WALK TO BE THE KNOWER | LLM OCR 中英对照版

WALK TO BE THE KNOWER

Life of the Buddha

What did the Buddha teach

Hand book of Vipassana Meditation

At Wat Tam Wua Forest Monastery

WALK TO BE THE KNOWER

LIFE OF THE BUDDHA

What did the Buddha teach .

Hand book of Vipassana Meditation.

At Wat Tam Wua Forest Monastery.

Contents

forward

PART 1. Life of the Buddha 1

1.1) His Promise to Take Birth in the Human Realm 1

1.2.) Queen Maya's Dream 2

1.3) Birth of the Buddha 4

1.4) A Youth Dedicated to the Mastery of Learning and Athletics 7

1.5) The Skillful Conduct of Worldly Affairs 8

1.6) The Renunciation of Worldly Life 9

1.7) The Four Encounters 10

1.8) The Six Years of Austerities 13

1.9) The Defeat of Mara 17

1.10) The Enlightenment of the World 18

1.11) The descent from Trayatrimsa Heaven 21

1.12) The Passage into Parinirvana 22

PART 2: What did the Buddha teach. 2.1) The Triple Gems 26 2.2) The four noble truths 29 2.3) Noble Eight fold Paths 31 2.4) Three areas of training 34 2.4.1 ) Training in Morality 36 2.4.2 ) Training in Mentality ( concentration) 37 2.4.3 )Training in Wisdom 39 2.5) Maha Satipa ṭhāna Sutta 49 2.5.1) Mindfulness of the body ( Kāyānupassanā) 59 2.5.2) Mindfulness of feelings ( Vedanānupassanā ) 59 2.5.3 ) Mindfulness of the Mind ( Cittānupassanā ) 62 2.5.4 ) Mindfulness of theMental-Quality ( Dhammānupassanā ) 63

PART THREE : practice meditation 3.1) Tools for Practicing Dhamma 64 3.2) Samatha and Vipassana Meditation 66

3.2.1) The differentiation between Samatha and Vipassana 69

3.3 ) Foundation of Mindfulness 72

3.4) The purpose of Samatha and Vipassana 76

3.5) Two kinds of Samadhi 78

3.6) Practicing Mindfulness in Daily life 84

3.7) Feel your entire body 90

3.7.1) How to feel your entire body 91

3.7.2. Feel your body through holistic observation 92

3.8) Walking Meditation: the best mindfulness practice 93

3.9 ) How to awareness of the mind 100

3.10 ) Process of Practicing Vipassana 105

3.10.1 ) STEP 1 ) Practice Samatha Concentration 106

3.10.2 ) STEP 2 ) Practice Vipassana "The knower" 109

3.10.3 ) STEP 3 ) Practice " Stable mind " 114

3.10.4 ) STEP 4 ) Practice separation of matter and mind 123

3.10.5 ) STEP 5 ) See the three characteristics of the Khandha 124

3.11 ) Disenchantment and discernment of the truth of unsubstantial nature the truth of unsubstantial nature 128

3.12 ) Neutrality to conditioned states 129

3.13 ) Mindfulness of mind may alternate between concentration and insight meditation 129

3.14 ) To advance from common objects of consciousness to refined state of void 133

3.15 ) To let go of the void mind and reach the ultimate reality 135

3.16 ) To attain the first stage of Enlightenment, the Stream-Entry 136

3.17 ) Attainment of the Eye of Truth 139

3.18 ) Realization of Nibbāna 140

3.19 ) Successive Steps of Vipassana Knowledge 143

3.20) Conclusion for practicing Vipassana Meditation 146

3.21 ) Glossary 149

PART FOUR : ABOUT WAT PA TAM WUA FOREST MONASTERY 151

REFERENCE WORKS IN THAI 158

REFERENCE WORKS IN ENGLISH 158

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Forward

The term " the knower" is the very common in the Thai forest monks tradition as well as the term " Bud-dho " which means " The knower, the awakening and the blossom one." And it's the result from the second type of Samadhi ( Characteristic-examination) which is stable and essential for seeing the truth ,or seeing the three characteristic of the existence of the body and mind.

" Walk to be the knower" is the way to practice meditation with the right concentration to wake our mind up out of the world of thought and fabrication.

This book is based on the teaching of Luang pu Dulya Atulo which was a famous disciple of Luang pu Mun Purihatto . His Teaching was emphasized in awareness the mind. Every things happen in the mind first and then turn to actions.

"The knower" is the quality of our mind that separate the mind from all of defilements, and finally it will free itself from the five khandhas or matter and mind. After we return everything to the nature ,we will receive the greatest gift available to any being. Nirvana is complete liberation, weightless, and released

from any desire, with no more attachment, no more struggle, and never again delude. The mind is untouchable: nothing can ever come in, take over the mind and make it suffer ever again.

Many foreigners came to Wat Pa Tam Wua to practice meditation and don't know the second kind of Samadhi( the knower). And some are know nothing about Buddhism ,either. So this book is appropriate to both the new beginning and anyone who practicing in the advance level.

This book have four parts, the first part is about the life of the Buddha which all of the pictures are from the paintings from Ajahn Krissana Suriyakarn in the book "Prathom Somphotikhata", the second parts is about the Dhamma and the third part is about the practice Vipassana meditation and the last is about Wat Tam Wua Forest monastery. The purpose of this book is only be the guide line for the foreigners to gain more understanding about the practicing Vipassana Meditation and the Buddhism.

Phra Anek Thanissarapoti

PART 1): Life of the Buddha

Gautama Buddha , the historical Buddha, lived between 563 and 483 BC in the area known as the Indo - Nepalese region. As a bodhisatta, he had passed through thousands of existences before coming to the earth for the ultimate transmigration.

1.1) His Promise to Take Birth in the Human Realm

Before the Buddha was born into this world as Shakyamuni, he was a bodhisattva in the Tushita heaven (home of the contented gods). His name there was Shvetaketu ("White Banner"). From here he witnessed the dark ages engulfing the human realm, leading to its spiritual impoverishment. Moved to

compassion like a true bodhisattva, he vowed to manifest himself in the sentient world and relieve people from their sufferings.

Indeed, in strictly canonical terms, a bodhisattva is defined as an individual who discovers the source of the Ultimate Truth better known as Nirvana, but postpones his own enlightenment until he has guided all his fellow beings to this same source of fulfillment. Thus, Buddha, looking down upon the sentient beings suffering in the throes of ignorance, felt a pang of compassion, and in accordance with his bodhisattva status, decided to descend to the earth and spread the word of Dharma. Visually, Buddha is depicted making this vow surrounded by other sacred beings, holding aloft a lotus flower in his right hand, symbolizing the purity of his intention

1.2.) Queen Maya's Dream

The Lalitavistara (1st cent. AD) says that Buddha himself selected the time, place, and caste of his birth. He finally short listed King Shuddhodana and his wife, Queen Mayadevi, rulers of the Shakya (Lion) clan, as his future parents. This generous couple was well known throughout the land for their just and noble bearing. Scriptures assert that Buddha chose a king as his father since the royal caste was more respected that the priestly one. It indeed seems strange that

the Buddha, who never believed in the caste system, was so particular in the choice of a Brahmin or Kshatriya family for his own birth. In fact, it was precisely to show the futility of the notion of high-birth as an aid in spiritual salvation that this choice was made.

The bodhisattva's descent from the Tushita heaven occurred as a dream to Mayadevi. In this dream, a white elephant approached and touched her right side with its trunk. Through this symbolic act, the bodhisattva entered the womb of Mayadevi and impregnated her.

The choice of an elephant as a symbol of her impregnation is a well-thought out metaphor because elephants are known for their strength and intelligence, and also associated with gray-rain clouds and thus with fertility, since rainwater means that seeds will germinate and vegetables will be able to grow. The white color (of the elephant), adds to this an element of purity and immaculacy. The royal fortunetellers explained that the dream announced the queen's pregnancy, and that the newborn would possess exceptional traits.

1.3).Birth of the Buddha

Mayadevi had successfully carried the Buddha-to-Be for ten months without any complications or pain.

Near the end of her pregnancy, she took a trip to her parental home to have the baby there with

her mother, an ancient custom that is still sometimes practiced. On the way however there was a pleasant grove, overflowing with a rich profusion of fruits and flowers. Desiring to rest among them, the queen instructed her party to put camp there. She stepped out of her palanquin and reached to grasp one of the branches of a flowering tree. No sooner had she done so than she felt the throes of giving birth. Standing thus, with her hand to the branch, she delivered, and the Buddha-to-Be emerged from his mother. He immediately walked, spoke, and was received by Brahma.

Five days after his birth , the young prince received the name "Siddhartha" . When his parents took him to the temple, the statues of the Gods prostrated themselves before him, great were the rejoicings of the people over the birth of this illustrious prince. Also at this time a devout old man name Asita came down from the Himalayas to meet the new born prince. An ascetic of high spiritual attainments, Asita was particularly pleased to hear this happy news. Having been a tutor to the king, he visited the palace to see the royal baby. The King,who felt honored by his un expected visit, carried the child up to him in order to make the child pay him due reverence. To the surprise of all, the child's legs turned and rested on the matted locks of the ascetic.

Instantly , the ascetic rose from the seat and recognizing in the young child the 80 signs that are pledges to a highly religious vocation, and foreseeing with his supernormal vision the child's future greatness, saluted him with clasped hands. The Royal father did likewise.

The great ascetic smiled at first and then was sad. Questioned regarding his mingled feelings, he answered that he smiled because the prince would eventually become a Buddha , an Enlightened One, and he was sad because he would not be able to benefit from the superior wisdom of the Enlightened One owing to his prior death and rebirth in a Formless plane.

1.4) A Youth Dedicated to the Mastery of Learning and Athletics

Seven days after giving birth Mayadevi died, and her sister Mahaprajapati raised the prince. When the young prince was in his twelfth year, the king called the wise Brahmans in council. They revealed that Siddhartha devote himself to asceticism if he cast his eyes on aged, sickness , or death -and, if he were to meet a hermit.

As the son of the king, Siddhartha was provided with the finest upbringing. His life had ample quantities of both opportunity and security. He received the finest education

and mastered all lessons taught to him. In his younger years, he excelled in sports and other contests of skill. The vigorous training befitted the grooming of a future monarch. He was said to particularly excel on the horse and with the bow.

1.5) The Skillful Conduct of Worldly Affairs

When he came of age and assumed royal duties, prince Siddhartha became a true man of the world and had a retinue of many queens and attendant ladies.. And then the King made a ceremony for wedding, The most beautiful princess in the land, Yasodhara , was found for his bride, and after Siddhartha proved

himself in many tournaments calling for strength and powers, when he was 16, the two were wed.

1.6) The Renunciation of Worldly Life

Grief-stricken at the idea of losing his son, the King doubled the guard around the walls and increased the pleasures and distractions within. And at this point, Yasodhara born him a son whom he called Rahula ( meaning " chain"), a name that indicated Gautama's sense of dissatisfaction with his life of luxury, while the birth of his son evoked in him much tenderness. His apparent sense of dissatisfaction turned to disillusion when he saw three things, an old man, a diseased man.

1.7) The Four Encounters

Having been warned by the court astrologers that his son may well give it all up and choose the path of meditation, Buddha's father tried his best to shield him from the harsh realities of life. This state of affairs continued until one day, by chance, while riding his chariot, Siddhartha encountered an old man walking along the road. Intrigued by his first encounter with old age, the prince addressed his charioteer: "Who is this man there with the white hair, feeble hand gripping a staff, eyes lost beneath his brows, limbs bent and hanging loose? Has something happened to alter him, or is that his natural state?"

"That is old age," said the charioteer, "the ravisher of beauty, the ruin of vigor, the cause of sorrow, destroyer of delights, the bane of memories and the enemy of the senses. In his childhood, that one too drank milk and learned to creep along the floor, came step by step to vigorous youth, and he has now, step by step, in the same way, gone on to old age."

The charioteer thus revealed in his simplicity what was to have been hidden from the king's son, who exclaimed, "What! And will this evil come to me too?"

"Without doubt, by the force of time," said the charioteer.

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And thus the great soul one, whose mind was but a store of merits, was agitated when he heard of old age - like a bull who has heard close by the crash of a thunderbolt. He further encountered in such manner a sick man and a dead man, leading to great turbulence in his mind.

One day he came across an ascetic mendicant. "Who art thou?" he asked. To which the other answered, "Terrified by birth and death, desiring liberation, I became an ascetic. As a beggar, wandering without family and without hope, accepting any fare, I live now for nothing but the highest good." Convinced that herein lay the way to quell his mental agitation, Gautama resolved to follow this holy man's example.

Gautama left the luxurious palace of his father in the middle of the night, leaving behind his sleeping wife and son. The first thing Gautama Buddha did after leaving his father's palace was to severe his long and beautiful hair with his princely blade. He thought, "These locks of mine are not suited to a monk; but there is no one to cut the hair of a future Buddha. Therefore I will cut them off myself with my sword." And grasping a scimitar with his right hand, he seized his top-knot with his left hand, and cut it off, together with his jeweled turban.

His hair thus became two finger- breadths in length, and curling to the right, lay close to his head. Taking hold of his top- knot and diadem, he threw them into the air, saying: "If I am to become a Buddha, let them stay in the sky; but if not, let them fall to the ground."

They rose into the air for a distance of one league before

Vasava (corresponding to the Indra), the chief of gods, perceiving them with his divine eyes, received them in an appropriate jeweled casket, and established them in heaven. "His hair he cut, so sweet with many pleasant scents, This Chief of men, and high impelled it towards the sky; And there god Vasava, the god with a thousand eyes, In golden casket caught it, bowing low his head."

1.8) The Six Years of Austerities

For many years, Gautama studied the doctrines until, having felt the need to learn more elsewhere , he traveled and fasted. His two teachers had showed him how to reach very deep states of meditation

( samadhi ) . This did not, however, lead to a sense of true knowledge or peace, and the practice of deep meditation was abandoned in favor of a life of extreme asceticism which he shared with five companions. But again, after five or six years of self-mortification,

Wandering in his search for enlightenment, Buddha came to a pleasant hermitage by a lovely stream, where, for six years, he joined five mendicants in a way of discipline based on progressively severe fasting. He ate a single grain of rice for each of the first two years, drank a single drop of water for each of the second two years, and took nothing at all during the last two. Consequently, his bones stuck out like a row of spindles, and when he touched his stomach, he could almost feel his spine. His hair fell out and his skin became withered. His body had become terribly wasted - it was little more than loose flesh hanging on protruding bones. He had not cut his hair or beard in six months, and when he rubbed his head, handful of hair fell out .

But all this was in vain. However severe his austerities, perhaps even because of them, the body still clamored for attention, and he was still plagued by material craving. In fact, he seemed more conscious of himself than ever. Buddha had to face the fact that asceticism had failed to redeem him. All he had achieved after

this heroic assault upon his body was a prominent rib cage, and a dangerously weakened physique. Siddharta felt he had failed to achieve true insight and rejected such practices as dangerous and useless.

Discovering that excessive fasts destroy strength, he learned that as he had transcended earthly life, so must he next transcend asceticism. Alone and weak, he sat beneath the sacred Bodhi tree of wisdom, and swore to die before arising without the wisdom he sought.

Finally, it dawned upon him that physical austerity is one of the two extremes, and that the 'Middle Way' between these two extremes is the path to enlightenment.' He thus slowly rose, and went to bathe in the stream.

He crossed over to the far bank where he met a village girl named Sujata who offered him a bowl of rice pudding (kheer). It was the first food he had accepted in years and it instantly restored his body to lustrous good health.

Resolved to continued his quest, Siddhartha made his way to a deer park at Isipatana, near present day Benares. Here he sat beneath a tree meditation on death and rebirth. Thus nourished, and accompanied solely by his own resolve, Siddhartha strode majestically towards the bodhi tree, to make his last bid for liberation. Abandoning himself to meditation, he vowed not to move from that spot until he had attained full enlightenment. He return to himself to learn from his success and failures. He did not hesitate to let meditation nourish his mind and body, and the sense of peace and ease grew within him.He did not distance himself or try to escape his feelings and perceptions, but maintain mindfulness in order to observe them as they arose. He abandoned the desire to escape the world of phenomena .

1.9) The Defeat of Mara

Hearing this solemn vow, Mara, the Buddhist manifestation of death and desire, felt threatened. Mara's power over sentient beings originated from their attachment to sensuous pleasures and the consequent fear of death which lead to intense suffering. Enlightenment would free Siddhartha from Mara's control and provide an opportunity for others to free themselves also by emulating him. Likewise, Mara first sent his three beautiful daughters named Desire (Future), Fulfillment (Present), and Regret (Past). The Buddha had already disengaged himself from these pinnings and

thus remained unmoved. This prompted Mara to intimidate the venerable one by installing fear in his heart. Towards this end he generated an army of wrathful and hideous creatures, the very personifications of death. But all through the tribulations, Buddha sat calm and unflinching, and Mara had no other recourse than to withdraw, and thus was cleared the final hurdle on the way to Buddha's enlightenment.

1.10) The Enlightenment of the World

It was here that Siddharta attained a knowledge of the way things are, it was through this knowledge that he acquired the title Buddha ( meaning " awakening one"). This awakening was

achieved during a night of meditation, which passed through various stages as the illumination that Gautama had sought slowly welled up in his heart. He knew the exact condition of all beings and the cause of their rebirths. He saw beings live, die and transmigrate. In meditation of human pain, he was enlightened about both its genesis and the means of destroying it.

