Makha Puja Day

Makha Puja Day

This ceremony marks two important dates in the life of Buddha. The first event occurred two years after Buddha’s enlightenment and is referred to as the Fourfold assembly. These events were:

• 1,250 disciples came to see the Buddha that evening without being summoned.
• All of them were Arhantas, Enlightened Ones, and all were ordained by the Buddha himself.
• The Buddha gave those Arhantas the principles of Buddhism, called "The ovadhapatimokha". Those principles are: - To cease from all evil,- To do what is good,- To cleanse one's mind;
• It was the full-moon day.

All of these occurred on full moon day of the third lunar month. As part of this gathering Buddha gave the basic principles of Buddhism to the monks. These principles are:

• Not to do any bad deeds
• To do good deeds
• To cleanse the mind of impurities.

If everyone followed these principles we would have a peaceful family, peaceful community, peaceful nation, and peaceful world. Or put another way, we would have peaceful and happy lives.
The second event occurred in the second half of Buddha’s life on Makha Puja day. Buddha delivered a sermon called "Keys for success". The second event was three months prior to his passing away. During this ceremony lay people focus more intensely on Dhamma and meditation. Dhamma (or Dharma) as it is sometimes referred to is the teachings of Buddha. Lay people would typically take vows to refrain from bad habits and perform acts to benefit them spiritually. The Keys are as follows:

• Good will and good intention (Chanda)
• Effort (Viriya)
• Thoughtfulness (Citta)
• Investigation (Vimangsa) 

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The New Year Must Be Better Than The Old ...This Way...

                        The practice of happiness

Phra Paisal Visalo suggests practical ways to cultivate happiness in our lives this coming year

Everybody wishes for happiness. Whatever we wish for, be it good health, luck, wealth, love, success or not facing difficult situations, they are all manifestations of happiness.

Unfortunately, we usually find happiness short-lived and rare to come by. So we come to another wish. How can we find happiness forever?

Phra Paisal Visalo said the irony is that the more and harder we strive for happiness, the less and further we are from it. To attain genuine happiness, we need to stop and have time for ourselves to take an inward journey to discover the spring of joy, the monk said. The keys to happiness, he believes, are already in our hands.

"Happiness is intrinsically natural for us. It dwells in our heart. We can't realise it because we spare very little or no time at all to contemplate on life. With life in the fast lane, we hardly see who we are, what is essential for our living, what we truly want in life," said Phra Paisal at the launch of Kam Kor Tee Ying Yai, which he co-wrote with Arthit Yam Chao.

"Our view that happiness is out there to be found from people, material goods, fame, positions or awards blinds us from seeing the truth," he added. "Happiness is not about earning or maintaining the status quo. It is about feeling and being happy."

The first step may be cultivating the view that happiness is not everlasting. "Like everything else in nature, happiness changes and subsides. If we can accept this law of impermanence, we will be permanently happy."

Happiness cannot be bought or consumed, said Phra Paisal. It comes to us when we learn to let go of our selfishness, cravings and desire to own things, including happiness. "When we stop demanding that nature, people and things will be as we please, then we will be able to taste the sweetness of joy."

Attachment is the root of our sufferings, said Phra Paisal. "We hold on to the 'me' and 'mine' so much that we are enslaved by whatever we cling to. For example, when someone stains or scratches 'my' car, it feels like 'I' am stained and scratched. In this sense, 'I' have become the car.

"If we ease up our grasp on 'my' car, yes, the car is ruined, but our mind will not be," he said.

The degree of our suffering is relative to the size of our "self". The bigger our ego, the more our suffering, Phra Paisal said.

While Buddhism teaches us to be "nobody", consumerist society encourages us to be "somebody", driving us to go after money, fame, rank, wealth and power.

"The 'big' ego becomes an easy target where suffering can hit without a miss. For example, one may go to a restaurant and feel upset for not being waited on instantly. Or if you thought that you were 'someone', you would not like to have to line up for service.
"When we are angry or arrogant, we are separating ourselves from the others. It is this separation that blocks us from the flow of happiness."

In short, Phra Paisal said what we need to do to realise happiness is to scrape off our ego, which brings about selfishness and separation. He urges us to be "an empty boat", which is not affected by low or high tides. "Ultimately, supreme happiness comes when there is no 'one' who is attached to sufferings or happiness."

To this end, the monk offered some practical advice.
Say 'I'm sorry' and 'never mind'

We are not angels. As human beings it is natural for us to be imperfect and prone to make mistakes, said Phra Paisal. But these days, he went on, we say sorry too little and too late. Consequently, we are relentlessly living in feuds at home, at work and in broader society.

For example, "Sorry" from doctors could prevent doctor-patient relationships coming before the courts. "Sorry" from the government may help heal the wounded hearts of Muslims in the South who feel justice is not being served. An apology might have stopped the situation from becoming so violent. "Sorry" said by parents may prevent children from ending up in juvenile detention centres.

"Sorry," said Phra Paisal, seems to be the hardest word because we associate it with failures, mistakes, incompetence and weakness, which we feel we must not show to others.

"When we say sorry, we are not losing face. We are losing delusion. It is a noble act. It shows one's humility and compassion to feel others' sufferings," said the monk.

It needs understanding and courage to make an apology, he added. "One needs to take off many heavy hats we are wearing, like education, seniority, experience, ranking, social status, and just relate to one another as human fellows."

The sooner one says sorry, the quicker one can mend conflicts and restore relationships. Most importantly, Phra Paisal emphasized, it is a perfect tool to scrub off one's ego.

"When we sincerely feel and say sorry, our mind will be light and liberated. But if we remain headstrong, resisting our mistakes, we are harming ourselves. Our heart becomes hard and cold, our ego gets stronger, and thus our sufferings are deepened."

Like giving an apology, forgiveness also sets our heart free from anger, grudges or sorrow that weighs us down. At times, it cannot be helped that people hurt us with their deeds and words. It is thus crucial that we learn to cultivate a forgiving mind,
said Phra Paisal. "We can all make mistakes, thus we all need forgiving."
The sooner one forgives, he said, the sooner one will be happy.
Say 'thank you' and offer compliments

"Thank you," he said, is not merely a social courtesy. When uttered from the heart it can promote our happiness, too. How? Because it takes optimism and humility to say.

