From: https://youtube.com/watch?v=mTtyy5A6wJk
Context: Throughout this transcript, Bhante Vimalaramsi is the speaker unless otherwise indicated.
Oh
okay the suit to tonight is the epic
ELISA suta the imperfections suit to
number 128 thus have I heard on one
occasion a blessed blessed one was
living in co zombie and go Sita's park
now on that occasion the monks of kisame
had taken two quarreling and brawling
and we're in deep disputes stabbing each
other with verbal daggers then a certain
mock went to the Blessed One after
paying homage to him he stood at one
side and said venerable sir the monks
here at kaushambi have taken two
quarreling and brawling and RN deep
disputes stabbing each other with verbal
daggers it would be good if the
venerables if the venerable sir if the
blessed one would go to these monks out
of compassion the Blessed One consented
in silence one of the reasons for laymen
not to read the vinia it's because they
just read the words than they don't know
the meaning behind that and they don't
understand that what they would consider
from reading would be a break in rules
but it's not so it's dangerous
hmm then the blessed one went to the
monks and said to them enough monks let
there be no quarreling and brawling
wrangling or dispute when this was said
a certain monk said to the Blessed One
wheat venerable sir let the Blessed One
the lord of the dhamma live at ease
devoted to a pleasant abiding here and
now we are the ones who will be
responsible for this quarreling brawling
wrangling and dispute can you imagine
saying that to the Buddha get away Kid
you bother me for a second time in the
third time the Blessed One said enough
monks let there be no quarreling browing
wrangling or dispute for a third time
the monk said to the Blessed One wait
venerable sir we are the ones who will
be responsible for the quarreling
brothel brawling wrangling and dispute
then when it was morning the blessed one
dressed taking his bowl and outer robe
entered wasabi for alms when he had
wandered for alms and co zombie and had
returned from his arms four arms around
after his meal he said his resting place
an order took his bowl and outer robe
and while standing uttered these stanzas
when many voices shout at once none
considers himself a fool though the
Sangha is being split none can thinks
himself to be at fault they have
forgotten thoughtful speech they talk
obsessed by words alone curbed their
mouths they brawl at will none knows
that knows what leads him to act so he
abused me he beaten
he defeated me he robbed me and those
who harbor such thoughts hatred is not
not appeased he abused me he beat me he
defeated me he robbed me and those who
do not Harbor such thoughts hatred is
appeased for in this world hatred has
never overcome by further acts of hate
it is only overcome by love sound
familiar this is a fixed an ageless law
those others do not recognize that they
should restrain themselves but those
wise ones who realize this at once end
all their M nity breakers of bones and
murderers those who steal cattle horses
and wealth those who pillage an entire
realm even these can act together why
can you not do so too if one can find a
worthy friend a virtuous steadfast
companion then overcome all threats of
danger and walk with Him content and
mindful but if one finds no worthy
friend no virtuous steadfast companion
then as a king leaves his conquered
realm walks like a Tusker in the woods
alone better to walk alone there is no
companionship with fools walk alone and
do no evil at ease like a Tusker in the
woods then having uttered this stanza
while standing the blessed one went to
the village on that occasion he left go
zombie
and he really got the the monks suffered
greatly when he left he was supposed to
be staying there for the arm for the
range retreat but because they were
arguing so much the Buddha said I don't
want to be around you guys and left and
everybody in the village got so ticked
off that they stopped giving the monks
food and when they stopped giving them
food then they stop quarreling and they
suffered greatly for three months
because of that because of villagers
were not happy with them and they had to
stay there for three months because
thats arranged retreat so on that
occasion of in irbil bagu was living at
a village then the venerable ba goo saw
the blessed one coming in the distance
prepared to seat and set out water for
washing the feet blessed one sat down on
a seat made ready and washed his feet
then venerable Babu paid homage to the
Blessed One and sat down at one side the
Blessed One said to him I hope you're
keeping well monk I hope you are
comfortable I hope you have you are not
having any trouble getting homes food I
am keeping well blessed one I am
comfortable and I am had not having any
trouble getting alms food then the
blessed one instructor urged and roused
and gladden the venerable bagu with a
talk on the Dhamma after which he rose
from his seat and went to the eastern
bamboo park now on that occasion of
venerable aniruddha the
horrible non dia and a venerable Kim
Bala were living at the Eastern bamboo
park the park keepers saw the blessed
one coming in the distance and told them
do not enter this park Rekluse there are
three Klansmen here seeking their own
good do not disturb them the venerable
aniruddha who is a Buddhist cousin it
was an ondas brother older brother heard
the park keepers speaking to the blessed
one and told him friend park keeper do
not keep the blessed one out it is our
teacher the blessed one who has come
then the venerable Ananda went to the
venerable non dia and the venerable Kim
Villa and said come out venerable serves
come out our teacher the blessed one has
come then all three went to meet the
blessed one one took his bowl an outer
rope one prepared to seat 1 set out
water for washing the feet the blessed
one sat down on the seat made ready and