In this first stage he saw each of his previous existences, and then understood the chain of cause and effect. In the second he surveyed the death and the rebirth of all living beings and understood the law that governs the cycle of birth and death. In the third he identified the Four Noble Truths: the universality of suffering, the cause of suffering through selfish desire, the solution and the way to overcome suffering. This

final point is called the Noble Eightfold Path , this being eight steps consisting of wisdom ( right views, right intention) ethics ( right speech , right action, right livelihood), mental discipline ( right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration) , which lead to liberation from the source of suffering.

When day came, Gautama had attained perfect illumination , and had become a Buddha. The rays emanating from his body shone to the boundaries of space. He stayed in meditation for seven more days, and then for four more weeks he stayed by the tree.

Having gained enlightenment, Gautama came to be called Shakyamuni, or the silent lion, indicating the explosive potential he carried within himself. He first went up to Sarnath near Varanasi where he

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met the five disciples with whom he had previously traversed the path of asceticism. Though they had deserted him after their failed experiment, the unearthly glow from his body now attracted them. Hearing his discourse, they became his first followers.

1.11) The Descent from the Trayatrimsa Heaven

Queen Maya, after her death, was said to have been reborn in the Trayatrimsa heaven. Having attained enlightenment, Buddha decided to ascend to the Trayatrimsa heaven, literally the heaven of thirty-three

gods, to visit his mother. The name 'thirty-three' derives from the fact that it is the residence of the 33 gods of Hinduism, an ancient notion, having roots in Vedic thought. With three strides Buddha reached the heaven, where he preached before the divine congregation, including his mother, for several months.

When the inhabitants of the earth fervently supplicated him to return, Buddha coasted downwards with the help of a ladder that had thirty-three rungs, handcrafted by the divine architect Vishwakarma. This descent is the most celebrated event of the entire episode and is often glorified in independent artworks.

1.12) The Passage into Parinirvana

Traveling great distances to disseminate his teachings, Buddha finally reached the city of Kushinagara, where he asked his disciples to spread a couch for him in a grove. He lay there, reclining on his right side, facing west, with his head supported by his hand.

Growing weaker, he said that," Do not say we have no master now. The doctrine I have preached will be your master when I have disappeared . Listen,

I beg you : ALL CREATIONS ARE IMPERMANENT; work diligently for your liberation," And after this he gave the last words

" Beware Bhikkhus! I warn you thus " All concocted things disintegrate"

"You ought always to be carefully alert"

" These are the finals words of Tathagata"

Having pronounced these final words, Buddha went into the Jhana stages, or meditative absorptions. Going from level to level, one after the other ,

Then the Buddha entered the first jhana. Leaving that, he entered the second,the third, the fourth jhana , then he successively entered the sphere of Infinite space, the sphere of Infinite consciousness , the sphere of nothingness , the spher of neither -Perception-Nor-Non -Perception. Then he attained the Cessation of fellingband perception and then he did this process it again one time but stop at the fourth jhana . Then he came out of the meditative absorption for the last time and passed into nirvana , leaving nothing whatever behind that can cause rebirth again in this or any other world,and finally passed into Nirvana. After his death, Buddha's remains were cremated, as became the Buddhist tradition.

The passing away, or the final Nirvana, of the Buddha occurred in 483 BC on a full moon in the month of May, known in the Indian calendar as Wesak. And its the same day that the Buddha born , became Enlightenment and Final Pariniravana. So we called this day Wesak Day which is recognized as the day of the buddha's birthday, enlightenment, and nirvana which miraculously occured on the same day.

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PART 2: What did the buddha teach.

At present, Buddhism continues to gain an ever-widening acceptance in countries and societies far beyond its original home. Many people throughout the world , through their own careful choice, are adopting Buddhism 's peacefully , compassionate and reasonable ways as guiding principles in their lives. Buddhism is not a belief system. It's not about accepting certain tenets or believing a set of claims or principles. In fact , it's quite the opposite. It's about examining the world clearly and carefully about testing everything and every idea. Buddhism is about seeing. It's about knowing rather than believing or hoping or wishing .It's also about not being afraid to examine anything and everything .

Eighty years before the commencement of the Buddhist Era, a great man was born into the world. He was the son of king Suddhodana and Queen Siri MahaMaya of Sakka country which is now within the boundaries of Nepal.His name was "Siddhatha."

Thirty five years later, Prince Siddhatha attained Supreme Enlightenment and thereafter became known as the " Enlightened One " or the "Lord buddha " as he is called in Thai . He proclaimed his Dhamma or Universal truth to the people,and there after ,the buddhist religion( the teaching of the Buddha) and the Buddhist community of disciples came

into existence. The community was composed of bhikkus or monks ( including samaneras of male novices), bhikkunis or nuns ( including samaneris or female novices ) upasakas or male lay followers and upasikas or female lay followers.

At present in Thailand , we have only monks and novices, upasakas or Buddhist layman and upasikas or Buddhist laywomen. A monk who has been ordained and Conduct himself in accordance with the precepts laid down for the monk. A novice is a person under or over 20 years of age who has been ordained and conducts himself in accordance with the precepts laid down for a novice . A buddhist layman or laywoman is one who has taken refuge in the Triple Gem, i.e. the Buddha , the Dhamma and the Sangha, and observes the precepts applicable to layman and laywoman.

At present we call laymen and laywomen , whether of age or under age, " Buddhammaka" and " Buddhamamika " respectively , meaning " he or she who believes in Buddha"

Buddhism has spread from its place of birth into the various country of the world. Buddhism is more of a field of study than it is a religion. In practicing , we are taught to rely on ourselves, and not on higher entities or nothing external to ourselves. To practice Buddhism , we

must study ; we must be an observer. We observe ourselves much in the way a researcher who has a field of study observes his subject. The subject of our field of study here is our body and our mind , our objective is to see the true characteristics of them in our own experience. We must be the one to study our body and mind, no one else can do it for us.

Buddhism believes in the potential of human being to be able to observe oneself and see Truth. Seeing the truth of the way things really are is called seeing Dhamma. Once a human beings sees the truth or sees Dhamma , he or she be free from suffering.

The focal point of worship in Buddhism is the Ti-Ratana ( the triple Gem) namely the buddha who by himself discovered, and proclaimed the Dhamma, Thereby establishing the buddhist religion, the Dhamma ( Universal Truth discovered, realized and proclaimed by the Buddha and the Sangha or community of those who hear, follow and realized the Buddha's Teachings. Some members or the Sangha become monks and help in the dissemination of Buddhism and the perpetuation of the monkhood up to the present time.

2.1 ) The Triple Gem: the three refuge which are

Buddha :The knowing ,Awakened , Fully Blossomed One , especially the perfectly Self -Awakened One ( sammasambhudha)Specialy , buddha refers to the historical prophet under whom Buddhism was founded, otherwise refered to as Bhagava( Blessed One) by followers and samana Gotama by others. The primary quality of a buddha are wisdom ,purity , and compassion.

Dhamma :Truth, nature, law , order ,duty, The secret of nature which must be understood in order to develop life to the highest possible purpose and benefit .

Sangha: Community : the community of the buddha's followers who practice thoroughly , directly , insightfully , and correctly. Sangha include lay women, lay men , nuns, and monks.

Everyone who is initiated into the Buddist religion ,whether a layman or a monk, ought to conform to a preliminary rule , namely one must Solemnly promise to take refuge in and accept the Triple Gem as one's refuge, or in other words, to regard the Buddha as one's father who give birth to one's spiritual life. A Buddhist may associate himself or herself with people of other faiths and pay respect to objects of the

reverence of the religions in an appropriate manner in the same way as he or she may pay respect to the father , mother or elders of other people while having at the same time his or her own father. He will not lose his Buddhist religion as long as he believes in the Triple Gem, just as he will remain the son of his own father as long as his father instead, or just as he will remain a Thai as long as he does not adopt another nationality.

Buddhism , therefore , is not intolerant. Its followers may at will associate with people of other nationalities and religions. Buddhism does not teach disrespectfulness to anyone. On the contrary, it declares that respect should be paid to all those to whom respect is due and that Dhamma should not be withheld from the knowledge of others and kept only to oneself. Whoever desires to study and practice the Dhamma may do so without having to profess first the Buddhist faith . The Dhamma as proclaimed by Buddhist religion, will help to demonstrate that it is " truth" that will beneficial and bring happiness in the present life.

The essence of the entire Buddhist teachings lies in the Four Noble Truth.

Noble Truth is short for " Truth for the Noble one"

It should first be understood that it is not simply truth that is agreeable to the world or to oneself, but truth that is directly born from wisdom.

2.2) The four noble truths

The four noble truth are :-

2.2.1. Dukkha or suffering , which means birth, decay and death which are the normal incidents of life. It also means sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair which are at times experienced by our body and mind. To be separated from the pleasant , to be disappointed, or to be in contact with the unpleasant are also suffering. In short our body and mind are subject to suffering or, in other words, we may say that our existence is bound up with suffering.

2.2.2. Samudaya , which means the cause of suffering, which is desire. It is a compelling urge of mind, such as the longing to own what we desire, to be what we desire to be , or to avoid those states to which we feel aversion.

2.2.3. Nirodha, which means cessation of suffering, which connotes extinction of desire or such longings of the mind.

2.2.4. Magga, which means the way to the cessation of suffering, which is the Noble Eight fold Path, namely Right Understanding, Right Intention, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.

Therefore, if one really understands that elimination of suffering is nothing but keeping the mind at rest and that rest is a mental nourishment which is needed every day , then one will begin to understand the meaning of Nirodha.

We should realize that when our mind is restless it is because of desire . The mind then causes us to act , speak and think in consonance with its agitated state . The gratified, it may became peaceful; but only momentarily , because action dictated by a restless mind may very soon afterwards bring us intense pain and severe punishment or make us conscience stricken and cause us to regret it for a very long time . So let it be known that a person with his mind in such a state is termed " slave of desire"

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The Four Noble Thruths

Dukkha Suffering

Samudhaya

Nirodha

Magga

Right View

Right Thought

Right Speech

Right Action

RightLivelihood

Right Effort

Right Mindfulness

Right Concentration

2.3) Noble Eight fold Paths

Then is there a way to overcome desire or to master the desire on our own hearts? Yes, there is the Noble Eight fold Path that leads to the extinction of suffering namely:

2.3.1 ) Sammaditthi or Right View, meaning intellectualgrasp of the Four Noble Truths or of the true natuer of existence even in a simplified form as outlined in the preceding paragraphs.

2.3.2. ) Sammasangkappa or Right Thought , meaning intention to be free from all bonds of Dukkha. Such intention should be free from revenge, hatred , and harmfulness.

2.3.3 ). Sammavaca or Right Speech, Meaning absence from lying; from tale- bearing and vicious talk that cause discord; from harsh language; from vain , irresponsible and foolish talk.

2.3.4.) Sammakammanta or Right Action , meaning avoidance of killing and torturing of theft and misappropriation , and of adultery.

2.3.5.) Sammaajiva or Right livelihood , meaning Rejection of wrong means of livelihood and living by right Means.

2.3.6.) Sammavayama or Right effort , meaning effort to avoid the arising of evil; effort to over evil and demeritorious states that

have already arisen; effort to develop good and beneficial states of mind, and effort to maintain them when they have arisen.

2.3.7.) Sammasati or Right Mindfulness, meaning dwelling in contemplation of the station of the mind, for instance , the Satipaththana or four stations of Mindfulness which are the body, Sensation, Mind and Dhamma.

2.3.8.) Sammasamadhi or Right concentration, meaning the fixing of the mind upon a single deed which we wish to perform along the right path.

The Noble Eightfold Path is in reality one complete Path with eight component parts which may by summed up in the stages of training ( sikkha ) namely :

Among these three fundamental modes of training , Sila . or morality is first recommended for buddhist practice both on the personal level and the social levels.

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Three Areas Training

Morality ( Sila ) Right Speech Right Livelihood Right Action V.S, Coarse Defilements Greedy Anger Delusion Morality or ( sila ) to control strong defilements

Concentration Right Effort Right Mindfulness Right Concentration vs Medium Defilements 5 Hindrances Dosa, lust, Asleep dullness,frustrate, doubtfulness Concentration or Samadhi to control Medium defilements

wisdom Right View Right Thought vs Fined Defilements Ignorance wisdom to control fined defilements

2.4 ) Three areas of training

In learning Buddhism , the Buddha taught that there are three areas of training (ti-sikkha): morality, mentality, and wisdom., There are very important to know all of them.

2.4.1 ) Training in Morality

2.4.1.1 ) Kinds of Morality

There are several levels of morality, but we may easily divide it into three classes, as follows:

(a) Morality for good conduct;

(b) Morality for Dhamma practice

a ) Morality for good conduct

These are abstinences of evils and misconduct by body and speech, e. g. the five precepts, the eight precepts, the ten precepts and the 227 precepts. This type of moral restraint arises from a firm resolution to refrain from bodily and verbal misconduct. Observers of these precepts will enjoy a peaceful living in society and save themselves from distraction.

This level of morality is very necessary for one who practices Dhamma. At least they should determinedly abstain from five evils, e. g. killing and harming human beings and animals, harming and doing violence to property of others, harming or doing violence to the beloved and the highly valued of others, e. g. their spouses and children, lying,

slandering, using harsh language, frivolous talking, and taking intoxicants, which causes heedlessness and mindlessness.

b) Morality for practicing Dhamma

The Buddha taught, " When your eyes see from the world, liking and disliking appear in the mind . Have the mindfulness to know when they do. If you don't see the liking or disliking immediately, the mind will be burdened and influenced by greed, aversion and ignorance." The mind will stray from its normal state of purity and become immoral. A mind without morality is actually an abnormal mind. It has the mental defilements ( greed, aversion, etc.) influencing it.

This is sense-restraint (indriyasavara-sila), which is further developed from morality for good conduct. It arises from mindfulness, which protects the mind from domination by defilements when the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind contact sense-objects. For example, when one sees a wallet falling out of a man's pocket and craves for it, mindfulness will recollect the craving. As the result, craving cannot dominate the mind. The mind will remain calm and firm in its normal state. The mindful one will call the owner to pick it up. Both will be happy at the end. Alternatively, when one is scolded and gets angry, if mindfulness recollects anger, the mind will not be enraged by anger. It will remain calm and firm as usual. There will be no quarrel, no exchange of words or assault, etc. Sense-restraint is an effective instrument for

developing mindfulness. Not only is it a moral rule, it is also conducive to insight development through mindfulness of consciousness in everyday life. For this reason, it is what a Dhamma practitioner should practice and observe in everyday life.

2.4.2 )The training in Mentality ( concentration)

The training of Concentration through meditation is the second fold of trisikha. The pali word for meditation is bhavana, which literally means "development, cultivation or culture" Since the practice has to do directly with the mind , the word bhavana therefore refers specifically to a process of mental culture or mental development .

Buddhist meditation is essentially an experiential activity. It is a means to mental development through practice, not a scholartic subject to be understood through books. It deals particularly with the training of the mind, which is the most important component of the entire human entity. Because mind is a forerunner and prime source of all actions, be the physical, verbal or mental, It need to be properly cultivated and developed. Meditation is the mental development in the real sense of the term bhavana, for it's aim not only a temporary calm and tranqutility of mind, but also a purifying the mind of defilement and negative influence , such as sensual desire, lust, hatred, jealous, envy, worry, ignorance, restlessness. It cultivates and bring to perfection such wholesome and

positive qualities of and as confidence, compassion, wisdom, energy, mindfulness, concentration and penetrative insight.

2.4.2.1 ) Purpose of Training in Mentality

The purpose of this training is to develop concentration and moral consciousness (mahākusala-citta) that is associated with wisdom and ready to further comprehend the truths of Matter and Mind.

2.4.2.2 ) What to Study about Consciousness

Mental training is about learning our own mental states – which state of mind is a virtuous one, which is not, which state of mind is suitable for Samatha meditation, which for Vipassana, and which state of mind is unfit for any practice at all. We need to know clearly the characteristics of each mental state. This way, we can see which is the most appropriate practice at any given time. Let’s have a look at what types of mental states are virtuous and which are not.

Virtuous ones do not have desire, aversion or ignorance controlling them.

So if in any moment the mind is wanting, is in a state of anger or stress, is lost in thought or in sense perception (looking, hearing, etc.) then it is surely not a virtuous one in the Buddhist sense. This is an easy way to measure the quality of the mind in any given moment. With that said, sometimes we can’t tell if the mind has desire, aversion or ignorance because they are there in such a subtle form. In such cases, there are other ways to know. A truly virtuous mind is a light one (lahuta). The arising of a weighty mind is a sure sign that we are

faltering in our practice, that unscrupulousness or unwholesomeness has come in to replace virtue. Some people’s minds become so heavy in their practice it is as if they are carrying a mountain on their shoulders. A virtuous mind is also gentle and pliant (muduta). Any rigidity or dullness is not virtuous. Some people have their minds held rigid all day long. A virtuous mind must be agile and nimble (pagunnata). Be cautious and cognizant of such things.

We may notice that if we are too deliberate when we set our minds to practice, there will arise heaviness, tightness, dullness or inattentiveness. Why is that? It is because greed has entered. Wanting to practice is a form of greed. When we want to meditate we bring the wanting into our practice and it will affect our mind. Normally when the desire arises to meditate, we meditate. As such, our actions are resulting from a state of mind that is defiled with desire, a non- virtuous state. Heaviness, rigidity, inattentiveness and dullness will thus appear. There will be no chance for a truly impartial mindfulness of inner phenomena to occur. Genuine mindfulness cannot occur at that moment because the area has already become a defiled one. Mindfulness can certainly never arise in conjunction with a defilement. We can only have one or the other. Therefore, if we are meditating and the mind is rigid or dull, know that this mental state has arisen out of greed. Also when the rigidity and dullness arise, aversion will follow because we want these states to go away. We don’t like them and feel confined and edgy. We want to be pleased, happy and comfortable. Once

again, mental defilements prevail. So we must come to learn the qualities of virtuous and non-virtuous mental states within ourselves.

