1 00:00:01,668 --> 00:00:04,070 Hello and welcome back to our study of the Dhammapada. 2 00:00:06,633 --> 00:00:12,539 Today we continue with verse 218, which reads as follows. 3 00:00:19,005 --> 00:00:31,438 Chanda jato anakkhate, manasacha puttoseya, kamesu apati baddhachito, 4 00:00:33,072 --> 00:01:02,590 which means one who is intent upon or inclined towards that which is indescribable 5 00:01:04,088 --> 00:01:19,022 One is intent upon that which is indescribable, inclined towards it, keen on it. 6 00:01:19,903 --> 00:01:30,113 If one's mind leaps or 7 00:01:31,662 --> 00:01:53,992 plunges into, really gets into, is thrilled by, is excited by, is fully into, we would say in English, into that, the anakata, the ineffable. 8 00:01:57,096 --> 00:02:00,100 Kamesu apati baddha citto. 9 00:02:02,223 --> 00:02:11,575 if one's mind is not bound up or tied down by kama, by sensuality. 10 00:02:15,259 --> 00:02:27,775 Such a person is called 11 00:02:30,590 --> 00:02:57,930 One who is going upstream One who has a stream going upwards So this story was taught This verse was taught in 12 00:03:00,475 --> 00:03:23,534 in response to a story about a elder monk who was getting old and his students, his saddhavi harika, saddhi viharika, the monk who lived with him. 13 00:03:24,335 --> 00:03:30,280 So in the time of the Buddha, it was established that new monks 14 00:03:31,492 --> 00:03:36,960 should spend some time with a senior monk in order to learn how to become a good monk. 15 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:42,448 And so they would spend time, sometimes even staying in the same bedroom. 16 00:03:43,410 --> 00:03:52,403 They wouldn't have the same bed, but they would live quite close so that the young monk could learn how to live from the old monk. 17 00:03:54,830 --> 00:03:59,435 Just watching and following and really taking care of the older monk and so on. 18 00:03:59,475 --> 00:04:01,036 So it became sort of mentorship. 19 00:04:02,538 --> 00:04:10,906 So it might not be correct to say this was a teacher-student relationship, but it was a mentor and dependent relationship. 20 00:04:13,188 --> 00:04:14,509 Let's explain like that. 21 00:04:14,590 --> 00:04:17,012 Just saddhi viharika, one who lives with you. 22 00:04:18,553 --> 00:04:22,137 Learn how you be a good monk. 23 00:04:23,973 --> 00:04:39,088 And so the monks, I guess there was more than one living with him, asked him, they said, Venerable Sir, what sort of benefits have you gained from the practice? 24 00:04:40,051 --> 00:04:41,073 What sort of results? 25 00:04:41,514 --> 00:04:42,336 Anything special? 26 00:04:46,433 --> 00:04:52,741 Now this monk had indeed practiced and indeed gained something quite special from the Dhamma. 27 00:04:52,761 --> 00:04:55,063 He had become what we call an anagami. 28 00:04:57,586 --> 00:04:58,928 Anagami. 29 00:05:02,112 --> 00:05:03,113 Anagami, sorry. 30 00:05:05,055 --> 00:05:09,761 Anagami. 31 00:05:09,781 --> 00:05:13,926 Anagami means one who doesn't come back. 32 00:05:20,234 --> 00:05:25,421 It's the third of four stages of enlightenment. 33 00:05:28,806 --> 00:05:34,734 When one first experiences nibbana, they're called a sotapanna. 34 00:05:34,794 --> 00:05:36,397 Here we have this word sota again. 35 00:05:36,417 --> 00:05:37,618 Sota means a stream. 36 00:05:40,302 --> 00:05:45,149 That word is used because it means someone who is not going to fall back. 37 00:05:45,309 --> 00:05:48,874 They're being pulled towards enlightenment. 38 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:55,033 Use the word stream to indicate that they're on their way. 39 00:05:55,093 --> 00:06:01,612 It's like you get on an escalator and you can't go back down again. 40 00:06:01,833 --> 00:06:02,695 It just takes you up. 41 00:06:09,172 --> 00:06:12,721 But such a person still has a lot of defilements left, potentially. 42 00:06:14,025 --> 00:06:23,029 And so they may still get angry, they may still be craving things, they may still get worried, or may still... 43 00:06:25,034 --> 00:06:34,751 They won't be jealous or stingy, but they can still crave and get upset, sad, frustrated, bored. 44 00:06:35,393 --> 00:06:36,935 But far less than ordinary people. 45 00:06:36,975 --> 00:06:47,194 They've come a long way and they've given up any kind of wrong view about the Dhamma, any doubt about the Dhamma, any wrong practices. 46 00:06:47,254 --> 00:06:49,658 They have no inclination to do things that are useless. 47 00:06:51,157 --> 00:06:55,406 They'll never make a mistake about what is useful and what is useless. 