From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=rgxMF0ebpYc

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

okay

the suta tonight is suit the number 44.

the middle length sayings the shorter

series of questions and answers

thus if i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living at raja gaha in

the bamboo grove the squirrel sanctuary

then the lay follower of asaka

went to the bikuni dom medina and after

paying homage to her he sat down at one

side and asked her

lady identity identity is said what is

called identity by the blessed one

friend visakha

these five aggregates that are affected

by craving and clinging

are called identity by the blessed one

that is material form affected by

craving and clinging

the feeling aggregate affected by

craving and clinging

the perception aggregate affected by

craving and clinging

the formation aggregate affected by

craving and clinging

and the consciousness aggregate affected

by craving and clinging

these five aggregates affected by

craving and clinging are called identity

by the blessed one

saying good lady the lay follower of

isakka delighted and rejoiced in ibikuni

damadina's words

then he asked her a further question

lady

origin of identity origin of identity is

said what is called the origin of

identity by the blessed one

what is

the origin of identity

you're right

friend visakha it is craving

which brings for renewal of being is

accompanied by delight and lust and

delights in this and that

that is craving for sensual pleasures

craving for being craving for non-being

this is called the origin of identity by

the blessed one

lady

cessation of identity cessation of

identity

is said what is called the cessation of

identity

friend visaka it is the remainderless

fading away

and ceasing the giving up relinquishing

letting go and rejecting of that same

craving how do you do that

this is called the cessation of identity

by the blessed one

lady

the way leading to the cessation of

identity the way leading to the

cessation of identity is said what is

called the way leading to the cessation

of identity by the blessed one

friend visakha it is just this noble

eightfold path

now

um

this is all of the right view and and

all of these kind of things but i change

it

to harmonious perspective

what does harmonious perspective mean

it means seeing everything

as an impersonal process

okay

now here it says right intention

this is really not correct

suppose they they generally say right

thought

i say harmonious imaging

whatever image you hold in your mind

that's

what your belief system is

your harmonious imaging

is

imaging

having an uplifted mind

having being happy things like that

next one is

right speech i call it harmonious

communication

who do you talk with most

so what are we talking about here

it's not only with a speech with other

people but it's speech with yourself

any critical thoughts any

condemning thoughts any

um

any hard thoughts that you have towards

yourself is not being in harmony with

your communication

you can do 10 things that are great in a

day

and you do one thing that your mind says

you shouldn't have done that what do you

think about it

right so

being in harmony with your communication

is not focusing on the wrong

that your mind thinks is wrong

which doesn't necessarily mean that it's

true

but what it does is

it starts focusing on all of the good

things you did

on being happy and having an uplifted

mind

the next one they call right action

i call it harmonious movement

you don't jerk your mind around

because who who doesn't like

who tries to

suppress who tries to push things away

being harmony with the movement

means gently six-houring and letting it

go

trying to force things to stop from

happening

now the next one is called right

livelihood and this is always comical

because in the text they say right

livelihood is

uh

not selling weapons

not selling poisons

not having slaves

these kind of things that doesn't have

anything to do with the actual practice

so i call it harmonious lifestyle

how do you live

what do you put in front of your mind

a

lady or girl that was

practicing meditation with me came and

pranked and started talking about having

bad dreams

so i asked her why she had bad dreams

she said i don't know

but it always seems to happen after i go

to the movie and see these scary movies

i told her don't do that anymore

and she said

but i like the scary movies

and i said

don't complain to me about bad dreams

now the next one is right effort that's

the six r's harmonious practice

the next one

is called right mindfulness i i call it

harmonious

harmonious observation

now a lot of people have the idea that

mindfulness is some kind of club to stop

things from happening

and that's not it

it's just observing

how

mind's attention moves from one thing to

another

as you go deeper in your practice you

start seeing how these things occur

and the more you're able to recognize

how it occurs

the easier it

is to use the six r's

not

stopping or pushing things away

but allowing them to be without keeping

your attention on them

and the last

i got the hiccups

the last one they call it right

concentration and

concentration is

not a word that i will use

because it's too misunderstood

concentration anytime you talk about

concentration you talk about

extreme

focus

and i use the word harmonious

collectedness

having a mind that's collected means you

have a mind that's still

you have a mind that's very observant

you have a mind that's composed

so

that gives you more of the idea of what

uh

the kind of concentration the buddha was

talking about

it's still a form of concentration but

it's not extreme concentration

lady

is that clinging the same as these five

aggregates affected by clinging or is

clinging something apart from the five

aggregates affected by clinging

friend vasaka that craving and clinging

is neither the same

as these five aggregates affected by

craving and clinging

nor is the craving and clanking

something apart from the five aggregates

affected by craving and clinging

it is the desire the lust in regard to

the five aggregates affected by craving

and clinging

that is the craving and clinging here

lady

how does identity view come to be

identity view

means taking things personally

here friend visaka an untaught ordinary

person who has no regard for the noble

ones

and is unskilled and undisciplined in

their dhamma

who has no regard for true men and is

skilled and unskilled and undisciplined

in their dhamma

regards material form

as self

or self as possessed of material form

or material form as in self or self as

in material form

so this is somebody that's not educated

and they always are identifying

my this is me this is mine

this is

one of the keys of

the

six hours

is

that relaxed step

right after you use that relaxed step

you notice your mind is clear your mind

is bright your mind is pure

there's no thoughts in it

so

you bring that pure mind back to your

object to meditation

he regards feeling as self

or self as possessed of feeling or

feeling as in self or self as in feeling

he regards perception as self

or self as possessed of

perception

or perception as in self or self as in

perception

he regards formations as self or self as

possessed of formations

or formations as in self or self as in

formations

he regards consciousness as self or his