There are two points, i.e. what type of consciousness is moral vs. what kind is immoral; and what kind of mind is good for concentration practice (samatha-bhāvanā) and what kind is good for insight development (vipassanā-bhāvanā).

If a Dhamma practitioner does not study these matters well, he or she may ignorantly develop immoral consciousness and misunderstands that he or she is practicing Dhamma. Likewise, he or she may mistakenly practice meditation (Samatha) and believes that it is a practice for insight development (Vipassanā).

2.4.2.3) Nature of Moral Consciousness

Moral consciousness must be associated with beautiful mental factors or sobhaṇa cetasika. With such mental factors, consciousness is unblemished and righteous. There are 25 types of beautiful mental factors (the Higher Doctrine (Abhidhamma) refers to a mental factor (cetasika) as a mental state, like a state of consciousness). These beautiful mental factors can be divided into 4 types, as follows:

2.4.2.4) The beautiful mental factors that are common to all moral consciousness (sobhaṇa-sādhāraṇa cetasika) are of 19 types, namely:

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(1) Saddhā: faith, i.e. sensible belief which should conform to the teaching of Lord Buddha;

(2) Sati: mindfulness, not noting as is widely translated at the later stage;

(3) Hiri: moral shame of an evil;

(4) Ottappa: moral dread of the outcome of an evil that will lead to suffering and trouble;

(5) Alobha: non-greed or non-craving;

(6) Adosa: non-hatred or loving-kindness;

(7) Tatramajjhattatā: specific neutrality of mind to a condition through wisdom;

(8) Kāya passaddhi: calmness of the mental factors, e.g. feeling;

(9) Citta-passaddhi: tranquility of mind;

(10) Kāya-lahutā: lightness of mental body;

(11) Citta-lahutā: lightness of mind;

(12) Kāya-mudutā: pliancy of mental body;

(13) Citta-mudutā: pliancy of mind;

(14) Kāya-kammaññatā: adaptability of mental body

(15) Citta-kammaññatā: adaptability of mind;

(16) Kāya-pāguññatā: proficiency of mental body;

(17) Citta-pāguññatā: proficiency of mind;

(18) Kayujjukatā: rectitude of mental body; and

(19) Cittujjukatā: rectitude of mind. After knowing these beautiful factors that must accompany moral consciousness, it will not be difficult to ascertain which state of consciousness is moral or immoral. For easy notice, it can be said that if any state of consciousness is mindless, it is absolutely immoral; and if any state of consciousness is heavy, tense, rigid, drowsy, stiff or dominated by a defilement, or attempts to intervene instead of being impassively mindful of an object of consciousness, then it is obviously immoral.

2.4.2.5 ) The beautiful factors in boundless states (appamaññācetasika)

are the beautiful factors that extend boundless loving-kindness to all animals.

These factors are of 4 types, namely:

(1) Metta: loving-kindness to others;

(2) Karuna: compassion for others to end their suffering;

(3) Mudita: sympathetic joy when others are happy; and

(4) Upekkha: indifference when others suffer and one cannot help. However, the Higher Doctrine (Abhidhamma) classifies only two kinds of cetasika as appamaññācetasika: karuna and mudita because karuna (lovingkindness) is adosa (non-hatred) and upekkha (indifference) is tatramajjhattata i.e. equanimity of mind to conditions, as is described above under the heading of beautiful factors that are common to all moral consciousness.

2.4.2.6 ) Nature of Immoral Consciousness

Immoral consciousness is rooted in evils or associated with immoral factors or akusala cetasika, which are of 14 types/states and are classified into 5 classes; as follows:

2.4.2.7 ) Delusion (moha) class: as follows: -

(1)Moha: delusion or nature that conceals the truth of an object of consciousness such that the consciousness cannot conceive the object as it actually is;

(2)Ahirika: shamelessness of bodily, verbal and mental misconduct;

(3)Anottappa: fearlessness of the outcome of evils; and

(4)Uddhacca: restlessness or the natural state in which the mind cannot firmly concentrate on a mind-object

2.4.2.8 ) Greed (lobha) class: These mental factors can accompany all of the eight types of immoral consciousness rooted in greed:

They are of three types/states, as follows:

(1)Lobha: greed and covetousness of sense-objects – visible objects, sound, odor, taste, tangible objects and mind objects;

(2)Diṭṭhi: misbelief; and

(3) Māna: conceit. Meanwhile, since this is of three types, it is called, the class of lotika cetasika.

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2.4.2.9 ) Hatred (dosa) class: These mental factors can accompany two types of consciousness rooted in hatred. They are of four types/states, as follows:

(1) Dosa: hatred or anger;

(2) Issā: envy of the qualifications or merits of another person or jealousy;

(3) Macchariya: stinginess on one’s own property and merits or meanness; and

(4) Kukkucca: remorse or distress arising from a sense of guilt for past wrongs, worry and anxiety about virtue that has not been done.

Meanwhile, as this class is of four types, it is called, the class of docatuka cetasika.

2.4.2.10 ) Sloth and torpor (thīna-middha) class: These mental factors associate or accompany five types of immoral consciousness that are prompted (sasankhārikam) (consisting of four types of consciousness rooted in greed and one type of consciousness rooted in hatred, the details of which will not be enumerated here because it will make this Article too complex and difficult for Dhamma practitioners who have never studied the Higher Doctrine (Abhidhamma) before). This class is of two types/states of consciousness, as follows:

(1) Thīna: Sloth or nature that depresses or discourages the mind; and

(2) Middha: Torpor or nature that causes drowsiness or idleness

to conceive an object of consciousness. Meanwhile, since this class is of 2 types, they are called, thiduka cetasika.

2.4.2.11 ) Doubt (vicikicchā) class: Indecision and uncertainty about an object of consciousness is a mental factor that accompanies only consciousness rooted in doubt. Doubt here only refers to immoral doubt, i.e. a skeptical doubt about the virtues of the Triple Gem, doubts about the Aggregates, the Spheres and the Elements in the past, present and future, and doubts about the Dependent Origination. Other doubts, such as, doubts about technical matters or a doubt about a street name, are not regarded as immoral doubts, but are false doubts or paṭirūpakavicikicchā. If consciousness of a Dhamma practitioner is associated with only one of these mental factors, then it is regarded as immoral. An immoral mental factor that accompanies every immoral consciousness, which we should study well, is delusion (moha),which by nature is ignorance of the truth of an object of consciousness. Particularly for one who practices insight meditation, if through ignorance consciousness is distracted from Matter and Mind to a conventional mind-object or although, then it is abstracted. Thus, we should know abstractedness well because it is a foe that comes to mind most often for insight practitioners. In any event, it is true that abstraction may lead to thoughts about a subject matter that is moral, but that would be only a worldly

moral or at best meditation practice for concentration, not for insight development. Insight development requires consciousness to be mindfulness of Matter and Mind as they truly are. The wording “mindfulness of Matter and Mind as they truly are” is intrinsically non-delusion (amoha) or wisdom (paññā).

2.4.2.12) Summary

In sum, Dhamma practitioners should know the states of moral consciousness and immoral consciousness well. Otherwise, they may ignorantly and mistakenly develop immoral consciousness in the belief that that they are practicing Dhamma for insight development.

Following are examples:

(1) If mindful of any object, consciousness becomes heavy, tense, stiff or drowsy, consciousness at that moment is certainly immoral;

(2) If thinking about an unwholesome matter, the consciousness is obviously immoral;

(3) If thinking about a wholesome matter, e.g. thinking of helping others, thinking of repeating “Buddho” as the word of exercise, thinking of noting movements of the abdomen, thinking of the Triple Gem, contemplating that this body is impure/loathsome, thinking of in-and-out breathing, reflecting that one is not a self, only Matter and Mind, which are impermanent, suffering and

not-self, then, consciousness at that moment is ordinary moral consciousness.

Thus, it is not yet a practice for insight development; and

(4) If unintentionally consciousness is mindful of the present condition as it really is, the consciousness will be light, pliant, adaptable, proficient, upright, mindful, awaken, cheerful, peaceful, clean and bright. The consciousness at that moment is moral and applicable at the stage of insight development

2.4.3) Training in Wisdom

2.4.3.1) Purpose of Training in Wisdom

To learn how to use quality consciousness to study and comprehend the truths of Matter and Mind until it can relinquish Matter and Mind and realize Nibbāna, which is a state of oblivion to Matter and Mind, all defilements and craving.

2.4.3.2 ) Types of Wisdom

2.4.3.3 ) Wisdom classified by quality of knowledge:

divided into 2 types, namely:

(1) Mundane wisdom or lokiya-paññā is knowledge and wisdom for living in this world with minimal suffering or for temporary restraint from suffering or temporary suppression of defilements and craving. For example, a person with mundane wisdom will wisely give alms, observe the precepts and practice meditation for peace of mind, etc.; and

(2) Supermundane wisdom or lokuttara-paññā is knowledge and comprehension of the Noble Truths, thereby causing the mind to detach itself from Matter and Mind/body and mind and realize Nibbāna, which is truly bliss of emancipation.

2.4.3.4 ) Wisdom classified by origin: divided into 3 types, namely:

(1) Sutamayapaññā or wisdom acquired by acceptance of a transfer of knowledge from other persons, e.g. wisdom resulting from reading textbooks and listening to teachings of one’s parents and teachers, etc.

(2) Cintamayapaññā or wisdom acquired by contemplation, reflection or reasoning; or knowledge that is thought out.

(3) Bhavanamayapaññā or wisdom acquired by development of mindfulness.

This kind of wisdom is further divided into 2 types, namely, wisdom resulting from Samatha kammatṭhāna or meditation, which is knowledge and wisdom of developing the mind towards tranquility, and Vipassanā paññā, i.e. penetration of truths of Matter and Mind through constant mindfulness of Matter and Mind.

This wisdom will arisen up by observation, we observe the body and mind spontaneously and not to interrupt in it , we let the nature arise up by separate the mind to be the observer.

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knowledge that is thought out

Cintamaya panna

wisdom resulting from mental development or knowledge from practice

Bhavanamaya panna

knowledge that is learn from others

Sutamaya Panna

Types of Wisdom

Now we come to the lesson on the arising of insight wisdom which sees the true nature of the body (rupa) and mind (nama). But first we must see the mistakes that meditators make which create obstacles to path of insight. We must not falter to either of the two extremes that block our progress in Vipassana and in the arising of wisdom. The first extreme is controlling our mind to the point of suspending it, making it frozen stiff or overly fine and subtle. The other extreme is letting the mind get lost, mindlessly following our ignorant and indulgent thoughts. These are the two directions we can falter — total control, or mindlessly following the lure of the defilements.

Buddhism teaches the middle way. It is important to remember that everything starts in the mind, and then action follows. So whether we tortuously keep our bodies under control, or have them mindlessly go unchecked and do whatever they please, the physical world is not where the root of the mistakes in our practice lies.

We must try to open our minds to what is being said here and practice it. Then we will see for ourselves whether or not suffering subsides in our lives. If we want to know the Buddha’s middle way in our experience then we should gradually keep learning until genuine mindfulness arises, the automatic and impartial awareness of mental and physical phenomena as they arise in our experience. Genuine mindfulness (sammasati) will occur as a result of clearly recognizing mental states as they arise, not from holding concentration in one spot, or mental noting, or forcing it into being.

The Abhidhamma teaches that the proximate cause that enables genuine mindfulness to arise is the recognizing of mental and physical phenomena.

When we first practice using the four foundations of mindfulness (satipatthana) that were taught by the Buddha (namely, the body, feelings, mind and Dhamma), we do so to achieve this mindfulness. We practice watching the body until we can see the truth of physicality (rupa).

We practice watching feelings until we truly see the reality of feelings (vedana).

We practice watching the mind until we come to know the truth of the mind (citta). Genuine mindfulness arises on its own when we see the reality of these things. Usually we should watch the mind.

2.4.3.4 ) Those two kinds of people : This is because most of those who come are city people with busy minds. They are thinkers. Their jobs involve thinking all day. Watching the mind is the practice most suitable for such people. Those who are greedy, who want the comforts in life and enjoy fashion and beauty should practice by watching the body. Take a look at the decision to go to practice a meditation center. We don’t think about what type of personality we have. We want to go, so we do. We don’t notice our mental states. Our friends decide to go, so we go too. We unwittingly believe that if a meditation center becomes popular, it must be a good one. The truth is it may or may not be. Furthermore, the master may be first-class, but if the practice doesn’t suit our aptitudes and we merely follow the technique as directed, we

won’t accomplish much. So before we practice we need to observe ourselves and determine where our abilities lie. If we are the kind that is happy with worldly pleasures, beautiful things, comfortable surroundings, and like being left alone in peace and quiet, we may be best suited to watch the body. This is because when we watch the body, we will easily come to know that it is not happy, comfortable or beautiful. Those who think too much, who are caught up in their heads, should watch the mind. We should discern which of these two main personality types matches us best: sensual or analytical; that is, do our passions lie primarily with worldly pleasures or intellectual ones? Let the choice here act as a guideline for what our objects of meditation should be when we begin our practice. If we are primarily sense driven, we should watch the body, and if we are analytical we should watch the mind. The other two areas to watch (according to the teachings of the Buddha on the four foundations of mindfulness, the Satipatthana Sutta) are feelings (Vedana-Nupassana) and the true nature of phenomena (Dhamma-Nupassana). We should not watch those two areas until our minds are a little more advanced, a little more ripe for wisdom. Watch the mind and the body first as they are fundamental. It is important to note, however, that watching body is most appropriate for those that are skilled in the absorption concentration levels (jhana). Unskilled minds that concentrate hard will completely lose themselves in the body. For example, if we watch the abdomen rising and falling, the mind will be motionless and

completely latched to the abdomen, thus rendered ineffective. In walking meditation, the mind will be latched to the feet lifting and moving. In watching the breath, the mind will stick to the breath so completely that we lose ourselves in it. It is difficult to watch the body correctly if the mind is not firmly rooted in awareness, that is, if our mind tends to slip down into the object of observation.

If we can reach the peace and higher concentration of the second jhana, something arises that masters in the forest monk tradition call “the knower” or “the watcher”. This watcher is the awakening of right concentration, an unshakable awareness that clearly sees that the body, the feelings, the good and bad thoughts, and the mind that watches are all distinct and separate entities. The body moves; the mind is the watcher. The body sits, and the mind is the watcher. This point is clearly presented in the Abhidhamma when it shows the distinction between the knower and the known. This means that when we watch the body, we should not get immersed in it. The mind should be independent and watch from a distance as if we are watching someone else. We see this body stand, walk, sit and lay down. The mind is the watcher. When we practise in this way, we will see directly that the body is not us. There will be no need to think about it; the body will be clearly and directly seen as not us or ours. The body stands, walks, sits and lies down and the mind is the watcher.

This is how to watch the body. One day the truth will show itself that the body

is just flesh and bones, water, heat and movement. The body is under constant oppression by unsatisfactoriness (dukkha), always in some form of discomfort. Then the mind orders the body to move or act to try to relieve the discomfort. When we practice correctly we will see the true characteristics of the body for ourselves. Watching the mind is easier than watching the body.

When we watch the mind we will see that there are two things that arise in each moment: a mental phenomenon and consciousness. This is because one’s consciousness does not arise unless there is an object of consciousness — they appear in unison. We cannot watch the mind without mental phenomena (cetasika) because the mind has no body or form of its own. So first we should watch each mental phenomenon, whether it is classified as a feeling or sensations (vedanā), memory (sañña), or active thinking or mental formations (sankhara). All such phenomena arise and fall in conjunction with consciousness. For example, at times we have a virtuous mind and at times we do not. Our impression is that the mind that belongs to us is now virtuous, or it is greedy, averted or lost in thought or sense perceptions. This is how we perceive it at first. But when the mind that is ripe with wisdom arises, it will see clearly that consciousness is one thing and greed is another. Consciousness is one thing and disliking is another. Consciousness is one thing and thought is

another. They will show themselves as separate and distinct processes. Later we will be able to directly watch their true nature (Dhamma-Nupassana). But first, keep watching and knowing the phenomena that arise in the mind.

If we have already been practicing a certain meditation technique which involves watching the body and/or the mind, I recommend we stay with it. There is no need to stop or change what we do.

When we understand the principles correctly, we should integrate them into our present practice. If the fundamental principles behind our practice are lacking or misconstrued, then it doesn’t matter how gracefully we walk or how still we sit; we will not be practicing Vipassana and what we do will not lead to insight wisdom. Those in marching bands have beautiful posture and perform gracefully, but we certainly don’t see much enlightenment going on there! Our posture and technique is not the least bit relevant. We can just keep practicing whatever style we have learned in the past, though we must bring a correct understanding into it. If we have practiced watching the in-breath and out-breath, and we are comfortable with it, then we should keep at it. If we feel agitated, we may then want to pick another place in the body as a home base for our attention When we watch the body as in Vipassana meditation. We can choose any observable phenomenon of the body, we can see that there is rising and falling occurring there, and the mind merely watches this. The mind must be the watcher, an independent phenomenon from the object. The mind does not

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sink down to the abdomen but is rooted in awareness, and simply sees that the body has this rising and falling motion at the abdomen. Or the mind sees the body is breathing in. It sees the body breathing out. The mind watches the body stand, walk, sit and lay down . The mind is just the watcher. The body moves and the mind watches. The body ceases to be ours. This body moves, but it is not us moving. True mindfulness arises. The mind awakens and sees that the physical form that is moving is not us.

"Buddha gave permission to Saributra to ordain Rahula to be a novice."

2.5 ) Maha Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta

" Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was staying in the Kuru country. Now there is a town of Kurus called Kammasadhamma. There the Blessed One addressed the monks ' Monks.'

