From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4i_vzQCIygE
Context: Throughout this transcript, Bhante Vimalaramsi is the speaker unless otherwise indicated.
[Music]
[Laughter]
okay
now we're going to be coming into what
bigger booty calls it the contemplation
of feeling which is observation of
feeling one of the things that so many
people get mixed up with is they hear
feeling as feelings
meaning emotional feelings and this is
not that feeling is pleasant feeling is
unpleasant feeling is neutral and that's
all of these emotion happens with the
painting and great and clean habitual
tendency okay and how monks does a monk
abide contemplating feeling as doing and
here he has feelings as feelings here
when feeling a pleasant feeling a monk
understands I feel a pleasant feeling
when feeling a painful feeling he
understands I feel a painful feeling
when feeling and neither painful an hour
Pleasant feeling he understands I feel
uh neither painful nor cousin feelings
when feeling a pleasantly worldly
feeling he understands I feel a pleasant
worldly feeling what is a pleasant
worldly feeling
[Laughter]
Leslee feeling with one of the sense
doors that one of the centers that's
right when feeling an unworldly pleasant
feeling he understands I feel an
unworldly pleasant feeling what is an
unworldly pleasant feeling it's a
feeling that you have in the journals
the strongest of which is equanimity
that's a strongest feeling that you can
have it's unworldly when feeling a
worldly painful feeling he understands I
feel a worldly painful feeling what is
the worldly painful feeling stubbing
your toe it's an unpleasant feeling at
one of the sense doors
that's a worldly unpleasant feeling he
understands I feel an unworldly painful
feeling what is an unworldly painful
feeling
you know John following us their job one
of the suitors said that grief on the
worldly grief is along these for
deliverance it's meditation pain what's
the difference between a regular pain
and a meditation pain meditation pain
goes away very quickly a real pain stays
with you this God couldn't show you that
when feeling a worldly neither painful
nor pleasant feeling he understands I
feel a worldly neither painful nor
Pleasant feeling what is a worldly
neither painful nor a pleasant feeling
indifference indifference tasteless rats
hmm face-to-face when your now it's
being different
yeah it doesn't mean I don't have
positive or negative Thank You you
always have a negative one is tasteless
I'll give you some tasteless Rights and
you'll see you can't have equanimity at
one of the stores and no its
indifference at the center's it's just
not paying attention when feeling an
unworldly neither painful nor pleasant
feeling he understands I feel an
unworldly neither painful nor pleasant
feeling what is an unworldly neither
painful nor pleasant feeling empty
in this way he abides contemplating
feeling this feeling internally he
abides contemplating feeling is feeling
externally petabytes contemplating
feeling us feeling both internally and
externally
he abides independent not clinging to
anything in the world that is how a monk
abides contemplating feeling is feeling
now we get into an interesting one and
that's the contemplation of mind and how
monks does a monk abide contemplating
mind as mind here a monk understands
mine affected by lust as mine affected
by lust mine unaffected by lust as mine
unaffected by lust he understands mine
affected by hate as mine affected by
hate and mine unaffected by hate as mine
unaffected
he understands mine affected by delusion
as mine affected by delusion and mine
unaffected by delusion as mine
unaffected by delusion he understands
contracted mind as contracted mine what
is a contracted mind okay he understands
a distracted mind as distracted mind
what is a distracted mind restlessness
he understands exalted mind as exalted
mind what is an exalted might mind that
sees the ROO pajamas the four lower jaws
he understands surpassed mind as
surpassed mine and unsurpassed mine as
unsurpassed mind what is a surpassed
the outer Rupa Jones the immaterial
drops okay so an unsurpassed mind is a
mind that experiences the coverage of
Java's new material dramas now when
you're practicing loving-kindness the
loving-kindness will take you to the
fourth drama as soon as you go beyond
that you lose all of the gross feelings
of the body you don't really feel the
body very much unless there's contact
meat and as you go deeper then you will
go into a feeling of expansion all
directions at the same time it's just
expanding out expanding out with without
any limits without any boundaries
calling the last for Janice yes well
these are these are the Aruba dramas
yeah so what happens is the feeling of
loving kindness changes to a feeling of
compassion this is a natural process of
going through the brahma vihara then
you'll go to you'll get to a place
that's even deeper and
tired of compassion changes again to the
feeling of joy in the in the suitors
they call mudita which is the Pali name
for this they call it sympathetic joy
and I've never much liked that I rather
just call it joy as you go deeper you'll
get to a place where or when when that
sympathetic joy arises then you'll start
seeing the individual consciousnesses
arises that's the way to rise and pass
away very quickly and it's like watching
a movie that the film is going too slow
and you're seeing a picture and then it
flashes away a picture and flashes away
a picture it flashes away now this
happens very quickly the reason that
you're able to see the individual
consciousnesses is not that your mind is
speeding up mind goes at the same speed
all the time your awareness becomes
keener and sharper so then you're able
to see these as you go deeper then the
feeling of loving kindness or the
feeling of joy excuse me will again
change to a feeling of strong equanimity
very strong balance of mine and mine is
not looking outside of itself anymore
and this is called the realm of
nothingness because mine is not looking
outside can't see
anything outside just looking at nothing
but there's something in nothing hmm and
you still you still have mental states
that arise in that you still have
balance strong equanimity still have the
Enlightenment factors there's all kinds
of things that you get to see while
you're in this particular state that I'm
not going to go into too much and the
last of the in material realm is called
neither perception nor non-perception
you experience this but because it's so
subtle it's like you didn't know while
you're in it it's like you're not seeing
anything at all but when you come out
and reflect on what you saw while you
were in that state there are still some
things that are rising and passing away
so these are called the surpassed your
surpassing all material things
getting into very very strong mental
awarenesses before I told you when you
first start out your mind flopping
around like this and when you get into
the first jhana then it's not flopping
quite as much in the second jhana it's
less in the third jhana it's less when
you get into the fourth jhana now your
mind's not moving very much at all but
it's vibrating okay and as you go to the
deeper jhanas the vibration becomes
finer and finer and finer until you
can't tell whether mind is
actually there or not that's neither
perception nor non-perception as you
continue on with the six R's and the
relaxing step you'll get to a place
where even that very fine vibration
that's there stops and that's called the
cessation of perception right after that
what you will experience when this is
satyr when the perception and feeling
arise again is you will be able to
experience very clearly the links of
dependent origination and how they arise
and how if one link doesn't arise the
next link will not arise right after
that that is such deep strong knowledge
and vision it's such a profound thing
that your mind slips into an
unconditioned State and this is probably
but this is the only way the abana
occurs through the direct knowledge of
seeing how dependent origination works
and tomorrow you get to hear a lot about
dependent origination okay
he understands the collective mind as a
collective mind and an uncollected mind
as an uncollected mind a mind that's
reflected is very still and your
mindfulness is very very short he
understands liberated mind as liberated
mine and unliberated mind as unliberated
mind what is a liberated mind yes
definitely for your planning but that's
not it's the mind that's free from
creating right now when you have a mind
that's free from crazy this is what the
Buddha called wisdoms I this is a mind
that's clear a mind that's bright online
that's very alert and pure you're seeing
everything as part of an impersonal
process you're just seeing it as things
arising and passing away
so the relaxed step in the six R's you
start to get more and more feel for how
truly important it is because you start
relaxing when you first start out and
your mind stops moving quite as much and
less and less and then the vibration
becomes less and less that occurs
because you're letting go of the craving
more and more on subtler and subtler
levels so this is the contemplation of
mind this has always been a shock for
people that are practicing straightly
possible when they find out that the
sati Fatimah suta is about the jhana
practice and experiencing the sati
putana the four foundations of
mindfulness while you are in each one of
the dramas you gain insights and they
sometimes they're really well I call
them oh wow the insights because you'll
have an insight and how something is and
you'll see it through the eyes of
dependent origination and you go wow
that's really something
foundations of I'm gonna read these two
things serenity and ensei occur and
everyone yoked evenly together so you
have the serenity practice not
reabsorption practice and insight so you
have Santa and Vipassana yoked together
yeah now if you have a cart that's being
pulled by two oxen and one of the oxen
is lazy what happens is you start going
in big circles
they have to pull evenly together and
that way you get to go in a straight
line okay now we get to the
contemplation of mind objects and the
first part of the contemplation of mine
objects is the hindrances and how does a
monk abide contemplating mind objects as
mind objects in terms of the five
hindrances here there being a sensual
desire in him among understands their
sensual desire in me or there being no
sensual desire and he understands there
no central desire in me and he also
understands how there comes to be the
arising of arisen sensual desire and how
there comes to be the abandoning of
arisen sensual desire and how there
comes to be the future not arising of
abandoned sensual desire understand
well let me see if I can explain it a
little bit how their comes to be the
abandoning of a risen sensual desire how
does that come to be missing the six are
yeah
by recognizing that your mind is
distracted by sensual desire letting
that sensual desire be by itself
relaxing the tightness caused by that
disturbance coming back to your smiling
and coming back to your object of
meditation and staying with your object
of meditation okay how there comes to be
the abandoning of arisen sensual desire
how there comes to be the future not a
rising of abandoned sensual desire
how does there come to be India there
comes to be the abandoning of arisen
sensual desire and how there comes to be
the future non arising of abandoned
sensual desire well so how does there
come to be the future non arising
thinking you stay on your
when your mindfulness is strong when
you're in a jhana your mindfulness is
strong when your mindfulness weakens for
whatever reason or gets distracted all
of a sudden you have a hindrance coming
up yeah now you have to work with that
when you stay with interest on your
object of meditation the hindrances will
not arise now they're being ill will
they're being sloth and torpor they're
being restlessness they're being doubt
he understands that it's there
and he understands when it's not there
he understands how there comes to be the
arising of unreason hindrance how there
comes to be the abandoning of arisen
hindrance and how there comes to be the
future not arising of abandoned
hindrance now you understand easy right
doesn't matter you know one of the one
of the Western diseases is penalizing
and it really doesn't matter what they
whether you recognize this as a
restlessness or doubt whatever it
happens to be it doesn't really matter
what matters is that you see it hmm
you let it be relaxed you smile and come
back to your object of meditation and
stay there has an enormous effect on our
psyche psychology oh yes I mean we
didn't need to do all the funny things
they do to have the psychiatrist giving
all these prescriptions yes yeah I mean
this is the most fantastic for me this
is a wonderment you're saying geez in my
eyes when I realized how simple it is
know not how easy it's not easy but any
simple I got what can be seen
but just looking at it what you got
there yeah it's true you just stay with
it so they don't tell you some little
until now of the customer will say when
they ask you why I'm always angry and I
do have to stop it and so on but you
still notice the anger
notice sustain it stay with your object
yeah and it will dissipate and we're
free of it yeah so it is transference to
that you say no from what you just did
it yeah that's really funny
is and you can go to psychiatrist or
psychologist and they will come up with
brand new words to describe all of these
things like depression and depression
and anger and sadness frustration
well whatever whatever we want to call
them they all work in exactly the same
way exact painful feeling arises there's
tension and tightness that comes in your
mind and body craving I like it I don't
like it mine with painful feeling I
don't like it then there's all of your
thoughts opinions concepts and ideas and
story about why you don't like it
and your habitual tendency comes up
right after that and then you fall into
the habit of trying to think you're
feeling away mm-hmm okay and the more or
less is fine yeah finding causes for it
well my mother bit my toe when I was
three years old that's why I don't like
this how ridiculous is that really but
when you start recognizing the
it doesn't matter whether it's physical
pain or mental pain it arises in the
same way always so the first thing you
do is you let go of your thinking about
it let go of your concepts let go of
your opinions and the story now you
relax now you bring up the wholesome it
smile and come to your object of
meditation now your hindrance is not
going to go away immediately let's face
it it's gonna stick around for a while
depending on how strong your attachment
to it is but every time you let go of
that craving you are purifying your mind
and that pure mind is wisdoms I why is
it wisdoms I because you're beginning to
see this as a process that's part of
dependent origination see how everything
starts to interconnect and it's like
we're leaving a very beautiful cloth and
all of this is interconnected and it all
works in the same way and there's a lot
of resistance with psychologists and
psychiatrists in particular saying no
that doesn't work like that it can't
work in the same way it's got to be more
complicated than that but it's not it's
simple taking care of it is work
there's no getting around them you have
to roll up your sleeves and really do it
every time you let go of a
it's you have immediate relief right
after that one of the Jonah's will
appear and you'll go with that JAMA for
a little while and then your mindfulness
slips and now you've got another
hindrance to work there but you're
starting to understand this as a process
and you're starting to see it more and
more clearly all of the time I gave a
talk in Oregon to at a college and it
was a college dedicated to healing arts
and that sort of thing
and David put it up on the website and
he did a little blurb about ten minutes
or something like that when I was
talking about what depression is and how
to get over it and a little while later
somebody from the psychiatrists saw it
and put it up on his website was shocked
we don't need drugs to take care of
sadness and depression you don't need
drugs for a DD you have to be able to
see what your mind is doing in the
present moment and let go of a feeling
is going to arise that's the truth
feelings will arise pleasant or painful
or neither painful nor pleasant always
after a feeling arises grieving arises
tension and tightness always after that
your concepts opinions stories and
thoughts about your big identification
with ya
this feeling is mine and I
have to control it with my thoughts
habitual tendency then you have the
birth of action and then you have a lot
of sorrow lamentation pain grief and
despair and that's the cause of this
whole mass of suffering so when you let
go of that craving the feeling is gonna
all rise it's unpleasant mental or
physical it doesn't matter it's an
unpleasant feeling if you can see that
feeling or rise and relax right then
none of these other links will arrive
and you bring that pure mind back to
your object of meditation and that's how
you develop having this amazing
contentment even though there's a lot of
pain and anxiety and suffering that
painful feeling can bring or not
depending on your perspective
of this the first link are the first
whether they fold path well the first
wisdom
the first factor I couldn't could you
pull the word up and see it happens to
me too
the first factor in the old tab they
call it right view but I don't like that
translation for one thing right is the
word that lets you think either
everything is right or it's wrong
everything is black and white and it's
not well I used the word harmonious and
that seems to do it and I called it
harmonious perspective harmony with your
perspective harmonious perspective is
always seeing everything as an
impersonal process not taking it
personal when you don't take something
first and it means that there is no
craving at that moment your mind is pure
you're seeing things the way it really
