Pilgrimmage in SriLanka

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the Hague,

April 1977.

Pilgrimage in Sri Lanka

byNina van Gorkom

Chapter 1.

Buddhism in Daily life was the theme of a Buddhist seminar held in SriLanka. Do we really practise the Buddhas teachings in our daily lives? Arent

we often forgetful of them? When we are impatient, where are the lovingkindness (mett) and compassion (karu) the Buddha taught? In theory weknow about the different ways of wholesomeness he taught. We think that wehave understood how to cultivate wholesome deeds, wholesome speech and

wholesome thoughts, but most of the time we are forgetful of wholesomeness.

A schoolteacher in Sri Lanka told me that he does not teach the children in atheoretical way, but that he teaches them how to apply immediately what theyhave learnt. I felt like a child who has been taught how to apply the Dhammain the different situations of life. I found out that I overlooked many things

which are taught in the suttas, such as kindness, gentle speech, speech at therigh time, patience and many other ways of wholesomeness. We think that wehave understood the Dhamma, but we have not really understood it. It wasmost helpful to be reminded of the practice of the Dhamma and to discuss theDhamma with many new friends we made in Sri Lanka.

I was reminded to live in the present moment, not in the past or the future,and to study the present moment with mindfulness. If there is no study ofthe present moment, right understanding (pa) cannot grow, Khun Sujin

reminded us every day.

In the past, satipahna (the foundations of mindfulness) was taught and wi-dely practised in Sri Lanka by monks, nuns and layfollowers. Countless peoplein Sri Lanka attained arahatship. They attained because they were mindful ofany reality appearing at the present moment throught eyes, ears, nose, ton-gue, bodysense and mind-door.

Captain Perera of the Buddhist Information Center in Colombo organised afive week seminar of Dhamma discussions which were held in Colombo,

Aurdhapura and Kandy. Ms. Sujin (Khun Sujin) and Ms. Duangduen hadcome from Thailand, Sarah from England and I from Holland. We all met in


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Sri Lanka on the occasion of this seminar. The venerable Bhikkhu Dhammad-hara and the venerable Bhikkhu Jetananda had come from Thailand severalmonths ago and Samanera Sundara arrived at the same time as Khun Sujin.

The seminar was opened in Colombo by the venerable Mah Nayaka (thechief monk) with the traditional lighting of the oillamp. The sessions were

held nightly in the form of discussions. During the day we met our Singhalesefriends in their homes and discussed Dhamma in a more personal way. Allthrough those five weeks we spent in Sri Lanka we enjoyed the wonderful hos-pitality of the Singhalese while we stayed as guests in their houses. They gaveus every day delicious curry luncheons and dinners, there was no end to theirgenerosity. Captain Perera looked after us throughout our stay and when wehad problems with visas or other matters he just smiled and said, All woundsget healed.

The Buddha visited Sri Lanka three times and during these visits he went tosixteen different places. Relics of the Buddha have been enshrined in severalstupas (dgabas) and a sapling of the original Bodhi Tree in Gaya was broughtover in olden times. It was planted in Anurdhapura where it is still growingtoday. A new sprout developed recently from this tree. Is this not a hopefulsign that the Dhamma is still flourishing in Sri Lanka?

I became interested in the history of Sri Lanka and started to read the Mah-vasa, an old chronicle, compiled at the end of the fifth or the beginning ofthe sixth century A.C. After the third Council, which was held in India duringthe reign of King Asoka (250 B.C.), missionaries were sent out to differentcountries. The arahat Mahinda, King Asokas son, was sent to Sri Lanka to-gether with four other monks, a samanera (novice) and a lay-disciple. They

went to Mahintale where they met the Singhalese King Devnampiya Tissawhile he was hunting deer. The King laid aside his bow and after Mahinda hadtested him on his readiness to hear the Dhamma he preached to him the Les-ser Discourse on the Simile of the Elephants Foot Print (Middle LengthSayings I, no 27). This sutta describes the life of a bhikkhu who abstains fromill deeds through body, speech and mind, who guards the six doors throughmindfulness, develops jhna (absorption-concentration) and finally attainsarahatship.

The following day Mahinda and the other monks went to Anurdhapura whe-re the King presented Mahinda with the royal park. This place became theMah Vihra (Great Monastery), a famous center of Buddhism. The monas-tery of Cetiyapabbata and many other monasteries were established as well.

Mahinda had brought the Tipiaka and the Commentaries to Sri Lanka and

these were translated into Singhalese. Many Singhalese wanted to lead thehomeless life and were ordained as a monk. Women wished to become bhik-khuns, nuns, and in order that they could be ordained, Bhikkhun Saghamit-


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t, Mahindas sister, came to Sri Lanka. She brought the sapling of the Bodhitree from India to Sri Lanka. During the reign of King Devnampiya Tissa theThuprma Dgaba, the oldest stupa in Sri Lanka, was also constructed andin this stupa the relic of the Buddhas right collarbone has been enshrined.

The Buddhist teachings declined in India, but they were preserved in Sri

Lanka. However, when one studies the history of Sri Lanka one sees how diffi-cult it must have been to preserve them. Invading kings and also local kings

who did not support the Sangha threatened the survival of the teachings.

After an invasion by Tamils, King Dutthagman (about 150 B.C.) restored theposition of the Sangha and started to build the Ruvanvelisya, the great andfamous stupa of Anurdhapura, which contains relics of the Buddha and

which is together with the Bodhi Tree the center of worship in Anurdhapuraup to today.

Not only wars, also famines have threatened the survival of the teachingswhich were not yet committed to writing. Many people died during those fa-mines and the arahats who survived on roots and fruits continued to recite theteachings with heroic fortitude. When they had no more strength to sit up,they continued reciting while lying down.

Wars, famines and also the introduction of wrong beliefs and wrong practicemade it difficult to preserve the teachings. Finally, in 89 B.C., the teachings

were committed to writing. Five hundred monks undertook this great enterpri-

se in the cave of Aluvihra (Alulena) which we visited during our pilgrimage.

Several centuries later (410 A.C.) Buddhaghosa Thera came from India to SriLanka. Here he composed his famous Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga).He edited all the commentarial material he found in Sri Lanka and translatedthese Commentaries from Singhalese into Pli. The Commentaries to the Vi-naya, to most of the Suttanta and to the seven books of the Abhidhamma areattributed to Buddhaghosa. The Atthaslin (Expositor) is the Commentaryto the first book of the Abhidhamma, the Dhammasangai. Sri Lanka, where

the Tipiaka and the Commentaries were preserved, is an inspiring country tovisit in order to recollect the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. The factthat numerous arahats lived in this country proves that the Dhamma was trulypractised in daily life.

Despite decline of Buddhism and even persecution, the Singhalese have main-tained many wholesome traditions which were originated in the olden times,such as the presenting of dna to the monks, the celebration of UposathaDay 1 and many other ceremonies. The Singhalese of today see the relevanceof the Buddhist teachings in their daily lives. Numerous books on the Dhamma

1 Fasting day, kept on the days of full moon, new moon and sometimes on the daysof the first and last moon-quarter.


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written by learned bhikkhus and layfollowers and also a Buddhist Encyclope-dia are being published today. Many Singhalese are well versed in Pli andthey are able to chant texts from the teachings. Our hostess in Colombo wouldspend the evening of Uposatha day in her shrineroom, chanting in Pali theSatipahna Sutta and other parts of the scriptures. One of our hosts whohad invited us to luncheon recited from the Karanya Mett Sutta in the car,

while his wife was driving. We noticed that people did not only think aboutmett but that they also practised mett. Their mett appears in their genero-sity and their thoughtfulness for the guests they receive into their homes.

Shortly after our arrival in Sri Lanka it was Uposatha Day (Poya Day). Wesaw many people clothed in white who observed eight precepts 2 . Even smallchildren observed these until six at night. We were taken out to the Kelaniyatemple which was the focul point of the Buddhas second visit to Sri Lanka.Near the temple is a stupa in which relics of the Buddha have been enshrined

and there is also a Bodhi Tree. We heard the sound of drums and all aroundon the temple grounds people were sitting in small groups, reciting the Sati-pahna Sutta and other texts. Oillamps were lit, incense was burnt and flo-

wers were offered.

The abbot of the temple explained to us that people in Sri Lanka , before offe-ring flowers, take off all the green parts. They do not keep them in water butlet them dry out. It is the course of nature that flowers have to wither. Elderlypeople are not afraid of ageing and death because they realize that they can-

not escape from them, just as flowers cannot avoid withering.

The stanza which is recited in Sri Lanka when one offers flowers is a beautifulreminder of impermanence. Our host who took us around on that day chantedit for us:

With diverse flowers, the Buddha I adore;

and through this merit may there be release.