'Lord,' the monks replied.

The Blessed One said this: 'This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and distress, for the attainment of the right method, and for the realization of unbinding- in other words , the four frames of reference . Which four?'

There is a case where a monk remains focused on the body in and of itself- ardent, alert, and mindful-putting aside greed and distress with reference to the world . He remains focused on feelings....mind....mental qualities in and of themselves- ardent, alert, and mindful- putting aside greed and distress with reference to the world."

2.5.1) Mindfulness of the body (Kāyānupassanā)

" And how does monks a remain focused on the body in and of itself?"

2.5.1.1 Mindfulness of breathing

" There is the case where the monk-having gone to the wilderness , to the shade of the tree , or to an empty building- sits down folding his legs crosswise,

holing his body erect and setting mindfulness to the fore [lit: the front of the chest]

Breathing in long, he discerns that he breathing in long; or breathing out long, he discern that he is breathing out long. Or breathing in short, he discerns that he is breathing in short; or breathing out short, he discern that he is breathing out short.

He trains himself to breathe in sensitive to the entire body and to breathe out sensitive to the entire body . He trains himself to breathe in calming the bodily fabrication and to breathe out in calming the bodily fabrication. Just as a skilled turner or his apprentice , when making a long turn, discerns that he is making a long turn, or when making a short turn, discerns that he is making a short turn, in the same way the monk, when breathing in long, discerns that he breathing in long; or breathing in short , he discerns that , he breathing in short.... He trains himself to breathe in calming the bodily fabrication and to breath out in calming the bodily fabrication.

In this way he remains focused internally on the body and of itself, or externally on the body in and of itself, or both internally and externally on the body in and of itself. Or he remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to the body, on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to the body , or on the phenomenon of origination and passing away with regard to the body . Or his mindfulness that ' There is the body' is maintain to the extent of

knowledge and remembrance . And he remains independent, unsustained by ( not clinging to ) anything in the world. This is how the monk remains focused on the body in and on itself."

2.5.1.2 ) The Four Postures

" Furthermore , when walking, the monk discerns that he is walking. When standing, he discerns that he is standing. When sitting, he discerns that he is sitting. When lying down , he discerns that he is lying down. Or however his body is disposed, that is how he discerns it.

In this way he remains focused internally on the body in and on itself, or focused externally.....unsustained by anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on the body in and on itself.

2.5.1.3) Clear Awareness in Minor Postures

" Furthermore , when going forward and returning , he makes himself fully alert; when looking toward and looking away..when bending and extending his limbs....when carrying his outer cloak, his upper robe and his bowl....when eating, drinking, chewing, and savoring...when urinating and defecating...when walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep, walking up, talking, and remaining silent, he makes himself fully alert.

In this way he remains focused internally on the body in and on itself, or focused externally.....unsustained by anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on the body in and on itself.

2.5.2 Mindfulness of feelings ( Vedanānupassanā )

" And how does monks a remain focused on the body in and of itself?"

There is the case where a monk , when feeling a painful feeling, discerns that he is feeling a painful feeling. When feeling a pleasant feeling, he is feeling a pleasant feeling, he discerns that he is feeling a pleasant. When feeling a neither - painful-nor - pleasant feeling, he discerns that he is feeling a neither- painful-nor-pleasant feeling.

When feeling a painful feeling of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a painful feeling of the flesh. When feeling a painful feeling not to the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a painful feeling not to the flesh . When feeling a neither - painful-nor - pleasant feeling of the flesh, he discerns that he is feeling a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling of the flesh.

In this way he remains focused internally on feelings in and of themselves, or externally on feelings in and of themselves, or both internally and externally on feelings in and of themselves Or he remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to feelings, on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to the body ,or on the phenomenon of origination and passing away with regard to feelings. Or his mindfulness that 'There are feelings' is maintain to the extent of knowledge and remembrance . And he remains

independent, unsustained by ( not clinging to ) anything in the world. This is how the monk remains focused on feelings in and of themselves."

2.5.3 ) Mindfulness of the Mind ( Cittānupassanā )

" And how does monks a remain focused on the mind in and of itself?"

There is the case where a monk, when the minds has passion. discerns that the mind has passion. When the minds is without passion. discerns that the mind is without passion. When the mind has aversion, he discerns that the mind has aversion. When the mind is without aversion, he discerns that the mind is without aversion. . When the mind has delusion , he discerns that the mind has delusion. . When the mind is without delusion , he discerns that the mind is without delusion.

When the mind is restricted, he discerns that the mind is restricted. When the mind is scattered, he discerns that the mind is scattered. When the mind is enlarged , he discerns that the mind is enlarged. When the mind is not enlarged , he discerns that the mind is not enlarged. When the mind is surpassed , he discerns that the mind is surpassed. When the mind is unsurpassed , he discerns that the mind is unsurpassed. When the mind is concentrated , he discerns that the mind is concentrated. When the mind is not concentrated . he discerns that the mind is not concentrated. . When the mind is released , he discerns that the mind is released. . When the mind is not released , he discerns that the mind is not released.

In this way he remains focused internally on the mind in and of itself, or externally on the mind in and of itself, or both internally and externally on the mind in and of itself. Or he remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to the mind, on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to the mind ,or on the phenomenon of origination and passing away with regard on the mind. Or his mindfulness that ' There is a mind' is maintain to the extent of knowledge and remembrance . And he remains independent, unsustained by ( not clinging to ) anything in the world. This is how the monk remains focused on the mind in and of itself"

2.5.4 ) Mindfulness of the Mental-Quality( Dhammānupassanā)

" And how does monks a remain focused on the mind in and of itself?"

2.5.4.1 ) The five Hindrances

" There is the case where a monk remains focused on the mental qualities in and on themselves with reference to the five hindrances. And how does a monk remain focused on the mental qualities in and on themselves with reference to the five hindrances? There is a case where, there being sensual desire present within me , a monk discerns that 'There is sensual desire present within me' or there is no sensual desire present within me , a monk discerns that ' There is no sensual desire present within me' He discerns how there is the arising of unarisen sensual desire. And he discerns how there is the abandoning of sensual desire once it has arisen. And he discerns how there is no future

arising of sensual desire that has been abandoned. [ The same formula is repeated for the remaining hindrances: ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and anxiety, and doubt]

In this way he remains focused internally on mental qualities in and of themselves, or externally on mental qualities in and of themselves, or both internally and externally on mental qualities in and of themselves Or he remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to mental qualities, on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to mental qualities ,or on the phenomenon of origination and passing away with regard to mental qualities. Or his mindfulness that ' There are mental qualities' is maintained to the extent of knowledge and remembrance . And he remains independent, unsustained by ( not clinging to ) anything in the world. This is how the monk remains focused on mental qualities in and of themselves with reference to the five hindrances"

( The Buddha came back to Kabillabhat Town . )

PART THREE :) practice meditation

PRACTICE MEDITATION Saupadisesa Nibbana Nibbana with the substratum of life remaining Anupadisesa Nibbana : Nibbana without the substratum of lifre remaining

The purpose of to practice meditation is to achieve the NIBBANA.

Nibbana is the state whereby all the burning desires, piecing pains, passions and sufferings closely associated with the human mind are being extinguished. The manner by which the "burning heat " of the mind is being extinguished refers to the manner by which the mind reaches the extinguishing point which is called " Nibbana"

Thus " Nibbana' in the human and spiritual context implies a condition in which our mind is absolutely not being burnt and pierced by all sorts

of desires and other associating feeling of binding attachment and cravings

3.1) Tools for Practicing Dhamma

An important tools for observing mind is mindfulness and clear comprehension (sati and sampajanna) As a matter of fact, the word “mindfulness” in the Tipitaka means recollection. The Abhidhamma further explains that mindfulness is characterized by the presence of mind. It also indicates that the proximate cause of mindfulness is a strong perception of the condition. which mean awareness, attentiveness, and constant observation. The vipassana meditation is to be aware of the feelings that are happening in our mind. Some examples are feelings of doubt, greed, worry, happiness and sadness. This is the practice of being mindful, which is the tool to be aware of the objects of consciousness that arise. We are all encouraged to be aware and not to get lost through the six sense doors, namely, the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body (tactile sense) and mind, of which most common are through the eye and the mind doors, intently focusing on an object or getting lost in the world of thoughts. By consistently being aware, not getting lost in thoughts or over-focusing, we can achieve clear comprehension, clarity of consciousness.

Through continuous practice , your mindfulness and clear comprehension will gain strength and your awareness becomes more refined . Each time the mind tell you to do something , you do not take

action immediately but mindfulness and clear comprehension will assist in determining whether your mind 's command should be followed: the four type of clear comprehension are :

3.1.1) Clear comprehension of purpose ( Satthaka - sampajanna)

informs you whether an action is useful or not . The main you types of usefulness are :usefulness for the body and for the development os wholesome states . For example , when someone is walking nex t to you as you are practicing walking meditation ,you are incline to turn into that direction to find out who that person is . But you clear comprehension will ponder whether that action is . useful or not . If it is determined to be useful ,You can take a look at the person . if not , then you should not pay attention . Observe yourself during mindfulness practice if you have ever felt this way .

3.1.2 . Clear comprehension of suitability ( Sappaya - sampajanna) decides whether an action commanded by the mind will lead to danger or not .

3.1.3. Clear comprehension of the domain ( Gocara - sampajanna) contemplates all movements of the body, from the beginning to the end . For instance , you are aware of your hand reaching out, being lowered , touching something , or yourself drinking

something , putting something down. You are completely aware of all physical activities.

3.1.4. Clear comprehension of reality (Assmoha- sampajanna ) contemplates the action between the mind and the body .As the mind commands it, the body's action follow in order to satisfy the mind . For instance , you become instantly aware that you are standing up as a result of the mind's command. This kind of awareness is called awareness through existence, sense-doors and the Four Primary Elements . element of extension ( solid element ) , element of cohesion ( fluid element) element of heat or radiation ( heating element) element of vibration or motion ( air element )

3.2 Samatha and Vipassana Meditation

3.2.1 The differentiation between Samatha and Vipassana

Headings | Samatha | Vipassana The Purpose | Tranquillity | Enlightenment Level of Important | Secondary | Primary Characteristic | 1.lustful 2.Dosa | 1.Conventional

of a person | 3.Deluded4.Faithful 5.Intelligent6.speculative | 2.Thinkable

The Objects | Any objects | Foundation of Mindfulness 4

Practicing | Object examination | Characteristic of examination

Practicing | Need quiet places | Daily life practicing

The result | Happiness | Nibbana

The practice of insight meditation or vipassana bhavana ,inwhich mindfulness in Satipathan 4, is the most important element. The kind of insight practice is based on the state of the mind in between momentary concentration( khanika samathi) and neighborhood samadhi.

The second is Samatha meditation, in which highly concentration of jhana has been already attained in this stage, the mind is completely controlled by the force of will power into the tranquil state of absorption , which actively prepare for application all duties including realization of the true nature through Satipatathan 4 and three kinds of wisdom.

To practiced Samatha meditation , a properly structured environment is required. For example, it should be relatively seclude and quiet place , somewhat segregated from other activities and completely free from disturbances.

Contrarily, vipassana meditation does not need any of these requirements. Although Samatha, in the initial states of practice, may prove valuable, but this training employs only one object as a tool for cultivating one - pointedness of mind, whereas meditation in the form of vipassana meditation , use all available experiences as the primary matrix by which mindfulness and insight may be developed.

In this way , this kind of insight meditation can take place in all experiences, physical, emotional, and psychological, as its objects of training. It also means that one can practice it in all activities and situation that Samatha can not enjoy this kind of free range. So we may asset that Vipassana meditation in this kind of vipassana samadhi is one spiritual discipline that can be practiced in all times, in all places and all under circumstances.

Samatha and Vipassana meditation are also different in terms of the objectives and goals each aims to achieve . The former is connected with one pointed-ness of mind, tranquility , psychic powers , whereas the latters

aims as increased awareness, knowledge, wisdom, right understanding , virtues and purification of the mind and the realization of Nibana.

To practise this kind of meditation, Satipathana , the foundation of mindfulness is the key factor in the development of Vipassana . This mindfulness is the quality of awareness, which is applied to four groups of experiences , namely the body, the sensation , the mind and the mental objects ( particularly in reference to moral and spiritual experience of dhamma) . Thus the discourse is divided into four principal sections each dealing with and individual class of experiences on which mindfulness should be cultivated.

Beginners may find it more practicable to begin training with mindfulness with the first section of Satipathana on the body , particular the breathing exercises. Once the basic technique has been mastered, it becomes increasingly more natural to " ever dwell in meditation" constantly and effortlessly observing other parts of the body, the feeling , the mind and the mental objects , even while carrying one's own duties and responsibilities in the daily life.

a ) Kāyānupassanā : Contemplation to the body

The first section of mindfulness deals with the body ( kayanupassana) This includes the breath , the physical postures, the body activities, the analysis of various physical components, the material

elements, and death. These are realities of life one has to deal with. One should practice constantly applying mindfulness to all these experiences founded on the body, for instance, mindful of the breath, whether short or long , shallow or deep, refined or crude, regular or irregular, and so forth. The purpose is to train the mind is on the present, by being constantly aware of what is going on at the moment. The same principle may be applied to the body posture, as standing, walking , sitting or lying down as well as to other physical activities like eating or drinking.

3.3) Foundation of Mindfulness

Kayanupassana(Contemplate to the body) •Body, the physical postures, the body activities, •Breath

Vedanānupassana ( Contemplate to the feeling) pleasant, unpleasant and neutral

Cittanupassana( Contemplate to the mind) •Sensual desire •hatred •Dosa ( Angry)

Dhammanupassana ( Contemplate to the Dhamma condition) •Hindrances •Five Aggregates

b) Vedanānupassanā : contemplation to the feeling

The second section deals with feeling ( vedanānupassanā) of three types ,pleasant, unpleasant and neutral. These feelings keep arising one after another that mindfulness and circumspection should be applied to them at the moment they arise, understanding them objectively as conditioned phenomena that rise and fall according to the law of causality, not subjectively as " my feeling". According to the Buddha, the false belief in the existence of soul or self is largely due to our feelings. It is there for important that one should train oneself to perceive reality as it is, by simply observing one's own feelings for what they really are, natural phenomena that constantly arise and disappear in accordance with their conditionality. The other ways to consider feelings is the careful analysis of their nature, their origination and dissolution. In order to achieve this objective by the use of Vedana nupassana , one is fully mindful whether one experiences pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral feeling, and to be aware of the feeling without attachment to them.

c) Cittānupassanā: contemplation to the mind

The third section( Cittanupassana) deals with the mind . It is the spiritual practice involves the ability to understand and control one's own mind and thoughts, in various conditions such as sensual desire, hatred, vacillation, concentration, liberation etc, ever mindful of their origination

and dissolution. Besides observing how they change and are conditioned, the meditators should constantly apply full awareness of the present moment of experience only, not the past of the future and simply acknowledging the existence and nature of those mental phenomena .There is no conscious intervention involved to suppress one thought or encourage another. It is a simple, uncomplicated process of recognizing the realities as they are, a pure psychological act of detached understanding and acceptance.

By continually practicing according to this method, one not only comes to understand oneself better, but will eventually be able to penetrate deeply into the most remote reaches of one's own consciousness . This kind of practice is not only valuable as far as Vipassana is concerned, but substantially contributes to peace and harmony , both within the individual and society.

d) Dhammānupassanā , discuss the dhamma as a system of ethical and spiritual experiences . In the practical term, This may also include mindfulness in contemplation, deliberation, and investigation of the Buddha's teachings in the context of one's own perception at the present moment. Because these Dhamma experience are subjected to the contemplation and investigation of mind, they are referred to as mental objects. A few categories of Dhamma are listed in Satipathana Sutta such

as ; the five hindrances, the five aggregates, The six Senses Bases, the seven Factors of enlightenment, the Four Noble Truths.

3.4) The purpose of Samatha and Vipassana

As mention earlier, there are two main types of meditation found in Buddhism: Samatha and Vipassana. In coming to the practice of Samatha or Vipassana, we need to have the mental clarity to know which one we have selected and for what purpose. The purpose of Samatha is to bring a mind that is not peaceful to a state of peace, to bring a mind that is not happy to a state of happiness, and do bring an unwholesome mind to a state of virtue.

In Vipassana, we do not practice to change anything in this way, but to gain a proper understanding of the way things are (sammā-ditthi). We practice so we can see the true nature of body and mind. The body and mind were seen by the Buddha as five distinct groups or aggregates called the five khandhas. Each of which has the inherent characteristic that is called non-substantiality and unsatisfactoriness (dukkha). We must come to know the truth of this in our experience. So our job is to become aware of the body and mind regularly with an inner watchfulness.

This is the practice of Vipassana. When we practice in this way with frequency, wisdom arises – we come to know the true nature of the body and mind. This kind of wisdom is called right understanding (sammāditthi). We come to know that the body and mind are impermanent, suffering and are not

our self, not us. When we have enough wisdom to see the truth of this clearly, authentically, consciousness can then let go of any attachment to the body and mind, and automatically comes to know nirvana (Nibbāna), the end of suffering.

If we practice watching the body and mind a great deal, one day we will truly see that the body and mind are just aggregates, elements of nature, fractions of the earth. They are not us, nor do they belong to us. When we see the truth that there is nothing we can constitute as being ourselves, we will reach the first stage of enlightenment called stream-entry (sotāpanna). If we continue watching the body and mind carefully to the point of letting go of all attachment to them, then we become an arahant - one who has completely ended suffering. An arahant is not someone who is able to make the mind something permanently good, or create permanent happiness or permanent peace. He or she is one who no longer takes interest in such things. Peace, happiness and the like are worldly endeavors. An arahant knows the futility in trying to pursue satisfaction through worldly measures. He or she knows the true nature of body and mind and is beyond any attachment to them. We need to practice Vipassana to learn the truth about the body and mind that we consider our own. True liberation, the end of suffering, is not in trying to make the mind permanently happy or peaceful, but in seeing the nature of the body and mind as

impermanent, suffering and not us – and then letting go. Wisdom arises when there is concentration or samadhi. Formally put, samadhi is the proximate cause for wisdom. However, samadhi is of two kinds and only the second one is conducive to wisdom.