self as possessed of consciousness this

is the biggie

and this is where an awful lot of people

get very confused

about

no self

i don't

like to use the word self

because

it's like using the word god

everybody

knows what it is

but nobody knows exactly what it is

and there's all these different kinds of

definitions

so when you

take that and you say personal

and

impersonal

then that makes everything

clear that is how identity view comes to

be

lady how does identity view not come to

be

how does it not come to be

that's right

here friend visakha a well-taught noble

disciple who has regard for the noble

ones

and is skilled and disciplined in their

dhamma who has regard for true men

who is skilled and disciplined in their

dhamma

one page too much

does not regard material form personally

or

personally as as possessed of material

form

or

material form as in

it being personal

or

personal

as in the material form

he does not regard feeling a self or

self as possessed of feeling or feeling

as in-self for self as in feeling

he does not regard perception as self

for self as possessed of perception

or perception as in self or self as in

perception

a lot of people think perception is

where the self actually is

because that's the part of the mind that

names things

and that's where memory is

and you you know that this is a cup

because you've

been using cups your whole life and you

that's what you call it so that comes

from your memory right

but the actual naming is

is what the perception is

is

perception is where

concepts

first arise

he does not regard formations as self

for self as possessed of formations or

formations as in self or self as in

formations

it does not regard consciousness as self

or self as possessed of consciousness

or consciousness as in self or self is

in consciousness

this is how identity view does not come

to be

lady what is the noble eightfold path

friend bisaket is just this noble

eightfold path that is

harmonious perspective harmonious

imaging harmonious communication

harmonious movement harmonious lifestyle

harmonious practice harmonious

observation harmonious collectedness

and the reason that i change these

things instead of just being the

standard is

when you just say the standard

everybody thinks they know what their

what it is

but when you change it the way i've

changed it it makes it

more

more clear

in your own practice

every time you practice the six hours

you are practicing the entire a full

path at that time

lady is the eightfold path conditioned

or unconditioned

what do you think

no

definitely conditioned

the only thing that's unconditioned is

nibana

friend visaka the noble aid fold path is

conditioned

lady there are the three aggregates

included by the noble eightfold path

there is a noble eightfold path included

by the three aggregates

the three aggregates are not included by

the eightfold path friend visakha but

the noble eightfold path is included

in the three aggregates

right uh harmonious communication

harmonious movement harmonious lifestyle

these states are included in the

aggregate of virtue

harmonious practice harmonious

observation harmonious collectedness

these states are included in the

aggregate of collectedness

harmonious perspective harmonious

imaging these states are included in the

aggregate of wisdom

lady what is collectedness what is the

basis for of collectedness what is the

equipment of collectedness what is the

development of collectedness

unification of mine friend visaka

is collectedness

when your mind stays on your object and

meditation for a period of time your

mind is very collected

but and very alert at the same time

the four foundations of mindfulness are

the basis of collectedness

the four right kinds of effort are the

equipment

of collectedness harmonious practice

six hearts

the repetition development and

cultivation of these same states is the

development of collectedness therein

lady how many formations are there

there are these three formations

the bodily formation the verbal

formation and the mental formation

lady what is the bodily formation what

is the verbal formation what is the

mental formation

in breathing and out breathing friend

visaka are the bodily formation

thinking and examining thought are the

verbal formation

perception feeling and consciousness are

the mental formation

lady

why are they in and out breathing

the bodily formation why are the

thinking and examining thought the

verbal formation

why are perception feeling and

consciousness the mental formation

friend visaka in and out breathing are

bodily

these are states bound up with the body

that is why in breathing and mouth

breathing are the bodily formation

first one thinks

and examines thought and subsequently

one breaks out into speech internal

dialogue

that is why

thinking and examining thought are

verbal formations

perception feeling and consciousness are

mental

these are states bound up with mind

that is why

perception feeling and consciousness are

the mental formation

lady how does one attain the cessation

of perception feeling and consciousness

how does it come to be

friend visakha

when a monk is attaining the cessation

of perception feeling and consciousness

it does not occur to him

i shall attain the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

or i am attaining the cessation of

perception feeling in consciousness

or i have attained the cessation of

perception feeling in consciousness

but rather his mind has previously been

developed in such a way

that it leads him to that state

when you get in when when it happens

you don't know that it's happened until

you get out

lady when a monk is attaining the

cessation of perception feeling in

consciousness which state ceases first

in him

the bodily formation of verbal formation

or the mental formation

friend visaka

when a monk is attaining the cessation

of perception feeling and consciousness

first the verbal formation ceases

then the bodily formation then the

mental formation

lady how does

emergence from the attainment of the

cessation of perception feeling and

consciousness come to be

friend visakha

when a monk is attaining

is emerging from the attainment of the

cessation of perception feeling and

consciousness it does not occur to him

i shall emerge from the attainment of

the cessation of perception feeling in

consciousness

or i am emerging from the attainment of

the cessation of perception feeling and

consciousness or i have emerged from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

but rather his

mind has previously been developed in

such a way

that it it leads him to that state

lady when a monk is emerging from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

which they arise

first in him

bodily formation verbal formation or

mental formation

friend visaka

when a monk is emerging from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

first the mental formation

then

arises

bodily formation arises

then a verbal formation

lady when a monk has emerged from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

how many kinds of contact touch him

friend visakha

when a monk has emerged from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

three kinds of contact

touch him

voidness contact

signless contact

and desireless contact

lady when a monk has emerged from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling in consciousness