Those who are hard to please or see themselves as above others may find it difficult to appreciate or see others' contributions and goodness, said Phra Paisal. They may see only flaws and give complaints and criticism rather than compliments. In this manner, one is likely to feel upset, dissatisfied, frustrated and far from happy.

To be able to thank someone or something needs both truthful and positive perspectives. This outlook can be cultivated and trained, said Phra Paisal. Appreciating the little things in life, the small things people do or say to us, will bring joy and make us smile.
Most importantly, Phra Paisal said our sharpened positive outlook will help us through difficult times. "This inclination can help us see the bright side of suffering and make our plight manageable and not so miserable."

Learn from suffering
Phra Paisal urges us to take the bull by the horns: "Be happy when suffering comes as it provides us a chance to shake off our ego," he said.

We suffer because we cling to suffering, he added.
There are two main kinds of situations that make us suffer, explained the monk. The first is losing what we love and desire. When we lose people, things, positions, or circumstances we prefer, we become miserable and angry.

The second situation that makes us suffer is facing what we hate, be it people we don't like, physical or emotional pain, criticism, failure or disappointment.

"When faced with these situations, do not try to push or bury them away. When you suffer, try to see that it is not 'you' but the 'self', the 'delusions' that is suffering. You need to allow these delusions to suffer so as to tame them. Things won't appear as we please, accept it as it comes with humility."
Set time to oneself

It is impossible to be truly happy when one is always on the run. To realise happiness, Phra Paisal says we need to slow down and give ourselves more time in solitude. He advises us to take time off each day to install happiness in our bodies and minds.

Sadly, people are always running out of time, both for themselves and for others. Our attention can be scattered between many things - schedules, meetings, work and other activities - making it difficult for us to focus on really important issues in life such as what truly constitutes happiness.

Ultimately, Phra Paisal wishes that we will be aloof from being "someone" who feel happiness or suffering. "Then, you will attain permanent happiness." 

 

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The Middle Way Life in a World of Polarity

Buddhadasa Bhikkhu:

The Middle Way Life in a World of Polarity

By Santikaro 

We human beings have long acquired the habit of creating dichotomies and opposition, and our understandings of scriptural texts and traditions have not avoided this tendency. We frequently find polarity imposed as a device of convenience: tradition versus reform, meditator versus scholar, etc. Some Buddhist teachers may fall into such dichotomies. Ajahn Buddhadasa is one who does not.  For him, the middle way is about finding the right course between extremes.

Ajahn Buddhadasa grew up during a time of great change in Thai society, as aggressive western “civilization” and imperialism made deep inroads. This change brought about many benefits such as roads, schools, and advances in health care, but much destruction resulted as well. The forests of Thailand diminished from over 90% to just 10%, prostitution became rampant, and traditional modes of life have disappeared. Many in Thailand responded to the pressure to westernize by embracing and profiting from it. Others took the opposite approach, resisting and refusing what the West had to offer. Ajahn Buddhadasa sought the middle way between these opposing alternatives.

 

The organizing element in Ajahn Buddhadasa’s response to Western imperialism and modernization was the Dhamma. This may seem self-evident, but it wasn’t true of the political-economic elite or even the majority of Thai monks, especially the senior monks who were often much more interested in maintaining tradition and privilege than in living from Dhammic principles. One of Ajahn Buddhadasa’s most notable qualities was his ability to hold the Dhamma at the center—not a bookish, memorized Dhamma, but a living, creative expression of it. He and others, such as Vietnamese Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hahn, represent some of the healthiest Asian responses to the tremendous economic, political, and military pressure emanating from the violent capitalist-driven ideology of the West.

 

Faced with the dichotomy of slavishly following or stubbornly refusing the progress of Westernization, Ajahn Buddhadasa felt that there were many things to learn from the West. Like the Dalai Lama, he was fascinated by science. When he was a young monk, he cherished the typewriter given to him by an early benefactor. He experimented with radios and early recording equipment, and was an excellent photographer. He read Freud and other psychologists, and philosophers like Hegel and Marx. He believed there was a way to use some Western developments constructively. Instead of blindly refusing them, he thought that one should learn how to adapt them - understanding them while being mindful of their potential dangers.

 

He thought that Asian peoples could learn from what those in the West were thinking and doing, without surrendering their own wisdom.  Many Thai students in Europe and in Western-style educational systems were being told by their European teachers that they came from an “inferior civilization.” There were some who believed what they were told. Fortunately, others did not. Ajahn Buddhadasa emerged as the main Thai voice pointing out that Europe had created nothing comparable to Buddhism, while acknowledging the economic and military advancement of the West. He presented the view that Asian Buddhism had an attitude much more fitting with science than Christianity, and a kind of wisdom largely missing in the West.

 

Ajahn Buddhadasa taught that in order to wisely absorb what is coming from the West, and to filter what is unhealthy, we need to stay grounded in an understanding of Buddha-Dhamma. This had a great influence on Thai society, especially among the progressive elite. Though the meaning is a bit different for those of us born in the West, the dilemma remains: we live in a culture that is very powerful and has some healthy, creative aspects, but also a tremendous amount of violence and destruction.  How are we going to sort through this? In which principles can we ground ourselves?

Another dichotomy occurs between conservative and radical. The Thai activist and scholar Sulak Sivaraksa coined the term “radical conservatism” to describe Ajahn Buddhadasa. In some ways Ajahn Buddhadasa was conservative. He thought that Southern Thai culture was healthy, balanced, and wise, and he wanted to help conserve it. He was also conservative, in certain respects, regarding Buddhism, believing that Buddhism needed to stay grounded in its past without being stuck there. 

 

At the same time he was radical.  Ajahn Buddhadasa honored the Buddhist tradition that had developed over 2500 years, but he also recognized that the many changes it had been through were not in keeping with its core. In trying to understand and preserve the tradition, he endeavored to find the original and essential aspects of Buddhism through carefully reading and studying the Pali suttas. He insisted on reviving core threads of Buddha-Dhamma—teachings such as suññata (emptiness) and tathata (thusness) —that were in danger of being obliterated by certain elements of traditional Theravada Buddhism. Although this could be considered a conservative activity, it seemed very radical to the  monastic hierarchy. Rather than end up on one side or the other of this conservative-progressive dichotomy, he was able to be progressively conservative and conservatively progressive, avoiding a common ideological lock-down.

