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Dhammaratana Journal is published byWat PadhammaratanaThe Buddhist Meditation Center of Pittsburgh5411 Glenwood Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15207Tel(412)521-5095E-mail : [email protected]@yahoo.comHomepage : www.bmcpitts.orgwww.facebook.com/bmcpittswww.youtube.com/bmcpitts
TheaboveisatranslationofaThaiverseoftenrecitedbyoneofourparents. Itsaysat least threethings. Thefirstoneis that things
alwayschange.Thereisthetruthofsufferinginoneformoranother,subtleorobvious.Andthenallphenomenaareconditionedandnotinourcompletecontrol. Thesecondmessage is that ifwe lookoutsideofourselves inordertogainsatisfaction,wewillbedisappointed. Thethirdisthehopethatwecanbeateasewithourselvesifwelookinwardandfocusonourownminds. The Buddha encourages us to apply the three perceptions ofimpermanence,unsatisfactoriness,andnot-selftoallphenomena.Theteachingonnot-selfisthemostfundamentalandunique.
ธรรมรัตน์ Dhammaratana ธรรมรัตน์ Dhammaratana4 5 Not-selfmeans a process of being conditioned. Being condi-tionedinvolvesaprocessofformationintoanentityfrommanycompo-nentsthatoftencannotbeeasilyrecognizedoncetransformed.Andthisentitywillnotbeunderitsowncontrolsinceitfacesimpermanence.
itboundstocausesufferingtoacertaindegreewhetherwecanrecog-nizeitornot.Toknowthisaheadoftime,then,istobereadywhenithappensandtogiveustimetofindtheremedy. Thenextquestionishowtospotandknowthesethreepercep-tions. AccordingtotheteachingsoftheBuddha,tofollowtheNobleEightfoldPath is the answer. Thepath consists of the three-prongedapproachofmoralprinciples,meditation,andwisdom. Moralprincipleshelp to setusup formeditation. Meditationis theway to achievewisdom. But in the process, eachwill help toreinforceoneanother.Asweprogressonourownpathofpractice,ourmindswillbemoreatease,andtheendofsufferingwillbenearer. Meditationisthewaytotrainourmindsto“know.”Appropriateattentionisrequiredinthisendeavor.Thissoundssimpleenough.Whatisneeded for thepractice,however, ispersistenceandanappropriatelevelofeffort.TheBuddhagivesasimileofamusicalinstrumentthatrequirestuningthestringswithpropertensioninordertomaketherightsound. Whatdowetrainourmindstoknow?Theansweristoknowhowwe can use the realizations about impermanence, unsatisfactori-ness,andnot-selfinourownpracticetobringabouttheendofsuffer-ing.SoinsteadoftheBuddha’steachingsbeingjustatheorytous,wepracticesothatwecanknowandseeforourselves.
istheessenceofthistechnique.Theideaistoknowthestateofourownmindsinanyparticularmoment.Wewillfindouteventuallythatourmindsmoveveryquickly.Whenthemindismoreconcentrated,how-ever,itstartstobeawarefasterandsharper.Themindthatkeepsfocus-ingonthebreathproperlyandlongenoughwilleventuallybeawareofitself.Thisiswhatitmeanswhenwesaythemind“knows.”Thisisabasicskillthatweallcandevelopifwetry. Looking back at the introductory verse,we can conclude thatinordertokeepourmindsonevenground,wemustmakeuseoftheknowledge fromour life. TheBuddha teaches that things in life areunstable.Wesufferbecauseofourdesiretohavemoreortonothavethingswedonotwant. Thefundamentalrealizationbehindallthisisthatallthingsareconditioned.Whenwepracticemeditation,ithelpstochangeourreactionstowhatishappeningaroundus,butmostim-portantly, towhat is happening in our ownminds. At this pointwecandevelopanimportantqualitycalledequanimity.Itisdescribedasabeginningoftheabilitytoletgoofmanythingsthathaveclutteredourminds.Byfine-tuningourknowledgewecankeepourmindsatease.
