(EA19)-01-Anatta

Anything to discuss? Today everybody is very quiet. I would like to talk more on this non-self. You know that there is a non-self in us. But who is that who is actually going through all this suffering and going through all the cycles of rebirth? Talk more about non-self. There are some misconceptions about this word Anatta. The Buddha did not say that there is no self. The Buddha said that there is Anatta. So we have translated it as no self. We have translated it as no soul. So we have to be very careful because some of these translations are not accurate. For example, we Chinese talk about Ling Hun, right? Ling Pan. Supposed to be, to use a common translation, you can call it soul. And actually in Buddhism, we accept this, you know, Ling Hun, Ling Pan. In Buddhism, it's not that there is no Ling Pan. Why? Because in certain suttas, the Buddha shows this to be true. Of course, you have to also be very careful because in Buddhism, in present day Buddhism, there are contradictions. For example, what is taught in the Abhidhamma sometimes contradicts what is taught in the suttas. So in the suttas, the Buddha says, for example, in one sutta, the Buddha says there are four types of beings. One enters the womb unknowing, stays in the womb unknowing, and comes out of the womb, that means in birth, unknowing, means not conscious, blah blah like that. The second type, enters the womb knowing, but stays in the womb unknowing, and comes out unknowing, The third type enters the womb knowing, stays there knowing, but comes out unknowing. And the fourth type enters knowing, stays there knowing, comes out also knowing, like our Bodhisatta. His mind is very clear. So it shows there is something entering the womb, something staying in the womb, and something coming out of the womb. This we call Lengphan, Lenghun, Soul. So there is this soul which is a bundle of energy. There is also another sutra, interesting sutra, where a man came to see the Buddha. This man belongs to an external sect. So he told the Buddha, he said, I think he said Samana Gotama. He said, I have this belief that there is no self-doer, there is no other-doer. Self-doer, that means no self. No self who does this and does that. No other-doer. No other who does this and does that. In other words, there is no self, there is no others. That's what he said. Then the Buddha said, I never heard of this before. Something like that. The Buddha said, can you decide to walk in front or walk behind? He said, yes, I can. I can walk in front, I can walk behind. Then the Buddha said, then how can you say there is no self too? So from this, you see, the Buddha It didn't say that there is no self. But of course, when in this case, the Buddha is saying that there is a conventional self. In normal usage, we say there is a self. So what do you mean by this word Anatta? Anatta means there is No being that is not born, that is not conditioned, that is not created. Because the Buddha says everything in this world experiences birth, coming to being, and then existence for some time, and then after that decay, or cessation, or death. So there is nothing in this world that stays unchanging, permanent, that is not subject to conditions. There is no such thing. Everything in this world is in a state of flux. The strongest characteristic of this world is impermanence. This world is of the nature of impermanence. Everything is changing. The only thing that is unchanging is this state of changing, this characteristic of changing. So that's the meaning of Anatta. But if you study the Abhidhamma, people who believe in the Abhidhamma, they say that when a being dies, say for example a being dies in Subang Jaya and is reborn in Tamang Mayang. When he dies in Subang Jaya, the consciousness there stops. And then the consciousness in Taman Mayang starts by itself. There's nothing that goes from Subang Jaya to Taman Mayang. But this contradicts the sutras. In the sutras, something goes from Subang Jaya and enters the womb in Taman Mayang. That's why like in the Dhananjani Sutra of the Majjhima Nikaya, Noble Sariputta says that if a person's karma is so bad that he is due to be reborn in hell, the hell beings will come up and drag him down to hell. In other words, wu dao bei bin, nao dao ma min, Chinese like to say, exist. In fact, I have a supporter in Perak state who told me A few days before the father died, the father saw Gutao Baibian waiting for him. So, he escaped. Now, these hell beings come up to drag this being down to hell. So what is he dragging? When that person dies, there's no more body to drag. It's that linghun, the soul that drags down to hell. That's why some people who remember their past life, they say when they passed away, chariot, horse chariot from heaven came down to bring them up to heaven. Bring what? That Leng Hun, that soul. So in Buddhism, the translation Anatta, no soul, is not correct. There is a soul. Only thing is this soul is a bundle of energy. state of flux. But this bundle of energy is important because it contains your medical DNA, your memory from the past, your characteristics. So after Adam passes away, he will have kind of the same face. He is born as Deva Adam. He will look like human Adam.