Even as these flowers must fade,so does my body march to a state of destruction.

The discussions during the seminar I found very useful. We spoke about themany kinds of kusala the Buddha taught. Dna (generosity), sla (morality)and bhvan (mental development) can be practised in daily life. We read inthe Sigalovda Sutta (Dialogues III, no 31 3 ) that the Buddha, when he was

2 In addition to the five precepts there are others, such as refraining from eating af-

ter midday, from lying on soft beds, from entertainments and from adornments.3 I am using the translation by Ven. Narada, Wheel Publication 14, B.P.S. Kandy, SriLanka.


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staying in the Bamboo Wood near Rjagaha, at the Squirrels Feedingground,spoke to Sigla about good qualities to be developed in daily life. We read, forexample, that the Buddha said to him:

Who is wise and virtuous,

Gentle and keen-witted,

Humble and amenable,

Such a one to honour may attain.

Who is energetic and not indolent,

In misfortune unshaken,

Flawless in manner and intelligent,


Who is hospitable and friendly,

Liberal and unselfish,

A guide, an instructor, a leader,


Generosity, sweet speech,

Helpfulness to others,

Impartiality to all,

As the case demands.

These four winning ways make the world go round,

As the lynchpin in a moving car.

If these in the world exist not,

Neither mother nor father will receive,


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Respect and honour from their children.

Since these four winning ways

The wise appraise in every way;To eminence they attain,

And praise they rightly gain.

When we read these words of advice they may seem simple to us, but how dif-ficult it is to follow them all the time. There are more conditions for unwho-lesome moments of consciousness (akusala cittas) than for wholesome mo-ments of consciousness (kusala cittas) in a day. The more one sees ones lackof kusala, the more one realizes that it is important to know oneself, to knowprecisely the different moments of consciousness which arise. When we seehow ugly akusala is we want to cultivate more kusala. Seeing the disadvanta-ge of akusala and the value of kusala is a degree of wisdom, of understanding.This understanding is the condition for the development of kusala.

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Chapter 2.

The Buddha taught any different ways of kusala and one of these ways isdna, generosity. We should cultivate generosity, but do we know when there

is true generosity?

Generosity does not last. There is no mind or soul which is generous. There isno mind, there are only fleeting moments of consciousness which change allthe time. Citta, consciousness, which arises falls away immediately, and thenit is succeeded by the next citta. Many different types of citta arise and fallaway, succeeding one another. Generosity arises with kusala citta, wholesomeconsciousness, and this does not stay, it falls away immediately, to be succee-ded by the next citta. Akusala citta, unwholesome consciousness, may followshortly after the kusala citta, but we do not notice this. Akusala citta cannotarise at the same time as kusala citta, because only one citta can arise at a ti-me. Attachment or clinging, which is unwholesome, and generosity cannot ari-se at the same time, but attachment may follow shortly after generosity hasfallen away.

There is very little generosity in a day. From the time we are waking up untilwe go to sleep we are getting things for ourselves and how few are the mo-ments we are giving things instead of getting them. Do we know exactly at

which moment there is generosity? We may take for generosity what is actual-

ly attachment. Do we know when attachment arises to the person who recei-ves our gift, attachment to the thing we give, attachment to our wholesomedeed? We cling to the pleasant feeling we derive from giving and we do noteven notice that there is clinging. We may cling to an idea of my giving, wetake kusala for self.

There are many more moments of attachment than we ever thought. We maythink that attachment arises only when we want to possess things, when weare greedy. But there are many forms of attachment, some of which are gross

and some more subtle. Isnt there very often, after we have seen something,clinging to what we have seen? Do we cling to seeing or to our eyes? We

would not want to part with an eye or lose the ability to see. That shows thatthere is attachment. There is bound to be attachment after we have seen,heard, smelt, tasted, and experienced objects through the bodysense, and also

when we experience objects through the mind-door.

One may wonder what the term door means. A door is the means throughwhich citta experiences an object. Seeing experiences visible object throughthe eye-door. The eye-door is the eyesense, a physical phenomenon, rpa,

which is capable of receiving visible object. Eyesense itself does not see but itis a condition for seeing. There are six doors of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body-


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sense and mind-door. There is no self who experiences objects through thesedoorways. There are only different cittas, succeeding one another, which expe-rience an object through one of the six doors.

Attachment, aversion and ignorance can arise on account of what is experien-ced through each of the six doors. Often we take citta for kusala citta when it

is in fact akusala citta. For example, I was helping someone to get buckets ofwater for an old lady. While I was helping I talked about the Dhamma, butthere were many moments of attachment to my kusala. When people in thetemple wished me well and showed their appreciation of kusala, I appreciatedtheir generosity, but I was immediately attached to them and to my kusala.Since different cittas succeed one another so rapidly, it is extremely difficult toknow precisely when the citta is kusala and when akusala. It is the function ofpa, wisdom, to know this. We are so ignorant, and ignorance covers up thetruth. When the citta is kusala, there is no attachment, no aversion and no ig-

norance.

When we come to know ourselves more, we learn that even kusala such asdna can condition attachment. We can learn when we cling to a pleasant re-sult of our good deed, such as a happy rebirth. Or we may realize when con-ceit arises about our good deed: we may think ourselves better than other pe-ople. One has to develop right understanding in order to know the differencebetween kusala and akusala.

Right understanding or wisdom does not always accompany kusala citta. Forexample, one may help others because it is ones nature to do so, withoutthere being right understanding with the kusala citta. One may not know pre-cisely when there is kusala citta and when akusala citta. Someone may offerfood to the monks or offer flowers in the temple because these are good tradi-tions he was taught to observe, but there may not be right understanding withthe kusala citta. Kusala citta does not stay. It falls away and then there isbound to be akusala citta. When there is no right understandiong of kusalaand akusala, one may not realize this. Someone may think that there are kusa-la cittas all the time when he is in the temple or when he is helping others, butin reality many moments of akusala cittas arise without our knowing it.

During the sessions we spoke about mett, loving kindness, and karua, com-passion. We may think that there is pure loving kindness while there are actu-ally many moments of attachment to people. Are we sure when there is truecompassion? We may take for compassion what is aversion. For example,

when we see someone kicking a dog, aversion is bound to arise. When there istrue compassion, there cannot be aversion at the same time. The kusala citta

with compassion is without attachment and without aversion.

Phra Dhammadhara said that it is a healthy shock to see that there is moreoften akusala than kusala. More knowledge of the truth about ourselves sha-


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kes us up and it reminds us to develop right understanding in order to knowmore precisely when there is kusala citta and when akusala citta.

Sla, morality, is another way of kusala the Buddha taught. Abstaining from illdeeds through body, speech and mind is kusala sla. Paying respect to those

who deserve respect and helping others are included in sla as well. Especially

during the sessions in Anurdhapura people asked many questions concerningthe practice of sla. Someone who had a military profession asked whether it isakusala to follow up the order to kill. Khun Sujin asked him, Did you want tokill, or did you have to kill? There is a difference here. Killing is akusala kam-ma, an unwholesome deed, but there are many degrees of akusala kamma.When one wishes wholeheartedly to kill, the degree of akusala is higher than

when one follows up orders.

Those who have not attained enlightenment should not believe that they will

never neglect the five precepts. The tendencies to all kinds of akusala are la-tent in us and when there is an opprtunity we may commit akusala kamma.Someone may for a long time not be in a situation that he would kill, but

when he is in very difficult circumstances, does he know for sure that he willnot kill? One may, for instance, kill insects because guests are coming to oneshouse.

A police officer asked whether he could do his duties with kusala citta. KhunSujin said that in his profession there are many opportunities for helping: hel-ping to keep order, helping people who are in trouble. A judge asked whetherone commits akusala kamma when one has to condemn someone to death.There is the law one has to follow. While someone signs the verdict there maynot be akusala kamma, but he is likely to have akusala citta at such a moment.

One afternoon the judge and his family had come to meet Phra Dhammad-haara while we were sitting under a tree in the area of the Mah Vihara, theGreat Monastery, which is between the Ruwanvelisya, the Great Stupa, andthe Budhi Tree. We found this place where the dhamma was discussed in ol-den times very suitable for a conversation about the dhamma. Phra Dham-

madhara spoke about the danger of ambitions in life. They may cause the ari-sing of many akusala cittas and even akusala kamma, such as telling a lie inorder to attain ones goal. But the receiving of pleasant objects such as honourand esteem are the result of kusala kamma; they can never be the result of ak-usala kamma. Without right understanding we do not know when there is ku-sala citta and when akusala citta, and we do not know how to develop kusala.Thus we are enslaved to our many defilements.

The judge gave some money to a porr woman who came around to our group.