to what does his mind incline

to what does it lean to what does it

tend

friend visaco when a monk has emerged

from this attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

his mind inclines to seclusion

leans to seclusion

tends to seclusion

okay let's go back here what is the void

voidness contact

the voidness contact

is

the impersonal nature of everything

the signless contact there are no signs

while you're in that so there's a

signless contact when you're coming out

and the desireless contact that's pretty

self-explanatory

how many kinds of feeling are there

friend visaka there are three kinds of

feeling

or two kinds of feeling or five times of

feeling or six kinds of feeling or 18

kinds of feeling or 36 kinds of feeling

or

108 kinds of feeling

she's reading

the many kinds of feelings do you i

think

just need to check the footnotes

but for right now we'll just take three

pleasant feeling painful feeling and

neither painful nor pleasant feeling

lady what is pleasant feeling what is

painful feeling what is neither painful

nor pleasant feeling

friend visaka whatever is felt bodily or

mentally as pleasant

and you can't

you can't take the body and just say

that's a pleasant feeling

because

it has to be there they come together

body and mind are always

they're conjoined

okay friend visaca whatever is felt

bodily or mentally is pleasant

soothing and soothing is a pleasant

feeling

whatever is felt bodily or mentally as

painful and hurting is a painful feeling

it doesn't matter whether it's mental or

physical

treat them in the same way

whatever is felt bodily or mentally is

neither soothing nor hurting

is neither

painful nor pleasant feeling

lady what is pleasant

what is painful in regard to pleasant

feeling

what is painful and what is pleasant in

regard to painful feeling

what is pleasant and what is painful in

regard to neither painful or pleasant

feeling

friend visakha pleasant feeling is

pleasant when it persists

and painful when it changes

painful feeling is painful when it

persists and pleasant when it changes

neither painful nor pleasant feeling

is pleasant

when there is knowledge of it being

indifferent to it

that means having equanimity

and painful when there is no knowledge

of it when you're being indifferent

because there's no mindfulness at that

time

lady

what underlying tendency underlies

pleasant feeling

what underlying tendency underlies

painful feeling

what underlying tendency underlies

neither painful nor pleasant feeling

friend visaka the underlying tendency to

lust under lies pleasant feeling

the underlying tendency tendency to

aversion underlies painful feeling

the underlying tendency to ignorance

underlies neither painful nor pleasant

feeling

what's ignorance

not seeing the four noble truths

ignorance is always four noble truths

lady

does the underlying tendency to lust

underlie all pleasant feeling

does the underlying tendency to aversion

underlie all painful feeling

does the underlying tendency to

ignorance underlie all neither painful

nor pleasant feeling

good

question friend visaka

the underlying tendency to lust does not

underlie all painful feelings

the underlying tendency to aversion does

not underlie

all painful feeling

the underlying tendency to ignorance

does not underlie all neither painful

nor pleasant feeling

lady what should be regarded

what should be abandoned

in regard to pleasant feeling

what should be abandoned in regard to

painful feeling

what should be abandoned in regard to

neither painful nor pleasant feeling

friend vasaka the underlying tendency

should be abandoned in regard to

pleasant feeling

the underlying tendency to aversion

should be

abandoned in regard to painful feeling

the underlying tendency to ignorance

should be abandoned in regard to neither

painful or pleasant feeling

makes sense

lady does the underlying tendency to

lust have to be abandoned in regard to

all pleasant feeling

what do you think

yes

no

see you have pleasant feeling when

you're in the drama then it doesn't have

the underlying tendency to lust

does the underlying tendency to aversion

have to be abandoned in regard to all

painful feelings

does the underlying tendency to

ignorance have to be abandoned in regard

to all neither painful nor pleasant

feeling

friend visaka the underlying tendency to

lust does not have to be abandoned in

regard to all pleasant feeling

the underlying tendency to aversion does

not have to be abandoned in regard to

all painful feeling

the underlying tendency to ignorance

does not have to be

abandoned in regard to all neither

painful nor pleasant feeling

here friend visaka quite secluded from

sensual pleasures secluded from

unwholesome states

a monk enters upon and abides in the

first jhana

which is accompanied by thinking and

examining thought with joy and happiness

born of seclusion

with that he abandons lust

and the underlying tendency to lust does

not underlie that

here a monk considers thus

when shall i enter upon and abide in

that base that the noble ones now enter

and abide in

and one who thus generates a longing for

the supreme liberation grief arises with

that longing as condition

with that he abandons aversion

does not underlie that

so pointing your mind in the direction

of

attaining nibana

doesn't have it's it's painful

because you have the longing you want it

to happen

so there's a little bit of grief when it

doesn't happen

but there isn't the underlying tendency

to aversion because you're pointing your

mind that way

right

here with the abandoning of pleasure and

pain with the previous disappearance of

joy and grief a monk enters upon and

abides in the fourth jhana

which has neither pain nor pleasure and

purity of mindfulness due to equanimity

with that he abandons ignorance why

because your mindfulness is very sharp

and you you see everything with a

balanced mind

the underlying tendency to ignorance

does not underlie that

lady what is a counterpart of pleasant

feeling

friend visaka painful feeling is a

counterpart of pleasant feeling

what is the counterpart of painful

feeling

pleasant feeling is a counterpart of

painful feeling

what is the counterpart of neither

painful nor pleasant feeling

ignorance is the counterpart of neither

painful nor pleasant feeling

what is the counterpart of ignorance

true knowledge is the counterpart of

ignorance

what is the counterpart of true

knowledge

deliverance is the counterpart of true

knowledge

what is the counterpart of deliverance

nibana is the counterpart of deliverance

lady what is the counterpart of nibana

friend visaka you have pushed this line

of questioning too far

for you were not able to grasp the limit

to the questions

for the holy life friend visakha is

grounded upon nibana

culminates in nibana and ends in demara

if you wish friend vesaka to go to the

blessed one and ask him about the

meaning of this

as the blessed one explains it to you

you should remember it

then a lay follower of isakka having

delighted and rejoiced in the bikuni

damadina's words

rose from his seat and after paying

homage to him keeping him on his right

he went to the blessed one after paying

homage to him he sat down at one side

and told the blessed one his entire

conversation with the bhikkhu damadina

bhikkhuni damadina

when he finished speaking the blessed

one told him the bhikkhuni dhamma dina

is wise visakha

the bikuni dhammadina has great wisdom

if you had asked me the meaning of this

i would have explained it to you in the

same way that the bhikkhuni damadina has

explained it

such is its meaning and you should

remember it

she was

she was like the first

uh

the first disciple

she was

foremost

in wisdom

to the buddha

of the female order

