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[bell]

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[bell]

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[bell]

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[bell]

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Dear Thay, Dear Sangha

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In difficult moments, and 
in not difficult moments also,

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we have the practice of coming back

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to the island within ourself.

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We have a song, 
“Being an Island Unto Myself”

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and guided meditation
“Being an Island Unto Myself”

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[singing] Being an island
Unto myself

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as an island unto myself.

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Buddha is my mindfulness

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shining near, shining far

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Dharma is my breathing

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guarding bodhi and mind.
I am free.

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Being an island unto myself

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as an island unto myself.

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Sangha is the five skandhas

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working in harmony.

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Taking refuge in myself,
coming back to myself

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I am free, I am free,
I am free. [end singing]

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So this practice has been 
recommended to us

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above all when we are in 
difficult moments.

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But in order to be able to 
practice it when we are in difficulty,

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we need to have a training, 
we need to

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train ourself when it’s not 
difficult to come back

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to ourself. So many times 
the Buddha taught non-self,

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and now we are practicing 
coming back to our self.

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Non-self is an idea,
and self is also an idea.

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Non-self is the cure, the idea
to cure the idea of self.

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So, primarily coming back to 
our self means coming back

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to our body, feeling our body 
as it is in the present moment.

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We have the layer of skin
on the outside of our body,

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so in a way, our body has 
limits, but we also know our

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body depends on everything
outside of our body, also.

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In this practice, we come

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back to our body primarily

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The example that we hear
the Buddha give

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is the example of a turtle: has
a head, four legs, and a tail.

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When the turtle is in a difficult
moment, the turtle will

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draw back its legs, its head, 
its tail under its shell.

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So for us, it means bringing
back our eyes, ears, nose,

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all those things that sense
the world around us,

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not letting them go out, 
be dispersed around us,

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but coming back so we can 
come back inside of ourself

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and be there for ourself
to take care of ourself.

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Because if we do not be there 
to take care of ourself,

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we cannot really be there to
take care of the other person.

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When you take care of 
somebody who is very sick,

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you know very well that the 
first thing you need to do

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is come back and be solid
and stable in yourself.

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So this exercise is taught us, 
so that we can be solid,

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and we can be stable in the 
present moment.

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When we hear the sound of 
the bell, we come back to the

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island in ourself. We become 
a refuge for ourself.

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The human mind has a 
tendency to go out and try to

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find a refuge in things around, 
but we know if we’re not

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stable ourself, then we cannot 
have a place of refuge,

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so also we practice coming 
back to be a refuge for ourself.

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Being an island unto myself.
Being a refuge for myself.

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And my self is that island,
my self is that refuge.

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In Chinese and Vietnamese 
[C/V], self is the island, [C/V]

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self is the refuge. In Pali, 
atta dippha, atta sharana.

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Then the Buddha teaches us,
to make it clearer,

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the Dharma is your island,
the Dharma is your refuge.

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That means that when we 
come back to our true self,

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we can find the Buddha in 
ourself, the Dharma in ourself

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and the Sangha in ourself.

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This wonderful teaching was 
given to Ananda, Buddha’s

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attendant, three times: twice 
individually, and once with the

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rest of the Sangha. The 
Buddha gave this teaching at

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end of the life of the Buddha,

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when the Buddha was 
already 80 years old.

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Maybe many people, they 
took refuge in the Buddha;

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there was the practice of the 
three refuges in India at that time.

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People, when they came and 
listened to the teaching of the

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Buddha, they would practice, 
“I take refuge in the Buddha,

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I take refuge in the Dharma, 
I take refuge in the Sangha.”

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Maybe people, when they 
took refuge in the Buddha,

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they were taking refuge in a 
Buddha outside themselves,

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but that Buddha, like 
everything else, was

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impermanent, and would not
be there much longer.

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That is why the Buddha gave 
that teaching to Ananda.

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The Venerable Ananda was a 
wonderful attendant for

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Buddha. The Venerable 
Ananda gave all his life, all

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his being, attending the Buddha.

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So he did not have time so
much to practice coming back

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to himself.

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In the last rains retreat that

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the Buddha was alive

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in Vaishali,

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the Buddha became very, 
very sick.

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In the sutra it says
bordering on death.

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The Buddha was in a 
lot of pain, his body became

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extremely weak, and there 
are times when it is very easy

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when the body is in so much 
pain, and so much

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weakness, it’s easy to leave 
the body, to die.

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The Buddha knew that at
any moment, when he was

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sick like that, that he could 
die. Knowing that, looking

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deeply and knowing he had
not taken leave of the Sangha

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he had not said good-bye to
the sangha, maybe there was

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some last instructions that the
Sangha still needed, Buddha

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had not given. It is said that 
Buddha had to make a strong

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resolution, strong 
determination, based on the

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life force. A strong
determination to live for

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some more months in order
to be able to give the

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teachings that the Sangha
may still need.

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I remember one time when
Thay, our teacher, was

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very unwell, in Germany. 
Thay could not eat anything

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for a long time. Thay said,
“I am living by volition food.”

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We know that volition
food is the third kind of food.

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A very important food
for us.

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So when the Buddha made 
that determination to live

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for some more months,
the Buddha was using volition food,

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that food that comes from 
within, when we come back

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to the island of the self. That
food does not come from

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without.

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If you think of the five 
particular mental formations

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the first one is zeal [...] 
chanda. It is really wanting

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something. The second one 
is adimoksha, [...] and that

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means determination,
resolution.

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We all know that in our 
practice, we develop

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these mental formations,
the mental formation of

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determination, because when 
when we come to the practice

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and maybe for many years 
afterwards, we have many

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habit energies. If we want
really to transform them

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we need a strong 
determination, a strong

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resolution. So it’s said
that the Buddha resolved

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on what is one of the
first six universal

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mental formations [...]
universal mental formations

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in the Theravada tradition
What is that? That is

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jivitandriya, the life force,
the force for life that is there

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in all of us, in our 
consciousness.

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The Buddha gave his
attention to that

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mental formation, 
the life force.

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Using concentration, which
is another of the particular

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mental formations...
remember zeal, resolution

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or determination is the 
second, and the third is

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mindfulness, concentration
the fourth, and the fifth is

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insight. These are mental
formations that we can

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choose to practice or not.
We can choose to use them

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in a wholesome or not
wholesome way. They are

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called particular mental
formations.

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So the Buddha used
concentration in order to

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be able to overcome the pain
and he was able to recover

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from his sickness. He went 
outside his hut and sat

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outside, and Ananda saw the 
Buddha sitting outside, and

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Ananda was overwhelmed
with joy.

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“The Buddha is going to live!
The Buddha is still alive!”

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Ananda came to the Buddha 
and said, “How wonderful!

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How wonderful! You are still
there, you are better,

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you are going to be with us.”
Then Ananda said, “When the

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Buddha was sick like that,
my knees shook, I lost my

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concentration, my mind 
became confused.”

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The Buddha said, “That won’t 
do, Ananda.”

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Then gave the teaching of
being an island to yourself,

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to find the Buddha in
yourself.

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Buddha said that in a 
short time, the Buddha will

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not be with you anymore, so
now is the time to practice

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being an island to yourself,
being a refuge for yourself,

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to find the Buddha within
you.

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Ananda said to the Buddha,
“Altho’ you were very sick,

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I had quite some hope that
you would get better, be

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with us for longer, because
you had not yet told us

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what to do when you weren’t
there anymore.

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You had not told us who 
would guide the Sangha

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after you were not there
anymore.”

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Then the Buddha said, “Oh,
Ananda, why...”

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Ananda said, “We were 
waiting for you to make

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some announcement
concerning the Sangha,

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who would guide the sangha,
who would lead the sangha.”

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The Buddha said, “What 
more is the Sangha waiting

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for? I have taught everythng, I 
have taught all the practices.”

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The Buddha said, “I am not a
teacher with a closed fist,

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I don’t hold anything back,
everything I practice I hand

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on to my disciples. What 
more are you waiting for?

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If you are waiting for me to
tell you who’s going to lead

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you, who’s going to guide you
that is something I will not do,

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because the Buddha never 
thinks, “I am in charge of

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the Sangha, I direct the 
Sangha.”

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The Buddha is only a bhikkhu
like the other bhikkhus.

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If the Buddha does not direct 
the Sangha, why should the

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Buddha want to hand on to
somebody else

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to direct the Sangha?”

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After that

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the Buddha set out on his
last tour,

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wanting, probably, to go back
to

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Kapilavastu, the place
he came from, where he’d

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grown up. So he went from 
Nalanda, from Rajagriha, in

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that direction. In the sutra
it says that when he came to

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Sravasthi, the Buddha 
received the news

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of the death of Shariputra

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and Mogallana.
It’s strange, because

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Shravasti is not really on
the route from Rajagriha to

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Kapilavastu, it’s a 200 km
deviation.

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Maybe it’s a mistake, he 
wasn’t in Shravasti, he was

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somewhere else. So 
then...we have...if you look in

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the Samyutta Nikaya, [...]
in Chap. 47, which is about

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the practice of mindfulness,
you will find 3 sutras about

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end of the life of the Buddha.
The first is sutra #9, it’s called

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Gelanna, it means sickness,
it’s about the time when the

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Buddha was sick. The second 
is #13, it’s called Chunda.

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Chunda is the name of the
attendant of Ven. Shariputra.

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Shariputra comes from 
Nalanda, and he went back to

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Nalanda with the Buddha.
When the Buddha and

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Shariputra were in Nalanda
maybe Shariputra knew that

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he would not meet the 
Buddha again, so he came to

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the Buddha, and said to the 
Buddha, “Of all the Buddhas

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that have been there in the 
past, will be there in the

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future, and are there in the 
present moment, you are the

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number one, you are the 
foremost Buddha.”

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The Buddha said to 
Shariputra, “How can you say that,

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Shariputra? Did you know all 
the Buddhas in the past?

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Do you know all the Buddhas 
in the present, and in future in

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order to say I am the 
foremost?” Shariputra had to

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admit he didn’t know all those 
Buddhas. But he said, “When

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I look at the practice of the 
Buddha, how the Buddha

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guards the six senses, always 
practices mindfulness, I

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cannot think that any human 
being could practice better

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than that, so that is why I say 
the Buddha is the foremost of

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all Buddhas.”

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Of course, the Buddhas of the 
past and the future, they also

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practice to guard the six senses.

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In the end, the Buddha said 
to Shariputra, “That is a good

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teaching that you can give to 
people, that the Buddha is the

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one who practices guarding 
the six senses at all times.”

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But Shariputra was not to live 
for much longer.

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After the Buddha had left 
Nalanda, Shariputra had

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asked to stay behind. 
Shariputra also became very

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sick, and died. His attendant, 
Chunda, after the cremation,

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brought the ashes, brought 
the robe and the bowl, back

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to the Buddha, wherever the 
Buddha was. First of all,

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whenever Chunda arrived at 
where the Buddha was,

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he went to Ananda. He told 
Ananda what had happened,

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that the Ven. Shariputra had 
died.

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Ananda said, “This is news 
that together we need to bring

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to the Buddha.” So together 
Chunda and Ananda went to

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the Buddha, and told the 
Buddha what had happened.

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Then Ananda said again, 
“When I heard that Shariputra

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had died, my knees shook, I 
lost my stability, I became

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confused in my mind, 
because we had lost our

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
elder brother.”

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The Buddha said, “When 
Shariputra died, did he take

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
away your mindfulness with 
him? Did he take away your

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
concentration and your insight?”

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Ananda said, “No, he didn’t, 
but Shariputra was an elder

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brother we all took refuge in. 
We knew that he could give

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
us the teachings that we 
needed. Now he’s no longer

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there in the Sangha.”

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then, for the second time, 
Buddha taught Ananda,

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
“Ananda, you should be an 
island to yourself, you should

253
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
be a refuge to yourself. Let 
the Dharma be your island,

254
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
let the Dharma be your 
refuge, and do not take

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
refuge in any other person, in 
any other thing.

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That is the second time 
Ananda received the teaching

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
on being an island to yourself.

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The third time was in a sutra 
we are all familiar with,

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because it’s part of our 
chanting book, which is called

260
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the Discourse on Taking 
Refuge in Yourself; that is

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
how we translated it. If you 
look in the Samyukta Agama

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[...] #639 You’ll see that it is 
called the Uposatha Sutra,

263
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and that is because uposatha 
means the day when the

264
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Precepts are recited, and it 
happened to be the full moon

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
day when the Buddha gave this sutra.

266
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In Pali, it is in the Samyutta 
Nikaya [...] [Chap 47], #14,

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and it is called Ukkacela, 
which is just the name of a

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
place where the Buddha gave 
this teaching.

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
“I heard these words of the 
Buddha one time, when the

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Lord was staying in the 
mango grove, in the cool

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
shade of the mango trees, on 
the bank of the river Ganges,

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the forest of Magadha. The 
elders Shariputra and

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Moggallana had recently 
passed away. It was the full

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
moon day of the Uposatha 
ceremony, and the Precepts

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were being recited.

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The Buddha spread out his 
sitting mat, and, facing the

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
community, after looking out, 
he said, ”As I look at our

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
community, I see a large 
space left by the

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Ven. Shariputra and Moggallana.

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In the Pali version, it says, “It 
appears to me there is an

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
empty space in our Sangha.”
It APPEARS that there’s an

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
empty space, because where 
Shariputra and Moggallana

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
had been in the Sangha, we 
can no longer see them there.

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Oo, I forgot to say that two 
weeks after Shariputra died,

285
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the Ven. Moggallana died.

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So by the time the Buddha 
gave this sutra, both

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Shariputra and Moggallana had died.

288
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So, ‘it appears to me there is 
a large space’, before, we

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
could always rely on 
Moggallana and Shariputra to

290
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
be there, and now we see 
they’re not there.

291
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The Buddha uses the word 
‘appears’, which means that it

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
appears, but it’s not really like that.

293
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If you want, you can still find 
Shariputra and Moggallana.

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
“In the Sangha, these two 
venerable monks were the

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99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
most eloquent in giving 
Dharma talks, encouraging

296
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and instructing all the other 
monks, nuns, and

297
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
lay people.”

298
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then the Buddha uses the word...searching for, looking

299
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for, looking for something.
“Oh monks, people look for

300
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
two kinds of riches: material 
riches, and the riches of the

301
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Dharma. In their search for 
material riches, they go to

302
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
worldly people. In their search 
for the riches of the Dharma,

303
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they would go to Shariputra 
and Moggallana. The

304
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Tathagatha is not searching 
for anything, whether it is

305
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
material or the Dharma.”

306
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If you remember, there’s a 
verse in the Udanavagga in

307
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Sanskrit, and it says the deer 
take refuge in the countryside

308
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the birds take refuge in the 
sky, those who discriminate

309
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
take refuge in the Dharma, 
and the arahats, those who

310
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
have enlightenment, take 
refuge in Nirvana.

311
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That is us, those who 
discriminate. Discriminate

312
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
here means be able to 
discriminate what is

313
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
wholesome from what is
unwholesome, to rely on

314
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the practice of the Precepts, 
mindfulness, concentration,

315
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
insight, in order to train 
ourselves in our daily life.

316
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So here it says we can go for 
refuge to our teachers for the

317
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
riches of the Dharma, and we 
are always looking for the

318
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
riches of the Dharma to help 
us to transform our afflictions.

319
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Those who have transformed 
the afflictions do not need to

320
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
search for the Dharma 
anymore.

321
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe they have found the 
Dharma within themselves.

322
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They just practice 
mindfulness, concentration,

323
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and insight.

324
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We should remember, also, 
that tho’ they do not search

325
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for anything more, the 
arahats always practice

326
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
mindfulness. 
All four pairs, and eight kinds

327
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of holy people in the Sangha, 
from the stream-enterer to the

328
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
arahat, they all practice 
mindfulness, concentration,

329
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and insight. 
When you become an

330
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
arahat, you do not stop 
practicing mindfulness.

331
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Does that mean to say that 
when we are looking for the

332
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Dharma, we are not able to 
be in touch with nirvana?

333
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
No, it doesn’t mean that.
Nirvana is available

334
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to us when we become a 
stream-enterer, or even

335
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
before. But, we cannot be in 
touch with nirvana the whole

336
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
time, so we need to keep 
listening to the Dharma,

337
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
contemplating the Dharma, 
and putting the Dharma into

338
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
practice in order to be able to 
be in touch with nirvana

339
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all the time.

340
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then the Buddha gives the 
example of the tree, a very

341
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
old, large tree. Like the oak 
tree in the Lower Hamlet.

342
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The Buddha said that that tree 
was made of heartwood,

343
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it had very good wood inside 
the tree, it’s not rotten inside.

344
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That tree is the sangha, 
the Sangha that has 8 kinds

345
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and 4 pairs of holy people. 
The Sangha that practices

346
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
mindfulness, concentration, 
and insight is like a tree.

347
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
That tree, when it first starts, 
has two large branches. They

348
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
are the oldest branches, the 
elder brother, or elder sister

349
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
branches of the Sangha.
Relying on all those branches

350
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
other branches also grow on 
the tree, just like a banana

351
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
tree has the leaves, and the 
first two leaves, they nourish

352
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all the other leaves that come 
along afterwards.

353
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So, Shariputra and Mogallana 
were like the large branches,

354
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and when those large 
branches break, there are still

355
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all the other branches, and 
the tree, the Sangha, is still there.

356
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The Buddha gave that example.

357
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In the Sangha of the 
Tathagatha, Shariputra and

358
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Mogallana were the greatest 
students, so it’s natural that

359
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they would enter nirvana first.

360
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The next paragraph is about 
what is natural.

361
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Actually, it says like this, if
you look at the Chinese,

362
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it says, ‘All phenomena that 
are either born, or arise,

363
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
or are made, or are 
conditioned phenomena,

364
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all these phenomena have to
disintegrate, they have to

365
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
decay. They cannot exist 
without someday being

366
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
decayed, without 
disintegrating.’

367
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then it says, ‘If you want any 
phenomena not to decay,

368
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
then that is something 
impossible.’

369
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Somehow, in our mind we 
have an idea of something

370
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
impossible.
All phenomena, that means

371
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
psychological phenomena,
physiological phenomena,

372
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
physical phenomena...
they all disintegrate

373
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
after a time.
In our mind we have an idea

374
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that there must be things that 
don’t disintergrate,

375
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the people we love, they don’t disintegrate.

376
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Because of that, when they 
do, we have to suffer

377
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because we are not prepared.

378
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So in our practice, what we 
are doing is we prepare

379
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
ourselves—like the 
meditation we did this

380
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
morning: I am of the nature to 
get sick—is a way to prepare

381
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
ourself, to face the reality of 
what happens, so we don’t

382
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
live in a world of things that 
are not possible, wanting

383
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
things that are not possible.

384
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Here it says things that are 
born. When we say things

385
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that are born, we mean living 
beings who are born from the

386
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
womb or the egg. Things that 
arise means things that arise

387
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in dependence on other 
things, things that arise like

388
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the flowers, the trees.
Things that are made are

389
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what human beings can 
make, those phenomena, like

390
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the clothes we wear, are 
made; they also disintegrate.

391
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
There’s nothing that can 
escape disintegration.

392
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Not just human beings.

393
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And all things which are 
conditioned phenomena...

394
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a conditioned phenomena is 
something that relies on what

395
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is not itself in order to be 
there. So we are conditioned

396
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
phenomena, because we rely 
on the food that we eat,

397
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we rely on those around us,
in order to continue to

398
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
manifest. If we look around 
us, most things are

399
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
conditioned, nearly everything 
is conditioned dharma.

400
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It is said that only one thing 
that is not conditioned, and

401
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that is nirvana, because
nirvana is the removal of all

402
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
concepts.

403
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Everything we cherish and 
hold dear today we will have

404
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to let go of and be separated 
from.

405
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
‘In not too long a time, I will 
also pass away. Therefore,

406
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
practice being an island to 
yourself. Know how to take

407
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
refuge in yourself, and not 
take refuge in anyone or

408
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
anything else. Practice taking 
refuge in the island of the

409
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Dharma.’ The Dharma here 
means the practice of

410
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
mindfulness.

411
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
‘Meditate on the body in the 
body,

412
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
nourishing right 
understanding and

413
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
mindfulness.’

414
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In this version that I have 
here, he just talks about

415
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
meditating on the body in the 
body, but if you read the

416
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
sutra, you will see that it also 
says meditate on the feelings

417
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the feelings, on the 
perceptions in the percep...on

418
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the mind in the mind, and on 
the dharmas in the dharmas.

419
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So it includes all the four 
establishments of

420
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
mindfulness.

