciousness

it has nothing to do with an

all-pervasive self tied to this

all-pervasive consciousness

wisdom and consciousness friend are

these states conjoined or disjoined and

is it possible to separate each of these

states from the other

in order to describe the differences

between them

look at the question that he's asking

wisdom and consciousness friend

these states are conjoined

not disjoint

and it is impossible to separate each of

these states from the other

in order to describe the difference

between them

for what one wisely understands

that one cognizes and what one cognizes

that one wisely understands

these states

that is why these states are conjoined

not disjoined and it is impossible to

separate each of these states from the

other in order to describe the

difference between them

when you experience the links of

dependent origination there's already

consciousness there

when you come out of cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

there's already consciousness there

because it makes contact with the nibana

element

that contact is understood to be

signless

to be void to be undirected

when that contact arises it means there

is already consciousness present

and there is consciousness present in

the states thereafter in the feeling of

joy and relief

there is consciousness there when you

see the links of dependent origination

in order for you to even see or know

something in order for you to understand

something there needs to be present

consciousness

and when you do know something know

there to be consciousness present there

so it's not that there's this

consciousness that sees everything

with the arising of the links that

arises consciousness dependent upon

those links

so whether you are in jhana let's say

infinite consciousness what are you

seeing you're seeing

individual links of consciousness

arising and passing away

dependent upon internal contact

when you see the flickering in the eyes

when you hear the flickering in the ears

when you feel the vibration on the body

or electricity or whatever it might be

what you are seeing is the individual

consciousnesses arising dependent upon

individual contact

internally

and it all goes into the experience of

the mind it is the mind that is chief it

is the mind that is the forerunner of

all states

it is through the mind that you

experience

even when you are seeing me your mind is

creating the image

when you are listening to me your mind

is creating or interpreting that sound

is aware of me speaking

aware of seeing me speaking aware of

hearing me speaking

but that mind

is understood synonymously

synonymously

with consciousness

mind and

consciousness and cognition

the buddha says these are used

interchangeably

and they can be used interchangeably

because mind is like a monkey this is

where the origin of the monkey mind

comes from from the suttas

whenever you hear the monkey mind that's

actually in the suttas in one of the

samyta nikayasutas in the didana

samyutta there the buddha says it is

mind synonymous with consciousness

synonymous with

awareness or however you want to put it

that jumps from one branch to the next

like a monkey

it's not the same branch it's not the

same consciousness

it keeps jumping from one thing to the

other dependent upon its fuel

so consciousness is that which

understands

but consciousness in of itself is not a

self

it allows the mind to understand

it goes from one state to another

but it arises with the rising of one

state

and it

dissipates or ceases with the

cessation of that one state and another

consciousness like a monkey grabs onto

another branch with the arising of

another state

what is the difference friend between

wisdom and consciousness

these states that are conjoined and not

disjoint

just now sorry

said

these states are conjoined not disjoined

and it is impossible to separate each of

these states from the other in order to

describe the difference between them

and yet here is makatita asking well

then what is the difference between

these two wisdom and consciousness

the difference friend

between wisdom and consciousness

these states that are

conjoined not disjoint is this

wisdom is to be developed

consciousness is to be fully understood

what does that mean

wisdom is to be developed

what is that wisdom

right view

what is right view

the understanding

of the four noble truths

consciousness is to be fully understood

what is that consciousness

it is the aggregate of consciousness the

link

independent origination of consciousness

wisdom is to be developed by

understanding consciousness

and what does it mean to understand

it means to actually see

when you see it means that you have

cognized

you have

become aware of

you have experienced it

you have

observed it

so wisdom here is in reference to right

view consciousness here is in reference

to the quality or the link of dependent

origination that is consciousness

also the aggregate of consciousness

feeling

feeling is said friend with reference to

what is feeling

it feels

it feels friend

that is why feeling is said

what does it feel it feels pleasure

it feels pain

it feels neither pain nor pleasure

it feels

it feels friends that that is why

feeling is said

so when we talk about feeling that is

the vedana

the feeling that is the actual

experience

so when it says feeling

feeling what is it

in reference to that it is called

feeling it is that which feels

now that makes it sound like there's

some kind of a feeler that there is a

self that feels

but here it is in reference to the

faculty of feeling as a mental factor of

nama rupa

consciousness allows the mental factor

of contact feeling and perception to be

understood

the mental factor of

contact

gives rise or allows for the feeling or

for the experience of contact to happen

in other words

when you have the nama the mentality

factors which is the contact feeling

perception intention attention

there is consciousness that gives rise

to the understanding of the contact the

feeling and the perception

when

the sixth sense bases

dependent upon the mentality materiality

make contact

the faculty of contact at mentality is

activated

and dependent upon that the faculty of

feeling

allows the mind to

