EXAMPLE ( ARAHANTA KAHTA)
Sayadaw " Like
a person wanting to catch the air with a casting net.
Trying to turn the earth into something else but earth.
Trying to empty the ocean by bailing with a bamboo basket.
Trying to burn the sky with a torch. Is it possible trying
to make dukkha into Non-dukkha?"
Awthahta " It
is impossible Sir."
Sayadaw " That is why don't attempt to create
any more. Try and relinquish the desire to Create is what I have been preaching.
Becoming an arhat doesn't change anything in you. When you realized with
your insight that the dukkha in its nature is created from causes and effect,
which cannot be changed into non-dukkha. Relinquish the desire to create
something. An arhat is a person with wisdom who knows that the desire to
create has been eliminated without reservation, Sa, kaye, para - kayesa,
arsan sendeya pandito arsan setwa sukhan seti arsaya dukkhitapasa. Sakayesa
The five aggregates that we called " I ".Paratayesa The five
aggregates that we called " He ".
Arsan The desire to cling or attachment. Pandito The wise
who knew the causes and effect. Sendeya To sever relationship
so that it will never come near. Arsaya Desire to change
the actual suffering into non-suffering by merely thinking.
Paza Many of the creatures. Dukkhita Suffering continously
by stacking desire one over another.
Arsan-dukkhan The element that
sent without failure to suffering. Setwa Severing so that
it will not adhere. Sukhan Relinquishing desires with peace
and tranquillity. Seti Be able to sleep with assurance.
Being without characteristic of wisdom.
Sayadaw " The
reason the tanha are happening all the time is that you haven't
the characteristic of wisdom to comprehend the dhamma of
five aggregates. To become an arhat You have to understand
that you cannot turn the five aggregates and nama-rupa dhamma
into an arhat and you stop doing so. You had relinquished
the desire to do and stop doing it, and be able to see and
carry on living accordingly.
To be concise, the five-skandha and sicca dhamma can never become arhat, and
The desire to turn it into an arhat is a mere redundant.When you know the truth
and abstain from creating any more desire and live as it is.”
Anapana.
Awthahta "During
our Lord Buddha's days, there were people who practice
anapana meditation and became arhats. If you will continue
to discourse the method of practicing anapana meditation,
I would like to listen to it.
Sayadaw " Like what you had learned in the books, go to a secluded place,
sit in lotus position, straighten your back, concentrate on the tip of the
nose, and be aware of the air being inhaled and exhaled. Before you concentrate
you should consider what do you want from this anapana sati? The answer will
be the desire to become an arhat. If you look at the desire with The Four Noble
Truth, what sicca will you get?”
Awthahta " It will be samudaya sicca. Can we call it sandha instead?"
Sayadaw " Leave the sandha aside. Try and form it in sicca method. Sandha
is a word to be used by enlightened being. According to the sicca desana, it
will be samudaya sicca. Merely wanting to be an arhat, do you think you are
already an arhat?"
Awthahta " I am not sir."
Sayadaw " As you aren't an arhat, fundamentally what sort of practice
you have to do?"
Awthahta " Anapana meditation , sir."
Sayadaw "What do you want to be for you to practice anapana meditation?"
Awthahta " The reason I practice is for I want to be an arhat."
Sayadaw " While you were meditating to become an arhat, were you already
an arhat?"
Awthahta " I wasn't an arhat yet."
Sayadaw " If you aren't an arhat yet, then try and see what were you in
terms of sicca?
Awthahta " The desire to be something and doing something so that it happen."
Sayadaw " Yes, you are right. The two local mundane dhamma are experiencing
with your intellect. Isn't it?"
Awthahta " Yes, they are."
Sayadaw " Then diligently practice so that your intellect will be in touch
with the nirodhi sicca which is the extinction of the desire to happen and
doing so that it happens.
Awthahta " Sayadaw.
The number one was desire to happen. Number two was doing
so that it happens. When I have to practice so that my intellect
will be in touch with these two extinguishments are like
putting out the flame by throwing gasoline. If I continue
to practice, I can never be an arhat. If you carry on the
practice, the samudaya and dukkha sicca will still be in
existence and in that case I can never be an arhat.
Here
I would like to think over it again." Sayadaw " You think about it and also criticize over it. Come back when
you are satisfied."
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THE NEXT DAY. Sayadaw " U Awthahta,
have you thought and discussed about it?"
Awthahta " I can't sir."
Sayadaw " There were discourses by our Lord Buddha
that this dhamma is (a tetvasaro )this dhamma cannot be
formulated. (sudukdaso) This dhamma can be very seldom
being seen. ( sunipanno) this dhamma is very subtle. (panditaveniyo)
only those with wisdom over cause and effect will be able
to experience."
Awthahta " Yes, there was."
Sayadaw " The more you endeavour, the farther away it gets. The more you
think over it, it goes furtherstill. This is called mano sankhara. That is
the reason they say‘ without plotting or thinking, it is nirodhan. Only
then you get the true maga (path) pho (fruition) wisdom. You must have been
listening to a lot of hearsay knowledge and thought that only with magga which
could eradicate the samudaya sicca and let the nirodha sicca to appear automatically.
That is what yopu said when dukkha is seen and samudaya is cleanse and for
that you were seriously meditating. Instead of concentrating nibbana sense
to develop magga, you are meditating over dukkha sense and develop magga in
your thoughts which made the samudaya attached all the time. It may not be
the true lokoktara magga ( supra mundane path) but at least it is pobbabha
magga( path). ( I did not say it is wrong, but it is not completely right is
what I want to remind you).Mere extinguishing the samudaya sicca does not mean
nirodha sicca, but it is the idea of
extinguishing the samudaya sicca totally or without reservation. The
absolute extinguishment.
Awthahta " I understood what you have told us. Please continue to explain
to us about
while practicing anpanasati.
Sayadaw " I will. Have you seen with wisdom the truth about the desire
to become an arhat and striving to become one?"
Awthahta " I have seen it."
Sayadaw "First one is desire of becoming and second is striving to happen.
You have to relinquish both. If you aren’t free from these two yet, (
Stop wanting the desire of becoming and stop striving to happen.) stop these
now. I am saying so that you will understand. It is a way of discoursing. I
am telling you in a very straight forward and very clearly. I want you to remember
it very carefully.
Awthahta " I am prepared, sir."
Sayadaw "Can you bear in mind that before you started to meditate the
anapana sati, the idea for the desire to happen and striving to happen weren’t
in existence before hand. You can see that, isn’t it?”
Awthahta " Yes, I do."
Sayadaw "The
idea of cessation is there without any doubt and you must've
the sati of not forgeting. After that you can meditate
the anapana sati properly to become an arhat. While you are
concentrating that manner, (1) based upon the desire of doing,(2)
the idea of effect from the cause of doing is there, don't
you know it?"
Awthahta " I know, sir."
Sayadaw "As you are well aware of it, You know where the samudaya and
dukkha extinguished and also know that because of samudaya, the dukkha appeared.
Then you know the Four Noble Truths
spontaneously. Can I say that you know them completely?"
Awthahta "I should say it is a complete knowing."
Sayadaw "For a layman, when the samudaya and dukkha are not happening,
only then they realize that the samydaya and dukkha are not happening.When
he became an arhat, he knows the truth where the samudaya and dukkha were extinguished
and also realized the truth about the samudaya and dukkha all at once. For
example, similar to looking through the window to see the hill, trees, sky.
Like looking up to see the sky. Like standing in front of the mirror and looking
at it.
Awthahta " Please explain more."
Sayadaw "If you look through the window you see the window together with
the trees. You can also see the sky and the birds flying in the sky. If you
look in the mirror, you will see the mirror as well as the images thereof.
When you know the dhamma you will see the truth of extinguishment at first,
and then also realize the truth of non-extinguishment appears because of a
desire, which you have created. Example: The place you are sitting on was there
before you sit down, wasn't it?"
Awthahta " There was "
Sayadaw " You are sitting over it, isn't it?"
Awthahta " Yes, I am sitting over it."
Sayadaw "You sat over it. Can you say that the original place is no more
there? because you're sitting over it?"
Awthahta " Although I am sitting over it, it remains there."
Sayadaw "Even though you get up and go somewhere else, that place remains
thesame, isn't it?"
Awthahta "It will be always there."
Sayadaw " The nibbana is like the example of the place you were sitting.
You are similar to the kilesa sankhara. In another way, the nirodha sicca is
similar to the sun. The kilesa sankhara is similar to the clouds. You can cover
the sun with all the clouds in the world, but the light of the sun is
never diminish."
Awthahta "Here, I would like to ask you a special question. Let us leave
those who had attained the lower magga and lower phol. For those who had attained
the arhata magga and arahata phol, can they be covered by the kelasa like the
sun being covered by the clouds?"
Sayadaw "Those who had attained the highest wisdom can never be covered
by any cloud or kelasa."