sorry putu is foremost in wisdom of the

male order

that is what the blessed one said the

lay follower of isaka was delight and

was satisfied and delighted in the

blessed one's words

now the thing that's real interesting

about this is

bisaka

and damadina

were husband and wife

he was a merchant he was very successful

he started going and visiting the buddha

and after hanging out all day

with the buddha

one day he became an onigami

which means that he

didn't have any more lust or hatred

arise in his mind ever again

so

he went home

and visakha saw him

coming and went to greet him like she he

always did

and she

tried to give him a hug and he stopped

her

and then they had their meal and got

time to go to bed

and visakha laid down on the bed

and

domidina laid down beside him and

visakha got up off the bed

laid down on the floor

she got off the bed laid down on the

floor beside him he got up

went on the bed

and she started thinking

he must be really mad at me for some

reason

so she asked him what the what was the

reason and he

reluctantly told her that he had become

an onigami

and they couldn't live like husband and

wife anymore

they could live like brother and sister

and

when she heard that she asked him

permission to become a bikuni

and in a fairly short period of time

after her becoming a bikuni

she became an arahat

and that's why i went and started asking

questions of her because she was an

arahat she was second to the buddha in

wisdom

so that gives you a little bit of the

story

so

any questions

um

yeah if i could talk a little bit about

kind of what's been going on

um

i guess

i i feel like i was missing something

the past couple weeks

um that you kept telling me

that i should have and that

and now i kind of realized that if i'm

if i'm not happy meditating

how is

any joy or happiness ever gonna arise

i mean i was

i was really unhappy i realized a lot of

the time while i was meditating and that

was

i know i don't know why i didn't

kind of

realize that

you know

it was just it seemed like such a big

thing to miss and now that

you know um

my question is is it

something that

now i understand because i've been doing

it for a while or is it something i

could have

been happy from the beginning you know

put more emphasis well you had things

blocking you yeah

and you've been letting them go

and now you're finally starting to hear

what i say i mean i only say it a few

times every day

but everybody that goes through

something like this

everybody comes with their own baggage

and they have to be able to see through

that

and let it go let go of the

old attachments and old ways of acting

and being

and you do it at your own pace

sometimes i'll push it a little bit

not much

um the joy that arises

it

it feels pretty impersonal

it is yeah

i mean joy arises when conditions are

right for it to arise

i just i don't know it's just really

interesting to me how

how impersonal it is um

and then

it's also pretty much it's a bit

um

i don't know i guess mainly yesterday it

was

it was just kind of coming out all the

time

overpowering yeah a little bit so so

just let it be there keep your attention

on your object of meditation it doesn't

matter whether it's pain or

joy

you treat it in the same way it's just a

feeling right

so you'll allow the feeling to be there

relax

i i had one student

when i first started teaching in florida

he

would sit

and he would kind of giggle to himself

the whole time

and he was feeling very self-conscious

because everybody else was sitting

and they were all around him

and he came and he said you know i'm i'm

laughing all the time should i stop

and everybody else that had come to that

retreat

told me

they really liked it

because because

he was reminding them to keep their mind

up

it's not a problem

you should hear irwin

mr gigglebox

he really gets caught up in his

hindrances

and every now and then he writes to me

and tells me that he's really caught up

in his hindrance and now i don't like

this and i don't like that

so i

tell him what to do and he

doesn't

so i said well i think you really ought

to make yourself

really really suffer so here's what you

got to do

i want you to go outside take your shoes

off go up to the nearest tree

and kick it with your toes as hard as

you can

and that's what happened

and as soon as he started laughing

then he saw that it wasn't that big a

deal

but i had to come up with all kinds of

different ways to

get him to laugh

and as soon as he laughed he wasn't

caught by the hindrance anymore

well

so now he's he's got it he really does

understand it so when he's really

hurting

he'll go out for a walk and have nothing

but belly laughs

it's really really amazing

in joshua tree

he was always laughing it was great

he's not doing that he's crying

well he came to me one retreat

and he had these tears coming down his

face and he said

i feel so happy i can't believe it

and he said i got all these tears

and i said well it's just a release it's

no big deal

i had once one man that

he was a monk actually

that

tears started coming

and they lasted few days

and he started complaining to me about

his road getting wet

what am i supposed to do with that

i said take a towel and hold it

that's not a big deal

he had he had great big red red lines

down his face from the tears

it was such an amazing release

what had happened to him

was in he was in his early twenties and

he went to

uh

seminary

and

he got into wrong concentration and went

crazy

so now he's in his 50s or getting close

to 60.

and

i come along and i tell him he doesn't

have to try so hard and he all he needs

to do is just

kind of laugh with things and be light

and there was such relief to him to find

out that he didn't have to put that kind

of energy into trying to suppress

feelings

that

it really was

so that it was such a relief that he it

was

tears of joy were coming out all over

the place

and everybody at that retreat they came

and told me how bad they felt for erwin

because he was crying and

i'm going no no no no you don't feel

sorry about that

he has so much joy he just

it's just causing tears to come

he's not sad

so these are some of the things that can

happen

it's

not anything to be overly concerned with

just

smile and relax into it

allow it to be there you're not there to

change anything

change comes

from your not keeping your attention on

it

and coming back to your object of

meditation

i'm still working on

energy

well so yeah of course you're still

figuring it out

and that's fine

there's no problem with that

that's how you learn

because you you have to learn at your

own pace

i had

one uh

one woman that came and she did two or

three retreats with me

and she had almost no progress at all

she'd been meditating with a lot of

other people

and she kept on hearing me say relax

relax smile smile relax smile relax

smile

and she came to me one day and she was

like radiant

and she said you know you've been

telling me this i don't know how long

and

now

i know what you mean

and a couple days later she went deeper

and now she came back and she said now i

really know what to mean

yeah

it is good stuff

keeping your mind happy and uplifted

that's that's the job

that's the job of everybody that's

really wants to

let go of their suffering

it works

may suffering ones be suffering free and

the fierce drought fearless be

may the grieving shed all grief and may

all beings find relief

may all beings share this merit that we

thus acquired for the acquisition of all

kinds of happiness

space and earth davis and knockers of

mighty power share this merit of ours

may they long protect the buddhist

dispensation

you

okay

the suta tonight is suit the number 44.