 

Another key dichotomy he addressed is that of lay versus monastic. Senior monks discouraged him from teaching anatta (not-self) and paticcasamuppada (dependent co-origination) to lay people on grounds that it would “confuse them.” But in good conscience Ajahn Buddhadhasa could not stop. He argued that these dhammas are core to Buddhism, and all people who want to end suffering have a right to learn them. For him, ending suffering is not a monastic issue, or even a Buddhist issue, but a human issue. He took on the work of making the Dhamma available to anyone who might be interested, whether they were lay or ordained, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, or Sikh (and he had students from all of these traditions).

 

 Ajahn Buddhadasa also challenged the meditation versus daily-life practice dichotomy. The term ‘Dhamma practice’ is often used as a euphemism for meditation both in the West and in Asia . When people say ‘practice’ they are referring to the practice of sitting on a cushion or doing walking meditation, and sometimes specifically on retreat or in a formal setting. This has raised questions and created confusion about how to practice in daily-life, and how to respond to the demands, complexities, and needs of the world we live in.

 

Central to Ajahn Buddhadasa’s approach is the idea that “Dhamma is duty; duty is Dhamma.” Dhamma practice comes down to doing our duty, which inspires a further investigation into the nature of that duty. For some of us our duty is something dictated to us by our family. The government tells us about our patriotic duty. Capitalism tells us about our duty to consume to keep the economy strong. Ajahn Buddhadasa believed that duty must be discovered by and for ourselves. We should be mindful of messages from our family, government, culture, and economic system, but in the end it is our own responsibility to identify. Sometimes it’s about taking care of the body, sometimes it’s about one’s profession, and sometimes it’s about social action. Ultimately the core duty is to let go of self and to be free of suffering.

Finally, there is the spiritual versus worldly dichotomy. There are teachers of Theravada who believe in a clear duality between samsara and Nibbana, the worldly and transcendent. And there is much in the West that dichotomizes these as well, including leftist political traditions that want to abolish religion and be simply materialistic. There are others with the opposite bias: “Forget politics and forget social issues, all you have to do is practice, practice, practice and escape to Nibbana.”

While Ajahn Buddhadasa didn’t believe that samsara (worldly) and Nibbana (transcendent) are one and the same, he did insist that Nibbana is found only in the midst of the world. For him the way to end suffering could only be found through suffering. He described Nibbana as “the coolest point in the furnace.” 

The Dhamma perspective that made all this bridging possible is an understanding, both intellectual and experiential, of idappaccayata—the universal natural law that all things happen because of causes and conditions. Nothing is static, absolute, or fixed. Seeing this, we avoid becoming trapped in ideology, positions, and dichotomies. Ajahn Buddhadasa believed that an approach which may have worked for a while may also finally reach its limit. The more we understand that everything depends on causes and conditions, that nothing is fixed, the easier it will be to navigate the intellectual and ideological dichotomies of our world, and to follow the middle way of non-suffering in this lifetime.

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JUST ONE TEACHING

                  JUST ONE TEACHING

 By Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

You must know that the Buddha spoke of just one thing and nothing else: dukkha (pain, dissatisfaction) and the quenching of dukkha. The Buddha taught only the disease and the cure of the disease; he didn't talk about anything else. When people asked questions about other matters, the Buddha refused to waste his or their time with such things. 

Nowadays, we spend our time studying all kinds of other things. It's a pity how our curiosity is aroused by matters such as: After death, will I be born again? Where will I be reborn? How will it happen? Please don't waste your time on those things. Instead of reading lots of books, take what time you have to focus on dukkha and the complete, utter quenching of dukkha. This is the knowledge to store up, this is the studying to do. Don't bother studying anything else!

The Lord Buddha taught only dukkha and the total cessation of dukkha. He taught that we must study these two things within our bodies. You can only do this while the body is alive. Once the body dies, you don't have to concern yourselves with this problem any more. But now, while there's life, constantly, continuously, and inwardly study dukkha (spiritual disease) and the utter quenching of dukkha (the cure of the spiritual disease).

Throughout this world there is little interest in this matter of dukkha and its end. None of the world's schools pay any attention to it. In the universities, they don't teach or study it. The only thing taught in our schools and universities is cleverness, the storing up of many facts and the ability to perform mental tricks with them. Students graduate with cleverness and some way to make a living. This is what modern education means-- being clever and earning lots of money. Dukkha and the quenching of dukkha are totally ignored. We believe that all education in today's world is incomplete. It is imperfect because the most important subjects are forgotten; a general base of knowledge and the ability to earn a living are not enough. There is a third area of knowledge which the schools and universities don't teach: how to be a human being. Why do they ignore what it takes to be a proper human being, that is, a human being free of dukkha? Because a proper human being ought to have no spiritual disease, modern education will be incomplete and insufficient as long as it fails to cure spiritual disease.

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Dhamma Medicine

Dhamma Medicine

By Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

 

The first thing we would like you to realize is that Buddhism, or Dhamma, is a medicine for curing disease. This is a strange and special medicine because it can be taken by anyone, regardless of religion, nationality, ethnic background, education, class, or language. Anyone may use this medicine, for Dhamma is like those modern drugs that cure physical ailments. Such drugs can be taken by people all over the world, no matter what their religion, race, sex, profession, or language. Although we come from different cultures, we can use the very same kind of medicine. Take aspirin, for example. No matter who and where we are, we can take a few aspirin to get rid of a headache. Dhamma is the same. It is the universal medicine.

We like to say that Dhamma is a medicine for disease or roga. I would like for us to use this Pali word "roga," because it has a clear and useful meaning. Although it's usually translated as "disease," roga literally means "that which pierces and stabs," thus causing pain. We don't really know where the English word "disease" comes from, so we prefer "roga." Its meaning is certain and appropriate: stabbing, piercing, skewering. Dhamma is something that can cure this stabbing and piercing of roga.