(EA19)-02-Dream-World

When we dream at night, what happens? In the dream, you see yourself as the mingxing, isn't it? The main actor in the dream. or the main actress. And your experience in the dream seems to you very real. Everything about that dream world seems very real, right? Only after you wake up, then you realize it was a dream. So in the same way, life now is also like that, a state of altered consciousness. And you see this world around you. The type of world that you see yourself in is determined by your previous life karma. Okay? So this dream of life now is determined by the karma. But this you that you think, this body is you, is not actually you. If there's any you, consider all the beings in the world is you. It's a projection of your mind. So, this world is generated by what? By the six consciousness. The six consciousness, the seeing consciousness, the hearing, smell, taste, touch and thinking consciousness. The first five is the outside world. The thinking consciousness is the inside world.

(EA19)-03-Nibbana

so the state of Nibbana is a state where the six consciousness stops the six consciousness stops but in that state the Buddha says there is another consciousness which is luminous and bright and boundless but this The state of consciousness in Nibbana is different from the Sixth Consciousness. The Sixth Consciousness, when it arises, it must always arise with an object. When you are conscious, you are conscious of something. Something that you are conscious of is what? Nama Rupa. Because Nyana and Nama Rupa always arise together and cease together. Vijnana is consciousness. Nama Rupa is the object of consciousness. So when you are seeing consciousness arises, there must be a form for you to see. When hearing consciousness arises, there is a sound for you to hear etc. But the state of Nibbana, that consciousness is like a static state. There is no, the Buddha says there is no long, no short, In other words, no object there. So, it does not need an object there. It is just pure consciousness. And to give you an idea of that state now, we think of our dream, I mean our sleeping state. When we go to sleep, there are two types of sleep. One is the dreaming state, which is not very pleasant. Because when you dream, you can be excited, you can be frightened and all that. But there is another type of deep sleep state, where you are not conscious of anything. It's so deep that you don't even know that you exist. But because it is so deep, it is very pleasant. So when we get up in the morning, we feel we want to sleep some more. So sweet. That's why the Buddha says, Nibbana is the greatest bliss. It's sweet like Cinderella. And when we wake up, we have fear, we have hunger, we have emotions, everything to disturb us. When we wake up, there is a self. And this self is the cause of dukkha. When you have the self, you want to protect the self. From the moment we are born until we die, we are struggling against the world to protect ourselves. So you see in the Bible, it says that Adam ate the forbidden fruit and was expelled from heaven. And there's a speculation, all kinds of speculation about this forbidden fruit. Some people say it's sex. People say this and that. But you must remember, in the Bible, it actually says, it's the fruit of knowledge. Fruit of knowledge. So what do you mean by fruit of knowledge? When your consciousness starts to run, the sixth consciousness, then you know. You know that there's a self, you know that you exist. You are no more in Nirvana. Expelled from heaven, expelled from Nirvana. You see, holy men, all throughout the ages we have holy men. Even Buddhas. We have Buddhas all the time. The problem is 99.99% of the Buddhas don't want to teach. Don't want to teach. Because most people are not interested. We want to enjoy the world. That's why when we die, we are not willing to die. We still want to live. But because holy men have come before, so they know about this. So when they say this, because of knowledge, we are fallen from that state. So when it is transmitted by word of mouth, one person to another, it gets distorted. And you have this story about Adam and Eve in heaven expelled because they ate the forbidden food and all these things.