the middle length sayings the shorter

series of questions and answers

thus if i heard on one occasion the

blessed one was living at raja gaha in

the bamboo grove the squirrel sanctuary

then the lay follower of asaka

went to the bikuni dom medina and after

paying homage to her he sat down at one

side and asked her

lady identity identity is said what is

called identity by the blessed one

friend visakha

these five aggregates that are affected

by craving and clinging

are called identity by the blessed one

that is material form affected by

craving and clinging

the feeling aggregate affected by

craving and clinging

the perception aggregate affected by

craving and clinging

the formation aggregate affected by

craving and clinging

and the consciousness aggregate affected

by craving and clinging

these five aggregates affected by

craving and clinging are called identity

by the blessed one

saying good lady the lay follower of

isakka delighted and rejoiced in ibikuni

damadina's words

then he asked her a further question

lady

origin of identity origin of identity is

said what is called the origin of

identity by the blessed one

what is

the origin of identity

you're right

friend visakha it is craving

which brings for renewal of being is

accompanied by delight and lust and

delights in this and that

that is craving for sensual pleasures

craving for being craving for non-being

this is called the origin of identity by

the blessed one

lady

cessation of identity cessation of

identity

is said what is called the cessation of

identity

friend visaka it is the remainderless

fading away

and ceasing the giving up relinquishing

letting go and rejecting of that same

craving how do you do that

this is called the cessation of identity

by the blessed one

lady

the way leading to the cessation of

identity the way leading to the

cessation of identity is said what is

called the way leading to the cessation

of identity by the blessed one

friend visakha it is just this noble

eightfold path

now

um

this is all of the right view and and

all of these kind of things but i change

it

to harmonious perspective

what does harmonious perspective mean

it means seeing everything

as an impersonal process

okay

now here it says right intention

this is really not correct

suppose they they generally say right

thought

i say harmonious imaging

whatever image you hold in your mind

that's

what your belief system is

your harmonious imaging

is

imaging

having an uplifted mind

having being happy things like that

next one is

right speech i call it harmonious

communication

who do you talk with most

so what are we talking about here

it's not only with a speech with other

people but it's speech with yourself

any critical thoughts any

condemning thoughts any

um

any hard thoughts that you have towards

yourself is not being in harmony with

your communication

you can do 10 things that are great in a

day

and you do one thing that your mind says

you shouldn't have done that what do you

think about it

right so

being in harmony with your communication

is not focusing on the wrong

that your mind thinks is wrong

which doesn't necessarily mean that it's

true

but what it does is

it starts focusing on all of the good

things you did

on being happy and having an uplifted

mind

the next one they call right action

i call it harmonious movement

you don't jerk your mind around

because who who doesn't like

who tries to

suppress who tries to push things away

being harmony with the movement

means gently six-houring and letting it

go

trying to force things to stop from

happening

now the next one is called right

livelihood and this is always comical

because in the text they say right

livelihood is

uh

not selling weapons

not selling poisons

not having slaves

these kind of things that doesn't have

anything to do with the actual practice

so i call it harmonious lifestyle

how do you live

what do you put in front of your mind

a

lady or girl that was

practicing meditation with me came and

pranked and started talking about having

bad dreams

so i asked her why she had bad dreams

she said i don't know

but it always seems to happen after i go

to the movie and see these scary movies

i told her don't do that anymore

and she said

but i like the scary movies

and i said

don't complain to me about bad dreams

now the next one is right effort that's

the six r's harmonious practice

the next one

is called right mindfulness i i call it

harmonious

harmonious observation

now a lot of people have the idea that

mindfulness is some kind of club to stop

things from happening

and that's not it

it's just observing

how

mind's attention moves from one thing to

another

as you go deeper in your practice you

start seeing how these things occur

and the more you're able to recognize

how it occurs

the easier it

is to use the six r's

not

stopping or pushing things away

but allowing them to be without keeping

your attention on them

and the last

i got the hiccups

the last one they call it right

concentration and

concentration is

not a word that i will use

because it's too misunderstood

concentration anytime you talk about

concentration you talk about

extreme

focus

and i use the word harmonious

collectedness

having a mind that's collected means you

have a mind that's still

you have a mind that's very observant

you have a mind that's composed

so

that gives you more of the idea of what

uh

the kind of concentration the buddha was

talking about

it's still a form of concentration but

it's not extreme concentration

lady

is that clinging the same as these five

aggregates affected by clinging or is

clinging something apart from the five

aggregates affected by clinging

friend vasaka that craving and clinging

is neither the same

as these five aggregates affected by

craving and clinging

nor is the craving and clanking

something apart from the five aggregates

affected by craving and clinging

it is the desire the lust in regard to

the five aggregates affected by craving

and clinging

that is the craving and clinging here

lady

how does identity view come to be

identity view

means taking things personally

here friend visaka an untaught ordinary

person who has no regard for the noble

ones

and is unskilled and undisciplined in

their dhamma

who has no regard for true men and is

skilled and unskilled and undisciplined

in their dhamma

regards material form

as self

or self as possessed of material form

or material form as in self or self as

in material form

so this is somebody that's not educated

and they always are identifying

my this is me this is mine

this is

one of the keys of

the

six hours

is

that relaxed step

right after you use that relaxed step

you notice your mind is clear your mind

is bright your mind is pure

there's no thoughts in it

so

you bring that pure mind back to your

object to meditation

he regards feeling as self

or self as possessed of feeling or

feeling as in self or self as in feeling

he regards perception as self

or self as possessed of

perception

or perception as in self or self as in

perception

he regards formations as self or self as

possessed of formations

or formations as in self or self as in

formations

he regards consciousness as self or his

self as possessed of consciousness this

is the biggie

and this is where an awful lot of people

get very confused

about

no self

i don't

like to use the word self

because

it's like using the word god

everybody

knows what it is

but nobody knows exactly what it is

and there's all these different kinds of

definitions

so when you

take that and you say personal

and

impersonal

then that makes everything

clear that is how identity view comes to

be

lady how does identity view not come to

be

how does it not come to be

that's right

here friend visakha a well-taught noble

disciple who has regard for the noble

ones

and is skilled and disciplined in their

dhamma who has regard for true men

who is skilled and disciplined in their

dhamma

one page too much

does not regard material form personally

or

personally as as possessed of material

form

or

material form as in

it being personal

or

personal

as in the material form

he does not regard feeling a self or

self as possessed of feeling or feeling

as in-self for self as in feeling

he does not regard perception as self

for self as possessed of perception

or perception as in self or self as in

perception

a lot of people think perception is

where the self actually is

because that's the part of the mind that

names things

and that's where memory is

and you you know that this is a cup

because you've

been using cups your whole life and you

that's what you call it so that comes

from your memory right

but the actual naming is

is what the perception is

is

perception is where

concepts

first arise

he does not regard formations as self

for self as possessed of formations or

formations as in self or self as in

formations

it does not regard consciousness as self

or self as possessed of consciousness

or consciousness as in self or self is

in consciousness

this is how identity view does not come

to be

lady what is the noble eightfold path

friend bisaket is just this noble

eightfold path that is

harmonious perspective harmonious

imaging harmonious communication

harmonious movement harmonious lifestyle

harmonious practice harmonious

observation harmonious collectedness

and the reason that i change these

things instead of just being the

standard is

when you just say the standard

everybody thinks they know what their

what it is

but when you change it the way i've

changed it it makes it

more

more clear

in your own practice

every time you practice the six hours

you are practicing the entire a full

path at that time

lady is the eightfold path conditioned

or unconditioned

what do you think

no

definitely conditioned

the only thing that's unconditioned is

nibana

friend visaka the noble aid fold path is

conditioned

lady there are the three aggregates

included by the noble eightfold path

there is a noble eightfold path included

by the three aggregates

the three aggregates are not included by

the eightfold path friend visakha but

the noble eightfold path is included

in the three aggregates

right uh harmonious communication

harmonious movement harmonious lifestyle

these states are included in the

aggregate of virtue

harmonious practice harmonious

observation harmonious collectedness

these states are included in the

aggregate of collectedness

harmonious perspective harmonious

imaging these states are included in the

aggregate of wisdom

lady what is collectedness what is the

basis for of collectedness what is the

equipment of collectedness what is the

development of collectedness

unification of mine friend visaka

is collectedness

when your mind stays on your object and

meditation for a period of time your

mind is very collected

but and very alert at the same time

the four foundations of mindfulness are

the basis of collectedness

the four right kinds of effort are the

equipment

of collectedness harmonious practice

six hearts

the repetition development and

cultivation of these same states is the

development of collectedness therein

lady how many formations are there

there are these three formations

the bodily formation the verbal

formation and the mental formation

lady what is the bodily formation what

is the verbal formation what is the

mental formation

in breathing and out breathing friend

visaka are the bodily formation

thinking and examining thought are the

verbal formation

perception feeling and consciousness are

the mental formation

lady

why are they in and out breathing

the bodily formation why are the

thinking and examining thought the

verbal formation

why are perception feeling and

consciousness the mental formation

friend visaka in and out breathing are

bodily

these are states bound up with the body

that is why in breathing and mouth

breathing are the bodily formation

first one thinks

and examines thought and subsequently

one breaks out into speech internal

dialogue

that is why

thinking and examining thought are

verbal formations

perception feeling and consciousness are

mental

these are states bound up with mind

that is why

perception feeling and consciousness are

the mental formation

lady how does one attain the cessation

of perception feeling and consciousness

how does it come to be

friend visakha

when a monk is attaining the cessation

of perception feeling and consciousness

it does not occur to him

i shall attain the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

or i am attaining the cessation of

perception feeling in consciousness

or i have attained the cessation of

perception feeling in consciousness

but rather his mind has previously been

developed in such a way

that it leads him to that state

when you get in when when it happens

you don't know that it's happened until

you get out

lady when a monk is attaining the

cessation of perception feeling in

consciousness which state ceases first

in him

the bodily formation of verbal formation

or the mental formation

friend visaka

when a monk is attaining the cessation

of perception feeling and consciousness

first the verbal formation ceases

then the bodily formation then the

mental formation

lady how does

emergence from the attainment of the

cessation of perception feeling and

consciousness come to be

friend visakha

when a monk is attaining

is emerging from the attainment of the

cessation of perception feeling and

consciousness it does not occur to him

i shall emerge from the attainment of

the cessation of perception feeling in

consciousness

or i am emerging from the attainment of

the cessation of perception feeling and

consciousness or i have emerged from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

but rather his

mind has previously been developed in

such a way

that it it leads him to that state

lady when a monk is emerging from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

which they arise

first in him

bodily formation verbal formation or

mental formation

friend visaka

when a monk is emerging from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

first the mental formation

then

arises

bodily formation arises

then a verbal formation

lady when a monk has emerged from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

how many kinds of contact touch him

friend visakha

when a monk has emerged from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