Khun Sujin said:This moment of giving is condiitoned. If there were no con-diitons for giving there could not be any giving. It is useful to be remindedthat there is no self who gives, that there is no person in the giving. At the


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moment of generosity there is only a citta that arises because of conditions. Ifthere had not been giving in the past there could not be giving today. The cittathat is generous arises and then falls away, it does not stay. However, that mo-ment of generosity conditions generosity again, later on. Since each citta con-ditions the succeeding one, good and bad tendencies can be carried on frommoment to moment, from life to life.

Abstaining from wrong speech is a form of sla. We understand this in theory,but do we remember it in our daily life, when we are about to say somethingunpleasant? For example, someone may suggest a plan to us which does notconform to our wishes. Are we impatient and do we say straight away that wedo not like his plan, or are we patient and do we abstain from unpleasantspeech out of consideration for his feelings? We may know that when weshout there is wrong speech; that is very obvious. But do we realize that thereis also wrong speech when we speak with lack of consideration for someone

elses feelings, even though we do not shout? Showing ones dislike throughspeech is speech motivated by aversion. How can that be right speech? Even

when we do not say anything, but keep quiet with aversion at the moment wedo not agree with someone else, it is not kusala citta that abstains form wrongspeech.

In the suttas we read about gentle speech. For example, in the Lesser Simileof the Elephants Footprint, the sutta Mahinda preached to King Devanam-piya Tissa, we read about gentle speech:

... Abandoning harsh speech, he is one who abstains from harsh speech. Wha-tever speech is gentle, pleasing to the ear, affectionate, goiing to the heart, ur-bane, pleasant to manyfolk, agreeable to the manyfolk- he comes to be one

who utters speech like this...

Phra Dhammadhara told me about an event which I find an excellent remin-der to be patient in ones speech. One night the bhikkhus had no microphoneduring the Dhamma session and whenever they wanted to speak they had to

wait for the microphone being handed over to them. They all found this wai-ting very helpful. If one speaks straight away one may speak with akusala citta

when one does not agree with someone e;ses words. If one has to wait onehas time to collect oneself. How difficult it is to always speak with kusala citta.Even when the topic is dhamma there can be attachment to ones own wordsand ideas, there can be pride in ones knowledge, or there can be aversion to-

wards what others say. When akusala citta motivates our speech, we cannotbe of great help to others, even when the topic is Dhamma. Thus we see that


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right understanding of our different cittas is most helpful for the developmentof kusala.

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Chapter 3.

Dna and sla can be performed without right understanding or with right un-derstanding. When they are performed with right understanding they are of ahigher degree of kusala. Bhvan, mental development, is another way of ku-sala and this cannot be practised without right understanding.

There are two kinds of mental development: samatha bhvan or tranquil me-ditation, and vipassan bhvan or the development of insight. Both forms of

mental development need right understanding, but the right understanding insamatha is different from the right understanding in vipassan. Samatha and

vipassan have different aims and their ways of development are different.The aim of samatha is calm. In samatha defilements are temporarily subdued,but they cannot be eradicated.

Samatha is a way of cultivating kusala citta. Those who see the disadvantageof akusala want to develop more conditions for kusala. There are not alwaysopportunities for dna and sla, but if one has understood how to develop sa-

matha, there are conditions for calm, even in ones daily life.What is calm? Is it enjoyment of nature, listening to the birds song, being inquiet surroundings? What we in conventional language call calm is not thesame as the calm that is developed in samatha. The calm that is developed insamatha has to be wholesome, because samatha is a way of mental develop-ment. When there is attachment, there is no calm. One may have attachmentto silence and if right understanding is not developed, one is likely to take for

wholesome calm what is not really wholesome calm. One may think, whenthere is neither pleasant feeling nor unpleasant feeling, but indifferent feeling,

that there must be calm. Indifferent feeling can arise with kusala citta, but alsowith akusala citta. It can arise with the citta that is rooted in attachment (lob-ha-mlacitta) and it arises always with the citta that is rooted in ignorance(moha-mlacitta). Since it is extremely difficult to know exactly when the cittais kusala and when it is akusala, a fine discrimination of ones cittas is necessa-ry for the development of samatha. Thus we see that right understanding is in-dispensable.

Calm arises with every kusala citta. When one is generous or one observes sla,

one is free from attachment (lobha), aversion (dosa) and ignorance (moha),and that is calm. If one has right understanding of the characteristic of calmthere can be conditions for more calm and thus calm can develop. The under-


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standing that is needed in samatha is not merely theoretical understanding.One has to know from direct experience the characteristic of calm and one hasto know precisely when the citta is kusala and when it is akusala.

During the sessions we discussed many times the word meditation. Thisword is misleading. Generally people think that sitting in a quiet place and

trying very hard to concentrate is tranquil meditation or samatha. One may tryvery hard to concentrate, but which types of cittas arise at such moments?Does one concentrate with aversion, because concentration is hard to achieve?Does one concentrate with attachment and with ignorance? Wrong view mayarise when one thinks of my concentration.

We should remember that concentration or one-pointedness (ekaggat ceta-sika) arises with every citta. Its function is to focus on one object. When seeingarises, there is concentration on visible object. When aversion arises, there is

concentration on the object of aversion. When someone performs dna, thereis concentration on the object of dna. When someone observes sla, there isconcentration on the object of sla. When one develops samatha, there is con-centration on the subject of samatha and one does not need to think of con-centration. If someone aims for concentration he is bound to have attachmentor aversion.

One does not have to try to become concentrated when one develops samathasince concentration arises with each citta. When there is right understandingof the object of samatha and there are conditions for more calm, there will bea higher degree of concentration, without there being the need to try. If a per-son is able to develop samatha this is due to conditions.

Calm is of many degrees. In the Buddhas time many people had conditions forthe attainment of jhna, absorption concentration. At the moment of jhnacit-ta sense-impressions do not arise, and attachment, aversion and ignorance aretemporarily subdued.

Can calm arise in daily life? When someone does not lead a secluded life and

he does not have accumulated skill for the attainment of jhna, he can stillhave moments of calm in daily life. The Visuddhimagga (Ch IV-XII) descri-bes forty meditation subjects of samatha. It depends on the inclinations of theindividual which of these subjects can be a condition for calm.

The contemplation of a corpse, which is among the subjects of of samatha, canfor some people be a condition for aversion. But if one thinks of this subject

with right understanding there can be conditions for kusala citta with calm.We may realize that our body now is not different from a corpse: it consists ofrpas, physical phenomena, which do not know anything and which are im-permanent.


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Mindfulness of breath is another subject among the forty meditation subjects(kammahna). The Visuddhimagga explains that this subject is extremelydifficult, one of the most difficult subjects. One should have right understan-ding of breath, otherwise citta cannot become calm. What we call breath isrpa which is conditioned by citta. Bodily phenomena can be conditioned bykamma, by citta, by temperature or by food.

We cling to life, to our body, to our possessions. However, our life depends onbreath, which is only a rpa. So long as we are breathing in and out we arealive, but when we breathe out for the last time that is the end of this life. Of

what use are then our possessions to us, of what use are all the things we areclinging to? If one has accumulated conditions to be mindful of breath withright understanding there can be moments of calm. Depending on ones accu-mulated skill, jhna can be attained through the development of this meditati-on subject. However, if mindfulness of breath is not developed in the right

way it is not bhvan. If there is no precise knowledge of the moments of ak-usala citta and of kusala citta, one is bound to take for bhvan what is notbhvan. Do we like our breath and do we have desire to watch it, becausethat gives us a pleasant sensation? That is not calm but clinging. Breath is verysubtle and not everyone is able to be mindful of it. It is hard to know when itis breath, the rpa conditioned by citta, which appears, and when it is some-thing else we take for breath. Breath can be perceived where it touches the no-setip or the upperlip. When one follows the movement of the abdomen it isnot mindfulness of breath. If one has no conditions to develop calm with this

meditation subject, one should not force oneself. For the development of sa-matha one should choose the right subject, that is, the subject which can con-dition kusala citta with calm. It depends on the individual which subject issuitable. That is why there are forty meditation subjects of samatha.

The recollection of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha are also subjectsof samatha. One may pay respect to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sanghabecause one has been taught to do so, without right understanding of the vir-tues of the Buddha and of his teaching. The citta may be kusala, but there is

no bhvan. Right understanding of the object of calm is necessary for bh-van. If there is right understanding of the Buddhas virtues and of his tea-chings, there may be conditions for citta to be calm, free from lobha, dosa andmoha, for many moments. Such moments can occur in daily life, it is not ne-cessary to go to a quiet place. It is right understanding which is necessary, andif this is lacking, a quiet place will not induce calm. If one sits in front of aBuddha statue and repeats the word Buddha without right understanding,kusala citta may arise, but it is not bhvan.

