0:00:08.566,0:00:11.177
Can you see over there?

0:00:11.177,0:00:12.680
move over to this side

0:00:12.680,0:00:19.197
I got my own, [br]what about you? OK

0:00:19.197,0:00:24.810
But anyway just to let [br]everybody know that this is a

0:00:24.810,0:00:31.279
translation of the Venerable Nyanatiloka's [br]the Word of the Buddha

0:00:31.279,0:00:35.891
a compilation of Suttas

0:00:35.891,0:00:39.170
its built around the framework of

0:00:39.170,0:00:42.849
the Four Noble Truths [br]and the Eightfold Path

0:00:42.849,0:00:47.506
and doing this was because [br]the translation

0:00:47.506,0:00:53.039
which was over 100 years ago [br]is well pass its use by date

0:00:53.039,0:00:58.300
So because of that it was nice [br]to be able to do a new translation

0:00:58.300,0:01:01.364
and also the way that we do [br]the translation

0:01:01.364,0:01:03.539
if you haven't heard this before

0:01:03.539,0:01:08.190
is to make sure that you don't [br]translate word for word

0:01:08.190,0:01:17.721
because word for word translations [br]just make very silly translations

0:01:17.721,0:01:23.129
such as it was raining heavily and [br]you say 'it rained cats and dogs'

0:01:23.129,0:01:25.568
and if you translate that into [br]a foreign language

0:01:25.568,0:01:27.260
they think it is really weird

0:01:27.260,0:01:32.167
in Australia the cats and dogs [br]come falling from the sky.

0:01:32.167,0:01:36.067
And that's what we call [br]an idiom

0:01:36.067,0:01:41.084
And even Pali has idioms [br]in which that

0:01:41.084,0:01:45.402
these words which is said; [br]ways in which words are used.

0:01:45.402,0:01:52.179
So I take my cue, my advice [br]from Professor A.K. Warder

0:01:52.179,0:01:53.790
who would state

0:01:53.790,0:01:55.989
and I thought it was a [br]very good insight

0:01:55.989,0:02:01.657
that we never translate words [br]we translate sentences or phrases

0:02:01.657,0:02:06.177
which are the units of ideas.

0:02:06.177,0:02:08.741
So we never think words, [br]we think sentences

0:02:08.741,0:02:14.553
indeed the words are defined, [br]their meaning is defined by the context

0:02:14.553,0:02:21.453
So that gives much more clarity [br]and also what people say 'punch' [br]

0:02:21.453,0:02:24.604
to these translations.

0:02:24.604,0:02:29.104
And some of these translations [br]are again pass their use by date

0:02:29.104,0:02:30.851
even by themselves

0:02:30.851,0:02:36.545
Such as things like right ....[br]further down you would see the

0:02:36.545,0:02:45.258
right motivation, the second [br]factor of the Eight-fold Path

0:02:45.258,0:02:47.987
instead of right thought.

0:02:47.987,0:02:50.188
So I call it Right Motivation.

0:02:50.188,0:02:52.235
Now we have Right Action,[br]Right Livelihood

0:02:52.235,0:02:54.856
The sixth of the Eight-fold Path is

0:02:54.856,0:02:59.262
I translate it as Right Endeavour [br]rather than Right Effort.

0:02:59.262,0:03:03.721
Because effort again in my [br]life as a monk

0:03:03.721,0:03:08.693
the effort usually tends to [br]get you tired, it tends to get you tensed

0:03:08.693,0:03:13.247
it seems the opposite [br]of what we are trying to do

0:03:13.247,0:03:15.547
And instead by trying [br]to look for some other

0:03:15.547,0:03:17.500
possible translations

0:03:17.500,0:03:21.077
so far, using the word [br]endeavor

0:03:21.077,0:03:25.804
So we have like a type of goal [br]but not which comes from effort

0:03:25.804,0:03:27.388
but as you will see in a [br]few moments

0:03:27.388,0:03:31.996
comes from stopping, [br]letting go, restraining, abandoning

0:03:31.996,0:03:35.158
those types of so called effort

0:03:35.158,0:03:37.788
really it is a non-effort.

0:03:37.788,0:03:41.453
And of course the big one later on [br]number 8 is Right Stillness

0:03:41.453,0:03:43.601
instead of Right Concentration.

0:03:43.601,0:03:48.254
So it's good to take these [br]translations even further

0:03:48.254,0:03:51.139
I am never going to say that [br]this is going to be the

0:03:51.139,0:03:53.972
fixed and final translation for ever.

0:03:53.972,0:03:57.254
Translations are always [br]work in progress

0:03:57.254,0:03:59.280
So anyway with that in mind

0:03:59.280,0:04:06.089
just to get back to what I said before [br]about these translations

0:04:06.089,0:04:09.180
a new translation on the [br]Word of the Buddha

0:04:09.180,0:04:14.838
So I usually start with [br]paying homage to the Buddha with Namo tassa

0:04:14.838,0:04:22.076
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa

0:04:22.076,0:04:31.338
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa

0:04:31.338,0:04:38.765
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa

0:04:38.765,0:04:42.139
So what now is Right Endeavour

0:04:42.139,0:04:47.888
this is the Sixth Factor [br]of the Eight-fold Path

0:04:47.888,0:04:49.728
What, now, is right endeavour?

0:04:49.728,0:04:53.297
These are these quotes from the Suttas

0:04:53.297,0:04:55.856
There are these four right endeavours:

0:04:55.856,0:05:00.355
restraint, abandonment, [br]development & preservation.

0:05:00.355,0:05:02.878
Four Right endeavours:

0:05:02.878,0:05:05.753
And what is the endeavour of restraint?

0:05:05.753,0:05:09.097
Straight away you can see that word [br]restraint

0:05:09.097,0:05:13.278
means not doing something [br]but stopping doing something.

0:05:13.278,0:05:16.799
restraining and abandoning [br]and letting go.

0:05:16.799,0:05:19.338
You might call it the [br]effort to let go

0:05:19.338,0:05:25.329
but really letting go is the opposite [br]of trying to get somewhere, effort

0:05:25.329,0:05:27.968
So what is the endeavour of restraint?

0:05:27.968,0:05:33.137
When you see an object, you do not [br]let yourself get sucked in

0:05:33.137,0:05:38.147
by any characteristics or features [br]that generate defilements.

0:05:38.147,0:05:41.579
You get to see straightaway [br]'getting sucked in'

0:05:41.579,0:05:45.554
that is the word we'll use in English; [br]it's a modern word

0:05:45.554,0:05:51.904
but it's not the word you see in the [br]translation of 100 years ago.

0:05:51.904,0:05:54.602
What is the endeavour of restraint [br]when you see an object you do not

0:05:54.602,0:05:58.502
let yourself get sucked in by any [br]characteristics or features

0:05:58.502,0:06:01.140
that generate defilements.

0:06:01.140,0:06:04.910
Since, if you left the [br]faculty of sight unrestrained,

0:06:04.910,0:06:08.981
unskillful states of wanting and [br]aversion would afflict you.

0:06:08.981,0:06:11.698
Instead, you practice wisdom when seeing,

0:06:11.698,0:06:16.858
you guard the faculty of sight, [br]and you undertake the restraint of sight.

0:06:16.858,0:06:25.782
So, if you are a monk and you see [br]some unclad woman coming into the hall

0:06:25.782,0:06:29.443
and then you make sure you try and look [br]at something which

0:06:29.443,0:06:32.190
does not arouse lust in you.

0:06:32.190,0:06:36.872
If you are a married woman and [br]you see a hot guy coming in

0:06:36.872,0:06:43.472
you don't look at things which would [br]again create lust or desire.

0:06:43.472,0:06:46.313
If you see something you don't like

0:06:46.313,0:06:49.922
you don't surround yourself, [br]just because a person may

0:06:49.922,0:06:54.113
have some marks or scars or [br]not be physically perfect

0:06:54.113,0:06:57.122
you don't let yourself get sucked in[br]with aversion

0:06:57.122,0:07:00.464
If you see someone who resembles [br]Donald Trump coming in

0:07:00.464,0:07:04.084
you don't look at those features [br]which reminds you of Donald Trump

0:07:04.084,0:07:07.026
and allows you to [br]get aversion.

0:07:07.026,0:07:11.045
So in other words you control [br]the faculty of sight

0:07:11.045,0:07:17.494
so it doesn't get you upset.

0:07:17.494,0:07:21.485
And also even if you see something [br]you really really like,

0:07:21.485,0:07:30.809
like a new iPod, or tablet or dress or car [br]or something which you see..

0:07:30.809,0:07:33.745
wow I really like that: [br]you actually just restrain

0:07:33.745,0:07:36.195
the features of sight.

0:07:36.195,0:07:38.240
So you don't allow yourself to [br]get sucked in

0:07:38.240,0:07:42.200
by any characteristics or features [br]that generate defilements.

0:07:42.200,0:07:47.098
Having heard a sound; notice the smell; [br]sense the taste, felt a bodily feeling

0:07:47.098,0:07:49.245
even having cognized in the mind

0:07:49.245,0:07:52.803
you do not let yourself get sucked in

0:07:52.803,0:07:57.789
by any characteristics or features [br]that generate defilements.

0:07:57.789,0:08:00.321
Since, if you left the mind [br]faculty unrestrained,

0:08:00.321,0:08:04.527
unskillful states of wanting [br]and aversion would afflict you.

0:08:04.527,0:08:06.912
Instead, you practice [br]wisdom with the mind,

0:08:06.912,0:08:12.193
you guard the mind, and you [br]undertake restraint of the mind.

0:08:12.193,0:08:15.768
So this is what we do [br]with the mindfulness

0:08:15.768,0:08:18.420
but we also use the restraint.

0:08:18.420,0:08:25.890
So we make sure we do not [br]get drawn in to features

0:08:25.890,0:08:31.985
which make us get lost in what [br]we see, hear, taste, touch or know.

0:08:31.985,0:08:39.201
At the end of every section here [br]I would give you the opportunity

0:08:39.201,0:08:41.054
to ask a question if you need to.

0:08:41.054,0:08:44.018
so you can always put [br]your hand up.

0:08:44.018,0:08:47.464
So the second endeavour, the [br]endeavour to abandon.

0:08:47.464,0:08:49.831
And what is the endeavour to abandon?

0:08:49.831,0:08:52.866
Here, you do not maintain an [br]arisen motivation of wanting;

0:08:52.866,0:08:56.872
you abandon it. let it go, [br]renounce it, bring it to cessation.

0:08:56.872,0:09:00.747
You do not indulge in[br]arisen motivation of aversion

0:09:00.747,0:09:03.772
an arisen motivation of harming …

0:09:03.772,0:09:06.210
whenever bad motivations arise;

0:09:06.210,0:09:09.636
you abandon them, let them go, renounce[br]them, and bring them to cessation.

0:09:09.636,0:09:12.843
This is called the [br]endeavour to abandon.

0:09:12.843,0:09:17.430
So restraint-you don't allow [br]states of mind

0:09:17.430,0:09:24.881
which will cause you grief, [br]struggle and unpleasantness, affliction

0:09:24.881,0:09:28.437
so you make sure they don't come [br]in the first place

0:09:28.437,0:09:32.421
and if they have come in [br]you find ways to abandon

0:09:32.421,0:09:35.001
those unpleasant states.

0:09:35.001,0:09:41.681
And the most commonly known [br]method of abandoning

0:09:41.681,0:09:48.043
is in the Vitakkasanthana Sutta [br]the Majjhima 20

0:09:48.043,0:09:50.543
When you are mindful of some object,

0:09:50.543,0:09:54.454
and there arises in you afflicting [br]unwholesome motivations

0:09:54.454,0:09:56.648
connected with desire, aversion [br]and delusion, then:

0:09:56.648,0:09:59.615
First way is substitution:

0:09:59.615,0:10:02.312
You should give attention to [br]some other object

0:10:02.312,0:10:05.196
that generates wholesome mind states.

0:10:05.196,0:10:08.753
Thus, unwholesome states are [br]abandoned and subside.

0:10:08.753,0:10:11.841
With their disappearance, your mind [br]becomes internally steady,

0:10:11.841,0:10:14.473
settled, unified and still.

0:10:14.473,0:10:16.692
So you are really upset about some..

0:10:16.692,0:10:23.514
a good way of substitution is the old [br]simile of the two bad bricks on the wall

0:10:23.514,0:10:26.624
if you just watch the two bad [br]bricks in the wall

0:10:26.624,0:10:33.714
then that gives you feelings of [br]aversion, wanting to destroy

0:10:33.714,0:10:38.043
wanting to start all over again; feelings [br]of not being competent or whatever.

0:10:38.043,0:10:41.484
So instead of just looking at the [br]two bad bricks

0:10:41.484,0:10:46.296
you look at just the 998 [br]good bricks

0:10:46.296,0:10:48.864
which means your mind does [br]become internally steady

0:10:48.864,0:10:51.405
settled, unified and still.

0:10:51.405,0:10:54.999
or another object which you [br]might go and look at

0:10:54.999,0:10:58.522
I am just relating this to some of the [br]stories which you have heard on

0:10:58.522,0:11:00.064
Friday nights.

0:11:00.064,0:11:03.666
Is to go into the forest and look [br]at crooked trees.

0:11:03.666,0:11:06.058
And look at crooked trees and [br]they become beautiful

0:11:06.058,0:11:10.156
So by changing the object from [br]say your husband, your wife

0:11:10.156,0:11:14.247
or your scores in the exam or [br]other things which happen in your life

0:11:14.247,0:11:16.237
and you think; [br]'oh life is terrible'

0:11:16.237,0:11:20.186
Change to some other object [br]usually in the nature and you think

0:11:20.186,0:11:21.297
this is the nature of the world

0:11:21.297,0:11:24.731
and you don't have to be perfect.

0:11:24.731,0:11:30.461
So by giving attention to some [br]other object that generate

0:11:30.461,0:11:32.279
wholesome mind states

0:11:32.279,0:11:35.529
the unwholesome states become [br]abandoned and subside.

0:11:35.529,0:11:39.334
And you become internally [br]steady and settle, unified and still.

0:11:39.334,0:11:43.220
Or you should examine the danger [br]in those unwholesome motives…

0:11:43.220,0:11:47.196
So you might think you want something [br]or you are trying to get rid of something

0:11:47.196,0:11:49.885
what does that do to your mind

0:11:49.885,0:11:53.549
that is an example of [br]Ajahn Chah's

0:11:53.549,0:11:57.265
It's not the sound disturb you [br]it's you who disturb the sound

0:11:57.265,0:12:02.002
because if you have what you think [br]is a loud sound

0:12:02.002,0:12:06.781
and you start to worry about [br]who did that, why did they do that

0:12:06.781,0:12:10.819
it may just be that somebody [br]slammed the door

0:12:10.819,0:12:13.450
and the danger in that

0:12:13.450,0:12:17.055
thinking about those unwholesome [br]states is long after the sound

0:12:17.055,0:12:19.006
from the slamming door has [br]subsided

0:12:19.006,0:12:22.480
you are still thinking about it.

0:12:22.480,0:12:26.041
So the danger is that [br]sounds stop pretty quickly

0:12:26.041,0:12:29.935
but the echo in your head goes [br]on for ever and ever.

0:12:29.935,0:12:32.156
So that's the danger in those [br]unwholesome motives.

0:12:32.156,0:12:36.380
You can't sort of go back in [br]time and stop that banging door

0:12:36.380,0:12:39.253
but you can cease is the thinking [br]about it, dwelling upon it

0:12:39.253,0:12:44.556
is very very dangerous [br]takes you away from happiness.

0:12:44.556,0:12:47.033
You should try to ignore [br]those unwholesome motives

0:12:47.033,0:12:48.924
and do not give attention to them

0:12:48.924,0:12:52.667
That is you will find a simile [br]which I developed

0:12:52.667,0:12:58.415
if there is a sound or there is [br]when you meditating

0:12:58.415,0:13:00.824
you are thinking you haven't had[br]dinner tonight yet

0:13:00.824,0:13:04.830
and somebody's going to take you out [br]to your favourite restaurant tonight

0:13:04.830,0:13:07.166
you start thinking about the dinner

0:13:07.166,0:13:09.806
when any distracting thought [br]comes up

0:13:09.806,0:13:14.506
you can use a simile of the [br]TV screen.

0:13:14.506,0:13:17.270
I travel a lot on air crafts

0:13:17.270,0:13:19.757
and when you look at the safety [br]demonstration which

0:13:19.757,0:13:21.718
comes in front of the screen

0:13:21.718,0:13:23.949
there is something I noticed a [br]long time ago

0:13:23.949,0:13:26.447
doesn't matter how big or [br]small that screen is

0:13:26.447,0:13:32.097
after a little while your mind [br]actually fits into the screen

0:13:32.097,0:13:36.287
you may be looking at that [br]in that big piece of canvass there

0:13:36.287,0:13:39.137
and your mind just fits right [br]into the canvass

0:13:39.137,0:13:42.919
so much so you can't see [br]what's above, below, left or right of it

0:13:42.919,0:13:44.304
until I point that out.

0:13:44.304,0:13:50.645
When I look at the same teachings [br]on the screen of this little tablet

0:13:50.645,0:13:54.218
again my mind fits into it [br]and I don't see

0:13:54.218,0:13:58.580
I can now see the bell [br]to my right, see the clock to my left

0:13:58.580,0:14:02.352
but after awhile you go right into it [br]and you can't see the edges.

0:14:02.352,0:14:06.301
Now understanding the what is in the[br]centre of your field of attention remains,

0:14:06.301,0:14:10.286
what's in the edges [br]eventually falls away

0:14:10.286,0:14:13.149
just like zooming in on [br]Google Earth

0:14:13.149,0:14:16.279
It's the same with by putting attention

0:14:16.279,0:14:19.080
ignore the unwholesome motives [br]do not give attention to them

0:14:19.080,0:14:24.025
Do not put them in the centre [br]of your screen of attention

0:14:24.025,0:14:27.274
So put something more wholesome [br]in the centre

0:14:27.274,0:14:30.912
like you are watching your breath [br]and somebody makes a noise

0:14:30.912,0:14:35.071
or there is the sound of the siren [br]or somebody revving up a motorbike

0:14:35.071,0:14:38.812
for goodness sake don't put that [br]in the centre

0:14:38.812,0:14:43.021
in other words take the attention,[br]the primary attention away

0:14:43.021,0:14:46.031
from that disturbing, distracting [br]sound or thought

0:14:46.031,0:14:50.371
and put the centre on the main object

0:14:50.371,0:14:54.119
so that's called like ignoring it[br]not giving it attention

0:14:54.119,0:14:56.847
not giving it primacy in the mind.

0:14:56.847,0:15:01.131
it literary is background noise, [br]but you don't pay attention to it.

0:15:01.131,0:15:06.002
and after a small while the [br]background noise fades away.

0:15:06.002,0:15:09.993
Or you should give attention [br]to stilling the causes of those motives

0:15:09.993,0:15:14.302
why do you want something [br]why we got ill-will

0:15:14.302,0:15:16.424
why is that happening

0:15:16.424,0:15:19.649
and there is one reason which [br]I have noticed

0:15:19.649,0:15:23.023
that people are afraid of [br]stillness and peace.

0:15:23.023,0:15:26.283
I have seen that [br]Years and years and years ago

0:15:26.283,0:15:29.799
whenever we would go to [br]very quiet place

0:15:29.799,0:15:32.164
just like Bodhinyana monastery

0:15:32.164,0:15:34.504
And some visitors [br]as soon as they go there

0:15:34.504,0:15:37.234
so quite they would raise their voices

0:15:37.234,0:15:40.234
they would shout louder[br]than was necessary

0:15:40.234,0:15:44.795
I couldn't figure that out psychologically [br]until I realized that the silence

0:15:44.795,0:15:46.916
threatened them.

0:15:46.916,0:15:49.873
They had to raise their voices [br]to destroy something

0:15:49.873,0:15:52.064
they weren't familiar with--

0:15:52.064,0:15:55.704
the peace and quiet of an [br]Australian forest.

0:15:55.704,0:15:58.214
So what are the causes,

0:15:58.214,0:16:03.429
When you are in meditation [br]and a thought disappear

0:16:03.429,0:16:06.065
why is that thoughts come up again?

0:16:06.065,0:16:10.315
I always considered that thoughts [br]just came into my mind from nowhere

0:16:10.315,0:16:12.968
and they were stray thoughts

0:16:12.968,0:16:17.188
until when my meditation got much [br]stronger, my mindfulness more sharp

0:16:17.188,0:16:22.634
I realized no no no [br]I went out to look for those thoughts

0:16:22.634,0:16:24.644
something to disturb myself.

0:16:24.644,0:16:29.306
And of course that was the same as when [br]you are at home, you have nothing to do

0:16:29.306,0:16:33.176
so you flip through the TV channels

0:16:33.176,0:16:36.056
you flip through the TV channels [br]you don't really want to watch something

0:16:36.056,0:16:37.516
you just want to distract yourself

0:16:37.516,0:16:39.872
because people today is

0:16:39.872,0:16:45.827
people do not know how to deal with [br]resting, silence, doing nothing

0:16:45.827,0:16:48.611
or you look in the refrigerator; [br]you had enough to eat

0:16:48.611,0:16:50.371
you want to get [br]something to eat.

0:16:50.371,0:16:53.500
and in the refrigerator, things are [br]falling out of the refrigerator

0:16:53.500,0:16:56.889
but ah! there is nothing to eat[br]in the refrigerator.

0:16:56.889,0:17:00.098
It's just distraction; [br]wanting something to do,

0:17:00.098,0:17:03.598
because doing nothing [br]challenges us.

0:17:03.598,0:17:08.168
literally challenges our [br]very idea of who we are

0:17:08.168,0:17:11.415
So stilling the causes of [br]those things.

0:17:11.415,0:17:15.198
And of course the last thing is causes of [br]some of these unwholesome thoughts;

0:17:15.198,0:17:18.664
anything to do because

0:17:18.664,0:17:24.472
again we are uncomfortable [br]with silence. It's mostly fear.

0:17:24.472,0:17:27.049
and exactly the same fear,

0:17:27.049,0:17:31.195
the best example which [br]you can relate to; sort of

0:17:31.195,0:17:34.915
is a prisoner who has been in jail [br]for many years.

0:17:34.915,0:17:38.421
now he or she is being [br]released from jail

0:17:38.421,0:17:43.363
and they are very very uncomfortable [br]in freedom,

0:17:43.363,0:17:48.285
they've got used to being [br]enclosed, being told what to do

0:17:48.285,0:17:50.238
[br]being in prison.

0:17:50.238,0:17:54.044
And the idea of being free [br]is a challenge to them.

0:17:54.044,0:18:00.256
So many of the causes of[br]unskillful acts and thoughts

0:18:00.256,0:18:03.314
and the motives behind them [br]often comes from the fears;

0:18:03.314,0:18:06.026
so look at what the fear is

0:18:06.026,0:18:08.395
find the causes for these things

0:18:08.395,0:18:15.094
and then the unwholesome things, [br]the irritating things can disappear.

0:18:15.094,0:18:21.479
And the last is, the very last resort [br]is you should, for example

0:18:21.479,0:18:25.125
if you get so fed-up with [br]Ajahn Brahm's jokes; you think

0:18:25.125,0:18:28.410
Ah I am going to get a chain-saw [br]and cut off his head.

0:18:28.410,0:18:32.477
If it's a very very bad thought [br]a very bad motive

0:18:32.477,0:18:33.997
the last resort

0:18:33.997,0:18:36.914
clench your teeth with your tongue [br]pressed against the roof of your mouth,

0:18:36.914,0:18:42.547
and beat down, constrain and crush [br]any such afflicting unwholesome motives.

0:18:42.547,0:18:49.036
So use a little bit of force but only [br]if it's going to be the last resort.

0:18:49.036,0:18:52.871
But anyway with the disappearance [br]of these unwholesome motives of

0:18:52.871,0:18:57.097
greed, hate and delusion; [br]wanting, aversion, delution

0:18:57.097,0:19:03.116
then your mind become internally [br]steady, settled unified and still.

0:19:03.116,0:19:09.164
So this is how one can overcome [br]unwholesome things

0:19:09.164,0:19:14.240
This is restrain first of all [br]and then abandoning, the second one

0:19:14.263,0:19:19.416
yes, the one next to you John

0:19:19.416,0:19:25.201
Question--Ajahn you said that we [br]invite the thoughts in

0:19:25.201,0:19:29.293
but I don't think that's always the case [br]sometimes thoughts come when we

0:19:29.293,0:19:32.021
really wouldn't like them [br]to be there.

0:19:32.021,0:19:37.432
Ajahn: Ahh...is that the case? [br]that's what I also thought

0:19:37.432,0:19:40.811
but why would they come in?

0:19:40.811,0:19:45.612
if you could; where you live [br]if people just come into your house

0:19:45.612,0:19:49.284
you got to open the door for them [br]first of all

0:19:49.284,0:19:53.041
it's a weird thing but it is the case

0:19:53.041,0:19:58.252
that these thoughts only come in [br]when you are a little bit bored

0:19:58.252,0:20:04.041
not content, and they come in and [br]basically before you even see it

0:20:04.041,0:20:07.766
you go out there to [br]grab a thought

0:20:07.766,0:20:11.043
otherwise just why is it that we [br]go off into future plans

0:20:11.043,0:20:14.005
which we know will never happen.

0:20:14.005,0:20:17.483
or what you're going to do [br]when you win the lottery

0:20:17.483,0:20:19.356
how you are going to spend it

0:20:19.356,0:20:21.368
it's not going to happen.

0:20:21.368,0:20:23.739
why do we actually [br]do stuff like that

0:20:23.739,0:20:27.226
or thinking in the past [br]which we can never ever change

0:20:27.226,0:20:31.905
fantasizing, dreaming[br]why do we do such things?

0:20:31.905,0:20:35.916
you know that sometimes we [br]look for good thoughts first of all

0:20:35.916,0:20:39.776
but when we have gone through [br]our inventory of good thoughts

0:20:39.776,0:20:41.841
then any thought would do.

0:20:41.841,0:20:45.828
Anything to distract us

0:20:45.828,0:20:50.042
It's a weird thing but people [br]like being distracted

0:20:50.042,0:20:51.595
why?

0:20:51.595,0:20:57.165
because it's a discomfort, [br]a fear of being still

0:20:57.165,0:21:01.185
and where that comes from,[br]the underlying reason

0:21:01.185,0:21:05.823
is because it challenges [br]our very existence.

0:21:05.823,0:21:11.706
we define ourselves by [br]not who we are, but by what we do

0:21:11.706,0:21:14.198
I am a monk, I am a meditator,

0:21:14.198,0:21:20.149
I am a doctor, I am a ... whatever else [br]I am retired

0:21:20.149,0:21:23.820
it's what you do; [br]your acts define you.

0:21:23.843,0:21:28.229
and if did absolutely nothing;[br]your very sense of being

0:21:28.229,0:21:32.503
will actually start to vanish away.

0:21:32.503,0:21:35.088
to do, sorry to be

0:21:35.088,0:21:38.279
even actually [br]as a doctor or a medic;

0:21:38.279,0:21:42.073
if somebody is lying [br]on the floor

0:21:42.073,0:21:48.030
to find out if they are alive or [br]dead; you see if they do anything.

0:21:48.030,0:21:50.160
If their heart is doing anything [br]

0:21:50.160,0:21:52.632
you shout at them to see [br]whether there is any response.

0:21:52.632,0:21:55.828
you shine a light in their eyes [br]if that does anything

0:21:55.828,0:21:58.929
If they don't do anything, [br]then we assume

0:21:58.929,0:22:03.965
they are not there, [br]they are dead, they are gone.

0:22:03.965,0:22:08.585
So this is just an example of the [br]very essential connection

0:22:08.585,0:22:14.824
between doing something [br]and existing.

0:22:14.824,0:22:20.261
You look at a stone outside [br]or you look at a log, you might kick it

0:22:20.261,0:22:25.202
if it bites back, you know it wasn't [br]a log, it was a snake.

0:22:25.202,0:22:29.227
But if it just sites there [br]does nothing, if it does nothing

0:22:29.227,0:22:33.838
it doesn't exist. [br]No sense of a being.

0:22:33.838,0:22:38.411
So when you do nothing [br]when you are getting still

0:22:38.411,0:22:41.592
sometimes the mind is not [br]happy with that

0:22:41.592,0:22:48.137
old habits, you have [br]to do something.

0:22:48.137,0:22:52.102
Does that make sense? [br]yeah

0:22:52.102,0:22:57.575
Question-yes it does but [br]I still refer back to myself that

0:22:57.575,0:23:02.774
somethings that come in [br]you don't never ever let them in

0:23:02.774,0:23:04.353
but they still come.

0:23:04.353,0:23:05.544
Ajahn-they come in.

0:23:05.544,0:23:09.434
basically you do let them in [br]otherwise they wouldn't come in at all

0:23:09.434,0:23:13.804
and they won't... [br]sometimes stupid things come in

0:23:13.804,0:23:17.649
and you see afterwards it's because [br]if you really really content

0:23:17.649,0:23:22.865
very very peaceful, then there is [br]no way they can come in

0:23:22.865,0:23:28.416
It is a fact that, you see that; [br]you are leaving openings up

0:23:28.416,0:23:32.116
hoping something would [br]come into distract you.

0:23:32.116,0:23:36.212
It's not that these things [br]come in by themselves;

0:23:36.212,0:23:38.503
we go looking for them, [br]searching for them,

0:23:38.503,0:23:42.348
pulling from anywhere, anything [br]just to distract us.

0:23:42.348,0:23:44.984
It's the same with like dramas as well

0:23:44.984,0:23:50.301
why do people always [br]have dramas in their lives,

0:23:50.301,0:23:54.575
in their monasteries, [br]in their homes

0:23:54.575,0:23:56.295
because people actually [br]love dramas.

0:23:56.295,0:23:58.788
If they don't get enough [br]dramas in their real life

0:23:58.788,0:24:02.119
they go on the TV and [br]get dramas from TV somewhere

0:24:02.119,0:24:05.126
something to worry about

0:24:05.126,0:24:08.855
because to worry is another form [br]of existing, being

0:24:08.855,0:24:12.397
worrying about the football match

0:24:12.397,0:24:19.258
why are you doing that for? [br]something to do.

0:24:19.258,0:24:24.913
Anyway yes, young lady

0:24:24.913,0:24:27.867
Question-I was just thinking about [br]what good point,

0:24:27.867,0:24:31.874
it challenges your existence [br]because people say

0:24:31.874,0:24:34.777
you might as well be dead if [br]you got to just sit there

0:24:34.777,0:24:39.027
doing nothing, not interested [br]in anything, you might as well be dead

0:24:39.027,0:24:42.090
or why you are putting your [br]head in the sand what for.

0:24:42.090,0:24:44.410
so really that answers it;[br]doesn't it

0:24:44.410,0:24:47.400
You are challenging [br]your existence.

0:24:47.400,0:24:50.565
Ajahn: Exactly

0:24:50.565,0:24:58.928
So it's a tough one but [br]that's the core of all this.

0:24:58.928,0:25:00.688
who you think you are.

0:25:00.688,0:25:03.898
That's also why sometimes [br]these people

0:25:03.898,0:25:06.558
who have been there done that, [br]so wealthy;

0:25:06.558,0:25:10.848
they can't just disappear.

0:25:10.848,0:25:14.229
Old Prime Ministers had to [br]say something to get on the news

0:25:14.229,0:25:15.802
stir things up.

0:25:15.802,0:25:19.322
They can't just disappear gracefully [br]because if they disappear gracefully

0:25:19.322,0:25:22.190
you know their.... [br]

0:25:22.190,0:25:29.091
Tony Abbot should disappear [br]his whole identity is gone.

0:25:29.091,0:25:33.751
That's why he just can't go quietly. [br]impossible.

0:25:33.751,0:25:39.378
Anyway; that's one of the second [br]of the endeavours.

0:25:39.378,0:25:41.421
Going somewhere

0:25:41.421,0:25:44.191
The next is the endeavour to [br]develop

0:25:44.191,0:25:47.841
So restrain things which [br]haven't come up yet.

0:25:47.841,0:25:50.832
abandon things which [br]are already in the mind

0:25:50.832,0:25:52.641
and actually develop [br]good qualities.

0:25:52.641,0:25:55.718
Now these aren't separate [br]because one of the best ways

0:25:55.718,0:26:00.905
to develop, to overcome what [br]they call like unwholesome qualities

0:26:00.905,0:26:03.043
is to develop good ones.

0:26:03.043,0:26:06.855
One of the best ways to stop [br]buglers coming into your house

0:26:06.855,0:26:09.845
is to have all your friends [br]in your house

0:26:09.845,0:26:11.633
When you have lots and lots of [br]good people in your house

0:26:11.633,0:26:14.775
Then buglers don't; good people are there [br]so they won't come in

0:26:14.918,0:26:20.468
So developing and maintaining [br]good states is also fulfills the

0:26:20.468,0:26:25.868
first two endeavours as well [br]restraining and abandoning

0:26:25.868,0:26:28.116
so what is the endeavour to develop

0:26:28.116,0:26:31.799
they don't actually say much what [br]the endeavour actually is

0:26:31.799,0:26:34.714
except the sort of things you [br]should develop

0:26:34.714,0:26:37.662
develop mindfulness [br]exploring the Dhamma

0:26:37.662,0:26:42.989
These are the [br]Seven Enlightenment Factors

0:26:42.989,0:26:47.808
instead of investigating the Dhamma [br]or contemplating the Dhamma

0:26:47.839,0:26:51.106
have you got the same translation [br]here because this is a newer one

0:26:51.106,0:26:55.019
than that one. [br]there may be a few little changes.

0:26:55.019,0:26:58.781
Exploring the Dhamma [br]instead of investigating the Dhamma

0:26:58.781,0:27:02.464
this is that old little simile [br]I usually use a bottle of water

0:27:02.464,0:27:05.344
I have done it many times hear [br]I think even recently

0:27:05.344,0:27:07.822
What is this I am holding up?

0:27:07.822,0:27:10.020
and people say [br]bottle of water,

0:27:10.020,0:27:12.822
what else do you see? [br]It's plastic

0:27:12.822,0:27:15.801
What else do you see? [br]What else do you see?

0:27:15.801,0:27:18.261
That is actually exploring [br]going into it until

0:27:18.261,0:27:21.188
you have already used up [br]all the words and the labels

0:27:21.188,0:27:22.918
you have been taught before,

0:27:22.918,0:27:25.278
so you can actually go beyond [br]what you've been taught

0:27:25.278,0:27:28.172
and really getting into it [br]exploration.

0:27:28.172,0:27:32.780
Contemplating is always thinking [br]about it this way and that way

0:27:32.780,0:27:37.212
It's going beyond the thought [br]process, beyond the naming

0:27:37.212,0:27:40.016
into something which is much deeper [br]you explore it

0:27:40.016,0:27:44.974
you allow the mind to go [br]to places it hasn't been before

0:27:44.974,0:27:49.972
Or like I said in England recently [br]remembering the time I used to

0:27:49.972,0:27:52.745
watch Star Trek as a young man

0:27:52.745,0:27:58.929
That was when Mr. Spock [br]did have pointy years

0:27:58.929,0:28:02.709
Apparently it still goes on these days [br]Star Trek, different people

0:28:02.709,0:28:07.228
but anyway; They used to say [br]boldly go where no man has been before.

0:28:07.228,0:28:08.615
And I adapted that to

0:28:08.615,0:28:13.147
(Ajahn touching his bald head) [br]baldly go where no monk has gone before

0:28:13.147,0:28:16.099
And this is what exploration is

0:28:16.099,0:28:19.436
you know not going to old places [br]you looked up before but

0:28:19.436,0:28:23.703
going deeper, exploring [br]the Dhamma

0:28:23.703,0:28:26.985
And the Enlightenment Factor [br]of Energy

0:28:26.985,0:28:30.124
Now both those two I think [br]I mentioned before

0:28:30.124,0:28:32.584
they actually work, [br]no all those three

0:28:32.584,0:28:36.300
they all work together [br]when you are aware, really aware

0:28:36.300,0:28:40.666
takes a lot of mindfulness [br]to be able to see things you have

0:28:40.666,0:28:43.960
never seen in this before [br](Ajahn looking closely at the bottle)

0:28:43.960,0:28:48.258
You explore it and it gives you energy, [br]that's actually really interesting

0:28:48.258,0:28:53.536
And also because of the stillness [br]your mental energy increases

0:28:53.536,0:28:56.707
So whenever you develop [br]these things

0:28:56.707,0:28:58.766
they develop all together

0:28:58.766,0:29:02.386
starting with mindfulness, [br]exploration, energy comes up

0:29:02.386,0:29:05.051
more powerful your [br]mindfulness is

0:29:05.051,0:29:12.254
Rapture, the pleasure [br]and this is an important thing which

0:29:12.254,0:29:16.898
in Buddhism as it was in the [br]very beginning

0:29:16.898,0:29:20.606
we actually develop joy [br]we develop happiness

0:29:20.606,0:29:22.958
we don't try and get rid of it

0:29:22.958,0:29:25.760
as if like being happy [br]is a big sin

0:29:25.760,0:29:29.147
you are not supposed to be happy [br]when other people are suffering

0:29:29.147,0:29:31.942
you are supposed to suffer [br]in this world

0:29:31.942,0:29:37.243
And of course that is just [br]so even against Buddhism

0:29:37.243,0:29:40.999
Some people even say if you are happy [br]be careful you get attached to it.

0:29:40.999,0:29:44.088
And oh my goodness that's [br]what you are supposed to do

0:29:44.088,0:29:49.858
So here you develop the Rapture, [br]the pīti, the joy, the happiness.

0:29:49.858,0:29:53.949
The Enlightenment Factor [br]of Tranquility

0:29:53.949,0:29:58.629
you don't think that being still [br]or being tranquil is you are dead

0:29:58.629,0:30:01.874
like you were saying Barbara

0:30:01.874,0:30:08.971
It's not being dead, it's being actually [br]more alive than you've ever been before.

