About this talk
Transcript
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I came to America for a holiday.
Holiday? I've been working so hard, for 2 years continuously, with no holiday.
So this year I thought, well, I deserve a holiday.
So
I plan to travel, and I left Burma on the 30th of April, spent 1 week in Singapore,
and 5 or 6 weeks in England, and 3 or 4 weeks, I think, in the East Coast, and 1 week in Canada, Toronto, and
10 or 11 days in Los Angeles, and then now 2 weeks in the Bay Area. Quite a good holiday.
I don't come just to talk with you; I also come to listen to you.
I'm a learner all my life, still want to learn more.
Life is a school.
We're always learning and changing, and also changing and improving. No change, no improvement. So we're always learning and changing and improving. Wow, this is a very good question here. Billy, age 6 years. Where is Billy? Ah.
Some of the questions are very
serious questions.
Well, let's begin our Dhamma discussion by reciting the motta-za, which is the shortest way to open a Dhamma discussion, and I think it's the best way to do that. So—
Namo tassa, bhagavato, arahato, samma, sambuddhassa. Namo tassa, bhagavato, arahato, samma, sambuddhassa. Namo tassa, bhagavato, arahato, samma, sambuddhassa.
I hope you understand what it means, because it is very important to understand whatever we say, whatever we recite.
The meaning, in brief, is: I pay homage to the Buddha who is fully enlightened.
So before answering the questions,
I thought of
expressing a few of my difficulties
in
my beginning stage of development, when I was growing up and trying to find a meaningful way to live my life, trying to find something to live for. So
I think some of you have the same difficulty,
because whoever wants to find the best way to live, or a meaningful way to live, has a lot of difficulty.
So where to begin?
When I was young, and when I was going to school, learning to read, I was encouraged by a few teachers to read books, and I'm very grateful to those teachers. One of them is Mr. Francis, and he's still living. I've heard that he's still living. Quite old, more than 80 years old.
And another teacher,
I don't know whether he's living or not, his name
was Brother Thomas, a Roman Catholic Irish brother, very kind, very cheerful, very friendly. So most of the boys really loved Brother Thomas, and he was a good football player too.
So he encouraged us to study, to read books, and we had a special study group to study English literature and philosophy also. And we didn't have to sit for exams for those classes, because those were exceptional.
So I was chosen to be one of the students there. So because I love reading, I attended those classes regularly, didn't want to miss any of those classes, because those classes were more enjoyable and meaningful than the regular classes.
So in those classes, for example, he would play a record
of a poem recited by the author, recited by the poet. So we got to hear the voice of the poet reading his own poem. Very interesting. And we have movies, slides, so. And these teachers encourage us to read books on many different subjects.
And one advice they give us is, if you read one book, try to get another book with the opposite opinion.
Don't just read one book. Because if you just read one opinion or one side of view, you'll get stuck with that point of view. So it will narrow your mind. You become, how do you say that,
rigid in your thinking. So whenever you read a book, find another book which has a different opinion.
So I love that sort of ideas. So whenever I read one book, I'll try to find another book from the library, different author, different opinion. And
as I read more and more books, naturally, I also read books on history. And whenever you read history, you read about a country and about the religion also.
So I read history of Buddhism, and history of India, history of Ceylon, history of Buddhism in Ceylon—I mean, Sri Lanka, now they have a different name—Sri Lanka, and history of Europe, history of Christianity. And very recently I read another book on
Judaism. Very interesting.
About—how is that—Moses.
Very interesting book. How he became a leader and the difficulties of being a leader.
So I read many books on different religions, and many books on different philosophies, different psychology, and Eastern ideas also. Many books on Chinese religion. I read books about Confucius, Lao Tzu, Zen Buddhism.
So I was exposed to many different ideas, and all ideas are very interesting to me. And as I was reading
books on the teaching of the Buddha, because
it's difficult for me to say that it is Buddhism, because Buddha and ism, I think, doesn't go together very well.
But anyway, as I read books on the teaching of the Buddha, I got very interested, especially when I read about the story of the life of the Buddha. I got very
inspired and
felt very attracted to his life, his personality.
And one verse which I want to talk about, or discuss about today,
which I came across and which has caused me a lot of
sleepless nights, so to speak,
is that Buddha said, "Atta hi, atta no natto. Ko hi natto prothiya." This is the Burmese way of pronouncing. "Atta hi, atta no natto. Ko hi natto prothiya."
You yourself is your own reliance. How can anybody be your reliance?
So when I came across that verse, I liked that very much. But as a young boy
with not enough knowledge to decide what is right and what is wrong, it was a very difficult situation. How can I rely on myself? I don't know enough. How can I decide whether something is right or wrong?
And Buddha
went on. The second part of the verse is, "Atta nahi tu dante na natta labhati tolaban." By
taming yourself well. This is the literal translation. "Tu dante na" means taming well. By taming yourself well, one can achieve that reliance which is difficult to achieve, which is difficult to get.
So I like the idea that one should be one's own reliance. Because since I was a young boy, I liked freedom. I liked independence. And that is the strongest motivation in my life, to be free, to be independent.
And I think most Americans like that idea.
Free and independent.
And
even in reading books, I want to keep my own freedom. I don't want to get deceived by the author's point of view.
So that's why whenever I read one idea, I'll try to find another book which expresses a different idea, or opposing ideas.
So in my mind, there's a debate going on. Always a debate in my mind going on. Always questioning, always doubting. So I was a skeptic, and I'm still a skeptic.
And
using the word skeptic reminded me of one book that I read by the philosopher
Barton Russell, and that book is called "Skeptical Essays." I've read many books by Barton Russell because I like reading philosophy books, and his books I found readable, easier to read, and interesting too. His style of writing is very good.
So when I read these books and
read these skeptical essays also, I liked the word skeptical and tried to be skeptic, a skeptic. Not ready to believe in any idea. Always thinking for myself and challenging any ideas. So because I challenged all ideas and questioned, I got into trouble many times with my parents, with my teachers, and I was accused, called many bad names.
And one of them is that they called me a communist.
Because I did not believe in anything. How can I believe in something I was not sure? I don't know whether it's true or not. And if I believe in something, I have to take it wholeheartedly and really practice it. So just to say that I believe something and not to practice
is—how do you say that? A person's believing something and not practicing. Hypocrisy. Hypocrisy. Yes, right. Hypocrisy. So to be a hypocrite is really painful. And even now, sometimes I feel like I'm a hypocrite. Many times I ask myself, well, do you really practice what you teach?
Do you really practice what you teach? If I teach something and don't practice, what would I be? Hypocrite. An hypocrite. And to see yourself as a hypocrite doesn't make you feel happy about it.
So
I question many things, and I refuse to do anything that I don't believe in, whether
it's anything religious or not. So when my parents told me to do something, I refused to do that. I said, "No, I don't think this is a proper thing to do." And when they argue with me, I argue with them. I give them many reasons. And because I read so many books and learned many different ways to express ideas and question, and my parents, they were not literate, simple-minded persons, could argue with me.
So they always lose in argument with me. And they did not like that. They were very unhappy that I won't listen to them.
And I was very unhappy that we cannot talk with each other. And my sister, the elder sister, is a very nice, kind old sister. She's still living. She's still living. She said one day, "Well, you do whatever you like, but when you are with mother, try to please her.
Do what she told you to do." And I said, "No, I cannot do that.
I cannot do what I don't believe in doing. I don't want to be
one person in front of her and another person in the back. I don't want to be two persons. I want to be me,
whoever I'm with." So I don't want to deceive my mother
and make her believe that I accept her views and, in the back of her, not really doing what she wanted me to do. So I said, "I won't do that." So it was very difficult for me
to relate to my parents. And my father died when I was 15, and it was good for him
and good for me too. I don't mean to say that I was happy that he died, but it would be very difficult for him as I grew up and became more and more independent in my thinking and not agree with their point of views and not to get along with them well.
So
it was a difficult time for me when I was growing up. And when I read this verse, "Atta hi, atta no natto." One is one's own reliance. One should be one's own reliance. I liked that very much. Because if you rely on yourself, if you are your own reliance, then you are independent.
Then you are free. If you rely on another person, even though that person is a wise, kind person, you won't really develop your own deeper understanding. I don't mean that you should not listen to anybody, but you listen to people, think for yourself, practice, and find out for yourself.
So it takes a long time for a young person to really find out something. It takes a long, long time. So I decided that I will not be a member of any religious group
before I find out what that religion means,
whether that religion is true or not.
In fact, once I decided that I will never be a member of any religious group. Because to become a member, you lose freedom when you become a member. You have to agree with the group. You have to agree with the leader. You have to do what the leader tells you to do. And naturally, sometimes you can't agree with your leader.
You can't agree with the group. Naturally. This is natural for anybody.
So therefore,
whenever they have a group, religious organization, recruiting members, I never apply for a membership.
But I always try to help as much as I can when they need my help, when they need my contribution. I always help any group. I was friendly with all the groups, but I was never a member of any group. So in universities also, we have many religious groups, and
everybody belongs to one or another religious group, but I was the only one who did not belong to any religious group. Because I was a skeptic, I was still trying to find out for myself.
So as I have told the same story again and again, when I had to fill up the form
to apply for
a new year as a student, I always felt when they ask your religion, I always filled the blank. "No religion yet."
Fill the blank. "No religion yet." Still trying to find out. Because I believe that you cannot inherit a religion. You have to learn, find out for yourself, and practice it. You cannot inherit a religion. You can inherit money, possessions, house, but you cannot inherit a religion.
So it took me many years
to find out for myself
something that I want to live for, or even to die for, if I have to.
So I started practicing the teaching of the Buddha.
Not because I believed, but I want to find out. And that's what the Buddha encouraged. Find out for yourself. And that's one thing that I like very much about the Buddha. He did not demand blind faith. He always encouraged a person to practice and find out, not to believe. So that's what encouraged me to study more about the teaching of the Buddha and practice his teaching.
So after practicing Dhamma for eight or nine years, I found out that it really helps to improve my mind, my heart. It makes me more peaceful, more calm. It makes me see more clearly.
And therefore, I decided that I will go on practicing the teaching of the Buddha, although I do not understand everything he taught me. And even now, I do not understand everything he taught. There are many things that I could not understand. But there are a few things that I practiced and found out that these are really true, and these are really worth practicing and worth living for.
And one of the practices that I practice is mindfulness, which I found very simple and natural and practical. Very simple and natural. There's nothing natural about mindfulness practice. So as you may have heard or read in many books about mindfulness, mindfulness means to be aware of whatever is happening or whatever you are doing.
Whatever is happening in your body, whatever is happening in your mind, or whatever you are doing. To be aware. To be conscious. To pay attention to whatever you are doing. So I think this is the simplest and most natural
practice that I've ever found. Because you don't have to do anything. So mindfulness practice is not doing something.
In Burmese, I say,
"Bauma piyong lo dharmaho bhu." "Bauma mepiyong dharma lemaho." That means you are not trying to do something, or you are not trying to resist something.
You are just paying attention to whatever is happening.
So I found this very simple and natural and
easy to practice too. Because you can do that anywhere, no matter what you are doing.
So as I practiced mindfulness more and more, I found that it affects my mental states. I became more aware of my mental states. I became more aware of my thoughts and feelings and emotions. And especially in the beginning,
what do you think you'll find more about yourself in the beginning?
Defilements.
All the negative thoughts. Defilements. Defilements. Yes. Naturally. Defilements.
So when I
pay attention to what's happening in my mind, naturally I find that I want this, I want that, or I'm angry or upset about this or that. So mostly we go through the day wanting this, wanting that. Not liking this, not liking that. Upset, angry.
Sometimes we are happy, not always angry, not always upset, but sometimes we are happy too. But even when we are happy, when I pay close attention to that mental state, I found that sometimes we are just deceiving ourselves to make ourselves happy.
When you become really serious about this happy state of mind, you'll find that it's quite childish. Sometimes we make jokes and laugh, and when you seriously think about the jokes, it doesn't make sense. It's nonsense. So many times I thought that what makes us laugh is something really nonsense.
So nonsense makes us laugh, makes us happy.
But when I become serious about that, sometimes when my friends make jokes, I won't laugh. And they were very unhappy about that. "Why are we laughing, and why don't you laugh?" And I said, "There's nothing to laugh about this joke. This doesn't make sense." So when you become really serious about what makes sense and what doesn't make sense,
it's very difficult for you to laugh.
So after practicing this for many years, I came to the conclusion that I will go on practicing this for the rest of my life.
Because I found out that practicing meditation makes the mind more clear, more aware, more conscious. You can see things more clearly. You can see your mind more clearly. And that helps improve my mental state and my understanding. So as I practice and read Dhamma books, it helps me in both ways.
So I believe that if you really want to understand the teaching of the Buddha, you have to do both. You have to study, which means you read books. You have to discuss what you read with other people also so that you have different opinions. Because sometimes you misinterpret what you have read, or sometimes there may be many different interpretations of the same idea.
So it is important to study, to read, to discuss, and also to practice. And practice for a long time, for many years. It may take many years for you to really come to the conclusion that this is practical, this is useful, this works, and this is the right way or the right path.
So many people, I found that they don't want to find out for themselves, especially for, for example, my friends whom I studied with in the same school, whom I loved so much. They don't want to think for themselves. They are not really serious about their religion.
And although I was a skeptic for many years, for 8 or 9 or 10 years in my teenagers, during my teenage years until I was 27, or 26, I mean. Although I was a skeptic, I was serious about religion. So I found out that those who believe easily are not really serious.
Those who believe without really trying to find out for themselves are not really serious. But those who are skeptics are really serious. And I have a few other friends too who are very skeptic about any religion, and I found out that they are more religious than believers.
Although they say they don't believe in anything, they are more religious. They are more restrained.
They behave well. They don't hurt people. They keep, how do I say that?
They keep the precepts.
Is there another way to say that?
They are self-respecting, and they respect others. They are kind, compassionate. But when I ask them, "What do you believe? Do you believe in any religion?" they say, "Well, no. I don't believe in any religion." But I found that these people are really kind and nice people. And later, some of them became good meditators, and now they are practicing Buddhist.
Not just Buddhist by birth, but real practicing Buddhist. And some of them are still skeptics, and they don't practice any religion. And I have one friend like that
who is still
trying to find out. Not decided yet. So when I talk with this friend, it reminds me of one young Brahmin ascetic at the time of the Buddha. When the Buddha became enlightened and he was going
to this Varanasi to give his first Dhamma talk, first sermon to the group of five ascetics. On the way, he met one young Brahmin
ascetic and asked him, "Who are you?" And Buddha said, "I am the Buddha. I am enlightened. I am the awakened one." And the Brahmin said, "Oh, really?" And then he went his own way.
And many, many times he met the Buddha, or he tried to find where the Buddha was living, and he went to see the Buddha and asked Buddha questions. And Buddha gave him
explanations, good explanations, and he would listen and he said, "Oh, really?" And then he left. And many, many times, for more than 40 years, he followed Buddha and asked Buddha questions and questions and questions, still very doubtful. Still can't decide. Can't make up his mind.
And just before Buddha passed away, he felt that he
understood the Buddha's teaching and decided to become a bhikkhu. After following Buddha for 45 years, at last he decided to become a bhikkhu. And I love that story very much.
So I think there are people in America also, anywhere in the world, there are people who are not decided, who are still looking for something, who are really serious about it. Not just casual. They are really serious about something worth living. Something that will give meaning to their life.
Something that will give them deeper understanding of what life is about. They are still looking for. And I respect them very much. Take your time.
So
many people, because they don't want to take the trouble to study, to practice, to find out for themselves, just surrender themselves to somebody and ask, "Just tell me what to believe," or, "Just tell me what to do."
If that teacher is a good teacher, well, he or she will tell you the right thing to do. And if you do that, it will benefit you. But
even though you do the right thing, you need to understand why you are doing that, and how what you are doing affects your mind and body, how it affects your life. You hear these days about many cults where the leaders tell the followers to do something terrible. And those followers
did exactly that. Can you tell me one story like that? Where the leader told the followers to do something really terrible, and the followers did that. One story. In Jonestown in. Right. Yeah. That was horrible. Horrible stories, yes. So whenever I read stories like that, I thought, "How can these people
take these instructions so seriously? They kill themselves."
So I think
it is very important for people to find out for themselves, to take time. Not to believe.
And it's hard work. To find out for yourself, it's real hard work. It may take many, many years, but it's worth the trouble.
