No.311 - Aghatavinaya Sutta: Subduing Hatred

Aghatavinaya Sutta: Subduing Hatred

translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Then Ven. Sariputta addressed the monks: "Friend monks."

"Yes, friend," the monks responded to him.

Ven. Sariputta said: "There are these five ways of subduing hatred by which, when hatred arises in a monk, he should wipe it out completely. Which five?

"There is the case where some people are impure in their bodily behavior but pure in their verbal behavior. Hatred for a person of this sort should be subdued.

"There is the case where some people are impure in their verbal behavior but pure in their bodily behavior. Hatred for a person of this sort should also be subdued.

"There is the case where some people are impure in their bodily behavior & verbal behavior, but who periodically experience mental clarity & calm. Hatred for a person of this sort should also be subdued.

"There is the case where some people are impure in their bodily behavior & verbal behavior, and who do not periodically experience mental clarity & calm. Hatred for a person of this sort should also be subdued.

"There is the case where some people are pure in their bodily behavior & their verbal behavior, and who periodically experience mental clarity & calm. Hatred for a person of this sort should also be subdued.

"Now as for a person who is impure in his bodily behavior but pure in his verbal behavior, how should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when a monk who makes use of things that are thrown away sees a rag in the road: Taking hold of it with his left foot and spreading it out with his right, he would tear off the sound part and go off with it. In the same way, when the individual is impure in his bodily behavior but pure in his verbal behavior, one should at that time pay no attention to the impurity of his bodily behavior, and instead pay attention to the purity of his verbal behavior. Thus the hatred for him should be subdued.

"And as for a person who is impure in his verbal behavior, but pure in his bodily behavior, how should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when there is a pool overgrown with slime & water plants, and a person comes along, burning with heat, covered with sweat, exhausted, trembling, & thirsty. He would jump into the pool, part the slime & water plants with both hands, and then, cupping his hands, drink the water and go on his way. In the same way, when the individual is impure in his verbal behavior but pure in his bodily behavior, one should at that time pay no attention to the impurity of his verbal behavior, and instead pay attention to the purity of his bodily behavior. Thus the hatred for him should be subdued.

"And as for a person who is impure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, but who periodically experiences mental clarity & calm, how should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when there is a little puddle in a cow's footprint, and a person comes along, burning with heat, covered with sweat, exhausted, trembling, & thirsty. The thought would occur to him, 'Here is this little puddle in a cow's footprint. If I tried to drink the water using my hand or cup, I would disturb it, stir it up, & make it unfit to drink. What if I were to get down on all fours and slurp it up like a cow, and then go on my way?' So he would get down on all fours, slurp up the water like a cow, and then go on his way. In the same way, when an individual is impure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, but periodically experiences mental clarity & calm, one should at that time pay no attention to the impurity of his bodily behavior...the impurity of his verbal behavior, and instead pay attention to the fact that he periodically experiences mental clarity & calm. Thus the hatred for him should be subdued.

"And as for a person who is impure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, and who does not periodically experience mental clarity & calm, how should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when there is a sick man — in pain, seriously ill — traveling along a road, far from the next village & far from the last, unable to get the food he needs, unable to get the medicine he needs, unable to get a suitable assistant, unable to get anyone to take him to human habitation. Now suppose another person were to see him coming along the road. He would do what he could out of compassion, pity, & sympathy for the man, thinking, 'O that this man should get the food he needs, the medicine he needs, a suitable assistant, someone to take him to human habitation. Why is that? So that he won't fall into ruin right here.' In the same way, when a person is impure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, and who does not periodically experience mental clarity & calm, one should do what one can out of compassion, pity, & sympathy for him, thinking, 'O that this man should abandon wrong bodily conduct and develop right bodily conduct, abandon wrong verbal conduct and develop right verbal conduct, abandon wrong mental conduct and develop right mental conduct. Why is that? So that, on the break-up of the body, after death, he won't fall into the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, purgatory.' Thus the hatred for him should be subdued.

"And as for a person who is pure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, and who periodically experiences mental clarity & calm, how should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when there is a pool of clear water — sweet, cool, & limpid, with gently sloping banks, & shaded on all sides by trees of many kinds — and a person comes along, burning with heat, covered with sweat, exhausted, trembling, & thirsty. Having plunged into the pool, having bathed & drunk & come back out, he would sit down or lie down right there in the shade of the trees. In the same way, when an individual is pure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, and periodically experiences mental clarity & calm, one should at that time pay attention to the purity of his bodily behavior...the purity of his verbal behavior, and to the fact that he periodically experiences mental clarity & calm. Thus the hatred for him should be subdued. An entirely inspiring individual can make the mind grow serene.

"These are five ways of subduing hatred by which, when hatred arises in a monk, he should wipe it out completely."