washed his feet when you walk barefooted
you have to wash feedlot then those
three venerable ones paid homage to the
Blessed One and sat at one side and the
Blessed One said to him I hope you were
keeping well Ananda or n arruda I hope
you were comfortable I hope you are not
having any trouble at all getting alms
food we are keeping well blessed one we
are comfortable and we're not having any
trouble at all getting alms food I hope
Ananda that you are living in Concord
with mutual appreciation without
disputing blending like milk and water
viewing each other we
kindly eyes surely venerable sir we are
living in Concord with mutual
appreciation without disputing blending
like milk and water viewing each other
with kindly eyes but andrew de how do
you live thus venerable sir as to that I
think thus it is a game for me it is a
great game for me that I am living with
such companions in the holy life I
maintain bodily acts of loving kindness
towards the venerable one both openly
and privately I maintain verbal acts of
loving kindness towards them both openly
and privately I maintain mental acts of
loving kindness towards them both openly
and privately I consider why should I
not set aside what I wish to do and do
what these venerables wish to do then I
set aside what I wish to do and do what
the venerable ones wish to do we are
different in body venerable server one
in mind the venerable non dia and the
venerable Kimbella spoke likewise adding
that is how venerable sir we are living
in Concord with mutual appreciation
without disputing and blending like milk
and water or viewing each other with
kindly eyes good good Aniruddha I hope
that you all abide diligent arden and
resolute surely venerable sir we abide
diligent arden and resolute but an
arruda how do you abide us venerable sir
as that whichever of us first returns
from the ville
edge with alms food he prepares the
seats sets out the water for drinking
and for washing puts a refuge bucket in
its place whichever of us returns the
last eats any food left over if he
wishes otherwise he throws it away where
there's no greenery or drops in the
water where there's no life he puts away
the seats in the water for drinking and
for washing he puts away the refuge
bucket after washing it and sweeps out
the refractory however whoever notices
that the pots of water for drinking and
washing or the latrine are low or empty
takes care of them if they're too heavy
for him he calls someone else by signal
of hand and they move it by joining
hands but because of this we do not
break out into speech but every five
days we sit together all night
discussing the Dhamma that is how we
abide illa Janardan and resolute good
good and none Aniruddha but while you're
abiding diligent ardent and resolute
have you attained any superhuman states
a distinction and knowledge and vision
vision worthy of noble ones a
comfortable abiding what he's actually
asking is have you gotten into drama
those all dramas are considered
superhuman States venerable sir as we
abide diligent arden and resolute we
perceive both radiance and vision of
forms soon afterwards the radiance and
vision of forms disappear your object to
meditation but we have not discovered
the cause for that you should discover
the cause for that aniruddha before my
enlightenment while I was still only in
unenlightened Bodhisattva I do perceived
radiance an object of meditation soon
afterwards the radiance and the object
of meditation disappeared however I
thought what is the cause and condition
why this radiance and meditation object
have disappeared then I considered thus
doubt a rose in me and because of doubt
my collected pneus fell away when my
collectiveness fell away the radiance
and object of meditation disappeared I
shall so act that doubt will not arise
in me again now the key part of this is
asking the question if you have
restlessness come up to ask yourself why
what's the cause and condition why it is
why I'm not staying on the object of
meditation you just do that one time and
go back to your object to meditation the
answer will come
as an arruda I was abiding diligent
arden and resolute I perceived both
radiance and my object of meditation
soon afterward the radiance and the
object of meditation disappeared I
thought what is the cause and condition
why the radiance and the object of
meditation have disappeared then I
considered this inattention arose in me
and because of inattention my
collectiveness fellow eight when my
collectiveness fell away the radiance
and object of best Meditation
disappeared so you want to pay attention
so well I shall so act that neither
doubt nor an attention will arise in me
again as a naruto is abiding diligent
ardent and resolute i perceive both
radiance and object to meditation soon
afterwards the radiance and object of
meditation disappeared I can I I thought
what is the cause and condition why the
radiance and object of meditation have
disappeared then I considered thus when
I considered thus sloth and torpor arose
and me because of sloth and torpor my
collected miss fell away when my
collected pneus fell away the radiance
and object to manipulation disappeared I
shall so act that neither doubt Noren
attention nor sloth and torpor will
arise in me again as an arruda
I was abiding diligent ardent and
resolute I considered thus fear arose in
me and because fear because of fear my
collectiveness fell away when my
collected pneus fell away the radiance
and object of meditation disappeared
suppose a man set out on a journey and
murderers left out on both sides of him
then fear would arise in him because of
that so to fear Rosen me the radiance an
object of meditation disappeared I
considered thus I shall act that neither
doubt nor in attention or sloth and
torpor nor fear will arise in me again
how do you do that well it's kind of
hard when there's fear alright well
that's kind of hard when you have fear
my first thing you want to do is
recognize it you have it then you want
to start relaxing your body because your
body gets real tense and just kind of
lightly sweep your body and see where
the tension is and just let it be then
you do the six ours
usually in my bra and once I pay a
little attention to breathing well it
can but it happens in the body so once
you get used to being able to see the
fear then it won't be so overwhelming
and that kind of turns into a game as an
arruda was abiding diligent arden and
resolute I considered thus elation arose
and me and because of elation my
collected miss fell away when my
collected pneus fell away the radiance
and object of meditation disappeared
suppose a man seeking one entrance to a
hidden treasure came all at once upon
five entrances to a hidden treasure then
elation would arise in him because of
that so to elation rosen me the radiance
and object of meditation disappeared I
considered thus I I shall so act that
neither doubt nor inattention nor sloth
and torpor nor fear no relation well
arising me again so you get elated what
do you have to do you have to use your
object or your wish to be peaceful and
calm feel the peace and columns
as an arruda I was abiding diligent
arden and resolute I considered death
inertia arose in me inertia just like a
movement you just don't feel like and
because of inertia my collected pneus
fell away when my collectiveness fell
away the radiance an object of
meditation disappeared I shall so act
that neither doubt nor inattention naw
relation or inertia will arise in me
again as an arruda is abiding diligent
hardened and resolute I considered thus
excess of energy arosen me and because
of excess of energy my collected pneus
fell away when my collected pneus fell
away the radiance and object of
meditation disappeared suppose a man
were to grip a quail tightly with both
hands it would die then in there so to
an excess of energy arose in me the
radiance an object of meditation
disappeared i considered thus I shall so
act that neither doubt nor an attention
or inertia nor an excess of energy will
arise in me again so it's a matter of
noticing how much energy you're putting
into something then as you go deeper it
gets more subtle so you just have small
small tiny small tiny adjustments
Aniruddha as I was abiding diligent
Arden and resolute I considered thus
deficiency of energy arose in me and
because of the deficiency of energy my
collectiveness fell away when my
collected in this fell away the radiance
and object of meditation disappeared
suppose a man were to grip a quail
loosely it would fly out of his hands so
two deficient so you have energy arose
in me you see that's that's the balance
thing oh it gets better I considered
thus I shall so act that neither doubt
Noren attention or an excess energy nor
a deficiency of energy will arise in me
again as an arroyo is abiding diligent
arden and resolute I considered thus
longing arose in me
and because of longing my collectiveness
fell away when my collectiveness fell
away the radiance and object of
meditation disappears I shall so act
that neither doubt nor an attention or
deficiency of energy nor longing will
arise again longing is a good one
because everybody kind of gets caught
with that one see there
there is such a thing as wholesome greed
okay you start pointing your mind
towards Nibhana towards letting go of
all suffering and then you let it go and
just go with that direction that's what
you're doing right now so when you start
wanting it and start thinking about it
all the time and really getting involved
in having it come to you that longing is
a hindrance kalisa is is a poly word
that means Feder that's Jerry's that's
Jerry's
but when you start just thinking how I
wish it would happen now I'm going to be
getting tired I want it to happen now
that kind of longing makes your energy
unbalanced see if you if you have a
preconceived idea of what your
meditation is going to be like it's
never that way well you have to let go
of the preconceived ideas and you've
noticed it already when you when you
have a great sitting and the next time
you walk a little bit and come back I
want to do that again okay what happens
that small desire makes you put in too
much energy and now you have
restlessness contend with because it's
an excess of energy so instead of having
that desire to have a good meditation
ask yourself I wonder what's going to
happen this time and then see
as an arruda I was abiding diligent
hearted and resolute I considered thus I
still don't understand this part very
much perception of diversity the concept
of change
a rose and me and because of the concept
of change my collected this fell away
when my collected pneus fell away the
radiance and object of meditation
disappeared I shall so act that neither
doubt Noren attention nor longing nor
perception of a concept of change that's
thinking about change instead of
actually noticing the change yeah
because perception means the naming of
it
instead of really seeing it the way it
is I have a feeling that that's what a
problem the problem that an awful lot of
the past annoyed go through as a naruto
is abiding diligent hearted and resolute
i considered thus excessive meditation
arose in me see and because of excessive
meditation my collectiveness fell away
when my collected miss fell away the
radiance and object of meditation
disappeared I shall so act that neither
doubt nor inattention nor / the concept
of change nor excessive meditation shall
arise in me again when metod Aniruddha I
understood that doubt is an imperfection
of mind I abandoned doubt an
imperfection of mine when I understood
that inattention sloth and torpor fear
elysian inertia excess of energy
deficiency of energy longing concepts of
change and excessive meditation is an
imperfection of mine these are all
things that will knock you off balance I