And when you really work hard to find out for yourself, you develop inner strength, confidence too, self-respect, and you become more and more independent and free. So I studied with many teachers, even before I became a monk, and I studied with many teachers after I became a monk. I listened to what they told me, and I tried, well, as best as I could, to practice what they told me to do, and found out for myself whether it works for me or not.
Different things work for different people. For example, there are many different meditation,
let's say, techniques or methods.
Not every meditation instruction works for everybody. People have different personalities. They have different inclinations, different interests. So what works for one person may not work for another person. Even the Buddha taught different people in different ways.
So I feel that Dharma is very flexible and adaptable too.
But it is very important to understand that flexible and adaptable doesn't mean that we can
interpret it in any way we like. Because Dharma is law of nature, and law of nature cannot be changed. For example, when you have desire or greed, and Buddha said that that leads to unhappiness or suffering. Is that true?
Have you found out for yourself that this is true? Yes, it cannot be changed. But now some people are saying something quite different.
So it's very important to find out for yourself. Natural laws cannot be changed. So when I practiced the teaching of the Buddha and found out these natural laws in me, it's not out there. These natural laws are in our mind, in me. So whenever I find that I want something, or I'm attached to somebody, I feel very unhappy.
I feel very stressful. So whenever I lose something that I love so much, anything or anybody, I feel very unhappy. And when I look deep into my mind, I found out that this is true. This is true. I've been watching this phenomenon hundreds of times, and every time I watch this, I find the same thing.
Whenever I get attached to something, whenever I want something too badly, my mind is not at peace. Sometimes I couldn't even sleep. So whether I can overcome attachment or greed is another matter. But to see that this is true is very important.
Without deceiving ourselves that, "Oh, it's okay. Never mind. I'm not so unhappy about it." But most people deceive themselves.
So to find out for oneself and not to be a blind follower is very important. For example, to give you one story about Upali. I like this story very much too. I respect the Buddha because of this story too. One rich man named Upali went to the Buddha and asked him many questions.
His intention was to trap the Buddha in the corner so that he will not be able to answer the question. Whichever way he answers, he will be in the trap. He will be in the corner. So with that intention, he went to the Buddha and asked the Buddha many questions. But the Buddha, very wise and skillfully, because he was so wise and skillful, answered all the questions to the satisfaction of Upali.
And Upali became very satisfied with the teaching of the Buddha and said, "Buddha, accept me as a disciple of the Buddha Dharma and Sangha. Accept me as the follower and supporter of Buddha Dharma and Sangha." And Buddha said, "Upali, you are very famous and you are wise. Don't be in a hurry. Take your time. Think it over."
I was very surprised when I read that story. And Upali was very surprised too. He said, "Buddha, if I were to convert to another sect, they will go around the city and proclaim," is that the right word? Mm-hmm. "Proclaim that Upali has now converted to our sect, to our religion.
They will be so proud of it." But now when I said, "Buddha, please accept me as a disciple of the Buddha, and the supporter of Buddha's Dharma and Sangha," you said, "Buddha, Upali, take your time. Think it over. You are wise. You are very famous. Don't be in a hurry.
Don't jump to a conclusion.
Don't decide so easily."
So for that reason,
I respect you, and I ask you for the second time, please accept me as a disciple of the Buddha and a supporter of Buddha Dharma and Sangha." And Buddha said, "All right. But you were a disciple of Nigandhar, and your home, your house was like a well on the corner of the road, on the crossroads, where all the Nigandhars can come to get whatever they need.
So I think you should still support those Nigandhars, although you become a disciple of the Buddha."
And Upali said, "I'm surprised. People
told me that Buddha said only supporting or offering to the Buddha and his disciples, the Sangha, is beneficial. And offering or supporting other people is not beneficial. But what I hear from you is so different from what I heard from other people.
So
I ask you again
to accept me as a disciple of the Buddha and a supporter of Buddha Dharma and Sangha. But to support the Nigandhars, I know about that." So he still supported those other ascetics
as he used to. So you see how magnanimous Buddha was. He did not want other sects to be deprived of their support. He was very compassionate.
So I think a true Buddhist should learn something from this story,
to be magnanimous.
And so Upali said, "Please accept my invitation for
a meal,
Buddha and all the disciples. I invite Buddha and all the disciples to come to my home for a meal tomorrow." So Buddha accepted that. So from that story too, I found out that Buddha did not want people
to easily accept his teaching,
but to really find out, to be more serious about it. So I thought, Buddha did not want a big number of disciples. The Buddha's intention was for a person to find out for himself or for herself and become liberated,
free. He did not want disciples, actually. He want people to understand the truth and overcome defilements and become free. And another story, just before the Buddha passed away into Nibbana,
Venerable Ananda asked,
"When you pass away, who shall be our teacher?" Buddha said, "The Dharma and Vinaya that I taught you will be your teacher." He did not
designate anybody to take his position. And this is really surprising.
I have never found in any other religion
such a, how do I say that?
Instruction?
So the Dharma and Vinaya is our teacher, not a person.
He did not designate any great disciple to take his position, to be the leader of the Sangha.
This is very unique. This is very important. Think about it. You'll find out the Buddha's intention.
And Buddha also said that, "I don't want to be the leader of a group." He did not want to be a leader. He just want to make people free. "I have no intention to be the leader, the big leader.
I did not think that I will lead the Sangha." Although he created the Sangha, he made rules for the Sangha, and it's for the Sangha to decide. Whenever there's anything to decide, the Sangha has to
come together and declare what they are going to do, and ask for the vote. And only a 100% vote can validate the decision. 100%, not 99%. So it must be very difficult to do that. So reading about these stories and thinking about it made me respect Buddha very deeply.
This is the teacher that I can trust and respect, because he did not want to be the leader. He did not ask for blind faith. He did not want a big number of followers.
His intention was not to have a big number of followers. His intention was to point out the truth, to point out the path that will lead to liberation, freedom, and be free. So when I was younger, I thought, "Well, it's better not to belong to any religion, because if you belong to any religion, you have to
believe in things that you don't believe in. You will be asked or forced to believe in things that you don't want to believe, or you'll be asked or forced to do something you don't want to do. You will lose your freedom, and your behavior will be controlled. Not only your behavior, even your thinking will be controlled."
Because sometimes I read in books that if you have any doubts, you have already committed a big crime.
You are not allowed to have a doubtful thought. You are not allowed to have any doubts. But Buddha encouraged doubt. But to encourage doubt doesn't mean that you stop there. Because if you have any doubts, then you have to work hard to find out.
So for people who say, "Well, I believe everything," it's very easy and cheap. But for some people who say, "Well, I don't know.
I'll find out," then that person has taken a big responsibility.
So
to find out for yourself is a big responsibility, which most people do not want to take. "Tell me. Tell me. Tell me what to do. Tell me what to believe. Don't make me think." People are afraid of thinking. So one person said, "If you really make people think, they'll hate you. But if you make people believe that they are thinking, seriously, they will love you."
What do you say about that? So thinking or finding out for yourself, practicing and finding out for yourself, is a big responsibility.
So you must find out for yourself. It's a big responsibility. It's very challenging. And although sometimes it may make you feel tired, or it will
give you sleepless nights, if you persist, you'll find out. Persistence is really important. Because what the Buddha taught is law of nature. And nature, although
sometimes it seems like nature is hiding its own truth, if you're persistent, you will surely find out.
In many other fields too, for example, in physics, scientists work hard. Hundreds or thousands of scientists work hard for years and years, and they find out one truth after another about the physical universe.
So in the same way, when we practice meditation, we are finding out about the nature of this mind and body.
What makes us happy? What makes us unhappy? What
makes us free? And what makes us, what's the opposite of free? Confined. Confined. Confined, yes. So
if we really are persistent, and if we really practice Sati Pattana, mindfulness, we will find out for ourselves.
It's a great responsibility. But if we avoid this responsibility, we will never find out for ourselves, and we'll never be free. We'll never feel confident. We'll always be dependent. And we'll always be a child. We'll never grow up.
Well, where is that little boy? I want to answer his question.
Billy. Billy. Billy? He's asleep? He's
tired.
Tired. Okay. All right.
But his question is, "What is it like being a monk?"
I ask that to every monk in the conference.