No.310 - What is Mara?

What is Mara?

For whatever is Mara …

"Form is Mara. Feeling ... Perception ... Volitional formations ... Consciousness is Mara.

Seeing thus ... Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion [his mind] is liberated. When it is liberated there comes the knowledge:'It's liberated.' He understands:' 'Destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being.'"

 ~BUDDHA

No.309 - The teachings of Ven Ajahn Chah

The teachings of Ven Ajahn Chah

How does the Dhamma teach the proper way of life? It shows us how to live. It has many ways of showing it - On rocks, or trees or just in front of you. It is teaching but not in words. So still the mind, the heart, and learn to watch. You'll find the whole Dhamma revealing itself here and now. At what other time and place are you going to look?

With even a little intuitive wisdom we will be able to see clearly through the way of the world. We will come to understand that everything in the world is a teacher. Trees and vines, for example, can reveal the nature of reality to us. With wisdom there is no need to question anyone, no need to study. We can learn enough from nature to be enlightened.

(Ajahn Chah)

No.308 - The teachings of Ven Ajahn Chah Sitting for hours on end is not necessary.

The teachings of Ven Ajahn Chah

Sitting for hours on end is not necessary. Some people think that the longer you can sit, the wiser you must be. I have seen chickens sit on their nests for days on end! Wisdom comes from being mindful in all postures. Your practice should begin as you awaken in the morning. It should continue until you fall asleep. Don’t be concerned about how long you can sit. What is important is only that you keep watchful whether you are working or sitting or going to the bathroom.

(Ajahn Chah)

No.307 - The habits and attachments of beings differ.

The habits and attachments of beings differ. One person may be stuck on the left side, another is stuck on the right side. So the best thing for us to do is to be aware. Be aware of customs in the different places we go. If we have Dhamma custom, then we can smoothly adapt to society’s customs, abroad or at home. If we don’t understand Dhamma custom, then there’s no way to get along. Dhamma custom is the meeting

point for all cultures and traditions.

I’ve heard the words of the Buddha that say, ‘When you don’t understand someone’s language, when you don’t understand their way of speaking, when you don’t understand their ways of doing things in their land,

you shouldn’t be proud or put on airs.’ I can attest to these words – they are a true standard in all times and places. These words came back to me when I travelled abroad, and I put them into practice these last two years when I was outside our country. They’re useful.

Before I held tightly; now I hold, but not tightly. I pick something up to look at it, then I let it go. Before, I would pick things up and hold on. That was holding tightly. Now it’s holding but not tightly. So you can allow me to speak harshly to all of you or get angry at you, but it’s in the way of ‘holding

but not tightly’, picking up and letting go. Please don’t lose this point.

We can be truly happy and comfortable if we understand the Dhamma

of the Buddha. So I am always praising the Buddha’s teachings and practicing to unite the two customs, that of the world and that of the

Dhamma.

(Ajahn Chah)

No.306 - The first key to success in meditation is that you have to cultivate the ability to focus your mind.

“The first key to success in meditation is that you have to cultivate the ability to focus your mind.”

The Buddha found the right way. The problem is not the body. The problem is in the mind that is deluded. The mind takes something that doesn’t belong to itself and thinks that it is itself. So whatever happens to that thing, the mind suffers. This is the work that we do in Buddhist practice — not to correct the body, but to cure the mind that is sick through delusion.

We need the practice of meditation and insight. If we don’t do this, the mind does not have the strength to take and pass the test. Now you know the truth, but you cannot let go of the body yet because the force of attachment is stronger than the force of detachment.

What you need to do now is to develop the force of detachment by calming your mind. As your mind drops into calm, it temporarily detaches from the body and everything else. This is why we need to do meditation. In order to meditate you need to have the ability to focus. You have to be able to focus your mind, to stop your mind from thinking about this and that, from going here and there.

If you continue thinking, when you sit in meditation you cannot focus your mind on your meditation object. Your mind will think about other things while you are trying to focus on your breathing. You will not be able to sit for hours, and you will not experience any peace or calm.

The first key to success in meditation is that you have to cultivate the ability to focus your mind. Secondly, you have to sit down and calm your mind until it becomes totally peaceful. Thirdly, you have to develop insight by teaching your mind the truth.

The truth is that the mind is one thing and the body is another thing. If the mind clings to anything, it becomes agitated, depressed, and stressful because nothing in this world is permanent. If you want something to last forever, you will always be stressed because nothing lasts. Now you think something lasts a long time and you can get it, but the next day it could be gone.

You must learn to detach. Don’t cling to anything. Always remind yourself that everything is temporary. Everything that you have is temporary. Every experience that you are experiencing is temporary. If you are attached to it, when it disappears, you will be depressed. For example, if you have friends over to visit you, you are happy, but when they leave, you are left alone and feel sad and lonely.