is
this is what I was talking about a few
days ago when I was talking about if you
have buttons to push and you have
attachments you don't have a harmonious
perspective when you have things that oh
they always say this and I always get
mad at them for saying this or doing
this when you have an impersonal
perspective it doesn't matter what they
say it doesn't matter what they do
because you're seeing the true nature of
it it's only this feeling and it isn't
even mine and it's easy to talk about
this stuff and sometimes it's real hard
to act that way but it takes the
conscious decision to let go of the
attachments and habitual tendencies
takes practice to let go of the visual
tendencies what you're doing right now
is starting to develop excuse me some
good habits and good habits are always
seeing things and personally seeing
things the way they really are letting
go of a lot of your conceptual ideas and
opinions and thoughts about the way
things are supposed to be and seeing
just as part of the process yeah
when I say I forgive myself for not
understanding yes is that what you're
talking about
you're starting to let go of that tight
attachment of I am that that's what
forgiveness does it starts changing your
perspective from the personal
perspective to the impersonal
perspective the impersonal perspective
is well there's dislike there that's not
who cares never mind it's very easy to
let that deep but when you get involved
with it that means you're taking it
personal every time you have repeat
thoughts guess whose attack who's
attached who likes or dislikes whatever
it is that arose I who's causing
themself pain by being attached to that
is that other person causing my pain no
nobody can cause you pain it depends on
your perspective and you have this idea
you say well somebody can cause me
physical pain but there can be sensation
without it being painful
here's a story from the Jataka tales to
give you an example the Bodhisattva was
about a year and a half old he was his
father was the king his mother was the
queen and his mother really loved it she
was always playing with him and having
fun with him and bouncing him around and
doing all of those motherly things and
one day the Queen walked into the room
and said something the King walked into
the room while the Queen was playing
with the bodhisattva and he said
something to the Queen and the Queen
wasn't paying attention to him and the
King started to get jealous and he
started thinking you know she loves that
little boy so much that when he gets to
be a little bit older they're going to
try to take this kingdom away from me
and I'm not gonna let that happen so he
called the execution and he perhaps the
the Bodhisattva out of the Queen's hands
hands him to the executioner and he says
I want you to cut his hands off so in
the Bodhisattvas mind he saw that he had
a real opportunity to practice his
equanimity and his loving-kindness so
the executioner cut his hands off the
Bodhisattva didn't even cry
the Bodhisattva was focusing on
loving-kindness now he had four kinds of
individuals he had himself someone he
loved very much
his mother somebody he was neutral to
the executioner an enemy his father he
was sending loving kindness to himself
his mother the executioner and the enemy
his father and so he was focused on
loving kindness rather than on the
sensation of having his hands cut off
the King saw that the Bodhisattva wasn't
crying and it made it mad
so he said okay cut off his feet sorry
to cut off his feet still the
Bodhisattva wasn't crying mother was
crying very profusely little hands they
put him in her lap and the feet they put
him in her lap and she was heartbroken
and the King was really angry no and he
said oh just cut off his head so they
didn't cut off his head he was reborn in
a heavenly realm why because he didn't
entertain even one thought moment of
dissatisfaction of anger of dislike of
the sensations when they arose
what happened after that was his the
Queen died of a broken heart and she was
reborn in a heavenly realm with the
Bodhisattva and the King had a heart
attack - and he was reborn in a hell bro
the executioner because he was neutral
to all of this still went on living
so when you say yeah this other person
can can cause me pain what is pain pain
is a concept just like automobile is a
concept and we go out and look at look
at the nota mobile show me where it is
where is the automobile is it the
headlights is it the wheels
is it the motor is it the steering wheel
where is the automobile the automobile
is made up of a lot of different parts
put together to make this concept pain
is the same thing it's an unpleasant
feeling it's a sensation and it's made
up of a lot of different parts of our
attachments to it now I've been talking
to you about sitting and having a
painful feeling arise and what do you do
with a painful feeling first you let go
of the thoughts about it and relax then
you notice that tight mental fist
wrapped around that sensation and you
let that tight man
fists go you know allow the sensation to
be there even though it can be very
intense the truth is when a painful
sensation arises it is there that's the
truth you can't fight with the truth you
can't control the truth you can't make
the truth be anything other than it is
if you do then you're fighting with the
truth and you're not seeing it as it
actually is you need to allow the space
for that truth to be now I say pain but
it can be hindrance any kind of
distraction this is why you can't use
the loving-kindness as a stick to beat
the sensation away or beat the problem
away loving-kindness is actually loving
acceptance of what arises in the present
moment it's the acceptance yes it's
there allow it to be there relax into it
smile come back to your object of
meditation
when they were drilling on my tooth when
the dentist was drilling on my tooth
without any painkiller there was
sensation and that sensation was very
big and very intense and it was okay for
it to be there
it had to be okay because the truth was
it was really there you see if that
turned into pain that means that my mind
grabbed on to it and said this is mine I
don't like it I wanted to stop I can't
stand this
it turns the sensation into an emergency
now if I would have allowed that there
if I would have allowed my mind to grab
on to the pain and started pulling away
and not liking it I could never have
given me a root canal I'd made him stop
no it hurts too bad can't do it rather
or not have a tooth and do that but when
it turned it into a sensation and
allowed the space for that sensation to
be without resistance without the want
to control it without the want to make
it anything other than it was by
accepting it as it truly is it went from
an emergency to just a sensation and
then sometimes that sensation would be
so strong and it make me drunk and then
all of my muscles would tighten up and
my mind would going whoa that was really
tough I didn't like that one then I
started recognizing and letting go of
that thoughts started relaxing my body
couldn't smile but I was smiling and I
was wishing him well and he liked that
feeling so well that he did it real slow
[Laughter]
I'm sure he spent longer than was
necessary just I'm sure he did a good
job and I appreciate that but it would
have been better if a very good so we
think in concepts as we get to the point
of thinking about and starting to
analyze them this is what the
psychologists do they analyze and
overanalyze and overanalyze forgetting
that there's a process or never
recognizing that there's a real process
that is happening they get into their
overanalyzing taking you further and
further away from the actual experience
of what's happening right now when I'm
depressed or when I'm angry or when I'm
sad when I'm frustrated when I have
anxiety what is all of this stuff the
psychologists don't go deep enough to
see that there is this problem a painful
feeling arising tension and tightness
coming
then all the thoughts and opinions and
concepts and ideas and the strong
identification with them and the
habitual tendency they're trying to
solve a problem without going to the
root of the problem and sometimes they
could it could work remover but to
actually get rid of this kind of
distraction this kind of pain this kind
of depression it only works when you
truly understand how the process works
and the only way you can really do that
you can listen to me say this all day
but until you actually start looking for
yourself how this process works
you're not going to truly understand it
this is the knowledge and vision that
the Buddha was talking about knowing and
see how do I know what I know it's real
because I saw it that way and I didn't
see it just once I saw it a whole bunch
of times is there any doubt that this is
the way it works no not when you see it
that way
okay so now we go through all of those
then we get to the five aggregates I'm
not sure I will tonight a maka bites
contemplating mind objects as mind
objects in terms of the five aggregates
affected by clinging ever gets affected
by theme what does that mean when
aggregates are affected by clinging it
means that are affected by your thoughts
opinions ideas and craving
identification the aggregates can arise
and not be affected by craving and
clinging
this is why I kind of object to some of
the translators when when they save the
clinging aggregates because that is kind
of misleading it's taking you away from
the actual experience of what an
aggregate affected by clinging means and
it's never just affected by clinging
it's affected by craving and clinging
and there are some people that they'll
say well craving and clinging is
grasping and try to make it into one
thought or one idea and there's they're
two separate ones
what is the difference craving is always
the tension and tightness and the I like
it I don't like it mine clinging is all
of your opinions concepts ideas and
strong identification with that now what
an interesting thing is an awful lot of
teachers don't give you very good
definitions of things for example she
asked fairly big monk what's mindfulness
mean and he said it means to be mindful
but you can't so I was driving the car
and I went eat nope Despero give me
another word so what is poignant
most people say well clinging means only
not it means cleaning yes see yourself
as actor acting but it means a stage to
make the whole thing really really and
so if you have a stage behind that is
what I do
yes any concept I give a stage all right
that's the thesaurus instead of a
dictionary the dictionary gives the
meaning but the thesaurus gives you the
other words that are those names their
words so you can find another word this
one has something to do it's the inner
sensitivity you have and how much
integrated is mindfulness or this thing
is in us so that it is also more if
you're born your mate has it I use that
word to prove sense like that helps very
much
oh yeah what I'm trying to do is give
you definitions so that they it's really
clear what we're talking them so could
you repeat these definition upside
that pain that's raid members that
tension from one thing and my attention
this country's really is the attention
they two separate thing it my name's
attention there's one thing one thing
mine can't move right mind just observes
but mines attention will go from this
observation to there okay you're on your
object to meditation and distracted
Minds attention moved to that
distraction our sharpening of
mindfulness gets us to see this as it
starts to happen this is a memory
include a very good conciliation is it
it comes from sake the rightfulness that
means empty - and this one's for in life
we know a lot about full minds it's hard
to find another word I have I have five
two sources and we're
my cabin and I'm continually looking up
one word and going to another and going
from that word to what it says here and
going this and and I spend a lot of time
trying to find the precise worth that
simple to understand
as it can be with the attention everyone
the difficulty with equanimity is that
we try and find some kind of for a way
of defining what that is when it is an
experience that that takes place yeah
and it's and it's not one that's very
common and so you don't have a lot
languaging languaging for that kind of
description but once you become familiar
with what it is you become very it
becomes very pleasant and and you can
relate to it much easier and it's still
hard to describe yeah so we just stay
with the word and I use the word balance
because that's what's really happening
with your mind your mind is is not
wobbling anymore right your mind just
it's imperfect okay getting back to the
five aggregates and how does a monk by
contemplating mind objects as mind
objects in terms of the five aggregates
affected by cleaning affected by craving
and cleaning here a monk understands
such his material form such its origin
such as disappearance what did I say
what did I just tell you I told you the
first three links or the first three
parts of the Four Noble Truths there is
material form such as origin such as
disappearance and I could add in this
and when you practice the six hours
that's the fourth noble truth
that's the way
okay such as feeling such its origin
such as disappearance such as perception
such as origin such as disappearance
such are the formation such their origin
such their disappearance such as
consciousness such its origin such as
disappearance so this is all it says
about the five aggregates it's being
able to recognize when they arise
they don't always arise in same order
they can arise at different times
perception is your memory is stored
but it's also where the start of
concepts are right now I say that
because perception the part of your mind
that has perception is the part of your
mind that names things and that's the
start of concept the part of your mind
that recognizes things is the part that
names it it gives it a name you look at
that you say a pillow you look at that
music and all of those are concepts yeah
this is where the concepts well that's
that's kind of a combination of
aggregate specifications just not just
the perception perception themes
oh this is a bad and that means this and
then oh I remember this is about that
we memories it has memory attached to it
because when you look at that and your
mind says that's a pillow yes why is
that a pillow because it's a little
pillow from your memory we wouldn't say
that the door rats how I get in there or
whatever
we can't function in the Material Plane
without having the concept that's
perception it's the name of the thing we
wouldn't know how to describe it
afterwards if any parameters like
memories to come out so that's the
perception right the memory together yes
haha like you said formation you're not
mental formation so a lot of time I
heard they said mental formation so in
this way you think it's more than mental
the feeling the perception the
formations and the consciousness are all
mental mm-hmm body is visible this is
the mentality and materiality came up
front chambers out the vent as you can
be in mentality you have these
aggregates but the thing is they don't
have to be affected by craving and
cleanliness and that's just the
description of an RFI he has five
aggregates but there is no affected by
craving anything okay now we come to the
six bases again mom's a monk abides
contemplating mind objects as mind
objects in terms of the six internal and
external bases here a monk understands
the eye he understands forms he
understands the fetter that arises
dependent on both what better arises
depended on both
craving actually you can say craving in
and craving and ignorance because it's a
fetter the ignorance is not seeing
things through the eyes of the Four
Noble Truths so it could be crazy and
Ingrid
he also understand how there comes to be
the arising of the arisen fetter how
does that come to be six arms no no
listen listen how there comes to be the
arising of the un-- arisen fetter oh how
does it on excuse me that's how you gain
precious rights it's because of
dependent origination right all of those
links and how there comes to be the
abandoning that's what I was doing it
you're handling of the arisen fitter you
gotta say cars and how there comes to be
the future not arising of the abandoned
fetter not identify he understands the
Erie understand sound he understands the
knows he understands odor he understands
the tongue he understands flavors
he understands the body he understands
tangibles he understands mind he
understands mind objects and he under
understands the fetter that arises
dependent on both okay
he also under it understands uh-huh
how there comes to be the arising of the
inner ISM Federer and how there comes to
be the abandoning of the arisen fetter
and how there comes to be the future non
arising of the abandoned fitter in this
way abides concentrating mind objects as
mind objects internally externally and
both internally and externally and he
abides independent not clinging to
anything in the world that is how a monk
abides contemplating mind objects as
mind objects in terms of the six
internal and external basis now we get
to a good level seven enlightenment
factors and how does a monk abide
concentrating mind objects as mind
objects in terms of the seven
enlightenment factors here there being
the mindfulness enlightenment factor in
him he understands there is the
mindfulness enlightenment factor in me
or there being no mindfulness
enlightenment factor in him he
understands there's no mindfulness
enlightenment factor in me he also
understands how there comes to be the
arising of the arisen mindfulness
enlightenment factor
how does there come to being the arising
of the arisen mindfulness factor
sits down at a river this reinforced
mindfulness in front of them you bring
up your observation power by being
interested in what you're observing to
self-enlightenment I said that's the
acceptation investigation yeah but you
bring it up by being interested yeah
well they're all kind of interconnected
and that's in yeah oh yeah
all of these without interest is very
and that's what I wanted to add some