But for me, I think it's so natural for me to be a monk that it's like fish in the water. I've done that.
It's not really hard for me to be a monk.
I become a monk by my own choice. And I enjoyed that since I became a monk. Since the first day I became a monk, I really loved it, enjoyed it. Although it's a hard life. It's not easy to be a monk. But not easy doesn't mean that I don't like it. I don't want an easygoing life.
I like to work hard.
So after I became a monk, I went into a forest monastery, to a forest monastery, I mean, and became a monk and lived a very simple life. Simple means really simple. I had all the clothes that I'm wearing on. That's all I had. And I had a bowl, and I had a small place to live in.
But in the beginning, not even a place. I spent many months under a tree, in a chair, sitting in the chair and sleeping in the chair, going for a round to small villages, to poor villages, and receiving food from the villagers, come back and eat one meal a day, one and only meal a day, and practice meditation most of the time, sometimes going to listen to Dhamma talks by my teacher, and sometimes asking questions, and sometimes helping other younger monks too.
And after living with my teacher for three, four years, I moved away to a different place because my teacher was very famous. So naturally, when you live with a person who is so famous, you meet too many people. And there are so many things distracting that sometimes you don't have enough time to meditate.
And when you know a lot of things, and when you are very helpful, naturally, more and more people will come to ask for help. And you are willing to help, but you need time for yourself too. So when I was living with my teacher, sometimes I was so busy that I did not have enough time to practice for my own.
So I asked for permission from my teacher to move to another forest monastery where there was only one old monk who was almost blind, and some nuns there looking after him. So I went to that place and found a cave, a deserted cave. Nobody lived in that cave. And the cave was in a gully.
There were no steps even to go down. So I had to hold on to trees to go down, to go down, and
spend most of my days in that little cave. And that's where I got very deep into meditation practice, developed real strong awareness and concentration, and started seeing what's going on in my mind very clearly. So at first, what I see is thoughts, random thoughts, one thing after another
arising in my mind. Very funny, some of my thoughts were. I think it's natural for anybody. If somebody can make recordings of your thoughts and play back to you,
you'll laugh. So when I watch my thoughts, many times I just laugh at myself. "Oh, how foolish, how silly, how funny." I was not upset because I was not trying to control myself. I was just trying to observe. And I enjoy observing, watching, very much.
So no matter what thought comes into my mind, I get very interested in that thought and watch it very closely. Thoughts and emotion, they come together. Every thought is accompanied by a kind of emotion, whether in Pali samādhi, which means happy about it, or dharmanāthā, unhappy, or upekkhā, which means neutral, neither happy nor unhappy.
So watching my thoughts, I also feel the emotion that accompanies the thought. And as I watch my thoughts more and more closely, like looking at my thoughts through a microscope and magnifying it more and more, getting closer and closer to the details of my thoughts, I noticed that when you think, you think in words, and there are also images arising.
Naturally, everybody knows that, but have you ever really got close and seen it really clearly? Images flash in your mind, and words appear in your mind, emotions arise in your mind. So it's very interesting. So this is the first time that I really enjoyed meditation practice without trying to control my thoughts, without trying to
get concentrated even. I just got interested in watching my thoughts.
So
this is not the only thing that I do. Whenever I do whatever I do, I pay close attention to it. For example, when I get thirsty, I feel the thirst, and I feel the desire to drink water. And I see the decision to get up and go and get a drink. So I can see all these very clearly.
Thirst, the feeling, the desire to drink, the decision to drink, and the decision makes my body get up. I can see that and feel that. And walking to the water pot, taking the cup, opening the lid from the water pot, because in Burma we keep water in an earthen pot, not here like in a plastic bottle.
So dipping the cup, taking the water, and taking the drink, and feeling the coolness, and feeling better after taking the drink, and putting the cup back, and coming back to my seat, sit down, relax, pay attention to breathing, and gradually, naturally, my mind goes toward watching the mind.
Because I think this is my inclination. Although I started practicing meditation by paying attention to breathing, after I developed some concentration, naturally my mind
watched what's going on in my mind. Naturally, my attention
inclines toward paying attention to what's happening in my mind, what I'm thinking about. So get interested. This is very important. Because if you are not interested in something, it becomes very hard work. But if you are interested in doing something, no matter how long it takes, you don't get tired.
So I got very interested in my thoughts. And when I get real direct, pinpoint observation,
real in Burmese we call visu pante de, right in the present. When I can watch my thought and really hit it, it stops. And I found this very surprising. Nobody told me about that. My teacher didn't tell me what would happen if I watched my thoughts. But as I was watching and watching and watching, when I really hit the mark, naturally thinking stops.
And it was cut in the middle of a sentence. And I was surprised. But later it continues again.
So repeatedly I did that again and again for many, many days, even for months. And what happens is, the more I can pay attention to the thought, the easier it becomes for me to see it very clearly, and it stops. So any kind of desire, when it appears, I did not try to overcome the desire.
I did not try to suppress the desire. I did not try to turn my mind away from the desire and to get distracted or to pay attention to anything else. Whenever any desire appears, I pay close attention to that desire. So mindfulness practice is not turning away. It is looking at, looking straight.
So when I look very closely at the desire, I can feel what that desire wants, what it is trying to achieve, what it is trying to do, what it is reaching toward, and how I feel when there's a desire.
For example, naturally, when we go for a rounds to the poor villages, we don't get really nice food, although the food is good enough to keep us alive. It's not like what my mother cooked for me.
It's poor village. And naturally, sometimes I like to eat a good meal. And sometimes in my mind I'll be thinking of dreaming of eating a nice meal. And I catch myself, oh, thinking of a good meal, a nice meal. And watch that desire very closely, and got very interested, and learned a lot about desire.
So whenever I get frustrated or upset or angry, I watch that mental state and get very, very interested in frustration. What makes me frustrated? How do you feel when you're frustrated? What does frustration is trying to do? What is its function? So learn a lot about the nature of desire, the nature of frustration, because that's the two emotions that most motivates us.
There are many other motivations, but these two are the most that motivates us in our daily life. So instead of overcoming or getting rid of the desire, I get interested in desire or frustration or anger and watch that very closely. And one thing that made me very upset when I was living in a forest monastery is when people come and cut down trees.
I can't stand that. Whenever I hear somebody cutting down trees, I have to stop meditating and go and tell that mind to stop that. Don't cut down trees.
That is something I can't tolerate.
So many times whenever I hear somebody cutting down a tree, I feel so upset, so angry that I can't meditate anymore.
Well, that way I learned a lot about what desire is, what anger is, what frustration is, or even what pride is. And gradually, whenever I watch my mind, all thinking stops. And the mind became very clear.
No thought anymore, a very clear, quiet, peaceful mind.
And this is very important. So I try to explain about this again and again because from my understanding, meditation is not creating a certain mental state. Mindfulness practice is not creating a certain mental state. Mindfulness practice is paying attention to whatever is happening now in your body or in your mind.
And if you can pay complete attention, you will see it very clearly, you will learn the nature of it, and you will see that this is a natural phenomenon.
Natural phenomenon means it is naturally according to its own cause and effect laws. There are causes that
create this situation.
And you can see that both cause and effect are natural. And there's nobody behind. There's nobody making it happen. And this is the first thing I've experienced. When I watch any physical phenomenon or any mental phenomenon, the first thing I learn from that is that this is a natural phenomenon.
And nobody is making it happen. It is happening because it has natural causes to happen,
which means this is anatta, not attah. So that is the first thing I learn from my meditation practice. So when I've learned this very clearly, my meditation practice became very easy. Because before that, I was meditating with a big ego. I am meditating.
I'm doing something. I'm making something happen. I'm trying to achieve something. Naturally, in our daily life, that's how we try to get things done. But when it comes to meditation practice, we cannot really see things clearly with an egoistic mind, with a big ego.
So when I can see that everything that happens, happens
according to its natural law, I became a disinvolved observer, completely
uninvolved observer, not trying to control anything anymore, not trying to resist anything anymore, not trying to change anything anymore. Because before that, when my mind gets agitated or when I'm unhappy, I try to change my mind, try to think of something that will make me happy. But after that, I just watch whatever mental state arises.
So this watching mind also
is anatta. It's not I meditating anymore. It's the watching mind watching another mental state, watching whatever is happening in the body and mind. So even the meditating mental state is just a mental state. It's not I meditating anymore. And that makes me very
liberated in a way, free.
