silavanta sutra

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SILAVANTASUTTA ffi

VENERABLEU SlLANANDA


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SILAVANTASUTTA


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Preface

The book "Silavantasutta" is a discourse on theSilavantasutta given by Venerable U Silananda duringthe 2001 Thanksgiving nine-day Special Retreat atTathagata Meditation Center. The Sutta is about aconversation between venerables Sariputta andMahakothika, two of the greatestdisciples of the Buddha,regarding the objects of mindfulness meditation. Thisis, therefore, one of the Suttas directly related to thepractice of four foundations of mindfulness meditation.

In this discourse, Venerable U Silananda graduallyexplains in detail the meaning of the teachings containedin this Sutta, as follows:

" The five aggregates of clinging as objects ofmindfulness meditation.

" The requirements for five aggregatesof clingingobservation.

" The impermanent, nonsatisfactory and nonself-nature of the five aggregatesof clinging." The concealmentof three general characteristics." The benefits of mindful observation of the five

aggregatesof clinging." The benefits of first stage, second stage, third

stage, and fourth stage of enlightenments.


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The conclusion of the sutta is that even Arahants, thefully enlightened persons, should continue to practicemindfulness meditation. Therefore, a thoroughunderstanding of the Sutta is, no doubt, significant andhelpful for all meditators.Since the Sutta with the excellent elaboration bySayadawgyi U Silananda is so insightful, TathagataMeditation Center (TMC), with the permission ofvenerable U Silananda, has requested Caroline KarunaRakkhita, a long-time disciple of SayadawgyiU Silanandaand also an experienced editor, to edit the discourse.This will enable the TMC to publish and distribute itfree of charge to all people who are interested in theDhamma and meditation practice.Now that the book is completed, we would like to thankvenerableU Silananda or giving us permission to publishthe book, Caroline Karuna Rakkhita for editing it, andmany yogis for supporting this project. Without suchsupport, this book would not be possible. May yourmeritorious deed bring you much happiness andespecially provide suitable conditions for your wisdomcultivation which will lead to your enlightenment in thefuture.We are very happy to introduce the book to all of thosewho are interested in the Dhamma and the mindfulnessmeditation practice.

In Metta,Tathagata Meditation Center


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Venerable U SilanandaVenerable U Silananda was born on December 16,

1927, to parentsKyaw Htin Say Hsaing and Daw Mone,in Mandalay, Burma. His father was a very devotedBuddhist and also a renowned architect of many religiousbuildings throughout the country.

He attendedKelly High School, anAmerican BaptistMission School, in Mandalay. At the age of sixteen,VenerableU Silanandabecamea novice at MahvijjodayaChaung Monastery, Sagaing Hills, under thepreceptorship of Sayadaw U Pannavanta,and receivedthe religious name "Shin Silananda". With the supportof his parents,he becamea full-fledged monk at the samemonastery with the samepreceptor in 1947. Taught byhis preceptor and other famous senior monks in SagaingHills and Mandalay, he took the religious examinations


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held by the Government of Burma and passed first,second, and third grades in 1946, 1947, and 1948. Hereceived the degree of Dhammacariya, Master ofDhamma, in 1950.

In 1954, he passed he most difficult examinationheld by PariyattisasanahitaAssociation in Mandalay andreceived the title "Abhivamsa". In this same year, hewent to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and passed he GeneralCertificate of Education (GC.E.) examination held bythe University of London, with distinctions in Pali andSanskrit. While in Ceylon, he made a return to Burmaandpracticed Vipasanameditation with Mahasi Sayadaw.

He served as a member of the Board of Editors andedited Buddhist Texts for the Sixth Buddhist Councilheld in Rangoon in 1954. He was appointed the head ofthe Tipitaka Pali-Burmese Dictionary Department of theBuddha Sasana Council in 1957.

In 1960, after the death of his preceptor, he becamethe Abbot of Mahavijjodaya Chaung Monastery. Hetaught and lectured at Atithokdayone Pali University inSagaing Hills. In 1968, he moved to AbhayaramaShwegu Taik Monastery, Mandalay and was appointedthe Vice Abbot of that monastery in 1969. He taughtBuddhist Scriptures,Pali, Sanskrit, and Prakrit languagesthere. He was also an External Examiner of Bachelor'sand Master's degrees for the Department of OrientalStudies,Art and Sciences University, Mandalay. He iscurrently the Chiel Abbot of that Monastery. He wasrecently appointed as a member of the Advisory Boardof Meditation Teachers of Mahasi Sasana Yeiktha in

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Rangoon.In 1979, he accompanied Mahasi Sayadaw to theUnited States. At the request of Burmese people in SanFrancisco and the Bay Area, Mahasi Sayadaw eft him

and Sayadaw U Kelatha behind to spread he Dhammain the west, especially in the United States. Since then,he has been teaching Insight Meditation, BuddhistPsychology (Abhidhamma), and Discourses as well asleading meditation retreats throughout the country andin Canada,Mexico, Jamaica,Japan,Malaysia, Singapore,andAustralia. With an extraordinary depth of knowledgeof the Dhamma and personal meditative experience,heteachescompassionatelyand skillfully as in the customof any renowned Dhamma teachers. He communicatesin clear and precise English. He is loved by his studentsand devoteesas a patient and compassionate eacher.

He is the author of many books written in bothBurmese and English. Among them are the "FourFoundations of Mindfulness", "Volition AnIntroduction to the Law of Kamma", and "No Inner Core-An Introduction to the Doctrine of Anatta."

Venerable U Silananda is the Spiritual Advisor ofthe Theravada Buddhist Society of America, which hehelped establish and is the Founder Abbot of theDhammmananda Vihara Monastery in Half Moon Bay,California. He is also the Spiritual Advisor of theDhammachakka Meditation Center in California, theBodhi Tree Dhamma Center in Largo, Florida and theSociety for Advancement of Buddhism in Ft. Myers,Florida.

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In 1993, he Government of the Union of Myanmar,recognizing his efforts in spreading the Dhamma,conferred upon him the prestigious title"Aggamahapandita" (Great Wisdom). In 1999, he wasawarded the title "Aggamahasaddhammajotikadhaja"(Great Dhamma Teacher) by the Government ofMyanmar, for his successful mission to spreadDhammaabroad. In the sameyear, he was appointedas Chancellorof the newly-created International Theravda BuddhistMissionary University of Yangon in Myanmar.

Venerable U Silananda has been the Chief MeditationTeacher of Tathagata Meditation Center in San Jose,California since it was founded in 1992. Under his shadeof wisdom and compassion,TathagataMeditation Centerhas grown in the mission of spreading the originalteachings of the Buddha.

Tathagata Meditation Center

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Contents

" Preface 7" Author's Biography 9" Silavanta Sutta1. Introducing The Aggregates 172. Impermanence 353. Dukkha 514. The Three Characteristics 675. Stream Entry 816. Blessings and Noble Treasures 937. Path to Nibbana 1078. The Higher Path 1219. Importance of Mindfulness 13910. ntroductions forVipassana 149

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Namo Tassa Bhagavato ArahatoSammasambuddhassa

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I. Introducing the AggregatesIn 1967 Mahasi Sayadaw gave a series of talks on a

discourse called Sllavanta Sutta. Although the Sutta is a veryshort discourse in the Samyutta Nikaya, he devoted sixteentalks to it. Whenever Mahasi Sayadaw gave an explanationof a Dhamma topic, he tried to make his exposition ascomplete as possible. So he would draw from other relevantdiscourses and commentaries and include them in hisdiscourses. After the talks were transcribed and published,the resulting book contained about five hundred pages.

In choosing to give a retreat on the Sllavanta Sutta, Idecided to follow the exposition of Mahasi Sayadaw.Although he gave sixteen talks on the Sutta, I can give onlynine, because our retreat is for only nine days. So somethings will have to be left out. But I will include what isessential for the understanding of this discourse and forunderstanding the practice of meditation.

Please have the English translation of this Sutta withyou when you come to the talks. You will find it in TheConnected Discourses of the Buddha, Bhikkhu Bodhi'stranslation of the Samyutta Nikaya. My discourses duringthis retreat will be similar to the lectures given to studentsin Burmese monasteries.

The Sllavanta Sutta is a discussion between two of theBuddha's foremost monks, Venerable Sariputta andVenerable Mahakotthika. Venerable Sariputta is too well-known to need any introduction. I hope you all know who

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he was. He was the first chief disciple of the Buddha, whodeclared him to be the foremost of the disciples possessingwisdom. He was second only to the Buddha in the field ofwisdom.