experience whatever it is experiencing

so dependent upon the link of contact

there is the link of feeling

the process of feeling

which is

activated

which is

uh

which is given rise to

by the mental factor of feeling

so the faculty that's there in namarupa

is feeling that which feels

that which

allows the feeling process to happen

so in other words there is the feeling

factor the feeling faculty at the level

of mind or the level of mentality

which then allows for the process of

feeling to be understood

at the process level of feeling that

arises after contact

in that scheme of dependent origination

from contact and feeling

from the sixth sense basis to contact

to feeling

perception perception is said friend

with reference to what is perception

said

it perceives it perceives friend

that is why perception is said

what does it perceive

it perceives blue

it perceives yellow

it perceives red and it perceives white

friend that is why perception is said

perception is re-cognition

when you first cognize something you are

aware of the quality of an experience

for the first time

that it becomes part of your memory bank

when you see it again now you perceive

it as what it is

dependent upon what you experienced

before so you are recognizing it from

your memory

when the child first learns about the

color of red that this is called red

now they first cognize that this is the

color red

now it is in their memory

the next time they see the color red

their mind immediately perceives oh that

is red

when children learn about the seasons

when children learn about how to tell

time when the children learn about

how to

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you know

spell

something or how to read or whatever it

might be that's the first time they're

cognizing something

first time they're learning becoming

aware of things

and that becomes part of their memory

so the next time that they do it they're

perceiving it they're recognizing it

it's arising from their memory

and so this perception is that which

labels things dependent upon

previous memory

feeling perception and consciousness

friend

are these states conjoined or disjoined

and is it possible to separate each of

these states from the other

uh from the others in order to describe

the difference between them

feeling perception and consciousness

friend

these states are conjoined not

disjoined

and it is

impossible to separate

each of these states

from the others in order to describe the

difference between them

for what one feels

that one perceives

and what one perceives that one cognizes

that is why these states are conjoined

not disjoint

and it is impossible to separate each of

these states from the others in order to

describe the difference between them

where there is feeling there is a

perception

conjoined with that feeling and an

awareness

of that feeling

where there is perception there was

feeling present there and a

consciousness

deep that is present conjoined with that

perception

where there is consciousness

there is an experience or feeling of

that consciousness and a perception or

labeling of what that experience is

so these three states run around each

other

what you feel that you perceive

what you experience your mind

immediately projects a concept to it

earlier there was a

interesting

comment given by one of the meditators

about a pen

to us we see a pen

and we write with it

so our experience is holding the pen

our experience is that this pen helps us

right

but to duke he has no idea what that pen

is for him it's a chew toy

so he perceives it as a chew toy

so it's dependent upon how we project

our reality onto it

how we project our concept

conceptualizations about what this is

the utility of what this is

right so what you perceive is dependent

upon your experience your feeling

and

perhaps we can all agree that this is

the color red

but perhaps the way you experience red

might be slightly different from how i

experience red

or how another person experiences read

but we all have this consensus that

that's the color red

so this perception these concepts that

we have

this is part of mental proliferation

which starts at the level of feeling and

perception which then with when

identified with causes craving clinging

and becoming

so the understanding here or the

takeaway here is to see

that these states are all interdependent

and there's no controller here

they're arising dependent upon faculties

dependent upon factors

friend

what can be known by purified mind

consciousness

released from the five faculties

friend by purified mind consciousness

released from the five faculties

the base of infinite space can be known

thus

space is infinite

the base of infinite consciousness can

be known thus

consciousness is infinite

and the base of nothingness can be known

thus

there is

nothing

so what he's talking about is what can

be known by purified mind consciousness

that is mind consciousness

that is purified from the five

hindrances

there's no hindrances present

no obstructions present

released from the five faculties the

five physical sense bases

part of the body

that is just mind alone what is it that

can be known

what can be known is infinite space

infinite consciousness

and nothingness

when you are in these arupa janas these

are the reason why they're called arupa

they're also known as ayathanas which

are which means the base or the realm or

the dimension

of infinite space

of infinite consciousness of nothingness

all of this is being experienced at the

level of mind consciousness

that is why i'm saying when you

experience

the infinite space

it's not happening at the level of the

body it's being experienced as a mental

experience

when you see infinite consciousness

or you see the arising and passing away

of consciousnesses

they're all happening at the level of

mind

even though you think that they're

flickering at the eye

even though you think you're hearing

flickering at the ear

these are all internal contact that's

happening dependent upon mind or

happening through mind

and nothingness the perception of

nothingness

is also happening at the level of mind

nothing to do with the body this is why

they're called a rupa

