A DISCOURSE ON SØLAVANTA SUTTA

PART I

(Delivered by the Venerable Mahæsø Sayædaw on the 14th. Waning of Tabodwe, 1328 M.E.)

My discourse today will be an exposition on Sølavanta Sutta of Khandhavagga in Saµyutta Nikæya to which Sølavanta Sutta is complementary. In speaking of the one, the other will be relevant.

INTRODUCTION

Once Særiputtaræ Thera and Mahæ Ko¥¥hika Thera were spending their days together under the tutelage of Buddha residing in Migadævana monastery or Deer Park at Isipatæna in Bæræ¼asø. Særiputtaræ is too well known as pre-eminent for wisdom among Buddha’s disciples to need any introduction. Mahæ Ko¥¥hika is less known. But among Buddha’s 80 senior disciples he was unrivalled in the knowledge of dialectics or Patisambhidæ-ñæ¼a for which he also gained pre-eminence.

Patisambhidæ is an analytical or dialectical science which generally speaking, investigates into the meaning and purport of word used in the scriptural texts with a view to accuracy. There are four divisions of this science, viz. (1) Attha patøsambhidæ, which enables a student of the Dhamma to get at the true meanings of the words through proper etymological analysis. (2) Dhamma patisambhidæ, which enables him to understand the text properly, (3) Nirutti patisambhidæ, which teaches him the method of grammatical or syntactical analysis and (4) Patibhæna patisambhidæ which endows him with facility in the appreciation of literary compositions or disputations, All Arahats are deemed to be proficient in this knowledge; but Mahæ Ko¥¥hika was an outstanding scholar in this respect. So Buddha declared him as the first and foremost among the Arahats excelling in Patisambhidæ ñæ¼a.

The two Theras took up residence in a rectangular brick building, called Catusala, which enclosed an open yard in the middle of which there was a well.

MAHÆ KO¿¿HIKA’S QUESTION

Once Mahæ Ko¥¥hika, having spent the whole day in ecstatic meditation, rose from the jhænic trance, approached Særiputtaræ, and broke into a friendly conversation with the latter to whom he put the following question.

            Friend Særiputtaræ! How should a Bhikkhu, accomplished in morality, devote himself wisely and well to the practice of the Dhamma?

First we must understand what a Bhikkhu is. He is defined as one who foreseeing the dangers of the round of existence called Saµsæra, strives after emancipation from it. When a layman seeks admission into the Order he makes the request that he be ordained in order that he may become liberated from this saµsæra. But what is this saµsæra?

All sensations arising from the six bases of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind cause dukkha, suffering or misery. But under the spell of avijjæ or delusion, an individual regards them as pleasurable and become attached to them, encouraging ta¼hæ, craving, to arise. It then makes it cling to the sense-object when upædæna operates. Then the triumvirate, avijjæ, ta¼hæ and upædæna conspire together to create the round of kilesæ, defilement of the mind. Once under the influence of desire, a form of kilesæ, a man becomes blind to everything except the fulfillment of his desire which works up kamma, action that causes new becoming. This is life or bhava which arises out of the ashes of the past existences. But in the course of life a being is liable to become old and sick and finally death overtakes him with sorrow, lamentation, suffering, etc., attendant upon it. These are the results of actions or kamma that I have spoken of and they are called vipæka. Now we have the three rounds of kilesæ vatta, kamma vatta and vipæka vatta and these three constitute the rounds of rebirths called saµsæra.

THE ROUND OF SUFFERING

Saµsæra is the most frightening. An individual gets born and then dies to be reborn and to die again ad infinitum till the world ends. But there is no way of knowing when it will end, for, existence has no end nor beginning. Having been born, a man grows up into an adult, full of knowledge and experience. Then he dies and gets conceived in the womb of a young woman. Looked at from his past existence that young woman who is going to be his mother might be about the age of his grand daughter. What an irony of fate; Albeit he has to gestate in his mother’s womb, beret of intelligence and capability that he acquired in his previous existence, at least till he sees the light of day and lives through the first year of live. Gradually he grows into a man. Life, however, is hard for him, for he has to work with the sweat of his brow for the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter. During his struggle he may suddenly fall sick. This is dukkha for him. In the struggle for existence he may be victimized by his rivals. This is another dukkha. Here, dukkhas visit him when he is unable to attain what he cherishes, and eventually old age overtakes him. Then comes illness which brings his life to an end. In this way dukkha prevails.

