NINTH MEETING
                        Tuesday, 18th June, 1974


                            Talk on Dhamma

  I will begin by explaining Dhamma as I have done before. Afterwards
  those who have questions from various viewpoints that they want to
  ask, will be able to do so.

  Listening to Dhamma such as I told it to you yesterday, the question
  was asked by somebody about being able to remember and not being able
  to remember, and of what value it is if one cannot remember.

  Listening to Dhamma in the way of those who practise, they understand
  what is being explained while they are listening. But now the Teacher
  speaks a different language and you who listen may not yet be able to
  understand while the teacher is explaining. But if your Citta stays
  just in front -- in other words the determination to listen at this
  time has been made -- this, together with the flow of Dhamma which is
  being explained, goes inward and touches one within the Citta. This
  will make the heart aware of the impact of the sound and it will at
  least become calm and cool. This is so because the sound is an
  emotionally based object (Arammana) which can cause the Citta to be a
  "present Citta."

  As for those who listen and understand the language all the time while
  (Dhamma) explanations are being given, they have something which they
  can know clearly while listening. Then the Citta becomes engrossed in
  that aspect of Dhamma which the Teacher is explaining. Because in
  explaining this Dhamma he must speak about or say things which are
  there in us also, for these things are to be found everywhere in the
  world. In other words, the things which the teacher of Dhamma talks
  about and which Buddhism teaches concern those things that are
  inherently in beings and Sankharas everywhere. These things one should
  also be able to know, as well as to understand about those things
  which are within oneself. In the system of religion which the Lord
  taught at that time, he gave instruction about this also, and we who
  listen can gradually gain understanding of the truths in the Dhamma
  that he taught.

  While listening, and when one's Citta is paying close attention to the
  Dhamma which is being taught, one's heart will gradually become calm
  and cool and while listening one does not think of going to all sorts
  of places, nor of any objects of attachment. Then one's heart can drop
  into a state of calm, undisturbed and contented so that one forgets
  the time and other things, until one forgets one's tiredness and
  stiffness and everything else.

  If one's Citta has a strong inclinations to go the way of
  investigation which the Lord called "Vipassana" or "Panna," the story
  is different, for while Dhamma is being explained the Citta will keep
  moving and following continuously, like walking behind and following
  in the footsteps of the Teacher, who is going ahead. Each time he
  raises a foot, one steps in the footprint after him, step by step. In
  other words, the Teacher clears the way so that one may know and
  understand while listening. When one knows, understands and
  contemplates following the Teacher, it makes one become engrossed and
  absorbed in the Kilesas and Asavas while one is listening. It is for
  just this reason that in the time of the Lord Buddha, when the Savakas
  listened to the Lord revealing Dhamma, many attained Magga, Phala, and
  Nibbana.

  Sometimes the Citta advances up to a certain point and then when it
  listens again in the future the Citta goes higher -- and so on each
  time it goes up step by step until it reaches the highest point of
  Dhamma which they call "penetrating the highest Dhamma," by
  understanding just while listening.

  Not being interested in trying to remember is of value while one is
  listening to Dhamma in that one gets a calm and cool heart, one
  steadily gets a clear understanding, one gets happiness and
  contentment, and one gains various skilful methods. These are the
  results which are gained while listening, which cannot be gained from
  trying to remember, such as reciting Dhamma in various Suttas over and
  over again so as to memorise them. But if anything or any part of
  Dhamma gets left behind in one's memory, one can oneself remember it.
  Listening to Dhamma as done by those who practise is therefore held in
  high regard amongst them.

