Path to Purification & Happiness, the only way

Worldly beings are constantly searching for happiness, however, is their anyone who is enjoying lasting happiness?, the problem seems to be that we do not identify what happiness is to go in search for it and we do not see what unhappiness is to make an effort to keep away from it, we do not have a realistic aim either way.

A hungry fox wondering about, looking for food, sees a tree with chunks of red meat hanging from it. Delighted with what it saw the fox runs towards the tree for a good feast. When the fox gets closer it sees meat fallen on the ground as well and quickly bite into one, well its not meat , then it sees few pieces falling from the tree and have a go at one, again its not meat. The fox has actually been deceived by a coral tree that is in full bloom. However, still hungry and eager, it keeps staring at the remaining red coral flowers up on the tree hoping that they are meat.

We all have expectations to achieve certain goals to become happy but when we reach those goals the anticipated happiness is not there anymore. The above parable relates to how we overlook the reality in search of happiness & to keep away from unhappiness, how we have been deceived in the past (like the fox grabbing the flowers under the tree) and present (the fox catching the flowers falling from the tree). As the fox continue to be deceived, thinking that the flowers on the tree are meat, we have hope that we can gain happiness in the near future. We continue to seek material comforts, to gather possessions and form relationships, to be free from unhappiness and be happy as we have done in the past and aim for the same in the present & future but all what we could gain more and more is unhappiness. Buddha Dhamma shows the path to be free from unhappiness and gain eternal happiness.

MINDFULNESS

The Enlightened ones emerge in this world to recognise the cause for the misery we are in and to free us from this deception. The Buddha has said that the Four Foundations of Mindfulness is the only way to purification & to be free from grief, lamentation, sorrow (Dukkha) & thereby to reach states of enlightenment & emancipation (eternal happiness). He has said. ‘there is only one way bhikkus to the purification of beings to overcome sorrow and sadness to the disappearance of pain and suffering to attain the right path to realize nibbana and that is the four foundations of mindfulness.[1]

Just by offering one meal to a person who lives up to 100 years, can one make him  happy all his life?, similarly just as one experiences happiness in this life  there is no assurance that he (or she) will be able to experience happiness in future existences.

Having understood the short lived happiness, there were kings who left Royalty and the rich who left all their wealth to gain eternal happiness. Mindfulness helps to discard unhappiness and to gain absolute happiness. If one is not able to understand the Four Foundations of Mindfulness correctly and practice accordingly he or she cannot pursue the Noble Eightfold Path effectively and that means the person cannot become enlightened. Therefore, we need to comprehend the Four Foundations of Mindfulness correctly.

The Hunter & the Monkey Trap

A Monkey hunter sets up a trap, a small doll made out of glue, to catch monkeys. An eager monkey tries to touch it with its hand and the hand gets stuck on the glue, he tries with the other hand and that also get stuck. Thereafter, he uses a leg to release himself but that gets stuck and similarly the other leg too. Finally the monkey uses its head but again to no avail and thus it gets trapped on all five points of the body and now the hunter can do anything to the helpless monkey. Meanwhile the wise monkeys avoid the trap & move elsewhere sensing the danger and hence the hunter can’t see them, catch them or do any harm to them.

Similar to the eager monkey, beings of the sensual world who are caught up with the five senses and deceived by things of pleasure, tread in the territory of Mara[2] and get stuck in his traps and thus the Mara can do any harm to them. However, the man with wisdom will not get caught up with things of pleasure and cleverly avoids the traps set up by Mara. Those who practice the Four Foundations of Mindfulness are not exposed to Mara. The Mara can’t see them but they can see Mara. It is known as living while observing the body as it is, the sensations as it is, the mind as it is and the perceptions & formations as they are.

To practice it precisely we need to understand the noble Right View. We see, hear, smell etc. through senses as Name-Matter (fruits of old kamma or vipaka). This state is similar to what a little child sees without any descriptions. Our thoughts, speech and bodily action upon those Name-Matter becomes our consciousness. If we tie our consciousness to the corresponding object, or form, it positions itself on the object. In other words when we tie our consciousness to those that we see hear etc. the consciousness positions on those objects. This phenomenon is called viinnana thithi in the Buddhist canon.

Furthermore, if we tie consciousness to a feeling from an external object the consciousness will take position on that feeling. Similarly if we tie it to the perception i.e. shape & outline of what is seen, it will occupy the perception associating the external object, visual, audible etc.

In summary, if we tie what we think, speak and act about a sense experience, to the object (Matter) or associated sensations & perceptions (Name) the consciousness will position on name-matter, if the consciousness does not take position on those it is considered as not ‘positioned’ & hence we will not gather kamma therefore freeing us from the three existences. The Four Foundations of Mindfulness detail the methodology to achieve this.

MINDFULNESS OF THE BODY

If we allow kamma consciousness arising from our notion as a person to position on the object such positioning makes that object a person. Our notions in such instances are said to be underpinned by our grasping & clinging (as person) & the resultant thoughts that are tainted get projected onto the external aggregates making them appear real. As they are susceptible to clinging in this manner the aggregates are known as clinging aggregates & hence as 'suffering'.[3]

Our effort must be to prevent the positioning of consciousness on the object (matter) or the related sensation, perception & formation (name). Mindfulness of the body (Kayagata-sathi) helps to arrest our notion of person projecting on an external object.

In the previous example of the brick wall & painting it was noted that neither the brick wall nor the painting are self. The person applies paint on the wall according to his ideas. The perception we develop that it is a person is due to our fermentations. Our responses to that notion (as a person) conditions arising of kamma consciousness. When we tie our mental concepts to the painting we ignore the wall that is made of brick & mortar. When our consciousness lands on the painting we begin to think of it as a person. We continue to feel the same even when we move away from the object.

The Sutra highlights, mindfulness with clear comprehension of what is seen heard etc. When thoughts arise in the mind, if we are mindful with clear comprehension, we can witness the truth as positioning of the consciousness on the form gets arrested. When we keep on contemplating this way, brick and mortar come into focus & hence we begin to see the reality without much effort and eventually we get to a point where our thought speech and bodily action will not associate the object at any time. That’s when we can say that we have liberated from form and that there is no more gathering of kamma.

If we let our responses to associate the external object it becomes memory. If we do note tie our thoughts, speech & bodily action (consciousness) to the external object those won’t be retained in our memory. Through mindfulness we prevent such positioning of consciousness, with the shield of wisdom.

GATHERING OF KAMMA

We gather kamma only if we connect our consciousness to the object, or associated feelings, perceptions and formations. Mindfulness of the body protects our thoughts from positioning on the object. It discloses that what exist out there are only four great elements (Mahabutha)and those forms that associate four great elements (Upadaya rupa).

Whatever the artist draw on the wall whether it’s a car or a bus will be seen in accordance to our notion of what it looks like. If one finds things externally that’s a sign that thoughts that have arisen in his or her mind are projected on those objects. If things are seen as they really are kamma will not get accumulated.

Tathagata assures complete emancipation if mindfulness is practiced correctly. One need not worry even if he or she doesn’t know how to peruse Four Roads of Power (Sathara Irdipada), Factors of Enlightenment (Saptha Bojjanga) etc. Mindfulness takes one through all the above and respective states of enlightenment on its way to discard suffering & to reach emancipation.

Without knowing what mindfulness is and how it works, even if we practice for a number of years, its not beneficial. We cannot observe mindfulness on formations which are already formed with defilements. The purpose of mindfulness meditation is to eliminate defilements. Where hair, nails, skin, flesh etc. are grouped in a particular manner, say as Nimal, and experience similarly when we see his image in a newspaper or a video. This is awakening of thoughts in our mind with the notion of self or a person. As long as we behold as Nimal - a self, the truth (the body composed of hair, skin, flesh etc.) disappears due to positioning of consciousness on the form. Mindfulness reveals form as non-self and prevents it being positioned by consciousness. As we continue, the tendency that make us perceive as a self, fades away and as a result fermentations & hindrances disappear enabling us to comprehend the four noble truths.

We also need to focus on the notion of me[4], considering that my picture is painted on the wall, for instance, if I touch my face I feel the wall. If I let the thought it is ‘me’ to position on the painting I will behold that way. If so I will be able to identify ‘me’ even when I see a picture of me in a newspaper or a video. Mindfulness of body thwarts it and using the technique we can prevent our thoughts taking position on the body. We need to meditate to comprehend that the thought ‘me’ is a one that arises in the mind where a bundle of aggregates i.e, hair, skin, flesh etc. are present.

The following dialogue between the Buddha & his disciples well illustrates this dhamma,
"Just as if there were a roofed house or a roofed hall having windows on the north, the south, or the east. When the sun rises, and a ray has entered by way of the window on the east, where does it land?"