So I pay attention to this watching mind. I pay attention to the objects arising. I pay attention to the attention arising and see that both of them passes away. Both of them passes away. And there's no I meditating anymore. That's the first liberation.
So when the mind becomes very clear and alert and quiet and peaceful, the mind feels very light and bright. And I like that mental state very much. And from that mental state, I can see everything very clearly. Whatever thought appears, I can see the nature of it accurately, clearly.
Whether it's negative or positive, whether it's wholesome or unwholesome, I can watch it without getting involved, without getting upset about it. Even when sometimes an unwholesome thought appears, I can watch that unwholesome thought without getting upset about that unwholesome thought. Nothing to get upset about. So with a detached
mind, with a detachment, I can stay calm and watch it, and it disappears. So when I get to that mental state, then I found out that atta hi attanon natho. To get to that, to really get to that state, to be your own reliance, you have to be mindful, very mindful.
And when you develop clear awareness, clear observation, when you are able to observe things very clearly, then you can depend on yourself.
You become your own reliance. This is the first stage of reliance, not the final stage of reliance. This is the first step. Unless we can do that, we cannot reach to higher stages of reliance or refuge.
So when I get to that state, I felt very confident that now
no mental state can really possess my mind. People are possessed by desires. People are possessed by anger.
Really, they are possessed. But if you can watch any mental state without getting involved, then you can never be possessed by any desire or any anger. Even though sometimes you have desire for this or that, you can watch it and it will go away.
No big problem. If you cannot watch it, then you feel that I want this. Then when this I and want get together, it becomes very strong. But when there's no I in wanting,
then it's not a big problem anymore.
So things become a problem whenever we make the two together, I want, I hate.
So when hatred arises, you can see that this is just a mental state. And without getting involved, you can just watch it. It will go away very easily. So any kind of defilements or any kind of anger or desire gets stronger if it gets the support of the wrong view or the wrong idea of I.
I and desire together, very strong. Without an I, desire itself is not strong. I and anger, when they get together, become very strong. When there's anger without an I, then it has no power.
So if you can watch it, it will dissolve.
So when I was able to do that, I feel very happy about that. And I feel that now I'm confident that no desire will possess me. No desire will take me over. And this is the first step in my freedom.
And as you practice more and more, you will learn more and more. You will see through and through. And this seeing and learning, which means wisdom, will do its own work. It's not me trying to overcome any desire. It's the wisdom that sees through and through, that sees every mental state that overcomes.
So it's the function of wisdom to overcome any desire or any anger.
We cannot do that just by our will to do that. It's the wisdom that we develop by paying attention, by being mindful, by learning about the nature of mind and body that becomes free. So only wisdom can make us free.
So when you have developed this wisdom, then you find that this is my reliance.
So atta hi attanon natho. You are your own refuge. You are your own shelter.
You are your own reliance.
Who can be your reliance? Nobody else can be your reliance. So teachers can teach you, instruct you, guide you, help you, but you have to do your own work.
And it's very simple.
Oh, this. Nirodha, the end of suffering, the cessation of suffering.
And this question is very difficult to answer. Please explain the difference between true nibbāna and pseudo-nibbāna or cessation or arupajjānas. So many points.
Nibbāna is the end of phenomenon. One definition is. So when a person experiences nibbāna, that person is not
experiencing any phenomenon anymore. Anything that arises and passes away is the worldly phenomenon. But nibbāna is not a phenomenon. It's nature. It's paramatta, which means it does exist. But the existence of nibbāna is very difficult to explain. We can talk about nibbāna in a negative way, what it is not.
But it is very difficult to say what it is.
But we can say that nibbāna is the cessation of
physical and mental process. So when in our meditation practice, at first we observe physical processes, whatever is happening in our body: vibrations, movements, heat or cold, or hardness or softness. Or in our mind also, we observe many things, many emotions, many thoughts, greed, anger, or even positive mental states like loving-kindness, compassion, mindfulness, concentration,
samādhi, upekāhā, balance of mind. Many different mental states we can observe. But we are still observing natural phenomenons.
And when we have complete understanding of these physical and mental phenomenons, when the wisdom that we develop from observing these becomes really mature, naturally it goes beyond. So this is another point that we must remember. When we understand something completely, fully, the nature of wisdom is that it goes beyond.
Naturally it goes beyond.
Whenever we understand something completely, the wisdom will go beyond that. So when we understand physical and mental phenomenon completely,
this understanding goes beyond physical and mental phenomenon and experience a reality which is something that does not arise or passes away. Just complete peace, complete freedom.
Very difficult to talk about these matters.
And when a person experiences
this
mental state or this nibbāna,
it is accompanied with deep wisdom too. And
jhānas are just concentration of mind
where no desire, no negative mental state appears. It is just concentrated mind, concentrated on some object. It still has an object, a worldly object. It may be
like you can get jhāna by practicing metta. You can get jhāna by contemplating on
pathu vikāsinā
or any other object. You can develop jhāna. And even arupajjāna, you can even contemplate on nothingness and get really concentrated on that and become very quiet and peaceful.
Nothingness also becomes an object of your meditation practice. And because we spend so much time in the forest, years and years, and nothing else to do except go for arms and eat and meditate the whole day, we played with a lot of many different kinds of meditation practice.
Just enjoyed playing around with different kinds of meditation practice. So we tried that too and found that this is very peaceful. And it is very similar to nibbāna. Because when your mind is just absorbed into nothingness, it's very quiet and peaceful. But the difference is that you can turn around and see that you are contemplating on nothingness.
But when a person is really experiencing nibbāna, you cannot do that. Because the moment you turn around and see what you are aware of, you are already observing a phenomenon, natural phenomenon, a mental state. So when a person is experiencing nibbāna, that person cannot experience that mental state which is experiencing nibbāna.
That's a difference.
Difficult to talk about. I don't know whether you understand it or not.
And after a person experiences nibbāna, his
I don't know how to say that. His personality changes to a certain extent. He will not be able to do certain things that he used to do.
For example, keeping precepts. He will not cheat. He cannot cheat anymore. He cannot tell a lie anymore. He will not even think of doing that.
So there are many things that happen to a person. And no envy, jealousy anymore. Even the first stage of enlightenment, one overcomes all that. No envy, no jealousy. Although in the beginning, in the first stage of enlightenment, the person still has some desire for things, this person will not
transgress any
precepts like killing or stealing or committing adultery or telling lies or taking intoxicants. Will not do that anymore. This person will not do anything that is harmful to anybody, including himself. So some people say that, "I just like to drink and it doesn't cause any harm to anybody.
What's wrong about that?" Many people argue like that. It's not good for you. Because to be mindful is so important. And anything that makes you become less mindful or become mindless is really harmful for you and it's harmful for everybody. So even an ordinary person who is sober, because we are not so aware or mindful, we make a lot of mistakes.
And if you drink or if you take any kind of intoxicants, that will make you even become less mindful, less aware. So you'll make more mistakes. So what happens to people who drive when they are drunk?
They get into accident. Just a few weeks last week, I saw an accident. I didn't want to look at it. I just caught a glimpse of it. Horrible. The person in the car was crushed inside the car.
I don't know whether they got him out of it. I don't think he can get out alive because the car was so badly crushed.
Why? Because they were not mindful. If you drive mindfully, you will not get into such terrible car accidents. You can get bumped sometimes. That's okay. But not in such terrible
car accident.
And there are many other things like that. So when a person becomes enlightened or experiences nibbāna, this person becomes more mindful. Mindfulness becomes quite natural for that person. Not 100%, but more than
before. And keeping precepts becomes natural. Not
trying to overcome
the desire to
overcome.
Not trying to control himself not to do something. It's natural for that person not even to think of doing it. For example,
not won't be able to think of committing adultery.
Not trying to control, but not even thinking of it. So it becomes natural for that person.
Many wisdomless think or have been told that they have attained nibbāna. How can one distinguish true nibbāna from other states that may seem like nibbāna but are not? Well, some people asked this question to Lady Sayadaw also. And Lady Sayadaw said, "Wait. And when you go into the world and face different situations and difficult situations, those situations will test you
and you'll be found out.
Because you can't pretend too long. You can't deceive yourself too long. When you are in deep samādhi and jhāna,
your mind is free from impurities. You feel like you don't have impurities anymore. But go out into the world, live with people, live with all kinds of people, then those situations will test you. And whatever
kilesa or defilements you have will show up.
And if you are honest, you can say that, "Oh, I still have these defilements."
This question also is quite similar. How does one distinguish nibbāna from the highest jhānic states?
As I told you, when you are in jhānic state, you can still observe that mind, that mental state. But when you are experiencing nibbāna, you cannot observe that consciousness. The consciousness or the experience of nibbāna cannot be observed. For example, when we are meditating,
we are aware of something and we can be aware of that awareness too.
That awareness itself can become the object of our meditation practice. And this is important and we should cultivate this. When you become aware of awareness, awareness becomes stronger and stronger. If you are not aware of awareness, sometimes you may feel like you are aware that you are meditating. But when you become aware of this awareness again, you can see that awareness itself is another mental state.
But when a person is experiencing nibbāna, you cannot observe the awareness of nibbāna again.
It's very tricky, very difficult. May I interject a sentence on this? I think in the experience of nibbāna,
for those that is transcending
subject and object, the transcendence is also it also transcends the act of knowing.
There is a mental state, but that mental state cannot be an object of another mental state. That's why isn't it a transcendence of. It's transcendent, yes. Of object. Yes. As well as the transcendence of
awareness.
The
mental concomitance, which we call
siddhīkās, which is
mindfulness, awareness, dripatā, dri-siddhi, samādhi, they are
accompanied with the nibbāna consciousness. So that means the consciousness has awareness, but it cannot be aware of itself. That's why I was saying whether it's transcendence of subject and object. Right. Right. Object is nibbāna.
Object is nibbāna. And subject is the awareness of nibbāna. But
one cannot observe that consciousness. So in vipassanā, we can observe vipassanā consciousness again. But in experiencing nibbāna, we cannot observe the experience of nibbāna again.
So it's a problem.
So
it is beyond phenomenon.
Nibbāna is not a phenomenon.
Number two is. It's a state of something. It's a state of experiencing sensation, but at that moment you don't know or you are not aware that you are experiencing sensation. As long as the subject is absent, it's transcendent. Yeah.
And another question in the same
number two is, does one need to give up the experience of phalla, fruition, in order to attain sakadagami? Or is it better to attain
first stage fruition over and over until the levels of insight become clearer?
Which means after a person has achieved the first stage of enlightenment, satāpattī-maṅga,
does one need to give up the experience of phalla, fruition?
Two, if one wants to practice to attain sakadagami-maṅga, one has to determine but put a time limit in that determination.
For a few days, I will not experience the fruition consciousness or satāpattī-phalla consciousness. So for a few days, for three days or for a week, I'll meditate with the intention to
attain sakadagami-maṅga.
But you put a time limit. If you don't put a time limit, you know what will happen?
It means that you will never go back to
experiencing satāpattī-phalla consciousness. And do you like that?
You don't. Because
to be absorbed in satāpattī-phalla consciousness is very peaceful. So you have earned for it. So whenever you want to, whenever you don't want to experience any worldly consciousness, you can decide or determine that I'm now practicing vipassanā to go into plasma-body.
And when your vipassanā practice becomes stronger, naturally you go into plasma-body and you don't experience any mundane experience anymore. So that is like
taking a holiday.
Taking a holiday from all worldly situations, worldly events.
So it's very restful and peaceful, which you deserve.
And you are not sure whether you will achieve the next stage of enlightenment on that day or on that week. So because you are not sure, you should determine and put a time limit that during this week, I will not go into fruition consciousness or satāpattī-phalla consciousness, but I will practice meditation with the intention to achieve higher consciousness.
How would you describe divine rebirth? Well, talking about rebirth again,
we must think of truth in two categories. Many times people ask me the same question.
There is conventional truth and there is ultimate truth. In Pali, we have samādhi-sacca and paramita-sacca. So when we talk about saṃsāra, we talk like there's a person who goes from one life to another. So conventionally this is true.
Whenever Buddha talked about karma and the effect of karma, he uses this
samādhi-sacca truth. In that level, he speaks in samādhi-sacca truth. And also when we
practice loving-kindness, we think of persons. And persons are
also truth. They are persons. Man, woman. So we think of our parents. May my mother be happy. May my father be happy. So we think of father or mother and we think of persons, which is samādhi-sacca. So in the same way, when we talk about saṃsāra and rebirth, we talk as if they are persons, dying and being reborn.
So this is an easy way to explain that. But ultimately, every moment there are physical phenomena, billions of billions of physical phenomena happening and billions of mental phenomena happening in one second. You know how fast the computers work these days? They have now achieved the frequency which is beyond 1 giga
hertz per second. 1 giga hertz per second. That's very, very fast. And they are developing even faster computers. Even a computer can work
1 giga hertz per second and the mind can work even faster. So whatever happening now is just phenomena,
a series, a process. And when a person dies, so to speak, a person dies, the physical phenomena stops.
The heartbeat stops and the brain stops working. But the mental process still goes on without interruption.
So when we are now, so to speak, when we are alive,
our mind has active cycle and resting period.
So between two active cycle, there's one resting period. And it goes on like that. So in Pali language we call that active cycle vīti, citta. And this resting cycle bhoyinga. And this resting cycle bhoyinga is identical to the rebirth consciousness.
So we are not aware of that mental state. And when we die, what happens is after a resting cycle, there's another I mean, after an active cycle, there's another bhoyinga, series of consciousness, which is dead consciousness and another rebirth consciousness again.
So we cannot die while we are in active mental cycle, active process of the mind. We can die only after that active cycle and we die. And when we are reborn, the first
consciousness is identical to this resting state of mind and then another active cycle, rebirth state of mind. So the process is exactly the same as what's happening now. So death and rebirth has no break. It's a continuous process.
The only difference is
the mental process
happens to another physical phenomena, arise with another physical phenomena.
So there's no difference actually. So when we can watch our mental states very closely, sometimes we can experience that gap between active mental cycles.
This is very short. And you may ask, how can that be possible? Because it is so short. It is possible because
whenever we experience something identical, active cycles arises many, many millions of time. And because they are identical, although they are arising one after another, it seems like you are projecting
the same picture on the screen,
identical pictures on the screen.
So how would that appear if you are projecting identical pictures on the screen? But in reality, the picture is appearing and disappearing all the time. But whatever appears is identical to whatever has disappeared. How would that appear to you?
It's still continuous. Yes. You feel like it is still, still image. You experience that as a still image. So in the same way, when you develop very high concentration and very high mindfulness and you observe your mental states, which appears repeatedly, identically, you are seeing that consciousness as if it is still.
Therefore, you can observe the sequence also. But to get there is very difficult. You need a lot of time and practice to be able to watch your mind. So you can see the sequences because it appears identically for billions of time. You can see one after another.
Very interesting. The mind investigating the object, the mind deciding that this is it, and the mind accepting that object, and the mind enjoying that object, you can see all those. But it's not easy.
And therefore, sometimes you experience that there's a gap between one consciousness and another consciousness.
And this is a question in Burmese.
The first one is, "Nāvat ilā loning eyam yao nay usu bādhi." No, this is not true.
Just being able to keep five precepts is no guarantee that you will not be reborn in a lower stage of life.
And another question is, "Tota pan ti liyā māvat ilā gocchē myyī saṃśa nayu usu bādhi." That is true. When you become a first
stream winner, which is called which means you have attained the first stage of enlightenment, naturally you keep five precepts. It becomes natural.
If this is true, explain it in detail.
Well, I don't know how to explain it in detail. Already I have talked about it.
We have done a lot of good deeds and we have done a lot of bad deeds too. And we cannot determine or we cannot tell
which will give result when we die. But naturally, whatever we are in a habit to do
appears when we are dying. And
although we have done a lot of bad deeds, we have also done a lot of good deeds. And because good deeds are more powerful than bad deeds, we are here. Otherwise, we won't be here.
And this question number three,
if you were a
soldier
and you kill people, are you
breaking the precept? Can you keep the precept? No. If you kill people, how can you keep the precepts?
And being a soldier, can you call that that's a right livelihood? Very difficult question.
Killing cannot be a right livelihood.
And this number four question,
yes, I've read that.
The teachers.
I've lived for two months in Popa, in Burma, the place which is very famous for
these so-called Wizard Swaji Orthopathy. But I've never found anybody in Popa. Although I found people who are practicing to become one, I've never found anybody who are real Wizard or Swaji Orthopathy. In English, what is that? The great masters or some I don't know how to translate that into English.
Small courts.
I've never believed in any of the Wizard or the Pastoral
but I was called to my masters to go together by a dream
and started to experience. Well, the end of path is the mystical dream. Actually, my original lineage is from the Wizard lineage.
But I sit on the fence on both sides.
I started out as a Vipassanā and thought very lowly of the Samatha path. Only when I was called back to the lineage, I realized I was very ignorant
and full of pride, false pride.
So from my own experience, I cannot tell this.
But each person has their own path.
So these are things I've not any experience of. Therefore, I cannot say anything from my own experience. I've never met one.
So I think that's all the question is because I've come back to the same question. What it is like being a monk?
I think it fits my personality. And I'm very happy being a monk for 27 years. And it's not a difficult lifestyle. For me, it's like fish in the water.
And for those who are naturally who have natural inclination to be a monk, it's not a difficult life. The only difficulty is you know what the only difficulty I have is that people give me too much to eat.
And sometimes they get so upset that I did not eat everything they offered me. And one person very recently got very upset and said, "This monk has a craving to live a long life. And therefore, he does not eat what I offered him to eat."
So that's a hard life.
So that's all the questions. Very glad to meet you and talk with you.
Hope we will see each other again. But now I have to go back a long way and have other things to do. So I must take leave. So as a conclusion to our Dhamma talk and discussion this afternoon, let's honor the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha by reciting Imaya Dhammānu, Dhammā Pati Pattīya, Buddhaṃ Buddhaimi.
Imaya Dhammānu, Dhammā Pati Pattīya, Buddhaṃ Buddhaimi. Imaya Dhammānu, Dhammā Pati Pattīya, Dhammā Buddhaimi. Imaya Dhammānu, Dhammā Pati Pattīya, Sangha Buddhaimi.
But practicing according to the teaching of the Buddha, which leads us to liberation, we honor the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha.
Sāhā caraṃ, sāhā caraṃ. If someone has made a resolve or a determination to not go into the first phala again, can they give up that resolve? And how would they give up? Can they?
Remember the question about how would you give up? Can you give up the resolve? Can you give up the determination? Like if you didn't put a time limit on it?
Like a Bodhisattva can give up, I guess, their resolve at some point. Is it possible if someone didn't put a time limit on their determination? If a person don't put a time limit, it will be difficult for the person to get into that philosophy of pati can. I know exactly. Could they give up that resolve? Could they go in and say, "Okay, I give up the resolve
to not enter Sattvapati and Agga-bhava and hava?" So that means to enter it again. Yeah. Yeah. Like can they give up if they made that mistake? If they didn't put a time limit on it, can they go back and give up the resolve to not? It can be done. I believe it can be done. But you have to practice Vipassanā again.
Oh, interesting. In detail. Okay. Yeah. It's not my question, but it's another person's question. It's a very real question because they didn't know not to put a time limit on it.
And so. To put a time limit. Whatever resolutions you make, it's very important to put a time limit. I understand. Yeah. But if they made a mistake and didn't know to put a time limit on it, can they go back and correct that now? It can be done, but they have to practice Vipassanā more intensively.
What they find is that naturally, because their mind knows the path of insight, that naturally it goes into and goes through the different stages again and again. But because they didn't give up the resolve and because they made that resolve without time limitation.
This is the end of the discussion in English. The rest is in Burmese. Shwami Nāvat Jāyam Meshyā Kundala. We are
Vipassanā Dhya Time Ready Awareness Bodhi, Tati Tati Candāraya Tati Tati Meshyā Sāyan Sā Tati Tvā Tvā Tati Cāy Cāy Ziga Tati Ma. E Tati
Yāma Loka Pāni Ti Yajitam Nāvat Dhya Sābya Dhya Jamoan Ma. Nāvat Dhya Nivedhā Tusya Seva Vapā Bhāva.
Tusya Seva, Mchinai Luka, Tusya Jeva.
Tusya then wholesome disciple Chennai Sohee. Ti Luka Ngajaya Tvasya Caum Sipa. Sāya Lukā Bhāva. Ngajaya Tvasya Caum Sipa. Yuyu Nāvat Dhya Ti Yāra Conditioning Bodhi, Control Luka, Ti Laya Bodhi.
Ti Stream Enterary Luyu Vā Tvāva Lya Madhok Chennai Sai Bhāra Bhuva. Control Luka, Laya Bodhi. Elud Luyu Ara, Tvāva Lya Ti Jaya. Vipassanā Nyāya Yin deh no? Sāra Māra Dvipa deh. Tu slā tota parun kora no? Nandiyā Yudhya Uti deh. Nandiyā Yudhya Caum Cucum Cidesa Rāti deh.
Anata Uti de bu. Anata Nyāya Thalusi Yin. Adi Anata Nyāya. Masongsong Bene. Masongsong Bene bu. Ti Nyāya Yani Dhumāpe. Okay. Saumvāra Sohee. Piti Bhāra. Pemalā Nengu deh no. Dharmā Mahoyin Dho. Yuyu Nāvat Dhya Thayu Nero Ti Jayalu Mabhyanengu.
Dharmā di Vipassanā Nyāya Tvāva Bhāre Ti Jayalu Bhyanengu deh no. Nata Nata Bhārima Di Lube. Pemalāra Bhulu Bhya Lumyā. Pemalā Bhūya Ti Jayare Dakudī Dho. Ti Agara Nezon Tata Pati Me Yāma Pyadā deh no. Nāgunā Dgāyibyā Te Mā Nāvat Dhya Uthembuya Dhoe.
Tati Sura Pāni deh no. Nāvat Dhya Uthembuya Mādri Pāni Ingu bhe. Adi Tati Gāle Bhe Vipassanā Pyatvāra Bhe.
Kusei Te Mā Dakudhū Lopu Cāy Sīre Suyara Uthini Vyu. Ti Niro Dhiya Uthini Rāgu Gā Tati Pudhantīya Atho Nira Bhe. Tajau Puhaniro Dweji deh. Belu Kudu Mnyuwa Pyipihe. Adi Kudu Mnyuwa Dake Kaungzong Sengya Ong. Lumelu Yue Thabiro. Kaungzong Pyondā Jozani Tati Sura Mabhā Lumyā Lo.
Adi Tati Bhāra Bhī Sohee. Te Pyibinē Vipassanā Nyāma Pyadā Ma. Umasvara Dāna Lurave Suhongzong deh no. Dakudhū Lurē Sohee. Ngābilu Sengyūne Lurale Ngābilu Sengnā Lurale Surau. Ti Chācīme Sohee. Kusei Kukuci Yāya deh no. Bhāo Mnyo Lembi Lurale Loku Sengnauku Elud Jidē Lecheng Mya Lalusi Yin.
Te Pyibinē Adi Sengnauku Bhūra Mnyala deh. Adi Sengnauku Mnyenīrē Sohee Ngubē Tati Vipassanā Pāvi Dhya Pyatvāra Bhe. Adiluvē Ti Lawa Lonchong Songthinē Sohee Rāya Di Dembe Dakudhū Chennai Chongla Bhī Sohee. Sēkā Bhāra Loku Cāy Sengnevi Lhe. Te Nhevi. Dakudhū Bhyaura Meshyā Sohee. Bhāo Bhyauma Lhe Bhāyujaṇe Bhyauma Lhe. Ti Sagā Māyā Lha Juśīya Lha.
Tati Thānevi Sohee. Aluluninē Tura Tampasenya Sura. Pānevi no. Tadaka Tampasenya Nurjo. Tapāya Tampasenya Nusura Sīre no. Juśīya Lha. Dhyāpāya Lha. Tendaya Lha. Kosara Tampasenya Ādhā Moha Tampasenya Sura. Tampasenya Leva Sīrau no. Kosara Tāmen Sura. Di Ijawāya Āyunpibūyā Thayuya Lha.
Di Ijawāya Di Kesā Miyū Dwenibū Thayya Lha. Aravo Tati Thāpra Jin Losi Yin. Te Pyibinē Ādhā Moha Tampasenya Pyadā Ma. Ādhā Moha Tampasenya Sura. Māyāna Nyāma Sīrau no. Nyamāyā Dvāra Sīrau no.
Kudu Dakudhū Bhū Dake Tati Nyāya Nyāma Sengbiro. Tu Kaungzong Sengya Ong Dake Lumel Sohee. Te Pyibinē Vipassanā Pyatvāra Bhe.
Adi Tati Pāni no. Vipassanā Pyatvāra Bhe. Cekaya Dhya Bhāra Sura. Tiraru Sushummā Jayāra Payāvu Dhuyāra Juśīya Loma. Nāutangā Rāde Suvinē Nāutassenga Bhyaā. Tosibinē Kuhāra Kudu Jayana Payāle Sonate Nāru. Tangā Rēsna Dāyanae Sengnā Dhuyāra Pejanā Vyā.
Chukatai Meshyā Sohee Nē Kauśīya Tavadaya Tavaggū Yejidong Niyāyā Dhuyāra Tavadāra Bhā Pejarā Bhe. Adi Gāyibyāra Punyāyā Teti Bhā Jāya no. Arāle Bhyauma Nenoro Kete no. Dhāyābhya Punyāya Bhyaajimi.
Amābhima Lumbhu Yin Patebro Luram Dhanēra no. Umasvara Punimogam Yuyuya Kete no. Adimāle Ti Lube Dekarengmari Suvira Dhya Caum Bhyaojā Sujā Mejā Sohee Nijaro Dekarjaka Mejāra Sembyāra Teviro Dāyavimā Payā Devu Caum Sāpua Lukāye Lumedu Mya Bhāre Dhe. Sātenjāon Toa Sēyondo Lukāya Nurulun Dhanē Bhāre Dhe.
Bhajā Bhāre Dhe. Sātenjāon Toa Lukāya Sēyondo Lukāya Bhāre Dhe. Kudu Yāra Nēre Luyuysā Lula Dho. Nebā Dhoe Tavama Pienaimbu Luyuysā Lula Bhāre Dhe. Mejāra no. Arāle Dake Piyamā Bhe. Payā Dhya Caum Dhuyāra Lukāma Sohee Nurulumyāra no. Sātenjāon Toa Sēyondo Lukāma Suvira Dhuyā Nēne deh.
Nāle Tājāraga Payā Dhuyāra Kudu Bhuyā Rhe no. Caum Sāpua Luyuysā Lala Imdang Kudu Jire Lula Payāva Dharāo no. Māma Rhe no. Yahantanga Luarā Turuken Riyātanga Luarā Sukupra Jōnyā Rhe. Taro Tenshā Payāva Luvāme Sono. Jōnyā Zombo no. Māma Rhe arā no. Varusha Dharāriyā Dekhonau. Adiluvu Kudu Mya Rāgu Lubo Subro.
Jivejā Thāle Dekha Cherab Māyima Lumhuye Dua Lurā Te Pyibinē Tvāra Dhuyāra Bhe. Arāvo Leve Punyāva Ludule Sura. Arājaon Leva Māyā Tima. Tute Bhuloten no.
Lumhuye Nē Pati Dake Sāryamā.
Dakudhū Lumel Sohee.
Keke Mya Ishi Ne. Vyarāre Lysā Vidhema Elud Surara Sega Pūtana Dāyana Maduē Mninawā Sengarega Bhū Rule Lidyā. Punyāra Cengyā Bhyaula Mnyuwa Tuvosyā Lhe Shambe Tujinē Luriya Mya Lomadhilo Dakare Mnē Tumbra Luarā Ote.
Kudu Yāma Tvāra Luarā Dāyana Kutada Chanara Nāute Cēsī Dere Dhyā Surenya Māyā Dhuyāra Lysāra Iribe Bhya Sommā Bhāre Ti Surekama Ti Sērenāwā Mbudhido Bhāre Yenwa Sērenā Tai Makaunē Luriya Dhe. Puvama Chañang Dada Niyāve Nero Sosopyāpyā Bhē Nejenē Bhāre Adi Kaungam Muvu Ochyōm Kaungam Muvu Madwāryaō Msāya Matāyā Bhē Nē Laka Pyadā Bhe.
Arāle Teviro Tei Sektehan Bhuvimjā Bhe. Varusha Dhakāritā Gua Chīlongi Lē Nē Nonon Lē Nē Suru Neru Kaunā Nē Pūrungi Shoshashashā Nē Bhēmibhāma Nē Nē Dhyāva Lukṣenāyā Vaisāyasimhā Pyaulū Kuvāvu Lunon Luchā Mhōu Yembuwa Kaungam Lukhede Dāyana Pyugede Lusolu Rukh Lauchenō Wotamsā Mhō Devyā Arā.
Arāle Gāyibhya Bhidhubhā Bhya Bhya Kua Kose Chanā Lurā Olai Bhāre
Bhe. Punyāra Leve Lube. Tai Kaunā Nē Uttangāsu Mūnē Mūnē Nāra Tai Kaunā Nē Uttangāsu Ulu Goma Kaunā Uttangāsu Shōhē Nē Jāyā Lalongo Mhōchinō Bhera Muvu Yuyu Dil Uttangā Lebe Teyō Nākawā Tawibō. Asāwū Tai Kaungam Mungilē Lauchenō Tuvu Kaunā Jiro Tuvu Kaunā Sapra Bhivimyāre Tendaya Adi Tāvantara Jire.
Nao Sing Toka Yorōsha Ukuwa Tataon Tata Niyāme Sāta Āyī Nē Mācucuji Nē Luyu Niyāyā. Arāle Bhidhubhā Bhya Bhya Kua Kose Channā Oni Leda Kaumā Nē Nhe. Upu Changa Nivai Nē Chenriya Hōlunju Kūkā Bhya Horō Rē Teviro Luarā Tammayuwa Bhode Putabada Senlao Gāyishangā Leru Sura.
Adi Peta Seyō Pāra Jayara Nupuvueno Mchā Bhāre Dhe. Sīre Dhyā Sāta Lhe Yembuwa Kaungam Mudulare Tojan Vaisāyasivā Nē Kaunā Msā Nē Bhāre Tammendyā Nive Pebyō Dive Jaydasa. Adi Gāyibhya Luyuysā Punyāra Lukinah Hingamongso Te Msā Jinmi no. Adi Yabyog Leva Lezono Puchaygā Nē Nhe.
Chama Yenē Niyoda Yuebisara Bhāre no.
Lumyāga Kaunē Luthenaga Yadha Kū Dika Tarao no. Chama Yidomiyu Nyugu. Wosāle Lube Chama Yenē Niyō Nyanglinē Shempra Upu Bhe. Sāle Lube Chama Yenē Niyō Nyanglinē Shempra Sābu Bhe. Mya Kaunē Surang Dike Kaunē Lubyolu Mya Bhāre. Arāle Bhidhubhā Bhya Bhya Kusei Kukuti Bhāre no.
Kudu Sili Nē Nire Si Chanda Nire. Chūjā Nē Chuidā Rhe. Kumma Pura Shanāo Kū Lau Buzongde Luribu Mya Probile Dhe. Soinda Pira Bhāre Tumyābhā Bhya Bhya Bhā.
Kusei Kutī Bhāre Iya. Punyāra Leve Lube Mnyu Bhyaojā Sujā Wibanjara. Wibanjara Punyāra Luthenaga Lusora. Kusena Kutī Bhāre Te Kōmato Bhāri Arāle Bhe. Ti Shinjā Bhimnewu no. Lure Wibanamyā Phi Shinjā Lai Bhiniā Somamhōu.
Mnyu Mnyu Wibankhā Rhe.
Dekāyirō Wibalainē Lube Bhya Lai Bhā Kua Kose Chanda Lunirabā Ne. Upekhanē Bhe. Taba Upekhanē Bhe Nirvāyu Mhe. Kusena Kutī Bhāre Ne.
Adi Gāyirō Ringmahirunē Tuyāpasuma Bhya Sura. Kaumā Nē no.
Adi Nabhīro Dhetaro Jāva Yan. Vijayagune Dhyā.
Sayadaw U Jotika was born on August 5, 1947, into a Muslim family in Myanmar. In his youth, he was sent to study at a Christian seminary, graduating with a degree in electrical engineering and conducting extensive research in science, psychology, and Western philosophy.…