factors and not not have seven
enlightenment factors because all of the
enlightening factors in order for them
to come and stay there has to be
persistence and curiosity how does it
work yeah so that the curiosity causes
the interest to arise right okay
and how the arisen mindfulness factor
comes to fulfillment by development how
does it come to fulfillment by
development by using it over and over
[Music]
practice yeah
now when we get to the next
enlightenment factor it says the
investigation of States and I rather
prefer the the translation of
investigation of your experience that's
a little change but it's kind of a nice
one that makes it so you're
investigating how your experience arises
what happens first what happens after
that what happens after that is amazing
is it - peaceful oh yes we're getting
that good and it's more practical yeah
so you're continually using the
investigation how did your minds
attention go from your object of
meditation over to this distraction when
you have a hindrance and you let it go
and you relax and smile and come back
and you're with your object meditation
and you get pulled away it again as you
become familiar with the process you
start to look and investigate more
closely as to how you can watch the
arising so you can watch the arising and
then you can eventually let go of that
image completely then you have oh wow
that's how it works you see the
importance of the differences almost
everybody that I've read about the
hindrances they try to tell you to
suppress it to beat it away and your
enemy you got to fight with it and
really that's your teacher that's your
best teacher right can I ask you
question my practice so many times but
that's what I just said stay invisible
or not realising the arising I think I
have often experienced the motion or a
mental motion where the forms itself as
a concept it is before it becomes really
the real concept yeah but it is about
now understand more mental formation
it's forms itself out of whatever
mentality and then I know that desert so
before it arises I know yes therefore
yes and what you're doing as you go
deeper and keep little of the craving is
you're seeing this and finer and finer
and finer ways so you're seeing the
little at first you're saying it this
bait before it comes up and then you're
seeing it this big and then you're
seeing it yeah and it keeps getting
smaller and smaller but because of the
repetition and and your investigation
you start seeing and like looking
through a different lens and the
microscope you're seeing it more and
more plainly more and more clearly and
you're teaching yourself this process
today they say any connection to what
the abhidhamma says I don't moment about
it but I know they say the arising of
the concept of thought has 17 moments I
have some real problems with that yeah I
know I need it but it can't be so but it
is sometimes feeling like it has some
relevancy to that when I feel this kind
of turning turning turning in as a
mental ability motion and then there is
just a concept there it arises out of
mentality not being recognized so it is
under way sometimes
almost physically I mean seven not
sensing but it's it's an it that like
the experience should look at it to look
at it from the angle of abhidhamma at
this point is like going in to look at
all the leaves on the forest floor and
he's trying to just give you the leaves
in your hand that you need it's like an
electronic microscope to do it that way
the 17 parts of you don't ever do
because we're dependent origination
you're able to see this process but you
don't need to divide it up into seven
drawing a moments and these moments and
those well and the seeing of the process
is seeing the dependent origination and
finer and finer detail you know we don't
have to go that deeply to see 17 parts
of one event before it is arising can we
prevent it because a sense it okay
like this kind of curling itself out of
nothing and then I see it's a concept
that is kind of mental
let me try this way hopefully when you
get into the realm of nothingness your
might become so subtle yeah and so
amazingly clear that you start to see
how craving arises and by how the little
light will appear and you're looking for
what happens before that light appears
and when you see that you will see
craving at it's very beginning and when
you're able to relax into that then your
mind is really really still useful and
that's how you get into the the next
realm of the neither perception nor
non-perception but to divide that into
17 different parts you don't you don't
wanna be named on it before it is kind
of Jenny it's and as a sort I see yeah
yeah but it's still it's still the
process of dependent origination that
that actually occurs them yeah and peace
is that crazy yep there's a penance in
creepy gave me rinse them creating
always
[Music]
okay
so the investigation becomes finer and
finer as you go along now when you get
sloth and torpor and you start to
investigate how it arises
I think somebody told me one day they
saw that there was tension and tightness
in that there was this contraction this
pastie kind of feeling that's a great
insight yeah
it's truly wonderful to be able to see
that that closely and when you take the
time to investigate like that it
naturally pulls up your energy and when
you have your energy pulled up guess
what goes away Dorper a lot of people
misunderstand torpor torpor is that
double right it's not the sharp alert
mind it's the dull mind it's like
looking through fog
now would you want to overcome the this
loss of torpor you need to use your
mindfulness we need to use your
investigation and that leads to your
picking up of your energy that's the
first three links of the enlightenment
factors when you have restlessness then
you go to the last three links of the
enlightenment factors and that is
tranquility and collectiveness and
equanimity and the way to attain that is
the balancing factor I have the
Enlightenment factors the balancing
factor is joy
effort is part of energy joy is the mind
that allows you to be alert right and
very very clear the enlightenment factor
of joy is the all-pervading joy it's
different than the other kinds of joy
that I've described before because it
doesn't have that excitement in it it's
like a real strong satisfaction yeah
that's it and your mind is bright and
alert a little bit of gratification in
that yeah so the Enlightenment Factory
mindfulness investigation of experience
energy joy tranquility collectiveness
equanimity when you have those in
balance you will be
easy right piece of cake you have to be
a perfect balance and you get to that
perfect balance by development by using
the factors and knowing what they are
and how to use them I've been telling
people they've been coming for the
interviews and they say if my mind is
really restless I don't feel like
sitting down and going through this the
only way you're overcoming the
restlessness is by not moving a muscle
don't move your body at all and when
you're radiating loving kindness to your
friend the wish you make is may you be
tranquil and calm and feel that feeling
put that feeling in your heart surround
your friend with that feeling and
radiate that feeling to your friend that
will be and that'll stop that scattered
mind that distracted mind and you'll
become very calm and peaceful and that
helps to get rid of that mind that's
always distracted going outside thinking
this thinking that okay
collected yeah collectors mine is a vine
that's very composed a mining that's
still not jumping around anywhere now
they use the word here the in this
translation concentration but I don't
use the word concentration very often
because the word concentration in this
country is misunderstood
it means extreme one pointedness and
that's not it it's a mind that's
composed very still very quiet but still
alert one point in mine is just stuck on
one thing so the concentration isn't
that the composed mind is a kind of
concentrated mind but because of that
word concentration I stay away from you
can't use a word alert dose so kind of
extra well that's very ill dirt and it's
because of all the other factors that
are there too unified yeah but you still
have to give it you you still have to
give it some other definition outside of
that it's not a one word definition but
composed is collected is its yeah it's
kind of more all-encompassing and it
gets closer to the field of it because
your mind is composed your mind is alert
your mind is still
[Laughter]
I'm the only monk I know that has so
many resources and spends time with them
he tries to convince other monks that
their Dhamma bucks and they really
aren't on the books because you can't
work with the Dhamma unless you have the
dictionaries and the stories I hear all
the time because of this kind of thing
what's the value of somebody but that's
a word that was made up by the Buddha
there were honored for absorption and
deep concentration but he chose not to
use those words he made up this word to
describe collect and after he died when
the Brahman started to take on the robes
without knowing what the Buddha's
teachings worth
they started blocking definitions to
match the Hindu way of looking at things
Raman way of looking at things that's
why it's a word yes the origin probably
person is that empty the sambar is
tranquil
d is wisdom there are other translators
that will argue with me up one side and
down the other on that one thing that's
really close to it it's like the word
ducat everybody knows what dukkha is
right do is a negative yes no and cop
comes from the base word copy which is
patience so do cop means no patience and
I've had fights with other translators
about that word but that's how it goes I
mean everybody is trying to do the best
they can
this is the way this is done patience
another speech ok now we go to a very
interesting aspect of the four
foundations of mindfulness and that is
the Four Noble Truths
and how does a monk abide contemplate
contemplating mind-objects is mind
objects in terms of the Four Noble
Truths here a monk understands as it
actually is
this is suffering he understands as it
actually is this is the origin of
suffering each one of the links of
dependent origination has the Four Noble
Truths in it we have let's say death
that's the suffering part you have an
origin of death what's the origin of
death
what's the cessation of death what's the
way to the cessation of death and the
way is the Noble Eightfold Path which is
basically the six artists mindfulness
and perspective okay we're coming to the
conclusion well if anyone should develop
these four foundations of mindfulness in
such a way for seven years one of two
fruits can be expected for him either
final knowledge here in now in other
words he becomes a Nara hot or if there
is a trace of cleaning left non return
should be at the third stage of
enlightenment
that's an odd egami let alone seven
years monk if anyone should develop
these four foundations of mindfulness in
such a way for six five four three two
one year one of two fruits can be
expected for him either final knowledge
here in now or if there's a trace of
clinging left not returning that alone
one year monks if anyone should develop
these four foundations of mindfulness in
such a way for seven months six five
four three two one half a month one of
two fruits can be expected for him
either final knowledge here in now or if
there's a trace of clinging left not
returned let alone half a month if
anyone should develop these four
foundations of mindfulness etc ways for
seven days this is day night date for so
you've got three days
[Laughter]
one of two fruits can be expected
your final knowledge here and now or if
there's a trace of flinging left not a
turn so it was with reference to this
that it was said monks this is a direct
path for the purification of being for
the surmounting of sorrow and
lamentation for the disappearance of
pain and grief for the attainment of the
true way for the realization of Nirvana
namely the four foundations of
mindfulness that is what the Blessed One
said the most were satisfied and
delighted in the Blessed sure Samaritan
see nectar
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
[Laughter]
okay
now we're going to be coming into what
bigger booty calls it the contemplation
of feeling which is observation of
feeling one of the things that so many
people get mixed up with is they hear
feeling as feelings
meaning emotional feelings and this is
not that feeling is pleasant feeling is
unpleasant feeling is neutral and that's
all of these emotion happens with the
painting and great and clean habitual
tendency okay and how monks does a monk
abide contemplating feeling as doing and
here he has feelings as feelings here
when feeling a pleasant feeling a monk
understands I feel a pleasant feeling
when feeling a painful feeling he
understands I feel a painful feeling
when feeling and neither painful an hour
Pleasant feeling he understands I feel
uh neither painful nor cousin feelings
when feeling a pleasantly worldly
feeling he understands I feel a pleasant
worldly feeling what is a pleasant
worldly feeling
[Laughter]
Leslee feeling with one of the sense
doors that one of the centers that's
right when feeling an unworldly pleasant
feeling he understands I feel an
unworldly pleasant feeling what is an
unworldly pleasant feeling it's a
feeling that you have in the journals
the strongest of which is equanimity
that's a strongest feeling that you can
have it's unworldly when feeling a
worldly painful feeling he understands I
feel a worldly painful feeling what is
the worldly painful feeling stubbing
your toe it's an unpleasant feeling at
one of the sense doors
that's a worldly unpleasant feeling he
understands I feel an unworldly painful
feeling what is an unworldly painful
feeling
you know John following us their job one
of the suitors said that grief on the
worldly grief is along these for
deliverance it's meditation pain what's
the difference between a regular pain
and a meditation pain meditation pain
goes away very quickly a real pain stays
with you this God couldn't show you that
when feeling a worldly neither painful
nor pleasant feeling he understands I
feel a worldly neither painful nor
Pleasant feeling what is a worldly
neither painful nor a pleasant feeling
indifference indifference tasteless rats
hmm face-to-face when your now it's
being different
yeah it doesn't mean I don't have
positive or negative Thank You you
always have a negative one is tasteless
I'll give you some tasteless Rights and
you'll see you can't have equanimity at
one of the stores and no its
indifference at the center's it's just
not paying attention when feeling an
unworldly neither painful nor pleasant
feeling he understands I feel an
unworldly neither painful nor pleasant
feeling what is an unworldly neither
painful nor pleasant feeling empty
in this way he abides contemplating
feeling this feeling internally he
abides contemplating feeling is feeling
externally petabytes contemplating
feeling us feeling both internally and
externally
he abides independent not clinging to
anything in the world that is how a monk
abides contemplating feeling is feeling
now we get into an interesting one and
that's the contemplation of mind and how
monks does a monk abide contemplating
mind as mind here a monk understands
mine affected by lust as mine affected
by lust mine unaffected by lust as mine
unaffected by lust he understands mine
affected by hate as mine affected by
hate and mine unaffected by hate as mine
unaffected
he understands mine affected by delusion
as mine affected by delusion and mine
unaffected by delusion as mine
unaffected by delusion he understands
contracted mind as contracted mine what
is a contracted mind okay he understands
a distracted mind as distracted mind
what is a distracted mind restlessness
he understands exalted mind as exalted
mind what is an exalted might mind that
sees the ROO pajamas the four lower jaws
he understands surpassed mind as
surpassed mine and unsurpassed mine as
unsurpassed mind what is a surpassed
the outer Rupa Jones the immaterial
drops okay so an unsurpassed mind is a
mind that experiences the coverage of
Java's new material dramas now when
you're practicing loving-kindness the
loving-kindness will take you to the
fourth drama as soon as you go beyond
that you lose all of the gross feelings
of the body you don't really feel the
body very much unless there's contact
meat and as you go deeper then you will
go into a feeling of expansion all
directions at the same time it's just
expanding out expanding out with without
any limits without any boundaries
calling the last for Janice yes well
these are these are the Aruba dramas
yeah so what happens is the feeling of
loving kindness changes to a feeling of
compassion this is a natural process of
going through the brahma vihara then
you'll go to you'll get to a place
that's even deeper and
tired of compassion changes again to the
feeling of joy in the in the suitors
they call mudita which is the Pali name
for this they call it sympathetic joy
and I've never much liked that I rather
just call it joy as you go deeper you'll
get to a place where or when when that
sympathetic joy arises then you'll start
seeing the individual consciousnesses
arises that's the way to rise and pass
away very quickly and it's like watching
a movie that the film is going too slow
and you're seeing a picture and then it
flashes away a picture and flashes away
a picture it flashes away now this
happens very quickly the reason that
you're able to see the individual
consciousnesses is not that your mind is
speeding up mind goes at the same speed
all the time your awareness becomes
keener and sharper so then you're able
to see these as you go deeper then the
feeling of loving kindness or the
feeling of joy excuse me will again
change to a feeling of strong equanimity
very strong balance of mine and mine is
not looking outside of itself anymore
and this is called the realm of
nothingness because mine is not looking
outside can't see
anything outside just looking at nothing
but there's something in nothing hmm and