3.5 ) Two kinds of Samadhi

The first kind of samadhi is calld object-examination (aramma- n’upanijjhana).and another one is characteristic -examination (lakkha-n’upanijjhana).

a) Aramma-n’upanijjhana : or (object-examination): when there is just one object of attention and the mind sticks to this object and is rendered still. The mind is very focused and peaceful in this state. An example is meditation on breathing. The mind moves down into the breath and clings to it. Another choice for this type of meditation is the rising and falling of the abdomen. The meditator will let his mind sink down into the movement of the abdomen and rest there peacefully. In walking meditation, those who hold their focus on the feet are also exhibiting this first type of samadhi . This first type of samadhi, object-examination, is accomplished during calmness meditation, otherwise known as Samatha meditation. Even using the mind itself as the object of meditation can bring us into this type of samadhi. Watching the mind isn’t always Vipassana. If we watch the mind incorrectly, and hold it still, we are just doing Samatha. It is the same as intently keeping our mindfulness on the

breath. The mind is of the nature to know an object. The object is that which is of the nature to be known. So if we watch the breath, the breath is the object; the breath is what is known. If we watch the body standing, walking, sitting and lying down, the body is the object; the body is what is known. Greed, anger and delusion are things that are known. The mind is what knows these things. The mind itself can be both known and that which knows, but it is not both at the same time. Everything happens in succession. The process can only be described as a succession of minds or mental moments. At one mental moment the mind is angry. In the next moment, the mind knows this. The mind that is angry is gone and replaced by the mind that knows. The mind is the one that knows all of the khandhas or aggregates When the mind itself is known, it is functioning as the object. No matter what the object of meditation may be, if we are focusing on it, we are practicing Samatha and will achieve aramma-n’upanijjhana, the first kind of samadhi. If we are looking to practice Vipassana meditation, then we need to learn about the second kind of samadhi. It is called characteristic-examination(lakkha-n’upanijjhana).

Samadhi is stability of mind, not just concentration. When the stable observer is achieved, it witnesses the antics of the body and mind at a distance. It is a feeling of separation, not an action separation or " out of the body" experience. The mind, or the consciousness does not leave the body, but is seen as something completely distinct from the body.

STEP 1 Practice SAMATHA Practice the 1st kind of SAMADHI , Object - examination Breathing -in ( BUD ) , Breathing -out ( DHO ) the mind and the object harmony into one

BUD DHO

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STEP 2 Practice Citta Vipassana ( the 2nd kind of SAMADHI)

The mind aware of its self and the Buddho. The Mind is stable and seeing the phenomena pass by .If we practice the 2nd kind of samadhi , we will achieve correct concentration; stable , light and nimble,we clearly see the phenomena of body and mind arise and fall.

BUD DHO MIND THOUGHT ANGER

The first type of Samadhi Know only Bud-dho. But the second type of Samadhi know both the mind and the Bud-dho.

b ) (lakkha-n’upannijjhana).or (characteristic -examination )

This samadhi is one that is stable in the sense that it remains separate from phenomenon. It allows us to see the characteristics of body and mind, of mental and physical phenomena (rupa-nama). We may see the body is not us but is just matter, or the working of elements, or just processes of sensory input and interpretation. In the second type of samadhi, the mind is the stable and unattached watcher or knower. The kind of samadhi where the knower arises is essential for seeing the truth, seeing the three Characteristics. The knower is the colloquial term for concentration of the characteristic examination variety. It is the place from where we can practice Vipassana. In a few moments, I will describe how we can practice so that the knower can arise.

The reason why the mind runs around looking for this and that is because it is incessantly looking for happiness. Our decision to listen to or to read this Dhamma talk is because we are looking for happiness. After we finish listening or reading, we may look for something tasty to eat to once again in pursuit of happiness. Then after we eat and feel full, we think we will be happier if we take a rest. The mind and body are running around looking for objects to bring happiness constantly. However, if the mind is happy with the object it is involved with already, then it will not go off looking for something else. This is

the secret to proper Samatha meditation. This is how we can stop the busy mind and have a restful time of peace. Samatha has an important purpose. We need it to rest the mind so it can have power and fortitude. If we don’t practice Samatha and achieve the first kind of samadhi, our Vipassana practice will be greatly hindered. We won’t have the fortitude and momentum to keep up the practice. Those of us that watch the mind well will see that the mind cannot walk the path of wisdom all the time. It will need to rest. The mind will move into Samatha automatically at times, staying still in one place. In fact, it does this even more often than Vipassana. Wisdom comes up just for a short while at a time, and then the mind becomes still again. A word of warning to those that prefer to watch the mind: make sure you keep up Samatha practice as well. It is essential in order to keep the mind fresh and powerful enough to walk the path of wisdom well. Those without the first kind of samadhi will have trouble doing Vipassana for longer periods. Wisdom may arise briefly and then the mind will go off on a thinking tangent. Those that are too attached to Samatha should be careful too. The mind may be resting well for a while but then go off into dazes or dream states.

For both kinds of samadhi, the principles are quite easy. In the first kind, choose an object in the body or mind that we are happy with. When the mind is happy, it will stay concentrated and have no need to look for happiness

elsewhere. In the second kind, we watch a meditation object and notice whenever the mind goes away from or towards it instead of just knowing it.

3.6 ) Practicing Mindfulness in Daily life

Once we understand the proper principles of Dhamma, it is time to put the teachings to practice in our daily lives . Let's get rid of the image that many of us have in our heads, that a good Vipassana or Dhamma practitioner sits cross- legged with the eyes and closed. The most important part of the practice is mindfulness through our regular activities in daily life. Whenever an impurity arises in the mind , we know that it has right then and there, irrespective of what else we may be doing at the time. That is called Dhamma practice. When the body makes movement and we know it , that is Dhamma practice. When the mind forms a thought or an emotion and we know it has just doneso , we practice the Dhama for that moment

a) Awareness when we get up in the morning , we practice to awareness that we lying down on the bed , and next may awareness the breath, breathing " Bhud" , Breathing out " Dho". Apart from this we may also required to become realize that the body that is lying down is known by the mind , The mind is a " knower" .

Practice mindfulness in sweeping the leaves .

b) Awareness of the bathroom activities.

While taking a shower, brushing our teeth , or performing other activities in the bath room , we should awareness the body is standing or sitting postures while we in the bathroom , and mind is a knower who know this postures .The body is only the mass of something that is observed by the mind.

c) Now when we are at work, we should be focused on our duties at hand. However . if we have a few minutes here and there with nothing to do, we can immediately start to watch the body and mind.

can know the stress has arisen . That is Dhama practice right then and there. Perhaps we are hurry to complete a project and then someone calls and is wasting our time .Our mind feel angry. We then can practice

Practice mindfulness in sweeping the leaves .

mindfulness and know that anger has arisen. Then we keep working away until we look at the clock and it is lunch time. Satisfaction arises and we become aware and see that it has. This is what a true Dhamma practitioner does.

d) Next we go down for lunch and walk along and watch the body walking . The mind is the observer and the body is being observed. What to eat? There are so many choices today. We must be very hungry as everything looks wonderful . The mind is indecisive. We know that it is. On some days nothing at all looks appetizing and the mind feels annoy, " This cafeteria sucks. Can't they be more original?" If we don't have mindfulness the hungrier we are , the more we complain.

Sometimes we have to use the washroom really badly! We run to the washroom and see that all the stalls are full. We really start to worry .Now it is an emergency and our belly is in serious pain. We then run to the wash room on another floor and see it is full too, and people are waiting in the line . The mind is in panic. We come to know that this is so. If we can have the mindfulness that see the anxiety, Then our stomach may be in pain, but our mind will not be. This is Dhamma practice.

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Practice mindfulness in working together

We watch our mind and see what happens moment to moment soon, we will see that our mind is always in flux: One moment it is happy and the next it is unhappy and then next it is neutral. One moment the mind is wholesome and joyfully practicing the Dhama, and the next moment it is struggling, lost in the painful story. Can we see this ?The mind in a flash changes from greedy to angry and then off in thought.

We are not practicing to be super human. We are just to be ordinary people like we are now. We keep practicing in daily life to see what our ordinary human body and mind are like , what their true characteristic are. When we understand their true characteristics, we won't be upset when this or that happens to the body and mind . Getting old is normal, getting sick is normal, and dying is normal. Not getting what we want s normal. Getting we don't want is normal. Dream coming true , dream shattered are all normal. They cannot bring us comfort or happiness w can truly rely on. Accept this ,whatever happens in our life will appear as if is happening to someone else and not us. If there is no us , the who is it that acts ?It is the body and mind , The aggregates that act all on their own. And it is the aggregates that receive the results of action too. There is no person to experience the results of our actions; there are only the aggregates of body and mind that do. We break free to the cycle of karma, one could say. There is tremendous relief and

incomparable happiness when we are no longer living in the delusion that there is a self, with full wisdom, It is the aggregates and not us that move about the functionally , dong this and that. And if there is just an aggregates and the idea of a " me " is just a delusion, then who suffer. The body and mind may suffer, But we certainly don't. We become free from suffering because we have a correct understanding of the way things are. We have enlightened wisdom. The cycle of birth and death is a very long painful one. It is a very rare occurrence that a being will have the chance to listen to and become interested in the Dhamma that liberates us from this cycle of suffering once and for all. Let's not spend our time mindlessly and without meaning. Let's gradually bring awareness to our body and our mind, and practice The bhuddhist way to peace of mind.

3.7) Feel your entire body : Two highly Effective Techniques

While you continue to observe your breathing so that your mind is used to practice and can firmly concentrate on your breathing . You should add another mindfulness develop wisdom . Observing your breath is a closed and fixed mode of concentration which prevent the mind from acknowledging other sensations. Therefore , mindfulness and clear comprehension cannot be fully developed.

It is recommended that you shift your focus after mastering your breath, to feeling your entire body holistically instead. What you gain from this practice is also mindfulness , but it is a mindfulness that is free to observe other occurrences or emotions.

3.7.1 ) How to feel your entire body

There are two ways to practice this method:

1.Feel your entire body through intense observation

a. Observe your body from top to bottom, from the head to the toes.

b. Observe each body part : in detail, the front and the back ,the top, the bottom and the sides. For instance , if you are observing your arm, observe it from the top to the bottom , the front, the back , and the sides.

c. Then move on to another body part and do the same.

d. Once you finish observing all body parts, start from the bottom instead.

e. Repeat these observation again and again until you can master this practice.

Mastery of this skill is highly beneficial to you since being able to move your awareness to different parts of the body strengthens your mindfulness and clear comprehension so that they can see right through

your body like the x-ray, whether from the front to the back, the top to the bottom or vice versa. You can use this technique to extinguish your suffering during an illness.

The mind, which is not limited to one place but can travel to all area of the body, can develop mindfulness and clear comprehension quickly and effectively . This is a popular method among meditation masters sine it can help the mind maintain concentration all day, and the mindfulness and clear comprehension becomes highly advanced.

3.7.2. Feel your body through holistic observation

a. Use mindfulness to observe your body without focusing on any particular state.

b. Observe the state in which the body parts are: its position ( head , neck, back , and arms) movements , and sensations.

c. See if you experience any new sensations. Stay with that sensation. Your legs might feel cold, so just observe it. Your back feel hot; Just observe it. When you feel a new sensation, anywhere in your body , move your awareness there and your mindfulness and clear comprehension will become highly developed.

This technique allow you to use everything that happen to your body and your mind as tools for developing mindfulness and clear

comprehension , whether it's your breathing, bodily functions, feelings, thought, etc.

Whatever appears at any given time, observe your mind and learn from it. This method is a way to practice mindfulness. When you are able to do this , concentration and wisdom can be achieved, and you become aware of your internal sense-fields: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind.

Holistic awareness of one's body using these two methods only leads to benefits. There is no negative impact from this practice. Once this practice is mastered, you will no longer need to focus on your breathing.

Breathing observation and holistic awareness of one's body are ideal when you are sitting, standing and lying down. When you walk, you can practice mindfulness and clear comprehension in specific area.

3.8) Walking Meditation: the best mindfulness practice

Contemplation of the steps in walking meditation: If in walking meditation, one is absorbed and mindless, then it is unacceptable. If one gazes so intently that consciousness is firmly fixed to the feet or the walking body, then it is concentration (Samatha) practice. If mindfulness is aware of the walking body and consciousness is a knower that is separate from the body, that is insight (Vipassana) practice on the foundation of body.

If during the walking meditation consciousness is abstracted and mindfulness

recollects it, if it gazes at the walking steps and mindfulness recollects it, if it is happy, unhappy or indifferent and mindfulness recollects it, and if consciousness is moral or immoral, mindfulness recollects it, then these are exercises in mindfulness of the condition of Mind. They are stepping stones to mindfulness practice towards insight development on the foundation of Mind. Compared to standing , walking , sitting and lying down. walking is the beat practice for developing mindfulness and clear comprehension . As there is much more phenomena to observe. Taking only one step at a time, one can develop mindfulness and clear comprehension through dedicated and continuous observation.

Walking meditation practice

Step 1

• To practice mindfulness effectively through walking , one must be focused and walking in appropriate manner. First, you must stand tall with your hands held together in front . You can also hang your arms on the side or cross your arm on the chest. Try different position that you feel comfortable.

• Maintain your posture by looking straight ahead , not too high, not too low . Remain indifferent towards your surrounding, but you do not close your eyes.

• Place your feet about three inches wide apart. Check to see if the weight on both feet is equal. Observe carefully with your mind and adjust so that your feet are balanced.

• Pay attention to the right foot. Lift up your right foot slowly , move forward, when your sole touch the ground , you say to yourself " Bud", then observe your weight transfer on the right sole when you move your body to the right foot.

• Next, pay attention to the left foot. Lift up your left foot slowly , move forward, when your sole touch the ground , you say to yourself " dho", then observe your weight transfer on the left sole when you move your body to the foot.

Be aware both your right and left are moving while you focusing on moving your feet, try to observe your mind too.

STEP 2:

We practice walking meditation like the first step. But when we lift up the right sole we say " Bud" when we put it down , we say " Dho".We do it again in the left foot , when Ift it up we say " Bud", when we put it down we say " Dho" .We will concentrate both when we are lifting the sole and put it down ,quicker than the first step, so the mind has a job to do more than the first step , it won't have time to think.

We always practice walking meditation first before parctice sitting meditation. Because practice walking will develop mindfulness more than concentration. Sitting will develop concentration more than mindfulness. So we need it both, cause it support each other. A lot of benefits when we practice walking meditation , it help us to have a good health.

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STEP 1) Walking meditation

4)DHO 3)BUD 2)DHO 1) BUD

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STEP 2) Walking meditation

DHO BUD DHO BUD DHO BUD

1 2 3 4

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3.9 ) How to awareness of the mind

The phrase ‘awareness of the mind’ is reference to contemplation of feelings or Vedana-nupassana-Satipatthanna, contemplation of mind or Citta-nupassana-sati-patathanna, and contemplation of mind-objects or Dhamma-Nupassana-sati-patathanna (those types which are related to mental phenomena). In short, it means to practice insight meditation by being aware of mind and mental phenomena.

3.9.1 ) Method for practicing insight meditation (awareness of mind)

Practicing all types of insight meditation, including awareness of mind, is not difficult. All we need to do is to be aware of phenomena of the mind that arise, as they truly are, with a stable and equanimous mind. But to be aware correctly, one must (1) have the right quality of mind and (2) have the right object of consciousness. The qualities of mind necessary for practicing the foundations of mindfulness, or insight meditation, are the minds with right mindfulness (samma-sati), clear comprehension or right understanding (samma-dit't hi), and right concentration (samma-samadhi). The right object of consciousness is one that appears at the present, and can show the three characteristics of existence, which a practitioner would call a phenomenon while one studying the scriptures would call an object of ultimate reality (paramattha).Once ready to practice, we should: be aware (or have right mindfulness), of the object of consciousness, or

phenomenon, or object of ultimate reality, arising at the present moment, with a stable mind which does not wander out and is not controlled or over-focused (or have right concentration), and the mind will see things as they truly are (with clear comprehension and right-view). To be aware means to know when something is arising, changing, and disappearing. For example, when we are happy, know that happiness has arisen; and when happiness gone, know that happiness has disappeared. When there is anger, know that anger has arisen; and when anger gone, know that anger has disappeared. When the mind has craving and clings to sense objects through the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, body or mind, be aware of the force of desire at work. The object of consciousness, or mind-object, that arises has to be of ultimate reality, not conventional reality. We must be able to differentiate between what is absolute reality, or paramattha dhamma and what is conventional reality, or sammuti. For example, when the mind is happy, there must be awareness of the state of happiness. When the mind is angry, there must be awareness of the state of anger. When the mind is in doubt, there must be awareness of the state of doubt. As we continue to practice, we will discover that most mental phenomena arise from somewhere in the middle of the chest, which is regarded as the physical basis of the mind, or hadaya-vatthu. There is no need to search for an exact location, but just be aware of where the defilements arise and disappear. This is because if we focus our awareness at a wrong target, the real truth will never be revealed.