The roga with which we're most concerned is spiritual. We can call it "spiritual disease." Physical disease pierces the body; spiritual disease stabs the mind or spirit. Dhamma is the latter's remedy. If we have no spiritual disease, to come and study Dhamma is a complete waste of time. Hence, everyone must look closely in order to know both kinds of roga: physical disease, roga of the body, and spiritual disease, roga of the mind, heart, or spirit. Then, look within yourselves -- right now! -- is there any spiritual disease in you? Are you free from disease or merely enduring it?

We begin our study of Dhamma by getting to know our own roga. You must look and search within yourself until seeing and discovering how spiritual disease afflicts you. To do so, you must look inside! If you don't, you won't have a proper beginning to your study of Dhamma. Unless we understand the roga from which we suffer, we will only study Dhamma in a foolish, aimless way. Actually, most of you already have some knowledge about your spiritual disease, but for most that knowledge will be slight, scattered, or unclear.

Let's talk about the disease a bit more in order to clarify it. All of the problems which disturb the mind are problems which arise from aging, illness, and death. These are the first symptoms of the disease. Our minds are disturbed and pestered by problems that result from the fact that we all must grow old, fall sick, and die. These problems are the first thing to look at. Next, there are three general, miscellaneous problems: we get separated from the things we love, we experience things we dislike, and we have wishes which go unfulfilled. These are general problems leading to spiritual disease. Before anything else, each of you must know these problems or roga as you actually experience them within yourselves.

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When the world is just a joke

When the world is just a joke

Phra Paisal Visalo (May, 2006) www.budnet.org Translated into English by Surutchada Chullapram

Humankind possesses the power of creation. We have invented numerous innovations, but eventually our own creations return to ‘create’ us back by influencing our thoughts, behaviours and lifestyle.

We developed technology only to let it run our lives by dictating the way we live, our hobbies and our life goals – for example, when we aim to have our own car before the age of thirty. Technology even dictates the way we express our love and relationship with others. 

Similarly, we set up the value of gold (or diamond) so that eventually gold has become the standard which assesses our value in society. Imagine the way you might feel if you go to a fancy social event without any gold or diamond jewellery.

To take another example, languages are human’s invention. However, at the same time humans are also the invention of languages. Our views and feelings are much dictated by languages. We feel differently when we are called ‘sir’ as opposed to ‘tramp’. The power of language is not limited here as it also intricately, deeply but unnoticeably controls our thinking process and our opinion about life. 

Amongst those powerful words is the word ‘my’. We usually call things that we have ‘mine’. This word really makes us think that these objects are actually ours, in the sense that they are under our power and control; that we can direct them in any way we please; and that they will always be ‘ours’ forever and ever. Sadly, this is not the truth. Even more sadly, whatever we think is ‘mine’ actually ‘owns’ us. We, in fact, ‘belong’ to them and not the other way round.

When we buy a nice shiny new car; as soon as we think it is ‘ours’, we will fall under its control, in the sense that we will always be worried about it and taking care of it. We are so controlled by that new car that we can not stop being worried if it is parked somewhere unsafe. We would definitely be upset if the car is scratched, and even gone crazy if it is stolen. Have you started to see who controls who?

Therefore, anything which we think is ‘ours’ is in fact our boss, our controller and our owner. As soon as we think that the money we have is ours, we will then become its slave. We will do everything to protect it from, say, thieves, even if our lives are endangered. Apart from that, we are most likely to work very hard in order to make more money – not unlike a slave who spends his life filling his boss’s treasure chest. This urge to ‘make money’ is an uncanny addiction, so that many of us forget to use the money but focusing on making it. In a way, the money is using us. 

The power of ‘my’ extends beyond material possession to human relationship. If we start to think that another person is ours, we will suddenly fall under that person’s control. Our lives, happiness and unhappiness will depend on what the person does or says. Very often, people commit suicide just because this special someone acts in a cruel heartless way. All these start from our own thoughts, that this is my lover, my parent, or my child. 

A mother always complains because her son spends too much time on computer games. The son gets annoyed and decides not to speak to his mother, but to spend even more time in front of the computer screen. One day, the mother can not stand it any longer. She demands that he speak to her, otherwise she will kill herself. The boy’s silent response causes so deep disappointment in her heart that she actually commits suicide. 

In this case, the more the mother thinks that her son is ‘hers’, the more she falls into his power and the more she becomes unhappy, as a result of her own expectation. Her thought has destroyed herself, and perhaps others around her. 

Look carefully, there is nothing in the world which, upon becoming ‘ours’, will not assert control over us, even our own thoughts. We always think that our thoughts are ours, but in fact they are rather outside our control. There are many things which we want to forget, but they always come back to haunt us. Another example, when we hate someone, we can not stop thinking about that person, although that is something we do not want to think about at all. 

Thoughts are like beings. Once they come into existence they want to remain that way. This is why they try to make us think about them as often as possible, so that they do not disappear. The more we think, the stronger the thoughts become. Notice that when we are by ourselves, stream of thoughts flows continuously as they are tricking us to keep them alive. Apart from that, they also want us to protect and defend them against any opposition. This is why we argue with those who disagree with our opinions. Sometimes we even have to wage war, in order to defend our views, be it religious or political. The fact that we allow our thoughts to push us into killing must indicate that we are under its power. 

The strange thing about thoughts is that once we attach to them, they can push us into doing many things, even if these things yield adverse effects on us. To take another example, a man really adores his own back garden. He spends a lot of time on it, and tries to make it looks perfectly at all times. He does not allow anyone to walk on his grass on fear that the grass might be damaged. So, does the back garden belong to him, or does it, in fact, own him?

One day he discovers that there are moles underneath the garden, damaging his beloved object. He tries in various ways to get rid of the moles, but to no avail. Eventually, he decides to fill the moles’ holes with petrol and burn them all up. The moles die, as he wishes, but his garden is also totally destroyed.

When we want to triumph over someone or something, this thought will push us to the limits and tell us to do anything in order to win, regardless of what we might lose in the process. Isn’t it true that very often, things that we lose are those we love the most?

Why is it that once we think that something belongs to us, be it money, people, thought or fame, that thing takes control and we become theirs? The answer is our attachment to them. Once we are attached to something, we can not help but be affected by it emotionally. It can make us happy or sad. Maybe we should try to control it, make it subject to our will? However, how many things in the world that we can truly control? We can not even control our body in the sense that we can not stop the aging process, nor the illnesses inside it. Nor can we control our mind, we don’t even know what we will be thinking in the next minute, let alone calming it down (for example, when we are angry). Therefore, the more we try to control, the unhappier we may become. We might think that we gain some happiness from the control, but this is only momentarily. Then we are back to unhappiness again. 

The more we want, the more we lose. The more we think that we are the controllers, the more we become the slaves. But once we let it go, we will get it back. When we are free from attachment to everything in the world, it will come back to us and belong to us in such a way that does not cause any pain or unhappiness. This is the truth of the world. It may sound like a joke – the world is just joking on us.

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The Two Faces of Reality

A Dhammatalk by Ajahn Chah

The Two Faces of Reality

In our lives we have two possibilities: indulging in the world or going beyond the world. The Buddha was someone who was able to free himself from the world and thus realized spiritual liberation. 

In the same way, there are two types of knowledge - knowledge of the worldly realm and knowledge of the spiritual, or true wisdom. If we have not yet practiced and trained ourselves, no matter how much knowledge we have, it is still worldly, and thus cannot liberate us. 

Think and really look closely! The Buddha said that things of the world spin the world around. Following the world, the mind is entangled in the world, it defiles itself whether coming or going, never remaining content. Worldly people are those who are always looking for something - who can never find enough. Worldly knowledge is really ignorance; it isn't knowledge with clear understanding, therefore there is never an end to it. It revolves around the worldly goals of accumulating things, gaining status, seeking praise and pleasure; it's a mass of delusion which has us stuck fast.
Once we get something, there is jealousy, worry and selfishness. And when we feel threatened and can't ward it off physically, we use our minds to invent all sorts of devices, right up to weapons and even nuclear bombs, only to blow each other up. Why all this trouble and difficulty?
This is the way of the world. The Buddha said that if one follows it around there is no reaching an end. 

Come to practice for liberation! It isn't easy to live in accordance with true wisdom, but whoever earnestly seeks the path and fruit and aspires to Nibbāna will be able to persevere and endure. Endure being contented and satisfied with little; eating little, sleeping little, speaking little and living in moderation. By doing this we can put an end to worldliness. 

If the seed of worldliness has not yet been uprooted, then we are continually troubled and confused in a never-ending cycle. Even when you come to ordain, it continues to pull you away. It creates your views, your opinions, it colors and embellishes all your thoughts - that's the way it is. 

People don't realize! They say that they will get things done in the world. It's always their hope to complete everything. Just like a new government minister who is eager to get started with his new administration. He thinks that he has all the answers, so he carts away everything of the old administration saying, ''Look out! I'll do it all myself''. That's all they do, cart things in and cart things out, never getting anything done. They try, but never reach any real completion. 

You can never do something which will please everyone - one person likes a little, another likes a lot; one like short and one likes long; some like salty and some like spicy. To get everyone together and in agreement just cannot be done. 

All of us want to accomplish something in our lives, but the world, with all of its complexities, makes it almost impossible to bring about any real completion. Even the Buddha, born with all the opportunities of a noble prince, found no completion in the worldly life. 

The Trap of the Senses
The Buddha talked about desire and the six things by which desire is gratified: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and mind-objects. Desire and lust for happiness, for suffering, for good, for evil and so on, pervade everything! 

Sights... there isn't any sight that's quite the same as that of a woman. Isn't that so? Doesn't a really attractive woman make you want to look? One with a really attractive figure comes walking along, ''sak, sek, sak, sek, sak, sek'', - you can't help but stare! How about sounds? There's no sound that grips you more than that of a woman. It pierces your heart! Smell is the same; a woman's fragrance is the most alluring of all. There's no other smell that's quite the same. Taste - even the taste of the most delicious food cannot compare with that of a woman. Touch is similar; when you caress a woman you are stunned, intoxicated and sent pinning all around. 

There was once a famous master of magical spells from Taxila in ancient India. He taught his disciple all his knowledge of charms and incantations. When the disciple was well-versed and ready to fare on his own, he left with this final instruction from his teacher, ''I have taught you all that I know of spells, incantations and protective verses. Creatures with sharp teeth, antlers or horns, and even big tusks, you have no need to fear. You will be guarded from all of these, I can guarantee that. However, there is only one thing that I cannot ensure protection against, and that is the charms of a woman². I can not help you here. There's no spell for protection against this one, you'll have to look after yourself''. 

Mental objects arise in the mind. They are born out of desire: desire for valuable possessions, desire to be rich, and just restless seeking after things in general. This type of greed isn't all that deep or strong, it isn't enough to make you faint or lose control. However, when sexual desire arises, you're thrown off balance and lose your control. You would even forget those raised and brought you up - your own parents! 

The Buddha taught that the objects of our senses are a trap - a trap of Māra³. Māra should be understood as something which harms us. The trap is something which binds us, the same as a snare. It's a trap of Māra's, a hunter's snare, and the hunter is Māra. 

If animals are caught in the hunter's trap, it's a sorrowful predicament. They are caught fast and held waiting for the owner of the trap. Have you ever snared birds? The snare springs and ''boop'' - caught by the neck! A good strong string now holds it fast. Wherever the bird flies, it cannot escape. It flies here and flies there, but it's held tight waiting for the owner of the snare. When the hunter comes along, that's it - the bird is struck with fear, there's no escape! 

The trap of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and mind-objects is the same. They catch us and bind us fast. If you attach to the senses, you're the same as a fish caught on a hook. When the fisherman comes, struggle all you want, but you can't get loose. Actually, you're not caught like a fish, it's more like a frog - a frog gulps down the whole hook right to its guts, a fish just gets caught in its mouth. 

Anyone attached to the senses is the same. Like a drunk whose liver is not yet destroyed - he doesn't know when he has had enough. He continues to indulge and drink 
carelessly. He's caught and later suffers illness and pain.
A man comes walking along a road. He is very thirsty from his journey and is craving for a drink of water. The owner of the water says, ''you can drink this water if you like; the color is good, the smell is good, the taste is good, but if you drink it you will become ill. I must tell you this beforehand, it'll make you sick enough to die or nearly die''. The thirsty man does not listen. He's as thirsty as a person after an operation who has been denied water for seven days - he's crying for water! 