you still you still have mental states
that arise in that you still have
balance strong equanimity still have the
Enlightenment factors there's all kinds
of things that you get to see while
you're in this particular state that I'm
not going to go into too much and the
last of the in material realm is called
neither perception nor non-perception
you experience this but because it's so
subtle it's like you didn't know while
you're in it it's like you're not seeing
anything at all but when you come out
and reflect on what you saw while you
were in that state there are still some
things that are rising and passing away
so these are called the surpassed your
surpassing all material things
getting into very very strong mental
awarenesses before I told you when you
first start out your mind flopping
around like this and when you get into
the first jhana then it's not flopping
quite as much in the second jhana it's
less in the third jhana it's less when
you get into the fourth jhana now your
mind's not moving very much at all but
it's vibrating okay and as you go to the
deeper jhanas the vibration becomes
finer and finer and finer until you
can't tell whether mind is
actually there or not that's neither
perception nor non-perception as you
continue on with the six R's and the
relaxing step you'll get to a place
where even that very fine vibration
that's there stops and that's called the
cessation of perception right after that
what you will experience when this is
satyr when the perception and feeling
arise again is you will be able to
experience very clearly the links of
dependent origination and how they arise
and how if one link doesn't arise the
next link will not arise right after
that that is such deep strong knowledge
and vision it's such a profound thing
that your mind slips into an
unconditioned State and this is probably
but this is the only way the abana
occurs through the direct knowledge of
seeing how dependent origination works
and tomorrow you get to hear a lot about
dependent origination okay
he understands the collective mind as a
collective mind and an uncollected mind
as an uncollected mind a mind that's
reflected is very still and your
mindfulness is very very short he
understands liberated mind as liberated
mine and unliberated mind as unliberated
mind what is a liberated mind yes
definitely for your planning but that's
not it's the mind that's free from
creating right now when you have a mind
that's free from crazy this is what the
Buddha called wisdoms I this is a mind
that's clear a mind that's bright online
that's very alert and pure you're seeing
everything as part of an impersonal
process you're just seeing it as things
arising and passing away
so the relaxed step in the six R's you
start to get more and more feel for how
truly important it is because you start
relaxing when you first start out and
your mind stops moving quite as much and
less and less and then the vibration
becomes less and less that occurs
because you're letting go of the craving
more and more on subtler and subtler
levels so this is the contemplation of
mind this has always been a shock for
people that are practicing straightly
possible when they find out that the
sati Fatimah suta is about the jhana
practice and experiencing the sati
putana the four foundations of
mindfulness while you are in each one of
the dramas you gain insights and they
sometimes they're really well I call
them oh wow the insights because you'll
have an insight and how something is and
you'll see it through the eyes of
dependent origination and you go wow
that's really something
foundations of I'm gonna read these two
things serenity and ensei occur and
everyone yoked evenly together so you
have the serenity practice not
reabsorption practice and insight so you
have Santa and Vipassana yoked together
yeah now if you have a cart that's being
pulled by two oxen and one of the oxen
is lazy what happens is you start going
in big circles
they have to pull evenly together and
that way you get to go in a straight
line okay now we get to the
contemplation of mind objects and the
first part of the contemplation of mine
objects is the hindrances and how does a
monk abide contemplating mind objects as
mind objects in terms of the five
hindrances here there being a sensual
desire in him among understands their
sensual desire in me or there being no
sensual desire and he understands there
no central desire in me and he also
understands how there comes to be the
arising of arisen sensual desire and how
there comes to be the abandoning of
arisen sensual desire and how there
comes to be the future not arising of
abandoned sensual desire understand
well let me see if I can explain it a
little bit how their comes to be the
abandoning of a risen sensual desire how
does that come to be missing the six are
yeah
by recognizing that your mind is
distracted by sensual desire letting
that sensual desire be by itself
relaxing the tightness caused by that
disturbance coming back to your smiling
and coming back to your object of
meditation and staying with your object
of meditation okay how there comes to be
the abandoning of arisen sensual desire
how there comes to be the future not a
rising of abandoned sensual desire
how does there come to be India there
comes to be the abandoning of arisen
sensual desire and how there comes to be
the future non arising of abandoned
sensual desire well so how does there
come to be the future non arising
thinking you stay on your
when your mindfulness is strong when
you're in a jhana your mindfulness is
strong when your mindfulness weakens for
whatever reason or gets distracted all
of a sudden you have a hindrance coming
up yeah now you have to work with that
when you stay with interest on your
object of meditation the hindrances will
not arise now they're being ill will
they're being sloth and torpor they're
being restlessness they're being doubt
he understands that it's there
and he understands when it's not there
he understands how there comes to be the
arising of unreason hindrance how there
comes to be the abandoning of arisen
hindrance and how there comes to be the
future not arising of abandoned
hindrance now you understand easy right
doesn't matter you know one of the one
of the Western diseases is penalizing
and it really doesn't matter what they
whether you recognize this as a
restlessness or doubt whatever it
happens to be it doesn't really matter
what matters is that you see it hmm
you let it be relaxed you smile and come
back to your object of meditation and
stay there has an enormous effect on our
psyche psychology oh yes I mean we
didn't need to do all the funny things
they do to have the psychiatrist giving
all these prescriptions yes yeah I mean
this is the most fantastic for me this
is a wonderment you're saying geez in my
eyes when I realized how simple it is
know not how easy it's not easy but any
simple I got what can be seen
but just looking at it what you got
there yeah it's true you just stay with
it so they don't tell you some little
until now of the customer will say when
they ask you why I'm always angry and I
do have to stop it and so on but you
still notice the anger
notice sustain it stay with your object
yeah and it will dissipate and we're
free of it yeah so it is transference to
that you say no from what you just did
it yeah that's really funny
is and you can go to psychiatrist or
psychologist and they will come up with
brand new words to describe all of these
things like depression and depression
and anger and sadness frustration
well whatever whatever we want to call
them they all work in exactly the same
way exact painful feeling arises there's
tension and tightness that comes in your
mind and body craving I like it I don't
like it mine with painful feeling I
don't like it then there's all of your
thoughts opinions concepts and ideas and
story about why you don't like it
and your habitual tendency comes up
right after that and then you fall into
the habit of trying to think you're
feeling away mm-hmm okay and the more or
less is fine yeah finding causes for it
well my mother bit my toe when I was
three years old that's why I don't like
this how ridiculous is that really but
when you start recognizing the
it doesn't matter whether it's physical
pain or mental pain it arises in the
same way always so the first thing you
do is you let go of your thinking about
it let go of your concepts let go of
your opinions and the story now you
relax now you bring up the wholesome it
smile and come to your object of
meditation now your hindrance is not
going to go away immediately let's face
it it's gonna stick around for a while
depending on how strong your attachment
to it is but every time you let go of
that craving you are purifying your mind
and that pure mind is wisdoms I why is
it wisdoms I because you're beginning to
see this as a process that's part of
dependent origination see how everything
starts to interconnect and it's like
we're leaving a very beautiful cloth and
all of this is interconnected and it all
works in the same way and there's a lot
of resistance with psychologists and
psychiatrists in particular saying no
that doesn't work like that it can't
work in the same way it's got to be more
complicated than that but it's not it's
simple taking care of it is work
there's no getting around them you have
to roll up your sleeves and really do it
every time you let go of a
it's you have immediate relief right
after that one of the Jonah's will
appear and you'll go with that JAMA for
a little while and then your mindfulness
slips and now you've got another
hindrance to work there but you're
starting to understand this as a process
and you're starting to see it more and
more clearly all of the time I gave a
talk in Oregon to at a college and it
was a college dedicated to healing arts
and that sort of thing
and David put it up on the website and
he did a little blurb about ten minutes
or something like that when I was
talking about what depression is and how
to get over it and a little while later
somebody from the psychiatrists saw it
and put it up on his website was shocked
we don't need drugs to take care of
sadness and depression you don't need
drugs for a DD you have to be able to
see what your mind is doing in the
present moment and let go of a feeling
is going to arise that's the truth
feelings will arise pleasant or painful
or neither painful nor pleasant always
after a feeling arises grieving arises
tension and tightness always after that
your concepts opinions stories and
thoughts about your big identification
with ya
this feeling is mine and I
have to control it with my thoughts
habitual tendency then you have the
birth of action and then you have a lot
of sorrow lamentation pain grief and
despair and that's the cause of this
whole mass of suffering so when you let
go of that craving the feeling is gonna
all rise it's unpleasant mental or
physical it doesn't matter it's an
unpleasant feeling if you can see that
feeling or rise and relax right then
none of these other links will arrive
and you bring that pure mind back to
your object of meditation and that's how
you develop having this amazing
contentment even though there's a lot of
pain and anxiety and suffering that
painful feeling can bring or not
depending on your perspective
of this the first link are the first
whether they fold path well the first
wisdom
the first factor I couldn't could you
pull the word up and see it happens to
me too
the first factor in the old tab they
call it right view but I don't like that
translation for one thing right is the
word that lets you think either
everything is right or it's wrong
everything is black and white and it's
not well I used the word harmonious and
that seems to do it and I called it
harmonious perspective harmony with your
perspective harmonious perspective is
always seeing everything as an
impersonal process not taking it
personal when you don't take something
first and it means that there is no
craving at that moment your mind is pure
you're seeing things the way it really
is
this is what I was talking about a few
days ago when I was talking about if you
have buttons to push and you have
attachments you don't have a harmonious
perspective when you have things that oh
they always say this and I always get
mad at them for saying this or doing
this when you have an impersonal
perspective it doesn't matter what they
say it doesn't matter what they do
because you're seeing the true nature of
it it's only this feeling and it isn't
even mine and it's easy to talk about
this stuff and sometimes it's real hard
to act that way but it takes the
conscious decision to let go of the
attachments and habitual tendencies
takes practice to let go of the visual
tendencies what you're doing right now
is starting to develop excuse me some
good habits and good habits are always
seeing things and personally seeing
things the way they really are letting
go of a lot of your conceptual ideas and
opinions and thoughts about the way
things are supposed to be and seeing
just as part of the process yeah
when I say I forgive myself for not
understanding yes is that what you're
talking about
you're starting to let go of that tight
attachment of I am that that's what
forgiveness does it starts changing your
perspective from the personal
perspective to the impersonal
perspective the impersonal perspective
is well there's dislike there that's not
who cares never mind it's very easy to
let that deep but when you get involved
with it that means you're taking it
personal every time you have repeat
thoughts guess whose attack who's
attached who likes or dislikes whatever
it is that arose I who's causing
themself pain by being attached to that
is that other person causing my pain no
nobody can cause you pain it depends on
your perspective and you have this idea
you say well somebody can cause me
physical pain but there can be sensation
without it being painful
here's a story from the Jataka tales to
give you an example the Bodhisattva was
about a year and a half old he was his
father was the king his mother was the
queen and his mother really loved it she
was always playing with him and having
fun with him and bouncing him around and
doing all of those motherly things and
one day the Queen walked into the room
and said something the King walked into
the room while the Queen was playing
with the bodhisattva and he said
something to the Queen and the Queen
wasn't paying attention to him and the
King started to get jealous and he
started thinking you know she loves that
little boy so much that when he gets to
be a little bit older they're going to
try to take this kingdom away from me
and I'm not gonna let that happen so he
called the execution and he perhaps the
the Bodhisattva out of the Queen's hands
hands him to the executioner and he says
I want you to cut his hands off so in
the Bodhisattvas mind he saw that he had
a real opportunity to practice his
equanimity and his loving-kindness so
the executioner cut his hands off the
Bodhisattva didn't even cry
the Bodhisattva was focusing on
loving-kindness now he had four kinds of
individuals he had himself someone he
loved very much
his mother somebody he was neutral to
the executioner an enemy his father he
was sending loving kindness to himself
his mother the executioner and the enemy
his father and so he was focused on
loving kindness rather than on the
sensation of having his hands cut off
the King saw that the Bodhisattva wasn't
crying and it made it mad
so he said okay cut off his feet sorry
to cut off his feet still the
Bodhisattva wasn't crying mother was
crying very profusely little hands they
put him in her lap and the feet they put
him in her lap and she was heartbroken
and the King was really angry no and he
said oh just cut off his head so they
didn't cut off his head he was reborn in
a heavenly realm why because he didn't
entertain even one thought moment of
dissatisfaction of anger of dislike of
the sensations when they arose
what happened after that was his the
Queen died of a broken heart and she was
reborn in a heavenly realm with the
Bodhisattva and the King had a heart
attack - and he was reborn in a hell bro
the executioner because he was neutral
to all of this still went on living
so when you say yeah this other person
can can cause me pain what is pain pain
is a concept just like automobile is a
concept and we go out and look at look
at the nota mobile show me where it is
where is the automobile is it the
headlights is it the wheels
is it the motor is it the steering wheel
where is the automobile the automobile
is made up of a lot of different parts
put together to make this concept pain
is the same thing it's an unpleasant
feeling it's a sensation and it's made
up of a lot of different parts of our
attachments to it now I've been talking
to you about sitting and having a
painful feeling arise and what do you do
with a painful feeling first you let go
of the thoughts about it and relax then
you notice that tight mental fist
wrapped around that sensation and you
let that tight man
fists go you know allow the sensation to
be there even though it can be very
intense the truth is when a painful
sensation arises it is there that's the
truth you can't fight with the truth you
can't control the truth you can't make
the truth be anything other than it is
if you do then you're fighting with the
truth and you're not seeing it as it
actually is you need to allow the space
for that truth to be now I say pain but
it can be hindrance any kind of
distraction this is why you can't use
the loving-kindness as a stick to beat
the sensation away or beat the problem
away loving-kindness is actually loving
acceptance of what arises in the present
moment it's the acceptance yes it's
there allow it to be there relax into it
smile come back to your object of
meditation
when they were drilling on my tooth when
the dentist was drilling on my tooth
without any painkiller there was
sensation and that sensation was very
big and very intense and it was okay for
it to be there
it had to be okay because the truth was
it was really there you see if that
turned into pain that means that my mind