0:30:08.971,0:30:14.931
And of course stillness; [br]the Samadhi and Equanimity

0:30:14.931,0:30:20.196
Every one which is based upon [br]seclusion (physical and mental),

0:30:20.196,0:30:25.209
in other words to develop these [br]Seven Enlightenment Factors

0:30:25.209,0:30:30.772
we are basing this on being by oneself [br]reasonably physically

0:30:30.772,0:30:36.237
If you can't do that in your rooms, in [br]monasteries or in Retreat Centres

0:30:36.237,0:30:39.962
you can at least build a bubble around [br]yourself which I often do because

0:30:39.962,0:30:43.473
I travel around a lot with [br]many many people

0:30:43.473,0:30:46.719
Just my cave which I carry [br]around with me

0:30:46.719,0:30:48.853
this imaginary bubble around you,

0:30:48.853,0:30:52.975
and you are sitting inside and [br]people and noise and things are outside

0:30:52.975,0:30:58.054
when I want to disengage that's what [br]I really develop over the years.

0:30:58.054,0:31:00.008
physical, mental seclusion

0:31:00.008,0:31:05.795
things fading away; past and future [br]thoughts all fading away and ceasing

0:31:05.795,0:31:08.274
maturing in the mind's release.

0:31:08.274,0:31:11.674
Those are Seven Enlightenment Factors

0:31:11.674,0:31:15.709
And if you want to know Buddhism in brief [br]or meditation in brief

0:31:15.709,0:31:21.184
it is to develop these seven and [br]to overcome their antithesis

0:31:21.184,0:31:24.814
their opposite which is the [br]five hindrances.

0:31:24.814,0:31:29.516
That's basically Buddhism is all about.

0:31:29.516,0:31:34.958
Do you want to get the microphone?

0:31:34.958,0:31:39.558
Question: Could you please define the [br]factor of energy a little bit more

0:31:39.558,0:31:41.147
Ajahn--Energy oh yeah

0:31:41.147,0:31:44.413
There is the energy you get [br]from a cup of coffee

0:31:44.413,0:31:47.236
There is energy which you get [br]when you got a goal

0:31:47.236,0:31:49.077
you are trying to reach.

0:31:49.077,0:31:52.287
And you are really striving [br]and you go for it

0:31:52.287,0:31:57.587
But those are all energies which [br]actually are boring energy

0:31:57.587,0:32:00.696
you pay for that afterwards with [br]oh..(Ajahn showing a tired face)

0:32:00.696,0:32:04.696
you are really tired and [br]lacking energy

0:32:04.696,0:32:08.047
The other energy which [br]this is talking about here

0:32:08.047,0:32:13.055
is the energy which does come from [br]developing mindfulness and stillness

0:32:13.055,0:32:18.147
It is what happens when people [br]meditate and just becomes still

0:32:18.147,0:32:26.297
it is the observation, the understanding[br]that when you do become still

0:32:26.297,0:32:28.519
you don't do very much

0:32:28.519,0:32:32.976
You are sitting still, you are not thinking [br]about the past and the future.

0:32:32.976,0:32:38.748
you are not fantasizing, you are actually...[br]you are not wasting energy

0:32:38.748,0:32:43.310
and just like the metabolism in your [br]bodies, always creating energy

0:32:43.310,0:32:47.966
your mind creates energy all [br]the time, its wasted very very quickly

0:32:47.966,0:32:50.265
by thinking, worrying, planning

0:32:50.265,0:32:55.320
But imagine you stop all of that [br]energy being wasted

0:32:55.320,0:32:58.419
you aren't thinking about anything

0:32:58.419,0:33:03.863
totally in this moment.[br]Silent, preserving that energy

0:33:03.863,0:33:10.468
it's like getting your weakly payments[br]from the government or from your job

0:33:10.468,0:33:15.669
you don't pay a cent, the money [br]accumulates and accumulates and accumulates

0:33:15.679,0:33:18.639
that's what happens with the energy [br]when you are still,

0:33:18.639,0:33:21.300
when you are not wasting it, [br]you are not spending energy.

0:33:21.300,0:33:24.319
It accumulates and get stronger[br]and stronger

0:33:24.319,0:33:26.293
it feeds into mindfulness

0:33:26.293,0:33:29.450
then your mindfulness really starts[br]energizing

0:33:29.450,0:33:35.523
waking up and a sign of that [br]that energy which comes up

0:33:35.523,0:33:38.554
is that after good meditation

0:33:38.554,0:33:42.493
it's like you can run a 100 meters [br]faster than Usain Bolt

0:33:42.493,0:33:45.621
Everything you see is brilliant [br]and beautiful

0:33:45.621,0:33:49.721
Your mindfulness is empowered

0:33:49.721,0:33:55.228
That's why even people like [br]Eckhart Tolle - the Power of Now

0:33:55.228,0:33:58.112
what it was is the power of [br]mindfulness and being in this moment

0:33:58.112,0:34:00.649
not wasting any energy.

0:34:00.649,0:34:05.571
And as you really wake up [br]you are energized, you are happy Wow

0:34:05.654,0:34:12.150
energy and happiness go together

0:34:12.150,0:34:15.723
Question: Can I then ask when it [br]builds up and becomes

0:34:15.723,0:34:22.408
a lot stronger, what if you needs to [br]release or some kind.

0:34:22.408,0:34:26.495
Ajahn: why release if you got [br]millions and millions of dollars

0:34:26.495,0:34:28.261
just keep it there

0:34:28.261,0:34:32.311
you will find some natural ways [br]of using it later on

0:34:32.311,0:34:35.138
but if it's in the body; [br]if it stays in the body

0:34:35.138,0:34:37.517
then actually you might need [br]to release of it

0:34:37.517,0:34:41.156
because it's uncomfortable there.

0:34:41.156,0:34:46.176
But if it stays in the mind [br]it can be as powerful as you want.

0:34:46.176,0:34:48.928
you get incredible powerful [br]mind-states.

0:34:48.928,0:34:51.603
So that energy which I am talking [br]about comes from stillness

0:34:51.603,0:34:55.707
yeah it can be a physical energy [br]but really it doesn't belong in the body

0:34:55.707,0:34:57.934
it belongs in the mind.

0:34:57.934,0:35:02.031
That's when people get what we [br]call the Kundalini stuff

0:35:02.031,0:35:06.859
powerful forces in the body but [br]it's not pleasant

0:35:06.859,0:35:09.926
powerful but it's much better [br]to use that energy in the mind

0:35:09.926,0:35:14.374
where it really is much more useful [br]and where it belongs.

0:35:14.374,0:35:18.133
Question: So you can use it perhaps [br]to either heal yourself or heal

0:35:18.133,0:35:21.503
Ajahn: it's much better,

0:35:21.503,0:35:25.494
much greater healings come [br]when you are not aware of your body

0:35:25.494,0:35:28.726
If you just go into the realm of the mind [br]deep meditations

0:35:28.726,0:35:31.424
and amazing things happen

0:35:31.424,0:35:35.535
It's just well-known that if you have [br]any fevers or sicknesses

0:35:35.535,0:35:40.757
and you go and try and sap them with [br]loving kindness or with energy

0:35:40.757,0:35:43.565
while you are still aware of the body [br]yes, it does have an effect

0:35:43.565,0:35:47.562
But nothing like when the [br]body totally vanishes and disappears

0:35:47.562,0:35:50.433
and you are in that sixth sense, [br]very powerful mindful

0:35:50.433,0:35:51.695
enjoying yourself,

0:35:51.695,0:35:54.011
totally unaware of the body.

0:35:54.011,0:35:57.520
and when you come out afterwards [br]body is just incredible

0:35:57.520,0:35:59.295
You know it's like [br]I am getting old now

0:35:59.295,0:36:03.536
sometimes while I am meditate for [br]an hour or two just the knees ache

0:36:03.536,0:36:06.470
the back aches or something[br]doesn't feel good

0:36:06.470,0:36:08.166
I am getting old

0:36:08.166,0:36:11.505
but I should not getting old[br]I am old

0:36:11.505,0:36:16.046
but if you get into deep meditations [br]you sit there and can sit there for hours

0:36:16.046,0:36:18.825
when you come out afterwards [br]nothing is wrong

0:36:18.825,0:36:23.194
really feel like you have just [br]had a massage or bath or something

0:36:23.194,0:36:26.614
No aches or pains anywhere.

0:36:26.614,0:36:29.264
First it didn't make sense to me

0:36:29.264,0:36:30.762
why is it you sit for [br]three or four hours;

0:36:30.762,0:36:33.447
this is going to hurt [br]when I come out.

0:36:33.447,0:36:38.961
But then nothing hurts at all. [br]you feel just so relaxed

0:36:38.961,0:36:42.270
So that's one of the things [br]with the stillness;

0:36:42.270,0:36:44.270
and with the body [br]and the mind....

0:36:44.270,0:36:46.748
if you let the body go and [br]just go into the mind

0:36:46.748,0:36:51.939
For the body, that's the best you can [br]possibly do for your body.

0:36:51.939,0:36:57.506
Question: So then the energy of [br]the mind how would you discern?

0:36:57.506,0:37:02.083
Discern it? Ah you are really bliss-ed out [br]you are happy

0:37:02.083,0:37:05.558
Really great, great happiness

0:37:05.558,0:37:09.743
One way.. because the energy and the [br]happiness often go together

0:37:09.743,0:37:13.822
That's why people actually take a cup[br]of coffee in the morning or something

0:37:13.822,0:37:17.543
then they are not only energized [br]they are pleasant to speak to

0:37:17.543,0:37:19.344
they are not so grumpy

0:37:19.344,0:37:21.843
As I say most of the anger and [br]grumpiness comes from the

0:37:21.843,0:37:26.077
tiredness of the people have [br]in life. They are exhausted.

0:37:26.077,0:37:28.526
That's why if you got a Partner [br]please don't talk to them

0:37:28.526,0:37:30.264
when they come home late.

0:37:30.264,0:37:33.438
just give them a cup of [br]tea or coffee whatever it is

0:37:33.438,0:37:35.814
and when that's gone through [br]their system

0:37:35.814,0:37:38.913
If they are really sort of tired [br]give them an intravenous

0:37:38.913,0:37:41.535
and when they come out [br]afterwards,

0:37:41.535,0:37:45.064
then they are human beings again [br]instead of some monster

0:37:45.064,0:37:48.524
just tiredness that's all. [br]Exhausted

0:37:48.524,0:37:53.931
When you have really had a big [br]great meditation

0:37:53.931,0:38:00.116
then ah! nothing will make [br]you upset at all.

0:38:00.116,0:38:03.933
That's a sign of energy.

0:38:03.933,0:38:09.097
Question: And you can use it in [br]not only for yourself for

0:38:09.097,0:38:18.223
other beings, solving problems ; [br]as an example a ball of energy

0:38:18.223,0:38:21.876
and you may like to focus [br]that on something

0:38:21.876,0:38:28.862
Ajahn: It's a ball of energy but not[br]frantic energy like in sort of coffee high

0:38:28.862,0:38:33.602
not like stupid energy, like when [br]people take drugs

0:38:33.602,0:38:37.855
natural, beautiful, pure.

0:38:37.855,0:38:43.738
OK John had a question first [br]John was next before you Eddy

0:38:43.738,0:38:52.577
Question: The Enlightenment Factors [br]Do they get developed after

0:38:52.577,0:38:57.276
someone has developed Jhānas or [br]do they start before.

0:38:57.276,0:39:02.195
Ajahn: OK this is the same [br]as the Eight-fold Path

0:39:02.195,0:39:05.934
the Severn Enlightenment Factors [br]this is what you actually develop

0:39:05.934,0:39:07.434
with the Eight-fold Path.

0:39:07.434,0:39:11.273
It's just like a parallel way of [br]describing this development.

0:39:11.273,0:39:13.299
So you know even for [br]Right View

0:39:13.299,0:39:15.549
you got to know what is Right View

0:39:15.549,0:39:18.520
you develop some mindfulness, [br]you explore the Dhamma

0:39:18.520,0:39:23.049
exploring the Dhamma you get [br]a huge amount of Right View there

0:39:23.049,0:39:25.200
and the other factors of the [br]Eight-fold Path

0:39:25.200,0:39:28.629
to be actually mindful, the [br]Seventh Factor

0:39:28.629,0:39:32.827
mindfulness is not just something [br]which 'I am going to be mindful now'

0:39:32.827,0:39:37.708
you develop it, you find its causes and [br]how it gets stronger and stronger and stronger

0:39:37.708,0:39:40.421
One of the problems with the [br]mindfulness movement is their definition

0:39:40.421,0:39:43.226
is not according to Buddhism.

0:39:43.226,0:39:47.055
Because they don't even take any [br]account of just the powerful

0:39:47.055,0:39:51.133
mindfulness which you get [br]after some deep meditation

0:39:51.133,0:39:53.283
which is really cool.

0:39:53.283,0:39:55.861
And of course the stillness there [br]is the Jhānas

0:39:55.861,0:39:59.670
and equanimity is just [br]what happens when you get

0:39:59.670,0:40:05.672
real right view in the Jhānas [br]nothing bothers you anymore.

0:40:05.672,0:40:10.502
So it is a parallel development.

0:40:10.502,0:40:14.242
Yes Eddy.

0:40:14.242,0:40:16.763
Question: Ajahn Brahm, [br]the way I interpret

0:40:16.763,0:40:18.952
this Seven Factors of Enlightenment

0:40:18.952,0:40:25.502
is you know like, for me OK [br]like you have the Dhamma

0:40:25.502,0:40:29.104
you are reading a book, you feel [br]like a Dhamma book

0:40:29.104,0:40:30.834
you feel happy you know,

0:40:30.834,0:40:33.474
It's just like when you [br]meet your partner

0:40:33.474,0:40:38.194
there is an energy comes in [br]good energy, you become mindful

0:40:38.194,0:40:42.513
and all these rapture, tranquility [br]stillness, equanimity

0:40:42.513,0:40:46.293
these are all peaceful, happy [br]states that arise.

0:40:46.293,0:40:53.865
Because the Buddha breaks down[br]in this .. it happens all in us.

0:40:53.865,0:40:59.601
The third to the seventh one [br]it's the happiness and peace

0:40:59.601,0:41:02.781
when you are reading a book[br]that come with the Dhamma

0:41:02.781,0:41:04.976
You see what I mean?

0:41:04.976,0:41:09.549
Ajahn: I see; but it doesn't take to [br]account that every one of these ..

0:41:09.549,0:41:13.483
is based upon seclusion, [br]physical and mental

0:41:13.483,0:41:18.744
your eyes are shut, you are not reading a [br]book or anything.

0:41:18.744,0:41:23.692
and things fading away [br]cessation maturing in release.

0:41:23.692,0:41:30.715
So the full meaning of that [br]is when you are meditating

0:41:30.715,0:41:33.196
nothing in front of you.

0:41:33.196,0:41:39.876
That's when you get really full [br]Seven Factors of Enlightenment.

0:41:39.876,0:41:41.506
But anyway;

0:41:41.506,0:41:44.143
because that's why

0:41:44.143,0:41:50.746
these ones if you actually have it [br]in the Suttas as is usually translated

0:41:50.746,0:41:52.826
they have this last phrase;

0:41:52.826,0:41:55.976
every one of which is based upon seclusion [br](physical and mental), fading away,

0:41:55.976,0:41:57.816
and cessation, maturing in release.

0:41:57.816,0:42:02.791
They have that after every one, just to [br]make the point that even if it is

0:42:02.791,0:42:07.050
exploring the Dhamma; it's exploring the [br]Dhamma based on seclusion, fading away

0:42:07.050,0:42:09.868
and cessation, maturing in release.

0:42:09.868,0:42:14.097
It is actually reading, if you like the [br]Book of the Heart

0:42:14.097,0:42:19.338
and not books like written by monks [br]like Ajahn Brahm

0:42:19.338,0:42:23.868
I was always warned of that; [br]writing a book

0:42:23.868,0:42:27.887
this was one thing which I [br]heard from a Zen Monk

0:42:27.887,0:42:29.965
when I was a lay Buddhist

0:42:29.965,0:42:34.533
Never write a book; because anyone [br]who writes a book has to get the

0:42:34.533,0:42:37.672
next seven life times as a donkey.

0:42:37.672,0:42:41.381
And I have written so many books now; I think [br]I have about .. how many books now 6 or 7

0:42:41.381,0:42:44.641
I got about 50 life times [br]as a donkey to get through

0:42:44.641,0:42:50.572
(Ajahn Laughs) that's only joking [br]but it was a powerful saying

0:42:50.572,0:42:55.755
the books are there actually to [br]show a direction

0:42:55.755,0:42:58.245
Anyway let's get on to the next [br]endeavour

0:42:58.245,0:43:03.304
This is to develop something; once you've [br]developed it, you got to maintain it

0:43:03.304,0:43:05.298
And what is the endeavour to maintain?

0:43:05.298,0:43:09.702
Here, you keep in mind an arisen [br]meditation object that generates stillness:

0:43:09.826,0:43:12.832
such as recollecting the Buddha, [br]the Dhamma or the Sangha;

0:43:12.832,0:43:15.856
or a skeleton; or loving kindness; [br]or the breath; or a nimitta.

0:43:15.856,0:43:19.360
This is called the endeavour to maintain.

0:43:19.360,0:43:22.129
So this is where you have [br]something good, of course

0:43:22.129,0:43:25.596
not everybody has the Buddha, [br]the Dhamma or the Sangha

0:43:25.596,0:43:30.528
you choose which one really [br]mean something for you

0:43:30.528,0:43:35.308
because it's not just the Buddha statue, [br]it's just what it signifies for you

0:43:35.308,0:43:42.178
The Dhamma, what you understand [br]as the Dhamma, whatever creates stillness

0:43:42.178,0:43:45.243
the Sangha. Even if it's a skeleton [br]which is quite weird

0:43:45.243,0:43:49.157
Why is a skeleton developing [br]stillness

0:43:49.157,0:43:52.662
But there are many monks, not just monks; [br]other people do this as well.

0:43:52.662,0:43:54.495
which is really quite strange.

0:43:54.495,0:43:56.661
They must have been monks [br]in their previous lives

0:43:56.661,0:43:58.540
or nuns in the previous lives

0:43:58.540,0:44:03.459
Sometimes when they are meditating [br]they can visualize the skeleton of mercy

0:44:03.459,0:44:05.891
usually a skull

0:44:05.891,0:44:12.129
And people say that's really weird you [br]Buddhists, what do you visualize a skull for

0:44:12.129,0:44:15.340
But what actually happens; and this [br]happens to so many people

0:44:15.340,0:44:18.011
that a skull comes up in their meditation

0:44:18.011,0:44:20.236
it's so easy to focus on

0:44:20.236,0:44:23.911
And it becomes just...[br]real skulls are not pure white

0:44:23.911,0:44:26.180
they are just a bit off colour.

0:44:26.180,0:44:29.534
But they come really beautiful whites [br]whiter than white

0:44:29.534,0:44:32.265
and it comes like a Nimitta

0:44:32.265,0:44:36.472
Something which they must have been [br]developing in previous times

0:44:36.472,0:44:39.544
and it's just a natural [br]remembrance for them

0:44:39.544,0:44:41.429
and the skull becomes [br]into a nimitta

0:44:41.429,0:44:43.709
and becomes a beautiful thing to do.

0:44:43.709,0:44:47.019
The breath or loving kindness [br]or the breath;

0:44:47.019,0:44:50.372
the breath is the most common [br]of the meditation objects

0:44:50.372,0:44:53.631
I've often said because it is [br]something which you

0:44:53.631,0:44:57.212
you knew from the time you were in [br]your mother's womb

0:44:57.212,0:45:01.305
or when you were on her chest [br]breast feeding.

0:45:01.305,0:45:09.013
It's a rhythm which you can [br]remember as calming, secure, safe

0:45:09.013,0:45:12.070
in various earliest times.

0:45:12.070,0:45:16.471
And as such it has sort of a [br]remembrance which you

0:45:16.471,0:45:20.383
maybe you can't recall consciously

0:45:20.383,0:45:24.834
but from deep in your memory bank [br]safety and security a very nice rhythm

0:45:24.834,0:45:27.084
to be able to observe.

0:45:27.084,0:45:29.987
And also it's what happens when [br]other things disappear

0:45:29.987,0:45:35.517
So the breath is a very common [br]thing to maintain in the mind

0:45:35.517,0:45:40.325
or a nimitta which is the beautiful [br]light which come up in the mind

0:45:40.325,0:45:42.793
and of course to maintain those

0:45:42.793,0:45:46.793
the endeavour to maintain those [br]how do you...

0:45:46.793,0:45:51.118
you have something like the breath [br]and keep it in mind

0:45:51.118,0:45:54.776
and if you try to focus on the [br]breath and hold it

0:45:54.776,0:45:58.318
it is always, I told that simile [br]even yesterday afternoon

0:45:58.318,0:46:03.476
just holding a glass, you can never [br]maintain that because you get tired

0:46:03.476,0:46:04.572
you put it down.

0:46:04.572,0:46:10.429
and then it actually stays there; [br]it's very easy to keep things still

0:46:10.429,0:46:12.521
like growing a tree

0:46:12.521,0:46:17.348
you don't make the tree grow, your [br]job is to push aside or make sure

0:46:17.348,0:46:21.247
that there is nothing which damages [br]or destroys that tree.

0:46:21.247,0:46:25.506
So really what we are doing here [br]the endeavour to maintain

0:46:25.506,0:46:32.338
is letting go of all the obstacles, [br]dangers and stuff which would

0:46:32.338,0:46:37.650
destroy the natural growth of your [br]meditation object.

0:46:37.650,0:46:42.618
It's not making it develop, it's [br]avoiding everything else

0:46:42.618,0:46:45.706
For example, developing the [br]present moment

0:46:45.706,0:46:48.817
is not focusing hard on the [br]present moment;

0:46:48.817,0:46:50.903
I got to be on the present moment

0:46:50.903,0:46:55.131
It's actually avoiding the past [br]and avoiding the future

0:46:55.131,0:47:00.289
when those other thing are let go of [br]are warded off

0:47:00.289,0:47:03.675
so the present moment is protected[br]from the past and the future

0:47:03.675,0:47:06.230
then of course the present moment [br]will develop

0:47:06.230,0:47:09.439
That is the endeavour to maintain.

0:47:09.439,0:47:13.030
Now restraining and abandoning, [br]developing and maintaining,

0:47:13.030,0:47:15.097
These four endeavours were [br]taught by the Buddha.

0:47:15.097,0:47:18.710
By these means a diligent [br]meditator in this very life,

0:47:18.710,0:47:21.919
can attain the destruction of suffering.

0:47:21.919,0:47:25.651
I put that down there [br]because you see by that

0:47:25.651,0:47:29.990
Oh!! that's all we need [br]just the six factors of the Eight-fold path

0:47:29.990,0:47:31.950
Restraining and abandoning, developing [br]and maintaining,

0:47:31.950,0:47:33.796
These four endeavours [br]were taught by the Buddha.

0:47:33.796,0:47:36.540
By these means an diligent [br]meditator in this very life,

0:47:36.540,0:47:39.043
Can attain the destruction of suffering.

0:47:39.043,0:47:45.201
I say this because in the next one they say[br]just by mindfulness you can destroy suffering

0:47:45.201,0:47:49.766
Every time I give the precepts [br]when I offer the precepts

0:47:49.766,0:47:51.305
We usually chant

0:47:51.305,0:47:55.474
Imaani pañca sikkhaa-padaani [br]Siilena sugating yanti

0:47:55.474,0:47:59.242
Siilena bhoga-sampadaa.[br]Siilena nibbuting yanti.

0:47:59.242,0:48:05.343
That this seela leads to Nibhana [br]Nibbuta--things stopping

0:48:05.343,0:48:12.643
Tasmaa siilang visodhaye.[br]So even the seela it is said leads to Enlightenment

0:48:12.643,0:48:16.544
but to do the seela, the precepts [br]properly you have to have all the factors

0:48:16.544,0:48:17.813
of the Eight-fold path

0:48:17.813,0:48:21.664
Even this one over here means[br]all the other factors have to come in.

0:48:21.664,0:48:24.402
So it is as if every one of the [br]Eight-fold Path [br]

0:48:24.402,0:48:28.384
needs the other ones to be purified [br]to be able to do these things.

0:48:28.384,0:48:32.756
So you can't just say one factor is [br]enough, you have to do all the Eight

0:48:32.756,0:48:35.394
But just to go back on these ones

0:48:35.394,0:48:38.285
you see the big thing which [br]I have done here

0:48:38.285,0:48:40.725
which defers from what you had before

0:48:40.725,0:48:48.634
instead of Right Effort [br]Right Endeavour, restraining

0:48:48.634,0:48:52.612
I even like calling it Right Stopping [br]or Right non-doing

0:48:52.612,0:48:55.030
that's very hard

0:48:55.030,0:48:58.875
Endeavour to restraint, [br]the endeavour to abandon

0:48:58.875,0:49:01.062
endeavour to develop, [br]endeavour to maintain

0:49:01.062,0:49:04.998
all based on the letting go [br]stopping and non-doing

0:49:04.998,0:49:09.306
Because if you try to do these things [br]you'll find you just get more tensed

0:49:09.306,0:49:11.875
and you won't get anywhere

0:49:11.875,0:49:15.884
And I'll just go now with this [br]one last little thing

0:49:15.884,0:49:18.763
which I was mentioning in [br]England few days ago

0:49:18.763,0:49:25.374
That Prof Libet did some marvelous research [br]to show that there is no such thing as

0:49:25.374,0:49:29.171
what you consider to be free will.