The brahmavihras (divine abidings) of loving kindness (mett), compassion

(karua), sympathetic joy (mudit) and equanimity (upekkh) are subjects ofsamatha, but they cannot be developed without right understanding of the


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characteristics of these virtues. One may recite the Karanya Mett Sutta inthe morning, but, if one does not develop mett when one is in the companyof other people, can one know the characteristic of mett? If one does notknow the characteristic of mett how can one then develop it as a subject ofsamatha?

When we are in the company of other people we should develop mett and weshould find out when there is attachment which is akusala and when there ismett which is kusala. The difference between attachment and metta shouldbe known very precisely.

One may wonder whether it is possible to develop mett towards ones relati-ves. Is there not bound to be attachment to them? We can develop mett to-wards them if we do not see them as members of our family who belong tous, but as human beings whom we would like to treat with kindness and

thoughtfulness.

When there is true loving kindness, true compassion or the other brahmavi-hras, calm can be developed with these subjects and then calm can increase.That is bhvan.

Another meditation subject is Parts of the Body: Hair of the head, hair ofthe body, nails, teeth, skin... Are there no parts of the body appearing duringthe day? Instead of attachment or aversion we can have moments of calm ifthere is right understanding of this subject. We are attached to the body and

we think that it is beautiful, but when we consider the Parts of the Body, wemay see that there is no beauty, that there are only elements. When we washour hair or cut our nails, there can be moments of calm while consideringParts of the Body.

We may have thought that calm can be developed only when one leads a se-cluded life. We read in the scriptures that many monks in the Buddhas time li-

ved in the forest. This does not mean that everybody has to go to the forest orto a secluded place which is quiet in order to develop calm. Monks who lived

in the forest did so because it was natural for them, it was their inclination.They developed samatha to a high degree and they could attain jhna becausethey had conditions for such a high degree of calm. Before the Buddhas en-lightenment samatha was the highest form of kusala. Today there are notmany people who can attain jhna; it is not known whether there is anybody

who can. However, even if one cannot attain jhna, it is valuable to have calminstead of akusala citta.

It is beneficial to consider the meditation subjects of samatha. Some of themcan condition moments of calm in daily life. However, there is no rule thateverybody has to develop calm. It all depends on the individual whether hehas conditions for the development of calm or not. Right understanding is ne-


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cessary in samatha. The right understanding in samatha knows the differencebetween kusala citta and akusala citta very precisely and it knows the right cn-ditions for calm. Samatha is a way to be temporarily freed from lobha, dosaand moha. However, the right understanding in samatha does not know reali-ties as impermanent, dukkha (suffering) and anatt (non-self), and it does noteradicate defilements. Thus, the right understanding in samatha is differentfrom the right understanding which is developed in vipassan. Only the wis-dom which is developed in vipassan can eradicate the wrong view of self andthe other defilements.

Chapter 4.

The right understanding which is developed in vipassan sees realities as theyare: impermanent, dukkha and anatt. This understanding has to be develo-ped, it cannot arise without conditions.

We have accumulated such a great deal of ignorance and wrong view duringcountless lives. From the teachings we have learnt that seeing is not self, thathearing is not self, that all realities are not self. However, when seeing has ari-sen, do we know it as it is, or do we still have an idea of self who sees? Is itstill my seeing? Do we still have an idea of my hearing, my thinking, my fee-ling, my attachment, my kusala?

The Buddha spoke about all the phenomena which are experienced throughthe six doorways of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, bodysense and mind-door. He

spoke about seeing and visible object, hearing and sound and about all theother phenomena.

We read in the Kindred Sayings(IV, Sayatanavagga, Kindred Sayings onSense, Ch III, 23):

Monks, I will teach you the all. Do you listen to it. And what, monks, is theall? It is eye and object, ear and sound, nose and scent, tongue and savour,body and things tangible, mind and mind-states. That, monks, is called the

all.Whoso, monks, should say: Rejecting this all, I will proclaim another all- it

would be mere talk on his part, and when questioned he could not make goodhis boast, and further would come to an ill pass. Why so? Because, monks, it

would be beyond his scope to do so.

Besides the realities which can be experienced through the six doors, there areno other realities. We read in 25 of the same section:

I will teach you a teaching, monks, for the abandoning of the all by fully kno-wing, by comprehending it. Do you listen to it. And what, monks, is that tea-ching?


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The eye, monks, must be abandoned by fully knowing, by comprehending it.Objects... eye-consciousness... eye-contact... that pleasant feeling, unpleasantfeeling or neutral feeling... that also must be abandoned by fully knowing, bycomprehending it.

The tongue, savours... The mind... mindstates... that pleasant feeling, un-

pleasant feeling or neutral feeling... that also must be must be abandoned byfully knowing, by comprehending it.

All these phenomena are elements which arise and fall away, they are notbeings or things which stay. Seeing is not a person, not self, it is a moment ofconsciousness, a citta, which arises, performs the function of seeing and thenfalls away immediately.

We are not master of seeing, seeing does not belong to us. Seeing can ariseonly when there are the right conditions for it. Eyesense is a condition for see-ing. If there is no eye-consciousness, seeing cannot arise. Are we master of oureyesense? Did we create our eyesense? Visible object is another condition forseeing. When there is no visible object there cannot be seeing. All phenomenain ourselves and around ourselves can arise only when there are the appropri-ate conditions for their arising. Without there being the right conditions theycannot arise.We cannot control phenomena. Do we think that we are masterof our mind and of our body? Can we prevent them from changing all the

time? What we take for mind are only mental phenomena which arise becauseof conditions and fall away immediately. What we take for body are only diffe-rent bodily phenomena which arise because of conditions and fall away again.

What we call lifeor the world are only mental phenomena, nma, pheno-mena that can experience objects, and physical phenomena, rpa, phenomenathat cannot experience any object. Seeing is a mental phenomenon, it expe-riences visible object. Feeling is a mental phenomenon, it feels. Visible objectis a physical phenomenon, it cannot experience any object.

Someone asked whether one cannot call nma subject and rpa object.Nma can also be an object that is experienced. Nma can experience bothnma and rpa. Nma can experience another nma. For instance, can attach-ment or feeling which are nmas not be noticed by another nma? Thus, theterms subject and object cannot be of any use to understand nma andrpa.

It may seem complicated to classify all the phenomena within ourselves andaround ourselves as nma and rpa. But is this actually not more simple than

all the different names and values we attach in conventional language to these


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phenomena? Satipahna, mindfulness of nma and rpa uncomplicatesour life, Phra Dhammadhara said.

We try to build up a synthetic vision of Buddhism, our vision. We try to fitour own philosophy or the scientific terms we have learnt into Buddhism.Dont we try to make Buddhism into something which matches our view of life

and our world? Why dont we forget for a moment all we have learnt, allthese thoughts, and study through direct experience any reality which appearsnow? Only in that way can we verify what is real.

All phenomena are either nma or rpa. Theoretical understanding of nmaand rpa is not enough, it does not bring detachment from the concept ofself. We have to know nma and rpa as they are through direct experience.What does that mean? We have to know them when they appear, one at atime, right now. That is the only way to see them as they are, as not self.

What should be known in vipassan through direct experience? Can a personbe known through direct experience? Can hardness be known through directexperience? These are important questions which we discussed.

Hardness can be directly experienced through the bodysense when it appears.Is there no hardness now, impinging on the bodysense? We do not have tothink of hardness or name it in order to experience it. Hardness is real, it is aphysical phenomenon, a rpa, which can be directly experienced.

Can a chair be experienced through the bodysense? We think that we cantouch a chair, but what is actually experienced? Hardness or softness can bedirectly experienced. A chair cannot be directly experienced, it is only an idea

we form up in our minds. Thinking can think of many objects, it can think ofrealities and also of concepts which are not real. When we think that we see aperson, it is not seeing, but it is thinking of a concept. Only visible object canbe experineced through the eyesense. When we touch what we take for a per-son, what appears? Hardness, softness, heat or cold can be directly experien-ced through the bodysense, not a person. The Buddha taught that there is no

person, no self. But we have accumulated so much ignorance and wrong viewthat it seems that we see and touch people.

We may find it difficult to understand that there are in the absolute sense nopeople. There are no people, but this does not mean that there are no realities.What we take for people are different mental phenomena and physical pheno-mena which arise and fall away. There are realities such as seeing, thinking orgenerosity, but they are not people; they do not stay. When we think that aperson is generous, it is in reality a moment of consciousness which is ge-nerous. It arises because of conditions and then it falls away. Why do we al-

ways insert a person in the giving when there is giving, Khun Sujin said.