If you can focus your mind, focus on your breathing, sitting in meditation and forgetting about everything else, your mind will drop into peace, and you will have real happiness. This is what you should do as a monk or a Buddhist.

Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

No.305 - The essence of practice

The essence of our practice is to watch intention and examine the mind. You must have wisdom. Don’t discriminate. Don’t get upset with others if they are different. Would you get upset at a small and crooked tree in the forest for not being tall and straight like some of the others? That would be silly. Don’t judge other people. There are all varieties. No need to carry the burden of wishing to change them all. If you want to change anything, change your ignorance to wisdom.

(Ajahn Chah)

No.304 - Suitable Way For Attaining Nibbana

Suitable Way For Attaining Nibbana

(4th sutta)

Bhikkhus, I will teach you the way that is

suitable for attaining Nibbana. Listen to that ....

And what, bhikkhus, is the way that is

suitable for attaining Nibbana?

What do you think, bhikkhus, is the eye

permanent or impermanent?

“Impermanent, venerable sir.”

Is what is impermanent suffering or

happiness?

“Suffering, venerable sir.”

Is what is impermanent, suffering, and

subject to change fit to be regarded thus: “This

is mine (etam mama), this I am (eso ‘ham asmi),

this is my self (eso me attã)”?

“No, venerable sir.”

(The rest is Identical with the preceding

discourse).

What do you think, bhikkhus, is the form…

the eye-consciousness… the eye-contact…

whatever feeling arises with eye-contact as

condition permanent or impermanent? (The rest is

identical with the above speech, but are stated by

way of the six external sense bases: the ear... the

nose… the tongue... the body ... the mind).

Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the instructed noble

disciple experiences:

Revulsion towards the eye;

Revulsion towards forms;

Revulsion towards eye-consciousness;

Revulsion towards eye-contact;

Revulsion towards whatever arises with

eye-contact as condition-whether pleasant or

painful or neither-painful-nor-pleasant.

(Each of the followings is to be completed

as above)

The ear... the nose… the tongue... the body

... the mind.

Experiencing revulsion, he becomes

dispassionate. Through dispassion [his mind] is

liberated.

When it is liberated, there comes the

knowledge: ‘It’s liberated.’

He understands: “Destroyed is birth, the

holy life has been lived, what had to be done

has been done, there is no more for this state of

being.”

This, bhikkhus, is the way that is suitable

for attaining Nibbana.

Bodhi Bhikkhu, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha:

A New Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya, Vollum II,

Wisdom Publication, Boston, 2000, 150 (5) Suitable for

Attaining Nibbana (4) p. 1156, 1212-1213

No.303 - Ratana Sutta

Ratana Sutta.

The benefits of reciting Ratana Sutta.

The great benefits are : overcome 3 calamities famine , war and diseases.

Translation :

Lying at the feet of Dipankara Buddha , the Bodhisattva Gotama expressed this desire and determination to strive for Buddhahood . For countless life since then He has striven for and achieved 10 Perfection , doing meritorious deeds for the benefit not only for himself but also for his relatives and the rest of the whole world. He won victory over 5 kinds of Maras and attained Full Enlightenment with the highest virtues and powers. Now let us hear these Noble virtues or attributes of the Buddha in mind and recite Ratana Sutta in the same way as Venerable Ananda recited in Vesali to wipe away the calamities.

The Ratana Sutta is treated with much reverence by the deves in all the univers. It was potent enough to wipe away all the calamities in Vesali.

Let us recite it now.

For the benefit of the whole world are suffering from covid- 19 .

May the whole world be free from covid-19 very soon.

No.302 - Message by Chao Khun Kheng - 22 March 2020 🌻

Message by Chao Khun Kheng - 22 March 2020 🌻

Hey there, for heaven sake don't read news and kalang kabok, steady and keep your focus, contemplate the Buddha Dhamma Sangha. If you can't sit and meditate, all these while of going temple doing Dana, listening to dhamma, put them to PRACTISE, if it gonna happen after all the precautions taken what can we do?

The Buddha's teaching is the most reliable and reasonable way to get the answers at this critical moment, impermanence of all these externally comfort things that we can't really rely on. Attachment to them can't help us at these moments. For us, only the PRACTISE of Dhamma, Sila (PRECEPTS), Samadhi (CONCENTRATION), Panna (WISDOM).

We still can get updates on the news BUT DON'T GET UPSET AND WORRY UNNECESSARILY. 

INSTEAD REMIND OURSELVES OF WHAT IS CALLED:

⏱ IMPERMANENCE, uncertainty, keep changing

😵 SUFFERING very stressful. Don't know when it gonna be over and blah blah blah.

💀ANATTA no self ,no control nature calling.