But Venerable Mahakotthika is not so well-known asthe Venerable Sariputta, so you don't hear much about him.He was declared by the Buddha to be foremost among thoseof the disciples possessingpatisambhida, the four kinds ofanalytical knowledge attained only by Arahants and otherswho have reached enlightenment. An exception is theVenerable Ananda, who is described as attainingpatisambhida while only a Sotapannaduring the lifetime ofthe Buddha.

In the English translation Venerable Mahakotthika'sname ends with 4ta\ But in the Sixth Buddhist Council Editionhis name was given as Mahakotthika, ending with 'ka\However, in the Sixth Buddhist Council's printed editionsof the Discourses and in other translations it appears asMahakotthika, ending with 4ta'. So in Burmese editions bothnames are found. But whether his name is MahaMahakotthikaor Mahakotthika makes no difference in our study of thisdiscourse.

When the Sllavanta Sutta took place, these twoVenerables were staying at BaranasI in the Deer Park atIsipatana, where the Buddha had given his first sermon. Nowa very famous place of Buddhist pilgrimage, whenever theDeer Park at Isipatana is mentioned, people always think ofthe first sermon. But when you go there, please rememberthe Sllavanta Sutta also, even though it was not delivered bythe Buddha. Though it is a discussion between the twodisciples, it was deemed worthy of being recorded in theSamyutta Nikaya, and therefore is as authentic as the suttas

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given by the Buddha.It is the custom of the Buddha's disciples, especially

those who have attained enlightenment, to dwell in seclusionin the afternoon. Staying in seclusion does not mean justresting or sleeping. During this time, Arahants and otherswho are enlightened enter into the attainment of fruition, inwhich there is no suffering, no dukkha. Their minds rest onNibbana, giving them great peace and happiness. So theyoften enter into this attainment as a temporary escapeduringthe hours of seclusion. The two Venerables followed thispractice.

Late one afternoon the Venerable Mahakotthika emergedfrom his seclusion, approached the Venerable Sariputta, andexchanged greetings, as is customary for disciples of theBuddha when they meet. Then he asked, "Friend Sariputta,what are the things that virtuous bhikkhus should carefullyattend to?"

The Venerable Mahakotthika seemed to be fond ofasking questions. On other occasions in other discourses,again he is found putting questions to Venerable Sariputta,many questions. I think that, as foremost among those whopossessed he four kinds of analytical knowledge, he shouldhave been the one answering the questions, not asking them.But he was always asking questions.

And he asked the questions not becausehe did not knowthe answers, but becausehe wanted posterity to respect theBuddha's teachings. People tended to give more respect andimportance to teachings known to have been discussed bygreat disciples of the Buddha. So he and Venerable Sariputta,as foremost disciples, sometimes purposely entered intodialogues of questions and answers for the benefit ofposterity. And this discussion, the Sllavanta Sutta, was

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considered important enough for inclusion in the SamyuttaNikaya.The Venerable Mahakotthika had addressed his friend

as "Friend Sariputta." During the time of the Buddha, themonks, regardless of age, could freely address one anotherwith the word avuso, the closest translation being "friend."This does not mean that nobody used Bhante/VenerableSir," at that time. Pupils would address their teachers asBhante because the familiarity implied by avuso would bedisrespectful. Or if the difference in age were great, theyounger monk might address the older as Bhante, and theolder would address he younger as avuso. Because he twoVenerables addressed each other as avuso, we do not knowwhich of the two was older.

Before the Buddha passed away, he said to Ananda,"After my passing away, older monks should addressyoungermonks as avuso and younger monks should address oldermonks as Bhante"

So after the death of the Buddha these forms of addressthat he had sanctioned were adopted by the monks, and areobserved to this day. But nowadays we base age on howmany years as a monk, not on biological years. And we donot use the words avuso or Bhante until we know the numberof vassa rainy season retreats) the other monk has had. Ifwe do not know, we ask him "How many vassaare you?" Ifhis years as a monk are more than our own, we addresshimas Bhante, and if they are fewer, we call him avuso.

After the Venerable Mahakotthika had addressed theVenerable Sariputta, he asked, "What are the things that avirtuous bhikkhu should carefully attend to?" Here thereare two words that merit more detail: virtuous and bhikkhu.A virtuous bhikkhu is pure in his slla. This is not easy, as

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monks have more than two hundred rules to keep. When amonk can keep more than two hundred rules without breakingthem, his sila is said to be pure and he is said to be virtuous.

Those who have been newly ordained are also pure insila, as they have not yet commited any offence. And monkswho have broken some rules, but have made amends andcorrected their faults, may also be said to be pure in sila. Soa monk who is pure in sila may be a monk who has brokenno rules, or he can be a monk who had broken a rule or twobut has developed enough judgment and self-discipline tobe free from further offenses. Such a bhikkhu is called avirtuous monk, or a monk pure in sila.

A monk once asked he Buddha to teach him just enoughto enable him to go to a secluded place and practicemeditation. The Buddha told him to begin by purifying twothings-pure sila and right view-before attempting toundertake the practice of meditation. Why? Because thepractice of satipatthana, he four foundations of mindfulness,is based on pure sila. Purity of sila is an especially importantrequisite for meditators. Therefore a monk who wishes topractice meditation should first purify his sila. Lay peopletoo must also be pure in sila when practicing meditation.

Nowadays the word bhikkhu is translated as "monk."Originally the word meant a person who begs, and a bhikkhuis a person who begs. But the begging done by bhikkhus isnot the same as the begging done by beggars. Bhikkhus pickup their bowls and go out on alms round to collect food fortheir one daily meal. Silently standing in front of a house,they say nothing. The lay people inside understand that thebhikkhus are dependent on them for food, so with respectand reverence they offer whatever food they can give. Thenthe monks continue on to other houses in the same way-

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standing, saying nothing, accepting whatever is given, andsometimes being turned away.This kind of begging is called "noble begging," andbears no resemblance to the begging of ordinary streetbeggars. As the practice still exists in Buddhist countries, itis important that the word bhikkhu should not be considered

as "beggar," which would be very derogatory to the monks.There is another meaning assigned o the word bhikkhu.Many kinds of suffering are endured in the round of rebirth,

as one goes from one life to another and is reborn again andagain, so it is something to be feared. According to thissecond meaning, anybody who sees he round of rebirth asdangerous can be called a bhikkhu, whether he is a monk ora lay person. But the normal and usual definition of bhikkhumeans a monk, and in most cases it cannot apply to laypeople.

Even though a lay person might be called a bhikkhu,this extension of meaning should not be carried too far. Forexample, if a real bhikkhu cuts a tree he incurs a monasticoffense. But if a "lay bhikkhu" cuts a tree no offense isincurred, becausehe follows no monastic rules. So you cannotsay that a lay person is really a bhikkhu. In most cases abhikkhu means one who has gone forth, a monk who is theBuddha's disciple.

When the Buddha gave his teachings to the monks, thelay people who came to listen wanted to feel more included.They felt left out, and complained, unfairly, that the Buddhatalked only to the monks. But the Buddha lived with hisbhikkhus in order to instruct them on the path to Nibbana.So when he wanted to talk, he would talk to them, alwayswith a purpose, and when he wanted to give a discourse, hewould address hem. That is why the word bhikkhu so often

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appears n the discourses and the Vinaya Pitaka.Venerable Mahakotthika's first question was "What are

the things that a virtuous bhikkhu should carefully attendto?" Here "carefully attend to" means wisely attend to,correctly attend to, or pay correct attention to something.

And the Venerable Sariputtaanswered, Friend Kotthika,a virtuous bhikkhu should carefully attend to the fiveaggregatessubject to clinging as mpermanent, as suffering,as a disease. . . as empty, as non-self."

Please note that this answer contains the words "fiveaggregatessubject to clinging." In some English translationsthis phrase is translated simply as "five aggregates ofclinging." Because there is a difference, you shouldunderstand the correct meaning of these two phrases.Thereare two things to be examined here: (1) the aggregate andclinging, and (2) the aggregates hat are subject to clinging-meaning aggregates hat are objects of clinging, or that canbecome objects of clinging.

But you should first understandwhat clinging is. It meansfirmly holding on to something. When clinging to something,you take hold of it and do not let it go. The Buddha teachesthat clinging is of two kinds. Clinging is a mental state, andwith that mental state we cling to objects. Supposeyou seesomething beautiful. When something is beautiful, you desireit, and have a strong craving to possess t. In this case youcling to the object by strong craving. In other words, thingsare, or can be, the objects of strong desire, strong craving orclinging.

Wrong view can also cause clinging to objects.Sometimes we have wrong views about objects, and thinkthat they are permanent or that they possessa self or soul.Or we may have wrong views about ourselves. We may

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think we have a self or soul, or we may take being to be selfor soul. When we apply this kind of wrong view to objects,we are clinging to them. So we can cling to an object withstrong craving or with wrong view. Anything that we cancling to, either with strong craving or wrong view, is calledan aggregate subject to clinging.