thosegatheredheretolisten,sothatyouwilltaketheDhammaandputitintopracticeasawayofachievingthebenefitsthataresupposedtocomefromlisteningtotheDhamma. Today,VisakhaPuja,isanextremelyimportantdayintheBud-dhisttradition,foritwasonthisdaythattheBuddhawasborn,and35years laterawoke to theunexcelledrightself-awakening,andanother45yearslaterpassedawayintototalnibbana.Ineachcase,theseeventstookplaceonthefull-moondayinMay,whenthemoonisintheVi-sakhaasterism,whichiswhythedayiscalledVisakhaPuja.
Every year when this important day comes around again, weBuddhiststaketheopportunitytopayhomagetotheBuddhaasawayofexpressingourgratitudeforhisgoodness.Wesacrificeourdailyaf-fairstomakemeritinaskillfulwaybydoingsuchthingsaspracticinggenerosity,observingtheprecepts,andlisteningtotheDhamma.ThisiscalledpayinghomagetothevirtuesoftheTripleGem:theBuddha,Dhamma,andSangha.TheBuddhaislikeourfather,whiletheDhammaislikeourmother—inthatit'swhatgivesbirthtoourknowledgeoftheBuddha'steachings.Atpresentourfatherhaspassedaway,leavingonlyourmother still alive.Bothof themhavebeenprotectingus, lookingafterus,sothatwe'vebeenabletostayfreeandhappyuptothepresent.We'rethusgreatlyintheirdebtandshouldfindawayofshowingourgratitudeinkeepingwiththefactthatwearetheirchildren. Ordinarily,whenpeople'sparentsdie, theyhavetocryandla-ment,wearblack,etc.,asawayofshowingtheirmourning.OnVisakhaPuja—which is the anniversaryof thedayonwhichour father, theBuddha,passedaway—weshowourmourningtoo,butwedoitinadifferentway.Insteadofcrying,wechantthepassagesreflectingonthevirtuesoftheBuddha,Dhamma,andSangha.Insteadofdressingupinblack,wetakeoffourprettyjewels,gowithoutperfumeandcologne,anddressverysimply.Asfor thecomfortablebedsandmattressesonwhichwenormally lie,weabstainfromthem.Insteadofeating threeorfourtimesaday,aswenormallyliketodo,wecutbacktoonlytwotimesorone.Wehavetogiveupourhabitualpleasuresifwe'regoingtoshowourmourningfortheBuddha—ourfather—inasincereandgenuineway. Inadditiontothis,webringflowers,candles,andincensetoof-ferinhomagetotheBuddha,Dhamma,andSangha.Thisiscalledami-sa-puja,ormaterialhomage.Thisisaformofpracticeontheexternallevel—amatterofourwordsanddeeds.Itcomesundertheheadingsofgenerosityandvirtue,butdoesn'tcountasthehighestformofhom-age.There'sstillanotherlevelofhomage—patipatti-puja,orhomagethroughthepractice—whichtheBuddhasaidwassupreme:i.e.,medi-tation,orthedevelopmentofthemindsothatitcanstandfirmlyinitsowninnergoodness,independentofanyandalloutsideobjects.ThisisthecrucialpointthattheBuddhawantedustofocusonasmuchaspos-sible,forthiskindofpracticewaswhatenabledhimtoreachthehigh-estattainment,becomingaRightlySelf-awakenedBuddha,andenabled
thesocietyofgoodpeopleatlarge.That'swhatwemeanbyfools.Ifyouassociatewithpeopleofthissort,it'sasifyou'relettingthempullyouintoacavewherethere'snothingbutdarkness.Thedeeperyougo,thedarkeritgets,tothepointwhereyoucan'tseeanylightatall.There'snowayout.Themoreyouassociatewithfools,thestupideryouget,andyoufindyourselfslippingintowaysthatleadtonothingbutpainandsuffering.Butifyouassociatewithwisepeopleandsages,they'llbringyoubackoutintothelight,sothatyou'llbeabletobecomemoreintel-ligent.You'llhavetheeyestoseewhat'sgood,what'sbad,what'sright,what'swrong.You'llbeabletohelpyourselfgainfreedomfromsuffer-ingandturmoil,andwillmeetwithnothingbuthappiness,progress,andpeace.Thisiswhywe'retaughttoassociateonlywithgoodpeopleandtoavoidassociatingwithbad. Ifweassociatewithbadpeople,we'llmeetupwithtroubleandpain.Ifweassociatewithgoodpeople,we'llmeetupwithhappiness.Thisisawayofgivingaprotectiveblessingtoourselves.Thissortofprotective