48 00:06:55,486 --> 00:07:04,364 Thinking something that is useless is actually spiritually beneficial, like rituals or rules. 49 00:07:06,789 --> 00:07:11,899 They know the way to become enlightened. 50 00:07:13,330 --> 00:07:23,007 the higher stages start to get rid of more of the defilements, and so we have what you call a sakadagami, someone who will come back, but will come back only once. 51 00:07:24,389 --> 00:07:36,790 That's because they've worked harder than a sotapanna, they've moved on from there, and they've continued the work to the point where they're only going to come back once, and then after that they'll free themselves completely from suffering. 52 00:07:39,267 --> 00:07:48,517 But an anagami, the third stage, an anagami has gotten rid of completely any kind of sensual desire. 53 00:07:51,321 --> 00:07:53,463 I've come to see it for the illusion that it is. 54 00:07:55,726 --> 00:08:04,195 And any kind of aversion or a disliking of things. 55 00:08:08,427 --> 00:08:12,952 any hatred of others, any anger or frustration or irritation. 56 00:08:14,694 --> 00:08:15,975 And so this is who this monk was. 57 00:08:16,035 --> 00:08:19,098 He was actually quite advanced. 58 00:08:19,479 --> 00:08:25,305 Anyone who could claim to be free from any form of sensual desire is quite impressive. 59 00:08:25,325 --> 00:08:28,108 Any kind of aversion or irritation. 60 00:08:30,651 --> 00:08:32,573 It's quite a powerful state. 61 00:08:35,036 --> 00:08:38,299 But he thought to himself, you see, because 62 00:08:41,553 --> 00:08:42,654 There's a fourth stage. 63 00:08:43,976 --> 00:08:45,558 And the fourth stage is very powerful. 64 00:08:46,359 --> 00:08:52,306 They say someone who becomes an arahant. 65 00:08:52,366 --> 00:08:55,630 See, an arahant is someone who has gotten rid of all delusion as well. 66 00:08:55,731 --> 00:09:04,101 So an anagami might still get distracted, might still have conceit. 67 00:09:05,971 --> 00:09:07,514 Yeah, conceit is another big one. 68 00:09:07,574 --> 00:09:20,841 And anagami might still be conceited, might still be proud of themselves, might still have low self-confidence, feeling bad about the fact that they're not yet an arad. 69 00:09:22,728 --> 00:09:24,830 And it seems that that's what this monk was feeling. 70 00:09:25,511 --> 00:09:35,843 He felt kind of guilty for not being an arahant because he thought to himself, you know, with an arahant, an arahant, if a lay person becomes an arahant, they have to ordain. 71 00:09:37,125 --> 00:09:38,727 If they don't, they say they will die. 72 00:09:38,767 --> 00:09:40,709 There's just two ways. 73 00:09:40,789 --> 00:09:49,900 Either they pass away or they become a monk and they go on alms round so they don't have to engage in practices that they just see no use in. 74 00:09:53,002 --> 00:09:57,773 I mean like getting a job and seeking out food and that sort of thing. 75 00:10:00,779 --> 00:10:06,252 But in anagami, there are many lay people who became anagamis. 76 00:10:06,272 --> 00:10:10,842 And so he thought to himself, this is just, I'm no better than a lay person. 77 00:10:13,015 --> 00:10:16,299 even a lay person could become an anagami. 78 00:10:16,319 --> 00:10:23,108 And he thought to himself, I'm not going to declare my attainment until I become an arahant. 79 00:10:23,248 --> 00:10:28,995 I'll wait until I become an arahant and then I'll let these guys know what I've gotten out of the practice. 80 00:10:29,796 --> 00:10:32,179 I really wait until I've realized the complete goal. 81 00:10:33,761 --> 00:10:34,843 And so he didn't say anything. 82 00:10:36,405 --> 00:10:38,888 And again and again, time and again, they would ask him and 83 00:10:40,100 --> 00:10:43,124 They started to get worried, thinking, why isn't he answering? 84 00:10:43,164 --> 00:10:47,089 He must have gained nothing from the practice and is feeling guilty about it. 85 00:10:47,830 --> 00:10:52,176 So they were concerned and they asked him again and again. 86 00:10:53,037 --> 00:10:54,018 He never said anything. 87 00:10:55,500 --> 00:10:56,201 And then he died. 88 00:10:57,703 --> 00:10:59,345 He died without becoming an Arahant. 89 00:10:59,445 --> 00:11:02,008 And so when he passed away, he was an Anagami. 90 00:11:03,510 --> 00:11:04,311 He didn't return. 91 00:11:04,392 --> 00:11:04,992 Where did he go? 92 00:11:05,072 --> 00:11:07,035 He went to what we call the Suddhavasa. 93 00:11:08,737 --> 00:11:16,105 Suddha means pure and awasa means abode or dwelling. 94 00:11:16,886 --> 00:11:18,267 So the pure abodes. 95 00:11:19,929 --> 00:11:22,993 They are Brahma worlds, but they're a very special Brahma world. 