What are the things we can cling to? They are the thingswe see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and think of-in other words,everything in the world. We can cling to everything in theworld either by wrong view or by strong craving. When wesay this is "I" we are clinging by wrong view, but when wesay this is "mine" we are clinging by craving.

The things we cling to are technically termed aggregates,khandha in Pali. They are called aggregates because theyare understood in groups. A group here does not mean agroup of different things. It means a group of aspects of athing. Take, for example, a visible object. There are twenty-eight kinds of matter, and that visible object is just one unitof matter. That one unit of matter is not a group of manythings. It is only one, yet it is called an aggregate. How canthat be? It is because one unit of matter can be of the past,of the future, or of the present. With the grouping togetherof these hree aspectsof time, that one unit of matter becomesan aggregate.

The sameholds true with other states.Let us take feeling,a mental state. Feeling is just one mental state, one mentalfactor, one cetasika. But that one mental factor is also calledan aggregate, because t can be of the past, of the future, orof the present. It also can be internal and external; it can begross and it can be subtle, and so on. Becauseof the manyvarying aspects that it possesses, eeling is called anaggregate.

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You have now seen hat just one unit of matter is calledan aggregate,and ust one mental state s called an aggregate.Even one unit of matter is called an aggregate. Technicallythey each are called an aggregate. There are five suchaggregates aught in Buddhism. As practitioners of vipassanayou should be familiar with them and with their names.

For the time being, let us put aside he subject of clinging,and continue with the five aggregates: (1) form aggregate,(2) feeling aggregate, 3) perception aggregate, 4) volitionalformations aggregate, and (5) consciousnessaggregate.

I prefer to call the first one "matter aggregate" ratherthan "form aggregate" becauseevery unit of matter is calledmatter aggregate. Matter is something that changes withadverse conditions like heat, cold, hunger and so on. It canbe found outside in the mountains, in trees, in living beings,and all material phenomena.

You all know what the feeling aggregate s-the feelingof pleasure, the feeling of displeasure, and neutral feeling.These feelings are called the feeling aggregate. Althoughfeeling is only one mental factor, it is called an aggregatebecause t has division into past, present, future, and manyother aspects.

The third one is perception aggregate. Perception is amental state that makes marks of an object. Whenever weencounter or experience a new object, this mental state makesa mark of that object in our mind, so when we experiencethe object again we will recognize what it is. This is what ismeant here by perception.

This function of perception is compared to a carpentermarking pieces of wood when he is building something.The marks indicate which part is to be put where, whichpart is to be cut off, which is to be retained, and so on.

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Making marks like this is for his recognition later, when heneeds the various pieces of wood. Just so, when your mindmakes a mark of something new to you, it is for your futurerecognition. This perception is just one mental state, butbecause t has division into past, present, future, and so on,it is called a perception aggregate.

The next aggregate, he volitional formations aggregate,is somewhat difficult to understand. According toAbhidhamma there are fifty-two mental states. Feeling isone mental factor, perception is another mental factor. Theremaining fifty mental statesare collectively called volitionalformations aggregate, because this group is headed by amental factor called volition, or cetana in Pali.

The word "formation" is the translation of the Pali wordsankhara, which I have explained many times. Sankharacanmean both producer and product. Something that producesother things is called sankhara, and that which it produces,or which is conditioned by it, is also called sankhara. Sosankhara has at least two meanings-the maker and thatwhich is made. In the context of the volitional formsaggregate, it means maker, it makes something. Here wemust understand the word sankhara in its active sense.

But in other contexts, such as the saying "All sankharasare impermanent," the word sankhara means all things thatare conditioned, all things that are made. Here the meaningis quite different from sankhara meaning "those that make"and which is translated as "formations". Maybe there is noother word to adequately convey the meaning carried by theoriginal Pali word.

So the fifty mental statesare collectively called sankharaaggregate or, in English, volitional formations aggregate. Inaddition to volition or cetana sankhara, mindfulness is also

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sankhara,understanding is sankhara,attachment s sankhara,hatred is sankhara, delusion is sankhara. There are manysankharas. All of these are collectively called sankharabecause they do something. For instance, when we seesomething, a kind of mental activity that makes seeingcomplete takes place. This kind of mental activity is calledsankhara. More explanation will be given later.

The last aggregate is the consciousness aggregate.Consciousness s awareness of the object. Here it must beunderstood in its technical sense, not as it is understoodpopularly. In Abhidhamma, consciousnessmeans ust a mereawarenessof the object. It is always accompaniedby feeling,perception, and other factors from the volitional formationsaggregate.So these are the five aggregates: matter aggregate,feeling aggregate,perception aggregate,volitional formationsaggregate, and consciousness aggregate. When they areobjects of clinging, they are called aggregatesof clinging,aggregates subject to clinging, or aggregate objects ofclinging. Now you know the five aggregates and the fiveaggregatesof clinging.

Let us see now whether we can find the five aggregatesby looking at something. When we see something, there issomething o be seen,a visible object. There are eyes throughwhich the object is seen. And then there is seeing, whicharises when the object to be seen comes into the avenue ofthe eyes. So the seeing consciousnessarises, and when wesee, we see with that consciousness.

Here we see how many aggregates? 1 and 2) The thingwe see s matter aggregate and consciousnessaggregate. (3)When we see something, it can be pleasurable, notpleasurable, or neutral. We might think it is good to see his

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object or it is not good to see t. So feeling is also involvedwhen we see something. (4) And whenever we seean object,the mind or a state of mind makes a mental mark of thatobject so it can be recognized when we experience it later.So perception also is involved in the act of seeing. (5) Thereare mental states that exert to make some effort to see, tobring this seeing to completion. Though it is very subtle, ifyou really watch your mind, you will notice that there is akind of activity or exertion in the mind to see, to hear, andso on. That is sankhara, the volitional formations aggregate.

So we do not need to look in books to find the fiveaggregates. They can be found in our own experience. Inthe experience of seeing we can find all five aggregates.They all are also present in the experience of hearing,smelling, tasting, and touching. There are many touchsensations n the body, and they can be detected by payingclose attention to what is happening at the present moment.Here a touch includes the feeling of heat, and when we feelcold, that too is a touch. When we are aware of the risingand falling movement of the abdomen, those movementsare touches. And if pressure s felt there, that also is a touch.In touching something, the five aggregates can beexperienced in that touch.

You already know that earth, air or wind, fire, and waterare the four great elements forming the basis of all matter.Now, just by watching what is happening at the presentmoment, we can develop nsight and penetration nto thenature of things. For instance, making a bodily movementbegins with the mind's desire to move. We want to move, sothere is desire or intention to move. Minute properties ofthe air or wind element material are produced by thisintention to move. When there is the desire to move, themind produces new particles of the air element that

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outnumber the old particles, which disappear. This increaseof the air element is what we call movement.

According to the strict teaching of Abhidhamma thereis nothing that moves. Can you believe that? I am movingmy hand now. There is nothing that moves. What seems tobe moving is only the increase of the material properties,the particles of air element caused by desire to move. Everymovement, though it seems to be a movement, is not amovement at all, according to Abhidhamma.

I think it can be proved. How? When you go to a movieyou think that the pictures on the screen are moving. Butyou know that there are no moving pictures. They are allstill pictures projected one after another in sequence.Whenwe see the screen, the illusion is created in our mind that thepictures are moving. Actually, they are not moving. What ismoving is our own imagination. We imagine all of theseseparate static images to be a flowing continuity forming awhole, and then we think that the pictures are moving.

Similarly when you move your hand, it is not the handthat moves, but the increase of material properties of the airelement caused by the desire to move. This may be seenthrough the practice of vipassanameditation. When makingnotes of the rising and falling of the abdomen, you areactually noting the air element, because its function ismovement, which is included in the sense of touch. And theair element is included in the senseof touch. So when youare aware of the movements of the abdomen's rising andfalling, you are experiencing a kind of touch.

In that experience also, you can find the five aggregates:matter, feeling, perception, mental formations, andconsciousness. Actually, they can be found in everyexperience, and these five aggregates can be clung to by


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way of strong craving or by way of wrong view. That iswhy they are called aggregatesof clinging, aggregatessubjectto clinging, or aggregate objects of clinging.

It is these aggregatesof clinging that we have to watchand be mindful of in order to get free from suffering. Evenwhen you are thinking of something, the five aggregatesarepresent. When you are thinking, you are not seeing withyour eyes or hearing with your ears. You are thinking withyour mind. When you are thinking, you are seeing somethingin your mind or hearing something in your mind, and so on.Objects seen or heard in the mind are called past objects.But if they are visible objects or audible objects, they belongto the matter aggregate.

