Practice English Speaking&Listening with: 13/03/2021 จิตเกิดดับอยู่ตลอดเวลา (Birth and Death Happen Each Moment)
The days pass by quickly.
Were in mid-March already.
The years fly by.
Our life gets shorter and shorter each day.
If we take a look at our life,
well see that death is approaching.
Those who have hectic lifestyles
think that theyre not going to die.
If we know that one day
we will have to abandon everything,
we wont be ravenously scrambling for scraps so desperately.
Some people, when they think of death,
their mind grows unwholesome,
others grow wholesome.
Those that believe that there is nothing after death,
feel they have to enjoy as many things as possible before death,
and consume as much as they can.
Thats for those that believe that
life doesnt continue after death;
nothing continued after death.
But us Buddhists believe in
the cycle of birth and death.
When we think of death
the defilements wont be too harsh.
There are too much greed.
How many millions and billions are we going to want to acquire?
When in the end, we cant take it with us.
What will help us determine
when we think of death,
whether our mind becomes filled with defilements,
or in a gentler and more wholesome place,
is what our beliefs are regarding it.
Those who believe death is final will have certain responses,
and those that believe there is rebirth will have other responses.
Those that believe death is final is a wrong view,
and those that believe we will reborn
is, also, another type of wrong view.
There is a belief that in our life
there is something that is permanent
inside us,
and that upon death,
our soul exits our body
and finds a new body to be born in.
Once that new body dies,
then it seeks another one.
Buddhists believe in the cycle of birth and death,
but not in the way I just described.
That is wrong view.
It is easy to see that no life after death is wrong view,
but saying that dying and then being born again is also a wrong view.
It is harder to understand.
Well understand it
when we practice
until we can separate the aggregates.
Well see that our life
is comprised of merely five aggregates.
Theres form, feelings, perception, formations, and consciousness.
Form is the material things.
The feelings are pleasant,unpleasant,
and neutral feelings.
Perception is memory and interpretation.
Formations are the fabricating of good, bad, and neutral states.
Consciousness
is the receiving through the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
When we separate the aggregates,
we will see that each of them is arising
and passing away in the present.
Arising and falling sequentially at all times.
The mind itself arises and falls.
Each mind arises and then falls away all day and all night.
We will see that.
Before seeing that each mind arises and falls,
well see them one at a time.
The mind that is happy arises and falls.
The mind that is unhappy arises and falls.
The mind that is neutral arises and falls.
The mind that is greedy or not-greedy arises and falls.
The mind that is angry,
and the mind that is deluded arises and falls.
All things arise and fall.
When we see that over and over
we will know that the mind itself
arises and falls all the time.
Some people see the mind arise and fall
by way of the sense organs.
Theyll see that the mind goes to see,
and then that mind falls away.
The mind that hears, it arises and falls,
the mind that smells, the mind at the tongue,
the mind that knows tactile senses,
or the mind that thinks,
these all arise and fall.
Thats harder to see than
the mind that is happy, unhappy, good, or bad.
The mind that is happy or un-happy arises
and falls right in front of our eyes.
To see the mind arising and falling
at the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and in the mind
we need a considerable amount of samadhi and mindfulness to do so.
When we dont see these things we will easily fall into wrong view.
We will believe that there is only one mind.
That it runs to the eyes to see forms,
then runs back,
then runs to the ears to hear sounds,
then run back.
Run to the nose to smell
and run back.
It will appear as if the mind is like a spider
going to the left, the right,
up and down.
Like one spider that runs back and forth.
So if we practice seeing the mind at the sense organs
and our mindfulness and samadhi are not considerable
it is easy to fall into wrong view.
Well think that there is one mind
running from place to place.
But seeing the mind
that is greedy and not-greedy and such,
well see arising and falling easily.
I cough and choke sometimes.
For you doctors watching the live stream,
dont be startled.
I dont have Covid or any other illness.
The doctors concerned about me.
It is notthing unusual.
I am fine.
When we see the arising and falling of the mind
its easier to see the mental factors and formations;
including happiness, unhappiness,
wholesome, and unwholesome states.
The happy mind is one mind.
The unhappy mind is another.
The neutral mind is yet another.
Theyre each separate minds.
Its easy to distinguish them as different minds.
The angry mind is another mind.
When we have mindfulness that is quick enough,
the angry mind arises and then falls quickly.
The knowing mind will replace it.
That is a wholesome mind.
The unwholesome mind arises and falls
and then a wholesome mind arises and falls in its place.
They each last for a moment and then pass.
Then the mind gets lost by way of
the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, thought,
or gets lost in happy, unhappy,
good, or bad states once again.
So observing the mind by way
of noticing feelings and formations is easy.
It is harder to observe the mind at the senses.
If we have strong mindfulness and concentration
well see that
at first the mind is knowing,
and then our eyes see something moving,
but we dont know what it is yet.
Then the mind gets curious
and wants to know.
Thats another mind arising.
At first were just simply knowing,
but then the mind wants to know and wants to see.
Once the mind is wanting to see
there is becoming and existence at the eyes.
So that is desire creating existence.
The mind that goes to see is born.
The mind seeing lasts temporarily,
then passes,
and now another mind will send a signal into the heart.
The next mind will arise and interpret the signal.
What we saw
was this or was this and that;
a person, an animal,
was him or her,
its a pretty form, an ugly form, and so on.
Its a beautiful sound or a noisy one.
It is another mind that decides
and gives value,
and another mind relays to the next mind
whether there will be a mind
that feels pleasant, unpleasant,
good, or bad.
From the moment of sense contact
the mind then works quite a lot.
Theres many minds in succession.
If our mindfulness is not quick enough
then we will not see that
the mind is working
and there are minds sequentially arising and passing.
There are so many of them
and we dont see it.
We will see when the mind is good or bad at the end instead.
Its much easier to just see at the end when the mind is either good or bad.
Theres no need to rush
and no need have mindfulness and concentration to that degree.
These are easy things to talk about but hard to practice.
Asking, The eye went to see, do you see that?
At that point so many mind moments have already passed.
So lets keep it simple.
The Buddha taught cittanupassana.
The mind has craving
or the mind does not have craving.
The mind has aversion or doesnt have it.
The mind has delusion or doesnt.
The mind is restless or the mind is stuck.
This is the practice for those who are not skilled in jhana,
or deep concentration.
The next eight aspects of cittanupassana are
for those who have strong concentration.
If we arent one of those people
then we practice with those first four pairs I mentioned.
The mind has craving or does not.
The mind has aversion or does not.
The mind has delusion which is
the mind that gets lost
or the mind that is not lost.
The mind that is restless is paired with the mind that is depressed.
Keep observing and well see
the mind with craving arises and falls.
The mind without craving arises and falls.
The mind with aversion arises and falls.
The mind without aversion arises and falls.
The mind that is lost arises and falls.
The mind that knows arises and falls.
The mind that is restless arises and falls,
and the mind that is stuck arises and falls.
Just seeing that is sufficient.
We dont need to see incredible detail.
Once we become quite skilled
in observing the mind more and more
and our mindfulness is sharp
and with quality concentration,
we will see the mind arising and falling at the senses.
Well see it arise at the eyes and fall at the eyes,
and arise at the ears and fall at the ears.
Arising at the nose,
tongue, body and in the mind
wherever a mind arises it falls right there.
It is not one mind that runs to the eyes and then runs back,
or runs to the ears and runs back.
Were not developing wisdom correctly if thats all we see.
Its not genuine wisdom until we see the discontinuity.
If it still appears that there is one permanent fixture of a mind
running from place to place
to see, to hear, to think, etcetera,
then eventually that forms into a wrong view
that the mind is a permanent self
which is called sassatha ditthi.
The wrong view by those who believe that everything ends at death
is called a materialist (ucceda ditthi).
The materialist view is easy to see and it is wrong.
But those that believe we are born again,
what is it that is born?
If we see that there is just one mind or soul
and that once the body dies
that same mind or soul
then leaves our body and is born in a new one,
that is the wrong view of eternalism,
which is called sassatha ditthi.
So even career practitioners that watch their minds
must be careful about this.
If we are observing the mind at the senses
and our concentration and mindfulness are not sufficiently strong
well feel as if there is one mind
running to the eyes, to the ears,
to the nose, to the tongue, to the body, and to the mind
and well conclude incorrectly
that consciousness is the self.
That is wrong view (miccaditthi).
So observe the mind
that is happy, unhappy, good, or bad.
These things are easy to see.
We could simply observe the feelings (vedana).
One moment the mind is feeling pleasure,
and the next, displeasure.
The next it is neutral.
Even just that is sufficient.
Or we can observe the formations (sankhara).
If we have an angry temperament
well see one moment the mind is angry and the next its not.
If were greedy
well see the mind has greed and then it doesnt have greed.
Just look at that. Thats sufficient.
As we become an expert
we will see clearly that
all types of mind arise and fall.
There arent any minds that arise and dont fall.
Seeing that the mind arises and falls
we will gradually wash away the wrong view of eternalism.
Aka believing that the mind, or consciousness, is a permanent self.
That is not Buddhism.
It is a belief system
that existed prior to the Buddha.
The only teacher
that was able to show us that
the mind arises and falls all day and all night,
that was only the Buddha.
It is a subtle truth to see indeed.
So when we practice
lets not get ahead of ourselves.
If our mindfulness is not sharp and quick
and if our concentration is not strong and sturdy,
then there is no need to observe the arising and falling of the mind
at the six sense bases
because well misunderstand what is going on.
We wont see
that each mind arises and falls.
Well believe there is just one consciousness.
Keep practicing
And, someday, well see the truth for ourselves.
Our lives are really short.
Our lives are not 10, 20, 30, 50, 100 years.
Our lives are arising and passing each moment.
A life that is happy arises and falls
and then a life that is unhappy arises and falls.
A life that is neutral arises and falls.
A life that is greedy arises and falls.
A life not-greedy arises and fall.
Keep watching.
Well see that the truth is that
we only have life for a moment at a time.
Seeing that our lives are longer we are being fooled by perception.
It shows us that we live 70, 80, 90, 100 years
before we die.
That we live long lives before we die.
Once we can truly practice correctly,
well see that death is happening all the time.
Birth then death. Birth then death.
Keep practicing.
It isnt that hard if we practice
but we must be patient.
Firstly, keep the moral precepts
as a minimum requirement and foundation for our practice.
If we dont have the precepts
our concentration will be short lived.
Some people have strong merit with good concentration,
like Devadatta.
He accumulated great merit and qualities.
He did good and he did evils.
He was not stupid.
He was exceptional.
One would have to be in order to become a true adversary of the Buddha.
If he was shoddy he would be no opponent.
He was exceptional
and could attain jhana.
He had five great psychic powers.
He could levitate and shape-shift and such things,
but he did not have morality.
He was jealous of the Buddha
and tried to kill him.
He wasnt able to,
but still just the attempt was enough to break moral precepts.
Evil intentions towards other people and beings
is enough for the mind to be covered in darkness and immoral.
Along with his lack of morality
his concentration then resultantly started to falter.
He even lost all his mobility
and wanted to go see the Buddha when he was older,
but required his students to carry him there.
He laid in a stretcher and they brought him.
He wanted to go ask for forgiveness at the end of his life
but he couldnt make it to the destination.
He died in front of the monastery
and wasnt able to meet with the Buddha.
His karma wouldnt allow it.
When he died
the Earth sucked him down.
His entire body sunk down.
His arms were unable to prostrate at the Buddha.
Only his head was left above ground.
His chin rested on the Earth
so he requested to prostrate the Buddha using just his chin.
So he was not stupid.
When he saw that he was wrong
he wanted to change and tried to make amends.
Because of this one day he will become a pacceka Buddha
with more merit than even sariputta.
So if our morality is not of a high standard
then any concentration abilities that we had will deteriorate.
Usually precepts are broken because of sense desire.
Sense desire and concentration are enemies.
We break precepts
because we covet the possessions, lovers, and spouses of others.
We thieve or steal
because we want to gain something or benefit.
We take, kill, or harm others hoping
that we get something out of it.
Mostly people snatch others possessions for their own advantage,
and thats all out of sense desire.
Sense desire is the enemy of concentration.
If the mind is absorbed in sense desire
then concentration will not last long.
It will fade.
Our monks here practice
a lot of walking meditation.
Sometimes at night theyre hungry
and they think,
Whens it going to be morning
and Ill go for the alms walk?
And when I do, will I get food tomorrow?
Will I get to eat?
At times they are daydreaming about
what it is they are going to eat,
Will a lay follower come and put pizza in my bowl?
When hungry
the mind will think about sense pleasures.
Is there any concentration while thats happening?
No way.
It shatters
and cant compete with the sense desires.
So try to keep fighting
and dont get defeated by the defilements.
Whatever defilements arise have the mindfulness to know that they have,
and the defilements will lose their power over us.
When we have mindfulness that knows the phenomena that arise,
like greed, anger, and delusion,
and we have the mindfulness that sees them,
they will disappear.
Defilements will disappear
and the mind will become wholesome.
The mind that is wholesome has concentration within itself.
The mind will gradually become the stable observer and become bright.
It is natural that
concentration(samadhi) arises with each mind
so even unwholesome minds
have concentration, but an unwholesome type.
Wholesome minds have a wholesome type of concentration,
and that is the stable observer, the knower.
Samadhi is unlike mindfulness,
unlike wisdom,
unlike effort (viriya),
and unlike faith (saddha).
Those qualities arise only with wholesome minds,
but concentration can arise with
a wholesome or unwholesome mind.
Like if we are a sniper going to shoot someone
then we need concentration,
but it is concentration outside of our self.
But if we have mindfulness that knows phenomena that are arising within,
stable concentration will arise automatically.
The masters have taught us to train
to achieve the stable mind.
The primary way that they teach to do
that is to see and know the mind that thinks.
Like Luang Por Thien taught to move our hand
and come to know when the mind goes to think.
The mind that runs away to think and then knowing,
the thinking mind will fall away and the knower mind will be born.
That is the mind with correct concentration.
It is the knower, awake and elated.
Luang Pu Dune taught,
However much we think, we will never know.
We must stop thinking to know,
but we require thinking to do so.
He didnt say, Dont think.
However, much we think, we will never know.
We must stop thinking to know,
but we require thinking to do so.
So let the mind think as it naturally does.
We try to stop the mind from thinking but we cannot
because it is unnatural.
But when the mind is thinking and we are lost in the world of thoughts,
the knower mind is not present.
When the mind is thinking and we have the mindfulness that knows
that it is thinking, then
the thinking mind disappears and the knower mind is born.
So we require the thinking mind.
Thats why he said so.
Let the mind think
and then have the mindfulness that knows that.
Then the knower mind arises.
I practiced as Luang Pu Dune described
and I started to notice that
if the mind is angry
and mindfulness knows that
the knower mind arises then too.
If theres greed
and there is knowing the greed
then the knowing mind arises.
I was able to conclude and understand that
whenever the mind knows mental or physical phenomena as they actually are
and knows them in the present correctly
then the knower mind will occur.
It will occur automatically,
because that mind is a wholesome mind.
There are two types of wholesome minds.
One has wisdom as a component
and the other does not.
So sometimes the knower mind arises
and it is just knowing.
That is a mind that is wholesome but wisdom is not a component.
Some masters have some tactics to resolve that.
Once the mind is the knower
the masters might say
to contemplate the body demonstrating the three characteristics.
Now each master had their own tactics in this regard.
Some masters survey or scan the whole body
and whatever part is the clearest
they learn from that part and focus there.
Other masters follow the formal teaching of contemplating
the hair on the head, hair on the body, the nails, teeth, skin,
flesh, tendons, and bones
patiently and gradually observing each of these aspects.
Sometimes taking months with each aspect.
Taking lots of time to investigate the entire body bit by bit.
This is a particular tactic of some masters
to stimulate wisdom
so that when the mindfulness sees the body
while the mind is a stable one,
there will be insights into the three characteristics of the body.
So for any of us that observe the mind;
if the mind becomes the knower
and it is just remaining knowing but still,
then we can contemplate the mind,
This mind that is the knower right now,
how long can it remain so?
Its going to be the thinker.
See that.
The knowing mind is temporary. The thinking mind is temporary,
and whether the mind is the knower or the thinker
is not under anyones control.
It is non-self.
If our mind has mindfulness and is knowing phenomena
correctly, as they really are,
and the knower mind arises
with the stable observer
then have a look and see;
is the mind developing wisdom, or not?
Just knowing and being still is not useful.
Some people teach that
we should just be knowing and still.
Now the mind that is knowing and still is a wholesome mind
but it doesnt have wisdom as a component.
There are two types of wholesome minds,
like I said.
Theres wholesome without wisdom
and wholesome with wisdom.
Wisdom is the best thing.
It is vipassana,
seeing the three characteristics.
If the mind wont observe
the body and cant observe the mind and see the three characteristics,
then we have to teach it to do so.
We have to talk to it. Teach it Dhamma.
Teach it that the body is the three characteristics.
The mind is the three characteristics.
Let it hear and teach it,
but dont teach it constantly.
Just teach it for a little while and then stop.
Then make the mind calm and peaceful again.
If we teach the mind too much
it will get too busy.
Well just get lost in myriads of thought.
There needs to be some calmness meditation.
If were just contemplating
and contemplating that the body is the three characteristics,
then when concentration does arise
it will be concentration outside of ourselves.
It wont be rooted in awareness, not truly.
So we have to come back to awareness at times.
Breathe and Budo,
or observe the body and the bones.
Notice the body breathing
or whatever it is we are accustomed to doing in
our meditation that produces the stable observer mind.
Choose whatever works for us.
No need to copy anyone else.
Dont copy me.
I would practice watching the breath with Budo,
so some people hear thats what Ive done,
but it doesnt mean you have to copy it.
Some people dont like the breath.
They feel uncomfortable
or stressed when they use it.
So use any meditation object.
Have the mind be with it happily and continuously.
Choose an object that doesnt tempt the defilements.
So thats all you need to do to train in samatha.
So keep training
and when the mind becomes peaceful
and stable as the knower,
but doesnt develop wisdom,
then do some contemplation
contemplation of the body or the mind.
Just a little bit is enough
to encourage the mind and put it on track for wisdom
Luang Por Phut taught
that contemplating is not vipassana.
He said that clearly.
Contemplating is not vipassana.
Vipassana begins at the end of thinking
but thinking and contemplating puts the mind on track
in order to see the three characteristics
of the body and of the mind.
So when the mind is accustomed to seeing the three characteristics
and when mindfulness is able to know phenomena as they really are,
samadhi will occur.
The mind will be stable immediately
and the mind will come to see
the body with mindfulness.
It will see the body demonstrating the three characteristics.
When mindfulness knows the mind
it will see the mind demonstrating the three characteristics
with the mind as the observer, the knower.
Train in this way
and after a long time youll be good at it.
At first were all a bit clumsy with it.
When we start training
well either get lost or will be overly focus.
Neither are the correct meditation.
The concentration that we achieve from overly focusing,
the mind will be stressed and makes it tensed,
so we wont achieve the true knower.
So lets train in knowing phenomena as they are.
Know the body however it is
and know the mind however it is.
If we observe the body
standing, walking, sitting, laying down,
then we are observing the posture that it is in in that moment.
Like the body is bending,
the body is stretching,
the body is breathing in,
the body is breathing out.
If we watch the body then we watch in that way.
Its easy.
Once there is mindfulness that knows that the body moves
the mind will be the stable one on its own.
Once it is stable,
and if the mind is accustomed to practicing wisdom,
then it will see that
the body arises and falls
and the body that has moved in that way has passed away now.
The body that is breathing out has passed,
and the body that has breathed in has passed.
The body that
stands, walks, sits, or lays down
exists temporarily and then passes.
Or seeing the mind
that is happy, unhappy,
good, or bad is there and then it passes.
Keep observing.
The tools that we need to develop are
correct mindfulness,
correct samadhi,
and then we need to develop wisdom correctly as well.
Those are the three things we need to practice
and once were able to do them, lets do them a lot.
So theres one more thing and that is effort.
We have to do this a lot and keep improving.
If we have effort,
mindfulness, and samadhi all correctly,
then the mind will develop wisdom correctly.
Then insight will occur.
Wisdom will occur
and then release will occur.
I keep saying, Correct, correct.
There are eight correct aspects on the path:
correct view, correct thought,
correct speech, correct action,
correct livelihood, correct effort,
correct mindfulness, and correct samadhi.
Once there is correct samadhi
then the mind that has practiced wisdom already
will have insight wisdom occur.
This means that seeing things correctly will occur.
Now is there incorrect wisdom?
Yes.
Well, like I said,
sometimes we get ahead of ourselves and discontinuity hasnt happened yet
so we see the mind running from here to there,
and the false wisdom will occur
that the mind is a permanent or eternal thing.
So this is not Buddhist wisdom.
We have correct insight knowledge
and correct wisdom that must arise
and correct release.
The fruit of the path will arise.
So keep practicing.
This is a big deal
to cross over out of samsara.
We need to be experts in these practices I explained.
We dont need to know everything about Dhamma.
The Buddha taught so many Dhammas.
Some things he taught were especially for angels to hear
and not for humans.
Some things were for very intelligent people.
He just said one or two sentences and they got it.
Some things he said were for regular people
with some examples to help explain.
Some things he taught to
those without much intelligence
and so he would teach very easy things and in very easy ways.
So he had his ways of teaching.
Those that wouldnt be able to understand at all,
he wouldnt teach them.
He wouldnt teach those that were hopeless.
Why would he?
If he taught them they would have a chance at scolding him,
so instead of getting merit
or mindfulness and wisdom
theyd end up sinning.
So he wouldnt teach such people.
So when teaching Dhamma
we dont teach everybody.
Only teach those that are appropriate for it.
Those that arent appropriate
well believe what they want to believe.
Thats their business. Dont mind them.
Let them be who they are.
We cant carry everyone along with us.
So firstly,
dont forget the five precepts
and practice meditation formally each day.
This is a must if we want to attain enlightenment.
People who say,
No, I just practice mindfulness in daily activities.
The mind wont have enough power for that to be successful.
It wont have enough samadhi.
So we need formal practice.
We need to sit or do walking meditation
until were seeing
the body walk and the mind is the observer.
Were walking in meditation
and the body is walking and the mind is the watcher.
Or the body is breathing out and the mind is the watcher.
The body is breathing in and the mind is the watcher.
After a while we realize,
Oh, now, the mind isnt observing the body at all.
The mind went to think of something else.
So then we know thats what happened
and come back to breathing or Budo
or walking once again.
Keep practicing in that way
until the mind is an expert
When the mind just moves out,
mindfulness will know on its own.
If we do walking meditation every night, everyday,
we keep walking and walking and being aware, being aware.
For example, the monks walking and watering the plants.
That is awareness meditation as well.
Each step that they carry a bucket of water and water the trees
they are to have mindfulness
aware of the body that is walking,
and if the mind has enough strength,
it will come back to seeing the mind.
Or if there is a strong feeling that comes up we will see it.
Like the mind being very happy when its watering the plants,
or if its hot and sunny out and the mind gets irritated.
So its important to do formal practice.
It will allow us be able to practice well in our daily life.
Like when were practicing walking back and forth in meditation,
and then when were just watering the plants
well be able to be aware just the same.
Or if were sitting and breathing in formal meditation
then whatever else we do
were still breathing,
so mindfulness will be able to see that too.
So practicing formally is something we must do
so the mind will become used to practicing.
It will be used to having mindfulness automatically
and the mind will become stable automatically.
Then we are truly prepared
to be out there in the world as a practitioner.
Theres contact with
the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, and the mind
and we will be ready.
When contact occurs at the senses
and the mind reacts,
mindfulness will know on its own
without any intention to know necessary.
So keep training everyday
and eventually
every step we take will be like walking meditation.
Whenever we are sitting down it will be like meditation.
Even laying down
well see the body breathing.
Thats the practice.
The practice has no exceptions
where we say,
Now I shouldnt be practicing.
This morning I heard
some students washing their monk bowls behind the meditation hall
and one monk said hes stuck in focusing.
Then he declared to the others excitedly,
Ill stop practicing for a day!
After hearing that
I wanted go out there
and knock him in the head with the bowl lid.
The practice he had done was not a waste
and is something that we must always do.
What was wrong wasnt practicing
it was the focusing.
Take a look and see,
What is the cause of the focusing?
It is greed.
It is wanting to be good
and wanting to be aware all the time.
So its the greed that is wrong,
not practicing.
There is no excuse to stop practicing.
So lets keep practicing,
so that we'll be mindful with each breath.
Thats what it takes if we truly want to become free from suffering.
Because this mind of ours is something that moves very quickly.
The more we practice the more well see how quick it actually is.
If our mindfulness and concentration are not sufficient
the mind will escape and create unwholesome states very quickly.
Its so fast
and all the good states are not quite as clever.
These bad states are very quick to act.
Keep observing
and whatever you do, dont stop practicing.
Even if you are terribly ill you keep practicing.
If you are a meditator that does walking
but are very ill and cannot walk,
then just make some small movements.
Luang Por Phut taught this.
He told of a monk that did walking meditation every day,
when fell illl and couldnt walk,
laying on the floor
he would shift a little this way and shift a little that way.
One can still practice mindfulness of the movements.
A truly good practitioner monk
will even perform his daily duties
like those that sweep the temple each day,
if too sick to do so.
When it is the right time for sweeping
he would set the intention that
it was time to do temple duties,
he would just move his hand to dust the floor beside him as a replacement.
He would just do whatever he could do to keep to his duties.
So lets keep practicing
until mindfulness is automatic and not let our practice slip.
If we let our practice slip
we fall way behind.
We have to practice until there is the automatic knower mind
and automatic mindfulness.
Automatic samadhi is what we need
and then train in practicing wisdom well
by encouraging the mind to do so.
But some people dont need to encourage the mind.
Some people have been practicing wisdom since their past lives
so as soon as the mind becomes the observer mind
they will see that the body isnt them.
Theyll see the truth
that the body is just something sitting there.
Its not a person, a being, him, or her.
So the mind that has practiced previously,
when mindfulness sees it,
theyll see it as not a self.
Some people have reported brushing their teeth
and the mind becomes the stable mind
and they can feel their arm as just some mass of some kind.
Not a me, not us.
Normally its our hand or our arm, right?
But once the mind has samadhi and is the stable mind
and sees the movement,
then the mind that is used to developing wisdom,
maybe from the past life
or from this life having practiced
will sense it as if it isnt a self.
Well see the whole body as not a self.
Well see happiness, unhappiness, good and bad states
are things outside.
Theyre things that are known and not us,
and this mind that is the knower arises and falls.
It isnt us either.
Then we will conclude that
the five aggregates dont have a self.
They are not a self
and there is no self outside of them either.
When that is seen clearly, we will attain the first level of Dhamma
and become a stream enterer.
So be patient.
Keep training and be determined.
That is enough for today.
There are many of you who are listening
outside of the meditation hall.
I am not prohibiting it
but be careful and be safe.
Sit far from each other.
If you eat, while serving yourself,
dont talk.
Youll spread your germs into the air
and into the food.
Sit apart from each other.
Wear masks
and dont forget to scan your QR codes
when you come and go.
Sometimes we see there were only nine people
or three people that scanned that they were here,
but I saw many more than that.
Ok. Thats all.