blessing is somethingwe can provide for ourselves at anytime,atanyplaceatall.We'llgainprotectionwherever,whenever,weprovideit.Forthisreasonweshouldprovideaprotectiveblessingforourselvesatalltimesandallplacesforthesakeofourownsecurityandwell-being. As for things deserving homage: whether they're the sorts ofthings that deservematerial homage or homage through the practice,theactofhomageprovidesaprotectiveblessinginthesameway.Itpro-videshappinessinthesameway.Thehappinessthatliesintheworld,thatdependsonpeopleandexternalthings,hastosufferdeathandre-birth; but the happiness of theDhamma is an internal happiness thatdependsentirelyonthemind.It'sareleasefromsufferingandstressthatdoesn'trequireustoreturntoanymoredeathandrebirthintheworldeveragain.Thesetwoformsofhappinesscomefrommaterialhomageandhomagethroughthepractice,thingsthatcaneithermakeuscomebacktoberebornorfreeusfromhavingtobereborn.Thedifferenceliesinonelittlething:whetherwewanttoberebornornot. Ifwecreatelong,drawn-outcauses,theresultswillhavetobelonganddrawn-outaswell.Ifwecreateshortcauses, theresultswillhave to be short, too. Long, drawn-out results are those that involvedeathandrebirthwithoutend.Thisreferstothemindwhosedefilementshaven'tbeenpolishedaway,themindthathascravingsandattachments
ธรรมรัตน์ Dhammaratana ธรรมรัตน์ Dhammaratana16 17fastenedonthegoodandbadactionsofpeopleandthingsintheworld.If peoplediewhen theirminds are like this, theyhave to comebackandbe reborn in theworld.Tocreate short causes, though,means tocutthroughanddestroytheprocessofbecomingandbirthsoasnevertogive rise to theprocessagain.This refers to themindwhose innerdefilementshavebeenpolishedoffandwashedaway.Thiscomesfromexaminingthefaultsandformsofdarknessthatariseinourownhearts,keeping inmind thevirtuesof theBuddha,Dhamma,andSangha,oranyofthe40meditationtopicsthataresetoutinthetexts,tothepointwherewecanseethroughallmentalfabricationsinlinewiththeirnatureasevents.Inotherwords,weseethemasarising,remaining,andthendisintegrating.Wekeeptherangeofourawarenessshortandclosetohome—ourownbody,fromheadtofoot—withoutlatchingontoanyofthegoodorbadactionsofanyoneoranythingintheworld.Welookforasolidfoundationforthemind,sothatitcanstayfixedandsecureentirelywithinitself,withnoattachmentatall,evenforthebody.Whenwe'vereachedthisstate,thenwhenwediewewon'thavetocomeswim-mingbacktoberebornintheworldeveragain. Whetherwegivematerialhomageorhomagethroughtheprac-tice,ifwepullthefocalpointofthemindoutandplaceitinouractions—i.e., ifwegetattachedtoourgoodactions,as inpracticingvirtue,generosity, etc. — then that's called vattagamini-kusala, skillfulnessleadingintothecycle.Themindisn'tfree.Ithastobecometheslaveofthisorthatthing,thisorthataction,thisorthatpreoccupation.Thisisalong,drawn-outcausethatwillforceustocomebackandbereborn.Butifwetaketheresultsofourgoodactionsintermsofvirtue,generos-ity,etc.,andbringthemintothemind'sinnerfoundation,sothatthey'restashedawayinthemind,withoutlettingthemindrunoutafterexternalcauses, this