0:00:00.657,0:00:06.571
You want a ghost story?

0:00:06.571,0:00:12.745
There was a dark and stormy afternoon

0:00:12.745,0:00:21.089
and this English girl was visiting,

0:00:21.089,0:00:23.046
sorry this Australian girl was [br]visiting England.

0:00:23.046,0:00:28.234
You know that one already?

0:00:28.234,0:00:31.779
Okay here's another one then.

0:00:31.779,0:00:35.441
There was a friend of mine [br]years ago

0:00:35.441,0:00:39.232
and he bought a nice [br]townhouse in London

0:00:39.232,0:00:41.754
(three or four storeys)

0:00:41.754,0:00:44.702
and he bought it very very cheaply.

0:00:44.702,0:00:48.024
Why? The agent was pretty honest with him,

0:00:48.024,0:00:50.989
he said people report [br]there's a ghost in the house;

0:00:50.989,0:00:54.952
these old English houses,[br]there are lots of ghosts.

0:00:54.952,0:00:59.492
He said "really?" Okay. But he doesn't [br]believe in ghosts: "I will take it anyway".

0:00:59.492,0:01:02.462
So the very first night when he [br]got his new house

0:01:02.462,0:01:04.554
he hadn't moved his his furniture, [br]it was coming the following morning,

0:01:04.554,0:01:10.899
so he got a camp bed and slept [br]on the ground floor.

0:01:10.899,0:01:14.019
In the middle of the night [br]he was woken up

0:01:14.019,0:01:20.537
"wrap, wrap! wrap, wrap!"[br]he thought what was that.

0:01:20.537,0:01:22.935
He thought he just imagined it

0:01:22.935,0:01:26.482
so he turned over and tried [br]to get to sleep and he heard again

0:01:26.482,0:01:30.113
"wrap wrap! wrap wrap!"

0:01:30.113,0:01:33.287
So he got out of bed, [br]he checked all the windows,

0:01:33.287,0:01:34.804
they were all closed,

0:01:34.804,0:01:36.241
the doors were closed,

0:01:36.241,0:01:38.992
there were no mice,[br]it was a very well kept house,

0:01:38.992,0:01:43.120
there was no logical explanation [br]for anything making the noise

0:01:43.120,0:01:44.754
in that room.

0:01:44.754,0:01:47.541
So he thought, it's just [br]imagination.

0:01:47.541,0:01:51.216
He turned around to go back to bed [br]and he heard it much louder this time

0:01:51.216,0:01:57.726
"wrap wrap! wrap wrap!" it's coming[br]from upstairs - second storey.

0:01:57.726,0:01:59.653
So he went upstairs, turned on the lights,

0:01:59.653,0:02:04.678
looked everywhere for any scientific [br]cause for that sound.

0:02:04.678,0:02:06.592
He couldn't find anything.

0:02:06.592,0:02:09.402
He was getting a little bit concerned [br]by this time

0:02:09.402,0:02:12.666
but you know just giving up:[br]imagination can play tricks on you.

0:02:12.666,0:02:16.720
Then he heard it coming from the [br]top floor really loud

0:02:16.720,0:02:20.937
"wrap wrap wrap wrap".

0:02:20.937,0:02:24.873
So he went up to the top floor,[br]turned on the lights,

0:02:24.873,0:02:27.097
he was shaking a bit now,

0:02:27.097,0:02:31.289
Doesn't matter; people say they are not [br]afraid but when supernatural things happen

0:02:31.289,0:02:33.430
you actually do get a bit scared.

0:02:33.430,0:02:36.587
He checked everything in that [br]third storey but couldn't find any

0:02:36.587,0:02:39.483
logical reason for anything [br]making a noise.

0:02:39.483,0:02:41.920
He was about to go downstairs

0:02:41.920,0:02:50.756
and he heard it loudest ever [br]"wrap wrap..!!" coming from the attic.

0:02:50.756,0:02:55.280
He didn't have any lights in the attic [br]so he quickly went down to get his flashlight

0:02:55.280,0:02:58.577
and there was a little ladder that you can [br]go to get up into the attic.

0:02:58.577,0:03:02.144
He climbed up the ladder and he [br]shone the flashlight in the attic:

0:03:02.144,0:03:06.917
it was full of rubbish, cobwebs[br]and dust like attics are,

0:03:06.917,0:03:11.777
and he turned around trying to [br]find the source of this noise

0:03:11.777,0:03:14.675
and then suddenly he heard [br]it right behind him,

0:03:14.675,0:03:19.186
loudest as ever "Wrap Wrap!! Wrap Wrap!!".

0:03:19.186,0:03:22.737
He turned around and he saw it,[br]he saw with the flashlight.

0:03:22.737,0:03:33.419
It was an old piece of [br]wrapping paper! [laughter]

0:03:33.419,0:03:36.697
That's a terrible joke:[br]wrapping paper!

0:03:36.697,0:03:45.912
It goes "wrap wrap!"[br][Ajahn Laughs]

0:03:45.912,0:03:49.941
That hasn't gone online,[br]overseas, has it ?

0:03:49.941,0:03:54.001
My goodness I do apologise.

0:03:54.001,0:03:58.149
People made me do that,[br]it's not my fault.

0:03:58.149,0:04:02.010
Okay there is another 1 or 2 minutes [br]before we start.

0:04:02.010,0:04:11.422
I've lost a monk somewhere,[br]anyway I am sure he will find me.

0:04:11.422,0:04:19.132
He's embarrassed - he couldn't stand my[br]humour so he's gone to another place.

0:04:19.132,0:04:24.957
Clock says it's 3 o'clock [br]so we may actually start now.

0:04:24.957,0:04:28.655
So let's start with the Namo Thassa.

0:04:28.655,0:04:37.740
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa

0:04:37.740,0:04:47.671
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa

0:04:47.671,0:04:57.805
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa

0:04:57.805,0:05:03.930
Buddham, Dhammam, Sangham namassami.

0:05:03.930,0:05:05.193
Very Good.

0:05:05.193,0:05:10.780
So as you all know by now [br]this is the fortnightly Sutta Class

0:05:10.780,0:05:14.246
second and fourth Sundays of the month [br]outside the Rains Retreat

0:05:14.246,0:05:17.721
one of the senior monks takes[br]a Sutta and discusses it.

0:05:17.721,0:05:21.500
But instead of doing the Suttas [br]most of which we have done before

0:05:21.500,0:05:24.490
and are available on the internet

0:05:24.490,0:05:32.527
I am using the opportunity to read out a [br]re-translation of the "Word of the Buddha".

0:05:32.527,0:05:39.644
This was a document which was first [br]printed in German.

0:05:39.644,0:05:44.464
I did some research recently;[br]in 1906 in German,

0:05:44.464,0:05:48.904
translated into English in 1907.

0:05:48.904,0:05:52.947
So the translation does need [br]to be updated,

0:05:52.947,0:05:55.065
updated for several reasons,

0:05:55.065,0:06:00.532
first of all some of the words,[br]the language, is a bit dated,

0:06:00.532,0:06:03.585
stilted, and it makes it hard to understand.

0:06:03.585,0:06:08.063
Also that some of the translations [br]we can do much better

0:06:08.063,0:06:14.403
than the first attempt at translating [br]Pali words into English;

0:06:14.403,0:06:20.882
and thirdly, it is something which [br]I learnt from when I learned Pali

0:06:20.882,0:06:25.224
from Professor A.K. Warder[br]who is another Cambridge guy,

0:06:25.224,0:06:27.450
because that means he must be okay.

0:06:27.450,0:06:33.865
He taught me that you do not [br]translate word by word,

0:06:33.865,0:06:38.820
you translate phrase by phrase [br]or sentence by sentence,

0:06:38.820,0:06:44.800
because the unit of language [br]is a phrase, it's not a word.

0:06:44.800,0:06:47.944
So words only have meaning [br]in the context of what goes before

0:06:47.944,0:06:51.602
and what goes after them.[br]So we never should translate,

0:06:51.602,0:06:53.687
(but many people do)[br]word for word:

0:06:53.687,0:06:56.587
it should be sentence for sentence,[br]or phrase by phrase,

0:06:56.587,0:06:58.859
and that's what I've [br]attempted to do here.

0:06:58.859,0:07:01.957
So it is a different translation [br]than you've had before.

0:07:01.957,0:07:04.272
So far I've got reasonably [br]good feedback:

0:07:04.272,0:07:08.214
that people find it's much more [br]easy to understand.

0:07:08.214,0:07:11.228
It takes away much of the repetition

0:07:11.228,0:07:14.724
which you find if you read [br]the existing translations

0:07:14.724,0:07:18.751
and it makes it a little bit [br]more powerful

0:07:18.751,0:07:23.196
because you are not distracted by [br]things like repetition,

0:07:23.196,0:07:28.595
you are not sort-of distracted by words[br]whose meaning is a bit weird and strange.

0:07:28.619,0:07:35.400
We try and use ordinary words [br]which are common in 2017.

0:07:35.400,0:07:38.374
So that is the reason I am doing this.

0:07:38.374,0:07:43.382
I should mention to anyone coming [br]for the first time

0:07:43.382,0:07:49.374
that this is based on the Buddha's[br]teachings from the Suttas.

0:07:49.374,0:07:54.245
It is an Anthology where we take [br]this Sutta or part of this Sutta

0:07:54.245,0:07:59.419
and part of another Sutta and we string [br]that together along a theme

0:07:59.419,0:08:02.109
and the theme is the [br]Four Noble Truths.

0:08:02.109,0:08:03.836
And with the Four Noble Truths

0:08:03.836,0:08:07.892
we also have the last of those [br]Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path

0:08:07.892,0:08:10.163
and this is where we are right now.

0:08:10.163,0:08:14.433
We're just, almost, completing[br]the first of the Eightfold Path

0:08:14.433,0:08:19.888
called Right View.[br]And Right View is many many things

0:08:19.888,0:08:22.907
but here we get to that part of [br]Right View

0:08:22.907,0:08:27.072
that if one really penetrates[br]the Right View

0:08:27.072,0:08:30.135
and here is actually [br]what they say.

0:08:30.135,0:08:35.597
Diṭṭhipatho -- diṭṭhi means the right view [br]'patho' means achieved (right view).

0:08:35.597,0:08:38.774
If you are one who has achieved [br]right view

0:08:38.774,0:08:42.310
then that's a simile for being [br]a Stream-Winner.

0:08:42.310,0:08:46.514
So this is no small thing,[br]it is the view when it gets corrected

0:08:46.539,0:08:50.645
which makes the person[br]a Sowan, a Stream-Winner.

0:08:50.645,0:08:53.420
So this is where we are [br]at the moment.

0:08:53.420,0:08:55.834
The Sotāpanna or Stream-Winner.

0:08:55.834,0:09:00.463
This is from Majjhima Nikāya 22.[br]I give the references so anyone can

0:09:00.463,0:09:05.479
go and check the other [br]translations which you may find in

0:09:05.479,0:09:08.986
books by Bhikkhu Bodhi which is [br]much more academic

0:09:08.986,0:09:15.408
or you can even better learn some Pali and[br]look it up in the original, which is the best.

0:09:15.408,0:09:19.252
"When you contemplate in this way,"

0:09:19.252,0:09:22.200
(and what we were doing before [br]contemplating no-self)

0:09:22.200,0:09:27.476
"when you are contemplating in this way [br]three fetters are abandoned in you"

0:09:27.476,0:09:31.469
And the word fetter, it's what a [br]policeman would put on you

0:09:31.469,0:09:35.824
like handcuffs, balls and chains,

0:09:35.824,0:09:40.533
it means something which stops you[br]moving, which stops you being free.

0:09:40.533,0:09:43.484
"three fetters are abandoned in you:

0:09:43.484,0:09:47.309
a view of a permanent essence"[br](otherwise known as a soul)

0:09:47.309,0:09:54.432
but to make it more accurate "an essence",[br]an essence of this body and mind

0:09:54.432,0:09:57.830
which you take to be you,[br]which is permanent,

0:09:57.830,0:10:01.484
which goes from life to life,[br]that is a view which is abandoned

0:10:01.484,0:10:03.472
at Stream-winning: a permanent essence.

0:10:03.472,0:10:09.862
"...skeptical doubt and a belief that rites[br]and rituals are sufficient in themselves

0:10:09.862,0:10:16.250
to reach enlightenment. Those who[br]have abandoned three fetters are all

0:10:16.250,0:10:20.101
stream-enterers, no longer subject[br]to rebirth in a lower realm

0:10:20.101,0:10:23.917
and headed for full enlightenment."

0:10:23.917,0:10:31.639
So the view of a permanent essence is the[br]core of those wrong views which are overcome.

0:10:31.639,0:10:39.652
The skeptical doubt: all skeptical doubt can[br]only be overcome with direct experience.

0:10:39.652,0:10:45.773
So this is not something you just[br]believe - that there is no self,

0:10:45.773,0:10:50.338
just like you may believe in[br]like a Jesus or Allah or something.

0:10:50.338,0:10:53.683
This is actually a direct experience

0:10:53.683,0:10:58.648
which means all skeptical doubt,[br]all doubt, is totally abolished.

0:10:58.648,0:11:03.250
And it has to be a strong experience,

0:11:03.250,0:11:05.935
not just a little understanding.

0:11:05.935,0:11:08.891
It's the experience which has to come

0:11:08.891,0:11:11.010
when in the Buddhist way [br]of looking at things,

0:11:11.010,0:11:17.973
the five hindrances, which are what [br]stops and blocks our wisdom arising,

0:11:17.973,0:11:22.993
when those five hindrances are overcome.[br]When the five hindrances,

0:11:22.993,0:11:25.195
they call them hindrances:[br]it's a good word.

0:11:25.195,0:11:29.195
What are they hindering?[br]Wisdom - they block it.

0:11:29.195,0:11:33.332
It's like looking through a mist,[br]or not being able to see clearly.

0:11:33.355,0:11:36.638
So those hindrances,[br]that's the purpose of deep meditation,

0:11:36.638,0:11:39.838
to overcome those, so you can see clearly.

0:11:39.838,0:11:44.442
And of course, once it's seen clearly [br]with a pre or post Jhana mind

0:11:44.442,0:11:47.428
then no skeptical doubt is left at all.

0:11:47.428,0:11:50.077
That's a very powerful experience.

0:11:50.077,0:11:52.318
And also the belief that [br]rites and rituals are

0:11:52.318,0:11:54.797
sufficient in themselves to [br]reach enlightenment.

0:11:54.797,0:12:00.127
It may seem why do we have that [br]as a fetter or a wrong view

0:12:00.127,0:12:03.554
when most people in the Western World,

0:12:03.554,0:12:06.526
we don't really do much [br]rites and rituals

0:12:06.526,0:12:09.629
but still there are many many [br]people even alive today

0:12:09.629,0:12:15.313
who still believe that by doing chanting[br]or by doing this ritual or that rite

0:12:15.313,0:12:18.930
that you can actually say that you are [br]a stream-winner or whatever.

