Today, the new moon day of Tazaungmon, I will give you a discourse on the sixth gæthæ. Na so upadhisu
særameti, The bhikkhu who has been striving to escape from samsæra, does not revel in the sensorial aggregates in which reside pleasures and pains. Ordinary people are under the impression that the physical and mental phenomena are “self”, or atta, which is alive throughout one’s life and which gives of permanence and happiness. They think of others in the same manner. Whenever they see, hear, touch or know people, they think of them as selves. They see women as women and men as men and are pleased with the sight. On the contrary the yogø who has been mindful of the incessant changes of the phenomena finds impermanence, misery and absence of self. The yogø finds that it is entirely devoid of essence and does not feel attracted to the sensorial aggregates. The notion of self is referred to in this gæthæ as ædænesu which is the same as upædæna-kkhandæ, which is the place where misery dwells. If people are under the impression that there is self and are enamoured of it, they will have desires and obsessions and will not be able to rid themselves of these desires and obsessions. Now we are giving discourses on the Buddha’s sermons with a view to helping people to free themselves from such desires and obsessions, and strive for escape from samsæra. But most people are still enamoured of them. Until people are convinced themselves of the utter emptiness of essence, they will continue to have these desires and obsessions. If, on the contrary, they are convinced through meditation insight, they will be able to abondon them. The yogø who makes a note of the incessant happening and going out of existence of the physical and mental phenomena or in other words, the yogø who is making a note of the changing phenomena, such as seeing when he sees, hearing when he hears, will hardly have a chance of entertaining desires or lust. However, it must be remembered that until one has achieved arahatta magga, that is, the final stage on the path to purity, one will possibly have desires and lust. We should therefore work hard to attain that stage to achieve this purpose. That bhikkhu must know by himself without depending on any other’s instructions. To know something, in this context, means to know by one’s own conviction, from one’s own experience, without a teacher’s instruction or guidance after eliminating such attachment as ta¼hä (lust) and di¥¥hi (false faith). The last line in the Pæ¹i verse means (literally): that bhikkhu lives in this world well, and is convinced of the utter lack of essence in desires and lust for the sensorial aggregates of one’s own and of others. Here it means the one who knows through such a conviction is an arahanta, and as such, he or she lives the remaining portion of his or her life in this world well, and properly. This audience should also strive to attain such kind of happy and unattached state by eliminating desires and lust for sensorial aggregates. Sædhu! Sædhu! Sædhu! End of Part V
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