0:49:29.171,0:49:32.228
He did this little experiment [br](Ajahn bring his hand to shoulder level)

0:49:32.228,0:49:37.141
which you were..... he had so many [br]victims or subjects whatever you wish to call them

0:49:37.141,0:49:41.602
And they would flex their hands whenever [br]they wanted to

0:49:41.602,0:49:46.885
when they decided to flex their hand [br]they pressed a bottom (Ajahn demonstrating)

0:49:46.885,0:49:54.254
And he could actually reflex time by [br]pressing the bottom to flexing your hand

0:49:54.254,0:49:55.752
so he could actually see

0:49:55.752,0:49:59.965
when the person became aware [br]that they decided, they chose to

0:49:59.965,0:50:04.128
flex their wrist; to the millisecond

0:50:04.128,0:50:06.998
At the same time at a gizmo [br]on the brain

0:50:06.998,0:50:10.824
which was recording the [br]readiness potential

0:50:10.824,0:50:13.015
parts of the brain lights up

0:50:13.015,0:50:15.985
and what he found which is [br]very confronting

0:50:15.985,0:50:20.952
was the brain lights up first then [br]the thing which you recognize as 'will'

0:50:20.952,0:50:26.365
comes next and then the action [br]follows afterwards

0:50:26.365,0:50:31.633
So that which you recognize [br]assume to be 'will'

0:50:31.633,0:50:36.289
is not what starts the process

0:50:36.289,0:50:39.676
it's not the origin [br]of the event

0:50:39.708,0:50:44.243
by the time that you think you[br]willed something

0:50:44.243,0:50:47.064
it's already in motion.

0:50:47.064,0:50:50.308
The will does not start

0:50:50.308,0:50:53.348
something else has made you will..

0:50:53.348,0:50:58.769
but he said after the process [br](is stopped) is started,

0:50:58.769,0:51:01.380
you can interfere and stop it.

0:51:01.380,0:51:03.830
He said that can be done.

0:51:03.830,0:51:07.409
So in a very wonderful use of the [br]English language

0:51:07.409,0:51:10.510
He wrote, with good proof;

0:51:10.535,0:51:16.876
"there is no such thing as free will [br]but there is free won't"

0:51:16.876,0:51:19.835
restraining, stopping [br]'No I am not going to do that'

0:51:19.835,0:51:25.033
No I am not going to say that [br]No I am not going to act in that way

0:51:25.033,0:51:28.255
Question: not audible

0:51:28.255,0:51:30.295
Ajahn: It is conditioning

0:51:30.295,0:51:36.758
what creates the brain lighting up [br]it's called conditioning, brain washing

0:51:36.758,0:51:42.349
brain washing by hypnosis, [br]brain washing by advertising

0:51:42.349,0:51:47.568
brain washing by peer pressure

0:51:47.568,0:51:53.726
a trigger happens and automatically [br]something comes up and then you will

0:51:53.726,0:51:55.346
you think it is your choice

0:51:55.346,0:52:01.137
the best example which I ever saw [br]it was really.. I can never forget this

0:52:01.137,0:52:03.007
because it really shook me

0:52:03.007,0:52:07.587
When I was a student we had [br]Psychic Research Society

0:52:07.587,0:52:10.517
Every year we have really cool [br]people coming up

0:52:10.517,0:52:12.381
one of them was a witch

0:52:12.381,0:52:14.682
Every year a witch will come up [br]I still remember his name

0:52:14.682,0:52:17.482
Trevor Ravenscroft [br]he must be dead by now.

0:52:17.482,0:52:21.421
What a great name for a witch [br]Trevor Ravenscroft

0:52:21.421,0:52:25.130
and he would come up and I [br]remember his lecture

0:52:25.130,0:52:28.218
First time I've seen a witch

0:52:28.218,0:52:31.084
and he said there are two types [br]of witches in the world

0:52:31.084,0:52:33.754
white witches and black witches

0:52:33.754,0:52:37.189
black witches; they are the [br]dangerous ones, don't go near those

0:52:37.189,0:52:40.794
those are really got to be scary

0:52:40.794,0:52:43.980
he said don't worry [br]I am a white witch, so you are safe

0:52:43.980,0:52:49.280
And then he would say; you know [br]even black witches say they are white.

0:52:49.280,0:52:52.532
and he paused and laughed [br](Ajahn laughs)

0:52:52.532,0:52:54.541
So he is a bit of an entertainer [br]he has obviously done that

0:52:54.541,0:52:56.061
a quite a few times

0:52:56.061,0:53:00.473
So he hypnotized (no another one [br]was a hypnotist).

0:53:00.473,0:53:04.411
The hypnotists asked many [br]people to be hypnotized

0:53:04.411,0:53:05.540
it is in the old days

0:53:05.540,0:53:07.293
hypnosis has got much better [br]since then;

0:53:07.293,0:53:08.653
more people can be hypnotized

0:53:08.653,0:53:10.329
in those days only a few

0:53:10.329,0:53:13.651
but there was always one student [br]in about 100 people in the audience

0:53:13.651,0:53:16.950
there is always one; [br]who get totally hypnotized

0:53:16.950,0:53:19.726
and made this stupid things

0:53:19.726,0:53:22.896
but the most important part was [br]when the hypnotist said

0:53:22.896,0:53:26.289
Later on when I touched my [br]right earlobe

0:53:26.289,0:53:28.737
you will stand up and sing the [br]British National Anthem

0:53:28.737,0:53:31.292
in full in a loud voice.

0:53:31.292,0:53:33.232
What a ridiculous thing to do.

0:53:33.232,0:53:36.308
Then of course he took him [br]out of hypnosis sat down in his seat

0:53:36.308,0:53:41.346
Did a few other little demonstrations [br]then he touched his right earlobe

0:53:41.346,0:53:48.002
And this student in the middle of [br]hauling, I was laughing, wetting my pants almost

0:53:48.002,0:53:49.783
because it was so funny

0:53:49.783,0:53:53.822
and this fellow he didn't stop [br]he sang the whole British National Anthem

0:53:53.822,0:53:57.238
from beginning to end in a [br]loud voice

0:53:57.238,0:54:00.183
what a ridiculous thing to do.

0:54:00.183,0:54:02.602
But then when we stopped laughing

0:54:02.602,0:54:04.103
he asked him why did you do that;

0:54:04.103,0:54:06.599
when all these people [br]were laughing at you

0:54:06.599,0:54:11.435
And he gave a good reason [br]for it; a logical reason

0:54:11.435,0:54:13.375
and that was scary

0:54:13.375,0:54:16.813
because it was clear to all of us

0:54:16.813,0:54:21.304
for him, even the most ridiculous [br]thing he had done

0:54:21.304,0:54:23.434
it was his.. just to say

0:54:23.434,0:54:29.456
he could not distinguish that [br]from a freely chosen action.

0:54:29.456,0:54:33.855
It appeared same to him although [br]we all knew he was made to do that

0:54:33.855,0:54:35.978
by hypnotic suggestion

0:54:35.978,0:54:38.558
but he could not distinguish what [br]he was made to do

0:54:38.558,0:54:45.396
through hypnosis conditioning [br]to what he assumed to be free will

0:54:45.396,0:54:49.409
So how much of your free will [br]is actually yours

0:54:49.409,0:54:50.986
how much have you been [br]conditioned

0:54:50.986,0:54:55.280
but what you can do is [br]free won't

0:54:55.280,0:54:57.774
you can say [br]"no I am not going to do that"

0:54:57.774,0:55:02.630
Question; So then let's as a [br]hypothetical look at the fact that

0:55:02.630,0:55:09.066
maybe someone who hasn't been [br]conditioned by ... has lived

0:55:09.066,0:55:15.009
(I don't know..whatever) [br]and demand is basically claimed

0:55:15.009,0:55:17.418
How that affect...

0:55:17.418,0:55:20.837
Ajahn: I think that cannot exist [br]because we are all

0:55:20.837,0:55:23.786
conditioned by different societies but [br]what it does show you

0:55:23.890,0:55:28.330
when you are in a totally society [br]indigenous societies,

0:55:28.330,0:55:32.928
without TV, without sort of ... you are [br]conditioned by your own peer pressure.

0:55:32.928,0:55:37.799
different conditioning but literary [br]different ways of looking at the world.

0:55:37.799,0:55:44.275
I better move on now because [br]that's the right endeavour

0:55:44.275,0:55:47.061
So it's all about stopping..

0:55:47.061,0:55:55.080
the free won't, the no, the stop, [br]restraint, letting go

0:55:55.103,0:55:59.827
That's why I call it endeavour [br]Effort is doing,

0:55:59.827,0:56:04.318
this one of the Eight-fold Path [br]is not doing.

0:56:04.318,0:56:07.995
stopping, restraining [br]say no to stuff.

0:56:07.995,0:56:12.019
Anyway we'll get on to the [br]first part of Right Mindfulness

0:56:12.019,0:56:13.567
which is a big one

0:56:13.567,0:56:16.532
Obviously there is no way [br]we can finish it today

0:56:16.532,0:56:18.819
but we will get the [br]introduction to it

0:56:18.819,0:56:20.074
What, now, is right mindfulness?

0:56:20.074,0:56:23.623
First of all that translation is [br]absolutely brilliant

0:56:23.623,0:56:27.245
As Professor Rhys Davids did this [br]over 100 years ago

0:56:27.245,0:56:31.934
He did also 'concentration' for the [br]Eighth Factor which was a big mistake

0:56:31.934,0:56:34.734
but this one absolutely brilliant.

0:56:34.734,0:56:39.130
This is where mindfulness came from [br]he invented, coined the word.

0:56:39.130,0:56:43.614
The Four Focuses of Mindfulness [br]lead in one direction only,

0:56:43.614,0:56:46.635
to the purification of beings, [br]to going beyond sadness and crying,

0:56:46.635,0:56:49.007
to the disappearance of [br]physical and mental suffering,

0:56:49.007,0:56:51.796
for the attainment of the true way,[br]for the realization of Nibbāna.

0:56:51.796,0:56:53.226
What four?

0:56:53.226,0:56:57.081
Now there are, and I don't mind [br]saying this, mischievous monks

0:56:57.081,0:57:02.085
who say. the four facts of mindfulness [br]are the only path

0:57:02.085,0:57:04.124
for the purification of beings.

0:57:04.124,0:57:07.122
There is no way for anyone who [br]knows Pali

0:57:07.122,0:57:10.496
Anyone who has read the Suttas [br]even the commentaries

0:57:10.496,0:57:12.525
it never means that way.

0:57:12.525,0:57:16.350
that is a really mischievous [br]interpretation

0:57:16.350,0:57:19.796
It's not just mindfulness; you need [br]all the other factors of the

0:57:19.796,0:57:21.747
Eight-fold Path as well

0:57:21.747,0:57:25.708
Leading in one direction only, that was [br]only Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation

0:57:25.708,0:57:30.138
which is; can't really get better than that;[br]I think in this context

0:57:30.138,0:57:33.546
leading one direction only to [br]Enlightenment.

0:57:33.546,0:57:36.518
So what are these four focuses [br]of mindfulness?

0:57:36.518,0:57:42.858
Having restrained the five hindrances, [br]you can see how this is following on

0:57:42.858,0:57:47.707
from what went before the [br]Right Endeavour is restraining these things.

0:57:47.707,0:57:53.494
Restraining first of all and then we can [br]actually practice the next factor

0:57:53.494,0:57:54.944
the Mindfulness

0:57:54.944,0:57:59.336
Having restrained the five hindrances, [br]you abide aware of the body,

0:57:59.336,0:58:02.069
energized, knowing the purpose [br]of what you are doing,

0:58:02.069,0:58:03.290
and mindful.

0:58:03.290,0:58:07.150
Having restrained the five hindrances, [br]you abide aware of experience

0:58:07.150,0:58:10.426
this is what I call vedanā.

0:58:10.426,0:58:14.827
There are few little translations [br]new ones which I'll explain afterwards

0:58:14.827,0:58:17.436
energized, knowing the purpose of [br]what you are doing and mindful

0:58:17.438,0:58:21.328
Having restrained the five hindrances, [br]you are aware of the mind, the citta,

0:58:21.328,0:58:23.719
energized, knowing the purpose [br]of what you are doing,

0:58:23.719,0:58:24.609
and mindful.

0:58:24.609,0:58:27.980
Having restrained the five hindrances, [br]you abide aware of mind-objects, ,

0:58:27.980,0:58:31.420
energized knowing the purpose of what [br]you are doing, and mindful.

0:58:31.420,0:58:34.808
First of all having restrained the [br]five hindrances

0:58:34.808,0:58:40.297
in the Pali it is lōke abhijjhā vineyya [br]lōke abhijjhā dōmanassam

0:58:40.297,0:58:45.690
the usual translation is having abandoned [br]grief and covetousness for the world

0:58:45.690,0:58:48.679
which even as a lay Buddhist [br]What's the heck does that mean

0:58:48.679,0:58:51.301
grief and covetousness for the world

0:58:51.301,0:58:56.079
And if you actually look in the Pali [br]it's a synonym for the first two

0:58:56.079,0:58:58.091
of the five hindrances.

0:58:58.091,0:59:03.621
lōke abhijjhā is used as an [br]alternative for kammachanda

0:59:03.621,0:59:06.345
first of the five hindrances.

0:59:06.345,0:59:10.732
and dōmanassam is used in [br]two Suttas as an alternative

0:59:10.732,0:59:13.217
for the second hindrance.

0:59:13.217,0:59:17.124
And if you look for the commentaries [br]to both Satipaṭṭhāna Suttas

0:59:17.124,0:59:20.664
the Maha Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta in the [br]dīgha Nikāya

0:59:20.664,0:59:24.072
the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta in the [br]Majjhima Nikāya

0:59:24.072,0:59:27.493
For both of those the commentaries [br]say these words means

0:59:27.493,0:59:30.837
having abandoned covetousness [br]lōke abhijjhā dōmanassam vineyya [br][br]

0:59:30.837,0:59:34.060
that means having abandoned [br]the first two hindrances

0:59:34.060,0:59:36.821
the commentators are consistent

0:59:36.821,0:59:39.982
and there is ground for that [br]interpretation

0:59:39.982,0:59:43.694
very solid, convincing ground [br]from the Suttas.

0:59:43.694,0:59:45.944
So that's what we have to do.

0:59:45.944,0:59:48.066
Restraining the five hindrances [br]and they also say

0:59:48.066,0:59:50.456
this is the idioms of Pali

0:59:50.456,0:59:54.814
If you have the first two of a group [br]all the others in the group

0:59:54.814,0:59:57.605
are assumed to be present [br]as well.

0:59:57.635,1:00:09.815
When you say the BSWA and these [br]monasteries (that's not very good)

1:00:09.815,1:00:14.497
you have.. like the .. who is in the [br]Australian Cricket Team any more.

1:00:14.497,1:00:21.086
you have the Captain, the Vice Captain [br]etc. the et cetera is always included

1:00:21.086,1:00:24.636
as the other people playing [br]in the Cricket Team.

1:00:24.636,1:00:28.195
So here when you have five things [br]and the first two are mentioned

1:00:28.195,1:00:32.266
the commentaries always say the [br]the other things are also included

1:00:32.266,1:00:36.786
so this is an accurate description [br]restraining the five hindrances

1:00:36.786,1:00:39.296
you haven't abandoned the [br]five hindrances yet

1:00:39.296,1:00:42.064
you restrain them, lessen them,

1:00:42.064,1:00:44.876
especially by what you have [br]done so far;

1:00:44.876,1:00:52.983
the previous factor the Right Effort [br]previous to that (sorry Right Endeavour)

1:00:52.983,1:00:57.298
previous to that was your precepts [br]which helped also restrain the

1:00:57.298,1:01:00.705
hindrances, just by Right Speech, [br]Right Action, Right Livelihood

1:01:00.705,1:01:03.539
before that the Right Motivation

1:01:03.539,1:01:08.818
motivation you may have heard me say this [br]before, make peace, be kind, be gentle

1:01:08.818,1:01:13.119
that actually restrains hindrances [br]and obviously coming from Right View.

1:01:13.119,1:01:16.089
These all linked together here.

1:01:16.089,1:01:19.798
Restrain the five hindrances first [br]otherwise you are not mindful

1:01:19.798,1:01:26.656
you abide aware of four things; the body, [br]experience, sometimes it's called feelings.

1:01:26.656,1:01:33.427
feelings is not a very good word, it can [br]be emotional, it can be body sensations

1:01:33.427,1:01:37.910
but what it really means is, this thing [br]which we notice as experience

1:01:37.910,1:01:42.961
The Buddha defines experience as [br]pleasant and unpleasant or in-between

1:01:42.961,1:01:49.996
but that is just a way of pointing to [br]sort of what we are actually looking at

1:01:49.996,1:01:50.926
the experience

1:01:50.926,1:02:00.052
just as well, you might say; heat, cold [br]windy that points to weather, the climate

1:02:00.052,1:02:03.560
so it's not really feelings, it's not [br]pleasure, pain and in-between

1:02:03.560,1:02:07.749
it's pointing at this thing which [br]we know as experience

1:02:07.749,1:02:12.212
and the mind, the citta

1:02:12.212,1:02:15.872
this is when the five senses disappear [br]you know what that is.

1:02:15.872,1:02:18.422
and the mind objects [br]you will find later on

1:02:18.422,1:02:23.663
this was really good work by people like [br]Ajahn Sujato, Analiyo and Ajahn Brahmali

1:02:23.663,1:02:28.303
who actually looked at versions of [br]the Satipaṭṭhāna and discovered that

1:02:28.303,1:02:34.223
in the earliest versions, the mind object[br]only had two mind objects to focus on

1:02:34.223,1:02:37.724
and that was the five hindrances and [br]the Seven Enlightenment Factors,

1:02:37.724,1:02:39.244
just those two

1:02:39.244,1:02:42.033
It seems the other ones [br]were added later on

1:02:42.033,1:02:48.063
it's not wrong to add those but it [br]takes away the focus of these are

1:02:48.063,1:02:53.569
being aware of the hindrances which [br]actually block you from developing the

1:02:53.569,1:02:55.349
path and becoming enlightened

1:02:55.349,1:03:00.824
or focusing on their opposites, that [br]which actually develops Enlightenment.

1:03:00.824,1:03:05.013
And that's actually a very powerful [br]understanding of why those two were there;

1:03:05.013,1:03:06.605
other ones added later,

1:03:06.605,1:03:09.815
they are not wrong; but they take [br]the focus away from the meaning

1:03:09.815,1:03:16.275
of why the Buddha actually chose those [br]things as part of Satipaṭṭhāna

1:03:16.275,1:03:22.205
energized-so you can't do like (Ajahn [br]makes a tired noise) with sloth and torpor

1:03:22.205,1:03:24.433
you do this when you develop [br]some restrain,

1:03:24.433,1:03:26.072
develop the restraint to the [br]hindrances

1:03:26.072,1:03:28.528
as I was saying in the question [br]...... afterwards

1:03:28.528,1:03:32.713
you get energized when you have [br]restraint

1:03:32.713,1:03:36.816
knowing the purpose of [br]what you are doing and mindful.

1:03:36.816,1:03:39.286
so knowing the purpose of [br]what you are doing

1:03:39.286,1:03:42.161
so often I have told people [br]yeah mindfulness is great

1:03:42.161,1:03:44.819
as long as you must remember the [br]purpose of what you are doing.

1:03:44.819,1:03:50.934
So, if you are driving a car in the [br]busy traffic, you are not

1:03:50.934,1:03:54.838
focusing on your breath

1:03:54.838,1:03:56.028
Breathing in.....

1:03:56.028,1:03:58.136
you get a crash

1:03:58.136,1:04:03.747
You focus on the traffic; what's [br]the purpose of driving

1:04:03.747,1:04:08.195
or when you are late for an aircraft

1:04:08.195,1:04:14.614
then you don't do slow walking [br]lifting lifting..... you run

1:04:14.614,1:04:19.311
so sometimes it's actually crazy [br]when you don't follow the Satipaṭṭhāna

1:04:19.311,1:04:21.598
What's the purpose of what you are doing?

1:04:21.598,1:04:24.378
And of course the other one which [br]you heard me saying many times

1:04:24.378,1:04:28.247
people say ah! Buddhists you always [br]let go, let go, let go, let go

1:04:28.247,1:04:31.600
Excepting from the back of a [br]motorbike through heavy traffic

1:04:31.600,1:04:34.469
Attach, do not let go

1:04:34.469,1:04:37.599
otherwise you will fall off and [br]injure yourself

1:04:37.599,1:04:41.596
So why you are doing this [br]why you are watching the body

1:04:41.596,1:04:44.592
why you are watching the experience [br]why you are aware of the mind

1:04:44.592,1:04:46.840
why you are aware of mind objects [br]why?

1:04:46.840,1:04:49.823
and that becomes very clear [br]in a few moments

1:04:49.823,1:04:52.139
and mindful

1:04:52.139,1:04:56.250
that is in brief the Satipaṭṭhāna

1:04:56.250,1:04:59.520
so how you are mindful of the body

1:04:59.520,1:05:05.331
there is many objects in body awareness [br]breathing, there's the four postures

1:05:05.331,1:05:08.461
Comprehension of the Purpose, [br]The Bodily Parts, Elements

1:05:08.661,1:05:12.249
the Charnel Ground meditations

1:05:12.249,1:05:15.701
But anyway we will start with [br]just the breath

1:05:15.701,1:05:20.467
You go to a quite secluded place, [br]sit down comfortably

1:05:20.467,1:05:24.456
and give priority to establishing [br]mindfulness

1:05:24.456,1:05:28.334
This is standard Ānāpānasati

1:05:28.334,1:05:33.873
Quiet secluded place, if you can [br]there are secluded places around

1:05:33.873,1:05:36.234
it's amazing that even in cities

1:05:36.234,1:05:40.529
some of the quietest places can [br]be an apartment buildings

1:05:40.529,1:05:46.069
where you don't hear stuff

1:05:46.069,1:05:49.329
here I heard something a few moments ago [br]I think it was an ice-cream van

1:05:49.329,1:05:54.686
you don't hear the ice-cream van when you[br]are in the 26th story of an apartment block

1:05:54.686,1:06:02.748
So sometimes... you wonder like hermits [br]hermits living in the city

1:06:02.748,1:06:06.032
you know, you can actually disappear [br]in a city

1:06:06.032,1:06:09.564
because in the forest you get all [br]these people just coming to see you ..

1:06:09.564,1:06:13.659
and fire officers and other people [br]making sure you are safe

1:06:13.659,1:06:15.414
for the fire season

1:06:15.414,1:06:21.502
Sometimes I wonder whether we should [br]be forest monks in the city

1:06:21.502,1:06:23.754
secluded, peaceful

1:06:23.754,1:06:26.180
Anyway I always have these ideas

1:06:26.180,1:06:29.559
just always think outside the box

1:06:29.559,1:06:34.073
So you go to secluded place [br]sit down comfortably

1:06:34.073,1:06:38.163
now that was a translation [br]just that you don't have to

1:06:38.163,1:06:43.056
sit down in full-lotus, [br]with your back straight

1:06:43.056,1:06:45.022
but pain all over the place

1:06:45.022,1:06:50.523
sit down comfortably and give [br]priority to establishing mindfulness

1:06:50.523,1:06:53.275
the word is parimukha which means..

1:06:53.275,1:06:56.532
some people say in front of you

1:06:56.532,1:06:58.649
and that word in front of you

1:06:58.649,1:07:01.290
in front of what? where am I

1:07:01.290,1:07:04.531
it doesn't say in front of the nose [br]it doesn't say in front of the belly

1:07:04.531,1:07:06.219
It's Parimukha

1:07:06.219,1:07:11.746
and it does not mean literally, [br]physically, spatially in front

1:07:11.746,1:07:16.842
it means like the same word as [br]giving priority, giving it first place

1:07:16.842,1:07:20.555
in front, the first thing you [br]need to do

1:07:20.555,1:07:23.777
So that's why give priority to [br]establishing mindfulness

1:07:23.777,1:07:25.577
that's actually what we do.

1:07:25.577,1:07:30.746
So before you even watch the breath [br]you establish mindfulness first of all

1:07:30.754,1:07:35.791
it's from that where you get me [br]monks like me teaching

1:07:35.791,1:07:40.050
sit down and just relax the body [br]be mindful of the body

1:07:40.050,1:07:45.232
make sure the body is nice and comfortable [br]and then present moment awareness

1:07:45.232,1:07:48.864
just subdue your thinking [br]just so that you can

1:07:48.864,1:07:50.866
be in this moment.

1:07:50.866,1:07:53.671
If you are skill thinking of the [br]past and the future

1:07:53.671,1:07:58.931
or thinking about anything [br]you are not really being mindful.

1:07:58.931,1:08:04.143
So when you are silent in this moment [br]you have established mindfulness

1:08:04.143,1:08:07.582
You know that's one of the reasons [br]why people who do breath meditation

1:08:07.582,1:08:09.806
they think they can't do it.

1:08:09.806,1:08:13.226
Or they do it just for a short period [br]of time and it runs away

1:08:13.226,1:08:14.872
because they haven't [br]done the preparation,

1:08:14.872,1:08:17.262
they haven't made the foundation

1:08:17.262,1:08:22.604
Do the foundation first, and then [br]it's so easy afterwards

1:08:22.604,1:08:27.422
So anyway that is just giving the [br]beginning of the mindfulness

1:08:27.422,1:08:30.326
which will come the next time I [br]am sitting here.

1:08:30.326,1:08:36.027
But today we just focused on [br]the Right Endeavour

1:08:36.027,1:08:41.230
Any questions from here before [br]we get the ones from overseas

1:08:41.230,1:08:42.831
Yes

1:08:42.831,1:08:46.141
Question: I heard it said that the [br]hindrances can't be restraint unless

1:08:46.141,1:08:50.441
one develops the Eight-fold Path [br]Is that correct?