three kinds of contact

touch him

voidness contact

signless contact

and desireless contact

lady when a monk has emerged from the

attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling in consciousness

to what does his mind incline

to what does it lean to what does it

tend

friend visaco when a monk has emerged

from this attainment of the cessation of

perception feeling and consciousness

his mind inclines to seclusion

leans to seclusion

tends to seclusion

okay let's go back here what is the void

voidness contact

the voidness contact

is

the impersonal nature of everything

the signless contact there are no signs

while you're in that so there's a

signless contact when you're coming out

and the desireless contact that's pretty

self-explanatory

how many kinds of feeling are there

friend visaka there are three kinds of

feeling

or two kinds of feeling or five times of

feeling or six kinds of feeling or 18

kinds of feeling or 36 kinds of feeling

or

108 kinds of feeling

she's reading

the many kinds of feelings do you i

think

just need to check the footnotes

but for right now we'll just take three

pleasant feeling painful feeling and

neither painful nor pleasant feeling

lady what is pleasant feeling what is

painful feeling what is neither painful

nor pleasant feeling

friend visaka whatever is felt bodily or

mentally as pleasant

and you can't

you can't take the body and just say

that's a pleasant feeling

because

it has to be there they come together

body and mind are always

they're conjoined

okay friend visaca whatever is felt

bodily or mentally is pleasant

soothing and soothing is a pleasant

feeling

whatever is felt bodily or mentally as

painful and hurting is a painful feeling

it doesn't matter whether it's mental or

physical

treat them in the same way

whatever is felt bodily or mentally is

neither soothing nor hurting

is neither

painful nor pleasant feeling

lady what is pleasant

what is painful in regard to pleasant

feeling

what is painful and what is pleasant in

regard to painful feeling

what is pleasant and what is painful in

regard to neither painful or pleasant

feeling

friend visakha pleasant feeling is

pleasant when it persists

and painful when it changes

painful feeling is painful when it

persists and pleasant when it changes

neither painful nor pleasant feeling

is pleasant

when there is knowledge of it being

indifferent to it

that means having equanimity

and painful when there is no knowledge

of it when you're being indifferent

because there's no mindfulness at that

time

lady

what underlying tendency underlies

pleasant feeling

what underlying tendency underlies

painful feeling

what underlying tendency underlies

neither painful nor pleasant feeling

friend visaka the underlying tendency to

lust under lies pleasant feeling

the underlying tendency tendency to

aversion underlies painful feeling

the underlying tendency to ignorance

underlies neither painful nor pleasant

feeling

what's ignorance

not seeing the four noble truths

ignorance is always four noble truths

lady

does the underlying tendency to lust

underlie all pleasant feeling

does the underlying tendency to aversion

underlie all painful feeling

does the underlying tendency to

ignorance underlie all neither painful

nor pleasant feeling

good

question friend visaka

the underlying tendency to lust does not

underlie all painful feelings

the underlying tendency to aversion does

not underlie

all painful feeling

the underlying tendency to ignorance

does not underlie all neither painful

nor pleasant feeling

lady what should be regarded

what should be abandoned

in regard to pleasant feeling

what should be abandoned in regard to

painful feeling

what should be abandoned in regard to

neither painful nor pleasant feeling

friend vasaka the underlying tendency

should be abandoned in regard to

pleasant feeling

the underlying tendency to aversion

should be

abandoned in regard to painful feeling

the underlying tendency to ignorance

should be abandoned in regard to neither

painful or pleasant feeling

makes sense

lady does the underlying tendency to

lust have to be abandoned in regard to

all pleasant feeling

what do you think

yes

no

see you have pleasant feeling when

you're in the drama then it doesn't have

the underlying tendency to lust

does the underlying tendency to aversion

have to be abandoned in regard to all

painful feelings

does the underlying tendency to

ignorance have to be abandoned in regard

to all neither painful nor pleasant

feeling

friend visaka the underlying tendency to

lust does not have to be abandoned in

regard to all pleasant feeling

the underlying tendency to aversion does

not have to be abandoned in regard to

all painful feeling

the underlying tendency to ignorance

does not have to be

abandoned in regard to all neither

painful nor pleasant feeling

here friend visaka quite secluded from

sensual pleasures secluded from

unwholesome states

a monk enters upon and abides in the

first jhana

which is accompanied by thinking and

examining thought with joy and happiness

born of seclusion

with that he abandons lust

and the underlying tendency to lust does

not underlie that

here a monk considers thus

when shall i enter upon and abide in

that base that the noble ones now enter

and abide in

and one who thus generates a longing for

the supreme liberation grief arises with

that longing as condition

with that he abandons aversion

does not underlie that

so pointing your mind in the direction

of

attaining nibana

doesn't have it's it's painful

because you have the longing you want it

to happen

so there's a little bit of grief when it

doesn't happen

but there isn't the underlying tendency

to aversion because you're pointing your

mind that way

right

here with the abandoning of pleasure and

pain with the previous disappearance of

joy and grief a monk enters upon and

abides in the fourth jhana

which has neither pain nor pleasure and

purity of mindfulness due to equanimity

with that he abandons ignorance why

because your mindfulness is very sharp

and you you see everything with a

balanced mind

the underlying tendency to ignorance

does not underlie that

lady what is a counterpart of pleasant

feeling

friend visaka painful feeling is a

counterpart of pleasant feeling

what is the counterpart of painful

feeling

pleasant feeling is a counterpart of

painful feeling

what is the counterpart of neither

painful nor pleasant feeling

ignorance is the counterpart of neither

painful nor pleasant feeling

what is the counterpart of ignorance

true knowledge is the counterpart of

ignorance

what is the counterpart of true

knowledge

deliverance is the counterpart of true

knowledge

what is the counterpart of deliverance

nibana is the counterpart of deliverance

lady what is the counterpart of nibana

friend visaka you have pushed this line

of questioning too far

for you were not able to grasp the limit

to the questions

for the holy life friend visakha is

grounded upon nibana

culminates in nibana and ends in demara

if you wish friend vesaka to go to the

blessed one and ask him about the

meaning of this

as the blessed one explains it to you

you should remember it

then a lay follower of isakka having

delighted and rejoiced in the bikuni

damadina's words

rose from his seat and after paying

homage to him keeping him on his right

he went to the blessed one after paying

homage to him he sat down at one side

and told the blessed one his entire

conversation with the bhikkhu damadina

bhikkhuni damadina

when he finished speaking the blessed

one told him the bhikkhuni dhamma dina

is wise visakha

the bikuni dhammadina has great wisdom

if you had asked me the meaning of this

i would have explained it to you in the

same way that the bhikkhuni damadina has

explained it

such is its meaning and you should

remember it

