(Sathipatthana) Vibhganga Sutra

(The English transcript of the discourse made by Ven Mankadawala Sudassana on Duruthu Poya day, 2017 at Labunoruwakanda Forest Hermitage in Kekirawa Sri Lanka.)

Sathipatthananca o bhikkawe desissami, Sathipatthana, Bhavananca, Sathipatthana Bhavana Gamini patipadanca, thun sunatha,

The Buddha addressed his disciples one day,

‘Monks, I will teach you the mindfulness, the cultivation of mindfulness, and the way leading to the cultivation of mindfulness.’

The Dhamma preached by the Buddha, the Buddhist scripture, is recorded under three baskets or Pitaka, i.e Sutra Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka & Abhidamma Pitaka.

Sutra Pitaka has five sections, Dheega Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya, Khuddhaka Nikaya & Samyutta Nikaya

For ease of reference Samyutta Nikaya is divided in to six parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.1 & 5.2

In 5.1 under Sathipatthana samyutta there is a Sutra named Vibhanga Sutra which I am going to discuss today. The Sutra discusses mindfulness under three topics,

(i)    Mindfulness (satipatthana)

(ii)  The cultivation of mindfulness

(iii) The way leading to the cultivation of mindfulness

(i)    What is Mindfulness?

kathamanca bhikkawe Sathipatthana ,

Idha Bhikkawe Bhikku, Kaye kayanupassi viharathi athapi sampajano sathima, vineyya loke abhijja domanassa 

Idha Bhikkawe Bhikku, vedanaye vedananunupassi viharathi athapi sampajano sathima, vineyya loke abhijja domanassa

Idha Bhikkawe Bhikku, citte cittanupassi viharathi athapi sampajano sathima, vineyya loke abhijja domanassa

Idha Bhikkawe Bhikku, dhamme dhammanupassi viharathi athapi sampajano sathima, vineyya loke abhijja domanassa

Monks what is mindfulness, Idha bhikkawe – this is important, Idha means in this order (sasana) [i.e. in this dhamma (doctrine) and its vinaya (discipline)], bikkhawe means monk, i.e. a monk in this order. When the Buddha addressed as Monks he referred to all disciples not only the monks who are immediately in front of him.

The monk in this order dwells by contemplating the body, sensations, mind and dhamma (phenomena) - things that deceive the person, as they really are, with mindfulness and clear comprehension, and with necessary effort to discard defilements (to put away covetousness and displeasure), i.e. mindfulness on the body, sensations, the mind and dhamma (phenomena) with clear comprehension and necessary effort. That is called Mindfulness.

(ii)  What is cultivation of mindfulness?

Idha bihaawe bikku samudaya dahammanupassiwa kayasming viharathi athapi sampajano sathima wineyya loke abhijja domanassan, waya dammanu passi kayasmin viharathi athapi sampajano sathima wineyya loke abhijja domanassan, samudaya waya dhammanu passi kayasmin viharathi athapi sampajano sathima wineyya loke abhijja domanassan, 

(The sutra continues similarly for other three too, vedanasu vedananu passi, chitte cittanupassi & dhammesu dhammanupassi viharathi and so on.)

The Monk who dwells by contemplating on arising of the body, sensations , mind & the dhamma with mindfulness and clear comprehension, and with necessary effort to discard defilements, living while observing arising, passing & both arising passing of the body, sensations, mind & dhamma with clear comprehension is known as practicing mindfulness meditation.

(iii) What is the path leading to Mindfulness?  

samma ditti, samma sankappa, samma vaca, samma kammanta, samma ajeeva samma sathi samma Samadhi.

It’s the Noble Eightfold Path (ariyo ashatangiko maggo), which is the right view, right contemplation, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right mindfulness, right concentration

The one who seeks to become enlightened need not study the whole Buddhist scripture, learning and practicing Mindfulness, cultivation of mindfulness & the path leading to cultivation mindfulness alone is sufficient.

Mindfulness is defined as positioning of the mind, what you practice to cultivate mindfulness is mindfulness meditation. The way leading to cultivate mindfulness, knowing how and why you do it is the path.

For example, say you need to go to a place located far away, first you will need a vehicle and then you need to know how to drive it, moreover, you must know the way to the destination. Even if you have a vehicle (mindfulness) and know how to ride or drive (practice) you need to know where you are going, the final destination and the way (The Noble Path). 

There is a path to travel from this shore, which is gripped with decay and death, to the opposite shore which is free from decay and death - nirvana, however, one needs a vehicle and should have ability to drive it to get there. All these requirements should be satisfied for one to cross.

The order that we need to study mindfulness is essential, when you disassemble an equipment or an appliance to service it, what you take apart first will be the last item you reassemble. Similarly the first item of our topic will get defined last. 

When one learns the path (pathipada) and the practice (bhavana) thereafter he or she comprehends what mindfulness is.

The last piece to be removed is installed back first, therefore, lets learn the Path first followed by how one can cultivate mindfulness and thereby we can master mindfulness. If you accomplish this you can go to any place and practice to discard cankers (Asrava). If we all can learn & comprehend this dhamma, this whole world will become one, free from differences, no one will be able to challenge and those who want to be free from suffering (dukkha) will join Buddhism, even those who follow other religions.

Now let me explain you the path (pathipada), the Noble Eightfold Path. The right view is the forerunner, when one gains the Right View the remaining seven qualities will naturally follow. Therefore let’s try to understand the right view, that’s what the Buddhism is about. This is what the Buddha preached from his enlightenment until his passing away (parinibbana).

What is the Right View (Samma Ditti)

dhukke nanan

dhukke samudaye nanan

dhukke nirodaye nanan

dhukke nirodha gamini patipada nanan

Knowing what suffering is

Knowing what causes suffering

Knowing what ending of suffering is

Knowing the path leading to end suffering.

The one who comprehends this will know how to cultivate mindfulness and what mindfulness is about. Mindfulness, cultivation of mindfulness and the path leading to cultivation of mindfulness, all are interconnected like a string of pearl. This dhamma is deep, yet it’s not necessarily the case, just that we are not deep enough. If we were, we wouldn't have come all this way in samsara. We need to employ extensive effort to comprehend. It’s worth sacrificing all you have to achieve this as it will help you to end samsara, then you can claim without fear that this dhamma is well-proclaimed by the Enlightened One and is excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle and excellent in the end ( Svakkhato Bhagavata dhammo ).

If I am able to say what you had for dinner last night you would know if I am saying the truth or not, as you know it for yourself. You need not just believe me.

Let me first discuss the situation of the worldly beings first, i.e. what the wrong view (micca ditti) is,

dhukke annanan

dhukke samudaye annanan

dhukke nirodaye annanan

dhukke nirodha gamini patipada annanan.

It is;

Not knowing what suffering is

Not knowing what causes suffering

Not knowing what ending of suffering is

Not knowing the path leading to end suffering

If your mother, father or a child dies or become ill, or you lose your wealth, say your car, house etc. you think your grief is due to your parents becoming ill, their death or loss of your wealth. You believe there is no grief when your father & mother live happily and when you have wealth, therefore, you do whatever you can to maintain the wellbeing of your loved ones by looking after them and protecting your wealth. If you closely analyse this is not just because you love them but for your own happiness. You will work hard to make a good living and make high earnings just to ensure that your child lives happily, for e.g. by building a nice house, buying a car etc. At the same time you look after your body to ensure its wellbeing. This is the wrong view (Micca ditti) which is afflicting the world.

When the vision is wrong corresponding thoughts become wrong too, such as thoughts of sensuality, anger and cruelty, (Kama sankappa, vyapada sankappa and himsa sankappa). Accordingly, speech, action and livelihood would become wrong as well. Further, your effort will be to maintain that status by mindfulness and concentration which are complementary to that. This is the worldly existence of eight wrong items, in other words, that is the way known to the world, the way you live. This applies to all three existences of sensual, form & formless (kama, rupa and arupa bhavas). The existence in the world can be either right or wrong. Buddha arrived in this world to teach & inject the right view to the world that is infected with wrong views.

The wrong path leads to suffering and therefore the right path leads to end suffering and reach happiness, i.e. by knowing,

What suffering is

What causes suffering

What ending of suffering is

The path leading to end suffering,

It is vital to comprehend this knowledge before meditating to cultivate mindfulness, if one aims to reach nirvana. Without the knowledge, however much you can be mindful and practice meditation you won’t be able to discard cankers. You may supress hindrances and even reach dhyana states but you won’t succeed in discarding cankers. One may do insight meditation either by observing the form, name or name & form both back and forth, but it won’t work. This is what the whole world seem to be generally doing in order to discard cankers. They just focus on mindfulness and mindfulness meditation which is not adequate.

It simply means being mindful and meditating on arising & passing of body, sensation mind & dhamma but there is no path? One observes name, its arising passing and the other person the form, it’s arising & passing but is there a path? There is no eightfold path here. I want you to look at the topics in this Sutra. The sutra has three headings, mindfulness, mindfulness meditation (cultivation of mindfulness) & the Path leading to cultivation of mindfulness (the Eightfold path). The Right View is essential to discard cankers. It is known as the vidya in dhamma, by developing wisdom (vidya) one abandons ignorance or delusion (avidya) whereby cankers are eliminated.

As we already know the right view is knowing what suffering, knowing what causes suffering, knowing what ending of suffering is and knowing the path leading to end suffering.

·         Knowing what suffering is knowing dukkha, the meaning is hidden; the Buddha preached that the five clinging aggregates are suffering (sankittena pancaupadanaskanda dukka).

·         Knowing what causes suffering is gaining knowledge about desire (chanda raga) on five clinging aggregates.

·         What is the knowledge of ending dukkha? It’s the knowledge that by discarding desires on clinging aggregates the suffering caused by five clinging aggregates is eliminated.

·         Knowing the path is the knowledge of the noble eightfold path.

What you need to do now is clear; you need to comprehend the four noble truths.

, if you aim to become enlightened, this is the knowledge which removes cankers.

Now let me explain this dhamma with few analogies,

As we understood the knowledge that the five clinging aggregates are suffering is crucial. Think of a currency note made of paper (with straw & binder/pulp) and print. A child sees it the same way as you do but while you perceive it say as a Rs.5000 note the child will not, as he has no idea about its value. You both see it the same way but you perceive differently. You know the value of the note as you know you can buy various things with it. You have developed a desire for the currency note and therefore cling to its value. This is called clinging to sensuality (kama upadana), You cannot separate the notion of Rs.5000 from its value. You do not know that the notion of Rs.5000 arises from within you. You overlook the reality due to your ignorance. Your ignorance makes you to tie the notion of Rs.5000 (the defilement) to the external paper note. 

