
                         THE ESSENTIAL PRACTICE
  
                          Dhamma Discourses of
                         Venerable Webu Sayadaw
  
                                 Part 2
  
                     Translated from the Burmese by
                             Roger Bischoff
  
                           ISBN 955-24-0099-6
  

                   The Wheel Publication No. 384/385

              Copyright 1992 Buddhist Publication Society


                      BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY
                      KANDY              SRI LANKA


                                 * * *


                         DharmaNet Edition 1995

                 Transcription & Proofreading: Joe Crea
                Proofreading & Formatting: John Bullitt

        This electronic edition is offered for free distribution
            via DharmaNet by arrangement with the publisher.

                        DharmaNet International
                 P.O. Box 4951, Berkeley CA 94704-4951


                            * * * * * * * *

  

                     Extinguishing the Inner Fires
  
  
  WEBU SAYADAW:  There are duties towards the cetiya, [*] the Bodhi
  tree, towards teachers, parents, wife and children.  If we fulfill
  these, we practice good conduct (//carana//) and this is morality
  (//sila//).

        [*] Cetiya:  a mound-shaped monument often containing relics of
            the Buddha or enlightened monks, and treated as an object of
            veneration by the Buddhist community.
  

      While we are fulfilling our duties, is it not possible to practice
  mindfulness of breathing also?  If we do not fulfill these duties, can
  we say that our morality is complete?  If our morality is not perfect,
  can we expect to experience the happiness we aspire for?  If we are
  not happy, if our mind is not concentrated, we can't attain
  insight-wisdom (//panna//).
  
      Today is Uposatha day. [*]  At dawn you all woke up with the
  thought, "Today is Uposatha day," and you undertook to keep the eight
  precepts. Have you been mindful continuously since then?
  
        [*] Uposatha:  There are four Uposatha days a month:  the
            full-moon day, the new-moon day, and the days in the middle
            between full-moon and new-moon and between new-moon and
            full-moon.  On Uposatha days Buddhists traditionally observe
            the eight precepts and go to the monasteries for meditation
            and to listen to religious discourses.  On the full-moon and
            new-moon Uposathas the monks assemble to recite the
            Patimokkha, the code of monastic rules, and to attend to
            other matters of the Order.


      DISCIPLE:  No, sir, we haven't.
  
      S:  How much of this time have you spent being aware of the
  in-breath and out-breath?
  
      D:  At times we are aware, sir, at times we are not, sir.
  
      S:  How long did your mind stay with the object and how much time
  did you lose?...  As you remain silent, I assume that you have been
  able to keep up your awareness all the time.
  
      D:  No, sir, we haven't.
  
      S:  In that case I have to ask you some more questions.  How many
  times does your mind dissolve in a flash of lightning?
  
      D:  Billions and billions of times, sir.
  
      S:  So it arises and disintegrates billions of times.  Every time
  the mind arises it takes some object, pleasant or unpleasant, liked or
  disliked.  Is there a time when this constant continuous stream of
  mental objects is cut off or interrupted?
  
      D:  No, sir, the mind always takes an object.
  
      S:  Yes, and these good and bad friends arise in your mind due to
  the skillful and unskillful deeds or kamma you have done in the past.
  Now, if a pleasant object which we call a good friend enters the
  stream of consciousness, what happens?
  
      D:  Liking or greed arises, sir.
  
      S:  If liking arises, is this good or bad?
  
      D:  It is bad, sir.
  
      S:  But if a bad friend, an unpleasant mind-object arises, what
  happens then?
  
      D:  Dislike or aversion arises, sir.
  
      S:  If we allow aversion or dislike to arise, is this skillful or
  unskillful?
  
      D:  It is unskillful, sir.
  
      S:  So, if we accept the agreeable mind-objects, liking, craving,
  wanting and lust arise and we are creating unskillful acts which lead
  to the four lower planes of existence.  But if unpleasant thoughts or
  images arise and we take possession of them, then worry, grief,
  suffering, anger and aversion arise and these mental states lead to
  the lower planes too.  Now, at what time does no pleasant or
  unpleasant thought or image or sound or sight or taste or touch arise?
  
      D:  There is no such time, sir.  The mind always takes an object.
  
      S:  And all these objects arising in our minds are the results of
  the deeds you have done in the past, in //samsara//.  Be an object
  pleasant or unpleasant, when it arises, what do you normally do?
  
      D:  We react unskillfully and create bad karma for ourselves, sir.
  
      S:  If a pleasant object arises in the mind, liking, craving,
  wanting arise.  This craving, what is it like?  Is it not like a fire?
  Craving is like a fire.  What about disliking, aversion and hatred?
  
      D:  That is also like a fire, sir.
  
      S:  So, whatever arises, we have to suffer the burning of fire,
  don't we?
  
      D:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  But of course, if greed and aversion have to arise, let them
  arise.  If we are practicing the teachings of the Buddha, can they
  affect us?  While we are practicing meditation on the breath greed and
  aversion don't get an opportunity to possess our minds.
  
      The teachings of the Buddha resemble the great lake Anotatta. [*]
  If the fires of greed or aversion or any other fires fall into this
  lake, they are extinguished and we don't have to suffer their
  scorching heat any longer.  Only if we know each arisal of the mind in
  the billions of times it arises in a split-second, can we justly say
  that we have achieved real wisdom and insight.

        [*] Lake Anotatta:  a legendary lake in the Himalaya region.
  

      Mind and body arise billions of times in the wink of an eye, and
  with it your good and bad friends.  If you are not watchful, these
  good and bad deeds of yours will again be accumulated in you billions
  of times.  Now, who is responsible for the pleasant and unpleasant
  sensations that continuously arise in your body?
  
      D:  We are responsible for them ourselves, sir.
  
      S:  The debts you have accumulated in the incalculably long period
  of //samsara// are with you.  If you don't apply the Buddha's
  teachings and practice, you will accumulate the same debts again and
  again, billions of times in every split-second.  Are you able to count
  these debts?
  
      D:  No, sir, they are incalculable.
  
      S:  Therefore you should apply this practice the Buddha taught. If
  you don't accept what arises and disintegrates of its own accord then
  your accumulated debts will diminish and no new debts will be
  accumulated.  If you realize this arising and vanishing for
  yourselves, then you don't make new debts and you get rid of the old
  ones.  Thus you attain to the higher wisdom.
  
      This technique of being aware of in-breath and out-breath can be
  practiced anywhere.  You can practice it while you are alone or in
  company, while you are sitting, walking, standing or lying down.
  Wherever you are you can practice it.  Now, do you have to spend money
  in order to practice this meditation?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  Do you have to take time off work to practice?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  In that case, what is so difficult about it?  Will this
  practice make you feel tired?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  If you make great profit in your business and people ask you
  "How much gold, how much silver have you got," will you tell them?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  And why not?
  
      D:  One shouldn't tell others such things, sir.
  
      S:  Now, which jewel is more precious, gold and silver, or the
  Dhamma?
  
      D:  The Dhamma is more precious, sir.
  
      S:  Then don't talk to others about your achievements.  What is
  the time now?
  
      D:  Seven p.m., sir.
  
      S:  How much time have you got left until sunrise?
  
      D:  About ten hours, sir.
  
      S:  Do you think that you can practice meditation for that long
  without a break?  Work hard to rid yourselves of your debts.  The
  efforts of the past and meritorious deeds performed in the past are
  giving their good results.
  

                                 * * *
  


                         Work Without Wavering!
  
  
  WEBU SAYADAW:  You have taken the precepts.  Now that you have
  undertaken the practice of the perfection of morality, fulfill it.
  
      What you realize when you penetrate the Four Noble Truths is
  called "Bodhi," awakening.  You are born at a good time and in a good
  form of existence.  Now then, emulate the wise disciples of the Buddha
  and put forth effort as strong as theirs, so that you may attain the
  awakening to which you aspired.  Those who received the teachings from
  the Buddha himself worked ceaselessly in all four postures sitting,
  standing, lying down and walking -- and thus attained enlightenment.
  The human beings, Devas, and Brahmas who achieved their aspiration for
  awakening on just one occasion cannot be counted in hundreds,
  thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions.  Sometimes in one
  split-second an incalculably large number of beings achieved their
  aspirations.  From the time the Buddha attained full awakening, beings
  have been able to attain Nibbana.  But it is not only during the
  lifetime of the Buddha that beings can attain Nibbana.  Nibbana can be
  attained as long as the teachings of the Buddha are available.
  
      The attainment of Nibbana is not bliss just for a brief moment. It
  will have lasting effects for the rest of the round of birth and
  death,  //samsara//.  What the Buddha taught is the way out of
  suffering.  You don't have to know a vast amount.  If you practice one
  technique properly with strong and steadfast effort, you will come to
  know for yourselves that you are people of great strength.  You will
  not have to ask others about the teachings, and you will not even have
  to tell others that you are practicing.
  
      Once you have established effort, you will not only know what good
  teachers told you, but you will clearly know for yourselves how the
  //viriya iddhipada// factor [*] arises in a split-second.  You do have
  the fortune of being able to follow the good advice of the Buddha as
  his disciples did in the past.

        [*] //Viriya Iddhipada//:  the basis of attaining perfection by
            effort. This is one of the thirty-seven requisites of
            enlightenment taught by the Buddha;  it is especially
            appropriate for a person who makes energy his particular
            vehicle for attaining success in spiritual practice. See
            Ledi Sayadaw,  //The Requisites of Enlightenment//  (BPS
            Wheel No. 171/174, 1971), pp. 72-77.
  
  
      When I increase effort, then the //viriya iddhipada// factor will
  increase also.  And then what will happen?  I will think: "With just
  this much effort, the //viriya iddhipada// factor has arisen to this
  extent.  But my energy is not exhausted yet.  There is still more.  I
  shall increase my effort further.  And the will to increase effort
  will arise.  At this same instant effort increases.  As effort
  increases the //viriya iddhipada// factor becomes stronger.  When
  these factors have thus arisen to a very high standard, then all your
  aspirations can be fulfilled.
  
      Do not take rest.  Do not take breaks or time off. Work
  continuously.  If you develop continuously, you will become happier
  and happier. In this way the disciples of the Buddha became very
  happy, never getting enough of this happiness.  Do you understand?
  
      If a king rules over a country, does he say complacently, "This
  one country is sufficient for me"?
  
      DISCIPLE:  No, sir, he doesn't remain satisfied.
  
      SAYADAW:  And if he rules a whole continent and has become
  emperor, is he satisfied then?
  
      D:  No, sir, he isn't.
  
      S:  If he isn't satisfied, what will he do?
  
      D:  He will try to acquire more and more territory, sir.
  
      S:  When a man is emperor over a continent, he wants the whole
  world.  When he gets the whole world, he wants to become a universal
  monarch. [*]  Once he is a universal monarch will he say, "This is
  enough" and be satisfied?

        [*] Universal monarch:  a monarch ruling the whole planet
            righteously.  Under the rule of the universal monarch there
            is prosperity and security for human beings.
  

      D:  No, sir, he will not be satisfied.
  
      S:  All those who are perfect in their faith and have performed
  the highest form of generosity and demonstrated the greatest form of
  respect can't be satisfied.  They will practice meditation and will
  gradually attain the stages of absorption (//samapatti//).  Once they
  are capable of entering into the states of Nibbana, only this
  happiness will count for them.
  
      Nibbana is the highest and noblest form of happiness there is.
  One can never experience enough of the highest and noblest form of
  happiness, it is said.  And not only the direct disciples of the
  Buddha were able to achieve it;  if you put forth continuous effort to
  the same extent that the wise of old did, you too will experience this
  highest happiness, even now.  Then you will know: "I experienced a
  happiness that doesn't last only for a moment, or just for a lifetime,
  but for the remainder of my time in the cycle of birth and death.  And
  why did I attain this happiness?  Because I was born into the right
  form of existence, because I was born at the right time, because I put
  forth strong effort."
  
      At any time, when human beings, Devas and Brahmas accepted and
  practiced the teachings, they were successful.  In this context, "at
  any time" means that whenever one undertakes this practice, he obtains
  understanding.  The time span in which the teachings of the Buddha are
  available is very important and special:  if you want to attain
  Nibbana you can, at any time.  Even now it is easy.
  
      Don't say, "This is not my cup of tea," or "This isn't suitable
  for me," or "I won't get anything out of this."  You do have noble
  aspirations and you can fulfill them now.  So if you say to
  yourselves, "I shall take up the practice right now,"  don't you think
  you can get real understanding?  You can get it practicing in a group
  or by yourself.  Seek for yourself.  Take up one of the techniques
  that the Buddha taught and practice it with one-pointedness and strong
  effort.  Establish awareness of the in-breath and out-breath and the
  spot where the air touches while breathing in and out.
  
      When you are thus aware of the spot, can there still be worry,
  anxiety and fear?  Can there still be greed, aversion and delusion?
  And when you concentrate your mind in this way, you revere the
  teachings, don't you?
  
      D:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  You will understand that the degree you come out of suffering
  depends on how much effort you put in and on how strongly the //viriya
  iddhipada// factor arises out of this effort.
  
      D:  We understand, sir.
  
      S:  There will be no more room for doubt because you have now
  practiced the technique and experienced it for yourselves, and so you
  know it.  You will think, "Even in such a short time I am able to
  come out of suffering immediately to such an extent, but my strength
  is not yet exhausted."  And the will to exert still more effort
  arises, and you will become happy with a happiness of which you will
  never tire.
  
      Now tell me.  There is such a thing as a universal monarch in the
  world, isn't there?
  
      D:  Yes, sir, there is.
  
      S:  When the time is right for a universal monarch to arise, will
  no one notice this fact?
  
      D:  We don't know, sir.
  
      S:  About a hundred years before the universal monarch arises the
  good news goes around and a commotion arises.  Then all set their
  hopes on the universal monarch and yearn for him.  They are happy, and
  when he is born they rejoice.  What are the circumstances necessary
  for a universal monarch to arise?
  
      D:  Only when the "jewel of the wheel" [*] arrives, can someone
  become universal monarch.

        [*] Jewel of the wheel:  The wheel of the universal monarch --
            the symbol of his power -- arises when he has fulfilled all
            the conditions necessary for this position. (See Digha
            Nikaya iii, 81)
  

      S:  Yes, before the universal monarch wheel-jewel arises he is
  called an embryonic universal monarch, but even then his authority,
  wealth and power are considerable.  Will he say, "Let the universal
  wheel-jewel not arise, what I have got is quite enough for me"?
  
      D:  No, sir, he won't.
  
      S:  And why not?
  
      D:  Because he wants to become still greater through the arisal of
  the wheel-jewel.
  
      S:  So, when will the wheel-jewel come?
  
      D:  It will come at the right time, sir.
  
      S:  The wheel-jewel arises due to the merit the embryonic universal
  monarch has accumulated.  But there are still duties for him, and
  having understood these duties and keeping them in mind, he has to
  fulfill them.
  
      Now, say there is an embryonic universal monarch.  His merit is
  ripe, but he doesn't fulfill the duties that are the final cause for
  his becoming a universal monarch.  Will the wheel-jewel arise of its
  own accord?

      D:  No, sir, it will not arise by itself, I think.  He will have
  to exercise himself further.
  
      S:  Now let's say you were the embryonic universal monarch waiting
  for the wheel-jewel to arise so that you will reign over the whole
  world.  You will still have to practice further.  You have to keep
  precepts.  But would you say, "Well, I don't need the wheel-jewel
  anymore.  I am quite satisfied with the riches and splendor I have
  attained"?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  You will not give up at this point, because if you become a
  universal monarch you will be able to reign according to the Dhamma so
  that the whole world will be happy.  Do you think the people of your
  provinces will say to you, "O embryonic universal monarch, you have
  got enough power"?
  
      D:  No, sir, certainly not.
  
      S:  So, what will the people say?
  
      D:  "Work hard and fulfill your duties," they will say, sir.
  
      S:  And why this?
  
      D:  Because they want the wheel-jewel to arise, sir.
  
      S:  Yes, you see, because of the power of the wheel-jewel of the
  universal monarch, all will experience many different types of
  happiness.  But when one has become a universal monarch, will this
  give him results for the of the cycle of birth and death?  How long
  can he be a universal monarch?
  
      D:  Only as long as the wheel-jewel is there, sir.
  
      S:  Yes, even a universal monarch can be on his throne at best for
  one life-span.  But now the Buddha's teachings are available.  If all
  the good beings who have taken birth in a happy existence take up the
  practice of the Buddha's teachings, they can attain even to awakening,
  as they aspired.  But it is as with the embryonic universal monarch:
  he doesn't become a universal monarch just enjoying the royal
  splendor that he has already achieved;  he will only become a
  universal ruler when he has fulfilled the duties and disciplines
  necessary to obtain the wheel-jewel.
  
      Now, when do you want to attain Nibbana?
  
      D:  Very soon, sir.
  
      S:  What does that mean?
  
      D:  Now, immediately, sir.
  
      S:  So, you are going to obtain it right now?
  
      D:  If it's possible, sir.
  
      S:  Well, at the time you accept it, you will reach it.
  
      D:  One can get it only when the ten //parami// (perfections) are
  completed, sir.
  
      S:  You still don't understand.  We were talking about the
  embryonic universal monarch just now.  He attained that point because
  of his fulfilling the ten //parami//.  This fulfillment of the
  //parami// means that he can become a universal monarch for certain.
  But when will he become a universal monarch?  When he has fulfilled
  the practices and duties that cause the arising of the wheel-jewel.
  So, if he undertakes these, the jewel will arise.  Now, don't you tell
  me you want Nibbana?  If you practice now, you will realize it now.
  Will you take up practicing?  But then don't get up after some time
  and run away.
  
      If you want to become a sovereign ruler, what do you have to do?
  You have to master all the arts that are required of an accomplished
  prince and princess.  So what do you think you have to master as sons
  and daughters of the Buddha?
  
      D:  We have to master morality, concentration and wisdom, sir.
  
      S:  What do you have to do to become a king?  You have to study
  and practice the eighteen arts a king has to master.  You have to
  learn about war-elephants, strategy, how to overcome enemies, and so
  forth. Once you have learned all this, what will you do when you
  encounter enemies?
  
      D:  We'll attack them, sir.
  
      S:  There are enemies who obstruct our progress towards Nibbana,
  and if we want to get there, we have to fight them.  Will you fight
  them after having equipped yourselves with weapons?
  
      D:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  You will have to sit for a long time.  Once the battle starts,
  you will have to fight for real.  Once you have deployed your troops
  in the battlefield, you will have to go ahead.  Only if you prevail
  will you become a king.
  
      D:  We shall fight, sir.
  
      S:  Good, go ahead.  Don't get up and run away, even if time seems
  long.  If you fight well, you will become sovereign king.
  
      During the time of the Buddha, people learned the teachings from
  the Buddha himself.  The Buddha simply taught how to defeat all forms
  of ignorance.  Do you think that all those who listened to his words
  and then practiced accordingly repulsed ignorance?  They really
  refuted all forms of ignorance and therefore they were victorious.
  They attained supreme happiness.  Establish yourselves in effort and
  all your aspirations will be fulfilled.  You are well equipped with
  weapons for the battle, aren't you?
  
      D:  Yes, sir.

      S:  And you will fight, won't you?  Your enemies do attack and
  they attack often and with full force.  Are sloth, torpor and laziness
  friends or foes?  What do you do when they come?  I think it has been
  some time that you haven't fought a battle?
  
      D:  Quite some time, sir.
  
      S:  Tell me about the weapons you will have to use, and how you
  have to fight.
  
      D:  We have to fight for one hour every day, sir.
  
      S:  Only one hour a day?
  
      D:  We can't even always manage that much, sir.
  
      S:  Look here!  Is this because the weapons are soft or because
  the warriors are soft?
  
      D:  We are soft, sir.
  
      S:  Are princes and princesses who want to become rulers soft too?
  
      D:  No, sir.  They can't be because soft princes are defeated.
  
      S:  But these princes here, are they people with strength and
  fortitude or are they soft?
  
      D:  We are soft, sir.
  
      S:  As sons and daughters of the Buddha do you want to become
  sovereigns of Nibbana or do you want to remain princes and princesses?
  
      D:  We all want to become rulers, sir.
  
      S:  So, the weapon you have is good;  attack!  But only if you
  hold the weapon properly will the enemy fear you.  I think you don't
  hold the weapon properly.
  
      D:  We do attack, sir, but our way of attack is weak.  Out of
  compassion give us a powerful weapon, sir.
  
      S:  I can only give you the weapon.  This weapon will not do
  anything;  only if you take this weapon and make use of it can you
  win. No weapon is weak, and you don't have just one.  You have a whole
  store of weapons.  If I were to enumerate them, it would become a long
  list.
  
      D:  Sir, we fail because we have so many weapons.
  
      S:  No, it's because you don't fight.  You have to fight.  Do you
  understand?  Don't you want to become sovereign kings?  Do you want to
  stay princes and princesses?
  
      D:  We try hard, sir, but we never succeed.
  
      S:  Yes, yes, but the weapon is fine.  You don't understand
  because you don't fight.  You are talking like most.  You meditate,
  you put forth effort, but in spite of that you sound as if there was
  no effort.  There is so much energy in you, but you don't use it.  You
  do have energy.  If you put all your stock of energy to use, you will
  assuredly become real sons and daughters of the Buddha, become kings
  by attaining Nibbana.  Sons and daughters of the Buddha have the
  ability to accept instructions, make effort, and follow the teachings
  of the Buddha.  All who practice the teachings, be they humans, Devas
  or Brahmas, can fulfill their different aspirations for Nibbana.  Even
  if you keep up the awareness of in-breath and out-breath throughout
  only one day, you will understand much.  You may say that you have
  been meditating for so many years, but have you really ever been able
  to keep your mind focused for a full day?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  By one day I mean a day and a night, twenty-four hours.  Now
  do this:  practice the teachings of the Buddha to the full for one day
  and one night.  If you have done this once, you will all be able to
  appreciate the value of just one single day.  Some of you may have been
  practicing for twenty or thirty years and some even longer.  But just
  examine yourselves.  Have you really, having established yourselves in
  complete effort, fulfilled one single day in practice?  Have you?
  
      D:  No, sir, we haven't.
  
      S:  And why have you never devoted yourselves fully for one whole
  day?  You do have the energy required, don't you?
  
      D:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  You don't use the energy you have in the right place.  You
  waste it for no purpose.  Are you still going to shows and
  entertainments?
  
      D:  Yes, sir.  We watch the //pwe// all night until dawn, without
  sleeping. [*]

        [*] //Pwe//:  traditional Burmese theatre.  It incorporates in a
            traditional play elements such as drama, clowns, music,
            dances, etc. It usually lasts all night until sunrise and
            spectators eat and enjoy themselves.  It is attended by the
            whole family, takes place on the village heath or, in modern
            Burma, also in town halls.  The performing troupes tour
            Burma in the dry season.
  
  
      S:  How many nights in a row do you do this?
  
      D:  About two or three nights, sir.
  
      S:  How many shows have you seen in all?
  
      D:  I can't remember, sir.
  
      S:  You see;  there you have plenty of energy.  Day and night.
  There your effort is strong.  Now, how many times have you observed
  the Uposatha precepts? [*]

        [*] //Uposatha//:  see Note in first talk.

  
      D:  Many times, sir.
  
      S:  I mean, how many days have you observed the eight Uposatha
  precepts day and night?
  
      D:  We have observed them ever since we were children, sir.
  
      S:  How many days all together?  A day I call a day and a night,
  twenty-four hours.  Do you get a full day of Uposatha observances, if
  you look at it like this?
  
      D:  No, sir, we don't.  We observed them about half a day at a
  time, sir.
  
      S:  Have you fulfilled them to the utmost during the half-day?
  
      D:  We are unable to do that, sir.  We started this morning, sir,
  and shall keep it up until tomorrow.
  
      S:  You do have the will to work, but you don't usually use it for
  this noble purpose, but rather to watch //pwe//.  If you die while
  watching a //pwe//, where will you go?
  
      D:  To the lower world, sir.
  
      S:  Do you want that?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  Even if you don't want it, it has great power over you,
  doesn't it?  If you were to really observe Uposatha, with full effort
  for a whole day, could you not then fulfill your aspirations?  If you
  keep up the practice for one Uposatha day, you will understand, you
  will come to know something.
  
      The real disciples of the Buddha take the precepts on Uposatha
  days, and then they immediately take the object and firmly keep their
  attention fixed on it.  Now if your attention is so firmly fixed on an
  object, can sloth, torpor or laziness disturb you?
  
      D:  No, sir, they can't.
  
      S:  If your attention is firmly established on the in-breath and
  out-breath and the point of contact, do we still hear other people's
  conversation?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  What if someone speaks very loudly?
  
      D:  It doesn't disturb us, sir.
  
      S:  There is no wanting, aversion or delusion.  If our minds are
  thus purged of greed, aversion and ignorance, will there still be
  loneliness, depression and laziness?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  Are we still missing company?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  Do we still want to know what others are saying?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  If someone comes and invites us out, are we excited?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  We shall not jealously guard what we have got.  Good people
  are not like that.  We share it with those with whom we live: "May
  they also get what I have got."  Now, what will happen if all
  establish strong effort from sunrise to sunset, without a break? This
  is a long time-span, from sunrise to sunset.  But will you feel it to
  be long?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  "Today the time went so quickly!  We observed Uposatha and the
  time just flew!  And I really don't know why this day was so short."
  And after sunset you will again establish awareness of the object and
  then day will break and you still continue with the awareness of the
  spot below the nose, above the upper lip until it is light.  Without
  interruption.  And you will wonder, "This night passed really quickly;
  now it is day again!"
  
      This is how they used to practice on Uposatha day.  When the
  direct disciples of the Buddha undertook to practice for a day, they
  practiced for twenty-four hours.  And when day came, they were still
  not satisfied and said, "In the long cycle of birth and death we have
  been doing all those other things for a long time, but not this."  And
  they continued their work without wavering.  Do you have days like
  this?
  
      D:  Our days contain some interruptions, sir.
  
      S:  If someone keeps Uposatha, and his mind wanders here and there
  -- just anybody, I don't mean you -- so his mind flits around here and
  there.  But he is at a pagoda or under a holy Bodhi tree, and say he
  dies at that moment.  What will happen to this worshiper?
  
      D:  He will go to the lower worlds, sir.
  
      S:  How many lower planes are there?
  
      D:  There are four lower planes, sir.
  
      S:  What are they?
  
      D:  Hell, the animal world, the plane of the hungry ghosts, and
  the demon world.
  
      S:  Now, who wants to go to hell or the animal world?
  
      D:  I don't, sir.
  
      S:  What about the ghost world or the demon world?
  
      D:  I don't want to go there, sir.
  
      S:  If you take the precepts and then don't firmly put your mind
  to observing the teachings of the Buddha, is that skilled or not?
  
      D:  It is unskillful, sir.
  
      S:  If someone observes the Uposatha without keeping his mind
  focused, where will he be reborn when he dies?
  
      D:  In the lower planes of existence, sir.
  
      S:  Are you sure?
  
      D:  Yes, sir, I'm sure.
  
      S:  If I talk about someone who doesn't keep his mind fixed on the
  object, I am not talking about you people;  I'm talking about that
  (fictional) worshiper.
  
      D:  Sir, out of compassion show us the good road out of the lower
  worlds.
  
      S:  Do you remember how you focused your mind as the Buddha
  taught?
  
      D:  Yes, sir, I remember.
  
      S:  So then, let us keep the mind on the spot.  What do you think?
  
      D:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  But of course, now you can't do a full day anymore.  But if
  you practice until it is light, you will have done half a day.  What
  do you think?
  
      D:  We will keep our minds at the spot, sir.
  
      S:  What other things do you have to do tonight?
  
      D:  There is nothing to do at night, sir.
  
      S:  You have eaten, so you don't have to cook anymore, and there
  is nothing else to do.  Very good.  Will you stay here now that you
  have undertaken to keep Uposatha?  Won't you want to go away?
  
      D:  We shall do our best, sir.
  
      S:  If you say, "We shall do our best,"  will there be no
  disturbances coming in?  Will no enemy attack?  Only if you really
  mean it are the enemies afraid.  If you are firm, they run.  You know
  about Mahakassapa, don't you? [*]

        [*] Venerable Mahakassapa:  one of the eighty great disciples of
            the Buddha, the seniormost at the time of the Buddha's
            demise.  He presided over the First Council held three
            months after the Buddha passed away.
  

      D:  Yes, sir, we have heard about him.
  
      S:  He met the Buddha and then practiced what the Buddha taught in
  order to escape from suffering.  There are four bodily postures:
  sitting, standing, walking and lying down.  Which of these is prone to
  let in the enemy?  Laziness and sloth come in while lying down, and
  they come to stay, don't they?  If we indulge in laziness and sloth,
  will we be able to develop in morality, concentration and wisdom?
  
      D:  No, sir, we won't.
  
      S:  Laziness and torpor are our enemies.  Therefore Mahakassapa
  rejected the one posture in which the enemy attacks and adopted the
  other three postures in which the enemy can't remain for long.
  
      There are thirteen ascetic practices and Mahakassapa practiced all
  thirteen.  Only those among the disciples of the Buddha with the
  strongest determination practiced the sitter's practice, i.e.,  did
  not lie down for twenty-four hours a day.  If one takes up the
  sitter's practice and makes the strong determination not to sleep,
  this sloth and laziness can't overpower him.  Though these noble
  disciples of the Buddha neither lay down nor slept, they lived long
  and were very healthy.  Do you fight wars?
  
      D:  Yes, sir, we do.
  
      S:  Now, you are going to start your meditation.  What
  preparations do you have to make?
  
      D:  We have to spread out our mat. [*]
  
        [*] In rural Burma people sleep on mats on the floor. Spreading
            mat means getting ready to lie down.


      S:  If you spread out your mat before starting your meditation,
  soon someone will come along.  Who do you think that will be?  Do you
  think laziness and sleepiness will come your way?
  
      D:  If they come, sir, I shall lie down and sleep.
  
      S:  What will you say to them?
  
      D:  I won't say anything, sir.
  
      S:  You will say, "Ha, now only you come, I've got the mat ready a
  long time ago."  And what are you going to do then?  You are going to
  lie down flat on your back and sleep.  If you do this, will you be
  able to fulfill your aspiration for Nibbana?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  If you practice without sleeping, you are establishing full
  effort and are always keeping your attention firmly fixed on the
  object, day and night.  If you practice in this way, your morality,
  your concentration and control over the mind, and your insight and
  wisdom will become stronger and stronger.  They will develop from
  moment to moment.
  
      If you watch at show all night, you will feel tired in the
  morning. But if you practice the teachings of the Buddha all night,
  you will experience happiness and joy without end, and you will not
  feel sleepy. Do you understand?  This the Buddha taught -- it is not
  my teaching. If you follow the teachings of the Buddha and don't rest
  until you have understood them completely, you will really know.
  
      If people tell you, "This shade is cool,"  don't simply believe
  them, but try it out for yourselves.  If you just repeat, "It is cool,
  it is cool..." because others say so, you don't really know about its
  coolness;  you merely talk about it.  If someone just babbles along,
  he doesn't show appreciation.  But if someone speaks from experience,
  then will he not be able to speak with deep appreciation, and radiant
  happiness, and love?
  
      So pay attention and practice.  If you practice, you will reach
  your goal.  Not just hundreds, not thousands, not ten thousands, not
  hundreds of thousands -- all who follow the teachings will master
  them.
  
      When you start to meditate you still have to check:  Is everything
  arranged?  Is there a place to sleep at night, and to rest during the
  day?  Only when all this is in order, will you meditate, isn't it so?
  If you act in this way, you nurture your enemy, you call him a friend,
  you love him.  Once you recognize your enemy as such, do you still
  associate with him?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  What do you do, if he comes?
  
      D:  We check him and defend ourselves.
  
      S:  How do you defend yourselves?  Will you attack him? Will you
  mount a full attack?
  
      D:  We shall repulse him, sir.
  
      S:  How do you repulse him?  Softly, so that he doesn't get hurt?
  
      D:  We shall ward him off immediately so that he can't ever come
  back.
  
      S:  Yes, carry on.  Cut him off and throw him overboard so that he
  can't ever come back.  Well then, what will you do when tiredness and
  laziness really arise?
  
      D:  I shall probably fall asleep, sir.
  
      S:  What about others in the audience?
  
      D:  I don't know, sir.
  
      S:  Will you recognize the enemy and destroy him?
  
      D:  Just so, sir.
  
      S:  Very good.  I shall give you a simile.  If a man has fallen
  into a deep sleep and you wake him up, he will wake up quickly.  If
  you try and wake up someone who pretends to sleep, you will not be
  successful.  Why is this so?
  
      D:  The more one works on him the more he pretends to be asleep.
  
      S:  Yes.  Now what about you, are really fast asleep or do you
  pretend to sleep?
  
      D:  I don't know, sir.
  
      S:  If you are really asleep, you will simply get up, when I wake
  you up.  Will you get up?
  
      D:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  Yes, and after getting up, you will go back to sleep, I think.
  But I'm not sure about that.  I only think so.
  
      D:  I shall work hard as you instruct me, sir.
  
      S:  Put forth effort and you will become perfect.  You have all
  you need.
  
      All of you have acquired the elements of insight and renunciation.
  Because of this, you now esteem the teachings of the Buddha, you want
  to fulfill and practice them.  If the accumulation of the perfection
  of renunciation is small, your ears will be blocked to the teachings
  of the Buddha.  For instance, if somebody tells you to come to this
  place, you don't want to come because you are bored by this.  But now
  you are attracted by this teaching.  All you need now is the same
  amount of effort that the noble disciples of the Buddha made.
  
      When you begin to practice you may worry, "If I sit for one or two
  hours I am aching and stiff.  How can I possibly sit for a whole day
  and night?  I think that's quite impossible."  Don't you worry like
  this?
  
      D:  No, sir, I don't.
  
      S:  Though you may not worry now, it will come up.  But don't
  worry in this way.  The Buddha didn't teach suffering.  He taught the
  way leading to happiness.  You may not believe this because you think
  your own thoughts.  But you have to work with full effort and without
  wavering.  Now, when you meditate with full effort, the //viriya
  iddhipada// factor will arise.  You will understand this.  But when
  you sit all of you feel some discomfort, don't you?
  
      D:  Yes, sir, we do.
  
      S:  Even if you are aching and stiff, there is a place where there
  is no pain.  There is sleepiness, and there is also a place where
  there is no sleepiness.  What do you do when you are drowsy?
  
      D:  I go to sleep, sir.
  
      S:  Do you ever get enough sleep?
  
      D:  Yes, sir, I do.
  
      S:  But you sleep every day, and now want to sleep again?  So you
  haven't actually had enough yet.  If you sleep every day, you will
  never get enough sleep.  So when you feel sleepy, make an effort to
  reach the place where there is no sleepiness and then you will need no
  more sleep.  Get up and walk up and down.  Keep your attention at the
  spot where the air touches when you breathe in and out.  If you keep
  it fixed on this spot with full effort, at some time you will find the
  place of no sleep.  There is no "I shall not find it";  there is only
  a "I haven't got there yet."  You will get it.
  
      If you sleep and postpone meditation until you are rested, you
  will wake up when it is light and there will be no time left to
  meditate.  I am just telling you what the Buddha taught.  There is
  nothing I know.  All the Buddha taught is true.
  
      All of you have to make a living, work, toil, and shoulder
  burdens, don't you?
  
      D:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  So let us be simple.  You breathe, don't you?
  
      D:  Yes, sir, we do.
  
      S:  So, simply be aware of the in-breath, the out-breath and the
  point below the nose where the air touches.  It goes in and out
  without interruption, doesn't it?
  
      D:  Yes, sir, that's right.
  
      S:  Only when your attention wanders away, the continuity is
  broken. Don't allow your attention to follow the breath.  Your
  attention should always remain with this small spot.  When you keep
  your attention there at the spot, your respiration will become soft
  and subtle.  Once it has become subtle, you don't have to make it
  rough again.  The Buddha didn't say that we should make the subtle
  rough.  When you feel the spot, touching it with your finger, your
  attention will not wander to other objects.  Can't you fix your
  attention firmly on the spot with the breathing?
  
      D:  I can, sir.
  
      S:  Will greed, aversion and delusion still arise when your
  attention is focused on the spot?  When you are well concentrated,
  even for a short moment, your mind is cleansed of greed, aversion and
  delusion for that short moment.  Can't you keep your attention fixed
  on the spot for a longer time-span?
  
      D:  Yes, sir, I can.
  
      S:  So, make a strong effort and keep your attention there.  If
  you keep it there, is there any drowsiness or laziness disturbing you?
  
      D:  They don't come up, sir.
  
      S:  But what will happen if you reduce your effort?
  
      D:  Laziness will come in, sir.
  
      S:  Sloth and laziness will come and your concentration will
  become weak.  This is because you're at the beginning;  later it will
  improve.  If you view this laziness as a friend, not as an enemy, you
  will get used to it.  Though it comes you will not get lazy anymore.
  When we feel sleepy, we say, "This is good.  Now I want to find the
  place where one doesn't feel sleepy quickly.  Then there will an end to
  sleeping."  Work, fix your attention firmly on the spot as I just
  instructed you and when your limbs ache, know: "The only way out of
  this is to get to a place where there is no pain."  Now, if the
  discomfort becomes very intense, is it too difficult then?  It is not
  difficult.  Don't worry about all this.  Simply keep your attention on
  the spot.  Put it back on the spot.  Don't allow it to go away!  If it
  runs away, you will never get to the place I just told you about.
  
      Though we can't avoid being offered food and having to eat it,
  don't you think that we can keep our attention at the spot and eat? Do
  you think you will pass comments like, "Too much salt, too little
  salt,"  about the food that your wife, daughter, grand-daughter,
  brought from home?
  
      D:  I wouldn't comment, sir.
  
      S:  Do you think you would even notice that the food has too much
  salt?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  Why?  Because you are aware of something far better, so you
  don't notice their food.  If you get upset and angry about food, even
  though you are observing the eight precepts, and you die at that
  moment of anger, where will you go?
  
      D:  To the lower worlds, sir.
  
      S:  If you work with proper effort, not just superficially, will
  you even know whether the food tastes good or not?
  
      D:  No, sir.
  
      S:  Keep your mind steadfastly focused on the spot.  Your daily
  work needn't suffer.  It doesn't cost you anything.  Others won't know
  about it.  Will you practice the sitter's practice tonight? [*] Keep
  your attention on the spot and you will find it very easy.  If you
  feel drowsy, of if you are aching, say: "Good, it has come early," and
  then concentrate still harder on the spot.

        [*] Sitter's practice:  one of the ascetic practices
            (//dhutanga//). The monk observing the sitter's practice
            does not lie down.  Disciples of the Webu Sayadaw still keep
            up this practice.
  
  
      If you reach the goal before drowsiness and discomfort come up, so
  much the better.  If these disturbances don't manifest, don't stop
  working, thinking, "If they don't even come up now, there is no need
  to work to get to a place where they don't exist."  Just keep working.
  
      Will you undertake the sitter's practice?  Or will you, when
  sleepiness and tiredness set in, change to another (of the four)
  postures and reduce your effort?
  
      D:  We won't reduce our effort, sir.
  
      S:  All of you, or just a few among you?
  
      D:  All of us, sir.
  
      S:  So, if you keep each other company, so much the better.  Now,
  then, undertake to carry out the sitter's practice!  Make it a firm
  vow!
  
      You may think, "It wasn't right that we just gave in to sleepiness
  in the past."  Well, now you have undertaken the sitter's practice,
  and I think it is for the first time.
  
      D:  Yes, sir, the first time.
  
      S:  This is the weapon.  With this weapon you can fight your
  battle. With this weapon you will be victorious.  If you fight with a
  pillow as a weapon, you cannot win.
  
      I shall tell you a story you probably already know.  At the time
  of the Buddha, there was a rich lady who owned a big estate.  When she
  became old, she distributed the inheritance amongst he children.  But
  the children, after receiving the money, didn't care for their mother
  anymore.  She was not treated well in the houses of her sons and
  daughters and she was in distress.
  
      When she was about eighty or ninety years old, the neighbors had
  her ordained as a nun, as they couldn't bear to see her poverty and
  suffering.  When the nuns of her nunnery were invited for alms food to
  a house one day, they all went.  Only Sona Theri, our old woman, had
  to stay back because she was too old to go along.
  
      Before they left the nunnery, they said to Sona Theri, "You are
  very old, you can't come with us.  But fill the water pots for
  drinking water, and those for washing hands and feet, so that
  everything is ready when we return and also prepare some hot water."
  
      But this nun was very old.  To carry the water she had to use a
  small pot, and as she was working away, she got very tired.  But she
  didn't rest.  She forced herself to do what she had been ordered to
  do.  Because she overworked herself, she fell down between the water
  pots and couldn't lift herself up anymore.  She didn't pretend;  she
  was exhausted from carrying water.
  
      She had been given the teachings of the Buddha.  So she thought:
  "Well, I can't fill the pots anymore.  There is more water to be
  carried and I haven't prepared any hot water yet either.  But I can't
  even get up.  I will take up an object of meditation given by the
  Buddha."  And she started meditating as we did.  She fixed her
  attention firmly on the spot.  She focused her attention so that it
  stayed there, whatever happened.  That's all.  And as she was
  meditating with strong effort, she did what had to be done and made an
  end to suffering.
  
      Of course she was full of the bliss of emancipation.  When the
  others came back, they couldn't find her.  They said, "Where could
  this old nun have gone?", and they looked all over the nunnery.
  Eventually they found her lying between the water pots, and they all
  gathered around and abused her.  "Now what about our orders?  She
  didn't fill the pots, and there's no hot water either.  She is so lazy
  that she just lies down and sleeps."
  
      But the old nun was absorbed in bliss.  The other nuns were
  worldlings, of course, and they stood there blaming her.  "Look how
  lazy she is.  No water pot is full, no hot water.  Just lying around!"
  
      You too can talk like that, can't you?  It's not pleasant talk.
  But this nun was an Arahat.  She had attained Arahatship along with
  the supernatural powers.  She said: "All you desire will be done.
  There will be water in the pots and there will be hot water too." And
  after saying this, she made a strong determination and the water pots
  were filled to the brim and the hot water was boiling over.
  
      This nun was very old, and in exhaustion she fell down and could
  not get up again.  She practiced as you are doing now.  Do you hear
  this?  How long will it take you to reach the goal, you who are
  healthy and strong?
  
      D:  We shall work hard.
  
      S:  Will you still say, "Oh, we are old, we can't practice
  anymore"?  Sona Theri was eighty or ninety years old and she still
  carried water as she had been told.  When she fell down in exhaustion
  she just meditated.  The disciples of the Buddha attained the goal
  because their power of effort was great.
  
      You have the teachings, the technique.  All you need now is
  effort. And why do you need effort?  Because during meditation the
  enemies will come to disturb you.  Keep your attention on this small
  spot.  If your limbs ache, work that you reach the state where there
  is no aching. When you are drowsy, work that you reach the state where
  there is no drowsiness.  Good, good.  Establish effort and meditate,
  work to make an end to all suffering.
  

                                 * * *
  

  
                      A Happiness That Ever Grows
  
  
  WEBU SAYADAW:  Be perfect in the practice of morality (//sila//). Only
  if your practice is perfect will all your aspirations of the present
  time and of the future be fulfilled without exception.  Because this
  is true, the aspirations of the good people of the past who practiced
  and strove were fulfilled completely.  You too have to take up the
  practice of that morality that brought about their happiness. Work
  hard and perfect yourselves in it.
  
      Being perfect in morality, keep your mind straight and practice
  charity (//dana//) as it pleases you, giving your possessions
  yourselves with sincerity to those who are worthy.  Approach and give
  your gifts and your respect to the peerless Buddha and his teachings,
  keeping in mind your aspiration for awakening, Nibbana.  This type of
  aspiration is called right aspiration.  What you realize when you
  penetrate the Four Noble Truths is called "Bodhi," awakening.
  
      There are different types of Bodhi:  Sammasambodhi (Buddhahood),
  Paccekabodhi (Non-teaching Buddhahood), and Savakabodhi (Arahatship).
  There are different types of Arahatship:  Aggasavaka (Chief
  Discipleship),  Mahasavaka (Main Disciples),  Pakatisavaka (Disciple
  and Arahat).  You have always to keep in mind your aspirations for
  Nibbana, the highest goal.
  
      Aspirations thus formed are well formed.  After having perfected
  yourself according to your aspiration, enter Nibbana.  The noble
  persons who have attained Nibbana are innumerable.  Why could they
  bring their various aspirations for Bodhi to fruition?  Because they
  had been born into the right form of existence at the right time and
  because they exerted proper effort.
  
      When is the time when these aspirations can be brought to
  fruition?  From the moment the Buddha attained awakening many human
  beings, Devas and Brahmas came to the Buddha to pay respect and to
  show their devotion.  But no human being, no Deva and no Brahma was
  satisfied by merely being in the presence of the Buddha and having the
  opportunity to pay respect.  The Buddha observed them through his
  mind's eye and taught them the truth which he had penetrated through
  his own superknowledge, his omniscience.  As soon as they received the
  instructions of the Buddha they began to practice, to exert themselves
  with unwavering energy in all the four postures of the body.  This
  effort that is continuous, without break or pause and full of joy, is
  called good effort.  When their effort was perfect and equal to the
  effort of the wise of old, they arrived at their goal in due time and
  all the aspirations of their hearts came to an end.  Because they had
  achieved this state they were exceedingly happy and blissful.
  
      What was the nature of their happiness, their bliss?  It was not
  happiness or bliss that lasted for only a moment or a single life
  time; it was that happiness that is so great that it is able to last
  for the remainder of //samsara//.  Even if you are born in the human
  plane for only one life you are able to rise above the suffering of
  the cycle of birth and death.
  
      In this way happiness and bliss come to you.  When one has
  attained this happiness, when one has received the sign of bliss, when
  one has reached the goal, there is no jealous guarding of a secret.
  No, one will want all human beings, Devas and Brahmas to attain this
  bliss and happiness.  As he knows for himself how to attain this
  happiness his acts of body,, speech and mind will always be in harmony
  with the cause of attaining Nibbana.  He will act with joy as his
  base.
  
      How could so many human beings, Devas and Brahmas attain such high
  states of bliss?  Only because they knew that they were going to bring
  the aspirations of their heart to fruition.
  
      What are the things that support the Buddha's teachings?  They are
  the donation of shelter, robes, alms food and medicine for the monks.
  Having understood this, they practiced it.  With these four requisites
  the wise supported the teachings of the Buddha.  While they supported
  the teachings of the Buddha by donating the four requisites, many
  human beings, Devas and Brahmas received the instructions of the
  Buddha.  They were endowed with the ability to understand and follow
  the instructions and they practiced with a joyful mind without taking
  rest, like the wise of old.  When they thus practiced they attained
  their goal without delay.  In just one moment innumerable human
  beings, Devas and Brahmas fulfilled the wish of their hearts.  The
  energetic people saw this and supported the teachings of the Buddha
  and established them in a very short time.  But they didn't do only
  this, this didn't satisfy them yet.  In order to strengthen and make
  firm the teachings they would also meditate.  So they were full of
  good volition and they were accordingly endowed with unwavering effort
  and faith.
  
      Since the time of the Buddha there have been such noble people who
  supported and carried out the Buddha's teachings with supreme effort,
  and ever since the days of the Buddha human beings, Devas and Brahmas
  have been attaining Nibbana.  The number of those who have reached the
  goal in just a short moment can't be reckoned, let alone the number of
  all who have attained Nibbana.
  
      Now the good time for all the various noble people has come.  This
  is so, because the time when a Buddha and his teachings blossom is the
  good time.  The existences of human beings, Devas and all the happy
  abodes are good.  Having been born into one of these, people accepted
  the teachings and, as you are doing now, practiced with full effort
  and arrived at the goal.
  
      After his awakening the Buddha first honored the city of Rajagaha
  with his presence.  The king of this great city, Bimbisara, came to
  the Buddha, and because he received the teachings and followed them he
  attained the goal.  He was full of bliss.  He wanted others to attain
  the same bliss, and understanding the reason, the cause of his
  happiness, he donated the four requisites.  He did this so that his
  mother, father, grandmother and grandfather could fulfill their
  aspirations completely.  The Buddha, out of his great compassion,
  dwelt in the king's delightful garden.  Humans, Devas and Brahmas came
  to revere him there and with great compassion he taught them what he
  had realized himself.  In just one short moment innumerable humans,
  Devas and Brahmas achieved their aspirations.  And after this it went
  on and on.  The good time for all the people with noble aspirations
  had come!
  
      The time at which there is a Buddha or his teaching is the good
  time.  Human life, the life as Deva or Brahma, is a good life.  Good
  effort is called the effort that is established after one has received
  the teachings.  And what are the Buddha's teachings?  What is
  contained in the Tipitaka and is preached and explained by noble
  disciples out of lovingkindness and compassion are the Buddha's
  teachings.  They are very extensive, profound and difficult to
  understand.  Though they are extensive, profound and difficult to
  understand, they really boil down to just one thing:  the way of
  escape from suffering.
  
      They are expounded by the wise in short and in full as time
  permits and everyone has knowledge of them according to his capacity.
  You all have some understanding of the Tipitaka, in accordance with
  your capabilities.  If you were to talk about what you know it would
  never end.  But you have to establish strong effort and focus your
  mind on one object, and keep out all other objects.  When you fix your
  mind on one object exclusively with strong and stable effort, then you
  will be established in the teachings.  Isn't that so?
  
      U BA KHIN:  Yes, sir.
  
      SAYADAW:  To establish your attention thus is effort (//viriya//).
  When you fix your attention on one object and no other object enters
  your mind and your attention is stable you reach //viriya iddhipada//,
  the basis of attaining perfection by effort.  Because the teachings
  are so extensive you may think it tiresome to practice them.  That is
  why I instruct you in this way:  that you can reach the goal quickly.
  
      What happens to the causes of suffering -- greed, aversion and
  delusion -- when you control your mind in this way?
  
      U:  They are cut out and become quiet.
  
      S:  People write and preach a lot about greed, aversion and
  delusion, don't they?  When they debate, they talk only to win the
  debate, whomever they are talking to.  But if they establish awareness
  of breathing and make their minds stable they acquire real merit.  Why
  don't we try to do this?
  
      U:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  Will there be worry, fear and greed at that time?
  
      U:  There won't be.
  
      S:  No, there won't;  there won't be any worry, fear and greed. If
  there is worry, fear and greed, are you happy or unhappy?
  
      U:  Unhappy, sir.
  
      S:  And if there is no worry, fear and greed?
  
      U:  Then one is happy.
  
      S:  If one establishes effort only for one split-second the
  //viriya iddhipada// arises.  It excludes worry, fear and greed and
  there is happiness.  There are types of happiness which are not
  related to the happiness achieved through the Buddha's teachings, but
  people still call them happiness.  What sort of happiness am I talking
  about?  I am talking about the happiness of becoming a human being or
  Deva, of becoming a king, a rich man, a universal emperor, a Deva
  king, a Sakka or a Brahma.  Of course their enjoyment is also called
  happiness.  But let me give you an example.
  
      If you were asked to bear the golden royal insignia and live in
  the golden palace of a country that abounded with gold, silver, gems,
  rice, water and paddy, that was plentiful in everything, would you
  accept this offer or not?
  
      U:  Of course I would accept.
  
      S:  Of course you would accept.  This country is so rich that
  there is absolutely nothing missing.  So you would live wearing your
  crown in your golden palace smiling all the time.  So I think, smiling
  like that all the time you would enjoy yourself, you would be happy,
  wouldn't you?  Would this happiness keep worry, fear and greed away?
  
      U:  No, it wouldn't.
  
      S:  Oh, really?
  
      U:  It wouldn't, sir.
  
      S:  I mean at that moment, you see.
  
      U:  It wouldn't.
  
      S:  Why are they all smiling and happy then?
  
      U:  Somebody could try to usurp the kingdom.  If something happens
  in his territory he would have duties to fulfill.
  
      S:  There is nothing like that.  This country is so good that
  there is no danger or worry of that kind.  It is a very peaceful
  country. There is no problem at all;  everything is calm and quiet.
  There are no troubles at all, you just have to live in the golden
  palace wearing your crown.  So simply live there with your ministers,
  troops, concubines and wives.  You live always with a smile on your
  face.  Will worry, fear, greed and anxiety be kept a bay in these
  circumstances?  You are always smiling and happy.  So, do you think
  there is no worry?
  
      U:  There will be, sir.
  
      S:  Why?
  
      U:  Because there is the fear of death.
  
      S:  Yes, there will still be the fear of death.  But you are
  smiling still.  What is this smiling?  What about greed, aversion and
  delusion?
  
      U:  They won't be kept away.
  
      S:  Even smiles won't keep them away?
  
      U:  No, sir.
  
      S:  What do smiles mean?
  
      U:  They indicate that the object of mind is greed.
  
      S:  Really?  Is one happy if there is greed?
  
      U:  No, sir.
  
      S:  Is greed cool and pleasant?
  
      U:  No, it isn't.
  
      S:  Is it skillful or unskillful?
  
      U:  It is unskillful.
  
      S:  Are you happy when you are smiling as we just said?
  
      U:  No, sir.
  
      S:  But you are smiling great smiles, aren't you, but you aren't
  happy yet?  You are king, aren't you?  Maybe you aren't happy because
  you rule only one country?  I'll give you another one.  So?
  
      U:  Even then I won't be any happier.
  
      S:  Are you going to tell me that you don't want another country?
  
      U:  No, sir, I would take it.
  
      S:  You would take it, but still not be happy.  Well, I won't give
  you just another country, I'll give you the whole continent.  Will you
  tell me that you don't want it?
  
      U:  No, sir.
  
      S:  So, you will be happier then?
  
      U:  I won't be happier.
  
      S:  Really?  OK, I won't give you just another continent, but the
  whole planet and the wheel-jewel of the universal monarch.  Now there
  won't be any worry or fear.  With the turning of the wheel-jewel you
  will become universal monarch.  Will you be happy now?
  
      U:  I won't, sir.
  
      S:  Will you feel calm and cool?
  
      U:  I won't.
  
      S:  Why not, disciple?
  
      U:  There is still the burning of greed, aversion and delusion in
  my mind.
  
      S:  Oh, is it still there?
  
      U:  It's still there.
  
      S:  So you aren't happy yet.  Now, what about Sakka, the Brahmas
  and the Deva kings?
  
      U:  The same applies to them also.
  
      S:  We said they were happy and now you tell me the contrary?
  
      U:  The objects of their minds are greed, aversion and delusion.
  
      S:  Oh, really?  Let it be.  If one lives to a ripe old age always
  smiling and then dies smilingly, will he find peace in the cycle of
  births and deaths?
  
      U:  We won't find peace.
  
      S:  Where will this smiling fellow go?
  
      U:  When the (good) karma of this smiling person comes to an end
  his fate will turn.
  
      S:  Yes, and where will this smiling fellow end up?
  
      U:  With his smiling, the mind will be controlled by greed and be
  destined for the lower worlds.
  
      S:  Oh, really?... I thought that being happy was good, disciples.
  Is it not good?  I have to ask you, "Is it good?"
  
      U:  (Laughing) No, it isn't.
  
      S:  OK, we are not happy yet.  But when I asked whether we would
  be happy later on, you said no.  There was no peace, you said.
  
      U:  There is no peace.
  
      S:  So, now there is no peace;  What about later?  Will it
  become just a little bit better?
  
      U:  It won't improve, sir.
  
      S:  What will happen in the lower planes?
  
      U:  We will go to the lower planes.
  
      S:  Really?  So, there is no peace now, there won't be any after;
  what will be worse?
  
      U:  It will be worse later.
  
      S:  Oh.  We all thought we were quite alright, but it is not so.
  But now we've got the teaching of the Buddha and we can have as much
  of it as we want, can't we?
  
      U:  We can.
  
      S:  Endowed with the ability to accept the teachings we can take
  up one technique with steadfastness.  Will the happiness that derives
  from this practice become less the more we use it, the more we
  practice?
  
      U:  It won't.
  
      S:  Will it ever be exhausted?
  
      U:  It won't.
  
      S:  Oh, really?  My word, this thing is good.  Isn't it, my dear
  disciples?  And if we use it all the time, continuously, will it then
  get used up, will it come to an end?
  
      U:  It will neither diminish nor get used up.
  
      S:  Wait a minute.  We shall keep our attention focused while we
  are sitting like this, but while we are standing, can we still
  practice this?
  
      U:  We can.
  
      S:  And when we are walking?
  
      U:  We can.
  
      S:  Yes, we have to carry the burden of our body.  It is not the
  same as other worldly possessions.  When you work hard to acquire
  various jewels and gold and are successful, you will store them away
  in a certain place, I think.  But having acquired our body and mind,
  the five aggregates, [*] is it possible to live with ease, happily and
  without making great efforts?
  
        [*] The five "aggregates" or factors of existence:  matter,
            feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness.

      U:  It isn't possible.
  
      S:  We have to shoulder our burden.  We can't rest for a short
  moment even, can we?  And for whom do we have to shoulder the burden
  of our bodies without ever taking rest?
  
      U:  For ourselves.
  
      S:  For the five aggregates.
  
      U:  For the five aggregates, sir.
  
      S:  Yes, we have to work, disciples.  If I practice this awareness
  a lot, then I don't want to miss this happiness that derives from it.
  Isn't it possible to practice this all the time?
  
      U:  It is possible, sir.
  
      S:  This is very good.  Will it diminish?
  
      U:  No, sir, it won't.
  
      S:  Is it tiresome to keep up this awareness?
  
      U:  It isn't tiresome.
  
      S:  Will you use up material goods you have saved up?
  
      U:  No, sir.
  
      S:  You won't.  What about your work, will it be disturbed?
  
      U:  It won't be disturbed.
  
      S:  Will the others know about our practice?
  
      U:  They won't notice.
  
      S:  Oh, the others won't notice?  Yes, when we have the teachings
  of the Buddha and practice them continuously, when we are able to
  focus our mind on the object, we won't get tired, will we?
  
      U:  We won't, sir.
  
      S:  We won't spend anything;  our work won't be disrupted, and
  others won't even notice.  You receive the teachings in no time and
  then you say to yourself, "Now I shall follow these teachings."  When
  you have this volition and put forth effort then the //viriya
  iddhipada// factor will arise and you will arrive at the goal in no
  time. If you take up the practice now, will your progress be slow or
  fast?
  
      U:  According to circumstances, sir, sometimes it will be slow,
  sometimes....
  
      S:  No!  Wait, wait....
  
      U:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  Never mind about this.  If I focus my attention according to
  the teachings and keep it with the awareness of respiration, isn't
  this much possible?
  
      U:  It is possible.
  
      S:  Is this quick or slow?
  
      U:  It is quick, sir.
  
      S:  You see, if you establish effort the //viriya iddhipada//
  factor arises.  Can you say how quick this is?
  
      U:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  Have you put your attention there and does it stay?
  
      U:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  As I decide to put it there, it stays, doesn't it?
  
      U:  It does.
  
      S:  So if it stays, you have reached happiness.  Are you able to
  speak as quickly as this happiness is able to arise?
  
      U:  I am not, sir.
  
      S:  It is easy to achieve happiness if you want it.
  
      U:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  This is the highest sort of skillfulness.  Do you hear?  This
  is the highest, the highest.  Only if you have past merits can you be
  born as a human being and receive the Buddha Dhamma.  This type of
  skillfulness cannot be put in numbers.  Do you understand?  Then the
  six qualities of the Dhamma are there;  the qualities of the Buddha,
  the Dhamma and the Sangha.  When the Buddha taught this, the people
  understood.  Among the six qualities of the Dhamma,  //akaliko// is
  one, isn't it?  What does //akaliko// mean?
  
      U:  Immediateness.
  
      S:  Immediateness means that as soon as you fix your attention the
  results come.  So, if you establish effort with intelligence the
  results come so quickly that you can't say "there"  quicker than they
  come;  or you can't even think that fast.  Is it so?  If you establish
  awareness now, if you keep it here with your effort, happiness arises
  in the very same moment.  This is immediate.  Who would have to
  question this anymore?
  
      U:  Who would have to doubt his own experience?
  
      S:  Yes, when happiness has arisen there is no looking for it
  anymore.  The answer comes by itself, doesn't it?  It doesn't take any
  time.  All of you are bright people and you have understood the
  teachings of the wise and compassionate Buddha while still young, even
  before the words of instruction were complete.  Though you understood,
  at times your mind will think as it pleases, but let us practice. What
  happens in the mind when we plan to practice to acquire merit? "I'll
  perform merits later on, now I have to do this quickly."  Doesn't this
  happen to you?
  
      U:  It does.
  
      S:  Is it good to think and speak like this?
  
      U:  No sir.
  
      S:  And when you make efforts and the /viriya iddhipada// factor
  has arisen;  what is the right thing to do?
  
      U:  The right thing to do is to practice.
  
      S:  Yes.  If you want to become happier and happier, you have to
  put forth effort as soon as you have received the instructions of the
  Buddha and have accepted them.  Then the //viriya iddhipada// factor
  will arise.  When you make use of this factor that arises in a
  split-second, does it get consumed?
  
      U:  It doesn't.
  
      S:  Do it diminish?
  
      U:  It doesn't.
  
      S:  You may decide that the happiness you've got was quite
  sufficient for now and the future and you say, "I don't want to
  progress." Can you practice and not progress?
  
      U:  One will progress.
  
      S:  If you practice not just for a short time, but longer, will
  you achieve only as much as you get out of a short period of practice?
  
      U:  One will get more.
  
      S:  This is good, disciple.  This is possible because we are now
  in an auspicious era, because we are born into the right form of
  existence and because we make right effort.  The energetic get the
  true answer even without asking others.  Very good, do you hear? Isn't
  this so?
  
      U:  It is so.
  
      S:  So, even if we live with this happiness all the time, it won't
  diminish, it won't be used up.  And what happens if one doesn't want
  to progress?
  
      U:  It isn't possible not to progress, sir.
  
      S:  Yes.  If you aspire to this there must be many different
  troubles.  Is it possible to attain Bodhi or not?
  
      U:  It is possible.
  
      S:  It is possible now and in the future.  So let us say, "I don't
  want to progress,"  and then focus our minds.  Is this possible?
  
      U:  It isn't possible not to progress if we work.
  
      S:  Do we achieve greater happiness the more we work?
  
      U:  We do, sir.
  
      S:  We can attain Bodhi and we can also choose the time and the
  place of birth.  We can then choose a good existence as we wish.  When
  you attain the happiness you desire, what else do you need?
  
      U:  Nothing else, sir.
  
      S:  You don't need anything, you just have to choose.  Is choosing
  tiresome?
  
      U:  It isn't, sir.
  
      S:  You can drop at any time.  There are four stages to Nibbana.
  Is it possible only for certain types of Ariyas -- those who have
  attained one of the four stages?  Do we have to choose the state of
  Nibbana?
  
      U:  No, sir.
  
      S:  What about the place?
  
      U:  It isn't necessary.
  
      S:  Yes.  All by yourself, without any help?
  
      U:  It's possible.
  
      S:  And in a crowd?  If you go outside the pagoda it won't be
  possible, I think.  It is easy, isn't it?  The Buddha,  the
  all-compassionate and omniscient, taught many humans, Devas and
  Brahmas the knowledge he had attained through penetrating the truth
  himself.  These beings, full of confidence after receiving the
  teachings, were able to fulfill their aspirations.
  
      As you establish awareness you should establish continuous effort.
  There are many different types of people.  Some are good at reciting
  or reading or preaching or explaining.  I have no doubt about you,
  disciples, with whomever you compete you will win.
  
      U:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  Yes, though they are victorious in their talk, will they
  achieve anything if they don't practice?
  
      U:  No.
  
      S:  So, what's the difficulty?  Talking is tiresome, isn't it? All
  we have to do is to make efforts to bring to fruition the aspirations
  we have made and work as the wise of old did.  Understanding that we
  have to take up this work our minds will be focused.  You are very
  busy.  You may say, "We will practice later, when we are free." Does
  this thought come up still?
  
      U:  It does.
  
      S:  Sometimes the mind is like that.  But I think you don't
  actually say so?
  
      U:  Maybe, sir.
  
      S:  You even speak your mind?
  
      U:  We do.
  
      S:  Well, if you want to say this, never mind.  But, for the
  future can't you burn these impurities out?  You do have the teachings
  of the Buddha and when this happens to you (i.e., if you want to
  procrastinate), get rid of doubts.  Strive to get the answers without
  asking others.  If you focus right now won't you get them immediately?
  Isn't this possible?
  
      U:  Yes, it is possible, sir.
  
      S:  Is it possible to focus as you sit here?
  
      U:  Yes, it is, sir.
  
      S:  Is it possible to maintain the happiness you achieve in this
  way also when you are standing up?
  
      U:  It is, sir.
  
      S:  Yes.  And when you walk?
  
      U:  It's also possible then.
  
      S:  And when you carry out all your many responsibilities?
  
      U:  Then also it is possible.
  
      S:  You see, it is always possible.
  
      U:  If one is able to do it, it's possible.
  
      S:  What ability do you need?  There is nothing difficult in it.
  Or is it difficult?
  
      U:  Once one has acquired proficiency in this it isn't difficult
  anymore.
  
      S:  He says that it is not possible after all to simply focus
  here. Just put your attention here.  That's all.  Well, isn't it that
  easy?
  
      U:  It is easy, sir.
  
      S:  It is ever so easy.  The Buddha is incomparable.  He
  accumulated virtues without ever resting.  He completed his //parami//
  on his own working for the welfare of all.  Didn't he?
  
      U:  Yes, he did.
  
      S:  And because he could complete them it is easy for us now,
  isn't it?  It is easy.  How is it today?  You have to raise yourself
  happily and complete your work, and then, in accordance with your
  aspirations, you simply take the bliss you desire.  It is ever so
  easy. Don't be modest.  Don't allow yourselves to think, "This is not
  possible for me," "This is not suitable for me," "This is not proper
  for us," "This is not for me."  Aim at what you desire.  You will get
  it.  Isn't this so?
  
      U:  Yes.  It is, sir.
  
      S:  In the days of the Buddha too, humans, Devas and Brahmas came
  to the Buddha, worshiped him and after they received his teachings
  they achieved everything;  they completed all their different
  aspirations, didn't they?
  
      U:  They did.
  
      S:  Isn't it possible to fulfill your aspiration by establishing
  unwavering effort while you are a king?  Can you count the names of
  the kings who attained complete understanding of the Dhamma?
  
      U:  They are without number, sir.
  
      S:  Many wealthy people made efforts and attained understanding
  while continuing their work in business, didn't they?
  
      U:  They did.
  
      S:  Isn't this possible?
  
      U:  It is, sir.
  
      S:  Can you count such wealthy people in numbers?
  
      U:  No, sir.
  
      S:  What about people who were neither kings nor rich people?
  
      U:  They are innumerable.
  
      S:  Didn't all those who received the teachings and followed them
  assiduously fulfill their wishes?
  
      U:  They did.
  
      S:  Humans and devas, all of them, lay disciple!  What about now,
  lay disciple?  The period of time is the same, the occasion is the
  same, the plane of existence is the same.  If we simply establish our
  effort and take the teachings, do we still have to choose certain
  times to practice?
  
      U:  There is no need for that.
  
      S:  Really?
  
      U:  That is correct, sir.
  
      S:  Yes!  The time and the form of existence is right.  You can
  achieve your aspirations at the time you wish to.  Can't you?
  
      U:  That's right, sir.
  
      S:  Yes!  Do you understand? Before, they didn't practice because
  they were busy.  How is it with this "I'll practice when I'm free"? Do
  we still have to set times like this?
  
      U:  It is not necessary to set aside certain times.
  
      S:  What happens if we practice only when we are free?  If we stop
  the practice then we won't attain what we ought to attain.  But now we
  get these jobs done and what else?  We also fulfill our aspirations.
  We get two things done at the same time.  Don't we, lay disciples?
  What is better:  to get one thing done or to get two things done at
  the same time?
  
      U:  It is better to get two things done, sir.
  
      S:  You see, it's worth keeping yourself busy.  But, even though I
  say that it's working keeping yourself busy, don't start to enjoy
  simply being busy.  If you want to realize the teachings, don't just
  keep running all the time.  If you establish effort at the same time,
  the  //viriya iddhipada// factor will arise.  Make yourselves firm in
  this. If you say that you want to do this work, but still distract
  yourselves here and there, your progress will be slow, but if you
  establish this awareness and keep it up happily, then you will make
  progress.  What about this work that you can't avoid having to do?
  
      U:  We will also make progress with that.
  
      S:  Yes, lay disciples.  One doesn't only get the results of this
  noble work, but much more.  What I say is what the Buddha preached.
  I'm not adding anything.
  
      Now you are all people of great effort, aren't you?  But I just
  wanted to warn you.  What I just mentioned (about being too busy) can
  happen at times.  When you get some holidays you decide to come here
  and meditate for a few days.  Then, you have to go back to work and
  don't get time off anymore.  You don't come back. Does this happen
  sometimes?
  
      U:  It does happen.
  
      S:  Then you abandon the meditation, don't you?  Don't abandon it.
  Carry on with this awareness and at the same time do your work.  Then
  you get two in one go, you get two.  If you postpone being aware to
  your hours of leisure you get only one benefit.  You are not
  fulfilling aspirations which are ordinary, are you?  You can attain to
  the highest and noblest bliss.
  
      Now, what are these aspirations you are going to fulfill?  There
  are the different forms of Bodhi.  Bodhi means the penetrating
  understanding of the Four Noble Truths.  If you establish effort
  saying that you want to get it, you can fulfill all your different
  aspirations for Bodhi right now.  This is not ordinary.
  
      And how are you going to fulfill them?  Each type of Bodhi has to
  be fulfilled in its own way;  Sammasambodhi as Sammasambodhi,
  Paccekabodhi as Paccekabodhi.  Only if we understand in this way do we
  understand correctly.  It is like planting a mature seed when it
  rains;  a plant springs up.  Here this plant is nursed well and when
  you go back it is deep rooted and strong.  Is it possible to explain
  how good this period, this time is?  It is so easy now, lay disciples!
  How is it: is this a time when one is oppressed by worries and has to
  groan and moan?
  
      U:  No, sir.
  
      S:  Is it a time when we can only stare resignedly?
  
      U:  No, sir.
  
      S:  It is a time in which we can be happy and blissful immediately
  and never get enough of this joy.  You get even more than you wanted,
  you get even more than you aspired for, don't you, disciple?
  
      U:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  Oh, yes.  You never get tired, not in the present and not in
  the remainder of  //samsara//.  What are the teachings of the Buddha?
  There is nothing that causes stress and misery in the teachings.  Is
  there?  There isn't!  It is pure happiness!
  
      But the mind may get confused with many thoughts and I don't think
  that these thoughts are very pertinent.  Now, if you determine to
  establish this practice then I don't think that thoughts of doubt will
  remain at the back of your mind.  Can you not be successful in this
  way?  The mind will think what it wills.  Let it!  Follow the
  teachings, do you understand?  When you arrive at the goal you will
  probably find that it isn't the way you expected it to be.  Doesn't
  this happen to people?
  
      U:  It happened many times, sir.
  
      S:  Yes, it will happen.  Dear lay disciples, I am telling you
  only a little.  Those amongst you who work hard will think, "This monk
  is reluctant to tell us all, he is probably very unwilling to part
  with his knowledge."  (Everybody laughs.)  You will think, "This is
  much greater (than he said)."  When you strive for real happiness and
  because of this arrive at the goal, then you experience something that
  you cannot describe with words.  When you decide, "I'll strive so that
  I will know for myself," then don't procrastinate.  Don't delay.  Do
  you hear?  This is so high.  It is so good, lay disciples. Work hard,
  do you understand?  You are all people of great effort, aren't you?
  
      U:  Almost all are, sir.
  
      S:  Yes, good, good.  Work hard, won't you?  You see, when you
  yourselves arrive at the goal -- and for many of you even before that
  time -- you can give this happiness to others.  You will never feel
  reluctant to give.  You will want to give a great deal of it, a great
  deal.
  
      U:  This is true, sir.  In the course we are conducting now there
  are three or four students who after about three days of being here
  cry with great sobs because they regret not having come here earlier.
  
      S:  Yes, it is like that.
  
      U:  They think, "I should have come earlier!"
  
      S:  Yes, this happens!  Work hard in order to attain the highest.
  This is the perfect place.
  
      U:  It is a place to which you gave your blessings, venerable
  Sayadaw!
  
      S:  This is nucleus.  It is the first center of many.  Do you hear
  me?  May this happiness spread slowly out from this place.  Yes, yes,
  you must work hard, strive diligently.  Working means that you must
  meditate and then at times you want to take rest.  Does this also
  happen to you here?
  
      U:  It doesn't, sir.
  
      S:  It doesn't?
  
      U:  If the students start to meditate at 12:30 they come out of
  their meditation cells only at 5 pm.  At the beginning they do take
  breaks, but after two or three days they don't come out for breaks
  anymore.
  
      S:  Yes, you see!  It's like that!  The highest bliss cannot be
  described in words.  But the mind is like a magician.  Though one may
  be meditating here like this, calmly, negative thoughts may arise:
  "Oh, it is so tiring to meditate, how can I achieve anything?  I
  cannot do it."  Isn't that so?
  
      U:  It is just as you say, sir.  They do think in that way.
  
      S:  Yes, your mind may be cheating you, but after having
  established right effort there is no cheating yourself.  Or is it
  still possible?
  
      U:  No sir, it isn't.
  
      S:  Only before you really know can you cheat yourself.
  
      U:  Yes, sir.
  
      S:  Even so you may be saying to yourself that you are meditating
  too long.  So, now take rest.

                            * * * * * * * *


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 TITLE OF WORK: The Essential Practice: Dhamma Discourses of Venerable
                Webu Sayadaw -- Part 2 (Wheel Publication No. 384/385)
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 AUTHOR: Ven. Webu Sayadaw; translated from the Burmese by Roger
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