You may pray or do all the things but if we lack of WISDOM then we will get ourselves entangled in the VIRUS of our own  mind. Greed hatred delusion. Undisciplined mind that is why we need more important gentleness calm down to face it wisely.

Whatever will be, will be ! Hope for best prepare for the worse!

BUDDHO BUDDHO BUDDHO CONTINUALLY IN OUR MIND IS BETTER THAN LEAVING US BEEN TAKEN OVER BY UNTRAINED THOUGHTS! CHEERS! GOOD CHALLENGE TO TEST OUR MIND NOW!

No.301 - Kamma

Kamma

“..Grain, wealth, silver, gold,

Or whatever other possessions there are,

Slaves, workers, messengers, and those who live as one's dependants:

Without taking anything one must go, everything must be left behind.

“But what one has done by body, or by speech or mind:

This is what is truly one's own; this one takes when one goes;

This is what follows one along; Like a shadow that never departs.

“Therefore one should do what is good;

As a collection for the future life.

Merits are the support for living beings;

When they arise] in the other world.”

The Book Of The Gradual Sayings (Anguttara-Nikaya)Vol. III (The Books Of The Fives And Sixes), translated by Hare, E.M., The Pali Text Society, Oxford, 2008, P.294

No.300 - If you do not want it (rebirth), you will have to stop your mind from dreaming

 “If you do not want it (rebirth), you will have to stop your mind from dreaming, from going to a new life. That's what the Buddha did. He stopped his mind by cutting off the desire in his mind.”

Monk 2: I have one idea that is wrong and that is that the mind is produced by the brain. How can I overcome this idea or delusion? How can I work with it?

Than Ajaan: Oh, just ignore it! It is just a theory, just like believing that the world is flat or round. It doesn't change reality anyway, right? You can believe that the world is flat, but that won't change the fact that it is round. You believe that the world is round, but that does not confirm the fact that it is round. It only helps you to have the right attitude, so that you can react properly. That's all. So, all you have to do is to react properly according to the truth.

The truth is that the body is not yourself; the brain is not yourself. So whatever happens to it, let it go because you are going to lose it one day. The solution is not to cling to it. Be ready to let it go. Treat it like you’ve borrowed it from someone else. It doesn't belong to you. If the owner comes and claims it, you will have to let it go.

The point is to let go because if you can do so, you will not suffer. You will not be in pain — I mean, mental pain. If you cannot let go, you will always have mental suffering. So, don't worry about whether you are from the brain or not. That doesn't really matter. What matters is, can you let go of it or not? If you cannot let go, you will suffer. If you can, you will not suffer.

One of the things that will help you to let go is to see the body as not ‘you’. If you know that, you can let go easily. If you think that it is you and belongs to you, it will be hard for you to let go. If you cannot accept this truth, at least you should accept the fact that if you can let go, you will not suffer, because this is something you can experience in real time. For instance when you get sick, if you cannot let go of your body, your mind will also suffer because the mind doesn't want to let the body be sick. But if you say, “Well, I cannot stop it. If it is gonna get sick, it will be sick anyway. The only thing I can do is get some medicine or go to a doctor. That's all I can do. If the medicine can fix it, fine. If the doctor can fix it, also fine. If it can’t or he can’t, then I will just have to live with it. So what? I am not sick; it is the body that is sick. That's all.

If I cannot use the body, fine, I will just sit down and not do anything. If I don't have any food to eat, that is also fine because I will eventually die. Maybe it is not time for me to die.” You can accept that it is not yet your time to die; instead it is the time for this body to die. If you can accept that truth, there will be no problem.

No matter how good the doctor or medicine is, one day they will also not be able to fix the body anyway. One day the body will say, “Don't treat me; don't fix me. I cannot go on; I have to stop.” You are the owner, so the mind that owns the body will just have to say, “Okay, if you want to stop then good-bye.” That's all. What's wrong with that?

Like the Buddha when he was about to die just went into samādhi. He just lay down, focused his mind, and left the body alone. It is like when you are going to sleep, you leave your body alone, right? Dying is like going to sleep. You leave this body, and when you wake up, you get a new body. That's all. That's what rebirth is about. You leave one body and go to the next body.

In the process of going from the old to the new body, you go to heaven or hell. It is like when you are going to sleep, and you go through good or bad dreams. When you wake up, you come back from heaven or hell. So this is what we do through for countless lifetimes, from one body to the next, from one dream to the next. That's all. There is nothing to be afraid of. It is a natural process, and it happens whether you like it or not.

If you do not want it (rebirth), you will have to stop your mind from dreaming, from going to a new life. That's what the Buddha did. He stopped his mind by cutting off the desire in his mind. He had no desire, and when there is no desire, the mind doesn't generate anything, doesn't generate any thoughts, and doesn’t have any force to drive it to go into a new body. So the key idea here is to let go of everything. Nothing belongs to you. If you cling to it, you will suffer. If you let go, you will be at ease and be peaceful.

Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

[6:56 am, 11/04/2020] 💙 Angeline: 🙏🙏🙏

No.299 - The teachings of Ajahn Chah

If we throw a log of wood into a river, it floats down stream. If that log doesn't rot or get stuck on one of the banks of the river, it will finally reach the ocean. Likewise the mind that practices the Middle Way and doesn't attach to either extreme of sensual indulgence or self - mortification will inevitably attain true peace.

The log in our analogy represents the mind. The banks of the river represent, on one side happiness, and on the other, unhappiness, you could say. To follow the Middle Way is to see happiness and unhappiness for what they really are - Only feelings. Once this understanding has been achieved, the mind will not easily drift toward them and get caught. It is the practice of the understanding of the mind not to nurture any feelings that rise, nor to cling to them. The mind then freely flows down the river unhampered and eventually flows into the "Ocean" of Nibbana.

(Ajahn Chah)

No.298 - Having done an action

Having Done an Action

“Also, Rahula, after you have done an action

with the body, you should refl ect upon that same

bodily action thus: ‘Does this action that I have

done with the body lead to my own affl iction, or

to the affl iction of others, or to the affl iction of

both? Was it an unwholesome bodily action with

painful consequences, with painful results?’

“When you refl ect, if you know: ‘This

action that I have done with the body leads to my

own affl iction, or to the affl iction of others, or

to the affl iction of both; it was an unwholesome

bodily action with painful consequences, with

painful results’;

“Then you should confess such a bodily

action, reveal it, and lay it open to the Teacher or

to your wise companions in the holy life. Having

confessed it, revealed it, and laid it open, you

should undertake restraint for the future.”

“But when you refl ect, if you know: ‘This

action that I have done with the body does not lead

to my own affl iction, or to the afflliction of others,

or to the affl iction of both; it was a wholesome

bodily action with pleasant consequences,

pleasant results’;

“You can abide happy and .glad, training

day and night in wholesome states.”

The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, A Translation of the

Majjhima Nikaya, by Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Pali

Text Society, Oxford, 2001, p.524-525.

No.297 - Embodiment of truth

EMBODIMENT OF TRUTH

Venerable Vakkali was suffering from a disease, he was sick and afflicted. With his practice, he was not attached to his body, he was not mentally afflicted by the pain caused by the illness. However, he had one regret which was not being able to arouse the energy to pay respects to the Buddha. Despite his understanding of the Dhamma and his practice, it did not cross his mind that his unwholesome state of mind was a result of clinging onto the Buddha's form. It did not occur to him that it too was impermanent and subjected to decay and death.  This did not occur to him even when the Buddha came to visit him out of compassion.

 Therefore the Buddha reminded him that "when one sees the Dhamma, one sees the Buddha, and seeing the Buddha one sees the Dhamma". All form is impermanent, subjected to deformation, subjected to decay.

What can we draw from this?

1. One should see the Buddha as an embodiment of the Truth and not as a physical form. When one sees the Buddha as a physical entity, he doesn't see the real Buddha. The real Buddha lies in seeing the true nature of reality.

2. The Buddha may not be around for us to contemplate on impermanence of his form. However, we could remind and see for ourselves that even well-practiced Sangha that we revere are also subjected to old age sickness and death.

No.296 - Concentration

Concentration is simply a tactic for herding the various defilements into one focal point so that we can rectify or destroy them more easily. To put it simply, concentration is strength for discernment. When the mind gathers in the levels of concentration, it is content to work from various angles in the area of mindfulness and discernment. When it's working, the results of its work appear. The defilements fall away one after another. The heart becomes engrossed in the results of its work and investigates even more, never having its fill, like spring water flowing continually throughout the rainy season.

(Ajahn Maha Boowa)

No.295 - The cause of sufferings

As you contemplate the cause of suffering, you should understand that when that which we call the mind is still, it's in a state of normality. As soon as it moves, it becomes sankhara (that which is fashioned or concocted). When attraction arises in the mind, it is sankhara, when aversion arises, it is sankhara. If there is desire to go here and there, it is sankhara. As long as you are not mindful of these sankharas, you will tend to chase after them and be conditioned by them. Whenever the mind moves, it becomes sammutti-sankhara  -  enmeshed in the conditioned world  -  at that moment. And it is these sankharas  -  these movements of the mind  -  which the Buddha taught us to contemplate.

(Ajahn Chah)

No.294 - Reflections

Reflections

Good morning Master

 I was just thinking about it this morning - the world is in turbulence.

What do we do

To Stay within

How do we stay within, Master?