(EA19)-04-Mulapariyaya

I just briefly mention this sutta. Mula Parijaya Sutta, the root of all things. The first sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya. If you try to study the Majjhima Nikaya and you come with this first sutta, you're like KO'd by them. Blow, you know. Don't know how to proceed. So, cannot make head or tail out of this sutta. Because it goes like this. Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was living in Ukata in the Subarga Grove, at the root of a Royal Sala Tree. There he addressed the monks thus, Pikus, Pante, they replied. The Blessed One said this, Pikus, I shall teach you a discourse on the root of all things. Listen and attend closely to what I shall say. Yes, Bhante or Bhadante, the monks replied, the blessed one said this, here because an untaught ordinary person who has no regard for noble ones, here he says no regard for noble ones, other places he says no, who does not see, who does not see noble ones. who has no regard for noble ones and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, who has no regard for true men and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, perceives earth as earth. Having perceived earth as earth, he conceives earth. He conceives in earth. He conceives from earth. He conceives earth to be mine. He delights in earth. Why is that? Because he has not fully understood it, I say. Similarly, he perceives water as water, fire as fire, air as air, beings as beings, gods as gods, Pajapati as Pajapati, Brahma as Brahma, the gods of streaming radiance as the gods of streaming radiance, etc. and in the same way he perceives something and then having perceived something he conceives that something and then he conceives in that something and then he conceives from that something and then he conceives that something to be mine and he delights in that something similarly he perceives the seen as the seen He perceives the heard as the heard. He perceives the sensed as the sensed. This sensed means the smell, taste and touch. And then he perceives the cognized, the thoughts as the cognized, etc. So, every perceived is He conceives that thing. Then he conceives in that thing. He conceives from that thing. And he conceives that thing to be mine. He delights in that thing. Because he has not fully understood it. And then the disciple in higher training, the Buddha said, because A bhikkhu who is in higher training, whose mind has not yet reached the goal, and who is still aspiring to the supreme security from bondage, directly knows earth as earth. Having directly known earth as earth, he should not conceive earth. He should not conceive in earth. He should not conceive from earth. He should not conceive earth to be mine. He should not delight in earth. Why is that? so that he may fully understand it, I say. Similarly for all the other things. A monk in higher training, that means a Sikha, an Aryan monk, but who is not yet an Arahant. He knows the things in the world. Sorry, it's not that he knows. He should train himself not to conceive the things in the world. Conceive means to think about. And why? Because so that he may fully understand it. So Aryan disciple, he has not fully understood it yet. So he trains himself not to be attached to the things in the world. And then the Arahant, Bhikkhus. A Bhikkhu who is an Arahant with Asavas destroyed, who has lived a holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the factors of being, and is completely liberated through final knowledge, directly knows Earth as Earth, having directly known earth as earth he does not conceive earth he does not conceive in earth he does not conceive from earth he does not conceive earth to be mine he does not delight in earth why is that because he has fully understood it I say so an arahant does not conceive does not think about the things in the world does not have notions about things of the world So what does all this mean? You see this one, the first one. We go back to the first one. Putujana, an ordinary person. He perceives earth as earth. That means, when he perceives something in the world, he perceives it as it appears to him. So, We live in the world of the six senses and we believe the world of the six senses to be real. So we believe our six senses fully and we take things according to what we see, we hear, etc. And then having perceived Earth as Earth, he conceives Earth. He thinks about Earth. He has a conception, an idea about Earth. and then he conceives in earth he conceives from earth what does this mean? he conceives in earth and he conceives from earth I think it means when he sees something he has a concept about this thing and he conceives in earth it means he conceives an object in earth and then he conceives from earth That means he conceives a subject apart from Earth. So you have an I, you have something outside. So this I that perceives this thing outside, he likes that thing, he wants to possess it. So, if anything in this world gives us, for example, beautiful sights, attracts us, then we are attracted by it and we want to possess it. Beautiful sounds, beautiful smells, etc, taste, etc. So that's why I said that we live in this state of altered consciousness where we don't see things in the proper perspective. We believe our six senses, we believe whatever we see, hear, smell, etc. It's only when we develop our mind through meditation, we go into a higher state of consciousness. Then we can see in a different way. So the higher jhanas we attain, the higher, the clearer the picture becomes to us. And the Buddha always emphasized the fourth jhana. Because the fourth jhana, the Buddha says, all the things are seen very clearly. Even when we develop the lower jhanas, as we go, as we cultivate Samadhi, the mind becomes calmer and calmer. Slowly the outside world falls away from you. For example, you are concentrating on your breath, you keep paying attention to your breath and slowly you are able to focus on your breath. You are no more conscious of the outside world and after that you are no more conscious of your body. That's why the Buddha says that the body is alien to us. It's a creation of the mind. It's like the world is a creation of the mind. It's not really us. It's a creation of consciousness. That's why in the Sakyuttanikaya, when the Buddha talks about the five khandhas, the Buddha says that consciousness is like a magic show. We see ourselves one lifetime after another lifetime. Jodhvahi, consciousness Jodhvahi.

(EA19)-05-Coma

Okay. Any other thing? Something just came up. Let's say someone who has unfortunately entered coma. Is it the same like the senses will shut down? Like they can't hear anything? Have you had any experience? Have you spoken to anyone who has gone through coma and came back again? I have not gone into coma yet. I mean have you spoken to someone who has But some people say that a person in coma, it's like their senses are blocked like that. But sometimes when somebody close to them speak to them, they seem to understand. Sometimes the tears come down. But it's like that person in that state, his senses are restrained. He wants to move, he cannot move. He wants to say something, he cannot say. Not totally shut, restrained. It's not that he has lost the senses. It's just like some people, say, because of the war or something, they lost a hand. They lost a hand, they don't have an arm, a right arm. But because they were born with an arm, somehow, maybe the energy, the arm energy is still there. So sometimes, when you throw a ball at them, probably they try to react. But nothing is moving here, no right arm. He believes his right arm is there. So in his dream probably, He does not see himself without the arm. He sees himself without the arm. On the other hand, some people, because of bad karma, they are born without that arm. And probably when they dream also, they dream without that arm. So in the case of that person in coma, I think his senses are there. It's just that something is blocking him. He cannot use them. One day last time, during the global conference, there was one lady, she was in coma, and she came out to testify that during the coma, she was able to hear every single thing that people were saying to her. But she could not react to anything. There was one time the doctor asked her son to sign the authority to unplug everything. She was afraid that her son would not sign. How long was she in coma? About 3-4 months. Anything else? Those who own the sheds, especially for the Kentucky, Mauritius, are they encouraging killings? No la, no la. The intention must be there. So, just because you own the shares, I cannot say that you... Just like some people say, just because you eat meat, you're encouraging killing. It's not true. The indirect karma is not the same as direct karma.

(EA19)-06-Carana

To remove the altered states of consciousness, to remove from the concealing of the kutajara, to the mixed level of concealing, the number of suttas is much greater than that. I like very much the Gopala sutta, about the cowherd, the practices. I like very much the Madhyamaka Atthapura, fifteen practices. If you look into our website, I have a chart there called the Vijacarana. The Buddha, one of the names of the Buddha is Vijacarana Sampanno, complete in knowledge and conduct. This conduct, Carana, can also be called practice, practice of the holy path. If you look into certain books, like Lady Sayadaw's books, his interpretation of Carana comprises a few factors but it is not complete because he has only taken it from one Nikaya. But the chart that we have put up is taken from all the four Nikayas and I think it contains about ten factors there. Ten factors of Charana. Not Parami. Parami was not spoken by the Buddha. I can't tell you offhand, but like sila, contentment, guarding the sense doors, moderation in eating, gratefulness, seclusion, abandoning of the hindrances, the four jhanas.

(EA19)-07-Satipatthana

I've read about two classical Vedic books that define the Vedic Brahmin about the thing Satipatthana. Is that true? I appreciate that. Yeah, because Satipatthana is a phrase the Buddha used. Satipatthana is a sign of Samadhi. Bhikkhu Bodhi has translated it as slightly different. I mentioned this in my Satipatthana talk. So Satipatthana, if you practice it, I will lead you directly into the Jhanas. How do we practice Satipatthana? Satipatthana means intense state of recollection. This word Sati, people like to translate as mindfulness, but it is not general mindfulness. It is a specific mindfulness. The mindfulness directed only to four things, the body, feelings, mind and Dhamma. Dhamma means Buddha's Dhamma, Buddha's teachings. So the better word for translation for sati is recollection recollection means has to do with remembering remembering to put your attention on these four things because for a normal person our attention always goes out to the six sense doors and goes to all kinds of rubbish which is your tongue, your sight, thinking east, thinking west But we should only think of these four things. That's why we need to remember. That's why we call it recollection. So in the practice of Satipatthana, my personal opinion is that there are two separate types of practice. One is when you sit down and the other when you are not sitting down. When we sit down, that is the only time that we can attain Samadhi, jhana, one-pointedness of mind. So when we sit, we should try to attain one-pointedness of mind. That means only pay attention to one object. For example, like the breath. For some people, a lot of people find the breath meditation difficult. They even do chanting. For example, arahang, arahang. Actually, the first meditation the Buddha taught was 32 parts for the body. Head, hair, body, hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, bones, marrow, kidneys, etc. So, because there is a parable or simile given in the Satipatthana Samyutta where the Buddha gave this simile to show us how to practice Satipatthana but I think this concerns this sitting practice and this simile says that one day the most beautiful girl of the land came out and all the men saw her and clapped their hands and shouted the most beautiful girl of the land So more people came out and shouted and clapped. Then they asked her to sing and dance and she started to sing and dance. And more people came to see and to clap their hands. Then an ordinary guy came along and he was caught by some people and forced to carry a bowl of oil full to the brim. And somebody was walking behind him with an uplifted sword and told him, you walk among the crowd. If you spill even one drop of oil, I'll chop off your head. So this guy was forced to carry this oil and walk in between all this crowd of people. When the Buddha asked, does he dare to look left and right? No. Does he dare to look at the beautiful girl? No. So he only pays attention to one thing and that is that bowl of oil. He walks with 100% attention on the bowl of oil. So if he does this, Then he will attain Satipatthana, one-pointedness of mind, intense state of recollection. Intense meaning that his attention does not wander anywhere else, even for a split second, and only one object. Satipatthana stays within mind. Okay, okay. Now we come to the other part. okay okay that is the other part when you're not sitting when you're not sitting for example you're sweeping the floor or you're doing or you're sitting in the bus then instead of paying attention to the beautiful girl outside we should pay attention on these four things we should think of these four things either the nature of the body or the impermanence of feelings, how feelings arise and pass away, how they arise through conditions. And the Buddha gave a simile of raindrops falling on the pond. As soon as one raindrop touches the pond surface, a bubble forms. Very soon it bursts. Then another drop falls, another bubble. This is a very good simile for our six sense doors. are impinged by sights, sounds, smell, taste, etc. So these come and contact us, just like the water on the pond. As soon as we see, we hear, etc., a feeling arises, but doesn't last. Then it goes away. What do we contemplate for the mind? Sutta says the condition of the mind, but not necessarily the condition of mind. Whatever we think, for example, if you think whatever thoughts arise, then you can contemplate, why did I think like that? You see, usually our thoughts are motivated by this greed, hatred and delusion. So, sometimes somebody says something to you and then you get angry. Then you ask yourself, why am I angry? because of the ego or because of greed I think in a certain way so we recognize this unwholesome states in us the ego and all that and we try to restrain it so then the Dhamma is the most important because the contemplation of the Dhamma leads to this attainment of the Aryan stages because in the Sutta the Buddha says there are five occasions of enlightenment hearing the Dhamma, teaching the Dhamma, repeating the Dhamma, reflecting on the Dhamma and the last one is during meditation when you contemplate on the Samadhi Nimitta so out of these five occasions of enlightenment four of them have to do with Dhamma so important And I believe, although the Buddha says here that these are the five occasions of enlightenment, they are also the five occasions of partial enlightenment. Misattaining the first path or first fruit, second path, third path, fourth path, also got to do with this. Actually, it's got a lot to do with the meditation path. The thing to do is to sit down and meditate. Of course, if you sit down you can also contemplate. But if you do that, then your mind will run very easily. So, it is very important to train to get one-pointedness of mind. No, the contemplation is even before you get one-pointedness of mind, you can do the contemplation, but not when you are sitting. Other times, you have plenty of other times. So there are two distinct parts to the practice of Satipatthana. One is when you are sitting and the other one when you are not sitting. But the problem with most of us is that when we are not sitting, the mind runs a lot. It's out of control. So a good practice is to practice that one-pointedness of mind as much as we can, even when we are not sitting. And how? By chanting, Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa non-stop. Or just Araham Araham Araham Araham. You know the Hindus, they like to practice this, they call it Japa. Sometimes they chant mantra from time to time, just om, om, om, non-stop. You can. The point is, whatever we do is just to train our mind not to run, not be, because If we allow our mind to run, that is asara, uncontrolled mental outflows, and that is the cause of samsara. Keep our mind running, running, and then as soon as we die, it will run again, another birth. But if you see, just be mindful, the mind will run. Only for a few sweeps, after that you run. So it's better if you chant something.