Consciousness also must have a base from which toarise. If we do not have eyes, there will be no seeingconsciousness. f we have no ears, there will be no hearingconsciousness. And what about thinking? Thinkingconsciousness also needs a seat or a base. According toAbhidhamma, its base is the heart, specifically the blood inthe heart.

With every experience-seeing, hearing, smelling,tasting, touching, and thinking-there are always the fiveaggregates. If we do not watch them, if we do not applymindfulness to them, we will always cling to them, eitherby strong craving or by wrong view. And because they areobjects that can be clung to, we usually cling to them if weare not mindful.

In order not cling to them, it is clear that we must watchthem while they are present. We cannot observe them whenthey are past. Though we may be able to recall some pastexperience, it will never appear as vividly as it appearedduring what was its present moment. So to avoid clinging to

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these five aggregates, we must watch them when they areevident, when they are present. Otherwise we will alwayscling to them.

When there is clinging, it does not stop there, just withour clinging. Suppose we are attached to something and wewant to possess t. Motivated by that desire, we will try topossess t, and will do something to acquire it. We may stealit, take it by force from somebody, or even commit murder,just to get what we want. So, motivated by clinging, we takeup actions.

Sometimes what we cling to is unwholesome, andsometimes it may be wholesome. Whether wholesome orunwholesome, since hey are kammas\hty have the potentialto give results in the future, and we will get the results ofthose actions in the future. When there is clinging, there isaction; when there is action, there is the result of that actionin the form of rebirth in the future life. With rebirth there isaging, disease, death, and so on. So the duration of oursarhsara is prolonged if we are not vigilant, if we do notapply mindfulness to what we experience at the presentmoment.

When seeing objects, see hem just as objects that ariseand disappear. Understand that they are impermanent, theyare suffering, and they have no self or soul. Then you willnot cling to them. When there is no clinging, there can be noaction. When there is no action, there will be no reaction asa result. That is why it is important to apply mindfulness towhatever experience we are having at the present moment.

It should now be clear that it is important not to cling tothe five aggregatesof clinging. In order to avoid clinging tothem, we must watch them, make notes of them, and bemindful of them when they are present. This answers the

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questions"When are we to make notes of the five aggregates,and for what purpose do we have to make notes of them?"The answer to "when" is the present moment. The answerto "what purpose" is not to cling to them. When makingnotes of the five aggregates, we must try to note them asand when they arise, while they are still existing.

We speak frequently about the present moment.Actually, the present should be understood as a presentduration, not an exact present moment. This is becausewhenwe are mindful of objects, most of the things we observeare no longer present. In less time, perhaps, than the blinkof an eye, they have already become the past.

For example, when we are mindful of anger, when weare making notes of it, the anger is no longer there. It hasdisappeared, becauseanger and mindfulness cannot coexist.Just the fact that your mind is engaged in being mindful ofanger means that the anger is not in your mind at that samemoment. It is already in the past. But because t is so brief amoment of the past, we call it "present" when saying "bemindful of the present moment."

However, while you are being mindful of your breathsor the movements of the abdomen, there are times whenyou can actually see the exact present moment. This canhappen when you are noting the rising and falling of theabdomen, if the noting and the movements coincide exactly.But this cannot happen when you are being mindful of yourthoughts, becauseby the time you are mindful of them, theyare already in the past. But in the context of vipassana,weregard hem as being presentwhen we say "be mindful ofthe present" or "be in the present moment." When practicingvipassanameditation it is essential that you remember to bemindful of the object at the present moment.

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You must be mindful in order to avoid attachment tothe five aggregates of clinging. You don't want to cling tothem, because clinging leads to action. Action leads toreaction, which is suffering, and you want to escape fromsuffering as soon as possible. In order to avoid suffering,watch the present moment. By just paying attention to theobject of the present moment, you can get concentration,you can penetrate the nature of things, and can progressfrom one stage to another until you reach enlightenment.

I may have told you last year about the elephants.Elephants are very intelligent animals, and many of themare made to work moving logs of wood in the forest. It issaid that they have such a sense of exactness that when thebell rings for them to stop, they stop right away. Even ifthere were only six more inches left to finish pushing a log,they will not do it. As soon as the bell rings, they will juststop work and leave it.

Somebody has told me that talking for more than onehour is not such a good idea. After one hour people getuncomfortable with sitting. But I think that one hour is notenough, becauseabout half of that time is for translation. Ihave now been talking for two hours. Now it is actually fiveminutes past two hours, so I will follow the example of theelephants.

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II. ImpermanenceAccording to the answers given by the Venerable

Sariputta n the Sllavanta Sutta, a bhikkhu who is virtuous orwhose sila is pure should practice vipassanameditation tosee the five aggregates of clinging as impermanent, assuffering, as a disease...as non-self. Immediately followingthis sutta in the Samyutta Nikaya there is a discourse calledthe SutavantaSutta. We can regard it as a sister sutta, as thetext is the same as the Sllavanta Sutta, the only differencebeing that the bhikkhu here is a sutavanta, an instructedmonk.

The word suta means "heard." In ancient times writingmaterials were not easily available, and it may have beencustomary in those days not to write down the teachings ofthe Buddha. So the teacher taught, and the students learnedby listening to his talks. This is how the word suta came tomean something a person has learned, and sutavanta meansone who possesses nowledge through learning, one who isknowledgeable.

In this discourse Venerable Mahakotthika asksVenerable Sariputta the same question as in the SllavantaSutta: "What are the things that an instructed bhikkhu shouldcarefully attend to?" And the answer is also the same-"aninstructed bhikkhu [who has the necessary knowledge ofthe Buddha's teaching] should carefully attend to the fiveaggregates of clinging as impermanence, as suffering, asdisease...as non-self. So these two suttas may be regardedas one.

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impermanent and so on, what do you need? You needconcentration. Without concentration you cannot hope tosee the five aggregatesof clinging as impermanent, and soon. Concentration is an important factor in the practice ofmeditation. Whether your practice is samathameditation orvipassanameditation, you need to have this essential part ofmeditation practice.

To gain concentration what must you do? You mustpractice mindfulness. Without mindfulness you cannot getconcentration, because mindfulness means full awarenessof the object. If there is no full awareness of the object,there can be no concentration in the mind. So to getconcentration, it is necessary to practice mindfulness.

In order to practice mindfulness what do you need?You need to make effort. Without making effort, you cannotpractice mindfulness. The three most essential things forthe practice of meditation are concentration, mindfulness,and effort. First you make effort to be mindful, and youbecome mindful. Then, with the support of effort andmindfulness you get concentration. Once you gainconcentration or stillness of mind, the mind is free frommental hindrances. Then you will begin to see the fiveaggregates of clinging as impermanent, as suffering, as adisease, and so on.

Of the three main steps n meditation, mindfulness is themost important. Because t is required for all meditation, itcan never be too strong. We need t to be strong, and thestronger it is, the better. But you need to be careful with theother two steps, effort and concentration. Effort can be toolittle or too much, and concentration can be too little or toomuch.

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mindfulness. And if there is too much effort, we also cannotpractice mindfulness. Too much effort leads to agitationand restlessness. t can come when a yogi is very eager toachieve something, very eager to reach enlightenment, veryeager to get results. With such eagerness, he yogi tends toexert more effort than is needed. And when more effortthan needed is made, the mind becomes disturbed, or ittrembles and is agitated. When mind is agitated, it cannotstay on the object. So too much effort is to be avoided whenpracticing meditation.

Concentration can be too much also. When there is toomuch concentration, a yogi tends to lose or reduce effort.Then concentration regains the upper hand, and the yogi'seffort level falls again, leading him to become azy or sleepy.When there is lack of effort, the necessary concentrationfor meditation suffers.

This kind of cycle must be avoided if the practice ofmeditation is to proceed smoothly. Effort and concentrationneed to be just enough for the purpose, they need to bebalanced. How to balance them? You do not have to worry.Your teachers are aware of this problem, and if you followtheir instructions you will not have too much effort or toomuch concentration.

When you are practicing meditation you are instructedto be mindful of two things-either the in-breath and out-breath, or the rising and falling of the abdomen. But whenanother object becomes prominent at the present moment,you are to put mindfulness on that object until it disappears.Then you return to the breath or the abdomen. So the basicpractice is to be mindful of two objects-either the breathor the abdomen, and whatever object might arise to distractyou.

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the forty subjects of samathameditation, how to prepare formeditation, how to find a teacher, and other details of samathameditation. It also explains the abhinnas, the four kinds ofdirect knowledge that a yogi gains after attaining the materialand immaterial jhanas.

The third division on understanding, panfia, is actuallyabout vipassana. Buddhaghosa began this division withdetailed information on the aggregates, bases, elements,faculties, dependentorigination, and the Four Noble Truths.Only after that did he describe the practice of vipassanameditation. So reading the Visuddhimagga may give you theimpression that before you can practice vipassanameditationyou have to be familiar with all the details of the aggregates,and very familiar with the teaching of dependentorigination.I don't think that you are familiar with all of these subjectsin detail.

Sakka, the king of the gods, once asked the Buddhahow much knowledge a monk must have in order to practiceand reach Arahantship. The Buddha answered, "A bhikkhuhas heard that all things are not fit to be adhered to. When abhikkhu has heard that all things are not fit to be adhered to,he directly knows everything." This means hat after hearingthat all phenomena are unfit to be adhered to by craving orwrong view, he can practice meditation.

So a bhikkhu needs to hear only this much-that allthings are not to be taken as permanence, happiness,soul orself. If he knows just this much, he can practice meditation.According to this, a person does not have to know muchabout the teachings of the Buddha in order to practicemeditation. (I think you will like this.)

The commentary adds a little more. It says that if oneknows there are Four Noble Truths, and that the first two

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truths belong to the round of rebirth, and the other two leadto release from the round of rebirth, one may practicemeditation only on the first two. If you know this much,you have enough knowledge to practice meditation.

You already have heard about the Four Noble Truths.Two are mundane, and the other two supermundane. Whenpracticing vipassana, ou deal only with the first two, whichare mundane-the Noble Truth of Suffering and the NobleTruth of the Origin of Suffering. The third, the Noble Truthof the Cessation of Suffering, is to be realized, and the fourth,the Noble Truth of the Path to Cessation, arises at the momentof enlightenment, and is the result of the practice of vipassanameditation. If you know this much, you have enoughknowledge to practice vipassanameditation.

What about understanding dependentorigination? It hasbeen explained in great detail in the Visuddhimagga. n thiscase, he sub-commentary is helpful. It says that if you knowthat there is a cause, and that there are results of that cause,then you know dependent origination.

Even if you don't know the details of dependentorigination, if you know that there are causes,and results ofthose causes, and that they are related as cause and effect,you are said to virtually have knowledge of dependentorigination. In brief, dependent origination teaches that thematerial and mental states n beings always arise dependenton conditions.

According to this teaching,everything n the world isconditioned. So if you know only that there are conditions,and that there are those conditioned by those conditions, itis enough to say that you virtually understand dependentorigination. This information is from the texts, commentaries,and sub-commentaries.

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For those who have no knowledge of the texts andcommentaries, but who have some ability to think, let usnow consider the following. Two months after hisEnlightenment, the Buddha gave his first sermon to the groupof five disciples. Do you think they already knew aboutsuch things as the Four Noble Truths, the aggregates,basesor dependent origination? Can you say that they knewAbhidhamma from previous knowledge?

Some people might say "Oh, they had accumulated alot of paramis and many experiences in the past, they werespecial, they were gifted persons. So when they heard theBuddha's sermon, all of that information might already havebeen in them."

But I think we can say that they definitely did not possessany such knowledge. These discoveries of the Buddha wereunknown to any other human being until he gave the fivedisciples his first sermon at Isipatana. So the disciples, whohad no prior knowledge of aggregates,dependentorigination,and so forth, learned by listening to the Buddha's firstsermon. As the result of listening, all of them becameSotapannasand, a little later, Arahants.

We can find many such examples n the texts as well asin the commentaries. Let us take just one more example.Venerable Sariputta was not yet a Buddhist when he met theVenerable Assaji. At that time he belonged to the sect ofanother teacher, and knew very little about the Buddha'steachings. But impressed by the demeanor of VenerableAssaji, he asked the Venerable to teach him something ofthe Dhamma. Venerable Assaji uttered an instructive verseof four lines, and it is said that after listening to just the firsttwo lines of that verse, Sariputta became a Sotapanna,andnot long afterward a disciple of the Buddha.

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As Sariputtawas the most gifted person after the Buddha,it was not difficult for him to get this knowledge the momenthe received the teaching from the Venerable Assaji. We,however, are not so gifted as the five disciples or VenerableSariputta, and we are here more than two thousand fivehundred years after the Buddha. So I think we should beallowed some concessions.

You should know something about the teachings of theBuddha, but not very much. If you know that there are fiveaggregates; that they are impermanent, suffering and non-self; and that there are Four Noble Truths-if you haveheard, read, or already know those things, I think you canpractice vipassanameditation.

Knowledge of the aggregates s very helpful, becauseyou can verify your practice with what you already know.When you practice meditation, you experience many things,and sometimes you don't know what they are. But if youhave sound knowledge of all the aggregates,you will knowwhat is happening to you and what you are experiencing.Then you will be like a person who has read a map beforegoing somewhere-when he is there, he knows where he is,and where to go.

Also, since you are practicing under the guidance of ateacher, I think it is enough if you have just a little bit ofinformation about the teachingsof the Buddha. Your teacherscan give you enough information about the five aggregates,nama and rupa, and so forth. So it is all right for you topractice vipassanameditation even f you havenot read heVisuddhimagga,even if you do not know Abhidhamma. Yourteachers will supply you with this kind of knowledge andwhatever else is necessary o know.

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the Buddha's teachings. It is good to study them, it is goodto know what the Buddha taught. If you are bent on practice,I want you to know that it is possible for you to practiceright now, even without detailed knowledge of the teachingsof the Buddha. But if you want to share your knowledgewith other people, if you hope to be a teacher in the future,or if you are a teacher now, then certainly you will need toacquire wide knowledge of the Buddha's teachings.

Now we will return to the answer given by the VenerableSariputta when he said that a virtuous bhikkhu and aninstructed bhikkhu should carefully attend to the fiveaggregates subject to clinging, which are impermanent,suffering, a disease...non-self.

The commentaries say that we should know three thingsregarding impermanence. (1) What is it that is impermanent?We say "impermanent, impermanent," but what is it that wesay is impermanent? (2) What are the signs or marks ofbeing impermanent? We should know the characteristics,marks, or signs of impermanence. 3) What is repeatedseeingof impermanence?

What is it that is impermanent? When we say"impermanent" what do we mean by that? You already knowthe answer. The five aggregates are impermanent, and aretaught by the Buddha as impermanence. You have yet to seethat this is true, but through practice of vipassanameditationit will eventually be seen. So what is it that is impermanent?The answer is all five aggregates,not just the five aggregatesof clinging.

There is a difference between "aggregates" and"aggregates of clinging." When we say aggregates ofclinging, we mean only the mundane aggregates. But whenwe say aggregates, the supermundane aggregates are also

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disappear, we know that this state is impermanent. Thisknowing or seeing hat something is impermanent, must comefrom your own experience. It must not come from a book, itmust not come from a teacher. It must come from withinyourself. So do not be satisfied with what you read in booksor hear in talks. You must see for yourself.

In order to see impermanence as Venerable Sariputtadid, practice is necessary.You need to do something to proveto yourself that things are really impermanent.So what shouldyou do? It is actually very simple. You should watch things,including the mind. Just watch them and you cannot fail tosee that they arise and disappear.

When practicing vipassanameditation, sometimes youare making notes of your mind. Your mind wanders, andyou say "wandering, wandering" until it is finished. Thenyou come back to the home object. So through your ownexperience you see or yourself that thought is impermanentbecause it arises, stays for a very short time, and thendisappears. The impermanence of the five aggregates, theimpermanence of mind and matter, can be seen or yourselfthrough the practice of vipassanameditation.

Having seen the impermanence of things for yourself,there is no need to go by faith and blindly accept thestatements of other people regarding the impermanence ofthe five aggregates.You yourself will be able to verify thatit is true. If you practice and pay close attention to objectsappearing at the present moment, you cannot fail to seeimpermanence. It is very encouraging when, through yourown experience, you can discover the secret of mind andmatter as taught by the Buddha. That is what is calledsanditthika, an attribute of the Dhamma meaning that thingsare to be seen by oneself, and not just heard secondhand

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from another person.The commentary describes his characteristic in another

way, although it means the same thing. It says that non-existence, after having been, is the characteristic ofimpermanence. Book language is different from everydaylanguage, and sometimes it is used to impress other people.So when I say "Non-existence, after having been, is thecharacteristic of impermanence," you may be wonderingwhat I am saying.

If you want to impress people, use the language of thebooks, but it may not serve the purpose. We want people tounderstand, rather than to admire our knowledge of books.So whatever we want to say should be put in a way thateverybody will understand. "Disappearing after arising isthe characteristic of impermanence." Now you understandmy sentence very easily.

If you want to know whether a certain state is permanentor impermanent, see f it disappears after arising. It is moreimportant to see the disappearing than the arising. That isbecause f you see only the arising and not the disappearing,you may have the opposite understanding and think the stateis permanent. So it is important to see the disappearing.

However, disappearing is preceded by arising. Whenthere is no arising, there can be no disappearing, so the twogo together-arising and disappearing. When you see a statearise and disappear, you know that it is impermanent. Sodisappearing after arising is the characteristic, mark, or signof impermanence.

The third question o beconsidereds, "What is repeatedseeing of impermanence?" This is described as contemplationof impermanence, aniccanupassana in Pali. You alreadyknow the word anicca as "impermanent." The word

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anupassana s made up of anu, meaning "again and again"and passana. You are familiar with the word passana, as itoccurs in vipassana. t means"seeing." So anupassanameansseeing again and again, repeated seeing, or repeatedobservation. But it is popularly translated as contemplation.

When aniccanupassana s translated as contemplation,we may think that t means ust thinking about mpermanence.But that is not really seeing it. We can force ourselves toseem o understand by saying "impermanent, impermanent,impermanent." But that is not real understanding ofimpermanence either. We must be careful not to deceiveourselves with false assumptions. Sometimes people say,"Oh, this is impermanent, this is impermanent," and thinkthat they really know the impermanence of something.Actually, what they are doing is just repeating, like parrots.

The real impermanence that we need to see in order togain vipassanaknowledgement is the moment-to-momentimpermanence. The other kind of superficial impermanencecan be understood without meditation-you drop a glassand it breaks, and you say it is impermanent. You don'tneed meditation to understand that kind of impermanence;you just know it. Or when somebody dies and you say, "Oh,he is impermanent," that kind of understanding is not calledvipassanaknowledge. It cannot lead to dispassion towardthe five aggregates.

Without dispassion toward the five aggregates, therecan be no fading away of mental defilements and noattainment of enlightenment. Superficial understanding ofimpermanence cannot help us to be dispassionate towardthe aggregatesor disenchantedwith mind and matter. It willnot lead to enlightenment. This kind of understanding cannothelp us. So it is very important to cultivate and gain the

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the non-self nature without the Buddha. So the sub-commentary says that even the impermanence and sufferingsaid to be taught during the time when there is no Buddhamust be just superficial anicca and superficial dukkha, notthe real anicca and dukkha that we see through vipassanameditation.

* * * *

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III. Dukkha

The five aggregatesare called dukkha, suffering, becausethey are constantly oppressed by rise and fall. This is oneof three reasons given in the commentaries. The secondreason the aggregatesare called dukkha is because hey arethe basis of suffering, they are the seedsof suffering. Andthe third reason is because here are five aggregates here issuffering, and as we ourselvesare five aggregates,we suffer.

We suffer a lot becauseof the five aggregates.We seesomething we don't want to see, and we suffer. We hearsomething we don't want to hear, and there is suffering. Wedon't want to be sad or depressed, but we do get sad anddepressedand we suffer. Becauseof these ive aggregates,wehave to endure all of these sufferings.

If there were no five aggregates, there would be nosuffering. But because we are five aggregates, here will beaging, disease, and death, and so we suffer. We encounterall of this misery simply because of the five aggregates.Therefore they are called dukkha, suffering, because theyare the basis of suffering. In this sense, he five aggregatesof clinging are also called dukkha.

The third reason given is that they are called dukkhabecause hey are fearsome, hey are fearful, they are dreadful.Because of these five aggregates we undergo constantsuffering, so they are fearful. Because they bring aging,disease, death, and other kinds of suffering, they are calleddukkha. We must practice meditation in order to see and

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understandhat the ive aggregates re dukkhaor suffering.And they are called suffering for three reasons: they areconstantly oppressed by rise and fall, they are the basis ofsuffering, and they are fearsome.

In order to include other meanings of suffering,nowadays dukkhais translated as "unsatisfactory" rather than"suffering." I think it is a little better. Anything that isimpermanent is unsatisfactory. We want things to bepermanent, we want ourselves to be permanent, we want tolive permanently, but we will not get what we want. Andbecause there is no satisfaction with these five aggregates,they are unsatisfactory.

We need to understand three things: What is it that isdukkha? What is the characteristic of dukkha?and What isdukkhanupassanaor seeing dukkha?

What is it that is dukkha? When we say dukkha, wemean the five aggregates, which are also impermanent,anicca. These same five aggregates that are impermanentare also dukkha or suffering.What is the characteristic, mark, or sign of beingdukkha? We see that the five aggregates, which compriseeverything in the world, are oppressed continuously by riseand fall. So the characteristic of dukkha is this constantoppression by rise and fall, which is continuous and neverstops. There is not a single moment in our lives when weare not oppressed by rise and fall.

And what is dukkhanupassana,or repeated seeing ofdukkha? This meanswatching and noting the five aggregatesduring vipassanameditation, and seeing with your own eyesthe continuous oppression by rise and fall. Dukkhanupassanais the understanding or knowledge you get from thisobservation of the five aggregates.Only when you observe

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the five aggregatesand see hem continuously oppressed byrise and fall can this vipassana knowledge be gained andmade your own.This knowledge, the understanding that the fiveaggregates are dukkha, can only be attained while you areactively engaged in practicing vipassanameditation. Thereis no other way to see the rise and fall of the aggregates.Only while you are practicing vipassanaand watching themas they rise and fall at the present moment will you beconvinced of their continuous oppression, and you will knowthat they are dukkha. This kind of knowledge is calleddukkhanupassana,and is the real seeing of dukkha.

The Venerable Sariputta said that a virtuous andinstructed bhikkhu should carefully attend to the fiveaggregatessubject o clinging, in order to see and understandthem as suffering. This means hat the bhikkhu must practicevipassanameditation.

Here there are two kinds of suffering-superficial andreal suffering. Superficial suffering does not need he practiceof vipassanameditation in order to be understood. You cutyour finger and then say, "Oh, it is dukkha" or you hit yourknee against something and say it is dukkha. This kind ofunderstanding is superficial. The nature of dukkha is notreally seen. You experience the unpleasant eeling involved,and then see it as suffering. You just feel it and know it.Meditation is not needed to understand it.

What we are concerned with here is real suffering, thedeep understanding of real suffering, dukkha. Thecommentary says that we must understand three things: (1)What is it that is dukkha?(2) What is the characteristic ofdukkha?(?>)What is dukkhanupassana,he seeing of dukkha?

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What is it that is dukkha?r\M\& s easy to answer-again,the five aggregates.They are called dukkha or suffering.When we say suffering we mean both the five aggregatesand the five aggregates of clinging, so it includes all ofthem.

And what is the characteristic of dukkha? You mustunderstand the meaning of the word dukkha correctly.Normally it means suffering, unpleasant feeling, but itsmeaning goes deeper than that. You must understand itaccording to the words of the Buddha: "Whatever isimpermanent is dukkha'' Whatever is impermanent issuffering. This we need to understand. The Buddha did notsay that whatever is difficult to endure is suffering, oranything like that. He said that whatever is impermanent issuffering.

If you know something to be impermanent, you alsoknow that it is suffering. Therefore the meaning of the wordsuffering goes deeper than the surface meaning. We have togo deeply into it. In order to understand it, you mustremember the saying of the Buddha that whatever isimpermanent is suffering. If you want to know whethersomething is suffering, see f it is permanentor impermanent.If it is impermanent, you will know that it is dukkha. Don'tbe afraid to say it is dukkha.

When reading books, I am not satisfied when authorssometimes say that such and such is subject to suffering, orthe sankharasare subject to suffering. I don't like that. Weshould have the courage to say the sankharas are suffering,not just passively "subject to suffering," which meansunderthe control of suffering, having a tendency to suffer, ordependent on suffering. Once you see that something isimpermanent, you can safely say that it is suffering.

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The words "suffering" in English and dukkha in Palihave more meaning than what appearson the surface.Dukkhameans suffering, something difficult to endure, oppression.According to the Buddha's definition, whatever isimpermanent is suffering. Why should somethingimpermanent be called suffering? Sometimes we enjoy goodfood, good companionship-we enjoy many things. Are thosethings dukkha? When you are enjoying good food, do yousay, "Oh, I am suffering!"? According to the Buddha, indeedyou are.

Why are such seemingly harmless activities calledsuffering? You must understand the characteristics ofsuffering. The commentary gives three reasonswhy the fiveaggregatesof clinging are called suffering. The first reasonis that they are constantly oppressed by rise and fall. Youmust keep firmly in mind that constant oppression by riseand fall is the characteristic of dukkha.

If you want to know whether or not something is dukkha,try to see whether it rises and falls. If it does, it has to beoppressed by the rising and falling, and that oppression iswhat dukkha means. So all five aggregates, including thefive aggregatesof clinging, are called dukkha because heyare constantly oppressedby rise and fall. Look at everythingin the world, and you will see that everything is oppressedby rise and fall, and that rise and fall also are constantlyoppressed by rise and fall.