0:12:18.930,0:12:23.681
And of course it's not a something [br]to be gained by a rite or a ritual

0:12:23.681,0:12:29.829
like say a marriage or like...[br]what's another rite and ritual..

0:12:29.829,0:12:35.839
marriage is the best one.[br]This is something which is beyond

0:12:35.839,0:12:39.837
rites and rituals, it is something[br]which comes from deep meditations.

0:12:39.837,0:12:41.997
So those are the three things [br]which are abandoned

0:12:41.997,0:12:46.924
and the most important one of them is the[br]view of a permanent essence: a soul.

0:12:46.924,0:12:50.464
And those who abandon these three [br]fetters are all Stream-enterers,

0:12:50.464,0:12:53.523
no longer subject to rebirth in a lower realm

0:12:53.523,0:13:00.202
which means you are never going to be [br]reborn as an animal, as a hungry ghost

0:13:00.202,0:13:03.367
which goes "wrap wrap"[br]in the middle of the night, [laughs]

0:13:03.367,0:13:08.619
never reborn in any hell realm.

0:13:08.619,0:13:13.018
Even though one may have bad kamma,

0:13:13.018,0:13:17.287
just like in the time of the Buddha [br]there was this gentleman called Angulimala,

0:13:17.287,0:13:28.597
a serial killer, and he managed to avoid being[br]reborn in lower realms as a result of his murdering,

0:13:28.597,0:13:34.181
and of course it really needs us to [br]actually inquire the question why.

0:13:34.181,0:13:40.386
Why is like kamma which is such an [br]important part of Buddhism,

0:13:40.386,0:13:43.753
you know that if you do bad things [br]you have to pay the consequences,

0:13:43.753,0:13:53.210
why is it for stream-winners they get[br]basically a get out of jail free card.

0:13:53.210,0:13:56.277
And I've mentioned this in [br]many of the talks before,

0:13:56.277,0:14:00.700
it is because (this is not here,[br]this is Ajahn Brahm)

0:14:00.700,0:14:05.315
that when you have a sense of self [br]you haven't seen non-self,

0:14:05.328,0:14:09.558
then you will always have guilt.

0:14:09.558,0:14:13.204
It's very hard to [br]forgive yourself

0:14:13.204,0:14:16.898
when you think there is a self there.

0:14:16.898,0:14:22.719
So forgiveness, it is actually based[br]on an identity

0:14:22.719,0:14:25.256
Sorry, not forgiveness, guilt, sorry.

0:14:25.256,0:14:31.057
Guilt is based on your very deep belief[br]that there is an identity there,

0:14:31.057,0:14:35.553
a being continuous from that time[br]you did that deed till now

0:14:35.553,0:14:39.012
which needs to be punished.

0:14:39.012,0:14:41.256
This is one of the wonderful [br]things about Buddhism,

0:14:41.256,0:14:42.971
I've said this many times:

0:14:42.971,0:14:47.643
we don't have punishment [br]because the Buddha saw non-self.

0:14:47.643,0:14:51.263
There is no need to punish yourself now

0:14:51.263,0:14:54.598
for something you did a long time ago.

0:14:54.598,0:14:57.338
There is no need but we still do it

0:14:57.338,0:15:00.625
because we still haven't penetrated non-self.

0:15:00.625,0:15:05.130
Once you see this truth,

0:15:05.130,0:15:09.307
that there is no permanent essence[br]within you

0:15:09.307,0:15:15.371
then that makes it very easy [br]to let go of the past.

0:15:15.371,0:15:22.953
It's not your past even though someone[br]by your name perpetrated that bad deed.

0:15:22.953,0:15:26.887
It overcomes guilt[br]and once guilt is let go of

0:15:26.887,0:15:30.516
(in other words real true forgiveness [br]of yourself)

0:15:30.516,0:15:36.665
then there is no reason to send yourself[br]to any lower realms.

0:15:36.665,0:15:40.598
And for those people who say [br]lower realms, hells and heavens,

0:15:40.598,0:15:46.903
isn't it the same as these other old[br]Abrahamic religions? Is it just a myth?

0:15:46.903,0:15:49.100
When you understand [br]what these places are

0:15:49.100,0:15:52.069
you understand why they [br]are not a myth at all:

0:15:52.069,0:15:56.358
you create your heavens and hells,

0:15:56.358,0:16:00.874
they are not some place waiting [br]for you like Bali or like London

0:16:00.874,0:16:03.158
you just travel there [br]and there it is.

0:16:03.158,0:16:07.636
You create these places, [br]these are mind-made realms

0:16:07.636,0:16:10.463
and once you understand [br]the power of this mind

0:16:10.463,0:16:15.920
with lots of meditation you understand[br]how these realms are created,

0:16:15.920,0:16:21.035
created to suit you.[br]However much you want to be punished,

0:16:21.035,0:16:28.752
that's how much you create the pain[br]of that realm: you do it yourself.

0:16:28.752,0:16:31.733
Whatever you think you [br]need to be rewarded for,

0:16:31.733,0:16:33.829
you think you've been [br]a good person,

0:16:33.829,0:16:37.708
that's how you create your[br]heaven accordingly.

0:16:37.708,0:16:41.426
So that is why rebirth in a lower realm

0:16:41.426,0:16:44.470
is shut out for you,[br]you don't need that anymore.

0:16:44.470,0:16:46.952
And headed for full enlightenment.

0:16:46.952,0:16:52.725
In how many lifetimes do you [br]have after you become a stream-winner?

0:16:52.725,0:16:59.716
Nicholas you are banned from answering[br]this question because you know the answer.

0:16:59.716,0:17:02.529
Some people say seven,[br]some people say six.

0:17:02.529,0:17:05.144
Put your hand up for [br]seven more lifetimes.

0:17:05.144,0:17:08.284
Put your hand up for [br]six more lifetimes.

0:17:08.284,0:17:11.199
All the ones for six more lifetimes [br]you have listened to me before

0:17:11.199,0:17:16.416
because in Buddhism this [br]lifetime is number one,

0:17:16.416,0:17:20.130
so six more as well as this one.

0:17:20.201,0:17:27.033
Just the same way that many of you[br]who are Asian or know Asian friends:

0:17:27.033,0:17:35.994
I was born in 1951 in August so I am now[br]65 years and a half in sort-of Australia

0:17:35.994,0:17:41.791
but in Asia I'm 66.[br]This is my 66th year.

0:17:41.791,0:17:46.886
It's one of the reasons why[br]in Asia you can retire one year earlier,

0:17:46.886,0:17:51.420
drive a car one year earlier,[br]go into the pub one year earlier - no you can't do that,

0:17:51.420,0:17:55.575
but they count earlier: as soon as[br]you are born you are one.

0:17:55.575,0:17:59.022
So this is the same here,[br]the way of counting means

0:17:59.022,0:18:06.679
this is one life, you have six more [br]lives after this; at most. Maximum.

0:18:06.679,0:18:12.138
Now sometimes people ask[br]what if you are a stream-winner

0:18:12.138,0:18:16.836
you've only got this life plus six more, what[br]happens if you decide out of compassion

0:18:16.836,0:18:23.847
to actually not to have six more [br]lives but to have six hundred lives.

0:18:23.847,0:18:25.910
What if you want to be [br]Bodhisattva and

0:18:25.910,0:18:32.532
put off your Enlightenment from here [br]on in so that you can teach other people?

0:18:32.532,0:18:38.031
Any comments? Yes Ananda.[br](comment not audible)

0:18:38.031,0:18:41.630
Exactly you can't; there is no one [br]in there to make the choice!

0:18:41.630,0:18:44.555
This is an automatic process.

0:18:44.555,0:18:47.969
You can't delay it, you can't rush it,

0:18:47.969,0:18:49.969
you can't do anything.

0:18:49.969,0:18:54.521
It is just the same as if I'm[br]going to Canberra tomorrow morning.

0:18:54.521,0:18:58.987
If when I am going to Canberra,[br]I usually travel Virgin Airlines

0:18:58.987,0:19:07.114
because Virgin is the appropriate [br]airline for a monk. [laughter]

0:19:07.114,0:19:13.175
So when I am traveling,[br]suppose I ask the pilot and say:

0:19:13.175,0:19:16.644
look I've always wanted to see [br]Ayers Rock from the air - can you please

0:19:16.644,0:19:21.262
just sweep down past Ayers Rock,[br]just go round a few times just for me.

0:19:21.262,0:19:25.262
Would they do that? Of course not[br]because he's got a schedule,

0:19:25.262,0:19:28.772
he has to go to Canberra,[br]he can't just stop just for me.

0:19:28.772,0:19:32.039
So this is the same, trying to [br]put off your enlightenment.

0:19:32.039,0:19:35.410
At that particular time, once [br]you are a stream-winner; it's too late.

0:19:35.410,0:19:38.000
You can't put off anything anymore.

0:19:38.000,0:19:42.490
Your sense of self is gone. [br]You can't control, it's too late.

0:19:42.490,0:19:49.029
Whether you like it or not [br]six more lifetimes at most.

0:19:49.029,0:19:51.278
Now we have, I very rarely do this

0:19:51.278,0:19:53.874
because I want to have this [br]as the Word of the Buddha

0:19:53.874,0:19:56.889
but Bhikkhu Bodhi did an [br]excellent commentary

0:19:56.889,0:20:02.133
trying to bring everything together [br]on the Noble Ones and the 10 fetters.

0:20:02.133,0:20:04.294
So I'm going to read that out now.

0:20:04.294,0:20:09.571
"On entering the irreversible path [br]to the attainment of Nibbāna,

0:20:09.571,0:20:12.476
(That's why I said irreversible, [br]once you are on that path that's it.

0:20:12.476,0:20:16.048
You are on the bus, [br]it doesn't do a U-turn.)

0:20:16.048,0:20:19.779
On entering the irreversible path [br]to the attainment of Nibbāna,

0:20:19.779,0:20:24.355
one becomes a noble person [br]called ariyapuggala."

0:20:24.355,0:20:28.386
Ariya means the noble ones; [br]puggala means persons.

0:20:28.386,0:20:34.127
I do know that in Nazi Germany [br]they started to take that word Ariyan

0:20:34.127,0:20:37.070
and give it meanings which it [br]didn't really deserve.

0:20:37.070,0:20:39.887
They even took the swastika, turned it [br]the other way around

0:20:39.891,0:20:42.461
and used that as their symbol.

0:20:42.461,0:20:44.269
So sometimes when you [br]use the word Ariya

0:20:44.269,0:20:46.720
sometimes people say [br]"hey what you are talking about".

0:20:46.720,0:20:50.314
But Ariya is a very old word;[br]it means a noble person

0:20:50.314,0:20:52.956
and in this particular [br]case it refers to a person

0:20:52.956,0:20:56.502
who is stream-winner or above.

0:20:56.502,0:21:00.591
The word “noble ariya" here[br]denoting spiritual nobility,

0:21:00.591,0:21:05.151
and just to make sure you understand [br]why we never tell anybody,

0:21:05.151,0:21:11.879
It's against our monastic rules[br]to tell anybody who is a stream-winner,

0:21:11.879,0:21:14.515
who is a once-returner,[br]non-returner or Arahant.

0:21:14.515,0:21:16.542
Many times you ask me that,

0:21:16.542,0:21:19.052
I usually say no, [br]I can't tell you.

0:21:19.052,0:21:20.649
It's kept a secret,

0:21:20.649,0:21:24.881
the reason why is because we [br]don't want to split the Sangha

0:21:24.881,0:21:32.473
into the two classes: High class[br](these are the stream-winners, non returners)

0:21:32.473,0:21:36.987
and the riff raff.

0:21:36.987,0:21:42.427
And the story is, because honestly [br]if you all know which monk

0:21:42.427,0:21:44.811
in Bodhinyana Monastery and nun,[br]which was an Arahant

0:21:44.811,0:21:48.443
which was the stream-winner [br]which was riff-raff,

0:21:48.443,0:21:51.525
suppose one of the riff-raff monks [br]was coming to give the talk:

0:21:51.525,0:21:55.022
"I'm not going to listen to him,[br]he's only riff-raff"

0:21:55.022,0:22:02.788
Not only that - my first year[br]in Thailand - very bad food.

0:22:02.788,0:22:08.010
One morning a big ute came,[br]a pick-up truck,

0:22:08.010,0:22:11.627
in the back was full of pots [br]and pans - you could smell it

0:22:11.627,0:22:15.317
from the refectory, the delicious [br]food they were bringing that day.

0:22:15.317,0:22:17.445
And I could see it through the [br]window and I thought

0:22:17.445,0:22:20.388
"Wow today I am going to get a nice meal"

0:22:20.388,0:22:23.606
We only had one meal a day,[br]just one chance.

0:22:23.606,0:22:26.901
And the driver came out and [br]went into the halls.

0:22:26.901,0:22:32.495
Those days, 42 years ago, maybe only 50[br]monks, 60 monks there, including Ajahn Chah.

0:22:32.495,0:22:36.773
(He) came in and said [br]'Is Ajahn Chah here today?'

0:22:36.773,0:22:40.545
He wasn't, he was at somebody's house[br]doing a blessing.

0:22:40.545,0:22:43.781
'So he is not here today?' and I said 'no'.

0:22:43.781,0:22:48.288
So he got in his car [br]and drove away.

0:22:48.288,0:22:50.910
He never gave us any of that food.

0:22:50.910,0:22:55.721
When you are only 23 and really hungry,[br]that hurts.

0:22:55.721,0:22:58.755
And it was just because[br]they never thought that

0:22:58.755,0:23:02.030
young monks, you get much merit[br]from all that food.

0:23:02.030,0:23:04.806
Ajahn Chah - you get much more merit.

0:23:04.806,0:23:08.174
They invest in places where [br]they get greater returns.

0:23:08.174,0:23:10.807
That's actually true and that's [br]why we never say.

0:23:10.807,0:23:12.139
There is also the old joke;

0:23:12.139,0:23:16.000
because if we did say, splitting up[br]the two monks; two types of monks,

0:23:16.000,0:23:18.700
the ordinary monks and the nobility,

0:23:18.700,0:23:27.971
it would create not the Aristocracy,[br]the Ariyastocracy, you know the big shots.

0:23:27.971,0:23:33.411
So we don't do that, we try and keep [br]everybody equal, everyone respected.

0:23:33.411,0:23:38.565
Also please do that with yourself [br]as lay people.

0:23:38.565,0:23:42.094
Don't go around telling other [br]people 'I am a stream-winner!'

0:23:42.094,0:23:45.555
'Ah! that's nothing, I was a [br]stream-winner two years ago'

0:23:45.555,0:23:48.251
'I am a once-returner!'

0:23:48.251,0:23:51.802
'Once-returner; that's nothing![br]I am a non-returner'

0:23:51.802,0:23:53.155
'That's nothing I am an Arahant'

0:23:53.155,0:23:56.732
'That's nothing, I've got psychic powers!'[br]'That's nothing...'

0:23:56.732,0:23:59.773
Don't get into that spiritual pride.

0:23:59.773,0:24:04.034
So anyway, we always keep it quiet.

0:24:04.034,0:24:08.743
It's not an attainment: your ego, your sense[br]of self is supposed to be diminishing

0:24:08.743,0:24:13.613
not increasing: you're seeing non-self,[br]it's not something you're proud of.

0:24:13.613,0:24:17.223
"So on entering the irreversible path [br]to the attainment of Nibbāna,

0:24:17.223,0:24:19.957
one becomes a noble person (ariyapuggala)"

0:24:19.957,0:24:23.523
The word “noble” (ariya) here [br]denoting spiritual nobility.

0:24:23.523,0:24:26.484
"There are four major types of [br]noble person,

0:24:26.484,0:24:30.335
and each stage is [br]divided into two phases:

0:24:30.335,0:24:33.113
the path and its fruition.

0:24:33.113,0:24:35.405
In the path phase, [br]one is said to be practicing

0:24:35.405,0:24:38.389
for the attainment of a [br]particular fruition,

0:24:38.389,0:24:42.758
which one is bound to [br]realize within that same life.

0:24:42.758,0:24:46.325
In the resultant phase, one is said [br]to be established in that fruition.

0:24:46.325,0:24:49.253
Thus the four major types of [br]noble persons

0:24:49.253,0:24:53.511
actually comprise four pairs [br]or eight types of noble individuals.

0:24:53.511,0:24:55.262
As enumerated these are:

0:24:55.262,0:24:58.569
One practicing for the realization [br]of the fruit of stream-entry,

0:24:58.569,0:25:00.637
and the stream-enterer.

0:25:00.637,0:25:03.937
One practicing for the realization [br]of the fruit of once-returning

0:25:03.937,0:25:05.848
and the once-returner.

0:25:05.848,0:25:09.931
One practicing for the realization [br]of the fruit of non-returning,

0:25:09.931,0:25:11.602
and the non-returner.

0:25:11.602,0:25:13.438
One practicing for arahantship,

0:25:13.438,0:25:16.517
and the Arahant (fully enlightened).

0:25:16.517,0:25:19.629
The first seven persons are [br]collectively known as sekhas

0:25:19.629,0:25:23.207
or trainees or [br]disciples in the higher training;

0:25:23.207,0:25:28.860
only the arahant is called [br]the asekha, the one beyond training."

0:25:28.860,0:25:32.129
The reason why we say that [br]is because

0:25:32.129,0:25:35.340
any of you who do the [br]standard chanting

0:25:35.340,0:25:37.999
"Ithipiso Bagawa"

0:25:37.999,0:25:42.041
when you get to the third [br]quality of the Sangha

0:25:42.041,0:25:44.462
'Supatipanno Bhagavato sāvakasangho'

0:25:44.462,0:25:46.949
it goes on to[br]'Esa Bhagavato sāvakasangho'

0:25:46.949,0:25:53.327
What was it then: 'cattāri purisa[br]yugāni Attha purisa puggalā':

0:25:53.327,0:25:55.350
the four people, [br]the eight pairs

0:25:55.350,0:25:56.854
no; the four pairs,[br]the eight people,

0:25:56.854,0:26:01.420
this is where that comes from:[br]four pairs and the eight people:

0:26:01.420,0:26:04.634
the stream-winner, once-returner [br]non-returner, Arahant,

0:26:04.634,0:26:10.252
then divided into pairs: the one[br]on the path and then got to the goal.

0:26:10.252,0:26:14.469
"The four main stages themselves [br]are defined in two ways:

0:26:14.469,0:26:17.302
by way of the defilements [br]eradicated by the path leading

0:26:17.302,0:26:19.732
to the corresponding fruit; [br]and by way of the destiny

0:26:19.732,0:26:24.661
after death that awaits one [br]who has realized the particular fruit."

0:26:24.661,0:26:30.332
In other words by what's been abandoned and[br]what's going to happen to you after you die.

0:26:30.332,0:26:33.152
So the stream-enterer abandons the [br]first three fetters:

0:26:33.152,0:26:37.034
the view of a soul, that is, the view of a [br]truly existent permanent essence

0:26:37.034,0:26:39.863
either as identical with the [br]five components of existence

0:26:39.863,0:26:46.664
(that's the five Khandas) or as existing[br]in some relation to the five Khandas.

0:26:46.664,0:26:52.432
So basically nowhere can you find a sense[br]of self, a permanent essence either

0:26:52.432,0:26:57.444
identical with the five Khandas [br]or existing in some relationship to them.

0:26:57.444,0:27:01.564
Doubt about the Buddha, the Dhamma, [br]and the Saṅgha, and the training;

0:27:01.564,0:27:07.373
and the wrong grasp of rules and [br]observances: that is the belief that

0:27:07.373,0:27:11.020
mere external observances, [br]particularly religious rituals

0:27:11.020,0:27:16.216
and ascetic practices, [br]can lead to liberation.

0:27:16.216,0:27:20.576
And the example of that from the[br]Suttas is the Buddha once met,

0:27:20.576,0:27:24.257
this is in the Dheega Nikaya,[br]I haven't mentioned it here,

0:27:24.257,0:27:27.217
once mentioned these two [br]ascetics in India

0:27:27.217,0:27:31.451
one was a cow ascetic and[br]one was a dog ascetic.

0:27:31.451,0:27:36.210
And the cow ascetic went [br]around on all fours,

0:27:36.210,0:27:39.675
ate grass, slept with cows [br]and went 'moo'

0:27:39.675,0:27:43.298
and the dog ascetic [br]acted like a dog.

0:27:43.298,0:27:44.870
And they came up to the Buddha,

0:27:44.870,0:27:46.436
they were actually quite good friends,

0:27:46.436,0:27:48.308
these were human beings.[br]If you've ever been to India

0:27:48.308,0:27:50.808
and you see some of the stuff [br]which goes on there

0:27:50.808,0:27:53.032
maybe you can [br]actually believe that.

0:27:53.032,0:27:54.408
And they asked the Buddha

0:27:54.408,0:27:59.329
'what happens, we were told that this; [br]a very hard thing to do,

0:27:59.329,0:28:03.108
imagine the endurance you need [br]to do that, survive

0:28:03.108,0:28:07.190
and they said 'what would happen [br]to us after we die?'

0:28:07.190,0:28:11.560
'Are we going to be Arahants?' [br]because we are giving up so much.

0:28:11.560,0:28:14.748
And the Buddha said [br]'please don't ask me'.

0:28:14.748,0:28:19.041
When they pressed him, He said [br]well if you act like that

0:28:19.041,0:28:25.390
then after death you will be reborn [br]as a dog and you will be reborn as a cow.

0:28:25.390,0:28:29.464
He didn't like that answer [?] at all.

0:28:29.464,0:28:31.668
But people actually do those [br]rites and rituals thinking that

0:28:31.668,0:28:36.517
by such practices they are [br]going to get somewhere.

0:28:36.517,0:28:40.840
And the stream-enterer [br]that's what they give up.

0:28:40.840,0:28:44.543
"..destination is assured of [br]attaining full Enlightenment

0:28:44.543,0:28:47.384
in at most six more existences

0:28:47.384,0:28:50.914
which would take place either [br]in the human realm or the heavenly world.

0:28:50.914,0:28:53.648
The stream-enterer will never undergo [br]an eighth existence

0:28:53.648,0:28:55.614
the present existence[br]is counted as the first

0:28:55.614,0:29:00.112
and is forever freed from [br]rebirth in the three lower realms:

0:29:00.112,0:29:03.421
the hells, the realm of afflicted spirits,[br]the ghosts, and the animal realm."

0:29:03.421,0:29:06.302
Remember this is Bhikkhu Bodhi.

0:29:06.302,0:29:10.774
"The once-returner does not [br]eradicate any new fetters.

0:29:10.774,0:29:13.958
He or she has eliminated the three [br]fetters that the stream-enterer

0:29:13.958,0:29:17.429
has destroyed, and additionally weakens the

0:29:17.429,0:29:23.126
three unwholesome roots— [br]wanting, aversion, and delusion.

0:29:23.126,0:29:26.966
So this wanting and ill-will (aversion),[br]they have been weakened

0:29:26.966,0:29:31.036
but not fully abandoned yet,[br]so they do not arise often,

0:29:31.036,0:29:35.154
and when they do arise, [br]do not become obsessive.

0:29:35.154,0:29:37.926
As the name implies, the once-returner [br]will come back to this world

0:29:37.926,0:29:41.875
only one more time and [br]then make an end to suffering.

0:29:41.875,0:29:46.104
The non-returner eradicates [br]the five 'basic fetters'."

0:29:46.104,0:29:52.263
I call them basic fetters because this is [br]the base by which we keep getting reborn.

0:29:52.263,0:29:58.946
"That is, in addition to the three [br]eliminated by the stream-enterer,

0:29:58.946,0:30:02.116
the non-returner eradicates two [br]additional fetters:

0:30:02.116,0:30:06.501
the desire for the five senses, [br]and anything to do with the five senses,

0:30:06.501,0:30:11.226
that wanting to do with seeing, [br]hearing, smelling, tasting and touching

0:30:11.226,0:30:14.866
are totally abandoned.[br]And aversion.

0:30:14.866,0:30:19.083
Because non-returners have eradicated [br]desire for the five-sense world,

0:30:19.083,0:30:23.504
they have no ties binding [br]them to this world.

0:30:23.504,0:30:30.410
Thus they take birth in the 'pure abodes'[br](suddhāvāsa) only for non-returners.

0:30:30.410,0:30:35.588
(Another mind-made realm. [br]That's all they got left; the mind.)

0:30:35.588,0:30:37.653
They attain final Nibbāna there,

0:30:37.653,0:30:43.019
without ever returning to rebirth in[br]the world of the five senses.

0:30:43.019,0:30:48.272
The non-returner, however, is still [br]bound by the five 'higher fetters':

0:30:48.272,0:30:52.836
attachment to Jhāna (and here I [br]always say: okay I admit that you can be

0:30:52.836,0:30:59.569
attached jhānas but it only means [br]you can't make that last step

0:30:59.569,0:31:03.535
from non-returner to an Arahant yet.[br]So it's one of those attachments

0:31:03.535,0:31:09.342
which is not really worth[br]talking about at this stage.

0:31:09.342,0:31:14.056
Later on when you become a [br]non-returner then we can talk about that.

0:31:14.056,0:31:17.592
But be attached to the jhānas till [br]you get there first.)

0:31:17.592,0:31:19.836
"and attachment to the [br]immaterial attainments,"

0:31:19.836,0:31:22.131
which are based on the jhānas.

0:31:22.131,0:31:24.795
And now we have the conceit.

0:31:24.795,0:31:27.551
The conceit here is a Pali word:[br]it's a conception,

0:31:27.551,0:31:32.826
it's not the same as the idea of [br]conceit we have in English.

0:31:32.826,0:31:36.884
It's "the thought or perception [br]‘I am’ sometimes arises:

0:31:36.884,0:31:40.026
I am better; I am worse; I am the same."

0:31:40.026,0:31:43.079
Now we are going to later on [br]we have an example of that

0:31:43.079,0:31:46.309
which I put in here of what this [br]really means

0:31:46.309,0:31:49.124
but we will come on to that later.

0:31:49.124,0:31:54.983
"Restlessness and deluded [br]thoughts or perceptions."

0:31:54.983,0:31:57.813
Your views have been straightened out.

0:31:57.813,0:32:03.496
These are thoughts or perceptions[br]which are basically old habits

0:32:03.496,0:32:08.460
based on the views you had [br]a long time ago.

0:32:08.460,0:32:11.118
"Those who cut off the five higher fetters

0:32:11.118,0:32:15.579
have no more ties binding [br]them to existence.

0:32:15.579,0:32:18.840
These are the Arahants, [br]who have destroyed all defilements

0:32:18.840,0:32:23.546
and are completely liberated [br]through final knowledge."

0:32:23.546,0:32:27.737
Now I put this one in because [br]having said attachment to Jhāna is bad

0:32:27.737,0:32:34.432
only in one particular context, you know [br]stops you going from that last step,

0:32:34.432,0:32:37.366
from being a non-returner to [br]full enlightenment;

0:32:37.366,0:32:40.792
but it also has its advantages.

0:32:40.792,0:32:44.497
And this is the Jhāna anāgāmī .

0:32:44.497,0:32:52.427
This is; there is a shortcut between being[br]a stream-winner and going to Enlightenment

0:32:52.427,0:32:57.827
and this is it.[br]This is from the Anguttara:

0:32:57.827,0:33:01.647
“Just as in the autumn, [br]when the sky is clear and cloudless,

0:33:01.647,0:33:03.702
the sun, ascending in the sky,

0:33:03.702,0:33:07.948
dispels all darkness from space as [br]it shines and beams and radiates,

0:33:07.948,0:33:12.828
so too, when the dust-free, [br]stainless Dhamma-eye arises in you,

0:33:12.828,0:33:15.590
then, together with the arising of vision, [br]you abandon three fetters:

0:33:15.590,0:33:19.225
the view of a permanent essence, [br]doubt, and wrong grasp of

0:33:19.225,0:33:23.924
behaviour and observances."[br](There's the Buddha being a bit poetic)

0:33:23.924,0:33:29.366
Afterwards, when you restrain two states, [br]wanting and aversion,

0:33:29.366,0:33:34.705
then totally secluded from the [br]five senses,

0:33:34.705,0:33:36.995
secluded from the five hindrances,

0:33:36.995,0:33:39.839
you enter and dwell for a while [br]in the first jhāna,

0:33:39.839,0:33:43.420
which consists of rapture and pleasure [br]born of freedom from the five senses,

0:33:43.420,0:33:47.600
accompanied by movements of [br]mind onto the bliss and holding the bliss."

0:33:47.600,0:33:51.902
You enter First Jhana.[br]This is the important part:

0:33:51.902,0:33:56.451
"If you should pass away while [br]thus in Jhāna,

0:33:56.451,0:34:02.390
there’s no fetter bound by which [br]you might ever return to this world."

0:34:02.390,0:34:04.651
Bhikkhu Bodhi's commentary:

0:34:04.651,0:34:08.586
"This phrase normally denotes [br]the attainment of non-returning.

0:34:08.586,0:34:11.287
The commentary, however, [br]identifies this disciple

0:34:11.287,0:34:16.002
as a “Jhāna non-returner” [br]a Jhānānāgāmī,

0:34:16.002,0:34:20.981
that is, a stream-enterer or [br]once-returner who also attains Jhāna.

0:34:20.981,0:34:24.337
Though such a practitioner [br]has not yet eliminated the two fetters

0:34:24.337,0:34:26.089
of sensual desire and aversion,

0:34:26.089,0:34:31.203
by attaining Jhāna he or she is [br]bound to be reborn in the Jhāna realm

0:34:31.203,0:34:33.629
and attain Nibbāna there,

0:34:33.629,0:34:38.418
without taking another [br]rebirth in the sense sphere."

0:34:38.418,0:34:42.653
So in other words if you are a [br]stream-winner and you get into

0:34:42.653,0:34:48.754
the Jhanas there is another Sutta[br]which says just do Jhanas often or

0:34:48.754,0:34:53.033
you die in a Jhana then[br]you get promoted to being Anāgāmī.

0:34:53.033,0:34:57.839
In that Jhana Realm which you [br]continue on after your death

0:34:57.839,0:35:01.997
then when that fades away so do you.

0:35:01.997,0:35:06.293
That's it. You Nibbāna from the [br]Jhana realm.

0:35:06.293,0:35:13.065
That's pretty cool. So it makes[br]us once you get to see non-self

0:35:13.065,0:35:17.815
and do lots of Jhana[br]then basically that's it.

0:35:17.815,0:35:23.776
You die ..... spend I don't know how many[br]aeons in the Jhana realms blissing out

0:35:23.776,0:35:26.400
and then when it fades away [br]you fade away too.

0:35:26.400,0:35:31.375
Nibbāna from there. [br]The Jhānānāgāmī.

0:35:31.375,0:35:33.793
Why that happens, again, it's because

0:35:33.793,0:35:36.471
there is nothing to come back to.

0:35:36.471,0:35:40.880
No ties, you are letting go so much

0:35:40.880,0:35:46.791
that when the Jhana disappears so do you.

0:35:46.791,0:35:51.033
And now, what it feels like to be [br]a non-returner.

0:35:51.033,0:35:53.097
They've seen there is no self

0:35:53.097,0:35:55.483
but it's said up the top here

0:35:55.483,0:35:59.242
that you still have this conceit [br]sometimes,

0:35:59.242,0:36:04.093
'I am' based on old habitual [br]thoughts or perceptions.

0:36:04.093,0:36:07.427
Fortunately there is a nice Sutta

0:36:07.427,0:36:13.356
of this monk called Khemaka [br]who was an ānāgāmī, a non-returner,

0:36:13.356,0:36:16.930
and the monks asked him basically [br]what it's like to be a non-returner.

0:36:16.930,0:36:19.938
You got so far, why can't [br]you go the last step

0:36:19.938,0:36:22.175
and become fully-enlightened?

0:36:22.175,0:36:26.198
And this has the simile[br]the Buddha uses

0:36:26.198,0:36:31.249
which I did adapt but basically [br]keeping the essence

0:36:31.249,0:36:34.812
it's called the 'scent of I am'

0:36:34.812,0:36:37.907
"The scent of I am"

0:36:37.907,0:36:43.542
So this is the monks talking to [br]one of their friends, Venerable Khamaka:

0:36:43.542,0:36:48.179
“Friend Khemaka, when [br]you speak of this ‘I am’ …

0:36:48.179,0:36:52.585
what is it that you are speaking of as ‘I am’?”

0:36:52.585,0:36:56.908
He replies: “Friends, I do not[br]speak of form (that's rupa) as ‘I am,’

0:36:56.908,0:37:01.258
nor do I speak of ‘I am’ apart from form.

0:37:01.258,0:37:04.475
I do not speak of experience (vedanā) [br]as ‘I am’ …

0:37:04.475,0:37:07.669
nor perception as ‘I am’ … [br]nor volition as ‘I am’ …

0:37:07.669,0:37:09.942
nor of consciousnesses as ‘I am,’

0:37:09.942,0:37:13.678
nor do I speak of ‘I am’ [br]apart from consciousnesses.

0:37:13.678,0:37:19.017
Not in the five Khandas, [br]not outside of them.

0:37:19.017,0:37:23.618
Friends, although the thought ‘I am’ [br]has not yet vanished in me

0:37:23.618,0:37:26.714
in relation to these [br]five components of existence,

0:37:26.714,0:37:32.301
still I do not regard anything [br]among them as ‘This I am.’

0:37:32.301,0:37:34.452
(And he gives a simile)

0:37:34.452,0:37:38.818
“Suppose, friends, [br]there is a scent of a lotus.

0:37:38.818,0:37:42.065
Would you be speaking rightly [br]if you were to say,

0:37:42.065,0:37:45.473
‘the scent belongs to the petals,’ [br]or ‘the scent belongs to the stalk,’

0:37:45.473,0:37:47.485
or ‘the scent belongs to the pistils’?”

0:37:47.485,0:37:48.313
“No.”

0:37:48.313,0:37:51.642
“And how, friends, should you answer [br]if you were to answer rightly?”

0:37:51.642,0:37:54.309
“You should answer: [br]‘The scent belongs to the flower.’

0:37:54.309,0:37:57.983
“So too, friends, [br]I do not speak of this form as ‘I am,’

0:37:57.983,0:38:01.239
nor do I speak of ‘I am’ apart from form.

0:38:01.239,0:38:06.009
I do not speak of experience, perception, [br]will or consciousnesses as "I am"

0:38:06.009,0:38:09.713
nor do I speak of ‘I am’ [br]apart from consciousnesses.

0:38:09.713,0:38:13.481
Friends, although the thought [br]‘I am’ has not yet vanished in me

0:38:13.481,0:38:15.826
in relation to these five [br]components of existence,

0:38:15.826,0:38:20.824
still I do not regard anything [br]among them as ‘This I am.’

0:38:20.824,0:38:27.416
"Friends... (got another simile which is[br]better but down below)

0:38:27.416,0:38:32.238
“Friends, even though a noble disciple [br]has abandoned the five basic fetters,

0:38:32.238,0:38:36.240
still, in relation to the five [br]components of existence, the Khandas

0:38:36.240,0:38:42.780
there still lingers in them [br]a residual thought ‘I am,’

0:38:42.780,0:38:48.085
a desire ‘I am,’ [br]an underlying tendency ‘I am’

0:38:48.085,0:38:51.515
that has not yet been uprooted.

0:38:51.515,0:38:57.819
“Sometime later they grow contemplating [br]dependency on causes

0:38:57.819,0:39:00.051
of the five components of existence:

0:39:00.051,0:39:04.986
‘Such is form (body), such is origin, [br]such is passing away;

0:39:04.986,0:39:07.787
such is experience, [br]such is perception,

0:39:07.787,0:39:11.557
such is will,[br]such are the six consciousnesses,

0:39:11.557,0:39:15.285
such is their origin, [br]such is their passing away.

0:39:15.285,0:39:21.346
As they dwell contemplating dependency on[br]causes of the five components of existence,

0:39:21.346,0:39:25.151
the residual thought ‘I am,’ [br]the desire ‘I am,’

0:39:25.151,0:39:27.288
the underlying tendency ‘I am’

0:39:27.288,0:39:31.671
that has not yet been uprooted:[br]this comes to be uprooted.

0:39:31.671,0:39:35.983
(And this is the killer simile [br]which I adapted)

0:39:35.983,0:39:40.010
“Suppose you washed a cloth [br]in a washing machine,

0:39:40.010,0:39:43.992
rinsed it and spun it, [br]and then put it in a drier.

0:39:43.992,0:39:46.759
Although that cloth would be clean,

0:39:46.759,0:39:51.599
still it might retain the residual [br]smell of the soap powder.

0:39:51.599,0:39:54.940
Then you would hang it [br]out in the sun to air,

0:39:54.940,0:40:00.511
and after a while, the residual smell [br]of the soap powder would vanish.”

0:40:00.511,0:40:02.820
In the original simile [br]if you read it

0:40:02.820,0:40:06.770
the washer women, [br]take it to the river

0:40:06.770,0:40:10.921
and they bang it about[br]with lye or cow dung.

0:40:10.921,0:40:13.055
That's how they used to wash [br]things in those days,

0:40:13.055,0:40:17.489
and after washing it, it will still have[br]the smell of the lye or the cow dung.

0:40:17.489,0:40:20.455
With a simile like that [br]what happens is people just

0:40:20.455,0:40:22.597
the whole meaning of the simile

0:40:22.597,0:40:28.150
is overwhelmed by the weird way[br]people used to wash clothes in those days.

0:40:28.150,0:40:29.894
This is how we are washing [br]these days

0:40:29.894,0:40:32.210
and it still keeps the essence of the simile.

0:40:32.210,0:40:34.762
You've all have done that, washing [br]something in the washing machine

0:40:34.762,0:40:37.354
and after it's got the smell[br]of the soap powder.

0:40:37.354,0:40:39.702
That's like you've washed away [br]most of the defilements,

0:40:39.702,0:40:42.558
still got the smell of [br]'I am' there.

0:40:42.558,0:40:45.918
That's the non-returner.

0:40:45.918,0:40:49.571
“So too, friends, even though a noble [br]disciple has abandoned

0:40:49.571,0:40:52.132
the five lower fetters, [br]they've been washed clean,

0:40:52.132,0:40:56.072
still, in relation to the five Khandas [br]there still lingers in them

0:40:56.072,0:40:59.982
the residual thought ‘I am', [br]the desire ‘I am,’

0:40:59.982,0:41:01.923
an underlying [br]tendency ‘I am’

0:41:01.923,0:41:04.654
that has not yet been uprooted.

0:41:04.654,0:41:08.210
But as you dwell contemplating [br]dependency on causes

0:41:08.210,0:41:10.317
of the five components of existence,

0:41:10.317,0:41:13.194
the residual thought "I am",[br]the desire "I am"

0:41:13.194,0:41:17.460
the underlying tendency to 'I am'[br]that had not yet been uprooted

0:41:17.460,0:41:21.717
this comes to be uprooted."

0:41:21.717,0:41:27.981
So what has happened there [br]is the habitual tendencies.

0:41:27.981,0:41:30.187
The other simile which I was [br]talking about

0:41:30.187,0:41:31.726
because I have seen this [br]many times.

0:41:31.726,0:41:34.489
People say smokers -[br]smoke cigarettes -

0:41:34.489,0:41:38.711
they know it's bad for your health -[br]they got right view of the

0:41:38.711,0:41:43.194
danger of cigarettes but they[br]can't really get rid of it yet;

0:41:43.317,0:41:46.041
so it takes them a while

0:41:46.041,0:41:53.418
until the view actually starts to [br]penetrate into their behaviour

0:41:53.418,0:41:56.781
the way they perceive [br]and think totally

0:41:56.781,0:42:02.546
otherwise sometimes there is [br]some lingering desire for cigarettes.

0:42:02.546,0:42:08.470
But after that view of how dangerous and [br]yucky it is really penetrates into them

0:42:08.470,0:42:10.919
then there's no way they're going [br]to take a cigarette anymore.

0:42:10.919,0:42:13.274
They have abandoned it.

0:42:13.274,0:42:16.036
So once you get your views straight

0:42:16.036,0:42:17.759
you've understood something

0:42:17.759,0:42:19.986
(alcohol is bad for you or whatever)

0:42:19.986,0:42:23.522
it doesn't mean that straightaway you [br]are going to give up sort-of the

0:42:23.522,0:42:30.221
bad habits: they linger awhile until[br]the new view, the correct view,

0:42:30.221,0:42:32.490
becomes so strong,[br]it actually washes away

0:42:32.490,0:42:42.746
even the old sense or the smell[br]of the old views, the old habits.

0:42:42.746,0:42:47.141
I hope that's clear because it's [br]a very important point there.

0:42:47.141,0:42:49.861
So I'm going to pause for a moment [br]to see whether there are any questions

0:42:49.861,0:42:54.523
on what we've done so far on the [br]stages of Enlightenment.

0:42:54.523,0:42:56.740
Yes?

0:42:56.740,0:43:03.967
Question: The stream-enterer cannot be[br]reborn in a lower form, even if they have

0:43:03.967,0:43:09.256
murdered somebody in a past life because [br]they have given up the view of self.

0:43:09.333,0:43:13.333
But presumably they wouldn't kill [br]anyone again?

0:43:13.435,0:43:17.179
Ajahn: Indeed because one who[br]is a stream-winner;

0:43:17.179,0:43:23.047
this was a question.... who asked me this [br]sometime ago.. I think it was actually

0:43:23.047,0:43:26.440
Bhante G.[br]He was trying to test me out

0:43:26.440,0:43:32.662
and he asked me; he said stream-winner:[br]can they break the five precepts?

0:43:32.662,0:43:35.140
And the answer is Yes.

0:43:35.140,0:43:37.248
But they know straight away [br]what they have done

0:43:37.248,0:43:39.613
so they can't hide it.

0:43:39.613,0:43:43.296
They can't sort-of just "no no no [br]no no no".

0:43:43.296,0:43:47.794
So they've still got bad habits [br]from the past.

0:43:47.794,0:43:49.217
So those bad habits from the past

0:43:49.217,0:43:50.579
it's like you have seen something,

0:43:50.579,0:43:54.305
you have seen that smoking or drinking [br]alcohol is not good for me

0:43:54.305,0:43:57.615
but it doesn't mean you[br]give it up straight away.

0:43:57.615,0:44:02.995
It takes time for you to [br]train your perceptions and thoughts.

0:44:02.995,0:44:08.514
Question: So it has to be that realization [br]that there is no self,

0:44:08.514,0:44:13.641
that kind-of drains the life [br]out of any kind of misbehaviour.

0:44:13.641,0:44:16.147
Ajahn: It drains the life out of it [br]but like anything

0:44:16.147,0:44:18.542
if you are draining a tank it [br]takes a little while for

0:44:18.542,0:44:20.281
all the water to come out.

0:44:20.281,0:44:23.463
And at the very very end [br]there is a little bit of water left.

0:44:23.463,0:44:27.878
So if we are cleaning a water tank [br]at Bodhinyana Monastery in Serpentine

0:44:27.878,0:44:30.381
yes that's what you have to do:[br]drain it first of all.

0:44:30.381,0:44:34.006
It takes those big water tanks sometimes [br]a day to drain out.

0:44:34.006,0:44:37.828
Then you go in there with a sponge [br]to get that last little bit of water

0:44:37.828,0:44:49.523
with the dirt in it out. So that's a[br]nice simile. Draining it out. Good.

0:44:49.523,0:44:58.370
Question: Ajahn, with the Jhānānāgāmī [br]is that a person doing the lower four Jhānās

0:44:58.370,0:45:01.531
or have to be in Arupa-Jhānā[br]when they die

0:45:01.531,0:45:06.773
to actually go to that corresponding[br]Jhānā realm rather than a Deva realm?

0:45:06.773,0:45:11.050
Ajahn: It has to be .. actually any Jhānā [br]would work

0:45:11.050,0:45:15.532
but obviously the deeper the Jhānā [br]the faster it would be,

0:45:15.532,0:45:18.659
the more letting go there is.[br]So any Jhānā.

0:45:18.659,0:45:21.388
It's a really amazing thing.

0:45:21.388,0:45:23.795
Once you understand what the [br]Jhānās are you can understand

0:45:23.795,0:45:26.166
wow that's a very very good point.

0:45:26.166,0:45:30.896
Because in the Jhānās, basically [br]in the Jhānās there is no sense of self

0:45:30.896,0:45:35.856
you can actually feel or see.[br]You are gone.

0:45:35.856,0:45:37.871
So one of the reasons why

0:45:37.871,0:45:40.155
I think I mentioned this to [br]monks a few weeks ago

0:45:40.155,0:45:46.345
that in history there were two people,[br]two Catholic monks or a monk and a nun,

0:45:46.379,0:45:50.889
when I read it looked like they [br]were attaining the first Jhānā.

0:45:51.099,0:45:54.718
That was Theresa of Avila [br]who used to levitate

0:45:54.718,0:45:56.946
and St. John on the Cross.

0:45:56.946,0:45:59.356
Just reading some of what they [br]have said, it's very hard

0:45:59.356,0:46:01.659
because of the translation into English,

0:46:01.659,0:46:03.537
don't know what they really [br]meant to say but

0:46:03.537,0:46:06.669
there was an indication they [br]may have got into the Jhānās.

0:46:06.669,0:46:09.484
But one of the reasons why [br]they would get into First Jhānā

0:46:09.484,0:46:16.101
is because of their methodology:[br]they believe in total surrender to their God.

0:46:16.101,0:46:19.571
And that was 100% surrender,[br]not keeping anything back for them.

0:46:19.571,0:46:25.853
They were surrendering their will, [br]their choice, they were letting-go

0:46:25.853,0:46:29.144
because of the belief - [br]"God take over".

0:46:29.144,0:46:31.772
That you can see, that type of letting go,

0:46:31.772,0:46:36.384
I can understand how that would [br]get a person into a First Jhānā.

0:46:36.384,0:46:40.966
But of course the view which they had[br]afterwards, Jhānā would not be enough

0:46:40.966,0:46:43.243
to break through that view.

0:46:43.243,0:46:45.769
Which they didn't have any other [br]alternative for that

0:46:45.769,0:46:49.321
but I can see just how that degree of [br]letting go would go into that.

0:46:49.321,0:46:51.424
So when you are in that Jhānā state,

0:46:51.424,0:46:54.162
no sense of an independent self,

0:46:54.162,0:46:58.190
they would experience that as a[br]union with God.

0:46:58.190,0:46:59.793
They are gone, totally.

0:46:59.793,0:47:02.913
So you could understand in the Jhānās[br]there is no sense of me left.

0:47:02.913,0:47:06.103
That's why you can't get into [br]those states by doing stuff,

0:47:06.103,0:47:09.053
that's too much of ego, [br]too much of me, doing stuff.

0:47:09.085,0:47:14.188
They are literally stages of [br]letting go of doing, will

0:47:14.198,0:47:15.925
(which is why they are so still)

0:47:15.925,0:47:18.839
and the me which creates all that willing.

0:47:18.839,0:47:21.519
So that's why in such a state

0:47:21.519,0:47:24.965
yes you haven't totally abandoned [br]desire and ill-will

0:47:24.965,0:47:28.358
but you've suppressed it so much

0:47:28.358,0:47:30.326
that when you come out afterwards

0:47:30.326,0:47:36.987
basically there's nothing [br]really to get you reborn.

0:47:36.987,0:47:39.619
That make any sense?

0:47:39.619,0:47:43.867
Anything else?

0:47:43.867,0:47:49.297
Question: So really because doing stuff [br]really just enhances your sense of self?

0:47:49.297,0:47:51.470
Ajahn: Correct!

0:47:51.470,0:47:53.028
Question: So that's why [br]it doesn't work.

0:47:53.028,0:47:55.190
Ajahn: Exactly, thank you.

0:47:55.190,0:48:01.350
I've been trying to bang [br]at that point for about 30 years.

0:48:01.350,0:48:05.859
Yes, behind you.

0:48:05.859,0:48:18.896
Question: So if the mind punishes [br]itself for bad things it's done

0:48:18.896,0:48:22.690
and you get reborn in the lower realm,[br]and same for the higher realms,

0:48:22.690,0:48:24.910
but what if you want to be [br]reborn as a human?

0:48:24.910,0:48:28.005
Ajahn: As a human, yeah if you [br]want to be reborn as a human

0:48:28.005,0:48:30.450
and you have enough kamma [br]to be reborn as a human

0:48:30.450,0:48:32.944
that's where you end up as doing.

0:48:32.944,0:48:40.528
The simile is: say you want to [br]go to Bangladesh, Dhaka,

0:48:40.528,0:48:45.058
you need to have two reasons [br]to end up in Bangladesh.

0:48:45.058,0:48:50.830
Number one: you want to go there, and[br]number two: you've got the money and the visa.

0:48:50.830,0:48:53.953
If you've got those two things [br]then you end up there.

0:48:53.953,0:48:56.329
If you don't want to go there,

0:48:56.329,0:48:58.868
you may have the money and the visa [br]but you don't want to go there,

0:48:58.868,0:49:00.699
of course you don't end up there.

0:49:00.699,0:49:02.871
If you want to go there but you [br]can't afford it

0:49:02.871,0:49:04.539
you don't end up there.

0:49:04.539,0:49:09.572
So the wanting and the kammic wherewithal:

0:49:09.572,0:49:15.589
those two come together and [br]that means you get reborn there.

0:49:15.589,0:49:20.267
Okay.[br]You got another one? Okay.

0:49:20.267,0:49:23.593
Question: I suppose you have to [br]delete the sense of achievement as well?

0:49:23.593,0:49:29.124
Ajahn: Exactly, these are not..[br]Ajahn Chah kept on saying this so many times:

0:49:29.124,0:49:33.303
we meditate to let go [br]not to attain.

0:49:33.303,0:49:37.511
Not achieving things but to [br]abandon things.

0:49:37.511,0:49:41.802
That's why anyone who understands [br]this stuff never thinks it's an achievement:

0:49:41.802,0:49:46.125
"I am a stream-winner, look at me:[br]I am a stream-winner!"

0:49:46.125,0:49:49.603
"I am much better than you riff-raff"

0:49:49.603,0:49:54.152
That's called spiritual materialism [br]which is very gross.

0:49:54.152,0:49:57.035
And don't know why people do that..[br]it's because they don't really understand

0:49:57.035,0:50:02.890
what's going on. These are stages[br]of letting go, of disappearing.

0:50:02.890,0:50:07.474
Thank you Ajahn Brahmali because that book [br]the Art of Disappearing

0:50:07.474,0:50:10.578
which is one of my favourites,[br]some of my talks are in there,

0:50:10.578,0:50:16.698
he chose the title "The Art of Disappearing".[br]I thought wow that's a brilliant title

0:50:16.698,0:50:21.093
because that's what meditation,[br]that's what the path is: disappearing,

0:50:21.093,0:50:27.978
vanishing. That's why when I wrote[br]the introduction, the preface,

0:50:27.978,0:50:32.487
I said this is about losing things,[br]not gaining things, not attainments.

0:50:32.487,0:50:36.769
So at the very end I said[br]"May you all get lost!"

0:50:36.769,0:50:42.288
[Ajahn Laughs] And that was a [br]compliment.

0:50:42.288,0:50:47.208
I thought that the people publishing it[br]wouldn't get it but they got it straight away:

0:50:47.208,0:50:51.449
they said 'oh yeah, this is great'.[br]So they didn't delete it.

0:50:51.449,0:50:56.544
So that's my wish for each one of you:[br]may you all get lost. [laughs]

0:50:56.544,0:51:02.232
May you all be losers,[br]spiritual losers, not gainers.

0:51:02.232,0:51:06.080
It's using words in a different way [br]which makes it funny.

0:51:06.080,0:51:12.069
Okay so we go to [br]Free from All Speculative Views.

0:51:12.069,0:51:16.400
So we are still on Right View,[br]this is why we are on this stuff.

0:51:16.400,0:51:22.574
"Then does the Buddha hold [br]any speculative belief at all?"

0:51:22.574,0:51:30.511
Speculative belief is stuff like:[br]there are aliens.

0:51:30.511,0:51:36.301
Have you ever seen an alien?[br]You can speculate, "well the universe is

0:51:36.301,0:51:38.901
so big there must be some somewhere."

0:51:38.901,0:51:42.831
Maybe they are siting among us.[br]Who knows?

0:51:42.831,0:51:46.953
So speculative beliefs are things [br]that people love to think about

0:51:46.953,0:51:49.990
even like the origin of the Universe,

0:51:49.990,0:51:55.969
where it all began if it did[br]begin anywhere: speculation.

0:51:55.969,0:51:59.648
"Speculative belief is something [br]that the Buddha has put away.

0:51:59.648,0:52:01.732
For the Buddha has seen this:"

0:52:01.732,0:52:05.791
(Just basic five Khandas,[br]just focusing on message)

0:52:05.791,0:52:09.753
"Such is form, such its origin, [br]such its disappearance;

0:52:09.753,0:52:13.050
such is experience, its origin, [br]its disappearance;

0:52:13.050,0:52:16.702
such is perception, its origin, [br]its disappearance;

0:52:16.702,0:52:19.752
such is will, its origin, [br]its disappearance;

0:52:19.752,0:52:23.932
such are the consciousnesses, [br]such their origin, such their disappearance."

0:52:23.932,0:52:25.947
They're just talking about the [br]five Khandas.

0:52:25.947,0:52:28.820
The fact that none of them are permanent,

0:52:28.820,0:52:31.084
they arise because of other things

0:52:31.084,0:52:34.299
and when those other things vanish [br]they all vanish.

0:52:34.299,0:52:37.607
Perception, experience, [br]consciousness every one of them

0:52:37.607,0:52:42.888
is impermanent, it arises [br]and totally disappears for a while.

0:52:42.888,0:52:46.440
"Therefore, I say, with the destruction, [br]fading away, cessation,

0:52:46.440,0:52:53.006
giving up, relinquishing of all [br]conceptual proliferations"

0:52:53.006,0:52:55.875
(it's one of the great words,[br]papañca,

0:52:55.875,0:52:58.510
'conceptual proliferations'

0:52:58.510,0:53:01.999
once we get an idea it [br]just takes off

0:53:01.999,0:53:05.135
like some weeds in your garden,

0:53:05.135,0:53:08.822
just like some virus in your body

0:53:08.822,0:53:11.423
or some malware in your computer

0:53:11.423,0:53:15.068
it affects more and more,[br]it expands.

0:53:15.068,0:53:19.230
This is why it's called [br]conceptual proliferation

0:53:19.230,0:53:22.765
or maybe you should call it[br]conceptual viruses

0:53:22.765,0:53:26.266
to show just how they affect,[br]and keep going and going.

0:53:26.266,0:53:31.284
That's why we're thinking.[br]There is no end to thinking.

0:53:31.284,0:53:33.068
No end to philosophizing.

0:53:33.068,0:53:35.304
It's conceptual proliferation.

0:53:35.304,0:53:38.471
Put that away: just seeing,

0:53:38.471,0:53:40.645
not thinking about this and [br]working it all out

0:53:40.645,0:53:44.209
but seeing the basic five [br]components of existence

0:53:44.209,0:53:47.825
seeing there is nothing there.

0:53:47.825,0:53:53.884
"So with destruction, fading away,[br]cessation, giving up and relinquishing

0:53:53.884,0:53:56.544
of all conceptual proliferation,

0:53:56.544,0:54:02.390
all philosophizing,[br]all I-making" - we make ourselves,

0:54:02.390,0:54:04.131
make this idea of a self.

0:54:04.131,0:54:09.625
'Mine-making': we construct the [br]idea of possession

0:54:09.625,0:54:15.156
and the underlying tendency [br]to assuming a permanent essence.

0:54:15.156,0:54:17.905
It is an underlying tendency,

0:54:17.905,0:54:21.982
we have been doing this for such[br]a long time, it's just a habit,

0:54:21.982,0:54:25.863
we try and make something [br]out of nothing,

0:54:25.863,0:54:30.661
that somewhere, some place [br]is a 'me'.

0:54:30.661,0:54:37.463
"The Buddha is liberated through [br]exhausting the fuel that drives rebirth."

0:54:37.463,0:54:41.668
I like that translation:[br]The fuel that drives rebirth.

0:54:41.668,0:54:45.189
Your car has got no more petrol [br]in its engine anymore.

0:54:45.189,0:54:49.146
It can't move.[br]Can't get to rebirth anymore.

0:54:49.146,0:54:54.423
And that fuel is the view that [br]there is some person in there,

0:54:54.423,0:55:00.178
some essence, some mind which is [br]not sort-of impermanent:

0:55:00.178,0:55:05.487
something, some soul, some ground of [br]all beings, something

0:55:05.487,0:55:09.175
that becomes a fuel which [br]makes you get rebirth, reborn.

0:55:09.175,0:55:11.583
When you exhaust all that fuel

0:55:11.583,0:55:15.515
then there is no way you can [br]make an 'I' or a 'mine' anymore.

0:55:15.515,0:55:17.558
That's why the Buddha,

0:55:17.558,0:55:23.524
no speculative views anymore:[br]just seeing through all of this.

0:55:23.524,0:55:28.025
The Three Characteristics of Existence

0:55:28.025,0:55:32.662
"Whether Buddhas arise or not, [br]there persists that law,

0:55:32.662,0:55:35.592
that stable Dhamma, [br]that fixed course of the Dhamma:

0:55:35.627,0:55:40.157
All phenomena that arise [br]from a cause are impermanent,

0:55:40.268,0:55:44.337
suffering, and not a [br]permanent essence."

0:55:44.337,0:55:46.718
"All phenomena that arise [br]from a cause are impermanent."

0:55:46.718,0:55:48.519
In other words:[br]they arise from a cause

0:55:48.519,0:55:51.278
then they must be able to disappear,

0:55:51.278,0:55:53.309
and they are suffering, and [br]not a permanent essence.

0:55:53.309,0:55:55.216
"The Buddha awakens to this [br]and breaks through to it,

0:55:55.216,0:55:59.120
and then explains it, [br]teaches it, proclaims it,

0:55:59.120,0:56:03.532
and establishes it, discloses it, [br]analyses it, and elucidates it."

0:56:03.532,0:56:06.628
In other words that's actually Nicca.

0:56:06.628,0:56:09.104
That's not anicca, that is niccha.

0:56:09.104,0:56:11.292
That law persists.

0:56:11.292,0:56:13.240
"And what is it that the wise in the world

0:56:13.240,0:56:14.944
agree upon as not existing,

0:56:14.944,0:56:16.988
of which I too say that [br]it does not exist?

0:56:16.988,0:56:24.711
Any form (body) that is permanent,[br]stable, and eternal, not subject to change:

0:56:24.711,0:56:28.301
this the wise in the world [br]agree upon as not existing,

0:56:28.301,0:56:30.626
and I too say that it does not exist.

0:56:30.626,0:56:34.771
Any experience, Perception, Volition, [br]any type of Consciousness

0:56:34.771,0:56:39.233
that is permanent, stable, and eternal, [br]not subject to change:

0:56:39.233,0:56:41.851
this the wise in the world [br]agree upon as not existing

0:56:41.851,0:56:45.584
and I too say that it does not exist."

0:56:45.584,0:56:50.115
"'It is impossible and inconceivable'[br]said the Buddha

0:56:50.115,0:56:54.382
'that a person who is enlightened [br]or even on the path to being enlightenment

0:56:54.382,0:56:59.364
could consider any phenomena [br]that arises from a cause as permanent,

0:56:59.364,0:57:03.554
as pleasurable and as a soul:[br]there is no such possibility.

0:57:03.554,0:57:07.553
But there is a possibility that an[br]unenlightened worldling might

0:57:07.553,0:57:10.234
consider some phenomena that [br]arises from a cause as permanent,

0:57:10.234,0:57:14.162
as pleasurable and as a soul:[br]there is such a possibility.'"

0:57:14.162,0:57:19.888
This is where we make a soul,[br]an original being, a ground of all being,

0:57:19.888,0:57:22.128
an essence; anything.

0:57:22.128,0:57:25.125
It's a tendency of human [br]beings to do that,

0:57:25.125,0:57:31.813
to find an ultimate [br]retirement home for 'you'.

0:57:31.813,0:57:36.836
"Therefore any kind of form whatsoever,

0:57:36.836,0:57:44.541
any kind of experience whatsoever, [br]any kind of perception whatsoever,

0:57:44.541,0:57:50.339
any kind of will whatsoever,[br]any kind of consciousness or Citta

0:57:50.339,0:57:55.696
or mind whatsoever[br](those three are synonyms):

0:57:55.696,0:58:03.253
whether past, future or present,[br]one's own or others', gross or subtle,

0:58:03.253,0:58:08.576
inferior or superior, far or near,[br]all forms, all experiences,

0:58:08.576,0:58:11.679
all perceptions, all will, all mind,

0:58:11.679,0:58:14.436
should be seen as it really [br]is with correct wisdom thus:

0:58:14.436,0:58:25.559
‘This is not mine, this I am not, [br]this is not my permanent essence."

0:58:25.559,0:58:29.299
And now one of my [br]favourite quotes,

0:58:29.299,0:58:32.371
this is, so sure this is not what the [br]Buddha said,

0:58:32.371,0:58:34.983
we put it in here anyway, [br]because it's really cool.

0:58:34.983,0:58:38.003
This is very famous from [br]the Visuddhimagga:

0:58:38.003,0:58:49.900
"Mere suffering exists, no sufferer is found.[br]The deed is, but no doer of the deed is there."

0:58:49.900,0:58:57.452
If you understand this, that is where[br]you don't need to have any punishment.

0:58:57.452,0:59:01.413
The deed is but not the doer.

0:59:01.413,0:59:06.931
"Nibbāna is, but not the person who enters it."

0:59:06.931,0:59:14.922
Not a being, not a mind, not you.[br]Nibbāna: everything gone.

0:59:14.922,0:59:21.623
And last [br]"The path is, but no traveler on it is seen."

0:59:21.623,0:59:27.673
In other words, if you travel the [br]Eightfold Path you get nowhere.

0:59:27.673,0:59:30.056
You have to disappear

0:59:30.056,0:59:35.555
and then the path becomes as wide [br]as a 20 lane highway,

0:59:35.555,0:59:38.788
even wider, you can't miss it.

0:59:38.788,0:59:41.849
But when you are traveling that path

0:59:41.849,0:59:44.787
when you are doing the meditation

0:59:44.787,0:59:52.144
you are doing, sort-of whatever,[br]then the path disappears.

0:59:52.144,0:59:58.305
"The path is, but no traveler on it is seen."

0:59:58.305,1:00:02.913
Nibbāna is, but you don't [br]attain it, you don't enter it, you can't.

1:00:02.913,1:00:07.783
You have to disappear and vanish

1:00:07.783,1:00:14.210
and the more you vanish, [br]the closer you get.

1:00:14.210,1:00:26.886
I love that.[br]Anyway, any questions? Yes.

1:00:26.886,1:00:39.544
Question: The sotāpanna, they have no self, they don't [br]commit themselves to any punishment

1:00:39.544,1:00:49.886
for what they do. But in the case[br]of a Sotāpanna killing another person

1:00:49.886,1:00:54.039
regardless of whether they create [br]their hell or not,

1:00:54.039,1:00:56.831
they've still got that Kamma to receive [br]don't they?

1:00:56.831,1:01:00.320
Ajahn: Ah..have they?

1:01:00.320,1:01:02.568
They got some Kamma there.

1:01:02.568,1:01:05.558
You know, if a stream-winner or a [br]once-returner or something

1:01:05.558,1:01:08.002
kills somebody - they go to jail!

1:01:08.002,1:01:12.808
You can't use it as a legal [br]defense in Australia - that it says

1:01:12.808,1:01:17.245
in the Suttas that such [br]stream-winners are not subject to

1:01:17.245,1:01:25.004
such punishments. That doesn't wash[br]in a jury trial or a judge trial.

1:01:25.004,1:01:29.387
But no, there are some consequences [br]there but those consequences

1:01:29.387,1:01:34.069
don't arise in a future life.

1:01:34.069,1:01:40.008
Angulimala - apparently people threw[br]stones at him and scolded him.

1:01:40.008,1:01:45.375
So he did get some suffering [br]as a result of what he did

1:01:45.375,1:01:50.543
but no future life suffering.

1:01:50.543,1:01:56.157
So you are not punishing yourself.[br]Other people punish you, but not you.

1:01:56.157,1:01:59.930
Question: So could the [br]Sotāpanna then be reborn

1:01:59.930,1:02:07.380
for the first life of seven or six lives,[br]reborn into an unsatisfactory life

1:02:07.380,1:02:09.422
for some period of time [br]from that kamma?

1:02:09.422,1:02:13.872
Ajahn: Not at all. The reason is [br]because no one sends you to

1:02:13.872,1:02:16.135
your next destination.

1:02:16.135,1:02:18.332
You send yourself there.

1:02:18.332,1:02:23.171
You choose, literally,[br]where you're going to go next.

1:02:23.171,1:02:27.677
But sometimes we do make [br]stupid choices because we are not wise.

1:02:27.677,1:02:30.408
Because people feel they [br]deserve to be punished.

1:02:30.408,1:02:33.261
Even in this life, ask any psychologist:

1:02:33.261,1:02:35.552
people who have a strong sense of guilt

1:02:35.552,1:02:40.686
will actually deny themselves [br]happiness or success.

1:02:40.686,1:02:45.107
Question: But doesn't the Kamma [br]actually pull the Sotāpanna to that...

1:02:45.107,1:02:47.164
Ajahn: No, no, Kamma is very personal.

1:02:47.164,1:02:53.751
You are the owner of your kamma,[br]in many ways.

1:02:53.751,1:03:00.073
Ok... yes, go on..

1:03:00.073,1:03:03.824
Question: What exactly is [br]meant by consciousnesses?

1:03:03.824,1:03:09.269
Ajahn: Consciousnesses, [br]I added a plural there

1:03:09.269,1:03:13.995
because this is translating[br]according to the definition.

1:03:13.995,1:03:19.986
Whenever the Buddha ever uses the word viññāna [br]He says there are six types of viññāna:

1:03:19.986,1:03:27.835
Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch[br]and knowing - the mind, the citta.

1:03:27.835,1:03:31.673
These are the six consciousnesses.

1:03:31.673,1:03:37.906
I used that plural because it [br]makes the word much more powerful.

1:03:37.906,1:03:40.980
This is not me changing Buddhism,

1:03:40.980,1:03:47.074
this is using a word and translating it [br]according to its meaning.

1:03:47.074,1:03:50.183
Six different types and that changes [br]the whole ball game.

1:03:50.183,1:03:52.060
Not consciousness because [br]so often people think:

1:03:52.060,1:03:53.736
"that's me, that's my essence".

1:03:53.736,1:03:58.788
There are six different types of them:[br]"which one is you?" said the Buddha.

1:03:58.788,1:04:03.010
And then you find out when there[br]is one there, the others are gone.

1:04:03.010,1:04:05.650
They arise according to causes:

1:04:05.650,1:04:11.217
consciousness, that sixth consciousness:[br]mind, its synonym is citta,

1:04:11.217,1:04:18.647
the mind, each one of these [br]consciousnesses arises because of a cause.

1:04:18.647,1:04:21.706
When that cause disappears, [br]the citta vanishes.

1:04:21.706,1:04:24.501
That's the third Satipatṭhāna:

1:04:24.501,1:04:27.328
to see the rise and the fall [br]of the citta.

1:04:27.328,1:04:30.461
Rise and fall means, gone, disappear,

1:04:30.461,1:04:33.549
so it cannot be a permanent thing

1:04:33.549,1:04:37.179
and what I just read out here,[br]all types of consciousnesses

1:04:37.179,1:04:40.198
which includes all types of citta

1:04:40.198,1:04:45.542
should be seen "past, future or present [br]one's own or others', gross or subtle,

1:04:45.542,1:04:48.678
inferior or superior, far or near,

1:04:48.678,1:04:53.633
(all consciousnesses which includes [br]all mind, all citta)

1:04:53.633,1:04:59.710
should be seen as it truly is:[br]not me, not mine, not a self."

1:04:59.710,1:05:06.490
That's just the requirement for [br]being an Ariya, for being a stream-winner.

1:05:06.490,1:05:11.253
Without that you are not a [br]stream-winner.@@

1:05:11.258,1:05:19.831
Question: Sorry Ajahn, because John [br]was saying, doesn't Kamma cause a self,

1:05:19.831,1:05:24.630
and it just occured to me that the [br]self, the sense of self is a bit

1:05:24.630,1:05:28.377
like a black hole exerting [br]huge power

1:05:28.377,1:05:32.022
and it's creating everything [br]including hell realms and

1:05:32.022,1:05:37.020
everything you can think of and without[br]a self everything just melts away.

1:05:37.020,1:05:38.960
Isn't that an attraction?

1:05:38.960,1:05:42.250
Ajahn: Yes indeed, that's the [br]whole point of this,

1:05:42.250,1:05:44.263
to have you melt away.

1:05:44.263,1:05:48.662
the whole point of this Sue[br]is to get rid of you.

1:05:48.662,1:05:52.289
Get rid of Sue, the [br]sense of self, the sense of me.

1:05:52.289,1:05:55.731
It's to lose things not to[br]gain things.

1:05:55.731,1:06:00.698
Not to enhance yourself [br]by being called a saint,

1:06:00.698,1:06:04.464
"just look how great I am".

1:06:04.464,1:06:09.381
Okay over there.

1:06:09.381,1:06:16.205
Question: What is being reborn? [br]Is that some form of energy that's being

1:06:16.205,1:06:18.552
discharged into the air at the time of

1:06:18.552,1:06:25.184
Ajahn: No it's not energy, there is nothing [br]continuing from one moment to another.

1:06:25.184,1:06:27.938
It's cause and effect.[br]We are going to go into

1:06:27.938,1:06:32.061
that in a few moments because...[br]I was just scrolling down,

1:06:32.061,1:06:35.104
we've got dependent origination coming [br]soon which is how the Buddha would

1:06:35.104,1:06:36.909
answer your question.

1:06:36.909,1:06:41.484
But we would just go on a bit further [br]here because time is running out.

1:06:41.484,1:06:48.628
Okay what do we got here?

1:06:48.648,1:06:55.178
Oh this is Yamaka[br]Sutta Nipata 44 after the 'traveller on it's seen...'

1:06:55.749,1:07:04.846
"it is those who do not understand [br]form as it really is …

1:07:04.846,1:07:09.726
who do not know and see its origin, [br]its cessation,

1:07:09.807,1:07:11.943
and the way leading to its [br]cessation

1:07:11.943,1:07:16.475
that think: ‘An Enlightened One (Arahant) [br]exists after death,

1:07:16.475,1:07:18.180
or does not exist after death,

1:07:18.180,1:07:20.493
or both exists and [br]does not exist after death,

1:07:20.493,1:07:23.793
or neither exists nor [br]does not exist after death.’’

1:07:23.793,1:07:26.692
"It's those who do not see experience, [br]as it really is

1:07:26.692,1:07:29.276
who do not know and see perception, [br]as it really is

1:07:29.276,1:07:33.123
who do not know and see will[br]as it really is

1:07:33.123,1:07:36.764
who do not know and see the [br]consciousnesses

1:07:36.764,1:07:38.896
(including mind, including citta)[br]as they really are,

1:07:38.896,1:07:41.126
and do not know and see their origin,

1:07:41.126,1:07:44.441
their cessation, and the way [br]leading to their cessation,

1:07:44.441,1:07:47.997
these are the people who think [br]an Arahant or an Enlightened One

1:07:47.997,1:07:51.928
exists after death, [br]or does not exist after death

1:07:51.928,1:07:53.986
or both exists and does not [br]exist after death,

1:07:53.986,1:07:59.997
or neither exists nor does not [br]exist after death."

1:07:59.997,1:08:03.991
This is one of the questions:[br]what happens to an Arahant after they die?

1:08:03.991,1:08:09.208
And this is the beginning of one of[br]the best answers, clearest answers.

1:08:09.208,1:08:12.561
"One who knows and sees the [br]five components of existence

1:08:12.561,1:08:14.964
the five khandas as they really are

1:08:14.964,1:08:19.189
who knows and sees where they come[br]from, their origin according to causes

1:08:19.189,1:08:22.989
their cessation causes[br]stop, these things vanish

1:08:22.989,1:08:24.617
and the way leading to [br]their cessation

1:08:24.617,1:08:28.791
they do not think [br]either of these possibilities.

1:08:28.791,1:08:30.116
They don't even think

1:08:30.116,1:08:32.660
an Enlightened One exists [br]after death or does not exist after death

1:08:32.660,1:08:35.543
or both exists and does not exist [br]after death,

1:08:35.543,1:08:39.869
or neither exists nor [br]does not exist after death."

1:08:39.869,1:08:43.501
And this is a really beautiful Sutta

1:08:43.501,1:08:47.673
"What do you think.." this is in the[br]Saṃyutta Nikāya, the Khandha Saṃyutta.

1:08:47.673,1:08:51.725
“What do you think, Yamaka”,[br]asks Sariputta,

1:08:51.725,1:08:56.470
“Do you regard the body, experience, [br]perception, will or consciousnesses

1:08:56.470,1:08:58.850
as an Enlightened One?”

1:08:58.850,1:09:00.235
No, Venerable.

1:09:00.235,1:09:05.582
Do you regard an Enlightened One [br]as in the body, as in experience,

1:09:05.582,1:09:10.051
as in perception, as in will or [br]as in consciousness,

1:09:10.051,1:09:12.846
somehow contained in [br]these five khandas?"

1:09:12.846,1:09:14.430
"No Venerable."

1:09:14.430,1:09:19.015
"Do you regard an Enlightened One [br]as apart from the body, something separate,

1:09:19.015,1:09:21.664
as apart from experience, [br]as apart from perception,

1:09:21.664,1:09:25.722
as apart from will,[br]as apart from consciousnesses?"

1:09:25.722,1:09:28.052
Like apart from the mind,

1:09:28.052,1:09:30.493
apart from the five khandas.

1:09:30.493,1:09:34.319
"Is the Enlightened One [br]something separate from the five khandas?"

1:09:34.319,1:09:36.383
"No Venerable."

1:09:36.383,1:09:39.761
"Do you regard the body, experience,[br]perception, will and consciousness,

1:09:39.761,1:09:42.322
all taken together,[br]as an Enlightened One?"

1:09:42.322,1:09:44.160
"No Venerable"

1:09:44.160,1:09:47.022
"Do you take an Enlightened One [br]as one who is without a body,

1:09:47.022,1:09:51.616
without experience, without perception,[br]without a will, without any consciousnesses?"

1:09:51.616,1:09:53.217
"No Venerable"

1:09:53.217,1:10:00.238
"But, Yamaka, when an Enlightened One[br]especially the Buddha, right in front of you,

1:10:00.238,1:10:02.434
when an Enlightened One [br]is not apprehended by you

1:10:02.434,1:10:07.014
as real and actual here [br]in this very life,

1:10:07.014,1:10:11.816
is it fitting for you to declare that an [br]Enlightened One is annihilated and perishes

1:10:11.816,1:10:15.494
with the break-up of the body [br]and does not exist after death?"

1:10:15.494,1:10:19.264
It's not annihilated. There is [br]nothing here now.

1:10:19.264,1:10:22.843
Just a process, here and now.

1:10:22.843,1:10:25.124
So you can't see anything there,

1:10:25.124,1:10:29.789
any essence,[br]any enlightened essence there,

1:10:29.789,1:10:33.074
either as any one of those five khandas

1:10:33.074,1:10:37.075
as in those five khandas,[br]as apart from those five khandas,

1:10:37.075,1:10:41.162
as five khandas taken together.

1:10:41.162,1:10:47.264
"So, Yamaka, if they were to ask you [br]what happens to an Enlightened One

1:10:47.264,1:10:49.847
with the break-up of their body,[br]after death..

1:10:49.847,1:10:54.621
What happens to an Arahant [br]when they die?"

1:10:54.621,1:10:57.020
"I would answer that the [br]body is impermanent;

1:10:57.020,1:10:58.489
what is impermanent is suffering,

1:10:58.489,1:11:00.530
what is suffering has [br]ceased and passed away.

1:11:00.530,1:11:01.542
That's all.

1:11:01.542,1:11:04.176
Experience is impermanent; [br]what is impermanent is suffering,

1:11:04.176,1:11:06.420
what is suffering has ceased [br]and passed away.

1:11:06.420,1:11:12.708
Perception is impermanent; [br]what is impermanent is suffering,

1:11:12.708,1:11:15.048
what is suffering has ceased [br]and passed away.

1:11:15.048,1:11:17.859
Will is impermanent; [br]what is impermanent is suffering,

1:11:17.859,1:11:20.240
what is suffering has ceased [br]and passed away.

1:11:20.240,1:11:26.238
Consciousnesses; each one of them [br]like citta, like the mind, is impermanent;

1:11:26.238,1:11:30.579
what is impermanent is suffering;[br]what is suffering has ceased and passed away."

1:11:30.579,1:11:34.149
The process has just stopped.

1:11:34.149,1:11:37.817
Nothing being enlightened,[br]Nothing has been annihilated, sorry.

1:11:37.817,1:11:40.171
It's just a process - stopped.

1:11:40.171,1:11:46.490
"Good, Yamaka. Good!"[br]says Sariputta.

1:11:46.490,1:11:51.730
That's one of the most powerful [br]teachings of the fact about

1:11:51.730,1:11:54.931
when people say 'is there [br]something outside the five khandas,

1:11:54.931,1:11:57.608
outside the five components of existence

1:11:57.608,1:12:01.210
which you can take to be [br]your essential self.

1:12:01.210,1:12:05.493
Very clear.[br]The answer of course is no.

1:12:05.493,1:12:08.434
So the Buddha who is very very [br]clever, smart

1:12:08.434,1:12:13.502
to cut off all possible angles of escape.

1:12:13.502,1:12:17.003
People always like to find out [br]a little hole where they can exist.

1:12:17.003,1:12:19.722
Fortunately the Buddha was [br]too smart for you.

1:12:19.722,1:12:24.521
"If there is the view, [br]‘The soul and the body are the same,’

1:12:24.521,1:12:27.980
there is no living of the holy life"

1:12:27.980,1:12:30.624
The reason is because once you die [br]the soul dies anyway

1:12:30.624,1:12:32.679
so what's the point of this?

1:12:32.679,1:12:36.002
"If there is the view, ‘The soul is[br]one thing, the body is another,’

1:12:36.002,1:12:37.934
there is no living of the holy life"

1:12:37.934,1:12:39.436
Because it doesn't matter [br]what you do

1:12:39.436,1:12:41.953
the soul is just independent of you.

1:12:41.953,1:12:43.963
"Without veering towards either [br]of these extremes,

1:12:43.963,1:12:46.082
the Buddha teaches the Dhamma [br]by the middle:

1:12:46.082,1:12:49.535
Dependent Origination and [br]Dependent Cessation."

1:12:49.535,1:12:54.756
I remember once reading the Bhagavad Gita[br]as a young student

1:12:54.756,1:12:58.761
and there I think it was Krishna [br]talking to Arjuna

1:12:58.761,1:13:01.691
and Arjuna was not wanting to go [br]into battle to fight

1:13:01.691,1:13:04.838
because it's going to kill people[br]and Krishna was saying

1:13:04.838,1:13:08.340
'you are not killing anybody,[br]just killing bodies that's all'.

1:13:08.340,1:13:14.513
No soul, the soul is totally independent,[br]you can't stop a soul with a sword.

1:13:14.513,1:13:19.350
So you know, that actually put me off [br]Hinduism because there is no real

1:13:19.350,1:13:24.268
'you can't really kill anybody'[br]because the soul is indestructible

1:13:24.268,1:13:26.830
and that didn't make [br]any sense to me.

1:13:26.830,1:13:29.026
That's not really putting down Hinduism

1:13:29.026,1:13:31.006
because that's only one [br]tiny part of it

1:13:31.006,1:13:33.844
but I remember that as something [br]I couldn't ever accept.

1:13:33.844,1:13:37.811
If the soul is totally independent [br]of the body no matter what you do

1:13:37.811,1:13:42.379
you can't kill a soul or harm it[br]or hurt it - it's independent.

1:13:42.379,1:13:45.742
So there is no holy life [br]the Buddha is saying here.

1:13:45.742,1:13:48.498
So if the soul is one thing, [br]the body is another;

1:13:48.498,1:13:51.207
or if the soul and the body [br]are the same

1:13:51.207,1:13:53.996
there is no living of the holy life.

1:13:53.996,1:13:57.057
Not veering to either of those [br]extremes, the third way,

1:13:57.057,1:13:59.023
the Buddha teaches the Dhamma [br]by the middle,

1:13:59.023,1:14:02.028
Dependent Origination and [br]Dependent Cessation.

1:14:02.028,1:14:08.093
And this is another definition [br]of the right view:

1:14:08.093,1:14:11.648
"One who sees dependent origination [br]and cessation sees the Dhamma;

1:14:11.648,1:14:16.178
the one who sees the Dhamma [br]sees dependent origination."

1:14:16.178,1:14:20.989
So it's not just[br]you can't say sort-of seeing non-self

1:14:20.989,1:14:24.900
but what is it that we take to be [br]this self,

1:14:24.900,1:14:27.674
and this is where dependent [br]origination comes in.

1:14:27.674,1:14:33.479
And this of course answers your [br]question about how rebirth can happen.

1:14:33.479,1:14:40.058
Nothing getting reborn, not energy[br]but Cause and Effect.

1:14:40.058,1:14:43.588
"With delusion as a cause, [br]volition comes to be"

1:14:43.588,1:14:46.280
Especially the delusion of me.

1:14:46.280,1:14:50.556
As long as there is a me [br]then I do stuff.

1:14:50.556,1:14:53.976
When you disappear [br]your will goes,

1:14:53.976,1:14:57.341
because your will, the doer, [br]volition

1:14:57.341,1:15:04.202
that is just a sign of a "me";[br]there is always a "me" behind it.

1:15:04.202,1:15:08.960
"with volition as cause comes the [br]consciousnesses"

1:15:09.075,1:15:14.744
this always has to be [br]in your future life

1:15:14.744,1:15:18.983
"with consciousness as the cause, [br]the objects of consciousnesses come"

1:15:18.983,1:15:22.556
These are the sheaves of reeds simile:

1:15:22.556,1:15:28.685
the way that farmers in the old days [br]would dry the reeds or the hay,

1:15:28.685,1:15:31.715
they would make a sheaf,[br]two sheaves of hay

1:15:31.715,1:15:33.503
and lean them up against each other.

1:15:33.503,1:15:35.929
You take one away,[br]the other one falls down.

1:15:35.929,1:15:40.308
So objects of consciousness and [br]consciousness -they have to come together.

1:15:40.308,1:15:44.168
If there are no objects of consciousnesses[br]consciousness vanishes.

1:15:44.168,1:15:47.668
If there are no objects of the mind [br]citta vanishes, disappears.

1:15:47.668,1:15:51.397
That's in the Nidāna Saṃyutta.

1:15:51.397,1:15:55.867
"with name-and-form as the cause,[br]the objects: you get the six sense bases;

1:15:55.867,1:15:58.127
with the six sense bases, [br]sensory contact;

1:15:58.127,1:16:00.542
with sensory contact as cause, [br]experience"

1:16:00.542,1:16:05.947
Now this is not the sense of A leads to B[br]and a few seconds later then C.

1:16:05.947,1:16:10.519
These things always have to[br]be there together.

1:16:10.519,1:16:13.418
"and with experience as a cause [br]wanting,

1:16:13.418,1:16:18.469
with wanting causes the fuel,[br]the Upādāna,

1:16:18.469,1:16:21.071
and with fuel as a cause [br]states of existence"

1:16:21.071,1:16:23.171
which I mentioned, you create these

1:16:23.171,1:16:25.473
with some place to go to:[br]you cause rebirth

1:16:25.473,1:16:29.173
"and with rebirth as a cause [br]ageing and death, sorrow, crying, pain,

1:16:29.173,1:16:31.131
unhappiness, and distress come to be.

1:16:31.131,1:16:34.573
Such is the origin of this whole [br]mass of suffering."

1:16:34.573,1:16:38.471
"No God, no Brahma can be called [br]the maker of life;

1:16:38.471,1:16:44.417
empty phenomena roll on, [br]dependent on conditions all."

1:16:44.417,1:16:47.071
Rolling on:[br]cause and effect,

1:16:47.071,1:16:50.470
empty conditions,

1:16:50.470,1:16:56.230
no being, no energy,[br]nothing there, empty conditions.

1:16:56.230,1:16:59.645
"But when a meditator has[br]abandoned delusion

1:16:59.645,1:17:01.342
and aroused true knowledge

1:17:01.342,1:17:05.316
then with the fading away of delusion [br]and the arising of true knowledge,

1:17:05.316,1:17:08.073
you do not generate a [br]meritorious volition,

1:17:08.073,1:17:12.864
or a demeritorious volition,[br]not even a neutral volition."

1:17:12.864,1:17:17.363
You don't generate anything because [br]there is no one there to do the generation.

1:17:17.363,1:17:20.000
So the arising of true knowledge.

1:17:20.000,1:17:22.561
Sometimes I have heard that [br]some people say

1:17:22.561,1:17:27.184
"ah dependent origination: it cuts at [br]the gap between this and that",

1:17:27.184,1:17:28.740
that's so much ko mayan.

1:17:28.740,1:17:32.026
Remember the word ko mayan?

1:17:32.026,1:17:37.047
ko is the bull; mayan is what comes [br]out from the back end of a bull.

1:17:37.047,1:17:39.875
Buddha never says that.

1:17:39.875,1:17:44.028
It's always delusion;[br]when that's abandoned

1:17:44.123,1:17:48.929
that's when this[br]causal sequence gets stopped.

1:17:48.929,1:17:51.039
"With the remainderless fading away [br]and cessation of delusion

1:17:51.039,1:17:54.594
comes the cessation of will"[br]Woo hoo that's powerful.

1:17:54.594,1:17:57.024
When you realise there is [br]no one there

1:17:57.024,1:18:00.500
then actually you can stop the will.

1:18:00.500,1:18:04.552
Beforehand you suppress the will

1:18:04.552,1:18:07.204
but when you see there is no one there

1:18:07.204,1:18:10.085
three is nothing to do the [br]willing anymore.

1:18:10.085,1:18:11.921
That's one of the reasons why a [br]stream-winner

1:18:11.921,1:18:17.592
can't get reborn that many times.[br]The will is gone.

1:18:17.592,1:18:21.750
"with the cessation of will, cessation of [br]consciousnesses" (in your next life)

1:18:21.750,1:18:24.527
Nothing to get you reborn.

1:18:24.527,1:18:28.260
"with the cessation of consciousnesses,[br]the objects of consciousness disappear..

1:18:28.260,1:18:35.211
sense bases..sensory contact..experience..[br]wanting..fuel..states of existence..rebirth"

1:18:35.211,1:18:38.664
The whole thing stops.

1:18:38.664,1:18:41.991
"House builder.." [br]This is from the Thera Gatha.

1:18:41.991,1:18:45.088
Many monks, nuns use this phrase.

1:18:45.088,1:18:51.224
"House builder, you have now been seen.[br]You shall build no houses again.

1:18:51.224,1:18:54.470
Your rafters have been broken [br]and your gables all torn.

1:18:54.470,1:19:01.133
Thrown off course, the citta will be [br]destroyed right here."

1:19:01.133,1:19:05.513
"without any doubt citta; you [br]shall be destroyed."

1:19:05.513,1:19:12.148
That's the mind; the House builder.

1:19:12.148,1:19:17.914
Once you have seen that,[br]it's not who you are,

1:19:17.914,1:19:23.694
it's just empty phenomena [br]rolling on: your mind, the citta.

1:19:23.694,1:19:25.874
That's in the Thera Gatha.

1:19:25.874,1:19:29.438
"House builder, you have now been seen.[br]You shall build no houses again.

1:19:29.438,1:19:32.193
Your rafters have been broken [br]and your gables all torn.

1:19:32.193,1:19:39.313
Thrown off course, the Citta will be [br]destroyed right here" -- Thera Gatha.

1:19:39.322,1:19:43.340
That was your house builder.

1:19:43.716,1:19:47.823
No more rebirth - phew.

1:19:47.823,1:19:51.309
Okay that actually comes to [br]a nice stop.

1:19:51.309,1:19:55.701
That's the end with a [br]really big bang of Right View

1:19:55.701,1:19:59.719
according to the Word of the Buddha.

1:19:59.719,1:20:02.012
Okay looks like we got some [br]questions from overseas.

1:20:02.012,1:20:08.722
So let's deal with those before [br]I ask any more questions from here.

1:20:08.722,1:20:10.890
Here we go.