isgoing tohelpcutdownonour statesofbecomingandbirthsothateventuallywedon'thavetocomebackandbereborn.Thisisvivattagamini-kusala,skillfulnessleadingoutofthecycle.Thisisthedifferencebetweenthesetwoformsofskillfulness. Thehumanmindislikeabaelfruit.Whenit'sfullyripeitcannolongerstayonthetree.Ithastofalloff,hittheground,andeventuallydecayintothesoil.Then,whenit'sbeenexposedtotherightamountofairandwater,theseedgraduallysproutsagainintoatrunkwithbranch-es,flowers,andfruitcontainingallitsancestryintheseeds.Eventually
ธรรมรัตน์ Dhammaratana ธรรมรัตน์ Dhammaratana18 19down.Don'tletthebodybreathewithoutyourmindgettingsomegooduseoutofit.Apersonwhodoesn'tknowhisorherownbreathissaidtobedead.Heedless.Lackinginmindfulness.AstheBuddhasaid,heed-lessnessisthepathtodanger,todeath.Wecan'tletourmindsrunoutandgetstuckonexternalpreoccupations,i.e.,thoughtsofpastorfuture,whether they'regoodorbad.Wehave tokeepourawareness right inthepresent,atthebreathcominginandout.Thisiscalledsinglenessofpreoccupation (ekaggatarammana).Wecan't let themindslipoff intoanyotherthoughtsorpreoccupationsatall.Ourmindfulnesshastobefirmlyestablishedinourawarenessofthepresent.Themindwillthenbeabletodevelopstrength,abletowithstandanypreoccupationsthatcomestrikingagainstit,givingrisetofeelingsofgood,bad,liking,anddisliking—thehindrancesthatwoulddefilethemind. Wehavetokeepourawarenessexclusivelyinthepresent,alertandquicktosensethearisingandpassingawayofpreoccupations,let-tinggoofbothgoodandbadpreoccupationswithoutgettingattachedtothem.Whenthemindstaysfirmlyfocusedinitsonepreoccupation—thebreath—itwillgiverisetoconcentration,tothepointwheretheeyeofinnerknowledgeappears.Forexample,itmightgiverisetopowersofclairvoyanceorclairaudience,enablingustoseeeventspastandfuture,nearandfar.Oritmightgiverisetoknowledgeofpreviouslives,sothatwecanknowhowweandotherbeingshavebeenborn,died,come,andgone,andhowallthesethingshavecomeaboutfromgoodandbadac-tions.Thiswillgiverisetoasenseofdismayanddisenchantmentwithstatesofbecomingandbirth,andwilldissuadeusfromeverwantingtocreatebadkammaeveragain. Thiskindofdisenchantmentissomethingusefulandgood,with-outanydrawbacks.It'snotthesamethingasitsnearcousin,weariness.Wearinessiswhathappenswhenaperson,say,eatstodaytothepointofgettingsofullthatthethoughtofeatinganymoremakeshimweary.Buttomorrow,hiswearinesswillwearoffandhe'll feel likeeatingagain.Disenchantment, though,doesn'twearoff.You'll never again see anypleasure in the objects of your disenchantment.You see birth, aging,illness,anddeathasstressandsuffering,andsoyoudon'teverwanttogiverisetotheconditionsthatwillforceyoutocomebackandundergobirth,aging,illness,anddeatheveragain. Theimportantfactorsforanyonepracticingtogainreleasefromallstressandsufferingarepersistenceandendurance,foreverykindof
goodnesshastohaveobstaclesblockingtheway,alwaysreadytode-stroyit.EvenwhentheBuddhahimselfwasputtinghiseffortintothepractice,thearmiesofMarawererightonhisheels,pesteringhimallthetime,tryingtokeephimfromattaininghisgoal.Still,heneverwa-vered,nevergotdiscouraged,neverabandonedhisefforts.HetookhisperfectionoftruthfulnessandusedittodriveawaytheforcesofMarauntiltheywereutterlydefeated.HewaswillingtoputhislifeonthelineinordertodobattlewiththeforcesofMara,hisheartsolid,unflinch-ing,andbrave.Thiswaswhyhewaseventuallyabletoattainaglori-ousvictory,realizingtheunexcelledrightself-awakening,becomingourBuddha.Thisisanimportantexamplethatheasour"father"setforhisdescendantstoseeandtotaketoheart. Sowhenwe'reintentontrainingourmindstobegood,thereareboundtobeobstacles—theforcesofMara—justasinthecaseoftheBuddha,butwesimplyhavetoslashourwaythroughthem,usingourpowersofenduranceandthefullextentofourabilitiestofightthemoff.It'sonlynormalthatwhenwehavesomethinggood,therearegoingtobeotherpeoplewhowantwhatwe'vegot,inthesamewaythatsweetfruittendstohavewormsandinsectstryingtoeatit.Apersonwalkingalong the roadempty-handeddoesn't attract anyone's attention,but ifwe'recarryingsomethingofvalue,therearesuretobeotherswhowillwantwhatwe'vegot,andwilleventrytostealitfromus.Ifwe'recar-ryingfoodinourhand,dogsorcatswilltrytosnatchit.Butifwedon'thaveanyfoodinourhand,theywon'tpounceonus. It'sthesamewaywhenwepractice.Whenwedogood,wehavetocontendwithobstaclesifwewanttosucceed.Wehavetomakeourheartshardandsolidlikediamondorrock,whichdon'tburnwhenyoutrytosetthemonfire.Evenwhentheygetsmashed,thepiecesmaintaintheirhardnessasdiamondandrock.TheBuddhamadehisheartsohardandsolidthatwhenhisbodywascremated,partsofitdidn'tburnandstillremainasrelicsforustoadmireeventoday.Thiswasthroughthepowerofhispurityandtruthfulness. Soweshouldsetourmindsonpurifyingourbodiesandmindsuntiltheybecomesotrulyelementalthatfirewon'tburnthem,justliketheBuddha'srelics.Evenifwecan'tgetthemtobethathard,atleastweshouldmakethemliketamarindseedsintheircasing:evenifinsectsborethroughthecasingandeatallthefleshofthetamarindfruit,theycan'tdoanythingtotheseeds,whichmaintaintheirhardnessasalways.
ธรรมรัตน์ Dhammaratana ธรรมรัตน์ Dhammaratana20 21 So,tosummarize:Cuttingdownonstatesofbecomingandbirthmeans retracting our awareness inward.We have to take the mind'sfoundationandplant itfirmlyinthebody,withoutgettingattachedtoanyoutsideactivityatall.Wehavetoletgoofeverythingofeverysortthatfollowsthe lawsofevents,arisingandpassingawayin linewithitsnature.Wedogood,butdon'tletthemindgorunningoutafterthegood.Wehavetolettheresultsofourgoodnesscomerunningintothemind.Wepullineverythingofeverysorttostashitawayinourmind,anddon'tletthemindgetscatteredoutside,gettinghappyorsadovertheresultsofitsactionsoranythingelseexternal.Wedothisinthesamewaythatthebaelfruitkeepsthetrunk,branches,flowers,andleavesofthebaeltreecurledupinsidetheseed.Ifwecanthenpreventoutsideconditionsofsoilandwaterfromcombiningwiththeinsidepotentialoftheseed,itwon'tbeabletounfurlintoanewbaeltree. WhoeverpracticesinthewayI'vediscussedhereispayinghom-age toour lordBuddha in thecorrectway.Suchapersonwillbeen-dowedwithblessingsprovidinghappinessthroughouttime. Here I've discussed someverses from theMangalaSutta as awayofdevelopingourdiscernment,sothatwewilltaketheselessonsandputthemintopracticeasawayofpayinghomagetotheBuddha,Dhamma,andSanghaonthisVisakhaPujaday. That'senoughfornow,soI'llstophere.Evam.