  I would like to tell you some things about Tan Acharn Mun who was a
  Teacher (Acariya) in this line of Kammatthana so that all of you may
  know a little about him. In what things was he most active or
  interested in connection with all the followers who went to be trained
  by him? He was more interested in pointing out the training in Dhamma
  to the Bhikkhus and Samaneras who went to learn with him than anything
  else. He would carefully watch the manners, behaviour and conduct in
  practice of the Bhikkhus and Samaneras for fear that they would go
  wrong and deviate from the principles of the Dhamma and Vinaya -- this
  is the second thing. But the first was the training and teaching to
  get the Bhikkhus and Samaneras to understand the "present Dhamma"
  (Paccupanna Dhamma) which is the focal point of the higher knowing and
  understanding right up to the highest Path and Fruition (Magga,
  Phala).

  When he gave a talk on Dhamma, if there were only Bhikkhus and
  Samaneras present he would go on sometimes for two hours before
  finishing, sometimes three or four hours, and occasionally for six
  hours. But it was also strange how all those who were there sitting
  listening were quiet, not making a sound -- almost as if there were no
  Bhikkhus and Samaneras there at all. One heard just the sound of the
  Dhamma that he taught step by step without breaking the sequence or
  missing out any steps until he finished.

  However many Bhikkhus and Samaneras were present, it was as though
  there were none there because each of them was listening with
  interest, and concentrated attention. Every one of them was in a state
  of calm, the aim of the Citta being to attain the truth and Dhamma so
  as to have a calm and cool heart. If the Citta steps in towards the
  realm of wisdom, which means being able to think and contemplate
  following the Acariya, the Citta then adjusts and adapts to his Dhamma
  all the time. At both levels we can say that it makes one absorbed in
  the following ways: //In the first stage -- Calm//. One becomes
  absorbed in the way of calm and in the Dhamma which lulls the Citta
  into a calm contented state. //The second stage -- wisdom (Panna)//.
  One becomes engrossed in the Dhamma which steadily causes the Citta to
  gain the way. Thus one's interest in the Dhamma is such that no
  interest remains in being tired or stiff, while one is listening, and
  while the Teacher is giving a talk just about practice, from the story
  of Samadhi and wisdom right through to the end. The story of Sila was
  not necessary because it was covered by the behaviour and practice of
  each one who was present.

  He did not talk of many things but only about the principles of
  Samadhi, Wisdom, and Vimutti (getting free). On those days when there
  was a meeting and he gave a talk, he was sure to go right through
  until he reached the subject of the path, fruition, and Nibbana in the
  one talk and he never got stuck or diverted in any part of it. This
  was due to his character because he had great knowledge and ability in
  the field of practice and he had circumspection and great skill in the
  way of practice.

  When one's heart has been continuously trained in the ways of Dhamma,
  it will have a "basis to hold on to," [*] and the heart which has a
  "basis to hold on to" is, because of that, likely to live happily and
  to be normally happy, as well as being happy in doing one's duties and
  earning a living.

        [*] Basis to hold on to (Luk yert) -- lit. a stake or post for
            holding on to. It can also mean principles to hold on to.


  One then lives happily and one dies happily because one has a "basis
  to hold on to" within one and those who have such a basis are not
  likely to be troubled and anxious.

  Dhamma is the "basis to hold on to" for the heart, and objects in the
  world are the "basis to hold on to" or the dependent conditions of the
  body -- such as, for example, buildings, clothing, and various types
  of foods, which are the sustenance and the refuges that the body
  depends on and lives with. That we have the necessity of depending on
  these things is because we have been born and born from these things,
  and we must depend on these things as the means of curing ills and
  maintaining the body continually until the end of life.

  As for the heart, it has Dhamma as its help, as the thing it depends
  on, as its guardian, and as its "nourishment" -- for it is said that
  "Dhamma is the food of the heart" -- or it is the Arammana [1] of the
  heart. But in regard to the word Arammana, there are both good and
  evil Arammana. If the Arammana is not good it is poison to the heart
  and inflames the Citta causing it to be troubled and anxious. If the
  Arammana is good it makes the Citta cool and happy, and then it
  becomes buried in that Citta, which is what they call Upanissaya, [2]
  or Vasana Parami, [3] which means "the continuous building up of what
  is good and right." However much this has been developed, it will be
  buried down in the Citta of that person until it becomes increasing
  Nissaya Vasana. [4] When the heart changes and moves off to another
  place, another life (Bhava), another realm (Bhumi), it must depend on
  the virtue that one has done and the amount of it that one has
  accumulated in one's heart (Citta). This is what turns the Citta
  making it go in a good direction to have Sugati, that which is hoped
  for, and this is where one lives and experiences.