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When seeing arises, there is no person who sees, there is only a moment ofconsciousness which arises and falls away. Phra Dhammadhara said:Seeinghas no father or mother, it has no name or address, it cannot walk or sit. Thissimple example makes it clear that it is very unrealistic, even foolish, to belie-

ve in the existence of a person.

Through vipassan one can come to know what is real and what is not real.Concepts are not objects of mindfulness in vipassan since they are not real.The nmas and rpas which appear one at a time are the objects one has todevelop understanding of.

What is mindfulness in vipassan? This was another topic of our discussions.Is being mindful of an object the same as being conscious of an object? Forexample, when one is conscious of hardness does that mean that one is mind-ful of hardness?

Mindfulness, in Pali: sati, arises with every sobhana citta (beautiful conscious-ness). Sati is wholesome, it is non-forgetful of what is wholesome.There aremany levels of sati. There is sati of the level of dna. The kusala citta that per-forms dna could not arise without sati. There is sati with sla. When kusalacitta arises which observes sla there is sati. The kusala citta which developssamatha is accompanied by sati which is aware of the object of samatha.

The kusala citta which develops vipassan is accompanied by sati. Sati in vi-passan is mindful of nma or rpa which appears right now through one of

the six doors. The object of mindfulness in vipassan can be visible object, see-ing, sound, hearing, thinking, or any other reality which appears at the preentmoment. In order that the function of sati in vipassana will become clearer,

we should first have more understanding of the object of sati.

Sati in vipassan is mindful of the reality appearing at the present moment.What is the meaning of present moment? When hearing arises, hearing itselfis not accompanied by sati, it just has the function of hearing. But the charac-teristic of hearing can appear to sati. Can there not be mindfulness of hearing

right now? Mindfulness accompanies kusala citta, but even akusala citta canbe the object of mindfulness. For example, citta with dislike can be the objectof mindfulness. The dislike has fallen away when the citta with mindfulnessarises, but can the characteristic of dislike not appear to sati? Dislike is diffe-rent from like or from seeing.

Being mindful of a reality is not the same as being conscious of an object.When, for example, hardness impinges on the bodysense, a citta arises whichmerely experiences hardness, it has the function of experiencing hardness.This type of citta does not like or dislike the object, neither can it have rightunderstanding of it. Shortly after this citta has fallen away, akusala cittas orkusala cittas arise. If there are conditions for kusala citta with mindfulness of


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Chapter 5.

Any reality which appears now can be the object of mindfulness in vipassan.Isnt there seeing now? That can be object of mindfulness. Isnt there hearingnow? That can be object of mindfulness.

We had many discussions about seeing, visible object and thinking of what isseen, because we all are inclined to confuse different realities. In vipassan a

very precise understanding of the different realities has to be developed.

Seeing is a mental phenomenon, it experiences visible object. Visible object isthat which is seen, which is experienced through the eyesense. We can call it

visible object or colour, it does not matter how we call it, but its characteristiccan be known when it appears through the eyes. When we pay attention to theshape and form of what we see, when we perceive a person or a particularthing, it is not seeing. Because of remembrance of past experiences we formup concepts such as person or chair. It seems that there is a long momentof seeing and that seeing sees people and things, but seeing falls away imme-

diately and it is succeeded by other types of cittas. Cittas succeed one anothervery rapidly.

When we recognize different colours such as red and blue, it is again remem-brance of concepts. Seeing is only the experience of what appears through theeyesense. This does not mean that visible object is without any colour. When

visible object is the object of mindfulness, it does not change into somethingelse. It is visible object that appears. It appears now, Khun Sujin reminded ustime and again.

It may seem very hard to know the difference between seeing and thinking.We may be inclined to think of seeing and we wonder what it is like. If we


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continue to wonder and to think about seeing, instead of being mindful of see-ing right now, seeing can never be known as it is. Pa (wisdom), which de-

velops through mindfulness, will know seeing as the experience of visible ob-ject, different from the perceiving of shape and form.

Visible object appears now, when our eyes are open. We may close our eyes

and think of something or someone, but that is not the experience of visibleobject, since visible object appears through the eyesense. We forget to bemindful when it appears, now. Do we know visible object already, or do westill believe that we see a chair or a person? Phra Dhammadhara remarkedthat visible object has no arms or legs, that one cannot carry it away. Visibleobject can only be seen, it cannot be touched.

When visible object appears, there must also be seeing. Seeing is a mentalphenomenon, it is a type of nma that sees. There is no self who sees. Seeing

can only see, it cannot hear, it cannot think. Seeing which is a mental pheno-menon is different from visible object which is a physical phenomenon. Mind-fulness can be aware of seeing or visible object, but only of one reality at a ti-me. In that way their different characteristics can gradually be known as theyare.

Several people found the discussions about seeing and visible object, hearingand sound too academical. Why do we have to know these realities?

Are seeing and hearing not part of our life? We see and hear pleasant and un-

pleasant objects, and soon after seeing or hearing has fallen away, attachment,aversion and ignorance are bound to arise. We are very ignorant of seeing,hearing and all the other phenomena of our life. If there is no mindfulness ofseeing and hearing we shall continue to cling to the concept of I see, Ihear. Should we not find out more about seeing and hearing? Seeing and vi-sible object, hearing and sound, and all the other realities which appearshould be known as they are: not self. If mindfulness does not arise we shallcontinue to cling to the concepts of I and of this or that person, and that

will cause us much trouble.

Phra Dhammadhara said: We think of that terrible man next door, but if abrief moment of mindfulness can arise, we shall know that what is seen is notthat man, only visible object. In reality no person exists. Through the eyesen-se only visible object can be seen. When we touch someone, hardness, soft-ness, heat or cold may appear, but no person. All these characteristics can bestudied in order to know them as they are: only fleeting elements, devoid ofself.

When we hear harsh words, the characteristic of sound may appear. We donot hear words. We remember the meaning of words and that is not hearing.We think of the words with displeasure and thus the problem is within us, not


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with the sound or with the other person. There is no self who experiences thatsound, hearing experiences it. Can mindfulness sometimes arise? At such mo-ments kusala cittas arise which study different characteristics. When there areconditions for mindfulness, there will be calm.

We read in the Lesser Discourse on the Simile of the Elephants Footprint

(Middle Length Sayings I, no. 27) about the monk who is mindful:

... Having seen visible object with the eye, he is not entranced by the generalappearance, he is not entranced by the detail. If he dwells with this organ ofsight uncontrolled, covetouness and dejection, evil unskilled states of mindmight predominate. So he fares along controlling it; he guards the organ ofsight, he comes to control over the organ of sight. Having heard a sound withthe ear... Having smelt a smell with the nose... Having savoured a taste withthe tongue... Having felt a touch with the body... Having cognized a mental

object with the mind, he is not entranced by the general appearance, he is notentranced by the detail. If he lives with this organ of mind uncontrolled, co-vetouness and dejection, evil unskilled states of mind might predominate. Sohe fares along controlling it; he guards the organ of mind, he comes to controlover the organ of mind. If he is possessed of this ariyan control of the (sen-se-) organs, he subjectively experiences unsullied well-being.

When we hear the word control we may think of a self who controls. How-ever, sati, not self, guards the six doors.

Should one prepare for vipassan? Should one sit in a quiet place in order tobecome calm first, before one can study the nmas and rpas which appear?We have seen that there is calm in samatha and that right understanding ofthe meditation subject is the condition for calm. In vipassan there is alsocalm and it is conditioned by right understanding. The right understanding in

vipassan is different from the right understanding in samatha. Through thedevelopment of vipassan one will see nmas and rpas as they are, as notself. When there is right understanding of the reality which appears calm ari-ses at that moment, there is no need to aim for calm. Trying to become calm

as a preparation for vipassan is not the right condition for the arising of sati.Intellectual understanding of nma and rpa and of the development of vipas-san is the right condition.

Intellectual understanding of nma and rpa is different from the direct expe-rience of their characteristics and one should know this difference. It is impor-tant to know when there is sati and when there is no sati. If we have correctunderstanding of sati it can be developed.

Many realities are appearing, such as seeing, hearing, attachment, hardness orheat, but mostly there is forgetfulness, no study of realities. But sometimes satimay arise, just for a moment, and begin to be aware of one reality at a time.


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We may try to explain in many ways what sati is, but it can only be knownfrom experience, when it has actually arisen already. Sati is not self, we can-not be master of sati. Sati cannot arise whenever we want it to arise, and foras long as we wish. However much we want to have sati, it is beyond control.It can arise only when there are the right conditions for its arising. When welisten to the Dhamma as it is explained by the good friend in Dhamma, when

we consider what we have heard, ask questions and discuss Dhamma, our in-tellectual understanding will grow and this can condition right mindfulness.We should know that also intellectual understanding is not self, that it arisesbecause of conditions. It can arise only when we have listened to the Dhammaalready and pondered over it for a long time, and when there is steadfast re-membrance of what we have heard.