For example, if we fix our attention at the middle of the body, two inches above the navel, we will never be able to detect any defilement arising, but instead will only create a mental image or nimitta. To be truly mindful does not mean we have to question ourselves or to guess whether at this moment there is happiness, suffering, anger, doubt or craving. It is very important to stress that we must be mindful of the actual phenomena of the mind, or the absolute reality, because the mind needs to witness and learn from the actual arising, changing and disappearing of all things on its own, and not via the thinking process.

Once we are mindful of the mental phenomena as they arise, the mind needs to have sufficient stability and firmness to avoid getting lost in thoughts that commonly arise after the awareness. For example, when something arises in the mind, it is ultimate reality. After that, a thought based on conventional reality arises, labeling this mental state as liking, for example. This formulation cannot be avoided, because the mind’s nature is to think and recollect. Therefore, we must not try to prevent or refuse the thinking process based on conventional reality from happening. Just be aware of it but do not get lost in the thinking process. Continue to be mindful of phenomena of mind that arise, such as liking in this case. Only through observation will we be able to see the three characteristics of existence of that condition. On the other hand, a practitioner who is mindful of the mental phenomena must not focus too

intently because this will result in an unrefined mind that cannot gain wisdom.

Instead of being aware of mental phenomena as they truly are, when the mind identifies and grabs on to a state, it will become stagnant.

We have to let the mind be an observer, like an audience watching a play and not jumping on to the stage to play along with the actors. The mind that has right concentration possesses the following qualities of mind: stability, gentleness, pliability and readiness to work. It does not get lost or over-focused. When there is right concentration, the mind is fully ready for true development of wisdom.

When mindful of objects of ultimate reality, with a stable mind, and not getting lost or over focused, the mind will learn four ultimate truths as follows:

a. It will learn of the natural phenomenon as it arises, exists and passes away (awareness of the natural phenomenon).

b. It will learn of the role of that natural phenomenon which has arisen (awareness of the function of the natural phenomenon).

c. It will learn of the outcome of that natural phenomenon (awareness of the consequence).

d. And with constant awareness it will learn of the thing that makes that natural phenomenon arise (awareness of the proximate cause). When the mind itself learns through observation, known as investigation of the truth or

dhamma-vicaya, this process is in fact the cultivation of wisdom, or clear comprehension and right view.

An example is when the eyes detect an image. The mind processes the image to be a beautiful girl. Then liking arises. To know that liking has arisen is correct awareness. And sometimes liking is so strong and the mind wants to look some more. At this stage the mind has been dominated by craving, and thinks, acts and desires accordingly. Only if we keep on observing craving with frequency will the mind know that seeing something beautiful is the proximate cause of craving. Therefore it is important to constantly be aware when the eyes see an object. As for the function of craving itself, with mindfulness, it will reveal its impermanent nature instantly that its intensity and duration are neither constant nor long lasting, and will eventually disappear if there is no new input (such as looking back at the beautiful woman).

This shows the unsatisfactoriness inherent in this state of mind. The arising and passing of all things are the result of some set of causes and conditions, not of our wishes or how we would like them to be. Furthermore they are just objects of consciousness and not within our control, showing the non-self nature of craving.

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3.10 ) Process of Practicing Vipassana

Practice Samatha Focus in the breath (Buddho) 1st type of Samadhi ( ject -examination ) STEP 1

Practice Vipassana Focus on the Mind and the breath ( Characteristic Examination) 2 nd Of Samadhi Practice to be " the Knower" STEP 2

Practice Vipassana , Practice Step 2 over and over until Mind turn to Stable Mind , Mind stay on itself and can observe the phenomena is not the Mind STEP 3

Practice Vipassana ,Firm and stable mind ,seperate the Nama and Rupa ( Body and mind)- seperate Five Khanha STEP 4

Observe the three characteristic of the Five Khanhas STEP 5

3.10.1) STEP 1 ) practice Samatha Concentration

( A mindfulness of the body -KAYANUPASSANA)

The purpose : To make your mind calm down and peaceful and to study about the first type of samadhi. which will bring your mind to rest and in peaceful state.

The first kind of samadhi is called object-examination (aramma-n’upanjjhana). This is when there is just one object of attention and the mind sticks to this object and is rendered still. The mind is very focused and peaceful in this state. An example is meditation on breathing. The mind moves down into the breath and clings to it. the first type of samadhi, object-examination, is accomplished during calmness meditation, otherwise known as Samatha meditation. Even using the mind itself as the object of meditation can bring us into this type of samadhi.

1. To begin the practice, you should sit in a comfortable position, cross- leg on the floor or on the chair. It is important to sit up straight to assist your breathing, make it easier to observe in- breath ( inhalation) and out- breath ( exhalation ).

2.Once seated , Pay attention and focus in your nose only when you breathing in you say with yourself " Bhud" and when you breathing out you say to yourself " Dho" Just be aware when you are inhaling or

exhaling. You may take a deep breath for a couple of times and then let it go normally and naturally .

3.Observe your inhalation and exhalation when it's a long breath and sometimes it's short. And observe the feeling when you have a long breath and the short breath. How is it different ?

4.Observe the area that your inhalation make a contact in your nostril and you see it clear when you breath in. Observe the area that your exhalation make a contact when you breath out . After this fix one spot that you feel your inhalation and exhalation touch this spot every time and pay attention in this spot only. and then keep on breathing in " Bhud" breathing out " Dho"

5.The technique of the practice Samatha is that The meditation object that we choose should make the mind happy and the mind should enjoy watching it . If our mind likes the breath and feels good watching the breath, then we use the breath. If it feels good with the mantra " buddho" then we use a mantra. Whatever we do , the mind has to be comfortable and like being with the object. When the mind is very happy with something it will stay with it. It won't go anywhere else on its own. This is the attitude we need in order to bring the mind into the peaceful states of absorption concentration or jhana.

STEP 1 ) practice Samatha Concentration ( A mindfulness of the body -KAYANUPASSANA) practice the first type of Samadhi ,we focus and concentrate at our nose,we pay attention 100% to the in-breath and out- breath,no matter it's long or short, coarse or fined, we aware it all.

breathing in-Bhud

breathing out-DHO

Samatha concentration give us a calm down mind and peaceful but not a wisdom. we have to do next step to Vipassana or Insight meditation.

3.10.2 ) STEP 2 : Practicing Vipassana or Insight meditation ( Cittanupassana- A mindfulness of the Mind )

As we mention earlier , when we are looking to practice Vipassana meditation, then we need the second kind of samadhi. It is called characteristic-examination (akkha~nupajjhaana). This samadhi is one that is stable in the sense that it remains separate from phenomena. It allows us to see the true characteristics of body and mind, of mental and physical phenomena (rupa-nama). We may see the body is not us but is just matter, or the working of elements, or just processes of sensory input and interpretation. In the second type of samadhi, the mind is the stable and unattached watcher or knower.

" The Knower" VS. " The thinker"

First of all before we do the practice , we should know the nature of our mind , " If our mind be a knower it can't be a thinker. In the same way if our mind be a thinker it can't be a knower. It means that our mind can be both a knower and a thinker but not in the same time."

The way to practice this is to pick a meditation object like watching the breath or the mantra" Buddho" , or watching the body walking , sitting , standing like the lesson 1 practicing only, instead of

staying with this meditation object and trying to keep the mind still or stop thinking , we use the meditation object as the background and notice in the foreground instead. We notice the mind who know the breath. When we sit we awareness the body is breathing in and out .We carefully observe the body is sitting the mind is a knower , the body is breathing the mind is a knower. We observe back- and- forth between the breath and the mind. We do it over and over again until we become to feel about the know is knowing the breath not us.

While we observing the mind or the knower ,when we see the thought is arisen up , we should aware the thought too. When the mind goes off to think we should know it . We don't try to stop the mind from thinking . We let it think as it does normally, but we notice that it's thinking .We start breathing in, when mind goes off to think, we know it. Then we are breathing out ,the mind goes off to think again , and we know it again. The knower is the mind that knows. The object is that which the mind is knowing. When we are watching an object, know when the mind has gone off to think. Know the body is breathing or the body is moving and then know when the mind has strayed from knowing the chosen object. Keep knowing the object and then know when the mind sinks into the object or when it moves to something else. When the mind moves off to think, know this too. If we continuously are able to notice on time when the mind moves

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STEP 2: The Knower: Sit relax and observe breath in and out normally. But observe the mind when it go off to the thought , as soon as we know that the mind is thinking . The mind will become a knower for a short time. We 'll do it over and over until it stable.

Breathe in - Bud

Breathing out - Dho

mind is moving towards the object to focus in on it, or away from the object to get lost in something else, then the mind will become the knower or watcher. It will separate out as" the one who knows, the awakened and joyful one". It is the opposite of the one who is lost, infatuated or entranced. The lost one is the thinker, deluded and entranced in a fabricated reality. We need to learn to be the watcher or knower and rise above the thinker and the world of fabrication.

The knower (samadhi of the second kind) arises when we practice meditation When it arises, it does so with either happiness or equanimity. We cannot intend for the knower to arise. It arises of its own accord when the mind has enough fortitude. The idea about fortitude can be illustrated in the case of someone who is perpetually bad. Such a person doesn’t need to intend to do bad things because he is bad already. The badness has fortitude and momentum. thus unseemly acts are committed effortlessly, without prompting. Good people do good things with ease as well. Many of us can notice that our minds naturally want to read or listen to the Dhamma without any prompting. Similarly, the knower arises unprompted out of the fortitude of our practice.

We must practice to wake our minds up out of the world of thought and fabrication. The thinker opposes the knower; when we are not knowing, we are thinking, interpreting, and fabricating. Our practice is to simply know whenever the mind leaves the object of our attention. Notice when it goes out to think, see, hear, smell, taste or feel. Notice when it sinks down to cling to a meditation object as well.

If we do this repeatedly, we will reach the second kind of Samadhi, characteristic-examination, and the mind will be in the appropriate state to practice Vipassana. For both kinds of Samadhi, the principles are quite easy. In the first kind, choose an object in the body or mind that we are happy with. When the mind is happy, it will stay concentrated and have no need to look for happiness elsewhere. In the second kind, we watch a meditation object and notice whenever the mind goes away from.

Let’s take the example of the mantra “Buddho” as our meditation object. We could just as easily choose the breath, the body or part thereof.

For the first kind of samadhi, we practice Samatha. We happily keep our attention on the repeated word "Bhuddho". The mind eventually stays with and clings to “Bhuddho”. It becomes still and peaceful. If we are practicing the second kind of samadhi, we keep the mind on “Bhuddho” just the same, but our perspective is different. Instead of staying with “Bhuddho” to become calm and still, our objective is to recognize each time mind has left “Bhuddho” and recognize each time the mind over-focuses on it. The knower will arise and can walk the path of Vipassana wisdom. It will watch mental and physical phenomena passing by from a distance, and it will do so with impartiality. It is as if we are standing on the riverbank and watching the water flow downstream.

Firstly, we need to have mindfulness recognizing what arises in the body and mind. Then “to know bodily and mental phenomena as they really are” means that wisdom sees their true three characteristics. In order to have the wisdom that sees the Three Characteristics, the mind must be stable and impartial to phenomena. The knower, the awakened one is the one that is stable. By stability, It mean the mind remains rooted in awareness; it is not attached to phenomena and doesn’t slip down into them. It also doesn’t get lost in liking or disliking what arises. It is impartial, unbiased, equanimous. Keep practicing to develop mindfulness, develop samadhi and develop wisdom.

3.10.3 ) STEP 3 ) practice " Stable mind "

Next step after we got the knower ,we have to bring our mind to be stable. To do this we need to developing such a mind that is wholesome, that is stable observer of the body and mind and conducive to wisdom, is called momentary concentration. The way to achieve it is to choose an object like the breath from the lesson 1.Instead of to make the mind rest and be comfortable and peaceful with the object, we observe the mind from this place instead. We keep this object as one main object and we set the mind free.

What will happen of course is the mind will go off to think. Then we observe or know the mind went off to think. Then the mind may go back and try to hold to that meditation object. Then we observe or know

that it has gone to hold to the object. Then right away it might go off to think again. We observe or know that the mind has gone off to think again right away. The mind will oscillate between going off to think and going back to the object and trying to hold to it. We must observe the movements of the mind.

It's important to know that we are not practicing this to try to keep the mind peacefully with the object . If we choose the breath, we are not trying to stay with the breath . We are just trying to see what the mind does from this place. We start by breathing and then the mind goes to think . We know that it went to think. The mind goes back to the object , and we know it went back to the object. The mind goes to think again , and we know that it went to think again.

We do this over and over again and the experience of the observer or knower , the stable mind , that has this correct type of concentration will arise. Only it will arise just for a very short moment, each time that we notice that the mind moves out to think, see, hear or feel. When we observe or know the mind goes out to think, the mind will be the stable mind or the observer for just a moment. If we do this again and again ,over and over , the experience of the observer or the stable mind will stay longer. The mind will be light and bright and comfortable and will be the observer of body and mind.

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STEP 3: STABLE MIND :When the stable observer is achieved , it see the body and at the distance. It is a feeling of separation or " out of body" experience. The mind separates out and see the body breathing " Bud-dho"

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STEP 4 : Seperate Nama -Rupa :When the stable observe arises, one is the watcher and the other is being watched.There will be the five aggregates to watch, the body,feeling,memory,the formations,and the consciousness.

Vedanā ( Feeling )

Saññā ( Memory)

Sangkarā ( Formations)

Consciousness ( Mind )

The Body : Comprised of the earth,water,wind and fire elements

3.10.3.1 ) The result after we practice this step

When we watch the body as in Vipassana meditation. We can choose any observable phenomenon of the body, such as the breath, the rising and falling of the abdomen, In the case of the abdomen, we can see that there is rising and falling occurring there, and the mind merely watches this. The mind must be the watcher, an independent phenomenon from the object. The mind does not sink down to the breath but is rooted in awareness, . the mind sees the body is breathing in. It sees the body breathing out. The mind watches the body stand, walk, sit and lay down. It watches the hands and arms moving and stretching and so on. It sees the body doing what it does. The mind is just the watcher. The body moves and the mind watches. The body ceases to be ours. This body moves, but it is not us moving. True mindfulness arises. The mind awakens and sees that the body is not us , it's only the five aggregates which are

3.10.3.2 ) Khandhas or Aggregates (body and mind)

Aggregates : The five function that constitute a human life. These groups are not entities in themselves; they are merely the categories into which all aspects of our lives can be analyzed. None of them are a " self" , nor do they have anything to do with selfhood, nor is there any " self" apart from them.The five are:

a) Rupa-khanha, body, kaya, the five aggregates

( corporeality)something composed of various elements , organs, or parts. Generally used for the physical body ; refer to either the whole body or its parts ( breath-body and flesh - body)

b) Vedana - feeling, sensation: the mental quality that sense experiences ( phassa ). There are three kinds:

sukkha-vedana, pleasant, nice, delicious feeling

dukkha -vadana, unpleasant, disagreeable, painful feeling

adukkha-massukkha-vedana, neither-unpleasant -nor-pleasant

c) Sannā- ( perception is awareness resulting from the reaction between the sense organs and sense objects.

d) Sankhara - Mental formations are volitional activities of the mind to commit wholesome , unwholesome deeds or neutral acts, under the influence of good or bad will, such as fait, mindfulness, conscience and compunction, the four noble sentiments, wisdom, defilement and obsession

e) Vinnāna-Sense consciousness: knowing sense objects or concerns through the six sense doors( eyes, ears, nose, mouth, body, mind)

Vināña is the fundamental mental activity required for participation in sensual world ; without it there is no experience.

3.10.3.3 ) What will we achieve with mindfulness practice?

After we’ve got the knower and being aware of our mind continuously and with ease, we can see all kinds of objects of consciousness pass through the mind. The mind will select the object that is most prominent at each moment. Therefore any of the four foundations of mindfulness can be practiced. On the contrary, if we cannot distinguish between the mind and the object of consciousness, then development of the four foundations of mindfulness will be difficult. When we say concentration development is the basis for insight development, or concentration is the proximate cause of wisdom, it is because wrong concentration development will make the mind be influenced by the object of consciousness. Right concentration development will make the mind gain clear comprehension, unbiased by the object of consciousness and, therefore, clearly see its true nature, how it arises and passes away, as follow.

a) Awareness of the body (kāyanupassanā)

When there is awareness of the body, such as sensing the breathing in and out, or noticing the cold air making contact with and cooling the body, or feeling the body get tired and perspire on a hot sunny day, or observing the body move as we do in walking meditation, those who have developed the conscious mind will see that the body as a collection of many elements that moves around just like a robot, and that there is not a single part that can be

called ours. When doing walking meditation until the legs get sore, we can see that the legs themselves do not complain. The separation between body and mind become distinct, and we can see the three characteristics of existence of the body with clarity.

b) Awareness of feelings (vedanānupassanā)

Sometimes, when we are aware of the mind, we also become aware of feelings, sometimes through the body and sometimes through the mind, depending on which is more prominent at that moment. For example, when doing walking meditation our legs become stiff, if the conscious mind is present, we will clearly see that this feeling of stiffness is not the legs, but is something that is hidden within the legs. Or when sitting in the heat a cool breeze passes by, we feel comfortable and relaxed. This feeling of comfort and relaxation arises from somewhere within the body, but is not the body. The body itself does not feel the comfort. Or when we have a toothache, if our conscious mind is present, we will clearly see that this aching feeling is not from the tooth, nor from the mind, but is another thing, another aggregate or khandha. The pain is not constant, but changes in intensity all the time, showing the three characteristics of existence of feeling, or vedana-khandha. Feelings can be clearly seen through the mind. For example, pain from a toothache can be felt through the physical body, and sometimes through the mind as well, such as feeling sad and worried in this

case. Sometimes when we eat something we like, even before tasting the food in the mouth, we already feel happy. When aware of feelings while being aware of the conscious mind, the three characteristics of existence of feeling can be seen with clarity.

c) Awareness of Mind (cittanupassanā)

Awareness of mind is actually not awareness of the conscious mind, or the “absolute mind” (also called “one mind” or “pure mind” in Zen) but rather awareness of mental formations, of thoughts and emotions or citta-sankhara that arise. An example is awareness of the arising and passing away of anger, desire, confusion or happiness. These mental formations are not the mind, but just objects of consciousness. Awareness of mental formations while being aware of the conscious mind is the clearest way to see the three characteristics of existence of mental formations.

d) Awareness of Mind-Objects (dhammanupassanā)

With awareness of the conscious mind, whatever arises will show its true characteristics. For example, while being mindful, if the mind thinks of a loved one, it will become absorbed in the thought process. We will then clearly see that the mind clings to the notion of mind as self because it ignorantly identifies itself with the object of consciousness. This sense of self, aggregate, or heaviness arises from nothingness initially. However, if we are aware that whenever the mind grasps on to something, suffering arises, we will

let go and return to just being mindful. The aggregate, heaviness, denseness, or suffering will eventually disappear. This in fact is the realization of the Four Noble Truths. We will see that when there is craving, an urge to grasps on to an object of consciousness, the sense of self arises, followed by suffering. If there is no craving, then suffering cannot arise.