The value and the notion of Rs.5000 is in your mind, the clinging (upadana) is what you project on the paper note to make it a clinging form. Therefore you overlook that it’s a piece of printed paper and as a result you will suffer if it gets torn or if you lose it. The cause for this suffering is that the note is a five clinging aggregate (pancaupadana skanda). This simile will make it clear to you that the aggregates projected with clinging  are suffering. If people find Rs.5000 notes scattered on ground they will not hesitate to pick them up and gather. Isn’t this funny, what do you call a man who walks around picking up pieces of paper lying on the ground? a mad man isn’t it? The Buddha has said ‘all worldlings are mad’ (Sabbe puthujjana ummattaka).

When it is said that five clinging aggregates are suffering do not believe that it’s a thing  that exists out there, it’s just that the aggregates which are masked with our clinging that are suffering. In this example both the child and you see the same note, aggregates, but the value arises in your mind when you see it but not in the child’s mind. There was no one who could see this and educate us until the Buddha came to be.

Suffering is there only as long as you project the value that arise in the mind (upadana) on to the paper note. If we all suffer when a piece of paper gets burnt there is no salvation. It’s the burning of the clinging aggregates that makes you to suffer. Therefore the cause for suffering is clinging. If you do note project the value (clinging) to the paper, you won’t suffer even if you lose it. So there is a path to separate the clinging (value) and the aggregate (paper), you only need to do two things, see that it’s a paper made of straw and print and that the desire arises in your mind. Cankers will not be removed by mere observation; you need to comprehend the above through meditation to cultivate mindfulness. When you see the aggregates and the desire separately, you won’t develop clinging.

As long as you contemplate in this manner the value begins to fade away. Therefore the unborn cankers are not born, the born cankers are removed. If not you can also contemplate on the name (nama), that the thought Rs.5000 is a concept that merely arises in the mind due to mind contact and ends when the mind contact ends. That’s being mindful of the mind (Cittanupassana), however, let me make it clear, cankers will not be removed by such observation, unless you know why you observe like that. You need to be aware that you concentrate on the mind to bar your concepts reaching the external aggregates. If you do not practice to contemplate like this you will get deceived again when you see a currency note. This is the vision one needs to cultivate as the path.

Rs.5000 note is similar to your notions of mother, father or son made of edible foods that come in front of the eye, a form made by aggregates. A stranger will not see the child as a son but just as another child and hence he will not have the love (value) like you do, though both of you see the same child. You can’t separate the value (desire & clinging) from the notion of the son. The drawback is that when aggregates decay or die you suffer, you need to know that it’s only when you project your notion of value on the external object that it becomes your son. When the child dies you suffer due to the death of your son, the clinging aggregate.

Clinging, or upadana, is not just grasping as we commonly believe, the Buddha has named defilements by different qualities; i.e. Moho avidya (Ignorance is the quality of delusion), ayohana sanskara (the quality of accumulating), nikhanthi tanha (the quality of taking delight) and upagamanan upadana (the quality of reaching to the external). The issue is that clinging or upadana reach the form and make it look different making it a clinging aggregate.

You need to see that we don’t suffer due to death of a person but loss of clinging aggregates (upadana skanda dukkha). Suffering arises regardless of an object being animate or inanimate; it applies the same way to a tree or a person. Observing arising passing of clinging aggregates is to see that the form is made by edible food and that it ceases when there is no food. If you don’t see like this when the form change (or die) due to change of aggregates, you suffer. In relation to the mind, you need to see the notion of child is a thought that arises due to contact and ends thereafter. Cankers can only be removed with such knowledge, we need to separate aggregates from clinging aggregates.

Now let’s look at Craving,

Sako paneesa tanha katta uppajja mana uppajjathi etta nivisamana nivisathi.

Where does craving arise and dwell? It arises in places of delight & dwell therein. What are delightful in the world? the eye and the visible form and the ear & sound and so on are delightful in the world. Craving arises in the eye and visible form & dwells on them.

By rubbing two pieces of wood (sticks) on to each other we can ignite a fire and similarly when the eye impinges an object it results in formation of defilements (or Keles). The fire ignited by the sticks will persist and grow so long as it clings to the two sticks and similarly the defilements that arise, for example perception of self , will endure and grow so long as it is tied to the external object and the eye. The fire cannot burn for long if it doesn't hold on to the wood.

The Eye is one piece of wood and the Rs.5000 currency note made of aggregates is the other piece. The value of Rs.5000 persists as it is tied to the note. The currency note is just a piece of paper but the value of Rs.5000 that arises in the mind is the fire which is not in the note , if the government decides to cancel Rs.5000 notes the currency will be worthless, this has been proven in the past  .

The fire does not belong to the sticks, similarly the defilements such as sensual pleasures and perception of self that arise in the mind do not belong to the external object (form) or the eye. The fire can only be extinguished by shielding it from the wood. Similarly the notion of Rs.5000 should be removed from the note or the eye. As long as the eye hold onto a visible object the ear to a sound, the tongue to a taste, the defilements will persist like the fire that cling on to the wood.

By comprehending this dhamma and cultivating mindfulness you can reach the state that is free from clinging (Anupada Parinirvana). Your leniency to senses make you to create defilements and therefore to cling.

The body made of aggregates, i.e. the shape with colour, is one stick and your eye the other, the value that arises when these two come together is fire (e.g. son). Now you can’t differentiate the value from the aggregates. The moment your eye comes in contact with the aggregates all associated desires come together with the value such as the love to your son.

Once you cling to the form as your son you ignore that it’s a bundle of aggregates composed of hair, skin, flesh etc. which can be unpleasant at times such as when the child is sick. As long as the form (son) is there and when the eye come in contact with it, a fire will ignite in your mind. The evidence that a fire is present is that you have a son out there and an eye to experience him. Now you have the notion of the child. When you think of your child you know he is there and you love him.

This is the state of the worldly view, (Personality View -Sakkaya ditti)

Rupan aththatho samanu passathi

Rupawanthan aththathi

Aththaneewa rupan

Rupasmin aththanan.

See form as self

See self as form

See form in self

See self in form.

The fire (defilements) can only be extinguished if you can achieve cessation of the six sense basses, not otherwise. A layperson sees the death of a son but the wise one sees passing of clinging aggregates.

With regard to the fire ignited by the two sticks, when the sticks are longer the fire lasts as long as they last, similarly the longer the love to your son is, longer would be the suffering. This is what one needs to comprehend. Without such knowledge no one can even feel the warmth of nirvana. Without comprehending this, however much you meditate it won’t work, cankers won’t be eliminated. When we cling to aggregates as son it incorporates all levels of defilements. This is the heart of the doctrine (dhamma) and comprehension is essential to remove cankers, not otherwise.

The Buddha has said, you cannot milk a cow from its horn as there is no milk in the horn. If you want to milk a cow you need to milk it from its udder. One thing you must remember, your suffering cannot be removed by somebody else’s wisdom. If so we would have liberated long ago.

One more analogy I want to discuss is the cinematic experience.

The mentality of grasping to images on the cinema screen as people and sentients is characteristic of the worldly beings. As commonly evident in a cinema experiences, spectators get involved with the characters ignoring that it’s just a cinema. They tend to grieve when a character they like meets with some misadventure. This is identical to the state of the world were you find people who suffer due to decay and death. The Buddha showed how we are deluded with the wrong view – one stick is the screen and the other is the eye, the notion of self is the fire, the fact that you are just stepping on the truth makes you ignorant. Meditation practices today miss this crucial dhamma. Meditation without knowing the path is not what the Buddha taught.

If you don’t know aggregates apart from clinging aggregates you are not on the path.

If you know arising and passing of aggregates you will know the three disciplines (shiksha), morality, concentration and wisdom (sila, samadhi, panna) which lays out the eightfold path. A path does not necessarily contains morality, concentration and wisdom. Mindfulness meditation takes you to the eightfold path not the other way around.

Each individual needs to develop wisdom of eliminating the cause for suffering, one cannot get it from someone else.

The Buddha identified the difference between the aggregates and those forms that associate aggregates (upadaya rupa). The form is experienced as self and suffering arise due to self-view, it is the Buddhist philosophy. This doctrine cannot be explained the way I do if one has not studied and understood Abhidharma, not merely by referring to thought processes and various other theories, but through the way Buddha preached it. The analogies I discussed above to explain this dhamma such as Rs.5000 note is evidence for this knowledge about the form I gained by learning Dhammasangani Prakaranaya in Abhidhamma. Only abhidhamma can reveal the truth where we hold on to a self-view. I am not saying that you should learn the whole teachings of Abhidhamma but it’s essential to learn to the level that help one to reach the states of enlightenment.

This is not a philosophy of the Buddha or the sangha it’s the eternal truth about the world. The Buddha comprehended this truth on his own and disclosed to the world in a way that it could be grasped by everyone.

What I explained today was the Path Leading to Mindfulness which begins with the right view, i.e. with the knowledge that five aggregates are suffering or in other words that things projected with clinging are suffering. When clinging is removed suffering ends. Therefore you need to separate clinging from aggregates and aggregates from clinging, that’s the right view.

CREATING 'FORM FOR FORM'

IMPRESSIONS

Perception of form derives from impressions stored at our mind consciousness level through past sense experiences. These impressions are constantly tied to external objects seen, heard, smelt and so on and therefore when we think of a sense experience we think of the impression in relation to an external object. Similarly when an object comes in front of our eye we tend to know it through a mental impression we have gathered through a past visual experience. This is a process of cause an effect. The external object causes the formation of a mental impression and that impression in turn rules how we perceive and experience the external object through our senses. Our ignorance that this is a process of cause and effect makes us to believe that the things that we think of really exists out there and accordingly our likes and dislikes to external things continue to prevail & grow.

An artist primarily work with forms perceived with impressions gathered through past sense experiences. An Architect for instance gathers certain type of impressions and a film maker gathers a different type of impressions, both drawing from their respective training - a musician uses a different set of impressions.

As much as a language is nurtured with vocabulary, architectural language entail a vocabulary of its own. Languages are diverse, so are architectural languages often enriched with culture, period, Geography etc. Furthermore, use of a language differs from person to person and so is the use of an architectural language as it employs a vast range of vocabulary in form of elements, material, texture & colour etc.

Architecture fundamentally is defining and creating spaces. Architectural design or creations originates in the mind of an Architect and evolves, shaped with his inbuilt knowledge & skills. He conceives and constructs mental formations which are expressed through drawings to be reconstructed physically; an architect in essence creates a mental Form for a physical Form.

 

    Expressions of Mental Formations

These formations are entirely founded upon impressions he has accumulated through training & experiencing. His consciousness is equipped with a language of architecture, like that of a novelist or a writer whose consciousness is equipped with a language with words. His language consists of spatial concepts that are stored in a manner that they can be extracted at any time when his mind attempts to create form. The order in which he arranges space (Design & composition) dictates the form and use of material, texture & colour, for e.g., further enhances it, similar to a work of a writer who composes with a range of words and phrases.

FORM

Three factors should be present or come together to trigger a sense experience, for e.g. when the eye, the visible object and eye consciousness come together  it causes eye contact leading to a visual experience. Therefore, what we experience is a compounded product (conditioned by three factors) or an image of the external object and not exactly what is out there. This image is unknown and we cannot say that we saw the object, until the mind perceives it in terms of an impression gained through a past experience.   

Buddhist teachings define form as four great elements and those forms that associate four great elements. The four great elements are grouped in different ways in space and what we see is a shape with colour, for e.g. round, rectangular, spherical or cylindrical in colours of red, yellow or blue as formed by the eye. What is seen by the eye is described in the script as ‘Upadaya Rupa’ meaning, a form that associates the Four Great elements.

We can’t touch visible form or feel it to experience any sensation for e.g. as pleasant or unpleasant or as cold or hot, since it does not exist externally. When we touch we feel the element of solidness in aggregates in form of a tactile sensation, which is unrelated to the visible form. It is to be noted that the eye consciousness that arises when the eye meets the object (visual stimuli) is different to body consciousness resulting from touch (i.e. tactile stimuli).

We can relate the state of perceiving visible form to a wall painting (mural). We may see people, buildings, trees and flowers in it with real surroundings though it is merely a series of paint brush strokes on the wall, if we attempt to feel a flower for instance, we will touch the wall. The reality identified in the mural is framed entirely in our mind. We perceive the audible form in the same way for e.g. when we listen to music we listen to a melody formed by a series of audible notes relating to musical impressions we have already experienced and enjoyed. A Musician composes a melody in such a way that we can recompose the notes received by the ear and replay it in our mind, connecting with an impression we already know. When we can relate a new melody to an impression we already like we say we like that music.Classical (raghadharee) Indian music for e.g., provides evidence for the use of musical impressions. 

FORMATIONS ARE IMPERMANENT

In terms of physical construction, say to construct a house, the external aggregates are arranged in a manner an architect has conceived the form, a Form (physical) from Form (mental). An external object composed of aggregates is neutral but is masked and given ‘life’ with a dressing of mental fabrications that we project on to it making it a house (or a building), an object of pleasure to be experienced. 

 

    Form from Form

When the Architect sees the finished product he quickly recalls the mental formation and experiences it as he originally conceived. The user or the onlooker is able to experience the building in a similar way but according to each one’s individual level of perception.

Regardless whether the person is an architect, a writer, a film maker or a musician this is what our mind does in experiencing & interpreting external form. According to Buddhist teachings our mind works like an artist in attempting to interpret the images received though sense doors. It uses impressions that are retained from previous sense experiences to identify external objects. This process is called formation (Sanskara) also known as mental constructions or fabrications in teachings, impressions are called products of formation (Sanskara Nimithi), which are instrumental in further formation. The truth is that we do not interact with what seem to exist out there with our likes and dislikes but with our own conceptions, the Buddha has revealed. Buddha’s words to explain this phenomenon were , Rupan Rupattaya sankathan abhisankarothithi sankaran, i.e. we create form to experience form (Khajjaneeya Sutta: Samyutta Nikaaya).Understanding impermanence as disclosed by the Buddha is not merely observing impermanence of a thing that exists. We need to comprehend with insight that what we perceive do not exist out there and that things just arise due to conditions and cease immediately after.

Sabbe sankhara anicca'ti;
yada pannaya passati,
atha nibbindati dukkhe,
esa maggo vissuddhiya.

- Dhammapada - 277.

Impermanent are all compounded things.(conditionings)
When one perceives this with true insight,
one becomes detached from suffering; this is the path
of purification.

FORMATIONS BRING UNSATISFACTORINESS

Bundles of aggregate arranged to create a form seen externally are subject to nature and thus deteriorate, decay and get destroyed, however, mental formations persist in the mind of the creator, user or the onlooker. This make them to lament about the loss or decay of the house (discussed above) and similarly another object such as a piece of furniture or a sculpture on which in fact are concepts originated in one’s mind and are truly independent of the external aggregates.

If the house gets destroyed by a natural disaster such as an earthquake it could get reduced to a pile of material or aggregates. Now one cannot perceive the house (form) that existed but a pile of aggregates. The outcome brings pain to the owner and those who had connections to the house, as they can no longer relate the mental image to what is remaining externally. They may still identify and hold onto the left over material as parts from the original house and not as remains of general building material that could be used to build another building. They ignore the fact that the pile of aggregates are common construction material that were put together according to the way the Architect designed, to create the formation that they perceived as house they owned & liked.

 

Think of an object made out of clay, say a doll, the clay is moulded into a shape of a doll as conceived in the artist’s mind, it is a formation. We perceive the object the way the artist wanted it to look like it, as a doll.  If someone drops it accidently, the clay object will break into pieces but there is no change to the clay content that was there in the doll before and in the pieces that are now on ground. However, we say the doll is broken as the object has got deformed due to disintegration of clay particles. This can make a little child to cry, not because the clay object is broken but as her doll is damaged. It is the deformation that brings about unsatisfactoriness or sorrow. One can say that things are impermanent and subject to change and destruction therefore we shouldn’t worry. The point is that although the object is destroyed the mental image of the desired object remains which brings sorrow to the child in this instance and to all of us at different situations in life.

Attachments to external form cause unsatisfactoriness.

Sabbe sankhara dukkha'ti;
yada pannaya passati,
atha nibbindati dukkhe,
esa maggo vissuddhiya.

- Dhammapada - 278.

All compounded things (conditionings) are suffering.
When one perceives this with true insight,
one becomes detached from suffering; this is the path
of purification.

FORMATIONS ARE WITHOUT SELF

When we project our notions of person on to a group of external aggregates we perceive a person. Where body parts are grouped in a particular order we call it a person.

For example what we see in the first picture below are few pieces of wood stacked on ground but when the same pieces of wood are assembled to a particular shape as seen in the second picture we perceive as a form which we call a ‘table’. Similarly, a form that is created when hair, flesh and bones etc. are grouped in a particular manner is perceived as a ‘person’.

 

According to teachings when the form is not known as it is due to the wrong view, defilements arise and due to defilements our view gets further obscured concealing the reality.

The four pieces of timber in the first picture are usually identified as two, 2”x 2” timber pieces, however, when they form part of the completed table they are known as table legs assuming the oneness of the table. Hence, if a component of the table (e.g. leg) breaks it will make the user unhappy as his table is damaged. Similarly, parts of a body seen individually will often be associated with a human body, noting as woman’s hair and man’s teeth for e.g.  

As we do not see the reality as it is, due to ignorance (or delusion), not only we misinterpret what we encounter externally and create our own world with people & things, we feed our mind with those erroneous conceptions (impressions). These in turn influence our perception & further mental formations which make us to recreate the external as projected by our mind. In other words we create and live within our own world.

The Buddha has preached “It is in this very fathom-long physical frame with its perceptions and mind that, I declare, lies the world, and the arising of the world, and the cessation of the world, and the path leading to the cessation of the world.” (Rohitassa Sutta: Samyutta Nikaya)

The external world that we have conceived in reality is suspended on our sense bases. This can be related to a 3D holographic projection. If one of the projectors that create the 3D hologram is turned off the illusory object suspended in the air falls apart. Similarly, if one can comprehend one sense base, say the eye, the world that we live in built upon perceptions, falls apart and therefore our leniency to the external along with our desires. Detachment from the external by comprehending its illusory and no-self nature is crucial to be free from the sensual world. 

3D Holographic Projection

It’s essential to recognise the internal nonself nature as well as the nonself nature of the external (world). The realisation, that all sense experiences, arise to the occasion and cease soon after, will establish the reality that there is neither a sense experience (object seen , heard, tasted and so on)  nor an experiencer. 

Sabbe dhamma anatta'ti;

yada pannaya passati,
atha nibbindati dukkhe,
esa maggo vissuddhiya.

- Dhammapada - 279.

All phenomena are without self.
When one perceives this with true insight,
one becomes detached from suffering; this is the path
of purification.

PATH TO LIBERATION

Senses are not permanent and they arise to cause a sense experience when necessary factors come together and cease immediately after. This occurrence is similar to taking a snapshot which is captured by the mind perceiving through past impressions to make or update formations and determine as a thing that exists out there. Our life in essence comprises of sense experiences moving from one sense to another interacting with an illusory world.

Our present existence with six sense bases is a result of past Kamma. If we continue to be deluded and indulge in sensations, interacting with external form & the illusory world we have created, the repetition of the cycle of rebirth (samsara) will continue. Nirvana is defined as cessation of the six sense bases.

The key is to recognise our ignorance which causes erroneous judgement of the external world which in fact in modern terms is a ‘virtual reality’. Realisation of this reality that we principally live in a world created on our own for us to experience with our likes and dislikes, helps us to free ourselves from bondages we have developed to things and people that seemingly exist externally and the burdens we attract through such bondages. Comprehending the state of formation discussed above opens up room to correct our view and discard delusion whereby we can reach the path to liberation and the ultimate bliss.

The teachings direct us to correct our view and discard delusion by comprehending form (visible, audible & so on) as they really are; their nature of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and no self, The Three Marks of Buddhism. The path proclaimed by the Buddha takes one to the three doorways to liberation known as impressionless (Animitta), desireless (Appanihita ) and emptiness (Sunnata). 

PURIFYING THE VISION: KINSUKOPAMA SUTTA

During Buddha’s time a monk asked another monk how one could well purify his or her vision (darshana visuddhi). When a person discerns arising and passing away of the six sense bases, as they actually are, his or her vision is said to be well purified replied the other monk.

The first monk was not satisfied with this answer and went to another monk and asked him the same question, how one could well purify his or her vision? He responded, my friend, when a person discerns, as it actually is, arising & passing away of the five clinging-aggregates his or her vision is said to be well purified.

The first monk was not satisfied with this answer either and went to yet another monk and requested an answer to his question. This monk’s response was, when a monk discerns, as it actually is, arising & passing away of the four great elements [earth, water, wind, & fire], his or her vision, my friend is said to be well purified.

The first monk was not satisfied with this answer either and went to still another monk and put forward his question to him. This monk replied, my friend, when a person discerns, as it actually is, that whatever is subject arising is all subject to cessation his or her vision is said to be well purified.

Not satisfied with the answers given by these other monks the first monk went to the blessed one, having bowed him on arrival the monk reported his conversation with the other monks and requested tathagatha’s view on this.

The blessed one addressed the monk and said, I will explain this to you with a simile.

The Simile of the Tree (Flame of the Forest)

A man who has never seen a Flame of the Forest[1] tree goes to a person who has seen one and asks him, friend what does a Flame of the Forest tree look like? Then the other man replies, it is black and looks like a burnt stump.

The man is not happy with this answer and goes to another person who has seen a Flame of the Forest tree and asks him what the tree looks like. This man would say, my friend, it looks like a lump of flesh.

Not happy with this answer the man goes to yet another person and asks him, what a Flame of the Forest tree looks like. It is a tree stripped of its bark, my good man, and has burst pods, like an acacia tree, says that man.

The man is still not satisfied an goes to still another man and asks the same question. He replies, it’s a tree that has thick foliage, freind, and gives a dense shade, like a banyan.

All these men have expressed their individual experience for as at the time they saw it that’s what the Flame of the Forest tree was like.

When a Chena[2] that is being prepared for cultivation all the vegetation, trees & plants alike get burnt. A flame of the forest tree that is pruned and burnt with others will look like what the first man saw, a burnt stump. As the time goes by with rains shoots begin to appear and it will look like the way the second man described. Likewise the two other men described how a flame of the forest tree looked when they saw it at different stages of its regrowth after burning; the last man saw the fully grown tree.

"In the same way, monk, however those wise men of integrity were focused when their vision became well purified is the way in which they answered”, said the Buddha, “I will explain this dhamma to you with another simile.”

The Fortress with Six Gates

A king who rules a provincial state has a palace fortified with a rampart & moats. The rampart wall has six gates which are manned by an experienced, efficient & wise gate keeper. This gate keeper is loyal to the king and clearly identifies who is the enemy and who is not and allows only the people who are supportive and harmless to the provincial king to go through. Two swift messengers approach from the North and inquire from the gate keeper, where the ruler of the fortress is. The gate keeper directs the two messengers to the king who sits at the city square where four roads meet. The swift pair of messengers would then deliver the message accurately and precisely as it is to the king & go back by the same route they had come. Another pair of messengers come from the South and delivers the ruler the message accurately as it is & returns via the same route they came from. Likewise messengers who reach the fortress from other directions deliver the message accurately and precisely as it is, and go back by the same route they had come.

The fortress stands for the body. The six gates represents our six senses. The gate keeper who only allows messengers who deliver messages accurately & precisely as they are, stands for Mindfulness. The two swift messengers stands for tranquillity (samatha) and insight (vipassana). The four way junction where the king resides signifies the four great elements the earth-property, the liquid-property, the fire-property, & the wind-property. The ruler or the king is consciousness (vinnana). The message accurate and precisely as it is, stands for emancipation (nirvana). The route by which they had come stands for the noble eightfold path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration." The swift messengers (tranquillity & Insight)report things only ‘as they really are’ which is the message of emancipation.

When we relate this simile to our own life, though we seem to have a City fortified adequately with six gates, our gate keeper is not wise, experienced & efficient. He lets in any one that comes through the gates and wouldn’t mind who brings the message accurately and precisely as it is or not. The messengers that he allows are not swift but slow and are called ignorance (delusion) and craving for existence. They come from all six gates and deliver inaccurate messages which are contrary to the reality as it is. The king (Consciousness) constantly receives false information about self, beings and things which exist when in real terms there aren’t such existences. They report about luxuries such as celebrations, parties, food, cinema, people, and vehicles etc., so called things of pleasure that exist outside the wall. These messengers tempt the king (or consciousness) to come out of the fortification & get caught up in worldly vicissitude & delusion. They make the king to believe things that are seen heard etc. exist out there, i.e. the distorted view of wholesomeness, permanence, satisfactoriness & self (soul). The messengers deliver messages of evil to make the king walk out of the fortress where he will be insecure and prone to harm. This is our life, says Venerable Mankadawala Sudassana Thero. ‘The old kamma is the City fortified with the wall with six gates and the new kamma occur when we move outside the wall.’

To free ourselves from this misery it is eminent that we employ an efficient, experienced and a wise gate keeper who will only allow messengers that deliver messages that are accurate and precisely as they are i.e, tranquillity & Insight, in other words the reality or the truth about the form to the mind.He should be knowledgeable about the true nature of unwholesomeness, impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and non self.

The messengers should go back on the same route they come from, i.e, the Noble Eight fold path. In other words, the visual experience should end where it occurs. What is apparent now is that they come from one direction (say through the eye) and go back through another route, e.g. the ear; we believe that what we hear can be seen as well. To ensure that the message that is delivered is accurate and precise as it is we need to be endowed with the Right View (Ditti Sampanna). In order to gain such wisdom we should first seek guidance from a Noble Friend (Kalyanamitta) who can direct us to the right path.

We can gain the Right View or in other words well purify our vision by any of the four ways that was discussed above, by knowing sense bases as they really are and their arising & passing nature, by knowing the four elements as they really are and their arising & passing nature, by knowing the five aggregates as they are and their arising & passing nature and all that arise due to conditions ceases when the conditions cease to exist. In short by knowing things as they really are.

Venerable Sudassana Thero explains this by examining the four elements and their arising & passing nature and he says by comprehending this dhamma in this manner one would know how it can be understood through the other methods as well. The Thero points out that the causes which condition arising of the four elements & arising of five aggregates, for instance, are the same. These causes as identified by Buddha are ignorance (avidya) Deeds (Kamma) Craving (tanha), Neutriments (ahara) and not knowing these four ( having no knowledge of Nibbanti lakshana). In the absence of these five causes the four elements (or five aggregates) cease to exist[3]. The one who comprehends this dhamma is known as the one who is endowed with the right view (Ditti Sampanna). However, mere understanding of these occurrences is limited to the understanding of the text only and not gaining the required wisdom. The right way is to deliver the message of emancipation accurately & precisely as it is to the king in terms of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and non self that invoke deliverance of being free from impressions - signless (animitta cheto vimukti), not having anything substantial that we can long to - desireless (appanihita cheto vimukti) & free from notions of self or sentient – emptiness (sunnata cheto vimukti).

The Simile of the Chair

Ven. Sudassana Thero refers to a simile of a chair that is formed by four elements and conditioned by ignorance, kamma craving & nutrients. A carpenter decides to make a chair of a unique design that does not exist anywhere. First he conceives a design in his mind, a mental image of the chair he wants to create with components such as four legs, the back rest and decorative elements to his preference. This mental image is a kamma formation (Sanskara) and this process is referred to as conceiving a form for formation in the Buddhist cannon[4] , says Ven. Sudassana.

The carpenter’s concept for the chair he intends to make (mental image-Sankara) is conditioned by ignorance (delusion)[5]. With his desire (or craving) to make the chair and own it, he goes into the forest & cut a suitable tree that is formed by the four great elements. He would cut a log and saw it into different sections to fabricate the chair as per his mental image. He would keep shaping the timber by planning & carving until he is satisfied with the outcome. In other words he arranges the four great elements in space, consistent with the design of the chair he conceived in his mind. The final product, the chair is conditioned by ignorance, kamma, craving and nutrients (four great elements). Now when the carpenter sees the completed chair he recalls the mental image he originally conceived and therefore overlooks the actual causes that conditioned that outcome, i.e. Ignorence, Kamma Craving, Nutriments and not knowing that causality (nibbanti lakshana). He simply disregards that the chair is a formation of four great elements.

Silkworm and the Cocoon

This is a tragedy similar to that a silkworm undergoes, says Ven. Sudassana. The silkworm spins a cocoon to shield itself until it grows into a Moth. People remove these cocoons from mulberry trees and dip them in boiling water to extract the fiber (from the cocoon) which comes out as one continuous strand of silk. The silkworm meets the unexpected death due to the cocoon it creates by itself. Similarly we undergo suffering due to formation (Sankara) that we create ourselves[6]. The state of formation is also known as Ayohana Sankara as we keep building up on our formations adding further detail.

What the carpenter has created is formation of four great elements in the space (air element) as conditioned by ignorance, kamma & craving. However, due to his delusion he begins to consider the four great elements in front of him (what he formed & fabricated) as a chair. The mental image he conceived is projected on the formation of four great elements to know it as a chair due to his delusion and therefore the final product can now deceive the others too. When the object composed of the four great elements gets deformed or damaged due to some reason the carpenter thinks the chair is broken or damaged.

This is a metaphor that the Venerable Thero uses to explain how we form the notion of mother for e.g. & strengthens the resultant bond by continuing to build on that (ayohana sankara). Owing to the love and attachment we have towards mother we like to see her as often as we can. When we see a formation or a shape where four elements are grouped similar to the shape we have conceived as mother, that mental image awakens in our mind and we overlook the fact that it is a formation of four elements. For instance, instead of seeing the element of hardness (Patavi) in the figure, we see mother’s hair and mother’s teeth etc. & we attribute everything that belongs to the mother (in the mental image) to the four elements formed in space.  Due to our defilements we see mother in the formation of four elements. When these four elements change we suffer due to decay of our mother and eventually due to the death of our mother. Once we comprehend the truth as it is (the reality) we will not be deceived anymore and hence be free from suffering.

When we close our eyes, though there is no eye, an object or eye consciousness, we can visualise ‘me’ myself. That is the impression we carry of our imagination formed due to ignorance (it is Sankara) which we keep grooming with craving. Our body develops & shapes according to the way we conceive the notion of ‘me’. We see ‘me’ only as we formed and not as a body composed of four elements.[7] The one who is endowed with the right view (ditti sampanna), or a stream winner does not see self, permanence, satisfactoriness or wholesomeness etc. in conditioned phenomena and hence is free from suffering being not deluded.

As long as there is greed, ill will & delusion we retain impressions of objects (nimithi anu nimithi) of self (person, sentient) & pleasurable things. The impressions stimulate our senses and thus we see people & things around us. Only the minds that are polluted with greed, hatred & delusion associate four elements. The one who sees arising ceasing nature of aggregates sees the emptiness & will not retain impressions thereby abandoning the defilements of greed hatred and delusion.

Getting back to the simile of the fortress with six gates, the message that needs to be delivered to the king is the truth of four elements and not distorted notions such as self-view. This is a profound dhamma that one needs to see with insight and hence cannot be comprehended by the unwise. The Path leads to deliverance (ceto vimukti) that is threefold as described above which is not gaining enlightenment but are the doorways to reach enlightenment.

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[1] Flame of the Forest  is a tropical tree which is also called Kinshuk (Sanskrit) or Kaala in Sinhala

[2] an area of virgin or secondary timberland in a dry tropical region cleared and cultivated

[3] these amount to 50 qualities 25 (5X5) for arising and 25 for ceasing explained in dhamma as sama panas lakshana

[4] Rupan Rupattaya Sakathan Abhisankaranthothi Sankaran

[5] As expressed in the doctrine of Dependent Origination, Formation is conditioned by ignorance.

[6] The formation (Sankara) is related to the plight of a silkworm in Buddhist scripts.

[7] Consciousness conditions Name Matter and Name matter conditions six sense bases.