1:08:50.441,1:08:52.567
Ajahn: no what that actually says

1:08:52.567,1:08:58.236
it's the Naḷakapāna Sutta 68 [br]I think I got that number right

1:08:58.236,1:09:02.187
is that without having experienced [br]the Jhānas

1:09:02.187,1:09:06.587
the five hindrances invade [br]the mind and remain

1:09:06.587,1:09:11.413
together with [br]weariness and discontent

1:09:11.413,1:09:16.513
So that saying of the Buddha [br]in Naḷakapāna Sutta Majjhima Nikaya

1:09:16.513,1:09:18.728
So what we are saying here is that;

1:09:18.728,1:09:21.268
to really get those [br]five hindrances abandoned

1:09:21.268,1:09:23.636
it is the Jhānas.

1:09:23.636,1:09:27.427
Then they are gone for hours or [br]even days sometimes

1:09:27.427,1:09:31.827
and no discontent, just happy [br]no matter what happens

1:09:31.827,1:09:34.530
no weariness, full of energy

1:09:34.530,1:09:38.765
So often you can't sleep at night [br]which is fine you don't need to

1:09:38.765,1:09:43.817
So but to restrain the hindrances [br]is different than overcoming them

1:09:43.817,1:09:48.221
and restraining the hindrances [br]is done by the other ways of the path

1:09:48.221,1:09:51.706
things like stopping, letting go

1:09:51.706,1:09:56.332
for example you know lust or something [br]if you start a fantasy

1:09:56.332,1:10:00.475
if you start it, and you don't [br]stop it quickly, it's got you.

1:10:00.475,1:10:04.001
You start anger [br]a train of thoughts

1:10:04.001,1:10:07.313
it's a very beautiful English metaphor [br]a train of thought

1:10:07.313,1:10:10.954
If you can stop the train when it is [br]just leaving the station

1:10:10.954,1:10:14.544
it stops pretty quickly, [br]within a few feet

1:10:14.544,1:10:18.518
but if it is running along the [br]track at 120 km an hour

1:10:18.518,1:10:22.507
it is very hard to stop, [br]takes a long time

1:10:22.507,1:10:27.346
So that is why just the [br]restraining of the hindrances;

1:10:27.351,1:10:35.742
it's enough to be mindful to actually [br]go deeper and to stop them for hours.

1:10:35.742,1:10:41.830
OK let's get some from overseas

1:10:41.830,1:10:44.106
here we go

1:10:44.106,1:10:53.272
Oh someone living in Thailand

1:10:53.272,1:10:57.962
Part 1: Dear Ajahn Brahm; right now I am [br]confused with terminology especially

1:10:57.962,1:11:01.923
with some come from other schools too [br]these might cover each other

1:11:01.923,1:11:06.579
completely or partially. My question at [br]the moment is would you please

1:11:06.579,1:11:10.104
clarify the difference or similarity [br]between mindfulness, consciousness

1:11:10.104,1:11:13.619
awakening and awareness.

1:11:13.619,1:11:19.582
Ajahn. OK mindfulness and awareness[br]are pretty much identical.

1:11:19.582,1:11:24.008
so to be aware is like being mindful.

1:11:24.008,1:11:28.524
But also sometimes the mindfulness [br]means something a little bit more than

1:11:28.524,1:11:32.599
being aware. It is always [br]usually accompanied by

1:11:32.599,1:11:35.319
knowing what you should be [br]doing with this.

1:11:35.319,1:11:37.142
It's Mindfulness and Wisdom

1:11:37.142,1:11:40.279
or Sati Saṃprajanya [br]or Sati Paññā

1:11:40.279,1:11:49.689
and the example of that is a story of a[br]very wealthy woman;

1:11:49.689,1:11:51.899
because you are saying you are [br]in Thailand here,

1:11:51.899,1:11:55.925
in Thailand who goes to [br]the temple one evening

1:11:55.925,1:12:01.763
and she tells the guard of her mansion [br]at the little gate house in the front

1:12:01.763,1:12:06.517
please be mindful this evening [br]there's many burglars around and

1:12:06.517,1:12:09.849
many houses in the district [br]have been robbed.

1:12:09.849,1:12:15.678
And so the guard said[br]'Yes Madam I would be mindful'

1:12:15.678,1:12:19.625
And when she comes back from [br]the temple she finds that her

1:12:19.625,1:12:22.028
mansion has been ransacked.

1:12:22.028,1:12:25.297
The robbers have been in there [br]and taken everything

1:12:25.297,1:12:29.904
So she is very upset at her [br]gate keeper, her guard, her security

1:12:29.904,1:12:33.541
"I told you security guard to be mindful"

1:12:33.541,1:12:36.981
"But we were madam" [br]"How come we got robbed"

1:12:36.981,1:12:42.495
"Well madam I was very mindful, very [br]aware, burglars were going into the house

1:12:42.495,1:12:46.353
and I noted, burglars going in, [br]burglar going in, burglar going in

1:12:46.353,1:12:51.270
and I saw them coming out of your mansion [br]carrying all your jewelry and I was noting

1:12:51.270,1:12:54.717
jewelry going out, jewelry going out [br]jewelry going out

1:12:54.717,1:12:58.886
I saw them go back in again with their[br]big truck, their lorry

1:12:58.886,1:13:01.300
and I noted; lorry going in, lorry going in

1:13:01.300,1:13:05.797
And I saw them the safe, the big safe [br]I saw the safe being put on to the truck

1:13:05.797,1:13:10.716
and gong out. Safe going out, safe going [br]out; I was mindful all the time madam

1:13:10.716,1:13:14.637
I was totally aware.

1:13:14.637,1:13:17.373
That's why that's mindfulness [br]without wisdom.

1:13:17.373,1:13:22.354
Awareness without knowing the [br]consequences of what you are doing.

1:13:22.354,1:13:27.803
So in Dhamma it's not just being mindful; [br]it's actually being aware as well.

1:13:27.803,1:13:32.886
And the consciousness being conscious is;[br]

1:13:32.886,1:13:37.436
everyone is conscious [br]unless they are dead.

1:13:37.436,1:13:42.551
But the connection between mindfulness [br]and consciousness is

1:13:42.551,1:13:48.324
mindfulness is usually focused on [br]really important areas of life.

1:13:48.324,1:13:53.290
Things like; you are aware of the body [br]yes, you are conscious of the body

1:13:53.290,1:14:00.098
but you are aware in it in the sense that [br]certain practices which can underline or

1:14:00.098,1:14:05.263
uncover the nature of this body.[br]The nature of experience; the mind.

1:14:05.263,1:14:08.374
So that's why these four focuses of [br]mindfulness are like the

1:14:08.374,1:14:12.934
four little mines as they have [br]in Western Australia

1:14:12.934,1:14:19.183
wells we can find really sweet water, [br]places where you can find treasure

1:14:19.183,1:14:21.798
so places to look which are [br]really important.

1:14:21.798,1:14:25.957
So mindfulness focus on places [br]where you really find something

1:14:25.957,1:14:31.266
and awakening that actually has [br]a very good connection with

1:14:31.266,1:14:33.895
mindfulness and awareness.

1:14:33.895,1:14:38.323
As mindfulness becomes [br]empowered, in other words

1:14:38.323,1:14:40.998
you are really mindful [br]as I was saying earlier

1:14:40.998,1:14:42.640
because of stillness,

1:14:42.640,1:14:45.220
developing mindfulness becomes [br]more and more energized,

1:14:45.220,1:14:49.203
as it becomes more and [br]more energized you see more,

1:14:49.203,1:14:52.933
what you see becomes [br]more enjoyable, beautiful

1:14:52.933,1:14:55.026
so hard to get negative

1:14:55.026,1:14:58.076
your awareness get empowered

1:14:58.076,1:15:00.996
and it is like you are awakening

1:15:00.996,1:15:06.031
You may think you are fully awake now [br]ha ha ha compared to when you get into

1:15:06.031,1:15:08.551
really deep meditations [br]that come on afterwards

1:15:08.551,1:15:11.391
wow; now I am really am awake

1:15:11.391,1:15:14.895
you can see so much more, [br]you can feel more

1:15:14.895,1:15:19.412
there is a small breeze coming in [br]through the door this afternoon here

1:15:19.412,1:15:25.511
you can really feel it fully, [br]you are really awake to it.

1:15:25.511,1:15:29.347
multiply that multiply that [br]that's what being really awake.

1:15:29.347,1:15:32.682
And that's actually the meaning of the [br]word Buddha

1:15:32.682,1:15:37.490
it comes from the Pali word buddhajji[br]which means to wake up

1:15:37.490,1:15:39.732
It's not wake up to some idea

1:15:39.732,1:15:42.389
Just 'come on stupid, wake up"[br](Ajahn knocking on his head)

1:15:42.389,1:15:43.733
It's actually naturally

1:15:43.733,1:15:46.043
being able to see, [br]being able to know

1:15:46.043,1:15:50.470
being able to feel so fully.

1:15:50.470,1:15:54.890
That's what awakening is.

1:15:54.890,1:16:00.492
Anyway hopefully that's [br]helpful for you in Thailand

1:16:00.492,1:16:04.741
And from the USA-Non self at times has [br]caused me to do too little

1:16:04.741,1:16:09.963
believing there is no free will anyway [br]so why even try? How to avoid this danger?

1:16:09.963,1:16:20.117
You are willing yourself to be lazy. [br]So it's not free will, it's free won't

1:16:20.117,1:16:27.250
so I won't be lazy, I would do whatever [br]is necessary because you are being

1:16:27.250,1:16:35.021
conditioned not from your own ideas [br]not from lazy ideas, but from the idea also

1:16:35.021,1:16:40.062
of compassion, kindness which [br]leads to service.

1:16:40.062,1:16:44.573
You can take the message from [br]someone like the Buddha

1:16:44.573,1:16:50.513
Someone who is so compassionate [br]just work your butt-off for other people.

1:16:50.513,1:16:55.629
this is when I've ever gone to see [br]Ajahn Gunha, which many of you know him

1:16:55.629,1:17:00.850
great monk, that he was the monk [br]I don't know last time I told you this story

1:17:00.850,1:17:11.285
here we go; the rumour was going around [br]the monks that he was Fully Enlightened

1:17:11.285,1:17:15.140
So that was the rumour, the gossip [br]going around

1:17:15.140,1:17:20.781
So he was there under Ajahn Chah's hut [br]with all the senior monks

1:17:20.781,1:17:23.781
you know many many more senior [br]than him

1:17:23.781,1:17:26.895
So Ajahn Chah started a conversation

1:17:26.895,1:17:30.405
and he asked the most senior monk [br]there I think it was Ajahn Jhan at the time

1:17:30.405,1:17:34.358
"Ajahn Jhan are you Enlightened yet?" [br]he said "No"

1:17:34.358,1:17:38.562
Asked the next monk [br]"how about you" "No"

1:17:38.562,1:17:40.802
All the monks.. "Are you"[br]"No"

1:17:40.802,1:17:45.062
He got to Ajahn Gunha [br]he said "yes"

1:17:45.062,1:17:49.765
and that made everyone "wow" [br]in front of the great teacher

1:17:49.765,1:17:52.263
he said he got no more [br]defilements

1:17:52.263,1:17:56.678
What happened next [br]Ajahn Chah said "come upstairs"

1:17:56.678,1:17:58.792
And you'll always wish [br]you were the fly on the wall

1:17:58.792,1:18:03.916
What did Ajahn Chah say? [br]What did he do? to this monk

1:18:03.916,1:18:08.464
And so we didn't know at the time [br]but we found out afterwards

1:18:08.464,1:18:14.012
he said "your job is to do lots [br]of loving kindness, metta, compassion

1:18:14.012,1:18:16.758
develop that"

1:18:16.758,1:18:21.563
So that's why he became, [br]many of you have gone to see him

1:18:21.563,1:18:25.989
you can see he's compassionate, [br]kind monk

1:18:25.989,1:18:28.261
that drives you.

1:18:28.261,1:18:31.889
So believing there is no free-will [br]you don't believe it

1:18:31.889,1:18:35.804
It's nothing about belief; [br]it's realization, knowing it

1:18:35.804,1:18:41.024
and if you really is, sort of [br]letting go of the sense of self

1:18:41.024,1:18:45.538
then it's the sense of others [br]me, them all the same

1:18:45.538,1:18:48.593
connection between the [br]two of us

1:18:48.593,1:18:51.733
and then what gets replaced [br]is desire and craving

1:18:51.733,1:18:55.430
it's kindness and service

1:18:55.430,1:19:01.238
So the sign that you have understood [br]non self, it's not that you become lazy

1:19:01.238,1:19:04.299
you'll be working harder than before

1:19:04.299,1:19:08.842
compassion drives you [br]not what I want

1:19:08.842,1:19:12.494
but what is needed for service

1:19:12.494,1:19:17.744
So hopefully that makes sense

1:19:17.744,1:19:23.489
Anyway any comments or [br]questions about that

1:19:23.489,1:19:26.583
Going.. going... gone!

1:19:26.583,1:19:31.798
Ok Very good. So we usually now [br]pay respects to Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha

1:19:31.798,1:19:38.283
Thank you again for those questions [br]from overseas and the questions here

1:19:38.283,1:20:02.019
Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu......