Day 9 May 4 Upanisa Sutta -Transcendental Arising-Fd12XM4

From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Fd12XM4_oaA

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

[Music]

foreign

okay so today

we are going to discuss

the transcendental dependent origination

this is the upanisa sutta that is

samyutta nikaya

12.23

and

here bikibodi translated translates it

as proximate cause

atsavati

bikus i say that the destruction of the

taints

for one who knows and sees

not for one who does not know

and does not see

he says

because i say that the destruction of

the taints

is for one who knows and sees

not for one who does not know and see

for one who knows what

for one who sees what

does the destruction of the taints come

about

what do you think

they know and see

dependent origination

such is form such its origin such its

passing away

such is feeling such is

its origin such its passing away

such is perception such its origin such

its passing away

such are formations such are its origins

such are its passing away or they're

passing away

such is consciousness such its origin

such it's passing away

it is for one who knows thus for one who

sees us that the destruction of the

taints comes about

but that describes the five aggregates

right form

feeling

perception formations and consciousness

but we're saying that one who sees

dependent origination

so is there a difference here

origination

does he see craving clinging and

becoming

does he see ignorance

but he sees formations he sees

consciousness

he sees mentality materiality and what's

in mentality materiality contact feeling

perception intention attention

and then he sees the sixth sense basis

contact

feeling

so in essence when we're talking about

these links

they are also the five aggregates or the

processes of the five aggregates

it is for one who knows thus for one who

sees us that the destruction of the

taints comes about

i say because that the knowledge of

destruction in regard to destruction

has approximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause

for the knowledge of destruction

it should be said

liberation

de mutti

[Laughter]

once you have the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

you come out of it you touch the nirvana

element

you make contact with the unconditioned

and the mind is liberated because

there's no craving there

mind is liberated from the taints

i say because that liberation too has a

proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

liberation liberation

it should be said this passion

this passion is that attitude of the

mind that sees things as they are

and has no inclination to them one way

or the other not even any identification

with them there's equi equanimity

there's disenchantment and there's

dispassion

equanimity is seeing things as they

really are without getting

pulled by craving or aversion or

experiences that are pleasant or

unpleasant

this enchantment is where you've seen

this before

whether it's formations that are arising

and you don't get caught up in them

anymore

and from there is dispassion so

disenchantment is where

you notice there here is a hindrance but

you no longer get caught up in it

and this passion is that attitude of the

mind

that is basically

not affected by anything at all good bad

or indifferent

so equanimity is the ability to see that

this enchantment is the mind that

doesn't ignore but just becomes

okay here it is sees through it doesn't

get caught up in it and this passion is

that part of the mind or that arises

where the attitude is continued so

there's equanimity and then

disenchantment which is equanimity

squared

and this passion which is equanimity

cubed

right so it's a deeper

much

[Music]

more profound form of equanimity

i say because that this passion too has

approximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

dispassion

it should be said

disenchantment

now the word disenchantment comes from

the word the pali word nibida

can also be translated as revulsion but

this enchantment is a better translation

the reason why sometimes it's revulsion

is think about it in this way

let's say you have your favorite meal

right and you're really looking forward

to it

and you go and you eat your favorite

meal the chef made it especially for you

and then when you're done the special

the chef says well we have seconds would

you like seconds

and you say okay if there's craving in

you you'll say

yeah i'm i feel like it even if you're

full

and you eat that

but it's not as

pleasurable as the first time

and you try to finish that plate

and then the chef says i have a third

portion for you would you like that

and

you think about it for a minute and you

say okay fine

as soon as you take a bite

you don't want any more of it

you've seen it been there done that

no longer interested in it

so there's a sense of

when you see so many of formations that

come up when you're in neither

perception non-perception and it takes

you away from quiet mind how do you

respond do you say you get caught up in

that storm of formations

or does your mind say okay i've seen

this before

i won't get caught up in it

that ability to do that is

disenchantment

it's a mind that is just very

very translucent

it just moves through things doesn't get

caught up in them

nothing sticks

in the mind

mind is like teflon

right

if you try to put anything it just

glides right through

i say because that dispassion too has a

proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

dispassion

it should be said the knowledge and

vision of things as they really are

this comes from the pali statement

yatabuta is things as they really are

nyana is knowledge dasanam is a vision

and that's just a very long-winded way

of saying equanimity

basically you're seeing things as they

are without getting caught up

equanimity is this deep balance of mind

that arises

or happens because you see that

everything is empty

of self

nothing is worth holding on to

and so everything is seen in a very

balanced way

and so there's no projection of this is

pleasant there's no projection of this

is unpleasant and therefore it affects

me it's just

seen seeing things as they are

without any filter

any kind of concepts or

conceptualizations in the mind without

any conceit there of what it should be

or what it shouldn't be

i say because that the knowledge and

vision of things as they really are too

has approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for the

knowledge and vision of things as they

really are

it should be said collectedness

samadhi

now as we get progress we're going to

see how the factors of enlightenment the

seven factors of enlightenment are

intertwined

with

the transcendental dependent origination

so collectedness collectedness is that

mind

that is collected around an object

we look at the object and we don't

become the object neither does the

object belong to us it's just an object

and the attention

is like a satellite that orbits around

the object

it just stays around it doesn't

cling to it doesn't become it

i say because that collectedness too has

approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause and

what is the proximate cause for

collectedness

it should be said

happiness this is the word they use but

the word is really sukkah

sukkah is comfort in the body

is ease in the body

everything is very comfortable

this happens in

the first jhana the second jhana the

third jana you experience this sukkah

i say because

that happiness too has approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

happiness

it should be said

tranquility

this is the tranquility factor we had

knowledge and vision of things as they

are which is the equanimity factor

then we had the collectedness factor now

we have the tranquility factor

that tranquility factor

arises because of

joy

now when we use the six r's we're also

activating the seven enlightenment

factors right when you're recognizing

you have mindfulness there

you have investigation of states because

you're discerning that your mind is

distracted

you're discerning that the mind is no

longer collected

when you release you're making the right

amount of energy the right amount of

effort

and then

when you

relax

you're also having the tranquility

factor

right

then when you smile or come back to the

smile you have

the joy factor

and then when you come back to your

objective meditation you have the

collectiveness factor

and the equanimity is pervasive

because you are seeing things as they

are

you're not getting caught up in them

you're not trying to push

or pull or do anything with the

hindrance you're just seeing it as it

actually is and letting it go

i say because that tranquility two has a

proximate cause

and does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

tranquility it should be said

joy the joy factor

so what's interesting is we see that joy

leads to tranquility but when we're

doing the six r's

we're doing the relaxed step first and

then we activate the joy from the we

smile step

but there's no

difference between first doing joy or

first in tranquility they are

interconnected

when you are tranquil

you feel that natural gladness you feel

that natural happiness you feel that

natural joy when your mind is relaxed

and your body is relaxed

you're open to experiencing joy and when

you feel joy

your mind and body are naturally relaxed

tranquil

i say because

that joy too has a proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for joy

it should be said gladness

so this word gladness

comes from the pali word pamoja

that is the joy of the dhamma

when you get introduced to the dhamma

when you get introduced to the practice

there is this energy that comes up that

experience of energy

vitalizes the mind and body

so you're making the right effort and

you are

you are intending upon or inclining

towards nibana

and because of that there is this

lightness to the mind when you smile and

you walk around there's a lightness to

the mind

you have the joy of the dhamma this is

gladness

is not the word it's a promoter it's not

a generic word for it like joy it's

specifically

destroyed from

no promotion it can be used in different

contexts but within this we're talking

about the joy of having

seen the dharma or having been

introduced to the to the dharma pamoja

i say bikus

so here with pamoja what's happening is

now you have the

energy factor here

so you have seen for yourself that here

is the dhamma and you bring up the

energy factor to make an effort

and you have you are motivated

inclined towards the dharma because of

that gladness

i say because that gladness too has a

proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

gladness

it should be said

faith

this is confidence

now it starts off with an open

mindedness

see for yourself the dhamma to go and

see for yourself

the dhamma invites one to come and see

for oneself

so this faith first starts off as

okay i see what you're talking about let

me try it

the mind's inclination to be open and to

try it is the first let's say level of

faith or confidence

but as you then experience nibana that

faith then becomes experiential

confidence

because now you have seen for yourself

that walking this path leads you to

cessation of suffering and now you have

confidence in the dharma that's why the

feather of doubt in the buddha the dumb

and the sangha goes away when you become

a stream enter

but here as you're starting out it's

that open-mindedness the faith

to be able to

walk the path

to say okay let me give this a try

by the way faith in this case here it's

talking about faith there's another suta

which mentions

instead of faith virtue

which is keeping the precepts

so having a mind that has enough

confidence in keeping the precepts

when that is kept when the precepts are

kept

then pramoja arises

when you keep your precepts you commit

to them there is a natural gladness that

arises in the mind then that leads to

further

factors of the transcendental dependent

origination

i'll go into that suit that just so you

know what are the different things

because when you keep the precepts it

also leads to what's known as non-regret

you don't have this

uh energy in the mind that is always

restless because you broke a precept but

you're confident

in your own capacities because you keep

the precepts and the mind is stabilized

in that

i say because that faith too

has a proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

faith it should be said

suffering

how is that the case

so when a person experiences suffering

or before i continue with that think

about your own

entry into this path

why did you decide

to try this out

why did you try to go on youtube and

search for you know the dhamma or

whatever it might be

because

at some point there was this unease in

the mind there was this

longing to see if there was a way out of

the suffering

suffering leads to two things can lead

to two different things it can lead to

further confusion

where

one continues the same path and that's

rebirth

right insanity doing the same thing over

and over again expecting a different

result

and it leads to further confusion

people might numb that suffering through

drugs and alcohol but actually they're

just causing themselves

more suffering they might try other

things

you know these

very

impermanent experiences of joy very sort

you know uh

instant joy that they experience but

then once that goes there's a deeper

suffering that arises and so there's

further confusion

what arises is known as some vega

spiritual urgency

a little dismay that

is this all life is about is it just

suffering like is there a way out of the

suffering

and so that then leads you to searching

on youtube for something right or

whatever it might be

and then you see oh this is very

interesting

and then you have an open mindedness to

try it out and that leads to faith that

leads to okay let me try this

and then that also leads to you wanting

to keep the precepts when you're

introduced to that and then eventually

that leads to pamuja

and so on and so forth

i say because

that suffering too has a proximate cause

so we went through the enlightenment

factors we said there's collectedness

when you have the collectedness there

there is equanimity when you have

knowledge and vision of things as they

are

there's the tranquility in the link of

tranquility there's the joy in the pt

that's experienced

and then there's the energy that arises

and then from there is that pamoja that

energy to try it out the effort that you

make

to try it out what about the

investigative

investigation of states what about

mindfulness

the fact that you recognize that you're

suffering

on this

macro level

there's that mindfulness that

i'm not satisfied i'm discontent i need

a way out of this

that is the mindfulness and the

investigation of states

is knowing that you are in suffering

some people have the ignorance that

they're even suffering

don't even realize that they're

suffering

i say because that suffering too has

approximate cause it does not lack

approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

suffering

it should be said

birth

i say because that birth too has

approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

birth

it should be said

habitual tendencies becoming existence

i say because that existence too has a

proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

existence

it should be said

clinging

i say because that clinging to

has approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

clinging it should be said

craving

i say because that craving too has

approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

craving

feeling

for feeling it should be said

contact

for contact

mentality materiality

for mentality materiality

consciousness and for consciousness

formations

i say because that formations too have

approximate cause they do not lack

approximate cause and what is the

proximate cause for formations

ignorance

thus because with ignorance as proximate

cause

formations come to be

with formations as proxima approximate

cause

consciousness comes to be

with consciousness as proximate cause

mentality materiality

with mentality materiality as proximate

cause

the sixth sense spaces

with the sixth sense spaces as cause

the contact with contact as cause

with feeling as cause

with craving as cause

with clinging as cause

with habitual tendencies as cause

with birth as cause

that whole mass of suffering

now let's see how

how well you guys have been listening

with suffering as cause

faith with faith as cause

gladness

with gladness as cause

with joy as cause

with tranquility as cause

collectedness

with collectedness as cause

equanimity the knowledge and vision of

things as they really are

with the knowledge and vision of things

as they really are as cause

this enchantment with this enchantment

has caused

this passion

with dispassion as cause

liberation

with liberation as cause the knowledge

of the destruction of the tints

just as bikus when rain pours down in

the thick droplets on a mountain top

the water flows down along the slope

and fills the cleft gullies and creeks

these being full fill up the pools

these being full fill up the lakes

these being full

fill up the rivers

the streams these being full fill up the

rivers and these being full fill up the

great ocean

so too

with ignorance as cause

formations come to be with formations as

cause consciousness comes to be

with consciousness as cause

mentality materiality comes to be with

mentality materiality as cause

sixth sense basis come to be with six

sense spaces as cause

contact comes to be with contact as

cause

feeling comes to be with feeling as

cause

craving comes to be with craving as

cause clinging comes to be with clinging

as cause

habitual tendencies come to be with

habitual tendencies as cause

birth comes to be with birth as cause

suffering comes to be

with suffering as cause

faith comes to be with faith as cause

gladness comes to be

with gladness is cause joy comes to be

with joy as cause

tranquility comes to be with tranquility

as cause

collectedness comes to be with

collectedness as cause

equanimity comes to be with equanimity

as cause

this enchantment comes to be with this

enchantment as cause

this passion comes to be with this

passion as cause

liberation comes to be with liberation

as cause

the knowledge of destruction of the

tints

so i'll just read one more suta because

it'll give you some clarity on why we're

talking about keeping the precepts with

regards to faith

not necessarily in place of faith but

along with faith

so this is uh the book of tense anguthra

nikaya 10.1

thus have i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was dwelling at savathi in

jetta's grove anathepindakis park

then the venerable ananda approached the

blessed one paid homage to him sat down

to one side and said to him

what is the purpose and benefit of

wholesome virtuous behavior

ananda the purpose and benefit of

wholesome virtuous behavior

is non-regret

so keeping the precepts you have

non-regret you have no restlessness that

arises

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of non-regret the purpose and

benefit of non-regret is joy

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of joy

well when they talk about joy here

really i mean it's an interesting

translation

it's actually gladness pamoja

so and what is the purpose and benefit

of gladness the purpose and benefit of

gladness is joy

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of joy the purpose and benefit

of joy is tranquility

and what bhante is a purpose and benefit

of tranquility the purpose and benefit

of tranquility is sukkah happiness

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of happiness the purpose and

benefit of happiness is collectedness

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of collectedness

the purpose and benefit of collectedness

is the knowledge and vision of things as

they really are

and what bante is the purpose and

benefit

of the knowledge and vision of things as

they really are

the purpose and benefit of the knowledge

and vision of things as they really are

is disenchantment and dispassion

and what bante is the purpose and

benefit of this enchantment and this

passion

the purpose and benefit of

disenchantment and dispassion

is the knowledge and vision of

liberation

thus ananda

the purpose and benefit of wholesome

virtuous behavior is

non-regret

the purpose and benefit of non-regret is

gladness

the purpose and benefit of gladness is

joy

the perfect and the purpose and benefit

of joy is tranquility

the purpose and benefit of tranquility

is collectedness

the purpose and benefit of collectedness

equanimity the purpose and benefit of

equanimity is

disenchantment and dispassion

the purpose of purpose and benefit

of disenchantment and

this passion is

liberation

and the purpose of liberation is

yes

and this is a rinse and repeat process

you six r all the way to our hot chip

until there's nothing else left to 6r

yes there can be you know somebody has

collectedness and then suddenly they

lose it and then they have to go back

and

come back with tranquility

or somebody has the

joy and then they lose it so they have

to come back and bring up the gladness

and so on

so it is a

reversible process in that it's not

stabilized yet but when it becomes

stabilized

then there is

no going back

so that that imagery that the buddha

uses is really beautiful you know the

streams eventually it all fills up right

so you enter the stream and it fills up

and then you have another attainment and

it fills up further and further and

further until you have this

great ocean of wisdom

there's the ocean of suffering and

there's the ocean of

wisdom

that ocean of suffering is filled up by

dependent origination as we understand

it that is the elaboration of the second

noble truth of craving

but then there is

the great ocean of wisdom

that arises from the transcendental

dependent origination

which is an elaboration actually

of the fourth noble truth

because the eightfold path also is there

within the transcendental dependent

origination

it's the it's the ability

to have right view

that is to know what is the difference

between wrong view and right view

initially

that lets go of the doubt and so there

is faith

then you have the right intention to let

go and cultivate loving kindness and

compassion and from there gladness

arises

and you keep the precepts which means

you have right speech and you have right

action and right livelihood

and then from that gladness you have the

effort to make

you know the right effort to let go of

things

and so then from there there is the joy

there is the collectedness

so the mindfulness allows the

collectiveness to arise

and then from that collectedness you

have

the equanimity so you have the

tranquility you have the collectedness

you have the equanimity

and from that equanimity you have

disenchantment dispassion and finally

liberation

and the knowledge of the liberation

well it's it's yeah exactly the practice

is not just sitting the practice is

being able to use a six stars every time

you need to use the six hours

that could be while you're going to the

bathroom or that could be while you're

driving to work or that could be while

you're having dinner

right

so it's about being able to have that

clarity of mind as soon as you wake up

right and so

remember what i said was in the

beginning of this retreat

make it a point

to determine that you will wake up with

a smile on your face

notice if you do actually right and keep

that going

and as you keep that going notice when

the smile diminishes because now you're

thinking about this or that oh i have to

make breakfast or i have to do this or i

have to do that

and then

come back 6r come back to the smile and

if you're able to then spring up loving

kindness

start your day start the very first time

you wake up right the first moment

loving kindness

right or compassion

if you can do that like the buddha had

done which is wake up in the day do your

freshening up and come back and sit

just radiate love

compassion all throughout your household

and then beyond that and then beyond

that and beyond that

i mean i've seen it as a great

replacement for coffee but that's just

you know

it really helps

keep the mind alert really helps keep

the mind

you know collected

even if it's for half an hour a day when

you start but that's just the sitting

you start off your day with the mind

that says okay i want to smile and i

want to keep the smile going and notice

when your mind goes here or there every

time your mind goes here or there 6r

come back and you're going to notice

that throughout the day the mind becomes

less and less

distracted and more and more collected

and i collected in that collectedness

isn't just

on the feeling of loving kindness but

it's on whatever it is that you're doing

because a lot of times

when people are doing something

especially if they're doing out of habit

because like driving right sometimes

you're driving you don't realize that

you already got your destination

because your mind has been just

in all of this thought process

but really center your mind around

what's going on you know what and the

way to do that is to have an object like

loving-kindness

then when you are in difficult

situations

what do you do

do you start to become resistant to

what's going on or do you start to relax

that

and then have equanimity when that

happens

whenever

i was telling somebody about this in in

at some point where

you know whenever you go to

to the airport like tomorrow all of you

got most of you are going to go to the

airport

you go to the airport and most people

are like really grumpy and they're

really stressed out and they're really

like i have to get my flight and then

they put that stress out onto the

onto the reception at the customer

service rep right and they they have to

deal with them constantly

but if you can be different and have

loving kindness

smile at them you see a shift i can tell

you from my own experience you see you

say you have love and kindness and you

send it out to them and then immediately

they're like oh how can i help you

you know

you get great service wherever you go

right you've got

a7 yeah well

[Laughter]

and so it's just about being able to see

where there are opportunities to send

out that loving kindness where are there

opportunities to send out that

equanimity or that tranquility or that

joy or compassion wherever it's required

you know bondi is always talked about

when

they have the supermarket or something

and they see a kid crying or somebody

upset and you just radiate

loving-kindness

and you start to see how things

soften around you

it might not happen all the time because

there are some people who are not

receptive to love and kindness and

that's okay

but at the same time your mind isn't

disturbed by that situation

your mind is still in loving kindness

when i was in cambodia

while

my family still have their business and

everything you would have these chefs

come in bickering and talking about you

know this and that and he said this and

she said that and all of these things

and my dad would have had to manage that

and he would get upset and he would get

distraught and i'd be just sitting there

watching tv

and uh then i would notice this and i

would just send loving kindness and then

they realized you know what

maybe i overreacted i'm really sorry

about that and then you start to see how

they're just like all right let's go

back

right so you really see how loving

kindness and compassion

can make a difference

make a big difference

might not happen all the time but that's

okay

you just continue practicing continue

radiating

oh do you want me to give you some final

words before you guys

yeah my final commandment to you

well

yeah go forth

there are these roots of the trees there

are these huts

meditate lest you regret

out of compassion what a teacher had to

do i have done for you

and the last thing i will leave you with

which i left with in the use of retreat

if you take care of the dhamma the

dhamma will take care of you

keep your precepts

commit to them

meditate

and develop wisdom

that's how you take care of the dhamma

it's not about preaching it it's not

about doing this or that just keep the

precepts

keep your practice going

develop wisdom

and the dhamma will take care of you

let's cheers

group picture yes you want to share some

merit now we want to do it later

okay

may suffering ones be suffering free may

the fear struck fearless be

may the grieving shed all 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

maybe he's inhabiting space and earth

devas and nagas of mighty power share

this merit of ours

may they long protect the buddha's

dispensation

[Music]

what

[Music]

foreign

okay so today

we are going to discuss

the transcendental dependent origination

this is the upanisa sutta that is

samyutta nikaya

12.23

and

here bikibodi translated translates it

as proximate cause

atsavati

bikus i say that the destruction of the

taints

for one who knows and sees

not for one who does not know

and does not see

he says

because i say that the destruction of

the taints

is for one who knows and sees

not for one who does not know and see

for one who knows what

for one who sees what

does the destruction of the taints come

about

what do you think

they know and see

dependent origination

such is form such its origin such its

passing away

such is feeling such is

its origin such its passing away

such is perception such its origin such

its passing away

such are formations such are its origins

such are its passing away or they're

passing away

such is consciousness such its origin

such it's passing away

it is for one who knows thus for one who

sees us that the destruction of the

taints comes about

but that describes the five aggregates

right form

feeling

perception formations and consciousness

but we're saying that one who sees

dependent origination

so is there a difference here

origination

does he see craving clinging and

becoming

does he see ignorance

but he sees formations he sees

consciousness

he sees mentality materiality and what's

in mentality materiality contact feeling

perception intention attention

and then he sees the sixth sense basis

contact

feeling

so in essence when we're talking about

these links

they are also the five aggregates or the

processes of the five aggregates

it is for one who knows thus for one who

sees us that the destruction of the

taints comes about

i say because that the knowledge of

destruction in regard to destruction

has approximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause

for the knowledge of destruction

it should be said

liberation

de mutti

[Laughter]

once you have the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

you come out of it you touch the nirvana

element

you make contact with the unconditioned

and the mind is liberated because

there's no craving there

mind is liberated from the taints

i say because that liberation too has a

proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

liberation liberation

it should be said this passion

this passion is that attitude of the

mind that sees things as they are

and has no inclination to them one way

or the other not even any identification

with them there's equi equanimity

there's disenchantment and there's

dispassion

equanimity is seeing things as they

really are without getting

pulled by craving or aversion or

experiences that are pleasant or

unpleasant

this enchantment is where you've seen

this before

whether it's formations that are arising

and you don't get caught up in them

anymore

and from there is dispassion so

disenchantment is where

you notice there here is a hindrance but

you no longer get caught up in it

and this passion is that attitude of the

mind

that is basically

not affected by anything at all good bad

or indifferent

so equanimity is the ability to see that

this enchantment is the mind that

doesn't ignore but just becomes

okay here it is sees through it doesn't

get caught up in it and this passion is

that part of the mind or that arises

where the attitude is continued so

there's equanimity and then

disenchantment which is equanimity

squared

and this passion which is equanimity

cubed

right so it's a deeper

much

[Music]

more profound form of equanimity

i say because that this passion too has

approximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

dispassion

it should be said

disenchantment

now the word disenchantment comes from

the word the pali word nibida

can also be translated as revulsion but

this enchantment is a better translation

the reason why sometimes it's revulsion

is think about it in this way

let's say you have your favorite meal

right and you're really looking forward

to it

and you go and you eat your favorite

meal the chef made it especially for you

and then when you're done the special

the chef says well we have seconds would

you like seconds

and you say okay if there's craving in

you you'll say

yeah i'm i feel like it even if you're

full

and you eat that

but it's not as

pleasurable as the first time

and you try to finish that plate

and then the chef says i have a third

portion for you would you like that

and

you think about it for a minute and you

say okay fine

as soon as you take a bite

you don't want any more of it

you've seen it been there done that

no longer interested in it

so there's a sense of

when you see so many of formations that

come up when you're in neither

perception non-perception and it takes

you away from quiet mind how do you

respond do you say you get caught up in

that storm of formations

or does your mind say okay i've seen

this before

i won't get caught up in it

that ability to do that is

disenchantment

it's a mind that is just very

very translucent

it just moves through things doesn't get

caught up in them

nothing sticks

in the mind

mind is like teflon

right

if you try to put anything it just

glides right through

i say because that dispassion too has a

proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

dispassion

it should be said the knowledge and

vision of things as they really are

this comes from the pali statement

yatabuta is things as they really are

nyana is knowledge dasanam is a vision

and that's just a very long-winded way

of saying equanimity

basically you're seeing things as they

are without getting caught up

equanimity is this deep balance of mind

that arises

or happens because you see that

everything is empty

of self

nothing is worth holding on to

and so everything is seen in a very

balanced way

and so there's no projection of this is

pleasant there's no projection of this

is unpleasant and therefore it affects

me it's just

seen seeing things as they are

without any filter

any kind of concepts or

conceptualizations in the mind without

any conceit there of what it should be

or what it shouldn't be

i say because that the knowledge and

vision of things as they really are too

has approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for the

knowledge and vision of things as they

really are

it should be said collectedness

samadhi

now as we get progress we're going to

see how the factors of enlightenment the

seven factors of enlightenment are

intertwined

with

the transcendental dependent origination

so collectedness collectedness is that

mind

that is collected around an object

we look at the object and we don't

become the object neither does the

object belong to us it's just an object

and the attention

is like a satellite that orbits around

the object

it just stays around it doesn't

cling to it doesn't become it

i say because that collectedness too has

approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause and

what is the proximate cause for

collectedness

it should be said

happiness this is the word they use but

the word is really sukkah

sukkah is comfort in the body

is ease in the body

everything is very comfortable

this happens in

the first jhana the second jhana the

third jana you experience this sukkah

i say because

that happiness too has approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

happiness

it should be said

tranquility

this is the tranquility factor we had

knowledge and vision of things as they

are which is the equanimity factor

then we had the collectedness factor now

we have the tranquility factor

that tranquility factor

arises because of

joy

now when we use the six r's we're also

activating the seven enlightenment

factors right when you're recognizing

you have mindfulness there

you have investigation of states because

you're discerning that your mind is

distracted

you're discerning that the mind is no

longer collected

when you release you're making the right

amount of energy the right amount of

effort

and then

when you

relax

you're also having the tranquility

factor

right

then when you smile or come back to the

smile you have

the joy factor

and then when you come back to your

objective meditation you have the

collectiveness factor

and the equanimity is pervasive

because you are seeing things as they

are

you're not getting caught up in them

you're not trying to push

or pull or do anything with the

hindrance you're just seeing it as it

actually is and letting it go

i say because that tranquility two has a

proximate cause

and does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

tranquility it should be said

joy the joy factor

so what's interesting is we see that joy

leads to tranquility but when we're

doing the six r's

we're doing the relaxed step first and

then we activate the joy from the we

smile step

but there's no

difference between first doing joy or

first in tranquility they are

interconnected

when you are tranquil

you feel that natural gladness you feel

that natural happiness you feel that

natural joy when your mind is relaxed

and your body is relaxed

you're open to experiencing joy and when

you feel joy

your mind and body are naturally relaxed

tranquil

i say because

that joy too has a proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for joy

it should be said gladness

so this word gladness

comes from the pali word pamoja

that is the joy of the dhamma

when you get introduced to the dhamma

when you get introduced to the practice

there is this energy that comes up that

experience of energy

vitalizes the mind and body

so you're making the right effort and

you are

you are intending upon or inclining

towards nibana

and because of that there is this

lightness to the mind when you smile and

you walk around there's a lightness to

the mind

you have the joy of the dhamma this is

gladness

is not the word it's a promoter it's not

a generic word for it like joy it's

specifically

destroyed from

no promotion it can be used in different

contexts but within this we're talking

about the joy of having

seen the dharma or having been

introduced to the to the dharma pamoja

i say bikus

so here with pamoja what's happening is

now you have the

energy factor here

so you have seen for yourself that here

is the dhamma and you bring up the

energy factor to make an effort

and you have you are motivated

inclined towards the dharma because of

that gladness

i say because that gladness too has a

proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

gladness

it should be said

faith

this is confidence

now it starts off with an open

mindedness

see for yourself the dhamma to go and

see for yourself

the dhamma invites one to come and see

for oneself

so this faith first starts off as

okay i see what you're talking about let

me try it

the mind's inclination to be open and to

try it is the first let's say level of

faith or confidence

but as you then experience nibana that

faith then becomes experiential

confidence

because now you have seen for yourself

that walking this path leads you to

cessation of suffering and now you have

confidence in the dharma that's why the

feather of doubt in the buddha the dumb

and the sangha goes away when you become

a stream enter

but here as you're starting out it's

that open-mindedness the faith

to be able to

walk the path

to say okay let me give this a try

by the way faith in this case here it's

talking about faith there's another suta

which mentions

instead of faith virtue

which is keeping the precepts

so having a mind that has enough

confidence in keeping the precepts

when that is kept when the precepts are

kept

then pramoja arises

when you keep your precepts you commit

to them there is a natural gladness that

arises in the mind then that leads to

further

factors of the transcendental dependent

origination

i'll go into that suit that just so you

know what are the different things

because when you keep the precepts it

also leads to what's known as non-regret

you don't have this

uh energy in the mind that is always

restless because you broke a precept but

you're confident

in your own capacities because you keep

the precepts and the mind is stabilized

in that

i say because that faith too

has a proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

faith it should be said

suffering

how is that the case

so when a person experiences suffering

or before i continue with that think

about your own

entry into this path

why did you decide

to try this out

why did you try to go on youtube and

search for you know the dhamma or

whatever it might be

because

at some point there was this unease in

the mind there was this

longing to see if there was a way out of

the suffering

suffering leads to two things can lead

to two different things it can lead to

further confusion

where

one continues the same path and that's

rebirth

right insanity doing the same thing over

and over again expecting a different

result

and it leads to further confusion

people might numb that suffering through

drugs and alcohol but actually they're

just causing themselves

more suffering they might try other

things

you know these

very

impermanent experiences of joy very sort

you know uh

instant joy that they experience but

then once that goes there's a deeper

suffering that arises and so there's

further confusion

what arises is known as some vega

spiritual urgency

a little dismay that

is this all life is about is it just

suffering like is there a way out of the

suffering

and so that then leads you to searching

on youtube for something right or

whatever it might be

and then you see oh this is very

interesting

and then you have an open mindedness to

try it out and that leads to faith that

leads to okay let me try this

and then that also leads to you wanting

to keep the precepts when you're

introduced to that and then eventually

that leads to pamuja

and so on and so forth

i say because

that suffering too has a proximate cause

so we went through the enlightenment

factors we said there's collectedness

when you have the collectedness there

there is equanimity when you have

knowledge and vision of things as they

are

there's the tranquility in the link of

tranquility there's the joy in the pt

that's experienced

and then there's the energy that arises

and then from there is that pamoja that

energy to try it out the effort that you

make

to try it out what about the

investigative

investigation of states what about

mindfulness

the fact that you recognize that you're

suffering

on this

macro level

there's that mindfulness that

i'm not satisfied i'm discontent i need

a way out of this

that is the mindfulness and the

investigation of states

is knowing that you are in suffering

some people have the ignorance that

they're even suffering

don't even realize that they're

suffering

i say because that suffering too has

approximate cause it does not lack

approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

suffering

it should be said

birth

i say because that birth too has

approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

birth

it should be said

habitual tendencies becoming existence

i say because that existence too has a

proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

existence

it should be said

clinging

i say because that clinging to

has approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

clinging it should be said

craving

i say because that craving too has

approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

craving

feeling

for feeling it should be said

contact

for contact

mentality materiality

for mentality materiality

consciousness and for consciousness

formations

i say because that formations too have

approximate cause they do not lack

approximate cause and what is the

proximate cause for formations

ignorance

thus because with ignorance as proximate

cause

formations come to be

with formations as proxima approximate

cause

consciousness comes to be

with consciousness as proximate cause

mentality materiality

with mentality materiality as proximate

cause

the sixth sense spaces

with the sixth sense spaces as cause

the contact with contact as cause

with feeling as cause

with craving as cause

with clinging as cause

with habitual tendencies as cause

with birth as cause

that whole mass of suffering

now let's see how

how well you guys have been listening

with suffering as cause

faith with faith as cause

gladness

with gladness as cause

with joy as cause

with tranquility as cause

collectedness

with collectedness as cause

equanimity the knowledge and vision of

things as they really are

with the knowledge and vision of things

as they really are as cause

this enchantment with this enchantment

has caused

this passion

with dispassion as cause

liberation

with liberation as cause the knowledge

of the destruction of the tints

just as bikus when rain pours down in

the thick droplets on a mountain top

the water flows down along the slope

and fills the cleft gullies and creeks

these being full fill up the pools

these being full fill up the lakes

these being full

fill up the rivers

the streams these being full fill up the

rivers and these being full fill up the

great ocean

so too

with ignorance as cause

formations come to be with formations as

cause consciousness comes to be

with consciousness as cause

mentality materiality comes to be with

mentality materiality as cause

sixth sense basis come to be with six

sense spaces as cause

contact comes to be with contact as

cause

feeling comes to be with feeling as

cause

craving comes to be with craving as

cause clinging comes to be with clinging

as cause

habitual tendencies come to be with

habitual tendencies as cause

birth comes to be with birth as cause

suffering comes to be

with suffering as cause

faith comes to be with faith as cause

gladness comes to be

with gladness is cause joy comes to be

with joy as cause

tranquility comes to be with tranquility

as cause

collectedness comes to be with

collectedness as cause

equanimity comes to be with equanimity

as cause

this enchantment comes to be with this

enchantment as cause

this passion comes to be with this

passion as cause

liberation comes to be with liberation

as cause

the knowledge of destruction of the

tints

so i'll just read one more suta because

it'll give you some clarity on why we're

talking about keeping the precepts with

regards to faith

not necessarily in place of faith but

along with faith

so this is uh the book of tense anguthra

nikaya 10.1

thus have i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was dwelling at savathi in

jetta's grove anathepindakis park

then the venerable ananda approached the

blessed one paid homage to him sat down

to one side and said to him

what is the purpose and benefit of

wholesome virtuous behavior

ananda the purpose and benefit of

wholesome virtuous behavior

is non-regret

so keeping the precepts you have

non-regret you have no restlessness that

arises

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of non-regret the purpose and

benefit of non-regret is joy

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of joy

well when they talk about joy here

really i mean it's an interesting

translation

it's actually gladness pamoja

so and what is the purpose and benefit

of gladness the purpose and benefit of

gladness is joy

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of joy the purpose and benefit

of joy is tranquility

and what bhante is a purpose and benefit

of tranquility the purpose and benefit

of tranquility is sukkah happiness

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of happiness the purpose and

benefit of happiness is collectedness

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of collectedness

the purpose and benefit of collectedness

is the knowledge and vision of things as

they really are

and what bante is the purpose and

benefit

of the knowledge and vision of things as

they really are

the purpose and benefit of the knowledge

and vision of things as they really are

is disenchantment and dispassion

and what bante is the purpose and

benefit of this enchantment and this

passion

the purpose and benefit of

disenchantment and dispassion

is the knowledge and vision of

liberation

thus ananda

the purpose and benefit of wholesome

virtuous behavior is

non-regret

the purpose and benefit of non-regret is

gladness

the purpose and benefit of gladness is

joy

the perfect and the purpose and benefit

of joy is tranquility

the purpose and benefit of tranquility

is collectedness

the purpose and benefit of collectedness

equanimity the purpose and benefit of

equanimity is

disenchantment and dispassion

the purpose of purpose and benefit

of disenchantment and

this passion is

liberation

and the purpose of liberation is

yes

and this is a rinse and repeat process

you six r all the way to our hot chip

until there's nothing else left to 6r

yes there can be you know somebody has

collectedness and then suddenly they

lose it and then they have to go back

and

come back with tranquility

or somebody has the

joy and then they lose it so they have

to come back and bring up the gladness

and so on

so it is a

reversible process in that it's not

stabilized yet but when it becomes

stabilized

then there is

no going back

so that that imagery that the buddha

uses is really beautiful you know the

streams eventually it all fills up right

so you enter the stream and it fills up

and then you have another attainment and

it fills up further and further and

further until you have this

great ocean of wisdom

there's the ocean of suffering and

there's the ocean of

wisdom

that ocean of suffering is filled up by

dependent origination as we understand

it that is the elaboration of the second

noble truth of craving

but then there is

the great ocean of wisdom

that arises from the transcendental

dependent origination

which is an elaboration actually

of the fourth noble truth

because the eightfold path also is there

within the transcendental dependent

origination

it's the it's the ability

to have right view

that is to know what is the difference

between wrong view and right view

initially

that lets go of the doubt and so there

is faith

then you have the right intention to let

go and cultivate loving kindness and

compassion and from there gladness

arises

and you keep the precepts which means

you have right speech and you have right

action and right livelihood

and then from that gladness you have the

effort to make

you know the right effort to let go of

things

and so then from there there is the joy

there is the collectedness

so the mindfulness allows the

collectiveness to arise

and then from that collectedness you

have

the equanimity so you have the

tranquility you have the collectedness

you have the equanimity

and from that equanimity you have

disenchantment dispassion and finally

liberation

and the knowledge of the liberation

well it's it's yeah exactly the practice

is not just sitting the practice is

being able to use a six stars every time

you need to use the six hours

that could be while you're going to the

bathroom or that could be while you're

driving to work or that could be while

you're having dinner

right

so it's about being able to have that

clarity of mind as soon as you wake up

right and so

remember what i said was in the

beginning of this retreat

make it a point

to determine that you will wake up with

a smile on your face

notice if you do actually right and keep

that going

and as you keep that going notice when

the smile diminishes because now you're

thinking about this or that oh i have to

make breakfast or i have to do this or i

have to do that

and then

come back 6r come back to the smile and

if you're able to then spring up loving

kindness

start your day start the very first time

you wake up right the first moment

loving kindness

right or compassion

if you can do that like the buddha had

done which is wake up in the day do your

freshening up and come back and sit

just radiate love

compassion all throughout your household

and then beyond that and then beyond

that and beyond that

i mean i've seen it as a great

replacement for coffee but that's just

you know

it really helps

keep the mind alert really helps keep

the mind

you know collected

even if it's for half an hour a day when

you start but that's just the sitting

you start off your day with the mind

that says okay i want to smile and i

want to keep the smile going and notice

when your mind goes here or there every

time your mind goes here or there 6r

come back and you're going to notice

that throughout the day the mind becomes

less and less

distracted and more and more collected

and i collected in that collectedness

isn't just

on the feeling of loving kindness but

it's on whatever it is that you're doing

because a lot of times

when people are doing something

especially if they're doing out of habit

because like driving right sometimes

you're driving you don't realize that

you already got your destination

because your mind has been just

in all of this thought process

but really center your mind around

what's going on you know what and the

way to do that is to have an object like

loving-kindness

then when you are in difficult

situations

what do you do

do you start to become resistant to

what's going on or do you start to relax

that

and then have equanimity when that

happens

whenever

i was telling somebody about this in in

at some point where

you know whenever you go to

to the airport like tomorrow all of you

got most of you are going to go to the

airport

you go to the airport and most people

are like really grumpy and they're

really stressed out and they're really

like i have to get my flight and then

they put that stress out onto the

onto the reception at the customer

service rep right and they they have to

deal with them constantly

but if you can be different and have

loving kindness

smile at them you see a shift i can tell

you from my own experience you see you

say you have love and kindness and you

send it out to them and then immediately

they're like oh how can i help you

you know

you get great service wherever you go

right you've got

a7 yeah well

[Laughter]