We read in the Gradual Sayings (Book of the Tens, Ch VIII, 3) about tenthings which are helpful to obtain ten desirable aims:

Energy and exertion are helps to getting wealth. Finery and adornment arehelps to beauty. Seasonable action is a help to health. A lovely friendship is ahelp to virtues. Restraint of the sense-faculties is a help to the Brahma-life. Notquarreling is a help to friendship. Repetition is a help to much knowledge.Lending an ear and asking questions are helps to wisdom. Study and examina-tion are helps to dhammas. Right faring is a help to the heaven worlds.

These are the ten helps to these ten things which are desirable, dear, char-ming, hard to win in the world.

We see that listening and asking questions are important for the developmentof wisdom. In the same sutta it is said: Not to lend an ear and ask questions isan obstacle to wisdom. Study and examination are helps to dhammas. Thecommentary to this sutta, the Manorathapran adds that by dhammas ismeant the nine lokuttara dhammas, namely the eight lokuttara cittas and nib-bna 4. If one continues to study the realities that appear, pa grows so thateventually enlightenment can be attained.

Phra Dhammadhara remarked that we should not cling to an idea of self whois going to practise and will then attain enlightenment quickly. He said: Then

we are stuck with the idea of self. We cannot say, Come on sati, come one pa-. Are we not sometimes behaving as if we could induce them?

Even if sati arises we cannot keep it, it arises and falls away. It may be follo-wed by excruciating doubt, Phra Dhammadhara said. Who knows the nextmoment? Realities arise because of conditions and then fall away. We never

4At each of the four stages of enlightenment two types of lokuttara cittas arise: the

magga-citta or path-consciousness, which is lokuttara kusala citta, and the phala-cit-ta or fruition, which is lokuttara vipaakacitta. These eight lokuttara cittas experiencenibbna.


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know what will happen the next moment. How could we then plan to havesati and how could we plan what to be aware of?

It is unpredictable when sati will arise and of what it will be aware. When werecognize something there must have been many different cittas which ariseand fell away. Seeing which experiences only visible object is one reality, it is

different from recognizing someone. When we recognize someone we think ofa concept, but there must also be seeing in order to recognize someone. Onemay wonder whether sati should not be aware of seeing first and then of thin-king. There is no rule, no specific order. There may not be mindfulness of see-ing, but when one has recognized someone, sati may arise and be mindful ofthe nma which recognizes. Then seeing arises again and sati may be mindfulof seeing, or of visible object. We cannot plan of what object there will beawareness, sati is not self.

Seeing is different from visible object and one may wonder how one can sepa-rate seeing from visible object, they seem to appear together. There is no selfwho can separate seeing from visible object. Sati can be aware sometimes ofseeing, sometimes of visible object. There can be study of one charactersitic ata time and in that way right understanding can realize their different charac-teristics. If one thinks that one can experience seeing and visible object at thesame time it shows that there is no mindfulness. When one joins realities to-gether into a whole, one is thinking of a concept.

Only after a more precise knowledge of nma and rpa has been developed,can pa experience their arising and falling away. One may wonder why thearising and falling away of realities cannot be experienced before nma can bedistinguished from rpa. Why should one first distinguish visible object fromseeing or sound from hearing? There is the appearance and disappearance ofmany different realities. Seeing arises and then hearing, and then other reali-ties appear and disappear. Is that not the experience of impermanence?

That is only thinking about impermanence, not the direct experience of thearising and falling away of nma and rpa. If one still takes seeing and visible

object together, as a whole, what arises and falls away?, Khun Sujin asked.What exactly arises and fall away? Is it seeing or visible object? Only one ob-

ject can be experienced at a time.

The first stage of insight is knowing the difference between nma and rpathrough direct experience. The arising and falling away of nma and rpa canbe realized at a later stage. First their different characterstics have to be stu-died. If you do not study seeing and visible object now, dont think that youcan become a sotpanna, Khun Sujin said.


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Chapter 6.

In Kandy the venerable Piyadassi Thera was leading the discussions with met-t and a great deal of patience. He understood which terms used in the discus-sions people would find difficult and therefore he asked for more precise defi-

nitions. Right understanding was one of the terms he asked us to explain.

What is right understanding? There are many levels of right understanding, inPali: samm-dihi, which is the cetasika (mental factor) of amoha (non-delu-sion) or pa. When we are generous, the kusala citta may arise with or wit-hout right understanding. We may give because it is our nature to give, wit-hout any understanding of what kusala is, what kamma and vipka (deedsand their results) are. We may also give with right understanding of cause andeffect. It is the same with the kusala that observes sla: it may arise with or

without right understanding.

As we have seen, the citta which develops samatha must always be accompa-nied by right understanding. There has to be right understanding of the me-ditation subject of samatha. This subject should be the right condition for thecitta to become calm, to become temporarily free from attachment, aversionand ignorance. Right understanding of the level of samatha knows the diffe-rence between kusala citta and akusala citta and it knows when these types ofcitta arise. However, it does not know kusala citta, akusala citta and the otherphenomena as they are: as elements devoid of self.


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The right understanding that is developed in vipassan is of a higher level: itsees nma and rpa as not self. This kind of understanding will be able to era-dicate wrong view and the other defilements. Right understanding which isdeveloped in vipassan sees, for example, visible object as only a reality, nothing or being in it. It sees visible object as not self. One may really believethat there is a self and then there is wrong view of realities. So long as pa- has not eradicated wrong view we are inclined to take realities for self.

We may have intellectual understanding of the truth but it is still difficult torealize visible object as only a rpa when it appears. We have to be mindful of

visible object when it appears, of seeing when it appears and of all the otherphenomena over and over again, during countless lives. We may remind our-selves that it is not a person, not a thing which is seen. That is intellectual un-derstanding and we should know that it is not mindfulness. Intellectual under-standing arises because we listened to the Dhamma, it is conditioned, not self.

Intellectual understanding is a condition for the arising of sati. When there issati there can be study of the realities which appear and this is the beginningof pa, wisdom. Khun Sujin reminded us many times: Is there no seeingnow? Study it. Otherwise pann cannot grow.

I find the word study very effective. The word study is a translation of thePli term sikkh. Sikkh can also be translated as training. The word stu-dy reminds me that mindfulness without knowing anything, without knowingthe reality which appears now, is not helpful for the development of right un-

derstanding. Study reminds me that right understanding is only beginning todevelop and that there has to be study countless times before realities can beseen as they are. There are many degrees of right understanding and it devel-ops very gradually.

We should not be discouraged that mindfulness and understanding seldomarise. The fact that we are interested in the Dhamma today and that we listentoday shows that we have conditions for further development of right under-standing. We are likely to have listened in former lives.

Khun Sujin said: Think of all those people who listened in the Buddhas timeand did not attain enlightenment; where are they now? They had conditionsfor the development of pa, but pa needed more development; it hadnot been developed to the degree necessary for the attainment of enlighten-ment. We may have been one of those who listened to the Buddha, and nowpa needs to be developed more.

When we were walking along the beach one of our friends remarked that hewas worried that he could not become a sotpanna in this life. Those who

have not attained enlightenment run the risk of an unhappy rebirth. Rebirthmay occur in a plane where one cannot develop satipahna. I had been pre-occupied with the same question.


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Khun Sujin answered:

Today we are in the human plane and we are discussing Dhamma. We mayhave had births as an animal, but that is forgotten now. Sati which is accumu-lated today is never lost. It is a condition for future development. There can beunhappy births again, but why should we worry about it?

She spoke about the Bodhisattas horse Kanthaka. He had carried the Bodhis-atta outside the palace, after he had renounced worldly life. Kanthaka couldnot develop wisdom in that life since he was an animal. But he was reborn ina deva plane where he developed wisdom and attained enlightenment. Wecannot control anything which happens, but when there are conditions forright understanding to develop, it will work its way.

What are realities?, this was a question some people asked. Reality is not aconcept, it is not something abstract. Reality is that which can be directly ex-perienced, now. Is there no seeing now? Seeing is a reality, it can be directlyexperienced. When mindfulness arises the characteristic of seeing can be stu-died in order to know it as it is.

Visible object is a reality, it can be experienced when it appears, now. Hearingis a reality, sound is a reality. Hardness, softness, heat and cold are realities;they can be directly experienced through the bodysense when they appear. Isthere no impingement on the bodysense now? If there is no forgetfulness, rea-lities can be studied with sati. This is the way to know them as they are: ele-

ments which are devoid of self.

Person is not a reality, it is only a concept or idea we form up in our minds.We cling to people and we take them for permanent and for self. We knowthat we all have to die, but we have not realized impermanence, the arisingand falling away of realities. We should remember that what we take for selfor person are only nma and rpa which arise and fall away all the time.Thus, there is actually birth and death at each moment.

What we call life is in reality one short moment of cognizing an object. Thismoment falls away and is succeeded by the next moment. When a citta ariseswhich experiences visible object, our life is seeing. At another moment our lifeis hearing or thinking. All these moments fall away as soon as they have ari-sen. Thus we can say that life exists only in one short moment, this very mo-ment.

Nmas and rpas are realities, they can be experienced. Instead of the wordreality we can use the word dhamma. Dhamma does not only mean the Bud-dhas teaching, it has other meanings as well. Everything which is real is

dhamma or paramattha dhamma, which is translated as absolute reality.Namas and rpas are paramattha dhammas.


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There are two kinds of conditioned nmas: citta, consciousness, and cetasika,mental factor arising with consciousness. Seeing and hearing, for example, arecittas. Attachment and mindfulness are cetasikas which can accompany citta.Citta is always accompanied by several cetasikas, at least seven.

Nibbna is the one unconditioned nma. It does not experience an object, but

it is the object experienced by lokuttara (supramundane) citta.

Summarizing the paramattha dhammas, they are:

citta

cetasika

rpa

nibbna

Absolute realities are different from conventional truth which is concepts orideas. We need to use concepts such as person, brain, society, in our contact

with our fellow-men. We work with these concepts and we would find it diffi-cult to do without them. However, we should remember that they are not ab-solute realities, realities which can be directly experienced when they appearat the present moment, such as seeing, visible object, hearing or sound. Para-mattha dhammas can be objects of mindfulness in vipassan.

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Chapter 7

Nmas and rpas appear one at a time through the six doors. They have diffe-rent characteristics and these characteristics should be known. Characteristic

was another term people asked us to explain.Each reality has its own specific characteristic by which it can be distinguishedfrom other realities. Visible object has a characteristic which is different fromsound. Visible object is experienced through the eyesense, it cannot be expe-rienced through the earsense. Sound is experienced through the earsense, itcannot be experienced through the eyesense. Visible object has a characteristic

which is different from seeing. Visible object is rpa; it does not know any-thing, it cannot see. Seeing experiences visible object, it is nma, differentfrom rpa. We are inclined to join seeing and visible object into a whole,

instead of being mindful of their different characteristics as they appear one ata time. So long as we do not distinguish the different characteristics of nmaand rpa, we cling to the concept of person or self and there is ignorance ofrealities. Is there an idea of I who sees, or is there a person or thing in the vi-sible object?

The specific characteristics (visesa lakkhaa) of nma and rpa can be knownmore clearly in being mindful of them when they appear. Nma should beknown as nma and rpa as rpa. Later on, when pa is more developed,the general characteristics (smaa lakkhaa) of nma and rpa can be reali-zed and that is: the characteristics of impermanence, dukkha and anatt. Befo-re the general characteristics can be penetrated, the specific characteristics of


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realities should be known. When there is awareness of visible object and it isrealized as rpa, there is already a beginning of understanding as not self. It isrpa, not a person or thing. When there is awareness of seeing and this is rea-lized as nma, there is a beginning of understanding of its nature of not self. Itis nma which sees, not I.

Sati and right understanding are accumulated little by little. Accumulationwas another term people requested us to define. Someone found it difficult tounderstand how a tendency such as lobha can be accumulated. Each citta

which arises falls away completely, how then can a tendency be accumulated?

Each citta which arises falls away completely, but it conditions the next citta,it is succeeded by the next citta. That is the reason why good tendencies andbad tendencies are carried on from moment to moment. When we are fast as-leep and not dreaming there is no lobha. When we wake up lobha arisesagain. Where does it come from? It must have conditions for its arising. It can

arise because lobha as been accumulated and it is carried on from moment tomoment. Our attachment today is conditioned by attachment in the past, andattachment today conditions in its turn attachment in the future.

We have accumulated many defilements such as attachment, aversion, igno-rance, jealousy and stinginess. We have also accumulated good inclinations.Today we take an interest in the Dhamma, we like to listen to the Dhamma.Where does this interest come from? It must have conditions, we must havelistened to the Dhamma in the past. What we learn is never lost. If there is amoment of mindfulness now, it conditions the arising of mindfulness later on.

Each citta carries the potentials in itself for good deeds and for bad deeds. De-filements can arise very easily, because we have accumulated many defile-ments. It is easy to be attached, and it is difficult to be mindful. We should notbe surprised about this. Mindfulness did not often arise in the past and there-fore, how could it often arise today? But it can be accumulated now, at this

very moment.

One of our friends remarked that he used to think that only kammas, goodand bad deeds, could be accumulated. He did not think that good and bad in-

clinations could be accumulated.It is true that good deeds and bad deeds are accumulated. When we commit abad deed such as killing, the akusala citta has the intensity of akusala kamma.The volition or intention (kamma) which motivates that deed falls away to-gether with the citta. But since each citta conditions the next citta, kamma, theevil volition is carried on from moment to moment. That is why deeds can pro-duce their appropriate results later on. A bad deed can produce an unpleasantresult, which may be an unhappy rebirth, or, in the course of life, an un-pleasant experience through one of the senses. Good deeds which are accumu-

lated bring pleasant results.


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Thus, kamma is accumulated and it can produce its result later on. Kamma isone type of condition: kamma-condition (kamma-paccaya). Kamma-conditionis not the only type of condition, there are twentyfour classes of conditions.

Not only kamma, also unwholesome and wholesome inclinations are accumu-lated in the citta. These inclinations which are carried on from moment to mo-

ment are the conditions for the arising of akusala citta and kusala citta lateron. This type of condition is different from kamma-condition. When we referto kamma-condition we speak about kamma which produces result.

The way different types of conditions operate is very intricate. We can verifythat not only kammas, but also our good and bad inclinations are accumulatedfrom moment to moment. Lobha can arise at any time, and thus, it must haveconditions. Sometimes there can be mindfulness and this must have conditi-ons.

In Anurdhapura we had discussions about kamma and vipka. Someone re-

marked that he found it unjust that a deed commited in a former life can cau-se suffering in this life. The person who suffers today is not the same personanymore as the being in the past who committed the bad deed which producesan unpleasant result. Why then do we have to suffer today because of deeds

we have not do?

Kamma produces vipka. Each cause produces its appropriate result. This isthe law of cause and effect which operates, no matter we like it or not. When

we suffer from pain it is the result of kamma. We may be inclined to think:Why does this have to happen to me? But why do we think of me? There

was no being in a former life who committed deeds, neither is there a being inthis life who experiences results. There are only realities, nmas and rpas,arising and falling away.

In the absolute sense there is not my present lifespan, because life existsonly in one moment. There are different types of cittas which experience ob-

jects and each moment of citta falls away completely. Some cittas are cause:they can motivate good deeds and bad deeds which can produce their approp-riate results. Some cittas are the results of good deeds and bad deeds, vipka-

cittas. Cittas which experience pleasant or unpleasant objects through the sen-ses, such as seeing or hearing, are vipkacittas which arise throughout our life.Vipkacitta arises because of conditions and falls away immediately; there isno self who experiences a pleasant or unpleasant object. When there is pain, itis only a short moment of experiencing an unpleasant object through the bo-dysense. It is unavoidable, because it arises because of conditions. It falls awayimmediately. When we think of the pain with aversion, there is not only onecitta with aversion, but seven cittas with aversion arising in succession. That isthe order of the cittas arising in a process 5. Thus, when we have aversion

5 Cittas which experience objects through the six doors arise in processes, series ofcittas.


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about pain we make it seven times worse. Pain is unavoidable. Life is birth,old age, sickness and death.

The understanding of the Dhamma can help us to cope with problems in life.We met a business man who complained about the nationalisation of property.He had lost many of his possessions. After he had studied the Abhidhamma

and pondered over it he worried less about his lost property and he thoughtmore about the development of kusala. This showed that he had accumulatedright understanding.

We should remember the sutta about the marvel of the Dhamma. We read inthe Gradual Sayings (Book of the fours, Ch XIII, 8, Marvels):

Monks, on the manifestation of a Tathgata... four wonderful, marvellousthings are manifested. What four? Monks, folk take pleasure in the habitual(sense-pleasures), delight in the habitual, are excited thereby. But whenDhamma contrary to such is taught by a Tathagata, folk are ready to hear it,

they lend an ear, they apply their minds thereto... Monks, folk take pleasure inpride... folk take pleasure in excitement...