The same dukkha is more conspicuous in the animal world. Animals rarely die of natural death. Chickens, ducks, cattle, pigs and the like are killed for human consumption. The lot of beeves is far more heart breaking. They first render service to humanity as beast of burden to become meat in the end. Life in the jungle is also not secure, to say the least, for animals, for, there the weak is also meat for the strong. Besides animals there are other beings that haunt the abodes of suffering called apæya and naraka of the nether worlds. There are also beings of the peta-world and of the asuras (who are usually described as fallen angels). There suffering is at its height. Those fortunate enough to be reborn in this human world consider that they have nothing to do with those in the abodes of suffering. But consider it wisely. If humans do not believe in Kamma, Kamma-result, Kusala (wholesome actions) and Akusala (unwholesome actions) they would certainly be free to do evil at will. It is people like them who rush in to get a place for themselves in any of the abodes of suffering.

One may say that one can find happiness in the world of devas (deities). But there too one may find cause to be sad when one cannot get what one desires. When a deva dies with unfulfilled desires, he may have unwholesome thoughts as he dies, and such thought may drag him down to the nether worlds. If fortunate he may, perhaps, get reborn in a better world like the world of the humans; but still he cannot escape suffering due to aging, disease and death. Such will be his lot for many an uncountable existence; and if he fails to practice vipassanæ, he may repeat falling into this lot for eons to come, wandering endlessly in the saµsæra. This is said not in a blind faith in the doctrine of rebirth, but in deference to the law of cause and effect as shown by paticcasamuppæda, the law of Dependent Origination. If one truly studies the cause and the result of actions, one may come to the realization that the round of rebirth is suffering indeed. It is because of this realization that a lay man enters the Order with a mind to get emancipated from woes and miseries of saµsæra.

When one becomes a bhikkhu, one is required to practice søla, morality. A newly-ordained monk is held to be pure and innocent for at this stage no opportunity can arise to pollute his mind. His verbal or physical behaviour is usually sound. It will be well if he tries to maintain this state of innocence by establishing himself in Søla by observing precepts and other codes of ecclesiastical conduct. Once in a while he might come to think that he has failed in the observance, in which case he should make a confession and get instructions from his superiors for moral rehabilitation. Then he will be absolved from all blame and his Søla remain unblemished. If he is thus accomplished in morality, what shall he do next to show his devotion to the dhamma? That is the question posed by Mahæ Ko¥¥hika.

In the introduction I have made a reference to Sutavanta sutta. In that sutta too Mahæ ko¥¥hika asked how a bhikkhu, accomplished in learning, should devote himself to the dhamma. Taking these suttas together, it may be asked: How should a bhikkhu, accomplished in Morality and knowledge, devote himself to the practice of dhamma? For the present discourse, I shall deal with the first part of the question relating to a bhikkhu accomplished in morality.

SÆRIPUTTARÆ THERA’S ANSWER

This question is answered by Særiputtaræ in the following manner.

            Friend Ko¥¥hika! A bhikkhu accomplished in morality, should bend his mind wisely to the five upædænakkhandhæ, aggregates of clinging. He should observe them as impermanent and unsatisfactory, like unto a disease or a canker or a thorn in the side. They are maleficent. They afflict one like ague. They behave like strangers. They tend to dissolution. They are void. They are non-ego. With this correct mindfulness a bhikkhu must meditate on the five aggregates of clinging.

These II ways of looking at the aggregates of clinging as expounded here by Særiputtaræ agrees with the teaching of Buddha in Jhæna sutta. First, however, the aggregates now mentioned need be properly understood. There are four aggregates, namely, kæmupædæna, clinging to sensuous objects, di¥¥hupædæna, clinging to wrong views, sølabattupædæna, clinging to wrong religious practices and attavædupædæna, clinging or the idea of self or ego.