abandoned these with an imperfection of
mine as an arruda I was abiding diligent
hearted and resolute I perceived
radiance but I didn't see the object of
meditation I saw the object of
meditation but I didn't perceive the
radiance even for a whole night or a
whole day or a whole day in
night I thought here's the question
again what is the cause and condition
for this then I considered thus on the
occasion when I do not attend to this to
the object of meditation but attend to
the radiance then I perceive the
radiance but I do not see the object of
meditation on the occasion when I do not
attend to the radiance but attend to the
object of meditation then I see the
object of meditation but not but do not
perceive the radiance even for a whole
night the whole day or whole day in the
night as an arruda I was abiding
diligent arden and resolute I perceive
limited radiance and limited object of
meditation I perceived immeasurable
radiance and saw a measurable object of
meditation even for a whole night or a
whole day or a whole day in the night I
thought what is the cause and condition
for this then I considered thus on the
occasion when my collected pneus is
limited my vision is limited and with
limited vision I perceived limited
radiance and object of meditation on the
occasion when my collected witness was
immeasurable my vision is immeasurable
with immeasurable vision I perceived
immeasurable radiance and see a
measurable object to meditation even for
a whole night or a whole day
a whole day in the night when an arruda
I understood that doubt is an
imperfection of mind and had abandoned
doubt an imperfection of mine when I
understood that in attention is an
imperfection of mine and had abandoned
inattention abandoned sloth and torpor
abandoned fear abandon elation abandon
inertia a band excess of energy
abandoned deficiency of energy abandoned
longing abandoned the concept of change
abandoned excessive meditation an
imperfection of mine then I thought I
have abandoned these those imperfections
of mine now let me develop
collectiveness in three ways thereupon
an ax rude i developed collected pneus
with thinking and examining thought i
develop collectiveness without thinking
but with examining thought only this is
aa bhi dama I develop collectiveness
without thinking and without examining
thought I developed collectiveness with
joy I developed collected pneus without
joy I develop collected pneus
accompanied by happiness I develop
concentration accompanied by equanimity
and we just went through the first four
John us then Aniruddha i had developed
collectiveness with thinking and
examining thought when i develop
collected pneus accompanied by
equanimity the knowledge and vision
arose in me my deliverance is unshakable
this is my last birth now there is no
more renewal of being and now what we're
talking about here is going through all
of the jobs see the 4th jhana has four
sub parts and they're they're called the
aruba Jonathan a lot of people call it
the 5th 6th 7th 8th jhana but
technically there's only four dramas and
that's why they call it the aruba
jonna's but they don't call on Jonna
these are basis base of infinite space
base of infinite consciousness like that
when aniruddha i had developed
collectiveness with thinking and
examining thought how I already read
that oh I didn't okay that is what the
Blessed One said the venerable aniruddha
was satisfied and delighted in the
Blessed ones words so all of these
imperfections of mine are just another
way of saying this is distraction and to
be able to recognize what the
distraction is is sometimes helpful and
sometimes not if it really pulls your
went mind away then you start asking
yourself the question what's the cause
of this why why is my mind like that
I'll give you an example when I was at a
meditation center working i just got
done with a one-month retreat and there
was a lot of things to do around the
house and the some of the windows were
falling apart and things like that and i
needed to fix him but this guy came for
a retreat now he was going to be there
by himself
and teacher decided that it would be
good if somebody SAT with him so he came
and asked me if I would do the one month
retreat with with the the new guy that
just came and yeah sure that's what I'm
here for and I'm ready for it the first
three days of my retreat I was so
restless i was going out of my mind so I
asked the question what's the cause of
this because of the restlessness was I
really didn't want to be doing the
retreat I wanted to be fixing the
windows and as soon as I saw that I went
oh I can fix Windows anytime let that go
and then my mind became immediately com
so just a little tiny desire can make
the restlessness arrived so what's your
what you really need to do is to be able
to recognize the cause and you don't
need to ask the question over and over
again i just asked at one time and maybe
an hour later the answer came that I
didn't really want to be doing that I
wanted to be doing this other stuff so
it was real easy to let it go and that's
I was putting in the desire to not be
doing that and I that wasn't able to
recognize it until I asked the question
your intuition will always give you the
answer but you have to slow down enough
to recognize that that's what it is
and that's how you develop your insight
into the true nature of everything you
start getting a Wow's after a while
because of me it's yeah yeah well look
at what happened today and there was
just an excess of meditation that's all
it was so I told you to go off and play
and now how does your mind feel yeah
you're just getting too serious you were
you were caught up in thinking a lot and
sometimes the remedy for that is just
cool thing cool off and play doing this
or that sometimes it's not sometimes you
have to sit with it that's the advantage
of being around the guide
so do you have any questions now
you