grabbed on to it and said this is mine I
don't like it I wanted to stop I can't
stand this
it turns the sensation into an emergency
now if I would have allowed that there
if I would have allowed my mind to grab
on to the pain and started pulling away
and not liking it I could never have
given me a root canal I'd made him stop
no it hurts too bad can't do it rather
or not have a tooth and do that but when
it turned it into a sensation and
allowed the space for that sensation to
be without resistance without the want
to control it without the want to make
it anything other than it was by
accepting it as it truly is it went from
an emergency to just a sensation and
then sometimes that sensation would be
so strong and it make me drunk and then
all of my muscles would tighten up and
my mind would going whoa that was really
tough I didn't like that one then I
started recognizing and letting go of
that thoughts started relaxing my body
couldn't smile but I was smiling and I
was wishing him well and he liked that
feeling so well that he did it real slow
[Laughter]
I'm sure he spent longer than was
necessary just I'm sure he did a good
job and I appreciate that but it would
have been better if a very good so we
think in concepts as we get to the point
of thinking about and starting to
analyze them this is what the
psychologists do they analyze and
overanalyze and overanalyze forgetting
that there's a process or never
recognizing that there's a real process
that is happening they get into their
overanalyzing taking you further and
further away from the actual experience
of what's happening right now when I'm
depressed or when I'm angry or when I'm
sad when I'm frustrated when I have
anxiety what is all of this stuff the
psychologists don't go deep enough to
see that there is this problem a painful
feeling arising tension and tightness
coming
then all the thoughts and opinions and
concepts and ideas and the strong
identification with them and the
habitual tendency they're trying to
solve a problem without going to the
root of the problem and sometimes they
could it could work remover but to
actually get rid of this kind of
distraction this kind of pain this kind
of depression it only works when you
truly understand how the process works
and the only way you can really do that
you can listen to me say this all day
but until you actually start looking for
yourself how this process works
you're not going to truly understand it
this is the knowledge and vision that
the Buddha was talking about knowing and
see how do I know what I know it's real
because I saw it that way and I didn't
see it just once I saw it a whole bunch
of times is there any doubt that this is
the way it works no not when you see it
that way
okay so now we go through all of those
then we get to the five aggregates I'm
not sure I will tonight a maka bites
contemplating mind objects as mind
objects in terms of the five aggregates
affected by clinging ever gets affected
by theme what does that mean when
aggregates are affected by clinging it
means that are affected by your thoughts
opinions ideas and craving
identification the aggregates can arise
and not be affected by craving and
clinging
this is why I kind of object to some of
the translators when when they save the
clinging aggregates because that is kind
of misleading it's taking you away from
the actual experience of what an
aggregate affected by clinging means and
it's never just affected by clinging
it's affected by craving and clinging
and there are some people that they'll
say well craving and clinging is
grasping and try to make it into one
thought or one idea and there's they're
two separate ones
what is the difference craving is always
the tension and tightness and the I like
it I don't like it mine clinging is all
of your opinions concepts ideas and
strong identification with that now what
an interesting thing is an awful lot of
teachers don't give you very good
definitions of things for example she
asked fairly big monk what's mindfulness
mean and he said it means to be mindful
but you can't so I was driving the car
and I went eat nope Despero give me
another word so what is poignant
most people say well clinging means only
not it means cleaning yes see yourself
as actor acting but it means a stage to
make the whole thing really really and
so if you have a stage behind that is
what I do
yes any concept I give a stage all right
that's the thesaurus instead of a
dictionary the dictionary gives the
meaning but the thesaurus gives you the
other words that are those names their
words so you can find another word this
one has something to do it's the inner
sensitivity you have and how much
integrated is mindfulness or this thing
is in us so that it is also more if
you're born your mate has it I use that
word to prove sense like that helps very
much
oh yeah what I'm trying to do is give
you definitions so that they it's really
clear what we're talking them so could
you repeat these definition upside
that pain that's raid members that
tension from one thing and my attention
this country's really is the attention
they two separate thing it my name's
attention there's one thing one thing
mine can't move right mind just observes
but mines attention will go from this
observation to there okay you're on your
object to meditation and distracted
Minds attention moved to that
distraction our sharpening of
mindfulness gets us to see this as it
starts to happen this is a memory
include a very good conciliation is it
it comes from sake the rightfulness that
means empty - and this one's for in life
we know a lot about full minds it's hard
to find another word I have I have five
two sources and we're
my cabin and I'm continually looking up
one word and going to another and going
from that word to what it says here and
going this and and I spend a lot of time
trying to find the precise worth that
simple to understand
as it can be with the attention everyone
the difficulty with equanimity is that
we try and find some kind of for a way
of defining what that is when it is an
experience that that takes place yeah
and it's and it's not one that's very
common and so you don't have a lot
languaging languaging for that kind of
description but once you become familiar
with what it is you become very it
becomes very pleasant and and you can
relate to it much easier and it's still
hard to describe yeah so we just stay
with the word and I use the word balance
because that's what's really happening
with your mind your mind is is not
wobbling anymore right your mind just
it's imperfect okay getting back to the
five aggregates and how does a monk by
contemplating mind objects as mind
objects in terms of the five aggregates
affected by cleaning affected by craving
and cleaning here a monk understands
such his material form such its origin
such as disappearance what did I say
what did I just tell you I told you the
first three links or the first three
parts of the Four Noble Truths there is
material form such as origin such as
disappearance and I could add in this
and when you practice the six hours
that's the fourth noble truth
that's the way
okay such as feeling such its origin
such as disappearance such as perception
such as origin such as disappearance
such are the formation such their origin
such their disappearance such as
consciousness such its origin such as
disappearance so this is all it says
about the five aggregates it's being
able to recognize when they arise
they don't always arise in same order
they can arise at different times
perception is your memory is stored
but it's also where the start of
concepts are right now I say that
because perception the part of your mind
that has perception is the part of your
mind that names things and that's the
start of concept the part of your mind
that recognizes things is the part that
names it it gives it a name you look at
that you say a pillow you look at that
music and all of those are concepts yeah
this is where the concepts well that's
that's kind of a combination of
aggregate specifications just not just
the perception perception themes
oh this is a bad and that means this and
then oh I remember this is about that
we memories it has memory attached to it
because when you look at that and your
mind says that's a pillow yes why is
that a pillow because it's a little
pillow from your memory we wouldn't say
that the door rats how I get in there or
whatever
we can't function in the Material Plane
without having the concept that's
perception it's the name of the thing we
wouldn't know how to describe it
afterwards if any parameters like
memories to come out so that's the
perception right the memory together yes
haha like you said formation you're not
mental formation so a lot of time I
heard they said mental formation so in
this way you think it's more than mental
the feeling the perception the
formations and the consciousness are all
mental mm-hmm body is visible this is
the mentality and materiality came up
front chambers out the vent as you can
be in mentality you have these
aggregates but the thing is they don't
have to be affected by craving and
cleanliness and that's just the
description of an RFI he has five
aggregates but there is no affected by
craving anything okay now we come to the
six bases again mom's a monk abides
contemplating mind objects as mind
objects in terms of the six internal and
external bases here a monk understands
the eye he understands forms he
understands the fetter that arises
dependent on both what better arises
depended on both
craving actually you can say craving in
and craving and ignorance because it's a
fetter the ignorance is not seeing
things through the eyes of the Four
Noble Truths so it could be crazy and
Ingrid
he also understand how there comes to be
the arising of the arisen fetter how
does that come to be six arms no no
listen listen how there comes to be the
arising of the un-- arisen fetter oh how
does it on excuse me that's how you gain
precious rights it's because of
dependent origination right all of those
links and how there comes to be the
abandoning that's what I was doing it
you're handling of the arisen fitter you
gotta say cars and how there comes to be
the future not arising of the abandoned
fetter not identify he understands the
Erie understand sound he understands the
knows he understands odor he understands
the tongue he understands flavors
he understands the body he understands
tangibles he understands mind he
understands mind objects and he under
understands the fetter that arises
dependent on both okay
he also under it understands uh-huh
how there comes to be the arising of the
inner ISM Federer and how there comes to
be the abandoning of the arisen fetter
and how there comes to be the future non
arising of the abandoned fitter in this
way abides concentrating mind objects as
mind objects internally externally and
both internally and externally and he
abides independent not clinging to
anything in the world that is how a monk
abides contemplating mind objects as
mind objects in terms of the six
internal and external basis now we get
to a good level seven enlightenment
factors and how does a monk abide
concentrating mind objects as mind
objects in terms of the seven
enlightenment factors here there being
the mindfulness enlightenment factor in
him he understands there is the
mindfulness enlightenment factor in me
or there being no mindfulness
enlightenment factor in him he
understands there's no mindfulness
enlightenment factor in me he also
understands how there comes to be the
arising of the arisen mindfulness
enlightenment factor
how does there come to being the arising
of the arisen mindfulness factor
sits down at a river this reinforced
mindfulness in front of them you bring
up your observation power by being
interested in what you're observing to
self-enlightenment I said that's the
acceptation investigation yeah but you
bring it up by being interested yeah
well they're all kind of interconnected
and that's in yeah oh yeah
all of these without interest is very
and that's what I wanted to add some
factors and not not have seven
enlightenment factors because all of the
enlightening factors in order for them
to come and stay there has to be
persistence and curiosity how does it
work yeah so that the curiosity causes
the interest to arise right okay
and how the arisen mindfulness factor
comes to fulfillment by development how
does it come to fulfillment by
development by using it over and over
[Music]
practice yeah
now when we get to the next
enlightenment factor it says the
investigation of States and I rather
prefer the the translation of
investigation of your experience that's
a little change but it's kind of a nice
one that makes it so you're
investigating how your experience arises
what happens first what happens after
that what happens after that is amazing
is it - peaceful oh yes we're getting
that good and it's more practical yeah
so you're continually using the
investigation how did your minds
attention go from your object of
meditation over to this distraction when
you have a hindrance and you let it go
and you relax and smile and come back
and you're with your object meditation
and you get pulled away it again as you
become familiar with the process you
start to look and investigate more
closely as to how you can watch the
arising so you can watch the arising and
then you can eventually let go of that
image completely then you have oh wow
that's how it works you see the
importance of the differences almost
everybody that I've read about the
hindrances they try to tell you to
suppress it to beat it away and your
enemy you got to fight with it and
really that's your teacher that's your
best teacher right can I ask you
question my practice so many times but
that's what I just said stay invisible
or not realising the arising I think I
have often experienced the motion or a
mental motion where the forms itself as
a concept it is before it becomes really
the real concept yeah but it is about
now understand more mental formation
it's forms itself out of whatever
mentality and then I know that desert so
before it arises I know yes therefore
yes and what you're doing as you go
deeper and keep little of the craving is
you're seeing this and finer and finer
and finer ways so you're seeing the
little at first you're saying it this
bait before it comes up and then you're
seeing it this big and then you're
seeing it yeah and it keeps getting
smaller and smaller but because of the
repetition and and your investigation
you start seeing and like looking
through a different lens and the
microscope you're seeing it more and
more plainly more and more clearly and
you're teaching yourself this process
today they say any connection to what
the abhidhamma says I don't moment about
it but I know they say the arising of
the concept of thought has 17 moments I
have some real problems with that yeah I
know I need it but it can't be so but it
is sometimes feeling like it has some
relevancy to that when I feel this kind
of turning turning turning in as a
mental ability motion and then there is
just a concept there it arises out of
mentality not being recognized so it is
under way sometimes
almost physically I mean seven not
sensing but it's it's an it that like
the experience should look at it to look
at it from the angle of abhidhamma at
this point is like going in to look at
all the leaves on the forest floor and
he's trying to just give you the leaves
in your hand that you need it's like an
electronic microscope to do it that way
the 17 parts of you don't ever do
because we're dependent origination
you're able to see this process but you
don't need to divide it up into seven
drawing a moments and these moments and
those well and the seeing of the process
is seeing the dependent origination and
finer and finer detail you know we don't
have to go that deeply to see 17 parts
of one event before it is arising can we
prevent it because a sense it okay
like this kind of curling itself out of
nothing and then I see it's a concept
that is kind of mental
let me try this way hopefully when you
get into the realm of nothingness your
might become so subtle yeah and so
amazingly clear that you start to see
how craving arises and by how the little
light will appear and you're looking for
what happens before that light appears
and when you see that you will see
craving at it's very beginning and when
you're able to relax into that then your
mind is really really still useful and
that's how you get into the the next
realm of the neither perception nor
non-perception but to divide that into
17 different parts you don't you don't
wanna be named on it before it is kind
of Jenny it's and as a sort I see yeah
yeah but it's still it's still the
process of dependent origination that
that actually occurs them yeah and peace
is that crazy yep there's a penance in
creepy gave me rinse them creating
always
[Music]
okay
so the investigation becomes finer and
finer as you go along now when you get
sloth and torpor and you start to
investigate how it arises
I think somebody told me one day they
saw that there was tension and tightness
in that there was this contraction this
pastie kind of feeling that's a great
insight yeah
it's truly wonderful to be able to see
that that closely and when you take the
time to investigate like that it
naturally pulls up your energy and when
you have your energy pulled up guess
what goes away Dorper a lot of people
misunderstand torpor torpor is that
double right it's not the sharp alert
mind it's the dull mind it's like
looking through fog
now would you want to overcome the this
loss of torpor you need to use your
mindfulness we need to use your
investigation and that leads to your
picking up of your energy that's the
first three links of the enlightenment
factors when you have restlessness then
you go to the last three links of the
enlightenment factors and that is
tranquility and collectiveness and
equanimity and the way to attain that is
the balancing factor I have the
Enlightenment factors the balancing
factor is joy
effort is part of energy joy is the mind
that allows you to be alert right and