        [1] Arammana -- object as perceived by the heart. This can, for
            example, be a sensed object plus the associated emotional
            bias.
        [2] Deep rooted characteristics.
        [3] Characteristic tendencies of perfection.
        [4] Tendencies of Character. Vasana always has the connotation
            of "good" characteristics.

  The body has a graveyard. Wherever one goes to live and set up home,
  there must be a graveyard for the body in that place, for regardless
  of whether one lives in the country, in the town, in the forest, the
  hills, a cave, or on the bare ground, there is also a graveyard with
  every one of them. Because this form of nature is something that has
  been born, so it is bound to die and wherever it dies that place is a
  graveyard. This is the way of the body.

  As for the Citta, it has no graveyard because the heart does not die.
  Right here is a great and important principle, so please take note of
  this and remember it well, for this is an unchanging principle of
  truth in regard to ourselves. If someone has rightly thought about and
  properly investigated the story of the Citta and tried to practise in
  himself all the virtues of Dhamma which are in the teachings and if he
  has hopes of living anywhere, going anywhere, or being born in any
  place, he will not be disappointed in his expectations or in the
  intended goal which he sets himself. And the hopes which he sets his
  heart on will be fulfilled.

  This is like all of us who have come here to learn today. In other
  words we come here to learn Dhamma so that it will go into the heart
  and be a "basis to hold on to," and so that the heart will depend on
  this Dhamma as its ruling principle. Because this heart is something
  that does not die, it is not destined for the graveyard unlike the
  physical elements and the Khandhas -- which are the body.

  The body breaks up and disappears but the heart does not break up, and
  when it goes from this body it goes into another body, and leaving
  that one it goes on to another. Going higher, lower, up and down,
  because of those things which are within the Citta, that the Lord
  called "Vipaka," [*] which arise from Kamma -- i.e., the actions that
  the Citta itself does.

        [*] Vipaka -- results of Kamma.


  The Citta is the one who thinks, and imagines things both good and
  evil, and the Citta is the one who compels them to go out in the
  direction of speech or body, so causing them to become actions of
  speech or body. Those actions which are done in the heart are called
  "Mano Kamma," those done by way of speech are called "Vaci Kamma," and
  those done by way of body are called "Kaya Kamma." The word "kamma"
  means the doing of action, which can take place in our bodies, speech,
  or hearts. This is important, for when Kamma, which is the
  good or evil that dwells there, opens the way for the result, Sukha or
  Dukkha -- which is the result of good or evil Kamma -- is liable to
  arise, of such a kind one cannot prevent it.

  Mano-kamma is action [*] done by way of the mind, speech or body each
  of which can be good or evil or neutral and these actions are what the
  Lord called "Kamma," and according to the principles of Buddhism they
  are also called "Kamma." The movements [*] of the Citta, of the body
  and speech were considered by the Lord to be actions which are called
  "Kamma." When there are actions and movements as a consequence of
  actions, "Vipaka" -- the results -- must steadily go on being derived
  from them, and it is only that they variously arise a little bit more
  quickly or slowly, for some kinds can arise as results quickly, and
  some slowly. Like results of things that we can see in the world; some
  kinds arise in a short time, some arise immediately, and some take a
  long time before they appear; but in the end they are all results just
  the same.

        [*] "Actions" -- in this paragraph means action of the Citta,
            "creative will," or volition. "Movements" means the
            subsequent mental, verbal or physical activity which is set
            in motion by the "Action."