she was

she was like the first

uh

the first disciple

she was

foremost

in wisdom

to the buddha

of the female order

sorry putu is foremost in wisdom of the

male order

that is what the blessed one said the

lay follower of isaka was delight and

was satisfied and delighted in the

blessed one's words

now the thing that's real interesting

about this is

bisaka

and damadina

were husband and wife

he was a merchant he was very successful

he started going and visiting the buddha

and after hanging out all day

with the buddha

one day he became an onigami

which means that he

didn't have any more lust or hatred

arise in his mind ever again

so

he went home

and visakha saw him

coming and went to greet him like she he

always did

and she

tried to give him a hug and he stopped

her

and then they had their meal and got

time to go to bed

and visakha laid down on the bed

and

domidina laid down beside him and

visakha got up off the bed

laid down on the floor

she got off the bed laid down on the

floor beside him he got up

went on the bed

and she started thinking

he must be really mad at me for some

reason

so she asked him what the what was the

reason and he

reluctantly told her that he had become

an onigami

and they couldn't live like husband and

wife anymore

they could live like brother and sister

and

when she heard that she asked him

permission to become a bikuni

and in a fairly short period of time

after her becoming a bikuni

she became an arahat

and that's why i went and started asking

questions of her because she was an

arahat she was second to the buddha in

wisdom

so that gives you a little bit of the

story

so

any questions

um

yeah if i could talk a little bit about

kind of what's been going on

um

i guess

i i feel like i was missing something

the past couple weeks

um that you kept telling me

that i should have and that

and now i kind of realized that if i'm

if i'm not happy meditating

how is

any joy or happiness ever gonna arise

i mean i was

i was really unhappy i realized a lot of

the time while i was meditating and that

was

i know i don't know why i didn't

kind of

realize that

you know

it was just it seemed like such a big

thing to miss and now that

you know um

my question is is it

something that

now i understand because i've been doing

it for a while or is it something i

could have

been happy from the beginning you know

put more emphasis well you had things

blocking you yeah

and you've been letting them go

and now you're finally starting to hear

what i say i mean i only say it a few

times every day

but everybody that goes through

something like this

everybody comes with their own baggage

and they have to be able to see through

that

and let it go let go of the

old attachments and old ways of acting

and being

and you do it at your own pace

sometimes i'll push it a little bit

not much

um the joy that arises

it

it feels pretty impersonal

it is yeah

i mean joy arises when conditions are

right for it to arise

i just i don't know it's just really

interesting to me how

how impersonal it is um

and then

it's also pretty much it's a bit

um

i don't know i guess mainly yesterday it

was

it was just kind of coming out all the

time

overpowering yeah a little bit so so

just let it be there keep your attention

on your object of meditation it doesn't

matter whether it's pain or

joy

you treat it in the same way it's just a

feeling right

so you'll allow the feeling to be there

relax

i i had one student

when i first started teaching in florida

he

would sit

and he would kind of giggle to himself

the whole time

and he was feeling very self-conscious

because everybody else was sitting

and they were all around him

and he came and he said you know i'm i'm

laughing all the time should i stop

and everybody else that had come to that

retreat

told me

they really liked it

because because

he was reminding them to keep their mind

up

it's not a problem

you should hear irwin

mr gigglebox

he really gets caught up in his

hindrances

and every now and then he writes to me

and tells me that he's really caught up

in his hindrance and now i don't like

this and i don't like that

so i

tell him what to do and he

doesn't

so i said well i think you really ought

to make yourself

really really suffer so here's what you

got to do

i want you to go outside take your shoes

off go up to the nearest tree

and kick it with your toes as hard as

you can

and that's what happened

and as soon as he started laughing

then he saw that it wasn't that big a

deal

but i had to come up with all kinds of

different ways to

get him to laugh

and as soon as he laughed he wasn't

caught by the hindrance anymore

well

so now he's he's got it he really does

understand it so when he's really

hurting

he'll go out for a walk and have nothing

but belly laughs

it's really really amazing

in joshua tree

he was always laughing it was great

he's not doing that he's crying

well he came to me one retreat

and he had these tears coming down his

face and he said

i feel so happy i can't believe it

and he said i got all these tears

and i said well it's just a release it's

no big deal

i had once one man that

he was a monk actually

that

tears started coming

and they lasted few days

and he started complaining to me about

his road getting wet

what am i supposed to do with that

i said take a towel and hold it

that's not a big deal

he had he had great big red red lines

down his face from the tears

it was such an amazing release

what had happened to him

was in he was in his early twenties and

he went to

uh

seminary

and

he got into wrong concentration and went

crazy

so now he's in his 50s or getting close

to 60.

and

i come along and i tell him he doesn't

have to try so hard and he all he needs

to do is just

kind of laugh with things and be light

and there was such relief to him to find

out that he didn't have to put that kind

of energy into trying to suppress

feelings

that

it really was

so that it was such a relief that he it

was

tears of joy were coming out all over

the place

and everybody at that retreat they came

and told me how bad they felt for erwin

because he was crying and

i'm going no no no no you don't feel

sorry about that

he has so much joy he just

it's just causing tears to come

he's not sad

so these are some of the things that can

happen

it's

not anything to be overly concerned with

just

smile and relax into it

allow it to be there you're not there to

change anything

change comes

from your not keeping your attention on

it

and coming back to your object of

meditation

i'm still working on

energy

well so yeah of course you're still

figuring it out

and that's fine

there's no problem with that

that's how you learn

because you you have to learn at your

own pace

i had

one uh

one woman that came and she did two or

three retreats with me

and she had almost no progress at all

she'd been meditating with a lot of

other people

and she kept on hearing me say relax

relax smile smile relax smile relax

smile

and she came to me one day and she was

like radiant

and she said you know you've been

telling me this i don't know how long

and

now

i know what you mean

and a couple days later she went deeper

and now she came back and she said now i

really know what to mean

yeah

it is good stuff

keeping your mind happy and uplifted

that's that's the job

that's the job of everybody that's

really wants to

let go of their suffering

it works

may suffering ones be suffering free and

the fierce drought fearless be

may the grieving shed all grief and may

all beings find relief

may all beings share this merit that we

thus acquired for the acquisition of all

kinds of happiness

space and earth davis and knockers of

mighty power share this merit of ours

may they long protect the buddhist

dispensation

you