very very clear the enlightenment factor
of joy is the all-pervading joy it's
different than the other kinds of joy
that I've described before because it
doesn't have that excitement in it it's
like a real strong satisfaction yeah
that's it and your mind is bright and
alert a little bit of gratification in
that yeah so the Enlightenment Factory
mindfulness investigation of experience
energy joy tranquility collectiveness
equanimity when you have those in
balance you will be
easy right piece of cake you have to be
a perfect balance and you get to that
perfect balance by development by using
the factors and knowing what they are
and how to use them I've been telling
people they've been coming for the
interviews and they say if my mind is
really restless I don't feel like
sitting down and going through this the
only way you're overcoming the
restlessness is by not moving a muscle
don't move your body at all and when
you're radiating loving kindness to your
friend the wish you make is may you be
tranquil and calm and feel that feeling
put that feeling in your heart surround
your friend with that feeling and
radiate that feeling to your friend that
will be and that'll stop that scattered
mind that distracted mind and you'll
become very calm and peaceful and that
helps to get rid of that mind that's
always distracted going outside thinking
this thinking that okay
collected yeah collectors mine is a vine
that's very composed a mining that's
still not jumping around anywhere now
they use the word here the in this
translation concentration but I don't
use the word concentration very often
because the word concentration in this
country is misunderstood
it means extreme one pointedness and
that's not it it's a mind that's
composed very still very quiet but still
alert one point in mine is just stuck on
one thing so the concentration isn't
that the composed mind is a kind of
concentrated mind but because of that
word concentration I stay away from you
can't use a word alert dose so kind of
extra well that's very ill dirt and it's
because of all the other factors that
are there too unified yeah but you still
have to give it you you still have to
give it some other definition outside of
that it's not a one word definition but
composed is collected is its yeah it's
kind of more all-encompassing and it
gets closer to the field of it because
your mind is composed your mind is alert
your mind is still
[Laughter]
I'm the only monk I know that has so
many resources and spends time with them
he tries to convince other monks that
their Dhamma bucks and they really
aren't on the books because you can't
work with the Dhamma unless you have the
dictionaries and the stories I hear all
the time because of this kind of thing
what's the value of somebody but that's
a word that was made up by the Buddha
there were honored for absorption and
deep concentration but he chose not to
use those words he made up this word to
describe collect and after he died when
the Brahman started to take on the robes
without knowing what the Buddha's
teachings worth
they started blocking definitions to
match the Hindu way of looking at things
Raman way of looking at things that's
why it's a word yes the origin probably
person is that empty the sambar is
tranquil
d is wisdom there are other translators
that will argue with me up one side and
down the other on that one thing that's
really close to it it's like the word
ducat everybody knows what dukkha is
right do is a negative yes no and cop
comes from the base word copy which is
patience so do cop means no patience and
I've had fights with other translators
about that word but that's how it goes I
mean everybody is trying to do the best
they can
this is the way this is done patience
another speech ok now we go to a very
interesting aspect of the four
foundations of mindfulness and that is
the Four Noble Truths
and how does a monk abide contemplate
contemplating mind-objects is mind
objects in terms of the Four Noble
Truths here a monk understands as it
actually is
this is suffering he understands as it
actually is this is the origin of
suffering each one of the links of
dependent origination has the Four Noble
Truths in it we have let's say death
that's the suffering part you have an
origin of death what's the origin of
death
what's the cessation of death what's the
way to the cessation of death and the
way is the Noble Eightfold Path which is
basically the six artists mindfulness
and perspective okay we're coming to the
conclusion well if anyone should develop
these four foundations of mindfulness in
such a way for seven years one of two
fruits can be expected for him either
final knowledge here in now in other
words he becomes a Nara hot or if there
is a trace of cleaning left non return
should be at the third stage of
enlightenment
that's an odd egami let alone seven
years monk if anyone should develop
these four foundations of mindfulness in
such a way for six five four three two
one year one of two fruits can be
expected for him either final knowledge
here in now or if there's a trace of
clinging left not returning that alone
one year monks if anyone should develop
these four foundations of mindfulness in
such a way for seven months six five
four three two one half a month one of
two fruits can be expected for him
either final knowledge here in now or if
there's a trace of clinging left not
returned let alone half a month if
anyone should develop these four
foundations of mindfulness etc ways for
seven days this is day night date for so
you've got three days
[Laughter]
one of two fruits can be expected
your final knowledge here and now or if
there's a trace of flinging left not a
turn so it was with reference to this
that it was said monks this is a direct
path for the purification of being for
the surmounting of sorrow and
lamentation for the disappearance of
pain and grief for the attainment of the
true way for the realization of Nirvana
namely the four foundations of
mindfulness that is what the Blessed One
said the most were satisfied and
delighted in the Blessed sure Samaritan
see nectar
[Laughter]
okay
now we're going to be coming into what
bigger booty calls it the contemplation
of feeling which is observation of
feeling one of the things that so many
people get mixed up with is they hear
feeling as feelings
meaning emotional feelings and this is
not that feeling is pleasant feeling is
unpleasant feeling is neutral and that's
all of these emotion happens with the
painting and great and clean habitual
tendency okay and how monks does a monk
abide contemplating feeling as doing and
here he has feelings as feelings here
when feeling a pleasant feeling a monk
understands I feel a pleasant feeling
when feeling a painful feeling he
understands I feel a painful feeling
when feeling and neither painful an hour
Pleasant feeling he understands I feel
uh neither painful nor cousin feelings
when feeling a pleasantly worldly
feeling he understands I feel a pleasant
worldly feeling what is a pleasant
worldly feeling
[Laughter]
Leslee feeling with one of the sense
doors that one of the centers that's
right when feeling an unworldly pleasant
feeling he understands I feel an
unworldly pleasant feeling what is an
unworldly pleasant feeling it's a
feeling that you have in the journals
the strongest of which is equanimity
that's a strongest feeling that you can
have it's unworldly when feeling a
worldly painful feeling he understands I
feel a worldly painful feeling what is
the worldly painful feeling stubbing
your toe it's an unpleasant feeling at
one of the sense doors
that's a worldly unpleasant feeling he
understands I feel an unworldly painful
feeling what is an unworldly painful
feeling
you know John following us their job one
of the suitors said that grief on the
worldly grief is along these for
deliverance it's meditation pain what's
the difference between a regular pain
and a meditation pain meditation pain
goes away very quickly a real pain stays
with you this God couldn't show you that
when feeling a worldly neither painful
nor pleasant feeling he understands I
feel a worldly neither painful nor
Pleasant feeling what is a worldly
neither painful nor a pleasant feeling
indifference indifference tasteless rats
hmm face-to-face when your now it's
being different
yeah it doesn't mean I don't have
positive or negative Thank You you
always have a negative one is tasteless
I'll give you some tasteless Rights and
you'll see you can't have equanimity at
one of the stores and no its
indifference at the center's it's just
not paying attention when feeling an
unworldly neither painful nor pleasant
feeling he understands I feel an
unworldly neither painful nor pleasant
feeling what is an unworldly neither
painful nor pleasant feeling empty
in this way he abides contemplating
feeling this feeling internally he
abides contemplating feeling is feeling
externally petabytes contemplating
feeling us feeling both internally and
externally
he abides independent not clinging to
anything in the world that is how a monk
abides contemplating feeling is feeling
now we get into an interesting one and
that's the contemplation of mind and how
monks does a monk abide contemplating
mind as mind here a monk understands
mine affected by lust as mine affected
by lust mine unaffected by lust as mine
unaffected by lust he understands mine
affected by hate as mine affected by
hate and mine unaffected by hate as mine
unaffected
he understands mine affected by delusion
as mine affected by delusion and mine
unaffected by delusion as mine
unaffected by delusion he understands
contracted mind as contracted mine what
is a contracted mind okay he understands
a distracted mind as distracted mind
what is a distracted mind restlessness
he understands exalted mind as exalted
mind what is an exalted might mind that
sees the ROO pajamas the four lower jaws
he understands surpassed mind as
surpassed mine and unsurpassed mine as
unsurpassed mind what is a surpassed
the outer Rupa Jones the immaterial
drops okay so an unsurpassed mind is a
mind that experiences the coverage of
Java's new material dramas now when
you're practicing loving-kindness the
loving-kindness will take you to the
fourth drama as soon as you go beyond
that you lose all of the gross feelings
of the body you don't really feel the
body very much unless there's contact
meat and as you go deeper then you will
go into a feeling of expansion all
directions at the same time it's just
expanding out expanding out with without
any limits without any boundaries
calling the last for Janice yes well
these are these are the Aruba dramas
yeah so what happens is the feeling of
loving kindness changes to a feeling of
compassion this is a natural process of
going through the brahma vihara then
you'll go to you'll get to a place
that's even deeper and
tired of compassion changes again to the
feeling of joy in the in the suitors
they call mudita which is the Pali name
for this they call it sympathetic joy
and I've never much liked that I rather
just call it joy as you go deeper you'll
get to a place where or when when that
sympathetic joy arises then you'll start
seeing the individual consciousnesses
arises that's the way to rise and pass
away very quickly and it's like watching
a movie that the film is going too slow
and you're seeing a picture and then it
flashes away a picture and flashes away
a picture it flashes away now this
happens very quickly the reason that
you're able to see the individual
consciousnesses is not that your mind is
speeding up mind goes at the same speed
all the time your awareness becomes
keener and sharper so then you're able
to see these as you go deeper then the
feeling of loving kindness or the
feeling of joy excuse me will again
change to a feeling of strong equanimity
very strong balance of mine and mine is
not looking outside of itself anymore
and this is called the realm of
nothingness because mine is not looking
outside can't see
anything outside just looking at nothing
but there's something in nothing hmm and
you still you still have mental states
that arise in that you still have
balance strong equanimity still have the
Enlightenment factors there's all kinds
of things that you get to see while
you're in this particular state that I'm
not going to go into too much and the
last of the in material realm is called
neither perception nor non-perception
you experience this but because it's so
subtle it's like you didn't know while
you're in it it's like you're not seeing
anything at all but when you come out
and reflect on what you saw while you
were in that state there are still some
things that are rising and passing away
so these are called the surpassed your
surpassing all material things
getting into very very strong mental
awarenesses before I told you when you
first start out your mind flopping
around like this and when you get into
the first jhana then it's not flopping
quite as much in the second jhana it's
less in the third jhana it's less when
you get into the fourth jhana now your
mind's not moving very much at all but
it's vibrating okay and as you go to the
deeper jhanas the vibration becomes
finer and finer and finer until you
can't tell whether mind is
actually there or not that's neither
perception nor non-perception as you
continue on with the six R's and the
relaxing step you'll get to a place
where even that very fine vibration
that's there stops and that's called the
cessation of perception right after that
what you will experience when this is
satyr when the perception and feeling
arise again is you will be able to
experience very clearly the links of
dependent origination and how they arise
and how if one link doesn't arise the
next link will not arise right after
that that is such deep strong knowledge
and vision it's such a profound thing
that your mind slips into an
unconditioned State and this is probably
but this is the only way the abana
occurs through the direct knowledge of
seeing how dependent origination works
and tomorrow you get to hear a lot about
dependent origination okay
he understands the collective mind as a
collective mind and an uncollected mind
as an uncollected mind a mind that's
reflected is very still and your
mindfulness is very very short he
understands liberated mind as liberated
mine and unliberated mind as unliberated
mind what is a liberated mind yes
definitely for your planning but that's
not it's the mind that's free from
creating right now when you have a mind
that's free from crazy this is what the
Buddha called wisdoms I this is a mind
that's clear a mind that's bright online
that's very alert and pure you're seeing
everything as part of an impersonal
process you're just seeing it as things
arising and passing away
so the relaxed step in the six R's you
start to get more and more feel for how
truly important it is because you start
relaxing when you first start out and
your mind stops moving quite as much and
less and less and then the vibration
becomes less and less that occurs
because you're letting go of the craving
more and more on subtler and subtler
levels so this is the contemplation of
mind this has always been a shock for
people that are practicing straightly
possible when they find out that the
sati Fatimah suta is about the jhana
practice and experiencing the sati
putana the four foundations of
mindfulness while you are in each one of
the dramas you gain insights and they
sometimes they're really well I call
them oh wow the insights because you'll
have an insight and how something is and
you'll see it through the eyes of
dependent origination and you go wow
that's really something
foundations of I'm gonna read these two
things serenity and ensei occur and
everyone yoked evenly together so you
have the serenity practice not
reabsorption practice and insight so you
have Santa and Vipassana yoked together
yeah now if you have a cart that's being
pulled by two oxen and one of the oxen
is lazy what happens is you start going
in big circles
they have to pull evenly together and
that way you get to go in a straight
line okay now we get to the
contemplation of mind objects and the
first part of the contemplation of mine
objects is the hindrances and how does a
monk abide contemplating mind objects as
mind objects in terms of the five
hindrances here there being a sensual
desire in him among understands their
sensual desire in me or there being no
sensual desire and he understands there
no central desire in me and he also
understands how there comes to be the
arising of arisen sensual desire and how
there comes to be the abandoning of
arisen sensual desire and how there
comes to be the future not arising of
abandoned sensual desire understand
well let me see if I can explain it a
little bit how their comes to be the
abandoning of a risen sensual desire how
does that come to be missing the six are
yeah
by recognizing that your mind is
distracted by sensual desire letting
that sensual desire be by itself
relaxing the tightness caused by that
disturbance coming back to your smiling
and coming back to your object of
meditation and staying with your object
of meditation okay how there comes to be
the abandoning of arisen sensual desire
how there comes to be the future not a
rising of abandoned sensual desire
how does there come to be India there
comes to be the abandoning of arisen
sensual desire and how there comes to be
the future non arising of abandoned
sensual desire well so how does there
come to be the future non arising
thinking you stay on your
when your mindfulness is strong when
you're in a jhana your mindfulness is
strong when your mindfulness weakens for
whatever reason or gets distracted all
of a sudden you have a hindrance coming
up yeah now you have to work with that
when you stay with interest on your
object of meditation the hindrances will
not arise now they're being ill will
they're being sloth and torpor they're
being restlessness they're being doubt
he understands that it's there
and he understands when it's not there
he understands how there comes to be the
arising of unreason hindrance how there
comes to be the abandoning of arisen
hindrance and how there comes to be the
future not arising of abandoned