  This is what the Lord called "Vipaka" which one has within one's
  heart. The heart is the one that made it, that did it; some the heart
  can remember and some it cannot. But ultimately, it will forget
  because it is making it all the time, in every realm and every life,
  in every day and night, in every month and year. Who can succeed in
  memorising and retaining all this firmly in mind since the time he was
  borne in this world? Let alone days or months ago, for even just today
  one cannot remember some of the things that one has thought about. But
  thinking, imagining, and doing of good or evil by way of one's body
  and speech, take place without depending upon being able to remember.
  They just depend upon the action of doing them and good or evil
  results are bound to become apparent from those actions all the time.
  This is an important principle, and therefore the Lord taught that one
  should always do some good, and now is the opportunity when we can
  develop something of value or cure whatever we see to be defective in
  every nook and cranny. This is not beyond our ability.

  Once one has gone beyond this life, there is uncertainty both in doing
  actions and in partaking of the results, because in the realm of
  ghosts or Devas it seems that there are no factories such as we human
  beings have. To be satisfied with being lazy in doing good in this
  world and then to go and be energetic in the next world -- the world
  of ghosts or of Devas -- this is a wrong way of understanding!

  All the men of great wisdom have thus taught that the one who came to
  teach us is not stupid. His name is the "Lord Buddha" and he is the
  supreme teacher, the teacher of all the three realms, the one who
  truly understands and clearly sees every part and section of the
  Dhamma which he himself taught with certainty -- being the truth.
  There is no false changeable Dhamma hidden within this teaching and it
  is thus that the Lord called it "Svakkhata Dhamma" which means "The
  Dhamma that the Lord Buddha has taught well." The word "well" means
  "perfectly and completely" in all ways. "Niyyanika Dhamma" is the
  Dhamma which enables those who practise properly in accord with Dhamma
  to get free from Dukkha progressively. There is no way for doubt at
  all for it is Dhamma that is unchanging and certain.

  Who can speak rightly and precisely every time like the Lord Buddha?
  One feels that there has not been anyone else in our world of people.
  To make a comparison, ordinary people everywhere, if they speak 100
  words, will speak at least 25 which are likely to be false, and only
  speak 75 true. If they speak for a long time the false words will
  probably increase and they may all become false. But the words of the
  Lord Buddha are not false because his heart is not false. The heart of
  the Lord is a pure heart and it knows truly and understands truly,
  which is derived from practising truly, and then the Lord gives any
  teaching it comes out of his heart which is both good and true -- then
  from where could anything be found? So it is a supreme teaching and he
  is the "World Teacher" which all of us hold as the unchanging
  principle, or as that in which we can have implicit faith so that we
  can say: "The Lord Buddha and the religion of Dhamma of the Lord are
  not enemies or opponents of any of us." The Lord Buddha, the Dhamma,
  or the Sangha are those that are supreme and have Dhamma -- excellence
  above the world.

  The teaching of the Lord, which was the establishment of Buddhism, was
  given for the group that followed him. It was not given for the Lord
  Buddha, for the Dhamma, for any of the Savaka Sangha, all of whom had
  passed beyond Dukkha already. But it was given just for us. The Lord
  was not lacking anything which might make him desire for results from
  us as payment, for it was only because of his Metta that he gave the
  teaching to his followers so that they could take it as the direction
  for them to go.

  We have only to practise following the teaching of the Lord. But then
  we see that it is difficult to do and we are unable to struggle and
  follow the way the Lord went. How then shall we live in this world and
  in what way so as to have happiness, both bodily and mentally, which
  is appropriate to human beings who are clever in searching for
  happiness for themselves? This is a question that we should consider
  and ask ourselves at such times as laziness and carelessness arise, so
  as to cure these things which are Mara (the evil one) waiting to block
  the way forward. We can do this by methods which we like, using Dhamma
  and our skill and cleverness so as to have a way to go on in order to
  gain happiness and the fulfilment of our hopes, so as to be not
  entirely barred and blocked in every existence, every life, every day
  and all the time like it is here, where it is full of Dukkha in our
  hearts until we cannot find a way and method of getting rid of it.
  This is to be expected where there are so many people in the present
  world that there is almost no earth left for living on. But there are
  still those who are clever and sharp-witted who find a means of
  "swimming" on a bit and they are not all entirely dull and obtuse --
  this state being a sorrowful thing to those who are the wisest of men.

  How should we examine and contemplate? When we are waiting to "wash
  our hands" at once, we still cannot do it. The teaching was taught by
  the Lord both rightly and precisely in all things and ways, but to
  practise and follow it accordingly, we see to be difficult. Then where
  will we go to find comfort? We have been living in this world a long
  time and from what do we derive comfort? We should question ourselves
  in this way and maybe we will start ourselves thinking. If it is to be
  in accordance with our desires, wanting comfort, wanting ease and
  relaxation, we ought to be people with ease and relaxation since long
  ago and we should not be shouldering a mass of Dukkha like people
  everywhere in the world. But this does not accord with the image
  formed in our minds which symbolises what the heart wants -- unless
  the Kilesas have been deceiving all people and all beings for a long
  time and they still have not seen the banefulness of their deception
  at all -- on the contrary, they agree wholeheartedly with their
  soothing suggestions, lulling them to sleep in their skilful ways.

  //The world teacher in the wheel of samsara is the Kilesas
  themselves//. Once they get to teach people they stick to them and
  more and more people come until the Kilesas cannot handle them all.
  Because beings in the world very much like their trick methods of
  teaching, and they are never bored or satiated by them even though
  they lead to Dukkha and punishment, due to being deceived since long
  ago.

  //The world teacher of freedom from the wheel is the Lord Buddha//,
  the first Venerable One, the first to know, and the first to train and
  teach, and there is nobody who is his equal. But the Kilesas do not
  like this and continually obstruct Dhamma, and so those beings who
  like the Kilesas will generally be bored with Dhamma and the Dhamma is
  therefore not likely to reach their hearts even if they listen and
  practise for a long time. In the event that happens here and there,
  please look at yourselves and you will be able to see this well enough
  without difficulty.

  Whatever way we go we must analyse. If we are to be pupils who have a
  teacher -- our Supreme Teacher (the Buddha) to teach us, then we must
  try to do good so as to wash away all things which are evil and bad.
  Fighting them is bound to be hard and difficult to some extent, which
  is only normal. We must constantly think like this -- which is better
  than having the Kilesas of laziness and slothfulness coming to be our
  teacher and to drag us into ways that are base and low, causing us to
  suffer Dukkha and torture without end or reason, when we may be able
  to get free from Dukkha.

  Now is our opportunity and we ought to have organised and got ready,
  for we are now complete in everything. Our bodies are in good health
  and we know that we are human beings who have found Buddhism. This is
  also an opportunity for us to develop virtue so that it goes down into
  the heart, and so that we may reach the goal that we want. There is
  just the heart and Dhamma which will be able to give us the fulfilment
  of our hopes. We must try to get things which are good and right into
  the "balance sheet" of the heart -- which does not die. Apart from
  that we cannot find anything that is certain because the whole world
  of mundane conventions is impermanent (Aniccam) which includes our own
  bodies, and whatever we rely upon we wait but for it to be destroyed
  and disappear time after time. We see this in every place all the time
  -- it happens everywhere, and this the Lord called "Aniccam, Dukkham,
  Anatta," which surrounds us both externally and internally. In this we
  cannot have any confidence, apart from the development of virtue,
  which is the training of oneself just to have an even steady virtue
  with this Dhamma. This is an important principle to bring our fixed
  aim to steady fulfilment.

  Such a heart wants to go onward all the time, it does not want to
  remain in a mass of Dukkha and torture, and it wants to live happily.
  If we talk about levels and standards, in other words the heavens and
  Brahma worlds, then the heart is the one that wants to go there and
  does not want to go down to the hells at all. In fact Dukkha is
  something that it does not want to experience in life or feel its
  touch at all. But then, why does the world find it and feel its touch
  all the time? It is because of the deluding tricks of the Kilesas
  which are in command and more clever and sharp than all beings. They
  are the teachers that teach beings and drag them all down and submerge
  them, even though they do not want to be submerged.

  What is it that is the teacher of the round of Samsara (Vatta) -- that
  is the cleverest in the world nowadays? Just the Kilesas, Tanha, and
  Asava, apart from these there is none in the three realms of
  relativity (Sammuti) where all beings dwell. And there is none which
  can extract and get rid of this "nature" apart from that Dhamma which
  is called the "Svakkhata Dhamma" of the Lord Buddha.

  Whoever wants to go free beyond Dukkha and tries to "scramble up,"
  practising according to the Dhamma of the Lord, will have a way and
  will be able to pass beyond it. Whoever is energetic in complaining
  about Dukkha can complain as he pleases, but if we do not want to let
  the Kilesa laugh and mock us again and again, we should constantly try
  to understand ourselves. Because when we arrive at the time that we
  are cornered with no way out and we are truly up against it -- and a
  time such as that gets right into oneself -- what will we do? We must
  raise the proposition and question ourselves well beforehand.

  When it is cold those things that make us warm we see at that time as
  being important, and when it is hot what are those things which make
  us cool? Whatever they are we will consider them to be important at
  that time. When Dukkha comes to us, what are those things which bring
  us Sukha? The other half of the pair which is linked to it is
  "virtue," and this is the means by which Dukkha can be diminished and
  got rid of -- and it can get rid of Dukkha in a positive certain
  manner without any shadow of doubt, because never have any of the
  Kilesas been able to overpower the Dhamma, since time immemorial.

  Summarising: Wherever there is virtue there is Sukha and a warm-
  hearted nature. The following is a close simile to illustrate the
  meaning: --  It is like a man who falls into some water and there is
  nothing to grasp or hold on to at that time. Even if he has always
  been afraid of ghosts and death since he was born, yet if a dead body
  were to float up to him while he was drowning and searching for some
  refuge, for something to hold on to, with great anxiety, he would
  immediately grasp hold of that corpse as it floated by, so as to save
  his life. At the same time he would forget his fear of ghosts which he
  had always had because his life is much more important than his fear.
  This is a simile to illustrate the life and Citta of someone at the
  time when "being trapped and cornered with no way out" truly gets into
  them.

  The last moment at the end of life is sure to be like this, and the
  Citta is bound to think of various things such as thinking of virtue
  or thinking of evil that one recalls. When one has no virtue adhering
  to oneself, sufficient to give one some warmth of heart, one thinks of
  evil that one remembers as the only alternative. Then anxiety and
  sorrow arise and pile up within the Citta, causing the anxiety and
  trouble gathering round to increase further and further so that it
  becomes overwhelming. If one has done virtuous things, as soon as one
  thinks about this virtue, the Citta immediately grasps at it and goes
  quite calm. This is much more so with those who have practised virtue
  constantly -- they need not be in doubt; for that virtue is a
  companion, a friend, and one that one can trust one's life to more
  truly than anything in the world.

  We Buddhists should always understand about ourselves. Which means
  that the heart is the one thing that matters, and it is to be
  explained from two points of view, these being: Firstly, "What is the
  teacher of the round of Samsara?", and secondly, "What is the teacher
  of freedom from the round of Samsara?", and both of these have just
  been explained. Please do not forget this! I shall now finish so that
  it may be translated to you.

                                 * * *

                         Questions and Answers


  Q1 W1:
  When I practise Samadhi, I am liable to go into "Yogi Sleep" (going
  deep into Bhavanga). Some people say this is good and some that it is
  not good. Who is right in this?

  A:
  Please explain "Yogi Sleep" and ask yourself what do you feel about
  it, and after you have come out of it, what remains of it in your
  Citta.

  W1:
  Nothing remains of it, but I feel more fresh and lively.

  A:
  One person says it is good, another says it is not good, but why do
  you go on believing them? You must know for yourself whether it is
  good or not. Therefore it would not be right for me to say anything
  about this for fear that you may get attached to my words. For the
  Dhamma which is presented here is at the beginning and has still not
  divided up and branched out enough so that the learner can gain value
  from it. Therefore it is best to answer some questions and not to
  answer others. Answering everything fully is poison to the Citta. The
  person himself (lit. the owner) should examine the results which come
  to his own Citta. What I am saying here must depend on who it is that
  comes into contact with me as to what kind of Dhamma they should
  receive, whether ordinary or middling or high or low according to the
  level of attainment of the person I meet.

  Asking this question makes me think that the questioner's basis of
  Dhamma [*] is uncertain. Those who practise must have gone through
  this, for if they have practised Samadhi and if the Citta has gone
  deep down they must know. If they go to sleep and when they wake up
  nobody knows and if there is just the sound of "sleepiness" and lying
  down all the time, how shall we know about the Citta? In doing
  Samadhi, as soon as the Citta is about to go down, if we do not let it
  go down and force it to work, we will never be able to build up a
  firmness of the Citta which accords with the teaching of Samadhi for
  the attainment of calm. The word Samadhi does not mean sleeping and
  knowing nothing. One must know within oneself in particular and not
  know anything else apart from oneself.

        [*] Lit.: Principle of Dhamma -- i.e., that understanding of
            Dhamma which is inherent as part of one's character.



  Q2 W2:
  I still do not understand about the heart and Anatta.

  A:
  Do you understand Atta? (The questioner replied "Yes, I understand.")

  Have you ever practised Samadhi? (Yes)

  For the Citta which has gained calm with any given object of attention
  (Arammana), whatever method was used to do this may also be used to
  learn about Atta or Anatta accordingly, but to begin with one should
  hold on to "Atta." Later on one gradually withdraws the attachment to
  Atta until one can completely get rid of it, because the Citta is
  naturally complete and its own self. But it is not "Self" having the
  nature of "Atta" as mentioned above, which is a mundane convention
  (Sammuti), for it is free (Vimutti) and therefore is different.


  Q3 M1:
  How should one act so as to do Samadhi properly? In daily life one has
  work which one must go and do. Must one stop doing it so that one can
  practise constantly?

  A:
  If the Citta knows its own developing and deteriorating it then raises
  itself up, but if it does not understand this then the Citta is
  deluded about oneself. Investigation depends upon the Citta and the
  opportunity. If one has a lot of work to do and meditation (Bhavana)
  deteriorates, then it brings one down from the results which one
  should get and therefore we say that the Citta deteriorates. But in
  truth the Citta does not deteriorate, for it is these characteristics
  that indicate development or deterioration and these are only the
  characteristics of the Citta. The Citta itself does not deteriorate.


  Q4 M2:
  "Aping or Monkey Practice" -- which means seeing someone else doing
  something and then wanting to act so that one looks as if one is doing
  the same thing. Then acting in the same way in everything. What should
  one do to know whether practice is true or not true?

  A:
  You yourself will know yourself. This answer is already inherent in
  your question. We ourselves are the central theme and there is no need
  to go and seize hold of an artificial shadow.


  Q5 M3:
  You said that the Citta constantly accumulates much virtue, then it
  goes to be born in a better place. I would like to know what is meant
  by "better."

  A:
  The Citta makes Kamma, and the result is in the Citta. Then it sends
  the Citta off so that it brings about what is appropriate to that
  result itself. The owner of that Citta does not know about this and
  does not have anything by which to find out. But there is the Lord
  Buddha and the Savakas, who, it appears, are able to know.

  Therefore there is a general delusion throughout the world in regard
  to what people have got in themselves, and they are the same
  everywhere. If we ourselves practise, the Citta will know itself. If
  the Citta is skilled, mindfulness and wisdom are bound to become more
  and more subtle and then you will be able to know for yourself without
  having to ask anyone else. There is nothing that can go beyond the
  power of mindfulness and wisdom -- and because all the Kilesas are
  afraid of the Dhamma which is mindfulness and wisdom there are no
  Kilesas of any sort which can go higher than the Dhamma which is
  mindfulness and wisdom, if one trains oneself to become proficient in
  them.


  Q6 M4:
  Is it difficult for the Citta to return and become a human being, or
  not?

  A:
  You have been born a human being -- is this difficult? We ourselves do
  not know about ourselves because the Citta has no strength. If one has
  mindfulness then one steadily comes to know. I have previously
  explained here that the Khandhas just have the nature to break up and
  the moment when the Khandhas are about to break up, the Citta turns
  about and becomes powerful. The moment when the Citta is about to part
  from the Khandhas, whether there is much Dukkha or little, or none at
  all, will be an indication of whether the Citta has mindfulness or
  not.

  Those who practise generally know that Citta differ, for there is
  nothing more subtle than the Citta, and one cannot measure it. If the
  Citta has mindfulness and wisdom then one can follow it. This must
  depend on the mindfulness and wisdom which people have developed, and
  whether it is much or little accordingly.

  It is said that at the time when the Lord Buddha was about to enter
  Parinibbana he entered Jhana Samapatti and went up from the first
  Jhana until he reached Sannavedayita-nirodha. The Venerable Anuruddha
  Thera, who was very skilled in the ways of the Citta, set his Citta to
  follow the Lord Buddha in whichever Jhana the Citta of the Lord Buddha
  entered. In other words, he went up through the four Rupa Jhanas and
  then through the four Arupa Jhanas, until he reached
  Sannavedayitanirodha. He rested there for a moment and then he
  withdrew back through the Arupa Jhanas and the Rupa Jhanas until he
  reached the state of Citta of ordinary purity. Then he entered the
  first Jhana and went through to the fourth Jhana, and then the Lord
  entered Parinibbana between the Rupa Jhanas and the Arupa Jhanas. [*]
  From then on it was beyond the ability of anybody to follow and know,
  because he had gone beyond and was free from every kind of mundane
  convention (Sammuti).

        [*] i.e., between the 4th Rupa and 1st Arupa Jhanas.


  While the Lord was entering the various Jhanas the Venerable Anuruddha
  Thera sent the flow of his Citta to follow the Lord without letting
  up, and he knew, following the state of the Citta of the Lord Buddha
  from step to step. When the other Savakas asked him: "Has the Lord
  entered Parinibbana yet?," he answered "Not yet," and he told them
  each time the Lord entered and left each Jhana and he was able to tell
  them what happened step by step until the moment when the Lord entered
  Parinibbana.

  Why was he able to know, from moment to moment the progress of the
  Lord Buddha's Citta while he was entering and leaving each Jhana, for
  this is very different from us who also have minds that receive and
  know various things up to a certain level? The knowledge and ability
  of the Citta that has been fully trained is as different from the
  ordinary Citta as the sky is from the earth. For the Citta which is
  filled with a heavy burden, as if there were a cesspit loading and
  weighing it down all the time, can in no way be compared with the
  Citta which has become fully purified.

  Clever people are therefore likely to believe in those who have
  knowledge and ability above their own capacity and to accept them as
  teachers. Like the followers of the Buddha who believed in the Lord as
  being the world teacher and as their refuge. This differs from stupid
  people who deludedly think that they are clever, until their
  cleverness leads them to breakdowns, destruction, and ruin, and even
  then it is unlikely that they will feel themselves to be in fact what
  they are. There is a lot of this kind of cleverness in the world of
  human beings -- and it seems to be increasing at a rate beyond one's
  imagination -- until one fears that there will be no world for us to
  live on.


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