Monks, folk are come to ignorance, are become blinded, overcast by ignoran-ce. But when Dhamma controlling ignorance is taught by a Tathgata, theyare ready to hear it, they lend an ear to it, they apply their minds thereto.This, monks, is the fourth wonderful, marvellous thing manifested when a Ta-thgata, Arahat, a fully Enlightened One is manifested....

When sati arises, it is mindful of the present reality, appearing through one of

the six doors. However, because of our ignorance we may easily mislead our-selves. We may think that there is awareness of the present object when weare actually thinking about it with attachment, aversion and ignorance. Forexample, there may be impact of hardness or softness on the bodysense. In-stead of studying these characteristics I found myself thinking of the places

where the impact occurred. This shows that there was no sati, only thinkingabout the body, about concepts. When there is mindfulness of hardness, onlythat characteristic appears and no other object is experienced at that moment.There is no place of impact in the hardness, no body in the hardness. Our ig-

norance and clinging can be known and then we can be reminded immediate-ly to study the present reality, even if it is clinging.

I looked at the colourful saris the ladies were wearing and I noticed that lobhaarose as soon as I looked. I was watching my lobha. Thinking about oneslobha or watching it is not mindfulness of its characteristic. Once, while I waseating and enjoying my food, Khun Sujin asked me whethere there was mind-fulness. I said: Lobha, without being mindful of its characteristic. Khun Sujinreminded me that lobha has its own characteristic and that it can be directlyknown when it appears. In that way it can be realized as only an element, not

self. There is no need to think about it or to name it.


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Someone remarked that one should practise satipahna methodically, other-wise there would not be any result.

If one tries to be mindful according to a certain method, who is trying? Thereis a concept of self who tries to direct sati to a particular object. That is thin-king, not mindfulness.

We never know whether attachment, anger, seeing or doubt will arise, orwhatever other reality. How can we then direct sati or follow a certain me-thod?

Sati is not self, it arises only when there are the right conditions for its arising.If sati does not arise, nobody can be aware at that moment, Khun Sujin said.Do we still believe that we can control sati? If one tries very hard to have sati,one will become tense, it will not be of any help. One of the monks remarkedthat he found it such a relief that one does not have to try to make sati arise.

The present reality is here, now. Only study is necessary in order to know it.We obstruct the arising of sati if we think that we have to sit in a room andpractise methodically. Inside the room and outside there are only seeing, hea-ring, hardness and other realities appearing one at a time, through the sixdoors.

Khun Sujin said that at this moment of seeing, hearing or thinking we shouldhave the courage to find out whether there is awareness of the present realityor not yet. Seeing is real, it sees. Visible object is real. It is different from see-ing. These objects should be studied in our daily life, during our activities, so

that they can be known as they are.Chapter 8.

Is sati being conscious of all ones actions, such as eating or driving a car?This was another question asked during the sessions.

When someone thinks of himself as eating or driving a car, it is not sati butthinking of concepts. Eating is not a reality, driving a car is not a reality. Satiis a wholesome cetasika and it arises with a wholesome citta. Sati of sati-

pahana is mindful of realities, of nmas and rpas. It is mindful of one reali-ty at a time. Sati can be mindful during activities such as eating or driving acar.

While one eats there are hardness, flavour or thinking. These are realities andthey can be known one at a time, as only different elements, no body, no selfin them. When mindfulness of realities arises, right understanding of them canbe developed. When there is no mindfulness one is bound to cling to onesbody and ones mind.

We read in the Satipahna Sutta (Middle Length Sayings I, no. 10) in thesection on postures 6 :

6 I am usingthe translation of the Venerable Nrada Thera.


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A disciple while walking, understands I am walking; while standing, he un-derstands I am standing; while sitting, he understands I am sitting; while ly-ing down, he understands I am lying down. He understands every positionhis body assumes.

Thus he lives contemplating the body internally or externally or both internal-ly and externally.

He lives contemplating the arising nature of the body, or the perishing natureof the body or both the arising and perishing nature of the body....

Should we be aware of walking? We should read the whole context of the sut-ta in order to understand its meaning. We cling to the body as a whole, butthis is only a concept, not a reality. What we take for the body are only diffe-

rent elements which arise and fall away. Hardness, softness, heat, cold, moti-on or pressure, no matter whether they are internal or external, should beknown when they appear one at a time. In this way one will know later on thearising and falling away of these elements. Right understanding will eventual-ly lead to detachment. This sutta reminds us to be aware of any reality whichappears, when we are walking, standing, sitting or lying down.

Is it possible to give simple instructions for the development of vipassan?This was a question asked during the discussions.

It would be very easy if a teacher could tell us what to do first and what next,and if by following these instructions we could be sure of attaining enlighten-ment. However, the Buddha taught us not to follow a teacher blindly, but todevelop the Path ourselves. A good friend in Dhamma can explain the right

way of development. We should listen, consider what we have heard, andthen study with mindfulness any reality which appears. We have to developthe Path ourselves, right now; nobody else can do that for us.

It is right understanding, not self, which will eventually see things as theyreally are. We may wonder how wisdom can ever know impermanence, duk-

kha and anatt, and how it can realize nibbna.Dont underestimate the function of pa, Khun Sujin often said. It is notself who will know realities, it is pa. The present moment is very precious.If there is the study of realities, pa can develop. Pa will work its way.

If sati arises only when there are conditions for its arising, we cannot do any-thing. Are we not bound to be lazy when we cannot do anything?

Should we not make an effort to have sati? When we hear the word effort weare so used to thinking of a self who exerts effort. Effort is a cetasika, not self.Effort arises with all cittas except sixteen out of eighteen ahetuka cittas, cittas

which are not accompanied by the the unwholesome roots, akusala hetus, of


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lobha, dosa and moha, or by the sobhana (beautiful) hetus of alobha, adosaand amoha. Effort arises not only with kusala citta, but also with akusala citta.

When there is mindfulness of any reality which appears now there is right ef-fort already; we do not have to think of effort. When we think of effort there isbound to be akusala citta with desire. Akusala citta is accompanied by wrong

effort.We read in the Analysis of the Truths (Saccavibhagasutta, Middle LengthSayings III, no 141) about four right efforts:

And what, your reverences, is right endeavour? As to this, your reverences, amonk generates desire, endeavours, stirs up energy, exerts his mind and stri-

ves for the non-arising of evil unskilled states that have not arisen... for thegetting rid of evil unskilled states that have arisen...for the arising of skilledstates that have not arisen... for the maintenance, preservation, increase, ma-turity, development and completion of skilled states that have arisen. This,

your reverences, is called right endeavour....

When do these four right efforts arise? We read in the Gradual Sayings (Bookof the Ones, Ch VI):

Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to cause the ari-

sing of good states, if not yet arisen, or to cause the waning of evil states, if al-ready arisen, as earnestness. In him who is earnest, good states, if not yet ari-sen, do arise, and evil states, if arisen, do wane.

Earnestness, mindfulness of nma and rpa, conditions the development ofwholesomeness and it leads to the elimination of unwholesomeness. Right un-derstanding of the eightfold Path, which is developed in being mindful ofnma and rpa, conditions right effort of the eightfold Path. If one still clingsto an idea of self who makes an effort, there is lobha, not right effort of the

eightfold Path.

At the sessions, people were still wondering what could be done in order notto sit in idleness and wait for the arising of pa.

There is no self who is not doing anything. Each citta which arises performsa function. Even when one thinks that one is not doing anything sati can ariseand be mindful of thinking as not self. When there is right understanding ofthe object of mindfulness, there cannot be laziness. When there are conditionsfor sati, it arises before there is any intention to be aware. If one has the inten-

tion to be aware one is bound to have attachment.


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We may find it very difficult to be mindful. What should we do during all tho-se moments when there is no mindfulness of nma and rpa? Is there then notlikely to be a great deal of akusala?

The Buddha taught us many different kinds of kusala. Sometimes we have anopportunity for dna, sometimes for sla, and sometimes for calm, for

example, when we think of the Buddhas virtues or when we develop mett.Sometimes mindfulness of nma and rpa may arise. We cannot switch thecitta from this kind of kusala to that kind of kusala. It depends on conditions

which kind of kusala arises at a particular moment. Knowing about the diffe-rent ways of kusala and seeing the value of them prevents us from laziness.

As we have seen, intellectual understanding can condition the arising of sati.That is why we had discussions about realities such as seeing, visible object,hearing or sound. We still have many misunderstandings about nma andrpa. We talked about hearing and paying attention to the meaning of words

we hear. Paying attention to the meaning of words is not hearing, it is thin-king of concepts. We remember concepts. Remembrance, sa, is a mentalfactor which arises with each citta. There is remembrance all the time of visi-ble object, sound and other realities, and also of concepts.

Khun Sujin used the name Elisabeth in order to show that many different cit-tas are arising and falling away while one says Elisabeth. Each sound of this

word arises and

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