96 00:11:23,353 --> 00:11:28,218 They're a world that beings exist who have become anagami and that's it. 97 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:34,225 Only people have become anagamis, only beings that have become anagamis are reborn there. 98 00:11:35,146 --> 00:11:37,208 It's a very special realm of existence. 99 00:11:43,347 --> 00:11:54,381 And these monks were quite upset because they didn't know any of this and they thought their teacher had, or their mentor, the guy who they'd looked up to, had gotten nothing out of the practice. 100 00:11:55,062 --> 00:11:56,043 They felt bad for him. 101 00:11:56,744 --> 00:12:00,629 Maybe they felt bad for themselves for wasting their time on such a teacher. 102 00:12:02,672 --> 00:12:07,057 And they went to the Buddha and they were crying apparently and moaning and wailing and so on. 103 00:12:08,399 --> 00:12:11,363 And the Buddha said, what's this all about? 104 00:12:14,043 --> 00:12:43,307 and said oh venerable sir our poor teacher just passed away and the Buddha said well haven't I taught that this is the nature of things to pass away why are you crying about someone dying aren't you real monks hasn't your teacher taught you anything crying about death when death is such an obvious and glaringly 105 00:12:44,553 --> 00:12:46,596 a certain part of life. 106 00:12:47,999 --> 00:12:50,082 It's not something to be shocked about or upset about. 107 00:12:51,144 --> 00:12:52,967 And they said, well, it's not that. 108 00:12:53,087 --> 00:12:54,510 We know that, Venerable Sir. 109 00:12:54,530 --> 00:12:58,276 It's just that he died without getting anything. 110 00:12:59,157 --> 00:13:01,141 We asked him again and again and he didn't say anything. 111 00:13:01,181 --> 00:13:07,371 He must have died and who knows where he went because he had no benefit from the practice. 112 00:13:09,038 --> 00:13:10,240 And the Buddha explained to them. 113 00:13:10,260 --> 00:13:10,981 He said, oh no, no. 114 00:13:12,463 --> 00:13:15,949 My son has been reborn in the Suddhavasa. 115 00:13:16,530 --> 00:13:25,164 He just was embarrassed because he was only an anagami and he thought he'd wait until he became an arhat. 116 00:13:25,184 --> 00:13:34,759 And then he taught this verse explaining that really they should have known or could have known or 117 00:13:35,903 --> 00:13:41,930 maybe not based on their own state of mind, but it would be possible to know. 118 00:13:42,190 --> 00:13:55,926 There's no possibility that that monk could have gone anywhere else because, not of some category, but because of his state of mind, his qualities of mind. 119 00:13:58,128 --> 00:14:02,974 And that's what this verse is meant to highlight. 120 00:14:02,994 --> 00:14:05,016 So we can get a couple of things from this story. 121 00:14:07,291 --> 00:14:14,223 The first is, of course, the most obvious one, and the main lesson of the story, I think, is not to be complacent. 122 00:14:16,247 --> 00:14:27,527 An anagami is such a high attainment, and yet even people, or maybe especially people who have become anagamis, one thing it does to them is make them not complacent. 123 00:14:30,815 --> 00:14:39,006 I think there was a story about some anagamis that became complacent and the Buddha had to scold them, admonish them. 124 00:14:41,670 --> 00:14:52,485 But here we have, this shows that this monk pointed out an important lesson that even when you have gotten to that state, 125 00:14:53,731 --> 00:14:55,954 You have to remember that you still have defilements. 126 00:14:56,074 --> 00:15:14,758 What it means that there's a difference between an anagami and an arahant is that you still have conceit and restlessness and ignorance. 127 00:15:14,778 --> 00:15:21,426 You still have desire for form and formlessness and so on. 128 00:15:23,819 --> 00:15:29,947 No sensual desire left. 129 00:15:29,967 --> 00:15:36,876 And so it's a really good example for us, for people who have maybe not gained anything from the practice, to remind ourselves. 130 00:15:37,397 --> 00:15:41,843 You know, some people become content just with calm. 131 00:15:43,685 --> 00:15:48,291 They practice meditation for a bit and they feel calm and they become content with that. 132 00:15:51,730 --> 00:15:58,900 Some people gain insight, gain some good understanding about how to live their lives and they become content with that. 133 00:16:00,963 --> 00:16:05,229 They become content with something that's really ineffective in the long run. 134 00:16:06,070 --> 00:16:16,084 You know, it will have an effect on our lives, but it has no potential for, or it has no guarantee 135 00:16:21,413 --> 00:16:23,696 It has no power to free you from suffering. 