PART II

            Today, the 8th Waxing day of Tazaungmon, I am going to continue with the Sutta by reciting the third gæthæ, Answer No.2.

Answer Number Two

Rægaµ vinayetha mænusesu, dibbesu kæmesu cæpi bhikkhu. Atikkamma bhavaµ samecca dhammaµ, sammæ so loke paribbæjeyya.

            The bhikkhu who has renounced kæmagu¼a (sensual pleasures) should abstain from ræga from amidst the kæmagu¼a of the human world and ræga of the kæmagu¼a of the human world and ræga of the kæmagu¼a of the celestial world.

            The one who has renounced the human world’s kæmagu¼a and put on the saffron robes to become a bhikkhu would not be free of the sensualities pertaining to kæmagu¼a as yet. These sensualities should be got rid of, but how? By practising bhævanæ to gain samædhi (concentration) and thus making one’s søla (moral practice) pure. This action could bring one to the stage of first jhæna which would diminish or reduce the desires, but kæma ræga would not be completely got rid of as yet. If circumstances favour, these desires would show up again. That is why there have been instances in which some persons who have attained jhæna abhiññæ¼a fell from that stage when they revelled in the voices of women. They fell from the sky while they were flying in the air. Jhæna samædhi alone would not be a safe guarantee against kæma ræga. One must employ the jhanæ samædhi as a basic for promoting the practice of vipassnæ.

GETTING RID OF KÆMA AND RÆGA COMPLETELY

            The way to get rid of kæma and ræga completely is to observe the state of mind in the jhæna. It is same as the way in which the yogøs in this audience make mindful observations of the various acts such as seeing, hearing, knowing. When one attains the stage of anægämi magga and phala by means of mindfulness of various acts of the body and the mind, there will be no occasion for kæmagu¼a to happen, and thus all the ramifications of kæma-ræga and kæma-ta¼hæ will be eliminated.

            When one practises to attain jhæna samædhi, one must try to attain upacæra samædhi, the stage of calmness nearest to the attainment of jhæna. Using upacæra samædhi as a basis, one may successfully practise vipassanæ. If one does not have an opportunity to achieve upacæra samædhi, one should make observations of the physical and mental actions to achieve vipassanæ kha¼ika samædhi which is of the same strength as upacæra samædhi, as testified to in the various commentaries.

            When one is fully strengthened by this vipassanæ kha¼ika samædhi one will come to know rþpa and næma (physical and mental phenomena) separately; one will realize the difference between cause and effect; one will know personally the changing nature of the phenomena in accordance with anicca, dukkha and anatta. One will thus progress in mindfulness along the grades of insight, magga phala ñæ¼a, until one attains the stage of anægæmi magga and phala and becomes and anægæmi. At that stage käma ræga and kæma ta¼hæ are eliminated. An anægæmi has, therefore, no hankering after sensual pleasures and desires of this human world. Nor does he hanker after the pleasures of the celestial world. And thus he achieves genuine peace and serenity.

MISERY DUE TO KÆMA AND RÆGA

            Today people are suffering from all kinds of misery as a result of their desires for things, animate and inanimate. They want to enjoy things they have once enjoyed and are trying to get these things. After having got them, these people try their utmost to keep them from loss or destruction. They have to worry about food, clothing and shelter besides being called upon to render social services. While thus serving, they happen to have committed several sins of killing, theft, cheating, etc.

            There are also instances of belligerence and war between countries. So the Buddha said in Cþ¹a Dukkhakkhanda sutta (128) of Majjhima Nikæya in Pæ¹i pø¥aka that kings quarrel among them-selves because of their greed, lust and desires. So do Brahmins, rich men and well to do persons. So do parents and their children, brothers and brothers, sisters and other near relatives. These quarrels usually end in fights with weapons, resulting in deaths.

            Those who commit sins owing to kæmagu¼a go to hell and suffer misery, to the world of petas and suffer misery, or to the animals world where they suffer various kinds of misery. In short, the beings in the worlds of kæma are suffering mistery of all kinds simply because of their desires, hankerings and obsessions, that is, their kæmagu¼a. So kæmagu¼a is indeed a very terrible thing.

            However, most people consider these desires and sensations the best things in life. They think that such enjoyment of pleasures makes for happiness. But if you make a serious study of this matter, you will find that the so-called happiness is not so very much compared with the amount of trouble one has to go through to gain such pleasures. The Buddha, therefore, taught that the pleasures of both the human and the celestial worlds should be rejected.

            Of the two pleasures, namely, the earthly pleasures and the celestial pleasures, nobody among us has had any personal experience of the latter. It is seldom that people commit sins to get celestial pleasures; only; they commit all sorts of sins to get earthly pleasures. How should we try to lessen such sins? Of course, by making a note of all the physical and mental actions and thus acquire a deep knowledge of the nature of these actions. If we can not do that and let ourselves go, then we should not fail to make a note of the happenings of the desires for such pleasures and then reject them as they occur. We should know that these pleasures are the ones that will push us down to hell; they are simply terrible.

            There are some persons who are under the impression that by renouncing the secular life and entering monkhood they will gain celestial pleasures in their next existence and they hope for a life of pleasures in the celestial world. Entertainment of such hopes is also not proper and any desire for a celestial existence, if it occurs to you, should be instantly brushed aside. If you cannot get rid of it by making a note of it, you should reject it after serious consideration. If you can’t do that, you will get human and celestial existences again and again, and thus suffer misery of all kinds that are heir to these existences. Then, as you wouldn’t be free of sins you would go to hell and other nether regions of existence and suffer untold misery there. Now that you have a good existence here and now, you should not fail to take this opportunity of attaining anægæmi magga through an intense practice of vipassanæ.

            If you have attained that exalted stage of anægæmi, you will be quite safe. In the present existence you will not suffer misery owing to the pleasures of kæmagu¼a simply because you have no hankering after them. Then after you have passed away, you will get to the world of Brahamæs, and there you will gain mental as well as physical happiness. Even then, there still exists misery resulting from the physical and mental actions. In order to be free of this misery, the Buddha continued thus: “The wisdom of arahatta magga ñæ¼a which sees the Four Noble Truths overcomes and surpasses the state of continuous existence.”

            Do not be complacent after having attained the stage of anægæmi. Try to attain the final stage of arahatta magga which sees the Four Noble Truths. When one attains this stage and thus becomes an arahanta, one will be rid of hankering after the three bhavas, or places of existences namely, kæma bhava, rþpa bhava and arþpa bhava. After getting rid of this bhava ræga (hankering after bhava) the arahanta has no more existence for him, and after passing away from the present existence, he will attain Anupædisesa Nibbæna, the state of genuine peace. That is the state of supreme happiness. So the arahanta spends the remaining part of his present existence without suffering any misery resulting from kilesæ and he is in genuine peace and happiness.

            So the Buddha said: “The bhikkhu who has overcome and surpassed the three bhavas lives properly in this world.”

            To really know the Four Noble Truths doesn’t mean knowing them from learning by rote; such knowledge would not enable one to overcome the three bhavas. We mean that one would attain the stage of anægæmi after completely rejecting kæma ræga, and then continuing the intense practice of insight meditation, one attains a full and deep knowledge of the Four Noble Truths through the wisdom of arahatta magga ñæ¼a. We mean to advise that the yogøs should persist in their efforts to climb the steep path toward the final stage by way of insight meditation.

            Of course, there is no need to repeat here the process of insight meditation, but I will tell you briefly about catusaccæ kamma¥¥hæna as described in the commentaries.

PRACTICE OF CATUSACCÄ KAMMA¿¿HÆNA

            Of the Four Truths, only two should be observed. The two are Dukkha Saccæ and Samudaya Saccæ. The other two, Nirodha Saccæ and Magga Saccæ, need not be observed. To be free and away from all kinds of misery (dukkha) is Nibbæna which is Nirodha Saccæ, the most desirable objective, and to achieve this objective Magga Saccæ, or the Eight Noble Path must be followed, and that also is the most desirable objective. Knowing the nature of these two Truths, one has only to wish for attainment of them. Having set one’s wish on them, one has to observe Dukkha Saccæ, the Truth about Misery, as preliminary to the attainment of Nibbæna, and that preliminary measure is Vipassanæ Magga, the path of insight meditation. Observing the Truth about the Misery involves making a mental note of all the physical and mental actions as they occur and seeing their impermanent nature. Failure to see the impermanent nature of these actions would lead to an obsession with permanence, bliss and self, and such obsession is called upædænakkhandæ. Observing the impermanence of things by making a mental note of them as they occur would bring correct knowledge, and kind of observation is the same as following the path of Vipassanæ. With the development of this correct observation the stage of attainment of Nirodha Saccæ will be reached in due course.

            Here, I may refer to what some persons say about vipassanæ. They say that the practice of vipassanæ entails trouble and discomfort. This view is an incorrect one, a failure to understand the true nature of vipassanæ magga. Some hold the opinion that passing away to the state of Nibbæna means the ultimate death and, therefore, it is a dangerous state. That also is avijjæ (ignorance) which is an incorrect view of Nirodha Saccæ. Taking the physical and mental actions such as seeing, hearing, etc., to be good things and Nirodha Saccæ as bad, is moha (sheer ignorance). The truth is that the physical and mental actions of an organism are in constant flux and because of their instability, it is misery. One should make an effort to see this truth through insight meditation.

            When one realises the truth about misery one will be free from desire for these actions. That freedom from hankering Samudaya Saccæ is in fact the rejection of pleasures which makes for an escape from the stream of existences which are the results of ta¼hæ (hankering) upædæna (obsession) bhava (existence), jæti (birth) jaræ (old age) and mara¼a (death) which are kinds of misery attached to existence. This freedom, if only for a moment is achieved by vipassanæ. Making a mental note and thus gaining is vipassanæ magga, and rejecting in this way attachment, desires and obsessions is achieving from moment to moment Nirodha Saccæ.

            When this vipassanæ ñæ¼a, or meditational insight is developed, one eventually comes to realise Nirodha Saccæ and thus reach the stage of nibbæna. The first stage is, of course, sotæpanna the second sakadægæmi, and when the third stage anægæmi, is reached all the desires for pleasures (kæma ræga) are eliminated. Continuing from that third stage one goes on to the final stage of arahatta magga by means of vipassanæ. Attainment of this stage spells an achievement of Nirodha Saccæ where all kinds of misery are eliminated and rebirth is precluded. Arahatta næ¼a, the wisdom of insight of the Four Noble Truth, makes its achiever an arahanta who surpasses all the three worlds and thus achieve genuine peace and happiness.

            This is the end of the second part of Sammæ Pribbæjaniya Sutta. May the audience be able to achieve eventually genuine peace and happiness by surpassing the three worlds of existence through vipassanæ.

Sædhu!    Sædhu!    Sædhu!

End of Part II