(EA19)-08-Altered-States-of-Consciousness

There is something regarding when you explain Buddhism to other people. When you talk about the teaching, it is quite easy to explain. But when you talk about people in the realms of existence, people ask you this question. How do you know this? Who told you that? If you want to explain that, the first thing to try to show them is that this world is not as real and as solid as we think it is. It is more like a dream world. Because if you ask them, how do you know the world exists? They say, I can see, I can hear and all these things. And then we believe our eyes. and that our eyes see but actually it is not our eyes that see because you tell him when you go to sleep you are not using your eyes but when you dream another world appears without your eyes which proves that the world is created by consciousness in your dream state so in the same way now the world is created by consciousness so if the world is created by consciousness that shows that Whatever you can think of at that time when you are actually dreaming, it appears real to you. Right? So, you can give for example, when people are dying, a few days before they actually die, another world, another state of altered consciousness appears to them, and they start to see another world. It's good if it's a good world, but some people, they see themselves, like one, I was told by some devotee in Singapore, their friend was dying of cancer. A few days before she died, she was crying, I said, why am I all tied up in chains? So, So in that state, why does he see this world? Why does other people don't see the chains around them? It's the mind. So if a person is, say, lao ching, behaves like an animal, then it's natural that he will dream of himself as an animal. And then also now, science is using hypnotism to make us regress and see our past lives. Yeah, we can read books, we can prove a lot of that. There's a lot of studies. But talking about the animal realm, the paranormal realm, the heavenly realm, that one is very difficult to prove. Animal realm, we can see that. Yeah, but how do we know? How do you know that you are going to be an elephant? You, of course... We have to convince... Yeah, but one being has to see that certain animals, their nature, some of them, they have certain human characteristics. Dogs? Not cats, dogs. You see, last time my grandmother lived near an abattoir where they slaughtered cows. And she saw, when they lead these cows to the slaughter, this cow would not want to go. So when they pull, they go down on the front legs, they go down and they cry. How come the cow can cry? A cow can grind a human being, but some human beings don't have cow sense. Sometimes you see in the papers, some dog, even dies trying to rescue some other being. But now, like ghosts, last time, Westerners, they don't believe in ghosts. Now, they start to believe in ghosts. Yeah, right. There are some stories saying that there are ghosts inside of videos. So what's your take? I would think that ghosts are everywhere. I know of a case. Somebody in Ipoh told me the cousin is married and staying in New Zealand. So they decided one day to remove all the wallpaper and put up new wallpaper. So when they started removing the wallpaper, that night the ghost disturbed them. Apparently some of the ghosts stay in the wallpaper. And I know another case, when I was young, there was this man in our kampong. He stayed in a certain house and the ghost would always come and disturb him at night. And he was quite brave, he was not afraid, he tried to fight with the ghost. And every night, the ghost would disturb him until he got so fed up, he decided to use a trick one day. He went to sleep with a lot of powder in his hand. So when the ghost came to disturb him, he threw the powder on the ghost. Then the ghost ran away. The next morning, he went to look for the powder. He found the powder sticking on the wall. So he nailed the wall after that. Never disturbed him anymore. I had a friend. He found an umbrella when I was a layman. He found an umbrella on the roadside. So he took the umbrella home. That night onwards, I got disturbed by some spirit. After a few nights, he started wondering why. Then he remembered the umbrella. Threw away the umbrella. No more disturbance. So when you're talking about the ghosts on the wall, that means like those some Chinese temple, they use a plate on their wall. In fact, I know a Mahayana monk who was disturbed because of all these things. I also know of another family, they bought an old Buddha statue to keep in the house and pray. And the lady, sometimes when she prayed, she seemed to see two red eyes looking at her in the statue. And from the moment they brought back the statue to the house, the house became, I mean, a lot of disturbance. The parents quarrelled with the children, the husband and wife quarrelled, and all these things. And after several months, the husband and wife discuss this problem, then they thought something wrong with that Buddha statue and they took it to a bridge and threw it over into the river. After that the house became more peaceful. So don't think now all these Buddha statues will protect you. The best tankai is inside, not outside.