"On the western wall, lord."
"And if there is no western wall, where does it land?"
"On the ground, lord."
"And if there is no ground, where does it land?"
"On the water, lord." "And if there is no water, where does it land?"
"It does not land, lord."
"In the same way, where there is no passion for the nutriment of physical food ... contact ... intellectual intention ... consciousness, where there is no delight, no craving, then consciousness does not land there or grow. Where consciousness does not land or grow, name-&-form does not alight. Where name-&-form does not alight, there is no growth of fabrications. Where there is no growth of fabrications, there is no production of renewed becoming in the future. Where there is no production of renewed becoming in the future, there is no future birth, aging, & death. That, I tell you, has no sorrow, affliction, or despair."

(Atthi Raga Sutra- Samyutta Nikaya)

MINDFULNESS OF SENSATION

Sensations that are pleasant, unpleasant or neither pleasant nor unpleasant are to be recognised as those which relate to sense desires (kama) or desirelessness (nekkhamma). It is also to be noted the eleven states where sensations arise, i.e. sensations that are past or present, far or close, pleasant or inferior, gross or fine etc. similar to the eleven states the form is represented with. Sensations are also categorised according to those that arise in the body & the mind, for instance, pleasant sensations are identified as sukha vedana (body) & somanassa (mind) and unpleasant sensations as dukkha vedana (body) & domansassa (mind). Neutral sensations arising in both the body & mind are commonly known as neither pleasant nor unpleasant (adukkhamasuka vedana).

Mindfulness of sensations helps to avert interpretation of internal sensations as those that belong to external objects. It is about not letting the consciousness to take position on sensations, associating them with objects that are seen or heard. Sensations do not vary in accordance with different types of objects, visible audible etc., they are generally felt as pleasant, unpleasant or neither pleasant nor unpleasant. We must not let our thoughts on sensations to associate external objects, alternatively we must observe that they just arise due to contact & cease thereafter.

Mindfulness on sensations with clear comprehension discloses the conditionality of sensations, as those that arise due to conditions & cease when the conditions cease to exist. Thereby we can ascertain that sensations are not created by me or an external force and that they are not spontaneous either but arise due to conditions. It should particularly be reminded that a product formed due to conditions does not belong to the conditions, such as a shadow of a tree appearing on ground does not belong to the tree, ground or the sunlight.

Similar to the earlier discussion about thoughts having no linkage to external form, sensations felt in our mind should not be noted as hand pain, leg pain etc. Sensations are felt  to be arising in hand or leg as we tend to grasp them as experiences a person (or self) undergoes and therefore our responses on them are natural. If we can contemplate on this delusion & comprehend that there is no interconnection we can be free of hand pains, leg pains etc. and eventually from the notion of legs & arms of a person that seem to exist.

When our body touches somebody else’s body can we say that we feel the other person? No, we only experience our body sensation due to the contact.

If we get hit by a wooden stick we only feel the body pain not the wood, similarly we feel a sensation due to contact, when we touch a person we only feel our body but not somebody else’s. If we let our consciousness to position on sensations associating external objects its inevitable that we feel sensations from visible objects, sound, smell etc. that are external.

To understand how we develop stress due to errors in our perception as discussed, consider your foot being trampled by a rock, you will bear the pain and deal with it not worrying about the rock, however, if it was a person who trampled your leg you will instantly react with anger , finding fault with that person. If we can refrain from tying physical sensations to external objects there won’t be any difference in our reaction in both instances noted above and hence we will be free from stress.

SENSUALITY & MIND

The Sensual world is built upon forms. It is made to look real due to projection of erroneous thoughts arising within the mind on external objects & hence it is said, sensuality is a dream (swapnopama kama).

We are not born into a world that exists. Buddhist teachings refer to forms, visible, audible etc. as attributes of Sensuality (kama), not just sensuality as we associate. The reality is that the world only consists of four great elements & those forms that associate four great elements. We formulate sensuality on elementary things that exist out there with our thoughts and desires.

As said before we can paint different objects such as cars, buildings etc. on the wall and they just remain as art created by brush strokes on the wall until our thoughts are projected on them to make them real and similarly we create a world that consists of things & people in our mind. The sensual world conceals reality of form but mindfulness reveals this hidden reality by exposing the elementary state made of four great elements and those forms that associate them e.g. wall and the painting, overriding sensuality.

However, in this endeavour we must not contemplate on the impressions that arise in the mind but rather concentrate on respective objects that seem to exist in the external to address the cause for becoming (bhava). Things that arise in our mind often relate to external form due to our notions that things that we have seen, heard or smelt etc. exist out there. When something arises in mind it always associates external form which is the notion of existence. Mindfulness of the Body discloses the truth and eliminates our deception caused by positioning of consciousness on external form.

PROFOUND PHYLOSOPHY

“If one can paint a mural covering this wall in front of us, we will see a mural but if we touch we will only feel the wall. We don’t see what we feel & don’t feel what we see. If we push the wall over to fall flat on ground and walk on it we don’t see where we walk and we don’t walk on what we see. If we practice to meditate in that manner we will not have any impression of where we go or to where we return to”, says Ven. Sudassana thero.

Imagine that the whole world is like the wall painted with pictures of buildings, roads, trees etc. We have never seen where we walked and we haven’t walked on what we see. If one can relate to where he (or she) goes to (gathi) and return to (agathi) the person is said to be associating death & rebirth. As long as we see on which we walk on and walk on what we see, we are said to be dealing with birth, decay and death or suffering (Dukkha). This is how the notion of continuity (Santhathi) prevails.

If one can overcome this habit of claiming I went to that place (gathi), I arrived at this place (agathi), the person is able to reach a state that is peaceful and calm. Buddha Dhamma takes one who practices in this manner to an incredible & spectacular state though understanding such deep concepts of teachings is not simple. However, one only needs to begin by taking one step forward i.e. starting with mindfulness of the body.

If one is to reach the depth of the ocean, he or she always has to start from a point where the water is only ankle high & as the person keeps walking the sea will get deeper and deeper, likewise the path needs to be followed step by step in order to reach the depth of realisation.

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[1] Eka Yano Ayam Bikkhave Maggo Sattanam Visuddhiya Soka Paridevanam Samatikkamaya Dukkha Domanassanam Atthangamaya Nayassa Adhigamaya Nayassa Adhigamaya Nibbanassa Sacchikiriyaya Yadidam Cattaro Satipattahana`ti- Maha Sathipatthana Sutra

[2] Early Buddhism acknowledged both a literal and psychological interpretation of Mara. Specially Mara is described both as an entity having an existence in sensual world, just as are shown existing around the Buddha, and also is described in paticcasamuppada as, primarily, the guardian of passion and the catalyst for lust, hesitation and fear that obstructs meditation among Buddhists.

[3] The Buddha referred to the Five Clinging Aggregates as Suffering- Dhamma Chakka Pawattana Sutra

[4] ‘ajjhattaṃ vā dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati, bahiddhā vā dhammesu dhammānupassī viharati’

KNOWING DUKKHA & THE PATH TO END DUKKHA

The way that the Path to end dukkha (suffering) is being practiced the world over as Buddhist meditation is contrary to Buddhist teachings. The Buddha preached to comprehend Dukkha (Suffering) as it is, in order to uproot craving (the cause for suffering) and realise ending of Dukkha (cessation of suffering). He proclaimed the Noble Eightfold Path as the path leading to end suffering. Today’s practices have mixed up this teaching where the practitioners primarily attempt to realise cessation by observing the cause for Suffering first, rather than the Truth of Suffering itself in the order the Buddha has preached, pronouncing the Four Noble Truths.

The Buddha has defined ‘Nibbana’ as discarding greed, hatred & delusion, referred to as roots of evil or three poisons. These defilements cannot be removed after the error has already been made in perceiving & knowing a thing or a person with delusion. The function of ignorance (delusion) i.e. formation has already been completed and confronting the object formed either by observing its impermanence or its composition, as one made of the Four Great Elements or 32 impure parts of the body, does not help in discarding greed & hatred. The effect of these defilements can be subdued temporarily by meditating in this manner, but cannot be eradicated completely. This can be achieved only trough removing ignorance (delusion) in its entirety for which one needs to see how the formation occurred in the first place. ‘One should not make any response to the form seen, heard etc. but observe how the formation originated ’, says Venerable Sudassana.

DELUSION CAUSES FORMATION

When the visual object is not seen as it is, due to delusion (or ignorance), formation takes place erroneously, for instance an image of a particular shape & colour that associates a bundle of aggregates in form of hair, nails, teeth, skin etc. is perceived & formed as a human body. The mind perceives the image as a person and goes onto create relationships as father, mother, son, partner, friend etc. These impressions dwell in the mind and drive one to re-experience the objects as determined (as father mother etc.) and thus one begins to behold accordingly. What is seen is different to what one beholds and the latter that is formed in the mind as an impression is a defilement that progressively get accumulated as fermentations in accordance with our sense experiences which are pleasant, unpleasant or neither pleasant nor unpleasant. Delusion, causes the accumulation of fermentations which in turn condition further delusion in sense experiences.

Venerable Thero proposes an experiment to explain this. Imagine that you are building a brick wall where you order bricks, cement & sand and construct it yourself.  You complete the wall by rendering it to a smooth white finish. Now you buy different colours of paint, paint brushes etc. and engage an artist to paint a picture of a person that you know, say Nimal, on the wall. You can now see the picture (of Nimal) that associates the wall that you built. The wall can exist on its own, but the painting is dependent on the wall. The wall made of bricks & mortar is selfless & so is the painting that associates it. The notion of ‘Nimal’ that arises in the mind, when you see the painting hence, is without self too. You will either dislike or like Nimal (the painting) and may even respond, for instance, by saying that he is a wicked person who should be killed (unwholesome thought -hatred) or else you may say that he is a nice person and reach out to embrace him (wholesome thought -greed). However, you cannot touch Nimal & if you do you only feel the wall. You simply cannot have any physical interaction with (the notion of) Nimal as it is an impression or sign that is formed in the mind and not what exists out there.

Ven. Sudassana Thero, relates this experience to explain the Four Great Elements (wall) & forms that associates them - Upadaya Rupa (painting). He compares this to a visual experience where you note a person when in fact what you encounter is a trace of an image of particular shape & colour where a bundle of aggregates that consist of hair, nails, teeth, skin etc. is present. When you see in person you perceive Nimal the same way you see him on the wall, responding to the image that appears where the aggregates of hair, nails, skin etc. are present. You recognise Nimal in the same manner if you see a picture of him in a newspaper or in a video clip. ‘Which one of this actually is Nimal?’ 

It’s only the mental impression that’s being recalled at each instance providing the visual identity, in other words a mental defilement or fermentation that persists even if Nimal is dead. Though one can contemplate on the said impression and attempt to see its composition by breaking the image into components (hair, nails, skin etc.) or even into group of matter (Rupa Kalapa), that want be helpful to see the form as it is since the impression is a formation, a fruit of delusion. “If defilements arise due to erroneous formations, for not seeing the objects as it is, can the errors made originally be fixed just by removing defilements attached to the impressions?”

Ven. Sudassana says, we need to go back to where the impression was formed in the mind first (due to not seeing & knowing the visual object as it is) and comprehend that where there is a group of aggregates (hair, nails, skin etc.) we have developed a notion of a person. In the same way, we can see how the impression will be formed again when we meet the person in the future. We need to grasp this dhamma in terms of both the past (origin) & the future.

Similarly, we can substitute ‘Nimal’ with our self & see insights of the notion of ‘me’ that seems to exist. It’s a mental fabrication identical to the notion of Nimal seen externally. The teachings require that one must see this phenomenon in relation to both the external & the internal in this manner (The Foundations of Mindfulness Meditation).

ABANDONING DELUSION: THE RIGHT VIEW

The error can only be corrected by gaining the Right View of seeing the object as it really is, discarding ignorance. To elaborate this further Ven. Sudassana relates to an interesting parable.

The story is about a chief monk in a rural temple, an acolyte and a bad neighbour. The acolyte is innocent, kind & sincere but the neighbour is vicious and hates him. This neighbour is experienced in occult practices and has supernormal powers thus plan to break the trust the chief monk has on the acolyte. Whenever the man goes away from the temple the neighbour appears in front of the monk disguised as the acolyte and abuses him badly behaving in an evil manner. When the acolyte returns to the temple the neighbour disappears. Soon the monk loses faith on the acolyte & begins to see him as an evil person, being distracted from the person’s true nature. He simply fails to see that there are two people.

“The real acolyte is like the object that we encounter through senses, harmless and innocent”, says Ven. Sudassana. He further adds that the neighbour’s role is similar to that of our mind, for instance, a visual object comes in front of our eye and the interaction passes away quietly but the mind substitutes it by recreating the captured image with false information (slanders) making us to respond according to our likes or dislikes. We are ignorant of the true nature of the object and thus get deceived by the ‘slandering’ the mind projects on the image.

‘By understanding arising ceasing nature of the clinging aggregates we can discard ignorance and see the two phases apart’, says the Venerable. In the above analogy, if someone can advise the monk of what is going on and if he doesn’t believe, perhaps suggest him a way to distinguish the difference between the real acolyte and the fake one, for instance, that the real one being human should cast a shadow on ground and blink eye lids while the fake (inhuman) one will not cast a shadow or blink eye lids, the monk will accept & will be able to see the two persons apart.

Similarly if we need to see the contact bases and the mental formations apart, we need to identify the characteristics of the two phases, the five clinging aggregates & the subsequent mental volitions, as those arising due to causes i.e. nutriments. The former arises from edible foods (Form) & due to contact (feeling, noting & knowing), the later (mental volitions) due to above (Name-Matter). The mental volitions are projected on the external objects to define & determine (with slandering) & to know it, so that we can respond with thought, speech & action accordingly.

THE NOBLE PATH

By observing the sense bases which are unsatisfactory by nature and susceptible to clinging (Suffering or Dukkha), with insight, we can remove the potential they carry to arise again (Cause for Suffering or Dukkha Samudaya). Meditating on the 32 impure parts of the body (Kayagathasathi) alone, as preached by the Buddha is sufficient in this regard, says Ven. Sudassana.

One need not contemplate on disintegrating the form into components or even groups of matter as said before. One need not attempt to comprehend this dhamma by observing the thought processes either. Mere observation by disintegrating the form is considered as the materialist approach which hinders comprehending the Truth of suffering. The eternalists approach which is built upon the notion of continuity of aggregates: name-matter, thwarts uprooting of the craving, the cause for suffering.

What Goes from One Life to Another?

In the discussion of rebirth, most who believe in it seem to consider it as reincarnation of an entity, or a person. They believe that a person is born again as a human or an animal in another realm, which is contrary to the Buddhist teachings. Buddhist term for rebirth is punarbhava (in Pali) meaning again existence.

Teachings reject the reference to the corporeal as a person rather than a Name-Matter composition. It is said that the neither the Name-Matter composition nor any part of it, i.e. name or matter, passes from one existence to the other.

This phenomenon is best explained through the dependant origination doctrine which is the core of Buddhist teachings, i.e. due to ignorance kamma formation takes place which conditions consciousness or knowing. Consciousness in turn conditions the Name-Matter composition to create sense bases which enable re-cognition or arising of re-link consciousness, generating new contact. This occurs momentarily in our life where both name & matter ceases after every sense experience but stationing of consciousness continue to get conditioned (due to ignorance) to re-activate the body, preparing for further cognition through any of the sense bases. This continues in a cycle conditioning contact & resulting sensations that cause craving & clinging leading to becoming & rebirth and hence suffering (decay, death, grief, despair, lamentation etc.). 

At death when the consciousness cannot arise again in the dying body, it emerges within another body forming a new Name-Matter composition, along with sense bases enabling the continuation of the cycle.

If either of the Name-Matter composition, Name or Matter, or both pass from one existence to another, we cannot liberate says Ven. Sudassana Thero. 

The Venerable refers to the analogy of lighting a candle from another to explain this. We can use a flame of a burning candle to light up another candle. One may tend to believe that a part of the flame moves from one candle to the other to create the new flame. However, it has been established that as the flame of the 1^st candle is brought in contact with the wick of the 2^nd candle, the latter’s coefficient of heat is raised to its burning point and thus it catches fire. A new flame is borne, however, nothing moved from the one candle (or its flame) to the next one. Similarly nothing moves from one existence to another but an existence (a Name-Matter composition) creates conditions for the birth of a new existence.

The Great Six Sense-media Discourse: Maha-salayatanika Sutra

On one occasion when the Blessed One was staying at Anathapindika's Monastery, in Jeta's Grove near Savatthi, he taught the Great Six Sense-media Discourse to the monks.

The Buddha preached , If one does not know and does not see (ajanam apassam) , the eye, the visible form , eye consciousness , eye contact & the  resultant sensations; pleasant , unpleasant ,neither pleasant or unpleasant, as they are (Yatha Butan); he or she becomes obsessed by being attached to the eye, the visible form , eye consciousness , eye contact & the resultant sensations; pleasant , unpleasant ,neither pleasant or unpleasant and thus take delight on those.

When one takes delight in these, the Buddha has stressed, he or she becomes engrossed, bonded & perplexed.  Therefore, the person is said to be preoccupied with only the pleasures (aswada) the above bring about and not the drawbacks or evils that accompany them. The Buddha raises an important point here, i.e. though one could contemplate on the nature of impermanence, suffering & selflessness of these dhammas and comprehend that they are subjected to continuous transformation, as long as he does not see them as they really are, he or she cannot be free from being engrossed, bonded & perplexed.

As the person continues to be attached to the eye, the visible form, eye consciousness, eye contact and so on, relishing them, he or she will crave & cling to them more and more resulting in further accumulation of the five clinging aggregates. In other words, the person will continue to accumulate suffering[1], i.e. birth, decay & death, as craving & clinging grows in him. This is the craving the Tathagata referred to as the one (desire) that grows within a person which causes becoming with passion & delight, relishing at any given state, here or there. By accumulating the clinging aggregates one is able to remember things & persons as those that exist. In addition he or she develops the erroneous notion that things are wholesome, permanent, pleasant & with self. However, as said above, the sutra further states that by reflecting upon the, unwholesomeness, impermanence, unsatisfactoriness & non-self of the said dhamma becomes mere words and thoughts and does not help as long as the person is deluded.

As a consequence of being obsessed with pleasures as noted above, it is further said that the person becomes disturbed and aggressive both physically and mentally. In addition, the person’s bodily torments and mental torments begin to grow & therefore he or she continues to suffer mentally & physically.

For instance, say a person finds a precious stone, a diamond; as soon as he sees the value of it he will develop craving & will do whatever he can to protect the stone. He will hide it in the most secure place in his house and may even carry a gun to protect it from burglars. He will not get proper sleep in the night thinking about the valuable stone and its security. The person's behaviour and character will change drastically ending up in suffering both physically & mentally.

If one suffers through the mind and body in this way, it is evidence for the accumulation of the five clinging aggregates and growth of craving. In other words it is evidence for the presence of both suffering and cause for suffering.

The Buddha goes on to explain this dhamma with reference to the ear as well,  if one does not know and does not see , the ear, sound (audible form) , ear consciousness , ear contact & the resultant sensations, pleasant , unpleasant ,neither pleasant or unpleasant, as they are; he or she becomes obsessed with the ear, the sound , ear consciousness , ear contact & the resultant sensations, pleasant , unpleasant ,neither pleasant or unpleasant and thus take delight on those.

When the person takes delight in these, he or she becomes engrossed, bonded & perplexed.  Therefor he or she is said to be preoccupied with only the pleasures (aswada), but not the drawbacks or the evils that they bring about and hence clings to them causing further accumulation of five clinging aggregates.

As a result the person becomes disturbed and aggressive, both physically and mentally. His or her bodily torments and mental torments begin to grow & therefore he or she continues to suffer mentally & physically. This is proof for the accumulation of the five clinging aggregates and growth of craving within the persons mind.

The Buddha has explained this dhamma in reference to the other senses as well, where one becomes engrossed, bonded & perplexed by not knowing or seeing the senses, objects & so on, causing accumulation of the five clinging aggregates with growth of craving or in other words suffering, i.e birth, decay & death.

Let’s see how one could reverse this, how can one live without accumulating the five aggregates but by discarding them?  Tathagata clarifies that, the one who does know and see (janam, passam), the eye, the visible form, eye consciousness & so on, as they are (Yatha Butan), will not be attached to & thus will not be obsessed with them and therefore does not take delight in the same.  When the person doesn’t take delight in them, he or she will not become engrossed, bonded or perplexed.

Such person continues to live being aware of the drawbacks or evils (Adeenawa) of those dhamma. In the earlier instance when one didn’t know or see, the five clinging aggregates got accumulated, now they get dissipated. In addition, the person relinquish the craving that grew within him, which caused becoming with passion & delight, relishing at any given state, here & there. When the five clinging aggregates fade away, what is seen is not left behind, as one sees that the sense (visual) experience ends with the ending of eye contact.

He or she would not return to see things that exist but will be aware that they can be created and experienced when and where necessary. There is a difference between going back to see things that one tend to think as those that exist out there, as against going back to create and experience again. In the first instance he or she goes back without being aware of the reality and thus due to delusion forms greed or aversion. In the other instance one goes back being fully aware, with wisdom, that the person can create and experience as he or she wishes. For instance one can look into a mirror to see his or her image, being aware that it is an image that does not exist but one that appears only when the person looks into the mirror. Therefore one does not leave things in the external as the craving is uprooted.

As a consequence, it is further said, one becomes calm and soft both physically and mentally. The person’s bodily torments and mental torments disappear and he or she is happy and content, both mentally & physically. Free from suffering and cause for suffering, the person reaches the state where he or she enjoys bliss. The Buddha went on to explain this dhamma in terms of all remaining senses, i.e. ear, nose, tongue, body etc. as well.

If we may go back to the earlier example, the person who found the precious stone visits a dealer and shows him the stone expecting a good price. The dealer checks it carefully and rejects it straightaway as a fake with no value. The man not convinced goes to another dealer and gets the same response. All hopes & expectations the man had suddenly falls apart and hence his attachment to the fake stone. Being disillusioned & detached he becomes free from worry and stress thus regains his composure.

The one who gains the vision (Yatha Butha Nana) as discussed is said to be having the Right View. The person’s contemplation focused on such vision is the Right Contemplation. The effort to achieve such vision is the Right Effort. The mindfulness aimed at the above is the Right Mindfulness and the concentration that contributes to it is the Right Concentration.

Being a virtuous person, his (or her) speech, action and the livelihood are already purified and such person is said to have embarked on the Noble Eight Fold Path.  

“Thus for him, having thus developed the noble eightfold path, the four frames of reference go to the culmination of their development. The four right exertions... the four bases of power... the five faculties... the five strengths... the seven factors for Awakening go to the culmination of their development. [And] for him these two qualities occur in tandem: tranquillity and insight.”[2]

The person clearly comprehends the five clinging aggregates (suffering) and the cause for it which he or she now discards along with ignorance. Avidya translated as ignorance has the literal meaning of ‘Nescience’, and thus Vidya is the ‘Science’ which the Buddha has comprehended (Yathabutha Nana) at his Enlightenment, i.e the wisdom that was unheard of before.

The sutra goes on to say,

"He comprehends through direct knowledge whatever qualities are to be comprehended through direct knowledge, abandons through direct knowledge whatever qualities are to be abandoned through direct knowledge, develops through direct knowledge whatever qualities are to be developed through direct knowledge, and realizes through direct knowledge whatever qualities are to be realized through direct knowledge.”

The knowledge to be gained is the knowledge of the Five Clinging aggregates, i.e. suffering. What need to be abandoned are the ignorance, craving & existence. What one has to develop is tranquillity & insight meditation, realisation should be the science and liberation. In other words one has to see & know suffering as it really is and abandon craving to realise cessation.

What we encounter & interact in our day to day life is the form (visible, audible etc.)  not the eye, eye consciousness, contact or the resultant sensations. The Buddha’s words, when one does not know & do not see, in effect refers to the form which we do not see as they really are. This applies to all forms whether its visible, audible etc.

Now let’s explore how we could know & see form as it is (janan passan)?

Ven Mankadawala Sudassana Thero refers to the example of the reflection on water, which we can’t smell taste or touch, but only a visible form. It’s merely an image that can’t bring luck or bad luck to you.

Similarly, says the Thero, we can’t touch the visual object which associates the Four Great Elements, if we attempt to touch we will only feel the Four Great Elements. When we gain the realisation of this phenomena, we do not get attached to a visual object and will not find delight in it. We will not find value in it but will see  as a void, therefore, the Buddha has said “in the seen will be what is merely seen’ (Bhahiya Sutra).

Within our existence we can touch an object that we see, we can even smell and feel, as we do not see the object as it really is. As we don’t see objects as they really are we find gold, silver, sons , daughters etc. which we grasp in terms of the pleasures they bring in. With the accumulation of the five clinging aggregates we keep growing our desire (craving) that make us to go in search of things & persons over and over again, leading to rebirth (punarbhava).

To overcome this unsatisfactoriness one needs to know & see things as they really are (janan passan yathabutan) i.e. He or she needs to develop his /her ability to see form as it is. Thereby, the person can begin to live experiencing the drawbacks or evils of form, the eye, eye consciousness, eye contact & corresponding sensations so he or she wouldn’t accumulate the five clinging aggregates any more, in other words, does not leave behind what the person saw, heard etc. This is the state where one sees & realises ‘being non-existent things arise due to causes and cease when the causes cease to exist’ (Yatha Bhutha Nana).

One cannot see the said reality of form due to hindrances & thus needs to restrain senses adopting a tranquillity meditation technique to calm the mind. Stillness of the mind develops concentration required for insight meditation and thus the person begins to see things as they really are. One needs to use both, tranquillity & Insight meditation techniques concurrently in this manner until the ultimate goal is achieved.

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[1] The Buddha referred to the five clinging aggregates as suffering

[2] "Maha-salayatanika Sutta: The Great Six Sense-media Discourse" (MN 149), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 30 November 2013