421
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Even tho’ the Buddha 
recovered from his illness,

422
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
his body was very weak
and he told Ananda that

423
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
he practiced something, it’s 
called the animitta

424
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
cetosamadhi. It means the 
concentration on

425
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
signlessness.

426
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
‘Nimitta’ means a sign.
Suffering is a sign, and

427
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
no suffering is also a sign.
Permanence is a sign,

428
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
impermanence is also a sign.
A sign means a characteristic,

429
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a mark of how something is.
In English we can call this

430
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
signlessness [of the mind 
concentration].

431
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When you have pain in your 
body, it has to go along with

432
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the suffering in your mind.
Normally it’s like that.

433
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
As soon as there is pain in 
the body, the mind begins to

434
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
feel also in pain. That is why 
sometime we say the mind

435
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and body suffer in unison, or
the mind and the body are

436
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
happy in unison.
We can say like that.

437
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But if you practice, you can 
recognize that the pain in the

438
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
body does not have to be the 
pain in the mind.

439
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You can take care of your 
mind so that the pain does

440
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
not influence your mind.

441
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
At that point, you are not 
caught in the sign of

442
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
suffering.

443
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In the Vajracchedika Sutra, 
it just teaches about not being

444
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
caught in signs. Not being 
caught in phenomena, but

445
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
also not being caught in signs
In the Vajracchedika we hear

446
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
about different kinds of signs 
like human and living being...

447
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
wait a minute...human, ah, 
self, human, living being and

448
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
life span. But there are many 
other signs as well that we

449
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
get caught in. Suffering is one 
of those signs that we get

450
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
caught in.

451
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In fact, when they talk about 
the 3 signs in Theravada

452
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Buddhism, suffering is one of 
them. Impermanence, no self,

453
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and suffering. But suffering 
has an opposite, whose name

454
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is not suffering. In terms of 
the Four Noble Truths, the

455
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
first Noble Truth is suffering, 
and the third Noble Truth is

456
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
not suffering, the end of 
suffering, the cessation of

457
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
suffering. If suffering is a sign, 
then not suffering is also a

458
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
sign. We can be caught in the 
sign ‘suffering’, and we can

459
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
also be caught in the sign 
‘not suffering’.

460
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
According to the Buddha, we 
practice the Middle Way,

461
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
which is not being caught in 
either extreme.

462
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
By practicing this samadhi, 
this concentration, by not

463
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
being caught in signs, the 
Buddha was able to live fully

464
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
enough in the last few months 
of the Buddha’s life, and give

465
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the teaching the Buddha gave 
on being an island unto

466
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
yourself. If the Buddha had 
not lived for those last

467
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
months, we may not have the 
teaching for being an island

468
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to yourself, which is 
something that we can all

469
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
practice in our daily lives, and 
need to practice in our daily

470
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
lives, in order [that] when we 
come across difficult

471
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
moments, we can truly come 
back and take care of our

472
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
mind. By taking care of our 
mind, we can also take care

473
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of our body.

474
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Coming back to mindfulness 
of our body is the first

475
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
establishment of mindfulness. 
The second establishment of

476
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
mindfulness is coming back 
to our feelings, and taking

477
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
care of our feelings. Feelings 
are really what is the

478
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
suffering, what is the not 
suffering that is due to kinds

479
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of feelings. When we practice 
the concentration on

480
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
signlessness, we have to first 
of all recognize that ‘this

481
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
feeling is suffering’, then we 
have to go beyond the sign

482
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and recognize that that 
feeling just comes from what

483
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is happening in our body, and 
it doesn’t have to influence

484
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
our mind. The feeling does 
not have a separate self, it’s

485
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
impermanent and changing at 
every moment.

486
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We can concentrate on the 
island in ourself in terms of

487
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
our feelings and not just in 
terms of our body.

488
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we first start to island 
of ourself, we come back to

489
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
our body, and then we 
recognize our feelings.

490
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The Buddha said that those 
practitioners—monks, nuns,

491
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
laymen, laywomen—who are 
able to come back to the

492
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
island of self, take refuge in 
the island of self, come back

493
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to the island of Dharma, take 
refuge in the island of

494
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Dharma, are the best 
practitioners, both now, while

495
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the Buddha is still alive, and 
after the Buddha is no longer alive.

496
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
[bell] [BELL]