It's the same with a person thirsting after the senses. The Buddha taught that they are poisonous - sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and mind-objects are poison; they are a dangerous trap. But this man is thirsty and doesn't listen; because of his thirst he is in tears, crying, ''Give me water, no matter how painful the consequences, let me drink!'' So he dips out a bit and swallows it down finding it very tasty. He drinks his fill and gets so sick that he almost dies. He didn't listen because of his overpowering desire. 

This is how it is for a person caught in the pleasures of the senses. He drinks in sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and mind-objects - they are all very delicious! So he drinks without stopping and there he remains, stuck fast until the day he dies. 

The Worldly Way and Liberation
Some people die, some people almost die - that's how it is to be stuck in the way of the world. Worldly wisdom seeks after the senses and their objects. However wise it is, it's only wise in a worldly sense. No matter how appealing it is, it's only appealing in a worldly sense. However much happiness it is, it's only happiness in a worldly sense. It isn't the happiness of liberation; it won't free you from the world.
We have come to practice as monks in order to penetrate true wisdom, to rid ourselves of attachment. Practice to be free of attachment! Investigate the body, investigate everything around you until you become weary and fed up with it all and then dispassion will set in. Dispassion will not arise easily however, because you still don't see clearly.
We come and ordain - we study, we read, we practice, we meditate. We determine to make our minds resolute but it's hard to do. We resolve to do a certain practice, we say that we'll practice in this way - only a day or two goes by, maybe just a few hours pass and we forget all about it. Then we remember and try to make our minds firm again, thinking, ''This time I'll do it right!'' Shortly after that we are pulled away by one of our senses and it all falls apart again, so we have to start all over again! This is how it is. 

Like a poorly built dam, our practice is weak. We are still unable to see and follow true practice. And it goes on like this until we arrive at true wisdom. Once we penetrate to the truth, we are freed from everything. Only peace remains. 

Our minds aren't peaceful because of our old habits. We inherit these because of our past actions and thus they follow us around and constantly plague us. We struggle and search for a way out, but we're bound by them and they pull us back. These habits don't forget their old grounds. They grab onto all the old familiar things to use, to admire and to consume - that's how we live. 

The sexes of man and woman - woman cause problems for men, men cause problems for women. That's the way it is, they are opposites. If men live together with men, then there's no trouble. If women live together with women, then there's no trouble. When a man sees a woman his heart pounds like a rice pounder, ''deung, dung, deung, dung, deung, dung''. What is this? What are those forces? It pulls and sucks you in - no one realizes that there's a price to pay! 

It's the same in everything. No matter how hard you try to free yourself, until you see the value of freedom and the pain in bondage, you won't be able to let go. People usually just practice enduring hardships, keeping the discipline, following the form blindly and not in order to attain freedom or liberation. You must see the value in letting go of your desires before you can really practice; only then is true practice possible. 

Everything that you do must be done with clarity and awareness. When you see clearly, there will no longer be any need for enduring or forcing yourself. You have difficulties and are burdened because you miss this point! Peace comes from doing things completely with your whole body and mind. Whatever is left undone leaves you with a feeling of discontent. These things bind you with worry wherever you go. You want to complete everything, but it's impossible to get it all done. 

Take the case of the merchants who regularly come here to see me. They say, ''Oh, when my debts are all paid and property in order, I'll come to ordain''. They talk like that but will they ever finish and get it all in order? There's no end to it. They pay up their debts with another loan, they pay off that one and do it all again. A merchant thinks that if he frees himself from debt he will be happy, but there's no end to paying things off. That's the way worldliness fools us - we go around and around like this never realizing our predicament. 

Constant Practice
In our practice we just look directly at the mind. Whenever our practice begins to slacken off, we see it and make it firm - then shortly after, it goes again. That's the way it pulls you around. But the person with good mindfulness takes a firm hold and constantly re-establishes himself, pulling himself back, training, practicing and developing himself in this way.
The person with poor mindfulness just lets it all fall apart, he strays off and gets side-tracked again and again. He's not strong and firmly rooted in practice. Thus he's continuously pulled away by his worldly desires - something pulls him here, something pulls him there. He lives following his whims and desires, never putting an end to this worldly cycle. 

Coming to ordain is not so easy. You must determine to make your mind firm. You should be confident in the practice, confident enough to continue practicing until you become fed up with both your like and dislikes and see in accordance with truth. Usually, you are dissatisfied with only your dislike, if you like something then you aren't ready to give it up. You have to become fed up with both your dislike and your likes, your suffering and your happiness. 

You don't see that this is the very essence of the Dhamma! The Dhamma of the Buddha is profound and refined. It isn't easy to comprehend. If true wisdom has not yet arisen, then you can't see it. You don't look forward and you don't look back. When you experience happiness, you think that there will only be happiness. Whenever there is suffering, you think that there will only be suffering. You don't see that wherever there is big, there is small; wherever there is small, there is big. You don't see it that way. You see only one side and thus it's never-ending. 

There are two sides to everything; you must see both sides. Then, when happiness arises, you don't get lost; when suffering arises, you don't get lost. When happiness arises, you don't forget the suffering, because you see that they are interdependent. 

In a similar way, food is beneficial to all beings for the maintenance of the body. But actually, food can also be harmful, for example when it causes various stomach upsets. When you see the advantages of something, you must perceive the disadvantages also, and vice versa. When you feel hatred and aversion, you should contemplate love and understanding. In this way, you become more balanced and your mind becomes more settled. 

The Empty Flag
I once read a book about Zen. In Zen, you know, they don't teach with a lot of explanation. For instance, if a monk is falling asleep during meditation, they come with a stick and ''whack!'' they give him a hit on the back. When the erring disciple is hit, he shows his gratitude by thanking the attendant. In Zen practice one is taught to be thankful for all the feelings which give one the opportunity to develop.
One day there was an assembly of monks gathered for a meeting. Outside the hall a flag was blowing in the wind. There arose a dispute between two monks as to how the flag was actually blowing in the wind. One of the monks claimed that it was because of the wind while the other argued that it was because of the flag. Thus they quarreled because of their narrow views and couldn't come to any kind of agreement. They would have argued like this until the day they died. However, their teacher intervened and said, ''Neither of you is right. The correct understanding is that there is no flag and there is no wind''. 