1:20:10.890,1:20:16.789
From Malaysia: "Dear Ajahn, is there any [br]distinction between making merit and Kamma?"

1:20:16.789,1:20:21.495
Ajahn: Kamma includes making merit [br]and making bad kamma as well.

1:20:21.495,1:20:31.497
So kamma, you can make good merit.[br]You can make..never heard the word "bad-merit".

1:20:31.497,1:20:34.124
Making merit's like good kamma.

1:20:34.124,1:20:42.963
So good kamma is merit and [br]bad kamma is demerit ... ok thank you.

1:20:42.963,1:20:48.261
They have over here, you have [br]demerits when you have long week-ends.

1:20:48.261,1:20:51.118
You get double demerits.

1:20:51.118,1:20:56.810
So basically kamma is just how [br]merits and demerits are made.

1:20:56.810,1:21:02.059
From Santa Barbara: "Is there a way to [br]get rid of the results of the bad kamma

1:21:02.059,1:21:06.134
with education and understanding [br]or is suffering necessary?"

1:21:06.134,1:21:10.545
With a bit of faith you can lessen the [br]results of bad kamma.

1:21:10.545,1:21:12.915
And I don't like to say this but

1:21:12.915,1:21:15.076
the Buddha said this so[br]have to admit

1:21:15.076,1:21:17.222
the other way of overcoming [br]bad kamma is

1:21:17.222,1:21:22.510
not overcoming it but diluting it.

1:21:22.510,1:21:24.481
The reason I don't like [br]saying this is because

1:21:24.481,1:21:30.893
many monks and places use it..[br]as a great way to raise funds..

1:21:30.893,1:21:34.822
Sometimes monks and monasteries [br]get too rich,

1:21:34.822,1:21:39.009
especially that one in Thailand which [br]is being shut down now at last.

1:21:39.009,1:21:43.389
But yes the Buddha said [br]in the simile of salt:

1:21:43.389,1:21:47.620
if you take a table full of salt [br]and you put it in my glass of water

1:21:47.620,1:21:52.645
and you stir it up, it means you[br]can't drink the whole glass. It's so salty.

1:21:52.645,1:21:59.480
But if you put it in a rainwater tank[br]of thousand liters and you stir it up

1:21:59.480,1:22:01.767
then you drink that water, [br]you can hardly taste it

1:22:01.767,1:22:03.863
because it really dilutes.

1:22:03.863,1:22:08.002
And the Buddha said it's the same [br]with bad Kamma.

1:22:08.002,1:22:12.303
If you got a certain amount of bad kamma[br]and you only got a little bit of good kamma

1:22:12.303,1:22:15.772
you are going to really taste [br]that bad kamma.

1:22:15.772,1:22:20.716
But if you dilute it by making lots of [br]good kamma

1:22:20.716,1:22:23.539
then you won't even taste it.

1:22:23.539,1:22:25.989
So unscrupulous monks they[br]do some bad kamma.

1:22:25.989,1:22:30.045
"well I think that's like a thousand [br]dollars to the nuns' monastery

1:22:30.045,1:22:33.463
and that will probably dilute it"

1:22:33.463,1:22:37.479
It just opens the door to really [br]unscrupulous practices.

1:22:37.479,1:22:41.014
So that's why let's[br]do good kamma anyway.

1:22:41.014,1:22:43.936
Not just to abandon the bad kamma.

1:22:43.936,1:22:47.423
Some people do that:[br]they sort-of go out on a Saturday night

1:22:47.423,1:22:51.316
and they come to the temple on [br]Sunday morning to dilute the bad kamma

1:22:51.316,1:22:54.249
they did on Saturday night.

1:22:54.249,1:22:58.799
That's really just a bit unscrupulous.[br]But it's true.

1:22:58.799,1:23:04.271
You cannot get rid but dilute the results of[br]bad kamma by doing a lot of good kamma.

1:23:04.271,1:23:08.995
But the best way is actually [br]to become a Stream-winner.

1:23:08.995,1:23:14.506
And lastly from Penang: "Can a person[br]know for sure he or she is a Sotāpanna?"

1:23:14.506,1:23:17.031
That's a wonderful question.

1:23:17.031,1:23:22.676
There is a lot of people you can[br]know a person is not a Stream-winner

1:23:22.676,1:23:25.211
you can't know if a person is.

1:23:25.211,1:23:29.029
So you... so many people get deluded.

1:23:29.029,1:23:33.887
They want to be a Stream-winner or [br]Once-returner or Non-returner so much

1:23:33.887,1:23:36.529
that they just delude themselves.

1:23:36.529,1:23:40.197
The desire, the craving, is one of the [br]five hindrances.

1:23:40.197,1:23:42.787
That means they don't see things[br]that clearly.

1:23:42.787,1:23:44.506
The monks know this story.

1:23:44.506,1:23:48.609
I went to see this great monk [br]Ajahn Thate many years ago

1:23:48.609,1:23:54.614
and had to wait in line and as I was[br]waiting he was taking to this other

1:23:54.614,1:23:56.688
Indonesian girl, very very wealthy,

1:23:56.688,1:24:00.551
and she was talking about [br]her meditation.

1:24:00.551,1:24:02.487
She said, I was meditating

1:24:02.487,1:24:05.262
and you know my mind went so still,[br]went blank, things disappeared,

1:24:05.262,1:24:07.252
that was Fourth Jhana wasn't it?

1:24:07.252,1:24:13.374
And then Ajahn Thate said,[br]no it wasn't, you were just sleepy.

1:24:13.374,1:24:15.982
Then she said you know [br]this is what happened first of all

1:24:15.982,1:24:18.931
and then it was.. Fourth Jhana [br]wasn't it? she asked again.

1:24:18.931,1:24:21.871
No, no, no.[br]And then she asked again/

1:24:21.871,1:24:23.612
She asked about [br]four or five times.

1:24:23.612,1:24:26.393
"It was Fourth Jhana wasn't it?"[br]"No, no, no, no"

1:24:26.393,1:24:29.333
I was listening to this.[br]She asked again

1:24:29.333,1:24:30.747
and he said "Urhh.."

1:24:30.747,1:24:33.345
and she smiled and went out

1:24:33.345,1:24:38.572
and she told everybody afterwards[br]"my Jhāna has been confirmed"

1:24:38.572,1:24:44.152
Ajahn Thate said "Urhh..."[br]and that means yes, it's true.

1:24:44.152,1:24:47.781
And I saw that.[br]This is one of the problems,

1:24:47.781,1:24:50.822
people want these things so much

1:24:50.822,1:24:54.422
they want it confirmed by [br]somebody else

1:24:54.422,1:24:59.586
and even in this one Sutta [br]where Ananda asked the Buddha

1:24:59.586,1:25:02.993
"All these people who come up [br]to you, the greatest teacher

1:25:02.993,1:25:05.218
that they have faith in

1:25:05.218,1:25:09.872
and they claim to be Stream-winners [br]Once-returners, Non-returners, Arahants.

1:25:09.872,1:25:13.655
Are all those attainment real, true?

1:25:13.655,1:25:17.297
And the Buddha said [br]"some are, some aren't"

1:25:17.297,1:25:20.464
And I read from that even the [br]Buddha couldn't convince a person

1:25:20.464,1:25:22.944
they are deluded.

1:25:22.944,1:25:26.094
So that's just how powerful these [br]delusions can be.

1:25:26.094,1:25:28.254
People think they are [br]stream-winners, once-returners,

1:25:28.254,1:25:32.355
even Arahants, and not even the[br]Buddha could dislodge them from that.

1:25:32.375,1:25:35.308
The power of the sense of self

1:25:35.308,1:25:40.213
creates, manipulates,[br]and just anything else

1:25:40.213,1:25:42.109
they would just push aside.

1:25:42.109,1:25:44.840
"No no no I am still a stream-winner.[br]I am still a once-returner."

1:25:44.840,1:25:46.907
So it's very dangerous

1:25:46.907,1:25:48.985
which is one of the reasons why

1:25:48.985,1:25:51.946
that number one, you don't tell people [br]about your attainments

1:25:51.946,1:25:53.852
because they could be wrong.

1:25:53.852,1:25:56.636
Number two - check them out

1:25:56.636,1:26:00.002
From what the Buddha said[br]this is the only real place

1:26:00.002,1:26:02.605
you can actually get some authority.

1:26:02.605,1:26:07.166
Not from me,[br]not from any other monk or nun

1:26:07.166,1:26:10.625
but from this..[br]how the Buddha taught.

1:26:10.625,1:26:15.880
Basic thing, a Stream-winner,[br]they can't have a sense of self.

1:26:15.880,1:26:19.866
It's much easier to see if a [br]person is an Anāgāmī or not

1:26:19.866,1:26:27.173
(a non-returner) because non-returners[br]don't have any lust or ill-will.

1:26:27.173,1:26:32.598
You cannot make a[br]non-returner angry

1:26:32.598,1:26:36.096
which is one of the reasons we [br]test people.

1:26:36.096,1:26:41.253
If anybody says they are a [br]non-returner..

1:26:41.253,1:26:44.658
Mahesha is just laughing over there,

1:26:44.658,1:26:46.658
I think I told this before Mahesha,

1:26:46.658,1:26:48.093
if you say you are an Anāgāmī

1:26:48.093,1:26:53.847
I would say "No way can a Sri Lankan [br]Girl become a non-returner

1:26:53.847,1:27:01.263
that's impossible. Maybe in your next[br]life when you become a boy, then you can"

1:27:01.263,1:27:04.126
You know me..I don't believe[br]in that sort-of stuff

1:27:04.126,1:27:06.805
but I say that to try and[br]irritate her

1:27:06.805,1:27:08.609
get her upset, find her weak point.

1:27:08.609,1:27:13.059
If she "what you misogynist, I [br]believed in you, I thought you

1:27:13.059,1:27:16.389
regarded everybody equal,[br]you are a modern monk"

1:27:16.389,1:27:19.127
Sorry you failed the test.

1:27:19.127,1:27:23.265
So you find peoples' weak points [br]and try to make them angry.

1:27:23.265,1:27:29.052
If they do get angry, yes,[br]the test is being concluded.

1:27:29.052,1:27:33.047
And I don't mind these days because you[br]should find these things out yourself.

1:27:33.047,1:27:37.364
A stream-winner, there is a little test

1:27:37.364,1:27:41.105
it's in one of the commentaries.[br]I had to read this because

1:27:41.105,1:27:46.161
if a monk or a Bhikkhuni say [br]they are a Stream-winner

1:27:46.161,1:27:50.099
and they are not, it can be [br]like a capital offence.

1:27:50.099,1:27:52.461
They have to be disrobed

1:27:52.461,1:27:55.661
if they know they are lying,

1:27:55.661,1:27:58.598
if they are just boasting it [br]and they are not.

1:27:58.598,1:28:01.298
So sometimes we have[br]to find out

1:28:01.298,1:28:03.147
are they or are they not.

1:28:03.147,1:28:06.813
So there is a little test,[br]one of those tests,

1:28:06.813,1:28:10.666
two questions you have to ask [br]for being a Stream Winner is

1:28:10.666,1:28:15.522
when and where did it happen?

1:28:15.522,1:28:19.233
When? [br]What time of the day?

1:28:19.233,1:28:21.734
Where? [br]What were you doing?

1:28:21.734,1:28:23.853
Because it's an event.

1:28:23.853,1:28:26.675
It's not something you just [br]goes on.

1:28:26.675,1:28:29.750
"Yeah I have faith in non-self now

1:28:29.750,1:28:32.104
and don't know exactly when [br]that happened,"

1:28:32.104,1:28:33.805
"yeah.. just understand it now."

1:28:33.805,1:28:37.802
It's an event: stream-winning.

1:28:37.802,1:28:40.416
That's a powerful thing to know.

1:28:40.416,1:28:43.367
Now I've blown it with you guys now

1:28:43.367,1:28:46.074
if you do want to sort-of fake [br]stream-winning

1:28:46.074,1:28:48.873
you would say... it happened at [br]Dhammaloka Centre

1:28:48.873,1:28:52.989
when Ajahn Brahm was doing the [br]Sutta Class.

1:28:52.989,1:28:55.484
So there are other ways to [br]find that out.

1:28:55.484,1:28:59.114
So yeah that's how you can[br]know it for sure.

1:28:59.114,1:29:01.184
When did it happen?[br]where did it happen?

1:29:01.184,1:29:02.938
And honestly check it out [br]with the Suttas,

1:29:02.938,1:29:07.226
is there any idea that there is [br]self which is going to..

1:29:07.226,1:29:11.724
a citta, an essence, anything,

1:29:11.724,1:29:16.859
which will survive [br]a death of an Arahant.

1:29:16.859,1:29:19.339
Okay that actually finishes. Good.

1:29:19.339,1:29:20.713
I wanted to finish it a bit early

1:29:20.733,1:29:22.066
because it's Full-Moon Day today

1:29:22.066,1:29:24.055
and I have to go back to the monastery

1:29:24.055,1:29:26.425
for the Patimokkha ceremony and also

1:29:26.425,1:29:30.696
tomorrow morning I am going to Sydney,[br]oh, not Sydney, to Canberra.

1:29:30.696,1:29:32.775
But coming up next is the [br]Second Factor

1:29:32.775,1:29:35.757
which you can see on the board there

1:29:35.757,1:29:40.258
it's not Right Intention

1:29:40.258,1:29:43.066
but I am calling it [br]Right Motivation.

1:29:43.066,1:29:47.876
And I am sticking by this[br]as the word Saṅkappa

1:29:47.876,1:29:51.869
and it's explained [br]or it's translated

1:29:51.869,1:29:57.237
by how it's defined,[br]not by it's etymology.

1:29:57.237,1:30:00.209
In other words you take the word [br]and you split it up

1:30:00.209,1:30:02.727
or see how it's used in other places

1:30:02.727,1:30:05.567
by how it's used in[br]this particular function

1:30:05.567,1:30:08.624
as being number two in the [br]Eightfold Path.

1:30:08.624,1:30:10.605
The Right Motivation.

1:30:10.605,1:30:12.803
And that actually opens up the [br]Eightfold Path

1:30:12.803,1:30:15.688
in a much more interesting [br]understanding.

1:30:15.688,1:30:18.719
But that will come in a couple of weeks [br]or maybe in four weeks time

1:30:18.719,1:30:23.544
because I will be in Hon Kong [br]in two week's time

1:30:23.544,1:30:25.906
but this is what's coming next.

1:30:25.906,1:30:28.743
Now finished with Right View.

1:30:28.743,1:30:30.729
So hope you enjoyed that,

1:30:30.729,1:30:34.203
it's put online so if you want to [br]go over it afterwards

1:30:34.203,1:30:38.230
you can recall, get online [br]and listen to it online again

1:30:38.230,1:30:40.520
and just get more into it.

1:30:40.520,1:30:42.540
Thank you for listening.

1:30:42.540,1:30:45.320
Audience: Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

1:30:45.333,1:30:48.661
Ajahn: Okay we can now[br]pay respects to the Buddha