In the world of the senses, sensations are created by sense-objects coming into contact with the six sense-bases. The result is the growth of attachment. It is the work of Ta¼hæ, craving. The other three modes of clinging arise from wrong views. Of the three, the basic is attavædupædæna which recognizes the five aggregates of mind and matter as self and permanence. The second type, sølabattupædæna goes contrary to the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path. For details please study the seventh chapter in the second part of my discourse on Paticcasamuppæda. The last type, di¥¥hupædæna, relates to the false religious ideas which negate the law of kamma and its results. All these four Upædænas in the final analysis boil down to craving and wrong views.

TWO MAIN UPÆDÆNAS

            Thus craving and wrong views form the two main types of clinging to the Khandhas, the five aggregates of mind and matter. When Rþpa or form, the object that we see appears on the eye-basis, we say that we see. We then assert that the eye-object, the eye-basis and the form are all tangible, being the product of a living personality. The eye is living, the object is living and the physical body that sees and recognizes the object is living. It gives up the impression of the existence of “I” So everyone of us says, “I see.” Everyone of us clings to that “I”. To test yourself whether clinging to the “I” or self exists, please ask yourself the simple question, “Whom do you love best?”

SELF-LOVE

This question was answered in the time of king Pasenadø Kosala. The story goes like this.

Mallikæ was a flower-girl. One day she met Buddha on her way to the garden. Moved by faith, she offered some cakes to the Enlightened One, who told her that because of her meritorious deed she would become a queen. At that time king Pasenadø was fleeing his kingdom for having lost his battle with king Ajætasattu. By chance he arrived at the flower-garden and was received by Mallikæ who cared for him well. When peace was restored he made her his queen.

Not being a courtier like others in the palace, Queen Mallikæ was lonely. Knowing this the king asked her a question in the fond hope that her appropriate reply would justify his showering more favours on her. “Do you” he asked, “have any whom you love more than you love me?”

Queen Mallikæ thought to herself, “No doubt the king wants a negative reply signifying that I love him more than I love anyone else. But I cannot tell him lies just to please him.”

So she said, “You Majesty. I love myself best. I have none whom I love more than I love myself.”

This failed to please the King. So Queen Mallikæ posed the same question that the King posed to the King himself. “Do you, she said”, “have anybody whom you love more than you love yourself?”

The King had to admit that he had none.

Next day the King related what passed between him and his Queen to Buddha who then told him thus.

“Go forth to all the points of the compass and find one who loves others more than one loves oneself. You shall find none. Since all sentient beings love their own selves, one should be wary of doing harm to others.”

This incident shows that clinging created by craving grows in magnitude when one’s self is involved. I am citing this example just to refute the claims of those who maintained that as they had realized the knowledge the three marks of anicca, dukkha and anatta, they had cut off all clinging to the aggregates of the khandhas. My point is that they still love themselves the best.

The five khandhas are also called the five upædænakkhandhæs because when rþpakkhandhæ is involved, all other khandhas get involved. The eye is a sense-organ belonging to rþpakkhandhæ. When it sees, vedanæ, sensation, saññæ, perception, sa³khæra, mental formation and viññæ¼a, consciousness are involved. When upædænakkhandhæs arise one is led to think that what one sees belongs to one who sees and says: Etam mama (This is mine). Then one becomes grasping. And this is ta¼hæ. When one asserts that his ego, I, exists, this assertion arises out of the concept of atta or self. This amounts to clinging to the wrong views or di¥¥hi.

FIVE AGGREGATES OF CLINGING

There are five aggregates of clinging, namely, (1) rþpupædanakkhandhæ the aggregate of clinging to material body, (2) vedanupædænakkhandhæ, the aggregate of clinging to feeling, (3) saññupædænakkhandhæ, the aggregate of clinging to perception, (4) sa³khærþpadænakkhandhæ, the aggregate of clinging to mental formations and (6) viññæ¼upædænakkhandhæ, the aggregate of clinging to consciousness.

You need not go anywhere in search of these aggregates. They are within you!

CLINGING TO VISIBLE OBJECTS

Rþpupædænakkhandhæ arises at the time of seeing when the eye-basis and the eye-object meet. Rþpa or form produced as a result of that contact may appear to be agreeable or disagreeable, producing pleasure or displeasure. Such feelings that arise constitute vedanupædænakkhandhæ. The rþpa that has been seen is immediately recollected, when perception occurs. It constitutes saññupædænakkhandhæ. It is followed in its wake by mental formations which exert to form or create the phenomenon of seeing. They are collectively known as sa³khærþpadænakkhandhæ. In the end eye-consciousness arises and it is called viññænupædænakkhandhæ.

As you fail to note seeing the object with reference to the three marks of anicca, dukkha and anatta, you might miss reality and think that matter, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness are yourself or yours. Highly pleased with this idea of self, you cling to it. This view of self brings about the rise of ta¼hæ. As clinging is thus worked up, the individual tries to do things for the satisfactions of desires that arise in him. While bowing to these desires he happens to resort to actions which may be wholesome or unwholesome. When these actions are good, he may be transported to superior abodes in the planes of existence; but if they are bad, he may go down to the nether worlds. Whatever be the case, he will be oppressed with suffering throughout the rounds of existence.

Clinging will subside each time seeing is recollected with mindfulness. In Satipa¥¥hæna Sutta this method of establishing mindfulness is mentioned. It says: Gacchanto-væ gacchæmøti (know that you go when you go). Note the four postures of walking, sitting, standing and lying down just as they take place. Know that you are bending yourself as you bend and stretching yourself as you stretch. Note every physical behaviour which occurs. When your power of concentration gets developed, you will come to realize that in the act of seeing the eye and the object are quite distinct, and so are the eye-consciousness and the mind-consciousness. These phenomena arise together in Pairs and get dissolved together. Whatever comes up anew passes into dissolution. This transience spells dukkha. What one actually sees is not atta or self. It is only the manifestation of a phenomenon. This way of thinking dispels the sense of clinging or attachment; and once this attachment is severed, no new becoming or rebirth can arise. For that particular instant when one is meditating in this manner suffering ceases. This means that Nibbæna has been achieved albeit for a brief moment. When insight-knowledge becomes strengthened by constant practice of meditation, the round of suffering will be brought to a standstill by dint of the application of the principles of the Noble Path to Vipassanæ clinging to sound objects.

The same remarks apply to clinging to objects that can be heard.

The ear-basis and the sound conspire together to create a sound object which falls under rþpupædænakkhandhæ.

Then clinging arises; and on account of this clinging to the material object, pleasurable or unpleasurable feelings arise. They constitute vedanupædænakkhandhæ.

Then perception of the sound occurs and remembrance or recollection takes place. It is grouped under saññupædænakkhandhæ.

After this stage sa³khærþpadænakkhandhæ, clinging to mental formations arise.

As consciousness is finally established, it is grouped under viññænupædænakkhandhæ.

Every time you hear a thing, note these aggregates of clinging with mindfulness and as you note them constantly, attachment will become severed.

CLINGING TO SMELL OBJECTS

Every time you smell, meditate on the nose-basis and the smell-object as rþpupædana-kkhandhæ.

When you get the smell and feel pleasant or unpleasant because of it, note that vedanupædæ-nakkhandhæ has arisen.

When you get the smell and recollect it, note that saññupædænakkhandhæ is being brought into play.

Note that mental formations or volitional activities excite clinging. Note them also as sa³khæ-rþpadænakkhandhæ.

Note the arising of consciousness of the smell that you get; it constitutes viññupædæna-kkhandhæ.

CLINGING TO TASTE OBJECTS

Here too, meditate on the tongue-basis and the taste-object which give rise to rþpudænakkhandhæ.

As you note the taste as pleasant or unpleasant, you are meditating on feeling which constitutes vedanupædænakkhandhæ.

As you remember the taste, note that as saññupædænakkhandhæ and meditate on it.

Clinging to volitional activities connected with the process of tasting constitutes sa³khærþpadænakkhan-dhæ.

Ultimately consciousness of the taste is established. Clinging to that consciousness constitutes viññænupæ-dænakkhandhæ.

CLINGING TO TANGIBLE OBJECTS

Sense of touch is present everywhere in the body. You touch and know and there the body-basis lies; and there is not one tiny space in the body where touch-consciousness is absent. Sensitivity relates to things both inside and outside the body, which is conscious of the presence of the four primary Dhætus or elements. It knows hardness or softness, the characteristics of pathavø, earth element; heat or cold, the characteristic of tejo. fire element or temperature; motion or resistance to motion, the characteristic of væyo, air element or force. Touch-consciousness is therefore the most ubiquitous of all forms of consciousness. When it is not taken note of with due mindfulness, reality may not be known. When we see beauty, we recognize it as such and feel glad. When we see ugliness, we feel repugnant to it. When we hear pleasant sounds, we say that they are sweet. But jarring sounds, are considered unpleasant. In this manner we make distinction between pleasure and pain. As we see, or hear, or smell, or touch an object, we recognize it as sukha or dukkha, as the case may be. But such pleasure or pain are not real in the parama¥¥ha or abstract sense of the Abhidhammæ. They are merely the results of actions, wholesome or unwholesome. So they may be viewed with equanimity for they are merely concepts or paññatti. It is only when a meditating yogø notes the phenomenal world with mindfulness that he can discover reality. Then he will get the true knowledge of sukha and dukkha. As he is noting vedanæ, sensation, he becomes aware of the consciousness of the touch and the mind that is conscious of it as well as sa³khærþpadænakkhandhæ which bends the mind to that consciousness.

We must be able to note upædænakkhandhæ the moment they arise. If we fail to observe, remember, recollect and note the aggregates of clinging, the idea of atta will get the better of us.

So meditate on the body-basis and the tangible object which go to make rþpupædæ-nakkhandhæ.

Note the tendencies to cling to pleasant or unpleasant feelings as vedanupædænakkhandhæ.

Perceptions of those feelings gives rise to the emergence of saññupædænakkhandhæ, which is also to be noted.

Clinging to volitional activities that produce contact and its consequences must also be noted as sa³khærþpadænakkhandh.

Clinging to consciousness is viññanupædænakkhandhæ which must also be noted likewise.

Mahæsatipa¥¥hæna Sutta instructs that one must note going as one goes, standing as one stands, sitting as one sits and lying down as one lies down. A meditating yogø who has developed the power of concentration by constant practice of this method of meditation will even be able to become conscious of the will which causes his movements as he tries to walk. When he walks, he is setting his næmakhandhæs (aggregates of feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness) to work. Pleasure of sukkha vedanæ arise when he feels delighted with walking. If he is recollects that he is walking, saññæ arises. If he makes efforts to walk, sa³khæra, volitional activities will take place. When greed and anger get involved in the process of walking -- for instance, when one gets frustrated for not being able to overtake others -- the volitional activities that we are now talking about are more apparent. If one is conscious that one is taking a walk, viññæna comes in. If one becomes tired and stiff or relaxed, one may be sure that væyo, element of motion is playing its part. If one fails to take note of all these phenomena connected with the aggregates of clinging, one becomes obsessed with atta. “I am walking” one might say. “My body is walking”, one might think. Now the idea of I and Mine has gained ground. But a mediator notes the act of walking while contemplating the three marks of anicca, dukkha and anatta which expel all atta.

DEVELOPMENT OF INSIGHT

Insight-knowledge can be gained through the practice of meditation on walking.

            As one goes on takes a walk, the intention “I want to go” arises. It prompts the element of motion, væyo, which sends out an intimation to rþpa, matter, that the subject has willed to go. Then it gets possession of the entire body of the subject who is made to move according to instructions. And this phenomenon is called going.

What this exposition suggests is that there is no atta or self that goes. It is not I who go; it is citta, mind, served and supported by væyo that causes going. Going is only the machination of the mind, in its various manifestations, that urges the element of motion to serve its will. So it is only a process of arising and dissolution of citta backed up by væyo, It is, however, transient and therefore highly unsatisfactory. It is also unsubstantial.

RISE AND FALL OF THE BELLY

Instructions to note the rise and fall of the belly are made with a view to let the yogø know the work of væyo. When the chest or the belly is inflated with air or deflated, one clearly feels the rise or fall. In other words, one feels the body being contacted by væyo and the væyo itself that makes the contact. It is felt so clearly and definitely that a non-meditating yogø could have been led to think that the body that receives the contact belongs to him. Particularly the rising and falling belly is his, so he thinks. In fact the aggregates of clinging are persuading him to think so. But with a meditating yogø, whose power of concentration has developed through the continual practice of Vipassanæ, all these phenomena of rising and falling of the belly denote the actions of the aggregates of mind and matter. Once this idea is realized, clinging ceases. It is therefore for this purpose of enlightening on the idea of non-ego that you are being told to note the rising and falling your belly or abdomen with the application of insight-knowledge.

This meditation exercise is simple and easy. You need not go at length in search of a mind-object to dwell your mind on. It is conducive to the easy attainment of the powers of concentration. In this method of meditation you first concentrate your mind on the rising belly. Meanwhile the belly sags and falls. Then you shift your attention from the rising to the falling phenomenon. As you have to exert only the two phenomena taking place in succession, there will be no occasion for you to overdo concentration. Your effort to concentrate and the act of concentration will ream in perfectly balanced, enabling you to gain the power of concentration quickly. With its development you will eventually be able to dissect Næmarþpa, the aggregates, into Næma, mind and Rþpa, matter. This analytical knowledge is called Næmarþpapariccheda-ñæ¼a.

When you arrive at this stage you may be aware that, as you are meditating on standing, the act of standing is quite separate from the act of noting it. When you meditate on walking, the phenomenon of walking is one and that of noting is another. When you stretch or bend your body, you may be conscious that the noting mind and the noted object are not one and the same, but that they are two distinct things. So what is there in this body of mine? Nothing except Næma and Rþpu. There is no living substance in it. If you continue practicing insight-meditation in this manner, you will come to the realities of the three marks of Anicca, Dukkha and Anatta.

CLINGING TO MENTAL OBJECTS

The process of thinking-knowing, as we say in Myanmar relating to mental activity, is the most extensive. When one is awake one begins to think or ideate. The seat of consciousness is in the physical body. Mind-basis exists within this corporeal frame. When one thinks of pleasant things, one feels happy. This happiness is sukha vedanæ. When one thinks of unpleasant things, one feels dukkha vedanæ which means sadness. At times one may feel indifferent to all what one is thinking about. Then upekkhæ vedanæ arises. But it is not so conspicuous as Vitakka, Vicæra, Lobha, Mæna, Saddha and Sati. Vitakka is the initial application of the mind and its function is to direct the mind to its object. Vicæra is sustained application whose function is to enable the mind to concentrate on the object. Lobha and other qualities of the mind need no explanation as they are fairly commonly met with when we talk about the dhamma. They all belong the category of 52 cetasikas, mental properties, under which comes the least noticeable upekkhæ. But if you are mindful you can notice it. When one’s attention is directed to an object, one may perceive it and that perception, saññæ, is also very conspicuous. Then one may make efforts to bring the process of mind-consciousness to completion through the exercise of mental formations or volitional activities. We now have Sa³khæra which also is quite conspicuous. It prompts the subject to do things. Because of it things come into being. We speak, we work, we sit, we stand, we bend or stretch our bodies as dictated by Sa³khæra. Barring Vedanæ and Saññæ, the rest of cetasikas, 50 in number, are easily noticeable. All behaviours of the mind, speech and action are sa³khæra and so are all sense-objects and mind-consciousness. They can be observed and known.

If one fails to note that object at the instant ideation accurse, the reality of the law of impermanence of conditioned things can be missed and one will be led to think that aggregates of clinging to sensations denote self or ego and that all mental formations and their attributes belong to that self or ego.

Clinging to material quality, wherein lies mind-consciousness when ideation takes place, is Rþpupædænakkhandhæ.

When ideation causes pain or pleasure, Vedænupædænakkhandhæ arises. When perception takes place in the process of ideation, Saññupædænakkhandhæ arises.

Volitional activities that exert in the process of ideation constitute Sa³khærþpadænakkhan-dhæ.

Mind-consciousness gives rise to Viññænupædænakkhandhæ.