and so it's just about being able to see

where there are opportunities to send

out that loving kindness where are there

opportunities to send out that

equanimity or that tranquility or that

joy or compassion wherever it's required

you know bondi is always talked about

when

they have the supermarket or something

and they see a kid crying or somebody

upset and you just radiate

loving-kindness

and you start to see how things

soften around you

it might not happen all the time because

there are some people who are not

receptive to love and kindness and

that's okay

but at the same time your mind isn't

disturbed by that situation

your mind is still in loving kindness

when i was in cambodia

while

my family still have their business and

everything you would have these chefs

come in bickering and talking about you

know this and that and he said this and

she said that and all of these things

and my dad would have had to manage that

and he would get upset and he would get

distraught and i'd be just sitting there

watching tv

and uh then i would notice this and i

would just send loving kindness and then

they realized you know what

maybe i overreacted i'm really sorry

about that and then you start to see how

they're just like all right let's go

back

right so you really see how loving

kindness and compassion

can make a difference

make a big difference

might not happen all the time but that's

okay

you just continue practicing continue

radiating

oh do you want me to give you some final

words before you guys

yeah my final commandment to you

well

yeah go forth

there are these roots of the trees there

are these huts

meditate lest you regret

out of compassion what a teacher had to

do i have done for you

and the last thing i will leave you with

which i left with in the use of retreat

if you take care of the dhamma the

dhamma will take care of you

keep your precepts

commit to them

meditate

and develop wisdom

that's how you take care of the dhamma

it's not about preaching it it's not

about doing this or that just keep the

precepts

keep your practice going

develop wisdom

and the dhamma will take care of you

let's cheers

group picture yes you want to share some

merit now we want to do it later

okay

may suffering ones be suffering free may

the fear struck fearless be

may the grieving shed all 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

maybe he's inhabiting space and earth

devas and nagas of mighty power share

this merit of ours

may they long protect the buddha's

dispensation

[Music]

what

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foreign

okay so today

we are going to discuss

the transcendental dependent origination

this is the upanisa sutta that is

samyutta nikaya

12.23

and

here bikibodi translated translates it

as proximate cause

atsavati

bikus i say that the destruction of the

taints

for one who knows and sees

not for one who does not know

and does not see

he says

because i say that the destruction of

the taints

is for one who knows and sees

not for one who does not know and see

for one who knows what

for one who sees what

does the destruction of the taints come

about

what do you think

they know and see

dependent origination

such is form such its origin such its

passing away

such is feeling such is

its origin such its passing away

such is perception such its origin such

its passing away

such are formations such are its origins

such are its passing away or they're

passing away

such is consciousness such its origin

such it's passing away

it is for one who knows thus for one who

sees us that the destruction of the

taints comes about

but that describes the five aggregates

right form

feeling

perception formations and consciousness

but we're saying that one who sees

dependent origination

so is there a difference here

origination

does he see craving clinging and

becoming

does he see ignorance

but he sees formations he sees

consciousness

he sees mentality materiality and what's

in mentality materiality contact feeling

perception intention attention

and then he sees the sixth sense basis

contact

feeling

so in essence when we're talking about

these links

they are also the five aggregates or the

processes of the five aggregates

it is for one who knows thus for one who

sees us that the destruction of the

taints comes about

i say because that the knowledge of

destruction in regard to destruction

has approximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause

for the knowledge of destruction

it should be said

liberation

de mutti

[Laughter]

once you have the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

you come out of it you touch the nirvana

element

you make contact with the unconditioned

and the mind is liberated because

there's no craving there

mind is liberated from the taints

i say because that liberation too has a

proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

liberation liberation

it should be said this passion

this passion is that attitude of the

mind that sees things as they are

and has no inclination to them one way

or the other not even any identification

with them there's equi equanimity

there's disenchantment and there's

dispassion

equanimity is seeing things as they

really are without getting

pulled by craving or aversion or

experiences that are pleasant or

unpleasant

this enchantment is where you've seen

this before

whether it's formations that are arising

and you don't get caught up in them

anymore

and from there is dispassion so

disenchantment is where

you notice there here is a hindrance but

you no longer get caught up in it

and this passion is that attitude of the

mind

that is basically

not affected by anything at all good bad

or indifferent

so equanimity is the ability to see that

this enchantment is the mind that

doesn't ignore but just becomes

okay here it is sees through it doesn't

get caught up in it and this passion is

that part of the mind or that arises

where the attitude is continued so

there's equanimity and then

disenchantment which is equanimity

squared

and this passion which is equanimity

cubed

right so it's a deeper

much

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more profound form of equanimity

i say because that this passion too has

approximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

dispassion

it should be said

disenchantment

now the word disenchantment comes from

the word the pali word nibida

can also be translated as revulsion but

this enchantment is a better translation

the reason why sometimes it's revulsion

is think about it in this way

let's say you have your favorite meal

right and you're really looking forward

to it

and you go and you eat your favorite

meal the chef made it especially for you

and then when you're done the special

the chef says well we have seconds would

you like seconds

and you say okay if there's craving in

you you'll say

yeah i'm i feel like it even if you're

full

and you eat that

but it's not as

pleasurable as the first time

and you try to finish that plate

and then the chef says i have a third

portion for you would you like that

and

you think about it for a minute and you

say okay fine

as soon as you take a bite

you don't want any more of it

you've seen it been there done that

no longer interested in it

so there's a sense of

when you see so many of formations that

come up when you're in neither

perception non-perception and it takes

you away from quiet mind how do you

respond do you say you get caught up in

that storm of formations

or does your mind say okay i've seen

this before

i won't get caught up in it

that ability to do that is

disenchantment

it's a mind that is just very

very translucent

it just moves through things doesn't get

caught up in them

nothing sticks

in the mind

mind is like teflon

right

if you try to put anything it just

glides right through

i say because that dispassion too has a

proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

dispassion

it should be said the knowledge and

vision of things as they really are

this comes from the pali statement

yatabuta is things as they really are

nyana is knowledge dasanam is a vision

and that's just a very long-winded way

of saying equanimity

basically you're seeing things as they

are without getting caught up

equanimity is this deep balance of mind

that arises

or happens because you see that

everything is empty

of self

nothing is worth holding on to

and so everything is seen in a very

balanced way

and so there's no projection of this is

pleasant there's no projection of this

is unpleasant and therefore it affects

me it's just

seen seeing things as they are

without any filter

any kind of concepts or

conceptualizations in the mind without

any conceit there of what it should be

or what it shouldn't be

i say because that the knowledge and

vision of things as they really are too

has approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for the

knowledge and vision of things as they

really are

it should be said collectedness

samadhi

now as we get progress we're going to

see how the factors of enlightenment the

seven factors of enlightenment are

intertwined

with

the transcendental dependent origination

so collectedness collectedness is that

mind

that is collected around an object

we look at the object and we don't

become the object neither does the

object belong to us it's just an object

and the attention

is like a satellite that orbits around

the object

it just stays around it doesn't

cling to it doesn't become it

i say because that collectedness too has

approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause and

what is the proximate cause for

collectedness

it should be said

happiness this is the word they use but

the word is really sukkah

sukkah is comfort in the body

is ease in the body

everything is very comfortable

this happens in

the first jhana the second jhana the

third jana you experience this sukkah

i say because

that happiness too has approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

happiness

it should be said

tranquility

this is the tranquility factor we had

knowledge and vision of things as they

are which is the equanimity factor

then we had the collectedness factor now

we have the tranquility factor

that tranquility factor

arises because of

joy

now when we use the six r's we're also

activating the seven enlightenment

factors right when you're recognizing

you have mindfulness there

you have investigation of states because

you're discerning that your mind is

distracted

you're discerning that the mind is no

longer collected

when you release you're making the right

amount of energy the right amount of

effort

and then

when you

relax

you're also having the tranquility

factor

right

then when you smile or come back to the

smile you have

the joy factor

and then when you come back to your

objective meditation you have the

collectiveness factor

and the equanimity is pervasive

because you are seeing things as they

are

you're not getting caught up in them

you're not trying to push

or pull or do anything with the

hindrance you're just seeing it as it

actually is and letting it go

i say because that tranquility two has a

proximate cause

and does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

tranquility it should be said

joy the joy factor

so what's interesting is we see that joy

leads to tranquility but when we're

doing the six r's

we're doing the relaxed step first and

then we activate the joy from the we

smile step

but there's no

difference between first doing joy or

first in tranquility they are

interconnected

when you are tranquil

you feel that natural gladness you feel

that natural happiness you feel that

natural joy when your mind is relaxed

and your body is relaxed

you're open to experiencing joy and when

you feel joy

your mind and body are naturally relaxed

tranquil

i say because

that joy too has a proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for joy

it should be said gladness

so this word gladness

comes from the pali word pamoja

that is the joy of the dhamma

when you get introduced to the dhamma

when you get introduced to the practice

there is this energy that comes up that

experience of energy

vitalizes the mind and body

so you're making the right effort and

you are

you are intending upon or inclining

towards nibana

and because of that there is this

lightness to the mind when you smile and

you walk around there's a lightness to

the mind

you have the joy of the dhamma this is

gladness

is not the word it's a promoter it's not

a generic word for it like joy it's

specifically

destroyed from

no promotion it can be used in different

contexts but within this we're talking

about the joy of having

seen the dharma or having been

introduced to the to the dharma pamoja

i say bikus

so here with pamoja what's happening is

now you have the

energy factor here

so you have seen for yourself that here

is the dhamma and you bring up the

energy factor to make an effort

and you have you are motivated

inclined towards the dharma because of

that gladness

i say because that gladness too has a

proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

gladness

it should be said

faith

this is confidence

now it starts off with an open

mindedness

see for yourself the dhamma to go and

see for yourself

the dhamma invites one to come and see

for oneself

so this faith first starts off as

okay i see what you're talking about let

me try it

the mind's inclination to be open and to

try it is the first let's say level of

faith or confidence

but as you then experience nibana that

faith then becomes experiential

confidence

because now you have seen for yourself

that walking this path leads you to

cessation of suffering and now you have

confidence in the dharma that's why the

feather of doubt in the buddha the dumb

and the sangha goes away when you become

a stream enter

but here as you're starting out it's

that open-mindedness the faith

to be able to

walk the path

to say okay let me give this a try

by the way faith in this case here it's

talking about faith there's another suta

which mentions

instead of faith virtue

which is keeping the precepts

so having a mind that has enough

confidence in keeping the precepts

when that is kept when the precepts are

kept

then pramoja arises

when you keep your precepts you commit

to them there is a natural gladness that

arises in the mind then that leads to

further

factors of the transcendental dependent

origination

i'll go into that suit that just so you

know what are the different things

because when you keep the precepts it

also leads to what's known as non-regret

you don't have this

uh energy in the mind that is always

restless because you broke a precept but

you're confident

in your own capacities because you keep

the precepts and the mind is stabilized

in that

i say because that faith too

has a proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

faith it should be said

suffering

how is that the case

so when a person experiences suffering

or before i continue with that think

about your own

entry into this path

why did you decide

to try this out

why did you try to go on youtube and

search for you know the dhamma or

whatever it might be

because

at some point there was this unease in

the mind there was this

longing to see if there was a way out of

the suffering

suffering leads to two things can lead

to two different things it can lead to

further confusion

where

one continues the same path and that's

rebirth

right insanity doing the same thing over

and over again expecting a different

result

and it leads to further confusion

people might numb that suffering through

drugs and alcohol but actually they're

just causing themselves

more suffering they might try other

things

you know these

very

impermanent experiences of joy very sort

you know uh

instant joy that they experience but

then once that goes there's a deeper

suffering that arises and so there's

further confusion

what arises is known as some vega

spiritual urgency

a little dismay that

is this all life is about is it just

suffering like is there a way out of the

suffering

and so that then leads you to searching

on youtube for something right or

whatever it might be

and then you see oh this is very

interesting

and then you have an open mindedness to

try it out and that leads to faith that

leads to okay let me try this

and then that also leads to you wanting

to keep the precepts when you're

introduced to that and then eventually

that leads to pamuja

and so on and so forth

i say because

that suffering too has a proximate cause

so we went through the enlightenment

factors we said there's collectedness

when you have the collectedness there

there is equanimity when you have

knowledge and vision of things as they

are

there's the tranquility in the link of

tranquility there's the joy in the pt

that's experienced

and then there's the energy that arises

and then from there is that pamoja that

energy to try it out the effort that you

make

to try it out what about the

investigative

investigation of states what about

mindfulness

the fact that you recognize that you're

suffering

on this

macro level

there's that mindfulness that

i'm not satisfied i'm discontent i need

a way out of this

that is the mindfulness and the

investigation of states

is knowing that you are in suffering

some people have the ignorance that

they're even suffering

don't even realize that they're

suffering

i say because that suffering too has

approximate cause it does not lack

approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

suffering

it should be said

birth

i say because that birth too has

approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

birth

it should be said

habitual tendencies becoming existence

i say because that existence too has a

proximate cause

it does not lack a proximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

existence

it should be said

clinging

i say because that clinging to

has approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

clinging it should be said

craving

i say because that craving too has

approximate cause

it does not lack approximate cause

and what is the proximate cause for

craving

feeling

for feeling it should be said

contact

for contact

mentality materiality

for mentality materiality

consciousness and for consciousness

formations

i say because that formations too have

approximate cause they do not lack

approximate cause and what is the

proximate cause for formations

ignorance

thus because with ignorance as proximate

cause

formations come to be

with formations as proxima approximate

cause

consciousness comes to be

with consciousness as proximate cause

mentality materiality

with mentality materiality as proximate

cause

the sixth sense spaces

with the sixth sense spaces as cause

the contact with contact as cause

with feeling as cause

with craving as cause

with clinging as cause

with habitual tendencies as cause

with birth as cause

that whole mass of suffering

now let's see how

how well you guys have been listening

with suffering as cause

faith with faith as cause

gladness

with gladness as cause

with joy as cause

with tranquility as cause

collectedness

with collectedness as cause

equanimity the knowledge and vision of

things as they really are

with the knowledge and vision of things

as they really are as cause

this enchantment with this enchantment

has caused

this passion

with dispassion as cause

liberation

with liberation as cause the knowledge

of the destruction of the tints

just as bikus when rain pours down in

the thick droplets on a mountain top

the water flows down along the slope

and fills the cleft gullies and creeks

these being full fill up the pools

these being full fill up the lakes

these being full

fill up the rivers

the streams these being full fill up the

rivers and these being full fill up the

great ocean

so too

with ignorance as cause

formations come to be with formations as

cause consciousness comes to be

with consciousness as cause

mentality materiality comes to be with

mentality materiality as cause

sixth sense basis come to be with six

sense spaces as cause

contact comes to be with contact as

cause

feeling comes to be with feeling as

cause

craving comes to be with craving as

cause clinging comes to be with clinging

as cause

habitual tendencies come to be with

habitual tendencies as cause

birth comes to be with birth as cause

suffering comes to be

with suffering as cause

faith comes to be with faith as cause

gladness comes to be

with gladness is cause joy comes to be

with joy as cause

tranquility comes to be with tranquility

as cause

collectedness comes to be with

collectedness as cause

equanimity comes to be with equanimity

as cause

this enchantment comes to be with this

enchantment as cause

this passion comes to be with this

passion as cause

liberation comes to be with liberation

as cause

the knowledge of destruction of the

tints

so i'll just read one more suta because

it'll give you some clarity on why we're

talking about keeping the precepts with

regards to faith

not necessarily in place of faith but

along with faith

so this is uh the book of tense anguthra

nikaya 10.1

thus have i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was dwelling at savathi in