Awareness of natural phenomena while being mindful of the conscious mind is the clearest way to see the three characteristics of existence of the mind. We will see that the mind is not in our control. It goes out and grasps on to objects by itself. And when the mind realizes that grasping causes suffering, it will eventually stop. Nothing is within our control.

3.10.4) STEP 4) separation of matter and mind ( nama - rupa)

When consciousness is firm and neutral in mindfulness of Matter and Mind and is automatically mindful, what is called “a self” will dissipate to show what it actually is, i.e. Matter and Mind. If mindfulness and wisdom mature, insight will further dissipate Mind into feeling, perception, mental formation and consciousness. It will also dissipate Matter into eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body or into earth, water, fire and air elements. The dissipation of Matter and Mind through insight is the beginning of disillusionment of the wrong view of an abiding “self”. This is preliminary insight gained through training in wisdom.

After we've got the knower so we have the stable mind, we have the mind to be the observer , we can develop the path of wisdom. we will see the truth. We will see that the body that is walking around, sitting , moving , brushing it's teeth , is just a mass. The body is a physical mass that is not owned by anyone, and it isn't anyone. It's not a person . It's just a physical mass that belong to the world, that belongs to the nature.

We will see that the body is one thing and the consciousness or the observer that sees the body is a totally separate thing. We will start to gain wisdom into way that things truly are. We will see that the mind with all the different thoughts and the heart with all the different feelings don't belong to anyone either. Feelings are just feelings, emotions are just emotions and thoughts are just thoughts. They don't belong to anyone . We will see this and gain wisdom with the proper type of concentration.

3.10.5 ) STEP 5) See the three characteristics of the Khandha (The five aggregates)

Seeing the rising and falling/changing of Matter and Mind

After Matter and Mind dissipate, we will realize that each Matter and each Mind perform their own functions, including rising, falling and changing at all times.

For example, consciousness will see Matter inhaling and exhaling, sitting and

STEP 5: See the three characteristics of body and mind.

The wisdom that sees the arising and falling of mental and physical phenomenon renders the mind dispassionate towards things. The mind stop struggling to keep or push away any state or mind. When there is no more struggle and no more attachment to any state, the mind will be free from even the subtlest of impurities.

standing, standing and walking, moving and holding still, etc. Alternatively, consciousness will see that mindlessness arises and vanishes, there is little space in between, and the new consciousness arises to recollect that it was mindless just now. All these lead to insight of the rising, falling and changing of Matter and Mind. It is the beginning point of disillusionment of the wrong view of Matter and Mind as an animal, a human being, a self; and liberation from clinging to Matter and Mind will follow.

When the power of our mindfulness is really excelling, we see that the mind or consciousness arises at the eyes and then falls away; it arises in thought, thinking occurs, and then the mind or consciousness falls away. Each mind of wholesome state arises and falls. Each mind moment that is greedy, angry, lost in thought, restless or upset arises and then falls away. Life breaks up into slices. Each mind comes and goes. It is not the same mind from birth until death. That is a delusion. The mind is different one in each moment. Why do we need to see the truth? It is so that we can see that the mind isn't us. It's a new mind every moment. It is never the same mind. It changes from one that is aware., to the new one that is thinking, to the new one that is over-focusing, and so on. If we can see that the mind arises at a time and then falls away, like separate mental moments, we can see the truth is of continuity. Our sense organs that perceive things as fluid and continuous are deceiving us and are thus fabricating a self that doesn't really exist.

Continuity is just an illusion because things are arising and falling away so quickly. It is an illusion that blinds us from seeing what is really going on. If one day we clearly see in our experience that the mind is not us, then nothing in the world will be mistaken as us ever again.

The body is experienced not us from much earlier on in our development of mindfulness. Whenever the mind is awake and aware , the body is seen as a separate thing. What is left to unveil, then is that the mind is not us either. We will see that it is running here and there at first, and then as our mindful grows further, we see more clearly that it is not actually running but arising and falling at each place, such as the eyes ,the ears or in thinking.

When the continuity is broken like this, we can say that we are truly at the level of Vipassana. If there is not yet discontinuity, then it isn't genuine Vipassana.

We have to keep practicing to see the continuity break. When this insight into the truth first happens, it really can shake up our world. Some people become frightened . Some people become bored. Others feel empty, like their essence is missing, and can't find their footing; they can't find anything solid to rely on anymore. Some people become so bored , they lose passion for everything in the world. They are disinterested in both happiness and un happiness. They lose passion for everything and everyone, include their spouse.

This dispassion, however, is not an impurity of mind. It is a natural step in the process of enlightenment. This mind is bored or dispassionate because it has

mindfulness and wisdom that sees everything is nonsensical and insubstantial. It becomes equally bored of pleasure and pain, equally bored of good and bad, equally bored with thing coarse and things subtle, and equally bored of internal experiences and external experiences. At this stage it is dispassionate to absolutely everything. The mind stops persuing anything. But some people get very frightened indeed. When they practice to the point where they see what they thought was themselves disappear, some people become absolutely terrified.

3.11) Disenchantment and discernment of the truth of unsubstancial nature, suffering and harm from Mind and Matter

After more and more seeing of the rising and falling of Matter and Mind, some may be disenchanted with all conditioned states because they have realized that happiness arises and then vanishes. It is not pleasurable. Suffering arises and vanishes. It is not miserable. Moral consciousness arises and vanishes. It is not pleasant. Immoral consciousness arises and vanishes. It is not unpleasant. Whatever arises will vanish. It is neither pleasant nor unpleasant. Joy and grief are equally boring. Good and evil are equally boring. Some may view Matter and Mind as some natural phenomena of existence that are not self. Their selves are gone. A void, dread or the truth of unsubstantial nature may come to mind.

These are feelings of insight practitioners. Some may get stuck at this stage for a long time while others may not take a long time to pass through this stage.

3.12 ) Neutrality to conditioned states

After more and more mindfulness of Matter and Mind, consciousness will realize that boredom, dreadfulness or any other feeling whatsoever is only an object of conscious that passes by. Consciousness will become firm and neutral to all conditioned states despite no will to maintain neutrality. This is a very important step of insight development. One who practices mindfulness up to this stage will be very blissful and will feel unshaken when touched by worldly vicissitudes. However, neutrality at this stage is still uncertain. Some may not be able to sustain it and become biased again while others may unexpectedly progress by leaps and bounds in Dhamma.

3.13 ) Mindfulness of mind may alternate between concentration and insight meditation

When observing the mind or body, the mind may switch back and forth between concentration and insight meditations. In most textbooks, concentration and insight meditations are differentiated based on the subject of meditation. For example, if we practice the 40 subjects of meditation, such as the 10 recollections or anussati, we are doing concentration meditation. If we practice the four foundations of mindfulness, which are awareness of body, feelings, mind and mind-objects, then we are doing insight meditation. If the object of mindfulness is conventional or relative reality, then we are doing concentration

meditation. But if the object is ultimate reality, then we are doing insight meditation. In actuality there is more to all this. Distinction between concentration and insight meditations can be made based on the type of activity of the mind.

For example, whenever the mind is mindful of one object continuously, this is concentration meditation. Continuing to be mindful until the mind rests on that object without any added control or intention, the mind will become one with the object, resulting in bliss and tranquility. This is a state of meditative absorption, or jhana, a direct result of concentration meditation. However, when we are mindful of any object of consciousness that naturally arises and at the same time has clear comprehension, this is awareness of mind. In other words, when the conscious mind and the object of consciousness are clearly distinguished, we will see the arising and passing away of ultimate reality. This is insight meditation. At some point in practice, once the mind no longer needs to hold the intention to be aware of objects or to maintain the conscious mind, it will develop mindfulness and clear comprehension on its own. When it all happens automatically, then this is genuine insight meditation.

A person doing concentration meditation is like someone who has fallen into a river and, swimming in it, is unable to see things clearly. Whereas a person doing insight meditation is like someone sitting on the bank of the river and, watching the current passing by, is able to see with a clearer perspective

the river and all the things floating in it, some of which may be clean and beautiful, while others dirty and unattractive. This is why it is essential to be able to distinguish between the conscious mind and the object of consciousness before doing contemplation of the mind or contemplation of the body. An example is contemplating on human skeleton by focusing the mind on features such as length or shape, concentrating on one of the four basic elements — earth in this case. Focusing the mind on the white color of the bones would be concentrating on the color. This focus of the mind until it attains tranquility and becomes fixed on the bone’s shape or color is concentration meditation. Even by contemplating on the bone as an element, an aggregate or part of a decaying body, we are still doing concentration meditation because the whole process is still a thinking process. But if we are aware of the bones, with the conscious mind stable and separate, and contemplate on the bone’s three characteristics of existence, then this is the beginning of insight meditation. And while doing insight meditation through awareness of the body, sometimes the mind is fixed on to a certain part of the body, briefly switching over to concentration meditation and then back out to awareness of the body again. Or sometimes the mind goes overboard and focuses too strongly on the awareness and becomes scattered and restless. When this happens we must step back and deconcentrate meditation until the mind regains strength and able to separate itself from the object of consciousness, and then resume with insight meditation.

Mindfulness of mind can be both concentration and insight meditations. If we intently focus on the emptiness of the mind or transfix on any particular part of the mind, this is concentration practice. If, however, we are aware of ultimate reality, which is the arising and passing away of all objects, with the conscious mind clearly separate, then this is insight practice. In fact, when we are aware of the mind doing insight meditation, the mind will occasionally focus on a certain object, switching to concentration meditation on its own. We should be able to differentiate whether the mind is practicing concentration or insight meditation.

Otherwise, we may mistakenly think we are practicing insight meditation while actually practicing concentration meditation.

For practitioners whose teachers lack intuitive knowledge of the states of students’ minds, it is easy to get off track without knowing. For example, while doing walking meditation and focusing on lifting, moving, and placing the feet, the mind may be fixed to the feet or get lost in thinking about the lifting, moving, and placing of the feet. This is purely concentration meditation without clear comprehension, or awareness of the mind. Another danger in not being able to differentiate between concentration and insight meditation is it may lead to a refined form of defilement, called defilement of insight, or vipassanupakilesa. This may happen during insight meditation, when the mind switches back to concentration meditation and experiences something that misleads it into thinking that it has been enlightened. Some examples are

mindfulness of object of consciousness with a mind that is stiff and unwholesome, as opposed to a mind that is soft, light, pliable and conducive to insight meditation. The mind may reach a wrong understanding and cannot differentiate between conventional truth, or sammati-sacca, and absolute truth, or paramattha-sacca. Or it may have a wrong view that there is no such thing as the Buddha, there is no such thing as parents, and everything in the world is empty. This is in denial of the existence of conventional concepts, thinking that there is nothing at all. With regard to the conventional world, these concepts do exist and should not be denied. In fact, when practicing awareness of mind, the mind naturally switches back and forth between concentration and insight meditations, enabling some practitioners to attain absorption automatically, without any special training at all.

3.14 ) To advance from common objects of consciousness to refined state of void

Once we are skillful at being aware of the mind, we will see that any object that arises in the mind will eventually disappear, just like a moth flying into the fire. At first, we will detect only common emotions, such as anger. But with further practice we will notice with clarity the faintest irritation or satisfaction that arises. For example, on a hot day, when a cool breeze blows softly on the skin, the mind feels pleased and liking arises. Or when we need to go to the toilet, just as we start to release, the mind already feels happy. Or when we are hungry, once we see food approaching, the mind is

already satisfied. The examples are numerous. Once refined objects of consciousness can be detected, there is less opportunity for coarse ones to arise. This is because coarse objects of consciousness arise from refined ones. One very important principle, which needs to be stressed in observing the mind, is simply to be aware. We should not try to let go of any object of consciousness, because that would be moving in exactly the wrong direction. All objects of consciousness are aggregates, are suffering. Therefore, we should just be aware, without desire to rid of them. Otherwise this would contradict the Noble Truth, in which the Buddha teaches “be aware of suffering, and eradicate it’s cause.”

The more we desire to rid of anything, the deeper will we be lost in wrong view. For example, when anger appears in the mind, the Buddha teaches to simply be aware. However, sometimes we try to find a way to get rid of the anger and it disappears. Then we falsely conclude that we are able to eradicate defilement, that the defilement or the mind is self because it can be controlled. When in fact the defilement disappears because it’s cause is gone. Another example is when we get scolded. As we think of the reason why we get scolded, anger arises and grows in intensity. And if we think of ways to get rid of this anger, then the cause of the anger, which is the thought of the harsh words, is no longer there. Once the cause is gone, anger automatically subsides and we will again wrongly believe we can get rid of anger. Repeatedly when we encounter a new defilement, we will try to get rid of it, creating unnecessary burden for the mind.

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Once we become aware of the objects of consciousness with more frequency and clarity, accordingly these objects will also become more and more refined. We must understand that the mind, objects of consciousness, mindfulness and clear comprehension, and even concentration development, are all subject to the three characteristics of existence. Therefore, once the mind reaches a state of refinement, it will inevitably switch back to being coarse again. Do not be alarmed, as this is natural. Keep on with the practice. It is all right and the mind will continue to progress. Once the objects of consciousness reach a state of utmost refinement, the mind will appear to be in a state of void. At this point, we may falsely believe that the defilements are completely gone, when in fact this emptiness is just another object of consciousness, though in it’s most refined state. These days, there are many who proclaim to live their lives with void minds. However they don’t know the true meaning of a void mind and they don’t realize that even this void mind is not a true refuge because it is still subject to the three characteristics of existence. More importantly, those who strive to attain a void mind are very far from this state because they do not even understand the common objects of consciousness.

3.15)To let go of the void mind and reach the ultimate reality

Once the mind has reached a state of utmost refinement, the next step remains the same, which is to continue to be aware. There is no need to doubt or

investigate to find ways to let go of such void. This is because all of these thought processes are distractions to the mind. All we have to do is simply be aware. Awareness without thinking is insight meditation in its most refined form. Please note that the liberated mind will let go on its own once it knows the truth directly. Through the thinking process, which is based on memories and recollections, we can only gain conventional knowledge. As for the ultimate truth, the mind must learn on it’s own. We need only to prepare a supportive environment for the mind to progress. Do not interfere with the mind, and be mindful with clear comprehension. Be aware without thinking or searching for anything. Eventually, the mind will realize that even a void mind is of no importance. As long as we believe that the mind is self or that it belongs to us and needs to be set free, then craving, which is the cause of suffering, will keep creating the environment for the void mind again and again. Let us be clear that, at this stage, the mind will do insight meditation automatically – it is no longer the work of the practitioner. Therefore, we can say that no one can intentionally or deliberately reach enlightenment or Nibbana, because it is all the mind’s doing.

3.16) To attain the first stage of Enlightenment, the Stream-Entry, or Sotāpanna, and follow the Path to attainment of Holiness, or Arahatta-magga

When the mind is fully aware and without any thought processes, at some point, when something arises in the consciousness, the mind

will not attribute any meaning to it and simply be aware of its arising and passing away. This is the most refined stage of insight meditation. At some point, the mind will go through a major transformation, the details of which will not be elaborated upon here because the reader may try to use the information to mentally fabricate such a phenomenon. To enter the Path to Enlightenment, awareness must always be present without any thinking processes and without giving any significance to the arising of refined mental formations. Some teachers wrongly state that when one attains enlightenment, the mind totally loses consciousness. This is because of misinterpretation in the Buddha’s teaching that “the absolute truth of Enlightenment is void, or Nibbanang paramang sunnang.” This particular wrong view of void is the nihilist view, or uccheda-dit-t·hi. The attainment of enlightenment is not like this. Loss of consciousness is another kind of becoming, or bhava, called asanni, associated with living unconscious beings that the ancient Thais call “phrom-lookfak”, or realm of non-percipient beings. Immediately after the realization of the first stage of enlightenment, the stream-enterer will deeply realize the way of Dhamma — that all that arise will pass away. An entity continues to exist, but there is no longer self, not even a remnant. Seeing the truth that body and mind is not self is the knowledge that is gained at the stream-entry stage. However clinging to self is still there because to release all clinging requires a higher level of understanding. After reaching what is conventionally called stream-

entry, the practitioner should continue the practice as before. The conscious mind will become more and more prominent until reaching the once-returning or anagame stage, where the conscious mind will be fully eminent because it is free from all sense-desires. This behavior of the mind, where the mind is aware of only itself, shows the full power of concentration meditation. At this point, the primary hindrance to concentration, which is sense-desire, is eradicated from the mind. If a practitioner is to die at this point, he or she would only be reborn in the fine-material or immaterial (Brahma) world and would no longer return to the human realm. Numerous practitioners, who do not have the guidance of a teacher, will think that once this stage is reached, where the conscious mind does not have any impurities, there is no more work to do. On the contrary, Luang Pu Dulya Atulo further instructed that once the knower is discovered, destroy him; and once the mind is discovered, destroy it too. This statement is not just a play on word. The true meaning of this teaching is that we need to again let go of clinging to the mind. This process is so refined that if the awareness is not refined enough, we will not know what to further let go of. Since even the knower or the conscious mind is subject to the three characteristics of existence, sometimes it will have some slight impurity, just enough to reveal the three characteristics. A practitioner under good guidance will just see this attachment without reacting. The mind will maintain awareness without engaging in thinking or searching for anything. It will be utterly still,

until at one point it will let go of attachment to itself. Only then will the mind be totally liberated, boundless and free from all objects of consciousness, which is the cause of rebirth.