hindrance now you understand easy right
doesn't matter you know one of the one
of the Western diseases is penalizing
and it really doesn't matter what they
whether you recognize this as a
restlessness or doubt whatever it
happens to be it doesn't really matter
what matters is that you see it hmm
you let it be relaxed you smile and come
back to your object of meditation and
stay there has an enormous effect on our
psyche psychology oh yes I mean we
didn't need to do all the funny things
they do to have the psychiatrist giving
all these prescriptions yes yeah I mean
this is the most fantastic for me this
is a wonderment you're saying geez in my
eyes when I realized how simple it is
know not how easy it's not easy but any
simple I got what can be seen
but just looking at it what you got
there yeah it's true you just stay with
it so they don't tell you some little
until now of the customer will say when
they ask you why I'm always angry and I
do have to stop it and so on but you
still notice the anger
notice sustain it stay with your object
yeah and it will dissipate and we're
free of it yeah so it is transference to
that you say no from what you just did
it yeah that's really funny
is and you can go to psychiatrist or
psychologist and they will come up with
brand new words to describe all of these
things like depression and depression
and anger and sadness frustration
well whatever whatever we want to call
them they all work in exactly the same
way exact painful feeling arises there's
tension and tightness that comes in your
mind and body craving I like it I don't
like it mine with painful feeling I
don't like it then there's all of your
thoughts opinions concepts and ideas and
story about why you don't like it
and your habitual tendency comes up
right after that and then you fall into
the habit of trying to think you're
feeling away mm-hmm okay and the more or
less is fine yeah finding causes for it
well my mother bit my toe when I was
three years old that's why I don't like
this how ridiculous is that really but
when you start recognizing the
it doesn't matter whether it's physical
pain or mental pain it arises in the
same way always so the first thing you
do is you let go of your thinking about
it let go of your concepts let go of
your opinions and the story now you
relax now you bring up the wholesome it
smile and come to your object of
meditation now your hindrance is not
going to go away immediately let's face
it it's gonna stick around for a while
depending on how strong your attachment
to it is but every time you let go of
that craving you are purifying your mind
and that pure mind is wisdoms I why is
it wisdoms I because you're beginning to
see this as a process that's part of
dependent origination see how everything
starts to interconnect and it's like
we're leaving a very beautiful cloth and
all of this is interconnected and it all
works in the same way and there's a lot
of resistance with psychologists and
psychiatrists in particular saying no
that doesn't work like that it can't
work in the same way it's got to be more
complicated than that but it's not it's
simple taking care of it is work
there's no getting around them you have
to roll up your sleeves and really do it
every time you let go of a
it's you have immediate relief right
after that one of the Jonah's will
appear and you'll go with that JAMA for
a little while and then your mindfulness
slips and now you've got another
hindrance to work there but you're
starting to understand this as a process
and you're starting to see it more and
more clearly all of the time I gave a
talk in Oregon to at a college and it
was a college dedicated to healing arts
and that sort of thing
and David put it up on the website and
he did a little blurb about ten minutes
or something like that when I was
talking about what depression is and how
to get over it and a little while later
somebody from the psychiatrists saw it
and put it up on his website was shocked
we don't need drugs to take care of
sadness and depression you don't need
drugs for a DD you have to be able to
see what your mind is doing in the
present moment and let go of a feeling
is going to arise that's the truth
feelings will arise pleasant or painful
or neither painful nor pleasant always
after a feeling arises grieving arises
tension and tightness always after that
your concepts opinions stories and
thoughts about your big identification
with ya
this feeling is mine and I
have to control it with my thoughts
habitual tendency then you have the
birth of action and then you have a lot
of sorrow lamentation pain grief and
despair and that's the cause of this
whole mass of suffering so when you let
go of that craving the feeling is gonna
all rise it's unpleasant mental or
physical it doesn't matter it's an
unpleasant feeling if you can see that
feeling or rise and relax right then
none of these other links will arrive
and you bring that pure mind back to
your object of meditation and that's how
you develop having this amazing
contentment even though there's a lot of
pain and anxiety and suffering that
painful feeling can bring or not
depending on your perspective
of this the first link are the first
whether they fold path well the first
wisdom
the first factor I couldn't could you
pull the word up and see it happens to
me too
the first factor in the old tab they
call it right view but I don't like that
translation for one thing right is the
word that lets you think either
everything is right or it's wrong
everything is black and white and it's
not well I used the word harmonious and
that seems to do it and I called it
harmonious perspective harmony with your
perspective harmonious perspective is
always seeing everything as an
impersonal process not taking it
personal when you don't take something
first and it means that there is no
craving at that moment your mind is pure
you're seeing things the way it really
is
this is what I was talking about a few
days ago when I was talking about if you
have buttons to push and you have
attachments you don't have a harmonious
perspective when you have things that oh
they always say this and I always get
mad at them for saying this or doing
this when you have an impersonal
perspective it doesn't matter what they
say it doesn't matter what they do
because you're seeing the true nature of
it it's only this feeling and it isn't
even mine and it's easy to talk about
this stuff and sometimes it's real hard
to act that way but it takes the
conscious decision to let go of the
attachments and habitual tendencies
takes practice to let go of the visual
tendencies what you're doing right now
is starting to develop excuse me some
good habits and good habits are always
seeing things and personally seeing
things the way they really are letting
go of a lot of your conceptual ideas and
opinions and thoughts about the way
things are supposed to be and seeing
just as part of the process yeah
when I say I forgive myself for not
understanding yes is that what you're
talking about
you're starting to let go of that tight
attachment of I am that that's what
forgiveness does it starts changing your
perspective from the personal
perspective to the impersonal
perspective the impersonal perspective
is well there's dislike there that's not
who cares never mind it's very easy to
let that deep but when you get involved
with it that means you're taking it
personal every time you have repeat
thoughts guess whose attack who's
attached who likes or dislikes whatever
it is that arose I who's causing
themself pain by being attached to that
is that other person causing my pain no
nobody can cause you pain it depends on
your perspective and you have this idea
you say well somebody can cause me
physical pain but there can be sensation
without it being painful
here's a story from the Jataka tales to
give you an example the Bodhisattva was
about a year and a half old he was his
father was the king his mother was the
queen and his mother really loved it she
was always playing with him and having
fun with him and bouncing him around and
doing all of those motherly things and
one day the Queen walked into the room
and said something the King walked into
the room while the Queen was playing
with the bodhisattva and he said
something to the Queen and the Queen
wasn't paying attention to him and the
King started to get jealous and he
started thinking you know she loves that
little boy so much that when he gets to
be a little bit older they're going to
try to take this kingdom away from me
and I'm not gonna let that happen so he
called the execution and he perhaps the
the Bodhisattva out of the Queen's hands
hands him to the executioner and he says
I want you to cut his hands off so in
the Bodhisattvas mind he saw that he had
a real opportunity to practice his
equanimity and his loving-kindness so
the executioner cut his hands off the
Bodhisattva didn't even cry
the Bodhisattva was focusing on
loving-kindness now he had four kinds of
individuals he had himself someone he
loved very much
his mother somebody he was neutral to
the executioner an enemy his father he
was sending loving kindness to himself
his mother the executioner and the enemy
his father and so he was focused on
loving kindness rather than on the
sensation of having his hands cut off
the King saw that the Bodhisattva wasn't
crying and it made it mad
so he said okay cut off his feet sorry
to cut off his feet still the
Bodhisattva wasn't crying mother was
crying very profusely little hands they
put him in her lap and the feet they put
him in her lap and she was heartbroken
and the King was really angry no and he
said oh just cut off his head so they
didn't cut off his head he was reborn in
a heavenly realm why because he didn't
entertain even one thought moment of
dissatisfaction of anger of dislike of
the sensations when they arose
what happened after that was his the
Queen died of a broken heart and she was
reborn in a heavenly realm with the
Bodhisattva and the King had a heart
attack - and he was reborn in a hell bro
the executioner because he was neutral
to all of this still went on living
so when you say yeah this other person
can can cause me pain what is pain pain
is a concept just like automobile is a
concept and we go out and look at look
at the nota mobile show me where it is
where is the automobile is it the
headlights is it the wheels
is it the motor is it the steering wheel
where is the automobile the automobile
is made up of a lot of different parts
put together to make this concept pain
is the same thing it's an unpleasant
feeling it's a sensation and it's made
up of a lot of different parts of our
attachments to it now I've been talking
to you about sitting and having a
painful feeling arise and what do you do
with a painful feeling first you let go
of the thoughts about it and relax then
you notice that tight mental fist
wrapped around that sensation and you
let that tight man
fists go you know allow the sensation to
be there even though it can be very
intense the truth is when a painful
sensation arises it is there that's the
truth you can't fight with the truth you
can't control the truth you can't make
the truth be anything other than it is
if you do then you're fighting with the
truth and you're not seeing it as it
actually is you need to allow the space
for that truth to be now I say pain but
it can be hindrance any kind of
distraction this is why you can't use
the loving-kindness as a stick to beat
the sensation away or beat the problem
away loving-kindness is actually loving
acceptance of what arises in the present
moment it's the acceptance yes it's
there allow it to be there relax into it
smile come back to your object of
meditation
when they were drilling on my tooth when
the dentist was drilling on my tooth
without any painkiller there was
sensation and that sensation was very
big and very intense and it was okay for
it to be there
it had to be okay because the truth was
it was really there you see if that
turned into pain that means that my mind
grabbed on to it and said this is mine I
don't like it I wanted to stop I can't
stand this
it turns the sensation into an emergency
now if I would have allowed that there
if I would have allowed my mind to grab
on to the pain and started pulling away
and not liking it I could never have
given me a root canal I'd made him stop
no it hurts too bad can't do it rather
or not have a tooth and do that but when
it turned it into a sensation and
allowed the space for that sensation to
be without resistance without the want
to control it without the want to make
it anything other than it was by
accepting it as it truly is it went from
an emergency to just a sensation and
then sometimes that sensation would be
so strong and it make me drunk and then
all of my muscles would tighten up and
my mind would going whoa that was really
tough I didn't like that one then I
started recognizing and letting go of
that thoughts started relaxing my body
couldn't smile but I was smiling and I
was wishing him well and he liked that
feeling so well that he did it real slow
[Laughter]
I'm sure he spent longer than was
necessary just I'm sure he did a good
job and I appreciate that but it would
have been better if a very good so we
think in concepts as we get to the point
of thinking about and starting to
analyze them this is what the
psychologists do they analyze and
overanalyze and overanalyze forgetting
that there's a process or never
recognizing that there's a real process
that is happening they get into their
overanalyzing taking you further and
further away from the actual experience
of what's happening right now when I'm
depressed or when I'm angry or when I'm
sad when I'm frustrated when I have
anxiety what is all of this stuff the
psychologists don't go deep enough to
see that there is this problem a painful
feeling arising tension and tightness
coming
then all the thoughts and opinions and
concepts and ideas and the strong
identification with them and the
habitual tendency they're trying to
solve a problem without going to the
root of the problem and sometimes they
could it could work remover but to
actually get rid of this kind of
distraction this kind of pain this kind
of depression it only works when you
truly understand how the process works
and the only way you can really do that
you can listen to me say this all day
but until you actually start looking for
yourself how this process works
you're not going to truly understand it
this is the knowledge and vision that
the Buddha was talking about knowing and
see how do I know what I know it's real
because I saw it that way and I didn't
see it just once I saw it a whole bunch
of times is there any doubt that this is
the way it works no not when you see it
that way
okay so now we go through all of those
then we get to the five aggregates I'm
not sure I will tonight a maka bites
contemplating mind objects as mind
objects in terms of the five aggregates
affected by clinging ever gets affected
by theme what does that mean when
aggregates are affected by clinging it
means that are affected by your thoughts
opinions ideas and craving
identification the aggregates can arise
and not be affected by craving and
clinging
this is why I kind of object to some of
the translators when when they save the
clinging aggregates because that is kind
of misleading it's taking you away from
the actual experience of what an
aggregate affected by clinging means and
it's never just affected by clinging
it's affected by craving and clinging
and there are some people that they'll
say well craving and clinging is
grasping and try to make it into one
thought or one idea and there's they're
two separate ones
what is the difference craving is always
the tension and tightness and the I like
it I don't like it mine clinging is all
of your opinions concepts ideas and
strong identification with that now what
an interesting thing is an awful lot of
teachers don't give you very good
definitions of things for example she
asked fairly big monk what's mindfulness
mean and he said it means to be mindful
but you can't so I was driving the car
and I went eat nope Despero give me
another word so what is poignant
most people say well clinging means only
not it means cleaning yes see yourself
as actor acting but it means a stage to
make the whole thing really really and
so if you have a stage behind that is
what I do
yes any concept I give a stage all right
that's the thesaurus instead of a
dictionary the dictionary gives the
meaning but the thesaurus gives you the
other words that are those names their
words so you can find another word this
one has something to do it's the inner
sensitivity you have and how much
integrated is mindfulness or this thing
is in us so that it is also more if
you're born your mate has it I use that
word to prove sense like that helps very
much
oh yeah what I'm trying to do is give
you definitions so that they it's really
clear what we're talking them so could
you repeat these definition upside
that pain that's raid members that
tension from one thing and my attention
this country's really is the attention
they two separate thing it my name's
attention there's one thing one thing
mine can't move right mind just observes
but mines attention will go from this
observation to there okay you're on your
object to meditation and distracted
Minds attention moved to that
distraction our sharpening of
mindfulness gets us to see this as it
starts to happen this is a memory
include a very good conciliation is it
it comes from sake the rightfulness that
means empty - and this one's for in life
we know a lot about full minds it's hard
to find another word I have I have five
two sources and we're
my cabin and I'm continually looking up
one word and going to another and going
from that word to what it says here and
going this and and I spend a lot of time
trying to find the precise worth that
simple to understand
as it can be with the attention everyone
the difficulty with equanimity is that
we try and find some kind of for a way
of defining what that is when it is an
experience that that takes place yeah
and it's and it's not one that's very
common and so you don't have a lot