This is the practice, not to have anything, not to have the flag and not to have the wind. If there is a flag, then there is a wind; if there is a wind, then there is a flag. You should contemplate and reflect on this thoroughly until you see in accordance with truth. If considered well, then there will remain nothing. It's empty - void; empty of the flag and empty of the wind. In the great void there is no flag and there is no wind. There is no birth, no old age, no sickness or death. Our conventional understanding of flag and wind is only a concept. In reality there is nothing. That's all! There is nothing more than empty labels. 

If we practice in this way, we will come to see completeness and all of our problems will come to an end. In the great void the King of Death will never find you. There is nothing for old age, sickness and death to follow. When we see and understand in accordance with truth, that is, with right understanding, then there is only this great emptiness. It's here that there is no more ''we'', no ''they'', no ''self'' at all. 

The Forest of the Senses
The world with its never-ending ways goes on and on. If we try to understand it all, it leads us only to chaos and confusion. However, if we contemplate the world clearly, then true wisdom will arise. The Buddha himself was one who was well-versed in the ways of the world. He had great ability to influence and lead because of his abundance of worldly knowledge. Through the transformation of his worldly mundane wisdom, He penetrated and attained to supermundane wisdom, making him a truly superior being.
So, if we work with this teaching, turning it inwards for contemplation, we will attain to an understanding on an entirely new level. When we see an object, there is no object. When we hear a sound, the is no sound. In smelling, we can say that there is no smell. All of the senses are manifest, but they are void of anything stable. They are just sensations that arise and then pass away. 

If we understand according to this reality, then the senses cease to be substantial. They are just sensations which come and go. In truth there isn't any ''thing''. If there isn't any ''thing'', then there is no ''we'' and no ''they''. If there is no ''we'' as a person, then there is nothing belonging to ''us''. It's in this way that suffering is extinguished. There isn't anybody to acquire suffering, so who is it who suffers?
When suffering arises, we attach to the suffering and thereby must really suffer. In the same way, when happiness arises, we attach to the happiness and consequently experience pleasure. Attachment to these feelings gives rise to the concept of ''self'' or ''ego'' and thoughts of ''we'' and ''they'' continually manifest. Nah!! Here is where it all begins and then carries us around in its never-ending cycle. 

So, we come to practice meditation and live according to the Dhamma. We leave our homes to come and live in the forest and absorb the peace of mind it gives us. We have fled in order to contend with ourselves and not through fear or escapism. But people who come and live in the forest become attached to living in it; just as people who live in the city become attached to the city. They lose their way in the forest and they lose their way in the city. 

The Buddha praised living in the forest because the physical and mental solitude that it gives us is conducive to the practice for liberation. However, He didn't want us to become dependent upon living in the forest or get stuck in its peace and tranquillity. We come to practice in order for wisdom to arise. Here in the forest we can sow and cultivate the seeds of wisdom. Living amongst chaos and turmoil these seeds have difficulty in growing, but once we have learned to live in the forest, we can return and contend with the city and all the stimulation of the senses that it brings us. Learning to live in the forest means to allow wisdom to grow and develop. We can then apply this wisdom no matter where we go. 

When our senses are stimulated, we become agitated and the senses become our antagonists. They antagonize us because we are still foolish and don't have the wisdom to deal with them. In reality they are our teachers, but, because of our ignorance, we don't see it that way. When we lived in the city we never thought that our senses could teach us anything. As long as true wisdom has not yet manifested, we continue to see the senses and their objects as enemies. Once true wisdom arises, they are no longer our enemies but become the doorway to insight and clear understanding. 

A good example is the wild chickens here in the forest. We all know how much they are afraid of humans. However, since I have lived here in the forest I have been able to teach them and learn from them as well. At one time I began throwing out rice for them to eat. At first they were very frightened and wouldn't go near the rice. However, after a long time they got used to it and even began to expect it. You see, there is something to be learned here - they originally thought that there was danger in the rice, that the rice was an enemy. In truth there was no danger in the rice, but they didn't know that the rice was food and so were afraid. When they finally saw for themselves that there was nothing to fear, they could come and eat without any danger. 

The chickens learn naturally in this way. Living here in the forest we learn in a similar way. Formerly we thought that our senses were a problem, and because of our ignorance in the proper use of them, they caused us a lot trouble. However, by experience in practice we learn to see them in accordance with truth. We learn to make use of them just as the chickens could use the rice. Then they are no longer opposed to us and problems disappear. 

As long as we think, investigate and understand wrongly, these things will oppose us. But as soon as we begin to investigate properly, that which we experience will bring us to wisdom and clear understanding, just as the chickens came to their understanding. In this way, we can say that they practiced ''vipassanā''. They know in accordance with truth, it's their insight. 

In our practice, we have our senses as tools which, when rightly used, enable us to become enlightened to the Dhamma. This is something which all meditator should contemplate. When we don't see this clearly, we remain in perpetual conflict. 

So, as we live in the quietude of the forest, we continue to develop subtle feelings and prepare the ground for cultivating wisdom. Don't think that when you have gained some peace of mind living here in the quiet forest that that's enough. Don't settle for just that! Remember that we have to cultivate and grow the seeds of wisdom. 

As wisdom matures and we begin to understand in accordance with the truth, we will no longer be dragged up and down. Usually, if we have a pleasant mood, we behave one way; and if we have an unpleasant mood, we are another way. We like something and we are up; we dislike something and we are down. In this way we are still in conflict with enemies. When these things no longer oppose us, they become stabilized and balance out. There are no longer ups and downs or highs and lows. We understand these things of the world and know that that's just the way it is. It's just ''worldly dhamma''. 