For me, I find some quiet when I do the sitting exercises at the end of the day, but it feels like sporadic efforts, still waves

Imagine a Buddha whom you respected most sitting in your heart area.

This is difficult to do it. As for me i can remember my master's face, so i imagine he is within me most of the time when i need to still and calm myself. This is top secret taught by my master.

Yesterday, when I was on the call with my boss and I needed some strength, I held your photo between my palms

There is a lot of energy, and it calmed me greatly

Thank you Master

No.293 - Of Greed, Hatred and Delusion.

Of Greed, Hatred and Delusion.

If you go to a Buddhist temple you may chance to see a pictorial poster similar to the one on this blog. The pictures in the poster may look puzzling even gruesome to the uninitiated but there is a deep and meaningful purpose to it. This is the Bhavachakra or Wheel of Life.

In the center of the wheel of life you will see three animals.

A cockerel, a poisonous snake and a pig. Look closely and you will see they are biting each other’s tails.

The trait of each these animals is used to depict greed, hatred and delusion. In Sanskrit terms it is called lobha, dosa and moha respectively. The Buddha point to these three poisons in our heart as the source of our sufferings as in the Second Noble Truth.

A cockerel has an insatiable desire for sex, between meals its other interest is chasing or luring the hens for that purpose. So it is used to depict greed.

The bite from a poisonous angry snake can even kill an elephant.

It is not so much of the bite but rather the intention to kill when provoked. A person can be so hateful that he wishes his enemy dead with a single blow. So the poisonous snake depicts hatred.

A pig likes to wallow in mud like no other animals, so to a pig; its ‘the muddier the merrier’. It has a deluded sense of joy.

The use of these three animals in the middle of the Wheel of Life is not to berate them but to help practitioners to remember that these three traits, is also ever present in humans.

Greed and hatred in its coarse form is easy to see.

Delusion is the state of mind you are stuck in the midst of, whether hatred or greed, without seeing the situation you are in. In the Sutras the Buddha likened it to a magician - the mind tricked by its own illusion seeing the unreal as real .If you tell a drunkard that he is drunk he will very likely reply that he is not. A person overcome by his own anger will destroy and even kill only to regret his actions later.

Just as a fly maggot living in a bucket of excrement consider its surrounding haven so a person trap in its own greed and hatred become one with the emotions created.

In big cities the Chinese wedding banquet is a seven or eight course sumptuous dinner especially in Malaysia. In my teenage days I attended some of these banquets with my parents, hard liquor was free flowing then. There were no enforced rules against drunk driving as breathe analyzer was not even invented yet. I used to see how many of these dinners end up nasty with fights and drunkards refusing to go home end up vomiting all over the place after binge drinking..

You can see they started off in the loba(greed)state, going into dosa state and the intoxicated mind make the drunkard cloud their senses(they speak loudly when intoxicated even challenging another peron to a fight ) making them impossible to get out of that moha(deluded) state. So now you see why the three animals are depicted biting each other’s tails. When you tell  drunk that he is drunk he will most propbably says he is not. When you tell someone he is angry in the middle of anargument that person will tell you he is not angry despite raising his voice.

You say now that you have no greed, hatred and delusion especially when the conditions for it to arise is not there yet. So where are the seeds of my anger hidden when the conditions for it to ripen is not there?

Understanding Greed, Hatred and Delusion.

When we react emotionally to phenomenon we impress in our memory the events of the moment because for every action has an equal reaction.. These memories become our stored experiences. We recognize things when our senses come into contact with phenomenon then feeling arises due to our link with our stored experiences which also become our memories.

For example when a child, for the first time, comes into contact with fire he feels the pain and he remembers the fire through seeing and feeling. He also remembers the danger of fire and this memory will remain with him for the rest of his life. In a person’s life time may accumulate these experiences as part of life preservation, to protect the ‘self’ so these experiences become our survival instinct.

Nothing wrong with that, but what happens when the survival instinct grow to a monstrous ego that gives little consideration to the sufferings of other beings? From just survival instinct to an ego that grasp at anything it could reach as in what the cartoon character Daffy duck would say, ‘It’s mine, mine all mine’. Fear, anger, hatred belong to the dislike category. Fear of losing can also turn into greed likewise greed can also cause anger and hatred. Blind by hatred and the thirst for revenge can lead to war between countries.

When we see a person, recognition of that person draws from our past feeling of likes and dislikes experiences in an instant. So feeling comes first before you can even think about it.

We then label the person accordingly to our likes or dislikes. Maybe the person is a friend or someone we had quarreled before. We may not like a certain person who has a bad temper. So whenever he comes into our mind we remember him as a bad tempered person but he may have changed. He could have seen the error of his ways and changed for the better but our perception of that person didn’t change.