Can you find a single moment when there is no rise andfall? Can you find a single moment when the process of riseand fall stops? From the moment you take conception, thisrise and fall begins to oppress you, and it goes on and onthroughout your life. There is not a single moment whenyou are free from rise and fall. There is always rise and fall,

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rise and fall, rise and fall.When you see things during meditation you note them

as rising and falling, rising and falling, one after another,maybe hundreds of objects. Then you get the impressionthat everything is oppressedby rising and falling, This risingand falling is a kind of oppression. Falling meansdestruction,which is a kind of oppression. And rising is a precursor tofalling. It rises so that it can fall, and falling is also a kind ofoppression.

Rising and falling oppress the five aggregates everymoment, creating continuous oppression. This constantoppression by rise and fall is the characteristic of dukkha. Ifyou can understand dukkha in this way, you can accept thefact that enjoying good food is dukkha. Whatever you areenjoying is dukkha, because there is nothing that is notdukkha. And you can accept the teachings of the Buddhathat the five aggregates of clinging are suffering.

When explaining the first Noble Truth in his firstsermon, the Buddha said at the end, "The five aggregatesofclinging are suffering," which means, n brief, that everythingin the world is suffering. If you understand this to mean thecontinuous oppression by rise and fall, you can easily acceptthe truthfulness of the Buddha's explanation.

If you don't understandt, you may want to argueaboutthe Buddha's teaching, and talk about some kind of happiness,enjoyment,and so forth. But this I want you to understandand to hold firmly in mind-the meaning of dukkha isconstant oppression by rise and fall.

We will now turn to another way of understanding thefive aggregates of clinging, in terms of the eleven aspectslisted in the Sllavanta Sutta. As you already know, theVenerableSariputtasaid hat a bhikkhuwho is virtuous and

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instructed should attend to the five aggregates of clingingas impermanent. This means that the bhikkhu must practicemeditation so that he sees he five aggregatesof clinging asimpermanent, as you have already studied. Then he mustsee them as suffering, as you have also studied. Now hemust see them as a disease.

The bhikkhu who is virtuous and instructed must seethe aggregates of clinging as a chronic disease. A personwho has a chronic disease such as diabetes, asthma, or highblood pressure, is not free. He cannot eat what he likes, butmust take medicine and avoid eating food that wouldaggravate his condition. He must always be careful. Thedisease may increase and at times decrease, but he is neverin control. No matter how careful he is, the disease is stillthere. However much attention and care s given to a chronicdisease, it is never cured.

In the same way, however much you find fault with thefive aggregates, you still have them and need to attend tothem. You must avoid food that is unsuitable for the body,you must avoid living in an unsuitable climate for the body,and you need to take care of a host of other things, justbecause of the five aggregates.So these aggregatescan beviewed as a chronic disease.

The bhikkhu who is virtuous and instructed also mustsee the five aggregates of clinging as a tumor or a sore.When you have a tumor or sore that oozes blood and pusand causesa lot of pain, you must care for it with medication.The five aggregatesare like a tumor. Many repulsive thingsooze out, such as greed, hatred, delusion, pride, and envy.They ooze out of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body andmind. They are always oozing out. When we see somethingbeautiful, what oozes out of our eyes? Greed or attachment.

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permanently. Permanently"heremeanst will changeromone body to another, and it goes on without becomingimpermanent. It is permanent, and goes on from one life toanother, one body to another.

Only the physical body deteriorates and dies. This beliefis compared to wearing new clothes. When clothes get oldand dirty, a person leaves them and gets new clothes. In thesame way, this atta resides in the body, and when the bodybecomes old and dies, the atta will move into another newbody, and so on.

This understandingcan have some errible consequences.There is a teaching in one book (not a Buddhist book) thatsays you cannot kill the atta. So f you kill a person, you arejust killing his physical body, not his atta. That makes it allright to kill, if there is need to kill. Supposeyou are engagedin a battle, and against your will you have to kill other people.Those who hold to the atta view will say, "Go ahead and killthem-it is your duty to kill our enemies. Even though youkill them, you are not killing the atta. It can never be killed."This kind of notion has dire effects, if taken too far.

There are also people who believe there is an atta, andthis atta does everything we do. When we do something, itis not we who do the actions, but the atta. Whatever we do isactually the action of atta. That is one view of atta. There isanother view that it is atta that experiences,enjoys or suffers.When we enjoy something, it is not we who enjoy, but theattathat enjoys, and when we suffer it is the attathat suffers.Whenever we experience anything, it is the atta thatexperiences,not we. For those who believe in this way, attais very real.

The Buddha rejected all of these theories, and in hissecond sermon and later discourses, he taught that rupa is61


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not atta, vedana is not atta, and so on. Because he knew thetruth of anatta, he rejected the view of permanent entity, theview of atta. It is important that we see he anatta nature ofthe aggregatesof clinging and of mind and matter, hi orderto see the anatta nature of things you need to practicevipassanameditation. Only through vipassanameditationcan you see hat rupa and others or the five aggregatesarenot self and not atta, and there is no atta in rupa or in thefive aggregates.

One night when I was leading a retreat in Florida, Italked about anatta, and at the next day's interview a womanyogi reported that she had been unable to sleep that night,because she was very upset with me. She believes in thepresent existence of atta, and when I was saying there is noatta, it made her very angry, she said.

So I told her, "I am a Buddhist monk. When I give atalk I will say that, following the teachings of the Buddha,there is no atta. Do not take my word for it; do not take eventhe Buddha's words. But the next time you practicemeditation, try to find atta. If you find it, hold on to it, andBuddha was wrong. And if you do not find it, do what youlike." But she didn't give me an answer in the followingdays, so I am not sure whether she found it or not.

When you practice vipassana,you watch mind, matter,thoughts, emotions, the breath, the movements of theabdomen, and so on. And when your concentration orunderstanding becomes mature, you begin to see he object,mind and matter, or the five aggregates clearly. When youbegin to see clearly, you will know what they are, and thenyou will see them rise and fall. You will see that at everymoment there is the object that is noted and the mind thatnotes.

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You can find only two things at every moment ofmeditation. When you are mindful of the breath, there is thebreath and there is awareness. There are only these twothings. There is nothing in the form of a person administeringthe mindfulness of the breath. At such moments we see onlythe breath and mindfulness of the breath, and there is nothingmore. We cannot see atta there.

Only when you see through vipassanameditation thatthere is no atta, there is no permanent entity involved inseeing, hearing and so on, do you see the nature of anattacorrectly. Anattanature can be seenonly through the practiceof vipassanameditation. When you practice meditation, youwill come to see that there is no master, no such thing as apermanent abider, no such thing as a doer, no such thing asan experiencer.

There is only the experience, there is only the doing;there is no doer and no experiencer. At every moment ofany experience, you can see or yourself that no person, noindividual, no atta is involved, but just the doing action, orjust the experiencing action. So through vipassanayou cometo see he anatta nature of things. This is one kind of anattanature.

There is another kind of anatta nature-it is not subjectto any authority or control. When you see mind and matterarise and disappear, arise and disappear, you know that youcannot nterfere with that process.You cannot ell them "Hey,wait a moment. Just stop arising, stop disappearing, youcannot do that." You cannot have any authority over them.Actually, you are helpless.

Mind and matter just arise and disappear by their ownnature, by their own free will, and not at your free will. Thisis also an aspectof anatta having no authority over a process63


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that is unsusceptible to authority. In order to know the anattanature we need to know three things: What is anatta? Whatis the characteristic of anatta? And what is anattanupassana?What is it that is anatta? The same ive aggregates.Thesame five aggregates are not self, and the same fiveaggregates have no self. When you find the word anatta,you must be careful. Sometimest is translatedas meaning"without atta" Instead, let us say that rupa is without atta.This would mean that there is atta, but rupa is without atta.Anatta really means not atta, therefore it is the negation ofrupa being atta. So when we say rupa is anatta, we meanrupa is not atta, not soul, not self.

Anatta is sometimes translated as "soullessness." I amnot very comfortable with that translation. If we say thefive aggregatesare soulless then they will say that the fiveaggregates are soulless, but there is the soul, somewhereoutside the five aggregates.

The word anatta comes from na, which means "no,"and atta, which means "self," so anatta means "no self." Italso can mean "not self," and when we extend the meaning,it can mean we cannot have any authority over it.

And also it means the five aggregates have no core.Some rees have an inner core, the hardwood, but rupa, etc.,have no such core that lasts forever and is permanent.