you transcend the body you transcend

contact with the body

you transcend that and now you are just

in mind

so even the notion that you're sending

out loving kindness or compassion from

the head

that's a physical feeling

just forget about that forget about

where you're radiating the loving

kindness from whether it's the body or

the head

just radiate

that's the mental experience to

experience

that's the mental

experience that

the mind perceives

right so even the idea that you're

radiating from the head

you don't you don't need to hold on to

that let that go

just radiate

whether it's loving kindness compassion

joy or equanimity

friend with what does one understand a

state

that can be known

friend one understands a state that can

be known with the eye of wisdom

this eye of wisdom is also known well it

comes from the pali panyachaku

that's the eye of wisdom

so this panyachaku is just this

level of mind that understands and sees

dependent origination

but that eye of wisdom

is not some kind of permanent entity

it

arises dependent upon experiences

when one link arises it sees the arising

of that link when that link passes and

arises the next then with that it arises

and passes

it's not stationary

friend what is the purpose of wisdom

yeah we talk a lot about wisdom we talk

a lot about being wise

what's the big deal why are we talking

about this what's the purpose of that

the purpose of wisdom friend is direct

knowledge

its purpose is full understanding

its purpose is

abandoning

so the purpose of wisdom is to abandon

craving

and thereby have direct knowledge

of the liberation of mind

and understand

and experience nibana

experience nirota the cessation of

suffering

friend how many conditions are there for

the arising of right view

friend there are two conditions for the

arising of right view

the voice of another

and

wise attention

these are the two conditions for the

arising of right view

the voice of another is the voice of the

buddha

now it's the sutas

that voice allows you to know what is

right view and what is wrong view

wise attention is yoni so many sakhara

paying attention

being aware being mindful

at what it is that you're listening

and being mindful of that

you then have right view

you come to the understanding of right

view

friend by how many factors is right view

assisted when it has deliverance of mind

for its fruit

deliverance of mind for its fruit and

benefit

when it has deliverance by wisdom for

its fruit

deliverance by wisdom for its fruit and

benefit

friend

right view is assisted by five factors

when it has deliverance of mind for its

fruit

deliverance of mind for its fruit and

benefit

when it has deliverance by wisdom for

its fruit deliverance by wisdom for its

fruit and benefit when i talk about this

deliverance of mind that's understood as

oh it comes from the word chaito

vimuti

the liberation of the mind

deliverance by wisdom comes from panmya

vimuti liberated by wisdom

in the case of liberated by wisdom it

happens through the first four janas

in the case of liberation of the mind it

happens through the first four janas and

the arupa-janas

from any of the jaundice you can go into

cessation of perception feeling and

consciousness

and then experience the links of

dependent origination when you come out

and develop wisdom

and understanding

so the fruit

so he's asking what are the factors that

lead to right view

and it also come to fruition in the form

of the jhana practice

here friend

right view is assisted by virtue

assisted by selah

keeping your precepts

learning

learning means to read the sutas

to listen to dhamma talks

discussion

to discuss

the dhamma amongst yourselves

to discuss different aspects of the

dhamma to have questions and answers

answers about the dhamma

serenity and insight

samatha and vipassana in other words

tranquil wisdom inside meditation

right view assisted by these factors has

deliverance of mind for its fruit

deliverance of mind for its fruit and

benefit

it has deliverance by mind

sorry deliverance by wisdom for its

fruit deliverance by wisdom for its

fruit and benefit

friend how many kinds of being

or how many kinds of existences or how

many kinds of habitual tendencies

categories of habitual tendencies are

there

there are these three kinds or

categories of habitual tendencies friend

sense sphere habitual tendencies

fine material habitual tendencies

and immaterial habitual tendencies

sense fear sense sphere that means

habitual tendencies rooted in the

sensual realm

sensual realm includes

the six sensual heavens

the human realms

the

hungry ghost realms the animal realms

and the hell realms these are all

constituted constituted by the sixth

sense bases

this primarily the five physical senses

and so anytime the habitual tendencies

are rooted in sensual experience

then there is a correspondent existence

that arises at the birth of action

or at the birth of reaction

so if your habitual tendencies

are rooted in a psychology

related to the deva realms

that is to say you are generous you keep

the precepts you're forgiving you're

kind you're compassionate

you're patient

and

you continue to be this way then the

habitual tendencies that arise

will lead into

an existence

rooted or related to those factors

so if you are deva-like in your

psychology they've alike in your actions

they will like in the way you make your

decisions

in what you cultivate in terms of

wholesome states

then your existences that arise

dependent upon that here in this very

life

will be deva-like

people who are very generous

seem to always

never have any kind of lack

in their lives

and people who are generous not only in

terms of their money or wealth i'm

talking about people who are generous in

terms of their mind

and speech

people who are generous by sending

loving kindness people who are generous

by

paying

compliments

you know really

speaking right speech to people being

appreciative of people being grateful

in these ways you can be generous

people who do that are never

void of anything in terms of mind body

and speech they're always taken care of

in one way or the other

always

people who are patient

people who are kind will always

experience patience and kindness