jetta's grove anathepindakis park

then the venerable ananda approached the

blessed one paid homage to him sat down

to one side and said to him

what is the purpose and benefit of

wholesome virtuous behavior

ananda the purpose and benefit of

wholesome virtuous behavior

is non-regret

so keeping the precepts you have

non-regret you have no restlessness that

arises

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of non-regret the purpose and

benefit of non-regret is joy

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of joy

well when they talk about joy here

really i mean it's an interesting

translation

it's actually gladness pamoja

so and what is the purpose and benefit

of gladness the purpose and benefit of

gladness is joy

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of joy the purpose and benefit

of joy is tranquility

and what bhante is a purpose and benefit

of tranquility the purpose and benefit

of tranquility is sukkah happiness

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of happiness the purpose and

benefit of happiness is collectedness

and what bonte is the purpose and

benefit of collectedness

the purpose and benefit of collectedness

is the knowledge and vision of things as

they really are

and what bante is the purpose and

benefit

of the knowledge and vision of things as

they really are

the purpose and benefit of the knowledge

and vision of things as they really are

is disenchantment and dispassion

and what bante is the purpose and

benefit of this enchantment and this

passion

the purpose and benefit of

disenchantment and dispassion

is the knowledge and vision of

liberation

thus ananda

the purpose and benefit of wholesome

virtuous behavior is

non-regret

the purpose and benefit of non-regret is

gladness

the purpose and benefit of gladness is

joy

the perfect and the purpose and benefit

of joy is tranquility

the purpose and benefit of tranquility

is collectedness

the purpose and benefit of collectedness

equanimity the purpose and benefit of

equanimity is

disenchantment and dispassion

the purpose of purpose and benefit

of disenchantment and

this passion is

liberation

and the purpose of liberation is

yes

and this is a rinse and repeat process

you six r all the way to our hot chip

until there's nothing else left to 6r

yes there can be you know somebody has

collectedness and then suddenly they

lose it and then they have to go back

and

come back with tranquility

or somebody has the

joy and then they lose it so they have

to come back and bring up the gladness

and so on

so it is a

reversible process in that it's not

stabilized yet but when it becomes

stabilized

then there is

no going back

so that that imagery that the buddha

uses is really beautiful you know the

streams eventually it all fills up right

so you enter the stream and it fills up

and then you have another attainment and

it fills up further and further and

further until you have this

great ocean of wisdom

there's the ocean of suffering and

there's the ocean of

wisdom

that ocean of suffering is filled up by

dependent origination as we understand

it that is the elaboration of the second

noble truth of craving

but then there is

the great ocean of wisdom

that arises from the transcendental

dependent origination

which is an elaboration actually

of the fourth noble truth

because the eightfold path also is there

within the transcendental dependent

origination

it's the it's the ability

to have right view

that is to know what is the difference

between wrong view and right view

initially

that lets go of the doubt and so there

is faith

then you have the right intention to let

go and cultivate loving kindness and

compassion and from there gladness

arises

and you keep the precepts which means

you have right speech and you have right

action and right livelihood

and then from that gladness you have the

effort to make

you know the right effort to let go of

things

and so then from there there is the joy

there is the collectedness

so the mindfulness allows the

collectiveness to arise

and then from that collectedness you

have

the equanimity so you have the

tranquility you have the collectedness

you have the equanimity

and from that equanimity you have

disenchantment dispassion and finally

liberation

and the knowledge of the liberation

well it's it's yeah exactly the practice

is not just sitting the practice is

being able to use a six stars every time

you need to use the six hours

that could be while you're going to the

bathroom or that could be while you're

driving to work or that could be while

you're having dinner

right

so it's about being able to have that

clarity of mind as soon as you wake up

right and so

remember what i said was in the

beginning of this retreat

make it a point

to determine that you will wake up with

a smile on your face

notice if you do actually right and keep

that going

and as you keep that going notice when

the smile diminishes because now you're

thinking about this or that oh i have to

make breakfast or i have to do this or i

have to do that

and then

come back 6r come back to the smile and

if you're able to then spring up loving

kindness

start your day start the very first time

you wake up right the first moment

loving kindness

right or compassion

if you can do that like the buddha had

done which is wake up in the day do your

freshening up and come back and sit

just radiate love

compassion all throughout your household

and then beyond that and then beyond

that and beyond that

i mean i've seen it as a great

replacement for coffee but that's just

you know

it really helps

keep the mind alert really helps keep

the mind

you know collected

even if it's for half an hour a day when

you start but that's just the sitting

you start off your day with the mind

that says okay i want to smile and i

want to keep the smile going and notice

when your mind goes here or there every

time your mind goes here or there 6r

come back and you're going to notice

that throughout the day the mind becomes

less and less

distracted and more and more collected

and i collected in that collectedness

isn't just

on the feeling of loving kindness but

it's on whatever it is that you're doing

because a lot of times

when people are doing something

especially if they're doing out of habit

because like driving right sometimes

you're driving you don't realize that

you already got your destination

because your mind has been just

in all of this thought process

but really center your mind around

what's going on you know what and the

way to do that is to have an object like

loving-kindness

then when you are in difficult

situations

what do you do

do you start to become resistant to

what's going on or do you start to relax

that

and then have equanimity when that

happens

whenever

i was telling somebody about this in in

at some point where

you know whenever you go to

to the airport like tomorrow all of you

got most of you are going to go to the

airport

you go to the airport and most people

are like really grumpy and they're

really stressed out and they're really

like i have to get my flight and then

they put that stress out onto the

onto the reception at the customer

service rep right and they they have to

deal with them constantly

but if you can be different and have

loving kindness

smile at them you see a shift i can tell

you from my own experience you see you

say you have love and kindness and you

send it out to them and then immediately

they're like oh how can i help you

you know

you get great service wherever you go

right you've got

a7 yeah well

[Laughter]

and so it's just about being able to see

where there are opportunities to send

out that loving kindness where are there

opportunities to send out that

equanimity or that tranquility or that

joy or compassion wherever it's required

you know bondi is always talked about

when

they have the supermarket or something

and they see a kid crying or somebody

upset and you just radiate

loving-kindness

and you start to see how things

soften around you

it might not happen all the time because

there are some people who are not

receptive to love and kindness and

that's okay

but at the same time your mind isn't

disturbed by that situation

your mind is still in loving kindness

when i was in cambodia

while

my family still have their business and

everything you would have these chefs

come in bickering and talking about you

know this and that and he said this and

she said that and all of these things

and my dad would have had to manage that

and he would get upset and he would get

distraught and i'd be just sitting there

watching tv

and uh then i would notice this and i

would just send loving kindness and then

they realized you know what

maybe i overreacted i'm really sorry

about that and then you start to see how

they're just like all right let's go

back

right so you really see how loving

kindness and compassion

can make a difference

make a big difference

might not happen all the time but that's

okay

you just continue practicing continue

radiating

oh do you want me to give you some final

words before you guys

yeah my final commandment to you

well

yeah go forth

there are these roots of the trees there

are these huts

meditate lest you regret

out of compassion what a teacher had to

do i have done for you

and the last thing i will leave you with

which i left with in the use of retreat

if you take care of the dhamma the

dhamma will take care of you

keep your precepts

commit to them

meditate

and develop wisdom

that's how you take care of the dhamma

it's not about preaching it it's not

about doing this or that just keep the

precepts

keep your practice going

develop wisdom

and the dhamma will take care of you

let's cheers

group picture yes you want to share some

merit now we want to do it later

okay

may suffering ones be suffering free may

the fear struck fearless be

may the grieving shed all 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

maybe he's inhabiting space and earth

devas and nagas of mighty power share

this merit of ours

may they long protect the buddha's

dispensation

[Music]

what