languaging languaging for that kind of
description but once you become familiar
with what it is you become very it
becomes very pleasant and and you can
relate to it much easier and it's still
hard to describe yeah so we just stay
with the word and I use the word balance
because that's what's really happening
with your mind your mind is is not
wobbling anymore right your mind just
it's imperfect okay getting back to the
five aggregates and how does a monk by
contemplating mind objects as mind
objects in terms of the five aggregates
affected by cleaning affected by craving
and cleaning here a monk understands
such his material form such its origin
such as disappearance what did I say
what did I just tell you I told you the
first three links or the first three
parts of the Four Noble Truths there is
material form such as origin such as
disappearance and I could add in this
and when you practice the six hours
that's the fourth noble truth
that's the way
okay such as feeling such its origin
such as disappearance such as perception
such as origin such as disappearance
such are the formation such their origin
such their disappearance such as
consciousness such its origin such as
disappearance so this is all it says
about the five aggregates it's being
able to recognize when they arise
they don't always arise in same order
they can arise at different times
perception is your memory is stored
but it's also where the start of
concepts are right now I say that
because perception the part of your mind
that has perception is the part of your
mind that names things and that's the
start of concept the part of your mind
that recognizes things is the part that
names it it gives it a name you look at
that you say a pillow you look at that
music and all of those are concepts yeah
this is where the concepts well that's
that's kind of a combination of
aggregate specifications just not just
the perception perception themes
oh this is a bad and that means this and
then oh I remember this is about that
we memories it has memory attached to it
because when you look at that and your
mind says that's a pillow yes why is
that a pillow because it's a little
pillow from your memory we wouldn't say
that the door rats how I get in there or
whatever
we can't function in the Material Plane
without having the concept that's
perception it's the name of the thing we
wouldn't know how to describe it
afterwards if any parameters like
memories to come out so that's the
perception right the memory together yes
haha like you said formation you're not
mental formation so a lot of time I
heard they said mental formation so in
this way you think it's more than mental
the feeling the perception the
formations and the consciousness are all
mental mm-hmm body is visible this is
the mentality and materiality came up
front chambers out the vent as you can
be in mentality you have these
aggregates but the thing is they don't
have to be affected by craving and
cleanliness and that's just the
description of an RFI he has five
aggregates but there is no affected by
craving anything okay now we come to the
six bases again mom's a monk abides
contemplating mind objects as mind
objects in terms of the six internal and
external bases here a monk understands
the eye he understands forms he
understands the fetter that arises
dependent on both what better arises
depended on both
craving actually you can say craving in
and craving and ignorance because it's a
fetter the ignorance is not seeing
things through the eyes of the Four
Noble Truths so it could be crazy and
Ingrid
he also understand how there comes to be
the arising of the arisen fetter how
does that come to be six arms no no
listen listen how there comes to be the
arising of the un-- arisen fetter oh how
does it on excuse me that's how you gain
precious rights it's because of
dependent origination right all of those
links and how there comes to be the
abandoning that's what I was doing it
you're handling of the arisen fitter you
gotta say cars and how there comes to be
the future not arising of the abandoned
fetter not identify he understands the
Erie understand sound he understands the
knows he understands odor he understands
the tongue he understands flavors
he understands the body he understands
tangibles he understands mind he
understands mind objects and he under
understands the fetter that arises
dependent on both okay
he also under it understands uh-huh
how there comes to be the arising of the
inner ISM Federer and how there comes to
be the abandoning of the arisen fetter
and how there comes to be the future non
arising of the abandoned fitter in this
way abides concentrating mind objects as
mind objects internally externally and
both internally and externally and he
abides independent not clinging to
anything in the world that is how a monk
abides contemplating mind objects as
mind objects in terms of the six
internal and external basis now we get
to a good level seven enlightenment
factors and how does a monk abide
concentrating mind objects as mind
objects in terms of the seven
enlightenment factors here there being
the mindfulness enlightenment factor in
him he understands there is the
mindfulness enlightenment factor in me
or there being no mindfulness
enlightenment factor in him he
understands there's no mindfulness
enlightenment factor in me he also
understands how there comes to be the
arising of the arisen mindfulness
enlightenment factor
how does there come to being the arising
of the arisen mindfulness factor
sits down at a river this reinforced
mindfulness in front of them you bring
up your observation power by being
interested in what you're observing to
self-enlightenment I said that's the
acceptation investigation yeah but you
bring it up by being interested yeah
well they're all kind of interconnected
and that's in yeah oh yeah
all of these without interest is very
and that's what I wanted to add some
factors and not not have seven
enlightenment factors because all of the
enlightening factors in order for them
to come and stay there has to be
persistence and curiosity how does it
work yeah so that the curiosity causes
the interest to arise right okay
and how the arisen mindfulness factor
comes to fulfillment by development how
does it come to fulfillment by
development by using it over and over
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practice yeah
now when we get to the next
enlightenment factor it says the
investigation of States and I rather
prefer the the translation of
investigation of your experience that's
a little change but it's kind of a nice
one that makes it so you're
investigating how your experience arises
what happens first what happens after
that what happens after that is amazing
is it - peaceful oh yes we're getting
that good and it's more practical yeah
so you're continually using the
investigation how did your minds
attention go from your object of
meditation over to this distraction when
you have a hindrance and you let it go
and you relax and smile and come back
and you're with your object meditation
and you get pulled away it again as you
become familiar with the process you
start to look and investigate more
closely as to how you can watch the
arising so you can watch the arising and
then you can eventually let go of that
image completely then you have oh wow
that's how it works you see the
importance of the differences almost
everybody that I've read about the
hindrances they try to tell you to
suppress it to beat it away and your
enemy you got to fight with it and
really that's your teacher that's your
best teacher right can I ask you
question my practice so many times but
that's what I just said stay invisible
or not realising the arising I think I
have often experienced the motion or a
mental motion where the forms itself as
a concept it is before it becomes really
the real concept yeah but it is about
now understand more mental formation
it's forms itself out of whatever
mentality and then I know that desert so
before it arises I know yes therefore
yes and what you're doing as you go
deeper and keep little of the craving is
you're seeing this and finer and finer
and finer ways so you're seeing the
little at first you're saying it this
bait before it comes up and then you're
seeing it this big and then you're
seeing it yeah and it keeps getting
smaller and smaller but because of the
repetition and and your investigation
you start seeing and like looking
through a different lens and the
microscope you're seeing it more and
more plainly more and more clearly and
you're teaching yourself this process
today they say any connection to what
the abhidhamma says I don't moment about
it but I know they say the arising of
the concept of thought has 17 moments I
have some real problems with that yeah I
know I need it but it can't be so but it
is sometimes feeling like it has some
relevancy to that when I feel this kind
of turning turning turning in as a
mental ability motion and then there is
just a concept there it arises out of
mentality not being recognized so it is
under way sometimes
almost physically I mean seven not
sensing but it's it's an it that like
the experience should look at it to look
at it from the angle of abhidhamma at
this point is like going in to look at
all the leaves on the forest floor and
he's trying to just give you the leaves
in your hand that you need it's like an
electronic microscope to do it that way
the 17 parts of you don't ever do
because we're dependent origination
you're able to see this process but you
don't need to divide it up into seven
drawing a moments and these moments and
those well and the seeing of the process
is seeing the dependent origination and
finer and finer detail you know we don't
have to go that deeply to see 17 parts
of one event before it is arising can we
prevent it because a sense it okay
like this kind of curling itself out of
nothing and then I see it's a concept
that is kind of mental
let me try this way hopefully when you
get into the realm of nothingness your
might become so subtle yeah and so
amazingly clear that you start to see
how craving arises and by how the little
light will appear and you're looking for
what happens before that light appears
and when you see that you will see
craving at it's very beginning and when
you're able to relax into that then your
mind is really really still useful and
that's how you get into the the next
realm of the neither perception nor
non-perception but to divide that into
17 different parts you don't you don't
wanna be named on it before it is kind
of Jenny it's and as a sort I see yeah
yeah but it's still it's still the
process of dependent origination that
that actually occurs them yeah and peace
is that crazy yep there's a penance in
creepy gave me rinse them creating
always
[Music]
okay
so the investigation becomes finer and
finer as you go along now when you get
sloth and torpor and you start to
investigate how it arises
I think somebody told me one day they
saw that there was tension and tightness
in that there was this contraction this
pastie kind of feeling that's a great
insight yeah
it's truly wonderful to be able to see
that that closely and when you take the
time to investigate like that it
naturally pulls up your energy and when
you have your energy pulled up guess
what goes away Dorper a lot of people
misunderstand torpor torpor is that
double right it's not the sharp alert
mind it's the dull mind it's like
looking through fog
now would you want to overcome the this
loss of torpor you need to use your
mindfulness we need to use your
investigation and that leads to your
picking up of your energy that's the
first three links of the enlightenment
factors when you have restlessness then
you go to the last three links of the
enlightenment factors and that is
tranquility and collectiveness and
equanimity and the way to attain that is
the balancing factor I have the
Enlightenment factors the balancing
factor is joy
effort is part of energy joy is the mind
that allows you to be alert right and
very very clear the enlightenment factor
of joy is the all-pervading joy it's
different than the other kinds of joy
that I've described before because it
doesn't have that excitement in it it's
like a real strong satisfaction yeah
that's it and your mind is bright and
alert a little bit of gratification in
that yeah so the Enlightenment Factory
mindfulness investigation of experience
energy joy tranquility collectiveness
equanimity when you have those in
balance you will be
easy right piece of cake you have to be
a perfect balance and you get to that
perfect balance by development by using
the factors and knowing what they are
and how to use them I've been telling
people they've been coming for the
interviews and they say if my mind is
really restless I don't feel like
sitting down and going through this the
only way you're overcoming the
restlessness is by not moving a muscle
don't move your body at all and when
you're radiating loving kindness to your
friend the wish you make is may you be
tranquil and calm and feel that feeling
put that feeling in your heart surround
your friend with that feeling and
radiate that feeling to your friend that
will be and that'll stop that scattered
mind that distracted mind and you'll
become very calm and peaceful and that
helps to get rid of that mind that's
always distracted going outside thinking
this thinking that okay
collected yeah collectors mine is a vine
that's very composed a mining that's
still not jumping around anywhere now
they use the word here the in this
translation concentration but I don't
use the word concentration very often
because the word concentration in this
country is misunderstood
it means extreme one pointedness and
that's not it it's a mind that's
composed very still very quiet but still
alert one point in mine is just stuck on
one thing so the concentration isn't
that the composed mind is a kind of
concentrated mind but because of that
word concentration I stay away from you
can't use a word alert dose so kind of
extra well that's very ill dirt and it's
because of all the other factors that
are there too unified yeah but you still
have to give it you you still have to
give it some other definition outside of
that it's not a one word definition but
composed is collected is its yeah it's
kind of more all-encompassing and it
gets closer to the field of it because
your mind is composed your mind is alert
your mind is still
[Laughter]
I'm the only monk I know that has so
many resources and spends time with them
he tries to convince other monks that
their Dhamma bucks and they really
aren't on the books because you can't
work with the Dhamma unless you have the
dictionaries and the stories I hear all
the time because of this kind of thing
what's the value of somebody but that's
a word that was made up by the Buddha
there were honored for absorption and
deep concentration but he chose not to
use those words he made up this word to
describe collect and after he died when
the Brahman started to take on the robes
without knowing what the Buddha's
teachings worth
they started blocking definitions to
match the Hindu way of looking at things
Raman way of looking at things that's
why it's a word yes the origin probably
person is that empty the sambar is
tranquil
d is wisdom there are other translators
that will argue with me up one side and
down the other on that one thing that's
really close to it it's like the word
ducat everybody knows what dukkha is
right do is a negative yes no and cop
comes from the base word copy which is
patience so do cop means no patience and
I've had fights with other translators
about that word but that's how it goes I
mean everybody is trying to do the best
they can
this is the way this is done patience
another speech ok now we go to a very
interesting aspect of the four
foundations of mindfulness and that is
the Four Noble Truths
and how does a monk abide contemplate
contemplating mind-objects is mind
objects in terms of the Four Noble
Truths here a monk understands as it
actually is
this is suffering he understands as it
actually is this is the origin of
suffering each one of the links of
dependent origination has the Four Noble
Truths in it we have let's say death
that's the suffering part you have an
origin of death what's the origin of
death
what's the cessation of death what's the
way to the cessation of death and the
way is the Noble Eightfold Path which is
basically the six artists mindfulness
and perspective okay we're coming to the
conclusion well if anyone should develop
these four foundations of mindfulness in
such a way for seven years one of two
fruits can be expected for him either
final knowledge here in now in other
words he becomes a Nara hot or if there
is a trace of cleaning left non return
should be at the third stage of
enlightenment
that's an odd egami let alone seven
years monk if anyone should develop
these four foundations of mindfulness in
such a way for six five four three two
one year one of two fruits can be
expected for him either final knowledge
here in now or if there's a trace of
clinging left not returning that alone
one year monks if anyone should develop
these four foundations of mindfulness in
such a way for seven months six five
four three two one half a month one of
two fruits can be expected for him
either final knowledge here in now or if
there's a trace of clinging left not
returned let alone half a month if
anyone should develop these four
foundations of mindfulness etc ways for
seven days this is day night date for so
you've got three days
[Laughter]
one of two fruits can be expected
your final knowledge here and now or if
there's a trace of flinging left not a
turn so it was with reference to this
that it was said monks this is a direct
path for the purification of being for
the surmounting of sorrow and
lamentation for the disappearance of
pain and grief for the attainment of the
true way for the realization of Nirvana
namely the four foundations of
mindfulness that is what the Blessed One
said the most were satisfied and
delighted in the Blessed sure Samaritan
see nectar
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