136 00:16:25,719 --> 00:16:30,685 You feel calm and it's very easy to lose that and get back to square one. 137 00:16:30,725 --> 00:16:31,586 You gain insight. 138 00:16:33,409 --> 00:16:37,594 Maybe it changes your course in life, which is a very good thing. 139 00:16:38,956 --> 00:16:40,558 But who knows how long that will last. 140 00:16:41,359 --> 00:16:42,100 It will go away. 141 00:16:42,140 --> 00:16:43,101 You'll forget about it. 142 00:16:47,772 --> 00:16:59,487 The Buddha said, asantuti bahulo, you want to be a great being, you want to really do something great, something really and truly great, you have to be discontent. 143 00:17:01,458 --> 00:17:03,880 Not discontent in the way we normally think about it. 144 00:17:03,920 --> 00:17:07,524 The Buddha taught and praised contentment. 145 00:17:07,544 --> 00:17:14,090 But discontent about your own spiritual attainments, your own quality of mind. 146 00:17:15,331 --> 00:17:20,997 Until you have freed yourself from all bad habits, bad qualities of mind. 147 00:17:23,139 --> 00:17:28,825 Until you've freed yourself from all ignorance, you've come to understand reality just as it is. 148 00:17:30,746 --> 00:17:31,347 You should not 149 00:17:32,710 --> 00:17:33,611 Be complacent. 150 00:17:34,753 --> 00:17:36,716 You should not be content with what you've done. 151 00:17:38,398 --> 00:17:45,229 Of course, people who have attained Sotapanna become complacent with good reason, because it's quite a change. 152 00:17:46,410 --> 00:17:47,652 It's quite an accomplishment. 153 00:17:48,173 --> 00:17:59,089 And your whole being feels different with the peace and the security, the feeling of stability of mind. 154 00:18:03,541 --> 00:18:07,286 sakadagami, anagami, it's still possible to become complacent. 155 00:18:07,306 --> 00:18:22,748 So just a reminder of course that in our practice if even an anagami is able to admonish themselves not to be complacent, we should remember the reason why we're practicing. 156 00:18:24,651 --> 00:18:29,177 It's not just because it's beneficial to us, that's one way of looking at it, but also because 157 00:18:31,621 --> 00:18:34,664 We have things that are unbeneficial that we need to address. 158 00:18:36,887 --> 00:18:41,672 We really do have an imperative task to perform. 159 00:18:41,712 --> 00:18:55,468 That is to learn, to study, to become familiar and understand and overcome our bad habit, our unwholesome qualities of mind. 160 00:18:57,997 --> 00:19:27,143 So that's the first lesson The second lesson I think is a little more subtle and may or may not be there but it appears that the Buddha is perhaps or you could take this as an admonishment or as a lesson for us not to put too much emphasis on titles, proclamations 161 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:56,353 Identities, you know Like we have these four stages of enlightenment It's very easy for people to obsess about them People saying I've heard people say My goal is to become a Sotapanna in this life Something I don't mean to criticize that But it really isn't A great way to focus 162 00:19:57,397 --> 00:20:00,381 I mean, it isn't the most important thing to focus on. 163 00:20:00,441 --> 00:20:02,503 Your focus should be on, of course, being mindful. 164 00:20:03,725 --> 00:20:06,148 And this is a good example of the distinction. 165 00:20:06,188 --> 00:20:20,126 These monks were so focused on this idea, this switch that they could turn in their minds where they switched from thinking of him as an ordinary person to an enlightened person, that they never even saw how enlightened he was. 166 00:20:21,808 --> 00:20:22,048 Right? 167 00:20:22,208 --> 00:20:24,231 Because if they lived in the same room with him, 168 00:20:25,510 --> 00:20:27,735 It's certainly possible that it's very hard. 169 00:20:27,755 --> 00:20:30,981 I mean, it is maybe a third lesson. 170 00:20:31,242 --> 00:20:35,410 It is hard to know whether someone else is enlightenment. 171 00:20:35,430 --> 00:20:36,673 It's a very personal thing. 172 00:20:37,755 --> 00:20:39,098 But they live so close to him. 173 00:20:40,158 --> 00:20:57,425 And I think it's quite possible that had they not been so obsessed with trying to determine whether he was or wasn't, they would be able to instead be very mindful and become in tune with his state of mind and really get a sense that most likely he was not an ordinary being. 174 00:20:58,447 --> 00:21:01,592 I think it's very hard to mistake an anagami for an ordinary being. 175 00:21:09,571 --> 00:21:12,824 But third lesson, it can be difficult. 176 00:21:13,647 --> 00:21:17,522 You see, even these monks who lived with the anagami didn't know. 177 00:21:18,970 --> 00:21:22,493 And they didn't know because two reasons. 178 00:21:22,513 --> 00:21:24,115 One, because they weren't paying attention. 179 00:21:24,255 --> 00:21:26,577 Two, because it is very hard to know. 180 00:21:27,117 --> 00:21:29,980 The Dhamma is pachatang, to be known for oneself. 181 00:21:31,621 --> 00:21:36,526 It really isn't always the best to proclaim your attainments. 182 00:21:36,966 --> 00:21:40,730 Monks aren't allowed to talk about them with people who aren't monks. 183 00:21:40,810 --> 00:21:46,615 But even among monks, sometimes it's better just to 184 00:21:48,029 --> 00:21:50,132 Focus more on qualities of mind, you know. 185 00:21:51,373 --> 00:21:53,116 Focus more on what's important. 186 00:21:53,877 --> 00:21:55,158 And focus more on oneself. 187 00:21:56,019 --> 00:21:58,222 Someone asks you, are you enlightened? 188 00:21:58,322 --> 00:22:00,285 You say, why do you care about me? 189 00:22:00,325 --> 00:22:07,995 You should turn it back on them and say, the only enlightenment you should be concerned with is your own. 190 00:22:11,300 --> 00:22:12,902 Sometimes people try to test. 191 00:22:13,522 --> 00:22:16,686 I don't get it so much, but I suppose I have. 192 00:22:17,407 --> 00:22:20,770 I don't notice it so much, but I've heard of monks getting tested. 193 00:22:20,790 --> 00:22:23,773 I think it happens a lot in Buddhist societies. 194 00:22:24,174 --> 00:22:36,447 You have Buddhists who know a lot, and they're very skeptical of other Buddhists, and so they go around to monks and they try to test them to see how enlightened they are. 195 00:22:39,498 --> 00:22:42,854 In some ways it's a good service because it does test the monks. 196 00:22:43,075 --> 00:22:46,150 You know, they might try and make them irritated or annoyed. 197 00:22:48,847 --> 00:22:51,471 But on the other hand, it's really a waste of that person's life. 198 00:22:51,771 --> 00:22:55,477 Why are they so focused on determining whether other people are enlightened? 199 00:22:56,879 --> 00:22:59,723 And it becomes a bit of a problem from the other end as well. 200 00:23:00,684 --> 00:23:11,580 When someone does identify another person as an enlightened being, correctly or incorrectly, I think it's very common to incorrectly or with insufficient evidence, 201 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:17,952 identify someone else as being enlightened, or oneself even. 202 00:23:18,012 --> 00:23:22,926 I think it's possible to overestimate one's own attainment. 203 00:23:22,946 --> 00:23:26,937 And it becomes, you see this is the thing about labels, it becomes an entity. 204 00:23:28,469 --> 00:23:38,221 a person who is an arahant, a person who is an anagami, and you put them up on a pedestal and it makes you feel good if they're your teacher, right? 205 00:23:38,301 --> 00:23:46,230 My teacher is such and such, which is really awful because them being such and such says nothing about you even if they are. 206 00:23:49,735 --> 00:23:55,962 I've seen very pure monks who have very, very poor and impure students or followers 207 00:23:57,781 --> 00:24:26,708 Just because you follow the Buddha even said it Just because you follow around If you were to follow around holding on to my robe I can't take you to Nibbana That's not what he said exactly But basically that Sit with me all day Hang out with me all day is nothing to you It has potential to be completely unbeneficial When you could be off meditating and following my teachings He did say that 208 00:24:29,472 --> 00:24:59,479 basically so there's the lessons from the story don't be complacent but also don't obsess about titles and categories and so on the focus should be on what the verse focuses on and why I think it may be very well with the Buddha a part of the Buddha's lesson this sort of admonishment not to do that is because of what the Buddha says he says look of course he was an anagami he had all these qualities 209 00:25:02,699 --> 00:25:17,412 Or he had, that's not a lot of qualities But this basic quality of mind That distinguishes someone who is not coming back From someone who is coming back So what is it? 210 00:25:19,374 --> 00:25:32,166 Chanda jato anakate Anakate, akata Akata is something that is explained or Discussed 211 00:25:36,837 --> 00:25:37,940 Something that is told. 212 00:25:39,685 --> 00:25:46,664 So nibbana anakate is the thing which cannot be told, which cannot be explained, not be described. 213 00:25:48,409 --> 00:25:50,093 And apparently that's what ineffable means. 214 00:25:50,575 --> 00:25:52,500 So we can say it's the ineffable. 215 00:25:59,602 --> 00:26:00,424 It's very different. 216 00:26:00,985 --> 00:26:02,248 It's ineffable. 217 00:26:02,288 --> 00:26:09,263 The problem with those sorts of words is that it gives it this sort of mystery, which it really shouldn't. 218 00:26:10,065 --> 00:26:15,417 We should absolutely understand that that is an essential quality of it, that being ineffable. 219 00:26:15,397 --> 00:26:22,267 It doesn't mean it's something that if only we were smarter we could talk about it, we could explain or we could understand, we could conceive of it. 220 00:26:22,808 --> 00:26:24,311 It's like the inconceivable. 221 00:26:25,212 --> 00:26:30,200 It's a thing that is literally, like actually, inconceivable. 222 00:26:33,705 --> 00:26:38,272 In the sense of there's no concept involved with it, there's no entity per se. 223 00:26:40,155 --> 00:26:42,298 It exists, but it exists... 224 00:26:43,477 --> 00:27:05,097 In a different way than formed things that you can describe, conceive of That they exist And that's exactly what it is It's that thing that has those qualities Has the quality of being indescribable It's the thing that is indescribable It's the 225 00:27:07,270 --> 00:27:11,153 It's that which is outside the realm of being describable. 226 00:27:12,435 --> 00:27:13,255 That's just what it is. 227 00:27:13,375 --> 00:27:14,697 It's not something mysterious. 228 00:27:14,817 --> 00:27:16,538 It's just that thing. 229 00:27:18,780 --> 00:27:26,187 I haven't made it much clearer by saying that, but I just want to explain that it's not meant to make it mysterious or obfuscate the meaning or anything. 230 00:27:27,167 --> 00:27:29,990 It's just talking about what is different from everything else. 231 00:27:34,234 --> 00:27:35,775 Here I am talking a lot about it. 232 00:27:37,426 --> 00:27:40,872 Just trying to explain why it's what it is. 233 00:27:47,838 --> 00:27:51,724 And so chanda jata, chanda is an important word. 234 00:27:51,764 --> 00:27:55,789 He uses this, I think, because chanda can be used both ways. 235 00:27:56,110 --> 00:27:59,435 Chanda actually is often used as a replacement for desire. 236 00:28:00,616 --> 00:28:07,286 In Thai, they say paw jai, which I think is a good, we don't really have a similar way of talking about things in English. 237 00:28:08,067 --> 00:28:11,832 But someone is paw jai, jai is the heart, paw is enough. 238 00:28:12,754 --> 00:28:17,220 Paw jai means contentment or finding something to be enough. 239 00:28:18,635 --> 00:28:28,670 But they use it to mean liking, you know, if you're in regards to food, it means you like it. 240 00:28:33,457 --> 00:28:46,397 And so it's kind of used in the sense of liking something, but it more literally means interest, or inclination, intention, in the sense of being intent on something. 241 00:28:48,166 --> 00:28:51,733 So one translator, I think, uses intent on the ineffable. 242 00:28:53,978 --> 00:29:00,852 Inclined is a good word, because the Buddha uses this imagery of a tree leaning in one direction. 243 00:29:02,415 --> 00:29:04,840 And this is where the distinction is made here. 244 00:29:05,541 --> 00:29:08,487 Someone who is inclined towards nibbana, 245 00:29:11,032 --> 00:29:18,200 is really very and categorically different from someone who is inclined towards kamma, towards sensuality. 246 00:29:19,341 --> 00:29:20,783 And that's the real distinction here. 247 00:29:20,803 --> 00:29:39,503 It's a very simple description of the quality of enlightenment, that it inclines away from sensuality and towards the opposite of sensuality. 248 00:29:48,713 --> 00:30:01,851 And so this is it's an important point about this is that it's a description of the problem. 249 00:30:03,614 --> 00:30:12,426 What's wrong with us with ordinary life with ordinary inclination, because 250 00:30:14,245 --> 00:30:26,197 When you hear about nibbana, for example, when you hear about nibbana, when you hear about the path, when you hear about the direction, it's often quite hard to swallow. 251 00:30:26,617 --> 00:30:29,480 It's unpalatable, fearsome even. 252 00:30:31,062 --> 00:30:36,367 Some people who really like what the Buddha said will become inclined to practice. 253 00:30:37,268 --> 00:30:39,730 You know, they meet Buddhists and they really feel 254 00:30:41,178 --> 00:30:45,223 attracted to the path and to the ideas behind it. 255 00:30:47,125 --> 00:30:49,308 But then they hear about Nibbana and it scares them. 256 00:30:52,331 --> 00:30:53,973 What is this I've gotten myself into? 257 00:30:54,033 --> 00:30:57,958 One meditator told me, wait, do you know what this means? 258 00:30:57,998 --> 00:30:59,901 Do you really get what we're doing here? 259 00:31:00,802 --> 00:31:02,764 It just shocked him and he couldn't 260 00:31:05,815 --> 00:31:15,361 He couldn't get past this because he liked the idea of gaining benefit from meditation, but he understood what the meaning was here. 261 00:31:15,401 --> 00:31:21,478 Yabana involves non-arising. 262 00:31:24,479 --> 00:31:54,435 And so often our practice seems to be trying to change our opinion about Nibbana Trying to like it, trying to incline towards it We want to create in our minds this inclination towards Nibbana But it's not quite like that 263 00:31:56,778 --> 00:32:01,028 It's in fact the disinclination that we take as our object. 264 00:32:07,081 --> 00:32:09,206 It's not that we practice liking it. 265 00:32:09,707 --> 00:32:10,990 It's not that we practice 266 00:32:12,961 --> 00:32:41,280 or I guess more common, it's not that we repress our distaste for Nibbana, our distaste for having to give up all of this, all of what we enjoy, all of what we seek, all of what we cling to, all of what we are patibhadajita, all of what our minds are 267 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:45,907 are stuck on, are attached to. 268 00:32:51,281 --> 00:32:58,378 Now our practice is understanding this, this taste. 269 00:32:58,438 --> 00:33:00,062 I mean, the 270 00:33:01,443 --> 00:33:09,677 The struggle in the mind of a Buddhist to come to terms with something as the goal that they really don't like. 271 00:33:10,799 --> 00:33:15,186 Really many don't even like the idea of it. 272 00:33:15,246 --> 00:33:16,509 They might not admit it. 273 00:33:16,529 --> 00:33:18,131 They'll say, yes, yes, nibbana. 274 00:33:19,013 --> 00:33:22,118 But when they think about it, it scares them and it's repulsive. 275 00:33:24,173 --> 00:33:28,818 It's not about repressing that or trying to be the person who likes that. 276 00:33:28,838 --> 00:33:31,221 No, it's about looking at. 277 00:33:31,241 --> 00:33:33,543 And that's the actual problem. 278 00:33:35,545 --> 00:33:36,306 Looking at this. 279 00:33:37,968 --> 00:33:44,155 Not just that, but looking at the whole reason why that is. 280 00:33:44,315 --> 00:33:49,140 Why it is that we're disinclined towards something that really, I mean, it's ineffable. 281 00:33:49,881 --> 00:33:51,142 How could you be disinclined? 282 00:33:51,162 --> 00:33:52,003 How could you hate it? 283 00:33:54,008 --> 00:34:03,678 You see, because our distaste for it, our fear of it, it's nothing to do with it. 284 00:34:04,419 --> 00:34:06,081 There's nothing to fear about Nibbana. 285 00:34:06,121 --> 00:34:07,082 There's nothing fearsome. 286 00:34:07,122 --> 00:34:09,465 It doesn't have fangs or claws or poison. 287 00:34:11,367 --> 00:34:15,771 It's not going to say bad things about you or betray you. 288 00:34:18,594 --> 00:34:20,016 It's not even going to arise. 289 00:34:22,358 --> 00:34:42,702 No, it's all of the things that it stands in opposition to All of those things again that we cling to And so our whole of our practice, our practice, this is why our practice is not about Nibbana Why is our practice about suffering? 290 00:34:45,345 --> 00:34:49,530 Because all of those things that we cling to are actually suffering, are actually dukkha 291 00:34:50,405 --> 00:34:54,951 They may not be painful, not all the time, but they're caught up in pain. 292 00:34:55,192 --> 00:34:56,533 They're caught up in disappointment. 293 00:34:58,556 --> 00:35:00,158 They have no sukha. 294 00:35:00,179 --> 00:35:02,181 Dukha means they can't bring sukha. 295 00:35:02,201 --> 00:35:03,323 They can't make us happy. 296 00:35:06,888 --> 00:35:08,150 They can't satisfy us. 297 00:35:11,334 --> 00:35:13,637 We strive for them again and again and again. 298 00:35:13,697 --> 00:35:19,365 And we always have in our mind this idea that they are going to, those things that I don't have yet, 299 00:35:20,442 --> 00:35:21,824 I'm going to bring me happiness. 300 00:35:25,268 --> 00:35:28,492 Not even intellectually, it's just an inclination. 301 00:35:29,393 --> 00:35:31,436 We're a tree leaning in the wrong direction. 302 00:35:31,476 --> 00:35:32,758 So that's the way we're going to fall. 303 00:35:36,002 --> 00:35:36,663 It's endless. 304 00:35:37,384 --> 00:35:38,265 There's no goal. 305 00:35:39,567 --> 00:35:42,630 We're like a dog that has a rash and it keeps scratching. 306 00:35:45,915 --> 00:35:46,956 Because there's some 307 00:35:48,370 --> 00:35:51,374 Some sort of appeasement that comes from scratching. 308 00:35:52,375 --> 00:35:53,957 But the scratching just makes it worse. 309 00:35:55,018 --> 00:36:00,384 And so either they end up scratching themselves to death until they bleed and infected and die. 310 00:36:02,827 --> 00:36:03,708 Or they stop. 311 00:36:04,149 --> 00:36:06,171 They find a way to stop themselves. 312 00:36:08,113 --> 00:36:11,357 Perhaps they stop for some time because of the pain that comes from it. 313 00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:16,261 But there's no end. 314 00:36:16,902 --> 00:36:20,767 You can't get satisfied by getting the things you want. 315 00:36:31,119 --> 00:36:44,095 And so our practice is to learn this, is to understand this, is to become freed from the bind, from the 316 00:36:44,868 --> 00:36:48,752 the shackles of sensual desire. 317 00:36:49,873 --> 00:36:51,095 We're really shackled to it. 318 00:36:52,836 --> 00:36:53,998 We can't be free. 319 00:36:55,039 --> 00:36:56,100 We can't be at peace. 320 00:36:58,843 --> 00:37:02,066 Because our minds are forcing us, really. 321 00:37:02,186 --> 00:37:11,196 We're prisoners to our own patibandha jita, our minds that are bound to sensuality. 322 00:37:13,133 --> 00:37:15,816 It's like we're being pulled in that direction by a strong rope. 323 00:37:15,876 --> 00:37:22,404 In the meditation, we need a rope in the other direction, and we pull ourselves until we incline towards the ineffable. 324 00:37:23,064 --> 00:37:25,207 And that's how you become udang sota. 325 00:37:27,009 --> 00:37:33,016 Udang sota, if you think of it as against the stream, it's like a fish going against the stream. 326 00:37:33,797 --> 00:37:40,204 But if you think of it as upstream, I think it probably means more like has a stream going upwards. 327 00:37:41,348 --> 00:37:43,090 They're on the escalator upwards. 328 00:37:46,994 --> 00:37:48,496 They're heading in the right direction. 329 00:37:48,536 --> 00:37:51,980 They're bound in the right direction. 330 00:37:53,201 --> 00:37:53,401 Why? 331 00:37:53,461 --> 00:37:55,804 Because their mind is inclined in the right direction. 332 00:37:56,164 --> 00:38:00,169 And that's really this emphasis and this focus on qualities. 333 00:38:01,570 --> 00:38:02,932 How does the mind incline? 334 00:38:04,053 --> 00:38:08,638 Does your mind leap at the thought of peace, 335 00:38:09,462 --> 00:38:11,464 Or does it incline towards conflict? 336 00:38:14,908 --> 00:38:21,795 When you hear someone does something, says something wrong, do you incline to correct them or punish them for it? 337 00:38:25,939 --> 00:38:37,832 When something pleasurable comes, do you incline to get it, to keep it, to get it as close to you and possess it as much as possible? 338 00:38:41,457 --> 00:38:42,740 Or do you see it mindfully? 339 00:38:43,281 --> 00:38:46,207 Do you see it, experience it, and let it come and let it go? 340 00:38:46,247 --> 00:38:52,681 One is the way to stress and prison. 341 00:38:53,102 --> 00:38:56,108 The other is the way to freedom and peace. 342 00:39:01,775 --> 00:39:12,240 So I think focusing on, this is a very simple way to describe this distinction, that you shouldn't be concerned that you don't like 343 00:39:13,992 --> 00:39:23,947 peace, that you aren't inclined towards things like nibbana and freedom from suffering and cessation, to never be born again. 344 00:39:24,307 --> 00:39:26,290 You shouldn't be concerned about that. 345 00:39:26,351 --> 00:39:27,673 That's the whole reason. 346 00:39:28,133 --> 00:39:29,996 That's the whole crux of this. 347 00:39:30,797 --> 00:39:32,039 That's what you have to look at. 348 00:39:34,383 --> 00:39:41,974 It's like a challenge in a way, pointing out nibbana, pointing out freedom from suffering. 349 00:39:43,844 --> 00:39:44,745 It's a challenge. 350 00:39:44,946 --> 00:39:47,550 It shows you you have to justify. 351 00:39:48,431 --> 00:39:51,195 You really do have to examine because now you have an alternative. 352 00:39:51,936 --> 00:39:52,757 The thing you don't want. 353 00:39:53,438 --> 00:39:54,620 I want these. 354 00:39:55,882 --> 00:40:01,871 You have to be able to justify to yourself that it's better than this peaceful, this ultimate peace. 355 00:40:05,396 --> 00:40:06,138 Ultimate freedom. 356 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:09,463 And so it means you examine. 357 00:40:10,744 --> 00:40:13,108 You don't worry about nibbana for sure, not 358 00:40:14,776 --> 00:40:23,571 You examine the tree that you're in until you see there's no fruit on this tree and then you can fly away. 359 00:40:27,839 --> 00:40:31,305 So, some thoughts on the verse for tonight. 360 00:40:31,706 --> 00:40:33,549 That's Dhammapada 218. 361 00:40:34,050 --> 00:40:35,232 Thank you all for listening.