So anatta has three meanings-not atta, not subject toauthority, and no core. It is not atta, because atta can meanauthority and core. So when we say anatta, we mean one ofthese hree things: it is not atta, we cannot have any authorityover it, or it has no core. This is called the characteristic ofanatta. The fact that we cannot exercise any authority overit points to it being anatta. So what is it that is anatta? Thefive aggregates. What is the mark of anatta? Having no

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authority, and also having no core or being no core.Understanding that the five aggregatesare anattathrough

observation of the five aggregates,or during the observationof the five aggregates, s called anattanupassana, repeatedseeing or repeated observation of anatta. Nibbana is alsoanatta because it is not atta. But Nibbana is not mentionedin this discourseor in the Visuddhimagga,because he contexthere is vipassana.When we are talking about vipassanavizdo not include Nibbana, because it is not an object ofvipassana. Only the five aggregatesof clinging can be theobject of vipassana.

So when you practice vipassana, you take the fiveaggregatesof clinging as object, but you do not take Nibbanaas object. The purpose of vipassana is to see the threecharacteristics. Nibbana has none of these threecharacteristics. So however much you watch Nibbana, evenif you could, you will never see mpermanence of Nibbanaor suffering of Nibbana.

Nibbana is anatta, not atta. This we must understand.When we are talking about vipassana,when we are in thecontext of vipassana,we leave out Nibbana, simply becauseit cannot be the object of vipassana.But if we are speakingin general about such things as what is it that is anatta, henwe may speak about the five aggregatesand Nibbana.

Characteristics of impermanence, suffering, and non-soul or non-self, are called the general characteristics of allconditioned phenomena because they are found in allconditioned phenomena.That means in all aggregates, n allmind and matter. It is very important that you see thesethree characteristics,becausewithout seeing them you cannotprogress in the practice of vipassanameditation, and cannotreach the stage of enlightenment.

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In order to see these three characteristics, there is noother way but to practice vipassana or satipatthanameditation. You also need to know what conceals thesecharacteristics, why those who do not practice meditationcannot see them, and how these concealments are broken.You need to know what results you can get fromunderstandingor seeing he five aggregates s mpermanence,suffering and non-self or non-soul. You will find outtomorrow.

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you know, if you sit for some time, you eventually willhave pain somewhere. Under normal conditions when youare not meditating, as soon as there is pain you will changeyour posture and find a posture more comfortable. But paineventually comes to that posture also, so you shift intoanother posture until pain appears here also. The attempt toavoid pain goes on and on.

So pain is temporarily removed by the next posture youadopt, which seems to conceal the nature of suffering.Because we keep changing postures, we do not realize thatthe body is always suffering. We do not sit down long enoughto notice that the pain or numbness in the body is constant.We do that only when we sit down and make notes whenpracticing meditation. So the changing of postures concealsthe dukkha nature of the physical body.

As meditators, after sitting for an hour without changingposture, you are sure to be suffering pain somewhere, soyou know how much suffering there is. When theVisuddhimaggasays pain is concealed by postures, it meansthat it is concealedby the postures taken to remove the painor suffering of the previous posture. And it continues,"Whenthe postures are exposed by attention to continuousoppression, the characteristic of pain becomes apparent inits true nature."

Here the yogi sees arising and disappearing. First heunderstands mpermanence. Then, dwelling on arising anddisappearing, arising and disappearing, he finds that arisingand disappearing s a constant oppression. When his attentionis placed on this constant oppression caused by arising anddisappearing, the postures can no longer conceal the natureof suffering, so suffering becomes evident.

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When you see hundreds of objects arising anddisappearing in this way, you cannot avoid understandingthat they are bombarded and oppressed by arising anddisappearing. Only when you see the constant oppressioncaused by arising and disappearing, do you really see thedukkha nature of mental states. And only when youunderstand dukkha in this sense, constantly oppressed byarising and disappearing, can you understand that all fiveaggregates of clinging are suffering.

The third characteristic, of non-self, anatta, does notbecome apparent because it is concealed by compactnesswhen resolution into the various elements is not givenattention. Here again there is a notion, the notion ofcompactness. In reality there is no compactness. But wealways see hings as compact, as solid things.

We think that even the mind is just one solid thing. Wethink it is the same as the mind a few moments ago, a weekago, or a month ago. And even though we have differentminds-the seeing mind, hearing mind, smelling mind, andso on-we see them as a solid thing. We lump them alltogether as one. So these aggregates also are concealed bythe notion of compactness.

In reality, it is not so simplistic. When you seesomething,there is a thing to be seen, he eyes to see it, and the seeing.On our part, we have the eyes and the seeing. Though theact of seeing is composed of many different moments ofsmall mental states, normally you do not think of it thatway. You take it as just one thing-"seeing," or "I see."The same notion applies to hearing, smelling, and so on,because you take each process to be one solid thing. Youtake a complex thing or process as a mass, and as long asyou cannot break this mass into its components, you willalways think in terms of "I," a "person," or an "individual."

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There are also different functions performed by differentmentalstates.We will continueusing seeing"asan example.Seeing consciousness has the function of seeing, which isfollowed by other types of consciousness. hey includereceivingconsciousness,hich has he unction of receivingthe image of the object that has been seen; nvestigatingconsciousness,which has the function of investigating theobject, and a number of other mental states, which arise anddisappearafter fulfilling their various functions in processingthat one object.

But we are not able to see these mental states andprocesses. If we cannot analyze the seeing into differentmental states performing their respective functions, we seeonly the visible object, and "I see" or "a person sees" iswhat we normally understand.

There is a difference in the way that different types ofconsciousness take different objects. One type ofconsciousness akes sight or a visible thing as object, anothermental state takes sound as object, and another takes smellas object, and so on. But we just assume hat it is one mindthat takes these objects, and that the "I" that sees s also the"I" that hears. So if we do not see he difference in the waymental states take objects, we cannot shake off the notionthat it is one compact "I" that sees,hears, smells, and so on.

Do you understand this explanation about anatta beingconcealed by compactness? In order to understand it, youneed to understand the meaning of anatta. One meaning is"having no exercise of authority over it." The other meaning,the subject of this explanation, is "having no core." Anattais that which has no inner core, no essence, and no self. Aslong as you take things to be compact, to be a mass, or to bejust one thing with many functions, you cannot avoid the

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It is more important to be able to resolve objects ntocomponentstates han t is to give names o them. Duringthe practice of meditation you will see hat your mind is notjust one mind. At different moments there is a differentmind, or different consciousness. ne consciousnessoesto an object, and another consciousness makes note of it;then these two disappear, and another consciousness hat isthinking of quite another thing arises, and so forth.

As you pay close attention to what is happening in yourmind, you will see hat what you thought to be one compactthing is actually composed of many small, different mentalstates. Once you see mind as comprising these small mentalstates, you come to understand that there is no core in themind. When you see there is no core in the mind, you seethe anatta nature of that mind.

Now you understand the three characteristics of allconditioned phenomena: he characteristic of impermanence,anicca; of suffering, dukkha; and of non-self or no core,anatta. Are the three characteristics included in theaggregates?Are they aggregates?The sub-commentary ofVisuddhimagga says hey are not included in the aggregates,because they are states without individual essence. Thismeans that they are just a mode of conditioned phenomena,but not conditioned phenomena, so they are not included inthe aggregates.Then are they separate rom the aggregates?The sub-commentary says they are not separate rom the aggregatesbecause hey cannot be apprehended without the aggregates;without the aggregates one cannot see the threecharacteristics. So they are not included in the aggregates,but they are not separate from them. They are conceptsapplied to these modes for easy communication.

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The three characteristics are not paramattha, ultimatereality, but are attributes of ultimate reality, attributes of theaggregates.They are neither included in the aggregatesnorare they separate from them, because they cannot beunderstood without the aggregates. Without calling themsomething, we cannot talk about them without something,So they are called concepts, and were given names foridentification. They are connected with the aggregates,andin Pali are called pannatti, meaning a particular mode ofexpression.

It is to see these three characteristics that we practicevipassana meditation. You will see them only when youpractice, not just by saying anicca, dukkha, anatta again andagain. They can be understood only through practice, not byrepeating the words or just thinking about them. So if youwant to see the three characteristics, you must practicevipassana.

When you practice vipassana, n the beginning try todevelop concentration in order to make the mind steady,still, and free from mental hindrances. When mind is freefrom mental hindrances, concentration comes. Throughconcentration you begin to see hings clearly, you begin tosee them separately. You begin to see two things occurringat the same time as a pair, the in-breath and mindfulness ofin-breath, and the out-breath and mindfulness of out-breath.These things are seenseparately,not mixed with one another.

After seeing that, you also will see conditionality. Youwill see that because there is the breath, there is mindfulnessof the breath; because there is the intention to stretch, thereis stretching, and so on. And then you will see objects ariseand disappear. When you see he objects arise and disappear,you see he impermanent nature of things.

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silavanta sutra

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