3.17 ) Attainment of the Eye of Truth (Suchness)

When consciousness is neutral to all conditioned states and mindfulness and wisdom are culminated, it will progress by leaps and bounds in Dhamma, i.e. attaining the Eye of Truth. Consciousness will automatically attain full concentration (appanā51 samādhi) and an insight-examination process that takes seven consciousness-moments will take place. The term “attainment of the Eye of Truth” means that consciousness admits and realizes the truth that by nature body and mind are impermanent, suffering and not-self. This body and this mind, once arisen, will naturally vanish. One who admits to heart and realizes this ultimate truth will feel like a child who has gone astray and found his parents. Consciousness will take warm and firm refuge in the Triple Gem, like a man in the middle of an ocean or a man lost in a jungle who knows the direction to the coast or finds the way out of the jungle. One will have a firm conviction that one day will surely get to the coast or come out of the jungle. Although sometimes consciousness may be swayed by worldly phenomena or defilements, it still has a stronghold, which prevents it from evils and misconduct when overcome by defilements and craving. The merit of attaining the Eye of Truth is that it is regarded as a wholesome immediacy. The

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Stream-Winner (Sotāpanna) is perpetually safe from rebirth in lower worlds. It is beneficial both in the present and in the future. It is a great benefit resulting from training in wisdom. So great is the attainment that the Buddha declared it to be of a greater value than being a universal monarch. be very joyful within itself and without having to rely on external sensual pleasure. The existence of this joy is beyond imagination of most human beings. The joyful feeling after renunciation of sensual craving is so overwhelm

3.18 ) Realization of Nibbāna

This is to explain that previously, consciousness felt that the knower was a good and miraculous thing, and took it as a secure refuge. However, when wisdom through insight development is culminated, keen insight into the Noble Truths will flash forth. It will realize that the five Aggregates, including knowing consciousness, are impermanent, unsatisfactory and not-self (Insight into the Three Characteristics of Existence flashes forth from comprehension of only one of the characteristics, and the mind will relinquish attachment to consciousness). After realizing the truth, striving to condition a natural phenomenon against the law of nature, i.e. striving to make the Aggregates happy and a self will cease. Consciousness will no longer hold to Mind and Matter nor grasp at them to burden and oppress consciousness any more. Nor will Mind and Matter be formed in a new process of becoming (bhava).

After developing insight to the point that the mind penetrates the Noble Truths with clear comprehension of suffering, consciousness will relinquish abandon the Aggregates. It will be detached from the Aggregates and liberated from cankers (āsava) that confine and conceal consciousness, like a chick forcing a way out of the eggshell. That is the end of study in Buddhism. Rebirth and existence have ceased. Fulfilled is the holy life. The remaining lifetime is totally miraculous because the Aggregates still perform their functions, but consciousness is independent of the Aggregates. There is no more oppression on consciousness. Although it continues to perform various functions, i.e. perception and mental formation, it feels like doing nothing. Every function is purely an action. Consciousness penetrates bliss that is far beyond thought and imagination. It is extreme happiness that is free, transparent, light, clean and clear, boundless, more spacious than the sky and air and more blissful than the most blissful. This type of consciousness is what the Higher Doctrine (Adhidhamma) refers to as “functional consciousness”. Ajahn Mun referred to it as, “persisting citta” (“thiticitta”). Luang Pu Dune referred to it as “one citta”. Luang Pu Thate referred to it as “heart”. Ajahn Buddhadasa referred to as the “Essence of Mind”, and Luang Pu Budda referred to it as the “single citta”. The reason is that it will forever be one and never be two again. Never again will it be deluded with dualistic perception, such as joy/suffering, good/evil, etc.

Once consciousness is liberated from cankers, which have confined it, and is independent, “one citta” will realize Nibbāna, which is “One Dhamma”. Nibbāna is a condition that is pure, clean and clear, immaculate, empty, formless, boundless, luminous, sublimely blissful and immortal. The consciousness that penetrates Nibbāna will be overwhelmed with extreme happiness. To compare sensual pleasure and tranquility from absorptions (jhāna) with the bliss from realization of Nibbāna, the distinguishable characteristics are that the sensual pleasure with which human beings are familiar is a kind confined to consciousness at the chest and tranquility from absorptions is pleasant and permeating through every pore; whereas that tranquility of Nibbāna is overwhelming to the sky and air and boundless. No molecule can escape the permeation of that feeling. The bliss from realization of Nibbāna is attained through several approaches. Common to all noble individuals is penetration of Nibbāna at the moment of realizing the path and the fruition (ariya-magga and ariya-phala), but it happens for a very short time. Consciousness belonging to the path (ariya-magga) at each level exists for only one consciousness-moment and consciousness belonging to the fruition (ariya-phala) exists only for a few consciousness-moments. In addition, consciousness will be able to fully penetrate Nibbāna only by consciousness belonging to the fruition (phala-citta) because there is no further task to be accomplished. Consciousness belonging to the path (magga-citta) is supermundane resultant

consciousness (lokuttara vipāka citta). During the moment of enlightenment that consciousness belonging to the path (magga-citta) flashes, consciousness must perform the function of eradicating subtle defilements. Thus, consciousness belonging to the path (magga-citta) is supermundane moral consciousness (lokuttara kusala citta) that still has a task to accomplish. It is not idle to fully permeate and appreciate the tranquility of Nibbāna as it does during the moments of consciousness belonging to fruition (phala-citta).

3.19 ) Successive Steps of Vipassana Knowledge or Solasa ñāna

1. nāmarūpapariccheda ñāna: knowledge of the delimitation of mentality- materiality

2. Paccayapariggaha ñāna: knowledge of discerning the conditions of mentality -materiality

3.Sammasana ñāna: knowledge of comprehending mentality -materiality as impermanent,unsatisfactory and not-self

4. Udayabbaya ñāna : knowledge of clear realization of the rise and fall of aggregates.

5.Bhanga ñāna: knowledge of dissolution of aggregates.

6. Bhayatūpatthāna ñāna: knowledge which perceives the appearances of aggregates as terror.

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7.Ādnavanupassānā ñānā: knowledge of danger inherent in the aggregates and danger of attachment to the self.

8.Nibbida ñānā: knowledge of dispassion and boredom with the aggregates that rise and fall nothing except the everlasting flow of rising and falling , nothing except suffering

9.Muccitukayatā ñānā: Knowledge of very strong desire for deliverance

10. Patisankha ñānā : Knowledge of reflective contemplation to find the way of escape

11. Sankharupekkā ñānā : Knowledge of equanimity towards all formations, finally finding the escape from suffering, acknowledging the law of cause and effect , stopping the push and pull of the fruits of karma, abandoning rejection of the rise and fall of aggregates, remaining equanimous, being neither covetous nor dissatisfied towards all phenomena. This knowledge will not lead to creating new causes .

12.Anuloma ñānā: After observing continuously the incessant rising - falling wave , up to a certain point, suddenly all feelings move to the conscious element at the heart which is the main door of all perceptions and consciousness. One feels as if there is a strong pressure over the heart, so suffocating that one can hardly breathe. After a while , there are mental formations arising and falling away- three times for people with moderate wisdom , two times for those with stronger wisdom.

is a special type of rising and falling pattern, as it happens and falls apart much more quickly than usual...rising - falling , rising-falling , rising-falling, suddenly the continuity of rising-falling flow of aggregates comes to an end.

13. Gotrabhū nānā: Mental state at the moment of the " Change- of -lineage" The mind is release from the gravity of bhava( the state of being) to the state of non rising and non - falling ( it transcends all kinds of dualism)

14. Magga nānā: The state of mind is Nibbana. There is no formation of thoughts. Felters and destroyed according to the power of the wisdom of the path.

15. Phala nānā : Mental state which during the mind continues experiencing Nibbana for two or three instants.

16. Paccavekhana nānā : The cessation of aggregates can be grasped only by those who have already reached that state . Paccavekhana nana is the knowledge occurring after the cessation , when the rising and falling of aggregates reappears again. One begins to review all previous processes of being and becoming, how many lives, how many births , how many aeon have passed without experiencing the termination of aggregates."

Whatever is of the nature to arise , all that is of the nature to cease )"

When the moment of attaining Nibbana has passed .Bhavangacitta

nana occur. This is the knowledge that contemplates and reviews the enlightenment process, i.e. The characteristics of Maggacitta, Phalacitta, Nibana. It reconsiders the fetters already destroyed and the remaining or yet to be eradicated fetters. As for those who attain Arahantship, there is no need to contemplate the remaining defilements as they have been completely eradicated. No single particle of fetters or mental fermentation of defilement remains to destroyed.

3.20 ) Conclusion for practicing Vipassana Meditation

3.20.1) Observe the five precepts ( Sila ) :Sila watches over and nurtures the practice in the same way as parents look after their children. Maintaining moral restrain means not only to avoid harming others but also to help and encourage them. At the very least you should maintain the five precepts which are:

a) Not only to kill or deliberately harm others, but also to spread goodwill towards all beings.

b) To be honest, refraining from infringing on the rights of others, in others words, not stealing.

c) Knowing moderation in sexual relations: Moderation is the best way , just one partner is enough.

d) To be honest in speech- this is also the tool for eradicating defilements. You must be honest and straight, truthful and upright.

e) To refrain from taking intoxicants.

3.20.2.) Practice Samatha to make the mind happy and peaceful

If your mind become restless, you should practice Samatha , observe the breath , when you breathing in " Bud" and breathing out " Dho ".This is the first type of Samadhi called aramma-n’upanijjhana, the first kind of samadhi.

3.20.3.) Practice your mind to a stable mind ,your mind will be a knower

Next we will practice our mind to the knower , and become the stable mind which see the phenomena arisen up , and fall by itself. This samadhi is called It is called characteristic-examination (lakkha-n’upanijjhana). This samadhi is one that is stable in the sense that it remains separate from phenomena. It allows us to see the true characteristics of body and mind, of mental and physical phenomena (rupa-nama). We may see the body is not us but is just matter, or the working of elements,

How to practice to stable mind

a.)We begin just like we practicing Samatha , we focus on the object which are the breath . Breathing in " Bud ", breathing out " Dho ".

But now , we emphasize on the mind who know the breath not only the breath like we practice Samatha . This time we compare the mind to the foreground and the breath is turn to the background. We will observe two thing, both the mind who know the breath and the breath too. We will observe the foreground more than the background. And when the mind go off to think , you should know that. The knower will arisen up by itself when we know each time that our mind go off to think. When we know , the mind that go off to think will fallen and the knower will be arisen up.

b). Another way to practicing to be the stable mind. When we practice to observe breathing, we awareness when we breath. We feel the entire body is breathing, When the body is walking , or sitting or lying down we awareness the entire body is walking , sitting and lying down respectively. We feel just like we observe the robot is walking , sitting and lying down. The body is not us. We only the mind who the observer observe the body postures.

c). After that we separate matter and mind by we have the mind is the knower : for this step we will know that the body is a mass of condition, and the mind is another not the same thing . We will see that the thought is something another from the mind. The happiness and the suffering is not the mind either. we will see the truth that the five aggregates is separate into five parts and each part are showing the three characteristic .

d). Achieve the 16 steps of Vipassana Knowledge.

3.21 ) Glossary

Defilement -Usually spoken of under the sub-headings of greed ( desire ), aversion ( fear , anger, sadness, etc.) and delusion ( ignorance of Truth; lack of wisdom ), these are what taint or cloud the mind incessantly, making it impure and unable to see things as they are.

Dhamma Practice-Both formal meditation and practice in daily life in conjunction with Buddhist teaching in order to gain wisdom, see things as they are and thus liberate from suffering.

Fabrication - Sankhara or mental formations. In this book, fabrication is usually referred to unnoticed defilements coming in and creating our

delude sense of who we are and our make- believe situation . In some cases , the meaning of fabrication is merely illusions created by thought.

Mindfulness ; Awareness of physical or mental phenomena . More specifically , awareness of what the body is doing in real time , or recognizing what mental phenomena or behaviors have just arisen. Genuine mindfulness arise automatically as a result of the practitioner's ability to be aware of the body and to recognize mental phenomena when they arise.

Nibbana; Nirvana, Enlightenment, the end of suffering, the eradication of the defilements.

Phenomena - Mental and physical phenomena . Physical phenomena include bodily movements, breathing , bodily positions ( standing, sitting, lying down) and the like. Mental phenomena are primary mental states, such as that of thinking, restlessness, or curiosity, emotions, and feelings, but are primary called phenomena in this book as in their true nature, such states last only momentarily.

Wisdom; True wisdom in Buddhism is not intellectual knowledge , but comes from seeing the truth of how things really are through direct experience. Here it implies seeing at least one of the Three characteristics of body and mind: things are impermanent ( always changing ) , unsatisfactory( they don't persist), and they are non-self(not under control).

PART FOUR : ABOUT WAT PA TAM WUA FOREST MONASTERY

Wat Pa Tam Wua Forest Monastery offers spiritual guidance to those who wish to seriously practice meditation in a peaceful and natural monastic setting. Resting in between beautiful mountains of exotic Mae Hong Son, Thailand. Capturing green nature, peaceful stream, natural caves and never ending waterfalls of these spectacular Northern of Thailand.

It's located 37 kilometres from Mae Hong Son province.Wat Pa Tam Wua is home to one of the most tranquil monastic heavens of Thailand. A place of

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meditation, refuge and self - discovery. Tam Wua Forest Monastery is the place that you can practicing sitting meditation near the waterfall.

Wat Tam Wua is just like paradise on earth, with beautiful scenery around with the beautiful wild flowers and orchids, waterfall ,streams and mountains. We offer the spiritual guidance in practicing Vipassana Meditation. Many practitioners came from many countries around the world came here to practice meditation. No matter practitioners from the beginners or the advance level are allowed flexible meditation methods, however , Vipassana or Mindfulness on Breathing is the main stream of practice here. Proper meditation instruction, as well as appropriate views on natural laws and

phenomena are provided to the lay communities by Thai-English speaking monks.

We provide fully accommodation such a single kuties, dormitories, two vegetarian meals per day with tea, coffee, juice or milk in place of dinner. Staying at Wat Tam Wua is free of charge to all public who seek practices of spirituality, however, the sacred grounds must not be viewed as hotels or resorts. Participants are asked to be discipline in their practice, to follow the daily schedule, to keep their area tidy and clean.

. Row of single Kuti(es) for Ladies behind the mountain.

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our library

Contact us:

Wat Pa Tam Wua Forest Monastery Ban Mae Suya , Huay Pha, Mae Hong Son, 58000 Thailand Tel. +66(8) 1031 3326, +66(8) 7982 1168

How to come here?

From Bangkok:

By bus : " SOMBAT TOUR" Bangkok-Mae Hong Son Tel : 02-792-1444, 02-537-8333

By Air Plane from Bangkok - Chiengmai : Nok air, Thai airways International , Karn Air,Thai lion Air

By Air plane from chiengmai - Mae Hong Son : Karn Air,Nok Air

From Mae Hong Son Bus station to Wat Tam Wua

: Prempracha Transport co., Ltd Tel 053-492999

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REFERENCE WORKS IN THAI

1. หลักธรรมอยู่เป็นหัวใจของพระพุทธศาสนา. อ. วิทย์ อินทสระ

2. พระพุทธเจ้าทรงสอนอะไร. สมเด็จพระญาณสังวร สมเด็จพระสังฆราช สกล สังฆปรินายก

3. แก่นพุทธธรรม: สุวัฒน์ จันทร์อำนง

4. พจนานุกรมพุทธศาสตร์ ฉบับประมวลธรรม: พระพรหมคุณาภรณ์ (ป.อ.ปยุตโต)

5. ปฐมสมโพธิกถา: พระนิพนธ์ของสมเด็จพระมหาสมณเจ้า กรมพระปรมานุชิต ชิโนรส

REFERENCE WORKS IN ENGLISH

1. BUDDHISM PLAIN AND SIMPLE : The Practice of Being Aware, Right Now, Every Day : Steve Hagen

2. ANAPANASATI BHAVANA: BUDDHASA BHIKKHU

3.VIMUTTIDHAMMA : From Chakra to Dhammachakra: Piyadasshi Bhikku

4.The Path to Enlightenment 1: Venerable Luangpor Pramote Pamojiio

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5. NIBBANA : BUDDHADASA BHIKKHU

6. TOWARDS TRUTH AND WISDOM: Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu

7.MINDFULNESS WITH BREATHING :A Manual for Serious Beginners : BUDDHADASA BHIKKHU

8.A Meditator's Guide : Venerable Luangpor Pramote Pamojo Teaches the Principles of Mindfulness and Meditation

9. CONSIGNED BY LUANGPU : The teachings of Phra Rajvudhacariya ( Luang Pu Dulya Atulo )

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