''Worldly dhamma''⁴ changes to become the ''path''⁵. ''Worldly dhamma'' has eight ways; the ''path'' has eight ways. Wherever ''worldly dhamma'' exists, the ''path'' is to be found also. When we live with clarity, all of our worldly experience becomes the practicing of the ''eightfold path''. Without clarity, ''worldly dhamma'' predominates and we are turned away from the ''path''. When right understanding arises, liberation from suffering lies right here before us. You will not find liberation by running around looking elsewhere!
So don't be in a hurry and try to push or rush your practice. Do your meditation gently and gradually step by step. In regard to peacefulness, if you want to become peaceful, then accept it; if you don't become peaceful, then accept that also. That's the nature of the mind. We must find our own practice and persistently keep at it. 

Perhaps wisdom does not arise! I used to think, about my practice, that when there is no wisdom, I could force myself to have it. But it didn't work, things remained the same. Then, after careful consideration, I saw that to contemplate things that we don't have cannot be done. So what's the best thing to do? It's better just to practice with equanimity. If there is nothing to cause us concern, then there's nothing to remedy. If there's no problem, then we don't have to try to solve it. When there is a problem, that's when you must solve it, right there! There's no need to go searching for anything special, just live normally. But know what your mind is! Live mindfully and clearly comprehending. Let wisdom be your guide; don't live indulging in your moods. Be heedful and alert! If there is nothing, that's fine; when something arises, then investigate and contemplate it. 

Coming to the Center
Try watching a spider. A spider spins its web in any convenient niche and then sits in the center, staying still and silent. Later, a fly comes along and lands on the web. As soon as it touches and shakes the web, ''boop!'' - the spider pounces and winds it up in thread. It stores the insect away and then returns again to collect itself silently in the center of the web. 

Watching a spider like this can give rise to wisdom. Our six senses have mind at the center surrounded by eye, ear, nose, tongue and body. When one of the senses is stimulated, for instance, form contacting the eye, it shakes and reaches the mind. The mind is that which knows, that which knows form. Just this much is enough for wisdom to arise. It's that simple. 

Like a spider in its web, we should live keeping to ourselves. As soon as the spider feels an insect contact the web, it quickly grabs it, ties it up and once again returns to the center. This is not at all different from our own minds. ''Coming to the center'' means living mindfully with clear comprehension, being always alert and doing everything with exactness and precision - this is our center. There's really not a lot for us to do; we just carefully live in this way. But that doesn't mean that we live heedlessly thinking, ''There is no need to do siting or walking meditation!'' and so forget all about our practice. We can't be careless! We must remain alert just as the spider waits to snatch up insects for its food. 

This is all that we have to know - sitting and contemplating that spider. Just this much and wisdom can arise spontaneously. Our mind is comparable to the spider, our moods and mental impressions are comparable to the various insects. That's all there is to it! The senses envelop and constantly stimulate the mind; when any of them contact something, it immediately reaches the mind. The mind then investigates and examines it thoroughly, after which it returns to the center. This is how we abide - alert, acting with precision and always mindfully comprehending with wisdom. Just this much and our practice is complete.
This point is very important! It isn't that we have to do sitting practice throughout the day and night, or that we have to do walking meditation all day and all night long. If this is our view of practice, then we really make it difficult for ourselves. We should do what we can according to our strength and energy, using our physical capabilities in the proper amount. 

It's very important to know the mind and the other senses well. Know how they come and how they go, how they arise and how they pass away. Understand this thoroughly! In the language of Dhamma we can also say that, just as the spider traps the various insects, the mind binds up the senses with anicca-dukkha-anattā (impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, not-self). Where can they go? We keep them for food, these things are stored away as our nourishment⁶. That's enough; there's no more to do, just this much! This is the nourishment for our minds, nourishment for one who is aware and understanding. 

If you know that these things are impermanent, bound up with suffering and that none of it is you, then you would be crazy to go after them! If you don't see clearly in this way, then you must suffer. When you take a good look and see these things as really impermanent, even though they may seem worth going after, really they are not. Why do you want them when their nature is pain and suffering? It's not ours, there is no self, there is nothing belonging to us. So why are you seeking after them? All problems are ended right here. Where else will you end them?
Just take a good look at the spider and turn it inwards, turn it back unto yourself. You will see that it's all the same. When the mind has seen anicca-dukkha-anattā, it lets go and releases itself. It no longer attaches to suffering or to happiness. This is the nourishment for the mind of one who practices and really trains himself. That's all, it's that simple! You don't have to go searching anywhere! So no matter what you are doing, you are there, no need for a lot of fuss and bother. In this way the momentum and energy of your practice will continuously grow and mature. 

Escape
This momentum of practice leads us towards freedom from the cycle of birth and death. We haven't escaped from that cycle because we still insist on craving and desiring. We don't commit unwholesome or immoral acts, but doing this only means that we are living in accordance with the Dhamma of morality: for instance, the chanting when people ask that all beings not be separated from the things that they love and are fond of. If you think about it, this is very childish. It's the way of people who still can't let go.
This is the nature of human desire - desire for things to be other than the way that they are; wishing for longevity, hoping that there is no death or sickness. This is how people hope and desire, then when you tell them that whatever desires they have which are not fulfilled cause suffering, it clobbers them right over the head. What can they say? Nothing, because it's the truth! You're pointing right at their desires. 

When we talk about desires we know that everyone has them and wants them fulfilled, but nobody is willing to stop, nobody really wants to escape. Therefore our practice must be patiently refined down. Those who practice steadfastly, without deviation or slackness, and have a gentle and restrained manner, always persevering with constancy, those are the ones who will know. No matter what arises, they will remain firm and unshakable.

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Footnotes

...¹

A discourse delivered to the assembly of monks after the recitation of the pātimokkha, the monk's disciplinary code, at Wat Pah Pong during the rains retreat of 1976

... woman²

Lit. creatures with soft horns on their chest.

...Māra³

Māra: the Buddhist ''Tempter'' figure. He is either regarded as the deity ruling of the highest heaven of the sensuous sphere or as the personification of evil and passions, of the totality of worldly existence and of death. He is the opponent of liberation and tried in vain to obstruct the Buddha's attainment of enlightenment.

...dhamma''⁴

Worldly dhamma: the eight worldly conditions are: gain and loss, honor and dishonor, happiness and misery, praise and blame.

...''path''⁵

Path: (the eightfold path) comprises 8 factors of spiritual practice leading to the extinction of suffering: right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.

... nourishment⁶

Nourishment for contemplation, to feed wisdom.

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