Awthahta ” I was asking you about the nirodha sicca, and you were referring
to the wisdom. I haven't got the answer to my question yet."
Sayadaw "I cannot give you an answer, which directs to the dhamma. One
dhamma cannot cover up another dhamma. The reason being the sankhara dhamma
appears according to the causes and should one of the causes is absent, it
extinguished by itself. That is the reason that it couldn't cover it up. Not
knowing the true dhamma truthfully is already the cover up and for this they
preached as avijja.
Katamasa bhikuve
Dukkhe nyanan
Samudaya nyanan
Nirodha nyanan
Magge' nyanan.
Ayan vutsati vijja is what you can see in the scriptures."
Top Awthahta " I had seen it sir."
Sayadaw " That is the reason that the suicca dhamma cannot be added or
substracted. It doesn't belong to any being or creature. No body can ever manipulate
the dhamma. All that could be done is to know the
truth as truth is."
Awthahta " In that case, those who have attained the vijja wisdom, doesn't
the darkness of avijja disappear?"
Sayadaw " If the avijja really disappear, there will be no one who doesn't
understand the dhamma."
Awthahta " What I could not understand is for those who knew will there
be anything more of which they do not know. For example, a child will not know
before hand that the fire is hot. Once he had touched the
fire, he will know it. After he knew it, will he know
that to put his hand above the fire will be hot? Will
the idea of not knowing the fire is hot appear again?
The great arhat after attaining the vijja wisdom,
will the avijja nama appear again?"
Sayadaw " The Four Noble Truths has nothing to do with
knowing or not knowing. There isn't any subtraction or addition. It is there
when you do not know it. It is there when you know it. During the layman's
time, there are the Four Noble Truths, but don't know it. Not knowing is avijja
and for those who knows is called vijja."
Awthahta " What I want to know is for those who knew the Four Noble Truths,
will the dukkha sicca and samudaya sicca appear in the again or these two sicca
will never appear again?"
Sayadaw " You are directing your questions towards the dhamma. There is
only dhamma. We convene that for those who knew the dhamma is called arhat.
These are no excess or shortage in the dhamma. We
are not trying to preach dhamma because of dhamma.
The reason we are preaching is that we are personalizing
the dhamma as 'you' or ‘ I ‘.ecause
we are having the beliefs and we are preaching so as
to free from ideas or beliefs. I can give you an answer
to your liking but you will never understand the true
dhamma. The answer to your liking will be for those
who had attained the arhatship, the samudaya had en
eliminated that it will never appear again. You like
this sort of answer, isn't it?"
Sayadaw continued "Awthashta,
the physical bodies that we have are like the big rest
house built over the crossroad. Who ever comes to this
rest house from all directions will come and rest temporally
and proceed with their journey later. Good as well
as the bad travelers come and go away. You cannot be
choosy and refused the bad travelers and accept the
good ones only. Never do that selection. I will give
you another example. The is a tree grown of the edge
of the river bank and the bank is eroding. The tree could
be swept away with the erotion any time. There were
different types of birds came to rest for a while
and
fly away. There was a bad bird by the name of mayaka who
rest there and provoke any bird that come to rest there.
Like the simile of this physical body dhamma, which is
made of four elements, earth,water,air and fire, has no owner
and similar to the tree which grown on the river bank that
is similar to the death. And this body dhamma,as long as
it has all the causes is equivalent to the group of birds
is similar to our mind of thoughts. But do not be like
the angry bird as my feet, my head my hand., and be able
to live without being abreast with atta (with anatta wisdom
observation.). I wish you will be able to live with the wisdom
observation.”
Wisdom that knows there is
nothing to happen.
Sayadaw “ In
conclusion, U Awthahta, I will say it briefly. Please listen
to it carefully. In Pali, it is known as sadhukan manasikaro
tabo.”
Awthahta “Yes sir.”
Sayadaw “Becoming an arhat is not in this nama-rupan,
which is as perpetual sufferings and is uncontrolable,
but understanding it concretely with your intellect.
Awthahta “Understanding that there is nothing to happen over this physical
body.”
Sayadaw “ Leave the nibbana aside, the remaining rupa dhamma and nama
dhamma are being observed with the signs of wisdom, you will notice that
the happening will appear for a moment and will extinguish or
eliminate again.”
Awthahta “ That is true sir.”
Sayadaw “ Then, where is the happening?”
Awthahta “ To
look at it with the sign of wisdom,
there is not one happening to
be seen .”
Sayadaw “ In
this case,you better withdraw
all the desire to happening and
live as you are.”
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