Summarizing all that has been said, the following points are worthy of note.

            A bhikkhu accomplished in morality and knowledge must practice mindfulness with regard to the five Upædænakkhandhæs, aggregates of clinging to matter, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness.

            Clinging gives impetus to the idea of self that suggests the existence of I or Mine.

            All manner of clinging may be classified into two main classes of Di¥¥hi, wrong views, and Ta¼hæ, craving.

            The five aggregates of mind and matter, Khandhas, are to be noted with mindfulness with a view to enjoy the benefits of the realization of a state where there is no clinging.

Now before concluding this part of the discourse, a word about the method of noting or meditating with reference to mind-objects. As you contemplate the rise and fall of your belly your mind may stray into objects extraneous to the subjects of meditation. Note them every time your mind strays into them. You will have the experience of encountering such mental behaviours or activities as desire, satisfaction, delight, anger dejection, hatred, repugnance, fear, shame, pity, faith, sorrow and so forth, as you mentally watch the movements of your belly. When udayabbaya-ñæ¼a, knowledge of the rise and fall or aggregates, and bha³ga-ñæ¼a, knowledge of dissolution, get developed in the course of meditation, you will come to understand the nature of the aggregates of mind, and your meditation will become facile.

Remember that all upædænakkhandhæs are within you and that you need not look for them else-where.

When you note the phenomenal world, you are to note it correctly; that is, you must apply right mindfulness to the practice of meditation. It means that you must contemplate the three marks of anicca, dukkha and anatta.

MEDITATION ON ANICCA

As a yogø’s power of concentration gets developed with constant practice of Vipassanæ, he will gain a personal knowledge about the rising and passing away of the mind-consciousness and the mind-object. He will be able to recognize the noting mind and the noted object. This will make him convinced of the reality of anicca; and when anicca is known, dukkha and anatta will also be known.

The commentaries say that there are three stages in the realization of the knowledge of anicca.

1. First one understands what anicca is.

2. Then one gets familiar with the characteristics of anicca.

3. Finally one gets possession of insight-knowledge about anicca.

ANICCA

            Anicca, impermanence, embraces all the five aggregates of clinging. Your belly or abdomen becomes inflated as you breathe in and deflated as you breathe out. You note them. You sit, you touch, you see, you hear and you think. Note them also. You feel hot or painful. You must not relax noting that feeling. As your power of concentration gains strength, you will personally come to understand that all khandhas, aggregates, are in a state of flux, now arising, now dissolving. Now you see anicca in action.

ITS CHARACTERISTICS

Commentaries say that the arising and passing away of the noting mind and its object are the characteristics of anicca. Things which were neither here nor there before come into being and at the next moment they cease to be. Whatever arises anew gets dissolved into the past. A meditating yogø gains personal knowledge about the origination and dissolution of the phenomenal world. Unmindful persons are not aware of them. They think that the “I” who has been in existence long before, has been seeing or hearing things that have also been existing long before. They fail to recognize the dissolution.

When a yogø reaches the stage of the knowledge of dissolution, udayabbaya-ñæ¼a, he becomes fully aware of the state of flux which is so sharply focussed in his mind that he senses that “becoming” has poked its head through the mind-door to be snuffed out like a flame instantly so soon as it appears. When lightning flashes, the flash disappears as soon as it has appeared. Such transience is the characteristic of anicca.

INSIGHT INTO ANICCA

When characteristics of anicca are understood, a yogø may be said to have attained aniccæ-nupassanæ-ñæ¼a, insight into the character of impermanence. When you come to understand the state of flux mentioned earlier, you may be sure that you have reached the stage of wisdom.

This realization is attained not through learning the texts, but through practical experience gained at the moment of noting things with mindfulness.

One should, in obedience to Særiputtaræ’s instruction, devote one’s attention with right mindfulness to the impermanent nature of the five aggregates of clinging.

May the audience who have listened to this discourse with respectful attention know correctly the state of anicca, so that the five aggregates of clinging can be discarded, enabling them to gain enlightenment in insight-knowledge and knowledge of the Path which pave the way to Nibbæna where all sufferings cease.

Sædhu!    Sædhu!    Sædhu!