and when they are met with

impatience when they're met with

a lack of kindness they don't get

affected by it

in fact because of their responses

because of their reactions

those who are impatient those who are

unkind

start to become patient start to become

kind

people who

maintain the precepts

never get into trouble barely ever get

into any kind of trouble

because they're never getting into any

kind of conflict through the cultivation

of ill will

they're never getting into any trouble

by trying to seek for things that are

not given whether that's physical

possessions

or for credit when credit is due or just

seeking attention they never get into

trouble in those ways

they don't get into trouble because they

don't gossip

they don't speak ill of others

they don't speak falsehoods

they

don't get into trouble because they

don't have sexual misconduct

if they are in a relationship

they remain loyal

and sensual misconduct

their minds are balanced and equanimous

and

people don't indulge in intoxicants

they don't get in trouble

when they are met with trouble

they're immediately able to see that and

escape from that trouble so to speak

so

they might have to face it karmically

but

because they face it and they keep the

precepts they don't get so much

entangled in that trouble that it

completely derides

their mind completely divides

their physical safety and so on so

keeping the five precepts are a type of

protection for the mind

for the body and for speech

so if you have habitual tendencies that

are rooted in keeping precepts rooted in

being generous and so on and so forth

then your life will be they've alike

in this very life

but then on the

opposite end of that spectrum if there

are people who are always angry people

who are always irritated people who are

always frustrated

let alone them going physically into a

hell realm they caused hell for

themselves right here and now

in their mind

when they're waiting in line and they

become impatient

when they start to feel frustrated about

something not working when they get

angry at somebody what are they met with

they're met with those same things

people who have very animalistic natures

as well they start to become very

animalistic they become very

uh rooted in slot and torpor because

they become very rooted in

fulfilling their

their

hunger fulfilling their different kinds

of craving for food and sex and so on

and people who are greedy people who are

stingy people who don't like to share

people who are jealous people who are

envious

that when that happens

those people are like hungry ghosts they

go from one place to the other never

satisfied with anything

and there's a certain kind of

energy let's say that they give off it's

not physical energy it's just the way

that they behave

that puts people off

and so they become like hungry ghosts

and so anytime you have these kinds of

habitual tendencies they can lead to a

sensual realm existence

when you start to develop jhanas

the habitual tendencies rooted in that

jhana experience starts to make you feel

like you are in a brahmaloka in a fine

material realm

it's known as celestial walking you walk

around and you feel good all the time

and same with the arupa janas

you can be in infinite space and still

walk around you could be in infinite

consciousness and still walk around you

can be in nothingness and still walk

around

you can be in quiet mind and still walk

around

there was one person at

one of the east retreats

this person when at one of the

interviews

they said i've never experienced my mind

so quiet before

and they started crying

because of the level of

depth of quiet that they experienced

not a single thought in their mind

complete clarity

imagine that

when you are like that then you are

definitely living

here and now like in a rupa brahma

completely content completely satisfied

friend how is renewal of habitual

tendencies in the future generated

friend renewal of habitual tendencies in

the future is generated through the

delighting in this and

this and that on the part of beings

who are hindered by ignorance and

fettered by craving

in other words

when there is an experience and you

start to identify with that experience

because of ignorance

lack of mindfulness

and you have craving therefore dependent

upon that

then there is liable to be clinging and

there is liable to be habitual

tendencies from which you act

and therefore a new existence in every

moment in this life here and now

friend how is renewal of habitual

tendencies in the future not generated

friend with the fading away of ignorance

with the arising of true knowledge

and with the cessation of craving

renewal of habitual tendencies

is not generated

with the fading away of ignorance

having mindfulness observing how your

mind's attention moves from one thing to

the other

recognizing when craving arises

recognizing when aversion arises

ignorance is a lack of mindfulness but

when you are mindful and you have

attention

rooted in reality

attention that sees things as they are

that is that they are all dependently

arisen

therefore impermanent therefore not

worth holding on to

and therefore not to be seen as me mine

or myself

this leads to disenchantment this leads

to dispassion

this leads to not clinging and therefore

that mind through not clinging is

liberated from craving

because as soon as it is attentive in

that way no underlying tendency towards

craving

towards identifying towards ignorance

towards aversion towards doubt towards

views and so on arise

and therefore no full-blown craving or

version or clinging or being or habitual

tendencies can arise

and the arising of the true knowledge so

the cessation of craving arises

or happens let's say the cessation of

craving is due

to a mind that is fully mindful in every

moment

and from that arises true knowledge that

is the true knowledge of the liberation

of mind

every time you six r

when you recognize craving you liberate

your mind from craving and there is the

true knowledge of the liberation of mind

from that craving for that moment

and the more you do it

the more your mind becomes liberated

until finally you 6r

until there's nothing to sexual

and now you have

a mind without craving

[Laughter]

so that mind

is void of craving void of conceit void

of ignorance

it is a mind that has true wisdom true

knowledge in every moment

friend what is the first jhana

here friend quite secluded from sensual

pleasures

secluded from unwholesome states

ebiku enters upon and abides in the

first jhana which is accompanied by

applied and sustained thought

with rapture and pleasure born of

seclusion

this is called the first chana

so what is the first jhana

secluded from sensual pleasures quite

secluded from sensual pleasures

you close your eyes

and now you're secluded from any kind of

vision

visual activity

you start to keep your mind on some kind

of an intention

and so you start paying attention to

what's going on in terms of the

experience of the ears

the nose the tongue the body

and now you are just in mind

secluded from

unwholesome states what are unwholesome

states

the five hindrances

you let go of any kind of sensual

craving let go of any kind of aversion

let go of any kind of restlessness let

go of any kind of doubt let go of any

kind of slot intorper

and then you have entered upon the first

jhana which is accompanied by applied

and sustained thought which is the

thinking and examining thought

what is the thinking aspect you bring up

a wholesome image

you bring up wholesome verbalizations

may i be happy may i be free of

suffering may i have loving kindness

you bring up a wholesome image that

allows you to feel

happiness in that moment

then

you continue staying with the object

that comes up which is the love and

kindness this is the

thinking and examining thought

the applied and sustained thought

with rapture

and

pleasure born of seclusion

when you are free from the hindrances

there is a relief there

that relief

gives rise to the joy of jhana

and the the sense of feeling comfort in

the body and in the mind you feel at

ease

this is the happiness

this is the sukkah

that's known in pali

and so this is called the first jhana

friend the first jhana has sorry friend

how many factors does the first jhana

have

friend the first jhana has five factors

here when abiku has entered upon the

first genre there occur applied thought

sustained thought

rapture or joy pleasure or comfort and

ease and unification of mind

this is how the first jhana has five

factors

unification of mind comes from the word

ekagata

and

more often than not it is translated as

one pointedness but here a kagata means

a mind that is

unified a mind that is collected around

its object of meditation

it's not one pointed in the sense that

it just stays with the object

suppresses everything else

one of the ways to look at it is that

the object is a planet

and your attention is the satellite

which orbits it

and so it stays in orbit so long as you

are aware of the feeling of loving

kindness

eventually it starts to go out of orbit

so what do you do you just use the six

r's

and bring it back into orbit

and you'll let it stay in orbit

friend how many factors are abandoned

in the first genome

and how many factors are possessed

friend in the first jhana

five factors are abandoned

and five factors are possessed

here when abiku has entered upon the

first jhana

sensual desire is abandoned

ill will is abandoned

slot and torpor are abandoned

restlessness and remorse are abandoned

and doubt is abandoned and so these are

the five hindrances that are abandoned

and there occur the applied thought

sustained thought rapture pleasure and

unification of mind

so these are the five factors of the

jannah we were talking about

that is how in the first jhana five

factors are abandoned and five factors

are possessed

friend these five faculties each have a

separate field a separate domain and do

not experience each other's field and

domain

that is the i faculty

the year faculty the nose faculty the

tongue faculty the body faculty

now these of these five faculties each

having a separate field

a separate domain

not experiencing each other's field and

domain

what is their resort

what experiences their fields and

domains

so in other words the eyes will always

experience forms

the ears will always experience sounds

the nose will always experience

fragrances the tongue will always

experience

flavors

the body will always experience

tangibles

but there is a condition called

synaesthesia

in which you

uh

hear tastes

or you see sounds and so on but even

there

you're still experiencing form in some

way

even there you're still experiencing the

year faculty

so even though it feels like you're

hearing

numbers

or

you're

smelling

tastes or your tasting

forms or whatever it might be

they're still individualized according

to their separate faculties and domains

right so the eyes will always still

experience forms the years will always

still experience sounds

but even though they feel like they're

experiencing

sound subjectively they're experiencing

the sound in the form of a color they're

still experiencing a sound

so if they're experiencing a note

they'll say i experienced c

the c note but i also experienced the

color purple

tied to that c note

you know and so on and so forth so

they'll still experience

those faculties and domains

that are

tied to those particular

experiences

friend

these five faculties each have a

separate field a separate domain and do

not experience each other's field and

domain that is the i faculty the year

faculty the nurse faculty the tongue

faculty and the body faculty

now these five faculties each having a

separate field a separate domain not

experiencing each other's field and

domain have mind as their resort

ultimately all of the five faculties are

experienced through mind

again

mind is chief mind is the forerunner of

all states

you are experiencing the c note and the

color purple tied to that c note

how are you experiencing it through the

mind itself

mind is their resort

and mind experiences their fields and

domains

friend as to these five faculties that

is the i faculty the year faculty the

nos faculty the tongue faculty and the

body faculty

what do these five faculties stand in

dependence on what are they dependent

upon

friend as to

these five faculties that is the i

faculty

the year faculty

the nose faculty the tongue faculty and

the body faculty these five faculties

stand in dependence on

vitality

what is vitality

vitality is sometimes translated as life

energy or life force

or all of these different ways

in other words really what vitality is

is

the different the different electrical

currents that are running around the

nervous system

this is how you feel like you have some

kind of

experience going on

the neurons that are firing

the electrical activity that runs

through the mind through the brain and

through the circuitry of the nervous the

nervous system this is vitality

it's understood that this vitality in

pali is also understood as that which

gives energy to the faculties

so how do you experience the faculties

what gives energy to the sixth sense

spaces

it is through the electrical firing that

there is

an experience

of the eye and form and so on they stand

independence upon vitality

if you shut off the entire nervous

system you wouldn't be able to

experience any of the sixth sense bases

if you shut off the entire nervous

system you wouldn't be able to

experience whatever is happening in

terms of the external objects of the

sixth sense spaces

friend what does vitality stand in

dependence on

vitality stands in dependence on heat

what is heat

this comes from the word ushna

in sanskrit this is heat

this is the fire

energy this fire energy is also known as

metabolism

metabolism of the body

when there is cellular metabolism going

on then everything functions properly

and therefore you can experience things

in the proper way

if you don't have proper metabolism or

there is a

a inefficiency in metabolism then the

vitality cannot function correctly

friend what does heat stand independence

on

what do you think that might be

heat

stands in dependence on vitality

just now friend we understood the

venerable sariputta to have said

vitality stands in dependence on heat

and now we understand him to say he

stands independence on vitality

how should the meaning of these

statements be regarded

in that case friend i shall give you a

simile

for some wise men here understand the

meaning of a statement by means of a

simile

just as when an oil lamp is burning

its radiance is seen in dependence on

its flame

and its flame is seen in dependence on

its radiance

so too vitality stands independence on

heat and heat stands in dependence on

vitality

when you light up an oil lamp whether

it's an oil lamp or ghee lamp what do

you see you see that flame that's there

right but you see the radiance around

that flame have you ever noticed it

it's like very sparkly around the flame

that's the radiance

because of that radiance you're able to

perceive the flame itself

but that radiance is given off by the

flame itself as well

in the same way

it's the metabolism that allows the

proper functioning of

vitality the nervous system

but the nervous system allows cells to

function properly as well

so there is an interdependency happening

within the body

that allows the proper functioning of

the sense faculties

so that we perceive things

in the right way

or in the way that the senses perceive

them

friend are vital formations things that

can be felt or are vital formations one

thing

and things that can be felt another

vital formations friends are not things

that can be felt if vital formations

were things that can be felt then a deku

who has entered upon the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

would not be seen to emerge from it

because vital formations are one thing

and things that can be felt another

a beku who has emer entered upon the

cessation

of perception feeling and consciousness

can be seen to emerge from it

vital formations

this is from the pali word ayu sankhara

ayu sankhara means formations related to

longevity

these are the processes in the body that

allow everything else to

properly function so when you are in

cessation of perception feeling

unconsciousness

there's no experience subjective

experience of contact

feeling perception or consciousness

but the body

the internal heat and vitality

the nervous system continues to

function

the metabolism continues to

function the cellular activity continues

to function

so i use sankaras in one way or

understood to be telomeres those that

allow

the cells to function and

you know

separate and so on and so forth so

this these processes are not dependent

upon the feeling and perception and so

on they will continue on

when you have cessation of perception

feeling and consciousness

up to seven days

after seven days the heat and vitality

vitality leave and you are now

kaput

you're dead

so the idea is or the understanding is

when you're in cessation of perception

feeling and consciousness

don't be afraid because you will just

drop into cessation for a brief moment

however brief that will be a lot of

people have this instinctual fear

before they get into cessation because

the the conceit

in the mind says i'm going to die

i'm going to no longer exist

but that's dependent upon all of these

other feathers and formations and so on

so far

in my experience i have never heard of

anybody who has gone into cessation and

never come back out

so far

so don't worry

you will come out for you to be able to

stay in cessation for a longer period

than just a few brief seconds

you really need determinations

to be able to even stay for up to a

minute

you need to have determinations

in order for you to even be able to stay

for 30 seconds

you need to have determinations so don't

worry

you'll be fine

allow the mind to let go completely and

experience cessation of perception

feeling and consciousness the body will

take care of itself

right

there's new research coming up on

cessation it's going to come up maybe in

the next six months we'll see how long

it takes

but there it's seeing that other

functions and vital functions of the

body continue

right they continue to keep the body

alive

while the mind is completely shut off

so the vital formations related to

cellular metabolism and so on continue

which means the body doesn't go limp the

body doesn't go dead what goes or

completely ceases in that period

is all of the mental formations

all of the verbal formations all of the

bodily formations related to contact

with the body

so there's no longer any kind of contact

you shouldn't but if you slap somebody

in cessation they're not going to feel

it

right

if you scream at them they're not going

to hear it

because there's no longer any feeling

there no longer any perception there no

longer any awareness present

friend

when this

body is bereft of how many states

is it then discarded and forsaken

left

lying senseless like a log

friend when this body is bereft of three

states

vitality

heat

and consciousness

it is then discarded and forsaken left

lying senseless like a log

this is the dying process when the body

starts to dissolve

when there is no longer

any consciousness there's also no longer

any

vitality

there's no longer any heat

for a little while the body continues in

terms of the cellular activity for a

little while the body continues in terms

of

some kind of neural or nervous system

activity

but that too shuts down completely

the heat vitality completely shuts down

and there's no more consciousness also

present

mind consciousness is the last thing to

leave the body

right

so in terms of the dying process of the

body

there are certain senses that dissolve

one after the other and there are

certain

elements that dissolve one after the

other

in the case of the six uh sense spaces

the first thing to start to dissolve

is the sense of smell

then the sense of smell the sense of

taste

then there goes the sense of

sight

then the sense of touch

then the sense of hearing

and then finally

the mind consciousness

these all dissolve one after the other

in terms of the

energies or the elements

the first to go is the fire element the

temperature goes away

then

the air

element or rather the air element and

then the fire element

so the respiration stops the temperature

lowers

it cools down

and then the water element goes and then

finally the earth element dissolves

so in the case of somebody who is

fully dead they won't have any more

vitality they won't have any more heat

and they won't have any more

consciousness

friend

what is the difference between one who

is dead

one who has completed his time and a

beku who has entered upon the cessation

of perception feeling and consciousness

friend in the case of one who is dead

who has completed his time

his bodily cessation of bodily

formations have ceased and subsided

that means there's no more contact with

the body

his verbal formations have ceased and

subsided no more

activity in terms of expressing speech

his mental formations have ceased and

subsided

meaning now there is no more

feeling and perception present

his vitality is exhausted

and his heat has been dissipated and his

faculties are fully broken up

no more nervous activity in terms of the

nervous system no more metabolism

and

no more activity of the sixth sense

basis there's no way for the sixth sense

basis to

receive any more information

they've become broken

they've become like a blind person and a

deaf person and so on even though you

you put shine a light in their eyes they

will not be able to see the light

even if you

speak with them they won't be able to

hear what you're saying and so on

in the case of abiku who has entered

upon the cessation of perception feeling

and consciousness his bodily formations

have ceased no contact with the body

his verbal formations have ceased and

subsided

no more thinking and examining thought

and his mental formations have ceased

and subsided no more feeling and

perception

but his vitality is not exhausted his

metabolism or his heat has not been

dissipated and his faculties become

exceptionally clear

right now whatever it is you're

experiencing

the eyes the ears the nose the tongue

the body

they're experiencing

packets and packets of data

they're always being impeded upon

impinged upon by

sensory data through photons sensory

data through vibrations

through taste molecules through odor

molecules

through air pressure and so on and so

forth

but when there's no

feeling and perception at all

all of that information highway that

receives those data packets

becomes cleared of those data packets

and so now they are exceptionally clear

they have the potential to function

meaning they're not disconnected from

the mind

meaning they're no longer broken up

but because there's no more

information

in the form of sensory data being

received

they are exceptionally clear

there's no traffic jam

of sensations going on it's completely

free of any kind of sensory traffic

this is the difference between one who

is dead

who has completed his time and a beku

who has entered upon the cessation of

perception feeling and

consciousness friend how many conditions

are there for the attainment

of the neither painful nor pleasant

deliverance of mind

this is talking about the fourth jhana

friend there are four conditions for the

attainment of

the neither painful nor pleasant

deliverance of mind

here with the abandoning of pleasure and

pain

and with the previous disappearance of

joy and grief abiku enters upon and

abides in the fourth jhana

which has neither pain nor pleasure and

purity of mindfulness due to equanimity

these are the four conditions for the

attainment

of the neither painful nor pleasant

deliverance of mind

what do they mean when they say purity

of mindfulness due to equanimity

when you experience the jaundice you are

also cultivating the seven factors of

awakening

mindfulness

leads to investigation of states

investigation of states leads to energy

energy leads to joy

joy leads to tranquility

tranquility leads to collectedness and

collectedness leads to equanimity

in the fourth jhana that continues

throughout the genres that continues to

cycle through

and eventually by the fourth jhana there

is mindfulness the purity of mindfulness

due to equanimity purified by equanimity

so it cycles through then there is a

stronger equanimity a stronger

mindfulness a stronger investigation of

states stronger collectedness

deeper and deeper and deeper until

becomes very collected

not concentrated mind you

collected unified

friend

how many conditions are there for the

attainment of the signless deliverance

of mind

signless collectedness of mind signless

deliverance of mind

friend there are two conditions for the

attainment of the signless deliverance

of mind

non-attention to all signs

and attention to the signless element

these are the two conditions for the

attainment of the signless deliverance

of mind

there is this state known as the

signless collectedness of mind it arises

in between full cessation

and

quiet mind

it is

signless

which comes from the pali animita

a nimita is a sign a nimita is an object

it is a collectedness of mind that

doesn't see any objects

doesn't hold on to any objects

at this point even quiet mind

becomes

coarse

and you let go of the edges of all mind

itself

and there is the sign list which is that

it doesn't take any object

it's like when you flash or you

turn on a flashlight and you point it up

to the sky and it just continues up into

space

never landing on anything

in the same way it is your mind's

attention turned on and just

looking through things not looking at

them not getting caught up in them

so there's strong disenchantment here

there's strong dispassion here

everything becomes translucent in terms

of whatever objects arise whatever

formations arise

and the mind is just

seeing but not seeing anything at all

in particular

eventually

the batteries of the flashlight run out

and the light disappears

in the same way

the fuel for the attention runs out

because there's no object

that it grasps onto

and then there is the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

friend how many conditions are there for

the persistence of the sign less

deliverance of mind

friend there are three conditions for

the persistence of the signless

deliverance of mind

non-attention to all signs

attention to the signless element and

the prior determination of its duration

these are the three conditions for the

pre conditions for the precision

persistence of the signless deliverance

of mind

so if you

want you can actually determine to go

into the signless deliverance of mind

once you have actually been there

and then make a prior determination to

stay there for however long

up to seven days

each of the genres in cessation and so

on up to seven days

friend how many conditions are there for

the emergence from the signless

deliverance of mind

friend there are two conditions for

emergence

from the signless deliverance of mind

attention to all signs and non-attention

to the signless element

these are the two conditions for

emergence from the signless deliverance

of mind

so in other words if you want to get out

of the signless state pay attention to

something

take something as an object and you're

no longer there

it's easier to do that than rather to

not pay attention to anything at all at

that point in time when you're there

friend the immeasurable deliverance of

mind

the deliverance of mind through

nothingness the deliverance of mind

through voidness or emptiness and the

sign less deliverance of mind

are these states different in meaning

and different in name

or are they one in meaning and different

only in name

friend

the immeasurable deliverance of mind

the deliverance of mind through

nothingness

the deliverance of mind through voidness

or emptiness

and the signless deliverance of mind

there is a way in which these states are

different in meaning

and different in name

and there is a way in which they are one

in meaning and

different only in name

friend what is the way in which these

states are different in meaning and

different in name in other words they

are

they're called different things and they

each mean a different thing they each

each word or each name or whatever you

call it relates to a certain thing

and that is

here a b crew per abides pervading one

quarter with a mind imbued with

likewise the second likewise the third

likewise the fourth so above below

around and everywhere and to all as to

himself

he pervades he abides pervading the

all-encompassing world with the mind

imbued with loving-kindness

abundant exalted immeasurable without

hostility and without ill will

he does the same with compassion joy

or equanimity

in other words radiating in the six

directions and in all directions at the

same time

this is known as the immeasurable

deliverance of mind so every time you're

radiating in the six directions

you are experiencing the immeasurable

deliverance of mind

and what friends is the deliverance of

mind through nothingness

here

with the complete surmounting of the

base of infinite consciousness

aware that there is nothing

a beku enters upon and abides in the

base of nothingness

this is called the deliverance of mind

through nothingness

in other words

the seventh jhana

the the base of nothingness you go

through infinite consciousness and you

start to see

wider and wider gaps and then the

consciousnesses stop and there is just a

perception

of no thinkness

when you enter into that state when you

enter into

the dimension of nothingness

this is known as

the deliverance of mind through

nothingness

and what friend is the deliverance of

mind through voidness or emptiness

here a biku gone to the forest or to the

root of a tree or to an empty hut

reflects thus

this is of this is void of a self or of

what belongs to a self

in other words he contemplates he

understands he observes he under he sees

and experiences

each of the five aggregates

internal external

past present future

and he understands all of them to be

anatha

he understands all of them to be empty

of any kind of permanent self

because of this he understands emptiness

a type of emptiness

there are three kinds of emptiness

there is the emptiness of

that which is

not present

and that which is

present is not emptiness

in other words when you are in infinite

consciousness

that state is empty of infinite space

when you are in nothingness that state

is empty

of

infinite consciousness

and so on

the second type of emptiness

is the emptiness understood as this

the emptiness liberation of mind the

emptiness deliverance of mind and the

third emptiness

we'll get to in just a bit

and what friend is the signless

deliverance of mind

here with non-attention to all signs

ebeku enters upon and abides in the

signless collectedness of mind

this is called the signless deliverance

of mind we just talked about this

this is the way in which these states

are different in meaning and different

in name

and what friend is the way in which

these states are

one in meaning and different only in

name in other words how are these states

synonymous with each other

how do they point to the same thing

how does the signless state or signless

deliverance of mind the emptiness

deliverance of mind the deliverance of

mind through nothingness in the

immeasurable deliverance of mind how do

they all point to the same thing

lust

is a maker of measurement

hate

is a maker of measurement

delusion

is a maker of

measurement

in a biku

whose taints are destroyed the asavas

are destroyed

these are abandoned cut off at the root

made like a palm stump done away with so

that they are no longer subject to

future

arising of all the kinds of immeasurable

deliverance of mind

the unshakable deliverance of mind is

pronounced the best

now that unshakable deliverance of mind

is void of lust

void of hate

void of delusion

the mind of an arahat

because what does it mean when we say

that lust is a maker of measurement

hate is a maker of measurement and

delusion is a maker of measurement

what does it mean measurement to measure

to compare

this is me this is you i am better than

you you are better than me

or i have so and so attainment and you

have so and so attainment

all of these ideas

these are part of conceit

there are these 40 kinds of conceit

which i will not get into now

[Laughter]

don't worry i won't get into it but

conceit

comes from the word mana mana means to

measure something

so lust craving for something

hatred i don't like you there's some

kind of a sense of i'm better than you

or you are better than me i'm jealous of

you because you're better than me and

delusion taking something personally

so the immeasurable

mind or the immeasurable deliverance of

mind that is the mind of the arahat is

that which no longer measures things in

that way

through conceit

lust is a something

hate is a something

delusion is a something

in a vehicle whose taints are destroyed

these are abandoned cut off at the root

made like a palm stump done away with so

that they are no longer subject to

future arising

of all the kinds of deliverance of mind

through nothingness

the unshakable deliverance of mind is

pronounced the best

now that unshakable deliverance of mind

is void of lust

void of hate

void of delusion

lust is a something

hatred is a something delusion is a

something

in other words craving

creates an object to hold on to

right there's an object of craving

there is an object of

hatred

there's an object of identification

but when you let go of that you

experience

nothingness

the mind doesn't project

an idea of something out there

yes the mind of an arahat will

experience everything as it is

they'll see people for who they are

they'll see things for what they are but

there's no longer any of this cascading

of projecting

that i like this person because they are

so and so or i don't like this person

because they are so and so or i am this

kind of person because of so and so

all of these ideas are gone in the mind

of the arahant

and so that deliverance of mind through

nothingness is because there's no longer

present

any kind of

greed hatred or delusion

those components are no longer present

they've been uprooted completely from

that mind

lust is a maker of signs

hate is a maker of signs

delusion is a maker of signs

in a beaker whose taints are destroyed

these are abandoned

cut off at the root

made like a palm stump

done away with so that they are no

longer subject to future arising

of all the kinds of signless deliverance

of mind

the unshakable deliverance of mind is

pronounced the best

now that unshakeable deliverance of mind

is void of lust

void of hate

void of delusion this is the way in

which these states are one in meaning

and different only in name

when you have craving

what does it do it creates that sense of

an object

there is me and i want to possess that

it creates hatred creates a sense of a

difference

there is this and i don't like that

when there is some kind of an object and

the mind starts to identify with it it

takes that as a sign as an object

but when that craving is gone there is

no object of craving when that hatred is

gone there is no object of hatred when

that delusion is gone there is no object

of delusion everything is seen as it

actually is

there's no longer cons conceptualizing

things

right there's no way of of

adding a sense of me mind or myself to

an object

it is as it is without any further

proliferation

of ideas and concepts

dependent upon a sense of personality a

sense of a personal self

so when these go away

there are no more signs of these states

of great hatred or delusion

no more objects dependent upon craving

hatred and delusion

and so the mind of the arhat is also

sinless

and of course it is empty void because

it is empty

of any kind of sense of self

that's the third emptiness the mind of

the arahat is the third emptiness

empty of greed hatred and delusion

that is what the venerable sariputta

said the venerable maha kotita was

satisfied and delighted in the venerable

sariputta's words

may suffering ones be suffering free

may the fear struck fearless be

may the grieving shed all grief

may all beings find relief

may all beings share this merit that we

have thus acquired for the acquisition

of all kinds of happiness

may beings inhabiting space and earth

devas and nagas of mighty power share

this merit of ours

may they long protect the buddha's

dispensation

these

[Music]

you