Please remember that our stored experiences are illusions they belong to the past. The feelings of sadness and happiness at that time and moment the incident happened is not the same as what is in our memory now no matter how real it may seem. Most of the time, we are just recycling those emotions.

This is also why we must always be in control of our emotions and our reaction when coming into contact with external and internal phenomenon. We are responsible of our feeling and emotion, nobody can make us angry if we choose not to. Now do you know where the seed of your anger lies when the condition for it to arise is not there.

Of the three poisons perhaps the easiest to deal with is hatred.

It dilates your pupil; quicken your blood flow especially to your head. You feel energetic and sometimes explosive with physical violence. It is the ego in a show of force.

Of course you may say I don’t hate anyone. Or I don’t have hatred but what is the seed of hatred? When you dislike someone, that dislike is your seed of hatred. When the conditions are ripe then hatred arises. In the mean time you may not wish the person you dislike to be killed with a single blow but in your mind you do not want to think of that person, you try to make the person disappears from your mind and life.

Most often we regret our quarrels only afterwards well at least we are out of the delusive state rather getting stuck with still being angry and doing a lot of damages which may burn all bridges between two people.

The antidote for hatred, the Buddha points out is loving kindness or metta (Pali). In Vajarana practice The Eight Verses of Transforming the Mind is a good antidote.

Here are just a few links of some of the numerous metta sites found in the internet;-

http://info.med.yale.edu/psych/3s/metta.html

http://www.mettainstitute.org/mettameditation.html

http://www.wildmind.org/metta/introduction/what-metta-isnt

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/buddharakkhita/wheel365.htm

Here’s a link to the 8 verses of transforming the mind’;- http://autonomoushealingzone.tribe.net/thread/b0a4caa3-a2c3-411c-8356-2d40ef0e5af5

Start by spending a few minutes each day reciting the Metta Sutra.

In the beginning, practicing loving kindness may seem hypocritical especially towards someone you dislike but as time goes, together with real situation practice, loving kindness will lodge in your heart and your wish will become sincere.

When you feel anger arise in you, immediately apply loving kindness especially towards the person who may be scolding you. Of course you are advice to recite it in silence in your heart.

Overtime anger will cease in you. If at anytime a thought of someone you dislike arises then apply metta towards that person.

As for greed, it comes in many forms and is more difficult to recognize, that is, we are most of the time easily deluded into this state not wanting to be deprived of enjoying the pleasure.

At the extreme end is addiction to sex, intoxicant, pleasure, form can be a big problem.

Taking the five percepts for lay Buddhist is a good way to prevent oneself from falling into the extremes. People often take these percepts in front of a Buddha statue and presided by a monk to give them strength to practice.

Keeping the percepts develops awareness and keep us awaken from these deluded states.

One of the five percepts for lay Buddhist is to abstain from sexual misconduct which also including adultery. (If only Tiger Woods had taken the five percepts). Unlike the same percept for monks which is to abstain from sex totally.

Unless one is ready to embark on serious practice otherwise the five percepts for a lay Buddhist will do.

For those who had caught in addiction the first thing to do is to realize the folly of the present situation.Then make a simple wish to overcome the destructive addiction. The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step and so to become a Fully Enlightened Buddha starts with a wish.

Once that wish has been made then remember to persevere in one's effort or steps one may embark to overcome greed, hatred and delusion.

Good start is to find equilibrium and space to focus and balance mind/body. To have some control of our destiny. Practicing mindfulness of breath meditation(Anapanasati meditation) is a good start.

In the Four Foundation of Minfulness , mindfulness of mental  sates help to deal with these subconscious states.

 There will always be people who will succeed and those who will fail but failure does not mean it will be the end of your effort - just pick yourself up and start again.

For those with a quick temper and short fused, pause fore a moment when you feel you are to boil like counting your breath or start reciting a simple mantra like ‘May you be well and happy.’ Keep your mind in the present moment by practicing mindfulness.

Finally the Eight Fold Noble Path has all the ingredients to overcome and prevent one from falling into the three poisons.

No.292 - Question: How do we practise during this pandemic situation?

Question:  How do we practise during this pandemic situation?

Than Ajahn:  You just follow the health advice from the health experts. But as far as your mind is concerned, you should be prepared for it, ‘Should I get sick, let it be. If I couldn’t prevent it and if it’s going to happen to me, let it happen.’ Let’s not react to it. Accept it as it comes. If it should cost me my life, well, this is the time for me to die. Because we are all going to die one day, sooner or later. If you can have this attitude, your mind will be peaceful and calm. You won’t be unhappy with the situation.

But if you cling to life, regardless of any situation that is happening, it will cost yourself misery. It’ll cost you suffering. So, you have to be realistic. Try to do your best to prevent the disease infecting you. If after you’ve tried your best, yet you still couldn’t prevent it from happening to you, and when it happens to you, you just say, ’This is the way it is.’ Then, you try to treat it as best as you can. If you succeed, it means you can overcome the sickness. But if you don’t succeed, you might say, ‘Goodbye!’ But you can be happy. You don’t have to be sad. You don’t have to worry or become anxious because it doesn’t help. Worrying or becoming anxious will only cause you to be unhappy.

“Dhamma in English, Jan 31, 2020.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g

No.291 - “Wisdom”.

“Wisdom”.

Question:  “After we have jhāna, do we directly have the wisdom? How do we develop the wisdom?”

Than Ajahn:  “When you enter into jhāna, you’ll discover a new form of happiness. That’s also wisdom: to know that there are other kinds of happiness besides the kind of happiness that people are normally looking for such as getting happiness from wealth, happiness from having contact with sensual gratification. There are other kinds of happiness, that is the happiness from jhāna.

Having developed this a new kind of knowledge is considered to have the wisdom, knowing that you can be happy without having to have money, without having to have a husband or a wife. You don’t have to be anything to make you happy. You don’t have to be anybody to be happy. You don’t have to go anywhere to make you happy. This is wisdom.

You have discovered the real happiness, the easier kind of happiness because you don’t have to rely on anything or anybody to make you happy. All you have to have is a strong mindfulness, a continuous mindfulness. Then, you can have this kind of happiness. This is one part of the wisdom that you gain from entering into jhāna.

After you come out of jhāna, your desire hasn’t been destroyed yet. Then, you need another kind of wisdom. This kind of wisdom is developed by telling yourself that doing what your desire asks you to do is bad. It can only hurt you because what you desire for can only satisfy you temporarily, it can only make you happy briefly. And when that happiness disappears, you will be sad again. So, everything that you go after in this world is a temporary happiness. When it disappears, you will be sad again.

You have to keep teaching your mind so that you can resist your desire to go after things in this world. It’s better for you to go back into jhāna where you can have the permanent kind of happiness. Once you know how to have jhāna, you can always have it all the time. This is the way to get rid of all your desires which cause you to have rebirth.

   

Once you can get rid of all your desires, then there will be no more rebirth, no more ageing, sickness and death. This is the wisdom that you have to develop when you come out of jhāna. You have to tell your mind that nothing in this world is permanent. Nothing can give you long term happiness. Everything is short term. Once it disappears, it will only cause you sadness and misery. Keep teaching your mind whenever your desire for something arises. You can say, ‘It’s better not to have it. It’s better to have jhāna.’

You have a choice between having jhāna or having a wife/a husband for happiness. If you have a wife, sometimes she can get mad at you, then that happiness will disappear. If she departs or she separates from you, you become sad again. If you have wisdom, you’d say, ‘I’d better have jhāna.’ Because you can always have jhāna.

Stop having anything else because everything in this world is only temporary. It doesn’t last. Everything is aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā. Aniccaṁ means temporary, dukkhaṁ is sadness, unhappiness. Anattā means you cannot keep it, you cannot force it to be with you all the time. It comes and goes as it likes. So, this is wisdom that you have to develop: all the things in this world whether they are money, people, or even our bodies are aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā. If you see all things in this way, you can let go of your desire to possess them. Once you don’t have any desire, your mind will be peaceful and happy. Then, you don’t have to enter into jhāna because your mind can be happy without jhāna.

The thing that makes your mind unhappy is your desire. Once you get rid of all your desires, there will be no agitator that will cause any sadness or dissatisfaction. Your mind will be always happy and peaceful. Then, you don’t have to practice any more Dhamma. You don’t have to develop mindfulness. You don’t have to enter into jhāna. You don’t have to use wisdom. It’s because you have solved the problem. You have got rid of all your desires.

You need samādhi. You need mindfulness. You need wisdom to get rid of your desires. Once you’ve got rid of them, then you no longer need samādhi, wisdom or mindfulness. They are like medicines. When you’re sick, you need to take medicines. After your sickness disappears, you don’t need to take the medicines anymore.

After the Buddha and his noble disciples became enlightened, they have completely got rid of their desires, they don’t have to practice Dhamma anymore. They don’t have to be mindful. They don’t have to enter into jhāna. They don’t have to use wisdom. Although they will use them occasionally as the need arises, but the jhāna and wisdom are not used for getting rid of their desires because all of their desires have been got rid off permanently.

So, keep the precepts, practice dāna, develop mindfulness, sit in meditation, contemplate on aniccaṁ, dukkhaṁ, anattā to develop wisdom. Then, one day you will achieve the goal. You will become enlightened like the Buddha.”

From:  “Dhamma in English to laypeople from Indonesia, Feb 11, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g