Seven versus five

What do you do when you see a beautiful girl? Hah! Most of us will think about her, think and think. For some, this might even lead to inability to sleep and fell sick (love sick as some may call it).

However, Sayadaw U Vimala called it the arising of sensual desire (kāmacchanda). The five hindrances (sensual desire, ill-will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and doubt) can obstruct our progress in meditation and as laypersons, we have to be aware of it in our daily life.

How then can one check the advances of these pañca nīvaraṇāni? Sayadaw pointed out that one must try to cultivate the seven factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga) namely mindfulness, investigating the Dhamma, energy/effort, joy, tranquility, concentration and equanimity. Through the cultivation of these 7 bojjhangas, one can then overcome the arising of the 5 nivaranani especially during meditation.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu

Mahindarama Sunday Pali School 50th Anniversary Dinner

Yesterday night 12 Sept 2009, both of us attended the MSPS 50th Anniversary Dinner. At first, I had thought of skipping this occassion as we will miss our meditation sitting and Dhamma talk. After receiving an invitation call from Bro Hor Kwei On, I decided to go as MSPS is a part of my life, my Buddhist life.
Mahindarama Sunday Pali School was set up on the 6th of September 1959 and is part of Mahindarama Buddhist Temple, a Sri Lankan's temple at 2 Kampar Road, Penang.
It is a night full of surprises.

Chattering mind

Tonight I heard a talk given by Bhante Jinnadatta about conditioned mind. Although this talk is given in Hokkien/Mandarin, Bhante also uses some English terms and with my pasar Hokkien I can managed to get the gist of what tonight talk is all about.
Our mind is conditioned, said Bhante. This conditioned mind will always judged things to be good or bad, right or wrong. Therefore, one is confused about facts and opinions.

The conditioned mind is the second link in Dependent Origination that is sankhara. Because of A, B followed, just like what happened to the dog in Pavlov's Experiment.

Our mind like a pendulum, always swinging from the past to the future. Our mind begins to judge because we conditioned it to judge, to judge things to be yes or no.

What then conditioned our mind? It is our thoughts. Our thoughts also identify. We use our thoughts to identify things with another things for example we sometimes identify happiness with wealth or success. But sometimes we did not identify thing with the truth.

For instance, we identify self or ego with thought. Thoughts conditioned us, and we think that these thoughts are our self.

Since awakened from our sleep, we live in the realm of thought. We get lost in our thought.
Our mind is full of thoughts. It is always yes or no. This then gives rise to attraction (if it is a yes) and repulsiveness if it is a no.

Because we are always thinking (eating, walking and so forth), we identify it as our ego. And what give rise to thought? Bhante said it is ignorance that causes thought to arise.

So our thoughts kept on talking in ourselves; we have a chattering mind, and we will not have any peace. Thought swings from the past to the future. Our ego cannot let go of the past. The thought condition us.

How then can we stop ourselves from thinking? Awareness is the answer. We have to aware, not to know, not to think. In meditation, we are aware of the object at the present. To have our mind at the present, not to think of the past or the future. Thus we are aware of ourselves.

Bhante said we know but we do not know our selves ("chai e'ay, bo chai lan" in Hokkien). We have the sense doors to know other things outside of ourselves but we do not know inside ourselves.

I have always find Bhante's talk to be enlightening as Bhante is able to explained abhidhamma things in a layman terms.

Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu.

Be one's Refuge

Tonight Sayadaw U Vimala tells an interesting story based on the Dhammapada Commentary regarding being one's refuge.

In this story there is a Bhikkhu and his mother who is also a Bhikkhuni, both of whom eventually attained Magga-Phala

The mother was once a rich man's daughter who was married to a man. Without realising that she is pregnant, she managed to get her husband's permission to be ordained as a Bhikkhuni. Unfortunately, she was ordained in Devadatta's monastery. Her pregnancy resulted in her being expelled by the community of monks and nuns in Devadatta's monastery.

Without giving up her hope to be a Bhikkhuni, she proceed to Jetavana Monastery and after being examined by Visakkha, Ven Upali admitted the mother as a Bhikkhuni because her pregnancy had nothing to do with her breaking any rules.

Eventually she gave birth to a son, but with the baby in a nun's community being inappropriate, the baby boy was then adopted by King Pasenadi.

Seven years later, the boy asked about his parentage and after realising that he had been born in a monastery, he decided to be ordained as a Samanera Kumarakassapa.

He learn and practised diligently with the Lord Buddha as his teacher. His diligence even took him to Himalaya Mountain but to his despair, he did not gain any progress.

Seeing this, his friend from previous lives who is now a Brahma, came down to him and give him a set of 15 questions which Ven Kumarakassapa has to ask the Buddha for the answers.

With these questions as a guide, Ven Kumarakassapa succeeded in his quest to attained Magga Phalanyana

Meanwhile, the mother had been in grief for her affection toward her son in the monastery. One day, during the alms round in Savathi, both mother and son met each other.

The Bhikkhuni due to her affection to the son, called out to Ven Kumarakassapa and even hold on to the Venerable's robe and follow him around.

Seeing that his mother is overcome with affection for him, Ven Kumarakassapa decided to apprehend his mother harshly saying "It is wrong for a Bhikkhuni to be overwhelmed by affection to her son"
After repeating this many times, the Bhikkhuni realised that affection to her son is fruitless, that one has to strive for your own self. The mother became an arahant.

Sayadaw said that this story tells us to be a refuge to ourselves and not seek refuge from others. The mother like most parents hope that their children will be their refuge but sometime they can be disappointed.

Sayadaw said that our good deeds are our best refuge. Dana , Sila and Bhavana are our refuge. Lastly, Sayadaw said that we must also make an effort to seek out good teachers just like the mother who without giving out when being expelled by Devadatta seek to be ordained by the Buddha.

May you be well and happy always

Protect Oneself Protect Others

Tonight talk by Sayadaw U Vimala is about protect oneself to protect others. From the Sedaka Sutta Sayadaw tell us how the Buddha uses the story of a acrobat and his pupil to point out the need for one to protect oneself so that one can protect the other. How can bhikkhus protect others? the Buddha asked and answered that it can be done by practising the 4 Foundation of Mindfulness. Here, we as practising Buddhists have to protect ourselves. The Buddha only shows us the way, Sayadaw said. The Buddha cannot save us. When we practised Satipatthana Meditation, and reached Magga Phala, we can protect ourselves. Others will emulate us and here, we indirectly help to protect others.

Ananda Sutta

Tonight talk by Sayadaw U Vimala is about Ananda Sutta. According to this sutta, Ven Vangisa addressed Ven Ananda about sensual lust that had invaded Ven Vangisa's mind and how to eliminate this. Ven Ananda answered (in 4 verses) that is to avoid seeing beautiful things, but also most of all, one has to be mindful. Sayadaw said that in doing meditation, one can practice what is advised by Ven Ananda by looking at any object as impermanent and subjected to change.

10 packages of Highest Blessing

Tonight I heard an interesting talk by Sayalay Agga Nani about Sila at Bukit Mertajam Buddhist Meditation Centre. Sayalay uses Mangala Sutta to show us the importance of Sila. Sila is found in each and every part of Mangala Sutta, said Sayalay. What is interesting is Sayalay describe Mangala Sutta in 10 parts that comprise of the 38 Highest Blessing. Each verse is a packagae by itself and Sayalay explained them as such with further emphasis on the presence of Sila in each of these 10 packages. For example in the first verse,

Asevanā ca bālānam
Panditānañca sevanā
Pūjā ca pūjaneyyānam
Etam mangalamuttamam

Sayalay pointed out that one not only had to dissociate with the fools but had to associate with the wise. However if one do not honour those worthy of honour (the wise) then one cannot get the benefit of the association and thus will not get the highest blessing. So in this verse, Sila can be found in the act of honouring the wise.
Another example, the 7th verse

Āratī viratī pāpā
Majjhapānā ca samyamo
Appamādo ca dhammesu
Etam mangalamuttamam

This verse definitely contains Sila. One has to abhor and avoid evil and abstains from taking intoxicants, but most importantly, must also be diligent in righteousness in order to have the highest blessing.

I feel happy to hear this talk by Sayalay that not only explain the component of Sila in Mangala Sutta and the importance of Sila but also show how Mangala Sutta can be interpreted as 10 packages of 38 Highest Blessing.

Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu